Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been a while since the truth was revealed. Sunny was eventually forgiven for his crime by his friends, even if it had taken them close to a year to come to terms with what had transpired. More importantly, however, was that Sunny had managed to forgive himself. This became apparent to him when he’d dreamt of the familiar White Space, except he wasn’t the monochrome tank-top-wearing 12-year-old Omori, but himself, Sunny, in the flesh. It was only him in the room, along with the victim of his sins, his beloved sister. He rushed and hugged her in silence, until Mari broke it, telling him the words he’d never thought he deserved to hear until that moment. 

“You did it, Sunny. I’m so, so proud of you…”

It was then that Sunny had fully felt at peace with himself. He still felt guilt, of course, but he knew sulking over it would only keep him stagnant in a reality where time is anything but. He cried into her phantom dress, as they held their embrace for what seemed like an eternity, yet never enough. He woke up that day feeling different. He felt…

Like himself.

Like Sunny Suzuki.

Ever since then, his life had only seen one direction; up.

He managed to catch up with school, his teachers calling it “a miracle”. He’d reconnected with his old friends. He’d gotten accepted into Faraway University, which, granted, wasn’t a prestigious university, but it meant that he could be with his friends more. He became an adult, and after much discussion with his mother, decided to move back to his hometown with her. It was scary for her at first, being the very place where she had lost her first daughter, but with the help of her son, she’d managed to OVERCOME, and she couldn’t be more grateful.

He’d even shown interest in getting back to music. 

With the money he saved up from various part-time jobs, he’d buy himself a shiny new violin, one he never vowed to break. He even named it after his late sister, Mari. Even then, he’d branch out into other instruments, mainly the electric guitar and the drums. His mother could never be more proud of her son. It would always bring her to tears, to remember a shut-in son who slept for the vast majority of the day, and think of what her son is capable of now, the furthest cry from what he could do when he was 16.

For a while, SUNNY felt… HAPPY.

Until, one night, he started dreaming again.

The night itself was usual. SUNNY had stayed up late to complete his art assignments, but there was only so much a boy-man, now- can do, especially if he never left the house for 4 years and slept for 18 hours each day in the past. He eventually fell asleep on his desk, expecting to pass the night with nothing interfering. If it were to be interfered with, he’d hoped it’d be, at least, in the magical world of good dreams.

However, he got none of those wishes. Instead, he saw the damned words he’d hoped to never see again.

Welcome back to WHITE SPACE.

Welcome… back..?

You’re not supposed to be here, and yet…

Now, SUNNY was confused. Just what is happening here? Is he entering WHITE SPACE again..?

With that, he woke up in a familiar bright room, with a familiar chippy tune playing in his ears.

He sighed, out of frustration more than anything.

Why was he here again? Hadn’t he forgiven himself? Is there anything else he’d repressed?

All these questions and more were running through his head, as he got up and tried to get a bearing on his surroundings. A laptop, a sketchbook and a cat. Nothing’s changed. He looked around into the endless white void and his eyes landed on a familiar, monochrome boy wearing a deadpan face. SUNNY broke the silence, as expected.

“Why am I seeing you again? Isn’t it all over?”

OMORI did not respond, keeping his deadpan face.

SUNNY sighed before his breath hitched.

Behind OMORI, he could see two things forming out of thin air.

One was a floating mass of darkness, tendrils flowing out its bottom, and a glaring eye in the dead centre of its figure.

The other was a young woman, wearing a long gown, except its arms were thin, its neck was elongated and her head was tilted far to the side. Her eyes were empty, the width of her open mouth was inhuman, and she lacked any sort of arms.

It was SOMETHING and his hallucination of MARI.

SUNNY was AFRAID.

No, no…

SUNNY was STRESSED OUT!

SUNNY tried CALM DOWN, but fear overtook him!

Sunny tried FOCUS, but too much was going through his head!

SUNNY tried PERSIST, but everything overwhelmed him!

SUNNY tried OVERCOME, but stress overtook him!

SUNNY tried…

SUNNY… tried…!

SUNNY felt a pair of arms wrapping around his lower torso.

He looked down and saw OMORI enveloping him in a hug.

To both of their surprises, it worked.

It was short-lived, however, as SUNNY soon felt tendrils holding him. He saw them, growing from SOMETHING.

His fear suddenly spiked right up, and SUNNY was STRESSED OUT.

However, he soon realized they weren’t holding him tightly, as if there was no intention to hurt him or scare him.

It felt… kinda nice.

SUNNY CALMED DOWN again.

He felt yet another set of tendrils wrap around him softly and saw the source of them being the weird MARI thing, this time.

He knew how wrong this all looked, considering that the very things that tormented him for many years of his life are now comforting him, but it felt nice.

It felt as if they were… apologizing, maybe.

OMORI tried OVERCOME again and felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.

He slowly opened his eyes, and the figures remained still. 

SUNNY figured he wouldn’t get anywhere if he just let fear overtake him some more, so he decided on trying to find out as much as he can.

He took a deep breath and asked his first question.

“What are you all doing here?”

None of them responded.

It was stupid, in hindsight, to expect a response from the three things he knew that never spoke.

After a bit, OMORI resorted to picking up the sketchbook and writing his answer.

“We don’t know.”

Hmm. Bummer.

“Haven’t I forgiven myself?”

“Yes.”

“Is there any other memory I repressed that hard?”

“I don’t think so.”

Then… Why was he here? Why are they all here?

“Hey!”

A high-pitched, young voice shouted to SUNNY behind him.

He turned around and saw a young girl. Her face had no eyes, instead showing a large question mark in their place. Her ponytails were replaced with tentacles, as was her right arm. Memories rushed back to SUNNY, as he remembered an old friend he’d thought he’d never see again.

“A-Abbi..?”

The young girl, Abbi, SUNNY’s imaginary friend, approached him.

“Well, yeah, dummy! I don’t know anyone else with a question mark for eyes and tentacles for one arm. Then again, your adventures were wild like that, so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, HAHAH!”

SUNNY gave her a confused, almost remorseful look.

“Y-you’re… not mad?”

“Huh? What for?”

His mind flashed back to when OMORI banished her into the Abyss, the depths of his mind. He’d thought she hadn’t even been able to speak proper English.

“Y’know… the Abyss, and all that..”

SUNNY looked at the ground, or whatever he was standing on in this endless space.

“Oh, yeah, I’m angry. That was not nice of you, DREAMER!” Abbi declared, in a sort of childish tone. It made SUNNY smile a bit.

“..buuuut, seeing as how you were, y’know, going through what you were, I can’t really stay angry at you, can I?”

SUNNY looked at her, slightly surprised. Then again… if HERO and SUNNY’S MOM forgave him, then so could anyone, he supposed.

“It’s okay, DREAMER, it really is…”

She slowly approached him, pulling him in and enveloping him in his second hug in this dream.

He gathered the courage to hug him back, as she made a sound of approval in his torso.

“You’re here too, Abbi… Why?”

“How am I supposed to know? I thought you were done with all of this!”

“So did I…”

He turned to the two strangest figures, SOMETHING and that… Mari abomination. He winced at the sight of the two.

“I gotta come up with a better name…”

After wondering for a while, he’d settled on HELLMARI. It seemed... Oddly fitting.

“So, SOMETHING and HELLMARI… Any idea why you’re here?”

To his surprise, they both shook their heads. Guess they understand him, after all.

He rubbed his face with his hands, still wrapping his head around what was happening.

“God, maybe I should’ve listened to Ms Smith about my sleep…”

He looked up and suddenly saw everyone wearing a face saying that they were interested in the mention of a new name.

ABBI was the first (and only, really) person to ask.

“Who’s Ms Smith?”

They were… interested?

“Uhh… She’s my art teacher..”

“Art teacher? You’re learning art?”

SUNNY slowly nodded, and all of their faces lit up, he could even SOMETHING had shown a positive reaction. Are they… proud of him?

“SUNNY, that’s so cool! You always made such amazing drawings!” ABBI guffawed.

SUNNY felt himself blushing a bit at the compliment, feeling slightly bashful about it.

“Ah, c’mon guys, they weren’t that good…”

He turned to SOMETHING and swore he saw its eye glimmering as he vigorously nodded.

“Gee, well, if you guys think so…”

Suddenly, SUNNY felt a sense of discomfort in his left eye. As if someone were shining a flashlight at him. It was accompanied by a loud beeping noise in his ears. 

“Oh, it seems like you’re waking up, DREAMER! We’ll see you in your next-“

— —

SUNNY was awakening, if groggily. He lethargically forced his arm up to stop the alarm clock on his desk, his eyes still closed. Once his hand found the clock, he almost slammed the button, irritated at the interruption of his dream. He still had a few questions, after all.

He put his hand over his face, as he sat up in his bed, hair dishevelled as he started rubbing his remaining eye. He slowly opened it, trying to get used to the shining brightness in his room.

As his eye focused, he realized just what was before him, and screamed.

OMORI, ABBI, HELLMARI, and SOMETHING were at the other corner of the room, their eyes as wide as his.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!?!”

Guess he wasn’t really interrupted after all.

Though he did have many, many more questions than before.

Chapter Text

“Okay, okay, let me get this straight.” It had already been a few hours since he’d woken up, and he was still trying to get anything akin to a sense of what was happening.

“You all never died, just tucked away in a ‘safe place’ in my mind. ABBI proposed the idea to meet me, just to ‘check up’ on me, or something. And you have no idea why you’re here..?”

ABBI, along with the other (what used to be just) figments of his mind, nodded in response.

“God, MARI... Give me strength here…”

Suddenly, a different ringing noise caught the attention of everyone in the room.

Sunny turned to the source of the sound on the desk. It was his phone, BASIL was calling…

SUNNY had frozen in place. He stared at the name shown on his screen. Eventually, he managed to get himself to pick it up just before the ring died.

BASIL was the first to talk, naturally.

“Hey, SUNNY! It’s been a while, how’ve you been?”

“H-Hey, BASIL… Yeah… I-I’m fine..”

The rest of the entities perked up at the mention of BASIL. OMORI and SOMETHING looked oddly.. remorseful?

“AUBREY’s birthday is coming up soon, isn’t it, SUNNY? You should come visit us again, we’re gonna have so much fun!”

“U-Uh, yeah, o-of course, h-heheh..!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep your visit a secret for now, hehe. I don’t think I can handle an excited and impatient AUBREY waiting for her sunshine, hm~?”

BASIL had known about their mutual crush for a while, still opting to keep it a secret, mostly for the sake of seeing the both of them act like awkward high school teenagers with each other.

“Y-yeah, BASIL, s-sounds great..”

That struck BASIL as odd. He, more than anyone, knew that a tease like that would send SUNNY flushing like hell. This didn’t sound like that flush, though...

“SUNNY, you alright? You sound a bit stressed..”

“H-huh? I-I’m fine, BASIL, of c-course!”

That tone was a little bit too enthusiastic.

“Listen, SUNNY, no more secrets, remember? You better tell me what’s going on..”

Crud, SUNNY was cornered. He had to tell him now. Oh well, let’s hope it doesn’t go too badly..

“Ugh… BASIL, I, uh.. may need you t-to keep a-another secret f-for me..”

“Oh? SUNNY, what’s happening?”

“Shit, how am I supposed to explain this..?

“BASIL, remember when… in the bathroom..”

A long silence fell over the line before BASIL broke it.

“S-SUNNY, I… Yeah, I do.. I’m so, so sor-“

SUNNY cut him off before he could say anything else.

“Listen here, BASIL. That was in the past, it already happened. Something else did happen, and that was me forgiving you specifically for that. I lost my eye, but I’d lose much worse if it was to save you. Don’t beat yourself up for it. You told me you wouldn’t, right?”

SUNNY could practically hear the small yet sincere smile forming on BASIL’s face.

“Y-yeah, you’re right, I’m sorry.. So, then, what’s this about..?”

SUNNY took a deep breath. 

“You told me.. you told me you saw SOMETHING..”

BASIL’s breath hitched. He remembered that wicked… thing that was plaguing his life. The image of its round figure, black tendrils and sharp eye will forever be burned into his mind.

Back in SUNNY’s room, all eyes turned to SOMETHING. It hung its head… (eye..?) in shame, before floating to SUNNY and looking up at him. He could see nothing but remorse for the creature before it looked down again. It took SUNNY a while before he made his next move, which was to put his hand on the thing’s round top and rub it gently. He didn’t know why he did it, other than just feeling.. compelled to. Surprisingly, it felt soft…

SOMETHING responded to this by looking back up at him, with a look of.. what SUNNY deduced to be surprise, and maybe contentment? He seemed to be liking the affection, definitely. 

“ Y’know, when you disregard the whole context of this thing, it’s pretty cute..” SUNNY thought to himself.

“SUNNY?”

Oh, right, still on a call.

“Sorry, BASIL, it’s just that…”

“…”

“You’re probably not gonna believe me, and I don’t blame you…”

“SUNNY? What’s going on? You’re worrying me, you know..?”

“BASIL…”

“…”

“I’m seeing it.”

BASIL stopped breathing. A pin could be heard dropping to the ground.

“Y-You.. what..?”

“I see it, BASIL. Right in front of me.”

BASIL’s breath hitched. His heart rate was picking up a race.

“B-But, SUNNY.. You know w-we’ve forgiven you, r-right..?”

“Yes, I know, BASIL. I know, and I’ve forgiven myself too! But I saw it, i-in my dream, and it’s now… here… I’m touching it, BASIL, I can feel it, I can see it.”

“…”

“It looks.. sorry…”

At this point, BASIL was just baffled and confused. This thing, this demon that was tormenting him for months, years, even. It’s… real? And sorry?!

“SUNNY.. you know how crazy you sound, r-right?”

“Yes, yes, BASIL, I know! And I know you won’t believe me, I’m just…

When I do go back to FARAWAY, for AUBREY’s birthday.. and they follow me.. I’m sorry.”

BASIL’s eyes widened. They?!

“Th-They?!”

Shit.

“U-uhh.. yeah.. there’s more of them… B-But they’re not all S-SOMETHING!”

“SUNNY, I’m so confused.. what are they..?”

“They’re… ugh…

They’re the things I saw.. when I was stuck in my house. For those 4 years.”

BASIL’s mine was in turmoil. This all seemed so crazy, so insane, so impossible.. But SUNNY wouldn’t have any reason to lie, and he knew him enough to know that he wouldn’t be so cruel as to prank him over things like this..

“Ugh, fine, SUNNY. I’ll believe you, but only if you provide photographic evidence.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you thankyouthankyou!! I’ll take a photo, like, right now!”

Before BASIL could respond, SUNNY hung up the phone, and he was left waiting for pictures.

SUNNY quickly opened the camera app on his phone and took a quick flash of the creatures, before his stomach dropped.

The picture didn’t show anything, but his room. 

That.. that couldn’t be, right? He can touch them. He can feel them. Why won’t they appear in a photo??

SUNNY started panicking, trying to think of any way he could get BASIL to believe him.

Suddenly, ABBI offered a solution.

“Let me call him, SUNNY!”

…

BASIL never got photographic evidence. Instead, he found himself answering another call from SUNNY. Frankly, he was starting to get a bit irritated.

“Listen, SUNNY, I told you, I won’t believe you until I ge-“

BASIL was suddenly interrupted by the voice of… a young girl? That wasn’t SUNNY…

“Heellloooooo~! This is BASIL, right? It’s ABBI, remember me~?”

BASIL was confused, for the second time. A young girl? SUNNY never said anything about a young female friend.. But that name, it rang a bell..

ABBI continued speaking.

“You know, tentacle pigtails, tentacle arm, big question mark for a face?”

Suddenly, it clicked.

Those features were very distinct. The only thing BASIL remembered matching them was…

“ABBI? SUNNY’s old imaginary friend..?”

“There you go~! Though, I guess I’m neither old, nor imaginary now, HAHAH!!”

BASIL had to breathe. His brain was a mess from trying to figure this all out. “Could you pass the phone back to SUNNY, please?”

“Huh? Oh, sure. SUNNY! Basil wants to speak with you!”

He heard the phone being passed from one hand to another, before SUNNY’s voice showed itself yet again.

“Yeah, heh, that was ABBI. I hope you remember her.”

“Yeah, I do..”

BASIL sighed into the speaker. He wa a getting tired..

“Alright, SUNNY. I believe you, but only because you have no reason to lie about any of this.” Also because he was exhausted as hell.

“Really?! Oh, BASIL, thank you!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

“Promise you won’t tell anyone?”

“…Why wouldn’t you want me to?”

“…Because I don’t want them admitting me to a psychiatric ward after telling them I’m seeing the demons of my past?”

BASIL opened, closed then opened his mouth again.

“I guess that makes sense. I hope you’re telling the truth, SUNNY. Anyway, it’s gotta go tend to my plants. See you on AUBREY’s birthday.”

“See you, BASIL!”

SUNNY hung up the phone, put it back on his desk and sighed.

“So, was I right?”

All of them tilted their heads at his question.

“Dunno, huh? Guess we’ll just have to test the theory… I’m gonna go take a shower.”

Before they all could ask about the ‘theory’ he was referring to, he walked into the shower room.

“Hm. They’re not following me here. That’s good.” SUNNY spoke to himself.

He took his clothes off and stepped in for a shower. He really, really needed it.

…

After a while, he put on some new clothes he brought into the bathroom and walked out, seeing his apparitions huddled up at one spot on the floor.

He quietly walked over them, as they spoke in hushed voices. He peeked over their heads and saw… his sketchbook?

They were looking at his sketchbook?h, he remembers that one, he made it for a project.

“Hey, I remember that one, I made that for a project.”

They all jumped at the sudden voice and turned to look at him, all wearing a look of genuine shock.

“SUNNY… did you draw all of this?” ABBI spoke, naturally.

“Uh, yeah… why?”

“I never thought you’d be this good!”

All the others nodded in what seemed to be agreement.

“Huh? You said I always drew well. Were you lying..?” SUNNY retorted with a slightly teasing edge.

“Wh-What, no! I just… never thought you were this talented…”

“Ouch, ABBI. I never expected my childhood imaginary friend to be so mean!”

He was definitely teasing now.

“Oh, shut it, you know what I mean!”

SUNNY gave up with a chuckle. “Heheh, yep. Thanks.” He extended his hand and showed a thumbs up, his signature way of saying “I appreciate what you just said to/did for me.” All of them seemed to beam at that.

Suddenly, SUNNY heard the click and creak of a door outside his room, along with a voice he’d love to hear under any circumstance other than now.

“SUNNY, I’m hooome~!”

Shit, that’s mom. What’s she gonna think of all of this?!

Chapter Text

“SUNNY, I’m hooome~!”

Shit, that’s mom. What’s she gonna think of all of this?!

The other terrors seemed to have the same thought, as SOMETHING promptly twirled and twisted into nothingness and OMORI quickly hid under the bed, along with ABBI.

HELLMARI was having a hard time deciding where to hide. She frantically looked around, trying to find a spot secluded enough to hide her ghastly frame. All of a sudden, an idea came to her, just as SUNNY’S MOM opened the door.

— —

“SUNNY, there you are!” She quickly walked over to his bed and gave him a tight hug.

“H-Hey, mom, how was work..?” He reciprocated the action.

“Oh, it was wonderful, honey! Guess who just got a promotion~!”

SUNNY’s eyes widened. “Woah, hold on, really?!”

“Yep! Isn’t that amazing, sweetie?! My salary is practically doubled!”

SUNNY was ECSTATIC regarding the news.

“Mom, that’s amazing!! Are we celebrating?”

“Of course, honey! I got your favourite steak for dinner~!”

By this point, SUNNY was beaming. Steak for dinner! How incredible!

“Aw, heck yeah!! You’re the best!”

“Aww, sweetheart..” Hearing that, she went in to hug him again, before leaving walking towards the door. SUNNY ever so slightly tensed.

“Love you, SUNNY!”

“Love you too, mom!”

She turned around and closed the door, revealing a HELLMARI behind it, with her neck bent to fit under the frame. SUNNY breathed a sigh of relief. OMORI and ABBI went out from under the bed, just as SOMETHING twisted itself out back into reality.

Just as SUNNY was thinking of how he could hide them more effectively and efficiently…

“Oh, SUNNY, your birthday’s coming up, so I was thinkiiiiiiaaaaaAAAAAHHHH!!”

SUNNY’s eyes widened into saucers.

His mom entered the room again, before seeing the young monochrome boy, the tentacle girl, the black-tendriled creature and the deformed head with a gown, and promptly screamed, slamming the door shut.

She opened the door again, mostly to see if she was going insane. Nope. She saw them there, clear as day.

“S-S-SUNNY… wh-what… what are th-those… THINGS?!” 

SUNNY looked at her, almost resigned. He looked at the phantoms, before getting up and leaving the room with her, leaving the specters.

“MOM. This is gonna sound crazy. But those ‘things’, they’re essentially things my mind came up with, back when I was shut off for 4 years.”

She seemed to panic at the mention of his hikikomori period. He had a pretty damn good guess at what was going through her head, so he decided he should stop it.

“I know what you’re thinking, and no. You aren’t a bad parent for that, you never will be. As long as you’re trying, I will always love you, okay?” He said, with the softest and most caring tone he could muster.

He could sense her calming with that, but she still had a look of panic. Understandable, considering the circumstances.

“Okay… so… to start off, I don’t know why they’re here. They just showed up, after I saw them in my dreams. I don’t even know how this is possible, but here they are anyway. I’ve stopped trying to figure that out, since it’d get me nowhere.”

“U-uh-huh, okay… B-but, just what are they?!”

“Ah, that one’s gonna need some explaining. I’ll start off with the weird cyclops creature first, since that one’s the simplest.”

SUNNY took a deep breath, he knew this wasn’t going to be the easiest thing to do. “That thing is, essentially, an embodiment of my trauma after what I did… to MARI…”

She tensed at the mention of her late daughter.

He took another deep breath. CALM DOWN, and FOCUS…  

“When we… hung her… and left… I looked back, and I saw…”

His mother put her arm on his shoulder, comforting him. “It-it’s okay, sweetie. This must be v-very hard for y-you…”

Another deep breath. “Th-Thanks… A-anyway, when I looked back at her, I saw… her eye, it was… looking at me… l-like it was j-judging me… the image was stuck in my head, and I s-saw it, so many times…”

His mother’s heart dropped. She hadn’t known the full extent of what he’s gone through since MARI died, so this was all new to her. “Oh, SUNNY…”

“Yeah, h-heh… it’s been tormenting me for a while, I guess you could say…”

She immediately pulled him in for yet another hug. She felt so awful, having neglected him for so long.

He hugged back, attempting to reassure her. “It’s okay, mom, it’s okay…”

He decided, however, not to try sugarcoating it. “Uh, it may not get any easier from here, so you should get ready for everything else I’m about to say, okay?”

After a nod of approval from her, accompanied with several minutes of her regaining her composure and him collecting his thoughts, he spoke again.

“That girl, the pitch black one, with tentacle pigtails, that’s ABBI. You may not remember her, but she was my imaginary friend when I was, like, 12. Guess I had a pretty good imagination, even back then, huh?” He slightly winced, remembering the adventures he had in HEADSPACE.

Memories of a question-mark-faced girl in her son’s drawings surfaced. “Oh, I remember her! You used to draw her all the time, didn’t you?”

He nodded. “She was in my mind, too. She was… trying to get me to remember what I did to MARI… it didn’t work, of course, I, uh… I’ll explain later.” He wasn’t sure how he was going to explain the ABYSS of his mind without explaining OMORI first.

His mother nodded, and they continued.

“That ghost, the one with the long mouth and neck… She’s supposed to be MARI. She was another hallucination I saw, tormenting me, just as the cyclops did. I r-remember, once, at night… I heard MARI’s voice at the front door… She asked me if I could let her in, b-because she forgot h-her keys… I opened it, and saw… only her.”

His mother’s stomach was filled with lead. She left him alone? Like this…?

He saw the growing worry on her face, and decided to get to the last one. “That boy… monochrome and short…” God, how was he supposed to explain this one…?

Deep breath. “There’s something I still haven’t told you.”

She looked up at him. What else could be told?

“You see… when I was stuck, in my room for 4 years, I wasn’t just sleeping, no. I was dreaming. Dreaming of another fantasy world. A world where my friends and I were stuck at 12, except for HERO, of course. A world where… MARI was alive…”

Her breath hitched. That’s why he was sleeping so much. He was escaping reality.

“That boy, his name is OMORI. He was… my alter ego, you could say. Every time I entered that dream world, or at least the white space before it, I would sit down, and feel my consciousness fading away from myself, into his body. I was him, and he was me, whenever I was dreaming.”

He continued telling her everything. About the adventures they had, about how he slowly started to forget about MARI’s death, about how OMORI’s prime goal was to protect him from THE TRUTH, about how they fought, and how he played the duet. By the end of it, tears were flowing down his eye like a river. His mother wasn’t doing any better.

“So… yeah. That’s basically it, for them. I promise, mom, I’m doing really well. I’ve learned to live, finally. It’s okay.”

They both shared a tight hug. They needed it, after all.

“I’m so happy for you, SUNNY, but… I don’t know if we can keep them… I mean, I know I just got a promotion, but feeding an extra 4 people just seems too much…”

He nodded, solemnly. He understood.

“It’s okay, we don’t need to eat!”

Both jumped at the sudden voice, as SUNNY turned around. The terrors were all there, looking at him.

“Oh… How much did you hear?”

ABBI, naturally, was the one to answer. “Oh, we heard something about a cyclops!”

Ah. That was quite a bit.

“H-How do you know you won’t get hungry..?” SUNNY’S MOM asked with slight amounts of worry in her voice.

“I mean, we’ve never gotten hungry in HEADSPACE, or anywhere in his mind. It’s safe to assume that most basic human needs don’t apply to us ghosts… or, y’know, whatever we are.”

That seemed to alleviate her worries, if only slightly.

“Listen, sweetie, mommy’s gonna go rest for a bit… I’ve gotta… think about all of this for a while, okay?”

SUNNY nodded, as she leaned in and gave his forehead a kiss before entering her room.

…

“God.” SUNNY sighed, “How the hell am I gonna…”

He went into his own room, lying down on his bed, face in his hands.

“It’s okay, SUNNY, we’ll get through this!”

He chuckled. It’s nice having some enthusiasm with ABBI , he thought.

Chapter Text

He awoke. Why did he wake up? It pissed him off slightly, seeing that it was 2:37 AM. It was pitch black in his room. He moved his arms to rub his eyes, only to realize that they were wrapped around SOMETHING, its figure slowly moving up and down. He looked down at it, growing a smile at how calm and relaxed the thing looked.

“Aww, if that isn’t adorable…” SUNNY cooed to himself.

Just as he thought that it awoke, snuggling into his body. He quickly decided to softly pat and stroke its figure, prompting it to… purr…?

“Oh god, that’s so cute! Where was this when I was stuck inside my house for 4 years?!”

“AWW!!!”

SUNNY jumped at the sudden voice. He looked around his room, trying to find the source. His eyes have since gotten used to the darkness, and he could see ABBI, OMORI and HELLMARI looking at him with adoring faces.

“Oh my gosh, that is the cutest thing ever!!”

SUNNY winced at the loud voice.

“Keep it down ABBI, you’re gonna wake mom!”

She instantly put on a loud whisper.

“I’m sorry, but that is just so so cuuuute!!!”

Her face turned into a “,, !! ,,”

Guess those commas are supposed to be blush marks?

She pointed to the happy and flustered SOMETHING in SUNNY’s arms.

“Yeah, I’ve gotta agree on that. Sorry, buddy.”

With a stroke on its head, SUNNY got up from the bed before opening a drawer and donning a black sweater. It had the letter ‘S’ embroidered on the left chest area, while its back showed off a knife, violin string and flower in star formation.

“What are you wearing, SUNNY?”

“Oh, this? Just a sweater I made myself. I’m gonna head out for a walk.”

“This late?! Shouldn’t you be going back to sleep?”

“I couldn’t every time this happened, I don’t expect this to be any different.” He replied with a shrug before leaving the room.

— —

Ding!

The elevator doors opened, and SUNNY walked out, towards the exit, before being greeted by the sight of a looming HELLMARI, accompanied by the others just as he turned the corner. He naturally jumped at the sight of two empty eyes above an elongated equally empty mouth.

“AH, Jesus! What are you doing here?! Do you have any idea what would happen if somebody saw you?!”

He figured they could probably get a few unlucky individuals who managed to catch sight of them to question their sanity, maybe even book a visit to the local psychologist.

“Sorry, SUNNY! But we didn’t want to leave you to get hurt out there! It’s unsafe to walk out at this hour! Also, I don’t think we can be separated!”

“Uh, figuratively or literally?”

“Literally.”

Sigh. “Oh, goddammit. What are you gonna do if someone, like, mugs me, anyway?”

Hearing this, OMORI pulled out a steak knife, and multiple RED HANDS emerged from his body. He stared intently at his older counterpart.

“Oh… okay…”

— —

The streets were desolate, accompanied by nothing but the light from street lights littered across the road, as well as an 18-year-old who woke up at an unfortunate time. NEARBY CITY didn’t particularly have any night people, SUNNY remembered.

“So, SUNNY, made this jacket yourself, hm?”

“Yep. Made other jackets for my friends, too, just as a gift.”

“By other friends, do you mean…?”

“Yep. AUBREY, BASIL, KEL and HERO. Had to show them how much I appreciated them staying friends with me, right?”

“Aww, that’s so sweet!”

They all continued walking. OMORI and ABBI were beside SUNNY, while SOMETHING and HELLMARI were following closely from behind.

“Are you really gonna go back to FARAWAY soon?”

“Mhm. AUBREY’s birthday is coming up in a few days, but, uh…”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“It’s just… you guys have to follow me, and… no offence, but you’re all not particularly normal .”

ABBI pouted, putting a hand on her chest.

“Ouch, Mister! What’s so bad about that?? I’m sure they’ll all get it if you simply explain to them!”

“Yeah, well, I don’t know too much, and it’s not as easy as that, unfortunately.”

“It’s gonna be okay, SUNNY! I’m sure they’ll understand.”

SUNNY thought back to the confession in the hospital. The tears shed, the insults hurled, the betrayed faces formed…

…the hugs, and the apologies, a while after…

Maybe she’s right.

“Maybe you’re right. I couldn’t predict them forgiving me, I sure as hell can’t predict them understanding this. Maybe…”

He kept walking.

“…everything…”

Walking.

“…will be-“

He felt his arm being grabbed like a vice. He took note of where he was. Walking. By a few apartments. An alleyway. An alleyway? A dark alleyway?

Crap.

He felt himself being pulled, before a sudden force on his stomach as he stumbled and fell backwards. Two large silhouettes stood before him. One of them had a shiny object in his hand. A knife.

Double crap.

“Give us your money, kid. We won’t hurt’cha..”

No way I could overpower them. I didn’t bring my wallet, either. Shit…

“I-I don’t have any money, I swea-“

Another kick. Ouch.

His friend brandished the knife.

They were cornering him. He had nowhere to run.

“Don’t lie, ya little shit! I wanna see your wallet in my hands, or else we’re gonna-!”

They stopped.

Chills went up their spine. Goosebumps spiked through their skin. Sweat formed on their foreheads.

Someone’s watching them.

They turned around. Nothing.

Something’s watching them.

They looked around. Nothing.

They’re being judged.

They looked around more. Nothing.

Their breaths got heavier and heavier. 

They felt sick.

They felt dread. 

They felt UNCOMFORTABLE.

They felt SCARED.

They were STRESSED OUT.

They turned around, and saw eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes 

They screamed and ran away.

— —

“What the hell just happened?”

He sat there, confused. All he knew was that he was being mugged, and then they screamed and ran? What was that all about?

He stood up, cautiously walked out of the alleyway, and saw his ghostly friends, waiting for him.

ABBI pouted. “Told’cha so.”

He sighed. “Listen, this was the first time. What the hell happened, anyway? Why’d they just run off?”

ABBI pointed to OMORI and SOMETHING. “These two chumps managed to make them feel UNCOMFORTABLE to the point of stressing them out. I dunno how they did it.”

OMORI pointed at his eyes.

“You… stared at them?”

They nodded.

“Oh… that’s.. huh.”

He had nothing to say. Rather, he didn’t know what to say, only to walk up to the two and ruffle their heads.

“Thanks. Nice job.”

He caught the corners of OMORI’s lips turning up the slightest bit. Huh. Didn’t think he’d know how to smile.

Meanwhile, SOMETHING was purely beaming, as he nuzzled himself on SUNNY’s side. 

He figured he could have some fun with this. “Awww! Who’s a good little demon? You are!” He said as he ruffled it further.

SOMETHING had shining rays of happiness emitting from it. 

ABBI’s face turned into an exclamation mark, sprinkled with asterisks. She was sparkling at the cuteness.

SUNNY decided it was a good time to head back. He felt safer with them, it looked like they could protect him.

He knew his life would be much more interesting going forward.

Chapter Text

Days passed, and SUNNY stayed inside as much as he could. Of course, taking into account how his shut-in phase was perhaps the absolute darkest moment of his life, it’s not like he wanted to do this, but it would’ve been a bit hard to explain having a tentacle limbed girl, a floating cyclops creature and a literal Japanese horror following you everywhere you go. However, he’d conjured up an effective plan for whenever he did have to exit the house. He’d always have his mother send him, as private transportation massively decreased the chances of anyone seeing his ghosts while traveling. He had a plan for being exposed in public as well. ABBI would be wearing a hoodie, so as to hide her tentacle features, and to an extent her punctuation face. OMORI didn’t need much hiding, he looked like any regular 12-year-old, save for his extremely pale complexion, which did call for another hoodie. Hiding SOMETHING was easy, it could always do that thing where it twirled into absolute nothingness, the only problem with it is that it didn’t like to be away from SUNNY for long. Most outings were more than compact enough for SOMETHING to hide for, though sometimes it would pop out just for some SUNNY attention. Hiding HELLMARI was the hardest part. A deep blue stretched neck and jaw wasn’t the easiest thing to keep hidden, especially standing out in public. After hours of thinking, however, he’d settled on a large summer hat and sunglasses along with a trench coat while scolding himself for not coming up with a simple solution earlier. It didn’t help that it wasn’t him who came up with the idea, but someone on a forum when he asked a hypothetical question of “if you had a ghost with a stretched neck and mouth open inhumanly wide, how would you hide it?”

Nevertheless, it seemed to work. Everytime he had to go out for something, whether it be to the shops, or a random stroll, the worst he’d gotten were some strange looks from people who can’t mind their own business, though SUNNY couldn’t blame them.

In truth, he really enjoyed the company. He never was much of a friend-maker in university for two main reasons. Firstly, he was too busy with art assignments and didn’t have time to do much else. As miserable as that sounds, he quite enjoys art, so it’s not as tough as it sounds. The second reason, the one he’d never admit to anyone, was that he’d felt like he didn’t need to, because he still has his friends back in FARAWAY. He also figured he’d gotten lucky with how they’d forgiven him, and that most people wouldn’t give him a chance after hearing what happened to his sister.

So, despite how weird and supernatural all of this is, he enjoys having the weird trauma-spirits always by his side.

Like right now, when he’s taking a walk into the early-late night lighting of the park. 

The holiday week had been nice, but they had also given him assignments, which he’d found stupid.

It’s a holiday, it’s meant for an escape from work, he always thought.

Nevertheless, the continuous drawing and coloring and painting for hours is the reason he’s here. Taking a break outside always calmed his nerves and made it easier to sleep.

Of course, his demons were following him, and he was talking to them, as he does. Mostly ABBI, but he enjoyed the others’ company, albeit silent.

“…and, like, HERO’s a doctor now, right? So get this, KEL suggests that we buy him some medicine for his birthday!”

ABBI burst out laughing. “Ahahah! No way!” OMORI made a face of amusement as well.

SUNNY laughed with her, reminiscing about whenever KEL managed to get him out of the house. “Hahah, yeah, he’s still the same thick-skull when we were 12…”

“Sounds like it! They never really did change, did they?”

SUNNY’s face transformed into something more thoughtful.

“Guess not, as much as they want to deny it. Especially AUBREY. It’s still insane to me, how despite everything, they’re still willing to be with me, even after what I did to MARI.”

Somewhere, rapid food steps started approaching.

“I’ll forever be gratefu-“

POW!

SUNNY fell to the ground with a thud. A throbbing pain erupted in his left cheek.

As he tried to regain his senses, he felt that pain again, this time in his stomach.

He rolled over, agony in his body, as he realized what’s just happened.

I got punched, then I got kicked, I think.

Arms over his lower abdomen, he looked up, only to see a familiar face.

No… Oh god, not this guy…

…—…

Life was going well for SUNNY. He was forgiven, by everyone, but most importantly, himself.

Well. Life was going well everywhere, but school. That’s where some people haven’t forgiven him either, coincidentally.

It all happened by accident. He was talking to one of his FARAWAY friends, HERO to be exact, over the phone. At this point, he hadn’t gotten over the accident completely, but had made small progress.

HERO had called him out of courtesy, to ask him how he’s doing, and to catch up a bit. He figured he should at least try, even if it was a tad bit hard talking to him after he confessed. It’s why he did this, to alleviate, or at least minimise, that difficulty.

The topic had shifted over to MARI, and SUNNY had almost broken down, confused as to why HERO was still trying to talk to someone who didn’t deserve the grace. He shouted to the phone, loudly reminding HERO of just who ‘killed’ his lover, but HERO kept calm, and they’d gotten through it together.

…

A young man walked through the empty campus. The day was over, and most people had gone back to their dorms. He wondered through the halls aimlessly, looking for any unfortunate prey to his torture.

Truth is, he thought of himself as a justified hero, albeit misunderstood. He picked on the poor and the different, claiming they ‘didn’t deserve to be here’. He thought himself to be doing the good, filtering out the bad. He never understood why people disliked him for it, for shearing the weeds out of the garden.

He heard a loud voice. He peeked from the lockers, away from the voice’s sight. He found the source to be a short kid, holding a phone. He was wearing an eyepatch. The new kid. He listened intently to what he was saying.

“I KILLED HER! I KILLED MY Sister…”

He did what?

How was he allowed to walk the grounds of this campus, let alone this town, let alone this earth? He murdered the life of another. His own family, his own blood. In a garden, he didn’t only see weed. He saw poison ivy.

Word had quickly gotten around. Rumors of a one-eyed kid who killed his own sister. It’s why SUNNY never had many friends. Some kind (maybe naive) souls dismissed the rumor, but most people believed it. 

After that, people only avoided him. They were too scared to deal with someone as unstable (or so they heard) as him. This was true for everyone, apart from one LOGAN, the one who originally eavesdropped on SUNNY’s call. 

LOGAN was your typical high school bully, just that he was in university this time. Always picking on the little guy, thinking he was doing the school a service. Most people hated him, but I’m just misunderstood, he told himself, they’ll be grateful one day.

He truly hated SUNNY’s guts after hearing what happened, even though he never got the context. 

He tortured him every chance he got, every time he saw him roaming the halls, or outside of campus.

SUNNY didn’t do much. Not many people are willing to help those who’ve done what he did. He wasn’t completely miserable, he’d learnt to be optimistic. He had to, he’d gone through too much of his own agony to not.

He honestly thought he wouldn’t meet him again this holiday season. Unfortunately, that was wrong. The universe had a funny way of making that happen, huh?

…—-…

SUNNY grunted, feeling a heavy weight on his back. He was on all fours, and LOGAN was doing all he could to keep him down. Saliva dripped from SUNNY’s mouth, onto the floor.

“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to kick your fuckin’ ass. Shitstains like you don’t deserve to set your foot in this city.”

SUNNY felt tears forming in his eyes.

“I… I didn’t mean to…”

It was an accident. He’d thought he’d gotten better, now. He’d finally forgiven himself. Why did he still need to suffer?

“That’s bullshit!”

Something in SUNNY snapped.

Bullshit?

That’s bullshit?

SUNNY pushed her down the stairs. It’s what caused all of this. It’s why he’s so broken. He knows that. He’s the one who’s gone through it all, he knows all of that. 

But to say he meant it? Meant to kill her? That killing her was intentional, that he pushed her knowing she would die?

SUNNY knew how wrong that was. He would never kill her. He knew, because throughout everything, even in the adventures happening in his dreams, one thing was always true.

He loved her. More than anything.

To say that wasn’t true, frankly, pissed SUNNY off, and at that moment, he saw red.

So did LOGAN, however, as a red hand launched at him, punching him square in the face, getting him to stagger backwards.

SUNNY got up, staggering over to him. LOGAN watched as his friend put his hoodie away. A short kid, no more than 12, awfully pale to the point of being white. Multiple red hands were emerging from his back. LOGAN felt threatened, and was growing nervous.

Suddenly, a pitch black figure spun into existence, as if there were a hole in mid air. It’s tendrils we’re long, and it’s eye was ever judgemental.

LOGAN looked into its eye, and became SCARED.

“S-stay away, you fuckers!” He pulled out a pocket knife. “Or-or else!”

A red hand immediately extended, slapping the knife away. LOGAN cautiously walked backwards, until his back hit a tree. 

The tendrils of SOMETHING lengthened themselves, quickly reaching up to LOGAN’s limbs, tightening and immobilising them. He was tied to the tree.

SUNNY approached him. His hair was shading the upper half of his head, leaving only his right eye visible. He was, very clearly, FURIOUS. LOGAN felt meek under his gaze, for some reason.

“I pushed her. I did it. But let’s get this right. I did not mean it.”

Multiple red hands attacked him in quick succession, leaving him barely any room to grunt between each punch. He was quickly gaining bruises on his body. SUNNY clenched his fists, and they attacked even faster.

OMORI kept on beating him, without showing any signs of stopping. SOMETHING’s grip on his limbs kept getting tighter and tighter.

Blood flowed down his nose, then his lip, then his left eye was black. LOGAN wasn’t so sure if he would make it out alive after this.

As SUNNY clenched his fists harder, he felt something wrap around his waist. He looked down, slightly angry at what could have interrupted him, until he saw ABBI, hugging him, burying her face deep into his stomach. 

That snapped him out of his anger, as he realized what he’d done. The red hands and tendrils slowly receded from LOGAN’s person, allowing him to run away as fast as he could. 

SUNNY slumped and fell to his knees. His thoughts ran rampant in his head. How much did he beat him? How hurt was he? 

How close was he to having another person’s blood on his hands?

He noticed a long gown approaching him, and saw that it was HELLMARI. Without thinking, he immediately launched himself at her, wrapping his arms tight around her gown. Her arms wrapped around him, reciprocating it. The others soon joined in.

It felt… too familiar to SUNNY. 

He knew why. He cried into her gown. 

Chapter Text

“Alright, dear- er, dear s . It seems the coast is clear. Stay safe, okay?”

Sunny’s Mom looked in the rear view mirror. Omori and Abby nodded, giving her some level of assurance. Hellmari was laying down in the legroom in front of the backseats, that way no one would see her from outside. Each of them were dressed in ‘disguises’ so as to not raise unwanted suspicion from anyone (as well as not giving everyone within viewing distance of them a heart attack). Abby and Omori were both wearing raincoats from Sunny’s younger (and shorter) days to conceal their… anomalous physical properties. Abby had a cap to further hide her Punctuation-Mark-Face, while the raincoat was just enough to give Omori’s absolute paleness some level of discreetness. Something’s fairly small and slightly squishy figure let for an easy solution: The luggage bag! Fully zipped, but Something happened to not need air.

Hellmari was much tougher to figure out. Her tall, slender and horrifyingly ghost-like appearance meant that she couldn’t really hide her own face or stuff herself into a carrier object. Up till now, she’d resulted to merely hiding in nearby secluded places away from sight, something her dark and gloomy colors made easy. It was scuffed, but it had to do.

Aubrey’s birthday had come soon enough, and Sunny had managed to keep his ghostly companions under wraps from the public eye. He’d admit, he didn’t think it would be this easy, but all it took was a little scouting and nightly walks, to make sure he didn’t fall into his stuck-at-home tendencies as he had done back in Faraway.

Faraway…

He’s here. For a moment, he forgets about the ghostly quartet in the car with him as he’s brought back to the town of his greatest and worst memories. 

“Sunny? Earth to Sunny!”

Mom’s voice had snapped him out of his trance as he turns to her.

“O-Oh, right, sorry. Thanks Mom, I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart.” She reached out for his head, pulling it in and kissing his hair.

Aubrey’s birthday. He’d be here for a few days, catch up with the gang, and leave without any sort of trouble. Easy enough, he thought to himself.

Exiting the car, he got a proper view of the very building they had pulled up to: Basil’s house. As far as Sunny knew, the only people who knew about his situation besides himself and Mom is Basil, so he figured it’d be wise to camp at his house till it’s time to head back. Taking his own luggage in one hand and the Something bag in the other from the boot, he swiftly walked over to Basil’s front door, with Omori and Abbi following and Hellmari hiding amongst the front yard plants.

Taking a deep breath, he rang the doorbell.

”Please be Basil don’t be Polly don’t be Polly don’t be Polly do-”

“Oh, Sunny, is that you? My, oh my, you’ve grown so much, dear! And who might these two shortcakes be, hm?” The tanned woman in a summer outfit looked at Sunny with surprise.

”Of course.” This was just his luck.

Thinking quickly, Sunny used his default answer format for any time someone would question him about the two kids. “Oh, they’re just some kids I’m babysitting for a friend. He and his wife had already planned vacations and I decided it would be a good opportunity to take them to my hometown, anyway.”

If she noticed anything off about the lie coming from his teeth, she didn’t say it. “Oh, that’s just sweet! Come on in, dear.” 

Handing Sunny a fresh cup of tea, Polly sat down on the single couch. “So, how’s the city life? Got used to it yet?”

Sunny took a deep breath. ”How the hell am I gonna get hellmari in without her noticing?”

“Sunny?”

He blinked. “Oh, I’m sorry. Yeah, it’s pretty okay, I’ve been going outside and talking to people more, so that’s ch-... changed…”

Just as Polly laughed and closed her eyes, Sunny shot a sharp stare at the window, a fully visible Hellmari outside of it.

”No! Hellmari, what are you doing there, Someone’s gonna see you!”

He tries to make some sort of hiding gesture, to which Hellmari only tilts her head, not understanding a single thing, just as Polly asks him another question.

“So, what are the kids’ names? I never took you for a babysitter, Sunny.”

He slightly blanched. ”Uh-oh.”

“Th-They’re Omori and Abby. Say hi, kids…” Sunny requested, reluctantly. Only the female responded.

“Hello, Aunt Polly!”

“Why, hello! You must be Abby, I’m assuming. And the other one is Omori?” No answer came from the boy, who shrunk into himself.

“I’m sorry about him, he’s a bit shy…” Sunny tried to explain, to which Omori responded with a pout.

Before Polly could question why they were wearing raincoats indoors or could notice the ghastly figure outside of her window, Sunny came up with an idea. “Oh, Polly, do you happen to have coffee? I hadn’t slept well last night, and a cup would do me just fine.”

Polly, being Polly, set out to the kitchen at once. “And how would you like it, dear?”

“Sugar and milk, please. Oh, and whipped cream too, if you have any.” The more ingredients, the longer it’d take to prepare. She responded with a hum, and Sunny knew he had to act quickly. Just as Polly had her back turned to the front door, Sunny quietly opened it and pulled Hellmari in. Steadily rushing through the living room, he’d noticed how easily Polly could see Hellmari in her peripherals if he’d gone through the stairway. He could tell she was almost done with the coffee, too. He had to think quick.

“Polly, there’s a giant lizard to your left!”

Out of instinct, she’d turned around and yelped. “W-Where is it? Sunny?”

She turned to him, leaned against the doorway with a smug grin that looked a bit too unusual. “Hahah, gotcha.”

Internally, he was reeling from slight adrenaline. ”Oh my god oh my god it worked, I’m so sorry Polly.”

She tutted in amused disappointment. “Oh, Sunny. Kel told me how much of a prankster you were when you were younger, but I didn’t think you still had it in you.”

Sunny tried to shrug casually. “Old habits die hard, sorry.” He followed with a wink. “ Why did I do that?”

Polly raised an eyebrow. “Uhm… okay.” She’d decided to ignore his strange behavior. “Do the kids want anything?” 

“Mmmm, this is so tasty! Thank you Auntie Polly!”

A light pink dusted her cheeks at Abby’s praise. Nothing can soothe an old woman’s heart like the approval of a young child, after all. “Oh, it’s nothing, dearie.”

However, just as she was about to take a sip from her cup, an ear-shattering scream echoed through the house. 

“Wh-What the f- I mean, what the heck was that?!” Sunny looked around, frightened and alarmed when Polly answered with a panic, “That’s Basil! Oh, dear god! Kids, stay here.”

As the four of them ran toward the hallway, Sunny stopped Polly. “Sunny? What are you doing?” He shot her a steeled look in response.

“Trust me Polly, I’ll check it out.” ”I can’t let her see Hellmari! ”

He ran to the hallway, quickly rushing into the door to the farthest right only to see…

”Oh… he’s home.”

Basil stared at Sunny with wide eyes. “What the fuck?!” He whisper-shouted. Hellmari was in the corner beside the door.

“Sunny, dear, is everything okay!?”

”Oh, god, this all didn’t go how I’d like it to! U-Uh, yeah, Polly! Basil just got spooked by, uh… a spider!” Sunny winced at his own choice of creature, but went along with it. “I-It was a big one, too! I got it under control!”

“Well… if you say so, dear.”

Sunny let out a sigh of relief. That was much too close.

Closing the door, Sunny met Basil’s shocked and confused gaze. The former decided to start off. “Hey, Basil…”

“Hey… Sunny…”

To say he looked tense would be one hell of an understatement. He looked borderline traumatised . 

“You uh.. stay here for a bit, alright? I’ll get the rest in…”

He left, going back to the living room to ask Polly if he could put his stuff in Basil’s room and catch up with him, to which Polly let him.

Basil looked better when he came back in, but not by much. He could at least form coherent words, such as “Holy” and “Shit” by the time Sunny let the kids take off their raincoats and Something out of the bag.

Sunny could only rub the back of his neck. “Yeah, I didn’t think you’d be home…” It was a stupid notion in hindsight, if he was being fair. One look at Basil’s eyes and he could tell that he was starting to panic. “Hey, hey, Basil, it’s okay. They’re not gonna hurt us, they’re friendly.”

As if to prove his point, Something floated over to Basil and snuggled against his cheek. Surprisingly, it worked, to some extent.

“Aw.. H-Hey there, p-pal…” He tried petting it on its head, to which it responded with something adjacent to an affectionate squeal. Basil flinched. As admittedly cute as it is, that sound was unlike anything he’d heard before.

Basil looked up from Something to see Abby looking at her, smiling widely. “Hello, Uncle Basil! My name’s Abby!” She held out her right hand, which Basil took and shook tentatively. It was surreal, if he had to be honest, to be shaking hands with a child with a tentacle arm and pigtails as well as one question mark for eyes. Beside her was the seemingly younger boy who’s expression was cold and complexion so pale that anyone without context would immediately bring him to ER. 

At least Abby’s cute and Omori’s somewhat normal, Basil thought as his gaze fell on Hellmari. 

A figure too tall with a neck much too long, she was standing beside Sunny, her hair cascading down her horrid face, boasting black, empty eye sockets and a jaw that could fit a whole plate, sideways . To Basil, it looked like some supernatural creature from Japanese folklore came to life.

Basil took a deep breath. “Sunny… remind me why you brought them here?”

“We promised to tell each other everything, remember? No secrets between the gang?” Basil nodded, and Sunny continued reasoning. “Well, this looks like it falls into that “everything” category.”

Basil shot back, “Then why don’t you just tell everyone else first and not just me?”

Sunny looked at him as if he’d grown two heads. “Alright, let’s say you were Kel or Aubrey. You get a call from your best friend who’d left town a few months ago and had lived through hell and delusions before. He tells you that there are weird ghosts manifested in his room who would quite literally never leave his side. Would you believe him?”

Basil responded with a sigh. “I guess that makes sense… But how did you know I would believe you?”

“Easy. You trust me a lot, and we’ve both more or less gone through the same thing.”

“R-Right…”

Just as he’d finished his explanation, the doorbell rang. Listening intently, Sunny could hear the faint echo of Polly’s voice answering the door. “Oh, Kel, so good to see you!”

”Shit, Kel?! Why’s Kel here?!”

Sunny turned to Basil, and he’d gotten the question Sunny was about to ask. “H-He called me yesterday to see if we could hang out..!”

Sunny sighed, closing the door quickly, noting Kel’s loud voice getting louder and clearer. “He’s coming in, we have to hide them!”

Kel opened the door, grinning widely. “Hey Basil, what’s up ma- SUNNY?!”