◐Abstract || GG 100 Tryout (Story)

[Bettalong]

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[Bettalong]

"So you're not from this dimension. That is what you are trying to tell me, am I not mistaken?"
"Well, no, not exactly. You aren't correct, but technically speaking, you aren't incorrect.. It is much more complex than that.."
The fire cracked and snapped within the fireplace as the two Goblin Gators comfortably sat themselves within old, wooden chairs. The house was filled with a glowing warmth - and the fire supplied the environment with a dim, but heart easing radiance.
"I am quite unsure of whether I will ever truly be capable of understanding what you mean by that in all honesty, but.. It was a curious site to have stumbled upon you where you were washed up." The inquisitive GG casually sipped from his cup of tea. The intimidating Goblin Gator on the other side of the table simply sighed as his heart strings were tugged by the memories of what landed him there. Speechless, the conversation was sparked once more (after a lengthy period of silence) by the passionate, inquisitive Goblin Gator.
"I hope this is not bothersome to ask of you, but I do not believe we have properly exchanged introductions?"
"I-Oh yes.. I mean, no. We did not.. Sorry about that. I am -- I mean.. WAS, called ןןɔɹɐ¡¡00. I would very much appreciate you calling me by the name Arcana, though. And you are..?"
"Ah. I am Soku -- it is nice to be of your acquaintance!" The curious GG responded - having finished his cup of tea. "Care for more tea?"
Arcana softly shook his head in denial. The fire continued to flicker in its place, but grew dimmer as minutes would pass.
"You want to know how I got here, don't you.." The odd-looking Goblin Gator finally spoke as if he were to come to a realization that it was indeed a mysterious subject. Judging from what Soku had said earlier, Arcana was almost certain that he had sparked suspense by telling the GG that he was not from this dimension. Simply, Soku grinned softly and nodded.
"If you don't mind sharing, I would love to know that."

"It was a pretty normal life for me. It is hard to understand your world, Soku. This world appears to understand only the concepts of height, width, and depth as its visual. My world... Not quite. No. Now that I am stuck within this world for the rest of my existence, it is hard for me to put things into proper perspective. This, however, does not mean I won't try to explain, if you are so curious. I will try my very best to explain in more understand-able words. Please.. Let me know if I am explaining a concept that this world does not have."
Arcana set his cup down upon the table.
"I look ugly in this world, don't I? Haha. Utterly terrifying." Arcana abruptly said. Soku shook his head in respect for his guest.
"I would not say 'ugly'. It doesn't seem to be the proper adjective to describe your appearance, no. You are a rather unique Goblin Gator, Arcana."
"Well, no. I am a sight for sore eyes, now. My appearance here is so terrifying, in fact, that I hadn't even been recognized as a Goblin Gator here. How I ended up where you found me? Chased. I had no idea what was even happening -- this world looks absurd, and it is very hard for me to wrap my head around it even now. I was pursued by a group who'd thought I was a 'demon from hell', or something along those lines. It was during a.. Bad weather here? I do not know what it is called, but streaks of yellow across the sky--"
"Lightning and thunder?"
"I, I don't know if that is what it is but I am guessing that is correct. Water had been falling in drops from the sky as well. The group was very.. Intimidating. I ended up falling from some ledge in the chase as I thought I'd lost them - knocking myself out and landing in a puddle of brown water. I at least know I lost them, since I woke up in your house--"
"Ah, no, you did not lose that bunch. I caught those rascals trespassing on my property. I thought somewhat quickly -- I ended up spooking the nuisances off with a grim-reaper looking hoodie and a scythe. A lame, cheap tactic, but it worked somehow. Perhaps it was the scythe. I was wondering why they were there, though.."
"I am going to guess that.. A grim reaper is some kind of figure that represents something scary, but you have my thanks for scaring trouble away and taking me in from the cold and into the warmth of your house so kindly. That is beside the point, however. Is it my world - my previous life - that you are really truly wondering about, again?"
Soku nodded once more. By now, the fire within the fire place was nearly dead as the pitch-black ashes of the firewood were scattered across the bottom.

"Well then.."

[Bettalong]

"A world where much more than height, width, depth, and time exist -- making mention of what other dimensions my world consists of would be far too confusing. I will just say that height, width, and depth - while they do exist, there are five more dimensions of space. Time is very similar to that of your world's, however. I feel that it goes slower here, though. If you would permit me, I will tell you a story from this world -- a world where everything is color, everything appears alive, where there are very little boundaries -- a world called Abstract."

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" ןןɔɹɐ¡¡00 !! Your shift is over again, I believe. Go take a break, man - you earned it." My dear friend, s0¡ɹnɐ0 , had told me. I sighed in relief - I could finally walk away from duty for now. Within the world of Abstract, there is but one portal that cannot be closed, and so, has to be guarded. That was my job. That was my friend's job, too. It is said that on the other side of this portal, is an un-imaginable evil that can corrupt a mind within moments. Nobody knew what it was, and neither did my friend or I.
"Thanks, man. Don't get too bored on the watch, a'ight?" I smirked at s0¡ɹnɐ0 as I gradually stepped away from the position.
"You know I will! Haha, see ya!"

I walked down the path -- ah, well, I should probably explain what that looks like. The world of Abstract has significantly different visuals than that of your world. In understand-able terms trying to exclude the other 5 dimensions of space, it is very colorful - never a dull color here or there. The shapes of the environment could be comparable to cubes. The thing about the world of Abstract, is that the dimensions of space are very inconsistent there. One area may seem 2 dimensional, while another may include all 5 dimensions. There are very few 3 dimensional things there, actually. As a result of that, it is terrifying even now for me to be in a world that is purely made of 3 dimensions. That is aside from that point, however - as I was saying.. I had been walking down the path. Just.. Casually walking home where all the comforts could be, right? ..

I reached into my pocket for my keys, unlocked my door, and plopped down into the comfort of my house. Something similar to what you call a couch, but for convenience, I will not say the word so as to avoid confusing you. I fell into a deep slumber - and heck, it felt like a second hadn't passed by when I felt my very soul vibrate. It was a univ-- Well, a message of a form you aren't acquainted with. I opened my eyes slowly at this disturbance. It was a message from the ruler of all things Abstract - not a general message sent out to just everyone, no.. Only those who would guard the portal.

" G r e e t i n g s! I t h a s c o m e t o m y a t t e n t i o n t h a t
m a j o r t r o u b l e h a s s e t f o o t i n o u r w o r l d.
I k n o w n o t o f w h o, b u t t h e y a p p e a r t o b e
w i e l d i n g t h e p o w e r o f t i m e a n d d a r k n e s s t o
c a u s e t e r r i b l e t h i n g s t o h a p p e n. I t r u s t y o u
g u a r d i a n s t o e n s u r e t h a t t h i s e v i l
w i l l n o t p a s s t h r o u g h t h e p o r t a l."

R e g a r d s,
g n i k z ! @ r 0 l

".. What?" I literally spoke aloud. Why would anyone wield the power of time and use it for evil? What was there to gain from that? If there really was evil on the other side of the portal, too, it wouldn't be worth protecting this evil from going in? I was perplexed. Orders were orders, however. We would have to watch out for this. I wondered how my friend would be feeling after seeing this message pop up. "Guess someone gotta pay attention." I laughed to myself as I imagined the look on s0¡ɹnɐ0 's face.
It was getting rather late as my mind wandered off. A second vibration redirected my attention, however.

H e y m a n, i t i s l a t e, b u t i w a s w o n d e r i n g i f y o u c o u l d m a y b e w a t c h t h e p o r t a l w i t h m e
f o r t h e n i

For the night? Yeah, sure, I thought. I had no problem with that. s0¡ɹnɐ0 wouldn't usually forget to write words in his messages, though, so I was assuming something about the environment and news we had just received was terrifying to him. He'd usually take the later shifts when everyone sleeps while I'd take on most of the earlier shifts. I wouldn't blame him. I shook myself awake and grabbed my flashlight. I casually walked out of the door and towards the portal once more. It was an eerie atmosphere as I got closer.. I could see why he would want company during the night.

When I got there, though.. My heart skipped a beat. My blood curdled. A coldness swept over my soul as I saw no sign of my friend there. I could only see what looked like his blood splattered across the coarse path - almost as if he were dragged into the portal, as the glistening blue blood trailed directly into it. Simply the sight of his blood drew forth the grossest of feelings in my heart. Disgust. Sorrow. Pain. Fear. Anger. He was like a brother to me. And now he was gone. Feeble tears dribbled down my face. "W..Why...?? This is.. No.. That cannot be.. True.. No.." I choked the words out. My throat tightened and felt as if it were burning. I gasped for air as the tears rolled down from my face. I only left for three hours and this had to happen so quickly. I placed my hand over a splotch of blood. The tears refused to stop pouring out. "Whoever did this to you.. Will pay with their life." I sniffled -- angrier than ever. The heat of fury grew within my heart the longer I stared at the blood. Nobody was allowed to take my best friend from me. Nobody. Not on my watch -- and quite literally, he was taken while I wasn't watching. I made myself a promise that the one life I would gladly watch writhe in pain under my devastating bite would be the one who did something so terrible to my friend. I would make them pay.

I hadn't any idea as to how to react but stand there startled for so long. I had easily spent enough time mourning in the very location for me to come to the realization that I had missed out on sleeping. It was the last thing I needed at this point, though. My body ached from this trauma, but I wouldn't allow myself to sleep on what just happened. I glumly walked home in a mess. I trembled all the way home. Just looking at the last message my friend had sent me, tears would come rolling down no matter what. Nothing could bring him back now. It wasn't fair. Something most peculiar happened, then. Something unexplain-able -- terrifying, almost. I sat myself upon the couch-like furniture in my house - my face burning hot from sobbing so much. But then I felt a vibration again. . . A message from... s0¡ɹnɐ0 ??????

Hi friend. Where are you?

Something was off. s0¡ɹnɐ0 would never call me "friend" in that context. How would he know I was worrying, too? There was no spacing between the characters either.. I figured I'd reply in the same manner if the monster of a being would be typing under my friend's name. How dare they...

•ןןɔɹɐ¡¡00: His shift would be over and it would've been my turn now if you didn't do what you did. If you were my friend, really, you would know where I am. I will find you, and I will end you. 04:27
• s0¡ɹnɐ0: But I am okay. I am your friend, and I am looking for you. I hit my head very hard, and I forgot where you go after my shift. Where are you, now? 04:28
•ןןɔɹɐ¡¡00: Don't lie to me, monster. 04:28
• s0¡ɹnɐ0: I am telling the truth - I am your friend. I am perfectly fine, I just had a rough time last night. That is all. I would like to know where you are now. 04:32
• s̸͓͆̏͗ͨ͌0͕̇̂ͥ̈́¡̄͌̊̃̀ͮͣɹ̨̺̎͑ͨ̇n̛̝͙̗̩͓̂͆̊ͧ̄͂ɐ͚̖ͤ̈ͧͯ0͙͙̳͈̠͎ͨ̉̄͗ͦ:: h̊ͤ̑e̙̻̩̤ͣ̒̓l̫͓͓͇͚̳͉̂ͣ̅͊̈́̎p̼̼͂̃ ̫̥͎͖̦̀̅͂̉̎ͪ̾ͅm̳͎̺̦͋̓ͭ͌͒ͬ͒͟e͇͂̔́͂̔͠0͖̩̪̤̬̲̈́4̧̟͍̺̳͚͛:̷̯̟̙͎͍̂̃͛ͫ͑3̥͇̫͉̳̐͆̈́̃ͫ͠2̡̘͚͖̲̈̒ͮͤ̆̉̒

I was in disbelief. Not only was my friend taken from me, but the monster was trying to get me too. Why? I had no idea at the time, but I wanted nothing more than to have my revenge upon this darned being. "Wait.." I came to the realization that there was something odd about the last message I'd received. It had marked the sender as offline and was an absolute wreck to look at. I squinted, bringing the message closer to my sight.
"Does that say.. 'Help me'....?!" Something ridiculous was going on, and I had no idea what it was. If this was some trick the monster was playing on my mind or if I was really going insane. At this point, I would not be capable of relying on myself. I needed help, and quick.

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I immediately stood up and darted out the door. If my friend was still alive somewhere, I would not linger around. I galloped across the colorful terrain for hours of time when something peculiar caught my eye - standing on what looked to me like a 2 dimensional ledge. It shouted out to me, as I swerved and attempted to regain my balance so as to stop and notice what that figure was. I froze in shock and horror.
"Hey, friend. There you are.. E h e h e thanks for stopping b y."
"I--" I barely could whisper under my breath as I saw s0¡ɹnɐ0 standing in front of me... Lifeless. He was not in possession of his own body, I could see. Someone was controlling him. My best friend's body had seemingly become a mere puppet.
"What have you done!?" I snapped as the fury within my heart rekindled. Believe me, I would have lunged at the being's throat... If they had not claimed my best friend's body. What had they done? They did not answer, but I did not prepare for what had come next. The being struck at me fiercely with the talons my friend had as I attempted to evade at the last second. As a guard, of course, I was no push over in fighting. I'm not half bad at fighting, really - but it isn't decent to act so uncivilized under my point of view. I hadn't a choice in this scenario, however - my shoulder was scratched deeply, and it stung. The lifeless, glaring eyes of my opponent burned into my soul. Those weren't the kind eyes I knew of my friend's. I had only the choice to fight back - as running would mean letting my guard down and certain defeat.

I couldn't injure or sever the body of my friend, however. That would be ridiculous. The being growled as I evaded most - if not all of his clumsy attacks. Obviously (and fortunately), the being had very little experience with what they were doing. It looked to me as if they had trouble controlling the body - and I would use that to my advantage. By surprise, I knocked them down to the ground as they had chosen very unwise footing in their attempt to reach for my head. I pinned them down momentarily before they could regain balance. I held my jaws open menacingly as the being chuckled at their failure to do anything as they'd seemingly hoped.
"Good work, friend. Go ahead, bite the neck. I know you want to."

It was then that I understood what was really happening. My friend was still in there, but not in control. I was being deceived. The being wanted me to kill my friend. The fire within me died as I recognized that the being was not even trying to properly fight me. It became clear -- if I would have snapped at the neck, I'd have ended all hope of saving my friend.. This being was a parasite. A parasite of which wanted to trick me into doing the unspeak-able. I was speechless - it was a clever, disturbing plan.
"I will end you." I meekly responded, knowing not of what to do as the creature beneath me squirmed. I wouldn't slaughter them here - no, that would not work. That would free my friend's body of the parasite, but it would eliminate whatever was left of my friend, too. I would have no other choice than to take the being to the ruler of the Abstract world. Having lost myself in a bit of thought, I was re-alerted by a sharp pain stabbed into my leg. The being had sunk my friend's fangs into my left leg. Startled, I abruptly struck at their forehead with my right leg as if it were a reflex -- enough to knock them out for a period of time, but not strong enough to cause severe damage.



My knees wobbled after that had been taken care of. I would have to bring them all the way to the Abstract palace. My shoulder continued to ache from the slash it had taken, and my leg felt almost too feeble to help me continue standing. The situation took an unexpected turn, however, when I noticed that I was still standing over my friend's body.. And that I was being watched by someone else.
"ןןɔɹɐ¡¡00... You.." A voice spoke from behind me. I sighed in a tone of defeat as I unknowingly turned my head to see who was speaking. My eyes met that of the individual's, and much to my surprise, it seemed that there would be another form of trouble.. For me. It was a fellow guardian of the portal -- one of the lesser known ones, who'd only take shifts if my friend or I could not fulfil ours. I could feel their cold gaze upon me, freezing me in place as my blood ran cold.
"You're no friend to him..." I could hear their voice weakly remark. "Y-you...Y-you're a.. T-traitor!!! A traitor to everyone!!!"
"Traitor?" I started, almost angered by the broad assumption, "Sure, I am very much a traitor trying to save whatever is left of my friend after some monster had turned his body into a puppet." There was a silence after I had spoken these words.
"Monster..? I only see you." The guard responded in disgust as he'd pulled out -- ah, another word that you aren't familiar with... A shame to break my story telling now, but it is very gun-like. Only that the bullets are electrifying and not quite capable of breaking skin - though it is capable of knocking someone unconscious. And that someone was going to be me. I hadn't seen it coming, obviously, and so, I fell to the bullet. I tried to no avail to come back to my senses, but my consciousness refused to stay with me upon being zapped..

I woke up later, in front of the lord of all Abstract itself. I was being held on both sides by guards of the palace. My mouth was clamped shut by one, while the other held me from making 'sudden movements'. It seemed to me that they had examined the situation before forcefully bringing me back to my senses.
"It is alright, you may unhand ןןɔɹɐ¡¡00, for he is not traitorous." z ! @ r 0 l, the lord of Abstract had spoken. The room was.. Well, majestic, to give you a feel of what it looked like. A lot of tints blues here and there, and the floor glimmered and glowed. The chair z ! @ r 0 l sat upon was a royal blue, along with a golden color pattern to go along. The guards unhanded me, though it seemed as if there was still a lack of trust within the room.
"What happened, ןןɔɹɐ¡¡00?" I was questioned by z ! @ r 0 l.
"s0¡ɹnɐ0... He had been possessed by someone -- something.." I tried to speak up, but my words faltered. Fortunately, my words were still audible and understandable. "s0¡ɹnɐ0. He is still in there, somewhere." I spoke with hope. z ! @ r 0 l simply nodded.
"I see.. And you tried to get him back?"
I was about to answer when I realized that this was a rhetorical question, as the king continued to chatter without any expectations of answers to that question.
"It is the wielder of time and shadows, that has done such a thing to your friend, I am afraid. That does not mean that there is nothing that can be done about it, however. It is good that you have not done fatal injuries to the body. If you had done so, you would become the wicked being's next victim within the very time you'd do the damage. To free your friend from this, however..." z ! @ r 0 l sighed. "Someone would need to leave this world. A brave enough soul to take the being's spirit into wherever the portal leads." I stood and thought silently in desperation. My friend had been like a brother to me since childhood - we have shared the best of times and the worst of times. We shared countless experiences and memories, and a lot of them were unforgettable. My friend had taken wounds for me, and I had yet to do that in return. It would be time to do that now.
"For s0¡ɹnɐ0.." I whispered under my breath as the oddest feeling swept over me. Mixed feelings. Hope, sadness, nostalgia, anxiety. I did not know what was on the other side of the portal -- or what to even expect.. "I will take the spirit from s0¡ɹnɐ0." I spoke up - directing my attention to z ! @ r 0 l.
"Ah, is that so? To rid the evil that has taken ahold of your friend, you must take the being through the portal. How that is done, you must first take a time nullifier. As the name suggests, no being with the power to manipulate time can affect those who are under the influence of a time nullifier. Aside from that, however, to tear the being away from your friend you must slip this onto your friend's neck." I was handed a crimson necklace that shimmered - its beauty and grace so enchanting, it looked otherworldly.
"Thank you, your highness. " I replied softly. I would never see him or any other being from this world again. I turned around to notice that there was indeed, the portal here. I hadn't previously known, but it looked to me like while only one of this portal existed, it could be summoned by the king to be elsewhere, and here it was. The being was in front of the portal -- perfectly conscious and infuriated. I grabbed the time nullifier that I was given alongside the pendant, and let the cold, luminous substance dribble down my throat. Gently, placing the now-empty container that once held the time nullifier, I then walked over to the being. It would be the last time I could see my friend, though they were not themselves right now. My eyes closed as I took the pendant and slowly placed it upon my friend's neck. It wasn't entirely hassle free, of course - the guards had been holding the being down all while I'd been doing this. I could see the being's burning eyes close after I had put the necklace on my friend. My friend's mouth opened, and to the least of my expectancy, an ominous shadowy blob emerged.

The creature immediately sank into the floor as if it were capable of switching dimensional form, taking on a 2d appearance. I pounced on the 2d figure with my pin-like hands, and attempted to walk backwards into the portal. My friend's soul would be incapable of truly making it back until I'd take this creature away from this world. I could see everyone around me - frozen in time as the creature tried to get away, but this time, I had prepared. The more I dragged at the shadow, the more 3 dimensional it would become. With half of my body now being in the portal, the shadow popped out entirely from the floor - enabling me to forcefully grab the monster with my mouth.
"I told you.. I would end you." I mumbled furiously as I threw myself and the creature entirely into the portal. I lost control of my consciousness, then, and everything turned black. I had no idea where the creature went, but I knew that I had finally done what I intended to do for my friend. I saved him.


As you may have guessed by now, I woke up in the world you call 'reality'. Water fell from the sky in heavy drops, and the colors around me turned dull and grim. I feebly stood up. The world looked horrendously different. Terrifying to me, even. What I imagined would be in this portal, was far from this. Everything was 3 dimensional here. I could see a few beings walking along in the rain. One was a pink Goblin Gator, I think, and the other seemed to have the darkness of the sky above embellished upon their fur. From the distance, I could hear the pink goblin gator shriek, "OH MY GOODNESS I THOUGHT NOBODY WAS OUTSIDE except for you, BUT LET'S GO SAY HI OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!" I barely could hear, but I wasn't sure what kind of intent was wished upon me as I could see the figures facing me from far. The gator who had the markings from the sky above simply dragged the pink goblin gator away. It was odd, but all that could be heard after the incident were the dismal drippings of the water against the ground and my face.

Naturally, I focused on what was most necessary in a world where everything was different. I looked for shelter. I only had to walk a bit to find cover from the water under some water resistant material of some sort that was held up by sticks of some sort, and I settled there to rest. It seriously felt bizarre to live in a world that is 3 dimensional, and I was horrified and confused. My energy was nearly depleted, however, so I had no strength to freak out. I passed out under the protection of the water resistant material. When I woke up, it was from a sharp terrified scream - that of a Goblin Gator who just dropped a box of small, round, red .. Things that had two sharp green things jutting out from the top.

"MONSTER!!!!" I could hear the Gator scream as she fled the sight. As I blinked and got a better idea of where I was, I noticed that I was in a village-like area filled with Goblin Gators. Everyone quickly went into panic as they noticed me standing there - clueless. I was truly more terrified than anyone else, here. I looked at the ground to see a small puddle of water, and in it, my reflection. My face had changed, and my teeth had become ridiculous in length. I really did look like a monster. It was then that I could hear yells of which sounded more furious than frightened, and I could see a group of intimidating Goblin Gators charging at me with sharp weapons in hand. Or, at least I think those were weapons. I hadn't anything to counter them with, so I fled, and they chased. It went on for at least one sleep cycle, as the sky dispensed more water droplets when I awoke with the group getting perhaps too close to my location. I suppose, this will be the end of my story telling, as I had already told you from there, what happened.


"So... You just.. Woke up like that in reality?" Soku had been thinking. This story sounded far deeper than what Arcana thought. The GG felt bad, but at the same time, it was a very odd story full of twists and turns. "It is a world called 'Abstract', again, right?"
"That is correct, why do you ask?"
"Maybe.. You lived in the world of reality all this time, but never realized it. Perhaps this world.. 'Abstract'.. Is that of the mindscape - a world every individual can travel to as our consciousness breaks ties with reality?"
Arcana shook his head. Without answering, he placed a peculiar looking bracelet upon the table.

[Bettalong]

C R E D I T S

I M A G E S
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-- Font is Raven Script found x
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(All images were found through Google and belong to
their respective artists/photographers/etc.!!!)

W R I T I N G
I did all the writing by myself, but!!
A huge thanks to my sister and mom
who I forced this text upon
in taking the time to read & give me critique
in which nobody else was available to do !! : D