Eventually, after a few days, Antasma found one, a blue planet with various green continents that he would possibly be able to call home.
As he entered its atmosphere, he could feel an increase in gravitational pressure as his cybernetics began to heat up and burn white hot due to the intense compression. But he was sure that he'd survive this, after all, he had been through much worse than just a little burn.
As he fell closer and closer towards the surface, he could see the incoming ocean as he felt the heat radiating from his armor, he sighed in relief as he approached the cool liquid, a little dip in the salty waters never hurt, not to mention, he finally got to clean the grime and blood off his body and wash away the trauma that had infected him for the past days, a new beginning, maybe something better than what he was.
As he got submerged in the deep blue sea, he slowly sunk down onto the sea floor as he lay there in silence, watching fishes and various sea creatures swim around him as he stared into the space, his mask kept the water out of his mouth as he breathed deeply into it, watching the air bubbles puff out from his mask and relaxed in the water.
Before, he absolutely loathed the idea of being wet, he hated how his fur became thick and matty with the excessive liquid trapped within it. If he didn't dry it immediately, mold would begin to form and completely ruin his fluffy fur as well as blocking all of his sweat glands, which was why every time Dreambert forced him to take a bath, he would go absolutely feral and cause him to call multiple guards to restrain him. Which of course, didn't help his case in convincing the citizens that he was only a harmless nightmare, but he had to do what he had to do.
But now? He couldn't care less, most of his body wasn't even organic, he barely had any fur left, if any at all. The bat sighed as he rubbed his chest, missing the fluffy tuft that he once had before it all got taken away.
At least the water was clear today.
The bat lifted his head as he felt something crawling on his stomach, a family of tiny huckit crabs was chilling on his body as they picked and poked at the black metal. Obviously, such creatures were curious of his presence, maybe even annoyed that he was occupying their turf, the bat snorted in amusement as the crabs continued to meddle with his abdomen, perhaps he had overstayed his welcome, he did not plan to live underwater anyways.
So with a strong push, he stood up, shaking the huckit crabs as well as other various sea life that decided to inspect him, he chuckled as he watched the crabs fall off and spin in the water as they tried to regain their bearings, perhaps he should appreciate the smaller things in life now, ambition and hate consumed him in his previous life, rendering him a shell of destruction and darkness as he tried to reach towards the only thing that he believed would make him happy. He will not make the same mistakes again.
He extended his wings and burst out of the water. He could see an island in the distance as he began to pick up speed. He wondered if it was unmarked land. He hadn't checked his map at all and was aching to arrive somewhere solid. As he slowed down and gently landed on the beaches, he noticed that in front of him was a thickly covered forest, he felt an aura of dreaminess from the area as he squinted into the surrounding lush. The bat was immediately suspicious, but he decided to travel further anyways, it could possibly just be his hallucinatory sense, the only forest he had known was filled to the brim with dreamy energy, and that's all he expected after all. As he kept drifting deeper and deeper, the dreamy energy grew thicker and thicker, so much so that he started to suspect that he was most likely not hallucinating…
Wait…no…it couldn't be…
He immediately opened his map…and discovered that he was all the way back to Pi'illo Island.
Antasma twitched his neck in shock and amusement as he dryly laughed at the possibilities, out of all of the planets he could've gone to, he came right back to where he started. The bat considered immediately taking off and searching for another planet to stay, it would be much better than to dwell on this cursed island any longer.
However, right before he was about to take off, he heard a voice calling to him.
"Antasma? Is…is that you?"
The bat slowly turned around and came face to face with the oldest Pi'illo that was currently still alive, Eldream.
The bat stared at the ancient Pi'illo while he stayed at a distance, an expression of shock and disbelief was apparent on the his face as he continued to gawk at the nightmare, it was obvious that the old Pi'illo was dumbstruck seeing Antasma's newly revived vitality, but it seemed the old man also understood why he was alive. If the cybernetics weren't already a dead giveaway, then the three engraved emblems on the back of his neck were an implication on how he achieved his return. The two stared at each other for a good while before Antasma decided to break the ice, he had already been found by the original inhabitants of this island. He might as well ask why the ancient Pi'illo was here, in the most secluded parts of Somnom Woods, instead of resting in the castle.
"...Hello Eldream…vhy are you here?" He responded, he would not ask anything else other than the reasoning behind the Pi'illo's sudden appearance.
"I…was simply going for a walk…" He weakly answered,
Antasma crossed his arms as he scoffed in amusement, the bat did not believe for a second that Eldream, a frail old Pi'illo, decided to go on a walk within the most dangerous woods on the island. If anything, there would be multiple Pi'illos accompanying him while he doddled within the forest, the Pi'illos respected this old man way too much.
"Oh really? Vhy in Somnom and vhy are you alone? Ve both know how vicious these parts are, so I suggest you tell me the truth before I obliterate you for laying eyes on me." He snarled. He did not want to be associated with the Pi'illos anymore, he already had been tormented by them long enough and he prayed to be free of this cycle. He is so close to freedom.
The ancient Pi'illo lowered his head as he was caught in the lie, the bat wished the old man showed this much humility when he was still a weak nightmare bat, he twitched his ears in distaste as he remembered the hatred of the old man. He would not be spat on by this Pi'illo again.
"...I suppose that was only a half truth…" He confessed. The Pi'illo raised his head and caught the bat's gaze again. "...we…heard about…what happened." He nodded his head towards the sky, "Up there."
Antasma squinted at the Pi'illo suspiciously as he waited for the old man to continue, he couldn't quite place a finger on what he saw in his eyes, it wasn't pride for what Dreambert had "accomplished" but it was certainly not hatred either. He almost looked… ashamed.
"I…know you may not want to agree, but…would you like to come back with me to the castle? I'll promise to explain everything on the way there."
Antasma tilted his head in doubt as he glared at the Pi'illo, he sensed no malicious intent from the old man but the suspicion was still there. He pondered the Pi'illos' offer while he rubbed his neck, should he go with Eldream with the risk of possibly getting ambushed and captured….but also possibly finding some closure for himself, or should he just fly away and live somewhere else… like a coward? The bat inhaled deeply as he began to instinctively scratch at his neck, only to hiss in displeasure as he didn't feel the expected softness of his fur and the enjoyment of a neck scratch, he had forgotten that most of his body was made of metal.
…did that mean he was only partially himself?
Antasma glanced down and stared at his hands when he finally realized how depraved he was, his body was barely his own, there was very little left of him other than his soul, brain, and magic. And even then, his magic was heavily suppressed because it was being used to power the cybernetics, leaving him with weapons and tools that weren't even his own. The bat clenched his fists in rage as he remembered the anguish he felt back on that ship, even though he had repeatedly reiterated to himself that his life was his own and his mind was of himself, truthfully, There was very little of him left, and realistically, he had virtually nothing to lose.
Antasma glanced back at the Pi'illo as the old man watched over him, patiently waiting for the bat to make his decision while Antasma struggled with his internal conflict.
In the end, he let out a deep breath and floated over towards the ancient P'i'illo.
"Very vell, I vill come," he sighed, "However, if I sense even just a bit of malicious intentions, I vill immediately strike you down. Do you understand?"
The Pi'illo nodded his head in agreement as he began to travel alongside the bat, the two floated silently for a while as the old man visibly began to gather his strength on informing the bat of his sudden lone appearance. Antasma said nothing while he waited, he could sense no other Pi'illo or dangerous beasts within their vicinity, it was as if the entirety of woods had gone into hiding while the two were still present here. In fact, there was nothing at all. The bat glanced around and peered into the thick clearing, he didn't see any critters or creatures that usually lurked within this area, it was dead silent, like how a forest usually is when a predator is nearby. But the bat strongly suspectsed that it was not the case here.
"Vas the forest alvays this quiet? I remember there being more activity here, even before I died," he asked,
The Pi'illo lowered his head at the question.
"King Dreambert…ordered us to capture most of the creatures in these woods…for the purpose of aiding the war." The Pi'illo responded.
Antasma was not surprised, he had already seen how Dreambert used the Pi'illodactyl against him, he was probably still working on the other creatures before Antasma ended it all.
"We didn't know that at first, Dreambert lied to us and said that the animals in here were getting too dangerous and were harming the ecosystem, it wasn't true at all. But we believed him since Dreambert had the reputation of being an animal lover." Eldream explained, he looked back at Antasma and smiled sadly, "I guess he wasn't as loving as we all thought he was, considering how he treated you back then."
Antasma sharply twitched his neck at the remark, "He vas treating me vell before you all pressured him to turn on me!" he snapped, "I vouldn't have become the bat I am today if you all had an inkling of acceptance. I vouldn't have continued to consume nightmares, I vouldn't have stolen the Dark Stone, I vouldn't have the hateful ambition against you, and I VOULDN'T HAVE IMPRISONED YOU ALL IF YOU DIDN'T TREAT ME LIKE DIRT."
Eldream was startled by Antasma's sudden yelling fit as the bat huffed out angry breaths, "As much as I recognize how evil Dreambert is now, you still tried to put the blame of your own problems on somevone else," he shook his head in disbelief, "Maybe if you didn't force Dreambert to do vhat he didn't vant to do, he vould've kept his mask on. Maybe he vould've never acted on his dark desires if you didn't put him in that position vhere he felt like no vone truly loved him."
He let out one final angry breath as Eldream silently mulled over his words, the Pi'illo knew that the bat had spoken true which was why he wasn't denying any of his statements. The old man was too shameful to try and defend himself, he knew what he had done was terrible, and the mistreatment of the bat that he had encouraged the denizens to do because of his own prejudice was equally immature and foolish. The Pi'illo sighed as he stroked his beard, at least, he could make amends now, maybe on the behalf of all the Pi'illos too if Antasma would accept it.
"Well…you see, Antasma…ever since we've been introduced into this new era, we've learned a lot of things from the tourists and the Brocks, like these items called computers and cellphones, roombas, and the internet." He murmured, "but also…how people should treat each other."
He glanced up towards the bat as Antasma returned his gaze, "And it led me to see that what we've done was undeniably disgusting."
Antasma softened his glare as the Pi'illo continued, "At first we lied about how you came to be, we tried to save face in front of the public but soon Dr. Snoozemore found out the truth." Eldream paused and took a shaky breath as he tried to explain the recent events to the bat. It was obvious that the Pi'illo was choking out his words on whatever happened next. It was probably incredibly shameful and embarrassing for the old man, but he pressed on anyway.
"I, alongside the Pi'illo Masters, were charged with Extreme Ostracization, Conspiracy along with Attempted Murder, Battery, and Wrongful Imprisonment. Even though the court had recognized you as a criminal in the current day, back then, you were not. And therefore, we were sentenced to ten years of imprisonment and nine months of community service. I only had to serve five years and three months of community service due to my age. And currently, the younger Pi'illo Masters are serving their eighth year right now."
Antasma widened his eyes at the news, was his ears deceiving him? The Pi'illos were actually being punished for how they treated him? Was the modern age so righteous on how each individual should be treated that the people operating the justice system even recognized the rights of criminals?
But wait, no, then why was Dreambert capable of committing all those horrible acts towards the disabled Beanish and not be punished for it? Why did the Pi'illo get to have a leeway in the justice system but they did not? What happened between all the years that he had been dead?
"Dreambert was also charged, but was soon released because of his sickness that almost led him to lose his life. Professor had to step in and strike a deal with the court to move him to a different undisclosed medical complex without informing any of us. Which led us to have absolutely no idea what happened to him for years until a few days ago." In which the purple clad Pi'illo began to grow misty eyed as the bat silently waited for the old advisor to gather himself.
"Is…Is it true, that Dreambert, that he…that he….he finally…" He sniffed. Antasma looked at the old Pi'illo solemnly before nodding. The bat understood that despite what Dreambert had become, the Pi'illos still very much loved him for what he once was, even if Dreambert himself didn't feel that love.
The old man wept silently while the bat stayed next to him, Antasma didn't really have the heart to tell him that it was he who dealt the final blow, but it didn't seem to matter as the Pi'illo slowly wiped away his tears with his sleeve. The bat would allow him to have a moment of penance and grief for the death of their king even if he was a falsely agonized one. Because truthfully, Dreambert was a very good ruler and a beloved prince before he let it all go to hell. Antasma would not be surprised if the rest of the Pi'illos also broke down weeping at the sight of the news, they loved Dreambert, even if Dreambert didn't love them.
"Well…I…suppose that it's only better that he had passed, from what I've heard, he was….in a lot of pain due to these…metal parts that were stuck onto him, like how you are right now." He mournfully observed, "and so…thank you for…at least putting him out of his misery."
Ah…so Eldream did know, but the bat simply nodded at the Pi'illos' gratitude, he would not mock him for the loss of someone he valued because Eldream had made an effort to find him, and make-up for all the suffering that the bat had gone through at their hands. Antasma recognized that, so he would not criticize the Pi'illos' grief when he himself had felt the same for all of his villainous friends. Grief was natural to feel when you lost someone that you loved, regardless of that person being evil, good, or gray, which was why both parties were capable of feeling grief for their partners, even if the person they were mourning was either an evil devil, or a sparkling hero. It was why Mimi still grieved for Dimentio even though he had almost completely wiped the entirety of reality to nothing but the world of his own image.
Soon enough, a clearing could be seen as the Pi'illo castle came into view, Antasma stared at the structure mutely while he followed Eldream into the public, right in the middle of the town square where tourists and Pi'illos were still bustling around the area.
A mix of shocked stares from the tourists as well as pity looks from the Pi'illos were thrown at the duo while Antasma silently followed Eldream into the castle, the bat knew that the tourists were probably surprised that one of the most notorious villains in the history of this Kingdom was somehow alive again after less then a decade, and came back with fresh specs on his body. The bat could see that some were afraid as a few tightly clenched their souvenirs or camera, but he promptly ignored them because he knew that sooner or later, people would accept him onto the island, afterall, he had already accepted himself.
"Please, this way, come." Eldream guided. Antasma did not sense anything malicious from the Pi'illo, but he did feel a whole lot of guilt coming from him.
"How did you know vhere I vas on the island?" the bat asked out of the blue, he was still following the Pi'illo but he made no move other than that.
"I…had a feeling," the Pi'illo answered, "apparently, your…errr….what did they call it? Tracker? GPS? Showed where you were coming before it fizzled out, they installed some sort of detecting device on the island that rotates to find objects and it showed you flying towards the planet before it disappeared. Obviously anyone else would've assumed you landed somewhere else, but…I just know you'd come here."
Antasma snorted in amusement and crossed his arms, "I suppose my prolonged existence here has led you all to gain a second sense of my presence, it's an endearing thought at least."
The Pi'illo chuckled too as they stopped in front of a door, the bat recognized it as the entrance to the main tea room of the castle, he had been in here before, way back when he and Dreambert were still best friends, they played board games and ate snacks while laughing and telling jokes to each other, it was a pleasant memory for the bat, but it grew more and more sour as he thought back to the recent events. The knowledge of such things never being sincere had twisted his perception of all the good times he had enjoyed with the Pi'illo into an unrecognized pile of emotions that rightfully so disturbed him.
When Eldream opened the door however, there stood all the Pi'illo Masters, though none of them radiated any malicious intent towards Antasma, in fact, all of them were purposely avoiding his gaze as Eldream brought him into the room. They wore the same look of shame that Eldream had when Antasma first saw him, perhaps they all felt the same way as the old Pi'illo. Though he is not sure what they're all doing here considering that Eldream had told Antasma that they were still serving their sentence.
"The court has allowed the Pi'illo Masters to be temporarily released in order to make this apology." informed Eldream.
Antasma blinked in shock upon hearing the statement, he could not believe that the Pi'illos were willing to go this far to make up for their actions, he though they'd just ignore the things they've done and pretend that it never happened, but it looked like this new era and their sentencing really drilled deeply into their psyche on how badly they've messed up.
The Pi'illo Masters all bowed to him mutely as the bat stared at them, the P'illos said nothing while they bowed, but Antasma knew what this gesture meant, he did not need them to say anything to express their apology and remorse, this was enough. This was the most he'd ever need. The bat was finally grateful to find some justice and closure for the harsh life he had been through, perhaps this might be the new start he had dreamed of, right back to where he was born.
"This is enough," Antasma spoked curtly, "Thank you."
The Pi'illo Masters and Eldream lifted their heads in surprise as Antasma headed towards the door, incredibly stunned at the bat's forgiveness as he went to leave. But right before Antasma did, he glanced back at the group with a slight scowl on his face.
"I hope, that vhen you are all released vonce more, you vill not treat anyvone else the same vay you have treated me." He annouced, "I am villing to let it go, but I do not vish for an encore to ever occur."
The Pi'illo Masters and Eldream nodded at him eagerly, and the bat left the room with a smile.
Antasma drifted through the halls peacefully as he reminisced the past, he remembered playing with Dreambert in this exact hallway back when they were still children, the happy times were truly a blessing and a distraction for the young bat from all the hatred that was directed at him by the inhabitants, he let out one deep breath as he floated through the castle, perhaps he should open a restaurant, or start a food truck. He always liked to cook and would often sneak into the royal kitchen to try and learn how to make various dishes and pastries in the past.
The nightmare was completely battle worn from all the things he had been through on that ship, he did not seek anymore death and bloodshed as the suffering he had experienced made him realize that none of that was worth it. He was a simple dreamy bat after all, the adventures in his life were enough to satisfy him now. He seeked no more.
The bat arrived to a balcony and leaned over the railings while he stared at the peaceful sky.
In this moment, and in this time, there is only one thing was on his mind as he finally released the eons of hate and rage into the breeze, never to be felt again as the bat looked up towards the sky with a happy smile on his face.
This truly was a Cyber Reawakening.