You place your hand on the knob of the door and pull it open. The world around you darkens. Suffocating warmth surrounds you, moist and oppressive. You're standing on something soft and cool. It moves ever so slightly as you stare at it, shifting from light red to almost black. You feel the pressure of eyes on you and look up. Countless pairs of eyes stare at you from the too-hot darkness. They watch each move you make and you feel a level of self-consciousness you've never encountered before.
You walk forwards, moving slower than usual. The eyes continue to watch you. To judge you.
You pause and take a deep breath of the thick air. You hope it will clear your head. You hope it will drive away the mounting paranoia in your heart. The eyes continue to watch you. Your heart pounds and you shut your eyes. Are they talking now? You hear half-spoken words. At least, you think you do. Maybe you're imagining it. Maybe you're going insane.
A voice cuts through the chaos, clear and sharp. The air cools and you take a deep breath. Your body moves freer now. The buzzing and harsh non-words stop when you see it floating in front of you.
"Hello," it says, floating closer to you, "I'm looking for my mama! Have you seen her?" You shake your head, and it speaks again. "I've been looking for her for so long. Will you help me look for her?" It is right in front of you, its wide, red eyes meeting yours. You recognize a lonely, hopeful hunger in its gaze.
You cannot say no. You cannot leave the small, fragile creature to look on its own. You nod your head. "Thank you so much," it says. It floats closer and seats itself on the top of your hat.
You walk onwards, the eyes watching you from the darkness. The path twists and turns ahead of you, but does not branch off. The path widens into a dead-end dump. You see a sign at the far end of the dump, and you read it. "Down." You consider jumping off the ledge, but rethink your plan. It is dark down there, and you are not sure how far until the end of the drop. Does it even end? You look back at the dump.
Broken machines are piled high, blocking out the ever-staring eyes. You slither over and take a closer look at a few of them. Here is a doll, its eyes plucked out leaving black voids. Here is a smashed piano, its keys worn from use. You reach out a hand and touch a key. It plays more notes than you expected. You take a step back in surprise and bump against a pile of junk. It falls down around you and the thing on your head floats up into the air.
"Look," it says, "Look at what you found!" You turn and look at the freshly uncovered robot, its red body marred by black soot. It is broken, and you wonder what could have damaged such a powerful looking robot this badly. The thing floats up to the robot and lands on its chest. When you don't reply, it stares at you and says, "You found my sister!"
It shuts its eyes and uses a kind of PSI you've never seen before. You wonder if it's even a real PSI move. Your doubts are halted when the robot's eyes light up. She rises out of the junk pile and stretches a hand out to you. You hesitate and the robot whirrs. Maybe, you think, she is about to speak.
Instead, you hear the tinny notes of a song.
You step forward and let her pick you up. She sets you on her shoulder and you feel safe. The warmth, the darkness, the desolation of the dump, none of it bothers you now.
The robot steps out of the junk and walks over to the ledge. She takes a step and the three of you fall down, down, down. Warm air rushes around you and you reach up to keep your hat on your head.
The robot hits the ground with a crash. The eyes are back, staring down at the three of you again. She reaches up and plucks you off her shoulder. She sets you down onto the dark ground. The thing floats down to you and settles down on your head again. You know that she is not coming with you.
You look around and take in the shadowy city before you. Black buildings blur into the ground and each other. Eyes blink and drift about. One pair of eyes approaches you. You tense up, ready for an attack that never comes.
"Welcome to Moonside. Wecomel to Soonmide. Moonwel ot cosime."
As you stare at the eyes, the city lights up in neon colors. Some of the eyes belong to creatures that look like you once did. Others, still cloaked in shadow, continue to stare at you. You try talking to them again, but it repeats the same words over and over.
Maybe, you think, someone else will know where the creature's mother is. You approach another, but it starts to drift away. You follow it and it turns to face you.
It points at the creature on your head, its eyes glinting. You take a step back as it calls out, "Traitor! Traitor! Traitor! Friend of thieves and crawling bugs and filth!"
You are not the one the eyes talk to now, but you feel the creature's pain as sharply as if it was your own. You walk up to another of the noodly creatures.
"Make us proud." A pause. "What's that? You're trying? Didn't your mother teach you it's wrong to tell lies?"
You corner and talk to each of the creatures, knowing you must find its mother. You have to. You can't let it down. It trusts you. It knows you can help. But, you can't help. You can't. You can only talk to the creatures.
"You're sick. Sick and twisted and corrupted by filth."
You can't…
"Your mama? She left you. She left you sick and damaged, all on your own."
You can't stop yet.
"Selfish little one! You love a thief more than your people. HA!"
You need to know where she is.
"See the stars? See them? They see you. They see you and they know what you're doing and they hate you for it."
But…
"Do you expect welcoming arms? Do you, friend of thieves? Now that Mama's run off and you found out love's worth?"
But you're not…
"Worthless. You are worthless. That is all you are."
You're not making any progress.
"Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, does it hurt? Does it hurt to wake up alone? To wait by the door for someone who abandoned you? Who loved you?"
Are you making it worse? The creature on your head tightens its grip on your head.
"Why not talk to everyone. None of us have seen her. She left you. She left you here with your heart exposed. Weak. Alone. Useless."
"You are broken. The humans broke you. Can we ever trust you again?"
"Haaaaaaa! You're crying. Crying because you're alone. Because she left. Because she's a thief."
"How did your song go? Sing it for me, little one. Sing it for me so I can hear your voice crack when you remember her lies."
Your head spins, your eyes water and the world around you swirls. You close your eyes as pain shoots through your mind. When you open your eyes again, you see a spiraling pink shell, poking out of the dark street. You walk towards it, your head throbbing. You stretch your hand out and touch its smooth surface.
There is no tug. Your feet remain firmly planted on the ground. You hear the crying of the creature on your head. You reach up and take if off your head, staring at it. It's hurting and you want to help. If only the shell would do something. Why is it here, you wonder. The creature bumps its head against your hand and you look back at it. Its eyes are wide.
The lights from the city fade out, but you can still see the creatures. They no longer go about their own business. Their attention is on you and the little one. You notice the eyes again. They've never stopped watching you. The creatures drift closer, circling around you. You're panicking now.
You look from the little one in your arms to the spiraling shell. It has to mean something. It has to! You slap your hand against it again and get the same response. The creatures approach and you remember the robot and the piano. You give the little one a gentle squeeze and ask, "Will you sing your lullaby?"
It squirms and stares up at you. "But…but, I can't sing alone, I-"
"It's okay, Googie," you say, "I know it, too. We can sing it together." It stares at you for a moment, then nods.
The creatures are too close to the two of you when Googie starts singing. It's quiet and shaky, but, when you add in your voice, the little one perks up. The song swells, just like you remember, and you feel a twinge of pain in your heart. Your memories of the last time you heard this song are faded and sad.
The shell is glowing.
It fills the city of shadows with dazzling light. Your squeeze your eyes shut. You did it. You really did it.
You open your eyes and look at your surroundings. The little one is next to you, its eyes shut. You are both lying on a circle of pink surrounded by pure darkness. You see a number of pink circles ahead of you. "Hey," you say, and tap Googie between the ears, "are you all right?"
The little one stirs and tilts its head up at you. To your dismay, its eyes are dark voids. You're reminded of the doll in the junkyard. Stroking Googie's head, say, "We did it."
It tilts its head to the side and grins at you and says, "We make a great team, don't we?"
You smile and get up. "We sure do. Come on, let's find your mama." It nods and lets you pick it up.
You jump from circle to circle until you find the path again. You walk and walk and walk until the darkness opens up. You look at the ceiling, expecting to see the red eyes from before. Instead, there are stars. You think about home. "We're getting close, Googie," you say, "You'll be with your mama soon."
Mama, you think. Googie's not the only one who wants to hear its mother's voice. You set it down and put a hand on its head. "Wait right here, okay? I'm going to look around the room." You straighten up and search for another path. There's one tunnel that previously left the room, but it is covered with heavy rocks. You get a familiar sensation from the passageway. It is your passageway. It feels like home.
Your chest aches. You want to drag the rocks aside. You want to crawl through and be safe again. You wrap your hands around one of the rocks and tug at it. The rock does not move. You give it another pull.
"Mama?" Googie says. You turn from the rock. A dark shape is standing over the little one. Your mind is numb. You can't think of anything but how much you miss your mother. You watch the figure step closer to Googie. It reaches down and picks the little one up. You blink, wishing your legs would move.
"That's right, little one," it croons, stroking Googie's head. "I've come back for you." It has a wide grin on its face. You want to yell to the little one that, whatever the shadow is, it is not its mother. Your mouth remains shut.
The shadow's hands keep stroking the little one. "I had to come back. I couldn't let you get away with killing me. Keeping me trapped here. For the pain they put me through." It's body stiffens. The shadow sticks sharp fingers into the little one's eyes, drawing a wail from the fragile creature. The shadow coos on as streaks of red pour from Googie's eye sockets. You take a step back, but the shadow sees you. It turns its face towards you and holds up the writhing creature. It's tall; as tall as the robot.
You look up at its grinning face, the cries of Googie in your ears. It drops the wailing little one at your feet. You bend down and take it into your arms. You straighten up and stare at the shadow.
Sensing your unspoken question, the dark creature speaks. "I am your past. You cannot beat me, for you are the one who keeps me alive." It lashes out with its claws. You wince from the pain of the shadow's attack and its words. You can't fight like this. You're too distracted. Another blow hits you and you cringe.
So, this is what it comes down to, you think. I'm as trapped by my past as he is.
There's a small cry from Googie as another blow hits you. You look down at it and frown. No. No, you're not trapped like Giegue. You think about everyone you've met since you and Giegue ceased being one. All the creatures you've met in both your present and past. You feel a ghost of identity course through your body. It gives you confidence. You focus and hit it with a bolt of PSI. It shrinks back.
"You know, I'm not afraid of you," you say, taking a step forward. It backs further away.
"I keep you alive because you are part of me, whatever I am. You helped make me who I am. I'm not like he is. I know I can't just cut out the parts of me I can't handle." The shadow trembles and the room fills with soft, pink light. You close your eyes, remembering what happened to Googie last time, and hold the little one tight in your arms.
"Giegue?"
You open your eyes. Standing in front of you is a woman in a pink dress and pink crown. She is smiling at you and Googie, her arms spread apart. You walk towards her and let her hug you. She is just like you remember her. Your tail wags.
"Mama!" Googie clings to your mother. "Mama, I looked and looked and looked for you, but I couldn't find you!"
Your mother smiles and takes Googie from you. "You don't need to worry anymore, Googie. You are safe now." She sits down on her throne, placing Googie on her lap. She's smiling at you, but you can't look her in the face. You want to smile back at her, but a niggling insecurity has found its way back into your mind. You can accept the past and you embrace the present. The problem is, you don't know what you are. You stand in front of her, staring at your feet until she says, "What's bothering you, Giegue?"
You look up at your mother and say, "I don't know who I am."
She motions you closer. You sit down at her feet and she takes off your hat, running her fingers through your hair. "Well," she says, "You are a lot of things, Giegue. To me, though, you are my smart, kind, and sweet child whom I love very much."
Your eyes water. You are crying and clutching at her skirts now. "No, no," you say, "I'm not! I'm not Giegue."
Your mother stares down at you, a smile still on her face. "Then, who are you?"
You meet her gaze and feel your head clear for the first time. "I-I… I am Niiue. That is who I am. Niiue."
The room around you swirls and darkens. You watch as your mother and the little one fade into darkness, leaving you alone. You look at your hands and see an ocarina in them. Turning it over, you see your name carved neatly into its side. Next to it is a simple carving of a carnation.