𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | 𝖲𝗉𝖺𝗆𝗍𝗈𝗇 𝗑 𝖱𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐨

* I'm Cybel! What's your name?

You looked at it before hesitantly shaking it with your own and smiling at her. It was strangely warm.

"My name is [̸Y̵/̴N̴]̶!"

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It had now been a week since you first woke up in the Dark World. The days you spent at the hospital went by fairly fast. You were finally allowed to leave and go on about your business.

The problem was...you had no business in a place like this. No friends, no family, literally nothing to make you stay. How could you leave though if you didn't even know how you got here in the first place? Every time you tried to recall the events before you landed in this strange electrical world you were met with even more blank spots that seemed impossible to fill.

The good news, though, was that while you stayed in the hospital, you had become pretty close with Cybel, who stayed by your side for the most part. You weren't sure if you could call her a friend so soon, but it was nice to know you at least had an acquaintance in this place.

Your mind crawled back to the man you met that night. Spamton. While your first encounter was undoubtedly weird, you couldn't help but feel like you owed him your thanks. If it wasn't for him, god knows where you would've ended up. How would you find him though? As you asked around, seemingly no one knew of him. Either that, or the people you'd ask straight up refused to tell you about him.

It wasn't long until you found yourself standing right in the middle of that alley you first met him. This time though, as you searched around in the dumpster, you found no sign of the puppet salesman. A frown tugged at your lips as you left the alley and walked through the streets. You had no choice but to keep searching for him.

As you wandered the crowded streets of Cyber City, you couldn't help but notice the fact that no matter how many days had passed, you never caught a glimpse of the morning sun. But again, this was a whole different world. It didn't have to stick to the laws of nature. You didn't mind it that much, but you were starting to feel the nostalgia kick in. You missed your hometown a lot.

A sudden breeze blew past and the wind felt cool on your skin. You let out a soft hum. You were beginning to consider what you would do after you gave your thanks to Spamton. You had to get back to your world! And fast too, seeing as you had no way of living in a strange foreign world like this. Sure, the monsters inhabiting it seemed to be pretty nice to you, but where would you stay? What would you eat? At the thought of food, you felt your stomach growl. Your feet hurt after walking for so many hours.

You were currently outside a tea shop. A pink humanoid was standing in the front as well, their eyes lit up the moment they spotted you. Come to thing of it, they looked a lot like the guy you were looking for. Long pointy nose, wide smile...yeah, this was an Addison if you remembered Cybel's words correctly.

As soon as your eyes met, the pink Addison approached you warmly.

* Hello, dear Lightner! This is the HOTTEST tea shop! HOT HOT HOT!! 50% off!

* For $100, Choose your OWN flavor!!

At the sound of tea, your tummy gave a low rumble again, reminding you once more of the fact that you really needed something to eat. You searched your pockets for any coins you might had, but you found nothing but lint.

"I-I...sorry, I don't have any money on me right now." you told them apologetically. Now that you thought of it, tea wouldn't do much for you.

* Oh! That's alright! Would you like a free sample though? CRACKER sample!!! 50% OFF!!! Something to make you come back FOR MORE!!

You nodded your head all excited at the promise of crackers. It wasn't much but you'd rather consume something instead of running on an empty stomach.

* Come on, come inside!

With this, you decided to enter the shop, following the pink Addison in. The Addison was quick to give you a small plate of sample crackers, just as promised. Some of them tasted like normal crackers, but the rest of them hid notes of marshmallow, blueberry and even apple pie! They were by far the best crackers you've tasted. The Addison looked pleased by your reaction to them.

You devoured the last of your crackers, feeling the growling in your stomach go away. Your hunger would be kept at bay, for now. You thanked the Addison for the samples, making sure to mention you'd come back again one day to try the tea. They seemed very pleased to hear that.

Now that your energy levels were somewhat refilled, you were ready to continue your quest. "Where will I find him?" you asked yourself. You looked back at the pink Addison.

"Hey um...you wouldn't happen to know someone named Spamton, right?"

At the mention of his name, their eyes widened.

* Spamton... that's a name I haven't heard in a while...

They breathed in deeply before slowly letting the air out, seemingly recollecting themselves. The Addison met your eyes once more and spoke in a calm voice.

* He...he has a shop of his own, not very far from here. It's easy to miss, but once you see the trash zone head straight and don't stop. He must be there.

What they said was definitely a surprise. Finally, finally! You had found someone who knew of him!

"Thank you so much! You have no idea how long I've been searching for him!" you told her excitedly.

The Addison smiled sadly at you and looked down for a moment before answering you, somewhat lost in their own thoughts.

* Yes, well...just tell him...

"Tell him what?"

They only shook their head before meeting your eyes with the same frown.

* Nothing...I hope you find him.

You nodded your head to them and exchanged your goodbyes, before the pink Addison made her way to the back of the tea shop, leaving you to continue your search for Spamton.

You headed to the trash zone, just as the Addison told you to. It was barely a 20 minute walk from the tea shop, and you had more than enough energy to reach your destination without getting too tired or hungry. At the 20 minute mark, you saw various cardboard boxes, food remnants and discarded pieces of machinery littering the area in front of you. This was indeed the trash zone.

You cautiously made your way through the piles of garbage, making sure you didn't step on any banana peel and slipped. The smell was overwhelming to say the least. It was also very quiet. Not a single noise to be heard besides your shoes hitting the concrete.

The road made a turn to the right at some point. That's when you spotted a...was that a junk pile with a door in the front? That can't be right. You expected Spamton's shop to at least look like a decent shop like all the others in the city, instead of.... whatever this was. It honestly didn't look like much. The night of your first encounter came to mind, how he appeared straight out of the trash and said something along the lines of living in a goddamn garbage can.

You were quick to take back your words and mentally smacked yourself. You shouldn't have judged him in such a cruel manner. This was probably all that the man had. You pitied him. You couldn't imagine how it must feel like to live in the trash. To constantly be surrounded by it.

Your feet carried you all the way to the front door. Despite the horrible smell of the area, your hand gripped the doorknob and you opened it, stepping into his store. Your eyes met the wall opposite of you. It was painted to look like the morning sky, with a little yellow sun and white fluffy clouds which dripped on some spots due to the clumsy paint job. It brightened the whole store interior a little, almost made you forget how the outside was literal piles of garbage. At the sight of the sun, that nostalgic feeling kicked back and you felt a knot form in the back of your throat.

Your eyes now wandered around before they finally fell on the silhouette of a man. There, in the right corner of the shop, was Spamton, hunched over a rotary phone, mumbling something to himself.

"Please, Mike, answer the phone.... pleaseeee..."