Chapter Text
Pezzy hated cleaning. He hated it with a passion like how people hate taxes, Mondays, or running out of coffee. And yet, here he was, standing at the bottom of the creaking attic stairs, armed with a mop, a broom, a bucket, whatever else he needed for cleaning.. He owned the house, sure—big, sprawling, old enough to have its own set of ghosts if one believed in that sort of nonsense—But some days, like today, owning it felt less like a privilege and more like a curse.
Last night hadn’t done anything to improve his mood. Sly—his overly curious, adorable cat—had disappeared into the attic for God knows how long, only to reappear proudly carrying a dead mouse in her mouth.
That alone had nearly made Pezzy shit his pants. He hated mice. Hated them with every fiber of his being. The memory alone made him shudder.
So this is how Pezzy finds himself in this situation. Armed with his cleaning supplies and staring at the attic door.
With a sigh, Pezzy climbed the narrow stairs into the attic. The floorboards groaned under his weight, and a cobweb brushed across his face, making him grimace.
Dust floated in the sunlight coming through the small window. Boxes were stacked all over, old furniture was covered with brown old sheets, this looked straight out of a horror game.
He started with the floor. Dust bunnies ran in every direction as he swept. Sly was exploring, as usual. She ran between boxes, jumped on shelves, and sniffed at everything. Pezzy muttered, “Stay out of trouble, Sly. Please, just stay out of trouble.” glaring at her every time she ran past.
Once the floor was clean, he turned his attention to the boxes. Most were empty or filled with things he didn’t even remember owning. Then something caught his eye—a small box, tucked away inside a bigger, dusty box.
He carefully pulled the small box out and opened it. Inside were dozens of tiny glass balls. Each one was perfectly round, shiny, and had a small name written on it. Pezzy picked one up. It felt heavier than he expected and was cool to the touch. He stared at the letters, confused.
Sly padded closer, sniffing the ball. Her little nose bumped Pezzy’s hand—and the ball slipped.
It hit the wooden floor with a sharp crack and shattered into pieces.
“FUCK,” Pezzy shouted, staring at the broken glass in disbelief.
He was about to yell at Sly when the broken glass started glowing so brightly that it blinded him. He squeezed his eyes shut, shielding his face.
“What—” he started, but his voice caught in his throat. When he opened his eyes, a person was standing in front of him. Covered in dirty, and blood-stained clothes, the stranger looked around the attic as if seeing it for the first time, then finally fixed their gaze on Pezzy.
The stranger’s eyes widened, and he took a tentative step forward. “Pezzy?”
Pezzy’s own eyes went wide. “Who…? How do you know my name?”
The stranger looked stunned, as if Pezzy had just said something impossible. “Pezzy… it’s me.” His voice cracked with desperation. “Droid.”
Pezzy blinked, confused. He didn’t remember anyone named Droid. Not at all.
The stranger’s gaze flickered between Pezzy and some invisible point beyond him, as if his mind was somewhere else entirely. One moment he looked straight at Pezzy, eyes searching for something; the next, it was like he was staring through him, lost in thoughts.
Pezzy swallowed hard, His heart pounded in his chest, a wild rhythm that made his hands shake. He ran a hand through his messy hair and let out a shaky sigh. “Okay… okay,” he muttered under his breath. “I’m not gonna freak out. Don’t freak out. Just… don’t freak out.”
The stranger—Droid, he had called himself—took another step closer, limping slightly, and Pezzy noticed his clothes were torn in several places and there was stains of dirt and blood. Pezzy couldn’t stop staring at him, but he forced himself to blink and regain control.
“Alright,” Pezzy said finally, speaking louder than he intended. “Let’s get you cleaned up. And you… you explain all of this. How you came out of this…” He raised the broken box of glass balls, shaking it slightly. “…before I completely lose it.” Droid swallowed “I… I don’t know how to explain it.” He glanced around the attic again. Pezzy frowned, gripping the box a little tighter. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but if you’re going to be here, we need to fix you up first. You’re bleeding, dirty… probably freezing, and I swear, if you faint or something I’m going to lose my mind.”
/
In the living room, Pezzy cleaned Droid’s wounds after forcing him to take a long, hot shower and giving him some spare clothes he had lying around.
Droid seemed quiet through it all, still a little distant and lost in thought. For some reason, though, Sly had taken an instant liking to him. She wouldn’t stop curling up on his lap, nudging his hands with her head, and meowing softly as if demanding pets.
Pezzy glanced at her, then at Droid, who looked down at her with a faint, almost shy smile. It was strange, everything that happened today was strange.
He sighed and leaned back after finishing the last cut on Droid’s forehead, wiping his hands on a towel.
“Are you hungry?” Pezzy asked, trying to keep his voice calm. “I can make you something to eat.”
Droid looked down at his lap for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Yeah… I guess I am,” he said quietly, his voice still rough from whatever he’d been through.
Pezzy gave a small, awkward smile. “Alright. Stay here. I’ll grab you something. Don’t go anywhere.”
Droid nodded and went back to gently petting Sly, who purred contentedly in his lap.
Pezzy stood and stretched, then headed to the kitchen. He grabbed some bread, cheese, and a few simple ingredients, quickly making a sandwich. When he was done, he carried the plate back to the living room. “Here,” he said, setting it down in front of Droid. Droid looked at the sandwich, then back at Pezzy, a faint, tired smile appearing on his face. “Thanks,” he said softly.
Pezzy watched Droid eat, his eyes occasionally glancing down at Sly. He didn’t know why she was so clingy toward this man, but he wasn’t about to ruin it.
They stayed in silence until Droid had finished half the sandwich.
“How can I help?” Pezzy blurted out suddenly, unable to hold back his worry. Droid paused mid-bite and looked up at him.
His gaze flicked to the box on the coffee table between them. “I don’t know,” he said slowly. “But one of the balls… has the name Puffer on it. He’ll know, I guess.”
Pezzy frowned, leaning closer to the shattered box. “Puffer? You mean someone else is… trapped in these?” Droid nodded. “A lot of people are trapped in there. But let’s take it one by one, so we don’t overwhelm you—“ Pezzy hummed and leaned over the box, carefully looking through the remaining glass balls for the one labeled Puffer. “How many are there?” he asked.
Droid paused, counting silently on his fingers. “Six… including me,” he said finally.
Pezzy’s eyes widened slightly. “Six people… trapped in these balls?”
Droid nodded. “Yeah. And if we’re going to get them out, we need to be careful to not hurt them.”
Pezzy nodded and stared at the glass balls, He frowned as he counted them.. There were six still intact—but he had already broken one. Or sly had.
As he picked through them, something strange caught his eye. One of the balls didn’t have a name. It was smooth and blank. And it seemed colder than the rest. A small chill ran down his spine, but he decided not to ask about it. Not yet. Instead, he focused on finding the one with “Puffer” carved into its surface. His fingers brushed over the names, turning each ball carefully until he found it.
“Got it,” he murmured, holding the glass ball up to the light.
Droid straightened slightly, his gaze locked on the sphere. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “That’s the one.”
“How do I open it?” Pezzy asked, moving to sit closer to Droid as he held the ball out for him to see.
Droid’s eyes flicked to Sly, who was curled up against his side. He pointed at her paw. “Just a tap with her claw.”
Pezzy blinked. “You’re kidding, right?”
Droid shook his head. “No. That’s how it works. She’s the key.”
Pezzy glanced at Sly, who tilted her head at him with a soft meow, as if she somehow understood.
Pezzy sighed and gently took Sly’s paw. The little cat tilted her head in curiosity but didn’t resist, letting him guide her closer to the strange ball.
With a small push, he tapped it using her claw. The ball suddenly glowed bright, making Pezzy flinch. Startled, he quickly threw it away from him.
Mid-air, it burst with light—just like droid’s ball had done—and when it faded, a man was standing there.
Pezzy stared wide-eyed at the man, who wore the same shocked look as him.
“Pezzy?!” the man blurted out.
Droid snorted from the side, clearly amused.
Still confused, Pezzy frowned at the stranger. “You’re… Puffer?”
Puffer froze, his eyes darting to droid. Droid let out a long sigh. “He doesn’t know.”
Puffer winced and looked at Pezzy with a pitying look.
Pezzy’s chest tightened—he felt lost. So so so lost.
/
After making Puffer take a shower and change too, Pezzy watched as he ate his sandwich while Droid leaned over the box, turning the glass balls gently in his hands as he read the names.
The two men spoke in low voices, weighing who to free next, careful not to overwhelm him. But Pezzy just sat there, feeling the words blur together. He felt lost.
Puffer notices how lost Pezzy looks and tries to reassure him.
“Don’t worry. I will try my best to explain. Tho I was the first to get stuck in these stupid balls I will try my best.”
Pezzy shifted slightly, and nodded. His fingers drummed nervously against his knee. “Who was the last?” he asked curiously. Droid leaned back into the couch with a low hum, his eyes never leaving the glowing spheres. “That would be either Smitty or Grizzy. I don’t remember.”
“Who..” Pezzy asked with a deadpan expression. Puffer snorted, unable to hide his amusement, while Droid only gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry,” Droid said quietly, “I forgot you don’t remember.”
Pezzy froze at those words, Slowly, he set his drink down on the table, eyes flicking between them. “What do you mean I don’t remember?…” Droid averted his gaze, rubbing his thumb over the edge of the box as though it could save him from answering.
Puffer looked at Droid before sighing, then turned back to Pezzy with a serious expression.
“Pezzy. We know you. You know us. But… let’s just say a lot happened that made us end up in this situation.”
Pezzy’s brows furrowed. He shook his head slowly, like he was trying to chase away fog. “You’re not making sense. I don’t—I don’t remember any of this. I don’t remember you.” His voice cracked on the last word.
Droid leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “That’s because something… or someone… made you forget.”
Pezzy blinked, his mouth going dry. “Forget… you?”