Memories of her mother flooded her mind, and Ellie could feel tears welling in her eyes. Her mother had been sick for a long time, and Ellie had watched her slowly fade away until the end. At the same time, her father had faded away too, he had kept his distance from Ellie as much as he could after her mother had passed away. She didn’t just lose her mother, but her father as well. He was never there anymore, yet in her memories from when she was a child, he was always there. 

Tears dripped down her chin, Skully tried to call out to her, but she couldn’t hear. She only heard herself calling out to her parents, “Mom! Dad!” 

“Fudge,” Skully grumbled as his eye sockets glimmered green and a flash filled the room before the green shifted to Ellie’s eyes.

Skully felt himself being sucked into the Sea of Darkness as well, “Fudge,” he muttered with annoyance.

Ellie stood frozen in the darkness, in front of her was a door she knew all too well. It was the door her mother had died behind. It was the door she had always been so afraid to open. She didn’t want to open it, but her hand moved by itself and grabbed a hold of the doorknob. The black rose vines crept up the sides of the door, slithering like snakes, they wrapped around her hand and the doorknob. 

“Ellie!” She heard a familiar voice call out to her. 

“Ellie!” The voice called out again, “Where the fudge are you?”

“Skully?” Ellie asked softly.

“Ellie? I’m over here,” Skully yelled across the darkness. 

Ellie peered into the pure blackness, there was nothing. Her hand was stuck to the doorknob, she didn’t want to open it, she tried to let go and pull away the rose vines. But it seemed impossible. 

“Skully? I’m stuck. Please come,” She shouted, tears still dripped down her cheeks. She felt a knot at the pit of her stomach, did she make the wrong move? Should she have listened to Skully? She felt the intense fear as she stared at the door again, she shook her head and diverted her eyes to the darkness. 

She suddenly saw the shape of a man walk towards her, “Skully? Is that you?” She asked hesitantly. 

He stopped in front of her and she knew it was Skully, he looked just the same as he did that day at the mansion. He was not much taller than her, his black hair was messy and feather-like. His piercing green eyes looked straight at her. 

“Why the fudge are you staring at me like that?” He grunted. 

“You look like a person again,” Ellie exclaimed, and she wondered if this was all some strange dream. 

Skully realized and glanced down at his pale hands, “What the fudge is going on?” He asked, his voice full of confusion. 

“I’m not sure what’s going on, there were these black vines, and this door… And you’re not a skull… Is this a dream?” Ellie could barely breathe in the thick darkness that surrounded them. 

Skully glanced around, noticing the door in front of Ellie, “Where does that lead to?”

“Nowhere good. Only bad memories are through there,” Ellie muttered as she still struggled to get her hand free. 

She realized she was not alone, Skully was here. She didn’t have to go in there, even though they called for her. She could stay here with him because Skully felt more like family than her own father. Yet a big part of her wanted it to be different, she wanted to run to her father and spend all day with him like she had used to before her mother died. Ellie felt the knot in her stomach grow bigger, the vines entwined around her hand and secured it to the doorknob. 

Skully tugged at her arm as he tried to pull her free, “Fudge, you’re really stuck,” he grunted before he grabbed one of the vines and yanked at it. 

“You. I know you.” A shrill voice broke through the darkness. 

Skully stepped back, vines in his hands, “Who’s there?” He questioned into the darkness. 

“I am your end. Though not today, not this moment, this is your realm after all. I will have my vengeance soon, now that I have found you,” The voice boomed as if it wanted Skully to feel the magnitude of its presence. 

Ellie stared at Skully, and he stared back at her. They were both as confused as the other, the vines suddenly slithered away, and Ellie felt the fear lift from her. It was still dark, but not as dark. She swiftly retracted her hand from the doorknob and stepped back – she didn’t want to be there – but at least she was less afraid now. 

“Who was that? What did he mean by your realm?” Ellie looked back at Skully again, his green eyes seemed even greener. 

“I have no fudging idea. I’m as clueless as you. Someone I knew once? I don’t really get it,” Skully sighed deeply. He knew though; this voice belonged to someone dangerous, but who? 

He couldn’t quite put the pieces together in his mind. Skully glanced down into the Sea of Darkness right underneath his feet, he could see his own reflection in the darkness. He felt like himself for a moment, whatever that meant. He felt whole like he could reach out and touch anything. He knew this was not real – this strange place – in which he felt so at home in. 

Ellie placed her hand on his shoulder, it felt real enough. Skully smiled at her, “Let’s get the fudge out of here.”

Ellie nodded and glanced back at the door, “Yeah, let’s find a way out,” she mumbled. 

Skully grabbed her hand and pulled her along, surely they would find some way out of there, right? What did they do last time? Skully pondered for a moment when he noticed something in the vast darkness. It was a lonely tree. He stopped and gazed at it. It was not just a tree, was it? Was she waiting there for him? He stood transfixed as he saw a shape underneath the tree. He knew her. He wanted to run to her. To hold her. 

“Skully? What’s the matter?” Ellie asked him, she wasn’t sure what he was looking at.

“T-the tree. She… I- Was I supposed to wait?” Skully muttered as he started walking towards the tree. 

Ellie narrowed her eyes, she did see a tree, it looked a lot like the old oak tree. Was this a memory? “I’m not sure if we should go that way,” Ellie exclaimed. 

“I have to go to her. I was supposed to wait, wasn’t I? Under the stars and the moonlit night sky, under the tree,” Skully mumbled under his breath as he felt his heart ache in his chest.

Ellie pulled his hand and pleaded, “Skully, snap out of it. This place is weird. Earlier I think something wanted me to open that door, to see my worst memory. Maybe the same thing is happening to you. I have a bad feeling about this. Let’s get out of here…” 

“I have to go to the tree, I have to make it in time… Before… Before.” Skully fell silent, tears dripped down his cheeks. Why couldn’t he remember? He needed to remember. She was someone he should be able to remember. 

Ellie wrapped her arms around him in a big warm hug, “We’ll figure this out, but for now I think we should leave,” Ellie whispered into his ear. 

Skully felt as if it was the most real hug he had ever had, he felt warm, and strangely happy through his misery. His eyes kept wandering back to the tree. It beckoned him to come, the darkness wanted to welcome him in. Enthralled, he stood there as Ellie suddenly disappeared like before. 

Left alone in the dark yet again, Skully wandered towards the tree. Its branches intertwined and stretched out towards the stars, yet there were no stars in this dark void. There was not even a tree.