Chapter 9: The Improbable Individual

The next morning...

Harold, Yaoi and Satsuma were sitting around a table.

'So, what's the plan?' asked Yaoi.'

Harold thought. 'I don't really know. We were so focussed on just surviving, that I didn't really think about how to stop Monika.'

'Huh? Satsuma? You okay there?'

Satsuma was sitting quietly, thinking to herself.

'I'm okay, it's just... I was just thinking about my brother, Tangelo. Sometimes I wish he could still be here... But...'

She paused for a moment. 'So, about the plan... What shall we do?'

'I don't know.' said Harold. 'Don't think there's any way out of this place, and there's not much here we can work with. Except...'

'Hmm?'

'That's it!' said Harold. 'We can use the Orb of Improbability!'

'But... ' said Satsuma. 'Isn't it really dangerous and unpredictable? What if we can't figure out how to control it? I don't want to see you two in any more danger...'

'Well, it's the only plan we've got, really.' said Harold.

'Let's do it!' said Yaoi. 'But it needs, like, a catchy name or something. Like...'

Yaoi looked around. Her eyes fixed on the goldfish at the edge of the room.

'...Operation Fish!'

'Fish? Why?'

'Well, ' said Yaoi. 'It stands for Find Improbability and... uh... Stop... Her.'

'Okay then.' said Harold. 'Let's go! To the basement!'

'So, which way was it to the Orb again?' asked Yaoi.

'Let's see... I think it was right, and then just follow the corridor to the end.' replied Harold.

'Come on, Satsuma! What's holding you up?'

'Well, it's just... even though I know that nobody else is here, it still feels like something could happen at any moment. But, maybe that's just because I have bad memories of this place...'

'Doesn't matter now.' said Harold. 'I think this is the room. You know, this place is a lot smaller than I thought.'

Satsuma gently opened the door. There, in the middle of the room, was the Orb of Improbability, slowly brightening and darkening.

'Well, there it is.' said Harold.

'But... there's something strange about it.' said Satsuma. 'It looks almost as if... it has no power left? Not that I know much about it, or anything...'

'So, what do we do?' asked Yaoi. 'Do we just touch it, and then we get, like, super powers? That would be so cool!'

Yaoi ran over to the Orb.

'No, wait! Don't touch the-'

Yaoi touched the orb, and... nothing happened.

'Well, that sucks.' said Yaoi. 'It didn't do anything. Now what?'

Satsuma stepped forward.

'Huh?' said Harold. 'What are you doing?'

'Well, I don't know how to explain it, but... it feels like I need to touch the Orb. I don't know why, but it seems like it's trying to tell me something.'

Satsuma walked up to the Orb, placed her hand on it, and closed her eyes. Suddenly, the orb started glowing.

'What the- 'said Yaoi. 'What's happening?'

The orb shot a beam of light at the wall, which made a large, bright circle of light. Then, someone stepped out of it. Then, they collapsed.

'Who is that?' asked Yaoi.

'I don't know!' said Harold. 'He's covered in some kind of weird glowing... stuff, so I can't really see.'

'Well, in any case, we should get him somewhere safer, and try to get him to regain consciousness...' said Satsuma.

Later...

'Ugh... Huh?'

'I think he's waking up!'

The mysterious boy sat up.

'S-Satsuma... Yaoi... It's been so long... But I'm glad you're okay.'

'Um...' said Yaoi. 'Who are you?'

'Well, I suppose I should get rid of this surplus of dimensional energy. Could you all please stand back?'

Everyone stood back. Then, there was a bright flash as the energy surrounding the boy disappeared. As it disappeared, it revealed that the mysterious boy was...

'...Tangelo?'

Tangelo walked over to Satsuma, and they hugged each other.

'Look...' said Tangelo. 'I'm sorry for what I did...'

'I... I'm just happy that you're back, big bro. But... I thought you were dead! Monika said she killed you!'

'Okay, I've got a lot of stuff to explain.' said Tangelo. 'But first, who's this? Is he a friend of yours?'

'I'm Harold.' said Harold. 'And I came here by... actually, I'm not sure. I never figured out how I got here.'

'Anyway...' said Tangelo. 'Monika was trying to kill me, but my death was actually by complete chance. While we were fighting, a jolt of energy shot out of the Orb of Improbability. And when I woke up, I was in some kind of alternate reality.'

'Wait, you came back to life?' asked Yaoi. 'Like Satsuma did?'

'Well, if you mean that only one of my souls died, then yes.'

'Tangelo, I've always wondered... Why do we have two souls, anyway?'

'I don't know the exact details, but it seems to be hereditary. As in, our parents both had two souls, and so do we. The power of both souls together is also what gives us our magical powers.'

'Wait, but...' said Satsuma. 'How come you can do magic, and I can't?'

Tangelo smiled. 'Why do you think you're able to eat concrete? Magic powers can manifest in many different ways... But, anyway. I was trapped in that alternate reality, until just a while ago, when the portal between realities appeared. You see, the Orb is closely linked to other realities.'

'But how did touching the Orb make the portal appear?' asked Satsuma.

'Well, I'll spare you the scientific details,' said Tangelo, 'but it was to do with the bond between us that connected the two realities together. In a way, it's almost kind of poetic...'

'But what I don't get is, why was Monika trying to kill you?' asked Yaoi.

'Well, it's a long story... But, it seemed like she had it out for me ever since I destroyed Project N.'

'Project N?' asked Satsuma. 'I feel like I've heard about that before... What is it?'

'Well,' said Tangelo, 'While I was exploring the basement one day, I came across a secret lab. In there, I found some blueprints. It wasn't exactly clear what the blueprints showed, but it was some kind of human, or humanoid... thing, known as Project N. It was going to be controlled by some kind of machine known as 'the brain', but I destroyed it. I'm not sure what Project N was supposed to be used for, though, but I think it was made to...'

'Huh? To what?'

'To... well... kill us.'

'WHAT?' shouted Yaoi.

'Yes, it seems that the goal of obtaining ultimate power changed her. She would do anything to become more powerful.' said Tangelo. 'Even if it meant killing the only person she ever loved!' Suddenly, Tangelo started shouting. 'I was the one who gave her that amulet! And I tried to stop her, but I couldn't! I... I tried to keep it a secret from you, because I didn't want you to get mixed up in this... It's all my fault!'

'Don't be so hard on yourself, Tangelo.' said Yaoi. 'Now that we're all together, I believe we can get through this!'

Tangelo wiped the tears from his eyes. 'Y-you really think so?'

'Well, we've managed to survive everything so far, right guys?' said Harold. 'And we can't back down now!'

'Heh heh... You guys... Well, I've decided. Tomorrow, we'll go back to the Orb of Improbability. I have a plan. It's time to end this nightmare once and for all.'