As soon as OMORI stepped through the doorway, he was met with the familiar sight of his friends playing a game of cards. AUBREY noticed him first, and rushed towards him in excitement. In the process, she trampled all over the playing cards.
"Hi OMORI! We were hoping that you'd come by soon! Wanna play cards with us? We were about to start another game!"
She smiled brightly, eyes gleaming with joy. Before she could fully notice THE BATTER, she turned around, and saw that she had stepped on the cards.
"Oh! Whoops... Nevermind..."
KEL was about to retort as per usual, when HERO suddenly spoke up. Something different was about to occur.
"Hey, OMORI, who is that man behind you? I don't think I've seen him around here before."
"I am THE BATTER. I was-"
OMORI held up a hand in front of THE BATTER, cutting him off. He stared at HERO with his dull, black eyes, as if they were communicating telepathically.
"THE BATTER? And he's not from around here, you say? Well, I guess it's nice to see a new face around here! We can help him out."
THE BATTER glanced at OMORI, wondering how he was able to convey information without speaking.
KEL got up excitedly, and rushed over to THE BATTER.
"WOAH! You're even taller than HERO! Can I hold your bat?!"
"KEL! Don't rush over to him like that! You might freak him out!" Aubrey yelled, as sparks ignited between the two youngsters.
"What do you mean 'freak him out'? If anything, you're the one who would! With your whiney voice!"
"That's SO RUDE!!! And plus, I bet you were going to steal his bat! Just like how you did with my STUFFED TOY!"
"I only hid it because you were making fun of the mole on my-..."
"The mole on your what?" AUBREY smirked victoriously, as KEL fumed in anger.
"That's enough, you two. I don't think we're making a good first impression..." HERO sighed, as he scratched the back of his head. KEL and AUBREY stiffened, and muttered angry comments to themselves, as they ended their conflict temporarily. THE BATTER had just stood there the entire time, in an almost awkward form. HERO waved THE BATTER over, and beckoned him forward. THE BATTER merely followed, and they both went aside to talk. AUBREY scooted to OMORI, and began her usual spiel of asking him to find her STUFFED TOY. OMORI complied, and found it in a watermelon stashed in a corner of the room.
"I-Is that? Could it be?" AUBREY twirled, as she snatched the STUFFED TOY from OMORI.
She turned towards KEL, and called out.
"Hey, KEL! Look, it's my STUFFED TOY!"
"W-What the heck? Where did you get?" KEL sputtered.
"OMORI found it! Lucky for me, I've got some real friends!"
HERO chimed in, pausing his conversation with THE BATTER.
"Serves you right, KEL. You should know better than to pick on others."
"But AUBREY started it...She...She..."
HERO gave AUBREY a stern look. "AUBREY..."
"Fine..." Aubrey muttered. HERO turned back towards THE BATTER, as OMORI decided to inch closer to listen in.
"I'm really sorry about them. KEL and AUBREY have difficulty getting along, and quarrel a lot..."
"It's fine." THE BATTER stated, in his usual blunt tone. It seemed that completing his mission was going to be a huge hassle...
"Anyways, we were going to go on a picnic with MARI and BASIL, and I'm wondering if you would like to join us? We can show you around the PLAYGROUND, and grab a bite to eat."
"Is OMORI going to the picnic?"
"Of course he is! OMORI could never miss a picnic with his sister. Those two are inseparable! Why are you specifically asking if OMORI is coming?"
"...OMORI is guiding me."
"Huh. Usually OMORI is very shy, so that's certainly unexpected. But, I guess that means he's making friends! Even if it's with...uh." HERO looked lost in thought, as he analyzed THE BATTER.
"I have to say, I didn't expect OMORI to be friends with an older person like you. He's really skittish..."
OMORI decided now was the time to butt in, and approached HERO and THE BATTER.
"Oh! Hello, OMORI! I was talking to THE BATTER just now. Say, where did you find him anyways? He's as lost as a SPROUT MOLE..."
OMORI stared at HERO silently.
"He just... woke up? Sounds like we got a case on our hands. Let's go to MARI and BASIL, some food will help us think about what to do next!"
AUBREY, KEL, and HERO lined up behind OMORI. THE BATTER decided to follow suite, and stood behind HERO. OMORI walked up to the snake on the stairs to get his allowance of 50 CLAMS, and ascended up the stairs.
OMORI, KEL, and HERO emerged from the stump. Before THE BATTER could follow, AUBREY got stuck in the entrance.
"OH YEAH!! FRESH AIR AT LAST!! Gotta love that nature! Well, let's go!" KEL beamed.
OMORI, KEL, and HERO started walking forward, as AUBREY prepared to cry out. Before she could, THE BATTER gave her a hard push from behind, and she popped out of the stump, tumbling on the ground.
"OH! Uh. Thank you!" She chirped, as she looked at THE BATTER with a grateful expression.
"You're welcome."
AUBREY ran forward, and caught up with the rest of the group, THE BATTER following her close behind. He observed his surroundings, surprised at the bizarre appearance of the place. The ground was soft, and the air was extremely thin. So thin, in fact, it felt hard for him to breathe. Upon closer inspection, he could see the ground was covered in a soft, yet fibrous, pastel-green material. It had a questionable, yet pleasant smell. He knelt down to get a closer look.
"Hey! What're you staring at the ground for? Come on!" AUBREY called out, grabbing THE BATTER's attention. He got up, and followed AUBREY closely.
They all entered the PLAYGROUND.
"MARI! BASIL!" AUBREY called out, as she walked up to them. KEL sprinted at full speed to the blanket, HERO casually followed KEL, and OMORI approached at a slow pace. THE BATTER simply followed OMORI, knowing he'd sort it all out. A joyful tune reverberated through the area, a piano being the main instrument.
"Oh, hello AUBREY! Hello, everyone!" MARI cheerfully greeted. She looked at THE BATTER, and raised an eyebrow.
"Who is this?" She questioned.
"That's THE BATTER. He's not from around here, and OMORI found him. OMORI brought him along, since he's lost." HERO replied.
"THE BATTER? That's an unusual name... Where were you before?"
"I was in THE ROOM."
"The room? Can you be more specific?"
OMORI perked up slightly. After all, knowing where THE BATTER came from is important. The more he knows about him, the less dangerous he is.
"I successfully purified THE ROOM, and turned OFF the switch. I completed my sacred mission, and woke up here."
Sacred mission? OMORI decided to keep that information noted. He must be religious, in some way or form. Though, a religious, blunt, monochromatic baseball player was a pretty unusual combination of traits.
"But where is the room?" Mari pressed on. THE BATTER was being too blunt, and she was determined to figure something out.
"THE ROOM is one of the Zones. The last Zone, to be precise."
Now, this definitely grabbed OMORI's attention. He remembered THE BATTER mentioning something about 'Zones' when he first woke up in WHITE SPACE. Something about there being a 'guardian' as well...
It was like he was from another world, and was more than a... OMORI shook off his thought process.
"Zones? Hmm... I'm afraid I do not know any places that are referred to as 'zones'..."
"I see."
THE BATTER fiddled with a piece of the strange green fiber with his fingers, as AUBREY approached him.
"You were doing that earlier too. What's so interesting about the grass?" She asked, confused by his behavior.
"...'Grass'? Is that what these fibers are called?"
"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT GRASS IS?!" KEL blurted, as BASIL squeaked in surprise from his outburst. KEL rushed to THE BATTER, and placed his hands on his hips.
"Dude, we gotta get BASIL to tell you ALL about plants then! He's like, a PLANT DICTIONARY!"
"Oh sh-shucks, KEL... you're embarrassing me! Haha!" BASIL stuttered, as meek as a lamb.
"What are plants?"
OMORI could practically que a comedically timed glass shattering sound, as KEL's jaw dropped to the floor. HERO mumbled something to himself silently.
MARI decided to clear the air by changing the topic.
"Come on, guys! I think THE BATTER needs some time to take everything in. In the meantime, AUBREY, why don't you tell me what you were wanting to say earlier?"
"Oh! Kel was being mean to me again!"
"Oh, no! Not again... How could he?"
KEL piped in, angered by AUBREY's, in his opinion, unjustified spite.
"Pshh, I'm not being mean! AUBREY's just being all whiney!"
"Well, KEL! You've just made a very convincing point! Now I don't know who to believe!"
"BELIEVE ME!!" KEL yelled.
"NO, BELIEVE ME!!" AUBREY blurted.
HERO tiredly sighed. "...Settle down, you two... Why does it always have to be like this?"
"Chin up, HERO! Look at you, being all responsible!" MARI smiled, as HERO laughed sheepishly.
"I really like that about you... hehe..." MARI teased, as she scooted closer to HERO.
"Come on, MARI! Not now! You know THE BATTER is seeing all of this, right?"
"Oh HERO, you know I'm just teasing. You're so cute when you get all flustered!"
HERO shut his mouth, not wanting to face more of MARI's professional flirting skills.
MARI's face lit up, as she remembered something she wanted to mention.
"While we were waiting for you guys, BASIL and I were going through his PHOTO ALBUM! Did you wanna join us?"
"Of course! After all... we're the ones in the pictures, aren't we?" AUBREY replied happily.
"BASIL, BASIL! GET A LOAD OF THIS!!" KEL cheered, as he struck a pose. BASIL walked up to KEL, confused as to why he was posing.
"C'mon, BASIL! Take a picture of me!" KEL smiled widely.
"Sorry, KEL. I only take photos of people when they least expect it!..."
OMORI decided to ignore the rest of the conversation, as he felt as if he already knew what they were going to say. He turned towards THE BATTER, and tugged on his sleeve. THE BATTER was still fondling the piece of grass with mild interest. He looked up at OMORI, his attention now diverted.
"What?"
OMORI stared at THE BATTER for a moment, until he remembered that THE BATTER can't really know what people want from an expression alone, unlike his friends. He somehow forgot that already... OMORI felt stupid. OMORI leaned in close to THE BATTER, and whispered.
"Where you used to be. What is it like?"
This question had been lingering on OMORI's mind for a while now. If he knew what THE BATTER's world looked like, it would be easier to predict his behavior, and how he would react to certain situations.
"The ground is made of metal. The smoke was thicker as well, and wasn't thin like how it is here. There are large oceans of plastic, and transportations known as pedalos were used to go across them. There were 3 main Zones, excluding Zone 0 and THE ROOM."
"...Smoke?" OMORI questioned.
"Do you not breathe smoke?"
"The air here isn't made of smoke."
"..." THE BATTER was silent. In fact, it seemed for a moment, he stopped breathing.
"...Each Zone had a guardian. The guardian of each Zone not only ran it, but were the creators of the Zone they led. They all served under THE QUEEN, who was the one who made them able to do so."
...This sounded like something that HEADSPACE could never come up with, for sure. He was definitely an outsider. But, how did he get here? The place where THE BATTER was from sounded extremely bizarre. Alien, even. Was he even human...? It was strange to think about.
Before OMORI could ask more questions, MARI clapped to grab his attention.
"OMORI! Are you talking to THE BATTER? It seems you two are good friends already! I'm happy to see you making more friends, OMORI. It means the world to me! But, I'm afraid you both will need to cut your little chat short... BASIL is going to look through the PHOTO ALBUM with everyone. THE BATTER can take a look as well, if he's interested?"
"No. It is alright. That is a private affair."
"...Alright, then! Come on, OMORI. I'm sure you'll enjoy it!"
OMORI nodded, and joined his friends in looking at the pictures in the PHOTO ALBUM.
THE BATTER looked back down at the grass, but didn't fiddle with it this time. After all, he had to assess the situation.
He was currently with a group of young people, in a bizarre land where the air isn't made of smoke, and the ground is covered in a fiber called grass.
He's in an area called the PLAYGROUND, which is filled with children as well. He better keep note of how there doesn't seem to be a single adult in the vicinity.
So far, there hasn't been any sign of any spectres. But, he had a hunch that this place wasn't empty of them. Something felt OFF about this place... the pastel colors and childish theme of this world could possibly be a disguise for something sinister in the sidelines. The children here don't seem to be aware of that, though.
He would have to ask BASIL what plants are later. If 'grass' is a kind of plant, that must mean there are multiple kinds. If PLAYER had taught him anything, it was that knowing the names of things were important. The password 'Von Gacey' in Zone 3 was proof of that fact.
In fact, another peculiar fact was that although he could feel PLAYER's presence, they hadn't influenced any of his actions at all. So far, he has had to do everything himself, as if he was permanently set on AUTO mode. This was problematic, because PLAYER was his puppeteer. What was a puppet without a puppeteer keeping it in check? Yes, he is very capable of solving puzzles himself, but continuing this new mission of his without PLAYER could become problematic. The lack of his Add-Ons was also something to be worried about. If he was here, where were they? Were they here as well, or did they get left behind? If the latter option, that would be unfortunate. THE BATTER's Add-Ons were very useful, and assisted him in combat. If he were to run into any especially difficult foes, the possibility of failure was likely.
For now, it would be best to follow OMORI. OMORI gave him his current mission, and seemed to know what to do. Not only was he knowledgeable about the world he was in, OMORI had an awareness that the other children did not, and appeared to be capable of self defense. After all, he was armed with an actual weapon, unlike his fellow youth.
THE BATTER nodded to himself. He had successfully sorted out the situation, and felt prepared.
His mission could be continued without any doubts or worries.