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idril-la-wiccan · 1 year

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Out of the Abyss - Act 1 Part 6 - Lost to the Black Hole

- “And here we are ! Otherworld !”

As soon as PLUTO landed, the young woman he was carrying jumped off of his shoulders.

- “Thank you very much, sir.” she told him, “And once again, I must apologise for how I mistreated you earlier.”

- “You are all forgiven, madame. Consider it all forgotten. I wish for you that this misunderstanding with the children will soon be resolved. GWA HA HA HA HA !!”

And with that, he took off, leaving ABBI also wishing for that… “issue” to be taken care of as fast as possible.

Leaving that thought alone for now, she looked around the Campsite. Everything seemed as peaceful as it always was. The abandoned cars, the electrical towers, the junk and of course the houses of the local residents. Everything was here. Unchanged.

On top of the hill the Campsite was settled on, was none-other than the house of the young leader of the Space Pirates : CAPTAIN SPACEBOY. This was ABBI’s current destination. Thankfully, he should be home and not some distant places aboard his spaceship.

… Speaking of space… she noticed an anomaly in the sky… Somewhere high above the hill, in stark contrast with the stars, was a strange, misshapen black form.

ABBI was taken aback, to say the least. How had she not noticed it before when CAT showed her an overview of Headspace ? Was this not there yet ? Or was it then in a blind spot ? Nevertheless, this shapeless mass, likely to be one of the many rifts into Black Space, should not be here.

ABBI quickly got down from the station and headed to the top of the Campsite. One of the locals, who was making a few clams at the recycling machine, gave her a wary look. She ignored it, already guessing the reason for such a glare.

Once at the doorstep of SPACEBOY’s home, she knocked. A peephole in the door opened, the eyes of who she could only assume was one of the Captain’s crew mates looking through it.

- “Hello.” she started, “I-”

An audible gasp got out of the space pirate’s beak before they closed the peephole.

- “Hey ! No, no, no ! Wait !”

She knocked again.

No further answer.

She sighed.

- “Alright… Judging by your reaction, I can only conclude that you have met… other shadows before, am I wrong ?”

Silence…

- “... Listen. I do not know what has transpired between you and those shadows, but you must know this : I am not like them. I have no malevolent intentions, and in fact, those weeping shadows consider me an enemy. So far, they have done nothing but impede me, so needless to say, I do not bear them in my hearts !...”

ABBI could faintly hear whispers on the other side of the door… The space pirates seemed divided on what to do. While she couldn’t get a word of what was said, one voice distinguished itself from the rest. She guessed it must belong to the Captain himself. Some of the other voices got a little more frantic as they seemed to argue with him. But in the end, he had the final word.

The door finally opened.

- “Ah, thank you. I thought you- WOAH !”

ABBI put her hands up, startled by the sight of CAPTAIN SPACEBOY pointing his laser gun at her. He spoke :

- “I’ll need more than just eloquence to be convinced you are trustworthy. But I must admit… you are not like the others… And I know exactly how to determine if you can be trusted or not… You may enter. But be careful not to step out of line… Understood ?”

- “Crystal clear, Captain.”

He let her in, still holding her at gunpoint. The door was closed behind them.

- “Go straight forward.” he commanded, “Up the stairs.”

- “May I know where exactly you are taking me ?”

- “The Junkyard. You’ll see why once there.”

Escorted by a few of his crew, they continued down the Solar System Room, then out near the Junkyard. The Mercury Retrograde had been purposefully stationed in front of the regular path leading here, so that no one could get to the Junkyard without going through the space pirate’s house. ABBI didn’t like this…

But once they were in the Junkyard, she understood. Two crew members were already here, guarding some sort of laser cage. Inside was a weeping shadow, all sharp and spiky, severe burn marks covering it as it had thrown itself several times at the laser walls of the cage in an attempt to escape. It was still frantically shaking, but seemed to have given up on getting out.

The young lady had let her arms fall at the sight.

- “You… managed to capture one of them ?... I must say, this is impressive.”

- “Is it really ?” the captain questioned.

- “From what I know, when confronted with those, people either cower in fear or actively chase them down. You are the first I have seen keeping one alive and trapped.”

Some of the pirates shivered at her words. SPACEBOY let out a sigh.

- “Run away or kill, huh ?... No. Not after what happened… We… We couldn’t do either to him.”

- “... “Him” ?”

ABBI turned to the leader of the pirates. SPACEBOY looked… SAD.

- “Yes… “Him”... This shadow right here… is… a member of my crew.”

This was one of the space pirates ?! No way… But then, if he transformed in such a way, that could only mean-

- “Miss,” the young captain continued, “I beg of you… You who seem surprisingly lucid as a shadow yourself… what do you know about this ailment ?”

- “ “Ailment” ? Wait, you think-”

She looked again at the imprisoned shadow.

- “... Now I get it… You think this is an illness. That’s why you… captured your former crew mate… You believe he can be cured… Is it ?”

All of the pirates looked at each other, their expressions varying from worry to despair. One of them spoke up, tears forming in their eyes.

- “Are you saying… that it’s too late ? He can’t… he can’t turn back to normal ?...”

- “... I’m sorry… Your friend is gone…”

The pirate fell to their knees, eyes staring blankly at the ground as the pools of tears became rivers running down their face. One of their colleagues tried to comfort them. CAPTAIN SPACEBOY was containing himself as well as he could, he still had questions to ask. But it still was clear to anyone that the news made him feel DEPRESSED.

- “What about someone who’s been partially transformed ?”

As he said this, he nudged another member of his crew. Said member approached her, removing bandages on one of their arms. It looked all black and icky, like some sort of goo. The octopus examined it.

- “... I knew that the transformation isn’t instantaneous, but this is the first time I actually see the progression stopped dead in its tracks… I think I can safely say it won’t get any worse. In fact…”

As she touched the tainted arm, she could feel the influence of Black Space on it. And it was getting weaker and weaker.

- “It will be slow, but your arm should go back to normal eventually.”

- “Some of my comrades got it worse than me, missy…” said the pirate, concerned, “What about them ?”

- “As long as their transformation wasn’t complete like for this one,” as she pointed at the cage, “they should recover too.”

Relief washed through the minds of the space pirates despite all the pain that they still felt deep down. As for ABBI, she looked up at the sky, staring at the ominous dark mass over their heads. This time, she had a question for the captain.

- “You all went through that rift that appeared in the sky, didn’t you ? How long were you in there ?”

- “I-... I’m… not sure… I’d say… less than ten minutes ?...”

- “I see… That is about how long it takes for anyone to transform when in the world beyond that rift… I want to say you were lucky only one of you fell to this curse, but-”

- “No…”

SPACEBOY’s voice sounded… harsh, all of a sudden. He was staring at the ground, making his expression unreadable. His fists were clenched so hard they were shaking.

He. Was. FURIOUS.

- “IT WASN’T ONLY ONE !!!”

He ran away from the Junkyard, tears of both rage and despair pouring down, almost blinding him. Although his emotions were the things blinding him the most in the moment.

- “Captain, wait !”

She was about to run after him when the pirate she examined held her back.

- “Careful, missy… Our Captain isn’t always himself when angered…”

That, she already knew. She simply nodded and thanked them.

When she got out of the Junkyard, she witnessed SPACEBOY already let his anger out on random trash laying around.

- “FUCKING SHIT !!!”

ZAP ! ZAP ! ZAP !

Cans, glass bottles, cardboards and really any useless garbage that happend to be on the ground ended up being exploded and charred.

- “Captain ?”

ZAP !

Without thinking, the leader of the pirates had shot ABBI. It was only when he saw her collapse on the ground that he realised what he had done. Shocked, his weapon slipped from his grasp.

He felt utterly MISERABLE.

- “N- no… I-... I didn’t want to-...”

He kneeled next to her.

- “Miss ? Miss, please answer ! Can you hear me ?”

ABBI let out a groan. She slowly raised a hand and put it on her forehead that was currently throbbing with pain.

- “That… is the worst migraine I’ve had in my life… But I’ll live… Don’t worry…”

SPACEBOY was a bit taken aback by this answer. Regardless, he was relieved she wasn’t severely wounded.

But emotionally, he was still a wreck…

Had it not been for this incident, he would have continued to take his anger on the rubbish.

But now ? Now he no longer had the strength to get angry… Now, there was only misery.

He was unable to keep his strong leader persona steady.

He started to sob.

- “... If… If you-... say so… Miss… I-... I am… so… so sorry… I’m-”

He looked away from her. Shifting his kneeling position to a sitting one, he bent his legs, bringing the knees up. His arms wrapped around these and he hid his face in the crook they formed. His sobbing was the quietest, but the pain that caused it was no less intense.

The way he sat reminded ABBI of a certain boy…

She lifted her upper body up, then dragged herself closer to the young man. With no hesitation, she wrapped an arm around him, gently rubbing his shoulder in a comforting way, effectively hugging him. It appeared to soothe him a bit.

- “There, there… It’s ok… Let it all out…”

His breath was short due to his sobs and occasionally gasped for air. Despite that, he tried speaking :

- “I-... Ah- I’m… I can’t- Hic-...”

- “Take your time…”

A few minutes passed. His breathing was steadier, his tears less abundant, and thoughts reorganised in a way that would be easier to express. He did not feel any less MISERABLE however. But this was understandable.

- “I…” he started slowly, “I only realize it now… Not once did I ever ask for your name… May I ?...”

- “Of course. My name is ABBI.”

- “ “ABBI” ?... That’s a pretty name.”

For the first time ever since they met, he had a smile. It was small, but it was a smile nonetheless. She smiled back.

- “Thank you. What about you ? Is… “SPACEBOY” still your name ?”

At that, he let out a little laugh. It had a hint of bitterness.

- "I won't be caught changing my name on a whim ever again..."

- “I see… My apologies if I brought up a sensitive topic…”

- “... It’s alright.”

A short silence… ABBI resumed the conversation :

- “So… Tell me. What happened in Black Space ?”

- “... “Black Space” ?... Ah. The dimension beyond that black hole ?... Well… The thing is…”

His voice was becoming shaky again as more tears rolled down his cheeks.

- “My father went in there… And… not just him… He had an entire crew with him… I-... And if what you said about this… “curse”... as you called it, is true… that it takes ten minutes or less for it to consume you… then as we speak… there must be… no survivors…”

He took a deep breath.

- “I remember arguing with him not to go explore that spatio-temporal hole that came out of nowhere ! That he was too old for risky adventures like this ! That’s why he retired in the first place ! But noooooooooooo, the great PINKBEARD simply had to go ! How was he supposed to show the ropes to his apprentice if he didn’t do things like in the good old days, huh ?... But now… him… and everyone else on his ship… reduced to shadows of their former selves…”

- “But… tell me. What led you and your crew to go ? I take it you only went after they did, correct ?”

- “Well… since I disagreed with him, he made a compromise with me. He decided that we would keep contact via radio for as long as they were in there. He even admitted this would probably make things safer… And at one point, we completely lost the signal. With no other options left, I decided we should follow suit into the black hole… And-”

He stopped in his narrative. Thinking back about how things went down made him realise something crucial.

- “And my crew immediately complained about… feeling… off… I remember dismissing it as… I don’t know, fear ? Because… I never felt anything strange when in that “Black Space”… Least of all, feeling anything strange within me. It really only was when my crew showed me the black spots appearing on them that I turned the ship around… Too bad I wasn’t fast enough to save them all…”

He looked at his hand. Eventually, he removed his glove and even rolled up his sleeve to make sure he really did not have any black spots himself.

- “How do you explain that I felt nothing ? That I seemingly did not suffer from that curse ? Am I… resistant to it ?”

- “Let me see…”

Unlike the pirate whose arm was all blackened, ABBI did not feel a single ounce of Black Space’s presence in CAPTAIN SPACEBOY. Not even a residue of any energy that could have already died out. Was this the reason him and the three other actors SAINT LILIUM had talked about could help her in her mission ? That they were impervious to the noxious effects Black Space had on denizens of Headspace ?

- “I can’t explain why… but you seem immune to Black Space’s curse.”

- “... Immune, you say…”

This. This made the gears in his mind go wild. All of the sudden, he exclaimed :

- “Miss ABBI ! If I am immune, then I must hold this immunity from somewhere, don’t I ?”

- “Well… Yes, this makes sense-”

- “What if I hold it from my father ? That would mean he could very well still be alive !”

- “Well- um… Perhaps ?”

- “I know I must sound insane, but if it is true… Well, if no one checks out and he is indeed alive, then the shadows themselves will be the end of him. I must go look for him ! At least to make absolutely sure of his whereabouts !”

- “... I suppose you are right, Captain.”

- “Great ! Now.”

He held her hands.

- “Will you please accompany me in my search ? I can’t risk the lives of my crew members and… you yourself are from that world, aren’t you ? You look like these shadows, but you are not like them at all. And your knowledge of that place would prove more than useful. If I go alone, I’ll just get lost, I need a guide ! Please !”

- “I’m… not really from Black Space, but I have no reason to refuse to help you. And despite everything, I do believe I know the place like the back of my hand. You can count on me, CAPTAIN SPACEBOY.

His face beamed with HAPPINESS.

- “I cannot thank you enough for this !”

*****

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Sorry for that unexpected hiatus, life got in the way lol.

Updates might be a little slow, but there shouldn't be any wait bigger than last time. Not until I finish Act 1, that is.

#omori #omori abbi #omori pluto #omori spaceboy #captain spaceboy #omori au #out of the abyss au #out of the abyss abbi #Act 1 #post omori route #post hikikomori route #omori spoilers #Spaceboy has a free swear pass from me. =)#Also I hope you like the art-style change.#If not don't worry it's only temporary #my art

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