Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Everything felt odd. Like they were hundreds of feet deep below the deep dark sea, the undeniable pressure squeezing them with a vice grip. Yet, at the same time, they felt weightless. Like they were nothing but a cloud with no other purpose but to just flow.

Player felt like this for what felt like both an eternity and only a few minutes before hearing a voice.

At first, they didn’t recognize the voice. But, after a while, it began to register in their head that it was someone they knew.

Terry.

It was Terry’s voice they were hearing.

Why was Terry here?

What was he even saying?

That was what Player couldn’t figure out.

It was until they had enough strength to open their eyes that they were finally able to make out the words.

Player groaned, holding their head as they sat up a bit, “ugh…wha…? Hhhmmm?”, Player weakily grumbled.

“DUDE!”, Terry yelled, “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!”

Player winced, their headache only getting worse from his yelling but didn’t show it, “Sorry…I just…”, Player thought back to what they could remember. Why did he chose to grab the Ghostwalker. He knew that it was a bad- no, dangerous idea, yet he chose to do it anyway. It was just as equally stupid as plunging two forks into two toasters at the same time. But, Player had no excuse. Or at least they just couldn’t form any words to describe the natural urge to do something after being told not to.

Before Terry could angrily continue his yelling session as Player, he was stopped by his younger brother.

“Terry! It’s okay! There's no need to worry anymore!”, Jerry said as he put a reassuring flipper on his brother’s back.

Terry glanced at his brother before returning his gaze back to Player, “I—”, Terry opened his beak, but couldn’t seem to put any words together, making him sigh in defeat, “Whatever man…”.

Kitchen Wizard floated closer to player, concern was ever-so slightly evident in his usual blank face, “Are you feeling alright? Can you walk?”.

“He won’t be able to once I’m through with him, what a moron…”, Terry grumbled under his breath.

“TERRY!”, Jerry exclaimed.

Terry only sighed, “Fine. No pulling dumb stunts, dude. You nearly got yourself killed”.

Kitchen Wizard nodded, “I’d have to agree with this…tiny angry blue thing…”.

Terry’s eyes went wide as he heard this, “WHAT?!”, Terry huffed as he repressed the urge to yell even more, “Nah, I’m outta here…come on, Jerry…”.

“Ah! Okay!”, Jerry followed his younger brother, “Bye strangers!”.

…

After the whole thing, Player walked back to their temporary room. They shut the door before leaning against it, rubbing their hands against their face.

“Why…why me, Shedletsky….”.

Player began shifting down to where they were sitting on the floor. They sat in silence, thinking, mainly about the dream world.

What was that? Was that actually real? Was that just some horrible weird coma dream their brain just made up? Why was he the chosen one? Out of all the people Shedletsky could have chosen, why him? Did Shedletsky know about what the Ghostwalker does? Or was he just oblivious?

He sat up, walking to the bathroom that was built into the room. He did need to shower. After all, he has been sleeping outside on the grass or on benches between adventures, so his hair was pretty greasy.

After he showered, he stepped out and put on his usual clothes back on. He laid on his back, wincing from the back pain he gained from sleeping in uncomfortable places and positions.

Player closed their eyes, expecting peaceful bliss in a few minutes, but it never came for him. The only thing that kept him company were the unwelcomed memories of the Dream World.

He tossed and turned, tried different sleeping positions, drank the left over water in his water bottle, yet it was all fruitless.

The thoughts and memories of the ducks, mannequins, bees, solitude, fear, greed…

Hatred.

Its laugh continued to echo throughout Player’s skull like a broken record on loop.

Naive, vulnerable, pathetic…the list went on and on, and the more Player thought about it, the more it ruined him. The more he thought about it, the more he felt the need to relapse.

So far, Player had been clean for a good while. They were making some good progress, but it seems like all that progress was going to be going down the drain in only a matter of seconds.

Player reached for their bag and dug through, searching for the box cutter they kept with them. After some blind digging, their finger tips made contact with it and he grabbed it and pulled it out.

Player looked at it, questioning their choices. Was he really going to go through with this? To kick over all their progress like it was nothing but a sand castle built by an immature child?

But the more Hatred’s voice echoed through their head, the more Player couldn’t resist. To them, in this current moment, it felt like it was the only way calm the mental and emotional howling winds.

They brought the blade to their wrist and slashed. Beads of blood began to slowly drip from the cut. They winced, inhaling sharply before they hesitantly cut again. And again. And again. Andagainandagainandagainandagianandagianandagianandagianandagiandeargodtheywerentenoughtandagainandtheyneedtodoitagainbecausetheyneedtotheyjusthavetothegmusttheycantstoptheyrealreadyfartodeepintheresnopointindryingintryingtogettothesurfaceforairtheywerestuckdrowinginsolitudetheywerestuckwithsolitudenoonereallylovedthemnoreallycaredabouthemkyokodidntreallycareiftheywereokayornotsheisjustpretendingandactingniceterrywouldntcareifhediedshedletskycouldeasilyfindanewpersontoreplaseplayeriftheydiedhedidntdeservetobecalledaherohedidntdeserveanythinghewasworthlesshewasvulnerablehewaspatheticeverythingaroundhimwas-

Suddenly, he stopped. Realizing he was spacing out, he looked down at his arms and thighs. Thousands of red lines littered and stained his skin with blood. It hurt, it stung, but it was late. Player was tired. Not bothering to clean them or bandage them, He put some more comfortable clothes on and went to bed.

Maybe tomorrow will be easier…

Chapter Text

Player woke up around nine-something in the morning, with their hair basically a birds nest. They stretched out their limbs underneath the blanket, but made no efforts to actually get up. They still felt tired, and god, sleeping was practically the only thing they wanted. They desperately wanted that feeling of just being unaware again. Of returning to that dreamless rest that they were in just a few minutes ago. And so, fixing the blanket to covering their body over completely, he closed his eyes and returned back to sleep.

It wasn’t until a few hours later that they heard a voice.

“Bro, don’t tell you’re still sleeping”, Terry said as he waddled closer to the bed. Terry looked Player (who was currently in a cocoon of blankets) up and down sighed. To him, this was just Player being lazy as usual. “Come on, dude, get up! It’s almost eleven now”, Terry called out only to get no response or movement back.

Perhaps, if Player just stayed silent and not moved, Terry would give up and let Player sleep for just a little longer. But Terry didn’t, and wouldn’t, let Player just rot in bed all day. They had things to do! Like getting back to Roblox HQ to meet Shedletsky.

Terry waddled closer to the bed and began shaking Player violently with his flippers, earning some shocked groans and yelps. “Come on! Wake up sleepy head! You aren’t just gonna stay in bed all day!”, Terry scolded as he continued his assault. When Terry was done shaking Player, he stepped back to see if there was anything, any sign of life within them.

“Terry…”, Player groaned, “Go away…M’trying to sleep!”.

“Oh no, dude. I’m not doing this today, bruh. You aren’t just gonna stay in bed and do nothing like you did back at the hotel!”.

“Five more minutes!”, Player whined like a little kid who didn’t want to get ready for school.

Terry knew how stubborn Player could be, especially when it came to lazing around. He would need to throw him off his bed just to get him out.

But, they weren’t back at the hotel which meant he couldn't do that. So we would need some help. Terry remembered he saw Kyoko a while earlier. Maybe if she was still here, she would be willing to help Terry.

Terry sighed in defeat, “I’ll be back dude”, Terry began going to the door and paused to look back at Player, “don’t get too comfortable dude”.

Terry went around the mansion, looking for Kyoko. Eventually, when he made his way down stairs, he saw Kyoko. He waddled up to her and Kyoko turned around when she heard the sounds of his footsteps.

“Hm? Oh, hey Terry!”, Kyoko greeted as she looked down at the short penguin, “You need something?”

“Yeah, it’s Player. I’m having a bit of trouble with them and was wondering if you could help”.

“Oh, really? What’s wrong with them?”

“Well”, Terry paused, sighing, “They won’t get out of bed”.

Kyoko was a bit surprised but remembered how exhausted Player looked when she saw them, “I mean…didn’t they just get done getting the Ghostwalker? I’m sure they are just a bit exhausted from that”, Kyoko rationalized, trying to be understanding with both parties.

“I know!”, Terry exclaimed, “It’s just we gotta go back to Roblox HQ to meet Shedletsky…”.

Kyoko let out an understanding ‘ah’ sound before finally agreeing, “Sure, Terry, I’ll help you!”.

“Great”, and with that, Kyoko followed Terry to Player’s room.

When they arrived, Terry called out to Player again, “Alright dude, you had a few more minutes to nap, time to get up!”, Terry barged in which made Kyoko a bit surprised but she carried on.

Terry looked back to the bed, hoping to see that Player is up or at the very least, in a different sleeping position. But Player was still in that same position, huddled in a tight burrito of blankets like an animal in hibernation. Terry sighed in annoyance.

“Terry”, Kyoko gently called out to Terry, trying to calm him down. Kyoko approached the bed and called out, “Player?”. Just like Terry, she was met with no response. No movement or even a grunt.

“He did the same with me, dude”, Terry added in from behind, “I even tried shaking him violently and he STILL wouldn’t get up!”.

“Well, maybe…let’s not shake them violently….”, Kyoko suggested before returning her focus back to Player, “Player…Hey, you okay?”.

Player could only make a small, pathetic noise under the layers of blanket as they remained still, stubborn like a rock. Kyoko furrowed her brows as she began brain storming for ideas while Terry waited impatiently behind her. Finally, something hit her. When was the last time Player ate? She imagined he was incredibly busy with getting the Ghostwalker and the rest of the swords that he would barely have time to eat a full meal.

Kyoko scooted closer and slowly put a hand on his shoulder, “Player, when was the last time you ate?”. Player only made a grumbling sound that was either similar to an “I don’t know” or “I don’t wanna talk”. Kyoko couldn’t make it out but she knew that it would be best for him if he got something in his stomach.

Kyoko tried to prop player to sit up which just made Player groan more, “come on, get up”, Kyoko said gently as she tried to get Player to feel just a bit more energized. Eventually, she managed to get Player at least be sitting up and the two were now able to see Player’s face.

“You okay?”, Kyoko asked, concern evident on her face.

Player just swallowed dryly before speaking in a raspy tone, “I just wanna sleep…”.

“YOU’VE BEEN SLEEPING FOR HOURS NOW!”, Terry yelled out. Kyoko turned back at him and raised her hand to signal Terry to control his temper and lower his volume. Terry ignored this and waddled closer to Player, “look dude, I know that you nearly died with the whole Ghostwalker thing, but you can’t just sleep all day!”.

Player didn’t bother to speak or even make eye contact with Terry and Kyoko, only staring at the floor. Kyoko put a hand on Player’s back and tried to get him to stand.

“Come on, let’s get up. I’ll get Kitchen Wizard to make you something”, Kyoko paused for a few seconds, “I imagine you haven’t had a full meal while on your adventures, haven’t you?”.

Player only stayed silent as they stood up, stealthily making sure their hoodie sleeves were rolled down before removing the blankets that were wrapped around them. The silence answered Kyoko’s question.

“Right, well let’s go downstairs and have Kitchen Wizard make you something, okay?”, Kyoko asked as Player tiredly nodded. Kyoko kept an arm wrapped around Player as they all went downstairs, Terry mumbling “finally” under his breath.

They all entered the kitchen which caught the attention of Kitchen Wizard.

“Oh, hey”, Kitchen Wizard greeted plainly as he studied all of them, his attention was mainly focused to Player however, “How is Player doing?”.

“He’s…”, Kyoko trailed off, unsure of how to describe Player’s condition. It wasn’t typically like Player to be like this. The last time she saw him, he was so lively and full of energy. Sure, he did seem a bit troubled with the Ice Dagger and the duty of collecting the Venomshank, but other than that, he seemed to be alright. Kyoko returned her gaze back to the ghost chef, “He’s feeling a bit…tired…and he hasn’t had much to eat due to being so busy with all the adventures he’s been doing…we were wondering if maybe you could just make something for him?”.

Kitchen Wizard nodded, “Of course. I’ll make something right away”, he said as he turned his back and began making something. With that, Kyoko, Terry, and Player all went to a nearby empty table and sat down, Player in-between them.

Player immediately laid his down on his arm, which Terry didn’t like but chose to keep his beak shut. Kyoko took out her hair brush and began gently combing through Player’s messy hair, sorting out all the mess and tangles. After a while, Kitchen Wizard floated back to the kitchen with a bowl and plate in hand.

“I’m back”, Kitchen Wizard stated, “I made a grilled cheese and soup. Pretty simple, I know, but I made it mainly because my mom would make it for me when I was upset”. Kitchen Wizard set the food down.

“Thank you, Kitchen Wizard, we really appreciate it”, Kyoko thanked the ghost.

“No need to thank me, it’s the least I could do for them after everything they did. Hope they enjoy”.

As Kitchen Wizard floated back to the kitchen, Kyoko lightly shook Player’s shoulder to wake them up, “Player, come on. Wake up, Kitchen Wizard made you some food”.

Player hesitated before reluctantly pulled their head up and looked down at the food. They didn’t feel like eating at all.

“I’m…not hungry-“

“BULLSHIT!”

Both Kyoko and Player flinched at that, clearly not expecting the penguin to lash out like that. Terry noticed this and tried to cool himself down.

“Look, I’m just saying that you need to get something in your system”, Terry explained as his expression softened a tiny bit, “There’s no in hell you aren’t hungry and I don’t wanna deal with you whining when you are hungry”

Player looked back down at the food, the voices of the swords came back, furthering ruining his already dead appetite. But he knew that Kyoko and Terry wouldn’t leave him alone until he ate. Not only that, but it would be quite rude to not eat something that the wizard took precious time out of his day just to make for some ‘hero’. Slowly, Player took the sandwich and brought it up to their lips and began chewing. It felt like manual labor—as if he was working heavy machinery, draining energy out of him—but he kept going.

Eventually, Player finished and huffed. “There, I’m done…”.

Terry seemed to calm down at this, “Alright, let’s go back to Roblox HQ bro…”

Chapter Text

They were back at the hotel alone. Terry wasn't at the hotel because he said something about going on vacation to spend time with his younger brother or something like that. It felt weird to have the room to himself. He was kinda spacing out and his mind was foggy after the whole dream world ghostwalker thing, staring up at the white blank ceiling as the AC buzzed. He was napping when their phone buzzed. They took out their phone, curious but couldn't help but feel a mixture of dread and exhaustion when Shedletsky messaged him that he had found the location of the Firebrand. Memories of the Ghostwalker flashed through him like he was struck by lightning. He swallowed before texting a ‘okaayyy!! I’ll be there soon!!!!’ and putting it away. He lay there in bed, spacing out once more as he stared at the ceiling. He needed to get up. He knew he needed to. He couldn't just lie in bed all day. The swords weren't going to collect themselves. But good god, the thought alone of getting up was dreading. Player sighed to themselves and began counting to five.

One…

Two…

God this felt like hell

Three…

Four….

I gotta do what I gotta do… I can't be lazy now…

Five.

Player shot up from the bed and went to the bathroom connected to the room to change and get ready. After that, he walked to Roblox HQ and went to the basement to see Shedletsky.

The elevator dinged as the doors opened and Player stepped out.

“Shed! I got your text!”, Player called out, looking around for the famous admin. The Admin stepped out of one of the rooms, finally standing on his own two legs just fine without assistance. The only noticeable thing was that he had bandages wrapped around his head.

“Heya! You made it! So, did you get ol’ ghostie for me?”, Shedletsky greeted with his usual smile, leaning against the wall. Player nodded, “Sure did!”, Player chirped back in his usual, signature upbeat tone he was known for.

Shedletsky smiled at this, “Good! See, I knew you could do it! That's the power of being one of my temporary employees!”. Player expression fell a bit, “Temporary employee…?”, they asked as they tilted their head to the side, not trying to show that they were a bit hurt at the name.

“Yep!”, the admin confirmed simply, too oblivious in his goofy and carefree attitude to notice Player’s slightly hurt expression, “You’re one of my temporary employees- well, my only temporary employee. But hey, that makes you special!”, Shedletsky quickly corrected himself as he followed it up with the ‘that makes you special’ comment.

Player forced a chuckle, not wanting to show that they were upset, “Yeah! I guess you’re right! So uh…What’s the next sword? Where do I need to go?”, Player asked as they put their hands in their pockets.

“The Firebrand!”, Shedletsky announced like he was trying to make it sound cooler than it already was or build some sort of mystery around it to make his ‘temporary employee’ more excited and pumped up to retrieve the sword for him. “According to legend, it should be hidden deep within the Temple of the Sun! It’s somewhere in the desert! And, its the only sword without a guardian!”, Shedletsky announced the last part as he patted Player’s shoulder before pushing him off, “Now you’ll have to go to Bizville’s docks! Its the area with big arrow sign! You literally can't miss it! Now go on my temporary employee! For Builderman!”, Shedletsky said as he ushered off Player before returning to the room, likely to do some important admin business like dealing with reports or coding or perhaps trying to get in contact with the other guardians...or maybe to play some games.

“Uh- will do! For Builderman!”, Player mimicked back as they went back to the elevator and walked to the Bizville Docks. It was summer now, so the sun shone and the grass was greener than ever. Kids who had just gotten out of school were now playing, yelling as they chased each other in whatever game they were playing. Dog owners walked with their fluffy companions, the dogs sticking their tongues out to cool off. And the ice cream business was booming.

It was great. Happy even. That’s what Player knew it was, but they didn’t feel it. Not as much as they used to. Player remembered when they were still a kid and summer started. They ran to the buses on the last day and smiled to themselves as the usual chatter of the bus somehow became more energetic and alive. The feeling of them coming back home and kicking off their shoes, knowing they have a whole two and a half months of freedom.

It was magical. A feeling that was hard to erase. But now, it felt like it had been watered down with a pressure hose. At times, they could still feel something, but it just wasn’t the same. It didn’t have that same spark anymore. Even if they tried to feel something, their brain just wouldn’t cooperate.

The noise became nothing but white noise as they walked to the docks and entered the beach area that they had now opened. Teenage boys being stupid and loud, earning angry whistle blows from the lifeguards, young children crying about sand getting in their eyes, and seagulls stealing food from their poor unsuspecting victims. There was a certain beauty to it. The beauty of just regular life. It was almost envious to Player. It was dull, but they could still feel it settling somewhere within them. These people had never had to kill their emotions. They never had to accidentally kill a man. They never had to watch some person kidnap their own dad and stab themselves to turn into some mutant plant monster. They had the privilege—they very lucky privilege at that—to just simply be.

Player walked onto the docks, but stopped when they saw a familiar face. Kyoko. They put on a smile at the sight of her. While yes, Player had trouble feeling things, he could still just a bit more when it came to his friends sometimes. Just sometimes. “Kyoko!”, Player greeted them as the adventurer smiled back, “How are you doing?”, they asked as they had their hands on their hips, secretly sweating a bit under their baggy long clothes. Regretting the harmful actions they did to themselves earlier.

“I’m doing good!”, Kyoko chimed back as a smile spread across her freckled face, her buck teeth showing just a bit, “I wasn’t expecting you to see you here! What are you doing here? Are you here to also enjoy the beach?”, Kyoko asked, wondering if maybe they are trying to take a break after the whole incident at Telamon’s manor. She remembered how hard it was to simply get him out of bed and to eat something.

Player shook their head, “Nooo…can’t. Shed has me on another adventure. I gotta retrieve the Firebrand now…”, Player said before they realized how sad they must have sounded. They quickly added something positive to the conversation, “But! That does sound like a great idea. I’ll definitely come back here after I’m done!”.

Kyoko smiled before putting a reassuring hand on the sword collector’s shoulder, “Well….I wish you the best of luck on your journey. I’m truly rooting for you…”, Kyoko spoke softly, hoping to make Player feel safer with her. Player just put on his usual smile he always had, thanking her and running off to get a ride to the desert.

Kyoko watched as they got onto the boat of one of the fishermen with a bit of worry forming within her. She couldn’t help but find it a bit odd that he chose to wear such long-sleeved clothes in such hot weather. But she tried not to judge too much. Maybe Player just liked wearing long-sleeved clothes. Like it was their style. Perhaps she was just being too judgy. But it still didn’t ease her worry.

—-

The motorboat roared to life as it sailed across the water, seagulls squawking as they flew above. Player’s hair was moving with the fast wind as they held onto their hat, thinking to themselves. More specifically, thinking about how Shedletsky acted.

Perhaps he was just being overly sensitive, but they just didn’t like how Shedletsky called him his ‘temporary employee’. He had to witness and endure so much. He had to live with the guilt of accidentally killing Cruel King. He supposed that it’s fine now since they talked it out in Nirvana and he forgives them, but he still couldn’t help but feel guilty. He had a kingdom. A kingdom he was not only proud of, but actively cared for. He cared for each and every single person in that kingdom. He wanted nothing but the best for Blackrock and his people. He wasn’t a bad person for taking the Ice Dagger, he was just trying to keep his people happy and safe. And he killed him. He didn’t mean to. Honest to whatever god is listening, he didn’t mean to. And yet he did. It didn’t matter. None of it matters. It’s not an excuse. He’s not a kid anymore. He’s 19 and still unemployed. Not even in community college. He needs to grow up and take accountability.

His still unhealed arms tingled with the familiar urge to cut. They grew accustomed to the feeling of having the urge to tear the blade into their skin. He sighed and tried to focus on the clear water below the boat, now wasn't the time for this. He had a sword to collect. Once he was done and alone, he could indulge in his urges. But for now, work needed to be done.

He thought back to the whole Shedletsky incident. Maybe he was too self-centered for this, but he wanted Shedletsky to acknowledge him as more than just a ‘temporary employee’. He didn't necessarily want him to call him a hero. Hell, Player thought that they weren't deserving of such a high title. But he just wanted to be seen for his hard work.

Or maybe this wasn't hard work. Was he maybe being a bit dramatic? Perhaps this was an easy job and they were too lazy or just not working hard enough? Did the others think of him like that? Terry certainly did. Player began to feel worse and guilty for not being a good roommate. He didn't mean to leave his trash everywhere. Sometimes it felt a bit too much and he just wanted to sleep or he was planning on doing it later or forgot to. But that wasn't an excuse.

What about Kyoko? Sure, she said some very nice things, but did she actually mean it? She probably only said those things to be nice or because it was just socially polite and expected to do. He was probably getting on their nerves and was a bother. He had to make them pull him out of bed like a child back at Telamon’s Mansion.

And Griefer! What about him? Player could have done something! They could have prevented Griefer from stabbing himself with the Venomshank! He could have talked some more sense into them! He could have done more.

He snapped out of his thoughts as the grumpy fisherman spoke to him. “‘Ey! Kiddo! We’re here!”. Player jumped, startled a little as he finally took in his surroundings and realized just how hot it was.

“Ah- sorry…I, um…Thank you- Thank you, sir”, Player awkwardly stammered out as they got out of the boat and onto the reddish sand. The awkwardness of the situation made him feel even more like shit.

After everything, he was now in some cave-tomb-like area. He was walking before stopping as he spotted a river within. The water was surprisingly clean-looking and clear. Just then, Terry and Jerry came floating along, with Terry looking away from Player.

“Isn’t this nice, bro? Just us…relaxing…nothing to do…no annoying people…just peace…”, Terry sighed before turning his floatie around to see none other than Player. He instantly sat up. “DUDE?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! See Jerry, this is how you KNOW this guy is doing it on purpose…”, Terry ranted as he looked to his brother. His eyes flicked towards Player with a flicker of concern but just for a very short, unnoticeable second. For some reason, Terry couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong with them but he couldn’t place his flipper on it.

Jerry didn’t look bothered though as Player awkwardly waved, giggling as they found Terry’s angry reaction was a bit funny. “Oh! It’s the stranger again! Hi stranger!!”, Jerry waved with an enthusiastic smile, oblivious to Terry’s annoyed sigh before being pulled away by the current. “Aaaah!!”, Jerry yelled with a playful tone. Like this wave was his only concern. Jerry stretched out his hand, trying to reach his older brother, “Terry!! Help me!! The current is so strong!! It’s pulling me away!!”, Jerry called out as his floatie spun him around. Terry internally groaned as his expression became more visibly annoyed.

He turned to his roommate one last time, sighing, “Listen I gotta go dude. This guy already has my flippers full. I’ll see you later”. He left, paddling his flippers to catch up to his younger, yet somehow taller, brother. Player just smiled and giggled to themselves as they watched the wholesomely chaotic scene played out before them. He lingered a bit even after Terry faded into the cave, a small part of him wondering if he would return. He decided to leave and go forward with his adventure.

—

The ancients were defeated, but not without a sacrifice. The lava that Captain Trotter fell into filled the room with an unbearable heat. There was now nothing left but guilt and loud silence. Calypso sobbed into her hands. For the first time in forever, she was crying.

The only times she could remember when she cried was when she got lost and when she got hurt training with Captain Trotter. But after a while, she grew resistant to the pain and grew from a girl to a woman thanks to Captain. But now that he was dead and stuck in that cursed sword, she couldn’t help but feel like a small girl again. Like she was that young girl she was when she was lost in the desert, afraid that she was going to die.

Player stood there awkwardly as she cried. The heat was unbearable against their layers of clothes, but they stayed silent about it. He thought back to Kyoko and approached her, crouching down to her level and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, “Hey um…I know…This is a very…hard time for you but um… I know someone who…wants to see you…”.

Calypso looked up to Player with glassy and wet eyes, “Really?”, she asked as she wiped her eyes with her hand, “Who…?”.

“Someone…who’s been missing you…”, Player looked away for a moment, “Your sister…Kyo-“

“KYOKO?!”, Calypso jumped up, her eyes wide with a wide variety of intense emotions, “You know my sister?!”, she asked as he gripped Player’s shoulders.

Player winced as her grip, mostly because it was stinging his cuts, “Yeah- She kinda mentioned you once…when we were talking once…”, Player nodded as they made eye contact with them once more.

“Well- Do you know where they are?!”, She asked, more emotional now which caused Player to feel bad for bringing something that was clearly personal to her during this stressful time for her. “Yeah! I last saw her at the Bizville Docks! I can take you there”

—

The boat reached the Bizville docks as the two of them got off. It didn’t take long for Calypso to recognize her younger sister.

“Kyoko?”, She called out to her sister. Kyoko turned around and dropped her briefcase as she brought her hands up to her mouth as she gasped.

“Calypso….?”, Kyoko whispered out before the both of them ran to each other and embraced each other in a tight hug, both of them crying. “I thought I would never see you again!”, Kyoko cried out, not caring who was watching.

“I thought the same thing…”, Calypso confessed as they broke the hug. Kyoko looked her up and down, taking in the new details about her older sister, “What happened to you? Why were you gone for so long?!”.

“It’s…I was exploring and…I got lost”, Calypso started to explain before Kyoko cut her off, “I knew you exploring was a bad idea!”, Kyoko snapped with caring worry. Calypso just chuckled as she brought Kyoko into a tight hug once more, resting her head on her shoulder.

“I know…I know…I wasn’t thinking there at that moment….”, Calypso admitted with a sad, awkward chuckle before going silent once more. “I…I thought I was gonna die there…the heat was…unbearable…but then, a man came…”, her eyes teared up at the mention of him, but she stayed strong and kept her tears in, “His name was Captain Trotter- he um…he saved my life…and took me into his crew…”, she explained but eventually, couldn't keep her tears in. She began gently sniffling and trying to discreetly wipe her tears but Kyoko noticed anyway.

Kyoko pulled out of the hug, both hands holding her sister’s shoulder. “Hey…Hey, what’s wrong?”, Kyoko asked with a worried expression. Calypso paused for a second, staring off into the sea as she worked up the courage to tell her what happened. She took a deep, shaky breath in as she tried to keep her voice steady.

“He…He died…”, Calypso stated as she hugged her sister just a bit tighter. There was now silence between the two, other than Kyoko saying ‘oh’. “I was…in the temple and the hieroglyphs spoke of sacrifices and blood. They were focused on that…and that’s what the Firebrand wanted. And the sword…it spoke to Captain…and he wasn’t thinking straight and we had…no other choice but to fight him which caused him to fall into the lava and die…”.

“I am…so sorry for your loss…”, Kyoko apologized as they finally let go of each other. Calypso wiped her tears and shook her head, “No…No no, it’s fine. I have to be strong…I know Captain would want me to be strong…If it wasn’t for Player, we wouldn’t have made it out alive…”.

Kyoko perked up at the mention of Player, “You’re friends with Player too?”. Calypso was a bit shocked that her sister also knew the guy, “You know him too? Since when?”.

“I met him in Turitopulis and saw him again at Telamon’s Mansion!”, Kyoko told her sister which earned a ‘huh’. Kyoko looked around the dock, her brows furrowing with confusion, “Speaking of Player, where did he go?”.

This caused Calypso to turn her head around, looking for any indication of the sword wielder but found none.

—-

Player left after a while Calypso and Kyoko reunited due to the persistent feeling of awkwardness as they watched the two hug and cry. It felt almost rude to just stand there and stare when such a personal situation was playing out before them. That would make them even more of a bad person than they already were.

So, they decided to visit Griefer. Surely, he’s gotten better, right? When Player arrived at his destination, he still saw that Griefer was still…a plant-zombie thing. His dad is next to him, still concerned. This made Player feel disappointed. They were hoping that Griefer would have been cured but maybe the treatment with the doctors was taking too long? Maybe…

Before Player could leave, Mayor Thaniyel looked directly at them. Player froze before slowly raising their hand in a ‘hello’ motion and making his way over despite Player not wanting to, but for some reason their body was moving without a second thought.

“Hey…Mr. Thaniyel, how’s um…”, Player swallowed dryly, “How’s Brad- or um…Griefer? He seems more calm…”, Player asked as they gestured to the big plant monster that sat there, seemingly out of it. Player couldn’t tell if he was unconscious or if he was and he was just spacing out or something. Or maybe he was dead? Oh god, but that would be horrible. And it would be all his fault too! But wouldn’t he be buried or cremated?

“He’s….alright…He’s more calmer now, which I’m happy he’s not a threat anymore…”, Mayor Thaniyel sighed with exhaustion as he clutched his cane a little bit tighter, “The doctors helped make him more calm but they couldn’t fix him…”, Mayor Thaniyel said with sadness and disappointment in his voice. Player hummed sadly as they thought. They’ve done nothing but bring harm to other people. It wouldn't make up for the other things they’ve done, but it was better than nothing.

Player looked up at the old man before opening his mouth, “Is there…any way I can help?”, Player asked. Mayor Thaniyel looked at Player with a hopeful hint beneath his eyes. “Yes…Yes, there is…you see, Mayor Monty had a dish…it was called ‘the special’…”

The mayor went on to explain ‘the special’ and how it cured those bandits who suffered the wrath of the venomshank. Player was told that he needed to find the recipe and bring it to the Kitchen Wizard. After finding it in the cave, they went back to Telamon’s Mansion and went to the kitchen.

“Hey! Kitchen Wizard!”, Player called out as they walked into the kitchen. Kitchen Wizard turned around to see Player, surprised to see him. “Ah, Player, good to see you back on your feet. Are you feeling better?”.

Player nodded, “Yeah, yeah…I am and I also wanted to say thank you for cooking for me last time…”, Player thanked as they held lightly figdted with the cookbook in their hands. “Oh, it was no big deal. Don't worry about it,” Kitchen Wizard dismissed, however, Player couldn't help but feel like a burden to Kitchen Wizard and everyone else around them.

Player handed the cookbook to the ghost chef, “Can you make something for me? It's called ‘the special’. I need it for someone”. Kitchen Wizard visibly perked up at that name. It was a name he was familiar with, but hadn't heard in a long time. “The special? You mean…the special that Mayor Monty made?”, Kitchen Wizard questioned. He found it weird that they would want something like that but chose not to say anything about it since Player did say it was for someone else.

“Do you have compost and onion rings?”, Kitchen Wizard asked as he flipped through the different pages of recipes. Player let out a long ‘uuuhhhh’ before taking off his backpack and looking through and eventually finding some compost and onion rings and handing them to Kitchen Wizard.

The wizard took the ingredients and got to cooking, Player watching silently. For a while, there was silence between the two. Player wanted to say something but didn't since he knew that Kitchen Wizard wasn't likely to be the very talkative type. After a surprisingly short while, the special was finally done. He handed it over to them in a little box.

“Here you go”, Kitchen Wizard stated with his usual monotone voice. Player smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes, and thanked him before heading off. Kitchen Wizard noticed this but didn't say anything. Just silently watched as they strode off. Kitchen Wizard couldn’t help but feel like something wasn’t quite right with them. However, their train of thought was interrupted when one of the zombies came in and opened the fridge, rummaging through it rudely and knocking over ingredients, making a mess in the process. “HEY! GET OUT OF THERE!”, the ghost chef barked as they got their whisk and hit the brain-dead zombie in the head to scare them away.

—

Player quickly strode to Mayor Thaniyel with the small box. “I have it!”, Player called out as they finally got to Mayor Thaniyel. They opened the box and showed the rather gross meal. Mayor Thaniyel’s eyes widened with hope at this and reached out with shaky hands. “Y-You have it…You actually h-have it…”.

Mayor Thaniyel gently scooped the meal out of the box and walked near Griefer. “Brad…I got something for you…Me and this nice person here just want to save you…So please, just be a good boy and eat it….”, the old man pleaded softly as he put the meal into the large mouth of the bubonic plant and closed his mouth, forcing his son to swallow the meal.

After a minute or two, Griefer suddenly returned back to his usual self, albeit with new plant features. Brad coughed out leaves as he squinted his eyes open and took in the environment, noticing his father and the person he fought surrounding him, and that he was no longer in his crib. “What the fu-“ “BRAD!! YOU’RE BACK TO NORMAL!!”, Mayor Thaniyel cried out as he ran to his son and hugged him tightly, his fatherly instincts kicking in.

Griefer was taken aback but slowly reached his arms out to return the hug despite his arms aching terribly. They broke the hug and Griefer spoke. “Why is there all this plant stuff on me?”. Mayor Thaniyel finally took the chance to fully take in his son in detail and realized he had leaves all over him. His expression dropped as he began to process what this meant.

“Oh…So it happened to you too…just like the bandits…”, Mayor Thaniyel trailed off as he adjusted his cane. This made Griefer more confused and a bit angry at his father’s vagueness. “What do you mean bandits?! What are you talking about?! Are you trying to pull a fast one on me punk?!”, Griefer yelled at Player, almost about to attack him physically before his father stopped him.

“Brad! This person just saved your LIFE! Be respectful!”, Mayor Thaniyel scolded his son with an angry expression on his wrinkled face. Griefer looked to Player who gave them an awkward shy smile, realizing that they weren't trying to ‘pull a fast one’ on him, but was trying to save him. And he succeeded. His face softened just a bit, but he still kept his tough guy persona up. “Whatever, dude…”, Griefer scoffed as he rolled his now green eyes.

This, however, only fueled his old father’s anger at his son’s seemingly ungrateful behavior. “BRAD! SAY YOU’RE THANKFUL! THIS. INSTANT”. Player was taken aback by Mayor Thaniyel’s anger due to never seeing him this angry and also because it was a bit awkward watching a fully grown 20-something-year-old getting scolded by his elderly father. Griefer was also rather taken aback by this. His father was usually so patient with him, despite all the troubles he had to go through. At times, when he was alone and it was quiet, Griefer wondered how he could ever put up with him. Griefer sighed and walked to Player.

“Um…Thanks…I guess for saving my life…”, Griefer awkwardly thanked Player. Player smiled back at this. Enjoying the sight of the kid who literally held his own father hostage being kind for once, “Hey, man, don't sweat it! It’s no biggie!”, Player chirped back before silently wondering if that was too ‘cringe’. The two sat in awkward silence as Griefer looked down at his plant features, insecurity starting to seep in.

“Do…Do the plant features make me look cool at least?”, Griefer asked. He didn't want to. He wanted to keep the tough guy persona up but he couldn't help but wonder if the new additions to him made him look less ‘cool’ or ugly. “What? Dude, of course they do! You look totally badass!”, Player complimented, adding in the ‘badass’ comment to really hype him up. He didn't want him to feel bad about himself. He knew all too well himself what the feeling felt like. He didn't want anyone else to feel that way. No one deserves to feel that way. Other than himself, of course. He deserved to feel that way after all the horrible things he had done.

Griefer’s ego visibly sprang to life when Player’s words hit his ears, like a flower blooming when sunlight hits. “Heh, I knew it!”, Griefer bluffed casually like he wasn’t worrying about his appearance. “Hey, I uh…Got some games…we can play sometime…if you want…”, Griefer offered as he showed a rule, genuine smile on his face, his green fangs glistening in the hot sunlight of the jungle-like environment.

“Oh! I’m so glad you’re alright, Brad! I’m going to let the entire town know! We’re having a festival tonight!”, Mayor Thaniyel announced happily before he started trailing on, “I have to let TAI know and the shopkeepers…and the hotel owner…and maybe even your friend Kyoko!”. This made Greifer blush as his dad just practically embarrassed him in front of someone else. “DAD!”

Mayor Thaniyel chuckled as he put a hand up to try and calm down his son, “Sorry! I’m just…really happy to see you okay…and you…”, Mayor Thaniyel started as he focused his attention to the hero, “Please, come to the festival if you can…we’d love to have you…”.

Player smiled back at the mayor’s wholesome smile, “Of course! Should have a while before Shedletsky sends me back on another quest!”.

And with that, they said their short goodbyes as Player went off to go back to Bizville for a short while. While they were there, they stumbled upon Kyoko, Calpyso, Jerry, and Terry.

“And you’ll never guess who I saw! You will NEVER guess who I saw while me and my bro were trying to enjoy ourselves!”, Terry ranted to Kyoko and Calypso. “Who did you see?”, Kyoko asked the small penguin before he blew up again in his little rant, “PLAYER! I saw him just standing there when I turned around! At this point, I KNOW he is doing this just to piss me off!”, Terry yelled as he made movements with his flippers to exaggerate his anger. Kyoko made an awkward face as she looked at her sister at this. Terry seemed to pick up on this quickly.

“What's with those faces? Huh?”, Terry asked as he put his flippers down, “Did I offend you?”. Kyoko let out a shy and hesitant ‘uhh’ before being cut off by Terry. “I mean- look- I get he’s your friend and all but sometimes he gets really on my nerves! I mean- he never listens! I told him ‘Hey bro. Don't touch the ghostwalker. It's gonna kill you’ and what did he do?! THE MORON TOUCHED IT! AND GOT INTO A COMA OR SOMETHING AND THEN I—”, “He’s behind you, Terry.”

Terry’s eyes widened with disbelief as he snapped around to look at Player, who just awkwardly smiled and waved at him. Jerry, being himself, naturally ran up to Player to greet them. Terry turned back around to Kyoko and Calypso and pointed with his flipper, “SEE?! This is EXACTLY what I'm talking about!”. Kyoko only chuckled with amusement as he waved her hand dismissively, trying to calm down Terry before she approached Kyoko. Terry tried to pull his brother away from Player.

“Hey, Player! How are you doing?”, Kyoko asked the hero as she approached him. “Oh, well Mayor Thaniyel is inviting me to a festival he’s hosting later tonight!”. Kyoko’s eyes widened in pleasant surprise. “Oh wow! Really? What for?”

“It’s because I liked- saved his son…yeah”

“You did?! How?!”, Kyoko asked before her phone rang. “Oh! One minute…”, she said as she put a finger up and pulled out her flip phone. As she answered, it was Mayor Thaniyel. He was calling to tell her about the festival and the reason for it.

“Really? Oh wow... that's amazing! I'm so happy for you! Uh-huh…Is it okay if I invite some people over? They’re my friends…Its okay? Awesome! We’ll be over in a while! Bye!”

Kyoko closed her flip phone before putting it in her pocket. “Alright, I just got off the phone with Mayor Thaniyel and he invited us!”

“Wait- US??”, Terry questioned as he raised his voice a bit louder. “Yeah! Well- he invited me first since I'm friends with Brad but I decided to invite you, Jerry, and my sister!”

“BRO WHY?! I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SOME DUMB PARTY!”

“I thought it would be nice! Plus, I'm sure Mayor Thaniyel would enjoy the extra company! It's a special event! Player saved Brad’s life!”

Terry went silent for a bit, his gaze flickering to the so-called “idiot” before going back to Kyoko. He sighed, his flippers dropping. “Fine, whatever….”

———-

Lively music played as commotion from other citizens added naturally to the party, lights filling the air as the sun began to set. Kids played and screamed as adults drank their shots and laughed.

Griefer was leaning against a wall, trying to act nonchalant but he really did enjoy this party. Kyoko was talking with her sister as Jerry peskered Griefer with all sorts of questions while Player was off somewhere doing Telamon knows what. Which actually concerned Terry as his eyes shifted to different areas.

Eventually, he considered actually physically looking for him when they saw him returning with a drink and having to him.

Terry groaned when they sat next to him, “Heelloo”, Player said casually in a sing-song tone before sipping the pink lemonade they had in their hands. Terry rolled his eyes, “What do you want, bruh. You’re always annoying me”

“Yeesh! I can’t sit next to you now?”, Player playfully asked as they chuckled in amusement.

Terry scoffed before opening his beak but was stopped when a couple of kids ran up to them, “Excuse me? Are you that hero from Bizville?”

“Uh yeah, I am, why?”

The kids visibly got excited, “You’re so awesome! And so cool!”, one of the kids exclaimed. “Yeah! And that means you can help us!”, another kid added on.

“Yeah! We were playing with our ball when it got stuck up in that tree!”, One of the kids pointed to a tall palm tree where a colorful ball was stuck in. “Can you help us please?”

“Yeah! Pleaaaseee? Pretty please?”

Player chuckled at the kids’ begging and got up, handing Terry his drink, “Terry watch my drink I'm gonna go help these kids”

“Really bruh?! Are you serious? I don't want to watch your drink, bruh!”

“It’s for a bit dude!”, Player replied as they followed the kids to the tree, Jerry quickly waddling along beside them to watch too.

Terry watched as Player tried to climb the tree as his younger brother looking up at them in awe, his gaze never leaving and showing some worry. His train of thought was interrupted by Grieder nudged the back of his head with his hand causing Terry to immediately spin around in anger.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT?!”

“Geez! Chill dude. I was just gonna ask what was up with you. I mean you keep staring at them like something’s wrong”

“What?! No, I wasn't! Completely untrue, bruh!”

“Uh-huh…sure…dude, I'm not stupid”

Kyoko butted into the conversation, “Sorry to interrupt your conversation but I've been noticing you staring at him weirdly too…”

“I-…Fine. Look, it’s just- Don’t you think Player has been weird ever since that Ghostwalker incident? I can’t help but feel like something’s wrong and they’re hiding something…”

“I mean…He has been a bit…How would you put it…Distant?”, Kyoko added as she nodded, “It took him a while to get out of bed and to eat something”

“Wait what? I never heard about this…”, Griefer asked as his brows furrowed.

“Yeah basically after that IDIOT-“ Terry started before getting a look from Kyoko. Terry sighed and cooled himself, “After he decided to stupidly touch that damn sword after being told not to, they basically got into a coma!”

“Hold up- like a literal fucking coma?!”, Griefer butted in.

“Practically! That damn idiot was BARELY breathing after touching it! Thankfully they woke up after 3 hours but they were weird after…”

“Weird how?”, Griefer asked as he took a sip from his witches brew.

“I don’t know how to describe it. But it looked like they went through something and they aren’t saying anything”

“I don't know them all that well but I do have to say that they did look like they had something bothering them…”, Calypso added on

They were silent for a few seconds before Griefer agreed. “Yeah…I kinda thought I was the only one who noticed but something is definitely wrong….”

“Well then why don’t we ask them when they come back?”, Kyoko asked as it was natural for her to try and find a solution for any sort of problem.

“I’m sorry but do you know that idiot?! They aren’t gonna open up like that! We’re probably gonna need an intervention or something if we want him to talk…”

Griefer nodded as he fixed his hat, “Yeah. We definitely are gonna need one if we wanna figure what’s wrong with him…”

Chapter Text

The festival, while still technically going, was pretty much over by now. Most residents had returned to their homes and called it a day. You still had a few out, but even their conversations were starting to slow down and become more bland.

Player didn't feel tired, but they were getting that feeling again. The one they could only express when truly alone. So he made the excuse that he was tired and was going to one of the hotels to crash at.

“Alright, well, it's getting pretty late not gonna lie so I'm gonna just crash at the hotel”, Player said as he stretched.

“Whatever, bruh. Just don't leave a mess like you always did back at the hotel”

“I won’t, Terry! Geez, I'm not this lazy slob you make me out to be!”, Player joked as they looked down at the bird to meet his gaze.

“Probably because you are one”, Terry replied. While he had no real anger behind those words, Player couldn't tell due to his always angry demeanor, so it hurt a bit for Player. But Player didn't want to come off as ‘too soft’ or as someone who couldn't take a light joke or insult, so he just chuckled.

“Whatever you say, man. Bye guys!”, Player said as they put a hand up and started walking to the hotel, smiling with Terry’s gaze, of course, following until they disappeared into the hotel.

There were only a few people working at the hotel, likely people who wanted to earn a few extra bux so they skipped the festival. They checked out a room and walked in.

He walked into the room and took in their surroundings for a brief second. A large queen-size bed with two bamboo plants on each side. A painting of a jungle with some toucans in the picture. A rug with patterns on it, and a window with curtains that gave them a good view.

They locked the door and his smile instantly dropped. They put down their bag which was starting to become heavy for him before walking to the window and closing the blinds and sitting on the bed, thinking silently to himself as nothing but the AC and sounds of cicadas accompanied him.

Why him of all people? Why did Shedletsky choose him? There were so many other people that Shedletsky could have chosen who would have been so much more better at this than him. Was he cursed to this? Was he a curse? It feels like everywhere he goes for these swords something bad happens because of him. He doesn't mean to. He never wanted anyone to get hurt, especially because of him.

Honestly, he was so selfish. He felt selfish in the moment. Even though he shouldn't anymore. He killed his greed, right? And why does he feel so alone? He killed his solitude? So why does he feel this way? This doesn't seem fair.

It honestly was a bit horrifying getting into the dream world. It was like cutting yourself open and watching your intestines fall out. All your guts and blood, just spilling out for you to see in all their glory but this time with your emotions. Maybe it was horrifying because he never really faced his emotions? He doesn't know. He isn't some great ancient philosopher with some long beard or some psychologist who wears glasses and acts smart. He doesn't know anything. He’s 18 and never even bothered looking at colleges. All he has done with his life is be lazy, dumb, annoy people, and ruin everything he gets into. That's it. That's all there is to him. Nothing more, nothing less.

…

Tears were swelling in his eyes as he was naturally reaching towards his bag. He got onto his knees and crawled towards his bag and opened it, the sounds of zippers being opened filled the room as he rustled through. A strange aching feeling started to tingle slightly as he began looking for the box cutter.

He opened the bag and reached for it, instead of blindly shuffling through like last time. He took it out and observed it, exhaling slowly. He knew it was wrong. He knew it was bad. But he just couldn't stop himself. It helped him. And to him, that's all that mattered.

He rolled up his sleeves to see that he practically had no free space on his arms. He sighed as he thought before coming to the idea of using his thighs. He took off the shorts he was wearing and extended the cutter a tad bit before bringing the sharp end to his thighs and slowly dragging across his thigh.

The line was slightly visible before only small tiny droplets of blood came through. He sighed in frustration. “Come on…”, he mumbled to himself.

He wanted to see the blood come through. He felt like a pissy if it didn't. And didn't make him feel valid either. He needs the blood. To both prove that he was valid and to punish himself. That was why he was mostly doing this in the first place. To both punish himself and cope with his struggles. The stinging sensation and blood brought a strange feeling to him that almost made him feel a bit better, but also worse (mainly after he was done) as well. It was hard to explain. But he didn't need to explain this to anyone. Because no one had to know. No one had to see the cuts. No one needs to know because it’s none of their business and it’s not important.

It wasn't like he was gonna go any deeper. It wasn't like he was going to kill himself just yet. So it’s not important. It’s not that big of a deal. He's just making some cuts, nothing major.

He pressed the blade a bit harder, not too hard, just hard enough that where he hoped it would cause more bleeding. He let out a quiet sigh as more blood came out. He watched it drip as he leaned against the bed.

What was next after this? After his adventure? Would he die during this? They didn't know how to quite feel about that. Sometimes when things are really bad, his first thought almost always goes to suicide. There are times when he does want to live, but then there are times when he just feels nothing and just spaces out a few times. Sometimes, he feels like he’s being overdramatic and looking for excuses or reasons for people to pity him even though he never told anyone about his true struggles.

How would people even react to this anyway? Would people pity him and baby him? Also asking in that stupid baby-ing tone of ‘heeeey. How are you? You feeling okay? Do you need to talk?’ talking to him like he was some sort of child even though he was 18. Or maybe with disgust? Maybe anger? Terry would probably react that way. Maybe Griefer too. What about Shedletsky? Probably would just send him back to collect the next sword since he’s just his ‘temporary employee’. That's all he was.

Temporary. Disposable. Forgettable.

He slashed another cut onto his thigh, deeper this time, but still superficial. He huffed as he watched it bled more, more tears welling.

Slob. Lazy.

Another cut.

Annoying.

Another cut.

Disgusting. Filthy.

Another cut.

Ugly.

Another cut.

Stupid.

Another cut.

Dumb.

Another cut.

Ugly.

Another cut.

Worthless.

Another cut.

He stopped, watching all the cuts that were on his left thigh. He sighed as he just stared.

It's crazy how so much can change so shortly. One moment, he just got out of high school with no job looking for a place to stay when he found Terry, the next…he’s cutting himself after collecting four of the SFOTH swords.

He thought back to his childhood. Such simpler times. He really shouldn't have taken it for granted. He remembers loving the SFOTH swords and being so interested in them. He collected toys of them and played with toys of the admins. He loved the admins as a child too. His favorite of all time was Shedletsky. He remembered still fanboying over him in middle and high school too. That’s probably why he agreed to do this in the first place with no questions or hesitation. That was his childhood idol. Of course, he would take any offer from him. But now he’s starting to both question this journey and Shedletsky. It starts to feel like his childhood hero is now a fraud. Just someone using him. To do all the dirty work for him.

No, that's wrong of them to think. He’s injured! He’s probably already stressed enough from admin work and his best friend being kidnapped! That's so selfish of him to think. He’s not the one who is injured. He’s not the one who is kidnapped and probably being tortured or something. He’s just being lazy and selfish.

Now he feels bad.

He put his head in his hands and looked back at the box cutter he had put on the ground. Round 2 he fucking guesses.

He moves the blade to his right thigh and cuts again, the same nasty thoughts as before resurfacing again and again, repeating on loop like a broken record.

Eventually, he finished. Most of the blood was already dry. He laid against the frame of the bed, listening to the AC as most of the cicadas were quiet.

Quiet.

It felt odd. Everything felt odd. Odd in a weird way. It felt bad, yes, but weird in a way he just couldn't explain. It was something you had to experience to understand what it was.

He got up, not bothering to change or clean himself. He found no purpose in it since his blood was already dried. He turned off the lights and got under the bed.

Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Chapter Text

It was the day after the festival, and Griefer, Terry, Calypso, and Kyoko were at Griefer's crib in that big tree discussing how to approach Player. Jerry wasn't there because Terry thought Jerry was too innocent for such a serious talk.

“So how are we gonna do this?”, Calypso asked as she looked at Griefer’s messy room, hiding her disgust as Kyoko decided to help with the cleaning.

“Yeah dude, we really gotta figure that out because as much as Player is a dumbass, I don't think they’re going to just blindly walk into something like ‘we need to talk’! He’s obviously gonna know something is up…”, Terry added as he didn't want them to try and run away from this.

Griefer had an idea and decided to share. “I’ll be the one to get them, and I’ll invite him over to the game. How about that?”

“I mean- that does sound like a good idea”, Kyoko agreed before pausing, “But what if he doesn't agree to come?”, she asked as she picked up the last bit of trash.

“Yeah, I mean that idiot hasn't really taken a break since he agreed to collect those swords for Shedletsky. And that festival doesn't count” either, bruh, Terry added.

Griefer groaned a little, “Look- I’ll figure something out and I’ll make that punk come. Even if I have to drag his ass kicking and screaming here”

“Brad! Come on, be respectful and nice! We’re having this intervention because we all know Player is clearly going through something!”, Kyoko scolded softly.

“Relax! I won't do that…unless needed…”

—

Player was walking out of the hotel after checking out after having changed his outfit to wear longer pants now, hearing the birds chirping and the sun was rising.

As he was walking, he heard a familiar voice call him. “Yo! Player!”, Griefer called out. Player turned around to see the immature 21-year-old. “Oh, hey, Griefer! What’s up?”, Player asked.

“Nothing much dude. How ‘bout you?”, Griefer asked as he swung his crowbar to lay on his shoulders. “Oh, me? I’m doing great!”, Player chirped back.

Griefer thought they were lying but pretended to act like they believed them, “That’s good. Hey uh, you wanna come hang out and play some games?”

Player thought to themselves for a while which made Griefer almost think that he had to drag them to his crib before they finally agreed.

“Sure, I guess. I mean- Shedletsky hasn’t texted or called me so I guess I can play some games for a while”

Griefer held in a sigh of relief, “Awesome. Let’s go”, he gestured as he tilted his head to the direction of the tree he called his ‘crib’ before they both headed out.

As they walked, Griefer couldn’t help but worry about how Player would react when they realized that this wasn’t going to be a gaming session. They’d probably freak out or maybe even feel betrayed but honestly, this has to be done.

Eventually, they got to his crib, “Aight, we’re here. C’mon dude…”, Griefer said as Player followed along blindly.

When they got in, the first thing Player noticed was that it was cleaner than usual and that Kyoko, Calypso, and Terry were also there. “Oh wow, I didn’t know they’d be joining too”, Player said with confusion and a tiny bit of worry as he saw their serious and concerned expressions.

“Sorry to do this to ya, punk, but this isn’t a gaming session”, Griefer said the truth as he lowered his crowbar and crossed his arms, finally showing how concerned he was.

Player couldn’t help but awkwardly and nervously smile. It wasn’t that they found this situation funny, it was just the instinct his brain kicked to. “What do you mean…?”, Played asked nervously, trying to hang onto the hope that this wasn’t serious.

“This is an intervention, Player…”, Kyoko gently said as she stepped near the adventurer. “An intervention..? For what? Did I do something wrong-“

“BECAUSE YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY HIDING SOMETHING, BRUH! AND YOU AREN’T TELLING!”, Terry cut off as he flapped his flippers with anger and concern.

Player, of course, immediately went to defend themselves to avoid further problems for them, “What- What do you mean? I’m fine! I’m perfectly fine-“

“THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN! YOU KEEP INSISTING THAT YOU ARE ‘FINE’ WHEN IT IS CLEAR TO ANYONE WITH A BRAIN THAT YOU ARE NOT FINE!”

“Calm down!”, Kyoko butted in between the two of them, “I get you’re concerned, Terry. We all are. But we aren’t here to yell at each other! We’re here to help Player…”

Terry huffed as he tried to calm himself down before focusing his gaze back to Player, “Look, we all know something is wrong with you. So don’t even think of trying to lie your way out of this”

Player didn’t know what to say. They didn’t know where to start so they just stayed quiet. It felt like they couldn’t speak anyway which had Terry speaking again, “I mean- when was the last time you took a break? And before you say anything, I know that Builderman is kidnapped and these swords are important, but you still need to take care of yourself bruh”

“I mean…”, Kyoko started, “I have noticed you wearing the same outfit and it hasn’t looked like you washed your hair either…”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that too”, Calypso nodded, “You still wore that hoodie even in the desert…”

“Yeah well- I just didn’t want to…”, Player tried to defend themselves as they fidgeted nervously.

“What do you mean you didn’t want to?! It’s the damn desert! You realized you could have gotten heat stroke or something, right?!”, Griefer argued back before going to his drawer and searching for a shirt for him to wear. Eventually, he pulled out a shirt that had some rock band he had never heard of on it and threw it to Player. “There. Wear that. There’s a bathroom over there you can change into.”

Player looked at it nervously, “Do you have something with longer sleeves?”, they asked, trying not to seem suspicious but failed.

“Why do you need something with longer sleeves, bruh?! It’s hot as hell in this place!”, Terry questioned as his brows furrowed more.

“Because I just- I don’t want to! That’s why!”

“Alright, it’s very clear now you are obviously trying to hide something!”, Terry snapped at Player as he came closer, causing Player to put his hands up. “You know what? Roll up your sleeves”, Terry demanded firmly, leaving no room for arguments.

That phrase made Player’s heart drop as he looked to the others for any sort of support but he could tell they were also agreeing with Terry. “I- Uh-“, Player checked their phone, “Actually I had to meet up with Shedletsky so I’m just gonna go now-“, Player said as they tried to leave before being stopped by Griefer suddenly putting his arm out, crowbar in hand, to prevent them from leaving. “No way, punk! You aren’t leaving until we say we’re done!”

Player flinched and took a step back, feeling the realization of the severity of the situation start to kick in as they swakwed dryly. They felt like a cornered stray cat, backed into a corner with its back arched as it hissed.

“Why don’t you want to wear something with short sleeves, huh?”, Griefer asked as he held up the shirt, “You wouldn't have a problem with that unless you were hiding something?”

“I'm-…I’m not…”, Player shook their head, they could feel the anxiety kicking in as they tried to ground themselves. “Then why don't you roll your sleeves?”

Silence. Still, awkward silence. That's all Griefer and the rest were met with after that sentence. And that gave them the answers to everything.

“I knew it! I fucking knew it! I knew you were doing something to yourself AND NOW YOU ARE GONNA SPIT IT OUT!”, Terry yelled out loud before waddling quickly to the hero, “ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES!!”

Player held their arms closer to themselves before Kyoko stepped forward, “If it makes things easier for you, can I roll up your sleeves for you?”. Player contemplated that option but slowly extended his arms towards Kyoko, silently granting her permission.

Kyoko gently took Player’s hand and began pulling down on one of the sleeves as more and more thin red lines were revealed, looks of worry, fear, and shock were painted across everyone's faces. All Player could naturally do was mumble a tiny and pathetic ‘I'm sorry’. Even though he didn't regret the choice of hurting himself. He just didn't like seeing everyone so worried about him. It made him almost feel like it was his fault.

“…Player, what- why?”, Kyoko gasped in horror as she observed the cuts, looking for any signs of being too deep or infected. “Are there any more we need to know about?”, Kyoko asked, looking Player dead in the eyes with nothing but worry and care.

“Um…”, Player started dryly as he looked away before quietly mumbling, “There’s…some on my thighs….”. Kyoko couldn’t hear so she tilted her head closer to Player, “There’s some where?”, she asked in a hushed, gentle voice before Player repeated themselves, a little bit louder. Kyoko nodded as she realized that things would have to get a little awkward if she wanted to make sure the cuts were properly taken care of. “If you are comfortable, would you be okay with us going into the bathroom so I could take care of your injuries?”

Player let out a short ‘uhh’ before agreeing. With that, they both walked to the bathroom as Kyoko held Player’s hand to bring comfort to them.

The bathroom was plain and simple. There wasn’t a whole lot in it except for Griefer’s toothbrush and toothpaste. Kyoko closed the door behind her to give them both privacy as she set her briefcase on the sink.

“So, since the cuts are on your thighs, I do kinda need you to…y’know, take off your pants so I can take care of them. If that makes you uncomfortable we can work something else out-“ “No…no, it’s fine.”, Player brushed off as he began taking off his pants, blushing a bit at the situation as it dropped his knees. Once again, red lines were revealed to be on Player’s thighs making Kyoko sad as she opened her briefcase to pull out disinfectant and bandages.

“It’s probably going to be best if you sit down for this…”, Kyoko suggested as he began sitting on his knees, looking at the ground, not wanting to make eye contact. “This may sting a bit…”, Kyoko warned before gently dabbing disinfectant, making Player’s face contort to one of discomfort. “I know, I know. We just need to get this over with for now.”

“I’m- I really didn’t want anyone to find out about this…”

“I know you didn’t want anyone to find out but you can’t hide things like this…”, Kyoko said as she finished his left thigh, now moving onto his right thigh, “Even if it doesn’t seem like it, people really do care about you, Player…You mean more to us than you’ll ever know…”

Player just sniffled as he held back tears, still struggling to process that this was all real. That they really did find out about this. That they all knew what he did to himself when no one was around. It almost didn’t feel real. Almost. He was zoning out until Kyoko’s voice brought him back to reality. “Do you want me to bathe you?”

“Huh?”, Player said, confused if he heard her right. “Do you want me to bathe you? You haven’t showered in weeks so I thought that it would be a nice gesture to bathe you…only if you are comfortable with it, of course”. He already took off his pants, what would be different about this? “Um…sure…that would be nice”, Player agreed before taking off the rest of his clothes as Kyoko folded his clothes into a neat pile away from the tub. Kyoko started the bath, running her hand under the water to check the temperature and plugging the drain.

Player got in, watching as the running water hit the tub floor. There was something nice and comforting about sitting empty tub, waiting for it to slowly fill. As the tub filled, Kyoko grabbed the nearby loofah and put a good portion of soap into it, and gently rubbed Player’s body with soap, being careful with any cuts. It felt weird to be taken care of. To just relax and put his trust into someone else. After a while, Kyoko moved onto his hair as she turned the faucet off. She got some shampoo and began massaging his scalp, making sure to get the shampoo in there. Player relaxed into this and closed his eyes to which Kyoko smiled at. “Do you like that?”, she asked as she got back a satisfied ‘mmm’ sound. She walked out his hair before moving onto the conditioner, repeating the process once more before finishing and pulling the drain.

“I’m gonna see if Griefer has any pajamas or- comfy clothes for you. So, I’m going to leave for a bit while you start drying off, okay?”, Kyoko told the hero before leaving, closing the door behind her.

—

“Dude, can you fucking stop with the weird ass noises?”, Griefer jabbed towards Terry, who was making penguin noises due to the stress he was under.

“HOW ABOUT YOU MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS YOU STUPID-“ “What’s going on?”

The two turned around to see Kyoko standing behind them. Griefer sighed, “Nothing”, he replied as Terry scoffed, choosing not to talk about the argument.

“Well, if that’s the case then do you know if you have any pjs that Player can borrow for the night?”, Kyoko asked as Griefer started moving to his drawer, “Yeah, hold up”, He said as he pulled out some pj shorts and getting the same shirt he tried to offered to Player earlier. “here”.

“Thank you! I’ll be right back with them”, Kyoko chirped back as she walked to the bathroom. She opened the door to see Player drying their hair with the towel. “I’m back”, She announced as she put the clothes on the sink as Player stopped drying his hair with the towel and began to put on the clothes before walking out of the bathroom.

“So um-“ “We still need to talk”, said Calypso as Kyoko followed behind Player. “Right…”

“The most important thing we need to talk about is why you’re doing this to yourself”, asked Calypso as the others seemed like they also wanted answers. It was a natural desire, Player couldn’t blame them.

“I—It’s…”, Player started before stopping, licking their lips nervously as they fidgeted with their hands once more. It wasn’t exactly easy when there was so much behind why he was hurting himself. “I guess…mainly to punish myself and to cope when things get overwhelming…”

“Punish yourself?! For what, dude?! You’re literally a fucking hero! You saved my damn life! So what on Earth could you possibly have done to think you need to punish yourself?!”, Griefer questioned through a concerned bark, stunned by why someone who was so great in his eyes felt like he was a terrible person.

“I’ve- killed two people- I almost let you die!”, Player answered with a cry, “I didn’t mean it- I swear…It was- It was an accident…”.

“Woah, woah, woah…”, Griefer interrupted, “What do you mean you killed two people accidentally?”

“It- It was for the swords. I killed the king of Blackrock to get the Ice Dagger and- He died! I fucking killed him I didn’t mean to! I was just trying to get the Ice Dagger but he wouldn’t and he attacked me so I had to! I know he said he forgave me when I visited him in Nirvana but I still feel guilty! He had a kingdom to look after! He cared for that place!”, Player cried, guilt rattling through his bones, “And- Captain Trotter…It was for the Firebrand- he…he went crazy and threatened me and Calypso. We tried to reason with him but it wasn’t any use and we had to fight him and he…”, Player paused, “He fell into the lava and died.”

“That isn’t your fault, you were just doing what you needed and defending yourself”, Kyoko comforted as they put a hand on his shoulder. “I could have done something! I could have done more but I didn't!”.

“You didn't mean any of that. There was nothing else you could have done”, Calypso added, trying to ease his guilt. “I mean, what Cal...Uh, what she said. You were only defending yourself and it was a horrible accident. You aren't some horrible psycho serial killer or something! You’re pretty much the exact opposite of that!”, Griefer further added. Player sighed in defeat, guilt still lingering but he chose to let it go for now, “I…J guess”.

There was a small moment of silence before Griefer spoke again, “We're also gonna need to know what you’ve been cutting with so we can take it away. Obviously. And don't try to avoid it either because I'm not gonna rest until I know you don't have whatever it is you’ve been hurting yourself with”

Player sighed quietly before reaching into his bag and pulling the box cutter, handing it to Griefer before being interrupted by Terry suddenly yanking the box cutter out of his hands. “Thank you very much I’ll be right back”, Terry said as he waddled out of Griefer’s crib.

“Where is he going?”, Player asked with confusion. “That is a very good question that I do not have the answer to”, Kyoko replied, just as confused as Player was.

Eventually, Player got on Griefer’s bed as Kyoko bandaged Player’s arms and thighs. As she was finishing the bandages, they heard a loud boom.

BOOOM!

A couple of minutes after the loud boom, Terry could be seen waddling back in. “TERRY!”, called out Kyoko, “WHAT WAS THAT?!”, she asked with heavy concern and panic. Terry put away his missile launcher before answering, “Nothing. Don't worry about it”.

Player managed to put the pieces together pretty soon, “DID YOU BLOW UP MY BOX CUTTER?!”. Terry rolled his eyes, “Maybe. So what? You shouldn't have access to it.”

Player wanted to protest back but knew it wouldn't do anything so he chose to let it go. He exhaled as he flopped down on Griefer’s bed. Kyoko gently massages Player’s scalp, “You really should take more breaks, Player”. Player didn't agree though, “Yeah but Builderman is kidnapped and he needs to be saved! Plus, I don't wanna make Shedletsky disappointed in me or angry with me! I’ve really looked up to him and I just-…”

“Just because Builderman is kidnapped doesn't mean you can't take care of yourself”, Kyoko gently interrupted, “And I don't think he would be disappointed or angry either”

“I feel like I'm not doing a good enough job for him either…”

“And why do you feel like that?”

“I mean- maybe I'm being selfish or something but when I went to him to tell him I got the Ghost Walker he just called me his temporary employee and I just felt like- I don't know…Like, he just saw me as some tool and I was just someone to get the job done. And it felt…I don't know, disappointing? I mean, I’ve looked up to this man since I was a kid and that's why I even agreed to this whole thing in the first and seeing him kinda talk to me like, especially with everything I had to go through felt…I don't know”, Player ranted as they stared at the ceiling as Terry started thinking about the audacity of the admin before remembering the whole Ghost Walker incident. He remembered walking back with Jerry when he realized that Player wasn't following, he went waddling back, grumbling to himself about how the ‘idiot’ couldn't follow basic orders. It wasn't until he saw their body flat on the ground, barely breathing to add on, that he started to panic.

Terry was never one to panic over anything, but this was one of those few rare exceptions. He remembers shaking their body violently, screaming at them to wake up, not feeling the tears that were welling in his eyes. He didn't care how loud he was being. He didn't care if the entire manor heard him. All he wanted was for Player to be okay. He ran to the wizard as fast as he could. He didn't think he could even run that fast, but he did. He remembers begging the blue wizard over and over again to help, which was, once again, something he would never do. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

He remembers the massive wave of relief wash over him when he started waking up and the massive shock when he grabbed it with his bare hands and lived. He had to purify his soul in some way when he was out and he hasn't been the same ever since. It's been eating at him and he needs to know.

“You remember that Ghost Walker incident, dude?”, Terry asked as Player looked up, perking his head up from the pillows. “Huh? Oh, yeah. I remember. What about it?”.

“Wait, what about the Ghost Walker?”, Griefer butted in. He’s heard some things about the Ghost Walker since of course, his dad was a sword guardian himself.

Terry turned to Griefer, “Basically, he decided to touch the Ghost Walker with his BARE hands and he basically was in a coma for HOURS!”, Terry ranted as he restrained himself from calling Player an idiot. Of course, he never truly meant it when he called Player an idiot or a slob, but he obviously knew that now wasn't the right time to call Player names. Griefer’s eyes of course widened at this.

“YOU DID WHAT?!”, Griefer yelled at towards Player in bewilderment, “DUDE-” “I know! Okay! I know it was dangerous but I wasn't thinking straight- I don't know, okay!”, Player snapped before sitting back up and putting his head in his hands, “I’m sorry- just…a lot has happened….I’ll explain…”

Player soon began explaining what happened after they touched the Ghost Walker. How they blacked out, woke up with Builderman practically staring at him, the strange places, and how they needed to kill their emotions.

Terry’s brows furrowed more as his concern grew more, Griefer understood why his dad would scream at him when he mentioned the venomshabk even more now but more concerned for his friend, Kyoko realized why Player seemed so distant after getting the sword, Calypso also understood why Player acted so off.

Obviously, they all planned on getting Player to get therapy after his quest but they would also be having a talk with Shedletsky. For now, they decided that now was just the time to rest. And so, they did. All together. And for a short while, Player didn't feel so isolated.

Chapter Text

The others were still in Griefer’s crib as Player was still processing everything as Terry left. It took him a good while to finally get down again. The sun had began to set which casted orange-yellowish lights between the shadows casted by leaves and branches.

Terry held his phone up to his ear as he tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for Shedletsky to answer. Either the service here sucked or Shedletsky was taking forever to answer a simple phone call. Finally, the call went through and Shedletsky picked up with a casual drawn out ‘heeey!’, as if nothing was going on. Terry was quick to shut down his casual, laid back demeanor though.

“We need to talk”, Terry spoke in a sharp tone which caused Shedletsky to pause behind the other line. Sure, Terry was angry in general, but you could tell when it was just him being his usual self and when he was actually angry. “Uh, sure! What’s up?”, Shedletsky chirped back, trying to keep a light-hearted conversation.

“We need to talk about Player”, Terry answered, “And you”. Shedletsky tapped against his desk nervously, feeling like he was in trouble. “Oh…Uh, yeah…okay! Go ahead, shoot!”

Terry sighed in frustration. This man seemed like he could never take anything seriously. “Listen, Player hasn’t been doing okay. At all. And you’re part of the reason”

Shedletsky leaned back in his chair, brows furrowed in confusion, “Like- Is he sick or something? Y’know if he’s got a flu or something he can’t stop. Builderman ne—“ “No!”

There was a pause from both sides until Shedletsky gathered the courage to speak against the awkward silence, “So then- What is it?”

Terry sighed once again, swallowing the lump that formed in his throat. As much as he ‘hated’ them, it pained him to see him suffering like this, “Player has been cutting himself”.

Silence. That’s all there was. Shedletsky opened his mouth on the other end before closing and opening it again, like a fish out of water gasping for air. He didn’t know what to say. How long had this been going on for? Why would someone even do something like that to themselves?

Before Shedletsky could get a chance to say something, Terry began to elaborate further. “He feels guilty. Y’know he witnessed people die, right? He killed the literal king of Blackrock on accident while defending himself and witnessed someone fall into lava. All of this over swords. Now he thinks he’s some murderer or something. So, that’s why he’s been cutting himself”

Shedletsky blinked, looking at the floor as his hand rested still now on his desk. “What- What does this have to do with me, though? I mean- It’s bad, yeah! Hope he gets better but…You’re kinda acting as if this is my fault!”

“It kinda is”, Terry said, metaphorically slapping Shedletsky with the hard truth, “You have a lot to do with this. You sent him on this quest, you never warned him about the swords- You don’t even bother asking him how he is after he comes back from getting a sword, bruh!”

Shedletsky stayed silent, processing the words before speaking with the same excuse, “Well- I’m sorry…I hope Player gets better soon…”

“Oh, you hope?”, Terry raised his voice, “You hope?! You aren’t just gonna hope for the best, bruh! You got him into this mess, you’re gonna do something about it!”

“W-What?!”, Shedletsky stammered, perplexed. He didn’t know how he was gonna help with this. He didn’t know how to help someone going through something like this. “I’m sorry, Terry, but I don’t think I can—“ “Yes! Yes you can! You can pay for his therapy after he’s done with his mission! You can help, dude!”

“I—“ “No! Save it! I don’t want to hear it! You can pay for it just fine with no problems! You’re a literal admin dude! You have one of the best paying jobs out there! You got him into this mess, you’re gonna help fix it!”, Terry scolded, jabbing his finger accusingly on the other end.

Shedletsky sighed before giving in, “You’re right, I’m sorry…Yeah…I’ll do that when they’re done with everything…”

“Good.”

“…Alright…Talk to you later”

“Alright, see ya”

“Oh, uh…and tell Player I hope they’re okay”

“…I’ll make sure to do that”

Chapter Text

Player was back in Bizville now, more specifically, the meadows. The meadows were truly an underrated beauty of Bizville. The reason why he was in the meadows was because Shedletsky texted him to meet him at the fishing area for whatever reason.

Eventually, got down to the fishing area and saw Shedletsky buying a bucket of worms before turning to sit at the docks and noticing Player. “Player! You made it, buddy!”, Shedletsky said. Player cringed slightly on the inside from being called ‘buddy’ by Shedletsky for a reason he didn't know. “Here, come sit with me”, Shedletsky gestured to the spot next to him on the dock. Player listened and sat down next to him before being handed a fishing stick with a worm that was still alive and wriggling on the hook.

Player casted the rod into the water and watched as the water rippled from the force of the rod meeting against the water. For a while, there was only awkward silence between the two of them. The only noise was the water that splashed against the wood support of the docks and the breeze of the chilly November air.

“Sooo….”, Shedletsky started as he fidgeted with his fishing stick, “Terry kinda told me about uh…you and what's going on…”. Player bit the inside of his lower lip as he looked away, moving his hat to cover a little more of his face. It was clear that Player felt ashamed and humiliated knowing that Shedletsky was informed on the things he was doing, or rather did to himself, as he no longer has his box cutter. Shedletsky picked up on this and wrapped an arm around the young hero, rubbing calming circles on their shoulder to try and soothe them, “Hey, hey, hey…I’m not mad at you- or judging you”, Shedletskt reassured, “Its just…”

Shedletsky paused, staring at the water before speaking, “Look- Terry made me realize that I’ve been kinda a terrible boss and y’know, I’ll take accountability. I have been a terrible boss and I haven't been really thinking about how you’re doing. So, to make up for it I’m going to be paying for your therapy!”, Shedletsky announced, trying to get Player to see that he cared.

Player’s brows furrowed as he looked up at Shedletsky, “I’m going to therapy?”, Player asked, shocked.

“Thats right!”, Shedletsky confirmed, “It was all Terry’s idea, too! He was really up my tail on making me pay so you should thank him!”

Player was even more shocked, “Terry?!”, Player exclaimed, “He was the one who-…”, Player trailed off, lost for words. Out of ALL the people to do this, Player didn't expect it to be Terry. “Sorry, I just didn't expect Terry to do something like this…”

Shedletsky chuckled, “Oh yeah, when he called me I thought it was gonna be for something else not yelling at me to pay for your therapy”

His chuckling died down and was now replaced with awkward silence between the two of them before Shedletsky spoke again, “Uh- How bad were your cuts? You didn't go deep, did ya?”

Player shook their head, not having the ability to speak now. “Thats uh…thats good”, Shedletsky said, “Its not good that you cut yourself, obviously, but I'm glad you didn't do anything too bad to yourself”

More awkward silence between the two of them as Shedletsky fidgeted with his rod, “Daw come on! Just bite!” Shedletsky joked, trying to lighten things up. He only earned a barely audible forced chuckle from Player.

“Does uh…” Shedletsky trailed off as he licked his lips, silently regretting not dressing properly for the weather, “Does it usually take this long to get anything?”

“Uh, no. I've gotten things quicker but I guess because it's starting to get cold they just won't bite for whatever reason”, Player shrugged. He wasn't really trying to get anything. He wouldn't care if he didn't get anything. All Player was really doing was spacing out as he was still processing everything.

“Y’know, kid…”, Shedletsky spoke again, “I’m really sorry, again, for not being responsible. I mean- you’re only what? 18? And I’ve put the weight of saving the entire world on your shoulders. And I haven't once tried to see things from your point of view. I promise, once we get all the swords and save Builderman, I’ll do my best to fix the damage done”, Shedletsky promised as he pulled Player into hug with one arm.

Player stared off as he processed his words and sighed, “Thanks…”

Chapter Text

Player was passed out on Terry’s bed, drool slightly spilling out of his mouth. It was safe to say that he was deep in his nap that had been going on for six hours now. At first, Player just told himself it would “just be for five minutes while Terry is gone”.

He was having a rather…weird dream…he was in some pond or some sort of body of water. The water was an unrealistic shade of blue, almost like something from a cartoon. The sky was nothing but a white canvas. Around him, yellow ducks swam around him. Cute, fuzzy ducks that for some reason, don't have a face on them. Player tried to pet the ducks, but the moment he reaches out they same away. “No! Come back!”, Player giggled as he slowly went after the ducks, “Come here!”, they called out in a baby tone. Player smiled as he accepted his lost of that specific duck before trying to pet the next duck, yet the same thing happen. Duck after duck, they all avoided him. “Come on! Just-”, Player groaned, “Why are you all swimming away from me! Just let me pet you! Please!”, Player begged before accidentally falling into the water and forgetting how to swim.

It wasn’t until he felt something hitting his head that he woke up.

Player opened their eyes to see something blue in front of them before realizing that it’s just Terry.

“BRO. WAKE UP. GET OUT OF MY BED AND GET READY”, Terry yelled. Player whined at being woken up, “What…? Does Shedletsky need me again or something?”, Player asked as they stretched before going back under the covers.

“No, dumbass! It’s thanksgiving! We gotta go to Noobador’s house!”, Terry explained before ripping the bed sheets away from Player, exposing them to the cold air, “SO GET UP YOU BUM!”

Player rubbed his eyes, whining as he got up. “Fiiinnnee- wait, why are we going to Noobador’s house?”

Terry sighed, “I don’t know, bruh! That’s just what Shedletsky is telling everyone just get ready!”

Player got up and went to the bathroom and shut the door, looking at himself in the mirror. He ran a hand through his hair. Should he shower? His hair was feeling a little greasy…yeah he should probably shower.

He started removing his clothes and got into the shower, turning the faucet to a warm temperature. Player relaxed into the warmth, it served as a nice break from cold temperature Terry kept his room too. No matter what Player tried, Terry never budged on turning the temperature up. He even offered to buy him tuna and he still didn’t budge!

———-

Finally, Player finished blow drying his hair and stepped out the bathroom. Terry glanced up from his chair, watching some YouCube video.

“Finally, bruh you don’t look like you belong in a sewer drain as a rat”, Terry commented which earned an offended gasp from Player, “Well excuse you! Rude!”, Player said back as they approached Terry’s chair as rested his head on top, “So when are going to have this Thanksgiving thing?”, Player asked.

Terry sighed at Player’s impatience, “we’ll be heading over there at like- five I think…”

“So I gotta wait two more hours?! Ugh…”, Player complained.

“You can wait two hours, bruh! And GET YOUR HEAD OFF MY CHAIR!”, Terry yelled, “If you’re bored go do something else!”

Player got his head off the chair but still stood there, bored. He huffed as he looked around before slowly taking his finger and inching it closer to Terry’s head. They’ve always wondered what it felt like to let a penguin and there was one right in front of him, so why not? What’s the worst that could happen?

The moment their finger met contact with Terry’s head, the penguin shot up.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING BRUH?!”, Terry yelled. Player put their hands up defensively, a smile cracking on their face, “I just wanted to know what it’s like to touch a penguin!”, Player giggled nervously, “You feel so soft! Come on let me pet yo-“, Player said as he reached out with his hands before Terry yelled louder again.

“NO, I AM NOT LETTING YOU PET ME AGAIN! I’M NOT SOME DAMN DOG, BRUH!”, Terry snapped, “DO YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST PET ANY PENGUIN YOU SEE?!”

“No-“ “THAT IS MAD DISRESPECTFUL TO MY SPECIES, BRUH”, Terry interrupted before he pulled out his missile launcher, “I’LL KILL YOU!”

Player instantly ran out the hotel room as Terry pulled the trigger. The missile went out the open door and hit the hotel wall, which Player managed to dodge just in time. Terry got up and peered out the door. “I BETTER NOT SEE YOU UNTIL 5 BRUH!”, Terry yelled as he slammed the door shut, waddling back to his chair as he rubbed the spot with his flipper.

——-

Player sighed as he walked around Bizville, bored as what to do. He can't ragebait Terry anymore. Honestly, it's fun to ragebait him since he's so easy to piss off…well, until he tries to kill you. Then it isn't fun. But other than that, it's fun.

Player walked around until seeing the Bizville store. He paused and decided to walk around. He didn't plan on buying anything, just window shop. He walked around, seeing what they had.

Player continued casually walking around, hoping that something would cure his boredom until something caught his eye. A box of double edged razors. He knew he shouldn't buy them, probably shouldn't even be looking at them for so ridiculously long, but he couldn't seem to stop. He paused as he walked closer to the box, looked around to see if anyone was nearby, and picked the box up.

It was only 3 bux and they looked relatively sharp. They can easily get the job done. Player continued to stand there, contemplating buying the box. He wants to buy them but he knows that he should be staying be clean. But it wouldn't matter as long as no one else knew, right? It could just be his secret—

“BRUH!”, Terry yelled which made Player jump and put the box back. Player turned and looked at Terry with a nervous expression, like a child caught doing something they weren't supposed to do, “THERE YOU ARE! I WAS WONDERING WHERE YOU WERE! COME ON WE GOT TO GO!”, Terry said as he grabbed Player’s hand and yanked him along with surprising strength for a small penguin.

Player awkwardly followed Terry, unable to escape his grip as Terry mumbled something about ‘can’t be trusted for five minutes’ and ‘needs a babysitter 24/7’. Eventually, they got to a house and instead of knocking politely, Terry just let himself right in.

“Noobador! Yo, were here!”, Terry announced as he yanked Player into the house and shut the door behind him. The luchador came out of the kitchen with an apron on, “Glad to see you made it, next time knock buddy”, Noobador greeted, a little visibly annoyed at Terry letting himself in. Terry walked past Noobador, pushing him aside which earned an annoyed grumble from the luchador “You got tuna in here?” Terry asked. Kitchen Wizard, who was working on preparing the turkey, turned around, “no, we do not have tuna”, the wizard answered in his usual annoyed tone.

Terry groaned, “bro this thanksgiving is gonna suck”. Just then, Jerry came waddling quickly from the kitchen, “big bro! You made it!”, Jerry exclaimed as he excitedly made his way to Terry before greeting Player, “Stranger! You’re here too!”

“Don’t talk to them!”, Terry protested as Red and Blue came out to greet Player, eagerly running up to them. “Player!”, Blue called out as Red joined her, “How was your adventure? Did you beat up any bad guys?”, Red pushed excitedly, eager to hear about any ‘cool’ action from their adventure.

“Uh- yeah, I beat up some bad guys…”, Player awkwardly lied as scratched the back of his neck. Red’s eyes sparkled as he raised his voice in excitement, “Really?! Who?! Tell us EVERYTHING! I bet it was so cool!”

“Red!”, Noobador called out to the child, “calm down, kid”.

“Sorry, uncle”, Red apologized before turning back to Player with admiration in his eyes, “Well, are you gonna tell us!?”

Player looked away before looking back and answering, “Uh- how about next time?”

Red groaned loudly in disappointment, Blue looking a little sad behind her brother as well, “Aw, come on! Just tell us! We want to hear all about your super cool adventure!”

Before Noobador could tell them to let it go, the door busted open loudly, “HEY GUYS!”, Shedletsky yelled as he swung around the turkey he bought for the feast, which made Terry scoff. His wife, Brighteyes, joining in carrying some desserts.

“Hope we aren't late! We brought the turkey!”, Shedletsky announced as he gave the turkey over to the ghost chef, “Finally! And do me a favor next time and don’t swing the turkey around like a mad man!”, the ghost chef barked at the admin before making his way to the kitchen to prepare the turkey.

“Player!”, Shedletsky called out as he wrapped Player in a tight one armed hug, “Heya, kiddo! How are ya?” Shedletsky said as he ruffled Player’s hair.

“Gah! I’m fine!”, Player said as they tried to pry themselves from Shedletsky grip and save his hair, yet Shedletsky persisted. “Really? That’s good, kid! Glad to hear it!”, Shedletsky said as he ruffled his hair even harder until Brighteyes put a hand on his shoulder, “I think that’s enough, hun”

Shedletsky paused and looked at Player’s messy hair before letting go, “Oops, sorry about that bud!” Player stumbled back as they fixed their hair, “Its fine”.

Brighteyes went into the kitchen to give the chef the desserts. From what Player could see, she brought what looked like to be home-made brownies and cookies.

Just then, he felt Red and Blue grab his hands and drag him somewhere. “Come on! We can play while we wait on dinner!”, Blue said, hopeful that Player would be willing to play with them. “Uhh…sure, I don't see why not”, Player agreed as Red and Jerry followed along, “What game do you wanna play?”, Player asked. Blue thought before Jerry gave an idea.

“Hide and Seek!”, Jerry proclaimed, waving his flippers excitedly, “I remember that Terry would play the game with me all the time when we were younger in Antartica!”

Red turned around to face Jerry, “You lived in Antartica?! That's so cool! What's it like?!”, Red asked. Jerry’s tiny tail wagged at the chance to talk about his home, “Well, first off, its very cold! But it's fine since we have fur and usually get into warmth huddles when it gets really cold!”

“Did you guys live in igloos?”, Blue asked. Jerry smiled, “We sure did! We’d have fish every night too!”

Red stuck his tongue out in disgust, “Bleh! Fish?! That's nasty!”, Blue gently slapped his shoulder, “Red! That's so mean!”. Jerry didn't mind it though, “Fish is really good though! You should try it sometime!”

“I think I’ll pass”, said Red, “Can we get on with the game now?”.

“Oh, right! Uh- Who wants to seek first?”, asked Blue. Player raises his hand with a smile, “I’ll seek. I’ll count to ten, is that okay?”

Blue nodded, “Thats good!” she said as the others ran off to hide. Player turned around and counted to ten. “One….Two….Three…..”

——

Jerry ran around the house until he ran into his brother. “Terry!! I need your help! I’m playing hide and seek with Red and Blue and Player and I need to hide!! Where should I go?!”, Jerry asked his brother. Terry thought for a moment before sharing his idea with him, “go hide in the kitchen cabinet”, Terry suggested, planning on annoying the kitchen wizard.

“Great idea!”, Jerry chirped as he quickly waddled to the kitchen. He went in, hurriedly looking for a spot to hide.

“What are you doing in here?!”, Ghost Chef barked as he turned away from his work, irritated that someone came in to interrupt his process.

“I need to hide!”, Jerry said, looking for a hiding spot before opening one of the cabinets and hiding in there.

“HEY! You can’t just hide in there! Get out!”, Kitchen Wizard barked again before sighing, giving up as he returned back to his work, shaking his head.

—

“Ready or not, here I come!”, Player said as they removed their hands from their eyes and began moving to find all three of them. He walked around the house, opening doors to peek inside rooms. As they passed by the kitchen, they couldn’t help but notice that it looked like someone was under the dining table.

He got on his knees before looking under and saw Red. “Found you!”, Player said as he pointed a finger at red. Red huffed as he crawled up, “Aw man!”, Red pouted. Player felt a bit bad for finding Red a bit early, “Hey, don’t feel bad. You can’t help me find the others!”

Red seemed to lighten up at that, “Yeah! The others don’t stand a chance against us!”. With that, the duo went on to look for the others. Player looked into the kitchen, secretly wanting one of the desserts Brighteyes brought. He tired to silently make his way over to the brownies when Kitchen Wizard spun around found them in the act.

“HEY!”, Kitchen Wizard yelled, pointing his spatula at them accusingly, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

Player awkwardly stood there right next to the brownies before coming up with an excuse, “I’m uh…we’re playing hide and seek and I’m trying to find the others!”, Player said as Red opened up cabinets one by one, further adding to his irritation. “You guys are causing nothing but a nuisance to this kitchen! Get out!”, the ghost chef demanded as Red opened the cabinet where Jerry was hiding.

“Found you!”, Red exclaimed excitedly at his victory. Jerry eagerly hopped out the cabinet. “You found me! Yay!”, Jerry cheered as he waved his flippers. All of them went to move but Player quickly stole a brownie, running off as the Ghost Chef yelled at him. Something about “ruining your appetite” or whatever. Player and Jerry kept looking as Red was practically running around as he looked for his twin sister. Eventually, Red found her sitting in Noobador’s closet.

“We found you!”, Jerry exclaimed as he waddled closer to the closet. Blue got up as she walked out the closet, “Y-You found me”, Blue said as she closed the door. Before they could start another round, they heard Noobador calling for them, “DINNERS READY!”

“Oh yay!” Blue said excitedly as Red also joined in. “About time!”

“Red, it did not even take that long. You’re being dramatic”, Player joked playfully as they all made their way downstairs. Jerry sat next to Terry, already telling him about the fun game they played. Kyoko and Calypso sat next to each other as Mayor Thaniyel and Griefer sat next to each other. Shedletsky motioned for Player to sit next to him as his wife sat to his side. Next to Player sat Noobador and the kids.

Shedletsky was the first to speak up, “Y’know, since it's Thanksgiving and everything, we should all share what we’re thankful for”, Shedletsky looked around before pointing at Jerry to start, “You! You start!”

With that, each person went around the table sharing what they were grateful for. Jerry said he was thankful for his brother and the hedgehogs back at home, Terry said he was grateful for his brother and tuna, Calpyso and Kyoko were both thankful for finally being reunited with each other, Griefer said he was thankful for video games, bloxy cola, his dad, and being saved from becoming a plant monster for the rest of his life, Mayor Thaniyel said he was thankful for his son and thankful for Player saving his son, Brighteyes said she was thankful was for Shedletskt while Shedletsky said he was thankful for his wife and chicken, Player said he was thankful for everyone, Noobador said he was thankful for the kids while Red and Blue said they were thankful for Noobador and Player saving them, Kitchen Wizard said he was thankful for Telamon saving them.

With that, everyone began to eat. Griefer, being the usual asshole he was, decided to start of the conversation with politics. “So what does everyone think of Obama?”. Kyoko gave him a side eye, “Griefer, don't do this”, she said as she began to grab some turkey.

Griefer smirked, playing dumb “What do you mean? I'm just asking a question!”.

“I don't care about him as long as he keeps tuna prices low”, Terry spoke, annoyed with Griefer’s antics.

“Is that like all you fucking care about??” Griefer said

“Language!”, Mayor Thaniyel scolded. “There are kids at the table with us and it’s thanksgiving!”

“Sorry”, Griefer apologized to his dad before returning his attention to Terry, “I mean. Dude, that's like all you care about is tuna!”

Terry took visible offense to Griefer’s jabbing comment, “Better than being addicted to witches brew. That thing is filled to the brim with unnecessary sugar”

“You just don't know good stuff!” Griefer jabbed back

“You don't know how to eat healthy food!”, Terry yelled back, “Sersiously dude, your room was a total mess! And Kyoko had to basically be a maid!”

“ITS NOT THAT BAD!” Griefer defended. “How bad was it?” Blue asked in curiosity

“Oh don't even get me started!”, Terry groaned, “It was one of the most FILTHIEST places ever! His bed was a total mess and it looked like the sheets haven't been washed for MONTHS, he had dirty clothes everywhere, it reeked, and to top it all off he had a pile of empty cans of witches brew!”

“Ew!”, Red and Blue said in disgust as Griefer felt embarrassed, “Terry, why are you such an asshole?!”

There was a lot of arguing and bickering. Player wasn't really paying attention as they poked their food with their fork before bringing the piece of turkey up to their lips and eating. Eventually, the bickering calmed down and returned to its usual chatter. Terry stared across the table at Player, watching as they looked distant. And as much Terry loved to claim that he hated them, he couldn't help but feel concern for them. Terry, sick of Player’s distant expression, decided to pull out his ball and throw it straight at Player’s head.

The sound of the ball hitting against Player’s forehead echoed across the dinning room as it bounced on the floor before loosing momentum and rolled across the floor. “Ow!”, Player said as he rubbed his head, confused at the sudden contact.

“TERRY!”, Noobador yelled which made Red and Blue nervously look at each other. “WHAR WAS THAT FOR?!”

Shedletsky tried to not let out a tiny giggle at the antics but steadied himself and put a hand on Player’s shoulder, “You okay, kiddo?”

Player nodded. “Yeah, I'm fine. Just really confused”

“Well their just sitting there not talking! I'm trying to get them to participate in this thanksgiving dinner”, Terry said to Noobador, defending himself as he waved a flipped.

“But you shouldn't throw a ball at the stranger!”, Jerry said to his brother, worried sick for Player, “You could have hurt them!”

“JUST BECAUSE THEY WERE STARING OFF INTO SPACE OR WHATEVER DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO THROW A LITERAL BALL AT THEIR HEAD!”, Noobador yelled, his hands balling into fists.

Kyoko got up from her seat to analyze Player’s forehead. “Are you okay?”, Kyoko asked as looked at his forehead. Player began laughing, “No, No, No..” Player said with a smile as he shook his head, “Its fine. Funny actually”

Noobador and Terry contuined their loud argument. Blue sheepishly asking them to stop arguing yet her voice was barely audible, Calypso just silently glanced at Terry, perplexed that a penguin out of all animals would have so much rage, Mayor Thaniyel watched with concern as Griefer laughed his ass off, Kyoko still worrying over Player as they too laughed at the whole situation.

It was all so funny in a weird way. One moment, your going to a convention as a VIP guest. The next, you time traveled back to 2010 and you’re now sitting at a table watching a penguin and a luchador argue with each other.

As the night ended and Player and Terry were walking back together, Player spoke up to ask Terry a question. “Hey, Terry?”

Terry looked up at Player as he waddled next to him before returning his glance back to where it originally was, “Yeah, bruh?”

“Do you think that once I get all the swords I’ll go back home?”

“Like back to 2025 or whatever year you said you were from?”

“Yeah! Like that”

Terry just shrugged, “I don't know dude! How do you expect me to know this?”

“I was just wondering what you thought”

“Well my answer is ‘I don’t know’ so deal with it”

“Just asking!”, Player replied. For a while, there was silence between them before Player spoke again, “Hey, Terry?”

“Oh my god what now, bruh?!”, Terry groaned. Player snickered at Terry’s annoyed reaction.

“What was up with you throwing that ball at me earlier?”, Player asked with a smile on his face.

“Well because you staring off into space and not talking! Which is quite rude, you know? MOST people want to talk with people during Thanksgiving! I don't know what is your problem with being rude bruh but you gotta fix that!”

Player rolled their eyes playfully, “Whatever dude”, Player dismissed as they walked home together.