Far Faraway

by MaeveBrennan

Summary:

Set after the bad ending, Sunny has given in to Omori, and leaps.
Then, against his own expectations, he woke. He woke up in his old room.
He was sure everything had happened like he remembered, but then why was there another bed next to his?

Notes:

CW: Themes and discussion of suicide, self-harm, depression, and anxiety will run throughout this work.
As always, be safe.

Chapter 1: Prologue

Sunny, no, Omori was falling. He was well aware of it, even with his eyes closed-
 
 Eye. It was eye, singular, now. He couldn't help but let out a tiny gasp of laughter, even though his demise was certain. Well, for Omori it wasn't, he was just going back to Headspace. Leaving this dream behind.
 
 "Little brother, I'll see you soon."
 
 "Guys, I'm sorry."
 
 "...Bye."
 
 "A-alone... N-no escaping this, is there?"
 
 "Why..? Like this?"
 
 Voices, distant and familiar whispered their way into his ears. For just one second, Sunny, whatever was left, came to the front.
 
 Then he hit the sidewalk and there was nothing.
 
 ---
 
 Sunny had a splitting headache. He brought his hands up to his head and groaned loudly. Was he having a nightmare? It felt so real, right down to the icy, stabbing realizations that his friends would never forgive him. He opened his eyes. No, eye. That was... strange. He went over his memories quickly. How much had he dreamt, exactly? He remembered standing on the roof of the hospital. He remembered fighting with Basil and the feeling of shears plunged into his right eye. He remembered the last three days in Faraway, and his friends at his side putting the album back together. He remembered his mom calling (she couldn't even tell him in person!) and telling him they would move. He remembered his father leaving and never returning. Ultimately, he remembered the fight. The fight where he had killed Mari.
 
 Tears gathered in his eye. Was this before death? Where was Omori, his "righteous" persona? Had he imagined the past three or four days? That wasn't possible, he was still half-blind. This had to be after he fought with Basil. As surreal and dark as it was, it had happened.
 
 Perhaps, from confusion, exhaustion, uncertainty or all three, Sunny began to cry. More than a few loose tears, full out sobs were heard. He had failed, and he would have to live with the result. He let himself cry, finally unable to hide behind the monochrome mask he had put up.
 
 "...Sunny?"
 
 Sunny immediately felt his blood run cold. It was a familiar voice. He looked up, and saw his old room.
 
 His and Mari's room, with a bed for each.
 
 Mari was standing in the doorway, hands clasped to her face.
 
 "M-Ma-?" He couldn't even get the full words out before a black-and-violet blur rushed through the room and collided with him on the bed. Mari was hugging him tight, close enough to feel the tell-tale shuddering of sobs. Those same sobs triggered his own relapse into tears. Even if this was a dream, this wasn't like the Mari of the picnic blanket, or the Mari that had seen him off at the memories of his house. She looked older, and her hair was partly purple. Like she had once dyed it but let the color grow out. Was this something else his mind conjured up? An older Mari to torment him with what could have been?
 
 He knew the fate of figments of his imagination. That and the rush of seeing her here, in their old room again brought out words he couldn't say when they mattered.
 
 "I'm... sor-"
 
 "Sunny! I'm so sorry!"
 
 What?
 
 "I'm sorry I pushed you so hard! It's not your fault, it's..! It's..!"
 
 Oh. Now she was just telling him what his twisted mind wanted to hear. It's that kind of a dream.
 
 "I'm so sorry, it's my fault you stabbed yourself! I'm sorry, I wish I knew how bad I had made things!"
 
 See? She even knows you jumped off of a-
 
 Stabbed?
 
 "Stabbed?" Sunny's voice echoed the words. Certainly he, as Omori, had done so in dreams but that was all in his mind, privately and far away from the others of headspace.
 
 "Yes, you... Sunny? What happened to your eye?" Mari pulled back and lightly thumbed along the side of his ruined eye, along the bandages that were still there. Sunny attempted to turn his head away, and was stopped by Mari's other arm. That's when he saw it. Numerous, off-color lines, all in a messy row on the wrist.
 
 "Your... arm." He pointed out. Why was he imagining a Mari with these scars?
 
 "Huh? Oh..." Mari pulled her arms back. "Sorry, I guess... those are still hard to look at, huh?" Her hands flew to her neck "Ah, I don't..! Have anything here, do I?"
 
 "No." Sunny felt his mind dull again, no matter where the scars came from in his sick little mind, it seemed this Mari had some knowledge or instinct that she had been hanged. How much longer would this farce go on before it became a nightmare? Or this Mari became the shadowy Something and turned the bright and cheerful day into something dark? A day of this? Two days? A large part of him wanted to get it over with. Whatever comfort he found here would be the same as in Basil's Meadow, looking beautiful but in truth...
 
 Mari was still looking at her wrists with a bit of despair before shaking her head and scooching herself back to her brother's side.
 
 "I'm at least glad you're here, little brother. But really, what happened to your eye? And you're so much taller? Do you get older in the afterlife?"
 
 "...Fight. With Basil." He lightly touched the bandages.
 
 "Huh? How? Basil was still alive when I left, and you had your eye when you... When I found you." Mari assumed a thoughtful pose, looking Sunny up and down. "Sunny... How did you die?"
 
 He swallowed hard, it felt surreal to say out loud. But this was just in his mind. he could say it. Maybe that was what would move the dream forward.
 
 "I... jumped from the hospital roof today."
 
 "Sunny... You stabbed yourself four years ago, thinking I was dead." Mari's eyes went wide. Sunny couldn't help but be jarred from his stupor, that wasn't what happened at all. The two sat in silence over the ramifications of what just happened.
 
 "Little brother, I think we need to talk."
 
 "...Yeah."
 
 "Ah! First, we need to check something else."
 
 "Huh?"
 
 "If you're here, and I'm here, then who else is here?"
 
 That was a very good question.

 The siblings checked over themselves and through their room. Mari seemed to wear different clothes, a lot of long-sleeve shirts that Sunny didn't recognize. When he asked, though, Mari said they were all what she had last she knew. Sunny's clothes both did and didn't surprise Mari. They were mostly the same, but sized up for him. Finally, Mari went to the bathroom and brought back a first aid kit, which she handed to Sunny, and her picnic basket. When her brother turned his head in a questioning glance, she just gave a tiny smile and said nothing.
 
 The pair had their first hurdle ahead of them. Neither seemed to want to go down the stairs. The time passed as they froze stiffly, neither of them approaching the topmost step away from the safety of the banister.
 
 "It's... a little creepy for you too, huh?"
 
 "..."
 
 "It's... it's okay! It's not as scary as we think! We just... have to take turns! Right..." Mari went to go first, but Sunny held onto her elbow.
 
 "...No."
 
 "But one of us has to..."
 
 "No. Me first." He took a deep breath. If not for him, then for whichever Mari this was. It would be a cold day in Hell before he watched her go down first.
 
 It may be a cold day in wherever they were, but that was beside the point.
 
 The stairway didn't seem to end. it only stretched onward infinitely. Why were these stairs so tall? Each stair seemed to threaten to drop out from under him, or suddenly slant and send him hurtling to the floor below. Just like he deserved, honestly. Here, under Mari's eyes, and she could be the one to-
 
 "Sunny! Just a little more!" Mari's voice cut through the deepening darkness. Suddenly Sunny was only a few steps away from the floor. He let out a sigh.
 
 When he was at the bottom, he looked up to Mari, who was gripping the banister tightly all the way down. Sunny idly noticed that her knee seemed to still be bad, the way she preferred not to rest on it. It was one of the tiny things he found when she had first hurt it during softball. He kept an eye on her until she was all the way down and safe. They both let out perhaps a louder sigh of relief than they had intended.
 
 "All right! Now we'll check on..." Her smile grew sad and distant. "Hero, and Kel. Then Basil, then Aubrey."
 
 "...Okay." Sunny looked off to the side, there was no way he was comfortable meeting with the people who would no doubt hate him the moment they realized what he was.
 
 The pair went through the living room, finding it to be much the same as a few months ago, no sign of packing boxes anywhere. The television was on its stand, the couch was still in place, and a cursory examination found that there was still an Orange Joe stain under an end table. Something they agreed on the origin of, surprisingly enough. Now, nervously, Mari's hand rested on the doorknob. She took a breath, and Sunny drew up alongside her.
 
 Outside was... a bright summer day. A car passed by, those same shoes were hung over the wire, the grass was tended, and it even smelled like the Faraway they all knew. A familiar sound filled the air, Hector was barking next door. Sunny and Mari looked to one another and set off, crossing the treeline between their house and their neighbor's just in time to see and orange blur tumble out of the front door, backwards, rolling head over heels into the grass. It was Kel, looking around in an obvious panic.
 
 "Kel!" Mari called over with a wave. "Is that you?"
 
 He whipped around with an expression Sunny had never seen on the boy before. Sheer terror and bewilderment.
 
 "Y-You too!?"
 
 Sunny and Mari looked to one another, an understanding growing. Enough time for a new voice to enter the scene.
 
 "Kel... Kel, wait! I don't know how you're here but-!" A young man filled the doorway. he had deep bags under his eyes, and messy hair, as well as a blue shirt. His eyes became wide. "M-Mari? Sunny?"
 
 "Hero..." Mari looked of to the side, rubbing her arm. Not the emphatic rush Sunny had been expecting from either. The silence all grew between them.
 
 "Oh. I know. I'm dreaming, right? Like that thing right before death. Yeah, that's it. Just a dream." Kel was murmuring. "Wow, my brain let me see you all again."
 
 "Before death?" Hero paled considerably.
 
 "Yeah. I'm just seeing you all again and- Huh? What is it Sun-?" Kel stopped as the boy approached and knelt at his side. There was something wrong here. "What happened to your eye?"
 
 There it was.
 
 "...I think we all have a lot to talk about." Mari spoke up at long last. "Do either of you... remember... dying?"
 
 Hero's eyes teared over, some few sobs escaped as he looked from Mari, over to Kel and Sunny. The former of which spoke up.
 
 "Huh? Yeah, isn't this why I'm seeing you all?"
 
 "The thing is... Sunny and I also remember d- that." She shifted the picnic basket. "I want to get to Aubrey and Basil. I think we all need to talk."
 
 "Y-Yeah..." Hero agreed at last.
 
 "Alright. I'll um... I'll go." Kel dusted himself off, looking at the somber faces all around him. "I don't know what's going on, but I want to."
 
 "The cemetery." Mari said. "I need to know what's there."
 
 "The cemetery... I don't know if I can..." Kel rubbed the back of his head before looking at the others. "Alright."
 
 Hero tried to smooth out his hair, to little effect.
 
 "Let's see... Should we split up? We can get Aubrey and Basil and meet at the... Church."
 
 "I'll get Basil." Kel's offer came a little too quickly.
 
 "I'll go with you, Kel." Hero cautiously put a hand on his brother's shoulder.
 
 "Sunny, will you come with me to see Aubrey then?" Mari was answered by a nod from her brother.
 
 They promised to reunite at the cemetery.
 
 ---
 
 "Bro, what's up? You keep looking at me."
 
 "Just... Can't believe I get to see you again."
 
 "I'll be honest... I didn't expect to see you either."
 
 The two of them had found their way to the front door of a small house. The lawn was littered with plants of all kinds, as it always was. Neither brother seemed to have an easy time knocking though, instead trading nervous looks back and forth.
 
 "So... What do you think we'll find?" Hero started.
 
 "I couldn't guess. I'm treating this as a big dream and it's working out so far." Kel set himself and raised a hand to the door before beginning his usual, polite manner of knocking loud enough to wake anyone inside.
 
 No answer.
 
 "Maybe Basil isn't with us..."
 
 "...I'm going around back." Kel did exactly as promised, starting to loop the house.
 
 "Kel! Wait! What are you doing?"
 
 "There's a window back here. I'm gonna break in."
 
 "That's... illegal."
 
 "But this is the only way! Look, Basil's window. I'm just going to knock." Then he added under his breath, "And then break in if that doesn't work." He began to rap his knuckles on it.
 
 No answer.
 
 He knocked again, only harder.

 "G-GO AWAY!!"
 
 The brothers looked to one another, they seemed to wordlessly agree that this was an entirely new sound from their friend.

 "Basil!! Can you hear me? It's Hero!"
 
 "YOU CAN'T BE HERE!!"
 
 "Please, come to the window!"
 
 "NO!! YOU'RE NOT REAL!!"
 
 Hero looked thoroughly exasperated unsure of where to go from here. Where he was lost though, Kel marched forward and rapped on the window once more.
 
 "Basil, we just want to see if you're okay! And ask you a question!"
 
 Silence.
 
 "Do you... Remember dying?" Kel ran a hand through his hair. "I do... And so does Hero. We wanted to check on you next and like... Make sure you're okay or something."
 
 Blonde hair preceded blue, tear-stained eyes. They also had deep bags under them, and his expression was filled with fear.
 
 "D-dying..?"
 
 "Yeah."
 
 "W-why do you... know that?"
 
 Hero took the opportunity to speak up to the newly calm, or shell-shocked, Basil.
 
 "We're not sure. So far Mari, Kel, Sunny, and I are all going to meet and talk at the cemetery."
 
 "Did you say Sunny!?"
 
 "Uh... Yeah. He's going to be there."
 
 "... Does he also remember, um?"
 
 "Yeah."
 
 "... Alright. I'll come around."
 
 "Thank you, Basil." Hero gave him the best smile he seemed to be capable of.
 
 "Alright! Let's go!"
 
 "Kel..." Hero didn't have enough in him to chide the first sign of cheer from his brother.
 
 ---
 
 She was certain she had died. Then why was she here? In this heap of garbage?
 
 Perhaps it was fitting. She had made her exit, thrown herself out. Where else was garbage supposed to go? Yes, it was fitting. She'd spend the rest of eternity here at the top of the heap. She began to wonder if more and more would be piled on until she couldn't move, and spend the afterlife like that instead.
 
 Tears blurred her vision. That was going to be it.
 
 No less than she deserved.
 
 There was rustling downstairs.
 
 "Uh, shouldn't we have knocked first? Oh, excuse me, are you Aubrey's mom?"
 
 What was that voice?
 
 "Don't."
 
 Another voice. This one made her blood run cold. It was too familiar. Why was he here, when he was..?
 
 "Is she... Okay?"
 
 "No. Attic, go."
 
 No, no, no, no! It's not possible, why would the afterlife give her this? Was it some tormented thing, like she began to see in the dark and rustling through the trash?
 
 The attic door opened. Her mind screamed to run and shut the door, but her body wouldn't listen. A head topped with short, black hair popped up.
 
 Sunny. Why was there a bandage around his eye? Words rose in her throat, but died when he helped up someone behind him.
 
 "Thanks, little brother! Oh, Aubrey! Are you okay?"
 
 Mari. It was Mari.
 
 "...How?"
 
 "Oh, your hair is still really pink! Wow... That's not like I remember at all. What about you, Sunny?"
 
 A nod yes.
 
 Aubrey sat in her bed, staring at the two ghosts in front of her. The same, but different. It felt like her brain had stopped working, none of the questions she wanted to ask had any words to them.
 
 "Aubrey. Are you okay here? Sunny and I want to talk to you, but maybe afterwards we should talk about getting you a room somewhere else."
 
 "W-why? H-how are you two here? I thought we would... well I mean Sunny shouldn't..! I mean!!"
 
 The siblings looked to one another.
 
 "Do... You also remember dying?"
 
 "Y-yeah.. I'm sorry, Mari. A-and S-Sunny, I'm s-so..!" The tears came back all at once. Mari drew her friend into a hug.
 
 "We have a lot to talk about. It's not just us three who have those memories."
 
 "What do you mean?" Aubrey wiped at one eye, fussing with the teal contact after.
 
 Mari held up her picnic basket. 
 
 "Let's go and talk."
 
 ---

 The six of them all sat on the picnic blanket they had set up in the cemetery. It was aside an empty plot they all looked over nervously. None of them seemed to want to broach the topic at hand. The fact that they all remembered a gravestone being here.
 
 "Um..." Mari started, rubbing her arms nervously. "I don't know if... You want to hear it but... Should I go first?"
 
 The others all looked on, seemingly unsure.
 
 "I..." She halted, biting on a curled finger. Hero drew a little nearer and made to hold out his hand in comfort, but couldn't seem to quite bridge the gap.
 
 "I jumped in front of a train." Kel said, to everyone's shocked faces. "What? We're all dead here, aren't we? But... Aubrey looks really different. The last time I saw her I was helping her break out of her house and I tried to catch her... From the second window. That was four years ago." Silence. Kel continued. "I'm... so sorry, Aubrey. I'm just a moron, every time I try to help people, I screw up."

 Aubrey was looking off to the side.
 
 "I... I don't know if you have to apologize to me, that's not what I remember at all. Four years ago, Mari died and everyone split up. I felt so alone, and when I finally did get into contact, I found that Basil had... blacked out all of the photos in our album!"
 
 Everyone looked to the panicking flower boy. Except for Sunny.
 
 "Kel and Sunny came to me about the album and I was so frustrated, I pushed Basil away and... I didn't mean to push so hard! He -!" She sniffled. "He fell into the lake and Sunny dove in after!" She drew her knees up to her chest. "Kel came up with Basil, but Sunny... you... drowned. It's all my fault..." She wiped her eyes and glared. "I took pills and just... went to sleep shortly after."

 "So..." Hero started. "In your memories, Basil did something like that? It doesn't sound like him at all. What do you remember?"
 
 "I... Um! I- I just... Um..!" He seemed beside himself, glancing to Sunny and back, scratching at his hands.
 
 "In my memory, Basil was trying to save the album." Mari broke the tension, doing her best to look resolute. "Four years ago, Sunny... Pushed me away during a fight we were having. I was shouting at him for... well probably a lot more than he deserved. Probably too much. I lived, but when I came to, Sunny had killed himself. Years later I found Basil trying to give his album to Aubrey so his parents wouldn't find it. I tried to help, but when everything was said and done, I realized that she was right, I was just hurting everyone and being selfish. So I hanged myself in secret."
 
 Basil went white as a sheet and Sunny held a hand to his mouth.
 
 "Mari..." Hero started.
  
 "Wait, she?" Kel interjected.
 
 She nodded. "Yeah, I say she but it's just me, or like, a piece of me that could be perfect."
 
 "That's so weird. I had that same thing at the end."
 
 "Me too." Aubrey raised her hand.
 
 Hero ran a hand through his hair. "...The same. It felt like I was fighting or something, but in the end he was right." He gathered himself. "In my memories, Kel was the one who died four years ago. I ended up working myself to death trying to forget about it. I mean literally, I didn't sleep or eat or anything, it was all my fault. If I had been a little faster, if I knew more first aid, I could have saved him or something."
 
 The four looked to Basil and Sunny. They all seemed to expect the more talkative Basil to go first, and were reasonably surprised when it was Sunny's small voice that broke in.
 
 "I... killed Mari. We fought. I pushed her away."
 
 "But Sunny, I wasn't dead."
 
 "You were. You wouldn't wake up. You wouldn't breathe. We tried to hide it. In my world I did all those things. Killing Mari, blacking out the photos."
 
 Basil stood up.
 
 "No! No that was just... Something behind you! Wasn't it Sunny? You'd never do those things!"
 
 "You said that to me... When we fought."
 
 "Fought!?"
 
 "Yeah. That's why my eye... Your shears. Then I leapt from the hospital. Just... Tired. I wanted to sleep."
 
 Basil sank to his knees, tears in his eyes but otherwise silent.
 
 "Ah... It's not... your fault Basil. You tried to help me in my last dream."
 
 "I... wouldn't hurt Sunny, right? With my shears, I... No, it wasn't you, it was me. I used them on myself, after my grandma died, after you... left."
 
 Silence slowly fell. It seemed like they all wanted to say something more, shift closer to one another, but none could manage it for the longest time. Until Mari scratched at her wrist and shook herself, moving in to gather them all with one another.
 
 "I don't know what's happening, but we're all together for now." Mari started.
 
 "Yeah... for how long, though?" Aubrey rubbed at her arm.
 
 "I don't know..." Hero said before looking to Mari, then emulated her and helping to bring the others into a group hug. "But we'll find out. Together, this time."
 
 Sunny, dragged into the hug, could feel it.
 
 It was different from the one in his backyard...

Notes:

Ah, welcome to the newest result of my brainrot, a serial.

I'm kind of spoiled when it comes to writing, I write out the entire story and then post it piecemeal for reading ease. This lets me go back and change things or tweak a few words, and it's now led to a conversation with my friend who pushed me to learn the limits of having a series. To get used to not having the entire work beforehand and having to deal with what was written before.

How about a fact down here in my ramblings? This whole idea came from that one artwork from OMOCAT, the promotional one for the merch. It filled me with an embarrassing amount of glee to see everyone together, but as I looked at it I sort of began to catch onto a few things that started to give me... Ideas. Mari's a bit older and has violet in her hair, but Aubrey's is entirely pink. Also, there are marks on her wrist that are almost definitely shadow lines, but I wondered what kind of story it told if they, well, weren't. Sunny's right eye is covered by Basil, and I started to imagine that it might not be there at all. This is the way this AU came to be, one where they've all come from their own AU's bad ending. Because of that, you may find that I've brought back a few details from the other OMORI AU's I've written. I hope you'll forgive me, but recycling is a concept, I guess. Of course, you don't need to backread those, all will be made clear as more chapters are added!

I'm about to write for longer than my own chapter, pardon me.

Chapter 2: SUNNY and KEL

"So... Now what do we do?" Kel was running a hand through his hair. A habit he shared with his brother, Sunny noticed.
 
 "I guess we should figure out, well, where we are? I don't know how to phrase it, it's too weird for me." Mari was putting the few scant snacks back into her basket. Hero seemed to catch on the fastest.
 
 "Oh, like... Who's Faraway we're in? Or if we're even in one?"
 
 "Yeah. I wonder if our parents are here. And what they remember."
 
 Aubrey raised her hand.
 
 "Well that woman is here. So I'm guessing that your guys' parents have to be here somewhere." She tugged at her hairband once or twice, apparently deep in thought. A thought that was broken by Kel.
  
 "I guess Sally would be here too, then. Maybe Mom and Dad took her out to the park?"
 
 "Sally?" Hero broke in, clearly confused.
 
 "Our... Baby sister, bro."
 
 "We don't have a baby sister. Wait, this is another... thing, isn't it? Do you guys know about a 'Sally'?" Sunny and Mari nodded yes, while Basil gave a nervous, apologetic look. Aubrey shook her head.
 
 "I didn't talk to any of you guys for nearly four years after you all... Well, I guess it's not you guys, exactly. But if you had a baby sister, I never heard about it."
 
 "That's... So weird. A little sister." The young man went silent, finger curled under his lip. The small crowd joined him, except for the sound of the picnic basket closing.
 
 "So, let's split up into twos and go investigate." Mari began, brushing some hair away from her eye. "We can check the park, and maybe our homes, in case our parents are back. Then..." She glanced over to Aubrey. "Why don't we all spend the night together? I think we've all been through a lot today."
 
 Hero chimed in here.
 
 "Maybe we should buy food, then. Kel, if I gave you some money, could you get some things from Othermart?"
 
 "I don't think you want me going, bro. I've screwed up getting milk before, remember?" Kel was biting his cheek.
 
 Sunny's thoughts perked up at the statement, leaving whatever Hero was saying behind. It wasn't like Kel in the slightest. He remembered a boy who would confidently remember winning at card games he clearly lost. The same boy who could match even the mighty Plu- 
 
 Ah. No, that wasn't quite him, was it? Not totally. But what Kel was... He was a boy who worked the hardest to break through to him, who happily skipped through Faraway and introduced him to one friend after another. Also the boy who had stepped in for Basil's sake, and even taken every hit for Sunny in their few fights. Seeing him like this... It felt more and more like that same feeling as when they had just hugged. Something in his heart twinged, something he couldn't name.
 
 He was standing alongside Kel now, memories of their first time together in four years came back.
 
 "Huh? Sunny?" The taller boy asked.
 
 "I'll go with. What's needed?"
 
 "Oh!" Mari perked up. "Thank you, can you two have a look around Othermart? And also get some ground beef for hamburgers?"
 
 Existential crisis and hamburgers, got it. He nodded, then tapped Kel's arm to have him follow, all to end up with Basil calling out.
 
 "Um! I can..! Go with!"
 
 Complication. Memories of having his own eye dug out began to replay, tightening his chest and collapsing his breathing. He wanted to say yes, but...
 
 "We'll be right back." Kel said.
 
 "I'll take you, Basil." Aubrey called. "I had a thought, and I just... Wanna go with you. Is that alright?"
 
 "H-huh? Oh... Yeah." The poor boy shook ferociously.
 
 "We'll meet over at Mari and Sunny's soon, alright?" She seemed to notice, because she softly put her hand on his shoulder, slowing the shivering shakes.
 
 "Okay." He held in a sniffle.
 
 "Then Hero and I will go look for any of our parents. Meet up back at my house by sunset?" Mari stood over by the young man as she spoke.
 
 Nods all around.
 
 "Alright then, let's go!"
 
 For some reason, Sunny felt like he recognized the smile on her face from somewhere.
 
 What was his head trying to tell him?
 
 ---
 
 "Hey! Hero! Wow, you're back early! Thought you kids wouldn't be in town for another day!" The voice came from a boisterous man as Hero, Kel, Mari, and Sunny all crossed by the park. He was by a grill, and a woman with her hair in a loose bun was nearby, watching over a toddler who was boldly crawling off the blue picnic blanket.
 
 "O-oh! Hi, Dad." He eyed the child before turning to Kel, who nodded wordlessly. "Yeah, I guess we are a bit... early?" The questioning tone seemed lost on his father.
 
 "Well, I'm sure your mom here loves the news. She's so happy when her boys spend time with her. The rest of you too, hello kids!"
 
 They waved sheepishly before Mari pushed things along.
 
 "We'll stick around here, can you two go on?"
 
 "Yes." Sunny confirmed, and the four split into two pairs. Sunny and Kel continued down the road, now seeing the fountain and parking lot of the strip mall. This was one of the first places Sunny had seen after he had gone back outside after four years. Also the place where he had gone to get a cookbook for Hero. And the cookies as well, just two doors down.
 
 "...Man. That's just weird."
 
 Sunny tilted his head.
 
 "I mean like, my parents being here. How dead am I anyway?"
 
 "...Much as me."
 
 "Hah! I guess so." The two stopped at the fountain, clearly lax in their mission. Sunny noticed a coin on the ground and picked it up, while Kel sat alongside the edge, trailing a hand in the water. Neither of them seemed to be in a rush to shop. "And Aubrey... That hair is wild. I feel like she'd hit me for saying that, though."
 
 "She would. It's important."
 
 "Oh? Oh yeah... Didn't she say something about that? What was it about?"
 
 "She wanted to dye it... With Mari."
 
 "That's right! I remember now, it was raining and we wanted to go to Hobbeez. Or, that's what I think happened, is it the same for you?"
 
 The memory that had replayed on Memory Lane flashed through his mind. He nodded.
  
 "Wow... But. Hm..." His face lost a hint of it's neutral look as it took on a more inquisitive one. "This Aubrey said she died four years ago. Did she keep coloring her hair after?"
 
 "Memory."
 
 "Oh, that makes more sense." He relaxed a bit before repeating, "Wow... So different."

 "Not really."
 
 "Huh? She kind of looks like a delinquent though. I remember her when we were twelve, she always liked all the cutesy, girly, weird stuff."
 
 "She still does. Just under the toughness." He remembered how Aubrey had talked about being abandoned by the others, and how with Hero and Kel they had finally broken through. Also how she kept watch over a bunny in that time. 
 
 "So if I got her one of those weird stuffed vegetables, she'd like it?"
 
 "... Like Mister Plantegg?"
 
 "Oh my god, you remember him too! I can't ever think of her without that thing. She'd take it everywhere, and it made all those weird sounds when you got hit by it." He had a distant smile. "It's hard not to miss her, but she's like, right there. But also like, not? Do you get what I'm saying?"
 
 "Maybe..." Mari was different. His sister, the lines on her arm... He had never seen anything like that from her before. At the same time though, she was every bit the leader she always was in their group. And there was that feeling in his stomach again. Something, something important...
 
 "Well, I guess at least I get to see her again. I know we fought all the time, but it was actually kind of fun."
 
 "...It was for me too." Sunny looked at the coin he had picked up and put it into Kel's hand.
 
 "Really? I thought I always annoyed you guys with it."
 
 "Yeah. I always remember it." He thought he saw just the barest flicker of a real smile, gone as fast as it had come. He then caught his friend looking up at the sky.
 
 "Oh, we should go before it gets too dark."
 
 It couldn't be long past three. Sunny tilted his head.
 
 "Uh... Just in case, you know?"
 
 With that, he flipped the coin into the fountain, and the pair continued to the store. It was much like Sunny remembered from his visits, the bleep of the barcode scanners could be heard as they entered, and the shelves were filled with familiar goods. It seemed that wherever they all ended up, they had the same brands of corn flakes. Also, all of the cashiers seemed to be the same. Something that came to Sunny's attention when Kel asked a question.
 
 "Do you think those twins are here? What were their names again?"
 
 Doughie and Biscuit. No, that wasn't right.
 
 "Daphne... And Bowen..?"
 
 "Yeah! That's it! Wow, your memory is so good Sunny. Yeah them, you don't think they also... Ah, but I guess we can't just ask in the middle of a store. Everyone might turn on us and like, start screeching at us like aliens."
 
 Sunny felt the smallest breath of a laugh escape. Kel. Where did he get these ideas?
 
 "I guess we can try asking some other people, I spent my last few days... Well, I would say helping, but it never really worked out well..."
 
 Sunny nodded, telling Kel he had done much the same, without a word passed.
 
 "Well, I guess we-" They had conversed right to the meat counter. "Oh, One pound of grou- Sunny, was that right?"
 
 He held up two fingers.
 
 "Ah, I even forgot that, huh? Two pounds of ground beef. Uh, please..."
 
 Memories of their visit to get a present replayed in Sunny's mind. Kel had totally forgotten his wallet, but he had walked around and offered commentary on anything that Sunny had pointed out. A video game Hero wouldn't enjoy because it was violent, comics he wouldn't really read, little action figures that would remind him of the time Kel blew his allowance, and then finally a cook book. He wondered if this Kel had done as much in his time. He could kind of imagine it. 

 "Sunny? Daydreaming again?"
 
 "Huh? Yeah. I guess."
 
 "Hah! It's good to see you haven't changed a lot. Do you remember how I had to come remind you that it was pizza day back at school?"
 
 Sunny nodded.
 
 "I think I kind of get it now, though. It's kind of like... better, I gu-" A blur of blue and a mountain of flannel collided with the pair, sprawling everyone out. Now Kel was helping Sunny up, as a tall young man with a beard and a flannel vest scooped a girl with red glasses and a blue hoodie into his arms. The girl's eyes went wide.
 
 "Kel!? Sunny!? What are you two nerds doing here!?"
 
 "Uh... Do I..? Oh, was it..?"
 
 "Not now Smell, we gotta go!" The girl pointed and was carried out at a breakneck pace, candy spilled all over the floor.
 
 "...What was that? Sunny, do you know them? They look familiar but..."
 
 "Kim and Vance."
 
 "Oh right! I think I helped their mom with something once. Or tried to..." He sighed. "Let's just go."
 
 "Wait."
 
 "Huh?"
 
 "They know us."
 
 "So? Oh! Oh you're right! If they know us then we should talk to them!" The pair left the store and looked around the parking lot. Kim and Vance were doubled over next to the fountain, heaving out breaths. Kel began, holding his arm out to shuffle Sunny behind him. Just like before, the smaller boy thought. They overheard the other two talking.
 
 "You said Aubrey wouldn't be back until tomorrow."
 
 "That's what she told me! Maybe those two just came back early?" Kim took notice of them. "Hey! Nerds! What are you doing back so soon?"
 
 "And is Aubrey with you?" Vance asked.
 
 Sunny and Kel exchanged a look. The latter answered.
 
 "Well, Aubrey's here but... What do you mean, 'came back early'?"
 
 Kim seemed thoroughly confused.
 
 "What do you mean, 'what do I mean'? I mean I thought you guys were all going to the beach for a weekend. But now you're back early, and- WOAH! What happened to your eye!?" She was pointing right at Sunny. "Hey are you okay, twerp? Is that why you're back early? You just show me who did that to you and I'll make them a matching set!"
 
 The two boys looked to one another. Sunny hadn't remembered Kim being, well, protective. But maybe she was. After all, the Kim from his memories did come to his house to ask for help with Aubrey.
 
 "No. Just an accident." He answered.
 
 "Aw man, I'm sorry. I know how much you guys were looking forward to it. Hey, it ain't your fault or anything though. I'm sure the rest of you are just happy you're... Well mostly alright."
 
 Those words shot right into his heart, killing any others he may have had. Clearly Kim felt the same way, adjusting her glasses before Vance broke the tension by approaching and taking Sunny's hand. He deposited a single hard candy into it.
 
 "Sorry about it. Tell us the story sometime. Sure it's a wild ride."
 
 "Come on, Vance. Let's go home. Uh, and hey, you two wouldn't tell on us, would you?"
 
 "Uh... No?" Kel said at long last.
 
 "Thanks, you saved lives today." With those words, the two pairs parted, leaving a dumbstruck Kel and a Sunny who was staring intently at the red candy in his hand.

 "So... Um. Did we learn anything? I feel like my brain exploded."
 
 "...Scooter Gang must be together."
 
 "The... Scooter Gang?"
 
 "Yeah. Aubrey's friend group after... We split."
 
 "She hung out with candy thieves? Aubrey!?"
 
 "They're... Not terrible, actually. At first I thought so. Now I don't."
 
 "Man... Hey can you tell me more about them?"
 
 "Well we fought a bit."
 
 "By fighting do you mean like, arguing?"
 
 "You're good at beating people with only a basketball."
 
 "... Tell me more."
 
 The pair began to return toward home, groceries in hand, and stories beginning to weave between them. In particular, the people they met in their three days. A man with a perpetually leaky pipe, a woman who needed medicine fetched for her. There were artists who needed encouragement, and floor lamps that needed buying. All in all, it was very alike in certain ways, even down to the fact that out of all the friends, Sunny had been the one to tag along the most in Faraway.
 
 "Honestly, I feel a bit bad about dragging you everywhere. I thought it would be nice, with Mari at college... but..."
 
 That same memory. So This Kel had also, in a sense...

 "No. I'm sure I was happy."
 
 "Really? Well, maybe one thing right then?" He looked at the other.
 
 "Probably more."
 
 The rest of the way was wordless, they were now drawing nearer to Sunny's house, going inside and through to the kitchen. Sunny was pleased that it wasn't like other times he had come back, to a dark home filled with a red light, and countless, staring shadows. He shook his head clear as Mari poked around the corner. Relief crossed her face for a moment before it became more grim. 
 
 "Hey Kel. Thank you so much. Sunny... Um. In your 'world', did... Dad stick around?"
 
 A head shake no.
 
 "Mine either. Well, I think... He lives with us here in this one? There's a message we should listen to."
 
 Sunny's heart stopped. He begged off from Kel, who waved him along to go to the hall and the family phone. He reached for Mari's hand, and she reached to push the button on the answering machine.
 
 BEEP.

Notes:

Drama! I always figured that Sunny's dad left, not just because of the tragedy itself, but because he felt he lost a son. Therefore, in a world where Mari lived, he would still leave. Not exactly healthy familial behavior but...

So far I've a plan to name every chapter after a pair of the friends, and there's no other way I could start than with your first party in Faraway, Sunny and Kel. Speaking of my perceptions on things, I had this thready idea that it wasn't just that the Hooligans targeted only Kel, but that he was stepping in for Sunny. I mean, you don't usually totally ignore another kid (who had a knife once) who's hitting you, right? Among other reasons, but... Well let's wrap it with my hope that it makes sense.

It's weird to write for an AU Kel, all of my instincts want to write him exactly like the one we all know and love, but he's just not exactly the same either. We'll have to learn more about that as the story goes on.

Chapter 3: BASIL and AUBREY

 Once again he was watching Sunny walk away. It wasn't because..? It couldn't be that he was... afraid of him, was he? That'd just be... That'd be too much! It's not like he would ever actually do that to Sunny! He wouldn't, he wouldn't!
 
 A voice broke through, cleaning the thoughts out of him. It was Aubrey. His heart simply stopped. It was Aubrey, but not like he knew, but also exactly like he knew. She knew that Something had blacked out the photos, but also heard Sunny taking the blame for it.
 
 "I'll take you, Basil." Aubrey called. "I had a thought, and I just... Wanna go with you. Is that alright?"
 
 "H-huh? Oh... Yeah." He shook ferociously.
 
 "We'll meet over at Mari and Sunny's soon, alright?" She seemed to notice, because she softly put her hand on his shoulder, slowing the shivering shakes.
 
 "Okay." He held in a sniffle. The pair waved to the remaining four at the first intersection, and Basil watched Sunny walk away once again. They all had things to do, but there were so many words he felt like saying and just couldn't right now.
 
 "Hey. You okay?" Aubrey tapped him on the shoulder.
  
 "Huh? Y-yeah..."
 
 "You don't really look like it. Even in my world you seemed kind of... Off." She sighed. "I guess I kind of get why now. What Sunny was saying about covering up Mari's death, that was real for you, wasn't it?"
 
 Basil felt the blood drain from his face.
 
 "That..! It's not.. Sunny's fault..."
 
 "Relax. I don't think I have room to yell at you." A sigh. "Kel and Hero must've done the same thing after what I did. I guess I can yell at all three of you for covering for someone who doesn't deserve it, but Sunny..." She paused, then let out a cry that made Basil jump. "AGH!! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO THINK!?" She seethed for a moment longer before shaking herself, hands in hair, and turning back to Basil. "Whatever! Point is that I don't know what to think and we have something to check."
 
 "Um... What's that?"
 
 "Well, there should be a photo album here too, right?"
 
 "O-oh! I guess you're right!"
 
 They were at the flower boy's house now. Basil really didn't want to be here. He had a nightmare of dark tendrils suffocating him at every turn, and something wet running down his chest. Then he woke in the exact same room, but now he was in his bed. He was so sure he had died that night, but now, with everything looking like that day, he thought he had just been sent back to relive it over and over again. His grandmother wasn't there, Polly wasn't there.
 
 Alone.
 
 He was so sure that, when he heard Kel and Hero, that he would see a dark shape staring into him with a single eye. He was sure it would greet him when he opened his bedroom door. A hand on his shoulder again.
 
 "Hey... What's g-going on?" There was a look to Aubrey Basil had seen before, on someone else.
 
 "...You see it too, don't you?" Basil began to shake again. "Something. Something all around, or in the corners and cracks."
 
 "S-stop." Her voice had none of the usual force.
 
 "You do! That's what I mean when I say... Something blacked out all the photos"
 
 "Stop! Sunny just said that he had done it, not 'Something'!"
 
 "Then Something must have made him... I know, I know you see it too." He looked at her as resolutely as anyone. "So we all see Something. Maybe it... Maybe it brought us here!"
 
 "...Fine. You're right, I... do see it. In the water, or rustling through the trash heap of a home. But I've never run away from them either." She put her hand on the doorknob, and with gritted teeth, she threw it open. Shadowy, grasping hands slithering and sliding away from the advance faster than either could blink. It was only Basil's room now, just like it was when he had left it.
 
 "...See? Just ignore the voices, and beat the hell out of..." Her voice faded. Apparently some thought had taken over her.
 
 "Aubrey?"
 
 "Huh? Forget it. Let's get the album."
 
 Basil nodded and led the way, searching his shelf. Cautiously at first, then more and more frantically as he ran out of places to check. Aubrey added to that, looking through his nightstand and under the bed. There were books on plants, gardening, the language of flowers, and more than a few novels that he remembered recommending to Sunny. He would always read through his picks, it felt great to have something to talk about. Among all of those books, however, the most important one was missing.
 
 "It's not here." He flipped through a few more books. "It's not here! Oh, n-now what? Where is it!?"
 
 "How should I know?" Aubrey finished her investigation, dangling a pair of garden shears from pinched fingers. She moved them from nightstand to plant-filled shelf.
 
 "Maybe... You..? Or, not you but... Um..."
 
 "Just spit it out Basil. It's fine, I probably deserve it."
 
 That shut him up. Aubrey had taken the album, the only thing he had left of them all. She had started calling him a creep, and a weirdo, and the Hooligans had all joined on to that. Honestly, he should be furious right now. He should be angry with her. The album was missing here too, it's fully likely that Aubrey, or "this world's Aubrey", had taken it. Instead, he just felt an all-too familiar sensation. He was afraid.
 
 Aubrey shouldn't be inviting him to do this. All of the words he thought he was keeping deep down inside turned out to be nonexistent.
 
 "...No. I should... I'm sorry."
 
 "Why are you apologizing to me? Did I not push you into the lake and nearly kill you? Did your Aubrey not bully you or something?"
 
 "No, I... I mean..!"
 
 "Then what happened to you?"
 
 "Well... All those things but..." He began to feel his heart race.
 
 "Then just say it! I've made your life hell! I probably... What you did..! It's all my-!"
 
 "No!" Basil shouted. The room went still. "I... still remember your voice on, um, on that night."
 
 "What..?"
 
 The feeling was growing, he could swear he could feel the room turn darker, he could swear that he saw dark hands inching towards Aubrey. They were threatening to strangle the life out of her even as he looked on, but they stopped when he made his declaration. He had to continue.
 
 "It's... I was so alone, Something was everywhere, but even though I heard you all, I still... Sunny had gone away, so did Grandma. I don't think you deserve to..."
 
 "I killed him though. I split you two up, and..."
 
 "It was... It was just Something that dragged us down. That same Something that put us all here! We... we need to stay together against it."
 
 "Do... you really think that Something is keeping us here?"
 
 "W-well, how else do we explain what's happening?"
 
 Aubrey was silent. The hands were still all around her. Then, with a sharp exhale, they receded. 

 "I need to get someone important out of my room, then we can go tell the others what happened here. I don't..." She stood and put her hand on Basil's shoulder again. "Look I.... Thanks. I'm sorry."
 
 "Well I mean... We need each other, r-right? I... We. We both lost Sunny."
 
 "... You know that's the most sane thing you've said in three days."

 "Aubrey, please!" He whined out. The distant shadow of a smile crossed Aubrey's face before she nodded in the direction of the front door.
 
 "Let's go. I don't want to be there too long."
 
 "O-okay!"
 
 The pair left, the shadows had fully receded from them now, leaving only a sunlit garden.
 
 "Oh, my flowers... Hm, did it storm recently?"
 
 "Huh? Not that I remember, why?"
 
 "I don't remember that either, but it looks like all of my preparations are out, and the soil is wet, oh! And it looks like my gladiolus flowers were properly covered! Wow... They're strong and everything but-"
 
 "Pft..." Aubrey was holding in a laugh.
 
 "W-what?"
 
 "It's just... Never thought I'd see you smile and geek out over your flowers again. That's how we first met, anyway. Remember?"
 
 "Oh yeah... I was just planting daisies when you came by. We talked about flowers for hours." The memory of a younger girl with a pink ribbon and long black hair began to replay. She had just been passing by his house, right after his parents had left on yet another business trip. They had been doing it more and more as he got older. Even after they promised. So instead he was digging the garden they were all going to start together, all on his own. When she saw him though, she rushed over, asking what he was doing all alone and playing in the dirt.
 
 "Well yeah, I couldn't just leave you like that."
 
 "Even though I was a stranger?"
 
 "Well, some people did the same thing for me too." There it was, Aubrey's real smile, but gone as fast as it appeared. "I just... get it." 
 
 Basil could tell that she was talking about more than just their lonely beginnings, and was suddenly lost for words.
 
 "...Come on. You're ready for my house, right? Got gloves or something?"
 
 "Oh, one moment." He walked away and back in less than a minute, thick gardening gloves on his hands. "What do you need, Aubrey?"
 
 "I'll show you." With that, they spared another look to the garden before walking down the street. Basil recounted his younger self's surprise that the girl with the ribbon lived just across the street, and always came by. Basil had only seen her home once. He had just seen his first tulip bloom, and wanted to show his friend. What he found was Aubrey's door slightly open, and made the mistake of drawing near.
 
 Her parents were yelling at one another. Louder than he even thought was possible. Then her father had started hitting her mother and...
 
 Basil didn't know exactly what to expect in here, he just knew it would be a hard place for her to be. And a "trash heap".
 
 That is exactly what he got when the door opened, and the raw stench of garbage blew out the door.  Aubrey walked in like it didn't smell like death come to life, and Basil followed at some skittish distance, noticing who he thought might be her mother, but... She looked different. Warped.
 
 Aubrey's hand on his shoulder gave him a fright, and he was pulled into the equally disgusting hall, and brought up a ladder.
 
 "A-Aubrey you've been..? Are you okay?"
 
 "...I don't think I was before Sunny and Mari pulled me out of here. I was so surprised that I forgot some things here. If they were really serious about finding me a place to stay then... Can you go check the pen over there?" She pointed and then turned to her dresser and checked her pinboard.
 
 Basil heard some rustling from there, causing him to jump slightly. What was Aubrey keeping in here? Was it..?
 
 A pair of white ears came into view.
 
 "A bunny?"
 
 Aubrey let out an audible sigh of relief. 
 
 "Thank God..." She murmured out. "That's um... Bun-Bun. I started taking care of him this year, after I found him at the secret... spot." Her shoulders tensed.
 
 "Aubrey?"
 
 She closed her drawer a little harshly, bag in hand.

 "Can you take him with us? I got some of his stuff."
 
 "Uh, sure. Here, come on little guy." Basil easily took the rabbit in hand. It was surprisingly calm in his arms.
 
 "Ugh, it really did storm or something." She was emptying a bucket out the window. "What? I can at least empty this before I scram. I got everything, let's get going."
 
 "Alright." Basil bounced the rabbit in his arms in the most gentle way, getting it settled into his right arm. Aubrey opened the trapdoor and her face suddenly paled. Eyes went wide.
 
 "Y-you don't..? Do you see that? Why is it d-dark?"
 
 Darkness, all except a red glow from down the hall.
 
 They swallowed hard and descended the ladder. Rustling surrounded them. Small shadows, each with an eye that was always on them, they wove through the trash like so many rats. The curious glow was coming from the living room. Following it, she stepped out alongside Basil. He saw her eyes settle on her mother, or where she should have been.
 
 A dark, scribble-like shape was on the couch, single eye firmly on the television. The two lightly skirted around it entirely, never taking gaze off of it.
 
 Then Aubrey's foot knocked over a bottle.
 
 The single eye snapped around, fixating on the girl.
 
 "AuBrEy..." It had a choked voice that simply couldn't come from a person.
 
 Basil saw her fists tense, and saw how she took a step forward. She was right, she would definitely step to it and fight, even with the fear in her eyes.
 
 "auBReY..."
 
 She couldn't be allowed to fight that... thing! Basil latched his free arm around Aubrey's. She looked at him, and the few motes of anger she had vanished. She was made to follow his lead, and the two bolted, nearly tumbling out of the door, slamming it behind them.
 
 "W-what the hell..?"
 
 "Y-you saw it too, right?"
 
 "Y-yeah." The two were silent. The sun shone, and birds chirped all around them. No signs of the Something they had seen.
 
 "...Should we tell everyone?" Aubrey eventually said.
 
 "Probably? L-let's hurry to Sunny's."
 
 The two rushed off. The rest of the town was free from shadows and eyes, and a short travel found them back at the front door of Sunny and Mari. Aubrey was the one to knock, and they were greeted by the exhausted but gentle smile of Hero. He really looked like he hadn't slept for a week. But he was standing well enough now. 
 
 "Hey you two. Mari and I are taking stock of the kitchen. Oh, is that a rabbit? My Aubrey had one too! Uh, Bun-Bun, right?"
 
 A surprised nod yes, and the pair were brought into the kitchen, where they saw Mari going through the cabinets. She greeted them both with a smile. A smile Basil didn't entirely buy. Something had happened.
 
 "Hi you two, did you figure anything out?"
 
 "Well, we've got a few things, I guess. How about you?"
 
 "Yeah. Let's talk around dinner an-" The sound of the door opening surprised everyone. "Ah, first though, I need to borrow my little brother. I'll tell you guys in a second, okay?"
 
 With that she popped her head around the corner.
 
 With that the two began settling in to the kitchen, offering help Hero. Between Basil and Aubrey, a wordless question passed. "Had they seen it too?"

Notes:

What? You didn't think the big reveal of the phone call would be revealed before we see what happened with Aubrey and Basil, did you?

Also our first real glimpse of Something. I have so much I want to say on the topic of Something in general, but if I do I'm going to end up with a thesis paper...

Out of all the people who could possibly understand (and deal with) Basil's crippling fear of being left alone, I'd guess it would be this Aubrey. Overall I feel like she has a very direct way of dealing with things that usually ends in fighting, whether it actually helps or not, and this would end up applying to even Something. She's always been very direct and honest with her feelings, I don't think she'd be the type to hide doors or refuse to go places, like in-game Sunny.

Chapter 4: HERO and MARI

 Of all the people he had expected to meet here in the...
 
 Was it an afterlife? It was as good as, at any rate.
 
 Of all the people he had expected to meet here in the afterlife, his friends were the last that he had expected. And now he had a baby sister? His parents had never really been the same after Kel's death, the didn't seem to want to have another child after what happened to their second son.
 
  "So, let's split up into twos and go investigate." Mari began, brushing some hair away from her eye. "We can check the park, and maybe our homes, in case our parents are back. Then..." She glanced over to Aubrey. "Why don't we all spend the night together? I think we've all been through a lot today."
 
 Hero snapped from his thoughts.
 
 "Maybe we should buy food, then. Kel, if I gave you some money, could you get some things from Othermart?"
 
 "I don't think you want me going, bro. I've screwed up getting milk before, remember?" Kel was biting his cheek.

 "I'd trust you to do anything." He practically blurted out the words. He had seen that face, that quiet resignation one other time in his life. It would be the last time he had seen his own haggard face.
 
 "I mean... If you're sure. Don't be too surprised when it all goes wrong, though." He looked to his left, Sunny was right alongside him. "Huh? Sunny?"
 
 "I'll go with. What's needed?" 
 
 Even this Sunny was always along with Kel. He knew that the two little brothers often snuck out to go to Hobbeez and various other small adventures. Of course he knew, but he pretended not to notice, because it seemed to make them both happy. Maybe Sunny would be the better pick to help this Kel...
 
 ---
 
 Another complication arose as they approached the park. His parents. His parents who looked a lot healthier, and smiled so much. A baby toddled around the carpet. All at once, familiar and strange.
 
 "Hey! Hero! Wow, you're back early! Thought you kids wouldn't be in town for another day!" His father's voice beckoned Hero, Kel, Mari, and Sunny as they all crossed by the park. He was by a grill, and his mother, with her hair in a loose bun was nearby, was watching over the young girl.
 
 "O-oh! Hi, Dad." He eyed the child before turning to Kel, who wordlessly confirmed his question. "Yeah, I guess we are a bit... early?" The questioning tone seemed lost on his father.
 
 "Well, I'm sure your mom here loves the news. She's so happy when her boys spend time with her. The rest of you too, hello kids!"
 
 They waved sheepishly before Mari pushed things along.
 
 "We'll stick around here, can you two go on?"
 
 "Yes." Sunny confirmed, and the four split into two pairs. Now he was with Mari.
 
 A short walk around the fence and he was with his parents, and baby sister, and Mari at his side. Too unreal for him, he felt like he was dreaming.
 
 "Oh dear, is Sunny alright?" His mother started. "I saw the bandage around his head. Did he take a tumble? Were he and Kel roughhousing?"
 
 "Huh? No, it's not Kel's fault, why would you think that?" He noticed his voice waver a bit. Mari must have noticed too, because she drew a little nearer.
 
 "Sunny um... Lost his eye." She gave Hero a look, one he understood, even after nearly four years apart. It was saying, we'll have to tell them eventually.
 
 "Oh my God! What happened!? I knew I should have kept you boys behind! Was it a fight?"
 
 "Mom, please..."
 
 "He's already been in the... hospital." Mari was itching at one of her wrists.
 
 "Do your parents know? Is it-" Her panic was calmed by a hand from her husband.
 
 "Dear. Hey, it was really big of you kids to come back with him. I'm proud of you. Did you get everything from the beach house on your way back?" Mari and Hero exchanged a look and he continued. "Still got a day? I can lend you my car this time, I've got tomorrow off."
 
 Beach house?
 
 "O-oh, that would be great. Do you um..? Know where to find parking up there?" He saw the small surprise that crossed Mari's face. Hero knew he had never been the best liar. But he had to become a passable truth-twister in order to continue on the insane hours he was now used to working. It didn't feel good to do it right in front of everyone but....
 
 Extenuating circumstances. They had to know where they were "supposed" to be.
 
 "Oh yeah. Want 'em now or when you're about to leave?"
 
 "We'll be going tomorrow. Um... We wanted to stay with Mari and Sunny tonight..."
 
 "I think it would be nice to have everyone be with Sunny." Mari entered the conversation.
 
 Ah, when had they both become so comfortable with lies? Or almost-completely lies.
 
 "Alright, I'll write you some directions." Hero's dad patted him on the shoulder.
 
 "But... Wouldn't you all rather stay with us for the night? Your parents won't be home until tomorrow and, well..."
 
 "They were already set to spend another night away. Let's let them have it. Go on, get whatever you need. Don't worry, I'll do your dishes for a week, hahahahaha!"
 
 "Dear!"
 
 Ah, a playful fight between spouses. Hero remembered when they had been like this, before what had happened. He especially remembers it because of how he and Mari used to fight. No shouting or raised voices, they would just quietly work things out and then there was a quick peck on the lips when they made up. Well, most of the time. There were two times that stuck out in his mind where it wasn't so easy. The first was the day of...
 
 That.
 
 Kel must have been so lonely while Sunny and Mari were holed away and practicing. While Hero was busy with college prep. While Basil and Aubrey began to hang out more. Kel had been alone, no one was with him to pull him back when Hector had run out into the street. Just seeing this older Kel was enough to tear his heart wide open. This was the fine young man he'd been deprived of. So when he called Mari and heard her berating her brother over some stupid note for a song, he had blown up at her. He could barely remember what he had even said, but he did remember breaking down into tears.
 
 The other time was just before he died. She had been talking about how distant he was and that he needed a break, and he had fought bitterly to go back out. He remembered these words all too well.
 
 Just leave me alone already! You don't get it, I have to, no one else will!
 
 What an idiot. He didn't deserve her even half as long as he had her.
 
 "Hero..? Are you okay?"
 
 Ah right, she was here, now. But different. She also knew what it was like to lose her little brother. He hadn't realized that they had started walking further into the park, towards the secret spot.
 
 "Ah, sorry, I was just thinking about... Well I haven't seen my parents smile in a long time."
 
 "Oh... I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking about that. The way I remember it, they were always full of smiles."
 
 "Ah... Kel was alive for you?"
  
 "Yeah, he got me out of my house after four years."
 
 "That sounds like him, he was always that way with the others. Dragging them from one side of town to the other." He finished reminiscing just as the lake came into view. It was secluded, but it must have been something important at one point, one of the Faraway Statues was here. This one had served as an impromptu diving board in summer. 
 
 He spared a look back at Mari. Sunny had also used it like that, and if she wasn't there...
 
 Speaking of, why were they both here? He voiced the question to Mari.
 
 "I just want to see if anything is different. Ah, I thought Aubrey's friends set up a blue picnic blanket here, but this looks like one of ours." She pointed and sure enough, it was like the few red ones they all shared. She went to stand on the dock, looking into the water. The way the wind caught her hair...
  
 Well, it was still one of her best features.
 
 ...
 
 It had to be asked, didn't it?
 
 "Um, Mari... I..." He had to gather himself. "What are your memories of the past four years like?"
 
 "...Oh." She seemed to catch on quickly to what he was actually asking.
 
 "It's just... We drifted apart in mine, after everything. I don't know if you remember being closer."
 
 "We went our own ways after Sunny..." Now she was sitting on the dock. "I think I may have been really terrible to you. You came over and found me at the base of the stairs, and helped me up. The next thing we found was..."
 
 Hero placed himself alongside her.
 
 "I... asked you to hide the fact that it was a suicide. But, you have to understand, I just didn't want anyone to... Well the others were so young, could you imagine what that would do to them?"
 
 "I can, actually." He let out a sigh. "They all need- No. They really deserve help. I remember in the last three days I helped Sunny get back into playing the violin after you two fought. It's just... when I saw the two of you..." Tears were beginning to mess up his vision. He felt an arm slowly drape over his shoulders. He didn't deserve this. He had a chance at it, and he had thrown it away. He chose to take all those caffeine pills. He had decided to stay late in classes. He had chosen to leave these two behind the exact second he realized that he could have had it all if only he had done anything with Kel that day.
 
 "I know... But our little brothers are here now. I don't know why, or how, but we can protect them now." Her words snapped him from his train of thought.
 
 "Protect them..."
 
 "Right. I just want to keep him safe." Hero thought he heard a sniffle. "It's just like we've always done, right? Oh, like how we would watch over them while we were at the beach! Or when they would all nap on the blanket. Ah, their sleeping faces were so cute!" Her voice was lilting up again with the happier memories in tow. Mari's way of turning things to the bright never failed to work for Hero either, even he had a smile.
 
 They could stay like this for awhile. Ah, the pinwheels were here. It had been a long time, had they been replaced recently? White, pink, orange, blue, purple, and green. Everyone's favorite colors. Well, he was only partially sure in Sunny's case. He seemed to grab the nearest one when they first got them four, nearly five years ago. The thought finally brought back a small scoff of laughter.
 
 "What's got you giggling?" Mari asked.
 
 "Oh um... What's Sunny's favorite color?"
 
 "I don't really know! I guess he wears a lot of black... But his drawings were always really colorful. Forests with giant pinwheels, a whole highway underwater, a little planet you could get to on a ladder. Hehe, Mom and Dad never knew what to make of them, but I loved them as much as he did." Mari suddenly stopped. Something seemed to puzzle her. "Hero... Did your mom and dad... Say 'parents' when they were talking to us?"
 
 "Huh? Yeah, I guess so, why?"
 
 "Like, both of them?"
 
 "Yeah..?"
 
 "... Do you remember my dad being around?"

 "I do, I remember you sneaking out a few times to check on me without him knowing. He was a little scary sometimes."
 
 "I... Haven't seen him in nearly four years."
 
 The air seemed to grow colder. Mari suddenly had that very distant look in her eyes.
 
 He wanted to reach out to her, all of his instincts told him to. But he felt as though his touch would melt her or something, that the world would rip her away if her tried.
 
 Now she was shaking.
 
 He swallowed hard and touched her arm. It was really all he could stand and-
 
 Oh. A hug.
 
 They could stay like this for awhile.
 
 "Sorry, Hero, I kind of did that without thinking. I'm fine now." All at once, it was over as quickly as it began. "Ah, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary here after all. It just looks like we never left..."

 ---
 
 The walk home was uneventful, the houses and trees allowed the pair to pass by silently. The way was perfectly clear, past a barking Hector. Hero took the opportunity to pet him. This one clearly hadn't bolted into the street, as though Something were chasing him.
 
 The thought was enough to give him shivers. The thing that was often stalking him, the thought of some unknowable force that had not just triggered and accident, but maliciously killed his brother.
 
 He shoved the thought back down. It was stupid. It was better just to go to Mari's house and start preparing food and ignore the little shadow in the dog house.
 
 Mari showed him into her house and it was nearly exactly as he always remembered it. Cooking breakfast on Saturdays and watching cartoons with the others, even if he was a little old for Captain Spaceboy. Well, he was supposed to be, but he had cried at the season five finale. This house was even more nostalgic than his own home, if he thought about it. Whether that was from his own memories being marred or the sheer volume of Saturday breakfasts, he couldn't tell, but this was usually a warm, safe place.
 
 "Let's go to the kitchen, I'll be- Oh? A message?" Mari was crossing the living room to the connecting kitchen door, but must have caught on to the red blinking light from the hallway. She detoured and pressed the button.
 
 BEEP.

 "Hi Mari, it's Mommy! I know you're still out at the beach, but I wanted to leave behind a little message. It seems our planning was a li~ittle messed up, and we'll be coming back home the day after you do, instead of two days after. Sorry if- Yes of course I'm apologizing, they may have plans. Well I know it's our house but- Oh your father wants to talk to you, hold on."
 
 There was a shuffle as the phone changed hands, and a gruff voice took over.

 "Mari, make sure your brother does his violin practice. Also no friends over when we get back. It's been a long. day. We want to relax without everyone running around, screaming."
 
 Hero thought he sounded the same as ever. He got angry at things just a little too easily, Hero thought. He still remembered when Kel had told him about one time when their dad thought the remote was lost. The phone shuffled again.

 "Mari, Sunny? We'll see you tomorrow, if you're hearing this when you get back. Oh, and remember to practice you piano!"
 
 Mari was stock-still.
 
 "Mari?"
 
 "Huh? Oh, yeah! Food!" She turned around the corner. Hero stood awhile. Clearly she remembered something he didn't. He went to follow and nearly ran smack into her, she was just in the kitchen, staring. It was hardly dark in here, but he flicked on the light anyway and watched as she jumped, casing him to jump in turn when she collided with him.
 
 "H-Hero! Oh you scared me for a sec, I didn't hear you at all!" She playfully punched him on the arm.
 
 Why did it look like she had seen Something?

 "Come on, I wonder if we have hamburger buns, you're tall, you look up on the shelves!"
 
 ...She seemed to have a better handle on it than he did, if she saw it. She was already better.
 
 There was a knock at the door.
 
 "Let me get that, I'll be right back." Hero crossed over. His earlier unease disappeared completely as he saw Basil and Aubrey, and they even had a small, fluffy friend in tow. It reminded him of those Saturdays, everyone filing into the house. Maybe everything would be okay after all.

Notes:

What even is Sunny's favorite color? He's always represented by white in the game but is that really his favorite? Also he does wear a lot of black... Or is it Omori whose color is white and Sunny's is black? That would be strange if only because of the pinwheels in the secret spot. I really get hung up on the tiniest things sometimes, I feel...

Also we see a bit more about Hero's world in this one. Kel pulls a lot more weight in the world than he realizes, and this Hero is extremely aware of exactly how much he means to everyone. Enough so that without him, he began to take everything onto himself to make things better. Probably too much. Well, definitely too much.

Then there's Sunny and Mari's father. We don't have a whole lot to go on in the game for what he was like, using what bits and pieces we have I think he tends towards angry responses to things, with the entry for the picture of Mari and Hero sleeping on the couch and his response to the accident being to take down the entire tree with an axe. Also the description of the television remote in the memory. Well, we'll be seeing how this will come into play later.

Should I mention now that this thing is tracked out to be about eighteen chapters? One for every possible team of two between our six friends, the prologue, and some mystery chapter pairings. Hm. I wonder who those could be?

Chapter 5: KEL and BASIL

Kel watched Sunny and Mari re-enter the room, a little more forlorn than when they left. Or, at least, that's what he thought. He was probably just being his usual meddling self. He would ask, everyone would get upset and call him out on it, they would be right. So it goes.
 
 "Hey, Kel. Can you bring me the salt?" His brother asked over his shoulder.
 
 "Huh? Yeah sure." He checked to make sure he hadn't gotten the sugar on accident, just like when he was eleven and Hero wanted to make a pot pie. He often asked and trusted Kel with things, who knows why? Maybe his Kel had been smarter, or kinder, or harder-working.
 
 It might just be that he missed his brother a lot. Maybe his Hero, back in his world, was doing the same things right now. The tired look, the constant "everything is okay" smile, all of it. The thought just made him...
 
 Ask if his brother needed anything else.
 
 "Oh, can you get a second pan and set those two patties on it?"
 
 "Got it." 
 
 "Then Basil, can you get some of the toppings out of the fridge?"
 
 The nervous boy flustered and went about his business. He watched him for awhile. Basil had always been a bit skittish, but now he seemed like a nervous wreck. He had been talking about seeing Something. If it was anything like what he had seen... Well it wasn't like he could blame him.
 
 Where were his world's friends when that was happening? Didn't any of them notice something was wrong? It's not like anyone noticed his when he said he was going to the train station...

 He felt a harsh tap on his shoulder.
 
 "Hey. You gonna flip those or what?" Aubrey. Aubrey with pink hair. Still surreal.
 
 "Oh, whoops." He flipped the patties that Mari made over. They were a little darker than Hero's. Maybe he should ask someone who knew this Basil a bit better what had happened. He looked to the boy who was depositing condiments and toppings onto the counter.
 
 Well first, they all had a lot to discuss.
 
 ---
 
 "So..." Mari was looking around the table after everyone was done. "Hero and I found out that Aubrey was right. All of our parents are here, and they remember us."
 
 That reminded Kel of the conversation they had outside Othermart.
 
 "Ah, apparently Aubrey's friends know her too, we ran into... Kim and Vance." A reassuring nod from Sunny bolstered him. "At least, I think they're your friends, do you remember them?"
 
 "Yeah. I do..." She rubbed her arm. "My new friends after we all split up."
 
 "Yeah... They said we were all at the beach. They seemed surprised we were 'back early'." He looked to his side, where a quiet voice added to the thought.
 
 "They were surprised by my eye, too." Sunny was shoving every topping off his burger and pushing it around his plate. He always did that, and Kel couldn't figure out why he put them on in the first place.
 
 "Oh, our parents were too. They said pretty much the same." Hero perked up motioning between himself and Kel before Mari took the lead again.
 
 "So... everyone remembers us, and we went to the beach. How about you two?" She motioned to Basil and Aubrey.

 "Our photo album might be missing. It's not on Basil's shelf." Aubrey started. "I mean, I guess it could be in one of our houses, if it exists at all here." Everyone took the sudden news with an uneasy air. Kel felt a knot in his stomach, those were his best memories with everyone, memories that they all had in common despite their differences. Never seeing it again was more than a little hard to stomach.
 
 "We can look for it after we come back from the beach!" Mari's smile brightened the room. How did she manage that after everything? "I'm sure one of us has it, we wouldn't just lose it." She nodded her own affirmation. "Is there anything else?"

 "Well... Did it storm in any of your worlds?" Aubrey asked after some thought.
 
 "It did for me." Mari said, but she seemed surprised that no one else remembered it.
 
 "Well it seemed to here, I only thought about it because neither Basil or I remember having one. The other thing..." She looked at Basil.
 
 "Um..." The boy started nervously. "Um... Do any of you..? Do any of you see it too?" He was practically shaking in his seat. Everyone's eyes were on him in an instant. "S-Something in the dark... Or b-behind you? Something that follows you everywhere?"
 
 They were all silent. Kel could see, with some kind of surprise, that everyone was making the face he was sure he was making. Well, except for Sunny, but he was always a touch unreadable.
 
 "I-I-I th-think..! Um!" The flower boy was stuttering badly now. Or, was 'flower boy' right? He wasn't wearing one right now, like he usually did.
 
 "If we all saw Something, then it might be why we're all here." Aubrey finished. "I don't know how but... We saw it. In my house. At least, I... I think so."
 
 More silence. Kel knew exactly what they were talking about. It was that day, but for all of them. He still remembers the sound of when the girl's skull hit the pavement. She just... didn't move after that, her face was frozen in a stupefied look, her last message to him. 
 
 Why didn't you catch me? I trusted you!
 
 The lights came on in her house, he heard her father shouting. He ran.
 
 He ran to the secret spot, and that was where he first saw it, in the dark. Eyes all watching him, accusing him. Tendrils reaching for him, warped voices called out and screeched at him. He stayed like that until morning, long after he was sure he was going to be killed by the monsters. He could barely recognize Hero at the end of it all.
 
 He didn't like the dark.
 
 He clutched to something small and soft in his pocket. It... Well it wasn't calming, exactly. It grounded him, that was the word. Enough to realize that no one had spoken in all the time that he had been reminiscing. Well, it probably shouldn't be him right? He was done being a bother.

 His mind brought up what he and Sunny had talked about. He had said that he liked it when Kel came to bother him.
 
 "So the plan is to go to the beach and look for signs of 'Something'? Sounds good to me."
 
 "K-Kel! I don't know if we should..." Basil squeaked out. "What if it's there, or what if..?" He fell silent.
 
 "Then we'll all be together, right?"
 
 Big words, Kel, for someone who abandoned them all at the train station. He thought to himself.
 
 "That's right!" Mari's voice startled him from his thoughts. "So, let's all head to the beach early, we can do it together."
 
 With a voice like that, he could believe it. She was always the best at giving out confidence. Everyone's spirits seemed just a little lighter at the end. The sound of cutlery filled the room once again. Kel was glad that was settled, that they would all be going together, now it was just a matter of waiting until it was time to sleep.
 
 He wondered what was on television right now.
 
 ---
 
 The answer was a movie, four boys were walking on train tracks. Everyone had gathered around to watch until it got dark. Hero and Mari were on the couch with Aubrey, while Kel, Basil, and Sunny were on the floor. It was nice to just watch and comment and not think about what had happened to them all. Almost like everything was normal. Even though they watched tons of movies together, he barely remembered any of them because of how much the six of them would talk. Compared to then, it was a little quieter this time, but that was alright. He could at least do his part to make up for it.
 
 "So, um... Where are we all sleeping?"
 
 "Dibs on the couch." Aubrey answered.
 
 "Aw, I wanted the couch."
 
 "Should have called it first."
 
 "Um... Maybe we can all sleep downstairs tonight?" Mari's suggestion came up as a surprise. It was an agreeable one, it meant they wouldn't be isolated from one another. It would be a little uncomfortable, though. Unless... 
 
 Kel looked to his brother. He finally saw a real smile in turn. Even like this they had the same idea.
 
 "We'll need a lot of blankets." Hero said at long last.
 
 "I'll get ours." Sunny mumbled and looked at the dark hallway.
 
 "I'll give you a hand." Aubrey stood and stretched, slapping him lightly on the shoulder.
 
 "I'll get the ones in the closet." Mari offered.
 
 "Mari, do you remember if the closet light is broken? I remember it that way."
 
 "I'm not sure."
 
 "I'll get a flashlight."
 
 Just like that, Kel was alone with Basil. The last time he had seen the boy, he was happily tending to flowers alongside Sunny. Kel had done his best to help the pair make a small garden of gladiolus flowers, the boys wanted to do something for Aubrey, to remember her by.
 
 Speaking of flowers...
 
 "Hey, didn't you always used to wear a flower in your hair? What happened to it?"
 
 "H-huh? Oh... I guess I... lost it."
 
 "Aw... I always thought it was cool."
 
 "Cool?"
 
 "Yeah, like the whole 'wearing what you like' thing. It's cool." He fluffed up a pillow and began moving odds and ends for the task at hand. "Like all the stuff you know. Like, do you remember when there was a spider in your garden? Hero had a total freakout, and you tried to calm him down by explaining how helpful they are for your plants." He snickered.
 
 "Then Mari put it on his shoulder and he jumped. Oh, I thought he was gonna have a heart attack in my tomato patch." Even he had a smile now. "Kel, do you really... think that way about me?"
 
 "Huh? Yeah, why wouldn't I?" He moved the coat rack to the center of the room. "It's kind of like Aubrey. She always did what she wanted. Ohhhh now I get why you two always got along so well."
 
 "I'm... not as sure about that. But it was nice of you to say, Kel. Um, really."
 
 "You're welcome." He got some books down from the shelf, trying his best to remember where he got them from. "It is weird to see you flower-less though, maybe we should grab you one when we get back." A memory passed in his mind. "Or a whole crown thing, do you still remember how to make one? I think I was goofing off."
 
 "J-just a flower is fine!"
 
 They broke, Kel looked to the sliding glass door. The first day Basil had started wearing flowers was just after Mari taught them to make crowns. Kel had been playing catch with Sunny just outside when the boy had showed up. He had been so nervous for some reason, but when the other two gave their approval, he lightened considerably.
 
 He felt like he could see the ball from that day passing by the glass.
 
 Back and forth.
 
 Back and forth.
 
 ...It was really dark.
 
 Back and... forth. It was slower now.
 
 It was bright white against the night.
 
 It was an eye, and the dark was beginning to creep inside. He reached into his pocket, looking for his precious keepsake, and gave it the softest squeeze he could.
 
 A tap on his shoulder made him jump.
 
 "Y-you too. I knew it..." Basil rubbed his arm sheepishly.
 
 "Uh... Something, right? In the dark?"
 
 A nod yes.
 
 "Man... you all had it too." He looked back, it was gone. "How do you even deal with it?"
 
 "I... didn't, I guess. And it brought me here." He looked to the window and back. "S-sorry about earlier, Kel, I thought that you and Hero were monsters."
 
 "I don't think I can blame you." He sighed and finished his preparations. "But I meant it when I said I wanna stick together. You guys are my best friends. You don't deserve all the awful stuff that happened to you."
 
 "K-Kel...  Ah, you're just like mine. Like deep down, you know?"
 
 "I doubt it, all I can do is try, and I'm not especially good at even that."
 
 "Well, I think it's more like... You care a l-lot. You even got my album back."
 
 "I think that was just a better me, my world was different, remember?"
 
 "Yeah but, I know you would do the same thing if you had to."

 There was a kerfuffle and the other four entered the room, blankets in tow. Kel let the thought sink down into him.
 
 "So what's your plan, Kel?" Mari asked as she teetered under the volume of fluff.
 
 He smiled, sad at first, and then raising up when he looked to Hero. Against everything, they were all in the same room again. All of them. Maybe he was starting to get what Basil meant by being the same.
 
 "I'm gonna show you why my brother and I are the best contractors for blanket forts in the tri-state. Are you ready, bro?"
 
 "I'll follow your lead, foreman." He did a dopey little salute.
 
 It was a stupid skill to have, but he made sure to build big enough for everyone to be together again, safe from the dark outside.

Notes:

A mystery item in Kel's pocket? What could it be?

Some of you may have noticed that the younger four use "world" when talking about their past, while Hero and Mari talk about how the "remember" things. At the risk of pulling the curtain back too far, this detail comes from my amalgam of friends. When I told them about the idea of this story, the elder ones would usually say "like they remember things differently?" and as they got closer to my age, they would say, "so they're from parallel worlds?" I just couldn't get my mind off that, and it wormed its way in. My apologies in advance for ruining any magic I created with my words choice, but I thought it'd make a fun story.

Kel always came across as protective, I assume that the same would happen between Kel and Basil, with how he stood up to everyone for Basil's sake in the last three days. It does make me wonder more what they were like together as children, though.

Chapter 6: SUNNY and OMORI

 Sunny had to admit, the brothers did know how to build a blanket fort. Everyone was shuffled together, with just enough space to not overheat the entire tent. It reminded him quite a bit of falling asleep in a pile of his old stuffed animals with Kel and Aubrey. 

 Right now he couldn't fall asleep as easy. He hasn't been able to for awhile now, but especially so tonight.
 
 His father. It's been nearly four years. He hadn't said a single word when he left, he only took his car and was never heard from again.
 
 "So, you remember that too. It was the same for me. Well, except the tree but..."

 Their father, twice he had abandoned the surviving child. What was Sunny supposed to think? It's not like the one from this world had done the same, but he still felt tangled about it. Would this one leave when he found out his children weren't perfect? What were they going to do when they saw him again? What would he even say about his eye? Would he be the cause of another fight because of it? His thoughts began to swirl together.
 
 Mari had drawn him into a hug after they listened to the message together. He had wanted to ask her more about how she felt, but she had just pulled him into the kitchen with a smile before he could even ask. Well, at least she was smiling, she must be better off than he gave her credit for. She was honestly incredible. If he was that strong, would he have broken through at the very end? If he had, would he be here?
 
 He yawned and turned in his bedding, Mari was next to him, breathing steadily. They had an early day tomorrow, he should probably try to sleep soon. He sourly thought of Headspace and the lies it represented. Now he wasn't sure what he would find when he closed his eye. Probably more spots like Black Space, and the dreams about the Truth of that day.
 
 Just like every other night he had spent with the others, he was the last to fall asleep.
 
 ---

 Everything was black shapes, limned in white. He recognized this place. The roof of the hospital. His right side was still blinded, it seemed.
 
 Somehow there was a dinner table on the roof. He chose to investigate that rather than the hole in the fence. Six people sat at the table. On closer inspection though, it turned into twelve. It was hard to tell at first, because six of them were seated in the other six's laps. The latter all had knives in their hearts.
 
 Six monochrome people sat. One had a noose around her neck. She was sitting in the lap of a girl with long black hair. Another was tall, with deep bags under his eyes and blood pouring from where his heart should be. He was seated in the lap of a handsome boy with messy hair. Next to him was a monochrome boy, half of which was smashed and unrecognizable, in the chair of someone in a jersey and a ball at his feet. Another looked to be asleep, face stuck as if in a nightmare and with tear streaks down her cheeks. She was seated with a ribbon-wearing girl. Someone with garden shears plunged into their chest was with a boy with a flower in his hair.
 
 Then...
 
 Ah, the head was smashed to a pulp, at the head of the table. Of course, there was only one remaining person to serve as seat.
  
 He wanted to throw up. He turned and heaved over the railing.
 
 There was a shape down there. Splintered wood.
 
 Look away, look away, look away...
  
 There was a warped face behind him, mouth torn like it had been drilled out of flesh, eyes hollow. Sunny startled, stepped backwards, and then fell.
 
 He remembered this feeling, it sent horrid shivers across his skin, next would be a sickening, terrible cru-
 
 He felt a great wrenching from deep within, and suddenly, everything was white.
 
 Welcome to White Space. You've been l-v-n- h--e -s -o-ng-----------
 
 Sunny's head hurt, he looked all around him. A white room, but with no walls. A white blanket to protect from the cold, white floor. On it was a tissue box, a sketchbook, and a laptop. A wire hung from the ceiling, wherever that was. But the most eye-catching occupant was the monochrome boy who stood in the center of the blanket. He wore a black tank top and socks. His shorts were striped, and his face betrayed no emotion.
 
 "..."
 
 Sunny's heart felt like it would beat out of his chest.
 
 "...What are you doing here? Leave." Omori said.
 
 "You... What?" Sunny was on guard.
 
 "Yes. Leave."
 
 Sunny began to feel a little bolder, Omori didn't seem interested in stabbing him today.
 
 "You're not going to tell me what a terrible person I am? That I should die?"
 
 Omori sighed deeply and then flopped onto the blanket, flipping through his sketchbook from his back.
 
 "When things are like this? Why bother? Too much effort." He clearly felt that Sunny was confused, because he continued. "You've got everything you've ever wanted."
 
 "...What?"
 
 Omori made a disgusted sigh.
 
 "A supernatural mystery just like you always daydream about. All of your friends are here. Mari is here. And they're all as messed up as you. They can't even blame you for what you did. Must be heaven for a freak." He put the sketchbook down. "I have time though."
 
 Sunny kept still.
 
 "Eventually the novelty will wear off. What's going to happen when you investigate and find no answers? What will happen when normal life settles back in and you have to carry on like you're someone you're not?" His smile had slowly become more and more manic, but it suddenly broke, and he was expressionless again. "You all committed suicide. What happens when they can't take it anymore?" He flipped a page. "You'll come running back to me. You always do."
 
 "N-no. I won't... Everyone is here. We... we're together." He said the words, he wanted to believe them this time.
 
 "You're going to ruin it. You already are."
 
 "What do you know?"
 
 "Everything you do." The answer came quickly. The boy was standing again. "Maybe I can help you. Before that happens." He held out his hand.
 
 "Why would you help me?" Sunny took a step back. He felt that whatever help this thing was going to offer him would end up worse than the last time he had given it control.
 
 "You know why. Do I have to say it?" He let his hand drop. A keening noise began to intrude on White Space. "Ah. You know where to find me. If you change your mind." He pointed behind Sunny.
 
 A grey door. Sunny gave another suspicious look just to be met with Omori's neutral one.
 
 The noise was getting louder. He placed his hand on the knob, turned it, and suddenly everything went black.
 
 ---
 
 There was a blanket over him.
 
 There was screaming.
 
 He looked around as everyone jerked from their sleep.
 
 It was Aubrey, she had been screaming, clutching her legs to her chest and tears running down her face.

Notes:

And that's the end of the first day of everyone being back. Of course it wouldn't be complete without another character being along for the ride. I feel a bit bad about making it so short, but neither of these boys talk very much. The epitome of getting to the point, or at least what they want to say.

I promise this started off as a small idea, maybe three to five chapters, but now I think it might end up being my longest story as more and more of it comes together. It's still weird working in serialized fashion, it's this weird blend of either getting way ahead and feeling lazy for not writing when ahead, or panicking over the chapter finished at three in the morning, wondering if it's good enough.

I also want to take this opportunity to talk about comments. I know I don't reply to a whole lot, but I read them all and I really can't express how grateful I am for each and every one. Really, truly, honestly... thank you.

Chapter 7: AUBREY and HERO

 Aubrey skipped down the street. Well, as much of a street as a grassy lane could be. Each blade was a minty green, and had a smell to match. The houses along the sides were all tiny castles and manors.
 
 She wasn't in her normal clothes, instead, she had a cutesy, light-blue dress that matched the headband in her pink hair. This one had ends that were very long, and they stuck up like rabbit ears.

 All around her, the world was in shades of pinks and purples, all passing by on her way to the church. It was a nice, safe place where she often went to talk to Mari when she wasn't in her castle. Lately, Sunny was there too.
 
 Speaking of him, he was standing in front of one of the houses. A creaky, dilapidated old thing all the kids said was haunted. He was just standing and staring, a cape like a prince would wear was fluttering behind him.
 
 "Sunny!" She called out and ran near. "I thought you would be at the church today."
 
 "Huh? No, I'm home with Mari, remember?"
 
 "No... I didn't..." She felt herself pout a bit before a question broke her attitude. "So why are you here, then? This place is no good."
 
 "Hm... Friend is in here."
 
 "Did Basil go in there alone!?" She gasped.
 
 "No. But someone is in there, I know it." He walked inside with no hesitation, startling the girl so badly that she didn't follow right away.
 
 She had to go in. She reached for her bat, and it was there in her hand. A deep breath, and she entered.
 
 Trash was everywhere. This wasn't the fantasy neighborhood she knew. This was her house, exactly as it had been left. The smell was almost unbearable. It was also dark, all except the red glow from the television.
 
 It illuminated an empty couch this time. A sigh of relief. She picked her way through the trash, careful not to touch anything.
 
 "Sunny..?" She whispered as loud as she dared. Silence. Then all at once, a ferocious rustling, shapes slithered out of the wreckage of a house and crept towards her. She swung her bat down at each in turn. They splattered all over the floor, she could feel their tiny bones breaking. Grotesque, but she could handle it, especially to get back to her friend. Her friend who was nowhere in sight. He must be further in. She turned into the hall, then swatted at a hand. It was sliding from under the bathroom door. She swung again. She wasn't afraid, she wasn't! Again sickening, snapping sounds filled the air.
 
 She went up to the attic, the ladder seemed too tall. Perhaps it was because here, she was shorter. Like the very first time she had found she could run up to the attic, away from the shouting, and the sounds of a belt on skin.
 
 It was dark up here, too dark. Something was wrong.

 There shouldn't be rustling up here. Something was with her, and Sunny was nowhere to be found. Had it..? No, it couldn't-
 
 A flash of a darker black and single white eye flitted from the corner of her eye. Its mouth was too long, and its head turned at a wrong angle. She levied her bat against it.
 
 The thing didn't even try to fight back, she smashed it, again and again until she was sure it was so much pulp, bits of it were scattered all over the floor. Another one down, another that wouldn't bother her any longer.

 She blinked.
 
 The black trails were suddenly red and pink, some vaguely recognizable organs. And the bits of its skin were tufts and patches of white fur, flung all across the floor and stained red in places. Bile rose in her throat, and tears dropped as she realized what she was seeing. Suddenly she was in her normal clothes, her normal look, just like that day. She looked up and saw a girl sitting in her bed. One that looked exactly like her as she did just moments ago, the pastel, pretty colors. The other girl's lips curled into a wicked smile, showing razor-sharp teeth. An accusing smile.
 
 She had just...

 Again...
 
 Again she had-!

 Aubrey jolted upright, someone was screaming. Who was screaming? Where was she? She couldn't see, her vision was blurry.
 
 Something brushed by her, she leapt. Another scream? Whose? What was-?
 
 Oh. It was hers. She was screaming. Faces came into focus. Her friends. They were all looking at her, concern on their faces. Sunny still had his hand partially out, holding it like he had just touched a hot stove, and let it drop. She had torn away from him. She really just couldn't stop hurting him, could she? She looked at the cut on her arm from when she first encountered him in four years. Maybe she was more deserving of that than she had first thought. Really, she had been hurt worse than this, and in turn she had beaten, berated, and then...
 
 Drowned him while she watched, uselessly. She put her hand over the wound. Yes, she deserved it, and maybe more, if she just happened to...
 
 "Aubrey?" Mari's voice wiped that train of thought away. She looked up at her. The girl she had wanted as a big sister from the week they had met. "Aubrey, I'm going to give you a hug. Is that okay?"
 
 Yes, please. She wanted to say, but words weren't coming to her yet. Mari's arms found her all the same, though. 
 
 How awful was she? Everyone here had the same thing and here she was, carrying on like she was twelve.

 Why were they joining in to comfort someone like her?

 ---

 Car rides were calming. Aubrey liked just going places, it was why she worked so hard at getting a bike. With it she could go as far as her feet could take her, but a car was better still, it could take her farther than that. Like the beach they were now on their way to. She knew it wasn't for leisure and honestly she was more scared than not of what she might find. Until then though, there was only the ride, and the sensation of getting farther and farther from home.

 She was seated behind Hero. At first she called shotgun, but when she noticed Mari already had her hand on the door, there was nothing that could be done. Of course she would give it to her. At her side was Basil, listing gently as he nodded off. Beating him to sleep, though, were Kel and Sunny in the back, they had collided with each other at the turnpike and stayed that way since. It seemed everyone was prone to sleeping in the car, even Mari. She was yawning too, but sleeping seemed more than a little perilous, considering how she had woken up.

 "...Hey, Hero?"
 
 "Hm? What is it Aubrey?"
 
 "Have you ever..? Do you know..? Agh..." She bit her tongue, unsure of what to say, exactly.

 "You can ask me whatever you need to. You know that, right?"
 
 "I know, it's just like... I don't have the words." She huffed out a wry laugh. "It always seems that way." She looked at the highway passing by. It was true, maybe if she had just been better with her words, she would have never fought Basil and Sunny.
 
 "Do you mind if I ask you something, then?"
 
 "Huh? Me?"
 
 "Yeah. I just couldn't help but wonder why your hair was pink."
 
 "Oh. Did your Aubrey not dye hers?"
 
 "I only remember you having dark brown hair. We met in the church while you were visiting... um... Yeah."
 
 "Ah." Memories of fighting Kel and Sunny in the middle of church came back to her. "I um, finally dyed mine about a year ago. Do you remember Mari saying she wanted to dye hers purple?"
 
 "Oh yeah... She was on about that from time to time."
 
 "So when we lost her, or I lost her... It's just how I remember her." She kept her eyes out the window, words began to fall from her mouth. "Mari was- ah, I guess that's 'is' now. Mari is so incredible, I remember how much I wanted a big sister like her. I must have annoyed her so much with wanting to do everything together." She looked over to the older girl. Her head was against the window, still. Good, she would probably die of embarrassment if her idol had heard that.
 
 "Yeah, I think I know what you mean." He had on a smile like he was in a distant memory, one that turned the corner of Aubrey's mouth.

 "So, that one day at the beach, our summer together. Did you and Mari kiss?"
 
 A sharp cough and general confused noises followed.
 
 "Wow. I guess that answers my question." It was good Hero was, somewhere, his usual self. If Mari was the big sister she always wanted, Hero was the big brother. Strange family life, if she thought about it, but was anyone she met ever normal?

 "H-How did you think of that?"

 "That one photo Basil took of you two? It looks like it's just after a smooch. I guess he barely missed you? Thought you were all alone together?"
 
 "...Alright, I confess. Mari kissed me before we left."
 
 "Hah! I knew it." A smile finally came back to her. "I think... What I wanted to ask..."
 
 "Oh, there's the exit."

 Cut off again... She should just speak for once in her life.

 "But let's keep talking on the beach, Aubrey. We'll split and look for clues."
 
 Ah. Thanks, Hero.

 ---

 The group was now assembled on the beach. To the left was the main boardwalk, to the right would be beach houses. Hero was standing in front of everyone.

 "Okay, everyone. We have today to figure out what's going on. Dad and... Kim, right? They told us we were staying down here for a few days, so I'm guessing that we rented a house. We should split up into groups, boardwalk and housing, does that sound good?" Nods all around. "Alright. I'll go check the housing office."
 
 "I'll go with." Aubrey added.
 
 "C-can I come too? I really don't... Want to be around large crowds."

 Aubrey caught the look from Hero, she nodded in response. Two groups of three only made sense, and if there was anyone on earth she could talk in front of about these things, it would probably be Basil.

 "We'll go to the boardwalk to look for clues, then." Mari said. "Hey you three, be careful. We still have Something to deal with, so don't go alone!"
 
 "Got it." Aubrey said. She waved to the other three, and began to set off towards the far houses. Clouds were on the edge of the horizon, hopefully they would all get back together before the rain started.

 ---

 "Holy-!" The man at the registration counter immediately seemed to recognize them. Aubrey couldn't tell if that was a good sign or a bad one. She looked to Basil and Hero, wondering if she had the face they had right now.

 "Um... Hi." Hero started.
 
 "I was starting to get worried. Check-out time is soon and- Woah, you all look awful! Did something happen? You must have been out pretty late after the storm, didn't see you at all yesterday."
 
 "Um... Well..." Hero started. "I guess we were. Things got hectic and, well... We don't have our key anymore."
 
 "Hey... You guys alright?"
 
 "Um... Our friend lost his eye and had to go to the hospital, so..."

 "Holy-! Wait, the tall one? Man, I'm sorry." He looked them over again, pity clearly showing in his eyes. "Hey look, I'm not... really supposed to do this but..." He snapped his fingers and scribbled in the book. "Oh dear, will you have a look at this? It says check-out is at twelve as in midnight, not twelve in the noontime. Wow, I always get those confused. My apologies. Sir, you said the key was lost? No problem at all! I just have to hand it to the signer directly." 

 Hero held out his hand and the counterman coughed.

 "Ahem, pardon me, Basil, was it? This is yours."

 "W-what!?" He flustered before eventually holding his hand out, and a key was dropped in. The tag had a number on it, just like the houses. The group of three waved and said their thanks to the man at the counter.

 "Wow Basil, I didn't know you were loaded." Aubrey eventually said.

 "I-I mean, Mom and Dad are important business people. I g-guess I signed it for liability?"

 "Wow." She repeated without thinking of her words. Basil's parents always seemed to be away, but thinking on it, they had the money to hire live-in care, get medicine, buy an endless amount of books, and even have enough to fill out a massive garden. She shook her head back to the task at hand. Currently she was checking the housing numbers. The houses where nearly identical, all colored in creamy yellow. "Oh! There it is, one-forty-three." They drew up together, all eyeing each other. The door seemed like a bank's vault, suddenly.

 "H-hey." Hero started. "Whatever we find in there, we'll be facing it together." Nods answered him. "Okay, Basil. Open it."

 The flower boy did as asked. The key was inserted, and the door swung open.

 The room was... surprisingly normal. The floors were wooden, there was red carpet by a plush sofa. The kitchenette had a few oranges on the counter, several pairs of flip-flops were along a wall. A plant was on the end table.

 "Is that a white egret orchid?" Basil approached slowly.

 "Oh yeah, I see those all over town." Aubrey looked off to the side, sudden realization crept into her mind. "That was you all this time, right?"
 
 "Y-yeah. It's meaning is, 'my thoughts will follow you into your dreams'. That's why I... B-but why is it here? Oh, it's looking a little dry, I'll get some water."

 "Aubrey, let's go upstairs. Can you keep an eye on things here for a second, Basil?"

 "Huh? Sure." He was carefully pouring water.
 
 The stairs were quite long, it felt. It didn't help that it was also dark. They looked to one another and slowly, one step at a time, Hero began to climb, holding a hand back out to Aubrey in an invitation. It sharply reminded her of the time they were all exploring through the forest, and she had been particularly scared to go into a darker part, only for Hero to hold out a hand just like this.

 The stairs were no issue in the face of that. There were four rooms up here. Three were bedrooms, one a bathroom. Taking a deep breath, she went to the largest bedroom.

 A purple bag was alongside a blue bag in here. The bed was a queen-sized affair, and neatly made. Over the back of a desk chair was a neatly-placed pleated skirt. Not thrown over, carefully kept there to avoid becoming wrinkled in a bag. Hero approached and ran a hand on it briefly.

 "Mari..." He took a deep breath and looked through the blue bag. 

 Aubrey, on the other hand, just continued to stare. This was it. They, or some version of them, had all been here.

 "Oh, here's my wallet! I'm glad I left it somewhere." He eyed his identification almost suspiciously. "Hey Aubrey? You can ask me, you know."

 "It... just seems dumb now." In the face of all that was laid out before her, just the swing of a door away, nothing felt even halfway reasonable to say.

 "Then please ask it, I need something that's not... this."

 "... You know, I just..." She gathered her breath, trying to distract herself from looking at the purple bag. "After four years, the second I really see you all again, and it's like you never left. I was just wondering if this is what... Having a sibling was like."

 Hero was looking at a blue Hawaiian shirt, but put it down, assuming a thoughtful look.

 "...It does, I think. I haven't seen Kel for four years. He looks so... So different, but I knew it was him instantly. I admit it took me a little longer with you." He drew up and walked up to Aubrey, placing a hand on her head. "I think that's more the pink than anything else. Wait, are those contacts?"

 "Um... Yeah. I don't... My eye color." He seemed to understand.

 She fell silent, her question was, at least partially, answered. Warmth seemed to touch her heart.

 "...I'll check the other rooms." She didn't want him to see that tears were gathering.

 "Are you okay?"
 
 "Just need a minute. Thanks, Hero."

 "Anytime. Let's meet downstairs in a bit."
 
 "Okay." She left the room, wiping her eyes. Maybe... Maybe she really could have a home somewhere else. Maybe what Mari said wasn't just a lie to make her feel better and it was a real, if distant possibility.

 The next room, the blankets on the bed were made but not as well as the master bed. A green sleeping bag was on the floor. Alongside it was a similarly green messenger bag, embroidered with a sunflower. On the other side was a small pink backpack, and next to that...

 "My bat?" She shuddered a moment before picking it up. It felt exactly like it always had. No, it was lighter, it had no nails in it. Next to where it had laid was a softball. Had they all played together? She put it back down and hesitated before looking to the green bag. It had to be Basil's. He was right downstairs, wouldn't it be rude to..? Well, it also wasn't his too. She knelt and looked into the bag, right at the top, her fingers brushed on a leather cover. She pulled it out.

 The photo album. It was here. Inside would definitely be... Something... It seemed to be getting darker and darker. She should wait and continue her search of the room, through the dressers and the like. In one drawer she found short shorts and light, soft t-shirts, and a few hairpins like flowers. Ah, this must be...

 Did he like these things? She thought of how they might look and decided she may need to play dress-up.

 The other drawer had sun dresses in it, along with a few t-shirts of her own, and even a crop top like the one she wore now. These were... Partially hers, in a sense? She continued through the drawers and found something there. A white letterman jacket. Exactly like the one she wore now, and it was one of a kind. Charlie and Angel embroidered the design on the back, a black cat and a snake.
 
 ...

 What was all of this, anyway? What was this Aubrey's life like? What was she doing out here with her bat? Where was she in all of this, even? What-!?

 What... was that rustling?

 Rustling in the dark...

 Something brushed by her leg, and she lifted her bat.

Notes:

At long last, a chapter from Aubrey's perspective, and even a look into what her Headspace may look like. Another thing I borrowed from a past work. I can't remember where I got the idea for a ribbon that looked like rabbit ears, but the cutesy idea seemed like a nice fit. And then that contrasts really harshly with how she fights in her dreams. I think I already said it in that other piece, but Aubrey actually knows how to fight for real, and probably knows or can imagine what it would be like to hit a thing with her bat.

I originally planned to skip a day of posting after the first arc, but instead, here we are... As a younger girl, Aubrey seems to always call for Hero to fix whatever antic is currently going on, but I always read this as the sort of thing some siblings go through, where the oldest is called on to pick a side. I feel a little bad about leaving Basil downstairs, but we'll see more of him soon. Promise.

The big challenge of writing this chapter is writing out the feelings of these kids. Like, how do you even react to a house full of things that are obviously yours, but also barely feel like it? Another you's things? So of course, the irrefutable proof for Aubrey is her jacket. The fact that she wears it even in the summer kind of lends itself to the idea that it's important. It also took more than a few look-ups to make sure I remembered the design correctly. It's hard to see.

Chapter 8: MARI and KEL

 She wasn't fully asleep in the car ride. She couldn't rest while she was worrying so much about the beach.

 So that meant she heard that this Aubrey was exactly like the one she remembered. The girl idolized her, said she was incredible, remembered a silly little thing like the time she had said she wanted to dye her hair. It brought to mind thoughts of her own last days in Faraway. Her Aubrey was the same, driving hard to study to go to college, all so she could meet her again after four years. So much effort, just to meet again...

 Mari hadn't gone to college. Se hadn't been studying when the girl asked to see her. She hadn't been visiting campus when the others called on her. She hadn't been playing a recital when the last phone call in three years came. She had given up on everything after Sunny died. Aubrey had been working hard for nothing, had all of her pride in a fake that she had created. This one was no different. All of them needed someone perfect.

 ---

 The boardwalk was a busy place. Fitting, considering it was a weekend. Kel was at her right, and at her left was Sunny, her little brother who meant the most to her in the entire world.

 Then why did you torture him for so long over the recital?

 She shook her head clear of the voice. Instead, she was watching over the stands and noting that a few of the target tosses were eyeing them with some degree of fear. Not the kind reserved for dead people walking, but the kind that said "please don't take any more prizes." Kel had been into basketball last she knew, and she was an old hand at softball. She looked sidelong to the taller boy.

 "Hey Kel... in your memories, did you play basketball?"

 "Huh?" The words snapped him around. "Oh yeah, I guess I kinda do. Just at the park, when I need something to do."

 "Kel's good at basketball." Sunny added in monotone.

 "I don't know about 'good'. Just average, you know?"

 "Oh nonsense!" Mari encouraged, just as she caught eyes with a hoop-shooting game. "Let's give it a try! Come on, you really are great."

 The boy had his hand in his pocket, but was now dragged to the stand, where Mari slapped down a dollar. The poor man there put one basketball down and Kel took it. She remembered how Kel and Aubrey had played basketball against one another on their last day together, after they had reunited. Kel was clearly talented, but also holding back considering what had happened just the day before, when the pair fought at the secret spot.

 Thonk. The ball hit the rim and bounced away. Kel turned and shrugged. This... his form was almost perfect, he just wasn't looking up at the hoop. He wasn't even trying to hit it.

 Another dollar.

 "Mari?"

 "Try again! I know you have it in you, I've seen it."

 A sigh, the thunk of a backboard, and then he turned again.

 "I mean, maybe it's just not me, maybe it was just your Kel." He was giving up, this boy who had once tried so very hard, all for the sake of his friends.

 Another dollar.

 "Mari, please, I'm not-"

 "Just one more! I know you can do it with a big, Kel-brand try!" Kel shook his head and took up the ball. He could do it, he just needed to warm up, he just needed a bit more practice! He was right. there. and he just needed to see it!

 "Huh? What is it, Sunny?"

 When had her little brother gotten there? He tugged at the taller one's arm and motioned for him to give him his ear.

 "Remember?" He thrust his arms out like he was throwing and Kel...

 Smiled. The boy dribbled a few times, looked at the hoop, and it arced gracefully. A perfect swish. Sunny had done it. A small plush of a yellow cat exchanged hands, and the smaller boy's eye seemed to glisten slightly with the excitement of the new thing.

 "I... guess I might still know a thing or two." He had his hands folded behind his head as they walked away with their spoils. Mari could only follow silently for awhile, until Kel's voice broke through again. "So what are we looking for?"

 "Oh..." Mari fixed herself up. "Oh um, we're looking for anything that might tell us where we were! I don't quite know what that could be. Maybe something we have to sign up for?" She eyed the horizon, distant clouds were mounting. 

 "Like motorboat rentals?" Kel asked.

 "Oh I've always loved the idea. The wind, the sea spray... It's so cool!" That's right, be cheery for them. At least what she was saying was true this time, she generally liked the idea of going out on a boat. Mostly, at any rate, she had quickly gotten skittish around the water after Sunny's death, and it wasn't until she had to rescue Aubrey from the depths of the Faraway pond that she had gotten a hold on her fears again.

 "Well cool, cause it looks like they have some at the end of the pier." He pointed. Sure enough, there was a sign. A cartoon shark was driving a motorboat. It seemed as good a place to start as any. Along the way, they would see if anyone had words for them. Past the aisles of ringing games and flashing lights, a few smells of food wafted over and Kel begged off for a moment.

 He returned with three pretzels, and gave two of them to the others.

 "Oh? What's this for, Kel?" She smiled.

 Why are you giving this to me after what I did to you?

 "Uh... Thanks, you know?" He looked over to Sunny, who was staring intently at someone who was offering photos, chasing after some few papers that were scattering in the mounting wind. The small boy went to talk to him.

 "Sunny... Isn't as shy, is he?"

 "He's always been kind of like that. He barely says anything but then he goes and helps out random strangers." Kel smiled. "It's kind of like a quieter you. I guess it runs in the family." He took a too-big bite of his pretzel. "Thanks for pushing me at the basketball game. You were right, I could do it."
 
 "Oh I didn't do anything."

 Sunny is the one who helped, I just kept forcing you to do it.

 "You did a lot! Like always. It feels like you're always cleaning up after my messes. I owe you a lot more than a pretzel!"

 "Oh you." She tore a small piece of her pretzel off. She didn't feel like eating in the slightest, but Kel's money would go to waste otherwise. "Your whole family is dangerous, you have enough charm to classify as lethal weapons."

 "Maybe Hero does..."

 "No, I said what I meant."

 Sunny joined back with them, a picture of a dolphin in hand. The others looked at him and then back.

 "Ah. He saw us the day before yesterday. Let's look at the boats."
 
 They nodded. The boats it was. And maybe some pestering at why her little brother had a new photo.

 By the end of the boardwalk, the stands became piers with moored boats. They found themselves at the signage, where a man with an eye patch stood, shouting at several other men in t-shirts emblazoned with sharks. They cautiously drew near.

 "...nd I don't care how long it takes!! Keep!! Lookin'!! Search for islands if you have to!! And another thing, you useless pieces of- IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT'S GOOD!!" His single eye locked on to the other three. He practically raced to their side in the amount of time it took them to look at one another.

 "Can it really be!? Oh thank goodness you kids are alright!!" It felt like he would fall to his knees. "Oh- Oh lad... Oh no... Yer eye... Oh, I'm so sorry, but at least yer alive still, oh thanks, thanks to whoever's listening." He let out a sigh that seemed to have been held in for two days.

 Unease built in Mari's heart. She knew the lie that would give them answers, but...

 You've lied before for stupider things. Why hesitate now? When it's actually needed for someone besides yourself?

 "Um..." She cleared her throat. "Sir? We're okay, we were just coming down here to see if your search found any of our things."

 "Nothin' more than a few pieces of hull and..." He motioned to his subordinates. "Well!? Go get it!" The rushed around and flustered with a nearby crate, eventually bringing out a somewhat weathered device.

 It was an old, instant-developing camera. The lens was cracked, it had clearly seen too much seawater, but it was still unmistakable.

 Basil's old camera. Mari's hand shook lightly as she took it.

 "S-sorry, but that's all we could find in the wreck. After a storm like that... Well, let's just say I still can't believe you kids are still with us. Someone was watchin' out, mark my words!" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, I know you all signed liability and everythin' but... It was a freak storm, and it looks like you paid yer price already. I'd soon as tear it up as anything. Hey, lass? You alright? Look like you've seen a ghost. I guess after a time like that, it's only fair."

 That shook Mari from her trance. Everything was coming together for her now.

 "Thank you. I'll take this, if that's okay."

 "It's yers."

 "D-did we put anything in one of the lockers?" She tried to get her voice under control. "We misplaced... Our key."

 "Yeah lass, let me take you there."

 The followed to a row of lockers. Important for keeping odds and ends safe from a high-speed boat ride. One in particular was fastened with a pink, heart-shaped lock. The old captain took it in hand.

 "Um, I hate to do this to you all so soon after your ordeal, but there's a name on the back of this lock. Can you tell me what it is?"

 "...That's Aubrey's, isn't it?"

 "Aye lass. We'll have to cut it, I'm sorry again."

 "It's fine." She had to hold it together longer. If she bolted now, the other two might not get what they all needed here.

 Clunk! The lock came off, and was handed to Mari, who handed it to Kel.

 "All yers, lass." The captain nodded and backed away a respectful distance, leaving the locker swing open. They all looked at one another, and then gathered around.

 Sunny pulled out a plush cat, nearly identical to the one Kel had just given to him. Its tail was a slightly different shape, however. Kel took out a can of Orange Joe that was half-full. Or half-empty, one of the two. There were two Pet Rocks in there as well. She felt like she knew who these might belong to. Their last summer together, Kel had brought back the strange device from Hobbeez, and gotten Sunny and Basil into it. It was a weird little rock-paper-scissors game, but it was common to see them goofing off with it. Especially Sunny and Kel, they got competitive with one another an awful lot more than she would have thought, considering Sunny's general mellow air.

 That was probably what had gotten her little brother to dive into the lake that one time. Kel and Hero had been jumping and flipping from the statue in the middle of the pond. Kel in particular had been insistent on having a splash competition, and with some reassurance from Hero, they had somehow gotten the boy to the top. Even Mari was surprised.

 She was even more surprised when she saw him flail and fall in.

 Kel in particular had taken the event hard. He had "just happened" to find little snacks and things to give Sunny for a week afterwards. Honestly, Mari had wanted to scold the boy for making her little brother do something so dangerous, but when Kel did something like that it just reminded her that he was more like his brother than he gave himself credit for. In the way that mattered. So she reluctantly let Sunny go back out after the week, ready for him every time he came back with skinned knees or the like.

 "Oh, it's Hector!" Kel said, shaking her from her reverie. She gave the rock to him, while Sunny tugged at her arm and pointed to the other. She gave it to him and he nodded, distant look in his eye.

 The final pair of items came from the locker, now. It was a pair of necklaces. Each was one half of a full moon. One had a blue gem alongside it on the chain, the other had a violet one. Sure enough, they matched perfectly when brought together.

 These were their things. They were all here. These belonged to them.

 Suddenly it was hard to breathe. She felt in her pocket for a familiar shape, one she kept with her, in the clothes she had died in. Something that could help her fight off the encroaching darkness. Something that would fight the riling emotions in her heart. She tried her best not to be stiff as she left. first walking, then beginning to pick up her pace. She had to get off this suffocating tourist trap, she had to...

 A storm. That was the first thought that broke through. A storm came through the area. She remembered one at the end of her first day out, she had just gotten inside, only to start seeing Something had come with her. She hated thunder and lightning, the flashes would illuminate the dark corners where hands made to grab at her. The light caught fangs that snapped at her. Most of all, it illuminated the kitchen she had been so intent on keeping dark. Dark because it's where the sickly, squelching Something was. The red slime, four limbs stuck into it at odd angles, and a single eye, dead center, always looking at her. She needed her weapon to fight it all off, she NEEDED it! It had followed her once again, it had to be in the storm. Her storm...

 "M-Mari!" A voice called out to her. She snapped back into herself a little, noticing she had somehow gotten all the way to the parking lot. Kel and Sunny were looking at her, worry clearly on their faces. How could she have been so selfish? She just ran off and didn't even think about them. What kind of pathetic excuse for a big sister was she, anyway?

 "Mari... Are you okay?" Kel asked.

 "I'm..." She looked to the camera around her neck, and the necklaces in her hand. Kel and Sunny both approached, the former eventually speaking.

 "That's... Basil's, right?" He could only stare sullenly at it as he finally brought it to the forefront. "They... Found that in a boat wreck. But we weren't-"

 "We rented a boat." Sunny interjected. "The us that were here did."

 Mari didn't miss the "were". Sunny was thinking the same thing she was.
 
 "Oh." He stood still. "We're..." Kel seemed to have a much more difficult time saying the words to when they had first gathered in the graveyard. Now it almost seemed like a taboo to say the words. Like some spell would break and they'd be ripped away again. 

 "S-Something must have..." Mari started. Something had to have done it, otherwise it was all just too wild, too unpredictable. There must be Something behind this, just like it was in the storm at her home. That's right... It was just-

 "Mari." Sunny stepped closer. "Do you really think that?" Why did he have that look in his eye?

 "It has to be, right!?" Her voice was peaking, she had to get it under control. "I-it wants to k-kill us, right? So it tried while we were all out on the boat and-" Her breathing quickened. Se struggled with the words, they were difficult to her but for all the wrong reasons. They lacked the conviction she wanted to feel. "W-we need to get back to the others, quickly!" She turned to leave, but was stopped by a hand. Sunny's feather-light grip had her.
 
 "No."

 "Sunny, let me go, we have to go warn the others."

 "No."
 
 She wanted to tug her arm out of his hand, when another closed around her other wrist, more firmly. It was Kel.

 "Mari... If Something really is out there, then we-"

 "No." Sunny said again. He looked close to tears.
 
 "What do you mean, Sunny?"
 
 "Do... You both... Really think that?" He was shaking now.
 
 "Well, Basil told us all, and we all see it, don't we?"
 
 "...It's not...." His voice was straining, Mari was frozen in place. She had only seen him this upset once before in his life, and that was right before....

 "Sunny." Kel let go of Mari's hand, and was now kneeling by his friend, both hands on his shoulders. "I'll wait. If it's important then I'll wait until you say it."
 
 The skies further darkened. The clouds were nearly here. Finally, the boy choked out a sob, and in a shaking voice, finally said...

 "We... Need to talk to the others. Before someone gets hurt." He touched a spot near his ruined eye.

 "Sunny..." Kel looked down, as if gathering himself. "...Let's go. I'll listen."

 Mari watched on, her little brother in the care of Kel. Anything she could offer would be holding him back. Everything she had done had already worked that way. She already knew what he was going to say, why he was crying.

 He was moving on without her.

Notes:

The necklaces each being a half of a moon is a totally made up thing that I cobbled together from little bits of Headspace, in a roundabout way. I hope it is good enough to be appealing.

We get a little glimpse into Mari's darker tendencies in this chapter. Did it contrast with earlier ones, where she leads and smiles? Especially when she's offset by Kel, someone she doesn't get much of any opportunity to really play off of in the game. It's hard to pin down a feeling on them, especially how they would act if they were older. Going by Kel's speech at the graveyard, he must have really cared, though, and that's the important part.

I want to talk a little more about the story, but I'm saving that for a later chapter. In the meantime, so far, writing a serial is a very unique experience. It's strange, frustrating at times, but also really rewarding. Especially with how I can really easily tell something longer, without overworking into a flurry like I did with earlier titles.

Chapter 9: BASIL and HERO

 Water poured into the soft soil around the flower. Basil enjoyed taking care of plants, it felt good to see things grow. It hadn't always been that way, though. At first it was just a summer project with his new friends, since Aubrey wanted to grow flowers. Mari had taught them the basics of plant care and they kept watch as shoots, leaves, and then petals sprung to life. Everyone had loved how he kept all their hard work so healthy, and it was rewarding in turn. Certainly enough to like them, but what sealed the deal was a book on floriography that Mari gave to him. It was astounding, flowers could say so much, they had tons of words when he had no one to talk to.

 Which was getting more and more often as Sunny and Mari were practicing more and more for the recital. They were incredible together, he was honestly moved by how they played. All the things he wanted to say while Sunny was away... He grew them from the ground itself, until they could be seen.

 Then it had all come crashing down. He had just come to give Sunny and Mari some flowers before the big recital, all full of the feelings he held for the both of them. All of that was instantly abandoned, as he arrived just in time to see...

 Something. Something pushed Mari down the stairs. Something was taking his best friend from him. Something was threatening to surround and consume them both. It had to be Something. Now that same Something had brought them all here, for reasons he didn't understand. He had to be careful. Careful or it would take everyone away from him again.

 "Hey, Basil." Hero's voice cut through the fog around his mind. "Find anything?"

 "Ah! O-oh, Hero!"
 
 "Woah there, didn't mean to startle you." He had his hands up in a disarming way.

 "Oh no, it's not y-you, it's just..." That was a bit of a lie. Of course it was him, just a little bit. Just like it had been Kel, and Aubrey. After what he had done to Mari, he couldn't face any of them.

 Why did he think it was a good idea? Well, good only in so far as trying to make sure Sunny didn't... Wasn't taken far away, like he had been in the bedroom. He saw the life leave his best friend's eyes that day. Honestly though, he just makes everything worse. Unlike the young man in front of him.

 "It's all... Kind of a lot, huh? I was just upstairs and..." He had a distant look, absentmindedly pulling out a wallet from his pocket. "It's... ours."

 It felt like the world stopped. It was such a simple line, it was something he already knew from the flower, even if it wasn't actually definitive evidence. The same as he could tell by the fresh fruit that was kept on the counter, or the plain white sandals next to the flowery flip-flops. It was like the difference between his heart knowing and his mind knowing something. They had been here. They had lived here.

 "Hey, Basil. Are you okay?"

 "...I'll be okay." He said at a length. Like a sunflower, always looking for the brighter side, that's what he told Sunny once.

 "...Help me in the kitchen?" He looked around hands clearly pining for something to do.
 
 "Huh? Okay." The went to the kitchenette, looking through the fridge. Two bottles of Orange Joe rested on one of the shelves, and there was spaghetti in a plastic bowl, mixed in with sauce. Hero took it in hand, unable to tear his eyes from it for the longest time, as if deciding whether to microwave it or not. With a look he put it back, instead grabbing up ingredients to make fish tacos. Basil could have sworn he heard Hero muttering "hope they won't mind" under his breath. Silently, they began to lay out ingredients and bring down a frying pan. Hero rolled up his sleeves and set to work, delicately handling the fish in nearly complete silence, with only Basil alongside him.

 At long last, the young man's voice came through.

 "You're right. It'll be okay, Basil." He sighed. "We'll just continue on. Keep working." He looked a bit more sheepish. "Poor choice of words."
 
 More quiet. There was a question Basil wanted to ask, but just couldn't. Not after he had seen what he had helped do to Hero in his world. He knew, from whispers and rumors, that he had shut himself in his room after she was taken from them. Then one day, he was gone, college-bound. Instead of his real question, he asked about something else.

 "You went to medical school, right?"

 "Yeah. Mom wanted me to go and... With Kel..."

 "Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-!" He was excellent at hurting his friends, it seemed, no wonder Sunny had left him.

 "Basil. It's okay." He flipped the fish in front of him off of the pan, replacing it with new fillets. "Why'd you ask, though?"

 "Oh, it's just... Do you remember this one time we had a picnic in the secret spot? Mari had said that you should be a chef."

 "I do remember. I don't think I'm good enough for that though. I just like to cook."

 "I-I still think you could be one if you wanted. Your food was always the best."

 "Mari's was way better." He smiled.

 "I liked both, but... You could have."

 "Well, thank you for the vote of confidence, Basil." He had a distant smile. "I have to admit, it was nice to dream about being a chef back then. Dreams are for when you're young!"

 "You're not that much older than us, though."

 "I guess you're right. In just a few years, you'll be an old man like me! Studying to be... Come to think, what did you want to be when you grow up?"

 It's not like Basil had actually been thinking about his future. His entire life from the day of the accident had become "waiting for Sunny". So much so that he didn't notice that entire years slipped by. Then his grandmother's health worsened and he began to focus on what he could do around the house to help. That became helping Polly, then attempting to recover his Album from Aubrey. By the time that happened, Sunny had finally returned, just in time to leave once and for all alongside Grandma. He never took the time to dream, not about his own life. His dreams all centered around beating the monster and having everyone be back together again. What was he actually supposed to do after that? He could answer something about flowers, he did love them after all.

 "I'm not sure. Ah! I m-mean, I like flowers a lot, I could do something with them. But like... it's been my hobby for so long... It would be weird to get paid for it, I think."

 "Hm, like a certain someone and cooking?" Hero asked, flipping his spatula. A short chuckle later and he continued. "I think... If you want to, you can go for it. Just because I didn't go for the dream doesn't mean that I think it's a bad thing. But it's also like that in reverse, don't beat yourself up if there's something else you want to do."

 There was that brotherly advice. Basil was now older than Hero was the last time they had really seen one another, and he felt nowhere near as capable as the young man always seemed.

 "How do you get all this advice, Hero?" He set the toppings for tacos into an easy-to-access order.

 "Oh... Sorry. Kel always told me that it's annoying."

 "No, not at all! I think it's amazing that you know so much." He rubbed his arm. "You and Mari both... I thought it was just because you were older, but now I'm not so sure."

 "That's how I always felt about Mari. She seems to know everything and I was just playing catch-up to her."

 It took Basil more than a few moments for his brain to realize why this Hero was talking about her in the past tense. That was right, she didn't die in his world. But he still ended up here. What did Something do-?

 "But you know, I think you've all caught up an awful lot. I still remember helping out Sunny and Mari with their recital-"

 The word "recital" sent a stab of fear up his spine. He had to get it back down.

 "They're really talented musicians, it took me so long to learn just a little piece on the piano. Haha, I tried Sunny's new violin too. I suddenly realized how hard it must have been for him to even play that one note for us when we got it for him, I could barely get a sound out. But then, even after four years, he was playing it. It was that one piece they always practiced, you could always hear it whenever you were near the house."

 "I... Could. Yes..." He remembered hearing Mari's half that day, and how it had all come to a cold halt with the crashing noise.

 "Basil? Are you okay?" Concern was on his face. "I didn't... make you remember something, did I? I'm sorry, I keep forgetting that you have different memories from the Basil I've known."

 "N-no! It's okay!! Um, I-I'm sorry, I d-din't mean to... Um!"

 "Basil." Hero extended his free hand to lightly pat the boy's head. "We... All remember some pretty terrible things, it seems. I don't think anyone can blame anyone else on what happened."

 Sure they could. Basil chose to hang Mari. So what if he was scared? So what if he was twelve and couldn't think of any other way to keep his best friend safe? So what if he didn't actually kill her and it was all that monster's fault?

 Oh no, Hero was wiping his tears away. Why was he doing this if he knew? Sunny had said they hid it, they have to be hated for that. Right?

 "Hey... It's okay, we'll all get through this together."

 Basil sniffled and wiped his eyes.

 Hero looked around, then at a watch on his wrist. "I'll get Aubrey, it's been awhile."

 "Hero, you can't."

 "Sure I can, I just have to-"

 "I mean the fish."

 "Oh. Um... that's a good point." He looked torn all of a sudden at the prospect of not being able to do everything.

 "I'll um... I'll do it!" He went to the hall to find the stairs.

 It was getting darker, a storm was getting closer, and Something was still out there. These thoughts intruded on him the second he had left the warm kitchen. Aubrey had been in this darkness, he realized. Just like when they were at her house, and being attacked by Something, and-

 No, it would be fine, they were way out at a beach house, Hero was in the next room, and he had seen how ready the girl had been to fight anything that dared to try to hurt her. He would just go up, there would be nothing scary, no eyes watching him. If there were, he could call for help, and they would chase the-

 A black shadow darted down the stairs, hurtling at him. He froze. One of the shapes he was sure haunted Aubrey. He couldn't move, or even scream before he felt it ram into his chest. This was it, this is how he would die, as quickly as turning a corridor. This... thing... must have...

 Why was it fuzzy? And warm?
 
 He dared to look at it. Two pointed ears sat on its head, and it had two eyes full of curiosity. A tail twitched behind it. A black cat. It reminded him an awful lot of...

 "M-M-Mewo?" He squeaked out at length.

 Mew!

 The last time he had seen her, she was just a kitten, but now she was a small yet fully-grown cat. How had she gotten here, of all places? Did they take her here? Well, "them"? He looked around, and then his heart stopped in his chest.

 The side door was open, swinging in the wild breeze.

 "Aubrey?" He turned and called up the stairs, panic setting in. "A-Aubrey! Are you up there?"

 No response.

 Why was Aubrey gone? What had happened? She wouldn't just leave, right? She wouldn't just get up and go away on her own, something must have happened. Yes, Something must have happened. That's what Mewo was running from! Something was there, it took Aubrey, it was going to take everyone away from him again! If he focused enough, he could even see it... there in the dark, the countless eyes that Aubrey said rustled in the dark all around her. But there was something else, something else she saw.

 The beach.

 Something... in the water. Something in the water was stalking her, she said.

 Of course it would be there, in the ocean. How was he going to fight this Something? He had tried to carve himself out from his own, only to realize, in the last minute, that he had actually...

 Yes. That was how it happened. It had to happen that way. That's what he decided. Now it was after Aubrey. He couldn't do anything.

 But someone else could. He called out, and Hero raced into the room.

 He wasn't alone, either. Mari, Kel, and Sunny followed close behind.

 "Basil? What's wrong?" Hero started.

 "A-Aubrey... I think she..." He pointed at the door.

 "She's not upstairs?"

 "I'll go check." Mari volunteered, taking a deep breath before ascending. Hero, in the meantime, grasped Basil's shoulders.

 "Hey, it's going to be alright. We'll find her, I'm sure she's just upstairs, probably a little shell-shocked from everything."

 "N-no... We have to g-go. S-Something took her!"

 "Basil..."

 "She's not up here!" Mari called from the landing.

 "S-See!? S-Something took her t-to the w-water and..!"

 Those words were all it took for Kel to bolt out the door.

 "Kel!!" Hero called out as he ran after his brother. "Kel, wait!!"

 Basil flustered at all the sudden movement, then looked back to Sunny.
 
 "W-we should go too!"

 "...Stop." The boy said.

 "What? W-we need to-!" A hand closed around his wrist. Sunny was right there. 

 "No. We need to talk." His features softened the slightest amount. "It's been... too long."

Notes:

I'm kind of torn on something. I think I might end up missing one release day. I've known for awhile now that I might, but I don't know what to say about it, except that I'd like to give heads up to those of you who figured out my schedule. My schedule that I definitely remembered to announce. Yep.

Basil and Hero, this chapter was so hard to write. Out of every character pairing, I almost feel like this is the most difficult to pin down. Most of their interaction, even considering the dream world, is done when Hero speaks through the door to him on the final day. I'd say he has a sense of duty to him, but doesn't quite understand the flower boy. Similarly, we can see that Hero's hard work is appreciated by Basil through the album. I thought that bit was interesting, everyone calls Hero naturally talented but with the picture of Hero making the flower crown, we see what actually makes him that way, lots of hard work.

Also Mewo is here.

Chapter 10: SUNNY and BASIL

 Speaking was difficult, how did people always have so many words?

 Not that he hated others' words, far from it. Their words helped fill his own worlds, worlds he could only partly describe with his sketchbook. Even then, he quickly learned after the few times he showed Mari his work, it still wasn't enough to get his entire idea across, down to all the tiny bits he had thought out. So instead, he listened, and continued to grow with their words.

 Basil especially, the boy always seemed to know what books Sunny would like. Or maybe he liked them just because Basil was the one to suggest them, he had never thought much about it. Then they would talk for hours about anything at all. Flowers and their meanings, stories, opinions on the latest Captain Spaceboy episodes, or about any errant stargazing they had done on any particular night. One time they had gotten a book on castles from their favorite place in the world, the library. They had started off looking for any good candidate for the dark castle from the latest book they had read, but that quickly became wondering which one they would want to be king of. Later that day they had gotten everyone to play some king of the hill with pretend castles and water balloons.

 He also remembered how he taught Basil how to play cards. He always regretted that, the flower boy had an unnatural kind of luck, on top of a good amount of skill. 

 Then one winter, it turned out that Basil had listened to something else. Sunny had been wanting a violin. Mari was shut away more and more with her piano since her softball injury. She had always come down to his level to do activities with him, now he wanted to meet her up at her own. So Basil provided an answer, in suggesting to everyone that they get the boy a real violin. It was a fine instrument, and finally he had a way to stop being alone in his own house. Basil would come by and simply sit in on the new practice sessions and now Sunny was the one being listened to. Rarely, he would play around on whatever piece he was playing, to get a laugh out of his friend. It was like he had a voice as loud as the others for a short time.

 He didn't realize how alone it would eventually make him feel. As he began to grasp the violin he also started practicing for the recital more, and at certain times he couldn't help but listen to her playing rather than focus on his own. This just meant more practice, for the both of them, which began to build a feeling of bile in his stomach. Taken away from time with his friends, and farther and farther from the warmer side of his sister. He kept scratching note after note and...

 All of that had happened.

 And he had only heard one thing.

 It was just Something behind you... Don't look back, don't look...

 Then he stopped listening.

 Whenever the pastel, green-haired Basil wanted to talk, whenever he began to suggest he knew too much, he'd inevitably be met with some kind of accident that could even surprise Sunny. Well, before he put together someone new to view the world through, and even forgot himself in dreams. It took discovering the truth again, remembering it fully to realize that he needed to listen again, or the result might mean...

 "Sunny? You look really far away, were you daydreaming?" Kel's voice cut through his mild stupor.

 "Thinking."

 He was on the beach again, Kel and Mari behind him. More grim-faced than he remembered, but following closely behind, not unlike Aubrey, Kel, and Hero had at various points during those last days.

 Sunny's final three days. Headspace was falling apart all around him, even before Kel knocked on his door. As though his mind knew something was going to happen. As though a part of him knew what Basil was going to do if he moved without saying a word. So began the long process of gathering his courage. His courage to leave White Space. The courage to even leave Headspace. The courage to see his darker nightmares and shadows of what he had done, or felt, or was scared of in Black Space.

 It meant confronting Something. What Something really was. What it really "wanted".

 They were at the front counter now, where a young man looked them all over.

 "Oh so there're the rest of you! Oh little dude, your eye... Man, I'm sorry, when your friends said something I thought- Uh, never mind. Hey, there's another storm, if your guys need some shelter you just... take it tonight. Looks like you all need it."

 They all looked at one another before Mari stepped forward.

 "Uh... can you remind us of the house number? Our key got lost and... well..."

 "I get you. One-four-three, down there and to the right. Your friends are already there."

 "Thank you!" Mari gave him a smile and the group set on their way. Finding the house all according to directions. Sunny could vaguely smell fish being cooked from the outside. On the inside, Hero was cooking, and there were colorful flip-flops lined up at the back door.

 "What's cookin', good-lookin'?" Mari called over. She seemed to be in a brighter mood already. After how she looked at the boardwalk, he was glad she was back to normal. Sunny took notice of a familiar flower on an end table.

 "Oh it's-"

 "HERO!!!"

 That was Basil's shout. The four of them exchanged a glance, bolting into the other room, Sunny noticed how his big sister turned off the stove top before following.

 "Basil? What's wrong?" Hero sounded from up ahead.

 "A-Aubrey... I think she.." Sunny came into the room. He was struck by how Basil looked. It was almost like that last night.

 "She's not upstairs?"

 "I'll go check." Mari volunteered, taking a deep breath before ascending. Hero, in the meantime, tried to get ahold of Basil

 "Hey, it's going to be alright. We'll find her, I'm sure she's just upstairs, probably a little shell-shocked from everything."

 "N-no... We have to g-go. S-Something took her!" There it was, those words again.

 "Basil..."

 "She's not up here!" Mari called from the landing.

 "S-See!? S-Something took her t-to the w-water and..!"

 The water? That seemed to trigger something in Kel, who gave Sunny a single look before bolting out the side door. The door that opened up to the beach proper.

 "Kel!!" Hero called out as he ran after his brother. "Kel, wait!!"

 Basil flustered at all the sudden movement, then looked back. Sunny met his gaze.
 
 "W-we should go too!"

 "...Stop." He said.

 "What? W-we need to-!" 

 Sunny drew nearer, this had to stop. He took Basil's wrist in hand, and memories of all the times they held each other's hands came flooding back. 

 "No. We need to talk. It's been... too long." He steadied himself, gathering his courage again. His courage to say what needed to be said, for everyone's sake. "Basil. There is no Something."

 "W-What are you t-talking about, Sunny? Something pushed M-Mari down the stairs. Something blacked out the photos! Something is just m-making you s-say that you you did it, isn't it? Isn't it!? You would never-!"

 "I did."

 "N-No! You're... You're a g-good person, Sunny!" Basil looked like he was about to cry. "Why do you keep saying these things?"
 
 "It's true. You know it's true." 

 It would be so much easier if Basil's version were true. A monster that was responsible for everything. A monster that was intent on hounding them to death. A monster that gathered them all here for some reason.

 "B-but..."

 "No. It was me. My fault." He was staring at his shoes. "It's all my fault." He touched near his eye. That too. Of course Basil had damaged it. That was true. But if he hadn't lost his cool, if he hadn't attacked the boy, if he had talked more over those days, or especially, especially hadn't just killed his sister.

 A hand was suddenly on his shoulder. Mari was between them both.

 He didn't deserve her. He didn't deserve any version of her, but she was here. His friends all had hard lives, they didn't deserve the extra hurt he had gone through, they were all too good for that.

 "Sunny... it's not. It was just an accident."

 "...You died, Mari." The way she said it was an accident hurt.

 "That's how you remember things, yes. But I also know that you didn't mean to do it."

 "I..!" He sniffled. Mari held her arms wide, but Sunny held up one of his own to pause. He gathered himself. He had to get through to Basil. Now. It was getting harder and harder to talk, his emotions came through even more raw than they had during his solo performance on the fake stage. He had to get a hold of them, had to keep them down just a little longer.

 ...There was someone who could help with that, wasn't there? He had said he would help when Sunny needed, right? He was good at concealing his emotions and saying things as they were. All he had to do was ask.

 Then he saw Mari in front him, the barest hint of dejection behind her smile, something only he would know to look for. If he took Omori's hand now, of all times, then he would give up the feeling that he spent years forgetting.

 "Basil... There is no Something." He repeated the words and stood across from the boy, holding his shoulders. "I did those things. I didn't... want to... I want to take it all back."

 "Sunny..."

 "I can't." A deep breath. "But..." Memories of the fight between him and Basil replayed in his mind. They were both clearly unhinged, seeing things in the shadows, lashing out at one another. Sunny remembered the steel entering his eye, remembered as fear became horror, and remembered how it felt like he might even die then and there.

 Never again. This Basil had never done such a thing, but it was because it was Basil that he knew how he felt, and what was happening.

 "Please... Don't do this to yourself." He sank to the ground, hands still on Basil's shoulders. That was the most difficult string of words he had put together in four years, he felt like all his strength had left him.

 "Sunny!" Basil and Mari cried out in unison, they also went to their knees, and all three were together, now. Sunny suspended between the two.

 "Sunny... I don't understand... Why..?" Basil was sputtering.

 "...He's right." Mari said, holding up a calming hand. "You two were always inseparable, you know? You always read the same books, and spent so much time together, there was even that one day you both wore matching flowers. It was so cute. If Sunny is telling you all this, it's because he really cares about you." She looked up to the boy. "He doesn't hate you, Basil. He just wants you to be happy again."

 Sunny could swear he heard the boy's heart stop in his chest and the distinct plops of tears on the floor. Then, as if he had run out of words to say everything he wanted to, he hugged Sunny. They held the pose, while Mari made to get up, and leave them be. Instead, Sunny held out an arm, a sign since he was young that he wanted to hug. Without her... the words, the meaning of what he wanted to say may have been lost forever.

 At length, Basil's voice shook out of him.

 "...I-I r-really do make a mess of everything, d-don't I?" He seemed to gather himself. "I'm sorry, Sunny. I just... wanted to believe in you, and I didn't even do that right. I made a monster and I..." His hand rested on Sunny's right cheek, like he was actually looking at the bandage on his right eye for the first time. "I did this too, didn't I? Or... your me? You must hate me, why would you..?"

 Come and talk to me, like I've been hoping you would all these years?

 Sunny felt he knew the question before it was asked.

 "I don't hate you."

 A sniffle from Basil, then finally, words from Mari broke the silence.

 "There, that must have been difficult for both of you. But it looks like you forgive each other, am I right?" Two nods answered. "See? Doesn't that feel better?"

 "It does." A pause as Basil rubbed his eyes. "Thank you, Mari. And, um... sorry for... everything. I'm really, really sorry."

 "You don't need to apologize to me."

 "Want to." Sunny interjected. "Sorry..."

 "You two..."

 They all rose, tears fully wiped away, shadows scurrying back far to their corners, even as thunder pealed outside. All three looked around as the sound of rain suddenly pounded the roof far above.

 "Storming." Sunny said, before locking eye with Basil, realization dawning.

 "Kel and Hero aren't back yet... We should go and look for everyone."

 "It's really bad out there." Mari started. She was shaking slightly at each flash of lightning. "Let's not get separated." She held out a hand that Sunny took, then the brother took Basil's hand, and they proceeded as a daisy chain into the dark.

 The first thing Sunny felt was how the rain seemed to lash his skin. It was a far cry from the pitter-patter he liked to hear on his umbrella, this one was angry. Like it wanted to tear him away and out of the hands of the people he cared about. Every strike of lightning felt like it was splitting the air. The main thunderheads would be here very soon, and it would be too dangerous to continue. Not that it was especially safe now, but there were people to find.

 Sunny didn't want to know what happened in the storm the day before yesterday. He never wanted to know, or...

 He looked at Mari, then Basil.

 Don't go away.

Notes:

So yeah, I did miss a release day. I'm sorry everyone. I should have a double-release to make up for it soon. I hope... Also, have you noticed why the house number is 143? It's because dumb details make me smile.

But that makes just about the halfway mark. Some upcoming chapters might be shorter now that a lot of exposition about everyone's worlds are mostly out of the way, but that just means I'll probably release more to compensate.

In the game, Basil's relationship with Sunny is one of the two major relationship focuses of the game, I feel. Not that any part is unimportant, far from it! But when I consider how much time I spent learning about them, despite Basil not even being present for most of it, I guess I just end up feeling that way. So for their pairing chapter, we have one more chance to confront one another about Something.

Yes, the entire point of Something is that it's not actually real. It's a convenient excuse, something that you can blame everything on, your monster under the bed. It can help you cope, in a sense, but it can also be the source of even worse delusions, like it's consuming you. I don't think it was any accident Basil's Something looked like it was eating him.

Chapter 11: HERO and KEL

 Kel was just out of reach for him. Just barely out of reach. If he was faster, he could be there. If he was smarter, he could say the words to bring him back to his side. If he was just better, then he could help his little brother.

 "Kel!! Stop!!"

 No answer.

 Why wouldn't he just stop? The storm was almost here, then it would be too dangerous for him to be out here. Not that he planned to leave Aubrey behind, far from it. But right now, his goal was getting one more step closer. His body was completely worn, he had barely slept last night, he had quite literally died the night before that, but if he tried just that much harder, he could finally..!

 His hand finally closed around his brother's wrist. He held it as tight as he could, and watched as Kel whipped around.

 "Bro, what are you doing!? Lemme go!"

 "Kel! You can't be out here!"

 "And leave Aubrey? Are you nuts or something!?"

 "I'm not! Just go back, please Kel. It's not safe out here. Not with a storm like this."

 Kel's face fell, he turned more properly to talk to Hero. Finally he would see reason, right?

 "Hero... What about you? It's okay for you to be out here all alone but not me? Afraid I'll screw it all up?"

 "What? N-no... Kel, I've never thought that about you." Hero felt the corners of his eyes tear. Thoughts like these... Were they what his Kel had thought? Where those his last thoughts? It just wasn't true. Kel was very much his inspiration, the eagerness to always do something new, Hero wanted to be like that. He wanted to find as much joy in life as his brother had. The issue here wasn't that he thought Kel would fail, but if he did. Like anyone could.

 "Kel... I can't lose you again. Look at the clouds, if any of us get caught out here in the open, then..."

 "And I can't lose her again. I already screwed that up once." His hand was in his pocket. Hero didn't remember this habit.

 "I know. So I'm telling you that I'll find her."

 "You either." He gathered himself. "You don't have to do everything by yourself, bro."

 "I don't know how you remember me being, Kel, but I can handle-"

 "No I mean you. You-you. Not my Hero, but you're... like... You know. You're still my brother. I didn't forget how you said you died. You can't just keep piling things onto your plate." He was scanning the beach now. "I'm out here because I want to be. I want to find my friend. So I'm going, either join me or don't."

 "Kel..." This was the proof. Kel really had grown, this is who he would have been if he just had the chance. "Wait."

 "I'm not waiting anymore."

 "No I mean... I'll check the south, you look north. We'll cover more ground that way. But once it starts raining, we need to meet back here."

 "Alright."

 "Promise me."

 "I promise."

 "Okay." Hero looked at his brother once again, and wrapped him into a brief hug. "Stay safe, little bro."

 "You too."

 With that they split, Hero began jogging down the length of the beach, looking for a flash of pink. He kept in mind their location from where he started, for when the rain hit.

 For Hero though, it was already raining. He wiped his eyes.

 He had let Kel run off on his own, in potentially lethal weather. But he had promised to be safe as possible. He was aware of the danger, he chose this.

 It was so hard to see. He was sure there was no pink out here, as the darkened beach was suddenly day-bright with a flash of lightning. He felt the split of the air in his chest. Basil... couldn't be right, could he? Something in the water? He was so sure that he was just imagining it. Just something convenient to blame, a reason for everything that had happened, was happening to him. Now he wasn't as sure.

 How else did they all get here, then? As different as their memories all were.

 Lightning flashed again. This time he saw something pink. Just the smallest bit by some rocks nearby. Rocks and thin, spidery shadows. He flinched back immediately. Hero imagined what he might find on the other side, the tip of her hair showing while the rest of her was split upon the-

 He had to get ahold of himself, he took a deep breath.

 And imagined the girl letting out a rattling wheeze, just like his little brother. The shadow deepened, lines became legs. If he had to see that again...

 He had set himself up, hadn't he? He split with Kel, he already ran from a house full of his friends. All of whom needed him right now. Needed him to make sure their friend was safe.

 That... meant approaching the shadows, not daring to close his eyes unless he wanted to risk falling on the rocks. Not slowly, but firmly, keeping a steady walk, he worked to ignore the pounding in his chest. He stepped to the shadow and the wind picked up, the waves crashed higher.

 Every moment that passed was another that the tragedy would repeat. He couldn't stay back from the spidery Something, he dashed and reached out, and there was...

 Nothing but rocks, and a single spot of pink. Hero let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. He took up the object, which turned out to be a flowery hair clip, worn and torn from the ocean, if he had to guess. This couldn't be...

 He wasn't...

 Unless..?

 A large raindrop hit him squarely. A few moments later and another one followed. Thunder and lightning split the sky, and no sign of Aubrey anywhere. He'd have to rendezvous with Kel at the spot nearer the beach house. Anything to postpone this line of thought. He pocketed the item and set on a brisk jog back to where he was at earlier. The drops became more and more frequent before he got back.

 Then the rain hit, like a stage curtain had fallen on him. The chill was nearly unbearable. Definitely enough to make him wish for a raincoat at the least. He could only see a little past his outstretched hand, and the wind turned every drop into a tiny knife. Kel should be here.

 Kel should be here.

 Kel wasn't here.

 Why had he split up at all? What was he thinking!? He had his brother in his hands and let him slip away again, just like the boy who breathed his last in his own arms. Why was he so useless that he couldn't even protect him?

 Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He whipped around, hoping to find his brother.

 Instead, he found a brother. Mari's little brother. In between Mari and Basil, making a chain of hands like they would be blown away. With how thin the siblings were, he imagined he might just be right. Mari's hand was the one that had found his shoulder in the storm.

 "Hero!!" Mari called out, her being the one capable of speaking over the din. "Where's Kel?"

 "Gone..." The word was instantly snatched away. This was a waste of time, he had to go after his brother. But there was still a hand on his shoulder.

 "Hero!! Please! We want to help!"

 So they could get lost too? He wouldn't let them. He could do it all by himself. It was like he had always talked about with Mari, they had to take care of the young ones.

 "Go back." The wind would almost certainly take those words too, but it was okay.

 Mari's hand tightened on him, he wanted to tear away, but instead, another found him. Basil and Sunny were now all holding tight, preventing him from moving forward.

 "We're here to help, let us!"

 The hands on his shoulders reinforced the words. These three were going to search, just like Kel had. If he was even still...

 "Hero!!!" The words sounded just before thunder deafened them all.

 They...

 Were all here to help. Each of them wanted to find Kel and Aubrey, they were all here to try, together, almost like making up for lost time the past four years.

 During his last three days, he had tried his hardest to get Sunny to play the violin with his sister again, something the boy hadn't done since Kel's death, and the same day he had a fight with his sister. He had been all over town of course, attempting anything that would help anyone, but especially so for the quiet boy. A particular memory came to mind, however. Sunny had followed him around everywhere to help with whatever was happening, even as Hero was working to get him a new instrument. He seemed adamant about doing anything he could to make Hero's life easier.

 He remembered how Mari began to cook more often, accidentally making too much. He should have known then what she was doing, she never makes mistakes like that.

 Then of course, Basil. He followed Sunny a lot, but even the shy boy had managed to knock on his door once, asking him if he wanted to replace the orchid in the graveyard. He thought that would be it, but then he began to probe Hero's feelings and honestly... It was more than he deserved, considering what he knew he meant to do.

 But all three were here now. Even despite what he had done.

 Just like Kel had said.

 At length, he pointed towards the north. Mari held out her hand to him. Just like she had the last time he had seen her. He turned away from it then, thinking he was helping.

 He had missed her so much.

 Together the four fought against the gale, and stayed far from the crashing waves, even at that length though, the spray reached them with their sheer size. No one should be out here. Here they were though, and the ground-striking lighting was getting closer. Much longer and they might not be able to get back. He wished, no, prayed that they would find the others soon.

 A prayer that would be answered by a figure standing, back to the beach, With a tug Hero pulled his friends forward.

 "Kel!!"

 His brother looked back for a moment before returning his gaze to something that came into focus as they drew near. Aubrey was standing dangerously close to the beach, pink hair dancing like mad in the wind. He made to grab his brother, but stopped.

 In Kel's hand was...

Notes:

I did say I'd make it up, right?

I remember the phrase "only write for as long as the story needs", but it's hard not to get over the guilt of writing a shorter chapter. It's weird.

Hero and Kel. Honestly, when I first started the game I didn't realize they were actual real brothers. Yes even though the dream album literally said that with the phrase "brotherly love". But in my defense, I didn't think they were even real until Kel knocked on the door. But I really grew to like their relationship, and seeing how different it is from how Sunny remembers them being and how they are now. You can especially see it in the tag photos, where they go from being teasing and competitive to more easily working together and just genuinely enjoying one another's company. I imagine a large part of that is one piece Kel becoming more mature, one piece Hero not feeling like a second parent.

Oh and last chance to guess what's been in Kel's pocket this whole time.

Chapter 12: AUBREY and KEL

 Aubrey walked along the beach, bat trailing a line behind her.

 The same bat she had swung at the shadow she had met in the bedroom.

 The same bat she had swung at Mewo.

 She had done it again. They were all right about her all along. She was just a brute and a thug now. No, worse than that, she was a murderer. It wasn't enough that she had killed Sunny, she also...

 She heard that damned rustling in the dark again. She wasn't scared though, she wasn't! She fought the shadows whenever they came up and started whispering accusations at her. Just like she always fought. But this was one time too far, this wasn't like the shadows in her dreams, or the ones that faded when she struck them. 

 Tufts of white and spatters of red littered the floor before she realized what had happened. 

 Who cares if she had isolated herself in her trash heap of a home? Or hadn't eaten in a week? Or hadn't slept in three days out of fear of her. That other, perfect her that she dreamed of, the her that danced in the pastel wonderland. The her she saw her dreams through, until the end when she always ran off with Sunny and Mari, looking back while she left the real Aubrey she actually was behind.

 The her who invited her to join them all forever, to just fall asleep so she could be with the two people who cared for her the most in the entire world. So she fell asleep, surrounded by the remains of her pet, finally taking her other self's invite.

 And waking in a nightmare. That damn house...

 Then Mari and Sunny found her, and pulled her out of her Hell. She had another chance somehow, one more opportunity, and used it to nearly do the same to Mewo as she had to Bun-Bun. She had been ready to strike the shadow that looked like her mother, if Basil hadn't been there...

 So now she was storming off to the beach, to find Something in the water. This is just what she did, apparently. Fought everything. Swung her bat at all her problems no matter what or who was on the other side. She would fight again, and either there would be Something that came for her and proved that her last waking moments in her old world were the nightmare, or she would be alone and...

 It's not like she was trying to die...

 ---

 Kel raced along the beach, eyes scanning in every direction, and briefly thanking whatever powers that be for the fact that this Aubrey had dyed her hair. If he found her he promised he would never make fun of the color again, as long as he lived.

 A pit grew in his stomach, one that was the same shape as the time he learned some of what had been happening in Aubrey's house. It took him long enough.

 First the girl had bruises on her arm. At the time he just thought she had fallen, and was covering them because they weren't pretty or girly or whatever.

 Then she would refuse to invite them to her home. Kel just thought it was because other places were larger, after all, Sunny's house was the best place out of all of them to spend time.

 Then she had sometimes missed hanging out the day after a sleepover. He thought that maybe she had just had enough of him.

 What an idiot he had been. He learned the truth one day that Sunny was busy with recital practice. Kel had gone to Basil's house, and the pair were talking about going to get Aubrey, when the boy had said it probably wasn't a good idea to go there.

 "Why not? We can just show up, she does that all the time!"

 "I really don't think it's... the best idea, Kel."

 So of course he had snuck off and investigated, and in turn, had heard the shouting. He wasn't even at the front door and he heard it. He had never, ever heard someone so angry before. Not his parents, not Sunny's parents, not Mari when he spilled his Orange Joe in the living room, he had simply never heard it before. He ran back home, unsure of what he could even do in the face of that.

 The next day Aubrey had said she might not be able to go to the recital, something or other was wrong with her dress. Kel said that he'd get a recording if he had to and playfully slapped her on the back, causing her to shriek.  Then he finally saw, just below the back of her neck, the bruises. That was when his plan began to form, and he arrived under her window, offering to take her with him so she could see Sunny and Mari's recital.

 That obviously hadn't happened.

 Now she was going far away again. He promised himself, though. This time would be different, this time he would actually help. Something he could never have done just a day ago. He was sure that if it wasn't for what Mari and Sunny had told him, he would have let Hero catch him and return him home. But they said he could do it. They said he had done it. He had one more chance.

 Then he finally saw her, standing dangerously close to the waves, bat held limply in hand. Why did she have that?

 "Aubrey!" He called out, causing the girl to flinch. He ran as hard as he could to close the distance.

 She raised her bat and pointed it at him when he was just a few paces away. She fully turned, the dark ocean behind her.

 "What are you doing here, Kel?" Her voice was too even, he didn't like it.

 "I'm looking for you, of course! What are you doing here?"

 "None of your business."

 "But it is my business! It's dangerous out here, Aubrey. Come back with-"

 "No."

 "What do you mean, 'no'? What's going on?" He took a step forward, and a swing of the bat stopped him.

 "I said no."

 "...What's going on, Aubrey?"

 Silence.
 
 "What are you doing?" The gale picked up, sending her hair flying all around her. He had to keep trying.

 "What am I doing? The same thing I always do!" She slammed her bat into the sand. "The same thing you always said I do! I'm just a thug right!? So I'm fighting!"

 "What I said? But... I'd never say that..."

 "Oh, yeah, that's right, you only remember me when I was twelve. When I wasn't. like. this!" She punctuated by hitting the sand more.

 "Like what? Like Aubrey?"

 "Oh so I was just always a little monster!"

 "No!" Raindrops were beginning to strike him. Hero had wanted to meet back up. "We need to go, the storm is almost here and... I don't think we should be in it."

 "Just leave me."

 "I'm not going back without you."

 Her eyes began to darken, and she slung her bat over her shoulder, like she was about to fight him. Her face twisted in agony and she smashed it into the sand instead.

 "AGH! WHY DO YOU KEEP BUTTING INTO MY LIFE!?"  

 "Because... you guys are my best friends!"

 "We spent four years apart, I didn't hear a word! From any of them!" She shouted, and the rain fell. It felt like he was underwater all of a sudden. Aubrey was suddenly partly obscured, like the weather itself was taking her away. Hero would be returning to the meetup soon, but Aubrey was right in front of him now.

 He stepped towards her.

 "Stop doing this! Need to tell me how awful I am one more time!? What do you even care!?"

 "What do I care!? I haven't stopped caring!" Kel reached into his pocket, the little item that gave him the slightest of strengths, and pulled it out. She wasn't listening, then she needed to see.

 A pink ribbon. Small, made to clip into hair in a way that showed off its bow shape the best. It was a little worn, and showed signs of nearly constantly being tugged back into it appropriate shape after being squeezed.

 "...Kel?" Aubrey's eyes were wide.

 He closed the distance as the girl fixated on the ribbon. Her ribbon, the one she had worn nearly every day for a year. A final keepsake from their final meeting, and the talisman he kept close the night he had spent in the dark, alone. The downpour itself seemed silent in comparison.

 "Do you think I ever forgot? Forgot anyone? I tried moving on, I really did! But you guys mean so much to me that... I just... can't! How am I supposed to forget you guys!?"

 "Yeah well everyone should!" Her voice wavered, it felt like he needed just a little more, just get a little closer.

 "No! Not now, not-!"

 "Kel!!" Another voice cut through the storm behind him.

 He turned around and everyone was behind him. They had all found him in this storm?  

 Kel knew full well that he wasn't the best at words, he often ended up fighting or misunderstood more often than not. For a single moment, before his brother's voice reached him, he thought was on the train platform again. Far away from anyone, Something in the dark hot on his heels. But now everyone else... everyone he loved...

 Had they ever left?

 He looked back to Aubrey, and pointed over his shoulder.

 "And it's not just me! Look, Aubrey! Everyone is here, looking for you!"

 A sudden look of shock crossed her face, and she made some few words that were lost in the gale. The others all approached.

 He'd have to apologize later on for running off without them.

 ---

 Aubrey stood, dumbstruck. The others had come all this way for her.

 Even Sunny and Mari were here, again, just like they had the first day.

 Did they not know what she was or something? What she had nearly done? How could Kel stand there, how could he have held onto the other her's ribbon for so long? Kel. She was so sure he hated her.

 "Aubrey! Thank goodness, we looked everywhere for you!" Hero stepped forward even as the wind battered him. His hand was out.

 She wanted to take it. But if she did that meant turning away from her fight. She had endangered them all for no reason. Less than no reason...

 "Hey, we're all here! Come back home!" Mari held out her hand. The group had all gotten closer.

 But Something... it had to be or else she really... How would they even begin to forgive her?

 Sunny, he was impossibly close, bandages around his head soaked through, he had brought the others along with him, making a semi-circle around her, Kel taking Hero's hand and holding out his own hand in his brother's stead.

 "There's no Something..." He started. How had he heard her? How was that even remotely possible in the gale? Now he was looking at Basil, and then to Mari.

 "And that's..." The blonde started, faltering in the gusty rain.

 "...Okay." Mari finished.

 "So come on, Aubrey, we're all waiting for you!" Kel finished. Kel and Mari bracketed them, their free hands outstretched. She extended a shaky hand,  and then...

 "Look out!" Hero shouted and she was sharply pulled into the group by her outstretched hand, which tightened around her protectively. A huge wave washed over them all. She felt the tide pulling at her, at them all, some titanic effort was being exerted by the others to keep everyone rooted. For a moment, she thought she felt something slither around her leg to pull her away. When the wave subsided she found they were all in a heap on the beach. She looked back, sure she saw a face and eyes staring back at her. It really had nearly taken her away.

 But not like a monster in the movies would. She had nearly...

 She shivered.

 "It's okay..." Mari's voice barely made it to her, there was a hand in her hair. "It's not as scary as you think..."

 "We have to get out of here! Is everyone alright!?" Hero shouted out, answered with groans and coughs. 

 "Yeah! Come on, bro, let's lead the way!" Kel's voice sounded, and the group was brought to its feet. Together... Together they fought through the storm, back to the little pool of light and warmth that was the house. No one let go of their huddle the entire way. Not until they all collapsed into a pile on the welcome mat, safe from the wind and the waves, the storm that nearly ripped them apart.

 They were all together.

Notes:

Yes, Aubrey's bow. Of course, there's only one place it could come from for him.

And now we know what the last straw for Aubrey was in her world. She had done something like what Basil had done, terrified of a made-up Something, she lashed out and, well... It was hard to write out, honestly.

Aubrey and Kel's relationship is really marked by fighting, I feel. But I think it also means FOR one another as often as against. In their Headspace versions, you see how they stuck up for one another, and in the real world, even though they were split by four years and the photo album incident they still fought for each other, even in an odd way that ended up hurting them both. Kel fought against what he thought was a bad turn for his friend, Aubrey fought against the thought that she was abandoned or hated by him. Neither would have bothered if they didn't care. It's hard for me to voice it precisely without an essay or a story, but I hope the idea comes across.

I'm hoping to have a double release on the next release day. The next two chapters are shorter, so I'd like to give you all both to mull over, here's hoping I make it.

Chapter 13: SUNNY and HERO

 "I think I saw some towels with our... their? There are towels upstairs." Hero eventually settled on the words as the six friends dripped onto the welcome mat and Kel let out an ear-splitting sneeze. "I'll get them and then... Sunny can you come upstairs with me?"

 Huh? Why did Hero want him?

 "Your bandages are soaked, you can't keep them on. I like to think I'm pretty handy with gauze, though!"

 "Oh."

 "I'll grab the towels, then, you just take care of Sunny." Kel spoke up before unleashing another titanic sneeze. "Maybe... some hot showers would be nice."

 "You better go first then, or you'll blow the house away." Aubrey said the words and then paused. "Ah, so-"

 Her apology was cut off by a loud bark of laughter.

 "Hahahaha! There's the Aubrey I remember!"

 "Good idea, Kel. We'll all wash off the cold really quick." Hero said. "Sunny, go ahead, I'll check your eye once you're done."

 "Okay." Sunny clambered upstairs, listening to the others discuss who would get the downstairs bathroom. In his opinion, Kel and Aubrey should each get one first, but Hero had made a solid point as always. He had an open wound that needed care. He began to strip after he closed the door, then with some difficulty, he took off the bandages around his head. He suddenly realized that he hadn't seen his own wounds. There were the scratches and bruises he had gotten from Basil, some few cuts he didn't remember, but which must have been of the same origin. And there... was his eye. What was left, anyway. It looked like it was entirely taken out, he had heard the procedure once on television but couldn't remember what it was called, but the doctors must have done it. The sudden thought had his stomach spinning.

 He threw up at the thought of his mulched eye being vacuumed out through a tube.

 "Sunny? What was that noise?" Hero must have been right outside the door.

 "...Vomit."

 "Are you okay? Do you need something?"

 "...Shower first." He turned on a stream of hot water, and delicately washed himself clean. The soap stung his cuts a little, and he skipped the shampoo since he really, really didn't want to get it into his eye.

 His "eye". Still getting used to that.

 He turned the water off, just in time to hear a knock on the door.

 "Hey Sunny, I got... um... your clothes?" Kel's voice. The questioning tone wasn't lost on him. This was going to be a long night. "I'm gonna leave them out here."

 So he slipped the door open and looked at what Kel picked out. A black t-shirt and some khaki shorts. They had big pockets, which he liked. They were undoubtedly to his tastes and yet...

 He felt as though he were borrowing them.

 He gathered himself and opened the bathroom door, motioning to Kel that it was his turn. To his right, Hero was looking through one of two med kits.

 Why did they bring two?

 Hero took notice and motioned for him to sit on the desk chair, then the young man knelt by Sunny.

 "I'm going to check around the area, if it gets too uncomfortable, you can tell me, alright?"

 "Alright." With that, Hero took him in hand, looking at this or that. He gently split the eyelid and looked around inside. Inside his skull.

 Still need to get used to that.

 "Ah... I think you'll need a proper prosthetic put in."

 "Prosthetic..?" He had never heard of a prosthetic for an eye before.

 "Yeah. It stops your um... flesh from growing in or your eyelid from fusing together. You'll also need one if you ever want a glass eye." He looked into Sunny's actual eye. "Sorry, medicine is a lot more gross than it looks."

 "It's fine. Um... thank you." It was almost impossible to imagine Hero actually caring for him like this. He had gone over the scenario in his mind several times. Hero would never, ever forgive him for what he had done to Mari. Had this one just... forgotten the conversation in the cemetery? Forgotten that he had killed the person he loved?

 At that moment, Aubrey came into the room in a fluster, a few notches below panicking.

 "Hey can I borrow the other first aid kit?"

 "Huh? Sure, why? Is it-?"

 "Girl stuff! Can't talk now!" She swiped up the med kit and rushed downstairs again.

 "Well then..." Hero scratched his head before turning back. "Um... right. I don't see any signs of infection. I'll wrap it and you'll be good to go for tonight."

 "Okay." He allowed Hero to position him correctly and felt him gently wrapping the cotton around him. All of this kindness...

 "Hey Hero?" He couldn't help himself.

 "What is it Sunny?"

 "Um... thank you. I'm sorry."

 "It's no problem, I'm just glad med school taught me something useful!" He winked playfully.

 "No I mean... I'm sorry."

 "Ah... You don't mean for 'making me' wrap your eye, do you?"

 He shook his head no.

 Hero turned and gave the boy his full attention.

 "Sunny... it's about Mari, isn't it?"

 He nodded.

 "...You know, in my world, I saw firsthand how much she meant to you, how much work you did for her, to make up with her. I even helped you play the violin again with her!"

 "But... That's not... m-"

 "Kel told me something on the beach. He said I was still his brother. I found really quick that I felt the same way. Even though or memories of the past four years are so different, he's still Kel. And you're still Sunny. I know for a fact that you would never, ever want to hurt your sister or worse. If this Mari was in danger, you'd protect her with your life, wouldn't you?"

 He didn't even need to think. Of course he would. Anything to protect her, even conquering the stairs ahead of her in their first moments here.

 "Exactly. That's what's important right now." He looked off like he was staring into the distance. "Don't waste your new time with her by worrying about an accident in the past. I almost did that on the beach and nearly..."

 That right, they had found Hero on his knees out there, in the storm. If they had spent much longer coaxing or finding him then...

 He looked over the young man, and felt his heart swell.

 Thank you, Hero.

 "Hey... Sunny, it's okay."

 Huh? He felt a hand run through his hair. It was a habit Hero had as long as he had known him.

 "It's okay." Hero repeated.

 Why was he being comforted like he was-

 Oh. He wiped his eye.

 "Are you ready for... um... tonight? We can leave it until later, we all just had something really major happen."

 "No. I'm fine." He collected himself. "Let's do what we need to."

Notes:

Surprise! One of two short chapters. I was gonna release them both tomorrow but eh, why not one a day?

I love how brotherly these two always seemed. Sunny always seems cared for by Hero, being pulled from the lake, or paying for flowers, or doing all of the chores on the list. But Hero and Sunny are close in another way that just doesn't really get a chance to happen with this fic's setting. Hero and Sunny both heard the piano music at night. I feel like they're a lot emotionally closer than they let on.

Just a short little chapter, take a breath everyone, crisis averted.

Chapter 14: AUBREY and MARI

 Aubrey watched Sunny disappear upstairs, leaving the rest of them to look at one another, the obvious question in the room among them. She might as well be the one to ask it.

 "So who gets dibs on the first floor shower?"

 "Um..." Basil started. "You go ahead, Aubrey."
 
 "I can wait if someone needs it more."

 "No, go on ahead! We'll dry off first." Mari smiled at her. 

 She was also gently, if awkwardly, holding her forearm. Odd, but if everyone was going to wait for her, she might as well get it over with. She went up to grab some spare clothes and settled into a steaming shower.

 ---

 "Hey, next up." Aubrey was drying her hair with a towel, now wearing a denim skirt and a pink t-shirt. Mari was the only one downstairs.

 "Looks like it's my turn! Be back in a flash." She closed the door behind her.

 Aubrey set her towel on her shoulders and went to flop onto the couch, but was interrupted by a sudden thought. Mari hadn't brought a change of clothes. That was something to do, she should go and bring her some. She went upstairs, watching Hero look at two first-aid kits.

 "...Why did we bring two?" He asked himself before noticing the new entry. "Oh, hey Aubrey, do you feel any better?"

 "...A little, I guess. I'm just up here for some clothes, Mari forgot to take a change."

 "Help yourself. Uh... I'll just... look away."

 She couldn't help but let a small scoff escape with how nervous Hero got around these things. Part of his charm, she supposed. She took the items as quickly as possible, for Hero's sake, and went back downstairs. She saw Kel put some clothes by the upstairs bathroom door and begin to talk to the person inside. A short moment later and she was raising her hand to knock on the lower door. Then she heard it, hissed breaths. She was in enough fights to know what those were. The sounds of pain. She didn't even bother to knock, simply bursting in instead.

 "Hey are you-!?"

 "Ah!! Get out!!"

 But she was frozen in place. Mari had a towel around her, but that's not what she was looking at. Her arms... there were scars and cuts on them. Some seemed only a day or two old. The other girl turned to hide them, but that only showed some scars on her back. Clearly a different origin, by shape alone, but still.

 Even as she tried to hide her arms, the image remained in her mind. More than remained, clung.

 "Mari..."

 "Did you see..?" She sounded almost panicked.

 "You're hurt..." She gathered herself, putting the spare clothes on the floor. "Put these on, I'll get help!"

 "No, wait!"

 "Huh?"

 "D-don't tell anyone. I don't want to make a fuss."

 She had never heard Mari like this before. The girl who always seemed to have the answer suddenly seemed so frail. She wanted to tell everyone right now, but... She would close herself off if she did, right? Mari would think she betrayed her...

 "I... Fine. Wait here." She said.

 Don't think about that now. First aid is first and foremost, Mari needed it after being in that water, and Aubrey was the one who put her there, running off into the storm. She ran upstairs in a fluster. Hero had said there were multiple kits, she could take one and-

 Sunny was there. His eye looked... What was with these siblings and being hurt? At least Hero was with this one.

 At least everyone knew about this one.

 Thinking later.

 "Hey can I borrow the other first aid kit?"

 "Huh? Sure, why? Is it-?"

 "Girl stuff! Can't talk now!"

 "Girl stuff", like anyone would buy that. Terrific work, Aubrey. She chided herself as she rushed off into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Mari was in a white t-shirt and a violet skirt now, sitting on the closed toilet and looking down at her feet. The shirt showed the full extent of her pains, her left arm had a number of lined scars on the wrist, the right had much the same, and more slash marks besides. Some of these were fresher. Aubrey knelt and took out the forceps to hold a cotton ball and wet it in antibiotic fluid.

 "Aubrey... You don't have to do all this, I'm fine."

 "You're not 'fine'. You're hurt. So let me do this." She placed the cotton ball on one of the newer wounds. It looked like it was a scab that reopened in the wave. Mari hissed harshly at the contact. It pained her heart almost as much. Why was she doing something like this? Why wouldn't she tell anyone?

 Deep breaths. She has time. That's the important part.

 "Does anyone else know about these?"

 "...Sunny does." Another pained little gasp.

 At least someone else knew. That meant she wasn't... hiding it, per se. With everything that had happened and an entire existential crisis in front of her, maybe it just...

 She began to clean another cut. No wonder she was holding her arm weirdly, all the ocean water must have agitated it. Her fau- No. Her big sister needed her help, she could hear what a terrible person she was in her dreams later tonight. 

 Big sister... She had asked Hero, but...

 She could ask Mari later, it would probably just be burdensome to ask now. She put her forceps down on the sink.

 "I um... I'm done cleaning, I'm going to wrap gauze around this arm so these..." She ran a finger alongside a particular cut. "Can scab again. May I?"

 "You really don't have to go through the trouble, I'll be okay."

 "It's not any trouble!" Deep breath. "I mean, it's not any trouble. It's the least I can do." She took out the gauze, and after a painfully long moment, Mari acquiesced and held her right arm out to be bandaged.

 "Wow... You're pretty good at this! Who taught you?" There was that cheer in Mari's voice and Aubrey's stomach did a flip.

 "You did."

 "I did?"

 "Ah, I mean indirectly. I know you taught Sunny how to use a first aid kit because I found him teaching Basil one day and I... Wanted to learn. So I made him teach me too."

 "Heehee, I guess I can imagine why."

 She felt her cheeks go hot and swore she would blame it on catching a cold if anyone asked. She finished wrapping and fastened the bandage in place, and a tension she didn't even know was there left her body.

 "There. Um..."

 "Hm?"

 "If... you need anything... you know you can... you know..." She struggled to hold onto her words. "You can ask me. I want to help."

 "I'll keep it in mind!" Mari's good spirit didn't do anything to make her feel any better though. In fact, quite the opposite.

 "I mean it! I... like, care about you." She rubbed her arm, suddenly unable to meet her idol's eyes.

 "Aubrey..."

 "So yeah. I know... everything just happened but I can at least help my friend." Sentiments were always so difficult to say. More difficult than the time she had fought Kim. And Kim headbutts people.

 "...Do you think I could ask for a favor then?"

 "Anything you need."

 "Um... can you get me something with long sleeves? I'd feel a lot more comfortable. I'm just not ready for everyone to see yet."

 "....Okay." She didn't like it, exactly. She'd have to get together with Sunny and talk about this, right? She looked to the cut on her own arm and what she had thought just earlier today.

 Yes, she would talk to Sunny, once they were all done here. About this and then maybe... Maybe they could plan something fun for later down the line, and lift some spirits, for real. Yes, that was a good idea.

 She took the other jacket, her jacket, and brought it downstairs. Until then, this would do.

Notes:

The other short chapter promised.

Aubrey seems to idolize Mari a lot in the game, one thing I felt, though, was that it was more prevalent in Faraway and Memory Lane than in Headspace. Aubrey goes to visit Mari very often, she still wears her hurt on her sleeve even four years later, and keeps her hair dyed out of a promise. Something that would probably put her at odds with her father, depending on when she did it. It honestly makes a few more stories come to mind, but that's for another day.

I have more to say but let's... hold on to that for later.

Chapter 15: MARI and NIETA

 Everyone sat around the dinner table as the gale howled outside, and rain pounded the windows. Sunny was currently petting Mewo, who was took to his lap once they had all come downstairs. Mari had been met with relative approval for the jacket, except by Aubrey, who looked at her with worry. Worry she had put there, like an idiot. 

 Showers and hot tea had warmed them, only for the chills to set back in as they all looked through the items on the table. A photo album, two half-moon necklaces, two pet rocks, and a flower hair clip. Mari could consider the final item to be the jacket she was wearing right now, a second one-of-a-kind item. All six stared at the bunch, but no one seemed to want to be the one to touch any of it. Basil looked particularly pale, eyes fixated on the flower.

 Well, it was as good a place to start as any.

 "Basil... It's identical, isn't it?"

 "Um... Y-yeah. I-I think so..."

 Aubrey spoke up now.

 "Well, we aren't going to get anywhere by staring at the cover."

 "Right." Hero said. "So... Ready or not..." He opened the album, and a hush fell over the table.

 Inside were all the pictures they remembered, the handwriting by each one was even the same. A picture from Christmas, photos from Basil's birthday, trips to the park and the discovery of the secret spot. There were picnics and flower-crown makings, rainy days and bug-hunts. A trip to the beach, Sunny's birthday, the new treehouse, and then some pictures of recitals being practiced.

 Those last few left prickling, icy shards in her heart.

 It was exactly like the album they all remembered. No one found anything odd with any photo or description up until that point.

 Then, the page was turned.

 A picture of a girl with long black hair and a boy with short black hair. They were on a stage, bowing.

 (10/15) - Mari and Sunny just performed in the recital! It was perfect, take a bow you two, you deserve it!

 No more photos on this page, with a look all around it was turned, but rather than the smaller, instant-developing photos like Basil's camera took, there was a wider one taped into place.

 A picture of six people were all in a tight group. One had fluffy blonde hair and a pink, flowery hair clip. He was posing like he was taking a picture of the cameraman. Another was a boy with short black hair and a somewhat blank look, his right side obscured by the other. Next to him was a girl with pink hair and teal contacts, she was shying away from the friendly arm of a tall boy who was smiling as wide as always. On the opposite side, a boy with messy hair and a winning smile did a cutesy pose with a girl who had long black hair. Mari noticed that this one had those same lines on the wrist, barely visible. She wondered if anyone else saw them. It didn't seem that way.

 (6/3) - I'm taking a picture in a picture, hehe! We're going to take a boat ride after this, but Aubrey wanted to put her jacket away first, so that gives me time to write in a new entry. It's so great to be with everyone again, the last year feels like a dream... I feel like I'll treasure these memories for the rest of my life. It's like Sunny said, we'll always be together!

 Then the album ended. There were no more entries past that. Everyone around the table sat in silence, not looking around to the others, not even moving much.

 What even was that? What had happened to them all for three years here? What stopped Basil from taking pictures?

 Why did she have those?

 What could anyone even say to this?

 "...Well fuck." 

 Everyone looked to Kel, the sudden shock shaking up the room.

 "Kel, you shouldn't say that word." Hero said, some modicum of reality settling back into the young man.

 "Bro, I think I deserve it after this. Like... Man we were really here... These are our memories. Or, theirs, but they're us and... My brain hurts just thinking about it."

 Silence again until Aubrey spoke up.

 "So... we all... And the flower in the water you found. And what Mari said you guys found at the docks..."

 "Yeah..." Basil sighed out.

 "So we're..."

 "Well... to be fair..." Kel began, then faltered as everyone looked at him.

 "We already are." Sunny finished, earning the not-truly-ire of the group. It was weird to see her little brother finish one of Kel's thoughtless jokes again.

 Everyone was silent again, some staring up at the ceiling, others at the table.

 It was her turn to speak up, her turn to say something, wasn't it? Everyone else was contributing and she was just... 

 She squeezed her arm, felt the bandages through the jacket.

 ...Being cared for again. She should be the one to care for them, they were Sunny's precious friends. She had to do something.

 "Um... Well... I guess we go home and try to figure out more about the last four years. No need to be discouraged yet!" She had to dig deep for that smile.

 No immediate response. Maybe if she were just... better she could get everyone back on track.

 "... It feels like there are more questions than answers." Hero said at length, ending her panicked planning. "What happened to them all for those years?" He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry guys, I thought we would learn a lot more than this."

 "...Well, we learned what happened to us at the end, at least." Aubrey said. "I mean... the other us. God, that's so weird to say." She let out a long breath. "So what do we do now?"

 "Well I mean, this world is missing an 'us', isn't it? And we're us, so..." Kel looked deep in thought.

 "S-so we just... take our places? Like nothing happened?" Basil scratched the back of his hand.

 "Well no one seems to think anything happened."

 "What if they find our, their, bodies, Kel?" Aubrey asked.

 "Well then we just... Say it's for a movie?"

 "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

 "Well what's your idea then? We don't even know if our bodies exist here anymore!"

 "Kel, please..." Hero looked sick to his stomach and Mari....

 Shut off. She couldn't keep up with the conversation at all. Her head was spinning.

 The recital happened. Then something else happened that wasn't resolved until recently, and then there was the matter of what the other her had been doing. The necklaces were new as well, when had the other Hero and Mari gotten them? Was it before those or after? And why was there so much noise!? Why was everyone shouting? She couldn't even hear her own thoughts and she needed to organize them and make a plan and make everything okay again and-

 "Shut up!!"

 Quiet.

 Then she realized what she had just done.. Her hands went to her mouth, and she looked around at the stunned faces.
 
 "I'm... I'm so sorry, everyone. I didn't... mean it..."

 "Mari... It's okay, we were getting off-track." Hero said. "We're already past-due to move out this place. Maybe we should go back home and sleep on it, we aren't getting anywhere by arguing."

 "I agree." Aubrey said, slapping the table on her way up. "I need to do something."

 "Same here." Kel said in a rare showing of agreement with the girl.

 "We'll meet tomorrow, right?" Basil asked.

 "Yeah, tomorrow." Hero said, and the four of them set about their tasks, going to their rooms while discussing how they would fit everything into the van.

 Mari was shaken from the self-given shock by Sunny.

 "Are you okay?"

 Was she okay? For him... For him she had to be.

 "Of course! Sorry about earlier, It's just been a long day." She gave her best smile before holding out her hand for him to take, leading him upstairs.

 Keep it together. Keep it together.

 ...

 The streetlights along the highway rolled past. Mari felt the cool glass against her forehead. The others were falling asleep, slowly but surely. Sunny and Basil leaned on one another in the back while Mewo huddled between them. Kel was sprawled in his seat and snoring loudly, while Aubrey looked like she merely had her eyes closed while resting her hand in her chin. Mari knew she was actually asleep, however.

 She would be soon to follow, she felt so completely tired. She already had one experience of finding "her" own clothes, the second had winded her completely.

 "You can fall asleep, you know. I'm fine driving."

 "Aw... How'd you know I was watching you?"

 "It's just like the time we followed Kel and Sunny to Hobbeez that one midnight. You made sure I didn't fall asleep in the bushes."

 "Heehee, I do remember that."

 "Even though you were just as tired. I'm not a kid anymore though, you can sleep, Mari."

 She wanted to fight, but her eyes became heavy. And it was exactly like taking a step off of a box.

 She fell into the dark of her consciousness.

 ---

 Mari was running down the streets of her hometown, running from a ferocious storm. A storm with teeth and claws that would rend everything in its path. The great, angry grey advanced on her ever more, tearing through trees and houses. She ran somewhere she knew she was safe, she ran to her friends, past the cemetery as its stones were wiped away, past Aubrey's house as it was ripped up, and soon after Basil's flowers joined it. Hero's house was ahead, everyone would be there, they would all know how to help, they would all make this better.

 They were up ahead she waved and shouted.

 "Guys!! Help!!"

 They all turned, and she saw that they all looked...

 Wrong. Their eyes were hollowed out, and were laden with seaweed. They looked... drowned.

 "What did you do, Mari?" Hero asked.

 "Y-you brought that storm this way." Basil said.

 "You brought us all this pain." Kel accused.

 "I thought you only wanted to hurt yourself. Why us?" Aubrey pointed her words.

 "Why did you kill us?" Sunny repeated the question.

 Oh God.

 The storm... The one she remembered.

 She had brought the storm, hadn't she? It was her storm, wasn't it?

 She was the reason they were on the water, wasn't she?

 Her.
 
 Her...

 It was all her fault. It was all her fault, all her-!

 The storm was here, she watched as it ripped the others away into the sky like dolls, then shredded them in tooth and claw.

 An arm fell by her feet.

 Her fault.

 She screamed, and the scene lurched all around her, flashing black, and then...

 ---

 Welcome to White Space. It's not your fault.

 Mari stood in the endless white room. A wire hung from the ceiling, wherever that was. Everything she needed was here, a laptop, a sleeping cat, a box of tissues, and a book filled with poetry and hateful words. All sat on a stark white picnic blanket. Only Mari was in the room.

 Mari and Nieta.

 A girl stood in the center of the blanket. She was shorter than Mari, and her hair was jet black, unlike the years-old sheen of violet in Mari's hair. The other girl was also painfully pale, and wore a stark white dress that looked familiar.

 "You always do this." Nieta said. Her voice was impassive, stilted.

 "You..." Mari took a step back.

 "Did you forget? Feelings are dangerous. Especially yours. His friends all need to be saved from you."

 "N-no... No. They all need me still!"

 "They don't."

 "They do..." Mari clutched at her chest. It felt like it was hard to breathe.

 "It's the opposite. Did it feel nice to have Aubrey tend to you after you nearly caused her death? Or hear Kel say 'thank you' for your abuse? Both are hurting, but you took all their attention for yourself." Nieta took a step forward. "You're needy, desperate for it."

 "Stop..."

 "Then what about those?" She spoke in some facsimile of disgust, and pointed at Mari's arm. "The other you also had them. She put them on display for everyone to see. Like you did."

 "Tha... That was an accident..." Her heart was pounding out of her chest.

 "Then you should be better. That's why I was made. I don't make those mistakes. I don't force everyone to pander to me." Another step forward, holding out her hand. "Let me protect him. Protect them."

 Mari's eyes went wide, memories of the last time she had given in swam in her mind. She had been so close to telling the truth, telling everyone what really happened to Sunny. But she couldn't do that to them in the end, she wold have caused so much grief and right after Basil's grandmother had died. Nieta reminded her of that. It was true, she was only good for her image. Breaking it down, forcing them to help her wasn't fair. So she walked home. She was moving away, so no one would know that she made sure she would never make another mistake again.

 But this was different. He was here. He would know.

 "S-Sunny... I can't do that to him." She hadn't realized she was halfway to meeting Nieta's. She saw what he had done when he thought she was dead firsthand, the red all over the kitchen floor, the knife from his chest. This Sunny had done the same, if she went away then he..

 "I will always choose the best way. I wouldn't give him anything less. I love Sunny. Also unlike you."

 "I love him, I do!"

 "Then why did you say all those things to him?"

 Mari went silent.

 "Did you forget? Do you need a reminder?" Her voice suddenly lilted, it sounded exactly like when Mari would hear a recording of herself. "You messed me up, now I have to start all over again! Sunny, you've barely practiced at all! I'm glad you barely speak if that's what you have to say for yourself!"

 "Stop!!" Mari covered her ears.

 "You know what you are. An image. A fake. The least you can do is protect it, and you can't even do that. So let me." She was right in Mari's face now. "I will keep him safe from you. I'm perfect."

 There was only the beat of a heart. She... wouldn't hurt Sunny, she kept everything of his safe for years, against Mari's own twisted thoughts. Nieta preserved the worlds she had been shown from Sunny's sketchbook.

 The heartbeat grew quieter.

 Even his imaginary friend, Abbi, was safe, something only she knew about. The imaginary friend had said this appearance, Nieta, was a double-edged sword but right now it seemed like safety.

 Faint, barely a pulse.

 Her eyes felt heavy, and she felt herself falling, falling asleep. Mari faded into White Space.

 Nieta sighed and looked at the new grey door in the room. Unsightly. But she had someone to protect. She set her hand on the door, and turned the knob.

 ---

 Suddenly she was in a car, watching houses roll by. They would be home soon. She looked back and saw Sunny, still safely dozing. Aubrey had woken up, and had apparently been looking at her. She would have to handle that, assuage her later. She deserved not to worry after the long days they've all had. They all deserved far better than they got with this thing. They were pulling up into Hero's driveway now.

 "Hey. Everyone awake?" He called and general stirring and stretching answered him. "Good. Basil, do you want me to run you to your house?"

 "He can stay with us tonight, can't he?" Kel asked after a stretch that didn't seem to fit in the car. "It's dark and we're all tired. Same for you two." He looked at Sunny and Nieta in turn.

 "Kel, their parents are probably expecting them tomorrow morning. I'd hate to cause trouble for you both."

 "But..."

 "It's okay." Sunny was looking at her strangely, why? "Have to do this. I'll see you tomorrow."

 "Alright... Just check in with us, okay?" Kel ruffled Sunny's hair, just like his older brother sometimes did. With that, the group parted, Sunny and Nieta heading for their beds. They had another long day ahead. Nieta found Mari's bed and sat on it, offering space to her little brother. Some distant, faraway voice sounded, like it faintly remembered that it was where she should be, but it was quickly lost in the white expanse. Nieta would keep him safe.

 And everything was going to be perfect.

Notes:

Omori: "What's going to happen when you investigate and find no answers? What will happen when normal life settles back in and you have to carry on like you're someone you're not?"

I think I said it before, but you are not required to read Nieta to understand this story, I hope it can stand all its own.

Chapter 16: SUNNY and AUBREY

 "Oh Sunny! What on Earth happened to your eye!? Oh sweetie!"

 Sunny was having a difficult time, usually he liked hugs but those words started an obsessive, protective hug. He could barely get a word in edgewise on his mother, who was practically in hysterics. His answers were having a hard time finding their way out of his throat as is with his nature, and it was already hard enough to try to speak over his mother, but the kicker was that Mari had been acting... off. There was a feeling he couldn't describe. She had smiled and patted him on the head before bed but something about it.... There was something his mind was trying to tell him, but what?

 Of course he couldn't concentrate, though. He was here. In this room. He was here after nearly four years apart. The man with the glasses and partial beard.

 His father.

 "Mari, what happened!?"

 And he was upset. Yelling at Mari of all people though...

 "We went for a boat ride and there was a storm."

 "You went out on the ocean in a storm!? What were you thinking!?"

 "Dear!" Sunny's mother interrupted, finally pulling away from her son. "It's not her fault..."

 "Hon, no. But..." He huffed and hissed. "I didn't think you would be so careless. I'm very disappointed with you, Mari."

 "I understand." She replied in a sad way.

 Sunny... didn't like that. He had just said something really hurtful to his sister.

 "Um..." He had peeped before he had even thought. "Not... her..."

 "Sunny, you're going to make me angry doing that."

 "S-s-storm... um..."

 "Don't hem and haw, speak up!"

 He worked to calm himself.

 Calm himself in front of the same man who had disowned him. And disowned Mari, by the sound of it. He had to work even harder to gather his words.

 "Storm was... It was sudden... Out of nowhere."

 His father was rubbing his temple, headache clearly forming. His mother took advantage of the lull in shouting.

 "Sunny, did you go to the hospital for your eye?"

 "How much do we owe? I can't believe you wouldn't call us immediately!"

 "Hero... wrapped it."

 "...The culinary major bandaged your eye!?"

 Oh no, he was getting angry again and-

 Culinary major?

 "You thought that was okay!?" His father was continuing. "Did all your 'friends' convince you that it wasn't that bad so they could all stay out at the beach!? Maybe so that Henry could spend even more time with-!"

 "Dear!" Sunny's mother spoke up at length. "We need to take Sunny to the hospital."

 "...Right, yeah." He turned towards Mari, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You stay here. Practice your piano. You have a recital next week, if you can be inconvenienced for that long." He turned to the door and grumbled then slammed it behind him.

 "Oh Sunny, Mari, your father is just upset. He needs a little time to cool down." She let out a breath. "But still, you have a lot to answer for, young lady. This is so unlike you!" She stood and took Sunny by the hand, beginning to pull him away from his sister.

 "Ah..."

 She waved and gave a small smile.

 "It's okay Sunny, I'll be here when you get back."

 He was pulled away from her, right out the door.

 ---

 Sunny found that the doctor had repeated much of what Hero had said and done, but worse. His hands were cold, and he poked around too hard, and talked about the cost of the prosthetic extensively. Of course, he couldn't resist repeating the phrase, "Why didn't you come in sooner?", which Sunny also didn't like. A large part of him wished he could say, "oh sorry, I didn't know where the hospital was in this dimension," If only to stop the grumblings about his sister every few minutes. At the very least, one good thing had come from it, the doctor agreed that the dressings were professional quality. Sunny was just glad he was in the car back home now.

 His father was driving, and he couldn't help but steal looks at the man. It's not like they had ever been especially close, Sunny often found him difficult to follow. They were on different wavelengths. He didn't understand why he shouted over the remote getting lost, or why he was so frustrated with how little Sunny spoke. Especially since his friends all seemed to understand him so much more easily.

 "What?" His father shocked him by barking out a question. "You keep looking at me like that. Do you think I was being unfair to your sister? Is that it?"

 He really didn't want to deal with this right now.

 "Hey. You're being really disrespectful right now. Answer me."

 Nervousness boiled up in him instantly, memories began to replay in his head. These tones, he had heard them all before. It was shortly after Mari's death, he had started to spend more and more time withdrawn into his room. He gave up going out, he gave up on a number of his chores, he gave up his words. So his father filled the house with them in his stead. Before he went out back with that axe, and that smell on his breath, he had words.

 "Emotionless little monster."

 Then he had made it abundantly clear that her was a man without children.

 "Sunny. Answer your father." His mother snapped him out of his sudden reverie.

 "I.. it's ..."

 "Sunny!" Dad shouted. "Sunny, you can't keep up this speech thing, you're sixteen now." He adjusted his grip on the wheel. "It's not normal, how are you supposed to find a job if you can't even speak normally? Hi... Am... Me.." He ended, half-mockingly.

 "Now, he's always been a quiet boy..." Mom began

 "Well he has to be a normal one, the world isn't a kind place." He huffed out as he made a right turn. "So tell me. Use your words. Do you think I was being unfair to your sister?"

 Calm down, gather what you want to say.

 "...Yes."

 "Oh, so you think this was just a little scratch or something? That it was okay to not get any medical help?"

 A rain of words he wanted to say assaulted him all at once. Something to make him understand, he just had to focus on which would get his message across, it was already draining enough to be here.

 "I told her not to. My choice."

 "...That doesn't mean she shouldn't have done anything. She should have told us even if you asked her to do something so reckless."

 "It's fine... doctor said it was cared for."

 "By some miracle! Just think for one moment, do you have any idea how much this little stunt could have costed? Do you know how much it currently costs!? You. Are. Half. Blind. Did you not notice that?"

 "...You don't know what it was like." Sunny murmured.

 "What was that? Are you talking back to me now?"

 "...I said, you don't know what it was like. You weren't there." His heart sank a bit at that one, suddenly unsure of which father he had been addressing.

 "Oh I wasn't there huh? Then why don't you tell me what happened? What was so goddamned important that you were out at the beach instead of calling us at the hospital?"

 Sunny immediately found that it was difficult to string his thoughts together into a coherent sense. He wanted to say the truth, the problem was that his truth didn't fit into this world. It would be insane to say the least. But he needed his father to understand that he wasn't just messing around. That it wasn't okay to blame Mari either.

 Perhaps a story that he lost it just yesterday, late at night? No that wouldn't work if his parents talked to Kel's. Keep trying.

 Saying that he hid it from everyone? How would he even begin to do that? Keep trying.

 Finally, persistence paid off, he would tell the "truth".

 "...The storm... It was really fast. No warning. Basil... fell in. He was in trouble, so I went after him. But I got hurt." It was basically what happened.

 "Just 'hurt'."

 "Better than Basil dying..." His mind wandered. Basil... His Basil. What happened to him? What happened to his Hero and his Aubrey and his Kel? Were they all trying to figure out what to do without him? He thought they would be glad to be rid of him but now? After two days with them at his side, risking lives and sanity for one another? Now... he didn't know.

 "Fine." His father made a dismissive gesture. "If you say that's what happened, then fine. You win." The car was pulling into the driveway now. "Oh God it's that delinquent girl, what does she want?" He parked the car and Sunny met his gaze in the rearview before exiting the car.

 Aubrey raised a hand slightly to wave.

 "Hey, Mister and Missus Suzuki."

 His father ignored her and went inside. His mother, on the other hand, waved in turn.

 "Hello Aubrey, sweetie. Are you here to play? I'm afraid it's not really the best time. Mari is grounded today and Sunny needs to rest."

 "Ah, that's why I was here, actually. Um... I was hoping to talk to Sunny about Mari, she seemed a little down ever since..." She looked at Sunny, he looked at his mother and pointed at his bandage. "Yeah that. Can I borrow him for a little while? We're... Trying to plan something to lift her spirits."

 "Are you sure? She was a little down today but she was still able to smile, she can't be that bad. And Sunny really shouldn't be running around..."

 "Mom... Please. I'm fine." Sunny said at length. "I want to. For her. She helped a lot."

 "...I'll talk with your father. Do not go running around, or swimming in the lake, or spending all your money at the plaza, or-"

 "Mom."

 "Fine, fine. But be back in time for dinner, okay? Go on, Mommy loves you!"
 
 Sunny waved and fell into line alongside Aubrey, and the two began to walk. At first, he thought she would lead him to Hero and Kel's, but she just went past.

 "So..."

 "So." He replied. It was the magic word to tell the girl he was ready to listen.

 "Um, we'll be meeting with the others a bit later. I just wanted a chance to talk with you about Mari. Is she alright?"

 "Kind of off."

 "Yeah... Agh, I think that's my fault." Sunny glanced over. "I mean, worrying you guys on the beach, but also I think I stressed her out by walking in on something I shouldn't have."

 Sunny cocked his head to one side.

 "I, uh, have you seen her arm?"

 He nodded. He had, in the first few minutes of being here.

 "Yeah, at the beach house I saw them and she asked me to keep it a secret. I get that she wants to take it at her own pace but... I just wanted to talk about it." She sighed, putting her hands into her pockets. "Was she like that before... Everything?"

 Sunny considered. He didn't remember any marks on her arm before.

 "So it's new for her. Or... old for a new her?" She kicked a rock. "This kind of crap is why I wanted to talk to you. I don't know how you do it, but I feel like I can talk about this stuff a lot more easily."

 Sunny nodded for her to continue.

 "So, I'm just worried. Some of those marks aren't really very old at all. I wanna do something but like... what can I even do?"

 Sunny did not answer, he knew she wanted to talk through it.

 "Not like I can offer my house as a get-away. Mari would probably prefer Hero's cooking, too. I want to plan a party for her but... You know how Mari was always watching over us when we were kids?"

 A nod yes.

 "I don't want her to feel like it's some event she has to officiate. I want her to feel like... I want her to feel like we're here for her. She can talk to us." She found that together, they had kicked the little rock all the way to the park. "I wish I figured that out a little faster. But I guess I thought like... You were all sick of me after what I've done."

 "You're our friend, though." They traded a look, then all at once seemed to find that they had arrived at the swing set once again. He remembered how they would often sit here to talk about anything and everything. They may be a little big now, but the seats held them all the same. For awhile, they sat and lightly swung back and forth. The air between them clearing and making room for the sounds of people playing, grilling, and picnicking. The world around them was perfectly normal, completely unaware of what the boy and girl on the swings were talking about. 

 Sunny felt Aubrey stop swinging next to him.

 "...I missed you all. For four years I wondered where everyone had gone. Then we all meet up here and it's like nothing even really happened. Is it just because we have something in common now?"

 "...No." Sunny thought back to how his own scene at the lake had played out, and how the third day was spent as a group. "We could always be friends again."

 "Even after everything I've done?"

 "We forgive you."

 "But-"

 "I do."

 "Sunny..." Now it was silent again, not even the creaking swings interrupted the quiet for the longest time. Until, at long last, Aubrey spoke again.

 "So yeah. I want to do something for Mari. Will you help me to help her to talk more with the others? You know she doesn't like relying on people but like, we're all in this together."

 "Okay." He said, not off-handedly, but as a solemn promise. And with that promise came another tug at his mind. There was something he felt like he knew, but he couldn't get his hands on it.

 "Um... That goes for y-you too, you know? If you need help or anything, you better ask me. I r-really like, you know, care-"

 "HEY AUBREY!!" A loud voice split the atmosphere. Sunny couldn't help but smile a little in secret. Of course he knew what she wanted to say, and he was grateful for her care, but it was perfectly in line with their luck to have the words cut off.

 "Kim!! I'm trying to have a conversation!" Aubrey sighed loudly to the sky. "Whatever. It's fine." She stood off her swing and held out her hand for a fist bump, only to be practically tackled by the other girl.

 "Hey boss lady! Thought you were back with Sunny the day before yesterday! But you didn't answer any of my rocks..."

 "Oh, I was out, up at Sunny's, then back to the beach to look at thei- our stuff."

 "Ah I getcha, I getcha. You should tell someone though. I coulda broken something." Kim pushed her glasses up, taking notice of the other person at the swings. "Oh, I wasn't interrupting nothing was I? Hey nerd." She raised a hand. "How you feeling?"

 "Uh... Okay."

 "So Aubs, you kick the ass of whatever took the twerp's eye out?"

 She looked back and forth between Kim and Sunny, the latter of which gave a nod of approval.

 "...Yeah. You know it."

 "That's my girl. I raised you well." She sniffled in a fake way. "Wanna meet up tomorrow? We're going up to the hangout spot."

 "Tomorrow? I actually might be up to something. I'm trying to put together something for Mari."

 "Mari? Oh man, I wanna do something nice for her too then. Hey, let us help, I promise that there'll be nothing more than the absolutely necessary level of clobbering to get Angel and 'the Maverick' in line."

 "You wanna do something for her too?"

 "Of course! I may not see her much but ever since you introduced us like, last year, she's helped us all a lot. She even got Charlie to deliver her love letter! She's a total sweetheart, of course we'd wanna throw her a surprise party."

 "Surprise party? I didn't say... Well, actually, might not be a bad idea... Hey yeah, think you could get everyone together? We can talk it out?"

 "You got it, boss lady. You can count on me!"

 "Thanks, Kim." Now the two bumped fists. "I'll see you tomorrow, I just have a few things to talk about, with the beach and... everything."

 "Ah, wanna spend more time with this one? I see you, I see you."

 "H-Hey! What are you talking about?"

 "Hahaha! I'm just yanking your chain. I'll see you tomorrow. Oh and Aubs? Happy to see you like, smiling. Was afraid your whole reunion trip got ruined or something."

 "Almost but... You know I'm tougher than that."

 "Yeah I do!" She waved and left the park, leaving Aubrey and Sunny behind.

 "Ah... She uh..." She let out a breath. "I thought she'd vanish too one day. I think that's why I always fought. I'd make them stay out of respect and now like... Ah, what was I doing?"

 Sunny tugged on her sleeve. He had an idea of an answer.

 "Your best."

 "...You can't just say something that cheesy and embarrassing, Sunny, you're gonna make me laugh!"

 "Good. It's good when you laugh."

 And so the two laughed, all the way until Hero, Kel, and Basil called out to them. Even though his laughter was a soft, barely perceptible breath, it was the most Sunny had laughed in four years, all at a dumb not-joke. All because these were his friends.

Notes:

I know Kim never really calls Aubrey "boss lady" in the game, but I can't help myself, there's something that feels right about it. Also, I don't think I ever used "Suzuki" as Sunny and Mari's last names in a fic before,but it seems accepted enough and I do like it, so thanks to the community at large for popularizing a last name for use.

Also, the chapter of meeting Sunny's father, and the pressing in of life. Of course we know what happened to Sunny's eye. We know it was properly cared for and he wasn't in any big danger, but there would be no hospital bill in this world. If you're wondering where I got ideas for Sunny's father's character, let me just say that I modeled him a little after someone and leave it at that. Still, even with a model it felt like the hardest thing in the world. I already feel very paranoid over whether I'm getting the main characters' personalities correct, and let me tell you, I feel very, very much the same about side characters. Worrying over their fit in this world.

Aubrey and Sunny, I feel like their relationship goes in stages, there's a difference between the little girl who liked to talk to Sunny and the teenage boss of the hooligans who remembers those days. I hope both got a small chance to be heard here, in a sense.

I wanted to do this last chapter, but it didn't seem tonally appropriate, so I'll say it now: Thank you so much for your comments, every single one! Speaking as someone who gets deathly nervous writing a comment, I thank you for the courage and kindness it takes to leave one. They really, really helped me to grow, and post more of my writing than ever before. Thank you.

Chapter 17: BASIL and MARI

 Basil sat under his favorite tree in the middle of his favorite meadow. Flowers gathered all around, and beyond the clearing there was a pretty, pastel forest. Of course, there was a little road leading up to the meadow so all of his friends could find him without getting lost.

 He was looking through his photo album, full of his most precious memories. He turned the page to see some photos of the beach. Another turn and it was the tree house. Then the practicing for the recital. Then...

 The light went red all around him. The tree went dark, and there was an unmistakable shadow swinging in the breeze. The next picture was of a shattered violin at the foot of the stairs. Then of a girl falling. Then of two boys trying to get her to rest and get better. Then of the same boys going to the backyard. Then of-

 "What's so interesting?" A voice startled him away from the album. Causing him to look around in a panic. "Heehee! Basil, don't be silly, I'm up here! Wow... I can see my house from here!"

 Basil slowly turned his head up to the tree, fear filling him.

 Mari was swinging in the tree, jump rope around her neck. She was smiling at him, like she always used to. Basil heart felt like it would stop.

 "M-M-Mari!? Wh-wh-what are you..?"

 "Doing? Just hanging out!"

 Basil felt like he was going to be sick.

 "Hey, you don't look so good. Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

 "Wh-why..? Are you..?"

 "I don't know, this is your nightmare, after all." She let out a sigh. "Or, was supposed to be, I guess you really wanted to talk about something though. Do you mind giving me a hand?"

 "...What?"

 "Getting down, it's a bit difficult on my own. Can you climb up and undo the knot?"

 "Mari... I don't.. I..!"

 "You can do it! Remember, it's not as scary as you think!"

 Basil looked from the album and back to Mari. Nightmare, she had called it. He gathered what tiny bit of courage he had, the tiny flicker, and began to climb. In all of the strange logic, in all of what was happening, he was aware of one thing. He had a chance to do something helpful. He took it. He found the knot exactly as he remembered it. His vision was shaky, his breathing was erratic, the facets of the worst day of his life were all in front of him, in a detail he didn't often feel in dreams.

 He worked quickly. The knot was hard to grasp with how sweaty his hands felt. But he kept working at it. Finally, it loosened, pulled, and the branch he was on sharply shuddered, sending both him and Mari to the ground.

 "Ow..." Was the first thing out of his mouth. "Mari! Mari are you okay?" He looked around, finding that he had landed on her.

 "I'm okay! Whew, that was a real pain in the neck."

 "Mari..."

 "Heehee! I know.... I know I shouldn't tease, but it's not every day I get to make puns like that." She patted Basil on the head. "Besides, telling jokes is the best way to tell people that you want them to be happy."

 "You... what?"

 "Ah... Nevermind, it's just me being silly. So you wanted to talk to me?"

 "I did?"

 "Yeah, it's your dream, I'm just along for the ride. So I'm here, say whatever you need to!"

 Basil looked around. The meadow was still lit up in red, shadows still wandered around the edges of the forest. Even despite all that, Mari was next to him, happily smiling.

 "I... Don't know what to talk about."

 "I can start us off then." She stretched and then fussed with the knot around her neck. "How are you feeling after the beach house?"

 "I... I um... I... I'm sorry, Mari... This..."

 "It's a little weird talking with me like this, huh? It's alright, I promise I won't turn into a monster, I'll be me the entire time!" She looked around. "It's okay, this is your meadow, isn't it?"

 "Um..." Basil took a deep breath. "Is it... Really okay to talk to me? After what I did to you?"

 "I think so."

 "Really?"

 "Ah, Basil. If it's that hard then, can I ask you a question?"

 "What's that, Mari?"

 "If I forgave you a hundred thousand times, would that make you feel better?"

 "I mean-"

 "Really think about it now."

 Basil held his tongue and pondered. Imagined how it would really feel to have Mari herself forgive him for what he had done. In a way, in a sense it had kind of happened, with the Mari he met in this world, but if his Mari rose from the dead and hugged him and told him everything would be okay...
 
 "Maybe at first... But I think I'll always feel bad about it." He sniffled once. "I'm sorry, Mari. I'm so, so sorry that I'm such an idiot."

 "It's okay. I'm really sorry too."

 "You're sorry? Why?"

 "Because this is still a nightmare, of course!" She smiled, and something glinted in her left hand. Basil tried to back up but only fell over, showing the bloody sky overhead. He scrambled and clutched at the grass but came away with nothing. He watched as she slowly positioned herself at his side and, wearing that same comforting grin, showed him a pair of gardening shears. "Sorry! This is about as comfortable as I can make it for you."

 She stabbed down, into his eye, and he jolted.

 No meadow, no light, now anything but dark as he startled and took stock of his surroundings. Dark. Dark. More dark. Where was he? Where was Mari? What had just-!?

 "Mn... Basil? Is that you?" A familiar voice called to him. His world stopped spinning for a moment. Who was it? Another nightmare come to stab him?

 He shuddered and gripped his head.

 "Hey. Basil, it's okay. It's me. Aubrey? Have a nightmare? Take a deep breath."

 He did as instructed. Slowly the dark blue room came into view. He was on the floor of Hero and Kel's bedroom, not far from Aubrey. Now he could take stock of her, her hair framed her, but her eyes weren't as bright. He reminded himself, she took her contacts out before bed this time. It looked like Aubrey. Sounded like her too. But of course there was one more step to checking.

 "Aubrey?"

 "Yeah, it's me."

 "Thank goodness. Oh! I mean, I'm sorry I woke you up, I didn't mean to..."

 "Heh. It's okay, I did the same thing, didn't I? We're even now."

 "Even..."

 "Basil. It was just a joke, it's okay. come on, wanna talk about it?"

 He thought to his courteous nightmare. Talking to the Mari he had hung, and decided that it had been much better than how his dreams usually went. Those were across twisted, strange black and white landscapes, some filled with dying animals, another a neighborhood with strange monsters running. Others were places filled with the hanged, and a church so much like the one on his street... Places he sometimes saw Sunny as he remembered him. Or almost as he remembered him, maybe a little more pale, a little more strange.

 Yes, it was better than those.

 "Um... Can I?"

 "Sure."

 ---

 The smell of bacon filled the air. Hero was on the frying pan, while Kel and Aubrey looked at their coffee cups. Aubrey had boldly ordered hers black and, in a small but typical tiff, Kel ordered the same. Neither seemed to like it but both refused to make a move to add sugar either. Basil just watched it unfold from his warm and delicious mug of hot chocolate, wondering if he should sneak a few spoonfuls of sweetener into their cups. His thoughts were interrupted by Hero sliding some hot food onto a plate.

 "Order up!" He had a bit of his old grin back, and sat once everyone got their share. "So then... I saw Sunny and his parents leave this morning. His dad looked... About how I remember."

 "What do you mean, Hero? He was always a little quiet but..."

 "Try dating his daughter..." He said it with an uneasy smile.

 Aubrey blushed fiercely and took a harsh sip of her coffee, coughing afterwards.

 "So.. munch munch... What will we... munch munch... Do today?"

 "Kel that's gross! Swallow first!"

 Aubrey's words brought a memory to Basil's mind, he remembered when Kel and Aubrey got into a fight with watermelon seeds.

 "Hehe... That's Kel for you, I guess!"

 It felt good to let out a giggle.
 
 "I guess we can go looking for more clues." Hero said with a piece of egg on his fork.

 "I'd rather have Sunny and Mari around for that. Ah, speaking of, I should get Bun-Bun, Mari's probably been looking after him all morning." She let out a sigh and stretched. "Hope they didn't get in trouble for that."

 "I'm sure they would understand. I guess while you're doing that I should go to Othermart like Mom wanted."

 Kel swallowed, nearly choking on his food. His appetite was a lot better than it had been even a day ago.

 "We were just there the day before yesterday though."

 "We still need groceries for our home, Kel."

 "Oh. Need some help, bro?"

 "I'll be fine. I'd like you to be around for Sally."

 "You got it. She's safe with her big brother." He smiled. It wasn't the goofy grin Basil remembered, it was slight but strong.

 "Alright. I'll sneak over next door then." Aubrey said.

 "Um... Can I come along? I kind of... Want to check in on Mari too."

 "Huh? Yeah, alright. Let's go." Aubrey nodded towards the door and the pair went off, waving to Kel and Hero, and leaving for the open air. The sky was clear, no traces of a cloud, and it seemed like they were being warmly greeted by their town. Hector barked a few times and ran up to Basil, nearly tackling him completely.

 "Hello Hector! I missed you too."

 BarkbarkbarkBARKbarkbark!

 "So... Nightmare make you wanna check on her?" Aubrey's voice cut through the dog's fervent need for attention.

 "Uh... Yeah. I know it's weird but... Um, how do I explain it?"

 "Take your time."

 "It's like... I know it's just a dream, but they make me worry about my friends a lot when I see them suffer."

 "Makes enough sense."

 "Ah, sorry, I know it's... There's something wrong with me for me to dream like that, isn't there?"

 "It's a dream, Basil, you don't exactly have control over them." She sighed. "I should know. Agh, come on, let's hurry. I'd rather not get her in trouble."

 "Do you remember Sunny's father being around?"

 "Not since I was, like, twelve."

 "Me either..."

 "Kel and Hero seem to know him, though. Guess we'll ask them if he changed in the past four years. Guess he's still loud but I can think of worse." Her gaze darkened and she reached a hand over her shoulder to rub a spot on her back. They were at Sunny and Mari's front door now, jarring Aubrey from her thoughts. She looked to Basil again before knocking. A minute passed before the door opened. Mari had a small smile.

 "Oh, hello Aubrey, Basil. This might not be the best time to play. Dad was upset earlier, and I have piano practice."

 Basil hadn't heard any piano. You could usually hear it faintly from Kel's.

 "Upset? Hey, you alright?" Aubrey half-reached for her friend. "He wasn't too hard on you two was he? If you need someone to come in and take the blame-"

 "I'm fine." She held an assuaging hand up.

 "Are you sure?"

 "I'm sure."

 Basil, on the other hand, was not sure. Something felt... Familiar. Familiar was the word. Familiar but not comforting.

 "Well... I mean, I can stay with you until your parents are due home. I can even sneak out the back."

 "Aubrey, please. I am perfectly fine."

 "...Um... Alright. Do you mind if I get Bun-Bun real quick?"

 "Go ahead. I'll help you."

 "I'll be okay, just a second." She set about her task, leaving Basil with Mari. Even after all this time, even after having her embrace him it didn't feel real. But if this was a dream he didn't know how to wake up.

 "Um... So you still play the piano?"

 "Yes, I still need to practice though."

 There was that feeling again.

 "Oh. I uh, I didn't mean to make you stop. Oh, I know! I can sit in the music room with you while you practice, so you won't feel lonely!"

 "I don't feel lonely. And practicing with others is-" She looked at him and blinked slowly. "Alright, just for a few minutes." She held her hand out to lead them both to the room. Basil began to realize the he had barely even heard a piano being played since that day. At the same time however, it seemed he always heard one in his dreams. Distant, cold, and high notes that perfectly framed his nightmares. What he was missing, however was...

 In the corner of the music room, on a shelf in a reasonable place. A violin case, exactly like the one they had gotten for Sunny for Christmas. Basil put his hand to the cabinet. It... would be like the one in the new- old recital photo, right?

 ...Did Sunny know it was here? He should, right?

 He shook himself from his reverie, looking over to Mari. She was sitting and staring at the piano, fingers hovering over the keys. She wasn't playing, just staring, nearly wincing.

 "Um... Mari? It's okay, you know, you don't have to play."

 "Everyone is counting on me to, I can do it."

 "Ah... I didn't... mean to make you feel like you had to for me. It's okay if you don't want to, especially if it has bad memories tied to it."

 "Dad said I'd have to. Sunny shouldn't get caught in the shouting if I don't."

 "Um... I guess not. But... You too, you know. Maybe you can talk it over and-"

 "No. It's fine, just have to keep practicing until it's perfect."

 Something felt...

 Like Sunny in the last three days he had seen him. Although that had been worse, he hadn't said a single word the entire time, just staring at him with that distant look in his eyes. He had even left when Something- When he thought Something was all around him. Sunny had left him... But he had also... Saved him from the lake. Had put himself in danger, but then also left at the end and... This same strangeness was in the air. The same conflicting attitudes. And Mari still had not played a single note. She sighed and looked back to him.

 "It's a little hard to practice after all. Mistakes are embarrassing."

 "I never mind them, I can barely tell when you make one, your playing is so beautiful."

 She smiled warmly and patted him on the head.

 "Ah, where's your flower, by the way? Did you give up wearing one?"

 "H-Huh? Oh... No it's just... I like it and all, I really do! But it's weird using the ones in.... Other Me's bag."

 "I'll help you buy a new one when I'm free. Is that okay?"

 "Um... Yeah. yeah I'd like that. Can we really?"

 "Sure."

 "Hey Basil, Mari!" Aubrey called out, popping in the door with a rabbit in her arms. "I got Bun-Bun. Thanks for keeping him safe here. Was it hard with Mewo prowling around?"

 "No, Mewo has been well-behaved all day. She hasn't gone anywhere near him."

 Mew? The black cat called out and stretched.

 "Good kitty!" Aubrey called out. "I'll go get him situated, we'll be meeting in the park later. Are you okay Basil, do you want to stay until then?"

 He looked back to Mari and remembered what she had said.

 "I wouldn't want to cause trouble. I'll go. Mari..." He looked to the door. "My flower, it's a promise, right?"

 "Anything you need."

 "Good." He turned and left with Aubrey, chattering over how they would meet at the park later, and how she wanted to borrow Sunny for a little while before that. Basil agreed, half aware, while the other half was focused on one pervading thought. Mari was acting odd. She might be sick, perhaps her father's yelling had gotten to her, or maybe she had a bad nightmare. He wanted to know how to help, but he wasn't entirely sure how to do it without messing up. Basil was well aware how his helping often ended up backfiring, but his thoughts continued to drift back to that stormy night. His mind fixating on one detail that he had endless gratitude for. Mari had helped him to understand Sunny.

 So he resolved himself. He would ask for help if he couldn't do it alone.

 "Hey Aubrey?"
 
 "Yeah Basil?"

 "Does something seem strange to you? I um... I just want your opinion on something..."

 For once, he wouldn't keep to himself.

Notes:

So, can anyone guess who the next pair is? Well, there might be an oddly titled chapter next, depending on the length of what I'm writing, but I mean the next chapter titled after a pair.

Mari and Basil, I think I said it before, but I find it really fascinating how the game characterizes a person we barely even see. How we come to understand him and his importance and his thoughts on others. In particular, Mari is someone he seems to look up to a lot, and is often amazed by her. The problem in showing this between them in the current day, then, is that Mari isn't here right now. So instead, we see a very polite nightmare, someone Basil wants advice from on what to do, rather than someone to listen to him.

Chapter 18: MEWO

 Mewo had found a rather agreeable sunbeam today. She enjoyed napping here a lot, she remembered. The girl would often play the "piano", and the hum of each note felt good in her fur. The only better thing was when the boy would use the "violin", those notes together with the girl's felt the best. Not that she didn't love them without the music. She liked them both a lot. The girl was kind, and the boy just understood "it". He would have made a fantastic cat.

 Ah but then he couldn't refill the food bowl.

 Speaking of these two, what were their names? She knew she was called Mewo by them. They were.... Mari was the girl with the smile, and Sunny was the catlike boy. That's right.

 Right now Mari was staring at the music-making thing, like she was just waiting for something to happen. Mewo had the feeling that this scene felt familiar. The blank look on her face, the refusal to make nice sounds. It may or may not have happened before, but Mewo's memories were fuzzy.

 Which was okay. Certainty was something humans cared about.

 For right now, though, she would go on about her day. Mostly she enjoyed napping, but she was curious where Sunny had gone after all the shouting.

 SLAM.

 Mewo jumped and ran. Something was at the door, and it was loud!

 "Mari!! Have you finished your practice!?" It was the loud man. He was never very careful around her tail. One of many reasons she was never far from Mari and Sunny both.

 Silence.

 "Mari!!"

 "...Yes Dad. I'm done for now."

 "It's like pulling teeth in this house." He was doing that secret voice thing, where humans talk in a way that other humans can't hear. Or pretend not to, it's hard to tell. She had to shout to get their attention most of the time. A woman was walking in the door now. She was usually dense, but sometimes she knew what was needed. Mewo pawed, careful not to scratch, at the sliding giant window.

 "Oh Mewo, do you want to go out?"

 Absolutely! She obliged and Mewo was set loose into the neighborhood. Well, into the backyard, at first. Most of the toys here were put away some time ago. There was the tree Sunny always used to sit under. He had stopped a long, long time ago, though. That was an old memory. He stopped when Mari began to run through the backyard, crying, going into the woods. Mewo followed that old path now, to a tree house. This was a very, very good place for cat naps. Sunny, Mari, their friends, or all of the above liked to be up here, and Mewo liked being near them. Of course, none of them had been up here since she was a kitten, which was a waste of a comfortable tree in her eyes.

 She easily leapt up and looked around. A dusty stuffed toy of some kind that the girl.... Aubrey? Yes her. It was something she liked a lot. And there was a bat in the corner Mari used to swing at a ball. She deftly avoided the spikey jacks that were left everywhere. Of course, also on the carpet, there was still some trace of that. Mari used to come up here with something shiny in her hand. Then it would smell like blood. One time it got really bad and spilled on the floor, and the carpet still smells like it even all this time later. Back then, Mari had wrapped it, and Mewo followed her back inside. Then she fell over, and the smell only got stronger.

 Mewo went to go bother Sunny about it. Mari was clearly hurt, and humans are amazing at fixing wounds. More amazing than Mewo even considered possible.

 Sunny wasn't up here right now though, it was time to move along. Maybe next door with the... dog.

 It's not like she hated dogs, exactly, it's that they were so very full of energy. Hard to deal with and larger than her. She didn't want to get squished. Sometimes, though, she came up here to look in on what was happening. The boys... The doglike one was Kel. His name was shouted a lot. The other must be Hero, then. She liked to see everyone here. Sometimes Hero would start making delicious smells and Mewo would end up with little bits of amazing meats. Humans ate very well indeed. Right now, none of that was happening. Instead, it looked like Hero was coming home with those super-fun bags that you had to take the boxes out of. Kel ran out to help him, and he was joined by... The nice-smelling boy who let Mewo nap in his garden. Napping in the flowers was a mixed bag, because while it was in the sun and he was always nearby to make little comforting sounds, he also sometimes sprayed her with water. It was a gamble whether it would be a good day for naps or not.

 "Hey Kel, Basil. Sorry it took me so long."

 Basil, yes. Definitely didn't forget for a moment.

 "Hey you got food, can't be late as long as you have that in your hands." Kel laughed, then they all went inside.

 Mewo decided to follow along with whatever they were talking about, hopping up to the kitchen windowsill. 

 "So um..." Basil started. "Can I ask you two to come to the park with me? We all want to talk about some things we found out."

 "Sure." Kel replied. Wow, he was even able to hop up onto the counter on his own. Mewo hadn't seen that in a long time, since he had the large bandage on his wrist. "Mom should be home soon and then we can go."

 "That sounds good, but what's up, Basil?" Hero was putting things into cabinets.

 "Aubrey and I... We want to do something for Mari. When we went over there she seemed... Kind of off? So we were gonna discuss what we could do at the park."

 "She was smiling when we dropped her off." Hero said. "Ah, I don't mean that I don't believe you, Basil."

 "I think I get what Basil is saying." Kel was fussing with a bag of something. "You're talking about the feeling behind the smile."

 "Yeah. It reminds me a lot of... Sunny."

 "Sunny?" Hero asked.

 "Yeah.... During the last three days I saw him..."

 Mewo turned away from the window. It was odd, she felt like she kind of knew what they were talking about. But it wasn't important, she continued on. Basil didn't have any of those flowers in his hair. A short time ago, he had started wearing a... The word was difficult, but it was one kind of flower and it didn't change. Daisy.

 Humans had a lot of words for things. She felt like she was good at remembering them. Better than the orange cat down the street who always carried around random things it found. Humans also got a lot of things. Like the pretty silver collars that Hero had gotten one day. He gave one to Mari and they cried a lot. At the same time, Mari had started to change what she wore. Like the speckled dress. That was a nice bit of human clothing. Apparently the humans agreed, because Aubrey wore one exactly like it for awhile, years ago. Then her hair changed color. Mewo saw her with the loud children more and more after that.

 Mewo's ear twitched, there was one of the loud children now. That could mean that Aubrey was around, and that might mean Sunny too.

 The pair of them were indeed there, the blue-sweater one was running off away from them. Mewo wanted to go over to them now. Oh, but the other boys were on their way. Sunny may not notice her down here.

 "Hey!" Kel was calling out to them. "What's so funny?"

 "Wow, I haven't heard Sunny laugh this much since Hero told him the construction joke." Basil added.

 "The what?"

 "Ohhh that one." Hero said. "I remember."

 "Remember what? I want to know the construction joke!"

 "I'm still working on it." Hero said, which caused another tiff of slight, small giggles from Sunny, a blank look from Kel, a smile from Basil, and an ear pinch from Aubrey, bringing him down to her level.

 They reminded Mewo a lot of the last time she had seen them. The sand everywhere and the nice, different house. They all looked so happy together.

 Mewo's memory had distracted her. They were talking about something else now.

 "-Mari."

 "Basil was telling us something about doing something for her, you want to have a party?" Hero asked.

 "Or something, at least." Aubrey added. "And I mean... We can get in touch with some of the other people we know while planning it, too. Learn more about ourselves."

 "We don't need any extra reasons, we can just do it. What do you think, Sunny?" Kel was shuffling sand around with his foot.

 "We should. It'd be nice."

 "Maybe we should start by talking to her." Hero said after a pause. "We can all go over there."

 "Sunny's mom said she was grounded, though. They may not let us in." Aubrey was adjusting her ribbon.

 "That... Does put a wrench in our plans. I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow." Hero looked over. "But if you need anything, you can give me a call. I'd hate to cause more trouble for you guys but if you really need us, we'll be there."

 "Right." Aubrey nodded.

 "Of course we will!" Kel added

 "M-me too!" Basil called out, and was met by pats on the head from the others. They stayed like that awhile before settling.

 "Um... Hero? I have something else. Important."

 "Yeah Sunny?"

 "Do you... Um, my dad said something in the car."

 "You can tell me."

 "He said... You were a culinary student."

 "...What? I mean, I thought about it before, but I'm a med student. He should- OH. Ohh... Oh no..." Hero looked off to the side.

 "What's wrong, Hero? I thought you always wanted to be a chef. Now you have a whole new chance to be one!" Kel's hands were on the back of his head.

 "...I did want to. But I've been going to school to be a doctor. I have no idea what a chef learns in their first year. I'd probably have to redo it and... How mad do you think Mom would be if I changed degrees?"

 "Probably happy, she's always been hounding you to be a doctor. But it should be your choice, shouldn't it?"

 "...Maybe my dreams changed a little."

 "Huh?"

 "...Do you know why I decided to become a doctor?"

 "Because of Mom?"

 "Because I lost you, little brother."

 "Oh."

 Hero was doing that thing where he runs a hand through his hair. "I... seem to have a lot to think about, all of a sudden."

 "Sorry." Sunny said.

 "No, no it's not your fault. As a matter of fact, I'm grateful you told me, it means I wasn't blindsided at a worse time." He sighed. "Ah.... Other Me, I wonder what his plan was."

 Silence.

 "Sorry guys, didn't mean to bring down the mood. I'll..."

 "We can talk about it, you know. That's what we're all here for anyway. To talk." Aubrey kicked at a rock.

 "...Later, one thing at a time."

 "Bro, you're not doing that 'carrying the world' thing again are you?"

 "No!" Looks all around. "I'm serious, no. Or, I don't think I am. Look, I promise, we'll fix this too, but let's make sure everyone is safe before we worry about anything else."

 Now was a good time to show up and let Sunny know that he should come home. She  dashed out of the bush and brushed on his leg.

 It's getting late. Would you like to come home?

 "Hm? Mewo, how did you get here?" The boy gently scooped her up. Yes, this was a good place to be.

 "I guess she got outside? She's a really good cat to come find you." Basil added, with a good scratch behind the ears.

 "It's getting late..." Sunny said.

 "Yeah." Hero replied. "Alright. We'll meet more properly tomorrow."

 "Okay."

 "Oh, Aubrey, can you help me with my flowers? I still have to take all the storm stuff off and if we're planning a party.... Maybe they can be the decorations?"

 "Yeah, sure thing."

 "I'll ask Polly if you can stay over."

 Mewo, with great regret, twisted out of Sunny's arms and darted on ahead. She had done her job so far, Sunny would be coming home. She wanted to look around for Mari to announce her return. As she bounded through the neighborhood, she was reminded of a time when Sunny was quite lost, and she had led him back home.

 Speaking of, it was a lot closer than it seemed. The big window-door was open just enough for her to get in and look for Mari. Was she in the nice sound room? No, not there. Was she in the soft bed room? Not there either, but the bathroom door was closed. Curious. Mewo jammed her face over by the door.

 She could hear Mari through it. That was good!

 "Stupid, stupid, stupid body.... Just play, why can't you just play? Is this what you need to calm down? Pathetic. Pathetic..."

 It smelled like blood. That... wasn't good. Was she going to fall over again?

 The door suddenly opened and Mewo looked up at her. She was smiling though.

 "Oh, Mewo." She pet her. The smell was really thick now. "Good kitty." Then she walked over to the bedroom and sat on the bed. Mewo jumped up after, and nestled herself by Mari while she put something into a drawer.

 Mewo wanted to be as close as possible, she would never, ever tell the other cats this, but she didn't like being alone. She never liked it, and it only go worse at that dark house by the big water... The ocean. When no one came back, it was hard not to feel a little sad.

 So she wished really, really hard, until all the nice people found their way home again.

 Maybe she would wish... one more time. That was all a cat could do in human affairs. That, and purr to the girl. Purring helped healing, and even if humans were already amazing healers, it couldn't hurt.

 I hope the others can help.

 Downstairs, the door opened. The loud man was saying something about a violin...

Notes:

I'll be honest. I agonized over this chapter for so long. I wasn't sure if I should include it or not at all. I guess this is one of the things about writing serials. Being fair, it's not like I was forced to post today by anyone but myself, but it's an important part of the experience, I think. To get me more comfortable with deadlines.

The idea came to me when I realized that there was one character who still remembered what the... "old group" was like. I also realized that they were a cat, and writing from the cat perspective is very difficult. And so this difficult look at the world was made. Also the one I'm most nervous about having written.

So, writing for cats. Have to be careful not to describe shades of red. Cat years are on a kind of a sliding scale, starting at 15 cat years per year and then evening to about 4 cat years per year. Words and human habits are strange things that are hard to memorize, they smell and hear better, and past that I just... Hope. That's all I got left for my depiction of Mewo, that I hope it is enough like her.

There's a sentence I didn't think I'd ever say. Hoping to be in-character with a cat.

Chapter 19: OMORI and NIETA

 Sunny's heart would not sit still in his chest. His breathing was quick and shallow, and he wanted to be anywhere in the world but here. At the same time, though, he had to be here. 

 His violin lay in its case before him. It looked every bit the same as the last time he had seen it whole. Still as shining, still with the golden word, "NIETA" on the neck, unfaded. It had been very well kept, polished and resined. The other him clearly treasured it.

 More than he did...

 Forget remembering how to play, did he have any right to play it? After what he had done he wasn't sure. He turned to look over the conservatory. The other him, the other Mari, the ones who had lived here, they probably filled this room with music for years yet. Maybe. Something had still happened four years ago, had that interrupted them, or did they play through it all? He found himself wishing the other him had continued. It wasn't so much the joy of playing on his own, but it was like a little peek into Mari's world. She often did things for him, but when it came to knowing what she wanted, what she liked, he was always left behind. He had gotten used to listening, more than that, he wanted to listen to the others' colors, and add them to his world. The thought that there might be a version of him that got to do that...

 He wasn't sure what to feel. So instead he just sat and set about his task, maintaining the violin, making sure it would play well.

 His mom had told him he could do that tomorrow, but he had to see it with his own eyes. Eye. Partly a mistake, he felt, he overheard his parents in the kitchen from down here, his mother repeatedly calling for her husband to keep his voice down. They were talking about what to do for the upcoming recital. Both Sunny and Mari were signed on for it, but the two had begun to get into whether or not he should attend at all in his condition.

 "Mari still has to, period."

 "They've been through a lot, though. Maybe we should-"

 "Her schooling requires this, if she can't make it then she's going to end up losing her scholarship."

 "One missed performance can't be that bad..."

 "Life is brutal and unfair. Hon. No one can afford to fall behind."

 "You know she's not like that. You don't need to push her."

 "I'm not pushing her! I'm just reminding her that this is important!"

 "Voice!"

 Sunny's focus was lost. A recital in a week. When he hadn't played in four years. When he had thrown everything away. He remembered a lot of it, true, but his heart wasn't in it. Torn between playing with Mari, and...

 Does this Mari know how to play the piano? Would she even like it? Normally, at this hour, she would be practicing, but right now she was nowhere to be found.

 He ran his fingers along the strings of his violin once more before putting it away. He wasn't sure of his answer yet, and had less than a week to find it. He left and went upstairs, it was late. He brushed his teeth, then entered his and Mari's room. She was looking through several thick textbooks.

 "Sunny." She smiled at him.

 "Hi."

 "Was Dad giving you a hard time? Sorry, I should have told him to cancel the recital entirely."

 "No. And it's okay..." Now was his time to ask, wasn't it. "Mari? Do you want to play the piano?"

 "I have to."

 "You don't."

 "What about you, Sunny? It must be really hard after everything, I can have you excused and you can rest easy and recover."

 "Can't we both be?"

 "You remember, I like playing. Everyone is going to want to see me on stage, so I'll do it."

 "But-"

 "It's okay. I'll make certain you won't be hurt ever again by this." She hugged him softly, and moved to her bed. Sunny felt a bit of unease pass through him before he went to his own.

 "Good night, Sunny. Tomorrow will be better."

 "Night, Mari."

 And with that, his eyes grew heavier, and he felt the dark take him. He wondered what nightmare was in store tonight.

 ---

 He was in his home. The setting sun gave everything a golden glow. Right now he was on the first floor, watching how the light played on everything, and especially highlighted a vase of flowers that Mari often practiced flower arrangements in.

 Something else framed the idyllic living room though.

 A piano, playing that one song. Sunny slowly wandered through the hall. steadying himself for what he would see next. A hanged Mari? A beheaded Basil? Maybe even Omori? Here, so far from White Space? It wasn't like he had much choice but to follow his dream's story. So he entered the conservatory. A girl sat at the piano, she had long black hair, and she was faintly see-through, pale as well.

 "Hi, little brother. You found me." She turned and smiled. Small but genuine.

 Mari.
 
 His Mari.

 "I bet you thought you'd never see me again, but I'll always be here as long as you want me to be." She returned to playing her waltz as she talked. "You've had a lot to think about these past few days, haven't you? But there's something more in front of you, something... maybe painful and familiar. The fantasy of your new life is quickly becoming something that doesn't fit with who you've become, and answers are scarce. It must be really scary. But..." She flourished. "All of your friends are here. They all want to help you, and they all forgive you."

 Sunny sniffled.

 "But it's not that easy, is it? Because even if they all forgive you..."

 "I'm... The only one who knows you."

 "Ah, there's my little brother." Mari turned and smiled warmly, patting a spot on the bench next to her, which he took up. "It's true, you're the only one who remembers your last four years, and that means the only one who can forgive you... Is you. But you see... That also means that nothing changed, from the last time. I hope that you do this time. Your friends all love you, no matter where you all have come from."

 Sunny tapped a few notes, which was answered by a playful matching set from Mari.

 "That brings us to another problem, doesn't it? There's something else on your mind."

 "Mari... The other Mari, or..." He abandoned all hope of making sense of the scene. "She's acting... odd."

 "Is she now? What makes you think that?"

 "Don't know. I feel like... I'm missing something. Mari... can I ask you... for help?"

 "You could, but I don't know how much good it will do. You're the one who has seen everything, To know, I would have to be you." She smiled wanly at him. "Forgive me for being a little selfish, Sunny, but there's someone here somewhere who is you, isn't he? Someone that you're going to have to overcome, a voice in your head that will tell you that you can't do it, and to leave your sister alone. So, knowing that, do you want to help her?"

 "I do." Sunny thought for a moment. "You called her... my sister?"

 "Heehee, that's because it's one of the laws of the universe! Sunny and Mari will always be brother and sister, and always care for one another." She held out her arms for a hug, and Sunny took it.

 It was cold, but it warmed his heart all the same.

 "And nothing, not even death, will change that."
 
 Sunny reluctantly broke free of the hug, letting out a deep sigh before turning towards the door. He looked at the nearby shelf, his violin was resting there.

 "Mari?"

 "Yes?"

 "Do you think she would..?"

 "Do you?"

 Sunny took the violin up in hand, and went for the door. His front door was now the same somber grey as the door he had used to exit White Space. He carefully took the doorknob in hand, and entered a familiar scene.

 Welcome to White Space. Back again so soon?

 Sitting on the blanket, sketchbook in hand, was Omori, blank as he usually was.

 "I said you'd come crawling back. Have you come to your senses? Accepted that you should be dead right now?"

 "No." He took a deep breath and steadied himself. "You know why I'm here."

 "I do." Omori threw his book over to the corner. Sunny noticed that everything was here except for Mewo. Not enough time to think, though, Omori was drawing closer. "Your memories, you need them. But to see them again, you need my help."

 "...Just let me through. I'll see them myself."

 "So you can ruin them with nightmares? You need me. You will never understand Mari without me." He held out a hand. 

 "No."

 "I'm serious. You need my sight. I don't lie, and you know that."

 Sunny considered. Omori was right, he doesn't lie, exactly. But he was still a lie. Taking him up on his offer meant...

 "Final offer. I will help. As promised." Sunny stared at the hand for some time, debating at whether to take it. If it really was for Mari...

 "...Okay. Then help." He took Omori's hand.

 "Say the mantra. You always do it."

 "The..?"

 "I'll start. 'Welcome to White Space...'"

 Sunny knew what he was talking about now. The way he helped himself become Omori, to fit better into the world in his mind.

 "'You have been living here for as long as you can remember.'" He closed his eyes, and imagined himself as someone else.

 Omori tilted his head, he felt like he was forgetting something. That was a problem for later though. Right now he had a promise to fulfill. So he took his knife in hand and took a test swing. It seemed a little dull, but that was okay. He was ready for what he would find. He didn't waste much time, turning the handle of the grey door.

 Omori was in a familiar house. Outside the sliding glass door, a violet sky was slowly spinning, with hand-drawn constellations and the like showing themselves. Omori went up the stairs, to a room on the far right side. Inside were two beds. There was a dresser in the corner filled with old toys. A desk had a laptop ancestor on it. By the entry, nearly missable, there was a rack of clothes. They all had long sleeves, even though it was too hot for them. A picture of the same rack was on the floor.

 Omori reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo album. He placed the photo in it. Next he had turned back to the bed. The one closer to the door, the more comfortable-looking one, had a photo on it as well. It was Mari, holding a boy's head lightly, checking a bandage on his eye. He put that one in too.

 No more photos here. Omori continued out the door, and back down the stairs. There was a new photo on the floor. It was next to a telephone. One that had lost its wire and had a blinking red light on it. In the photo, Mari was seemingly listening to the receiver.

 He continued. Now he was in a room with a large piano. His name was written on it for some reason, and he could see his reflection. The keys were all dusty though, no one had touched them in a long time. A photo could be found on the bench, his sister sitting blankly, staring at it.

 The room went dark, it was time to go to the kitchen. Hamburgers were set out on the table, enough for six people. One of the chairs hosted a picture of Mari speaking, all eyes on her and Basil. Another addition to the book.

 The living room. Its tone was different now. Omori took a picture taped to the television and it turned on, glowing red. The picture was of Mari being shouted at by a man. The television showed images of Something swaying in the breeze. The house was getting darker and darker, it would sink into Black Space before long. Time to go. He looked through his album.

 That should be all the pictures here, he heard a door unlock somewhere. Omori tried the front door.

 It led to a cemetery. It was cold and covered in snow. There were rocks with familiar names here. People must like them because they stay around, but they only cry looking at them. At the very back, an image of Mari interrupting a conversation could be seen. It felt like she was protecting a blonde-haired boy in a small group of six. That image, too, was added.

 Next, he left the cemetery, and found himself on a boardwalk. The water was a pastel blue, and it was a little foggy out here. He was at the midpoint of a pier. a very difficult sports game was here, with a picture of Mari encouraging a boy. Further down the way there were boats. Things for people who want to avoid both the fish and the birds but still want to go fast. Two photos were here. One was of a pair of necklaces, the other was of Mari looking at a boat.

 The water stirred, it was slowly becoming red. Shadowy hands began to reach up out of it, and not the ones that helped him. Omori turned, the beach house was the next stop.

 The house itself was still under the violet sky, but no lights were on in here. Dim at best. A number of flip-flops were flopped by the door. Omori went down the hall and heard a flutter. He turned, knife drawn, but immediately relaxed. Just a picture fluttering down the stairs. Mari holding two boys in her arms. Only one more spot in the album now.

 On the table was a picture. But it wasn't like the others. This one had six people, all posing for the camera. One of them was Mari. Omori set the photo into the album, but suddenly felt the need to look closer. What was so strange about it? It as just a picture. Just a... He looked through the album.

 Oh. It was-

 The scene went black all around him. Omori felt a great tearing and howling of wind. He landed hard on his back, and the album skidded across a white floor.

 Sunny was next to him.

 "So. You see it." Omori got up and walked over to the book. "This is the result." He opened it now, and black lines came to capture some of the blank space. They twisted and turned and filled in certain places and before long, Mari stood next to Omori. But also not Mari. Her hair was too inky, and she was pale like Omori. She wore a dress that looked a lot like the one she had worn the day she had saved him from the lake. She looked blankly ahead.

 "Watch carefully. Let's see if you did something right."

 Omori's face twisted, becoming happy. No, not just happy, but HAPPY. Like what happened in his most recent iteration of Headspace. The Mari lookalike gazed at him, then COPIED his mood. A gentle smile started a yellow glow around her. The boy's smile twisted more, to ECSTATIC.

 The girl stayed HAPPY.

 Omori finally showed a MANIC face, drool starting to run from his mouth. Sunny began to feel a little ill, turning away from him. But Mari's clone still just looked HAPPY.

 "Do you get it yet?"

 "..." Sunny was deep in his thoughts.

 "Look again." Omori stomped his foot, becoming ENRAGED. The Mari next to him looked, then COPIED him again, but only looking ANGRY. The Omori took on a familiar look, one he had seen staring back at him during the times he mindlessly hit piano keys. The pale boy became MISERABLE, which was also duly COPIED by the girl, but only got to SAD.

 Omori's emotions, even in Headspace, were wrong. There was something always a little off about them, a little incorrect. This Mari on the other hand... They were too perfect. They were ideal, slight caricatures of feelings he had imagined for Aubrey, Kel, and Hero. Two opposites, one, emotions warped and too real, the other, emotions as expected and totally fake.

 Mari...

 She had mentioned a perfect self in the graveyard.

 She vehemently believed in what Basil said about Something.

 She was the only one who remembered a storm, like the one that...

 She was the one who mentioned how much she enjoyed the idea of boating.

 She heard that they had split for years.

 And she saw the marks on the other her's arm. The reason she had so many long sleeves already.

 Guilt.

 "Guilt." Omori's plain voice startled him. Sunny got up and immediately backed a few paces. "It took you this long to realize how your own sister felt because you were too selfish to think of anyone else. I told you that you would ruin everything, and you are. You missed your chance, and you'll live through it all again. Anything that happens to her is your fault."

 "...I need to go." Sunny turned for the grey door, but found none. "Where's the door?"

 "The white door is certainty you will make things right." Omori blankly looked around White Space. The sparse furnishings and the extra Mari faded to white. "The black door is certainty you ruined everything. So the grey door?"

 "...Uncertainty."

 "Wow, you're right. It is mystery. You can't go to it right now, because your mystery isn't driving you." A white door came into being behind Omori. Sunny began to walk for it, but was stopped by a swing of a knife. "You're already too late. Like always. Besides, what can you do for her? Nothing. Just like always. Useless."

 "...Move. I need to go to her."

 "No. I will go." 

 Sunny collected himself, and took up his violin in hand.

 "Really? You know what happened last time."

 "I need to." The pair squared off. Sunny allowed himself to calm down, and stop his hands from shaking. Then it started. Omori slashed wildly with his knife, leaving a few biting nicks. Sunny returned with a flourish, his bow fended off the worst of it.

 "What makes you think you can? You're a leech. You say you don't want to be a burden, but the truth is that you know you can't be relied on." A stab punctuated Omori's words, Sunny felt it all the way to his core.
 
 "I can at least try." Sunny played a high note and sent Omori reeling.

 "That's all you ever do. You try. But when it comes time to do you just give up. Just like that thing you're holding." A large red hand formed behind him, slapping down. Sunny made three quick strikes and cut it to ribbons.

 "You know you should be dead right now, what right do you even have for a second chance?" Another wild slash, it hit Sunny's thigh.

 Sunny set himself and took a deep breath, before a pile of red hands found him, he felt his conscious slip slightly, and Omori slowly took steps forward, knife pointed at Sunny's heart.

 "You killed Mari. But we could be with her, our Mari." Omori's knife found his heart again, and Sunny fell to one knee.

 "This one isn't our sister." Omori was looking sidelong as he said the words, but Sunny...
 
 "She is!!" For the second time in his life, Sunny shouted. It was enough to send a wave of stillness across the white expanse. "She... She is. She may be different, but Mari, all of them... I know they're my friends."

 "...They're different."

 "No." Sunny was breathing heavily. Right on the brink of his very existence. He was waiting for Omori to end it all.

 Because if he did, he would try again. He promised himself then and there, he would get to that door. He left his friends once. He had succumbed to Omori once. Now he was suddenly starting to see what that looked like from the outside and...

 He didn't want them to go.

 Omori stood and stared. Then he dropped to sit, his knees hugged to his chest. He fell over, and held a fetal position on the ground.

 "Just go."

 "...What are you doing?"

 "Giving up."

 Sunny eyed him suspiciously as he went to the door. Omori made no move to stop him.

 "...Why?"

 "..."

 Sunny opened the door. He would see Omori again, but until then, he had work to do. He stepped through, leaving the boy.

 "...Because I love them too, idiot. We're the only one who should be dead." A sniffle echoed in the room. "Only me..."

 Meanwhile Sunny shot up in bed,. He got up and ran to Mari's.

 It was empty.

Notes:

I wonder how many people thought it was strange, way back in the prologue, that Mari had found her clothing rack full of long-sleeved shirts.

Omori's commentary on things is different from Sunny's, it's like this bland whimsy, if I put it as short as possible. Sunny has stories and thoughts and reasons why things around the house and in his memories are the way they are, Omori's are blank, fairly emotionless observations. Then, all the same, his emotions in battle are a lot more wild than anyone other party members, and kind of, slightly twisted. Or not twisted, but perfectly fitting considering what the Sunny underneath would be feeling, like these are his real emotions literally lashing out in his own world. Nieta is kind of the opposite, refusing to actually feel and copying things to seem like the "correct" emotion. But that's just my thoughts. I really ramble on sometimes.

Also I've been thinking of having a Q&A after the finale, maybe, possibly.

Which is tomorrow.

Chapter 20: SUNNY and MARI

Notes:

This chapter contains more graphic depictions of self-harm. As for any condition portrayed in fiction, seek proper medical care from a licensed professional, do not take what is stated as certain medical fact.

 Nieta was staring at the ceiling. Her arm- No, Mari's arm, it was her arm, her fault- was already numbing. The little kitten scratches, that are entirely Mari's fault, weren't enough to calm her for long. Not enough to actually fight off whatever Phobia was preventing her from playing the piano.

 More. Deeper. It was fine, she deserved to be punished anyway for everything she had done. All she needed was a private place to do it, she was eminently aware that if any of the others found out...

 They would all split up again. The other Mari had to be why everyone split up, all by cutting on herself and not hiding it properly. Nieta would be better at it.

 She slowly, quietly got up. This was for all of them, for the perfect image. Slowly, the drawer slid open, and a small object was taken. It glinted silver in the moonlight. Nieta knew this well, it was in Mari's pocket when they had arrived here. It was how she had cut one of the lake reeds that had wrapped around Aubrey's ankle when Kel pushed her in. Before that it was how she fought off Phobias, with wild swings, a box cutter.

 The lake.... Nieta was vaguely aware it had a connection with her favorite dress. Of course she wouldn't know what the whole story, that would be Mari's knowledge, and she definitely wasn't that awful person. She would go to the lake, far away, where no one would find her. She looked over to the other bed, Sunny was tossing and turning, he must be having a nightmare.

 I should wake him up...

 No, she was going to end this nightmare once and for all, and learn how to get this annoying, senseless fear under control. To be perfect again, like everyone needed.

 "I'll be back, little brother." She turned and left the room. She would be back.

 ---

 "Mn... Sunny? What time is-?" Hero's voice answered

 "Mari is missing."

 "...Since when?" Panic began to enter his voice.

 "I just woke. She's gone."

 "Any idea of where she might be?"

 "Treehouse? Secret spot? Church?"

 "I'll call Basil. Check around your house, then we'll meet at the secret spot. If you're not there I'll come to your house."

 "Okay."

 Beep.

 Sunny set the phone down. Mari... Gone. Why didn't he say something sooner? Or better, or..? Now he might lose her? Again? He exited his room in a hurry, feeling like the light of the moon was more stark than normal. He looked down the stairs. Someone was down there, at the bottom, in a tangle of black hair. Shadows clogged the entire way down, hands reached up from the bottom and grasped at him, and his heart was suddenly pounding at the thoughts in his mind. At what he was really scared of. He gripped the banister tightly, and heard the deep laughter behind him. He turned and the face was there, smile wide and crooked, hands at the ready to send him stumbling down the stairs.

 He was afraid.

 ...But try as his mind might, it wasn't of this. He took a deep breath, erasing the hands and twisted grin, and continued down the stairs and to the conservatory. He went to a familiar shelf, and his hand hovered, for just a moment, over an equally familiar case. He took it in hand, and rushed for the sliding glass door. He ran out past the shadow of that old tree with the crooked branch, through the beginnings of a small woods, and to the ladder of a place he had been only a few days ago. But then... he had friends at his side. Sunny looked around, poking in the darkest corners. No Mari, but as he turned, a sickly, chitin-covered leg snapped into the window. The sound of a million scuttling legs was all around him, spiders clumped and clustered on the floor at his feet. An especially large one was latched to the wooden wall of the treehouse, it had the selfsame smile as his other fear.

 And he was afraid.

 ...But try as his mind might, it wasn't of this. As long as he kept a focus on what the real source of his racing heart was, he wouldn't be stopped. He practically leapt from the treehouse, leaving the tiny spider that had cast a shadow on the inside of the small sanctuary. There was another place to check, Sunny set out, watching the lights come on in the house next door. He continued on, they promised to meet, and time was ticking. He ran past the darkened homes and quiet streets, to the park. Usually it was a warm and inviting place, now it looked cold, and the trees seemed almost like they were clawing towards the sky. He made his way through the small and secret path, making sure to keep to the places only the moon would touch. He saw the telltale signage, and broke into a clearing.

 The first thing he noticed was the inky black water stretching out. If he fell in there... Yes, there was the face and the tendrils already. Already threatening to tear everything away. Just like that day, he was afraid.

 ...But try as his mind might, it wasn't of this. Instead, he continued forward, trying hard for every step. Ahead, on the pier, was the slightest hint of violet, and Mari came into view.

 She looked almost like a ghost in the moonlight.

 "Mari..." He called out. She turned, showing a little piece of the moon in her hand and red on her arm.

 "...Oh, hello little brother."

 He took a step forward.

 ---

 Too light, again.

 Not enough, again.

 The calm was in here somewhere. She took a breath, and lashed out, copying Mari as much as she dared to.

 There was something that looked like styrofoam.

 Nieta wasn't one for emotions, but the irony seeped into her. Of course, a plastic person had plastic insides. She stood and looked up at the moon. That should be enough, she cut to the core of what Mari was.

 The minutes passed without making themselves known. She began to feel lightheaded.

 I should see Hero, this doesn't feel right.

 Mari's voice. 

 You wouldn't even be able to think that if he had followed your stupid plan. A chef? He's better as a doctor after all, just another life you ruined.

 Should go home, Sunny would be worried. We shouldn't have left him with that nightmare.

 I'm serving him by being out here. It's fine.

 It's not fine.

 No, no this is okay.

 A giggle escaped. It was getting... difficult to keep hold of which voice was speaking. Nieta knew that giggle was Mari's, it came with the strange feeling slowly spreading across her body.

 She looked down into the lake, vision turning slightly. The reflection looked different down there. The sky looked like how Sunny used to draw it, and there were people against a minty, pastel forest. Nieta saw herself in her white dress, and behind her were three people with bluish hair. Basil was wearing a flower crown, t-shirt, and knee-length fuzzy socks. Aubrey had a very large t-shirt, worn like a nightgown, and Kel had a checker jersey he swore was cooler at night. A boy with dark red hair and an apron, Hero, smiled at her.

 She wanted to be there with them, but... There was someone missing.

 "You... can stay with them. You don't have to go there anymore." A quiet voice called behind her. She didn't turn.

 "...A-after what I did?" Words seemed more difficult to get ahold of.

 "They want you to be happy."

 "I should be the one to look out for them."

 "He'd help, I think. He's... like me."

 "...Yeah."

 "Mari..."

 Hm? She turned now.

 "...Oh, hello little brother." She felt her vision lurch, a wave of dizziness washed over her. She didn't wobble or stumble, though, she was hiding it all perfectly. Yes, definitely perfectly, Sunny wasn't looking at her arm, there was no warm, wet feeling running down it.

 "You're bleeding..." Sunny said.

 "No I'm not. Everything is okay." She smiled, looking at her little brother. Of course she wasn't bleeding, not in front of him. Change the topic. "What's in your hand?"

 Sunny's turn to pause. He looked at it a moment before holding it out. A violin case, and her heart...

 She felt pain now, but coming from her chest.

 "W-why?" She tried to smile, but wasn't sure if she was doing it right.

 "Um... I think... I need to tell you something."

 ---

 "I... used to go somewhere after everything that happened." Sunny shifted. He had to speak for once. He grasped the handle of the case a little tighter. He... he wanted this.

 "It's... like that for you, right? I... had- have it too." His breathing became hard, Mari was standing across from him, staring. "I was alone but... I want to help."

 "Help? With what?" She asked lightly.

 "Help. With that." He pointed at her arm.

 She looked at her arm and back, slight, perfect smile showing all the while. Was she... delirious? Was she..?

 "Guilt." The word replayed in his mind and Sunny was reminded of a certain closet door.

 "Mari... When I... go against those thoughts, I use this." That's right, show her how much she means to you. He opened the case and took his violin out, setting it under his chin.

 "What.. are you doing? You're hurt, you shouldn't-" A single singing note cut her off.

 "I... want to say something. It took a long time, but I'm..." He had to set himself. "Ready." He began, the first few notes came to him like an old memory. He let his music begin talking for him, to explain how far he had come since that day four years ago, to prove that she could do it too, that he loved her so much that he had remembered this song, even years later, this song that brought to mind his most cherished memories, so many that even the photo album didn't have. He went for a high note and... He stopped, eyes wide.

 Mari toppled to her knees, clutching her head.

 "Stop!! Just stop! Please! I..! I..! I ca-" She looked panicked, and afraid all of a sudden.

 Sunny quickly put his violin in the case, was this what he had looked like when he first confronted Omori? Or was this when he had fought with Basil..? He drew close and reached a hand out.

 "It's okay... I'm here."

 It was slapped away, hard.

 "Don't! I don't deserve it!"

 "You do. Please, let me care for you."

 "Why!? Why are you doing this to yourself for something like me!?

 "Because you're hurt!" Sunny felt something hot beginning to run down his cheek. His right eye began to sting. His shout burned his throat, but it seemed to calm her down, some, she wasn't writhing like she was in pain anymore. Instead she slowly let go of her head and looked up to meet his eye.

 "Sunny..? You're crying... What have I..?" Her eyes went wide, and she turned to the side to vomit.

 ---

 Sunny... She had done that to Sunny. He tried his hardest and that wasn't good enough for her. Just like before. Just like always. 

 Even she... even Nieta had been useless.

 It wasn't enough that she was the reason they were dead, not once but many times over, now she was reliving those last days, when every misplaced note ended in a scoff or angry words. What kind of monster was she that Sunny's most heartfelt plea wasn't good enough?

 A monster...

 Yes. That was what she was.

 She had nearly died once before.

 She had died for Sunny, Basil, and Aubrey. That was the way things were supposed to be, wasn't it? She was supposed to be....

 She...

 "S-Sunny..?" She took the stained blade in hand
  
 "I'm s-sor..." She felt her heart beginning to tear. Sunny raised a hand for her.

 "Mari!!" A new voice called out, then others followed.

 "Mari! Where are you!?"

 "Hey! We're all here!"

 "Sunny, you here? Did you find her!?"

 That was all the time it took, a hand closed around her left wrist. The grip was soft, but it might as well been made of iron, she wouldn't be able to break it.

 She looked, and there were the others. Hero, Kel, Basil, and Aubrey were all coming through the woods. They were all going to see her like this.

 "Please..." Sunny's voice called out, only she could have heard it. Was... This what he wanted? Was this revenge for what she had done? To see the others learn she was a freak? It was already too kind. They were getting closer, to within a few paces. She had to decide now whether to pull away or not, the last chance at her image.

 "Mari?" Hero called, slowing down his approach, and there was silence. A long, long moment passed, and her vision only fuzzed once or twice. Then all at once he ran over, alongside the others, all crowding around her.

 "What... the hell is all this..?" Aubrey started. "So much blood..."

 "Woah, what happened?" Kel looked about the scene, then located the cause of everything. "I'm taking this for now." He reached for the blade. and she jerked sharply, sealing her grip.

 No! No she couldn't give it up, not yet... Not...

 Everything was spinning...

 "Hero! What do you need? I brought some stuff from home!" Basil called out.

 "F-first aid, we need to... Mari? Can you hear me?" Hero shook her lightly, she could barely make him out. Was she..?

 No. No. Nononononononono... She hadn't wanted it to go this far, it was only to get herself under control, it was only to relieve the stress building in her, she hadn't wanted it. She had to protect him-

 by leaving...

 by staying...

 Mari woke. She was on the couch in her house, sometime near sunset by the look of it. Everything was warm and bright, and there were some few odd toys on the shelf she recognized. Kel often left them here. Dad would huff over them, but she sometimes caught him dutifully putting them onto a shelf. It felt strange to be here now, had she been asleep? She looked at her arm, it was still bleeding, if she allowed herself to be honest. She got to her feet and looked around, beginning to explore the place. As she got up, her vision flashed. Suddenly it was dark again.

 ---

 Sunny's grip on his sister's arm was ironclad, he wouldn't let go, no matter what. She had a far-off look in her eyes.

 "Sunny. Move to your right, I'm going to need access to her right arm." Hero looked over the damage.

 "How... does it look?" Kel asked while Basil ran up with a kit.

 "..."

 "Hero. Come on, tell us."

 "Um... God. There's-" Hero wiped his brow and looked back and forth from Mari to where Basil was setting out a few things from a bag. Sunny heard a hand clap on the older brother's shoulder.

 "Tell us what you need. You're the doctor here, we'll follow you." Aubrey's voice was solemn.

 "Yeah, H-Hero. You can do this..!" Basil tried to say, but it was clear to Sunny that he was crying.

 "...Okay. Just, keep talking to her, keep her calm. Kel, help me find a way to raise her legs. I'll keep her arm slightly elevated. Basil could you- Nevermind, go around and talk to her. Um.... Aubrey, get the gauze. It's not pouring out, but I don't know how long she's been bleeding."

 Some of Hero's directions had been lost. Sunny was only concentrated on his sister, it looked like she was looking at him, other times it looked like she was daydreaming...

 ---
 
 She was back in the room again. The golden glow faded to a dark and starry sky, then became warm once more at slow intervals. She looked at her arm again before continuing in the house, memories on every side of her. She wanted to see if that particular one was there. She turned and entered the old conservatory, and was greeted by a concert piano, but also a pale, slightly see-through boy who was staring out of the grand window.

 "Hey sis..."

 "Sunny..." Mari immediately held her hands behind her back.

 "You found home again." He had a tiny smile on his face as he turned. "It's time, isn't it? Whatever happens next... you decide." He walked around the piano to sit at the bench, and motioned as though he wanted her to sit too.

 Of course she was powerless before the request.

 "Everyone... is there, but they can't come here to help. You have work to do." He looked out the window.

 "I... don't know if I can fight at this point." Mari looked at the piano, there was only a single key on it. She furrowed her brow at the sight.

 "You don't have to do a whole fight. Just a step."

 "...What if I don't want to? I messed everything up, like always."

 "You don't have to but..." He leaned on her. "They're all rooting for you. For something only you can do." They stayed that way for awhile, until he got off her shoulder an looked over to the window.

 "It's time to go." He got up, but then turned back to Mari and held his arms out for a hug, which she of course gave him. It would be so easy to follow him as he walked to the window...

 ---
 
 Sunny was looking over his sister, it looked like she came out of another daydream. His voice was hoarse, it was hard getting any words out, and she still had a death grip on the razor.

 "There, wrapping is complete." Hero wiped his brow and let out a long breath.

 "Is she..?" Aubrey asked.

 "We'll have to see if the bleeding is staunched, if it comes through this layer of gauze...  We may want to find a doctor anyway, I think she needs stitches. One of us should run home and get some help, in case of shock. I don't think she's in it, but she's not responding either and..."

 "You're scared. I am too." Kel was next to his brother, rubbing his shoulder in a consoling way.

 Aubrey got up and planted herself by Sunny's side, she was quiet, just looking at Mari. In a tiny whisper, she spoke.

 "Don't you dare leave me again... Please... We all love you, idiot." Sunny heard the pin drop of a tear.

 He always admired that Aubrey spoke how she felt so often.

 Those were the words he wanted to say. The words that everyone, that Mari, should hear.

 "We all love you... Please fight..."

 ---

 "Sunny..." Mari called out and the boy looked back from the window. The conservatory was back in view.

 "You made up your mind?"

 She took a long breath. Why was everyone asking for her, when they would all just split up again? Sunny was asking her to fight but fight what? This was all her fault, fighting didn't mean anything. She looked down to the piano, and the single key, and thought to the violin Sunny had... He had taken it all the way here, and she couldn't be bothered to respond. He wanted to play with her and she couldn't simply return the favor, even though it must have been nearly impossible, even though it must have taken a lot of...

 Oh.

 He had arrived there, on his own, at the end of a very, very long road.

 She placed her hand on the glossy wood, smiling faintly.

 "I... I think I did. I love you, Sunny, but this one, all of them, they need-" She stopped herself. "I want to help them... and I want to make it up to them."

 "...It's okay for them to take care of you too."

 "I'll try to remember. I promise." Now it was her turn to sniffle, and she stood at the piano. "Little brother, will you be okay if I do this?"

 "I'll be here. And... I have someone watching me until then." He gave his usual small smile and turned to the window. It was bright on the other side, ethereal. She watched as her brother walked towards someone with long black hair. A girl, maybe about fifteen, wearing a dress and a familiar smile. she held her hand out to the boy, who took it in his own. The pair then looked at Mari, and waved.

 "...Take..." Her voice caught. "Take good care of him. He's very special to me, you know."

 The girl nodded, and the pair of them disappeared in the ether.

 Mari was alone, the room now dim. A dark night sky could be seen out of the same window and suddenly, home felt very far away. She looked down to the piano and thought about how she had started, it was shortly after her injury in softball. She had begun exactly like this, but on a small, toy piano she had once loved. She remembered the feeling very well, her hand reaching out, loosening it in preparation to play, and then hitting a single note. It felt just right.

 The door behind her opened, a blinding white beyond. Mari took a deep breath to calm herself, and entered the room.

 ---

 "Mari... Mari stay with us, okay?" Basil's eyes were streaming tears, Mari's attention came around to him. "Y-yes! L-like that! Stay here!"

 Sunny watched Kel's hand fall on Basil's and he motioned to swap places. He sat by her.

 "Hey Mari, it's me, Kel!" He was doing his best to smile and act cheerful. "We're all here for you, you know? You came to find me and Aubrey, and now I'm here to return the favor! Because you're..." He couldn't hide a sniffle. 

 "You're our friend..." Basil finished

 Sunny gave her a squeeze. He felt he hand loosen some. He looked to her eyes.

 "S-Sunny? I'm..." And she was distant and dazed again. Sunny wanted to call out, but he felt something shift. Mari's grip on the razor fell loose, and it dropped from her hand.

 "...Guys?" Of course he couldn't be sure, usually that would be a bad sign, wouldn't it? He had to test, to see. He slotted his own hand into its place.

 And she squeezed.

 ---

 Mari trudged through the white room, intent on a certain point. She knew she would get there if she kept running for it, and it was vitally important. She also knew that she would be blocked by a certain someone.

 A stark white girl was wrapped in a matching blanket.

 The pair stared at one another.

 "What do you want?"

 "...Aren't you going to stop me? Call me a freak?"

 "You already know that you are one." She wrapped herself further in her blanket. "This world... Is fucked up. Impossible. Everyone needs perfection and it all conflicts. Can't... Keep handle."

 Mari took a few steps nearer and then past her, not lowering her guard.

 "They all deserve better."

 Her ears perked at that. She turned back to the blanket, and tapped the alter ego on the shoulder.

 "What do you want? You won. I'm perfect and even I can't do it."

 "...I don't think this is winning. If this is what it feels like then I don't want it." She looked at the black and white of the space, reminded of her keyboard again. She held out her hand. "...I made a lot of things during the last four years. Especially you, and together we caused all this."

 "...What's this? This won't be over because you give me a handshake."

 "I can't go forward without you, though. I can't... pretend anymore. That you're not the same as me. I can't just blame you."

 "...This isn't over." Even though she said the words, the girl held out her hand.

 "No... There's a long way to go." She reached and grabbed it, Nieta fading like Mari once had. It was now empty here. Mari took the first step towards her destination.

 ---

 "...Mn." 

 Every head turned towards Mari, they all went to crowd but were held off by Hero and Aubrey.

 "Mari!" They all variously called out.

 "H-hey... guys..." Sunny shifted as she tried to get up, only to shouts of "Don't!"

 "You really should be laying down right now." Hero said.

 "That sounds good... actually..." She sighed. "I feel... like I got hit... by a truck."

 "No shit you do! Do you have any idea how much blood you lost!?" Aubrey cried out. "I was so worried... Never do that again!" Kel put a hand on her shoulder as she said it.

 "Hey, it's okay now, she came back to us." He tried to smile. "Right?"

 "Hee, that's right. I'm... back." She smiled wanly, looking over everyone's faces and settling on Sunny's. "Little brother... Everyone... I'm sorry."

 "You better be! I'm... I'm...!" Aubrey wiped her eyes. "I swear I'm gonna dye all your hair purple in your sleep!" The girl then gave up trying to make sense, falling completely to the ground beside Mari, sobbing loudly.

 "And I swear I'm taking you to the hospital." Hero said, at length. "You're going to be stuck with us a long time." He wiped away a tear of his own.

 "We're all in this together, remember?" Kel said, trying to comfort her.

 "And we'll... We'll help with whatever you can't do on your own!" Basil added, wringing the hem of his shirt in his hands.

 "Promise." Sunny said, just squeezing her hand.

 "I... promise." She was looking at the stars.

 Sunny let out a long breath he didn't know he was holding, finally looking away and out over the scene around them. He felt he was being watched.

 Two figures were standing by the statue in the lake, they were fuzzy, and barely-there, but he thought he saw the two of them wave goodbye.

 He wiped his eye, and there was no one there. It was just them.

Notes:

Well, that's the end for this story in this world. It ends with taking the first step.

My goal setting out was to write a story with this premise that very loosely follows along the major plot points of OMORI. The set up of the premise, the fantasy, then discovering the truth behind Something, to coming to terms with wanting forgiveness from others, to finally forgiving yourself. And that is this story. I feel like there are more I could write, about Hero dealing with is degree, about dealing with parents, about fitting in to a weird world, and about relationships, even. Which also means I have to apologize for not having a perfectly solid answer for why everyone is here. I knew I'd come against this, but it felt out of spirit with the game to just state it outright, so the little hints I may have played a little heavy on will have to do. For now. I also wanted to say, if any of you want to write your stories in this au, or alter it for a story, or anything like that, then I would be happy if you would use it freely.

Writing a serial piece has been an experience. I feel like I learned a lot about the practice, and coming to terms with being unable to rewrite past scenes to better fit future ones. That's how all this started, was so that I could better understand setting limitations. Having regular releases, only having twenty chapters to tell a story, it was difficult, and there are more than a few things I wish I could have done "better". Instead, I can just hope I can use all this to tell even better stories in the future.

Chapter 21: QUESTIONS and ANSWERS

Notes:

Q&A! The story ended on chapter 20, thank you so much for reading!

From Maeve

Well this was a wild ride. Like I said in the last notes, this is one of the rare times I feel as though I can write more. If I ever do, I'll make it a series and have each story have its own work. Maybe I'll start by adding a little epilogue somewhere.

But, I did promise a Q&A chapter. I think I mentioned it a few times here but I get mind-obliteratingly nervous commenting sometimes, so, my friend chimed in and said that if I had a place where return comments were expected, I might be able to open up a little more so... here. Post a question to this chapter and I'll try my best to give a response in the comments. It can be about this work, or the author, or another work, or whatever. I think. This is my first time hosting one and I am absolutely dead-terrified that I'm making a faux-pas by even hosting this, but like I said, I'll do my best to respond! And if I don't, I may have answered it or I am asleep.

And of course, thank you all. Without readers like you, these stories would have probably stayed in a file, hidden away somewhere forever.