Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

007n7 had zoned out again, his head averted to the fading, unclear sky, only a handful of stars were visible and due to the many park lights beside him, he wasn’t going to be seeing any more any time soon. His eyes searched for the moon, but it was nowhere to be seen. The hacker grips the side of the bench and feels sudden distraught when he doesn’t feel his son’s hand, which he was sure to be holding only a small moment before. Snapping out of the hypnotic moment to turn to the side. C00lkid was on the ground and on his knees, being the bug inspector he is, he was grabbing a worm off the grass and with a wide smile, raising it for all to see. As much as his father wasn’t keen on the critters, his thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of many small droplets meeting his shoulders. Well, now he knows that the kid didn’t dig up the dirt for the worm. 007n7 stands up, making his son turn his gaze to him, curious.

The hacker, realizing he hasn’t said a word yet, tries to speak again, but nothing comes out, as if he forgot how to open his mouth, c00lkid stared at him with the same smiling expression, weirdly unbothered. Eventually everything around, him stops. The world around him begins to eat itself, as everything becomes unclear and watered down. 007 quickly rubs his face with his palms and when he takes them off, he wakes up in the familiar place, the Glass Houses… Did he zone out in the middle of the round? Crap...

He stands up and grabs the corner of the disconnected wall, looking out into the distant space. He recognized a few teammates running around, he could barely make out the fact that the allies had worried expressions on their faces and… they were going towards his direction? Confused, he gazed around for the killer, but found no threat in sight. Before 007n7 could even process anything further, he felt a brick phase right through him, his body began to spasm uncomfortably, heart started to thud violently as a third of his health is taken. The poor victim grasps out for air and when he turns around, he sees the worst possible killer he could be facing right now – C00lkid. The red threat giggles and chuckles, its voice slightly glitching and echoing. Everything happened so fast, yet so slow. Quickly deriving out of his thoughts, the robloxian spun around the wall, activating his clone ability and circling back against the wall, making the big monster chase his clone before quickly realizing it got fluked. The massive thing turned around and with a signature smile, lunged straight for the scared father.

“There you are!” The familiar voice rings and irritates his ears as he almost fails to get out of the killer’s grasp. He could hear C00lkid’s whines as it smashed against a hard barrier. He quickly fled, almost bumping into Shedletsky. He was saying something, but he couldn’t hear anything to the sound of his heavy heart and thoughts. Shed’s voice bevomes clearer as he pulls on the hacker’s arm, urging him to flee.

“Get out of here!” The unfortunate robloxian blinked and without comment, ran away from the scene, almost tripping on his own feet on the way. He can’t help but turn around, he sees the killer getting a sword slashed through its body, only letting out a verbal sound of dissatisfaction.

“No fair!” The sounds distract 007 again, making him bump into somebody else. He looked to see and… Elliot…. Oh god… How could this get any worse? He looked at the pizza boy’s face with a tired look. The healer’s expression lay somewhere between pity and sympathy. He seemed slightly shaken too, but who isn’t at this point? The injured fellow’s head spun and it took all his weak, mental strength, to refrain from exploding into pieces right then and there. The exploiter takes a few deep breaths and gets ahold of himself once again, he starts going past the other robloxian, until a strong, lively feeling spreads through his blocky body, sending a cold shiver down his edgy back.

Elliot had thrown a pizza, and it quickly absorbed into him. He rotates his head to thank the fellow, but El’ had already started to quickly walk towards the action. It made 007n7 finally stop and really think. He should go and help, it’s the best he can do to his fellow allies, who don’t even like him. But stepping even one foot closer to the red, violent force, crushes every single mental barrier he had set for himself. He kept watching the rumble in the distance, guilt and anger slowly growing inside him. He had distracted the monsters before – so why not now? What was so different this time? He asked himself, ironically, deep down, he already knew part of the answer.

Thoughts interrupting thoughts, he continues to stand – fozen. He needed to move, but his body wouldn’t listen. He just couldn’t do it. Notions of denial and sadness swirled in his head like he was stuck in another loop, trapped in his mind, a prison inside a prison. 007n7’s mind, clouded by guilt and desperation, finally broke free of its frozen dread as he suddenly forced himself to rush towards the chaos even if each step was filled to the brim with memories of sorrow and loss. With the pain of a shattered past, igniting a newfound resolve, he braced himself to face c00lkid, knowing that only by confronting the dark head on, could he hope to save what was left of his teammate’s sanity. Unfortunately, his newfound confidence quickly starts crumbling, as he stops dead in his tracks and witnesses the killer snap Shedletsky’s neck, throwing him to the side without much care. He could flee again – but it was too late, the abomination had already set its eyes on the poor exploiter. The colored critter once again lunged, alas he missed by a few hair strands, as the robloxian stumbled to the side, almost plunging on the ground.

Chapter Text

Why couldn’t he do what he needed to?
"Look at you now," he thought. "Can’t even protect the kid you’re being hunted down by!"
007n7 picked up the shattered pieces of his emotional state as he pathetically dodged death from the unlikely killer. It was almost—no, it was comical. The way he had to scurry left or right, tricking the monster into launching into space. And oh...
It was never easy hearing its pained whines. Whenever it missed its "Walkspeed Overdrive" or got stunned, it never sounded seriously hurt. Usually, it laughed it off. But the way it kept smashing into walls at high speeds—there was no way it was truly fine.
With the hacker’s mind swelling, he continued sprinting until he almost couldn’t. Running around Glass Houses, he wrapped around trees and small structures, constantly getting out of sight—but not far enough for it to completely lose track of 007.
It was clear that c00lkid was getting better at predicting his moves. If he hadn't been in a personal manifestation of Hell, being hunted by someone he once loved, he would’ve been proud.
He wanted to say how proud he was, to give his son that attention.
But THAT wasn’t his son anymore.
It wasn’t “him.”
It was an “it.”
He had now run out of stamina and couldn’t run anymore. His vision washed and despairingly walked in a direction he wasn’t even sure would lead anywhere. His breathing was erratic, lungs squealing for air. Even though he was in full health, his life felt like a dice roll—it was up to fate how lucky he’d be in the next moment.
c00lkid flung himself forward, colliding with the Robloxian and stealing a quarter of his health. A cold, sharp pain spread through 007n7 as he suddenly burst into flames. His body went numb as he tripped and fell to the ground. The cold sensation was replaced by a heavy numbness, then by unbelievable pain.
He covered his mouth quickly, holding in his screams. It was almost impossible to keep himself from screaming as loud as he could. He collapsed onto the grass completely.
He felt like the fire was going to consume him—until it finally stopped. His skin still bubbled slightly, and the agony had not yet faded. As everything seemed to be cooling down, he felt c00lkid's blocky hand on his throat—slow, unsure, almost careful. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak. His legs kicked weakly as he felt his body lifted.
And then… silence. Just the light wind. No more burning. He gets gently placed down and he opens one eye.
It was still there.
Watching with the same stoic grin on its face.
The last words he could hear-
"It’s so nice to see you, dad!"
Darkness, inky depths, and the void. This is what he felt, it was what he always went through when he died, but he didn't know that, because he never remembered it... His mind slips in and out of consciousness as another sweet memory manifests.
007n7 opened his heavy eyes, he found himself sitting uncomfortably on a stool propped up against a wall, he brought his arm to his face and scratched it, raising his gaze, he seemed to be in a familiar, dimly lit room, a few toys, books, and small clothes were scattered around the ground. His attention shifted somewhere else as the tired exploiter's head lazily turned to the side. There was a child-sized bed, in it, quietly sleeping was C00lkid, the blanket covering him whole, except his head. He seemed to be in peaceful sleep...
007 took that chance and stood up, as he walked past the sleeping beauty, he didn't forget to take the stool behind him and one quiet step after another, reached the door, free arm on the handle, he pushed it down, doing his best to make as less noise as possible. Before he could step out to sweet rest, he heard a voice calling out to him, shyly:
"Dad, could you..." C00lkid paused for a brief moment, audibly anxious ".Read me one more story? Please?" His voice echoed on itself. The father stopped dead in his tracks, and took a moment to think before he answered "
"Yeah... Yeah, of course, kid" His hand left the doorknob as he lingered back to his previous spot, only stopping midway to pick up one of the kid's favorite books. "Will Mousie Zytta do?"
The red ball of joy grinned widely and made his bed unhappily squeal along with his excitement. "Yes, yes!"
007n7 smiled, there was nothing in the world better than his son's excitement, he'd do absolutely anything, god, he'd kill for him. But it was best to put that thought aside right now... He placed the stool back to its previous place and let out a huff as he sat down. He crossed his legs and opened page after page:
„How Zytta Saved Mommy
On Mommy’s birthday came a treat,
A tiny mouse both soft and sweet.
I named her Zytta, dear and light,
A little toy that felt so right.
I kept that mouse with love so pure,
But time went on—of that I’m sure—
And when I grew, I’d understand
It’s best to share this treasure grand.
I passed the mouse to my daughter, true,
Little Elena, with eyes of blue.
She kissed dear Zytta, cheeks aglow,
Then off to school where bright glass shows. “
As the loving father rhymed the words, the little runt felt his lids gracefully fall. As much as he liked to stay up, he couldn’t fight the sleepiness and his body relaxed into the warm hug of his bed sheets. The robloxian almost let out a loud sigh, as his ball of sunshine finally begins his rest. He stood up and hovered over the bed, reaching out his blocky arm to lightly ruffle the kid’s head. What a calming, yet tiring night...

Chapter Text

007n7 took his arm off of the kid and stepped away from the bed. He felt himself smile. Warm and genuine.

He loved his son, so dearly...

He looked at his joy for a moment longer, letting that feeling sink in.

He was his little troublemaker- probably got it from his pa. He chuckled to himself at the thought.

The hacker turned his head toward the door and stepped out of the kid’s room.

Then - reality slipped.

He hit the ground hard. His arms scraped against the rough wooden floor. He tried to stand, slowly, his body heavy, weighed down by exhaustion. He felt drained and numb.

His chest felt heavy and his eyes stung, but no tears came. Everything inside him was quiet—and that scared him more than any pain he felt only a moment ago. Everything felt surreal, like a nightmare he could wake up from.

The surrounding noises distracted him for a moment, as he pushed himself to take in the surrounding scene. Nothing was new, every single thing was the same, down to the placements of fellow robloxians.

He shot a look at one of the clocks – 8:30 pm

007n7 inhaled deeply, his lungs finally got a healthy breath of air, he took notice that it helped more than he expected.

It made him remember how he used to tell C00lkid to take deep breaths when he felt down in the dumps. He used to repeat it until it stuck.

Until it became second nature to both of them.

His heart ached and he shut his eyes tightly. Everything reminded him of his boy. His dear boy.

Overwhelming feelings drowned him an instant.

His son.

His loving son.

His ONLY son.

Was he even his son anymore?

"He only missed his dad. He doesn't want to hurt anyone. The boy I raised would never."

He remembered the first time he'd held C00llid in his arms. He was just a little pill baby, soft and fragile. How could that innocent boy have turned into the killer he is today? The thought made his stomach twist with a mix of sorrow and shame.

Without even realizing it, he dropped back on the floorboards, mind spinning backwards, downwards, and all around. He'd heard these exact reasonings multiple times, so why hasn't he moved on?

...

How could he? How could he possibly move on?

His thoughts fought each other, pulling him in every direction like a toy.

How can you accept living the rest of your eternity, in a hell made for you?

Forced to be hunted by your child.

And your only teammates? They hate you for petty, flashy crimes you committed years ago.

This had not been the first time he'd have an episode in the middle of the safehouse.

No one really cared, not like they should anyway.

"I'm a grown man… I don't need to be babied." He assured himself.

His head starts to ponder somewhere else once more.

Everybody knows the 5 stages of grief.

Denial, anger... Err... Whatever the three others were.

But he didn't feel like he was moving along the stages like a smooth line.

No. For the exploiter, it was more like his misery was spiraling - chaotic, tangled - like a ball of yarn tossed around by a careless hand.

The same questions resurface for the hundredth time – why is he still depressed, why couldn’t he at least feel angry, so he knows he’s doing at least ONE thing right?

Get OVER it

Get OVER it

Get OVER it

007n7 cradled himself further and tighter. Used all of the current strength he had to hold in the desperate need to cry. As if he hadn’t hit rock bottom, the imaginary ground of his mind crumbles beneath him deeper.

He’s not gone

So, who are you really grieving for?

“I don’t know what that means”

Sure you do.

“I’m grieving… for him.

What kind of father mourns the loss of a child, who’s still alive?”

“He’s a murderer.”

You lost him, that’s on you.

“I’ve doomed us all. The others. The kid. Myself…”

You break everything you touch. You can’t help it.

”I only hoped for things to get better”

Is that it? Hope? You just – “hope?”

“What could I have done?”

You haven’t changed a bit.

How can such a weak-willed fiend be a dad?

How could you have dared take him in?

007 suddenly took a loud and sharp gasp of air. The sorrows clawed furiously at his throat, begging for freedom. He’d been like this for what felt like forever.

It was sickening…

He held in a retch. His stomach ached and gurgled, his eyes felt like they were about to pop out of his head.

Was he really about to regurgitate?

The acidic feeling of puke rising slightly inside his throat, ironically - snapped him out of his spiraling episode.

The hacker gagged and swallowed hard, forcing down whatever had risen into his gullet.

Staggering to his blocky knees, (if you could even say he has knees. shrug..) he pushed himself upright, wobbling. He stumbled back slightly, leaning his back against the wall behind him for support, then gasping again, this time quieter.

The smell of stale, yet familiar air lingered in the safehouse, mixing with the faint scent of metal and dust. 007n7’s throat burned with each breath, the coolness of the room doing little to ease the pressure building in his chest.

007n7 grasped at his head, it felt like his brain was being spun, squeezed, and tortured. He smacked the back of his head against the logged wall slightly.

He swiftly squeezed his eyes shut as a low yawn escaped his mouth. His pulse raced, then calmed, giving his overworked heart a break. After that, he didn’t forget to take many deep breaths. His gaze wandered around the rest of the building. Despite being in a rather visible area, no one really seemed to give a crap about him.

Maybe that’s for the better…

He took another large breath of air, the oxygen comforting him.

“What a tiresome hour…” The robloxian muttered to himself.

He glanced at the nearest clock – 8:40

Goddammit…

Chapter Text

He pushed away the bad thoughts, eagerly.

It was like pushing an elephant into cardboard box. Soon enough, they would consume him - again, and again, and again, and again;

"And again!"

"And again!"

C00lkid pushed, as his father unwilingly pressed the button on his large GUI. Each press made a new clone. There were now six 007's in the kid's room, including the real one.

"And again!" The rascal chuckled happily

"Err... I think that's enough - don't want us all to suffocate in here, do we?" He said as he lowered his arm and bumped it into one of the clones, causing it to collapse. 

"Ah, shoot." He turns around, as if he could do anything about it. The curious and now concerned child blinked.

"What happened to the clone, papa?"

The dad glanced away for a moment, but turned back, his full attention to his child.

"My GUI isn't in the best shape right now. It's... Err... A tad bit difficult to explain."

He ponders for a little minute.

"I guess you could say it's a bit rusty - I haven't been using this thing as much as I used to."

The kid sits up straight, looking over curiously at the floating GUI.

"Will I ever get cool powers, dad?"

The hacker's face slightly dropped, the question leaving an aching spot in his heart. Pushing it aside, he took a deep breath and answered faithfully.

"Scrips aren't something that you simply get, kid." He paused, trying his dearest to avoid accidentally looking away from his child.

"It's not... It's not a very good thing to have.."

His answer was vague, unsure. He squeezed his eyes and opened them a bit wider.

C00lkid listened in quiet curiosity, sometimes connecting a look at the open dev panel in his pa's reach

"Why not?" He asked, not taking vague for an answer 

The question echoed in the father's head, way more that it should have. How couls he possibly tell his son that the cool thing he's showing him right now, is a bannable weapon.

Compose yourself... Calm down...

"Because.." He struggled further, his eyes fell onto the menu, the faint light from it reflecting onto his face

"It can be very dangerous if... Someone with bad intentions gets ahold of it. It can destroy whole buildings and maps." He tapped on his script panel, making the clones gracefully disappear. He connected his eye contact back with the small robloxian. He had a face of disappointment and a hint if light sadness. It burned the inside of 007's chest.

He bit the inside of his lip (what lip) and turned his attention to the floating HUD once more. Without a word he starts to tap away at it, scripting something.

After a long moment the panel suddenly shrunk, becoming much more simplistic. "I'm going to regret this..." He thought

Hold this,’ he said, nudging the smaller GUI toward C00lkid, as it slowly turned and floated towards the kid, he instinctively tried to grab it whole, but the panel phased through his blocky hands. He looked with intrigue, his eyes wide and mouth agape. He glanced up to his dad, then back down at the scripts.

"Is this your... Gee - you - eye?"

"I made it just for you, kid" The exploiter let out a chuckle, his face contorting with joy for his son's happiness. 

But realization soon kicked him hard like a bull, as his thoughts wander... Is he a bad father for giving his son bannable hacks? What if he hurts himself, or others? What if he gets caught?

What did he want to achieve by giving c00lkid a boiled down version of his C00lGUI?

How foolish, how STUPID could he get?

He looked at his loving son again, his face blurred, contorted and unrecognizable.

Not even the loving memories of his past were going to save his sanity. He's going to lose everything. And that included his mind.

He was so exhausted...

Before he knew it, the world blurred again…

He woke up in the middle of the round again. 

If he keeps dozing off like this he'd surely get killed immediately one day...

He stood up and looked around at his surroundings. Planet Voss... No wonder he hasn't gotten spawn killed yet...

007n7 navigates slowly through the many otherworldly trees and pieces of walls. He comes across a generator. He stops in his steps and ponders. He should do the generator. It's the only things he's really good for. He took a deep breath. Composing himself. (I'm case u don't have the maps of forsaken BURNT into your brain, here's the exact scene thingy uhhh: https://tinyurl.com/3r49vm3j )

The hacker approachedbthe generator closer and kneeled down to fix it. He never really knew what they did, but it felt like time was going faster with them fixed.

He swiftly connected the colored wires, carefully keeping them untangled as much as he could.

He heard a charging, creaking noise. A good, few meters away from where he was kneeling. He knew what that noise was.

Unfortunately, he didn't have that great of a reaction time and a powerful force hit him from his back. It made him stand up straight and freeze. A familiar, cocky chuckle is heard. It was getting uncomfortably close, accompanied by a taunt:

"Feel my entanglement!"

1x1x1x1 appears and goes on for the slice, swinging both of his swords 007n7's way. The poor robloxian stumbles and trips over his feet, the unfortunate stunt ironically saved him, as 1x missed his shot, slicing the empty space.

The killer grumbles and waisted no time, he immediately raised both of his swords upwards and swung down.

He injured the hacker, but no sound indicating his pain came out of his mouth. It was a clone, he had been fooled. 1x gripped his swords tightly, now annoyed. He waited a moment before he activated his unstable eye, revealing the location of the slippery troll

"I see you~!"

He takes a slightly different route. Following his senses, the killer headed straight for his chosen victim.

007 ran fast, too fast, again. As his legs almost give out and he's forced to stop to take a breather. He heard the stinging noise of 1x1x1x1's unstable eye, as he continues to hunt him down. He knows where he is...

He continues sprinting, this time more carefully and aware of his own limits. He twisted around trees and walls, keeping a tame distance between him and the faster foe.

His heart raced, he can't just keep dying, he HAD to survive. 

Chapter Text

The danger and urgency of his situation dawned on 007n7 as he took a deep breath and pushed his stress down once more to concentrate on surviving.

No more guilt, no more stress.

The exploiter kept his breath steady as he switched between light jogging and full blown running. 

He wasn't thinking about his kid. Not about being damned. Not about death. He was prey right now and all he needed to do was survive.

1x1x1x1 wasn't going to let him go anytime soon. He easily caught up to him and only stopped to wind up Mass Infection. 

007n7 listened carefully and made sure to turn around when he heard the loud winding sound. 

Unfortunately to 007, the hunter knows his hunted well and despite moving to a hard left, the blades pierced his organs in a ghostly, yet very real way. He almost tripped, but his adrenaline refused to falter. "You're not going to survive much longer after this chase"

Shut up. Shut up. 

He wasn't thinking about that. He wasn't thinking about anything.

The desperate survivor went around a couple of walls. After 1x caught up again, 007n7 lured him in and after another wall wrap he sends out another clone in the direction he would have went in.

1x is fooled once again as he blindly followed the clone.

007n7 takes this chance and started up his C00l GUI. The wait seemed to take forever. His eyes followed as the bar filled up, slowly.

1x1x1x1 appears in the distance, stomping towards him, fueled by hatred.

God can this thing go any slower???

The enemy approached fast. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he laid vulnerably in front of fate.

Time seemed to either slow down or become 10 times faster.

The stomping stops suddenly. 1x had either stopped to wind up an attack or 007n7 had actually escaped.

He didn't want to open his eyes. He didn't know how much time had passed.

He opened his eyes, only a little - and was met by a different setting.

He had successfully teleported.

He let out air he didn't know he held in. 

He survived. For now.

He glanced around the dark, alien forest and couldn't help but get distracted by the scenery around him. Voss brought out strange terror and cold comfort. The bright grass, night sky, occasional fat trees. Their wide, pulsing roots provided the natural feel of a forest. 

He looked away - up at the sky and saw - strange, floating objects shaped like stars or sparkles levitating above and the many mysterious disconnected walls, scattered closely to each other. Not close enough to shape a building to hide, but weirdly convenient to fluke or hide from the killer, if you were lucky. Many thoughts as these brought out an inky, unrecognizable kind of horror he would never have felt anywhere else. Despite being a rather large map - it was no sanctuary. 

It was a cage - a prison, covered up by wonderful scenery that's easy to get lost in if you're a fool like 007.

Out of nowhere - he felt something land on his shoulder.

The hacker shrieked and his whole body was pulled backwards and his mouth was covered by a very pale arm. 

"Didn't mean to frighten you."

He recognized that absolute, ghoulish paleness... And that voice.

It was Guest 1337.

When Guest felt 007n7's body relax, he let him go. The shook up robloxian turned around sharply.

There they were, Guest... And Elliot. There was a brief pause between the three of them, before the warrior spoke.

"We have to move. Elliot, heal him."

The pizza boy furrowed his eyebrows, before tossing a pizza at the injured ally. When the slice got into contact with 007's body, it disappears, absorbing and once again leaving him with a strange, comforting shiver.

He was still rather injured, but he'd probably live for slightly longer now. The sentinel grabbed his arm and shoved a soda in his hand. He let out a short, pproving huff, before he hurried off with Elliot, leaving the exploiter alone on his own. 

It wasn't out of spite. Despite everyone disliking him and for good reasons, Guest was rather neutral. It wasn’t about hatred. Guest just didn’t care. For him, survival came first.

And he deserved that title.

He was a protector. A safe zone for the weak.

Unlike him, he had was actually helpful.

He'd be a good father...

If he was anything like Guest, maybe he wouldn't have lost his child. 

-You're a bad, bad father.

-Such a disappointment.

-All you can do is whine and get in the way.

"Push it back, I can't freak out. Not now." He ponderer as he took a deep breath. Trying his best to hold in his panic.

-You cannot do the most simplest tasks. You don't even contribute to the others.

-They hate you, because of who you are. They will never forgive you.

He shook his head at the thoughts "That's fine. I don't need their forgiveness"

-You neglected him.

-You were never enough. You knew it.

-What father lets his son eat sweets for dinner?

His heart thumps, the inside voice piercing through him mercilessly.

His breathing became erratic, as he struggled to get himself contained. He grasped his torso, desperate to stay quiet.

He bit the inside of his mouth and shut his eyes tightly. 

“Focus. Breathe. You’ve been through worse.”

“Not now. You still have a job to do.”

-Just a sack of meat for the killers to snack on, nothing but a little parasite. You sabotage everything around you.

He whinced, the grasp on himself became tighter as he struggled to breathe. He fell to his knees. 

God... God...

How many times is he going to suffer like this?

Pure hell

This was pure hell

The memories of his last flashed before his eyes.

His breathing was out of control and head out in space.

He flipped on his side, then on his back.

He squeezed his arms to his face 

He couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Hold it in. I can't. Not now."

He glanced up, trying to shake away the built up stress by distracting himself.

The sky was as alien and beautiful as ever.

He took a pickering, deep breath. His chest tight.

He felt so numb...

His chest hollowed, like he couldn't get enough air.

He pressed his back against the wall. Hard. Like if he pushed hard enough, he could push the panic back in. His breath snagged in his throat. He was losing it.

In all his unstable state, he couldn't help but notice a blurry figure leaning forward slightly to meet his gaze.

He tried to focus, to figure out who it was, but he just couldn't.

"Tough round, pal?"

He could recognize the voice.

It was Chance.

The other only guy who didn't care about his previous origins.

007n7 breathing started to return to normal, though it was still hard to strained.

"You don't look too hurt." He paused

"At least physically" Chance let out a slight chuckle.

"What happened, bud? You look like an emotional mess there."

He paused again. With no answer, he stepped and leaned slightly closer.

"You really oughtta get up. Unless you want to become an omelette.

The exploiter blinked slowly, without a word. Something about Chance’s voice—it didn’t accuse or pity—made the storm in his chest settle, just a little. 

The gambler sighs heavily. But doesn't lose his smug look.

"Look, sir-hacks-alot, most of the round has passed. All's left is pr

obably about a quarter. Now get your butt off the ground. You've got some surviving to do."