Chapter Text
Elliot thought he was good with kids. Not great , but good at the very least.
Before his career at Builder Brother’s Pizza ( too young to be hired at the time), he would babysit the neighbor’s kids. Even after his babysitting days were over, he could always find a way to cheer up younger customers. Elliot knew deep down that c00lkidd was just like any other kid, that he wasn’t a killing machine, that he wasn’t here to hack the place—but as hard as he tried, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something would go wrong.
Elliot had sat the boy down at a booth with a slice of leftover pizza meant for himself. With his years of working at the place, he was granted permission over the blacklist, or at least enough to remove a name. It didn’t matter that the admin was notified, that was a problem for later.
He couldn’t help but be a little relieved, as terrible as it sounded, that c00lkidd didn’t touch the pizza at all. Less cleaning to do in the morning, the rational part of him argued. It didn’t stop his heart from aching for the poor kid.
The past 30 minutes or so had been a stressful back and forth of questions and non-answers. All that Elliot had managed to piece together was that c00lkidd wholeheartedly believed he was going to jail , and that was honestly hard to doubt. Either way, Elliot did his best to reassure him that there were no police coming to arrest him, and that he’s not going to jail at 10 years old.
As for 007n7, Elliot couldn’t make heads or tails of what the man’s son was describing. First he was angry, then he was scared, and then he had been funny? Deciphering c00lkidd’s version of events would be a better job for Guest.
While c00lkidd stared blankly at his cold slice of pizza, Elliot busied himself trying to call 007n7 hoping to resolve the issue. He paced down the aisles of seating as the phone rang and rang, trying again and again until the phone stopped ringing at all .
007n7 had blocked him.
Right then and there, just after Elliot’s fifth attempt, blocked. He tried texting—because surely this must be a mistake. After the killing game, it was Elliot who had unblocked 007n7’s number. But his message, a simple “hello”, didn’t go through.
That proved something, didn’t it?
As many negative opinions on 007n7 that Elliot had, being the type of guy to kick his son out of the house was not one of them. If anything, he was too nice of a parent, enabling his son’s bad behavior in fear of being harsh. This was more than harsh , it was downright cruel.
Elliot had half a mind to march down there and chew the man out, but…
“C00lkidd, when’s the last time your dad used exploits?” he asked suddenly, paranoia getting the best of him.
As far as he was aware, 007n7 had sworn off hacking completely, at least after the killing game, and there hadn’t been any alerts of dangerous exploits in his area. Even still, Elliot couldn’t shake off the growing dread.
“Hacking?” c00lkidd responded, voice lacking his usual curiosity.
“Yeah, hacking. Or even using the GUI. Just—anything like that at all. When’s the last time you saw him do that?”
“Today,” came the one-word answer to all of Elliot’s fears.
Today.
“And what did he do with it?”
C00lkidd kicked his feet in thought, fiddling with his hands and picking at his nails. He looked uncomfortable, nervous to answer, as if he were confessing to his bad behavior. Anxiously biting his finger, the boy hunched his shoulders.
“He made a clone and, um… he made water. I don’t remember what he typed on it.”
That was an unusual combination, to say the least. c00lkidd’s description of his dad being “broken” was starting to sound more accurate. Without any knowledge on how exploits worked, Elliot didn’t have a clue what that could possibly mean, but a hacker gone awry had to be very very dangerous.
He didn’t stand a chance, let alone a 10 year old . Heck, it could even be a virus causing 007n7 to act up. Or maybe, a thought sent shivers down Elliot’s spine, it was corruption. Face-to-face with John Doe far too many times to count, it wasn’t hard to remember how it made a husk of the man. Blindly charging at him, rambling nonsense when he killed, acting more like an animal than a Robloxian—Elliot started quaking at the thought of what 007n7 could do.
The pizza place would be wiped off the map, Elliot himself would never respawn, c00lkidd would be abandoned, Robloxia would be in ruins, and—
“I wanna go home already.”
Oh.
He slowly turned to c00lkidd, the boy so tired he could barely keep his little eyes open, so confused at what was happening—Elliot’s heart ached for him. This kid looked up to him , even though he’d wreaked so much havoc, he appreciated Elliot all the same.
As much as he wanted to fold and say that they could go home right then and there, that he’d march c00lkidd back to the boy’s house and teach 007n7 a lesson, the only defense Elliot had against the exploiter would be a pizza pan. He was great at dodging , sure, but c00lkidd needed someone to defend him. Someone better than Elliot, in more ways than one.
He couldn’t help but feel a little pathetic as he stalled, “One moment, kidd. I just need to ask a friend for help.”
What friend ? Who could possibly be available in the middle of the night? Elliot didn’t keep many contacts, and aside from people visiting during work, he didn’t hold many conversations either.
Noob didn’t have the fighting skills, as much as Elliot trusted them, and there was a good chance they were already out cold. Builderman was… beyond busy, to say the least, so bothering him was out of the question. Dusekkar and Shedletsky were great and all, but when was the last time Elliot really had a conversation with them? Not enough to call at a time like this, right?
Elliot was getting to a point where he wasn’t even considering the time of night, desperate for someone who would know what they’re doing.
That was, until he hesitantly pulled up Guest’s contact.
Guest was a father himself, and certainly acted the part. He’d always save a medkit for Elliot despite suffering the worst wounds out of anyone, going out of his way to protect anyone , and that included 007n7. At first Elliot had chalked it up to old army habits, getting along with anyone on the team, but considering how Guest acted around c00lkidd… it was almost like he was going easy on the boy.
“That’s someone’s son,” he’d gone so far as to scold Two-Time once, out of earshot from 007n7.
That was the reason Elliot had skipped him over in the first place. Guest wasn’t a single parent, his wife could stay with their daughter, but that didn’t change the fact Elliot would be calling to deal with dangerous business at such a bleak hour.
He was overthinking this.
Selfishly overthinking.
This wasn’t for Elliot’s sake, it wouldn’t cost him his reputation or his dignity to help a kid. He didn’t have anything to prove, not like his job. There wasn’t a promotion to receive for being polite at an urgent time, no raises or tips.
Shutting his eyes, Elliot hit the call button like there was a chance it would blow his phone to smithereens.
Of course, it didn’t. Rather shortly, the ringing stopped.
“Guest 1337 speaking,” came a gruff voice from the other end of the line. Across from Elliot, c00lkidd perked up.
“It’s me, Guest. Elliot, I mean. Sorry, I shouldn’t be calling so late. Really, I’m sorry,” he scrambled to apologize, customer service habits kicking in despite his best efforts.
“I was already awake, no need to apologize. I take it you aren’t calling to chat.”
Elliot hesitated—how was he meant to explain any of this? Especially when he hardly made any sense of c00lkidd’s story to begin with. Balling his fist to keep from biting his nails, he began to pace down the aisle nervously.
“I’m not. It’s hard to explain, I’m at the pizza place with—“
“Is he helping or not?” c00lkidd interrupted bitterly, and apparently loud enough to be heard by Guest.
“Elliot, who was that?”
Giving up any hope of explaining himself, Elliot put the call on speaker and handed his phone to c00lkidd. The boy took it gingerly, kinder than he’d ever treated any of Elliot’s belongings before—and he had to keep himself from thinking sourly of it. Where was that kind of gentleness when the kid burnt the place down?
“It’s c00lkidd,” the boy answered the phone. “My dad kicked me out of my house. Mister Elliot said you would help, so don’t hurt my dad. I think I already did.”
A pause.
“You’re at Builder Brother’s, correct?”
“Yeah.”
“And your dad is at home. You know how to get back home from there?”
“Only by walking.”
Elliot quickly took the phone back from c00lkidd.
“I can give you driving instructions. It’s not far, less than a minute from here. But you really don’t have to—“ he began to explain, before being interrupted by Guest.
“I’m on my way.”
The call ended before Elliot had the time to protest.
He set the phone on the table, sunk down in the seat across from c00lkidd, and dropped his head in his hands. The realization that this predicament wasn’t going to be solved in a day dawned on him agonizingly slow. He’d have to call an admin the next day, maybe even call off work. Not to mention worrying about where c00lkidd was going to sleep for the night. The guilt of being so afraid that the boy would destroy something again was eating Elliot alive.
There wasn’t much time to think about it all. Hardly five minutes passed before a black pickup pulled into the parking lot outside—faster than it should have taken, abiding by the speed limits.
Guest’s entrance would have been enough for the gravity of the situation to set in, if it hadn’t already for Elliot. With a grave expression he stood in the doorway, silently getting across the urgency that they needed to take care of this quickly— for c00lkidd’s sake, Elliot could only assume.
Of course, he was quick to get up, heading over to Guest with a thankful nod. c00lkidd was not so quick.
Instead, the boy stood in the aisle, brows knit in what looked like an attempt at bravery. He didn’t budge, and if Elliot didn’t have control over his nervous and irrational self, he’d be ushering the kid into the car just to get things over with as quickly as possible, or else he miss work the next day—as if that was the most dreaded outcome.
All of the miserable what-if’s were swallowed down with c00lkidd’s defiant explanation.
“I’m not playing anymore,” he announced to Guest, and only Guest.
Unable to help himself, Elliot took a glance at the man’s expression and watched it crack at the seams, guilt staggering the veteran more than any blow Elliot had seen him take. And despite the clear signs, it took more than a moment for Elliot to realize what the kid had meant, pushing away the thorns of spite to see that c00lkidd was scared.
As Guest took a step forward, c00lkidd stepped back with trembling legs. The veteran took it as a sign to retreat.
“Game’s over,” he eased, hands raised and voice softer than Elliot had ever heard before. “I’m not going to play unfair. No more cheating.”
“Dad’s not playing either, so you don’t get to hit him.”
“I know. I promise,” Guest wholeheartedly agreed, despite both men knowing how difficult that would make things if push came to shove. It was enough for c00lkidd, at least.
“He could beat you in a fight,” the boy bragged, proudly stepping over to Elliot’s side.
Even as the uneasy group made their way to the car—Elliot taking the front seat, only because Guest opened the door for him—c00lkidd used Elliot as a barrier to shield himself from Guest, which didn’t bode well for him, as many, many rounds of the killing game had taught Elliot that he wasn’t very durable. So caught up in impromptu planning for whatever may go wrong, he nearly forgot to instruct Guest on where they were going, receiving an awkward cough and a sideways glance as they pulled out of the parking lot.
The rest of the ride was uneventful, if not shorter than the time anyone needed to mentally prepare for whatever was up ahead.
Guest parked on the street, one house down from 007n7’s, much to c00lkidd’s confusion. He wasn’t able to get any questions in, as both adults nearly left him in the dust as soon as the car stopped. Both Guest and Elliot had come to the conclusion on their own that c00lkidd would not stand for being left in the car.
Nothing seemed off about the house from outside, apart from the lights being on at an unusual hour. Not a sound could be heard, which was both terrifying and a relief.
Of course, Guest was fearless. A few strides ahead of Elliot and c00lkidd, he loudly knocked on the door.
Seconds passed. No answer.
Guest knocked again—the tension in Elliot’s chest was going to make him explode by that point. Again, not a peep.
“007n7! I know you’re inside!” the veteran boldly announced, certainly loud enough to be heard.
And heard he was, as a crackle of static shot through the air and sent Elliot’s hairs on end. Guest leapt back from the door and shielded the two behind him with his body, arms outstretched—and before there was even time to question why he acted so quickly, a burst of flame erupted from the welcome mat, hot as hellfire.
An awful, cruel laugh, one Elliot still heard in his nightmares, sounded from beyond the door as 007n7 reveled in the destruction he supposedly caused. c00lkidd clung to Elliot’s shirt.
Snorting like a bull, Guest took a step back, then braced his arms in front of himself and charged towards the door. The wood splintered and sprayed all across the inside of the house, but Guest was unphased.
007n7 had been knocked down to the ground by the impact, panicking at the sudden violence and scrambling to get back up again. Elliot, only now realizing he could move , stood in front of c00lkidd in an effort to shield his eyes from whatever happened next.
In one hand Guest grabbed both of 007n7’s wrists and held them above the man’s head, pinned to the ground and likely concussed.
“Hey—! Hey now, pause just a second!” he shouted, attempting to squirm free. “I don’t know who you are or what you want, but you don’t have the perms to ban me!”
“You’re going to answer some questions for us,” Guest snarled.
“ Us? ”
007n7 craned his neck, then locked eyes with Elliot. A wicked grin spread across his face before he split into cackles, laughing as though he wasn’t in danger of getting his face punched in.
“Oh! I see how it is! Pizza boy’s got a body guard now! You know, you can’t blacklist me if you can’t prove I did it~!”
Chills ran down Elliot’s spine, images of Builder Brothers’ Pizza up in flames flashing through his mind. This was the real 007n7, wasn’t it? Had the nervous man he’d known throughout the killing games been a farce? A ploy by the Specter for Elliot to let his guard down?
Elliot hugged his chest tight, vision blurring and breath quickening. He shouldn’t be here, he needed to run— but a flash of red before his eyes startled him stone still.
“ No! He took me off the blacklist earlier! Elliot’s nice now!” c00lkidd pleaded, fearlessly standing behind Guest and demanding his father’s attention.
Yet all he received was uncharacteristic ire.
“ You little rat! Anyone ever tell you not to tattle?! Now look what you’ve done!” 007n7 spat viciously, and with every word he shouted his son shrank back as though he had been hit.
Guest had no patience for it. He dragged 007n7 into the house, white knuckled grip unyielding. Elliot, like c00lkidd, was frozen in place, staring blankly as the men’s argument continued loud enough to be heard outside.
“You’re talking to me right now,” Guest interrupted the hacker’s tirade.
“I’ll talk to whoever I wanna talk to!”
“Answer my questions or I'll have you banned .”
“You and what admin?! I still haven’t gotten one good reason why I should, and believe me, you don’t want to test my patience!”
c00lkidd reached for Elliot’s hand, clutching it tight.
“This would count as your last misdemeanor,” Guest threatened, voice low and intimidating, a tone once reserved for misbehaving soldiers and hardly audible from where Elliot stood. “I don’t know if you’re currently aware, but community service is the only thing keeping you out of the Banlands. Do I make myself clear?”
Silence.
The momentary pause was enough for Elliot to gather up the courage to step inside, c00lkidd dragged along with him. There he saw the boy’s father handcuffed with a zip-tie—an unplugged and tangled cord from a lamp in the corner explained where it came from, but not at all how Guest managed to wrangle it onto 007n7’s wrists. He stood across from the defiant man, now seated on the couch and staring up at the home invaders.
“You know what? Fine! I’ll answer your questions if you answer mine,” the hacker reasoned, nervous sweat demeaning his attempt at seeming like the one in charge.
“We have a deal—”
“ I’ll be going first. Why do you care so much?!”
Guest pinched the bridge of his nose and paused. Teeth grit and expression tense, it was clear he didn’t have an answer prepared—at least not one that wouldn’t betray his true motive.
Knowing it was the least he could do for his teammate, Elliot stepped in, bringing back his buried spite from years of workplace torment. With whatever courage—rather,
anger
he had leftover—Elliot could muster, he directed a glare towards 007n7.
“He used to work with me, and you know exactly why I care so much.”
“Gee, I don’t know… wanna remind me?” the man teased, a reflection of his younger self's heartless glee.
Clearing his throat, Guest put an end to the man’s tormenting.
“Wait your turn,” he ordered. “I want you to describe the last 24 hours to me, as much as you remember.”
“If you’re expecting me to confess something big, you’re asking the wrong kind of questions, big guy. I spent most of the day binge-watching and binge eating. A hacker’s gotta take a break, you know!” began the insufferable story. “I mean, woke up in the middle of the day, got dressed, and sat on the couch. Life’s a real dream when you don’t have to work for a living.”
007n7 leaned forward, eyeing (an utterly stone-faced) Elliot for his reaction to the last remark. None of it lined up with c00lkidd’s story, not yet at least. Were it not for his suspicions, Elliot would have assumed it was all a lie. Neither conclusion was easy to swallow. After a second or two without a reaction he continued on to save his ego, sitting back with legs crossed nonchalantly.
“Then, I must’ve fallen asleep or something, because I woke up to an intruder in my house—which would have never happened if I were awake. Would’ve incinerated the guy in a flash. I’m talking wham -! Pile of ash!”
“And that intruder was?” Guest interjected, pausing the hacker’s hypocrisy.
“One question at a time! Point is, he must have done something , because I woke up looking like this !” 007n7 shouted, gesturing wildly to himself with cuffed hands. “Old! Like I work an office job! I kicked the intruder out and spent the rest of the day trying to fix this stupid prank. Obviously, I failed. And if it wasn’t for these creaky joints I wouldn’t be answering your dumb questions, you know. I’m in my prime !”
Fashioning his hands into the shape of a gun, 007n7 pointed towards c00lkidd, one eye shut as if he was aiming a real weapon.
“My turn now. Tell me who the kid is.”
Elliot should have seen it coming.
It wasn’t like in movies, the tragic “ who are you? ” moment with the victim of convenient amnesia guilting over not recognizing their loved ones. 007n7 didn't care at all. Not even when Guest pushed the subject further, disturbing the already gaping wound.
“That’s your son .”
And despite how c00lkidd eased over to Guest’s side, how he puffed out his chest in a brave imitation of the veteran and stared his dad in the eye, 007n7 laughed . Even as his boy tried to keep up the facade, he laughed harder, doubling over with guffaws when the kid flinched back. He laughed like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard, the mere concept of having a son.
“You’re kidding, right?! He doesn’t even look like me!”
“007n7, I need you to—“
“To pay child support? Not happening!”
“You’re missing 10 years of memories, n7!” Elliot interjected, throwing himself into the fray. “Probably even more than that! Can you just sit and listen for once instead of making everything a game!”
“10 years worth of bullcrap! You're trying to tell me I raised this kid?! Why would I ever want to deal with a snotty brat!”
“And why would I ever want to help your son?! A kid you barely ever disciplined?! Because a lot can change in 10 years, n7! Would you stop being such a stuck-up,—“
“Elliot.”
“Selfish,—“
“ Elliot .”
“Man-child—!”
“ Elliot!”
A rough jostle shook Elliot from his ongoing rant, derailing his train of thought and rendering him silent. Guest held onto his shoulder, gravely staring him down. Despite how much he wanted to look at 007n7, to see his shocked expression, Guest stood solidly in the way.
“We don’t have any more time for this. We’re leaving.”
There wasn’t room to argue.
Staring at his feet in silence, gritting his teeth in lingering anger, Elliot nodded his head in agreement. It wouldn’t have been the first time Guest had brought a companion down to earth—he just never expected to be grounded in the same way Two-Time frequently was. The past brought out the worst in him, all the negativity he typically forced down inside.
There was no satisfying ending. No door to slam, no last words to be had, aside from 007n7’s incessant squawking to untie him. Elliot felt numb to it.
“You haven’t seen the last of me, pizza boy .”
He was too cocky to follow, ending with a retort sounding like something from a cartoon villain’s monologue. It would have been easy to make fun of him. Should have been.
His son sat on the doorstep. Hugging his knees, shoulders hunched, and head ducked low, c00lkidd sat alone like a bullied child. A boy who should have been able to run back to his dad, sobbing into comforting arms about the bad man who said such horrible things. A boy who should have been tucked into bed hours earlier.
Suddenly, the humid nighttime air felt suffocating.
———
Dad was sick.
It was the only reason c00lkidd could think of for how terrible he had been. Anyone would be in a bad mood when they weren’t feeling well. c00lkidd got his dad sick, that was all. Elliot and Guest had been whispering the word virus back and forth in the car—the flu was a virus, and he gave dad the flu before.
Elliot didn’t talk to him much. Guest got to hear everything, while c00lkidd was left in the back seat to stare out the window at passing houses. Nobody in the neighborhood had their lights on. Somehow, staying up past his bedtime didn’t seem as fun as it usually was. If only dad was around to make pillow forts, watch movies, and tuck him in once he got tired. Dad was really good at making c00lkidd fall asleep. Now, he couldn’t shut his eyes without imagining fire .
Guest stopped the car at a tall building, like the ones in the city, but not quite. Either way, it was unfamiliar. c00lkidd was fed up with unfamiliar things by now.
He wasn’t given a choice, as Elliot walked around the side of the car to open the door and let him out. There was no need to beckon, c00lkidd hopped down without complaint—only because he was too exhausted to protest. He didn’t get a second chance, either, once Guest drove off just seconds later.
It was just him and Elliot.
Elliot was a lot nicer at the pizza place, a lot nicer when he was working. He offered c00lkidd free pizza earlier, at least. But now? Now he’s gone quiet. That same look in dad’s eyes after staying late for work was in Elliot’s, staring far, far ahead.
c00lkidd followed him into the building, into the brightly lit lobby that hurt his head and onto the shaky elevator that sounded like it would fall. He scratched at a flared up patch of skin on his arm as a distraction—not much else he could do without the chewy necklace he left at home. The wound stung, but didn’t bleed, easy enough to hide.
Dad would’ve spotted it, but Elliot didn’t.
“This is our floor,” he murmured, stepping out of the rickety elevator. Once again, c00lkidd followed.
They entered a dimly lit hallway lined with doors, each one with a numbered sign at the top. It seemed to stretch forever, and c00lkidd nearly expected to walk forever. He couldn’t help but nervously glance behind every once in a while to check that they were even moving at all. Elliot’s hands, swaying by his side as he walked along, were too fast for the boy to reach out for, too twitchy. He resorted to wringing his fingers together.
At long last they reached Elliot’s door: 131. Just the same as any other one they passed. Elliot wasted no time unlocking it, stepping inside and flicking on the light.
It was small.
“Where am I supposed to sleep?” c00lkidd whined, staring with despair at the tiny couch in the main room.
“I have an extra mattress in a closet. Um, you just… sit on the couch while I get it,” Elliot explained without much emotion, hurrying off down a short hall. He turned before disappearing, voice as strict as a teacher’s.
“Don’t touch anything.”
And he shut the door behind him.
A full mattress would barely fit in the room, but it was better than the couch, as c00lkidd would quickly find out—it was as hard as a rock. He kicked his shoes off without much care, doing his best to settle down in an unfamiliar place.
Elliot returned dragging the makeshift bed into the room on its side, having to nudge his guest’s shoes to the side before flopping it down. Tucked beneath his arm was a bundle of sheets, which he made quick work of setting up. c00lkidd knew how to make his own bed, not that he had the chance to mention it. Elliot was in such a rush he didn’t even tuck the top sheet under the mattress.
He didn’t want c00lkidd here, did he? Not on a late night, not in the middle of the week, not after a long day of work.
Had c00lkidd not already learnt his lesson about running away, he would have done so as soon as Guest drove off. The awkward sleeping arrangement wasn’t helping.
“Ok, bed’s all set up… My room’s past the door I just came out of if you need help,” Elliot sighed, gesturing toward the bedroom. “The bathroom is the door right before it. Don’t flush anything weird, okay? And don’t turn on the TV. Or the stove. Or anything that isn’t the lights. Maybe not even the lights.”
“What if I need to see?”
“… Just the lights.”
“What if I need to—“
“ Please just… come get me if you need anything,” Elliot urged, pinching the bridge of his nose. He tossed a pillow from the couch onto the bed, giving it a guilty stare before crouching down to fix it nicely. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be strict. I’m still. Processing…”
c00lkidd stared down at the “bed” made for him. He’d never slept over at anyone’s house, only falling asleep in the car, on the couch or in his dad’s bed when it wasn’t his own. Bitterly, he thought that Elliot was much better at making pizzas than making beds.
“I’m going home tomorrow, right?” he asked, not bothering to look up.
“I don’t know. I really, really don’t know.”
The two went silent.
It stuck around even after Elliot left the room, long enough for the clock beneath the TV to strike 3. It stuck, even as c00lkidd crawled into bed with his daytime clothes. No crickets, no air conditioning hum, no living room fan, nothing like home. Just heavy, heavy silence. There was no room to worry, no room to think.
c00lkidd stared at the ceiling until his eyes slipped shut.