Chapter: 19 The Sun will Rise Again
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Sunny's house
{Endless Nightmare}
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The creature stirred and stood up on it's broken legs, it brushed long tangled black hair out of it's face and began to breath heavily. It was cold so cold it needed Sunny, it needed to see him…When it tried to stand and walk on it's legs, they gave way under the weight of it's body, causing it to fall to the ground. It shrieked in pain when it's legs cracked and split open. It vomited a sticky black substance and slowly dragged itself out of the bathroom towards Sunny's room…making claw marks in the floor as it unerringly pulled itself towards it's destination...
"Sun...ny I...love you..."
OMORI was laying on his mat staring up at the ceiling when a loud shriek from outside told him that he wasn't alone. He got up and slowly went for the front door, readying his knife to strike at whatever was waiting for him. Once he reached the closed door, he silently pressed his head to it and listened...sounds of labored rasping breath and scratching could be heard on the other side, whatever it was it was intent on getting in, on getting him. OMORI never felt fear...ever, he was made to combat trauma, but for some reason in this moment he felt at great unease, beads of sweat trickling down his face and his breathing quickened. He had felt this feeling before…the night when Sunny opened the door to what he thought was Mari…and instead was greeted by a nightmarish mockery of his sister come to haunt and terrorize him...the one thing OMORI felt any kind of fear from...the being what he dubbed, HELLMARI...
"Sunny…let…me…in…Sun...ny…"
A rasping voice called out to him again, it's clawing becoming louder and louder...If he didn't do something, it would come in to get him, so he would neutralize the threat first. Carefully, he inched the door open. The room began to turn a deep shade of red as he did, the dread and anticipation becoming unbearable until the door swung open to nothing. The room was deathly quiet except for OMORI'S breathing and the sound oh his heart beating in his chest. He went to wipe sweat from his brow but instead found a strange black goo on his hands. HELLMARI loomed above him and wrapped it's cold dead hands around OMORI'S neck, empty soulless voids for eyes meeting his own. It craned it's elongated neck out towards him trying to speak through strangled broken lungs…
"Sunny…I love you..."
[OMORI became AFRAID]
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What will OMORI do?
Run…
OMORI attempted to escape
But it failed
HELLMARI claws at it's neck
You felt as if your lungs were on fire
OMORI took 143 damage
OMORI attacked HELLMARI
it had no effect
Look at what you've done…
HELLMARI screams loudly
Your ears bleed as ringing fills your head
OMORI took 143 damage
OMORI used RED HANDS
it had no effect
HELLMARI twisted it's neck in at an unnatural angle
you feel like you cannot breath
OMORI took 143 damage
OMORI did not succumb
HELLMARI stared into OMORI'S soul
Your eyes begin to water...it won't stop
What can OMORI do?
Run
OMORI attempted to escape
but it failed
HELLMARI sways on the wind
an overwhelming panic grips into you
OMORI became STRESSED OUT
{"Sunny…I love you."}
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What will Sunny do?
Sunny used CALM DOWN
Sunny is no longer AFRAID
HELLMARI tries to speak but there is only grating noise
Sunny used FOCUS
Sunny's ATTACK went up
HELLMARI begins to fade
Sunny used PERSIST
Sunny healed 20 HEART
HELLMARI waits patiently
Sunny used OVERCOME
{"Sunny…I love you"}
OMORI learned SUBJUGATE
What will OMORI do?
Fight
OMORI uses SUBJUGATE
OMORI reaches into HELLMARI
IT HIT RIGHT IN THE HEART
OMORI is victorious
OMORI got A SHARD OF SOMETHING
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OMORI watched as the hellish mockery of his sister faded into nothing but not before it reached out towards him and grabbed his leg, a single slash of the knife to the neck was enough to behead the creature. As it collapsed to the ground bleeding from the stump where it's head once was it managed to whisper to him one last time...
"Su….nny….I…love…you…"
Then the house was quiet once more. OMORI looked at the completely black shard in his hand...SOMETHING staring back through it. He knew what these shards were, they were made of the same glass material as the black light bulb that used to hang in WHITE SPACE, the bulb that held the repressed memories he had been tasked with keeping hidden away. With little effort he crushed the shard his vision was filled with images of places that Sunny had seen including a entrance to a secret Bunker in a canal somewhere.
That was where Sunny was…
That was where he must go...
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Aubrey's House
{Sweat and Blood}
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AUBREY shuffled toward the woman sitting on the couch watching TV and held her head low when she spoke. "A-all this d-dishes are done...can I-I go out and play now?" AUBREY said fearfully, trying to keep herself from crying. The woman glanced over her shoulder with a angry expression and spoke. "Who said you could play outside? so you can run away? no, your never going outside again...ever!" she yelled and slapped AUBREY, knocking the poor girl to the floor where her hands and knees scrapped against the sharp debris on the floor. AUBREY grit her teeth when the glass bit into her legs and arms. the woman seemed indifferent to her cries of pain and scoffed.
"Go to your room..." she snarled and went back to watching TV.
"I'm sorry...I won't ask ever again..." AUBREY said quietly, getting up and fled to the attic where she curled up into a ball and sobbed, holding her bleeding feet and hands. After Aubrey had left and Basil was forced to leave town, she had nowhere to go with the house being put up for sale shortly after, leaving her with nowhere to go except back to Aubrey's old house assuming it would be abandoned. She didn't expect Aubrey's horrid mother to still be there when she arrived and this time...her real world self wasn't there to protect her from the mean lady... As AUBREY silently wept she heard a light tapping on the window of the attic room, she desperately tried to ignore it as a familiar annoying boy poked his head up with a happy expression on his face and knocked even louder... "AUBREY..." KEL whispered and pressed his face against the window. When she ignored him he banged on the window to so hard it broke. "Hey AUBREY guess who's here to save the day!" But still she didn't respond...time to get serious...
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey AUBREY! hey hey hey hey hey hey AUBREY I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! yeh hey hey hey HEY AUBY!"
AUBREY sat up and turned to him with a impatient glare. "What KEL? I can't talk to you or she'll beat me again..." she whisper shouted, glancing over at the trap door with a worried expression as if Aubrey's mother was on the other side. KEL gave her that stupid grin he was known for and held out a hand through the broke window. "We're getting everyone together again, you in?" he said, it was only a few days after Hero's death and he had already bounced back, that was KEL for you...the positive ray of sunshine in everyone's life. AUBREY slumped her shoulders and looked down at her wounded hands. "I can't, leave the house...not ever, she told me if I did she'd lock me in the attic." the young boy shrugged and crossed his arms in a cocky manner. "Nah! she's too slow..." he lied, but technically he was too, his leg was still healing from being chopped off in the hospital and he couldn't run as fast as he used to. Even when it was reattached the damage to his SPEED stat was permanent... AUBREY seemed to know this too and shook her head. "She'll catch us both if we try to run, my feet are cut up and you can't run as fast...hold on, I just realized this is the attic, how did you get up here?" she asked and went to look outside. standing on each other's shoulders was Mikhael, Angel HERO and Charlene making a human ladder for KEL to reach. "Oh...I...well that explains it." KEL beat his chest with his fist and readied a ball. "If we can't run then I'll fight her! lemme at her!"
"We can't break into someone's house...it's illegal!" HERO shouted up from his position in the ladder. KEL rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Well we can't just let that evil lady keep AUBREY trapped in that house! how would you feel if I was in there instead?" he argued back. HERO opened his mouth to speak but stopped. "I...darn it, You have a fair point, what's the plan?" KEL posed heroically and looked down. "We have it right here..." he pointed below him. HERO looked around but didn't see what he was talking about. "Where? I don't see it." he said vaguely, not understanding at all. "You're standing on her right now." KEL simply replied. HERO glanced downwards at Charlene who gave him a small smile. "...hi..." HERO would have run a hand down his face if he wasn't holding up the weight of three people, he had expected the plan to be like a actual ladder or maybe calling the police to arrest Aubrey's mother for kidnapping and child labor, maybe even going up to the door to ask nicely for their friend back...but this was his brother KEL...and these were the Hooligans, where nothing is ever straightforward with either of them...plus they needed to get everyone together again like Basil had told them to. Calmly, he resisted the urge to scold his brother for roping him into yet another insane plan and spoke. "KEL...what does Charlene have to do with your plan to save AUBREY? you're not thinking of what I think you're doing are you?" he inquired, hoping that it didn't involve destroying the house. "Destroy the house? nah...not yet anyways, that's what we plan to do as a backup if this plan doesn't work, currently, Charlene is going to distract the evil woman while me, Angel and Mikhael break in and get AUBREY outta there!" Mikhael shuffled his shoulders in frustration. "I told you It's The Maverick! get it right!" he complained from below him.
HERO happened to catch something over on the other side of the road, Kim and Vance were preparing some sort of ball launcher from under a bed sheet. Whatever it was looked haphazard and unsafe. "And what are Vance and Kim going to do exactly?" he gestured towards them with his head, part of him already knew where this was going but he needed to hear it from the mastermind himself before he jumped to conclusions. The look he gave him was enough to tell the older brother that was the most exciting part...of course he was going to launch balls out of that thing and decimated the-
"We're gonna TP the house..." KEL said with barely contained excitement.
[KEL became ECSTATIC]
"...What."
Some preparation later...
A loud knocking sound brought Aubrey's mother out of her focus, she snarled and sat up from her seat, shaking the sleep out of her legs as she went over to the door and swung it open. "What do you want?" she barked, eyeing the person on the other side with impatience. Charlene blinked and looked around trying to think of something to distract the mean woman with. Aubrey's mom squinted hard at the bigger girl and put her hands on her hips. "You just going to stand there or am I going to have to call the police?" Charlene thought for a moment before bring up two hands, in one was a piece of candy. "...magic trick..." she quietly looked at the woman with a uncertain expression. Aubrey's mom gave her a raised eyebrow. "Come again?" Charlene closed her hands and then after a few seconds she opened them again...the candy had vanished from sight. "...woosh...gone..." she spoke, giving the woman a nervous smile... Aubrey's mother did a slow clap and rolled her eyes, unimpressed with the act. "...Very impressive...now get out of here." she spat, leaving Charlene with a frown. Just then, Kim and Vance stepped in holding a bunch of sacks full of something... "Wait just a sec! before you close that door ma'am, would you be interested in some...candy?" Kim offered a variety of candies from one of the bags she had with them, taffy included much to Vance's dismay.
At that Same moment KEL and the remaining two Hooligans climbed through the window "KEL! what are you doing?!" AUBREY exclaimed.
Mikhael swept his hair aside and posed dramatically. "Fear not! for your knight in shining armor has arrived to deliver you from the foul clutches of evil!" he said and gracefully took AUBREY'S hand in his own...much to her embarrassment and the other's amusement. "Look we need you...I need you, If we're gonna do this everyone's gotta be in this...come on AUBREY, I won't leave any more friends behind...especially my best friend in the whole wide world." his speech left her silent, he never ceased to amaze her with his confidence and seemingly limitless positivity, the friendship the had before had long since grown from them a friendly rivalry between two small children to a very close bond between two best much as AUBREY didn't want to admit it, ROWAN was right, maybe OMORI hadn't been a very good friend like she had believed for so long, back then she just assumed he was playing hard to get when she made advances on him to get his affection which he usually ignored her or shoved her away. The only times he did pay attention to her mostly was when she was needed to break a obstacle with her bat or during FOLLOW-UP attacks. Now looking at their current situation, OMORI hadn't come for her like she had hoped, but instead KEL and HERO had gone through with a extravagant plan to save her from her abuser...her other friends and the very boy she had found annoying so long ago had cared more than the one she had sworn her heart to...
It hurt to finally admitted it to herself but...she didn't like OMORI anymore...
...not when he had abandoned her in her time of need...
"I...thank you again for being there for me KEL...I really appreciate having a friend like you." she said softly and let KEL pick her up, she didn't even care if he hadn't washed his hands in forever she was glad he was here for her. KEL grinned widely and turned to the Hooligans with a affirmative nod, "Your welcome! AUBS mission complete! now we just needed to get out of here..."
[AUBREY became HAPPY]
[KEL learned SLAM DUNK]
[AUBREY learned SUPER SMASH]
[HERO learned DEAL-MAKER]
[Everyone learned a new FOLLOW-UP!]
"Yo Angel! go give the signal to bomb this dump!" KEL said, give him a thumbs up...Angel smiled and giddily hopped in place... "Right away! let's do this Master! Operation; Snowstorm is green for launch!" he shouted gleefully and rushed towards the window cackling to himself for what was to come next. The Maverick chuckled ominously and rubbed his hands together with a sinister grin that a evil genius would have. "Excellent...Operation; Mascot rescue is a success! and now we move on to Operation; Snowstorm, spearheaded personally by The Maverick that is I...I've been waiting ages to deliver justice on that vile woman for tormenting our boss and our beloved mascot! tremble in fear witch, the day of reckoning is at hand!..." Mikhael lept out the window forgetting that it was two stories high off the ground and landed in a pile of trash. "Ouch...I'm okay..." he called out. Once they helped the two kids down, HERO used his healing abilities to fix AUBREY'S wounds. "Wow, you managed to get all the Hooligans together? I'm impressed...and a bit concerned..."
KEL laughed and placed a hand on AUBREY'S shoulder. "Well we all agreed that it was for the best, we are best friends who only argue with one another when AUBREY is being stupid and clumsy..." he cheerfully pat her back and smiled.
AUBREY smiled back and puffed her chest out in pride."Yeah that's right! I'm stupid and clumsy and I...wait a minute..." her happy smile twisted into a confused frown then into an disgruntled look directed towards KEL. "Gosh darn it KEL! y-you made me sound dumb! you buttface!" she shouted angrily, a bright red outline becoming visible. KEL was taken aback by the insult and gained a red glow himself. "Buttface? why I oughta...I had to carry your butt down from all the way up there and plus you're really heavy ya know! maybe you should lose a few pounds..." he snickered at his own joke. AUBREY gasped and angrily grabbed hold of the boy's checkered shirt. "Take that back right now or else!" KEL grinned smugly at her and showed his teeth. "What? are you going to crush me to death fatty?" he teased and poked her stomach, she was always a little chubby under her nightgown and KEL knew how sensitive she was about her weight and teased her every so often about it.
[AUBREY became ENRAGED]
"You want to call me fat again? huh?! well maybe I should sit on you to shut you up!" she yelled and the two got into one of their famous arguments they were known for...HERO sighed and stepped in to hold the two apart until they calmed down. He smiling to himself, it was funny...they were such close friends and here they were bickering again...some things never change...
"So where are we going now?" AUBREY asked after she had calmed down enough. Basil came down from across the street while watching Aubrey's house get bombarded by a hailstorm of toilet paper rolls the Hooligans rapid fired from a stolen baseball launcher in a wagon. it covered entire sections of the house and some even broke some windows. Basil spotted the dream friends approaching and ran up to them "Hey guys it's good to see you again! so why are the Hooligans carpet bombing Aubrey's old house with toilet paper?" AUBREY shrugged and hugged HERO'S leg while he explained. "It was KEL'S idea for revenge against Aubrey's mom for abusing our friend...not my first idea but it's much better than committing any more arson and vandalizing private property." HERO gave Basil a tired yet relieved face. "Yes...all part of the plan..." KEL smiled in a sinister fashion...everyone gave him a odd look and went back to the subject. Basil cleared his throat and checked a list he had in his pocket. "Okay so...that's Aubrey, her dream self and MARI down plus you and HERO, which leaves BASIL, STRANGER, FLOWER and ROWAN which I assume are all four of them in one place hopefully...and then there's Kel...I haven't seen him since the funeral, and he isn't answer any of my calls which is concerning, I met up with Aubrey earlier and convinced her to help get everyone together, she's going to go see Kel while I find the other...me's...just remember, we're doing this not just for Sunny anymore but for Hero..."
"Yeah...for Hero and Sunny." Hero put on a determined expression and nodded as did KEL and AUBREY.
"For Hero and Sunny..."
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Basil's House, Back Garden
{What's Inside Your Heart}
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The four stood around the back of Basil's old home, BASIL shuffled uncomfortable as he stared at a target with OMORI'S face drawn poorly on it. ROWAN tapped his foot impatiently and rolled his eyes. "This is taking too long...c'mon faker, show me what you can do when you're angry." When the house was abandoned, ROWAN took the opportunity to use it as a place to train BASIL to become a better fighter for the next time they got into a BATTLE, and not just with D.R.E.A.M. and Dr. Yen, but also the inevitable conflict with OMORI. Recent events had shaken up how he saw things, from his faker showing him mercy in their first encounter after failing to dodge a surprise attack from him, to seeing MARI again and running away like a coward... and now failing to stop Dr. Yen from taking Shwartz, a failure that resulted in Hero's untimely death and the friend group falling apart...a personal failure he felt was preventable and a massive blow to his self esteem as a whole. The green haired boy took a look at the dummy made from gardening equipment and spare clothes and looked away. "B-but I don't want to." BASIL squeaked, fidgeting with the garden shears in his hand. ROWAN walked over a with a surprisingly gentle grip he grabbed BASIL'S shaking hands and redirected the gardening tool at the target. "You have it in you, don't try to fight it...it's going to be the thing that saves lives." he reassured in a calmer yet still impatient tone.
Watching from close by STRANGER and FLOWER exchanged looks. "Isn't there another way to do this?" STRANGER put down a flower pot he was holding and sat up on the mulch bags he was sitting on. "I agree with BASIL, this seems a little excessive ROWAN." FLOWER spoke, and began braiding STRANGER'S dark hair. ROWAN placed his hands on his hips and "If we're going to beat back D.R.E.A.M. and OMORI he has to break free from his conditioning...who knows if he can control him or any of us!"
"I don't want to believe that fighting is the only way to solve this." BASIL interjected. ROWAN turned back to glare at him."Violence is the only solution, we had a deal and intend to see you uphold your end! do. it. get. angry...show me what you showed me on SNOWGLOBE MOUNTAIN!" ROWAN yelled, frustration building up in his voice. "I-I...don't want to hurt anyone! I don't want to hurt OMORI!" BASIL protested and threw down the shears in frustration. When the tall goth spoke again it was the calm before the storm. "BASIL...He hurt you...he hurt me, OMORI hurt everyone you cared about for something that didn't even matter in the end...and he'll do it again if he doesn't get what's coming to him...do you want that? do you want more of your friends to die?!" STRANGER stepped in between the two in a protective stance. "That's enough ROWAN, stop this! You do not need to rally everyone to violence, while you may have gotten everyone else to support your suicidal crusade I cannot let you drag more people into it...we need OMORI, even if you don't want to believe that."
ROWAN scoffed and crossed his arms. "I don't? then remind me why you're nothing but a shadow of your former self...remind me who kept you from your so called 'sacred duty' as The Dreamer's shepherd time and time again? who was it that played our world like a damned puppet show for four years just to keep Sunny distracted from what he should have done in one!? Your faith is misguided, STRANGER...if you want to side with the devil then so be it." STRANGER stared up at him with his blank white eyes as the two glared daggers into one another. "What he did to me in the past has nothing to do with who I am now, OMORI is part of the balance...as am I...do not tell me how I did my job and I won't have to remind you how you failed yours miserably." ROWAN'S expression darkened and he reached for the shovel on his back with threatening intent. "Now listen here you little shi-"
"Hey, isn't that Basil and the others? Hello!" FLOWER suddenly called out and waved over to a group of people approaching them, the training session seemingly forgotten.
"BASIL? what are you all doing here?" HERO said as the others ran over to give him a hug. BASIL dropped his shoulders and glanced back at the others. "ROWAN wanted me to get stronger so we could fight...OMORI..." he confessed quietly, ignoring the sounds of shock and confusion from his friends. Basil and the others blinked in surprise. "Wha- why?! he's your friend why would you want to fight him?" ROWAN crossed his arms, his disdain very much obvious on his face. "Because he's a monster...a cruel, emotionless beast in a black and white shell." he suddenly said, appearing next to the real world flower boy. Basil jumped back when he saw the much bigger goth standing over him with a raised eyebrow."Oh! I-I've seen you before but we haven't met properly, you're ROWAN right?" he asked nervously, uncertain of what to expect from him in response. ROWAN crossed his arms and pointed at himself with a raised thumb. "In the imaginary flesh...and you must be the 'inspiration' behind me and my successors...Sunny sure likes you a lot doesn't he?" Basil chuckled nervously and rubbed is head. "Yeah...heh, I didn't think I'd be seeing four of myself in one place honestly, but I came here with everyone else to get them together again, you guys were next on the list so..." his voice trailed off when he realized he didn't know ROWAN or FLOWER very well at all, but they were like other versions of him right? FLOWER was that optimistic part of him that saw the bright side of things, just like his dream self. ROWAN was the part of him that he didn't like, the part that partially resented Sunny for leaving him for so long. He never saw himself as a violent person at heart, but that night he got into that fight with Sunny on the last day made him question who he was while he laid in that hospital bed, uncertain of what would happen next...but thankfully he and his friends heard the Truth from Sunny himself and helped lift a great weight off of his mind and the others. ROWAN was a reminder of the violence he was capable of and the reason Sunny only had one eye now...
"Working together with you? well I'm not against it but I'm not doing it for free either, I want to deal with OMORI personally no one else, just me and him, then after he's been dealt with, I want to erase memory of the Truth from Sunny's mind...that's my deal, take it or leave it." ROWAN said and leaned on his shovel, watching while the group murmured to themselves of what to do. HERO cleared his throat and stepped forward to ask. "Okay then...we'll take it...but we'll need you to promise something in return, that we'll get to see OMORI one last time." he spoke, KEL and AUBREY nodding in agreement with him. ROWAN considered for a moment before giving him an approving nod. "You want to judge him yourself? that's fair enough...they you got yourself a-"
"Hey can I ask you something? it's kinda important, why do you hate MARI so much? why do you keep running from her?" KEL suddenly asked out of nowhere. ROWAN'S calm demeanor broke when he saw the others giving him questioning looks, his expression shifting to uncharacteristic discomfort and uncertainty. "W-what?! no! I-I don't hate her, you just-"
MARI stepped out from behind the group with a sad face, he flinched when he saw her appear. "ROWAN...I understand...it's okay if you feel that way...I'm not mad at all I just want to know why are you so afraid of me?" she said understandingly and walked towards him. ROWAN stared down the cadaver approaching and his breathing hitched, his fight or flight response in full emergency mode when he saw he had nowhere to run in the midst of all these people and no way to bring himself to fight, neither could he stop himself from turning a deep shade of grey, as he trembled in terror.
[ROWAN became STRESSED OUT]
"ROWAN? what's wrong? you look like you've seen a ghost. Are you okay?" AUBREY asked in a concerned tone. The goth boy swallowed and bit his lip before attempting to speak. "I'm not scared! I-I just I don't know how to explain why I see her as walking corpse...I-" he stuttered, pointing at MARI with a shaky finger while trying to not look her in the eyes. "I-It just hurts to see you like this...and it's all my...my-." ROWAN suddenly lurched forward onto the ground and threw up a strange black substance. Everyone taking a step back as he began breathing heavily and coughing up more dark liquid. "W-what's happening? urgghh...it...it hurts...it hurts so much..."
MARI stood there watching this tough and angry boy that she barely knew keel over and . "ROWAN, I'm sorry you feel that way, can you at least let me help you?" ROWAN tried to get up but stumbled over on his side, hissing in pain. "N-no...please, don't come any closer I'll-" he grunted and threw up again. Now everyone was alarmed over his sudden violent illness, HERO tried using his MASSAGE SKILL but it had no effect while healing was also ineffective. "What's happening to him? is he sick? he wasn't like this before!" BASIL said frantically, and turned to STRANGER for advice who seemed gravely concerned. "He's falling apart...not to dissimilar to how I was when I first got here...this is not good..."
"You mean, he'll just fade away?" AUBREY murmured.
STRANGER looked down with sympathy. "Much worse than that...they like I, were once part of BLACK SPACE...and in due time, ROWAN and FLOWER will revert back into the SOMETHINGS they were restored from, this makes them dangerous in this state, and ROWAN'S intense EMOTIONS are making his condition worse, if we don't calm him down he won't last much longer...and neither will we..." he said, ROWAN'S skin was starting to darken as he writhed on the ground from the intense pain he was going through, FLOWER was kneeling next to him trying desperately to calm him down, he was crying into his friend's overalls begging him to stay with him. "Then how do we help him?! we can't let him just die! HERO, how do we fix him!?" Basil exclaimed. HERO pulled out his guide and skimmed the pages with a rising look of regret. "Well...we don't know much about STRESSED OUT since we never experienced it before...I don't know if we can help him..." KEL stomped his foot and suddenly wrapped his arms around ROWAN'S body much to everyone's surprise. "We have to try! he may be a jerk, but he saved real me's life! he doesn't deserve to go out like this. We gotta help him! we gotta! c'mon!" With no other solutions at hand, they all gathered round to comfort the tall goth as best they could.
"No...get away...just (cough!)...leave me...I don't...(cough! cough!) deserve your...(cough!)...kindness, after I failed you all..." ROWAN choked miserably and coughed up a wad of goo.
"We're not letting you die by yourself! you have people who care about you." HERO said.
"Hey, you may be a mean prick, AUBREY thinks I'm one too so you're cool in my book." KEL chimed in.
"You're stronger than this, we need you more than ever." AUBREY added.
"I know I replaced you in HEADSPACE and I know how much it meant to you, but we can still share the world we're in right now...we can be friends" BASIL said and placed a hand on FLOWER'S shoulder to comfort him, FLOWER smiled and joined the group hug.
"I believe in you ROWAN, and I forgive you..." MARI reassured and hugged him tightly, her expression warm and genuine.
ROWAN wiped the tears from his eyes and looked up amidst the group hug, his eyes becoming wide as he happened to look at MARI again and gasped, no longer was her skin rotting and cold but she now looked alive again, pastel skin and long purple flowing hair in place of dead flaky flesh and stringy strands, her eyes full of life rather than lifeless ones he was used to. MARI reached down held his face with warm hands and smiled at him, like an angel redeeming a sinner, it had been so long since he had seen her look so...alive that he momentarily didn't recognize her but when he blinked she was there with everyone else not a reminder of the worst mistake of his life but the MARI he remembered, living and full of hope. ROWAN relaxed and the pain went away, he returned everyone's hug with a relieved smile...
"Y-you saved my life...why?" he whispered, bewildered at the sudden kindness being shown to him.
BASIL reached down and held out a hand to him. "Friends don't let friends hurt alone, we're in this together." this time, ROWAN took it graciously and stood tall next to him, he turned his attention to MARI with a apologetic expression. "MARI...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I was stupid and got myself worked up again, I can't believe you saved my life after how I treated you all." MARI placed her hands together and smiled. "It's all okay now...you're going to be alright, we're here for you." she said with a cheery tone. ROWAN'S expression changed to a determined and confident one as he raised his shovel, putting on a toothy grin. "Thanks guys I really needed that...now who's ready to kick ass and chew bubble gum? can I get a hell yeah?" KEL leapt into the air and cheered, turning a bright yellow. "HELL yeah! ROWAN'S ready to rumble! you're way cooler than OMORI ever was!" KEL grinned and gave the taller boy a fist bump. "KEL don't say that! he might be listening..." AUBREY looked around cautiously for any sign of the monochrome boy possibly watching them. KEL rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Eh...you know what? OMORI can hear us badmouthing him all he wants, he never cared about us, if he did he'd be here right now." AUBREY was about to argue but silently agreed with him instead. HERO grimaced slightly. "Yeah KEL'S right, after hearing about what he did to BASIL yesterday I really don't think we should be friends with him anymore." HERO murmured, though he still sounded unsure about it, he was the only one who seemed neutral about the situation on their former friend.
"What about you STRANGER? will you help us?" BASIL said, holding out a hand for him. STRANGER stared at the outstreched hand with some hesitation before taking it.
"I will, The Dreamer needs us...and after the hardships we all have endured, I believe it is time for the sun to come out once more." he spoke softly as the sun emerged from behind some clouds. ROWAN crossed his arms and hummed. "Huh, sounds like something Hero would say, God, I miss that guy so much...we gotta kick Yen down extra hard for him." Basil looked at the assembled friends, it was a miracle that they had come together like this and it was a miracle that he was here at all in some of the darkest moments of his life ready to do something he never could have imagined doing ever...taking up the leader role would usually be what Hero would have done but it looked like he was going to take charge instead. "Everyone here? great, now we gotta wait for Aubrey to get Kel and we'll be ready to go...let's head to the park and get ready to save Sunny!" he announced garnering a cheer from everyone.
How hard could it be? it's Kel after all...
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Kel's house
{Vengeance for the Fallen}
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Aubrey tapped her foot impatiently as she knocked for what seemed like the twelfth time since she got here. "Hey Kel hurry up! we need you, Basil's getting everyone together..." she said. The sound of footsteps and Kel's voice responded back. "Go away Aubrey...I'm not ready yet." Kel had been up in his room for half a day and it had been getting worrying for his family who hadn't seen him either since the funeral. Basil had tracked her down earlier just as she was about to leave Faraway and convinced her to help him get everyone back together. And while she had easily agreed to help she still couldn't help but feel terrible about what had happened to her best friend which was the reason she chose to get Kel herself while Basil rounded up the others...Now Aubrey was standing in front of his door trying to coax him out and so far it hadn't been going well. "I'm not waiting around for...whatever the hell your doing in there!" she tugged on the handle "You said...you promised we'd stick together no matter what!"
The door suddenly unlocked and opened slightly. "Fine...come in...I wanted to show you it first anyways." he said calmly, and went back into the room. Aubrey pushed the door and took in her surroundings, while Hero's side of the bedroom had been covered in white tarp and plastic to be preserved, it was depressing to see it like this. Kel's side was in even more disarray with the dim lights and the floor being littered with trash and Orange Joe cans...at least it didn't smell as bad as she thought it would. she saw him hunched over a table working on something she couldn't quite make out. "Hey Aubrey, come to see my project?" he said not even looking away from the table. "Project? Well at least your not going through a whole depression-oh jeez, you look fucking awful..." she commented, noting his once bright orange jersey which was now a dull brown color from being unwashed, Kel's hair was messy and caked in grease while his eyes had dark bags under them, had he been sleeping at all since she last saw him? He turned to her with a uncharacteristic scowl. "Thanks for noticing..." Kel said in a sarcastic tone that made her furrow her brow, he continued. "What do you want? can't you see I'm busy getting ready for you guy's big thing?" he replied impatiently and carefully pushed a pin in place with a click. Aubrey walked over next to him, curious of what he was doing, it looked like one of those models she had seen in Hobeez at first glance. "Yeah we are but what are doing exactly? I didn't know you were into modeling-" then she got a better look at the shape of the thing he had just finished, her eyes went wide with shock. "Kel, what the hell is that?!" she exclaimed and backed away.
"I'm helping, I thought I made that clear the first time." He replied plainly and cocked the pistol in his hand.
The pink haired girl had seen and had guns pointed at her before many times from police to other rival gangs but what scared her the most was seeing Kel, the last person she expected to be the one with a lethal weapon in his hand with the intention to kill. Once she put herself together enough, she spoke."Holy shit...is that...is that a gun?! y-you know how to use that thing right?" she sputtered, eyeing the weapon intently, uncertain if she was going to be the one on the receiving end. Kel shrugged and casually waved the gun around. "Mmmhm, point, shoot, kill, gets the job done..." Aubrey back-stepped towards the door ready to take cover. Out of everything that could have happened today she never imagined that her of all people having to negotiate with her unstable best friend that violence wasn't the answer would be happening. "Kel stop, I know your really upset but this is going too far!" she shouted. Kel grit his teeth and glared at the ground, tears forming in his eyes as painful memories came back to him like reopening a fresh wound. "She took my brother Aubrey...she killed him...and now I'm going to return the favor and show Yen how it felt." he said angrily and gripped the weapon in his hand a little harder. Aubrey took a step forward and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Hero wouldn't want this...you aren't a murderer and I don't want you to be, killing isn't going to change how you-" Kel suddenly pushed her away making her fall to the ground, he began approaching her with a furious expression, his hands shaking in fury as he began screaming at her.
"Don't you tell me what he would have wanted Aubrey! you didn't know him like I did! you didn't have to watch your own brother fall apart for a whole year! you didn't have to see him break down every night like I did, and you don't know what it was like to pretend everything was fine for four years! I watched him die in my arms...he's gone because of her...it should have been me instead, then at least everything would have been easier without useless Kel to mess things up..."
When he finished he turned away from her and sat back at his desk to vent his frustration. "Kel please..." Aubrey whimpered, hot tears rolling down her own face as she got up again to approach him. But Kel ignored her and got back to his work. "...Get out..." Aubrey bit her lip and stood her ground, she wanted to run away, she wanted to scream back at him about how wrong he was but that wouldn't help...she was the voice of reason here trying to stop her friend from ruining his own life if she fled who knows what would happen? she won't let that happen. "No! I'm not going to let you hurt yourself, I will not watch my best friend become a murderer." she protested calmly trying to stay calm, which was much harder than it looked. "I said get out of my room Aubergine..." Kel repeated, sounding more irritated this time, he wouldn't shoot her right? he wouldn't go that far? Aubrey blocked out the intrusive thoughts and held steady, she really wished she had Hero's persuasive skill right now. "I came here for my best friend! to tell him all his friends are grieving just as much as he is...just like how you showed me a year ago when we lost Mari...I was just like you right now and you helped me when I didn't want to!" she exclaimed and pointed at herself. "Who told me I was being a selfish jerk? you did! who got Sunny to come out of the house when there was no way he'd do it on his own, that was you? who was it that saved your family from a gambling cartel and saved our asses from that psychopath woman? Kel...I'm sorry I was so horrible to you when I didn't see how much you were really suffering, I didn't understand how much pain you and everyone else were going through...you are our ray of sunshine in the night, without you we'd all fall apart like we almost just did,I don't think I could have lived with myself knowing you almost died because of me...Kel?" When Kel didn't respond, she sighed in defeat and walked towards the door, deeply saddened and despondent...maybe it really was all for nothing after all-
"...Aubrey wait, don't go it wasn't your fault!" Kel suddenly blurted out and grabbed her shoulder.
Aubrey stopped in her tracks and looked back to see him standing behind her with a remorseful expression, tears pouring down his face as he rushed into her arms and hugged her tightly. "You're right...I'm being selfish and dumb aren't I? this is what you went through right? what Hero went through and now me...good god I feel like a absolute petty jerk for yelling at you and leaving everyone in the dark, I'm so so sorry, I thought that I could be stronger avenging my brother would give me some sort of peace of mind...but hurting someone won't bring you any joy, I was acting pretty stupid wasn't I?" he said quetly Aubrey smiled and held her arms out to him. "You're damn right you dipshit, come here." Aubrey said jokingly and pulled Kel a noogie, making him squirm and laugh as she playfully ruffled his hair, "Hey! sneak attack! no fair!" he whined. Honestly though she just witnessed him a second ago as a complete mess, she was just glad the old Kel was back with them, he always finds a way to bounce back. Kel shrugged his shoulders and looked at the weapon in his hand. "So...what should I do with this gun then if we aren't gonna use it? I can't just hide it in my room...my mom will freak out when she finds it."
Aubrey made a casual shrug and blew some hair out of her face. "Uh, I dunno...throw out maybe? and jeez, where did you even get that? aren't those super expensive?"
"Ehhh, Weird story...for some reason this gun building kit was among Hero's stuff, I didn't even know he had this until earlier when I was looking around...may have not thought it through when I decided to try and put it together and I still have a bunch of leftover parts, heh...I think I misread the instructions." Aubrey looked over the weapon and saw it was missing a few pieces like he had said...especially the all important trigger piece which was bent at a angle. "Godammit Kel, you didn't put the trigger in right, gun won't fire properly with it like that...sigh, but you know what? that's fine...give it here, it would make more sense for me to explain why I have this than you." Kel dropped his arms and pretended to mope. "Aw...I was going to look so cool though...how come you get all the cool weapons?" Aubrey snorted and placed the sidearm in her back pocket. "Don't test your luck pal, you're lucky I came before you did something really really stupid." the athletic boy placed his arms on the back of his head and stretched. "You said Basil was getting everyone together, where we meeting?" Aubrey brushed aside some hair and pointed a thumb in the direction of the park"The park, and promise me you won't pull that dangerous shit again, almost gave me a damn heart attack..."
"I said I was Sorry..." Kel said guiltily and gave her big sad puppy dog eyes that no one could resist.
"...And get yourself cleaned up you walking pigsty!" she pushed his face back. Kel blew some air out of his face and pretend sulked. "Okay jeez I'll get my butt in the shower...I thought you liked dirty boys?" Kel teased with a mischievous grin and shook his behind at her. Aubrey had to scowl to cover up her own laughter as her best friend shook his tush at her. "Ew! don't say it like that you dork!" Aubrey scrunched her nose in disgust and in response took out her bat as a threat, as the athletic boy shrugged it off and laughed, but not before she managed to kick him in the bum making him yelp in surprise. Aubrey watched Kel rush over to he bathroom as a small noise caught her attention. Looking down she saw the family baby staring up at her. "A-aunt Auby!" she babbled and smiled brightly. Aubrey knelt down and gently pat Sally on the head. "Oh hey Sal, your stinky big bro's gonna go on a trip with us after he takes a shower, we'll see you soon hopefully." Sally laughed in response and squished Aubrey's cheeks in her tiny hands. The pink haired girl sat there and played with her until Kel's mom came up the stairs. "Oh Aubrey, thank you for getting my son back to his senses...he took Henry's death so hard, I thought we were going to lose him too." She smiled and handed Sally over to her mother. "No problem Mrs Rodriguez, I promise I will...you know he tries real hard to be a good son, and a good friend..."
As she and Kel were leaving they saw a familiar Monochrome boy step out of the house next door and walk down the sidewalk...what was OMORI doing? and where was he going? he hadn't noticed them yet so they decided to follow closely behind...whatever he was doing outside the house must have be important...
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D.R.E.A.M. HQ
{I find your reasoning...Illogical}
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Log: Abomination
"What have we done? We should have seen the early signs of instability and stopped the machine. Whatever came out of the portal last seemed to have broken it beyond repair meaning we can no longer bring more of Subject S-143's memories into real life. But the horror that dragged itself out…was definitely not a HEADSPACE creature we knew of, it looked like a woman but it's neck…oh God it's neck was twisted and crooked, and that gaping mouth with those empty eyes...It was like something straight out of a nightmare. Sunn-…Subject S-143 showed an increased heart rate and signs of extreme distress while the creature was present and only calmed down when it left shortly after. Unlike the other SOMETHING creatures that emerge from the portal, the creature identified as HELLMARI never attacked anyone on sight, instead it fled the Bunker and became untraceable from that point onward, not that anyone wants to. I never should have let Yen dig that deep in the first place after we found that void but she was tired of combing the surface and wanted to go under it…where we found that room with the vats and the bodies...Was creating D.R.E.A.M. really the right thing to begin with? kidnapping a child from his home? replacing him with a imposter? and experimenting on the poor boy after all he's gone through? are we going too far? I think we should pull the plug before things get out of control...I'm not a monster like she is..."
Dr. Rayburn Simmons signing off for the last time...
Dr. Ray saved his latest entry and turned to see Yen enjoying her latest new pile of purple haired corpses. "Excuse me, Yen? I...I-I'm starting to have second thoughts about your project." Dr. Ray stuttered uncomfortable as he watched Yen poke and prod a dead AUBREY clone amidst a pile of Dream friend clones. "Second thoughts?" she asked absentmindedly as her scalpel cut through the stomach of a KEL. Simmons looked away and resisted the urge to vomit as his colleague dissected her way through the pile of recovered clones she had found in Sunny's mind earlier and grafting them into something big that she had lovingly called Project FACECLUSTER. "Er...eh...yeah...look at it this way, we originally started this organization because we wanted to make the world a better place right?" he said, hoping for some form of sympathy from her. "That is correct..." she stated plainly, as her scissors cut the clothes off a BASIL and tossed them into a neat pile next to her with the other clothes she had extracted. "And...what we've been doing...hasn't been exactly 'world saving' material, it looks more like 'world conquering' stuff..." he emphasized and gestured to the entire room. Yen deftly stitched another patch of pastel skin and cloth together, nodding along with his conversation.
"Hmhmm, And your point being?"
"I think we should stop...this isn't what I had in mind, first it was the belts then the SOMETHING experiments...and now you're grafting the bodies of dead children together! what kind of sick twisted person does that?!" Yen rolled her eyes and smacked the head of a HERO knocking a eyeball out. "The kind that gets results! between Shwartz's hesitance and your incompetence, I've decided to take the necessary role as director in the absence of our previous one." she put the tool aside and wipes the blood from her gloves. "Tell me have you read about the mad scientist who created life?" Dr Ray blinked and rubbed his chin before realizing what she was talking about "Frankenstein right? of course I read it who hasn't? he created the most famous monster in all history named after him, it's a worldwide classic." she nodded along and looked up wistfully at the ceiling.
"I grew up dreaming of creating life just like in that book while other girls my age played with dolls I was taking different types of action figures and swapping their clothes and body parts around to make new things, it's MARINA'S favorite book too did you know? but why does all that have to stay fiction when we can bring dreams to reality?" The corpse pile she was working on suddenly stirred and opened up six compound eyes looking at it's master and screaming in pain...Yen rushed over and gently placed a hand on it's head while Rayburn back up in fright. "Shhhhhhh, it's okay...go back to sleep my sweet child...just go to sleep, mommy will make you feel all better soon." she cooed, comforting it until it quieted down and fell asleep again...
...
Dr. Ray backed away and exited out the door...only to be blocked by Yen all of a sudden, her red eyes illuminated in the light behind her as she loomed over him, tilting her head to the side. "Where are you going good doctor? our work isn't done yet..." she spoke calmly.
"This is too far, I can't be part of this anymore and after what you've done to Wilhelm I can't do this knowing how many people you've hurt! this isn't about our goals anymore it's about you!" he shouted and shouldered past her. As Dr. Ray tried to leave Yen reached out to him desperately. "Simmons...no I-I'm sorry! you're absolutely right! this experimentation is too much I was wrong!" Simmons looked down with a unimpressed face. "You you mean it? why are you telling me now?"
"Because you're the most valuable part of the team? yes I've called you an incompetent and a coward, but I-I never really meant to call you that! I like you...you make me feel whole...I'm lost without you...help me..." she dropped to her knees and begged. Simmons looked at her bewildered, he knew he should leave he really should, but a part of him felt bad seeing her grovel like this...maybe he could still turn her life around. "I...uh, thanks? you really need me?" he asked, still somewhat skeptical about her intentions.
Yen put her hands in front of her in surrender. "Of course how could I discredit you after all you've done? D.R.E.A.M. was your brilliant idea...without you all this would just be a work of science fiction...Without you...we wouldn't have stepped onto the path of achieving our dream of making a perfect future for humanity...just like you wanted, and in turn we have defeated reality itself!" she placed a hand on his shoulder and waved a hand in front of her. "Don't you see it now? our names etched in some plaque in the future, everyone calling out our names! Simmons! It has a nice ring to it doesn't it?" she smiled at him expectantly. "It does...huh, it really does..." Dr. Ray put a hand to his chin, imagining himself as a famous leader. Dr Yen walked in front of him and held the doctor's hand in her own with a genuine gentleness Rayburn was unaccustomed to seeing from her. "Most of all, I thank you for making MY dream come true...all thanks to the great Doctor Rayburn Simmons, the author human kind's ascension beyond creator of a new generation of living Gods...all thanks to you...or if you really want you can stop and go back to being a therapist, I won't stop you, but would you pass up a opportunity to make significant history?" she offered by stepping out of his way...leaving the door open for him to choose.
Dr. Ray pondered the thoughts and turned to leave towards his room, leaving her with only her creation and herself. Yen smiled ominously, Had she been genuine with her 'apology' she would have kept that idiot in the room with her to make it up to him that she needed help. Letting him leave would be of no loss but she needed a reason to keep him around so he wouldn't be a liability like Shwartz was to her plan...only when the therapist was had served his purpose to her then she could dispose of him without losing anything of importance...after all, dead men tell no tales and the glory of such a massive global achievement was to be hers and hers alone...
Dr Margrove Yen Su the savior of Humanity and the gullible Simmons sounded much better in her head...
8
"What did I just do?" Sunny asked as he woke up from his trance.
Dr. Wilhelm Shwartz looked at him in astonishment and knelt down to check his forehead. "You made a connection..." The boy rubbed his eyes and let the doctor look him over. "Connection? to what? who?" Sunny asked. "Your dream vessel in the real world, you helped him fight off the abomination." Shwartz said and sat up. Sunny gasped and tried to process this new information. "OMORI...he's...I...I don't believe this...he's real." Sunny whispered. "Yes Sunny, He and his friends as well as your HEADSPACE are all real now...thanks to us...and me." Sunny raised an eyebrow at him and crossed his arms. "You kidnapped me...you took me from my family and experimented on my head!" he exclaimed. Shwartz let his shoulders fall at this accusation. "I wish I hadn't, I should have realized sooner what kind of monster I was working with before she began tearing memories from your mind." he told regretfully, a wave of guilt passing over him. "Is that why I can't remember? my friends...my dreams...my sister...it's because of the woman you were talking about?" the boy looked at the sky above him, SANCTUARY was much larger than his own dream world...Wilhelm spoke. "Dr. Margrove Yen Su...she is the one who trapped you in this simulation and why I too am trapped here as well." his hand tightening into a fist at the mention of the witch woman who put him in here to rot. "But I-I can wake up..." Sunny suggested. Wilhelm shook his head. "No...the stasis tube is sealed tight and is made from thick bulletproof glass...even if you were to awaken you would have no choice but to fall asleep again..."
"Oh...but can't you just leave anytime you want? what's keeping you here?" Sunny suggested.
Shwartz looked at his family playing nearby and spoke. "I did something...recently, I went to the roof of a hospital with a familiar friend you've met before to attempt a assassination on Yen...unfortunately a friend of yours...Hero...he got caught in the crossfire and the attempt failed. Hero was killed last I saw before I was taken back, Yen decided that killing me was too good for me and put me in here as a prisoner in your mind." he told hesitantly. Sunny instead blinked and rubbed his head trying to remember. "Hero...Hero...I...I can't remember who that is...I feel like I need to know..."
"I requested Dr. Ray to have the memory of Hero erased...it would make the telling of his passing much easier on you, trust me Sunny...grief of a lost loved one hurts more than any physical wound, and you do not need to experience that again...Me and my family will help guide you to a safe spot away from Yen's and the other's watch so you can strengthen your connection to OMORI so he can find us in the real world and free us." he reassured and helped him up to continue their journey. "But won't the others fight back when OMORI gets there?" Sunny said uncertainly in his voice, he knew how powerful OMORI was when they fought but his capabilities in the real world were unknown... Wilhelm shuddered at the thought of what his former colleagues in the real world were about to face. "They may try but I have seen him fight and how terrifyingly powerful he really is...OMORI will cut through all to get to you..."
"...and once he reaches you and reconnects...then he will deliver hell upon Yen..."
...and burn her world to the ground...
Tomorrow was another day
and it was going to be the longest one of them all…
Good night…
Sunny…I love you