Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You like to think you’re a good teammate.

It hasn’t been long since you were forsaken— compared to everyone else, at least. I’m sure they wouldn’t consider the few months you’ve spent here ‘long.’ 

Since your arrival, you’ve tried your best to assist the team in any way you can, whether that be doing generators, delivering medkits, or body blocking. You consider yourself friends with all of the other survivors— even 007n7! Even so, you get plenty of time to yourself— most don’t go out of their way to bother you. Maybe it’s the fact you’re friends with 007. But that’s besides the point…

The point is, you’re bored. There’s not much to do after you’ve played the same five board games about 50 times apiece, after all. The games Chance plays are all luck based, so if you do play with them you’re probably doomed to fail. You could try cooking with Elliot, but you’re not much of a chef. Maybe you could try cleaning… yeah HELL no, what were you thinking?? This dirty, rickety old cabin???

Having accidentally made yourself hyper-aware of just how dirty the main cabin is, you decide to venture elsewhere… how about the dock? Nobody really goes over there— not much to see. The water’s always still because there are no fish… at least it reflects the moon well enough in the night. Sitting down on the edge with your feet barely touching the water, you look down at the water.

Ripple, ripple, ripple…

What the hell?? Why’s it rippling??? you think to yourself. WERE there actually fish in the river..?

Ripple, ripple, ripple…

Your eyes follow the lines breaking through the water…

…In the distance, closer to the land on the other side, someone— or something— is struggling in the water, seemingly drowning. As they’re thrashing so much, you can’t make out who it is. Who the hell goes for a swim this late??? you question internally, but it doesn’t really matter to you as you jump into the water, swimming towards the poor fellow.

As soon as you hit the water, you come to a realization.

”OH, HOLY SHIT THAT’S COLD, SHIT, SHIT,” you whisper shout, soon composing yourself enough to close the distance between you and whoever was trying to keep themselves afloat. It’s too far to drag them back towards the cabins, so despite not knowing what’s over on this land, you drag them with you to the closer area. Finally, you can get a look at whoever you just saved!!

…Oh??

As you look down, you realize that in front of you is a pathetic coughing red child. “C00lkidd??” you mutter, thinking aloud. He looks up at you, that classic large grin on his face.

”HI!!! Y0u’re 0ne 0f the surviv0rs!!” he exclaims, very excitable despite having almost drowned not even a minute ago. “Y0u SAVED me!!! Yay!!” The child’s face quickly changes before your eyes to wear a more puzzled expression. “…WHY did y0u save me? 1x is aaalways 0n ab0ut h0w the surviv0rs suck!!! Well usually just 0ne 0f them. D0esn’t matter!! C0me 0n, y0u sh0uld c0me with me t0 my h0use!!! Y0u’re s0aked and shivering!!!” All of his words are too much for you to keep up with. In fact, you can barely process when he grabs your wrist with abnormally more strength than a 10 year old should have and drags you away.

”Ah— wait!!” you exclaim, hoping he’ll stop. “That’s very nice of you, but I really don’t think I should—“

”N0PE!!” he cuts you off. “Y0u’re c0min with me!! Dad used t0 say if I g0t c0ld when I was wet then I w0uld get sick!!!” You sigh and brace yourself, ready for an unfortunate encounter with the other killers… 

Eventually the two of you stand in front of a cabin, not too dissimilar to the one you reside in. You found it hard to believe that the killers lived just across the river and that not a single survivor or killer had found that out until now??? Breaking you out of your thoughts, c00lkidd burst through the door of the cabin, as energetic as ever.

1x1x1x1 and Jason are seated in the living area, the former standing up to speak. “Child, where the hell were you?? You’re going to kill the masked one with… ‘worry.’” Once they finish speaking, they notice you standing outside the door. “…And why the fuck is there a survivor outside.” They point their blade at you, demanding an explanation from the child.

”They saved me fr0m dr0wning!!” he giggled, running around as Jason tries to calm him down, glancing at you. You wave awkwardly and he promptly resumes his… babysitting??

”Okay, but where did they come from??”

“Acr0ss the river!!” You facepalm. C00lkidd had just given away the location of all of the survivors to all of the killers (save for John Doe who was currently nowhere to be found). Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe if you just leave now, they’ll spare you!! Actually, fuck it. Not like you won’t respawn anyway.

”And why are they here?” 1x continued to question the smaller being, seemingly very agitated at the situation.

”Because they’re c0ld and s0aking wet!!”

”You know they’ll have to get cold and soaking wet again to go back across.”

”0h yeah. 0H WELL!!” Finally, Jason catches up to the little monster, picking him up. He seems like a stand-in parental figure to the kid. 1x sighs, putting their sword down. 

“Well they are your responsibility now, child.” They turn away and go up the stairs, not wanting to deal with whatever the fuck is happening. You now stand face to face with Jason and c00lkidd. The former nods at you, as if in appreciation for rescuing the latter. 

“So! Uhh…” you awkwardly start, unknowing of what exactly to do. “…What do you guys do when we’re not, you know… Running around?”

”WELL!!” C00lkidd scrambles out of Jason’s grasp as he speaks. “I like t0 d0 l0ts 0f things!!! 1x is teaching me h0w t0 c00k, but they said I’m n0t very g00d. 0H I als0 like t0 draw!!! Wanna see!??” It wasn’t much of a question, because he was now dragging you inside and towards the table where there’re some scattered papers with crayon drawings on them. “Aren’t I such an amazing artist?!” You nod along, feeling like you’re in some kind of dream. This isn’t really what you had in mind when you wanted something fun to do, but it was kinda fun after all!

After a few minutes of c00lkidd running around you and yapping about God knows what, you decide it’s probably time to take your leave. “WELL this has certainly been great, kid, but I think it’s time for me to go back.” He seems a little disappointed.

”Awww!! Will y0u c0me back s0metime??” he asks, which actually makes you think a bit. Would you come back? It’s not like you got killed, or even HURT. You glance at Jason who, as usual, doesn’t say anything. But he doesn’t seem like he’s opposed.

“…Sure thing, kid. On ONE CONDITION,” you prompt, watching him perk up. “The other survivors CANNOT know. I think they would literally kill me.” If they didn’t you’d certainly be exiled forever.

He practically jumps for joy. “YAY!!! 0k, 0k, 0K!!!! And I can’t wait t0 play tag with y0u and the 0ther surviv0rs again!!!” You shudder at the thought— c00lkidd’s idea of ‘tag’ wasn’t quite enjoyable by most people. You simply nod and walk out the door.

It still doesn’t feel real.

You go back down the trail and towards the river, jumping into the cold abyss once more.

It still doesn’t feel real.

You climb through the window to your room (which was thankfully on the first floor of the main cabin) and dry yourself with a spare blanket on the floor.

It still doesn’t feel real.

You aren’t sure WHEN you’ll be going back there, but you’re sure you have to. What, are you gonna break that kid’s heart like that? Today you saw him in a new light— he really was just a child. He’s not the big bad monster everyone makes him out to be. Or maybe there’s something you’re missing. Best not to think about it now, you decide as you climb into bed, ready to be hit by comfy slumber.

Chapter Text

You woke up early in the morning, as per usual. In your time here, you learned that it’s best to awaken early so your body has time to actually wake up before a round. Walking out into the hallway towards the living area, you thought about your encounter last night. That was real, wasn’t it? you thought to yourself. Not only did you accidentally find yourself visiting the KILLERS, but you had made a promise to c00lkidd to return again. Whyyyy did I do that…

Really, what would the other survivors think? And what would you tell them? Hey guys, yeah, I met up with the people that have been killing us for months on end and got invited back! HELL NO. You would rather die a thousand times before you told them. You probably would anyway.

Breakfast, then do the round— that’s how every day went. And of course, today was no different. Everybody who ate breakfast gathered at the table for a quick meal before the unlucky 8 were taken to the map to survive. You were a bit distracted today. Invited over… Would it be good to bring a gift? you absentmindedly thought to yourself, digging around in some generator to fix the wires. Well what could I even take with me across the river?… 

You felt a rush of wind behind you as a few people ran past. Turning around to see what was happening, you noticed Jason slowly making his way to your area. He looked right at you, but hesitated— it made you wonder a bit… He then pretended as if he didn’t see you and made a sharp turn towards the center. Perhaps it was his thanks for saving c00lkidd…? Anyhow, you didn’t see him again for the rest of the round. Maybe you’d have to ask him about it later.

Soon enough the round ended, and you spawned back in the living area as per usual. Immediately, you went to sit down on the couch. You quickly became lost in thought, trying to think of a good gift… 

“Hey!” a voice started in front of you— you looked up to find it was Noob. “Ahh— do you wanna help me try to make muffins…? Elliot and I found some stuff yesterday when he was teaching me how to cook! But he’s… busy talking to Shedletsky and Two Time about how they should stop missing…”

That’s it! You could take some muffins in one of the leak-proof Tupperwares— if water couldn’t get out, then the water couldn’t get in either.

”Sure, that’d be great!” you exclaimed in reply, already standing up to go to the kitchen.

After a few minutes of toiling away in the kitchen, your duo’s masterpiece was done— 2 batches of chocolate chip muffins! They turned out pretty alright for two people who can hardly bake, you thought to yourself. Soon enough, you came to your decision— I’ll sneak some later and just go tonight. 

It wasn’t hard to sneak food when everyone went to sleep so early— they did this so they would wake up before a round started, rather than be teleported onto some dirt for a rude awakening. You gently placed 4 of the muffins in a Tupperware, then shoved it into your bag (which had nothing else in it due to being unable to take anything with you to this realm) before starting towards the lake. The stars shone bright, and the moon brighter. You hoped the water wouldn’t be as cold tonight.

Unfortunately for you, the temperature hardly changed in this place. So, the water was pretty much the same temperature as yesterday. As soon as you emerged on the other side, you checked on the treats in your bag…

”…Oh thank god they’re okay,” you breathed to yourself, shaking off a bit of water as you continued further onto land. Soon enough, you found yourself standing in front of the killers’ home again. Hesitating a bit, you knocked on the door…

…There was a bit of skittering and clattering inside the house, until a few moments later when the door burst open. “YAY!!” C00lkidd exclaimed, standing at the door. “Y0u came BACK!!!”

”Yep!” you spoke, looking down at the child. “And I brought you all something!” Stepping inside the house, you show him the container of muffins. “Noob and I baked ‘em earlier. I haven’t tried any yet, so I’m just hoping they taste good.” 

He seemed very ecstatic at the sight. “Ch0c0late muffins!!! It’s been s000 l0ng since I’ve had any!!! Y0u’re the BEST!!!!” You took a moment to look around the inside of the house again— Jason sat on the couch while John Doe (who was a slight bit confused at your presence) sat on a chair nearby. You barely had time to set the Tupperware in the kitchen before being dragged away by c00lkidd to do whatever.

A few things you had learned from your second night there:

-John Doe doesn’t really talk much, but he can.

-C00lkidd LOVES to draw

   -He loves chocolate almost equally as much

-Jason is pretty much the ‘parent’ of the house despite being the second youngest

-1x is the house chef

-Despite seeming a bit passive agressive, 1x cares very much about the safety of c00lkidd

   -They can feel things other than hatred???

-1x prefers savory food but won’t turn down sweet food

The list of new information was almost enough to send your head spinning. You’d have to remember it all for later…

While c00lkidd was now occupying John Doe and 1x (clinging to Mr Doe while 1x tried to pry him away), you found yourself alone in the living room with Jason. Communication with him was a bit hard as he couldn’t speak, but you could at least understand very minimal sign language.

”Sooo…” you started, remembering what you wanted to talk about. “…You spared me earlier, in the round. Was that like a thanks for saving c00lkidd?” He nodded as you continued, confirming the message. “I guess you really care about him… Will you ever tell him the truth? About what the rounds really are?” Jason hesitated to answer, communicating that perhaps it would be better if the child didn’t know. Even so, there was a chance that the Spectre would just make him forget, to which you also nodded. “I suppose.”

Soon enough, it was time for you to leave. “Already??” c00lkidd whined. “We didn’t even get t0 play hide and seek!!! Pleeease c0me back again s0 we can play m0re!!!”

”Ah… sure thing, kiddo,” you replied against your better judgement. You feared you may be getting in too deep, but that was a problem for another day! Walking away, you called back for the last time, “Tell me next time if you liked the muffins!” 

Once more, you swam across the river and snuck into your room through the window, drying yourself with the same blanket as before. 

I’ve gotta get some kind of raft or somethin.