HIKIKO couldn't help but admire her little brother, watching the way he slept.
He was so adorable, her SUNNY.
The way he snored. The way he mumbled in his sleep. The way his body and fingers shifted to a more comfortable position.
All the signs of life that HIKIKO learned to appreciate and cherish. Proof that he was alive and well.
No matter what… She promised to protect her little brother. Every last inch of him, from his softly beating heart to the individual strands of hair on his head.
Protect him, no matter what. Because that was what a good reliable older sister would do for her little brother.
HIKIKO smiled as she continued to rub her hand on SUNNY's head and hum her little lullaby to him. Comforting him, watching over him, making sure that his nap was the best nap he'd ever have.
When he eventually woke up, HIKIKO peered down on him with a calm smile to welcome him back.
"Hey, sleepy-head. Did you sleep well?" She asked.
OMORI slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times as he returned from his slumber.
Was that… a dream?
"C'mon, up and at 'em." HIKIKO encouraged lightly, jostling her hand on his head gently to wake him up faster.
It took a few blinks for OMORI to fully wake up. Sitting up from his sister's lap, he rubbed his eyes as his foggy mind became clear.
A memory… back when he was just nine years old.
Well… He certainly wasn't expecting something like that to happen.
A dream within a dream.
How crazy…
"So, feeling better after that nap?" HIKIKO asked.
HIKIKO watched as her little brother turned around to look at her.
She felt herself pause the moment they made eye contact.
There was… There was something in his eyes that bothered her a bit. Something that she thought felt unnatural coming from SUNNY.
Some sort of sadness, lingering from the way he looked at her.
It was only for a brief second, but she caught it before he had the chance to hide it.
"SUNNY? You okay?" She couldn't help but ask out of concern.
OMORI closed his eyes, giving a soft sigh as he shook his head to himself.
"No, it's nothing." OMORI replied, "Just had a dream."
"Oh." HIKIKO smiled, before saying, "Was it a bad dream?"
OMORI didn't respond verbally. Instead, he just shook his head as he pushed himself to his feet.
With a bit of concern in her tone, she pushed on, "Do you want to talk about it? I'm here for you if you need me…"
OMORI shook his head again, "No, it's fine. I already forgot most of it anyway."
…
It couldn't be her imagination, could it? Just her being worried and overprotective over him like she usually was?
HIKIKO wondered if it was the same thing that was bothering him since the ship ride here. Ever since she and their friends found him back at the beach, her little brother has been acting just a bit differently. It was subtle, but HIKIKO could feel that there was something wrong.
She couldn't help but imagine that something was plaguing his mind that was causing him to behave so differently. Was she right? Was she wrong? It made her heart ache so much, not knowing for sure if her SUNNY was bothered by something.
If something was bothering him, would he ever tell her about it? Or would he hide it away like he always does, just so that she didn't get worried?
She always hated the way he bottled up his emotions like that...
For now, it seemed like he was fine. Whatever dream he had while napping seemed to have cleared away like he said. Still though…She wondered if there wasn't anything more behind it.
Maybe if it ever comes up again, she could point it out and ask him about it? Just give him the little push he needed to remind him that she was here to help.
She'd always be there for him. His problems are her problems, and she'd do anything to protect him. She just hoped he'd remember that.
HIKIKO moved to stand up as well, stretching her legs out, "Well, I guess if we're both rested and ready. Let's keep going to the dinosaur landmark on the map then."
OMORI nodded back.
Right. The sooner they continue this adventure, the more likely he'll find the cracks leading to BLACK SPACE.
He had something more important to focus on right now. No time to afford getting distracted by dreams.
The journey from there on out became a bit more subdued compared to when they first left ARCADIA'S BAY. With the excitement of seeing new lands dying out, HIKIKO and OMORI were left to casually travel down their set path.
The lingering concerns HIKIKO had over her little brother still gripped her, as she would occasionally glance over him to make sure he was okay.
Holding onto her hand as they walked together, it seemed like her little brother wasn't bothered anymore. He was back to being cliff-faced as usual, which normally meant that he was either daydreaming or thinking about something else. Adorable as always.
As long as he wasn't sad or bothered, that was at least good. Right?
OMORI, meanwhile, was too busy focusing on some theories in his head to notice the way his sister was looking at him.
While he didn't want to think further on the dream itself, it did provide some convenient insight into what this dinosaur adventure might entail.
There was only one dinosaur-themed event in their lives that would cause HIKIKO to make a dinosaur-themed location in HEADSPACE.
He'll have to wait and see to know for sure, but he was pretty confident that he was about to visit someplace familiar.
…
…
…
He never did get the chance to get that plushie for her, did he?
A year after their trip to the amusement park, MARI got into an accident in her middle school softball game, hurting her knee to the point where she had to go to the hospital. It took her months before her leg healed enough for her to walk with it again. Even then, the damage permanently weakened her leg to the point where she couldn't do anything too physical anymore.
They never got the chance to go to that amusement park again. They never got the chance to play DINO'S DIG again.
He never got the chance to win that prize for her like he wanted to.
He would never get another chance ever again.
And it was all his fault.
Their walk continued on for a while before they came across something that impeded their path.
A very large door. Some kind of gate, it seemed like. What made it stand out so much besides the fact that it was blocking their path? Was it the fact that it looked so… artificial? Machine-like? It didn't seem to fit in with the scenery and aesthetic of the rest of the island.
"Huh. Well, this looks out of place." HIKIKO noted.
Making sure that they were still on the right road, HIKIKO pulled out the map again to double-check.
"The directions leading to the dinosaurs say to take this road here. Doesn't say anything about there being a block or gate though."
With a disappointed frown, HIKIKO placed her map back in her pocket and looked up at the gate in confusion.
She looked around to see if there were any ways around it, but the security of the gate seemed pretty tight. Whatever it was intending to block, it did a good job of it.
That only made her feel more frustrated.
"How are we supposed to get past this now?" HIKIKO muttered.
Not like OMORI could answer that for her. This was her dream world after all. Anything that was blocking their progress was, in the grand scheme of things, by her design.
Just like him and the absurdly tall ladder, or the forest of spiders, or the deep ocean.
Still, it didn't hurt for him to suggest, "Maybe try knocking to see if anyone will let us through?"
HIKIKO gave the gate another curious look before deciding to go with his suggestion, walking up to the giant gate and giving it a loud knocking.
"Hellooo~? Is anyone there?" HIKIKO called out.
…
Silence.
Seems like nobody's home.
Shame KEL wasn't here to handle this. Otherwise, he'd be able to somehow knock this poor gate down from its hinges with his patented knocking style.
With furrowed brows, HIKIKO was undeterred as she gave it another knocking, "Excuse me! We need to pass the gate please! Hello?!"
Once again, no response.
Maybe this wasn't a gate that needed to be guarded or opened by someone. Could it be something else entirely?
If it's a machine, then maybe…
HIKIKO gave another careful look around to see any hints, before finally noticing a line of blocky letters protruding out from the wall.
"There's a simple solution within the complicated question." She recited, tilting her head in confusion, "Okay… That's cryptic…"
OMORI came up to check on the gate with her, studying the strange passage on the wall as well.
"Might be a riddle." OMORI offered.
"Oh, you mean like it's a door that can only be opened if we solve its question?" HIKIKO lit up in understanding, "That makes sense. What exactly does the riddle mean, though?"
OMORI thought about it a little bit, pondering on the trial ahead of them.
If it was him, he'd probably bet money on the answer being something easily guessable.
Something like…
Open-sesame? 1-2-3? Password is Password?
Something like that, at least.
HIKIKO pondered on the meaning of the riddle, bringing her hands up to feel the letters as she looked for some kind of hint.
One of the letters she touched seemed to react, however. Almost like a button, it pushed itself in the moment HIKIKO's fingers made contact, startling her to step away.
The entire passage now had one letter embedded into the wall itself instead of protruding out like the rest of them.
"Ah!" HIKIKO remarked, "I think I get it. It's an anagram system. You press the letters in to spell something out, and that'll open the door! I think…?"
Well, that's a simple obstacle to overcome. At least it was better than having to face your fears like he had to.
"There are enough letters here to spell something specific out… We just need to figure out what." HIKIKO hummed in thought. "Maybe… Institutionalisation? Pneumoencephalitides? Ophthalmoleucoscope?"
…
OMORI slowly turned to look over at his sister with an incredulous look.
Noticing the stare being given to her, she raised her hands defensively, "What? I'm just making guesses. Who knows, one of them might be the correct answer!"
If the correct answer was even remotely on the same level as what she just used as an example, then he might as well give up right now. There was no way he could ever come close to any solution like that.
She was really putting that academic knowledge to good use though, didn't she? Sigh... Maybe it was a mistake to leave BASIL behind after all. With his grades in school, he would've been able to match wits with HIKIKO in this department. OMORI was out of his league.
HIKIKO continued to ponder on the riddle, "Hm… Maybe on the topic of simplicity out of complicated questions… The answer might be more related to the concept itself…"
After a moment to think about it, HIKIKO nodded to herself as she stepped up to the wall and pressed in her letters.
"Since I already accidentally pressed in the letter C, I might as well give my best guess. I'm going to use conceptualisations as my answer. It's the only thing I could think of relating to the riddle at least."
OMORI watched on as HIKIKO proceeded to go ahead and press in almost half of the entire letters from the wall, watching them all slowly go in one by one.
With a satisfied smile, she took a step back to see if there were any changes.
"Did it work? Is it opening?" She asked expectantly, watching the door intently.
OMORI stared at the door as well, a sudden feeling of trepidation rising within him as he stepped behind his sister in caution.
Usually, when you answer a riddle wrong, you get punished for it. Right?
…
It took a second for the door to react. HIKIKO and OMORI were startled back as all the letters that were pressed in suddenly popped back out with a loud bang before steam began fuming out from it.
A random alarm suddenly played, the noise echoing around them throughout the forest.
"Uh oh." HIKIKO mumbled.
Sigh… Typical.
"Stay back, SUNNY! I got this!" HIKIKO stood in front of him, holding her jump rope defensively like a whip.
A collection of random food-related monsters hissed and snarled threateningly before charging in to attack.
With unwavering confidence, HIKIKO met them head-on with a battle cry.
OMORI could only stand back and watch as his sister performed a series of skillful acrobatic moves to handle multiple monsters at once.
A pack of fruit flies, aptly named for being a swarm of tiny fruits with wings that hovered around annoyingly like flies. Just seeing them circling around HIKIKO's head somehow made OMORI feel second-hand anger from where he was standing.
A few gummy worms, slithering around and acting more like snakes rather than worms. Their colorful bodies moved around the battlefield with surprising agility and were quick to strike. But HIKIKO was quick enough to dodge all of their bites so far.
Lastly, some form of… tofu-ghost?
It was a block of tofu with a blanket wrapped over its head. It occasionally goes, "Oooh! I'm a ghost!"
HIKIKO hasn't paid any attention to it so far since it didn't do anything else.
The alarm system from the door must've triggered these creatures to appear out of nowhere, as a consequence for getting the riddle wrong.
Despite being surrounded by countless monsters, HIKIKO managed to stand her ground as she fought all of them back skillfully. Her control over her weapon was astonishing, like a spectacle to behold.
OMORI wasn't able to admire it though. Not because it wasn't impressive to watch, but…
He couldn't help but stare at the jump rope in her hand for the entire fight, uncomfortably clenching his hands as he watched his sister using it like it was an extension of herself.
…
The universe has a sick sense of humor, OMORI realized. Out of all the comfort tools for MARI to have, of course it had to be the same jump rope that he and BASIL used to fake her suicide.
The implications of her relying on such a weapon were laid out quite clearly for him. His morbid imagination could practically envision HIKIKO's favorite method of waking up from WHITE SPACE…
How often does she fantasize about it? How many times has she comforted herself, holding that damn thing in her hands?
Almost as much as he does? Maybe even longer than he has?
The idea that the sister he loved so much, who he framed dying from suicide and lying to everyone about… To think in this world, she would end up actually having…
...
What a joke… A sick, twisted, horrible joke.
…
…
…
No.
No, that was why he was here. To help her heal and overcome all of this. To right the mistakes that have happened in this reality, as punishment for the sins he had committed in his own.
Once he's able to get her to forgive herself, she won't ever feel the need to seek comfort from the end of a jump rope ever again. He just had to focus on the end goal and she'll end up fine.
Pushing the frustration away from his mind, he closed his eyes to take a deep breath and calmed himself down.
Opening his eyes again, he noticed one of those gummy-worm monsters slithering up beside him out of the corner of his vision.
OMORI stepped back cautiously, his hand already in his back pocket as he watched the creature prepare to strike.
A quick look towards HIKIKO showed she was too busy being surrounded by her own fair share of monsters to notice this one lone worm approaching him.
Good.
The moment the worm leaped to strike, OMORI had already given his final strike and lopped its head off from its body.
By the time the decapitated worm landed on the ground, the knife was holstered just as quickly as before. His sister didn't notice.
Okay… He felt a little calmer now. He might've needed that outlet.
The body didn't turn to TOAST like he expected though. The remains of the worm were still sticking around, head and body together.
Different HEADSPACE, different rules?
That… might be problematic. How would HIKIKO react if she saw this dead body right next to him? Wouldn't that raise her suspicions about him?
Hm.
He probably didn't think that through.
As OMORI brainstormed a solution to hide away the body without HIKIKO noticing, HIKIKO herself was just about to finish up, annihilating one of the last monsters to the ground.
Piles of gummy worms and dead fruit flies littered the area, giving a HIKIKO a moment to sigh in relief.
All that was left was the ghostly tofu who she had been saving up for last.
HIKIKO stretched her jump rope out with deadly intent as she prepared to approach it.
The tofu ghost in question seemed less than willing to go mano-a-mano with her however, trembling in fear as it stared at the carnage of her onslaught with a traumatized face.
Before HIKIKO could attack, the ghost tofu called out, "Wait! Before you think of doing anything, consider this for a second!"
HIKIKO raised a confused eyebrow as she steadied her hand.
"Okay, so, I know I'm tofu. And I know that no one likes tofu. But I'm a tofu ghost. Since I'm a ghost, I can't die." It began explaining, "So, since I can't die, it would be pointless to try to kill me! I mean, why kill something that's already dead, you know? It just defeats the whole purpose, don't you think?"
HIKIKO blinked doubtfully.
Seeing that she was listening to him, the tofu ghost continued, "So yeah! Instead of trying to kill me, maybe you could instead- I dunno- not do that?" The ghost smiled desperately before quickly adding a "Please?" at the end.
"Do you know the password to let us go through the gate?" She asked.
"Uuuuhh…" it mumbled back nervously.
That was all HIKIKO needed to hear before she proceeded to commit war crimes against the soybean spectre with her jump rope.
"NOOOOOO- bluegh"
With no enemy left in sight, HIKIKO rolled up her jump rope and wiped the sweat off her brow with a satisfied smile.
Phew! All threats eliminated. Now there won't be anything capable of hurting her little brother.
With everything out of the way, she turned back to see her unharmed little brother still standing off to the side before smiling happily as she went back to him.
"Did you see me out there, SUNNY? None of those guys stood a chance against me!" She cheered with a proud smirk.
OMORI stared at the carnage left behind her wake.
Wasn't torturing the tofu ghost a bit much? It didn't seem all that threatening.
Eh, whatever. Because of that thing taking up all of HIKIKO's attention, OMORI had the chance to hide away the dead gummy worm he killed to a far-off place before HIKIKO could notice him.
He gave a thumbs up at his sister.
HIKIKO was practically beaming with joy from his simple response.
Returning their attention to the gate, they were now left to try to overcome the previous obstacle that led them to that fight in the first place.
A gate that only opens after you solve the anagram puzzle, and punishes you with monsters if you put in the wrong answer. The only hint that could possibly help them was the sentence marked on the wall.
There's a simple solution within the complicated question…
"I wonder what that means…?" HIKIKO hummed to herself, "Maybe we need to search around for another hint or ask someone for help?"
…
OMORI thought about it some more before something started to click in his mind. Looking at the sentence again in a more literal sense…
This wasn't exactly phrased as a question. It just hinted that there was a solution within a complicated question. What was the question being asked, though?
Or rather… Maybe it's not a question being asked, but… The word question itself?
…
With that thought in his mind, OMORI stepped up to the wall of the gate as he reached his hand out.
Seeing this, HIKIKO called out to him, "Careful, SUNNY! Whatever answer you figured out, make sure it's the right one! Otherwise, more of them might attack us again!"
A simple solution within the complicated question…
If it was him, he already mentioned that his guess would be something pretty simple...
Curiously, he pressed in what he thought was the answer.
COMPLICATED QUESTION
OPEN.
The moment the four letters were pressed in order, copious amounts of steam were released from the bottom of the gate as loud cranking noise of gears could be heard on the other side.
HIKIKO and OMORI were startled as they cautiously stepped back from the gate, ready for another encounter.
Instead of monsters being summoned though, the gate slowly began to rise up to reveal the unblocked path forward.
Looks like it was the right answer after all. Go figure.
"SUNNY!"
OMORI was startled as he felt HIKIKO wrapping her arms around him from behind into a tight hug.
Squeezing his body against hers, she shouted ecstatically, "You actually opened the gate! That was amazing! You managed to solve the puzzle on our second attempt! How did you know how to solve it?!"
Shifting himself around to see HIKIKO staring down on him with sparkles in her eyes, he muttered out awkwardly, "I mean… I just took the words literally and gave my best guess. It wasn't that impressive."
"Are you kidding?!" HIKIKO asked incredulously, before hugging her little brother into an even tighter hug, "That was so smart! I never would have even thought of that! It seemed like it would be way too easy! That's so genius!"
OMORI frowned, wondering if his solution was really that impressive. "You're kinda exaggerating. It wouldn't have been that complicated for you to figure out on your own eventually."
"Yeah, but I would've ended up just overthinking about it for hours before finally coming up with something like that!" HIKIKO insisted happily, "The fact that you solved it before I did proves just how smart you are! God, I'm so proud of youuu!"
HIKIKO proceeded to giggle like crazy as she squeezed her little brother into a third tight hug.
OMORI was left with a distasteful frown, feeling like all these praises and compliments were unwarrantedly disproportionate. All he did was solve a simple riddle, and yet she was acting like he just found the cure for cancer or something.
It didn't make him feel like he genuinely earned any of it.
HIKIKO gleefully pulled away to give her little brother a big kiss on the forehead, before looking down to see his adorable little face.
Her smile faltered a bit when she saw that her little brother didn't seem to share any of her happiness or excitement. Instead of blushing from pride, all she could find was an uncomfortable frown adorned on his face.
That… wasn't what was supposed to happen. Her little brother should be eating up her praises with a beautiful happy glow.
He always loved to be validated whenever he worked hard for something. So why did he look so… sad?
What did it mean? What was it that was bothering her little brother so much? It was like every time she did something to get closer to him, he'd always feel guilty or sad about it.
What happened to that carefree and innocent look of his?
If only he would just tell her.
…
Alright. She set this off for far too long now. As the reliable older sister, she needed to confront this here and now before doing anything else.
Settling down on her knees in front of her brother, she firmly gripped onto his shoulders as she looked him in the eye, "Hey, SUNNY? Did I do something wrong?"
OMORI looked back at her with a confused, "What?"
Giving him a concerned smile, she played around with his hair a bit as she explained, "You've been acting kind of weird lately. I don't know how to describe it, but it's like… ever since the rest of us found you on the beach, you haven't been like you used to."
OMORI widened his eyes as he felt his hands curled to fists.
"I know there's something wrong, SUNNY. You've been much more subdued and withdrawn ever since we came here. I'm your big sister, it's my job to notice these things." She continued, before finally asking, "What's up, little brother? Won't you tell me what's bothering you?"
…
OMORI glanced away nervously, his brain working overtime.
Okay, this whole thing just became a whole lot more complicated.
Once again, HIKIKO had managed to notice something about him that he didn't know and was now getting suspicious about it. She called him out back on the ship, and now it was happening again.
How exactly was he different compared to the SUNNY that she had been dreaming about so far? How has he been acting so differently that HIKIKO has noticed multiple times already?
It wasn't like he knew exactly how he was supposed to be acting.
If only he could figure it out, he could somehow get out of this mess intact…
C'mon, think OMORI, think… What exactly was he doing that was causing HIKIKO to point out his strange behavior all the time? If him acting as naturally as he could wasn't cutting it, then what was he supposed to be like?
Noticing the way her little brother avoided her eyes as he stayed silent, HIKIKO gently reassured him, "I don't know what's going on, but nothing can be solved if you keep it to yourself. You don't have to bottle anything up around me, SUNNY. Big sis is always here to help you out with anything, no matter what it is! The only thing it costs is the usual price: Your love! That's all."
If only it could be that simple…
Being honest and telling her what was wrong wasn't exactly an option here. All that'd do was cause him more trouble, and make his mission much harder.
What was he supposed to say to her? What kind of excuse could he possibly use to get himself out of this?
What exactly did she want to hear him say?
…
What… she… wanted…?
Something started to click in his head.
The way HIKIKO kept asking him for his thoughts and opinions regarding every situation. The way she kept fussing over him at every opportunity. HIKIKO mentioning how he's supposed to be less withdrawn and subdued.
The expectant stares she would give him whenever she just did something significant, as if she was waiting for him to react.
…
Oh boy, he really hoped he guessed this right.
With a bit of effort, OMORI forced himself to act a little more timid as he confessed his 'true' feelings, "I… I guess I'm just a little bit scared."
HIKIKO widened her eyes at this, immediately going into overprotective big sister mode as she asked him, "Scared? Scared of what, SUNNY? What's wrong?"
Maintaining his timid facade, he continued on, "Well… The others… KEL, AUBREY, and HERO… They're all lost on this island separately, right? What if they're in danger, lost, or even hurt? Sometimes, I think about them and wonder if they're in any trouble."
It was the best excuse he could think of, circumstance-wise. He only prayed that he was convincing enough to throw suspicion off of him.
It took a moment before HIKIKO felt herself give her little brother a relieved smile, finally glad to know what had been troubling his mind so far.
"Aw, SUNNY! Was that what was bothering you this whole time? You were just worried about our friends?"
She watched him nod sheepishly.
Feeling a huge weight on her shoulders being lifted, HIKIKO brought her little brother in for another deep round of hugging, "You silly boy! Why didn't you just tell me so? I've been so worried, seeing you act so weird this entire time!"
"Sorry…" She heard him mumble in her ear.
HIKIKO should've realized it sooner. Of course it was because her little brother was worried about their friends! He was always so caring towards them. Knowing that they were all lost on a dangerous island, it was no wonder the thought had been troubling him all along!
She should've asked sooner when she had the chance.
Pulling away to look him reassuringly in the eye, she began petting his head as she told him, "Listen, SUNNY. You have nothing to worry about. Even though everyone's been separated on this island, I'm sure all of our friends are just fine and dandy! We've been through much more perilous adventures before, and I trust that KEL, AUBREY, and HERO are all tough enough to deal with whatever's coming their way."
Her little brother looked at her hopefully, "You sure?"
"Of course I'm sure!" HIKIKO giggled, "If the others knew how you were feeling right now, I'm absolutely positive that they would tell you not to stress yourself out about them. Instead, they'd just tell you to relax and have fun! Our adventures are supposed to be thrilling and exciting, not gloom and doom!"
Releasing him from her hold, HIKIKO stood up proudly as she placed a solemn hand on her heart.
"You have nothing to worry about, little brother. Even if anything goes wrong, your big sister HIKIKO is always here to save the day!" She declared with a confident smile, "As long as I'm here, I'll always protect you and keep everything you love safe from harm! That's a promise!"
Her little brother stared at her in surprise for a moment before he slowly nodded to himself.
"Okay, HIKIKO." He finally told her.
With an excited giggle, she broke her pose and grabbed her little brother's hand as she prepared them to continue their journey, "Good! Don't you worry your cute little head anymore, alright? Let's just enjoy this adventure the best we can and make all sorts of new memories together along the way!"
OMORI nodded again, following after her as she took the lead with an optimistic bounce in her step.
He figured HIKIKO would react this way. He was honestly relieved to see that his gut feeling finally pulled through for him this time.
The more he thought about it, he realized that the hints were there. HIKIKO would always and repeatedly try to get OMORI involved with the situation, regardless of how valuable his input would be. When she wasn't busy doing that, she would often go out of her way to accommodate him or stand near the sidelines.
It was clear that she didn't think of herself as the driving force of her own dreams. It was him. It was her little brother, SUNNY, that had the final say in anything.
Her version of SUNNY was what set things in motion. She wanted her SUNNY to be more proactive and engaged with the environment around him.
Her SUNNY played a specific role for HIKIKO, and that was to be the special little brother of who she wanted to be with. The SUNNY that she… that she never failed to protect.
This wasn't his HEADSPACE. He couldn't just act naturally and think that things will go exactly his way anymore. If he wanted to help HIKIKO in her HEADSPACE without gaining any more of her suspicion, he needed to play the role that was set for him.
The role to help her pretend that everything was okay, and nothing bad ever happened. The role to make her forget that it was her fault she lost her brother.
What she thought was her fault.
Just like MARI did for him, back in OMORI's HEADSPACE.
For him to keep up his cover, he was going to have to act the way HIKIKO expected him to act. He would have to take much more affirmative action in order to fit in with the world she made. Otherwise, he was going to make this mission a lot harder than it already was.
So be it. As long as it helps MARI forgive herself in the long run, he'd be willing to do whatever it takes. For her sake, he'll keep up the illusion for now.
The moment he found anything related to BLACK SPACE though, he won't let the chance slip him by.
After a relatively peaceful journey going through the pastry-themed forest and solving the obstacle blocking their progression, they finally made it to the dinosaur location marked on the map.
"Whoa," HIKIKO mumbled as she stared at the landmark in front of them.
OMORI stared in awe as they arrived at the entrance of a very large amusement park.
A giant collection of excited screams flew by as a roller coaster zoomed past, right on top of the giant billboard depicting the name of the location.
EL DORA-DINO
OMORI took a moment to scrutinize the name on the board for a bit.
EL DORA-DINO?
From the little Spanish he managed to pick up from spending time with KEL and HERO's family, the rough translation would be…
The Gold, but gold was misspelled with the shortened word for dinosaur attached.
The Golden Dino?
The GolDino?
That's a… really lame name.
Regardless of the awful punny name though, it looked like he was right on the money when he guessed what the dinosaur landmark hinted at.
Or… right on the gold, as KEL would probably say.
A location based entirely around the mascot of DINO'S DIG.
In comparison to what he had in his own version of HEADSPACE, this place was definitely much more grandiose. Instead of just being a single pyramid-shaped building, it was a whole entire amusement park.
"This place looks so huge and shiny…" HIKIKO's eyes sparkled from all the gold decorations littering everywhere, "I can't believe a place like this exists."
In his personal opinion, all the gold in the area made this place look gaudy. If this wasn't a dream world, he was sure the sun reflecting off from the amount of gold here would literally burn holes into his eyes. A safety hazard, to be sure.
Spinning around to face him, HIKIKO asked, "BASIL said one of the others landed around here. Knowing them, I'm sure they wouldn't pass up the opportunity to at least go inside to check it out. What do you think, SUNNY?"
Noticing the expectant smile on her face, OMORI quickly nodded, "Yeah, let's go see inside!"
HIKIKO grinned at his enthusiasm, "Then it's settled! Onwards to adventure!"
Seems like his new behavior was doing the trick. It was as if HIKIKO completely forgot about her suspicions on him from before.
Onwards to adventure then.
The two siblings entered the giant amusement park together as quickly as they could, not wanting to waste time to see the wonders that lay inside.
And golly-gee, did they indeed find wonders inside.
Stepping through the entrance of the park, they were greeted with all sorts of eye-catching monuments, machinery, and landmarks galore.
Within the park lies a populated area filled with a variety of different games and activities to choose from, all being played by strange creatures that could only exist in a dream world. Some of these creatures were surprisingly familiar to OMORI even if he couldn't quite remember where they came from, while others were completely new and different from anything he had ever seen.
"Look at this place! It's so crowded with people!" HIKIKO called out in wonder as she admired the area.
OMORI took a glance to soak in his surroundings.
Technicolored narwhals playing a game of ring toss.
Collections of sheep crowding around a wolf donned in fake cotton, dancing away on an arcade dance pad machine.
Two giant beetles that looked like flying potatoes arguing over who gets to ride the slingshot thrill-ride first, despite looking like they were fully capable of flying themselves.
Food vendors everywhere calling out their wares, hoping to get a bite from hungry park-goers. An orange octopus with a fake human mustache garbles out unintelligible words as it advertises its hotdogs.
People of all shapes and sizes, creatures both humanoid and otherwise, all walking about as they traveled to and fro, carrying tokens or snacks in their hands.
Another round of excited shrill screams cut his thoughts off, as a roller coaster flew by overhead while they were walking.
OMORI could've sworn he saw a SPROUT MOLE or two riding on that thing. If that wasn't just his imagination, then he wondered which other familiar faces he'll find here.
He thought this about HIKIKO before, but he was truly surprised at the amount of detail that was put into this dream world. He always knew that he was the one with the active imagination between the two of them, so to find out that all of this came from his sister's mind instead…
He was worried about her. As impressive as this all was, this couldn't possibly be a good sign…
Six years to perfectly craft her own HEADSPACE, down to the smallest detail… For a perfectionist like her, it almost seemed fitting.
But it shouldn't.
"Wait… Isn't that…?" HIKIKO murmured to herself, causing OMORI to snap back to attention.
Seeing that she was staring somewhere off in the distance, he curiously looked over to where her eyes were pointed at before widening his own eyes as he realized who she saw.
Twelve-year-old pastel-colored KEL hanging around next to a game stall, tongue sticking out in complete focus as he threw as many tennis balls as he could at a moving target. Each shot hit the bullseye, causing a buzzer to buzz loudly as he racked up as many points as he could.
When the game was done, KEL let out a loud whoop as the stall began dispensing a long string of tickets as a reward. KEL excitedly started counting up the tickets with a huge grin, only for it to morph to a disappointed frown as he finished, "Aw, what? This payout is the exact same as the basketball hoops…"
"It is him!" HIKIKO blinked in surprise before quickly grabbing OMORI's hand, "Come on, let's go meet up with him!"
OMORI followed after his sister as they met with KEL to reunite with him.
"KEL! Over here!"
KEL looked up from his pile of tickets in confusion, before quickly grinning as he recognized his two friends approaching.
"HIKIKO! SUNNY! You're both okay!"
Abandoning his tickets on the floor, KEL came upon the two of them like a rocket to meet them halfway before colliding into HIKIKO'S stomach with a strong hug.
Stumbling back a bit, HIKIKO regained her bearings as she laughed and returned his hug herself.
OMORI stood by curiously, watching the two of them laughing and hugging each other fondly.
"I thought for sure I was gonna be stuck all alone here after I got separated from the rest of you guys! Man, I'm so glad to see you both safe!" KEL pulled away with a wide smile.
"Same here!" HIKIKO giggled, before nodding towards OMORI, "SUNNY here was actually telling me how he was worried sick for you and the others! He was so scared that you'd all be lost, alone, and in danger!" With a half-lidded smug smirk, she confidently admitted, "I totally knew you'd be alright though."
KEL turned to him with a warm expression, "Is that true, dude? You were that worried about me?"
Before he could respond, OMORI was already stuck in his own hug as KEL squeezed the life out of him.
"You big softie! You didn't have to worry like that! You know me, man! I'm pretty much indestructible!" KEL laughed heartily before slamming his hands on OMORI's back, "I appreciate the thought though! You're a real pal, pal!"
Hm… Even though MARI showed clear signs of how much she didn't like KEL anymore, it seemed like HIKIKO didn't bear any grudges towards KEL at all.
It definitely reinforces his earlier theories about her true feelings… Despite all the anger she was harboring towards their friends, she still does love all of them deep down in her heart.
Actually… Maybe this could be a good hint to figure out later how to get MARI to forgive KEL in the waking world. Probably best to keep a close eye on how HIKIKO interacts with him for some ideas in the future...
Pulling away from the hug, KEL gave OMORI another quick grin before looking around the area, "So where's the rest of the gang? They with you too?"
HIKIKO sadly shook her head, "It's just the two of us right now. We know where BASIL is, but AUBREY and HERO are still missing somewhere."
KEL frowned at that, rubbing the back of his head with a confounded, "Seriously? Shoot…"
For the next few minutes, HIKIKO and KEL spent some time catching up together as OMORI listened in from the side.
HIKIKO explained the whole event from her perspective, allowing KEL to get caught up with the most important bits of information with BASIL and his current whereabouts.
"Wow, sounds like a lot happened." KEL nodded earnestly, "Well, at least I'm glad to know that BASIL's all right."
"And what about you? What happened to you when we all got separated?" HIKIKO asked.
"Oh, uh… Nothing too exciting, I guess…" KEL answered sheepishly as he scratched his head, "I just… kinda woke up here in the middle of EL DORA-DINO and thought it was a neat place. Didn't do anything else except play games until you guys showed up."
HIKIKO deadpanned, "You woke up all alone on an unfamiliar island, separated from your friends, and the only thing you thought to do was to play games this entire time?"
KEL gave what he assumed to be a charming smile, giving them both a quick wink with his tongue sticking out.
…
HIKIKO sighed playfully, "I guess I was right not to be worried after all."
KEL chuckled lightheartedly, thankful that his attempts to charm her had worked.
That's KEL for ya. He had more heart and spirit than common sense sometimes. Despite the troubles it would cause for them, HIKIKO wouldn't have it any other way.
OMORI gave a cursory glance behind him to point out the bundle of discarded paper on the ground, "You dropped your tickets."
Looking back with an alarmed expression, KEL quickly shouted, "Right! Shoot!" before going over to collect his earnings and stuffing all of them into his pockets.
As he walked back to the two siblings, HIKIKO noticed the way his entire pants were seemingly bulging to the brim with tickets. From the waist down, you would think he had more bulges than legs.
"You've saved up quite a bit, I'm guessing." HIKIKO noted with a humorous smile, "Trying to earn enough to buy the entire park?"
"Nah, dude!" KEL grinned mischievously, "I'm planning to buy something even better!"
HIKIKO gave a curious smile, "Something better?"
"Oh, that's right" KEL suddenly realized, "You guys just showed up! I gotta show you guys the prize counter in this place!"
"Show us what-"
And before HIKIKO could utter another word, KEL had already forcefully grabbed both of their arms and pulled them away towards a different area, all the while excitedly hurrying them.
Unable to fight back, HIKIKO and OMORI could only stare confusedly at each other as they helplessly followed their overexcited speed-demon of a friend.
It didn't take long for their short trek with KEL to lead them towards the center of the park's main plaza.
In the center housed a very familiar duo of dinosaur mascots, ones that OMORI hadn't seen in a while.
They were manning a stall that looked rather extravagant, as if it was specifically designed to catch attention from everyone else in the plaza. Next to the stall was a large collection of signs with arrows pointing in almost every direction, pointing to where each area was located.
Above the stall, a huge sign brightly shone overhead.
TOKEN DISPENSER / PRIZE COUNTER
And of course, the golden rule was displayed right below it in easily missable small writing.
No refunds.
Glad to see they didn't forget that part.
A small green ankylosaurus was currently in charge of the left side of the stall, snoozing away with closed eyes. If OMORI remembered correctly, this one was named BRETT.
The other dinosaur was a cute triceratops, currently handing over a fluffy prize with a smile to a pair of cat-people in front of him. This dinosaur was named… CHAD, if that was right.
The certain white cat-person quickly offered the prize over to his date, causing the blushing black cat-girl to remark fondly, "Oh Mister Bluh! You're so cool and awesome! You're the best person to have ever existed! I'm sure everyone unanimously agrees with me, if only they knew you like I do!"
"Ik ben de redacteur voor een online fictief verhaal genaamd 'Ik laat hem niet' in het Engels." He smoothly replied back, gently taking his partner's hand as they both left.
"I have no idea what you just said, but I'm sure it's the most romantic thing I've ever heard!" The black cat-girl purred as she laid onto his shoulder.
OMORI gave an inquisitive glance at the two before shrugging the encounter out of his mind.
KEL finally let go of the two siblings as he excitedly waved at the triceratops manning the prize station, "Yo! CHAD! How's it going?!"
Looking over to see the three of them, the cute dinosaur greeted them politely, "Oh, hello KEL! I see you've come back with friends. Have you finally earned enough tickets to buy the Infinity Bouncy Ball?"
"Infinity Bouncy Ball?" HIKIKO echoed.
Turning around, KEL excitedly smiled as he pointed to the prize in question up above, "Yeah! This is the thing I wanted to show you!"
OMORI and HIKIKO looked up, their eyes slowly climbing the ascending tier lists of prizes before finally settling on the big shiny red ball that was displayed directly at the top.
Right next to the prize, a big sticker labeled 10,000 Tickets sparkled brightly in pure gold. To add even more emphasis to how special this prize was, it had spotlights shining directly on top of it and the occasional fireworks going off the moment they set their eyes on it.
"Uh, wow… ten thousand?" HIKIKO mumbled incredulously.
"Isn't it so beautiful?" KEL asked with reverence in his voice, marveling at the ball with awe and respect, "It was apparently an ancient artifact from several hundred years ago, imbued with a special magic spell that gave it the power to hold infinite kinetic energy… Legends say if you drop it to the ground from the smallest height, even the tiniest centimeter, it'll have enough bounce in it to last for several hours!"
"Several hundred hours." CHAD helpfully corrected him.
"I HAVE TO HAVE IT." KEL growled with pure animalistic desperation, before he pleasantly set a pile of tickets in front of the triceratops, "Ticket count pwease."
"Sure thing!" The dinosaur happily used his mouth to pull the tickets behind the counter, allowing a machine to tally up the total for him.
After a while, there was a small ding heard before CHAD went ahead to announce, "You've managed to earn two hundred and seventy-five tickets since we last spoke. Adding that together with the other tickets in your playbank account, you have a total balance of one thousand, five hundred, and sixty-five tickets to spend at the prize counter."
"Drat." KEL cursed, snapping his finger. "So close… and yet so far away…"
More like, so far, and even farther away…
But OMORI kept that comment to himself.
HIKIKO, though, couldn't help but wonder...
HIKIKO felt a small drop of sweat slide down her brow in concern as she asked, "Um… KEL? How long have you been playing to get this far?"
"Oh, you know…" KEL mumbled sheepishly, before quietly muttering out, "About half the entire day by now…"
"Oh… Oh, KEL..." HIKIKO felt herself sighing tiredly just from hearing that.
If it took him half the entire day just to earn what he had now, then there's no telling how long it will take for him to earn the expensive prize he wanted.
There simply wasn't enough time for them to spend just lollygagging around, not when they had friends to rescue and plans to go back home...
With a hesitant voice, she slowly began, "KEL… I don't really think-"
"Now now, I know what you're going to say!" KEL interrupted frantically, "But hear me out! I've been spending a long time testing out a whole bunch of games, trying to figure out the ticket payout from each of them! Some games give out more tickets than the others!"
"KEL…" HIKIKO slowly crossed her arms as she gave an admonishing glare at the small boy.
"If I just focus on the games I'm good at, and play the games that give out the most tickets, I can totally reach ten thousand tickets within a reasonable time!" KEL kept insisting.
"KEL, seriously. I know you want that ball, but we don't have all the time in the world." HIKIKO reminded him, "AUBREY and HERO are still out there somewhere, you know. We're going to need you to help us find them before we find a way to get off this island."
"I know, I know, but please, HIKIKO! I swear I promise, I'm so close to getting it! If you just give me a chance, I can get it within the next hour!"
"That's not how math works, KEL…" HIKIKO shook her head disappointedly, "Even if you try as hard as you can, it's still going to take you days at best before you can reach ten thousand tickets at the rate you're going."
In response to that, KEL began to quiver his lips as his eyes started tearing up.
Oh dear... HIKIKO, you really screwed the nail in now...
Before HIKIKO could do anything to calm him down or say that she was sorry for making him upset, KEL collapsed on his knees and practically begged her not to take him away.
"PLEASE! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! I know we'll have to leave at some point, just give me some extra time! I promise I'll get the ball before we have to go, I promise I promise I promiiiiise!"
HIKIKO felt herself taking an uncomfortable step back as KEL slowly devolved into a crying begging mess on the ground, repeatedly pleading for her to let him stay for just a little bit longer.
For some reason, OMORI felt a strange déjà vu regarding a situation where he was forced to head to the restroom within a casino parlor…
"BUT I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!" A very… very insistent boy screamed into his ear as they walked up the stairs to reach the elevator.
HIKIKO found herself at a loss for what to do. She rarely ever liked raising her voice at her friends… Using her authority as the older member in their group was something she always avoided doing so that it wouldn't demean any of the others…
A reliable older sister would never shout and scream at others. Especially not to the people she loved and cared about.
Unable to handle the unrelenting wrecking ball that was KEL, HIKIKO silently sighed to herself before turning over to stare at her little brother with a helpless smile. Maybe he'll know what to do? He was always so good and tactful when it comes to helping other people after all...
Noticing the way his sister was staring at him helplessly, OMORI realized that the situation now fell under his hands again. Looks like he'll have to determine what to do here in a way that would both progress the adventure, and also act in character to how she imagined SUNNY would behave.
Shouldn't be too hard to figure out, considering all the context clues.
This entire place, EL DORA-DINO, was obviously created with the intention to relive the memories of the time they spent in that amusement park back when they were kids.
Having KEL be obsessed with a prized toy ball here and not want to leave, it was just an elaborate excuse to allow them to have a reason not to leave as soon as possible.
At the end of the day, this was all HIKIKO's way of keeping herself distracted…
OMORI would honestly rather not waste time, instead wanting to progress further into the island to find all their friends as soon as possible. Based on his own knowledge and experience, who knows how long it would take before they would finally end up reuniting with the rest of them?
…
But then again, it might be in character for SUNNY to take KEL's side and go along with his idea. It would allow HIKIKO the excuse to go around and play with her little brother as they visited all the rides and games this place had to offer.
Hm… if he thought about it with a different lens though…
Progressing too fast through this adventure might not allow him the chance to look for clues regarding the location of her BLACK SPACE. Not only that, but he'd also be missing out on hints or information that he could learn more about to help form a plan to help MARI when she's awake.
If letting HIKIKO live out her fantasy was the only way for him to find out more about her BLACK SPACE, he might not actually have a choice...
Maybe it would be better if he chose to… to…-
OMORI's train of thought came to a pause as his eyes noticed something sitting on the shelves in the prize counter.
He just happened to glance over to it while he was thinking, but now it captured his full attention.
Sitting right behind the triceratops was a familiar plushie of DINO'S DIG's mascot. The same exact plushie that MARI won and gave to him when they came to this amusement park a long time ago.
…
He… he promised himself that he would win a DINO plushie on his own one day, didn't he? He worked so hard to keep his grades up to get another chance at the game. That way, he could give it to MARI so that they could go home with plushies for each of them…
…
Here he was again. With his sister, at an amusement park, the same prize sitting within his grasp. One of his greatest regrets as a kid that he never managed to fulfill, yet now the opportunity was given to him in a form of HEADSPACE.
It seemed silly… None of this was even real in the first place… It shouldn't even matter whether or not he managed to get that prize to give to her.
And yet…
…
…
…
"SUNNY?" HIKIKO called out, seeing him looking distracted at something.
Hearing her voice, he suddenly shook his head clear and turned to her. Glancing at KEL crying on his knees again, her little brother decided, "I think we should let KEL keep trying."
Hearing that, KEL immediately stopped his relentless tears from flowing as he jumped up and smiled widely, "REALLY?!"
Stepping closer to her little brother, she crouched down to reach his head and asked, "You really think so, SUNNY?"
"Knowing KEL, he'll just get tired sooner or later when realizes that he won't earn enough on time. We'll scoop him up when he gets bored and keep looking for the others after that."
It took HIKIKO a moment before she gave a relenting smile before turning to KEL, "Alright, KEL. You heard, SUNNY. Within the next hour, and we're leaving whether you have the ball or not. Think you can accept that?"
"YES!" KEL cheered out, pumping a victorious fist into the air before charging towards OMORI as he tackled the stoic boy into another bone-breaking hug, "Thanks SUNNY! You're the absolutest bestest friend a kid can ever ask for!"
"Don't strangle me if you really believe that." He grunted with a wince.
"Oop, sorry." KEL awkwardly apologized as he released his poor friend from his grasps.
HIKIKO felt herself giggle from the interaction, watching her adorable little brother fix himself up.
WIthout a moment to waste, KEL began to scurry off as he shouted at them, "You won't regret this! I'll prove to you that I can get that ball! Just watch me!"
Neither HIKIKO nor OMORI had the chance to reply back to that, seeing that the energetic boy was already out of their sight by the time they could say anything.
With a smile, HIKIKO turned to her little brother and gratefully began patting him on the head, "Thanks for that, SUNNY. You always knew how to deal with KEL better than I did. Guess now all we have to do is wait until he tires himself out."
Giving another glance at the toy plushie behind the prize stall, OMORI awkwardly fidgeted around as he mumbled, "Well, I mean… We could look around and play too while we're waiting…"
HIKIKO's smile slowly turned into a knowing smirk, "I had a feeling you'd say something like that. How much of that was giving KEL a chance, and how much was actually just an excuse to stick around to play some games?"
OMORI tilted his face away from her with a small embarrassed blush.
Telling her all she needed to know, HIKIKO giggled as she ruffled his hair, "I thought so. Can't fool me, little brother. I know you better than the back of my hand."
"Mm." OMORI responded simply.
"Guess I can't blame you though," HIKIKO said as she looked around the plaza, "Theme parks like these are purposely designed to attract kids. All these bright colors and lights and everything." With that said, she steadily stood up as she remarked, "Alright then! I'll buy us some tokens and we can play together! Maybe we'll even win a prize or two!"
Even though this was all part of the plan, OMORI found himself looking forward to it.
Maybe it was some sort of childish whimsy, or some sense of regret driving him… But the idea that he might be able to repay MARI for the dinosaur plushie all those years ago by winning one back for her was comforting in a way.
Sure, it wasn't real. She won't have a second plushie materialize in front of her when she was awake to enjoy. It won't even make up for what… what he did to her.
But still...
It was something he felt he had to do.
Mistaking the determination in his eyes for excitement, HIKIKO giggled fondly at his adorable face before she went ahead to the token counter.
Tapping the counter to get the napping ankylosaurus's attention, she politely asked, "Hello? I'd like to buy some tokens, please."
"NOT SO FAST!"
The loud shout came out of nowhere, startling HIKIKO away from the counter as she looked around in bewilderment.
"Wha-?"
The sudden sound of an electric guitar being shredded echoed throughout the area, coinciding with the sudden appearance of a familiar T-rex riding into the scene on a skateboard.
OMORI and HIKIKO watched on as the T-rex did a series of impressive tricks as he arrived closer, several feats of acrobatic prowess which could only be described as totally gnarly as heck.
The T-Rex circled around the plaza on his skateboard while doing a headstand - his head was literally balancing atop his moving skateboard. He smoothly up-righted himself, kicking the board into a 720-degree spin into the air. Its spin was timed exactly to land directly on the edge of the counter, which the T-Rex grinded his board on top of all the way across before landing right next to HIKIKO.
Coming to a halt, he kicked the board up into his tiny arms, sunglasses glistening in the golden light of reflections from the amusement park as he cooly regarded HIKIKO and introduced himself, "DINO. Founder of EL DORA-DINO. At your service."
…
HIKIKO and OMORI were left gobsmacked as they were still reeling from the display.
OMORI did not remember him being this cool. At least, not in his HEADSPACE.
From cave-miner to skater… What the heck?
"Uh…" HIKIKO stuttered a bit in surprise before she grabbed a hold of herself and unsurely responded back with, "Hi? I'm HIKIKO?"
DINO shook his head a bit to lower the sunglasses down from his eyes, allowing him a clear view to study HIKIKO as if she was a mysterious art exhibit.
"You're not from around here. I've never seen your face before." He stated smoothly as he jostled his head to bring his sunglasses back up, "That, in itself, is a novelty."
"I-Is it really?" HIKIKO asked nervously.
"Considering that we've only had the exact same customers in the last five hundred years? Yes, yes it is." He suddenly bared a toothy grin, "DINO-TASTIC! Allow me to be the first to welcome you to EL DORA-DINO, New Blood! I can tell by the look of you and your little buddy that you both hunger for adventure! I was once the exact same way!"
"Oh, uh… Thank you." HIKIKO mumbled awkwardly.
"Let me tell you something, kiddos." DINO continued on, "We have a saying here in EL DORA-DINO. Always chase for gold! My parents instilled this lesson into me ever since I was a young egg, and I grew up following this lesson to this very day. You know what it means?"
HIKIKO glanced around with a confused look, before shaking her head.
"Neither do I. I myself took it literally and collected as much gold as I possibly could. While it did prove successful in my career, thinking back on it, it probably meant something else entirely that I never figured out for myself." DINO sniffed whimsically, before going, "In any case, we have a custom here to greet all newcomers to make them feel welcome!"
DINO brought his mouth down behind him to pull out a pouch rattling with coins inside. Tossing it over to HIKIKO with his teeth, HIKIKO deftly caught it in her arms with a small oof.
"First few games are on us! A complimentary gift on the house!"
HIKIKO curiously opened up the pouch, only to marvel in shock at the decent amount of golden tokens inside.
"Whoa… This is all for free?" HIKIKO asked in pleasant surprise.
"Haha, tell your friends about us!" DINO smirked boldly as he prepped his skateboard, "And remember! ALWAYS CHASE FOR GOLD!"
With a last epic yell of his catchphrase 'DIIINOOOOO-TASTIC!', DINO proceeded to exit the scene the exact same way he came in, only backwards.
Like pressing reverse on a VCR video tape. OMORI watched, mesmerized, as DINO grinded backwards onto the stall's counter, all the way to counter-circling around the plaza as he did all the same tricks and flips he did when he first got here.
…
"Huh…" HIKIKO blinked. "Well, that happened."
OMORI looked over at his sister with an odd fascination.
Clearly, she remembered DINO'S DIG differently than he did. Did they even go to the same amusement park that day? Holy crap, what the hell even just happened?
Taking another glance at the pouch full of gold tokens, HIKIKO turned to her little brother with an excited smile, "Look, SUNNY! It's our lucky day! We get free tokens to play with!"
Unable to find a way to properly react to the news, OMORI settled to instead give his signature stoic thumbs up.
With an awkward chuckle, HIKIKO cleared her throat before gesturing to her little brother to follow her, "C'mon, SUNNY! Let's take a look around to see what games we can play. If you want, we can even go on a few rides for the thrill of it!"
OMORI wordlessly followed after her as they began traveling around EL DORA-DINO.
Walking side by side, HIKIKO reached out to grab his hand and gave a warm smile as she bellowed out, "Onwards to adventure!"
Onwards, then.
…
…
…
…
…
Shortly after the two siblings left the central plaza, all was quiet.
For only but a moment.
It wasn't long after before another person of interest decided to show up to the scene.
A colorful character, to be sure. One decorated with frills and pink overtones. Their feminine hair stylized and groomed beautifully, as two large side ponytails bobbed between their shoulders.
Their fancy pink dress dignified them to be on a standard higher than normal average citizens. The large bow on their hair should've implied innocence, but instead commanded respect and authority.
This character rode into the plaza on a mechanical carriage. Steam continuously raised up from the pipes of the engine, loud sputtering noises came out as the wheels kept spinning forward.
Eventually coming to a complete stop in front of the prize stall counter, only CHAD was diligent enough to notice and respond. BRETT continued to sleep soundly, without a care in the world.
"Hi there! Here to trade in your tickets?" The cute triceratops greeted politely.
This character's eyes hardened as it carefully studied the prizes that were on display. With a steel gaze, they dutifully scanned over each and every single one… before their eyes widened, lingering on the prize at the very top of the stall.
Pointing out to the red ball that shined brightly with spotlights and mini-fireworks decorating it, the character asked, "That orb… That red orb is the Mystical Artifact of Gloriously Infinite Kinetic Energy. The MAGIKE Orb."
Looking up to where they were pointing, CHAD connected it to the prize and exclaimed, "OH! You mean the Infinity Bouncy Ball?"
"Infinity Bouncy Ball…?" The character repeated back with a sneer, "What a rubbishly childish name. Of course creatures of your simple caliber would think of it as a toy. How in the world did you even get your neanderthal mitts on it?" Almost as if thinking better of it, they shook their head, "No, nevermind. That detail is no longer important. How much does it cost? I wish to buy it."
"Ten thousand tickets, Ma'am! Says so on the sticker tag riiiight there!" CHAD cheerfully pointed out.
"Tickets." The character repeated slowly to themself, the word sounding like a foreign concept. "Is money not a suitable currency instead? I have plenty of golden seeds, the standard trade."
"Oh, um…" CHAD offered a sincere apologetic expression, "I'm sorry, Ma'am. Park Policy forbids us from trading prizes for money. Wouldn't be fair for the other park goers if we just straight up sell the prizes, you know? Gotta give everyone a competitive chance!"
"Competitive chance? HMPH!" The character snootily harrumphed at the idea, "Why does it matter if it's fair or not?! Money is money! It is the golden standard!"
"Maybe so, but it's not the golden rule." CHAD somberly shook his head before insisting, "Prizes for tickets only."
The character rolled their eyes annoyedly, "Fine, whatever. I will get you your stupid tickets."
Then, with firm hands, the character loudly clapped twice in succession.
"MINIONS!"
"YES, MY LADY!"
At the character's command, the doors to the carriage that they were riding on burst open before a comically abundant amount of mechanical BLOCK people exiting the vehicle in droves.
Like an ocean of rats pouring out from an overflowed barn, or a bunch of clowns leaving a tiny cartoon car. Small golems crafted out of building blocks, each a different size and shape than the other. Not one unique nor the same.
The army of BLOCK minions quickly lined themselves up in a semi-orderly fashion, each saluting as they awaited orders.
With a cleared throat, the character spoke loudly as they commanded, "Seek out tickets from this area and return them to me! Buy as many as you can if you must! But be quick about it, I don't have all day!"
"YES, MY LADY!"
In unison, all the BLOCK minions proceeded to spread out in every direction, covering the area as much as possible as they went to fulfill their orders.
"Once I get my hands on the MAGIKE orb, my invention will finally be completed! All my plans will soon become reality, all my efforts finally bearing fruit! Once everything is set, I'll be unstoppable!" The character monologued expositionally to themself, slowly cackling with evil laughter, "Then, soon, Mommy Dearest will finally pay attention to me again!"
The evil laughter grew louder and more maniacal as they continued, to the point where CHAD was left sweating awkwardly as he had no idea how to react to the dramatic display in front of him.
Turning around, the character finally revealed themselves to be a cute girl with an adorable smile.
Forming a heart in her hands, she cheerfully cried out, "SMILEY SMILEY!"
AN: Hey guys, have you seen my new cover art? A fan made it for me! Please share your thoughts on it so that I can share the feedback back to the artist!