I'm...not quite ready to write Buddy or Twisted Alice yet aodidjbd so here a chapter that strays even further from canon : )

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  It had taken quite some time without the ink demon to run away from, but the moment you and Henry found Buddy, you took advantage of the safe room and slept in the hammock available.

    Henry hadn't even been able to insist that he sleep on the hammock; you were out like a light.

   But your sleep wasn't as peaceful as you were hoping.

    \_•^•_/

   "Hey, I'm gonna need someone to cover for _-_-_-_ today!"

   You turned your head at the sound of your manager. Though you were in the familiar restaurant that you'd been working at for little more than a year, nobody seemed to see you.

   In fact, the manager had said a name you didn't even recognize. For a shift that you were assigned from the beginning.

   "Wait, I'm right here!" You called, but the words fell on deaf ears.

   Then you were away, feeling your body become light and airy on the wind-why? Where was this dream taking you?

   Once you were airborne, something pulled sharply on you, dragging you to a home you had not seen since the last holidays.

    "Mom! Dad!"

    ...but they didn't hear you.

   Chatting instead about a person named Everly, who was apparently studying to be a doctor.

    That...stung. While your parents had never outwardly shunned your dreams and aspirations, when it was clear that you were uninterested in an Ivy League college you had felt their disappointment in everything you did with them since.

   "Please," you cried. "Look! I'm here! Mom, it's...it's me!"

  No matter what you tried, your parents didn't react once. Even your childhood room was stripped bare, just a bed, dresser, and closet.

   Even the juice stain on your carpet was gone.

   "Please...mom, please!" You cried, trying to grab her arm. "I'm here! I exist, mom please look at me!"

  She looked in your direction, all right. Just not at you. With a growing sense of horror, you realized that your mom's loving smile was not for you-just someone behind you.

  The realization hit you like a bowling ball off the Empire State Building. You'd crossed universes. Something that, as far as you knew, was impossible. Consequences were to be expected.

   But you didn't want this. You didn't ask for this to happen. No, you wanted to go back home.

"See..."

   "See how soon they abandon all thought of you? Their precious child?"

Who was that? You whipped your head around to look, but couldn't see anything. Even worse, your parents started to melt right before your eyes as ink darkened the walls of your home.

   "I would never abandon you. My love would never leave you. Not like them. All you have to do is give me your soul."

   You were tempted. The voice kept whispering sweet promises to you, sickening sweet and twisting right in your weakest points.

   But...you wanted a chance. There was a lot for you to lose here, even if the people you once knew never remembered you.

   "No...I'm not giving you my soul!" You screamed. "Get out of my head and leave me alone!"

   The voice laughed as all your home succumbed to the ink, which rose up until it threatened to drown you.

   It laughed even harder as you screamed for it to stop.

    \_•^•_/

   "...are they okay?"

   "Prophet, when will they wake?"

   "Prophet, will they help us?"

   "...thank you, my sheep. They will wake up on their own time."

     That didn't sound like a voice from your dream. But...you couldn't remember if Buddy's safe house sheltered others.

   Wait. The prophet.

   "WHERE AM I?!?" You exclaimed, bolting upright, throwing the cover off.

    "Easy..."
 
   ...this was new. You jumped when an inky hand touched your shoulder, but it didn't seem like it was going to tear you apart. So...you relaxed, just a little bit.

   "Where am I?" You asked, biting your lip at how your voice wobbled. Was the dream affecting you so terribly?

   "You're safe," the prophet said, taking a seat next to you. "Henry was starting to worry about you."

    Sammy? He was helping you?

   "I thought you weren't going to help us," You sighed, turning away.

   "I wasn't. But you've been asleep for a...longer time than either of us expected."

   You tried to stand up, but he stopped you with another hand on your shoulder. "I wouldn't try standing just yet. Henry just completed his loop."

  ...What.

  "How did you find me?" You asked, drawing your knees close to your chest.

He shrugged. "Henry called out to me. Interestingly enough, he used the name that you heard when we first met. Sammy. Naturally, I had to see what he needed."

  You laughed, for the moment all but forgetting your dream.

  "So...why care? Why bother helping me, when you could have sacrificed me at any moment?" You questioned.

   He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. "I was planning to. You were so vulnerable, and I figured you would be the perfect sacrifice. But..then you started begging. You were restless, and I don't know exactly what was going on, but you seemed to be doing whatever you had to do in order to be remembered."

  Oh. You had spoken aloud. That was...slightly embarrassing.

   "The Lord calls to everyone in slightly different ways. Sometimes..it's through their dreams. Somehow you were able to concentrate on whatever was in your dream."

"Oh. Shouldn't you be encouraging me to join the ink? Accept the deal?"

   Something knocked on the door before Sammy could answer.
  
   "One moment. They must have realized you woke up, and they've been concerned."

  You processed this as Sammy went to open the door, talking to a couple of 'sheep' about how you shouldn't be bothered too much-but then they mentioned a wanderer coming to the Lost Harbor. He waved goodbye before stepping out and closing the door, leaving you alone for the time being.

  "Henry's....coming?" You asked the empty space next to you. It was the only person you could think of who could be labeled as a wanderer. But...what about Buddy or Twisted Alice?

  "Hey kiddo, how're you feeling?" The man of the hour asked, taking the seat next to you that Sammy had vacated.

   "Like I just took what was simultaneously the best and worst sleep of my life. How long was I asleep?"

    He shrugged. "Time passes funny here. When I couldn't wake you, I called for Sammy-the Prophet, I guess. He took you here so that we could ensure your safety. Afterwards I tried to hurry to get back to you, but ended up completing the loop. From what Sammy told me, you didn't have a pleasant dream. Do you want to talk about it?"

   A silver of your mind wanted to say no, you were fine. But...you selfishly admitted to yourself just a small portion of comfort was all you really needed. So you nodded. "It was so...mundane. I was at my workplace, but none of the workers remembered me. Like I had never worked there. It was...disturbing, but it was fine. I'm not that close to my coworkers. It was...worse when I found myself at my parent's house."

   He was silent but squeezed your shoulder in a comforting gesture. After a shaky breath, you continued.

  "They wouldn't look at me, even if I tried calling to them. My room was...so bare. Like I had never existed at all. Then something told me to embrace the ink and forget them..but they're my parents. Even if they don't remember me if I find a way back home...how could I live with myself if I forgot about them and stayed here?" It was a difficult question, and you didn't want an answer. Henry seemed to realize this, and just allowed you to curl into him, promising to remember you.

  When Sammy came back to check on the two of you, he found that the wanderer was playing with your hair as you sat next to him in silence.

   Whether or not the prophet liked having these foreigners in the largest portion of his flock, it was one of the safer places to be. So, he let you rest. You had someone left to fight for on the outside, like the wanderer.

  Stepping out of the room to speak with his flock, the prophet decided that you could do so much more for the lost ones than a mere sacrifice.

  You were his Seer, and you could guide the flock away from this vicious cycle once and for all, he decided.

  With such a precious gift sent to him-to share among his flock, of course-the prophet knew that he could not risk the destruction of this newfound hope.

  So, as you and Henry found comfort with each other's company, the prophet made a vow to keep you untained and away from the ink's sinful temptations.