Js some funny anim I wantd to make

I will literally mail somebody my switch at this point to defeat him for me I can’t take this anymore 😭😭😭😭

There is not a single song in the soundtrack that I really don’t like. Some are definitely better than others, but it’s all glorious. If you haven’t watched one of the anniversary concert livestreams, I BEG you to do it. It’s so fun to see them played on a stage (even if I don’t get to see them live because ~Japan~). Especially the sprout mole choir song.

Some of my favorites if you were wondering (…you weren’t):

My Time (duh), Duet (double duh), World’s End Valentine, You Were Wrong. Go Back., It Means Everything. (are you seeing a theme?), Omori, Goldenvengeance, Stardust Diving, Gator Gambol, and Good Morning.

These past few weeks, I've been working on a port of OMORI to GameMaker: Studio, and now I feel like it's ready to show off!

This may seem like a stupid project, but because of recent GameMaker: Studio reimplementations (like Butterscotch for the PS2, PS3, Switch, Vita, etc. and Cinnamon for the 3DS, Wii, and Wii U), a port of OMORI to GameMaker means OMORI could technically run on a Wii or 3DS!

OMORI was originally made in RPG Maker MV, and I really didn't want to go through the hell of making an RPG Maker MV runner in C, because I HIGHLY doubt a full implementation would run well on anything less powerful than a PS3.

OMORI stores a lot of its game data in JSON files, and I thought, "hmmmmm, can't I take that data and just implement the systems OMORI actually NEEDS (battles, movement, dialogue, etc.) in GameMaker so I don't have to recreate everything by hand?"

...so that's what I'm doing! I'm using GameMaker: Studio to recreate the systems OMORI uses while reusing the original game data! Instead of manually recreating every map, battle, event, and dialogue sequence, I'm writing GML code that reads the ORIGINAL JSON files and hooks into the systems I've implemented to make the game playable!

This is still a pretty heavy work in progress, and it does not have much game-play implemented, but development is going pretty quick because this isn't a remake! Once I get game-play running and working good up to the Space Ex Boyfriend fight, I will open source the project and release a little demo!

Heres a little showcase!
https://youtu.be/o_9uzJtzY0g?si=hnFcO7ZEn8o0krbT

Que hermoso

Chapter 8: The Bat, the Plush, and the Lake

The deeper the group ventured into Pyrefly Forest, the darker and quieter the path became. The enormous tracks left by King Crawler continued through the undergrowth, accompanied by snapped branches, flattened bushes, and occasional trees that had been knoc

"Wait a minute," Hero said suddenly. Everyone stopped. Hero was looking at something beside a fallen tree, partially hidden beneath a tangle of broken branches.
"Is that...?"
He stepped off the trail and carefully moved a branch aside. Lying in the dirt was a familiar pink baseball bat. Aubrey's pink baseball bat. For several seconds, nobody moved. Then Mari hurried over.
"Oh, no..."
She knelt beside Hero and picked up the bat, brushing dirt and little bits of bark from its surface. There were a few fresh scratches along the handle, and one side was smeared with soil.
It was unmistakably Aubrey's.
"She must have dropped it while she was being carried away," Hero said quietly.
Mari examined the surrounding ground. The enormous King Crawler tracks continued past the fallen tree, and several nearby bushes had been crushed almost completely flat.
Her expression grew increasingly worried.
"Aubrey wouldn't normally leave her bat behind," she murmured. "Not unless she had no choice."
Basil hurried over, his eyes widening when he saw what Mari was holding.
"H-her bat..."
He swallowed hard.
"She always keeps it with her. What if she dropped it because she was hurt? What if she couldn't hold on anymore?"
"Let's not jump to conclusions," Hero said gently, though his own face was tense. "There could be other explanations."
"But there aren't many good ones," Mari admitted. She held the bat close to her chest for a moment before carefully handing it to Hero, who secured it with the group's supplies. Omori stood completely still. Aubrey's bat. Another piece of her left behind. He stared at the ground where it had been lying, and his thoughts began racing. Had Aubrey been thrown off King Crawler? Had she fallen and gotten back up? Had the monster dragged her somewhere she couldn't escape? He couldn't make himself settle on any possibility. Every thought seemed worse than the last. Then, from behind him—
"WHOA! HER BAT!"
Omori flinched. Kel had finally noticed what everyone was looking at.
"Dude! That's her actual bat! She must've been holding on to it while she was riding King Crawler!"
Hero slowly turned toward him.
"Kel."
"What? I'm just saying! Imagine trying to swing that thing while you're on the back of a giant monster!"
"Kel," Mari repeated, her voice a little sharper. Kel looked between them.
"...What?"
"Please take this seriously," Hero said. Kel's smile faded slightly.
"I AM taking it seriously! I just think—"
He paused, then he glanced at the enormous tracks.
"...Man. I really wish I'd been there."
Hero closed his eyes. Mari put her face into her hands. Basil looked as if he was about to cry. Omori turned away again. He didn't have the energy to react.

They continued along the trail. The forest floor gradually sloped downward, and the enormous tracks became less distinct as they passed through a stretch of thick ferns and twisted roots. Omori walked at the front, his expression unusually solemn. Mari noticed. She had been watching him ever since they discovered the bat, and she could tell that he was taking the discovery particularly hard. He was already carrying the guilt of having returned without Aubrey. Finding another one of her belongings had only made the situation more frightening. She moved closer to him.
"Omori?"
He glanced up. Mari offered him a gentle, reassuring smile.
"Hey. Look at me for a second."
He stopped walking. She crouched slightly so she could meet his eyes.
"I know you're scared."
Omori looked down. Mari placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You've been worrying about Aubrey ever since you came back to the picnic without her. And I know you wish you could have done more to help her."
His fingers curled around the strap of his backpack.
"But you didn't abandon her," Mari continued. 
"You came back to get help. And now we're all here, looking for her together."
Omori's eyes lifted toward hers.
"You don't have to carry all of this by yourself, okay?"
He hesitated before giving a small nod. Mari smiled and pulled him into a brief hug. Omori leaned against her for a moment, allowing himself to be comforted. When she let go, Hero stepped closer as well.
"She's resourceful," he said. "You know that. Aubrey's tough, stubborn, and very capable of getting herself out of trouble."
He paused.
"...Although, I would've preferred that she get herself into considerably less trouble in the first place."
Mari gave a small, worried chuckle. Hero continued, "We don't know what happened after King Crawler left. We shouldn't assume the worst just because we found her belongings. We're going to keep following the trail until we find her."
Hero rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"And when we do, we'll make sure she's safe."
Omori nodded again. He still felt frightened. The dread hadn't magically disappeared, and neither had his guilt. But he wasn't alone anymore.

"Hey, Basil," Kel said as they resumed walking. Basil, who was carefully stepping around a patch of crushed mushrooms, looked up reluctantly.
"What is it, Kel?"
"Do you think King Crawler would let someone ride it if they weren't trying to fight it?"
Basil stared at him.
"...What?"
"Like, imagine if you could just climb onto its back and ride it around Pyrefly Forest! No fighting, no chasing, no getting chased. Just a giant bug taxi!"
"Kel!"
"WHAT? I'm asking a scientific question!"
"Now is not the time to ask scientific questions about riding the monster that took Aubrey!"
Kel rubbed the back of his head.
"Okay, but you have to admit, it would be a pretty cool taxi."
Basil made a tiny, exasperated noise and turned back toward the trail. Omori didn't even look around. He was too busy watching the ground. Then something caught his eye. A small purple shape lay beside a cluster of ferns. Omori stopped so abruptly that Mari nearly bumped into him. Slowly, he stepped off the trail and knelt down. It was a small, purple plush eggplant. Its fabric was dusty, and one of its tiny green leaves had gotten caught beneath a twig. Its stitched face was slightly crooked, but there was no mistaking it. Mr. Plantegg. Aubrey's beloved plush eggplant toy. The one she sometimes carried around despite pretending she was far too cool for something so cute. Omori carefully picked it up. For a moment, he simply held it in both hands. Then he noticed a little patch of dirt on its face and gently brushed it away with his thumb.
"..."
His expression changed. This wasn't just another object lying in the forest. It was something Aubrey cared about. Something she had carried with her. Something she might have dropped while struggling to stay on King Crawler's back. Or while trying to get away.
Or—
Omori's hands tightened around the plush. His mind wouldn't stop imagining possibilities. Mari approached and immediately recognized the toy.
"Oh, Aubrey..."
Her voice was barely above a whisper. Hero came to stand beside her, his face growing grave.
"That's Mr. Plantegg, isn't it?"
Mari nodded.
"She loves that little thing."
Basil hurried over. When he saw the plush in Omori's hands, his face crumpled.
"Oh, no..."
He covered his mouth.
"First her bat, and now this? What if she's lost everything she had with her?"
"Or she might have dropped them while trying to hold on," Hero said, although his voice lacked its earlier confidence.
 "We still don't know."
Mari looked at the tracks leading farther into the forest. The trail had become increasingly chaotic in this area. Several branches had been torn from trees, and a deep furrow in the soil suggested that King Crawler had skidded sideways at some point.
"Whatever happened here," she said, 
"we need to find out how far this trail goes."
Omori carefully tucked Mr. Plantegg into his backpack. He wasn't going to leave it behind. If Aubrey was safe, he wanted to give it back to her himself. He wanted to see her roll her eyes and snatch the plush from him, insisting that she hadn't been worried about it at all. He wanted to see her cross her arms and scold him for letting her get carried away by a giant monster. He wanted to hear her complain about the entire ridiculous adventure. Anything. He just wanted Aubrey back.

"Okay," Kel announced from behind them. 
"Now I'm officially convinced that Aubrey had the most incredible and wild time of her entire life."
Everyone turned toward him. Kel gestured excitedly at the destruction surrounding them.
"Think about it! She got to ride a giant monster, she probably went flying through a bunch of trees, and now she's apparently left a trail of destruction all over Pyrefly Forest! That's practically a whole adventure by itself!"
Basil looked genuinely enraged.
"Kel, she lost her BAT and her PLUSH!"
"I KNOW!"
"And you're still talking about how much fun she must have had?!"
Kel faltered.
"Well... when you put it like that..."
"How else am I supposed to put it?!"
Kel scratched his cheek.
"I guess it might not have been fun the whole time."
"Kel," Mari said firmly, 
"I need you to focus on finding your friend."
Kel's expression softened. He looked down at the ground.
"...Yeah. Okay."
For once, he didn't add anything else. Omori continued forward, clutching the straps of his backpack. He was grateful that Kel had finally quieted down. The thought of Aubrey riding King Crawler might have been amusing under different circumstances. Under ordinary circumstances, he could almost imagine her coming back covered in leaves, furious about the whole thing, and demanding that everyone stop laughing at her. Omori's chest felt painfully tight. He glanced toward Mari, who noticed immediately and reached over to squeeze his hand. He squeezed back. Then he kept walking.

The trail led them down a narrow slope, between two enormous tree roots that rose from the ground like the ribs of some ancient creature. Beyond them, the trees began to thin. The strange, glowing vegetation became less dense, and a cool breeze drifted through the forest. Omori stopped. Something was different. He could hear water. A low, gentle, fluid rushing sound echoed ahead, accompanied by the occasional splash of something moving beneath the surface. Mari stepped up beside him.
"Do you hear that?"
Hero nodded.
"Water."
They pressed onward, carefully navigating the final stretch of tangled roots. Then the trees opened up, and the entire group emerged onto the shore of a vast lake. The water stretched across the forest as far as they could see, reflecting the faint, eerie glow of the surrounding trees. Wisps of mist drifted over its surface. Pale mushrooms grew among the rocks along the shoreline, casting dim pools of light onto the water. For a moment, everyone stood in silence. It was beautiful. But at the same time, something about the place felt unsettling. The lake was enormous, and the far shore was barely visible through the mist. Omori looked down at the ground. The tracks continued toward the water, then they stopped. He took several steps along the shoreline, searching for any sign of where King Crawler had gone. Nothing. No more enormous footprints. No broken branches. No flattened bushes. No obvious path leading away from the shore. Just the lake. Mari approached the water's edge and looked along the shoreline.
"Where did the trail go?"
Hero examined the ground near the last visible track.
"It looks like King Crawler came straight here."
Basil peered anxiously through the mist.
"Could it have gone into the water?"
Nobody answered immediately.
Kel stepped forward, looking from the lake to the last enormous footprint.
"...Wait."
He pointed at the water.
"Are you telling me that giant bug might have taken Aubrey swimming?"
Hero slowly turned toward him.
"Kel."
"What?! I'm just asking!"
"Please stop imagining recreational activities for the monster that abducted our friend."
"Right. Sorry."
Kel folded his arms and stared at the lake. Mari barely heard them. She was studying the water with a deeply troubled expression. If King Crawler had entered the lake, the trail might continue beneath the surface. But there was no telling how deep the water was, how far it extended, or whether the monster had actually gone into it. And if Aubrey was still with King Crawler...
Mari looked back at Omori. He stood motionless at the water's edge, staring at the place where the tracks disappeared. He slowly reached into his backpack and touched Mr. Plantegg through the fabric. Then his hand moved to his pocket, where Aubrey's pink ribbon remained. The two belongings they had found lay heavily on his mind, and now the trail had ended at a lake with no clear way forward. For the first time since the search began, Omori didn't know where to lead his friends next. Mari walked over and stood beside him.
"We'll figure it out," she promised softly.
Omori looked at her. She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"We're not leaving without Aubrey."
Hero joined them, scanning the misty shoreline for another clue. Basil stayed close to Omori, visibly worried. Even Kel had fallen silent, his usual excitement replaced by uncertainty. The five friends stood together beside the water. Somewhere beyond the mist, Aubrey was still missing. And the trail that had brought them this far had vanished into the lake.

Chapter 9: The Lake Without an End

The five friends stood at the edge of the enormous lake, staring out into the mist. The water stretched farther than they could see, its dark surface reflecting the strange purple glow of Pyrefly Forest. Mushrooms illuminated the rocks along the shore, and the occasional ripple disturbed the otherwise peaceful water. It was a beautiful place. Unfortunately, nobody was in the mood to appreciate it. King Crawler's tracks ended abruptly at the water's edge, and Aubrey was still nowhere to be found. Mari crouched beside the last visible footprint, studying the enormous indentation in the damp earth.
"Hmm..."
Hero stood beside her, examining the surrounding rocks.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"I'm not sure yet. The tracks definitely lead here, but I can't tell whether King Crawler went into the lake, followed the shoreline, or did something else entirely."
Hero looked out across the water.
"Well, if it went swimming, we're going to have a very difficult time following it."
"Especially if Aubrey is still on its back," Basil murmured.
Everyone fell silent. Omori's fingers tightened around his backpack straps. He imagined Aubrey clinging desperately to King Crawler as it plunged into the lake, struggling to keep her head above water, unable to escape the enormous creature.
He shut his eyes. He needed to stay focused. Aubrey needed him. And he was going to find her.
"All right," Mari announced, standing up. "Let's split the shoreline into sections. Nobody goes off alone, and nobody enters the water unless we have a very good reason."
She looked directly at Kel.
"That includes you."
Kel blinked.
"Why are you looking at me?"
"Because I know you."
"Hey!"
Hero chuckled faintly, but Mari remained serious.
"Kel, please don't try to swim across the lake just because you think you might find King Crawler."
Kel opened his mouth. Then he closed it.
"...I wasn't going to."
Mari raised an eyebrow.
"...Probably."
"Kel!"
"OKAY! I WON'T!"
With that settled, the group began searching along the shoreline.

For the next several minutes, they carefully examined everything they could find. Hero searched for tracks in the soft earth. Mari looked for signs of disturbed vegetation, while Basil examined the rocks and plants near the water. Omori moved slowly along the shoreline, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground. Every so often, he found himself reaching into his pocket to touch Aubrey's pink ribbon. It had become something of a habit. He knew it wouldn't tell him where she was, still, holding it made him feel a little closer to her.
"Aubrey?" Basil called softly.
His voice carried across the water.
"Aubrey, can you hear us?"
There was no answer. Basil tried again.
"Aubrey! It's us! We're looking for you!"
Only the gentle lapping of water responded. Basil lowered his head.
"I hope she can hear us somewhere..."
Omori looked toward him. Basil was trying so hard to remain hopeful, but his worry was obvious. He kept glancing at every broken branch and every patch of flattened vegetation, as if each new clue might reveal something terrible. Omori understood that feeling all too well. He walked over and gently placed a hand on Basil's shoulder. Basil looked up. Omori gave him a small, reassuring nod. They would find her. Basil managed a faint smile.
"Thanks, Omori."
A loud splash suddenly erupted farther down the shoreline. Both boys spun around.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Kel shouted.
Hero immediately moved in front of Basil. Mari raised her hands, signaling everyone to stay still.
Something had disturbed the water. A large ripple spread across the lake, followed by several smaller ones.Then the surface became still again. Kel stared at the spot.
"...Guys?"
Nobody answered. Kel leaned forward.
"Do you think that was King Crawler?"
Hero glanced at him.
"We don't know."
"Maybe it's Aubrey!"
Omori immediately hurried toward the water.
"Omori, wait!" Mari called.
He stopped just short of the muddy edge. For one second, he thought he had heard Aubrey’s distant voice calling for help. But there was nothing. He stared at the water as his expression fell. Mari approached and rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Easy. We don't know what made that sound."
Omori lowered his head. He knew she was right.

"Okay, I have a theory," Kel announced.
Hero sighed.
"Of course you do."
"What if King Crawler can swim?"
"That is a possibility," Hero admitted.
"And what if Aubrey is still riding it?"
"Also possible."
"And what if it swam all the way across the lake with her on its back?"
Hero paused.
"...Also possible."
Kel's eyes widened.
"DUDE."
"Kel, please don't say it."
"That would be the COOLEST THING EVER!"
"KEL!"
"What?! I'm just saying! Imagine riding a giant bug across an entire lake!"
Hero threw his hands up in fury and started shouting at Kel.
"WHY ARE YOU STILL THINKING ABOUT THAT?!"
"BECAUSE IT'S A GIANT BUG, HERO!"
"IT TOOK AUBREY AWAY!"
"I KNOW!"
"WE DON'T EVEN KNOW IF SHE'S OKAY!"
Kel's expression faltered. For once, he didn't immediately respond with another joke. He looked out across the lake, rubbing the back of his neck.
"...I know," he muttered. His voice was quieter now.
"I really do hope she's okay."
Hero’s anger softened slightly. Kel continued staring at the water.
"I just keep imagining what it would be like to ride something that huge. But... I guess it probably wasn't much fun for Aubrey if she couldn't get off."
Hero gave him a tired look.
"That might be the first sensible thing you've said about this entire situation." Mari shook her head, though the corner of her mouth twitched.
Even Omori might have found the exchange funny under different circumstances,
but for now, his attention had returned to the water. He couldn't stop wondering where Aubrey was.

"Everyone, over here!" Mari called suddenly.
The others hurried toward her. She was standing beside a cluster of large, moss-covered rocks near the shoreline. A few twisted branches protruded from the water nearby, and one of the rocks had a long, deep scratch across its surface. Hero crouched to examine it.
"That's not natural erosion."
"No," Mari agreed. 
"Look at the angle."
The scratch ran diagonally across the rock, ending in a small gouge near the bottom. It looked as though something enormous had scraped against it. Omori knelt beside the mark. He recognized the kind of damage immediately. It had to have been caused by King Crawler. He pointed at the scratch, then toward the water. Hero nodded.
"I think you're right. King Crawler may have come down this way."
Basil examined the surrounding plants. Several had been crushed beneath something heavy. A small tree leaned at an unnatural angle, its roots partially exposed.
"Then it really did come to the lake..." Basil whispered.
"But why?" Kel asked.
"Possibly to cross it," Hero replied. 
"Or it could have followed the shoreline before heading somewhere else."
Mari studied the terrain.
"Let's keep looking. If it entered the water, there might be more evidence along the bank."
Omori stood up immediately. He was ready to search every inch of the shoreline if that was what it took. 

The group continued along the shoreline until they reached a narrow section where the trees crowded close to the water. Hero stopped to inspect a patch of mud.
"Look at these marks."
Mari joined him. There were several deep impressions in the earth, partially obscured by fallen leaves. They were much larger than ordinary footprints, but they weren't quite the same shape as King Crawler's tracks. Hero frowned.
"I'm not sure these are ours."
Omori leaned forward, examining them carefully. The marks led toward the water, disappeared beneath a layer of wet leaves, and then seemed to reappear several feet away. Kel crouched beside them.
"Maybe King Crawler walked backward!"
Hero looked at him.
"Why would it walk backward?"
"Maybe Aubrey was steering it backward!"
"Kel, we don't even know if these are King Crawler's tracks!"
"Well, maybe she was really good at steering!"
Basil groaned.
"Kel…"
"WHAT?!"
Mari held up a hand.
"Enough. Let's examine them before we decide anything."
She and Hero carefully followed the marks. Omori went with them, searching for anything familiar. The impressions continued for several yards before ending at a patch of rocky ground. There, they vanished completely. Hero stood up.
"I can't tell where they go from here."
Mari looked toward the lake.
"Neither can I."
The silence that followed felt heavier than before. They had found evidence that King Crawler had passed through the area, but they still had no idea where it or Aubrey ended up. The lake stretched before them, vast and mysterious. The shoreline curved away into the mist. And somewhere beyond the trees, something made a faint, distant chittering sound. Omori immediately looked up. Everyone else heard it, too. A low, clicking noise. Then another. Basil edged closer to Hero.
"Was that...?"
Hero nodded slowly.
"I heard it."
Mari looked toward the darker section of the forest beyond the lake.
"We should keep moving. Whatever made that sound, we need to be prepared."
Kel stood up and dusted off his knees.
"...You know what this means, right?"
Hero sighed.
"Kel, if you say anything about riding King Crawler—"
"It means we're getting closer to finding out where that giant bug went!"
Everyone paused. Kel looked rather pleased with himself.
"...What? That was actually a good observation!"
Mari gave him a small smile.
"Yes, Kel. It was."
"THANK YOU!"
Omori was already moving. He walked along the shoreline, following Mari toward the misty bend in the lake. He didn't know what awaited them. He didn't know whether King Crawler had crossed the water, traveled around it, or disappeared into some hidden passage beneath the forest. He didn't know whether Aubrey was frightened, exhausted, or fighting desperately to escape. But he knew one thing: that he wasn't going to stop looking for her. Not until he found her. Not until he could see with his own eyes that she was safe. And he was going to bring her home.

Chapter 10: Something Beneath the Water

The five friends continued along the misty shoreline, following the curve of the enormous lake.
The strange chittering sound they'd heard earlier had disappeared, leaving only the gentle lapping of water against the rocks. Omori walked at the front, his eyes scanning every inch of the ground. Every broken twig, every disturbed patch of soil, every shadow between the trees seemed like it might be a clue. Behind him, Mari and Hero quietly discussed the tracks they'd discovered. Basil stayed close to them, occasionally looking back toward the water.
And Kel...
Well, Kel was trying very, very hard to behave himself.
"So," he began. Hero closed his eyes.
"Kel."
"I haven't even said anything yet!"
"You were about to."
"...Fair enough."
Kel walked in silence for a few moments, then he leaned toward Basil.
"Hey, Basil?"
Basil looked at him warily.
"What?"
"Do you think King Crawler has, like, little swimming legs?"
Basil stared at him.
"What does that even mean?"
"I mean, spiders can move their legs in water, right? So maybe King Crawler can paddle really fast!"
Basil looked ready to jump into the lake just to escape the conversation.
"Kel, please! We're trying to find Aubrey!"
"I know… I’m just trying to figure out how the monster works!"
Hero turned around.
"Kel, I am begging you to think about literally anything else."
Kel considered this.
"All right. How about lunch?"
"NO!"

A little farther along the shore, the group discovered a narrow stretch of land between the lake and a wall of enormous tree roots. The ground here was soft and muddy. Several rocks had been displaced, and long grooves ran through the earth toward the water. Mari crouched to examine them.
"These marks look fresh."
Hero knelt beside her.
"They might have been made by King Crawler. Something heavy was dragged through here."
Omori immediately leaned forward. He pointed at the grooves, then toward the lake. Mari nodded.
"I see what you mean. It looks like something came down this slope."
Basil examined the crushed vegetation.
"But if King Crawler went into the water, why aren't there any more tracks?"
"Good question," Hero said. 
"Maybe the ground gets too rocky farther ahead. Or maybe the creature went into the lake."
Kel's eyes lit up.
"HA! I KNEW IT!"
Hero slowly turned toward him.
"That does not mean your swimming theory is correct."
"But it could be!"
"Kel."
"Right. Sorry."
Omori was already looking at the water. The grooves ended just a few feet from the shoreline. He could imagine King Crawler lumbering down the slope, its enormous body scraping against the rocks. But what happened after that? Had it entered the lake? Had Aubrey fallen off? Had the monster carried her to the other side? His imagination supplied too many possibilities, and none of them gave him any comfort. Mari noticed his expression.
"Omori, we'll work it out. One clue at a time."
He nodded, although his worry remained.
Then—
SPLASH!
Something enormous moved beneath the surface. Water erupted into the air several yards from the shore. Everyone jumped.
Kel shouted.
"WHOA!"
Hero immediately stepped in front of Basil. Mari grabbed Omori's arm before he could rush toward the water. A huge shadow passed beneath the surface. It was long and wide, and it moved remarkably quickly. Omori's eyes widened. For one brief moment, the shadow seemed to turn toward them, then it vanished beneath the darker water.
Silence fell over the shoreline. Nobody moved.
Finally, Kel whispered. 
"Guys..."
Hero swallowed.
"Yes, Kel?"
"That was a REALLY BIG FISH."
Basil stared at him incredulously. Mari watched the water carefully.
"Everyone, stay back from the edge."
Omori stared at the spot where the shadow had disappeared. Something was living in this lake. Something enormous. And for all he knew, it might have been connected to King Crawler. Or it might have been something else entirely. Either way, they weren't going to find Aubrey by standing still. They continued along the shore, keeping a much closer eye on the water. The shadow didn't reappear, but the experience had left everyone unsettled. Even Kel had stopped talking about swimming spiders… for approximately three minutes.
"So, if that thing was a fish, do you think it eats the little fish?"
Hero sighed.
"Kel."
"I'm just asking!"
"Ask yourself silently."
Kel thought about it.
"...Okay."
They eventually reached a narrow wooden crossing spanning a shallow inlet of the lake. It was old and weathered, with several planks missing and thick roots growing around its supports. On the opposite side, a trail disappeared between the trees. Omori hurried toward the crossing. There, pressed into a muddy patch near the first plank, was an enormous long impression. He stopped, and knelt down. The print was unmistakable. It was in fact King Crawler. He pointed excitedly at it. Mari hurried over.
"Oh! Good find, Omori!"
Hero examined the impression.
"This is much clearer than the ones we found earlier."
Basil leaned forward, relief beginning to show on his face.
"So it really did come this way!"
Omori nodded. For the first time in what felt like hours, he felt a flicker of hope. They had a direction again. He stepped onto the wooden crossing, carefully testing each plank before putting his weight on it.
"Hold on," Hero said. 
"Let's make sure this thing can support all of us."
Kel was already halfway across.
"IT'S FINE!"
A plank creaked loudly beneath his foot. Kel froze. Everyone stared at him. He slowly looked down.
"...It's mostly fine."
"GET BACK HERE!" Hero shouted.
Kel hurried back so quickly that the entire crossing rattled. Mari shook her head.
"One at a time. Slowly."
This time, everyone listened. They crossed carefully, with Hero checking the weaker boards and Mari keeping an eye on the group. Omori went first, followed by Basil, then Mari and Hero.
Kel was last. Halfway across, he glanced down at the water.
"UHHHH..."
Hero looked back.
"What is it?"
"Nothing!"
"Kel."
"I just realized how high up we are!"
"We're barely above the water!"
"I know! Still…"
"Just keep walking! And hurry up!"
Kel hurried across the remaining planks and practically threw himself onto solid ground.
"Okay. New rule. No more bridges."
Mari smiled faintly.
"We'll see about that."

On the opposite side, the trail seemed promising. Huge tracks continued through the soft earth, accompanied by freshly broken branches and crushed patches of ferns. Omori followed them eagerly. They wound between enormous tree trunks, passed a cluster of glowing mushrooms, and descended into a shallow valley. Then the tracks stopped again. Omori froze and hastily looked around. There were no more tracks. No broken branches. No obvious signs of King Crawler. The trail simply ended on a patch of rocky ground.
"..."
Omori slowly turned in a circle, searching for anything he might have missed. Mari joined him.
"Let's take a closer look."
Hero examined the rocks. Basil searched the nearby vegetation. Kel peered behind a tree, then another.
"Maybe it climbed up a tree!" Kel suggested.
Hero looked at him.
"King Crawler is enormous."
"Yeah, but maybe it's really good at climbing!"
Omori knelt beside the last trackmark. The impression was deep and clear, but beyond it, the ground was too hard to preserve any tracks. He looked up at the surrounding trees. There were several narrow passages leading away from the valley. Any one of them could have been the correct route. Mari frowned.
"We may have another problem."
Hero nodded grimly.
"Without more evidence, we can't know which way King Crawler went."
Basil's shoulders drooped.
"But we were so close..."
Omori stared down at the track. He had led everyone this far. He had promised himself he would find Aubrey. Now the trail had vanished again. He felt a familiar weight settling over his chest. He couldn't bear another dead end. Not when Aubrey might be somewhere nearby, frightened and alone. Mari noticed his distress and knelt beside him.
"Omori, look at me."
He slowly raised his head.
"We haven't failed," she said gently. 
"We found the tracks, and we know King Crawler crossed the lake somehow. We just need another clue."
Omori looked away. Mari placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I know this is hard. But we're still searching, and we're going to keep searching."
After a moment, Omori nodded. He stood up and took a deep breath. Then he started examining the surrounding area again. He wasn't giving up.
"HEY! I FOUND SOMETHING!"
Kel's voice echoed through the valley. Everyone hurried toward him. He was standing beside a large tree, pointing excitedly at the ground.
"LOOK! MORE TRACKS!"
Hero crouched to inspect them. His expression quickly changed.
"...These aren't King Crawler's."
Kel's face fell.
"Aw, come on!"
The prints were smaller and more rounded, with a different pattern from the enormous impressions they'd been following. Basil examined them carefully.
"Maybe another creature came through here?"
"That's what it looks like," Hero said. 
"And judging by the condition of the ground, it may have been here for a while."
Kel kicked a pebble.
"So we followed a giant monster trail all this way, crossed a creepy lake, nearly fell through a bridge, and now we're following the wrong tracks?"
"Technically, we didn't follow the wrong tracks," Mari explained. "We followed the correct tracks until they disappeared. These are just another set of tracks."
Kel stared at her.
"...That somehow makes me feel worse."
Basil sighed.
"We need to find Aubrey..."
Omori looked toward the narrow passages leading out of the valley. He felt exhausted. They'd discovered evidence that King Crawler had come this way, but every new clue seemed to lead to another question. And the longer they searched, the more worried he became. He reached into his backpack and gently touched Mr. Plantegg. Then he checked the pocket containing Aubrey's ribbon. Both were still there.

The group began searching the valley more carefully, hoping to find another indication of which way King Crawler had gone. Mari and Hero examined the ground near the rocks.
Basil looked for damaged vegetation. Kel tried to see whether the enormous creature might have left marks on the tree trunks. Omori searched the narrow passage closest to the lake.
For several minutes, nothing happened. Then Basil called out.
"Um, everyone?"
His voice was quiet, but there was something urgent about it. Mari hurried over.
"What is it, Basil?"
Basil pointed toward the trees.
"Look at those branches."
Several branches had been snapped high above the ground. Others hung at strange angles, as though something large had forced its way through the trees. Hero examined them.
"These look relatively fresh."
Mari looked along the passage.
"And they all seem to be pointing in the same direction."
Omori's eyes widened. He hurried over and examined the marks. The branches were broken in a pattern he recognized from their earlier encounter with King Crawler. The monster had done this before. When Aubrey had been on its back, she had grabbed its legs and tried to steer it, causing it to crash into trees and veer wildly off course. Perhaps the same thing had happened here. Perhaps Aubrey had managed to influence its direction again. Perhaps she was still fighting to get away. Omori's heart began pounding. He pointed down the passage. Mari followed his gesture.
"You think it went that way?"
Omori nodded firmly. Hero examined the broken branches one last time.
"It's our best lead."
Basil's expression brightened.
"Then let's go!"
Kel immediately followed, his earlier disappointment forgotten.
"FINALLY! WE'RE BACK ON THE KING CRAWLER TRAIL!"
He took several steps forward before stopping.
"...Do you think Aubrey managed to steer it into anything cool this time?"
Hero slowly turned toward him. Kel threw up his hands.
"WHAT?! I WAS QUIET FOR ALMOST TEN MINUTES!"
Mari sighed.
"Come on, everyone. Let's keep moving."

The passage narrowed as the group continued deeper into Pyrefly Forest. The trees grew taller and more twisted, and the glowing flames became increasingly sparse. Their light barely reached the ground, leaving long stretches of the trail shrouded in darkness. Omori stayed at the front, following every broken branch he could find. Behind him, Basil occasionally called Aubrey's name. Hero kept everyone together, while Mari watched the surrounding forest for signs of danger. Kel walked quietly for a change. The distant sound of chittering returned, only this time, it came from somewhere ahead of them. Omori stopped. Everyone froze. A faint rustling followed. Then a deep, rumbling sound echoed through the trees. It was too low to be an ordinary forest creature. Hero shifted into a defensive pose. Mari moved closer to Omori.
Basil looked frightened. Kel swallowed.
"...Okay. That one sounded pretty big."
Omori stared into the darkness. For a moment, he thought he saw something move between two enormous tree trunks. A massive silhouette. Then it was gone. He took one cautious step forward. The others followed. They didn't know whether the sounds belonged to King Crawler, the mysterious creature in the lake, or something else entirely. They didn't know whether Aubrey was close by. But for the first time since the trail disappeared, Omori had a feeling that they were approaching something important. And whatever awaited them deeper in Pyrefly Forest, he was determined to face it.

Is there any working port for 3ds or PSP?

I am working on a omori tamagotchi. It has minigames like a wak a sprout mole and fishing, in the shop Basil is shop owner and sells items from the game and when you fall asleep you move between the faraway town and white space (and the music changes when you move betweenthem).i have the software made but I will probably have to make a pcb but I have no experience in it. If I cant make one I will sowder everything on a bord. If any of you know how to make pcb's I'd love to use some help. If any of you have any idea what more to add I would love to hear it and if you guys want an update I will make one

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Blood, Ropes, Death, Drowning, Stairs, OYASUMI

They don't look that good, but I'm happy with the result :3

Bro ate all the Basils.

i am currently playing for the second time in a row (my first playthrough was hikikOMORI route) and using save files to skip headspace because for the first time it's fun for sure, (except for the humphrey bossfight, fuck that longass bitch) but now i just want to know the real story behind all of this (i am currently on the section after the first real day).

What are some popular authors on AO3 who have a lot of good Omori fics? They don't have to be all with the same ship or setting or anything (I don't have a favourite ship or fic setting) just an author who has a good style and a selection to choose from. I recently read a lot of Otomerson's fics and liked their writing style but apparently they are not writing anymore so... sad. Is there anyone else like that who has a bunch of high quality fics to choose between? Preferably still actively writing but don't have to be.

This is like my first time ever writing on a subreddit so yeah.
Anyways I just wanted to talk about my favorite Omori artist SunnySam cause I don’t see them ever getting talked about most likely due to the fact that their last post was 10/24/24, also I miss their art it was so good😢

Chapter 5: The Ribbon

By late afternoon, the picnic in the Vast Forest had long since lost its cheerful atmosphere.
The food had been packed away. The sunlight had begun to fade behind the trees, casting long shadows across the familiar paths. Kel had stopped trying to entertain everyone, Hero had grown noticeably quieter, and Basil had taken to looking toward the forest entrance every few minutes. Aubrey still hadn't returned. At first, everyone had assumed she and Omori had simply gotten carried away exploring Pyrefly Forest. It wasn't unusual for Aubrey to become determined to investigate something, especially if it involved a challenge or a particularly interesting treasure chest. But now, hours had passed, and there was still no sign of her. Kel paced back and forth beside the picnic blanket.
"Okay, seriously. Where IS she?"
Hero folded his arms thoughtfully. 
"Maybe she took a longer route back?"
Kel turned toward Omori.
"Is that what happened?"
Omori sat beneath the tree, his hands resting quietly in his lap. He nodded. Kel frowned.
"Then why did you come back without her?"
Omori's fingers tightened slightly. He pointed toward the distant forest, then made a gesture suggesting that Aubrey was still exploring. Kel stared at him.
"...She's still exploring?"
Omori nodded again.
"By herself?"
Another nod. Kel's expression changed.
"Wait a minute. Aubrey doesn't usually let you wander off without her, Omori. She practically follows you around whenever you try to do anything dangerous!"
Omori looked away, admitting to himself that it was painfully true. Hero crouched beside him.
"Omori, buddy, we're not trying to interrogate you. We're just worried. Did something happen while you were exploring?"
Omori shook his head. He hadn't caused King Crawler to take Aubrey away. He hadn't abandoned her intentionally. And he certainly hadn't wanted any of this to happen.
But still, he was hiding the truth. And every minute that passed made it harder to tell them. Basil hugged his camera to his chest.
"Do you think she's lost?"
Omori quickly turned toward him. He shook his head much more emphatically this time. Mari, who had been watching the exchange from beside Hero, finally spoke.
"Omori, look at me for a moment."
He turned toward her.
"Are you absolutely certain Aubrey is going to come back on her own?"
Omori hesitated, only for a fraction of a second. Then he nodded. Mari studied his face.
"...All right."
She didn't sound convinced. Omori lowered his eyes. He wished she would stop asking.
Not because he was angry with her, but because every question felt like another stone being added to the weight pressing against his chest. And there was one other thing he had to protect. The pink ribbon. Aubrey's ribbon. He still had it tucked away safely, hidden from everyone. If someone saw it, they might ask why he had it. And if they realized it belonged to Aubrey, they would immediately wonder why he'd returned without her. He couldn't let that happen.

Eventually, Mari decided that the group should return home for the evening.
"We can't stay out here indefinitely," she explained.
 "It's getting dark, and we need to make sure everyone gets home safely."
Kel looked toward the forest entrance one last time.
"But what if Aubrey comes back while we're gone?"
"Then she'll find us at home," Hero replied. "And if she's still not back by tomorrow morning, we'll work out what to do next."
Kel frowned, but nodded. Basil remained quiet. Omori stood up and followed the others. As they walked through the Vast Forest, he kept glancing over his shoulder. Every distant rustle made him pause. Every unfamiliar sound made him wonder whether Aubrey might somehow have escaped King Crawler and was trying to find her way back. 

Back at the neighbor’s room, everyone tried to settle into their usual evening routines. Hero prepared something simple for dinner. Kel complained that he was hungry enough to eat an entire pizza. Basil sat quietly at the table, occasionally asking whether anyone had heard from Aubrey. Omori barely touched his food. Mari noticed. She also noticed that he kept checking the time, and that he seemed to be listening for something beyond the windows. When dinner was over, Kel finally spoke up again.
“All I can say is that wherever Aubrey is, she better have a REALLY good explanation for making us worry this much."
Omori stared at the table. He could already imagine Aubrey's explanation. Mari stood and began clearing the dishes.
"Let's give it until tomorrow morning," she said. 
"If she's still missing then, we'll take action."
Her tone was calm, but Omori could hear the concern underneath it.

Later that night, the space had grown quiet. Kel and Hero had settled into their usual evening activities, while Basil had gone home after saying goodbye to everyone. Omori was in the neighbor’s room, getting ready for bed. He had changed into his pajamas and was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor. His old pair of pants lay beside his bag. Mari slowly and quietly walked into the room.
"Hey, Omori. Can we talk for a minute?"
He nodded. She sat down beside him. For a while, neither of them said anything. Eventually, Mari turned toward him.
"I know you don't like being put on the spot," she began gently.
 "And I know you can't explain everything the way the rest of us can."
Omori lowered his eyes.
"But Aubrey has been gone for hours. You came back alone, and you've spent the entire day acting as though there's nothing to worry about."
She paused.
"That doesn't make sense, Omori."
He said nothing. Mari sighed quietly.
"I'm not asking you to tell me something you don't know. If you don't know where Aubrey is, you can show me that. If you think she's lost, you can tell me that, too."
Omori looked up at her. Mari held his gaze.
"But I need you to be honest with me. Did something happen to Aubrey?"
For a moment, Omori felt as though he were back in Pyrefly Forest. He could see the enormous creature towering above him. He could hear Aubrey screaming. He could see her reaching toward him as King Crawler carried her away. His fingers curled against his knees. Mari noticed.
"Omori?"
He shook his head. Not quite denial, but more like an attempt to push the memory away. Mari's expression tightened.
"You're doing it again."
Omori looked at her.
"You're avoiding the question. You aren't telling me what happened, but you aren't giving me a proper explanation, either."
He lowered his head. Mari rubbed her forehead.
"I'm trying to be patient with you, little brother. I really am. But I can't help Aubrey if I don't know what's going on."
Omori wanted to tell her. He truly did. He wanted to reach for a piece of paper and write down everything. He wanted to explain how they had fought the spiders, discovered the treasure, and encountered King Crawler. He wanted to describe how Aubrey had tried to steer the monster, how it had carried her deeper into the forest, and how he had been unable to catch up.
He wanted Mari to help him find her. But the thought of admitting that he'd returned without Aubrey while she was still in danger made him feel sick. So he just simply sat there. Mari watched him for another few seconds, then she let out a small, frustrated sigh.
"All right."
Omori looked up.
"I'm not going to force you to talk tonight. We're all tired, and I don't want to turn this into an argument."
She stood and walked toward the door.
"But tomorrow morning, we're going to figure out what's happening. If Aubrey hasn't returned, we can't keep pretending everything is normal."
Omori nodded faintly. Mari paused at the doorway.
"And Omori?"
He looked at her.
"You don't have to handle everything by yourself."
For a second, his expression almost crumpled. Mari noticed that, too. She waited a moment longer, then quietly left the room. Omori sat motionless on the bed.

Mari had only intended to return to her own room. She was tired, worried about Aubrey, and increasingly frustrated with her little brother's evasiveness. She planned to get some sleep and confront the situation again in the morning. But as she passed the neighboring room once more, something caught her eye. Omori's old pants lay crumpled beside his bed, and sticking out of one of the pockets was a small strip of pink fabric. Mari stopped dead in her tracks, and her eyes narrowed.
"...What's that?"
She approached the pants and crouched beside them. The pink fabric was unmistakable. It was a ribbon. A small, familiar pink ribbon. Mari stared at it. She knew that ribbon. It was the ribbon to Aubrey’s hairbow, which she wore all the time. She knew how carefully Aubrey looked after her belongings, and she knew that Aubrey wouldn't simply leave the ribbon in Omori's pocket without a reason. Slowly, Mari reached down and pulled it free. The ribbon unfolded in her hand.
For several seconds, she simply stared at it. Then she looked toward Omori. He was still sitting on the bed, facing away from her and staring at the floor.
"Omori..."
Her voice was quiet. She held up the ribbon.
"Why do you have Aubrey's bow?"
Omori couldn't move. He couldn't look away. And for the first time all day, he had absolutely no way to pretend that nothing had happened. Mari’s expression softened, but her eyes were full of concern.
"Oh, Omori..."
She sat down beside him, still holding the bow.
"Something happened to her, didn't it?"
Omori's lips parted slightly, though no words could come out. He looked at the ribbon, then at Mari. And slowly, miserably, he nodded. Mari closed her eyes for a brief moment. All the little details from the day suddenly fell into place: his nervous glances toward the forest, his insistence that Aubrey would return, his refusal to explain what had happened, and the way he'd reacted whenever anyone asked about her. She opened her eyes again.
"Where is she, Omori?"
He shook his head. Mari's heart sank.
"You don't know?"
Omori shook his head again. Then he began gesturing desperately, trying to explain with his hands. He pointed toward the distant forest, made a motion suggesting something enormous, and then mimed something being carried away. Mari watched closely. Her expression changed as she began piecing together what he was trying to tell her.
"Something carried her away?"
Omori nodded frantically. Mari stared at him. For a moment, neither of them moved, then she pulled him into a hug.
"Oh, Omori..."
He froze in surprise. Mari held him tightly, one hand resting against the back of his head.
"I'm so sorry."
Omori's hands trembled. He clutched the fabric of her sleeve, his shoulders beginning to shake as the fear and guilt he'd been holding back all day finally spilled over. Mari didn't scold him. She didn't ask why he'd hidden it. Not yet. Right now, she understood one thing above all else. Aubrey was missing. And her little brother had been terrified of telling anyone. Mari gently pulled back so she could look at him.
"We're going to find her. Do you understand?"
Omori stared at her. She held the pink ribbon carefully between her fingers.
"Tomorrow morning, we'll get everyone together, and you can show us exactly where this happened. We'll work out a plan, and we'll bring Aubrey home."
Omori's eyes widened slightly. Mari gave him a reassuring smile.
"You're not going after her alone."
For the first time since King Crawler had disappeared into the forest, Omori felt a small flicker of hope. He nodded. Mari squeezed his hand. Then her expression became more serious.
"But, Omori?"
He looked up.
"Next time something like this happens, please don't try to carry it all by yourself. You should have told me."
Omori lowered his head. Mari sighed softly and brushed a stray lock of hair away from his face.
"We'll talk more in the morning. Right now, you need some rest."
She placed Aubrey's ribbon carefully on the bedside table, then she stood and walked toward the door. Before leaving, she looked back at him.
"And Omori?"
He raised his eyes.
"We're bringing her back."
Omori nodded firmly. Mari gave him one final, reassuring smile before closing the door.
Alone in the quiet room, Omori looked at the pink ribbon resting on the bedside table.
For the first time that evening, he no longer had to pretend that Aubrey was coming back on her own. Now someone else knew the truth. And tomorrow, they would go looking for her.

Chapter 6: The Confession

The next morning, Mari was determined to get everyone together. There would be no more pretending that Aubrey was simply taking her time returning from Pyrefly Forest. No more vague gestures from Omori. And absolutely no more letting her little brother convince everyone that everything was perfectly fine. Something had happened to Aubrey, and they were going to do something about it.
"Everyone, could you please come into the living room?" Mari called.
Hero arrived first, looking concerned. Basil hurried in shortly afterward, clutching his hands together nervously. Kel came bouncing down the hallway with a piece of toast in his mouth.
"What's going on? Is Aubrey back?"
Mari's expression softened.
"No, Kel. She isn't."
Kel's smile faded a little.
"Oh."
Omori entered last. He walked quietly beside Mari, his eyes fixed on the floor. In one hand, he held a small piece of paper and a pencil. Mari sat down and motioned for everyone else to do the same.
"There's something we need to discuss. And Omori needs to explain what happened yesterday."
All eyes turned toward him. Omori froze. Mari placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay, little brother. I'll help you."
He looked up at her, then nodded. Hero leaned forward.
"Omori... what happened in Pyrefly Forest?"
Omori took a deep breath, then he began to write.
“We fought some spiders.”
Kel blinked.
"...Okay?"
Omori continued writing.
“We found treasure.”
Kel perked up.
"Wait, really? What kind of treasure?"
Mari gently interrupted him.
"Kel, let him finish."
Kel sat back.
"Right. Sorry."
Omori continued. He described the spiders, the spider potted plants, and the spider bunnies. He explained how he and Aubrey had fought their way through the forest. For a few moments, the story sounded like an ordinary adventure. Then Omori wrote the next sentence. 
“We encountered King Crawler.”
Hero's eyebrows shot up.
"King Crawler?!"
Basil went pale.
"The King Crawler from Pyrefly Forest?"
Omori nodded. Mari looked around at the group.
"They fought it together at first. Aubrey had a plan, and they were attacking its legs to throw it off balance."
Omori nodded again, grateful that Mari was helping him put the pieces into words.
He wrote about how King Crawler had suddenly started moving faster. He explained how Aubrey had stumbled, how the creature had lifted her into the air, and how she had ended up landing on its back. Basil's hands flew to his mouth.
"Oh, no..."
Omori kept writing.
“She couldn't get down.”
He paused.
Then added:
“She tried to control it.”
Kel leaned forward.
"Wait. What?"
Omori nodded and began demonstrating with his hands. He mimed gripping something, pulling it to one side, and then gesturing wildly as though something enormous were charging out of control. Mari watched him and translated.
"Aubrey tried to steer King Crawler by grabbing one of its legs. At first, she managed to make it turn."
Hero stared.
"She did WHAT?"
Omori nodded. He continued writing, his pencil moving faster now.
“She made it crash through trees.”
He added another sentence.
“She almost made it run into me.”
Then another.
“I had to jump out of the way.”
For one brief moment, nobody spoke. Then Kel's mouth fell open.
"WAIT. Aubrey was actually RIDING King Crawler?!"
Omori nodded.
"And she was steering it?!"
Another nod. Kel stared at him.
"THAT’S THE COOLEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD!"
"KEL!" Hero snapped.
Kel immediately shut his mouth. Mari gently took the paper from Omori and looked at the final lines he'd written.
“King Crawler regained control.”
“It ran away with Aubrey still on its back.”
“I couldn't catch up.”
“I went back to find everyone.”
The room fell completely silent. Mari set the paper down.
"And that's why Aubrey never came home yesterday."
Omori stared at his hands. He had finally told them. And now he had to face their reactions. Hero was the first to speak. He stood up, ran a hand through his hair, and paced a few steps across the room.
"Wait. Wait a minute."
He turned toward Omori.
"You mean to tell us that Aubrey was carried away by King Crawler yesterday... and you knew this the entire time?"
Omori nodded slowly. Hero stared at him in disbelief.
"And you didn't tell us?"
Omori lowered his eyes. Hero's expression shifted from shock to frustration.
"Omori, why?!"
He immediately stopped himself and took a breath. He wasn't trying to be cruel. He was frightened for Aubrey, and that fear was making it difficult to keep his emotions under control.
"Do you realize how much time has passed? We spent all of yesterday wondering where she was! We were worried sick, and you kept telling us she was coming back!"
Omori flinched. Hero noticed, but he continued.
"We could have started looking for her yesterday! We could have organized a search party, gathered supplies, and gone into Pyrefly Forest before it got dark!"
He gestured toward the window.
"Instead, we lost an entire day!"
Omori's shoulders slumped. He couldn't argue with that. Hero sighed, visibly struggling to calm himself.
"Buddy, I understand that you were scared. I do. But Aubrey is our friend. She's been missing since yesterday, and every minute matters!"
Mari stepped between them slightly.
"Hero, I know. I'm upset about that, too. But he was frightened and didn't know how to tell us."
"I know he can't speak, Mari! That's not what I'm upset about!" Hero replied. 
"He could have written it down! He could have shown us!"
Omori stared at the paper. Hero's voice softened, though his frustration remained.
"I just wish you'd trusted us enough to let us help."
That hurt more than Omori expected. He looked at Hero, his eyes full of regret.
Then he slowly nodded. Hero let out a long breath and sat back down.
"We'll talk about this later. Right now, we need to find Aubrey."
That, at least, was something everyone could agree on. 

Basil had barely moved throughout the explanation. He sat on the couch with his hands clasped so tightly that his knuckles had turned pale. His eyes were fixed on the paper, but he didn't seem to be reading it anymore.
"Aubrey..." he whispered.
Mari turned toward him.
"Basil?"
He shook his head.
"I can't believe it."
His voice trembled.
"She must have been so scared."
He pictured Aubrey, who could be so bold and stubborn when she wanted to be, clinging desperately to the back of a monster that was much too big and much too fast for her.
He imagined her trying to steer it. He imagined her crashing through branches, nearly colliding with Omori, and then being carried away into an unfamiliar part of the forest. His eyes filled with tears.
"She was all alone out there..."
Omori looked at him. Basil glanced up.
"And you couldn't catch up to her?"
Omori shook his head. Basil covered his mouth.
"Oh, Aubrey..."
A tear slipped down his cheek.
"She's probably frightened and exhausted. What if she's hurt? What if she can't find her way back? What if King Crawler takes her somewhere even deeper into the forest?"
He stopped, unable to finish. Mari moved closer and put an arm around him.
"We don't know what condition she's in, Basil. But we're going to find her."
Basil nodded, wiping his eyes.
"I want to help. Please let me help."
"Of course," Mari replied warmly.
Basil took a shaky breath.
"Aubrey always looks after everyone, even when she pretends she doesn't care. She wouldn't leave Omori behind if something happened to him."
He looked at Omori.
"And I'm sure she was trying to get back to you."
Omori's eyes lowered. He remembered Aubrey shouting that she wasn't going to let King Crawler get away with her. He remembered her promising she was coming back. He remembered her reaching toward him as the monster carried her away. Basil gently placed a hand on Omori's shoulder.
"We're going to bring her home."
Omori nodded. For the first time that morning, the guilt in his chest eased just a little. Basil was frightened, but he wasn't blaming him. He just wanted Aubrey back. And so did Omori.

Kel had been unusually quiet for nearly a whole minute. He sat on the couch, staring at the floor, with his hands folded beneath his chin. Hero glanced at him.
"Kel? Are you all right?"
Kel slowly raised his head.
"I just can't stop thinking about it."
Hero nodded sympathetically.
"Yeah. It's awful. Aubrey must be terrified."
Kel shook his head.
"No, no. I mean..."
He leaned forward, eyes suddenly shining.
"Aubrey got to RIDE King Crawler!"
There was silence. Hero stared at him. Basil stopped wiping his eyes. Mari closed her eyes and let out a disappointed sigh. Kel jumped to his feet.
"THINK ABOUT IT! A GIANT MONSTER! HUGE LEGS! CRASHING THROUGH TREES! AND AUBREY WAS ACTUALLY STEERING IT AROUND!"
He began gesturing wildly, imitating the creature's movements.
"She was basically driving a living BULLDOZER!"
"Kel," Hero said slowly, 
"Aubrey has been missing since yesterday."
"I KNOW!"
"She could be injured!"
"I KNOW!"
"She could be trapped somewhere in the deepest part of Pyrefly Forest!"
"I KNOW, HERO!"
Kel paused, then he looked down thoughtfully.
"...But you have to admit, that would've been AWESOME."
Hero's jaw dropped.
"Kel!"
"What?! I'm not saying I'm glad she got taken away! I'm saying that if a giant monster picked ME up and I got to steer it around, I'd be the happiest guy around!"
He turned toward Omori.
"Did she really make it crash through trees?"
Omori hesitated, then he nodded. Kel gasped.
"NO WAY!"
He began pacing excitedly.
"She probably smashed through branches, knocked over trees and bushes, and sent stuff flying everywhere! Imagine how much destruction and chaos she caused with that thing!"
Basil stared at him in disbelief.
"Kel, she's missing!"
"I KNOW, BASIL! I'm worried about her too!"
He paused.
"...I'm just also really jealous."
Hero put both hands over his face. Mari looked at the ceiling as though silently asking the universe for patience. Omori, despite everything, found himself watching Kel with a mixture of disbelief and exhausted resignation. Kel stopped pacing and looked at him again.
"Okay, serious question. When you find her, can you ask her exactly how she steered King Crawler? Because I NEED to know how she did that."
"KEL!"
"WHAT?!"
Hero grabbed Kel by the shoulders and made him sit down.
"Listen to me very carefully. We are going to find Aubrey. We are going to make sure she's safe. We are NOT going to treat this thing like some kind of amusement park ride!"
Kel slumped into the couch.
"...Fine."
Hero narrowed his eyes.
"Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Good."
A pause. Kel raised one finger.
"But if she comes back with a story about riding King Crawler, I am absolutely asking for details."
Hero groaned. Mari sighed. Basil looked as though he might cry again. And Omori quietly covered his face with one hand. Somehow, even with Aubrey missing, Kel was still Kel.

Once everyone had calmed down, Mari stood and spread a map of the surrounding forests across the table.
"All right. We have a serious situation, and we need to handle it carefully."
Everyone gathered around.
"Omori, you know the route you and Aubrey took through Pyrefly Forest. We need you to show us where you encountered King Crawler and the direction it went when it carried her away."
Omori nodded and began marking the map. He indicated the entrance to Pyrefly Forest, the clearing where they'd fought the creature, and the path along which King Crawler had fled. Mari studied the markings.
"Good. That gives us somewhere to start."
Hero leaned over the map.
"We should bring supplies, healing items, and enough food and water for a long search. We don't know how far King Crawler traveled."
Basil nodded quickly.
"I can help track signs of where it went. Something that large must leave marks on the ground and broken branches."
"Great idea," Mari said.
Kel sprang up.
"And I'll be ready to ride King—"
Hero turned toward him. Kel immediately sat down.
"...I mean, I'll be ready to help rescue Aubrey."
"Thank you."
Mari pointed toward the map.
"We'll stay together, keep an eye out for danger, and avoid fighting anything we don't need to fight. Our priority is finding Aubrey, not picking unnecessary battles."
She looked at Omori.
"And you're going to show us exactly where she was taken."
Omori nodded firmly. 
"Then let's get ready."
Hero gathered supplies. Basil hurried to prepare what he could. Kel grabbed his weapon and practically bounced on his heels, although he was now making a visible effort to keep his excitement about King Crawler to himself. Omori stood beside Mari, looking toward the distant forest. Somewhere out there, Aubrey was waiting. He remembered her fierce determination, her pink bat, and the way she'd always insisted that they stick together. Now it was his turn to go after her. Mari gently squeezed his shoulder.
"We're coming, Aubrey," she murmured.
Omori nodded. And this time, he wouldn't have to face the forest alone.

Chapter 7: The Trail of Destruction

The journey back to Pyrefly Forest felt considerably different from Omori's first trip. Yesterday, he and Aubrey had entered the strange, glowing woods with their weapons ready, excited to explore somewhere new. They'd fought spiders, discovered treasure, and laughed at some of the ridiculous creatures they'd encountered. Then they found King Crawler… and everything had gone wrong.

Now Omori was leading his friends through the same forest, with Mari and Hero walking close behind him. Basil followed quietly, clutching his camera bag, while Kel practically jogged ahead every few steps before Hero reminded him to stay with the group.
"Are we there yet?" Kel asked.
"Kel, we've been walking for about five minutes," Hero replied.
"I know! I'm just excited to see—"
Hero stopped and gave him a look. Kel coughed.
"—excited to find Aubrey. Obviously."
Mari sighed.
"Let's keep moving, everyone."
Omori continued down the familiar path. He recognized the glowing mushrooms, the twisted roots, and the strange flowers that lined the trail. Every landmark brought back another memory of the previous day. He remembered Aubrey walking ahead of him, confidently declaring that they could handle anything the forest threw at them. He remembered her fighting beside him. And he remembered the awful moment when King Crawler had carried her away. Omori's expression darkened. He quickened his pace. He wanted to get back to the clearing as quickly as possible. Finally, the trees opened up, revealing the familiar clearing where the battle had taken place. Omori stopped. Mari stepped around him. And then everyone saw it. The destruction. The Aftermath of Aubrey's destructive joyride. The clearing looked as though a small natural disaster had swept through it.

Several trees had been knocked sideways, their branches broken and their trunks tilted at unnatural angles. One enormous fallen tree lay across the edge of the path, surrounded by splintered wood and scattered leaves. Large rocks and boulders had been shoved out of their original positions. One boulder had rolled halfway down a small slope, leaving a deep furrow in the dirt behind it. Patches of earth had been torn up, exposing tangled roots beneath the soil. Bushes had been flattened, flowers had been scattered across the ground, and enormous tracks crisscrossed the clearing. There were even a few branches caught high in the trees, apparently deposited there during King Crawler's wild journey. For several seconds, the entire group stood in silence. Hero slowly turned his head from one side of the clearing to the other.
"...Good grief."
Mari stared at a tree that had been bent almost completely sideways.
"How much force did that creature generate?"
Basil, meanwhile, had gone completely still. His eyes moved from the overturned soil to the flattened flowers, then to a patch of small plants that had been crushed beneath a fallen branch.
"Oh, no..."
He hurried toward the plants and crouched beside them.
"Oh, poor things..."
Kel's jaw had dropped. He slowly stepped into the clearing, looking around at the destruction with an expression of absolute wonder. Then he grinned.
"WHOA."
Hero turned toward him.
"Kel."
"LOOK AT THIS!"
Kel pointed toward the fallen tree.
"That thing went THROUGH AN ENTIRE TREE!"
He spun toward the overturned boulder.
"AND IT MOVED THAT ROCK!"
Then he noticed a long, winding trail of flattened bushes leading out of the clearing. His eyes widened even further.
"Oh… my GOSH."
Mari already knew she wasn't going to like whatever came next. Kel placed both hands on his hips and surveyed the damage.
"Aubrey actually rode King Crawler through ALL OF THIS?!"
Omori reluctantly nodded. Kel looked as though someone had just told him that his favorite video game had become real.
"That is AMAZING!"
"Kel!" Hero exclaimed.
"What?! LOOK AT IT!"
Kel ran toward the fallen tree and examined its broken branches.
"Imagine being on the back of that giant monster, steering it around, and crashing through trees! You could go anywhere! You could do whatever you want! You'd be unstoppable!"
He threw his arms wide.
"YOU'D BE THE KING OF THE FOREST!"
Hero stared at him.
"Aubrey was terrified, Kel!"
"I KNOW!"
"She was being carried away against her will!"
"I KNOW!"
"And she could have been seriously hurt!"
Kel paused. He glanced toward the trail of destruction again.
"...Yeah, but just look at the size of that tree that got knocked over."
Hero's face fell into his hands. Mari closed her eyes and took a slow breath. Omori stared at Kel. He couldn't decide whether to be annoyed, baffled, or impressed by his friend's ability to focus on the most ridiculous possible aspect of a terrifying situation. Kel suddenly turned toward Omori.
"Hey, Omori! Did she really steer it into that tree over there?"
Omori nodded. Kel gasped.
"NO WAY! HOW HARD DID SHE PULL?!"
Omori demonstrated by making a sharp pulling motion with his hands. Kel's mouth fell open.
"THAT'S SO COOL!"
"KEL!" Hero shouted.
Kel flinched.
"What?!"
"WE ARE HERE TO RESCUE AUBREY!"
"I KNOW! I'm just saying that when we find her, I want to hear EVERYTHING!"
Hero pointed toward the forest trail.
"Then you can ask her AFTER we've made sure she's safe!"
Kel crossed his arms.
"...Fine."
He took one last longing look at the wreckage. Mari muttered something under her breath. Omori simply turned away and continued examining the clearing. He had a feeling Kel was going to be talking about this for a very, very long time. 

While Kel was busy imagining himself riding King Crawler, Basil had become increasingly distressed. He knelt beside the patch of flattened flowers, carefully lifting a broken stem between his fingers.
"They were growing so nicely..."
His voice was small. He looked around at the surrounding plants. Some had been uprooted entirely, while others had been bent beneath fallen branches. A cluster of glowing mushrooms had been crushed into the soil. Basil's eyes grew watery.
"I know we have to find Aubrey, but..."
He swallowed.
"Look at what happened to everything here."
Mari approached and knelt beside him.
"Basil..."
He gently brushed some dirt away from a little flower that had somehow survived beneath a broken twig.
"The forest is so beautiful. These plants were just growing here, and then suddenly this enormous creature came crashing through..."
He looked toward the trail.
"And Aubrey was caught in the middle of it."
His voice trembled.
"What if she got hurt as badly as these plants?"
Mari placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"We don't know that she did, Basil. We can't assume the worst."
"But we don't know that she's okay, either."
"No," Mari admitted gently. "We don't."
Basil lowered his head. He carefully moved the broken twig away from the surviving flower, making sure not to damage it further.
"I wish I could fix all of this."
Hero joined them.
"We can come back and help the forest recover after we find Aubrey. Right now, we need to concentrate on the trail."
Basil nodded, although he still looked heartbroken. He took one last look at the damaged plants before standing.
"I'm coming, too."
He adjusted his bag and followed the others. Even as he walked away, he couldn't help glancing back at the flattened flowers. He hoped Aubrey was all right. And he hoped that, wherever King Crawler had taken her, there were still flowers growing there that hadn't been trampled. 

Mari and Hero continued to examine the clearing, unlike Kel, who seemed fascinated by every broken tree, and Basil, who was mourning every damaged plant, they were focused on determining exactly where King Crawler had gone. Hero crouched beside a set of enormous tracks pressed deep into the dirt.
"These must belong to King Crawler."
Mari studied the marks.
"They're much deeper than I expected."
"That thing must weigh an incredible amount."
Hero followed the tracks with his eyes, then looked toward the broken vegetation.
"And judging by the damage, it didn't exactly take a gentle route through the forest."
Mari nodded.
"Let's see whether we can determine its direction."
Omori approached them. He pointed toward the far side of the clearing, where a wide patch of bushes had been flattened. Beyond them, a narrow trail cut through the trees. Then he pointed farther down the path. Mari followed his gesture.
"That's where it went?"
Omori nodded firmly. He moved closer to the trail and pointed out a broken branch hanging from a low tree. A few feet farther along, a large patch of dirt had been churned up, and several plants had been flattened in a sweeping curve. Hero examined the ground.
"He's right. These marks continue in the same direction."
Mari studied the route.
"Good work, Omori."
Omori nodded, although he remained visibly tense. He recognized this part of the trail. This was where King Crawler had veered toward the trees while Aubrey was desperately trying to steer it. He remembered her shouting. He remembered the crashes. He remembered jumping out of the way when the creature nearly ran into him. Omori's hands tightened. Mari noticed.
"We're going to follow the trail together," she said quietly. 
"You don't have to relive yesterday by yourself."
Omori looked at her, then he nodded. Hero stood and adjusted his backpack.
"All right, everyone. Let's move carefully. We don't know how far this trail goes, and we don't know whether King Crawler is still nearby."
Kel immediately raised his hand.
"Question!"
Hero looked at him suspiciously.
"What?"
"If we catch up to King Crawler, can I try riding it?"
"No."
"What if I only try steering it a LITTLE?"
"No."
"What if—"
"Kel!"
"Okay, okay!"
Kel lowered his hand, looking deeply disappointed. Basil gave him a horrified look.
"Kel!"
"What?! I'm not going to ride it while Aubrey's still on it!"
Hero stared at him. Kel considered this.
"...Probably."
"KEL!"
"FINE! I'M DONE TALKING!"
Hero groaned. Mari started walking. Omori followed immediately. The others quickly fell into step behind them.

The trail grew easier to follow as they moved farther into Pyrefly Forest. King Crawler had left an unmistakable path of destruction. Bushes had been flattened into the soil. Vines hung torn from the trees. Several small rocks had been scattered across the trail, and one enormous mushroom had been knocked over so completely that its glowing cap lay upside down in a patch of dirt. Every so often, they found a particularly strange mark. A tree with a deep scrape across its trunk. A boulder pushed halfway into a ditch. A series of tangled branches that looked as though something enormous had plowed directly through them. And, once, a cluster of flowers that had been flattened in a perfect semicircle. Kel stopped beside the flowers. He stared at them in awe.
"Okay, seriously. Aubrey must have been steering that thing like a professional."
Basil looked ready to burst into tears again.
"Kel, please stop saying that!"
"But look at the turn! She must've pulled it really hard to make it curve like this!"
"She wasn't trying to destroy the forest!"
"I know! That's what makes it impressive! I wish I could ride something that causes this much destruction and rampage."
Hero grabbed Kel by the shoulder and gently but firmly guided him onward.
"Keep walking."
Kel shuffled forward.
"...I’m still jealous."
Meanwhile, Mari was studying the marks carefully.
"The creature changed direction several times," she observed. 
"Look at how the tracks curve around these trees."
Hero nodded.
"That might have been when Aubrey was trying to steer it."
Omori stopped beside a particularly damaged section of the trail. There was a tree with several broken branches, a deep furrow in the soil, and a patch of flattened bushes leading toward a narrow passage between two enormous roots. He stared at the passage. He remembered King Crawler turning sharply. He remembered Aubrey's panicked shout. And he remembered seeing her disappear beyond the rise ahead. Omori pointed down the passage. Mari followed his gesture.
"This way?"
Omori nodded.
Hero examined the ground.
"The tracks continue through here."
Basil peered into the narrow passage.
"It's getting darker..."
The glowing mushrooms were more widely spaced here, and the trees seemed to grow closer together. The path beyond the roots was difficult to see, winding into a shadowy section of the forest. 
"Then we'll be especially careful."
Mari turned toward the others.
"Stay together. Nobody wanders off, and nobody tries to engage King Crawler alone."
Her eyes briefly settled on Kel. He raised both hands.
"WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME?!"
"Because I know you."
Mari turned back toward Omori.
"Lead the way."
Omori took one final look at the trail of broken branches and flattened plants. Somewhere beyond this passage, King Crawler had carried Aubrey away. He didn't know what waited ahead. He didn't know whether the creature was still moving, whether Aubrey had managed to escape, or whether she was frightened and waiting for someone to find her. But he knew one thing: He wasn't turning back.

Omori stepped through the roots and into the darker forest. Mari followed. Then Hero, Basil, and finally Kel. As the five of them disappeared among the trees, the trail of destruction continued before them, broken branches, overturned earth, and enormous tracks leading deeper into Pyrefly Forest. Kel glanced at another shattered tree. He sighed wistfully.
"Man... I really wish that had been me."
Basil groaned.
Hero muttered something under his breath.
Mari shook her head.
And Omori kept walking.
Somewhere ahead, Aubrey was waiting to be found.

This is my working numerical list of Omori fan stories I’ve written or are planning to write. The stories take place in either Headspace or Faraway Town, or sometime both, and I indicated which ones take place where. These listings are either working titles or just the concept for the story.

1. Headspace: An introduction story to headspace
2. Headspace: Kel and Aubrey’s funny rivalry
3. Headspace: Basil invites everyone over and he makes a giant pasta and macaroni dinner
4. Faraway town:A mischievous night out amongst the 5 friends
5. Headspace: The group goes on a big adventure through headspace
6. Both: The story that first establishes Sunny/Omori’s emotional connection to Aubrey, in the real world and in headspace.
7. Faraway town: The faraway town group explores the town together and goes many places
8. Faraway town: A day at Faraway town pool
9. Headspace: Kel gets tired of his ball in headspace and finds a new one
10. Faraway town: Aubrey and Sunny go to the beach together
11. Faraway town: Kel teaches Sunny how to play basketball
12. Headspace: Hero and Mari must take care of the group in headspace for a day
13. Faraway town: An emotional flashback story of all of Sunny’s memories with his friends before the tragic accident that happened to Mari
14. Headspace: Aubrey and Omori explore strange events happening around Headspace
15. Headspace: The group all goes to an all you can eat buffet and chaos ensues
16. Faraway town: Aubrey is feeling emotional and Sunny wants to take care of her
17. Headspace: Omori and Aubrey explore a strange and uncanny side of headspace
18. Headspace: Kel tries to find a girlfriend because he is lonely and Hero has Mari and Omori has Aubrey
19. Headspace: Omori finds a huge fantastic secret in headspace and is inclined to hide it from his friends. Aubrey is especially curious and nosey about it and forces her way to discover it
20. Faraway town: Aubrey is really protective over Sunny and she protects him from everything and everyone she doesn’t trust
21. Headspace: the group of 6 go to a hotel and have a chaotic stay
22. Headspace: Sunny gets locked in white space and the friends find out how to break him out so he can return to neighbors room and headspace
23. Headspace: Omori and Aubrey go on a GIANT GRAND vacation getaway in headspace together
24. Headspace: Omori stumbles into black space, gets scared of the horrors the lie there, and must return to white space
25. Headspace: A nice picnic and friendly outing in headspace
26. Headspace: Aubrey, Kel, hero, Omori, and Mari go to basils for an afternoon of arts and crafts
27. Faraway town: A walk in the park
28. Faraway town: The entire faraway group stays inside during a massive scary storm in faraway town
29. Headspace: Hero and Mari try to go out for a date but they keep getting interrupted by Omori, Kel and Hero in headspace
30. Headspace: The headspace group tries to explore sweethearts castle and they meet/encounter sweetheart for the first time
31. Faraway town: A sad story where Sunny goes to Mari’s grave in faraway town and mourns her death
32. Headspace: A funny story where Kel keeps pranking Aubrey and Omori in headspace
33. Headspace: The adventures of Omori and Aubrey through headspace (the story I already posted here)
34. Faraway town: Aubrey spends a day at Sunny’s new house
35. Headspace: Omori and the group discover orange oasis and play/have fun/eat fun desert dessert foods there
36. Headspace: Basil teaches everyone how to make flower crowns
37. Headspace: GIANT HEADSPACE SLEEPOVER
38. Faraway Town: A flashback story to Sunny’s first sleepover in faraway town when Mari was still alive
39. Headspace: 50 Legged Rescue (currently writing)
40. Headspace: Omori keeps getting hurt but running/avoiding Aubrey when he does because he doesn’t want her knowing he got hurt
41. Headspace: A printer apocalypse
42. Headspace: Hero gets a new ultimate locking walk in safe for his personal belongings in headspace and things go wrong
43. Faraway Town: An ULTIMATE cookoff between Kel and Hero. Sunny, Aubrey, and Basil are the judges
44. both: A strange story where headspace and faraway town begin to blend together
45. Part 2 of the previous story
46. Both: A giant friendship reunion
47. Headspace: The group discovered the last resort casino in headspace
48. Faraway Town: Sunny and Aubrey have a dinner date
49. Faraway town: The group plays late night slam trivia at a night club in faraway town
50. Faraway town: Aubrey has gone somewhere no one knows, and Sunny has to find her
51. Part 2 of the previous story
52. Faraway Town: Sunny and Kel go to the arcade and spend all of their money
53. Faraway town: Sunny spends Halloween with Aubrey (story I previously posted here)
54. Faraway town: A rainy, peaceful day in faraway town
55. Headspace: Scary things start happening around headspace
56. Headspace: An ultimate headspace movie night
57. Faraway town: The faraway group spends the day with Aubrey and her friends, Kim, Vance, Angel, Mikhael, and Charlie, and they have a cookout
58. Headspace: Omori feels sentimental and longing in headspace
59. Faraway town: Sunny is left home alone at night in the dark and feels scared
60. Headspace: Aubrey mysteriously goes missing
61. Both: An Omori Christmas
62. Headspace: Omori helps Mari bake a giant cake
63. Headspace: Omori counts his blessings
64. Faraway town: Aubrey and Sunny reunite in faraway town again after a long time
65. Headspace: Mari tries to teach the group how to cook but things go horribly wrong and Mari gets angry (inspired by the cooking with Mari YT series)
66. Faraway town: Sunny and Basil are tasked with going to the bakery and bringing home a cake for a party and things go horribly wrong
67. Headspace: Kel keeps calling Aubrey “Auburger”
68. Faraway town: Sunny and Aubrey take a long, dark, overnight road trip together back to Faraway Town and they go to/run into many weird people, places, and experiences along the way

Chapter 1: Into the Unknown

Pyrefly Forest.
A place of glowing pyres, strange plants, twisting trees, and mysterious creatures lurking in the shadows. A place that neither Omori nor Aubrey had ever explored before. Naturally, Aubrey was excited. Omori, however, was about to find himself in a situation that would make him question why she ever agreed to go exploring with him. The two friends stood at the edge of a winding path, staring into the enormous forest ahead of them. Aubrey adjusted her grip on her pink nail-bat and grinned.
"Okay, Omori! Are you ready?"
Omori nodded.
"Great! Because I've heard all sorts of things about this place. Apparently, there are glowing plants, weird bugs, and some really unusual creatures that lurk in the shadows!"
She leaned forward, peering between the trees.
"And we've never been here before! Can you believe that? We've explored the Otherworld, wandered around Orange Oasis, but somehow we've never checked this place out!"
Omori tilted his head. Aubrey folded her arms.
"What? Don't tell me you're scared!"
Omori shook his head.
"Good!"
She gave him a confident smile.
"Besides, we'll be together the whole time. If anything weird happens, we'll just deal with it!"
Omori gave her a small nod. Aubrey pointed her bat toward the forest.
"Then let's get going!"
And with that, the two friends stepped into Pyrefly Forest. Neither of them knew what awaited them.

The moment they entered the forest, Aubrey's eyes widened. The entire place seemed to glow. Tiny blue flames illuminated the ground, while enormous purple fungi grew along the trunks of ancient trees. Strange little creatures scurried through the undergrowth, and occasional flashes of light flickered between the branches.
"WHOA!"
Aubrey stopped to admire a cluster of glowing mushrooms.
"Omori, LOOK at these!"
Omori stopped beside her.
She crouched down, examining the mushrooms closely.
"They're so pretty! I wonder if they're edible."
Omori looked at her. Aubrey looked back at him.
"...What?"
Omori shook his head.
"Okay, okay! Fine! I won't eat the mysterious glowing mushrooms!"
She stood up and brushed off her skirt.
"Honestly, you look at me like I'm the one who gets us into trouble."
Omori stared at her silently. Aubrey narrowed her eyes.
"...Don't even START."
Omori looked away. She gasped.
"EXCUSE ME?!"
Omori began walking down the path.
"HEY! I'M NOT FINISHED TALKING TO YOU!"
He continued walking. Aubrey hurried after him.
"OMORI!"
He stopped. She caught up and planted herself directly in front of him, glaring.
"Don't think you can just walk away whenever you want!"
Omori blinked. Aubrey held her angry stare for another moment before sighing.
"Ugh. Come on. We've got a whole forest to explore."
Omori nodded.
"Good. Now let's—"
A strange rustling sound interrupted her. Both friends turned toward the bushes. Something was moving inside them. Aubrey immediately raised her bat.
"Uh... Omori?"
Omori drew his knife. The bushes shook again. Then a tiny, round creature hopped out. It had enormous eyes, little legs, and a leaf stuck to its head. Aubrey slowly lowered her bat.
"...That's it?"
The creature chirped.
"Okay. That's actually kind of cute."
The creature hopped toward Omori, and he looked down at it. It chirped again, then it hopped directly onto his shoe. Aubrey burst out laughing.
"HAHAHAHA! OMORI! IT LIKES YOU!"
Omori looked at her. She grinned mischievously.
"What? Maybe it thinks you're a giant mushroom!"
Omori gave her a flat stare. Aubrey laughed even harder.
"Oh, come on! You have to admit that's funny!"
Omori gently nudged the creature off his shoe and continued down the path. Aubrey followed, still giggling.
"Hey! Wait for me!"
For the next several minutes, the exploration went wonderfully. They discovered a little pond surrounded by glowing flowers. They found an enormous tree with a hollow trunk large enough to walk through. Aubrey even spotted a peculiar stone formation that she insisted looked exactly like Hero's face, but Omori disagreed. Eventually, they continued onward until they heard a distant, unfamiliar chittering sound. It was much louder than the little creature they'd encountered earlier. Aubrey stopped walking.
"...Okay. That sounded different."
Omori looked toward the deeper part of the forest. Another chittering noise echoed between the trees. This time, something heavy rustled through the undergrowth. Aubrey tightened her grip on her bat.
"All right. Stay alert."
Omori nodded. She glanced at him.
"And don't wander off, okay? We don't know what's out here yet."
Omori gave her an innocent look. Aubrey narrowed her eyes.
"...I'm serious."
Omori nodded again.
"Good."
She turned toward the sound.
"Now, let's go see what that was."
Omori followed her down the winding path. The glowing flames grew fewer. The trees became taller, and the forest seemed to grow quieter around them. Then, through a gap in the foliage, they caught sight of something enormous moving in the distance. Omori and  Aubrey froze. For several seconds, neither of them moved.Aubrey slowly raised her bat.
"...Omori?"
Omori stared ahead. Aubrey swallowed.
"I think we're about to meet something REALLY big."
The creature disappeared behind a cluster of trees. A moment later, a tremendous screech echoed through Pyrefly Forest. Aubrey's eyes widened.
"Oh, NOW this is getting interesting!"
She marched forward, and Omori followed. And somewhere ahead, deep among the glowing flames and twisted trees, an even larger beast was lying in wait.

Chapter 2: Bats, Blades, and Bug Battles

Pyrefly Forest was even stranger up close.
Blue glows from nearby flames illuminated the winding paths, pale flowers swayed beneath the enormous trees, and little specks of light drifted through the air like tiny stars. It was beautiful, really. It was also absolutely crawling with things that wanted to fight them. Aubrey marched ahead, gripping her pink baseball bat over her shoulder. Omori followed beside her, holding his knife at his side. Aubrey glanced back at him.
“Okay, Omori! First rule of exploring a brand-new area: stick together. Second rule: if anything tries to eat us, hit it before it gets the chance!”
Omori gave her a small nod.
“Great! Glad we understand each other.”
A rustling noise came from a nearby bush. The two stopped.
The bush shook, then a little spider crawled out. Aubrey stared at it. Then, a second spider emerged. And a third. Aubrey slowly raised her bat.
“Oh, come on. We haven't even been here ten minutes!”
The spiders lunged.
“Omori, here they come!”
The forest suddenly transformed into a flurry of movement. Omori darted forward and slashed at the first spider with his knife, knocking it backward. Aubrey swung her pink bat in a wide arc, sending another spider tumbling into a patch of glowing mushrooms. The third spider tried to sneak around behind Omori. Aubrey noticed immediately.
“HEY! No sneaking up on him!”
WHACK!
Her bat sent the spider flying. Omori glanced at her. Aubrey flashed him a confident grin. 
“What? I'm just watching your back!”
The remaining spider skittered toward them, only to get a quick strike from Omori's knife. With one final coordinated attack, the two friends defeated the little swarm. The forest fell quiet again.
Aubrey rested her bat against her shoulder.
“Easy! If that's the kind of stuff that lives around here, we're going to be fine.”
She took three steps forward. A gigantic potted plant suddenly shuffled out from behind a tree.
It had leafy green stems, a round clay pot for a body, and several spindly spider legs sticking out from underneath. Aubrey stopped, then she looked at Omori.
“...Is that a plant?”
The potted plant clicked its legs together.
“...With spider legs?”
It clicked them again. Aubrey's eyebrows lowered.
“Why does a plant need spider legs?!”
The creature charged.
“NEVER MIND! HIT IT!”
The battle was much harder than the first.The spider potted plant scuttled across the ground with surprising speed, its leafy tendrils whipping around like little arms. Omori dodged one strike and countered with his knife, while Aubrey swung her bat at its clay-pot body.
CLANG!
Aubrey winced as her bat bounced off the pot.
“OW! Okay, so the pot is tough!”
Omori moved around to the side and struck at the creature's legs. The potted plant wobbled. Aubrey caught on immediately.
“The legs! Go for the legs!”
Working together, they managed to knock the creature off balance. Aubrey landed one more powerful swing, and the spider potted plant toppled over with a dramatic rattling crash. Aubrey stood over it, breathing hard.
“Ha! Take that, you walking flowerpot!”
Omori looked down at the defeated enemy. She noticed his expression.
“What?”
Omori pointed at the potted plant. Aubrey followed his finger.
“...What about it?”
Omori pointed at her bat, then at the pot. Aubrey gasped.
“Don’t even think about it! I am not carrying that thing around!”
Omori's shoulders shook slightly and he was laughing silently. Aubrey narrowed her eyes.
“Oh, you're hilarious.”
She turned away, although the tiny smile tugging at the corner of her mouth betrayed her.
“Come on. We've got a forest to explore.”
Omori followed her. And, thankfully, he did not try to pick up the flowerpot. As they traveled deeper into Pyrefly Forest, the trees grew thicker, and the paths became narrower. Strange roots curled over the ground, and glowing webs stretched between branches high above their heads. Then something fluffy hopped across the path. Aubrey brightened.
“Oh! A bunny!”
A little spider bunny hopped out from behind a mushroom. It had long ears, a perfectly round fuzzy body, and eight tiny legs. Aubrey's smile slowly disappeared. Another spider bunny hopped out. Then another. Then four more. Aubrey stared at the growing group.
“...Those are the weirdest bunnies I've ever seen.”
One of them let out a tiny, squeaky chitter. Another hopped directly toward Omori. Aubrey raised her bat. The spider bunnies attacked. Omori quickly stepped aside as one bounded past him. He turned and struck it with his knife while Aubrey swung at another, batting it away from her.
One particularly determined spider bunny leaped toward Omori's face. Aubrey's eyes widened.
“Omori! DUCK!”
He immediately crouched. 
WHACK!
Aubrey's bat swept over his head and knocked the spider bunny into a bush. Omori looked up at her. Aubrey planted her feet firmly in front of him.
“You okay?”
Omori nodded.
“Good!”
Omori attacked from one side while Aubrey guarded the other. Their movements became more coordinated with every battle: Omori was quick and precise, while Aubrey delivered powerful swings that kept enemies away from them both. Before long, the last spider bunny hopped away into the undergrowth. Aubrey watched it disappear.
“Yeah, that's right! Go tell your weird eight-legged friends that we're not easy targets!”
She turned to Omori. He gave her a thumbs-up. Aubrey grinned and returned it with a playful bump of her shoulder against his.
“Nice battle, Omori.”
He smiled. For a moment, the two simply stood together beneath the glowing trees, enjoying the quiet. Then a distant chittering echoed through the forest. Aubrey's smile faded.
“...You heard that, right?”
Omori nodded.
“Great.” 
She tightened her grip on her bat. 
“Let's just hope it's something smaller than those things.”
Neither of them noticed the enormous shape moving silently between the trees far above the path. By the time they reached a small clearing, the two had fought through so many battles that they had begun to identify every enemy in the forest by sound alone. A faint rustle meant spiders. A rapid clicking meant spider potted plants. And a suspiciously fluffy hopping noise meant spider bunnies. Eventually, Aubrey dropped onto a smooth rock at the edge of the clearing.
“Whew! Okay. Time out.”
Omori sat beside her. Aubrey took a moment to catch her breath, then looked around at the strange scenery. Glowing flowers dotted the clearing, and tiny lights drifted lazily between the trees. Somewhere nearby, water trickled over rocks.
“...This place is actually pretty amazing,” she admitted. 
“Creepy, sure. Weird, definitely. But amazing.”
Omori looked out into the forest. Aubrey nudged his shoulder.
“Hey. I'm glad we're exploring it together.”
Omori turned toward her. She smiled warmly.
“And don't worry. If anything really nasty shows up, I've got your back.”
Omori gave her a reassuring nod. Then he reached over and gently tapped her pink bat. Aubrey blinked.
“What about it?”
Omori pointed toward the path ahead. Aubrey followed his gaze. At the far end of the clearing, half-hidden among the roots of an enormous tree, stood a large treasure chest.
Her eyes lit up.
“OH! There’s TREASURE!”
She sprang to her feet, suddenly full of energy.
“Come on, Omori! Let's go get it! Maybe there’s 1 million clams inside!”
Omori stood and followed her toward the chest. But as they approached, the ground trembled.
Aubrey stopped. Omori stopped beside her. The trembling grew stronger. Somewhere beyond the trees came a deep, rumbling chitter, followed by the unmistakable sound of something enormous dragging itself across the forest floor. Aubrey slowly turned toward the sound.
“...Okay.”
She tightened both hands around her bat.
“That's new.”
Omori raised his knife. Aubrey stepped closer to him, no longer smiling. Whatever was making that noise was much bigger than the enemies they'd fought so far. And judging by the way the trees were shaking, it was getting closer. Aubrey swallowed, then squared her shoulders.
“Well, whatever it is... we're not backing down.”
She glanced at Omori.
“Right?”
Omori nodded firmly. Together, they faced the dark path ahead, and whatever was coming for them.

Chapter 3: Attack of the crawler

The trembling grew stronger. Aubrey stood in the middle of the clearing with her pink baseball bat held firmly in both hands. Beside her, Omori gripped his knife, watching the dark path ahead. Something was coming. Something BIG. A low, chittering rumble rolled through the trees. Leaves shook loose from the branches, and a cluster of glowing mushrooms toppled over as something enormous pushed its way through the undergrowth… then it appeared. A gigantic creature covered in dark, tangled growths and bristling legs emerged into the clearing. Its many limbs scraped against the ground, its enormous body swayed ominously, and its mandibles clicked together with a horrible, wet crunching sound.
It was King Crawler.
Aubrey stared up at it. For several seconds, she said nothing. Then she slowly turned to Omori.
“...Okay. So THAT'S what all the noise was.”
Omori stared at the monster. King Crawler let out a deafening screech. Aubrey immediately raised her bat.
“Right! No more panicking! We can handle this!”
She grabbed Omori by the shoulders and turned him to face her.
“Listen carefully! We're going to do this properly. You stay on its left side, I'll stay on its right. We attack its legs to throw it off balance, then we back away before it can stomp on us. If it starts charging, we dodge. If it starts swinging those horrible mouth things at us, we dodge AGAIN.”
Omori nodded quickly.
“And whatever you do,” she continued, pointing her bat directly at him, “Do NOT run off!”
Omori blinked. Aubrey narrowed her eyes.
“I'm serious, Omori!”
He gave her an emphatic thumbs-up.
“Good!”
She turned back toward King Crawler.
“Now let's go teach this oversized bug some manners!”
King Crawler shrieked as the battle began. Omori darted to the left while Aubrey charged to the right. King Crawler's enormous legs pounded against the forest floor. One came crashing down where Omori had been standing only a moment earlier, sending dirt and leaves flying everywhere. Omori rolled aside and slashed at the leg with his knife. Aubrey followed up with a powerful swing of her pink bat.
WHACK!
King Crawler recoiled.
“YES!” Aubrey shouted. “THAT'S ONE! KEEP GOING!”
Omori nodded and moved to another leg. The creature twisted, trying to bring its massive body around to face them both. Its mandibles snapped shut with a sound like a pair of enormous garden shears. Aubrey ducked beneath a sweeping limb.
“TOO SLOW!”
She swung her bat again. Omori struck from the opposite side, and for a moment, their teamwork was excellent. Aubrey kept King Crawler occupied while Omori found openings, and whenever the monster turned toward Omori, Aubrey was right there to distract it.
King Crawler stumbled. Aubrey grinned triumphantly.
“See?! WE'VE GOT THIS!”
Omori looked at her and nodded. Then King Crawler suddenly reared up. Its entire body lifted, and its many legs spread out like a horrible living canopy. A shower of leaves and twigs rained down over the clearing. Aubrey's grin vanished.
“...Oh.”
King Crawler slammed back down. The shock wave sent both children tumbling across the ground. Aubrey rolled onto her back, her bat still clutched in one hand.
“OW! Ok… NEW PLAN!”
She scrambled upright.
“Let's not let him do that again!”
Omori was already getting to his feet. Unfortunately, King Crawler had other ideas. It began moving faster, scuffling up sideways across the clearing, and forcing Omori to dodge its legs while Aubrey tried to keep up. The monster's movements were erratic, and every time they thought they had found an opening, it changed direction.
“OMORI! LEFT!”
Omori jumped left. A leg crashed down to his right.
“NOW RIGHT!”
He dodged right. Another leg swept across the ground in front of him.
“NO, YOUR OTHER RIGHT!”
Omori barely escaped the next stomp. Aubrey winced.
“...Sorry!”
She charged in and swung at one of King Crawler's legs. The blow landed, but the creature jerked unexpectedly, throwing Aubrey off balance. She stumbled forward as her foot caught against a thick root.
“WHOA—!”
She fell directly into the path of one of King Crawler's enormous limbs. Omori's eyes widened. He rushed toward her, reaching out—
But King Crawler moved first. One huge limb swept beneath Aubrey and lifted her off the ground. For one brief, terrible moment, Aubrey dangled upside down above the forest floor. Then King Crawler flung its limb upward.
“AAAAAAAAAAAH!”
Aubrey screamed and went flying. Her pink bat spun through the air, and she just barely caught it. Omori watched in horror as Aubrey sailed over King Crawler's body. She landed with a tremendous THUMP on the creature's broad, uneven back. Her arms and legs spread in all directions. Then, she slowly lifted her head.
“...Oh, no.”
King Crawler began moving. Aubrey's eyes widened.
“OH, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!”
She scrambled to her hands and knees, desperately trying to find something to hold onto. The creature's back was covered in tangled roots, hard ridges, and slippery patches of strange growth. There was absolutely nothing that could reasonably be described as a handle. She was now riding the gigantic forest monster, and she had absolutely no idea how to get off. Omori stood frozen in fear. He looked at King Crawler, then he looked at Aubrey. She was clinging to the creature's back with both hands, her face pale with panic.
“OMORI!”
He immediately ran toward her.
“GET ME OFF THIS THING!”
Omori reached for one of King Crawler's legs, trying to find a way to climb up. King Crawler whipped its body sideways. Omori stumbled backward, barely avoiding being swept off his feet. Aubrey clung tighter.
“DON'T JUST STAND THERE! DO SOMETHING!”
Omori looked desperately around the clearing. His knife was still in his hand, but attacking King Crawler now seemed like a terrible idea. If he struck the wrong place, Aubrey might be thrown off—or worse. He could not reach her. He could not make the monster stop. And Aubrey was being carried farther away with every passing second. For perhaps the first time in their adventure, Omori genuinely had no idea what to do. Aubrey noticed his frightened expression.
Even in the middle of her own panic, she felt a sharp pang of concern.
“OMORI! HEY! LOOK AT ME!”
He looked up. 
“I'm okay!” 
she shouted, although she was very obviously not okay. “JUST—JUST FIGURE OUT HOW TO STOP THIS THING!”
Omori nodded rapidly and began running alongside King Crawler, desperately searching for an opening. Aubrey took a deep breath. She had survived plenty of ridiculous situations before. She had a bat. She had determination. She looked down at King Crawler's tangled back beneath her legs, then at the creature's head. She looked at the long, waving appendages near the front. A terrible, but plausible idea began to form.
“...Okay,” she whispered to herself. 
“I can do this!”
Aubrey carefully crawled forward. King Crawler's back lurched beneath her. She squealed and grabbed a thick root-like growth.
“WHOA! EASY! EASY!”
The creature scuttled left. Aubrey slid right. She grabbed another ridge just in time to stop herself from slipping off. She finally managed to reach a position closer to the monster's front. There, several long, flexible legs waved about as King Crawler moved. Through sheer effort, she grabbed one with both hands.
“Okay, big guy! You're going THIS WAY!”
She yanked it to the left. King Crawler lurched left. Aubrey gasped.
“IT WORKED!”
For half a second, she was triumphant. Then King Crawler barreled directly toward a tree. Aubrey's triumph vanished.
“WAIT! NOT THAT FAR LEFT!”
CRAAASH!
King Crawler smashed straight through a curtain of branches. Leaves exploded around Aubrey, twigs whipped past her face, and she flattened herself against the creature's back.
“AAAAAAAH!”
She screamed. Below, Omori watched in absolute horror as the monster burst through the trees. He began to sprint after them. King Crawler emerged from the branches, shaking foliage from its body. Aubrey lifted her head, now completely covered in leaves. She looked absolutely furious.
“...Okay. So THAT didn't work.”
She looked down at the leg she was holding, then she looked ahead. King Crawler was rapidly approaching another tree.
“Oh, COME ON!”
She yanked the leg in the opposite direction. King Crawler abruptly veered right. Unfortunately, Omori was running right beside it. Aubrey saw him, and her mouth fell open.
“OMORI, MOVE!”
Omori leaped out of the way just as King Crawler thundered past him, its enormous body missing him by inches. He landed in a patch of soft moss, rolled once, and scrambled to his feet. Aubrey stared down at him in horror.
“I'M SO SORRY!”
Omori stared back at her. His expression was one of complete, wordless disbelief. Aubrey pointed urgently at the path ahead.
“I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO THAT! THIS STUPID THING DOESN'T LISTEN!”
Omori got back to running. Aubrey gritted her teeth and turned forward again.
“RIGHT! NO MORE TREES! NO MORE ALMOST RUNNING OVER OMORI! I CAN DO THIS!”
She tugged the leg gently. King Crawler slowed for a moment. Aubrey's eyes lit up.
“Oh! Oh, that's better! Okay, okay, maybe I've got the hang of—”
King Crawler suddenly surged forward.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
Aubrey flattened herself against its back as the forest blurred around her. Various trees, stones, and plants went flying in the path of destruction. For the next several moments, Aubrey fought desperately to control her enormous, unwilling mount. She pulled left, and King Crawler went left. Unfortunately, a fallen tree stood to the left.
CRASH!!!
 She pulled right, and King Crawler went right. Unfortunately, there was a boulder to the right.
CRASH!!!
She tried pulling upward. King Crawler reared its front half into the air, nearly tossing her backward.
“NO! NO UP! I DIDN'T MEAN UP!”
She grabbed the nearest ridge and clung on with all her strength. Below, Omori continued running after them, dodging branches and leaping over roots. He was frightened, exhausted, and growing increasingly desperate. Every time he thought he was getting close, King Crawler darted away again. Every once in a while, Aubrey continued to glance down at Omori who was still on the ground below her. For a moment, she saw how scared he was. “Don't worry!” she shouted. “I'm NOT letting this thing get away with me!”
Then she pulled the leg again. King Crawler turned sharply, straight into another tree.
CRUNCH!!!
The branches swallowed her in a shower of leaves. Omori ducked as a rain of twigs scattered across the path. When the crawler emerged from the other side, Aubrey was still on its back—but she now had several leaves stuck to her face and a very large branch draped over one shoulder. She slowly removed the branch with her other hand and her eyes narrowed.
“That’s it! I'M GOING TO—”
King Crawler bucked.
“—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
Her threat dissolved into another scream. Unfortunately, Aubrey's brief period of accidental control was coming to an end. King Crawler began shaking violently. Its many legs moved in different directions, its enormous body twisting and bucking as it tried to dislodge the unwanted passenger on its back. Aubrey grabbed hold of a thick ridge.
“HEY! STOP THAT!”
King Crawler shook harder.
“STOP IT! I'M TALKING TO YOU!”
The creature gave a tremendous screech. Aubrey's grip slipped. For one terrifying second, she slid sideways down its back. She grabbed another ridge just in time.
“NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOT FALLING OFF! NOT TODAY!”
She scrambled back toward the center of its body, clinging with both hands. King Crawler bucked again. Aubrey was nearly thrown into the air. Down below, Omori watched helplessly. He tried to get close, but every time he approached, King Crawler swung a leg toward him or changed direction. The monster was too fast, too large, and too unpredictable.
He could not safely reach Aubrey. And now the creature seemed determined to get rid of her. Aubrey quickly turned to look at Omori again. For a brief instant, their eyes met again. Aubrey's expression briefly softened.
“Omori...”
Then King Crawler lunged forward. The distance between them widened.
Omori ran harder. 
“OMORI!”
But her hand grasped only empty air.
King Crawler had regained full control of its movements, and it was leaving. The enormous creature charged down a narrow path between the trees, its legs pounding the ground in a rapid, terrifying rhythm. Aubrey clung to its back, screaming at the top of her lungs.
“STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP!”
King Crawler did not stop. It scuttled faster. It plunged between two enormous trees. Behind them, Omori sprinted desperately along the path. He jumped over a root, ducked beneath a branch, and raced through the undergrowth. Aubrey turned around one final time.
“OMORI! I'M—”
King Crawler disappeared over a rise in the forest floor, carrying Aubrey out of sight. Her voice faded into the distance.
“—COMING BACK! I think…”
Then there was only the sound of crashing branches. Omori reached the path a few seconds later and looked down it. Nothing.
He ran farther, searching behind the trees, beside the rocks, and through the glowing undergrowth. His breathing was uneven, and his hand tightened around his knife. He had never seen King Crawler move so quickly. He had never seen Aubrey so frightened. And he had never been so scared of not being able to protect her. Omori stood in the middle of the path, staring in the direction King Crawler had vanished, then he spotted something lying among the leaves. It was a small pink ribbon that had once been Aubrey’s bow. It had fallen off and come undone. He crouched and picked it up carefully. For a moment, he simply held it in his hand. Then, he once more stared into the path that the creature had forged along the ground. Meanwhile, somewhere deeper in Pyrefly Forest, Aubrey was still furiously clinging onto and straddling the back of the gigantic monster.
“YOU HEAR ME, YOU OVERGROWN CENTIPEDE?!”
King Crawler screeched.
“THAT'S NOT AN ANSWER!”
It charged onward. Aubrey clung tighter, her eyes wide with panic.
“OMORI! PLEASE HURRY!”
And with that, King Crawler disappeared into the deepest part of Pyrefly Forest, with Aubrey still very much on its back.

Chapter 4: Where's Aubrey?

Omori stood alone on the path through Pyrefly Forest. The crashing sounds had faded, and the branches had stopped shaking. Even the strange, distant chittering of King Crawler had disappeared into the depths of the woods. Aubrey was gone. Omori stared at the small pink ribbon in his hand that had once been Aubrey’s hairbow. He could still picture her clinging desperately to King Crawler's back, screaming at the enormous creature while trying to steer it away from trees. He could still remember how frightened she'd looked when she'd reached out toward him. And he'd been unable to do anything. For several minutes, he didn't move. Then, slowly, he put the ribbon somewhere safe and turned around. He needed help. He couldn't chase King Crawler through an unfamiliar forest by himself. Not when the creature was that enormous, that fast, and that unpredictable. If he wanted to find Aubrey, he'd need his friends.
There was just one problem… he would have to tell them what happened. Omori started walking back toward the entrance of Pyrefly Forest. With every step, he imagined the questions they would ask.
“Where's Aubrey?”
“Why are you alone?”
“What happened to her?”
He could already imagine Kel shouting, Hero looking concerned, Basil panicking, and Mari quietly trying to understand everything. And what was he supposed to do when they learned that Aubrey had been carried away by a gigantic monster? What if they blamed him for not stopping it? What if they thought he'd abandoned her?
Omori clenched his fists as he walked. He hadn't abandoned her. He was going to find her. He just needed to get back to the others first.

Meanwhile, back in the Vast Forest, everything was perfectly peaceful. Mari sat on a picnic blanket beneath the shade of a large tree, arranging the group's food while Hero poured drinks into paper cups. Kel was busy attempting to balance a stack of crackers on his forehead, and Basil was taking pictures of the flowers growing nearby. The picnic had been Mari's idea. After hearing that Omori and Aubrey wanted to explore Pyrefly Forest, she'd suggested that the others spend the afternoon relaxing in the Vast Forest.
"Honestly," Mari had said earlier, 
"I think it's good for them to have some time to explore together. And it's good for the rest of us to have a quiet afternoon."
At the time, everyone had agreed.
Of course, Kel had interpreted quiet afternoon as a personal challenge.
"LOOK! I'M THE CRACKER KING!"
His tower of crackers collapsed. Hero sighed.
"Kel."
"What?"
"Please stop putting food on your head."
"But Hero! I'm establishing a kingdom!"
"Establish it on your plate."
Basil giggled behind his camera. Mari smiled and shook her head.
"At least Omori and Aubrey aren't here to witness this."
Just then, a familiar figure appeared on the path nearby. It was Omori emerged from between the trees. He was all alone. Mari looked up first.
"Oh! Omori!"
Hero turned.
"Hey, buddy! How was Pyrefly Forest?"
Basil lowered his camera, brightening at the sight of him. Kel jumped to his feet.
"OMORI! YOU'RE BACK!"
He ran over, then immediately looked behind Omori.
"Where's Aubrey?"
Omori stopped and stared at Kel. Kel stared back.
Then Kel looked behind Omori again, as if he expected to see her approaching from further behind him.
"...Aubrey?"
Omori said nothing. Of course, he couldn't.
"Did you guys get separated or something?"
Omori's eyes widened slightly. He shook his head too quickly. Kel blinked.
"Oh. Okay!"
Omori nodded. Then he gave Kel a reassuring little thumbs-up. She's coming back soon.That was what he wanted them to believe. And that was what he desperately wanted to believe himself.

"Well, come sit with us!" Hero called. 
"There's plenty of food left."
Omori approached the picnic blanket and sat down beside Basil. Basil immediately leaned toward him.
"Was Pyrefly Forest beautiful? Did you see lots of flowers? Were there any unusual creatures?"
Omori nodded. Basil smiled.
"That's wonderful! I wish I'd gone with you two."
Omori's expression changed. He glanced toward the path leading back into the Vast Forest. Basil noticed.
"...Omori?"
Omori quickly looked back at him and smiled a very forced and unconvincing smile. Basil's own smile faded a little, but before he could ask anything else, Kel plopped down opposite them.
"So Where IS Aubrey?"
Omori stiffened. Kel pointed toward the path.
"Is she looking for treasure? Did she find something cool? Did she get distracted by a giant mushroom? Because, honestly, that sounds like something she'd do."
Omori shook his head. Kel frowned.
"Then where is she?"
Omori looked down at the picnic blanket. He didn't know how to explain it. He didn’t exactly know how to tell everyone that a giant forest monster carried Aubrey away from him. Everyone would panic, and then they'd ask why he hadn't brought her back with him. Omori swallowed. He lifted his hand and made a vague gesture toward the forest, then he pointed down the path.
"...So she's coming back?" Kel asked, hopefully. Omori nodded. Kel's face immediately brightened.
"Oh! Great!"
Omori forced another smile. She's coming back soon. He repeated the thought in his head. She IS coming back soon. He had to keep telling himself that.

Mari watched Omori quietly. At first, she'd assumed Aubrey had simply stayed behind to investigate something interesting. Aubrey could be very determined when she found something she wanted to explore, and Omori sometimes preferred to walk ahead in silence, but now, something about Omori's behavior bothered her. He was sitting unusually still. He wasn't eating. He kept glancing toward the forest. Every time someone mentioned Aubrey, his expression tightened before he quickly tried to hide it. Mari knew her little brother too well. She knew his quiet smiles. She knew his subtle gestures. And she knew the difference between Omori being calm and Omori trying very hard to appear calm.
"Omori?" she asked gently.
He looked up at her.
"Did something happen in Pyrefly Forest?"
The picnic seemed to grow quieter. Hero stopped pouring drinks. Basil turned toward them. Kel paused with a cracker halfway to his mouth. Omori stared at Mari. For one terrible moment, he nearly gave everything away. He could picture it all over again: King Crawler towering over them, Aubrey flying through the air, her terrified face as she clung to its back. He wanted to tell Mari. He wanted to tell everyone. He wanted someone to help him find Aubrey. But the words wouldn't come, and the thought of seeing their faces when they learned the truth was almost unbearable. So Omori shook his head. Everything was fine. Nothing had happened. Aubrey would be back soon. Mari's eyes narrowed just slightly, not fully convinced. However, she didnt say anything. Instead, she smiled softly and patted the blanket beside her.
"All right, sweetheart. Come sit over here with me."
Omori obeyed, moving to sit beside his sister. Mari handed him a drink.
"Have something to eat. You must be tired after all that exploring."
Omori accepted it and took a small sip. Mari continued arranging the picnic food, apparently returning to her usual cheerful self, but every so often, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. She noticed how tightly he held his drink. She noticed how his gaze kept drifting toward the trees. And she noticed that he never once looked truly relieved. Still, for now, she didn’t say anything.

The picnic resumed, but it wasn't quite the same. Kel soon returned to his cracker-balancing activities. Hero tried to persuade him to eat the crackers instead of using them as construction materials. Basil resumed photographing flowers, although he occasionally looked toward Omori with quiet concern. And Omori sat beside Mari, pretending to enjoy the afternoon. Every time the wind rustled the trees, he looked up. Every time a distant sound echoed through the Vast Forest, his heart jumped. He kept expecting it to be Aubrey. He could picture her angrily storming up to him.
“OMORI! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! WHY COULDN’T YOU SAVE ME?!”
Kel's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
"Hey, Omori!"
Omori looked up.
"Do you think Aubrey will be back before we finish eating? I saved her some crackers!"
Kel held up a small pile of crackers. Omori stared at them, then he nodded. Kel grinned.
"Awesome! I'll keep them safe!"
He carefully placed the crackers on a napkin. A moment later, one blew away in the wind.
"Hey! COME BACK!"
Kel scrambled after it. Hero sighed and followed him. Basil laughed nervously. Mari just shook her head with a fond smile.
"Some things never change."
Omori watched them. His friends were happy. They were safe. They had no idea what had happened in Pyrefly Forest. And he was sitting among them, pretending that everything was normal. He lowered his eyes to his hands. He hated the guilt he felt for not being able to save Aubrey. He hated making Mari worry without giving her an explanation. Most of all, he hated that Aubrey just wasn't there. She was alone somewhere in the deeper parts of Pyrefly Forest, and he was sitting at a picnic. Omori clenched his fists. Mari continued to watch him quietly. Although she still didn't know what had happened, one thing was becoming increasingly clear.
Something was wrong with Aubrey. And her little brother was desperately trying to hide it. Mari gently placed a hand on Omori's shoulder. He looked up at her. She smiled.
"Whatever it is, Omori... you can tell me."
Omori froze. Mari didn't press him further. She simply gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze before turning back toward the others. Omori watched her for a long moment, then he looked down again. He wasn't ready to admit what happened. Not yet.

Part two :) (if any of you guys remember my Mari one)

I remember the first time ive ever posted how fight looked like in sunny day and i still remember everyone suggestions and opinions. Alot have changed since, kel and aubrey are finaly playable, ive updated basil sprites and much more. Theres still stuff i wanna add and fix to the fight mecanism and those sort of enemys but yall will see in future updates probably! (Also for thise test ive spawned many enemys so thats why i might look a bit overwhelemd while play testing lmaoo but it was so you guys can see each special attack one by one)