Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

No matter what happened, the realm was always slightly cold. Whether it be from the artificial stars in the sky that glimmered like they were real, or the strange water you couldn’t see in, but the place felt fake. Almost lifeless as the only living beings were the survivors. Besides that, there were no little critters to analyze, no bugs to fly by, no birds to nest. Some of the rocks had a weird waxy texture, while others were most definitely real. The trees in some places felt like they weren’t planted, but placed. No roots to hold them down in the ground. The green grass was far from lush, it was closer to raggedy and dead, no sun to keep it alive, only the harsh glow of a moon, that was closer to a flashlight fixated on a book being read in the middle of the night. If you looked hard enough at the fishing dock, on the left you could see the corner of a box, almost as everyone was caged in, no way out.

007n7 had looked at that corner like there was no tomorrow, wondering if there was a way out. Not just for him or his son, but everyone involved in this mess. It almost felt like getting stuck in a spider's web, sticky, watching others unwillingly glued to the mess. He’d usually get lost in his mind, while being so quiet on the outside, his mind was so loud and full, almost as if there was a nuclear meltdown happening inside.

Though, no one knew what was keeping them there, or if they were even alive outside of this giant cat and mouse game. Well, most wondered. Some knew the answer, but just because the actions that happened before they were forsaken meant that they were probably gone forever, there was still hope for the ones that couldn’t recall the moments before an inevitable death.

007n7 sighed, and got up from the docks. He knew he wanted to stay out later, staring into what they could only assume as the abyss of a sky, but he would be more fatigued than usual. Ever since the initial gunshot, he always felt so sluggish and tired all of the time. Though, he chalked it up to his heinous sleep schedule that he had been balancing before C00lkidd had entered his life.

007n7 had started to walk towards his cabin, expecting everyone to still be in the manor, or their own cabins. He hoped that he wouldn’t stumble into anyone while walking to his cabin, as his was the furthest out from the manor. While his silent pleadings were accepted by god knows who, he was startled at the loud wave of laughter near the main door to the manor. 007n7 glanced over, but the only people he could see through the door frame were Noob and Chance. He shuddered at the thought of what would happen if he was in the room. Dirty glances were usually thrown his way.

Though, he was grateful that it was mainly all they would do, besides Guest, Two Time, and Chance didn’t give him any harsh glances at all. He noticed that Builderman and Taph weren’t as persistent on staying away from 007n7, but they weren’t the most keen on hanging around with him either. There were worse things to happen other than being excluded in purgatory.

007n7 tried to brush off the odd feeling while he continued to walk to his cabin, but it wrapped around his chest instead. It wasn’t full of sadness, or hurt, but it wasn’t anger either. He knew it was far from happiness, or relief. The last time he felt either of them was when he saw his son, his baby boy, for the first time after he had gone missing.

And it happened in this hellhole.

It happened in the map the others deemed to be called Brandon’s world, due to a giant sign right by where the killer spawned, and a black and yellow hoodie with a tag with the name Brandon written on it. While his heart was full of concern, there was no confusing his voice for another persons. His body was.. not close to the one 007n7 remembered, C00lkidd was short as a 10 year old should be, a little chubby, and his claws were short. When he laid his eyes on his son for the first time in hell, he was petrified. C00lkidd was nothing close to the short 10 year old he once was. He towered over the survivors, just a little taller than Guest. But other than being tall, he was also very skinny, you could see his bones through his skin. There was a grin on his face that almost seemed permanently molded on his face.

He was holding someone’s dead body, but if you asked 007n7 to recall who it was, he couldn’t tell you. The snapping of someone’s neck echoed as C00lkidd turned to look at 007n7.

“IT’S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU PAPA!” He shouted before throwing a brick right at his father.

007n7 tried to dodge it, but it hit him right in his chest, and threw him off his feet in surprise. He wanted to get up and run, but he hadn’t seen his son in weeks. His brain told him to run away from what his son had turned into, but his heart yearned to get up and hug C00lkidd.

007n7 was in the middle of getting up before he noticed C00lkidd had a sword, and it was another moment before he realized what he had done. There was a stinging pain in his shoulder as he collapsed, and he held his tongue to not swear in front of his boy. While he may have looked like a monster, he knew it was his son. His C00lkidd. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as he tried to get up again, not knowing if he wanted to stay with his son or if he wanted to run, until he felt a slash right across his back. His stomach crunched, his arms gave out. There was a burning sensation within his wounds, then in his throat as he was lifted off of the ground.

“MAYBE YOU SHOULD TAKE A NAP, YOU LOOK TIRED PAPA!” C00lkidd shouted as his eyes stared right into 007n7’s. The image of his son looking at him with such determination in his eyes was terrifying, and probably engraved into his abyss of a mind.

“007n7, where are you headed?” A voice right behind him asked.

007n7 was pulled away from his mind, and whipped his head around to look at who was behind him. When he saw it was Guest, he let out a small sigh, glad to see it wasn’t someone that hated his guts. A wave of piercing wind brushed over him, rooting him to the question that was asked.

“Oh! I was headed to my.. cabin.” 007n7 noticed he had strayed away from any cabin, the golden glowing light from the manor door barely visible to the naked eye where he stood.

“Or.. I was planning to head to my cabin. Must’ve been tangled up in my head again, you didn’t have to come out and ask. I was probably going to trip over myself soon enough..” 007n7 mumbled the last sentence to himself, but wasn’t quiet enough for Guest to ignore.

“What do you mean I didn’t have to come out and ask? Who knows what’s beyond these trees.” Guest asked, the only light capturing the moment was the fake glint of the moon. 007n7 could feel the sweat on his hands, he had almost forgotten what it was like to be checked upon.

“..I just meant don’t worry about me, I know I just weigh the group down. Some people were loud and clear with that extra thirty seconds comment..” the ex-exploiter replied, and he gave off a noticeable shiver at the comment part of his sentence. He could feel his hands on the bottom of his shirt, just automatically drying themselves, almost like continuously inflicting a bad habit upon himself.

Guests eyebrows furrowed when 007n7 wrapped up his sentence, confused. Guest was aware that 007n7 wasn’t the most liked within the team, but he wasn’t utterly useless.

“It's fine, I know it would probably be easier in the rounds if I wasn’t messing everything up, sorry about that.” 007n7 apologized, hoping that he hadn’t upset the closest person he could call a friend in hell.

“What do you mean?” Guest asked after silence loomed around for a bit.

“You don’t notice the way the others look at me? I know why they do it, and I deserve it. In the last round I accidentally got Elliot and myself killed because I was trying to give him a medkit.” 007n7 explained as he could feel beads of sweat roll down his forehead, praying that he didn’t make anyone else upset as he had already done that day.

“I mean, we all make mistakes..” Guest shrugged, trying to sound less stern so as to not scare the other man.

Guest continued, “I know you probably didn’t see it last round, but both Shedletsky and I were trying to fight John Doe off and I accidentally punched Shedletsky instead.”

The veteran finished his sentence with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. The ex-exploiter let out a nervous giggle, still sweating bullets. There was another blow of a freezing wind, colder than before.

Since there was no day cycle, and lack of clocks outside of the manor, everyone decided after the last round of the day, it was already the evening. A chance to catch their breaths, a pause in prison. After a while, Dusekkar noticed that during intermission of the rounds, outside of the manor was warmer than after the final round of the day. At least there was some familiarity in this realm.

Silence had taken its place yet again, neither men knowing what to say. Guest had never taken a good look at 007n7’s face before, not noticing the heavy eyebags, the slightly offcentered glasses, or the messy brown hair peeking out from under the burger hat.

“At least they would forgive you..” 007n7 thought, soon before he glanced at the floor.

“Hopefully you two laughed it off..” 007n7 replied nervously, not having a clue as to what else to say.

“The others don’t forgive you as easily, do they?” Guest asked, concern in his tone. 007n7 tried to make up an excuse, sputtering out poorly put together sentences and jumbled up words before he gave up, and nodded, defeat and a heavy weight of guilt washing over him.

He really hadn’t changed, had he?

“I should get going..” 007n7 mumbled under his breath as he tried to make a leave, until Guest put a hand on his shoulder.

“If you ever need a person to talk to, my door is unlocked. I’m here, and I’m sure Chance and.. Twotime are as well.” Guest said. It felt so out of the blue, the last sentence was from nowhere, but 007n7 wasn’t sure if he could trust Guest.

While he was trustworthy, there was fear that he was just getting lured into a trap, like he had been in before, again and again. But, his shoulders relaxed, he could feel some tension leaving his body as he heard those words.

“Thank you.”

Chapter Text

If there was a word that describes the manor in this realm, it would be warm. The fireplace seemed to never go out, even when no one put any firewood in, and the atmosphere seemed soft and comforting, or as soft and comforting as they could make it. It didn’t matter what would happen, there was always a sense of fear. Like something was bound to happen, but no one knew when. While the outside of the manor was usually engulfed in the fake moonlight, the lights inside had a golden glow to them that had held a sense of safety compared to the glimmering waters, and the strange array of trees. No one mentioned it, but everything in their environment had felt like it was placed there with reason. Almost like there was something… someone watching them as they ran. Either placing things close that’ll help the survivors, or placing them away, hidden, where no one could see if they were just running by.

Almost everyone was in the manor, wrapping up supper, about to go use up the rest of their free time before they hit the hay for the night. Guest wasn’t paying attention to the jokes the others cracked, but it felt like there was one less person. Twotime was the first to retire to their cabin, saying their goodbyes as Guest walked up to Chance. He was busy, listening to a story Noob was telling, something about an old friend. Guest gave Chance a tap on the shoulder, which made him yelp out of fear as he turned around, registering some giggles from the friendly fellow he was just talking to.

“GAH! Jeez man, you scared the shit out of me!” Chance said as he fixed his fedora, some fear still lingering in his gaze. Guest let out a small chuckle before he said anything.

“Sorry about that, but do you know if anyone’s missing?” He asked, scratching the back of his neck. Chance looked around, confused. They thought everyone was there, Elliot had made dinner and there were no leftovers to spare.

“Uh.. maybe 007n7? I haven’t seen him since he left after the last round.” Chance suggested. Guest cocked an eyebrow at the thought, confused.

“He didn’t even grab any food?” He asked. Chance shrugged.

“You know him better than me, he could’ve just teleported while everyone else was busy.” Chance replied.

“Weird..” Guest thought as he glanced out the open door that Twotime left open. Besides the cabin outside with the lights on, the most notable thing was the ex-exploiter. He looked so.. out of it in guests eyes. It almost looked like he was walking away from the cabins, in a daze.

Another joke was made, and another rush of laughter rumbled through the manor, but Guest didn’t pay attention. Guest gave Chance and Noob a wave goodbye, and left the manor himself. He made pace with a light jog, and caught up to 007n7, who still seemed to be in his own mind. Guest noticed that 007n7 was straying far from his cabin, almost like he was looking for something.. Maybe someone. It had been a moment, and 007n7 still seemed infatuated with whatever he was daydreaming about, so Guest gave him a poke on the shoulder. “007n7, where are you headed?” He asked, trying to look less stern. 007n7 whipped his head around, his face full of fear, but nothing behind his eyes. Nothing that gave them a sleek shine, almost as if he had lost all reason to be alive. He let out a small sigh, and a cool breeze had washed over the two.

“Oh! I was headed to.. My cabin.”

It had sounded like he had realized where he was going, almost as if he was trying to exclude himself so no one else had to do it. 007n7 leaned a little to his right to try and catch a glance of the manor, Guest noticed 007n7 fidgeting with his hands.

“Or.. I was planning to head to my cabin. Must’ve been tangled up in my head again, you didn’t have to come out and ask. I was probably going to trip over myself soon enough..” 007n7 said, the last part mumbled, but Guest took note, it wasn’t the quietest the man had talked.

“What do you mean I didn’t have to come out and ask? Who knows what’s beyond these trees.” Guest asked, curiously. 007n7 took a moment to reply.

“..I just meant don’t worry about me, I know I just weigh the group down. Some people were loud and clear with that extra thirty seconds comment..” Guest’s eyebrows furrowed at the last part of his sentence, knowing that the survivors that knew 007n7 before this mess weren’t the most acquainted. But, 007n7 wasn’t purely useless, he had used his abilities in ways to save others from the killer beforehand. Even if he was useless physically, you could tell he changed from his antics from a decade ago, and from what Guest saw, 007n7 was a good emotional support within the team.

It was before Guest realized he might’ve been intimidating the shorter man as a genuine apology slipped from his throat.

“It's fine, I know it would probably be easier in the rounds if I wasn’t messing everything up, sorry about that.” The breeze outside had slowly run colder, as Guest could hear the survivors wrapping up their night with each other, getting ready for a new game of cat and mouse tomorrow.

“What do you mean?” he asked 007n7, his face changing with the tone of his voice to appear softer.

There was a layer of silence, and a slow growth of tension within 007n7. The way his shoulders tensed up, and the way his expression curled to look more depressed than usual.

“You don’t notice the way the others look at me? I know why they do it, and I deserve it. In the last round I accidentally got Elliot and myself killed because I was trying to give him a medkit.” 007n7 finally spoke up, his voice cracking at the end.

Guest was stood there, struggling to say something to try and comfort the other man that looked like he was about to cry. Even after all those years spent in the military, he still carried his old traits before he was roughed up, one of them being how bad he was at comforting.

“I mean, we all make mistakes..” Guest shrugged, still trying to look less intimidating. He swallowed before he continued, “I know you probably didn’t see it last round, but both Shedletsky and I were trying to fight John Doe off and I accidentally punched Shedletsky instead.”

He chuckled at the end, not sure if bringing up the last round was even a good idea to begin with. 007n7 looked up from the hem of his shirt, and let out a nervous giggle, but Guest knew it didn’t really work, did it?

“Hopefully you two laughed it off..” 007n7 replied, his voice shaking with every word that slipped out of his lips, his cheeks blooming into a soft red from either embarrassment or the small amount of tears threatening to fall.

Then, the question Guest had wanted to ask since he was forsaken, “The others don’t forgive you as easily, do they?”

Silence bloomed between the two, before 007n7 tried to make up an excuse, words sputtering, and beads of sweat dripping, but none of it was making sense.. So he just nodded yes instead. The wind was growing stronger, and colder, and Guest didn’t want 007n7 to freeze. Before he was about to say something, the other man spoke up.

“I should get going..” he mumbled before he turned, and started making a leave. It felt like there was still something to say, to try and make sure the other man truly didn’t feel alone in the realm. Guest almost panicked before he placed his hand on 007n7’s shoulder, lightly pressing on the blue shirt.

“If you ever need a person to talk to, my door is unlocked. I’m here, and I’m sure Chance and.. Two Time are as well.” Guest almost sputtered out, hoping that 007n7 would come out of his shell so others didn’t have to pry him out. He felt awkward, the words sprouted from nowhere, but what else was there to say?

007n7 stood in his place for a moment, before a soft thank you left his mouth. The two said their goodnights as they parted ways, but Guest felt like there was something he was forgetting..

The food.

He forgot that 007n7 probably didn’t eat that night, and meant to grab him some food before he initially left the manor earlier.

Shit.

Chapter Text

007n7 had made it to his cabin, and almost immediately regretted not having any food. Not only is the hollow feeling so unnerving, he could already tell as he was changing from his day clothes to his shark onesie that tomorrow was probably going to be worse. He wasn’t aware how long he had been stuck in the realm, but it was rarely ever a good day for him. He felt himself shiver as he laid down on his bed, and loosely threw the blanket over himself. He put his glasses next to the lamp on his night stand, and turned the lamp off.

He was laying in bright green grass, it was lush and long enough so it wouldn’t bug C00lkidd as he ran around in the empty area, some trees spread around. It was nice to get away from the three jobs he had, and out of the house on a sunny and warm day. C00lkidd was shouting as he ran around, enjoying the sunny day, as it had been rainy all week. 007n7 let out a sigh, as he opened his eyes to look up at the bright blue sky, some clouds floating around, but mainly open nonetheless. He closed his eyes again, listening to the peaceful wind as he heard his son playing around.

Until, he just stopped.

007n7 had realized that he hadn’t heard C00lkidds voice, and shot up from the grass in fear, his eyes wide and full of terror. He didn’t want to lose his son again. The life he had destroyed and built from the ground up so his son wouldn’t walk down the wrong path had already started to crumble. The sky was cloudy and dark, almost as rain was about to pour. 007n7 leapt up from the ground in a hurry to find the one person that kept him going, someone he was gifted with right after he had lost someone dear to him.

007n7 started to run around, but he couldn’t find his son in the empty field. He could feel his heart pound, ready to burst at any moment, his eyes, ready to sob, his legs, ready to give up. But he couldn’t. His boy needed him. But within a blink of an eye, the empty field with the grass had changed to his home. Not his cabin, but his home that laid dear in his heart. A decade of memories laid within the beaten furniture. 007n7 felt confused, but continued to search for C00lkidd, but he couldn’t find the front door to leave, and the windows outside seemed to be gone, just drywall where they were meant to be. There was a voice he recognized almost instantly.

“Yo-oou wont F-iind hi- m here.”

007n7 could feel his skin crawl as he looked behind him, confused where the voice was coming from. It couldn’t be him, could it? 007n7’s panicked breaths quickly turned into petrified pants, he couldn’t get enough air circulating throughout his body, fear replaced the blood in his veins, and the thoughts of C00lkidd were gone in an instant, replaced by him.

“Noli?” 007n7 asked out of terror, rushing around the house.

He thought Noli was gone, out of his life, moved on, but he was deeply rooted into his history. He’d known that some of the survivors would only remember him as a business partner, but there was so much more history between them. A history that couldn’t be washed away, but was put into books instead to be known by all. 007n7 had made it to the kitchen, where a handgun laid on the counter.

“DO–n’t worry, we-e ca-N BE reu–united.”

007n7 stared at the gun, he recognized it. Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes, he wanted to run away, but there was something bringing him towards the gun. The same feeling that he had when he first saw C00lkidd in purgatory. The gun felt heavy, but it was loaded with one bullet. 007n7 pointed it to the side of his head involuntarily, as a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders. A head was on the other side of his face, speaking down to 007n7 as almost like he was guiding him.

“NOW– pul-l the tri-trigger.”

The glitchy voice demanded, 007n7 didn’t want to do it, but it happened. He moved like he was a puppet, and the voice was the puppeteer.

BOOM.

007n7 shot up from his bed, and his head pounded. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, and it was lightly raining outside. He didn’t know how long he had been asleep for, but it couldn’t have been long. He groaned as his face met his hands, knowing that tomorrow… or today was going to be very long. Whenever he gets the headaches, time seems to slow down, he seems more fatigued, even if he had eaten the night before and a full nights worth of rest, usually the one to die first. He thought about how much he was going to go through the next day, knowing the pain killers in the drawer of his nightstand didn’t do much, but it was better than staying up for the night in agony. 007n7 opened the orange bottle, and took two pills, and waited for them to kick in. He laid back down, better to try and get some sleep than get none at all, until there was a soft knock at his door. 007n7 felt conflicted to open it in the first place, who would be knocking on his door at this time of night? Two very strange things, happening all within the same moment. 007n7 laid in the warm comforts of his bed, waiting for whoever it was to go away, until there was another knock. Louder this time.

007n7 grumbled to himself as he tried to wipe away the tears, and he threw on his glasses before he opened the door. He was surprised to see Guest standing outside of his cabin, with a small plate of food. Guest was also in his pajamas, magenta and white striped outfit with a matching sleeping cap. “Thought you might want to eat before going to bed..” Guest said as he looked away, still feeling awkward about their previous conversation that only happened forty-five minutes ago. 007n7 sniffled as he took the plate, it wasn’t much, just some mashed potatoes, a small puddle of gravy, and a small chunk of steak. Still piping hot, almost as someone had heated the food up above the fire in the manor before being delivered.

007n7 noticed he could feel his one eyelid starting to droop down, but he couldn’t just leave the man on his doorstep without saying anything. He sniffled again before he mustered up.

“Thank you.. You didn’t have to bring me any food.” Guest noticed the tears in 007n7’s red eyes, his stuffy nose, and the one eyelid slightly lower than before.

“Sorry, did I interrupt something?” Guest asked as he lingered by the door. 007n7 shook his head, oh how it ached.

“No.. I’ll be fine.” He replied, one of his hands wiping away the water in his droopy eye. 007n7 turned to place his food on the nightstand, when Guest noticed a small scar on the side of the other man’s head. It was a dot, the same side of his head where it ached. Was it maybe a burn mark? No, Guest had seen burn marks, they were more tender and scratchy than the usual scar tissue.

“It’s just a headache, I just hope that it won’t last during the rounds..” 007n7 continued as he looked back at Guest.

“If you need, I have some medicine that might help.” He offered, now leaning on the door frame. As much as 007n7 wanted to accept the offer, he couldn’t, he had just taken some beforehand.

“No, thank you. I took some before you came to drop off the food. Sorry.” He apologized, feeling bad that he couldn’t take up the offer.

“It’s fine, hopefully you feel better soon.” Guest replied. It almost felt like silence was a friend, taking part in the conversation as well with how often it made its way in between the two.

Out of nowhere, there was a sting of pain, worse than before, the pain killers hadn’t kicked in yet, if they were going to at all. 007n7 hissed in pain as he held the side of his head with the scar, tears welling up in his eyes. There was a harsh breeze, rushing through the door as 007n7 tried to hold himself up.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Guest asked, concerned. 007n7 nodded, and turned away from the door.

He felt embarrassed, but there was no way the pain was going to go away any time soon. He could feel his hands shake as he sunk to the ground, 007n7 could tell this was going to be one of the worse ones he had since the gun went off. He felt hot, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. 007n7 didn’t even notice Guest had entered his cabin, but he left the washroom with a wet rag, and walked over to 007n7. He knelt down, offering it to the other man. 007n7 moved his hands out of the way, feeling… Safe when the wet rag was placed on his forehead. His vision was blurring together as Guest slowly took off his glasses, and set them on the nightstand. He put his hand against 007n7’s cheek, he looked bright red, and he was burning up. He was burning up enough for Guest to audibly pull his hand away.

“Do you need a thinner pair of clothes for the night?” Guest asked, making a note to close the door. 007n7 nodded, the pain was pulsing, no way to stop it. He was bold to think that the painkillers in his drawer did anything in the first place.

“I’m pretty sure I have something lighter in here..” 007n7 mumbled as he tried to get up, wincing and hissing at the pain. He managed to get up onto his feet, but his body felt heavy as he stumbled, trying to get to the small dresser. Guest stood up, and offered his arm out for balance. 007n7 held on tight, the pain in his head pounding with his heartbeat. The two made it to the dresser, and 007n7 had to use it to hold himself up. He let out a shaky breath he didn’t even know he was holding.

“Which drawer has lighter clothes?” Guest asked, looking down on the old thing, worn oak wood, and metal knobs that were polished over time, giving them a gold shine.

“Oh, no it’s fine, I’ll look..” 007n7 replied as he opened one of the drawers. The drawer was empty, nothing left to spare but dust. It was this moment when 007n7 realized he had forgotten to do his laundry earlier. He brought one of his hands to his face, silently cursing himself out, he couldn’t tell if it was his sheepish acts or the pulsing pain in his head was turning him red.

“Sorry.. I forgot to do my laundry earlier, I didn’t think this was going to happen tonight..” 007n7 mumbled out, he wasn’t even sure if he said those words out loud or if it was all made up in his head.

“It’s fine, I think I have something at my cabin you can borrow. Just focus on getting some rest and I’ll be back in a moment.” Guest replied, offering his arm out again for balance so 007n7 could get to his bed.

“Thank you.. But you don’t have to, I can deal with this myself.” 007n7 replied, he didn’t want to feel like a burden to anyone else around, and Guest was the closest person he had to a friend in hell.

“It’s fine, I just want to make sure you’re feeling well enough to make it through the rounds later.” Guest vocalized. 007n7 nodded as he sat on his bed. Time was blending together as he laid down, rag laying on his head again. He closed his eyes, and heard his cabin door open and close. 007n7 hoped this wasn’t just a big trick on him.

Guest made sure that the door was closed, then made way to his own. It wasn’t far, just two cabins down. He opened the door to his own cabin, while having a similar layout to 007n7s cabin, it was much more organized. Guest opened a drawer to a dresser that was near his door, and grabbed a plain black t-shirt, not remembering where it exactly came from. But he wasn’t complaining, better than nothing.

“Oh dearest Guest, what are you still doing awake? You usually fall to slumber before anyone else.” Twotime asked as they lingered around the door. Guest spun on his heel when he heard Two Times voice, god it was almost scary how sneaky they could be.

“Sorry, was I being too loud? I grabbed some food for 007n7 because he didn’t eat with us earlier, but he isn’t feeling well and I’m trying to help.” Guest stated. Twotime creeped in the cabin to stay away from the harsh winds.

“Do not worry about how loud you have been, in fact, you have been silent during your time spent outside of your cabin.” Twotime declared, wearing that grin that never seemed to fade, even beyond death.

“Though, what is wrong with 007n7? Is it about his son again?” Twotime questioned, their head slightly tilting.

“No, not that I know of. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s gotten sick. Poor guy has a fever and a pounding headache.” Guest replied, t-shirt folded up in his arms.

“Oh dear spawn, I would have never known one could become ill here! I will pray to the holy spawn to protect dear 007n7, while he is one that has sinned, the spawn cannot ignore his change of life.” Twotime explained. Guest nodded, glad to see that there were some people that cared for the man.

“Could you do me a favor and grab a glass of water from the manor? I would but I’m getting worried for 7n7. I don’t think he’s had something this bad in a while.” Guest asked. Twotime nodded, taking mental note of the nickname Guest had said.

“I would be most happy to help! Are there any other items of possession you would like me to grab?” Twotime proposed.

“No, he’s usually in his cabin, I don’t think anything of his is in the manor. Thank you for asking though.” Guest answered.

“I am off to go and grab the glass of water you have requested, do I meet you and 007n7 at his cabin?” Twotime asked, grin not faltering. Guest nodded. The two split ways, knowing they’ll see each other again in a couple of minutes.

007n7 laid there, head still pounding, sweat still dripping, vision still blurring. He felt like he was calming down after some time passed, but the pain pulsed, worse every time. It felt like someone was provoking it. 007n7 tried to sit up, but his body felt heavy, like there was something weighing it down. He heard knocking, but he wasn’t sure if it was the door, or if he was hallucinating with how hot he felt. He tried to yell “Come in!” but he wasn’t even sure if it came out as words, or as some incomprehensible gibberish. The door creaked open, Guest standing behind it, and had started to talk, but 007n7 couldn’t focus, there was a ringing in his ears, spots in his vision. He wasn’t even aware Guest had entered his cabin until he felt a hand move the now warm and damp rag from his forehead, and laid there for a moment. 007n7 had also felt the hand recoil, and hoped it wasn’t from disgust. He heard Guest start to speak again, his eyes barely open to see, but the ringing was distracting. It was like he was already asleep, but he gave a slow blink, eyes dry. He felt the shirt being handed to him, and saw Guests blue hair walk to the washroom. 007n7 decided to try and sit up again. He shuddered and groaned at the pain, but he was up enough to get changed. He quietly slipped out of his thick fleece lined onesie, and threw the shirt on. Guest walked out of the washroom, a soaking wet rag in one hand, the other hand under the first one to catch any stray drops of water. “Feeling any better?” Guest asked. 007n7 nodded, the ringing in his ears seemed to have quieted down, but there were still spots in his vision.

“Here, let me help you lay down, I heard you in pain when you tried to sit up” Guest offered.

007n7 looked up at Guest, his lips quivered.
“Please..” he begged, head still pounding with his heart.

Guest laid one of his arms along 007n7s back, the other one in front of him so he could grab onto something close if he needed to. Almost immediately, 007n7 hissed with pain, tears pricking up in the corner of his eyes.

The comfort of being so taken care of made 007n7 feel more vulnerable than he usually was. There was a relief of pain as he was finally laid down, Guest sliding his arm out from under him.

“Oh dearest Guest, I have showed up with the requested glass of water!” Two Time exclaimed from the door, grin still unnervingly big.

“Good, just set it on the table, thank you.” Guest replied, gently setting the cold wet rag on 007n7s forehead.

“Dear spawn, you really do not look the best. Are you confident that you will make it through the rounds later on, 007n7?” Twotime asked curiously.

“Ugh… Yeah, not like I make it through them when I'm well. I’ll be fine though… you two go get ready for tomorrow.” 007n7 replied, his voice sounded stuffy and tired. He wasn’t even aware of half of what he was saying.

“I will pray for you, dear 007n7, one should not have to feel ill in the abode of the damned. Goodnight you, 007n7 and Guest, hopefully you will have the sweetest of dreams!” Twotime said before they made their leave.

“Night Two Time, don’t stay up all night cleaning your dagger.” Guest replied in a joking manner. Silence had fallen between the two men, like an old friend catching up. 007n7 closed his eyes, for once feeling safe in hell, there wasn’t anyone breathing down his neck. He could actually try and get a full night’s rest.

“Goodnight buddy.” Guest mumbled as he turned off the lamp, the golden light removed its colour against everything, the only light was the one given off of the faux moon in the window.

007n7 took a breath in.

Then out.

Why was he feeling grass beneath him?

Chapter Text

007n7 opened his eyes, and was met with the night sky above him, his head still pounding, his nose still stuffy, forehead still burning. He saw Taph in the distance, freaking out over something, his pajamas from what 007n7 could see was just a really flowy bathrobe. That's when 007n7 realized that Taph probably didn’t have anything to cover his face. He laid back down, his head begged for it, tears still in his eyes. It really felt like he couldn’t catch a break. He thought while he wasn’t well, he should still try and help everyone out by trying to take some time off of the timer, it would be better than waiting to die. 007n7 had to use all of his strength just to stand, and to stay standing. He looked over where he saw Taph, but he was nowhere to be seen. Great, no one’s around. 007n7 started to slowly make his way to a generator he saw in the distance. He wasn’t even aware what map he was in, but the generator looked hidden from a distance. Each step brought a small, but annoying wave of pain that pulsed in sync with the beat of his heart. Time felt like it had truly slowed down, each minute felt like hours to 007n7. When he finally made it to the generator, he fell to his knees, his body felt so heavy, like all of the guilt was building up on his shoulders. He looked behind him, making sure the killer wasn’t around. The only thing he could make out from the blobs was a tree, and a pale yellow structure made up of a couple of walls. Probably where Taph ran off to. 007n7 turned back to the generator, pulling off one of the panels as his body yearned for rest. He started, doing the best he could without his glasses, his spotty vision, and the lack of light where the generator was located. The wires were all tangled together as 007n7 tried to undo the knot, but it was hard when all he could see were the colours, no shadows to differentiate where the wires were in the mess.

As the time ticked on, he had finally gotten two wires together. Two out of eleven wires. Half the round had already gone by, and the other survivors were getting curious, what could 007n7 be doing to take so long at one panel? Guest and Shedletsky were busy, distracting John Doe, while Chance was with Elliot, hiding behind the structure with stairs that lead to nothing, trying to heal up before a spike killed him. Chance noticed how confused Elliot looked, and that he was trying to peek out behind the structure.

“What’s the matter? You aren’t usually so concerned unless you get hurt.” Chance asked, trying to stand up straight.

“Nothing, It’s just.. Who– Why is 007n7 taking so long at the generator in the corner?” Elliot responded, his face twisted to show disgust. Chance peeked out from behind the wall, just barely seeing the ex-exploiter on the other side of the map.

“It’s weird, even for him.” Elliot continued as he leaned back against the wall.

“Yeah, I can’t tell from here, but I don’t think he has his glasses.” Chance replied, trying to look over the spikes that emerged through the ground, radiating corruption, it would sting to touch. Silence loomed, other than the shouting from John Doe.

“..Someone should go help him, ya’know?” Chance spoke up, looking back at Elliot.

There was a sour tension emitting from Elliot, getting sent into a round when you were meant to be sleeping was bound to set some people off, especially from the lack of rest. Elliot sighed, he found it lucky that Chance actually had his gun this round since everyone was trying to sleep. Two Time and their dagger? Elliot wouldn’t be surprised if they slept with it. The pizza man looked back at where Chance was standing, but they were nowhere to be seen. His eyes widened, Chance was still hurt, not even close to a fighting condition. He peeked back from behind the structure, and saw Chance running towards 007n7.

007n7 had finally solved most of the clusterfuck of wires, he was so close to finishing the first panel. He was doing better than he thought without his glasses, but would prefer to have them before the next round. That is if he could lose this fever and headache sooner than later. 007n7 could feel himself dozing off, his body needed it, but he couldn’t, not yet. He heard someone open the panel on the other side of the generator. 007n7 tried to look up from his blank daydream, but the electric tingles from the copper end of what was left of the knotted wires brought him back. He tried to continue with the wires, as he struggled, the person that was helping him finished the first panel, and moved over to the second panel.

“Say, do you need some help over there?” Chance asked as they pried off the metal covering.

“Uh.. Yeah, I might.” 007n7 answered, his eyelids felt heavy. Chance took a glance at 007n7, and noticed he looked paler than usual, besides his cheeks. Those were bright red. He was sweating, more than before. 007n7 raised one of his arms against the bar of the generator, and rested his head, the pain still pulsing. He looked like shit.

“Are you feeling okay? You don’t look well.” Chance asked, guiding his focus back to the wires. 007n7 hesitated to speak, but he mustered up the words that were stuck in his throat.

“I don’t think so.. I got a headache and a fever a bit before the round started…” he replied.

“Yeesh. How bad is it? Elliot might have something that’ll help.” Chance questioned. 007n7 groaned before he said anything. “No, no, don’t tell him, I’ll be fine.”

“MOVE, SPIKES INCOMING!” Someone shouted nearby. They were headed straight for Chance. He quickly ran for it, not realizing 007n7 hadn’t moved yet. They turned around, looking at the spikes. He was cornered. Chance had still had a bullet from earlier, and aimed their gun at John Doe. The clock started ticking, signaling that there were thirty seconds left. Thirty seconds to try and make it out alive. 007n7 had to use the generator to help him stand up, looking back at the man eyeing him from the other side of the spikes. There wasn’t going to be a way for him to survive in a circumstance like this. He was trying to decide whether to run as soon as the spikes unfurl from the ground, or to sit down and take it. Maybe do it himself, run into the spikes, corrupt himself to death. As soon as the spikes returned from wherever they came from, Chance shot his gun.

But it blew up in their face.

Someone quickly grabbed his arm, and made a run for it, leaving 007n7. “Wait, what abou–”

“He doesn’t matter right now! Everyone knows he’s just a dead weight, hurry up and run with me!” Elliot yelled, entering the building from the side door.

007n7 was trying to run, but there was a stinging pain whenever he got hit by John Doe. The stinging pain from the corruption, the pulsing pain from his head, the mental agony when he imagined everyone glaring at him after he died again, it was all getting to be too much. Whatever was watching down on them was definitely enjoying the suffering everyone was forced to go through, not just the survivors, but with the killers as well. 007n7 noticed that John wasn’t chasing him… at all. He turned his head around to try and see what was going on, but he couldn’t see anything but coloured blobs. He felt confused at the sight, but he just turned his head forward to continue running

Until he slammed his head into one of the glass houses.

Shedletsky and Two Time stood near John Doe, confused as well. It looked like he was fighting himself. The final countdown started, ten seconds left on the clock.

“Dear spawn, what is the John Doe doing?” Two Time asked, they never really knew much about the myths before being forsaken, but even after John Doe seemed like an odd pick to be here.

“I think he’s fighting himself?” Shedletsky replied, raising one of his eyebrows.

The round ended, everyone survived. What a miracle against all odds.

Chapter Text

Everyone was sitting at the table, run tired like a pack of dogs. Cuts, scrapes, bruises and scratches that were earned during the round seemed to be healed as soon as they returned. The only thing heard for a moment were sighs of relief, and gasps for air.

“Is it just thy, or did the round last longer? John didn’t give me any time to ponder.” Dusekkar asked, his upper body leaning against the old oak table. There were a bunch of scratches and dents, it felt like it was just taken from someone’s house in the middle of the day.

“Yeah, something felt off that entire time. Also, I thought we had a break? I was trying to get some sleep!” Shedletsky replied.

“Do the rounds randomly start when the realm hits midnight?” Noob asked, still trying to grasp this entire situation.

“🤔❓❗️❌🕰️✅↔️🚫(Maybe, but there are no functioning clocks to confirm nor deny.)” Taph replied, getting up from the well worn table to grab his bandana.

“I mean, one can argue that it probably felt longer because it just happened.” Chance suggested as he leaned back in his chair, his sunglasses slowly sliding off the bridge of his nose.

“Alas, did any other individual get to visualize John Doe near the finale of the round besides Shedletsky?” Two Time asked, placing their dagger on the table.

“I saw it from afar when Elliot dragged Chance to the second floor of the building. Was he trying to hit himself?” Guest replied, taking off his nightcap as the manor was warmer than the smaller cabins.

“It seemed like it, he was also yelling something about an infection.” Shedlestky voiced as he sheathed his sword.

“Oh, is that why he stopped chasing me?” 007n7 asked, one of his arms holding up his head.

“Probably, I saw it from far away as well, and saw you run into one of the glass houses.” Builderman responded, looking directly at the other man.

“Ah… Didn’t realize anyone else saw that.” 007n7 muttered as he looked away, sensing some tension.

“Yeah that and the generator..” Shedletsky mumbled under his breath, his smug look disintegrating as he commented. 007n7 was about to utter a quiet apology until Guest told him something.

“I will say, you did pretty well without your glasses.” Some of the other survivors could sense the pressure, knowing something was going to burst soon.

“Well dearest friends and foes, I must take my leave. There is more knowledge about the realm I wish to achieve.” Dusekkar stated as he got up from the chair, hoping the intermission between the last round and the next round wasn’t too short.

“Yes, I must go cleanse my dagger from my events from the last round, may the Spawn bless you all!” Two Time vocalized as Chance and Elliot walked right by them. The next person to get up from the worn table was 007n7. The atmosphere was getting awkward and murky, almost as if half of the table didn’t even glance at him. He didn’t acknowledge anyone still at the table, he just walked away instead, trying to keep his head from bursting.

As soon as the manor’s front door was closed, Shedletsky was the first to speak up.

“Man, I know that 007 has changed, but how do we know that he’s going to keep his word on it?” He asked, leaning back in his chair, stretching his arms.

“It’s not even that Shed, it’s the fact that he dies almost every round. While we can’t hold a grudge forever, there has been worse we’ve dealt with.” Builderman replied, trying to keep some form of peace.

Noob looked around the table, only seeing Guest at the opposite end near the chalkboard. They decided to get up and leave, and waved goodbye to everyone.

“Yeah, but we can’t keep trying to save him from the killer when he can’t even save himself! He’s gotta learn one way or another.” Shedletsky mentioned. Guest felt awkward, did the other two even realize he was still at the table? As they continued their chat, Guest quietly got up from his seat, and walked out of the oak wood manor.

The wind was harsh and freezing, it practically slapped Guest in the face when he left the manor. He took a glance in the sky, expecting the faux stars and the bright moon, but they were replaced with giant dark storm clouds. Guest didn’t think too much about it as he walked to his cabin. The ground was still slightly damp from the light earlier. He wanted to change out of his pajamas into what he usually wore in the rounds. Though due to John Doe’s aggressive ways, Guest wasn’t sure if he could salvage the right sleeve to his shirt, it was falling apart right in front of his eyes. He threw the shirt off, and quickly got his army gear. Guest wanted to rush while getting everything on, while he had the privacy of his own cabin, you never know when a new round starts. While it hasn’t happened yet, you can never be too prepared. He was just getting his vest on, when there was a loud thundering boom, followed by lightning. Guest had almost jumped at the sound. The thought of thunder and lightning didn’t seem so bad, but when it happened, all Guest could think about was the terrors he faced, before he was brought to hell. He started to sweat, remembering all of the screams, the constant explosions, the dry atmosphere of the battlefield. Just one boom and thunder and a crack of lightning made him remember, almost relive each moment in his eyes.

It wasn’t just the war he remembered. The sounds of the guns going off when his parents were shot dead, the banging and destruction of furniture at the orphanage, it all came back to him with one boom of thunder. Guest had to take a moment to just sit, try and let the flashbacks run their course, this shouldn’t last forever, should it? It wasn’t just feeling anxious or slight nervousness, it was full on terror he felt. He would very much rather be back at the table in the manor, trying to keep the peace rather than the moment right now. He tried to calm himself down by trying to think how his family was doing, until he was reminded of the moment he watched Matt get shot while he was behind the concrete barrier. It just made the entire moment worse, head pounding like a bell. There was another crack of thunder, which just provoked the recurring memories once again. It felt odd to him, nothing like this had happened to him before. Even if it had, it was only in his dreams, why was it happening again years after the last one.

Chapter Text

The storm was strong, some trees that felt placed fell over, no roots as evidence that they were just stolen. One of them was the most recognizable, it was one of the tallest but had no leaves. But fake trees falling over where no one could see wasn’t going to stop Two Time. They grabbed their scarf and wrapped it around their neck, ready to trudge through outside. As soon as their cabin door swung open, raging winds rushed in, rain drops trailing down the one side of the door. Two Time usually liked to have tea in the morning before the rounds started, but due to the random round interrupting everyone in the middle of the night, they decided that now would be a good time. They stepped outside, and closed their door, making sure it stayed closed against the harsh wind. Spawn forbid everything in their cabin become ruined because of a thunderstorm. Maybe they should invite someone with them… Or take this time as alone time. Everyone was already busy, doing their own thing. Two Time decided against inviting someone to drink tea with them, but wanted to keep the offer in mind so the lonely man didn’t have to sit by himself when it was time to eat.

The manor door was quietly swung open, then gently shut. There still seemed to be a scent of tension, almost like it had just left. Two Time looked around from where they were standing, no one seemed to be in sight. They shrugged at the thought, used to the manor being empty when it was late at night. Now wasn’t the time to focus on others, it was time to make some tea! Two Time snuck over to the kitchen, careful to not make the floor creak. They opened the cupboard that was full of items. Various spices on the first shelf, things they couldn’t see on the third shelf. There were some boxes of tea bags, sitting on the second shelf, one collecting dust. There was earl grey tea, matcha, turmeric, and then the dusty box. It caught Two Times attention, had it been new? It looked like there were some small blood splatters on the bottom right corner, but it was unopened. Must’ve been the realm's ways of bringing random items here. Two Time gave a blow of air, and dust flew where it could. They had a quick cough, still trying to be quiet, hoping no one would catch them. The once dusty box of tea was oolong. Their eyes widened, they haven’t had oolong tea in forever, it was one of their favorites! Two Time was quick to grab the kettle and put it on the stove, waiting eagerly. It had fallen quiet, the only noise being the simmering flame of the gas stove, and the soon to be simmering water. Two Time grabbed the box, still covered with notes of dust, and opened it. The smell was nostalgic, they grew up drinking it whenever they could. Their never faltering grin softened into a real smile.

The sweet moment was interrupted by talking outside of the kitchen. Two Time leaned back to shoot a glance at who it was entering the manor. It was Builderman, Shedletsky, Dusekkar, and Taph.

“What would we even talk to him about? We barely know a thing about him other than he was a hassle back in the day, and his son was bright red!” Shedletsky voiced, sounding irritated.

“I just think trying to talk to him would lead him to mess up less within the rounds, y’know? He always looks too anxious to talk to anyone.” Builderman responded, genuine concern lapsing through his words.

“👷✅ 🍔=😥 (Builderman’s right, 007n7 always looks scared.)” Taph added.

“Thy is positive that 007n7 being friends with Guest1337 will open him up, and thee will not have to do anything. The man is terrified to be around us, what’s the harm in leaving him to his own devices and to see what he himself will bring?” Dusekkar lectured, just wanting to avoid him like Shedletsky does.

The group was headed upstairs to talk, but almost every word could still be heard. Two Time stood up straight, curious why they couldn’t accept that 007n7 had changed for the better. Maybe it was the Spawns way of warning the father to stay away, to protect him from inevitable hurt. Two Times thought was interrupted by the quiet whistling of the kettle, and took it off of the burning stove. They never really liked their tea to be scolding hot, especially when in a rush. They quietly grabbed a mug, just a plain white one with a small bird on it, and poured the warm boiled water into it. Two Time always loved making tea, no matter in any situation, a quick sip of the bitter drink always brought them back to reality. They placed the tea bag into the mug, and walked over to the living room, still curious about what the admins and Taph meant by talking to the lonely man. They got comfy on one of the sofa chairs, and kept quiet so as to not get caught.

“I’m trying to say that most of us are just waiting for him to turn his back and go back to his antics, we all know some of his hacks and commands still work!” Shedletsky said, trying to convince Builderman and Taph.

“Also, what else does he have left to lose? Surely there’s nothing of advantage to his use” Dusekkar mentioned, hinting at how 007n7’s c00l.gui didn’t work the best in the realm.

“❗️🫵➡️🍔🕣⏳❓ (But do you want 007n7 to stay as the extra 30 seconds?)” Taph asked.

“That’s not the point, I’m trying to say it would be better if he wasn’t here at all! God, we should’ve sent him to the Banlands after his third offense.” Shedletsky almost shouted. It had sounded like he stood up from the chair he was sitting in as something fell.

“Calm down! It’s either we do something to try and fix the problem, or we let it keep bringing everyone down!” Builderman shouted back, still trying to keep some form of peace.

Two Time was intrigued with all of the admins arguing. Who thought that people as close as them could fight like cats and dogs? Two Time just took a sip from their tea, and placed the mug back down on the table right beside them waiting for more arguing. Until they fell onto the floor, almost as if the chair disappeared from underneath them. They looked around, in a hallway with movie posters. Spawn, they couldn’t even finish their tea. They heard laughing, it sounded like it was from a kid. How they hated going up against this spawn of hell.

Chapter Text

Elliot had spawned by himself, near the ball pit. He sighed, glad to have changed in time. He almost relaxed, until he heard that laugh. The one that he heard when his work place was griefed and practically destroyed multiple times. God, of course it had to be C00lkidd. Elliot got up and ran to the ballpit to try and hide if C00lkidd came by, but was surprised with a generator. At least he could get it done in time. He tried to pay no mind to the eerie quietness, something would happen soon. Right? There was always something about the room with the ballpit and stage that felt off to Elliot. He couldn’t think of why, it was just the way it was set up. The weird walls, lack of other furniture, the random cardboard cutouts of John Doe and C00lkidd. He turned around, the C00lkidd cutout stared back at him, nothing behind those drawn eyes. He shuddered at the thought, why was he even here? Elliot turned his focus back to the generator, almost done now, until he heard someone scream. “CORRUPT NATURE!”

Elliot was spiked in the head, and hard, where did this kid learn to throw all of the sudden? More importantly, where was everyone else? Elliot got up and started to run, and slid right past C00lkidd, praying that he would just leave him alone, the round just started, was there no one closer? Elliot looked around, there had to be someone that could help near, just his luck that he spawned by himself. He made a turn into the blue middle room, and ran to the room with the clothes hanging on the wall, C00lkidd still hot on his tail. Elliot was getting worried, he could only run for so long, each breath of his was lighter than the last, fear slowly creeping up behind him. There was a stab, and C00lkidd whined.

“NO FAIR!” He shouted, rubbing his back.

“We must continue to make haste while the child is hurt!” Two Time voiced as they ran past C00lkidd, grabbing Elliot’s wrist.

C00lkidd never understood why some people didn’t follow the rules while playing, they were always hitting or stabbing him. Didn’t they understand how much it hurt? But he was going to show them this round, he could beat them in a game of tag, even when there were dirty cheaters.

“GET BACK HERE, CHEATER!” C00lkidd shouted, using walkspeed override, completely forgetting about Elliot. Two Time was his target, and he would get them, even if that meant cheating on his own terms.

Elliot tried to pull Two Time out of the way, but it was no use as C00lkidd sped up and slashed Two Time. They stumbled before they kept running, letting go of Elliot. Pressure was starting to build up as some of the other survivors saw C00lkidd chasing Two Time, more aggressive than usual. He wouldn’t give up, just like his father told him. This was no longer just a game to play for C00lkidd, it was a game to win, to make his dad proud. He missed him.

They were outside now, Two Time couldn’t run for much longer, almost like there was a restriction to their stamina. C00lkidd was getting ready for a hit, but Guest got in the way, blocking the hit entirely. C00lkidd was stunned, where did he come from? He could’ve sworn there was no one else around! Two Time ran back into the hotel, graced by the holy Spawn and Guest. They would totally have to invite him to tea later on. C00lkidd kept trying to hit Guest, but the man seemed more fearful than usual. He trembled with each move, and looked a touch more worried. Almost like he was reminded of something he had forgotten. But that wasn’t on C00lkidd’s mind, he was easier to hit, and he enjoyed that he was finally getting revenge on the cheaters. After a couple more hits, Guest didn’t even realize he had led C00lkidd into the hallway of the hotel, rushing right past the green decaying arms at the entrance. He felt bad, the kid didn’t seem to know what he was doing, but he had to stay strong for everyone else, for him. Elliot tried to throw Guest a slice of pizza, but aimed a little too high, and C00lkidd snatched it, burning it in his hands with his own c00l.gui. That was new. Guest paused for a moment, confused. When did he have his own c00l.gui? He hadn’t noticed how injured he was until C00lkidd grabbed his one shoulder, and typed something into the panel. Hot. Burning. Scorching. Guest couldn’t think at that moment, being lit on fire by a ten year old boy was the last thing he would’ve thought to happen in this realm, but nothing is impossible. Elliot and Shedletsky watched, hearing screams of pure agony, they couldn’t do anything. C00lkidd started to chuckle, finally he beat one of them. But there were three more to go after. His body fell to the ground, charred, the last breaths were in sheer terror, something was off. Where could’ve C00lkidd learnt this from? Shedletsky looked around, trying to make sure he didn’t lead this red demon towards anyone important. Noob was hiding in one of the hotel rooms, terrified. Elliot had run off into the room with the ballpit and stage, still hurt from earlier. Shedletsky himself was at the gift shop at the end of the hallway, the generator only being halfway completed.

“Get em’ boys!” C00lkidd commanded as he summoned his pizza bots, yearning for destruction. He was going to win this round, he wanted to make his father and his dad proud.

Shedletsky had a last minute idea, and ran right past C00lkidd, right into the kitchen. 007n7 was at the opposite end of the room, busy doing a generator. His head was still bugging him, but he was dealing with it. He managed to grab a quick nap between rounds, so he was feeling less fatigued.

“WATCH OUT, RED KID COMING THROUGH!” Shedletsky shouted, running right past 007n7. He looked up from the generator, and saw C00lkidd running right past the other side of the table, knocking over one of the plush monkeys sitting on a chair. Every round 007n7 saw his son, he looked less and less like what he remembered. This time, C00lkidd was taller, and was acting more brash and bold than before. Dusekkar rushed past 007n7, trying to catch up to the situation and make sure no one else got hurt. 007n7 knew Guest had died first. The screams were terrifying to listen to. He had never heard the man scream like that, and there’s another nerve wracking issue 007n7 hadn’t even thought about yet, how did he die? He just moved his focus back to the generator at hand, he had already wasted enough time stuck in his head. There was a movement of someone wearing red in his peripheral vision, and he tensed up. What would Elliot want to do around him out of all people? He looked behind him, and two pizza bots were limping toward him. 007n7 got up and tried to walk backwards, keeping his eyes on them. There was a shout, and then laughter erupting from the other room. 007n7 turned his head at the sound, and tripped over one of the many chairs laid about in the room. Both pizza bots hit him, and there were little fires sprinkled all over. 007n7 tried his best to pat some of them out, god forbid he die this round, but the damage was done, and he was close to death. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a medkit sitting in the blue room with the well. There was another scream, and the stance of smoke trailed into the room, and more laughing from C00lkidd. One by one, each survivor was getting set ablaze, the stinging pain unbearable. 007n7 got up, and grabbed the medkit. He wanted to help the people he had upset, try to apologize for his past doings, but deep down, it was the thing that drove him there. He rushed into the room with the ballpit and stage, and quickly saw the situation that was set up. Elliots charred body was laying there in the middle of the room, and there was someone hiding behind one of many walls. C00lkidd had started to go after someone else, as he was nowhere to be seen. 007n7 had made his way to the person hiding behind the wall, they sounded hurt with every breath leaving their mouth.

It was Shedletsky, and he tried to protect Elliot, but was only hit in the crossfire. There were multiple burns across his body, but he was still conscious and breathing.

“Here, let me help.” 007n7 said as he knelt down, and opened the medkit.

“And what, earn even more injuries?” Shedletsky asked, rolling his eyes. 007n7 was confused, he looked hurt and panicked, would he not want someone to help? 007n7 tried to continue as he dug through the kit.

“No, stop, just get out of here before you mess something else up.” Shedletsky demanded, he looked annoyed now.

“But do you not want help? You look badly injured.” 007n7 asked, hands leaving the box now.

“OH TWO OF YOU ARE HERE!” Coolkidd shouted as he threw a brick at Shedletsky, hitting him square in the face. 007n7 was terrified, C00lkidd didn’t have the best aim at home. He was shoved out of the way as Shedletsky ran, C00lkidd following not far behind. 007n7 knew that Shedletsky wasn’t going to make it far in his condition, and he had to help. He quickly closed the medkit, picked it up, and ran after the two.

“GET BACK HERE, YOU’VE BEEN CHEATING THIS ENTIRE TIME!” C00lkidd shouted. He sounded less recognizable each round, and it hurt 007n7. Seeing his poor boy change without him there to help, and it didn’t help that the only time he saw his son was in some of the most gruesome situations, in a hell that was made for him to suffer.

Shedletsky had hid in the colourful hotel room, in the hallway with the giant orange taking up a wall. He needed to stay alive, but he didn’t trust 007n7. He knew what he was going to do. He was going to try and have everyone forgive him, and then stab them all in their backs and betray them like garbage. Of course, that's what Noli told them when they asked him where 007n7 went. But almost everyone believed him, who else would know that exploiter better than a business partner?

“WHERE DID YOU GO?!” C00lkidd shouted, sounding annoyed. 007n7 quietly ran up to the room Shedletsky was in, and placed the medkit down on the checkered floor, his chest felt heavy when he looked up and saw C00lkidd walking away. God, what monster would do this.

“Christ, haven’t I told you enough I don’t need your pity points?!” Shedletsky shouted as he kicked the medkit away. 007n7 backed away, clearly intimidated by the admin.

“Do you just not know how to listen? I would think so if you pulled all of that shit back when we were all y’know, ALIVE?” Shedletsky remarked, walking closer to the ex-exploiter with his sword in hand.

“I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE AROUND SOMEWHERE!” C00lkidd shouted nearby.

007n7 was about to speak up, but Shedletsky demanded something else.

“You and I are going to have a chat once this round is over, and don’t fuck up this round anymore than you already have.”

007n7 could only just stare back at the admin, terror in his eyes.

“Got it?” Shedletsky uttered. 007n7 nodded, hands up by his chest, giving a fearful smile.

Out of nowhere, Shedletsky was hit with a brick, and was out of the round.

“PAPA, DID I MAKE YOU PROUD?!” C00lkidd asked, running up to 007n7. He was still trying to process what had happened, and where C00lkidd could’ve learnt this from. He stayed silent, he couldn’t find the words to talk.

“Papa Noli told me you would be!” C00lkidd vocalized happiness all throughout his actions. Noli.

Noli.

He was here too?

007n7 was frozen, his headache was worsening, when would it bug off and go away? C00lkidd pulled him in for a hug, and he couldn’t help but hug back. Slightly in fear, but mainly in confusion. Noli. All of a sudden, 007n7 felt like he was on fire, and he tried to pull out of the hug, but C00lkidd wouldn’t let him go. He held on tight, while 007n7 tried to hold in his screams of agony and fright, to not scare his boy, but all of that was lost when he was put down on the ground.

“Night papa, I love you!” was the last thing he heard. It was all up to Chance and Noob to win it now.

Chapter Text

The hardwood floor was cold as 007n7 spawned, still laying down like his son had just placed him there. His head still pounded and stung. He laid there for a moment, still trying to process what had just happened, until someone spoke up.

“Oh 007n7! I pray to the holy spawn that C00lkidd didn’t go hard on you. Shedletsky requests you in his cabin urgently.” Two Time said as they looked over the couch to see 007n7. He let out a groan as he sat up, knowing damn well what it was about.

“Did he say anything about it, or did he just want you to tell me?” 007n7 asked, arms holding his upper body.

“No, I am unaware about what he wants to discuss with you. But, something was off, he did not seem like his usual outgoing self.” Two Time answered. 007n7 sighed, he just wanted Shedletsky off of his back. He stood up, and thanked Two Time for what one could call a warning, and he opened the door.

It was still raining heavily, but the eye of the storm had passed. 007n7 held his head for a moment after he closed the door, preparing himself for a world of hurt transcribed through words. The smell of the rain was nice though, almost like whatever kept them there was giving them some form of the outside world. He trudged on, dread weighing him down like an old friend. Every step closer 007n7 was considering either hiding in someone else’s cabin, or somewhere in the forest, he wouldn’t be such a bother there right? He appeared right in front of the admins door, and lifted his hand in a fist, hesitating to knock. It was now or later though, and what else would make his headache worse? Dealing with Shedletsky after the third round would. He was about to make contact with the door when it flew open, and there he was. The man of the hour standing on the other side of the frame. Two Time was right, Shedletsky looked weird without his usual smug look and bubbly personality.

“Uh… sorry I came here for the chat you mentioned during the round…” 007n7 apologized, body growing tense.

“Took you long enough, I know you died right after me..” Shedletsky mumbled under his breath, but 007n7 paid no mind to it, he was used to comments like that being aimed at him. He could taste the bitter feeling when he walked in the cabin, and it was either dread or fear keeping him awake.

“You know why I wanted to speak with you, right?” Shedletsky asked, looking away from 007n7. He hesitated to speak, but he got the words out of his mouth before Shedletsky could spew more accusations.

“I assume this is about how I’ve been recently..” 007n7 could feel himself start to heat up, where did this illness even come from? Was it from staying outside often, even when it rained? Or was it something he had congested before the gun went off? 007n7 was ripped from his thoughts when he heard Shedletsky reply to his assumption.

“Not just recently, since you’ve been brought here. Now I don’t know why you keep trying to get onto everyone’s good side, but some of us have dealt with you before. We know how you can be, some of us have seen it with our own eyes.” Shedletsky put his hand on 007n7’s shoulder, the moment was becoming more pressurized as tension bloomed.

He continued, cutting 007n7 off so he wouldn’t try to make up a fake apology again. “Why can’t you just be useful and do generators without bothering everyone else, hm?” He asked, but 007n7 didn’t reply. He wasn’t even thinking of how to respond, he just wanted to leave.

“Are you even listening?” Shedletsky questioned, but there was nothing from 007n7. God, he felt pathetic. He always screwed something up, it was always his fault. He even manages to fuck up something that bothers everyone when he avoids them like a rabbit avoiding a wolf.

“Look, I understand what it's like having someone that you used to be close with against you, but that's not an excuse for your past–”

“I didn’t say anything about my past.”

007n7’s eyes widened, the words slipped out of his mouth, he didn’t even think of them. He tensed up, and looked at Shedletsky. It was like they were in a staring contest, and it was dragged out for as long as the admin could make it.

Oh, how he knew how terribly he screwed up yet again. That’s all he could do.

Guest and Builderman were both sitting on the porch of the manor, enjoying the light sprinkle of the rain, Guest was drinking a can of witches brew while Builderman grabbed a bloxy-cola. Noob had just barely made it to the end of the round, but he brought the team to victory. Though, there was a strange feeling, one you couldn’t shake off no matter how hard you tried.

“Say, did you see Shed’ or 007 after Noob returned?” Builderman asked, breaking the silence. Guest thought about it, he had stayed in the manor for a little bit before he went to his own cabin to calm down, but he had seen everyone except Shedletsky and 007n7.

“Not that I’m aware of, I’ve seen everyone else since the round ended.” Guest replied, realizing that they hadn’t shown their faces for a while.

“God, I swear if he’s doing what I think..” Builderman trailed off, noticing 007n7 getting shoved out of Shedletsky’s cabin, and the door slammed shut, creating a booming echo. 007n7 looked panicked and pale, his breaths looked shallow from afar, and his cheeks were stained with tears. What happened there? 007n7 had rushed towards the fishing docs, not noticing Guest and Builderman, clearly in a daze. Builderman sighed, he knew exactly what happened. Guest was confused as Builderman got up from his chair, he looked tired and annoyed. Guest was gone for a little bit, what had he missed?

“I’ll be back, Shed’ did something dumb again, I know it.” Builderman mumbled, leaving his can of cola on the table. Guest got up and went the opposite direction of Builderman, right to the fishing docks. He felt all sorts of confusion, but he couldn’t leave 007n7 to deal with everything by himself.

There 007n7 was, sitting in the rain, knees to his chest, quietly sobbing, his pink glasses and burger hat sitting right beside him. His head pounded, matching with his heart again, and it was a fast pulse, one he couldn’t ignore. He looked really pale, and each breath in was cut off by a breath out. He looked ready to pass out, beads of sweat were dripping down his forehead. He wasn’t just pathetic, he was insufficient with helping, he was wretched with emotions and thoughts he’d usually keep hidden, it was harrowing to see him like this. He felt like he wasn’t suitable to be a father, if he had just stayed with Noli he would probably still be alive, he probably wouldn’t have bought that gun, he probably would still have a terrible reputation, but that doesn’t matter to someone that's never had a good one in the beginning. Guest stood in his spot for a moment, watching 007n7’s back rise and fall quickly, he had to do something. 007n7 couldn’t suffer by himself anymore. Guest walked up to 007n7, and sat down beside him, concerned for his friend.

“Is everything alright?” Guest asked, making an effort to keep his voice soft. 007n7 shook his head, his breaths seeming to become lighter and lighter.

Guest laid one of his hands on the other man’s shoulders, feeling every rise and fall now.

“...You don’t have to stay… I know I’m just a burden to everyone around..” 007n7 said, fast panicked pants and sobs in between every other word. Maybe if he gave C00lkidd up for someone else, no one would be in this mess, and everyone would be living their lives.

“Hey, look up at me.” Guest suggested calmly, waiting for 007n7s glance. When 007n7 finally did, Guest was surprised how pale 007n7 had gotten, red tear stains across his cheeks. Guest decided to hold his tongue about how unwell he looked, and decided to try and calm the other man down first.

“Follow my lead, breathe in… now out…” Guest held up his other hand, his fingers folding with every count, something he had learned early on in life, it was useful for calming someone down. 007n7 tried to follow along, but his diaphragm was panicking, after every other breath he had to hyperventilate, but he was trying to stay awake. He didn’t even see Guest’s face, he just hoped it wasn’t full of disgust or annoyance. Once 007n7’s breathing was back to normal, he already looked less stressed, but there was still pressure, something had happened in that cabin.

“Thank you… again you don’t have to hang around me, I know I just ruin everyone’s mood..” 007n7 mumbled, tears still streaming down his face, lips now chapped.

“You don’t ruin mine.” Guest replied, his one hand that was still on the other man's shoulder was now making small circles. 007n7 shivered, despite feeling hot, the cool breeze and the sprinkles of rain hitting him wasn’t enough.

“But you’ve seen the way the others look at me. Earlier today after the first round everyone looked so stern when they glanced at me. Earlier I tried to give Shedletsky a medkit but he just chewed me out.. I don’t think I’m worth anyone’s time.” 007n7 tried to explain, his nerves were all over the place, and he couldn’t tell what he was feeling anymore, he just wanted the rounds to be over, so he could rest and forget what happened today. It felt like the only thing that would actively accept him was sleep, but there were even times when he was denied to rest, and spent his time staring at the roof above him that he did not deserve. There was a sour taste in his mouth, he didn’t even know why he hadn’t tried again, it would be better if he wasn’t around, then the survivors would win more often. It was all he was thinking about until he felt a pair of cold arms wrap around his body.

“You’re worth my time, believe me. Two Time and Chance also like to hang around you, trust me, not everyone here hates you.” Guest tried to explain, feeling a tad bit awkward. There was a moment of silence before 007n7 hugged Guest back, sobbing into his shoulder. He felt really hot, like the fever had come back, maybe there was enough time for 007n7 to take a quick and cold shower.

“So you just insult and berate everything he’s done AFTER he’s changed, and bring up most of his mistakes he’s made during rounds?!” Builderman scolded, this was not Shedletsky’s regular actions.

“Again as I said before the second round started, what makes you think he has changed AT ALL?! Have you not read his records while we were still at the HQ?” Shedletsky asked. The tense atmosphere from the first intermission was back, and stronger, ready to explode this time.

“Look, I may not like the guy either, but it’s either we deal with him, or he actually turns his back on us. Would you rather have more people on our side that can help?” Builderman explained.

“No, that’s not the point i’m trying to say, he keeps fucking up during rounds, and gets everyone around him killed every, single, time!” Shedletsky lectured, ready to fight back on his word.

“Really? He’s the one screwing up every time? That sure was dumb of ya NOT letting him heal you, ya know?” Builderman pointed out.

Shedletsky was getting ready to start yelling, until Builderman wasn’t in front of him anymore. There were multiple walls around, and a faded white path beside him. This was going to be a fun round.

Chapter Text

Noob groaned as they looked around, not even given a break. He always hated back to back rounds, everyone was always so exhausted afterwards. There was a cold breeze as they started to look around, making sure that the killer wasn’t around. Nothing but white walls and a purple glow behind one of them. Wait, who glows purple? Noob felt confused, the closest glow that a killer would have is Pr3ttyPrincesses pink glow, but they would have started to run away before this moment if it was her. He decided to walk closer, maybe it was Dusekkar using one of his spells? Or it could be one of Taphs subspace tripmines, but the glow was less pink, more violet. Noob walked closer and closer…

The grass was cold underneath 007n7’s legs, but he missed the way he wrapped his arms around him. He was still sobbing, but he didn’t want anyone else to see, to be concerned, to waste their time on him. He was a lost cause, and he felt like everyone hated him for that. His head still hurt, his body was still blisteringly hot, thank god he was in a corner. 007n7 felt so tired, but he couldn’t take a nap in the middle of the round, he couldn’t imagine the way everyone would look at him afterwards. Hell, he couldn’t imagine the way they look at him at all other than hate filled scowls. He felt like he didn’t deserve all the care that Guest has given him, but that was no matter now. 007n7 really hoped that the killer wasn’t C00lkidd again. There were footsteps behind him, and he turned his head around to try and see who it was. 007n7 couldn’t recognise them without his glasses, but knew who it was immediately when they started speaking.

“Woah buddy, what are you sobbing for?” Chance asked, coin in their hand. He debated if he wanted to flip it or not, but seeing the tear stained cheeks on the pale man in front of him tore their focus away from gambling for once. 007n7 let out a shaky breath before he responded, not wanting to distract Chance from helping someone that deserved it.

“Nothing, nothing important, just… The truth, you could call it.” Chance’s eyebrows furrowed, confused.

“Is it the new killer?” He asked. 007n7’s eyes widened, a new killer? This late into the games for today?

“I- What?! …Please don’t tell me they have a tragedy mask..” 007n7 begged, his eyes pleading for an answer.

“Yeah… they do actually. How did you guess?” Chance replied, impressed that 007n7 knew who it was from the feeble hint of a new killer. 007n7 just put his hands on his face, trying to hide the tears still spilling out of his eyes. He tried to stop sobbing, but more tears broke through. Chance was so utterly confused. Wasn’t his son already a killer? They sat down next to 007n7, trying to comfort the man. He wasn’t ready to face him yet. Chance could tell, and wanted to help.

Shedletsky walked around, looking for a generator, his sword in his right hand. Until something caught his eye. In one of the white structures, there was blood splattered all over one of the walls. That was terrifying to see at the start of a round. He rushed over, wanting to investigate, but was not prepared to see what laid in there, waiting for someone to see. As soon as he reached one of the openings, he could feel all of his tension from earlier being replaced with terror. Noob’s body laid there, organs sprawled outside of their body cavity, still connected to one another on the cold floor. There was a patch of rotting skin right over their mouth, a dark purple hand print, clashing against the crimson mess. He knew that 1x1x1x1 wouldn’t have done this, she would’ve gone right for him first. Jason maybe..? He never thought the guy would make a death this much of a statement though. He saw the burned remains of the other survivors during the last round with C00lkidd, and John Doe couldn’t have done this. Shedletsky had to look away, hoping it was a quick death for the poor fellow. Who would’ve done this?

Guest was with Two Time and Dusekkar, but he hoped 007n7 was okay. Well enough to get through the round, maybe they would relax in the manor while everyone else was in their own cabins. He didn’t realize that Two Time and Dusekkar had struck up a conversation, but something was off. Very off. He would’ve seen Shedletsky or Chance after the killer at least once at this point during the round. Was it C00lkidd taking a nap after the last round? He was snapped out of his trance by one of Dusekkars rhymes.

“What’s been letting your mind ponder, Guest? We must not stop now, the killer forbids a rest.” Two Time turned their head to look back at Guest, but their grin for once curled into something much more concerning.

“No, it’s nothing.. what's with the face, Two Time?” Guest replied, he had never seen Two Time make a different facial expression with their mouth before, this was odd towards Guest.

“Who is that by the blue and white structure? Surely that is not someone we are aware of, is it?” They asked, pointing towards the purple glow in the distance. Both Guest and Dusekkar turned to observe what Two Time was pointing out, and indeed, there was someone new that neither of them had ever seen.

“Oh dear, they are coming quite near.” Dusekkar mumbled, hinting that they should get ready. Guest balled up his fist, ready to punch whoever this was, hoping it wasn’t someone close to him.

“GE-t-t-t oVER HER-RE!” They demanded, voice glitching, like they had been rotting at the bottom of a box. It was so different from the other killers, this was someone new. As soon as the killer's face could be seen, he pulled back one of his arms, and tried to run toward them, but there were other plans.

Screams of terror were heard from one corner of the map, there was no way someone didn’t hear.

Guest’s lower organs were shot out with the void star, some of them disintegrating due to the blast. Oh god how terribly it hurt. Tears threatened to leave his eyes as he tried to stay strong, he had to protect everyone, he couldn’t leave anyone behind. Oh but the way he could feel his upper organs slowly sink down inside, it made him feel like a shell, and blood was drenched everywhere, reaching where it could, staining the grass with a shiny crimson. Dusekkar had summoned a healing spell for Guest, but it wasn’t fast enough. Two Time tried to run up to the killer with their dagger, but they were knocked away with a void star staff, causing them to tumble towards Dusekkar. Guest had fallen to his knees, he was losing blood as there was a puddle beneath him, he wasn’t going to make it. No way, not even if hoped, not even if he tried. The killer was about to go for Guest again, until they were shot in the back.

“BR-o IM LAG-AGING!” They shouted in anger as they were stunned. Chance and 007n7 had run towards the three, trying to usher them away while the killer was still stunned. But, 007n7’s suspicions were correct. Noli was here. And it was going to suck. Dusekkar had to end the healing spell so he could run away as well, but he felt pity towards the veteran, but there was simply nothing to be done within the moment. 007n7 had picked up Guest, but he didn’t struggle. It was done with ease, and there weren't any tears. He actually looked better, there was a slight smile sprawled on his face. It was confusing, but Guest didn’t have the strength to ask. Noli was about to go after the group until he noticed someone hiding behind a wall. He could tell they were cowering in fear, it was an easy target.

007n7 had made himself visible enough, a distraction, but he wasn’t ready to face the truth. He wasn’t ready to face him. He looked over and saw Taph in the distance walking towards him, and 007n7 felt another layer of panic set in. 007n7 quickly started to shake his head as he made an X with his arms, telling Taph to go the other way, it was going to get messy. Taph complied, seeing the stressed look on the other man, he knew it wasn’t one of his subspace tripmines making that glow. 007n7 felt like when we saw his son for the first time since he had gone missing, and god it tore his heart apart. He wasn’t ready for the feeling again, he wasn’t ready for the hurt that wrapped itself so tight around his chest it hurt to breathe, he wasn’t ready for the nightmares, the constant reminders, but he knew there wasn’t going to be any childish comfort. Noli was out for blood, and he could smell it.

“O-oh 7-N7, I se-Ee yooooooou!” Noli said as he walked towards the wall, 007n7 pulled out his c00l.gui, trying to type in his teleport command as fast as he could, but even with years of experience, he kept making mistakes, why did he take off his glasses, why?! Noli punched him, the c00l.gui disappeared in front of their eyes, and 007n7 was terrified.

“0h, tr-YIN-NG to ru-u-un away fro-om the p-a-ast now, h-hm?” Noli asked as he grabbed 007n7 by his arms, his grip tightening.

“Noli, please, not now..” 007n7 begged as he tried to pull away from Noli’s grasp, but that made him grip tighter.

“IF nO–ot now, th3-en when? Gon-na leav-e me f-or a mea-s-sly kid again?!” Noli asked, words laced with lies and poison.

“I didn’t choose my son over you, I left because I wanted to change, and you didn’t!” 007n7 shouted, tears still spilling from his eyes, he had forgotten all about his headache from the burning on his arms, seeping through layers of skin. “Y0u… Ch-aange? H@! PATHETIC!! Y0–u tol-old me yOU W0UL-wouldn’t WANT to be w-ITH ANY–nybody But M3!” Noli yelled back, making sure 7n7 would feel the pain he did. But it wouldn’t be mental agony, it was going to be worse. He was going to make sure he tears every piece of him to shreds, and he was going to feel every moment, every wound, every single infliction of pain.

“D0 yOU-OU N0T Re-emeber tH3 TIME SPENT TOGETHER?!” he continued, making sure it hurt.

“FUCK, JUST LET ME GO!” 007n7 shouted as he kicked Noli, they both fell down to the ground. 007n7 got up, and started to run as fast as he could away from Noli, but Noli was faster. Every step for 007n7 was three for Noli. 007n7 had one last idea, he prayed it would work. He ran behind a wall, and sent out a clone. Noli fell for it, and continued to chase the faux 007n7, while the real one ran the opposite direction towards Buildermans sentry that he saw out of the corner of his eye.

Guest was laid down by the clone in a pool of gathering blood, right by a dispenser, the pain was sinking in, he was rather glad to have a quick death before he ended up here, laying down in pain was awful. Elliot was sitting on the other side, patches of his skin were decaying, and a deep purple. He was describing how ruthless the killer was to everyone, but all Guest could think about was 007n7. Was he okay? Where did he even go? Was he helping Shedletsky? All sorts of scenarios swarmed his head, he tried to be strong, but even the strongest fall. He stared at the clone of 007n7, seeming to be “perfect.” It didn’t look tired all the time, no eyebags, no droop to his eyelids, no little marks, but it wasn’t perfect to Guest. No, 007n7 was perfect the way he was, and that's all that mattered to Guest in that moment. Not if he lived or died, not if he could even make it up onto his feet, just 007n7 being okay, healthy, happy. No guilt he bared on his shoulders, no more eeriness if he messed up, just a worry free life. Out of the blue, while Elliot was trying to remember what the killer looked like, the clone disintegrated into thousands of lines of code, a slight smile still plastered to its face, like it had fulfilled a duty. This raised questions for Builderman, no one knew if 007n7 was still alive. He sighed, thinking it was over for the man, but he volunteered for something that he knew was dangerous, almost as if it was a suicide mission.

“...Two Time and Chance, can you two try to go find the killer? Taph and I will stay here, and Dusekkar and Elliot can tag along to either of you if they wish.” Builderman asked, not having any other idea.

“Indeed, I would be pleased to see who this murderer is! As the holy Spawn said–”

“Yeah, I’ll go, with Chance.” Elliot interrupted as he got up from the ground, wounds healed, but pieces of his skin were still purple.

“You sure? You don’t have to if you’re still in pain.” Chance asked, still flipping his coin.

“Yes, it’s better to help. Even then I feel fine.” Elliot replied.

“Shall we make our way? We shouldn’t last all day.” Dusekkar asked, concerned about the new killer.

“We shall indeed start making our way in a moment.” Two Time replied as they turned towards Guest.

“I will pray to the holy spawn for you, one should not go through the pain you have recently.” They said, before they turned around and pranced off into the darkness, Dusekkar followed. Elliot and Chance made their leave quiet, and it was only Guest, Builderman, and Taph in the white structure now, guarded with tripwires.

“🔵❤️‍🩹❓(Are you feeling better Guest?)” Taph asked, curious. Guest held his tongue for a moment, not sure if the dispenser was even doing anything.

“I think he is, I can’t say it’s helping the missing bits of him though..” Builderman replied. Guest nodded, he felt tired, he just wanted this hell hole of a round to be over. 007n7 had made it to the structure, his forearms lacked skin, but he was still standing. He stopped crying as well, but the ache in his head, and now in his heart was still there, lasting.

“🟣🎭👊🍔❓(Did the killer catch you too?)” Taph questioned, curious who this new feisty beast was.

“..Yeah, he got me good…” 007n7 answered, nothing behind his eyes besides terror. He knew he wasn’t ready to see Noli again, but fate had other plans. He slumped down by the dispenser, watching his skin grow back.

“Glad to see you still alive bud..” Guest mumbled out, god he felt really tired, the pain was more prominent now. Maybe he could try and squeeze in a nap.

“Ah, you’re okay! How are you feeling?” 007n7 asked, relieved that his clone did not walk right into a wall, and actually helped Guest back like he’d helped him. It was a calm moment, until shrieking could be heard. It sounded like it was coming from Dusekkar, and he sounded petrified. Builderman and Taph were startled at such a noise, they had never heard Dusekkar above a normal volume. Builderman immediately stood up, and rushed towards the screaming. Taph was too, until he turned around

“🍔🔵👉👇❤️‍🩹🆗❓(You two stay here while you heal, okay?)” He said, making sure they didn’t move.

“You got it..” Guest grumbled, he was feeling awfully tired, he kept fighting the urge to fall asleep. His team needed him, and he couldn’t leave. Taph nodded before he ran after Builderman.

Silence loomed as 007n7 made sure no one was running to them, making sure that they stayed safe, more for Guest than himself.

“...I don’t think I’m going to make it to the end.” Guest mumbled, breaking the silence, he sounded weak, he looked tired, his fluffy blue hair was messy, and his one arm was wrapped around his body while the other one laid beside him. 007n7 turned to look at him, and as much as he wanted to deny it, there was no way any medkit would help.

“Are you sure? I think that there is only around two minutes left.” 007n7 replied. Guest felt pathetic, while it was mostly a painless death for him, it was dragged out. 007n7 got up and moved closer to Guest, he didn’t want him to feel alone.

“Do you want a better place to rest your head?” 007n7 asked, wanting Guest to be the most comfortable while the time passes. Guest nodded, his throat felt charred, like he was lit on fire again.

“Are you okay if it’s… my lap?” 007n7 asked, he felt awkward, but he felt better if he asked rather than just doing.

“It’ll just be fine..” Guest mumbled, giving the other man a soft smile. 007n7 nodded as he let Guest adjust. He played with the other man’s fluffy blue hair, just brushing through it, breaths mingling.

“You did a great job today, Guest.” 007n7 said, watching him close his eyes.

“Thank you… you did well today, especially in your condition.” Guest replied, ignoring the hurt his body was in.

“Make sure you take care of yourself in the manor, destress, it’s been three long rounds for everyone today.” 007n7 remarked, his cheeks were still stained with red tear tracks, and he was still very very pale. Guest nodded, agreeing with 007n7. He was so caring, so soft with his words, he was fit to be a father. Guest wondered why people hated 007n7, he was such a caring person, he showed up for anyone that needed help, he comforted to hurt, but no one had returned those actions until Guest did. He felt his cheeks bloom a soft red as he felt lighter and lighter.

“Take it easy, 7n7…” Guest whispered, blindly reaching out for 007n7’s hand. 007n7 grabbed on, he wanted Guest to be as comfortable as possible.

“You too, you did great.” He replied, making small circles with his thumb on the back of Guest’s hand. Guest grunted, he was trying to talk, but death was accepting him slowly, almost as if someone was making sure it hurt. 007n7 felt pitiful, someone as hard working as Guest had to die in such a painfully long way, it probably felt like hours towards him. He could feel Guest lightly squeeze his hand, yearning for his touch. He didn’t feel alone, it was rather peaceful for a way to slowly perish. Guests let out a shaky breath, some salty tears spilled over his eyes, what a way to forget the pain. The way his insides felt against the cold air was making him feel uneasy, but he felt comfortable with 007n7 holding him and playing with his hair. Guest felt his cheeks flush a light pink as he closed his eyes, tired. 007n7 kept Guests hand in his hold, feeling the other mans grip becoming weaker and weaker, it hurt 007n7 a little. Watching someone so close to you die in your reach while you can’t do anything was painful. But Guest was going to respawn, healthy, and with everything that’s meant to stay inside his body. Guests arm sunk down as he let out a final breath, albeit it was full of concern, would 007n7 be able to make it out on his own? 007n7 pursed his lips, the only reason why Guests arm was still in the air was because he was holding onto it now, not letting it drop. He gave his blue hair one final swirl, and set him down. It hurt, but 007n7 knew he was going to be able to see Guest again, back in the manor.

He was going to be okay.

007n7 got up, he wanted to get this round over with. He heard more screams of terror, it sounded like Elliot and Two Time now. God, he had seen what Noli could do now, and dare he say he was more scared of Noli than his baby boy. One voice dragged out the shouting and screaming full of agonizing pain, it was Elliot, he sounded so petrified. He felt terrible as he left the structure. He saw Chance's dead body, lying like his gun blew up in their face. 007n7 picked up the gun, he couldn’t deal with Noli again. It was a simple flintlock, and he checked for ammo. There was one bullet. Either it was for Noli, or for himself. He couldn’t decide. He heard that dreaded, glitchy voice.

“C0M3 O-ON OUT SEEEEVEEEEN…” Oh god, he wasn’t sure if he could do it. He looked around, seeing all sorts of organs, brain matter, bones, and a couple of limbs all spread around. The timer started ticking, one minute left. 007n7’s thoughts were interrupted with an explosion. He fell to the ground, half of his body seemed to be missing. Everything under his waist was gone, blown to smithereens. Oh fuck, how was Guest not sobbing at this sort of pain?! The feeling of some of your organs slowly spill out made him feel filthy. 007n7 cried out in pain, it had never been this intense in this realm, almost like someone upped the sensitivity of everyone. God, he wasn’t going to make it if he couldn’t run.

“I dec-ECIDED T0 leav-3 yooou fo-OR LAST.” Noli cackled, walking up to 007n7. He saw the gun in his hands. He knew what he was going to do with it. He knelt down, looking at the waste of a man.

“G0 @HEAD.. I-I’M WATCHING.” he demanded, thirty seconds left. Noli grabbed 007n7’s hair, and forced him to make eye contact. 007n7 whined in pain, the sudden thrum of pulsing pain in his head was back.

“Do it.”

His voice never sounded so clear, it was always laced with a glitchy effect, like he wasn’t meant to be around.

“Y0ur son would h@t3 to s3e the thing-ings you’ve caused. L3t @l0ne the th!ng Y-Y-Y0u’ve become. Shoot it.” Noli kept trying to coax 007n7 to shoot the gun. 007n7 shook as he aimed the gun on the same side of his head, it felt more like a chore, wanting to get this over. Thirty seconds left.

BANG!

Killers win.

Chapter Text

Elliot spawned in the manor, where everyone except 007n7 was, Guest and Two Time right beside him. Elliot looked around frantically, he had yet to die such a gruesome death. Two Time looked fearful, but that damn grin was still on their face, and Guest looked a little sad. Whatever, he needed to do something, to forget what he had just gone through. He’d rather have C00lkidd kill him a hundred times before Noli killed him once. He remembers Noli back when 007n7 and him were still friends, and they were a ruthless duo. The actions were more consistent from 007n7, but the worse situations were from Noli, making them perfect for each other before one of them changed. Elliot sighed as he walked towards the kitchen, he wanted to keep his head occupied, maybe trying a new recipe for.. Breakfast? Dinner? Was it morning or was it night? The lack of clocks, calendars, and sunlight made it hard to tell. God, he missed watching the soft sunset during work, he missed the rush hours, however, he did not miss the way his work place was vandalized. The kitchen wasn’t big, but it had a better layout than his work place. There was a shelf with some books stacked on it, covers covered in tears, spills, and years of use. They were all well worn, but nothing stopped the survivors digging through the food. There was a thump in the other room, and some people were panicking, but Elliot was immersed in the recipe book. He flipped open the book, and started turning pages, various meals jumped out at him, but there was one that caught his eye.

Homemade chicken and dumplings.

It was something new, he had never seen the recipe, but besides pizza, that he was honestly getting sick of, he loved dumplings. He looked at how long it was going to take, and it wasn’t bad. An hour and thirty minutes. It could be worse, like the time he and Chance tried to make a stew. It was forever known as the “stew incident.” He made a slight chuckle, remembering it all, maybe while in hell, lady luck truly was on their side.

“Hey buddy, whatcha doing?” Chance asked as they leaned on the doorframe to the kitchen, fixing his sun glasses. Elliot spun around, surprised to see the gambler in the kitchen.

“Ah… just trying to forget the rounds today. They were rough.” Elliot replied, putting the book down on the counter, the glint that was in his eyes seemed to have dimmed lightly.

“Yeah, that’s fair. God, who was that purple thing? The way they tore everyone apart was… terrifying.” Chance asked as he walked in the room, slipping their coin into his front pocket. Elliot shuddered, remembering the way his stomach squelched against his blood as it was forcefully ripped out of his body, his intestines following along as they fell to the cold, damp ground. He swallowed, the sight was disgusting, he felt awful, the pain, the way the rough, decaying hand felt on his organs while the other one held the void star, it was engraved in his mind forever. Elliot considered Chance lucky, dying to their gun before Noli could get to them. Chance noticed Elliot’s slight smile fade at the mention of Noli, so he decided to drive the conversation into a different direction.

“So, what have ya found?” They asked as he walked over to look at the open page.

“Oh, just chicken and dumplings, but I’m not sure what kind of dumpling everyone would want.” Elliot replied as he pointed out the three different photos in the book, authors of the photos were scribbled out, no way to tell when the book was manufactured. There was one, the stew looked creamy, and the dumplings were fluffy. The second one had a photo of the stew, it looked thin, and the dumplings were biscuity. The third one had a stew that looked like the consistency wasn’t too thick, but not too thin either, and the dumplings were drop style. It all looked so delicious to Chance, they wanted to help.

“I mean, we can do a drop style dumpling, and a creamy stew. I’m not sure about the dumplings, but I know when Guest made gravy a while ago everyone loved it for how creamy it was.” Chance suggested, reminiscing about the past.

“I didn’t even think of that! I don’t think I ate a lot that night, but it was a damn good meal..” Elliot replied, looking up at Chance.

The two washed their hands as they looked at the ingredients needed, somehow they were blessed with almost everything, brand new like someone had just gone grocery shopping

What they needed was:
Flour
Baking powder for the dumplings
Salt
Butter
Milk
Chicken
Various veggies such as carrots, onions, and celery
Chicken stock
Heavy cream
Various spices and seasoning such as whole peppercorns, garlic, bay leaves, sugar, parsley, and thyme
And finally, white wine

Chance got the herbs, spices, the white wine, baking powder, and flour from the cupboard while Elliot was digging through the fridge for the vegetables, chicken, chicken stock, milk, butter, and heavy cream. All of the ingredients sat on one counter, while the other one was empty, the only item on it was the recipe book. The duo quickly got to work, Elliot browned the chicken while Chance chopped up the veggies, making sure they were ready to be sauteed. There was a mutual feeling with one another while cooking, something that couldn’t be replaced, the one thing that stuck to them when they were dragged to the deepest pits of hell no one knew about. The swift, but careful chopping was interrupted by a curious fellow by the door.

“Sorry if I’m interrupting something, but do any of you guys know where the medicine is?” Noob asked as they lurked around the door frame, scared to utter a word to cut the thick silence. Chance raised his gaze from the cutting board, trying to multi-task.

“What kind of medicine bud?” Chance asked as they averted their gaze back down to the cutting board, making sure he didn’t chop any of his fingers off.

“Uh… Guest said something on the lines of acethycylic. I don’t think I said it right..” Noob mumbled, looking away from the kitchen.

“Oh! Do you mean acetylsalic acid? It should be in a small blue box behind the main bathroom mirror. Why are you asking, is someone sick?” Elliot replied, looking up from the chicken.

“I’m not sure, Guest asked for me to grab it while he helped 007n7 with something.” Noob answered.

“Oh.”

“Thank you though! I never would’ve found it!” Noob said before they turned, and walked upstairs. Chance looked over at Elliot, he rolled his eyes before he set his focus down on the chicken again. Chance wanted to ask about it, but they had heard all about the constant griefing. But there was no time to think about the past when dumplings were to be made! Chance put the veggies in a bowl, and started to mix some of the ingredients, eager to have something old, but something new. Elliot moved from the chicken, to the veggies and made a roux, looking back at the book every once in a while making sure he didn’t mess anything up. He was always a perfectionist when it came to anything food related, like he had grown up around professional chefs his entire life, but Chance was dumbfounded to hear that it was just the vast amounts of pizza cooks he had seen ever since he could remember. The bitter-sweet memory was cut off by someone shouting outside, anger and selfishness being spewed out like it was raw. Chance and Elliot looked at each other, concerned. Was someone secretly messing with their heads?

Chapter Text

007n7 spawned in the manor, he was dazed and confused. His vision blurred together, and it was a moment before he even realized that death hadn’t swallowed him whole. Not yet. There was a metallic taste in his mouth, and he heard voices, but his ears were full of ringing, he didn’t understand anything in that feeble moment. He saw two people looking over him, one with blue, fluffy hair, and the other with black messy hair.

“De...7!...Wh…apen…?” One of them asked, but he didn’t reply. There's nothing to respond with when you can't understand.

“7n…ar…ay…? ou… loo… wors…” The other asked, voice more stable.

Guest and Two Time looked at each other, wondering what happened.

“I did not have enough time between my demise, and 007n7’s to pray to the divine spawn… there was no one to help him.” Two Time said as they looked back down at 007n7. Guest bit his tongue, wishing he could’ve stayed. He should have stayed. He didn’t deserve to be left alone like that. No one did. He could feel the regret weighing down on him, but there was no way they both could’ve made it to the end.

“Makes you wonder how he was treated.” Guest replied, whatever was screwing with 007n7 was sure having a joy with it. It’s been hours, and none of its letting go and its just so immersed with torture.

“Do you mean by the sinner to the dear Spawn, or his past before he was grasped by the abode of the damned?” Two Time asked, watching 007n7 trying to make sense of the blurry moment. Guest thought about it for a moment, no one had really heard anything about 007n7’s life before he started hacking, or after C00lkidd went missing, had they? He shrugged.

“You can say that for both. I’m sure we will find out sooner than later.” He replied. 007n7 sat up groaning, clearly still stunned. He felt so… off. Still hot, headache worse, why wasn’t he gone? He should’ve been, he wanted to be. The manor felt cold against his fever, it was oddly comforting, it reminded him of the days when he let C00lkidd stay home during the winter. God he missed those days. He missed every moment with his son. But now… instead of him being there for C00lkidd, it was Noli.

Noli?

Noli.

He hated him.

Every word, every act of love, every night spent in bed. God… he hated all of the time he wasted with him. There weren't enough words to convey how much he hated Noli. There never has been, there never will be. Nothing will ever get to describe the amount of hate that was directed towards him. He should’ve shot Noli instead of himself, but instead, he failed.

Again.

And again.

Over and over.

It was all he could do.

It was all everyone knew he could do.

Everything he’s done.

Everything he will do.

He failed to win for his team, he failed to earn forgiveness, he failed as an exploiter, he failed as a pizza delivery person, he failed to keep a job at all, he failed as a father, failed as a lover, failed as a friend, failed as a cousin, and failed as a son.

It’s all he will ever be known for.

“Are you feeling any better 7?” Guest asked, kneeling down beside him. 007n7 was about to speak… but nothing left his mouth except an exhausted, shaky sigh. He shook his head, tired, yearning for rest. Guest laid his hand on 007n7’s forehead, and he felt a little cooler, but he was still scorching. 007n7 leaned into the touch, he found it comforting, the comfort he didn’t think he deserved. Guest noticed the slight, but sudden shift in weight.

“Can you try standing up?” Guest asked, he felt worried for the man.

“...I can try.” 007n7 mumbled out, his body still felt like it was muting the pain, like something was about to come undone. 007n7 started to get up from the floor, his body felt heavy, but after a moment, he was up on his feet. Then there it was, a moment of relief, like he was finally guilt free, like he was finally taken away from hell, everything was so heavy, but at the same time so… so light… there was a sudden pain in his head, as he laid on the floor. It throbbed, his illness was getting worse. He could tell now. Noob was just walking down the stairs, watching it happen. 007n7 hissed in pain as Guest rushed towards him, hoping he was just tired from today, it was hard on everyone. His arms wrapped around the other's body, and hoisted him up, bridal style.

“Oh my Spawn! Has he gotten worse during the trials?” Two Time asked, watching everything happen.

“Does he maybe need any medicine? I don’t know what we have if we even have any, but he looks worse.” Noob asked, his one hand nervously squeezing the railing for the stairs.

“That would be greatly appreciated, I know there’s some around. I’m not sure where it would be, but it’s called acetylsalic acid, if you need you can go ask Elliot, he probably knows where it is.” Guest replied, holding onto 007n7 tightly. Noob gave a thumbs up before they rushed down the rest of the stairs, and ran in the direction of the kitchen.

“Before you make your leave, I must ponder, where is the location 007n7’s missing hat and glasses?” Two Time questioned, just now noticing that he hadn’t had them the entirety of the third round.

“Oh, they should be at the fishing docs, if you could grab them and bring them to my cabin, that would be great help. I would go do it but he’s in need of rest.” Guest explained. Two Time nodded before they quietly tranced out of the manor, Guest not far behind. 007n7 didn’t want to leave Guests arms, his skin was rough, but something about his touch was soft, it made him crave the way his hands felt more and more. He closed his eyes, putting his trust into Guest, hoping this wouldn’t turn out badly for either of them.

Noob opened up the mirror in the manors washroom, and inspected the four levels of shelves for a small blue box. There were a couple of orange pill bottles, a red and white box, and a spare bottle of toothpaste on the first level. On the second level there was nothing but a small package of tissues for an on the go trip. The third level housed nothing other than a small cobweb and dust, and they couldn’t see the fourth level. Noob tried to go up on his tippy toes, but he could only see the edge of the shelf. They tried to jump, but they didn’t see anything noticeable. Uh oh. Maybe Elliot meant the bottom cupboard! Noob squatted down, and threw the wooden doors open. They were surprised at the sight, there was a lowly small blue box at the back of the cupboard. It was the only item in it. Weird. Very, very weird. He reached in, and grabbed it. It felt empty, nothing shook on the inside. This was odd, unnatural. But, it was hell, whatever was keeping them was known for the unnatural actions it took. Noob opened up the box, but to their surprise there was a small pack of pills in it. Noob looked back at the box, but there was no name, just the words “super fast pain relief.” Noob was glad with their find, hoping it was the right item the Guest asked for.

Guest pushed the cabin door open with his back, still holding onto 007n7. His window was cracked open, letting some of the wind slither in. He felt 007n7 relax a little in his arms, and his tensed face looked more at peace. He’s never seen the father so calm and peaceful since the day he arrived. There was always a glint of fear in his eyes, and pressure on his back, but for once… peace. No one breathing down his neck, no one actively hunting him down at this very moment, he looked so lovely. Guest put 007n7 down, feeling his weak attempts to try and keep holding on.

“Hold on, I’ll be back 7..” Guest uttered softly, removing his arms from the latter. 007n7 replied with a groan, his eyes still closed. He felt Guests arms slip away, and the comfort was gone. Guest walked up to the window by his desk, and opened it a little wider for a colder environment, the rain seeming to have stopped. He moved some of his drawings on the desk to the other end of the room, on the small dresser. Guest looked back at 007n7, he looked so sick, but so free. Well, free enough in hell. Hopefully he gets well soon, today was hard for everyone. 007n7 felt so pathetic, but yet so cared for. He hadn’t felt this kind of care or love for years. He couldn’t tell if his cheeks were pink because he had a fever, or if he was embarrassed, but he didn’t mind whichever one it was. There was a knock at the door, and 007n7 opened his exhausted eyes.

“Hold on, don’t get up.” Guest said as he laid a wet cloth on 007n7’s head. Oh the relief, it was pleasant. Guest opened the door, and thanked Two Time for retrieving 007n7’s items from his breakdown earlier. Guest closed the door, and looked back at the man in his bed, his eyes closed again.

“Thank you…” He said in a broken whisper, dozing off. Guest put 007n7’s stuff down, and sat down next to the bed.

“Glad to help.” He replied, noticing 007n7 relax.

“If you want to get into your bed, I can move for you.” 007n7 said, realizing that Guest was on the floor.

“No, you need to get better, and I don’t want… anyone just barging into your cabin.” Guest responded, trying to make up an excuse on the spot.

“Hm? No one comes to my cabin besides you and Two Time. Sometimes Chance if I'm lucky..” 007n7 said, a chuckle at the end of his sentence.

“I mean, have you heard what Shedletskys said about me?” 007n7 asked as he tilted his head to look at Guest.

“It’s… something I don’t like to talk about a lot. I’d expect to hear more of it from Elliot from the start.” 007n7 continued, his slight smile fading from his face.

“Is that why you were in his cabin earlier?” Guest asked, his eyebrows raised a little, the dots were slowly connecting for him. 007n7 shuddered, remembering the actions the both of them took, he regretted it all. He nodded, a blank expression was laid on his face again, sadness in his eyes.

“What did he do?” Guest asked, inviting the other man to vent. 007n7 sighed and looked back up at the roof, the quick moment replaying over and over again in his head.

“Nothing bad… just… wrong words were said from the both of us.” 007n7 answered, trying to keep most of it hidden away.

“I’m not trying to push for answers, but if you need to talk about it, I'm here.”

007n7’s eyes were glassy, slightly from sadness, but more glad from knowing he could have a shoulder to cry on. Guest sounded genuine, stable, he wouldn’t trick 007n7, would he? When was the last time he even had a shoulder to cry on?

There was a knock on the door, a quiet one. Guest got up, and opened the door, finding Noob on the other side.

“Hi! Sorry for what took so long, Elliot and I didn’t know where these were.” Noob said as they handed over the box, it was light, almost empty.

“Thank you, I'm gonna pay you back sooner than later bud.” Guest said as he took the box, looking at it.

“Oh don’t worry about it! I’m happy that I could help! Tell 007n7 that I hope he gets well soon!” Noob replied, whimsy in his voice.

“Will do, make sure you get some rest for tomorrow, don’t stay up all night making bracelets again.” Guest returned, half joke, half genuine. Noob let out a chuckle and said their goodbye, and the door softly closed. Guest looked back at 007n7. He looked at ease, his eyes closed again.

“Don’t fall asleep so soon, we are gonna try and see if these work better than the ones in your cabin.” Guest said, holding up the blue box. 007n7 nodded, the headache seemed to be fading in and out now, but the fever was still prominent.

“I can take them without water if that helps.” He mumbled.

“No, it's better to take any pill with water. If you don’t there's a chance it gets stuck in your throat. One of my old friends used to do this until he choked on the little thing and turned blue.” Guest replied, chuckling at the end of his sentence.

“Hold on, I have a bottle of water somewhere.” Guest continued as he set the box down on the nightstand.

“Is it okay when you find it if… I… can we hug…?” 007n7 asked, he sounded scared to do so, but he longed for his comfort, it was nothing he’d felt before. New, refreshing, safe. Guest walked over to the nightstand and opened the drawer, finding said bottle.

“Yeah, of course we can. Anything for you to feel better.” He answered, grabbing the bottle. 007n7 sat up, his head felt light, but he yearned for this kind of… what's the word? Could he say love? No, it wasn’t love, care? Yeah, care seemed like a better word than love in this case. Guest sat on the bed, right beside 007n7, and opened the bottle, handed it to him, then opened the small box, popped out a pill, and laid it in his other hand. Guest stared at 007n7, watching him consume the pill, making sure he didn’t choke on the pill like his close friend once did. 007n7 closed the bottle, and set it down on the nightstand, and felt his arms again. Wrapped around his body. 007n7 could feel his face flush a bright pink, surprised at the sudden action. He leaned into the hug, into him, and closed his eyes.

“Mmm… thank you…” 007n7 mumbled as he put his head on Guests shoulder. He started to rub small circles on the other man's back, feeling the tension from the round diminish at the touch of Guest.

Friends.

They were just friends.

After a couple of minutes, Guest leaned back a little so he was resting against the wall, he heard quiet snoring, and looked down. Finally, 007n7 was asleep, after who knows how long, rest was gifted upon him. Guest felt a small smile appear on his face, but was startled at the sudden yelling outside. It was harsh and brutal, he’s never heard such words uttered by the people fighting.

Chapter Text

The words were harsh, bizarre to hear. The words that were twisted into something awful, being spewed out like some hideous form of a gospel, and it was loud enough for everyone in the realm to hear. While death couldn’t claim anyone forever, the hatred towards someone that changed can. Builderman and Dusekkar were dumbfounded, these words being used as a weapon? Who dared to use them as such? It was normal to hear Shedletsky shout, but this… this wasn’t normal. A fast way to find out what happened in the cabin, but terrible to hear what was exactly said, and they had to keep in mind that there are two sides to every story. Sure, there was no way to tell how long it had been since they were dragged down to hell, but it’s been long enough for some people to start acting out. Noob peered out of their cabin door, curious what all the arguing was about. Shedletsky, Dusekkar, and Builderman were all grouped up at the side of the manor, the side lacking windows as there was nothing to look out for, nothing to view. There was a cool wind, everything shifting against the breeze. The scene that was set up was odd for Noob, they had never really thought of admins to scream at each other, but alas. Here they were, arguing about the last intermission, something that Shedletsky told someone else, something that the other person couldn’t just let go within a span of a couple of weeks. Dread loomed as Noob kept his eyes on the group, curiosity slowly turning into concern.

“What are they even fighting about?” Elliot asked as he stirred the food, it was finally coming together, and was almost ready to be served.

“I think something about Shedletsky and 007n7? I only saw 007n7 getting pushed out of Shedletsky’s cabin.” Chance replied while putting the leftover ingredients away. Elliot rolled his eyes, 007n7 was known for getting himself into shit before C00lkidd had disappeared.

“Why was he even in Shedletsky’s cabin in the first place?” Elliot asked as he watched the food simmer.

“Something about the second round today. Weird because I saw 007n7 try to help him but Shedletsky refused.” Chance explained, putting some of the dirty dishes in the sink. Elliot paused, confused.

“What do you mean he refused help? Did he not see what happened to Guest and I?!” Elliot questioned, his face tensed up, that was really dumb of him to do. As much as he despised 007n7, and his kid, it was better to receive help from someone you hate than not getting it at all. Chance shrugged, rinsing some of the dishes.

“That… That’s really dumb of him, I know he got hurt when I died.” Elliot said as he grabbed some bowls from one of the upper cupboards.

“Can’t fight stubbornness sometimes, I know all about it.” Chance replied, turning off the faucet. Elliot sighed, grabbing some spoons from one of the drawers.

“I mean, like, what were they even talking about in Shedletsky’s cabin?” he asked.

“I assume it was about the round, I heard about it during the round but.. I don’t think they exactly stayed on topic. 007n7 was sobbing at the start of the last round.” Chance lectured, grabbing a ladle to scoop the stew out of the pot with. Elliot’s tense face lightened a little, he thought he was crying about Noli being the killer, he knew about their history together.

“I’ll get the food ready, can you grab everyone that's not fighting each other? I think the manor would be torn to shreds if we brought them inside.” Elliot asked as he grabbed the ladle from Chance’s hand. “Yup, you got it!” Chance replied, their cheeky tone back. Elliot hoped Shedletsky didn’t say what he thought he did.

Guest was quietly swirling a lock of 007n7’s hair while he slept, the man’s soft snores filling up the room. He was about to start dosing off, until there was a knock at his door. Guest wanted to get up, but there was no way he couldn’t without disrupting 007n7’s sleep, he was still wrapped around the other man. But, would it hurt to try? He removed his arms from the latter on top of him, his arms still around Guest. He tried to sit up a little straighter, but 007n7 just sunk into his body a little more. No way he was getting out of this without waking up the other man… but he was okay with that. There was another knock, a little louder.

“Guest, food’s ready!” Chance shouted from the other side of the door.

“Just leave some for me later.” Guest tried to reply, but he didn’t want to be too loud and wake up 007n7.

When’s the last time he got a proper sleep? There was mainly silence, besides 007n7’s quiet snoring. Chance heard Guest, but he didn’t understand anything he said. Chance opened the door a crack, and peeked around it, a little surprised at the scene.

“Oh!” They let out, trying to be quiet. Guest pursed his lips, a little embarrassed, not expecting anyone to really see this situation. “I’ll let Elliot know to save some food for the two of you.” Chance said, before he quickly closed the door, a little shocked themself. Guest let out a soft sigh of relief, glad nothing more was said from the gambler. He wrapped his arms around 007n7 again, and closed his own eyes, waiting to curl into sleep, his cheeks a soft pink.

Chance closed the door, and turned around, and put his hands up to their face and quietly groaned. What pushed them to do that? Why did they think that was a good idea? He did knock, but he wasn’t expecting 007n7 and Guest curled up with each other! Though, at least 007n7 was getting some sleep, he had always looked tired, bags under his eyes were more often to see than him asleep. Chance decided not to tell anyone, it was obvious that neither Guest or 007n7 were expecting anyone to open the door, and to save the two of them the confession, but there was no way that they were just friends. Guest’s face was pink, how could they not be more than friends?! This does save Chance from straying away from all of the other cabins to reach 007n7’s, which was oddly far from anyone else’s. He sighed, and stood up straight, the heat the food gave off wasn’t going to last forever. He started to walk over to Noob’s cabin first.

Noob had retreated back to his cabin before Chance emerged from the manor, he was almost caught, but they decided to distract themself by making bracelets at their desk. Now they don’t exactly know where the beads came from, but he wasn’t complaining as he grabbed some red beads from the little box. They hummed one of their favorite songs as they tied off the other end of the bracelet, joining the two ends to finish it. It was a red and black beaded bracelet, and it reminded them of one of his dear friends. No, not one of his dear friends, their dearest friend. Noob sighed as they looked at it, before he slipped it on, their friend had gone missing long before Noob was pulled into hell. There was a sudden knock at their door.

“Hold on!” Noob shouted as he got up, closing the small box of sorted beads. The door swung open, and Chance was on the other side.

“Foods ready.” They said, pulling out their coin.

“Ooo! What is it?” Noob asked, glint in his eyes.

“Chicken and dumplings! It was quite easy to make” Chance replied, flipping his coin.

“Sounds tasty! I’ll be over there in a minute, just gotta do a quick clean up.” Noob said.

“You got it!” Chance responded, and the door closed.

Taph was in his cabin, his robes hanging on a hook on the back of his door, and his bandana resting on his desk. Window blinds were closed, and he was curled up on a sofa chair, reading a book illuminated by a golden light. All of his jewelry such as rings, bracelets, and necklaces were all put away where they had belonged, and Taph was in a baggy grey t-shirt, and a baggy pair of red shorts. His one hand held the book open as his other hand was fidgeting with one of his dreads. There was a knock at the door. The book was slammed shut, and tossed onto the chair as Taph scrambled to get their bandana and robes on while avoiding some of the many traps he set around, paranoia really does get the best of you. Chance was standing outside of the cabin, confused about all of the banging. Taph quickly opened the door, glad to still see the gambler had waited on him.

“👋 🎰🏡❓(Hello, what brings you to my cabin?)” Taph asked as he made sure his bandana was on properly, not exposing any scarred skin.

“Hey there! Just wanted to let you know that supper’s ready.” Chance answered, noting the dark environment in the cabin behind Taph.

“👌💣👉🏠(Okay, I’ll be over there.)” Taph responded, and Chance nodded.

Chance was about to walk towards Two Time’s cabin, the cabin closest to 007n7’s.

“Greetings Chance! What a surprise, I was about to start my search for you!” Two Time said as they practically appeared behind the gambler. Chance yelped, more out of fear than the element of shock, like he was reminded of someone they were close with before.

“God, why is everyone so good at scaring the shit out of me?!” Chance mumbled to himself, trying to comfort themself.

“I apologize for that, I did not mean to indulge any terror in you, I wanted to request the information about the admins and their squabbling. Why must they detest each other after such a domino effect of predicaments?" Two Time asked.

“Oh, that. Something about Shedletsky and 007n7. I don’t know most of what happened but how it ended wasn’t pretty. Basically the reason why 007n7 was sobbing at the start of the last round.” Chance lectured. Two Time nodded, taking in all of the information.

Two Time and Chance walked into the manor, the fighting from the admins seemed to have calmed down a little, but there was still the occasional shout. Noob and Elliot were having a pleasant conversation while Taph hadn’t shown up yet. The two walked into the dining room, and saw the empty blows sitting in their respective spots, waiting for someone to sit down in front of them.

“Oh, hey you two!” Noob greeted, smile on their face. “Greetings Noob!” Two Time replied as they sat on the other side of the table. “Guest and 007n7 asked to save some of the food for them, they are both busy having a nap.” Chance whispered to Elliot, aware of how nosey the other two at the table could be.

“I mean, the last round was… that.” Elliot replied. Everyone seemed to relax, enjoying the food, until there was a loud metallic bang outside.

Chapter Text

Dusekkar held his breath in terror, the flame in his head seemed smaller. The loud metallic bang was right behind him. It was just lightning striking the pile of metal scraps from Builderman, but it could’ve been so much worse. There was a moment of thick silence, and fear rose into the atmosphere. They finally stopped arguing, but it would just be packed away for another day.

“Are you okay Duse?” Shedletsky asked, fear laying in his low tone.

“Yes, I should think so. We should really get inside before the storm rolls in, no?” Dusekkar replied, his voice shaky, his hands gripping his staff. The scent of burnt metal tried to seep through the sky, but was interrupted by a heavy rain, and the admins had to run towards the manor. As soon as they got in and the door was slammed closed, everyone in the manor looked back at them, confused.

“Who died out there?!” Chance asked while fixing their glasses.

“No one, just another storm rolling in, nothing to worry about.” Builderman replied, still feeling the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

“Aw what? Why do we get so many storms?” Noob asked, their hands shaking as he picked up his spoon.

“Well, whatever keeps us here likes to torment us in one way or another. I assume there is someone around that prefers quieter spaces than loud ones for some reason or other.” Dusekkar brought up, still squeezing his staff. Taph bursted in through the front door, soaked.

“⛈️❓(Why is there another storm?)” He asked as he rang out the sleeves to his robes.

“Maybe there is some form of weather change like in our world? Like how it is delightfully warm outside when it is the summer equinox, or when it’s unfortunately cold outside when it is the winter equinox.” Two Time suggested before they took another bite of their food. Builderman leaned against the couch, tired from earlier.

“I don’t think it’s likely as the weather here has been… an experience someone could say. But, don’t rule it out, we might have some calmer environments as we spend more time here.” He replied, fixing his hard hat.

“Though, whadya make for supper here, Elliot?” Shedletsky asked as he loomed around the table.

“Oh, just chicken and dumplings. I found the recipe in one of the cook books in the kitchen, and I gotta say it turned out better than I expected.” Elliot replied before he scarfed down some of his own food.

“Hey, where’s Guest and 007n7?” Builderman asked as he glanced around the manor.

“Those two were just having a nap last time I checked.” Chance replied, stirring their food. Silence filled the room, besides the thunder in the distance.

“This storm sounds worse than the others…” Noob pointed out as it sounded like lightning struck nearby.

“Someone should go check up on those two..” Builderman muttered under his breath.

“❌💣 (Not me.)” Taph gestured, making an X with his arms, robes still wet.

“I mean, those two would be fine right? Depending how long ago it was since someone checked up on them.” Shedletsky asked as he grabbed him, Dusekkar, and Builderman a plate from the kitchen. Chance sat there for a moment, contemplating if he should go check up on the lovebirds. Well, they seemed like lovebirds.

“Yeah, I would say they are, it was only a little bit ago since Chance told us all to come to the manor.” Noob replied. Chance decided to not bother them, they were probably both asleep by now.

Both Guest and 007n7 shot up awake from the lightning striking the scrap metal, and the continuing cracks of thunder. What a way to be woken up. 007n7 looked to the window, wide open, drops of rain dripping through.

“What was that?!” Guest asked, his hands shaking. 007n7 quickly got up, grabbed his glasses, and opened the door a crack to peer outside. Guest stayed right where he was sitting, he could feel his breaths become more shallow as everything rushed towards his mind yet again.

“I… I’m pretty sure it's just a storm. I think the noise was just lightning striking some of Builderman's scrap metal as it's smoking a little.” 007n7 said, watching the admins rush inside, the rain soaking their clothes.

“And hey, I’m feeling a little better...” he continued, looking back at Guest with a small smile on his face. But Guest looked terrified. 007n7 noticed the fear in the man on the bed.

“Are you okay, Guest?” 007n7 asked while he walked back toward the bed. Guest let out a shaky sigh, one of his hands pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going to be just fine..” He grumbled out, sounding a little sarcastic. 007n7 sat down next to him, a little worried.

“Is it the storm?” 007n7 questioned, still feeling a little warm. Guest hesitated to speak, fear lingering in his words.

“..You could say that.” His hand moved to his chin, holding up his head.

“I’m not sure what it is about storms now… I used to be just fine with them before… any of this happened.” He continued. The tension every time he spoke was thick, like he was trying to forget. But he never would be able to, each moment was carefully carved into his head, his memories, to create a soul that was stuck. Stuck in hell, no way out, only to be reminded over and over again. He found it hard to think, every time he tried to focus on something else, the cracking of thunder always brought him back to the battlefields, where the most prominent smell was a mix of smoke, blood, and the sand that stretched for miles at a time. Every bullet fired, every grenade ring pulled, everyone, and everything around him suffered, and he had to bear the memories on his back for the rest of eternity. The fear in Matt’s eyes when he was shot could bring Guest to tears every time. But, he held out. Held out for him, but he left so soon. Daisy would never get to see him again. Charlotte would never get to see him at all of her important stages of life. Every birthday after nine, every school event, never to be seen. He wouldn’t even be able to see his daughter make it to ten.

“Guest?”

That voice was always so delicate, full of care. There was a sense of longing whenever 007n7 spoke to Guest, it was such a familiar feeling, but he couldn’t tell what it was. There was no way it was love though, right?

“Guest, are you there?” 007n7 asked, concerned. Guest was just staring daggers into the rotten floorboards.

“Yeah, sorry, just… had to take a moment.” He grumbled out, looking back at 007n7. His brown umber eyes always looked so full of warmth, one that Guest could relish in.

“Ah, don’t be worried about it. I was wondering if you wanted to go to the manor and keep your mind off of the storm?” 007n7 questioned, a slight smile forming on his face again.

“That would be lovely.” Guest replied, leaning back a little, relaxing.

The rain outside was pounding, there were puddles all over the ground, and it looked like the river by the fishing docks was creeping up closer and closer to the land. 007n7 and Guest got ready, and made the run towards the manor, trying to avoid all of the puddles and little holes in the ground. Since the dark clouds were covering up the large moon, the only lights they had were the lanterns outside, flames barely flickering. The two were holding on to each other’s hand, 007n7s soft, but scarred hands holding onto Guests rough, calloused hands, something the two would remember. It had seemed to be going all well. Thunder grumbled throughout the realm, and Guest squeezed 007n7’s hand a little tighter, but he kept going. Terror creeped up on him, but staying outside where danger lingers would make the two more vulnerable to whatever laid inside the forest.

Everyone else was in the manor, the atmosphere was bubbly and relaxing, almost forgetting the fact that they would have to do the three rounds all over again the next day. Dinner was packed up, two servings left wrapped up in the fridge for Guest and 007n7, and the dishes were washed and away. Shedletsky, Elliot, Noob and Chance were playing some gambling game in the living room, one Chance made for their casino a while ago. Dusekkar and Taph were on the other side of the living room, looking through the books that were left there, like they were getting replaced every once in a while. Two Time and Builderman were wrapping up cleaning the kitchen, and it sounded like they were having a nice conversation about their lives before. The front door swung open, with both 007n7 and Guest quickly running through the frame. Shedletsky’s eyes dimmed a little at the sight of the ex-exploiter. The cheat of the group. Guest and 007n7 let go of each other's hands at the sight of the others in the living room, all looking right back at them.

“Oh dear, did the storm already worsen? You both look really cold in person.” Dusekkar asked, closing the book he was holding.

“I mean, it’s definitely one of the worse ones so far, but we were lucky enough to not get struck down by lightning.” 007n7 replied, taking off his burger hat.

“The lightning striking the scrap metal outside was a terrifying thing to wake up to.” Guest mumbled, looking away from the living room.

“Oh yeah, who wouldn’t? It scared everyone in here!” Chance said as he placed down one of their cards.

“🔵🍔🧊🪑➡️🔥 (You two look cold, you should sit by the fire)” Taph said as he moved some of the books off of the couch.

“You sure…? We both are drenched..” 007n7 asked sheepishly.

“✅ (Yes.)” Taph replied, shuffling some of the books out of the way. Guest and 007n7 made their way to the couch, freezing. If Dusekkar had the visible pupils to roll his eyes, they would already have done so a couple of times. Dusekkar and Taph were busy talking to Guest and 007n7, when Chance noticed 007n7 leaning a little close to Guest, a little too close to be called friends. Everything seemed to be going swimmingly, Builderman and Two Time finished up in the kitchen and both walked into the living room. Everything seemed to be going a little too nice.

Lightning struck the generator outside powering the manor, and the power flickered out, the only thing illuminating the entire room was the fire. Guest tensed up, and straightened his posture at the sound, and it looked like Taph had curled up a little. It was like someone was watching them, making sure that peace didn’t last long.

Chapter Text

It felt like everyone froze in their places, the golden glow of the fire in the fireplace, and the one in Dusekkar’s head, were the only things moving. Builderman let out a tired sigh, before he leaned on the back of the couch.

“I don’t think anyone should go outside and fix that just yet.” He commanded, looking around the room.

“Wait, why not?” Elliot asked, confused as he dropped all of his cards on the small side table they had been using.

“I also must conquer, why? It is very strange you do not want us to fix the current problem.” Two Time questioned as they stood near Builderman.

“Well, the lightning seems to be very… targeting tonight. I’d prefer no one get shocked, and possibly not make it out of here.” He explained as he took off his hardhat and brushed through his hair.

“Just send some people out that usually fix generators quickly during rounds then.” Shedletsky replied, looking down at his cards.

“Oh, what are you, dumb? That’s like sending a lamb to the slaughter.” Builderman grumbled, folding his arms. 007n7 glanced at Guest, with every boom of thunder and crack of lightning, it looked like there was a weight of fear slowly adding up on his shoulders. He looked over at Taph, who seemed to be a little fearful himself.

“Look, as much as you two might want to argue right now, is there not a time when you can do it later somehow? Everyone is here to witness, and I don’t think they all want to see the total and utter mess.” Dusekkar cut in, making sure to look at the other two, hoping that his request would work. Afterall, there was worse to deal with.

“I mean I’m just saying, ya know? Someone could finally be useful.” Shedletsky mumbled to himself.

“🌧️🟰❌❓(Is the rain still bad?)” Taph asked, yearning to go back to his cabin.

“Oh, I pray to the divine Spawn it is getting better already! I would prefer not to stay here all night.” Two Time replied as they walked to the door. They opened the door, and were met with a harsh rain still pouring. They peeked their head outside, and looked around. The rain was awful. Due to the river rising so close to the surface, the small area around it had flooded. There was no way to walk to the other cabins without their knees getting swallowed by the shallow water, but muggy mud.

“How… fun.” They mumbled.

“Wow, has it ever been this bad out?” Builderman asked as he caught a glimpse outside, surprised to see the amount of rain collected all in one spot in a short amount of time. Lightning struck right in the middle of the map, and Two Time slammed the door in fear.

“I must have to agree with Builderman, the climate in the surrounding area seems to be… different.” Two Time vocalized, terror in their eyes, but that grin was still on their face.

“😾 💣🚫🏡😞 (Great… I can’t leave now…)” Taph grumbled, folding his arms, his robes still damp.

“I’m sure there are spare clothes around somewhere, there’s gotta be” 007n7 said, folding his hands in his lap.

“Where would those be? Has anyone even looked through the entire building?” Elliot asked, curious.

“Maybe the closet where the towels seem to appear from time to time? That’s the only place I can think of.” 007n7 responded, hoping that no one was rolling their eyes as he spoke. He wouldn’t be surprised if some did, afterall, he deserved it. He knows what he’s done to some of the people here, and he would take the blame. But only for what he caused.

“We could go look and see. If we find something useful, we find something useful. If we don’t, we can sit by the fire for a bit.” Guest said as he stood up, still stiff.

“✅❗️ (Yes, lets do it!)” Taph replied, eager to get out of his now uncomfortable robes. Guest and Taph started to walk towards the stairs, and 007n7 was following them until he felt somebody’s hand on his shoulder.

“Hold on, you can help look in a moment. First, can we have a talk about what happened earlier?” Builderman asked, his tired gaze softening a little. 007n7 turned to look at the other man, and nodded, shuddering from Shedletsky’s talk earlier.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad.” Builderman mumbled, making sure no one else heard. 007n7 felt some relief, but he wouldn’t let his guard down.

“🎃🍗🔎🔵💣❓(Dusekkar and Shedletsky, do you want to help look with us?)” Taph asked from the top of the stairs.

“I would be eager to help, I prefer not to smell like kelp.” Dusekkar replied calmly as he rose up from the couch.

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a moment, I’m just gonna wrap up this round real quickly.” Shedletsky vocalized, laying down a card on the small table.

“Want to go to the kitchen?” Builderman asked.

“Yeah, sure.” 007n7 answered, voice shaking a little.

The kitchen was clean and quiet, the only thing being heard were the steps upstairs, and some of the laughter in the living room. All subsided with the rain pounding on the manor walls, like it was trying to seep through, trying to reach something.

“You want anything from the fridge?” Builderman asked as he opened the door to the recently powered off appliance, and grabbed a bloxy cola for himself.

“No, thank you though.” 007n7 replied, he could feel himself start to sweat, his nerves were freaking out. The fridge door was closed, and Builderman placed the can on the counter.

“Sorry if this seems weird, but can ya tell me about the… cabin with Shed’ from earlier? I saw you get shoved out of it earlier from the porch.” Builderman asked, opening the can.

“Oh, that! Uh… well it wasn’t anything too important, just a… uh… a talk.” 007n7 sputtered out, trying to keep his composer. Builderman stared at the taller man, confused.

“Right… What was the talk about?” He questioned before he took a sip from the can, still cold.

“It started out with how I was doing in the rounds. I only thought Shedletsky meant the two that had already happened because I was sick with something, but he meant in general.” 007n7 answered, holding his tongue about the rest.

“Did it stay on that topic necessarily?” The shorter man asked.

“Uh…”

“Look, I understand what it's like having someone that you used to be close with against you, but that's not an excuse for your past–”

“I didn’t say anything about my past.”

007n7’s eyes widened, the words slipped out of his mouth, he didn’t even think of them. He tensed up, and looked at Shedletsky. It was like they were in a staring contest, and it was dragged out for as long as the admin could make it. Oh, what had he just caused?! He wanted to get out of this situation, there had to be a way out.

“Sorry, but I should really–”

“No, you don’t get to.” Shedletsky said, cutting off 007n7 as the arm that held his shoulder was holding his wrist now. 007n7 raised his eyebrows in confusion, Shedletsky was always easy going with everyone, why couldn’t he take that he's changed for the better? Everyone else can see it, why can't he? 007n7 tried to pull his wrist from his grip, but that only made him hold on tighter. He heard Shedletsky start to talk, probably berating him, but the ringing in his ears worsened, his vision was starting to blur together again, his head throbbed. 007n7 tried to pull away, but Shedletsky pulled him closer.

“No, you don’t get to leave when all you do is bring everything down! You can barely make it through a round, let alone all by yourself!” Shedletsky shouted.

“Well, I'm sorry that I don’t have everything I had back before I died!” 007n7 yelled back, still trying to pull away from the admins grip.

“Oh yeah, blame it on your death, the world is probably way better off without you!” Shedletsky rolled his eyes, scoffing at the thought.

“What else CAN I blame it on?! What makes you think I want to be here at all, surrounded by people that HATE me?” 007n7 argued back, holding his tongue on the first part of Shedletsky's sentence, the way the words were threaded together stung, tears formed in his eyes, thinking about the fear he felt when he aimed the gun, hoping he could see his baby boy again. That’s when he noticed a mark on the back of Shedletsky's right hand, one that looked like a burn mark of the spawn symbol, the one Two Time was so loyal to.

“…What makes you think I died out of the blue?” 007n7 asked, looking back up at Shedletsky, feeling one of many tears trickle down his face.

“Oh what, was it planned?” Shedletsky remarked rhetorically, he didn’t really want to know.

“What do you think?” 007n7 mumbled, noting that the spawn emblem was brighter than the moment before.

“Did you do it yourself? I would have to guess, you seem like the kind of pathetic guy to do so.” Shedletsky mumbled the second part to himself, but 007n7 heard. His eyes went wide, and his chest tight, remembering the feeling of losing everything around him one at a time.

“Are you fucking dense?! Why have you been nothing but such a bitch towards me? You seem to get along with everyone else just fine, and everyone else has seen me change, and you can’t spare a moment to notice?! Yeah, you can still hate me, but you don’t have to treat me like someone that hasn’t learned from my past!” 007n7 shouted, still trying to pull away.

“Oh, and wait for you to turn your back against us?! All you ever do is bring everyone down, and mess up everything you do! No wonder why you lost that handful of a child..” Shedletsky replied, just as loud, not hiding his comments anymore. 007n7 paused for a moment, stunned, gobsmacked, anything else to describe surprise and disgust in the same word.

“Why would I betray any of you at all?! I’ve lost everything, and my son went missing during the night! Gone, vanished! The doors were still locked, and nothing else was missing except him! I’m sorry that I haven’t had enough time to grieve in HELL!” 007n7 cried out, he couldn’t ignore every other thing Shedletsky brought up, after bringing up C00lkidd there was no way to ignore any of it.

“Wasn’t he one of the many reasons you almost ended up in the banlands though?” Shedletsky vocalized, his grip not faltering around the other man’s wrist.

“What, no?! Where did you even–”

“I know he almost did. Lesson at the end of the day is that I should’ve sent you there myself after the fourth time he destroyed that pizza place.”

He tried to pull away again, but Shedletsky kept pulling him back, away from the door.

“GOD JUST LET ME GO ALREADY!” 007n7 demanded as he summoned his c00l.gui, and hit Shedletsky’s face with it. Shedletsky let his wrist go, and 007n7 ran to the door, trying to open it.

“Fuck, let me do it…” Shedletsky hissed as he pulled 007n7 away from the door by the collar of his shirt. For some reason the door had to be pushed a little while holding the handle, then pulled open. Then, Shedletsky shoved 007n7 out of his cabin, and slammed the door shut. 007n7 himself didn’t even realize he was sobbing, his head continued to throb, and he felt like he was getting warmer, and in that moment, he decided to rush to the fishing docks.

Maybe Shedletsky was right.

Maybe he should try again later.

007n7 finished speaking, fear pumping through his veins. Builderman stood there, wide eyed. He was growing suspicious, maybe Dusekkar wasn’t wrong.

“Really? He did all of that with no remorse?” Builderman asked, swirling his empty can, making sure there wasn’t enough to leak out if placed on its side. 007n7 nodded, he could feel his throat start to clench up.
“Is there… How’d ya die? Was it…”

“Yeah. A month after C00lkidd was pronounced dead.”

“...I’m sorry.”

Chapter Text

The group made it upstairs, the cold winds hitting the manor. The rain was still hard, and the thunder was still booming. Guest shuddered at the thought, it felt like he was being punished for something he didn’t do.

“What do we do if we cannot find any replacements for the night? Hopefully nothing that’ll give us a fright..” Dusekkar asked as he floated right behind Taph and Guest.

“🤷 (No clue.)” Taph replied, looking at the other end of the hallway, at the closet.

“I’m sure there will be something useful there. There has to be.” Guest mumbled to himself, almost like he was trying to calm himself down than actually talk to anyone else. Dusekkar and Taph both noticed, but didn’t pay any mind to him. The three had made it to the end of the hallway, and opened the closet to actually find some dry clothes. Whatever was keeping them there was switching up on them every moment. Though… While there were some basic articles of clothing, there didn’t seem to be anything to cover Taph up, but there was a fluffy blanket on the top shelf. While Taph seemed annoyed while looking through the sweat pants and baggy t-shirts, Guest pulled it down.

“Here, I think this’ll work.” He said as he offered the blanket to Taph.

“🙏 (Thank you!!)” He replied as he took it, and ran to the washroom in glee. Guest felt a small smile warm up on his face, but he was unaware of who was sneaking up behind him.

Sorry.

Sorry.

I’m sorry.

The word rang in his mind, why would Builderman need to be sorry? It wasn’t his fault, and Shedletsky was right in the end. He didn’t need to be there. He should be in a cage, locked up for an eternity alongside others that deserved it. But he was here. While stuck in a killing game, there were people that didn’t belong. He’s the only one that should be here. He was a terrible father, an awful friend, an appalling lover.

“No.. it’s fine, don’t be.” 007n7 mumbled out. He could feel himself trying to dissociate, but he didn’t want to. It was like a puddle he was stuck in, slowly sinking deeper and deeper.

“Look, I know we may not have the best uh… past with each other, but if you need a place to talk about it, I’m here. Also, don’t try to take the things Shedletsky's been saying to heart, I know it’s hard, but… Duse and I think there's more going on in his head than he’s letting on.” Builderman said as he put his empty can down on the counter. 007n7 nodded, throat and chest still tight, holding in tears.

“I’ll try.” He mumbled.

“And don’t try it again. We’re gonna get out of here one day.” Builderman said as he walked around the counter. 007n7 was a little speechless, no one was aware how he had died in the round, god they would think of him as a failure if they found out.

“Alright. Go and get warmer clothes on, I feel like we’re gonna be here all night bud.” Builderman said as he gave the taller man a pat on the shoulder. 007n7 was about to let a small smile form on his face, until there was commotion heard upstairs. Builderman sighed, his tired expression back.

“God fucking damnit Shed.” He mumbled as he left the kitchen in a haste. 007n7 followed, it sounded like it was between Shedletsky and Guest.

“Oh, fuck man… That was my nose!” Shedletsky grumbled as he held his face.

“I am so sorry, I didn’t realize that was you. I don’t know what’s been happening with myself and storms recently but I just… I’m sorry.” Guest kept trying to apologize, he looked petrified, he didn’t mean to do it. It felt like muscle memory, something similar happened to him during the war, but he never intended to hurt one of his teammates.

“Can you remove your hands from your face, please? It might bring the pain some ease.” Dusekkar asked. Taph left the washroom with his newly found blanket robe, and a medkit in his hands. Guest stepped back, his hands shaking, the way everything seeped into his head while the storm continued could make him sick.

“Alright, what happened? I was gone for ten minutes at least.” Builderman questioned as he got to the top of the stairs, obviously annoyed, 007n7 following his trail. It was… quite the odd scene for 007n7. Shedletsky holding his face, nose bleeding, Taph in a blanket robe, Dusekkar trying to help, and Guest standing back, his hands shaking. Guest looked stiff from afar, like he had just done something that reminded him of his past. It seemed like there was a lot going on in his head as he stayed silent, letting the others do their thing. Guest knew a simple apology wouldn’t work, hurting someone outside of a round? For something as silly as getting scared? He felt like he fucked up, and the constant boom of thunder and the occasional crack of lightning wasn’t helping. He had to get out of there, he wasn’t helping by just standing there. Guest rushed past the group, and 007n7, who was still standing near the top of the stairs.

“Guest-?” 007n7 asked, but Guest didn’t hear him. He just let out a frustrated sigh, he's been like this since he woke up earlier, something was wrong, but the way he remembered, the screams, the cries, the bullets and bombs. None of it would leave him alone.

Noob, Chance, Elliot and Two Time had heard everything from the living room, but they had decided not to go upstairs. The quad was still curious, but growing concerned as well as they watched Guest walk to the dining room. He looked worried about something, the way his eyes were wide, but blank, and his stiff posture when he was usually more relaxed around the manor.

“Is Guest usually so… scared looking?” Noob asked, waiting for Chance to shuffle the deck of cards.

“No, not after rounds.” Elliot replied, the glow of the fire lighting the moment.

“I mean, everyone's been acting sorta weird recently, I think everyone will calm down soon.” Chance suggested. The sounds of shuffling cards bringing his focus down to the small table.

“I hope he’s okay.” Noob said as they turned back to the living room, the sofa chair creaking under the shifting weight.

“I am sure he will be, he seems the most structured out of all of us.” Two Time brought up.

007n7 squeezed by the admins, and made his way to the closet, his damp clothes becoming more uncomfortable with every step. He grabbed a shirt and pants, and went into the washroom to quickly change. He let out a soft sigh, trying to make sure he won't trip over anything in the dark, god forbid slip and he hit his head on the wooden counter with his pants down. Once he was out of his damp blue polo shirt, and dark greenish cargo shorts, he left the washroom, and grabbed a pair of sweats that looked too big for him, and a shirt that would look baggy on him, and walked down stairs, paying no mind to the situation happening. Chance, Elliot, and Noob started a round of black jack, and if anything, it was going far from Chance’s favour. The quad was giggling like kids, waiting for what the next card would reveal, until 007n7 spoke up.

“Sorry to interrupt, but do you guys know where Guest went?” He asked, standing a little far from the couch.

“He went to the dining room to let out some steam, do you know what happened up there?” Chance answered, flipping over a card.

“No, all I know is that Shedletsky hurt his nose.” 007n7 replied.

“Thank you for telling me though.” He continued before he left the living room. Elliot made sure 007n7 had left the room, and then said something that piqued Chance’s interest.

“How come those two have been around each other a lot recently?”

Guest was sitting at the dining table, sitting away from the chalkboard, his hands over his face. He let out a shaky breath as someone entered the room. The floorboards shifted under their weight, but Guest kept his hands over his face. He waited for one of the admins to start asking what happened, but he wasn’t even aware what happened himself. Something so confusing and wretched felt like it was stabbing him in the chest.

“Are you okay?” A voice spoke up, it was soft, quiet, caring. Guest lifted his head a little so he could see who was standing by the table, and felt some relief when he saw who it was. His hands slid down his face, he wasn’t sure.

“It’s okay if you aren’t, I saw you up there and you looked scared. I just wanted to check up on you, and give you these.” 007n7 said as he sat down beside Guest, sliding him some dry clothes. Guest decided to speak up, he couldn’t stay silent forever.

“Thank you…” It’s been a while since he’s felt such raw fear, even in the military, he had some strands of confidence. But now that he was stuck in purgatory for god knows how long, it felt like he was stripped of something, and it was always around loud noises. The thunder and lightning from a storm, the sound of Chance’s gun exploding and Builderman’s turrets firing bullets, the way he was lit on fire by C00lkidd, it was all so new but yet so anxiety inducing.

“If you want, we could play a couple of rounds of cards with the others in the living room. It might take your mind off of the storm outside.” 007n7 suggested, trying to comfort the war vet.

“I didn’t mean to punch him.”

“Hm?”

“Shedletsky. I don’t know what happened, but he scared the shit out of me right after thunder, and I punched him in his face. I don’t think he did it on purpose, but I still hit him.”

The tension in the dining room grew a little, but Guest’s shoulders seemed to ease a bit. He could feel the guilt slowly sinking into his body, it was one that he would have to live with.

“I mean, he scared you, and you reacted. What more was he waiting for?” 007n7 asked, trying to sound more caring than usual.

“I don’t think it was on purpose though, it was just a tap on the shoulder. A small tap, and I punched him.” Guest explained, his arms folding at his chest.

“I’m sure he will forgive you. I mean, you’re on good terms with everyone here, including him. And, I’m sure he understands what it’s like to be spooked out of nowhere and to accidentally hurt someone.” 007n7 replied, trying to comfort the man.

“If he even weren’t to forgive you, there’s still nine others that like your presence.” He continued, a slight smile on his face.

“Yeah… That’s true.” Guest said, his voice quiet. “Here, put these on and we can talk about more about it, sitting in wet clothes isn’t fun.” 007n7 said as he slid the clothes a little closer to Guest.

Guest could tell that while 007n7 struggled with C00lkidd, he was still a good father. Giving up his past to raise a kid left on his doorstep was a big change, but one that would change for the better.

Chapter Text

Laughter rumbled throughout the manor while Guest and 007n7 stayed in the dining room. Guest felt at ease, the weight on his shoulders practically gone, but the fear still lingered. Every crack of lightning sent shivers down his spine, but 007n7 stayed. He stayed through it all. The time flew by as they talked about all sorts of things, it was a sweet moment. Guest had never seen 007n7 so mellow and smiley, he looked like he was genuinely enjoying his time here. When the power diminished, so did the heat, so the manor slowly grew colder and colder. While some of the survivors spent their time near the fireplace, and others upstairs near the T.V, that was never really used, it only took VHS tapes, and the only one they had was one of a panda bear, but neither of them wanted to go around the others just yet.

“-And while he did try, he accidentally poured the entire bag of flour everywhere! I’m sure there’s still some flour in the crevices… God I hated how it got everywhere…” 007n7 was telling a story about one cold morning, trying to teach C00kidd how to make pancakes. Oh, how he missed those mornings. Guest listened along, a small grin on his face. The atmosphere was so lovely, fresh, a feeling neither men could describe just yet. 007n7 continued his story, while Guest took a good look at the man sitting beside him. Brown messy hair that laid just above his shoulders, dark eyebags, the scar on the side of his head… but he noticed himself shivering. The two hadn’t noticed how cold it had gotten, and with no perception of time, who knows how long they’ve spent there? Just talking, noticing small details on the other, the way someone's heart beats faster when around the other… their longing glances… the way one of them would look if the other was on top. Hey woah wait, they're just friends! Just friends, nothing more, why would one of them be on top of the other in the first place? But 007n7 looked so charming, even if the past years weren’t kind to him, and Guest was lovely to be around.

“...I don’t think I would change anything about those mornings.” 007n7 said, wrapping up the story, a bittersweet feeling taking over his head.

“Have you tried to teach Charlotte how to cook? You makes some of the best meals.” He asked as he looked over at Guest, and noticed the way his arms were wrapped around his body tightly, the thin t-shirt not doing much for warmth.

“Oh, yeah a little. I wasn’t home often when she could reach the counter, but just some basic stuff, food she could make by herself. She learned the most from her mother.” Guest answered, god it was freezing, how was 007n7 not cold?

“As much as the others hope we make it out one day, I don’t think I’ll get to go back to my old life.” Guest admitted, leaning back in his chair. It was silent for a moment, Guest hoped he didn’t kill the mood, he loved to hear 007n7 talk. He was always quiet, but now that he’s slowly opening up it’s all Guest could think about. 007n7 let out a sigh, and agreed.

“I know I won’t be able to make it back either.” He mumbled, his small grin gone.

“It’s hard to think about any life after this. When, and if we make it out, what happens to us?” 007n7 asked, looking back at Guest. He thought about it for a moment, the idea of being freed from this torture never crossed his mind before.

“Our souls would be free. I know with the way I went out, there’s no way I can go back, even if some miracle happened.” Guest responded, his thumb tracing over the reconstructed skin on the one side of his body. 007n7 nodded, knowing that there was no way back for himself either. A thick silence coated the room, it wasn’t an awkward feeling, but it was mutual.

“Are you cold at all?” 007n7 grilled, noticing Guest shiver.

The room was quiet as the door creaked open, a golden light from a lantern revealing the dusty bookshelves that reached the roof, and the table full of drawings. At the other end of the room, right below a window, was a sofa that had old small blood droplets sprinkled all over it, but it was better than nothing. 007n7 thought it was his couch from home, but there wasn’t that much blood on it when he left, was there? Guest walked in, the light wrapped around his body, while 007n7 followed with a blanket in his arms. 007n7 looked around the small room, noticing the drawings. You could tell that there was more than one person drawing in that room. There were some of Builderman’s drawings of his machinery, different concepts all on different sheets. Elliot had some as well, mainly of the killers, but there were some doodles on a smaller piece of paper. Guest’s drawings were of the maps, most notable for the bigger paper used for them, some of them on the wall. Older versions of them were in a separate pile, away from the rest of the other papers. It was all a surprise to 007n7, he wasn’t one to venture the second floor at all, he was only up there twice beforehand.

“Are some of these yours?” He asked, looking at all of the papers, curiosity filling his dead eyes.

“Yup, only the diagrams of the maps. It’s hard to keep up with how often they change.” Guest answered, looking up at the wall of the current drawings. Internal dread hummed through his body, he had to draw Brandon’s world yet again.

“These are beautiful! I never knew you could draw.” 007n7 complimented, mesmerized by the intricate lines drawn with such care.

“Thank you, I used to draw all the time before I joined the military.” Guest replied, looking down at some of the other artwork on the table. He could feel his cheeks warm up, turning a soft pink.

“These are really accurate too, how do you do this?” 007n7 questioned, looking down at the ones in a pile.

“It takes a while, I have to ask everyone about it when a map changes. Or when a new one gets thrown into the mix. I can’t tell which one I dislike more, it’s hard to figure it out.” Guest answered, his one hand on the table.

“Oh, is that why you ask me about them sometimes?” 007n7 curiously asked, looking at Guest. He nodded, hoping 007n7 wouldn’t notice himself blushing. The two walked to the other side of the room, still chatting about the art, and got set up for the night. Guest set the lantern on the floor, debating if he should blow it out, while 007n7 draped the blanket over the two of them. They huddled under the blanket, sharing the warmth. Guests heart beat was prominent and fast, but it wasn’t out of fear.

As they wrapped up their conversation, 007n7 could feel himself start to doze off, only to be startled at Guest laying his head down on his shoulder. 007n7 glanced over at the man beside him, noting how tired he looked. He decided not to say anything about it, he was glad for the company.

Chapter Text

It felt like eons since the first lightning strike right behind Dusekkar, but the storm had mostly run its course, rain still sprinkling against the windows. The grandfather clock in the main living room was ticking backwards, breaking the silence along with the crackling of the fire. Builderman was sitting on one of the beanbags upstairs, the oddly bright moon lit up the room through the windows. Dusekkar, Taph and Shedletsky had all fallen asleep what felt like hours ago, but Builderman couldn’t find the urge to rest like the others. Something was pulling at him to stay awake, to stay alert. He sighed, watching the window, waiting for something to happen. A scream to be chased, a cry to be comforted, a story to be listened to, something, anything to happen. He couldn’t even remember the last time the manor was this calm with everyone inside. Builderman looked back at the others, fast asleep, not a care in the world. It felt so off, everything so calm, so quiet. There was a shiver down his spine, the manor felt like it was about to freeze over. He grumbled as he got up, someone would have to go deal with the generator sooner than later, and it would get done faster if there was someone to help him. Builderman peeked over the railing of the stairs, seeing that everyone down there was also fast asleep, getting ready for the next set of rounds. Though, it felt like he hadn’t seen a certain duo that had started hanging around each other more recently. Would it hurt to check and see if either of them were still up? He crept down the rest of the stairs, trying to avoid the creaky parts of the steps so as to not awake anyone. Builderman got to take a closer glance at the four resting downstairs. Two Time had taken one of the sofa chairs, curled up like a cat. Noob was on the other, looking like they had just fallen asleep while doing something. Chance and Elliot were sharing the couch, it looked cramped but whatever worked for them. Builderman snuck towards the kitchen and dining room, but no one resided in either rooms. There was evidence that people were in the dining room earlier, but it could’ve been anyone. Weird, where could those two be? He crept back upstairs, and a light stench of smoke rolled through, right from under a door. Builderman noticed, and decided to grab his own lantern.

The air was thick with a thin layer of smoke dancing around, the bright moon illuminating the two men on the couch, who seemed to have unconsciously shifted to hold each other, Guests head on 007n7s chest. The sound of his heart, it was calming and lovely. They could stay in that room, sleeping on the couch with each other forever. The door creaked open, and another golden light shined on the two. 007n7 stirred a little, Guest stayed right where he was. Builderman couldn’t tell who was who, he probably should grab his glasses sooner than later, and he walked a little closer. As the light grew, Guest opened his eyes. As soon as he saw the silhouette of someone standing over him and 007n7, he shot up, ready to attack, and the sudden action startled Builderman. Out of the two, Builderman thought 007n7 would’ve woken up since he was the one that stirred. Once Guest saw who was holding the lantern, he eased up and put his fists down.

“Sorry, should’ve knocked. Didn’t realize you two were in here.” Builderman said as he backed up a little, preferring not to get punched. Guest let out a sigh, calming down.

“No, you’re fine, you just scared the shit out of me.” Guest replied, laying back down.

“Just… don’t tell anyone about this please?” Guest begged, looking away from the man in front of him.

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on it.” Builderman responded.

“Sorry for startling you though, I was just trying to find someone else awake to help me with the generator outside, the storms finally calmed down. You can go back to sleep.” Builderman continued, about to turn around.

“I can help.” Guest offered, head raised from the man below him.

“You sure? You seem busy.” Builderman asked, one of his eyebrows raised.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m sure 007n7 will be as well.” Guest answered, sitting up.

Guest laid the blanket back on 007n7, and tried to quietly sneak out of the room with Builderman, the floors creaking under their weight. The two made it out, and slowly closed the door, trying not to wake anyone up. As soon as the door was shut, and Guest let go of the handle, they both let out a hushed sigh of relief. Sneaking around the manor was something new to Guest, he had usually tried to keep a strict schedule, but in a place where clocks tick whenever and whichever way that they want, it’s hard to keep track of yourself. The only time anyone got to see the time on a working clock was the timer during the rounds, some feeling longer than others. Either way, someone tried to keep time right after the rounds, but it never worked. The survivors with a watch have tried to peek at the time, but they were met with the time they died at. It wasn’t just the survivors either, John Doe had one, but the glass was scratched beyond repair, you could barely see the off white behind it. Builderman and Guest creeped down the hallway, keeping in mind the other admins, and Taph sleeping on the beanbags, and everyone else downstairs. The silence was deafening, the only sound being the creaking floorboards, the ticking of the clock, and the crackle of the fire. Guest looked over at the living room, noting that everyone else was still in the manor. At this rate, no one would have to worry if the fridge was working when they lived in a glorified freezer. Builderman quietly opened the front door, and held it open for Guest to squeeze through, and then quickly closed it before anyone noticed they were gone.

“I’ve never realized just how cold it gets here.” He mumbled under his breath, looking at Guest as the wind whistled, the endless forest right in front of them. Everything was soaked, and the ground was still covered in puddles, but not flooding like beforehand. They could walk around and not worry if the water was reaching their shins.

“I don’t like how that forest is so… empty.” Guest admitted, admiring the fake thing. From where the two stood, it looked like the trees stretched for miles and miles beyond what was comprehendible, maybe right up to the borders of the map before it was an endless skybox from there.

“I’m sure there’s something else here with us. Probably hidden deep within there.” Builderman replied, walking down the steps of the manor. Guest followed, if he was being honest, he didn’t have a clue where he was going. The ground level at the back of the manor was more elevated compared to the front, some of the water trickled down the hill, joining the rest of the puddles. There it was, the one sole generator. It looked like it was older, and it had been through more.

“I’m not even sure if this is going to work.” Builderman muttered to himself.

“You never know here.” Guest spoke up, walking to the other side of the generator. Builderman set the lantern on top of the generator, and knelt down to get to work.

“Thats the point, you never what’ll happen until you try. It’s one of the things that gives you an uneasy feeling, y’know?” Builderman said, taking off one of the panels and looking at the damage. Guest knew that feeling all too well, it followed him like a snake, waiting to catch him off guard. The tingle of the wires flowing through Guests fingers woke him up a little.

“Though, I think as long as we figure out how to make it out of here, and probably what’s going on with Shed’, then I think we will be just fine.” Builderman lectured. Something caught Guests attention though. And probably what’s going on with Shed’. That was odd. While Guest noticed Shedletsky acting off recently, he thought it was because he was stressed.

“What do you mean by what’s going on with Shedletsky?” Guest asked, sorting the wires.

“Haven’t you seen? He’s been acting more out of anger and spite than his usual go with the flow attitude. Probably not yet with you, but the way he’s been treating some of the others is… concerning to say the least.” Builderman explained, glad to get this off of his chest to someone besides Dusekkar.

“Like the cabin and 007n7?”

“Yes, that. While most of us may not have the best taste with him, it’s no excuse to be a total douche to the man, he's changed and he has the proof to show it. While I did suggest a talking to him because he’s usually one of the ones that die’s the most, I didn’t think Shedletsky would turn around and pull that. Hell, that’s not even the first time he’s gone around my back and said some tasteful things to the others.”

Guest raised his eyebrows in confusion, Shedletsky was pulling this stunt to others as well? What on earth would push him to be doing any of this at all?

“That sounds strange for him. Have there been any other situations that have blown up before?” Guest grilled, now intrigued.

“There was one with Chance and Noob not too long ago, something about a person named iTrapped I think? It was so out of the blue, it was one moment the three were hanging out, playing cards, but the next Shed’s talking about all sorts of shit.” Builderman responded, closing the panel and moving to another.

“Oh. Is that the reason why Noob doesn’t want to be around him as much?”

“Mhm, Chance as well. There was a similar argument between him and Taph, but the poor fellow couldn’t fight back well enough for his taste. It was about something that happened way before any of this.”

The rain continued to sprinkle as Guest moved to the next panel, he felt confused.

“Why would Shedletsky be pulling this attitude out of nowhere?” Guest asked, trying to put the wires together. Builderman let out a sigh, it was a combination of frustration and fatigue.

“Couldn’t tell ya the exact reason, but Duse and I have a theory. Long story short, we think that it's whatever's keeping us here making him like that, like how 007n7 got that headache earlier, and the voices Two Time hears whenever they hold a knife, or it’s his head trying to form something familiar, and pulling back some actions Telamon used to take.” He explained as he wrapped up the panel, putting the metal cover back on.

“Honestly I would say it’s one of those situations where it's one or the other, but here it could be anything. Another thing I find that gives an uneasy feeling.” He continued, standing up. The silence thickened between the two and it was a tad bit awkward. It made more sense why Shedletsky was acting the way he was, but the sudden swing was the odd part. Guest finished up the panel he was working on, and it turned on, the low hum filling up the silence.

“I’m sure that he’s going to be fine one day.” Guest said as he put the piece of metal back on the panel.

“Yup, when we make it out of here, back to what we were all doing before.” Builderman confirmed. When we make it out of here, back to what we were all doing before. That was funny, Guest knew he wasn’t going to make it back.

“We’ll all be fine one day.” Guest said, standing up from the generator. They made their way back to the manor, rain still sprinkling. When the front door was opened, there was a noticeable difference in temperature inside. It was warmer, inviting. After they made it upstairs, the two said their goodnights, and went their separate ways.

Guest opened the door, the light from the hallway lit up the room, and saw 007n7 silently crying in his sleep. He could feel a pitiful expression form on his face, one would think sleep was an escape in hell. He walked up to 007n7, closing the door behind him, and wiped away some of the tears. He lifted the blanket, and laid back on top of 007n7, still tired himself. Every now and again, he made the effort to wipe away any tears before the influence of rest caught up to him.

Chapter Text

It was toasty, warm, and comfortable. 007n7 opened his eyes a little, he felt refreshed, finally well rested. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt any of those all at the same time. Not needing to worry if he had enough money for rent or food was a nice relief as well. 007n7 closed his eyes again, knowing sooner than later he would have to get C00lkidd up for school, but he noticed his eyes were irritated. He lifted one of his hands off of Guest and wiped them, noticing he was crying earlier. He looked around, remembering where exactly he was. What was worse, not knowing how much money you had for rent, or being stuck for the foreseeable future in hell? 007n7 missed the mornings he helped C00lkidd get ready for school, the lunch making, the rush to make sure his homework was done, all of it. He let out a sigh full of sorrow, his other hand making small circles on Guest’s back. There was this feeling, he yearned for more moments like this. Easy going, warm, cuddling with him, maybe just without the constant paranoia that they are going to be sent into a round at any moment within the day. One day they are going to make it out of here and everyone will get to rest, their souls will finally be free, and 007n7 would get to hug C00lkidd without the fear of getting burnt alive. Just not today.

“Are you up as well?” Guest asked, his head moving to look up at 007n7. He was startled, Guest was silent, not making a sound.

“Mhm. How was your sleep?” 007n7 replied, a soft smile painted on his face.

“It was pretty good, until Builderman came in and woke me up.” Guest answered, closing his eyes, still tired. 007n7’s eyes widened a little, somewhat stunned.

“I’m sorry… who came in here while we were asleep?” He grilled, he could feel his body stiffen at the thought, hoping he just misheard what he was told.

“Just Builderman, no one else.” Guest replied.

Builderman.

Oh dear, he really did hear Guest correctly. At least no one else saw them… right?

“It’s okay, he said he wouldn’t tell anyone. I don’t think I want anyone else knowing either.” Guest said, trying to reassure 007n7, but in the back of his mind was Chance walking in on the two sleeping in the cabin. 007n7 still felt a little worried, embarrassment pulling at his heart, he prayed that Builderman would keep his word.

“I hope he doesn’t.” 007n7 mumbled, relaxing a little.

“Don’t worry, at least it wasn’t Two Time or Shedletsky.” Guest replied, chuckling a little. 007n7 moved his hand up to Guest’s hair, gently brushing through it.

“Oh imagine what Chance would do!” 007n7 joked, his smile a little bigger. It was a sweet moment, one 007n7 hadn’t experienced in a long time. Meanwhile, Guest was trying not to show his expression, knowing that Chance saw them already. The mixed feelings were interrupted by a hollow feeling. When was the last time either of them had eaten? 007n7 decided that while this feeling had him drained, he didn’t want to be a bother to Guest, the last time he had someone as close as this was back when he was in college. He would probably just find something to eat later, after the rounds were done and dinner was long put away, and he would sneak some.

What use is it to eat with anyone when everyone rather you are not there? The glares, snotty comments, intentional avoiding, sure he deserved it, but that didn’t change he didn’t want to be around it. Was he not deserving of being treated like a human every once in a while? 007n7 could feel his smile melting away as he spiraled, he didn’t deserve someone so caring like Guest, or someone as helpful as Chance, or someone as supporting like Two Time, he didn’t deserve any of it. He should listen to what Noli said, or what Shedletsky implied, try it again and again, over and over until it finally worked. He should’ve listened to 007e7 before he got into this mess, he should’ve stopped hacking, he should’ve kept the ties to his family that he still had, he’s done so much wrong in his pathetic life, what use is it that he's still bringing people down? All he’s done is bother, bother, bother and bother! It’s all he was, it’s all he still is. Why was he thinking about what little he fucked up before he killed himself when this all started by grabbing food after everyone else left the manor for the night? Why was he like this? He yearned to see his baby boy again, and he got it, just not the way he wanted. Who cares if he got what he wanted? Who cares if he complained that his son was one of the monsters tearing them apart? He had gone unpunished for so long, it’s time he finally took the consequences for his own actions, the scars he wore weren’t enough, there was more he had to pay for. The destruction of Elliot’s workplace, the inconvenience to the admins, the friends and family that cut him off, oh god everything he had done up to this point. Every moment his guts were torn out, bones broken, the way his skin was torn apart by a machete, the way his wounds stung as poison sunk in, it wasn’t enough. None of it will. It never will be. Only because the suffering was gone within minutes at most. More pain is what he needed, it was the only way people could forgive him, right? No one seemed to forgive him when he changed, was he going crazy? Mental? Was he even a sane man anymore? Was he ever? Every word seemed to blur together, it was all pulling at him, how long had he been dead for? How long did it take for someone to find him? How much time had he spent in this hell? Why wouldn’t this thing keeping everyone trapped in a cage let them suffer longer than four minutes?! Did he have to bring the pain himself? Fill in where it missed so he could suffer just a little longer? Was this all maybe a dream? Would he wake up and find C00lkidd okay? 007n7 had never felt so disgusting until the day he didn’t find C00lkidd, the way he felt so filthy but yet so pleased with every slice, how fearful but peaceful as he aimed the gun. The last thing he tasted was blood mixed with gun powder, but he couldn’t tell what it exactly tasted like.

Gross.

Filthy.

Disgusting.

Empty.

Guest had an empty feeling as well, but it was just hunger, no guilt he held on his shoulders, not being constantly swarmed by it every moment his mind was quiet. He thought if he hadn’t eaten in a little while, when was the last time 007n7 ate? He never saw him in the dining room, it was rare to see him in the manor at all.

“I was thinking before the rounds start, would you want to grab something to eat?” Guest asked, raising his head, noticing the empty expression now on 007n7’s face. Within a blink, the emptiness was replaced with cluelessness, and a glint in his eyes, no one had willingly wanted him to eat.

“Oh-! I’d love to!” 007n7 replied, a cheery look now. While he could ignore pain, he couldn’t ignore how much of a shell he felt. The way Guest held him was enough to bring him back to reality, but his voice when it was calm, he couldn’t tell what this feeling was. Friends. If they were even friends yet.

The two boyfriends friends got up, and braced themselves for another day. Maybe it would be smoother sailing compared to yesterday, maybe it would be rough yet again, no one could truly say. The stairs creaked under the sudden weight, and everyone else seemed to be up already as no one resided in the living room downstairs. How long were they asleep for? The neverending fire lit up the living room, the scent of smoke forever laced in the surrounding furniture, it was oddly calming. There was a feeling of longing, yearning, it was a while since Guest felt this. It felt like a want, a need. A need to hold on to it and hug it, and to never let go. It wasn’t love. He knew it wasn’t. He was confident it wasn’t, it couldn’t be, but he yearned. Yearned for this feeling, yearned for the sound of his voice, the softness of his hands, the sound of his heartbeat. It wasn’t love, but he loved the feeling. The way he would feel in his arms, under the covers, the warmth of the sun shining through the window, and the scent of a freshly laid blanket of morning dew on the grass. The way his soft lips would feel, interlocked with his own, holding onto each other, the tension and heat from the situation making them cling to one another. The yearning feeling gripped onto his heart, he wanted to act on it, he loved the way 007n7 looked at him, it made the feeling in his heart flutter. He was so caring, so loveable, oh he needed this man, but only as a close friend.

The manor was quiet, 007n7 and Guest were in the kitchen, looking for something to make to eat. They had already looked throughout the fridge, but the idea of eating anything that wasn’t sealed after god knows how long of it being unrefrigerated? It sounded like a one way path to some sort of food poisoning. They were busy looking through some of the cupboards when an oddly placed jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread seemingly spawned on the island. Sometimes it felt like someone was watching them. Neither of them noticed until 007n7 turned to look somewhere else. He paused where he stood, confused. It wasn’t there before. The silence was thick, someone could cut it.

“Were those always there?” 007n7 spoke up, stunned. Guest looked behind him, and saw the peanut butter and bread.

“...I don’t think those were there when we came down.” Guest replied, turning the rest of his body. “I mean is there anything else to eat?” 007n7 asked, looking at Guest. He shrugged before he opened one of the drawers, and grabbed a butter knife, ready to make and eat a simple breakfast. The bread smelled fresh, and the peanut butter was rich and creamy, signs that it wasn’t something planted for harm. 007n7 offered to make the food, or at least his own serving, but Guest declined, making both meals. It wasn’t a pain, just spreading peanut butter on bread, but it was the kindness that mattered. Guest noticed how 007n7 tried to back off from the rest, isolating himself like that wasn’t healthy, he deserved to be human. As they ate, the two were talking about last night, about Shedletsky, the light rain, the fact Builderman saw them, but it brought them closer together.

Maybe there was something growing between them.

Chapter Text

007n7 and Guest were busy in the kitchen, still talking, taking in the peaceful moment. It was one of the first times either of them truly felt calm in a while, who knew you’d meet new people that actually liked you in your personal hell? Guest was telling one of his stories while he was in training before the war, 007n7 staring at him. He had never realized how bright he seemed to be when talking about the past. Guest looked so happy, so beautiful. He was so passionate as well, but they were friends. Were they friends? Were they more? Were they less? 007n7 didn’t have a clue, but whatever they were, he was grateful for it. And it wasn’t fake. There. It was like a freshly bloomed flower, each petal so full of colour, so full of passion, so full of beauty. It was one no one could ignore, one he couldn’t ignore. 007n7 knew he would never be able to even live close enough to be like Guest, but a piece of him was saying that it was okay. He found comfort in someone since Noli, and he could trust Guest more than Noli. It was a familiar feeling, one that pulled at his heart, but could he let it continue? Could he fall into Guests arms one day and get pushed away, or be pulled in? Fuck, was he about to start spiraling again? He’s gotta stop that, it’s draining. One day he would be happy. Finally. Maybe with Guest by his side.

“-And Matt thought that wine was just some sort of sweetened beer for god knows how long. He didn’t come to the conclusion until someone brought up where wine came from, and the laughter in the room when he asked ‘Wait, wine isn’t from beer?’” Guest chuckled at the thought, and the confused face Matt had when he learnt this new information.

“Did he think the liquor was just some sort of stronger beer?” 007n7 commented with a small smile on his face.

“You would think! He’s a good person, and has a good head on his shoulders, but sometimes he just needed a push in the right direction.” Guest explained, he hoped Matt was okay.

They continued to chatter, before there was a mutual feeling that washed over them, almost as if someone else was watching them. Watching their every move, listening to every story, like there was malicious intent behind eyes that were out of their sight. 007n7 could feel his hands starting to get coated in clammy sweat, and Guest felt his back tense up. This wasn’t new, but it was strange. It happened every once in a while, and it wasn’t just Guest and 007n7, it was everyone. No one had really thought of how they could stop it, but for guessing who it was? God, might as well be another war. Two Time would bring up that it’s the “Divine and holy Spawn watching over us!” while Builderman and Dusekkar thought that it could be some sort of hacker. Everyone knew not to ask Shedletsky about it, especially 007n7. Last time someone did, it was just a long lecture about how it couldn’t be anyone else, and 007n7 heard the entire thing. Noob and Elliot both assumed that it could be some sort of god or deity, not the spawn, and Chance? Chance tried to get people to gamble on what was keeping them there. Taph couldn’t shake away the thought that it could possibly be 1x1x1x1, but why would they be keeping others here as well? Why would anyone be keeping them there anyways?

With the way it lingered you could assume someone was fixated on one of them, like it was waiting for something. 007n7 held what was left of his food, his smile melting away under the sudden pressure. Guest swallowed the rest of his, the mellow mood was gone. Gone within an instant, like something was going to happen. It was eerily quiet, as if they were the only two around. Were they the only two around? Where was everyone else? 007n7 felt his lips quiver, the sudden terror stabbed right through his chest, he wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure if anything would come out. Guest leaned against the counter, letting out a sigh, hoping the sudden paranoia would go away. The friendliness was wiped away, warmth of the moment was replaced with the fear from a colder and painful one. 007n7 felt a shiver down his spine, what happened to the lovely time they were just having? What was watching them over both of their shoulders? It felt like hours before it washed over, the awkwardness sinking in as the eyes glanced away.

“You felt that too, right?” Guest asked, his head resting in his hand.

“The feeling like someone was watching?”

“Yeah. That.”

007n7 let out a sigh of relief, a little glad he wasn’t the only one that felt it, glad that the odd longing feeling was gone, but worried. What if it came back? What if it came back worse? What if it came back, and it was for him? Not himself, but him. He didn’t deserve it, 007n7 did. Wait no, not now. He couldn’t spiral, he’d tire himself out before the rounds.

But he couldn’t stop.

The way the thoughts swarmed his head, it was dreadful.

Gross.

Filthy.

Disgusting.

Empty.

That’s all he was, and Guest was so much more. 007n7 couldn’t understand why Guest was here, hes someone that wouldn’t hold a grudge, he wouldn’t pick a fight, he had a family at home, waiting for him. 007n7 didn’t have anyone waiting for him. He tried to text Noli, one of the only people he didn’t have blocked, but there was no response. The way his wrists were covered in bright red lines oozing blood, adding more wouldn’t do anything now. The way the gun–

“You okay?” Guests voice hummed, noticing that 007n7 wasn’t listening to what he was saying. He looked oddly empty, like there was nothing behind his dead eyes. Out of nowhere, his eyes batted to glance at Guests, a pulling feeling in his chest. Guest’s eyes widened a little, poor 007n7 was a little paler, and he noticed that he looked like he was about to vomit.

“I’m fine just… my head.” He replied, looking down at his sandwich, it didn’t look appetizing anymore, the bread felt disgustingly rough, and the peanut butter smelled so distasteful.

“What about your head?” Guest grilled, standing up now, a little more awake.

“No, nothing bad, I feel fine physically.” 007n7 answered, not wanting Guest to worry. Even then, he was telling the truth, he didn’t have a headache at all, it quite literally was just his mind. He didn’t want to talk about it though, the way it pulled at his heart, his head, ruining every happy moment he had.

“Where is everyone else anyways?” 007n7 asked, looking around the kitchen, thinking someone else would’ve trailed in by now.

“That… Yeah wait, where did they go? I didn’t see anybody upstairs.” Guest replied, trying to replay his memory, not seeing anyone else. Strange.

It was all strange.

Chapter Text

007n7 walked upstairs, looking for someone, anyone. He didn’t care who it was, but there had to be someone else around. Guest went outside to search, it was silent. Unnervingly silent. No one resided in the second living room, cushions and bean bags were moved around, presumably from last night. There was some dust on the TV, obviously not being used in a while. Though someone tried to get something working on it recently, the screen was bright blue, lighting up the room instead of a fierce fire that never went out. It was so odd, where was everyone? 007n7 let out a sigh, one he wasn’t aware he was holding, and walked over to the hallway. He knocked on the door to the bathroom, making sure no one was actively using it, and when the hum of the lights replied, he opened it. There laid an open medkit, a pill bottle, and some bloody paper towels. Damn, what did Guest do to Shedletsky last night? 007n7 left, closing the door behind him, pretty glad he has yet to get punched. He went to the other door, right across from the washroom, it was the room him and Guest fell asleep in. He flicked the light on, and as he expected, no one else was there. While he scanned the room, he noticed two pencil sharpeners laying on the desk. No one would notice if one went missing, right? 007n7 leaned outside the door frame, looking in the hallway. No one was around… would it be a problem if he took one? He walked over to the desk, and slipped the small thing into his pocket. He hoped there wasn’t anyone behind his back, watching his every move, inspecting what would happen. Or, if anyone noticed if the spare pencil sharpener was missing. Should he just put it back?

Guest was outside, looking around, knocking on cabin doors, looking around the fishing docks, but there was no one. No one else was around. Just him and 007n7. Was that necessarily a bad thing though? It was still cold, the wind still howled between the oddly placed trees, and everything was still damp. He walked down the beaten path towards some of the cabins, curious where everyone else had gone. There was no way everyone else escaped, leaving the two of them there, right? Why would anyone leave either of them? God, what was even happening anymore? Guest let out a frustrated sigh, laced with some fear, all he could do for now is just to be strong. For him, and himself. For everyone else. He soon reached the cabin that was the closest to 007n7’s, a little lonely, and very worn. Guest climbed up the two stairs, and laid a couple of knocks on the door, waiting. He waited, and waited. Was there anyone even in there? Guest cracked his neck, and turned around to walk away, until the door creaked open.

There was someone else?

“Oh, you are around as well?” Two Time asked, leaning through the door, gripping their dagger.

“Yeah, 007n7 is around too.” Guest answered, relieved that someone else was still around.

“Oh goodie! That is grand to hear! Dusekkar is also here, hiding in his cabin though. Pretty sure that he avoids me because of my devotion to the holy and divine spawn.” Two Time explained, stepping out the door now, taking in the scent of rain.

“Good to hear that someone else is here as well, do you know of anyone else?” Guest asked, turning back around to face Two Time. They shrugged, not having a clue.

“Is 007n7 feeling less worse than earlier? He looked quite… disheveled.” Two Time questioned, sheathing their dagger in a leather pocket on their belt.

“He seems to be doing better, but he’s very closed off most of the time so it could be better or worse.” Guest replied, watching Two Time walking out of their cabin, closing the door behind him.

“Then we shall go to the manor and question the depressed man about his illness!” They demanded, marching forth. Depressed? Yeah, that was one word to describe 007n7, he showed some symptoms of a mental struggle, but was it really a good word to describe him?

007n7 was in the dining room, trying to take apart the small sharpener, until he heard the front door creak open slowly, but close quickly, and a small mutter underneath someone's breath. Weird, no footsteps? 007n7 slipped the sharpener into one of his pockets, making note to hide it. He glanced over at the living room, and saw Dusekkar floating towards the couch, looking like he had a sleepless night. As glad as he was to know it wasn’t just him and Guest around, but come on, Dusekkar? Really? He was aware of how much the pumpkin disliked him, but they could co-exist with each other. But the less people around, the more awkward it usually got. Have they even been in a room with just the two of them since C00lkidd started destroying places? Either way, it was always awkward. 007n7 let out a quiet sigh, praying someone else would appear one way or another. Silence filled the manor, most of the group still missing. The door creaked open again, and the sound of Guests and Two Times voice replaced the silence. Okay, four out of ten people found! Good to hear. 007n7 decided to keep sitting at the dining table, a little shy to get up to go talk to Guest. He was fine with Two Time, sure a little creeped out, but they were better than nothing. But recently, there was this fluttering feeling in his chest whenever he was around Guest. He wanted to be around Guest more often, but he feared what Guest would do if 007n7 started to hang around him more and more. Maybe he should go back to his cabin, self isolate again, it had been a couple of days since he had last done so.

A warm hand was gently laid on his shoulder, the sudden action startled 007n7, it made him tense up.

“Greetings seventy-seven!” Two Time said as they pranced over to the chair on 007n7’s left hand side.

“Sorry to startle you bud, were you staring off into space again?” Guest asked, trying to lighten up his mood, sensing something was off. 007n7 folded his hands and rested them on the wooden table in front of him, letting a small smile creep up on his face.

“Yeah.. as usual.” He replied, feeling Guest remove his hand, and the wooden chair scraping against the floor. Two Time observed 007n7’s recently placed hands, noticing scars. They could feel their eyebrows raise, a possible fellow divine spawn worshipper?! That was rare, unless you lived in the most northeastern part of robloxia. But Two Time didn’t let themself get too happy, there was no spawn emblem anywhere in 007n7s fashion, but there were different levels of worship. Two Time looked down at their own wrists, littered in all sorts of scars, mostly self indulged, small blood sacrifices to the spawn, but some were done by others higher up within their religion. Would it hurt to ask the burger man about it?

Just as 007n7 and Guest were getting knee deep into a conversation, Dusekkar floated into the room.

“So sorry to disrupt, but Guest, could you come with me for a moment? I would go investigate, but here I’m one of the slowest.” He asked, looking a little concerned. Guest agreed to follow Dusekkar, and got up in a haste, leaving 007n7 and Two Time at the table.

As the two walked out, Two Time decided to ask something they had pondered about.

“So 007n7, do you also worship the divine spawn?” 007n7 raised his eyebrows in confusion.

“No… why? I wasn’t too big on religion before I came here.” He replied, his hands gripping each other a little tighter, noticing Two Times consistent glances between his face and his arms.

“Oh, just curious is all! A lot of spawn devotees have similar scars as you do all over their body.” Two Time informed, still questioning something. 007n7’s small smile was wiped away, and he removed his hands from the table.

“If you are not a worshipper of the holy spawn, why do you have those scars?” Two Time grilled, their grin faltering a little. 007n7 stopped breathing for a moment, fear and surprise hitting him like a fret crate. A cold sweat glazed his skin, and his hands squeezed the other. Why do you have those scars? Oh shit, was he not careful enough? To be fair, he’d never known anyone was actually going to utter anything towards him at all, but for someone to notice?! To ask?! Time felt like it had slowed down, if it hadn’t already, 007n7 started to breathe, but every breath was full of nervousness and doubt, what does he even do in this situation?

“My uh… cat clawed-uh, she clawed anything in sight…! What a… um… a rascal she was!” He sputtered out, trying to play it off, he had never owned a cat. Two Time sat there, 007n7 had a cat? Really? C00lkidd wasn’t enough?

“Oh, what a cutie she must’ve been! What was her name?” Two Time asked, they knew it wasn’t all a cat.

They weren’t as stupid as almost everyone thought they were.

Chapter Text

Guest and Dusekkar were looking out a window across from the living room, by the stairs. At first, Guest didn’t see anything, only trees. Dusekkar had to point out the silhouette by one of them, a subtle green glow illuminating the area. What the hell is that? The silhouette moved in a robotic-like motion, slumped over, a sword in its chest, and a dominus on its head, taking a moment to freeze with each step. In the distance, it looked like one of Taphs subspace tripmines had gone off, as there was a magenta coat of substance all over some of the trees. Right near the mess, there was a broken tripwire and an unfinished sentry, materials and tools spread about.

“What… isn’t that one of 1x1x1x1’s minions?” Guest asked, squinting.

“That’s what I thought, it makes me concerned for the rest. Hopefully they weren’t caught by 1x1x1x1 or their roaming pest.” Dusekkar responded, mesmerized by the being outside the window.

“No but what would he be doing over here anyways? Aren’t we safe in the manor?” Guest questioned, standing up from the window, concerned.

“I hope that it was just a mistake, or we are all in for a terrible wake.” Dusekkar mumbled, moving back a little.

“Should we get Two Time and 007n7 and all go look for everyone else?” Guest asked, looking over to the pumpkin deity.

“Fine.” Dusekkar sighed, not being too fond of either of them.

“I know that you don’t exactly like either of them, but we don’t have anyone else.” Guest said, trying to cheer up Dusekkar.

“I guess there isn’t another soul around.” He grumbled, making his way to the dining room.

007n7 and Two Time were still talking about the totally real cat that definitely existed during some point in time. The totally real cat was named Butterscotch, and she was a fuzzy orange cat, and indeed did scratch everything in sight. But Two Time noticed a flaw with 007n7s stories, C00lkidd didn’t have a scar from the cat anywhere. Well, not any as bad as 007n7 had, and 007n7 only had them on his wrists. If the cat truly existed, wouldn’t he and C00lkidd have scratches everywhere? While Two Time was keeping note of how 007n7’s stories and lack of scars didn’t line up, 007n7 was barely able to hold himself together. He had only known a little about cats because his neighbor’s cat would often end up in his yard, and he would return the poor thing to its rightful home. He also couldn’t tell if Two Time was truly believing his fib, or if they had already latched onto the truth. Only time will tell. 007n7 knew he would have to start wearing something with longer sleeves to cover them, or something like gloves. Could gloves work with his c00l.gui? A jacket was probably easier to work with. He could feel the sweat trickling down his face as Two Time kept grilling him about this cat. Shit, he could only go on for so long! Two Time knew. They knew it wasn’t a cat. The scars looked like more harm was done compared to what a properly taken care of kitten would do. But they decided not to say anything, he would open up eventually. Maybe that's what they could talk to Guest about over tea.

Just before 007n7 decided to stop playing the facade and to tell the truth, Dusekkar and Guest came in, an offer made just for the two sitting at the table. Was this a blessing to him? One he had yet to deserve? There had to be someone he would need to pay back, right? There was always someone he was in debt with, kindness wasn’t enough.

“Since everyone else seems to be amiss, and honestly this group isn’t at bliss, may thee request help from you two? Just to make sure that nothing else is askew.” Dusekkar rhymed, sounding less calm than usual.

“Oh how I would love to help! The divine spawn will help us all in this situation.” Two Time replied, their grin seemingly to be glued right back onto their face. 007n7 didn’t even notice Two Time’s persistent smile was slowly melting off, showing genuine concern.

“Uh, sure. What do you need help with?” 007n7 replied, still glad that they came in when they did.

“It’s just to look for everyone else outside, there are some belongings of theirs around. And one of 1x1x1x1’s minions…” Guest answered, hoping this wasn’t actually their first round of the day.

“Oh. What are those specimens doing in our territory?” Two Time asked, tilting their head a little.

“Neither of us have a clue, for all we know it could be up to you.” Dusekkar suggested, shrugging his shoulders. At the information given, 007n7 felt like this could go either way. Even then how long had it really been? Surely they wouldn’t be in the middle of a round.

Taph was hidden behind one of the many trees, praying that he wouldn’t get caught by an entanglement. Something was so astray, the first round of the day was happening in their resting area? Not only, 1x1x1x1 seemed more relaxed, like she was genuinely enjoying the moment and not constantly talking about hate. Basically a 180 from what Shedletsky had been like recently. Builderman and Elliot were wiped clean from the round, being the first two to die. Now, it was just Taph, Chance, Noob, and the man of the hour, Shedletsky. Who knows what happened to the others?

“Oh, what a way to die! Such a shame, I enjoyed the pizza fella.” 1x1x1x1 said, chuckling, almost as if he was drunk, but besides the weird sentences they seemed sober. It was so unnerving seeing her like this, Taph remembered when Telamon was first split, and how hate filled 1x1x1x1 was. The utter chaos that reined over SFOTS was intense, especially after the initial split. Honestly, as much as Taph hated being around SFOTS, he’d rather spend the rest of his life there than here. He let out a sigh, he wanted this to be over. For it all to be over. Taph just wanted to wake up and see that his house was okay, that the people he hung around were doing just fine, to not be swarmed within his last weeks of life. Three weeks he spent boarded up in his house, waiting for everyone to leave him alone. Taph knew he wasn’t going to wake up back in his house though, it would never happen. He tripped and fell into one of his traps, and slowly bled out as life outside his home continued. He had never felt so alone.

“TAPH, WATCH OUT!” Noob shouted from afar, watching Chance flip his coin over and over again, as 1x1x1x1 was about to throw an entanglement. The dark, cold, and murky environment wasn’t too much use either, if anything it was annoying to deal with. Why couldn’t they have just done this literally anywhere else? Taph quickly got up and tried to make a run for it, but 1x1x1x1’s throwing power was faster. All sorts of chains circled around Taph, tight to his body, the one daemon shank sliding right through his right arm, one wrong move and he would stab himself in his ribcage. The other daemon shank wrapped around one of his wings, just dangling aimlessly, poison slowly dripping from it. Taph let out a noise one could describe as a yelp, but there wasn’t enough time to mourn the pain, he had to get untangled. In all of this, Chance had finally gotten lucky enough to earn a bullet, and immediately used it on 1x1x1x1, buying Taph some time. While 1x1x1x1 was distracted, Taph grabbed onto the dangling daemon shank, the blade sinking into his gloves, and tried to blindly untangle himself.

Guest and Dusekkar were busy chatting about something, the smell of rain still lingered in the air, and the damp soil was capturing evidence that people had walked around in the area. 007n7 was staring off into space, and Two Time was still whispering to themself. 007n7 didn’t want to think about what he overheard from the cultist, it was… a treat to say the least. It was terrifying to hear the things they would do for their god. The ex-exploiter took a glance to his left, and saw a bright green light fly a short distance, and heard a burnt yelp. No one else had seemed to notice the brawl just some ways away from them, he had to speak up about it.

“Hey, isn’t that 1x1x1x1 and Chance over there?” He asked, looking over at the area as 1x1x1x1 was shot. Everyone else took a look, and to their horror, or surprise, they were indeed in some form of a round.

“Oh fuck.” Dusekkar mumbled, hearing her chuckles from his distance was scary, especially as he watched Telamon split.

“Oh, come on out Taph! You were my favorite!” 1x1x1x1 said as he stumbled a little from the bullet, her face showing a weird smile, not even annoyed at Chance. While they were usually stubborn, the way that she was so calm out of the blue, a cheeky grin on his face, was this what Dusekkar and Builderman were talking about? Taph was still trying to untangle himself, he was so close, but he saw the way 1x1x1x1 was coming right for him. He closed his eyes while still trying to remove the daemon shanks from his body, waiting for his inevitable doom.

But death didn’t accept him yet.

Chapter Text

The sound of iron hitting cement was audible, Noob had quickly slipped in between Taph and 1x1x1x1 while chugging a slateskin potion. Taph could’ve done anything in that moment to thank Noob, but there just wasn’t enough time. He finally got the last loop of the daemon shank off of him, and tore the other daemon shank out of his arm, blood and poison seeping out of the wound, dropping the weapon on the ground, chains clanking against each other. Noob couldn’t deflect 1x1x1x1’s hits forever, but someone pulled them both out of the way while Guest went for her. 1x1x1x1 grunted at the punch, it was a square hit on their jaw, stumbling back a little, not noticing Two Time approaching behind him. Noob and Taph were saved by 007n7, getting dragged backwards away from the fight. The two were grateful, especially Taph, if it weren’t for 007n7 he would’ve died by now.

“🙏🍔❗️🫵🥤❗️(Thank you 007n7! You too Noob!)” Taph acknowledged, hands by his chest making a praying motion.

“Ah it’s no problem! I was going to drink my slateskin potion way earlier when 1x1x1x1 went for you and Builderman.” Noob explained, their hand itching the back of their neck.

“Wait, 1x1x1x1 went after you guys before we arrived?” 007n7 asked, concerned. Dusekkar levitated up to the group, and summoned a healing spell to poor Taph, he looked like he was about to fall apart.

“Yeah, when I got up I noticed that Elliot, Chance, and Two Time had left so I went upstairs to see who else was still in the manor and only saw Shedletsky, Builderman, and Taph.” Noob explained.

“✅👷💣🍗🥤👂🤣🌌🏠➡️👀1️⃣❌4️⃣🏃👇(We heard someone laughing outside so we went to go look, and when we noticed it wasn’t a survivor, 1x1x1x1 ran right towards us.)” Taph continued, slightly regretting leaving the manor, and his cabin entirely the night before.

“Oh dear, I should’ve stayed with you four. You seem like you could have used some more support. Why would Elliot and Chance leave the manor without a report?” Dusekkar asked, making sure the spell was healing as fast as it could.

“Not sure, it seemed out of the blue for Elliot not to tell anybody.” Noob answered, leaning against a tree.

“📍🍗❓(Where did Shedletsky go?)” Taph questioned, feeling the flesh on his arm slowly mend together.

Eugh… Guest hated the feeling of punching 1x1x1x1’s torso, the weird jelly-like texture that seemed soft felt more like stone. Every punch to him was another bruised knuckle that ached. It was some sort of reaction though, like 1x1x1x1 was expecting it every time. Evidence being that Two Time has snuck backstabs before and their dagger sliced right through her, or the way that bullets from either Chance or Builderman sunk right by his ribcage. There was one instant where 1x1x1x1 didn’t see or hear Guest before he punched, and the feeling of his hand charged through them was so gross to him. It was like tearing apart stiff, crumbly glue. He had tried to avoid her torso, but in some cases that's like looking the other direction and walking away from them entirely, and he couldn’t let anyone else die when he was perfectly fine. Guest knew he had to suck up the discomfort, but the texture with every punch, the suddenly rough atmosphere scraping against his knuckles, if he felt it anywhere else he knew to avoid it, like a wild animal with bright colours, a warning to not go near. But, what about when the brightly coloured animal goes near the person you love? Your comrades? The people you care about? Yourself? Though, besides what seems like it could've gone wrong already had, everything else was working out in his favor so far. Two Time was a grand help as well, but Guest wanted to make sure they had their second life spawn point set up. If they even get to respawn at all. Chance on the other hand was hiding behind one of the trees on the opposite side of everyone, luck wasn’t on his side today, and he stacked up a weakness so ugly. Twenty five. Twenty five, and close to death. What was he even meant to do in this situation besides wait it out?

1x1x1x1’s relaxed state of emotion mixed in with his aggressive attempts of murder was unnerving. It was one thing dealing with someone that was so full of hatred all of the time, but it was another seeing them less tense, stumbling around like they were drunk, giggling like a kid. 007n7 looked over at Guest while everyone else was chattering, noticing him starting to struggle, Two Time straggling behind on their stamina as well, and Chance sank down, his back sliding against the tree he was leaning on, looking weak and on the brink of death. Everyone's words blended together, someone had to do something. No one was built to last forever in the realm, let alone their camp out of all places. But what could he do without killing anyone else, let alone himself? He could feel the disappointed glances of everyone staring right at him, spawning in before a round ended, another thirty seconds added to the timer. It’s truly what all he was, and nothing would change that. Right before 1x1x1x1 was about to land a final strike against Guest, 007n7 ran up behind them, and yanked her shoulder. It caught Guest and Two Time off guard, but 1x1x1x1 just went about it like they had dealt with this before. 007n7 kept trying to move 1x1x1x1 away, and all he did was chuckle at the feeble attempt.

“Oh, what are you trying to do? All you are is a terrible father!” 1x1x1x1 deflected, trying to stab 007n7. No words fell out of his mouth, only grunts with each pull.

“007n7, what the fuck are you doing?!” Guest shouted, confusion covered up by anger in his voice, he was about to go up and try to save him, but a hand was laid on his shoulder, stopping him from walking on.

“Worry not war vet! Take this moment to patch up as much as you can, this… round is bound to end soon!” Two Time explained, looking drained. “Not if 007n7 gets himself killed by pulling this stunt!” Guest deflected, his eyebrows furrowed. He wasn’t angry at all, just so dumbfounded, why would 007n7 do this? He was just going to die yet again!

“Maybe the holy spawn granted him a blessing, sacrifices don’t go unnoticed by the divine.” Two Time hesitated, looking back at 1x1x1x1 and 007n7 squabbling. Neither of them noticed the real 007n7 rush past them, some bandages in his hand.

007n7 never knew why Chance always went above weakness fifteen, or even ten at times, but some things are better not understood. Chance closed his eyes, a slight chuckle leaving his mouth, out of all twenty five tries he had yet to earn another bullet, he was going to kill himself and others at this rate. Lady luck had turned her back on him when he needed her most, reminding him of a close friend he used to hang all around before he ended up here. He had yet to hear the footsteps muffled by the wet ground beneath him, but was surprised to hear a voice other than his own.

“Are you okay?” 007n7 asked, kneeling down, holding the bandages in his hands. Chance slid his glasses back up his face, making an effort to hide his eyes, groaning a little at the pain.

“Ha! Oh I wish, but fate’s something you gamble on.” Chance answered, a smirk forming on his face. 007n7 shuddered at the thought, but he kept no mind to what he was feeling, there was someone actively dying right in front of his eyes. 007n7 started to bandage Chance up while they overheard the commotion behind them, 007n7 prayed that the clone would hold out until he could get Chance and himself back to safety.

Meanwhile, Elliot and Builderman were sitting on the sofa at the real manor, waiting for everyone else. They were busy, having a conversation about him and Chance leaving the manor without letting anyone know. Well less of a conversation, more Elliot getting scolded for leaving without letting anyone else know.

“-Who knows what lurks out there? Imagine if you two went out and you both died and didn’t spawn back?” Builderman lectured, sitting up straighter than usual.

“So what if neither of us spawned back? Wouldn’t that be arguably better than here?” Elliot argued, rolling his eyes. Builderman sighed, he sounded tired and stuffy, maybe he spent a little too long outside last night.

“I mean… technically, but there's a way out. We’re going to make it out one day.” Builderman deflected, trying to keep the hope flickering in everyone else around him. Elliot dragged his hand down his face, trying to make sense how anyone would even have a glimmer of hope left. He sighed before he spoke, tired of everything.

“Look, I like helping almost everyone out, and I’m sure Chance does as well, but how long have we even spent here?! I feel like I’m going crazy, there's no way to tell any time, everything around us seems to appear or disappear at their own will, people we knew back before whatever happened to send us here are killing us every, single, day! I’m tired of being here… I just wanna go home. I’m sure you do as well. I know everyone else does.” Builderman sat there, taking Elliot’s words to thought. He had yet to realize how homesick he was himself, let alone everyone else. Or the mental toll of dying almost everyday. Silence filled the room, Builderman knew not everyone was going to make it back, let alone himself.

“I’m sorry if I’m bringing down everyone else with this attitude, but it's been hard. I miss my family. I miss my home.” Elliot let out, his face changing from one full of annoyance to one more full of low-spiritness.

“No, you’re fine. It’s hard on everyone, I just want everyone to be okay in the end. I couldn’t tell ya the amount of times I sat in my bed thinking of everything that happened before this mess.” Builderman replied, trying to console Elliot. He could feel tears building up in his eyes, with every blink it sent a stinging sensation around his face, Elliot couldn’t even remember the last time he cried.

Two Time dragged Guest over to where everyone else was, and Dusekkar summoned a healing spell for him. Guest felt a little salty, 007n7 was out there, bound to kill himself when Guest and Two Time seemed to be doing fine. But as sour as he felt, 007n7 seemed to be doing fine. Great actually. Where was this strength before? While he looked scratched up, he held out, just as he was commanded to do. 1x1x1x1 kept insulting his attempts, but 007n7 didn’t listen, he just wanted to do what he was told. Shedletsky had never felt this troubled, sometimes it felt like his actions were someone else’s. He was aware of what Builderman and Dusekkar thought of him, and they were right. Something was happening, and it wasn’t him acting on it. Every time Shedletsky had the thought of telling someone, or anyone about it, he’d forget like it was actively being erased from his mind. He noticed 1x1x1x1’s calm personality, it was strange, seeing her mock the clone that didn’t falter. Shedletsky knew 007n7’s clone wouldn’t last forever, and he wanted to fight his other half, let out some pent up anger. He peeked out from behind one of the many trees, and saw the spawn emblem on 1x1x1x1’s wrist glow. This wasn’t either of their willing doings, this was something else. Was it normal? He knew he needed to apologize to everyone around him. Something else was telling him not to. It was sour and hate filled, words wrapped in a toxic gospel. It honestly reminded him of a lime. To finally act on his word was a goal, and he needed to get rid of the clone first, they were coded to be determined, something the real 007n7 rarely ever was.

007n7 had his back turned to the forest behind him, and didn’t even notice someone was creeping up behind him until there was a stinging pain in his chest. Everyone that was sitting in safety was shocked, it wasn’t one of 1x1x1x1’s swords or daemon shanks. Nothing close! It was an iron sword, it looked worn. 1x1x1x1 looked down at the man below her, a little shocked themself, it wasn’t even their doing. Guest quickly stood up straight, ready to fight whatever else posed a threat. But 007n7 looked down at his chest, hearing the concerned shouting from the safety spot not far, watching the black ink spill from the wound and his mouth. Not long after the stab, the clone burst into a bunch of lines of code, disintegrating in front of Shedletsky. The ink seemed to stain his sword, it wobbled in his grip.

“How about you fight someone that's not some built up stupid code.” He said, ready to get this all over with.

“My pleasure! After all, I feel great. Never better!” 1x1x1x1 replied, mocking the swordsman right in front of her.

“See? It was just a blessing of determination from the divine spawn!” Two Time pointed out, elbowing Guest, factually incorrect, but nothing would stop them from bowing down to the spawn at any moment in time. Guest felt so confused, he just watched a clone of someone he cared for fight for him, and die in front of his eyes. What if that were the real 007n7? Would Shedletsky bear any remorse? He stayed quiet, ready to help Shedetsky if he needed it. To everyone’s glee, the final thirty second timer started to tick, freedom was within their grasp.

Just as 007n7 finished wrapping up Chance, they both heard the final ticking in the distance, signaling the final thirty seconds. They both let out a sigh of relief, this round was tough for Chance. Sneaking out of the manor with Elliot was not a good idea, they should’ve just went to one of the empty rooms instead.

“You’re good at this!” Chance complimented, twisting his body a little, not even noticing 007n7 was done.

“Hm? Good at what?” 007n7 asked, a tad bit confused.

“Bandaging others up! If only we could find medkits more often. I can’t tell you the amount of times others tried to bandage me up and it was god awful.” Chance explained, leaning back against the tree.

“Oh really? Thank you. Good to hear as well, I used to have to bandage C00lkidd and myself all the time.” 007n7 replied, giving the gambler in front of him a soft smile. Silence loomed as the fight between 1x1x1x1 and Shedletsky continued on.

“What do you mean ‘yourself’?” Chance questioned. 007n7 didn’t even realize he let that slip out. This is why he didn’t talk about his scars, it would be the only thing he could think about for a while now.

“Ah, just C00lkidd’s claws sometimes got too long so I had to clip them.” 007n7 lied through his teeth. He had always made sure C00lkidds claws were a normal length, he was already bright red, he didn’t need anyone else judging his weapons on his hands.

“Oh, makes sense! I have some bite marks when my bunny used to bite me.” Chance replied, relief in his voice. But before 007n7 could respond, the time ran out.

Finally.

The survivors were in the real manor, almost everyone sitting at the table, Builderman and Elliot were still in the living room. Guest looked over at Shedletsky, his expression stiff. If he did that to a clone, what would he do to the real person?

Everyone else was glad to be back, while everyone else was chatting about the round, 007n7 sat there at the end quietly. He could feel Two Time looking at his scars again, when would they stop? But their eyes didn’t bat between his wrists and his eyes, rather they batted from his wrists to Guest’s face. Did Guest know? Did anyone else notice? 007n7 removed his hands from the table, he had to go grab that jacket he had kept all this time.

God forbid anyone else caught on.

Chapter Text

There was only a set amount of time between rounds, so 007n7 had to hurry up. He was in his cabin, digging under his bed. When he first spawned in the realm his old jacket was right beside him. Weird as he rarely ever wore it after C00lkidd turned eight, when he started to destroy all sorts of buildings. 007n7 managed to grab it and pull it out from his bed, the worn jacket was covered in a thin layer of dust. He shook most of it off, coughing a little as the dust flew everywhere, seemingly gone. But there was the jacket, past its glory days, and it still had a faint scent of smoke. 007n7 shuddered as he looked at it, all the memories he lived while wearing the old thing, all of the great, all of the terrible, and who could forget the mundane? The stitching to the patches after… certain incidents still seemed to be intact. 007n7 felt troubled as he looked at it, almost everyone he was stuck with saw him in one of the worst times of his life wearing the old black and red jacket, what would they think? Would some of them think he was returning to his old ways? What if he dies during a round and he doesn’t get the jacket back? Would he drive away all of the connections he had just made with the stories from his past? It was so much to think about in a small amount of time, 007n7 sighed as he slipped it on. He didn’t have many long sleeve shirts in his wardrobe in the first place. This was a temporary solution, he’d think of something else later. The floorboards creaked under his weight, he had forgotten something. 007n7 picked up the sweats from the previous night, and grabbed the pencil sharpener from one of the pockets. He stared at it for a moment… Did he really want to do it? But he deserved it! He deserved every ounce of pain for all of the mayhem he caused. He placed the little green sharpener on his desk. He would deal with it later.

It was colder than usual out, the wind harsher, the actively dying grass crunched under every footstep. What a great weather circumstance to only be wearing a t-shirt and sweats. Something didn’t feel right to Guest, the last round was definitely an odd one. Where did 1x1x1x1 even come from?! There was no warning, she just appeared, and the way they acted was so off for him. Maybe whatever held them there was getting bored and wanted to pull more tricks for both killers and survivors. It was a nasty one though, but they pulled through. Guest made it to his cabin, the door creaked open, letting the faux moonlight shine in. He sighed as he turned on the light, maybe this was all some fucked up dream. Maybe he would wake up in a hospital bed and see Daisy, Charlotte and Matt okay, he wouldn’t have to face his fears only because he was one of the strongest around. Maybe when he woke up, 007n7 would also be okay, well rested, still taking C00lkidd to the park. Maybe if this in the end was some fucked up dream everyone was sharing, when they woke up him and 007n7 could get some coffee. Guest was thinking about the idea of somehow making it out of the realm one day while he changed from the spare clothes, there had to be a way, right? There was no way this was genuinely the afterlife, but if it was, what sin did he cause? Guest was lost in his mind, day dreaming about scenarios about him and 007n7 outside of hell, until there was a polite sounding knock at his door.

“Hold on!” Guest shouted out, slipping on his pants. Who was looking for him anyways?

Guest buckled his belt before he opened the door, and to his surprise, it was Two Time. They had rarely ever gone to someone else's cabin, especially in between rounds. It was either their cabin, the manor, or somewhere in the woods. Guest had mixed feelings about the woods, what exactly laid in there? Surely it wasn’t animals, none had resided there unless you counted John Doe with the way he acted at times. Either way, the first killer they had seen at their camp at all was 1x1x1x1, and he hoped it stayed that way.

“Greetings Guest! I have come along with an invite I request for you to answer! After our post-round feast, could we sit with each other for tea?” Two Time questioned, sweat rolling against their unearthly grin. Were they nervous? What did Two Time have to be nervous about? They weren’t sweating because of the temperature, it was cold as per usual.

“Sure, is there anyone else joining or is it just us two?” Guest replied, picking up one of his shirts from an open drawer and throwing it on over his head.

“Just us. Possibly 007n7 if we wishes to join, but… I don’t think he would want to. The topic I have to question you about is rather… invasive. Or hurtful. From the evidence I’ve gathered about the latter it is quite damning to listen to others have a chat about it. If I’m being honest, this is not being spewed with false intentions, I’m rather a little worried about him.” Two Time explained, their arms behind their back, their hands interlinked with one another, almost praying to the lovely spawn that watched over them that someone, anyone had also noticed. Just how long had 007n7 gone on like this without anyone noticing?

“Sorry, but what exactly do you mean the topic is hurtful towards 007n7? Is it about C00lkidd?” Guest asked, concern painting his face now. 007n7 was always in some form of timidity, but had Guest really let the hints fly over his head again? God he had to stop that, it reminded him of when Daisy kept trying to drop hints about her love towards Guest, but being the dunce he is, he didn’t realize that she was trying to hint and flirt.

“Uh… well, not entirely. I am aware he has always been a touch soft since he arrived, but something’s off about him now. He seemed to be better a couple of days ago, and now he looks more deflated. I am not sure what led him here, but whatever it was left that dead look in his eyes.” Two Time lectured, looking around every couple of sentences, making sure 007n7 wasn’t around. Two Time was aware of life outside of their religion, but this simply couldn’t be right for the ex-exploiter. Especially now, after that round with Noli, he sure as well could have been dead. The scratches on his arms, some looked fresher, like they had happened just days before. Or, what one could call days in a timeless purgatory.

As Two Time was explaining, Guest realized how sad 007n7 had seemed in general, like something was pulling at his heart, trying to tear it apart. In a way, it was working, how long until 007n7 would give up and let the killers go right at him? How long until an action that can’t be reversed was taken? The dead look Two Time mentioned, it was painfully obvious, it seeped through the last ounce of life in 007n7s eyes, and sometimes he looked blue and felt cold to the touch.

“I am sure you understand, correct? As of recently, you are around dear 007n7 the most.” Two Time asked, pleading with the spawn above that they got through to somebody. Guest hesitated a little before he spoke.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed it a little-”

“A little? How smooth of a brain do you need to only realize a little that your friend seems to be going through something! Why must I be the only one that notices 007n7s OBVIOUS silent pleas for some form of mental support?!” Two Time exclaimed, cutting Guest off while trying to keep quiet. Guest took a small step away from the door, his weight creaking under the floorboards, a little shocked at the sudden outburst from Two Time. They were usually one of the calmest during the most dire situations.

“While Builderman and Taph have noticed, the most Builderman did about this was a chat. I am aware that he, and the other admins, are not the most fond of 007n7, but does that remove the one's right to feel a form of hope in a game we were objectively forced into playing, and we probably won’t make it out to see the light of day again? Yes, Shedletsky seems to have his own situation going on, and some of the others seem more paranoid than ever, but how am I, the clinically INSANE one here, the only one seeing this odd behavior from the poor man!? Am I too observant that I am the only one noticing this from the loner?” Two Time scolded, still looking around to make sure that no one else was around. Two Time sighed, one of their hands leaving the others grasp to hold the bridge of their nose, sounding frustrated, this was the most impure they have spoken in a while, hopefully the holy spawn would forgive them as to save one from an unholy outgoing. The words were knitted together with a tongue sharp like a dagger, hoping the blanket of information would get to someone that would just take a moment to listen to their rambalings, his burdens, and the other man's obvious crush on the first man.

Guest stood there, trying to find the words to respond, to acknowledge the signs he had missed completely, to finally view the problems with 007n7, both mentally and physically. He pursed his lips as the wind blew right into his cabin, some of the papers behind him on the desk shifted against the breeze, there was no excuse. How could there be an excuse for missing such obvious signs? The marks, the self hatred, it was all there, and 007n7 was stabbing himself with the metaphorical knife, hoping to bleed out one night, to see his son again.

“Have I finally gotten through to someone without a thick skull or any past problems with the ex-exploiter, or am I needing to go have this lecture with someone else that will listen?” Two Time asked, seemingly calm now.

“Yes, where do you want to meet for tea?” Guest asked, silently cursing himself out in the back of his head, he was one of the first people to show empathy to 007n7, why hadn’t he noticed most of his mental health struggles he was actively dealing with? Two Times grin seemed to grow at hearing his words, not even noticing how long they had spent chatting until they turned around, seeing the man of the hour walking towards the manor in his black and red jacket.

“Greetings double-o-seven! Is that a new coat for the freezing temperatures here?” Two Time asked, curious, they had seen that jacket around before they turned up here.

“Looks good on ya sev.” Guest called out from behind Two Time, a small smile on his face.

They had yet to know what was caused while he was in this jacket, he was just walking over to the manor to get the dirty looks over with. 007n7 could feel his cheeks shift to be a little pinker, receiving compliments in his jacket made him feel rotten, but he couldn’t ignore them, he’d just be labeled selfish.

“..Uh-I, uh… yup! Thank you…!” He stuttered out. If words were rocks, 007n7 would surely have tumbled over them by now.

The atmosphere had grown thick for 007n7, he couldn’t tell if he was smiling or frowning, the feeling had his lips chapped, his eyes irritated, if only this was over soon. To be let out soon. All everyone could only hope to do was pray they would even have the chance to make it out one day.

Before anyone else could say something, the scene in front of them changed within a blink of an eye. It went from a cold wooden cabin, dead plants all around, to a dojo with broken walls, and a generator in the corner.

No.

Not yet.

007n7 didn’t want to hear the backlash for his jacket, but it was one of the only items he held onto with long sleeves. He couldn’t bear the thoughts of what everyone would say when they found out what he’s caused in this coat. This jacket that had a stench of smoke with a hint of pizza.

It was like something was picking on him and it wouldn’t falter.

007n7 sighed, kneeling down at the generator, he felt tired. It wasn’t from lack of sleep, and it hadn’t been long enough for him to feel fatigued from lack of food, was it the stress possibly? Whatever, he didn’t have much to complain about, as long as the killer didn’t go for him first, and at least the round was happening in an actual map. And hey, he had his glasses this time! He should be able to rush through the generators with ease for now. 007n7 tore off the first panel and got to work, trying to pay no mind to the red cuffs on his jacket. As long as the killer wasn’t Noli or C00lkidd he was going to be okay, he didn’t need anymore reminders of the past.

Guest looked around, he seemed to have spawned in a cave, alone. He had run out of time to put on his vest and gloves, hell he didn’t even have enough time to tie up his boots properly. He groaned as he knelt down to tie them, really thinking about what Two Time was talking about. They were right in the end, how did all of the signs fly over his head? Oh if only 007n7 could put his trust into people more often everyone would’ve known so much sooner. But he couldn’t blame 007n7 for not wanting to reach out, Guest has seen some of the things the people around them can do, and how their opinions are on him. Those issues do build an awkward situation when you need support. He was lost in his thoughts as he felt the laces to his boots wrap around his calloused fingers, it was oddly calm. Too calm. What was happening.

Chapter Text

Calm was a weird word to use to describe anything during a round. If anything, it was all the opposite. The screams of terror, the tearing of skin, getting pulled apart and sewn back like some toy together everyday was odd. Dusekkar grumbled as he stood up from the floor, yawning, seemingly scooped up from what he was originally doing, and tossed into this mess. He glanced around, seeing that the chosen map for, hopefully what everyone assumed to be, round two, was the assassin battle grounds. For whatever reason, the assassin battlegrounds was oddly peaceful. But just because it looked nice, doesn’t mean it was. The abandoned buildings were half way to decomposition, and the water was green with algae. The cave on the other hand, gave Dusekkar the creeps. There was nothing calm about it, the way it was empty, basically a maze, the drips of condensation, and the way it felt odd as it was missing all of its creepy crawlies and its horrifying animal civilization. Alas, that’s if you didn’t count the way John Doe acted at times. Though as much as Dusekkar could insult the poor man, he held mercy unlike some of the others. He was Builderman’s son. While C00lkidd seemed to be doing great, besides the sudden attack of a form of puberty, and 1x1x1x1 enjoying this situation not caring about all of the other circumstances, John Doe didn’t even know what was happening half of the time. It layered a feeling of pity upon Dusekkar, he wasn’t aware that he was most likely far beyond death.

The pumpkin mage decided to float around, try and find a generator, or someone that needs protection.

007n7 was busy, speeding through panel after panel on the second generator he found. He was in a small brown building, made up of rotting pine, and a bridge to connect the one he was in with the other. He was trying to take his mind off of his thoughts from earlier, the exact ones that hollowed out his joy. 007n7 wasn’t even aware Taph was behind him, setting up a tripwire, until he turned around and saw the demolitionist doing his work, and giving it his all. 007n7 was startled at how quiet Taph was, he knew that he didn’t talk, but it was usually the loud footsteps or the fast flapping of his wings that gave him away. Should 007n7 say something? Shit, when was the last time he even spoke to Taph one on one?

Taph looked up from his work, and gave the ex-exploiter a thumbs up, then looked back down, seemingly a little tense.

What does he even do in this situation? He tried to blow up Taph’s house once, so this was awkward.

Guest was walking out of the cave, his laces now tied up. He looked back, making sure there wasn’t a generator or something there, but to his surprise it was something else. Was that Jason on the floor..? Weird, no wonder why it had been so calm. Guest squinted his eyes, trying to get a better view while not wanting to walk closer. Jason seemed to be in a pair of pajamas, he was curled up in a sleeping position, and his breaths were slow. Guest sighed out of relief, hopefully Jason stays asleep, even though it appeared that he didn’t have any weapons on him. Guest continued walking, trying to be a little quieter though, letting Jason get his rest, glad for the sudden cake walk of a round.

The specter was busy, they weren’t even paying attention to the round, they were focused on something else. While the rounds were fun to watch, they got boring fast, even after adding a couple of new people in the mix, it was still boring. Though, they had only seen Noli once, so they were keeping an eye out for his tragedy mask. The next best thing was the tricks on the survivors. Oh, how they enjoyed those. It was entertaining to see people in shambles! 007n7 and his grief, Guest and his past, or Builderman and his feeble flicker of hope, those were all natural, the fun really started somewhere else. Setting up storms to trigger Guests flashbacks, placing items around to remind 007n7 of his past actions, making Shedletsky and 1x1x1x1 seemingly switch personalities, the specter wasn’t even close with the others. They had plans, awfully disgusting ones. It was going to be great to see their reactions. First, they had to wait. How boring waiting had gotten though. As fun as it was to watch 007n7 breakdown, to see his mind decompose, they had an idea for someone that was close to him within the survivor group. Guest was truly in for a rude awakening, the couple of storms earlier was only the beginning.

Dusekkar levitated past the small brown buildings, looking in them to see who was inside. Ah, just Taph and.. 007n7. Him and his dumb jacket. Wait, his jacket?! Dusekkar was gob smacked at seeing that black and red jacket, the other admins hadn’t seen it in years! Some thought 007n7 had sold it, others thought he just threw it out. Dusekkar himself didn’t really make a conclusion for the odd disappearance of the jacket, but to see that he still had it in hell? Must’ve been quite the death. He saw Taph waving at him, standing up from where he was kneeling. 007n7 walked over to the bridge towards the other building, trying to avoid Dusekkar’s gaze. It was normal to see 007n7 hide from the others, especially Dusekkar and Shedletsky, but something wasn’t screwed on right.

“Greetings Taph, glad to see you setting up your traps. Do you know why 007n7 is wearing that jacket, perhaps?” Dusekkar asked, looking back at the other man, rushing to get away from his eyesight.

“👋🎃❗️🤷🟰🍔➕🧥 (Hello Dusekkar! I have no clue about his jacket.)” Taph replied, raising his arms in the air, stretching them and his back, there was an audible pop pop pop.

“Oh. Weird. Must be a wave of nostalgia for the foe.” Dusekkar mumbled, confused. He looked back to where he last saw 007n7, glad he left, but felt an ounce of pity. Pity out of all things. Whatever, Dusekkar was probably just thinking about it too much, he was probably doing just fine.

007n7 had hidden himself behind the wall of another building, and let out a sigh full of relief when he heard Dusekkar continue to talk to Taph. At least there weren't any insults or comments thrown at him about it. Well Dusekkar did throw out a comment, but it could’ve been so much worse. He was waiting for worse. 007n7 decided not to think about it much, and to go find another generator to do. The grass didn’t crunch under his feet whenever he took a step, showing it was soft, still lush with life. It reminded him of simpler times, like letting the grass in his backyard grow for C00lkidd so his skin wouldn’t get irritated from the sharp edges if freshly cut when he played out there. 007n7 looked up from the ground, making sure he wouldn’t walk into anyone. Noob, Chance, and Elliot were hanging around each other, goofing off. Builderman, Guest, and Shedletsky were all chatting with each other as well. Did the killer not spawn at all? That would be nice, next time should be a round at the camp with no killer around. 007n7 turned around and started walking the other direction, trying to draw the least amount of attention to himself, and in a way it was working well. Too well.

“Why must you isolate yourself?” Two Time asked, standing right behind 007n7.

“Where did you even come from?!” 007n7 responded, startled at the sudden question. He spun around on his heel to face Two Time, he would never shake off how weird it was for Two Time to be so quiet at times.

“Mmm… Wouldn’t you like to know burger boy.” Two Time answered, mocking 007n7 a little, trying to ease up his mood, their grin seemed more out of humor than malice for once.

“Burger boy? Seriously?”

“Well I certainly have my own ways of staying quiet. But, nevermind the fact I just snuck up on you by the blessings of the holy spawn, what are you doing all by yourself? I thought you and Guest were getting along earlier in the day.” Two Time questioned, curiosity flowing out with their words, yearning for an answer.

007n7 sighed, not having a clue for anything to say. What was up with Two Time and them grilling him with questions recently? That and their delicate observations, noting more things about 007n7 than he knew about himself.

“Nothing bad, just spawned by myself.” He spoke up, giving a small, albeit fake smile, hoping the cultist would wander off. As respectful as they were, Two Time always gave 007n7 a form of heebie jeebies.

“But I saw you around Taph earlier.” Two Time said immediately as 007n7 wrapped up his sentence. They knew what his true intentions were, the amount of times they’ve seen it made it clear that 007n7 was falling down a rabbit hole that someone else dug years and years ago.

“...Yeah? It’s awkward with him. With almost everyone here really.” 007n7 responded, his nerves were starting to freak out, why wouldn’t Two Time pick up on his hints to stop?

“Is it not better to reach out to the others around you? The divine spawn urges for ones struggling to talk to someone else about it, lift off some guilt from up and off of the shoulders.” Two Time suggested, not hiding that they are aware that 007n7 seems to be mentally deteriorating anymore.

“Struggling? Oh, no I’m not struggling, I’m okay. Thank you for…” 007n7 trailed off, noticing Two Time looking down at his arms hidden away in sleeves from his jacket, his hands were in his pockets.

The silence was thick like an ingot of metal, the only sounds were the other chattering voices from behind Two Time, and the soft rustling of the plants all around them.

“You and I may have more in common than what you first thought, seven.” Two Time said abruptly, looking back up at 007n7s eyes. The fake smile from his face was long gone, replaced with a slight curl downwards.

“I am open to converse about any self loathing. I hope you understand that.” Two Time remarked, making it known that their cabin door was open for the father, tearing off the bandaid that they’ve noticed his slowly un-whirling state.

What would Guest think about him if he was constantly denying help, knowing he deserved the pain that he brought upon himself? Was it a selfish act? What would C00lkidd think? 007n7 wasn’t struggling, he just was doing what he deserved to himself, nothing new. Why was Two Time so concerned? This wasn’t any new behavior he portrayed, so what was so interesting about him so suddenly? His thoughts could eat him away with a quick bite, the sharp teeth gnawing him apart. 007n7 knew he was so disgusting, it’s all he was. Gross, disgusting, filthy, empty.

Two Time stayed in front of 007n7, noticing he wasn’t even listening to their preaching about reaching out anymore.

While he was chatting to Guest and Shedletsky, Builderman noticed 007n7 wearing a jacket. His jacket from all those years ago, when he and Noli were still close, and when C00lkidd wasn’t destroying everything in sight. Builderman knew 007n7 changed for the better, but the actions he had done within that fabric draped over his back and arms was… reminding. Personally, he thought that it was destroyed one way or another. Either C00lkidd accidentally made the worn jacket suddenly erupt into flames, or 007n7 did it himself, knowing that he wanted to change. Sure, it was cold in the realm, but the jacket seemed a little too thick for the temperature. It was closer to a late autumn than winter, so it would make more sense to just wear something a little thinner like a hoodie or a sweater. Maybe it was all 007n7 had, he seemed to have lost almost everything else before he died, but Builderman couldn’t help but feel a subtle grudge against the black and red jacket.

As soon as Elliot saw that god forbidden hunk of junk, he rolled his eyes. What next, would 007n7 let his hair grow out like it was when Noli was still around? He looked like a loser! The black and red jacket that clashed with the rest of the outfit, the blue shirt with the stupid little specimen slapped on there, and his worn green cargo shorts. Whatever, not like he would ever see that worn jacket roaming around his workplace anymore. Elliot felt a little more hatred towards 007n7, how did he even have the thing in hell?! There was only so much he could do though, it was better to have 007n7 on their side than brutaling tearing them apart every other day. Grudges don’t melt away because you’re in some persons fucked up coded after life.

Shedletsky was in a daze, just listening to whatever Builderman and Guest were talking about while he was trying to figure himself out. Something was happening to him, and it wasn’t his fault for once. There was a familiar feeling that lingered, the one that he felt when he split from Telamon. He didn’t even notice when Guest and Builderman switched topics. That and he was more focused on the pain his nose was in. Every time he tried to breathe through it, a sharp pain shot through his head, there was no way Guest didn’t break it. Shedletsky was not one fond of breathing through his mouth, he hated how dry his mouth would get, and how gross he’d sound at times. He hadn’t even recognized the black and red jacket 007n7 had on.

Guest turned his head around, noticing Builderman was staring at something, and saw Two Time talking with 007n7. After a moment passed, it seemed less like Two Time was talking with him, and more at him. He’s seen those eyes before, it was the dead look that Two Time mentioned.

“He’s doing okay, right?” Builderman asked, putting his hands into his pockets.

“I haven’t seen that jacket in years.” He added, his eyes narrowing at the ex-exploiter.

“It’s hard to say, I thought he was doing fine before Two Time brought it up, and now I’ve noticed a lot that doesn’t seem right. I was going to ask him about it tonight while making dinner.” Guest answered, turning his head back to the two admins in front of him, Shedletsky was still in a daze, his lazy eye more prominent now.

“Oh. I mean they way he died, you can say it’s sorta expected. I think. Sounds mean but I don’t think there’s a lighter way to put it.” Builderman commented looking back up at Guest, noticing he had an expression full of confusion.

“What do you mean? How did he go out?” Guest questioned, both concerned and confused. Was 007n7 closer with Builderman more than Guest thought?

“You don’t know? I thought you would, you two have seemed closer than ever these past couple of days.” Builderman responded, trying to stray away from the topic a little. He could feel himself cringe a little at himself, he thought Guest knew this the entire time since they’ve started hanging out!

“He’s mentioned that he died but I never learned the way he did, I never thought to ask.” Guest said, his confusion growing.

“Ah, jeez, sorry I thought you knew. With the way it happened I’m not sure if he wants others to know. Hell, I don’t even know the full story. You can probably squeeze it out of him though, you and him are close.” Builderman mentioned, his one hand itching the back of his neck, a little shocked Guest hasn’t known this entire time.

“Shedletsky, is your nose better at all?” Guest asked, bringing up a different topic because Builderman looked a little ashamed, averting his gaze towards the other admin still staring off into space.

“...Shedletsky?” Guest uttered after some silence, and received silence.

“Are you there John?” Builderman asked, looking at the other admin now, a tad bit concerned.

Out of nowhere, Shedletsky blinked to life, just realizing people were calling out of his name.

“Oh yeah, just fine! It’s a little inconvenient, but what more was I expecting for accidentally scaring you?” Shedletsky answered, weirdly back to his cheeky bubbly self.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Guest mumbled out, still yearning for a form of forgiveness.

While him and Shedletsky kept talking, Builderman was weirded out with Shedletsky's sudden personality change. What was that? Out of the blue? Was it something Dusekkar accidentally did that day?

Neither of them had noticed that the final thirty second timer showed up, and if any of them were honest, they weren’t ready for such an easy round to end. If only this could’ve been their last round of their day, it would be a peaceful end to a day full of its pre-packaged chaos.

The question pulled at Guest, how did 007n7 die? He didn’t seem like the kind of person to do it when they first met.

Calm was a weird way to describe a round.

A description like that should be omitted from any atmosphere in them.

The specter was surprised when they looked back at one of their screens to see everyone doing great, even Jason. Now they could give C00lkidd a break every now and again, he was only ten, but for someone else it felt off. They sighed, ten seconds left on the clock. They were too busy working on something else to notice a problem, and they couldn’t intersect the code mid-round, it would just end early, but even if they could there wouldn't be enough time to do so. A bonus round didn’t sound so bad, it was a great idea, and it could let them add a brand new map for testing. Perfect. Maybe mistakes weren’t all a bad thing, but how could they let one like this slide under their nose? Oh well, fourth times the charm, and the specter had to keep waiting, and waiting, they were growing quite bored at the thought.

The round ended, and it was nice to see everyone at the victory table, not exhausted half way to death. It was new to see as well, but no one was complaining. 007n7 felt a wave of relief wash over him, Two Time kept trying to get him to stop dozing off, but he just kept circling back to square one. He felt a little dizzy, leaning back in his chair a little. He shuddered, thinking about what he was planning later on.

“Hey 007n7, are you free to help with dinner later?” Guest asked, looking right at the man right beside him.

007n7 was a little startled, not noticing Guest was right beside him.

“Oh, yup! Not like I have much planned anyways.” 007n7 answered, a small smile on his face, glad someone was giving him a chance.

Hopefully the third round would go by quickly, 007n7 getting to make supper? With Guest out of all people? He could feel his cheeks turn a subtle light pink at the thought.

Chapter Text

The manor was warm and inviting, but the dread that everyone wore was present. The third round was bound to happen sooner than later, hopefully it would go by just as fast as the second round. No one really knew how long the first one went on for, it was a new strange phenomenon that they would wait and see if it would happen again. Random anomalies like that don’t get brushed under the rug anymore, in fact, there's a list on the chalkboard in the dining room, and days since they’ve happened. It’s been a full hundred and one days since John Doe was strangely stronger, and more focused than usual. It’s only been two weeks since Jason could tear through everyone like a butcher's cleaver tearing through deli meat. While those random rounds where they were stronger were on their mind the most, there were two other situations added just under the counters. Noli, one day ago. Campground ambush, zero days ago. 007n7 would rather see C00lkidd again more than Noli, at least his son thought this was a game and wasn’t actively seeking out revenge.

Most of the survivors didn’t even bother leaving the manor, and all just huddled up in the living room to wait the time out. There wasn’t much to do between the rounds as the time was short enough to cut out anything really important, only long enough to cook up a quick snack, read a small chapter, or take a nap and hope you woke up before the round started. And since time was practically a figment of imagination, no one really knew how much time they had between the rounds. For all they know it could be five minutes or twenty. 007n7 was resting his head on Guests shoulder, his burger hat in his lap, dozing off as the others chatted about the first round. Builderman was sitting on one of the sofa chairs, Two Time taking up the other one, limbs spread around like a cat. Taph and Chance were on the other end of the couch, trying to figure out what events could’ve led to… that.

“I mean, why would this even happen? It hasn’t happened since we’ve arrived!” Chance asked, flipping his coin as a nervous habit.

“I’m sure it wouldn’t have happened if you had just stayed inside. Or told someone about leaving the manor.” Builderman lightly scolded, giving Chance a look letting him know they would be having a chat about it.

“Oh come on, Elliot also knew about it.” Chance rolled his eyes, still flipping his coin, watching it twirl in the air.

“I meant to let someone know that was in the manor! Do you know what lurks out there in that forest?” Builderman clapped back, not taking Chance's usual tomfoolery today.

“Who even knows if that was the first round earlier?” Chance asked, leaning back into the couch. Taph didn’t know how to feel about the gambler being so close, but it wasn’t good.

“Pretty sure it was, the people that made it through, you included, spawned at the dining table.” Guest pointed out, trying to calm the bickering down.

“Yeah well watch there be another round later while you and 007n7 are busy having a date making dinner.” Chance mumbled, looking right at the two across the couch. 007n7 seemed to have blinked awake at the accusation, date? If anything it wasn’t a date!

“It’s not a date, just making dinner together.” 007n7 said, practically melting into Guest.

“A date between two pupils does not have to be one out for romance, it can just be planning to do something with the other. Like how Builderman and Shedletsky often visit the others cabin, or Elliot and Chance sneaking out last night to go make–”

“And that's enough you, of you Two Time!” Chance exclaimed, cutting Two Time off, looking nervous suddenly.

It was funny as every interaction Two Time had listed was in fact, NOT just friends being friends. Even then, they were waiting for Guest and 007n7 to grow closer sooner than later. Something was bound to bloom between them. Builderman let out a chuckle, Taph got up and left. He wasn’t really interested in the current conversation, maybe he’d go and find Dusekkar around.

“How do you even know about that?!” Chance asked Two Time through gritted teeth.

“Well… you and Elliot are not exactly the most quiet.” They explained, stretching their arms.

“At least Guest and 007n7 are normal about it, not sneaking out in the middle of the night.” Builderman continued, trying to hold in a laugh so he didn’t spill his half drunken bloxy cola.

“What do you mean normal about it?! We’re just friends!” 007n7 declared, sitting up, looking more awake.

That's when realization struck Guest, he still had to go grab his vest and gloves he had forgotten during the last intermission. Oh shit, was there even enough time anymore? He loved the time he was spending with 007n7! It would come off as weird if he asked 007n7 to come along with him with the current topic, he had a wife and a kid at home waiting for him! Why would he ever want to be with 007n7 when he had a family? But, would he get to see his family ever again? Decisions, decisions, hard ones to pick between. Guest decided that he could worry about his love life later, and to go grab his gear before the time trickled out.

“Sorry, as much as I’d like to stay, I have to go grab my gear I forgot to throw on during the last intermission.” Guest excused himself, getting up from the couch, the warmth of him and 007n7 sitting right next to each other was gone.

“It’s fine, good to make sure you have everything before the round.” Builderman replied before he took a sip from his can.

“Indeed! The holy spawn wishes for our protection against these blood driven murderers.” Two Time added, grin still on their face like a sticker forced onto them.

007n7 brought his hand up to his head, his arm on the arm rest, and laid his head into his hand, he missed the warmth. Just one more round. He could make it through, then he would be free for the day. Just one more.

Two Time and Chance continued to bicker as Builderman sat there and listened, smug look hiding behind his hand. During the squabble, it seemed like Two Time was winning, and Chance wouldn’t falter as he became more snippy. 007n7 closed his eyes, so tired, there was no reason to be so exhausted after two rounds of almost nothing. He missed the warmth between himself and Guest. Would things even work out between the two of them? 007n7 shuddered at the thought, remembering Noli and what had transpired for the end of their relationship. Regret filled his heart, why, just why did he do that?! Why did he think it was a good idea? Did Noli even receive his calls? He didn’t deserve Guest, he didn’t deserve anyone around him in the first place.

While Two Time and Chance still argued, Builderman looked over at 007n7 and noticed the troubled look that was plastered on his face. What was up with him these days? Before Builderman even thought of getting up and asking 007n7 if he was okay, everyone was blessed with a third round. Builderman looked around, and saw pirate banners and smelt the stench of sea water. How fun, there weren't many walls to work with here. He decided to get up and walk around, it would be better to try and find anyone else than to sit around and wait for someone.

The breeze carried the scent from the water across the map, staining everything in salt. Just one more round for the day. 007n7 took a deep breath in, and a deep breath out, he can make it through. He’s done so before, he can do it again.

Two Time was busy, sneaking around the map, seeking out a generator to kill time. Who could the killer be? Hopefully not 1x1x1x1, they didn’t like her. Something about them was so off-putting towards Two Time, but they couldn’t place their finger on it. At least Shedletsky seemed to be leaving his odd hatred phase. The dying grass drenched in salt crunched under Two Time as they knelt down, somewhat far away from everyone else. They tore off the first panel, not making note that it seemed like it was in an odd place, generators never really spawned where Two Time was working.

Guest had found himself with Elliot, Chance and Shedletsky, the four were roaming around, waiting for something to happen. Though, it felt more tense this round compared to the other two rounds. Quiet wasn’t something you could call Shedletsky, if anything, he was usually flapping his lips talking about anything that came to his mind. Though, right now he looked like he had just seen a ghost, the same scowl that Guest saw on his face when someone brought up 007n7 was etched into his face. Odd. Very odd. Elliot was usually less tense as well, but he looked more fatigued than usual, his posture was one of a shrimp. Chance was flipping his coin less, probably trying to avoid weakness twenty five again, but he also seemed humble. It’s okay, it’s the final round of the day, and they were going to be blessed with rest soon after these four minutes were over. Guest held his tongue, not sure if he should bring something up, or just let the awkward silence linger. That's when they heard a scream, and the sound of items falling over. It brought everyone's attention back from wherever their mind led them.

007n7 roamed around, watching the towering mountains and the deep dips like something was out just for him. The tension that filled his veins was new, it was fresh, pure, and raw. His breath was shaky, he was waiting for the killer to creep up on him any moment now. He was alone, no one else around, no way to defend himself, vulnerable. 007n7 didn’t know what he was going to do, everything felt like it was falling apart. First it was his family, then his friends, then him and Noli, then his jobs and co-workers, and then finally C00lkidd. His life he had tried so hard to build up again for the better crumbled within a blink of an eye, all gone in just a couple of moments. 007n7 wiped some tears that were building up in his eyes, he can’t cry right now, he would have to wait for later. He looked up, still wiping the water out of his eyes, and saw he was around the pirate ship stuck halfway into the floor. There was a generator sitting atop the one side they could climb up, the other side was full of all sorts of junk and scrap materials. 007n7 decided to climb up the steps, it was better to help his team out before dying first yet again. It’s all he could do, it was the only thing he could do. He wasn’t paying attention to the dead grass drenched in salt that seemed to crunch beneath someone’s weight behind him.

He tore off the panel and started to work with the copper wires covered in corresponding coloured wires until the footsteps hit the wood. 007n7 felt a layer of fear mix in with the fresh tension, the crackle of broken breaths, the fizz of code hissing right behind him. He turned his head around just as Noli was landing a hit.

“GRE-3ting-s-s-s bas-T@RD!” Noli shouted as he watched 007n7 try to scramble away, snickering as 007n7 fell off the ledge and let out a yelp. The sound of falling old possessions behind him was audible.

The pain from Noli’s sudden attack and accidentally falling off the one end of the ship stung, he wasn’t ready to see him again, especially after the last round, but he knew he couldn’t avoid Noli forever.

“L0-o-ong time nO SEE!” Noli chuckled out as he leaped down from the end of the ship, a smile stretched on his face.

007n7 tried to get up quickly, but was pulled back by Noli, who was holding onto the collar of his jacket. The grip was tight as 007n7 felt himself getting lifted off the floor, right up into the air.

“I HA-aven’t s3en y0U IN T-TH-TH-THIS IN AGES! What-t-t-ts next, SN@KE?!” Noli asked, pulling 007n7 closer, making sure he was in his vision, wanting to see the fear in his eyes.

“L-look I’m sorry for–”

“F0R wha-AT? L@yi-ING-NG TH3 D@-A-AMN CR0WN O-ON MY H3-E-EA-EAD?” Noli cut 007n7 off, making sure he couldn’t squeeze in one of his terrible apologies he used against all sorts of people in the past.

007n7 knew this was his demise, he just wanted it over with, he didn’t want to deal with the confrontation. He tried to grab the arm above his head, the one holding him up by the collar of his coat, but he was just dropped to the floor.

“No-ow I was g0ing to leav3 y-y-YOU F0R L-l-la-ast @ga-again, but wh-HAT$ TH3 F-FUN I-In th@t?” Noli said, getting the void star ready.

“It was just meant to be a joke! I tried to help you out of it, but all you focused on was a cult–”

“Y0U? HE-H3LP? BHAH@-HA-A-H@! D0n-n’t ma-ake m-mE L0S3 M-MY FOCUS NOw.” Noli cut 007n7 off again, his eye narrowed at the other man.

007n7 tried to get up from the ground, but he was kicked down by Noli. Should he just let it happen? Let him get his anger out? Noli was right, he didn’t try to help, instead he left. He left for his own good, not caring about what state Noli was, only caring about himself. Just how more selfish could he be?

“Th-th-th0ugh, I g-gu-GU3SS I SHO-SH0ULDN’T LEAV3 Y0-yo-you h@ngi-hanging. C-C@N Y0U A-AT-at least tell me why.” Noli asked, his smile faltering a little.

007n7 didn’t dare utter a word while under Noli’s watch, he had seen what he's done to the others before. But, the question bubbled in 007n7s head. What did he mean by ‘Can you at least tell me why?’ 007n7 let out a shaky breath he wasn’t aware he was holding, confusion now in his wake.

“W-Why did y-you-y0u sh0ot.” Noli questioned.

007n7’s eyes widened a little, he had gotten his messages afterall? God he felt so selfish. So disgusting.

“C00lkidd died.” 007n7 answered, tears threatening to leave his eyes, his voice willing to break.

“I lost everything. You. My son. My family. I… I deserved it. There was nothing else that could be done. I thought hell was worse than this.” 007n7 continued, his eyes staying on Noli’s.

“Theres gotta be more for me in store, right? After everything I’ve done, there has to be.” 007n7 mumbled, finally breaking eye contact, letting his shoulders relax, waiting for the pain, not attempting to escape anymore.

“...Oh.” Noli let out, not expecting that answer. No wonder why C00lkidd was so eager to see 007n7 every round. As much as he could sit down beside 007n7 and pity him, there was still this anger he felt buried deep inside. He raised the void star, remembering all that’s happened between him and the man below.

Guest, Elliot, Shedletsky, and Chance saw Noli standing over 007n7, the void star in the purple ones grasp, ready to tear the ex-exploiter apart. Guest had started to run towards the situation, while Chance shot his gun, but with the way they were positioned the gun was right beside Guests head. It all happened so fast, but the bullet hit Noli, and gave 007n7 the time he needed to run.

“BR-0O WH-WH-wh@T T-H3–?!” Noli let out, holding his shoulder, watching 007n7 quickly scramble up and run away.

Shedletsky ran up to Noli with his sword ready, and Elliot rolled his eyes as he ran after 007n7, of course he was going to die first again. Guest stayed where he stood, frozen, panic flowing through his body. His hands were shaking, he couldn’t move, his breaths were shallow. But he had to move! Guest had to protect the people around him from active threats! But he couldn’t find the strength, it had disintegrated within the moment. Shedletsky looked over at the war vet and noticed his eyes were wide, and he was confused. Why was he stuck in his spot? Though as he was distracted, Noli shot a projectile to hit both Shedletsky and Guest, laced with hallucinations. He disappeared, and Shedletsky stumbled backwards, seeing the heights, and Guest as 1x1x1x1. Builderman, Dusekkar, Taph and other admins and workers were all around as well, but their faces were blurred beyond recognition. Guest looked like he was about to fall to his knees, he saw the dusty battlefield, blood and people everywhere, and there was a bacon in the distance, this wasn’t from Noli’s tricks though. He knew who that bacon was, and he wasn’t going to live any longer.

Chance had just missed the attack, and was confused why Shedletsky and Guest were glaring at each other.

007n7 had managed to loop around half of the map before he ran out of energy, and he hid behind a wall. The stakes were high, but he didn’t think they were going to be this high! His back was against the wall, just waiting for Noli to appear right in front of him. He tried to calm himself down, but it was hard. He shouldn’t calm down, he deserved every moment of misconvenience, every moment of hurt. 007n7 shut his eyes, tears flowing, he wouldn’t make it if Noli was after him. He was hurt, but he didn’t want to go over to Elliot or Builderman, they would just get killed off right after him. They didn’t deserve that. 007n7 was trying to catch his breath as Elliot walked up to him.

“Here, take it.” Elliot offered as he took out a slice of pizza from his delivery bag.

007n7 shook his head, declining the pizza.

“I’m just going to die first anyways, just let it happen.” He said, wiping his eyes.

Wow, 007n7 declining help? Elliot realized how pathetic the other man seemed, and it was much more than usual. Weird, it reminded him of when he saw 007n7 looking around for C00lkidd after he first went missing. Helpless. Elliot sighed before he grabbed 007n7’s wrist, trying to pay no mind to the jacket, and laid the pizza in his hand.

“You don’t have to eat it right now, but keep it in case Noli’s on your tail.” Elliot grumbled, letting go of 007n7.

Before 007n7 could give Elliot a thank you, he was already walking away. He looked down at the single pizza slice, in its own little box, the Builder brothers logo in red and white. 007n7 felt so unworthy of help in the moment, until he heard screams from the other side of the map. It was undoubtedly Guest and Shedletsky. Funny as Noli sounded like he was right beside him, his voice was quiet, whispering before...

The timer jumped from two minutes and thirty seconds to three minutes.

007n7 had spawned in the manor, he knew what happened. Just as he expected. He didn’t even get to eat the pizza Elliot didn’t have to give him, but bless his heart he did. 007n7 sat up, and put his hands on his face. He was selfish, empty, filthy. He got up from the manor floor, and rushed his way through the door, slamming as someone else spawned in the manor. He didn’t deserve the pizza Elliot gave him, not at all, but yet he still was given it. 007n7s breathing was still fast as he crouched down, and picked up a rock about the same size as his palm, then got up and continued rushing to his cabin. He was going to break that sharpener, and put it to use.

Chapter Text

The bacon in the distance stood there, a sword in his hand. Guest could only stare, his body was tense, his chest was tight. Was he back? Was he finally free? Were the others free? Does he finally get to see his family again? It’s felt like it's been so long, has it only been a couple of minutes in reality? What even was the concept of time anymore? As long as he gets to make it back, as long as he gets to see his family, and as long as he and 007n7 can actually meet in real life, not some facade. Guest found the strength somewhere inside to go for the bacon just meters away.

Shedletsky watched 1x1x1x1 run right towards him, no weapons in sight, but yearning for destruction. Weird, she usually wielded swords and daemon shanks. Whatever, this just means he gets the upper leg in this brawl.

Chance just watched Guest and Shedletsky fight each other, not having a clue about what to do. Builderman ran up to the gambler, looking like he had a run in with Noli, missing patches of skin all over his body.

“God… what’s gotten in with those two..?” Builderman asked, holding the side of his body.

“I don’t know! The killer just threw something that hit the both of them, and they just went right after each other!” Chance explained, seeing Elliot run up on the other side.

“Well can you snap one of them out of it? This killer seems to be more rabid than the others and we need everyone with a clear head if we want to make it out this time!” Builderman demanded, grunting as he tried to stand up straight.

Chance looked back at the two men, both fully trained to fight, he shuddered, fear rolling off his shoulders. How would he even get one of them to pay attention? Which one would he even try to get one of them to pay attention in the first place?

Elliot was star struck on the other side of the fight between Guest and Shedletsky, what the hell happened while he was gone?! He left for fifteen seconds at least, what did he miss?!

Chance swallowed his pride for once, knowing he was already in shit with Builderman for the stunt him and Elliot had pulled earlier. He slowly walked up to the two, waiting for one of them to stop for a moment. Guest took a step back, and cracked his neck while he held his one arm that was slashed with Shedletsky’s sword. As soon as he felt someone's hand on his shoulder, he spun around on his heel and winded his arm back

“GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME SCUM!” Guest shouted as his fist made contact with Chance’s jaw, it sounded more like a command than fearful yelling.

Shedletsky stood there for a moment, for all he knew, 1x1x1x1 had just punched one of the many admins for no reason. He decided to take this moment to try and stab 1x1x1x1 right through their abdomen, twist, and remove the sword from the jelly-like torso.

All Builderman could do was to sit there and watch, with his eyes wide, it was obvious that Shedletsky and Guest were under some sort of influence.

Chance crumpled to the ground like a can getting stepped on, watching Guest kick the sword out of Shedletsky’s grasp before he could stab the other man, and it landed not far from Builderman. Chance opted to get the hell out of the way before he became the human equivalent of jam during cross fire.

Shedletsky was stunned, when did 1x1x1x1 kick in combat? Shedletsky stood there for a moment, not realizing Guest had run up behind him, and wrapped one of his arms around his neck. It was all happening so fast, Shedletsky didn’t even have time to react before there was a crunch of bones.

Elliot's jaw was agape when he saw Shedletsky's body fall to the ground, lifeless, his neck bent in a weird position. What the hell did he miss?! Though, there was something he should’ve been more concerned about. He saw Guest look directly at him. Oh what a way to turn the events around!

There laid 007n7s decapitated body as Noli kept watching the timer climb up and up, he didn’t think that his plan would work out this well!

Shedletsky spawned in as the front door to the manor was slammed shut, it shook the walls. Wow, he knew 007n7 was bound to be the first to go, but was he getting upset at his terrible dodging skills? It couldn’t just be that, there was a lot of strength put into that slam. No one else was around… and he supposed that it was the responsibility of a leader to check up on others… but it was only 007n7. But the round could take forever to end, and who knows how long until someone would check up on the man.

007n7 bursted through his cabin door, and tossed his hat and jacket on the floor in one fluid motion, adding to the mess his cabin already was. He tried to keep it clean within the first couple of weeks he was here, but the way grief holds onto your heart so tightly could drive someone to insanity. He looked over to his desk, the only important thing on it was the damn sharpener. He knew what he needed to do. It was easier for him, for everyone around. He raised the rock into the air, then hit the sharpener with as much force as he could muster. It cracked a little in one of the corners, but you could still use it for pencils. 007n7 hit the poor sharpener over and over again with the rock, waiting for the plastic to break under all of the pressure.

He felt like he was going to break under all of this pressure. After all, who wouldn’t? What more can you do when you feel like an alien amongst your other team mates?

Shedletsky was making his way towards 007n7’s cabin, full of wonder for what he could’ve been doing. The dying grass crunched under his weight, while curiosity filled his every step. The wood was nice for a cozy aesthetic, it was not a good barrier for temperatures or sound. It was quite the shock to Shedletsky after hearing 007n7 attempting to destroy something. And he wasn’t the exact closest to his cabin, about six meters away from the porch. Okay… something wasn’t screwed on right. But after the events from the past couple of days, was Shedletsky really the one to ask if he was doing alright? Maybe he should tell someone else about 007n7, but he could just be letting off some steam. Shedletsky stood in his spot, listening to 007n7 smack the rock down on the sharpener, he didn’t have a clue about what to do.

Noli was watching Guest tear people apart from behind a wall, what a way to make things work. Though there were still a handful of people around, avoiding the mess Guest was going through. He supposed he couldn’t sit around for the rest of the round, so he stood up, and used the void star to create some clones of himself. The two clones went opposite ways, one of them was going to get itself killed as it was walking towards Guest who was very much still hallucinating. The other one walked the other way to a fake generator. How useful. Noli rolled his eyes before he started to roam around the area, keeping his eyes peeled for anyone to target.

Taph had hidden himself in a slightly elevated structure, making sure nothing of his was visible through the window of the wall. He had set up a trip wire and set a subspace tripmine, but for all he knew, he was in a dead end. He saw what happened to 007n7. Taph shuddered as he heard Elliot scream in pain.

Three minutes and fifteen seconds.

Three minutes and fourteen seconds.

Three minutes and forty four seconds.

Guest dropped Elliot's corpse, he was beaten black and blue, his nose was gushing out blood, and some of his teeth were spread around in the area. But Guest wasn’t done. The fear of still being in a war added to the weight he carried on his back, but he had more enemies to defeat.

He looked over to where he punched Chance, but for what he saw, it was just a bacon. Death could swallow him whole later, but for now he just wanted to see his family again. He was going to make it out of this war alive.

Lady luck was not on Chance's side today, while Elliot was getting beaten to death, he was desperately flipping his coin, praying for a bullet, just one to shoot Guest. Just one to try and save Elliot. But every flip was met with weakness, and it stacked up to a real ugly number of thirty two. Builderman had to pull him away from the area Guest was in, at this point it was better to run from the situation.

As all of the chaos was going on, Noli had found Dusekkar, and was hunting him down. The pumpkin mage was doing the most that he could to try and get away from the cultist actively after him.

007n7’s cabin was messier than before. His jacket and hat were thrown on the floor, the rock was on the desk surrounded by green plastic and a piece of a pencil sharpener. The remnants of a pencil sharpener that would never be used to sharpen again. The tap in the washroom was on, washing any blood down the drain. The sound of the rushing water blocked any noise from the outside, it was soothing. 007n7 stared at himself in the mirror, the cuts on his arms stung. He needed more. He deserved more. For what he’s done to everyone else. His tears dripped off of his face as he brought his one arm up, the remains of the pencil sharpener blade in the other. 007n7 hissed in pain as he went deeper than the last cut, and planned to go even deeper with the next. He always went deeper than the last. He was far beyond the epidermis layer, and most of his cuts resided in the dermis layer, but there were around only five that he had done to his hypodermis layer. That number was about to go up. His skin felt like it was on fire as he shifted the blade back and forth, watching the blood slowly ooze out. 007n7s eyes narrowed at each inch of pain, until he hit the third layer of skin, and the deepest part, the stratum basale.

“Shit!” He let out, pulling his arm away out of instinct.

More tears finally spilled over his eyes, his hand with the blade hit the bathroom counter, his breath hitched as he glanced at the thick crimson liquid seeping out of him. He wasn’t meant to go so deep. At least he didn’t mean to.

“No, fuck! Goddammit! Why did I… Ow, ow, I didn’t mean to! No, no, shit, ouch! Why did I do this?! Why am I like this?!” 007n7 put his bleeding arm under the strong gush of water, and gritted his teeth while weak sobs escaped his mouth, hoping he wasn’t being too loud and disturbing anyone around.

Elliot spawned in the manor, fear still fresh in his head, and confusion rooted in his heart. He took a couple of deep breaths as he took in the sudden warmth from the fire, trying to process what he had just gone through. At least it wasn’t Noli pulling out his guts like he was a pinata again. He shuddered at the thought, he never wanted to be torn open like that again. Elliot got up from the ground, and pulled out a couple of items from his now mostly empty delivery bag. He roamed out the front door, gently closing it behind him, and took in the breeze. After the stress of whatever the third round of the day happened, the breeze felt nice against his skin. Elliot walked up to the railings of the porch, and rested his arms on them as he lit up a cigarette. He inhaled a puff of smoke, and exhaled it out after a moment, taking note that Shedletsky was walking away from 007n7’s cabin. Creepy. Elliot had heard about Shedletsky’s strange behavior recently, but that was unsettling.

007n7 hissed in pain as he felt the water rush through his open wounds, he knew if he went too deep he knew he would need to use disinfectant, but who would even have that? Who would even give it to him? Why would that even matter to him right now when he felt obliged to do this to himself? But what if anyone else saw him like this?! Blood and regret stained 007n7, did he even want to try again? His chest felt tight as he sank to his knees, his arms wrapped around his body to try and hug himself as a form of terrible comfort, his one hand barely had any grip around the blade, waiting for it to fall. And in a way, it did. His arms were far littered in scars, both new and old, there was somewhere else he could try. Less noticeable as well. The strong gush of water from the faucet felt comforting, like the only thing around that would keep this secret. His secret. If anyone else found out, he knew he was up for a hell hole of humiliation. 007n7 decided to leave it for later though, and he had to clean up his washroom a little, and himself. The round was going to be over sooner than later and he didn't need anyone to be concerned over him.

One by one, each survivor met their gruesome demise. After Elliot had died, Dusekkar was torn apart by Noli, Chance was strangled to death by Guest, Taph was blown up by Noli, and Noob, Builderman, and Two Time were desperately trying to avoid both Guest and Noli. Anything to win. Anything to make it out alive.

Chapter Text

Four minutes and twenty six seconds.

Builderman, Two Time, and Noob weren’t even aware that Taph had died yet. All they knew was that both Noli and Guest were after them, and that giving up seemed like a better option than trying. But Two Time and Noob knew better than even hinting that they gave up around Builderman, he would make them try. They were hidden in an elevated structure, Builderman had built a dispenser while Noob and Two Time focused on the generator that was left half way finished.

His knuckles ached. The people around him at that moment ran away and hid. As much as he wanted to finish the rest of the bacons off, something wasn’t right. Guest noticed that around the edges of his vision was purple, and he could barely make out grass within the darkness. That was… had that happened to him before? Was that maybe a side effect from the grenade that blew up so close to his face? Whatever, that didn’t even matter right now. All that did was for him to make it out to see Daisy, Charlotte, and Matt.

Noli was right with one of his clones. The one that was walking towards Guest and Shedletsky was killed within an instant, just before Elliot died. But the other one was walking towards an elevated structure, and the atmosphere was quiet enough to hear quiet mumbles and whispers. Good to know that they were all hiding together, away from both himself and the war veteran in an episode. He quickly went up to the clone, twisting its head around, and watched it burst into thousands of lined code, disintegrating into thin air.

Builderman was gripping one side of his body, it stung whenever he moved, the injury was gained when Noli tried to blast the void star right at him, but Builderman was lucky enough to run off. Chance pivoted for the other direction, but he met Guest. Builderman was silently cussing himself out for not getting a breather to help Chance, but there was nothing more that could be done.

Builderman couldn’t dwell in his guilt for long as Noli ran up the slope to where the three were located. Two Time quickly pulled out their dagger and tried to go for Noli, but was quickly hit off the ledge, and landing on the back of their neck. There was an audible crack, and Two Time laid there for a moment, when was the last time they had gotten that good of a crack out of their neck? Noob took the chance of Noli pushing Two Time away to hop off the other ledge, Builderman following not far behind. Quickly, Two Time hopped up from the ground and started to run away, and Noli leaped down the side that Two Time was knocked off of, chasing behind the cultist.

Death was in their wake.

Guest was searching the map for anyone, still thinking it was the battlefield. Chance gave him a good scratch on the cheek when Guest had his hands around his throat, and the pain pulsed. He was starting to feel woozy, and was stumbling around as his vision worsened. Guest shivered as he used a nearby wall to help hold himself up right. He couldn’t keel over and die right now, he had to make it out. He was going to make it out. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two bacons running away from an explosion.

Noli set off a bomb, attempting to throw it at Two Time but it was flung into the other direction. Builderman almost tripped over himself, the dispenser did help, but it was slow with mending wounds. Noob looked back to see Two Time just dodging an attack, and Builderman was stumbling right behind him.

“Oh! Are you okay Builderman?” Noob asked as they turned around to see the shorter man holding his side.

“Yup, just peachy. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.” Builderman grunted out, obviously struggling.

“Here, let me help.” Noob offered as he raised his hand for Builderman to grab onto.

“No, no it’s fine, I’m fine. Go run before the killer catches up.” Builderman mumbled, trying to stand up straighter.

“What? But in your condition you’re as good as gone! Just grab on, please.” Noob pleaded.

“You really want me to weigh down your chances of living?” Builderman asked, still trying to deny the help.

“It won’t weigh my chances, it’ll increase yours. Here, hold on tight.” Noob said as they grabbed onto Builderman’s hand themself.

The manor was buzzing with conversation, almost everyone that didn’t make it in there trying to figure out what had happened to Guest. Shedletsky had retreated to his cabin, recounting the events for himself. He hasn’t seen the heights in ages, why was he there all of a sudden? Where did everyone else come from? Where did they go after he died?

“-It was so out of the blue! He just went for Shedletsky, punched Chance in the process, then broke Shedletsky’s neck! Then, he went right for me after he dropped his body.” Elliot explained, sitting in one of the sofa chairs, a worried expression painted on his face.

“Well, it wasn’t just Guest, it looked like Shedletsky was getting ready for a fight too.” Chance admitted, flipping his coin in the air.

“🔵➕🍗🟰🥊❓😵‍💫 (Guest and Shedletsky fighting? Weird…)” Taph mumbled, he knew Shedletsky was up to fighting, but against someone like Guest? In the middle of a round as well?

Dusekkar just sat there and listened to all of what they had to say, waiting for the round to wrap up. It was strange for a fight of that level to break out in the first place, but Guest not stopping after Shedletsky died? He shuddered, glad to know he died to Noli instead.

“Well Guest had fought in a war beforehand, correct? There had to be something aggravating him, but rather than thinking ahead it would make sense to check and redirect.” Dusekkar brought up.

“But what would it be? I didn’t see anything that happened after I ran off to go find 007n7.” Elliot asked, fidgeting.

“❌💣🧍≠🟪🎭 (Not one of my bombs, I was avoiding the killer.)” Taph mentioned, not trying to get the blame.

“Wait, he doesn’t like being around bombs?” Chance questioned.

“The man was in a war you dunce! Why wouldn’t he?” Elliot shot back.

There was a moment of silence, before Chance realized what had happened was probably because of him.

“Before we come to conclusions, is there not someone else we should ask? After all of this he shouldn’t be doing a task.” Dusekkar rhymed, thinking about the information he was given.

“Oh, Shedletsky? I mean he has to know something, he started fighting Guest after Noli ran off. Where is he anyways?” Chance replied while adjusting himself on the sofa, trying to get comfortable.

“I saw him walking away from 007n7's cabin while I was outside smoking, he didn’t have his cheery look on his face either. It was… strange to say the least. I’m pretty sure I saw him go to his cabin though, or it might've been Builderman’s.” Elliot answered.

“🍕🎰🎃💣➡️❔🍗❗️❌💔✅❓ (Then lets go ask him! It can’t be anything too bad, right?)” Taph pondered as he stood up, making sure his robe wasn’t bunched up anywhere.

“Hold on Taphy, would Shedletsky fully know about what happened? He was also under the killer’s influence.” Dusekkar said, sitting up a little straighter as he looked into Taphs hood.

“Though who else would know? Yeah Guest would, but who seems like they would know what’s fully happening?” Elliot questioned, knowing who would. He silently prayed that one of the admins he was stuck here with would also have some knowledge.

“🔨🪣🟰📚🧠. 🔨🪣↔️🍔. (Doombringer would know the most. Him or I guess 007n7.)”

“..Who?” Chance inquired, looking right at Taph.

“You don’t know who Doombringer is? Really?” Elliot asked, looking right at Chance.

“No, I’ve never really heard of any admins before all of this.” He admitted, sliding his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“For a gambler that owns a casino I’d expect you to know Doombringer from all of those money laundering situations a couple years back.” Elliot replied, cracking his knuckles.

“Oh wait, does he have the red bucket with the horns? Wields a giant hammer?” Chance grilled, remembering the tall man standing right in front of him, asking for a couple of people that were seen at his casino the other night a couple years back.

“You’ve dealt with him before and you don’t know who he is?!” Elliot asked, a slight smile on his face.

“I didn’t know his name was Doombringer!” Chance admitted, his pride getting flushed down a drain.

“He has a sticker on his armour that SAYS ‘hi, my name is DOOM.’” Elliot explained.

Doombringer.

Dusekkar hadn’t heard that name in ages.

The atmosphere was quiet in 007n7s cabin. The faucet in his washroom was off, and all of the blood and water was wiped up. He decided to pick up some of his clothes from the ground to wash them on the way to the manor’s washroom. It has been a while since he’s done his laundry. The small pile of clothes to be washed rested on his bed as he threw on his jacket and hat, making it seem as if nothing had happened. Though there wasn’t a way to make it look like he wasn’t sobbing, on the other hand, who would bother to look at him? Just because it was calm in 007n7s cabin, that didn’t change the way the silence seeped into the wood as it creaked. As much as he wanted to sit down and cry, that one cut needed to be treated, and preferably before he irritated it so it bleeds again.

Besides the wind outside, the silence was deafening. 007n7 squeezed the small pile of clothes that laid in his arms, it felt like something was eating him alive. With how quiet the environment that was built just for them, it made 007n7 feel ashamed and sick. He was clean for a while, but seeing Noli again broke him. In a sense, he knew he deserved it. It wasn’t enough. Each step had its own moment, so full of something 007n7 couldn’t explain, but something there made him feel like he wasn’t even himself, moving around like a robot. It was wretched, repulsive, nauseating. It’s all he was in the end. Hopefully the rest of the round went well for everybody, afterall he just brought everything down. 007n7 kept his eyes down on the worn trail he was following, looking up every once in a while to make sure he was headed in the right direction.

Shedletsky’s cabin was slightly messy, he was sitting at his desk, thinking about the round. How does that even happen? He was in the map around Guest and Chance, then the heights with 1x1x1x1 and a ton of admins. Even then, 1x1x1x1 was acting strange, his combat style was more rigid, and usually done with weapons. Today was different however, they seemed more stressed and were rushing everything, she didn’t even use her swords or daemon shanks. Was it maybe just an illusion to throw him off? No, it happened, he died, he felt 1x1x1x1 break his neck. Would an answer even come up at all? Was there even an answer in the first place? He sighed, knowing he would just talk to Builderman and Dusekkar about it later, alongside with his constant thoughts of hate recently. If he was so angry all the time, what about 1x1x1x1? What were they like? Was she also acting odd? Shedletsky groaned at the thought of 1x1x1x1 being calm, truly a phenomenon. Was he maybe just seeing things? Or could he just be going insane because of how long he’s been here? Shedletsky got up from his desk, he felt like all he could do for now was just think, and he needed to give his head a break. He headed for his bed, and curled up, waiting to fall asleep before the round ended.

Two minutes and fifty two seconds.

Almost the same amount of time they had started with. Noob was helping Builderman across the map, one of their arms holding him up by under his arms, just trying to get away from Noli and Guest. Builderman had tried to decline the help he was offered from Noob, but they wouldn’t accept no as an answer. But, peace never lasted forever. The two looked to their left, noticing Guest holding his head up, almost like he was trying to stay standing. Both Builderman and Noob stayed in their spots, wondering what they should do, trying to whisper as to not bother the war vet in an episode.

“Do we go and help?” Noob asked in a hushed tone, looking at Guests back.

“I… It would be better to leave him alone for now. He seems to be going through something.” Builderman replied in a whisper, narrowing his eyes to try and get a better look. Dammit, he kept forgetting his glasses.

“But what if the killer goes after him? He looks sick and hurt, he’s using a wall to help him stand!” Noob brought up, still trying their best to be quiet.

“Have you seen what he’s done to some of us? He’s basically done half the work for the killer! He sees us as a threat, someone from war, I don’t even have a clue what to do if he’s still like this when we go back to the manor!” Builderman shot back, the stress of their current situation building up on him.

Even though Builderman and Noob were trying to stay quiet, Guest could hear their bickering. He just needed a moment to collect himself, there were small purple spots in his vision, and he couldn’t tell where he was anymore. He could feel a headache starting to form, but he was so close to freedom he could taste it. He had to go after them. They were some of the last enemies around. Guest stood up, a sigh leaving his lips. Builderman and Noob noticed that Guest had straightened up his posture, ready to harm anything that was in his way. Noob and Builderman shut right up, and started to rush out of there.

Two Time was busy with Noli, but they couldn’t run forever. With every step, they could feel some form of restraint building in their legs, but Noli was still hot on their tail. Oh what do they even do? Two Time had used their dagger for a short ritual at the beginning of the round, hopefully the graceful spawn would let them receive a second life to stop from adding to the timer. They knew as soon as they saw the purple glint from the killer that they wouldn’t be winning this round, this person was new, stronger, practically a god. Two Time looked behind them, seeing that Noli wasn’t straying far behind. Great, how fun. Two Time had to slow down, it was automatic, as much as they didn’t want to, they were forced. Noli lunged out to hit them.

He landed the hit.

Two Time keeled over and died. Their body laid there, Noli looked down with a grin.

But the timer didn’t rise up by thirty seconds.

There Two Time was, by the boat in the ground on the other side of the map from Noli, with a glowing halo and a pair of wings that matched their tail.

007n7 opened the door to the manor, and was surprised to see Elliot, Chance, Taph and Dusekkar in the living room. The four looked right back at him, some giving him glares, before continuing their conversation, some mentally noting how distressed he looked all of the sudden. 007n7 tried to pay no mind to the eyes that were just staring at him as he walked past the dining room and kitchen, and ended up at a small door at the end of the small hallway. He opened the door and flipped on a light switch. There was a small laundry room, all sorts of fabric everywhere, and there was a shelf above the washer and dryer. It held cleaning products like laundry detergent, bleach, cleaning wipes, and other sorts of cleanliness products for the manor. For being in hell they sure were pampered at times, especially with the food. The silence was so unnerving, but 007n7 tried to pay no mind to it, loading the small pile of clothes into the washing machine, and poured in some detergent. He looked up to a wire hanging from two corners from the room, clothes pins holding up one of Chance’s button up shirts, and one of Taph’s robes hung above the ground. There was a small basket that sat in front of the dryer, full of Dusekkar’s clothes. They had a subtle smell of pumpkin pie, odd as the detergent had a stench of flowers. The hum of the washing machine filled the room, but the shame still lingered. If only they had some sort of record player around, anything to fill up the silence. He started to hum a song to himself, just trying to distract himself. Maybe there was a record player or radio somewhere, as much as he liked music from the 60s and 70s, any noise right now would be nice. Just anything more than the deafening silence. He stepped out of the laundry room, turning the light off and closing the door behind him, and the manor was cold. Not cold with temperature, cold with regret. 007n7 sighed, he felt like it was getting harder with each day that passed. 007n7 could hear the muffled hum of the washing machine through the door, and he decided to make his way to the stairs, feeling warm blood starting to trickle down his hands. Chance looked over at the man walking up the stairs, noticing the blood that seemed to be dripping from his own arm. He wanted to get up and ask 007n7 if he was okay, but Dusekkar and Elliot kept chatting about the way Guest was during the last round.

One minute and forty three seconds.

So close. They were so close. Noob and Builderman didn’t make it far from Guest when they saw Noli on the other side of the path. Noob looked around, Guest seemed to have noticed them as well as he was staring right at them.

“O-0-oh, ho-ow fun! N-nic-CE TO S3E Y-You vu-vu-LN3R@BLE.” Noli said as he walked around the two, circling around them like a wolf looking at its prey.

Noob was glancing around, looking for an escape for both them and Builderman, but Noli was new. None of them knew what Noli could fully do.

“N-0w l-l3t T-TH-E 0T-th3r ma-@N GO.” Noli demanded, their grin growing.

Builderman looked over at Noob, tried, ready for this round to be over if he was being honest.

“Noob, listen to him.”

“What?” Noob asked, fear in their eyes.

“Just let me go. I’ll be fine, go run while you still can before he takes the both of us out at the same time.” Builderman said sternly.

“O-Oh n-N0OB-y, yo-ou sh0-ld list-3n! 0-OR G-giv3 uP now.” Noli mocked, giggling under his breath.

Noob kept looking around, stress building up in their throat.

“No… there’s gotta be a way out!” Noob mumbled, he was tired of dying everyday. He was tired of seeing other people die in front of him everyday, he didn’t want anything else harmful to happen to them.

“Noob, go run! Keep running!” Builderman shouted as he shoved Noob away, watching them stumble away.

Noob stood in their spot for a moment, watching Noli raise the void star as Builderman accepted that this was his end. Builderman closed his eyes, bracing for the pain.

“F-F-fun-nY, THE M-M-M@IN AD-admin fold-F-F0LDING LIKE A CHAIR IN FRONT OF ME.” Noli cackled, looking at the man beneath him.

There was someone else Noli should’ve been more concerned about.

Noob watched Guest run up behind Noli, tackling him to the ground, knocking their half mask off of their rotting face. Builderman looked over in shock, was Guest back to his clear mind again?

The faucet was on, draining out the silence and the chattering from downstairs as 007n7 threw his jacket to the ground, looking at his newfound scars. He felt sickening, and something pulled at his stomach as he put his wrists under the flow of the water. It didn’t sting as much when he first did it in his cabin, but he recognized the pain that his nerves were alerting. He shivered as he took his wrists out of the cold water, knelt down and opened the bottom cupboard. There was only a couple of things in there, a small box labeled medicine, a med kit that looked like it was made out of weaker plastic, some rolls of bandages, and other small things wrapped in disposable plastic. There were visible handprints in dust, probably from when Taph grabbed the medkit for Shedletsky’s nose. 007n7 grabbed one of the rolls of bandages, and placed it on the counter. There was no sign of anything to disinfect the deeper cuts, but if he died in a round again it would all be gone, right? No, it would still be good to look deeper. 007n7 grabbed the medkit, and opened it up, stress building on his knees as his bones had grown weaker since he found C00lkidd. What the medkit contained was antibiotics, pain killers, a bottle of water, and leftover gauze from something. Great. 007n7 knew he couldn’t go around and ask, he knew what everyone thought of him, and even then if they were fond of him they would grow concerned. 007n7 sighed, closing the medkit, and unraveling the roll of bandages.

007n7 was still humming, a song from the Beatles he and C00lkidd usually listened to on rainy days after school when they couldn’t go to the park. He watched the bandages cover his fresh cuts, already collecting blood.

Two Time was watching from a distance, curiosity filling their head as they wished they had a cup of tea right now. Guest looked like he was out for revenge, his hands covered in blood, thinking he would make it back home. He was stradled over the bacon he was attacking, and he left no mercy.

One minute and fifteen seconds.

Guest didn’t care who he was fighting, all he knew was that whoever was below him was a part of the same army that killed his parents.

Noli flipped Guest over, and grabbed his jaw, both his ring and middle finger inside Guests mouth, and pulled. Guest tried to fight back, but Noli was faster, and soon after there was a satisfying crunch of broken bones.

Blood pooled all over the ground as Guest held where his jaw used to be, gasping for air. Noli dropped his jaw on the ground, and held the void star up.

One minute and nine seconds turned into one minute and thirty nine seconds.

Guests body lay there in a pool of blood, half of his head gone.

There was a thump in the manor’s living room as 007n7 made his way downstairs.

“Oh great, don’t tell me he’s still attacking everyone.” Chance mumbled, scooting back in his chair as Guest laid on the manor floor.

007n7 felt his eyebrows raise, why would Guest attack anyone inside their team?

“Is he okay?” 007n7 asked, walking down the stairs, concerned.

“Uh… are his eyes open?” Elliot questioned, mocking 007n7 a little as he turned his head to look at the man in the middle of the floor.

“Sort of? His eyelids are only partly closed.” 007n7 answered as he knelt down by Guest.

“Sorry, you two had mentioned both Guest and Shedletsky were fighting each other in the middle of the round, correct? Was Shedletsky like this when he was given the gift to resurrect?” Dusekkar asked, getting up from the couch to go see what state Guest was in.

“If he was it couldn’t have been for long, I didn’t see Shed when I spawned until I went outside.” Elliot explained.

Builderman spawned in, right beside Guest. He looked around, glad to be in safety.

Noob and Two Time were left with two minutes on the timer.

Chapter Text

He tensed as he heard muffled chattering, most of the tones were serious, something about the third round. Guest turned his head away from the bright light on the roof as some of the voices ceased to talk, noticing him move.

“If he gets up and starts beating someone I have no idea what to do. He’s stronger than all of us.” Builderman admitted, it sounded like he was standing over Guest.

“What happened last round?” 007n7 asked, sounding closer. Was he maybe kneeling down?

“Did you die first again?” someone else rhetorically questioned, a snippy attitude. Could be Dusekkar, but the voice sounded rather aggravated and higher pitched.

That’s when Guest realized he didn’t make it home. No one sounded like Daisy, Charlotte’s presence wasn’t there, and he wasn’t in some sort of hospital, the floor smelt like worn wood. He didn’t make it back. He was never going to make it back. Whatever held them there knew that giving someone a false glimmer of hope would pain Guest to believe that one day, he’d make it back. But even after death he wasn’t even allowed to see his parents again. Guest sighed as he opened his eyes, turning his head back up. As soon as he did so, Builderman backed up a little, waiting for Guest to start harming whoever was in reach, but 007n7 stayed kneeling over him.

“🔵❌😴❓ (Is he awake?)” Taph asked, peering over the couch. His eyes were hidden beneath the darkness his hood created, but you could tell they were full of fear.

“He seems to be.” Builderman answered, taking another couple of steps back for good measure.

“Builderman, you should hold some carefulness close to you. Who knows what Guest will start to do.” Dusekkar suggested, not even looking at the situation.

“Hey, 007n7 is the closest to him. If anything, shouldn’t you be telling him to be careful?” Chance grilled, waiting for something to happen.

“Well if you took those shades off of your noggin every once in a while, you’d know my back is turned to the three behind myself. You greedy person only thinking about yourself and your wealth…” Dusekkar mumbled the second part to himself, but Chance heard.

“Oh whatever, at least I’m not some snotty mage.” He remarked, sitting back down in his chair.

Guest sat up, slumping over as he held his head. He couldn’t tell if he was tearing up or not, his family, the one time he thought that he would actually get to see them again was torn to shreds. He sighed, it sounded so full of emotion while the others had started to bicker. There was something more than hurt weighing down on him, like something had happened that he had caused.

“Hey, you’re okay, right?” 007n7 gently, placing his hand on Guests back, trying not to startle him.

“Yeah I just…” Guest trailed off, he was so homesick he couldn’t joke about it anymore. The last time he had gotten to see his home, his family, was the day he was deployed. He already missed his home during those long cold nights he spent in hiding.

He glanced up, noticing the fearful looks some of the others were giving off. Guest was confused, and the silence loomed.

“Are you feeling well enough to talk about the last round?” Builderman questioned, breaking the silence. There was a hint of fear in his eyes as he stared at the two men on the ground in front of him.

“What?”

“The last round… the one where you killed Shedletsky, Elliot, and Chance?” Builderman brought up.

“I did what?! I thought I was– no, but…” Guest sputtered, looking back down at his hands.

“Wasn’t I back on the battlefield?” He asked himself, eyes full of terror for what he had caused.

“Has this happened before?” Elliot asked, leaning forward to get a better view of Guest.

“I… maybe? I thought that–”

“🔵🤜🍕🎰🍗🪦🟰🔵🥊🍗👃 (Closest thing to this is when he punched Shedletsky in the nose last night.)” Taph brought up, still peering over the edge of the couch.

Guest looked back down to his hands, he could’ve sworn he was in the war. It was hot in the manor, he could hear some people start to talk, but he wasn’t focusing anymore. He had caused three people their demise all because he thought he was going to go home. He killed them because he thought he’d get to see his wife and daughter again. Was Matt okay after he was shot? Was Charlotte going to have to grow up without her father? Would Daisy wait for him forever, or would she move on? What would their lives look like after they were told he had died? What would happen to him after he had killed some of his own teammates? What was even happening anymore? Would he be granted forgiveness?

Two Time was rushing away from the scene, knowing Noli was right behind them. One minute and thirty seconds. They knew they wouldn’t get to make it against the amount of time left. Their second life would be put to waste if they didn’t make it out, but there was nothing else they could do. Two Time made a sharp turn, trying to catch their breath. They waited for Noli to turn the corner, but after a moment of standing, something felt off. Two Time peered around the corner of the wall they had turned by, and no one was there. Okay… where did Noli go? It was quiet, and Noob wasn’t around. They knew Guest was long gone, they were getting their dagger ready to stab Noli, until they saw the blood pool beneath Guest, and Noli with the void star, ready for death. While others would think that Two Times ritual dagger was their best friend in this place, it was actually paranoia. Paranoia, something you can’t get rid of easily. Though is it really paranoia when there are people out for you whenever they get the chance? Two Time didn’t realize who had snuck right behind them until they felt someone grab their wings and tail, and tug.

“OW! WHAT IN THE NAME OF SPAWN ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!” Two Time shouted, trying to pull themself out of the person’s grasp.

“I-it’s ju$t l-LIK3 P-PULL-ling l3-gs 0-OFF A BUG!” Noli snickered, pulling harder, his grip tightening as his other hand grabbed on.

“STOP! YOU CAN JUST MURDER ME LIKE THE OTHERS, CAN YOU NOT?!” Two Time shrieked, feeling their shoulder blades moving involuntarily as nails dug into their wings. Tears pricked up at the corner of their eyes, since their wings were seemingly freshly developed when Two Time was blessed with a second life, they were unconventionally sensitive. Was this a punishment from the holy spawn for the words they used while talking with Guest earlier? They didn’t get a chance to cleanse themself from then and the current round.

“0-OH, BU-t I wri-TH3 IN SE-SE-SEE3ING 0-thers in P@-in!” Noli answered, yanking harder, earning another yelp from Two Time.

“BEFO-re I tear th-3SE 0FF, fr0-om a c-U-ULTIST T0 A-@-another, LIS-T3N TO T-h3 O-NES CLOSER TO THE GOD.” Noli explained before one final yank.

Two Time fell to their knees, a gasp leaving their mouth while tears fell, feeling the bones within their tail and wings getting torn out of their back.

They felt so empty, so hollow, holes in their body from their wings and tail.

It sickened them, it reminded them of that day in the field of flowers. The blood that trickled all over the purple flowers, him holding onto one as the life in his eyes faded. Nightshades, those were his favorite.

Two Time sighed through their tears, they had to move on. They did this to themselves, why did they deserve to grieve? They shuddered as they quickly got up from the ground, and ran the direction they had come from, barely missing a hit from Noli. That one hit would’ve been the end if they didn’t think fast enough.

“I mean, Guest seemed to have calmed down.” Chance brought up, averting his gaze from Elliot to the war vet in the middle of the floor, eyes empty.

Builderman had stepped closer to Guest, still fearing about what could happen, while 007n7 stayed where he was, just trying to figure out what had happened after he died.

“Were you maybe seeing things?” Builderman asked.

“It wasn’t just things, I thought I was alive. I saw the battlefield I died in, and the… them.” Guest answered, words colder than usual.

“You guys said Shedletsky was also fighting, right? Would it make sense to go ask him about anything that happened?” 007n7 pondered, looking up at Builderman.

“Where is Shedletsky anyways? I haven’t seen him since he died.” Chance asked.

“I saw him go to his cabin after walking away from 007n7’s cabin earlier.” Elliot replied.

“I’m sorry, he was around my cabin earlier?” 007n7 said as he whipped his head over to Elliot, fear staining his face.

“Yeah for some reason. He didn’t look like he did anything, more empty headed like Guest.” Elliot responded, leaning back in his chair.

007n7 looked in the middle of the floor, there was no way Shedletsky didn’t hear him earlier, he was loud, thinking no one else was around. He shuddered, hoping Shedletsky didn’t know what he had fully done to himself.

“Maybe he was looking for someone to vent to. Guest seems like there's something on his shoulders, so Shedletsky could be the same. Just… not you 007n7. Sorry.” Builderman explained.

“Odd as he clearly saw me on the porch.” Elliot scoffed, rolling his eyes, so done with this place.

“Sorry, I just need some time to myself.” Guest mumbled as he stood up, 007n7s hand grazing his body as it moved.

“If any of you need me, I’ll be in my cabin.” He added, walking to the front door, something was pulling at his heart strings.

The silence started to sink into the manor after the door clicked shut, and heavy footsteps were heard as Guest walked off the porch. 007n7 stood up, not knowing what to do. The atmosphere had turned sharp, he didn’t even need to look at the others to know their distasteful looks were on their faces.

“I’ll go talk to Shedletsky. See if he knows anything about this predicament.” Builderman said as he walked to the door, not trying to make it seem like he was following Guest.

“No! Go the other way! Guest has fallen against the killer!” Two Time shouted at Noob, hissing in pain as where their wings and tail were usually attached to their body ached, blood spilling all over their back.

One more minute. One more. One more round, one more death, one more. Two Time felt like everything was worsening, how would they make it out alive? How was Noob also going to make it when there's only himself and a killer they’ve gone against once before?

Noob listened to Two Time, quickly dashing in the other direction, fifty five seconds.

Two Time moved over to their left, dodging yet another hit from Noli. He seemed to be growing impatient. Fifty two seconds.

“I-I W@-as j0-jo-0king abO-UT y-you be-e-3ing a b-bUG earli-ER!” Noli huffed out, clearly falling behind.

Whatever Two Time was doing seemed to be working, as there were forty seven seconds left. They were slowly straying away from minutes, now they and Noob just had to pull through for another three quarters of a minute. The spawn graced Two Time with a quick escape, Noli looked like he was getting a migraine, and he tripped over his own robes, letting Two Time quietly run away. They ran up to Noob, who was holding a med kit he had picked up just for them.

“Here, take it, I found it near an unfinished generator.” Noob said, practically shoving it into Two Times grasp.

“I’ll go distract the killer, take your time.” They continued before they made their way near Noli.

“The spawn and I will remember this! I am grateful for your generosity, Nooby!” Two Time called out, seeing a small smile grow on their face.

Now time to… wait a moment, how would they reach their wounds on their back?

Great, if only their limbs were made out of rubber.

Forty two seconds left. The odds could lean in anyone’s favor right now.

Guest closed the door behind him, and sunk down to the ground, his stomach in knots. He clenched one side of his body as guilt built up in his chest, desperate to go home. What had caused him to do such aggressive actions against the ones he was close with? His other hand held his head up by his jaw, the one that was torn off not too long ago, and was seemingly re-attached with ease. He hadn’t hurt 007n7, right? Oh god, what if he did? How mentally draining would that be, getting hurt by one of the people that you thought liked you back in a place where everyone seemed to hate you? The words that Two Time had lectured him with spun around in his head, before a layer of pain was added in his chest. He would never get to see his family again. Not his parents, not his wife or child, he would even consider Matt as family at this point with how bonded together they had been! His last goodbye to Daisy and Charlotte was months after he was deployed, and the last time he saw Matt was when he watched him getting carried away by on sight nurses after getting shot. He felt sick, not just homesick but there wasn’t a set limit on the amount of knots on one's stomach to tie itself in. His attention was averted to the ones he had just murdered, he thought those were the bacons he was fighting against, he thought they were out to harm him, he thought…

He…

…

…Was his mental state worsening?

Guest teared up, he was dead in the end. Everything he had was ripped away from him with one explosion, and then he was constantly reminded of what he lost. Whatever kept them there had to know of the wretched feeling, they loved toying with the idea of others feeling it. Living it. How long has it been since he was forced here? How long since he felt the sun on his back, and felt at peace? He brought both of his hands up to his face, shame filled him. Guilt, pain and shame. Guest tried to stay strong in this feeble moment, but sometimes even the strongest falls. Soon quiet sobs filled the room. The stress of everything within the past months had built up so high that Guest just needed to break it down. He just needed to let it out. It’s all he could do for now.

Shedletsky laid in his bed, his head held an annoying throb. Something about the heights, about 1x1x1x1, it felt like it was fake. But, it was real! He remembered the physical contact he and 1x1x1x1 made while fighting, there was no way it was fake! Though, something about it felt so empty. Why would he be brought to the heights all of the sudden? Why would 1x1x1x1 be there at all either? Don’t the killers have their own cabin where they rest? Shedletsky’s thoughts were interrupted by knocking. He groaned as he sat up, already knowing who it was by the pattern of it. He stood up, and dragged one of his hands down his face as he opened the door, yearning for rest.

“Hey Shed, sorry to bother you.” Builderman greeted, noticing how tired Shedletsky had looked.

“Hm? Oh, nah it’s fine. Just tryna catch some sleep..” Shedletsky grumbled out, the bags under his eyes were darker than usual.

“Did you stay up all night again?” Builderman grilled.

“...Nah… not all night…” Shedletsky replied before yawning.

“How do you manage to keep your sleep schedule from before you left the heights?” Builderman asked jokingly, chuckling a little at the end of his sentence.

“Gotta keep that grind.”

“What grind? If anything, wouldn’t you want to be well rested and clear headed before a round?”

“Oh. Well… I mean I was. Until around the start of round three when I thought I was back in the heights.” Shedletsky explained, dragging one of his hands down his face, trying his hardest to stay awake.

“Back in the heights?”

“Yeah, the heights. The scene was weird, I knew I was just in the middle of the round, but all of a sudden I was in the middle of the heights, 1x1x1x1 on the other side of the fire ring without any of his weapons. I don’t know what she was on, but damn I might need it later.” Shedletsky lectured, trying to recall the events for himself.

“What did you feel like after you spawned in the manor?” Builderman continued, he was curious why this had happened between Guest and Shedletsky.

“...Good question. Definitely tired and empty, but I didn’t notice because 007n7 slammed the door behind him when I spawned in, he seemed angry about something. But overall I would wrap it up to be… wanting. As in wanting to go home, to leave here.” Shedletsky brought up, trying his hardest to keep his eyes open.

007n7? Angry? Builderman was confused, the man hadn’t looked mad since he first arrived. But, Shedletsky was most certainly in need of rest, so it could be himself just throwing words together. Empty was definitely a word that could be describe Guest after he sat up, he looked so hollow, not a thought behind his eyes and stern resting face.

“Is it okay if we can rest together for a bit? Just spend some time with each other, nothing big.” Shedletsky asked, leaning on his doorframe now.

“Yeah, I’m not doing anything important right now Shed.” Builderman answered, a small smile forming on his face.

Shedletsky moved out of the way, letting Builderman into his cabin.

Twenty two seconds left. There was a glimmer of hope that they would win against Noli today. Noob had run around the map at least twice now, only getting hit twice. Surprisingly, it was either him or Elliot that usually died first. Maybe Builderman, but for the past couple of days they have been one of the last ones left in almost every round.

Noob couldn’t focus on bogus things at the moment right now, Two Time was hurt and on their second life, while he hadn’t exactly done much during the round besides helping Builderman away from Noli. They were close, so close. He couldn’t give up now. Noli was acting more ruthless than usual, throwing projectiles whenever he could, trying to hit Noob so he could tear them apart.

The specter felt proud while watching Noli. Sure he was up for his first loss if he couldn’t kill Two Time or Noob, but the hallucinations? They were only slightly nerfed so it wouldn’t affect the survivors outside the rounds! They were so realistic, and it was nice to watch Guest tear half of his team apart. They giggled to themself, the survivors thought this was their final round for the day. They told C00lkidd to be ready for a surprise game later.

Fifteen seconds left.

Noob was out of breath, almost out of energy. They were starting to feel sick, he had never needed to chug the amount of bloxy colas he had this round ever, and acid reflux was a common problem they had dealt with before getting forsakened. Noli was becoming ruthless, trying anything in his power to attempt to hurt and slow Noob down.

Twelve seconds left.

Two Time pulled out their ritual dagger, watching Noob starting to falter, it was a blessing from the spawn that they had made it this far without their stamina running out.

Nine seconds left.

Noli leaped from where he was, trying to after Noob. They turned his head behind them to try and figure out where Noli was, and screamed in terror when they saw Noli so close while in the air.

Seven seconds left.

Noli had landed a hit, finally, Noob was nearing death with every moment that passed. He struggled while trying to stand up, he was so close, he couldn’t fall now!

Noli was about to throw a bomb at Noob, until Two Time ran up behind him, stabbing him right in his back.

“0-Oh FU-UCK!” Noli shouted, the sudden pain shook him up.

Two Time grabbed Noob’s hand, dragging him behind themself.

“The timer is bound to end soon! We must keep pacing away!” Two Time shouted over their shoulder.

Four seconds left.

Noli looked over at Two Time and Noob, running away. He sighed, and pulled out a bomb, and tossed it into their direction.

Three seconds left.

The bomb landed right in front of Two Time and Noob.

Two seconds left.

It started to flash with colour, detonation was soon.

Two Time was startled at the sudden object landing right in front of them, while Noob was too exhausted to even notice. Two Time pulled Noob in the other direction, the bombs flashing colour was picking up pace. Both Noob and Two Time closed their eyes in fear, bracing for pain, neither of them would survive the explosion with the amount of health the either of them had.

One second left.

There was an explosion in the distance.

Zero seconds left.

Noob opened his eyes, the pain hadn’t arrived. They looked around, suddenly spawning in the dining room, Two Time was on the other side of the table, their eyes still squeezed shut.

“We made it.” Noob whispered under their breath.

“Pardon?” Two Time asked, opening one of their eyes.

“Oh my god we made it! We won!” Noob said louder, ecstatic that they had won against Noli on his second round since damnation.

“Dear Spawn, we did! We survived!” Two Time shouted, standing up from the chair, letting it fall over as they did so.

Noob brought their hands up in the air, shaking.

“I don’t think I’ve done something like this since I first came here!” Noob mumbled, star struck that they genuinely made it,

“I just… I have to agree! I have never been blessed like this in quite the situation!” Two Time responded, wrapping their arms around themself.

The two were so tired, but they had made it. They had won against Noli. It was a first.

The grass crunched under 007n7s feet, dry from the storm yesterday. Strange as there was no sun to soak up the water, and there were no visible clouds in the sky. He tried to pay no mind to the thought, after all anything could happen in the realm and everybody would be forced to live with it. 007n7 held a plate of pizza he had gotten from Elliot, but he didn’t intend to eat it himself. There was a slight breeze, calmer than usual. Guest earlier seemed so… cold and hurt about something that had happened earlier. 007n7 looked up from the ground, watching other cabins leave his sight as he moved forward.

Three timid knocks. Guest could guess who knocked, everyone had their own pattern. Two Times was loud but polite, meanwhile Chance’s was just a couple of bangs, hitting the door with an entire fist. 007n7’s was one that was certainly less common than the others, almost as if he was scared to even be there in the first place. Guest sighed, tears still streaming down his face, he’d known that someone was going to be at his door sooner than later. He let out a quiet groan as he got up, wiping the tears that were clinging to his face, and opened the door.

The fake moonlight was always unnervingly bright, there was no need for it to feel closer to a flashlight. There was 007n7 on the other side of the wooden barrier, holding the plate in his hands like it was a peace offering. Guest watched a small, awkward smile form on the other mans face as his cheeks grew pink.

“I, uh– hi! Sorry to bother you Guest, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. And to bring you some food.” 007n7 sputtered out, knowing what had happened during the last round now. He noticed Guests eyes looked pink, and tear tracks that trailed down his cheeks.

“Don’t even worry about bothering me. You get used to it when living next to Two Time and Taph.” Guest joked, trying to shake off any signs of a break down.

Though it was too late, 007n7 had already noticed how his breath seemed shaky, and his hair was messier than usual. His anxious feeling was being swapped with concern, Guest had never acted so hurt around the others before. Not just hurt in general, but emotionally hurt. 007n7 let out a small chuckle at Guests… joke? Was it a joke? If it was, it wasn’t his usual dad jokes or playful jabs, it seemed more genuine.

Guest took note about how 007n7 had looked a little distressed himself. 007n7 was indeed blushing at something, but his eyes were red, and his arms shook as he held up the plate. He seemed more uneasy, his hair was askew, his glasses were on the tip of his nose, and his burger hat was slightly tilted on his head.

Something was hurting them both, and it was obvious to the other.

“Really? I thought those two were silent.” 007n7 said, looking away from Guest.

“I mean Taph usually is, I think he’s got traps set up in his cabin. I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve been woken up in the middle of the night because one of his subspace tripmines had gone off. Two Time does a ritual in the middle of the night outside which is so… fun to deal with.” Guest responded, shuddering at the mention of Taphs traps, and having a sarcastic tone when talking about Two Time.

“Are we still making dinner with each other tonight, or are we moving that because of… uh… y’know?” 007n7 asked, practically shrinking at the thought. What if Guest was annoyed by his presence? What if he drags their conversation on for too long and he gets beaten to a pulp?

“We can still do it tonight if you want. I’ll be fine, I just need to…” Guest trailed off and swallowed, his throat had tightened, it felt like thorns were strachting the back of his mouth.

His wife. His daughter. His family that he was torn away from in a second. He’d never see them again. There was no way unless they ended up here, and Guest would pray to anyone and everyone he could to keep them away. He would do anything to prevent his loved ones ending up here. He felt the water in his eyes threaten to fall.

007n7s eyes widened a little, watching Guest trying to hold in some weight.

“Oh Guest..” 007n7 muttered, opening the door a little wider so he could fit through it. He placed the plate down on his night stand, and closed the door behind him.

007n7 wrapped his arms around Guests body, pulling him in for a hug.

Guest felt conflicted, he had forgotten the feeling of tender comfort, and he felt like he could sob right into 007n7’s shoulder right now at this moment. But, what if 007n7 pulled away for fear of him getting hurt out of nowhere?

“You can let it out.” He said, his arms rubbing Guests back.

Guest wrapped his arms around 007n7, reciprocating the hug, his tears dripping down his face. 007n7 was warm, and he held Guest with enough pressure to make him feel secure.

007n7 winced at the pain of his wrists making friction to his rough jacket, the bandages barely thick enough to prevent some pain.

“It will be okay.” 007n7 continued, trying to ignore the pain.

Guest sunk his head to one of 007n7s shoulders, it was a little awkward as 007n7 was shorter than Guest by a long shot, but he had a feeling of emotional security for once. Safe.

Taph was making his way to his cabin, but there were shadows in the golden light that shone through Guests window. The position that the shadows were in piqued Taph’s curiosity, and he coincidently walked a little closer to the window, trying to take a peek. Woah! People actually trusted 007n7? Taph didn’t know what to feel, watching Guest sob into the exploiters shoulder, but he would save the information for later. Maybe blackmail? No, there was no reason to blackmail here. Would anyone else know if anything similar like this had happened between Guest and 007n7?

Guest and 007n7 had sunk to the ground, still holding each other. Guest was still quietly crying into 007n7’s shoulder. Sure, he had trusted everyone in the realm, there was something about 007n7 that just made him feel so safe. 007n7 was great at comforting, he knew what to try, and what not to attempt. There was only one other time that he could remember, when Guest had cried in the realm, and it was after his first day of rounds. During the war he was so homesick, the only thing he yearned for was to just make it out alive to go home. To see his family. But early on he had accepted this was his life for now, and all he could do was live through it.

007n7 moved one of his hands up to Guests head, brushing through his fluffy blue hair.

“I just.. I want to go home. I need to go home.” Guest admitted, trying to keep some of his composure.

“Me too hun. I feel you.” 007n7 responded, feeling Guest sink into his body a little more.

007n7 felt Guest tighten his grasp around his body a little more, it had been a while since he let out some of his troubles like this, hadn’t it? There was something so pure between him and Guest, he craved for it, but what if Guest didn’t like him back? There was no way this was love, it couldn’t be! Guest has his own family back at home, still waiting for him, so it can’t be love.

Guest was everything 007n7 wasn’t, he was even surprised someone like Guest wanted to be around someone like himself.

“It's been too long, I… god I just want to hug someone like this more often.” Guest brought up, small sobs left his mouth in between some of his words, he felt like he needed to convey how much he enjoyed hugging 007n7.

“You miss the physical touch?” 007n7 questioned, feeling Guests breathing slow down.
“I just miss it all.” Guest answered, 007n7 felt warm, it was comforting.

After some silence, Guest spoke up about something he couldn’t ignore.

“I didn’t hurt you earlier, did I?” Guest asked, taking a deep breath.

“No, I died first in the round as usual.” 007n7 answered.

“Oh. Sorry to hear about that.” Guest sighed, tears still falling from his eyes,

“No need to apologize, I’m used to it.” 007n7 replied.

“I meant sorry as in sorry for not being there to help you. You didn’t deserve to go against Noli alone again.” Guest corrected, raising his head to look at 007n7.

His eyes were still pink, and there was still guilt piling on his back from the rest of the round, regret still pooling in his head.

“Ah. It’s fine, I made it through. He has all sorts of tricks stuffed up in his sleeve, he was the one that made sure we ran away from the admins most of the time.” 007n7 said, looking right back at Guest.

“Can we… stay like this for a little longer?” Guest asked, yearning for 007n7.

“Of course. Take as much time as you need.” 007n7 responded, feeling Guest put his head back on his shoulder.

Silence filled the cabin as 007n7 continued to brush his hand through Guests hair, letting Guest calm down in his arms. For once, the quiet didn’t feel like a stranger between the two men, it was soothing.

Wait, did he call Guest ‘hun’ earlier?

Chapter Text

For once, everything was calm. No impending doom, no overworking or stress that lingered, no harm being done. Just peace. A break that everyone needed after a long day of running away and getting torn apart like how a hungry dog tears apart leftover meat.

Taph, Two Time, and Noob had long retired to their cabins, taking some time to themselves and to deflate. Shedletsky had fallen asleep with Builderman in his arms, not letting the shorter man escape any time soon. Dusekkar was in the manor library, figuring out how to get out. Elliot and Chance were in the living room of the manor, just talking about whatever came to mind. 007n7 and Guest were in the kitchen, busy making dinner for everyone else. Or what Chance would call their date.

It had been around half an hour when Guest had fully calmed down, he felt tired but lighter. He changed out of his military gear and slipped into a tank top with a dog tag hanging around his neck.

The two decided to make chili for dinner. It was a meal that was relatively easy that they knew everyone enjoyed. Also the convenience of having all of the ingredients. After the day everyone had just suffered through, who wouldn’t want a warm meal to help end it off?

There laid a book on the island, surrounded by various ingredients, opened to a page with a sticky note placed onto it as a bookmark. None of the survivors had stuck it there, so they all just assumed it was stolen from some family’s house as the pages shared their own wear and tear, and the recipes inside were hand-written in thick cursive. So fine that both Guest and 007n7 were having trouble reading the recipe.

There was a silence that stretched, but it wasn’t bothersome. More… yearned for. The set focus between the two was matched. Guest loved to hear 007n7s voice more and more, but there was something about silently cooking with the other man that made his heart flutter. It was a familiar feeling, but Guest wasn’t quite sure what it was. Something about it made him crave more. There was something that 007n7 had that Guest needed. It had been months since he felt anything like this. The feeling was amusing, but he needed more. He yearned, he craved, he needed to taste him.

His lips, every creaves, every scar, every sensitive part of him under the warm golden light of their cabins. It didn’t matter whose, it just mattered that it happened. Guest was letting his mind wander as he watched the diced up pepper gather on the other side of the knife, thinking about what 007n7 would sound like deep into the night, love getting pounded hard into him. Moans, whimpers, groans, and the creaking of the old bed melting into the atmosphere that was forever dark outside, only holding each other in the tender moment. Pinning the shorter man onto the bed, whispering praise into his ears, so much to replace the self loathing that 007n7 held for himself. Guest wanted to think more about it until he felt his eyes open a little wider than his half lidded calmness.

Was he in love with 007n7?

..No, he couldn’t be! Was Guest himself even into men?

But 007n7… he was right there!

While Guest was dicing up some veggies that the two of them had missed in the recipe, 007n7 was stirring the pot full of chili. There was something that he had to talk to someone about though, a feeling. Towards Guest. The feeling that lingered in his chest was tense, but in a good way. 007n7 couldn’t describe it, he hadn’t felt like this in years. Around a decade if 007n7 was being exact. It filled his stomach with butterflies, it painted his cheeks a bright red, if anything he felt like nothing could match this feeling. No one could. It was only around Guest. It made 007n7 curious, how lucky was he that such an angel decided to hang around someone as evil as himself?

His fluffy blue hair that looked like it had made it through years of stress, pale chapped lips that he could kiss, pinkish scars that told stories, muscles that could crush 007n7 passionately in bed while kissing said lips…

…Chapped lips he could kiss?! What was he, twenty? Guest had a wife and a daughter at home! What was he thinking?!

Though Daisy was lucky.

“Is it okay if I pour in the peppers?” Guest asked as he brushed some pepper seeds off of the wooden cutting board he was using.

“Yep! The chili just has to sit for… the recipe called for forty five minutes for it to simmer.” 007n7 replied, taking out the wooden spoon and stepping out of the way.

“I say we should let it sit a little longer, the stove is old. And watery chili doesn’t sound appetizing.” Guest brought up, using the back of the knife to push some of the lone peppers that were sticking to the cutting board.

Guest placed the cutting board back down on the island, and silence filled the room again. This time, at least for 007n7, it was more awkward. Should he say something? What could he say after he just imagined him and Guest making out? But who would be complaining? What does he even do in this situation?! Play it off? Lean into it? There are so many routes this could go, he just needs to find one that isn’t going to lunge him into danger.

The silence strained throughout the room as Guest leaned against the island, facing the stove, the wood creaking under the shared weight. He glanced over at 007n7, noticing a thin sheet of sweat forming on his own body. Was it from the heat the stove was giving off, or his thoughts?

007n7 looked away from Guest, feeling his cheeks blush as he wiped his hands against his jacket. He feared succumbing to his thoughts, what if Guest simply just didn’t reciprocate his feelings? It would make sense if he didn’t, Guests life was more put together than his own. He set everything up for himself with hard work and passion while 007n7 screwed himself over for over half of his life, and tried to fix everything after C00lkidd showed up. Only after he showed up. Too late for anything to be fixed.

Some time passed since the round ended, around an hour, and the tension was slowly evaporating from everyone. The fake moon lit up more than it should, while the wind made the dead leaves dance. There laid a cabin with the lights on, the furthest from the manor, and someone at the door.

They knocked once.

And were met with silence.

They knocked again.

Silence was the only response.

Two Time looked around, making sure no one was looking. Nothing alive was around, nothing was watching.

Good.

They grabbed the worn door handle, and slowly turned it, so as to not disturb anyone inside. If there was anyone inside.

The golden light from above shined escaped through the door, giving the light for Two Time to see 007n7’s… unorganized cabin. Unorganized was a kind word to use against how distraught the state of his cabin was in.

“Oh exploiter?” They called out from the door, their eyes batting around with concern filling their head.

Just what could’ve happened here?

Sure it wasn’t much, no one was given much in the realm, but it was definitely the opposite of Two Times expectations. They were disappointed when met with more silence. His bed laid empty, a plate of old, untouched food on his nightstand by his lamp. There were small sharp green pieces of plastic everywhere, and a rock with a piece of metal on the desk, and a journal with a pen just thrown on said desk.

“007n7?” Two Time shouted, though not too loud as to not catch anyone else's attention.

Weird… he was probably in the manor then. The manor or by the fishing docks. They should go, 007n7’s cabin shows he wasn’t expecting anyone so soon. But… What's wrong with a little snooping? They quietly closed the door behind them, and walked up to the desk, making note to avoid the sharp pieces of plastic on the floor. Why would he ever have his cabin in such disarray? They picked up the rock, and made note of the somewhat damaged bottom. Not a lot of damage to the tough thing though, just enough to make it noticeable. Two Times eyes fell to the desk, watching the small piece of broken metal reflect light off of itself.

Odd.

What would need to use a small damaged screw and scrap metal?

Two Times eyes narrowed at the thought, and placed the rock down.

As much as Two Time wanted to look through the journal that was stained with tears that laid upon the desk, they knew that was far. Seemingly too far from what they were doing right now. They’ve noticed how quiet 007n7 was, especially after rounds with C00lkidd. If only someone would’ve caught on sooner.

They looked up from the desk to notice a towel that was balled up outside the washroom. While it would be for the better if they got going before they were caught, curiosity ignited them. Two Time pranced around the cabin, still avoiding the plastic all over the ground. When Two Time reached the said towel, they noticed that it was soaked with water. There was a faint metallic scent in the area.

Very odd.

Two Time glanced in the washroom, just doing it out of habit, but had to double take at the scene. While it looked like someone attempted to clean up, there was still some blood on one of the handles for the faucet, and the drenched blade that sat on the edge of the sink. They felt their eyebrows raise as they had basically just walked in on evidence that 007n7 wasn’t doing well. The wooden walls that surrounded the sink had some faint blood stains, the floor beneath the sink as well. Oh.

Oh Spawn.

This… what do they do?

Chapter Text

They had to do something. But what could they even do in the first place? Yeah they could take the blade away and toss it into the abyss of an ocean, but 007n7 will know FOR SURE that someone was in here when they weren’t meant to be. But the holy Spawn protects everyone, and wishes for those to protect the vulnerable. 007n7 wouldn’t notice if the blade was gone, right? Oh crud, what if they get caught throwing it away? Uh… they can just say they were throwing stones into the water! Yeah, yeah that’ll work perfectly! The great Spawn would protect them from anyone’s gaze, right?

Two Time made sure they were careful where they stepped, trying to make sure they didn’t leave a trace that anyone else but 007n7 was there. The washroom had a stronger metallic stench, it was sinking into the wood, and there were some smaller and finer blood stains in the wooden base of the sink. They shuddered as they plucked the bloodstained blade off the porcelain sink with their thumb and index finger, making sure not to accidentally harm themselves in the process.

They tip-toed all the way back to the front door, avoiding anything that wasn’t flat on the floor. Two Time looked around, making sure there wasn’t someone in the bed or anything, watching them snoop, but the closest person was Taph who was all the way in his cabin. With a flick of a switch, the golden light was gone. The door opened a crack, and Two Time peered outside. Left, right, left, and right again. The only person that would be able to see them leave 007n7’s cabin would be Taph, but he had curtains blocking his windows. Other than him, there was no one in sight. Two Time creeped out the cabin, and quietly shut the door behind them.

The night sky was painted with what everyone assumed were stars, with the giant moon lighting up the path to the fishing docks, the one where Two Time was prancing towards. The grass was softer around the water, and the wooden platform was soaked. Two Time walked near the edge of the dock, raised their arm with the blade, and tossed it as far as they could.

…Splash…!

The water rippled from the sudden disturbance, but for all everyone knew, it was gone. The blade was swallowed by the void, by the water that never seemed to be clear. Two Time looked in the distance, watching the ripple calm down. It felt like Two Time was being watched, eyes glued to the cultist. They looked around, silently praying to the holy Spawn that no one was around.

Praying that no one was watching.

Praying that no one else had watched them breach 007n7’s privacy out of fear for what he does to himself behind locked doors.

They had to seem like they weren’t covering up something so wretched, something so mentally damning. Two Time crouched down, picked up a rock, and tossed it like it was the bloodied blade.

…Splash!

Gone.

The rock was following the same path that the blade was sinking down.

The eyes still laid on Two Time. Watching. Observing.

It felt like it was in the forest. Eyes fixated on them.

Two Time sighed, maybe it was just the divine Spawn watching over them…! Hopefully it was just that. No one else. Nothing else.

They bent down, picked up a bigger, rougher stone, and tossed it in the ocean.

..Splash!!

Two Time caught a glimpse of the unclear water in the air, it looked closer to ink than anything. But someone was watching. Closely.

No one else was around. What could be watching them? The eyes didn’t feel holy. Not holy enough for it to be the spawn at least.

Was there a ritual for a situation like this? Was it shade being thrown at them for the words they spoke just before the third round? No one else could be watching them, only the graceful Spawn that watches!

Two Time took a deep breath, and picked up another rock. Rinse and repeat, but now with the scent of chili that lingered. Whoever was cooking in the kitchen, they knew what they were doing, it smelt divine to Two Time.

The chili was almost done, if 007n7 had to assume how much time there was left for it to simmer, it would be around fifteen minutes if they were lucky. The kitchen was scorching, 007n7 was practically melting in his jacket, and Guest took out a can of witches brew from the fridge to drink. Nonetheless, 007n7 still remained near the stove, his back leaning on the counter top.

The lewd thoughts were still lingering in Guests head, but was he in love with 007n7? If he wasn’t, why was he thinking about such… intimate actions with him? It had to be wrong if he wasn’t interested in the ex-exploiter. He tried to push the thoughts away with a swig of the cold bitter drink he was holding, but they just made their way back. The scratches, the whines of pleasure, the touching, how was he not at least a little interested with 007n7? How could he not be? But how could he be? Guest let out a sigh of frustration, why was his head telling him one thing, but then he thought of the opposite?

While Guest was trying to figure himself out, 007n7 was busy staring into the void. As much as he would love to spend all of his time with Guest, they were two completely different people. Different up-bringings, different coping mechanisms, different issues, different families, 007n7 could go on and on with how unalike the two were. Guest was just too good for him. End of the story. He deserved someone better. He had a wife in the end, so why would Guest ever have the same level of feelings with 007n7? He’d accepted it long ago that he wouldn’t find anyone to love after Noli, but there was something blooming in his heart whenever he was around Guest. Only to think all of these events occurred over the past couple of days! If only they weren’t here. Was he sweating because he was standing next to a pot of hot chili in a jacket, or because Guest was the only one filling up his head?

Guest glanced up at 007n7, and noticed that he had droplets of sweat trickling down his forehead. How far was he in his head to not notice that he was wrapped up in a jacket next to a gas stove on high heat?

“Hey n7, you cold over there?” Guest joked as he placed his drink on the counter, watching 007n7’s dead eyes blink a couple of times.

“Pardon?”

“You’re dripping sweat.. don’t you want to move away from the stove? Or take off the coat?” Guest asked with a touch of a more serious tone.

007n7 could feel his cheeks flush, most likely from embarrassment. He immediately wiped his hands on his jacket as he took a couple of steps away from the stove, and walked towards the island.

“Uh, sorry about that.” 007n7 sheepishly mumbled, now on the opposite side of the counter from Guest.

“Theres no need to apologize, I was just wondering why you were standing by the hot stove with your jacket on.”

“Just staring off into space again. As usual.” 007n7 whispered the last part of his sentence, mainly a blow to himself.

Guests gaze made him shiver, 007n7 would let him pepper kisses all over him. It seemed like he was stern, but it was also softer than usual. 007n7 looked back down at the counter, his left hand fidgeting with the zipper to his jacket, his cheeks still dusted pink. His breath was shaky, he hadn’t felt like this in years! And to only find out the one he’s yearned for this entire time had his life put together.. 007n7 was happy for Guest, not for being stuck here, but he built his life from the ground up. Impressive. Nothing 007n7 could ever do.

Guest noticed 007n7 looking away, assuming he was flustered with the way his cheeks were still pink. Guest also looked down at the counter, trying to make sure 007n7 wasn’t intimidated at all. Though that did bring up a question for Guest to ponder over: Why did 007n7 seem shy so out of the blue? Was it because of the lack of contact from anyone, or was it just the sudden amount of time the two had spent with each other? Either way, Guest could walk around the counter and give 007n7 a peck on the lips. Nothing long or passionate as Chance and Elliot still remained in the manor, but enough to show his affection…

Oh shit, he really was in love, wasn’t he?

…

…

Nah.

…

“You know your eyes are real pretty, right?” Guest complimented, looking back up at 007n7.

His eyes widened as he felt his face flush.

“I- uh- Thank you! Your eyes are- um- really nice too!” 007n7 stumbled over his words, he tried to look over at Guest but his face was too hot. What does he do, what does he do?!

By a miracle that Builderman didn’t want to know where it came from, he had somehow escaped out of Shedletsky’s grasp, and left his cabin without waking him up. As much as Builderman just wanted to sit down and rest after dying in almost every round, he was starving. It was a pain he couldn’t ignore, why did he decide to only have one serving of dinner the night before? He was walking on the path to the manor, taking in the odd dryness that the realm was in, something caught his eye in the dark against the moonlight. There Two Time was. They weren’t on the docks but standing close to them, as they kept tossing stones into the water. One after the other, the water kept rippling at the disturbance, and constant splashes were heard from a distance. While it wasn’t strange to see someone around the fishing docks around dinner, the odd part about Two Time being over there was the stone throwing. Were they maybe doing it to pass the time? There wasn’t much to do in the realm, but this felt off for the cultist.

Crouch down, pick up, stand up, and throw.

Over and over.

Cycling.

The blade was gone.

No one else would know.

Two Time has seen this behavior so many times within their religion, and there was no good reason to do it.

Even when they did it to themself, there was no bad intent, it was for the Spawn.

They thought the Spawn would help.

There was a hand laid on their shoulder.

“You doing okay, Two Time?” Builderman asked, watching the cultist whip their head around, rock in their hand.

“Oh greetings! I wish. The Spawn will brace myself with a blessing upon slumber tonight.” Two Time explained, dropping the rock.

“What’s troubling you?” Builderman questioned, his expression growing with worry.

“I fear I am not allowed to repeat what I saw for privacy concerns. If I do, the Spawn would not be enlightened.” Two Time answered, looking at the endless ocean in front of them.

“...Oh. Well, can ya at least tell me how bad it was? I just wanna make sure everyone’s safe, y’know?”

“It is a health and mental concern. Not mine but this should not be ignored. If the person I am fearful for finds out that I saw their… uh… mess, then I shall not be forgiven by them or the holy Spawn.” Two Time lectured, their grin melting away as a more hurt look stained their face.

“I have seen similar behavior before within my religion, but I have always thought it was the Spawn’s sign that a sacrifice was soon. This is not a dwelling sacrifice nor a willing one. None of them were. I want to help someone struggling for once as the Spawn protects the hurt.” They continued, looking beyond the ocean at the bright moon. The glow of it was oddly comforting towards the cultist.

Builderman looked more concerned towards Two Time, they have only seen him with this expression when he first arrived here in the realm, and when someone new is brought here to suffer alongside everyone else. He sighed and took his hand off of Two Times shoulder and spoke up after the silence stretched long enough for him.

“Who is it?”

“I am afraid if I say–

“No, c’mon Two Time this is important. It doesn’t matter who it is, or why you tell me, we are stuck here for the foreseeable future. Everyone needs the other's help, even if… they… y’know, but that’s not important. Getting them help is.” Builderman said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He just wanted to grab food, but now he was dealing with what felt like a mental breakdown and Two Times riddles. They aren’t as bad as Dusekkar’s rhymes, but after a long day you just want someone to speak to you normally.

Two Time stood there, thinking.

“Is it Elliot or Noob? Chance even?” Builderman asked.

Two Time shook their head.

“Okay, none of them… odd… Guest? Shedletsky? Taph or Dusekkar?”

Two Time shook their head again.

“Is it you? I know I’m fine.” Builderman mumbled the last part to himself.

Two Time hesitated before shaking their head again.

Builderman took a moment, who else would–

Oh dear.

That makes a lot of sense now that he thinks about it.

Builderman looked over at Two Time, his expression knit in a way that Two Time was unfamiliar with.

“It’s 007n7, ain’t it?” He grilled, shifting his weight to one of his legs.

“Yes. I didn’t tell you this. Will you fib for me so 007n7 does not find out?” Two Time begged, their hands together in a praying motion.

“Yeah, I won’t tell anyone you told me. My lips are zipped, you and I only know about this talk.” Builderman replied in a quieter tone, noting if anyone was indeed listening, they wouldn’t hear his string of words.

“Thank you. The only other person that definitely has information about Seven is Guest. I know you can craft this lie well. It is polite to mention that Guest and I were planning to talk about these… circumstances over a cup of tea. Would you prefer to join, or would you like to spend your evening resting for tomorrow?” Two Time offered with a relieved look on their face now, a hint of worry still lasting.

“We’ll see if I can. Don’t be surprised if I show up late.” Builderman answered, looking back out at the ocean. Black murky waters that seemed to go on forever, keeping them far away from the null zone.

“I apologize to change the topic of our conversation, but do you know if 007n7 and Guest have finished creating dinner for us? It smells absolutely delightful from out here!” Two Time questioned, they had forgotten how hungry they were earlier.

“I was about to go check, personally I’m starving.” Builderman said as he turned around, and started to walk back towards the manor, Two Time not far behind.

How does this happen? 007n7 had found himself standing against the island, he felt small, as Guest stood above him. Everything was burning, Guest’s hands were on top of 007n7’s keeping him in place. Not like he could run anywhere without his hands on top of the other, even if he could, 007n7 wanted to stay. Stay like this, close, warm, almost holding each other. Oh he could dive in for a kiss on the lips, but what would Guest think? Probably think of 007n7 as hideous, weak, and gross.

The way this originally had happened was Guest and 007n7 kept complimenting each other. A back and forth motion, one that lasted a little while. Elliot and Chance took note about the words exchanged, they weren’t even talking in the living room anymore, they were listening in. Neither Guest or 007n7 noticed. They just kept describing the other with warm words, full of intention and a shy blanket of love. Though one thing led to another, lovey dovey words had turned a little more inducing, things grew, and Guest made the move to walk over to the opposite side of the counter, and hold 007n7 there.

It was beautiful. The two yearned for it, for the other, but they weren’t in love. They couldn’t be! Guest had a family, 007n7 was just a wanted criminal, complete opposites.

007n7 felt shock fill his body as there was a pressure applied down low, in between his legs, being forced away from his mind, he fluttered his eyes closed as he let out a strained whimper, trying to stay quiet. God, he needed more of it. More of Guest, he could just… oh god no what was he thinking?! Getting dirty? With a married man?! He even has a kid! What was he, a homewrecker? Can’t even let a relationship bound with marriage stay together… shit! 007n7 squeezed his legs together, looking up at the man towering over him, pursing his lips as the sound of the gas stove filled their ears.

“Sorry, too far?” Guest asked, his once shit eating grin melting into genuine worry as he straightened and moved his knee away from between 007n7’s legs.

“No, no sorry. Just…” 007n7 trailed off, still feeling his skin burn, he had to use an excuse. Something to distract the two from what they were doing, something to—

“WOAH! My bad, my bad! I forgot to knock!” Builderman said, before slamming the door behind him.

Guest and 007n7 looked back at each other, terror and embarrassment sinking in. Builderman had already seen them sleeping together earlier, and if he wasn’t sure they were together then, he was now.