Chapter Text
There is a hum that fills the air, soft static drifting in the space when you open your eyes. Taking in the flat white environment that had no shadows, but held light. A quick look around revealed only more questions as you came up with no sky nor floor. Nothing. A blank canvas with only you laying in space. Time moves by in inches. At least, that would be an accurate description as there was no way of measuring the aspect of passing time.
The sound of the low hum started to roll into you being able to hear your organs shift and gurgle as your blood was being moved by the beating of your heart. It was almost too much as you were following down the sources of the sounds. Only to be interrupted by the echo of something landing behind you. The suddenness of the thud making you jolt, sitting up abruptly, you looked over your shoulder to see that it was a cardboard box. Blinking, you carefully pushed yourself up onto your feet, feeling how unsteady they were in this new space. Watching the box closely, you soon realized there was a skull peeking out from it.
“What the-!” You stumbled back, falling straight onto your butt.
“Ah! I didn’t mean to startle you!” A small voice called out. Guiding your attention back to the box, you watched this small skeleton climb out of the it carefully, holding a plush Penguin between his hands. Getting back onto your feet, you tried to dust yourself off.
“Uh… Its fine…” You mutter as you watch him approach you. He was about the height of an 8 year old child and he almost looked like one too. With the rounded features of his skull and his casual wear. It also didn’t help that he was holding that plush toy.
“You aren’t supposed to be here… Do you know where you came from?” It was a simple question really. It should be easy to answer but it wasn’t.
“I- uh… No.”
“Huh… That’s Concerning… Do you know your name?” He asks with a hand resting on his chin. Again, that should be an easy answer as you wrap your mind for anything. A nickname or initials at least. Maybe an alias. Hell, even a username! But…
Nothing.
Your memory was blank. Just like the space around you. It was like everything that made you you was gone. Vanished. Looking at the small skeleton before you, you realized that he was still waiting for an answer. “Did I die… Is that why I’m here?”
“No. Well… Its complicated.” The skeleton lifts a hand to rub the back of his skull as his expression shifts to be more sheepish. “It seems as if, you are all what’s left of your universe. I mean, if I had more information abo-”
“What do you mean Universe?” You asked, voice wavering as you were desperately trying to keep your wits sharp. Thoughts trailing into more abstract questions as you were surrounded by nothing and talking to a small skeleton. You don’t even know if he was a grim reaper in training.
“Uh- hmmm… How do I explain it…” He mutters to himself as he taps an index finger against his chin while pacing back and forth. Small eye lights darting as if he was imagining formulas in front of him. “Its kinda- Wait no. Um… So, it’s the multiverse theory. Its a hypothesis that changes of actions, or personalities, can lead to a divergence of a timeline and in turn creates a new universe.”
You ended up staring at him. It sounds like it makes sense. In a way. Possibly. However, your mind was spiraling and so it felt more like it was dropping into a thick fog. Curling your arms closer to yourself in an attempt to calm yourself down, you take in a slow, wavering deep breaths. “Okay… I think I get it?”
“Its okay if you don’t. Most get a lil’ confused- Or rather, concerned…” He lifted a hand as if he was waving off a thought before looking back up at you. The smile he wore becoming softer. There was some time that passed by the two of you as you were still consumed by multiple questions whirling around in your mind. While he was waiting patiently for you to speak up, he walked to the cardboard box.
“Uh… By the way… Where are we? And… what are you? Are you a- uh…” You weren’t sure if it would be straight up rude if you called the little guy a grim reaper in training, but what else could you compare him to?
“Hmm?” He poked his head out from the box again, one hand resting on the edge as if he was holding the side to stabilize himself. What was he doing in there? “Oh! We’re in a pocket of the Anti-void! The void is dark and this place is rather, uh, bright. A little space between several different universes. Its almost endless actually.” He tilted his head and tapped his chin again as he looked off to a distance. After a breath and a half he cleared his non-existing throat before shrugging. “And I’m an entity that takes the form of a specific type of monster. Oh wait… I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Code, well, Codestodian… A lil pun cause I-”
“Wait wait… Hold on. I’m sorry this is a lot to take in.” You interrupt the small monster’s rambling. Taking in the silence to try to remember everything the little guy had rattled out in his anxiety-filled over explanations. Pockets of anti-void? Space between universes? How would this all be possible? Then there was his name. Codestodian. Meaning that he could physically clean code. Which again doesn’t quite make sense to you. It felt like your brain was overheating as you place a hand against your temple.
“Take your time!” It sounded as if he was cheerful about that.
Wasn’t long when he let go of the edge of the box and vanished within it. From the brief momentum you had been able to glean, it looked as if he slid down something. Slowly approaching his box to see what you could find, you came up with nothing as it only revealed an empty box. What the fuck. This place was wild. It almost had no rules, or at least the rules were a mystery to you. With a sigh you fell onto your ass, leaning back against your hands and stretching your legs out, you allowed your head to roll back. Staring at the blank white sky of the anti-void.
“What am I supposed to do now…” You mutter to yourself. It wasn’t like you could do anything really. Nor could you remember anything about yourself. It was as if all of the memories you had just. Vanished. Fuck. How would you even start? Would you be even able to regain those memories? What if your universe was gone?
“You doing alright?” Code’s voice snapped you out of your spiraling thoughts, making you look over to him.
“Oh! Uh… I don’t know… Just- been thinking.”
“Hmm… Well, I’ve been thinking as well…” He said as he pulled a bucket that carried cleaning supplies out of the box he had just entered from before.
“And?” You lean forward, almost following the direction of where the word was drifting towards.
“Well, I don’t know which universe you originally came from… But! I know where to place you.” Code practically beams as he pulls out a spray bottle. The mysterious clear blue liquid inside sloshes around as he wiggles it.
“Is that good?” You asked as you watched him carefully.
“Uh-huh!” He nods as he lifts it towards a random direction away from you. Probably to make sure the mist doesn’t land into your eyes. “Its a multiverse in a way. Multiple uhm… How do I explain this without going into string theory. Its a mis-mash of lost universes that I kinda strung together after a certain glitchy…. Erm… Anyway you don’t need to worry about that.”
“So… I’m just going to be placed in a pile of junk code?” Your voice wavered as dread settled into your gut.
“Ah! No! No, no, no! Uh… Its more like… Where I mended lost code… Or uh… Corrupted- no. How do I…” He trails off, lowering the bottle and now paces the space before you. Clicking his tongue as he mutters before he stops and looks up at you with a sympathetic gaze. “You’re not going into a place with junk code. Junk code normally goes into a bin. You aren’t trash.”
He steps closer to you, a soft smile stretching his toothy grin and his eye lights focusing on your expression. Reading every slight twitch of muscle carefully. “You’re a unique being that someone took great care in creating you. The fact that you’re here means they didn’t want to give up on you. So, no. I’m not going to place you in a dump. Its a place where lost universes converge and adapt into a safe haven for those who have nowhere else to go. This place adapts to whoever enters it. Changing one’s backstory into what it needs to be.”
You couldn’t help but relax from his comforting words. Scanning his features, you couldn’t tell if he was lying or not and to be honest? You wanted to whole heartily believe him. It was nice that someone out there actually cared for you. Even if they tossed you in a vacuum space devoid of any type of color or expression. Releasing the breath you didn’t realize you were holding, you nodded. “Thank you, Code.”
He nods to you with his smile never leaving his skull. Spinning on his heel to turn away and he took a few steps forward before lifting the bottle again. “Let’s get your life started again!”
Two spritzes against what looked to be an invisible wall and the liquid shimmered against a light. The small skeleton steps aside and turns his skull to look towards your direction. “Just hop on in and you’ll be right as rain!” Before adding a quick whisper, “Hopefully.”
“What?”
“Nothing! The rest is up to you! I know you can do this, Me and Mr. Tux believe in you!” He lifts his plush penguin as he gives a thumbs up with the hand that was holding the spray bottle. It was actually quite adorably endearing.
“Thank you Code… I mean it.” You say before kneeling down to give him a quick hug. “For everything.” Letting go of the small skeleton, you turn to face the dripping portal filled with a mix of different lines of code. A jumble of numbers, letters and symbols floating by in a fog of greens, blues and reds. Inhaling deeply, you prepare yourself for just a second before leaping in.
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Cold air hits you first making you tense instinctively. Slamming through the icy dark waters, you claw against it’s uneven surface as your clothes weigh you down. Gasping for air the moment your head breaches the surface only for the waves to shove you down again. With your lungs burning, your ears begun to ring. Deaf to the panic of your beating heart, your legs kick franticly as if you were searching for the bottom as you claw at the water. Hands reaching out to a solid object that was not there. Words failing you as you were only able to gasp and gurgle. Adrenaline pumping through your muscles as you fought against the onslaught of the frigid waters.
Pain begun to stab through the visceral panic of survival. A shove and something grinds against your shoulder blade. Causing you to scream and fight against the new force yanking you over and up. It was almost as if your body weighed nothing to whoever was attached to the item hooked into your flesh. Scrapping against the side of the small boat, you were dumped onto your side. Body resting on the cold wooden flooring of the floating vessel. Gasping, clawing and rolling to your stomach, you began to cough violently. Water spewing from your throat as your body shook uncontrollably. Distantly aware of something pulling free from your body and the warm liquid that followed after, you rested on your hands and knees.
“Holy fuckin’ shit…” A deep rumbling voice managed to boom past the sound of blood rushing through your ears. Taking shallow shaking breaths, your eyes lifted to who it belonged to. Gaze passing over buckets with blood dripping from them and a rope with various fish hanging from it. Only for your attention to settle on the hulking skeleton towering over you. A single red eye light watching you carefully as the other eye socket was met with a gaping hole that looked as if it originally started from the side of his head. His teeth appearing sharper with uneven pattern for a skeleton with a part canid skull. “Who did you piss off?”