Headspace chapter if you wanna read about the cockroach
Lost to the concept of space and shattered by the concept of time, when he opened his eyes, Kel and Hero led him through the dark halls of a house that folded and unfolded without restraint.
“I thought we already went this way?” Kel groaned. “I’m serious, I swear we just did, look I drew a map and everything.”
Hero half-mindedly looked at the map, muttered something about how it was all a bunch of scribbles, and continued with confidence down the hall. “I don’t remember this.”
“You wouldn’t, you’ve been too busy talking about nonsense to pay attention.” Kel, who rarely spoke sense, said.
“And you’ve been too busy drawing.” Hero replied curtly.
“What do you think?” The two brothers turned to look at him, their eyes shining like orbs in the darkness.
Wishing to look confident and knowing that things had a way of moving around him in this space, he set forward in the maze. There were no doors but there were plenty of windows…though the darkness of what laid beyond the dusty panes only reflected the softly illuminated lanterns that pulsed on the wall.
“You’ve been moody lately.” Hero said.
Kel kicked his feet from under him, shuffling away. “I just thought we were all gonna hangout and now we can’t even find half of our group. Again.”
“We’ll find them.” Hero grabbed his brother, rubbing a fist into the younger brother’s hair. “They’re probably all together right now just waiting on us. We just need to get the train ticket, and head back.”
“Um…” Kel shook his brother off of him and backed up. A creak broke the silence, then another. “What’s that?”
Something large at the end of the hall, too far to see but too obvious to ignore, let out a groan that rattled the stagnant air.
Without hesitation, Sunny pushed towards an opening towards another hall nearby and flooded the floor with the stampede of his friends.
“What on Earth!?” Kel screamed from behind them. The creaking grew closer, clumsily clanking along the wall and producing a skittering sound that began to overtake everything. When at last, full of exhaustion and a burning in his lungs, he felt the knees of his legs buckle and his arms reaching for support alongside a wall. A shadow had grown on them so large, he gave in and relented his survival instincts.
“It’s…” Kel cried, grabbing Sunny’s hand. “It’s another cockroach!”
Hero was pinned against the wall but cautiously moved in front of them, pan clutched behind his head.
“Don’t… don’t make me.” He withered as the roach stayed idol in front of them.
“HERO I GOT THIS!” Kel said, swooping past the two of them and KEL NUKING THE EVER-LOVING GARBAGE OUT OF THE ROACH. HERO performed an ATTACK, smacking ROACH straight in the head. Sunny reached in his pockets, the trousers of which were once a light brown starting to become more muted in shade, and tore out his knife. HACK AWAY landed straight in the heart, and the ROACH backed up with his many legs, and gave an inquisitive look with the tilt of a head, antennas curling inwards.
“Why do you hurt me?” The creature said softly. “I am but the same as I once was. I have come to be cured so that I might resume my duties.”
Kel’s determined face faltered, bringing Hero’s expression alongside it. “What? You were chasing us down the hall?”
“I was only curious about the strangers who have entered these halls. It has been a long time since I have been home, a long time indeed. MY STORY GOES BACK A-”
“THIS GUY AGAIN?” Kel cried, now dribbling a ball that sparked against the ground. “Where is the captain?”
“The who?”
“You told us the captain was here! Where is he!? We have stuff to do pal.”
“Oh the captain… yes, yes. The captain. You see, the captain was quite ill, falling back to a state of, I suppose I could call it, hysteria. Yes, that is the word. I am a doctor, after all. In order to properly address and quail his hysteria, we decided to take the easy route and send him somewhere where he would never have to address his issues or problems ever again. He now lives alone for one can not be hurt by the grievances of man if one is not surrounded by man.”
“You… YOU KIDNAPPED HIM!” Kel roared.
“Alas, I am only a doctor, I do not know of this term kidnapping. I implore you to speak with our Language Master, Sir Gregor. He is also The Artist and Renovator. He is also The Doctor.”
Kel slapped the palm of his hand on his forehead and pushed it down with brute force. It appeared he really didn’t enjoy the roach. Sunny couldn’t blame him, this creature was simply put, an insulting testament to creation.
“Hold on Kel,” Hero said, pushing forward. “Mr… Mr Roa-”
“Please, call me Gregor the Second.”
“Yes… Mr. Gregor the Second, sir. It appears you live quite a busy life tending to the needs of many who surround you, that you know these halls better than an architect, and that you have the agility similar to that of a train.”
The fake accent he was putting on was really working its magic.
“We would be honored if you could be the one to take us to see the Captain… I’m actually a doctor myself, and I would be honored to learn by your hand. It isn’t every day you see a case of… hysteria.”
“Hmm.” The roach thought to himself and turned his head to either side of the hall as if bathing himself in all of the compliments he’d been given.
“Very well then, I might be able to spare a little time to humor you. After all, it truly isn’t a common occurrence to run into such professionalism such as mine.”
(This fic is a sequel to the previous work)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/59175772/chapters/150892114