Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lying face first and splayed out in the middle of a dark corridor, you looked like you were dead, or dying. You were twitching slightly as you lay there, shirt pulled halfway up your back. On your back was a tiny, slime covered disembodied head, seemingly taking a huge chunk out of your flesh. It was there gnawing for a good 30 seconds before you suddenly sprung back to life.

“God damn finally Screech! Do you know how long I’ve been living with that itch?” You sit up cross legged and pull your shirt back down neatly. Your companion floats in front of you with a huge grin.

“A pleasure to be of service!” they declared with a dramatic little curtsey. “I would have scratched my back on a table corner tbh” They float down into your lap and lay there.

“Yeah, well, I have more dignity than you” you state proudly, which earned you a shock, if fake, gasp from your friend. A small tentacle falls over their head dramatically.

“You wound me! I am very digitized!” They mimic your proud tone, you giggle in response.

“Dignified” You correct.

“Whatever, being right is for nerds” They cross two little tentacles in front of themselves, pouting slightly. It's adorable.

“Oh, so I’m a nerd now am I?” you say, tilting your head slightly and pulling a quizzical look.

“Maaaybe”

The two of you continue to idle banter in the dark, the topic changing very frequently, everytime a new thought is formed. Screech would wave its little tentacles in the air the same way a human would wave their arms about to gesticulate a point.

“Some humans earlier tried to kick me” Screech stated matter of factly.

“Really? And why on earth would they try to do such a thing?” Probably because they are annoying, never shut up and can prove a distraction for those running for their lives. You find them endearing enough though.

“I don’t know! How could anyone do that!” somehow, you didn’t think they were being sarcastic with that one. Perhaps it was the way they quickly floated up as they said it before slowly floating down in the same manner that old cartoons would show a feather floating to the ground. They lay splayed out in your lap for a few seconds. “I wonder what it’d be like”

“Huh?”

“To get kicked, like really far, and really fast!” they’re suddenly bouncing up excitedly. “I bet I could go really, really fast! Faster than Rush!” Screech is really getting into the idea all of a sudden, despite being against it only a few seconds prior.

“Oh, so now you want to be kicked? Would you like me to drop kick you into oblivion?” you lean into your fist. Screech whipped round to face you, big shining eyes and a look of pure excitement.

“Oh would you! I bet I can go super far!” they float up into the air above you and bob around with much enthusiasm. You sigh deeply before standing up.

“Alright then” you seize Screech in your hand, you can feel them vibrating in excitement.

“Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!” They chorus over and over, shaking from side to side as you stare down the corridor. This was probably a bad idea, it might hurt Screech, but then again… when has anything fun ever happened without acting on a few bad ideas.

“You ready?” you ask, despite knowing that Screech was born ready! They nodded furiously in response, continuing their non-stop chorusing. Your aim was set, your mind made, you were ready to kick this entity as hard and as far as you could possibly send them. Arms stretched out, you released them from your grasp, letting gravity take them. It felt like the world was going in slow motion in the moments leading to when your foot connected with Screech’s face.

“WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeee-” you heard as they almost rocketed down the corridor, smashing open a few doors as they went. You took a few paces forward and put a hand above your eyes as you strained your gaze forwards, looking for where they landed.

Screech was skidding to a stop in another dark corridor, laughing happily as they did. They quickly flew up into the air with a little spin, full of joy.

“That. Was. Amazing! Did you see that!?” they called back to you, only to notice the sudden look of terror on your face. Screech wasn’t hurt, so they don’t know why your demeanor shifted suddenly. Then they realized you were looking just past them. With a small gulp, Screech slowly shuffled to turn around.

Halt. They had landed in Halt’s corridor. The other entity looked none too pleased. Screech shook slightly in fear.

“Screech” Halt said, calmly, but Screech knew that was not going to last. “We are going to have a little talk, you and I” Back where Screech had started, you tried to shuffle out of sight, but the movement drew the attention of the angered entity. “Human!” Oh no, they only ever call you ‘human’ when they’re really mad. “Get. Here. Now!” you eeped at the tone they took yet quickly scampered over anyway, not wanting to agitate them further. When you got to the corridor, you sat down on your knees next to Screech.

“Umm, hi Halt?” you said, quickly as the entity glared down at you and Screech, who had now floated down closer to the ground timidly.

“Have you two any idea the mess you have caused?! The damage you could have done?! Do the two of you never think before taking action?! No, you just act on impulse like lesser beings, thinking nought of the possible consequences of your actions. This reckless behavior must be brought to an end. I will have to-”

The lecture that followed lasted for hours on end. When Halt finally kicked the two of you out of their corridor, you were both so drained of energy, unable to move or do anything other than groan slightly. Ambush found you two and whisked you to the infirmary.

Chapter Text

This was a bad idea… you loved it!

After fully recovering from the lecture courtesy of Halt, Screech already had grand ambitions for what they wanted to do next. And what was that? A jousting tournament, not that they called it that, they called it “A thingy where two people run at each other and try to attack each other savagely”. Well, it seemed like Screech wanted to test whether a kick propelled them had enough force to take down Rush, and who were you to stop them? Rush was certainly happy to give it a go.

Now, to the arena… which was just a random long corridor which wasn’t currently occupied by Seek.

Jack had arrived to be the live commentator for this glorious event.

“Ladies, Gentlemen, and everything in between! Have we got a fantastic show for you today! We are hosting a once in a life-time, for some, spectacle for you to enjoy! A good, old fashioned Jousting tournament! Now, let’s meet our competitors, in the blue corner we have the unstoppable force of annoyance, Screech! Featuring legs!” Aww, how come you were only going to be addressed as legs, Screech got to be called ‘unstoppable force of annoyance’. “Listen to the crowd cheer for these brave souls!”

The ‘crowd’ wasn’t even that substantial, for all Jack’s showboating. There was Ambush, sporting a sign saying ‘Just have fun! :)’ and cheering only half-heartedly. El Goblino came, didn’t bring a sign but was cheering with much enthusiasm, shame they were so small. Dupe and Eyes both failed to show at all. Hide was watching silently from the closet, with a little sign hanging out the wardrobe that said ‘please clean up after yourselves’, like that was going to happen. And then there was Timothy, who was trying his best to cheer loudly, but that wasn’t exactly happening…

“Aaaand in the red corner we have our reigning champion, the lord of speed and destruction, Rush!” Who decided Rush could be reigning champion again? You stared down your and Screech’s opponent, Screech just stuck their tongue out at them and blew raspberries.

“Way to show him” you whispered to Screech.

“Whaaaat?” they responded, before giggling to themselves.

“All right, so here are the rules: our competitors have to charge at each other and see who comes out on top. That’s about it!” Thanks for that in depth description Jack. “Alright, I will count down from 3 and then they’ll be off” Well, this is it then. You took Screech between your hands and moved into the middle of the corridor, staring down the way to where Rush was.

“3!” you braced yourself.

“2!” you held Screech out in front of you. You could feel them vibrate excitedly.

“1!” you took in a deep breath.

“Go!” Rush went charging forwards almost instantly, the sight would have been terrifying to other humans, and would have spelled certain death, but you didn’t have that worry. Instead you released Screech to gravity's whims and kicked him as hard as you could, sending them flying head on towards Rush.

You neglected to tell Screech earlier that this was a horrible idea on account of Rush having more mass, and therefore would easily overpower the little entity. But this could be a learning curb! Halt was saying you guys needed to learn from your mistakes, or something like that.

When Screech made contact with Rush, the force of the latter entity sent the smaller one hurtling back the way they came, you were lucky to duck in time. They went smashing through many doors with the force, many more than when you first kicked them.

“Well, I think we know who’s the victor!” Jack declared. The crowd gave another half-hearted attempt at cheering, though it was hard to break through Rush’s loud chortling.

You straightened up and, with Jack, went to go see if Screech was ok. The two of you went up to the first door that Screech had busted through to see if you could spy the little guy.

And spy them you did. Hanging from Seek’s hands, as the entity glared down at them. You think they were yelling something at Screech, but you couldn’t really hear. Suddenly, their head snapped up as they noticed you and Jack staring down at them. And then Seek’s eyes began to appear all over the room you guys were in, glaring at you, Rush and all the other tournament’s attendees.

“I think they’re mad…” you said quietly. Trust Screech to land in the domain of one of the stricter entities. Again.

“Aww, hell nah, I’m not dealing with this shit! Everybody scatter!” Jack declared before fading away. The chaos caused by all the entities fleeing in different directions probably caused more property damage than Screech did.

Fortunately, you were able to hitch a ride from Ambush for your escape, but you had to leave Screech behind. You’re like 60% certain they can handle themselves, what’s the worst Seek could do anyway?

…

…

“They-they made me-” insert prolonged sniffle “read a- read a- essay” insert more crying “about how I- about how I will- not cause” insert even more tears “any more damage, and I- I got to do” even more sniffling “community service in the- in the- library, with Figure” they burst into full on wailing at that point as you patted them on their little head. “I don’t wanna tidy books!” they screamed, diving into your chest as they continued to cry.

After much crying you finally got them to calm down when you agreed to help them with their community service. Screech loved the suggestion of you both doing it in maids outfits.

Chapter Text

When the library door was abruptly swung open, the doors loudly banging against the wall from the force, Figure knew it could only be Screech. What Figure couldn’t possibly know was that you and Screech were both wearing very short skirted maids outfits. Screech didn’t have a body, so was holding it up by the sleeves with tentacles and using others to hold the skirt out.

“We’re here!” the small entity declared, even if the declaration was not needed. Of course Figure knew they were there. “I brought my partner in crime along with me, because they felt bad about their role in the damage caused, or something…” Screech mumbled off the last bit. Figure turned in the direction of the two of you.

“It’s about time you two took some responsibility for your actions” Figure didn’t quite believe it yet, but hopefully it was finally happening. “Now then, there’s stuff lying around from the last intruders, so you’re going to have to put everything back where it belongs. You could also sweep the floor and dust the shelves a bit”

“Of course, master!” you both said in unison, almost like it was rehearsed… Figure can’t see, but you both bowed when you said it, or at least Screech made a motion like it.

“Ok, I’m going to have to ask you two to stop that immediately” Figure states, a bit uncomfortable.

“Anything for you, master!” you both chime out.

“But what should we call you then?” you add, Figure hates the fake sweet innocent voice you are using. Now they know you two are definitely up to something. Maybe they should ask Seek or Halt for back up…

“Just say my name like normal!” they say before turning to attend to other things.

“Right… we should begin!” you state before walking over to a pile of strewn books. “They really did leave a mess! I’ll just get this…” When you bent down to pick them up, you very deliberately did it so that your ass was pointed into the air and facing Screech’s direction, combined with the shortness of the skirt, gave Screech a very good upskirt view. They started snickering to themselves.

“Oh, I’ll help you there!” Screech proclaims, before floating over to you. They can’t really bend down, but everytime they pick up a book they pointedly flick the back of their skirt out with their tentacles to mimic the motion.

It takes you two a while to pick up the books, but it’s almost like that wasn’t even your primary focus. Figure knows you're up to something, picking up books shouldn’t elicit this much giggling, but it sounds like the work is being done anyway, so whatever you’re doing can’t be all that bad.

Screech picked up the globe that had been knocked down and decided to shove it inside the dress, giving themselves a single massive boob. You brought them some miscellaneous fabrics to bunch up and give them their second. It was a lot smaller than the first.

“That doesn’t look right, maybe you should get it checked out?” you quizzed sarcastically, tapping the globe through the dress.

“What do you mean? These are all natural! You're just jealous I have massive-!” you quickly covered Screech’s mouth when you realized Figure was coming back within ear shot. You coughed conspicuously, and quickly moved to start dusting shelves, pointedly bending over to get to the lower ones.

“How are you two doing?” Figure asked, you could tell they were getting suspicious, but what they didn’t know can’t hurt them! Or get you in trouble.

“We’re doing fine ma- Figure!” you reply as you continue to dust. They simply ‘hmm’ in response before moving on again, leaving the two of you to work again.

Whilst you two continued your upskirting maid adventures, there was a slight hitch in your fun. You see, Seek certainly didn’t trust you or Screech to take your community service seriously, so had decided to come check on your progress. Neither of you heard them open the door to the library, so when they did, the first thing they saw was you dramatically bending under a table to get a dropped item whilst Screech whacked your ass with a book. And you were in maids outfits. And Screech had fake boobs.

“What is going on here!?” Seek called angrily. You hit your head on the table as you jumped and scarpered out. Screech drops their fake boobs, a massive thud coming from the globe.

“Er, cleaning!” Screech responds nervously. Figure comes stomping over at the commotion.

“What’s going on?” Figure asked. Oh no! Seek in front, Figure behind! You’re trapped! And the game is up!

“They’re wearing maid outfits and have been messing about whilst they clean!” Seek responds angrily.

“So, you two still refuse to take responsibility for all the damages you keep causing? I think you two need to learn a harder lesson…” Figure began, you could feel the beginning of another lecture, you couldn’t bear it! But, you abandoned Screech once to Seek’s mercy before, it’s time you made up for it. You may be trapped, but Screech on the other hand...

Quickly you grabbed Screech in your hands and turned to face the still open door of the library.

“Remember me” you tell Screech, with a look and tone more serious than anything you’d ever used before. You dropped Screech, and kicked their tiny form harder than you had ever before. They rocketed out the door so fast, screaming ‘Nooooooooo!’ as they went, watching as Seek grabbed angrily and dragged you off elsewhere.

…

…

“Aaaand, that’s how I ended up here” you say, finishing your recount of the story to Hide, who was in a wardrobe below you. You were currently in a long corridor, suspended in the air by one of Seek’s massive hands, being watched by their many eyes. “I think I’m meant to be bait or something, you know, to get Screech out of hiding… If you see Screech tell them to leave me, it’s not worth it. Seek’ll have to put me down at some point”

Hide leaves to deliver your message, knowing the message will be ignored, Screech is already forming a rescue plan afterall. You stare at the ground for a bit. “Oh Seek, if you’re listening, could you scratch my right foot for me, it’s getting real itchy”

Seek does not itch your foot for you.

Chapter Text

“Alright! The meeting of the updog resistance is now underway!” Screech declared, surrounded by fellow entities. Screech wanted to catch someone with the name, none of them asked Screech what updog was… “As you all know, Eagle-2 has been imprisoned by You’re-Not-My-Dad and we need to rescue them. According to Lurking-Guardian they are being held in this corridor here” Screech put a marker down on a crudely drawn map. “And they are under constant observation from You’re-Not-My-Dad, this is going to make it difficult to rescue them”

“Difficult? It’s downright impossible, a suicide mission!” Ambush proclaimed. “Also, I really don’t think using codenames is necessary….”

“Punji-Pit is right, we should take Lurking-Guardian’s advice to just leave them, You’re-Not-My-Dad can’t hold them prisoner forever” Dupe added. Screech just shook their head in response. Both ignored Ambush’s distaste for the codenames.

“Listen Punji-Pit, Crewmate, I know it seems impossible, but I really do think I’ve got a plan that’ll pull it off!” Screech grabs a few more markers and starts placing them on the map. The other entities lean in close.
“Ok, so intelligence from Lurking-Guardian and Jar-Of-Dirt suggests that You’re-Not-My-Dad is being aided by the dastardly forces of S-T-F-U and Why-Am-I-Lagging, so I’m going to need Too-Fast-For-You and Punji-Pit to cause a real ruckus! That should at the very least distract S-T-F-U and get them away from the scene, you guys on board for that.

“Hell yeah!” Rush exclaims excitedly. Ambush just sighs and nods. Screech claps two tentacles together in front of their face.

“Excellent! As for Why-Am-I-Lagging, Crewmate is going to be keeping a close eye on them. If they try to move, they’ll have to intervene, block their path with fake doors and all. Sounds good, crewmate?”

“Sounds positively delightful!” Dupe responds with a bit of sarcasm. Screech continues anyway.

“Right, that just leaves You’re-Not-My-Dad. Unfortunately, Ears-Mouth-And-Nose didn’t want to get involved, so that just leaves it up to me!”

“And you have a plan for that right?” Ambush asked, Screech looked at them with a wide smile, but didn’t say anything immediately. “...Right?” Ambush realized at that moment that Screech did not in fact have a plan.

“I’ll be fine! Hopefully all the commotion caused by the Updog resistance will distract them enough for me to swoop in and save them!” Screech was brimming with confidence. Everyone else weren’t, but they weren’t the ones who had drawn the most ire from their fellow entities, so they should be fine. “Well, no time like the present, let’s get to work! Eagle-2, we are coming for you!”

At that, they all shot off to perform their tasks.

When Figure heard the signature rumbling of Rush and Ambush combined, they thought that they were just doing their usual tail chasing antics. What they didn’t expect was to be mowed over by the two of them and then circled by the two as they (well, mostly Rush) jeered at them and mocked them. Figure didn’t have time for this, they needed to find Screech, but it was hard to focus when the two entities were creating an almost overwhelming racket…

Halt knew something was going on in another room and was going to go investigate, yet was met with a giant black space when they opened the door. Dupe popped out.

“Why, hey there Halt! Fancy seeing you here!” they called mockingly, they knew Halt was here.

“Out of my way, Dupe, I’ve got things to be doing” Halt demanded irritably.

“Oh, looking for one Screech by any chance?” Dupe chimed coyly. “I can tell you where they are, you see-” Dupe proceeded to tell an extremely elaborate, long winded story which somehow involved mountain climbing and a passionate display of yodeling. Halt wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon…

That just left Eagle-1, better known as Screech. They quietly floated down many corridors, heading to the location that Lurking-Guardian had informed them of. It was difficult to avoid the many eyes of You’re-Not-My-Dad but they think they were able to do it.

Arriving at the corridor, their whole plan really was to zoom in, bite at the hands of You’re-Not-My-Dad and run away with Eagle-2. It was derailed immediately when they reached the location Eagle-2 was supposedly being held… and it was empty!

“Looking for something?” a voice called behind them. They spun around quickly and saw a sight that made them freeze. It was You’re-Not-My-Dad, and they had Eagle-2 struggling in their arms.

“Let them go, You’re-Not-My-Dad!” Screech yelled. Seek, rightfully so, looked confused. Screech ignored it and continued. “It’s me you want!”

“You’ve both been causing problems, so much damage caused, and you’ve been refusing to take responsibility, and now I hear that you’ve been dragging the others down to your level! This has to stop” Seek exclaimed, walking over to where Screech was, still holding you in their arms. You struggle some more but it doesn’t get you anywhere.

“If you won’t let them go peacefully, I’ll have to… I’ll have to fight you!” Screech declared. “Bring it!” Screech suddenly charged at Seek with as much force and aggression as they could possibly muster…

…And Seek simply caught them in its hand, you still being held in the other.

“My hero” you call out sarcastically. Screech really should have just listened and left you behind. They shook about in Seek’s hand a bit, growling irritably as they did, but it didn’t achieve anything. After a while, Screech has exhausted all their energy.

“Ergh…I’m…” they kept huffing and puffing a bit. “I’m so tired… I wanna go to bed…” Screech very quickly fell asleep in Seek’s hand.

“Well… that was anticlimactic…” you say to yourself before turning to look at Seek. “Can I go to bed now too?” You had been hanging around all day for a while and at this point just wanted to go to sleep. As much as Seek wanted to make sure the two of you learnt your lesson, it wouldn’t be very effective on two sleepy people. They’d just have to come up with something in the meantime.

“Ergh…” Seek groans before letting you go and carrying Screech back to the room they usually slept in. You trailed along, intending to share the room so you can berate Screech when they wake up for such a poor rescue attempt. You end up being carried over Seek’s shoulder also when you start falling behind due to your own exhaustion.

You find out the next day that the other entities are being let off with a warning.

Chapter Text

“I will not cause untold amounts of property damage. I will repair anything that I break. I will not cause… AAAAA! This is so booooring!” Screech scream. They were being forced to repeat those two sentences 100 times as part of their grounding. You were sitting at a desk, currently writing those same sentences. “There are intruders in the hotel right now, and I’m stuck in here! I could be out there, chomping down on a wanderer but noooo, Seek thinks I need to ‘learn a lesson’ pfft!”

Screech’s complaining was abruptly brought to a stop when one of Seek’s massive hands grew out of the wall and smacked Screech along the back of their head. The room had many of Seek’s eyes on the walls, watching the two of you to make sure you completed today's punishment. They’ve also covered the door in their goop, so you can’t leave, unless you get permission to go to a restroom.

“Stupid, controlling, mean, ass…” Screech mumbles to themselves before sighing and resuming their chanting.

“Wouldn’t be in this mess if you’d just listened and not attempt that rescue” you say to yourself, though Screech hears anyway.

“Hey! It was awesome! We should plan another group activity sometime, maybe do a heist!” Screech declares. A heist does sound kind of fun.

“Yeah, we can raid the library and finally answer the one true mystery” you respond, turning in your chair to face Screech.

“Oh, and what would that be?” the small entity asks curiously, floating over to you with a massive grin.

“Whether or not Figure keeps a secret stash of ‘adult only’ books-” at that comment, both you and Screech are hit over the head by Seek’s hands. The one that hit you pointing down at your paper after, demanding you continue your lines. Both you and Screech groan before resuming your punishment.

You finish your lines much faster than Screech reads out theirs, so you spend some time doing keep ups with Screech as they continue to call out their lines. You can feel Seek’s eyes glaring disapprovingly at you, but they do nothing to stop you.

“I will repair anything that I break… ah, I don’t remember how many I’ve done…” Screech is sounding so tired, defeated, the will to continue has been sapped. It is made worse when Seek indicates with its hands that they’ve done 53. Screech starts crying, the tears make it hard to speak and for you to practice your keep ups. You stop and go lie down on the bed for a while.

Screech finally finishes after what could have been hours. They lie flat and defeated on the floor. You pour a glass of water over them to try and stir them back to life, but it doesn’t do a lot, Screech just groans out slightly.

“I… I don’t think I can go on… the boredom… it’s killing me…” Screech rasps out pitifully. You hate to see your little buddy like this. It might be time for you to pull out your ace.

“That’s it!” you announce, grabbing Screech firmly and standing up straight. “I’m not about to let Seek get the better of us! I’m going to call in a favor from a friend!”

Seek eyes you warily as you storm into a corner of the room and squat down. You don’t want Seek to hear who you are talking to, and they prefer to not show themselves before the entities, so getting them to agree to carrying Screech as well might take some doing.

Before Seek can even figure out what you are doing, you disappear, along with Screech. A flash of purple and you’re gone! They cry out in rage. How unfortunate that a wanderer just entered their corridor in a time of heightened emotion…

You and Screech were deposited in a random room. Screech perked up the instant they realized they were no longer detained in the bedroom.

“Thanks Glitch!” you call out to seemingly no one.

“Who?” Screech asks, still a little shocked that the two of you were suddenly away from Seek.

“Ah, a friend. Only likes humans” you respond nonchalantly. “Doesn’t matter, we gotta run! Bunker down somewhere Seek won’t find us. Maybe we can get Hide to teach us how they do it, it’s literally impossible for Seek to find them!”

The two of you begin running through the many corridors. You had to take care not to go too close to the library and make sure a door wasn’t going to drop you in Halt’s domain.

“Hi Rush! Bye Rush!” you call as the entity passes. They back track to meet you two.

“I thought you two were grounded?” Rush exclaims.

“We escaped!” Screech declares happily, you nod along.

“Nice” Rush whistles. “Is that why Seek is so mad? They’ve got Figure and Halt looking for you two… again” Oh no, the unholy trinity of strict parenting/guidance are on your case again! You take a gulp, but Screech doesn’t seem too fazed.

“They won’t catch us this time! We're gonna be real sneaky!” Screech announces proudly. Rush chuckles at their enthusiasm.

“Sure, sure. Do you guys need a lift anywhere, I saw Figure wandering out of the library a few doors back ". That was a horrible revelation, one of them was already so close.

“Hell yeah, get us out of here!” you declare.

“Yeah, take us to the Updog resistance hideout!” Screech adds. You see Figure in the room just behind Rush, they’ve clearly realized you and Screech are also in this room judging by the way they wailed and came stomping over.

Rush grabbed the two of you and ran off as fast as they could.

“Oh Screech, what is Updog?” you ask as you are carried. Screech gasps in delight.

Chapter Text

Updog resistance hideout is a massive room with various furniture scattered around. There’s a large desk in the center, with a map of what you assumed was the hotel on it. There’s also giant spike walls facing the door, like that would stop Halt, Figure and Seek.

When Rush delivered you to the location, Ambush and Hide were already there, though naturally only one was actually visible.

“I thought those two were grounded?” Ambush exclaims as Rush drops you and Screech to the ground.

“We escaped!” Screech declares proudly, slapping themselves happily with a tentacle.

“So if you see Halt, Figure or Seek, run like hell” Rush adds, moving to stand next to Ambush. Ambush lets out a groan.

“Hey! Code names in the base please!” Screech shouts.

“We have code names?” You ask, turning to Screech.

“Oh yes! I’m Eagle-1, you’re Eagle-2, that-” they point to Rush “-is Too-Fast-For-You” Rush does a dramatic bow as they are introduced. “ and that is Punji-Pit!” Ambush lets out another groan when they get introduced with their codename, grumbling out ‘I never agreed to the codenames…’

“What about Hide?” you put to Screech, rightfully assuming that they hadn’t even noticed their presence.

“Oh, they're here? You can call them Lurking-Guardian!” Screech sounds very proud of their naming system, even if it was very basic for the most part.

You walk over to a chair and slump down in it, resting. In the meantime, Screech tells everyone present about how they fooled you with their smart naming of the resistance. You don’t have the heart to tell them you fell for it deliberately. You didn’t expect the others to, even if they’ve never heard the updog joke before. You were the one who told Screech after all!

Screech declaring you a fool over with, it was time to get down to business.

“Right!” Screech exclaims with a clap of the tentacles. “We’re still missing Crewmate, but I’m sure they’ll show up eventually…” Ambush whispers to you that Crewmate refers to Dupe. “...For now, we need to come up with a plan on how to defeat the trinity of evil!”

“Well, a frontal assault won’t work, as you proved before…” you piped up. Screech pouts at you, whine out 'heeey' in response. You just snicker at them.

"Have you two, you know, actually considered just taking the punishment?" Ambush askes. Screech lets out a shocked gasp, like Ambush had just kicked a puppy or something.

“How could you even suggest such a thing?! To live under the opension- “

“-Oppression” you quickly correct.

“To live under the oppression that You’re-Not-My-Dad is setting is just… horrible!” Screech dramatically exclaims, dramatically waving their tentacles to try and emphasize the point.

“Still… I just don’t see a way of you getting away from it” Ambush adds. Screech stares at them for a few seconds, before a defeated look washes over them and they float down to the table with a sigh.

“Maybe you’re right… it’s just… I wanna get at least one w…” Screech says forlornly. Ambush looks confused by what Screech just said and it occurred to you that you only ever taught Screech outside world phrases.

“W means win” you whisper to Ambush, leaning over to them. Rush hears it as well.

“So, what you're saying is that you just wanna beat up You’re-Not-My-Dad at least one time?” Rush asks.

“And you’ll accept your punishment if you get to do it?” Ambush adds. Screech looks between the two of them.

“I suppose so…” Screech still looks miserably sad, playing with the little figurine markers on the map which were apparently meant to resemble everyone. “You’re-Not-My-Dad has remained undefeated for so long, I just wanna prove we are strong enough to take them down…”

Hmm, how could you make Screech powerful enough to beat Seek in a fight? Even with the aid of the whole Updog resistance, it would prove a challenge, Seek can spread their body pretty much everywhere and they have the support of Halt and Figure. It was a tall order indeed. Judging by everyone’s faces, they were also having the same internal debate.

You start to think back to what got you lot in this whole mess in the first place, and suddenly an idea pops into your head.

“Hey guys! Gather round! I think I have an idea!” you declare, walking up to the table and grabbing all the little figurines. Screech seems to perk up immediately, and the small ‘oh no’ from Ambush most definitely means they have complete faith in you.

“What have you got for us, Eagle-2?” Screech asks, wringing two tentacles together in anticipation.

“First, we are going to have to get all three of them to this corridor-” you put all three figurines meant to resemble Seek, Figure and Halt down on a long corridor.
“This should be easy to do, Eagle-1 and I will be bait, Punji-Pit and Lurking-Guardian should try to subtly inform the trinity of our location, assuming they don’t already know they are on our side…” you place the figurines for those two near the trinity. “Too-Fast-For-You will remain with us, because S-T-F-U knows they helped us already, so we should assume You’re-Not-My-Dad and Why-Am-I-Lagging know also.” you give an appreciative thumbs up to Rush after you place their figurine.
“Once we have them here, we make our final stand!” you punch the air and the end of that sentence, only Screech and Rush seem to be riled up by your enthusiasm. “Punji-Pit will face down Why-Am-I-Lagging whilst Too-Fast-For-You takes on S-T-F-U, You’re-Not-My-Dad is for me and Eagle-1…” All figurines are moved to the corridor, the soon to be sight of the greatest battle this hotel will ever see! Or just a childish squabble, but you’d like to believe.

“And how do you intend to stop…” Ambush lets out a resigned sigh. “You’re-Not-My-Dad” Ambush still hates the codenames.

“Oh don’t worry, Eagle-1 and I will unleash our ultimate attack!” Screech seems excited by that, even though they have no idea what it is. “It will involve teamwork, it will involve exact precision, it will involve all of us! Once Crewmate has arrived, I will fill you all in on what we are going to need to do…”

Dupe arrived not long afterwards and got filled in on what was going on. All the players were ready, it was time to spring to action.

Chapter Text

You, Screech and Rush waited in the middle of the corridor awkwardly. The waiting was causing tension, and Screech had only just finally given up on asking “Is it time yet?”, much to your and Rush’s relief, and was just lying on the floor.

You were sitting cross legged on the floor, twiddling your thumbs, when Ambush finally burst through a door to join you guys.

“It’s done! They know you’re here! They’re coming!” they called out hastily as they joined the three of you. You hopped to your feet.

“Right, Screech, got any last minute motivation speeches?” you ask, turning to Screech, who quickly flooded with much excitement.

“Yes!” they let out a loud, fake throat clearing cough. “Friends! Comrades! Members of the Updog resistance! On this day we stand united against a force of the most utmost oppression!” Ok, you could tell by the language Screech was using they had rehearsed this. Screech would never be so eloquently spoken at short notice. “The sinister force of the Trinity think they can stifle this world of happiness! Of fun! Well I say, let them come! We will show them what we are capable of, and we will win this battle! And though we may never win the war, they will know to fear our strength united!”

“Woo, power of friendship, and all that!” Ambush sarcastically called out. Neither they nor Rush looked too impressed by the speech. Screech continues regardless.

“When the oppressive chains of punishment, detention and grounding fall upon our necks once more, know that we are not alone! And we-”

“Yeah, yeah, Hide just said they’re nearly here, let’s get everyone in position!” you interrupted quickly. Screech pouts a little about not being able to perform their epic speech, but you’ll let them perform it to you later as a treat. Everyone chose their spots for their stand. “Remember your roles guys!” you call out before grabbing Screech in your arms as you take your position.

When Seek, Figure and Halt entered the corridor, there was a brief stare down between them and the four of you stood down the other end. Screech leans forwards in your arms to speak.

“Well, well, well! Look who finally decided to show up!” Screech says tauntingly, flexing a tentacle in a sort of ‘come here’ motion. “Thought you’d be too scared to face us!”

“Screech, this isn’t a game. Why can’t you just accept the responsibility of your actions?” Seek called out, a some-what exasperated tone. Boy were they not going to be happy by the end of the day.

“No! What makes your word law anyway?” Screech said with a hint of whininess. “Well, it doesn’t matter! You won’t beat me this time! I have back up!” and that was Rush and Ambush’s cue to run forwards and separate Halt and Figure from Seek. Ambush dragging Halt away whilst Rush took Figure. This was all set up for the grand finale.

Seek, clearly annoyed by the continued defiance, created massive hands from the windows that reached forwards to try and seize hold of you and Screech. With a yelp, you dove out of the way, skidding across the floor slightly, clinging Screech to your chest tight as you did. You spun round to look at the battlefield. Rush and Ambush were in position. It was hard to tell over the chaos, but you were pretty sure both Hide and Dupe were in their hiding spots, ready to perform their roles when needed.

Everything looked set up, it was just down to you and Screech now.

Backing away from Seek’s massive hands, you brought Screech away from your chest and held them in front of your face.

“You ready buddy?” you ask, despite them vibrating excitedly, and they’d probably say something cliche like-

“I was born ready!” yep, there it was. You took your position.

“Alright! Seek, it’s time to end this! The way it all started!” you shout out. “Let’s go Screech! Our ultimate attack!”

Your aim was set, your target locked, you were to do what you did best of all, drop kick Screech into oblivion. Arms stretched out, you released them from your grasp, letting gravity take them. It felt like the world was going in slow motion in the microseconds leading up to when foot and face met.

Seek would be able to dodge this, or brace the impact, or catch the impact. What they weren’t expecting was what actually happened next. For Seek wasn’t the target of your kick, it was Rush. Rush released Figure from their fight and quickly spun round to headbut Screech as they came hurtling towards them. Rush wasn’t aiming for Seek either, Ambush was their target. Much like Rush, Ambush released Halt to hit Screech too. You’d think Ambush missed their mark, seeing as Screech was hurtling with ever increased momentum to seemingly no one. You’d be wrong again, for conveniently, the wardrobe door Screech was passing swung open, hitting them off in another direction. Screech was getting closer to their target, but was still off mark. That is when a door seemingly appeared out of nowhere, opened up and Dupe whacked Screech hard towards their final destination.

The staking force from each hit meant Screech landed right in Seek’s face at a speed that might have broken the sound barrier. It made Rush so proud and that would explain all the windows shattering. Seek fell to the ground with a heavy thud, dumbstruck by what on earth had just happened.

“Ha! Victory is ours!” Screech declares, bouncing around on top of Seek. “What say you fiend! Do you admit your defeat!” Screech continues to goad, poking them in the face. Seek lets out a pained groan.

…

…

Well, you guys still had to endure punishment. You know, consequences of your actions, and all that. Somehow, Hide and Dupe were able to avoid it though, lucky buggers.

Currently, you, Screech, Ambush and Rush were trying to clean up the corridor which got ruined in your amazing showdown. The four of you kept tumbling and falling over each other as you tried to clean up.

Down the end of the corridor, Seek, Halt and Figure were sitting in chairs, watching you guys as you tried to clean up. They had cracked open a barrel of wine, because damn did they need it.

“I just don’t get it!” Halt declared, swirling the wine in a glass in front of them. They don’t actually drink it, they just like the smell and how classy they look with a glass. “These guys can meticulously plan something like that, but the second you ask them to work on chores together they just break down?”

Figure takes a long swig before saying “I wish they were as good at chores as they were at their stupid little games… think of how much better this place would be!” Figure had drank a fair amount, but nowhere near as much as Seek had drank.

Seek was looking worse for wear, they had been chugging a lot of wine and their body consistency had devolved into something like a thin milkshake. They just groaned, too preoccupied with trying to come up with a way of keeping you and Screech out of trouble in the future, not that the intoxicated mind was helping.

You saw how liquid Seek’s body looked and leaned into Screech when you next passed them with a bucket of broken glass. “Psst, 50 coins to dive bomb Seek right now”

“Bet” Screech responds with a small giggle, dropping all their debris into your bucket before charging towards the compromised entity.

Shame, Figure caught them before they made contact, probably heard your whispering. It might have been funny to see Seek go splat.

When the cleaning finally gets finished, Halt carries away Seek in a massive bucket.

Chapter Text

“What do you mean I have to sleep with you???” you scream as you are dragged by the arm through corridors by Figure. You are dragging your heels as much as you possibly could but it doesn’t slow them down.

“You and Screech are not to share sleeping quarters for a while, so you’ll be staying in the library with me. It’s for your own good” Figure explained with a sigh, continuing to pull you along despite your protest.

“Own good my ass! You just want to see me naked!” you scream, now hitting their hand with your free one. Figure let out another sigh, not bothering to dignify that outburst with a correction. After a while, the constant dragging of feet and hitting was getting annoying, so they flung you over their shoulder, upper half hanging in front of them. You beat at their chest breathly, but give up quickly. “Why must you treat me like this?” you grumble defeatedly.

“You act like a child, so you get treated as such, which means you need constant adult supervision” Figure states matter-of-factly as you reach the library door, pushing it open.

As soon as they put you down, you tried to make a break for it, but Figure slammed the door shut again, leaving you alone in there.

“Just getting something!” they shout through the door before walking off.

Well, the library has two exits, so you quickly run to the other side. Locked, as usual. Time to speed run the library puzzle. This would be a rejected speed run online because you ‘clearly hacked’ or something. Either way, you start grabbing code books.

You had at least 3 bits of the code when you heard Figure return, dragging something heavy with them. You try to act inconspicuously as they pass, quietly shoving your books back onto shelves in disappointment. A failed speedrun…

The thing Figure had brought with them was a bed, which they dumped down in the middle of the library.

“So no privacy for me? I’m starting to worry that the naked comment is coming true” you call out sarcastically. “You could have at least accommodated me in a corner?” you add on.

“I need to keep track of you” they reply simply, before walking off to attend to other things. It was roughly around the time you’d go to sleep, so you had to get ready.

“Where’s my nightwe-” you were cut off by Figure throwing a bag out you. Inside were all the essentials one would need on a sleepover, from nightwear to toothpaste. With an exasperated groan, you got ready for bed. You pointedly got changed away from Figure’s position, with the claim of “I don’t know how good your sound senses are, what if you get a picture of me!” Figure didn’t argue, though that was likely due to them just wanting you to get on with things.

Now ready for bed, you were still feeling miffed at the prospect of being held here like a prisoner. Well, if you must have a hard time, then the least you can do is make this just as bad for Figure.

“Figure, I have a problem” you call out, now sitting on the edge of the bed, swinging your legs.

“What?” they call out to you.

“Well, I usually cuddle Screech when I sleep. You know, like a soft toy, and I think it’ll be real hard to fall asleep without cuddling something…” you try as much as you can to make this all seem innocent, that you totally have no ulterior motive.

“And what do you expect me to do about that?” Figure responds, not making any effort to come over to you.

“Can you lie down with me so I can cuddle you until I fall asleep? You ask sweetly, but not sugary sweet, that would be too suspicious. You pat the bed next to you gently.

“Absolutely not!” Figure responds almost immediately.

“Please!” you call out in fake desperation.

“No!” Figure seems to be standing their ground, time to change tact a little by making it seem like this is the best cause of action.

“Well, it’s that or I stay up into the night, sleepless, and who knows what I could get up to in here” for if there is one thing Figure would want to prevent most of all, it is you causing problems in their library.

“I thought you were offended at the prospect of me ‘seeing’ you naked and now you want to get close” Figure scoffs. Fair point, you’ll have to deflect.

“I have my nightwear on now and it’s pretty thick, soooo?” it wasn’t pretty thick, but they certainly don’t know that! You hope. Who packed your stuff for you again?

“Urgh…” you could sense the defeat in their groan, and had to fight back the grin that wanted to spread on your face. “Fine!” they finally came stomping back over to you as you quickly scooched to one side of the bed.

“Yes! Right, lie there and be prepared to get spooned!” Figure stood silently by the side of the bed for a while, probably regretting this already. “Yes, I have to be the big spoon” you quickly add before they can try and suggest otherwise.

Very reluctantly, Figure gets in the bed with you. You immediately fling your arms around their chest, and for good measure wrap your legs round too. They are completely rigged. Now they are trapped with you, and if they try to get away once you fall asleep you're more likely to wake up, and then you can really make it their problem.

“Thanks Fig! Night!” you call, finally settling to try and sleep. Figure just lay there, thinking about the things they’d rather be doing right now.

Elsewhere…

“You tricked me!” Screech screamed angrily, now trapped in the long dark corridor. It was easy for Halt to get them into their corridor, the prospect of getting to sleep in a hammock was way too tempting. What Halt hadn’t told them was that they’d be staying in the corridor and that you weren’t going to stay too. A real divide and conquer strategy was going on here.

“You’ve got many lessons to learn, and we think they’ll set in easier if you weren’t messing around with your partner in crime” Halt replied calmly, despite the little tentacles beating against them angrily. Screech is quick to tire, they’ll be sleeping in that hammock soon regardless of their protest.

“You can’t just keep us apart! That’s not fair!” they cry out. Pitiful, but Halt doesn’t have the time or energy to feel sad for Screech.

“You’ll be allowed to hang out together, just not during sleep periods and whilst you are doing chores” Halt states, before lifting Screech into the small Screech-sized Hammock that they had made. Yes, Halt had to make that thing, you were actually pretty proud by how it came out, shame it had to be something for Screech.

Well, Screech seemed to like it at least, nearly melting into it immediately. They let out a little yawn.

“Yeah… well… I’m not even tired!” they call out, sleepily. Halt throws a small blanket over them and they twist into it almost immediately. As predicted, Screech was shortly asleep anyway, mumbling about how they’d ‘get Halt’ when they next see them. Unfortunately, they’d be seeing Halt a lot over the course of this punishment.

Halt turned to go settle themselves, briefly wondering if Figure had it just as easy to get you to go to sleep.

Chapter Text

The group were terrified the moment they reached the large double doors of room 50. They had no idea how they even got here, all they knew was that they had been hunted by horrors from beyond this world. The growling noise from the otherside made them hesitant, but if they were to escape this place, they would have to proceed.

The massive creature that almost came charging at them nearly made them have a heart attack. Somehow, it didn’t notice them, so they started to sneak around searching for a way out. They neared the center of the room.

“Romeo! Romeo! Where are thou Romeo! I am but a sweet 14 year old with an almighty thirst you may quench!” a strange person loudly shouted out, walking across the tables and seemingly reading from a book. They were utterly baffled. “Ah, my sweet Juliet! I am but a simple simp! And you are such a very babygirl! But our families may never agree!”

“Hey, what are you doing???” one of the group who was nearest you whispers. You look down at them, still stomping around on the tables.

“Listen, I’ve gotta finish this assignment or I’m staying back after class, so if you don’t mind I’ve gotta finish my reading-” you let out a throat clearing cough. “So! My beautiful Juliet! We gotta keep this relationship a secret! Because all relationships which are pure are also a secret!”

They wanted to protest some more, but they also needed to escape. Maybe you were stupid or something. Then again, the monster seemed to pay you no attention what-so-ever as it continued to search for them. It did seem a lot more… irritable since you started reading loudly, stomping around faster.

You didn’t pay the visitors much more attention as you continued your butchering of Romeo and Juliet. You think you heard Figure catch one or two, but by the sound of the door opening and then closing you knew at least one got away.

You almost lost your footing on the table as the loud, ground shaking stomping came right up to you.

“What was that?!” Figure angrily asks, arms folded in front of them. They barely held composure whilst the intruders were present.

“I’m doing exactly what you told me to do!” you countered with a defensive tone. “You said that I had to read a piece of educational literature and that I had to do it aloud so that you knew I was doing it!”

“You could have sat in the corridor and read like normal!” Figure yells. You finally hop down from the table.

“Yeah, well, how else was I to ensure that you could still hear my be-au-ti-ful voice whilst hunting” you reply sarcastically, walking back to the chair you were originally reading in before you noticed the visitors. “Now, I’m gonna finish this chapter so I don’t have to miss playtime with Screech” you add before continuing your dramatic reading of Romeo and Juliet.

Figure was all but certain you were making up most of the words, but they themselves had never actually read the piece or had read it to them. Perhaps they should ask Seek about it later, to know if you are taking this seriously or not. For now, they had to clean up the library a bit before checking on other things.

Elsewhere…

Halt heard the door to their corridor open and knew it was time to spring into action. They hadn’t seen any intruders in a while, so it might be nice to catch someone, or someone’s in this case, off guard.

The pair stumbled forwards a bit, they looked a bit worse for wear, probably were part of a bigger group which had diminished in numbers. Halt didn’t care. They sprung up behind them as they shuffled forwards, reaching out to them, intent on harm.

“It’s behind you~” a small, familiar, irritating voice chimed out in a pantomime-like fashion from near the ceiling. The pair turn briefly to see Halt before running faster.

Curse Screech for this! Halt couldn’t very well yell at Screech whilst chasing humans, they’d have to do their best to ignore it for the meantime. Halt moved to be in front of them.

“Tuuurn aroooound!” Screech yelled in the same theatrical manner. The sound of little slapping tentacles as they clapped to themselves in hysterics.

This continued up to the moment of their escape, which filled Halt with bitter rage. They turned to look at the smaller entity, laughing to themselves as they lay in the hammock.

“Have you forgotten that the intention is to kill humans, not help them?” Halt asked in a tone that Screech would describe as ‘a disappointed parent’. Screech leaned over the side of the hammock to face the bigger entity.

“Yeah, but, you told me my lesson was to learn a fear-all art form! I’m doing panto!” Screech protested, they said theatrical wrong, not that they were going to make an effort to learn what words Halt was trying to teach them. Halt let out a frustrated sigh.

“Yes, I did, but that is why you have a book, so you can read when you need to be quiet” Halt decided to pick some items off the floor which got knocked down by the intruders, hoping that tidying will calm them down a bit.

“Reading is for nerds!” Screech exclaimed, sounding offended that Halt could even suggest that they do such a horrible, vile, despicable thing!

“Reading is a very important skill and a wonderful pass-time, you would understand a lot better if you would actually give it a go. The things you can learn from a book, the stories that can grip you! Why, it is most-” and then Halt went on a ranting lecture about the benefits of taking up reading as a passion. It bore Screech so much they broke down in tears at some point. Regardless, they were just about able to finish today’s assignment.

Both of you finished, you were finally allowed to go on recess and unite temporarily. You console each other of the horrors and torment your respective captors are putting you through. You resolve to endure, so that one day you’ll be free!

Seek practically had to rip the two of you a part when the time came for you to return to your respective detentions. You looked like two wartime lovers being separated by how dramatically you both wailed when Seek finally pried you apart, screaming "I will remember yoooou!" as you were sent on your way".

Chapter Text

The corridor was dark, only periodically illuminated by the flashing of lightning from outside. In the center, you and Screech sat on the floor, recounting tales of woe to each other. This was one of the few times you gotta see each other, still grounded after all. You felt like you’d be an old lady before Seek decided you two learnt your lesson.

“Halt’s been trying to get me to learn how to sew…” Screech mumbled out, looking down sadly at their tentacles. Those were not sewing tentacles, pin cushion tentacles at best.

“What kind of sick torture is that!” you reply half sarcastically, half genuine. Surely Halt would know the futility of such an endeavor.

“They said I should learn a ‘useful skill’... but what good is sewing anyway!” True, Screech doesn’t have a need for it. You do, to be honest, a few of your clothes do have holes in them, so maybe that is why Halt wants them to learn. Or maybe Halt is just into fashion, you know they have a cloak that they supposedly made themselves.

The two of you continue to bemoan the tortures of your grounding for a while longer.

“Oh, yeah!” Screech suddenly pipes up mid-way. “Saw Rush earlier, they got you a snack from the greenhouse!” They quickly float to a corner of the room and grab a small bag that had been lying there before returning to you.

“Oh boy!” you cheer unenthusiastically. “What did they get me?” Screech looked inside the bag as they approached.

“Looks like a potato salad!” Screech replies. You frown at that.

“That can’t be right,” you state.

“Why?” Screech asks quizzically, tilting their head to the side slightly.

“Because, my dear Screech, potato salad requires mayonnaise, mayonnaise is made from eggs, and this hotel doesn’t have any egg-producing livestock. So tell me, how did Rush make me a potato salad if we don’t have the sauce for it?” you point with both your hands pressed together at the bag after your little explanation. Screech looks down at it, then back at you.

“I don’t know, maybe Rush used a secret sauce?” Screech says innocently, though you grimace at the statement.

“Screech, my buddy, my friend, my partner in crime, if Rush made me a potato salad using their ‘secret sauce’, I’m not touching that thing to save my life!” Screech looked confused by that statement and the disgusted look on your face, so you just waved your hand with an ‘urgh’ before adding “never mind, just what does it look like?” Screech opened the bag again and peered in, sitting in a dark corridor was suddenly not very helpful.

“Well, I don’t know! Kinda dry actually. And beaten up” that descriptor does not sound like potato salad, but it does sound like something else potato based. You look up at where Screech is floating as a more reasonable idea for what Rush brought you pops into mind.

“Screech, is it possible that Rush brought me what is called ‘mashed potato’, not ‘potato salad’?” you say calmly, suddenly feeling less disgusted by what Rush might have brought you.

“Aren’t they the same thing?” Screech asks. It’s a genuine question. Screech probably thinks all potato products are the same.

“No! They are not the same thing!” you yell out before standing up and grabbing the bag and looking inside yourself. Yep, that’s a bag of mashed potatoes. Not the most thrilling food in the world, but there isn’t a wide range available in the hotel. “How did you mistake this for potato salad?”

“Well, salad’s are usually just destroyed fruits and veg yeah?” Screech replies defensively. Destroyed might not be the best word, ‘prepped’ more like, but you supposed the entity would not know the difference. You let out a vexed sigh.

“Look… just know that humans prepare the same food in different ways and it becomes a different food after” you try to explain it as simply as possible, not wanting to overload their brain.

“That’s just weird,” Screech replies.

You decide not to continue to defend human food practices, you have better things to do in your spare time. You eat your mashed potato in silence as Screech returns to regale you with tales of woe and misfortune brought down upon them by Halt.

When Screech returns to Halt, they ask them why you would think that a ‘secret sauce’ made by Rush would be disgusting. Halt doesn’t know how to explain that one, and seems to clam up at the question, which makes Screech even more curious. Later when they are released, they happen to bump into Dupe, so ask them about it. Dupe obliges and gives them the honest answer.

The “EWWWWWWW!” that they scream out can be heard half-way across the hotel.

Chapter Text

Since the end of the updog resistance, the base had been converted into the updog clubroom and the group was allowed to continue to convene and hang out there. The stipulation was that Seek had to be informed of its location so they could check in from time to time to make sure you weren’t up to no good. During the initial phase of your grounding period, neither you or Screech were allowed to hang out there. But now the rules are being relaxed a little, so you two can hang out with the squad.

“Alright! I think it’s time for us to start a new mission!” Screech announces to the group, featuring you, Rush, Ambush, Dupe and Hide, clapping two tentacles together as they spoke. You were all gathered around the table in the center of the room.

“Do we have to?” Ambush asks with a groan. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to do some sort of fun activity, it’s just the ones Screech organises tends to create a lot of trouble.

“Yes! This one is super important! We have to solve the one true mystery of this hotel, which is…” Screech trails off and gestures towards you. At the cue, you dump a bag full of assorted items onto the table.

“Whether or not Figure keeps a secret stash of ‘adult only’ books!” you shake the contents out of the bag and onto the table. It’s mostly notes and photographs and also a crudely drawn map of the library you have worked up. “I’ve been living in enemy territory for the last god-knows-how-long and I have strong suspicions that Figure is hiding something”

“How?” Dupe asks absently, not too interested in the conversation yet.

“Well, I’ve skimmed almost every book in that library and I haven’t found even one bit of erotic literature, and you would assume by the wide range of materials present that the odds would be that there would be at least one, so the complete absence is suspicious to say the least” you paced back and forth as you explained, like a detective in a really old murder mystery. You slam your hands down on the table. “And that is why it is our duty to find them!”

“Why would Figure even want erotic literature? It would all be human stuff” Rush pointed out.

“Yeah, but some humans have… particular tastes, if you catch my meaning” you don’t want to outright say it. Screech looks slightly confused, Rush might get it.

“Wait, are you saying there are humans that are into-” you can’t let Rush just announce something like that to the group.

“-Yes!” you quickly interrupt. Stepping a little closer to Rush.

“Are you telling me there are humans that would look at me and be down to f-” you quickly body tackle Rush, they’re too big to just smack your hand over their mouth to silence anyway.

“-Yes!” you lean in close so you can whisper the next part. “Maybe try it on with the next intruder you see, you might be in for a surprise” at that, you get up, the other room occupants staring at the two of you with confusion. You cough awkwardly. “Moving on!” you announce to change the subject. Rush gets up, the look in their eyes suggests they’re really dwelling on what you just told them. Oops… oh well, someone’s gonna have an unfortunate encounter with Rush later.

“Yes, well according to Hide, who actually attends them like a nerd, those little book club meetings Figure, Halt and Seek do don’t cover any of the materials we are looking for…” you are thankful Screech returns to the topic at hand. “...But maybe they have a super secret book club! One Hide can’t attend, because they know they hang with us! And they read them there!”

“Ah, yes, because trust those lot to make adult literature boring by turning it into a book club” Dupe adds mockingly. Screech just pouts at them briefly.

“Ok, but how do you even plan on doing this and not get in trouble doing it?” Ambush asked. It was a good question, Figure probably wouldn’t take too well to you lot ransacking the library in search of books that may or may not be there.

“We’ll have to time our initial investigation perfectly, during a period when Figure will be gone for a prolonged period of time…” you respond.

“Figure rarely leaves!” Ambush protests. “This isn’t going to work!” Ambush would probably be more willing to go along with the heist if they thought you and Screech were actually capable of pulling something like this off.

“It will, we’ll just have to do it at the right time… when an intruder reaches the electrical room!” you declare! It would be the perfect time after all, it's the longest period that Figure leaves the library.

“I still don’t think there’s enough time for a proper search…” Ambush mumbles. They might be right, you'd have to come up with a way to delay Figure's return.

“You’re right, we’re not quite ready for the heist, we gotta do more prep work. We’ll reconvene at a later date when we are more prepared. For now, I’m gonna do more recon in enemy territory, so I’ll see you guys later!” you turn to leave the updog club room. ‘Recon’ really just meant you’re break time was nearly up so you had to return to the library shortly otherwise you’d be made to read an extra chapter of Pride and Prejudice today (your current torture).

Screech quickly realized they too had to go back to their detention zone and bolted out the door after you. The two of you discussed potential plans for your heist until you had to part ways.

Later, when Seek went to the club room to check the dwellers weren’t up to no good, they noticed a strange map of the library on the table and a few notes detailing ‘hiding spots’ with many question marks. They knew something was up immediately, the only question was what. They were going to find out, one way or the other.

Chapter Text

“After careful, ongoing observation of Figure throughout the current duration of my imprisonment in their domain, I have narrowed down the list of locations we should search to three points. I have also concocted a fail-proofed means to get Figure out of the library long enough for us to search it. And yes, in light of Amush’s someone’s concern about incurring more punishment, it has been devised in a way that they should not reasonably take offense to it.
Secondly, I have reason to suspect that Seek is already on to us. They’ve been checking out our club room frequently, appearing in the library often and I have received reports from various club members that they have been visiting them too. As a result, our next meeting shall not be held at the updog club room and instead be held at a location Hide shall disclose to you when they deliver this note. Proceed with caution comrades!
Signed, Screech’s smarter half”

With your letters written out you gave them to Hide to deliver. You had to write it out so many times you wanted to cry. Nevertheless, once your days worth of torture (forced reading) was completed, you headed off to your super secret meeting location.

Which was a small hole in the wall in room 60. Fortunately, the entities were able to fit themselves in, with a bit of body mass adjustment.

“So, how did you find this place again?” Ambush asked.

“A friend showed me” you respond dismissively. Everyone was in attendance, so it was time to go over your genius plan. “Now, you guys all know what our goal of this heist is, right”

“Figure’s adult literature collection!” Screech exclaims joyfully, clapping two tentacles together.

“Exactly! But the main issue is how to prolong Figure’s outing when they go to the electrical room, and I have come up with an excellent solution!”

“Which iiiis?” Dupe drawls out.

“We use their love of books against them! One of us will intercept them on their return and distract them by striking up a conversation about… book recommendations, or something” you hadn’t quite worked out the details of that part, but the plan was already forming.

“You realize it’ll be a bit suspicious if one of us, entities that don’t exactly read, try to strike up conversation” Rush pointed out.

“Good point, and I’ve thought that through. It can’t be anyone without an already established interest, nor can it be Hide because, well, Hide wouldn’t be able to hold much of a conversation, so that means it has to beeeeee… Ambush!” you point dramatically at the green entity.

“Me?! But I don’t read?!” Ambush protests.

“You don’t now, but I have it on good authority that you used to, and that you may or may not have attended a few of those book club things in the past” sorry for outing your deepest, darkest secret Ambush, but this heist is more important than your pride.

“Ambush! I feel like I barely know you anymore…” Rush says teasingly, although Ambush looks genuinely a little bit upset. Oops. You’re glad Rush doesn’t tease too aggressively though, they drop it surprisingly quickly.

“Look, all you gotta do is meet Figure on their return, strike up conversation, and hold them there as long as possible. And given your sordid past, it should be believable. You think you can do it?” you ask, you do feel a little bad about outing them as a former nerd. You’re sure they’ll get over it eventually, maybe you can bake them an ‘I’m sorry’ cake later.

“...Fine…” they mumble out, not meeting your eyes.

“Great! Whilst that’s happening, I’ll crack the lock on the library door so the rest of us can get in and search. Except you Dupe, you’re going to be on Seek and Halt patrol. You know, just incase”

“How exhilarating” Dupe calls out sarcastically, before adding “I’ll do it”

“Fantastic, now-” your continued planning is interrupted when you hear the lights flicker in the main part of the room. It wasn’t a signal of Rush’s arrival, so a different entity must have spawned into the vicinity. “Everyone quiet!” you whisper yell, crouching down, as if hiding would save you.

The lot of you are quiet, straining to hear who was passing through, it was either Seek or Halt and neither option was good.

“I know you lot are hiding in there, come out now!” called out Seek, confirming who it was.

This was bad! You guys all had incriminating evidence on you, in fact, having a secret meeting outside of the club room could be considered incriminating enough! You guys had to escape, and there was only one way you could conceive of doing it.

“Do I have to go in there and drag you out myself?” Seek calls out. Still nothing. With a sigh, they slip into the small space between the bookcase and head to the little alcove behind. There’s no one there. Odd, they were sure they saw you all convene in this location…

…

…

“Aaaand, here we are! Sorry about this 90…” the lot of you were sitting motionlessly around a giant meeting desk. Rush had Screech in their mouth for this exact reason, not trusting them to remain still whilst the room-dweller was around. “We’ll be on our way shortly, I just gotta finish this presentation”

With a sigh, A-90 turned with a “very well” before exiting the room. As soon as they were out of the vicinity, Rush spat Screech out to the center of the desk.

“Ewww, yuck, peh!” Screech gags out as they shake saliva off of themselves. “That was disgusting! Why would you do such a thing?” Rush just laughs at them and leaves you to gently explain that there was no way in hell Screech could be trusted to remain still in A-90’s presence. Screech took offense to this slanderous accusation and tried to remain still for a whole minute, lasting only 7 seconds…

Chapter Text

The intruder was surprised by how despite the plethora of monsters lurking this place, everything seemed… almost easy. Sure there was that one difficult one, but they just about managed to get past it.

Then when they got to the library and came face to face with the maws of death, something else weird happened. There was another person, lying in a bed in the middle of the library. They beckoned them over.

“What are you doing here?” they whisper-asked in confusion.

“Listen, we don’t have a lot of time, the code to the door is 3, 6, 2, 1, 1 ok?” they were surprised and a little skeptical of you just giving them the code, but it did seem to match the piece they themselves got. “Now, get a move on before papa-mama comes stomping back over here to make sure I’m still tucked in bed” you added, gesturing to the monster, before flinging the covers back over yourself. They… weren’t sure what to make of that, but when they got to the door and put the code you gave them in, the lock came straight off. They felt a little bad about leaving you behind, but you didn’t seem to be in danger… for some reason.

The weird shop monster had a discount on vitamins and crucifixes, apparently someone sponsored them for the promotion. The little goblin complained about how people would give ‘Jeff’ money for free but rarely lent them any.

Those vitamins proved really useful when the eyeball-laden slime monster attacked again, making outrunning them a literal breeze. It seemed extra angry when they got away that second time.

The greenhouse was terrifying, and they thought the giant black floating head would surely catch and end their existence when they accidentally stepped on something sharp. Maybe luck was just on their side, they somehow were able to get into the closet in time everytime. Soon enough, they went through door 100.

Rush watched them go in, before turning to the nearest wardrobe.

“It’s time, Hide, inform the others, the great library heist is a go!” they announce before zooming off back in the direction of the library.

In said library, you were acquiring the new code for the lock, because apparently in Figure’s own words, you’re ‘not to be trusted’ and they change it fairly frequently. Too bad you have been perfecting your art of codebreaking in your time room sharing with Figure.

Dupe placed many fake doors to form a perimeter around the library, so they could watch for if Seek or Halt decided to stray too close to this location. They were still a little miffed they were designated sentry duty. Why couldn’t they go looking for Figure’s erotic literature too?

Ambush was less pleased than Dupe. They had to just sit around in the greenhouse waiting to, well, ambush Figure when they eventually returned. Then their real ordeal was to occur, they had to talk, at length, about books with the other entity. Oh, the absolute horror.

And Screech, the true hero of our story, was already bouncing around outside the door into the library by the time Rush got there.

“What took you so long, slow poke!” Screech exclaimed mockingly, bouncing around excitedly even still.

“Slow poke?! Oh please, you couldn’t outrun me by yourself even if you tried! Always need a good kicking-start!” Rush taunted back, making Screech pout and open their mouth again to try and form another comeback, but was interrupted by the loud sound of metal lock falling to the ground. Shortly after, the doors were swung open to behold their partner in crime, with arms outstretched dramatically.

“Ladies, gentlemen, everything in between, I present to you, the library!” you announce dramatically before giving yourself your own whooping fan-fair for effect. Screech and Rush enter, Hide was already inside.

“Somewhere in this place… Figure is hiding adult literature from us, and it is about time we take it back!” Screech says, mischievously rubbing their tentacles together as they survey the large room. It’s not like you guys ever had it in the first place, or had proof it existed, but surely Figure had some dirty secret tucked away in this place, and whatever it was, you guys are going to find it.

“Ok, you guys know your search locations?” you ask as you walk back in.

“Yeah! We are going to turn this place upside-down if that is what it takes!” Screech exclaims happily, Rush just hums out in agreement, Hide makes no indicator either way.

“I mean, preferably we want to put everything back where it was to avoid being caught… so only smash things a little” you respond. At that, the four of you set about your task of combing through the library in search of your elusive prize.

Chapter Text

In a matter of seconds, the library was trashed. So much for keeping the breakage to a minimum, but the microsecond that a lot of you began searching; shelves were knocked down, floorboards were ripped from the ground and Screech had gone flying out the window at least three times in the last five minutes. Buuuuut, so long as you fixed everything before Figure got back there wouldn’t be a problem!

There was a different problem though. In all the pandemonium the four of you had caused, you were still yet to find your elusive prize, that sweet, sweet adult literature collection. Screech went out the window for a fourth time.

“Aaaah! This sucks! Where could it be?!” Screech whined, complaining as they climbed back in through the window. “We’ve practically torn this place to shreds and we still can’t find it!”

Yes, that was an issue, and none of you wanted to admit the possibility that it didn’t exist in the first place, so you had to keep searching.

“Figure probably has some super secret storage safe that we’re missing, we just gotta keep looking!” you say with fake enthusiasm and hope, slowly continuing to move various bits of debris to continue your search.

“The only super secret stash I’ve found is Figure’s snack stash…” Rush grumbled, dropping a giant pile of various sweets and such in the middle of the library. They probably got them off of intruders who… no longer wanted them, or bought them off Jeff. Either way, this was probably the first time you saw food that was manufactured out in the wider world since you first came to the hotel.

“That ass had good food all this time and neglected to share?!” you exclaim in indignation, head snapping round to face where Rush had dropped them before you run over and you grab a handful of small chocolates and start eating them. How dare they withhold the goods from you this whole time you’ve been staying with them!

“Rude, you saying my mashed potato is bad?” Rush grumbled, teasingly. You looked up at them and were going to mention Screech’s mistake from the other day, but decided against it. Screech was already down enough you didn’t need them to relive that traumatic revelation.

“I’m saying it isn’t on the same level as a good lemon cake” you reply instead, carefully opening a packaged lemon cake which was surprisingly still fresh. You took an undignified massive bite out of it before letting Screech partake in it as well. Their mind has just been blown by the beauty of food having new, amazing tastes.

“Maybe I’ll try and get lemons growing in the greenhouse…” Rush muses before returning to their search. You hope they can get lemons growing. Not just for the new flavor sensations to your meals, but you really wanted to pour lemon juice down Screech’s throat, just for funsies. Or pour lemon juice in one of Seek’s eyes (you considered doing it to Eyes but felt they didn’t do anything to deserve such torture).

With you now filled with snacks, you, Rush, Screech and Hide resumed your search.

Back in the greenhouse, Ambush was alarmed to notice Figure was returning to the library so soon. They also seemed unharmed. It would appear that the intruder didn’t last so long in the electrical room…

“Oh, uh, hey Figure! Fancy seeing you here” Ambush called, trying to sound casual and natural but it 100% didn’t come across as such. Figure almost immediately caught on and began to feel creeping suspicions that something was afoot.

“Ambush, I walk back this way every time” they state curtly, fully intending to keep on moving. They hear Ambush come up to their side.

“Hey, wait!” they say before jumping in front of them. Figure observes them distrustingly. “I, uh, have a question for you” Ambush sounds almost embarrassed, at the very least they seem to be forcing themselves to try and ask.

“Then let’s hear it” Figure replies simply, a foot tapping with a slight impatience.

“So, um, you have to promise not to tell Rush, or any of the others…” they mumble out. Ambush has to steel themselves for the biggest and most boring conversation of their existence. “...but I’ve kinda been thinking of… you know, getting back into reading… and was wondering if you had any, recommendations, or something”

It was so obviously a ploy of some kind, but maybe Ambush played it too well, or maybe they abused one of Figure’s biggest weaknesses because all that mattered was it was very successful. Ambush was trapped in the dark of the greenhouse, listening to Figure go on and on about all different genres, eras, lengths and every minute detail you’d need to know about a book if you were trying to get into reading. Ambush only really gave ‘uh huh’ in response to all their statements as they slowly died inside.

Dupe was staring down at their claws wondering if they should ask you to give them a manicure or something. Humans like decorating their nails and all, did you though? Who cares, you had to know something on the matter.

Their train of thought almost made them miss something, and they jolted when they realized. It looked like Seek was heading to the library. What could they possibly want there? Doesn’t matter, they had to quickly run over to warn you guys.

Dupe flung open the library door and the sight they took in could only be described as a warzone. Like hell they would be sticking around for this.

“Seek is coming!” they warned frantically before leaving you guys to your fate. It was an honor knowing you guys.

The four of you stood, frozen, looking around at the mess you had made. This was not good!

“Oh no, what are we going to do! If they catch us, our grounding might get extended indefinitely!” Screech exclaims in horror. You felt all the color drain from your face at the thought. The prospect of having a permanent sleep over in the library was… not a happy one, and you could tell Screech had a similar sentiment regarding spending their life living in Halt’s domain. You had no idea what would happen to Rush or Hide (probably not a lot to Hide, not like they actually partook in the destruction) but it would probably not be a fate they would enjoy. They got off easy last time, they might not be so lucky this time.

You had to come up with something… and fast!

Chapter Text

When the door opened the first thing that Seek noticed was it was way too clean in the library. Not saying that Figure doesn’t tidy it (or get a certain human to tidy it as part of their punishment), but they hadn’t even returned from hunting the latest intruder yet so there was no way it could be this tidy yet.

The second thing they noticed was that there were three others in the library with them, and not just one other.

“Oh, hey Seek!” you call out from your position, sat by one of the reading desks. You are accompanied by Screech, as always, and Rush. “Er, fancy joining us?” you offer, gesturing to the table in front of you.

As Seek approaches, they notice that it looks like there is a game of chess going on, with Rush and Screech being the contenders and you being an observer. The situation can only be described as ‘suspicious’, especially in lieu of the fact that Seek was already certain your little group of friends had something nefarious planned for the library, it was the reason they came after all. They cautiously approach.

“What are you three doing here?” they ask calmly, trying not to give away any indications of their suspensions. On closer inspection, it looks like Screech is winning… how?

“I live here! For now!” you say with fake protest before giving a small, humorless laugh. “But seriously, these two were arguing over who could be the other in an ‘intelligent’ game, so here we are”

“Couldn’t they have just played in the little clubroom you lot have?” Seek inquired, watching how you shrank back slightly under their scrutiny, but you were quick to try and regain your composure. You weren’t prepared to be interrogated on the matter, it seemed.

“Yeeeah…” you drawled out slowly, buying time for yourself whilst you looked for an excuse. Screech and Rush looked at you expectantly, as if their lives depended on the plausibility of your next response. “...you see, they said they didn’t want to… taint our sacred space with, um, nerd stuff. Plus chess stuff was in here anyway!” Fortunately for you, that excuse was actually believable on the simple basis that Screech was one of the party members. Unfortunately for you, Seek still wasn’t prepared to leave the three of you, unattended, in the library.

“Very well then…” they said to lead you to believe they accepted your excuse. Oh the slight sigh of relief was so delectable. Time to break that relief. Seek pulls out a chair next to you. “Mind if I watch?” they don’t wait for a reply and sit down next to you, crossing a leg over the other as they sat. You recoil slightly, obviously not expecting them to actually want to stay and watch.

“Sure, sure…” you say with an unbothered air, but their presence was 100% bothering you, and it was bothering Rush and Screech too. The pair looked way more nervous than you as they slowly continued their game, of which Seek had already noticed was rigged in Screech’s favor, they kept eating pieces the moment Rush wasn’t paying attention. Of course Screech couldn’t actually beat Rush without cheating, though they decided not to bring the matter to light. Screech’s defilement of a sacred game was not the reason Seek was here.

The game progressed slowly and silently under Seek’s watchful eye, neither you nor Rush nor Screech made much sound, the sounds of the pieces touching the chess board almost echoed across the large library.

The game was quickly brought to a close, Screech winning by a landslide. Almost like they cheated. It was very damning in Seek’s opinion that the smaller entity did not gloat or celebrate their victory very vocally, very out of character for them.

“Oh, I win!” Screech says with a very small voice, almost like they were startled by the fact that they won. Rush was also uncharacteristically quiet, Seek would have expected them to protest the defeat, accuse (rightfully) Screech of cheating or demand a rematch. But no, they just stared at the table.

“Well, that’s that then” Seek announces before standing up. “Don’t forget to pack that away before you leave” that statement was more gestured towards Screech and Rush, who suddenly in Seek’s eye had no other business to attend to in the library. The three of you got up to tidy away the stuff you had used.

“I’m gonna commence operation: waterworks” you whisper as quietly as you can to Screech as you pass them.

As you were walking to put something away, you very violently kicked your foot against the leg of the table, before dramatically falling forwards and hitting your head against the side of the table as you went down.

“AAAAAA!” you screamed out as you went down, making all in the room jump.

“What’s wrong?” Seek asked, concerned, turning to face you. You had some nasty marks and were bleeding slightly, it almost made you regret doing it. Almost.

“I-I-I tripped and f-fell!” you cried out between sobs. “M-my leg hurts! My h-head hurts!” you curled up around yourself.

“You should get yourself to the infirmary” Seek said as they crouched down to inspect the injuries. Nothing too harmful, at least.

“I can’t move!” you wail out, grasping on to the leg you hurt. Seek let out a sigh, before picking you up in their arms.

“Fine.. I’ll take you” they proceeded to carry you towards the exit but turned to face Rush and Screech before they left. They hated the idea of leaving them alone here, the the suddenly had a more pressing matter to attend to. They'd just have to be quick with getting you to the infirmary and treated. “Finish tidying up before you go, and don’t be too long Screech, you’ll be needed back with Halt for more of your lessons soon” they say before carrying your whimpering form off in their arms, face buried in their chest as you cried, for extra effect of course, but Seek doesn’t need to know that. The sacrifice you made today will not be forgotten.

As soon as the door shut, there was a flash of purple and the library was a huge mess once more, the illusion your friend had put up had worn off.

“We’re… going to have to clean this up aren’t we…” Rush says as they slowly look around the mess you lot had made.

“Yeah…” Screech replied with a sad nod. The search for the adult literature had been a bust, but perhaps they would be able to find it another time. The two of them slowly began to pick up the bits of debris. Hide also began carefully reaching out of their wardrobes to aid in the tidying effort.

“Oh yeah, I know you cheated, you little-” Rush began before Screech threw a plank of wood at them, not wanting to hear such slander.

Chapter Text

The walk to the infirmary wasn’t long, but for Seek it might as well have been an eternity. They were highly concerned with having to leave Rush and Screech alone and unattended in the library, but alas they had a poor, injured hellspawn human to care for.

You were deposited down gently on the bed whilst Seek went to get some medical supplies. Honestly, your injuries were superficial at worst, why would you need to kick up such a fuss over it? When Seek returned to your side you were still whimpering pathetically, sniffling louder as they knelt down and applied the necessary stuff to your injuries.

Satisfied that any injuries were going to get infected or get worse, Seek stood up and moved to leave the infirmary.

“W-wait! Where you going?” you ask quickly.

“I should check to make sure Screech and Rush tidied up properly” Seek responds, making no effort to stop.

“B-but, I don’t feel good! You protest, hoping to convince them to stay longer.

“Your injuries are not that major” Seek says dismissively, refusing to be delayed.

“It’s not the injuries! My stomach hurts! I think Rush gave me bad potato…” or it might be all the sweets you scarfed down, but maybe if Figure didn’t withhold the good stuff you’d not have eaten them so fast. Either way, your stomach did feel a little unsettled…

“Well, a rest will do you good then” and with that, Seek was out the door. All you could do was hope that you earned them enough time to tidy the mess you guys had made… ah, who were you kidding, you were all screwed, you’re grounding is probably gonna last an eternity. You press your face into your hands in despair at the thought of being trapped living in the library forever.

…

“And that is why you should give that series a go!” Figure had finally finished their very education report, except Ambush hadn’t heard most of it, they had collapsed onto the floor long ago.

“Sure… will do… thanks…” they slowly mumbled out from their position.

“Come see me if you need any more recommendations, but I really should be getting back now” . With that, Figure was finally off once more. Had Ambush had the strength left, they might have tried to delay them further, but they could do no such thing. Instead, they dragged themselves slowly to the infirmary.

You were not so happy to see Ambush, given what it meant, but you could understand their pain.

…

Rush, Screech and Hide were still frantically tidying up the library when Seek returned, and they had Figure in tow, because apparently they bumped into each other on the way back, so what rotten luck for those three. The three froze what they were doing in the face of the two entities, the room still in a state of complete carnage.

“What has happened here!?” Seek exclaims angrily, before quickly describing the damage to Figure, who was less than impressed as they approached the perpetrators. The two visible entities stammered to themselves a bit. Fortunately for Hide, they didn’t seem to notice them slip back into the dark corner of a wardrobe.

“I, er, drugs!” Rush says, thinking on the spot was not their strongest point.

“We didn’t do it!” Screech protests at the same time, thinking on the spot was not their strongest point either.

Obvious lies aside, the fact that they gave two different answers gave them away also.

“Don’t lie to me” Seek snaps with a tone of utmost authority, causing Screech to yelp slightly and Rush to shrink in on themselves a bit. “What were you two doing?” Seek quizzes.

“We-we were looking for some books!” Screech protests. It was technically true after all.

“Really?” Seek says, tone distrustful and haughty. “Then why, may I ask, all the damage to the library” they add, gesturing with their arms at all the destruction and disarray.

“We were tryna clean up…” Rush says as a small defense.

“And we wouldn’t have to if Figure wasn’t hiding stuff from us!” Screech adds accusatively, pointing a tentacle at said entity.

“Hiding stuff?” Figure exclaims defensively.

“Yeah! We found your secret stash of snacks, human snacks! And we damn well know you're hiding a certain genre of books from us!” Screech continues.

“Human snacks… well I had to keep them away from you lot, do you know what suddenly changing a diet can do to a human? You’d need to reintroduce other foods slowly” Figure explains, not that Screech seems to care much for the explanation.

“Well, my beloved partner in crime ate them all anyway!” Screech says nonchalantly.

“What?! I’ll go check on them, stay with these two” Seek exclaims urgently before storming out the room. Suddenly your complaints of an upset stomach felt all the more serious…

“And what genre of books am i supposedly hiding from you anyway?”

“The adult literature! We know you’re keeping a secret stash! Where is it!?” Rush pipes in.

“Why on earth are you looking for- that doesn’t matter, I don’t have a secret stash of adult literature”

“Liar,” Screech says bitterly.

“Have any of you considered the notion that it would be quite difficult for me to accomplish such a feat?” That was… true, they are blind after all, so how would they ever be 100% sure they found everything. The two of them fell silent, unable to think of a solution. “Now, you two better finish tidying this mess before you leave”

“Yes, Figure” Rush and Screech chorused before returning to their cleaning endeavors, although with a lot less haste now they weren’t racing to not get caught.

“Unbelievable… I suppose Screech is going to have to have their grounding extended, and something will have to be done about Rush…” Figure mumbles to themselves, coming to the unfortunate realization that this also meant they’d also have to keep a certain human locked in the library longer.

“Hey! What about Hi-” Rush smacks Screech to the floor before they could sell out Hide. Rush isn’t a sellout, they let Hide slip out of the library.

…

When Seek returned to the infirmary, they were met by an awful smell, and when they entered they were met by an awful sight.

Ambush had a nurse's hat on and was holding up a small nurse’s uniform.

That wasn’t the worst of it, although it was a pretty cursed sight. You were lying in bed looking a lot worse for wear.

“I’m… I’m gonna do it…!” you mumble, trying to leave the bed as Ambush seemingly tried to hold you down. Seek came over to assist when you followed up by saying “I’m gonna poop all over the library floor… there’s nothing Figure can do… to stop me…”

“They’re very ill” Ambush says simply as they continue to try and get you to drink some water, but apparently you’re too focused on defecating in the library.

“You shouldn’t have eaten all those sweets after such a restrictive diet” Seek strictly reprimands.

“Mum? Is that you?” you say in a bit of delirium. Seek lets out a heavy sigh, perhaps your confused state is why Ambush is roleplaying a nurse.

“Yes sweetie, it’s me” they force out as they take your hand to rub it gently. You finally relax into the bed.

“When I’m discharged… you gotta… take me to the library… gotta… poop all over the floor…” you mumble to yourself.

“Sure thing sweetie” Seek responds, highly doubting that you’d remember much of this when you’re better anyway.

“Hey mum…” you whisper, gesturing for Seek to come closer. They comply. “This hospital gave me… a sexy-ass nurse… you think I… can pull her?” Ambush heard despite the whispering and let out a short, loud laugh.

“Mm, perhaps…” Seek responds in mild humor.

Chapter Text

Once Seek had gotten you to settle down and go to sleep, they let Ambush leave the infirmary for a bit. Whilst Seek stayed behind to keep an eye on you, Ambush quickly slipped out of the nurse’s uniform and ran off.

Soon enough, they found their target.

Banging angrily on the door, they roused a less-than-impressed looking Dupe.

“What?” they snapped angrily at the intrusion.

“Delete it” Ambush says with a similar tone.

“Delete what?” Dupe replies defensively.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Dupe! I saw you pass the infirmary, and I saw you take a picture of me. Now, delete it, destroy it, get rid of it!” Ambush angrily accuses.

“Now why would I do a thing like that?” Dupe responds coyly, leaning against the door frame, no longer denying that they had pictures.

“Because it’s- it’s undignifying! I was just trying to help a friend! And they wouldn’t settle without a ‘nurse’, so…” In your delirium, you thought the infirmary was a human hospital. You became rowdy and demanded to see a doctor, but Ambush couldn’t find a doctor’s uniform, only a nurse’s. It worked out in the end though.

“Yeah, but, do you know how many people would want to see something like this?” Dupe responds, the casual tone infuriating Ambush.

“No one in this hotel would want to see me like that!” Ambush angrily retorts.

“You don’t know that… but maybe I could sell these pictures to people in the outside world…” Dupe adds thoughtfully.

“No human would want to buy those images off you anyway, and I doubt you even have the mercantile skills to try and approach humans” Ambush tried to reason.

“Hmm, don’t be so sure of that… didn’t our resident human once say that some humans have ‘particular tastes’ and that they’d find the likes of creatures such as us attractive… imagine how much they’d give to see you dressed like that…” Ambush grimaced at the implications. Dupe wasn’t going to let up and Ambush had to do something to stop these images going into circulation.

“Fine, name your price” they say.

“Huh?” Dupe responds, almost like they were lost in thought, probably thinking of all the money they could get from supplying strange humans with strange images.

“I’ll buy your images off you if you don’t distribute them, so what is your price?”

The price is an IOU, and Ambush dreads the day Dupe comes to collect… but at least now no one will have to see what Ambush had to do.

Speaking of which, they probably have to get back to the infirmary, because unfortunately this nurse has an overnight shift…

…

…

…

Hide returns to the library shortly after Rush and Screech have finished cleaning, they’ve come to collect some new books to read in their spare time.

Whilst they are there, they overhear Figure speaking to Halt, who was helping Figure inspect whether or not the repairs were completed to a sufficient degree.

“To think those lot thought I have a secret stash of pornographic literature” Figure huffs out as they pace the center of the library. “Frankly, if it gets them reading, I’d have no objections to what they chose to read”

“I can think of a few reasons why they shouldn’t…” Halt responds as they continue their inspection. “What do you think those lot would do with the information they’d get from those, with their maturity levels and all…”

“Hmm, true…” Figure goes into thought for a few seconds. “It is a little strange in retrospect… I’ve never moved any of those kinds of books, so why isn’t there any around?”

“Perhaps it’s just a mystery” and with that, the two continue their work.

Their conversations reminded Hide of a time when they were rummaging the library for books similarly to how they are now. The only difference is back then Hide stumbled upon some… less than savory works. They read one and panicked and next thing they knew they were dragging all the stuff they could find and dumping it into a barrel in one of the many cellars. No one saw, well, Jack might have seen, but they never mentioned it.

They only ever read one! Honest! They just knew Screech would become far too dangerous if they beheld such a thing, so it had to go.

It was Hide. Hide had the secret adult literature stash.

Chapter Text

The room was dark when you woke up, so your first thought was ‘god damn Rush blew out the lights again’. Your second thought was ‘wait, why am I so low to the ground…?’ which promptly woke you up a lot more.

Now more aware, you realised that you were lying on a mattress in the middle of a long, narrow corridor. There was only one entity who thought these living conditions were ideal…

As if on cue, the signature blow glow of Halt descended upon you.

“Hey you, you’re finally awake” Halt says as they approach where you lie.

“What am I doing here?” you ask groggily, still feeling the lingering traces of sleep.

“You were moved into my care after spending some time in the infirmary” Halt stated as they floated past you, seemingly to tend to things further down the corridor.

“Why?” you ask.

“Because you stank, frankly, and it would have been an assault on Figure’s heightened senses to leave you in their vicinity. Do not fret, you’ll be returned to the library shortly” Halt called down the corridor.

“Yippee for me…” you mumble to yourself as you sink back down into the mattress.

Halt returns to you not long later, they have a plate with some water and vegetables as well as… a lemon? A very deformed looking lemon, but it didn’t look toxic or anything. Still edible. Halt presents you with the stuff for you to eat and drink.

“Rush has been growing new plants in the greenhouse. Jeff was very lucky to be able to procure viable samples for them” Halt explains after noticing your confusion at the new fruit. You take the plate from them and begin to eat slowly. You were absolutely ravenous, but you didn’t want to make yourself sick again. After you ate a bit, Halt spoke up again. “How much of the last few days do you remember?”

“I don’t know man… I think I had a weird fever dream…” Halt stared at you quizzically, so you decided to elaborate. “I thought I was in a hospital, like an actual hospital. And my mum was there, I think, she looked very… liquid?” you thought back for a bit. “Oh, there was this really cute nurse too!”

“A cute nurse?” Halt asked, sounding confused and a little concerned.

“Yeah, but she kind of looked like…” Ambush, she looked like Ambush. Ambush in a humanoid body with an hourglass figure and massive tits, really tight nurse’s uniform and long flowing hair tied up in a ponytail. Why can you remember that image so vividly? It feels cursed. “...I don’t remember actually…” you eventually lied.

“Hmm” Halt mumbles out. You don’t think they believe you, but they don’t press you for a description of the imaginary nurse. “Well, since you’ve been out, Screech has been staying in the library and they and Rush have been receiving punishment for their rampant destruction of said room. You’ve been missing out on said punishment as well as your own education”

“Huh, shame” you said, trying to sound genuine but Halt damn well knew you didn’t feel any remorse for your lost lessons.

“Yes… well, next time you find unattended food, you should know better than eat it and ruin your diet” Halt notices that you’ve stopped trying to eat now and takes the plate from you and puts it to the side somewhere.

“You sure ruining a restrictive diet did all this?” you quiz, you knew, in hindsight, that it was probably not your best move, but damn did it feel so good to eat random junk food once more. Not that you’re talking bad of Rush’s attempts to grow food for you, but all those potatoes…

“Well, we don’t know what was in them… but Figure has said that if there’s any more human food around they will make extra sure to check them carefully before giving them to you” you perk up at the notion of potentially getting to eat some more regular human food. “Don’t get your hopes up, you're not getting anything whilst you are still being detained for all the property damage and broken rules you have done” and your hopes deflate again.

“You're so stingy...” you grumble to yourself.

“Screech visited you a few times whilst you were out of it” Halt seems to be changing the subject to try and cheer you up again. “They left crying every time because ‘my partner in crime smells like a garbage fire’ as they kept saying” delicately put, but you expected no less from Screech. That said, they were probably right, you would be long overdue for some sort of top up of hygiene.

“I should probably go take a shower or something” you pipe up, wanting to get out of this dark corridor and back on your legs

“I’ve been taking care of your hygiene for you” Halt states factly as they help you up. The information has you jumping away from them and almost stumbling to the ground again, fortunately you catch yourself. You point accusingly at Halt.

“You’ve been looking at me naked?!” you yell out, throwing a nearby object at Halt. They simply sigh, not like they expected any better from you.

Chapter Text

Now that you were no longer ill with a mysterious affliction, you had been returned to your living quarters within the library. Figure was secretly relieved to be finally rid of Screech, and had many questions about how Halt was coping with the noisy little bugger. You were way quieter in comparison.

The downside for you personally is that now you were no longer medically exempt from punishment time, or free labour. Figure had you tidying up the library a bit, alone, not wanting to repeat the last incident caused when you were cleaning the library with another. Honestly though, couldn’t Figure do this themselves? It’s not like they’re doing much themselves anyway!

Once you had tidied to a sufficient extent, you were finally allowed to leave for recess a break.

You returned to the updog club room once more, to meet with the gang and plan your next endeavour. They were all there when you arrived, and despite trying to greet everyone as you normally would, you just couldn’t seem to bring yourself to meet Ambush’s gaze. The sentiment seemed to be shared, they seemed veeery awkward around you…

“Ah, my partner has returned from the war!” Screech announces dramatically. “Tell me, what tortures did you endure under the evil force of Halt?”

“It was terrible!” you say with a dramatic hand to the forehead. “They stripped me naked and waterboarded me for hours on end! It was a most unbearable torture!” Screech let out an exaggerated gasp.

“How terrible!” Screech comments, pretending to faint just after.

“It was! It was! But fret not! For it was the memory of my beloved-!” you grasp a hold of Screech's cheeks breathy “-and all my comrades that kept me going!” Rush lets out a half hearted woop and you're pretty sure Dupe said ‘yeah right’ or something but you ignored it. “And now we are reunited once more! It is time for us to plan our next adventure!” Screech cheers at that.

“Enough theatrics, what scheme are you two going to drag us into this time?” Ambush asks with an exhausted tone, though they still don’t meet your eye.

“Ever the optimist one aren’t you?” you say teasingly.

“Weeell… I was thinking, you know, we’ve been stuck in this hotel for so long, we deserve a taste of the outside world!” Screech says excitedly, bouncing about on the spot.

“How? It’s not like we can leave” Rush states.

“Screech said nothing about actually leaving” You point out.

“Yeah!” Screech quickly adds. “What I was thinking is, you know, Jeff can seemingly get a whole bunch of stuff in, so why don’t we get the kind of stuff to sym-e-late-”

“-Simulate” you correct quickly.

“-an outside world location!” Screech continues anyway. The others looked a little confused, but they didn’t seem turned off to the idea.

“What would we even create?” Ambush asked.

“Well, there’s an old human saying, ‘if the party can’t go to the beach… then the beach will come to the party!’” that saying doesn’t exist, just say it with enough confidence and they’ll believe it anyway.

“We’re going to have a beach day!” Screech adds happily, punching the air with a little tentacle. “I already call dibs on the first bikini we get!”

“That’s right! But first! We gotta make a shopping list for all the things we gonna need to buy off of Jeff, and it’ll be expensive… but…” at that, you threw a few mass bags of coins onto the table. Your life savings, because there are coins all over this place, of course you keep picking them up. “...I think I’ve got enough to cover it!” The total amount of coins you had in your possession was enough to make El Goblino weep. The others looked on in amazement at the sheer volume of coins you had collected.

“Ok… so we have the money to make this happen, there’s just one thing… I don’t think a certain trio will approve of us renovating a room into a beach” Ambush points out, which is a fair point, they always seemed to disapprove of your activities. No idea why, it’s not like turning something into a beach was going to be messy…

“Pfft, they can’t stop us!” Screech says dismissively, not helping Ambush with their concerns.

“Plus!” you quickly interject. “So long as we clean up after ourselves, they’ll have nothing to complain about!” you weren’t too sure how you would clean up a home made beach, but that was a problem for future you to sort out!

For now, you had a shopping list to create and a beach day to plan. You planned to make the most of it, and being of charitable spirit, you planned to invite along a whole bunch of people to spend a day at the beach.

Chapter Text

El Goblino could smell the sweet, delectable scent of gold from a mile away, the fragrance of wealth something they always craved and yet cruelly hardly ever obtained. At first, they thought it was their nose playing tricks on them, taunting them with the thing they very much desired. Soon enough, it was undeniable, the smell was very much real.

The door labelled 53 was kicked open from the other side, and there stood a familiar human accompanied by smiley and the little head. They came in dragging wheelbarrows with them, and Goblino could hardly believe their eyes when they saw the sheer volume of coins that they had with them.

“Jeff! We’ve come to make some orders!” Screech announced proudly. You whacked them on the back of the head.

“Not so loud! The library is right there” you say with a more moderate tone, pointing down the corridor towards where the double set of doors would be. “We don’t want Figure catching on to our plan!” The three of you walked up to Jeff’s counter, leaving a spluttering and gobsmacked Goblino to stare at the mounds of gold that you guys somehow had, and were apparently not going to share with them.

The shopkeeper got out a notebook and awkwardly picked up a pen, ready to write down the things that the three of you were after.

“Ok, first things first! We are gonna need some sand, like a lot of sand!” you say, doing a wide sweeping motion with one of your hands. “Think enough to fill a room, a large room!” Jeff jots something down on the paper. “Next we are going to need beachwear, literally anything you can get your hands-tentacles on! Screech really wants a bikini though, so if you can get at least one of those that’ll be great!” Screech let out a little ‘hell yeah!’ from beside you. “Then we are going to need logs for the bonfire, so it needs to be shipped in dry. After that we are going to need a tarp, a large one or multiple could work. Gotta cover the stuff up after all. Then… Do you guys have any ideas?”

“Oh, can we get some cocktail mixtures! I don’t like the hotel wine… and I wanna try some fruity alcohol!” Screech pipes up. Seek also gets mad when Screech drinks the wine because they always make a mess. No surprise there.

“No guarantees but if you can get that stuff Jeff that’ll be great!” you say. Letting Screech, and you to be fair, drink might be something called ‘irresponsible’ but who cares. “Anything else?”

“Those big umbrella thingies! So we can sit under them! And some surfboards!” Screech went on excitedly.

“I don’t think we can surf here” you point out.

“We can use them for decoration!” Screech says, defending their desire for a surfboard.

“Ok, surfboard it is. Rush, do you have anything you want?” you say, turning to the bigger entity.

“I want a sundress” Rush stated, you would have thought they were joking but the seriousness of the request made that an impossibility.

“You want… a sundress?” you ask slowly for clarification, the confusion evident.

“I wanna do that thing where you spin around and the skirt blows up” Rush says, equally as serious as the initial request.

“Ok… sundress it is!” you have to hit Screech to stop them from giggling at the fact that Rush wanted to wear a dress, I mean come on Screech, you wanted a bikini! “Anything else on the agenda?”

“We’ll probably need something beach themed for Hide to lurk in” Rush points out.

“Fair point, maybe a cooler of some description?” you ponder before addressing Jeff “Or just anything you can get your ha-tentacles on that could conceal Hide” Jeff nods, still writing down all the things you guys were requesting.

Once Jeff has finished writing, they look up at you waiting for you to continue.

“That should be all for now, if I think of anything else we’ll be back. Here is your prepayment!” With that, Rush lifted the wheelbarrows of gold over the counter and into the strange corridor that Jeff stood in. Jeff made little hearts with their eyes, pleased to have earned so much money. “Aaaand, here’s your invite!” you say, also handing over a piece of paper to Jeff, who looked inquisitively at the sheet. “If you haven’t guessed, we are planning a beach party! Bringing the beach to the party! Everyone’s invited! Well, except for a select few…” you turn around and give invites to El Goblino and Bob as well, receiving an invite to a beach party was apparently enough to stop the sulking fit the Goblino had been in the whole time you were ordering. “Now, I’ve got a few more invites to hand out, so I better get going before history with Figure starts” you deposit a few more coins with Jeff before grabbing a lockpick and the skeleton key off the table. “I’ll see you guys when I next see you!” you say before dashing off.

“I guess this means I have to return to Halt…” Screech mumbles, before adding even quieter “I hate textiles…” and floating away sadly.

Rush had an invite to hand out as well, so they sped off to deliver it to the recipient.

Chapter Text

You’d think that having history lessons about various historical entities and holy crusades would be interesting, and it was to some degree, but when Figure is the one giving the impassioned speech and scaving comments it began to drone on and on. You were sat by a desk, leaning into your palm, half asleep listening to Figure speak as they sat across from you. When they finally brought today's lecture to a close and released you from your studies.

“Maybe next time try to stay awake” Figure calls after you, with only a slight hint of annoyance, as you clumsily try to bolt from the library. Of course you couldn’t get a sneaky nap in.

You ran back to the Updog club room to continue your beach party plans as you waited for Screech to return.

Said tiny entity was not exactly having the time of their life either. Halt was, once again, trying to teach them a useful textile skill, to little result. Screech could barely sew two fabrics together, let alone neatly, but no matter how much they failed Halt refused to give up on them. They constantly tried to encourage Screech to try again, even if the small entity was already sobbing loudly. Let’s be honest, it was kind of a miracle that Screech finally got the two materials to join in a straight line. Halt let them go after that, because even though that was actually supposed to be the first thing on the lesson plan, it was such an achievement that they even made it that they deserved a break.

When Screech floated into the club room with a defeated air about them, you just knew that they had been massacred by the fabrics once more. You quickly decided to bring up the topic of the beach party, to try and raise their spirits once more.

“Ok, now that we are all here, I think we have some matters to discuss” the squad gathered round the table in the centre of the room, though Screech landed on it a lay about dramatically. “I was thinking about where exactly we should host this party and I’ve come up with the perfect solution!”

“Sure you have” Dupe queried snarkily.

“Does it involve us not getting in trouble with a certain triad?” Ambush added.

“Yes and maybe” you respond, pointing to each entity when you give their respective answer. Ambush didn’t look pleased with their answer, but didn’t vocalise any other protest. “Well, I was thinking, which room would give us enough space to allow us to simulate a nice little beach as well as be easy to clean up after and I came to only one conclusion…” you pause for dramatic effect. “...there is none, which is why we aren’t doing it in any of the hotel rooms” the entities around you looked confused, and Screech rolled onto their front so that they could face you.

“B-but where are we gonna party then?” your little buddy asks.

“It’s easy, we’re gonna do this in the courtyard!” you throw down a whole bunch of ‘blueprints’ that you had made onto the table, detailing your grand designs for this beach party. “Now, to answer so of the obvious questions; I’ve got a whole lot of tarp coming so we can shelter from the rain whilst maintaining a nice outdoorsy vibe, the rain will (hopefully) wash away a lot of the dirt and we can blow a hole in the soil so we can make a nice deep ‘ocean’ for us to swim in!”

“But-” Ambush began.

“-Yes, I know!” you quickly interrupt. “You’re about to say ‘but old man Seek wouldn’t like us blowing holes in the courtyard’, well to that I say, ‘what they don’t know can’t hurt them’. In other words, I am making another order from Jeff for soil, grass samples and paving so we can quickly fill it in afterwards, we’re leaving no evidence behind this time!” you pause again, before adding “plus, I think I’m getting an ungodly amount of tarp off Jeff, so I can use some of it to help keep the mess under control”

“You really thought this one through, huh?” Dupe says.

“Hell yeah, we’re gonna have fun and the triad will be none the wiser!”

“I like it!” Screech exclaims, the plans coming together seemingly restoring their lost energy.

“Oh yeah, attendees” grab a pen and start scribbling on the blueprints. “Clearly we’re all going…” you write your name, Screech, Hide, Dupe, Rush and Ambush down under a header that says ‘attending’. “I asked the triple A games if they’re coming, and wouldn’t you know it, I was able to convince all three to come! 90 took a bit of work, but I said they should be able to have a quiet corner to themselves. 60 and 120 agreed almost immediately!” you add A-60, A-90 and A-120 to the attending list. You turn to the others. “What’s the word on the other invitees?”

“Well, Jeff and Goblino are coming” Rush states, you add their names. “And when I asked, Eyes gave me a solid maybe” you add Eyes’ name to the list, but stick a question mark next to it.

There’s a small bang on the closet nearest to you, and a small note falls out. You pick it up and it reads ‘Timothy and Jack have said they’ll come’, so you add their names to the list.

“Thanks Hide!” you quickly chime, looking over your very expansive list of potential partygoers. This was going to be the biggest party this hotel had ever seen!...Providing nothing goes wrong of course, and by going wrong you mean the party gets discovered by law enforcement. Thinking about the law enforcement, you added a new list which was titled ‘not invited :(‘ and added Seek, Halt and Figure to that list.

“Is that everyone?” Ambush asks, staring at the long list of names.

“Yep!” you say as you clap your hands together. “And once we get all the stuff together, we can set a proper date and get building! For now, everyone needs to act natural, we don’t need the triad finding out about the party before we can even do it!”

After a little more discussion, you all went your separate ways, after all, you and Screech still have curfews to obey. Hopefully Figure reading you history will knock you right out when it comes to bed time.

Chapter Text

Finding an opportunity to start the construction of your makeshift beach was difficult, but not impossible, what with both you and Screech being forced to follow a strict curfew. Today, it just so happened that you were able to finish the assigned tasks that Figure had given you in record speeds, so you assembled Rush and Ambush in the courtyard. Unfortunately, Screech could not aid in the construction efforts, as they had lessons today. Not with Halt, no, it was worse, Seek was mentoring them today, and you damn well knew your buddy was never going to make it out alive (mentally).

“Alright!” you announce to the two of them with a clap of your hands. “We’ve got all the stuff here, so first things first, let's get a load of tarp to cover the area whilst we work!”

Setting up the tarp took longer than the three of you wanted, considering how slippery the area was and how you wanted to angle the tarp so the water would slide off in certain areas (you know, to fill the ocean up with, and to add water features). It got done eventually, even if Ambush complained the entire time.

“Ok, I think the next big question is this: how did you intend to get a deep enough pool for the ocean?” Ambush asked, still huffing a bit from all the effort of setting up the tarp.

“Well, we could just dig up the grass and paving…” you said thoughtfully as you rummaged through some of your stuff, before you pulled something out and held it into the air. “...or we could use this dynamite Jeff got me!” you announce way too cheerily.

“Why on earth do you have dynamite?!” Ambush screamed at you, not bothering to silence themselves from potential eavesdroppers. Rush took it out of your hands and walked away, presumably not trusting it to you either.

“To build the pool with! What did I just say!” you reply defensively.

“That’ll cause so much damage though! And someone might hear!” Ambush counters.

“They’ll just think it is thunder!” you return, crossing your arms in a huff.

“No they-” BOOM! Ambush didn’t even finish their sentence when the explosion rippled through the courtyard, causing you both to instinctively duck whilst little bits of debris fell down. When the dirt shower ended, you both straightened up and turned to the source.

Across the width of the courtyard stood Rush, having set up and triggered the dynamite whilst you and Ambush bickered. They were facing the crater for a second before turning round to face you and Ambush. Ambush pointed at them with one hand, mouth hung agasp. You just stood there poker faced.

“Pools ready” Rush states simply.

You and Ambush stand there a few seconds longer before you clap your hands together and exclaim “excellent!” before quickly moving to place tiles and stuff in the hole so it would hold water better. Ambush cursed a bit under their breath, but helped out anyway.

Spreading the sand was another tedious task, but you got it done. Ambush even made a few sandcastles along the way, for decorations of course, they weren’t slacking off and leaving you and Rush to do all the heavy lifting.

By the end of the decorating and construction works, you were really impressed with how much of the beach aesthetic you guys were able to capture.

“This looks amazing guys! We really did a good job!” you exclaim, slapping both Rush and Ambush on the back.

“So, when do we throw this party?” Rush asks.

“As soon as possible! We don’t want the triad getting wind of this!” you state.

“So… should we do it as soon as Screech is out of their lesson?” Ambush inquires.

“Yes!” you state, barely able to stand still in excitement. “Ok, I’ll tell Triple A’s that this thing is on! You guys tell the others!” you think for a second. “One of you ask Hide to inform Screech that this thing is on!” Hide would be the only one who could possibly slip that information undetected to the tiny entity whilst they are under Seek observation after all.

Ambush agreed to speak to Hide and headed off into the hotel. Rush went into the greenhouse, presumably to check if Eyes was there and actually going to come. You head off back to room 60.

…

…

“Screech! It is important you pay attention!” Seek scolded the small entity for choosing to fiddle with their tentacles over learning something actually useful. Screech, for their part, was the epitome of misery.

“But… It's boring!” they cry out, tears staining the notes they had spent so long writing

“Well, maybe if you proved you could learn something this would be over soon. Now…” and then Seek returned to trying to teach Screech the benefits of managing your finances.

Whilst their attention was diverted, Hide slipped two notes to Screech. The first one filled Screech with joy, and brought them back from the brink of death. The party was on! How exciting! The second one was… very confusing, but they went along with it.

“Er, Seek?” Screech calls out, stopping the lecture. “I-I have been paying attention! I’ve been learning lots of things! I’ve learnt…” Screech squinted down at the note that Hide had given them.”...That ‘compound interest' means that you earn interest on your savings, and eventually on the interest that those savings earn. The earlier you begin to save, the more compound interest you’ll earn! So you’ll have more money!” Screech says proudly. And they have every right to be proud, for the look on Seek was one of disbelief. Had Screech really been paying attention to something they had been trying to teach them? It couldn’t be… “So, can I go hang out with my friends now?” they ask hopefully. Seek doesn’t answer immediately, still processing what just happened.

“I… suppose so…” they eventually relent.

“Yippee!” Screech exclaims before bolting out the door.

Chapter Text

The stage was set, the beach was made, everything was ready! There were standing torches across the sand for both lighting and heating purposes. Jeff had built themselves a little… cave? To sell cocktails and stuff out of. There were deckchairs, beach umbrellas, surfboards, rock features, inflatable palm trees (couldn’t get real ones), beach towels, and so much more! You could almost believe it was a real beach. The piece de resistance of the whole thing was the ocean! It came out so well, filled with little shells and seaweed (probably grass tbh) to make it look more authentic.

The only thing left was to get the party attendees into their outfits.

“Ok, Screech, because you wanted something particular, you can go first!” you announce, gesturing to a large beach tent behind you. There was a box inside it filled with all manner of clothing that you could find people wearing at the beach.

“Hell yeah!” Screech exclaimed before diving into the tent. You sealed it behind them to give them privacy. Not even thirty seconds later and they were emerging bikini’d up.

“How do I look!” Screech calls excitedly. They were wearing a bright red bikini, a simple thing really, but Screech doesn’t have a body so… the chest piece was on top of their head and the bottom piece was worn against their cheek. The other entities stood in confusion.

“You look hot” you say, smacking them on their back as they pass by. “Right, Rush, you also had a special request, so you go next!”

Rush entered the tent and sealed it themselves. They took longer than Screech to get changed but were soon emerging wearing an absolutely beautiful, flowy white sundress. They also had a simple woven sun hat on top of their head to compliment the dress. They really thought about their outfit, huh?

“I feel pretty,” Rush states, swaying side to side as they inspect the skirt.

“Don’t” both Dupe and Ambush say almost immediately. Rush glares daggers at them for a second.

“Well, give us a twirl Rush!” you exclaim. Rush complied, and as they envisioned the skirt blew up in the air from the speed and motion, all very majestic, like in the movies…

“Aaaa, Rush, stop! We don’t wanna see that thing!” screams Ambush, cowering their face, ruining the moment. Moving on. Wait, was that a camera click? You stared at Dupe suspiciously but they just shrugged.

Both Ambush and Dupe decided to do a shorts and shirt combo, because they’re very boring, and Ambush mumbled something about ‘not wanting to repeat that traumatic incident’, but you have no idea what they could possibly mean.

You found out that Hide was already in their outfit, because it was also doubling as their little safe space. They were hiding out in one of those deep sea diving suits that had been propped up by the ocean's edge, which kudos to Jeff for coming up with an inventive way of enabling Hide to be both present and in a themed costume.

Eyes actually did come, surprisingly. You offered them the box of clothes in the tent but they declined you, saying “Jeff provided me adequate wear”. When you asked to see them, it turned out eyes had been provided with a dozen pairs of sunglasses. You helped them put them all on, and Eyes finally relented on the clothes a bit, allowing you to also put a sunhat on top of them.

Timothy had the world's tiniest sun hat on, because that’s all that they could get. How sad.

Jeff was wearing one of those flower necklaces around their neck, you think, it was just below their eyes after all. They had a bar counter just outside their beach shop so that they could mix drinks and sell some other stuff.

El Goblino was sitting at a table under a beach umbrella just outside of Jeff’s beach shop. Goblino’s usual pants had been changed out for swimming shorts that had some floral patterning on them. They too had a flower necklace on. For whatever reason, the ‘Bob’ skeleton had been brought with them and was wearing a similar outfit to Goblino, who was remarking how cool it was that they chose to wear the same things.

Jack was loitering with Hide, although Jack was actually in the water already, wearing a black one piece swimming suit. They wanted a bikini too, but Jeff claims they were only able to procure one, which Screech had already laid claim to.

The Triple A Games were already busy doing their own thing.

A-60 is currently wearing shorts and a tank top and has tasked themselves with building the biggest bonfire known to man. You pointed out that they would have to do it in a spot which wasn’t covered by the tarp, which meant there would be rain, but all they said to that was “you think that can stop me?” and they proceeded to start building. The rain hasn’t stopped them, the fire is slowly getting bigger.

A-90 is wearing… a book? On their face? You’re not sure what they’re wearing actually, they’re buried in the sand in a quiet corner with only their face sticking out, which has a book on top. You think they might be napping.

A-120 is wearing a hula skirt, because sure??? They seem very happy to be doing slow dances around A-60’s bonfire, even if their steps are loud and echoing.

Glitch is also here, you secretly invited them also. They refused to wear an outfit and won’t leave the corner furthest from the other entities, but you’ve promised to bring them cocktails and other bits they might want.

“Right, my turn!” you announce, running into the tent and sealing yourself inside. A bit of shaking and fumbling and you were finally able to emerge. “How do I look?” you say as you dramatically open the front of the tent.

You're wearing a wetsuit, it's quite tight around the body, but it covers you from the neck all the way down. You even have some flippers on your feet, not that you’d need them to swim, it’s all for the style points. Hence the snorkel as well.

“Sexy as hell!” Screech exclaims, smacking your ass as you pass them.

“Thank you! I’ve been waiting for you to notice!” you respond, high fiving the tiny entity. Rush, Ambush and Dupe just look a little exasperated by the two of you. You turn to them. “Well guys, what’s the first thing you want to try?”

Chapter Text

“What’s that for?” Ambush asks, gesturing over to a large netting that had been set up.

“That’s a volleyball net Ambush” you state, you can see the next question Ambush is about to pose immediately, so you quickly continue. “Volleyball is a sport where two teams try to keep a ball in the air, scoring a point every time it falls to the floor on the side of the other team”

“Huh. Should we give it a go?” Ambush asks whilst staring thoughtfully at the strange feature.

“Unfortunately, Jeff didn’t get any-”

“I volunteer my services!” Screech exclaims excitedly before you even finish mentioning the lack of an actual volleyball.

“Oh, fair enough… Hey, here’s an idea! Why don’t we call over A-60 and A-120 and have a little rooms versus hotel action out here!” you suggest, it would be fun to pit them against Rush and Ambush… and also the speed of which A-60 is defying all known laws of chemistry is a little concerning, even for you.

“Sounds great! You better not let me down ‘bush” Rush says with a wide grin, swishing the skirt dramatically as they did.

“Pfft, as if I’m the one who is going to be the let down” Ambush counters. Ah, a little friendly trash talking, if only they were on opposite teams.

Well, you were able to convince A-60 to stop fueling their fire and A-120 to stop slowly hula dancing around said fire. You also asked Jack if they would commentate this match, which they agreed to.

“Screeches and gentlemen! Humans and monsters! Welcome to the first ever official volleyball tournament!” The crowd goes absolutely wild at Jack’s announcement; Timothy and Goblino are yelling as loudly as they can, Dupe is very half-heartedly clapping and you think A-90 lifted the book off their eyes for a second, before going back to ignoring the commotion. So not necessarily wild, but you can pretend. “In the blue corner we have our home team: the Hotel Hellraisers!” With that, Rush and Ambush stepped before the cheering crowd. “And in the red corner we have the away team: the Rooms Rumblers!” and forth come A-60 and A-120. “Please, may the contender take their places!”

With that announcement, the four entities take positions around the net. They had all been given a basic rundown in what to do for volleyball, not that anyone was actually going to enforce those rules properly. It was basically going to be a free for all deathmatch as far as you were concerned. You hold onto Screech, ready to release them into the arena to be tossed like a salad.

“Ok, since the hotel hellraisers are the home team, they get the first hit!” Jack announces. The A’s had protested this rule, saying it gave them an unfair advantage, buuuuut… no one cared. You walked forwards and handed Screech over to Rush.

“Please return them unharmed” you say sincerely, though Rush just lets out a short, snorting laugh at the request. You return to the sidelines.

“All right, play ball!” Jack announces, leaving Screech’s fate in the hands of the four competing entities.

Of course, Rush served with a very powerful hit, hurtling Screech fast enough to nearly shatter the sound barrier, impossible for anyone to counter… anyone other than A-60 that is. They dove over to where Screech would have landed and was able to throw them back straight back into the air. Then, as they came back down, A-120 jumped up and hit them back across the net. Ambush yelped at the sudden Screech flying towards their face, but they were just about able to throw him back at the Rooms Rumblers. This was followed by a lot of back and forth action, until Rush and Ambush accidentally collided into each other trying to get to Screech, who flopped to the floor dramatically, at least in your eyes.

“That’s a point to the Rooms Rumblers!” Jack announces as the crowd cheers wildly, loud enough to cover the bickering of Rush and Ambush, who were currently trying to decide whose fault it was.

Screech floats over to A-120 so that they can serve the next set.

Whilst the second round was ongoing, El Goblino came round the audience with cocktails courtesy of Jeff, who apparently mixed them himself. Damn was Jeff good at cocktails… maybe if college doesn’t pan out they can become a mixologist. The alcohol kind of hit hard, and you wondered what they used for these cocktails, or maybe you haven’t drunk enough before.

The second set was won by the Hotel Hellraisers, though it may have been a flook. Whilst taking another hit of the ball Screech, Rush’s sun dress fell down slightly, and A-60 reacted to the tit slip like they had just been stunned by a flashbang, screaming out in pain and disgust and collapsing to the floor like they had been shot. A-120 was completely unfazed by the accidental flashing, but still failed to stop Screech from falling to the floor.

“Are tit slips an illegal move? Who cares! Point to the Hotel Helllraisers!” Jack announces, updating the scoreboard. The crowd cheers again, the cheering gets louder when Rush fixes the dress. No one wants to see your tits Rush… wait! Was there a camera flash during that? You look in the direction you think it came from but all you can see is Dupe sipping on their cocktail… it was probably your imagination.

The next set was going to decide the winner.

Screech looked exhausted, but not hurt, surprising considering how much they got thrown around. They were still ready to go, and floated over to Ambush to serve.

The final set was a real nail-biter, neither side wanted to lose dignity by losing to the other side, well, mostly Rush and A-60, being the most competitive of their respective sides. The speed at which Screech was being thrown across the net… you could barely even see them! They were like a little blur! You gave up trying to follow the movements, instead just staring head on at the pitch, waiting to see who would mess up first. It was a grudge match between A-60 and Rush at this point, Ambush and A-120 left the pitch to go grab some cocktails by Jeff’s bar (they were both now hula dancing whilst drinking).

Eventually, both A-60 and Rush hit Screech at the near exact moment, the equal force on both sides sending the tiny entity hurtling straight into the sky with a deafening “WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” Both Rush and A-60 freeze, staring up at the tiny entity they could no longer see.

“Are they… are they going to come back down anytime soon…?” Jack inquired from the sidelines.

Five minutes later and everyone is sitting around drinking their own cocktails and chatting when Screech finally returns to earth. They land in the ocean, making a mighty splash before floating to the top. You run over with Jack to check that the little guy is ok.

“That… was… awesome! Can we do that again!” Screech exclaims, splashing about happily in the water.

“Er, well, I guess considering Screech landed outside of the pitch, we can just call this a draw” Jack says, the audience, who were now more engrossed in their cocktails, gave half hearted cheers before heading off to find something else to do.

“Next time, Rush. Next time” A-60 says in a mock-threatening tone, before chucking the rest of their cocktail on the bonfire and resuming their task.

“Next time I’ll beat your ass!” Rush snaps back before storming over to Jeff’s bar to grab another drink. A grudge match for another day, perhaps. You shrug to yourself before returning your attention to Screech.

“So, my little buddy, anything else you wanna try?”

Chapter Text

“Let’s go for a swim together!” Screech announces happily, splashing their way over to the edge of the ocean where you were standing. They reach out with two little tentacles and grab you by the ankles and yank hard. You slipped forwards as a result.

“Ack!” was the only strangled noise you were able to make before your head, and rest of you, was plunged under the surface. You flailed about a bit under the water, having not needed to swim in a while, but it came back to you quick enough for you to breach the surface once more and cling to the edge. You splutter out as much of the water as you can. “S-s-so c-c-cold” you stammer out, body shivering heavily. You knew it would be cold, it was rain water after all, you just didn’t expect it to be that cold. How Screech is fine in this you’ll never know.

“Hey! Get back here!” Screech exclaims as you clamber out of the water and sit by the standing torch that was near the water's edge. That’s one of the main reasons you had standing torches all over this beach, the inability to heat the water. You stare at A-60’s bonfire, which is once again increasing in size, and wonder if they have a way to heat the ocean water a lil.

The answer to that is yes, not that A-60 is going to spill that secret. They got A-120 to assist them in installing a ‘heating system’ by holding a tube of some kind whilst A-60 dived into the water to do something. You wanted to watch, but apparently only A-120 was allowed to watch. A-120 bent over to stare at what A-60 was doing, and you noticed their skirt ride up a fair bit because of the bending. You were about to mention it when you could have sworn a flash went off, but when you turned around the only person around was Dupe, who was sipping a new cocktail. Maybe these flashes are just lightning…

Well, A-60 emerged again and said the pool should be warmer now, before they and A-120 returned to their bonfire activities.

You dipped your toe into the water and were so relieved that it was neither freezing or boiling hot, it was more akin to a nice lukewarm bath. Perfect for a swim.

“Canonbaaaaall!” Screech screams, jumping straight back in before you were able to even give your verdict. You shrug, put the snorkel goggles over your eyes and jump in with them. It might be nice to check out the decorations at the bottom of the water.

There’s a bunch of rounded, painted pebbles and grass, meant to resemble seaweed and a coral reef. Something you were surprised to see at the bottom of the ocean was a whole bunch of snares, or maybe you could call them sea urchins for this endeavour. When you approached one, instead of shooting out spikes like it would for intruders it blew out a whole bunch of bubbles. How cute! Screech got enamoured by the prospect of getting all the snares to blow bubbles at the same time. You had to return to the surface in the meantime.

You emerge right next to the deep sea diving suit that Hide is apparently in.

“Hey Hide, wanna go diving with me and Screech?” you ask. Of course, there is no verbal response. Although you do get quite the surprise when the suit sudding slips off the edge and into the water. Guess that’s a yes. “Hell yeah!” you exclaim before diving in after them.

Hide just stands around, presumably enjoying the aquatic world that has been constructed, or enjoying Screech’s futile efforts to get all the snares to blow bubbles at once. You could help them… but it is fun to watch them get so frustrated over it.

You swim around some more, enjoying the activity you have not been able to do for so long now. Maybe you could convince Seek the benefits of letting you build the hotel a more permanent swimming pool… nah, Seek would never agree, they live to kill fun as far as you are concerned.

Jack eventually joins the three of you on your dive, they too enjoy Screech’s futile efforts of triggering all the snares at once, but they at the very least decide to help them in the attempt.

You leave the three of them to it, holding your breath under water is getting tiring, and you wanna see what other people are up to.

The only thing really on your personal to-do list is to do shots with Glitch at some point, but you were planning to do that when most of the others had left, so Glitch would be more comfortable.

Maybe you could see what Eyes or A-90 were up to, you don’t get to hang with them very often.

Chapter Text

You approach where Eyes is mingling, adjacent to Jeff’s bar, adorned with a sunhat and many pairs of sunglasses. They are reading silently in spite of all the commotion going on around them.

“Hey Eyes!” you call out as you get near, you think they turn an eye or two to look at you, but it’s hard to tell behind the glasses. “You up to much?”

“We are reading” they reply, before their full attention is turned back to the book.

“Don’t you want to try out some of the beach activities we had prepared?” you ask.

“No” their attention doesn’t even shift to you this time.

“Then… Why did you even come? No offence” It perplexed you a little, not that you weren’t glad they came.

“We appreciate the change of scenery provided” Ah, makes sense, but still! It would be nice if they didn’t spend their time at the beach doing what you assumed they did on the day to day anyway.

“Well, why don’t you…” you looked around to see if there was something that you might be able to coax them into doing. There might be one thing. “...have a chat with A-90! They seem to like some peace, and I think they’re reading too! You could discuss, or something” You point over in A-90’s direction and Eyes’ attention follows to where you are pointing. As far as Eyes was concerned, A-90 was using the book as a face cover rather than actually reading in, but when Eyes looked back at you, you looked so excited at the prospect of getting them to engage with another. They might as well entertain you. At least the entity you were insisting they talked to was in a quiet area.

With a sigh, Eyes vanished, immediately popping up next to where A-90 was lying buried. You jumped slightly at Eyes’ sudden disappearance, and had to quickly jog over to where they and A-90 were.

“Excuse me” Eyes says, sounding a bit awkward. A corner of the book is lifted slightly, revealing one of A-90’s eyes. Being caught in their gaze… gave you an almost instinctual desire to not move a muscle and it took a lot of effort to fight it, to remind yourself that A-90 was going to attack or anything. You looked to Eyes and could tell that they noticed something off, a strange almost unshakable desire to not move. They were still able to speak up regardless. “We believe you are A-90? Our mutual acquaintance thinks it beneficial that we speak”

“What for?” A-90 asks, yet to unbury themselves.

“I just thought you guys might have some similar interests, or woes! People love complaining!” you respond with a shrug.

“Unless you’re here to complain about A-60’s shouting or A-120’s racket, I believe we do not share much to talk about” A-90 states. You can hear A-60 shouting something about ‘MORE!’ but can’t quite make it out, and A-120 isn’t really up to anything, they’re still doing slow hula dances, but their footfall…

“Ah, we understand, Rush and Ambush can be equally as unpleasant on the hearing” Eyes responds. Rush is getting quite rowdy by the bar, probably had a few too many drinks, judging by how much has been spilt down their sundress. Ambush is having a go at Dupe about something, but you can’t quite make it out, something about ‘pictures’, ‘dress’ and ‘had to do it!’ but you missed most of the details and couldn't be bothered to think about it.

“Are they… always that noisy?” A-90 asks, gaze slowly scanning over the beach.

“Unfortunately, yes, Ambush has a habit of not being quiet and Rush likes to travel fast enough to break sound barriers… and glass, and doors” Eyes explains with a bit of a vexed sigh. Rush claims they can be quiet, but that has yet to be seen.

“A-60 and A-120 like to break open doors rather than open them normally too…” A-90 says with an equally vexed sigh.

Their discussion soon devolved to complaining about the sound pollution generated by those around them, because as you said, people love to complain. At least you were able to get them to do something other than their usual activities, even if it wasn’t very beach party.

With A-90’s attention more on Eyes than you, the sense of being compelled to stay still lessened enough for you to slip away quietly. It’s nice that you were able to unite two introverts together, even if the odds of them actually hanging around with each other ever again was slim to none. Oh well, at least you tried.

Thinking on introverts, it’s about time you do some shots with Glitch!

You quickly ran over to them to see if they had any drink preferences before returning to Jeff’s bar to get the drinks and shot glasses. You, El Goblino and Timothy watched in amazement at the skill and finesse that Jeff was about to prepare them with, like seriously, where did Jeff learn to do that stuff?

Anyway, shot time!

Chapter Text

It was quiet. Too quiet. Seek knew that something was amiss. They had eyes in many corners of the hotel but they could see absolutely nobody. It wasn’t just the usual suspects who had gone missing: Jack was gone, Eyes was gone, even Jeff and El Goblino had disappeared. Something had to be up, something Seek had yet to be made aware of.

Seek’s concerns mounted two fold when they decided to check the ledger that Jeff keeps of their finances, it includes the things they have sold and notes on special orders they need to fulfil. Due to… certain resident’s, Seek has to check it at least once a week for suspicious purchases. It’s fair to say when Seek saw just how much sand had been ordered by you, Screech and Rush (as well as some other questionable things) they were less than impressed, and all the more concerned by the sudden disappearance of every resident barring themselves, Figure and Halt.

They met up with the other two to show them Jeff’s ledger and they agreed that there was absolutely no good reason for the three of you to order those things, I mean, come on! Dynamite? What good could come of you having explosives in your possession.

The three of them split up to go search for where the damage was at, because they just knew that you’ve probably damaged something or another with your antics. Halt was going to search around the earlier rooms, Figure in the middle rooms and Seek was going to take the later ones.

The search was bearing Seek no fruit until they began to get close to the courtyard where they heard something strange…

Music, they heard music. Usually the rain in the courtyard was so loud and oppressive that you could barely hear anything else, but there definitely was music coming from the courtyard. Seek pulled themselves out of the seams of the hotel and walked over to the entrance of the courtyard, each step bringing them closer to the noise. They pushed open the metal gate and entered.

Seek was definitely not prepared to see what they saw.

It wasn’t even a courtyard anymore! There was sand everywhere! And a pool! And a load of useless and tacky decor lying around!

Everyone who was missing was suddenly accounted for, from the usual suspects to even entity’s Seek would not have thought would stoop to this kind of behaviour. There were also… some faces Seek didn’t recognise at all; a pair around a dangerously large bonfire, there seemed to be someone talking to Eyes (though Seek couldn’t get a good look at them) and there was a purple humanoid standing off to the side somewhere. Despite not knowing who the humanoid was, that shade of purple looked strangely familiar though…

“What is going on here!” Seek angrily shouts. Someone abruptly cuts off the music and there is a sudden tension in the area as everyone freezes what they are doing. “What have you all done to the courtyard!” Seek’s rage is evident and terrifying to most. “Who are you people!” Seek shouts at the newcomers. When they gestured to the purple humanoid there was a flash of purple light and they were gone! The sight of that… made Seek’s rage mount, they’re not sure why it makes them so angry, but it felt familiar too…

“Seek!” you scream, catching the glare of the entity again. They see you are holding a try full of shot glasses, filled with what Seek could only assume was alcohol. Something you weren’t permitted with your state of detainment. “You scared Glitch off! We were going to do shots together!” You throw the tray to the ground angrily, the tiny glasses shattering on impact. If this ‘Glitch’ was going to endorse you drinking alcohol, then Seek considers chasing them off as a win.

“This was your doing, wasn’t it?” Seek seethes, taking stalking steps towards you. You don’t back down from where you are standing, it might be bravery, or it might be intoxication.

“Yeah it was!” you declare proudly, which doesn’t help Seek’s mood. “None of these guys get to leave the building so I bought a piece of the outside inside!” You gesture with outstretched arms at all your work.

“And you trashed the courtyard in the process!” Seek growls out, getting dangerously close to you, but you still don’t back down.

“No one liked the courtyard anyway!” you say, as if that would be an excuse that Seek would accept. “I jazzed it up and made it a place people would actually want to be!”

“You went behind my back to do this! You knew this wouldn’t be approved!” Seek was now right in front of you, standing tall over you, and it was at that moment that it hit you just how screwed you were. Seek could tell, by the way you finally began to shrink away from them.

“Yeah, well, you never let us have our fun…” you mumble out, brain whirling for an escape. You had an idea of how to fix this, but first you had to escape and evade Seek. All the others in the courtyard were watching the two of you intently, they were waiting for the sign to bail and you had to give it. There was only one way you were going to get away from Seek when they were within reaching distance of you. You could see their fingers twitching in rage, any second now they were going to grab you and drag you off to who knows where, unless…

“A-90! Attack!” you screamed, turning around and ducking out of the way, closing your eyes just in case.

Sand exploded off to the side, which drew Seek's attention. One of the unfamiliar entities appeared out of the sand and within seconds was in front of Seek’s face. Suddenly, Seek found themselves with the overwhelming urge to not move a single inch, despite how much they willed themselves to.

“Sorry…” the newcomer mumbled as they maintained eye contact with Seek.

“Everyone, run!” you scream, you didn’t have to tell them twice. Some disappeared, some ran out the courtyard, but soon enough the only people left in the courtyard were Seek and A-90.

…

You, Screech, Rush, Ambush, Dupe, A-60 and A-120 all assembled in a small room a distance away to discuss matters. Ambush was mad that, once again, you were getting them in trouble. A-60 and A-120 were trying to figure out directions back to the rooms. Dupe was still sipping a cocktail. Rush started vomiting, running after drinking so much was probably not a good idea. You were trying to console Screech who was having a breakdown over all the new torture they might endure because of this. You could tell them your plan for resolving this situation once they were ok.

…

“You know they are using you, right?” Seek asked, the benefits of not having a mouth is that you can talk without any movements occurring.

“Yeah, I know…” A-90 mumbled, seeming a little disappointed by the fact.

“They left you behind just so that they could get away and avoid the consequences themselves, that is not right nor is it fair on you” Seek pressed, seeing the indecision playing on their face.

“...” A-90 felt conflicted.

“Why help them if they only want to help themselves? What plan do you think they have to come back for you?”

“...” A-90 hated always tidying up after others and bailing them out, usually it’s just A-60 and A-120 needing Curious to be distracted…

“Surely you can see the mess they’ve caused for what it is!”

“...” A-90 wished A-60 and A-120 wouldn’t kick down so many doors…

“If you help me instead, then we can settle this properly, with the offending parties being properly punished for their actions.

“...” A-90 didn’t say anything, but Seek felt the desire to remain motionless wane slightly, and they eventually altogether. They could finally move their body again. “...Fine…” A-90 eventually grumbled, turning away from Seek slightly.

“Thank you” Seek said, it never felt better to stretch out their limbs. “We should get moving” The two of them left the courtyard in search of the troublemakers who keep causing problems on purpose. Seek’s a powerful entity, and if A-90’s effect could work on them… it should be so much easier for Seek to round up the offending party with them at their side.

Chapter Text

A note fell out of a nearby closet and it happened to catch your attention as it fell to the ground. Screech was still panicking a little, but you could afford to stop consoling them for a few seconds as you scooped up the note to read it.

“No way!” you cry in shock as you read the missive from the unseen entity.

“What is it now?” Ambush asks, already expecting the worst. They would be right to.

“Hide says A-90 has betrayed us!” there is a small gasp from A-120 and you think you hear A-60 grumble something. “Seek somehow convinced them to join their side instead!”

“How?” exclaims Screech.

“I don’t know, maybe Seek rolled for speech to rizz up A-90?” you say, hoping to ease the tension but pause for a bit before continuing “Actually, no time for jokes, this is bad! If A-90 is helping the unholy triad…”

“The unholy triad has become an unholy quadrad…” Screech whispers to themselves, but everyone hears the statement and just stares at Screech in shock.

“Screech…!” you gasp, causing the tiny entity to look up at you in confusion. “You just used ‘quadrad’ in the right context, and you even said it right…!” You quickly crotch down to the level they are floating at and grab them by the sides of their head. “Who hurt you like this?”

“I… don’t know…” Screech murmurs, looking sadly to the floor. They actually learnt something… heartbreaking.

“Hey!” Ambush calls out, regaining your attention. “Back to the matter at hand, how on earth do you propose we get out of this one?!” Ambush had every right to be afraid, they had watched you and Screech be confined to a near indefinite punishment, and if they get caught and punished for this, it could be them next.

“I have a plan!” you declare. “I know A-90’s betrayal will complicate matters-”

“Bit of an understatement” A-60 cuts in.

“-But I still think my plan will work! So, gather around!” the group did so, not that they had much of a choice. “Right, so back at the beach, I left all the materials we would require to turn that beach back into a courtyard, yeah?” various members of the group slowly nod in agreement. “Well, firstly, I think we can use that as proof to the unholy tri-quadrad that we definitely did intend to clean up after ourselves!”

“You think Seek would even consider letting this slide based on that alone?” Dupe asks.

“No, I wouldn’t credit them with that kind of leniency…” you grumble bitterly. “...But! The genius of this plan is this: Seek can’t punish… what doesn’t exist!” you announce, giving some dramatic waves of the hands to emphasise the point.

“I don’t follow,” Rush grumbles.

“That’s because you’re hung over,” you click your fingers as you point at Rush “but I’ll explain anyway” you turn back to the rest of the group. “I believe that if we turn the beach back into a courtyard before all of us get caught, then we can absolve ourselves of the ‘crime’ committed, or at the very least we can argue our point about us planning to tidy up after ourselves. Seek is mad we ‘ruined’ the courtyard, so let's fix the courtyard before they have a chance to punish us over it!”

“Seek is never going to let it slide just because we fixed it without them telling us to!” Ambush groans, still anticipating they’re dreadful future of endless punishments.

“And how do you propose we even do it whilst being on the run from Seek, Halt and Figure?” asks Dupe.

“And A-90!” A-120 points out.

“And them” Dupe adds.

“Well, firstly, Ambush, if you have a better idea, I’d love to hear it!” Ambush doesn’t say anything, so you go on. “And to address that concern, it’s not like everyone is going to tidy away the beach together! We take turns, some of us will tidy up, whilst the rest of us run around like rats and keep the heat off of them. I think Rush and Ambush should go first, with the tidying that is, because you two can reach the beach the quickest” you could see A-60 about to protest that point, but A-120 hit them into silence.

“What do we do if A-90 gets us locked in their sight?” Ambush asks.

“Well, they react to movement… Perhaps someone else could sabotage? Help distract A-90 so they can get away? Rush can smash lights-” another note drops out of the closet for you to pick up. “Hide says they’ll inform people if someone has been caught by A-90, thanks Hide!” You turn back to the sceptical group. “Look, I know it’s not the greatest, but this is our only shot of getting out of this scot free, or at the very least do some damage control”

Ambush sighs and turns to Rush. “I suppose we better get started then…” but running out the door to head back to the scene of the crime. Rush groans, still not feeling too great, but heads out after them.

The rest of you loiter for a bit, before splitting off to start running from the law.

Chapter Text

Ambush arrived back at the beach, shortly followed by Rush, who had to bend over and throw up a bit soon after they arrived.

“Can’t you hold your alcohol?” Ambush chides briefly before turning to face the mess that they now had to clear up. Underneath the shelter, as you said, there was a pile of miscellaneous materials and items to be used to put the courtyard back to the way it was.

“I can…!” Rush gasps out as they slowly straighten back up. “It’s just… all the running… it’s unsettling my stomach” excuses, excuses, as far as Ambush was concerned. They turned their focus back to the beach to try and find something to start on.

“What are we gonna do about that?” Ambush asks their companion, gesturing to the bonfire that A-60 had built up, which had barely even shrunk in size despite being both unattended and rained on.

“Leave it for 60 to deal with, they made it, they should be able to get rid of it” Rush responds, staring up at the huge fire with Ambush.

“I suppose we should just pick up litter and other trashable items for now” Ambush suggests, turning away from the fire to get started on the litter picking. Rush stared at the fire a little longer, before silently moving to join them.

- - -

You were currently sprinting aimlessly through the many corridors of the hotel. So far, you hadn’t bumped into any of the quadrad so you were having a pretty good time of the whole ordeal.

The thought of A-90 catching you was the thing that brought you the most anxiety, for if they appear before you and force you to cease all movements it becomes a race between the other members of the quadrad and whoever Hide can summon to your rescue.

For now, you kept moving, not wanting to be caught out. Figure could probably track your scent like a bloodhound after all the time you spent with them, so staying in one place would be ill advised.

- - -

It was in times like this that Screech really got to understand what it must be like for intruders when they face off against the entities. Screech felt like no matter where they went, Halt was just around the corner. It honestly felt like they were just going back and forth and back and forth, and then it occurred to Screech that that is what Halt is known for. Perhaps Halt knew Screech was around and was trying to keep Screech trapped without them realising? Well, they did realise!

That is why Screech did something that they knew Halt would never copy: they threw themselves out the window. Sally was quick to replace the pane as well, they did owe Screech a thing or two after all.

Screech re enters the building later and there was no Halt to be seen. Score!

…Except there was someone else to be seen, and it was worse than Halt.

A-90.

Screech found themselves frozen in the air almost immediately, and whilst they did feel like they could move themselves, they got an overwhelming sense of dread at the idea of running away, like A-90 would do something horrific to them if they did.

“Please, let me go” Screech begs through gritted teeth, to prevent their mouth from moving much.

“I’m sorry, but no” A-90 responds, before signalling for someone to pick up Screech.

- - -

Hide saw the whole Screech capture from a nearby closet and quickly went to fetch help.

- - -

Help for Screech came in the form of a strange door suddenly appearing just adjacent to where A-90 was. The door in question swings open abruptly, smacking A-90 hard before they can even react. On the other side is of course Dupe.

“Thanks Dupe! I owe you one!” Screech exclaims before promptly fleeing the scene.

“Yeah you do!” Dupe calls back before shutting their door, the fake number falling to the ground to indicate them vacating the area.

Seek arrives shortly afterwards to pick up Screech, only to find the injured A-90. They helped them up and inquired what had happened.

“I’m starting to see why they irritate you” was A-90’s response before they split up to search for the scurrying mice once more, only this time A-90 was a lot more determined.

- - -

Figure was, of course, tracking you. They knew your scent like the back of their hand, and it stood out from all the others, being human after all. There was nowhere you could run that Figure couldn’t find, eventually.

They were also tracking one other, the entity they were told was called A-120, because that loud, metallic stomping was absolutely ghastly, but it did mean that Figure could detect and follow them easily.

So far, A-120 had stayed far enough from Figure to be safe, but they didn’t know the hotel as well as Figure did… and they needed to find a way to muffle their footsteps before it was too late.

They didn’t have time to think about it, they had to keep moving.

- - -

Ambush and Rush had made a decent effort on clearing up the rubbish around the floor, but there still was a way to go.

“I’m gonna go find A-60 so they can take over cleaning duty and work on putting out that bonfire, I suggest you go find someone to replace you for a while” Ambush states before racing off in search of the red entity. While Rush was glad to be off cleaning duty, the idea of having to now play the fleeing victim was both ironic and made their stomach churn painfully.

Still, they headed off into the hotel despite feeling beyond horrible.

Chapter Text

“A-60!” Ambush yells as they see the red entity running just up ahead. They stop and turn to face them. “You need to go back to the courtyard and put out that bonfire before the fire spreads!”

“You want me to kill my baby!?” A-60 cries out angrily.

“Look, I know you love it, but if it doesn’t go it could burn parts of the hotel, and then we’ll be in real trouble!” Ambush says, attempting to both console and reason with A-60. They weren’t happy about it, but they eventually agreed that the bonfire had to go.

A-60 was able to find the courtyard fairly easily despite not being a local entity. First, however, they had to go through a preemptive mourning period for their soon-to-be-deceased child.

- - -

The first of the runaways that Rush was able to locate was Screech, and whilst they could acknowledge that Screech wasn’t going to be the best at cleaning, they needed to swap with someone

“Screech!” Rush huffs out, hoping not to puke again. “Go back… to the courtyard and get cleaning!”

“Aww man, my turn already?” Screech sulks, but still complies.

When they arrive, they witness A-60 sitting basking in the warm glow of the fire, mourning the bonfire they are about to euthanize.

“So, how you gonna do it? The rain doesn’t seem to be helping?” Screech inquires curiously, genuinely having no idea how the entity could clear up their problem.

“I… have my ways…” A-60 mumbles, still sat beside the fire, staring at it sadly. Screech turned to look at the rest of the courtyard, contemplating what they should start with. Ambush and Rush had gotten most of the rubbish, so perhaps they could work on that?

Screech suddenly felt the absence of warmth on their back and the glow of a fire vanished. They spun around quickly to behold the bonfire, completely extinguished.

“It is done…” A-60 says somberly, now standing next to the pile of burnt wood.

“How’d you do that!?” Screech exclaims in amazement. A-60 moves to pick up and cradle some of the ash-ridden wood. They weren’t going to be telling Screech anytime soon, so Screech just had to get started with the task at hand.

- - -

“I saw you” Seek states matter-of-factly to Eyes, who was sitting in a small reading room with a book in front of them.

“And what evidence do you hold that we were present at this ‘beach party’, as you call it. Aside from your own eye?” Eyes replies, not even looking in Seek’s direction.

“You are covered in ridiculous human eyewear, and headwear” Seek points out.

“Presumptive” Eyes scoff. “We would have you know that Screech passed us in haste not long before you arrived, and placed these strange adornments all over us, claiming that it ‘suits us’ before fleeing once more” Eyes continues to read their book. The excuse was… plausible, and definitely well thought out. Better than what you lot can usually come up with on the spot.

Had A-90 been with Seek at that moment, they would have been able to attest for Eyes’ presence at the beach party. For now, Seek had more important (and bigger) trouble makers to deal with, so they could let this matter with Eyes go… for now.

- - -

You and A-120 were cowering, cornered in a corner of a dark room. The two of you had bumped into each other whilst running amok of the hotel, only for the pair of you to be tracked down by Figure, who was now before you.

“You two will be coming with me” Figure states as they slowly lurch forwards ready to bring you to justice.

“Nooooo” both you and A-120 cry out, huddling together, distraught. You close your eyes shut, not wanting to face your fate.

Abruptly, Figure’s steps are stopped, and they let out a small, pained noise. You peel your eyes open slightly to see what had happened. By what light that filtered into the room from the window, you could see a small gaggle of Snare’s in between you and Figure, with one of them having stabbed through Figure’s foot. It wasn’t letting go.

“Quick, scatter!” you say to A-120, who runs out the room almost immediately.

“What is this?!” Figure angrily yells in dismay, trying to yank their foot free from a very persistent Snare.

“The Snare’s are unionising! Only me and Rush feed them and they’ve had enough” you run to a different door from the one A-120 took, but briefly turn back to face Figure. “Maybe if you fed them a few times when you walked through the greenhouse this wouldn’t be happening!” you let out a short, victorious laugh and proceed to flee once more.

Figure is finally able to wrench their foot free of the Snare, only to get caught on another shortly thereafter. Being blind truly doesn’t help you when Snare’s don’t make sounds unless you stand on them…

Figure was lucky A-90 came by a short while later and was able to direct them out of the room, avoiding the Snare’s.

- - -

Screech, surprisingly, had gotten the rest of the rubbish bagged up for disposal. It’s surprising how well Screech can do chores when they actually want to do them. With A-60’s help, they were able to incinerate all the rubbish. No, the massive bonfire couldn’t have been used to do this, A-60 would not have wanted to do their baby a disservice by having their final act in life be eating trash.

“Well, time to tag someone in to do some cleaning!” Screech says, wiping their tentacles together to remove some dirt. They were hoping to not get tagged in again, the rest of the cleaning up process looked like it would take some doing.

“Agreed…” A-60 says, not wanting to spend another second in the place where their precious bonfire was put to rest.

Chapter Text

Screech raced around looking for someone to take over cleaning duty and was able to come across you.

“Ah, my beloved partner, it has been too long!” Screech cries dramatically as they dive bomb your chest. You hold them against you in your arms and they dramatically press a tentacle against their forehead. “The war has taken its… toll on me!”

“You just finished cleaning, didn’t you?” you deadpan in response. Screech immediately floats out of your arms and into the air, returning to their usual chipper self.

“Yep! It’s your turn to clean! And it's my turn to run!” they say happily, before floating away down the corridor. Well, you better get back to the courtyard then.

- - -

A-60 was struggling to find anyone to send to the courtyard, between their depression and having unfortunate luck with constantly almost running into A-90 (who they were lucky at this point hadn’t caught them in their sight), it was becoming quite the chore.

Fortunately, they eventually came upon Dupe, well, Dupe found them. They peered out of their door to inspect their surroundings and just so happened to spot A-60.

“Oh finally, someone!” A-60 let out. “You need to go to the courtyard and take over cleaning duties” Dupe let out a long exasperated sigh.

“If I must…” they grumble before closing their door on themselves again. A-60 silently wishes they too could have their own little pocket dimension space thingy like them, it would make avoiding A-90 so much easier…

Thinking of them, A-60 thinks they can hear them coming, so they better get moving.

- - -

Halt had found Rush passed out drunk in the corner of a dark room and was very fortunate that the literal army of Snares that had surrounded them in their vulnerable state were unable to harm them. It would make extracting Rush difficult, however, for Halt doubted they could lift the entity alone, Figure would not be able to safely approach them, they didn’t know how strong A-90 was and even Seek would struggle because the Snares were literally growing out the wall too!

Damn, those little plant creatures had thought of everything, and weren’t prepared to forfeit one of the few people who fed them and brought them fertiliser.

Halt was going to wait by Rush in the meantime, whilst they thought of a way to move them safely, and to make sure they couldn’t run away when they woke up.

- - -

Hide was actually informed of Rush’s predicament by a Snare popping up under one of the beds. At least Hide should have a decent amount of time to find someone to deal with Halt whilst they are held back by the Snares.

- - -

“And where have you been?” Figure asked the room 52 bunch as they passed by the shop. Seek mentioned this place being empty, but Figure could tell that its usual occupants were here once more.

“What you talking about düd? We haven’t left here in ages!” El Goblino protests, staring moodily up at Figure, not that they could tell, nor could Figure see that the entire company were still wearing their beachwear.

Figure leans in real close to Goblino, causing them to freeze in fear when their massive jaw is mere inches away from their tiny form. The large entity takes in a long, deep breath.

“You smell… of alcohol, not wine” they state observantly. El Goblino gets an unpleasant feeling at Figure’s tone, like they’re about to have a really bad time.

“I-I sample some of Jeff’s stuff, düd!” Goblino protests meekly, though they could tell that Figure wasn’t buying it. In fact, with Figure’s keen sense, it is near impossible for them to be lied to, for they know the unintentional cues of a liar, and right now the tiny red goblin is checking each mark perfectly.

Figure’s claw moves fast, seizing hold of El Goblino before they can even get the thought in their head to run. Jeff stretches over to try and aid them, but is harshly swatted away by Figure.

“You and I are going to go somewhere to have a chat…” Figure growls down at the tiny, struggling entity, before turning their attention to the shopkeeper. “And you better not think of leaving your shop, I expect to find you there when I return” Jeff nods furiously, but it is mostly for their own sake.

Figure straightens up again and stomps their way out of the shop, a screaming-begging Goblino in tow, who could be heard halfway across the hotel… probably. Perhaps Figure would have been more lenient on Goblino, if they hadn’t had such a mood souring encounter with those Snares earlier…

- - -

You and Dupe had been doing your best to remove all the non-trash items and stack and box them neatly under the shelter. Dismantling Jeff’s bar took some real effort.

You had most of the stuff removed, and looking around the courtyard, the only major things left on the list (aside general cleaning) was to remove all the sand and drain and fill in the hole which homed the ocean.

“I feel like filling in the hole would be a Rush task” you state thoughtfully, thinking you should go look for them when you are back in the hotel.

“Agreed…” Dupe says, gazing out over the slowly disappearing beach with you. “Perhaps we should bring Ambush back too? Those to work ever so well together”

“Alright, you go find Ambush, and I’ll look for Rush!” you call out as you run for the door back into the hotel.

Chapter Text

Dupe had no problem finding Ambush, which was shocking because usually Rush was the noisy asshole that you could always find no matter what. That meant either one of two things: Rush had somehow learnt the art of tiptoeing quietly (unlikely), or they were in real trouble. Not that Dupe was going to actively seek them out. They informed Ambush of Rush’s required presence at the courtyard before heading off to continue the goose chase.

- - -

Ambush, in their search for Rush, came across you, who was lurking by a doorway peering in.

“Ambush, come quietly!” you whisper-yell over to the green entity. They oblige. You gesture into the room before you and Ambush takes a quick peek at the scene before them.

Rush was passed out in a corner of the room, being ferociously guarded by a horde of Snares (Ambush didn’t even know there were that many Snares to begin with!). Worse than Rush’s unconscious state was the fact that Halt and Seek were in the room, held away only by the Snares.

“Could you extend yourself over to grab them?” Halt inquires to Seek.

“I don’t think that would be viable, the moment I get close to Rush the Snares will attack” Seek states, clearly trying to think of an alternate way to extract the trouble maker before them.

“Why do the Snares care so much about Rush anyway?” Halt huffs out.

“As far as I’ve heard, they view Rush as some sort of benevolent overlord… for some reason…” Seek explains. The two of them continue to look at Rush, trying to suss out a way to collect them. Unfortunately for the unholy quadrad, the Snares also view you as a herald of their benevolent overlord, and Figure has already paid the price for that. A story for another day, perhaps.

Outside of the room, you and Ambush turn to each other.

“What are we supposed to do now? We need Rush!” Ambush whispers to you.

“We’ve got to distract Halt and Seek!” you reply.

“Ok, but how? They won’t abandon Rush whilst they effectively have them cornered!” Ambush just didn’t see a way out of this one.

“Hmm, I could contact Glitch, try to convince them to grab Rush…” it would be difficult, Glitch hates other entities, they don’t like being around them, let alone touching one… they only carried Screech that one time because they owed you a favour.

“Who…? That purple dude from the beach party?” Ambush asks. They haven’t really been introduced.

“Hopefully they’ll take an I.O.U…” A massive I.O.U given Glitch’s feelings on the other entities. You find a quiet corner of the room to try and communicate with the odd entity. “Please, Glitch, we really need them…!”

Halt and Seek were still discussing what to do about Rush when there was a sudden purple flash, and then they were gone! Halt, having never seen this before, was utterly baffled! How could Rush just vanish like that!

Seek however, who had been burned by this act once before, and now knew the name and appearance of the perpetrator who was behind this stunt, could only feel unquenchable rage.

You and Ambush fled the scene immediately, before Seek started swearing bloody revenge against Glitch.

Rush wakes up, dazed and confused in the courtyard, with no recollection of ever returning to the courtyard. They were shortly joined by a horde of Snares, they have no idea why the Snares are so concerned… Oh well, Ambush joins them not long after and explains that it is time for them to try and drain the ocean and fill it up.

- - -

A-120 was a little suspicious that the big meat monster was nowhere to be seen, they had been stalked by the creature for so long, for them to have suddenly disappeared…

They entered a massive room, which they quickly deduce is some sort of library, and make a mental note to steal some books before they return to the Rooms. Hey, don’t blame them, there isn’t too much in the way of things to do in the Rooms.

…Why is there a bed in the middle of a library…? Ah, who cares, A-120 still needs to move.

They exit the library and continue on their way, but quickly stumble across a shop. Oh look, it is the bartender from the party! Looks like this is their day job, and they are frantically trying to get A-120’s attention.

“What’s the matter, mister Jeff?” A-120 asks. Jeff stares at A-120 a bit.
“Oh no! Goblino is in trouble! That was the little red guy right?” A-120 inquires. Jeff stares at A-120 a bit.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to do anything about it though…” A-120 laments. Jeff stares at A-120 a bit.
“I’ll keep an eye out for them for you, and if any of us can save them we shall!” A-120 promises. Jeff stares at A-120 a bit.
“Alright, I better be off before this… ‘Figure’, you called them, find me!”

A-120 quickly leaves the shop again, waved off by Jeff.

Chapter Text

Rush had successfully drained all the ‘ocean’ water into a tank in the greenhouse, for later use, in no time at all.

The endeavour of filling in the hole with soil and then placing the grass samples on top was… a long one. Ambush wasn’t much help, not being able to carry as much as Rush could, so they eventually gave up and went around the courtyard picking up any leftover litter and debris.

With Rush finishing the hole filling, the courtyard was so close to being returned to normal. There was just one, teeny, tiny hitch to that plan. All that god damn sand.

“We’re so close! We need to come up with a way to clear up all this sand! Stat!” Ambush announces, staring out over the sand covered courtyard.

“Can’t we leave it for someone else to do?” Rush asked, huffing and puffing, and still looking a little worse for wear.

“Come on, Rush! If we can just do it now… it’ll all be over! We shouldn’t waste time trying to tag someone else in!” Ambush argued.

“Ok… but do you have any idea how we’re supposed to fix this?” Rush asks, gesturing around at the courtyard.

“Hmm, I don’t know…” but they had to come up with something quickly.

- - -

A-60 had been cornered by A-90 and didn’t know what to do. A-60 had taken shelter in a small side room, but they knew that A-90 was right outside the door, waiting for them. Trapped like a cornered beast they were.

Hide informed them that they would try to get help, but A-60 didn’t think they’d have enough time to be rescued before they were detained by the slim man. A lord knows that A-60 was not looking forward to being slimed up.

“Come on 90! Stop being such a buzzkill! I thought we were buddies!” A-60 shouts through the door. They hear a loud groan come from A-90.

“‘Buddies’? You and A-120 just use me to get away with your schemes! And whenever I complain about the noise you two make, what do you say? ‘Cope’ and keep doing it!” Ok, A-60 would admit it, they probably weren’t the greatest to A-90… but still! This felt like a bit of a strong reaction! A-60 had heard horror stories from you about the kinds of torture the slim man could inflict upon another… and A-90 was going to willingly subjagate them to it! “You’re just going to have to deal with the consequences of your actions for once in your life!”

“Hey wait a minute, you went to the party too! Why are you getting away with it so easily!” A-60 shouts angrily.

“Maybe because I’m actually willing to hold myself accountable? Unlike a certain someone who runs from responsibility?”

A-60 gathered that arguing with A-90 would just be a waste of energy. They’d just need to hold out for a hero, and hopefully they will come before slim man…

- - -

Hide was struggling to find someone that could rescue A-60: Dupe was having some Halt related issues, A-120 was trying to track down El Goblino (who has apparently been kidnapped!), you and Screech were currently running together away from a very angry looking Seek (seriously, what's up with them right now? Hide could have sworn they felt the whole hotel shake earlier…) and Rush and Ambush were still cleaning…

Well, if you want a job done right, I suppose you just gotta do it yourself! It Hide time!

Hide dropped a note for A-60 to wait for a signal to run like hell. A-60 was a little confused, but at least this meant they might be getting away soon!

Hide moved into the corridor outside of A-60’s room and peered out of the closet at the back of A-90. Hide had to somehow cover A-90’s face, without looking at it themselves. Hide had one idea for what they could do… but the mere concept of it terrified them! It would take them out of their comfort zone… literally!

But… a friend of yours is a friend of theirs… They had to rescue A-60!

Hide quickly dropped A-60 another note, telling them to distract A-90 real quick. A-60 obliged, returning to loudly yelling at A-90 through the door. With the racket A-60 was making, there was no way they’d hear what Hide was about to do… not until it was too late that is.

In a move Hide hadn’t done in… maybe years at this point, they burst out of the closet and bolted over to A-90. Before A-90 could even realise they weren’t alone in the corridor, Hide threw a bag over A-90’s head. They quickly dragged the flailing and yelling A-90 back into the closet with them and slammed the closet door shut.

Well, that was A-60’s cue to get the hell out of there! Realising A-90 was no longer by the door, A-60 quickly unlocked it and fled the scene.

Shortly thereafter, Hide pushed A-90 out of the closet. A-90 angrily ripped the bag off their head, before ripping open the closet they had just forcibly been detained in.

But it was empty.

- - -

“I have an idea” Rush says to Ambush after their contemplation period.

“Dangerous, but I’ll hear it,” Ambush says.

“We could try to use our ultimate attack?” Rush suggests.

“Oh, absolutely not!” Ambush declares.

“Why not?” Rush whines.

“Because it has never worked, ever!” They have tried to pull this move before, as a fun ‘if we need to beat Seek or Figure in a fight’ kind of deal. It hasn’t had many good results…

“I have a good feeling about this time!” Rush protests, but their protests are falling on deaf ears.

“That’s the alcohol talking” Ambush replies dismissively.

There’s going to be a lot of back and forth arguing on this, so I’m just going to skip to the end where Rush gets Ambush to finally agree to try.

“Ok, I’ll do it…” Ambush finally agrees, defeated.

Chapter Text

"The issue is, you don't have the movement dexterity to perform our ultimate attack! That's why it never worked!" Ambush said as they took position across the courtyard from Rush.

"That's slander" Rush says with a dismissive wave. "I'll have you know I have plenty of mobile dexterity"

Ambush wanted to argue against that, given Rush’s tendency to crash into doors, however Ambush knew damn well that Rush would just dismiss that as 'irrelevant'. Instead, they just sighed and got ready to try Rush’s ridiculous theoretical ultimate attack.

"I'll count down from three; three, two, one… now!" For if A-60 could be the lord of fire, Rush could be the Lord of air!... featuring Ambush.

‐ - -

"This is awful! It's like Seek chase but with an endless mode!" you scream down at Screech, who had collapsed exhausted in your arms. The two of you were still fleeing from the enrage entity, who hadn't stopped chasing you for… who knows how long. You couldn't stop now, for the heavy footsteps were way too close for comfort.

A massive hand emerges from a wall to try and grab the two of you. You just about duck under it as you continue to flee.

Something has to be done about this. Your legs are getting stiff, you're tired and are slowing down. If you don't get away soon, you'll find yourself in Seek’s slimy, disgusting, unappealing, staining, vile smelling, horrific, world-ending, catastrophic, violating, nightmare-inducing, constricting, apocalyptic grasp! And no one wants that.

You chugged the last bottle of vitamins you had, the only thing that was keeping you away from Seek at this point. Don't question where you got them from. They were able to give you the speed boost you needed to get some distance between the two of you, but it wasn’t going to be enough.

You had to just keep on running through doors and hope that something would fall in your favour soon.

- - -

Dupe probably could have helped you with your Seek related issue, as they had seen you fleeing them a few times in their own travels, but they currently had a problem of their own. It was called Halt.

No matter where they travel, no matter where they placed a door to travel through, Halt seemed to be just around the corner. Are they learning how Dupe travels? The signs of which to look out for? That would do Dupe no favours in the long run…

Dupe had one trick up their sleeve that they could use against Halt, something that they had been holding onto for a long time… but Dupe didn’t want to waste it if they could potentially get away from Halt without using it.

Whatever dirt Dupe had on Halt could wait. For now, Dupe was going to try something new, something to throw Halt off a bit. They weren’t going to travel through their doorways, they were just going to travel on foot for a bit, maybe even hide in a wardrobe here and there to really throw them off.

Hiding might be cowardice as far as Dupe was concerned, but it was that very mindset which would make it less likely that Halt would suspect it.

With much caution for the space around them, and the other potential entities (especially hostile ones) lurking nearby, Dupe stepped out of their doorway once more. They fled the scene, quick, quiet steps that didn’t even creak a floorboard.

- - -

Rush and Ambush’s ultimate attack is extremely simple, in concept. The two of them basically run around in a giant circle. The speed and momentum of such an act would essentially cause a huge gust of wind, essentially a tornado/cyclone/whirlwind/superstorm/whatever you want to call it.

It has never been successful… until today!

Perhaps Rush works better when drunk, or perhaps the desperation Ambush feels to not get in trouble has them commit to the act better, but whatever the case, it was pulled off so beautifully! Could bring a tear to the eye, joy or because some sand got in it.

The force created by the two entities sucked in all that sand from within the courtyard and created arguably the worst sandstorm known to man.

They then, using geometry or something, threw the sand out over the top of the hotel, never to be seen again…

It worked out so perfectly! Ambush doesn’t want to think about the logistics of the ordeal (and neither should you).

“Well, if A-60 could defy the laws of nature with fire, then clearly I have a similar gift for the air!” Rush announces triumphantly, gazing over the now cleared courtyard. If you didn’t know there was once a beach here, you’d never have expected it. Aside from the boxes full of the stuff you packed away.

“Hey, I had to help!” Ambush protests, but their mind is quickly drawn back to the fact that the courtyard is now very much clean. “We need to tell the others that the cleaning is finished. Stat!” Ambush turned and ran back into the hotel, likely to find a wardrobe so that Hide could spread the word.

Rush just scoffed to themselves, before sitting down and leaning back against the statue. They’re too tired/not recovered enough from alcohol to put up with this much longer. Rush just wants a nap god dammit.

Chapter Text

Seek had had enough of this. No matter how much they chased you, you remained out of their grasp. Each time you rounded a corner, Seek would follow, but you’d suddenly have a lot of distance between the two of you.

Argh! It happened again! You looked like you were finally exhausting and then suddenly you ran through a corridor lined with wardrobes, and now you are zooming off like an intruder hopped up on vitamins. Seek was starting to wonder if there was someone passing you vitamins… no, they would have seen them if that was the case.

They notice shortly that you seem to be heading in the direction of the courtyard, which was great for Seek because only the greenhouse and the electrical room lay beyond. You’d be trapped.

Seek burst into the courtyard shortly after you entered and-

“Well, hey there Seek! Fancy seeing you here!” you call out to the frustrated entity.

You and your usual gang, featuring two of the unfamiliar entities, were all sitting in a circle around a small fire, beneath the cover. You seemed to be baking potatoes on a stick over it.

“Come to join the barbeque? We got meat and potatoes!” you gesture to a small pile of cooked meat and potatoes. “Although, I can’t eat the meat… and Rush hasn’t been growing a wide variety of vegetables lately…” You give a friendly slap to Rush, but they don’t make any response. In fact, by the way they are sat stooped over, with drool coming out of their mouth, Seek would hazard to guess that Rush was passed out. Wearing sunglasses wasn’t going to hide that fact.

Seek takes a few angry steps towards the group, but something in the corner of their eye catches their attention. It’s the courtyard, but it is back to normal! Ish, there are a few things out of place, but other than that an outside perspective would never notice.

“What is going on here?” Seek demands to know.

“We tidied up after ourselves!” Screech announces, proudly. “You always say we should clean up after ourselves, and we did! ‘Accountability’ and all that!” You are silently proud and disturbed that Screech said ‘accountability’ correctly on the first try. Someone has been ruining them.

“Damn right we did!” you add on. “Look at this! You’d barely tell there was a beach here!”

“Do you really think this will get you out of trouble?” Seek says, crossing their arms in front of themselves.

“Perhaps not, my dear Seek, but have you considered this: we would not have been able to clean up after ourselves in such a short time, and whilst you were chasing us at that, if we did not already have the resources to hand to tidy up. So pray tell, what do you think that would imply?” You smug aura was mocking to Seek, and you 100% relished in that. Seek doesn’t say anything, because they rightfully knew you were going to continue anyway. “We had the resources to hand because we fully intended to clean up regardless of if you showed up!”

“To think, you preach us to take responsibility for our actions and then ruin it for us!” Dupe says, dramatically putting the back of their hand to their forehead.

“We could have had a party and you’d never have known…” Ambush bemoans, not looking up at Seek, simply fiddling with their meat-on-a-stick.

“Oh well done, do you want a medal?” Seek bites back.

“No, but I’d like to be given a fair chance to negotiate the extent of which you punish us for our alleged crimes” you respond, calmly. You’d like to think remaining calm in this situation would make Seek madder.

“Negotiate?” Seek clearly doesn’t like your move for power in this situation. Well, they're gonna have to cope, because you might actually have the upper hand for once.

“Yep” you reply, nonchalantly.

“And what do you think there is to negotiate?” Seek ask, still not happy with your whole attitude to the situation.

“Everything, my dear Seek, everything. I’m sure we can all discuss this matter like… reasonable adults” you say, sat surrounded by the most unreasonable adults in known existence. “From what I have gathered, there is a lot more at stake than simply punishment over throwing an illegal beach party”

You have El Goblino’s fate, the Snare’s wanting a pay rise, the culpability of all the attendees, whether or not the Rooms entities will be given more access to the hotel, if you’ll ever be allowed to do shots with Glitch… so much at stake.

“Fine, if you really want to, we can ‘negotiate’” Seek eventually agrees.

Which is what led to the next situation.

Gathered inside the largest meeting room you could find, were all the relevant parties. On one side of the table you had Seek, Figure, Halt and A-90 (who was being forced to not look directly at anyone). On the other, you had yourself, Screech, Rush, Ambush, Dupe, A-60, A-120 and Hide (inside a closet). There was also a single Snare growing out of the wall, next to Rush, with a small badge attached that read ‘Snare representative’.

You now had to do something you’d never really tried with Seek before: talk your way out of trouble.

Chapter Text

“Well, first things first, I’d like to ask why you think us building a fake beach in the courtyard is an offence of some kind” you say, arms crossed.

“Not only did you go behind my back, but you employed dangerous means to create your little ‘beach party’. The blatant disregard for both safety and property damage is unacceptable, and your endeavours to do so without notice from myself, Figure or Halt only shows that you knew this would not have been approved”

“Dangerous means?” Dupe ponders aloud.
“I think they’re referring to the dynamite…” Ambush informs.
“You guys used dynamite without me?” Dupe says with a joking offence, at least you think it is joking.

You clear your throat to stop the quiet murmuring.

“Ok, that is fair enough. But, as stated before, we took the necessary preparations to clean up after ourselves! Surely that shows a degree of responsibility you have been trying to enforce on us for so long!”

“Yeah, plus, who put you in charge of what goes on in the hotel anyway?” Screech adds. For as long as you’ve been staying here, Seek has been the absolute authority on all matters. Boy did you wish they weren’t.

Seek glares at Screech, not deigning to answer their question.

“That ‘responsibility’ is rendered moot the moment you tried to pull this all off behind my back” Seek bites back.

You were about to interject again when Ambush pushed you back and took centre stage, metaphorically speaking.

“I feel like this is just going to go back and forth, so how about we skip to the chase and just negotiate the terms of repayment?” Ambush suggests.

“Good idea, as much as I feel like it is unnecessary, I will give a starting offer of me and Screech mopping and waxing the floors for a month” you say, there’s slight vocal dismay from Screech but they don’t really protest.

“You were all involved, I’m not letting Rush, Ambush and Dupe off easily” you were a little surprised that Screech didn’t try to point out Hide’s involvement, but perhaps they were finally learning to not accidentally snitch on friends.

“Rush already does greenhouse maintenance, cut them some slack” you argue.

“Yeah…” Rush adds halfheartedly. Maybe you should have waited for Rush to recover more before starting this.

“Fine, so long as Rush continues monitored greenhouse maintenance, I will permit it”

“Great!” you say, clapping your hands together. “So, Ambush, Dupe,you guys got anything to say on the matter?”

“Who me?” Dupe says, with fake innocence. “I suppose I could be convinced to… clean up some of the secret passages in this hotel”

“This place has secret passages?” You exclaim. It would explain how Figure seems to get around quickly despite how small most of the doorways are. Seek gives a side eye to Dupe, which suggests that you were not supposed to learn that tidbit.

“Um, I suppose I could do some… spring cleaning around the various suites…” Ambush suggests.

“Ooh, we could get you a nice, cute maid outfit~” Dupe taunts, causing Ambush to flush in annoyance and hit Dupe on the side of the head.

“Yeah! They super comfy!” Screech chimes in.

“Wait, when did you-?” Dupe’s dangerous line of questioning was derailed thankfully by Seek clearing their throat.

“I suppose, with exception to Dupe’s proposal, those are… agreeable terms” they turn to address Dupe. “I will discuss with you what we’ll have you do later…”

“Yes, because whilst Rush is still conscious, I think we have a Snare related issue to discuss” you say, turning to the wall to find the Snare. It wasn’t there. You look around for a few seconds to find it had popped up on the table in front of Rush. How do those things even move again…?

Rush was being a bit unresponsive, so you gave them a light whack to bring them back to the moment.

“Huh…? Oh yeah, the Snare’s want a pay rise”

“Why are you talking on behalf of the Snares if they sent a representative?” Halt asks.

“Because I’m their… what’s the word… overlord or something” Rush responds.

“Overlord?” Figure exclaims in disbelief. The Snare raised its spikes at the sound of their voice, clearly remembering the beef the Snares had with Figure not too long ago…

“Yep, they’re here for information and to relay the eventual good news” you add.

“The Snares are not getting a pay rise” Seek states, a tone of annoyance. The Snare rapidly retracts and raises its spikes, indicating its annoyance at that comment. “Frankly, I didn’t even know they were getting payed for… whatever it is they do”

“And that is why they hate you” Rush grumbles.

“Because me and Rush handle the Snares payment!” you yell angrily. “These little guys are integral to intruders not making it through the greenhouse and the only people that pay them for their efforts are me and Rush!” Well, you’re pretty sure you’ve seen Eyes toss snacks to the Snares whenever they do some reading in the greenhouse, but still, most payment is done by you and Rush.

“All they want is food and cleaning and you don’t even do that for them!” Rush continues to moan.

“And they’re willing to fight for that cause!” you continue.

“Are you saying-” Figure starts, you can tell they are seething. You might have never seen Figure this mad. “-I was attacked by these insipid little creatures-” Figure’s approach towards the table was only halted by, well, Halt stopping them. “-Because they want more food?”

“Hmm, yep, that sounds about right” you say very nonchalantly, just to add to Figure’s annoyance. You might regret it when you have to go to bed later, because the two of you still share accommodation. That's your future problem. “Shoulda fed them whenever you passed through”

“I will-” it was Figure’s turn to be stopped from saying something they might later regret, when Seek interjected.

“Tell you what, if the Snares agree to no longer attack any entities, I will… consider their demands”

“Considering is not enough, they want change” Rush states, crossing their arms angrily.

“Fine, I’ll set up a rota so everyone has to bring snacks in for the Snares. Happy?” The Snare seemed happy enough with that compromise, slowly retracting its spikes.

“Yeah, we can discuss the matter of Snare bathing later, we still have other issues to discuss” you say. Whilst you have Figure’s attention, you might as well go into that problem as well.

“Now… unhand El Goblino you son of a-!” Ambush smacked your mouth shut before you could finish shouting such an undiplomatic expression.

Chapter Text

“That little red swine has a lot to account for” Figure responds, almost as angrily as you are. Seek nods along.

“What could he have possibly done to warrant such treatment?” you ask.

“Well, there’s theft, destruction of property, aggravated assault, conspiracy, money laundering and vandalism… On top of those, there are cases of unapproved aid to intruders” Halt states factually. Damn El Goblino, who knew you had such a rap sheet. You were a little taken back by these accusations against your little friend. So now it is A-120’s turn to fight for justice.

The loud metallic stomping which accompanied A-120’s approach forwards made Figure wince.

“All those charges sound awful, but I personally do not think they justify holding the guy against his will” they express calmly.

“I’d do more than hold them against their will if given the chance” Figure hisses out hostile. A-120 is not afraid.

“Hmm” A-120 hums out thoughtfully. “I’m sensing a distinct prejudice against this El Goblino. From what I’ve heard, certain other residents-” you and Screech “-have done just as much, maybe even more, and yet they are given fairer treatment. Perhaps you should allow them to take responsibility for their actions in the same manner as others-”

A-120 is briefly interrupted by A-90 snorting and saying “Because you’d know about ‘taken responsibility’ and all that” but they continue regardless.

“-and by the sounds of it, a lot of their ‘offences’ could easily be rectified by a good bit of community service. They could clean up their vandalism, work to pay back what they stole and atone for attacking others” A-120 made a very clear and well thought out argument.

“Damn, when did you become a lawyer?” you think aloud.

“Those terms seem fair, and I’m sure El Goblino would prefer them to… the alternative…” Seek states. You have no idea what Figure planned to do to the little guy, but they certainly weren’t happy with Seek being convinced to let them go. They cussed a bit under their breath, which caught them a scowl off Halt and nothing more. Unfair. If you had cussed, Halt would be lecturing you on how you had better language choices you could have used.

“Excellent, does that mean we’re done here?” A-120 asks, happy to have been able to keep their word to Jeff, in one way or another.

“Yes. Leave” Figure says bitterly.

“No! Don’t leave!” you interject before turning to Seek. “Seek, I’m formally requesting that the triple A games be able to visit the hotel more often!” Seek only recently became aware of their existence, but you really didn’t want to constantly have to work your way into the Rooms to visit them. It’d be fun for them to hang out in the hotel from time to time.

“‘Triple A games’?” Seek says in mild confusion.
“Urgh…” A-90 groans out, they never really liked that nickname, even if A-60 and A-120 thought it was cool.
“Absolutely not!” Figure snaps.
Rush didn’t look too happy at the suggestion either, that or they were about to throw up again. Halt was, surprisingly, indifferent on the matter.

“Yeah! The Rooms are very bland and boring, no offence guys, and I think it would be great to have them around more often! They could help fight off intruders, or something!” you argue.

“We have enough entities in the hotel for that” Seek states dismissively.

“Oh come on, there’s always room for more!” you say, though Seek doesn’t seem to change their mind at that statement.

It was, surprisingly, Screech who came up with a new argument.

“Oh, I know!” they exclaim, sticking a tentacle into the air to get everyone’s attention. “If you let the triple A’s stay, you can hang out with A-90!”

“Is Screech implying Seek needs more friends?” Dupe whispers to Ambush with a snicker, though Ambush hits them gently.

“What is your point?” Seek demands, a little surprised by Screech, of all entities, apparently having a proper argument in these negotiations.

“Well, A-90 complains about A-60 and A-120 being too noisy… and I think they were reading at the beach!” using a book as a face covering, but close enough “So, maybe, A-90 will be happier hanging out with you, Halt and Figure!” To the surprise of literally everyone, that was actually a decent thought, and A-90 also seemed to be appealed to the idea of having company more pleasant than A-60 and A-120.

“And we can keep the other two!” Ambush adds, just to make sure Seek didn’t consider letting A-90 stay and not the other two. It’s not like A-90 brings more knob value or anything.

Seek agreed to let the Rooms entities visit more often, though they were going to monitor the actions of A-60 and A-120 very closely when they do. You were gonna have to pity whatever intruders stumbled into this place whenever A-90 was around…

“Great! With all that sorted, I best be off!” you say with a clap of your hands, turning to leave the room. “All going well, Jeff will still have some alcohol left over for me and Glitch to do shots with!”

“Oh no you don’t!” Seek snaps, grabbing you with a giant, slimy hand.

Seek spends the next few hours interrogating you about this ‘Glitch’, wanting to know who they were, where they hide, what they do around here, when did they arrive and how they seem to be everywhere but nowhere at all.

You give them no answers, claiming to know nothing, only that they aren’t fond of other entities and if you talk out loud anywhere, they can probably hear you.

You’re eventually released to start your chores, but it sounds like you’ll never get to do shots with Glitch…

Chapter Text

“Alright!” you announce to get the group's attention. “Now that we are all present, it is time for me to discuss the game plan!”

The updog clubroom had its usual attendees gather around the table in the middle.

“As we all know, it is Halloween shortly, and you all know what that means-!”

“-We have to work overtime…” Ambush laments. Yeah, it means they’ll eat like kings at the end of the season, but at what cost?

“I mean, yeah-” you admit. “-But it also means we can do some suitably Halloween themed antics!” Screech seemed the most enthused by the notion, naturally, and Dupe and Rush seemed a little interested. “So, I’ve come up with a fun way we can play a trick on all the pesky intruders we’re about to have”

“Oh, I so love playing tricks” Dupe says. You can’t tell if it is their usual snark, or genuine because of who they are… so you’re gonna take it as genuine.

“Correct attitude” you clack your hands together before continuing. “Now, I have come up with a fun idea on how to throw them off. We are going to doooo a role swap!”

“A what?” Ambush questions.

“A role swap! You guys are going to trade jobs for the hunt! And I’ve already settled on who is going to do who!” you quickly pull out a sheet of paper, having written it down so you didn’t forget, and lay it on the table in front of the others. They peered out over it.

Screech = Rush
Rush = Ambush
Ambush = Dupe
Dupe = Screech

“I have to do Rush’s job?” Screech whines out. It would mean they have to do a lot more this time around.

“I’m afraid so” it was also going to be very lucky for the intruders, as getting ‘rushed’ by Screech couldn’t do fatal damage. It also meant losing track of door number was going to be a real life and death situation, because if they get ‘duped’ by Ambush…

“How come Hide isn’t on this” Rush asks.

“Good question!” you pick up a box from under the desk and shake it so the contents rattle. “Well, because Hide can’t swap with us, I’ve got them to agree to switch their usual dialogue for the day! So we’re going to raffle off what they are going to say!” You and Hide had both worked on the raffle ‘prizes’, so if Hide got one of your suggestions they were going to be in for a rough time. You approach Rush with the box. “So Hide can’t say I cheated, Rush, would you do the honours of picking out Hide’s catchphrase for the day?”

Rush sticks a hand into the box and swirls it around a bit before grasping hold of a tiny piece of paper and pulling it out. You put the box back down under the table and then take the paper from Rush.

“Thank you. Now, Hide, your catchphrase is going to be…” you stare at the paper for a few seconds, a little taken back from the winning phrase. You don’t remember putting this in, but it certainly isn’t something Hide would put in…

“Uwu, pwease leave?” you say with a degree of confusion.

There’s a small thud inside the wardrobe, and you think you can hear Hide crying… You could veto this outcome on the basis that you think someone else might have rigged the raffle… but you don’t see any other reason to. Screech and Dupe were snickering to themselves, and Ambush and Rush just looked confused.

“Well, moving on…” you say awkwardly as you scrunch up the paper and throw it away.

“So, what are you going to be doing for the day?” Ambush asks.

“Oh, I’m going to be cosplaying Figure! Got a costume and everything! Took a lot of convincing to get Figure to agree to me running around the library with them!” you announce happily.

“Where’d you get a costume of Figure from?” Rush questions.

“Halt made it for me! Screech has been doing so well in their lessons lately that Halt was willing to make me a costume” and damn did Halt go all out on the details for this thing! You and Screech watched some of the creation process and it was so cool…! But then Halt kicked you two out of the corridor because they got annoyed by your constant ‘How did you do that!’s whenever they did anything remotely skillful.

“I highly doubt you’ll be doing any killing” Dupe remarks.

“Of course not, if they get caught by me, I give them a little trick or treat gift…! Unfortunately, the closest thing we have are lemons” Rush has been working so hard in the greenhouse to get you enough lemons, they never asked why you needed so many lemons. So many hideously deformed lemons… at least they taste like normal lemons!

“That’s the game plan for the day then?” Ambush says.

“Yep. Oh, and Hide apparently has a fun prank they’re gonna pull on Seek during their chases, but they won’t tell me what it is!” you glare at the wardrobe. You really wanna know what Hide has planned…

Well, either way, it is going to be a day to remember.

Chapter Text

The intruders stepped out of the elevator and into what appeared to be a reception area. Behind the desk, there were numerous hooks for keys to hang, but there was only one hanging there.

These people weren’t the first to come, and they most certainly won’t be the last.

They proceed through the haunted hotel, guided by numbered doors and a mysterious light.

They entered a room and at first everything seemed to be the same as before, but they soon took notice of something. In the distance, there was a noise, it sounded like… someone screaming? It was getting closer nonetheless. They weren’t too sure what to do. One of them suggested hiding, in case it was a monster, and they all agreed. The group filtered out into the many wardrobes that lined the and waited with bated breaths for-

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…”

A tiny floating head with tentacles floated through the room, flailing said tentacles about manically as they went by.

“Oof”

There’s a slight bang before they hear the sound of the next door being opened. They emerge from their hiding spots, all visibly confused.

“What… was that supposed to be?” One asked.

“Probably a stupid prank” Replied another.

None of them believed that to be a real monster. They continued.

- - -

They entered a room and after a bit of exploring, noticed that there were two different doors, with different room numbers. One of them went back to the door they entered through, but found that the number on it was mysteriously smudged…

“Which do you think it is?” asked one.

“I don’t know!” another replied.

“Well, I think it is that one!” a third states confidently, approaching one of the doors to open it.

They were mere inches away from the door when it burst open, and their eyes were suddenly assaulted by a bright green glow. The shrieking creature from within launched forwards and tore them apart in one swift motion, before retreating back into the space behind the door, the fake number falling to the ground.

The others are left visibly shaken, being so suddenly confronted by the very real nature of the monsters in this place.

Their deceased friend heard one final voice before their last vestiges of life faded away:
“You have been killed by… Ambush? Um, you should… pay more attention to door numbers next time”

- - -

The remaining group weren’t sure what the sudden appearance of eyeballs on the wall meant, but so far nothing more has happened.

The tense feeling they all felt only escalated the more rooms they entered, as the number of eyes littering the wall only increased as they went.

Until there were suddenly none.

They entered a long hallway, and they were simply… all gone? Could they relax a bit now? They all slowly made their way down the hallway to continue on their journey…

A noise behind them drew their attention, which brought them before a horrific sight: some eyes had suddenly appeared on the wall by the door and near to the entrance a pool of black slim had formed. The slim pulsed and morphed, and soon took on a humanoid form, one with a singular eye adorning its face. The humanoid broke free of the rest of the slim, charging forwards with a monstrous scream-

~ ~I always feel like somebody's watching me~ ~

As they ran, music suddenly started blaring around them. They were both confused and terrified. They had to not let this distract them as they fled.

~ ~And I have no privacy (oh, oh)~ ~

Seek, to their credit, stayed completely on form despite the sudden disruption to their work. They didn’t know for certain who was behind this, but they had a feeling that it was a certain human…

~ ~I always feel like somebody's watching me~ ~

The intruders were making good progress, despite disorientation caused by the sudden change of pace. They just had to follow the strange light that had been guiding them this whole time, right?

~ ~Tell me is it just a dream?~ ~

They lost track of how many rooms they ran through, how much collapsed furniture they had to scramble through. They entered a final corridor, one where the chandeliers feel and caused fires to spread and giant black slim arms smashed their way through the windows and tried to seize the intruders.

~ ~I always feel like somebody's watching me~ ~

Somehow, they were all able to escape, with only a couple getting burned in the fire. Seek banged angrily at the door, half at their own failure to even catch a single one of them, and half at the blatant disrespect they were being shown by whoever was playing that damned music.

It sounded like it was coming out of every wardrobe lining this hallway. Seek turned to look at the nearest one and saw a singular white eye staring back at them.

“Hide!” Seek yelled with a fury, massive black hand reaching over and ripping the door to the wardrobe open.

It was empty. The music stopped the very moment the wardrobe was opened.

Seek had to admit, that might have been the first time they’d even caught a glimpse of Hide in… well, years.

- - -

A dark room was never a good sign, especially when your phone batteries are dead and you have no other light source. They simply had to scramble around in the dark, hoping to find the exit.

One of them thought they heard growling somewhere around them, but couldn’t see anything in the dark.

Well, they certainly felt something when a massive set of teeth suddenly lunged out of the dark and bit them on the arm. Hard. They scream out in agony, but other than the wound which they were fortunately able to cover up, they would be ok.

The same could not be said for the other of Dupe’s victims, who was already badly injured from the fire. They expired when the creature that lurked in the dark decided to take a chomp out of them.

They too heard one final voice before their last vestiges of life faded away:
“You have been killed by, erm, Dupe? Is that name even appropriate with… Well, they seem to be lurking dark rooms, so make sure to look for them when you hear them growling”

- - -

“One of us has to change,” you say as you look up at Figure, the two of you waiting for the intruders who were apparently close to the library.

“You are literally dressed as me” Figure stats, already starting to regret agreeing to your little game.

“I will be once I put the head on” you say, holding the massive mask in your hands. You won’t be able to see once you put it in, but that’s kind of the whole point.

“One second…” You hum out in response, wondering what they want. Figure splits a massive glob of saliva into their hand before rubbing it all over your face, much to your horror and disgust.

“Ewwww! Figure! Why would you do such a thing?!” you scream out as you try in vain to wipe the horrible feeling off your face. Gonna need a shower later now.

“Need to track you” Figure grunts out. To be honest, it was a fair thing to want to do, so Figure could avoid hurting you on accident, but could they not use something else? Not their saliva?

Still upset by the saliva, you put the mask on. You have a basket full of lemons hung over your shoulder and you are ready for action!

The door clicks open, and Figure charges forwards, a mini Figure in tow with them (although you struggle to keep up a bit). Both Figure and mini Figure get distracted by the smashing of a lamp and charge after it, before stalking the library in separate directions.

A real bring your child to work scenario.

The intruders are, like with many things today, both confused and terrified! The big meat monster is unlike anything they had seen yet! But… that definitely had to be a regular person just dressed as the monster with it. What is going on here?

Much to their horror, the door out of this library was locked, and they would need to find a code to unlock it. They all set about looking for the pieces.

Someone bumped into you, probably because you didn’t stomp as loudly as Figure. They let out a small ‘ack’ but were otherwise pretty quiet.

You, on the other hand, did your best impression of Figure’s roar, before leaning in close and whispering:
“Happy Halloween! Have a lemon!” before handing them a lemon from your basket and moving on. To say they had no idea what just happened would be a bit of an understatement.

Another tried to use you as a meat shield when both you and Figure were too close. That was, obviously, the wrong thing to do because Figure took extreme offence to that act and practically tore the two of you away from each other, the force of which causing you to fall to the floor and spill lemons out your basket. They died, pretty horribly, the voice in their head just gave them their usual Figure speech, deciding not to mention how bad it would be to use another as a meat shield.

I’m not saying this thing is rigged, but it is weirdly suspicious that the intruder that helped you pick up your lemons was able to evade Figure, especially when they accidentally walked into a bookcase with a loud thud.

Regardless, two intruders made it out of the library with their lives.

Whilst Figure went ahead to see if anyone made it to the electrical room, you did some corpse looting. And wouldn’t you know it, they had a whole rucksack of goodies!

- - -

The loud rumbling was definitely a sign that something was coming, but what? They did not know. It was always a good idea to Hide if you weren’t sure, so that is what they did.

Good thing they did too, because a giant black monster came running through, smashed open the next door, before turning around and heading back the way it came.

One of the intruders stepped out of the wardrobe they were hiding in to check the coast was clear. It wasn’t, the creature was returning, so they had to Hide again! They kept being designated coast-clear checker it would seem.

The one that stayed in their hiding spot could swear they were starting to hear voices… but they had no idea what to make of it. Were they going insane?

“Uwu pwease leave. Uwu pwease leave. Uwu pwease leave. Uwu pwease leave. Uwu pwease leave. Uwu pwease leave. Uwu pwease leave. Uwu pwease leave.Uwu pwease leave.Uwu pwease leave.Uwu pwease leave.Uwu pwease leave.Uwu pwease leave.Uwu pwease leave.Uwu pwease leave.Uwu pwease leave.Uwu pwease leave.Uwu pwease leave.Uwu pwease leave.”

Suddenly they find themselves outside of their hiding spot, and no matter how much they tried to get back in, they just couldn’t. So when the monster returned next, it brought them to their end.

It was their turn to hear one final voice before their last vestiges of life faded away:
“You have died to Rush? Erm, use what you learnt with… Screech…”

- - -

None survived, unfortunately.

You were the real winner, you got all their sweets! Well, Figure was currently inspecting the sweets to make sure there was nothing wrong with any of it, even though you were insisting that most of this stuff was branded and unopened.

“Well… it all seems good” Figure finally announces, much to your delight.

“Yay, gimme!” you say, reaching over to grab at your spoils. Except Figure only passed you a handful before shoving the rest in a box. “Hey, what gives? I earned this!”

“You still have a pretty restrictive diet, so you need to eat in moderation-” you scowl at being reminded of your stupid, forced plant based diet. It wouldn’t be so bad but Rush hasn’t been growing a wide selection lately. “-And you are still being punished for… a lot of things, so you can earn the rest with good behaviour”

You wanted to yell expletives at Figure for being so stingy with your sweets, but that would probably mean you wouldn’t see the good stuff again for a while. You tactfully decided to be silent, sitting down to eat what you had been given.

Seek arrives shortly after, and they don’t look happy”

“You! Care to explain yourself?” Seek demands angrily, you turn to them, unsure what they are going on about.

“Um, I’m dressed as Figure?” just without the head at this point.

“I’m referring to what you set Hide up to do” Seek explains, still seething.

“I didn’t set Hide up to anything!” you protest.

“Really, then why were they playing that ridiculous music when I was working?” Seek says, angrily tapping their feet as they stood before you.

“Wait, that’s what Hide planned? Oh, that’s hilarious!” you laugh to yourself a bit. “Wish they told me beforehand! I would have loved to see it!”

“So… you really had no idea?” Seek quizzes, your demeanour would suggest you were telling the truth.

“I knew Hide wanted to do something during your chase, but they didn’t give me the details” and in hindsight, that was probably so you wouldn’t get into trouble for Hide’s actions. “Why are you so mad though, I think it’s great that Hide is expressing some creativity!”

Seek just grumbled to themselves and stormed out. They were probably mad that they were pranked by the one entity they couldn’t really do anything about, because they can’t seem to god damn find them.

You were lowkey mad that Seek just naturally assumed it was you, but quickly forgot it as you continued to munch.

Chapter Text

Per the agreement set out in the negotiations, Seek found themselves, begrudgingly, helping you feed the Snares one day. Apparently, it wasn’t actually that much of an arduous task to perform.

“You just gotta toss the meat and fertiliser mix like you're tossing bread for pigeons!” you’d exclaim as you walked through room after room in the greenhouse. Seek didn’t really understand your analogy. They did however find observing the Snares to be quite interesting, watching the way more of them would appear seemingly out of nowhere when they realised they were being given food.

“How many of these are there?” Seek questioned as they, halfheartedly, tossed some of the mixture around the greenhouse.

“Dunno, last I checked there’s anywhere between twelve and twelve hundred” you reply absently, continuing your own feeding efforts.

“Twelve and twelve hundred?! How do you even get those numbers?” Seek exclaims, a bit bewildered.

“Listen, me and Rush have tried counting! But we can’t fit them all in one room, and the moment you leave, they wander off!” you reply defensively. Mentioning Rush did get Seek thinking…

“Where is Rush, by the way. You said they do most of the Snares maintenance” and are their overlord, apparently.

“It’s Rush’s turn to bathe them, so they’re getting ready. On that note, we should return to the first room so we can be there for the start of Snare bathing. You gotta learn how it is done” Seek did have to wonder how these little plant creatures were ‘bathed’, and also, why did you say Rush needed to get ready? Surely they just needed to pick up the stuff to clean them with?

You and Seek sat on a bench in the first room of the greenhouse together, awaiting Rush’s arrival. You explain in the meantime that there is a rotation on who does the bathing, between you, Rush and Screech, surprisingly. “They like the differences between us” you say, a bit cryptically, Seek has no idea what that could mean. They do observe that there is a steadily increasing number of Snares, despite them no longer being fed.

“Arrrrre you guuuuys ready!” Rush shouts from outside the greenhouse, and suddenly there are a lot more Snares. They seem almost… excited? Why are they so excited for bath time?

Seek finds out shortly, as Rush kicks down the door into the library. They have a humanoid body, no longer just a floating head, and they are carrying a large hose with them. That wasn’t the horrifying part, the horrifying part was what they were wearing. They were wearing a fireman’s bunker gear, with the top part tied around their waist to reveal a very tight tank top. They even had a fireman's helmet and massive gloves on. Seek was… concerned, to put mildly.

“Did someone call for a fireman?” Rush asks coyly, before lifting the hose into the air, turning it on and basically spraying all the excitable Snares with a full pressure wash from the hose. You could almost hear the Snares cheering.

You were definitely cheering, you reached into your bag and grabbed a bunch of coins and started flinging them at Rush shouting “Making it rain!!!”

“What is going on here?!” Seek yells at you, just so they can be heard over the loud noise of the pressure hose.

“The Snares love it when we put on a show at bath time! Boosts morale and all that!” you shout back, continuing to throw money at Rush until Seek eventually hits your hands to stop you.

“This is-” highly inappropriate, Seek was able to say. You stood up before Seek could finish and shouted over at Rush.

“Get me! Get me!” you spread your arms out for the soaking.

‘Oh, absolutely not!’ Seek thought to themselves, pulling you away from the water stream before Rush could soak you through your clothes.

“Aww, Seek!” you grumble as they glare down at you in your still dry clothes.

Rush proceeds to go through a few rooms of the greenhouse, spraying down the Snares as they went. You and Seek followed along.

“Me and Rush do mostly the same stuff when cleaning the Snares. Screech tries to do the fireman stuff, but isn’t very good at it. The Snares just find Screech’s pathetic attempts funny anyway” you explain as you go along. Seek was… definitely going to have some words with you and Rush about this, but after you were done. They didn’t want to try and force you to stop whilst surrounded by Snares, after all.

Rush stopped shortly before room 97.

“Well, your turn” Rush says, dumping the large hose into Seek’s hands.

“Excuse me?” Seek questions, with slight indignation.

“You wanted to learn Snare maintenance, you gotta clean them” Rush replies.

“Yeah! Get dressed!” you add, as Rush removes the helmet and gloves and is about to start removing the rest of the fireman gear.

“Absolutely not!” Seek wouldn’t mind hosing down the Snares, but dressed like that? Absolutely not!

“Oh come on, it’s what the people want!” you winge. Seek’s glare would imply they won’t back down from this. “Ok, at least wear the helmet and gloves… for the Snares?” Seek stares at the hat and gloves in Rush’s hands. They could be… an acceptable compromise.

“Urgh, fine” they snap, holding the hose in one hand whilst snatching the helmet and putting it on with the other. Then putting on the bulky gloves.

“Great!” you exclaim, before running over to the door, opening it and leaning in. “Ok Snares, you guys got a new fireman today! Not your favourite, unfortunately, but maybe this one will win you guys over anyway!” you gesture dramatically for Seek to approach. Oh, the indignation of it all…

Seek grumpily stomped over to the next room and appeared before the crowd of Snares. They stare up at Seek with anticipation, or at least, that is what Seek thinks is happening. Without a word, they raise the hose and start spraying down the little plant creatures.

“Put more enthusiasm into it!” Rush shouts.
“Give them a show!” you shout.

Seek hates every moment of this, and is very glad when they finally reach the end of the greenhouse, washing down the last of the Snares.

“Ok, you're not wearing the full outfit, so I suppose Rush can do the finale. Take it away Rush!” you say as Rush runs to the centre of the room. They start hyping up the crowd a bit.

And then they rip their tank top off with their bare hands. The crowd goes wild as Rush flexes in front of them a bit. Seek is disgusted to realise that the way you bathe the Snares is by essentially becoming… Seek doesn’t want to think about it.

“Ok guys, show’s over, back to what you were done” you say after clapping a bit. Suddenly the room is devoid of Snares, leaving you, Rush and a very confused, very concerned Seek.

“And that’s Snare bathing, what did you think?” Rush asks Seek, turning to face them.

“I think… we’ll need to have some words…” Seek says slowly, but first, they need some time to mentally scrub what just happened from their mind. They remove the helmet and gloves, drop them to the floor and slowly walk off.

“What’s up with them?” you ask Rush, watching Seek leave. You couldn’t possibly understand why bath time for the Snares was such an issue.

Chapter Text

Today you were hanging out with Dupe alone. Both of you had finished your chores, but apparently none of the others had. Rush and Ambush were still cleaning, and from what you could tell from when you peeked into Halt’s corridor, Screech was mopping it with their own tears. Tragic.

So here the two of you were, lying idly in the middle of a random corridor, talking about anything you could think about. You were really just absentmindedly passing the time.

“-And I don’t know why Seek took such an offence to it!” you say as you wave your arms in the air, above your head. “We were just doing Snare care the way we usually do it, and now they want us to not do it in ‘fancy dress’, as they put it” You let out a frustrated huff.

“Damn, that’s crazy” Dupe says, with only half interest.

“Like, what’s wrong with me and Rush dressing up as firemen when we clean the Snares?” you complain, arms falling back to your sides.

“-Wait, you do what?” Dupe asks, suddenly more vested in the conversation.

“The Snares find it entertaining, so it’s good for morale” you explain. “Seek had a go and was mortified by the whole thing”

“You guys got Seek dressed as a fireman? And didn’t think to tell anyone?” They sound almost offended by your lack of sharing.

“Well, Seek refused to wear anything more than the helmet and gloves, so they weren’t a very good fireman… why do you care anyway?” you turn to face where Dupe was longing against the wall.

Dupe looked up and down the corridor, checking to see if anyone was around. There was nobody.

“Follow me. I wanna show you something” Dupe quickly gets up and manifests one of their doorways.

“Oh no! I’m not following you there! I’m not repeating that last traumatic incident!” which you shall never speak of.

“You’ll want to see this,” Dupe says, gesturing with a large claw for you to follow.

Curiosity got the better of you, and soon you found yourself getting to your feet and heading over to the doorway. With a deep breath, you step through the precipice. The door slammed shut behind you almost immediately, making you both jump and kinda regret this decision.

It is dark for a few seconds, and you are about to call out to Dupe when suddenly a light bulb that is hanging from… somewhere far above, switches on above something. Getting closer to it, it appears to be a corkboard. One with loads of photographs attached to it.

“Behold!” Dupe announces, gesturing to the board as you continue to approach.

“What… is this?” you ask in bewilderment. You knew Dupe was into photography, but you thought they did mostly landscapes and liminal spaces. You’ve seen those photos, they’re pretty good. But these…! These are something else.

“My secret collection. Do you like it?” Dupe replies, coyly leaning against the corkboard.

You don’t reply, only looking over the board with dumb shock. These images… they’re scandalous! They could ruin the reputation of… well, everyone here! Hold up, some of those are from the beach party! When did Dupe take those…?

You snatch one off the board and stare down at it in shock. It’s Screech! In their maid outfit!

“When did you get this?” you ask.

“Recently. Screech owed me for a rescue, and I heard they looked adorable as a little maid” In Dupe’s defence, Screech seemed to be having fun posing in the outfit.

“You’re not gonna ask me to dress as a maid too, are you?” you ask, a little bit fearful for your own dignity.

“Oh no, the clientele don’t want human photos!” Dupe says dismissively.

“You sell these?!?!” you almost yell in shock.

“Sometimes. Shadow and Void have ways of reaching the outside world. Certain humans apparently have… particular tastes. They say they have a repeat customer for Rush pictures…” Rush is a favourite? Is that why there are so many goddamn Rush images? You’re also noticing a strange lack of Ambush, Figure and Seek. There’s nothing of Hide, obviously.

“Do you have stuff for everyone?” you ask, still processing everything you were seeing.

“No…” Dupe laments. “Figure doesn’t wear clothes, and getting them into a ‘compromising’ position hasn’t happened yet. I did have some Ambush stuff, but Ambush bought them off me so no one will have to see. And Seek, well…” as Dupe trailed off, they picked up a small, expensive looking box. “...I’ve only got this one” they tap the box gently. You reach over to the box, curious as to what kind of scandalous image of Seek Dupe could have possibly gotten, but Dupe abruptly pulls the box away from you. “Ah, ah, ah!” Dupe tuts, “This is my most prized possession, I’m not showing it off so easily!”

“What would you do to share?” you ask, genuinely curious about it, even if it may potentially scar you.

“How willing are you to try and get Figure into an awkward position?”

“Nevermind then”

“Shame…”

The two of you stare over the board in silence for a little longer.

“Hey Dupe, why are you showing me all this?” you ask after a while.

“Because, my dear little human friend-” Dupe turns and grabs your arms abruptly. You jump slightly.

“No one” you are pushed away from the board.
“Will ever” you are spun around, and a door appears in front of you and opens into a corridor.
“Believe you” you are shoved out into the corridor, falling face first onto the floor. The door slams shut behind you.

You get up and angrily bang on it as it fades out of existence.

“Dupe, you sick son of a-!”

You have to end that thought immediately, for Seek entered the corridor along with A-90, who they were showing around the hotel. The two of them seemed most confused as to why you were taking an unspeakable amount of rage out on an innocent wall.

Chapter Text

As part of your ‘education’, Figure had tasked you with creating a presentation on a significant historic event. They didn’t seem to care what, so they let you pick the topic.

“Ok, Figure. I finished my speech!” you call out across the library as you scoop up the typed up pages and vacate your seat. Figure was sitting in the centre of the library, awaiting you.

“Good, what did you choose for it?” they ask as you reach them.

“My presentation is going to be on the founding of the Rushan empire!... Or Rushian empire, I haven’t come up with a good name yet” Figure’s demeanour would suggest they were scowling at that comment.

“The assignment I gave you was history, and this-” they began, but you quickly interjected.

“Yeah, yeah, but you don’t seem that interested in human history. So I chose something of historic significance to the hotel, something you’d be more interested to learn!” you explain quickly.

“Fine” Figure responds curtly. “Start your presentation” and so you do.

- - -

A long time ago, before I even stepped foot inside this building, there were three friends: Rush, Ambush and Dupe. On a fine summer's eve, the three of them were discussing matters of great import. But there was none more import than that of what they choose to do in their spare time, when not engaging on hunting trips.

On this occasion, Dupe was displaying to the two others their masterful artworks. Pictures taken to make even the most ordinary of locations seem divine!

- - -

“Do you have to be so dramatic?” Figure grumbles.

“Yes” you reply, before continuing.

- - -

“Oh these pictures are simply splendid!” Ambush did exclaim. “I have never seen Halt’s domain look as though it is a gaping maw!”

“Bah! I’ve seen more pristine artworks done by Seek!” Rush did sneer.

Dupe, grateful of Ambush’s and vexed by Rush’s jeer, did pose unto Rush this question:
“Oh Rush, I wouldn’t expect you to be able to appreciate the finer things in life. Such a brute, is you. Why should I value the opinion of the?”

“You would take Ambush’s word over me?” Rush exclaims with surprise.

“Much like Dupe, I too enjoy pastimes with finer qualities, such as reading a good book. My eye for finer things is better than yours” Ambush responds with a smug air.

“Such a little swot you are!” Rush exclaims, not knowing of the irreparable damage they just began to Ambush’s interests-

- - -

“Wait! Is that why Ambush stopped reading? Because Rush called them a swot?” Figure interrupts. They’re gonna have to talk to Rush about that…

“Well, Rush would have used ‘nerd’, but swot sounded better for the story. Now will you stop interrupting, I wanna finish this presentation so I can hang with Screech!”

- - -

“I have interests of the physical kind! I am a fine physical specimen, if I do say so myself!”

“Oh, my poor, pathetic Rush!” Dupe exclaims, patting Rush on the shoulder with friendly jeer. “You do that for work! Find yourself an interest that requires patience and then you would be on our level!”

Ambush and Dupe did laugh off Rush’s misery before vacating the area and leaving Rush to stew alone.

After many a days thinking on what they could possibly do, Rush came to an enlightened conclusion. That greenhouse, so abandoned, would be a perfect place to practise a patient interest. Only fair Eyes do enter the greenhouse on the regular, and even they are not oft there!

It was there upon that Rush did decide: I would be the gardener of the greenhouse!

From a local merchant, Rush did obtain items they had been informed were required of a gardener: with overalls, a straw hat, gloves and boots adorned, Rush did travel to the greenhouse to start their plant growing endeavours!

A curious happenstance was noticed by Rush as they dragged in a hefty bag of fertiliser: little creatures appeared out of the ground around areas of accident spillage. They seemed most pleased by their spoils, and so benevolently, Rush chose to let them keep the scraps. They proceed to work as best they can. Which is not very well, might I add.

Later on, Rush did notice another curious happenstance. As they were eating their meaty lunch, having elected to take a break, more of those little plant creatures did appear around their feet, consuming the messy scraps that fell from Rush’s hands and face. Alas, these poor creatures must be starved! Should they decide to steal the scraps from a beast as mighty as Rush. Pity in their heart, Rush did throw to them more food for them to feast upon.

The little plant creatures were filled with such joy! To be given such a bountiful meal! They swore unto Rush a sworn vow: “Thank you! Oh benevolent one! We shall fight in your name always!”

Their vow, always upheld, the creatures would fight for the one who brought them bountiful food! Later they were to be named the ‘Snares’, as the lord pitied their lack of name.

- - -

“Wait-”

“No, reserve questions for the end! I’m almost done!”

- - -

This empire, ruled by the benevolent overlord known as Rush, has remained strong and firm for all these years! Even if Ambush and Dupe are not so impressed by the vegetables that Rush does grow in their domain.

It do be fortunate for me that Rush do be able to grow vegetables, lest I go hungry.

On a day long ago, but not too long in the eyes of some, a human went to the greenhouse to procure their food for the week.

“Be mindful of the Snares!” Rush did exclaim, showing to this human the little creatures that lived in the domain. “They do not like humans such as the! But I know how one may go about winning their love! Come!”

Rush showed the human the Snares favourite snacks and instructed them on how to feed the little creatures. They were quick to learn and so vowed this to the human: “Thank you! The lord claims you as friend, and so do we! To you, we offer protection from those who deign to harm the!”

Aaaand, that’s how I became Rush’s herald. I guess.

- - -

“I guess that’s the end of that” you say, shuffling your papers a bit. “Good enough to give me some recess?”

“Firstly, I have some questions,” Figure says.

“Shoot”

“Are you telling me the Snares dedicate their lives to Rush because they feed them?” Figure seemed both shocked and annoyed by this. “Nothing else caused them to have that level of dedication? Just feeding?”

“Yep, pretty much, next question”

Chapter Text

Our tale begins in a kingdom like no other: Dooroomia! A land known for bountiful wealth, a benevolent ruler and enjoying an era of peace for hundreds of years.

On the throne sat the ever just king Jack, who was greatly adored by the people for his fair rule and approachable attitude, even in spite of the loss of his beloved queen, who died during childbirth. That brings us to the kingdom’s princess, the fair and lovely princess Hide! Though none save for her father and handmaidens had ever seen her, the rumours of her beauty and grace have spread far and wide, leading her to have many suitors. Alas, none have claimed the approval of her father…

King Jack was soon to be struck with tragedy! The night before his beloved daughter's birthday, she was stolen away by The Dark Lord himself! The king sent many a soldiers to The Dark Lord’s castle, but none have ever returned. The king is distraught by the loss of his one and only daughter.

With no other cause of action to take: the king put a bounty out for the defeat of The Dark Lord and the rescue of his beautiful daughter.

In the village of Lobbiam is where we find the heroes of our story. Four adventurers who would see the bounty set by the king, and set off in search of adventure and to rescue the beautiful princess Hide.

The first of our adventurers is the paladin Rush, who’s duties to the convent of the village entail that they must always help those in need. The high priest gave the paladin their blessings and well wishes before they set off to rescue the princess.

The second of our adventurers is the cleric Ambush, known for their healing hand and fair appearance. Having heard of the paladin’s quest, she volunteered to travel with them, knowing the perilous task they intended to undertake.

The third of our adventurers is the rogue Dupe, having being serving time at the convent for trying to steal from the abbey. Now they have been tasked by the high priest to accompany Rush in their task, to which they readily agreed. Even a portion of that reward money could set them up for life, no more crime…

The final of our adventurers is the bard Screech, who’s charming appearance and sonorous voice has captivated many. Having been raised an orphan at the convent, they are all too willing to help in this benevolent quest.

Now, these four-

- - -

“Really, ‘sonorous voice’, Screech?” Ambush snarkily interrupts your dramatic world building.

“Yes, ‘sonorous voice’” you snap back. “If Screech wants to be a pretty, melodic bard, then let them!”

“Yeah!” Screech chimes in, fiddling with their character sheets a bit.

“Are we sleeping on the fact that Hide decided to be the princess, or…?” Dupe adds, leaning lazily on their claws.

“Well, Hide’s helping me with the story, so can’t be a player. And they made themselves a character sheet for the princess!” you bring forwards Hide’s character sheet to show the others.

“Why is it a silhouette?” Rush asks. The image on the sheet shows a fairly decent shadow in the shape of a princess, hidden behind a translucent curtain obviously.

“Because no one knows what the princess looks like! And you won’t either unless you rescue her!” you yell, starting to get annoyed by the prolonged interruption.

“Why princess though?” Rush continues with the questions.

“I mean, I choose to be a woman too?” Ambush says in Hide’s defence. Ambush shows Rush their character sheet, which is definitely a feminine looking cleric.

“Should have made the tits bigger” Dupe calls out across the table. They look they got off Ambush could kill, and Ambush might have punched Dupe if they were in arms reach.

“Listen!” you shout to try and get things back on track. “Can we please continue the game? I want to actually finish the encounter before someone notices me and Screech are getting late for curfew!” You might have already finished the first encounter had Rush not spent ages deciding on what class they wanted to be.

There was a bunch of mixed grumbling, but they all settled down again.

- - -

Now, these four had a long journey ahead of them. The path to The Dark Lord’s castle was filled with many perils, of which the group would have to use their strength, cunning and, uh, teamwork! To overcome

They bid their farewells to their few convent workers, and soon found themselves on the road out of Lobbiam, not knowing if they may ever return.

The first stop on their long road was-

- - -

“What are you two still doing here?” Halt had appeared in the clubroom, interrupting the game. Halt turns to you. “You need to be returning to the library!” They then turn to Screech. “And you need to come with me!”

“Aw, man…” Screech whines as Halt proceeds to pull them out by a metaphorical ear.

You let out a heavy sigh, frustrated at not being able to finish the first encounter.

“I suppose we’ll continue another time. Hide, can you make a note of what’s happened so far?” you say before pushing yourself out of your seat. “Even if it’s not much…” you add on with a grumble, before moodily making your way back to the library.

Chapter Text

Now, where were we? Ah, yes!

The first stop on their long road was a winding trail, used frequently by traders and travellers alike. It would take them in the direction they needed to go.

“Ah, Rush! Slow down!” the cleric called out to the paladin. “Some of us are not as quick on their feet as you!” Alas, poor Screech and Dupe had fallen behind somewhat, their feet not as eager as Rush’s to move.

“Slow down? We have a princess to save!” the paladin announces, not slowing down for a moment's rest. “I hear whoever rescues her will also receive a kiss from the princess herself along with the reward money!”

- - -

“I don’t wanna kiss Hide!” Screech whinges.

“It’s just for the story goddammit!” you return, annoyed to already be interrupted. You continue with the tale.

- - -

“But Rush! We must stick together! There have been more sightings of monsters on the road since The Dark Lord took the princess…” cleric Ambush tries to reason, not that Rush listens. They continue to speed ahead.

El Goblino attack!

With the many deaths of the kingdom's soldiers at The Dark Lord’s hands has caused many monsters to roam the roads. Merchants have recently been complaining of the many El Goblino’s that have been pillaging their wares, taking their coins and ruining their caravans. Now, spotting the group, they must think you're travelling merchants too! There are four in total.

Rush starts the battle separated from the group, surrounded by two El Goblino’s.

The El Goblino’s attack first due to having an ambush!

Rush takes damage from one El Goblino.

Rush takes damage from a second El Goblino.

Two El Goblino move towards Ambush, Dupe and Screech.

Rush takes a wide swing with their sword, hitting both El Goblino.

Dupe stabs one El Goblino.

Ambush casts heal on Rush.

Screech plays their-

- - -

“Screech, you never told me which instrument you wanted to use?” you quickly ask.

“I want to sing!” Screech exclaims.

“Yeah, you can, but as a bard you do still need an instrument” you reply, slightly exasperated.

“Ok, um… I don’t know!”

“Well, a lute is the most common, I think, so you should go with that” Ambush chimes in, likely the only one who read the basic handbook you found.

“Actually, can I have one of those small string things you attack with a stick!” Screech suddenly pipes up.

“Small string things you attack with a stick… a violin?” you ask, somewhat confused.

“Yeah that!” Screech says.

“Ok…”

- - -

Screech plays their violin whilst singing a beautiful song, to inspire Rush to do more in the fight.

Rush takes another wide swing, hitting both of the El Goblino’s by him. They both die.

Dupe is attacked by one of the El Goblino’s.

Ambush is attacked by one of the El Goblino’s.

Rush comes over and stabs the El Goblino that Dupe stabbed earlier.

Dupe also stabs that El Goblino. It dies.

Ambush hits an El Goblino with her staff.

Screech hits an El Goblino with their violin.

The last El Goblino attacks Dupe.

Rush stabs the last El Goblino. It dies.

Victory!

The party are relieved to have survived the ambush by the El Goblino’s.

“See, this is why you shouldn’t run ahead from the group!” Chastises Ambush, lightly whacking Rush on the arm with her staff.

“Fine, fine…” Rush grumbles. “You guys could at least hurry up a little…” they add quietly with a huff.

The party continued down the road.

Further along they bump into a travelling merchant called Jeff. The merchant claims to have seen them fight off the El Goblino’s, and thanks them for making the roads a little bit safer for merchants such as they. To show their gratitude, Jeff offers to give you one weapon for free. Now, who should receive a new weapon?

- - -

“I should have it!” Rush announces.

“Why you?” Dupe groans. “You’re not the main hero of this story!”

“Yeah, but I am the main damage dealer! Fights will go better if I have better weaponry!” Rush states proudly.

“Maybe I should get it? If I have a better healing staff, we’ll all have a better chance of surviving fights!” Ambush reasons.

“Do I get any benefits from having a better violin?” Screech asks.

“Do more damage and also play better songs” you state.

“I wanna play more songs!” Screech exclaims.

“No,” Dupe says. “I think we should give it to Ambush”

“Well, if I can’t have it, I think Rush should have it!” Screech huffs, clearly choosing this based on Dupe’s rejection.

“Well, the four of you gotta decide soon!” you remind them.

- - -

After much bickering, Rush ended up with a brand new sword, leaving Ambush to sulk. The party didn’t have much money at this stage, they were only able to extract a little from the fallen El Goblino’s, so they had to be on their way.

The road was soon to come to an end, leaving them at the edge of a massive forest. It would take days for the party to go around the densely packed forest, so they had no choice but to make their way through.

Chapter Text

“Aww! I stood on something sharp!” Screech complained as the party made their way through the forest. The densely packed shrubbery made it incredibly difficult for them to traverse.

“Yes… all these vines and roots seem to be covered in thorns… So mind your step!” Ambush states observantly.

“I've also heard that Snares make this forest their home, so we should keep an eye open for them” Rush calls back to the group, still leading the charge but not as hastily as before.

Snares were not of immediate concern for the party, however. El Goblino’s have spread far in the disorder caused by The Dark Lord, and have even begun wandering in a place like this. The party is descended upon by a trio of El Goblino’s.

“Pah! These El Goblino’s are so weak and slow! We can take them!” Rush exclaims, getting ready to fight.

“Well, if we know anything about El Goblino’s, they’re not exactly into fitness” Dupe remarks snarkily, as getting ready to fight.

“Yeah, but I bet they’re into fitness dick in their mouth!” Screech shouts, also ready to fight.

One of the El Goblino’s died.

- - -

It was only after everyone finished groaning at Screech’s remark that anyone processed what you just said.

“Hold up! Why did one die?” Rush asks.

“Screech killed it with vicious mockery” you state.

“The hell is that?” Rush asks, with a bit more confusion/annoyance.

“I think it’s a spell that bards can use” you reply.

“Wait! I can do magic!?” Screech exclaims, eyes lighting up in excitement.

“Yes! Bards are technically a caster class, so they can do some spells!” you let out a vexed groan. “Didn’t you read-” No, they didn’t. There’s no point in asking. “Let’s just get back to the campaign”

- - -

Much like the previous encounter, our party was able to swiftly dispatch the annoyance.

“Well, that’s that then!” Ambush says happily, finishing patching up the minor injuries her fellow travellers had incurred. “We better be on our way!”

And so the party was back to struggling their way through the thick growth of the forest. The thick vines were oppressing their every movement, sharp thorns causing unnecessary wear and tear to the armour and equipment of the travellers.

“Urgh! I’m gonna need this cloak patched up at the next village…” Dupe grumbles as they inspect the many new holes that litter the article.

“And I’m gonna need new shoes!” Screech cries out. “I keep standing on sharp things!”

“You might be standing on more sharp things shortly: look!” Ambush exclaims in dismay.

Ahead of the party was a smallish clearing that was seemingly empty. The rest of the group didn’t quite notice what Ambush was talking about, until they noticed some slight movement.

It was filled with Snares, there was anywhere between twelve and twelve hundred of them. Being fairly solitary creatures, they didn’t seem happy at the sudden appearance of the group of four.

“There’s so many of them… I don’t think we’ll be able to take them all on!” Ambush whispers.

“Perhaps we should do a tactical retreat?” inquires Dupe.

“No. We need to pass this way. There has to be something we can do…” Rush says.

“Screech has high charisma, maybe they can talk them into letting us pass?” suggests Ambush.

“I can try, I guess,” Screech says before approaching the angry little horde. “Um, hey there little guys! Fancy seeing you here. My party and I are on a quest to save a princess! We really need to pass through, so could you, like, let us through?”

It doesn’t seem to work. The Snares aggressively display their spikes and continue to advance towards the party. Screech backs up so that they are with the group again.

“Ack! It didn’t work!” Screech exclaims in dismay. If the party is not able to resolve this situation, they may be done for!

“Stay behind me, friends!” Rush says, standing before the group. “I took an oath to protect those in need and that is what I shall do!”

- - -

“What happened to your paladin having the oath of throwing it back?” Dupe snickers at the table.

“That was a joke!” Rush shouts defensively, looking like they were about to throw something at Dupe.

“You never know, the Snares might like it” Dupe says, continuing to try and egg on Rush. “They do seem to love it when you do silly performances for them, as far as I’ve heard”

“Guys! Can we continue!” you were already late for some library cleaning duties you were meant to be doing.

- - -

“Maybe you should perform for them, Rush?” Dupe suggests.

“I’m not the bard!” Rush replies angrily.

“Yes, but I’ve heard that Snares have a thing for… big burly paladins. Maybe you should give it a go?” Dupe continues. This is a life or death situation! They shouldn’t be joking! Unless it wasn’t a joke… and Dupe knows something about the Snares the rest of the party doesn’t.

“I mean… it’s worth a shot?” Ambush says, a little defeated, and without any other suggestion.

“I- You- Urgh…” Rush, defeated, and with a sworn oath to protect those in need… and throw it back, apparently, walked towards the angry mob. “Snares… I’m going to do something, and hope you’ll use it to consider letting us go…”

With a high degree of embarrassment, Rush got into position, and they-

- - -

“What are you two still doing here?” a surprise A-90 entered the room. “Don’t you and Screech have chores to be doing?” A-90 didn’t know what ‘Updog clubroom’ meant, but they found the place Seek said the two of you tended to hang out.

“Oh god dammit!” you exclaim, hitting the table in frustration. “Ok, fine, tell Figure I’ll be there shortly…” you grumble, pushing yourself to your feet moodily. “Ok, to save time, let’s just say Rush threw it back, the Snares were happy and your party made it through the forest. We gotta expedite this campaign or we may never finish” you then storm out the door past A-90.

“Aw man, I gotta help Halt clean their corridor… again…” There were already tears in Screech’s eyes as they too passed A-90.

“Thanks a lot ‘90, now I’ll never get them to graphically describe Rush throwing it back” Dupe snaps now that you are gone.

“Tf you want that for!?” Rush shouts over at Dupe.

A-90 didn’t understand what on earth was going on, so they simply left to go to the library.

Chapter Text

“This sucks…” you grumble to yourself as you sweep up all the debris that had been piling up. Why did some intruders have to be so messy? They seem to want to break practically everything they touch. “You seeing this, Glitch?” you shout into the air, knowing full well that they probably are.

“Quit complaining to the purple guy already,” A-90 says. They’re not here to help, but to watch you so you don’t get into trouble. “It’ll pass much quicker if you stop whining and focus”

“It would pass much quicker if I enjoyed myself, but Figure-” you glare in the direction of said entity as you said their name “-won’t let me play music whilst I clean, and you-” the glaring now directed at A-90 “-said I wasn’t allowed to wear a maids outfit!”

“Seek said you were prohibited from doing so because of a prior incident” Yes… and Seek definitely doesn’t want that repeated.

“Oh come on! It wasn’t that much of an issue! And Halt’s letting Screech dress as a maid whilst they clean the corridor!” you yell.

“No they aren’t” A-90 replies curtly.

“Yes they are!” you reply in indignation.

Yes they are. Halt quickly realised they could get Screech to do a better job if they incentivized it somehow. Screech was very keen on the idea of being able to do the cleaning in costume, and Halt got to make Screech a new (modest) maids outfit.

“Regardless, you have to keep cleaning” A-90 changes the subject, not wanting to continue arguing.

“It would also be easier if I had help, it’s not like Figure is gonna be much use anytime soon” you gesture over to Figure. They’re putting all the displaced books back on the shelf. You never quite figured out how they always seem to know where every book belongs…

“I was told someone agreed to aid you, but I wasn’t told who… nor do they seem to be here yet” It was as A-90 said that, that you heard a familiar sound in the distance, getting closer to your location. A-90 seemed to hear it too, and let out a long groan. “Oh no…”

The library doors are flung open with such force that you were surprised they didn’t come straight off their hinges. A familiar smiling face stands in the doorway.

“Hiiiiiii!” A-120 calls out before happily making their way into the library. As heavy footed as always, Figure winces at the sound of every step they took. They reach you and A-90 and pretty much jump to a stop, the last loudest, ground shaking stomp. A whole bunch of books fall off of various shelves, much to Figure’s dismay. “I’m here to help!”

“What on earth are you wearing!?” A-90 yells out.

A-120 is wearing… a maids outfit. It is small and tight and a hundred percent not fitting them well. That skirt is one wrong bend over away from… A-120 does a small twirl.

“You like? Halt made it for me!” A-120 says happily.

“They what!?” A-90 yells, a bit more angrily.

“They what!?” you shout, a little miffed.

“Yeah! Screech said they were gonna get one and asked if I wanted one too! …But I think the measurements are a little off…” ‘A little’ is an understatement. Screech thought it would be funny to give Halt completely wrong measurements for A-120.

“How come everyone else are allowed maid outfits!? Am I just being discriminated against!?” So unfair, honestly.

“Take that ridiculous thing off!” A-90 demanded.

“Why? Do you want to see me naked?” A-120 teased, much to A-90’s annoyance. A-120 laughs slightly at A-90’s pouting, before turning to face you. “We should probably get started!”

“Yeah… wait, you didn’t happen to see Dupe on your way here, did you?” you quickly ask.

“No, why?” A-120 responds with a degree of confusion.

“Ah… It’s nothing…” Hopefully Dupe will be denied this one. “Let’s get cleaning!” you say quickly, hoping that they’ll forget about the inquiry.

“Yep!” A-120 is quick to run over to a pile of fallen books. “I should probably pick some of these up, I think I knocked them down in my excitement…”

A-120 bent over. With a skirt of that size… A-90 is quick to put their sign in front of your face, obscuring your vision before you see anything that might scar you.

“Stop looking, get cleaning” A-90 says, quickly. You comply, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible.

A-120 was a big help in the cleaning process, even if their metallic stomping would sometimes knock things over and was very annoying for Figure to deal with. Fortunately, the library cleaning was done in a decent amount of time. You and A-120 stood before Figure when it was all done.

“I trust this is satisfactory-” A-120 asks.

“Call them ‘master’” you quickly whisper to A-120.

“-master?” A-120 complies. Figure visibly bristles, much to your delight. A-90 gives you both a very disapproving stare.

“Yes… this is fine. You may leave, A-120” Figure says. A-120 does a curtsey, this time getting hit by A-90 with their sign, before leaving quickly.

“I did a good job, do I get some sweets now?” you ask, you know there are still some in the stash of sweets you are permitted to have. Yes, Figure is probably using the sweets to train you like a dog… but come on! It’s that, or living on a diet of whatever Rush can grow in the greenhouse, currently potatoes and lemons.

“Alright” Figure responds, handing you a small handful. It sucks at how small the portions they give you are, but no one wants to risk repeating the last incident.

“Hell yeah!” you exclaim, scarfing down the sweets like a starved beast.

Well, with these chores done, you should be able to continue your game soon… provided Screech finished theirs in a timely manner too.

Chapter Text

Ok, where were we? Ah, yes! The party pacified the Snares and made it through the forest!

“Oh, Rush, you were so, so brave back there!” Ambush marvelled as she continued down the road. Rush, who was now uncharacteristically lagging behind a bit, simply grumbled in response.

“You gotta show me how to do that at some point!” Screech announces. “Bet with my charisma and that kinda move, I’d be unstoppable!”

“I’d like to see that!” Dupe added.

As the sun was setting, the party happened upon an inn.

“We should settle here for the night, wouldn’t be wise to travel at night” Ambush says as she makes her way up the path towards the inn.

“Do we even have enough money for a room?” Rush inquires as they follow along.

“If not, I’m sure there’s a few drunk patrons I can steal from!” Dupe adds.

“Dupe! You’re meant to be repenting for the life of crime!” Ambush scolds, briefly turning back to follow the rogue before facing forwards again. When she reached the front down of the inn, she pushed it open and the party followed her into the building.

“Somethings not right here…” Ambush says, the instance she walks in.

“Everything seems fine to me” Rush states.

“Yeah!” Screech adds.

Whilst her companions approached the bar to get a nice drink inside of themselves, Ambush couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something amiss here…

As the cleric walks the open space, she observes the goings on around her:

The patrons, drinking and eating, had some very strange movements, like puppets on a string. They did not resemble living beings enjoying their evening. They were not in control of their actions. Something had to be controlling them…

The dancers on the stage performed well, and yet… all they did was spin round, and round, and round, and round… the dances were not very elaborate for people who appeared to be professional entertainers… The music was also very muted… It was too quiet…

As she approached the hearth to seek some warmth, she noticed how chilly and bitter the air was despite being in a building. It did not fare any better when she reached the fire itself.

Ambush, in her observations, believed she knew what was going on here.

“There’s a spectre in this domain! Enslaving these poor travellers to its bidding!”

At this realisation, Ambush hastily approached her companions.

“Rush! Dupe! Screech! We must brace ourselves for conflict! There is a malevolent spirit in this inn, and it is enslaving the patrons unto its bidding!” She frantically explained.

Her companions gave very little response in acknowledgement.

“Oh no! It’s got them too already!?” Ambush exclaimed. “How could it do so so quickly? Is it a powerful spirit?”

No, even powerful spirits would not be able to seize control of the heroes that fast. It must have used something to gain control of them, something that had yet to affect Ambush herself…

“I know! They must have drank some of the alcohol!” The cleric approaches the bar and tentatively sniffs at some of the tankards that lined the counter. They all smelled of alcohol, yes, but there was nothing she could use to definitively decide if it was used by the spectre to gain control of the heroes. Regardless, Ambush chose not to consume even a single drop.

With her party compromised, Ambush quickly began to search the inn for any sense of the spectre responsible.

“Psst!” a voice calls to her as she walks the length of the inn's ground level. She stops and looks around a bit, eyes eventually falling onto one of the dancers. This one… isn’t actually possessed!

“Who are you?” Ambush asks “Do you know what is going on here?”

“My name is A-120, I’m a performer who works at this inn! But as of late, all the patrons, staff and guests keep falling into this trance! I haven’t been affected by it yet, but whenever I try to leave I find myself stopped by some strange force!”

“I believe a spectre of some kind is haunting this inn, we should go look for it and try to stop it!” alas, Ambush is a supportive character, not an actual fighter… “Do you know how to fight, by any chance?”

“I know my way around a sword well enough, yes” A-120 replies, much to the relief of Ambush.

“Good” she states as she continues towards the stairs to the next floor. “I’ve noticed that no one seems to head upstairs this entire time, so perhaps the spectre is up there somewhere?”

“Now that I think about it… you’re right!” A-120 exclaims. “Staff accommodation is on the ground level, so I’ve never had a need to go upstairs”

“Well, let's go then!” Ambush announces, and the two women run upstairs in search of the spectre.

- - -

“Women?” Rush asks. “A-120’s dancer is a woman too?”

“Yep!” you exclaim, a little annoyed that you had gotten so far without interruptions, only for Rush to ruin it. “I asked them to make a character, they made a dancer, and when I asked if they wanted to gender their character they said ‘I don’t know, make it a woman?’ and here we are!” you clear your throat. “Anyway, back to the game!”

- - -

Reaching the landing, the two women both note that it is much colder up here than it is downstairs. They stare out down the long corridor, lined with various doors leading to various bedrooms.

“The spectre has to be up here” Ambush states.

“Yes, but how will we find it? Do we have to search all these rooms?” A-120 inquires thoughtfully.

“Maybe not… everything downstairs is so much quieter than it should be for an inn, so perhaps if we make a ruckus, it will draw out the spectre!” Ambush suggests. A-120 lights up at the suggestion of making a lot of noise.

“A ruckus, you say? Then allow me!”

With that, A-120 performs a stunning, beautifully, gracefully dance down the corridor. It is only such a shame that she had to be so heavy footed about it. The stomps of her every landing near shook the entire building with each thunderous movement. If the spectre didn’t like noise, then that would surely…

Yes! There it is! It appeared just as A-120 made her graceful, pirouetting return to Ambush. With it’s appearance, the whole corridor felt like it was about to ice over, and it began to approach the two women with such hostile intent.

It was time for Ambush and A-120 to take down… Halt!

Chapter Text

“I'm here!”

You would have been surprised by the door to the clubroom being kicked open, had the entity that was doing the kicking found it physically possible to be quiet when moving. So it was no real surprise when A-120 came barging in.

They grabbed a chair and dragged it over to the desk where the group were doing their game. They grab their character sheet and other bits and drop them down on the table.

“Hey! This is our campaign!” Screech protests.

“Yeah, but, I'm cameoing in this fight, so I thought to join!” A-120 explains. There's a bit of murmuring from the group but it is eventually accepted.

- - -

“Right… what now!?” A-120 asks as the spectre angrily approaches the two women. Ambush thinks to herself.

“If we slay this ghost, the people of the inn should be freed from its spell” she says thoughtfully.

“Slay ghost? Got it!” A-120 responds, drawing her sword and running forwards towards the spectre.

“No! Wait-!” Ambush cries out, but it is too late. A-120 attempts to take a swipe at Halt, but the metal simply goes through the body as if it isn't even there. Yet, the chill of the body freezes and shatters the blade of the sword to pieces. A-120 yelps, and retreats back to Ambush's side.

“Well… that went well!” A-120 says nervously, looking between the handle of the sword and the approaching spectre. The two of them back down the corridor slowly. “Any suggestions?”

“Its incorporeal form will make most physical attacks null…My magic would be effective, but it would be greatly difficult to fight by myself…” Ambush thinks to themselves for a bit. “...But Rush’s sword should have divine blessings, it could work against the ghost!”

“Right, let's get down there then!”

The dancer and the cleric quickly retreat back down to the ground level of the inn, persuaded by the angry spirit. They had to avoid the ghosts' attempts to manifest in front of them, but they were able to return to the ground level unharmed.

“Where are your companions?” A-120 asks frantically, the sound of the approaching enemy too close for comfort.

“I last saw them over by the bar…” Ambush quickly scans the room with her eyes. Rush is a large person, they should be easy to- ah! There they are! “There!” Ambush shouts, pointing. The two quickly run over to the still-possessed paladin.

“I’ll be taking that!” A-120 says as she removes the blessed sword from its sheath.

The two turn around to the ghost now in the centre of the room.

“Have at you, foul spectre!” Ambush shouts, before casting a spell to inflict wounds on the spectre.

“Yeah! What she said!” A-120 chimes in, getting into position to fight Halt once more.

Halt briefly stops its advance, and various bar patrons suddenly become more animated, advancing on the duo. The spectre is controlling the possessed and using them as fodder against them!

“Focus on the ghost, defeating it is the only way to save them!” Ambush calls, using her staff to shove an aggressive drunkard away from her.

“Easier said then-” A-120 says through gritted teeth. Many had advanced on the dancer. She was fortunate her profession had kept her both light and quick on her feet, able to gracefully swerve around the hostels.

- - -

“Projecting much?” Dupe snickers out.

“What does that mean!” A-120 shouts across the table with indignation.

“‘Light on her feet’? You couldn’t walk quietly if your life depended on it!” Dupe says.

You groan, wanting to just get on with the game.

- - -

A-120 is finally able to get close enough to Halt to take another swing at it, hoping that the sword of the paladin would not shatter instantly like her own had. The blade must truly have been blessed by the gods themselves, for the spectre let out a horrific shriek as the metal went through its form.

“Hey! This thing works!” A-120 exclaims in delight, although her moment of distraction enables the ghost to cause her harm. “Ah!” she exclaims as she quickly backs away from the bitter-cold harm that has touched her skin.

“Are you ok? Allow me!” Ambush casts a healing spell on A-120.

“Thanks!” A-120 calls, before turning her full attention back to Halt. “You think your cold can stop me, fiend? I’ll have you know I’m an amazing figure skater!” A-120 continues her assault on the malevolent spirit, aided frequently with blessings and guidance from Ambush.

With one final heave of the blade, A-120 is able to bring down the ghost, reducing it to nothing more than ectoplasm on the floor.

“We did it!” Ambush squeals in delight.

The moment that the spectre is defeated, it is like a light is switched on in the eyes of all the possessed. The ones that were trying to harm the duo immediately stopped, confused, wondering why they were doing what they were doing.

“Urgh, what happened…” Rush mumbles as they finally regain control of their senses. “Hey! Where’s my sword!” Rush shouts angrily. A-120 quickly returns the weapon to the paladin, having to explain frantically (with verification from Ambush) what just happened.

With the inn saved, the owner offered our heroes their rooms on the house tonight, as well as a small monetary reward. A-120 got a small pay rise, yippee!

When morning came, our heroes, now rested and refreshed, made their way back onto the road to continue their journey.

Chapter Text

The road to The Dark Lord’s castle was not just filled with winding paths, dense forests and hordes of overly zealous El Goblino’s; our heroes now found themselves climbing up the twisting path of a steep volcano.

“Urgh, are you sure we couldn’t go around?” Dupe grumbles, having just had to stop briefly to get another piece of charred rock out of their boots.

“It would have taken many days for us to go around, this is the quickest route” Ambush explains sympathetically, brushing some soot off the front of her dress.

“The trek builds character, stop being a woss!” Rush says un-sympathetically, not caring for the grime that coated their armour. They were also very much not about to let the others know they were sweltering in it…

“Oh! I know a song about this volcano! Wanna hear it!? Might motivate you all to move faster!” Screech asks excitedly, extracting their violin from their back.

“No!” the three companions chorused.

- - -

“But I sing well in this story!” Screech protests with a pout.

“Still no, I don’t want to listen to you sing in real life!” Rush grumbles.

- - -

Now with a dejected Screech, the party continued up the path. Soon they were reaching the blistering heat of the summit…

Unfortunately for our heroes, the summit of the volcano was the home to a very powerful, very angry fire demon!It had been awoken by the presence in its domain, and now it sort their blood. Its great form towered above the travellers; sharp teeth emerging from the smoking, smouldering maw of the beast.

It was the legendary, the infamous, the A-60!

“A legendary beast such as this would make for a fine accomplishment!” Rush declares charging into battle with much vigour.

“Rush! Be careful!” Ambush exclaims, racing after them. Dupe and Screech gave each other a side eye, before following after the two.

Rush attempts to cleave one of the legs of the beast, but the intense heat of its body makes it difficult to wield the blade, so Rush is only able to do minimum damage to the leg.

“Damn it, why is it so hot!?” Rush says through gritted teeth, wiping sweat off their brow.

Ambush casts a ward on Rush, anticipating a retaliation.

“It might not be best to get too close to it- Ah!” Just as Ambush said that, the mighty A-60 shot a giant fireball at Rush. The ward was able to mitigate a lot of damage from Rush, though they were still greatly hurt. Ambush got caught in the area of effect damage from the fireball, and also sustained massive damage.

“Ambush! Noooo!” Screech cries out, running to their companion in distress, though having to duck away from a swipe from the monster which threatened to send them flying.

“This might be a burst!” Dupe says in frustration. “I don’t think we’re powerful enough to defeat this demon!”

“Should have thought more El Goblino’s to grind for exp…” Rush groans, trying to get to tier feet, only for the A-60 to knock them down again.

“Maybe we can pacify it? Like we did the Snares?” Screech suggests pulling the injured Ambush away from the fighting.

“And how would we even do that? This demon is a monster!” Dupe exclaims, expertly dodging all the claws and flames like the true acrobat that they are.

“Well…” Screech thinks for a second. “I know a song about this volcano! I can sing it for the demon!” Screech gets their violin out and positions it ready.

- - -

“You really want to subjugate us to your singing, don’t you?” Rush groans out, almost face planting the table. Dupe and Ambush had a similar look of disappointment on their faces.

“Hey! I will tell you now that Screech is-” you couldn’t say a good singer, that would be a lie. “-getting better at it everyday!” Your words do not inspire joy in the other three at the table, and you are pretty sure Hide is giving you the stink eye from the wardrobe, but you couldn’t be certain on that one.

“Yeah!” Screech exclaims. “Now let me just find my lyrics…” they begin rummaging through the piles of papers that they had in front of them.

“Wait, you actually wrote the songs you sing?” Ambush asked, shocked.

“Halt helps…” Screech mumbles as they continue to search. “Ah! Here it is!” Screech holds the slightly crumpled piece of paper high to the sky, triumphantly.

“Ok, do your thing then…” you say, bracing yourself for what was about to occur.

- - -

Screech runs forwards once leaving Ambush a safe distance from the fighting.

“A-60!” Screech calls as loud as they can, to get the monster's attention. “I beseech you to let my companions and I go! For you, I perform this tribute to what once was!” And with that, Screech performs their song:
Oh a long time ago, upon the mountain pyre!
There lived a demon with a soul of fire!
And atop that mountain, it ruled with its son!
But the people down below did live with scorn!
Such disdain for the demon only made them unwise!
And they found themselves simply wishing for its demise!
They marched up the mountain with their hearts full of vigour!
And fought the demons until their numbers were smaller!
Blood had been spilt from both, regardless of side!
And the people did see how that demon did cry!
A son was lost and the demon did rage!
And now its mountain is a land of rampage!
The people below now filled with regret!
Did write this song so they’d never forget!
To hope one day they’d atone for this crime!
And to hope the demon's soul would heal in time!

- - -

By the end of the singing, everyone in the room had either covered their ears or looked dead. Screech looked so pleased with themselves and didn’t understand the negative reception.

- - -

Screech took a dramatic bow before the beast, before slowly looking up at it again. A-60 stared down at the tiny singer, almost transfixed by the performance. The other heroes simply looked confused.

“I’m… I’m sorry about your son A-60, extinguished too young… but, if you let me and my companions go, I promise to sing this song wherever I go so that his memory will live on!”

The demon stared silently a little while longer, before slowly retreating back into the lava basin of the volcano, leaving our heroes to make their swift descent down the other side of the volcano.

Chapter Text

After the near-death experience with A-60, our heroes dedicated a lot of the journey to honing their combat skills against the various monsters that roamed the land. Many a El Goblino’s were slain across the roads, much to the thankful delight of all the merchants that travelled. With the favour of said merchants, the party were able to get some fine armour and stylish outfits at an affordable price.

And how did they earn the money to buy these things? By completing quests for various citizens of course!

…Is only half the story.

As per agreement with the A-60, Screech would perform the ode to its son each and every time the party arrived at a new inn, town or urban area. Their vocals were beautiful, and the busking earned the party a hefty amount of coins. Rush, Ambush and Dupe, however, were getting real tired of hearing this one song in every town.

- - -

“Screech! For all things unholy, you don’t actually have to sing everytime we reach a location!” Rush yells across the table at the tiny entity. Dupe has now face planted the table, covering their ears from the torture.

“Yes, you can just say you sang the song!” Ambush adds, barely holding onto the last vestiges of their sanity themselves.

“But, but, but- How will I get better!?” Screech stammers out, eyes filled with hurt.

“Practice in your own time!” Rush shouts, still angered.

“Alone” Ambush adds on.

“Don’t worry Screech, I’ll listen to you practise” you say reassuringly. Screech perks up a little at that.

“Yay!” they exclaim.

- - -

With enough gear in their pockets and a sufficient amount of levels to have them able to take on many challenges, the group makes their final journey towards The Dark Lord’s castle.

The closer they got to the domain, the more the land became bleaker. It was as if the very life had been sapped from the trees and soil themselves. All very unnerving, but these heroes had a beautiful princess to save. They persevered.

All too soon, they found themselves staring up at the fortified castle, with high walls and many, many guards.

“Right… How do we intend to break in there?” Ambush asks, gulping slightly at the overwhelming sight.

“We fight our way in, of course!” Rush exclaims. “What have we been doing all that training for!?”

“Even I know that’s a stupid idea…” Screech grumbles. Ambush and Dupe nod along.

“Well, I don’t see you guys with a better idea!” Rush says defensively, crossing their arms over their chest in annoyance.

“Actually… I do think I have a better idea” Dupe interjects, pulling out a map and a spyglass. “In a few of the towns we passed, I did do some… ‘research’ into the area”

“Research?” Ambush asks sceptically.

“I asked around the towns-” No they didn’t, they broke into many homes and many archives. Don’t tell Ambush, but Dupe is now wanted in at least seven different provinces of the kingdom. And not all of them are for thievery. “-and I heard an interesting rumour…” Dupe brings the spyglass to one of their eyes, scanning the location before finding what they are looking for and handing the spyglass to Ambush so they can see too. “...They say that the cave there is connected to the courtyard of the castle. It could be our best shot of getting in undetected”

“You want us to go in that cave based on a bunch of rumours?” Rush asks snarkily. Dupe frowns at the paladin.

“And your idea was better?” they retort.

“I like the idea!” Screech chimes in.

“Yeah… I suppose it is better than a frontal assault, considering there are only four of us, and we have no idea the numbers The Dark Lord has…” Ambush adds.

“Excellent! Then we should make haste! Our princess awaits!” Dupe says with a clap of their hands, before setting off towards the distant cave. Rush grumbles but sets off too, quickly overtaking Dupe. Ambush and Screech follow.

The four of them arrive at the large entrance to the cave. Screech lights a few torches for the party to hold, as to illuminate their way before they set off into the depths.

“Something doesn’t feel right here…” Ambush mumbles to herself as they make their way forward. “...Where are all the cave dwelling creatures? The bats?” Not that the others seemed to pay her much mind.

“Oops!” Screech exclaims as they accidentally kick a loose rock, the sound of it clattering echoing off the walls of the cave and reverberating around them.

“In a place like this, it’ll be hard to tell where any sound is really coming from…” Ambush says thoughtfully.

“I suppose we should be aware of our surroundings, don’t want something to sneak up on us” Rush adds, continuing forwards.

“Maybe you should strip? That armour is awfully heavy… and loud” Dupe says teasingly, causing Rush to flare up.

“Would you shut up!” Rush shouts angry, voice booming out over the cave system.

Dupe would have retorted, or continued to tease the poor paladin, had a monstrous roar not rang out from somewhere within the cave. The party all froze in their spot, eyes scanning the dark, waving their torches to try and shine a light on what made that noise.

“W-where did that come from?” Screech cries out, the low visibility making it impossible to see too far ahead of them. Their fear only begins to mount as they hear thunderous footsteps that seemed to be heading in their direction, but from which direction? They could not tell!

It is getting so close now…

“Everyone shut up!” Dupe says through gritted teeth, silencing the rest of the party.

Dupe saw movement in the dark. The monster was upon them! But… if this was a cave dwelling monstrosity, then perhaps…

Dupe quickly reached down to the ground and grabbed a sizable rock before hurling it as far as they could down one of the branching paths of the cave.

The creature that had approached them was seen but momentarily in the light, before it abruptly turned and with furious roaring chased the clattering racket of the thrown stone. It was massive, towering over all of them, and despite its rather slender body, those massive claws and razor teeth looked like they could shred through just about anything with ease.

Whatever this figure was, it now stalked our party from within the dark of the cave…

Chapter Text

“By the gods! What was that!” Rush exclaims in shock.

“Keep it down!” Dupe hisses through gritted teeth. “I don't think it can see”

“How would you know that?” Screech whispers inquisitively, though saddened by the sudden realisation that they won’t be playing their violin anytime soon.

“Aren't a lot of cave dwelling creatures?” Dupe responds dryly. Rush gives them a very annoyed look for that tone.

“Well, what should we do then?” Ambush asks the group.

“We should be strong enough to take it out, right?” Rush states.

“Yeah, but with the terrain and dark we’d be at a disadvantage” Ambush explains. “Not to mention that we’d likely have to use some of our resources…”

“Don’t we need all our stuff to fight The Dark Lord?” Screech adds.

“Yeah…” Ambush replies forlornly.

“Great! Guess that means we’re sneaking past this one. Rush, off with the armour”

“Excuse me!” Rush whisper-yells over at Dupe, fortunate enough to have enough control to not yell loudly at their companion.

“I was joking earlier, but now it seems that we may now have to act with caution. So no noisy metal” Dupe explains, too cheerily for Rush’s liking.

But that is how Rush ended up standing in the middle of the dark tunnel in nothing but their breeches with many shades of embarrassment across their face.

“I hate you…” Rush bites out bitterly.

“Aww, how sweet, you’ll change your tune when we all get out of this unscathed. Now, follow me!” Dupe declares before creeping down a nearby passage, their companions following suit.

The strange, monstrous figure was never too far away…

But with the use of larger stones, they were able to divert its attention to over avenues of the tunnels. All they had to do was not make too much noise.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAcho!” Rush suddenly sneezes…

“Rush!” Ambush screams in dismay.

“What!? I’m freezing!” Rush protests angrily.

“You two shut up! No one make a sound! Any. Sound. Don’t breathe!” Dupe hisses, pressing themselves up against the walls as much as they could, as if they were trying to blend into the stone surface itself. The others copy.

The strange figure came stomping over in their direction, and began to search the area for the source/s of the loud sound it just heard. The party could feel every muscle in their bodies tense as it made its way over to the rock face that they were all pressed into.

‘It knows…’ was a thought shared between the group, but none of them dared to make a single movement, a single sound. It faces the wall for a while, almost certain that there were sounds coming from this location not too long ago… but whatever was here had to have been gone by now. It slowly draws away from the wall and stomps off down the tunnels once more.

The group lets out a collective breath the moment it is far enough away.

“That was too close” Ambush says, evident relief in her voice.

“Agreed…” Rush says with a nod.

“It was your fault though” Screech points out.

“Because Dupe had me take off my armour and most of my clothes!” Rush replies defensively.

- - -

“Hey! Wait a second!” Rush exclaims.

“What?” you reply, frustrated by the sudden interruption.

“If the armour was the heavy stuff, why did I take off most of my clothes as well!?” Rush asks.

“Uhh…” you couldn’t think of an answer. Good question though, why did they take off most of their clothes…?

“Don’t question it” Dupe says quickly. You’ve noticed them furiously writing, or are they doodling, in their notebook for a while now… Oh well, not your problem. Back to the campaign.

- - -

With that little heart attack aside, the group continue to make their light footed journey through the cave system. It went relatively smoothly from then onwards, until…

“Hey! There’s a gate up ahead!” Screech says to the rest of the group.

“That must lead into The Dark Lord’s castle!” Ambush exclaims.

The group ran up to the gate and pulled on it.

“Locked!” Ambush cries out. “And it's one of those combo locks! We need a code!”

“Oh, hell no!” Dupe exclaims. “Rush, come here!”

“Why? So you can violate me some more?” Rush bites out.

“No, I’m gonna use your thick head as a battering ram. It’s an old gate”

- - -

“Is that allowed?” Ambush asks in surprised confusion.

“Umm, I don’t know… I guess I’ll allow it if Dupe rolls highly” you say.

Dupe rolls a 19.

- - -

“Urgh… the things I do for this party…” Rush grumbles out, reminiscing on all the shameful acts this proud paladin has had to commit…

“Right, Ambush, Screech, you guys grab the legs. I’ll have the chest” Dupe says, coordinating the group. The other two get into position. “Ok, 3, 2, 1, go!” The group charge forwards and collide Rush’s head into the metal gate.

It stood no chance against Rush’s indomitable forehead.

“We did it!” Screech exclaims happily, running out of the cave. The others quickly follow after, not wanting to wait and see if the monster in the cave was going to come running to the exit now that it had been opened.

And now… we are here…

The Dark Lord’s castle’s courtyard…

The stone walls of this place are as dark and as bleak as the heart inside the fiends body. Soon our party would have to face the scourge of the kingdom, the kidnapper of the princess…

And The Dark Lord already knows it has some uninvited guests.

Chapter Text

With Rush back in their armour (to the joy of literally everyone), the party made their way through the courtyard. The minions of The Dark Lord were numerous, but our well honed and well prepared party were able to dispatch them with much ease.

Soon enough, they were bursting open the large doorway in the castle itself.

“Alright, time to find the princess!” Screech exclaims as they race into the halls of the castle. “Then we’ll be heroes!” They cheer.

“And rich!” Dupe exclaims.

“We just got to find her…” Ambush says, her eyes scanning the walls of the castle. There’s a lot of rooms for them to cover…

“And vanquish The Dark Lord too!” Rush says confidently.

The castle itself was as dreary as the courtyard outside; walls mired by old, dark stains. A foreboding atmosphere drenched the entire area. Still, our heroes felt pretty confident that they could overcome any challenges that they were to face, including The Dark Lord itself. They ran forwards, slaying all the monsters that would come their way.

Room after room, and still no sight of princess Hide or even The Dark Lord themselves. It was… a little underwhelming, to be honest.

“The Dark Lord is probably at the top of the castle or something…” Ambush points out.

“Or in the throne room” Dupe adds. “...I wonder how many riches this thing has…” Dupe mumbles to themselves. Perhaps when The Dark Lord is slain, they’ll do some good old looting…

“And I bet the princess is with them! In a cage, all by herself, waiting for a hero!” Screech rambles on as the group continues to traverse.

The group continues forth, getting further and further into The Dark Lord’s domain. The foreboding atmosphere only intensified the further they got in. The four were filled with such apprehension, almost fearing the paintings themselves would jump out and attack them, or that they were watching them…

Soon enough, with many of The Dark Lord’s minions slain, they found themselves upon the largest, most ornate set of double doors that they had seen within the whole castle.

“This must be it! The throne room!” Rush exclaims, pointing over to the doorway. It’s not like the others could miss it.

“The final boss awaits!” Screech squeals gleefully. Their whole journey had led up to this fight, and they were so excited for it (if a little nervous).

“Should we have a little pep talk before we go in?” Dupe asks sarcastically.

“Sure” Ambush answers, pointedly ignoring the sarcasm. It might be good to rally the troops before the big battle, after all. “I’d just like to say, it has been an honour and a privilege to fight and travel with all of you-” Dupe raised a hand to say something. “-Yes, even you Dupe”

“Yeah… we’ve all come a long way…” Rush says thoughtfully. “...From the convent that brought us all together: mine and Ambush’s service… Dupe’s service, if for another reason… Screech being raised there…”

“Hell yeah!” Screech exclaims. “No longer will I be Screech, the bard who was left at a convent! I’ll be Screech, the bard that slew The Dark Lord!” They give a little excited punch in the air.

“Yeah, yeah, sappy stuff. Can we get going?” Dupe says, dismissive tone hiding that they really were just as emotional about their journey’s finale as the others.

“Ok…” Rush says quietly, before moving over to the large double doors. With a deep sigh, they push it open…

“Well, well, well, it seems that I have some uninvited guests” The Dark Lord declares from upon its throne as the group marches into the centre of the room. It stares down upon our heroes with a scornful glare. “How… insolent…”

“The Dark Lord! We are here to stop you!” Rush announces, drawing their sword and pointing it towards the fiend.

“And save the princess!” Screech adds.

“Stop me?” The Dark Lord says with a low chuckle. “What makes you possibly think people like you can stop me?” It slowly raises itself onto its own two feet, descending the stairs to its throne. “You poor, insignificant fools underestimate my power!”

The windows and walls to the room shatter as large appendages tear the entire room to pieces. Rush is able to shield the party from the debris, fortunately. But with the ruined state of the room… the doorway has become blocked! There’s no escape now.

“It is time for you… to die!”

It is time to challenge The Dark Lord, the fiend of Dooroomia, the kidnapper of princess Hide, the scourge of all things. This creature, whose power is vast, who’s form shifts and changes like the tides of the sea, whose features are as dark as the void itself. Our heroes one true enemy-

- - -

“Ahem!” a sudden cough interrupts your monologue just as you raise the figurine representing The Dark Lord into the air, ready to slam it down dramatically onto the board. “Aren’t you and Screech supposed to be going to bed shortly?” Seek inquires rhetorically. It is rather late… and you still have a curfew to adhere to…

“Goddammit Seek, I just reached the endgame of our campaign!” you groan out, slamming the figurine down moodily onto the board, huffing in annoyance. The others in attendance looked equally annoyed.

“Campaign?” Seek inquires, looking over the table before them.

You lot were… playing a board game? That’s… honestly the least destructive activity you have done in a long time. No wonder Seek has had some relative peace these last few days. It just thought that was a miracle of some kind.

“We’re so close to finishing, I’m about to be the hero…” Screech cries out.

“‘We’re’ about to be the heroes” Ambush corrects. Seek lets out a heavy sigh.

“Fine, finish your game-” Seek turns to leave the clubroom. “-But it better not be longer than an hour” they add on before walking away. It could afford to be lenient with you lot this one time, considering the rarity of such a mundane activity with you lot.

Why did that figurine look like them though?

Chapter Text

With a single wave of one of The Dark Lord’s hands, the entire arena erupted into flames. Our heroes, caught off guard as they were, were able to dodge the flaming barrage successfully. Except for Rush, they failed that agility check miserably.

“Yeowch!” Rush exclaims as they are badly singed by the infernal blaze. He falls down onto one knee, but is able to push past the pain and rise to his feet once more.

“Rush! Are you alright!” Ambush exclaims, the ever helpful cleric rushing (I’m not finding another word) over to her companion to tend to his wounds.

“Wretched little medic, do not turn your back upon me!”” The Dark Lord bellows. With Ambush’s back turned to The Dark Lord, it uses one of its massive summoned appendages to rip a toppled stone pillar from the ground and hurling it towards the distracted cleric. She barely had time to react before the heavy stone was upon her.

“Ambush! Move!” Dupe shouts, diving towards their companion and shoving her out of the way. Alas, this helpful act from this overwise selfish rogue was not to go unpunished; Dupe is crushed to death under the barrage meant for the cleric.

“Dupe!” Ambush cries out in horror.

“It’s ok, just resurrect them!” Screech exclaims. “Here!” Screech then performs for Ambush a motivational song to urge her body and mind back into action. With her will renewed by the beautiful melody, Ambush sets to work casting a resurrection spell.

“I think not!” The Dark Lord declares, casting a powerful energy blast that would surely kill the cleric in one direct hit.

“Not on my watch!” the freshly healed Rush declares, diving between the cleric and shielding her from the blast with a blessing brought to them by their god itself. “Don’t you know it’s rude to attack a lady, especially when she’s distracted!” Rush goads as they (just about) shrug off such powerful magic. The Dark Lord did not like that one bit.

“Insolent cur!” it snaps back, raining a miasmic barrage down upon our heroes.

“What just- ack!” Dupe, who had just been brought to life, was quick to realise the danger was still imminent, diving out of the way of the new attack and rejoining their team in the fight.

“How is this guy so fast! With its attacks, that is!” Rush exclaims. The heroes were being all but overwhelmed by the nonstop attacks.

“The Dark Lord is one of the most powerful casters of this land… but we can still beat it!... I think…” Ambush says through gritted teeth, casting wards to up the party's magical resistance more.

“Yeah, well, I’m starting to feel useless here…” Dupe angrily grumbles. No matter how many smoke bombs or attempts at misdirection they perform, The Dark Lord is always too perceptive to fall for it.

“Stop whining. It’s too distracting!” Rush shouts, cleaving another spawned limb as it attempts to grab them.

“This pathetic display of defiance has gone on for far. Too. Long. It is time for you all… to die!” The Dark Lord announces.

With their words, The Dark Lord summons a giant tide of black liquid, one the poisons, scolds and harms all that it touches. It drenches the entire arena in the viscous liquid, and our heroes.

Ambush is slain in the attack.

Rush is slain in the attack.

Dupe is able to evade most of it, but is badly injured in the process.

Screech escapes relatively unharmed, how lucky for them!

“Rush! Ambush!” Screech cries out, looking between the two bodies in horror. “They’re… they’re dead!”

“Yeah, and without Ambush, there’s no bringing them back!” Dupe points out. “We should run!” Dupe turns towards the doorway, only to be reminded that the door has been blocked by debris. “Oh no”

That was the final words the rogue could ever utter, for The Dark Lord strikes them from behind with a powerful fire blast.

And then there was one.

“Poor, little bard. All alone in here, no one to save you now” The Dark Lord calls out, standing tall above the small and afraid bard.

“M-my friends! T-t-they’re dead!” Screech cries, falling to their knees and dropping its violin to the floor with a heavy clutter. “T-t-they were l-l-like a family to me!” Screech stutters out, shuffling over to where Ambush lay fallen, grasping ahold of her staff mournfully.

“How… sentimental of you” The Dark Lord says, slight hint of disgust. “That you would think cretin such as these are your family”

“Oh, what would you know of family, fiend! I bet you don’t even have any!” Screech snaps out angrily, still cradling Ambush’s staff close to themselves.

“Oh, little bard, don’t you know?”

“I”

“Am”

“Your”

“Father!”

“Nooooooo! It’s- it’s not possible!” Screech wails in despair, staring up at The Dark Lord through bleary eyes.

“That wrench stole you away from me when you were just a baby, but I always knew I would get what was rightfully mine, as I always knew she’d get what was coming to her!” The Dark Lord declares proudly, before bending down and extending a single hand towards our last hero. “Now, come along my child. I believe we have some catching up to do”

The Dark Lord… it killed Screech’s friends… and from the sounds of it, it might have killed Screech’s mother too, or had something to do with it. And now, Screech is all alone, faced with the one behind all their suffering.

They have very little time to think of a way to turn this fight around in their favour.

Chapter Text

Screech stares up at the extended hand, a small glare to their features. The audacity of this fiend! To think that they would accept it as their father after all it has done. Screech would not have it! There is one course of action Screech can take to win this thing and save Dooroomia!

They're going to resurrect Ambush!

- - -

“Screech, you're not that kind of caster class” you say, a bit taken back by Screech’s blatant disregard of class rules. “Only Ambush can resurrect someone”

“Yeah, well, you said The Dark Lord is the most powerful caster in all the land, and if it is my father then I have to have inherited some of that, right?”

“Riiiight?” you respond sceptically.

“And I've also watched Ambush back to life a few times, so I think I can copy them!” Screech explains proudly. Their genius is certainly something.

“Screech also worships the same deity” Ambush points out helpfully.

“Oh for- fine but you have to roll a twenty, ok?” you groan out as you hand the dice over to Screech. They surely won't-

-Screech rolls a twenty.

“Yaaay!” Screech exclaims.

- - -

Fueled by the despair of losing their loved ones, Screech uses Ambush's staff to swat away The Dark Lord's hand.

“Never!” Screech screams, quickly turning to Ambush's fallen body. “Oh, please work” they murmur, holding the staff high.

They do their best to mimic the incantation they had heard Ambush use a few times before. They're prayers reached the sky above, falling onto the ears of the deity they had long since been worshipping. By some miracle of the divine, the deity's attention is turned to their tiny worshipper. Drawing upon every ounce of magic in their body, Screech casts the spell.

“Wah- where am I!? I think I saw the light…” Ambush exclaims as life returns to them once more. They bolt to their feet in a start.

“Oh…?” The Dark Lord exclaims in mild shock.

“Ambush! You need to resurrect Dupe and Rush!” Screech explains hastily, shoving the cleric towards their other fallen allies.

“Oh no you don't!” The Dark Lord declares, aiming a powerful blast at the cleric, ready to rend her existence from this plane once more.

What's this!?!?! It's princess Hide with a metal chair!

- - -

“Hey! You complained when I wanted to use bs logic! What gives!” Screech whines. They probably don't even know what bs stands for…

“It's not me!” you let out a vexed groan before continuing. “Hide and I have been doing our own mini campaign with the princess whenever you lot are late for our games. And now they're claiming that the princess used the chaos of the fight to break out and join the heroes!”

“I mean, it sounds legit” Rush says.

- - -

The Dark Lord, staggered by the sudden blunt force impacts, fires the blast off into a wall with a loud boom. It misses all our heroes.

“Again! Again!” Screech squeals, playing a lovely melody to Princess Hide to inspire her to do more.

Not that she needed it; Hide was all too willing to beat down her captor with a chair. It provides Ambush with ample time to bring both Rush and Dupe back to life.

“Enough!” The Dark Lord roars, magic raging around them to drive the pummeling princess away.

Hide quickly jumps back, dropping the chair. She grabs her long skirt to lift it as she quickly runs over to join the four heroes opposite The Dark Lord. She grabs her folding fan, flicking it open dramatically to fan her veiled face with.

“This time, we’re going to beat you!” Rush announces, pointing his sword towards The Dark Lord.

“Oh, please!” The Dark Lord scoffs. “Having the princess by your side changes nothing! I have slain armies, and you are but five! What hope could you possibly have to defeat me!?” It laughs out.

“We have each other!” Screech shouts, holding their violin forwards in a manner to mimic Rush’s action.

“Oh, how sweet-” The Dark Lord says mockingly. “-But the power of friendship isn’t saving you five now!”

“Five? There’s more than five of us!” Screech says in confusion.

“Don’t listen to them, Screech can’t count” Dupe says dismissively.

“No! Because I summon our other friends! The ones made along the way!”

From the roads and plains once filled with El Goblino’s, comes the merchant/s Jeff! Thankful for the safety of their wares, and hoping to ensure that their wares remain forever safe, they answer the call to arms when needed. From within the depths of their stock, they pull forth many weapons and hurl them at The Dark Lord’s form.

From the deep forest of densely packed shrubbery, comes the Snare hordes. So enamoured by the grace and form of a certain paladin’s physique, they have travelled far and wide to see it once more. Try as it might to retaliate against the heroes and their companions, it finds itself struggling to get a move out in the face of the angry little forest dwellers.

From a roadside inn, once haunted by an awful ghost, comes the beautiful and talented dancer A-120! Her graceful moves make for quite a display as she is able to twist and turn around every blast of magic The Dark Lord could possibly throw at her. Each cut of her blade is quick and precise before she returns the way she came, out of reach of The Dark Lord.

From the mountain summit of a great volcano, comes the mighty fire demon A-60! Spurred by the memories of its son, it has roamed the land once more, listening to travellers reminisce on the memories of its spawn. Now it rains fire down upon The Dark Lord, who threatens the one that works to keep its son’s memory alive!

The Dark Lord, caught off guard by the sudden onslaught from such strange allies, is brought low.

“And I would just like to say: you’re not my dad!” Screech cries out, hitting The Dark Lord one final time over the head, rendering it unconscious.

“We did it!” Ambush squeals.

“We actually won?” Dupe says thoughtfully.

“I feel like I missed something…” Rush muses. Why did Screech say The Dark Lord was not their dad…?

“My heroes” princess Hide addresses our four heroes. “I thank you for all your efforts, in not only saving me but saving Dooroomia” she steps a little closer to the group, closing her fan. “My father, king Jack, will pay you all most handsomely for your efforts-”

“Damn right he should” Dupe grumbles out, to be hit on the arm by Rush.

“-For now, as a token of my own appreciation, I offer onto one of you a kiss. Who may be receiving this?” Hide asks.

“I should, because I’m the brave paladin!” Rush says.

“But I’m the reason we won the fight! I should have it!” Screech protests.

“I thought you didn’t want it? Plus, why would she want to kiss her captor's child?” Dupe questions.

“And you deserve it more?” Screech bites back.

“No… but who doesn’t love having a sweet kiss stolen from them by a dashing rogue?” Dupe replies.

“Oh, for heaven's sake. If you guys can’t decide, I’m doing it” Ambush announces, pushing past the squabbling companions and approaching princess Hide.

Ambush takes the bottom of the black veils between two fingers, closing her eyes as she lifts it. Ambush takes a deep breath before closing the gap between the two of them, planting a small, gentle kiss against Hide’s lips. It was meant to be a quick peck on the lips, but Hide, frustrated by the inaction on Hide’s part, wraps her arms around the small of Ambush’s back, tilting her over as she passionately deepens the kiss-

- - -

“Hide! I’m not reading that!” you scream in disgust, looking at the note Hide had passed you to read for this scene. “You’ve been reading too many romance novels; that’s way too graphic!” You angrily scrunch up the note and throw it across the room, much to Hide’s disappointment.

“Should I be feeling violated, or…?” Ambush asks, staring over to where the scrunched up note lay.

“Doesn’t matter… campaigns over, you all ruined it!” you grumble, shoving yourself out of the chair angrily.

“Ruined it!? How’d we ruin it!?” Screech exclaims.

“You all couldn’t just solve your fights normally!? I had so much planned for so many encounters, but nooooo, you had to win the big bad fight, with the power of friendship???” you rant as you walk to the door. “Just… never mind, I’m going to bed” And with that, you slam the door shut behind you.

The others leave not long after.

“I’ll be taking that…” Dupe says to themselves, now alone in the clubroom, as they snatch up the scrunched piece of paper, quickly uncrumpling it to read Hide’s masterpiece. “Damn, Hide. I should have gotten you to write more scene’s…” Dupe remarks to themselves as they read it over. They can probably sell this for a fair few coins.

Chapter Text

From a tower within The Dark Lord's castle, princess Hide watches as the land around the fort is strewn with the many corpses of her father’s soldiers. So many brave and powerful warriors… dead, all trying to save her. Behind her black veil, a single tear runs down her cheek as she thinks to herself:

“Screw this! I’m getting out of here!”

The next guard to bring Hide her meal was met with a swift high kick to the face, knocking them out instantly. From there, Hide grabbed her skirt up and made a break for it, darting down corridor after corridor, being mindful to stop and hide whenever a passing patrol came by.

Hide found a large set of doors and burst them open.

Right into the soldiers barracks.

She lets out a certain choice of words.

Perhaps running blindly was not the best option.

Her next attempt was going to follow a similar strategy, with a slight twist. When a guard brought Hide her food, she waited until they were in the room she was being held in before strangling them. Quickly, she removes their armour from them and adorns it on herself. It doesn’t quite fit her, but it would pass.

Now disguised as a soldier, she vacates her prison room once more. Other of The Dark Lord’s minions pay her little mind as she walks through the corridors, trying her hardest to act like she knew where she was going. She just had to blend in…

“Stop right there!” one of The Dark Lord’s generals, A-90, shouts at the disguised princess, stopping her blood- and body- cold. “Where do you think you are going?” the general asks as it marches over to her.

“I- I- I-” she stammers out, but can’t think of anything to say on the spot. She can’t bring herself to move at all.

“You are meant to be on the training field right now, soldier! Get going!” The authoritative tone sets her body back into motion.

“Yes sir!” she shouts back, quickly running through the corridor and turning the corner.

“Other way soldier” A-90 says in frustration, watching as the rookie soldier quickly rotates and heads off to their training exercises.

The training exercises were… gruelling to say the least. It lasted for hours, and Hide had no clue how The Dark Lord’s minions didn’t collapse under the pressure of it all.

“Focus!” her opponent shouts at her, her mind slipping from the mock fight she was in. A heavy blow lands against her helmet, sending her flying across the pitch.

It is only after she recovers from the impact that she realises that the blow also knocked off her helmet… revealing her veiled face.

New start! Seduction!

The next guard to check in on her was going to have a big surprise.

“Oh, mister guard, can’t you take sympathy on a poor, little princess like me? Such a powerful and handsome soldier surely must have it in you!” she says with a false swoon, lying dramatically across the bed she had. “We could run away together? Start a life together?”

The guard is unimpressed. A grunt and they turn away. So no seduction. Hide sits up straight with a defeated sigh.

“Ok, if that’s not your thing, what about money? My father is the king of Dooroomia after all! He can give you all the gold you could desire if you return me! He could even offer you protection from The Dark Lord’s wrath!” Sounds like a good, fair bargain to Hide. Except…

“Protection? Like he did for you? Bah! Please! Give it a rest!” the guard says dismissively, waving Hide off as they walk out the room and lock her in again.

Rude.

It took a lot of effort, but Hide had a new strategy: tying fabrics together to make a rope! That’ll get her all the way down to the courtyard, and then she just needs to find an exit and then…

Curtains, blankets, sheets, they were all tied together to form the rope that Hide was to use to climb down from the tower. Once enough was amassed, all she had to do was wait for her next guard rotation to pass and then bail.

Touching grass- even if it was decaying- was one of the best feelings she had felt in so long now! Hide creeps around the courtyard, evading the gaze of the sentries and monsters that served The Dark Lord.

She happens upon a small cave; it looks like she can use this to get to the otherside of the wall. Then she’ll be home free!

Everything is simultaneously quiet and loud in this cave… Every step she takes echoes across the cave system loudly. Perhaps she should take off her heels for this… never know what might-

-What on earth is that!

A huge monster came charging in Hide’s direction, prompting her to let out a startled yelp. She narrowly avoids the sharp claws of the creature as it tries to tear her to shreds. She needs to run! Get some space between her and the monster! But where! She’s blind in a place like this!

The monster is stopped abruptly by the arrival of some of The Dark Lord’s men, having noticed the princess’ absence. With their weapons, they chase the monster off into the depths of the cave once more. Princess Hide is saved!... but she is also a prisoner once more…

“We need to put a gate on that cave… and then make sure it is securely locked. Can’t have that thing deciding to come out here and attack us…” general A-90 muses to himself as they drag the princess out of the cave.

“You’ve been a royal pain in my ass, princess” The Dark Lord states, after A-90 brought the thrice-escaped princess before them in the throne room.

“Oh, good, so I’m doing something right” Hide bites back, shrugging A-90’s grip off her shoulder before flicking open her fan dramatically.

“Careful, princess, a tongue like that may find itself cut out” The Dark Lord threatens, leaning forwards on their throne. “Further insolence will not be tolerated”

“And what are you going to do about it?” Hide continues her vicious assault of words. “You can’t kill me, after all. My father will never comply with your demands if you do. You need me. Alive” Hide relishes in The Dark Lord’s displeasure; it knows she is right.

“I think I’ve been too lenient on your living conditions… A-90! Have the princess put in chains!” The Dark Lord commands.

With that, Hide finds herself back in her room, now adorned with chains on her hands and feet.

“Like this will stop me…” she mumbles to herself. She was, however, gonna have to think of a new strategy.

The battle raging throughout the castle was not something princess Hide had been expecting. With great effort, she waddled her way to the window and looked out to see what was happening.

Adventurers! Here, in The Dark Lord’s castle! They must have come for her! Oh, this is perfect! The Dark Lord and all its forces will be distracted, she can break out and meet with her rescuers!

A guard still came by to see the princess, and it found itself strangled with the chains binding the princess' hands.

Hide fled to the soldiers barracks, one of the few places she knew the location of. Good thing too, if she was to find something that she could use to break these chains, there would be a good place to look.

After much looting, she was able to find items she could use to pick the shackles with. She was free at last!

Now… to go meet with those heroes…

Chapter Text

On today’s agenda was a task of the utmost importance: Snare cuddles. It was one which took from dawn till dusk, even with the combined efforts of you, Screech and Rush; you were very fortunate that Seek had agreed to give you a day off from your eternal torment disciplinary actions. Most likely because there was no possible way for you to be disruptive if you were planning to spend an entire day just cuddling Snares.

Rush was gonna start from room 99 and work their way backwards, whilst you and Screech were going to start from 90 and work your way up to meet Rush in the middle.

You were still only in 91. Long way to go.

“I thought Sally was supposed to be helping today?” Screech grumbles as they wrap their little tentacles around yet another Snare. Screech does enjoy the activity, but it lasts so. Long. They don’t get to do anything else today!

“Eh, I think she ended up having to repair windows again” you reply nonchalantly as you hoist another Snare into your cross-legged lap. Who do you think repairs all the windows that Seek breaks, after all?

You almost didn’t hear a familiar noise over the loud thunder.

“Hey, Ambush is coming! Maybe they wanna help!” you say thoughtfully as you gently shove the Snare off your lap, to be immediately replaced by another.

“Where’s Rush! It’s urgent!” Ambush blurts out urgently as they crash into the room with you and Screech. The two you simply stare up at the green entity in confusion

“Um, somewhere around 99?” Screech replies.

“Or a little sooner, dunno how far they got” you add on. “Why?”

“We’ve got a code black!” Ambush shouts as they race past you, smashing the door open loudly as they did. Hey, that’s Rush’s shtick!

“Code black? What does that mean?” Screech asks, confusion lacing their words. You simply shrug at your little partner in crime.

“Dunno. Doesn’t matter, we got Snares to cuddle” And back to it you went.

…For all but a few seconds.

Another sound resounded from rooms prior, a sound… you’d never heard before. Yet it also sounds somewhat familiar…

“What is-”

Door 91 is flung open once more before you even begin to finish that thought. You don’t startle by the abrupt opening; you startle by what you see before you.

The glowing green grinning entity is not Ambush, you don’t know who they are. The smoke of their body whips around them violently as they stare down at your smaller form, sat on the flow.

“A human!” it exclaims, voice laced with malicious intent, before it charges you at speeds which would match those of Rush’s. Its jaw hangs open, ready to clamp down on your form the moment it reaches you. There’s not enough time for you, or Screech, to react to the situation.

How a Snare is able to stop a floating smoke head, you might never know. Perhaps there’s a body in there after all? Doesn’t matter; the hostile entity collapses to the floor before it can even reach you. It violently thrashes for a few seconds.

“What the-!?” it exclaims, before refacing you. Not undeterred from its human killing endeavours. Suddenly, there’s a red version of the entity; a new body ripping its way out of the green one and charging forwards once more.

That one gets caught on a Snare too…

“Oh, dammit all!” it exclaims angrily, the red body melting away into a cloud of smoke and returning to the mass of the green body. “What are these little sh-!”

The aggressive thought is interrupted when many, many Snares suddenly begin sprouting up out of the ground. They all vibrate in anger at the newcomer.

One Snare emits a loud squeak, and you could almost swear that the squeak sounded exactly like someone screaming “attaaaaaaack!” You might be right on that one, because in the next moment anywhere between nine and nine thousand Snares suddenly leapt onto the hostile entity, attacking it viciously.

You and Screech just sit there, staring at the smoke cloud before you in astonishment. What a curious turn of events.

“What is going on here!?” Both you and Screech snap round to face Rush as they enter the room, very shortly followed by Ambush.

You gawk at them for a few seconds, before turning back towards the new smoke monster. In the dark, you could almost see stars and spirals coming off the monster for every punch or kick or stab the Snares give them. Probably just your imagination though. You turn back to Rush and Ambush.

“Gang violence, I think” you respond. Rush looks at you, then the Snare assault, then back at you. They let out a large groan.

“Snares! Desist!” Rush orders.

Almost immediately, they all jump off the battered and beaten entity. They all return to your and Rush’s side, leaving the defeated entity beaten to the ground. One final defiant Snare quickly runs over, gives them one last, hard kick before returning to the group. In unison, they all assume the pancake formation. Watching. Waiting.

“Blitz?” Rush exclaims in disbelief. Hearing what you assumed was its name, the new green entity's head snaps up to stare at Rush, pained expression quickly turning into one of delight.

“Rushy!” this ‘Blitz’ exclaims happily.

“Rushy?” you say in confusion, staring up at Rush.

“I- I thought you were dead!?” Rush’s disbelief does not wane, even as they slowly approach the entity on the ground.

“We are very much alive, dear sibling!” Blitz responds.

“Sibling?” Ambush bursts out.

“Can we go back to Rushy?” Screech inquires.

“How… How can this be!? How’d you get here!?” Rush asks as they lower themselves down to be more on level with their sibling.

“Ah, long story… We can tell a short version! Basement. Glowing door. Found ourselves here!”

“Wait, this hotel has a basement?” you ask.

“What is with the human? Why aren’t you killing it!” Blitz asks, slight tinge of annoyance, or anger.

“This one is a friend. You’ll do well to treat them with respect next time” Rush states as they finally help Blitz up.

“But… humans are so weak!” they exclaim.

“Says the guy just beaten up by a horde of Snares” you bite out.

“Yeah, and don’t you ever talk about my partner in crime like that again, buster!” Screech angrily retorts, hitting Blitz with a tentacle on each word.

“So, this is a heartwarming reunion and all… but, what do you want? How’d you know Rush was here?” Ambush asks.

“And if you knew, why didn’t you come sooner?” you add.

“Firstly, we didn’t know. We only found out after going through the golden door and finding ourselves here. Then we decided to explore!” Blitz explains, suddenly more willing to answer the questions of a weak human.

“Naturally…” Ambush says.

“Anyway, we bumped into an eyeball guy, and it was all like ‘Rush, why you being sooooo loud’ and we were all like ‘Wait, Rush is here!’ so we beat them up and went looking for you”

“‘Beat them up?’ Which eyeball thing did you attack!” you shout. If they attacked Seek, that would be a terrible first impression right there… equally as terrible as trying to kill you the moment they laid eyes on you.

“Eh, don’t remember, there’s multiple?” Blitz says dismissively.

“Black or purple?” Screech asks.

“...Black, maybe?” Oh no, they attacked Seek… They’re gonna be mad…

“Blitz, you- urgh!” Rush groans out in frustration. Convincing Seek that Blitz should be allowed to hang around just got a lot harder. “Look, come on-” Rush moves to head out into the courtyard and return to the main body of the hotel. “-we’re going to go apologise- I know, shocking- and then hopefully we can convince Seek not to send you back to where you came from”

Blitz hums out in response, and goes to follow Rush. They leave you, Screech, Ambush and the Snares watching their retreat.

“Hate to be Rush right now” Ambush says as they watch, thankful that they are not the one who has to try and vouch for an extremely rambunctious sibling.

Seek, looked at their assailant, then at Rush, and then back at the assailant. The two of them looked very meek under Seek’s scrutinous gaze, and all their apologies were mumbled out. It didn’t take a genius to see the resemblance between Rush and this ‘Blitz’ character.

“Not another one…” Seek sighs out vexedly.

Chapter Text

You stood in the middle of the fire and ash, watching the chaos unfurl around you. This library had become a warzone. It was as if time itself had slowed down to a snail's pace; books, floorboards and other debris flew past your head slowly as you stared wide-eyed at the carnage around you.

The defences were broken, the enemy was upon you. There was screaming coming from all around, as adventurers did their best to fend off their monstrous attackers. In your stupor, you didn’t see the strange creature burst out from a hole in the ground. It grabbed you by the ankle, dragging you to the floor. The loud scream that fell from your mouth was added to all the rest. This was it. You were going to di-

-Bonk!

“Are you ok?” You had barely regained your senses when you noticed the hand outstretched towards. A fairly muscular guy adorned with sunglasses and a chef’s hat had his hand offered out towards you, which you gratefully took.

“Thank you! You saved my life!” you breath out, backing away from the library entrance.

“Hey, düd’s! More creatures are coming!” El Goblino calls out to the two of you as he sets down another pile of meat on the ground.

“Right…” you say before you snatch a glass of lemonade from the cat that had been handing them out this whole time and chug it down in one gulp. Gotta steel yourself for what is to come.

Ambush’s initial onslaught nearly decimated your defences; it was lucky that the little robot guy was able to stun it in place long enough for it to be lasered, missiled and overall absolutely wrecked. And then more showed up. That’s when the panic ensued. Everyone scrambled to try and shoot them down whilst not forgetting about the other horrors threatening their lives. You were pretty sure you’d only barely took the last Ambush down.

“Here it comes!” one of those little, nerdy ladies with the lasers screamed as a fresh wave of monsters came charging in, Ambush at their helm. She, and her many clones, all began to fire their laser beams at it.

“Well, time to commit war crimes” the strange little creature operating the balloon float mumbles as they call in a gun-powder fueled airstrike. If it takes out even just one Ambush, then the atrocities which would befall this library would all be worth it.

Books were blown from their places on the shelves the instant the explosion went off. Many people were sent flying, you too. A loud ‘oof’ escaped you as you collided with one of the reading desks. The Ambush was smited, but there were still more.

“Someone, do something!” a little rat squeal, thrown bottles of pop at the swarming entities. “That ones making its last run!”

One of the Ambushes was making its final charge; it was going to end your run! All that hard work would be for-

What’s this! A slime king has entered the arena! With a happy- if absentminded- smile across its face, it slowly hopped forwards along the path. With barely a thought to its mind, it collided with the accursed Ambush and brought it down! It… probably wasn’t even aware there was an Ambush there in the first place. Oh well. One of the little mushroom ladies treated its injuries nonetheless.

“Good job everyone! I think we’re going to make it!” the chef guy from earlier chews. He’s now holding a meat tenderizer, but you have no idea where he got it from…

“Watch out for the Figure!” a voice emanated throughout the minds of all who were present.

“Who said that?” asked the rat, staring around wildly. Everyone else seemed just as frantic, but you were simply confused.

“Said what? I didn’t hear anything” you respond, scratching your head slightly.

It didn’t matter. A loud, horrific roar came from the library's entrance. A few familiar monsters charged in, but they were no match for your superior defences.

And then… the final boss appeared.

“That must be it!” the sciencey looking lady exclaims.

“I-It’s macho-meat-düd!” El Goblino cries out. You’ve never seen the little red guy so afraid before, even when he was being swarmed by the screechy little fellas.

“It’s ok, I’m sure we’ve got this!” you shout. Everyone returns to their positions.

With all the firepower you were pumping into this thing, you might have well had the power of a nuke on your side. Yet, it still refused to fall. It just keep steadily stomping forwards, creeping ever closer and closer towards the exit.

“Spectre! Put a kill order on that thing!” the rat shouts. The ghost, in turn, places their tunes with more passion than a guy trying to woo a girl in a romance film. The performance was simply breathtaking, and it very much inspired the troops to fight harder, fight faster.

Yet, it still refused to fall.

“We might need to get out of here!” the sciencey lady exclaims.

“Don’t worry amigos, Jeff gave me this!” El Goblino exclaims, before holding up a small wooden cross before the giant meat monster.

Blue chains burst from the ground and sealed it in position.

“Nows our time! Take it out!” you shout, pointing at the restrained monster.

“B-but, those chains! They’re breaking!” the chef yells back, pointing at the now red chains.

“But it’s so close to death! I’m sure we can do this, or they don’t call me Yasuke!” you declare, pulling out a sword from it doesn’t matter where. All that matters is you had a sword now.

“No one calls you that…” El Goblino says, deadpanned. It lands on deaf ears.

You charge towards the giant monster, not a care for your own safety and wellbeing, screaming loudly. The chains break completely just as you leap into the air, dragon fire swarming around you. The creature lunges towards you, large claws ready to cleave your existence away from the mortal plain. The two of you clash, and-

- - -

“Ah!”

You jolt awake suddenly, not sure what woke you up.

The library is pitch black, save from what little light came through the window. You could barely see a thing. It was also very quiet, Figure must have long since found a nice corner to fall asleep in.

‘Man, I shouldn’t have listened to El Goblino’s tall tales right before bed…’ you think to yourself, before rolling over to go back to sleep.

…Or at least you would, if your body would let you move.

You found yourself to be frozen in place, and you couldn’t quite figure out why. There was also a… deep sense of wrong in the library. It made you feel uncomfortable. It made you feel… a little scared, to be honest. It always felt weird, being scared, considering the kinds of things you lived with.

The only part of your body you could move were your eyes, and they scanned the library as much as they could, searching for the source.

The next thing you could do was scream.

Chapter Text

Seek was by no means surprised when Figure told them a certain someone was refusing to go to sleep; they do so love to cause a hassle, after all. The real surprise came when they learned the reason why.

“Seek, you don’t understand! My sleep paralysis demon’s back!” you exclaim nervously, sipping down a strange beverage.

“You do not have a sleep paralysis demon-” Seek responds curtly, arms folded over their chest. “-and what are you drinking?” It better not be alcoholic, Seek’s forbidden you from drinking alcoholic beverages after the courtyard incident.

“It’s lemonade! A weird dream I had a few days back gave me the idea!” Finally, a good use for all those deformed lemons Rush has been growing. Better than just eating a whole lemon. “And, yeah I do!”

“No. You don’t” Seek reiterates, frustration seeping out of their tone.

“Oh yeah? And how would you be so sure?” you bite out, folding your own arms over your chest.

“Because I made sure of it” Seek replies darkly; you freeze up for a second, before returning to your composure.

“Well, clearly not well enough: it’s come back!” you huff out, annoyed by Seek’s constant dismissal of your complaints.

“And you’re claiming it's been around before?” Seek questions, quirk to their brow.

“Yeah! When I actually had my own room, it would come nearly every night! Some nights, Dread would notice something wrong, and come to chase it away! If Dread wasn’t around, Glitch would get rid of it for me-!” you notice Seek visibly tenses at Glitch’s name. What could that possibly be about…? “-But, then Screech decided to sleep with me, and it stopped appearing altogether! I think it doesn’t like it when people notice it… Figure can’t see it, and the rain drowns out what little noise it does make…” the last thoughts are mumbled out, bitterly.

“So, what?” Seek asks.

“So, could you stay in the library tonight? If you like, leave an eye somewhere it might not notice, you’ll see what I mean! And then you can chase it away!” you reason, eyes staring pleadingly up at Seek’s singular one.

“...Fine…” Seek says, resigned, with a deep sigh. It’ll make you finally go to bed and stop kicking up a fuss, at least. It’s not like Seek didn’t have anything more important to do tonight, anyway.

You practically fling yourself onto Seek, them jumping in surprise, wrapping your arms around its back.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me!” you exclaim. Seek for their part, just stands there with their arms outstretched for a few seconds, unsure how to react. Eventually, it brings one of its arms behind your back and pats it a couple of times in a ‘there, there’ kind of motion.

You back away just as quickly as you had pounced upon the entity.

“Right… now get ready for bed” Seek says, still feeling a little awkward. You don't protest this time.

Seek wasn’t allowed in the library whilst you were changing, with you throwing the whole ‘I don’t want you to see me naked!’ fit again, but they promptly entered when Figure gave them the go ahead. You were already lying in bed, staring at the ceiling when they did.

Seek decided to situate the piece of its body that it was to leave behind on one of the bookshelves, concealed behind a couple of books but still able to have a good enough view of the area. If there was any ‘sleep paralysis demon’ Seek would see it.

Sometime later, the lights went out. Not long after that, Figure stopped moving about and fell asleep in a corner of the room. You took some time, maybe worried for the sleep paralysis demon, maybe being watched by Seek was just uncomfortable, probably both, but it happened eventually.

Soon enough, Seek was the only one awake in the library.

It was really boring, watching a human sleep. How certain entities did this for a living, Seek would never know. There were way better things to be doing with one's time: travelling around, engaging with others, stalking their victims, chasing them down, catching and-

There’s something here.

Seek couldn’t see it, but there was definitely a strange new noise in the library. Low pitch, low volume, Figure would not be alerted to it, especially not when it is just about concealed under the thunderous downpour of rain outside.

You definitely noticed. You were awoken with a start, confused and bleary eyed, but you were quick to focus in on the cause of your distress and start panicking. Seek follows your eyes to find the source of this problem.

They couldn’t make out its shape very well in the dark, but those two glowing white eyes meant there was definitely something there, and it definitely was looking at you.

Seek is quick to pool a bigger mass of its body on the floor, ripping its humanoid form out of the ground and charging down the unknown creature.

It panics, vanishing a mere moment before Seek could make contact with it. They skid to a stop as the lights around the library abruptly begin to smash. That woke up Figure for sure. The large entity quickly making its way to the centre of the room.

“What is going on here!?” Figure asks, annoyed by the interrupted sleep.

“Seek saw it! My sleep paralysis demon!” you shout from the bed, finally feeling able to move and speak again.

“That wasn’t a-” Seek began, but was interrupted by the door to the library being violently kicked open. Figure flinches at the sound, annoyed by the noisy approach of two others.

“Hey, we heard a commotion!” Rush says, approaching the three of you with Blitz in tow.

“What are you-?” Seek began, but once again got interrupted. They groan in frustration.

“-My sleep paralysis demon is here!” you exclaim.

“Sleep paralysis demon? I didn’t know you had one!” Rush says, surprised.

“They do not!” Seek shouts, getting everyone’s attention back on them. “Whatever entity that was, it isn’t a sleep paralysis demon!”

“Well, what is it then?” you ask with a huff, folding your arms over your chest.

“I’m not sure” Seek admits.

“Describe it for us?” Blitz asks.

“Ok,” you think for a couple of seconds. “It looks a bit like shadow- ah, a blackish humanoid, though this one is tinged a bit red! And it has these glowing white eyes!”

“Oh? Do you speak of Lookie?” Blitz says, cocking their head to one side.

“Wait, you know them?” you ask, stunned.

“Yes! Lookman! We live with them in the basement! We always wondered where they used to wander off too…” blitz responds.

“So, you can take me to them!?” you ask, jumping out of bed. Seek was having none of that, and immediately pushed you back into it.

“No, they are not. You are going to go back to bed, and drop this whole thing. Understood?” Seek demands. Hopefully this Lookman won’t be showing itself again after tonight, and if they do, then Seek can just go looking for them themselves. Saves you getting into trouble.

“But, I-! Urgh, fine” you concede, angrily throwing the blanket over yourself and rolling over to look in the opposite direction from Seek.

“Good” Seek states, before turning to Rush and Blitz. “Now, what were you two doing up late at night?”

Rush and Blitz both fumbled for excuses, before quickly leaving the library. Seek did so too not long after. Figure, glad all the noise had finally settled down again, went back to their nice comfy corner.

Seek told you to drop this and go back to bed, but they said nothing about picking it up again another day!

Chapter Text

The following day, after all your chores, learning and discipline had been completed, you gathered outside the lobby, getting battered by the rain, with a small squad.

“Is this everyone!?” Screech shouts from its position, held in your arms. The rain makes it hard for them to be heard. Present in the lobby was yourself, Screech, Rush, Ambush and of course Blitz.

“Yeah. Couldn’t find Hide, so they might have been asleep! I asked Dupe if they wanted to come, but they said something along the lines of ‘needing their beauty sleep’ before slamming the door on me-” you huff to yourself, annoyed. “-Dunno why they need ‘beauty sleep’,not going to do them much good!” Screech snickers at that comment.

“Can we get indoors already!” Ambush shouts. “This rain is awful! And the longer we stay, the more likely Seek’ll notice!” Yeah, they do seem to leave a part of themselves lingering around the lobby… good thing you guys had no reason to go down that way.

“Ok!” you look around the outside of the hotel. It all seems so… small from out here. “There has to be a way into the basement from somewhere out here, right!?”

“We assume so!” Blitz calls out. “Humans are always dripping water when they come through!”

The five of you search for a short while, giving Window a small wave when you see them staring down at the lot of you. Window is no snitch, you’ll all be fine.

“Huh!? That’s weird!” you remark loudly, approaching a fencing. “I remember a long time ago there was some weird yellow barrier here! It’s gone now! How long has it been gone for…!?”

“Does it matter!? That looks like a way in!” Rush shouts gesturing over to a small doorway. “And I’m not staying out in this any longer!?” they announce before leading the way forwards.

“Why!? Don’t you enjoy a nice shower!?” you call after Rush sarcastically, following along slowly.

“You think Rush has ever showered!?” Screech says, loud enough for you to hear, but not loud enough for Rush to hear. You lean your head down to be closer to Screech.

“Good point; operation forced shower will commence when this is over. We’re gonna need buckets, rope and a lot of bubble bath!” you whisper yell to Screech. Screech cackles along.

“What are you two scheming?” Rush asks, turning to face the group as soon as they are inside the building.

“Nothing to do with you” you reply dismissively, pushing past the large smoke monster and into the building. You immediately breathe in a heavy dose of dust, hacking your lungs out for a good few seconds. “Urgh, what the- why’s it so dusty in here!”

Ambush and Blitz enter not long after you do. The doorway seems to automatically shut behind them shortly after.

“We don’t clean. Lookman never seems to be bothered by it” Blitz replies, sliding down the small railing to the lower area.

“Is it just you two in here?” Ambush asks as they inspect the drawers for anything useful, but they come up short.

“Eh, well… no. There is another, but we don’t talk much” Blitz replies, almost sheepishly- nervously. You pay it little mind as you beeline for a key, sitting on a desk behind some wire fencing.

“This guy got a name at least?” you ask as you snag it up.

“Um, we don’t quite remember… something like… Haze maybe?” Blitz responds; they don’t think that was quite it, but it was good enough.

“Haze?” Ambush asks, a quirk to their brow. They definitely don’t believe Blitz’s recollection.

“Would explain the dust!” Screech exclaims as they bat away some of the particles from their face.

“Well, either way, we got a Lookman to find and beat up!” you exclaim as you return to the group, twirling the key around a finger. The five of you approach the locked door. “Hey, Blitz? What’s with the screen on the door?”

“Dunno. The humans usually seem concerned by it though!” Blitz says.

“Should we be concerned by it?” Ambush asks.

“Probably not, we’re not human!” Rush scoffs. “Open the door already!”

“Ok, ok! Shesh, why are you always in a rush!?” Rush hit you (lightly) around the back of the head for that one.

You insert the key into the door and push it open.

1:00 appears on the screen, counting down.

Chapter Text

The dining room, despite being small, was packed full of bodies. For one reason or the other, Seek had decided to call a ‘group meeting’- whatever that meant- across the entirety of the building. Everyone from the hotel, Rooms and even the backdoor had to show up- well, Glitch wasn’t exactly visible, but you had a feeling it was watching from nearby. In other words, there were way too many entities in one tiny little room.

“Hey, where’s Rush, Jack and Figure? Shouldn’t they all be here too?” you ask Screech, who was happily perched in your arms.

“Dunno. Maybe Figure got lost?” Screech shrugs, still eyeing the giant box that had been placed in the middle of the large table.

The Figure comment might be true, but you would have thought that Seek- or anyone really- would have made an effort to help them get here. You still had no idea where Rush and Jack could have been.

“Ahem!” Seek calls out from the end of the table, tapping a glass full of wine with a small spoon. Everyone had wine, except you and Screech, because apparently the two of you were ‘not to be trusted’ with alcohol. How rude! “While we appear to be missing a few, I think it would be best that we got started!”

“Started with what?” Ambush asks.

“Today is a very special day. Many of you are likely to have forgotten, but today is the hotel’s anniversary!” Seek announces. Party poppers go off somewhere, you think they came from the closet Hide was in. Seek didn’t seem too pleased with the interruption.

“Cool. So why are we here too?” A-60 crumbles out, not happy with being crammed into a small space with so many others but all too happy to consume an ungodly amount of alcohol, judging by the stack of empty glasses next to them. How are they able to hold that much liquor, you don’t know.

“I felt that it would be necessary to include you- all our new friends- in the celebration. You, A-90, A-120, Dread, Blitz, Lookman and Haste-”

“Who’s Haste!” Dupe shouts from the back of the room.

“We don’t think they’ve been introduced in the story yet. Give it time” Eyes responds.

“Oh, fair enough” Dupe shrugs off.

Seek clears their throat before continuing. “-Have all become integral members of our society, eliminating intruders where need be. Today we not only celebrate the birthday of the hotel, but our grown numbers, which is why…” Seek lifts the lid off the box on the table. “I have had a special something prepared in celebration!”

It was a massive cake! Almost tall enough to reach the ceiling! With frosting galore and many tiers, it looked so appetising, you could feel your stomach gurgling in anticipation almost immediately!

“Hey, wait a minute!” you exclaim, drawing everyone's attention to you. “Getting human food is such a struggle in here, how’d you get that whole ass cake!”

“I’ve been working with Jeff for a while now, collecting all the pieces when I can… It’s also a lemon cake, to utilise the lemons that Rush has been growing” Seek explains.

“Ew, so it’s a fruit cake!” Screech screams in shock.

“Screech! Don’t be ungrateful!” Halt chastises, given the small entity a look so stern it had them shrink in your arms.

“If Rush’s produce was used to create such a thing, shouldn’t we wait for them to get here before cutting the cake?” A-120 asks.

“Who cares about them!” A-60 huffs out. “Just gimme a slice of that cake!”

“You’re unbelievable…” A-90 mumbles out, disappointed.

“Well… there is plenty of cake here, so I suppose it would not hurt to start without those unaccounted for…” Seek eventually reasons.

Seek grabbed a sizable knife and rounded the table to be at a closer angle of which to cut the spongy goodness with. They reach up to cut a slice out of one of the upper tiers-

“SUPRISE!”

Before Seek can possibly react, the entire cake explodes outwards, smearing the floor, walls and roof of the room, not to mention everyone in attendance. Where the cake once stood now presented three culprits: Jack and Rush both stood in the middle of the table, arms outstretched, whilst Figure sat in the centre, arms wrapped around their legs.

“I was expecting a girl” you say sarcastically, looking between your empty plate and the trio on the table.

“Of all the years we’ve known each other, and you don’t want to see me jump out of a cake!?” Rush asks, voice laced with evident offence.

“Or me!?!?!?!?!” Jack chimes in, folding their arms over their chest.

“I’d rather of Screech had done it, at least there would still be some cake left afterwards” you mumble out. There might be some cake you could salvage from this situation… lying around the room…

Seek had finally gotten over their surprised stupor.

“Figure!? I’d expect this from Jack and Rush, but why were you in the cake!?” Seek asks, shocked. Figure turns its face in Seek’s general direction.

“I… had to do it…” it said slowly.

“Yeah! The author deemed it necessary!” Jack adds on, getting off the table, picking up some icing along the way. They promptly enter a closet and a commotion can be heard from inside. You think they went to smear Hide…

“The ‘author’? What does that even mean?” Seek questions.

“Dunno. Don’t care. Let’s get this party started!” Rush shouts, letting off more party poppers.

Whilst not exactly how Seek had planned, the party seemed to raise morale amongst the entities well enough. Dupe even took plenty of pictures for everyone! …Covered in white icing… And Seek could have sworn they took way more pictures than the amount they ended up giving it… Oh well!

Without much cake to eat, everyone drank wine to their heart's content! Except you and Screech, of course, you two had to drink nice cold lemonades instead. It’s ok though, Glitch will probably sneak you some wine later.

Chapter Text

“That’s not foreboding at all!” you exclaim with fake cheeriness as you and the group watch as a couple more seconds continue to trickle downwards.

“Wonder what it is counting down to…” Ambush speculates aloud.

“Urgh, who cares! Let’s just-” Rush grumbled, moving on regardless, before a certain excitable entity interrupted them.

“Lever!” Screech squeals, hopping from their perch on your body and over to the lever in front of you. Curiously, it too had a timer counting down above it, but also a static timer reading ‘1:00’ below it. The lever was currently facing the lower timer. “I call pulling dibs!” Screech chimes out as they grab ahold of the lever.

“Hey, wai-!” Ambush began, wanting to exhibit a little more caution in a place like this. It is ignored completely by Screech as they pull the lever upwards.

The timer on top now had a minute extra.

“Huh…” you muse, staring at the extended timer. “I suppose this is something intruders have to do down here… for some reason… Blitz, you really don’t know the purpose of these things?” you ask as you turn around to face them.

“Nope! Never affected us!” they respond as they move past you to continue on into the basement.

“Helpful…” Ambush grumbles out, unimpressed. Blitz scowled to themselves and turned to face Ambush.

“Helpful? You want helpful? Can you do this-!” Blitz splits their body into two, both green and pink body circling Ambush like swarming vultures. Ambush did not look impressed. “Can search for Lookman twice as fast!”

“I’m faster than you” Ambush grumbles out.

“Oh? You want to test that theory?” the two Blitz’s asks, anticipating a challenge. Both parts stop right in front of Ambush.

“We don’t have time for-” Ambush began.

“Coward! All talk, no game!” The Blitz’s continue to goad.

“Guys! I see Lookman!” Rush interrupts, a few doors down.

“What!?” Both Ambush and Blitz exclaim in unison, dropping their would-be feud and racing down after Rush. If they wanted to have an impromptu drag race, they’d have to wait for another time. By the time they- and shortly followed by you and Screech- reached the next room, Lookman had noticed that it had visitors and promptly teleported away.

“Hey! It’s gone!” Screech exclaims, underlying annoyance just evident enough in its tone.

“After it then! They’re gonna pay for all those sleepless nights!”

So the group started chasing after Lookman. Kinda ironic how you were in the company of three of the fastest entities you know (just below A-60) and they still struggled to keep up with Lookman. Quite pathetic really. Then again… Lookman does teleport, so it has that going for it.

But there was only so far it could teleport before it found itself cornered like the pathetic dog that it was!

“You! I finally caught you!” you snap, pointing an accusitive finger at Lookman. “What do you have to say for yourself, huh? Watching me sleep at night; so creepy!”

“Hey, Lookie! How are you doing?” Blitz chimes in cheerfully.

The entity silently looks between the faces of each of its pursuers: an angry human, and a bunch of powerful looking entities… a little guy. Lookman was really in for it now. They couldn’t run away forever, nor could they take out the small group that had chased them all the way through the backdoor.

“You gonna say anything? Or are we just gonna have to beat your ass?” you ask, punching your palm a few times in anticipation.

“You’ve got no time left” it states calmly, its voice multitudinal, like many different people speaking at once. Very similar to how Eyes sounds.

“What did you-” Ambush began.

Whatever Ambush was going to say fell silent in its throat as the world around you was painted in a crimson hue, and an unfamiliar distant roar echoed across the basement.

“Oh no… Haze is coming!” Blitz exclaimed, noticeably worried.

“It’s Haste, you moron!” Lookman shouts.

Chapter Text

“Why’s everything red!” you exclaim. Spinning around, you tried to discern the direction that the roar had come from.

“Because Haste is coming to get you,” Lookman calls out in an almost sing-songy tone. “Poor little human, about to die”

“What!?” Screech squeals, visibly distressed.

“Oh shut it you!” Rush snaps, though Lookman doesn’t seem very fazed by their anger.

“I mean, surely we can talk down this Haste… right?” Ambush poses.

“Umm…” Blitz begins. “Haste is not the most… personable of entities…”

With a scoff, Lookman adds “You could say that”.

“Do you think we could take them? In a fight I mean?” you ask, the question directed to either Lookman or Blitz.

“Not really,” Blitz admits.
“Wouldn’t even be close” Lookman adds.

“Then we need to get out of here!” Screech exclaims. You couldn’t agree more; if Blitz and Lookman were to be believed… then you’ve already wasted enough time lingering here enough as it is.

“Right. Come here you!” Rush announces, turning towards you and lifting you up into the air.

“H-hey! Put me down!” you protest angrily, smacking the side of Rush’s face. They do not.

“Shush” Rush snaps, before bolting off in through the unopened doors. If this place was anything like the hotel, there had to be an end to it.

“Rush! Wait!” Ambush calls after the two of you, before chasing after. Blitz and Screech are forced to hold onto Lookman for the time being.

“You can’t outrun Haste!” Lookman shouts after you, but by the time those words came out of it you and Rush were too far to hear.

If you weren’t used to rough handling and blunt force trauma, Rushing crashing through all the doors with you in tow would have been very painful. Fortunately, this was not the first time you’d have to travel by the Rush express (and it likely wasn’t going to be the last), but you were still gonna have to rate it two stars.

The rooms that the two of you passed were a blur, with Rush running here faster than they ever had. Despite this, the creeping dread inside you that just screamed ‘Haste was nearby’ never went away, never relented, not even for a second.

“Where is that damned exit!” Rush growled out. Neither of you had been reading the numbers on the doors- mostly because of Rush’s speed and smoke- but you surely had to be getting closer to it now… right?

“I don’t know!” you cry out, trying to take in what little of your surroundings as you could. “But I think Haste is near!”

“What!?” How could that be!?” Rush exclaims, frustrated desperation evident in their voice.

“Maybe they’re faster than you!?” They are called ‘Haste’ after all, so perhaps that’s the reason why. “Look, Rush, put me down! This is hopeless!”

“What!? No!?” Rush just holds you even tighter, like their bigger form could shield you from whatever was coming. It couldn’t.

“But Ru- Ah! It's there!” you shout, pointing past behind Rush. They spin around to face where you are pointing.

“Wha-!?” Rush begins, but its eyes soon fall upon the creature in question.

Visually, Haste is pretty basic: a reddish orange tinged skull that floats menacingly towards you. Yet somehow those empty sockets peer right into your heart, into your soul, with such a malice that you have never felt before.

For the first time in so long, you felt true fear; you could help shrinking a bit into Rush, not that it would do any good.

“Don’t you dare try anything!” Rush shouts at it, but Haste does respond, nor does it stop its approach. It just gets closer… and closer… and closer… the wailing sound it admits is almost deafening.

‘This might be it for me’ you think to yourself before scrunching your eyes closed.

The wailing is interrupted by the sound of all the lights in this room suddenly bursting- no, not just this room, all the nearby rooms' lights burst. In the darkness, the basement becomes deathly cold all of a sudden; you’re a little surprised it could even get colder than before.

You notice that your imminent death is suddenly not so imminent, so you crack open one of your eyes to see what just happened.

Haste is still in front of you, but they look way more angrier than before, struggling in the freezing grip of another, unable to break free. The world, once painted red, now sits in a slightly bluish hue.

“Dread!?” you exclaim, still procession what was going on, but recognising the many eyed, many mouthed entity just behind the skull one. “What are you doing here!? Not that I’m not thankful or anything, but what!?”

“Figure sent me looking for you” it states matter of factly. “You were not to be found in the library”

Ah… it looks like your absence has been noticed… You can’t really complain about that, considering it basically just saved your life.

“Oh, thank the void! You’re alright!” Ambush exclaims, having finally caught up with you lot. “Oh! Hello Dread”

“Hello” Dread replies curtly.

Screech, Blitz and Lookman all eventually catch up; Blitz and Lookman are both very surprised to see a detained Haste.

“What do we do with this asshole!?” Rush asks, gesturing to Haste, who was still struggling in Dread’s grasp.

“I don’t know, I’m sure we can think of something” you shrug, certainly feeling a lot better now that your life was not in mortal peril.

“So… that makes Screech, Rush, Ambush and… Blitz also?” Seek asks Halt, the two having convened in the dining room.

“That’s right” Halt sighs out, not too impressed that their night had to be interrupted like this. “Dupe claims to have no idea where they are, and considering they were asleep when I came knocking, I’m leaning towards believing them”

“Hmm. I asked A-90 to question ‘60 and ‘120, but neither seemed to know anything either. I’d suggest asking Hide, but…” But Seek could never find them, so there was no way of telling if Hide was with the confirmed missing entities or not. A real Schrodinger's Hide situation.

“And we still can’t find them?” Halt asks.

“When Figure noticed the bed empty, they asked Dread to go looking for them” Seek explains, voice filled with evident exhaustion and frustration.

“And Dread couldn’t track them down?” Halt inquires, tone matching Seek’s. Both of them were resigning themselves to a long night.

“No, Dread’s gone missing too now” Seek bites out.

“What!?” Halt near yells in shock. How could Dread have just disappeared too!? What were those lot up to that Dread would vanish into the night trying to find them!?

“We’ll just have to keep looking until they turn up. Hopefully they haven’t gotten themselves into a mess they can’t get out of” Seek says. They’ll just have to spread their mass into every inch of this place if they were going to find those disobedient trouble makers.

Chapter Text

Seek was… frustrated, to say the least. It could be spending its evening doing more enjoyable things: sleeping, enjoying a glass of wine and a good book by a fire, keeping good company… Instead they find themselves once again trying to track down a bunch of disobedient troublemakers. And somehow whatever they were up to had compromised Dread too, that was a real worrisome development.

It was both a relief and a concern when one of their many eyes finally spied the troublemakers in question. A relief because everyone was accounted for and no one seemed to be hurt. A concern because… there were two more entities than there should have been. One was that entity you had mistaken for a sleep paralysis demon- Lookman, if Seek recalls the name Blitz gave it correctly- the other was someone Seek had never seen before. And the way the group dragged the skeletal entity along with them… this did not look good in the slightest.

Seek had to make haste to the room the group had slipped into immediately.

Barely a couple minutes had gone by when Seek arrived at the door to the room they were all in. The muffled shouting inside only mounted upon their concerns. There was going to be no knocking; Seek pushed the door open and stepped inside.

“What are you-!?” It began.

The group in front had barely noticed Seek’s arrival, too concerned by the far-too-aggressive looking entity currently being detained by Dread. You were yelling at it about ‘being nice’ and ‘not so angry’ but your words only seemed to enrage it even further.

“Oh, hey there Seep!” Blitz, who was sitting at the back of the room and the only one to immediately notice Seek’s arrival, chimed.

“It’s Seek,” Seek sternly corrects. “What is going on here?”

Blitz looks back towards where you and Haste were, then back to Seek.

“Dunno” it replies shortly.

“Helpful” Seek bites out, before stepping towards where you were.

“-Well, I don’t think you know what we’re capable of! See, I found-” you reach into a bag and pull out an accursed crucifix. Most of the others take a small step backwards, instinctual fear. “-One of these bad boys earlier! And I don’t think you’ve ever had a taste of divine power, so let's see how you like it!”

“Stop this instance!” Seek yells, but it is too late. Divine blue light encases the angry skeleton and begins the restraining process. Dread lets go of the entity, now that their grasp is no longer required.

“Seek!?” you exclaim, finally noticing them (and realising just how screwed you were). “W-w-what are you doing here?” you stammer out. There was no excuse you could come up with to get you out of this one.

“Looking for you, all of you. What do you think you are doing?” Seek snaps angrily, eye darting between each entity in the room. They all shrank away under its stern gaze.

“Well, we- we went looking for Lookman!” you began.

“Despite me saying not to!?” Seek replies, rage not dwindling in the slightest.

“I- I- I-” your words were getting caught in your throat, unable to be formed.

Before you could try any harder to get any words out, the celestial blue that basked the room abruptly turned a bright red. You spin around to face where Haste was sitting, watching as the chains and crucifix all changed colour.

‘Oh no’ Seek thinks to itself.

“Wait. That’s never happened bef-!” your words never finish as the chains around the skeleton shatter, and it lunges forwards with vicious intent.

Seek moves quicker than Haste does, lifting you up by the waist and pulling you out of harm's way, long enough for Dread to grab ahold of the violent entity once more. You’re too panicked to protest being held in Seek’s slimy grasp, with Haste's jaws too close for comfort. Haste snarls out in frustration, once again denied the prey it should have easily caught.

“You… you tried to kill them!” Seek seethes, slowly lowering you to the ground once more, before stalking closer to the restrained entity. “You tried to kill them… like the feral little beast you are”

“Can Haste even speak?” you warily ask from behind Seek, gaze shifting between Blitz and Lookman.

“Oh yes! They called us the B word once!” Blitz chimed from the back of the room.

Your about to say something but a voice you’ve never heard before yells angrily over you.

“Motherfucker doesn’t start with a B!” Haste shouts, shaking rabidly in Dread’s grasp.

“They also hate how illiterate we are!” Blitz chuckles out, adding, “We thought all swears started with a B!”

“Brap?” you say.
“Buck?” Screech says.
“”Biss?” Rush adds.

“Enough!” Seek declares, silencing the derailed conversation. “So the feral creature can speak for itself; does it wish to use its voice to plead for forgiveness?”

“For trying to kill vermin? I think not” Haste states lowly, glaring up at Seek.

“Careful, little skeleton, you stand at the subject of my mercy, and right now, I don’t feel very merciful” Seek responds. There’s something about their tone, the coldness behind it, that has every fibre of your being on edge. You couldn’t move- or even speak- even if you wanted to. Something told you that every other entity in the room was feeling the same tension you did.

“And what do you think you could do to me? Divine power cannot contain me, and you certainly couldn’t hope to destroy me” Haste responds, the only one in the room not affected by… whatever was going on with Seek.

“No, that is true… but I could make you suffer. No god-like judgement could compare to what I would do to you; suffering extended eternal, now until the heat-death of the universe”

“Really? All that for a human?” Haste asks, still not relenting in the slightest.

“My human. And if you so much as entertain the idea of harming them again, I will spread your shattered body across every corner of this hotel” Haste sat in silence for a while, before finally responding.

“Very well, I’ll leave your little human alone” Haste eventually concedes, much to the relief of everyone in the room.

“Good” Seek’s tone is immediately lighter, but there is still a bit of an edge to them. “Now, leave”

“Actually!” you chime in, cautiously. Seek’s head snaps round to face you, making you jump slightly. “Could I, er, take Haste to the library?”

“What!? Why!?” Seek asks.

“Um, well, you know, I was just thinking… Maybe I could try and get to know Haste? I mean… Blitz tried to kill me when they first met me-”

Seek’s head immediately turned to Blitz, who jumped backwards with a ‘I didn’t do anything!’ quickly coming out their mouth.

“-So maybe I could, er, give Haste a chance? Must be lonely down there in the basement, after all…” Seek couldn’t believe you sometimes. This thing tried to kill you, and you were already thinking of trying to befriend it!? Seek really needed to teach you better some day.

“Well? What do you think?” Seek asks, turning to Haste. They might as well indulge your request.

“Whatever this human wants cannot be any worse than the indignation I have already suffered today” Haste grits out.

“Fine. But I will be watching you. Always” Seek states, glaring pointedly at Haste.

You didn’t sleep a wink that night, after everything that had just happened.

Chapter Text

Seek was understandably wary of Haste the following days; such a violent and powerful entity could not be trusted around the inhabitants of the hotel. Yet here they were, forced to entertain the whims of the human once more.

To Haste’s credit, it had yet to do anything suspicious, or remotely hostile, though Seek was still keeping a close eye on it. You had suggested that one of the things Haste seemed mad about was Blitz’s general idiocy illiteracy, so had suggested that perhaps Haste should help educate Blitz as part of their calm down.

Seek entered the library to check that everything was in order.

Screech, having finished their Halt-assigned chores, was sitting on a table looking rather bored. Their eyes were following your every movement as you tried to quickly finish your Figure-assigned chores (cleaning); clearly Screech was waiting for you to be done so the two of you could go off and hang out elsewhere.

Haste, being monitored closely by Figure, was trying to help Blitz with its reading and writing comprehension by having Blitz write a short story. It was going as well as you would have expected…

Lookman was also there, being forced to write the sentence ‘I will not unconsensually watch people in their sleep’ over and over.

“‘Unconsensually’?” Halt asks, entering the library shortly behind Seek. “Who’s consenting to have Lookman watch them in their sleep?”

“The Snares, apparently” Seek responds, turning to face Halt. “According to Rush, having someone watch them whilst they sleep ‘makes them feel safe’ and so they’ve gotten Lookman to start doing it. Rush has reported overall better sleep quality and higher morale in the Snares since they started”

“Huh…” Halt muses, turning their attention back to an increasingly frustrated looking Haste. “...And… that one…”

“That one…” Seek repeats, watching intently as Haste tried to help Blitz with its story writing.

“C. H. I… W. A. A. W. A. A. Chihuahua!” Blitz announces happily.

“That’s not how you spell chihuahua you illiterate piece of-” Figure passes by right then, causing Haste to drop that line. “It’s spelt C. H. I. H. U. A. H. U. A”

“Chi-who-ah-who-ah? Haste, and you think I’m illiterate!” Blitz lets out a scoffing laugh before trying again. “C. H. I. W. A. H. W. A. H” The groan that Haste let out echoed across the entire library; if this continued much longer, Haste might commit war crimes against the hotel itself.

“Man, who convinced Blitz that their story needed a chihuahua in it?” you say absently to Screech as you continue your chores.

“Wait, it wasn’t you?” Screech asks.

“What? No! I’m not that evil” you reply.

It was Jack. No one was paying too much attention when they happened to pass by. Blitz was trying to come up with a story idea to write with Haste and Jack suggested they write one about a yappy dog. When Blitz said they didn’t know of any yappy dogs, Jack told them all about chihuahua’s. Now Blitz is set on having one featured in their story, much to the detriment of everyone else in the room.

Seek had to intervene and force Blitz to try writing about something else, because Haste looked like it was about to tear the entire library apart if it had to listen to Blitz come up with another wrong spelling for chihuahua.

Chapter Text

In this hotel, there never seems to be a single dull moment. Rush woke up that morning and knew that there was one thing they wanted to do.

“I’m gonna rush” it thought to itself, leaving its abode and setting off to do just that. Of course, it had to make sure the Snares were tended to first, but there was no major care activities to be done today; just make sure they’re fed and then it would be good to go.

Of course, plans do so easily get derailed…

“Rush! Thank goodness you are here!” a certain human calls out to them as it was about to pass by. Rush skids to a stop, a little annoyed to be interrupted so soon in their activities. “Screech and I need your help!”

Rush frowns down at you; there’s never been anything good to found when you and Screech are involved… Oh well!

“Help? With what?” Rush asks.

“Well, um, you see…” you seem a little embarrassed, rubbing one of your arms. “Screech and I were messing about in a room, and, well, I left for like a few seconds and the boom!” You mime an explosion with your hands. “There’s this huge crash and suddenly the door to the room Screech is in won’t open! They said a bookcase fell over and is blocking the door!”

“Ok, and you need me, why?” Rush inquires.

“Because Screech is stuck and your big, strong noggin would be perfect for freeing them!”

That is how Rush found themselves being led towards the accursed door which was trapping their little friend. They could hear Screech’s pitiful screams for help as they approached. You quickly run up to the door as the two of you arrive.

“Screech! It’s me! I brought Rush! Stand back from the door ok!?” you shout through the door.

“Ok!” is called back. You quickly put some distance between yourself and the door, and do a quick gesture with your arms towards it.

“Alright, Rush, do your thing!” you say, staring between the entity and the door expectantly.

Rush sighs; this wasn’t what they were expecting to do today, but here they are. After a couple more seconds to ensure Screech was most definitely out of the way, Rush charged down its mighty foe with all its might.

Crash!

For an allegedly blocked door, it swung open all too easily; not that that information was anything Rush could care about. What it could care about was the sharp pain and ringing in its ears as a metal bucket fell down from above, smashing directly onto its forehead and pouring its liquid contents all over them. They’re stunned for a few seconds, water and bubbles dripping down its form as the bucket rolls pathetically away. As they return to the moment and shock gets replaced with outrage, it becomes aware of you and Screech laughing hysterically together.

“Yes! We got you! We got you!” Screech cries out happy, having floated over to your side and clapping their little tentacles together.

“Yeah! First shower you’ve had in ages! But I still think you stink a bit-” you goad, waving your hand over your nose for a little bit before quickly reaching under a nearby table and pulling something out. It was another bucket. “-Here! Some more bubble bath for you!” you shout before flinging the contents over the bucket over Rush, drenching them even further.

“You- you- you-” Rush struggles to get the words out through anger. “You’ll pay for this!”

“Oh really? What are you gonna do about it?” Screech teases, doing nothing to help Rush’s foul mood.

“I’ll show you” it bites out before charging forwards at the two of you.

“Run!” you say quickly, grabbing one of Screech’s tentacles and fleeing down the corridor. Entering the nearest wardrobe you could find.

Rush was upon it in less than a second, flinging the doors back open. Empty.

“Hide! Don’t move them!” Rush seethes, head swivelling around the area quickly. It couldn’t have moved them far…

And they hadn’t. Rush spied the two of you getting out of a wardrobe a couple of doors down. You lock eyes with Rush as soon as you step out.

“Get back here!” Rush shouts, beginning chase as the two of you start running again.

The two of you dipped and dived through many sharp corners, but Rush was always hot on your heels. Try as you might to slam the doors behind you, Rush never lost sight of the two of you. Sooner or later Rush would catch you…

“Excuse me!?” Dupe shouts in indignation as Rush abruptly intrudes on them.

In the middle of Dupe’s dark space, and the only thing you could see floating in the darkness, was a single, fancy looking bathtub. It was filled to the brim with warm, bubbly water. Well, someone had to use the rest of the bubble bath that you and Screech procured for the prank. Dupe throws a sponge at Rush’s face.

“What-?” Rush begins, but the angry Dupe interrupts.

“-Unless you plan on getting in the tub with me, get out!” Dupe shouts angrily. So much for a nice relaxing spar day…

Rush leaves quickly. They still have nuances to catch. Fortunately for Rush, the two of you hadn’t gotten too much further, so they were back on track for catching you. The chase was on.

Seek and A-90 were standing in the middle of a corridor, staring down at a large patch of discoloured carpet.

“Do you think there’s a leak somewhere?” A-90 asks, staring down at the damp bit of carpet. Seek looks up at the roof for a second, before turning back to their companion.

“No, there’s no signs of dampness on the ceiling” Seek responds. They were going to have to fetch some carpet cleaner later.

“What could have caused it then?” A-90 asks.

“aaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa” you scream as you run pass the two of them at full speed, Screech in your arms.

“Why are you running?” Rush shouts, also running past Seek and A-90 a few seconds after you and Screech had left. Seek noted the damp state of Rush’s body and the little bubbles still clinging to their form.

“I think I might have an idea” Seek says to A-90, deadpan and tired.

It was only a matter of time before Rush cornered you and Screech in the courtyard. The two of you trembling under the intense stare of the angry entity.

“The time for retribution is now” Rush spits out, looming over the two of you.

“Are we allowed to say goodbye? Have last words?” you plead on your hands and knees before the mighty beast, tears in your eyes.

“So long as you're not dramatic about it” Rush says.

“Then what's the freaking point?” you mumble, wiping the tears from your eyes and stand up.

“Oh my god, fine, but be quick” Rush concedes with a groan. You’re back down on your knees in front of Screech immediately.

“Oh, Screech my love! I always knew this day would be upon us, I just- I just didn’t think this day would come so soon!?” you cry, holding two little tentacles in front of you.

“Don’t cry my beloved! Though the war may separate us now, we may yet be brought together again! This is not goodbye, it can’t be!” Screech wipes fake tears from its face.

“Screech, my beloved-” you voice shifts to a low whisper. “-Do you wanna be a husband or wife this time?”

“Um… wife sounds cool!” Screech replies in a whisper.

“Ok!-” and then you're back to the dramatics. “My beloved wife! Though I may leave for the battle fields, and the enemy-” pointed angry glare at Rush. “-may be at our doorstep already, we shall win the war! I just know it!”

“I wish it to be true! But I fear our end is here already! I can hear the enemy at our doorstep!” Screech wails. Rush is looking progressive more done with you two as the act continues.

“I know, my love. I know…” you stand up, standing Screech between your two hands. “...Which is why I know what must be done” you say with absolute resolution. Screech looks into your eyes with recognition.

“No! You can’t! I can’t bear to live without you!” Screech pleads, trying to shake free from your hands.

“You must! It was I who brought the enemy to our doorstep, so it must be I who faces the consequences! All I ask is that you live, and remember me!”

The next few seconds feel like an eternity. Your hands slowly relinquish their hold of the tiny entity, letting gravity capture it in its grasp. As it descends towards the earth, it flails its tiny tentacles up towards your outstretched arms, hoping to find a purchase, but it misses every time. Closer and closer towards the ground, until something intercepts it: the toe of your shoe. The moment it connects with the small entity’s body, time seems to finally resume at its normal pace and Screech is sent hurtling through the air, smashing through a window into the hotel.

“Really?” an exasperated Rush says, having just endured the worst performance of their life.

“Window’ll fix it” you state plainly, dramatics dropped immediately. “I’m ready for my punishment. Do your worst!”

And your screams did echo throughout the halls of the hotel.

Chapter Text

They all knew something was amiss the moment Seek called for everyone to assemble in the library. It wasn’t just the hotel residents too; both the Rooms and the backdoor dwellers had been brought to the library too. My, the library had never been so packed full of people before.

“Good, everyone’s here,” Seek states, staring over the small crowd of monsters and one (1) human before it. “I suppose you all are wondering why I gathered you here today”

“Yes, I have better things to be doing, you know?” An annoyed Dupe snaps.

“Well, it is that time of the year again” Seek continues.

“We’ve noticed” Ambush grumbles. Ah, yes, that time of year when there are way more humans to chase than usual. It’s a real mixed blessing.

“And so, with so many humans adorning such ridiculous costumes, I have made a deal with her to let us go out into the human world, if only for a few hours” Seek finishes up.

“Wait, really!?” you exclaim.

“Who’s ‘her’?” asks Ambush.

“Is it the same person who named us? We hear she very powerful…” Blitz chimes in, thoughtfully (that’s gonna be all the use Blitz’s brain cell gets for the week).

“Doesn’t matter who she is, so long as she gets us some fresh air!” A-60 shouts across the room.

“But may we ask why?” A-120 adds. “It’s not like… we’ve been the best behaved bunch”

“Yes…” Seek groans. “Well, I made the arrangement long ago, and had hoped your behaviours would have improved…” Seek clearly overestimated their disciplinary methods… or underestimated how stubborn and persistent you and Screech could be. “Nevertheless, I would rather not waste the deal I made, so it will still go ahead”

“Oh, sweet!” Screech whistles out, thinking of all the mischief it could get up to in the human world, surrounded by witless, unsuspecting humans…

“There will be ground rules, of course” There’s a collective groan from nearly everyone in attendance when Seek announces that. Trust them to try and make a fun outing boring in some capacity. “Firstly, you are not allowed to harm the humans out there. We do not want to draw unwanted attention to ourselves”

“What if it’s self defence?” Ambush asks.

“Situationally dependent. Secondly, there will be no straying far from the area we arrive in” Makes sense. “Finally, you two-” Seek is now pointing at you and Screech. Uh oh, I specific rule just for the two of you… “As you two are still under punishment, you must remain supervised at all times. Figure has agreed to escort the two of you whether you go-” That’s ok, Figure’s blind, so you can just slip away when- “-And Figure has to keep hold of you. At all times” Or not, looks like you’re getting the real babysitting treatment.

“Are you saying we have to hold Figure’s hands the entire time!?” Screech exclaims, a look of disgust adorning their face. All their mischief… ruined!

“Yes,” Seek replies bluntly. “We leave around 8pm on the night of the 31st, and will be returned at midnight, giving us four hours to do with as we please”

Seek then bids the group adieu before leaving. You and your little gang of troublemakers all gather together later in the updog clubroom to excitedly discuss your halloween plans.

“Oh boy! I can’t wait to go trick or treating!” you exclaim, eyes lit up with excitement.

“That’s the thing where we get free candy, right?” Screech asks with about as much excited energy as you have.

“Yep! We get to go around houses wearing costumes, and people will just give us free food! Amazing, right?” you explain.

“Urgh, we need costumes?” Dupe moans.

“Yeah, I was thinking of using my Figure costume from last year. I doubt Figue would actually wear a costume themselves, so maybe I can play it off as a parent-child themed costume thing” you say. The human public would probably find the whole big-monster-little-monster thing adorable… which would likely lead to more sweets for you!

“Oh, but what about us…?” Screech says thoughtfully.

“Eh, I’ll probably just use the fireman stuff I have for Snare cleaning” Rush says absently.

“Oh my god, maybe you and Screech can both go as firemen and do themed costumes too!?” you exclaim. “Like, monstrous emergency services?”

“Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea!” Dupe chimes in. You immediately turn a suspicious eye towards them, just knowing they are up to something. Dupe, however, turns their attention towards Ambush. “Hey, Ambush!” Ambush now also has a suspicious look towards Dupe. “I found this… lovely costume earlier, and wouldn’t you know it, it seems to be your size!”

The outfit that Dupe was holding before Ambush was… a nurse outfit? Ambush looked mortified by the sight of it, Screech and Rush started snickering and you… you could have sworn you’ve seen that before… but when?

“I’m- I’m not wearing that!” Ambush shouts, snatching the garment out of Dupe’s hands with the full intention of throwing it out the nearest window.

“Oh, come on Ambush!” Dupe protests, though it is less annoyed and more over exaggerated. “It’s what the people want!”

“The people are freaks!” Ambush snaps. Their mood suddenly shifts as an idea forms in their eyes; Ambush leans in close to Dupe. “Freaks, who would absolutely adore seeing you in this, wouldn’t you say?”

“Excuse me!?” Dupe exclaims, a bit taken back.

“Who’d want to see that?” Screech whispers to you quietly. You lean in closer to Screech.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you” you quickly say.

“Yes! It looks like it would fit you too!” Ambush continues. “So, what do you say?”

“I was thinking of going as a werewolf, or something” Dupe snaps back. But all Ambush does is let out a small, dramatic gasp.

“A sexy, werewolf nurse!? Dupe, that’s a wonderful idea! You’d be the star of the night!” Ambush says, forcing the garment back into Dupe’s hands. “It fits the theme Screech and Rush have got going”

“And it is what the people would want!” you chime in.

“What people!” Rush yells, not knowing what on earth is going on.

“If, and that’s a bit if, I wear this, what would you even wear?” Dupe asks.

“I could make a costume out of cardboard and be an emergency vehicle. An… ambu-lance!” Ambush announces, to a cacophony of groans from the audience.

“I mean, makes sense?” you eventually say. “So, Dupe will be a nurse, Rush and Screech will be firemen and Ambush will be the… ambu-lance. What will Hide do?”

The wardrobe door briefly opens, and a note drops out onto the floor. Rush bends down and picks it up.

“Corpse in a body bag” Rush reads out. Sounds good, means Hide can remain unseen, though likely means Ambush will have to carry them around all evening, though it was unlikely that Ambush would mind that.

“Alright! Costume ideas sorted! We better get some stuff together and make plans for the night when it comes!” you announce.

This halloween was gonna be the greatest one yet.

Chapter Text

Now dressed as a mini Figure, you waited in the library with the rest of the entities for the time to strike.

“Is everyone going?” you ask Figure, who has already taken you by the hand and Screech by one of their little tentacles.

“No. That one- Haste wants to stay here, resting” Figure replies. You doubted Seek would willingly let Haste go out into the human world anyway, considering its more… violent and uncontrollable nature. Haste would probably enjoy the solitude anyway.

“Is everyone here?” Seek bellows from the centre of the packed library. As far as you could see, everyone (excluding Haste) was present and in a wide range of awesome costumes.

“Why aren’t you wearing a costume?” Screech calls over to Seek.

“I do not think it is necessary with my form” Seek states.

“Go as a cat boy!” you shout over, earning a few snickers from those around you, a firm glare from Seek and a tight squeeze by Figure.

“...No…” Seek replies. It checks the time briefly. “Almost time now…”

“Time for what?” you ask, but the answer is quick to come.

There’s a bright red flash, and suddenly you are no longer standing in the library. The crisp air around you is accompanied by a small breeze and, magically, no rain! The neighbourhood you are in is currently empty, but there is a significant amount of noise coming from a short distance away and you can just about make out a multitude of bright lights decorating the sky.

“Woah!” Screech exclaims, almost losing its balance from the sudden change.

“Where are we?” Rush asks, taking in their surroundings.

“Somewhere that does big Halloween celebrations, I’m hoping,” you reply. “Probably the U.S, by the housing. Dunno where though”

“So this is human architecture…” Ambush muses, taking in the sights. “It’s all so… small”

“From my sources, there is a carnival further into town. Halt, A-90 and I will remain there. The lot of you can accompany, or partake in ‘trick or treating’. Remember to be back here by midnight, and you two-” Seek points at you and Screech. “-Remember: you’re always holding Figure. Understood?” Both you and Screech only grumble in confirmation. “Good” Seek says, before leaving for the carnival with Halt and A-90. A few others seem to head that way too.

“Oh boy!” Screech exclaims. “What should we do first?”

Trick or treating was an absolute blast! Everyone loved the costumes your group had on; they kept complimenting the high quality, even if most of that ‘quality’ was just them being literal monsters.

You got to talking to another group of trick or treaters at one point. It was a little refreshing being able to talk to actual humans for once.

“So, is this your dad?” One girl asked.

“Yep. Unfortunately, I’m on a curfew, so the only way my three dads would let me go trick or treating is if one of them accompanied me” you lament.

“Three dads?” she asks, a little confused.

“It’s a very progressive relationship. This is tall dad, there’s also strict dad and slime dad. Don’t ask why I nickname him slime dad” you explain. Figure lets out a small rumble, likely annoyed by all the chattering with the would-be food.

“I kinda wanna know now” she laughs out. “Anyway, are you two going as a dad/child costume theme then?”

“Yep. We going as Figures” you confirm happily.

“Figures?” she repeats, confused.

“It’s from this really niche indie game called Doors, you probably haven’t heard of it” you reply dismissively. “I can do the roar though!” You then try to do your best Figure impression. It was mid. “But dad here can do it so well! Come on dad! Do the roar!”

“...No…” Figure grumbles out, to everyone’s disappointment. You were not deterred.

“Come on! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it!” you continue.

Figure knows you won’t stop until you get your way. It lets out a deep sigh before roaring loudly. Nearly everyone in the area jumped out of there skin!

“Woah!” the girl exclaims. “That was awesome!”

“Hell yeah it was!” you cheer as well, before latching onto Figure’s leg in a big hug. “Thanks dad! You’re the best!”

Figure mumbles something out under its breath, but otherwise doesn’t respond.

Rush, Ambush, Dupe and Hide had just finished going around a bunch of houses by themselves, before returning to you, Screech and Figure.

“Man, that was so weird…” Ambush says as they get back.

“What was it?” Screech asks, perking up at their friends' return.

“People keep saying some weird things about our costumes,” Ambush explains.

“Continue” you say, as interested as Screech was.

“Well, everywhere we go, Dupe keeps getting approached by people who are dressed as animals, admiring their werewolf nurse,” Ambush says. Dupe was frowning heavily in the back.

“Who’d have thought the sexy werewolf nurse would be a hit with a certain demographic, aye Dupe?” you say with a small snicker. Dupe deserves a taste of their own medicine once in a while.

“Shut it” Dupe snaps out.

“And we can’t seem to go anywhere without people making remarks about Rush’s fireman! The last guy called them ‘hot as hell’! Like, what!?” Ambush continues. It was to go without saying that Ambush got compliments for their whole cardboard ambu-lance setup, but it never got like that!

“What! That’s not fair!” Screech exclaims.

“-Or true!” you jokingly add on, earning yourself a scowl from Rush, who has been feeling pretty good about themselves this evening.

“I’ve not been called hot as hell! Everyone calls my fireman adorable!” Screech whinges.

“It’s ok Screech, you’re hot as hell in my heart!” you respond, reaching over to give them a reassuring pat. It immediately cheers them up.

“Yay!” Screech exclaims.

You all set off once more.

Rush, Ambush, Dupe and Hide had just finished going around a bunch more houses by themselves, before returning to you, Screech and Figure. Only this time, the three of you were sitting on a bench, with you in particular having a thousand yard stare to your face.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Rush asks, concerned. What could have happened in the short time they split off from you three.

“Calling Figure my dad was a mistake” you say, still staring off into the distance.

“Why? What happened?” Ambush asked, equally concerned.

“People have-” you take a hard gulp, preparing yourself for what you were about to say. “-People have begun calling them- calling them a- a dilf!”

“What!?” Rush, Ambush and Dupe all exclaim.

“I know!” you cry out, despaired.

“I don’t even know what ‘dilf’ means…” Screech whispers. It can’t be a bad thing, right? Figure has been in an oddly good mood since people started calling them that word after all.

“Oh, Screech…” you moan, laying a hand on top of them. “If I told you, your entire evening would be ruined”

Dupe secretly told Screech later. The scream echoed out over the entire neighbourhood.

At the carnival, you noticed that Jeff had set up a stall there. The line to get to whatever Jeff was selling was pretty sizable, but you push your way to the front anyway, because it isn’t food you want.

“Jeff! Can I have an allowance please!? I’ll pay you back!” you ask.

Jeff gives you a slight frown.

“Come on, man! None of my dads will give me any money for rides!”

Jeff’s look softens a little.

“I know, right? Seek one hundred percent has the money for it! Stingy little-” you stop yourself from swearing. Figure is still with you, after all. “Anyway. Please?”

Jeff hands over a small bundle of cash, as well as a sandwich and a drink, before patting your head a few times.

“Thanks Jeff! You’re the best!” you exclaim, looking over the money.

You have no idea how Jeff was able to get a permit for the stall, and he did have a permit, but that was not a question you were going to be bothered to ask. Everyone thought Bob was a decoration, and El Goblino got many compliments on his costume. El Goblino was not wearing a costume.

“I think A-60 has a bonfire!” you exclaim, pointing across the carnival. “We should go check it out!”

“No” Rush replies bluntly.

“Why not? A-60’s our friend?” you whine.

“Who’s ‘our’?” Rush asks.

“Well, A-60’s my friend, and I’m gonna check out their bonfire with or without you!” you say, before dragging Figure (and subsequently Screech) towards the bonfire.

Figure dug its feet in the ground before you could get as close as you wanted, so you had to call A-60 over to speak with them. Damn hatred of fire… Then again, A-60 had made an absolute monster of a bonfire…

“Hey, ‘60! Cool costume!” you exclaim.

“Thanks. Worked hard on it” A-60 replies. To match A-60’s glowing red body, it had made itself a dragon costume. It also matched A-60’s pyromaniac tendencies as well.

“Is ‘120 with you?” you ask, looking around the vicinity, though you couldn’t spy the other entity yourself.

“No, I don’t know where they are” A-60 replies, occasionally staring back at their bonfire, making sure it doesn’t get out of hand.

“That’s a sha-”

“A-60!” the familiar harsh voice of A-90 shouts over, causing both you and A-60 to flinch slightly. A-90 marches towards the four of you.

“Hey, ‘90, cool costume…” you mumble out, once again feeling every nerve in your body telling you not to move.

A-90 was dressed as a security guard.

“Would never have guessed…” Screech mumbles out, also feeling the urge to stay still.

“What do you want” A-60 snaps, less affected by A-90’s presence.

“What is that!?” A-90 shouts, gesturing towards the bonfire. “Do you have any idea how dangerous, irresponsible, foolish it is for you to be building a fire here!? We are to keep our exposure to a minimum, and you are both drawing attention to yourself and risking potential harm to the local human population by building a raging inferno right here, in the middle of the carnival. Do you have any idea-”

You, Screech and Figure slipped away whilst the two (mostly A-90) were arguing. So much for getting to talk to A-60, but at least you got to see their costume.

You eventually found A-120 staring at a rollercoaster, so naturally with your new found money privileges courtesy of Jeff, you offered to pay for a ride. Unfortunately, that also meant you had to pay for Screech and Figure too, because Figure would not budge on the whole ‘not letting go of you’ thing.

A-120 sat in the carriage in front of you three. It was… a bit of a squeeze getting Figure to fit, but you were somehow able to get them in; their poor legs were bent at such an awkward angle though…

Seek, Halt and A-90 were sitting outside of Jeff’s little establishment, enjoying some drinks and food (though Halt wasn’t actually consuming any of it). You happen to pass by.

“Enjoying your outing?” Seek calls over to you, catching your attention.

“Yes, dad!” you call back.

“...Dad?” Seek replies, very much confused.

“Yes… they’ve… been telling everyone… you, me, Halt… are their dads…” Figure explains, exasperated and tired from all the dragging around they’ve been going through. Figure will sleep well tonight.

“Delightful” Halt scoffs to themself.

“And A-90’s the uncle!” Screech adds on cheerily. A-90 nearly spits out whatever they were drinking.

“Excuse me!?” A-90 exclaims.

“Yep!” Screech continues cheerily. “Dunno which one you’re the brother of, but oh well!”

“It is… confusing…” Figure murmurs.

“Why are you even telling people this?” Seek quizzes, staring hard at you.

“Casual conversation; what’s it to you, daaaaad?” you whine with dramatic sarcasm which only serves to make Seek frown harder at you.

“Privacy. By the end of this night, we will disappear. I can’t have you-”

And then you had half an hour of your limited time wasted away with a lecture from Seek, Halt and A-90. Joyful. Some things never change.

Misc other Halloween events:
Shadow and Lookman spend the entire evening inside a ghost train ride, making it much, much more terrifying!

Eyes didn’t wear a costume, yet somehow kept getting mistaken for a light/holographic display. They ended up leaning into it a bit more just to get people to leave them alone.

The Snares terrorised people in a corn maze. The maze ended up being shut down before Rush was finally able to find all the Snares.

After telling people Halt and Seek were also your dads, they too kept being called ‘dilfs’. Screech was never the same again after learning what that meant.

Blitz got lost inside a mirror maze. Many mirrors were destroyed in their attempt to get free.

People don’t think Hide was really there, but that body bag that Ambush is carrying around does in fact have Hide. They spooked people every time they sat up.

Dread only showed up at the last minute before midnight. You’re not sure if they were there the whole time or not…

Chapter Text

After your unfortunate incident with Rush, you were lucky to be found by a wandering Ambush not long after. They did ask you who had caused you such grief, but you were no snitch and refused to tell on Rush. Regardless, Ambush provided you with its glorious ambulance services and took you straight to the infirmary to get some medical care. And of course, Screech was quick to come to your bedside to check in on you.

“My love!” Screech wails. “What kind of foul beast could have done this to you!?”

“One of the worst kind, my dear!” you respond, adding of a small, laboured (and fake) cough. “A beast so vile and savage, it would attack poor old me!”

“No!” Screech cries out, laying a small tentacle upon the back of your hand. “I can’t believe this would happen to you! I’m just glad you are alright!”

“Of course, my love. The beast was no match for me in the end, but I do fear I may be done for” you continue, voice getting smaller and weaker with each passing word.

“Please! Don’t talk like that! You’ll survive, I’m sure of it!” Screech exclaims, distraught, squeezing your held hand tighter than before.

“Are you two finished?” Ambush asked, deadpan and unamused by your antics as it returns with a sample of that good old healing herb.

“Party killer” Screech bites out, letting go of your hand and floating back slightly. You let out a small sigh to yourself.

“Herb, for you” Ambush says as it reaches your side, handing over the herb as it does. It may not taste the greatest, but you down that thing as fast as you can.

“Thanks Ambush” you respond, giving Ambush a small thumbs up as you do.

“Sure. Anyway, one of you needs to pay back Jeff for the key” Ambush explains before leaving the infirmary.

“I’ll do it!” Screech exclaims. “You can stay here and wait until the herb kicks in!”

“Thanks Screech!” you call after the little entity as it bolts out of the infirmary, leaving you alone in the bed.

It would be boring to just sit here and wait for the herb to finish doing its thing, so you decide to take a quick nap whilst you wait for Screech to return.

It felt like you’d only had your eyes shut for a couple of minutes when there was a small clanging coming from the other side of the infirmary. At first, you just wanted to ignore it and continue to get some shut eye- if it was important, they’d wake you- but then the small noise just kept continuing.

‘Perhaps Screech has returned already’ you think to yourself, opening your eyes and slowly sitting up in bed

“Screech…? Is that you?” you call out; the infirmary suddenly goes silent for a few seconds. It’s weirdly unnerving.

You then hear… a voice? You can’t quite make it out; whatever they are saying is both muffled and mumbled and makes no sense at all. More concerningly, it seems to be slowly getting closer to your position. You’re sat up straight now, trying to discern where the voice may be coming from.

For some reason, it sounds like it is coming from abo-

“Ah!” you exclaim as something suddenly falls down onto you. First it hits your face, and then it flops down into your lap before bouncing up and turning around to face you again.

You stare down at the pale, little creature on your lap in shock and disbelief, trying to process what just happened. It stared back up at you with its pinkish eyes, babbling a string of nonsense as it stared up at you.

“What… are… you?” you ask slowly, eyes never leaving the small creature. You barely notice when a familiar voice cheerily calls your name from the infirmary entrance, and only notice when they finally reach your bedside.

“I’m baaaa- Ah! What are you doing here!?” Screech’s cheery return is interrupted when it too notices the small entity sitting in your lap. Screech hurries over and snatches the little guy out of your lap (not that Screech is much bigger though). “You’re not supposed to be here!”

“Wait. Screech? You know them?” you ask, propping yourself forwards.

“What! Er. No!” Screech fumbles. You just give them a knowing look, one that would wordlessly tell Screech to quit lying. “Aw, fine! This is my cousin- one of my cousins”

“Wait, you have cousins!?” you exclaim. First Rush has a sibling no one knows about, and now Screech has cousins?

“It’s… I don’t know! It’s complicated!” Screech whines. You still get the sense that they are hiding something from you, so you persist.

“How is it complicated to say ‘hey, I have relatives’!?” you shout, waving your hands in the direction of the two of them.

“I- Well- You see- erm-” Screech started fumbling with their words a lot, likely trying to come up with an excuse.

“Hey! I heard shouting is everything- oh no!” Ambush returned to the infirmary and immediately took notice of the tiny pale entity. “What is that thing doing here!?” The implication of that question was not lost on you.

“Wait! Ambush knew you had cousins???” you exclaim. “How come Ambush is allowed to know but I’m not???” You hop out of the bed and approach the two smaller entities. The pale one continues to string out a load of babbling nonsense.

“I-If I tell you, I’ll get in trouble!” Screech squeals.

“When has getting in trouble ever stopped you?” you shout.

“There’s trouble, and then there’s real trouble” Ambush states, putting themselves between the two of you. They turn to face Screech. “You should send that one back home”

“And where is home for that one?” you ask, smacking your hands against your hips.

“We can’t say-” Ambush says, returning their attention back to you. “-Look, I know it’s frustrating, but you need to forget about it, ok?”

“...Ok…” you respond, a scowl across your face.

You weren’t going to forget about it.

Chapter Text

Ambush and Screech were far too distracted to realise that they had a little tail behind them. You had to be quiet, and stealthy, attributes that living in the library have honed nicely.

Small problem: you bumped into A-60 and A-120 whilst doing so.

After a brief exchange where you had to explain why you were skulking around, tailing your friends, they opted to come with you. Not helpful; A-120 can’t walk quietly to save their life. So A-60 had to carry A-120. Then you complained about that not being fair. So A-60 had to carry both of you.

“I wonder where they’re going…?” you speculate aloud, but quietly, as your small group continues to follow Ambush and Screech through the greenhouse.

“Is there anywhere beyond this greenhouse?” A-120 asks, calling across to you from A-60’s other shoulder.

“Not really. Just the electrical room. But I think it just, like, deals with hotel power? I’m not allowed in there much” you explain.

“Fat load of help it does,” A-60 seethes as it weaves its way through all the plants and Snares. “I keep stepping on these little buggers”

Every room A-60 enters, they’re immediately accosted by a small horde of angry Snares. You can only assume Rush’s general dislike of A-60 has rubbed off on them, and is now coming to bite you in the ass. You’re gonna lose track of Ambush and Screech if A-60 isn’t able to hurry this along.

“I got an idea. ‘60, grab my waist real quick” you request, and A-60 complies. Secured in place, you throw yourself backwards so that you are dangling behind A-60 as it walks. The Snares take better notice of their friend immediately. “Alright you little guys: shoo, shoo, shoo! Shoo, shoo, shoo!” You try waving the Snares away.

The Snares continued to trail along for a little while, but soon after they all began to waddle away, leaving the path forwards clear for A-60 to walk. You just had to hope they wouldn’t tell Rush that you, A-60 and A-120 were snooping around the greenhouse…

Anyway, despite being the only known place beyond the greenhouse, you were still a little surprised to see Ambush and Screech take the tiny entity into the electrical room.

“Wonder what they are doing in there…” you mumble to yourself.

“Something your snooping eyes shouldn’t see, we would imagine”

You, A-60 and A-120 all let out a small yelp, with A-60 spinning you all around to see the owner of their voice.

Eyes. And Lookman?

“Ack! Eyes! Lookman! What are you doing here!?” you exclaim, shocked to have been caught red handed like this (but glad that it was Eyes, and not anyone else).

“I apparently still require babysitting” Lookman says bitterly, eyes narrowing and turning to the glowing mass of eyeballs, who evidently was the one currently babysitting them.

“And we enjoy the quiet of the greenhouse; your friend-” They gesture towards A-60. “-Is anything but”

“Hey! I did a good enough job that those two didn’t notice!” A-60 snaps back, shrugging in the direction of the electrical room.

“And why are you tailing those two, may we inquire?” Eyes quizzes.

“There’s this tiny, white-ish entity that Screech claims is their cousin and we wanna see where they are taking them” you explain, not too bothered about divulging your plans to Eyes. They wouldn’t snitch on you.

“Oh? One of them actually came here? They must be so desperate for something…” Eyes muses to themselves.

“Wait. You know them too!?” you exclaim. By the Void, how many people knew of Screech’s cousin and not you???

“Unfortunately yes…” Eyes respond. They remain silent for a few seconds, before adding on: “We shall accompany you on your snooping”

“Wait, really?” Now that was a surprise.

“It is best we ensure the little one returns to its home safely. Now, let us be off”

Now with Eyes and Lookman in tow, your small group enters the electrical room and begins to scan the place for signs of Ambush, Screech and the unknown entity. You find them up the stairs at the back, standing besides some sort of utility elevator. Time for some eavesdropping!

“I don’t know Ambush… they say she is in danger! Maybe we could help…”

“No, Screech. We’re not helping her. We couldn’t even if we wanted to”

“But- but they’re my family!”

“Then pay them a quick hello and get back asap. We need this one gone before Seek notices”

“Urgh. They ruin everything… Fine. I’ll go with them”

“Good. I’m gonna go make sure we weren’t followed. I’ll see you later”

As Ambush headed back your way, A-60 had to throw you, A-120 and themselves down the stairs; the three of you scarpering into that weird blue room. Eyes and Lookman just teleported away, losers.

With Ambush out of the electrical room, your group returned the elevator shaft.

“Well… do we have to wait for the elevator to return?” A-120 inquires, pressing their face against the grate door and staring down into the dark elevator shaft.

“Or, you know, I could just-” A-60 grabs the door and tears it off of the frame, flinging the pathetic metal across the room. “-Do that”

“How delightful…” Lookman bites out sarcastically. A-60 scowls hard at them.

“Ok, but, how are we gonna get down? I know Eyes and Lookman can teleport, but what about you, me and A-120? You ask, turning to A-60.

“You sure you want to go down there?” Asks A-120.

“I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? So long as we’re in and out before Seek notices we’ve gone, we’ll be fine!”

“What if they’ve already noticed?” Lookman asks, though they seem to be more talking to themselves.

“What? It’s not like they have eyes absolutely everywhere; I’m sure we’ll be good!” you say, waving off Lookman’s and A-120’s concerns. “Anyway, back to the question at hand: how do we get down there without an elevator?”

“We jump, obviously” A-60 suggests.

“Might be fine for you, but humans are real squishy you know!” you protest.

“Wonderful. Then I’ll carry you” A-60 says. It reaches down and grabs you before you can respond, flinging you over its shoulders once more before briskly making their way to the elevator.

“Hey- Wait- Wait- WAAAAAAAAaaaaaa-” In spite of your protests, A-60 jumped into the elevator shaft, plunging the two of you down into the dark.

Left in the electrical room, A-120, Eyes and Lookman just look between each other and the elevator shaft. Eventually, A-120 takes a loud sigh before jumping in after A-60. Eyes wordless teleports away, and Lookman lets out a long groan before doing exactly the same.

Chapter Text

“Listen,” Screech gently addresses the tiny entity, desperately clinging to them. “I miss you guys too, but you gotta go home!”

The pale eyed entity just babble and whines up at them; protests for the parting.

“I know, I know. But my home’s up there now-” Screech points a single tentacle to the ceiling. “-And Seek- the bossy slim thing- would get mad if it knew I was down here!”

The other entity huffed angrily before babbling some more.

“I miss the queen too… Maybe I’ll be allowed to go to one of her birthday-? Ah! When’s the next big one again…” Screech mumbles thoughtfully, trying to recall how long it had been since they had last seen the queen. “Well- Huh? What’s that?”

Screech’s introspection was cut off by an strange- yet strangely familiar- noise coming from the elevator shaft. It was getting louder and louder by the second. The closer it seemed to get, the easier it became for Screech to identify the sound. It almost sounded like… screaming.

BANG!

The sound of something heavy hitting- and then breaking- metal resounded throughout the entire cavern; the impact had caused Screech and its smaller accomplice to fall to the ground in shock.

“We’re here!” A-60 announces proudly, stepping out of the now broken elevator that it had just smashed through the roof of.

Wrapped tightly around A-60, clinging for dear life to their front, was none other than Screech’s partner in crime (you). A-60 wasn’t even holding you.

“W-w-what are you guys doing here!?” exclaims Screech, getting up off the ground and staring at the two of you in disbelief.

“Well…” Eyes manifested next to Screech, causing them to startle slightly. “These lot followed you and Ambush to the electrical room”

“And…” Lookman appears on Screech’s other side, making them jump again. “We followed them. And now we are here”

“You can let go of me now” A-60 states; you pointedly don’t, the adrenaline and terror of the fall not yet out of your system enough to relax your muscles.

“Wait. ‘These lot’? Who else-” Screech began.

BANG!

A second crash resounded from the elevator, only this time it was much, much worse. A-120 isn’t known for having the lightest of feet, so the sound of heavy metal hitting more metal echoed out across the chamber you lot were in. You were finally able to stop clinging to A-60, because you had to cover your ears; the noise was so painful. A-60 was quick enough to catch and stand you up, so you didn’t fall to the floor.

“I’m here!” A-120 calls out cheerily.

“I THINK YOU BURST MY EARDRUMS!” you shouted, barely able to hear a think.

“Eh. You’ll live” A-60 dismisses.

“Guys! You can’t be here!” Screech protests, staring at the now packed cave. “Seek’ll get mad!”

“That thing gets mad at everything,” A-60 groans, shoving past Screech. “Might as well get a kick out of it”

“But, but, but-” Screech stammers, trying to protest. “We can’t- We-”

Screech was interrupted by the smaller entity babbling noisily, trying to convey something to the new group. It kept pointing to the door down the other end of the cave in a manner that could imply urgency.

“WHAT’S IT-” you finally realise your hearing might be returning to you. “-What’s it saying?”

“They want us to go see the queen- but we can’t!” Screech explains, trying to push down the tiny pointing tentacle; it just keeps raising it again.

“Wait- There’s a queen!?” you exclaim. “Like actual royalty!? Come on Screech! We gotta go see her!”

“But-”

“Seek doesn’t have to find out! It’s not like it has eyes on the elevator shaft or anything; this could be exciting!”

“I mean, I do miss the cousins…” Screech mumbles to themselves.

“Screech, if they are your cousins, does that mean you are royalty too!?” you express, the sudden realisation hitting you.

“Certainly doesn’t act like it” Lookman snidely remarks. Eyes glares across at Lookman, but remains silent.

“Doesn’t matter; we going or not?” A-60 asks impatiently.

“Well… if we wanna see the queen before Seek notices, we better be quick…” Screech eventually concedes.

“Yes!” you exclaim, the thrill of the impending adventure making you giddy with excitement. “Alright squad, let’s go!” With that, you speed off towards the other door. The others have to follow shortly.

Seek was mad. Furious even. This was a blatant disrespect of the biggest, most serious rule it had put in place. Yes, neither Screech nor Ambush knew of your following along… but if Screech had respected their authority, they would have seen the elevator return up the shaft by now. Which it hadn’t. A-60, A-120 and Lookman were one thing- they knew nothing of the rules surrounding the mines- but Eyes!? What would compel them to do such a stupid-

“Seek,” Halt calls out; Seek had been expecting them to show up shortly. “Screech is running late for their lesson”

“Yes, I know,” Halt seems a little surprised by that statement, and the venom under Seek’s tone. “And I suspect Figure will be along shortly with a similar problem-”

“Seek,” Figure calls, as if on cue. “I can’t-”

“-Find a certain human?” Seek finishes. “I know”

“Oh…” Figure replies, knowing immediately that whatever was going on- or about to go on- it was not going to be good.

“I need you two to gather everyone in the electrical room. Immediately” Seek demands, turning away from its two accomplices.

“Everyone?” Halt repeats.

“Everyone. Immediately. Go!” Seek storms ahead, thunderous footfall echoing loudly throughout the corridor. Figure and Halt turn slightly towards each other, before leaving to find all the hotel dwellers.

Chapter Text

“How curious to see the ways humans must navigate this place…” Eyes remarks offhandedly to themselves as they wait for you to repair the generator in the room.

With it fixed, you briskly make your way over to where the small group waited for you and hit the button, opening the gate.

“Right. Let’s get moving then!” you exclaim, Screech in your arms as you run towards the door. “Off to see the Grumble queen!”

A-60, A-120, Eyes, Lookman and the Giggle (being carried by A-120) followed along behind you.

As soon as you entered the next room, you saw something that made your eyes light up immediately: a minecart.

“Screech! Look at that!” you shout, speeding over to it. You knew what you had to do. Vaulting into it, Screech still in your arms, you sat down and turned to face the group. “A-60, give us a push!”

With a grin, A-60 came up behind the minecart and shoved it as hard as it could- not before Lookman teleported over to that lever and flipped it, of course; you guys didn’t need to know you were about to be thrown into the depths.

“Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee” Screech squeals as the two of you are sent hurtling down the track, crashing through the boards that blocked the path. Laughing along together, Screech claps their little tendrils together and calls out “again, again!” as you jump the two of you out of the minecart.

“Maybe later? We still need to keep moving” you explain. As much as you too would very much like a little minecart adventure, you still had a queen to meet and a bit of a time constraint to adhere to.

“Awww…” Screech protests, but otherwise stays still in your arms.

In spite of the time constraint, you couldn’t help but gawk at all the rooms in this cave system you came across; it was just as euphoric as the day that Glitch first showed you how to get into the Rooms, all new sights. As much as you loved the hotel, you just had a deep need to get out sometimes.

Eyes constantly had to pull you away from rooms where rain water would pour in through the ceiling, too enamoured by the new plant life and letting the water pour on your face (and cupping your hands to fling some at A-60, which in all honesty was the more likely reason that Eyes wanted to keep you away from the water).

A-120 trailed at the back of the group with the Giggle that was with you. Everytime the Giggle babbled some more nonsense, A-120 would respond with things like “is that so” and “mhm” and “gasp, no way!” You’re not certain if A-120 can actually understand the thing, but the pretend engagement seems to keep it happy nonetheless.

“Huh? What’s that?” you ask, pointing to the door in front of you. There was some sort of warning label on it. It kind of looked like a fire.

“Dunno. Those rooms usually stink though” Screech replies. You push open the door and immediately have to agree with Screech; the gas that leaves the room smells awful.

“I’m guessing it is flammable… A-60, do you want to check?” you ask, holding out a lighter you had found in the elevator room up to A-60. It stares down at you for a couple of seconds.

“Sure,” A-60 replies, snatching the lighter from your hands and entering the room. The rest of you pointedly take a step away from the door. Click. Boom! A loud explosion accompanied by a few flames spitting out of the room echoes across the cave; you wave in front of your face, having been hit by a blast of heat. A-60 emerges from the room, looking no different from how it went in. They hand over the lighter to you. “It’s flammable” A-60 remarks plainly.

“Noted. Thanks” you say, taking the lighter from A-60.

“I could have told you that…” Lookman groans, before making its way through the room.

“Many humans have fallen victim to the firedamps…” Eyes states, before going after Lookman. Those two seem less bothered by the smell.

The rest of you were not so fortunate and had to endure as you passed through to the next room.

A small crowd had by now gathered in the electrical room, most of which looked extremely nervous about what was going on. Seek stood at the top of the stairs, along with Halt, Figure and A-90, staring down at them all.

“Is everyone here?” Seek asks, leaning closer to Halt.

“Aside from the many Snares that didn’t show up,” Halt turns towards the grand total of
four Snares that had actually decided to come along, before returning its attention to Seek. “We have no way to account for Hide,” Seek turns their eye to the nearest wardrobe, seeing no signs of life within; that doesn’t necessarily mean Hide isn’t there, just that Seek might not be seeing them. “Haste is the only one to have refused outright to come”

Seek doesn’t care about that; Haste is still as volatile as ever. It can stay behind.

“Hmph” is all that Seek responds with before stepping forwards; the action alone silences what little murmuring there was. “We have a problem. A certain human has gone down into the mines. We need to get them out”

“Huh? B-but why-? I mean, why would they go down there?” Ambush asks, failing to conceal their nervousness.

“Perhaps if you had been more attentive, you would have noticed you were being followed earlier” Seek says critically, harsh tongue and affixed gaze having Ambush shrink on the spit.

“Oh…” is the only sound that Ambush can muster.

“Making matters worse, they were not alone. Eyes, Lookman, A-60 and A-120 have all joined them on their… little excursion-” Seek continues.

“Of course those two are involved…” A-90 grumbles under its breath.

“-And seeing as neither they, nor Screech, have returned from the mines, it can only be assumed that they intend to go deeper. That can not be allowed to happen. As such, you will all go down there and bring them back. Drag them if you have to”

There’s a lot of nervous mumbling in the group; a lot of it is disbelief at the fact that Eyes, law-abiding Eyes, would get in on the crime.

“Now, before any of you even consider helping your little friends… just know that I will be keeping a very. Close. Eye. On all of you,” So close you could say that it was touching them. It was. Seek had made sure that everyone that entered the electrical room had a piece of its body forcibly attached to them somewhere. No one was happy with the arrangement, but they didn’t complain. “Now go!” Seek shouts, causing all the entities to scarper their way down into the mines.

Hide, who had been able to avoid getting slimed up, had a feeling they would need to hurry ahead to warn you guys.

Chapter Text

“You two having fun there?” you ask, half humoured, staring over at Eyes and A-60. Apparently, these mines have a bit of a bug problem, and have taken to swarming those two in particular.

“The unfortunate side effect of emitting a glow,” a vexed Eyes remarks. “The Gloombats do not pose entities such as us much harm, but they are-”

There’s a loud crunch that echoes throughout the room you are in; A-60 has smashed a few Gloombats into the ground.

“-Annoying” A-60 says, finishing off Eyes’ thought.

“Well, they seem to have had their fun; it looks like they are moving on to other light sources” you point out, as the Gloombats continue their way down the corridor, buzzing towards other ventures.

“Good. Let’s leave” Lookman states curtly, floating towards the next door and pushing it open.

The rest of your group quickly follow suit.

“Er, you got a lil something there” Screech says, pointing a small tendril up to your head.

“Huh?” You quickly reach up and grab what was up there. A lone Gloombat had perched itself on your head. “Awwwww! It’s adorable!” you say, holding it in front of yourself with your two hands, staring into those big round eyes. You turn it to face Screech, showing them too. “You think Figure would let me keep it in the library?” you ask.

“We would not recommend that” Eyes states, before Screech can give their own input.

“Wouldn’t that let the others know we came down here?” inquires A-120, who was leaning in close to get a better look at the large insect-thing.

“I guess you’re right…” you lament, slowly placing the Gloombat back on top of your head. “I’ll just keep hold of it for a bit…” It seemed tame enough for it anyway. “Stupid Seek, stupid Figure, never let me have pets…” you complain under your breath as you resume following the path.

The path forwards was relatively quiet and straight forwards, aside from the rooms that had Giggles hanging out in them; whenever you guys came across one of them, the Giggle would jump down and join the group, babbling happily and gesturing further into the mines with their little tentacles. You now had four Giggles with you, two being carried by A-60 and two being carried by A-120.

The ten of you came upon a large room, lower level inaccessible for those without floating capabilities (you), but you were able to cross over the chasm using one of two bridges.

You were just about to approach one when a very familiar sounding roar echoed throughout the chamber.

“Oh shoot!” you whisper-yell, instinctively crouching lower to the ground. Peering over the edge of the level you were on, you spied Figure stomping around on the lower level, searching for something. Or someone(s). “What’s Figure doing here!?” you exclaim in the same tone, turning back towards the group.

“Perhaps you weren’t as missed as you had hoped you’d be” Lookman remarks nonchalantly, peering down into the chasm too.

“D-does that mean… Seek knows too!?” Screech squeals.

“Likely so,” Eyes responds. “How shall we proceed? Do we want to turn back?”

“Hell nah! We already came all the way here!” A-60 replies, continuing out across the bridge.

“Yeah… and I guess if Seek does already know… then we’d still be in trouble even if we turned back now” you remark. It seems to have been settled: you were going to continue traipsing through the mines regardless.

Your group was able to get out of the room without Figure noticing you were there. With a small, relieved sigh, you continue down through the mines.

A couple of doors down, the lights flicker and the chasm rumbles as if an earthquake had just struck this location.

“Huh. You guys think Rush is down here?” you ask, leaning against one of the lockers. You jokingly add on: “you think we should hide?”

Joke or not, you were given no choice; the locker you were leaning on abruptly opened, and someone (something) from within grabbed you by the shirt, yanking you inside. Your protests were muffled by a hand being pressed against your face.

“I guess we're hiding” Screech says, getting inside a locker of their own. A-60 and A-120 do so too, though Eyes and Lookman just teleport away whilst the Giggle’s attach themselves to the ceiling once more.

As expected, Rush came racing through the cave, smashing out all the lights as they did.

“Hiding sucks. Only the weak hide” A-60 grunts as it exits its hiding spot. The others slowly emerge from their hiding spots too, with their own murmured complaints; Eyes and Lookman simply reappear without a word.

“Hey? You coming out yet? Rush has gone!” Screech asks, having approached the locker you went into and giving it a few, gentle knocks.

From within, there is a muffled voice (or two), before one of the voices raises considerably. Then quiet again. Finally, you emerge from the locker.

“What was taking you so long?” Lookman asks, evidently irate.

“Guys, Hide came bearing some bad news. And some worse news too. No good news” you announce to the group, a troubled look to your eyes.

“Delightful. What did they say?” asks A-120, now carrying all four of the Giggle’s on them.

“Well, er, Seek one hundred percent knows we down here…” you start off. The Gloombat is removed from your head and now squeezed close to your chest; it does little to comfort you.

“We gathered that,” Lookman remarks. “What’s worse?”

“It- Seek’s turned everyone against us! Rush, Ambush, Dupe, Dread, Jeff, even little Timothy!” you exclaim dramatically. “They’re all down here, looking for us!”

This… was not good. Not good in the slightest. Seek was forcing everyone- literally everyone- to come down here, just to drag you back to the hotel. How dangerous were these mines for it to resort to such measures? So far, all you’ve seen is Giggle’s and Gloombats, and neither of those things have caused you any harm! And the Grumble queen… she doesn’t sound bad!

Screech raises a little tentacle, garnering your attention.

“Am I allowed to swear?” Screech asks.

“Go ahead buddy” you respond with a small, sad nod.

Screech’s bad words echo out across the mines.

Chapter Text

With nothing left to lose, the group presses forwards, only this time they have to be extra careful about encountering other entities. Eyes has already had to worn off you and Screech from looting, the risk of Timothy being present just too great. You were all really getting the intruder experience here…

And alas, your grabby hands would just have to suffer the indignation of being empty.

Still, at least you had your lighter!

"Oof-!" you exclaim. A-60 has accidentally bumped into your back, causing you to drop your beloved lighter to the ground. You quickly spin around to address the offending entity. "Hey! Watch where you are going!" you snap up at them.

"Move faster next time" A-60 retorts.

You let out a loud huff before turning back to grab your lighter.

As you bent down, movement gave you pause. A small rat emerge from a hole in the wall, near to where you dropped the lighter. It stared up at you.

With a small, delighted gasp, you exclaim "Awww, a rat!" down at it, before leaning in a little closer. "Well, hey there lil guy! What's your name?"

The rat looks up at you silently still, before looking down at the dropped lighter. Abruptly, it grabs the lighter between its little hands and darts back into its hole.

You were about to complain about the rat stealing your lighter, but then a large slice of cheese was thrown out of the hole. A trade had been completed.

"Cheese?" A-120 sceptically says, staring over at it.

"Cheese!" you delightfully scream, sliding across the gravely cave floor and promptly stuffing the cheese wedge into your mouth, quickly eating it.

"Wh- May we ask why you would see food discarded by vermin, lying of the floor and decide that is what you want to consume?" Eyes exclaims, mildly disgusted by that action.

"Well-" you begin, mouth still full of cheese. "-I haven't eaten cheese in… I can't remember-" You take a big gulp, finishing the cheese. "And Figure doesn't exactly give me the most varied diet!"

"What if you are lack toes in tall ants?" Screech asks, concerned.

"Excuse me?" you return, very much confused.

"You know, that thing where your body doesn't like diary!" Screech says.

"Lactose intolerant?" you correct before thinking for a few seconds. "Eh. If I am, then I guess Seek'll just have to follow the poop trail to catch us!" you announce before continuing on with the journey.

"I'm starting to see why that Seek creature wants to keep you on a short leash…" Lookman remarks to themselves, slowly following along.

The journey proceeded as expected; Rush and Blitz were the most prominent enemies that you had to hide from, shortly followed by a very persistent Dupe (though you could swear it was growling way louder than usual…).

Hide was, from their own word, battling with Jack to keep him out of hiding spots.

There was soon to be another problem for the group to face.

"Figure…" you bitterly remark as the entity in question makes its presence in the next room known. Stomping around noisily, they patrol the room, searching for people who should not be down in these mines. Your group.

"They may be a problem…" Eyes remarks. They're eyes turn away room the next room and look towards A-120, a notoriously noisy entity.

"I can try and be quiet…?" A-120 poses.

A-60 immediately scoffs at the mere thought of that.

"Yeah right. You and I both damn well know that is never going to happen" A-60 snarkily remarks. A frown briefly crosses A-120's face, but they don't seem to take A-60's biting remark to heart.

"What if A-60 carries you again?" you suggest.

"This discussion may as well be irrelevant. A group such as you might not be able to sneak past that one, even if the they are silence" Lookman states, gesturing towards A-120 as they do.

Lookman did have a point. Even if A-120 didn't have to walk through the room, the rest of you aren't exactly the quietest… or the smallest (it does seem to be a very cramped room ahead…)

"True…" you sadly admit. "We might not be able to get past without a distraction…"

As you say that, the Gloombat perched on your head suddenly begins fluttering its wings eagerly. The chirping it made seemed excitable too. Reaching up, you picked it off your head and hold it in front of you.

"Hey! What got you all excited, little Buzz-Buzz?" you ask the tiny creature.

It continues to chirp and buzz energetically in your hands, the behaviour confusing the group around you too.

A distant rumble sounds, and for the briefest of moments, you begin to suspect that Rush was going this way. But it couldn't be. Nor was the rumble loud enough- or strong enough- to shake the cavern.

In an instant, the room was swarmed by, like, a ten million (or something like that) Gloombats; all of them started swarming the room Figure was in, creating quite the ruckus and very much annoying the tall entity. Figure roared angrily as the Gloombats began to harass them.

"Hey look! It called in friends!" Screech exclaims happily.

"Aw, little Buzz-Buzz gave us a distraction!" you praise, before turning to the rest of the group and placing your Gloombat back on your head. "Let's go before Figure notices!"

The group quickly run past Figure, making use of all the ruckus that the Gloombats.

Fortunately, you were all able to get past without Figure noticing (or if they did, they couldn't do anything about it).

You didn't stick around long enough to learn how Figure disposes of the pests…

Chapter Text

The adventure down in the mines continues. The group were able to expertly avoid Rush whenever it came running through and were making good progress towards the nest of the Grumble Queen.

There was now one major issue that you had to face.

"Human!"

The moment you entered the room you felt that something was off; aside from this room looking different from the others, with three long spanning paths leading forwards, it was extremely dark. The darkness was promptly broken by the ethereal blue glow of a certain spectre, who only ever addressed you as 'human' when they were really, really had with you.

"Ack! Halt!" you exclaim, backing away from said entity with your hands defensively up as they angrily approach you. The rest of your group were just as startled as you were to see the ghost. "F-fancy seeing you here! Haha…"

Halt's attitude does not change in the slightest.

"Don't give me that! You should not be down here. This place is far more dangerous and unstable than the hotel. There is good reason that you have not been permitted down here- or even to know the mines exist- and yet you decide to come barrelling down here! Head first! Without a care for your own well-being! And then you continue to force a needless cat and mouse game rather than to return to where you belong. You should know-"

"-Oh my god! Do you ever shut up!?" A-60 shouts. They, along with you, Screech and A-120 have been doing your best to play along to Halt's little dance whilst being forced to listen to his ongoing rant (Eyes and Lookman have just teleported to a safe distance and simply watch from afar. For now). It was about time that A-60 snapped.

"How… dare you!" Halt exclaims, baffled by A-60's audacity. Halt rapidly approaches their direction. "You dare to speak to me with such disrespect! I'll have you- what are you doing!?" Halt's angry ranting is interrupted as A-60 picks you up above their head. Before Halt can stop it, A-60 throws you and Screech across a chasm in the walk way to the other side before jumping over the gap themselves. "What. Was. That! Would you have jumped down after them if you missed!? Do you not see how dangerous that-!"

Bang!!!

Halt's A-60 directed rant was cut off by A-120 jumping across the gap to join you; A-120's signature heavy footfall echoes across the cavern you are in, shaking the walls and causing rocks to crumble and fall from the ceiling. None hit anyone, fortunately, though Lookman has to effortlessly float a couple steps to the side to avoid one hitting their form, not that they seem bothered by that in the slightest.

A-120 turns back to the baffled and frustrated Halt with an innocent smile across their face.

"Oopsie!" they giggle out before joining you, Screech and A-60. It does nothing to quell Halt's growing rage; if anything, they get angrier. You could almost see the usually cold, blue spectre turning a boiling red.

"Don't give me that! Any of you!" Halt snaps, teleporting directly in front of your little squad. A little to close for comfort; you jump back, but there is very little walk way for you to retreat to. "I'm putting an end to this little song and dance. Now"

"We think not"

Before Halt can cease hold of any of you, Eyes has appeared before Halt, bathing and blinding them with their purple hue. Halt is forced to retreat a few paces, but is still way too dangerously close for your liking.

"Eyes? I expected better of you…" Halt remarks, like a disappointed parent. Eyes' experience remains unbothered and neutral. Eyes moves forwards and fills the gap that Halt's backpedalling had given them.

"Is that so? Then we would like to say, in this instance, that we are glad to disappoint!" Eyes pushes Halt further down the corridor. The extra distance gave an opening that led to one of the other three paths, an opening which you, Screech, A-60 and A-120 were all the willing to take advantage of. Halt did try to move after you, but found themselves blocked off by the eyeball mass. "Eyes. On. Us!" Eyes demands, grasp on Halt and spinning them around to face Halt away from your group.

"What are you doing?" Halt demands to know.

"Isn't it obvious?" Eyes remarks. Is that snark you detect in their tone? "You do so love to spin round, and round, and round… a delightful waltz. So, dear Halt, let us dance!"

Eyes pushes and pulls Halt around the floor, taking lead of the dance they were forcing Halt to participate in. Halt protested, and tried to return their focus to more important matters, but each attempted resistance was swiftly brought to an end; Eyes hummed their own melody to dance to, and used the noise of it to drown out the anger of their dance partner.

A spiral of blues and purples, they twirled and danced across the gloomy cavern as if it were a ballroom. When you looked back upon the pair when you reached the exit, you were almost entranced by spectacle of their display; as they got quicker, their motions blurred their forms together as if they were one, shining brightly across the cavern.

"Alright, wrap it up" Lookman orders, not as impressed by the display as you were.

Eyes hears what Lookman says, but doesn't look their way.

"Halt, friend, this has been a pleasure, but it is time for us to part ways…" Eyes pushes themselves away from the spectre, leaving Halt staggering for a second before they regained their balance. "There is a phrase we've heard the more… frivolous entities use, and we think it works for you here: eat a fat dick"

Before Halt can say anything, because they would say something, Eyes joins your group just as you flee the area. You make sure to get a few rooms down before you all stop to catch your breath.

"Eyes…" you say between panting breaths. "That… was… amazing! I'm so proud of you!" you exclaim happily. You'd never seen anyone stand up to Halt like that, and never in a million years would you have expected the entity to do it would be Eyes!

"We thank you for your praise, but we should not dwell. We should keep moving" Eyes replies.

They are right. Halt knows that you are in the area… which means a certain entity would likely also know very shortly…

Halt and Figure sit together, defeated, on a cavern floor. Both of them had come so close to the reason they were in this damn cave, and yet somehow they both failed to catch you. You're just one human! They should be better than this!

"How did this happen!?" Seek shouts, more in annoyance at the situation than any anger at its two companions. "How did you both fail!?"

"I'd rather not talk about it…" Halt groans, trying to get what happened to them not long ago out of their mind.

Seek looks to Figure for a statement, and sees the meat monster picking bits out from between their teeth.

"What? Did you stop for snacks on the way here?" Seek asks, exasperated.

"Infestation…" was all Figure replied with as they continued to pluck bits out of their mouth.

Seek lets out a frustrated groan. It wasn't just these two who have failed: Rush has never seen them once, Dupe claims they can't trick the group and Timothy hasn't had a single drawer opened. The rest don't think they've found them either.

Seek might have to redouble their efforts if they are to catch their pesky little human.

Chapter Text

The group had found an small chasm exposed to the elements and with a long pool of knee high water. Frankly you were just glad for the rain to be pouring on your face, clearing off a load of grim and muck that had accumulated in your travels through the mine. Had to make yourself look somewhat presentable for when you meet with the queen, after all.

The rain on your face was very satisfying indeed, for you at least; A-60's scowl made them look like an angry, wet cat and A-120 was holding your Gloombat under a sheet whilst you cleaned up, as the little creature didn't seem to enjoy getting beaten down in the heavy rain either (A-120 themselves was not too fussed by the rain).

"You know… I keep imagining Seek emerging from that" you offhandedly remark as you finish washing up, pointing up at the pipe above you in the chasm.

Screech floats up to the grating and takes a small peek inside.

"Nope! All clear! Not a single trace of slime!" Screech confirms, returning to your side once more.

"Hmm, perhaps it hasn't caught up to us yet…" Eyes remarks to themselves, a couple of their eyeballs turning towards the pipe as well, giving it a firm glare. Nothing else happens.

"Then perhaps we should keep moving?" Lookman suggests, already floating their way down to the door at the other end of the chasm.

"Mhm, coming!" you call after it, quickly wading your way through the water, grabbing the Gloombat from A-120 as you pass them.

Pushing the door open, your group makes your way forwards.

The following rooms were devoid of all life: no Dupe doors, no Rush or Blitz warnings, no problems!

…That being said, you did nearly get crushed by a lose boulder than randomly decided to fall from the ceiling; you were lucky that A-120 was able to pull you back quick enough.

Other than that, easy. A-60 had to throw you across some gaps where the bridges had collapsed, not that you cared too much. Someone should really fix those though.

Soon, you found a gap that was larger than the previous ones.

"Uh, '60? Little hand?" you ask. There was no way you'd make it across the gap by jumping.

"That's way to far for me to throw you!" A-60 exclaims, a tinge of frustration at their own perceived weakness.

"Oh? But how are we to move forwards?" A-120 asks. The group seems to have come across a metaphorical road block.

"We go down," Eyes calls out, moving to the front of the group and gazing downwards in the pit bellow. "We believe there is another mine shaft down there, no?"

The rest of you turn your attentions downwards too.

"Hey! They're right!" Screech exclaims, pointing a tiny tendril down into the pit.

Sure enough, their seemed to be some tracks down bellow.

"Aw, that's a small target to land on, and it's quite far down…" You mumble to yourself thoughtfully. It might hurt landing on that- "-Wh- Hey!" Someone (A-60) suddenly grabbed you from behind, lifting you high into the air as you flailed and fought to break free.

"Oh, stop pussy-footing around and let's go!" A-60 snaps before jumping into the pit, ignoring your screams and protests, before anyone can stop them (not that anyone was going to).

Lucky for you, A-60's aim is on point as always, and it lands the two of you perfectly, if wobbly, on the track below. The others shortly join you, witnessing you give a few, rapid smacks to A-60's face in retribution for the sudden descent; they take it like a champ, so it is all good.

You're quick to forget about it when A-120 finds a mine cart lying near the track. They quickly grab it and place it back on the track. Everyone is quick to jump in and, with a large push from A-60, the cart is sent hurtling down the track to the symphony of Screech's 'weeeeeeee!'.

…Might not have been the best of idea, as this mine shaft does not appear the most structurally of sound; it takes a great deal of effort for the group to pull the cart away from the pits and yes, you guys did crash into a wall a few times. These instances always led to a small walk of shame where you had to carry the cart back to the fork before pushing it down the right path. Fortunately, there was no one outside of the group watching to see such embarrassment and you went tell if none of the others do!

Eventually reaching a station, you begin to believe your mine cart-based journey has been brought to an end. But it's not, it's only a brief intermission; the mine cart continues to trundle along at a leisurely pace.

There's a sudden roar, that shakes the entire cavern and causes you all to have quite the jump. Further along the tracks, an entity bigger than any you'd every seen comes descending from a further cavern; roaring loudly, the scarred creature comes charging forwards towards the mine cart, and follows along close behind it as it gets diverted down a separate path.

This would be much more terrifying if Screech and the Giggles A-120 was carrying didn't start cheering excitedly. They knew this entity.

The mine cart reaches the end of the track; everyone comes tumbling out with a heavy fall as it crashes into a large corridor. The massive entity remains at the opening above, staring down at the unusual group before it.

"Queen!" Screech exclaims, raising two tendrils up to the entity. "It's been so long!"

"Oh! So this is the Grumble Queen?" you remark, hoisting yourself to your feet and staring up at her. "She's… very big!" And not what you were expecting of something refereed to as 'queen'.

"And she wanted our audience?" Lookman asks, sceptically eyeing the massive creature.

"I believe so!" Screech replies to Lookman; it then turns their attention back to the Queen Grumble. "So, um, what is it that you wanted?"

The Grumble Queen lets out a small string of, well, grumbles; you do not understand the language of this species one bit.

"Uh, could someone translate?" you ask sheepishly.

"She said-" Screech begins.

"She said that her nest is in danger, and she requires outsiders help to resolve the issue" A-120 finishes.

"Hey! I didn't know you could speak Grumble!" Screech remarks, sounding more impressed by A-120's multilingual abilities than annoyed by the interruption.

"Ah, I did a lot of learning whilst confined to just the rooms…" A-120 replies bashfully.

"Yeah, such a waste of time when you could have been doing literally anything else" A-60 bites out, a lot less impressed by the productive usages of A-120's time. It must of got real boring living alone with a strict A-90 and a somewhat studious A-120 for the longest time…

"Ok, onto more important things: what danger are you taking about?" you ask, returning your attention to the Grumble Queen.

She lets out more noises, a lot longer than last time.

"She believes something is contaminating the water supply, and needs someone to go investigate dam further in the mines to rectify the problem" A-120 translates.

"Can't she go herself? Or send some of her children? Why does she need us?" Lookman asks; by his tone, it doesn't sound like he is too fond of the idea of being sent on an errand.

The Grumble Queen speaks some more, this time giving Lookman a hard glare.

"The Giggles are too young and weak for the problem, and the Grumbles are too big for some of the more fragile terrain" A-120 again explains.

"Hmm, we do not really go out to the dam ourselves…" Eyes remarks quietly. You've noticed that they seem to have been trying to draw little attention to themselves since they entered this audience with the Queen Grumble. If Eyes has been down here before, then there is every chance they know each other. "But… we would not recommend going…"

"Why's that?" you ask. Since Eyes finally spoke up, you've noticed that the Queen Grumble seems to be giving them a little bit of a stink eye. Do they not get along?

"Usually… there's something in the pipes…" Eyes replies, cryptically. They are not going to elaborate on that point, are they?

"Well! There's six of us, plus a few Giggles and little buzz buzz here, so I think we will do just fine!" you reply, a little dismissive of Eyes' warning. Whatever was 'in the pipes', you could probably deal with it. You turn back to the Grumble Queen. "Don't worry your majesty! We will do what we can to save your water supply!" you exclaim, giving a small bow to the entity.

She makes more noises before you.

"She appreciates your willingness to lend aid, and will reward us on our successful return!" A-120 translates.

The group takes a small rest whilst they are in the safety of the Grumble nest, before embarking on their next mission.

Chapter Text

With the thrill of an adventure and the prospect of a tantalising reward from the Queen Grumble, the group crosses the bridge to begin their journey further into the mines. Their goal was simple: to clean out the dam so that the Grumble's would have a clean water supply.

The only hitch to this plan was that they were very much still being pursued by a certain angry entity.

Seek had, fortunately for them, yet to make a personal appearance on their journey, but every member of the group had a silent acknowledgement that their luck on that front was bound to run out sooner or later.

And when it does, it will be them who will have to run.

But that was not now.

Now they faced another inconvenience. This one was called Jeff.

The tentacle monster was lingering in a corridor, accompanied by Bob and El Goblino as always, and was just… sitting around, as usual. He even had a bunch of items displayed on a counter as he would up in the hotel. Was he trying to tempt you to come over and inspect his wares?

Foolish Jeff! You're smarter than that! It had nothing to do with Lookman yoinking you back at all!

"He's working for the enemy," Lookman reminds gravely, casting a firm glare down at you. "They all are"

"Aw man, but Jeff has all the good stuff today…" you lament, peeking wishfully over at Jeff's shop from behind the door. An assortment of colourful wares were lined up in a nice, presentable manner… but it was all just a trap so that your group could get caught by Seek.

"Forget the stuff. How are we to get past?" A-120 asks, taking a tentative peek themselves.

"Good question! Jeff's like, super strong from what I've heard!" Screech chimes in. You've heard horror stories from El Goblino about how Jeff would react to would-be thieves of his wares… but you never really believed them. I mean, look at him! Jeff couldn't hurt a fly!

Although he could probably ensnare a fly so that a slime monster could come collect them… the fly being you, of course.

"Eh, he doesn't look that strong. We could take him" A-60 says dismissively, looking towards Jeff too.

"We do not advise underestimating Jefftholomew," Eyes interjects, pulling A-60 away from the door. "Additionally, attacking him would only serve to alert Seek to our exact whereabouts. We need to get past him quietly"

A-60 isn't happy about it, but with a grunt it reluctantly moves away from the door.

"For someone such as myself, I can just teleport to the next room," Lookman states. That fact would also apply to Eyes too. "But there are some in here who are not so gifted in that regards"

"Could you not teleport us?" Screech asks.

"No" Lookman bluntly returns.

Screech looks over to Eyes, silently asking the same question.

"Unfortunately, we can not" Eyes laments, if their saddened tone was only to appeal to Screech.

"Is there no one else who could?" Screech then asks.

"I would ask Glitch, but, uh," you start to get embarrassed just thinking about it. "I kinda have too many unpaid debts to them… and I'd hate to add more" Honestly, you should probably start doing some favours for Glitch so that you could even that score a bit. Maybe once you're out of the mines you can start working on that a bit.

"Is there anyone else around we could call on perhaps?" A-120 inquires. If there was anyone who would not be sneaking past Jeff undetected, it would be good old metal stomps.

"I mean, what's the odds Void got got by Seek? Slim right?" you ask the group, in more of a suggesting manner than an actually questioning manner. "Wouldn't it have snatched us by now if it was working with Seek?"

"You're reasoning seems sound, but how would we convince Void to help us? It rarely engages with others outside of Dupe and Shadow…" Eyes asks. Mentioning Dupe and Shadow doing dealings with Void reminded you of just how… shady those dealings were.

"Well, er, I'm pretty sure Void runs a black market of some sort… maybe we could, you know, sell them something?" But considering the kinds of things the black market seems to sell, you might have a hard time convincing any of these guys to 'provide the goods'.

"I didn't know we had a black market!" Screech exclaims excitedly. "Why didn't you tell me!? What do they sell!?"

"Uh, contraband," you reply quickly, before adding on, in much more hushed tone. "Amongst other things…"

"We do not currently have any contraband on our person, nor do we think any of you do…" Eyes remarks. The 'currently' comment leads you to believe that Eyes, at some point, must have acquired some sort of contraband… and now you wanna know what kind of contraband Eyes would want to acquire. "So what would we even offer to Void in exchange for safe passage?"

"Uh, why don't I just ask them…" you mumble out, heading back a few rooms to distance yourself from the rest of the group, primed for the yoinking.

The rest of the group waited in relative silence, only to be broken by the occasional whisper from Screech as they tried to decide what they would try and buy now that they knew there was a black market.

After a small period of time, you appeared in the room once more, almost out of thin air.

"You're back!" Screech exclaims happily. "How was you're conversation with Void?"

"It went… ok, I guess…" you reply.

"Did you convince this 'Void' to aid us?" Lookman asks.

"Well… they did pose a deal we could make… but I'm not exactly the one they wanna strike a deal with…" After saying that, you slowly shuffle round to face the one that Void was after. "A-120?"

"Me!?" A-120 says, surprised to have been suddenly called upon. "What could they want from me?"

"Void wants you to, er, meet with Dupe later" you explain, at least half of it. The other half is a bit more confusing, and you're trying to find the words to put it across.

"Oh? There a reason for that I'm assuming" A-120 asks.

"Yeah… Void said something along the lines of 'squiggly face go see Dupe adorned with that thing from thirty chapters back'... I honestly have no idea what that means…" But it involves Dupe, and wearing something, so there was no way it was possibly good… and it most definitely relate to some of Dupe's extracurricular activities…

"Hmm…" A-120 hums out thoughtfully, thinking to themselves. "I wouldn't know either… but it seems to be a fair deal. I'll accept" A-120 affirms.

"Great!" Screech exclaims, clapping two of their tendrils together. "Should someone go tell Void that, or-"

Screech's remark was cut off by the world around you all fading to black. Everyone startles, except you; you're likely the only one in this group who has actually experienced being 'Voided' before, so you know what to expect.

Regardless, the darkness remains for but a moment, before you all find yourself back on solid ground. You wobble a little on your footing as you are placed back down, that part never gets easier.

From a closed door behind you, you can hear the tune of Jeff's jam still playing in his shop.

"Well would you look at that! It seems that deal paid off," A-60 says, already moving forwards once more. "Now lets move. The standing around is boring"

"Yeah, yeah, lets go" you respond, hurrying after A-60. The others soon follow suit.

Here's to hoping you forget about what you've had to get A-120 roped into by the time Void has A-120 pay their end of the bargain.