"Before The Black Sun Of Melancholy"

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***"Before The Black Sun Of Melancholy"*** is the fifteenth episode of KOllOK 1991.

## Synopsis

Missing part of their memories, the group tries to escape from Kollok.

## Plot

15 March

Billy and Mickey unknowingly share a dream; of a room on the edge of the universe, of a man, Night and a woman, Day sat at opposite ends of a table a perfectly cooked chicken on a silver platter ready to eat between them. A knock at the door occurs and then there is a couple in the room with them, the food and platter gone. Night and Day offer the couple a drink of water, all there is on the table, they drink, thank the Night and Day and leave. Night and Day share a chuckle and the silver platter returns, but when Night lifts the lid, instead of a chicken it is just black sludge, they become upset and begin to blame each other. But as they argue the sludge rises and attacks them both, covering their face, moulding itself to them, where it remained. No one helped them and Night and Day spent years feeing the sludge their riches until they were no more and all there was left to eat, was Night and Day.

           Billy wakes up to a man with long black hair and all black clothing standing over him. looking around he seems to be in a cave as Mickey awakes as well. The man goes over to help Lexi as she comes to consciousness. Mickey remembers meeting Lexi and Mike and Marcus stabbing them both and a fight breaking out but nothing else. Mickey looks around and recognises where they are, the cave behind the lake but the waterfall is missing and she notices she had dried blood on her hands. Lexi demands to know where Mike is and just outside, he is there, also with blood on his hands and he calls out as Lexi exits the cave to find him.

           Billy turns around at the sound of Tibby’s voice to find him bleeding out with a message in blood on the walls above him, *I thought I could trust you.* Mike and Lexi come back in at Tibby’s cries and Billy tells him to try and heal himself. As they watch as Tibby heals Mike takes stock and notices he has a knife in his back pocket. The man in black introduces himself as Clarence, Billy asks if he’s like them and Mickey asks if he is the one that gave her the note telling them to come here. He answers that he was drawn her by the sound of screaming and found them sitting completely zoned out, Clarence recognises Lexi as the one who caused the explosion, and tells them that he only came here to help them.

           Mickey then hears Sketchy’s voice calling out for Marcus, who is unnerved and upset at the absence of his friend. Tibby apologises to Lexi and Mike for Marcus’s actions and overhearing their conversation, Clarence asks the group if they were experimented on. Billy tells him that he’s from a different dimension and explains about the Stone Masons and the event at Synchroneity causing Lexi and Mike to get powers. Mike and Billy get into an argument about Marcus and Clarence tells them that the news heard about Mike and Lexi. Almost to tears Lexi asks about her parents and her home and Clarence tells her that they are gone. Clarence dodges Billy and Mickey’s questions about himself as the conversation turns to what to do next.

           Tibby tells Mike and Lexi about Billy’s powers which intrigues Clarence and comments that he must be taking things from the Multiverse. Billy convinces Clarence to divulge more and he tells Lexi that she is not to blame but his mother is, Clarity Anah, the CEO of Synchroneity. Clarence left Kollok but was called back by the pieces of himself the cries of pain. Billy brings up the Flesh he saw at Synchroneity and Clarence thanks them for doing what they did but also warns that by doing so may have caused the energy to be released.

           He asks them how they got their power and how they knew about the Flesh and Billy tells him about Rachel Jewell and his and his friend’s connection to her. Clarence warns that his mother will be after Billy for his powers, and that she was here when the town started. He goes to the edge of the cliff and points down to the slowly emptying Crater Lake beside the smoke rising from the town. He mentions that whatever is at the bottom of the lake that caused the crater came from their far future, a ship that Clarity and Synchroneity has used to develop technology, technology that even created him. When he was younger, they used to take flesh from him as it grew back quickly and the Flesh the group destroyed grew from a small apart of him, he also mentions that there are other larger pieces all over the world.

           Clarence wonders him telling them all this is good for them after how he turned out but Tibby, Billy and Mikey tell him that if he was as bad as he thought he wouldn’t have helped them before and they ask Clarence to help them now. Clarence voices his doubts of ever being able to defeat Clarity after over a hundred years being careful and not even knowing where to find her, when Mickey tells him of her powers and its cost. Tibby does the same telling everyone how he heals by injuring a different version in another universe and tells Mike and Lexi about the cost of theirs. The group ask Clarence if it’s possible to remove their powers and he isn’t sure it is possible.

           Clarence tells them not to go after Clarity just yet as they have more immediate concerns with everyone out hunting for Lexi and the group come back to the question of where to go and what to do. Billy wonders about using his powers again even with the cost and Clarence ponders if it even matters. Tibby argues that it does and how they would feel it they weren’t the Prime universe, and Clarence brings up that how his mother explained things was, that there was a point where something broke and splintered into infinite universes as keeps making them as they all make choices. They discuss the ramifications about the use of their powers on other universes and Clarence tells them about a path through the Grotto they could take to get out of Kollok, but Tibby wants to stay and help people and find their missing friends. Conflicted he leaves the cave and goes outside to think as Clarence tells the group goodbye and that he will be out there if he needs them.

           Billy asks if he can have a private word with Mickey and Lexi and Mike go outside. Billy confides in her about finding Marcus’s moms dead and how he used his power to trick Tibby into healing her. Mickey calls him out on betraying Tibby’s trust and making the call that he did, even though it was a Marcus’ mom. Billy tells her that he understands what he’s done to Tibby, but after hearing him talk about the universe not caring, he wants to help Tibby as he’s his conscious and asks Mickey to help him think and stop him from making bad choices so he won’t hurt Tibby again. Mickey agrees to help and tells him that she won’t tell Tibby.

           Tibby comes back in having thought it over and agrees to stay together and find a place to hide. They think about going to Mickey’s house first to at least so they can call their family’s and come up with a plan to disguise themselves, by cutting Lexi’s hair, placing Mickey’s hat on Mike and Billy wearing glasses. As Mickey gets her pocket knife, Tibby shows concern about it but relaxes as the knife doesn’t have blood on it. They come up with fake names for Lexi and Mike and Tibby tries to comfort her, then Mike and Lexi have an aside and he shows her the bloody knife he found. Lexi tells him to get rid of it and they come back to the others and set out across the edge of the town, managing to make it to Mickey’s without issue.

On the way over they took notice of the tower of the Stone Masons with a large mirror held between them and after grabbing a wheelchair from downstairs for Mickey head up to her home. Outside the door to Mickey’s apartment they notice the door is unlocked and ajar, Billy tries to perceive any danger but cannot and Tibby rushes in to call his mom. The others come inside and everything seems as it was. Lexi brings up the idea of the military tapping phones and Tibby quickly hangs up on his mom. Billy finds a pen and paper and writes down that “they” could be listening which Tibby begins to question as Mickey leaves to check the rooms in the apartment.

Mike goes with Mickey to act as a shield in case they are not alone, her father’s room seems to be empty and they check in on Mickey’s. Mickey and Mike find her window open and her closet door slightly left open. Mike opens the closet and finds it empty; they sigh in relief then Mickey’s door slams shut behind them. Mike turns to see a man standing behind Mickey, and puts an arm around her neck and puts a knife to her, demanding to know where Mickey’s father is. Mickey recognises the voice as the man she had found here days ago, he warns Mike not to make a sound and repeats his question and Mickey tells him that she doesn’t.

           The others call out to Mickey and Mike after hearing the door slam but the two are warned not to respond. The man reveals he knows about the group’s powers and demands Mickey find her father and begins counting down from ten. Mickey gives in and agrees to do so as Tibby starts banging on the bedroom door, Billy uses his power to make the apartment look empty to everyone but his friends. Back in the room the room however, the man with the knife still holds it to Mickey, unaffected by the power. Mickey uses her power to find her dad and finds him in a motel outside of Portland. Lexi unleashes her fire toward the door, blowing it open and knocking the knife from the man’s hand. Lexi keeps the fire pressed upon him but the intruder stands within it, his suit and skin melting away revealing a form similar to that of Ms Wu’s true from glimpsed back at the lab. He tells them that their power won’t work on him to the surprise of Billy as an orange energy brightens from his body pulling in Lexi’s fire, leaving him unharmed and he goes after Lexi.

Mike rushes in front of Lexi’s fire to confront the man. The flames burn at his clothes but don’t hurt him as he’s picked up and squeezed, under immense pressure, but Mike doesn’t feel it nor the flames that the individual is seemingly able to redirect at him. Mike tries to kick back but the man is solid as stone. Lexi cuts off her flames seeing them being used against Mike as Billy grabs Lexi and Mickey to pull them out. Billy yells for Tibby to follow but Tibby tells him to get the others out as he and Mike can’t be hurt. Mickey voices using her power to take them all to the Grotto but Tibby advises her not take them, but send their attacker. She uses her power to send the ego into the world where she saw the aggressive Sheriff, and discovers that he is made almost entirely of the same energy her power comes from, and though he has no other version in that world, feels it somehow float untethered in that world.

The intruder collapses into a heap releasing Mike and Billy admits to his friends of his power use, even though it didn’t work. Mickey forgives him as he doesn’t know and Tibby brings up it’s not the first time they’ve come across this phenomenon, like Ms Wu. Tibby also realises how powerful Mickey is as Mike borrows her father’s clothes. The group try to figure out what to do with the body, with Mickey explaining who it was who attacked them and why. The body then begins to move and twitch, the fire built up inside melts a hole through the floor, and spread from it. Billy pulls the fire alarm and they start to leave as screams erupt from the floors below, Lexi begins to panic as the situation grows more dire, her arms begin to glow and she kicks down the fire escape door, but instead of a regular staircase it opens on to stairs that seem to go on forever, walls that seems to be alive. The group run into the Grotto entrance and Tibby close the door behind them and it vanishes.

Billy voices his complaints that the Grotto is not wheel chair accessible and Tibby picks up Mickey up but passes her to Mike to piggy back on as they descend the stairs. They come to a hallway at the bottom and with a young man, Scott, recognises Billy waiting for them. He mentions having met Skye and was sent to meet them by his superiors to guide them. Scott brings up having known Billy back in Undecided, and asks them why they are here? Mike gets Scott to confirm that they are in the Grotto and Billy asks if he can take them to Portland which astounds him with the simplicity of the request but confirms he can. Lexi asks him to explain some things as she’s been thrown into this mess and he explains that they are on an asteroid in space but also the centre of reality, a place some like Shiloh call Phobos.

When asked about why he’s there Scott tells them about being tricked and now trapped in here working for Mammon. They start walking through the hallways past many doors that Scott tells them lead to many places, they turn down his offer to make a deal with Mammon and he mentions that this trip will cost them and asks them to make him a deal. Mickey attempts to blackmail Scott about complaining about the lack of wheelchair access but Scott prompts her to try and walk. To Mickey’s elation she finds that she can walk within the Grotto. Lexi asks Scott about the creature that attacked them but from her description is unable to answer with all the other strange things that he has seen, and states the only thing he knew before meeting them was where he had been told to take them.

Billy asks if he is taking them to Portland and Scott says no, but to wherever the door leads them to. Billy is able to negotiate with Scott for two gallons of Brom’s Chocolate Milk as well as Transformers the Movie(1984), to take them to Portland and for a third gallon and Dirty Dancing, Scott shows them where he had been told to take them, opening a door to reveal an office of a woman sitting away from them and a burning town of Kollok outside of it. Scott closes the door and reopens it revealing a bus stop in Portland, Billy inquires when Scott want’s payment as he doesn’t have any money.

Scott grows angry and the others suddenly find themselves unable to move as hands have reached out to grab them by their knees. Mickey lends Billy her wallet and Billy heads through into a nearby shop to collect part of the payment. Within the store the clerk is enraptured watching a news report about Kollok, as Billy goes to pay the clerk, points to the Stone Masons mirror on screen saying he can see himself in it. Billy exits the store heads into a nearby Blockbuster, the staff and customers also frozen watching the news feed from Kollok. Billy gives Scott his payment and he releases them, warning Mickey that she won’t be able to walk again once she leaves. Grateful for the chocolate milk Scott also tells Billy that Skye thinks she killed The Traveller, the one who made Billy, but tells him that his mind jumped bodies; the same thing that he did to Scott, and now resides in another and managed to escape the Grotto.

They step out of the Grotto now in Portland and try to figure out what to do, Billy recalls reading something about Portland in Rachel’s journal, and maybe finding a way to call Skye, who has it so they can find out. Mickey offers to find Mike’s parents, as Billy inquires if he has family back in town. He gives her their names revealing that he is fact Mike Hunt jr to which Tibby and Billy find hard to believe that his dad named him after having lived though having such a difficult name. Mickey uses her powers and discovers that Mike’s parents are alive in Kollok the joy short lived as Tibby remembers Lexi has lost hers. Tibby purposes that they grab some Brom’s ice-cream and after having lost so many friends and family, reminisce about the good memories they share as they make plans on where to go next.

## Cast

* Andre Meadows as Marcus Bennett
* Lucas Eubank as Billy Baker
* Meghan "Strawburry17" Camarena as Skye Hawkins
* Shelby "Shubble" Grace as Mickey Jones
* Zac Lim Eubank as The Driver

## Rumors

1. Some dude in all black was seen helping survivors
2. Some man in black walked out of the blast unharmed (winner)
3. A person in all black stole a fire truck
4. The man seen around town in all black was talking to the news about Synchroneity

## Notes

Prior to the beginning of the episode, Lucas asks Zac to return Billy's Unassuming power, which he gave away in the previous episode. Lucas successfully passes a dice roll to win it back.