Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Elliot woke up with a groan. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, still too tired to open them. His bed was notably more stiff than normal, the atmosphere also noticeably colder.

He stretched his arm a bit with a yawn, trying to properly wake themselves up before they entered another round.

His fingers traced the edges of what he assumed was his work attire. He could still feel his work vest and black sweater on, along with his work pants. Maybe he forgot to change into something more comfortable for sleeping last night. It wasn't the first time he forgot to change out of his uniform, especially when the rounds ended later than the norm.

He felt rather suffocated, too. Had he forgotten to remove his scarf as well?

His soft, messy yellow bangs covered his face, the ends of the strands practically stabbing him. He combed them to the side with his fingers, noticing his visor was messily placed on his head while doing so. He was a bit confused as to why he was still wearing it, but brushed it off with the same excuse he used with his uniform. He positioned it back to normal, still messing with their tangled hair.

Still half asleep, they turned their body, their legs now hanging off of the bedside. Their feet contacted something cold through their thin socks. Metallic. Absolutely not wood or scratchy carpeting.

Instinctively, Elliot retracted both of his legs back onto the stiff mattress.

“ What the …?”

He squinted down and stared at the floor. A floor he didn't recognize.

His groggy brain was still registering what 3he was even looking at. The material of said floor was definitely not carpeting. He swore he went to bed in his own cabin, right? Maybe he passed out in one of the maps– was falling asleep in a round even possible??

Actually, he couldn't remember anywhere in the lobby where such material could be located. He certainly didn't recall anywhere on the maps having navy blue tiling.

He looked around, slowly growing more panicked. He silently begged to see something he recognized, to know he knew where he was. Maybe closed window blinds, or curtains that failed to block out the sunlight.

No curtains.

No natural light he could see.

There was a massive window a little bit away from the foot of his bed, one he wasn't familiar with.

He’s just a boxed in cell he didn't recognize in the slightest.

Where the hell was he now ??

He inspected every inch of his new surroundings, trying to identify something he remembered. He couldn't take being sent somewhere else without knowing where or how, not when he finally got somewhat used to the endless rounds of cat and mouse.

He tugged at what he expected to be his scarf, but he was met with that same feeling.

Metal.

There was a metal collar around his neck.

If he wasn't panicking before, he surely was now.

Oh. My. Telamon. WHAT THE HELL? OH MY GODS WHY DO I HAVE A COLLAR ON AND WHY AM I IN A PRISON CELL WHAT THE HELL WHAT–

Oh gosh I need to calm down. Panicking isn't going to get me anywhere…

Just breathe! Don't panic, at least not right now. Save that for later.

Ugh, I hate this so much.

Euh, this feels so weird… this collar is so heavy, too…

Elliot looked around, still trying to control his breathing.

The room he was settled in was rather small, maybe eight feet by eight feet in area. His bed was positioned in the corner, the metal frame being felt through the thin mattress. There was a shelf that hugged the wall at the foot of his bed, one of wood, presumably. A table sat beneath the window, the studs colored a light grey.

The window had a thick black stud frame around its borders. He wasn't too keen on trying to see what lies beyond his new quarters at the moment, but he could make out some large TV screen that held itself high on some kind of structure. A few tables were scattered around said structure, as well. Or he thought so, at least.

The floor was halved, his bed situated in the navy blue side while the window and door on the soft grey tiles. The floor colors went up the walls but stopped midway, showcasing white colored bricks built on top of each other. The toilet had a few studs of tile surrounding it.

Why was it in front of the door ? That’s such a lack of privacy…

Builderman is probably shaking his head at the sight, haha.

He softly chuckled at the thought, a soft smile climbing onto his features at the idea.

Hm, maybe the one thing he’ll recognize are his friends. Hopefully. He’d rather them not be going through damnation, of course, but it would calm him down to see a familiar face.

He ripped off his scratchy covers and swung his legs back over the side of his bed like previously. The metal collar was still cold against his skin. Elliot still had to get used to the device, but it was still rather uncomfortable.

Ugh .

Why do I have this on anyways? And who put it on me…

There was a wooden desk and computer chair at Elliot’s right. The chair wasn't pushed in, so it was lying in the middle of the path between the bed and the desk.

He took a minute longer to properly process his surroundings. They spaced out for a bit before snapping back to his hellish reality. The harsh glow from the ceiling lights probably played a part in that, forcing Elliot to blink, subsequently putting an end to his blank state of mind.

He spun his ankles on his heels, stretching them before planting his feet on the cold, metallic floor. He noticed his work shoes next to them, positioned next to the bed frame. Convenient.

He combed his hair with his fingers a bit more, hoping that it didn't look like a rat’s nest. There weren't any mirrors, at least in his room there weren't.

He stared at the door. It was lined with a dark gray frame, a small window outlined with the same material. The door was painted with white, the metal handle and hinges shining under the lamps installed into the ceiling.

Hm, maybe it was unlocked? There was clearly something that lied outside of the room he was placed in.

Ah, why not give it a try…

Elliot got up, stretched his back a tad more and pushed the chair into the desk. Then he went to open the door. The door handle’s cool metal stung his warm hand. He simply tugged downwards, then the door opened outwards with a soft push.

He released the handle, having already completed his objective. The atmosphere of the larger room was a lot cooler, a lot more unwelcoming despite how vast the building was. He noticed that there were two staircases on each side of the building, a second floor worth of cells he assumed were akin to his own.

There were normal cafeteria tables littered around some large… spinner ? In the center. Strange. Definitely so. Ugh– what was this Spectre playing at now ??

He inspected the new setting once more. On one side, there seemed to be some kind of room being showcased. He walked over it, mentally noting down the large TV screen above it. It was just a blank black screen, probably wasn't on at all. Or perhaps the glare from the lights hid what was being shown.

He inspected the interior of the closed off room through the large windows. There was a control panel of sorts and a chair with large lights planted above it. He could make out a few desks or panels in the back, cabinets pressed against the walls and exposed, rusted pipes. A few paintings in the back were hung, and a stray wheelchair could be seen in the far back. The aqua colored floor tiling was chipped away at and rusting over, probably due to the lack of care. Maybe the room had simply not been used for a while?

Elliot internally flinched at the implication of why such a thing was here. It looked awfully similar to an electrical chair, or perhaps something where experimentation would take place.

They looked around, wanting to explore further despite how the rooms and cells creeped the pizza worker out. He settled on walking to the other side of the building and checking out what there was to show.

He kindly waved at the other survivors he spotted who looked like they had just woken up, them waving back. Some were more outgoing with the action than others, some just tiredly raising their hand. Some other robloxians had already made their way on the lower floor, looking at the strange room he just left. Some were hosting conversations with another near the cells. Some were inspecting the large wheel-thing. He should check that out later, too.

Hm, come to think of it, Chance might get excited upon seeing the massive spinner. They have those kinds of things in casinos, right?

Well, he reached his destination after about ten seconds. The other wall had a large black screen, a brick wall below it and padding, or something resembling padding, covering the walls in the side.

Elliot wandered over, curiosity piqued. He touched the padding on the right of the screen–

Oh. Wait, they're drawers of some kind. Heh, they looked soft from afar, whoops. Each one had a blank tag on it, a label waiting for a title to be written onto it.

His fingers latched onto the handle, subconsciously pulling it towards him so he could take a peak at what it might store.

He stared into the storage, which just turned out to be a whole lot of nothing but a gush of cold air rushing and attacking his face. His interest turned into annoyed confusion. Jeez– why were the drawers so long anyways? And so many of them? It's probably large enough you could fit a person in it–

Oh.

Maybe he shouldn't think about that right now.

Yeah, maybe I’ll just look for someone to talk to! Good idea. Absolutely.

He looked around in search of someone to host a conversation with. Maybe someone knows what's going on…

Hmm. Builderman, Shedletsky, Dusekkar and– is that Doombringer? were talking on the upper floor of the cells.

Chance was circling the spinner like it owed him money.

Guest 1337 seemed to be talking to… who was that?

Guest and another soldier were talking at one of the cafeteria tables. Elliot had never seen Guest so… content? Comfortable, relaxed maybe? He and the person next to him seemed to be having a friendly conversation, the two laughing at inside jokes he didn't get.

Elliot found it adorable, frankly. Guest deserved whatever happiness he could get after everything he’s done for the team, afterall.

His companion had the same army uniform Guest did. He had dark brown slicked up hair and tanned skin. They looked similar to Guest 1337 in a way, just a change of colors, that being Guest having dark blue hair and white skin. Though, Guest had notably a lot more scars and his hair was a lot messier and unkept.

Elliot felt safe to assume they were friends considering how Guest let his tough exterior break down around the man.

I wonder who he is?

They seem to be close to Guest, so maybe they're an ally?

A new survivor, perhaps?

Hm, maybe I should let the two be for now. Questions later. They seem to be having fun, anyways. I wouldn't want to ruin that.

Okay, who else might be free?

They scanned the vast room further.

Noob was with… okay, is that another guest? As in a classic one? Wow, so many new cast members…

Eugh… 007n7 was on the opposite side of Elliot’s position. He was inspecting the room Elliot was just at.

Elliot looked away in disdain, side stepping so the large wheel would obstruct his view of the ex-exploiter.

He was considering going over to Chance, who was basically in front of him at the moment.

Their dark gray hair was tied in a ponytail with the rest of it neatly on his face. He wore his suit’s jacket unbuttoned, as normal. There were little accessories on the lapel, along with a small, thin chain that connected one of those accessories to one of the buttons.

His fedora was positioned on top of his head, the poker card decor strapped behind the band that was around the hat. He had his clockwork headphones and glasses on as per usual. His tie dangled from his collar, a thin gold bar clipped to it. His black shoes glistened under the ceiling lights. His belt had a keychain hung from it, just two dice and some fake poker cards.

They seemed to be inspecting the wheel before them, slowly walking around the large structure.

A faint aura caught Elliot's eye.

Holy– is that Noli ?? What the hell were they doing here?

They ran up to Chance and hurriedly tugged at his sleeve, trying to gain his attention.

“Jeez, jeez– oh Elliot! How’re you–”

“Erm, why is there a killer here?!”

Elliot blatantly pointed at the entity in question, their voice obviously panicked and concerned, but remained rather hushed to not draw the being’s attention. Chance’s classic smirk seemed to waver, but he still retained his confident persona.

“Well, I mean, they aren't really doing anything. They're just…” Chance squinted at the being. “...Leaning against the wall like any normal, non-dangerous individual?”

“Why did I decide to run to you of all people?” Elliot jokingly complained before sighing, but he was no less concerned for the safety of his friends.

“Hah– good question! But, considering they aren't massacring us on sight, I'd say we're probably fine!” Chance supplied.

“...’ probably ’?”

“Wanna take a bet on it?” Chance pulled out their iconic golden coin, planting it on top of his thumb already.

“... I'd rather not, honestly. But maybe you're right. It's kind of strange they aren't chasing anyone, though.” Elliot huffed, before inspecting the being the two were talking about.

Actually, now that Elliot took a closer look, they looked a bit different than normal. Half of their body wasn't a purple rotting corpse with bright binary emitting from it. Instead, the entity seemed to be just one solid color, that being black. Both eyes were now both glowing pure white, their left eye no longer being an empty socket. Their mouth was closed at the moment.

They adorned a black hoodie and pants, the hood draped over their head obscuring their dark, messy hair. The void crown still floated off the side of their head, but the void star the entity normally held wasn't in view.

They were leaning against the staircase, staring at something. Their expression didn't change, just the same blank look, so he assumed they were just zoned out. They were silent the whole time, too.

It unsettled Elliot by a lot. Well, they were just yards away, and Noli was certainly not something one would like to mess with.

Elliot certainly had experience with that prior to being forsaken, not that he even did anything in the first place.

Elliot shifted his attention back to Chance, feeling the entity’s stare bore into the back of his head. He chose to ignore that for now, however.

“So, uh, spinner.” Elliot started up again. “Any idea on what it's here for?”

“Nope, not really. But for certain it’ll probably be the main thing here considering how large the dang thing is,” Chance guessed, flipping his coin.

Elliot looked down at the spinner. The little bars had labels of… oh Telamon– why are their names and profile pictures on the bars?

At least Chance’s theory makes more sense, I guess?

Elliot nodded along, already tuning out the sound of the coin being flipped every second. The white and red sections of the wheel looked like they were already spinning on their own, albeit extremely slowly.

There were names he didn't recognize, and names he did. Those being his survivor friends and the… the killers .

Well, maybe the killers can't hurt them here? It's unlike Noli to just… not do anything?

“Uh, do you know who Azure is? Or Jez?” Elliot asked, pointing out the unknown titles and profiles.

Azure wore a gray hat that obscured their eyes and had a scarf. A little purple flower sat on top of the hat, probably as decoration. They had shoulder length black hair and white skin.

Jez looked like just a classic bacon with white skin, though they had a little x-shaped scar beneath their left eye, similar to Shedletsky or Guest 1337. They had a bandana tied around their neck with a camo design.

“Nope. Never heard of ‘em, not until now,” Chance answered. “Seems like there's a bunch of new people here. There's a Matt, a Brighteyes, you get the idea!”

“Ah, I see.”

Elliot saw Guest and his friend approach from the corner of his eye, so he turned his head and greeted the duo.

“Oh, Hi Guest!” Elliot waved with a welcoming smile.

“Good morning Elliot, Chance.” The man nodded. “I'd like to introduce you both to my friend; Matt.”

“Nice to meet you both!” Matt greeted kindly, extending his hand.

“Same can be said here!” Chance replied, pocketing his coin and shaking with the new ally. “You both’re wearing the same uniform, did you fight in the war together?”

“I mean, yeah, but we were friends way before we joined the army,” Matt supplied, Guest nodding along.

“Oh, nice! Hah, it's kinda weird seeing Guest so… not serious?” Chance got elbowed by Elliot.

“Pfft– are we talking about the same person? Guest’s only ever serious when it comes to war,” Matt joked.

“Oh please, we were basically at war against the killers, give me a break,” Guest chuckled along.

“Well, you are a very important asset to the team, that's for sure. Doesn't matter if you're serious or not,” Elliot commented, receiving a thank you from the last guest.

“So, any idea what this big ol’ wheel might be for?” Matt asked, inspecting the profiles and names that were plastered on it. His face briefly darkened upon looking at it, not going unnoticed by Elliot.

What was that about?

Maybe they recognize someone other than Guest?

“Well, the current theory is that it'll be part of the main event, given the sheer size of the thing and the fact that it's in the middle of the building,” Chance explained, inspecting the structure.

“That makes sense, but what might this event be?” Guest questioned, not really expecting a solid answer.

“Maybe it's like a game? The wheel spins, lands on a name, then they have to be It for a friendly game of tag or something,” Chance guessed, an obvious joke.

“If only,” Elliot chuckled softly.

“Given our predicament, that's just a dream,” Guest commented. “That would be a nice break, though.”

“Whatever this event is, it's got to take at least over a few days time, right? There's beds and tables, surely this won't be a quick time activity.” Matt proposed. “Did any of you see the strange room over there on the other side? Looks like it could be where an experiment was held.”

“I did, actually. I had the same thought.” Elliot replied.

“Ah, I didn't check it out, I went to the spinner immediately,” Chance answered, pointing a thumb to the wheel.

“Unsurprisingly,” Elliot teased and got a soft punch on the shoulder from the gambler.

“H-hello everyone! What are you all doing?” Someone came up to the group.

Noob came up to them, a new person trailing behind them. When Noob stopped, they stopped and stood beside them.

Noob had their yellow hair tied up in a loose bun, colorful dyed strands of blue and purple hair falling out of it. Their bangs were messily covering their face, but Noob didn't seem to mind.

They had a blue and purple sleeveless sweatshirt on and green cargo pants on and black shoes with purple and yellow paint splattered on them. They had black fingerless gloves on with a few colorful splatters of paint on them. Their belt had a few small pockets, barely large enough to store anything. Their belt also held two Bloxxy Colas by straps.

The guest had a classic red and black Roblox hat on, their white hair tied up in a small ponytail, about below shoulder length or so. Their bangs were brushed apart, but were equally as messy as Noob’s or Elliot’s. They had a thin red streak of hair that traveled down their bangs and ponytail.

They wore a black hoodie, a red sweater’s collar underneath the shock collar. Their hoodie had little red and white details, as per classic Robloxian colors. They had baggy black jeans and shoes akin to Noob’s just without the paint. They also had a belt similar to Noob’s, but instead of Bloxxy Cola, they had a can of spray paint.

“Oh? Who's that, Noob?” Elliot asked curiously.

“Is that another guest?” Chance asked.

“Actually, yes! This is Guest 666! I just call them Sixer for short. Any pronouns. W-we were old friends,” Noob explained, the guest in question waving silently. “They ah, t-they don't talk much, so p-please don't force them…”

“That's not a problem, Noob. I'm Guest 1337, nice to meet you,” The soldier extended their arm, the other guest reluctantly taking it.

“ Nice to meet you, too .” They signed, Noob translating.

“Whoa, sign language? I learned some a while back!” Chance commented, Guest 666 seeming to lighten up at the claim.

“ You did? ”

“Mhm! I wanted to be able to greet anyone who entered my casino! Though, I'm way better at translating than signing, hah.”

“ Oh, that's no problem! ”

Noob was watching the two, a soft smile on their features. They were happy their friend had other people who could understand them as well. Taph would probably be delighted to talk to 666, too.

The other three, despite having no idea what the other guest was saying, were able to fill in the blanks based on Chance's responses.

Wow, never knew that Chance knew sign language. That's cool!

“O-oh! I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but who’re you…?” Noob asked the other soldier, but he didn't seem to mind.

“I’m Matt! Old friends with Guest 1337 here, nice to meet you!”

“Ah, nice to meet you too!”

Hands shook and the group went back to the previous conversation of what they were doing here.

“O-oh, that’s kinda big…” Noob noted the obvious. “...Why are our names on it?”

“We’re theorizing that this thing will be the main event!” Chance supplied, though he was rather vague about what they meant.

“...What?”

“We’re theorizing that the spinner is key to the main event, basically,” Elliot stated, Noob responding with an acknowledging ‘oh.’

“ What do you think the spinner is for, though? ” 666 signed, Noob translating for everyone.

“Well, my initial thought was that maybe some kind of event happens, and the spinner chooses who does what, or something along those lines,” Chance answered, 666 nodding along.

“Though, quick change of subject, I have a question; Why the hell are there shock collars on us? Where are we– prison?” Matt asked, reasonably so. 

“Wait, w-were in prison ?? With shock collars on??”

“ Awh hell no. ”

Oh. I kind of forgot we had those on, heh…

I’m a bit surprised I haven’t brought the topic up myself. Must have slipped my mind.

“Valid question. Though, my best guess as to why we have them on is to keep us in line,” 1337 responded while stealing a few glances to a panicking Noob. “Uh… Noob?”

“ Just give them a moment… ” 666 signed while rubbing Noob’s back, trying their best to comfort their friend.

“ Okayyy , so while they calm down, are we going to discuss that the other TV above the silly-experiment-room is on?” Chance pointed at the screen in question, just in case the others didn’t know what they were referring to.

Oh, that’s definitely not creepy at all…

The TV displayed the profiles and names of everyone, including the new cast members. The title read that there were twenty-five contestants still alive.

“Huh, thanks for pointing that out,” Matt said, squinting his eyes to inspect the profiles.

“No problem.”

“Jeez, twenty-five people stuck here? That’s like, nearly seven other people randomly pulled into this place…” Elliot thought aloud.

“We got Elliot, Noob, Seven, Shedletsky, B-Man, Dusekkar, Taph, Dusekkar, myself, Two Time, Guest, Jane…” Chance adjusted his shades. “Oh shit, there are more killers here? They look so… different?”

Huh?

Elliot squinted his eyes at the screen, walking around the spinner to get a clearer view.

“Oh, you’re right,” 1337 agreed, which got Elliot more curious.

Oh! They weren’t wrong! Jeez… so it isn’t just Noli who looks different?

Interesting… I wonder why the sudden change of appearance…

John Doe lacked the corruption around his eye and his normally wide, vicious grin was replaced with something more gentle and warm.

C00lkidd’s features weren’t sunken into his face, though his eyes were still pitch black. They looked far more childish and far less like a demon, at least to everyone else, that is. He still wore his propeller hat on top of their unbrushed hair, but had a light blue bandana in addition to it.

Bluudud’s eyes were pure white, akin to Noli’s. He had a pair of gaming headphones on his head and a bright red bandana. His hair had a very subtle white to blue ombre to it, and was equally as messy as C00lkidd’s.

Pr3ttyPriincess had black eyes like C00lkidd, but with longer lashes. Her bright pink hair was neatly brushed and her bangs were wavy. She had her large pink bow be the tie for her ponytail, with the majority of her hair staying down.

Jason was… well, Jason. Nothing notable.

1x1x1x1 was the complete opposite, however. Their skin was now white and they adorned small fluffy wings behind their ears. Their white, silky hair was tied in a messy ponytail. Their bangs partially obscured their right eye, but it was overall still visible.

Their domino crown was tilted off the side of their head, with some kind of black corruption spreading from their right eye. The same eye was completely red, while their still unaffected eye was normal. White sclera and black iris. They wore a white scarf.

Heh, I wouldn’t have recognized them if their name wasn’t under their picture…

Noli’s profile was the same as Elliot saw them earlier. Half of their face was no longer a purple rotting corpse, and their eyes still emitted a white glow. Though, their mouth sort of represented a comedy and tragedy mask, as their mouth was still halved.

“Maybe the collars are the reason Noli over there isn’t attacking?” Chance prompted, pointing a finger to the killer, who was still in the same spot.

“Maybe, it seems plausible. Though, what would the reason for the change in appearance be?” 1337 asked, putting a hand to his chin in thought.

“The hell are you people talking about?” A new voice chimed in, successfully grabbing the group’s attention.

“GAH!! 1x1?!” Noob screamed, quickly backing away.

“Oh, shut up, would you? I can’t do shit anyways.” 1x was climbing down the first set of stairs from the top floor before simply jumping off of it, landing in a graceful crouch.

“...why?” Elliot asked incredulously.

“Collar, dumbass.” 1x pulled down their scarf just enough to reveal a similar collar to everyone else’s. “I threatened someone earlier and there was some kind of warning beep, which implies I would have probably been punished for going through with the threat.”

“...oh.”

1x pulled their scarf back up.

“...Who exactly did you threaten?” Matt asked suspiciously.

“Noob.”

“...That checks out.”

Elliot inspected the killer’s new appearance. Their torso wasn’t see-through, just a plain mint colored shirt. They had baggy black pants with a belt on. On both sides of said belt, there were empty cases for where their swords would go. They had black combat boots on with thin silver chains as decor.

Their scarf seemed to double as some kind of cape, the thing draped over their shoulders and hanging off their back. The ends of the scarf looked torn and ripped, the color also fading into black. Their ponytail reached about waist-length.

“The hell is the spinner for?” The entity questioned, walking over closer, with Guest 1337 sidestepping protectively and Noob backing farther away with Guest 666. 1x looked the soldier up and down before huffing.

“You know I just said I can’t hurt you even if I wanted to, right?” 1x smirked.

“You better not try anything, then.” 1337 said sternly with his arms crossed, earning a scoff.

“Not intimidating, but whatever,” 1x waved off. “Now, what’s the wheel for?”

The group explained their theories, 1x making comments on them from time to time, mostly regarding how obvious they were and how they could barely pass as a theory.

Elliot heard the patter of more footsteps and conversation from a different group, but Chance greeted them before he got to.

“Oh! Morning B-Man, Shed, Dusekkar… and…?”

“You can address me as Doombringer.”

“Well, good morning Doom!” Chance greeted them like normal.

Does he seriously not know who Doombringer is?

Oh, whatever…

“I take it none of you know where we are?” Elliot asked the group of admins, receiving their versions of ‘no’.

“Nah, we were just teleported here in our sleep, I think. No idea what this place is,” Shedletsky replied more thoroughly.

“I can’t recall going to sleep,” Doom commented, mainly to himself, which got him a glare from Builderman.

“Anyways, y’all think this spinner is part’a the main reason we’re here?” Builderman asked, basically reading everyone’s minds. He went over to the spinner in question, probably running through every single possibility as to what it’s for.

“That’s exactly what we were thinking, actually,” Matt piped up, Builderman nodding.

Shedletsky looked rather nervous while he was looking at the wheel, before his eyes trailed over to 1x1x1x1. He grimaced while the creation of hatred glared at him.

Why does 1x hate specifically Shedletsky so much?

I don’t think Shed ever told anyone…

The admins were inspecting the wheel, not noticing Noli teleport over and spark conversation with 1x1x1x1. Noob yelped in surprise and jumped away, but the two killers paid them no mind. Elliot could barely make out what the being was saying, as all he heard was a bunch of glitches and sound effects, but 1x seemed to understand perfectly.

Everyone else came to the center eventually. Some relationships were way more obvious than others, at least to Elliot they were.

For starters, Guest 1337 and Matt both shot death stares at the bacon, Jez, who shot the both of them a glare back, though not one of resentment. They held distance between each other, the tension obvious.

Do they have beef with each other or something?

Oh, right, the war. How could I forget?

Second, 007n7 came over with three radioactive children trailing behind.

Ugh, seriously?

Elliot backed away from the single father, getting closer to the group of admins.

007n7 quickly glanced at the scowling pizza worker before walking over to their co-worker, Noli. C00lkidd, Bluudud and Pr3ttyPriincess were playing a game of tag, with C00lkidd being ‘it’. From the looks of it, the game only seemed to consist of the three of them, but Elliot still tensed up when the kids came by him.

Anyways, he tried putting their presence to the back of their mind. He’d much rather focus on people who hadn’t terrorized his work place for the fun of it.

Jason was sulking silently in the corner, near where Noli was originally.

John and Jane Doe came by after a while.

When the two of them both bumped into each other, they immediately hugged the other tightly. John held her by the waist and spun her around before he set her back down and the two kissed. Elliot found it adorable and he, along with a few others, were clapping for the two, which subsequently caused them to blush harder. Noli was blaring romantic music through the whole event, to which 1x complained about.

Two Time and another with the witch hat, Azure, came by not long afterwards, talking to each other. Two Time seemed a lot calmer and happier, their normally unsettling grin replaced with a warm smile. As far as Elliot could tell, the two were also a couple, as they were holding hands. The both of them also had a faint blush on their cheeks and Two Time’s tail was wagging, which only pushed further on Elliot's guess.

Not that his intuition mattered. The two were happy with each other, together or not.

Again, Noli blared romantic music the second they laid eyes on the two, which made the duo turn red. 007n7 had to tell the entity to cut it out.

A woman with purple hair tied in a messy bun came by next, and wouldn't you know, she's Brighteyes. She had a zipped up bright purple jacket and fluffy white scarf. She had some basic black jeans on, with short dark purple combat boots on.

She also happened to be Shedletsky’s wife.

The two hugged each other on sight and Bright immediately started planting kisses on Shed’s cheek.

“Oh my gosh, where have you been??” Brighteyes exclaimed, hugging the sword-master so tightly it looked like he was being suffocated. He opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off.

“Y’know what? Doesn’t matter,” She decided for herself, releasing Shedletsky. He chuckled and the two started talking about what had been happening, Builderman also joining in on the conversation.

1x1x1x1 scoffed at the sight, but somehow Brighteyes noticed and came over and fussed about them like she was their mom, leaving Builderman and her husband. Elliot wanted to stop her, yell “Wait no that’s the literal embodiment of hatred and a ruthless killer!!!!!” but his body betrayed him and let her do her own thing.

Besides, 1x was acting like a teenager who’s tired of being treated like a child and was pushing her away instead of cursing out her bloodline, so it's either Brighteyes simply has that aura or the two know each other. Considering that Brighteyes was married to Shedletsky, and 1x has some kind of relationship with the sword-master, they probably knew who the other was.

Brighteyes then proceeded to drag the poor thing over to the other two admins and she joined in on their conversation, 1x standing there awkwardly.

“You all are making me feel real single right now,” Chance pouted jokingly, referring to the various couples that had just revealed themselves.

“Imagine being single,” Shedletsky teased further, slinging his arm around his wife’s neck. Chance gasped dramatically at the reply, putting a hand to his forehead to really sell it.

Elliot was giggling at the scene, before he heard someone walk up from behind him, the steps slow and condescending.

“Awh, you forgot me already? Shame, really,” A new voice came.

A man with yellow skin and hair entered the conversation. They adorned a large ice crown on top of their head, their hair tied in a neat braid that sat over their shoulder. They had an ear piercing on their right ear, a mini gold chain. He had a dark blue sweater vest and formal black pants and shoes on. They wore a few white ruffles that emerged beneath their vest’s collar, a small blue pendant in the center. A small chain connected his chest pocket to another button on his vest. They had a jacket draped over their shoulders, the collar connected by another small gold chain, but he didn’t wear the sleeves.

Huh? Who's that?

Chance tensed at their voice. Tensed in a way Elliot had never seen before.

“...oh? Fancy seeing you here,” Chance commented, putting his poker face back on and turning to face the speaker.

“I could say the same thing,” the stranger replied back.

The two stayed silent, Chance pocketing his coin for the stare down. The other had a smug smirk on while Chance still had his poker face on, but a bead of sweat ran down the gambler’s face.

Elliot had no idea what to do in that situation, so he just looked away from the crowned man and tried thinking of something to talk about with the gambler to distract him. Naturally, that’s when all possible topics of discussion blanked on the pizza worker.

Guest 1337 stepped in between the two, obviously noticing the tension between them. Elliot decided to back away from chance’s side to stand with the soldier instead. “I'm sorry, but who are you?”

“...iTrapped, pleasure to meet you. And you must be the last guest, yes? I've heard a lot about you…” iTrapped asked, clearly not intimidated by the soldier. “How you took out 20% of the Bacon army and their general? Impressive.”

Elliot noticed how Jez tensed up at the remark.

“Whatever you're getting at, it isn't working. I suggest you stay away from us for a while,” 1337 stood his ground.

“Chance clearly isn’t comfortable with talking to you right now, so please leave him alone for now,” Elliot spoke up, his tone a bit more defensive and rude than he had meant.

iTrapped huffed at their persistence, their eye twitching subtly. He glared daggers at the gambler, then turned around. They walked away to find someone else to talk to, raising their hand in signal of a goodbye.

Once Chance knew that iTrapped couldn't hear him, he dramatically let out a relieved sigh. “Thanks guys, close one there.”

“Anytime. I saw the way you tensed when you heard his voice, I just thought I should do something.”

“Welp, thanks again, really! When we get out of here I'll be sure to repay my debt to you guys.”

“There's no need for that, I'm just doing my job,” 1337 declined.

“Yeah! What are friends for, right?” Elliot agreed.

“Nah, I insist! C’mon, you've both saved my ass more times than I can count, including this, I literally owe you both my life!” Chance pressed, with Guest 1337 still turning him down, much to the gambler’s disappointment. The soldier left his position to go back to talking with Matt.

“Y’know, you can stop trying to tip me whenever I give you a pizza during a round,” Elliot teased. “Half of the time you’re literally bleeding out.”

“And half of the time you’re the reason I’m still standing! Gotta pay five star work with a good tip, yeah?”

“Not when you’re literally dying?? I’m just doing my job as a healer, hah…”

“Whatever you say, but I’m still tipping you!”

“You’re impossible.”

“And you deserve a lil’ reward for your efforts!” Chance insisted, the two laughing about his antics during the rounds.

Everyone was gathered around the wheel after a while, different conversations on different subjects taking place. Elliot was talking with Chance, Noob, Guest 666 and Taph.

John, Jane, Brighteyes and the other admins were in one large group, either discussing how to get out of their current predicament or what was happening back at the HQ.

Guest 1337 and Matt were talking about something related to protecting everyone they could.

1x seemed to have escaped from the admins and was sulking in the corner similar to Jason.

Noob had introduced Taph to Guest 666 and the three were signing with each other. Taph seemed to be other-worldly happy to be able to sign with someone other than the admins, Guest 666 seeming to be more nonchalant. Though proven earlier, Noob knew dang well they were happy to know they had other people to properly communicate with.

Jez and iTrapped seemed to be discussing something, but Jez looked notably uncomfortable standing next to them. iTrapped seemed to be talking more, the bacon nodding absentmindedly, occasionally correcting or commenting. The ice crown wearer was clearly pissed whenever he did it, but they never announced it.

Azure and Two Time were frolicking around and preaching about their deity, the Spawn, which Dusekkar looked peeved about. At least in Elliot's eyes that is. He couldn’t blame him, honestly. The preaching got annoying for the pizza worker after a while, especially after a long round.

Noli was still speaking an alien language to 007n7 while the children were still chasing each other around.

“So, when do’ya think somethin’s gonna happen?” Builderman asked loud enough to draw everyone’s attention. “It’s surely gotta be soon, ain’t like we’re here for nothin’.”

“M-maybe it’ll happen later? What time is it…?” Noob asked.

Everyone turned their heads in search of a clock, to which 1x spotted first. “8:58 in the morning.”

“O-oh, thank you,” Noob mumbled, but 1x didn’t look like they cared.

“9 o’clock is normally when a round starts, you think something might happen then?” Shedletsky propped up.

“We still have to wait and see, though we don’t know yet what the reason for our arrival may be,” Dusekkar replied, Doom nodding along.

“The room ova’ there sure ain’t giving off a good vibe,” Builderman said, referencing the weird room with the TV above it. “Any idea why our profiles are ova’ it?”

“Well, it says ‘25 subjects remain’, which definitely implies some of us are going to have to go at one point,” Doom theorized.

“Unfortunately,” Dusekkar agreed. “But what we’ll be doing still remains a mystery.”

“I’d rather it stay a mystery. This place does not give off a good vibe.” Brighteyes claimed.

“What gave it away? The collars? Hmm, maybe the cells?” Shedletsky teased, receiving a whine from the woman.

The admins were still discussing what might go down, not noticing two minutes had already passed.

Elliot noticed the TV above the wheel turn to static, the sound ear-grating, before displaying an uncanny image. To say it freaked him out was… a bit of an understatement, to say the least.

“Oh? What's this?” Azure asked curiously, getting some to take a glance at what he was looking at.

“Eugh, w-what is that?” Noob asked, hugging Guest 666’s arm and pointing at the screen.

“Eww, that’s creepy!” Pr3tty whined about the ominous face on the screen, running over and clutching to 007n7’s pant leg.

She's certainly not wrong, it does look pretty creepy, eugh.

The only features visible were parts of the eyes and the teeth, the harsh shadows and lighting coming together to make the face look like it belonged to a horror film.

The sound of a microphone started up, gaining everyone's attention if the static before hadn't already. Noli was playing some obnoxious drumroll sounds until the image’s mouth started moving.

“ Welcome to the Death Penalty Program. ”

Wow, what a wonderful start .

“ Today, you will undergo a series of experiments. ”

“How… lovely,” iTrapped grimaced.

“Ooh! Is this a new game?” C00lkidd asked excitedly.

Ugh.

There’s no way this kid is still so oblivious to everything.

“ Compliance is not only crucial, but mandatory. ”

“ Therefore, measures have been implemented to ensure the integrity of our testing process. ”

Elliot subconsciously reached for the collar around his neck, putting the pieces together.

Oh. That's…

“The collars…” 1337 mumbled, loud enough for everyone to hear. Murmurs of agreement or of realization sounded out afterwards, Elliot simply nodding.

“ Let us commence with the first experiment. ”

Chapter Text

“ Let us commence with the first experiment. ”

“Oh? This’ll be interesting! May Spawn shield us all,” Two Time commented as Azure nodded, not hearing Dusekkar scoff at them.

“ In exactly one minute, one participant will be executed. ”

“ They will not be able to respawn naturally. ”

“W-what…?”

“Oh, you've got to be shitting me.”

“DIE??”

“This has to be some kind of joke, right?”

“...Oh.”

“[Nuh u-u-uh!] Tha-at’s not possi-b-b-ble– >:((((”

“ We, at Vintage Men’s Clothing, extend our gratitude for your non-voluntary participation. ”

“...oh my god we’re going to die from a clothing store.”

“We're doomed.”

“ Good luck. ”

Some were panicking out of their minds, others standing in silence. Out of shock? Fear? Guest 666 could only guess. Others simply watched the spinner go round and round, anxious for who the unlucky person may be.

Guest 666 was one of those people watching the spinner, silently observing everyone’s reactions. They mentally prayed to whichever god that could hear them that the victim wasn’t them or their best friend.

“Well, this just got a whole lot more interesting, a whole lot faster,” 1x1x1x1 commented, walking up to the wheel with their arms crossed. They had a curious, almost amused expression on.

“How could you say that? One of us is literally going to die in a few seconds?! It could be YOU who dies, if anything!” Elliot immediately began scolding, 1x rolling their eyes at the pizza worker.

Tick .

The wheel began to slow. The wheel had passed Guest 666 ages ago, so they knew they were in the clear. Though, they could recall duplicated profiles, so perhaps that wasn’t really the case.

Erm, better not to think like that .

Tick .

It passed Builderman.

Tick .

It passed by Noli, which caused the entity to blare celebration noises, which 007n7 got them to quickly cut out. Guest 666 chuckled softly at the entity’s antics.

Doombringer glared at the two before drawing his attention back to the wheel.

Tick .

It went past Matt.

666 heard the two soldiers sigh from relief.

666 noticed how the ex-admin tensed as the wheel’s pick pointed at Brighteyes. She clutched at his arm, hugging tightly in suspense.

They’d feel guilty for it for the rest of eternity, but they silently hoped the wheel would stop right then and there. They can see some yellow blob of a profile, and only a handful had that color.

Though, the chance it was Noob was low, right?

No way their luck was that bad.

Tick .

It went past her.

“Oh my–” Brighteyes sighed in relief, her grip on her husband's arm lightening. The two looked away from the spinner for a second, simply taking in the fact that Brighteyes still gets to live.

666 envied how lucky they were.

They looked back at the spinner, then glanced at the TV where the ominous face had first appeared.

A dinging noise sounded, the wheel finally taking a stop after exactly one minute.

666’s eyes widened, their friend beside them taking in a sharp gasp.

“Wha…?”

“Oh… that’s not–”

“Damn…”

The face on the TV was side by side with Noob’s profile.

Noob was chosen.

Dammit.

Are you kidding me…?

The face looked up from the wheel to the profile beside them, then looked at the crowd.

“ Subject will now be given a moment to say their final words .”

Everyone immediately began protesting to the screen to no avail. Noob silently broke down and curled up on themselves, Guest 666 glued to their side. Others came by and tried to comfort them, but there was so, so little to believe in their false hope.

Guest 666 tried, though.

It made their heart drop to see their closest so distressed, they had to do something , right?

The collar beeped in warning.

“I-I don’t wanna d-die…” They sobbed, clawing at the collar that was slowly beeping. Tears streamed down their eyes and wet their hands, their body shaking violently. “...Not l-like this.”

It horrified Guest 666 to see their friend in such a state.

And it horrified them further to know the reason behind it.

Noob was always so… cheerful? Happy??

Guest 666 had never seen them cry, let alone breakdown.

It made the gravity of their situation hit so much harder.

“ C’mon, don’t think like that! You’ll be fine…!” 666 frantically signed, unsure if Noob had acknowledged it.

“Please, you have to be fine! We… we just got back to each other…”

The other subjects backed away, for what reason? 666 would never understand. The guest crouched beside their friend and hesitantly reaching for the collar.

Noob’s collar began beeping more rapidly, the green light blinking red, which caused the beginner to become more frantic and they clawed at the thing more aggressively, more desperately.

Guest 666 began to try equally as hard, if not harder, to rip the device off of their friend’s neck, but it was no use.

Noob realized that faster than 666 ever could.

They didn’t accept it– couldn’t accept it.

They were going to die.

And there was no coming back.

But instead, maybe they could put what little time they had left to use?

Hah, and here they thought they could finally be reunited with their best friend.

Maybe they just…

…Maybe they just weren’t meant to be.

They were constantly being separated, anyways.

“I…” Noob choked out, Sixer looking up from the beeping collar.

Noob hugged 666 suddenly, tightly. Their tears stained the guest’s hood as Sixer’s stained their hair. The collar beeped ferociously, sounding like it’s a flat line.

Sixer was taken aback at first.

Arms on autopilot, they hugged them back softly, one last time.

Please…

We just got back to each other.

Sixer heard the tear of fabric before Noob shoved something into their jacket pocket.

“I’m sorry, Sixer.”

“Take care, heh… love you!”

The collar stopped making noise.

Blood and brain matter splattered all over Guest 666’s face and clothing, leaving the robloxian absolutely stunned.

Noob’s body released its grip and fell limply into the guest’s arms, the collar painted in their friend’s blood.

666 stood there in shock, wide-eyed and still crying, the world becoming a blur and words flying in through one ear and out the other. A loud, headache-inducing ringing sounded in their eardrum.

They staggered back a few steps, subsequently causing the guest to loosen their grip on their friend’s now headless body. They fixed that immediately, firmly wrapping their hands around their torso.

Their face was a mess of tears and fresh blood, but they couldn’t even process that at the moment.

Their best friend had just fucking died in their arms .

What was supposed to be their reaction? Screaming? Yelling, cursing everything?

Guest 666 gripped onto Noob’s body like a lifeline, their head flashing with old memories.

A dinging noise sounded, but they paid no mind.

The screen above the damned spinner changed, showing Noob’s profile along with some extra information.

NOOB

SURVIVED EXPERIMENTS: 0

DEATH BY: RANDOM EXECUTION

THANK YOU FOR YOUR NON-VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION :)

Their thoughts were an incoherent jumbled mess, one 666 couldn’t bother organizing. They didn’t have the mental capacity to do so, anyways.

Someone was next to them. They were repeating their name, they think. Or maybe that was distant chatter.

Just leave me alone…

Please.

Noob’s body still laid limply in 666’s arms, the blood drying and making a thick coat on Guest 666’s fingers.

Whoever was next to them planted their hand on the guest’s shoulder, which caused 666 to flinch. Doing so subsequently brought 666 to their senses. They were still crying, fat tears still staining their cheeks and rehydrating the dried blood splattered over their face like paint.

Their skin was sticky and coated in the same red liquid and other fluids 666 couldn’t put a label on. Their sticky, matted hair covered half their face, which partially blinded the guest. Their clothes were either damp with tears or with blood, they couldn’t tell. Though, it was probably both.

Noob’s headless body caused 666 to jump in surprise, accidentally dropping it. The body landed limply with a deafening thud against the cold tiles, 666’s heart dropping along with it at the sound. The bloodied metal collar rolled off of their studded neck, toppling over once it impacted 666’s foot.

666 stared at the body in disbelief, as though Noob’s demise had only now been announced.

The scene was so horribly graphic, so utterly real .

Blood and other fluids 666 couldn’t name poured from Noob’s neck, the liquids slowly forming a puddle. A little white circle was in the center of the glistening flesh, the neck bone assumingly, was visible. Dried blood was splattered beneath the body from when the collar had first blown up.

Someone’s hand rested on their shoulder, but 666 couldn’t bother acknowledging it.

They looked down and inspected their shaky hands, their palms smothered in Noob’s blood. Their white skin was drenched in the thick liquid, staining them and their sleeves in the crimson. Their tears fell onto their fingers, the droplets bouncing off of the coat.

Oh my…

They hesitantly reached for their sleeve and pulled it up slightly, revealing a crimson stained bracelet. Noob had made it for them a while ago and they never forgot to put it on since. The yellow, green and purple beads were still intact, the little charms of colas splattered with some of the blood, but it was still recognizable, painfully so.

666 choked out a sob, covering their mouth with their free hand.

They held their accessorized hand to their chest and leaned into whoever was next to them, the weight of what had just happened finally setting in. Their body shook violently against whoever was holding them up.

666 could hear them hush something to them while rubbing their back. What good was that supposed to do in such a scenario, 666 didn’t know. But it’s the thought that matters, right?

They just stood there, legs threatening to give out, and sobbed to their hearts' content.

The few minutes they were doing that felt like hours to the poor guest, but eventually they ran out of fuel. They were exhausted, undoubtedly.

666 had dried streams of tears on their face, the robloxian no longer having the energy to keep on crying. They still leaned on whoever was holding them for support, too tired to stand on their own.

One train of thought was the only thing that 666 could process.

That they were separated from Noob.

Again.

Jane Doe was holding them, not saying a word. She waited patiently, wanting 666 to have a chance to feel without anyone trying to get them to stop them. Some of the blood smeared onto her jacket sleeves, but that wasn’t important.

She could hear whispers about the poor guest. She noticed how some hesitantly tried walking up to the pair, but backed away at the guest’s state. That didn’t matter either, though.

666 had labored breathing, but they had stopped crying for now. They needed rest, and once 666 was able to take a step forward, she was going to take them back to her room to sleep. Her cell wasn’t far and was on the first level, so it shouldn’t be too difficult of a journey. She hoped, at least.

Guest 666 raised a shaky hand, instantly grabbing her attention. She knew a little bit of sign language from her husband, but she’d rather have a proper translation. She motioned for John to come over, the man jogging over to the two’s location.

The couple looked intently as 666’s hands shakily formed different signs, John translating for his wife.

“... Sorry …”

“Hey, there’s nothing to be sorry about. We’re glad to help,” John soothed softly, rubbing the guest’s shoulder.

Jane began to lead 666 to her bedroom, now fully committed to getting them to have some kind of rest. She’d be sure to save their breakfast for later, too. John escorted the two of them, taking the lead.

666 had their head lowered, staring blankly at the floor. Their steps were slow and tired, their expression lifeless. It hurt the couple to see anyone like such, thus why they wanted to bring as much comfort for the guest as possible. They’d do the same with anyone, really.

After Guest 666 entered the room, they looked up at the pair, inspecting their new setting. Jane was sitting on the bed, signaling them to sit with her. They would've declined if it weren’t for how utterly exhausted they were, so they didn’t have a choice, anyways. They signed a thank you, hoping they understood, and practically passed out.

Jane draped the blanket over the guest, trying to position them onto her pillow. After she was satisfied, she got up.

“John, could you stay here for a second? I’m going to grab their breakfast, alright?” She asked, standing under the frame of the door.

“Mhm, don’t worry,” John replied reassuringly, making himself comfortable on the desk chair. With a simple nod, the pink-haired woman left.

The atmosphere of the room had changed dramatically after that first death. Noob’s body was still laid where they had died, headless. She saw Builderman inspecting the collar with a calculating look, the other admins standing over the shorter man. She heard people talking about the execution, about Guest 666’s reaction, but she paid no mind. Guest 666’s health was more important than hushed discussions about the incident.

The cafeteria tables suddenly had five boxes of food and five plastic water bottles on each of the five tables after the ending of the first experiment. They had cold eggs and chewy bacon that tasted like they had gone stale ages ago in the metal container, and the water was warm. Not the best comfort meal, but it had to make do.

Searching for an unopened lunch box wasn’t the hardest thing in the world, as each table had at least one or two untouched containers on them. She had saved her water bottle already, so she could give that to Guest 666 when they woke up.

She grabbed the food and began to head back before she bumped into another subject, nearly dropping the container. She quickly grabbed on to it before it hit the floor, sighing in relief.

“Oh! Sorry miss, I didn’t see you there,” Jez apologized, reaching out for the woman.

“No problem,” She replied swiftly, getting back on course.

“Wait! If it’s not an issue, how is that guest holding up? That death certainly took a toll on them.”

Jane raised a brow, looking back at the bacon. “...They’re asleep right now. Why?”

“...Oh, just curious. Hope they get better,” Jez hurriedly walked away back to one of the tables. Jane noticed how the two soldiers shot the bacon a dirty look, but she didn’t dwell on it. She couldn’t keep her husband waiting for too long.

She quickly jogged back over to her cell, placing the supplies down on the desktop.

She looked over to 666, noting how the blood stained the pillow case and blankets. Whoops, she hadn’t thought that far ahead. Oh well. There were plenty of cells anyways, and she was planning on sleeping with John, so it didn’t matter.

Jane went over to the bedside, trying to gently clean the guest’s face of the dried blood. She poured some water on them and scrubbed the end of the blanket against their cheek. It proved to be somewhat effective, but 666 started to stir at it. She quickly whipped off the excess blood, at least half of 666’s face somewhat cleared of the crimson.

Guest 666 had woken up to the couple offering them food, which they tried to decline. They were persistent however, which eventually got them to give up. The food tasted like plastic and the utensils were impossible to use, but they couldn’t complain. They ate a small portion before giving up. They would probably throw it up in their own room later, anyways.

They chugged down the water swiftly on the contrary, the sheer amount of crying they had done earlier seriously dehydrating them. They thanked the couple a hundred times over, them replying that it was no problem over and over again.

666 felt really guilty over the whole ordeal. They had saved their food and water for them– hell, they sacrificed their bed for them. They noticed the blood stained blanket and pillow case and how their face felt less sticky than before. The couple had to take care of them like they were a child. They had good intentions, yes, but they didn’t need to burden themselves with someone they barely know.

That’s how Guest 666 saw it, though.

Admins Almighty , how they wished they could express how thankful and sorry they were properly.

The couple began trying to host a conversation with 666, to which they pretended to listen. They simply nodded along obliviously whenever they asked a question, their mind far away elsewhere. Their eyes were distant and their expression was blank and emotionless.

They just couldn’t stop thinking about Noob, which led to them thinking about their demise. Tears threatened to spill over again, but this time they had a bit more control over it.

John Doe tried sparking conversation with the guest, which failed rather miserably. He could tell they weren’t listening. Not that that was a bad thing or that he was mad, of course, it’s just worrying. Well, obviously the death of a close friend would take a heavy toll, but still.

John Doe sighed, a concerned look on his face. He reached out across the table to grab his own water bottle to offer to 666, figuring they were still thirsty.

“Knock knock,” A voice sounded, along with the knocking of the door frame. John glanced at the visitor.

“Oh, Builderman. What brings you here?” John asked, getting up from his chair.

“Just ah, da screen above da spinner is spinnin’ these events. Thought you might wanna be there. The guest, however…” Builderman trailed off, glancing at the guest in question with an apologetic look. “Not sure if they wanna come ‘er not.”

“Ah,” Jane responded, glancing at the guest as well. 666 looked up noticing the attention drawn on them. They fumbled to sign, though they made the attempt.

“ I can come. ”

“Ya sure? Da first experiment wasn’t good on ya, ya don’ have to be there,” Builderman asked, wanting to make sure Guest 666 knew they weren’t being forced.

“... I’ll come, don’t worry too much. ” They insisted, but their expression betrayed them. The same distant and tired eyes weren’t the most reassuring. However, Builderman didn’t go against it. He nodded to them and lowered his hard hat in respect before taking his leave.

666 got up, hoisting themself on the wall for support before they trampled over on themself. Jane moved in to try and catch them but back away when she saw they didn’t fall. 666 pushed themselves back on their feet, standing by themselves. John waited at the door patiently while Jane walked side by side with 666.

The trio made their way to the large spinner, watching the TV flash different pictures with different titles. It seemed to be slowing down, to which Noli was drumrolling dramatically too.

Guest 666 noted how only a splatter of dried blood remained of their friend, reality slapping them once more.

Glances towards 666 were stolen, causing the guest to shrink into themselves. John stepped in front of the guest to shield them from their gazes, noticing how uncomfortable they were.

However, that clearly didn’t stop a certain someone.

“Hello, there!” A robloxian practically spawned before their eyes, causing John and 666 to jump back in alarm. Jane stayed still, unphased by their sudden appearance. “Hehe, be not afraid! I just want to ask a quick question!” They said with a wide smile. Something about it creeped 666 out.

They had messy black hair and a black scarf. A necklace with the symbol of Spawn subtly glowed beneath the scarf, though it was partially obscured. They had a dark blue tank top on, the same symbol faintly sewn into it in a lighter shade. They had a blue belt that held up loose, oversized gray cargo pants. A small glowing keychain, again, with the Spawn pendant hung from the side of their belt.

Well they seem real religious .

They had short black boots with a belt tied around them as an accessory. They also had black fingerless gloves and black sports tape that climbed around their forearms. A small flower was planted behind their ear, the petals a bright violet color with a vibrant yellow stigma. Their tail looked like it was made of white triangles, the edges lined with black.

“Two Time, what do you need?” Jane asked tiredly, humoring the cultist.

“See, I was just curious about the guest’s connection to Noob, is all! And if they have repented, perhaps… They should definitely do so, as they adorn the mark of the devil,” Two Time’s last comment made the guest look up, confused.

“ Mark of the devil? ” Guest signed, John translating.

“Mhm! 666 is well known as the mark of the beast, which is why I suggest you beg Spawn for forgiveness for wearing such a number. Though, besides that, what is your connection to dear Noob?” they asked again, getting back on their topic.

Guest 666 thought for a moment, taking in the new lore drop about their name.

“ They, uh, we were old friends. Close ones. ” John translated again, the cultist nodding along.

“Ah, I see. Well, do take care! May Spawn guide you through your hardships!” They waved goodbye, running back over to wherever they had come from. 666 was pretty confused on the new information, but didn’t dwell on it. Though, it already stuck with them in their mind.

That was… weird.

Oh well.

The ticking of the screen had slowed dramatically, Noli still drumming despite 007n7’s annoyed protests.

A decal of a star flashed with the title ‘Favorites’, before the screen elected that as the new experiment.

“[HeLL YEAHH] I W-W-WANNA BE A FA-AVORITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >:DDD” Noli screeched.

“We don’t even know what we’re going to be a favorite for??” 007n7 pointed out, to which his co-worker didn’t give a damn.

The wheel below immediately began to spin with no further elaboration. It left a few people complaining, a few scared for what’ll happen. Guest 666 simply had a dead curiosity as to what the event really is.

They had no reason to show real emotion now, anyways.

Hah, Noob always encouraged them to show some kind of expression, right?

Perhaps that's what Noob would've wanted?

For them to feel?

Then again, they're gone now.

Their only reason was dead .

666 sighed heavily, their gaze toward the ground below, their thoughts starting to spiral.

Maybe that Two Time guy was right?

They wore the mark of the Beast.

Maybe they should have been the one apologizing instead.

Not Noob.

They had nothing to apologize for.

I…

Something caught 666’s eye.

The wall across from them, the one Elliot stated to have drawers, had one of said drawers decorated with bright colors.

Guest 666 walked over to it curiously, leaving John and Jane.

Their steps were slow and tired like before, but they made it eventually, the spinner becoming background noise to them.

What they saw made their heart drop, their eyes widening in shock.

The blank label had Noob written on it, the cabinet decorated to match the label. Damn it, it looked like it was even written by Noob themselves. A chibi rendition of them and Sixer were on opposite sides of the title, separated. The background was yellow with a black leopard design printed on it in the corners that faded as it drew closer to the center.

Purple and green party streamers were hung along with pink and blue confetti. Prints of different food and drinks, particularly Bloxy Cola, were taped at the bottom. A photo of them and Noob at a party was taped on the side, the words ‘ Let’s get this party started!! ’ written under it. A few other photos were taken, mainly of Noob at different events.

They looked so happy in all of those photos.

They were alive in those photos.

Sixer dropped to their knees and covered their mouth with their hand, their vision blurring with new tears. They sat there, mind flooding with the new sight. With the old events and memories they had.

Those memories that lead up to this…

Sixer reached for their pocket subconsciously, feeling something within them.

Oh…

I forgot Noob gave me something…

They took it out, their eyes still brimmed with tears.

Oh my—

It was the bracelet Sixer had made for them back at a party. Red, black and white beads, a large R charm for Robloxia weighing one side down. A few party themed charms were separated amongst the other beads.

Sixer chuckled dryly at the sight, a sad smile curving at their lips as their hand was wet with tears once more.

Hah…

Great one, Noob.

Love you too.

“Hey, Sixer! I made you something, heh.” Noob ran up to the guest excitedly before taking out a small cardboard box painted in black with colorful confetti on, handing it over to Sixer. “It’s nothing much, but I hope you like it!”

“ Hah, funny, I made you something, too! ” Sixer laughed at the coincidence, which caused Noob to jump for joy. They took out a similar box, though it was yellow instead.

“Ohmigosh, really?! You didn’t need to!” Noob exclaimed, taking the box and excitedly opening it.

“OH MY GOSH I LOVE IT!!” Noob immediately put on the bracelet and inspected the red, white and black beads, a large R for Robloxia as the main charm. The little colorful party charms were absolutely adorable to Noob. They eyed Sixer before attacking them with a hug.

They chuckled at the action and gave them a soft smile and signed when they let go.

“ I’m glad you do, hah. It’s nothing much, though… ”

“Doesn’t matter to me! It’s literally the picture of perfection, haha!” They smiled brightly. “Okie, open my gift up now!”

They were jumping up and down in anticipation, which the guest decided to fuel by ever so slowly opening the black box.

Sixer was shocked when they saw another bracelet within the box. They immediately pocketed the box and put the bracelet on, looking at the colorful beads and occasional bloxy-cola charms.

“ Awh, I love it! It's adorable!” They laughed, Noob thanking them for the compliment and their own bracelet that they had received.

The two spent the rest of the party gushing about their new accessories like it was the best thing that they had ever received.

The bracelet and their best friend.

Chapter Text

The spinner had just begun going around again, profile icons flashing by quickly.

Shedletsky looked around at the spectating subjects. He mentally noted how the guest from earlier had a drained, emotionless expression on as opposed to when they had first met. For a moment his smile had dropped to something more sympathetic, pitiful of the robloxian.

Tragedy really does change someone, huh?

He couldn’t say he truly related, but he certainly understood the sentiment. Even knowing they could respawn in the forsaken realm, it still hurt him to know that some of his  teammates may have died without him assisting in any way.

“That guest sure is going through it,” Doom commented, glancing at the guest in question next to John and Jane Doe. John noticed him and blocked his view. Though, one of the cultists had come over anyway.

“Lol.” Shedletsky commented on Two Time jumpscaring John Doe and Guest 666. He snickered at the event, Dusekkar sighing while Builderman chuckled.

John Doe had messy yellow hair and had a completely black iris with a red pupil. He wore black baseball hat and a black leather jacket. They had an orange sweater vest beneath it and black jeans and black combat boots, matching with his wife.

Jane Doe had a more fancy black hat on her muted pink ponytail, one adventurers wore. She adorned a black trenchcoat and a yellow sweater vest beneath. She had formal black jeans and short boots on.

Doombringer shifted his attention back to the spinning wheel, straightening his posture and sighing.

Doom adorned a black suit with specks of white, glitter maybe, with a deep red tie. He had a crimson jacket on, a fluffy silver-gray fur lining the collar. The jacket sat on his shoulders, the back acting as a cape, the ends lined with the same silver fur.

He adorned a large red bucket helmet with small decorative demon horns along with a few crimson decorations. He had a “Hello! My name is: Mr. Doom ” type ID-card pinned to his suit pocket. He had crimson chain suspenders on his belt and deep red boots.

“Understandably so, I remember when I had first watched Shedletsky fall to the foe. Not a great memory, not for me,” Dusekkar replied, recalling the first round the survivors were put through. Doom looked stunned at the mere thought of the ex-admin dying , but quickly shook it off with the context.

“Ay, I bought some time for Builds to run! Definitely worth it,” Shedletsky grinned.

“I thought ya’ died , Shed. Permanently.” Builderman glared at the swordsman, to which they shrugged uncaringly.

“But I didn’t~!”

Builder stared daggers into Shed’s soul.

“Are we serious right now?”

“The most serious. This is no joking matter!” Shedletsky snickered.

“I’m sorry– died ?!” Brighteyes exclaimed, Shedletsky subtly shrinking into himself and scratching the back of his head.

The admins shifted their attention back to the wheel as a dinging noise sounded.

Doombringer was chosen.

Shedletsky could hear Noli complaining in the background along with some kids giggling.

Shed tensed up in anticipation and mentally chanted some kind of buff effect for his co-worker, but the wheel simply started spinning once more. Doombringer’s profile icon was situated in the corner of the TV screen.

“Multiple favorites?” Brighteyes asked, raising a brow.

“Awh, I kinda’ thought that favorites would mean invincibility or something,” Shedletsky whined, Doom chuckling at the ex-admin.

“That would've been nice, but so early in the game?” Doom replied, Shed sighing in return.

“Pretty sure it’s RNG,” Brighteyes thought aloud. “A gamble.”

“That’s more than likely, yeah,” Doom agreed. Builderman let out a low hum, seemingly lost in thought.

Shedletsky peered out to the other subjects, noticing how Guest 666 stood over at the wall, looking down at a colorful drawer. It looked an awful lot like it was designed by Noob…

Ah.

Poor guy.

007n7 and Noli were entertaining the kids, though Bluudud looked like he didn’t give a damn in the slightest.

Elliot was talking with Chance whilst Jez was wandering about, albeit away from the soldiers. Shedletsky knew exactly the reason as to why the soldiers scorned him and why such distance was held, but he could tell Jez wasn’t like his people. Matter of fact, he heard Jez ask about Guest 666’s well-being despite nearly all Bacons hating Guest-kind.

1x1x1x1 was in the corner, though they were with Jason. They let the silence speak for them.

The spinner began to slow down more, the ticks having dramatically long pauses before the next. The noise grabbed the swordsman’s attention.

“Ah, looks like Matt’s gon’ be chosen,” Builder mumbled, having already calculated who would be next chosen despite the mage’s profile being sections away from the pick.

“That would be all kinds of unlucky with that distance,” Shedletsky commented, though he agreed with the CEO. He trusted his best friend’s intuition with his life.

“It appears so,” Matt replied, watching the spinner intently. Doom let out a low hum while Brighteyes whined at the inconvenient news.

The five watched the spinner do its thing, silently observing.

As predicted, the spinner selected Dusekkar as the second subject. A loud dinging noise alerted everyone of the news before it decided to spin around for the third time.

“How unfortunate,” The mage muttered, the CEO sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Maybe not! We still have, like, zero clue as to what this experiment might be!” Brighteyes tried to lighten the admins’ mood, to which Dusekkar sighed.

“Your optimism is appreciated, Brighteyes,” He replied, Brighteyes giving the pumpkin an amused smile.

“How many subjects ya’ think are gonna be chosen?” Builderman asked, inspecting the TV rather than the spinner. The profiles flew by in a flash before slowing down.

He had his hand in his jacket pocket while one hung limply from his side, taking a more-so nonchalant pose. His baggy gray jacket wasn’t zipped all the way, revealing a red sweater beneath it. ‘Robloxia’ was stitched on the side, traveling from the side of his chest to his sleeve. His sleeves were scrunched up to about elbow length, his unpocketed hand displaying the last tactical fingerless glove he hadn’t lost yet.

His hard hat was firmly on top of his unkept gray hair. Though, Shedletsky could spot his eyebags from miles away despite how his hard hat subtly shadowed his face.

Jeez, this guy needs to go to bed sometime.

Well, sleep sucks, but still.

The admin had dark jeans, yellow outlining where the stitching of the fabric met. He had a leather tool belt holding them up along with a multitude of different tools and leather work boots. Builderman had a few scars across their face and Shedletsky knew lots of cuts littered the man’s hands, but they weren’t too noticeable. Not the ones on his face, at least. One could absolutely tell this man worked day and night by looking at their cut up arms and hands.

“My best bet is that this’ll be the last chosen subject,” Shedletsky guessed with a nonchalant expression.

“The bottom looks like it has room for a fourth,” Dusekkar pointed out, to which Shed simply shrugged.

“Never said I would actually bet anything.”

“Do you have anything to bet at all?” Doom asked.

“Fried chicken."

“Figures.”

“Ya’ ain’t ever gonna let up yer chicken, are ya’?”

“Lmao, no.”

The sword fighter turned his attention back to the slow wheel, inspecting the profiles and already calculating who would be chosen. His and Brighteyes’ icons were in the far back or had already passed the wheel’s pick, so he wasn’t at all worried for the two of them.

However, his heart dropped when he spotted Builderman’s profile slowly making its way to the spinner’s pick.

“Wow, all the admins chosen? Pretty big coincidence,” Shedletsky pointed out, his wife groaning.

“I noticed ‘dat, too.” Builderman agreed, already acknowledging he was also going to be selected.

“Are we sure this is RNG? That’s like a massive coincidence,” Brighteyes asked incredulously of the subjects chosen.

“Weren’t you the one who assumed it was RNG?” Shedletsky teased.

“Uh, I never uttered such a phrase. You must be delusional,” Bright crossed her eyes and huffed, turning away dramatically from her husband. The two immediately began snickering after a solid two seconds of her act.

“Perhaps it’s a pattern? It’s only da’ secon’ experiment, but what if the spinner is targetin’ those with some kinda connection?” Builderman theorized, mentally noting how the wheel was drawing closer to his profile.

“That may be plausible, maybe. That guest surely had a connection with Noob, though that is our only evidence of thou’s theory.” Dusekkar added, the CEO nodding along.

The divine pumpkin adorned a cobalt blue pumpkin head and deep black antlers, silver accessories hanging from them. The ends of the antlers faded to a subtly glowing yellow-orange ombre. The inside of the pumpkin head was a bright yellow, an orange flame lit inside.

They had a light blue to indigo cloak on light gray robes and a shawl with ancient symbols engraved into it lining the robes. The mage had a deep blue scarf that doubled as a cape, their arms bearing multiple accessories and garments. They wore dark gray boots with belts lining them.

The mage floated idly, towering above everyone, only Doom matching his height by a small margin.

He looked down at the shorter admin, chuckling to himself at the height difference. Builderman stood at a pathetic 4’9, easily the shortest out of the admins– hell, the shortest out of everyone in the room.

“Ah, it appears it has slipped my mind of thou’s shorter stature,” The mage commented, receiving a groan.

“Here I thought I finally escaped them height jokes,” The shorter replied, the other admins snickering at him. “Ah, oh well.”

Builderman dropped his shoulders in defeat, chuckling softly with the others.

The wheel produced a loud dinging noise, drawing everyone’s attention once more. Shed heard Doom sigh at the sight of Builderman’s face on the screen, joining the profiles of Dusekkar and Doombringer. Shedletsky resisted the urge to bash his head against the wall at the results.

Three admins.

Shedletsky wasn’t a fool, far from it. He knew one of them was going to have to go. Just from the first experiment alone he could guess that the rest of the rounds won’t stray too differently. Though, some titles seemed rather tame. He had spotted ‘Linked’ and ‘Revive’, which he hoped were exactly as they sounded. 

The term ‘Favorites’ was rather vague to Shedletsky. It could mean some kind of invincibility or buff because they could be now favored by the entity keeping them there, which is what he would like to think, or it could mean something else entirely.

Builderman had that same calculating look as he squinted at the TV screen with the profiles. Shed could guess he was trying to decipher what the hell was going to happen with the admins. That, or what was the easiest way to dismantle the spinner bolt by bolt.

“ We will now begin voting. ”

The three admins seemingly blinked out of existence, causing Brighteyes to freak out. Shedletsky tensed up at their sudden disappearance, but he waited for whatever was going to happen to properly play out.

Vote?

Oh, don’t tell me it’s what I think it is…

The screen behind him, the one with the strange drawers, revealed a room with–

“Oh me , what the fuck is this??” The ex-admin questioned, eyes widening in horror. Gasps sounded out, some came running over.

The admins were stuck in large metal cages hung by a loose metal chain from the ceiling. They were swaying over saw blades that were moving back and fourth, threatening to shred them once they dropped into their blades. The three of them seemed to be deceptively calm, but Shedletsky knew them well enough that such was not the case.

A bead of sweat rolled down Builderman’s face as he spotted the saws, eyes widening in shock.

“Erm, Doom?? Matt?”

“Saws??” Doom glanced down from the bars.

“Yup.”

“Damn.”

“Tragic.”

“ After each vote, the subject with the highest amount of votes will be safe. ”

“ The subject last picked will be executed. ”

Three black pathways outlined in a neon teal made themselves visible, each section all leading to one of the three admins. In the top middle of the brick wall a timer with 60 seconds appeared, along with small white boxes that went up in number when someone stepped on the path. Shedletsky oh so horribly wanted to bash his head against the wall.

“Are you actually fucking me right now.”

“Choose??” Brighteyes asked, cautiously approaching the three black sections on the floor. “I– I can’t do that?!”

“Then I will for ya’. DOOM AN’ MATT!!” Builderman yelled, the other HQ employees protesting.

“ Admins Almighty, NO!? The HQ needs you and Matt far more than me? All of you can ban just as well as I can!”

“You both speak nonsense! You both are far more valuable to the team compared to I??”

“Is this low self-esteem I hear??”

“Is that hypocrisy I hear?”

The admins continued being self-sacrificial, Shedletsky subconsciously already making his way to Builderman’s path. Others had already chosen, mainly for Builder, to which he protested for them to choose one of the other two.

“How interesting,” iTrapped mused, inspecting the three admins with a smug look.

1x had immediately stepped in to save Dusekkar, which Shedletsky wasn't too surprised at. He was one of the only admins who showed real kindness when they were young instead of treating them like a burden or a problem left by Telamon.

Of course, Builderman had shown a similar fondness, but their relationship with the ex-admin was enough for 1x to despise him. StickmasterLuke and Doombringer only took care of them when necessary, and Clockwork wasn’t given any sort of task at all. Though, they definitely displayed some form of kindness towards the creation.

Azure and Two Time were also on Dusekkar’s path, to which the divine pumpkin seemingly grimaced through the pumpkin head. Shedletsky would’ve snickered at them if it weren’t for their predicament.

C00lkidd, Pr3ttyPriincess, and Bluudud were on Doom’s path, C00l voicing how he felt bad he had no votes. Doom had this sad smile which crushed Shedletsky’s heart to see. He nodded at the trio of kids, thanking them silently.

Builderman pleaded to his votes to switch over to the others, to which the admins fought back equally as hard.

Noli and 007n7, clearly with much hesitation, decided to also vote for Doom’s safety. Their vote was definitely driven by the kids’ choice, but they still went with it.

Shedletsky heard the sound of a dice rolling across the floor, to which he heard Chance mumble how the die was never wrong. They proceeded to Doom’s path, engaging in conversation with the ex-exploiter.

The swordsman noted how Jason nor Guest 666 had chosen. The guest was standing near the wall while the serial killer stood near the spinner, both silently observing the experiment.

DOOM’S VOTES:

C00lkidd

Pr3ttyPriincess

Bluudud

Noli

007n7

Chance

TOTAL: 6 VOTES

BUILDERMAN’S VOTES:

Shedletsky

Brighteyes

Jane Doe

John Doe

Guest 1337

Matt

Elliot

Taph

Jez

TOTAL: 9 VOTES

DUSEKKAR’S VOTES:

Two Time

Azure

1x1x1x1

iTrapped

TOTAL: 4 VOTES

Dammit.

Matt has the least…

“ Admins Almighty ,” Builderman grumbled and slumped back against the bars before he teleported out of the cage. The empty cage’s floor released like a trapdoor, though nothing dropped.

The CEO materialized near the spinner, facing down. His hard hat shadowed his eyes until he looked up at the other caged admins with an apologetic expression.

The path’s outline’s glow to vote on Builderman died, the number of votes going blank. As for the other admins, the votes flashed zero before it calculated how many stood for which admin’s release. The timer reset, and those who had voted for the CEO’s release dispersed to the other paths.

Shedletsky walked up to their best friend, torn between the options.

“I– Builds, who do we vote for? I don’t think I can really choose between the two…” Shedletsky mumbled. For just a short, fleeting moment they looked… distressed ?

Those emotions were of the rarest kind for the swordsman and such a feeling even occurring to Shedletsky made the situation hit just a bit more than it had before.

“Ya’ could’ve had you not vote fer’ me.”

“Ugh, dude, stop being so sacrificial!”

“A bit hypocritical,” Builderman glared at the swordsman. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed at the situation. “Considerin’ ya’ always jumped in the killer’s path to save someone given the chance.”

“That’s different, I was trying to save the team!”

“...By taking the gashing wound? Or the walkspeed?”

“I got my fried chicken, it would be like nothing had happened anyways!”

“You’re impossible.”

“So are you, Builds.”

“Builderman and Shedletsky, you both are extremely important to our team, just as Matt and Doombringer. Without you both, we would have nothing ,” Brighteyes claimed, tired of his attitude.

“What makes me more valuable than Doom ‘er Matt? What ‘bout Shed??” Builder asked sceptically, before he snapped back to the problem at hand. “Nevermin’.”

The admin looked around, spinning on his heel and inspecting the room.

“I think votin’ ain’t necessary.”

“What makes you say that?” Brighteyes asked, raising a brow. She was growing in worry for the other two admins, to say the very least. She was torn between who she wanted to live or not. She cared for everyone at the HQ deeply, how could she choose at all??

“The guest an’ Jason ova’ there,” Builder pointed to the two he referred to, pointing out how they weren’t voting at all.

“I noticed that too, they weren’t anywhere near the voting,” Shedletsky claimed. “I’d rather not vote at all if that’s a choice.”

His wife and friend nodded solemnly before glancing at the votes and caged admins. Shedletsky mentally noted how 45 seconds remained.

Two Time and Azure were firmly planted on voting for Dusekkar. Why? Shedletsky had zero clue, but it amused him to see Matt's reaction to such. The Spawn, a fake entity, was something the two firmly believed in, and Dusekkar was absolutely scornful of them for such a fact.

Two Time creeped Shedletsky out a bit, he’ll admit, that wide grin that stretched a bit too far wasn’t really his thing. That eeriness had since disappeared when they were reunited with their friend, though.

iTrapped was talking to Chance, to which the both of them looked miserably uncomfortable. Specifically Chance, who decided to go back to Doom’s path.

Jez was staying as far away from the two soldiers as possible, tension thick.

Elliot was trying to talk to Taph, but it was clear he had no idea what the demolitionist was saying. They were signing too fast for the pizza worker to understand, but Shedletsky could make out he was sad about how Doom had so few votes.

Doombringer had this accepting smile on his face as he spectated his only few votes from his cage. Like as though he was already at peace with his horrible fate.

Shed's smile fell from the sight. 

He could safely assume that everyone had voted for Matt due to them already being acquainted with the being, but Doom? They had never met him, not in person.

And besides such, maybe those knew they were banned by the admin or favored the mage. Or, worse, the name 'Doombringer' simply scared them.

That's not a fair judgement.

Not at all.

Doombringer was probably the kindest person Shedletsky had ever met. He was a real teddy bear when you get to know the guy.

“Hey,” John came over, Jane trotting along beside him. “Are you alright?”

“‘M fine, you should worry ‘bout Doom ‘er Matt,” Builderman replied, but neither of the couples bought it.

“We are going to have such a long discussion later,” Brighteyes grumbled, Jane nodding.

“Are none of you going to vote?” Jane asked, to which they all nodded. “Ah, neither were we. Too hard of a choice.”

“Builds I swear to me if you even utter the idea that we shouldn’t have voted for you I will smite you right here and now,” Shedletsky threatened jokingly, to which the CEO chuckled softly.

“I… oh, whateva’,” Builderman sighed, glancing back at the votes with a sorrowful expression. Only half a minute remained, so little time left. Builder looked up towards the keeper of the Banlands with a regretful expression.

“So, Doom?”

“Builderman. This is it, isn’t it?” Doom chuckled sadly.

“I–” Builder choked on his words.

“Honestly, I’m not surprised at this outcome. Take care of the Banlands, yeah?”

“Doom, don’t act all sad like that! There’s still a bit of hope, right??” Brighteyes cut in, her voice breaking.

“I suppose that’s true, but I’m not respawning easily, hah…”

The chatter died down to let the HQ team have a moment, all staring at the group silently.

“You’re a great work partner, Doombringer. I hope our paths cross again once more in the future,” Dusekkar nodded in respect, Doom nodding to the pumpkin as well.

“Yeah man, you’re great. Miss you already!” Shedletsky had a sad smile on, messily saluting to his old co-worker. Doom chuckled in response, saluting back.

“It was a pleasure working with you,” John Doe took off his hat to show some respect, looking disheartened.

“Same here!” Brighteyes claimed.

“The same can be said here for all of you,” Doom replied. He glanced at Builderman, who lowered his hard hat in respects, a somber expression on his face.

“I can only wish we had a proper meeting, but I do hope to see each other at one point once again,” Jane told him, Doom agreeing with the pink-haired woman.

The moment was cut far too short as the timer hit zero, Dusekkar suddenly teleporting out of his cage, the floor of it opening.

The world seemed to slow down for Shedletsky at that moment.

DOOM’S VOTES:

C00lkidd

Pr3ttyPriincess

Bluudud

Noli

007n7

Chance

TOTAL: 6 VOTES

BUILDERMAN’S VOTES:

TOTAL: SAFE

DUSEKKAR’S VOTES:

Two Time

Azure

1x1x1x1

iTrapped

Jez

Guest 1337

Matt

Elliot

Taph

TOTAL: 9 VOTES

“See you on the other side!”

Doombringer’s cage opened, dropping him into the saws.

His head was severed in an instant, his flesh being torn through like paper. Blood and other substances splattered all over the screen, partially obscuring the graphic scene. His clothes and suit were tattered and stained crimson while his yellow skin was shredded by the blades.

His jaw was split in two, the skull being sliced through like it was butter. Doom’s stomach was split open, organs spilling out and creating a bloody mess. His intestines spewed from the fatal wound, blood and bile and other substances no one could name slathering his torso. Limbs were jumbled around, fabric and fur clutching to the blades of the saws.

Ear-grating noise and disgusting squelching sounded through the prison.

His body was mutilated beyond recognition.

DOOMBRINGER

SURVIVED EXPERIMENTS: 1

DEATH BY: FAVORITES

THANK YOU FOR YOUR NON-VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION :)

Shedletsky was absolutely stunned at what he had just witnessed.

John and Jane were holding each other tightly.

Spectators gasped, screamed, ran to the safety of the cells to shield their gaze from the disgusting sight.

Guest 666 was emotionlessly watching.

Noli and 007n7 had run off long before the death had properly occurred, the kids assumingly with them.

Guest 1337 and Matt saluted respectfully towards Builderman, though the CEO hadn’t acknowledged it.

Builderman’s hard had shadowed over his face, but his eyes were brimmed with tears.

Dusekkar floated idly, his head lowered towards the ground, silently mourning the loss of their co-worker, their friend .

Shed’s thoughts were rather disoriented. He'd never seen anyone go out like that– not on his own game, Sword Fight on the Heights, or in the Forsaken realm.

He stood there not moving a muscle, mind flashing with all the good times he had with the team. With Doom .

It pained him to say that he had so few times with just him and Doombringer. So little.

It would frustrate Shedletsky to no end how he couldn't do anything to prevent his death– hell, he didn't even try?? What good was he to the team if he couldn't do the bare fucking minimum of protecting his team–

Shedletsky sucked it up.

Ugh.

I really missed out, huh?

Dammit…

Rest in peace, Doombringer.

You were a great man.

Don't get it wrong– Shedletsky was most certainly upset at such an outcome. He still mourned his co-worker, but he couldn't feel it. It wasn't in his system, it wasn't even possible for him to express such emotions.

Shedletsky sniffled and roughly swiped his nose, before looking back up. He stumbled back a bit, the weight of his own body seemingly heavier than it had just a moment ago.

He regained his footing, Builder looking up at him with a look Shed couldn’t put a proper name to. The swordsman cleared his throat, coughing into his fist.

“Hey, why don’t we get out of here and give Doom and Noob a proper ceremony, yeah?” Shedletsky suggested with a hopefully comforting smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. His voice was scratchy, uncertain.

Builder wasn’t comforted, not at all, not with what he just saw. But a little spark of determination ignited within him. One that would only be put out the day he died.

Builderman nodded, rubbing his nose and adjusting his hard hat. He was about to walk off, Shed assumed, before Dusekkar spoke up.

“Builderman, this isn’t your fault. You know that, yes?”

“...Yeah, Matt. Of course–” Builderman mumbled, but the mage cut him off.

“Doom’s demise was not your doing, neither was it mine. It was the entity who is keeping us here,” Matt explained like it wasn’t already obvious. Shedletsky knew exactly where the mage was coming from.

“Matt, I know– ”

“Then I don't want to see thou beat yourself up on such. I can see right through your mask,” Dusekkar stated, Builderman’s breath hitching.

It was impossible to hide anything from the entity. They were able to read anyone like a book, it was a chore in itself to keep secrets from the mage. Builderman shakily sighed and rubbed his eyes.

Shed noted how the cloth was subtly stained.

The CEO turned around and faced the mage, tiredly nodding to them

“Thanks, Matt.” He carefully started, smiling softly. “I needed ‘dat.”

“Of course,” Dusekkar nodded. He floated over to Builder, who nodded to Shedletsky invitingly to come along. That invitation was one that Shedletsky took, who came running over.

Wait.

Where’s Brighteyes ?

“Wait, let me get Bright, don’t wait up,” Shed paused, Builderman flashing a thumbs-up before turning and climbing up the fleet of stairs.

Shedletsky spun on his heel, inspecting the room to its fullest.

Doing so got him a clear as day visual of what remained of Doombringer.

Oh…

Shedletsky shook that image away as best as he could, but it had already tattooed into his head.

A constant grotesque reminder that would forever plague him.

Shedletsky saw Brighteyes heaving near a wall, clutching her chest. His heart dropped to his stomach at the sight, immediately sprinting over to aid his partner.

A disgusting puddle of vile was situated in the corner, already drying up. Stray tears slid across Brighteyes’ cheeks.

She must’ve sensed it was Shedletsky, because she didn’t even look at him when she first spoke.

“Don’t you dare say it’s okay.” She mumbled, wiping off her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket. She turned to face her husband, flinching at the scene behind him.

“I was not going to say that, first of all,” Shed reassured. “I wanted to see if you’re okay.”

“I’m just peachy, what do you mean?” She replied sarcastically, wiping her lips with her fist. Seeing her work partner go out in a way was definitely traumatizing, but it was her nature to joke around, especially around her husband.

“You certainly look the part,” Shedletsky deadpanned, before getting back on topic. “Builds and Matt are going to be upstairs, I was wondering if you wanted to come along?”

Brighteyes looked hesitant, contemplative at first, but she went with Shed. It wouldn’t be the best choice for her to stay alone, she never liked being by herself. And with her current mentality, that would be a death sentence to remain in the corner by herself.

Shedletsky took her hand and led her up the stairs, the couple reuniting with the others.

For the first time ever Shedletsky passed on lunch. The scent of plastic was not the most appealing. Along with metallic smell of the blood —

No one had taken a single canteen, having lost their appetite at what they had seen without hours of each other.

Doom’s remains had since been cleaned, though the screen in general was dark, obscuring whatever lay within that damned room.

The team of admins and HQ employees were silently observing the tense atmosphere on the second floor of cells.

Dusekkar, as per usual, was rather unreadable. He floated idly, their pumpkin’s expression neutral, though it was clear he was still grieving the loss of their colleague. Their aura was rather tense, as per everyone's.

John Doe was leaning against the fence, the cold metal biting his skin. He simply stared at the brick wall opposite of him, mind elsewhere. His wife, being who she is, would probably drag him off of the fence so he wouldn’t accidentally cause bruises through pushing himself into it too hard, but that wasn’t what was on the man’s mind at the moment.

Actually, that’s a lie. Jane is always on his mind.

Jane Doe and Brighteyes had separated from the group in search of Guest 666, Builderman also setting off to go get Taph. They both got back at roughly the same time, Guest 666 blankly ignoring Taph’s signing.

Taph, getting the message after all of their efforts proved vain, sought conversation from the mage.

“😓👋 (So, uh… hi?)” The demolitionist sparked hesitantly, obviously sensing the entity was in no mood for conversing. However, he didn’t really care for that. He just needed someone to talk to.

“Hello, Taph.” Dusekkar replied monotonously. They didn’t shift or move, just stared at the people on the lower floor discussing what the next potential experiment may be. The two stood next to each other, Taph messing with his tripwires to pass the time.

The admins had always shown a particular fondness towards Taph in particular of all demolitionists, and Dusekkar was no exception. The two were close, often sticking together during the rounds. An odd duo, but it was one that worked. Of course, Taph and Dusekkar would do so for any of their companions, but they found themselves stuck with each other rather often.

The two, despite Taph’s initial goal, stood in silence. The tension was replaced with a comfortable silence between the pair, simply enjoying what might be the last of each other's company.

Shedletsky was rather indecisive on who he wanted to talk to. Builds or Bright? Builderman would probably want space, but Shed knew silence wasn’t what the guy truly needed. The guy was never the best being left alone with only him in his thoughts in these situations. He wouldn’t have to talk, but he certainly wanted to be there for him.

Brighteyes was talking to Jane and John, seemingly pretty down. There were dried streams of tears she hadn’t bothered wiping away and looked like she hadn’t slept in a while, probably because she had been searching far and wide for her husband prior to being sent to this new hellhole. Shedletsky missed her so much since being forsaken.

Ugh, this is nearly as bad as the vote.

Wow, that’s a horrible comparison.

Great job, me.

Sigh.

At the moment, Builderman does seem like the better option… Brighteyes seems relatively fine, plus she has Jane, he’ll talk to her later. He’d make sure of that.

With a sigh, he walked down the fleet of stairs, meeting in the middle with his best friend.

“Hey,” He greeted first, Builder mumbling back a half-hearted greeting.

“Whatcha’ doing?”

“Nothin’,” Builderman replied, readjusting his leaning on the railing.

“Sounds great, mind if I join?”

“Not at all.”

Like Matt and Taph, the two stood next to one another in a more comfortable silence than earlier. Doom’s demise had been an hour or two ago, so such a mental image still remained fresh, but now the two had a mission– another silent promise both were determined to keep.

For Builderman, his new goal was to give his fallen companions a proper burial. He knew those ‘drawers’ stored bodies, having been explained by Elliot they were large enough and cold, as though it was a freezer. He had already mentally noted how one of them was now decorated akin to Doombringer’s taste. It hurt him to know that’s how one of his closest friends had to go out, and he would absolutely make sure such wasn’t in vain.

That goal was sparked by Shedletsky and his words from earlier. The prompt put Builderman in a new mindset from when he had first watched the execution.

He would either live and honor his fallen allies’ names, or die trying.

And Shedletsky felt proud to be able to say the same.

“Yo, Doom,” Shedletsky greeted, entering the other admin’s office. “You done with your stuff yet? The others are gonna join Stick’s game later. Natural Disaster Survival or something like that.”

“Oh, maybe, nearly done. Just trying to research on this one guy real quick,” Doom replied, typing away.

“Who?” Shed asked curiously, walking over to see what was going on on the screen.

“Rumors going around about this thing named ‘Noli’? It’s just a myth for now, though.”

“Pfft, alright. People are getting real creative nowadays.”

“YOU GUYS READY YET?” StickmasterLuke yelled from across the hall, Clockwork snickering in conversation with Erik. Matt and Erik had decided to stay behind because they were boring like that.

“IN A SEC!” Shedletsky yelled back, proceeding to pester Doom on doing his work later.

“I swear I’ll smack you with the banhammer–” Doom grumbled, turning off his monitor. Shedletsky had a victorious smirk on as the two exited the office.

John greeted them and led them outside, most of the admins meeting up at the van.

“Wait, who’s driving?” Doom asked.

“It better not be Builds. Pretty sure we ran over like, three people last time he drove.”

“MY DRIVIN’ AIN’T THAT BAD.”


“YES IT IS BRO.”

Chapter Text

Brighteyes was tired, to put it simply.

Tired because she was searching far and wide for her missing husband, sleepless nights squeezing her way into such a search.

She was tired because this is where she found him.

On the other hand, she was also sad at such a fact. Well, sadness was barely the tip of the iceberg for what she was feeling.

She was regretful of what happened to Doombringer.

Upset at the current situation.

Disappointed that 1x would barely talk to her, despite knowing exactly as to why. It hurt her that she knew so painfully well as to why.

She couldn’t possibly list how many emotions flooded her senses as of now, but near none of them were positive.

She couldn’t help feeling this… guilt? Like as though she should've done something to dodge this outcome, like she should’ve helped?

Ugh.

That’s such a dumb thought…

There’s no freaking way this could've been my fault.

…Right?

She softly shook that last thought out of her head.

She knew that the whole situation wasn’t her fault. She knew exactly who to blame, or what.

“Brighteyes? Are you alright?” Jane snapped the swordswoman out of her thoughts. She had a rather concerned expression on her face, the old doctor instincts probably kicking in. Guest 666 peered curiously over the woman’s shoulder, but looked no less drained.

The two sat behind the metal fence, situated in the corner. They were close enough to the edge to be able to view the other subjects below.

“O-oh, me? I’m alright, I guess,” Brighteyes lied, Jane simply nodding. Just then, Bright’s thoughts spiraled into why exactly she was so far from ‘alright’ .

“I, uh…”

“Hm?” Jane shifted her attention back to the purple-haired woman. Brighteyes’ mind scrambled to find a way to spill what Bright wanted to ask.

“Do you… do you think there was a way to like… I don’t know, prevent what happened? Maybe had we done something, maybe what happened would’ve like, not happen?” Bright rambled, looking at Jane when she finished. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment at Jane’s reaction.

“I-I mean, it was just a thought! A dumb, unimportant thought, you know? Hah…” She shrugged off, taking on an ashamed expression. Jane’s mouth opened, but nothing escaped it. She turned back to the spinner and pressed her lips into a straight line, thinking about how to respond.

“That isn’t dumb at all, Brighteyes,” the pink-haired woman sighed, grabbing Bright’s attention. “It’s a rather… common thought for those in this situation. To feel guilty over something that isn’t their fault, in general, isn’t an unnatural thought at all.”

“False guilt or a false sense of responsibility happens when we feel guilty for something that wasn’t our fault or when something occurs that we couldn’t prevent, essentially.” Jane explained softly.

“We feel responsible for something that we shouldn’t, like emotions, needs and wellbeing for others, or… death.” Her voice quieted down at the last example, the idea being passed.

“Doom’s death wasn’t anyone’s fault but the thing that’s keeping us here. You played no part. No one did.”

“I know, I know I just…” Brighteyes mumbled, trying to find the words. “...Just a thought, I guess. Thank you lots, hah.” Brighteyes folded her legs into herself, hugging them close to her body.

Brighteyes had never been good with keeping her thoughts to herself, especially if they were hurting her. She fully believed that bottling up emotions would only lead to more pain, 

“Of course,” Jane nodded, repositioning herself to give her friend a bit more room. “Though, I didn’t do much. Just explained the surface of a concept.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Brighteyes decided for herself, Jane chuckling softly.

The two watched from behind the metal fence, people watching everyone below.

Elliot and Chance seemed to be fine, though the pizza worker was notably more tense than the chill gambler.

Noli and 007n7 were also talking, Noli glitching all over the place. Their clothes glitched from their casual outfit to something more fancy, for some reason. (Woah redesign when??)

The children pretended to have a tea party, to which Bluudud did not seem to approve of. Brighteyes found it adorable.

1x was talking to Jez. They both seemed to be relatively calm, if not just simply nonchalant.

John had gone down to talk to Builderman and Shedletsky, Brighteyes being able to spot the three on the stairs.

It had been what? Two, three hours since the last experiment? The next one is bound to happen soon, at least that's what Brighteyes thinks. Not that she wanted one to happen, of course.

Jane sighed, wanting to spark conversation once more.

“I’ll ask this again, and I’d rather you not lie. Are you alright?”

For some reason, the question hit harder this time. Like she knew there wasn’t anymore downplaying her emotions. That she was okay in Jane's presence. Bright sucked in a breath, sighing heavily.

“Not really, no. I know nothing has even happened to me yet, but–”

“Something did happen, Brighteyes. A close friend passed away just a few hours ago, it’s okay to not be okay.”

Damn, that hit deeper than it should've.

Brighteyes took a moment to properly process what she had been told.

Dammit– why was she tearing up at this? This is just basic information, she shouldn’t be crying over it…

She chuckled wetly, wiping at her eyes and scrubbing her face clean of the old tears. Why must everyone in her life be a blessing to her, dammit.

“Ah, you’re the best, Jay.”

“Don’t mention it,” She smiled back reassuringly.

Brighteyes huffed, attempting to bring back her classic, positive self, making a complete 180.

“Okay, my turn. Are you alright?” Brighteyes prompted.

“Oh? Well…” Jane paused, seemingly far more distant than she was just a moment ago. “...No, I’m not. I recently found that my husband was this half-corrupted monster version of himself, we get sent here at the constant threat of death, and Doom and Noob had just died in such awful ways.”

“So, no. I’m not alright. I won’t be for a quite a while, honestly.” Jane admitted, completely honest.

“Wow, I envy how strong you are then! I’m lit’ on the verge of a mental breakdown, and you seem so calm through it all, hah.”

“Had I been the person I was before John went missing I assure you I would be on the floor sobbing,” the two chuckled. “But thank you.”

“No problem!”

Guest 666 shifted out of their position, getting up and walking away silently. Brighteyes had nearly completely forgotten the guest was there due to them not making a single peep.

“Hey, Six! Come by us if you ever need anything, m’kay?” Brighteyes called. The guest in question tensed up, before nodding rushingly and walking down the stairs.

Brighteyes, having a deceptively keen eye, noticed that brief moment of hesitation. She tilted her head at it, but didn’t announce her concern. Maybe she struck a nerve with the nickname, or perhaps 666 simply took a while to process her offer. She shrugged, deciding not to dwell on it.

She noticed how the TV seemed to glow, a sense of dread knotting in her stomach.

“I, uh…” Brighteyes’ once relaxed posture straightened up, the woman standing back up. Jane followed by example, both staring at the TV that stood tall above that damned spinner.

A new experiment was about to take place.

“What do you think the experiment is gonna be?” Shedletsky asked out of morbid curiosity.

The group of seven– Builder, Matt, Shed, Bright, Jane and John, and Taph– were all walking down the stairs, all making their way to the damned spinner. The TV flashed different decals of potential experiments.

“No idea,” Builderman mumbled.

“I’d rather not dwell too deeply on the subject,” Matt sighed, John Doe simply nodding with that response.

“I hope it’s something more tame than the previous experiments,” Brighteyes claimed.

“👍😖 (Same here!)”

“That would be a nice change,” Jane added.

“It really would. The constant death has been getting to me,” Shedletsky agreed. He had his hands crossed behind his head, the swordsman leaning back into them.

The ex-admin had two fluffy brown to golden wings with laurel leaves as decor for his curly brown hair. He had an x-shaped scar on his cheek, assumingly from a rough sword fight. He had a white sweatshirt with that classic ‘BLAME JOHN’ print on, the sleeves scrunched up to his elbows, revealing various other old cuts. A ring was worn on his right, his left adorning a fingerless glove.

A sword case was suspended by a belt that held up Shed's pants. That belt was connected to another mini belt, a few suspenders traveling down his legs for either style or storage.

He wore baggy blue pants and dark boots with yet again, a belt for an accessory. Yes, he has a lot of belts. Yes, he still looks great.

“Woah, somethin’ gettin’ to da’ almighty Shed?” Builderman teased.

“Oh, shut up!”

The TV kept switching to different icons of potential experiments, even going over the past two that had already taken place. The screen was notably slower, however, dramatically pausing with each choice.

Wait…

Can the same experiment happen twice?

Heck no.

Brighteyes shook that idea out of her head, scooting over to her husband. The man had an unamused expression on, looking like he was bored of the situation already. Unsurprising, it was for her at least.

The TV selected the icon of two buttons, one red and one green, as the third experiment.

" Split or steal has now been selected. “

“ Two subjects will be selected to participate. "

The spinner spun, deciding who would be the unlucky participant.

“Hey, I think I've heard of an experience like that! Or an experience with a similar concept, at least.” Brighteyes propped up, the title clicking with her.

“Oh? Enlighten us, pray tell what this experiment may be,” Dusekkar asked.

Brighteyes thought for a moment, forming the script in her head.

“Well, it should be as it sounds. Two or more players all decide whether they want to share or take, basically. If all split, all get either a small portion or nothing at all. Stealing is stealing. You get me?”

“In this context, I feel like splitting could be a more fatal move,” Jane mentioned. “These experiments surely haven’t been merciful. Hell, neither was the forsaken realm.”

“The forsaken realm is Hell,” Dusekkar stated.

“Ya’ got ‘dat right,” Builderman agreed.

“As someone who was forced to be a killer while being corrupted, I can confirm, it’s Hell.”

“What the heck.”

Okay, so Brighteyes has to talk to everyone about what the heck she missed.

The spinner was already skidding to a stop, drawing the team’s attention and leaving John’s question unanswered.

Tick.

It passed by iTrapped.

Thank Shed, that guy gives off bad vibes.

He seems like he would def steal.

Euh, I’m being too judgy.

A dinging noise sounded, the first participant being selected.

Shedletsky was chosen.

His profile icon was sentenced to the corner of the screen, the spinner continuing to do its thing.

“Oh, damn.”

“What a dramatic reaction,” Jane said sarcastically.

“For real, I’m a master actor.”

“I’m in awe of yer’ actin’ skills.”

“I could only dream of owning thou’s skillset, for thou’ performance was truly worthy of a bouquet.”

“I applaud for you.” John claimed, but didn’t actually do. He kept his voice monotone, which ended up being humorous for the group.

“👏 (Claps.)”

“You all are too kind, truly,” Shedletsky continued playing along, taking a dramatic bow to sell the act. The team chose to clap along, humoring the swordsman.

The spinner decided to cut short of the moment by being obnoxiously louder than it had just been a moment ago.

Shedletsky scowled at the spinner and gave it a thumbs-down, emphasizing his displeasure like the TV gave a damn for his opinion. Brighteyes boo’d the TV while John shook his head in disappointment. 

A nice moment the team had, even despite the circumstances.

A moment ruined when Brighteyes’ face was displayed, the sound effect for a chosen participant sounding out.

“Tragic,” Matt mumbled.

“Truly,” Jane agreed.

“Welp, ‘least we know we’re surviving, yeah?” Shedletsky smirked confidently, slinging his arm around his wife.

“For sure!” Bright agreed, but she couldn’t help but feel a sense of… distrust ?

I…

Why do I feel like that…?

The two were suddenly teleported to a different room. It shocked the swordswoman for a moment, the feeling still rather awkward for her.

She frantically looked around, before calming down relatively quickly. It was a thin room, but had just enough space for the two to fit. They were quite a distance away by a few feet or so. A panel stood before them, one with two buttons; two options.

Split or steal.

Lol, we’re so living.

Brighteyes inspected the room they were situated in. The floors and walls were covered in white tiles that looked like they were corroding. It was uncleanly, but that wasn’t her problem. Blue LED lights were installed into the roof, though they weren’t very bright. The glow bounced off of the walls, coloring it a lighter shade of teal.

The wall to her right was a clear view of the other subjects, the primary source of light, all of the said subjects staring back between her and her husband.

She glanced towards Shedletsky, heart dropping at the sight he had to stand next to.

The swordsman stared at the blood that stained the screen. Doom’s blood.

Oh…

Shedletsky’s expression remained blank, eyes distant. He stared at the uncleaned mess distantly, not paying attention to the other surroundings.

“Uh, Shed? Honey?”

Shedletsky snapped out of his trance.

“Huh? Oh, this. Uhhhh–”

“Are you alright?”

“Just epic, what makes you ask? Wait, nevermind, don’t answer that.”

“Heh.”

“ Choose to split or steal. ”

“How explanatory.” Shedletsky deadpanned, Bright snickering.

“ If both split, neither gains but both survive. ”

“ If one steals while the other splits, the stealer receives an item and the splitter is executed. ”

“ If both steal, both are executed. ”

The transcript ended there, leaving the couple to make their decisions. Their collars beeped in warning, reminding the two of what would happen if either were to choose steal.

Shedletsky immediately clicked one of the buttons, confidence basically leaking from the man.

“Split, easy choice.”

Brighteyes pressed the ‘split’ button, matching her husband’s attitude. Her mind, however, raced as the clock ticked down.

Wh a t if h e was j u s t s ayi ng s p lit ?

Wait, no!

Don’t think like that!

He’d never betray me like that, ever!

Brighteyes couldn’t escape those thoughts plaguing the back of her head, that voice that wasn’t her own. She trusted Shedletsky with her soul– he’d never do anything to hurt her.

The forsaken realm couldn’t have changed him that much, right?

Bu t …

Dammit, no!

I swear, stop thinking like that!

Ugh, now she’s fighting with herself.

A part of her screamed that he could be as traitorous as they used to be, that he could have easily picked ‘steal’ as he might've picked ‘split’.

She couldn’t recognize the voice that told her such, however.

Another half of her, the side she hoped was winning, begged that he wasn’t that same man. They weren’t who they used to be, they changed. Brighteyes had seen it with her own two eyes that such a fact was true.

So why was it so hard to trust him all of a sudden?

Her hand subconsciously hovered over the two options once more, shakily floating inches away from the panel.

St e al.

Her smile wavered, Shedletsky’s expression hardening upon noticing that.

“Hey, you alright?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah!” Brighteyes fumbled subtly, her husband’s face briefly distorting into something akin to suspicion.

“You know I picked a split, right?” He asked, a teasing undertone.

“Of course! I did too…”

Silence.

The crowd stared intently, the timer counting down to the final 30 seconds.

“Bright, do you trust me?” Shedletsky asked, his voice rather monotone to her. “I wouldn’t ever betray you like this.”

His voice sounded through her head, echoing. It was confident, solid. It gave her a reason to question her initial distrust.

But at the same time, for whatever reason, her mind fought back.

H e’s ly in g.

Y ou ha ven’ t se en hi m in m on t h s.

How are you sure that’s still the same man?

“Of course,” Brighteyes nodded, smiling reassuringly. She pushed those horrible thoughts as far away as possible, but to little avail. “Sorry, I just– this place is getting to me, you know?”

“Oh me , how I know,” Shedletsky laughed, Brighteyes going along.

15 seconds.

The two had a more comfortable silence now, a wall of trust that they didn’t know was deteriorating being built up once again.

Shedletsky sighed, drawing Bright’s attention.

“Hey, uh. Don’t listen to whatever thoughts you have, alright? That’s the thing keeping us here messing with you.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, hah. Or I’m an idiot and you not trusting me is you not trusting me.”

Brighteyes relapsed into silence, mind failing to formulate a counter to that statement. She simply stared at her husband, who was leaning into his hands, a relaxed expression on his face.

“I…”

“Oh, looky, 5 seconds left!” Shedletsky announced, staring at the digital timer in the middle of the tiled wall.

Oh…

Ugh, I’m going to chew his ass out once we get out of this damned room.

The timer counted down, Shed counting down the seconds jokingly. Bright would be lying if she said she didn’t envy his attitude. Always positive and being the jokester wasn’t an easy task, and on top of his professions? Crazy work.

Though, she couldn’t say she was jealous of the extent of her husband’s emotions. If anything, she felt bad. The man had deprived himself of half of the experience of being a Robloxian– a human through the creation and banning of 1x.

And even then, he manages to live with that fact. He doesn’t complain about such a disability, and even brightens up the room with his attitude.

That’s what Brighteyes admires.

The timer went to zero, an obnoxious sound blaring upon such. The two were tense, waiting for the results despite already knowing.

A ding sounded out.

The two blue lights above glowed green, signifying that both chose to split.

The two immediately erupted into cheers upon teleporting out of the dreaded room. Bright hugged Shed tightly, receiving a twirl around from the swordsman.

“Jeez, that was tenser than I anticipated,” Shed playfully quipped, Bright groaning in response.

“For real! My thoughts were at war!”

“That happens, yeah. Probably just the thing keeping us here messing with you, all good!”

Bright paused at that statement, but not long enough for it to be evident. She’d have to ask about that later.

“Well, safe to say we know damn well we can trust each other, right?” Shed asked, smiling playfully.

“Mhm! A hundred percent!” The swordswoman agreed, letting go of her hug. “If this wheel is targeting people, they surely picked the wrong subjects.”

“Damn right,” Shedletsky nodded, staring back at the wheel.

“Now we know not all tests must end in tragedy,” Dusekkar stated, poking into the conversation. Builderman, Taph, Jane and John followed behind.

“If someone expected that one of us would choose to steal then they have another thing coming,” Brighteyes stated confidently, acknowledging how the strange thoughts fizzled out.

Brighteyes genuinely trusted Shedletsky and vice versa, but something made her think otherwise.

Good thing she knew it wasn’t herself fighting against her trust. She’d be damned if it was.

Brighteyes sat on the peak of the mountain that resided within the Heights. The top was flat and large enough for her to get a comfortable position, and probably large enough to host a few more.

A pair of steps climbed up the stairs, entering from behind Bright.

“Brighteyes,” Shedletsky greeted warmly, approaching the woman. He was dressed… uncharacteristically formal. ‘Formal’ as in he was just wearing a black tie on top of his hoodie, but formal enough.

Brighteyes wouldn't complain, though. He looked handsome as ever.

“Oh, Shed!” Bright derived her attention away from the setting sun.

The sky was an absolutely gorgeous shade of orange, pink and purple streaks painting the skies away from the soft, yellow sun. The wind was perfectly gentle, the clouds set in position to compliment the setting star. They were colored in a soft violet, the sides facing the sun a vibrant pink the farther they were. The skies in the far back were a soft blue color, perfectly complimenting the purple it blended into.

It was all perfect for what Shedletsky had in store.

“Brighteyes, can I ask you something?” Shed coughed into his fist, clearing his throat. The action simply drew in Bright’s curiosity further.

“Anything!”

The swordsman dusted off his perfectly clean sweatshirt, seemingly nervous. He held a hand behind his back, obviously hiding something. The anticipation was already killing Bright, but such only made her interest peak.

“I’ve never done this before, so I don’t know how it should go,” He started.

“But I do know that I love you.”

He dropped on his knee, Brighteyes’ expression utterly speechless. Her heart had literally just flown away like a bird.

From behind his back he revealed a velvet black box, opening it up to present to Brighteyes a ring.

The silver was created in a way to showcase what looked like a pair of protective wings, the form heart-shaped.

“Will you marry me?”

Chapter Text

“Woah, that was interesting!” Chance noted, flipping his coin.

As boring as it was.

“It was pretty obvious that they’d choose to split, though,” Elliot pointed out. “At least no one died, right?”

“True,” The gambler agreed.

Chance continued flipping their coin, simply doing such for the sake of it.

“Say, you wanna go talk to someone else? No offense, but it’s getting kind of boring with just the two of us…” Elliot propped up, to which Chance agreed.

Chance wasn’t very picky on who he interacted with, so he let Elliot decide who to add to the group. The pizza worker didn’t know the full details since Chance made it clear they weren't comfortable disclosing such, but they knew to avoid iTrapped.

With the flip of a coin, Chance decided to spark further conversation.

“When do you think the next experiment is gonna start?”

“...Dude, we just got done with the third one.”

“I mean, yeah, but it was so much less tense than the others.”

“I would think that's a good thing??”

“Well, yeah, of course. It's good that no one died, don't get me wrong, but we all knew they were going to choose to split,” Chance explained, still flipping his coin absentmindedly. “I wanna, like, y’know. Gamble. It's literally my whole gig.”

“I know that part it's just– ugh,” Elliot sighed, pinching the brink of his nose. “I'm tired of the constant death. I'd much rather the experiments be boring than it be what happened to Noob or Doom…”

“Yeah, I know. Oh well,” Chance exhaled, pocketing his coin and sticking his hands into said pockets.

The two moreso wandered around, discussing various topics instead of searching for a third party member. That was, until Chance spotted a potential someone.

“Oh, look! The Bacon – Jez, I think? – Isn’t with anyone! Wanna try talking to ‘em?” Chance asked, pointing a thumb to the Bacon in question.

“Sure, I wouldn’t mind,” Elliot agreed, following behind their friend as they took the lead.

The two walked over to the bacon in question, still talking to each other about wouldn’t you like to know, before eventually crossing paths with the target.

“Heya there!” Chance greeted, extending a hand. Jez seemed taken aback at first, confused by the two’s sudden appearance, but he took it, supposing actually talking to someone wouldn’t hurt.

“Hey,” they greeted and took the gambler’s hand, only half of the warmth Chance had displayed being used.

“Pretty sure you haven’t met us yet, I’m Chance and this here is Elliot,” Chance handled the introductions, Jez nodding acknowledgingly.

“I’m Jez, nice to meet you both,” The Bacon replied, before asking something with suspicion. “So, why are you talking to me of all people?”

“For the sake of it,” Chance replied.

“It’d be for the best if we were on each other’s side, right? Or at least got to know each other?" Elliot piped up.

“Yeah! What he said!”

“...Who exactly is on your side?” Jez asked, a bit skeptical of the two. It was clear they meant no harm to him, but blatantly trusting words face first wasn’t what he was taught. A skill he’d never quite lost, not after it was forged into his very skull from when he was still a child.

A great majority of his skillset came from his childhood, actually. Not for a good reason, but at least it proved to be an aid over a hindrance over time.

“Uh, like, ugh a bunch of people, yeah? The admins, Seven, Two Time and maybe their buddy, maybe Guest 666? Guest 1337, assumingly Matt too,” Chance recited.

“That’s a lot when you say it out loud,” Elliot pointed out, Chance giving the delivery boy a shrug.

“Pfft- I don't even think I got everyone yet!”

Jez seemed to freeze at the last two’s names being brought up. Chance noticed, but elected not to act on it. Elliot, however, did.

“Or, y’know, you can still stay away from the soldiers if that makes you more comfortable!” Elliot suggested.

Damn, Elliot.

Didn’t have to call the poor guy out like that.

Oh well.

“...I appreciate the offer, but I’d rather think about it before teaming up. I still barely know anyone here,” Jez decided, Chance giving the Bacon a thumbs up and Elliot nodding in understanding.

The three proceeded to talk about future experiments and the previous ones, ignoring that dinner had been served. It was about 5PM or so, but the trio hadn’t acknowledged such. Theorizing was rather fun, and unfortunately time flies when you’re having fun.

Who made that quote anyways?

I want my fun to feel like centuries not minutes.

Heh, it’s kind of like a gamble.

Gambling mentioned!!!!!!

Jez looked around, spotting the digital clock above the cursed room.

“Jeez, it's been a while. Think a new experiment might happen soon?”

“I hope not,” Elliot mumbled.

“Maybe, wanna bet on it?” Chance stopped flipping his coin and set it on top of his fist, offer at the ready.

“Y’know what? Why the fuck not, go for it,” Jez sighed, humoring the gambler. Chance wore that same shit-eating grin he normally did during the rounds after receiving such a response.

“Heads for soon and tails for later, take your pick!”

“Tails.” Elliot chose swiftly.

“Then I'll go with heads.”

With a swift flick of his thumb, the coin flipped through the air. Chance caught it again, at first hiding the results before opening his palms.

“Heads!” They announced, Elliot replying with a small whine while Jez chuckled.

And just like that, the trio heard the sound of clicking behind them– the TV rolling the next experiment.

“Oh my Telamon.” Elliot glared at Chance. “I hate you.”

“I thought soon but not that soon–”

“The coin never lies!”

“Your coin always betrays you.” Elliot deadpanned.

“But it never lies.”

“You're unwell.”

“And you're not? Pfft, loser.”

“I–”

Jez was already walking away from the duo’s bickering, far more interested in the next potential event than the gambler’s antics. Though, he’d be lying if he said the two weren’t amusing. Chance and Elliot decided to do the same, Chance pocketing his coin while they guessed what experiment would be next.

Elliot simply observed, sometimes just staring at his friend and his obnoxious guesses. Like, no– we do not want to have the Massacre or Murderer experiment. The hell’s wrong with you.

The icon of two guns crossed over each other, Duel, was elected. The name certainly intrigued Chance, hell, it had guns in the picture!

" The next experiment selected is dual. ”

“ Two subjects will be chosen to participate. ”

“ Only one will come out alive. ”

“Well shit, I guess.”

“This day just keeps getting better and fuckin’ better, doesn’t it?”

“Ugh, finally. Something entertaining.”

“[Th-i-i-s town –] Oooh! Exc-i-ting! [– ain’t big e-e-nough for-r the two a’ us!]”

Well, if that didn’t get Chance excited for this event, they didn’t know what would.

“Ooh! Interesting!” They commented.

“That’s one way to put it,” Elliot mumbled. “Hopefully it isn’t either of us…”

“I mean, if I were chosen, whether I live or die at least it would be exciting!”

“...Your survival instincts are gutteral, dude.”

“What’s the point of living a dull life, though. I crave adrenaline in any form.”

“I can tell. It’s like, the equivalent of crack for you,” Elliot teased, the two snickering at jokes.

“Heh, y’know what else is my version of crack?” Chance asked, rubbing his hands mischeviously with a devious grin.

“Oh my Telamon I swear –”

“GAMBLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“You’re actually hopeless.”

The spinner alerted everyone of the first chosen participant, Chance and Elliot looking up from their dumb conversation.

Damn, already? It's been like, six seconds.

iTrapped’s face was in the middle of the screen.

Oh.

That’s just great.

Absolutely splendiferous, even.

Ew, Dusekkar speech. He's infecting my mind.

Damn rhymes.

Their profile icon was sent to the corner of the screen, the wheel spinning for the second participant.

Chance’s smirk wavered slightly, Elliot noticing such.

“Hey, it’ll be fine, alright?” The pizza worker tried to reassure.

“I know, I know. It’s fine– I'm fine, don't worry.” Chance masked his expression with their poker face in an attempt to get off such a topic. He certainly didn’t want to talk about his old friend , and he for sure wasn’t going to start just because it might be the bastard’s dying day.

Chance glanced towards iTrapped’s way. He simply seemed unamused at the news, before looking back at his hand and picking at his nails.

Just from that alone it was clear that they hadn’t changed a bit.

Chance was great at reading people– hell, he's the master of it. If he had one good skill, that's what it would be.

iTrapped always acted like he was invincible. Untouchable. That no one else was even half as good as him – not even Chance – What harm would a little shootout be? Pull the trigger and kill the opponent. Simple as a game of roulette, no?

He was never afraid of killing, not back then he wasn’t. Chance knew that oh so well. This event didn't phase iTrapped maybe for that very reason.

But, at the same time, did Chance really know iTrapped at all?

He was played like a pawn back then, a puppet on a string. They bought iTrapped’s mask and trusted it with his life. They were oblivious to iTrapped’s manipulation until their dying breath.

And even then, Chance still wanted to believe.

Believe that they were still friends , even after the blade was skewered through his body.

Believe that just maybe– maybe, that iTrapped felt the way he did, even for one, fleeting moment.

That what they had was real –

The spinner rang, having elected the second participant.

Chance looked up, having their train of thought interrupted.

“Well, looky here!” Chance chuckled at the sight of his own profile on the screen, correcting his fedora. Elliot glanced up towards the taller with worry.

Chance was teleported all of a sudden, the wall besides them going from black to a transparent screen.

They were put in a room, iTrapped mere feet away from him. His presence was cold, unwelcoming. Chance’s poker face nearly completely dropped, as did iTrapped’s.

“Well, what a coincidence,” The other sneered, scowling at the gambler.

“Lady Luck really isn’t on anyone’s side today, it seems,” Chance mumbled, messing with the lapel of his jacket.

He decided to inspect the room, attempting to block out iTrapped's cold stare. He had a gun in hand, a pistol, probably for the experiment. Why iTrapped wasn’t shooting them down already was beyond him, but they figured he just had the patience to wait for the rules.

iTrapped was always patient.

If that was his one virtue, that’s what it was.

The walls were stained with the red lighting above, the lamp creating lines of shadows due to its design. The walls and floors were covered in tiles, the wall on his left being a window for the other unchosen subjects.

Below him, there was a mess of blood that stained the floor below and part of the screen, obscuring his legs to the world below.

This room has been used three damn times today.

At least clean the fucking blood??

“ Selected subjects must wait for the green light. ”

The voice suddenly started, startling Chance. iTrapped looked up from his inspection of the gun, annoyed.

“ Once the light goes green, fire your weapon. ”

“ Any attempt to fire before the green light will result in immediate punishment. ”

The two’s collars beeped in warning, though neither needed proof that such threats weren't bluff.

The transcript seemed to have ended there, as no dialogue followed after. Chance corrected their shades and readjusted their grip on the pistol, the atmosphere far more tense than it had been just a moment ago now that at the simple switch of color one of them would be shot dead.

Chance looked down to scared and worried Elliot, giving the delivery boy a thumbs-up. He flashed him a confident smile, though there was little truth to it.

iTrapped noticed – it was pretty hard not to – and looked down at Chance’s friend, amused.

“Made some new buddies, hm?” iTrapped smirked, expression darkening. His hand was tense around the gun. His grip on the pistol was shaky, barely holding back on shooting the gambler. Alas, such a move would only get himself killed as well. There wouldn’t be any point if he sent himself to the same hell Chance would be sent to.

“Mhm! And they’re far more trustworthy than you are,” Chance quipped, deceptively calmly inspecting his own weapon once more. He could kill Trapped the second the light gave him permission. To give him a taste of their mind, to show them just how death truly feels.

Chance never feared death. He actively sought out thrill, whether it be a game of Russian Roulette or running from debt collectors in tight alleyways. They didn’t see their demise as a threat, or something to be scared about. If they had that nagging fear at the back of their mind constantly, then what fun could they find? What life would you be living with such limits?

iTrapped, on the other hand, did fear death. They were good at hiding under the radar, at escaping their demise or banning. At putting on a mask without anyone growing suspicious. He actively sought to avoid their potential demise unless such risk was necessary. They didn’t fear having blood on their hands unless it was their own. Chance’s murder was proof of such things.

“You’re just naive.”

“Whatever you say, ‘Trap,” Chance decided to address the other by their old nickname just to piss them off. “But at least they don’t abuse me of my wealth. Or try to kill me, of course. That part’s pretty important.”

“Awh, that’s adorable,” iTrapped sarcastically cooed, clasping his hands together, gun in between. “But, do tell, were you of any use in whatever hell you were sent to, hm? There’s nothing to use if there’s no worth, you know. Perhaps I used it all up.”

“I was plenty helpful!”

“That’s not what it sounds like to me, no.” iTrapped countered. “And besides, how do you know your new ‘friends’ aren’t just like me? You didn’t suspect a thing from me, not even in that last game of roulette. It's cute, honestly. How you’re so willing to hand out your trust to anyone and everyone. That’s a bad mindset, Chance. A dangerous one.”

“It is the reason you died, afterall.”

Chance froze for a moment, not knowing how to respond. The words were scattered in his mind, trying and failing to form a coherent sentence.

Actually, fuck making a sentence. Let’s wing this shit.

“Don’t talk shit about ‘bad mindsets’ to me! You have absolutely zero real friends and only use people for your own gain. Then rinse and repeat. And you think trusting people is a bad move??”

“That’s not a bad mindset, Chance. It’s smart! I can never be hurt if I don’t get close, right? You, on the other hand…” iTrapped quickly countered. “And besides, what if your friends are just as I? What proof do you have that they aren’t?”

“They don’t treat me like nothing but a tool, maybe? They help and care about me, Hell– I’ve seen them lay down their lives for me hundreds of times over! They don’t ask me for anything, not favors, not deals– They don’t expect anything in return for helping me. They genuinely care. Ever since you I've been able to tell the difference between fakers like you and genuine people, unfortunately.” Chance sneered, his poker face dropping in disgust of his former friend.

“Obviously you know nothing about that. About being a genuine pal, right? You only saw me for what I could bring and tried disposing of me straight after you got what you wanted.”

“ Finally , you get it!” iTrapped dramatically announced, clapping his hands together in mock celebration. “Took you a while.”

I’ve gotten it for months, but I’ll take it.

“You’re miserable, ‘Trap.”

“You’re pathetic, Chance.”

iTrapped inspected the ammunition within the gun– a single live bullet. He flipped the gun back into his palm, done toying with the weapon, finger next to trigger. The light was to turn eventually, he can’t be caught slacking when such happened.

Chance still held his pistol firmly in his grasp, though something in him wanted for anything but to shoot a bullet through the head of the man before him. The old person he used to be begged to let iTrapped go, to let them live despite all they’ve done. Why?

“Y’know, for the record,” iTrapped started again, sucking in a breath and lifting his gaze back to the person opposing him. “It was fun pretending.”

The light went green.

A shot rang out.

Chance’s arm was extended in the air, finger resting on the pulled trigger.

iTrapped’s body collapsed against the wall, crimson leaking from the wound in their forehead. The same red stained the wall they were situated against, the blood dripping onto their clothes as well. The pistol dropped out of their lifeless hand. Their crown fell into their lap, the ice stained red. Whatever light was left drained from their eyes, expression doll-like. Blank.

The world had paused for a moment, forcing Chance to stare at the person he used to cherish.

Chance didn’t lower his arm, only staring at the body with a stunned expression. His arm shook with the weight of what he had done. His features turned into ones of regret, his arm starting to tremble.

It all just happened so fast –

What … ?

The TV showcased iTrapped’s full profile along with some rather useless information.

ITRAPPED

SURVIVED EXPERIMENTS: 3

DEATH BY: DUEL

THANK YOU FOR YOUR NON-VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION :)

They were teleported out of the room all of a sudden, the screen darkening and obscuring their friend’s lifeless corpse. Elliot rushed by his side immediately, trying to check up on them. He was greeted with no response, just Chance’s now blank expression.

“Chance…?”

Elliot still received no response, just the gambler looking to them with regret behind the shades.

“I…” Chance muttered, thoughts incoherent. Elliot waited patiently, not wanting to pressure them.

Why was he so messed up on killing someone who abused him? Who manipulated him? Who killed him?

“Sorry, I’m being overdramatic, heh.” Chance managed, correcting his fedora and screwing with his jacket. There was uncertainty in their voice, uncharacteristically so.

What was Elliot supposed to do in this situation? He knew Chance was used, that much was clear, but Chance seemed so… regretful of what they had done. Telling them meaningless comfort wasn’t going to help, either. But what can he do?

“Hey, uh… wanna go back to my room? To like, I don’t know, talk?” Elliot offered. The best he knew he could do was be there for the man. Maybe he could talk to Chance and take off some weight? If he’s willing to talk, that is.

“I guess, sure.” Chance replied after a pause, looking back down to the pizza worker. Elliot nodded and led the both of them back to his room, which was behind one of the metal staircases.

“So, uh…” Elliot was seated on his bed while Chance sat on the desk chair, flipping his coin absentmindedly.

“Huh?” Chance perked up, the flipping coming to a halt.

“Do you want to, er… talk?” Elliot hesitantly replied. “You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to, of course.”

“Well, you already know what happened between me and ‘Trap, right? That whole conversation was pretty exposing,” Chance asked, chuckling softly at that last bit.

“Well, I suppose, but you didn’t go in depth about how you really felt in the situation,” Elliot pointed out. “O-of course, you don’t need to tell me anything unless you want to, you know!”

“Eh, well. Wasn’t my whole argument about how I think you’re genuinely my best bud? Don’t know why’d you let secrets between us know that you know that they’re there.”

“Well, secrets are secrets for a reason, I guess. Just because I’m your friend doesn’t mean I get the right to all your personal information, right?”

.

“C’mon, Chance! We’re friends, you have to tell me these things! Why’re you keeping secrets from me? Do you not trust me??”

.

Ugh, he’s dead and still haunting me.

“Hmph, I guess.” Chance answered back monotonously.

It was made clear to Elliot that Chance didn’t want to talk about his old situation, to which he was somewhat fine with. Chance was used and manipulated by someone he deemed dear, and Elliot didn’t want to be seen the same– to be compared by similarity to that monster Chance called a friend.

“If you ever need anything, to talk or whatever, you can come to me, you know,” Elliot suggested, cutting through the thick air.

“Same can be said here,” Chance replied back, his smirk growing back shortly after.

“Does anyone else know about that whole… situation? Before we came here, obviously,” Elliot asked curiously.

“Closest I could say is Noob since Noli was being a bitch at the time,” Chance supplied. The two – iTrapped and Noob – had… a pretty close color scheme, actually. The only difference in such was that Noob had more scene elements while iTrapped was far more formal.

“Did you, like… tell them?” Elliot asked hesitantly.

“It was a hallucination. I didn’t tell them anything when it was sorted out, heh…”

“Oh. If you’re willing to answer at all, what happened?”

“Hm, well, you already know the basics so why not,” Chance decided. “I did one of the fake generators and saw Noob as iTrapped for a moment. He was holding his sword and standing over me condescendingly and everything. It was pretty freaky, and Noob kept asking me who ‘Trap was after the hallucination died. Never answered directly, mostly avoided them for the rest of the day, actually.”

“Ah.”

Yeah…

Let’s just not mention the fact I nearly had a panic attack .

Heh.

The two went back into silence for some reason. The topic at hand was… hard, for Chance at least. He didn’t show it, of course, but he was shriveling up inside each time he forced himself to speak of them. As much as he didn’t want to say shit about his old buddy, he couldn’t bring himself to keep secrets from Elliot. He knew that he was already given the option to do so, Elliot’s words, but he felt obliged for them to know everything.

Why? He was practically the holder of secrets while being forsaken, what changed?

iTrapped’s presence couldn’t have brought back too many old habits, right?

“Moving on from iTrapped,” Elliot began again, wanting to switch topics for Chance’s sake. “What about your old life before, y’know… being forsaken?” Elliot has got to thank the gambler for coining that term at one point. It’s pretty fitting.

“Eh, pretty nice. Had it great! Ran a casino, had my colossal giant of a rabbit, Spade, being the embodiment of luck,” Chance supplied. “iTrapped was pretty great too, in all honesty. Sure, he did… all that, but at the time I was too blind to notice. But that’s alright!”

Ugh…

Chance’s face fell on the topic of his old friend. He couldn’t bring himself to hate the man, honestly.

He missed him.

For some forsaken reason he did.

Yet, at the same time, it felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest at the knowledge that he was dead.

“Hmm, my parents were pretty annoying, honestly. Helicopter parents, y’know? They always pestered me about every little thing I did and always criticized me. It was exhausting,” Chance sighed. “I miss ‘em.”

“Yeah, I get that…” Elliot agreed solemnly. “I miss my dad. And my sister. I wish I could see them again, at least one more time, you know?”

“Oh, what I’d give to see them and Spade again,” Chance sighed.

“Oh! One time, I went to this rigged ass casino, right?” Chance changed the topic, the starting line already getting Elliot to want to know more.

“Mhm?”

“So, y’know Mafioso, right??”

“The debt collector guy? Yeah?”

“Mhm, so, I went to his casino and I won the rigged slots, right? And I ran with the money and now his boss, himself, and like his family and goons are on my ass.”

“...How is that even possible?”

“One doesn’t get the title ‘1% of gamblers’ or ‘the embodiment of luck’ through nothing!”

“Pfft–” The duo snickered at Chance’s storytelling, the room once again being brightened up by the gambler.

“Say, wanna talk to someone else? It’s getting quite boring with just the two of us, no offense of course,” Chance asked, straightening his horrid posture on the chair. 

“Yeah, of course! I felt the same way, hah,” Elliot hopped off of his thin mattress, Chance already holding the door for him with this shit-eating grin.

“Ladies first,” Chance smirked.

“Oh, be quiet!” Elliot snickered, rolling his eyes at the gambler.

“Ah, there you two are,” 1337 walked up to the duo, Matt following behind. “You disappeared after the experiment.

“Sorry!”

“Our bad,” Chance replied, flipping his coin.

.

“Chance! You can’t just run off like that and not tell me!? You have to warn me beforehand, dammit!”

.

1337 asked Chance about iTrapped, to which Chance became a lot more vague on the topic. He didn’t feel like exposing details when everyone was within an earshot, so he mostly summarized what had already been exposed.

“Sorry you had to go through that,” Matt claimed, to which Chance said it was fine and that he was over it.

He isn’t over it.

Anything but, actually.

Damn, his emotions are really screwed over, aren’t they?

“You can always come to me if you need anything, alright?” 1337 offered. The words became repetitive to Chance, something growing more and more meaningless each time they were uttered to him.

“‘Aight, noted!”

Not like he’d ever tell anyone shit after this damned day.

Jeez, is everyone nice whenever someone goes through some shit?

Treat me like normal.

‘Precciate it but this is getting excessive.

The four discussed a different topic, wanting Chance to feel comfortable, to which they were absolutely grateful for. Chance didn’t pay attention enough to remember what said topic was, however, opting to think about more personal matters. His bunny Spade, his parents, the casino.

iTrapped .

Oh, wow. What’s that he sees?

Chance squinted at one of the ‘drawers’, the one besides Doom’s. It was yellow with blue and white snowflake details, a few poker chip decals in the corners. A print of the Darkheart lined one of the sides. A photo of him and iTrapped was taped on, Chance in a red suit while iTrapped was in something more simplistic.

Chance chuckled softly at the sight.

Ah, so he really is dead, isn’t he?

So…

Why can’t I stop thinking about him?

An hour had already passed. It was 6:30 at night or so, though no one had really acknowledged such, though.

1x1x1x1 was being berated by Brighteyes, Shedletsky still staying a distance away from the entity, standing by Dusekkar and Builderman. Jane and John were sitting at one of the lunch tables. Taph was screwing with his tripwires, sitting across from the couple.

Jez and Jason were sulking in their own separate corners.

Noli was entertaining Pr3tty and Bluu while C00lkidd ranted to his father.

Chance was silently people watching over them, the conversation he was stuck in becoming background noise.

Oh, how Chance wished his relationship with iTrapped was like any of those. Close, caring– healthy .

The light from the TV was flickering with different colors.

“Damn,” Chance called out, no context once however. The soldiers turned around to see what the gambler was looking at, Elliot simply glazing upwards before groaning at the sight.

A new experiment was already taking place.

“What do you mean he just ran off after winning one of the slots? It’s not even possible to win the slot machines!” Consigliere asked a panicked Contractee, trying to understand the situation. “Didn’t Boss say that all the machines were rigged?”

“Yes and I have no fucking idea, he just– boom! Won big and ran off with the money!!”

“How are we going to tell that to the boss??”

“I don’t know?!”

“Are you sure that’s how it went? What if the gambler dude just like, unrigged the machine? No way anyone could be that lucky?” Soldier asked skeptically. Though, it was pretty amusing to see his coworkers go mad over someone who won the impossible.

Soldier looked over to Caporigime, who shot his hands up in mock defense, signaling he didn’t know anything and could neither confirm nor deny the story.

“Ugh, we’re so fucked,” Consigliere mumbled in defeat.

Chapter Text

Jane was sitting at one of the cafeteria tables with John, the two talking about their old life. Sweet memories, old dates, John’s work at the HQ, Jane’s calmer hospital shifts. Old friends, a life they always wanted.

John before his exposure to corruption.

Before he went missing without a word.

Before half of the team of admins went missing in the same manner.

Oh, how they missed it all. Jane could only wish that they were one day able to return, though such hope was kicked through the dirt from all she’s experienced.

Even so, she didn’t give up. Her hope still has yet to be fully extinguished. In fact, it started burning brighter ever since she first laid eyes on her husband, more than half of his initial corruption gone. It was the best news ever since being forsaken, since seeing what John was forced to be for the first time.

Taph was across from the couple, absentmindedly messing with his tripwire. His fingers wrapped around the wire curiously, without a care in the world. The act entertained the demolitionist enough despite how braindead the action had become.

Jane heard the sound of ticking behind her, the noise having already been linked with the starting of events in her mind. Her heart had missed a beat at first, but she sighed and turned her head.

Ah… just as I thought.

The TV was flashing different icons for events.

“Already?” John groaned, turning around in his seat.

“Unfortunately,” Jane huffed, Taph perking up.

“🤨❓😦😞 (Huh? Oh. Awh man,)” Taph signed, visibly deflating a bit. He pocketed his tripwires to who knows where and stood up, walking over to Builderman and Dusekkar and waving to the two, receiving the gesture back. Jane’s eyes tracked the demolitionist’s movements before getting up herself, John following example.

The two walked over to the large spinner, more exhausted from the events than anything. The two had seen enough death for a lifetime, this only added to such. Though, the death here was far more graphic than any other, unfortunately.

Brighteyes and Shedletsky were rather talkative, a stark contrast to the silent Builderman and Dusekkar. Taph signed to the two, to which the engineer decided to humor the demolitionist’s ranting, albeit with a monotonous tone.

“Hopefully this is da’ last experiment,” The CEO wished aloud, breaking his own silence. Dusekkar hummed in response. This would be deemed the fifth experiment of the day, and it was about to be seven at night. There would probably be room for an extra experiment, but Builderman didn’t find that too likely. Or perhaps he just didn’t want to think about that possibility.

Jane watched the TV screen intently, as did John. The icons flashed by slower, meaning it was going to come to a pause soon enough. On what experiment, however, was the real question.

The TV showcased a picture of ‘Linked’ for a while, before ultimately electing it as the fifth and hopefully final experiment.

" Two subjects will be linked together. ”

“ If one dies, the other will aswell. "

“‘Least this one’s more tame,” Shedletsky thought aloud, receiving the groups’ agreement. “Just gotta play it careful.”

“Admins forbid you’re to be selected then,” Dusekkar replied, earning a laugh from the surrounding people.

“Ay–!”

“Y’know it’s true,” Builderman teased.

Jane was chuckling softly at the three admins’ joking. It was nice to spend some time with her husband’s coworkers, to get to know them. They were, for as utterly stupid as they were sometimes, actually real kind and entertaining people. Reckless, but stupidly brave.

And all three were quite strategic, which surprised Jane more than she’d like to admit. Of course, it would make sense that the SFOTH champion, the CEO of all of Robloxia and the strongest mage the world has seen would be able to formulate a plan to fight back against enemies, but their personalities… namely Shedletsky, don’t really support that fact. She’d only cut some slack toward Dusekkar, too.

That same ding sounded out, grabbing Jane’s attention back to the screen.

Brighteyes.

“Again?? Are you kidding me?” Brighteyes whined.

“Damn,” Shedletsky mumbled. “...Would that be lucky or unlucky?”

“You’re hopeless,” John answered.

“Pfft–”

The spinning of the wheel became background noise to Jane as the conversation continued. Light and positive, as it should be. Or how it had always been. These types of interactions had never truly faded. Though, Builderman was notably a lot more quiet where he would normally add his own input into the conversation. He had a dark expression on his face, eyes distant. He masked it as zoning out when such was pointed out by Jane, though the both knew she didn’t buy it.

Jane was quite keen, being that she was normally a silent observer. Most of the admins, herself included, were like that. They could spot things a normal Robloxian wouldn’t notice half of the time. Though Jane could read tone and expressions better than the others, John learning from her. He was the best at reading a room, a skill some of the admins surprisingly lack. Doombringer was great at pointing out double intentions and lies. Builderman and Dusekkar rarely fell for tricks no matter how believable they were. The two were able to read people like books, though Dusekkar had magic behind it while Builderman only had himself. Brighteyes was able to read body language easily, too. Shedletsky was the master at reading one’s next move, easily utilizing that skill in sword matches.

“Just, ah… thinkin’, y’know?” Builderman claimed when Jane decided to press on. He had this solemn expression on his face, one that conveyed his message perfectly.

“Ah, sorry for the intrusion then. You were rather quiet,” Jane apologized quickly, the reason for the engineer’s silence clicking with her. Guilt quickly made itself evident on her face.

Right, Doombringer.

How could I have been so insensitive?

“No worries.”

Builderman went back to focusing on Taph’s rapid signing, leaving Jane stuck in her own train of thoughts. Their short lived conversation ended there, back to waiting for the spinner to choose its next victim. John, thank whatever’s out there, noticed the interaction that had gone down.

“You alright?” He nudged her arm, gaining her attention. He had concern laced on his features for his wife.

“Hm? Oh, I’m alright, don’t worry.”

John’s expression turned to one of skepticism, but he supposed he shouldn’t push too hard.

“...If you’re sure, then I suppose,” John sighed. “If you need something, though–”

“I know, I know,” Jane brushed off, glancing back at the admin she had just spoken with. He had a tired expression still, looking like he barely registered the conversation he was in in favor of his thoughts. “I’m just worried.”

“Yeah, that’s fair,” John agreed with the sentiment.

The ticking from the spinner had become more evident, more dramatic. The couple decided to make their way to the pick of the wheel, separating from the other admins and Taph. Jane’s profile was slowly crawling its way up. It was already obvious she was going to be chosen, at least for the two of them it was.

Someone collided with Jane’s shoulder, knocking the two of them back a bit.

“Ah! Excuse me,” Two Time quickly apologized, though not bothering to look back at who they had bumped into.

“It’s no problem,” Jane replied, simply dusting off her jacket and recollecting herself. The cultist perked up at her voice, recognizing her.

“Oh! Mrs. Jane, how are you?” Two Time asked while another trailed behind them from where they had come from, fretting about them.

“Timey! You can’t keep running off without me! I barely know anyone here!”

“Ah–! Right– apologies, again,” The younger cultist replied shortly after, the other sighing before their smile returned.

“I’m fine, thank you. And what about you?” Jane replied, chuckling softly at the two.

“I can say the same!” Two Time replied cheerfully, a grin on their features. Though, it was notably less uncanny and forced than usual. More genuine and soft. “I take it that you must be Mrs. Jane’s husband, yes? John Doe?”

“You would be correct,” John replied with a smile, extending his hand.

“A pleasure to meet you on more formal terms,” The cultist took his hand, bowing their head to show their respects. Though, the action wasn’t as welcoming.

“Oh, and allow me to introduce you both; my spouse!” Two Time positioned their arms in a way to look like they were presenting their partner. Their tail was wagging excitedly, like a dog waiting to play with their owner.

“Nice to meet you! You can call me Azure, he/they,” He said, performing a small bow of his head and extending his arm.

“Jane Doe, pleasure to meet you” She said, shaking his hand. John Doe did the same, the four now being acquainted with each other.

Two Time started ranting about the Spawn again, to which Azure looked a bit… hesitant to talk about. Their smile twitched to a grimace at times. They hid it well, but not well enough for Jane to miss. She couldn’t blatantly point it out, not now. Azure adorned the same symbols and jewelry of the deity as Two Time did if not more– but they were far more quiet than their partner. Why? Surely both were quite religious from looks alone. Maybe Azure simply wasn’t as outgoing as Two Time was?

Whatever the reason, it wasn’t Jane’s place to know.

Though, she couldn’t shake that uneasy feeling she got from Azure’s silence.

…

Something isn’t right about this.

“Are they always like this…?” John mumbled to his wife, to which she sighed and nodded.

You mean the constant preaching?

Yeah. Yeah, they are. Always.

“Unfortunately…”

Two Time had wrapped up their preaching and blessed the couple with good fortune and departed with Azure. They went about introducing Azure to their other companions, namely Chance and Elliot.

Chance looked relatively less distraught, and their speech pattern didn't differ, nor their actions. The master of illusion. The two were still with the soldiers, though Chance glanced away from the conversation at times. Unlikely of him.

What is he looking at…?

She turned her head to face where his shades pointed out, and there she saw it. A drawer themed with iTrapped's color scheme.

…Ah.

She squinted to take a look at the other two drawers accompanying iTrapped’s. Doom’s was a dark shade of red, a crimson moreso. A decal of the banhammer was taped on the side, as well as a few photos of him and the other admins. The title looked like it was written by Doombringer himself.

A ding sounded out, causing Jane to whip her head back.

Her face was, unsurprisingly, on the screen. She only sighed in disappointment before rubbing the bridge of her nose.

“Er, well. It could be a lot worse…” John mumbled.

“You said the forbidden words…” Jane teased. “Oh well.”

Suddenly, Jane was teleported, her ankle feeling a lot more heavy than it had been a moment ago. She seemed to just move a few feet from the pick of the spinner, Brighteyes being a few more studs away from her side. She glanced down at her boot and wouldn’t you know– a metal cuff wrapped around her left ankle, a heavy chain connecting her cuff to Brighteyes’.

The other glanced down at the chain and to the spinner before pouting.

“Ugh– This sucks,” The swordswoman groaned, her tone already defeated. “Do we have to go everywhere together? Don’t get me wrong– I love you, but this is gonna be torture.”

Jane slightly grimaced at the idea of the term ‘torture’, but shook it off. Unfortunately, however, Bright noticed the shift in expression. Her annoyed features turned to one of regret.

“Ah, maybe I should've chosen my words better…”

“Oh no, you’re fine. I was thinking the same, honestly. This change is definitely going to hinder the both of us greatly,” Jane reassured.

“Yeah, that’s the fancy way of putting it,” Bright sighed, readjusting her glasses. Shedletsky and John had already come over to their respective wives and just kind of… stood there? It’s pretty awkward when your partner is chained to someone, y’know. Especially when both parties had plans with just the two of them.

“So… ahem–” Shedletsky broke up the suffocating silence between the four. “...Should we go ‘round and talk to some folks orrrrrr–”

“That… yeah, actually. Why not?” Jane nodded. “Though, I think it would be more… ah, how do I put this? More beneficial if we don’t aim to just speak with the other survivors.”

“...Uh huh, go on?” Shedletsky encouraged, raising a brow. Jane cleared her throat, thinking of the words.

“Well, we already know the survivors, yes? Or, at least the two of us do. I believe it would be better if we were to get more allies.”

“...Don’t tell me–”

“So, talk to the other killers?” John asked, spot on.

“Mhm!” Jane confirmed. She turned back to Shedletsky, mentally noting his hesitant expression. “Of course, we can avoid 1x if that makes you feel better?”

“I have no idea if that actually makes me feel better, but ah. Thanks.”

“Awh, I kinda wanted to talk to them. It’s been so long since we had an actual conversation,” Brighteyes sighed. “Maybe another time…”

Jane couldn’t say she really knew 1x1x1x1 before their and Telamon’s fall, but she did know Shedletsky and Brighteyes had something of a connection to the entity. She heard from John that the old deity would leave the thing – 2x2, 1x before they were known as who they are – at the HQ at times. John never really interacted with the little guy, but they were for sure different from who they are now. They were innocent, sweet.

She didn’t know the details. Hell– does she even want to? But Brighteyes definitely cares for the entity for some reason. Perhaps of their interlaced pasts. Does 1x care for her in return?

Ugh, I shouldn't be playing the theorist here.

I can’t just assume such serious things…

Hmm.

None of them are giving me too many clues to work with here…

…

Is this what going insane feels like?

Admins, why is she so damn unserious all of a sudden? Professionalism, Jane! Professionalism!

… Do I really need to be professional with my own thoughts?

Why am I having an existential crisis with how I should format my thinking? That’s the real question here.

“So are we just going to not question the suggestion at all? I mean, talking to the people who killed you guys over and over??” Brighteyes asked, concern laced in her tone.

“I was one of those killers.”

“Eek–! Sorry, I didn’t know!” Brighteyes’ face blushed with embarrassment.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” John sighed before rubbing his eyes. “If we’re really going to do this, I’d recommend starting with the kids and Noli. You and Shedletsky are already acquainted with 007n7 as I with the previously mentioned.”

“Well, I never really interacted with Seven, to be honest. He kind of avoided everyone and stayed in his cabin. We talked like, what? Once? Twice? Both probably regarding game plans,” Shedletsky admitted sheepishly.

“Honestly? Same here, but different topics,” Jane said, slight shame in her voice. It was more than obvious the man was going through it, but what good could she do when he never opened up to her? She tried warming up to him, to befriend him at the very least, but he always isolated himself. It hurt, honestly. But she couldn’t bring herself to intrude. Only Guest 1337, from what she’s observed, had the grace of interacting with him in a close manner.

“Hmm, well then. Review our choices? Noli, The kids, Jason, 1x, John… Wow, what a wide selection!” Shedletsky sarcastically exclaimed. “What if we talked to someone who we don’t know at all? Like Guest 666 over there,” The swordsman pointed his thumb over his shoulder, pointing at Taph hosting a conversation through sign language. Guest 666 still had that lifeless expression, but a glint of light had returned to their eyes.

“Perhaps we can get to know the other soldier by Guest? Matt’s his name, I believe," John prompted.

“Are we going to stand here the whole time, guys? Can’t we just go join Builderman and Dusekkar again? Let this be a problem for another day,” Brighteyes asked, growing tired of the debating. “We have a lot of people on our side, no?”

“Fair,” Shed admitted.

And just like that, it was like a blackout. The room was enveloped in near-complete darkness, the chatter of the remaining subjects dying with it. The mechanical hum of the cell lights turning on occurred a moment or two after, already indicating that they’ve reached curfew.

“...Well damn, okay I guess.”

“Oh, c’mon! It’s just eight!”

“Ugh, I’m tired anyways.”

“You’re always tired.”

“You sleepless bastard, you go to bed too–”

…

Is someone being dragged away…?

“What if we just… don’t go to sleep?”

“You get shot, trust.”

“Awh man. Guess I'm getting shot.”

“Let’s just get shot together , bro.”

“Yes bro, yes.”

Jane held in a laugh from the unhinged sparks of conversation around her.

“What a productive conversation that was,” Shedletsky sarcastically noted.

“So… ugh, this is awkward…” Brighteyes mumbled. “Are we all going to be in one room orr..? Because me and Shed wanted to, like, y’know. Sleep. Together.”

“Jane and I were also going to do that,” John replied.

“...Oh. Figures.”

“What if we move a mattress from someone’s room to another and we just sleep in the same room but on different beds? It could work,” Shedletsky prompted. “Then again, that would be an unholy level of uncomfortable.

“Whatever it takes to be in the same room as John.” Jane quickly replied, subtly scooting over to her husband.

“Yeah, fair. Which room shall fall victim to the plan though?” Shedletsky asked.

“Certainly not my room, my bed’s stained.”

“Maybe my room?” John volunteered. “Brighteyes’ and my rooms’ pretty close, it would be easiest.”

“Yeah, that’d work! You two go get my mattress, ‘kay?” Bright directed, to which the two got to work and Jane directed her chained to her partner’s designated room. When the two arrived, Jane opened up the door, being greeted with the harsh ceiling lights. There wasn’t any way to turn them off without being shrouded in complete darkness once more, so the two women just burned through the blinding glow.

Both Johns came back, mattress carried over Shedletsky’s back and John at the end, successfully rearranging John’s room.

“We should probably move that desk,” Shed noted, noticing the cramped space left for him and Bright.

“Yeah, I’ll get the chair.”

“‘Aight.”

“The hell are y’all doin’?” Builderman came by, observing the scene in tired curiosity.

“Beds. Chains.” Brighteyes piped up unhelpfully, but the message was conveyed to the engineer.

“...Oh.” He simply responded before clearing his throat. “Just get some sleep soon. Dat’s all. Dusekkar and I will still be up fer a while in m’room. Taph’s there, too.” And with that, he made his departure, waving the pair of couples off. “G’Night!

“Night! Cya!” Shedletsky waved back as much as he could while holding up the desk. “After this I’ll probably join ‘em, is that alright?” He asked.

“No problem,” Jane confirmed. “Go enjoy yourself.”

“Thanks,” The swordsman nodded appreciatively, carrying the desk outside.

The lights were out throughout the whole prison. Could this place be considered a prison? Metaphorically, maybe. It’s a lot more freeing than what one would consider a prison, but it didn’t feel too much different. Confined, trapped, punished.

Jane was on the edge of the bed, her ankle hanging off. She couldn’t bother looking down at what the couple on the other mattress were doing, but she could safely assume that they were cuddling at the very least. Were they asleep? Admins forbid. Sleep is a foreign concept to those insomniacs.

Oh, how she wished she wasn’t a fellow insomniac.

It’s hypocritical, really. She’s always recommending healthy schedules and habits to her clients, to her fellow teammates, but when it comes to her own health? Everything she knows about self-care goes down the drain. Even basic hygiene was a challenge when she was stressed and over-worked.

John always disliked that about her. It was always worrying whenever those times came around, no matter how stressed he was too. He would try to help whenever he could– make meals, clean, whatever to ease Jane’s load. He’d stay up all night worrying about her whenever she had long shifts at her work or when he stayed at the HQ for his own long shift.

Jane appreciated it, but it left her feeling guilty after a while.

Jane stared at the ceiling, her fingers interlaced with John’s. Sleep was tugging at her conscience now, an everlooming threat.

John was snoring lightly, as was Shedletsky and Brighteyes.

Just Jane and her thoughts now.

She noticed someone walk past the window.

Me and my thoughts? Alone? Together? As if. Deadly duo, for sure.

She quietly got up, careful not to wake up the other three by accident. She internally flinched when she heard the metal shackles drag against the floor, cold on her ankle. She wanted to know who was outside, maybe even spark conversation with them.

She had caught a glimpse of white hair, so her only guesses were Guest 666 and 1x1x1x1. No matter, she’s sure she could get some kind of interaction from either. Though, walking up to them would pose a challenge. It would be impossible without forcefully dragging Bright with her. She wouldn’t be able to yell or holler to gain their attention, either. She knew how rare sleep was for a great majority of the subjects.

She carefully opened the door, her jacket hanging loosely from her waste. Her hair was a complete mess, so she was brushing it with her fingers.

She looked around, noticing 1x1x1x1 walking around aimlessly. She could only deduct such from the color scheme and long hair. Their eyes had this subtle green glow, one like an animal’s, reflecting light.

They weren’t talking, just enjoying the silence. Was 1x capable of enjoying something? 1x seemed to notice Jane, turning back to get a good look at the woman, but didn’t really act on it. Just a simple raise of their hand in some half-hearted attempt at a wave, but Jane returned the gesture.

She sighed, figuring she wouldn’t intrude on the moment further. She didn’t want to ruin it with her presence. They were up for a reason, most likely. Maybe to bathe in the silence and solitude. They never struck her as the social type, anyways.

She quietly brought the chain back onto the bottom mattress to avoid a racket before collapsing into John’s hold, making herself comfortable. She wrapped the blanket around the two of them as unconsciousness finally claimed her.

John was still, head tilting in curiosity towards Jane. He had stopped his chase after Dusekkar just to stare at her– why?

He only stood there, their unnerving smile unmoving. Dusekkar was near a dispenser, both him and Builderman watching the scene. The atmosphere was tight, the two waiting for the other to make the first move.

Shedletsky was behind Jane, also just as tense while Taph was trapping the area, already lining the floors with his tripwires.

Jane’s grip on her axe tightened in suspense, though John made no threatening action. Was he going to catch her off guard? Did he remember her? Maybe? Please, please let it be the second option…

“WHO– WHO ARE YOU.”

A question that caught Jane off guard.

“I– Your wife?” Jane answered, not able to tell if her heart had dropped to her stomach at the question or not.

A beat of silence, Jane waiting for a response in anticipation.

“REALLY? I MUST. BE REALLY LUCKY THEN.”

Her face burned with how badly she was blushing all of a sudden.

Chapter Text

_ Ah.

_ Interesting.

_ Hello there, dear viewer!

_ Looks like you managed to pull through the first few experiments, yes?

_ Applause, applause.

_ Now, you ask, what is the purpose of my presence?

_See,

_ At the end of each day,

_ Or experiments or whatever you want to call ‘em ,

_ I, yours truly,

_Latte,

_ Shall present to you some information on the deceased, along with a list on the living.

_ Since I carry low expectations that some of you

_  iiidiots,,

_ Don’t remember who died and who lived.

_ That, or some of you focus on one specific character.

_ Like,

_ Intently.

_ I know damn well some of y’all

_ breathe

_ certain characters.

_ Ain’t no hiding here, friend.

_ ahem.

_ Moving on,

_ Do be warned.

_ The first five were

_ oh,

_ so

_ tame compared to future chapters.

_ (Blame 81AK3)

_ cough,

_ I do believe I’d have to say that 81 might be on a hiatus for a while, as they are in a… predicament.

_ Please send any kind of comfort to them when you have the time, I’m sure it’d mean a lot to them :D

_ Ahem,

_ Apologies,

_ Back to the topic at hand,

_ This place is one of suffering, after all.

_ For the subjects

_ and

_ For you lovely viewers :]

_ (And for ME.)

_ Enough chit chat now,

_ Without further ado,

_ On with the generously gifted information!

EXPERIMENTS:

Random Execution

Favorites

Split or Steal

Duel

Linked

REMAINING SUBJECTS:

Builderman

Guest 666

Elliot

Jane Doe

John Doe

Chance

Dusekkar

Taph

Matt

Guest 1337

Shedletsky

Brighteyes

Noli

007n7

C00lkidd

Bluudud

Pr3ttyPriincess

1x1x1x1

Jason

Two Time

Azure

Jez

DECEASED SUBJECTS:

Noob

Doombringer

iTrapped

NOOB

THEY/THEM

GENDERFLUID

NO OCCUPATION

Survived a total of zero experiments, dying by Random Execution on the first spin. Was seen with Guest 666 in a hug, last words being told to them; “Love you!” Gave the guest a bracelet before the collar blew off their head.

DOOMBRINGER

HE/HIM

MALE

ADMIN, CONTROLLER OF THE BANLANDS

Survived one experiment, that being Random Execution. Died to the Favorites experiment, having the least votes by a count of six votes, a difference of three between him and Matt Dusek, otherwise known as Dusekkar. Last words spoken, “See you on the otherside!” Wasn't directed to anyone in particular, though assumingly towards his fellow admins and coworkers.

ITRAPPED

HE/HIM

MALE

PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER, EXPLOITER

Survived three experiments, those being Random Execution, Favorites, and Split or Steal. Died to the Duel experiment, having been shot through the head as an instant death by Chance. Last words were directed to Chance; “It was fun pretending.”

…

_ Hmm,

_ Pity they died so soon, yeah?

_ ’Specially the iTrapped one,

_ He would be perfect for stirring some drama, yeah?

_ Oh well.

_ Oh!

_ Some of you have been addressing the,

_ ah,

_ Vagueness of the TV’s words, yes?

_ Very entertaining to watch considering what’s in store.

_ Heh,

_ Until next time, dear viewers!

_ May the next few chapters bring you more despair :]

Chapter Text

_ Apologies. I'm sure this wasn't the content you were hoping for, unfortunately.

_I was unable to finish writing the chapter expected this week :(

_ Writing death scenes that actually have an emotional impact is hard gng. I'm new to this stuff.

_ HOWEVER!

_I do not intend to starve you all and deprive thee of content,

_ So instead, allow me to present some art and cosplays I've created!

_ I'm pretty amateur at traditional drawing so uh.

_ Yeah.

_ Oh well!

_ Ugh, let's see if this works.

_ Okay, so, starting off with some cosplays i've made!

_ This ones of my kings Hacklord 'n Telamon 🙏

_ I LOVE THEM AHAHEHHSBX

_ Free image hosting websites aren't uh.

_ I'm new to that.

_ But uh, who could POSSIBLY go wrong, yeah??

_ For those who can't see the image

_ Oki, next up! The one (execute me) and only; 1x1x1x1 !!

_ This is a more outdated cosplay I have. I also made one where they had black hair and wings, but alas, I still have yet to get time to make a pose for 'em.

_ Not that it's hard. Just time consuming. Fun, though!

_ Getting the angles SUCKKK though.

_ For those who can't see the image

_ Okay, now!

_ Presenting, your favorite gambler!

_ CHANCE 1!1!1!

_ Just,, just one more game guys.

_ One more game and I'll be millionaire !!!!!

_ Me whenever a game involves rng of sorts:

_ Jokes aside, the cosplay actually has a different face and has a non-binary flag armband accessory, but alas;

_ The pose obscures such.

_ Oh well!

_ For those who can't see the image

_ Close to meeee

_ CLOSE TO MEEEE

_ I'm gonna go insane I haven't heard that lms in ages.

_ Where did all y'all annihilators go :C

_ I mean, I WOULD play John but I have like 6 lvls on him and only ever play my queen 1x </3

_ I have like. Their m4.

_ And Chance's.

_ And Builderman's. (Yes, we exist.)

_ But most importantly, my beloved; Elliot's!

_ For those who can't see the image

_ Maniacal laughter

_ You know who's m4 I'll probably NEVER HAVE (Guest I'm so sorry)

_ Two Time's.

_ And like, I can trickstab and alat with them.

_ But I'm HEAVILY inconsistent.

_ From what I've seen, apparently 1x is immune to my backstab attempts and I always die so uh fuck burnout I guess,,

_ Heh,,