Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In the quiet night, strings did weep,

Moments pass, but not for the weak.,

Shattered wood, a bond now torn,

In the silence, where hearts were once worn.

A push, a fall, a cry of pain,

Guilt and sorrow now remain.

Beneath the water, secrets lie,

In shadows deep, where memories die,

Of someone who used to be alive,

Now lost forever to the passage of time.

In the quiet night, strings did weep,

Seeking comfort, in relentless sleep

There had always been music.

It wove through the house, drifting between the walls like it had a soul of its own.

Their music.

It was the thing that bound them together.

It used to be comforting. Soft melodies humming through quiet afternoons, fingers dancing gracefully over keys, the gentle draw of a bow against strings.

But now…

It isnt

Not anymore

8:00 PM

The metronome ticked.

A steady, mechanical heartbeat in the silence of their room.

Sunny’s fingers curled around his violin, his grip stiff, his bow trembling as it hovered above the strings. The wood felt heavier than usual.

Mari stood beside him, arms crossed, eyes flicking between his hands and the sheet music. She looked exhausted. With her usual patient smile faded, replaced by something anxious.

"You’re still off on that note… Sunny."

Her voice was tight.

Sunny’s jaw clenched.

“Mari, I know the notes. Just stop already,” he muttered, his voice low, but edged with frustration.

Mari sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You’re rushing again.”

She reached out, fingertips grazing his wrist to adjust his grip

But he pulled away.

The movement was small, but the rejection was clear.

Mari blinked. Her lips pressed into a thin line.

"I can’t help you if you don’t let me," she said, her voice firm, but not yet angry. Not yet.

Sunny didn’t answer. He just lifted his violin and started playing again.

It didn’t sound right.

It didn't sound right at all.

The notes were hollow and scratchy. There was no music, just noise. His hands were too stiff, his bow dragged too fast across the strings.

Mari flinched.

"Stop," she said, reaching for him again. "You’re rushing-"

Sunny yanked away before she could touch him.

“I know,” he snapped, his voice louder than he meant.

Mari stared at him.

Her fingers twitched at her sides.

“You don’t,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Because if you did, you wouldn’t sound like that.”

Sunny’s hands tightened around the violin.

The metronome continued its steady ticking.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Three weeks.

Three weeks of nothing but this. Nothing but practice, correction, criticism.

No breaks.

No friends.

No breathing.

Every time he made a mistake, Mari was there to remind him.

Every time he tried to pull away, she pulled him back.

He was drowning in her expectations, in her dream. But what about him? What about what he wanted?

His fingers ached. His shoulders burned. His mind was filled with static.

And yet,

"Again," Mari said.

And Sunny snapped.

His bow sliced across the strings, too harsh, too fast. The sound that came out wasn’t music, but a scream. A violent screech that made Mari flinch back.

And then,

CRACK.

The string snapped.

The silence was immediate.

Sunny’s heart pounded fast. His hands were shaking.

He looked down at the violin, staring at the broken string like it had personally betrayed him.

Mari exhaled slowly, her hands clenching at her sides.

"Sunny," she said carefully, her voice filled with frustration. "What are you doing?"

Sunny didn’t answer. He just turned and walked past her, moving toward the stairs.

Then, in a furious groan, his violin slipped from his hands.

And before he could think, before he could stop himself,

He threw it.

The wooden instrument crashed down the stairs, each step damaging it further until it hit the bottom, broken beyond repair.

A breath of silence.

"SUNNY!"

Mari’s voice ripped through the air like a blade.

For the first time in his life, she wasn’t just angry. She wasn't enranged.

She was furious.

She shoved past him, rushing to the stairs, her eyes locked onto the shattered remains of the gift from his friends.

Sunny stood frozen.

His whole body was shaking, his vision blurred.

Mari turned on him.

Her hands gripped his arms, her fingers digging into his skin.

"Do you even care?" she whispered.

Sunny said nothing.

Mari’s expression cracked.

"Do you even care what this means?" she said louder, voice trembling. "All the time we spent practicing, all the times I helped you, and you just—"

She inhaled sharply, her grip tightening.

"You ruined everything."

The words hit harder than they should have.

Sunny swallowed hard, his throat dry.

Something ugly was inside his chest,

something he didn’t recognize.

"…I don’t care," he whispered.

Mari stared at him.

Her eyes widened, her lips parting slightly, as if she had just been struck.

The look on her face made his stomach twist.

“I DON'T CARE ABOUT THIS STUPID RECITAL ANYMORE. I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR THREE WEEKS. THREE! DO YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS?! TO NOT BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING ANYMORE?! IM-”

She moved.

And she slapped him.

The crack of her palm against his cheek echoed through the house.

Sunny staggered back, his breath catching in his throat.

Mari’s own eyes went wide, her hand trembling in the air between them.

"Sunny, I…"

She reached for him.

But he was already moving.

His hands pressed against her shoulders.

He pushed.

And

She fell

Her scream ripped through the air, high and panicked.

CRACK.

...

...

...

The house went silent.

Mari’s body layed at the bottom of the stairs.

Her body twisted, unmoving.

Blood pooled beneath her.

And in the doorway,

Aubrey stood, frozen in horror.

Sunny couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t move.

All he could do was stare at Mari’s still form, his ears ringing, his heart pounding.

Aubrey’s voice was barely a whisper

“What did you do?”

The words didn’t feel real.

None of this felt real.

And yet,

The blood on the floor didn’t lie.

Aubrey had been walking toward Sunny and Mari’s house, humming a little tune under her breath as she kicked a rock along the pavement.

It was an aimless kind of visit. One she hadn’t planned, but something had drawn her there anyway.

Maybe it was boredom. Maybe it was curiosity. Maybe it was that feeling that something wasn't… quite right.

Mari had been acting different lately. Stressed.

And Sunny?

He had been avoiding them. Avoiding her.

She just wanted to ask about the recital, maybe see if they needed a break. Kel had suggested they all meet up tomorrow after practice, but Aubrey wasn’t sure Mari would allow it.

So she was here.

Just outside the house.

And that’s when she heard it.

A scream.

A sharp, furious scream.

“SUNNY!”

Aubrey stopped dead in her tracks.

Mari never yelled.

Aubrey’s stomach twisted. She rushed forward, pounding on the door.

Nothing.

She pressed her ear against the wood.

Muffled voices. Arguing. A crash.

She pounded harder. “Mari!?, Sunny!?"

No answer.

Her pulse quickened.

Something was wrong.

She tried the doorknob. Locked.

Panic gripped her. She ran to the side of the house, looking for another way in,

But then,

A sound.

CRACK.

And silence.

Aubrey didn’t think. She just moved.

She ran to the back of the house, found the sliding glass door, shoved it open, and rushed inside.

Her feet barely made a sound as she sprinted through the kitchen, then the hallway, until…

She saw them.

And her breath caught in her throat.

Mari.

At the bottom of the stairs.

Her body was twisted in a way that wasn’t right, her long black hair splayed around her like ink on the floor. Blood pooled beneath her, staining the hardwood, soaking into the cracks between the boards.

And standing above her

Sunny.

He was frozen, his wide eyes locked onto his sister’s unmoving body. His face was pale, his hands trembling.

Aubrey's throat closed.

Her vision blurred.

"What…"

Her voice was barely a whisper.

"What did you do?"

Sunny didn’t answer.

He rushed down the stairs and dropped to his knees beside Mari, his fingers barely brushing against her cold wrist.

Aubrey stumbled forward, her legs numb beneath her. Her head was screaming at her to do something, but her body wouldn’t move.

She stared at Mari, at the shattered violin beside her, at the blood soaking into the floor.

This isn’t real.

This can’t be real.

But it was.

And then,

The weight of it all crashed down on her.

Mari was dead.

Dead.

Sunny had killed her.

And if anyone found out.

No.

No, no, no...

NO!

Aubrey’s breath hitched and was uneven. Her hands clutched her arms as her nails dug into her skin.

Her best friend was gone.

Her oldest, closest friend.

Mari, who had always been so kind to her, who had always been there for her.

Gone.

Because of him.

She looked at Sunny again, at his shaking form, at the way his breath stuttered in his chest. He was crying now, tears spilling down his cheeks, silent, hollow sobs.

He looked small.

Weak.

Pathetic.

For a brief, horrible moment, Aubrey wanted to hit him. Wanted to scream at him. Wanted to make him feel it.

But then,

The realization hit.

This wasn’t just about them anymore.

If someone found out, if someone saw this,

Sunny wouldn’t just be sad.

He’d be gone.

Aubrey’s body went rigid.

They’d take him away.

He’d go to jail, or some terrible place, and she’d never see him again.

She didn't want to lose another friend

A cold feeling crawled up her spine.

She couldn’t let that happen.

She wouldn’t.

Aubrey’s breathing evened. She forced herself to move, kneeling beside Sunny.

His head snapped up, eyes wet and desperate.

“…W-What do we do?” he choked out.

Aubrey didn’t answer at first.

She just looked at Mari.

At the blood.

At the mess.

And then

She thought of the lake.

It wasn’t a conscious decision.

It was just there.

The idea.

The solution.

She could almost hear Mari’s voice in her head, laughing, scolding them, warning them not to go too deep. Mari had saved Sunny from drowning once.

And now…

Aubrey swallowed.

Her hands curled into fists.

They had to get rid of the body.

They had to make it look like an accident.

Sunny was still shaking, still breaking. He wouldn’t be able to do this alone.

But Aubrey…

Aubrey could.

She forced herself to meet his eyes.

Her voice was quieter now. Steadier.

“We have to move her.”

Sunny flinched. “Wh-What…?”

Aubrey exhaled slowly.

“If anyone sees her here, they’ll know,” she said. “They’ll know it was you.”

Sunny’s breath caught.

Aubrey stood.

She wiped her face.

Then, she reached down, grabbing Mari’s cold, limp wrist.

Sunny’s stomach turned. “A-Aubrey, we can’t—”

“We have to.”

The finality in her voice silenced him.

Because she was right.

They couldn’t just leave her here.

They had to do something.

...

Half an hour later, the house was quiet.

Aubrey and Sunny carried Mari’s body through the backyard, their hands trembling under her weight.

The treehouse loomed ahead, a place where once memories were shared

They passed it, heading for the lake where Sunny had once nearly drowned.

But there would be no saving Mari now.

The lake’s surface was as still as death itself, reflecting the cold moonlight as they lowered Mari’s body into the water.

Her white dress lingered beneath the surface before sinking, the water swallowing her whole.

Sunny couldn’t look away.

Mari’s face, pale and lifeless, drifted beneath the dark water.

And in that moment

In that moment, she looked up at him.

Her dead eyes piercing his soul.

They left, the weight of what they’d done sinking deep.

Sunny returned to his empty bed, haunted by the image of his sister’s lifeless form.

Mari’s side of the room was cold, empty, and wrong.

He closed his eyes, but the nightmare remained.

In the dark, he heard,

“It was just a mistake… right?”

...

But there was no answer.

He couldn't sleep that night.

Chapter Text

You slowly become aware of your body lying on a cold, wet surface. Warm sunlight comes down from above, gently coaxing your eyes open. You see the sky, a strange mixture of orange, red, yellow, and black, resembling a sunset trapped in perpetual twilight. As you shift your gaze, you realize you’re inside a small wooden box or casket, though this one is different. There’s no top. Sitting up, you take in your surroundings and find yourself in a small boat, likely once used for fishing. Its surfaces are covered in dry algae and residue, suggesting years of use.

You turn your attention to the water surrounding you. It’s an endless, dark expanse, with its depths unfathomable. A thick fog goes over the surface, obscuring your sight and making you feel more… diffident. Tentatively, you dip a finger into the water and taste it. It’s sweet. The air around you is a strange blend of a cold, beach breeze mixed with the pungent scent of salt.

As you sit there, trying to piece together your situation, a sudden splash disturbs you. You whip your head toward the sound and begin paddling with your hands, moving the boat toward the sound. You reach a small floating object and retrieve it. It is a knife, sheathed in leather, with the look of something made for heavy-duty cutting.

You pull the cover off to reveal a sharp, reflective blade. The image staring back at you is your own, but before you can fully process it, a black figure appears in the reflection, standing behind you. It’s inhuman, with a single, glaring eye fixed on you. You freeze, unable to comprehend what you’re seeing. Slowly, you turn around, clutching the knife tightly, but when you look, there’s nothing there.

Returning your attention to the knife, you examine it more closely. It’s small, with the metal slightly bent and worn, a clear show of age. The handle, made of wood, is damp, and it looks screwed in into the metal part of it.

After seeing the knife for a moment, you put it into your pocket. Looking up, you notice that the fog has cleared slightly, revealing a white, wooden door floating on the water’s surface. The sight of the door deepens your sense of unease.

Why are you here, in a boat, on an endless sea? Why did a knife suddenly appear? And why is there a door in the middle of nowhere? The questions swirl in your mind, making your feeling of unease start to turn into more of one of anxiety.

The sky above begins to darken, signaling the approach of night. This anxiety starts to fill you as you think that if you don’t reach the door before darkness falls, you may never find it again. With frantic movements, you paddle toward the door, your hands scooping water as fast as they can. But just as you’re about to reach it, you notice the water around you starting to move, swaying rhythmically like a heartbeat.

thump... 

     thump…

thump…

thump...

thump...

The rhythm grows faster, the water moving more violently with each passing second. But, in the end, you persist. You let the water take you all the way into the frame of the door, now desperately grabbing onto it, you take a step and grab the knob to open the door. It's the same visage you have seen for a long time, but it's always nice to see it again.

You see a large, square room. It's completely different from where you were. This one was more… colorful. Vibrant. It had… life. You take your glance over to the set of things that were around this place. The room is fully packed with different and somewhat random items that don't seem to have a correlation with one another. There was a corner with a shelf filled with plants and stuff to grow them. On the floor, a large variety of toys and games were just laid. Finally, on the back wall, there was a neatly organized kitchen with an empty tray of what are now just crumbs.

You close the door behind you, making a loud screech before eventually closing completely, although it was slightly leaking from below into the yellow carpeted floor of this room. Ignoring that predicament, you stumble upon a group of people sitting in the center.

They all look like boys, except one is taller than the other two. The tallest one had darkish medium-length hair, brown eyes, and a darker skin tone. He was wearing pajamas with bright blue streaks on a white background. This design went from the t-shirt down to a pair of pants, seemingly matching the pattern across the two pieces of clothing. He has a set of cards in his hand, and with this set, a shining smile that couldn't be confused with anything else rather than “I am going to win”.

The other boy beside him looks like an almost exact copy of the other, aside from the fact that this one is significantly less tall. He is wearing a sleeveless shirt, patterned with an array of small tesselations of squares of different colors, with the design covering the garment. Then, a simple pair of shorts to complete the look. He has on one hand a basketball, which he is anxiously bouncing it on place as on his other hand he has another set of cards, but his face tells the room that he ain't exactly winning this round.

Finally, you see the other boy standing across both of them. He looks nothing like the other two. He has as well medium-light hair, blue eyes, and a lighter skin tone than the brothers. He is wearing a men's blue nightgown, making a flannel pattern that goes from the large shirt to the socks. He also is wearing a matching nightcap that instead of the usual pom-pom, had a small flower shaped piece of plush that was sticking out of it.

Like the rest of them, he has a set of cards in his hand, but, instead of blatantly showing their strategy through his face like his fellow players, he just has a warm smile darting from ear to ear as you can't tell what exactly is his deal in the game.

They seem to be having fun, without you. How… nice of them…

They eventually turn their faces over to you, as you close the door behind you and it makes a loud noise. The light-haired one seems to smile slightly more when he sees you. He stands up and quickly runs over to you while waving an arm.

“OMORI, You’re back!” The boy says with a bright twinkle in his eyes. He is now fully sprinting towards you while the other boys stand up and raise their hands to wave while slowly walking towards you.

You feel a sense of secureness as your friends finally see you. They are a part of you as you are a part of them. They have been your friends for… as long as you can remember. Actually, you remember to be here for as long as you can remember… How… odd.

You drift back from thinking when the one running is already in front of you. You look at BASIL, his expression of happiness enveloping his being as he has now caught up with you.

“Where have you been? We were worried sick!” Basil says while grabbing your hand and leading you over to the other ones, as you are both rapidly approaching both of them.

You eventually reunite with your friends as they say hello to you. You all sit down on the ground where they are playing as Kel, the shortest of the brothers, starts handing out cards to all of you.

A sense of normalcy begins to settle in as you join your friends in their game. The room feels warm and welcoming, a bright contrast from where you were just moments ago. As you all play, you dart your gaze across the room you are, now taking in more that is happening here. As you see this room almost every day, there are some things that weren't there the last time you came here. There appear to be some holes in the ground. From these holes are some… tentacles?

Why do they look so…familiar…

Anyways, you stop looking as you get shaken by the shoulder as HERO has his hand on it. ”OMORI? Are you there? Earth calling to OMORI…” He is saying, and it works as you go back to the game and put your card.

“Are you ok OMORI?” KEL says as he puts another card on the game. “You seem a little weird…”

“I'm sure he is okay KEL,” Said BASIL, who was sitting directly across from you. “Don't worry about him…”

“You know what we could do? MARI said that she would have a picnic yesterday. I'm sure that she already is there waiting. What if we go eat with her?” HERO says, while slowly raising himself from the ground and standing up, waiting for a response from either of you three.

“Heck yeah!” Kel says, while immediately springing in excitement and raising his hands in the air.

“I guess we could tell MARI that OMORI is back…” Basil says as he stands up again.

You stand up

“Then it's settled. You can lead the way OMORI. I don't really know the paths here… hehe…heh… heh…” Says HERO while scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, slowly getting quieter and quieter as he sees no reaction from you.

The three of them get behind you and start walking in line with you. You go towards the large staircase that is in the far corner of the room. You start going up them as, suddenly, you feel a force of some sort stop you right on your track. You turn your head over to the left and see the Yellow Cat. Has it always been there? You think to yourself before you feel a slight pull on your leg. It's a snake… Makes sense, always has been.

You turn your head down to see it, and, as you do, you feel a heavy weight on your pocket that wasn't there before. You put your hand in it, grab what's in, and pull it out to see a couple of clams. It's your allowance for today.

You nod to the snake as you put your hand back in your pocket and leave the clams in, the snake slithering downstairs onto the floor. You keep on going up until you reach the entryway. It's surprisingly bright, but you can make some grass and flowers from the other way of the doorway. You take a deep breath, with your friends following right behind you, and you go through the portal.

You see an enormous prairie. It is filled with grass blades, some of them being as tall as you if not taller. Flowers come in a wide range of colors and sizes. And, curiously, there aren't any trees. How weird…

As you walk through the tall grass, the sounds of the prairie fill your ears—The sound of your friends talking between them, the chirping of birds, and the distant hum of insects. It’s peaceful, but there’s an undercurrent of unease. Something doesn't feel right… although you don't know what it is exactly.

As you all are walking through the flora and fauna, you catch a glimpse of something just… staring at you all. Why? You try to squint to see properly, but when you accidentally close your eyes, nothing is there.

You eventually go up a mountain until you reach the edge of a small clearing. In the center of the clearing is a blanket laid out with a picnic basket, its contents neatly arranged. MARI is there, sitting on the blanket with her usual serene smile. She is wearing her normal attire as always. It's a white short-sleeve shirt with a black sleeveless sweater vest over it. Around it there is a small red ribbon tied around the collar of the shirt. She is also wearing a purple skirt that falls above the knees. Finally, she has black shoes with white socks.

She waves at you as you approach, her long black hair flowing in the breeze. There’s something about her presence that makes you feel at ease, but also… sad? The feeling is almost concerning, but you manage to shake it off.

There is also another person besides MARI. You see… AUBREY sitting, just basking on the cold breeze of the prairie. She seems to be enjoying her time by herself, but when she sees MARI waving from the corner of her eye, she turns her head over to the four of you, and she raises her hand and waves as well, although she does it a little bit more slow-paced, contrasting MARI’s happiness and excitement to see you all. AUBREY is just wearing a simple but colorful dress going all the way to her knees. She has a big, pink ribbon on her back that wraps around her waist as a belt and ties inside the ribbon itself. Her hair is loose on the air, the same way MARI’s is.

You get to the blanket and sit down with your friends, the picnic spread out before you. There are sandwiches, fruits, and MARI’s famous homemade cookies.

“Hey guys! How was the journey? I hope you are all hungry because I made a lot of food!” MARI says with a warm and welcoming voice, making you feel safe and secure every time you hear it. “Oh! OMORI, you’re back!” You see MARI gets up and runs over to hug you.

You let yourself fall into the embrace of her, it remembering you of when you were younger and she would hug you. It's the same comforting feeling. “Are you hurt!? What happened… You know what? it's ok, you can tell me later… I can tell you’re hungry!” She says while breaking the hug and gently caressing your cheek. You feel a slight sting when she does it, almost as if it was a Deja Vu of her already doing that, but with different circumstances, but that feeling fades away as everyone sits down and enjoys the picnic.

Everyone starts eating and chatting, the atmosphere is warm and cozy. Contrasting the room you were in a time ago. You can still feel the waves pushing you. MARI sees, you slightly concerned, and puts a hand on your shoulder.

“Hey OMORI… I'm glad you’re back and all but, do you feel okay? You have been acting weird since you arrived. You know, it's not nice to keep secrets from your older sister, so if you ever feel weird, please do tell me, you don't have to fight everything alone.” She says with a bright smile going ear to ear trying her best to make you feel better. You do feel a little bit better, but that sting behind your brain just doesn't go away that easily.

“Hmm, I know what you need…” MARI speaks up again from your monotone face just staring at the horizon. She grabs the picnic basket and slowly pulls out a small black box from it. She puts it in front of you, now you see it better.

It has a golden wrapping ribbon around it. You grab it, with your hands getting more and more tense for an… unknown reason. You start unwrapping the box, and with every moment that passes, you feel more and more anxious, making you feel, unwell. You think that your vision starts going gray, and, when you finally open the box, for a split second you can see a piece of paper.

YOU think it said “Missing_”. But, everything goes back to normal as you see inside a small pin. It's a small circle, not bigger than the size of a coin. Its design reminds you of a flower, specifically a white one. It has a small engraving going around the circumference. It says “I’ll always be by your side”.

You look up at her again, her eyes now waiting for your reaction. And, although you say nothing, you put it on. You immediately feel some of your worries go away as you wear it, with MARI now smiling again, proudly that her little trick worked.

She opens her mouth to talk again, but it is interrupted by a loud scream, followed by other screams at almost the same time. They all sound like they are from children, and they sound really scared. HERO immediately gets up, with BASIL following behind him.

You stand up.

Then KEL and AUBREY finally stand up as everyone gets confused by what they just heard.

“What was that?!” HERO says frantically, his voice slightly trembling from the surprise and fear that the scream caused.

“I…I think it was a scream” KEL says answering HERO’s question.

“It doesn't matter, we should go check…” AUBREY says in a quieter voice, almost as if she is trying her best to get her heard.

“You know what, good idea. C'mon OMORI, lead the way…” HERO finally states, giving you the lead since you know this way the best. Although you don't know why…

“I’ll stay here and wrap up everything, I don't want to disturb anyone so go on,” MARI says while she gets up and grabs her picnic basket while starting to load everything in it. “Don't forget the pin OMORI. Even though I'm not close to you, I’ll always be there when you look at it.”

“Wait...”

AUBREY says while he stands up slowly and almost falls back to the grass.

“I'm going too…” She says, now fully stood up and taking a more alert stance.

“Are you sure? We don't know what happened. You might get in danger…” Hero frantically says while everyone is waiting for her to go.

“I'm sure”

AUBREY joins your party

You and your friends run through the prairie until you reach what seems to be a park. It's packed full of your friends just running away from the center. You see that in the said center there is a certain someone wreaking havoc all over the playground area… again. You sprint through the people, evading the screams and the rubbish that is being thrown everywhere. Your friends have a harder time cruising through everything, especially BASIL, but finally, you and they reach the cause of all this chaos and havoc. It looks like a giant purple round rhinoceros. He seems to be wearing blue overalls with an angry look on his face.

“BOSS…”

HERO says under his breath, with a slight anger and disappointment brewing in his head. “I knew you had something to do with this… Leave everyone alone!”. He now shouts, with BOSS turning around after his screams and seeing him now in person.

“Heh? Oh… It's you… And you brought your friends…” BOSS says as he slowly turns to his side to finally see you and all of your friends well, each step he takes resonates hard into the ground, making him appear more menacing than, honestly, what he actually is.

“Knock it off, BOSS!” KEL shouts as well. “We told you to get out of this playground!”.

“Come On! You all know it's not TAG without some BODY SLAMMING!” He says as at the same time he pounces on a tree, breaking it on impact.

“Or you stop, or we will get you out of here by force!” BASIL shouts, making BOSS slightly chuckle and turn his body around to face you and your friends.

“I would like to see you tr-” BOSS says when, suddenly, he gets cut off by a basketball being thrown at him. It was KEL who threw it.

“Oh, so this is how it's going to be then… BRING IT ON!” BOSS shouts one final time before grabbing the top of another tree and breaking it in half on his knee. “Unless you all let me play, this place will be a BOSS-ONLY zone” And, with him saying that, he starts charging at you and your party.

The ground trembles as BOSS charges forward, with his eyes now locked on you and trying to go for an attack.

"OMORI, get ready!" HERO shouts, raising his arms defensively as he takes out the trusty spatula he always carries.

YOU nod as HERO says that with your feet swiftly moving from where you were and jumping to the side, evading BOSS and making him vulnerable from the back. BASIL takes the chance and dashes all the way to his disoriented body. With garden shears in hand, he slashes the side of BOSS, hurting him from the back and making a big scar all across it.

"Nice one BASIL!” AUBREY cheers from behind, making BASIL feel HAPPY after the recognition of his hard work. BASIL turns around and walks all the way to her to say thanks.

“Heh, that will teach you to not mess with us BOSS…” KEL annoys BOSS as he tries to get up. ”THAT. HURT. A. LOT.” BOSS says, with each word increasing in volume and tone as he now feels enraged that he can't do anything his own way. “THIS WILL TEACH YOU.” BOSS shouts with feeling as he charges directly at BASIL, who is now just walking proudly down the field.

“WAIT… LOOK OUT!” KEL shouts at BASIL frantically as, from behind him, BOSS stands up and clocks BASIL from behind, throwing him all the way back as he falls to the ground beside HERO.

“BASIL! Are you ok!?” HERO scurries over to him as, from a small jar he has in his pocket, he pulls out a COOKIE from it. “This is MARI’s recipe, they will make you feel better in no time…” He says as he takes one and passes it over to BASIL, with him eating it in almost an instant, and with that, feels better.

“Thanks…” BASIL groans as he still feels a little hurt.

YOU run to BOSS with a knife in hand, intending to make him pay for your friend. With a swift move, YOU slash him from the side, making him feel more disoriented and with that, tripping him on his own footing and making him slightly slower.

“OW!” BOSS screeches into the air, in, what actually sounds not angry, but rather, sad. He gets up and cracks his knuckles as he is looking directly at YOU…

"HERO, we need to slow him down!" KEL shouts over the noise, with his gaze focused on BOSS. He is too strong to take head-on, but maybe there’s a way to wear him out. KEL also throws his basketball directly into BOSS’s head, but it isn't as strong as it was before, so it barely scratches his face.

"On it!" HERO nods, then quickly goes through his bag, pulling out what seems to be a jumble of jacks. "Aubrey, let's try to knock him off balance! When he gets close, I'll throw these at him. Let's see if we can trip him up!"

Aubrey grins with determination in her eyes. "Got it!" She moves in closer, staying just out of BOSS’s reach, trying to taunt BOSS into following her for the trap to work. “C’mon BOSS, we all know you care about us in the end! Just admit you lost and we will get you into the park…”

BOSS’s face fumes with anger as he lets into the taunt, changes his sight from YOU into turns AUBREY, and charges furiously at her.

“OH, NO WAY I WILL LOSE TO YOU!” He screams, his anger now coming in every single word he says.

But, before he tries to do anything, HERO gets ready. As BOSS nears, he throws the jacks right under his feet. BOSS steps on it, his footing slipping just enough to make him stumble forward, his massive body crashing into the ground with a loud thud.

"Now!" BASIL shouts, looking at the opportunity. Aubrey is already in motion, jumping towards BOSS and swinging her plushie with all she has. The impact lands on BOSS’s face, and he lets out a bellow of pain.

BOSS struggles to get up, his strength is almost gone, but he’s not done yet. He cracks his knuckles while he stands up one final time, and it seems he is preparing for a powerful attack.

“Keep it up, everyone! We almost have him!” BASIL encourages, making everyone feel more at edge and alert to what is to come, almost as if they feel with more, energy.

“Everyone… NOW!” HERO shouts with all his might, reuniting everyone of your party for a powerful final blow. KEL rebounds his ball everywhere, AUBREY hits time and time again, HERO bonks with his spatula quickly, leaving marks, BASIL uses his shears to make cuts all along his body, and YOU make the final blow as you get up and run to his face, slashing across it, and with that, knocking him back.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, BOSS collapses to the ground, too exhausted to continue. He groans, rolling over onto his back, his energy now completely gone.

You and your friends stand around him, catching your breath. The sound of the heavy breathing of your friends making the playground not completely silent

OMORI’s party was victorious!

“Is… is it over?” BASIL asks, his voice trembling.

HERO nods, looking down at BOSS with a mix of pity and frustration. “Yeah… it’s over.”

BOSS lets out a long, defeated sigh. “You guys… are no fun…”

AUBREY puts down her plushie on the floor and crosses her arms. “You had this coming, BOSS. We told you to knock it off.”

BOSS grumbles something under his breath but doesn’t argue. He’s too tired to fight back, and the playground is safe once more.

HERO steps forward, offering BOSS a hand. “Come on, let’s get you out of here. Maybe next time, you’ll listen.”

BOSS hesitates, then grudgingly takes HERO’s hand. He starts to rise, with every inch of his body aching in pain, but he endures it to not appear weak, and he gets up.

“Ok fine, you guys won, I'll just leave the playground…” BOSS says with a defeated voice that, sounds almost sad.

“We will let you stay, under one simple rule. No. Body. Slamming.” HERO negotiates with BOSS, his tone of voice sympathizing with BOSS’s feelings.

“Wait… really? After everything I've done?” BOSS asks sounding very surprised to the turn of events he didn't see coming.

“Sure. It's just that simple rule…” HERO now finishes his statement.

“HERO… are you sure… he did bashed BASIL very hard…” KEL reciprocates HERO’s deal with BOSS.

“Its ok KEL. Actually, he didn't even hurt me. He just threw me far away….” BASIL says from the back as he is walking slightly limping towards all of you.

“Well, then BOSS… do you take the deal?” HERO finally asks the question.

“Sure” BOSS accepts as he stretches his hand, with HERO properly accepting, making a deal with BOSS and making the playground safer.

With the battle over, the playground begins to return to normal. The kids who left the playground now slowly start to come back, seeing that BOSS is no longer causing trouble. The sounds of laughter and play start to fill the air again.

HERO turns to the group, a soft smile on his face. "I guess that settles it, let's go back to MARI”

KEL nods enthusiastically. "Yeah! That sounds good. I could eat a whole batch of her cookies right now!”

HERO giggles at KEL’s answer and his tone “Sure you would, just leave some for us…”

As you all start walking away, YOU take a final glance towards the playground.

BOSS, now sitting on the sidelines, watches everyone play together. He still feels sore, both physically and emotionally, but there's a part of him that's glad he stayed. Maybe, just maybe, he can be part of this group, too.

YOU and your friends go through the same pathway you came from, with the slight sound of MARI humming over the background noises of the kids laughing in the park making it more and more obvious that you have arrived with MARI.

“Oh! You are back!” MARI shouts frantically over the sight of YOU and your party coming back to the area. “Are you ok? It was BOSS wasn't it? I-I should have known…”.

“Don't worry MARI, it's ok” HERO says while now fully getting on top of the hill where you all were taking a picnic, now everything is fully cleaned and put in the picnic basket. “We took care of it, it's over”.

“Oh well.. that does make me feel better… I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt… especially you~” MARI teases HERO with that face that she always uses for these occasions.

“MARI… not here…” HERO reciprocates, his face slightly red from the sudden opinion.

“On other news… My place is not so far from here…” AUBREY says, trying to spark another conversation

“Oh yeah, your new place down the pathway right?” KEL joins in, his question receiving a light nod from AUBREY.

“Well, it wouldn't be bad to hang out there for a while. I’ve had too much of the outside for today anyway…” HERO finalizes the conversation as everyone agrees to go to AUBREY’s house.

“Good, so then it settled. OMORI, why don't you go in front, I feel kinda exhausted so I would rather take my time from behind the line…” AUBREY looks at you, waiting for your response. YOU just go on and wait for everyone to form a line behind you.

You and your party go through the pathway that KEL previously mentioned, with it now getting slightly denser flora as the grass blades turn taller and taller than you are, eventually covering YOU completely in its shadows as it is as tall as a corn maze. But, eventually, you head on over to a small arched exit made of wood, its texture enduring and making it seem as though this zone has been through some stuff. After that though, you see a massive eggplant plush with a door in the center of it. The house has a weird shape, yes, but that gives it its charm. it has rounded windows, with two to the sides of the house and the final one on top of it.

“Here it is! My house!” AUBREY says excitedly, breaking the silence and bringing the attention of everyone over to the house, its roof is being slightly shined over by the light coming from above the grass maze.

“WOW!!” KEL shouts, straight running towards the decoration outside and touching everything to see what it does.

YOU and your friends go down with KEL and reach the doorway, where AUBREY promptly opens it and lets everyone in, before entering herself and closing the door on the way in.

The house seems to be neatly furnished, with tables, shelves, decorations, and even a chimney on the farther wall. YOU go to investigate the house, and, you seem to find a strange image.

It looks like a missing poster, with the title being scratched out, making it unable to be read. The photo of the person doesn't help either, as it is deeply blurred, almost like it was intentional. But, after focusing for a moment, YOU see it. YOU finally see it.

And then Sunny wakes up.

Chapter Text

OMORI… Are you there… What is it that you are holding? Who is that in the photo?

OMORi? Why don't you answer OMOri?

OMori?

Omori...

Sunny woke up from his dream-like paradise. he was drenched in a cold sweat as his pillow was slightly covered in it, leaving a cold sting on his hand as he was holding it up against the edge of the bed.

His eyes were bloodshot red. He couldn't sleep… again. It was almost as if something… was haunting him. Tormenting him. Watching his every single move. But… he has gotten used to it by now…

He sat on the frame of the mattress as the moonlight shined on the wooden flooring. It was late at night. The faint cold nighttime breeze comforted him as he rubbed his eyes with his hands, trying to get the sleep back to them.

He saw the shadow of the fan moving in a circular, uniform motion. After a while, he turned his head over to his computer and cell phone on the far table, right beside the small bookshelf. There just was the towering stack of boxes, one on top of another, covering a full bedroom wall. The room definitely had more stuff in the past, but not anymore. He just stayed there, waiting for… something to happen…

He eventually stood up from the bed and just stood there for a while, contemplating the light air coming from the window and the fan combined, when suddenly, a little red light coming from the phone shined brightly into the room, disrupting the moment of peace and barely startling Sunny. He stopped and walked over to his desk, now fully dry from the air, and looked at the phone inbox.

31 missing calls from “Mom <3”

Sunny felt a slight relief from it not being something truly urgent, but rather just his usual mother trying to talk to him. She was out of town for a couple of weeks, so she always had that urge to try to keep up contact with him since he was home alone, but it was to no avail, so she eventually stopped and just left voice notes instead, one each morning.

Click

Sunny clicked the greenlit button that was ringing and the light eventually stopped before it turned into a dim, flickering deep green light while the speaker started making a crushing sound. The phone has definitely seen better days, but it still works. The message eventually clears, and Sunny starts to hear a familiar voice, his mother's voice:

"Hey Sunny, it's Mom. I know we haven't talked in a while but I'm just checking in on how you have been. Have you been eating properly? I know there wasn't a lot in the fridge when I left and I'm sorry for that, but I think there are some great deals around here, I just know it, and you know how I can't resist a good bargain!

Heheh…

Heh…

…

Anyway... I know moving to a new place can be a little uneasy right now, but I think a change of scenery will be positive for the two of us. Also, I know you haven't talked to anyone in a while, but you might want to say goodbye to your old friends before we leave. BASIL (I think that was his name) has been trying hard to get ahold of you ever since we put our house up for sale. He's been calling us every week for the past few months! He seems a little lonely... Maybe you should pay him a visit, it would hurt a try, at least once. In any case, that's it for now! Remember that Mom loves you! Bye, honey!"

Bzzt...

BASIL.

BASil.

Basil.

Sunny hadn't heard that name in a while. What once he could remember as nothing more than a happy friend, is now just a memory of what once was. He put the phone box back down on the desk before he paused in silence. The name echoed in his mind, like a long-forgotten song.

Sunny stood there for a moment, staring blankly at the floor. The red light from his phone flickered once more before it finally died out, leaving the room in eerie stillness, except for the soft hum of the ceiling fan until…

Gurgle…

Sunny was hungry.

He took away into the room, fully getting in the eeriness of it aside from the trickle of light that came from the windowpane. He slowly crept towards the doorknob, with each step getting slightly louder than the other one as he came to realize he didn't have to do it silently to wake up his Mom before her shift, mainly because she wasn't there. He came in contact with the cold metal that he grasped with his hands, and he slowly turned it clockwise.

Creak…

Sunny opened the door in a very careful manner, almost as if not trying to wake anyone up. He closed it the same way before eventually going to the…

the…

the stairs…

He saw it. He hadn't seen it in a while. His old friend, the Staircase. He walked slowly, with the floorboard of the stairs knocking and creaking with each step. He tried to calm down, but it was to no avail. He started breathing faster and faster, but at the same time, he just couldn't resist as he kept going.

Gurgle...

The hunger was growing more and more as Sunny was going down and down, but the stairway kept going. It seemed like it was going on forever, with every step making it longer, to the point that not even he could see the floor below. And, as the bottom started to feel like it was going straight into an endless void he started seeing weird hands crawling up the wall. They almost felt like breathing animals, trying to desperately escape from something that was chasing them.

But, as Sunny persevered and descended down, more and more did it appear that what looked like the hands were coming straight from nothingness, it looked rather like they were… trying to grab something. They weren't trying to escape but rather, not let something escape.

ASunny started to see more and more of these twisted, bodyless hands, until he stepped on what felt like a flat metal object. And, upon bending down to try and grab it, he saw that it was a kitchen knife. He picked it put from the wooden stairs before, out of nowhere, there was a slight glow coming from the bed of the stairs.

As he tried to go down more and more, he realized that it wasn't a glow, but rather a white, giant object that, although seemed very far, it was rapidly getting closer and closer. He quickly stood up, tripping slightly from the sudden scare, and started running up the stairs. He tried his best to outrun this monstrosity, but it was too far late as what seemed to be a giant hand eventually caught up to him. But, the hand abruptly stooped in its tracks, and as Sunny looked behind him and then looked up, he saw it.

A giant pair of piercing white eyes and a menacing smile that was right below them.

The face seemed to be on the ceiling, but it appeared to be staying eerily still, almost as if it were just a horrific image on a black canvas. The smile eventually grew a little bit wider before the hands slowly came crawling from the staircase, trying to chase Sunny as he tried to escape.

But then, the hands stopped. Everything stopped, including Sunny. He started hearing a faint voice coming from the top. Although the mouth of the beast was not moving, he could almost make out the words that presumably, were coming from it.

???: “Sunny? Take a deep breath… It's not as scary as you think. Remember, all you need to do is CALM DOWN.”

And, as the voice faded away, Sunny could just feel a slight relief for some reason. Then more, and more, and he started to feel less and less afraid as the hands slowly disappeared one by one, until, eventually, even the giant white hand that was chasing him, revealed the bottom of the staircase. But, the only thing that didn't fade away was that face on the ceiling. Sunny just stood still watching it from below. It was weirdly comforting in a way, almost as if it was someone that he knew once, and it felt as if seeing a long-forgotten friend after a very long time.

He waved at the face, but it just stood dead still. Not a single movement in sight was made from both before eventually, Sunny reached the bottom.

Although the only thing he noticed was that the eyes were following his every movement, when he went away into the kitchen and slowly came back to the living room, he no longer saw a giant face looking at him, but rather just the normal wooden tiled roof.

Sunny was no longer afraid of heights

As he went down the corridor, he could only think of one thing, and that thing was-

Gurgle...

food.

As he went to open the fridge, the first thing he saw on the door was a little sticky note hanging there. He took it and read in his mind:

”Hey honey!, I know I didn't leave you a lot of food, but I think this will be enough for a week. Please make sure to ration it and, just in case, I left you 50$ on the countertop. Just in case you want a little treat and hey! you can even invite your friends over! Well, this note is getting quite long and there is not so much space left, so bye! XOXO”

-Mom

He opened the fridge door to reveal only a well-cooked steak in the center. He took it out and put it on the microwave, with the slight hum of said making him feel a little uneasy. He then opened a cabinet next to him and pulled out a steak knife. He eventually pulled the steak out of the microwave and, with knife and fork in hand, he just started devouring the piece of meat.

After a while, Sunny finished, but, he didn't feel quite right. He started to feel dizzy as he put the dirty dishes in the sink and went for a glass to put it by the cold dispenser that the fridge had outside the door. He pushed the button that the mechanism had above, and just like that, water started pouring into the glass slowly. When he pressed the button again to stop the machine, he instantly drank every single droplet of water that the glass had, leaving it empty and right on top of the countertop, but the dizziness didn't fade away, and in fact, it got worse.

A wave of nausea hit him like a punch. He dashed right through the house and up the stairs, almost tripping on the way, opened the doorknob of the bathroom, went right up to the toilet, and as his stomach couldn't hold it anymore, he vomited. When he finished, he stood up, slightly better after the bad dinner he just had, and flushed the toilet, watching the whirlpool of it go away.

As the swirling water disappeared, Sunny stood up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. The dizziness had subsided slightly, but the sick feeling lingered in the pit of his stomach. Sunny turned on the tap, splashing cold water on his face, trying to distract himself from anything else. He needed to stay present, needed to ignore it, but it was getting harder and harder the more time passed by. Whenever he closed his eyes, that face appeared. Those piercing eyes, that grin. And every time, it felt more real, as if it was waiting for him at the corner of his eye. But when he looked up again from the sink, all he could see was his own, expressionless face.

He dried his face with a towel, exhaled slowly, and left the bathroom. As he stepped back into the hallway, the house felt… different. Although he only was in the bathroom for 5 minutes or so, the atmosphere changed to almost completely quiet. The sound of the faint clock ticking was the only thing that made it somewhat comforting, but aside from that, nothing.

Knock knock

As Sunny was on the verge of entering his own room, he heard a knock come from the main door. But… who could be knocking this late? The neighborhood was quiet. It always was. No one ever came by, especially not at this hour. But the knocking continued, persistent and slow, like it knew he was there, waiting for him to answer. He stepped to the edge of the staircase, glancing down into the dark wooden floor below. The front door was barely visible in the dim light. Another knock sounded, louder this time.

Sunny’s breath hitched as the knocking became more constant and louder, gripping the railing. Something felt… off. His legs trembled. The dizzy feeling returned, creeping up from his own gut into his head, making him more anxious as he started to hear a voice…

“Hey, SUNNY! It's me, MARI! I'm finally back home, but I forgot my keys...Could you open the door for me?”

Sunny’s body froze as he heard that voice. The faint whisper that he had heard before. The same one that helped him to CALM DOWN was right outside of his door. The knocking became more frantic as the voice spoke up again, soft but demanding.

"Sunny? It's me, Mari. I'm locked out. Please, open the door."

Sunny's heart pounded in his chest. His mind started to whirl. Mari. That voice. That name. It was impossible. Mari couldn't be at the door. She couldn't be back. His hand trembled as he gripped the railing, staring down at the shadowy figure behind the slight glow behind the door.

As he stepped down the stairway, sweat started to drip down his temple.

"Sunny! Are you there?"

The voice grew more insistent.

"Please, just let me in. I know you're scared, but everything is fine now. It's just me. Your sister."

His sister.

His knees threatened to give out, but he remained on his way down, eyes locked on the door. He couldn’t breathe. The voice was… it was too familiar, too real to be a trick. Yet, a deep part of him knew this wasn’t right. Mari wasn’t supposed to be there.

The knocking stopped. The silence was sudden, deafening.

Then, the voice came again, softer this time.

"Sunny… please… don’t leave me out here."

He took his final step forward as he was now at the bottom of the stairs, his body trembling as the room seemed to close in around him.

"I need you, SUNNY. Please... open the door."

His breath caught in his throat. He knew he shouldn't. He couldn't, but something about the voice made him keep going on. There was something in the way she said his name, the way it lured him closer, promising comfort, reunion. But the same gut feeling that had haunted him earlier screamed for him to stay away.

"SUNNY… don’t leave me alone again…"

The voice was barely above a whisper now.

Sunny squeezed his eyes shut, his mind racing back to that day, that terrible day when Mari...

But, he couldn't back down, not now.

The door creaked open, revealing nothing but pitch-black darkness aside from the neighboring houses. No figure, no familiar face. Just emptiness. The soft breeze of the night knocked against his skin, chilling him slightly. Sunny’s pulse quickened, and a heavy weight sank into his chest.

But then, from within the void, a twisted, distorted voice sounded:

"Sunny..."

His heart stopped. The voice was no longer soft. It was different, malicious. The comforting warmth of his sister’s voice had twisted into something unrecognizable. Something horrifying.

Before he could react, a grotesque figure came out from the darkness. a warped version of Mari, with hollow eyes and a distorted smile stretched far too wide downwards. It was gut-wrenching, horrifying, scarred.

Sunny stumbled backward, slamming the door with a loud thud. His hands trembled violently as he pressed his back against the door, trying to catch his breath. The house fell silent once more. Sunny stood frozen in front of the door, breath shaky, waiting for something to happen.

Finally, his body gave in. Exhaustion overtook him as he went back up the stairs, each step feeling heavier than the last. His vision blurred, his head pounded, but somehow, he made it back to his room. He collapsed onto the bed, the mattress creaking beneath his weight. His mind was still racing, but his body was too tired to keep up.

Sunny closed his eyes, trying to calm his breathing, trying to push the nightmare away.

But in the corner of the room, barely visible in the dim light, those piercing white eyes stared back at him.

Waiting… for something to happen.

Chapter Text

You find yourself seated in the center of a square room. The room doesn't have any windows, only a lightbulb hanging faintly from the ceiling, flickering from time to time. There is a faint outline of a door, with only the doorknob being noticeable as the walls are covered in what looked like a white wallpaper of flowers and hands, aged by the passage of time, looking more like a yellowish layer covered slightly with soot and cobwebs.

As you look around this room, there is nothing much to see. The only thing that stands out is a whiteboard mounted on the wall in front of you, and, when you turn your head to look back to the back wall, a small reflection from the lightbulb makes you notice what seems to be a projector mounted on the ceiling, although it is turned off.

You see that, even though it feels like it, there is nothing that ties you down to the chair, so, as you stand up and start looking around, a small cable falls down a hatch right besides the lightbulb. It appeared to be embedded with small metal balls, one after the other like a chain, with a small pendant hanging from the lowest end, in which was a small lightbulb carved on it.

You pull down the cable when in a sudden flash the room goes completely dark, but not for long before the projector starts making a sound, and eventually, it starts playing something.

It appears to be someone walking down a corridor holding a camera, which is being used to record the imagery. The walls in the video looked exactly like the room you are in, although much more vibrant and new. After walking for what felt like an eternity, the picture finally changes, where it instead shows two shadowy figures next to each other. The taller figure with long hair was sitting on a piano bench, while the shorter and more boy-like was standing right next to it, holding a violin and bow in hand.

They start playing, and although you can't even hear what they are doing, you can almost feel it. Almost as if you were there.

Almost as if you were… with them.

As these thoughts start to cross your mind, you take a moment to ponder over how it felt so familiar. All these thoughts, all these feelings that you shouldn't have. Why are you feeling this way? For all you know, these are just two people playing instruments. But, there is something else… you feel it crawling on your back, like sins demanding a payback for what you have done.

But then, the tape suddenly comes to an abrupt ending as the projector stops making the slight humming sound. You focus your sight back again on the now-darkened room, fully taking in all of the details it has to offer. The small spider crawling in one of the corners, the coil inside the lightbulb, the small entrance from which the projector was able to show the image, everything.

As your eyes adjust to the dim light, you hear the faintest sound. A knock. It’s distant, muffled, as though it’s from far away. The knock repeats, steady and rhythmic, growing louder with each hit.

You stand up, arms slightly trembling, and approach the door. The only possible exit from this strange room. Your steps feel heavy, and your mind feels clouded with the tape that you saw mere minutes ago. When your hand reaches for the doorknob, a shock goes from your spine through your palm. You hesitate. You turn open the doorknob, only to feel something in your mind saying

“Not yet”.

The knock comes again, this time more urgent. It’s not coming from the door in front of you, though. It’s coming from behind.

Turning around, your gaze falls on the blank whiteboard. The surface ripples faintly, as though it were water instead of solid material. A dark figure begins to emerge from its void. A distorted silhouette, hunched and menacing. You take a step back, but the room itself seems to shrink around you. The projector flickers on again, this time casting the room in a deep, sickly red.

The shadowy figure twists its head toward you. Two glowing white dots stare back from where its eyes should be, and an inhumane neck wraps around you, making the head the only thing you see, and then it speaks in a voice that is simultaneously too loud and too soft, a sound that rings in your ears:

"Why did you leave me?"

The question cuts through you like a blade. You feel yourself losing consciousness as the snake-like body of the creature constricts your neck, making you unable to breathe. The room dissolves into nothingness, but then, a sudden splash of cold water shocks you back into consciousness.

You open your eyes and find yourself back in the lake room, the familiar expanse making you go back to reality. This time, though, it doesn’t feel so calm. The water ripples violently, and the door ahead trembles on its hinges.

You step forward and push through the door. And before you knew it, you find yourself in the familiar, purple room filled with colors, but this time, it didn't look so vibrant, although it had all the things you remember from last time, it was missing something. You look at the center, where the three famili-

“OOOMMOORRIIII!”

A boy goes cruising through the room center towards you, where he immediately embraces your body into a warm hug as you close the door behind, with only the faint ruffle of the water resounding still on your mind.

“Where have you been!?” Basil says while looking up to your face as he hugs you, with other two people following right behind him.

“We have been worried sick!” Hero says as he is now in front of you while Basil slowly breaks the hug. “We need to go, quick”.

You nod slightly your head as they tell you everything. They seem to be… anxious about something. But before you know it, you find yourself leading the group yet again. The familiar snake finds its way up to the stairs, and after a small chat, you feel yet again that weight suddenly appeared inside your pockets. Finally, you exit through the bright white entrance into the Vast Forest.

The Vast Forest was quiet, save for the occasional rustling of leaves and the wind.

“She’s not here…,”

Kel said at last, a hint of frustration in his voice as they regrouped at the forest’s edge.

“I asked Mari, and she didn't even know she was gone. She thought we were still at her house.” Hero says, panting and huffing as slight trickles of sweat fall from his chin into the grass.

“We need to think. Where would Aubrey go?”

Then, you glanced upward, your eyes catching the faint outline of the stairs to Otherworld, just barely visible through the space expanse.

“Otherworld,”

Kel murmured. “Like, think about it. If she isn't here, then she has to be somewhere that isn't the forest.”

”Wouldnt hurt to try,” Hero says as he slowly regains his breath, with his face going back to its original color after the red coloration.

“But, OMORI is scared of stairs. Are you sure you will be okay?” Basil looks back at you, his eyes filled with worry. But after seeing yours, with slight determination in order to find your friend, he turns back.

“I'm sure he will be okay Basil. We have been through worse” Kel reassures, his stance relieving the air around the conversation a little.

“Well, we better get going then,” Hero says as the three of them make a line behind you, following your path to the stairs.

When they reached the base of the stairs leading to Otherworld, their path was abruptly cut off. The what-once was a sturdy ladder that went into the sky was now broken, with a massive boulder lying nearby, and only faint splinters of wood floating around.

“Oh no,” Basil said, staring at the disaster. “How are we supposed to get up there now?!”

Before anyone could answer, a loud mechanical hum cut the air. They turned to see a fleet of drones descending from the sky, their pinchers grabbing trash bins scattered across the forest. The drones began lifting the bins upwards toward Otherworld.

“Bingo” Hero says excitedly as he runs through and gets inside a large, almost empty metal trash bin, waving for the others to go up as well. And, with slight hesitation, you all follow right behind him.

“Never thought I would fly in one of these,” Kel exclaims, the slightly cramped feeling of being inside a trash bin with other four people filling his mind. Then, In a quick manner, a drone’s pinchers grabbed onto the bin, and with a sudden lurch, they were up and flying.

The ride is shaky and tense. Below them, the Vast Forest shrinks into a green blur, and above, the moon that was Otherworld came into view.

“What… exactly are these?” Basil asks, his voice sounding slightly scared of their current situation.

“They added them not so long ago. They are called Trash Collectors. Basically, they are drones that go through every trash bin that exists and take the rubbish up to the Scrapyard, where it is transformed into energy for Otherworld. Kinda revolutionary engineering if you ask m-”

“Yeah yeah okay we get it, you’re smart.” Kel interrupts Hero mid-explanation, and you can see the faint look of annoyance on his face. “So, basically, robots that take trash.”

“Well, they are not just that, but stupidness is something you are known for so…” Hero says with a slight sarcastic tone.

“I'm not Stupid!” Kel reciprocates, punching Hero faintly in his left shoulder.

But, before they can keep going, the argument between Hero and Kel abruptly halts as the drone carrying them shifts violently. A low hum begins to sound louder and louder, and with a red light blinking, they know that they have reached the top. The drone deposits the bin with a metallic clunk, and the group scrambles out, brushing off bits of trash.

“Well… I guess we’re here.” Hero exclaims with a slight fear of not truly knowing where they are.

What they were looking at was not the moonlit Otherworld that they knew once before, instead they just stood in a massive conveyor belt that went through a rusty, closed gateway that said on a title on top:

”The Scrapyard. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle!”

In a creak, the gate opens on its own, revealing the sprawling junkyard inside. Its filled to the brim with trash thrown around everywhere, workers seem to be recollecting it and throwing it into the trash bins. Walking down the giant conveyor belt that was moving into the inside of the building, you see what can only be described as one big warehouse, divided only by smaller square buildings connecting to the central rectangular station. The only entryways that you see are these massive garage-like doors that are opened to the outside with other conveyor belts similar to the one you all are. There are giant pipes coming out of the top of the whole operation, making a thick, grey smoke that fills the whole outdoor part of the Scrapyard.

“So uhh… where are we going now?” Kel asks as he looks at the array of machinery and contraptions that fill the inside of the central warehouse.

“Beats me. Maybe we should get inside and ask someone if they have seen her?”

Hero asks, but before you and your friends get a chance to choose the course of action, the conveyor belt sprawls up and starts making a loud mechanic sound, and as gears turn, it starts to move.

“Well, let's just stay here and wait to get inside,” Hero says as all of you sit down and “enjoy” the trip.

After a while, you get inside the main building, or at least the biggest one. It could only be described as one giant warehouse. Smaller conveyor belts pathing from the main one as small gates have different divisions, each one with a small sign that identifies the type of trash that goes there. There are catwalks going from one side of the building to the other, and finally, what looks like a giant storage at the back end of the building. The only remarkable thing is that, although the lights are on, all of the workers seem to be stopped in time, almost as if they were controlled.

“Wow! It's huge!” Kel says to the air, his gaping gaze absorbing the size of the building.

“Hero, are you sure this place is safe…?” Basil asks timidly, his eyes darting to what look like workers.

“Absolutely not, so let's get moving.” Hero says “ Excuse me, sir, you haven't happened to see a small girl running around here have you?”

Then, in a swift motion, the worker moves its hand and grabs Hero’s wrist, the cold and hard feeling almost making it feel like… it's metallic.

“Ehh, I'm sorry but could you leave my hand?” Hero says as he is trying to nudge his hand of the grasp of the other.

“I… Really think we should g-” Basil was saying as he gets caught off by the lights suddenly turning off, and in a couple of seconds, all of the worker’s heads are turned, looking directly at you and your friends. While it is dark, Hero gets pushed and is right behind you.

“Oh crap,” Kel says as, in the blink of an eye, the sound of machinery fills the room. It looked like the workers started moving in unison, almost as if they were programmed, and they started moving towards you like soldiers on command.

As the workers close in, their synchronized movements echo like drumbeats in the massive chamber. Kel’s shout is the only thing that snaps the group into action.

“RUN!”

The four of you dash down towards the nearest conveyor belt, dodging piles of trash and machinery along the way. The air starts to fill with the scent of oil and smoke, and the mechanical clanking of the workers’ feet follows closely behind.

“Up there! Quick!” Hero shouts, pointing to a grated vent high up on the wall. Without hesitation, Kel pushes down a stack of cardboard boxes, making a makeshift staircase that leads to the entrance.

“I don’t think they can climb!” Basil says, his voice trembling as he climbs after Kel.

You follow them quickly after, and Hero can't help but notice that your composure is surprisingly normal for the current situation.

But just as he enters the vent, the workers reach the stack of boxes. Instead of climbing, they begin to dismantle the pile with alarming precision. You all crawl as fast as you can, the narrow space making every movement feel eerie.

The ventilation system branches into multiple paths, but you swiftly move with ease through them, almost as if this were something you did on your daily basis. The sound of pursuit fades, replaced by the hum of the facility’s machinery reverberating through the walls.

“I… huff I think we lost them…” Kel says as he stops for a moment and lays flat in the claustrophobic space “I… puff I need some air”

And, as you stop your movement to rest for a while and catch your breath, you can't help but hear a faint creak coming from below. And it starts getting louder, and louder, and louder and louder until eventually…

CRASH

You feel the air leave your lungs in a quick, sudden fall as you feel the weight of a familiar person on top of you. “CAN'T WE EVER CATCH A BREAK?!” Kel screams into the darkness of the room, and, as you see upwards, the vent wasn't able to carry the weight of the 4 of you, so it broke.

You push Kel off of you, and as all of you get up, scraping some of the rubble and metal from the fall, your gaze darts toward the room. The only light source that you see immediately is a giant fireplace at the far back. In front of it, there are three green chairs, set up in a way that they are facing towards the fireplace, with the one in the center being slightly covered by a very organized wooden desk. On the side walls, you see large paintings of what look like humanoids, with the only significant trait being that each one had a bucket with a green recycling symbol in the center. The design of the room is completely different from the rest of the factory.

The white tiles from the walls look nauseating, almost as if they were purposely made to take out as much color as possible from the room. The same tiles extend downwards to the floor, where only a long, red carpet with yellow accents is visible, which goes all the way down towards the familiar desk. As you look behind you, the double door seems to be locked with a very big golden padlock.

”Where… are we?” Basil asks precariously

“Wherever we are… we can't get out” Kel answers, trying to pull out the padlock to see if it can somehow break from his sheer force. “We’re locked inside”

“We might as well just look around here, see if there is a key…” Hero says slightly worried, with the four of you quickly advancing through the carpet all the way to the desk.

You see a simple, green key above the desk, but before you are able to take it, a deep mechanical whirl fills the room. The three chairs in front of you begin to shift, creaking like rusted hinges. Then, three figures rise from their seats in unison.

They are humanoid in shape but unmistakably artificial. Their heads are smooth, metal buckets, each one engraved with a bright green recycling symbol. Their bodies are constructed from repurposed scrap metal, their joints creaking with age. Despite their unnatural appearance, their presence feels like something almost… lifelike.

The one in the center takes a single step forward, its voice crackling like a broken speaker.

“WHO DARES DISRUPT THE SACRED PROCESS?”

The other two move in sync with the first one, following what feels like their leader. Their voices merge into one, monotone tone.

“REDUCE.”

“REUSE.”

“RECYCLE.”

A cold realization settles in your mind. These aren’t just machines. They are the enforcers of the scrapyard’s laws.

And you are an intruder.

The three figures raise their arms, their hands twisting into sharp, claw-like drills made of shredded metal and wire. The flames behind them flicker wildly, casting enormous shadows against the tiled walls. The air starts to fill with smoke and the scent of burning rubber.

Then, without warning…

They jump towards the four of you.

The center one, who has a nametag that says REM, pounces first. Its arms extend unnaturally, stretching like liquid metal as it attempts to crush you under its sheer weight. You dodge just in time, rolling across the cold floor as its limbs slam into the ground, leaving deep cracks where you were standing.

Kel leaps forward, his basketball clenched between his hands. “Oh, so THAT’S how it’s gonna be?”

He throws the ball with great force towards the left figure, who has a nametag that says REMMY, but the moment it makes contact, the machine barely moves. Instead, it absorbs the impact, the metal plates in its body compressing like a spring before suddenly impacting outward, sending Kel’s ball flying backward, hitting him on the way.

“Ugh—KEL!” Hero rushes over to help, but the final figure with a nametag that says REMMINGTON is already on him. It moves like liquid, its body shifting and twisting as it reforms into new shapes. Its arm morphs into a sawblade, spinning rapidly as it slashes down.

Hero barely blocks in time with his spatula, gritting his teeth as his arms tremble. “They’re adapting to us! Be careful!”

Basil clutches his hands to his chest, backing away as REM approaches him. This one moves by thinking, each step measured and precise. It carries an enormous hammer crafted from discarded pipes and gears, dragging it along the ground before swinging it upward in an arc.

Basil dodges out of the way as he runs up to REM, his hammer stuck in the ground from the sheer pressure, and with shears in hand, he slashes its side, making the first real contact as cables start to fickle and spark from the cut.

You grip your knife tighter. The weight of it feels heavier than usual. You take the opportunity and strike. Ducking under REMMY’s next attack, you slash at its side, carving a jagged wound through its metal plating. It recoils, its body hissing as a thick, black substance leaks from within.

Hero follows up by striking REMMY by thrusting his spatula into its core, disrupting its motion. Kel, now back on his feet, grins. “Alright, so you CAN be hit!” He grabs his ball from the ground and throws it wildly at REMMINGTON, landing a solid hit that makes the machine stagger backward and lose its control.

But they don’t go down easily.

REM punishes by slamming its massive arms into the ground, sending shockwaves through the room. The tremors throw you and your friends off balance, giving REMMY the opening it needs to wrap its shifting limbs around Hero, constricting him like a snake.

“G-Gah! Let—go—!” Hero struggles, his movements slowing as REMMY begins to drain his strength, the metal around him tightening like an iron grip.

Kel lets out a sharp whistle. “Hey, junk-for-brains! Betcha can’t catch me!” He dashes forward while ANNOYING REMMINGTON, hurling a rock at its head. It turns its gaze toward him, releasing Hero just long enough for him to escape.

Basil, who had been on a stand off with REM, runs towards the desk. “I… I can help too!” He takes a deep breath and dashes with great speed, grabbing a pair of JACKS sitting on its surface. Then, without hesitation, he hurls it at REMMY.

The JACKS fall on the ground before it, and with its gaze stuck on You, it accidentally trips on them, falling backward. HERO lunges forward, striking his spatula straight into REMMY’s core. Its body jerks violently before collapsing into a pile of twitching metal and junk.

One down.

Kel, seeing the opening, leaps onto REMMINGTON’s back and begins REBOUNDING his basketball with reckless motion. “I HATE YOUR STUPID, SMUG FACE!” He lands a particularly strong blow to its bucket head, sending it flying to the floor. Sparks fly as its circuits overload, and with a final motion, it stops moving.

Two down.

Only REM remains. Its movements become more erratic, its voice glitching into fragments of broken speech. “MUST… PRESERVE… ORDER… YOU… DO NOT… BELONG…”

But you’re already moving.

With a final sprint, you leap onto its massive form, driving your knife deep into the center of its chest as you HACK AWAY all over its central computer. It lets out a deafening mechanical screech, flailing wildly, but you hold on, twisting the blade deeper until…

CRACK

The machine convulses one last time before its limbs go down. Its glowing eyes flicker, then fade into darkness.

Three down.

The battle is over.

OMORI’s party was victorious!

The silence that follows is deafening

.

Basil is breathing heavily, his hands holding his shears tightly. Hero wipes sweat from his forehead, his body aching from the fight. Kel, despite everything, still manages a grin. “Hah… We actually did it!”

You step back, your heart still pounding. The flames in the fireplace crackle softly, like a soft hum after an endless wreckage.

Then, the room rumbles.

The door behind you unlocks with a loud click.

No time to celebrate.

You glance toward the open doorway.

Somewhere beyond it, Aubrey is waiting.

And without a word, you take the first step forward.

The door leads to a series of corridors, each one darker than the last. The walls vibrate with a low hum, as if the very structure is alive. Your footsteps echo through the empty halls, each step louder because of the metallic surfaces surrounding you.

"We should stick together," Hero whispers, his voice barely audible over the sounds of machinery.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity of walking, you emerge into Otherworld. The familiar sight of the moon-lit landscape before you, the stars going through the purple sky. But something feels... wrong. The air is thicker, heavier than usual.

That's when you see it.

A shadow comes across your vision. unmistakably Aubrey's SILHOUETTE. Without hesitation, you start running, following the dark figure as it goes between the trees and bushes.

"OMORI, wait!" Basil calls out behind you, but his voice sounds distant.

"We can't follow him in there," Hero's voice carries faintly. "The forest is too dense. We'll get lost..."

But you don't stop. You can't stop. The shadow basically pleads you to continue forward, leading you deeper into the forest. As you run, strange objects begin appearing in your path. First, a worn picnic basket. Next, a collection of pinwheels stuck in the ground, their colorful frames spinning in the breeze. The memories hit you like waves, each one stronger than the last.

Sheet music pages flutter past, carried by an ethereal wind. A violin bow snapped in half. A piano key, stained black with age.

The shadow leads you to an enormous barn, its wooden structure reaching impossibly high into the sky. Red light comes through the cracks between boards. The shadow opens the door and goes inside the barn, where You follow right behind it. After, it steps into a massive picture frame of what looks like a beach.

You move forward without hesitation. As you step through the frame, reality warps around You. You find yourself in a long, pitch-black corridor. Your footsteps resound as you run, the darkness pressing in from all sides.

At the end of the corridor, a single picture frame hangs on the wall. Inside it, a family portrait, but the faces have been violently scratched out, leaving only black marks where smiles once were. In front of the portrait stands a sheet music stand, its surface covered in musical notes that have been scribbled with thick black marks.

The air starts to get cold. The scratches in the portrait begin to move, to pulsate. And then, SOMETHING emerges from the frame.

You run.

Your heart pounds against your ribs as you flee back through the corridor,

SOMETHING pursuing close behind. You can feel its presence.

A weight of guilt.

Of grief.

Of everything you've tried to forget. It reaches for you with hands made of shadow and memory.

Closer.

Closer.

Closer.

Until finally...

Darkness.

Sunny’s eyes snapped open. Sunlight came down through his bedroom window, the familiar sight of the ceiling fan slowly spinning above. Morning had come, and with that, it marked the start of… nothing special.

Until a gentle knock on the front door breaks the silence. It was different from the one from last night, sounding lighter, almost like it was… with hesitation. Sunny opened his bedroom door and quickly darted down the stairs, where he heard yet again the knock. He finally reached the door, and heard a voice. One that he knew very well…

"Hey, Sunny..." A familiar voice, aged by time calls out. "It's me...”

“BASIL...”

Chapter Text

Silence.

Such an interesting and simple word for such a complex thing.

Just imagine it—sitting atop a hill, watching birds dance in the sky.

The gentle winter breeze would brush against my face, embracing me as if I belonged to it.

And for a moment, I would be one with the wind.

Don't you think?

...

Sometimes, I can still feel you. Like you never left. Like you're just behind me, just out of reach.

But other times, you're gone. Vanished.

And those times... those are the worst.

...

Why did you leave?

...

You didn't have to.

You shouldn’t have had to.

...

When I talk to you, I feel like you're still here.

You're still here... right?

...

I know you're not real. But I like to think you are.

Is that bad?

...

Is that wrong?

...

Is it something I shouldn't do?

...

Should I stop?

...

I don’t want to stop.

You wouldn’t leave me, too… right?

...

Yeah. You wouldn’t.

You never would.

The smell of rotting wood seeps into your senses before you even open your eyes.

You stir in bed, the damp sheets clinging to your skin. The wooden boards beneath your mattress groan under the weight of your restless body, a sound you’ve grown used to over the years.

As the red-lighted alarm clock says

its 1:43 am

You sit up, squinting through the night. A broken screen of an old television reflects your image, warped and distorted. You stare at yourself in the dark glass. Pale skin and tangled hair flowing down to the floor like vines.

A mess.

A shadow shifts behind you.

You freeze.

It hums softly with a feminine voice, the melody as familiar as it is distant.

You know better than to turn around.

Instead, you watch through the broken reflection.

The figure stands just beyond the edge of the light, its body dripping with water that never dries. Algae clings to its tangled strands of hair, its single eye peering through the mess, locked onto you. The sound of wet footsteps squelches against the floorboards.

Following you.

Always following you.

You take a deep breath. Push yourself to your feet.

When you move, so does it.

But it never gets closer.

Never quite touches you.

And it never stops smiling.

The rope ladder creaks as you descend into the house below.

The air is thick, humid, suffocating. The scent of spilled alcohol and decay mixes with the damp wood, coating your lungs as you step down.

The usual scene greets you.

A woman slumped on the green couch, unmoving. Her drifting eyes are locked on the flickering television screen, the empty bottles at her feet glinting under the dim light.

You don’t stop to look.

Instead, you move quickly to the kitchen, reaching for the cabinet beside the sink. Your hands find a small glass and put it on the counter. Then, your hands rapidly reach the fridge, taking out a near-empty jug of water. The cold air rushes past your face as you pour, careful not to let too much escape.

The fridge is barely working. If the air inside fades too quickly, the food will rot faster.

It’s happened before.

From the same cabinet, you pull a small white box. The label reads Lurasidone Hydrochloride Tablet 40mg, with a small note on the side that says “Take one daily with food. DONT FORGET.”

You pop a single pill from the blister pack, placing it on your tongue. It sits there, cold and bitter, as you take a sip of water and swallow it down.

And then

Silence.

Sweet.

Beautiful.

Silence.

You stand there for a long time, letting the weight of the moment settle in.

Your fingers tighten around the empty glass.

Your tired eyes drift toward the microwave’s reflective surface.

And when you look

The silhouette is gone.

A breath leaves your lips, long and slow.

Satisfied, you step away, making your way back toward the rope ladder. Each movement feels heavier now, but you climb up anyway, sinking into the fragile comfort of your bed.

The moonlight spills through the cracks in the ceiling, painting your skin in silver.

You close your eyes.

You’ll never leave me, will you?

...

I like that.

Knock knock.

Your breath catches.

“…What?”

Knock knock.

Your fingers curl into the sheets.

“…Who would be knocking at this ungodly hour?”

Knock knock.

It’s getting louder.

Knock knock.

Your body stiffens.

And then…

Sunny woke up. His eyes looked tired. The faint sunshine steaming through his window brightened up his room to look terrifyingly normal. He stood up, sitting at the edge of the bed as he pondered for a moment. The faint shadow cast by the spinning fan into the floor and the walls is the only source of movement around. He stood up, and with the doorknob in hand, went out of the room, signaling the start of a brand new day.

As he walked down the stairs, he couldn't help but feel… lightheaded. He couldn't remember anything that happened last night, but somehow, only a slight pain lingered in his stomach.

But, before he could do anything else…

Knock knock

There it was. The faint knock that woke him up was not something he imagined, but it was real. It sounded more… lighter, almost as if it had a slight hesitation behind the intention.

Knock knock

And there it was again.

Who wanted to see Sunny that bad?

Who could it possibly be?

Sunny quickly darted down towards the main room, and with his eye in the peephole, there it was. It was a boy, more or less his same age. He had luscious, blond hair that was down to his shoulders, making him look rather feminine. He had blue eyes, looking down and reading the doormat.

He looked burnt on his arms, legs, and face, and his hands had a lot of calluses, presumably from working below the sun. He was wearing a light green shirt, covered up by a denim, overall-looking apron tied down on his waist that went all the way down to his knees. Below it, he was wearing a simple pair of beige-colored jorts, and finally, some army green gardening clogs.

Knock knock

“Hmm… maybe coming here was a waste of time…”

Knock knock

“Sunny!?” Are you there?” The boy asks, his expression turning slightly worried and hesitant by the second. “It's me… Basil. I know it's been a while, but I saw the “for sale” sign, and I couldn't help but stop by…”

Knock knock

Sunny stood there for a moment, taking in the sight of one of his friends, who for some reason, was there, right in front of him. He hadn't talked to them in ages, and it wouldn't have been long before he thought of them as strangers.

“I was wondering if you wanted to hang out somewhere, you know? Before you leave and all. Would help yourself to say goodbye once in a while.”

…

Hesitantly, you open the door, waiting for something… anything… to happen.

The world outside felt too bright.

Sunny blinked against the morning light, the weight of sleep still pressing against his body. The wind whispered through the trees, brushing against the pavement. Everything felt... still.

Except for Basil.

He stood at the doorstep, his posture loose but hesitant, fingers idly gripping the strap of his apron. His blue eyes scanned Sunny's face as if searching for something familiar. Something left behind.

Sunny didn’t know what to say.

Basil was... different. Taller. Healthier. But his presence still carried the same softness from all those years ago.

“Whoa, you actually opened the door!” Basil let out a small laugh, stepping back slightly, as if giving Sunny space to process.

Sunny only nodded.

The silence stretched. Basil rocked back on his heels before clearing his throat.

“So… I’m gonna be real with you, I wasn’t really planning to stop by, but I saw the sign, and, well… I figured I should at least say something before—”

His voice faltered.

Sunny felt a strange pang in his chest.

Before what?

Before he left?

Before everything faded into memory?

Basil exhaled, giving off a small smile. “Do you want to hang out? Just for a little bit. Y’know… before you go.”

Sunny hesitated. He could feel the weight of his home behind him. The silence, the stillness, the lingering ghosts in the corners of his vision.

He stepped outside.

Basil’s face lit up, but he quickly masked it with a shrug. “Oh, uh, cool! I mean, I don’t have anything planned, but I figured we could just... walk around. See how much things have changed.”

The town had, for the most part, remained frozen in time. The same small shops, the same cracked sidewalks, the same distant sound of the highway. And yet, there was something different. Something in the way people moved, how they went over themselves.

Or maybe Sunny was the one who had changed.

“You remember Gino’s?” Basil asked, pointing at the pizzeria. “They almost closed down last year, but enough people pitched in to keep it open. Polly was all over that fundraiser. You should've seen the faces of the contractors, can you imagine they wanted to open a burger joint there? Who in their right mind wants burgers over pizza?”

Sunny nodded slightly. He didn’t remember the last time he ate there.

They went past the candy store, past the pharmacy, past Hobbeez, past familiar streets. The nostalgia should have been comforting, but instead, it felt heavy, like an old blanket over his shoulders, weighing him down.

As they walked, the town stretched out before them, unchanged yet distant. Basil filled the silence with casual talk—stories about Polly, his grandmother, the occasional odd antics about his plants, and Sunny listened, letting the words wash over him.

Then, a sound shattered the stillness. A sharp, piercing yell from the direction of Faraway Park.

Basil’s voice caught in his throat. He turned, alarmed, his hands clenching at his apron straps. “Did you hear that?”

Sunny did. And something in his stomach twisted.

Without thinking, they ran.

The closer they got, the more the air shifted. Tension thick in the late morning heat. A crowd had gathered near the basketball courts, murmuring, watching. And at the center of it all…

Kel.

But not the Kel Sunny remembered.

This Kel stood at the heart of the commotion, his usual wild energy sharpened into something cruel. A confident smirk twisted his face as he towered over someone, spinning something heavy in his hands. A tire iron, its end fused to a weighted basketball, worn from use but still dangerous. And on the ground before him, panting, bruised, clutching a small box of what looked like medicine, Aubrey.

Her eyes burned with defiance, but her arms trembled as she struggled to push herself up. Around them, a group of half-familiar faces lingering, all having sports tees saying “The Benchwarmers”, circling the scene like vultures.

Sunny’s heart pounded.

Aubrey looked smaller than he remembered. Like a single wrong move would shatter her.

Kel spun his weapon once, the iron whistling through the air. “C’mon, Aubrey, you’re making this too easy,” he taunted, voice laced with amusement.

“Thought you were tougher than this. You used to be a fighter at heart, remember?”

Aubrey spat onto the pavement. “Shut up.”

Kel’s grin widened. “Atta girl.”

Then, he moved.

It happened too fast. Kel lunged forward, the weighted basketball arcing through the air, aimed straight for Aubrey’s ribs. Sunny didn’t think.

He acted.

His body moved before his mind could catch up, shoving past the crowd, stepping between them.

A sharp gasp rippled through the gang as the ball stopped short.

Sunny had caught it.

The weight sent a shock through his arms, but he held firm, standing between Aubrey and Kel, gripping the iron-bound ball tight enough for his knuckles to turn white.

Silence.

For a moment, Kel just stared.

Then, recognition flickered in his eyes, and his smirk faltered.

“...Sunny?”

The gang stirred behind him, muttering. The atmosphere shifted.

Aubrey, still breathless, pushed herself up. Her gaze flickered to Sunny—then to the grip he had on Kel’s weapon.

Then, her face twisted in horror.

She stumbled back, eyes wide, whispering atrocities under her breath.

Sunny’s stomach dropped.

Kel’s expression hardened, the brief hesitation replaced with something unreadable.

Then, with a sharp tug, he yanked his weapon free from Sunny’s grip.

“I dunno what you think you’re doing here, man,” Kel said, voice lower now. More serious. “But this? This ain’t your fight.”

The crowd murmured.

Basil shifted beside him, his expression pleading. “Kel, come on. Just let this go.”

Kel ignored him, taking a slow step forward.

A challenge.

Sunny clenched his fists.

This wasn’t like before.

This wasn’t the Kel he knew.

“Oh hell no man. If here shut-in wants to fight after 4 years of not knowing anything about him, then a fight is what he'll get” Kel said, tightening the end of his ball to the tire iron before spinning it around his head. "Say, you probably think that after leaving us for that long we would still be friends? Ha!, you make me laugh!"

Sunny quickly followed, getting into a more fighting stance, ready to throw hands. He didn't know why he was fighting, but he felt it was the only way to keep Kel in line.

“H-Hey… I think this is j-just a misunderstanding. We’ll just le-leave… right Sunny” Basil fiddled the ties of his apron anxiously, trying to ease the tension between the two.

But then, out of nowhere, a fist hits Basil directly in the cheek. He fell down, clutching the left side of his face as a small trickle of blood fell down into his hand, wrapping around his arm before falling into the ground.

“I got him Kel, don't worry about him,” a large boy says from beside Kel, with his fist longing left and to his body, small trickles of crimson liquid falling down from it.

“Don't worry Jean, I can take this one and flower boy together. Will be like spreading butter on bread. You, Karla, and Boss go make sure that girl doesn't get in this. I'll have a word with her after I deal with these two…”

Basil was lying there on the floor, completely in silence. Then, with eyes on the floor, he stood up, with his cheek swollen from the hit. From his apron, he took out a pair of blunt gardening shears, standing still… Waiting for something to happen.

“So, where were we?” Kel says with a smirk painted across his face, spinning around the laced ball, breaking the wind. This was not the Kel Sunny knew. The one he remembered. This was not the kind and caring Kel… this was something else.

Then, without hesitation, Basil lunged forward with shears in hand, ready to slash Kel. But, his athleticism got the better of him, and Kel swiftly jumped to the side, while at the same time delivering a sharp kick to Basil’s ribs, sending him stumbling back with a choked gasp.

“Whoa now, flower boy. You sure you wanna play this game?” Kel taunted, shaking his head, his grip tightening around his weapon. "Should’ve stayed in your little garden."

Sunny barely had time to react before Kel came for him.

The weighted ball swung through the air fast. Too fast. Sunny barely dodged, feeling the wind slice past his face as it crashed into the pavement beside him with a sickening smash. Cracks splintered through the concrete like veins, a show of the sheer force behind the swing.

Kel grinned. “Never saw you as the athletic type… Staying inside really made you different didn't you?” He spun the weapon again, its arc cutting through the air like a pendulum. “Let’s see if you keep up.”

Sunny barely managed to duck under the next swing, his heart pounding against his ribs. He needed to think. Needed to act.

Basil was back on his feet, his hands shaking around the gardening shears. His breathing was heavy and uneven. He wasn’t a fighter. He never was. But he wasn’t backing down.

Kel clicked his tongue. “Man, I was hoping you’d at least try to hit me, Sunny.” He stepped forward, shoulders rolling as he adjusted his grip. “Guess I’ll have to make this fun myself.”

Sunny’s grip tightened.

He wasn’t sure what came over him. Maybe it was the way Basil had been struck down. Maybe it was the way Kel was looking at him—like he was nothing. Like he was some weak, helpless thing that didn’t belong here.

His hand twitched. The weight of his knife was there. Heavy. Familiar.

But no.

Not now.

Not yet.

Kel barely had time to react before Sunny was on him, driving a shoulder into his gut. For a second, the smug confidence in Kel’s expression faltered. He staggered back, caught off guard, his grip slipping on the weapon. With the upper hand, Sunny kept pressing.

A quick jab, but Kel dodged, Then another, but Kel caught his wrist, twisting it. Pain shot up Sunny’s arm, but he didn’t pull away.

Kel laughed, breathless. “Okay. Now we’re talking.”

Then, with a sudden burst of strength, he flipped Sunny over his shoulder, slamming him onto the pavement courtyard.

The impact knocked the breath out of him. His vision blurred.

Through the haze, he heard Basil shout something.

Above him, Kel loomed, the sun casting a shadow of a smile over his face.

“C’mon, man.” His voice was almost disappointed. “That all you got?”

Sunny’s fingers twitched.

Kel was distracted, and using that to his advantage, Basil pushed him out of the way, leaving him knocked on the ground.

Without hesitation, Sunny got to his feet, his head throbbing from the impact, but his grip steady as his hands clenched into fists. His ears were ringing loudly, like a long note played from a broken instrument. He wasn't able to hear anything. Not Basil’s screams and shouts. Not Kel’s cocky taunting phrases. Nothing.

Kel was already back on his feet, dusting himself off like nothing had happened. “Man, you’re making this way more interesting than I thought,” he admitted, tilting his head with that same cocky smirk. “But you’re still way outta your league.”

Sunny didn’t respond. He just moved.

This time, he wasn’t just throwing himself forward. He was calculating. Watching Kel’s movements. The way he shifted his weight. The way his grip adjusted on the iron-tied basketball.

Kel grinned. “There we go.”

The next swing came fast. Too fast. Sunny ducked, but the ball still hit his shoulder, the force sending a jolt through his body. He stumbled but stayed standing.

Basil, still gripping his gardening shears, tried to flank Kel from the side, but Kel was too fast. He sidestepped at the last second, grabbing Basil by the neck and lifting him upwards.

Basil tried to yell, but his voice was breathless. The shears fell from his grasp with a metallic clatter.

Kel didn’t let go. He tightened his grip, his smirk dropping slightly, something dangerous flickering in his eyes. “You really shouldn’t have gotten involved, man.”

At this sight, something snapped inside Sunny.

He didn’t hesitate this time.

He reached into his pocket, his fingers curling around something cold, something familiar.

The knife.

The weight of it was comforting. Solid. Like an old friend whispering in his ear.

Then, with a swift motion, he lunged.

Kel barely had time to react before the blade sliced across his chest.

A shallow cut. Not deep enough to kill. But enough to make him stop.

Kel staggered back, a sharp hiss escaping his lips. His hand flew to his chest, touching the wound. When he pulled it away, red smeared his fingertips.

The cocky smirk faded.

For the first time, there was something else in Kel’s eyes.

Fear.

A dead silence fell over the park. Even The Benchwarmers stood frozen.

Kel looked down at his bleeding hand, then back up at Sunny.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

he breathed, voice filled with disbelief. For a second, he almost looked like the Kel Sunny remembered. The Kel who never would have expected this from him.

Then, the fear turned to something else.

Disgust.

He took a step back. Then another.

“Woah woah woah Kel, don't move. Are you ok?!” One of his friends asked, their face looking in horror at the crimson-stained white shirt of Kel’s.

His friends were already moving, grabbing their leader by the shoulders, ushering him away. Even they knew this fight was over.

Kel’s expression twisted, something unreadable flickering across his face.

“Stay the hell away from me…” he spat. “You’re a fucking psycho.”

Then, just like that, he was gone.

The group scattered, disappearing down the street, leaving only Sunny, Basil, and Aubrey in the eerie stillness of the park.

Aubrey stood frozen a few feet away, her eyes locked onto Sunny.

Not with relief. Not with gratitude.

With horror.

Like she had just seen a ghost.

Or a monster.

She took a step back, breath shaky.

“You…”

she whispered, barely audible.

She then took one more step back.

Then another one.

Then another.

And, in a flash, she ran away.

Basil was coughing on the ground, patting himself on the back as he gasped for air. Sunny quickly rushed to his side, trying to aid him, but by that time, he was already composed.

“Man… cough That was… a lot… cough,” Basil said, using Sunny’s shoulder to help him stand up as he grabbed his chest with his hand. “Miraculously, I don't think I broke anything… just some bruises here and there.”

Then, Basil moved his gaze down at your hands, still with the knife in hand. “HEY! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE THAT!” He said as he ran over you and took it from your hands, saving it on his apron. “That's dangerous. You shouldn't be running around with this stuff”

Sunny didn't complain, and just let Basil take it.

Then, he stood up, helping Basil to walk, and as they walked, they both saw that on the trail that Aubrey fled by, she seemed to have dropped the same box that she was clutching when Kel was picking on her. Basil picked it up before pocketing it on his apron. “Seems important, we should go and give it to her… Let's make a stop at her house before we go to mine. Not that it's that far, only a couple blocks away…”

both of them started to leave the scene as they saw the sun setting in the sky, with blackbirds chirping across the horizon, 5 of them to be exact.

“Honestly, never thought this was the way this day would go. I'm… truly sorry you had to go through this, Sunny.” Basil remarks, his tone now softening as he can breathe normally again. “After everything that happened… Kel shut us off completely. He wouldn't even talk to us at school. The only he opened himself a little was to his own brother…”

“He grew apart, getting new friends and, with that, leaving us behind. Honestly, I can't blame him for what he did, I've never done it, but… this…” Basil grabbed his cheek in slight pain and awe “This has gone too far…”

A moment of silence passes by, with each second getting longer and longer as you both cruise through the pavement, now right across the street where Basil’s house is.

“He made it to a basketball team. They called themselves The Benchwarmers, which is honestly kinda ironic. Those… “friends” changed him, making him the way he is today. He became… reckless, to say the least. After Hero left, let's just say he didn't take it that well. His grades started lowering, and he started to spend most of his day on the court. So yeah… that's kind of it…”

Eventually, Basil and Sunny reached the doorstep. Aubrey’s house was before them, its paint peeling in aged streaks like an old wound never allowed to heal. The porch creaked under their steps, with the wood changed and distorted from years of neglect. A single, flickering porch light hummed above them, casting eerie shadows against the broken door.

Basil hesitated before knocking, his knuckles rapping against the wood in a steady rhythm. The silence that followed was suffocating. No movement. No sound. Just the distant hum of cicadas in the thick, stagnant air.

“The thing is, I don't understand why he likes to pick on Aubrey. I always try to defend and get her to come outside more often, but she always says that she’s fine or stuff like that, and leaves. She has gone to my house a couple of times, but she doesn't even peep… I sometimes miss how joyful she was…”

Then, the locks clicked. Once. Twice. Three times. Each sound echoed louder than it should have.

Then, in a small movement, the door creaked open.

Aubrey stood in the dim light of the doorway, her face partially obscured by the shadows coming from inside. Her black hair looked dull under the sickly yellow glow. Her expression changed from surprise to something darker. Something revolting, as her eyes landed on Sunny.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then, finally, she broke the silence.

“Oh… It's you…” She uttered, her voice faint like the wind in the night. She turned her sight at Basil, and then she did at you, with her pupils slightly dilating at this.

“Hi Aubrey! We came by because you dropped something after you ran away. Here you go!” Basil had a warm smile from ear to ear as he gave Aubrey the medicine box.

She stared at the box for a moment, then shoved it deep into her pocket. “Thanks,” she muttered, barely above a whisper.

Basil’s smile wavered a little. “You okay?”

Aubrey scoffed, shifting her body against the doorframe. “Do I look okay?”

Basil hesitated. “Well… no.”

Aubrey sighed, rubbing her temple before glancing back at Sunny. The way she looked at him…like she was still seeing something she couldn’t unsee. Something that made her stomach sick.

Basil, slightly worried, cleared his throat. “Hey, um… listen. I was just about to head home and eat dinner, so I figured, y’know… maybe you could come over?”

Aubrey blinked. “What?”

“I mean, Sunny was already coming,” Basil said, rubbing the back of his head. “But you should come too. You probably haven’t eaten all day, right?”

Aubrey looked away, jaw tightening.

Sunny stayed silent. He wasn’t sure if he wanted her to go, but the idea of just standing here, stuck in the awkward, suffocating silence, was somehow worse.

“…I dunno,” Aubrey finally muttered.

“C’mon,” Basil urged, offering a small, hopeful smile. “It’s just dinner. No fighting, no weird tension, just… food.”

Aubrey crossed her arms. “And what, you want him to just sit across from us like nothing happened?”

Sunny felt a sharp sting at that.

Basil hesitated but stood firm. “I just… I just don’t want us to be like this forever. Please, Aubrey? Sunny’s leaving… And I just wanted to make some good memories before he does so” he said as he put a hand on her shoulder.

For a moment, she didn’t say anything, looking at you with surprise in her eyes

Then, with a frustrated groan, she muttered, “Fine. But only because I am kinda hungry.” Basil grinned. “Great! Let’s go before Polly gets worried and thinks I'm missing or something.”

The three of them walked in silence.

It was tense. Uncomfortable. Basil tried to fill it with small talk, mentioning how he’d been getting into new gardening techniques, how Polly had been bringing home weird new recipes, and how the summer heat was so much worse this year, but neither Sunny nor Aubrey responded.

As Basil pushed open the front door, a warm, homey scent filled the air. Something earthy, mixed with a hint of spice. The contrast between the welcoming aroma and the silent night of the streets was very noticeable.

“Polly! I’m home! And I brought friends over!” Basil called out, stepping inside and nodding for Sunny and Aubrey to follow.

Almost instantly, a young woman appeared from the kitchen, her expression changing from relief to concern the moment she put her eyes on Basil’s bruised face.

“Basil! Oh my god, I thought you got lost or something!” Polly rushed forward, immediately pulling him into a tight hug before holding him at arm’s length, eyes scanning him for injuries. “What happened? Why are you bruised? Was it Kel again? God, if I see that kid one more ti—”

“Polly, it’s okay! Really!” Basil cut in quickly, offering her a nervous smile. “I’m fine. It has just… been a long day.”

Polly pressed her lips against each other, clearly unconvinced. Though she wasn’t much older than in the early twenties, she carried herself like someone who had long since been forced into the caretaker. Her short, dark hair was pinned back messily, and her apron was slightly stained with liquids, as if she had been mid-cooking when Basil arrived. Despite the exhaustion in her eyes, there was a warmth to her presence.

It wasn’t hard to see why Basil trusted her so much.

Finally, Polly sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Alright… if you say so. But if something did happen, you better tell me later.” She turned to the others, giving them a quick, assessing glance before softening. “Oh! You brought your friends. Come on in, then. I was just making dinner.”

With that, she hurried back into the kitchen, the tension in the air easing as they closed the door behind them.

Sunny entered and sat at the table, quiet and unsure.

Aubrey hovered awkwardly by the door before finally sitting across from him.

She didn’t look at him.

Neither of them spoke.

Basil ran over to help Polly, catching her up on everything that happened today. After a while they both placed four plates down. It wasn’t anything fancy—just some simple vegetable soup made in a flash—but it was warm. Homemade.

“I'm going to go to the bathroom, but feel free to start without me” Polly said as she went to the open frame of the stairs, running up them

They ate in near silence, save for the occasional clink of silverware.

At some point, Basil sighed, setting his chopsticks down. “This is kinda nice, right?”

Aubrey scoffed. “Sure...”

Basil gave her a tired look. “I mean it. It’s nice to just… be together again. Even if it’s just for a little bit.”

”If you think this is nice, then I don't complain” Aubrey said as she ate her soup.

Sunny didn’t sat a word.

The silence stretched.

Then, suddenly, Aubrey stood up.

“…I gotta go.”

Basil blinked. “Wait, what? You barely ate—”

“Not hungry anymore.” She pushed the chair back and made for the door.

“Aubrey—” Basil claimed, trying to follow Aubrey, but it was too late as she has already banged to door closed behind her

And she was gone.

Sunny and Basil exchanged a glance.

“…Do you think she’ll be okay?” Basil murmured.

Sunny didn’t know how to answer.

Basil sighed, rubbing his temples. “I really thought…” He shook his head. “Never mind.”

The air between them was heavy. Polly returned a moment later, pausing when she saw the empty chair. “Did Aubrey leave?”

Basil nodded. “Yeah…”

Polly pursed her lips but didn’t press further. Instead, she gave them both a small, tired smile. “Well, at least you two ate. I’ll clean up over here. You should take Sunny home before it gets too late.”

Basil didn’t argue. After a quick farewell, the two of them stepped back into the night.

The walk to Sunny’s house was quiet, save for the distant hum of crickets and the occasional rustling of leaves. Basil kicked a pebble, his hands in his pockets.

“You really don’t talk much, huh?” Basil said, though there was no heat in it. “Guess that hasn’t changed.”

Sunny glanced at him but said nothing.

“…Still, it was nice. Having dinner with you again,” Basil continued, softer this time. “Even if it was… weird.”

Sunny just nodded.

Eventually, they reached his house. Basil hesitated at the front steps. “Well… guess this is goodnight.”

Sunny stood there for a moment before finally nodding again.

Basil offered a small, wavering smile. “See you tomorrow, then. Well, that's if you want to go out tomorrow... ”

Sunny stood in silence on the doorframe, slightly nodding in acceptance.

"Great, see you tomorrow then"

With that, he turned and disappeared down the street.

Sunny exhaled and stepped inside.

The house was dark. Quiet.

Empty.

He locked the door behind him and made his way upstairs. But as he started to go, he saw that the way up was covered in cobwebs.

He quickly went over to the kitchen, grabbing a steak knife as Basil had taken the one he had in hand, and made his way back.

And then, a chill ran down his spine.

Not real, he told himself.

Not real.

But as he stepped closer, the shadows within the stairs seemed to shift. Writhing. A mass of twitching, spindly legs creeping along the walls, the floor, the ceiling. A hundred gleaming eyes stared back at him.

His breath hitched.

The air felt thick, suffocating.

He swallowed hard.

The knife was still in his pocket. He gripped it tightly.

No.

Not this time.

This wasn’t like before.

He wasn’t going to run.

He stepped forward.

The darkness lurched.

Sunny’s chest tightened, every instinct screaming at him to turn back, to hide…

But he didn’t.

He forced himself to move. One step. Another. Until he was standing in the doorway.

The shadows swirled, the monstrous shape towering over him, its countless legs reaching outward, going up Sunny's legs, arms, and getting right in front of his eyesight.

Sunny took a breath.

But his mind started to drift.

Started to fear.

His breath, shaky.

His moves, unknowing.

But then, a voice came in from his subconscious.

“This is getting nowhere fast... huh, SUNNY?”

“It seems like there's a lot going on...”

“ You need to block out the little things... and figure out what's important!”

“You clear your mind... and remember how to FOCUS.”

And then, he closed his eyes.

He wasn’t a child anymore.

He wasn’t helpless.

This thing—this fear—had no power over him.

He exhaled.

He focused.

And when he opened his eyes again…

The room was empty.

Just dust-covered furniture and old, forgotten memories.

The weight in his chest eased.

He beat his fear of Spiders.

Slowly, he went up the stairs.

He turned and made his way to his bedroom, sinking onto the mattress with a quiet exhale.

For the first time in a long while, sleep was easier than normal.

For the first time in a long time,

He slept in silence.

Sweet,

beautiful,

Silence.