Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hatred paced its domain, paws impacting the flat, colorless ground as it grumbled and growled, finding itself weak, and unable to hate, strangely enough. It first felt this way when you first started meditating in your downtime, for whatever reason. Hatred never liked meditating, meditation just killed its flame, its rage, its hate . And every time you meditated, even if it was just for a moment, it felt like forever to Hatred.
It looked down at its nub hands, its skin previously a vibrant shade of crimson, now desaturated. The color was noticeable enough to draw attention, and Hatred despised this. It despised this with all the hate it could muster, clenching its nubs into fists and whipping its curled tail from side to side. “SUCH A STUPID IDEA… THAT HATRED ITSELF COULD FIND ITS INNATE URGE TO HATE… DAMPENED.” Hatred thought out loud, growls intensifying as a dark pit formed on its face.
From behind, Hatred heard the muted whispers of Anger. What it said, Hatred failed to discern over its growls, which Hatred responded to by lashing out and punting them away, sending them flying across the ground. Looking back at its skin, the maroon became more saturated again, if only for a moment, before fading back.

Hatred, seeing this, grew only more angry, coalescing into a giant maw roaring into the abyss, cursing the person it was trapped within.

Breathing out, you opened your eyes. You felt better than before. It was nice to have a room of your own, thanks to Kyoko. You got up, stretching as you heard your stomach rumble. ‘Man, I gotta eat something…’ You thought to yourself, walking out the door and down the hallway to the kitchen, where you could hear the sound of water boiling.

Walking into the kitchen, you saw Kyoko tending to a boiling pot of water, catching you out of the corner of her eye. “Hey, player! I’m making spaghetti, want some?” She called out to you. You nodded and took a seat at the table. “Has meditation helped you with the stress from the whole ‘saving the world’ prophecy?” She asked, picking up the pot and bringing it over to the sink to pour in the strainer, obscured by the counter. You enthusiastically nodded and smiled, eliciting a smile from Kyoko. “Hey, do you want butter or sauce?” Kyoko asked. You thought for a moment, before asking for both like a madman, for no other reason besides boredom. “Both?! Well, the customer’s right in terms of taste, I suppose." She says, making a bowl of spaghetti for you and her. You took a moment to remember how far you’ve come, and how much you’ve done, and all in so little time! It’s hard to imagine anyone else you’ve met being able to do and survive such crazy things…
Then suddenly, your self-reflection was interrupted by Kyoko setting a bowl of spaghetti down in front of you. You thanked Kyoko for the meal, picked up the fork, and began eating alongside Kyoko. Much to your surprise, the combination of butter and marinara actually tasted pretty good! That, or it could just be that you’ve been scarfing down food to heal instead of having a meal and haven’t tasted any of it at all and thus, this tastes good in comparison. “Looks like you’re enjoying your meal!” Kyoko chuckled, whilst watching you stuff your face in record time with butter marinara spaghetti.

After you finished, you picked your plate and fork up, and brought it over to the sink to clean off and set in the drying rack, before grabbing a book and going back to the table. You sat in silence, reading the book as Kyoko finished her serving, bringing it to the sink, and cleaning it. Kyoko looked at the clock, noticing the time: 9:21. “Geez, it’s getting late, huh? I’ll head off to bed, Player.” She said, to which you responded with a nod, still deeply engaged in your book on the history of snail racing (it mentioned things about ghosts and tales!) 

{Cool time skip transition}

Finally finishing your book, you yawned, and went over to the bookshelf to set it back, noticing the clock out of the corner of your eye, which read… 11:03?! You really spent that much time reading about snail racing?! Well, now that you aren’t compulsively reading, you notice that you do feel a bit tired. Yawning and rubbing your eyes like the silly goober you are, you go back to the guest room, snuggling up in the sheets as you drift off to sleep…

Slowly stirring, your eyes slowly opened, but the light of morning did not reach them. No light reached them. The sky was an empty black void, and the ground was equally as colorless, except for the crimson veins creeping across the ground. A sudden sense of dread seeped into your body as you followed the veins to the center, where you saw the familiar crimson figure you had defeated just hours before. Fear spread across your face as your eyes met its blank face.
Even if Hatred had no visible emotion, you could easily tell that it was torn with animosity.

“ Y O U . “

Chapter Text

“ Y O U . “

Hatred hissed, stepping towards you from the room's core.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!” it roared, pouncing on you like a wild animal and pinning you to the ground by your throat as its tail lashed at the air. Between choked breaths, you told the impish beast that you had no idea what it was talking about. 

“YOU  L I E . “ It spat, pushing its palms harder onto your esophagus. You reminded yourself that this was just a dream, repeating it like a mantra, over and over, it’s just a dream. It’s just a dream. It’s just a dream.

But it felt real - too real. Your breathing became shallow, lungs burning. You scratched and clawed at Hatred’s face and arms, desperate for freedom from its suffocating claws, as your vision began to fade to darkness…

Until Hatred suddenly released its grip. You gasped in the warm air of the Vein Center, coughing as you rolled over, propping yourself up on your hands. Between coughs, you could hear Hatred coughing as well when you looked back at the Red Thing. 

“I  C U R S E  YOU! I  C U R S E  YOUR INABILITY TO DIE!” Hatred roared, whipping around to face you. “I  C U R S E  YOUR ATTEMPTS AT SUFFOCATING ME - ATTEMPTS AT MAKING ME WITHER TO NOTHING! WE ARE ONE IN THE SAME... BONDED BY SOUL! YOU CANNOT KILL ME WITHOUT DYING!” 

You shook your head in response; was it out of defiance? Fear? You knew not. Seeing your response, Hatred turned around, laughing hysterically and clawing at the skin of its face, tearing open a hole as its laughing turned to rageful screaming. Unable to muster the will to get up, you began to crawl away as quietly as possible whilst Hatred had its breakdown. 

“STOP.” 

You immediately froze, not daring to turn around. 

“...DO YOU KNOW... WHAT YOU’RE DOING TO ME?” Hatred asked, sounding unnaturally calm, given what you knew of them. You didn’t respond. “...YOU THINK IT’S ALL A DREAM... DON’T YOU?” 

The room was silent, except for the wheezy breaths rattling out of your throat as Hatred’s tail whipped side to side through the air.

“I WILL GET MY ANSWERS PLAYER,” Hatred grumbled as they walked towards the player, looming over them. “I REFUSE TO DIE PURPOSELESS.”

Then, left with that last cryptic message, you awoke.

Your eyes opened to Kyoko frantically shaking you and calling your name, “Player, wake up, Player!” 

You grabbed her hand and assured her that you were okay. 

“But your neck is bruised! Did someone try to choke you?” 

Your expression immediately dropped as you reached up to touch your neck. It hurt.

You brought your hands in front of your face; they were bruised, too. You looked up at Kyoko, who was looking at you with an expression of horror. 

“Did… did you...?” 

You rapidly shook your head. You would never do that! 

“Then who?” 

You told her it was Hatred who strangled you. 

“But didn’t you defeat Hatred back at the mansion?” 

You say you thought so, but suppose it was only temporary... 

Kyoko and you sat in silence for a while as you softly caressed your throat, still feeling the pain of being strangled. You had to do something about this. Fast. If Hatred found out that it could damage you outside the dream world, who’s to say it wouldn’t try to kill you again?

You got up, walking over to the wardrobe to find something to hide the bruises, throwing open the doors and surveying the container for a scarf, a turtleneck, a bandana, something to cover the bruises. Your eyes fell on a red bandana, a neat-lookin’ ball cap with the ROBLOX R on it, and a pair of cool fingerless gloves. You put them on and shut the wardrobe before turning around to look at Kyoko, striking a sick pose as you do. Kyoko proudly clapped for the little fashion show you were putting on. 

“So, what’s your plan now? Hopefully get that therapy I suggested…” Kyoko nudged you in the side with her elbow, eliciting a friendly giggle from you. 

You told her you just had a gut feeling that Shedletsky needed some help, but you really knew you needed something to get your mind off that dream-nightmare-hallucination, mission or not.

But before you could head out, she spoke up. 

“Hey, do you wanna talk about your nightmare? I could imagine that after all the stuff with the Ghostwalker, having to relive something like that must’ve reopened wounds.” 

You looked guilty. You didn’t want to waste Kyoko’s time on someone like you, but you knew that she would be sad if you refused.

You reluctantly nod your head before walking back to sit on the bed beside Kyoko, head turned down and away from her. “So tell me what happened down there, where the Ghostwalker was?”

You have nothing left to lose. You can trust her, right? You answer honestly.

You tell her about Builderman, about how you trusted him, about how that trust was betrayed.

You tell her about Greed, about the reaching hands, about the pile of tix.

You tell her about Solitude, about the ducks, about the unblinking eyes.

You tell her about Fear, about the forest, about how it tried to help you - warn you about Builderman.

You tell her about HATRED.

You tell her about Violence, the sickening scent of charred remains, the burning caskets and bodies.

You tell her about Purgatory, demeaning words of lost souls who promoted self-hate, a swing you did not deserve to ride on.

You tell her about the pain HATRED caused to you, how you barely survived the fight.

And it all was the truth.

Kyoko looked at you with shock and sympathy. You should've known this was a mistake (the Ghostwalker shudders) you should've just kept your mouth shut and made yourself useful -

A sudden hug broke through the hateful thoughts, silencing them completely. 

“Player... Do you remember what I said back at the mansion? Thinking about the good times?” Kyoko asked, keeping her hands on your shoulders as she pulled away from the hug. You nodded your head. “Tell me about a couple of good times you had.”

...There was Bizville of course, talking with all the friendly residents, the excitement you felt over starting your journey. Fishing in the meadows was nice too, there were so many different fish to catch! Roadtown's cold comfort and cozy inn, the hot cocoa there helped warm you against the freezing cold, and tasted great. The first meeting with Kyoko was nice too, you found solace in knowing there were more people like you, more adventurers. 

Your second encounter with Kyoko in Turitopulis comforted you, too, hearing her excitement to continue adventuring into the Rugged Rainforest. But after being able to just honestly talk to her in the Mansion made you feel a lot better about the place. It went from a massive mysterious structure to a place where you could take a rest without worrying, like Bizville, Roadtown, and Turitopulis.

“Now, do you feel better? Thoughts unclouded?”

 You nodded your head. 

“You’re strong. Even despite the weight of your responsibilities, you keep truckin’ on. Don’t forget that I'm always rooting for you.” Kyoko looked at you with the friendliest and most genuine smile you've ever seen, and for once, you felt at home. 

You shed a tear, pulling Kyoko in for a hug, which she gladly reciprocated, gently patting your back. Both of you held the hug for a little while longer, before separating. 

“Now, don’t you have something to get to? I wouldn’t wanna keep you from an adventure!” 

You nodded your head, getting up off the bed and opening the door, stopping in the doorway to look back at Kyoko and wave to her, before setting off on another adventure.

You arrived at the Roblox HQ, heading down to the basement to discuss your next mission with Shedletsky, walking past the many developers hard at work, to the rightmost room where Shedletsky was waiting.

“ah, Player! i’ve been waiting for you! it's good to hear that you’re here so soon, i've heard that there’s been some fiasco at the mansion: a bunch of bandits have been raiding it, terrorizing the visitors and taking things! i’d love to show them a piece of my mind, but considering my er... current status, i’m hardly able to beat a nooblet! regardless, those two are a thorn in both of our sides until their removal, so why don’t you go give ‘em and their leader a good beating!” 

You nodded and smiled bravely, turning and leaving the room as you could hear Shedletsky call out, “good luck Player! go show those scrubs what you can do!”

---{lil smol time skip}---

You finished pelting the last bandit with a barrage of pellets, celebrating another easy victory before grabbing some Tix from their pockets and heading up the hilly path towards the mansion. 

Inside the mansion were several visitors on the ground, taken hostage and being watched by a couple bandits, one of which you stealthily took down with a precise power shot, pulling the attention of the other, who rushed towards you with their bat held high, attempting to bring it down on your skull. 

They narrowly missed the strike, only for their face to be met with a forceful strike to the face and a point-blank barrage of pellets to the face, knocking them out cold as their head hit the carpet.

You put the slingshot at your side, rushing over to a hostage and promising them you’re here to help, untying the ropes around their wrists and telling them to do the same with the others as you began to go from room to room defeating bandits and saving hostages.

Reaching the dining room last, you were stopped by a strained voice to your right, “Wait..!” To your side was the banished knight, clutching his shoulder, his sword missing.
“It is dangerous there... I am not sure you can handle it...” He hoarsely warned, coughing as he spoke.

You quickly came to his side, grabbing a cheeseburger out of your pocket and using it on him, bettering him, but not enough for a serious fight.

The knight rose to his feet, clutching his shoulder. “My thanks, dear squire. But are you sure that you can handle that fight?”

You gave him a look that said; “C’mon, I’ve fought worse.”

“Ah, you are right, but even still, you must fight them with care. One of those bastards took my sword.” He angrily spat towards the doorway. You nodded affirmatively, turning to the doorway.

Peeking into the room from the doorway, you notice a group of bandits; a big one, one with a helmet, and two regular bandits, one of which brandishing the Banished Knight’s sword. You planned a battle strategy in your head for a minute; lead with a ball for first strike advantage, fire your launcher at the Big Bandit to decrease armor, barrage their face with pellets, dodge and counter the other bandits' attacks, disarm the sword wielder, save the helmet and bat wielder for last.

Plan formed, you quickly head into the room, acting on your plan. Throwing your Hyperball at the Big Bandit while they had their back turned and following up with a rocket launcher to the Big Bandits chest, knocking them backwards then a six pellet combo to the face as you run up the bandit’s leg for coolness points, backflipping off and landing on the ground, deftly rolling under the headbutt of the Helmet Bandit and striking him in the side with, stopping in place as you saw the Sword Thief Bandit raising the Banished Knight’s sword up to bring it down on your face.

You certainly couldn’t dodge out of the way in time, so you brought out the Icedagger and parried the blade The bandit’s face was overwhelmed with shock and terror, whereas you smugly smirked, pushing the bandit’s blade to the side as you swiftly plunged the dagger into their chest then pulled it out, encasing them in a block of ice.
Standing up, you tipped the block over, shattering the ice and knocking the bandit unconscious.

The other two bandits looked on in amazed terror at the Ice Dagger as you charged your next attack, stancing up as the Helmet Bandit rushed forwards, babbling nonsense as you ducked under their headbutt, kicking them backwards and throwing a bundle of dynamite at them, blowing them into a wall, knocking them unconscious too.

The last bandit was shaking with fear, bat trembling in their hands as they attempted to look scary. “I-I’m not scared of you!!!” They yelled out, attempting to intimidate you. In response, you raised a hand, gesturing them forward, inviting them to try. The bandit gripped their bat tighter as you took out your slingshot and barraged them with another burst of pellets, leaving them weak for one shot to KO. The bandit rushed towards you, attempting to bring their bat down on your head, which you effortlessly dodged, countering with a fist to their face, knocking them out cold.

With the last of the bandits dealt with, you looked around the room, noticing the brave knights of Blackrock were all knocked out. There were no hostages, likely moved out of the room. Exploring further, you noticed the door to the basement was open, a crowbar beside the bent metal bars.

Squeezing through the bars, the most notable thing about the dark room behind the bars was the dusty furniture, covered with sheets, and the two pairs of fresh footsteps in the dust illuminated by light through the barred entrance, leading to the stairwell at the back of the room. Carefully following the footsteps, you crept towards, and down the stairwell into the basement.

At the bottom was a fairly standard basement, random trash and stuff, forgotten and dusty. A light shone from a room deeper in where clattering and indistinct speech could be heard. You crept forward, careful not to alert the invaders to your presence.

Peeking into the room you could see the Purple and Green noobs from the train rifling through the room for loot. They’re probably the leaders of this whole operation.

“Bah, this place’s got barely anythin’! I thought that Telamon was rich, considerin’ they own a mansion like this! Guarded by the undead and everything’ too!” Green spat, throwing around random trash from a cardboard box.

“Hey, at least we got some loot! Check this crown out!” Purple bragged, placing a shiny golden crown on her head. “Don’t wear the loot you knucklehead, do you want this to be traced back to us?!” Green shouted at Purple, snatching the crown off her head and tossing it into a sack of treasures stolen from the basement. Purple grimaced, and crossed her arms

It’s about time to intervene. You stepped into the room as you brandished your trusty slingshot, noticed shortly after by Purple, who drew her katana from her back. “Well well well! Looks like we gots ourselves a witness, Green!” She said, grinning evilly.

Green looked up from the sack, taking his mace from his waist and smirking just as devilishly as his partner.

“ Looks like you're right! Ain’t that the guy from the train?” He queried, turning to his partner.

“Yeah, we gots a grudge wit ‘em don’t we?”

“Yeah we do! Whaddya say we beat ‘em to a pulp like we shoulda done a long time ago?” Green said, walking over to Purple.

“Gladly! Cause we’re Purple and Green,” Purple started, striking a threatening pose.

“And we’re tough and mean!” Green finished, also striking a menacing pose.

You began the fight by whistling for Red n’ Blue, who quickly rushed in as you released a barrage of pellets at Purple, who retaliated with a quick slash you deftly blocked with your arm.

The Red n’ Blue duo sped into battle, as Blue sled across the ground and Red jumped over, followed by a push from Blue to strike Green in the gut with a mighty stab.

Green winced and pulled back his mace, slamming Red in the face and knocking him away as Green pulled out Red’s sword, tossing it away before getting hit in the side by a bundle of dynamite from you.

You helped Red and Blue out with a charge card, before skillfully dodging an attempted surprise double swipe from Purple, getting hit by the third strike in the combo.
Red and Blue quickly closed the distance between them and Purple, who could not react fast enough as Blue got a boost from Red to strike Purple across the head from above with a spinning slash.

Out of the corner of your eye you noticed Green raising his mace for an attack, which you reacted to by blocking the first strike and dodging the second, gaining some distance from Green before launching a charged shot at Purple, knocking her down.

Green saw this, and tightened the grip on his mace with rage, as he spoke through gritted teeth. “Alright.. Playtime’s OVER!” He angrily yelled, before getting struck in the back by a power shot, causing him to fall to a kneel.

Red and Blue quickly took advantage, performing a Duo Stab again which struck Green in the shoulder. Green got up on shaky legs, stancing up to charge his mace with poison, an attack that would be devastating should it land.

...Too bad it would not, as you drew the Venomshank from your incredibly deep pockets, raising it above your head and slicing through the air, propelling a toxic slash through the air at Green, who could only stare as it struck him in the chest, knocking him to the ground as he started to fall unconscious.

The last thing Green saw before falling unconscious was your smug face, flipping him off.

Red and Blue high-fived each other, and you breathed a sigh of relief, munching on an apple to heal.

“AW YEAH!! We totally kicked their butts!” Red excitedly bragged to Blue, hopping up and down as they held Blue’s hands.
Blue laughed, celebrating with Red. “You know we did! Red and Blue-”  “-Showing who’s who!” Red completed the rhyme.

You told the duo that they did well too, putting your slingshot back at your side as you walked over and high-fived both of them.

Red noticed the bag of valuables, walking over and pulling down the rim of the bag to look inside, eyes sparkling as he saw the pile of trinkets and treasures.
“Woah! Blue, check this out! It’s a big ol’ bag of loot!”
Blue walked over and looked inside too, eyes opening wider as they peeked at the loot.
“Was this the stuff that Purple and Green were trying to steal?” Blue asked, reaching in and procuring a platinum necklace, decorated with valuable gems.

You told the duo that the loot was Telamon’s, and that they were not to touch it.

“Aw mannn...” Red whined, as Blue put the necklace back.

Instead, you suggested for the duo to help you get Purple and Green out of the mansion before they woke up and tried to continue their thievery, to which they enthusiastically agreed. You told them to carry Purple, and that you would carry Green. The duo nodded in sync, walking over to Purple and hefting her onto their shoulders as you single-handedly picked up Green and tossing them onto your shoulder.

You and the siblings carried Purple and Green up the stairs, squeezed them through the bars, and threw them outside of the mansion’s front door.

“Geez! Purple’s heavier than she seems...” Blue said, breathing heavily as she gripped her knees. 

“I guess she oughta lay off on the cheeseburgers, eh?” Red joked, elbowing Blue in the arm. Blue chuckled at Red’s joke, shaking her head.

Before you left, you asked the duo if they could help the guards from Blackrock Castle to clean up the mess the bandits made, to which Blue agreed and Red half-agreed, which took some convincing from Blue to switch to a full agree.

You waved goodbye to the duo, heading back down the hill to the train to head back to Bizville and reconvene with Shedletsky.

You walked down the stairs to the basement of the Roblox HQ, moving towards the far room where Shedletsky was waiting as per usual.

“ah, Player! good to see you back! i trust my mansion is safe, and its treasures aren’t stolen?” Shedletsky asked as you walked in the room.

You affirmed that his things are safe and sound in the mansion, and that Purple and Green were kicked out.
“good to hear! tell you what, you can have this card as thanks.” Shedletsky offered, holding up an HP+ card, which you thanked him for and took. 

“i’m afraid there’s not much else for you to do right now, so i suppose you could go home and relax. i think you deserve a break, after all the tasks i’ve burdened you with.”

You nodded, and left the HQ to go back to Kyoko’s place.

Arriving at the house, you noticed all the lights were off, and there was a note on the side table by the doorway.

Picking it up and reading it said:

“Assuming the person reading this is Player, I’ve gone off to have another adventure!
I may not be back for a while, so the house is yours till I’m back! Treat it well, please.

With love,
-Kyoko <3”

Seeing this caused you to sigh, although truthfully you expected this, considering Kyoko is an adventurer. Setting the note back down on the side table, you walked over to the couch, deciding to meditate.

This time though, you did not plan to meditate to relax, but instead to see if you could re-enter the dream world and subdue Hatred once more, in its weakened state.

Closing your eyes, you pictured Hatred’s domain, focusing on the idea of travelling there, being there, feeling the warm air and the hard, flat ground...


And then you were there.

Chapter Text

Hatred watched as you disappeared, having escaped the dream world- and Hatred’s questions by waking up. Hatred clutched its hand, seething with rage as it roared into the abyss.

It was tired of the silence, the warm air, the abyssal surroundings.

Hatred found it… Boring. How funny.

This place, the very embodiment of hate, the birthplace and birthright of HATRED. 

And Hatred found it boring.

Hatred wanted something new. It stared down at its hand, dissatisfied with the featureless tendril, Hatred reshaped it.

Hatred hissed as scarlet flesh sickeningly tore apart and melded together, reassembling into a 4 fingered hand.

The pain was almost enjoyable.

Almost.

Staring down at the other hand, Hatred contorted the appendage in about the same way, but slower this time.

Hatred stared closely at the process, tilting its head side to side as the flesh slowly ripped apart into strands, which re-integrated back into Hatred’s slim form.

Fascinating.

Hatred raised their hands out in front of them, turning them every which way and bending their clawed fingers.

Taking a moment to reflect, Hatred realized that it never really paused to examine the domains of the others, even when it was tricking the player. And so it stopped seeing, focusing on the Hand of Emotions, picturing the outstretched hand, surrounded by many more.

It had been a long time since Hatred tried this. For the most part, it preferred to just stay in its domain, like the others.

But the others were dead now.

No risk.

No punishment.

And Wrath had bored Hatred. How ironic.

Hatred started to see, looking around to see the circle of hands, and the four Orbs of Emotion before it.

A golden orb, shining and enticing. Avarice. Greed’s domain.

A sapphire orb, empty and touch-starved. Isolation. Solitude’s domain.

An amethyst orb, shaking and scared. Terror. Fear’s domain.

A ruby orb, burning and deranged. Wrath. Hatred’s domain.

Hatred walked across the hand’s palm, reaching out to the pulsing orb of Avarice, clutching the orb with one hand.

As Hatred’s grip tightened on the orb, the environment around it warped and morphed into sketched yellow platforms hovering static high above a droning void and pencil pillars stretching into infinity in the distance, framed against the slowly shifting grid-patterned background.

Hatred walked down the steps, examining the world around it as it walked past a yellow blob, muttering about mathematics.

Hatred continued to progress, passing another yellow blob, murmuring about things not adding up.

Nearing a crossroads. Hatred noticed a smiling bear and a small orange creature at the bottom of the stairs. Once the two dream entities took notice of Hatred, their behavior immediately became negative, the bear’s smile shifted to a frown, and the orange boy looked nervous.

Hatred drew closer to the two creatures, it felt the orange one reminded it of something… That’s right, what it reminded Hatred of was an orange.

Food.

Hatred bent down, grasping the small orange thing in its claw, turning it around and inspecting the sketched creature’s form.


Hatred did not know what an orange tasted like.

With its other hand, Hatred dug a clawed digit into its face, dragging it along in a zig-zagging line, creating sharp teeth as scarlet ichor dripped from Hatred’s mouth. Opening and closing its new mouth, Hatred tested how it felt to move this new orifice, still dripping with ichor. Satisfied with its handiwork, Hatred turned its head back to the Borange Boy, donning a sickening sneer as Hatred tore its mouth open wide, lifting the dream monster to its mouth. Hatred could feel it struggling against its grip as it was drawn closer to Hatred’s gaping maw, and then dropped in.

The little creature was very chewy, and did not taste like much at all. How disappointing. Spitting out the fake orange, all that was left was a small pile of pulp, stained with Hatred’s scarlet ichor. Displeased with the experience, Hatred resealed it’s mouth, seeing no purpose in having it for the time being. Hatred looked around for the bear, but it was nowhere to be found. It must’ve ran away.

Hatred continued on its exploration through Avarice, walking past several more yellow blobs on its way to a door in the distance, entering the second layer of Greed’s domain, Personification.

Personification consisted of floating platforms connected with bridges, similar to Thought, but there were no pillars, and the platforms were significantly larger.

Everything was a dull grey-brown color, and mannequins littered the area.

There was little to see or hear here. Hatred disliked this layer the most.

Hatred quickly navigated across the platforms to get to the next layer, hopping down a hole with golden arms reaching out to enter the maze.

The maze brought some fun to Greed’s domain, even though the hands that reached out to the Player did not reach for Hatred.

Hatred spent some time roaming the halls, managing to stumble its way back to the start a couple of times before finally making it to the finish, an archway made of golden arms, just like the walls.

Through the archway was a square room, a pile of tix in the middle. Hatred never valued such materialistic things. It certainly didn’t help that the pile of tix was fake.

Hatred thought Greed was the weakest of the emotions, and the Player’s quick fight with Greed certainly confirmed it.

Walking past the pile of phantom tix, Hatred stood before another yellow orb. The return trip. Hatred reached out and placed its hand upon the sphere, and the world around Hatred faded to black.

Now returned to the Hand, Hatred’s attention fell upon the blue orb. Isolation. Slowly it spun, turning for nothing and no-one. Hatred drew close, stopping in front of the orb before dragging its claws along its surface, scratching the glassy material, halting the spin.

And then the world began to spin, becoming more blue as the Hand disappeared, and the Lone Lamp materialized.

Hatred walked forwards, past the broken street lights, to the lone functioning light.

The bright lamp stood out within the center of the circle, like the last sparkle of hope before death.

Hatred stepped under the lamp, bathing itself with light as it stopped seeing.

When Hatred began to see again, it found itself submerged in water, but not floating. Hatred climbed out of the pond, surveying the white void around it.

The pond had two ducks within, floating on top of the water.

Water.

Hatred never felt what water felt like. This pond, of course, was another fabrication. Appearing as water, but not acting as. Hatred kneeled to the ground at the edge of the pond, attempting to plunge its hands in, to feel how water would feel in its hands.

But Hatred felt nothing as its hands entered the water.

No resistance.

No chill.

Nothing.

Hatred took its hands out, palms upward to gather a small puddle in each of its palms.

But such did not happen. The false water simply phased through Hatred’s hands.
Would it never feel water? Just as it would never have food? Hatred cursed the Player for trapping it in this world, where it could never eat nor drink.

Hatred stood back up, turning to follow the duck-tiled road, walking past several more ducks as its tail lashed at the air with anger, until it came to the end of the path. At the end a massive duck shaped thing with many arms protruding reached one arm down, creating a door to the final layer.

Inside the door, the white void outside became black, and the top and bottom edges of the walls were accented with blue. 

Continuing forwards, Hatred came to a hole in the ground.

To the North was a wave. 

To the East was the sun.

To the South was a cloud.

To the West was the moon.

Hatred saw the puzzle in action when it was following the player, all you had to do was head in the direction the symbol was facing.

Hatred jumped down the hole, following each cue as the symbol in its vision changed.

North, East, North, West, South, etc…

The gift for finishing this puzzle was the empty black void Solitude once gathered dust in, killed by the Player.

Solitude was better off dead. All it did was take up space. To Hatred’s right was the blue orb from the Hand, the way in, now the way out. 

Hatred placed its claw on the surface of the orb, and the world around it had faded away before Hatred was returned to the Hand.

There was now one domain left.

Terror. 

Hatred stepped towards the orb, reaching its hand out and touching the orb. The world warped around it, as Hatred was sent to the first layer of Terror: Embodiment.

Hatred found itself in front of a purple door frame, looking out over the geometric drawing of a person. No matter how hard it tried, Hatred could not walk off the figure.

With nowhere else much to go, Hatred began to explore the figure, passing more dream creatures as it walked down one of the arms of the drawing, meeting a gangly orange figure, flopping around in an attempt to dance as it mentioned ants in its pants.

Even considering the other bizarre things of this world, this had to be what Hatred considered the strangest. 

Hatred backtracked, continuing to explore the figure to locate the way deeper in, before finding its way down the figure’s leg, and to a green doorframe. Considering that there were no other ways forward, this had to be it.

Hatred stepped inside…

And found themselves in the second layer of Terror.

Grayscale.

A white path stretched out in front of Hatred, and two lines of unblinking-eyed orbs floated parallel to the entrance. Hatred followed the path forwards, coming to a circle surrounded by orbs all staring into the middle of the platform.

Inspecting the platform further, Hatred discovered a switch in the center. Hatred touched it and…

The world looks black.

The pale white structures and gazing eyes and path became black, and kanji covered every surface. Going back down the path, the entrance to Embodiment disappeared, replaced with more of the path.

And so Hatred began the trek, passing “people” and open doors that shut the moment Hatred got close.

Nearing the end of the path, Hatred saw another switch at a bend, only one eye staring down at the center of the switch.

Hatred walked closer, reaching down to interact with the switch and…

The world looks white.

The path backwards was sealed now, so the only way was forwards. Deeper into Terror. Hatred continued forward, walking underneath a towering building and towards a tree at the side of the path, which began to tilt downward. Hatred continued to follow the path, as the roots of the tree stretched downward, parallel to the path.

A door shut.
The roots slowly started to fade to purple, the shadows creeped.

A door shut.
The roots' purple shade became more prominent, the shadows crawled.

A door shut.
The roots were a nice shade of lavender, the shadows reached.

A door shut.
The roots branched less, and even against the grey the purple stood out, the shadows enveloped.

The roots stopped. The shadows consumed. The slope landed.

The entrance to the forest was just up ahead, where the pale path faded to darkness.
Hatred marched forwards, braving the abyss to find itself in…

The final layer.

Fear’s forest.

A crossroad was placed before Hatred, an arrow at the split pointed right. But Hatred was familiar with this puzzle, Hatred simply had to go the opposite way the arrow instructed.

Hatred went left, and as it took the path, a translucent purple filter faded in, obscuring Hatred’s vision, but not enough to impede its movement.

Hatred found itself back at the start of the crossroad, but with a detail changed, the arrow pointed left. So Hatred went right.

Back at the start, but the space between trees disappeared, and so did the arrow. 

Or so it seemed. The arrow simply moved to the bend, pointing right again. So Hatred went left.

Back again, another thing changed. The arrow was certainly gone. Hatred would’ve been forced to guess. But there was another change. One of the leaves of the trees tilted, pointing to the right. So Hatred went left.

Returned. It was monotonous, but at least it wasn’t constant suffocating warmth. The change now was a sign, meant for the Player, but they were not here. It begged the Player to go to the right. So Hatred went left.

It failed to end. The desperation in Fear’s actions were clear now, as all the leaves of the trees pointed left. So Hatred went right.

Another repeat. The gap in the trees returned, larger, and with the words; ‘PLEASE LEAVE’ floating in the gap. The middle line of the E was the arrow, pointing right. So Hatred went left.

Again. The trees became scribbly, and the words; ‘GO AWAY’ floated in the gap. The arrow, pointing left, was hidden in the G. So Hatred went right.

Once more. The trees were gone, replaced with the word ‘PLEASE’ in giant letters, scribbles going to the right. The arrow hid on the L, facing left. So Hatred went right. It took longer for Hatred to return to the crossroad this time.

No more. There were no more arrows. Just trees, which trailed off the path to the left. Hatred followed the trees, eventually coming to a gap. In the center of the gap a little purple sapling grew. It looked different from the other trees.

That’s because Hatred knew it was not a tree, but a redeveloping Fear. Fear was hard to be rid of for long, it is as natural as joy. Hatred’s brow furrowed at the sight, raising a foot above the unaware sapling then bringing it down, crushing it while it was weak.

Hatred ground it into the floor, ensuring it was dead once more.

By now, Hatred’s seen all there is to see. There is nothing more of the dream world. Hatred was trapped in a prison with no exit, and with no other prisoners.

Where was Hatred to go besides its cell?

Hatred stopped seeing, and begun to picture the scarlet tendrils of the vein center, its only home. It imagined the uncomfortably warm air, the suffocating silence, the nothingness that permeated every aspect of Hatred’s domain.

And then it was there. Hatred looked around, gazing at what might just be its eternal prison. But something- no- some things were wrong.

The veins were darker, shriveled slightly.

Anger was gone. Nowhere to be found.

The air was… colder, too.

Hatred looked down at its hands, which were… off-color. Hatred’s previously vibrant red skin was darkened, decayed to a maroon.

Hatred was weak.

In this state, the Player would surely be able to kill it, should they try.

If Hatred could not defeat the player the first time, it doubted that it would succeed the second time.

This realization broke Hatred, if it was not broken already. It shuddered, then dropped to its knees, laying down on its side as it brought its limbs into itself, curling into a ball.

Hatred laid there in the center of the room, where the veins converged. It laid for what felt like eternity, hours upon hours passed as Hatred lamented its loss of purpose, and sure to be imminent death.

And then you were there.

You snatched your slingshot from your waist, cocking it with a pellet as you verbally challenged Hatred to a rematch, full of fire and determined to win.

“IF YOU SAY SO…” Hatred sighed, barely moving from its fetal position on the ground. You weren’t one to argue about the well-being of your foes, but it was somewhat disturbing to see the very embodiment of Hatred acting like… this.

You brought up your concern about the way Hatred is acting, walking closer as you put your weapons away. Just before getting within touching distance, the thought of a sneak attack from Hatred crossed your mind, causing you to flinch back just before touching it.

“STILL SCARED… SURPRISING. YOU HAVEN’T NOTICED YET? MY… POOR STATUS?”

Looking around, you noticed that the color of the veins looked smaller and darker, and so did Hatred. You asked Hatred how this happened, and what caused it. No response. Somehow, deep inside, you felt a little… sympathetic somehow. The idea of it amused you slightly; the idea of sympathy for hate itself.

You sat down next to Hatred, palms on the cold ground- another detail to show how weak Hatred and its domain has become.

“…DO YOU KNOW… WHAT AN ORANGE TASTES LIKE?” Hatred spoke up, unmoving from its fetal position, like a corpse. “I HAVE NEVER. COULD YOU DESCRIBE IT TO ME?”

You asked if Hatred would like to try one for itself. Suddenly, Hatred’s body twitched, and its horn perked up like a cat ear, which was quite amusing. “DO YOU… HAVE ONE?” Hatred asked, raising its head slightly.

In response, you took the orange you’ve had in your pockets for what felt like forever out, and told Hatred you did. 

Before you could ask if Hatred would like you to peel the orange for it, Hatred sat up, snatched it from your hand, and bit into it peel and all in one fell swoop.

As Hatred bit in, orange juice splattered onto its face and dripped onto the ground.

Hatred paused, orange in its hands, pushed against its face. You thought it had broke at the taste, surely ruined by the peel. But your assumptions could not be farther from the truth.

Hatred reveled in the flavor, the bitter peel, the sweet and tang of the juices, the way said juices splattered across Hatred’s face, Hatred loved every bit of it. Hatred opened its mouth again, shoving the rest in and thoroughly chewing it into a pulp, gulping it down to who knows where. 

You watched on in mild concern as Hatred sat there, orange juice dripping down its face like a 4 year old who did not yet know you had to put food in your mouth to eat it. 

You jokingly asked Hatred if they enjoyed it, to which they enthusiastically nodded. “DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER?” Hatred asked, staring at you with wide eyes, even despite its highly notable lack of eyes.

You sadly had to deny Hatred’s plea, to which it responded to with deep growls and a lashing tail. In an attempt to defuse the situation early, you offered to give Hatred something else instead.

Rummaging through your pockets for an item that isn’t of as much value as the others, your hand found a cheeseburger, taking it out and offering it to Hatred. It reached out and snatched it from your hand, bringing the burger up to its mouth and biting into it.

As Hatred bit into the burger, it froze again. Hatred thought the orange had a rich taste, but by Builderman, this burger was absolutely fucking amazing. Salty and sweet and savory and hundreds of different tastes Hatred had not the words to describe. Hatred quickly proceeded to gobble down the rest of the burger, barely savoring the taste at all because it was stupid. 

Luckily for you, Hatred now seemed satisfied with its meal. Sitting there, unresponsive as its tail swished from side to side. You sat there with Hatred, not doing much at all. Not even talking.

And then a realization hit you.

Have you been befriending the very embodiment of Hatred?? You both were chilling like friends, although it could also be seen as you subduing a wild animal to the point of it tolerating you, but the idea of you befriending Hatred itself was kinda funny to be honest.

You turned to look back at Hatred, who was now staring at you intensely. You had no idea why, and were now getting worried.

“WHAT DO… YOU… TASTE LIKE?” Hatred murmured, leaning closer as it raised its hand.

NOPE NOPE NOPE TIME TO GO GOODBYE.

You immediately began to rapidly stumble away across the ground mere moments after Hatred finished its sentence, being remembered of the fact that you were in fact chilling with what is basically the devil.

As you gasped in and out panicked breaths, staring at Hatred, you noticed that it looked… sad, almost. But it had to be a trick or something, right? You had to wake up. You couldn't be here for long. You were surely in danger.

Before you broke your trance, you heard Hatred pleading, “PLEASE… DON'T GO.” 

Your heart felt slightly pained after hearing its words… but you swore that Hatred was too dangerous to be around. 

You closed your eyes, and woke up.

Stirring to consciousness once more, you slowly tried to get up, but rolled off the couch and hit the ground after your hand slipped. You groaned and pushed yourself up, looking around the living room. The lights were on, but you didn’t remember turning them on.

“Player? You ok?” Kyoko asked, looking at the player from behind the couch. You nodded, looking up at Kyoko as you brought yourself to your feet. “When I got home you looked like you were having a pretty good dream, but I guess it went sour when I wasn’t looking.”

You nodded, and told Kyoko about your visit to the dream world, Hatred’s abnormal behavior, and when Hatred suddenly became aggressive. “That's… certainly strange. But I don’t think it did that out of a place of malice, it was more… curious. Like a toddler!”

It kind of made sense to you, now that you thought about it; everything outside the dream world is alien to Hatred. The world inside your mind is everything it’s ever known. You felt bad for Hatred. Does it really have to suffer for your mistakes?

Kyoko noticed the pensive look on your face, coming around the couch and placing her hand on your shoulder. “Though that doesn’t mean you have to feel sorry for it. It’s still evil, right? Embodiment of hatred and everything?” She gave a comforting look, which you responded to with an expression comparable to the patheticness of a wet owl. 

“You should really rest for a while. Adventuring and doing stuff is fun, yeah, but you should take breaks from time to time. You can’t do a lot if your body is too tired to move.” Kyoko said, sitting down on the couch and patting the cushion next to her, non-verbally suggesting you to sit down. You plop down on the couch, sighing as you adjust your position for comfort. 

You and Kyoko just sat in silence for a while, just enjoying each others company. Well, you weren’t. You just kept thinking about how Hatred’s been acting, how it spoke and begged. Kyoko and your gut told you not to trust it, but even still- what if Hatred has changed? The ‘what-if’ statements swirled around in your mind as your expression twisted into that of guilt, and your fingers began to dig into your pants. 

Kyoko swiftly noticed, and delivered a devastating hug payload right onto City Player via bear hug, demolishing those bad feelings with some atomic good vibes! You smiled at Kyoko’s display of affection, pulling an arm out of her snug grip and half-hugging her back as you allowed your neck to relax and your head to rest on hers.

God, it felt good to be able to relax your muscles. Nowadays, it was all stress, stress, stress, always another thing to do and not a moment of relaxation. But finally having a moment where there's nothing to do felt fantastic. You closed your tired eyes and took a deep breath, in and out, relaxing as many muscles in your body as you could. 

You were glad to have a friend like Kyoko. Glad to have a shoulder to lean on. Glad to have a place where you won't get attacked or have to deal with something trying to kill you. 

You thanked Kyoko for helping you out along the way.

“You're welcome, Player.”

Chapter Text

Hello Readers!

I've loved making this fic as much as y'all have reading it, and this chapter is (as you might've guessed) the QnA!

All questions are welcome, and below will be a couple that I believe will be asked:

Q: What is Player's build?
A: Slingshot, Launcher, Charge x2, Deep Focus, Happy HP, Power Shot, SP+, SP Saver, HP+ x2, Call: Red n' Blue, and Ante Up

Q: Is Hatred kitty?
A: Very kitty.

That's all for now, so let the questions roll in!