Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Elliot had been here far longer than the others believed he had been. 

A dark, gloomy night, it was, when a last minute order had come through. A simple pepperoni, no drinks and instructions to deliver it to the guy’s doorstep. 

Easy enough.

It was when he had set out to deliver the pizza that complications arose. It was pouring rain, Elliot could hardly see a thing. It was a battle to even steer the bike properly, slipping and swerving once he got to the edge of the woods. 

He decided to wheel the bike the rest of the way, despite how inconvenient it was. His phone had started to glitch, but Elliot could still use the map. He put the problem off for later, once the pizza had been delivered. 

The rain hadn’t let up, an arm coming up to shield his eyes from the rain, jacket wrapped around the pizza bag as he trodded through the mud. A cabin came into sight just a little ways up ahead, Elliot ditching the bike and leaning it up against a tree as he approached. He grumbled, complaining of mud and soaked clothes, stepping onto the porch as he inwardly sighed at the relief of having at least something over his head, even if it was only for this moment. The rain thundered against the roof, deafening in volume as Elliot adjusted his visor.

He knocked on the door, pausing, before raising his hand to knock again when there was no answer. His knuckles didn’t even make contact with the door this time, as it slowly creaked open. Peering inside was a cozy front area, a fireplace hidden off to the side, a staircase to the left leading up to a second story that overlooked the front area. If he looked further into the cabin, he could see a small dining area, which while unusual for a secluded cabin in the middle of nowhere, was not an unfamiliar sight to the pizza worker.  

“Hello?” 

His voice echoed around the cabin, the man frowning as he was yet to receive an answer. Stepping in, he checked his phone again to make sure this was the place, the door slamming shut behind him. Elliot panicked, unnerved by it all, turning to open the door. It didn’t budge at first, Elliot’s panic increasing. He couldn’t hear the rain anymore, no drops slamming against the roof at all. 

Finally, the door handle twisted, as Elliot hurriedly stepped out, freezing as he was presented with an entirely new scenery. There were two other cabins now, and as Elliot turned to check where he had left his bike, there was a shoddy wooden fence surrounded by foliage. To his left was a lake, with a small dock branching out but stopping, a small shape barely visible in the distance. His bike had gone missing, and he was stranded in the middle of nowhere. Fantastic. 

Navigating through his phone to call his Dad, sister, a coworker, anyone, he groaned worriedly when he realised he had no reception, his phone displaying a concerning SOS only in the top right corner. Dialling 911 held no results however, being greeted with only static and a dial error noise that grated against his ears. 

His hand clutched tighter around the strap of his pizza bag, foot tapping nervously against the front porch. What do you do in this situation? 

He decided to look around, trying to nudge the wooden planks loose, to see if there was anyone else here, but it all came up with nothing. The dock didn’t clue him into anything either, small waves lapping at the miniscule bank of sand that resided there. Elliot sighed, dragging a hand down his face as he returned to the cabin. It was the only place he hadn’t searched thoroughly yet, and as he entered he jumped as the fireplace lit itself, as if an invisible entity had predicted his arrival. 

Taking off his jacket to dry it, he paused as he tested it with a finger, frowning when it came back dry. It had been pouring just minutes ago, how was this possible? He shrugged it off; there were much more pressing things to worry about, as he walked upstairs. It was empty, aside from a bookcase and as he entered the next room upstairs, a small nightstand with a TV placed on top. It seemed to display a picture of a panda, but as Elliot began to fiddle around with it, an error code glitched its way onto the screen. It was your regular run of the mill error, if not for the two characters at the end of it. That wasn’t typical of error messages. At least, not ones Elliot had seen before. 

There had been a chalkboard downstairs, he remembered seeing, making his way down. There was a small piece of chalk, which Elliot grabbed, writing down the two symbols. Sure, you might think it’s a little dumb to write something as insignificant as that down, especially in the first hour of being kidnapped, but Elliot had a gut feeling that it was important. That he was going to need it, because he’d be here for a while. 

An ominous ticking sound began to occur, making Elliot jump at the sound. He tensed, as the ticking got louder and louder, until the chime of the grandfather clock he had spotted downstairs boomed in his head, and he momentarily lost consciousness. 

When he came to, he was lying on the ground of what he soon recognised as grass, the tall towers of the old glasshouses looming over him. He frowned in confusion at the sight, sitting up to look around. There was a hollowed out cliff, with two entrances and a small outcropping that overlooked two oddly placed walls. There was a giant pillar in the middle of the area, with a generator propped up against it. In front of him was a hill of sorts, with a wall that served as a makeshift railing, a small gap in the middle. Tall brown walls enclosed the space, trapping Elliot in.

“What in the..” he muttered, shoulders stiffening as he heard fast, heavy footsteps heading in his direction. Turning his head, he was met with a masked man, a heavy jacket over a shirt and some jeans on his figure. Nothing that alarmed Elliot, until his eyes drifted to see the machete gripped tightly in his hands, and the chainsaw on his back.

He screamed, scrambling to get on his feet as he booked it in the opposite direction, the masked machete man slowly catching up. 

Somehow, for some odd reason, his mind helpfully supplied that there was only four minutes to go. Four minutes to go for what Elliot didn’t know, but it was simple enough to reason that he had to survive for four minutes. 

Panting, Elliot had to slow down behind some more oddly placed walls, gasping and clutching his chest as he listened for any more footsteps. He glanced at another generator, this one propped up against one of the walls, humming in confusion at the sight. What were they for? 

A couple wires hung loose, sparking slightly as a grey, empty bar stared back at Elliot. Connect them. A voice whispered, but the masked man rounded the corner before he could even react. He swung his arm high, machete coming down and nicking Elliot’s shoulder as he dodged. 

The pizza worker grunted, paling as the man raised his arm again, racing out of the weird structure and across the closed in area. He would have started crying, if he had the time to, but with a man who wants to kill you breathing down your back, it was difficult to find any space to do so. 

The killer kept chasing him, unrelenting in his pursuit as Elliot gasped and grunted every time the folds of his jacket picked at the wound the man had given him earlier. Eventually his stamina ran out, the pizza worker tripping on nothing in his exhaustion from the constant running and terror, face planting as he whined and panted. 

The killer paused above him, before gripping his machete tighter and raising it above Elliot. 

“W-Wait! No, please, I don’t want to die! I do-” 

He screamed as the machete was driven through his torso, tugged out and stabbed again and again, helpless to do anything to stop the torture. Paralysed, he could only watch in horror as the man reached for his chainsaw, revving it once, twice, before driving it straight into Elliot’s skull, tearing down the middle of his body. 

Elliot couldn’t even scream in pain. 

Because he woke up on the cold hard floor of the cabin, heart racing and sweat dripping down his face as he gasped. His hands fumbled around, feeling his face and his body, completely whole like he wasn’t just murdered in cold blood. 

Tears pooled in his eyes, chest heaving as he clutched his shirt right over where the killer had stabbed him, sobbing breathlessly. 

So that was it. He had been taken here, lured in , trapped and killed. It would make for a pretty good horror movie, he joked, already on the verge of dissociating. But it was the respawning that was the icing on top of the cake. 

Someone wants to torture me. 

There was no other reason. Why would you let someone in this kind of situation respawn, if not to torment them? 

He thinks back to the voice he heard, telling him to complete the generator. Back to the fireplace lighting itself. Back to when he knocked on the door. Back to when he even bothered taking the order. 

He laughed, painful and hoarse, flopping to lie on his back as he covered his eyes with an arm. His laughs turned to sobs, quiet and fearful, as he rolled onto his side and curled in on himself. 

“Why me..?” He whispered, because why him? He had nothing against anyone, if you exclude 007n7, but even he wasn’t capable of something on this scale. 

He doesn’t know how long he laid there, sobbing and curled up pathetically, but it was long enough for the entity to get bored, the ticks of a distant clock already sounding out again. 

Already? Was all Elliot could think, steeling himself as he furiously rubbed at his eyes. If this was going to be a common occurrence, he should at least know when to prepare. He’d start timing in between one round and the next, and prayers be to him if it was all up to whatever was keeping him trapped here’s decision. 

The next round went fairly the same, Elliot surviving just a little longer than last as it took the killer a little longer to find him. He had investigated one of the generators, slowly working out what wires went where, and eyes widening when he felt the time go down. 

That was another weird thing. There was no indication of there being a time limit, but Elliot felt it. As if his body was the timer, and his head interpreted the signals. 

This time, the killer got him by shaving his head clean off, his head not even having made contact with the ground before he awoke gasping in the cabin again, hand hovering over his neck shakily. 

The next he had collapsed, bleeding out as he took ragged gasps, the killer standing over him as he died. 

It was a rinse wash repeat, round after round as Elliot worked out the kinks of this..entity’s game, playing along as he tried to find loopholes and exits. He found that there was roughly eight to twelve hours in between rounds, signified by the ticking of a clock that started forty seconds beforehand. Generators shaved time down, and while only by a miniscule amount, made the difference between Elliot only just not making it, or being massacred in the first minute. 

He found items scattered around some places, limited to bloxy colas and medkits that had been hard to come by so far. He had been somewhat pleased to find out the bloxy colas gave you a speed boost after drinking them, having found that out in after getting desperate, and he had yet to find enough time to patch himself up with the medkit. Of course, all his findings he wrote on the chalkboard, for who he didn’t know. 

There had been a few rounds, where gaps in the walls and ground flickered, leading to areas with nothing to touch and no air to breath, just a vast expanse of clouds and stars. Out of bounds, as he had discovered as a child when he went too far out into the ocean back home. His father had scolded him to no end after he had thankfully respawned back on the island, eyes wide and legs trembling as he sobbed in terror. 007n7 called it no-clipping once, after pushing one of the pizzeria walls into a small glitched out gap, the wall vanishing as if it had never existed. He had put it back, but not before shoving Elliot through as well. Elliot shivered at the memory.

Other times, he found bugs in the code, phasing through walls or floating for a few split seconds, or even that one time he was flung right up into the sky, resounding in a very painful fall that killed him when he came back down. He still hears the thud his body had made. It didn’t help that he woke up right after, as if it was just that hypnotic jerk thing your body did sometimes right before you went to sleep. 

Coincidentally, they had all disappeared after their discovery. As if someone, or something had patched them up to keep Elliot contained. It only made Elliot seek game breaking bugs and gaps between corners more, grinning whenever he was successful in his endeavours. 

It wasn’t until perhaps his 146th round (he had decided to start counting for no reason other than to have an indication of the passing time) that the entity running this place decided to speak to him. 

Have you enjoyed this so far? It asked, voice young and old, incomprehensible but completely understandable, angelic and grating and loud . 

Elliot scoffed. He was tired, exhausted, and desperate, sue him. “I love it.” Sarcasm dripped off his tone, sneering at the voice. 

He knows this is his chance to get answers, but he despises the thing that speaks to him. It’s trapped him here, tortures him for nothing other than what Elliot has concluded to be its own sick and twisted fantasies. 

The thing laughed, cruel and mocking. My my. Brave, aren’t you? Do you not realise who you talk to, mortal?

“Is it Builderman? I can’t tell.” 

Elliot could feel its smile drop into something sinister. 

No. It paused. Oh Elliot. So weak and fragile. I have watched you in these games, and you do not perform well under such pressure. You are smart, I unfortunately have to acknowledge the fact, you figured out my routine so quickly! 

The praise felt wrong, like when Elliot got melted cheese all over his hands one time and it had gotten into the small gap in his sleeve. He shivered. 

But you are lacking. You defy me. You run, run, run, or you do not participate. It frustrates me. 

Elliot barked out a laugh. “Getting killed over and over does wonders for the soul. You considered starting a spa or something?” He joked, wincing when the entity increased the pressure of its presence, his head feeling heavier. 

Do not mock me. You are but a worm in the soil. I am above you. Know your place. You are not here to dilly dally, nor are you here to challenge my authority.

Elliot rolled his eyes. “Then why?” he asked, resting his head on an open palm. “Why am I here? Why do this at all?” 

There are those who deserve to experience pain. To be…Forsaken, as one could put it. Jason, he kills for mother. A mother he believes and trusts. The entity hesitates, only slightly. A blink and you’ll miss it sort of pause that makes it seem as if the entity is giving Elliot some leverage if it doesn’t choose it’s next words carefully. It makes Elliot focus, straightening as he listens to its next words. Who am I to reveal it is not his mother, but I? He does not have to know, so long as he feels comforted by soft words and sweet nothings as he kills. He gets the job done. 

Elliot frowns. “Huh? You’re like, tricking him? He’s.. not killing me cause he enjoys it?”

Maybe. Maybe not. 

“Wow. Real helpful, dude.” Elliot huffed, drumming his fingers on the table. He clicked his tongue, mulling over his thoughts. 

The entity-who Elliot would have to eventually find something to call it by other than just that-hadn’t revealed much in its statement, vague words about the killer-Jason, his mind recalled-that didn’t relate to Elliot’s situation at all. He needed answers, not half-assed explanations.

“So…” he started off casually, moving his arms to rest behind his head as he carefully leaned on the back legs of the chair. “What’s with the, uh, games? The whole killing thing?”

The entity did not respond, but the pressure in Elliot’s head didn’t go away either. 

“Why me, too? 

You were easy to find. Easy to take. Vulnerable. Alone. Much too trusting, too confident you would get the job done as if it were another friday evening. 

“Okay, geez.” Elliot said, a little taken aback by the bluntness. “Well, alright. What about Jason?”

..he too, was vulnerable. Listened much too eagerly to his mother. A few words from ‘mother’ and he was here, no questions asked. 

“Where does he go? After the rounds, I mean.” 

He too goes to a place like this. But it is none of your concern. 

Elliot rolled his eyes. “So secretive. What are you even hiding?”

Things that you are not to find out. 

“Alright, alright.” Elliot sighed, returning his chair to rest on four legs. “What is your…name..if you even have one. Do you even have a body?”

I Am The Spectre. I am incomprehensible to your feeble human mind, in a form that you cannot imagine to understand. 

‘This stupid entity and its superiority complex.’ Elliot thought, groaning in slight frustration. All of his questions had led to even more questions rather than answers, and just the mere reminder of that only served to frustrate him more. 

Then, as quickly as it came, it vanished, Elliot sighing as the pressure in his skull was relieved. 

Walking over to the chalkboard, he wrote ‘gets annoyed easily’ in a separate corner, one he reserved for notes on whatever it was keeping it here. He laughed, already planning ways to piss off the entitled thing that insisted it ruled over him. 

Huffing, he wrote next to it ‘would you still love me if I was a worm?’ in response to the entity’s earlier words. Because if The Spectre thought he was a worm, he’d be one that annoy to no end.

And if there were more rounds that day with a significantly more brutal and angry killer? It was none of Elliot’s business. 

After his initial interaction with the entity, Elliot was beginning to get bored out of his mind. It was a crazy thing to say, considering the fact he was being hunted on the daily by a madman with a knife, but hey. You can only get killed so many times before it gets old. 

There was nothing to do, the TV upstairs only played the one image of that stupid panda. Playing darts by himself was getting tiring, and you could only stare into the distance for so long. There was nothing in the surrounding foliage, darkness past the fence, and Elliot couldn’t swim out to the weird island he spotted when he first arrived here. Some invisible thing was keeping him back, and there was no way Elliot could find around it. The other cabins had nothing in them, except for the smaller cabin off to the right that had another combination of symbols that Elliot had written down next to the first two. 

He had tried talking to the entity, calling out or making snide remarks, all to no avail. It seems it wanted to remain silent, eyes watching as Elliot suffered death after death. 

The cabin he used to sleep in, due it having the only bed, did have a small notebook in it, which Elliot couldn’t even write in because he didn’t have a pen. Not even the one he kept in his apron pocket for writing down orders. It must have conveniently fallen out on the ride here. 

He had tried to use the charcoal from the fireplace, but it either crumbled too easily or ended up smudging, so he just returned to drawing things on the chalkboard. Surprisingly, the chalk never ran out, always having enough to write, but being so small that it was a struggle for Elliot to actually use. 

The number of rounds that had occurred kept rising, well over the 700s by now. All the while, Elliot and the strange man that refused to talk duked it out constantly, Elliot slowly learning and getting closer and closer to surviving rounds. He had done it once, heart racing as he had leapt off a tall mountain cliff at the last second to avoid the guy’s chainsaw, yelping as he fell straight into the chair of the table closest to the chalkboard. He just had to do it again. And again. And again. You get the picture. 

There still was no sign of anyone other than Elliot and ‘Sugarplum’ as he had called them (purely to piss the thing off, cause while the headaches he suffered sucked, the feeling of being able to affect the thing at all was so worth it), days passing by and still nothing. 

But one day, Elliot went too far. A round survived once more, an entity far from happy at his…crude celebration. 

“HAH! Take THAT Sugarplum!” He had said, climbing on top of the table and dancing. “FUCK YOU!!” 

He had danced for a couple more seconds, before being slammed onto the table by an invisible force, grunting at the impact. 

SILENCE. I AM THE SPECTRE. YOU WILL ADDRESS ME AS SUCH.

It commanded, Elliot groaning at the severity of the headache. It was so much worse this time. 

YOU ARE FOOLISH. IGNORANT. AN ANNOYANCE. I TOLD YOU TO WATCH WHERE YOU STAND. YOU GROW TOO CONFIDENT IN THIS REALM. YOU ARE FORTUNATE THAT I AM FEELING…GENEROUS TODAY. I AM WILLING TO REMIND YOU WHERE YOU STAND. 

Elliot scoffed, the sound muffled by the table. He grimaced, eyes closing as the headache tripled in pain, before it backed off. 

Loud, bass boosted music began to play, flashing lights illuminating Elliot’s eyelids painfully. Opening them, he grunted as he stood, being met with an entirely new scene. He stood on the metal balcony of what he soon assumed was a club, a faceless and indescribable figure smoking as it leaned over the railing. 

Approaching it had no effect, and it didn’t even register Elliot’s touch, flicking the cigarette butt down as it continued watching. There was a door to the figure’s left, plain and simple. Approaching it, Elliot rudely kicked it open, being met with a table one might see at a casino, if not for the few modifications it held. There was an empty space on the other side, as if for someone else to take a seat. 

YOU HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE SO FAR. ABLE TO PREDICT, TO OUTSMART, TO LIVE. BUT SMARTS ONLY TAKE YOU SO FAR. LET’S SEE HOW YOU FARE WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO PURE LUCK? 

Suddenly, he was shoved into a seat, pushed closer to the table as something began to approach. A large, white face with sharp teeth slithered out of the darkness, eyes hollow sockets as it smiled. Looking down, Elliot watched as a shotgun materialised out of nowhere, paling as the weird creature across revealed six bullets, two blank, loading them into the barrel. 

ROULETTE. YOU CAN FIGURE OUT THE REST. I WILL COLLECT YOU WHEN YOU LEARN YOUR LESSON.

The creature across from him smiled impossibly wider.

—---------------------

It had been easy enough to figure out the patterns to this weird version of Roulette, the amount of bullets randomised each time sorted into blanks and lives. There were items to go along with the turns, each a gamble in themself when it came to using them. 

The creature never truly died. It was like a machine, whose only purpose was to gamble, to take risks, to fuel people with adrenaline until they inevitably crashed or died. 

Elliot had been splattered with the things blood too many times to count now, heart beating a little too fast to be natural from all the times he was shocked, pumped with thousands of volts of electricity that should have killed but instead brought him back after a bullet turned live, a gamble lost. 

The creature had the capacity to frown, wrong and creepy after a bullet to the face. As if every live was a personal insult to the face. 

But Elliot had also died from stupid things, too. A pill that made him cough up blood as he choked on his own breath, a polariser on the wrong chamber slot. 

There had been no word from The Spectre, the entity having dumped him here as if it were a parent dropping their child off to daycare or something similar. It honestly made Elliot annoyed that it would just disregard him so easily, treating him like a child who was found with his metaphorical hand in the cookie jar and been sent to time out. 

He was momentarily shaken from his thoughts as the gun went off, his arm pushed back uncomfortably in its socket from the recoil of the gun firing. The creature went down, Elliot using the short downtime to grab a cigarette and take a quick drag. He coughed slightly, still unfamiliar with the taste of tobacco in his lungs, before flicking it away carelessly. It was weird how something that the pizza worker had associated so heavily with sickness was used to rejuvinate, but Elliot wasn’t going to complain. He was so hyped up on adrenaline, not helped by the small three pronged needles that seemed to make his heart race and his vision blur around the edges, that it should put a man under. 

Distantly, he wondered if this was what gamblers felt when the slot machines spun, lights flickering in their eyes as they landed just a number away from a jackpot.

He shook his head. He wasn’t going to succumb. He’d show that stupid Spectre. 

The table reset, the gun wrenching itself out of Elliot’s hands to rest on the middle of the table again. Whirring noises from the other side of the table grew in volume, gears turning as air puffed, the creature staggering back up. It looked like something 007n7 would conjure up just for the shits and giggles if Elliot was being honest, teeth all sharp and crooked like some of those old horror stories Mia had been obsessed with.  

Mia..Fuck, Elliot missed his family. He wondered how much time had passed back home. Were there missing posters on street poles, search parties looking out for him? Was his father kept awake at night, wondering what happened to his son? Did Mia sneak out to find clues to where he had last gone? Did they find his bike, see it covered in mud and abandoned and…give up?

Elliot steeled his gaze, mouth thinning into a hard line as he tore his thoughts away from spiraling down that path. There was nothing he could do about it now. No admins he could send reports to, no coworkers he could call to cover his shift. It was just another solo shift, manning the registers alone as the lunch rush began. 

The small panel in the table turned over. Four blanks. Four live. Elliot surveyed his items, a magnifying glass, a phone and a beer. 

The creature reached for the gun, loadiing the bullets into the chamber before raising it to point at Elliot. 

Click.

—----------------------

“I’m getting the bed tonight!” Chance shouted. They were disappointed with the most recent round. His flintlock had refused to go off, and then blown up on them. It had been horrible luck today. 

“Chance, it’s Guest’ turn. You had it the other night, remember?” Builderman sighed, looking up from where he fiddled with the blueprints of his dispenser. He was yet to find a way to dispense more health faster, resulting in countless nights where he tinkered with it and fought sleep just to see any progress. 

“It’s alright.” Guest spoke from where he was perched in front of the fireplace. “I can skip a turn.” 

“You took a-alot of hits..” Noob stammered, sitting next to Guest as they sipped a bloxy cola. “You should t-take it. So y-you’re not in p-pain tomorrow.” 

Guest shrugged. “I’ve suffered worse.” 

Shedletsky walked in from outside, placing the lantern by the door as he shook himself like a dog. “No fish tonight.” He stated, Taph coming in after silently. “Slippery little things.”

The rain softly pattered against the roof of the cabin, creating a false sense of peace that felt out of place given the situation the group was in.

“Perhaps instead of catching them on your own accord, take my advice, and spear them with your sword.”

Shedletsky dismissed Dusekkar with a wave of his hand. “I’ll get it one day.” 

Dusekkar just shook his head, turning back to the book he was reading. 

“I’m sure the Spawn can aid us! I have prayed diligently for days on end. We are sure to have a bountiful harvest soon!” Two Time said from their place on the stairs, hands clasped together. 

“..Sure. Bountiful harvest, courtesy of Spawn.” Shedletsky said, glancing at the cultist from the corner of his eye. “Whatevs. We’ve still got the infinite pizza bag to rely on. Thank goodness there’s at least something to eat.”

Shedletsky grabbed it from the table, opening it up and handing slices out to everyone. 

007n7 tensed from his position in the corner. “Where’d it come from? I still wonder, it was left on the table near the chalkboard…like someone left it there..” he spoke up hesitantly.

“Best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Sev’.” Builderman responded, taking a slice when Shedletsky came around. “Don’t want it to go missing.”

It was quiet, as everyone chewed on their ‘dinner’. It was a fair point that 007n7 made, one that Builderman himself thought about. He’d recognise the Builder Brothers Pizza logo anywhere, and purgatory was no different. Two Time regarded it as a blessing of the Spawn, meant to rejuvenate and relieve one of ailments. It was certainly a plausible theory, if not for the whole Spawn part, since everyone noticed feeling much more energised after eating their designated slice. They hadn’t found a way to bring it to the rounds yet, which would certainly be a big help if they could, but they weren’t going to complain if it was at least available afterwards. It was still delicious, afterall. 

Surviving these rounds had done a number on many of the people stuck in this hell. Noob couldn’t get a word out without stammering the whole alphabet, Guest sometimes retreated back into his military persona, grim faced and barking orders like there was no tomorrow. Dusekkar found himself reading all the books that were offered, hoping for anything that could help them out of here. Granted, he had once found a small notebook with clear signs of use, but opening it revealed half legible smudges and crude drawings of some sort of eldritch figure. Although funny to look at, the drawings clearly made for fun and to make one laugh, they always felt a slight headache after each viewing. And it didn’t help the fact that Dusekkar had been stripped of his powers, only able to produce a measly shield and zap the killer every now and again. It was embarassing, a mockery of the power the admin once held. 

Shedletsky hadn’t changed much, but Builderman could see it in the ways the lines around his eyes deepened after a particularly heavy round with 1x, shoulders tense and hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Two Time was, well, Two Time. There wasn’t anything that could make them more manic than they already were, but sometimes you see it in the way their smile stretched just a little too far, eyes a little too wide as wings ripped free from their upper back, bony and caked in blood. 

They had no indication as to how long these rounds had been going on for, the chalkboard near the table they often used to eat when they were in better moods holding only cryptic, useless messages that were clearly meant as jokes. Noob had almost lost it when they read the worm one, as they all referred to it as, but other than that just the vague message of ‘gets annoyed easily’ and a drawing of a motorbike with the words ‘I miss it so much :(‘ accompanying it. There were faint remnants of chalk dust, as if other messages had been hastily rubbed out. 

“I think I’m gonna clock in for tonight. That round took a toll on me.” Shedletsky said, taking his untouched slice before placing the bag back where they had found it all those rounds ago. “Night!”

Slipping out of the main cabin to sleep in the cabin he shared with Builderman and Dusekkar, the other survivors soon began to retire to their own sleeping areas soon after, leaving Builderman and Guest alone. The fire crackled and hissed in the silence, the distant howl of a wolf clearly meant to scare heard in the distance. There was no wildlife around however, the surrounding forest devoid of any sign of life other than the survivors who resided in the cabin. It was almost comforting, Builderman thought, that there was something other than them here that was reminiscient of home. Of Robloxia. 

But recently, ther had been a nagging weight on Buildermans shoulders, unnatural and bringing a sense of foreboding upon the admin. 

“You feel it too, don’t you?” Builderman said, cutting through the otherwise peaceful silence. 

Guest hummed. “Something’s off. It’s mad.” 

They didn’t know exactly what ‘it’ was, but they all felt it. In the rounds, in the downtime, in the few seconds before the grandfather clock chimed, it was there, watching. 

“Reckon it’s a new killer?” Guest asked, shifting over as Builderman moved to sit next to the ex-soldier. 

Builderman shook his head. “Nah. It’d be happy. Not whatever this is.” He said, referring to the pressure he’d been feeling in his head for a while now. “Maybe somethin’s gone wrong.” 

Guest laughed, short and sharp. “Has anything ever gone wrong for anyone but us?” He remarked, gaze hardening as he stared into the fire. “Someone’s gone and pissed it off. And I don’t think it was one of us this time ‘round.” 

The two both thought back to when Two Time had done something to make it mad, the survivors waking up the next morning and being presented with a much smaller, younger version of the cultist they knew. 

“It’s similar, yes. But there’s no amusement. Just pure…disdain, I’d say. Like it doesn’t want to do something. I don’t know.” 

“..I feel it now. Was struggling to put a name to it.” 

The fire crackled, flickering slightly. A warning. 

“Hm. Looks like it wants us to go to bed.” Builderman grunted, standing up as his knees popped. “Guess we’re on the right track.” 

Guest sighed. “All I ever wonder, is why us?” The man looked up at Builderman, in a rare moment of vulnerability. “We didn’t do anything wrong. I fought for my people. You…you’re Builderman..” He said, gesturing to the man in question, words left unspoken. “I, well, I don’t really know about the others, but still.” 

He turned back to staring into the fire. “Just wish it wasn’t just me who could fight back the way I do.” 

Builderman stared into the fire as well. “We all have our abilities. Two Time with their knife thingy, me and my sentry, hell, while he ain’t got much to work with, Dusekkar can hold his own fairly well.” 

Guest hummed. Buildermans words seemed to fall flat. 

The fire hissed, spitting at Guest before dying down completely. The faint beginnings of a headache began to worm their way into their heads. 

“Alright, alright. Night, Guest.” Builderman said, turning to walk in the direction of his shared cabin. 

“Night.” Guest responded, moving to rest on the couch behind him. 

The wolf howled once again. 

—----------------

Elliot cheered as the gun fired, handcuffs rattling against the table. Blood spattered against his cheek, something that both delighted and disgusted him. 

“OH MY GOD, YES!” 

The creature collapsed, motionless as it worked on repairing itself. The handcuffs that chained Elliot to the table unlocked themselves, falling to the ground with a clink. 

There was no way to record how long it had been in here, but he’s sure it’s been at least 782 rounds back in the cabin. He’s still not sure what’s worse, this or the hell he went through, but honestly? He’s starting to see the appeal of gambling. When there’s no fear of actually dying that is. 

The table cleared itself, items disappearing. Elliot sighed, preparing himself for the next game. 

How peculiar.

Elliot groaned. Not this again.

You seem to be..enjoying this. Perhaps this was not what you needed. 

“Oof, I dunno. I think I’m learning a really good lesson.” Elliot said, leaning back on his chair. 

Pray tell. 

“The wondrous world of gambling. I’m learning so much about odds, you won’t believe how many risks I took that paid off. Got this guy three times in a row, I tell you-”

ENOUGH. Your endless chatter bores me. 

“Alright, Sugar.” 

Do not call me that. 

“Whatever you say, sweetcheeks.”

Do not call me that either. 

“Mmkay Babycake-”

SHUT IT. 

Involuntarily, Elliot forcefully bit down on his tongue, wincing at the sudden action. He glared into the middle distance, hoping it saw. 

THERE. I am to speak without interruption. 

You may notice, you have been here for a while now. Do you not wonder what has changed in your previous hell?

Elliot shook his head. 

Hm. I think you have suffered here long enough. Perhaps you should meet your new…friends.

Elliot frowned in confusion, raising his arms in clear indignation, like a ‘What are you on about?’ kind of motion. Because what was this thing on about? Before he could get an answer, his chair tilted back too far and he lost consciousness again as his head hit the floor. 

Coming to, he groaned, cursing as he stood up. 

“Back here again..” He muttered, frowning at the new area. He was up on some kind of raised platform, pirate themed decor scattered around. He could feel Sugarplum’s (I said stop calling me that.) gaze on him, as it spectated through whatever realm it resided in. Elliot stuck his tongue out, before moving slowly to a generator. 

He began working on it, connecting wires almost lazily before he paused. He heard the distant sound of something being reeled in, before-

Elliot yelled, knocked over by some green shockwave, blinking tears out of his eyes. 

“Ouch! What was that?” He muttered, ignoring how his stomach churned nauseatingly and his arm flickered like a glitch. His head whipped around, before catching a blob of green and black in his peripheral vision. He blanched, the figure rounding the corner, holding two swords and sporting a long white ponytail. 

“WHO ARE YOU?” Elliot screeched, making a run for it as he dodged the creature’s attack. “WHAT IS THIS??” 

I told you, things have changed, Elliot. 

Elliot just continued running, screeching and yelling.

—------------------

“Dispenser’s goin’ up.” Builderman called, striking the ground with his hammer. They were all situated in the castle-like structure, having regrouped after 1x had made them scatter like mice. Guest and Shedletsky stood on guard, as Taph began to set up traps nearby. Noob worked on the generator, Chance helping in between coin flips. Dusekkar stood by the railing as Two Time set up a ritual, chanting prayers under their breath. It was a little dangerous for them all to be grouped together so tightly, but it was easier to keep track of each other this way. 007n7 had skipped out of this round.

Guest’s eyes narrowed, shoulders tensing. “Something’s off..” He muttered, loud enough for the survivors around him to hear. 

As if on cue, a scream echoed around the area, unfamiliar and fearful. 

Everyone perked up, looking in the direction of the scream, before looking towards Builderman. 

“New Survivor?!” Chance exclaimed, coin flipping more frantic. 

“Go!” Was all Builderman said, rushing down to get a sentry placed as quickly as he could. 

As if in sync, everyone ran out, formulating an unspoken battle plan. Guest took the lead, Shedletsky close behind. Chance was yet to get a heads, cursing as he frantically continued to flip his coin. Dusekkar readied his staff, muttering a protection spell as he aimed. 

A man dressed in a red shirt came barreling around the corner, dark grey jacket and black pants.

“Move!” Guest barked, charging into todays killer: 1x1x1x1. 

The creature grunted, being shoved back. The new person faltered, eyes widening as he glanced at the group, an unreadable expression crossing his face. Before the man could stop to say anything, he was swept away by Builderman who guided him to the dispenser, medkit at the ready. 

“You alright?” Builderman asked, once they were settled next to the dispenser and guarded by Taph’s traps. “Take it easy. It’s a lot on the first day.” He said, speaking from experience. 

“I’m fine.” The other huffed, wincing as he adjusted his leg to a more comfortable position. “Ow.”

He seemed to marvel at the pinkish misty clouds that lightly coated the area around the dispenser, watching as his wounds slowly closed up and healed over. Inspecting his arm, he turned it over a couple of times in disbelief. 

Soon, his attention turned towards the ex admin, raking his eyes slowly over his figure as he took in his character. His gaze hardened, shoulders rising subtly. 

“It got you, huh.” He muttered, bowing his head. He shook his head, before sticking an arm out. “Elliot.” was all he offered, face not giving much else away. 

Builderman took the hand, shaking it softly as he nodded. “Builderman. Pretty sure you know who I am.” 

It was awkward, the distant sound of swords clashing echoing in the distance. 

“You seem to be takin’ this well, considerin’ you almost..died earlier.” 

Elliot snorted, as if laughing at an inside joke between him and some unknown person. “I’ve been on the receiving end of enough swords and stabs by now to make me a professional. It’s nothing new.” 

Builderman tensed. Despite the Builder Brothers uniform, Elliot was weary in a way that spoke of more than just rude customers and stress inducing rush hours. There were bags under his eyes that didn’t belong, face too young to need any stress placed upon it. 

“Although..” Elliot trailed off, peeking over the wall to overlook the others who distracted and attacked the killer, fingers drumming on the top of it. “Who’s that?”

“..That’s 1x1x1x1. Or 1x. Long ranged attacks, makes a formidable opponent.” Builderman sighed, countless memories of sentries and dispensers collapsing right in front of him, of being paralysed as it approached to finish the kill. “I’ll introduce you to the others when the rounds over.” 

There was about half an hour to go now, numbers supplied by an unknown source in Builderman’s head. 

A hand flew up to Elliot’s head, the man groaning as he shut his eyes in pain. The cause of the pain wasn’t visible, a quick lookover told Builderman that much. The other rubbed at his eyes with an intensity that couldn’t be comfortable, blinking rapidly as he squinted at something Builderman couldn’t see. 

“eugh…” he grumbled. “Who the heck is being highlighted right now..?” he asked, turning to Builderman as if expecting him to see whatever it was he saw. 

Builderman turned his head to look, confused when it wasn’t the familiar red of a killer triggering one of Taph’s tripwires. He turned back to Elliot. “What?”

“The guy in yellow. Over there.” He reiterated, pointing into the distance. 

“..yellow?”

“Yes, yellow . Literally over there. You blind or something?” Elliot said, frustration leaking into his tone. He seemed to not notice the rudeness of his sentence, blinking his eyes more. 

Builderman stayed quiet, unsure of what to say in this situation. He really couldn’t see whatever it was Elliot was seeing, no matter how much he squinted or blinked. 

“Maybe it’s one of your things. Abilities. Whatever you wanna call ‘em.” Builderman piped up. 

“My..what now?”

“We all got abilities to help us. Like my dispenser here. Takes around six seconds to set up, dispenses out health and heals wounds until it’s destroyed. The other ones the sentry. Fires bullets that slow the killer down. Those kinda abilities.” He explained, gesturing to the dispenser the two currently sat in front of. 

Elliot regarded the dispenser for a moment, before turning back to where he had been looking earlier. 

“Huh.” 

Chance came running up the ramp, hand clutching his arm as it flickered and glitched, a green hue to it. Their breath staggered slightly, as the gambler came to a stop just in front of the dispenser. They sighed as their wounds began to heal, adjusting his fedora almost reflexively. 

He gave a nod to the two, shakily taking out his coin and flicking it up into the air. A resounding ding rang out, a small smile appearing on their face. There was the quiet sound of a bullet being loaded into the flintlock. Whether it would fire was another story. 

“..20 minutes.” Chance murmured, giving his coin another flick. “Alright. Alright. We can do this.” 

The words seemed to be directed at no one in particular, hopeful in tone and optimistic. Builderman nodded. Elliot frowned. 

Time ticked by, Chance departing once his health was at a better level and wounds closed. Builderman stayed with Elliot at the dispenser, wounds healed a while ago. The other didn’t seem to have anything to defend himself, nor anything to aid the others. It was similar to Two Time, in their first weeks of being here, too manic and delirious to think straight and only having enough mind to run away. 

The timer shrunk to 5 minutes, the tick tock of the grandfather clock in the lobby echoing around the map. Builderman had left to set up another sentry, the first having been destroyed by a stray mass infection. 

Elliot was still getting used to the highlighted figures of the others, popping up occasionally. It was only when the limp form of the hooded one was carelessly discarded that Elliot realised it was whenever they took damage that he could see their outlined figure. 

The timer rose to 10 minutes, the ticking ceased as the timer went back down. Elliot grimaced. 

“What do you expect me to do about it?” He whispered under his breath to the open area he was situated in. The Spectre didn’t reply, but the sky flashed red momentarily. Creepy.

There was a thud as a person appeared out of nowhere, wincing at the sound of bone ripping from flesh, soft pained groans and a half scream pairing with it to create a grotesque scene in front of Elliot. He shuffled back, startled and weirded out as the other seemed to walk it off, only giving Elliot a small wave as they ran back down the ramp. 

Elliot decided he’d sat back and watched long enough, slowly walking down the ramp after the other robloxian. He quickly ducked behind a nearby wall as Shedletsky of all robloxians raced past, 1x hot on his tail and simmering with a kind of rage Elliot reserved for The Spectre. 

He stayed behind the wall, waiting for the loud footsteps to fade into the distance, wincing as Shedletsky’s distant figure was highlighted to him. Moving to the small ledge to his right, he leaned around the wall to take a peek at the new environment. The place was littered with grayish walls, tall and imposing and connected to nothing. There was another elevated area, with three walls and three entryways that allowed for easy access. The whole area was pirate themed, treasure chests scattered around as old timey weapons such as cutlasses laid on the ground. There was the occasional poster here and there, along with crude drawings of things Elliot couldn’t make out even if he squinted his eyes. 

He stepped down, racing to duck behind another wall, keeping an eye out for flashes of green or black. He picked up a bloxy cola from the ground, resting it in his palm as he tested its weight. A habit he had formed back at the pizzeria when he got bored and spun the pizza slicer in his hands, trying (and failing) to imitate those trick shot videos he had seen online. (He remembers almost hitting a coworker in the head. His manager scheduled a meeting the next morning, explaining new safety policies and ‘not naming names’ but it was clear who it was directed at. Everyone laughed about it after.) 

He made his way over to the ramps leading to the elevated platform, eyes catching on a generator with a filled green bar, wires neat and connected to their corresponding colour. 

Inside the elevated area, Elliot saw the ruins of what he deduced to be a pirate ship, hidden behind a pillar that held a gap in it, like a door forcefully made. Suddenly, a fast flying thing headed straight towards him, hitting him square in the chest yet phasing right through, albeit painfully. Elliot grunted, falling to a knee as he struggled to move his somehow paralyzed limbs. He blinked rapidly, confused at the sight of pop ups similar to those old windows error pop ups he had seen. 

He shook his head, the pop ups dispersing as he slowly felt a tingling in his limbs, feeling coming back as the temporary paralysis wore off. He tensed, the same loud footsteps he had heard chasing Shedletsky earlier rapidly approaching his location. 

‘Shit.’ Elliot cursed, opening the can of Bloxy Cola and chugging it like his life depended on it. (Which it kind of did, to be honest.)

Just as he finished drinking the last drop, the creature made its ascent up the small ramp, red eye pulsating as it drew closer. Elliot could feel the anger radiating off of it in waves, a misty black cloud emanating off of its figure. He blanched. 1x1x1x1, the name finally coming back to Elliot, twisted its body, the same reeling sound he heard earlier echoing in the small space. 

Elliot booked it, taking that as his sign to get the heck out of there, yelping as the same green wave he was hit with before missed his shoulder by an inch. He grimaced, risking a glance behind him as he saw 1x chasing him. 

There wasn’t anybody around, at least not that Elliot could see. He knew that one of them was already down, but he hadn’t seen the highlighted form of anyone else after that. 

1x was almost right behind him now, Elliot’s stamina draining as his lungs ached. He heard the whizz of its sword graze his back, some unknown force instinctively pumping Elliot with an adrenaline that made him feel as if he was back playing roulette. He could almost feel the phantom tingle of the needles jabbing into his thigh, his legs suddenly finding the energy to run faster than he ever had before. Faster than he had during rush hours, where orders came in every second and made Elliot feel exhausted after. 

He dashed behind a corner, running up a small ramp and taking a rest, hands on his knees as he panted for breath. He looked up, to see the worried face of a yellow robloxian, frayed blue hoodie and green pants muddied with dirt and grime. 

“A-are you ok?” They spoke, quiet so as to not alert anyone else that could be nearby, killer or not. 

“Yeah. The killer might be close.” Elliot said between gasps, slowly regaining his breath. 

Noob made a noise, head whipping around anxiously. At the distant sound of a high pitched ringing, their hands flew to their hoodie pocket, grabbing out a..burger? 

“Uhm, t-try running over th-there if it c-comes here!” They said, pointing to a gap that formed an arch of sorts. “I t-think Guest w-went that way.” 

Then they ate the burger, form vanishing as soft footsteps ran in the opposite direction. Elliot gaped. 

“That is so unfair.” He grumbled, startling as the killer crept up behind him, Elliot only barely managing to dodge its attack. 

He ran in the direction the other had suggested, weaving and dodging as 1x chased him. It paused, Elliot thinking it had given up and was going to go for someone else, before that same thing came flying straight at his face. He staggered as it hit, crumpling as he kneeled involuntarily, helpless as he watched the killer approach, twins swords raised. 

His arms refused to respond to his desperation, legs stiff as he rapidly blinked away the popups. His vision blurred slightly, feeling finally returning to his limbs as his head turned to look at the killer above him, swords coming down straight for his chest. His breath hitched. No matter how much Elliot had died, it never made it all the more easier to deal with. Fear clouded his mind, only the overbearing thought that he was going to die repeated like a mantra, ugly and true.  

He braced himself, arm uselessly coming up to shield his face, as the swords came down inches above his chest, the killer suddenly disappearing. His vision faded to black, the grandfather clock chiming in his head.

A survivor victory.

Chapter Text

Elliot was transported back to the familiar table, eyes wide as his heart raced. The wood creaked under the sudden weight, the other survivors sighing and cheering at another round survived. 

Elliot doesn’t know what it was, but just seeing the familiar brown of the table was enough to send him reeling. He breathed in slowly, breath hitching like a song glitching in and out. God, how long had it been? 

The old dartboard was there, except it was missing the darts from the game he had played before The Spectre had oh so generously transferred him to play roulette with that thing . 

“Hey, what’s up man! You doing okay?” 

Shedletsky stood to his right, face carefully constructed into something that resembled pity. He held out a hand, as some sort of comforting gesture. If Elliot were any more out of it, he’d have rudely shoved the ex-asmins hand away and scoffed. 

Instead, he plasters that perfect customer service smile onto his face, eyes reassuring as he takes the outstretched hand. 

“I could be better.” is all he says. 

Shedletsky laughs, taught and slightly pained, a knowing glint in his eyes. It isn’t mentioned, not even as a witty remark to his answer, but it’s clear he thinks back to the rounds. To the killers, the endless deaths. 

Everyone seems to have calmed down, heads turning to the ‘newcomer’. 

Elliot shrunk under the attention. It had been so long since he had had any sort of human interaction, well, excluding The Spectre that is. But The Spectre was far from human, an eldritch horror watching from above. It barely even counted. 

Thankfully, Builderman comes over, clapping a hand on Elliot’s shoulder firmly. He gives Elliot a stiff nod, looking at the expectant sea of faces as he begins to speak. 

“This here is Elliot. He’s a new survivor, so show him the ropes, will ya?” 

Elliot fought the urge to laugh. He was far from new, but a quick glance at the chalkboard revealed his counter had been rubbed out. His brow furrowed, frustration lining the creases of his face. Oh well. 

He gave a small but polite wave to the others, gently shrugging Builderman’s hand off his shoulder. “Hey.” 

The other survivors introduced themselves, friendly smiles and calm waves sent in his direction. They showed him around, a couple new things being present in the lobby since Elliot had last been here. There were some new chairs by the doorway, posters decorating the walls with various designs. He was taken aback at the sight of his face on one of them, holding a pizza box as if he were posing for a Builder Brother’s advertisement. Shedletsky had been amused at his expression, pointing out the ones that had the faces of other survivors, or even killers. 

“..and here is our food supply.” The ex admin finished, hoisting up Elliot’s delivery bag for him to see. 

Elliot blinked. “That’s mine.” 

“What? I mean, it is from Builder Brothers…” Shedletsky paused, reinspecting the bag as if something had changed. “You sure dude?”

“Yes. Look inside, it’s got my name on the little tag thing.” 

Shedletsky hesitated, eyebrows furrowed in what was a mix of concern and confusion. He lifted the bag, tugging the flap from it’s velcro seal and looking inside. “..huh, you’re right. Weird.” 

Elliot narrowed his eyes. There was something off about the way Shedletsky spoke, as if he knew more than he was letting on. Nevertheless, Elliot sighed through his nose as the familiar weight of the pizza bag settled on his shoulder, the order from that night oh so many rounds ago still inside, fresh and ready to eat. 

“We use it for dinner, mostly. We can’t bring it into rounds.” 

‘Because it’s not yours.’ Elliot thought. ‘The Spectre isn’t careless like that.’

Shedletsky kept talking, hand resting on the sheath that was attached to his shorts. His head wings flapped absentmindedly. 

Honestly, Elliot had tuned his voice out for the most part, offering polite smiles and nods as his thoughts ran rampant in his head. 

There were other people here. Survivors. Fucking Admins. How The Spectre had managed that, Elliot didn’t know. Yet, the robloxians The Spectre had chosen didn’t seem to have anything that tied them all together. Aside from Builderman, Shedletsky and Dusekkar, the link was pretty clear there. From what he had gathered during the round, not much had changed. A new killer, sure, and an unfamiliar map, but the gimmicks stayed the same. Although, the time had increased from a measly four minutes to a whole hour now, most likely to accomodate the number of survivors. 

Shedletsky had left at some point, leaving Elliot to ‘debrief’ himself and accomodate to his new session. In blunt terms, break down and cry and scream. 

But Elliot wasn’t going to do that. He went straight to the chalkboard and picked up that frustratingly small piece of chalk and got to work. 

======

“Poor guy.” Shedletsky sighed, sitting on one of the beanbags as he watched Noob and Guest play a round of whatever knock off version this Dance Dance Revolution machine was. “Must be freaking out.”

“Give him time, Shed. We all freaked out on the first day. Even Dusekkar, though it took a while.” 

The man in question turned his head to avoid the other admins glances. It hadn’t been pretty, and Dusekkar would like not to be reminded of the fact. 

A dart thunked into the wall, Chance exclaiming at the poor shot. “What was that?!” 

Taph only let out a silent snicker, shoulders moving up and down as he threw after the gambler, landing perfectly in the middle. Chance groaned, shoulders slumping in defeat. 

“You think he’ll be okay?” Guest said, taking a break from dancing as he wiped some sweat from his brow. “It ain’t easy, adjusting to this new life and all.” 

“Who knows.” Builderman said truthfully, shrugging. “To be fair, he seemed pretty level headed in round. Coulda been the shock and adrenaline talking, though.” 

“Who are we talking about?” a voice asked, 007n7 entering the area. 

“There’s a new survivor. We’re givin’ him time to calm down, he’s just downstairs.” 

007n7 tilted his head curiously. “Oh? Is he alright?” 

“We don’t know. We’re giving him some space to breathe at the moment.” Shedletsky replied.

“Ah. That makes sense.” The ex-hacker scratched the back of his head nervously. “Do we…know him?” 

It wasn’t a crazy question to ask. They’d all met someone in this hell that they’d known previously back in Robloxia, so it wasn’t out of the question for 007n7 to ask. 

“His name’s Elliot.” Guest piped up, leaning against the DDR knockoff. “Think he’s a Builder Brothers Employee.” 

007n7 stiffened. “You’re kidding.” 

“You are aware of him?” Dusekkar asked, crossing his arms. 

“..yeah. I, uhm. Hacked his workplace. If it’s the same Elliot, that is. Kinda ruined the place.” 

Shedletsky whistled. “I remember getting a couple reports about that! Didn’t have time to investigate. Think one of the higher ups handled it.” 

Builderman frowned. “That might be a problem. We can’t function properly as a team if he’s holdin’ grudges against you, Sev’.” 

“I know..” 

“Speaking of.” Guest said, coming over to sit on the beanbag next to Shedletsky. “Did you work out his kit?” 

“No.” Builderman paused. “Actually, he was seeing your highlighted forms at some point.” 

“Could be a passive.” Guest suggested. “Like Seven’s ability to see the furthest point he can teleport to.” 

“Oh! The pizza bag downstairs, that’s his. I forgot to mention it. Maybe that’s a part of his abilities as well?” Shedletsky said, leaning forward. 

“But what would that even do?” 007n7 asked, hand coming up to rest on his chin as he thought. 

“Oh come on! How are you so scarily good at this?” Chance yelled, hands coming up to grip at their hair as they sank to their knees. Taph offered no comment, just another dart hitting the centre. 

============

“Pray tell, what are you doing dear Elliot?”

Elliot jumped at the voice, startled at the sudden presence of Two Time, the one he had seen have wings rip from their back in the round just earlier. 

“Uhh, I’m just. Writing down my observations.” Elliot replied, turning to face the other. 

Two Time perked up, clearly interested. “I find myself rather curious. May I lend an ear?” 

Elliot grimaced, a little awkward. He wasn’t sure how to go about this, and there was something about Two Time that was..off. The pizza workers' eyes flicked down to their dagger, attached at their belt for easy access. He looked back at what he had written so far, letters small in the beginnings of what was quickly turning into a frustrated rant that wouldn’t have made sense to anyone but Elliot. 

“It’s not something I can explain easily.” He settled on saying, hoping to deter Two Time from asking any more questions. 

“That’s okay! I can still listen!” 

“I don’t really want to. Sorry.”

Two Time hummed. “Alright. I’ll just watch then.” 

Elliot fought the urge to scream, eye twitching a little. Why couldn’t they just go away? What about this made them want to stay? 

Elliot smiled, taught and strained. “Go ahead.” 

Whatever. He turned back to the chalkboard, chalk scraping against its surface as Elliot wrote with more pressure than was needed. It was fine. He was only rewriting the things he had on there before, until they were so rudely wiped off by The Spectre. 

He could hear the soft mutters of the other survivors upstairs, drifting down from above. They were probably talking about him, if the way the three admins had looked at each other was any indication. 

Elliot pauses. The chalk hovers in front of the board. His arm falters slightly, watching as the chalk begins to fall off the board, almost mockingly . 

“You’re kidding.” He says incredulously, shoulders tensing as the chalk just continues to fall. 

Two Time perks up from their spot at the table, watching as the chalk falls. They tilt their head, confusion evident in their expression.

Elliot blinks, once then twice. He watches as his hard work falls, becoming nothing more than chalk dust on the ground. 

He stays quiet for a few seconds, just staring at the dust. He breathes in, then screams . 

Elliot wants to make it clear, he fucking hates The Spectre.

————————

Guest winces, Noob clapping their hands over their ears as Elliot screams. 

“There we go.” Shedletsky says, pity seeping into his tone. “Took him a while.” 

The sound of the angry footsteps makes their way to the front door. 

“Elliot!” Comes a voice, belonging to Two Time. “W-wait!”

“What.” Elliot says.

Chance pauses. “Geez. He sounds worse than you did, Guest..” 

Guest doesn’t respond, only the nervous tapping of his foot betraying his calm stature. 

“Will you be okay?” Two Time asks. 

Elliot sighs, long and drawn out. “Yes. I just need some space.” He says, false positivity coating his voice, stiff and wrong. 

 The front door slams shut. 

Slowly, Two Time wanders upstairs to where the rest of the survivors are. They blink, standing in the archway. 

“What happened?” Noob asks, cautious. 

“I’m not sure.” Two Time says, picking at a scar just above their glove. “He was writing, on the board downstairs, of something he said was hard to explain. He didn’t want to. So I watched him write! But..” 

Two Time paused, as if reviewing the memory of what happened. “It started to..fall off? He was writing, and suddenly it began to disappear. He didn’t rub it off. It just...” Two Time made a vague gesture. 

“That’s n-never happened for me..” Noob muttered. They looked to the others, who all shook their head. 

“Me neither.” Chance said, coming over to the conversation, Taph trailing behind. 

Everyone turned their heads to the front door, muffled frustrated yells coming from the space outside. Looks of pity to various degrees were mirrored throughout the survivors, silent conversations being held. 

“Should we..you know..check on him?” Chance asked hesitantly.

“I-i remember my first day here..m-maybe we sh-should go and make s-sure he’s okay.” Noob suggested, looking to Builderman for confirmation. 

Builderman shook his head. “I’ll do it. We don’t know how he’s faring mentally at the moment, I don’t want him blowin’ up on anyone.” 

Noob frowned. “O-oh, okay. Uhm, be c-careful, I guess.”

“Thanks.” 

They all watched as Builderman made his way to the lobby, opening the front door and shutting it behind him. 

Shedletsky sighed. “Anyone up for a game of pool?” 

=============

“GOD FUCKING-” Elliot screeched as he threw a chair across the ground, wood splintering slightly as it kicked up dirt and gravel. 

He hated the spectre, hated these games, hated having to worry about others opinions now that there were other survivors, hated the killers, hated the lobby, hated everything to do with this god awful place. 

He grabbed the chair again, hurling it against a tree as it made a loud thunk. The tree groaned slightly. 

Elliot didn’t exactly have the healthiest ways he coped with his frustration, long shifts at the pizzeria usually resulting in him throwing rocks into the river near his house, muttering insults and pretending the rocks were rude customers and snobby kids who left their table without cleaning up after themselves. This realm didn’t have any good sized rocks, just pebbles for skipping stones and branches for kindling. He’d grabbed the chair from the other cabin, dragged it out to the clearing and begun to take out his anger that way. 

It was better than nothing, he tried to argue. 

“Fuck this stupid place. Fuck that little Spectre, pretentious little-” He raised the chair up high, smashing it against the ground, a leg finally snapping off. Elliot stood there, panting as he stared at the now broken chair. “All that work for nothing , why do I even bother?” 

Usually The Spectre would butt in at this point, mocking and smug as it would scold Elliot like it was his mother. ‘Oh Elliot, you know you can’t do that!’ it would say, and the chair would fix itself and Elliot would only get more angry, resulting in a cycle of anger and resentment. 

Whatever. Elliot was far too pissed to care. The chair found itself crashing into the side of one of the cabins, denting the wall. 

“Stupid pizza order. If I hadn’t taken it I wouldn’t be in this mess!” Elliot whined as he tugged at his hair, wincing as he had to then carefully untangle it. “Ow ow ow ow-”

It was a little bit calming, having to slow down and free his fingers from knots in his hair, breathing in slowly as he tried not to pull out any strands. He sniffled, tears pokinig at his eyes, but Elliot didn’t even feel like crying. He’s been here before, frustration running rampant and desperation at an all time high back when he had first arrived here. He thinks back to then, to how oblivious and innocent he had been. Unknowing of the trials that lay ahead, of the entity keeping him trapped here. 

He couldn’t even keep notes now. Presumably, the board would get rubbed off whenever Elliot tried to write something meaningful. He still had his phone, didn’t he? Maybe if he took some photos of his notes before they could disappear..Elliot pulled out the device, screen cracked from a nasty fall after Jason landed an honestly impressive gashing wound on him. (He doesn’t know why he calls it that. The name of it came to him almost instantly, and he’d referred to it as such since.) The screen flickered on, battery still at the same level it was when Elliot last checked. 

“Elliot?” 

 Elliot startled, the phone slipping from his grasp as he turned to look at Builderman. “O-oh, hey.”

Builderman made his way over, Elliot scrambling to pick his phone up before anything happened to it. 

“Just wanted to see how you’re doing.” 

Elliot laughed nervously. “Yeah, haha! I’m okay! Just a little annoyed, you know how it is!” 

…Spectre smite him right now, Elliot did not remember how to interact with other people. 

Builderman frowned, clearly not buying it. Yet his face returned to neutrality, hands in his pockets relaxed. “We’ve all been in your position, Elliot. You’re not alone. Whatever it you’re feeling, the group’s got your back, okay? You can talk to me or the others anytime you wish.” 

Elliot’s brow furrowed, only by a slight amount. Unnoticeable to the untrained eye. “I know. Thanks.” 

Elliot wasn’t sure what Builderman wanted out of this interaction. It was clear he wanted Elliot to vent some of his frustrations, but it was almost like he was trying to force it out of him politely. As if he was another person to go through the routine, another to worry about. He wished Builderman would just drop it, but if he didn’t tell him, then that responsibility would fall onto the survivors as a group. Elliot inwardly grimaced. 

“Talk to me if need be.” Builderman said, clearly about to continue that topic before his eyes flicked down to the object in Elliot’s hand. “Is that a phone?” 

Elliot blinked. “Uh, yeah?” 

Builderman let out a laugh, a mix of desperate relief and misguided hope. “You’re kiddin’! Maybe we can call someone!” The man said, unintentionally reaching to take Elliot’s phone from him. 

“It doesn’t work.” Elliot defended, twisting his body so the phone was out of Builderman’s reach. “I’ve tried already.” 

He had. He called 911 enough times to warrant a search helicopter and a whole rescue team, yet every time he’d been greeted with static and less and less hope each attempt. His call history was now just an abundance of calls that went through but were never answered. 

Builderman froze, as if remembering himself. “Ah. That’d..well, it’d make sense..” 

He lapsed into silence. It was awkward. So awkward. Way too awkward. Should Elliot reach over and pat him on the back, or would that be rude? 

“Sorry..”

“Nah, don’t worry yourself about it.” Builderman readjusted his hard hat, steeling himself. He paused, breathed in. Glanced at Elliot, then over to the docks. “..Goes to show we’re all affected by this. Whatever you’re goin’ through, we get it.” 

Elliot blinked long and hard, internally groaning and having to fight the urge to roll his eyes. Seriously? Back to this again? Did Elliot really look so bad that Builderman thought he was on the verge of a crisis? Geez! 

Elliot just nodded, lips thinning as Builderman studied him for longer than was necessary. Turning on his heel, he walked slowly to the main cabin with a slight sway that was probably meant to be inviting. Like a ‘follow me!’ kind of walk, but Elliot just felt as though it was a trap. On one hand, he’d honestly like to try talking to someone other than the thing in the sky, but on the other he felt a looming sense of foreboding coming from the cabin. 

…damnit. This felt like a visual novel, where choosing the wrong dialogue option would send you down the wrong game route. Elliot looked to the docks, then to Builderman, considered his options. 

“Oh well. Can’t get any worse..” He muttered to himself, quietly falling into step with Builderman as they walked up the steps to the front porch. 

The door opened, the warmth of the fireplace gently persuading Elliot to relax. He pocketed his phone, then looked up. 

‘Oh. It can get worse.’ 

Because there stood 007n7, burger hat on his head and still sporting that stereotypical dad outfit he had the unfortunate pleasure of seeing every time he clocked in for work. He’d gotten over the whole incident, sure, but he had said to himself the next time he saw the man it would be too soon.

And too soon it was. 

“Huh. What are the chances?” Elliot deadpanned, 007n7 faintly shrinking under his gaze. 

“Hey..” 007n7 offered, as if expecting Elliot to reject his greeting. His feet shuffled, hands wringing his wrists as he waited for Elliot’s response. 

Elliot sighed through his nose, faint yet audible. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the other survivors not so subtly spying on them from wherever they had situated themselves. Builderman’s steps faltered. Shedletsky chewed slower. Two Time gripped the banister tightly. Dusekkar pretended to dust the shelves, as Chance opened up a book. The only one who seemed to not really care was Guest, although he may be focusing on their conversation more so as a means to predict team relationship and morale. Elliot understood. If one person at any point during a rush messed up, the whole staff felt it, in burnt crusts and rushed slices, delayed deliveries and buffering registers. 

So, Elliot reluctantly put his feelings aside, swallowed his pride and stuck a hand out. “Been a while.” 

007n7’s eyes widened, sputtering as he stared at Elliot’s outstretched arm. “What?” 

Elliot raised an eyebrow. “I said it’s been a while.” 

The ex hacker blinked owlishly. “But-you, me..-Huh?”

Elliot sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he fought to maintain his calm. “Do you want me to yell at you? Be mad? Frankly I don’t really have the energy to do that. So.”

Elliot paused, looking 007n7 directly in the eyes. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? ”

“W-well, uhm, yes! It has!” A clammy hand shakily clasped around his, strained smiles and skeptical eyes evident on the man’s face like a shield. “I hope that everything has been, uh..” 007n7 paused, words trailing off as he took in Elliot. His head tilted to the side a little. “I mean, as good as it can be…” 

Considering where we are. Went unsaid. 

Elliot pulled his hand away from 007n7, discreetly wiping off the slight sweat that had gathered due to 007n7’s nerves. Really, how did this guy become such a nervous train wreck? The guy used to laugh when customers were flung out of their seats and cooks caught on fire. It was a mystery to Elliot. 

Everyone else had seemingly grown bored of the interaction between the two, going back to actually doing stuff instead of pretending like they weren’t eavesdropping. The tension in Guest’s shoulder eased. 

Elliot put his hands in his pockets, scuffing his feet along the floor as he walked past 007n7, the ex hacker tensing as their shoulders brushed. 

“I, uhm.” He started, tapping his index fingers together anxiously. “I really am sorry. For what happened. I-if I knew-”

Elliot stilled. 

“I would have done something. I just..”

“Don’t” Elliot warned, looking over his shoulder. “There’s nothing we can do about it here.”

He left it at that, walking back to the dining table as 007n7 stammered behind him. 

=================

“Hey man, pizza’s something I could really use right about now..” 

“Here.”

The other took the slice, taking a bite and rushing back to the killer. Elliot watched him go, sighing before going back to the generator. He flinched a little as the wire shocked him. 

It had been a while now, Elliot having learnt his role within the rounds as a healer. Somehow, his pizza bag was an infinite supplier of Builder Brother’s pizza, toppings randomised and only having one slice per forty-ish seconds. Elliot didn’t really count the exact time it took, just kept an eye on the bag and rushed towards anyone who was hurt. The first time someone had eaten it, the survivors all testing ideas and theories as to what Elliot could do, they had all watched in fascination as Noob’s wounds closed up and healed as if they had never been hit in the first place. 

There was a catch though; Elliot couldn’t use his pizza to heal himself. He had tried once, after he had been left as last man standing, only to spawn back in the cabin curled up on the floor and clutching his midsection as pain wracked through his body. He didn’t recover until four rounds later, barely able to function and left with a looming sense of dread whenever he felt hungry. Thank Telamon that wasn’t the case in between rounds, Elliot might’ve started picking fights with The Spectre if it was. 

The other survivors had been alright to hang out with, although it was a little frustrating whenever they’d reassure him and tell him he was doing great after a missed throw or on cooldown while a survivor died. Guest would tell him there was always a next time. Chance would make a cheesy joke about how he’d get the jackpot, he just had to keep trying. Noob would give him a few words of encouragement, and Two Time would give him ‘blessings from the Spawn.’ or whatever it was they believed in. They treated him almost like he was fragile, he could break at any moment. Look, it made a little sense, to them Elliot’s only just arrived here. They’ve been dealing with these rounds far longer than Elliot, gotten used to the torment and started to adjust to their new eternity. 

Elliot was fresh meat to the killers. Someone new, who hadn’t memorized attack patterns nor figured out strategies to combat them. He was constantly being targeted, killed by John’s spikes one moment, and a mass infection the next. The only killer the pizza worker was familiar with was Jason. Once Elliot swore that there was a glint of recognition in the killer’s eyes, darkened by the hockey mask as he ran past, hot on 007n7’s heels. The others had taken notice of how easily Elliot was able to evade the killer, giving him pats on the back as they congratulated him for pulling through as last man standing against him. Elliot had responded with small uneasy smiles as he subtly shrugged off the praise. He didn’t need it. He’d been through more rounds than probably all of the others combined.

Although, there had been one round where he was caught off guard. Horribly. 

It had started out like any other, if not for 007n7’s posture being much more tense than was the usual for the man, eyes darting around in faint paranoia. They’d immediately got started on a generator, wordless and efficient, 007n7 suddenly booking it as giggling echoed around the area they were in; a large room with a stage to the left of a ballpit, walls scattered around that the survivors had used to demonstrate how to break chase. 

“HEY! What the heck?” Elliot yelled. The generator wasn’t even halfway done! Where was he going?

“I remember you~!” a young, ecstatic voice sing songed from behind Elliot, the man in question turning his head to be met with a red, mutated form of the kid who had terrorised his work place and turned it into a bonfire party. 

C00lkidd grinned, teeth sharper than what Elliot remembered, claws raising up to slash as his back. “Let’s play!”

The claw came down, tearing through his red work shirt and scratching his black undershirt, pulling a few threads loose. Elliot yelped, scrambling away as the kid watched him run. 

“What the hell what the hell what the hell-” Elliot gasped as a brick took out one of his legs, tumbling to the floor as c00lkidd giggled and chased after him. 

Elliot limped to his feet, wincing every time his left foot made contact with the floor. He ran into a room with some weird goat head on a plate, mouth open in a silent scream as Elliot ran around the table and into the courtyard. There he caught sight of Guest and Dusekkar, the two snapping to attention as c00lkidd started screeching. 

“I’m it I’m it I”M IT!!” 

Elliot was launched straight into a wall, winded and most likely concussed as Guest charged towards c00lkidd, running into him and shoving him away. Dusekkar raced over to Elliot, medkit in hand as the man wheezed, blood pooling out of his torso as he felt flames lick at his back. 

“Oh dear.” Dusekkar muttered, glancing behind him as Guest led the killer away. “What a nasty hit. Please take this medkit!” 

Elliot blinked, dazed from being slammed into a brick wall, Dusekkar’s words buzzing around in his head. It must be inconvenient, for the admin to constantly rhyme. Or annoying. Why did Dusekkar rhyme every time he spoke? 

“Elliot? Here, stay with me! We don’t have all of eternity..” Dusekkar said, unlatching the metal clasps of the medkit, hurriedly pouring the weird potion that healed even the most fatal of wounds. 

“Ugh..” Elliot groaned, mind clearing a little as his vision blurred in and out. His wound began to clean itself up, blood being sucked back in (how that worked Elliot did not want to know) as skin began to work its way back together. “It hurts..” 

Dusekkar frowned. “Come on..” 

Elliot blinked. That might be the first time the pumpkin wizard (pumpkin wizard?) hadn’t rhymed. He laughed. 

“He’s delirious.” Dusekkar said, someone else racing up to the duo and crouching down. Gauze was wrapped around his midsection, tight and not helping his winded form. 

“Matt, hand me the bandages. He’s bleeding from his head.” 

His visor was taken off, placed on the ground next to him. Builderman gently began to wrap a bandage around his head, rubbing some of the weird concoction on the wound. Elliot winced, vision finally unblurring as he looked at the worried faces of Builderman and Dusekkar. 

Builderman snapped his fingers. “Hey, hey. Elliot, can you follow my finger?” He said, sticking his index finger in the air and moving it from side to side. Elliot struggled to follow, squinting as the pain from his torso subsided. 

“Shit, he’s concussed.” Builderman grunted, lifting the injured man up and helping him move to a safer spot. “Matt. Keep him safe, okay? Wound's all healed but he’s got a concussion. I’ll set a dispenser up.” 

Elliot was leaned up behind a wall, to the right of the entrance that had those weird green zombie arms sticking out of the ground. Builderman hit the ground with his hammer, a dispenser beginning to assemble itself from debris scattered around. Pink mist began to coat the ground, healing any cuts the medkit didn’t. Dusekkar kept an eye on him, staff raised to cast a shield at any moment. Elliot, still half delirious and seeing doubles spent the rest of the round like that, groaning as the timer eventually ticked down to zero. 

He was still a little shaken from that round, 007n7 shrinking whenever Elliot’s eyes wandered his way, ducking out of the cabin if his gaze lingered even just a little too long. 

But what the hell was a kid doing here? 

—————-

“Oi.” Elliot said, standing at the edge of the docks after the other survivors had gone to bed. “I know you can hear me. I wanna talk.”

The sky turned a soft red, as if the sun was setting. Clouds turned into black ink, a headache forming in Elliot’s head. 

..Elliot. 

“Spectre.” 

His hands burrowed deep into his pockets, feet scuffing against the wooden boards of the dock. 

“Why the fuck is c00lkidd here.” 

What is it that you mean?

“I mean that you’ve trapped a kid in here and made him participate in these games of yours. That’s really messed up.”

The Spectre laughed. Elliot didn’t think it could. 

Why not? You of all people know what he’s done. Should he not suffer? Should 007n7 not suffer?

Elliot frowned. He looked down, his reflection staring back at him. Something felt off about it.

“..He’s a kid . As much as I hate what he did, this..this is too much.” 

Relax, Elliot. He’s just playing a game of Tag! 

“Tag? He thinks he’s playing Tag?” Elliot scoffed. “He’d be devastated if he ever found out.” 

Then you’ll find it pleasing that he never will! 

.     .     .

..Elliot. This was never meant to comfort. This is hell. One must suffer. 

“Why do you care? It was my workplace that was attacked, not your ego.” 

I care very little for that. Everyone here is for my amusement. Toys, if you will. They all have something they must suffer for. This is just that pesky hacker’s hell. The kid is just unfortunate collateral. 

Elliot clicked his tongue, annoyed. Look, he really really wanted to avoid having to interact with The Spectre as much as he could, and while yes c00lkidd was far from his favourite person in the world it just wasn’t fair for the kid to be here. It wasn’t fair for any of them. 

“Then what am I here for? What did I do, huh? What did Noob do? What did Builderman do?” 

.   .   .

I am not obliged to answer that. 

“Well, fuck you too then.” 

Elliot looked out to the island that lay in the fog, squinting to make out its form better. The sky still flashed red, headache worsening. He yawned, exhaustion catching up to him as he blinked tiredly. He left the dock, gravel crunching underfoot as he made his way to one of the secondary cabins, shutting the door behind him as he climbed into bed, tucking the thin blanket up to his chin. 

“I hate this..” He muttered to himself, closing his eyes as the wind rustled outside. 

============

“Hey, uhm. Taph?” Noob said, tapping the demolitionist on the shoulder. 

Taph turned to them, cloak rustling as he spun a tripmine core in his hands. He tilted his head curiously, waiting for Noob to speak. 

“C-can I talk to you?” They asked, fiddling with the bracelets on their wrist. 

Taph nodded, placing the tripmine core on a nearby table and following Noob out to the front porch of the main cabin. 

[ What’s up?] He signed. 

Noob looked around, uneasy as they looked back to Taph. “Uhm, well. I w-wanted to talk to you, cause y-you’re always g-good at listening..and I d-didn’t know who else to talk t-to.” 

They breathed in, taking a seat on one of the rickety old rocking chairs, Taph doing the same. 

“Is there something..off about Elliot to you?” They began, rocking back and forth. 

Taph narrowed his eyes, although you couldn’t really see it under the hood. [ In what way? ]

“He..I don’t know..” Noob searched for words to use. “I heard him talking to himself, once. He sounded really m-mad, like he was f-fighting with someone. B-but he was all alone. And, h-he doesn’t seem as s-scared as everyone else. L-like, I don’t know how t-to explain it, but something just feels w-wrong when I’m near h-him. Like something i-is wa-watching me..” 

Taph brought a finger up to scratch at his bandana, mulling over Noob’s words. 

He hadn’t interacted much with Elliot, just firm nods and mandatory pizza slices here and there, occasional glances as Elliot led killers to his traps. He’d never sat down to have a proper conversation with the man, although that was to be a given, considering Taph’s lack of a voice and Elliot’s lack of sign knowledge. 

Yet, there was some merit to Noob’s worries. 

Taph had seen it in the way tension lined Elliot’s shoulders in a way that was much different to Guest or Builderman, a permanent scowl often etching its way onto his face before Elliot caught it and replaced it with what Taph would describe as a disarming, perfect customer service smile. Probably from his years in food retail. 

He’d adapted much quicker than anyone else had to the different killers and their styles, fixed generators at a rate that could rival 007n7, and had survived more chases despite the fact he was a constant target every single match. 

[ I see where you are coming from. ] Taph responded, leaning forward slightly. [ He’s very experienced for someone who is fairly new. ]

Noob smiled. “See! You get it! I told Chance before, they just said he was probably a fast learner..” 

Taph hummed; It was one of the few noises he could make. [ It is a reasonable argument. But, considering it all.. ] 

Taph thought for a moment. 

[ Him being a fast learner feels too coincidental. ]

Noob nodded. “S-should we..ask him about it?” 

Taph shook his head. [ No. We don’t want to bring alarm. Lay low. Observe. ]

Noob exhaled, leaning back into the rocking chair. “..Alright.” 

Chapter Text

Let it be known, they hated this form of transport. 

Step left. Right. Left. Right. Watch that rock. Don’t trip on that branch. Careful of that small hole. 

There. The cabin is over there. Everyone is sleeping, right? Lights off, curtains drawn shut.

Yeah, they’re asleep. 

Left, right, left, right. Pause. Left, right. 

Should we knock? Do we wait for them to awaken?

…nah. 

Open the door. Step over Two Time. Why do they sleep right by the door? On the floor to boot..It’s so weird.

Chance on the daybed. Guest and Noob sharing the couch. 007n7 sideways on a chair. Dusekkar levitating, fire dull as he sleeps. Taph surrounded by tripwires as he sleeps in a corner.

No Elliot. No Builderman. 

They must be in the other cabins. 

…

Time to wait until they awaken. 

But what to do until then? It was difficult to sleep in this body. It did not need sleep, but the body did. What an inconvenience. 

He should have just jumped into a round..

==========

Two Time awoke with a start. Eye wide and heart pounding, yet they had not had any nightmares. Not that they could recall. 

They remained in their lying down position, fingers creeping down towards their dagger. They made contact with the cold metal, hand wrapping around the hilt stiffly. Their eyes scanned the cabin, flicking around before landing on a shadowy figure. They watched, eyes unblinking and awake. 

The shadowy figure stood there, breathing slightly laboured as if out of breath. It’s shoulders were slumped at an unnatural angle, hunched over like standing straight physically pained it. 

Two Time couldn’t describe it. They looked at it, traced the outline of it’s figure, studied the angle of their face. Yet, no words came to mind to name the creature. It was utterly incomprehensible. You could look, but you could not understand. 

It was a demon. It must be. 

Two Time pulled their dagger from it’s position of being haphazardly tucked into the rope that they qualified as a belt. They shifted into a crouching position, balance spread out as to limit any noise they could possibly make, right arm held behind them ready to strike as their left led the way. 

The demon did not notice anything. Nothing was amiss. 

Two Time grinned.

They lunged, right arm coming to attack the demon, muttering a prayer that they had been taught to use when excorsising unholy thoughts or demons from the mind. ’Praise be to the Spawn, I ask for your holy favour. Rid this body of unholy thoughts, excorsise any demonic beings residing in the heart.Thanks be to the Spawn for it’s good grace.’

The dagger made contact, sinking into flesh and scraping the bone of the spine. A clean hit. 

“OW- FUCK!” it screeched, flinching hard as it stumbled, falling to it’s knees. “What the-” 

The demon turned it’s head, glaring at Two Time. 

“ YOU. ” It said, voice full of malice and scorn. 

Two Time grinned still, yet they were uneasy. It should be writhing around, the demon should be gone. 

But it was still there. 

They tried again. Lunged forward, arms above their head this time. Just like when-

Their arms came down, aiming for the upper back region. 

“Begone! Do not taint the words of the Spawn with your unholy lies, demon!” They recited, like how one of the elders had done to a young girl after she had eaten something that was reserved for the leader. She had screamed and cried for hours, strapped to the altar in front of everyone as preachers and elders chanted prayers and hymns. Two Time hadn’t seen that girl since. 

The demon grunted, falling to their stomach as they tried to clutch the area that Two Time had stabbed. “You little fucking shit!” It jeered, switching tactics to instead lunge at Two Time, hands aiming for their neck. 

Two Time dodged, movements lithe and agile due to their smaller form. The demon crashed into the floor. It must be unused to the body it stole. 

Two Time would have to try harder. The demon was a strong one. They reached for their rope belt, untying it to use as makeshift binds to restrict the demon’s movements. Like the preachers did. 

They began to close in on the demon, as it scrambled to regain it’s balance. It was shaky, not in fear, but in discomfort, like a baby taking it’s first steps. 

Two Time pounced. 

“TWO TIME!” A voice yelled, hands coming to wrap around their torso, pulling them back from attacking the demon. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” 

They looked up. Guest, face stoic as his eyebrows furrowed deep. Chance, blinking dazedly as they fumbled to put their sunglasses and hat on. 

“I am merely purging this man of a demon that plagues his mind!” They explained, trying to wriggle out of the soldiers grasp. Guest’s arms only tightened. “I must do it! As a devotee to the Spawn, it is my responsibility-” 

“Two Time, not now.” Guest said, voice no nonsense and flat. 

Two Time shut themself up. Their dagger clattered to the floor, as they went limp. If it were a much less severe situation, one might laugh, akin the situation to someone holding a cat under it’s front paws. But now was not an appropriate moment. 

They looked to their right. Dusekkar only glanced at them with a scornful look. Their left. Noob greeted the sight with tired blinks and confused stares. 

007n7 came over, pizza slice in hand. “Are you alright?” He spoke, offering it up like it was a precious treasure. 

The demon snatched the pizza from the man’s hand, shoving it in his mouth and swallowing like a man starved. Two Time glared. 

How could they not see? It was clearly a demon! 

“We’re sorry about that! Two Time can be…” 007n7 trailed off. Eyes uneasy, voice faltering. “Can be a little paranoid. They didn’t mean to hurt you!” 

The demon coughed, pained. It paused, wheezing, before tilting it’s head to fix Two Time with the nastiest glare that Two Time had ever had the pleasure of seeing. 

Yet it all vanished underneath a disarming smile, eyes crinkling as the demon looked to 007n7. “It’s okay.” 

“Are you sure?” 007n7 asked, eyebrows upturned. 

The demon nodded. “Thank you. I’m very okay.” 

“What’s your name?” Chance asked, coming up to stand beside Guest. 

“..It’s Tyler.” They responded after a moment. Slightly unsure. Perfectly certain. 

“Well, Tyler. Welcome to hell.” Chance said, smiling like the sun shined and the birds sang. 

‘Tyler’ looked at Chance inquisitively. “What? Hell?” 

The room became tense. 

Guest loosened his grip on Two Time, the cultist taking the opportunity and grabbing their dagger, dashing out of the main cabin. If they could not exorcize the demon, then they would save themselves from being tainted by its trickery and temptation. The others were too far gone, they could see it in their placating gestures and unjudging tones. 

No one stopped them. 

======================

Knock. Knock. 

Knock. Knock Knock. 

Knock knock knock knock-

“What?!” Elliot yelled from his position in bed, blinking sleep from his eyes and stretching, back popping as a result of the uncomfortable mattress. He wiped some drool from his mouth, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and padding his way over to the door of the cabin. 

Opening it revealed Two Time, eyes wide and clutching their dagger like a lifeline. 

“Elliot! Oh, dear Elliot, there is an unholy presence within the main cabin! Do not listen to it’s lies, or it’s trickery! The others are all much too far gone to be saved without repercussion, but I can prevent you from falling for its temptations! Please, listen to me dear Elliot!” 

“Woah woah woah, Two Time, what’s going on?” Elliot asked, gesturing for the other to come inside. 

“A demon appeared, just earlier this night. It woke me! But I was fortunate that it had not taken action, that I had not been tainted before I could recite a prayer. The others, perhaps the demon saved me for last. They’ve all fallen for it’s tricks, Elliot.” 

Elliot blinked, confusion fast approaching. “Demon? Two Time, I need a coherent story, not this muddled up version. Breathe out and in, steady yourself. You’re okay.” 

Two Time breathed in deep, closing their eyes as they mumbled under their breath. Elliot waited, arms crossed as he watched Two Time calm down, fighting back a yawn. Two Time wasn’t so bad, if you could tune out the delirious ramblings of the Spawn. Elliot didn’t mind them. 

“I awoke, not more than ten minutes ago. A creature made it’s way into the cabin. Humanoid, in nature, but I could not understand it! I looked at it, but I could not describe it!” They began, arms flailing about. “It was a demon! So I began to excorsise it, cleanse the body that it inhabited, but then Guest stopped me. I tried to tell him it was a demon, that it was here to tempt us and trick us with lies, but they were all too far gone. Even Dusekkar, he too understands the words of the Spawn, yet he was just as easily persuaded into believing the demon!” 

Elliot processed Two Time’s words. “Someone came in, to the main cabin,” He said, looking to Two Time for confirmation. The other nodded frantically. “And like, brainwashed everyone?” 

“Yes! You understand! Thank Spawn, you are not so easily decieved, dear Elliot.”

“Wait, you say you couldn’t describe them?” 

Two Time nodded. “Not a word, not a single adjective! ..It is adjective, right?” They added as an afterthought.

“Yes. Adjective for describing words.” Elliot responded. Had Two Time really not had a proper education? 

He retreated back to the bed, grabbed his clothes he wore in rounds and began to put them on. Two Time followed, worry lacing their posture, hands clasped like a protection spell. 

“What are you doing?” They asked. 

“I’m going to check it out.” Elliot replied, tugging on his jacket and shoes. 

“But, Elliot, it is dangerous! Very much so!” 

“Well, we need to be there if anything happens to the others. Save them when the demon enacts on its plan. We’re the only ones who know the truth, right?” He said, appealing to Two Time’s mindset at this moment. They seemed to genuinely consider Elliot’s words, coming to their own conclusion that made sense to them. 

“..Why yes, we can’t let them get hurt! We know it’s a demon, so we must have been given the responsibility to take care of those less fortunate! It is the Spawn’s plan!” 

Elliot grimaced. “I wouldn’t say Spawn’s…” 

“Nonsense! Come on Elliot, let’s embark on our newfound responsibility of ensuring our fellow survivors safety! It is our job, assigned to us by the Spawn!” They said, grabbing his arm and rushing back to the main cabin. 

Outside, he spotted Builderman, who seemed to be only just walking into the main cabin. Two Time tightened their hold on Elliot, slowing down and leaning into his side a little more than was necessary. 

“Elliot, Look..Builderman is walking in! We cannot warn him in front of the enemy! He’s going to be tricked!” 

“Builderman’s smart, he’ll understand. We’ll tell him later.” Elliot said, half lie, half truth. Because honestly, he didn’t know what was real or fake when it came to Two Time. It was a blurred line.

Two Time steeled their gaze. “Okay.” 

They made their way inside, Two Time stiffening as they looked at the newcomer. Everyone surrounded them, shaking hands and explaining their predicament. Through the gaps of shoulders and people, Elliot caught sight of the stranger. 

Elliot blinked. 

“You really can’t describe him..” he whispered to Two Time, the other thinning their lips into a straight line. 

Soft chatter filled the room, the stranger speaking with all of the survivors, questioning and answering as they all conversed. The stranger paused, as if sensing something, before looking right at Elliot. Like they saw him, and not the man who had taken the role of team healer. 

“Who’s this?” They asked, and fuck, Elliot recognised that voice. He couldn’t put a name to it, but it felt so familiar in a way that frustrated him. Two Time winced. Elliot apologised for suddenly squishing their arm between his arm and ribcage. 

Just go along with it. 

“I’m Elliot! Sorry, Two Time had to come over and wake me up..” He smiled sheepishly, the cultist looking up at him in worry. 

“Elliot!” They hissed, clearly concerned. “He’s..” 

“I know.” Elliot muttered back, before plastering a smile back onto his face. “What’s yours?” 

“Tyler!” He said cheerily, sticking a hand out as he walked over. Elliot took it, shaking firmly as something unspoken went between them. 

Liar. I don’t trust you. From Elliot. 

I know you. Watch out. From Tyler. 

“I’ve been given the run down on how things work around here.” Tyler said, putting his hands on his hips. “Hopefully I don’t go too crazy, haha..”

Elliot laughed. “Everyone does at some point.” 

Tyler paused, eyes losing their shine for just a moment. Elliot frowned at the sudden change. Something was off. Their posture stiffened, fists clenched. Smile suddenly strained and painful like it tore his cheek muscles to even try. His hair was a mess, a sandy brown dirtied by mud and soot, eyes lined with deep eyebags that spoke of hundreds of sleepless nights. His chin held some stubble, unkempt and dotting his face. A hand came to scratch at his lips, shaking. Scared. Fearful. 

“I’m gonna go crazy..” They whispered, Elliot only just hearing it. “Oh God, not again..I can’t do it again..”

“What?” He said, stepping back in discomfort. Seriously, what was up with this guy?

Then, as quickly as it came, ‘Tyler’’s eyes sparkled again, as he turned back to face the other survivors. “Well, what can I do to help out?” 

=======================

“You really scared me, Elliot.” Two Time said as they walked to the docks, laughing nervously. “You began to laugh with him! I thought I was the only one left who saw its true intent!” 

Elliot grimaced. “That was so creepy..”

He couldn’t shake that small moment, where for a second, it seemed as someone entirely different had spoken, eyes dull and lifeless in a way that was much too familiar to Elliot. In a way that felt almost like a mirror. 

“What should we do?” Two Time asked, detaching their arm from Elliot’s as he walked to sit on the edge of the dock. He stared into the water, unmoving for a while. Two Time came to sit by him, silent as they both watched the water. 

“I don’t know.” Elliot finally said, looking at the other. “What can we do?” 

Yet, there had been a moment where Elliot had looked at him, and had seen. The moment when his eyes dulled, his smile faltered, Elliot could see the man. Describe his features, remember his face. The life had left him, leaving him as a hollow of who he truly was. A man who had been through horrors unknown to Elliot, unknown to the team. 

That was Tyler. 

Not whatever had been talking to him earlier. 

“We must save everyone. I cannot bear to see them be..mocked by this demon.” Two Time leaned into Elliot, deep in thought. Their arm found their way back to his. “Elliot, may I teach you how to cleanse the soul? I will show you the ways of the Spawn so that you too can aid me in ridding this place of that..thing..”

Elliot hummed. “I dunno, Two Time..” Honestly, he would rather not involve himself in whatever delusions Two Time had, or whatever the cult had taught him prior to being trapped here. Elliot spared a glance to the cultists face. 

Their eyes were wide, clearly shaken by ‘Tyler’ and his belief that it was truly a demon that was in his body. Elliot blinked, looking down at the grip they had on his forearm, wincing as he realised just how tight the other was holding on to him. Like he was their last hope. Their body shook with tremors every now and then, legs swinging back and forth on the dock. 

They looked so..young. Fragile, innocent. 

Elliot had seen shock before. Back when the pizzeria had been engulfed in flames, people sitting in the back of ambulances with bright blankets wrapped around them as they stared into the middle distance, unblinking as people around them asked questions and offered condolences. 

Two Time really believed they were in terrible danger. That Tyler posed a threat to their safety.

..Elliot could at least help give some peace of mind. 

“Alright.” He said, albeit reluctantly. 

The effects were immediate. Two Time perked up, grinning as they stood on two legs. They tugged Elliot up to a standing position, pulling them to a secluded area just behind the cabin Elliot was sleeping in earlier. They took their dagger out, muttering something before gently taking Elliot’s hands and placing it. 

“Please do listen carefully, Elliot. I do not wish for the Spawn to take offense to me teaching you its ways.” Two Time said, before breathing in. 

They began to instruct him how to carve a symbol into the ground, Elliot’s hands precise and efficient as if he was slicing a pizza back at work. Dirt smudged into his hands, slightly damp and muddy in the cold air as he shuffled around to create a circle. He stabbed the dagger into the ground, once, then twice, Two Time clapping before telling him to stick it in like a stake. 

“Now, you recite the prayer. Usually, you would recite it as the demon would be placed within the middle, but this is only practice. The Spawn shall understand.” 

Elliot took a shaky breath. He felt weird about the whole thing, an uncomfortable feeling creeping up his spine as he followed Two Time’s teachings. 

Two Time clasped their hands. Elliot did the same. “The intent behind this is to create a space in which only holy beings may stand inside, and cleanse the bodies and minds of those who have been tainted by evil spirits and demons.” 

Two Time adjusted their kneeling position, eyes tracing Elliot’s posture before nodding to themself. “Good. Let’s begin. Repeat after me.”

=============

“I’m scared, Tyler. Everything feels wrong..”

Tyler huffed. “We’ll be okay David. I’ll protect you.” 

David sniffled. “But what if it’s not okay? What if this times different?”

They both went quiet. 

“I don’t want to be here..” He whispered, hugging himself as he started to cry. “Why am I here?”

Tyler shuffled awkwardly, looking down at the kid. “I don’t know. I don’t know..”

The grandfather clock began to tick. It echoed around the cabin, jolting Tyler out of his thoughts. David wiped his tears away. 

“Stick close.” Tyler said, crouching down to David’s level. “Find me, okay? Slasher isn’t going to get you.” 

David nodded, eyes puffy and red rimmed. 

The grandfather clock chimed, louder than ever before. Tyler felt the world go black, before waking up to red skies and inky clouds. 

He blinked. Sat up, looked around. Static clouded his eyes, for just a moment. 

“David?” He called, standing up and beginning to look for the boy. He cupped his hands around his mouth. “David?”

“TYLER!” David screamed from across the map, voice full of terror and pain. “HELP! TYLER, PLEASE HELP ME!” 

Tyler shouted, running to the source of his voice. “I’m coming! David, where are you?!”

He rounded a corner, eyes frantic and breath erratic. Adrenaline coursed through his body, as his eyes landed on the kid, held up in the air by an inky black arm drenched in code, binary dripping off like water.

David screamed Tyler’s name, arm reaching out to him as he wailed. 

snap. 

His arm fell limp, screams ceased as the thing carelessly dropped David on the ground. 

Tyler dropped to his knees, hand clutching at his shirt. 

He looked up. Finally registered it in his mind that this was not Slasher. 

The thing shifted, head turning slightly as Tyler made eye contact with it. 

That was the last he saw of David. 

Of anything, really.

=============

Two Time practically skipped back into the cabin, smiling and cheery as though nothing had happened earlier. 

Dusekkar watched with a judging eye, observing the delight that coated the cultist’s posture, frowning. They were missing the dagger from their belt, although Dusekkar had seen them pick it up from where they had dropped it just a couple of hours earlier. 

He picked up his staff, following the cultist into the kitchen area. He watched further as they rummaged through cabinets and pantries, picking out some snacks. They studied the packaging, eyes squinting as if they were trying to make sense of the letters on it. They gave up, grabbing whatever looked best before turning around. 

“What has you in this jovial mood, Two Time?” He interrogated. 

Two Time blinked. “My dear Dusekkar, surely you jest! Am I not as I am every other day?” 

Dusekkar sneered. “Something has happened for you to find yourself in such high spirits. I do not believe that this is how you consistently believe yourself to be.” 

Two Time went quiet. Adjusted their hold on the snacks. 

“..Why does this concern you so much?” They asked, starting to get defensive. 

“It concerns me because I find unease in your actions.” 

Dusekkar moved closer. 

“Two Time, tell me.” 

The cultist shuffled away, avoiding Dusekkar’s gaze. “Dear Elliot has merely..offered to aid me in my troubles. It has made me happy.” 

Dusekkar narrowed his eyes. “Is that really all it is?” 

Two Time nodded. “Yes! Yes, it is. Surely you know the Spawn does not condone lies? As a fellow believer of the Spawn-“ 

Dusekkar scowled, floating away from the cultist. “Please do not talk of that in my presence.”

Two Time just scurried past him, out the front door and shutting it behind them. 

Dusekkar made his way upstairs, to where Builderman and Shedletsky were talking to the new survivor. They seemed to be talking about the rounds, describing the killers and their abilities. 

Dusekkar spared a glance to Tyler, his posture seemingly disinterested with the conversation at hand. 

“Oh, hey Matt!” Shedletsky greeted, waving casually to the admin. 

Builderman gave him a firm nod, hands in his jacket pockets. Tyler looked over to him, straightening. 

“Dusekkar, right?” He asked, unfolding his arms. 

“Yes.” He answered, placing his staff by the bookshelf. 

Tyler gave him a smile. “I’ve heard you can do some pretty cool stuff.” He said, scratching the back of his neck. “Castin’ shields and zappin’ killers..” he chuckled nervously. “I’m just hoping I can do cool stuff like that, too.” 

Dusekkar caught Shedletsky shifting slightly, confusion faint but there. 

“Do not fret. Your role will be no less important than what anyone else can do.” He said, tilting his head as he smiled reassuringly. Tyler seemed to relax at his words. 

They talked for a little while longer, explaining the mechanics and more niche details of the rounds. Tyler was somewhat receptive, if not a little bored, which put the three admins off. 

They finished up, Tyler leaving the trio to explore the area. 

Shedletsky was the first to speak up. “I really don’t understand why Two Time doesn’t like him. He’s pretty chill.” He paused. “Although..”

Builderman sat down at one of the surrounding tables. “What’s up?” 

“I never told him about your shields, Matt. I’ve got no idea how he knew.” 

Dusekkar hummed. “It’s possible someone else mentioned it. He was with Noob earlier, was he not?” 

“That is true, Shed. They probably brought it up, tryin’ to figure out what he could do.” Builderman piped up, leaning back in his chair. “Maybe Two Time’s rubbin’ off on ya!” He teased. 

Shedletsky waved a hand dismissively. “Hey, you can’t fault a man for wondering!” 

They fell into a comfortable silence, Shedletsky taking a seat across from Builderman as Dusekkar drifted over. 

Or at least as comfortable as one can get when an hour of having to survive killers was just around the corner. 

When Dusekkar had woken up here, jostled from sleep and in an entirely new realm, his initial response had been to immediately fight for a way out. That was when he discovered that he could not access his magic as easily as he had before. There was some barrier, some force that halted him from going any further than casting measly shields and striking others with a beam of light from their staff. 

Builderman liked to joke that he had the worst breakdown out of everyone as of yet, the admin throwing himself into the various books that lined the shelves and spending countless nights awake, searching for anything to get them out of there. He was fighting sleep in rounds, zapping survivors instead of killers and missing shields every now and then. 

Dusekkar liked not to talk about it. 

He’d grown accustomed to his new reality, adjusted and adopted a new routine. He got along with the others. 

With the exception of Two Time. 

Their delusions in believing the Spawn to be a living breathing involved god disgusted the admin, Dusekkar unable to stop the scowl that worked its way onto his face whenever the cultist found themself to be in the same room as he was. They’d seem to gravitate towards Dusekkar, despite his clear discomfort, trying to strike up conversation over their shared knowledge of the Spawn. Two Time tried to get him to see the Spawn for what it apparently was; something to worship and devote one’s life to. Dusekkar tried to dissuade Two Time’s delusion, yet each time the two talked, it ended in a stalemate. One refusing to believe, one refusing to let go. 

Dusekkar thought back to his earlier encounter with them. It wasn’t odd for Two Time to exhibit strange behaviour, but for them to suddenly latch onto Elliot so quickly was unnatural. While yes, Elliot often lended an ear to whatever it was the other wanted to ramble on about, although Dusekkar could never quite gauge what Elliot thought of it all. The man was frustratingly good at hiding his true thoughts. 

He’d have to keep an eye on the two. Make sure Two Time wasn’t doing anything rash. 

===================

The ritual sat in the dirt, ominous and foreboding as Elliot stared at it. His hands felt dirty, in a way that dug under the skin and itched deep in your bones. Two Time had gone to get something to eat, leaving Elliot alone with his thoughts. 

God, he felt horrible. Why did he agree to do this? 

Elliot shivered. It almost felt like Dusekkar was behind him, judging him with scornful eyes, the way he looked at Two Time whenever they sat down nearby. He knows the Spawn is a hoax, that Two Time was in a cult. He had held nothing but pity for them, Elliot knew how restrictive and controlling cults can be. Once they got a hold of you, you had to fight tooth and nail to get out. 

Maybe that’s why he felt so off. He had affirmed Two Time’s delusions, although he was sure that Two Time wasn’t letting go of them any time soon. The dagger sat upright in the middle of the circle, runes carved purposefully with a steady hand. The cold night air nipped at the back of his neck. 

“Elliot! I have brought back something to nourish us!” Two Time called, padding over and dumping the snacks by Elliot. 

“Thanks, Two Time.” He said, grabbing a packet of some sort of chips, opening it and taking a couple. He offered it to Two Time, who happily accepted it and grabbed their own handful, plopping down next to Elliot. 

“..Can you teach me what it says?” They asked after a moment, almost nervous. 

Elliot blinked. Was Two Time becoming more comfortable with him? They’d never asked for things like this before. It was..nice, in a way. Reminding him of when Mia struggled with her homework and asked for his help.

“Sure. Here, this is ‘a’.” He started, pointing to the letter as Two Time studied it, committing it to memory. They nodded. 

He then went down the word, saying each letter and continuing when Two Time gestured for him to do so. He then taught the cultist how to form letters, going through the motions of writing out the alphabet, and watching as Two Time copied him with shaky hands. It was horribly illegible, like writing with your non-dominant hand, but there was meaning to the lines, shapes forming with intent. 

“Hey.” 

Elliot jumped, startled as he turned to meet Tyler, hands behind his back as he glanced down to the pair. Two Time stiffened, subtly hiding any trace of Elliot’s teaching from the man.

“Hello.” Elliot replied, plastering a smile on his face. Two Time remained silent. 

“Uh..Well, what are you guys doing?” Tyler asked, rocking on his heels. 

Elliot looked to Two Time, who looked back at him expectantly. 

“We’re just..talking..” Elliot said, unsure of what to say. The air was tense. The ritual lay behind him, evidence of what they had been doing. 

“Cool. Mind if I join?” 

Tyler didn’t wait for a response, crossing his legs as he sat in between Elliot and Two Time. 

Elliot was surprised Two Time hadn’t booked it at this point, body shaking with a sort of anticipation as their eyes flicked to Elliot’s and then to the ritual in a clear message. Elliot pursed his lips. 

“Everyone’s given me the rundown on how this place works. Insane to think how someone could do this.” Tyler said, taking a chip from the bag. 

Elliot hummed, watching as Two Time slowly and quietly shuffled to get behind Tyler, bracing themself for what they were about to do. “Pretty crazy. I couldn't believe it myself when I got here.” 

Tyler huffed, opening his mouth to speak before he was shoved over, toppling to the ground as Two Time began to attempt to tie him up using their rope. Elliot sat there, unsure of whether to help or not.

There was undoubtedly something off about the guy, something unnatural and in that uncanny valley that left one reeling. Elliot still couldn’t describe the man, no matter how much he looked. 

“Elliot, do you remember the prayer?” Two Time asked, Tyler trying to regain a sense of balance as he tried to comprehend what was happening. “Now is the time, where the others are not here to object! Quickly, dear Elliot!” 

Two Time pushed him into the middle of the circle, scrambling to a kneeling position and clapsing their hands in prayer. They hurriedly gestured for Elliot to follow, the pizza worker obliging. 

Tyler blinked, hissing under his breath as he tried to wriggle out of the binds, Two Time opening their mouth and beginning to recite the prayer they had taught Elliot earlier. 

Tyler froze, limbs going still as he whined. Elliot’s eyes widened. 

He joined Two Time in the prayer, a strange adrenaline fueling him to do so, watching as Tyler began to writhe. 

There’s no way.

Two Time became esctatic, grinning as they continued on, watching in fascination as they excorsised what they believed to be a demon. 

It felt like ages to Elliot. But only a minute had passed before Tyler went still, head flopping onto the dirt as he panted. The ropes, loosened from his struggling, fell around him as he hurriedly got on all fours and promptly threw up. Elliot grimaced. Two Time gasped. 

“Dear Tyler! Tell me, how do you feel?” They asked, crawling over to the man excitedly. 

Tyler gasped, heaving as Two Time patted his back with a gentleness Elliot hadn’t quite seen before. 

“Oh God…Fuck…why did you do that?” He said, wiping his mouth. “You’re dead meat, you know that?” 

Elliot lowered his hands. Swallowed thickly. 

“You’re Tyler, aren’t you?” He said, more of a statement than a question. 

Tyler looked to him, studied him, judged his character. A look of fear overtook his eyes. “Shit, Elliot?” 

“You know me?” 

“You’re all it ever fucking thinks about!” Tyler shouted, Two Time wincing at the noise. “Elliot, you’re in so much danger, you cannot be near me at all. You can’t afford that.” 

“What? Why?” Elliot said, dumbfounded. 

Tyler collected himself, shifting to a crouching position as he shook off Two Time’s hand. 

“The Spectre, it hates you. It wants to kill you with it’s own hands.” Tyler warned, eyes hardened as his bags deepened. “Elliot, you don’t come back if the Spectre wants you gone. I’ve seen it.” 

Two Time muttered under their breath. “Whatever do you mean? You do know it is near impossible to truly die within this realm!” 

Tyler shifted their focus to the cultist. “I’ve been here for 200 years, me and..him. The Spectre..fuck, he was so young. He didn’t deserve any of this.” Tyler took a shaky breath. “It was me, and this kid called David. We had to survive these rounds as well. Against Slasher, just him. The Spectre, it came in to fight one day. Snapped the kid’s neck like a toy.” 

Tyler went silent. Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes, lowering his head as his hair fell over his eyes. “He never appeared in the lobby ever again, and I was sent down to a black endless void.” 

He looked up, right into Elliot’s eyes. Fear clouded his face, eyebrows tense and furrowed. Eyes wide, mouth set into a straight line. He looked exhausted. 

“You’re next, Elliot. It wants you fucking erased .”

Chapter Text

The Spectre was a patient being. It had to be, in a realm of eternity. It could wait. 

Anger seethed off it’s being in waves; if it had teeth, they for sure would be grinding together; if it had eyebrows, they would be furrowed intensely; if it had pupils, they would be narrowed to mere pinpricks. 

But it did not have those features in this form. The form they were thrown back into, all because of that blasted cultist they had decieved. Had tricked, used their delusions against them. The Spectre, it could have ignored the ritual, discarded the cultist’s efforts. But the illusion of the Spawn’s good grace had to be upheld. For now, at the very least. 

It was it’s own fault, that much was true. It had to keep up the facade, else risk Two Time’s belief wavering. It was strong, almost psychotic in nature, but it was delicate too. Too little, too much, could very well upset the balance of the cultist’s beliefs. It had to be intimate in it’s attention to detail. 

Before it had trapped them here, that other cultist, Azure was their name, had shoved his nose where it did not belong. Started to unravel the intricate, detailed lies The Spectre had oh so carefully crafted back when the Spawn cult was only just beginning to concieve itself. They had to get rid of him, so a sacrifice it was and a second life was given, leaning in to an already delusional Two Time. Had it not gotten rid of that nosy Azure, perhaps they would have escaped. Run away together, forge a family, lived in a house together like it was someone’s ‘what if’. The Spectre could not have that. Amarah, could not have that. 

A shame, really, that it had to turn out this way. 

Up in it’s realm of incomprehension, The Spectre plotted. It couldn’t lie, it did not like not knowing what was going on down there. It was far too early to spy, too much would be given away. It had to play it’s cards right. Tyler, dear old Tyler was most certainly spewing on about it’s plans, it’s lies and malicious plots to decieve and make a mockery of the survivors. Of his time here, of David and their precious little bond they forged from blood and tears of rounds survived together. The Spectre ate well when it put an end to the little boy’s life; Tyler’s horror and loathing had been delicious. 

Most obviously, Tyler was a dead man when The Spectre would get a hold of his body again. Not in a literal sense, it needed his body alive to conduct it’s schemes, but much pain would be inflicted. The Spectre would just have to make sure it couldn’t feel it this time. That backstab had hurt like a bitch. 

More importantly, was that bastard Elliot. His constant rebellion against it had angered it to no end, with no official outlet for it’s anger other than to fuel the killer’s with more malice and resentment than was typical. He never took this seriously; although with the introduction of others he had sobered up and adopted his old customer service persona, The Spectre knew how he truly felt. It fed on emotions, after all, and Elliot’s, without fail, ruined the meal completely. Added a bitter aftertaste that stained it’s mouth for days on end. 

It wanted Elliot dead. 

…

No. 

Worse than that. 

The Spectre, perhaps if it had a mouth in this form, would have grinned. 

======================

“What do you mean?” Elliot exclaimed, leaning forward with a confused look on his face. 

Tyler swallowed, breathing hard. “I’m telling you man, you gotta watch out. The Spectre has it out for you.” 

“I get that.” Elliot said, anger creeping into his tone. “But why? You’re not giving me anything!” 

“I-I don’t know how to explain! It just..” Tyler searched for an answer, hand shaking. “All it thought about was how much it just loathed you. How it would kill you - It had like, at least two hundred ways by the time we got here.” 

Tyler hugged himself. Looked at Elliot. At Two Time, back at Elliot. “It’s gonna come back. When it does, do everything you can to be nowhere near me. Anything.” 

“It’s The Spectre, when is it not near me.” Elliot said, exasperated. He was only just holding it together. Rather well, for someone who had just been told there was a bounty on his head. “I’m like its number one hater!” 

Tyler shook his head. “You just gotta find a way. You can’t die by it’s hands, nor mine. You’ll be gone. Forever.” 

“Who are we talking about?” Two Time asked, curiousity shining in their eyes. Tyler and Elliot both turned to them, the latter grimacing and the former clicking his tongue, unsure of how to approach this. “I’m not sure I’ve heard of this ‘Spectre’ you two mention!” 

Tyler spoke first. “It’s a bastard of a thing. Runs this whole place.” 

“The Spectre brought us all here. It organises all the rounds, made this..thing to torture us. It..well it actually got me first. Fun fact, haha.” Elliot tacked on, half mumbling the last part. 

Two Time gasped. “Wow!” 

“Not wow. We don’t like The Spectre. We hate it.” Tyler said sternly, almost spitting out the words like they were poison. “What I’d give to erase every memory I have of it.” 

The cultist blinked, owlishly, as if thinking deeply. Considering their situation. Processing information, working out what to do with it. 

Two Time turned to Elliot. An odd emotion shined in their eyes.  “Surely..surely we must be able to do something?” 

Elliot barked out a laugh, harsher than he meant it to be. “I haven’t been able to do a single thing to it, Two Time. Not a single scratch. All I’ve been able to do is call it meaningless insults and pet names.” 

Tyler scoffed. “Braver than I am, for sure.” 

“But-! If I stab it! Like the ritual!” Two Time stammered, wringing their hands. “I did it, to you, Tyler, when I woke up earlier.” 

“..I can still feel it. Thanks for that.” Tyler said sarcastically. “Besides, that was my body, not The Spectre’s. That’d be me you would have killed, not that bastard. It’d be harder than just a couple stabs, definitely.” 

“I’m rather sure the Spawn would graciously bless us with it’s infinite wisdom and power, there’s certainty it will work!” 

Tyler stiffened, avoided Two Time’s gaze. Made eye contact with Elliot, something wordless being communicated. Elliot understood. 

“..maybe not, Time.” Elliot said gently, resting a hand on Two Time’s. Their dagger had somehow ended up in their hands again, poised to strike at any moment. 

Elliot turned back to Tyler, who had shut his eyes, tired. “How long do you reckon we’ve got?” 

“A couple hours, give or take. Maybe less.” 

“Let’s try and plan something. I’d rather not die before I can find a way out of here.” 

“Hopeful, aren’t you?” 

“You’ve gotta be if you want to stay sane.” 

=========================

The front door of the cabin swung open, Tyler and Elliot walking in as Two Time trailed behind them like a lost dog. Chance looked up from where he messed around with their flintlock. 

“Hey! See you’ve finally met Elliot!” They said, grinning wide. 

“Yeah.” Tyler replied, offering a small smile back. Polite, out of obligation. 

“Oh! Is Tyler back?” 007n7 called, making his way downstairs as he shrunk slightly under Elliot’s glance. “U-uhm, the others wanted me to tell you that a round is going to start soon.” 

Elliot nodded, face grim as Tyler stiffened. 

“Shit, we’ve got less time than I thought..” He muttered, looking to Elliot darkly. Elliot clenched his fists tight. The air tensed around them. 

Tyler eyed the grandfather clock in the corner, steeling his gaze and dragging Elliot to the dining area. He picked up the chalk, and began to write. There was stuff that he jotted down that Elliot could understand, notes about the Spectre, the realm, everything that Elliot had gotten familiar with. He chimed in to add some things that he had observed, Tyler nodding and adding them to the board. 

Then Tyler began to add things he was unfamiliar with. A drawing of an entity, code surrounding it as it stared. Some bugs he hadn’t discovered yet. Strategical ideas of where to hide, and what walls were best to loop around. 

He paused, looking back to Elliot. “My guess is that the second the round starts, you’re going to want to book it to the other end of the map. Get as far away from me as possible. Try and get..what’s his name? Guest 37? Get him to guard you. I’m not strong by any means, and I never really worked out before this so my stamina’s pretty horrible. The Spectre doesn’t have those limits. It’ll feel the sting from running too much, but it’ll power on through whatever eldritch means it can grasp.” 

“I’m pretty fast.” Elliot said, leaning against the wall. “I know how to save my stamina. Enough times being targeted will teach you how to run right. Only problem is I don’t have anything to defend myself with. Got one ‘Rush Hour’ and then I’m on my own.” 

Tyler hummed. “We don’t know what map we’ll get, either. Or killer. You’re going to need to adapt pretty fast. Quickly, we’ll half-ass some strategies for each map and killer combination.” 

Two Time watched as they began bouncing ideas off each other, words fast and hard to follow as if the two were speaking in secret codes. The other survivors showed up occasionally, confused by the conversations. Only a couple stayed, under the guise that Elliot was teaching Tyler how to survive, piping up and offering their own suggestions. 

The grandfather clock began to tick, pendulum swinging from side to side as it announced the approaching round. Tyler grabbed Elliot’s shoulders tight, lips taut and brows furrowed. 

“Do not. I repeat, do not come anywhere near me.” He said, stressing the sylables. “ Please. ” 

Elliot nodded. “I won’t. The Spectre’s going to have to try if he wants me gone.” 

Distantly, Builderman perked up. “What? Who are you talkin’ about?” 

Ah, right. They hadn’t known why they were planning all this. Why they were so tense and strategising like their lives depended on it. Elliot huffed, opening his mouth-

The grandfather clock chimed, and suddenly Elliot’s vision was met with fire. He blinked. Rubbed his eyes frantically. 

The buildings were much too familiar. 

That bastard. 

Elliot walked along the street. There was Mrs. Saurly’s house, roof caved in and stairs crumbling. To his left, up ahead was the warehouse, where the suppliers would go back and forth morning and night. C00lkidd’s drawing littered the walls, trucks and cars crashed into walls and houses in an almost apocalyptic fashion. 

“Elliot!” 007n7 called, jogging to catch up to him. Guest was trailing behind, looking around, committing the new map to memory. “Are you alright? God, I never..I never would have thought, of all places..” 

“I’m fine.” There were more pressing matters to worry about. 

He entered the Supply warehouse, walking up the stairs and seeing a generator to his right. “Seven, come on. There’s a generator here.” 

Elliot got started on the generator, wires sparking as he connected them together, 007n7 joining him and working faster than he was. It made sense, the guy was familiar with stuff like this both before this place and after; it was his designated job, after all. 

Guest stood guard, searching for a threat that had not yet arrived. Elliot shivered. He wondered where Tyler was, thinking back to their plans that were probably useless now thanks to this new map. 

Hopefully he was far enough. 

==================

Two Time spawned in, kneeling on a wooden floor in what looked to be a restaurant space Azure had shown them in a magazine they had found in a dumpster on the edge of their camp. The pictures had been so colourful, nothing like what they saw now. There was fire everywhere, pizza strewn about haphazardly as they looked around to see a truck peeking through a hole in the wall. There were bricks littering the ground at the area of collision, tables and chairs thrown to the floor in a freezeframe of panic and distress. 

Tyler came up to them, confident in his strides. He looked around, just as confused as Two Time was at the new scenery. 

“Dear Tyler, what is this place?” 

“Shit, I..I don’t know.” Tyler replied, shoulders high with tension. His posture straightened. He flinched, grunting painfully. 

Two Time hummed. They grabbed the dagger from their belt, muttering prayers of the Spawn before raising their arms up to stab into the ground and finish the ritual. Yet, just before they could strike, the dagger was plucked from their hands as they came down empty, fists hitting the wooden floor. They looked behind them, to see Tyler holding the dagger in his grasp, a wicked grin on his face. 

“..Tyler?” 

Tyler took off, stumbling on a brick before leaving Two Time’s sight. Two Time blinked. What do they do? They couldn’t perform the ritual without their dagger! 

But then, they remembered back to earlier. To the demon that inhabited Tyler’s body before they had successfully purged it. To Tyler’s warnings to Elliot, of the demon who wanted to eliminate him. 

Spawn, please aid me. 

Two Time gave chase, yelling for the demon to give it back as it ran straight towards a large building of sorts. It entered, running up the stairs as someone (Elliot, they soon realised) screamed in pain. 

Two Time cried in fear. Their dagger would not be the reason for death! 

Not again.

============

Elliot clutched his arm, breathing through his teeth as he dodged another swipe from The Spectre. It was clumsy, uncoordinated, moving with only the intent to kill Elliot and not caring where else the attacks landed; just so long as Elliot stopped breathing. 

Guest yelped, The Spectre barelling into him as it gave chase to Elliot, arms reaching out to restraining what he believed to be Tyler. 

“Tyler! Stop-” 

Guest hissed as the dagger swiped his cheek, letting go out of shock. 007n7 stood next to the generator, half hiding as he watched the situation unfold. 

Two Time raced up the stairs, sliding through the small gap between Guest and Tyler, trying to wrestle the dagger out of his grasp. 

“Demon! Leave this body!” They yelled, arms struggling against Tyler as their eyes began to tear up. 

Tyler easily overpowered them, Two Time clattering to the ground as they were shoved to the side. Tyler sneered, arm coming up as he turned around to point at Guest’s throat. Guest halted, arms raised in front of him in a clear charge. 007n7 froze, having begun to try and creep over to Elliot who was lingering by the entrance to the supply warehouse. 

“Stay down.” Tyler warned to Two Time, the cultist already halfway a crouch with a shard of metal in their hands. Two Time froze. Tyler grinned. 

“What? Recognise me?” He taunted, jabbing the dagger forward a little as Guest moved. A thin line of blood welled up at the small puncture; not enough to maim, enough to threaten. 

“It c-can’t..I..I don’t..” Two Time sputtered, crouch falling to a kneel. “The Spawn ..”

Tyler laughed, loud and cruel as he shoved Two Time down the stairs with a rough kick. The cultist landed on the asphalt, Elliot rushing over to make sure they were okay, offering a pizza slice to the other gently. 

Guest charged, shoving Tyler away as the man stumbled. 007n7 bolted, jumping down the stairs as he quickly shoved a medkit into Elliot’s hands. 

“What’s up with him?” The ex hacker hissed, keeping his voice low. “What’s up with..with Two Time? Elliot, what the heck is going on?”

Two Time shivered, eyes wide as Elliot held them. “ The Spawn..Azure. .” 

“That’s not Tyler. I’d love to tell you later, but I need to go. He’s after me.” He softly handed Two Time over to the other man, before quickly snatching up a bandage from the medkit and wrapping it around his arm, tearing the excess off with his teeth and fastening it so it wouldn’t unravel. 

“Elliot..” Two Time whispered, arm reaching out to him. Elliot grimaced at the sight. “It’s..the demon, it’s trying to trick me, right? That’s..it’s using the Spawn’s voice against me..it has to be. ”

Elliot paused, legs ready to run at the slightest glimpse of The Spectre. He thought about Two Time’s words. Mulled over them in his head. Sighed. 

“We’ll work it out, okay?” 

And he was gone, leaving 007n7 to comfort Two Time. 

============

He had made it to Mr Bloxxins house before he heard The Spectre chasing him. He risked a glance behind, blanching as The Spectre was fast approaching, manic expression plaguing Tyler’s face. Guest wasn’t far behind, Chance and Noob peeking from behind a wall and shouting at the sight. 

Soon Elliot had a whole horde after him, led by The Spectre as Guest, Chance and Noob followed, Shedletsky not too far behind. 

He just had to survive this round. Just had to wait for the grandfather clock to chime. 

He glanced around at the broken down, vandalised buildings, sneering. The Spectre obviously tried to add this for shock factor, to catch Elliot off guard and deal a finishing strike while he was distracted. What it didn’t account for was Elliot’s ability to detach himself from his surroundings. That, and the fact that he was more familiar with this place than anyone he knew here. 

The only issue? In order to lose The Spectre, he had to lose the others too. It put him in a risky position; attempt to hide from The Spectre, but lose all means of protection as a result. 

It was a risk he had to take. 

He darted through the walls scattered behind The Dump, some of the other survivors faltering as they tracked where Elliot went, racing around to meet him on the other side. The Spectre followed, no hesitation in it’s posture as they darted between narrow gaps and wide window spaces, gasping as he landed off and almost sprained an ankle. In front of him was the restaurant itself, faces of c00lkidd decorating every surface and flames crackling somewhere nearby. 

He passed through the area where he used to box pizzas and take them to delivery, soon entering the kitchen as he muffled any noise he made. He had to be quiet. There were pizza ingredients everywhere, fire extinguisher missing from the wall as flames peeked out from the top of the bin. Elliot breathed in slowly. 

His nerves were starting to get to him now, hands shaky as he walked over to the ovens. He couldn’t hear any noise, except for a angered yell as a gun fired. Elliot had a couple minutes to rest, give or take. 

God, what had it done to the pizzeria? Everything felt so wrong. The supply warehouse was never so close to the pizzeria; Elliot had knew, he’d made the trip a couple times himself. The registers were just a little too big, Elliot walking up to the drive thru and having to stand on the tips of his feet in order to see over it. 

The Spectre had clearly tried, yet the whole place looked messily cobbled together as if it had been built from someone elses memory. From his memory. A memory of smoke and flames, childish giggles and terrified screams. It had been the first time Elliot had to put his training to actual use, evacuating customers and following the instructions from that happy go lucky safety training video his manager had put him through on his first day. 

He’d been so bright and cheery back then. What had he done to deserve any of this? 

A distant call of his name jolted him out of his thoughts, rapid clumsy footsteps fast approaching his location being the only warning he got before he ducked behind the wall that separated the kitchen from the front counter. He clapped a hand over his mouth, sucking in a breath through his teeth as his heart threatened to escape his chest. Everyone must be on their cooldowns, if The Spectre was here. That wasn’t good. 

The footsteps slowed, dragging along the floor as The Spectre laughed. A glint of metal was all Elliot saw before it rounded the corner, grin stretching as it lunged forward. Elliot went to move, but instead collided with The Spectre’s moving form, trapping Elliot and pinning him against the register as the dagger hovered over his chest. Elliot’s arms flew up to push against The Spectre’s, struggling to stop it from pushing the dagger into his chest. 

Elliot’s eyes flicked between the dagger and Tyler’s face, seeing how The Spectre warped his features into something uncanny and horrid. His breath came in panicked gasps, grip slipping slightly as the dagger inched closer to his chest and made brief contact with one of the buttons on his work shirt. He moved a leg to paw at Tyler’s legs, hoping to get it to falter even just momentarily. He needed one slip up. Just one .

“Elliot. Why do you even try? You know how this is going to end.”

Elliot spat at The Spectre, trying to push Tyler’s feet from underneath him. He ignored The Spectre’s taunts, trying to keep his calm despite the fact there was a very real dagger about to make it’s way straight through his chest. 

“It’s futile. Give up.” 

Elliot sneered, arms shaking with effort as he struggled to stop The Spectre in it’s goal. 

“..You know, you’ve given me the most trouble out of anyone here. Not even poor, weak little Tyler could annoy me to the level you have. A shame, really. I really would have enjoyed picking you apart like an insect. Maybe there’ll still be a chance, after I’m done with you.” 

The dagger made a small tear in his red workshirt, scraping against the black undershirt he wore beneath it. 

“I’m gonna..get out..” Elliot hissed, staring The Spectre straight in the eyes. “I know there’s a way out..somehow..I’m gonna find it. Get everyone out, go home and see my family again. Help everyone see their families again..”

The Spectre laughed. “Almost everyone here is dead, Elliot. They have nothing to return to other than graves and coffins six feet underground. It’s pointless. Just like their sorry little lives and meaningless existences.” 

Elliot grit his teeth. “Shut up..” 

“I really will miss toying with you.” 

The dagger began to unravel the threads of his undershirt, cold metal making it’s way to his skin, searching it’s way deeper. Elliot stopped breathing, almost freezing and arms slackening as he realised the gravity of the situation. So much for Tyler’s planning. 

“ELLIOT!” Noob screamed, hands flying up to their face as they rounded the corner. 

Elliot looked at them, fear shining in his eyes as The Spectre tensed, dagger shifting in place by just a fraction. 

Now’s your chance!

He quickly shifted his grip from the dagger to hold Tyler’s wrists, pushing them down and away from his chest and towards the floor. His legs kicked Tyler’s shins, the body losing its footing and collapsing to the ground clumsily. Unfortunately, the dagger made contact with his torso, digging in as Tyler fell and ripping through skin and muscle as it stopped just where his ribs ended and gave way to soft flesh. 

Elliot cried out in pain, blood immediately beginning to soak the tear in his clothes and drip to the floor, staining the wood. He groaned, feeling weaker than he usually did when killers landed a good hit. His head felt heavy and light at the same time, arms slack as they came up to desperately grasp at his side, blood sliding across his hands as tears streamed from his eyes. Tyler was strewn across his legs, Elliot struggling to shove him off as a nauseating feeling overtook his senses. His vision swam, Elliot dizzy as he tried to stand and create some distance between him and The Spectre. 

It hurt so much. Pain throbbed in his side, making itself known with every unbalanced step that Elliot took as someone tried to get his attention. The injury itself wasn’t so bad. It was more trouble than it actually seemed. He’d survived harder hits, why was this one suddenly so life threatening? Why did he have to get hurt all the time? Why him? 

He wanted his dad. He wanted his dad to hug him and tell him everything was going to be okay, put a bandaid on his injury and kiss it better like when he was young. He wanted to go home, sit on the couch and watch movies with his sister and not have to worry about dying or losing limbs or hide from people that wanted to kill him on a daily basis. 

Elliot didn’t know where he was headed. Distantly, he registered heading to the dining area and making his way to one of the holes in the wall, limping horribly as blood trailed behind him. He could barely see, vision swimming and blurry and dizzy, blobs of yellow and blue and some green, a little bit of grey and white here and there swarming around him as he heard the telltale noises of Shedletsky’s sword clashing with another. 

“-liot. Elliot?” 

He grunted, reaching for a pizza slice on instinct. 

“No, Elliot, that’s not-..need. Caref-...ake this medkit. I’ll help.” 

His arm on his non-injured side was lifted, rested around someone else’s shoulder. They were sturdy, muscle built underneath as they helped him hobble over to somewhere nearby The Dump. 

“I want my dad..” Elliot whispered, crying quietly. “It hurts..”

Pink mist clouded his vision, curling around his injury as he sobbed. He could barely comprehend the voices around him, his mind becoming delirious with pain. The strong person gently leaned him up against something. He was there for a few moments before whoever was near him began to panic. 

===============

“It’s not workin’.” Builderman muttered, watching the clouds circle Elliot’s side before falling off uselessly.

“What?” Guest responded, brow furrowing. 

Builderman kneeled down, carefully taking hold of Elliot’s arm. He seemed to not register the movement, eyes foggy with unfamiliarity at the man. 

“I’m just movin’ your arm, ‘kay?” 

Elliot hummed, closing his eyes as his eyelids fluttered. Buidlerman clicked his tongue. 

“Come on, Elliot. Stay awake for me, alright?” 

“Okay..” Elliot slurred, turning to look at Builderman. “..Dad?” 

Builderman didn’t respond, just investigated the wound and grimaced. His dispenser didn’t seem to be doing anything, Guest coming over to have a look. 

“Why isn’t it working?” The solider asked, tense shoulders betraying his carefully constructed composure. “You set it up right, didn’t you?” 

“It’s never once failed me, Guest. It should be workin’. But it’s not, and I don’ know why.” 

“I- well, find it! We can, there must be something-” 

“Guest! We’re both very stressed right now, but I don’ need us startin’ fights cause of that. Take a breath. Stay on guard.” 

Guest shut his mouth, sighing. 

“Wha’s no’ workin’?” Elliot asked, shifting slightly. 

“Just my Sentry, Elliot. It’s not shooting as fast as it should be.” Builderman lied, gently pushing Elliot down as he tried to get up. “The killer’s not here! We’re good. We’re okay.” 

Builderman turned to Guest. “I’ll work my dispenser out when we get out of here. We just gotta make it to the end of the round, ‘kay? I’m countin’ on you.” 

Guest nodded, leaving The Dump to go and stall Tyler. Builderman turned back to Elliot. 

He knew something was up when he couldn’t find the killer at all during the first few moments of the match, and that something was wrong when no one else had been attacked. 

To think that Two Time was right about not trusting the new guy..

Builderman shook his head. No use dwelling on it now. He grabbed his hammer and began to mess around with the dispenser, trying to work out why it wasn’t healing Elliot at all. He smacked it with the butt of the hammer, fiddled with a couple bolts before Elliot winced. He seemed to become a little more responsive, blinking as he took in a deep breath. Builderman cheered internally, relief flooding him as his dispenser began to heal, although at a much much slower rate than what was usual. It was way faster than this normally, why was it so slow now? They might as well go find a medkit at this rate! 

Guest raced in, beelining for Elliot as he shouted a command at Builderman. 

“GO!” 

He slung Elliot’s arm over his shoulder, grimacing as Elliot cried out in pain before booking it. Tyler came round the corner, dagger in hand and one of his eyes bleeding, most likely thanks to Chance’s bullet. Thank god he was rolling good today. 

But it didn’t actually seem that Builderman needed to flee, as Tyler barelled past him and straight towards Guest and Elliot, moving too slow to be able to dodge any attacks. 

The grandfather clock began to chime. 

“Please..” Builderman whispered to whoever was listening. 

==================

“A-ah, Two Time, I’m sure he was joking!” 

Two Time sobbed. “It was it’s voice! Perfect, in every w-way!” 

007n7 chuckled awkwardly. “I’m sure..that..w-well..” 

Two Time cried, curled into themself as their tail wrapped around their leg. 

That was the Spawn. It had to be. A demon could not mimic to such perfection! It was the voice they had heard every moment of their waking life, the voice that told them what to do, what to say… who to kill. 

“Oh, A-azure, I’m sorry!” They wailed. “I’ve been deceived, lied to. I’ve committed grave sins!” 

Almost instinctively, they clasped their hands together in prayer. Unclasped them. Clasped them again. They were at a lost of what to do. 

You would let your devotion waver so easily? A small part of them whispered, nagging at the back of their mind. How blasphemous!

It was blasphemous! Utterly incomprehensible to the cultist. How could they stray from their devotion so easily, so quickly? But they could not fathom anything else. The Spectre, the thing Elliot feared, it had spoken to them the same way the Spawn did. No demon could mimic God to such perfection, as everything other than the Spawn was completely imperfect in nature. 

There was no other explanation. 

Blasphemer. An elder sneered, face blurred in Two Time’s mind. 

They sniffled, cries quietening slightly as they looked out of the entrance to the supply warehouse. There, they spied Guest and Elliot making their way back, Elliot sporting an injury that could only be carved by their dagger. It was ugly and raw, bleeding profusely as Elliot limped, leaving a trail of blood behind him. 

Two Time sniffled, eyes puffy and cheeks soaked with tears. 

Azure…oh, how could I have done that without a second thought? Not a doubt in my mind! 

They got up, tail straight as they grabbed the metal shard they had found earlier. Held it tight in their grasp, ignoring how it poked at their palm uncomfortably. 007n7 tilted his head curiously. 

“What a-are you doing?” 

“Helping.” Was all they offered, dashing out to Elliot desperately. 

They had been oh so blinded by blind devotion, following orders wordlessly and without failure. They had to make up for it. Needed to repent for their sins. Not to the Spawn, oh no. But to themself. 

They stood behind Guest and Elliot, shard held protectively as they glared at Tyler. At The Spectre. At Spawn . 

Tyler lunged, dagger reaching for Elliot’s back. Two Time crouched, arms shooting forward, aiming for Tyler’s stomach. Chance cocked his gun. Dusekkar prepared a shield. 

Time froze. 

The grandfather clock chimed, everything fading to black. 

Chapter Text

Two Time fell against the wooden floorboards, momentum pushing them over and upsetting their balance. Their hands closed around nothing, metal shard gone. The fireplace crackled, as it did every other day, crickets chirping outside. 

Two Time gasped. Shaky and quiet, tilting their head up to look for the other survivors, for Elliot. 

What they saw sent tremors through their body, freezing as their heart skipped a beat. 

There was blood all over the floor where Elliot lay, the man groaning as he struggled to prop himself up with his free hand. The other clutched limply at his side, fiddling with the threads of his shirt where it had been torn and cut. Blood dripped from the man’s fingers as he gasped weakly. Some blood began to trickle from the side of his mouth, his eyelids drooping tiredly. 

Reaction was immediate. 

Guest rushed over, sliding to his knees as his hands hovered over Elliot’s body as if unsure of where to start. Builderman walked over more cautiously, yet he was no less panicked than anyone else. 

Chance was the first to speak up. 

“What the actual hell happened?” They yelled, loosening and then tightening his tie as a way to have something for his hands to do. 

007n7 breathed in deep, eyes unmoving from Elliot’s half-limp form, standing by the doorway as if unsure of whether to leave or stay. Chance, although their eyes were hidden beneath their sunglasses, only held worry in their expression. Noob was trying to pace their breathing, staving off a panic attack as they clutched onto Taph for support. Dusekkar floated over, staff in hand as he too knelt down to offer his help. 

Two Time just watched, horror evident in the way they trembled and their arms shook. Their mind was already scrambling to come up with words for a prayer, instictively turning to the Spawn for guidance before remembering it was all lies and mockery. Oh, how could they have been so easily influenced? So blinded by obedience and false devotion..how foolish. 

A screech from 007n7 was all the warning the survivors got before Tyler came bounding over to Elliot, Two Time’s dagger still in his hand and gripped like a vice. Guest shot up, barelling in to the man and grabbing his wrists roughly. The dagger clattered to the ground, Two Time swiftly snatching it up before ducking away from the fray. 

Guest worked quickly, muscle showing as he restricted the man, avoiding all attempts of attack and holding himself steady no matter how hard Tyler struggled. 

“Get off!” He spat, arms held tight behind his back as Guest glared at him. “He’s fucking dead, I’ve gotta kill him- little son of a bitch-“

He dragged the other outside, slamming the front door shut ominously as the distant sound of someone getting shoved to the ground was heard, muffled by the cabin walls. 

“Ugh…” Elliot whimpered, arm giving out from beneath him as his head hit the floor. 

“Careful!” Dusekkar panicked, flame wild in its dance. “Yourself you must not strain, lest you end up in more pain.” 

“W-why is h-he still hurt?” Noob whispered, clutching Taph’s cloak like a lifeline. “W-we’re meant t-to heal in the cabin!” 

“I don’ know, Noob. We need the medkit, can you go an’ grab it?” Builderman replied, taking off his jacket and placing it against Elliot’s side. 

“I’ll get it!” Two Time intercepted, dashing up the stairs and to the area near the dartboard. They rummaged through the draw where they kept all the spare items that had somehow glitched their way into the cabin, spotting the medkit and grabbing it. They made their way back downstairs, wincing as the sound of a rough punch landing against another came from outside, curses and yells being thrown about. 

“Here.” They said, pushing the medkit into Builderman’s hands. “Please, be quick.” 

Builderman gave them an odd look, before setting to work. Elliot was barely conscious at this point, coughing as he started to choke on his own blood. His hands worked fast, Dusekkar helping out by casting spells here and there; whatever he could do to stop Elliot from dying. 

Noob had left, sitting in the dining area. They had been too queasy to watch any longer, Taph following behind to make sure they would be okay. Chance tapped his foot, standing by the fireplace as they cast worried glances back to Elliot every now and then. 007n7 sat grimly on the couch, face in his hands as his shoulders shook faintly. 

Two Time sat cross legged, hands clasped in their lap as they watched silently, blinking only every so often. 

It gave them much needed time to reflect on recent discoveries and events, much to their disdain. 

===========

“Do you have to move out?” 

Elliot chuckled, ruffling his sister’s hair. “I don’t have to, but I would like to. I wanna start my own life, you know?” 

Mia humphed, crossing her arms. “I don’t want you to! I’m gonna miss you, like, all the time!” 

“I’ll visit! And you can visit me! I’m only half an hour away, Mia.” 

“That’s not the point!” 

“Now now, Mia.” Mr Builder interjected, placing a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “Elliot’s got every right to move out. One day, you’ll move out too. It’s a part of life.” 

Mia sniffled. “But..I don’t want him to go..” 

Elliot smiled. “I know, Mia. I’ll miss you too, alright? Our little sleepovers, tea parties..but I promise I’ll visit whenever I can.” He held out his pinky. “Pinky promise.” 

Mia looked at his pinky, then to his face. “You can’t break a pinky promise.” she said, face serious as she took his pinky in hers. “You know what happens.” 

Elliot laughed. “I know. Have you ever known me to break a pinky promise?” 

“..No.” 

Mr Builder huffed, smiling fondly at his children. Suddenly, he brought them in for a hug, squeezing them tightly and kissing both of their foreheads. “I’m proud of you both. Such strong, amazing, kind hearted children!” 

“Dad!” Elliot whined, embarassed at the praise. 

The hug only lasted a few more seconds, before Mr Builder pulled back, resting his hands on his son’s shoulders. 

“You’ve got everything?” 

Elliot nodded. 

“Drive safe, okay? Text me when you get there.” 

“Will do.” He walked out the front door, turning back to wave goodbye to his family. “See you later!” 

“You better visit, you dork!” Mia yelled, Mr Builder waving back to him. 

He hopped in his car and took off, boxes in the back filled with his things as he drove to his newly bought house. 

It soon began to sprinkle, drops of water turning into a downpour as suddenly his car shifted into a motorcycle, pizza balanced in the delivery bag as he came up to the edge of a forest. 

This isn’t where my house is…?

Elliot shook his head. He soldered on, mud coming up to grasp at the wheels of the pizzeria bike and it wasn’t long before it stuck to the mud. Elliot clambered off, slipping slightly on the mud before walking forward a little. As soon as he did, the bike sank into the ground, disappearing with no more than a bubble that popped once it reached the surface. He frowned. 

The pizza bag was still on his person, so he decided to continue on with the delivery as a wooden cabin began to creep closer in the distance. 

He stepped up onto the porch, ringing the doorbell a number of times before knocking. His keys jingled on his belt, Elliot laughing to himself at his own forgetfulness. This was his house! (No it isn’t?) What an idiot he was! He took the keys, turning them in the lock before opening the door. 

There was a man on the other side, smile wide. His features were indescribable. 

“Woah! You deserve a raise!” He said, taking the pizza and opening the box. “Thank you!” 

He then took the pizza and ate it whole, cheese sticking to his chin as he hummed in delight. “This is so good..” 

The man reached into his pocket, fishing around for cash before dumping some into Elliot’s palm. Looking down, he saw four bullets, shining gold and inscribed with dollar symbols. He hummed. 

“Keep the change.” The man said, before walking into the cabin and disappearing into a wall of code. 

Elliot looked at his watch, a pendulum swinging back and forth. It was time to go! 

He turned, being met with the sight of his workplace. Mia and Mr Builder stood outside, Mia smiling as she saw him. “Elliot!” 

She ran up to him, arms outstretched before being engulfed in flame. 007n7 laughed, cruel and mocking, before his limbs twisted and stretched and transformed into something eldritch and beyond Elliot’s comprehension. Customers screamed and cried, smoke filling the red inky sky as a being of code and eldritch transcendance stared back at the pizza worker. 

The bullets felt heavy in his palm as the creature pointed a shotgun at him, smile sharp and crooked as the man from earlier handed him a knife. 

“Run.” was all he said, before Elliot heard the sound of the gun being fired and a pain in his head. 

===========

Jolting, Elliot came to; His head throbbing and breath shallow as he lay on the couch cushions which had been taken from the couch itself and laid out on the floor in a sort of makeshift bed. He whined, lights flaring his senses as someone beside him gasped in relief. His side throbbed in pain as well, bandages wrapped tight with the telltale signs of a medkit having been used. Elliot swallowed thickly, the faint taste of iron on his tongue. 

“He’s waking!” 

Soft footsteps padded over, murmurs heard by Elliot but not quite reaching his mind. He reached an arm up to shield his eyes from the light, wincing as the pain in his side flared. 

“Here.” 

Sunglasses were nudged over his eyes, dulling the light as he sighed in relief. He blinked, shifting his legs as he debated whether to try and sit up or not. His mind cleared up a little, hand reaching over to lightly feel at his injury. The memories of last round came back to him, Elliot frowning. 

Why..why did he have bandages on in the cabin? Why was he still wounded..?

“Elliot, can you hear us?” 

Elliot nodded, stiff and jerky as whoever was talking to him sighed in relief. 

“Good. Okay. Well, Tyler’s been dealt with for now. You don’t have to worry about him. We’ve- well, Builderman and Dusekkar, really, has tried to patch you up as best as they could. Only the medkit’s working on you at the moment, and even that doesn’t seem to be hitting the mark. We’ve got you resting for now, so try and let your body heal.” 

A smaller softer voice chimed in. “Elliot? I’m truly sorry for letting this happen. I swear that I will not let this dagger claim anymore lives. I really am sorry for letting it harm you so horribly..I regret ever turning my back. Perhaps, if I had been more observant, more aware, I could have prevented this. But my blind devotion, my insistence in carving a ritual-” Two Time’s voice cracked, shaky with unshed tears. “Only to find it was all for naught all this time! Oh Elliot, I truly, am deeply sorry! This is all my fault!” 

Elliot turned his head to the side, wincing as it sent sparks through his neck. Through the dim lens of the sunglasses he could see Two Time’s worried face, the cultist avoiding his gaze as they picked at the bandages on their arm. He sighed. 

His voice croaked as he tried to speak, coughing as he accidentally inhaled some of his spit. Chance and Two Time immediately started fretting, Elliot’s side burning as he coughed. 

“Ow.” He groaned once the pain had subsided, Chance sighing in relief as the coughing ceased. 

“Two Time,” The other perked up as he said their name, eyes widening in concern. “It’s okay. You didn’t know. None of us did.” 

Two Time let out a soft keen, hunching in on themself. “Oh, but it is! You don’t realise, Elliot- The Spawn, Azure..i-it was all deception and lies! I should have known..and for that reason is why you were so gravely injured. You must understand, I’m the cause for this. Me!” 

Elliot shook his head as best he could in his state, arm reaching out to Two Time’s hand as he held it reassuringly. “It’s okay. I’m alive, aren’t I?” 

Two Time wailed. “Barely! Look at you!” Tears began to spill, making wet trails down their cheeks. 

Huffing, Elliot squeezed Two Time’s hand gently. “Don’t focus on that. Focus on the fact that I’m breathing. Awake and talking to you.” 

Two Time was sobbing by now, head facing the floor as they wept. “Elliot..I-” 

Their eyes met his, bottom lip quivering as they shook. 

“I..I’ve killed for the Spawn. I’m a..a m-murderer! My lovely Azure- Elliot, that would have been you! I can’t fathom my dagger being the reason for death again.” 

Chance beside the two, stiffened, turning to Two Time almost incredulously. He seemed apprehensive now, subtly eyeing their linked hands with caution. 

Elliot blinked, tracing their quivering form as a memory came to his mind. 

“Mia?” He had called, placing his bag on the hallway table. 

The sound of something shattering echoed through the house, Elliot rushing to the source of the noise. Mia stood there, paralysed as a picture of Elliot’s family lay on the ground, glass covering the area where it had fallen. She turned, scared of Elliot’s reaction as he stood in the doorway to his room. 

“I’m sorry!” She yelled, teary eyed. “I didn’t mean to break it!” 

Elliot hurriedly ran over, crouching down to check on Mia. “It’s okay! Are you hurt at all?” 

Mia shook her head. “I’m s-sorry..” She whispered, as Elliot picked her up gently and carried her out of his room. 

“Stay there, okay? I’ll clean up the glass. Good thing you didn’t step anywhere, you’re only in socks!” He joked, ruffling Mia’s hair. 

“You’re not mad?” She asked, sniffling. 

“No. I’d be mad if you got hurt, but that’s just because I’m worried. No harm no foul, right?” 

Mia shrugged. “I guess..sorry..” 

Elliot sighed. “Come here,” He said, opening his arms in a hug. “We can go shopping for a new one- I’ve been meaning to for a while.” 

Mia hesitated, before tumbling into his arms, Elliot wrapping his arms around her. Truth be told, that was his favourite picture frame. His Dad had given it to him for his eleventh birthday, handcrafted and painted and homemade. He would miss it, for sure, but he was glad that Mia hadn’t gotten hurt. 

Elliot blinked away the memory. Two Time trembled, as if awaiting punishment for their misdeeds. 

“Hey, Two Time. Look at me.” 

Two Time shook their head, letting out a soft sob. 

“Please?” 

That seemed to get through to the other, shoulders tensing as their head slowly tilted upwards to look at Elliot. Soft grey eyes met Elliot’s, watery and shining with remorse. Elliot moved his hand to rub at their shoulder, gently tugging them forward, trying to suppress a wince as he wrapped them in a hug, holding them tightly. Two Time wept, clutching at Elliot’s shirt as tears began to soak his chest. 

“God, I’m so sorry Elliot..” Two Time whispered, throat bobbing. 

“Stop worrying yourself. I’m okay. Listen to my heart- it’s still beating, isn’t it?” 

Two Time nodded, chest shaking as he exhaled. 

“You’re..okay..” They said, relaxing in Elliot’s arms. “We’re going to be okay.” 

===========

Guest punched the man across the face, the other collapsing to the gravel. Dusekkar, Builderman and Shedletsky stood off to the side, faces grim and serious. 

Tyler growled, animalistic and feral as he spat at the ground, some blood mixing with his saliva. 

They had been trying to get answers out of him for a good few hours by now, insults being traded and barking shouts that fell flat. Tyler hadn’t uttered a word, just grunting as he was shoved to the ground and given harsh punches. It wasn’t the admins typical approach, but considering what had transpired just hours earlier, they felt it appropriate. They tried to ignore the satisfaction that welled up whenever Guest hit the man. 

But, the soldier must be getting tired by now. 

“He’s not saying anything..” Shedletsky muttered. 

Builderman frowned. Nodded stiffly. “I know. But we’ve been goin’ at this for a while now. Guest’s probably gettin’ exhausted of this.” 

Shedletsky hummed, disdain clouding his gaze. “I just don’t understand. Why would he do that?” 

Shaking his head, Builderman sighed. “Don’ know. Guest, give it a rest for now. We’re not gettin’ anywhere.” 

Guest nodded, wiping his forehead as he forced the man’s arms behind his back. Tyler struggled and snapped his teeth as Guest began to wrap some rope they had found in one of the other cabins around his wrists. He pulled it tight, making sure there was no way Tyler could escape, before turning to the three admins. 

“Where should I put him?” He asked, kicking Tyler in the back of his leg as the man tried to bite Guest. 

“Tie him to the chair just on the porch.” 

Guest dragged Tyler to the place in question, sitting him on the chair and forcing him upright as he chained him to the piece of furniture. Tyler hissed and screeched, legs scrambling as he tried to make any sort of contact with the soldier. Guest sighed. 

The four stood there, watching as Tyler struggled and writhed, snapping his teeth and trying to wriggle the chair out of place. It was a pitiful sight, if it weren’t for the fact that the man had tried to kill one of their own prior to this. 

The front door creaked open, soft sobs being heard from inside as Noob poked their head through. 

“U-uhm,” They started, voice soft as they glanced at Tyler who was still writhing around with fear, “Elliot’s a-awake.” 

Tyler started seething at Noob’s words, chair rocking from side to side as he struggled harder. 

“How is he?” Guest asked, keeping an eye on Tyler. 

“He’s responsive! His mo-movement seems okay, and h-his speech is..uhm..coherent. I don’t know what else i-is important to say.” 

Builderman nodded. “That’s good. Thanks, Noob. Give us a few.” 

Noob nodded, ducking back into the cabin as Builderman turned to Dusekkar. 

“Think you can keep watch?” He asked, placing a hand on his hip. “Just don’t want him doin’ anything while unsupervised.” 

“I will rise to the task, for it is not an unreasonable ask. All I request is that you make certain Elliot will return to his best.” Dusekkar responded, gripping his staff tightly. 

“Thanks Matt!” Shedletsky butted in, nudging the admin teasingly. “Keep an eye on this rat!” 

Dusekkar sighed, shoulders slumping. “Please don’t mock me.” 

Shedletsky only laughed, walking over to the cabin door and pushing it open, holding it for Guest who gave him a nod of thanks. Builderman followed, giving one last glance to Dusekkar before disappearing into the cabin, Shedletsky shutting the door behind him. 

The trio were greeted by 007n7 and Noob, who stood at a slight distance from Elliot, Chance sitting on the cushionless couch. Two Time was pretty much draped over Elliot, crying and sobbing as Elliot patted and rubbed them on the back comfortingly. Taph had dragged one of the dining room chairs over, placing it next to the fireplace as he spun the frame of one of his tripmines in his hands. 

Guest slowly walked over, kneeling in frog of the fireplace with his back turned to it as he gently placed a hand on Two Time’s shoulder. He looked to Elliot curiously, the other shrugging as he smiled sheepishly. 

It had been quite the scare when they had all spawned back in the cabin, Elliot still bleeding and sporting a life threatening injury as Builderman and Dusekkar fought to keep Elliot alive. It was close, but by whatever good graces were here, Elliot had pulled through despite the amount of blood he had lost. 

“Hey.” Elliot said weakly, huffing a small laugh. 

“Hey.” Guest offered back, searching Elliot’s face for emotions he wasn’t sure what to name. 

Two Time sniffled, drying their eyes as they sat up from having been lying on top of Elliot. They seemed rather dejected, quiet and subdued as they rested their hands on Elliot’s bandages. Their hand seemed to rest over his heart, rubbing absentmindedly as if reliving memories of their past; of someone so dear to them. It was a little too comfortable and intimate for Elliot’s tastes, but nevertheless he allowed it. Two Time was clearly going through something at the moment. 

Builderman came over, hands in his jacket pockets as he looked down at Elliot, still lying on his back.

“Don’ move too much. Don’ wanna open the wound, alright?” 

Elliot nodded. “What’s happened with Tyler?”

The air tensed, everyone suddenly finding anything other than Elliot the most interesting thing to look at. It went unsaid; why did Tyler go straight for Elliot of all people?

“He’s..been dealt with.” Builderman supplied, exchanging uneasy glances with Guest. “Tied him up outside. Dusekkar’s keepin’ watch, so don’ worry about him sneakin’ up on you.” 

Guest thinned his lips, brushing some dirt off his sleeve before opening his mouth. 

“Elliot. Did..you know him?” 

Before this. Elliot concluded.

“No.” 

Guest breathed in, deep. He held it for a couple of seconds, before letting it out. 

“I think you’re hiding something from us.” 

Not a question. Nor a statement. An observation, made through context clues and close perception. A request for understanding. 

Elliot swallowed. Mulled over his words and his thoughts, before forming an answer. 

“Tyler..Tyler was here before any of us. Went through the rounds before I did, lived in this cabin before there were beds.” He started, looking up at the ceiling. “He and a kid called David. Spectre came in one day, fought as a killer in one of the rounds. Tyler said he never saw him again after that.” 

“Spectre..?” Builderman muttered, more to himself than the room. “Who’s that?” 

Elliot sighed. “It runs this whole thing. You’ve felt it, I’m sure.” 

“You mean that w-weird feeling before rounds?” Noob piped up, hesitant in tone. 

“Yeah.” Elliot blinked. His side flared in pain, only momentarily. A warning, if he wanted to think deeper about it. “I think The Spectre’s taken over his body. Using it…to get me.”

“Why would it want you,” Chance asked, flipping their coin in habit. “Out of everyone here?”

“I was the third.” Elliot confessed. “Tyler, David, then me. Then, well, all of you guys.” 

“I’m pretty sure we were all here wayyy before you showed up, Elliot.” Shedletsky said, slightly skeptical of Elliot’s explanation. “Unless you found some way to like, I dunno, go afk, pretty sure it isn’t possible.” 

Elliot huffed. “I..well, I may have spent a majority of my time..provoking The Spectre. It sent me to some other place as a punishment. It only showed up after I’m guessing it was done with you all. Placed me straight in the middle of a round, remember?” 

Shedletsky shrugged, looking at Elliot. “Yeah. I guess that checks out.” 

“So why d-does it want to kill you?” Noob asked. 

“I’m not really sure. I think it’s sick of me. Spent a lot of time challenging and insulting it. Provoked it to violence, I suppose.” 

“Is there anything we can do?” 

Elliot looked at Guest. Studied the man before thinking. Shook his head. Guest thinned his lips, looking at Elliot’s side. 

“Is that why you and him were plannin’ so much earlier?”

“Yep. We knew it would come back and try and have a go at me, so we did the best we could and tried to think of ways to avoid it. All went out the window when we spawned in.” 

007n7 tensed. 

Elliot paused, resting his voice for a moment. 

“I can’t heal. You’ve..well, you’ve found that out pretty fast.” He mentioned offhandedly. “If it gets me..”

That’s it for me. He didn’t say. Everyone got the message anyways. 

“Rest.” Guest ordered, getting up and stretching. “Try and heal naturally.” 

He gestured for Builderman to follow him back outside. Shedletsky followed as well, casting worried glances back to the healer. He leaned in, whispering to Builderman. 

“ He’s our best healer-” 

“I know. We’ll talk outside.” Builderman said, shutting Shedletsky down as they disappeared back outside.

Elliot yawned, suddenly tired. His eyelids drooped threateningly, dull pain throbbing in his side again.

“Elliot, please sleep. I’ll keep watch over you.” Two Time said, still remorseful. Their hands rested in their lap now, eyes still fixated on his injury. “I promise.”

Elliot didn’t need to be told twice. 

===========

It was quiet, late into the night as the survivors rested in the cabin. No one admitted to it, but it was clear everyone was keeping close watch on Elliot as he rested, chest rising and falling peacefully, as if to say ‘I’m still alive, don’t worry!’.

The admins and Guest had taken turns watching Tyler, who had fallen limp now. It was uncanny how his neck was tilted in a clearly uncomfortable way, lines on his face seeming deeper. 

They had talked for hours, discussing what Elliot had revealed to them, making strategies for future rounds and talking about this newly named ‘Spectre’. 

You could say it was peaceful, if not for the foreboding of future rounds looming just ahead. 

Dusekkar looked to the sky forlornly. He clutched his staff, flame flickering bright as he revised his spells. 

The sky was a deep red. 

Something was coming.  

===========

The void was still as black and endless as the first time he had been sent here. 

“Tyler?” 

He turned. “D-david..”

David clutched his shirt fearfully. “Please be careful. I’m scared.” 

Tyler shook his head. “Don’t be. I’ll be with you soon. Wish me luck, okay? I need to be real strong this time.”

David looked at him hesitantly. “..okay.” 

Tyler smiled, eyes shining. “See you soon, bud.” 

===========

The grandfather clock chimed. 

===========

“W-what?!” Noob cried, turning to Chance. “It’s too early-”

They were cut off, everything fading to black as they spawned into glasshouses. Two Time had spawned with them, hands scrambling for their belt as they paled, face turning grim. 

“I don’t have my dagger!” They cried, tail flicking in a jerky pattern as they shot to their feet. “Elliot! Elliot!” They wailed, taking off as they searched for their healer. He had still been asleep!

“Wait!” Noob yelled, dashing after them. This was bad. So so bad.

A distant scream echoed from the other side, pained and terrified. Two Time willed their legs to go faster. 

Please please please-

Elliot came into view, shoved to the ground as he slid a few feet across the ground. Tyler, dagger in hand, loomed over him, straddling Elliot as he lifted the dagger high. It was oh so familiar to Two Time. Much too familiar. 

Elliot weakly lifted his arms to stop the dagger from making contact, arms shaking as his side throbbed relentlessly. He cried out in pain. 

“Tyler, come on-” Elliot grunted, looking into the other’s dark eyes. “You g..otta..fffight..” he slurred, dagger slipping as it embedded itself into the ground. The Spectre growled, ripping it out from the ground as it went for the kill again. 

Two Time screamed, falling to their knees helplessly as they watched the dagger come down, straight for Elliot’s throat- 

And clattering to the ground. Tyler gasped, hugging his midsection desperately. His body shook. 

Elliot made a noise of relief. “Tyler!” 

Tyler looked at Elliot, shaking his head in disbelief. “Fuck…oh god, Elliot.” He lowered his head. “Kill me, please. I can’t do this anymore. It’s too much. I just want to see David again, see my daughter.. ” 

Elliot inhaled. His side ebbed in pain. “W-what?”

“200 years, Elliot. 200 .” He said, emphasising the hundred. “I always thought having immortality would be a cool thing- God, Elliot. Please, I’m begging you.” 

“Kill me.”

Then Tyler cried out, clutching his head as The Spectre took control again. His eyes were squeezed shut, the man fighting it’s influence to stall The Spectre. Elliot grimaced, clenching his jaw as he snatched Two Time’s dagger up. He clutched it tight as he aimed for Tyler’s neck. It sank in with ease, blood spraying out as Tyler began to choke. Elliot dragged it across, slitting the man’s throat messily and without precision, blood getting on his hands as the man’s body slid off him, collapsing against the ground limply. 

Elliot sat up, adrenaline dulling the pain as he watched blood spill from the man’s lips, eyes dulling as he smiled. 

“Won’t you just respawn?” He whispered, rubbing his now teary eyes. 

Tyler shook his head with what little strength he had. “Nah. I’m in the same boat as you, man.” He held up a fist weakly. “Haters forever.”

Elliot fistbumped him, returning the gesture as the light in Tyler’s eyes faded, chest stilling as blood stained the grass. Elliot breathed, sweat beading on his forehead as he lowered his head. Distantly he heard the rapid footsteps of Two Time, sliding to their knees as they hugged Elliot. 

It was quiet, save for Elliot’s rough breathing and Two Time’s voice, laced with worry and concern. 

It was peaceful. Maybe the calmest Elliot’s felt since being here. Ironic, really. 

Elliot hoped he would rest well. 

Then the sky flashed red, clouds dripping as Tyler’s body convulsed. His body split down the middle, ink dripping along with blood as his organs spilled onto the ground. An eldritch inky blackness lined with code tore it’s way through and out of his body, grouping together to form an incomprehensible figure that radiated resentment and disdain. Two Time screamed, cowering behind Elliot as he stared up at the eldritch being, breathing in shakily. 

He booked it. He didn’t care how much his side screamed at him to stop, pain tearing at his side as Two Time trailed behind him. The Spectre gave chase, moving along the ground in a sort of glide, tentacle-esque limbs latching onto the ground to propel it forward. The other survivors, all in states of panic at the change in scenery, came into view. They froze at the sight of the thing chasing Elliot, petrified as their minds scrambled to make any sense of what they were seeing. Elliot grimaced. There was no way to make sense of it; The Spectre was beyond understanding. 

The best way to comprehend it was to understand that it was incomprehensible, to stop thinking for an explanation and accepting it as being completely eldritch and beyond the mind. 

Two Time gasped as a tendril shot out and grasped for Elliot’s ankle, missing by mere inches. Elliot seemed to ignore it, only stumbling slightly as he ran. 

His heart beat out of his chest, blood rushing in his ears as he willed himself to just keep going. 

Guest seemed to recover first, charging forward and aiming for where he thought was best in order to stall the creature. The Spectre’s form shifted, Guest coming out on the other side with a dazed expression on his face. Looking back, there was a hole where he had just charged at, melding back together as though nothing happened. 

Distantly, Guest wondered how they were meant to fight this thing. If they even could, that was. 

The Spectre didn’t break chase, focused solely on Elliot as a tendril reached out to slam Guest to the ground, pinning the soldier as he failed to escape. Shedletsky was next, slammed against a wall as his sword clattered to the ground. Dusekkar ended up with a tendril separating his staff from his hand, rendering the admins' magic useless without an object to channel it through. Noob screamed as they were flung up into the air, suspended as they hung upside down by their ankle. 

Builderman watched helplessly as Chance lifted his gun, weakness high as they pulled the trigger, body collapsing as they hacked up blood. The Spectre didn’t even bother with the gambler, tendril reaching out to destroy Builderman’s sentry as the admin was slammed into a corner as Elliot ran past, blood beginning to seep through the bandages as he tore open his wound again. 

He grunted, adrenaline only slightly dulling the pain, trying to stall the inevitable. Two Time only got more and more panicked, muttering prayers under their breath then berating themself for  doing so not even seconds later. It all seemed to be on instinct for them to do so. 

The map was starting to look like a spider web with the amount of tendrils that stuck to the ground and walls, inky black and dripping code in waves. The other survivors could only watch as they were taken down, one by one, slammed against walls and into corners as The Spectre relentlessly chased Elliot around. 

For Elliot it was all a blur, in his mind only knowing the pain in his side and the desperate wishes for the round to be over. How long has it been? How much time was left? 

He blanched. The timer read an impossibly high number, frozen at 99:59. 

Soon enough, it was just Elliot and Two Time, Elliot slowing as his side began to bleed more and more, his wound worsening with every step he took. He stumbled, falling to his knees as Two Time yelped before coming down with him. 

The Spectre was almost on them now, getting closer and closer as Elliot struggled to get back up, staggering to his feet before falling back down again. 

The other survivors could only watch in horror as the last of them, Two Time, was restrained, pinned under a tendril as they shouted, clawing at the shadowy limb and biting wherever they could; it was almost animalistic in nature, like a fox caught in a beartrap. The Spectre didn’t even seem to feel it, attentive to only Elliot as it finally caught up. A tendril came to roll Elliot over, pressing hard on his side purposefully as Elliot cried out in pain. The Spectre was joyous, overly so, observing Elliot like one would a bug in their hand. A tendril ghosted over his figure, in such a way that one would believe it almost intimate and fond, had they not been familiar with the nature of The Spectre. 

The air was still, quiet, as everyone watched. Horror etched onto faces like carvings on a stone; a select few survivors fought their makeshift restraints with more vigor than they previously had been, while others looked on, helpless at the sight before them. 

The Spectre raised a tendril, tilting its head almost curiously; observing Elliot’s final moments with an odd sort of familiarity. 

Noob screamed. Chance was still reeling from the shock of his gun blowing up on him to truly register what was happening. Guest froze, the fight leaving his body momentarily. Dusekkar and Taph looked with bated breath, Builderman hanging his head low to avoid seeing what came next. Shedletsky..Shedletsky looked completely out of it, uncharacteristic for the man. 

And Two Time? 

They wailed. High pitched and distraught, memories upon memories intruding their mind as they desperately reached an arm out to do something, anything, just please let me make up for my mistakes, my sins, please please please-

The tendril came down, a sick squelch and the crunching of bones echoing in finality. Elliot didn’t even make a noise, hands coming up to weakly grasp at the limb, almost disbelievingly. 

The grandfather clock chimed. 

Killer victory. 

===========

“Hey, Two Time?” 

Silence.

“Uhm, Shedletsky’s managed to c-catch us some fish for dinner tonight. And T-Taph’s got some vegetables he’s grown to go with that! We’ve saved s-some for you..”

Still silent. 

Noob sighed. 

“We- I’d really like to s-see you eat. I’m worried.” 

Shuffling. A sniffle.

“We all miss E-Elliot, and I think..maybe talking a-about it could help.” 

Silence again.

“..I’ll just..l-leave it on the porch.”

===========

thunk. 

“Shit. Missed..” Chance muttered. He took another dart.

thunk.

“..really?” 

thunk. 

“Fuck’s sake-“

thunk. 

“There we go!” 

Chance walked up to the dartboard, removing the darts and walking back to where they had stood previously. 

thunk.

“oh come on-!”

thunk. 

thunk.

thunk.

Reset. 

thunk. 

thunk. 

“Come on, Chance. Can’t keep missin’ your shots.”

thunk.

“Gotta be better.” 

thunk.

“..Oi, Taph. Gotta show me how you aim again!”

Taph looked at him oddly. 

“I’m just trying to improve. Can’t fault me for that!” 

Taph sighed, shaking his head. Chance chuckled, nervous under Taph’s judgment.

‘I need to improve. Elliot can’t happen again.‘

===========

“David. Please, just rest for once.” Shedletsky pleaded, Builderman only tilting his head slightly to indicate he had heard the man. 

“I will. Just gotta work out how to get the dispenser to do better.” 

Shedletsky frowned. “It’s doing enough for us.” 

Dusekkar beside him nodded. “Your dispenser’s many a time have served us to survive until the grandfather’s chime. Builderman, your work is more than enough.” 

Builderman shook his head. “It isn’t the best .” 

It’s not pizza. Not Elliot. Went unsaid. 

Shedletsky and Dusekkar shared a look. 

“Please. Two Time’s holing themself away, we don’t need you doing it too. Just..at least join us for dinner.” 

Builderman paused. Blinked, long and slow. He exhaled.

“Fine. Alright.” He stretched, turning to his fellow admins. “Just dinner. Then I’m back to work.”

Shedletsky bit his lip uneasily. He looked to Dusekkar. Dusekkar looked back, shoulders tense. 

===========

Guest and Noob sat on the chairs by the front door, silent as Guest stared at the cabin Two Time had holed themself up in, Noob sipping a bloxy cola. 

They didn’t speak, just sat in each other’s company in the aftermath of that round. 

A cold breeze nipped at the back of Guest’s neck, Noob shivering as they pulled their hoodie sleeves over their hands. 

The waves lapped at the dock, trees rustling as a wolf howled. Noob sniffled. 

The food they had set aside for Two Time was beginning to go cold. 

Guest sighed. Noob drew their knees to their chest. 

There was nothing that could have been done. 

===========

ding! 

Elliot looked up, smiled. 

“Hey! Haven’t seen you in a while!” 

Tyler smiled back. “Been busy.” 

Two children held each of his hands, wide eyed and smiling.

“Mr Elliot! Can I get pepperoni?” Lily asked, smiling wide. 

“What do we say?” Tyler reminded her. 

“Oh! Pleeeaase?” 

Elliot grinned. “Coming right up!”

Tyler gently nudged the other child. “Would you like something?” 

“Can I have a ham and cheese one please?” David asked, fingers fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

“Cheese extra melty?” 

David nodded. 

Elliot put the order through, gesturing for Lily and David to follow. He showed them the process of making a pizza, letting David sprinkle on the cheese as Tyler sipped on a soda. 

Lily watched the pizza in the oven, in awe as the crust began to form and the cheese bubbled. 

“It looks so yum!” 

The pizzas were soon done, steaming as they came out of the oven. Elliot took them to the boxing area as David and Lily went to go claim a booth, Tyler following him out to the boxing station. 

“You don’t have to box it. Put it on a plate or something.” He said, Elliot smiling sheepishly. 

“We don’t really have any.” He set the boxes down, opening them as he placed them in. “How’s your travels going?” 

“Pretty good. We’re off to..what was it…prettyverse. I thought it was an odd name for a town. Lily’s really excited. It’s medieval themed, with jesters and princesses and everything. Think David’s excited too, just a bit nervous.” 

“Where was it you just went?” Elliot asked, slicing the ham and cheese as he handed the pepperoni to Tyler. “Bluutown?”

“Yep.” Tyler said, popping the ‘p’. “Bit too blue for my liking. Even the trees were blue. Put me off..David loved it though. I’m glad.” 

Elliot laughed. “I heard! Wish I could see it for myself, but you know. Pizzeria calls.” 

Tyler shrugged. “Take a day off for once, dude. I can drive you with us to prettyverse, Lily would love that.” 

Elliot shook his head. “Maybe another time. Here, your pizza.” 

Tyler thanked him, walking out to the dining area as he waved Elliot goodbye. Elliot waved back, walking to the kitchen to clean up. 

It didn’t take too long, Elliot wiping off the bench as he went out to the registers, waiting for the next customer. Tyler winked at him as Lily fought David for a slice of his pizza, Elliot huffing as the front doors slammed open. C00lkidd came barreling through, Elliot yelping as he collided with the front counter.

“C00lkidd! What have I said about the c00lgui?” 

“Sorry Mr. Elliot! I’ll go put it near the door!” c00lkidd hurried over, placing the tablet on the small shelf Elliot reserved for it, coming back as he bounced on his feet happily. “Pr3ty wants a pepperoni and Bluudud wants a sausage pizza! And, ooh, I want the new one!” 

“The new one? You sure? Apparently it’s a bit spicy.” Elliot asked, putting in the order hesitantly. 

“Yes! The new ones are always really weird but I like them!” c00lkidd explained, smile wide as Elliot sighed. 

“Alright. Be careful though. Want a soda with that?” 

C00lkidd thought for a moment. “No thanks! I gotta get back quick! Pr3ty wants me to be there for her fashion show!” 

Elliot put the order through, going to the kitchen as he made three pizzas, sliced them and then boxed them in record time. He smiled. 

“Here you go. Don’t go too fast with the gui, okay? Don’t want the pizzas falling.” 

c00lkidd nodded, grabbing the c00lgui on the way out as he waved Elliot goodbye. Then he was a blur, off into the distance towards prettyverse. Elliot huffed, fond. 

“Catch you ‘round.” Tyler called from the bins, chucking out the boxes as Lily and David raced each other out. “Gotta catch up sometime, yeah?” 

“Yeah! I’ll try and see when my next day off is.” Elliot responded, wiping some cheese from his sleeve. 

“If you even have one.” Tyler teased, ignoring Elliot’s protests as he walked out. 

Elliot sighed. The pizzeria was empty now. 

He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched.