Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Tee es pee em oh gee en gee, eye see elle.”

“The #### does that mean, kid?”

“It's an acronym!”

“And?”

“It stands for ‘This #### #### me off gang, I can't lie’. I heard dad say it a long time ago when I was still super short!”

“What.”

1x was so done with this.

Now, let it be known that they had never wanted to babysit in the first place. In fact, if someone had asked them to when they first arrived here, they would have laughed in that person’s face and then waterboarded them so hard they'd never be able to hydrate again without fear.

Alas, they were not given a choice.

Children truly were menaces, especially ones whose parents were once powerful enough to be frankly on par with the admins. Because if people were being mean or heaven forbid responsible, one click of dear dad’s GUI was enough to have them thoroughly reconsider or risk having a bootleg ban hammer taken to their account.

So c00lkid was a total brat when he was first dumped on 1x with nothing but a glitchy audio recording of morse code that roughly translated to “I can't be bothered so it's your problem now. XOXO, Specter.”

That day was the day they decided to try and discover the merits of smoking five hundred cigarettes.

Spoiler: there were none.

Stuck with no immediate means of stoning themselves into next year and burdened with a headache of a fleshy meat child who whined about missing his dad all day, 1x thought they really had hit rock bottom.

Figures the floor would give out under them.

c00lkid. At their door. At three in the morning.

“Mooooooommmm…”

They were going to tie the Specter down to a chair and then use a bottle opener on each of the stupid thing’s fingernails.

“I threw up…”

Mark. Their. Damn. Words. They would. As soon as they get c00lkid to stop fucking sniffling and go drink some water so they could get a microsecond of peace.

They did not envy 007n7. Having to raise this little shit was probably hell.

Surely this called for repayment. They were owed compensation for emotional damages at least. Never in their existence had they been regarded as any kind of parental figure, much less called mom straight to their face.

Genuinely what the hell. The most they had done was refrain from shooing the kid away, make fried chicken for him (they fucking hated every second of it, but c00lkid's moping was so pathetic they felt the need to remove the offending expression from their sight), and absentmindedly give him a headpat one time for actually shutting up when he was told to.

Scratch any sense of pity they felt for the kid’s dad. Clearly he was just as much of a deadbeat as Shedletsky if his kid clung this tightly to the scraps 1x had unwillingly offered him.

c00lkid was essentially licking blood from knives because he thought red stood for love. And 1x was tired of seeing a literal ten year old cut himself on their sharp edges trying to hold their hand.

Ding.

A round?

Slowly, a small smirk formed on their face. What a perfect coincidence.

They tore at their eye. Instantly, their gaze was drawn to the figure with the burger hat.

Their entanglement connected.

“Double-oh-seven,” they called, leisurely strolling across the map to the still-entangled figure. As they approached, they saw how he was utterly alone. Good, no witnesses.

After a prolonged silence, during which the former hacker seemed to give up on freeing himself (how pathetic), 1x spoke again.

“Raise your child.”

“E-excuse me?” 007n7 reeled back in shock. Or, well, as much as he was allowed to, his wrists and legs still manacled in chains.

“I'm tired of appeasing c00lkid with food whenever he gets sad and starts crying,” 1x caught themselves bitching and reigned it in, “so do something about it before I go insane and punt your pill baby.”

“I-” 007n7 didn't seem to know what to say, just gaping as he tried to process the absurdity that 1x had just offloaded on him.

“That was not a request,” 1x threatened.

“Uh- sure…?” 007n7 looked like he had no idea what he was agreeing to, but it was good enough for 1x.

“####### finally it's over,” they muttered before walking off.

Normally they would be hunting the survivors down, but now that they were liberated from childcare duties for the foreseeable future, it felt as if they should take some time to revel in their newfound freedom, enjoy their youth or whatever it was people did these days when they no longer had to juggle their narcotics garden with taking care of a trigger happy melodramatic ten year old possessing physiological mutations and severe abandonment issues.

The map was Planet Voss, an unfortunately open expanse with nowhere to hide. This left them with few options when it came to keeping their distance, and even fewer when considering their glow and the spots survivors frequented.

Whatever. They'd just hope their resting bitch aura kept anyone far away.

Chapter Text

Like an idiot, 1x hadn't anticipated running into someone instead of the other way around.

“Glorious is the SPAWN, for THEIR magnificence bestows all of us with the sacred life we hold so dear. I implore thee, o gracious SPAWN, to grant me strength in this trying time…”

What the fuck.

“...I am thine devout follower, and I pray to thee here in the den of danger to prove my loyalty, for danger is belief, and I owe my belief to thee, o radiant SPAWN…”

1x was genuinely discombobulated as they listened to Two Time’s prayers.

“...I know it is unbecoming, even unfaithful of me, but please, o graceful SPAWN, grant me just one more chance! I promise I will not squander it.”

A thick swallow. A heavy pause.

1x couldn't help but wonder just what the hell Two Time was trying to accomplish. Because doing all this to “prove their loyalty” seemed too extreme, even for someone as insane as them.

A shuddered breath, and the cultist continued, their voice noticeably more subdued this time.

“Azure… he would have been such a grand priest. Nothing but the best for thee, o divine SPAWN. Thy word is my truth, thy decrees my highest laws. But sometimes I wish it did not have to be like this.”

Their voice rose to a fever pitch, almost otherworldly in their manic chanting, ringing out across the grass fields like the frantic clanking of wind chimes in a hurricane.

“O blessed, holy SPAWN! One more life, please! I have done everything for you, I have given everything to you, all I ask in return is that my love walks again! All I ask! I swear, I SWEAR!”

1x swiftly backed up and ripped their eye out for the speed boost before putting as much distance as they could between them and Two Time.

What the fuck.

Hell no. Heeeeeeell no. That shit was some religious horror fuel right there. They were not touching that with a twenty foot pole.

But they had to admit the dead ex issues were interesting. Two Time had that going for them, at least.

The round ends, thankfully sparing them of any more unfortunate run-ins. The coughing and hacking worthy of a bubonic plague checkup was new, however.

All the killers lived in one big, albeit slightly dilapidated, mansion. Because it was a literal mansion, there was plenty of space for each of them to claim, but a few areas like the centermost dining room had been barred off as communal places. The coughing was coming from there, but what surprised 1x wasn't the presence of the sounds. Instead, it was the nature of them.

John Doe’s voice was glitchy and low quality, like something straight out of an 8-bit video game. Jason, in contrast, did not speak at all besides faint nonsensical onomatopoeia from time to time. c00lkid sounded high and childish, with slight hints of guttural whispers buried under a layer of autotune.

This coughing did not match up with any of the other three. So then who-?

1x rounded the corner.

“Where…” the figure hunched over the dining table managed to get out between coughs. Their face was hidden beneath the wide brim of a worn leather witch hat with a face of its own, the eyes and mouth emitting a strange magenta-ish light. Tentacles sprouted from their back, writhing agitatedly around them. Their torso was purple and their limbs a solid black. But they looked pathetic in the dim light, frame wracked with coughs and hands shaking where they gripped the table for dear life.

1x waltzed right past them and filled a glass of water, ignoring their tensing as they realized they weren't alone.

“Drink,” they told the newcomer, setting the glass down in front of them.

After a beat of suspicious examination, the newcomer lifted the glass and drank, revealing their face for the first time.

Choppy black hair of the same pitch dark as their limbs cascaded from their head, framing their face jaggedly and tumbling down to brush their shoulders in waves of dry ends. Their eyes were narrow and glowing purple, and they possessed a zipper mouth much like 1x themselves.

“Name and method of arrival?” 1x prompted.

“Huh?” The newcomer seemed confused.

“1x1x1x1, spontaneous teleportation,” they demonstrated. “Now, name and method of arrival?”

There was another brief moment of hesitation before the newcomer gave in.

“Azure, revival.” They stated flatly.

Wait. Hold the fuck on.

“Azure? Like Two Time's dead ex?” 1x questioned, incredulous.

Instantly, Azure seemed to snap to full attention.

“Two Time's here?”

It felt like 1x was looking into a mirror. Azure’s face was twisted with abhorrence, lined with begrudgement, mouth set in disdain. There was a fire in his eyes too, a manic, loathing kind of fire only seen in hateful eyes beholding the people who made them that way.

It shook 1x, loath as they were to admit weakness even to themselves.

“Mm,” they forced out a noncommittal agreement. And Azure really did seem to lose it then, insanity cracking his cautious calm to reveal the twisted, rotten sort of rage beneath.

“I'm going to make them pay,” he swore, hands wrapped around the glass in a hold that suggested he was imagining it was Two Time's neck instead.

What a shitshow. 1x might genuinely consider letting whatever old code that's eating John Doe take them over too: they were nowhere near mentally compromised enough to deal with whatever clusterfuck they just set off.

Well, it's not like 1x is a stranger to the concept of an issue’s creator abandoning it because they didn't want to deal with it. Why not take a page out of good old Shedletsky's book?

They turn a full 180 degrees and walk out. Not their problem anymore. They have to admit, it's kind of cathartic.

Fuck, Shedletsky might have been right for once.

Fuck, this day really could not get any worse.

Chapter Text

1x jinxed it. They thoroughly, without a doubt, jinxed it.

“But Two Time really misses you! He has a picture of you two together and everything!” c00lkid was insistently tugging at one of Azure’s tentacles, apparently upset about the rift between the killer and survivor.

Azure visibly faltered for a moment before shaking his head. “Impossible; you saw wrong.”

“No I didn’t!” c00lkid became more rough, obviously offended at being called a liar, and Azure snarled at him before his tentacle ripped itself from the child’s hands. The harsh motion jostled c00lkid, who stumbled backwards and almost lost his footing. A small sniffle carried through the air, then, as he hung his head.

In an instant, 1x’s dæmonshanks were flashing, one severing the tentacle that had pushed c00lkid, the other delivering a solid, albeit blunted, blow to Azure’s abdomen.

“Ack-” Azure wheezed, stumbling back, clutching his new injury in pain. The stump of his tentacle was a jagged thing, bleeding copiously onto the wooden flooring. It wasn’t a clean or pretty cut by any means, although a simple severance was well within 1x’s capabilities. No, they wanted it to hurt.

“Upset him again and you die,” they threatened, allowing their poison to coat their swords before pointing one at Azure.

The air remained tense for several beats, c00lkid staying uncharacteristically silent as he eyed them worriedly, until Azure huffed.

“Whatever,” he turned and left.

“…you didn’t have to scare him like that,” c00lkid muttered a bit after.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” 1x scoffed.

Another moment of silence passed. c00lkid seemed almost somber, staring down at the pool of blood still on the floor.

“I don’t think I like mister Azure.”

“You don’t have to like anyone. Just try not to fight.”

“Do you like me, 1x?”

Fuck, c00lkid was ridiculously good at guilt tripping. It actually managed to tug on their heartstrings for a second before failing due to their inherent distaste for anything resembling attachment, although they were dimly aware they were starting to fail a bit in that regard.

“Don’t push your luck, kid,” they refuted, but they made sure there wasn’t too much bite in their voice.

“Liar liar pants on fire,” c00lkid sang before he flung himself at 1x like the little shit he was and locked his arms around their waist in an attempt at a hug.

Honestly, 1x was almost used to it at this point, which showed just how shitty c00lkid’s survival instincts were, and also signalled that they really needed 007n7 to hurry up and actually fulfil his duty as a father before they were conditioned into accepting their role as a parental figure.

Absentmindedly, they patted c00lkid on the head before grabbing his shoulder and cautiously detaching him from themselves.

“Run along now,” they made a general shoo motion towards the doorway, the path helpfully highlighted with Azure’s purple blood.

“Okay!” c00lkid looked up at them like they had just handed him a triple scoop sundae or whatever the hell the youth enjoyed these days before bouncing out of the room like a ping pong ball on crack cocaine.

The hell did 1x do to have the child looking at them like that? Was it the head pat or what?

It totally was the head pat, wasn’t it. Had 007n7 never done that shit with c00lkid?

Blame John, everyone said, and 1x usually agreed, but fuck, they were thinking they should just blame 007n7 at this point.

Chapter Text

“They don’t miss me. They don’t.”

“You sound deluded,” 1x deadpanned.

“Why do you agree with the kid? You haven’t met Two Time, you don’t know them. Not like I do,” Azure rambled.

“I listened to them pray to the Spawn for a solid few minutes begging it to revive you. I think they miss you.”

“What.” Azure’s voice was flat, his posture suddenly tense.

“I think you just don’t want to admit you miss them too,” 1x continued, because they may not know how to be a therapist, but they knew how to convincingly gaslight someone. Admittedly, dating your ex again was extremely non-advisable, but they could probably make it work.

“…”

Shit. Had they really just swung in the dark and hit the nail on the head?

“…you’re right.”

Then the Specter whisked Azure away for his first round.

Fucking cunt. 1x was going to snatch its weave if it ever showed itself around them, even if it didn’t possess hair. They’d find a way.

“Mom?”

They sighed. “Don’t call me that, c00lkid.”

There was a pause.

“Mom,” c00lkid continued, because 1x couldn’t have anything nice in life, “do you ever miss Shedletsky?”

“What.” Was this how Azure felt? They may owe him an apology if that was the case.

“Do you? Because sometimes you talk strange when he’s brought up.”

“No, not really. I’m just angry at him.”

“But you don’t talk like you’re angry, not like you did with mister Azure.”

“Then what is it?” As much as c00lkid had become familiar to them, their patience still ran low when it came to Shedletsky.

“You talk like you’re not sure whether you want him or want to be him,” John Doe cut in as he walked past, swiftly disappearing down the hallway before anyone could respond.

“…what he said,” c00lkid reluctantly agreed, now subdued.

“What the ####.” 1x was mildly speechless, which was honestly a pretty impressive feat.

“Language,” c00lkid giggled.

“#### off,” they automatically retorted, reaching over to press down on the child’s nose. It wrinkled under their finger before c00lkid pulled away and ran out of the room, a comically exaggerated “ahhhhhh” following him out.

Serves him right, the gremlin. Now to find John Doe and get him doped up enough to spill exactly what he meant with that remark…

1x always knew drugs would come in handy one day.

Halfway to their room, they stopped, cocking their head. The faint sound of music was coming from the backyard. They changed courses, because genuinely, what is that melody?

The sight that greeted them upon emerging outside was truly baffling. Jason was wearing a strange outfit consisting of a red and white short-sleeved jacket, a backwards red cap, black pants with red shoes designed to look bloodsplattered, and a black compression shirt that had a red ring around the neck followed by two lines of red down the side making it look like his throat had been slit. The overall aesthetic was nice and decidedly not Jason Voorhees.

The tension in his posture made it clear this was not a voluntary change of pace. He was crouched over a (brand new, strangely enough) boombox, clearly trying to turn it off.

“Oh, your heart, aortic work of art — my love, my knife, to carve it out; your life.” The music continued, but Jason had frozen upon their entrance to the backyard, looking up at them from his crouched position like he had been caught at something.

“So grab a plate, have a taste, zhè kǒuwèi ràng wǒ chénzuì, I’m still preying on a butcher’s vein.”

“The Specter?” 1x guessed.

Jason nodded, seemingly relieved that 1x understood his current predicament.

“What’s the song’s name?”

Hesitantly, Jason picked up the boombox and straightened, turning it around to show the interface. Butcher Vanity ~ Vane Lily ft. Yi Xi was displayed in pixelated letters on the screen.

“Thanks,” 1x nodded before turning around and heading back inside. John Doe could wait — they had more important things to do, like attempting to chainsmoke 501 cigarettes while listening to the absolute masterpiece they just discovered.

Who knows, maybe that extra one would finally get them fucked up. They were feeling optimistic.

And by then, the round would have finished, so hopefully Azure and Two Time would be done with their piss off and 1x could stop trying to set up idiots who didn’t seem like they wanted to be saved.

Finally, they could catch a break.

Chapter Text

Two Time had not been present that round. Or any of Azure’s subsequent ones.

“If you don’t put that ####### cultist in his next round,” 1x managed to get out between gritted teeth, “I will hit a home run using your head as the ball.”

The Specter seemed to mull over the validity of their threat before deciding that yes, they would pull that shit if they got any more pissed off. The air seemed to emanate a feeling of “okay fine” before falling settled again.

“####### #####,” they cursed it out for good measure.

“The illicit substances finally get to you, old man?” John Doe called from the neighboring room.

“How’s your wife?”

“…”

“That’s what I thought.”

Ding.

A round.

Unstable Eye. Entanglement.

“Double-oh-seven, I thought I told you to raise your ####### child?”

007n7 winced. “Listen, it’s a little hard to do that when you’re running for your life.”

“He’s literally a ten year old, and you’re his dad. Just tell him to stop or something.”

“Oh.”

1x was so done with this hamburger headed bum of a father.

“Get out of my sight before I kill you.”

007n7 wisely got out of their sight and stayed so the whole match.

The round was over, but their torture was not.

“Mom, I want KFC.”

“I’m not your mom.”

“Mom-“

“c00lkid, where the #### do you think we are? There’s no KFC here.”

“But can’t you make some?”

“I hate Shedletsky.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“I’m not making fried chicken for you.”

Sniff, sniff.

“I’m still not making any.”

Then the tears came out.

“Oh my god can you stop crying-“

They made the damn chicken in the end, if only to get the quiet sobbing to stop. It was distracting.

“You’re so weak to kids,” Azure tossed over his shoulder as he made his way to the couch.

“Your ex is going to pull up next round and I heard they found a dagger,” they retorted.

The sheer terror that flashed over Azure’s face for a second was equal parts hilarious and concerning. Damn, how bad had Two Time fucked him up?

They shrugged and turned away. Not their problem.

A second later there was the whoosh of displaced air, and when they turned around Azure had disappeared into a round.

They hoped the Specter kept its promises, for the sake of its wellbeing.

And it did. The results, however…

“You’re brooding like an emo teenager who ran out of eyeliner.”

“Leave me alone,” Azure snarled, slumped miserably over the dining table, his head momentarily raised from where it had been pillowed between his arms.

“Why so serious?”

“John Doe, I swear to the Spawn-” Azure cut himself off with a grimace, his face dropping back onto the table.

“What happened,” 1x addressed the room, as unamused as could be with the situation. In the corner, Jason just shook his head before going back to lurking or whatever he was doing.

“He won’t tell me,” John Doe shrugged with his good shoulder.

“Ugh, why are you all so nosy,” Azure complained.

“Should’ve resolved your problems faster then,” 1x told him, entirely unsympathetic to his plight. “Now spill.”

“They stabbed me.”

A collective wince rippled through all three of them.

“That’s ###### up.”

“No, really?”

“Don’t sass me like that, ####.”

“Did you catch a glimpse of their expression?” 1x interrupted, dragging a hand down their face with deliberate slowness. Dear lord, this was evolving into soap-opera levels of bullshit. They were not equipped to deal with any of this.

Azure paused for a moment, and when he spoke again his words were careful, almost reluctant.

“They looked like they were about to cry,” he murmured.

“Did you do anything to force their hand?”

“How dare-”

“Answer the damn question,” John Doe rolled his eyes as he tapped his claws on the table impatiently.

“…I was about to kill someone,” Azure admitted. “A man with a burger hat.”

“Loners stick together,” 1x mused. “Maybe don’t make them choose between their team and you next time? The Specter wants us on opposite sides when possible, but it utilizes peer pressure and unresolved feelings to enforce that.”

“You sound awfully knowing,” John Doe pointed out wryly.

“Don’t act like it hasn’t tried to get you too,” they side-eyed him.

“Fine, fine,” he sighed.

“Thank you,” Azure suddenly spoke up.

“For what?” 1x questioned, confused about the sudden change of pace. But Azure didn’t respond, simply getting up and walking out.

“He’s going to hit cryptid status at this point,” John Doe lamented. Jason nodded in agreement, finally deigning to step out of the corner.

“Not my problem,” they decided, and promptly left too.

“Have you ever considered that we’re essentially a frat?” They heard John Doe ask Jason. “There’s literally not a single woman to be found among us or the survivors.”

One of these days, 1x was going to lose it. Preferably sooner rather than later, because if not, they were in danger of getting more involved with the Azure and Two Time drama, and that couldn’t be good for their mental health. In the meantime, they would try not to process what they just heard.

That was prime nightmare fuel right there.

Chapter Text

“Mister 1x, mister 1x!” c00lkidd called, running into the room and latching onto 1x like the parasite he was.

“What now?” They narrowed their eyes at him, but there was worry niggling at the back of their mind. c00lkidd never called them “mister” or “miss” unless something big happened.

“I don’t think my dad loves me anymore.”

Instantly, the room fell silent, the sudden lack of sound ringing like a gunshot. On the couch, John Doe’s jaw dropped open, and Jason raised a hand to cover the lower part of his mask. Azure, frozen in the doorway, flicked his eyes from them to c00lkidd as if saying “well? do something.”

“Why’s that?” they questioned, hesitantly carding their fingers through c00lkidd’s pseudo-hair, brushing through the strands a few times before letting their hand come to a rest cupping the back of his head.

They got no answers, just sniffling and the press of his face into their hip. Sighing, they lowered their hand, wrapping their arm around his shoulders like it would block out the pain.

“…he hates me,” c00lkidd finally muttered, voice slightly muffled as he shook his head, smearing snot over 1x. They couldn’t care less, instead making a humming sound and slowly beginning to walk him towards the couch. Jason and John Doe immediately vacated their seats and made their way out of the room, dragging Azure with them down the hallway.

“He won’t ever play fair!” c00lkidd whined, plopping facedown onto the couch. “I don’t ever get to see him when he’s in my games, and when it’s just me and him he doesn’t say hi, or hug me, or even let me win!”

1x winced from their place beside him, their hand coming to rest on top of his head again. As much as they wished to excuse 007n7’s actions, simply to pull c00lkidd out of his depression or maintain their current unofficial caretaker status, they wouldn’t. Couldn’t, not in good conscience. They may be hateful, but they were not a monster.

“And I- I- I just don’t-” c00lkidd stammered, beginning to shake with silent cries. “I don’t think he- he wants me anymore-”

Suddenly, his head snapped up, and he stared at them with a manic intensity in his expression, tears temporarily forgotten. 1x was instantly on guard, warily retracting their hand. This seemed to be the wrong course of action, however, as c00lkidd’s expression crumpled.

“You- you don’t want me either, do you?” he hiccuped, shifting away from them and scrunching himself into a curled ball at the end of the couch. “Nobody does. Nobody wants a- a failure- a monster like me-”

“Who told you that?” They demanded, a deadly calm suddenly overcoming them.

“Ah- um-”

“Forget it,” they shook their head. “Whoever it was is wrong. I don’t know about your dad, but to me, you’re a kid, not a monster.”

c00lkidd stared at them with wide, wide eyes for a few seconds, still trembling slightly, before scooting towards them.

“You promise?” his voice wavered, holding out his pinky finger, hand low as if he wasn’t sure they wouldn’t slap it away for daring to ask.

“…promise,” they murmured, hooking their pinky with his.

Something seemed to break in c00lkidd, then, and in a flash he was sobbing hard, gripping their arm like a lifeline. Sighing softly, they pulled him so he was sprawled on top of them, and he immediately hid his face in the crook of their neck, letting go of their arm in favor of grabbing at their back. Reclining into the couch, they hugged him back, holding him close like their embrace alone was enough to make it right.

It wouldn’t. They were well aware of their inadequacies.

(“Disappointing.”

“Creator, I-”

“Builderman, come help me seal this place up.”

“Creator- Telamon- wait-!”)

That didn’t mean they couldn’t pretend. For c00lkidd’s sake, at least.

Children deserved to have someone try for them.

Eventually, c00lkidd fell asleep, having driven himself to exhaustion. It happened in small increments: first came the gasps for breath, then the tears stopped, then his breathing slowed until it was steady in a way that indicated deep slumber.

Gently, as to not wake him, 1x rotated him a bit and lifted him into a cradle carry, getting up and beginning to walk towards his room. The mansion was conspicuously empty, and they could hear commotion coming from the backyard. Upstairs, c00lkidd’s room was in disarray, the door wide open and things strewn all over the place. They beelined for his bed and placed him down, drawing the blankets over him. Pausing for a moment, they decided, against their better judgement, to tidy up while they were here.

Everything mildly concerning was stored away up in the shelves, and the rest they cleaned if needed before simply placing into drawers or on the desk. The end result wasn’t as organized as could be, but it was a damn sight better than what they started with.

They eased the door closed on their way out and descended the stairs silently. It was only when they shut the backyard gate behind them that they stopped bothering to stay quiet.

“So, what happened?” John Doe was the first to question 1x, drawing the others’ attention to them as they made their way to the tree in the corner. John Doe was leaning against one side of the trunk, Jason the other, both of them sitting. High in the branches Azure lay, his hair swaying in the breeze as he lounged among the leaves.

“None of your ####### business,” 1x stated flatly, slotting into the space between them and taking a seat as well. The bark of the tree was a rough texture that dug into their back, but they didn’t mind. Pain was something they were used to.

A few beats of silence passed, everyone acknowledging their refusal and processing the implications, before Azure spoke up, redirecting the conversation to a less sensitive topic.

“So, John Doe, who's the girl in that picture you keep in your room?” He questioned, not even trying to hide his snooping. 1x scoffed and shook their head. In the corner of their eye, they saw Jason turn towards John Doe, evidently interested.

“Fine ####,” John Doe retorted, drawing a snort out of Azure.

“Is she fine #### or are you just fine with ####?”

“Fine ####’s his wife, give him a break,” 1x sighed absently, mind already wandering back to heavier matters.

“I have a wife?” John Doe sounded flabbergasted. Slowly, 1x turned towards him.

“John Doe, I swear if you forgot your ####### wife of all people-”

It wasn't a solution, but there under the midday sun, bickering and debating with the others, feeling the gentle wind against them and bracketed by roots, they were content to forget for a moment.

Tomorrow will be normal. Tomorrow will be the usual cycle of hate and vengeance and pain.

But today, 1x can afford to be soft. Today, they can afford to be happy.

“Ahah- ahahaha-”

Slowly, carefully, like it would go away if they indulged too much, they hunched over slightly, laughter spilling past their lips.

Abruptly, the chatter paused.

“...hehe,” Azure giggled along, still perched up in the tree, and soon everyone was smiling.

Today was different. Today, something changed. But maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

It was about time 1x stopped existing and started living.

Chapter Text

“Well, well, well.”

“Shut up,” Azure muttered, but there was no real heat in his voice. His hair, usually messy and loose, was neatly styled, nightshades woven into the braid.

“I didn’t know those grew here,” c00lkidd commented innocently, squinting at the petals like he was trying to remember if he’d seen any around.

“They don’t,” 1x agreed. “Someone had to have been Forsaken with the seeds and decided to cultivate them.”

“Gee, I wonder who,” John Doe snarked.

Azure sighed. “Look, this- this is not me forgiving them, okay? I will always remember what they did to me.”

“Forgiveness and forgetfulness are not mutually exclusive,” 1x shrugged. “Reconcile with them if you must. But never forget what made you leave the first time.”

“Speaking from experience?” John Doe pointedly asked, his infuriating smile screaming I know something you don’t.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” 1x narrowed their eyes at him.

“Alright, alright,” he raised his good hand and backed off, turning and starting to leave the drawing room.

“Mom?”

“I’m not your mom,”they reflexively snapped, glaring down at c00lkidd.

“Mom,” c00lkidd continued, undeterred, “do you know any other hackers?”

“Why do you ask?” 1x frowned, suspicious. Off to the side, John Doe made his way back from the doorway and stopped beside Azure to share a conspiratorial look with him, while Jason seemed to be dozing off in his chair.

“Do you?” c00lkidd just ignored their question and pushed on. Sighing, they decided to pick their battles.

“I suppose,” they shrugged.

“Do you know Noli?”

1x paused. John Doe flinched, then blinked, bewildered by his instinctual reaction. Azure turned away just in time to catch Jason rousing, and the two shot each other confused glances.

“…yes,” they reluctantly admitted.

“He was a solid hacker,” John Doe added, before pulling a face. “At least, until he found some old piece of junk and went ####### insane after using it for a while.”

There was another pause.

“I’m forgetting something…” John Doe murmured, letting his head droop a bit as he fell into thought.

“Why are we even talking about this?” Azure sighed, ready to shut down the conversation, and 1x studiously ignored c00lkidd’s pout, nodding and opening their mouth to agree before being interrupted.

“Now I remember!” John Doe declared, perking up. “Isn’t he that 7n7 guy’s ex?”

1x blinked, taken aback. Azure gasped, and Jason pressed a hand to his chest in that no! really? way.

“I mean, I guess?” c00lkidd muttered skittishly, hiding behind 1x’s legs as John Doe turned his gaze towards him, and—

“Hold on, what?” Azure shook his head, still shocked. “Damn, suppose it must be true if even his kid is confirming it…” he muttered, bringing a hand up to his forehead as he abruptly did a 180 and made for the doorway. He turned the corner, around which a very faint complaint that sounded suspiciously similar to I need a drink drifted, before his footsteps faded entirely.

There was a moment of silence as they all processed the implications, before—

“Aw man,” c00lkidd sighed, and withdrew a crisp pack of pens from seemingly nowhere before handing it over to Jason, who was radiating a distinctly smug aura.

John Doe glanced between them, flabbergasted, and 1x frowned again. “What were you even betting on?” They asked, a hint of disapproval making its way into their voice.

c00lkidd hung his head and scuffed his feet for a bit, but 1x waited him out until he cracked.

“I dunno why, but a lot of people don’t like dad… I thought for sure this time was gonna be different!” He shot a baleful glare at Jason, who paused halfway through packing away the pens to shrug.

“Now that I think about it, 007n7 does have some sort of rocky history with just about everyone,” John Doe snorted.

1x tilted their head, intrigued, and c00lkidd mirrored them, obviously trying to express his curiosity in a ‘mature’ way too.

“The admins: Builderman, Shedletsky, Dusekkar, Taph. Elliot for sure. Noob to an extent, considering the average Robloxian’s feelings towards hackers. Me, and no, I will not elaborate. c00lkidd. You. Noli.”

“By SFOTH…” 1x decided to take a page from Azure’s book and rub at their temples, the exclamation slipping out unnoticed as they worked through the list of names. “Four admins, the only healer, a random civilian, three killers including his own kid, and his ex. What a lineup.”

There was another moment of silence.

“What a loser,” John Doe snickered.

“Hey!” c00lkidd protested, his fear of John Doe momentarily shelved in favor of indignation. “My dad is not a loser!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, kid.”

“No! You’re a loser!”

“Oh yeah? What are you going to do, tell your dad I was mean?”

“Have you thought that bullying kids like me might be why your wife isn’t attempting to make you remember her?”

“############################### you little—”

“I mean,” 1x cut in, fighting for their life to keep a straight face as they drew c00lkidd back toward them, “he’s got a point. You’ve got better things to do than argue with ten year olds.”

“…you’re right,” John Doe let out an aggravated sigh as he raised his hand to run through his hair, then paused halfway when he caught sight of his claws and remembered he couldn’t do that anymore.

Yet another moment of silence was had. John Doe’s eye was twitching. Now that he had calmed down, c00lkidd seemed to heavily regret engaging with John Doe, practically plastering himself to 1x’s side like a particularly stubborn adhesive, arms wrapped around one of their thighs like bands strapping a prisoner to the electric chair. Jason shook his head in amusement, a faint kikiki emanating from him as he, too, chose to depart from the scene.

“I’m leaving,” John Doe sighed, less pissed and more tired this time, before doing just that.

It was just c00lkidd and 1x in the room, now. c00lkidd peered up at them with nagging eyes, his earlier remorse suddenly replaced with a rampant curiosity.

“So about Noli…”

“Why do you want to know about him so bad? It’s not like he can reach us here,” 1x admonished without thinking, mouth moving automatically.

(“Why are you wasting your breath on mourning something so insignificant? It’s not like it was irreplaceable.”

“Leave me alone.”

“…”

“…please, Creator…”

“Get up. I have no tolerance for your weakness.”

“…I hate you, Telamon.”

“And I you. You’re an infuriating thing; I hope you know that.”)

“…” c00lkidd hung his head, suddenly subdued.

“…sorry,” 1x eventually got out, the unfamiliar syllables clipped and rushed but still formed. “That… I spoke out of turn.”

“It’s okay,” c00lkidd muttered, “I know. I guess I just didn’t wanna hear it from you of all people.”

The silence hung heavy in the air between them. But faintly, underneath the now somber atmosphere…

Wordlessly, 1x shifted c00lkidd so he was behind them.

“Huh?” c00lkidd seemed confused, tugging on their hand, but he obeyed their wordless instruction, staying behind them. “What’s wrong?”

“…” 1x didn’t speak, just kept their head tilted as they listened for the faint crackle and sizzle of malevolent code.

The hum rose in pitch and volume until it was a thrum throughout all the realm, cracks of errors and bugs etching themselves into the fabric of reality until the very air was saturated with a heavy pressure. It was nothing like 1x had ever felt before, but instinctively, they knew what it heralded. Their very nature would not let them ignore it.

Slowly, painstakingly, the Spectre opened a rift in front of them. Then, someone was thrown through, and all of a sudden the tear in the world and the vicious energy of its power dissipated like a sour smell on the wind, leaving behind nothing but a crumpled body on the floor.

1x could feel c00lkidd trying to shift to the side, presumably to peek at what was happening, and they pressed one hand down on his shoulder in a warning: no. Thankfully, he relented, allowing them to guide him back into place.

“U-u-u-ugh,” the body groaned, voice glitchy, halting, repeating in a feedback loop before they managed to choke out their exclamation. Looking closer, it was easy to see why they were afflicted with such a manner of speaking — a permeating sense of wrongness curled in the space around them, clinging to them like a parasite.

Stay still, 1x motioned to c00lkidd, before stepping forward and looming over the newcomer, blocking their vision.

“What’s your name?” They prompted, gaze flicking around the stranger’s face before locking eyes with them.

“…” They remained silent.

“I assume you died?” 1x went on anyway, narrowing their eyes.

“Ye-e-e$,” the stranger seemed surprised. “D1d y0u-u-u?”

“You could say that,” they shrugged, brushing past the topic quickly. “You are in a purgatory of sorts right now. This house is inhabited by some unfortunate souls, myself among them. State your name: we will need to get along for your indefinite stay here.”

“…” The stranger remained silent again, but this time they seemed contemplative. Eventually, they nodded.

“N0l1.”

“What?” 1x heard c00lkidd whisper behind them, voice choked with shock and something else.

Noli’s gaze sharpened. “I-i-i$ th4t @ k1d-d b3h1nd y-y-y0u?”

Fucking hell. 1x really was going to pay a visit to the Spectre if it kept this shit up. For now, they simply put on their patented “brain empty no thoughts” face and shook their head.

“No idea what you’re talking about,” they said as they helped Noli up and turned him around quickly, one hand between his shoulderblades to keep him facing forward as they quickly guided him out of the room. “Let me show you where the others are.”

“…a-alr1ght-t,” Noli seemed skeptical, but it seemed he knew pushing them for information wouldn’t help, and he let the matter drop as they headed further into the mansion.

Since when have they grown so accommodating? 1x wondered as they picked up the sound of chatter from the backyard. Azure certainly didn’t get this treatment from them back when he was Forsakened. Since when had they stopped ignoring Jason because they thought he had nothing to say, since when had they cut down on antagonizing John Doe for the hell of it, since when had they started treating c00lkidd less like a burden and more like an actual kid, since when had they stopped avoiding Azure and started accepting they saw themselves in him?

Since when since when since when did they become fallible weak sentimental?

Food for thought. Right now, their priority was getting Noli acquainted with the surroundings. This is where he would be staying forever, after all. They had no wish for him to encounter any “happy surprises” down the line and take it out on them.

“Didn’t know you had it in you to pull like that, 1x!” John Doe called from his spot in the corner as they stepped into the backyard.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t familiar with your game.” Azure added, covering a laugh behind his hand, once again secluded up in the tree.

Immediately, 1x dropped their hand from Noli’s back like it was diseased and summoned their dæmonshanks.

“I am going to chop off both of your #####,” they smiled.

“Wait- wait- wait 1x I’m sorryyyyyyyy!!!!”

Needless to say, not much was accomplished after that. But at least they got their revenge.

Fucking hell, this day absolutely sucked.

“Let’s hope tomorrow is better,” they sighed. John Doe side-eyed them.

“…I just jinxed it, didn’t I?”

“Yeah.”

“####.”

Chapter Text

Blurry words, blurry shapes. Blurry world, blurry thoughts.

The dark, dark, dark, streaking ash and choking smoke, liquid shadows, the dark. (Don’t take me back.) The light, light, light, burning radiance and holy judgement, firewall, never kind. (Not mine, never mine, only yours.)

Slowly, the haze clears.

Where am I? Is the first thought upon his mind.

The floor is cold. The room is dim. This is not where he is supposed to be.

Darkness. Light. Both at the same time? Impossible. Possible. Noise. Irrelevant. Block it out—

“I assume you died?”

Yes. Yes, he did, in that wretched, fetid pit of dank rot. Passed away with one half of him bloated and falling apart like a waterlogged corpse, rigor mortis fingers curled around old pictures that could never be again. Bit the bullet wasting away, locked from the world more for its sake than his, phone screen shining: man found dead in own home via suicide.

(You always left me, and I always followed. How could this time be any different? You abandoned me again, but that’s okay. You should know I’d never let you be rid of me.)

Is the person inquiring after him a kindred spirit?

“You could say that,” they shrug. “You are in a purgatory of sorts right now.”

Ah. Now that was more like it.

“This house is inhabited by some unfortunate souls, myself among them. State your name: we will need to get along for your indefinite stay here.”

Indefinite? Oh, oh no, he wasn’t staying indefinitely. He couldn’t possibly.

(Surely, after you realize even death cannot carry you from me, you’ll leave. Then, I’ll chase you once more, as I always have, as I always will.)

Still, it was good to make some allies. It was also good to stick with people who would understand. So he gives himself up readily.

A choked exclamation of shock, tinged by naivety, soon reaches his ears. Was there a youth here? This place really did seem grimmer by the minute — what kind of purgatory inducts children?

His guide brushes him off brusquely, steering him away. There’s a flare of annoyance for a moment as he’s deprived of knowledge, but it soon abates underneath the warmth of his guide’s hand. They don’t speak much, seeming to prefer their own thoughts as company, but the lingering touch to his back is very pleasant. It helps untangle his thoughts, lets him sort through what’s real and what’s not.

This purgatory was truly strange. The winding hallways and open rooms they walked through bore an air of antiquity, some sort of lost grandiosity that still faintly lingered in the air, as if the place would come alive again with servants and sunlight if only one were to brush their hand against the forlorn paintings upon the walls.

Strange. But not necessarily bad.

His guide ushers him to the backyard where the other souls currently were. Right away, there was a string of teasing and threats that left him alone as his guide slotted easily into the underlying dynamic. It was unpleasant, being left out so quickly, but that was soon rectified when one of them finally deigned to drag him into the group’s antics.

These people were also truly strange. Jason, unassuming in name and stature. Sturdy, just tall enough to be somewhat remarkable, presence so faint he would fade into the background entirely if the others went too long without acknowledging him. Donning a worn mask, he was silent, calm, but there was an edge to his shoulders that gave away the unexplored crevices of his character. John Doe, a startlingly familiar figure, warped and already half-dead, monstrously built but with a kindness so pronounced it made his looming figure seem comforting, not hostile. He bore the corruption with dignity, with grace, with the temperament of crucified saints and the numbness of a maggot-ridden body, with null memory and void love. Azure, gentle and welcoming one moment, savage and snarling the next, a wild thing of brambles and ivy, vines and belladonna, a broken kaleidoscope whose shards reflected a better life, kinder world, but could never come back together to form that bygone boy again. Biting back emotion every second, choking on his twofold heart, at times he seemed more like a raw wound than an actual person.

Most strange of all was his guide, though.

Antithesis. Paradox. Oxymoron. He could take his pick, and yet he still wouldn’t be able to describe them — they were infinite, simple, a million contradictions. Born to hate, raised to rage, made to loath, yet never angry, not anymore. No spontaneous rush of resentment, no messy feelings or unrestrained ire to be unleashed by their hand. Cold, measured, like a star. Bright, blinding, irrevocably divine, something outside of mortals’ grasp, yet never harsh, not like the sun which burned and scorched, which melted metal and caused people to swoon over into dead faints. Powerless, almost. Benign. Steady hands twisted in an attempt to impart the foundations of sign language, patient voice rehearsing information the corruption had eaten again, momentary sadness in the eyes and quiet agreement that yes, your darling nightshade must have done it by accident.

Strange. Not necessarily bad.

(They remind me of you, you know?)

The day drags on, the atmosphere remarkably light now that he has company. In between the trails of conversation, he finds time to drag his guide away and ask about the child again.

His guide seems contemplative, almost melancholic for a second, like they’re aware of something he isn’t. That irritating lack of knowledge once again creeps up his spine, and he clenches his fists as he waits for a verdict to be reached.

“Don’t do that,” comes the unexpected instruction. Cold fingers wrap around his wrists, bringing his arms forward, then brush over his own digits, unclasping them from his bleeding hands with measured movements that somehow seem both sincere and calculating.

Oh. Since when was he…

“You don’t feel it?” His guide presses a fingertip straight against the thin laceration his nail had made. He shakes his head no, bewildered and conflicted.

“Whatever,” his guide shakes their head. A moment passes, a heavy pause, and it’s clear they’re weighing him on some invisible scale in their mind’s eye as they stare at him. It’s a bit discomfiting, but soon the intensity abates, and all that’s left is casual silence again. He braces himself, wills his mind to be open for any myriad of possible answers. Waits, thinks he is prepared.

“Do you know someone named 007n7?”

Oh.

He was not, in fact, prepared.

Oh.

(Didn’t I say that no matter how many times you’ve forsaken me, I could never let you go? Found you again, my dearly derelict.)

Of course he does. He knows him like the breath in his lungs, the light in the world.

“Good,” his guide nods. “That child — c00lkidd — is his son.”

…what? His son? Did… did he procreate, then? Whore around and throw himself at women, forget about every empty promise he made and only dig the eaten bones of his conscience up when consequence had finally reared its ugly head?

“Not particularly,” his guide shakes their head, shooting him a strange look. “c00lkidd says 007n7 found him in a wicker basket on the doorstep. He’s got a skin condition, something that makes it all red and textured, like particularly exotic couch leather. He was probably left to die.”

Ah. Then… then that was good. So what happened to his son, to have ended up in purgatory? And… and how was he doing? Did he take the loss well? Was he mourning?

“Funny you should ask,” his guide snorts, obviously amused.

What was the matter? Why was his guide’s tone so knowing? He didn’t like this, not one bit.

“He’s here too. Has been here for a while, actually, stuck in this hellhole like the rest of us. So there’s no chance of him running off to somewhere else, if that’s something you’re worried about.”

Oh.

(Then, you’re mine at last?

Good.

It was about time you stopped running from the inevitable, Seven.)