Welcome to my newest story, Scott Pilgrim: Origins of the Present. Unlike my other stories, this will jump right into the story, no Prologue and no notes beforehand. May the story eventually make sense to you.
Disclaimer: Scott Pilgrim belongs to Bryan Lee O'Malley and Oni Press.
Title: Scott Pilgrim: Origins of the Present
Summary: AU. Starts after the end of Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe. The events in Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour do not happen.
Moving on... taking Wallace's advice to get out, Scott takes the opportunity to go on a wilderness sabbatical! Only to disappear… dropped from the face of the Earth. Poof! Gone. Anyway, two years have passed, and both Scott and Ramona are still missing. Everyone's a bit curious on what happened to them. But how on Earth are the Evil Exes back?! And who are these weird people who keep getting in our way? Why do we have to enter into a Battle of the Bands tournament?! And how is this even connected to Scott and Ramona? And Gideon Gordon Graves, god damn it, stop looking so smug!
Oh boy. This is going to be harder than we thought.
Descriptions - Bold
Thoughts - Italics
"Dialogue" - "Quotes"
Narration – Nothing
Chapter One: It's so, so white.
A vast expanse of white stretched in every direction. Silence filled the mind subspace that you could probably hear a pin drop. Not that there was a pin to drop. Anyway, a lone young man with shaggy orange hair stood in front of a small black keyhole. Eyes — totally unfocused — stared past the keyhole and into the distance. He was there, but not really there.
Scott Pilgrim
Age: 24
Current Status: Confused
Scott Pilgrim blinked several times before he slowly focused on the blurry image of a small black object floating in front of him. It was a keyhole. A small, pitch-black keyhole. That wasn't weird at all, especially when everything else was white. Obviously there had to be something else here. He looked around, noting the sheer whiteness of everything, but stayed quiet. So apparently there was nothing here except him and a keyhole. Though he thought he heard the cracking sounds, but they were so faint that he probably just imagined them. He also noted that it was unnaturally white; shouldn't he have become snow-blind because of it? Whatever. He turned back to the keyhole, wondering where the hell he was. What was he doing before?
Huh...
Something stupid? Probably.
He clenched his hands in apprehension, but paused when he felt something in his right hand. He opened it only to see… a key? A silver key. Looking up at the keyhole briefly, he inspected the strange key that appeared out of nowhere. It couldn't hurt to try, right? Don't answer that. There's technically no one here anyway. And he wasn't going to break the forth wall to ask for help.
He inserted the key, watching in slight surprise that it actually clicked. He kind of expected it, but he was still shocked that it worked. Scott turned it to the left, but the key wouldn't budge. Well then, that was a no go. He twisted it slightly to the right, feeling the lock give way a little. Was this a one direction key? Sure didn't feel like one. It seemed like it, but he felt that it could be turned the other way — like it was supposed to turn the other way.
He moved into a better stance, firmly grasping the key, and wrenched it to the left. Nothing budged, but he felt it. He felt something blocking the left direction. He tried again with the same results as before. Well this blows. Alright, time for some self-motivation. There was something there. He felt it. He knew he felt it! And he was going to turn it, god damn it! He twisted the key, forcing every fiber of his being into it.
Failure.
He slumped to the floor, panting from the exertion. He looked up at the key. His next ides was probably going to sound idiotic and embarrassing. Thankfully, no one was around to hear it.
"Please turn left. Please."
He added puppy eyes for added effect. Nothing happened, obviously, but he didn't have any better ideas. He couldn't turn it, and using everything he had exhausted him easily. Why you no turn, key? It wasn't like there was anyone else to help him in this weird colorless space. Looking down at the unseen ground, he really wished there was someone. He didn't want to be alone for long if he was going to be stuck here.
As if something broke, the key clicked slowly to the left. Scott looked up at the key in surprise because keys don't usually turn themselves, of course. Though a few awkward minutes did pass by when nothing happened. Kind of anticlimactic, considering all the effort he wasted getting the key to turn. Then it just had to turn by itself, the useless key. Anyway, Scott straightened up and reached for the key. His finger brushed it before a loud snap ruptured the silence. A crack shot out from nowhere, cutting diagonally downward through the keyhole before continuing its descent. The ground gave way, the white slowly breaking into small pieces.
Okay, that was kind of expected.
Maybe.
Yes?
No. No, not really.
The world broke way into eternal midnight, the white slowing dissolving around him, painting evanescent stars into the shadows. Strange that he felt so calm while falling down into black oblivion. He wasn't screaming or yelling his head off; in fact, he felt rather tired. Like he could sleep forever, no more worries or cares. He could just let go of everything. The wind rushing past his ear sounded inviting, alluring even.
"S-….!"
'… Huh?'
Was that a voice? That couldn't be right… No one else was supposed to be here. And were those chains he could hear? There weren't any chains in the white expanse, right? He didn't remember any, just white and more white. It really was just white. It wasn't so bright anymore though, more dark and comforting, like falling asleep. Like shedding all your concerns for the day. Couldn't he leave everything and simply fall down into black?
"Sc-… …-grim!"
'Who?'
Why wouldn't the voice leave him alone? He didn't want to open his eyes again. Who was the voice even calling anyway? He couldn't really make out the words, focusing was just really hard right now. Couldn't this wait? But he forced his eyes open slightly, trying to find the interrupter.
"Sco-.. -ilgrim!"
'That voice…'
"Scott Pilgrim! Get back here!"
'I… know that voice.'
"God damn it, Scott! Wake up!"
Suddenly, two words popped into his head. They sounded so familiar yet so foreign. So out of place in a chaotic world that it fit right into everything around it. He needed to voice out the words, like an instinct that needed to be fulfilled. He failed to notice the white slowly come back, forming shapes and adding color. He failed to notice buildings, majestic in their destroyed ruins, standing tall despite the wreckage. All he was focused on was muttering the words in his head. He pushed the inevitable drop into the abyss aside for just a bit longer.
"Ro… ger…"
"Sco-..!"
The black void seemed ever closer to engulfing him. And he was just so tired. The voice was fading, overwhelmed by the wind rushing past his ears. But that voice, he knew that voice. Who was he calling? He couldn't remember. He just wanted to go sleep. Sleep sounded nice right now. What was he going to say again? There was something, he just had it. What was it?
"S-…. …-grim!"
Ah. He remembered who that voice belonged to.
"Roger Pilgrim…"
"S-!"
As Scott fell into unconsciousness, he vaguely saw a figure diving after him, the figure's features shadowed by the bright light above. A hand was extended towards him, but he made no effort to grab it. The figure was shouting something, but there was no sound. At least, no sound that he registered anyway. There was that strange beeping noise though, and a grinning face glowing above them. He could barely make out the word '1-UP' below it before he decided it was too much effort and closed his eyes. He left himself fall, losing awareness with each passing second.
A hand gripped his leg.
Chains rattled, echoing through the black, black abyss.
Who was here?
[Word Count: 1,209 words]
[Beta-ed by Miyauchi-san as of 02-13-2014]
Criticism is welcome. Thanks for waiting. My gratitude goes to my beta Miyauchi-san. I hope you enjoy the story...
- Kenna Cat