Back at Stranger's living room, you find yourself brought back to full HEART with some of the food you had stocked up on. It seemed as though, thankfully enough, you and Omori share a POCKET. You get up off the floor. The ground and your clothes were still stained with blood, but through the magic of food healing fatal wounds, you were fine. Your violin and its bow, too, had healed themselves, presumably also through some magic. You surveyed your surrounding so confusedly, eventually discovering Stranger, a stab wound in his gut, lying against the wall.
"He's not dead," Omori says, "I've stabbed him so many times, and he isn't dead."
Omori seems frustrated by this.
"Same to you, bastard," Stranger weakly spat back at him.
You and Omori look at each other, unsure of what your next move should be. You decide to focus back in on your mission.
"Why is this border here?" you say, kneeling down to Stranger's level, "What's keeping the Spaces from merging completely?"
"It's in their nature," he says, "You should know that. Polar opposites can't just coexist forever."
"Then tell us how to stop it," you say, "If the Spaces won't stay merged on their own, help us do it ourselves."
"Or what?" he says, "Are you going to stab me again?"
Omori stabs him again.
"...Ugh," Stranger says, "I really hate you."
"It's mutual," Omori replies.
"This isn't going anywhere," you say, "We came all this way to try to fix this border. There had to be something we can do."
Omori ponders for a moment, staring at Stranger. Suddenly, he appears to get an idea. He presses his hand to Stranger's heart. In a rhythmic pattern, you see Omori's colors invert. Paper white skin, void black hair, then void black skin, paper white hair. Back and forth. Additionally, you can once again sense his whites becoming whiter, his blacks becoming blacker.
"It's him," he says, "He's... what's keeping it like this."
You and Stranger look to him, confused.
"You refuse to believe that the Spaces can exist together," Omori says, "As we are in a world of the mind, that belief has real impact. Your refusal to move on, your belief that you have been 'left behind'... that is the very thing keeping you here, maintaining the border."
"That's not true," he says, "What would you know, anyways?"
"You are tormented," Omori says, "You and your friends, the ones who were 'left behind', you are the last of this Mind's guilts, the last things left to be resolved, the last secrets remaining hidden."
He once again licks his lips, trying to identify a taste. "...The taste of unfinished business," he says, looking to you, "Just like before."
"So... what," you say, "Do we have to... finish him? Clearly he can't die."
Omori puts his hand to his chin.
"I have an idea," he says, "Though, you may not like it."
He picks up Stranger by the arms, and he motions you to carry him by his legs. You begrudgingly do so, letting Omori lead towards the exit, as the two of you carry Stranger up the stairs.
"You're right," you say, "I don't like this."
"If it's any consolation," he says with an air of gallows humor, "I don't plan on hanging him or trying to kill him in some other way. If stabbing won't work, well, in my mind nothing will."
You reach the top of the staircase. "I plan on bringing him into Grey Space," Omori says, "His affect on this border should decay if he is no longer in it."
Stranger coughs. "It's a long way back. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I have nothing better to do," Omori replies simply.
You're really not looking forward to having to carry Stranger all the way back. Though, you manage to stay strong. What Omori said resonated with you. You wonder why you care so much about your mission in the first place, why Grey Space means anything to you. Why Omori, or for that matter, anyone or anything else here, mean anything to you. You are no longer in denial, no longer your hikikomori self. You know this dream isn't real. You know that, no matter what happens, even if you were killed here, or if something else horrible happened, you could close your eyes and leave. It doesn't matter.
And yet, it does matter. Initially, you thought it was a bit of nostalgia. You had spent so much time on this world, these people... it was such a waste to merely throw them away. That was still true, but you begin to realize another aspect of your motivation. Even though all of this is in your head, that's no reason to assume that it doesn't matter. The only reason why you ever even managed to tell the truth in the first place was because of your journey through your mind. That journey, those darkness-swept corridors that you ventured through, the hospital beds, the bloodied bedroom, the forest at sunset... you were only the person you were now because you went to those places. Had you not ventured through there, had you not gone through that part of your mind, you would have both of your eyes. Your friends would not know the truth. Basil would be dead.
So, in fact, this world, these dreams, are incredibly important. The path you have traced through these "imaginary" locations has changed your life, saved Basil's life. You are not about to throw that away, throw away this whole notion of your "dream world", of Grey Space, simply because it "isn't real." Your resolve once again strengthens, and in good time, too, as your arms are getting very weary from carrying Stranger. Luckily, your wandering thoughts had distracted you from the pain.
Another wandering thought, actually: you have a boyfriend now. Basil is your boyfriend. That's an odd turn of events, but honestly, you could say that about anything that's happened in the past week or so, inside and outside your dreams. Looking down at Stranger, you can't help but be endeared by him. He has the same body shape, the same hair, the same eyes. Those same hardened hands that never let go. That same voice that could lull you to sleep at any time of day, although Stranger used it with such malice. For his resemblance to Basil alone, you couldn't stay too mad at him, even after he tried to murder you two.
Thinking back to your dreams' impact on reality, you can help but notice the parallel of fighting Stranger, then immediately being greeted by Basil. Nothing more than a coincidence, but still, your mind seemed to be subconsciously trying to tell you something through the things you see here, as it always does. You hadn't quite pieced together the message, yet. In any case, you had almost returned to the safe shore of Grey Space. Just a few feet away from where the border gave way to greyness, Mari and Basil had set up a picnic.
"Sunny! Omori!" Mari yells, waving her disproportionately long arms though the air, "Come on, you're almost here!"
Basil gives you a thumbs up, then does a gesture as though he were blowing you a kiss. You blush, and you're given the energy to carry Stranger just a little bit longer. Finally, you arrive, setting him down on the picnic blanket. He groans in agony.
"You... you little demons," he says, "You... actually carried me all the way here. Ugh."
As he hit the ground with a thud, you could see the border, which had so long been completely well defined, begin to get fuzzy. Its shape had always been shifting, but now, there were hints of grey between the pure white and black. The greyness grew, spreading outwards slowly, then growing in speed, until eventually it was rushing through the landscape like cracks in a giant pane of glass. As far as your eyes could see, the landscape was now grey, fully merged, fully Grey Space.
"Oh my Goodness!" Mari cheers, her pale cheeks blushing, "You two~, you really did it!"
She hugs both of you, and Basil joins in.
"I-it was nothing, guys," you manage to stammer out.
Basil speaks to Mari. "Basil says you shouldn't sell yourself short. I agree."
You nod in response, embarrassed. Mari looks down at your captive, her gaping circular maw casting a metaphorical spotlight onto him.
"...M-Mari?" he says, "Why... yes, it's you... I haven't seen you since the merge, I'm... so..."
He coughed, and you realized that he was still suffering from many, many stab wounds.
"I'll heal you up," Mari says with a toothy pout, "But only if you promise not to run off and ruin their hard work!"
You see indecision cross Stranger's eyes. He then seems to accept that he really has no other choice.
"Fine," he says, "Just give me some food. I can't die, but I'm damn close to it."
Mari places a fresh cheeseburger into his mouth. He moves his arms with great effort, chewing slowly. His vigor gradually iceases with each bite, his many wounds sealing back up, until eventually he's fine again. He sits straight up, staring at the two of you... well, mostly Omori.
"A liar, a manipulator, a tyrant, an attempted murderer, and a successful kidnapper," he says, "Now, I'm having a picnic with you. Just perfect."
He chews on his burger with discontent.
"What exactly is it you want me to say?" Omori replies, bluntly.
"I'd prefer if I wasn't talking to you at all," he says, "I'd really prefer if you were six feet under the ground, but we can't always get the things we want in life."
"Basil says you should stop being so rude to Omori," Mari says, "He saved you from that horrible place! Look, now everything's grey!"
Stranger laughs. "Is that supposed to be a good thing? Look at what you've done to my homeland. This border. Now it's nothing but boring sameness."
"That is supposed to be a good thing!" Mari says, her teeth now becoming much more fittingly aggressive, "You don't have to live alone out there anymore. You can stay in Grey Town!"
"I don't want to go to Grey Town," he says, "I want to be left alone."
"Sounds a lot like me," you say, "Before, well..."
You gesture around vaguely.
"All this," you finish.
"And what's wrong with that?" he says, "I was happy. I had my plants and my friends. I would visit them from time to time, and everything was okay. Then you showed up, touting your stupid ambition to make the Spaces one, taking him with you, as though he can just be... forgiven for his actions. I'm having none of your nonsense, Sunny."
"Omori's changed," you say, "He doesn't want to hurt anyone anymore."
"Cool," Stranger says, "He's already hurt, like, a bunch of people already. So, quite honestly, I do not give a shit if he 'doesn't want to hurt anyone anymore.' What's done is done, you can't change the past."
"You really shouldn't be so hung up on the past," Mari says, "It... isn't... good."
You all know what she's referring to, and it puts everyone on edge. The truth had a profound impact on you all, on everyone in the dream world. It's something that, even after everything, the people of Grey Space tread lightly upon when talking about it. Stranger fell silent, Mari's oblique reference to the truth seemingly getting through to him.
"So... what?" he says, "Am I just supposed to forgive you?!"
"You should at least go into town," Omori says, "That has nothing to do with me."
"Basil agrees," Mari says, "He hates to see anyone left behind. You've been shutting yourself in there by choice... why don't you come out to see everyone?"
The parallels to recent events were too much for Stranger to have a comeback for. Plus, he had been proven wrong. The borders could be removed. Ironically following in the footsteps of Omori, Stranger begrudgingly accepts that he is wrong.
"Fine!" he says, "Fine, fine, fucking... fine! I'll go with you to your stupid little Grey Town, with all your little Grey People, and we can go and eat pizzas and be best friends. Are you satisfied, now? Will you leave me alone for just a moment?"
Basil laughs. "He says you're nothing like him," Mari translates, "He thinks that's funny."
Stranger blushes. He wants everyone to shut up so, so badly. It's pretty cute. You take a moment to relax at the picnic, enjoying some food as Stranger sits in angry silence. You lean your head onto Mari's shoulder, while Omori sits by himself, silently.
"Sorry for not setting up a picnic for you two on the border," she says, "Unfortunately... I don't think I can go out there. I got a weird feeling when I stepped out of Grey Space, it was... really bad. I hope you understand, Sunny."
You nod, to say that she doesn't have to push herself so hard. You grimace. Bad choice of words.
"Maybe that's what happened to him," Omori says, poking Stranger's leg, "That might be why he's such a jerk. Maybe being out near the borders makes you like that."
"I am so close to stabbing your eyes out," Stranger says, swatting Omori's finger away.
"Oh no," he says, completely monotone, "Losing one or more of my eyes. Who could imagine such a horrible fate."
You and Basil laugh. It seems as though Omori has a penchant for dark humor. The five of you finish eating, and you and Omori begin escorting Stranger back to Grey Town. You wave Mari and Basil goodbye, as they look back at you with smiles. Well, as close to smiles as those two can get.