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"Hi STRANGER!" Speedy Kel announced loudly as he bolted past the moody silhouette.
"GAH!" he shouted, exasperated, as he was once again jolted out of his train of thought. "Curse that fast little-" he grumbled.
It had been about a month since The Truth was revealed, and The Dreamer was freed from his binding to the dream world. Stranger had played an integral role in the plan to save him, and at the end, even managed to move his form into the real world for one last hurrah. He had expected that as he was no longer needed, he would leave this world entirely.
Boy was he wrong.
As it turns out, Black Space somehow stayed intact. That's where he woke up. And since all the doors had been unlocked, any of the bizarre and unnerving citizens dwelling in this dark realm were free to travel between its many locales as they wished.
And that's how Stranger found himself in the Looping Forest, sitting on a stump and acting like an emo teenager. He was just... so... so angry! He had gone through all of this effort. He risked his life in Headspace to guide The Dreamer. He created an alliance with the Somethings to help accomplish his goals. He dispensed advice throughout Black Space. Hell, he even let in the brutish, rogue Something that was previously exiled as to ensure that the ritual to once again become whole would be complete! And yet, here he was, once again severed in twain, never to be whole again, groaning about his situation.
Stranger had pretty quickly given up on trying to get people to call him Shadow Basil, as to distinguish him from the actual Stranger people, but his resemblance proved too much for anyone to acknowledge his efforts.
Honestly, he would've even been happy if even Omori, that demonic bastard, had been here. It would be nice to have some actual company other than these goddamned nincompoops. As he thought that, waving his hands forcefully to truly convey his feelings to the air around him, he once again was harassed by Speedy Kel. "Hi STRANGER!"
"WILL YOU STOP THAT!"
He was just so... bored. All his existence he had a goal of sorts, as well as clear steps on how to achieve it. Now all he really had to do was once again throw out that rogue Something that assisted him with the fusion ritual when it just kept sneaking in. He felt empty.
Stranger sighed. "What am I even doing? Moping? How pathetic." He had a thought. "Hmm... the people around me don't seem particularly perturbed by their desolate lives. Perhaps I could try and do what they do?"
He of course decided to join his previous allies, the Somethings. Benevolent beings created to help those they latch onto overcome their fears or remember what they have chosen to forget. The exceptions were of course the minor Somethings, forgotten friends who had chosen to join the cause to put their pain to good use, and the Little Ones, tiny remnants of previous Basils left to rot.
Stranger slowly walked into the Church of Something, and approached their leader, Something In The Wind. "Hello? SOMETHING?" He jumped and spun around immediately as he heard the Somethings' signature noot-noot-adjacent cry from behind. "Ah, hello. Sneaking up on me as usual, I see." Stranger cleared his throat. "SOMETHING. I wish to join your cause."
There was silence, and then a minor Something was brought forward, one he was relatively sure was named Nanci. The minor Somethings were generally used as a mouthpiece for the leader, as the others simply weren't built for it. The Little Ones could only groan and call for help, the Phobias were simply not built for communication, and Basil's Something could only roar, as expected from a dangerous and malformed brute. Something In The Wind was capable of speech herself, but she had only ever spoken to The Dreamer, and once. "What cause do you speak of, STRANGER?"
He awkwardly coughed. "W-well, I'm sure you do something these days. I see you and your subordinates mingling and moving quite regularly."
A deathly rattle, likely intended to be a laugh, erupted from the spider-like tree effigy. "Oh, you do not understand. We are only here when we are not busy. As The Dreamer and The Friend no longer need our assistance, and The Friend was really hurt more than helped in the first place," an attempt at a displeased sniff was made at the mention of the amalgam, "we are instead extending our help to those who need us. That requires travel to the waking realm, which you unfortunately are not built for."
"But, SOMETHING, I must-!"
Something In The Water expelled a tentacle composed of sopping wet strands of hair to pat Stranger on the head, which he considered rather condescending but chose not to mention. "Oh, you poor thing. We are very sorry, but you simply do not have the capability to do so for a significant length of time. Besides, your form is too niche and unmalleable to suit our needs."
He hung his head. "I... I understand. I simply... wish to have a meaning again."
"Well, why not try observing the other denizens of this world? We aren't the only ones here, after all." His skin tickled as Something In The Walls's countless spawn began to swarm him, cooing in recognition of a trusted friend.
"I suppose you're right," he managed, struggling to not end up with eyeball spiders in his mouth.
"Wonderful. We wish you luck on your quest for a purpose, wise one." The looming form of Something In The Dark descended from above, its innumerable grasping hands reaching out towards him. "Shall we transport you to your next destination? We can take care of Something Behind You duty for now. Our treat."
"The Looping Forest, if you please." He held his breath as he was snatched from the grasp of the spiderlings and hair tentacles by the smiling mass and yeeted across the realm.
Stranger's fall was broken by Shattered Omori, who himself broke into tiny pieces. A nearby Head Looking Up gave him a melty approximation of a glare, knowing it would have to fix the childlike specter that inhabited the spellbound mirror once more. Apologizing, he made his way to the Forest Classroom, dodging Speedy Kel's advances. He pushed aside the chalkboard, and began to catch his breath, embarrassed by his lack of exercise in recent times. He grabbed the letter, which now had a stamp of a spiked bat rather than a heart as it did long ago, and concentrated, allowing himself to warp to another place.
As he entered, Stranger was immediately greeted by the sight of the Aubrmy, a title he thought was incredibly bad, doing formation drills. He hesitated, unsure of if he should actually go forward, but reminded himself that he was looking at the most organized and respectable group in Black Space other than the Somethings, and besides, he sure as hell needed the workout.
"Hut! Two-three-four-hut! Two-three-four-hut! Two-three-four- ATTENTION! Aaaaaand march! Yes, yes, very nice, troops!" The young woman commanding the assembled girls nodded, and turned to face the patient Stranger. "Oh, hello. We're in the middle of our training, did you need something?"
"Er, I was wondering if I could speak to you?"
"Eh, alright. TROOPS! You're on break. Go drink some water and make sure you're still stocked up on Life Jams in case of a mishap." The girl turned back to Stranger. This was Killbrey, de facto leader of the Aubrmy. She looked about the same as the other assembled Aubreys, but rather than eyes and a mouth, she simply had skin stretched over the gaps, creating a rather unsettling appearance. She was mostly known for her decisive victory over a particularly vicious and resilient Headspace Basil in the Neighbor Area, or so the legend told. She gave a stretched-skin grin. "What can I do you for?"
"Well, I've found myself in a bit of a... pickle, you see," Stranger said. He chose his words carefully, knowing that although they were mostly their own people now, a slight bit of their programmed character, in this case their love for tormenting any variety of Kel, still remained, and could be... taken into account. "I've lost all sense of purpose, and I wish to get it back. So, I want to join your army."
"The Aubrmy?"
"...the Aubrmy," he forced out, cringing.
She grinned even more. "I like you. But, I guess I'll have to talk to my partner before I make any decisions. Feel free to chat with the troops while I'm gone." Killbrey wandered off down the Aubrey School area, leaving Stranger alone with the many Aubroids that were native to the location. He couldn't make out a single word of their conversations, and instead chose to stand in awkward silence. A few minutes later, Killbrey returned with her fellow leader.
This other leader was Faceless Aubrey, hailing from the Faceless Area. Known to be a very wise and confident person, Stranger felt a bit of a kinship with her. Unfortunately, the only person who could understand her was Killbrey, as she had no face, and therefore could neither talk nor show any sort of intelligible expression. "Mmhmm? Yeah? No? Ah, that's true. Do you think he could-? No, that's just rude. Oh, don't be so silly. Maybe we could get him a wig. Not enough? Really? Damn. Ah, shit, oh well."
Killbrey returned her gaze to Stranger. "I'm sorry, but she says you're not Aubrey enough. If you could change form like the other Strangers, then it'd be okay, but as of now, well..." she trailed off euphemistically. "But hey, I found you a long-haired wig if you want it."
"...thanks, I guess." He took the wig gingerly, rather confused. "Er, where do you recommend I go next?"
Faceless Aubrey shrugged. "She says she doesn't know, but at least to try and put the wig to good use."
"Um, alright. Thank you, bye."
As it turns out, as seemingly useless as the item had been, that had given him an idea. He made his way to the Town Area, a sparsely populated woodland village known for permanently running deer skeletons, a hidden graveyard with weird shit written on the tombstones, and all the trees being upside down (courtesy of The Dreamer's meddling).
However, there was one other notable feature; the Wrong Clock House, named after its flipped clock on the face of it. Stranger nervously rang the doorbell, only to realize the door was unlocked the whole time and he felt really stupid. He sashayed in, taking a look at the menagerie.
The residents of the Wrong Clock House were a gang of like-minded individuals from across Black Space that had decided to form a found family together. Hair Mari, who was usually seen sleeping in the Disco Area (an impressive feat, as that place was known for being loud and brightly-colored), looked through her hand within her picture frame. Hellmari, an infamously angry poltergeist who normally resided in the real world, but could take a form tied to a carcass in a coffin in Black Space, desperately tried not to eat her cards. Mari?, an intellectual, telepathically directed her hair to hold her cards like tentacles. The final player, Faceless Mari, warped and cracked into her monstrous alternate form, being startled by Stranger's appearance. He grimaced at the sight of her- even he was unnerved by the creature from behind the door- but shook it off and cleared his shadowy throat bits.
"Er, hello." The cynical half-shadow mentally cursed himself at the awkward introduction.
As her compatriots simply blinked and stared, Mari? gave them a stern expression before grinning brightly at him. "Hello! STRANGER, yes? How wonderful! Have you been expanding your mind lately?"
He choked slightly. "Er, yes, something to that effect, I suppose. I was, actually, erm, wondering..." he trailed off. Stranger was never a particularly social... whatever he is, preferring to work alone and easily angered. The social aspect was what Headspace Basil did, and it went away with him. So all that was left was a mess of anxiety and pessimism that talked like Kyle from Fanboy & Chum Chum. "...well... could I try and... join your group?"
The stares he was met with were astronomically embarrassing. "Oh, what in SOMETHING's eye have I just asked, how stupid of me, I'll just leave," he stammered, feeling like a complete and utter dolt.
Mari? looked around at her friends as if asking them to do something, before rolling her eyes and tapping the mortified darkling's shoulder. "STRANGER, you should be kinder to yourself. You'll never expand your mind if you're always making yourself miserable, no?"
He looked up at the giant floating head and groaned, realizing he was getting a lecture on emotional maturity from a giant floating head. "...yeah, I suppose so," he begrudgingly admitted, biting back a comment about how he felt like he was in an episode of SpongeBob. "I just want a place to belong. The Aubreys gave me this wig, and I thought maybe if I wore it I could fit in here..."
She giggled, her brain jiggling like a forbidden aspic. "Aw, it's alright. Trust me, you don't wanna be around us anyway. All we do is play War with Pokemon cards, and HairMari always cheats." It took him a tremendous amount of effort to not ask how one plays War with Pokemon cards. "But I, on behalf of my rude friends, wish you luck on your journey of learning."
He actually smiled a bit. "I really appreciate that. I suppose I should go now. I must expand my mind, as you say." The Maris waved him off as he left.
Stranger was stumped, to say the least. He couldn't think of another group to join. He felt hopeless. He didn't understand any of it.
He looked around him, and watched everyone else, just as alone as he was, enjoying their time and not wishing they were dead. Big Pocket danced. Herosaurus roared. The Red Hands flitted about, acting like wild prey animals now that they had no master. Omoli begged. Swethort laughed... or whatever that was supposed to be. They were alone, unorganized, unnatural, unaccompanied, and yet... unbothered.
Stranger had none of that. He wanted things to be in order, for everything to make sense, for somewhere he could truly belong... but all around him, he saw the exact opposite. Chaos. Blissful anarchy. And so he weeped, sitting on his stump, alone and very bothered.
Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. "...STRANGER?" It was Speedy Kel, completely still for once in his life.
Stranger simply reacted the same as usual. "Oh, just piss off for once, you absolute nuisance!" he lashed out.
Speedy Kel began to cry, making Stranger pause, feeling incredibly guilty. "...I just wanted to help... you looked sad..."
Stranger hung his head in shame. "...I'm sorry, that was awful of me. I... I can't do anything right, can I?"
The Kel looked at him curiously. "Why do you think that?"
"Because..." he sighed. "I'm pointless. I did what I was made to do, and now that I'm restless, all I've done is bother everyone else in an attempt to hog their contentedness with the meaningless existence of our world."
"Whatcha mean? Like, you weren't happy, so you tried to take other people's happy?"
"Something like that, yes. I just want everything to be... organized. Understandable. I want everything to be neat, and tidy, and to make sense. But... nobody else wants that. Not in the way I do."
"Huh..." Speedy Kel thought the hardest he had ever thought in his tiny little life. "...have you tried talking to people about it?"
"Yes! But I just end up pushing them away, like I always do."
"Well... maybe you're just not speaking in terms they understand. What kinda order do you want, exactly?"
Stranger pondered this long and hard. "Well, I suppose I wish that everything would be more neat, really. Everyone's just running around their homes doing basically nothing with very few exceptions, when we... we have a rich culture, here in BLACK SPACE, we really do. But nobody ever leaves their area, except for me, because I don't have any sort of home to go back to. It's a real shame that nobody ever... does anything new, or meets anyone else. The few people who have tried it once and are now so satisfied that they likely never will again."
As he looked up, the shadow saw that the lightspeed nuisance had stars in his eyes. "Wow... that's so cool! So inspiring!"
Stranger was shocked. "W-wait, really?"
"Yeah! Everyone getting to meet each other, share their culture, see new places and try new things... it would be so cool and exciting!"
"Well, I mean, it's completely unrealistic, there's no way I could convince the entire realm of it, and there would be so many roadblocks to work out..."
"Of course it is with that attitude! But if you're a bit more cheerful about it, it would be amazing! Just imagine; one unified BLACK SPACE, together in strife!" And so, Stranger imagined it. The boy was right... it was beautiful. United against the hopelessness of their existence, exchanging customs and ways of life. "Isn't it great?!"
"...yes, yes it is. You're much more intelligent than I've ever given you credit for. I sincerely apologize."
"Nahh, it's fine! Besides, you're the one who came up with the idea! I just kinda... made it more good to say!"
"Well, yes, I... I suppose I did." He thought for a moment. "Thank you, SPEEDY KEL. I must... go talk to the people with any sort of authority here. They'll want to hear about this, I think." Speedy Kel waved at him as he rushed off into the snow.
Stranger burst through the doors of the Church Of Something. "SOMETHING, HOLY FUCK!" Realizing what he had just done, he paused, politely and carefully closing the doors behind himself, and walked up to Something In The Wind. "Er, my apologies, I suppose I let the excitement get to me."
Something In The Wind made the closest thing one can make to a bemused expression when one's face is literally just an eye. A Lili sludged forward, 16 googly eyes wiggling lazily, as to be her mouth. "My, STRANGER, it's been a very long time since you've been excited about anything at all! What's gotten you so riled up, if we may ask?"
"Well, I had a most groundbreaking idea. BLACK SPACE, unified into one country-adjacent thing!" His eyes gleamed like headlights in the rain. "Rather than simply keeping to their own, doing the same thing over and over for all of eternity, we will exchange cultures and traditions! No one... no one will have to be alone again," he finished.
"Wonderful! Sounds lovely, STRANGER. Who would be the leader?" His breath caught in his shadowy throat bits... he had no idea. He would ask her, but she was certainly too busy. Oh no, how could he have forgotten something so important, possibly the most important?! "We jest. We already know it would be you."
Stranger paused. What? No way.
"Hold on, you can't be serious."
The matriarch of the Something hivemind looked... genuinely surprised, oddly enough. "That wasn't what you had in mind? Why not?"
"...you can't be serious," he repeated. "Why would I be any good at leading a realm?"
"Why wouldn't you? A known, powerful figure with renowned intellect and a penchant for good ideas. We think you're the perfect candidate!"
He began to consider this. "...I feel like I don't have even close to enough influence, unlike you. I would get much too overwhelmed."
"Ah, but the people trust you. You saved the Dreamer. You brought peace back to BLACK SPACE. And you wouldn't be alone. We would wholeheartedly support your cause, should you choose to start it."
Funny shadow boy looked at her in awe. "Wow... I suppose you're right. That's completely true. I can do this. I can do this!" Stranger ran out of the doors of the church and began writing in the snow. "Let's see here..."
"I'll be the kin- no, not a king. I'm not flashy or pompous. Hmm... 'Shadow Emperor'. Yes, yes, that'll do. Shadow Emperor, Shadow Basil. Wonderful." Something In The Wind watched, tickled, as he continued to plan. "And I'll need an ambassador- wait, that postulates foreign lands we'll be negotiating with. Well, I'm sure it'll come up at some point." He scribbled down a reminder to find someone who would be diplomatic enough to serve as an envoy. "We'll need to have heads of education, transportation, entertainment..." he trailed off.
"Having fun?" the chittering mass of eyes spoke.
"Yes! This is perfect! Ah, SOMETHING! As you have a church, you could serve as a religious leader of sorts, yes? As a way to rally more support for your work?" he suggested.
"We believe that would fit quite well, yes."
A little bit later, Stranger stepped back, having covered the entire mountain in manic scrawling describing the details of his empire-to-be. "Fantastic! It's complete! This shall be a delightful experience!" Without warning, he rushed off to the Looping Forest to talk to Speedy Kel.
One month later...
Shadow Emperor Shadow Basil put his feet up on his desk, finally having filled every job necessary for the empire to run smoothly. "Holy shit, that was a lot of work." As he began to relax, he heard a knock at the door. "Come in!"
His secretary, an armless, puppet-like girl with anti-social tendencies named Bluegirl, hopped into his humble office, carrying an enormous stack of papers... somehow.
"Thank you, Bluegirl." The emperor pulled a few off the top, unsure of what he was looking at. "Crowning of the Prince of Darkness, differentiation issues in the army, territory disputes in BLACK SPACE 2- what is all this stuff?"
"Stuff you have to do, sir."
"Oh."
This was going to be a long day...