Chapter Text
Sunny came to slowly. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was waking in the middle of the night, the phantom pain of a knife in his gut radiating in his stomach. Was his mind playing tricks on him again? He sat up carefully. He was laying on the carpeted floor of a small theater, with only five seats. His friends lay on the floor around him, all fast asleep.
A lump rose in Sunny’s throat. Seeing them all around him brought up complicated feelings, but he couldn’t pin down why. When was the last time they’d all been in the same room? It had been years, at least. But how did they get here? Where even was here? There was no theater this small in all of Faraway, last Sunny had checked. Then again, he hadn’t left the house in over four years…
A familiar sense of dread overtook him. It seemed his mind had turned against him again. Something was off, though. His mind tormented him with long stairways and the haunting melody of a piano that made him cry, for reasons he didn’t understand. His friends had never been involved before.
The sound of shifting stole his attention. Sunny turned around, and saw that Hero was waking. He shifted slightly, his face scrunching up before his eyes blinked open. They squinted at the ceiling in incomprehension, before widening in alarm. Hero scrambled upward, head whipping around as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. His eyes landed on Sunny, and he stilled in shock.
“S-Sunny? Is that you?”
Sunny nodded, once. Hero calmed somewhat, eyes still flicking around nervously. “Wow man, it’s been a while. Do you know where we are?” Sunny shook his head. Hero seemed slightly put off by his lack of words, but didn’t say anything. Sunny got to his feet, and started properly observing his surroundings. The theater they were in had dark wood paneling for the walls, that complimented the cream carpet nicely. There was a large black screen facing the theater chairs that was turned off. Two black doors rested on the far wall. There was a low coffee table in front of the chairs with a note on it.
“Where the fuck am I!?”
Sunny startled at the yell. It seemed Aubrey had woken up. She was standing already, pink hair still mussed from sleep. She glared at Hero with a rage that startled Hero and disturbed Sunny, although it didn’t show on his blank face. She was still wearing pajamas. Sunny looked at the others. Basil had woken up at Aubrey’s scream, and was edging away from her in fear. Kel was still oblivious to the world. Sunny was the only one not in pajamas.
“Aubrey? Is that you?” Hero’s voice brought Sunny back to the situation at hand. “Of course it’s me, Jackass! Now, where am I?” Hero looked taken aback at the foul language. Sunny was too. Aubrey had been a sweet thirteen year old girl the last time they had spoken to her. It was jarring to see how much she had changed.
“I don’t know. I just woke up here, same as you. Sunny was already awake, but he doesn’t know where we are either.” That took her by surprise. “Sunny?” She looked at him with a shock that suggested she hadn’t realized he was there before. He gave her a small wave. Her gaze softened slightly as she took him in, before hardening again. Basil was staring at Sunny in shock, an unreadable emotion in his eyes. Kel was still asleep.
Aubrey had evidently seen the two black doors, as she stormed towards one and slammed it open. It revealed a bathroom, with three stalls, three sinks, and a large mirror that made Sunny intensely uncomfortable. Aubrey disregarded that room and went for the other door, opening it to reveal a long hallway. She set off down it, Hero following after her.
Sunny stood up, and considered going after them or staying. The decision was made for him by Basil, who slowly approached him with a soft smile on his face. “Hi, Sunny. How have you been doing?” Sunny shrugged. Basil let out half a laugh. “Fair enough, I guess. This is an odd situation we’ve found ourselves in.” Sunny nodded. Basil seemed nervous about Sunny’s silence, and didn’t say anything else. They stood in awkward silence until Aubrey and Hero returned.
Aubrey was visibly fuming, and Hero was worrying his lip. “The hallway leads to a bunch of bedrooms and a kitchen, but there's no exit.” He told Sunny, before noticing that Basil was awake. “Basil!” he exclaimed, smiling slightly, while Aubrey seethed in the background. Basil's smile seemed forced as he exchanged pleasantries with Hero. Tuning this out, Sunny drifted towards the note on the table.
‘The future and past hold tragedy. Don’t let the forgotten memories tear you apart. Time will not pass for as long as you remain here. You will be returned to your homes at the time that you left when you are finished.’ The note was not signed.
Sunny blinked slowly. He didn’t have a clue what to make of this. “Sunny, did you find something?” Hero had appeared at his shoulder. Sunny handed the note to him. Hero read the note with furrowed brows, while Aubrey read over his shoulder. Basil hovered behind them nervously, not close enough to read the note but close enough to be involved.
“What the fuck is this?” Aubrey demanded. “The future and past hold tragedy? What kind of bullshit is that?” Hero didn’t seem to be listening, squinting at the note and murmuring under his breath. “Forgotten memories? What could have been forgotten…” Aubrey glared at him. “Hero! Stop muttering and help us get out of here!”
Hero snapped out of his trance. “Sorry. I don’t understand what this note means, though. Forgotten memories? Future and past? This doesn’t make any sense." Aubrey scoffed. “Who cares what the note means? It doesn’t matter as long as we get out.” Hero rolled his eyes. “The note could mean a lot. It’s the only communication we’ve had with our kidnappers, and there's no clear way out of this theater. We have to figure out what it means.”
Basil had edged closer and was trying to read the note cautiously. “I-It seems like they w-want us to do something before they let us g-go.” Aubrey glowered at him. “Who asked you?” Basil cowered back. Sunny and Hero watched the exchange in shock. “Hey! I know you're upset about this, but you shouldn’t take it out on Basil!” Aubrey seemed taken aback for a moment, before glaring at Hero. “Stay out of it! You don’t know what this is about.”
Hero looked like he was going to snap back, before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “We shouldn’t be fighting right now. Chances are, we’ll have to work together to get out of this place. We can talk about whatever issue you have with Basil later.” Aubrey didn’t seem to agree, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she went back to the note. “What does ‘Time will not pass’ mean? Are these sickos trying to say they stopped time? How dumb do they think we are?”
Hero frowned. “I’m not sure, but it seems like Basil is right. They want us to complete some sort of task before they let us go.” Aubrey sighed impatiently. “Well, what do they want us to do?” Hero looked around the room. “We are in a theater…Maybe they want us to watch something?”
Aubrey squinted her eyes. “Who kidnaps a bunch of teenagers to make them watch a movie? There has to be more going on here.” Hero nodded. “You’re right. We should wake Kel up. We all need to be aware of what's going on.”
Aubrey turned around in disbelief. “Is he still asleep?” Hero sighed. “You know Kel. He could sleep through anything.” He made his way over and shook Kel’s shoulder. “Wake up, Kel.” Kel grumbled under his breath. Aubrey rolled her eyes. “Wake up, dumbass!” Kel jumped up, and Basil jumped back.
“W-Wha-” Hero sighed. “You guys take a seat. I’ll catch him up on everything that’s happening.” Sunny nodded slightly, and went to sit in the chair closest to the black doors. Basil sat in the chair next to him, and Aubrey sat in the chair furthest from them.
Hero explained everything to Kel, who, while surprised, caught on fairly quickly. Kel sat in the seat next to Basil, immediately starting a conversation that Basil hesitantly participated in, while Hero sat between Kel and Aubrey. The somewhat awkward conversation was cut off by the lights dimming, and the screen turning on. It read only one word.
‘Omori’