Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Run. That’s all Rose could do. Run away from whoever the hell was chasing her. Run from her original plan to head to a cafe with her friends. Run from her possible death. This wasn’t her plan at all. This couldn’t be. Who would plan for death every day? All she could do now was run back home. 

Rose’s lungs burned as her hands worked with a horrible shake as she pulled up the keypad and hastily typed in 911. They’re the police! They had to help her! It’s their job! She just had to get the numbers in! Simple! It’s just three numbers. It’s just three numbers. It’s just three numbers. It’s just three numbers .

One number was inputted.

9.

Then the second.

1.

And the final.

1.

It’s just three numbers.

Three numbers that were not going in use fast enough.

It hurts…

Red coats her neck and sputters out. Red dribbles down Rose’s lips as everything grew burry and painful. Her once white sweater went red like the jacket she always wore. It hurt. It hurt so much. What did she do?

She had all A’s in school. Even her parents were worried that their daughter might burn herself dry. But she wasn’t. It was a passion to learn. She loved when people looked at her for help because she knew it. She wanted to be a source of light. That’s why she wrote music with lyrics telling people ‘it’s okay to be not okay.’ It’s why day after day after day after day she gives money and food to those who need it. 

She did all she could to try to be friends with everyone. She tried. She made some bullies from her kindness, but she never once hated them. After all, she heard their parents were in deep trouble. Debt, no job, too many mouths to feed. She gave them everything to let them at least help their parents.

So why was she the one who had to die? Was she being taken out of the picture because she was too kind? She was just trying to be kind. She was trying. SHE WAS TRYING! She did all she could and yet SHE was the one who was feeling her life sputter out as time continued.
WHY?!

Why?

Why…

“H҉҉e҉҉l҉҉l҉҉o҉҉?҉҉ ҉҉C҉҉a҉҉n҉҉ ҉҉y҉҉o҉҉u҉҉ ҉҉h҉҉e҉҉a҉҉r҉҉ ҉҉m҉҉e҉҉?҉҉”[Hello? Can you hear me?]

Darkness is scary for Rose. Not because it’s dark, but because she can’t see wasn’t in there. It’s unknown. She wants to know. She needs to know to tell what to do. But she can’t in this darkness. She can’t in this unknown.

“H҉҉e҉҉l҉҉l҉҉l҉҉o҉҉o҉҉o҉҉o҉҉o҉҉?҉҉”[Helllooooo?]

Who wouldn’t be scared of the dark? It’s unknown. Mysterious. Dangerous. But we all have to be in danger once in our lives. It’s practically part of our blood. We’ve grown in danger-

“H̶̪͍̒ͥ͑̓E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜Y̵̷̛̤͍̅́̕! W̸͈ͯ̾̒̿Ȧ̶̵̗̳K̦̖̙̱̮̐̌E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜ U̸̫̠̰͈̕P̘͎̀͊ Ȧ̶̵̗̳L̳͈͉̅̊Ŗ̴̪̈̄͞E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜Ȧ̶̵̗̳Ḋ̤͇̮͙ͥY̵̷̛̤͍̅́̕!”[HEY! WAKE UP ALREADY!]

“WH-”
Rose woke up to someone looking…similar? Like a mirror was in placed of her. Actually, there was a mirror placed in front of her, revealing someone like her. But, there were differences. They had their red jacket around their waist, showing a red spot at the heart. Freckles showered their skin. And they were hiding an eye. They seemed annoyed at something.

“O҉҉h҉҉ ҉҉t҉҉h҉҉a҉҉n҉҉k҉҉ ҉҉g҉҉o҉҉d҉҉s҉҉,҉҉ ҉҉I҉҉ ҉҉t҉҉h҉҉o҉҉u҉҉g҉҉h҉҉t҉҉ ҉҉I҉҉ ҉҉c҉҉o҉҉u҉҉l҉҉d҉҉n҉҉'҉҉t҉҉ ҉҉s҉҉a҉҉v҉҉e҉҉ ҉҉y҉҉o҉҉u҉҉ ҉҉f҉҉o҉҉r҉҉ ҉҉a҉҉ ҉҉s҉҉e҉҉c҉҉o҉҉n҉҉d҉҉ ҉҉t҉҉h҉҉e҉҉r҉҉e҉҉.҉҉”[Oh thank gods, I thought I couldn’t save you for a second there.]

“Who are you?”

“Y҉҉o҉҉u҉҉ ҉҉w҉҉a҉҉n҉҉t҉҉ ҉҉a҉҉n҉҉ ҉҉e҉҉x҉҉i҉҉s҉҉t҉҉e҉҉n҉҉t҉҉i҉҉a҉҉l҉҉ ҉҉c҉҉r҉҉i҉҉s҉҉i҉҉s҉҉ ҉҉o҉҉r҉҉ ҉҉s҉҉o҉҉m҉҉e҉҉t҉҉h҉҉i҉҉n҉҉g҉҉ ҉҉w҉҉e҉҉ ҉҉c҉҉a҉҉n҉҉ ҉҉g҉҉e҉҉t҉҉ ҉҉b҉҉e҉҉h҉҉i҉҉n҉҉d҉҉?҉҉”[You want an existential crisis or something we can get behind?]

“What?”

“F҉҉o҉҉r҉҉ ҉҉t҉҉h҉҉e҉҉ ҉҉l҉҉o҉҉v҉҉e҉҉ ҉҉o҉҉f҉҉-҉҉”[For the love of-]

The mirror version of Rose shifts and takes out a paper, lazily writing ‘do you want a crisis or something simple?’

“...oh.”

“W҉҉O҉҉W҉҉ ҉҉O҉҉K҉҉A҉҉Y҉҉ ҉҉S҉҉O҉҉ ҉҉I҉҉ ҉҉G҉҉U҉҉E҉҉S҉҉S҉҉ ҉҉M҉҉Y҉҉ ҉҉V҉҉O҉҉I҉҉C҉҉E҉҉ ҉҉I҉҉S҉҉ ҉҉S҉҉H҉҉I҉҉T҉҉ ҉҉T҉҉H҉҉E҉҉N҉҉’[WOW OKAY I GUESS MY VOICE IS SHIT THEN]

Rose chuckled as she sat down. She rubbed her neck to see no blood on her hand. She sighed and looked away.

“Just give me a name to call you, please. I think I’ll ummm…”

“ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ᴄʀᴀᴤʜᴏᴜᴛ?”

“Yeah. I’ll crashout.”

“ᴄᴀʟʟ ᴍᴇ ᴘᴀʟʟᴀᴤ.”

“Nice to meet you Pallas. Man, it feels weird talking to a mirror.”

“...wait where are we.”

“ᴇᴀʀᴛʜ.”

“That's a lie an we both know it. I died. How could I be at earth still.”

“ʏᴏᴜʀ ʙᴏᴅʏ'ᴤ ᴤᴛɪʟʟ ᴀᴛ ᴇᴀʀᴛʜ. ʙᴜᴛ ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ᴊᴜᴤᴛ ᴀ ғʟᴏᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴤᴏᴜʟ ʀɪɢʜᴛ ɴᴏᴡ. ᴍʏ ᴊᴏʙ ɪᴤ ᴛᴏ ɢɪᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀ ɴᴇᴡ ʙᴏᴅʏ ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴇᴡ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ.”

“Oh, do I get to choose?”

“ɴᴀᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ʏᴇᴤ. ʙᴜᴛ ɪ ɢᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ғɪɴᴀʟ ᴘɪᴄᴋ.”

“Fair enough. How about…that little world with uhhh…those gears? Roblox gears.

“ᴘʜɪɢʜᴛɪɴɢ? ᴛʜᴀᴛ'ᴤ ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴғᴇʀɴᴏ, ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀʏ.”

“I know, just forgot for a second. Also yes, I think it’d be cool. It will probably help me learn how to fight too.”

“ᴀʟʀɪɢʜᴛ. ᴤᴏ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀɴ ɪɴғᴇʀɴᴀʟ...ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜʀ ɢᴇᴀʀ?”

“Uhhh…is a flute an option?”

“ɴᴏᴘᴇ.”

“Darn. What would you pick?”

“ᴀ ʜᴀʀᴘᴏᴏɴ.”

“Harpoon it is! So that’d make my name Harpoon.”

Rose stood back up, wiping off nonexistent dust and grime while fixing her clothes. Looking back at the mirror, Pallas was writing something else on a paper.

“ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴀ ɢɪғᴛ? ᴤᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ʟɪᴋᴇ ғʀʏɪɴɢ ᴘᴀɴ'ᴤ ʟᴀᴘᴛᴏᴘ. ɪᴛ'ᴤ ᴊᴜᴤᴛ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴤᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴤɪᴍᴘʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ʜᴇʟᴘ ʏᴏᴜ.”

“Oh! Good idea.”

A silence filled the air before Pallas put the dots together.

“ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴀ ғʟᴜᴛᴇ? ɪ ᴄᴀɴ ɢɪᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀ ʙᴀᴤɪᴄ ғʟᴜᴛᴇ.”

Rose nodded her head, chuckling in embarrassment while Pallas gave a sigh of resignation. She folded the paper she used to talk to Rose up and ripped it, slowly ripping through the darkness as light entered. Looking at the rips, then back at Pallas, it looked almost exactly like her now.

“Good luck Rose, I hope Inferno isn’t harsh on you.”

Rose smiled before the light surrounded her. Pallas watched silently before fixing the mirror she stayed in for Rose.

“.҉҉.҉҉.҉҉I҉҉ ҉҉h҉҉o҉҉p҉҉e҉҉ ҉҉y҉҉o҉҉u҉҉ ҉҉l҉҉i҉҉v҉҉e҉҉ ҉҉t҉҉h҉҉e҉҉ ҉҉l҉҉i҉҉f҉҉e҉҉ ҉҉I҉҉ ҉҉w҉҉o҉҉n҉҉'҉҉t҉҉ ҉҉e҉҉v҉҉e҉҉r҉҉ ҉҉a҉҉g҉҉a҉҉i҉҉n҉҉.҉҉”[I hope you live the live I won’t ever again.]

First place she woke up in? An apartment. An almost perfect replica of her apartment on Earth. The bed was messily made, with a pillow plopped on the side. There were music sheets clipped into many black binders in a corner. Rose herself was standing in the middle of the wooden floor that held her items up. The desk opposite to the door had her haphazard mess of books, plans on sticky notes, her flute case, and a paper. There also seemed to be a mirror next to the desk. Guess Pallad put them there to help her. The only mirror she had before was the one in her bathroom.

The paper was picked up and read by her.

‘Sorry for the abrupt notice into here! You should know your name and gear by now. The flute case has what is stated in its name. The house is paid for, but only for a month. I can’t automatically get you a job, so you’ll have to find one yourself. Avoid any of the Phighters in the beginning if you can. You should know this drill.’

Okay, finding a job. Rose can do that. That’s not something she will fail at! She worked as a cashier during high school! Just have to be kind, and get a job that keeps her hidden. Maybe a restocker…wait.

Rose looked at the mirror, noticing that while she overall looked like herself but as an Infernal. The only problem?

She’s missing an arm for her gear, the harpoon.

“...fuck.”

Chapter Text

Crap…How the heck did I get here?

Harpoon stood at the altar, the woman’s hand on her shoulder. Fear wasn’t enough to express her fear. She just wanted a job! Not having to lose her eye to join a cult! Why’d she not pick a normal 9-5 job?! This was the last thing she needed, AND she ended up interacting with a phighter WAY too early for her sake. How the PHUCK did she get into this situation? 

Harpoon was fucked from the beginning. Missing an arm does WONDERS when you’re in need of a job and the mutation you got from your sponsor TOOK YOUR ARM. She can’t do anything requiring both hands due to lacking one! Technology’s a no go due to having a metal arm. Not to mention she can’t even play her flute, the gift she asked for, if she wanted to! Curse her bad luck for kicking in and ruining any hopes and dreams.

Right now, she’s walking around her room. ‘ God, or gods. Would it be SFOTH, since they’re the gods? I’m saying gods. Please don’t make me a main character and meet a phighter. It’s only been an hour since arriving. I’m not ready.’ Rose thought, fixing up her ‘arm.’ She looks so similar yet too different from her old self. She had her iconic outfit on: Red jacket with music notes on her sleeves, black pants, a black tank top, and black slip-on shoes. Makes sense for her to look similar to her old self for now. But the differences were hitting her in the face. She lacked an arm(duh), hair, and a horn. The one she had looked like someone grabbed another one of her gears, cut the top off, and smacked in on her head.

‘I look like one of Sel’s characters…’

She placed a hand on the mirror, still trying to understand that her old life is now impossible. She sat down, turning to press her back against the mirror and sighed. Not only was that a problem, but her gear’s ‘mutation’ that stole her arm was lousy. The harpoon has nearly fallen off over three times in the hour, and it has fallen off once. Lucky her. Starting off with NOTHING good other than the roof over her head. She has to find a job, explain why she’s been missing from society for 20 years, and how she could be beneficial to a job. If she wasn’t an Infernal, she would’ve been fucked even more. Guess that’s something to be happy for.

I miss Sel. I miss Eli too. I miss Mom and Dad and Sister. I miss the cats that waited for me in the morning for some snacks. I miss everyone back home.

Rose wiped away some tears she felt growing in her eyes. She felt scared. Alone. Abandoned. Forgotten. It works for her story, but she doesn’t like it. She can’t help anyone if there’s nobody to give the help to. She can’t learn if nobody knows about her. She’s not even real yet. Until she opens that door, nobody will enter nor exit this room. Until she opens that door, nobody will care about her. Maybe she can spend a bit more waiting and adapting to this life and planning the ‘story’ out.

Where were you for 20 years?

I was in hiding for them. I saw how brutal the world was, and didn’t want to be next. I hopped from one home to another to avoid people seeing me.

Why are you missing an arm?

It’s a mutation. Prosthetics are too expensive and are pointless since the mutation replaced the arm with the gear. I can’t unsummon it, and even if I could, I’d bleed out.

Why do you want to appear now?

Because I found a home I want to stay in now. I also am struggling with finding food, so I needed a place to settle for now. I plan to disappear again some day.

Which faction did you come from?

None, I spawned into Crossroads. I don’t plan on going to live in any of the regions, and if I do, it’s not for long.

Rose, or now Harpoon, stood in front of the door, waiting for her guts to stop yelling at her to not open the door. Everything is still paused in time. She can see some infernals paused mid-walk to their job. She felt horrible for not opening the door and letting them live their life. Actually, she should open the door. The room she’s in has only two windows that make the sides of her bed look angelic. She can hide on her bed and try to add more detail to her ‘backstory’ or actually try to get a job. Her plan? Not a clue. Maybe a job that she can be obscure in can work. Yeah. An obscure and hidden job works. Just need to find one…crap. She wasn’t the technology person in her trio. She was the people’s person, the talker in the group. Being online isn’t her thing. That means…

She’d have to physically look for her job. In no way would she give in to asking for her phone back.

‘I feel like this’ll go as well as it did for that one.’

Rose placed her hand on the door, feeling the cold iron underneath her hand. She tightened her grip before opening the door, allowing time to flow naturally. She looked around the dead hallway that made her apartment up. It was empty. Perfect. She can collect herself that way. She closed the door again and ran to the window. People were still moving. So now she was on a time limit. Time to find a job.

No luck whatsoever has arrived for her. She’s looked at every possible job and none of them could work with her situation. Two cashier jobs. ‘Can’t do that with the mutation.’ A supplier for moving items in a shop. ‘It needs two hands. No go.’ There’s a job to help someone somewhere in Blackrock, anyone can go. ‘Isn’t Blackrock known for mortifying experiments? AND SUBSPACE?! No.’

So she’s stuck sitting on a bench in the streets, looking at her one hand with nearly dead hope. All doors were either shut on her or not a door to a good life. At this track, she was bound to live a lonely and desolate-

“Hello? Are ya dead or somethin’?”

Rose, or now Harpoon, looked up to see an infernal. Specifically one wearing a cowboy outfit. Cyan horns were swept back on the hat with an insignia in the middle. Three cyan lenses covered the right eye. An impeccable white suit with a golden trim laid across their chest with a pair of gold buttons connected by a chain nearing the button keeping the front together. A darker cyan bow was neatly tied in the middle. Their pants were a forest green diamond pattern and white horse-riding shoes with gold spurs covered the bottom. And Harpoon knew exactly who this was.

This was Scythe, one of the most wanted criminals from Lost Temple who worked under the Cult of the True Eye. And a phighter. ‘What is my luck? Am I an ‘anime protagonist’ managing to meet a main character NOT EVEN 6 HOURS INTO MY LIFE HERE?’ Harpoon moved aside so that Scythe could sit down and looked away, trying to avoid any conversation and HOPEFULLY get back home. Harpoon looked at her arm and fiddled with it, making sure it did get too loose while in public.

“Did ya lose yer arm?”

“Hm? Oh, no. A mutation took it when I first spawned.”

Scythe looked intrigued, which only fueled the growing fear and panic in Harpoon. Her goal and plan to NOT find any of the phighters and NOT interact with any was going down the drain faster than the speed of light. In her worry, she went to flight and stood up from the bench. She turned and speed walked back to her home, taking extra turns in case the cowboy…cowgirl? Scythe. She took a bit longer to lose Scythe. She held her harpoon as she grabbed the key to her apartment and put it into the keyhole. Entering her room, she gave a sigh of relief as she sat down with her back to the door. If Scythe still follows her she’s going to first, ignore it, then chalk it up to ‘main character energy,’ as Sel would put it. And of course, there was that knock. The knock that meant that she did not get Scythe off her tail. Harpoon stood up with heavy hesitation as she looked at the door, looking through the peephole. ‘Yup. Scary cowgirl. Right at my door. Smiling like she’s going to kill me. Just my luck.’

Harpoon sighed and opened the door a little.

“Sorry ma’am. I felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave. Didn't mean to upset you, miss..?”

“Scythe darlin’. Th’ name’s Scythe.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Scythe! Did you need something from me?”

“ I was just wonderin', ya need a job? Seen ya lookin' at them job applications. ”

‘...SHE SAW? Oh dear…That’s both embarrassing and worrying. WAIT WHY ME?!’

“Ummm…why did you watch me?” Harpoon looked more disturbed and started to close her door only to see that Scythe had stopped the door from fully closing by sticking her foot halfway in. ‘Well now I’m doomed.’ Harpoon took a deep breath and opened her door back up, knowing that Scythe was NOT going to easily let her go. In a sense, she was the target in Scythe’s eyes. “...You want to come in? I feel a little cruel keeping you standing.”

“Why thank ya darling’!”

Harpoon paused before looking away and allowing the other in. She walked to her desk and pulled the chair from it.

“You can sit on the bed.”

Scythe, taking the offer, sat down on the bed. She crossed a leg on top of the other, a smirk still on her face. Harpoon’s comfort was gone, clear by the way she shifted in her seat. She looked at Scythe and cleared her throat.

“So, why did you watch me? You didn’t answer it before.”

“Ah! I saw yer arm, and thought ya’d be good fer us!”

“Us?”

“Well, where I work, we need folks with some muscle and good weapons, like yours! That there harpoon's your weapon, right? ”

“…yes? What has any of this have to do with me?”

“Ya not gettin’ i’? I wanna offer ya a job.”

Silence filled the air as Harpoon looked at Scythe with shock and a bit of hope. Which she immediately shot down as she sighed.

“I’m going to decline. I’m guessing it relates to violence and death, since my gear is the harpoon, and I don’t like the sight of it. Makes me queasy. I need a job, but I’ll be a burden if I take this one. Besides, I just need enough cash to go back to hiding.”

“ Well, now, we kin help ya hide. Ain't nobody knows ya, so hidin' ya away'll be a breeze. And the pay's mighty good. Ya shore ya don't want this here offer? ”

Harpoon looked away from Scythe and sighed. The one thing she didn’t want was to meet a phighter, as said by Pallas. What she didn’t plan for if she did was to be GIVEN A JOB OFFER! AND THAT THE PHIGHTER WAS GOING TO BE PERSISTENT ON IT! Everything was not falling into place for Harpoon. Yes, money is needed. Yes, she is going to try and disappear after she gets the money. But no, she doesn’t want to kill, which is what she’s guessing with the fact that Scythe is asking her to join due to being ‘able-bodied’ and having a ‘good gear for the job.’ Her gear’s the harpoon, that’s a weapon. That means Scythe wants her to kill. She doesn’t want to kill! Oh, and salt in the wound, her harpoon doesn’t look like the gear. It has more barbs, meaning if it hits, it either stays inside if stabbed, or does serious damage if slashed. Which just adds up to being a curse for her.

“...if you promise to not make me have to see a lot of…gore. I’ll accept the job offer. Does that work with you?”

“Mhm.”

And now she’s regretting going out.

“Why…is Lost Temple…SO HOT?!?” Harpoon groaned in misery as she dragged a long line in the burning sand of the desert. Scythe chortled at the reaction from the new recruit, who was not fully adjusted to the heat. She herself was only ahead by a few steps, so she could tell this wasn’t Harpoon’s first time here.

“It’s a desert. Ya know they get mighty hot.”

“THIS IS WHY I DIDN’T LIVE HERE FOR A WHILE!”

Harpoon plunged her gear into the ground, gasping for air.

“GIVE ME…a second…geez…”

Scythe sighed as she turned to look at the tired recruit. Both had been walking for a few hours now, so Harpoon’s exhaustion was bound to happen. She turned to look at her and offered a hand to her.

“ Just lemme know when y'all ready to go. We got a few more minutes o' walkin' to do. ”

Harpoon sat down, groaning in pain as the sand burned her body without scarring. She held her forehead as she looked at the sun. She winced as she stumbled back up. Scythe seemed overall unfazed by the clear nausea growing in the other Infernal in there, who nearly fell back down not even a second after standing up.

“Hey…Scythe? Is it normal to feel dizzy in a desert?”

“ Well now, yeah. But y'all'll be just fine-”

Another thud back onto the sand stopped. Harpoon was fully on the ground, struggling to get up. She forced herself to go onto her back as she panted, covering her face with her arm.

“Is…Is there shade nearby? My head hurts. Hurts a lot.”

“Nah. Only shade’s at base. If yer feelin’ queasy, then we gotta git goin’ quicker.”

Harpoon groaned as she sat up and stretched a little. She looked very nauseous still, but could stand the heat for a bit more.

“Let’s…hurry up then. Eugh, I might pass out at this rate.”

“If ya faint out on th’ way, I’ll drag ya th’ rest of th’ way.”

Harpoon gave a thumbs up and dragged her arm to Scythe.

“Let’s…Let’s hurry then.”

Shock and awe. Harpoon was in shock and awe over the area she entered Lost Temple in. The area she was in was very…desert..y. The best way she could put it into words was ‘I did expect it to look like this, but you can’t expect the unexpected.’ Clay walls with cracks that made the building one gust of wind from falling. The only plants growing in there were cacti. She was given an ice pack by one of the people since she was ‘going to work under Scythe.’ She knows Scythe is an danger, she’s pretty scary in the lore. Then again, an ice pack is an ice pack. The desert was HOT and PAINFUL. The ice pack was put on the side of her neck since it was comfortable that way.

“So, is there something you need me to do to get this job?”

“Ehh, jus’ a ritual.”

“...oh! How does the ritual work?”

“Well, th’ father wants ya t’ see th’ truth’, so we’ll be takin’ yer eye for th’ father.”

Harpoon stayed silent, horror changing her once calm face as she looked away and forward into the city. Scythe just patted her shoulder to bring her back to reality.

“It won’t hurt, if that’s what’s scaring ya-”

“How bloody is it?” Harpoon interrupted. She looked at Scythe with heavy worry as the hand that held the ice pack started to quiver.

“Eh, not as bloody as ya’d expect. We’ll have Doc nearby in case it gets too much for ya.”

Harpoon moved the ice pack away before tightening her grip on it, looking conflicted now. She’s gone too deep into doing this, and the money is needed. At least they won’t be asking much for backstory. The more mysterious the killer is, the better it is for the cult..oh crap she’s joining a cult. Scythe works for ‘The Church of the True Eye,’ which is basically a cult as everyone else calls it. ‘WHY DID I CHOSE THIS OTHER THAN FOR MONEY? I’M STARTING TO THINK SUBSPACE WOULD BE BETTER THAN THIS!’

“Doc? Who’s Doc?” Better to distract herself than think about it.

“The Doctor! He’s one of our healers! A good one, really. Yer gonna be fine with his help!”

“...oh! I was asking as in what’s his gear…name?”

“His name is Medkit.”

‘OHRIGHTWHOOPS!’ Harpoon nodded her head while silently crying inside. She read the wiki THREE TIMES and STILL managed to forget one of the most detailed characters when it comes to lore. How FOOLISH is she?!

“Let’s…get the ritual over with then.”

“That’s the spirit!”

And that’s how Rose, no, Harpoon, was standing in front of an altar with an acolyte preaching in front of her about ‘joining the family.’ She wasn’t entirely listening, but was giving it some thought. She just wanted it to be over with. She’s losing an eye, so it’s going to be painful. And bloody. This was a combo that was not going to be fun for her. She’s trying to seem to respect the acolyte but she just wanted the money. That was mean, but this isn’t earth anymore. Nobody would care if she died right here, right now. She can’t risk herself for others anymore. Looking up at the acolyte, they smiled right at her. It was fake. Fake as the trust in the family.

“Are you ready to join the family?”

“Mhm…”

The acolyte took a dagger and grabbed Harpoon’s chin, forcing her to look at them as they plunged a clean and sharp dagger into their eye. Of course, she screamed in pain. Who wouldn’t when they are losing an eye entirely. It wasn’t just the cornea of the eye, it was the whole thing, veins and all. When the dagger was pulled back, letting her eye her eye in all it’s bloody glory, a bitter silence filled the air and Harpoon stiffened.

Red dripped from one of the many veins collected together to seemingly make one. The iris was almost perfectly cut in half, barely able to stay together. The pupil was dilated, showing the fear of the old host when they lost it. The dark room that was barely lit from a few candles mashed together. The darkness was too dark, and candle lights were too light. This isn’t real.

This isn’t real.

This isn’t real.

This isn’t real.

This isn’t real.

This isn’t real.

This isn’t real.

This isn’t real.

This isn’t real.

This isn’t real.

This isn’t real.

This isn’t real.

This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real.

She’s back at the alleyway. Back in the bloody sight. She looked forward to see herself, holding her neck as she coughed up blood.

“Why..?”

“You’re needed for the people. You match her heart. We need you.” Someone’s speaking in replace of RoseHarpoonRoseHarpoon Rose Harpoon. Her. Not the one in front of her. Needed for someone? She doesn’t remember testing to see if she was a match. Wait- Was she being used as an organ donor? Oh god. Oh no. Oh no no no No NO . She needed to go. Rose needed to run. She had to go. Staying wouldn’t do any good. She’ll die here.

“ROSE! RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!”

She didn’t move.

“ROSE! GO TO A DOCTOR! YOU’RE DYING!”

Rose slowly crumbled to the ground. Onto her knees. Then chest. Harpoon look at the bloody sight before screaming in panic. She tried to run to Rose, to try and save her. She was frozen in place. She tried to scream again for Rose to get up. Nothing was said.

They grabbed Rose’s body, tossing it over her shoulder as they muttered something. Something about ‘joining the family.’ She blinked. They both were gone. Harpoon stood there, frozen as she looked around the closing world about her. Everything slowly went white as she cried for someone to save her. For someone to see the danger she was in.

It's a gentle light this time. Not too bright, not too dark. There was something on her face. It didn’t block her vision, but it felt like it did. She tried to move her hand, and felt a small twitch. Everything felt heavy. There was some dark cyan blob watching her. They said something before covering her eyes. She was tired. The darkness was comfortable. It was nice. Maybe going back to sleep would be a good idea.

Chapter Text

“I’m surprised you didn’t struggle while they got you into here,” Medkit noted, writing down something in the notebook he had on him. Harpoon sat parallel to him, rubbing her neck. She looked at her gear laying further away from her, freshly cleaned with a faint cyan coating on it. Her gaze went at a depression angle as she looked towards the stump of left hand. The part that held the harpoon had already coated through all layers of the bandages with her blood. That’s why she is still trapped on the bed. Something’s wrong with her body that neither the only doctor in the room nor she knows of. She looks back at Medkit with worry.

Medkit looked up at her and sighed, putting the notebook down and grabbing her gear, placing it in her lap.

“Whenever you want to try and get up, put it back on. It seems to be the only way that the blood stops pouring out of you.”

Harpoon looked at her gear once more, seeing the coat on it, a sign of who she’ll work for for an unknown amount of time. She looked back at Medkit and gave a small chuckle.

“I’ll be out soon. Just…give me a bit.”

Medkit nodded his head, leaving guessing she’d keep her promise. She looked at her gray hand and sighed, looking at the layer of paint before getting out of the bed and dragging herself to the bathroom to look in a mirror.

“Look at you Rose! You’re so pretty!”

“Yes. Rose is pretty.”

“Aw, you guys! You know I don’t need all this validation! You guys staying my friends is all I need!”

Where did those years go? Rose no longer had her once wavy hazel brown hair that reached half of her back. Her eyes, once a dark brown, now a pure black staring at her. Gray skin covered her instead of a gentle light brown. She wore the same outfit as she always did, but it didn’t feel like her. She didn’t look like the version of her that she always saw in the mirror. 

Oh right. She was in here because she was going to try putting the harpoon back on. She looked at the bandaging done to keep any blood from staining anything not the white gauze. Harpoon grabbed a part of the gauze and tugged at it. It didn’t exactly come off cleanly, blood sticking onto the protective gauze and immediately flooding her senses and making her instinctively cover it back up. She held her mouth as nothing came out, yet something in her stomach tried to. She gagged as she looked away from the mirror. She moved her head to look down before unfortunately gagging up some bile that decided to make her first day worse. She looked back up at the mirror, seeming more disheveled. She groaned in misery before walking out of the bathroom with an unattached gear dragging behind her. Medkit left a very similar outfit to the one she preferred to wear, but with one clear change. The jacket was a cyan with the Lost Temple insignia on the back of it. She looked at the insignia before coming with a temporary solution. Harpoon wrapped the jacket around the harpoon and walked out.

She looked around for Medkit, spotting him leaning against a wall with a cigarette pressed between his fingers. The smoke coming off was gentle, but visible. A knot tied in her stomach as she walked over to him, leaning against the wall.

“I have a request.”

“Hm?”

“If I gave my jacket to a tailor, could we put the Lost Temple insignia on the back?”

“You already have a jacket with it.”

“Well, this one has a sentiment to me. I don’t feel comfortable giving it up yet.”

“You’ll have to some day.”

“Why today then? It’s only the first day here. Can’t I have at least a week with it? I promise to wear it on the job.”

Medkit looked at the new recruit. There was a look of…something. Was it regret? Realization? Harpoon just looked back at him with hope on her own. He sighed and dropped the cigarette, smothering it under his foot.

“I’m just a medic.”

“Never asked you to be more than that. Just asking if I can just get the insignia on my jacket for now.”

“...fine. Hand it over.”

Harpoon placed her gear against the wall and took the jacket off with her one arm.

“Can’t you unsummon your gear?”

“You can?”

Medkit and Harpoon looked at eachother in confusion as he took her jacket, which was still held onto by her. She gave a small sigh in disappointment.

“Right, you guys are lucky to not have to deal with what I do. I can’t unsummon my gear. That’s why I always wore it; I feared losing it if I took it off.”

“So the stump in your arm?”

“Is where I keep it, yes. A mutation caused it to replace my arm. Or not fully. I can take it off at will, but it can fall off at times.”

“How haven’t you lost it yet?”

“Well you would feel the pain of losing a limb, would you-”

Medkit snapped a glare at Harpoon, shutting her up as she covered her mouth. Of course he would know the pain of losing a limb, Subspace took his eye. That was a low blow, and she knew it.

“Sir, I’m-”

“Shut it. Take care of your stuff on your own.”

He tossed the jacket back to Harpoon, who barely caught it. She hesitated before putting it back on, grabbing her gear after doing so and going back to her room, where she woke up. She sat down on her bed before taking her jacket off more forcefully and throwing it against the wall, tears building under her eyes. She choked out a sob as she covered her eyes.

“I didn’t mean to…God, I’m a horrible person…”

Harpoon looked at the mirror in the bathroom. She had to put the harpoon on somehow. Can’t ask Medkit because he’d definitely hate her guts. So she’d have to do it herself. She grabbed the gauze and ripped it off. The room smelled of blood as he covered her mouth to prevent wretching. She looked away from the blood dripping down her arm and grabbed her harpoon, meaning she’d have to smell the blood. She pressed the flat part of the gear into her arm, which went in without problem, the rest seemingly collapsing into itself as it sunk in without any problem. It left a bit of the rod along with the whole barb sticking out.

Leaning over the sink, the smell of the blood stayed in she air as she gagged and tried to avoid vomiting. Which ended up failing as she vomited into the sink. Great. She turned the handle of the sink to rinse the vomit out before looking back up at the mirror, regret building back up in her throat as she could see trickles of her blood falling on the harpoon. They turned the cyan tint a hint of dark red. She grabbed a bunch of paper towels and put them under the sink to soak them in water. She placed the then soaked paper towels on the blood, watching it get soaked up. She gagged before looking away when peeling them off. She threw them into the trash before dragging herself out. What a way to start her first day.

It’s a crappy bed. Worse than the floor even. It’s shocking how someone could mess up a bed to this extent. The person who managed to do that deserves either a round of applause or a slap to the back of the head, most likely the latter. But Harpoon didn’t mind. Against her own bed and this temporary one, she’d run to her own bed anytime soon, but the thought of at least putting a bed in a room is a nice one. She wasn’t on the bed though. She was on the ground laying her legs on the bed like she’s sitting sideways. Staring into space. Thinking about absolutely nothing. Until she got a nice snap back to reality known as Scythe kicking her door open to wake her up if she wasn’t already. Luckily, she was…sort of. Harpoon still jumped from the sudden kick to her door.

“GAH!”

“Rise an’ shine! How’s yar eye and hand doin’? Last I heard, ya got in a lil’ tussle with Medkit, yeah?”

Harpoon looked at her boss and gave a small thumbs up, still calming down.

“They’re both numb, but I can handle it. And for Medkit…it was my fault. I said something I shouldn’t have and ruined any connection I had with him.”

“Ah, don’ worry ‘bout him. He’ll forgive ya.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

Silence filled the air before Harpoon waved off her question and rolled her legs off the bed to stand up. She looked at Scythe and wiped some of the dust off her back and legs.

“Nevermind. Did you need me for something?”

“Nah, jus’ wanna give ya a tour of sorts around yar new home!”

“…can I…still live at my old one though? I’m paying rent there still.”

“Sure! Ya jus’ need t’ be here a couple times per day!”

Harpoon gave a sigh of relief and placed a hand on her chest.

“Well, let’s get the tour started!”

Harpoon walked over to Scythe who turned and left. The hallway was as great as the room, which was bad. She didn’t want to say anything mean though. High chance some people who were also in this…’family’ were living in rooms like this. Or no room at all. She didn’t want to take this for granted. She looked at a few of the opened doors, seeing that there were others resting up on the bed.

“Hey…what is this place again?”

“These are th’ dorms fer those that aren’t like ya.”

“Hm. That’s…a nice thing to do.”

“Well, it’s fer those that haven’t proven themselves t’ the family an’ don’ ‘ave a home.”

“Oh! So is my ‘room’ going to be used as a room for another person’s since I have a home of my own?”

“Yep.”

Harpoon hummed in joy as Scythe walked through the halls without any care to outside. Outside was the desert oriented city she entered the first time in Lost Temple. The wave of heat that hit Harpoon made her cough a little.

“Holy fudge it is hot outside!”

Scythe covered her mouth at the censor, patting Harpoon’s back.

“Ya don’t need t’ censor yerself. Just say fuck.”

Harpoon looked at Scythe in confusion before red covered her face and she used her hand to cover herself in embarrassment. How was she supposed to explain herself now?! 

“I’ll…keep that in mind.”

She looked back at the city and walked a little forward.

“So, are we going to just…go around the place so I get an idea of the layout and adapt to being down 50% of my original eyesight?”

“‘Bout right.”

“Then let’s get going!”

First place in mind: Tailor store. Harpoon was still wearing her red jacket, and was holding the teal jacket she was given. She looked at the store before looking back at Scythe with hesitation. Scythe looked at the door before shoving Harpoon into the store, hearing the bell ring about the two of them as the one sitting at the counter. Scythe looked down to see Harpoon frozen like ice. She scoffed and patted her head.

“Y’know yar not gonna die if ya talkin’ t’ someone.”

“That…is way easier to fricking say than do.”

“Again with th’ censor? Ya don’t have t’ do that.”

“Instinct!”

“What, did ya be near kids when bein’ off th’ grid or sumthin’?”

Harpoon froze as she remembered why. She tensed up as small tears formed. She couldn’t tell Scythe. She couldn’t tell her the truth. She can’t tell her why. The tears fell as she ran out of solutions that could stand solid with Scythe. She backed up, dropped the jacket, and ran off from the building, leaving a now annoyed Scythe and worried owner of the shop. She ran through the bustling city, hearing the people haggle prices and people being mugged. This was a horrible city. This was a city where people don’t worry about laws of morality. She ran out of the city. She looked up to see the desert in front of her. It’s hot. Burning hot. Everything hurt. Her heart burned with her lungs and legs. She kept running, feeling the metal from her harpoon slowly grow hotter and hotter from the heat, but she kept running. What was she running from, she didn’t remember. She just remembered hearing the voices of her old life. The voices that raised too high when Eli went out and came back with bandages all over her.

“ELI! 뭘 한 거야?”[WHAT DID YOU DO?] Rose ran over to Elisaveta, looking her over as she held her poorly bandaged arms. Her heart raced as she looked back at Eli with horror in her eyes.

“ELI! I TOLD YOU THEY LEARNED THEIR LESSON AFTER YOU THREATENED ONE OF THEM! I DON’T WANT YOU TO GO TO JAIL! I DON’T WANT TO LOSE YOU!”

Eli just looked at Rose before shoving her off. It wasn’t harsh, it was never harsh. She looked at her with annoyance. Her eyes felt null of that gentleness she usually had.

“You don’t get it, they won’t stop. If they say that once, they’ll say it again if you don’t make them not.”

“WELL WE COULD JUST AVOID THEM! THAT WAS A ONE TIME OCCURANCE!”

“AND WHAT IF IT WASN’T!”

Rose paused, looking at her. What could she say? Sel was luckily sleeping in her pile of many plushies and blankets. But they were fighting like parents. Parents that were falling apart. And Eli could tell this.

“WHAT IF IT WASN’T. THEY. DON’T. FUCKING. STOP. THEY’LL NEVER FUCKING STOP. YOU WANNA KNOW WHY? BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T STOP SHIT WITH ME. THEY NEVER STOPPED WITH ME. SO SHUT THE FUCK UP AND SIT THE FUCK DOWN. YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT I HAD TO GO THROUGH. I’M TRYING TO FUCKING PROTECT HER!”

Harpoon fell into the sand, crying as they hit the hot sand. She grabbed some of the loose sand as she screamed the response she wish she said at that time instead of giving up and breaking down sobbing like the weakling she is.

“AND I’M TRYING TO PROTECT YOU! YOU’VE BEEN HURT SO MANY TIMES, YOU FORGOT WHAT IT MEANT TO BE LOVED! YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT I FEAR WHEN YOU GO OUT OF THE HOUSE WITH THAT LOOK OF DETERMINATION!”

Harpoon shoved the harpoon into the ground as she cried again. She wanted to go back home. She wanted to run back to Eli and hug her. She wanted to tell Sel she’s still her sister even without the papers. She wanted to go back to her family. She missed her family, her friends, all of them. All because she couldn’t help but censor herself. God, isn’t she weak? A weakling who couldn’t do one little thing. She’s pathetic, no?

Laying in the sand, she looked back at the arm she was cursed to have a harpoon replace before feeling something wet fall onto her face. She sat up to see blood pooling up her arm and out her elbow. She looked to see the bar of the harpoon protruding out of her elbow with fresh blood on it. She grabbed her harpoon and pulled it out as she stumbled up. She was bleeding a lot. She was dying. Everything hurt as she stumbled back, covering her mouth. What did she do? Why did her harpoon extend through her?!? She stumbled back into sitting as she felt her body grow heavy. She looked around. There was nobody. She was going to die here. She didn’t even last around two days in this world. She laid down as her vision faded to dark.

-. . .-- / .-. . -.-. --- .-. -.. .-.-.- / -... ..- - / - --- --- / ..-. .- ... - .-.-.- / -.. --- -. .----. - / - .... .. -. -.- / -.-- --- ..- .----. .-. . / --. . - - .. -. --. / .- .-- .- -.-- / ..-. .-. --- -- / -.-- --- ..- .-. / .--- --- -... / ... --- / ..-. .- ... - .-.-.-

She woke up with a gasp as she sat up in her bed. Not the one in Lost Temple. The one back in Crossroads. The one with her discs and cleaning supplies for her gear. She looked at her left arm. It had the harpoon back in it, but also with bandages tightly on it. There were dots and dashes in her blood, which sent shivers down her spine. She sighed and laid back down before sitting back up and running to the bathroom. She looked at the mirror in it to see she still had no changes. She was still missing her eye. She still had her red jacket. She didn’t change at all. She stumbled back as she went back onto the bed and thought about today. It was…odd. She didn’t get to do much anyway. She sighed as she saw a letter slip through her door. Harpoon got out of bed with a groan and sat down to pick up the letter. It had a photo along side several questions marks. She looked at the photo before gasping in horror and backing up. It was a photo of the bloody sand and equally as bloody harpoon. But not only that, but there were also footsteps. She ran to the mirror and flicked against it.

“PALLAS! PALLAS I NEED YOU TO SEE THIS!”

“Hm?” Pallas phased into the mirror, worried as she placed a hand against the glass, “what’s the issue?”

“THIS!”

Harpoon put the photo onto the wall and looked at Pallas in horror.

“WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!?”