Chapter Text
Two Time sat comfortably on a chair in the living room of their house, legs over the arm of the chair. They had in their hands a beautiful potted purple flower. They sighed and smiled, bringing it to their nose to sniff it. It was pretty and smelled nice, just like him. Their heart fluttered. Not a day had gone by that Two Time didn’t think about the love of their life, Azure.
If only they had reciprocated his love the same way.
If only, if only.
Crunch.
Crack.
Snap.
Now, days later in the waxing moon light in their own backyard, the Spawn had finally come to punish them. It had journeyed down to the earth in the form of what could only be described as a figure made of light that was black.
The Spawn had raised a dark hand, lifting Two Time up with it.
Rrrrip.
The sounds of their own skin ripping and ribs cracking echoed in Two Time's consciousness. They hoped this pain was worse than any they'd inflicted on any other. Unfortunately, this pain soon ebbed into nothing, as did their thoughts.
They'd essentially “died”, although they had no idea how they still… were. Their mind still continued to exist. A fuzzy feeling occurred within their consciousness. Everything was blurry at first, but once they adjusted to it, Two Time could actually “see” their physical surroundings.
And there was their body, right in front of them.
Two Time's consciousness let out a dazed “Ha.”
It looked like it was getting possessed. It spasmed dramatically, eyes rolled back so far that they could practically see the backs of them, with all those spidery, delicate veins looking about ready to burst.
They turned their gaze to the rest of their body. Their spine was arched, and their ribs had been more or less torn from their rightful places and were sticking out in ways that would cause enough blood loss to kill them, and that's exactly what had happened. If Two Time had a mouth right now, it would be tugged into a satisfied smile.
This is exactly what they deserved. Torture until death. And it has worked. Thank the Spawn, it worked.
Azure's body was found only two days after Two Time had selfishly stolen his life in an act of religious psychosis.
They could recall that day vividly; how they'd blindly stabbed their beloved. How he'd taken over 9 minutes to succumb to his wounds. How they only realized their actions after Azure was in his final moments. The disbelief in his eyes as the light left them.
They'd buried Azure in his shallow grave in a field of nightshade after much prayer.
Then they had come home and thrown up every last thing in their stomach.
The next two days were spent in a panic, locked in their house, doing nothing but praying. They'd sat in their living room with the blinds shut whispering every prayer they knew to the Spawn, kneeling, with their head bowed to the floor. Every apology that could be said, was. Their only ask was for Azure to be loved in the afterlife. They didn't eat or sleep during that time. Only prayed.
They'd even started seeing and hearing things the few times they had their eyes open. Humanoid shadows in their peripherals, faint screams that were eerily akin to that of Azure. In those moments, although it would be a sin, they wanted nothing more but to hurt themselves. Now at least they were getting what they deserved.
Ah, yes. Two Time definitely deserved this.
They stared again at their own mangled corpse. The spasms in their body had started to cease, and the arch in their spine faltered before giving out completely. The body fell still with a final thud.
Two Time had a moment of guilty relief. Even if they were cursed to wander upon the earth as disembodied consciousness with only their thoughts accompanying them, at least now they'd know that they couldn't hurt another person again.
This relief, however, was short lived.
The black-lit figure reached out towards their body-less form and, to Two Time's shock, grasped it. They let out a soundless gasp as all they were aware of suddenly became that of the sound of air rushing past them. Their stomach turned. They felt as if they were being flipped over and over in the air.
Wait, that couldn't be right.
They didn't have a stomach anymore.
Was this their eternal punishment? Was this hell? How long will they-
Wait…
Is that…
Sight. Real, genuine, ocular perception occurred. They could see again! And what they were seeing was shrouded in darkness and rain, but it was real nonetheless. The roof of a cabin… a few trees.. a lake.. and ground, rapidly approaching beneath them.
“AH FU-”
Two Time extended their arms out frantically.
They shrieked, pitifully, as they hit the ground hard.
Oh Spawn…
They groaned.
Is my arm broken…? What the fuck. They gasped, painfully. Thank Spawn they'd landed in a cluster of cattails instead of just plain earth. What. The fuck. What the fuck Just happened??
They curled up into a ball in the tall grassy plants for a moment, trying to catch their breath.
(Wait.
I did what?)
They opened their eyes, still curled up, taking in their surroundings. They were… alive. Or at the very least they had their body back. They tried getting up, and fell back into the long plants almost instantly. Two Time sucked air in through their teeth.
(Spawn… It hurts… help…)
Their mind went quiet. Should they even be calling upon the Spawn? Wouldn't it be too upset with them to answer now? Two Time didn't know.
They brought two fingers up to their neck, checking their pulse. It was there. They were alive. Their body relaxed slightly with a mix of relief and shock.
But how? How could such a miracle been granted?-
(…No.)
Two Time's eyes widened.
(No no no no…)
They smiled an almost fearful grin.
(Azure…)
Their body shook, in spite of the immense pain in their torso and arm, in cold laughter.
It worked. Two Time's previous life was no more.
Pain shot through them as their laughter echoed into the rainy night.
They had been respawned.
~
Taph was sitting at a booth in the cabin with Chance, who was trying to teach her and Elliot how to play poker. It was particularly boring for her, as she had no clue what he was yapping about, and was just flipping a poker chip in her gloved hands repeatedly. Guest was snoring very loudly on the couch behind them. Taph smiled behind her bandana at Elliot's face; he was beyond perplexed.
“How… Um…”
“HOW DO YOU STILLLLL NOT GET IT!? I-” Chance sighed and put a hand on his forehead. “I dunno how else to explain it to ya, El…”
“Ha-” Elliot looked at Chance sheepishly.
“I guess I'm just not great at understanding these things.”
“Well you COULD be if you actually TRIED!”
“I AM TRYING!!!” Elliot whined.
“NUH UH.”
“YOU just suck at explaining things-”
“I DO NOT!!”
“YUH HUH.”
“WELL YOU SUCK AT LISTENING TO ME!!!”
“YOU-” Elliot snatched a poker chip from the table and flung it at Chance's face, which knocked his glasses off. Taph snickered.
“I SWEAR TO GOD, EL-” Elliot got up while Chance was distracted grabbing his glasses and made a break for the open cabin door.
“Oh, no you don't…” Chance got up and grabbed the back of Elliot's collar.
“Augh-!”
“Get back here.” Chance quite literally dragged Elliot back to the booth and sat him down. He sighed.
“Taph, you understand me, right?”
She shrugged, twitching her wings. She wasn't paying attention.
“God dammit…”
Elliot giggled.
“Alright, fine… Whadda you two wanna do, then-?” Chance leaned back, glancing at the open front door. There was only darkness and rain out there.
“‘Cause it doesn't look like Builderman and Shedletsky will be back anytime soon…” He sighed and sat down next to Elliot.
“And Nori and Dusekkar are still sleeping like Gue-…”
They heard a loud crash come from the outside of the cabin. Taph jumped.
“...Uh.” Chance got up.
“No, come back…" Elliot pulled him back down and laid his head on his shoulder sleepily. “It was probably just the storm… maybe a tree knocked into it.”
Taph tilted her head at the wall. There were no trees next to it on the outside…
“Hm. Aight.” Chance adjusted his hat.
“Well, like I was saying, wha-”
The lights dimmed. Elliot’s eyes went wide.
“Ah shit-” Chance looked up.
Then it was dark. Elliot yelped. Once Taph's eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness, she saw that the only light in the cabin was coming from the lit fireplace. Suddenly, the ominously open door seemed scarier than it previously was.
Guest, who had presumably heard Elliot's pitiful noise, stirred on the couch.
“Ugh…” He sniffed, and sat up slowly, adjusting himself on the couch, barely illuminated by the fireplace. “What the…?”
“The damn lights went out” Chance grumbled. He got up, the booth creaking as he did, and sat on the couch near Guest. Elliot followed behind him.
Taph got up and sat on the third couch. She didn’t want to be alone in the dark.
“Huh. When'd it start stormin’?” Guest asked.
“Not too long ago. The rain started just after you fell asleep. But I noticed the wind was picking up even before Builderman and Shedletsky left.” Elliot crossed his legs on the couch, leaning against Chance with a shiver.
“Ugh.. its gonna start getting cold in here if we keep the door open.” Elliot grumbled.
“Yeah, I should probably close that.” Guest got up with a grunt and started for the door in the dark, creaking the floor as he walked.
“Ahahahah.. HAHAHAHAHAHHH-”
Taph's body went rigid. She could see Elliot in the faint light, his eyes wide.
Someone was outside.
And they were… laughing?
It didnt sound like Builderman or Shedletsky, and it was too high pitched and far away to be Guest.
Taph's mind raced.
Was it Nori? No… I would've heard her cabin door open…
It sounds almost female… maybe not…?
Her blood went cold.
Has the Spectre sent something to kill us from our only safe place?
Guest, as quietly as he could, walked back over to Chance, motioning for him to get up. Chance nodded and set a hand on his gun holster. They both slowly made their way towards the open door.
Taph met Elliot's eyes. She motioned for them to go follow them. He nodded uncertainly, but still got up. As they quietly walked behind the men, Taph could hear Chance cock his gun as they stepped out onto the porch.
The four carefully went down the stairs. Guest cracked his knuckles. Chance raised his gun. Taph grimaced as the cold drops of rain began to seep into her heavy cloak and wing feathers.
The laughing had died down to an almost psycotic sounding giggle. It was coming from the same side of the house that the crash was heard on earlier, from a cluster of cattails.
Chance glanced back at Taph and Elliot for a minute, then pushed the cattails out of the way with his gun.
Inside of the tall grass was… A person. A particularly slim person of undefinable gender and dark, messy hair, who was staring down at their hands and giggling.
(Who the hell…?)
Their disoriented snickering died out as they met the eyes of the four people towering over them. They opened their mouth, seemingly to say something, but nothing came out.
Chance's arm shook as he pointed his gun down at the person.
“You…” He grit his teeth. “Who are you? Did you take out our power?”
“And what the hell're you doing here?” Guest rolled up his sleeves.
Upon seeing the gun, the person backed away further into the reeds, eyes wide, mouth still open, twitching.
“Are yuh mute? Answer us!” Guest grabbed the person by the collar of their shawl. Chance pressed the gun into the side of their head. They stared up at both of them, frightened, with eyes darting between them that started to water.
“I- I'm sorry… please,” their voice cracked.
“Don't kill me…”
So they can talk. Taph peered at them cautiously from behind Guest. It was too dark to make out much of the details of their person, but their dark messy hair was dampened to their face, and they had huge bags under their eyes and largely unhealed scars on their shoulders peeking out from under their now-soaked shawl. Even in the dark they did not look very… healthy. Guest glanced at Chance, who gave a slight nod.
“Alright buddy… can you walk?” He put the strange person down. They immediately fell back down.
“Spawn- No, I fell pretty damn hard…”
Fell? Taph and Elliot exchanged concerned glances. If they fell here, that would mean-
Taph guessed Guest was thinking the same thing as them, because his shoulders relaxed.
“Fell, huh?... Mm.” He offered a hand to the person. “...You dont know where you are, do you?”
“Uh, no. Apologies. Where have I been taken?”
Chance closed his eyes. Guest's face took on a tired expression. He sighed.
“Here. We'll help you get out of the storm, and then let's talk about it inside...” He put an arm under the person's arm and tried to help them up.
“Taph, could you give me a hand-”
Taph scrambled through the long grass and bent down, putting her arm under the strange person's other shoulder and helped them stand.
“Oh bless you, kind beings.” The person murmured as they shakily stood up.
Strange way to say thank you, but at least they're grateful.
They walked slowly with the person, who was limping, over to the cabin and up the porch stairs. Chance closed the door behind them. They made their way over to the couches near the fireplace once more, and sat the person down. Taph shifted away from them as she sat, trying to see if she could make out more of them in the firelight. They looked mostly the same, besides the shaky smile on their face that she hadn't noticed before. It was slightly unnerving how wide it was, considering their current whereabouts.
The person folded their trembling hands in their lap and bowed their head slightly. They looked like they wanted to be smaller.
They looked up at the four of them timidly.
Guest cleared his throat.
“So, boy. You remember your name?”
“Y-” The person cleared their throat. “Yes. My name is Two Time. Also, I'm not a ‘boy’…”
The room was silent. Taph almost laughed. Almost.
“Ah… Alright ‘Two Time’, do you have a pretty clear memory of your life before all this?”
Two Time looked at the floor, their strange grin faltering for a moment.
“Yyyes.”
“...Well? Go on then.” Elliot asked after a moment.
Two Time looked back up at the four.
“Would you even believe me?”
They all nodded, except for Chance, who shrugged and patted his gun holster, before receiving an elbow to the ribs from Elliot.
“Well”, they started quietly. “A rather… geometric being came down from the sky and… killed me. Then it sort of grabbed me– or my soul– after I was dead, a-and brought me here…”
Although it was the answer Taph expected, she wasn't thrilled about the memories their explanation brought back. She could still feel the cold grip of the Spectre on her soul from when he'd taken her. She shivered.
Guest nodded. “Yeah– wait, he killed you first? Hm.”
“‘Well, yes… ‘He?’ who is He?” Two Time looked confused.
“The Spectre.” Guest leaned back in the couch and crossed his arms. “He was that thing that brought you here.”
Two Time's shoulders relaxed, as if they'd realized something. “Ah.” They sighed. “W-why, exactly…”
“The Game.” Guest narrowed his eyes at Two Time. “He makes us play a “game” of survival.”
Two Time tilted their head, pressing their eyebrows together.
“‘Makes us’? So… I'm stuck here…”
“Yup. No way out ‘s far as I can tell. I've been here almost six months.” Chance frowned. “Shedletsky's been here almost twice as long.”
Taph watched Two Time's already wide eyes get wider. They quietly turned their gaze back down at the cabin floor. Taph felt a pang of grief for them. Whatever life they'd had before, they'd never see again.
Guest cleared his throat.
“You know what, its getting late. If a new person's arrived, then there's a new sleeping cabin up. Someone's gotta show our newcomer where they're gonna be livin’. Chance, could you-?”
Chance smiled sheepishly and pointed at Elliot, who was fast asleep on his shoulder. Guest sighed.
“I'll do it”, Taph whispered.
Two Time next to her jumped slightly.
(I don't think they knew I could talk-)
“Thank you Taph.” Guest got up off the couch with a grunt.
“I'm gonna go find Builderman and Shed’. They've been gone for far too long…” He walked over to the door and, after doing a quick salute, closed the door behind him.
“I guess I'm sleeping out here tonight”, Chance said with a yawn. He took his glasses off and folded them, then shifted closer to Elliot.
Taph looked up at Two Time. They were nervously fidgeting with their shawl, not looking at Taph. She lightly tapped their leg.
“Hm?” They jumped again and looked up at her.
(Am I really that scary??)
Taph pointed to the cabin door.
“Oh… the sleeping cabins are out there?”
Taph nodded and got up, extending a hand to help them up as well. They took it and shakily stood up. It looked like their pain had gone away for the most part.
The pair headed outside and down the stairs, both of them flinching. The rain had only started pouring down harder since the first time they went out. Taph led the way to the other side of the cabin, where the sleeping cabins were lined up. There were ten of them, and Two Time's was all the way in the back.
“Here.” Taph opened the door. The inside of their cabin looked almost the same as hers; a room with empty walls, a bed with a red comforter, a side table, a portable heater, and a closet on the right side. It was almost as if the Spectre had copy and pasted the same room down each time there was a new survivor.
Two Time stepped into the room, looking around. It was quite dark, and fairly cold, because of the power being out. Taph stepped inside. There was no way she was going to stand in the rain for longer than she had to. Two Time sat on their bed and sighed.
Taph looked at them and gave them a thumbs up, tilting her head.
“Um… yeah, I'm good.”
Welp. Her job was done here. Taph stepped outside and began closing the door.
“W-wait.”
She stopped and peered inside at Two Time.
“Thank you for your help, er- Taph, was it?”
Taph nodded.
“The Spawn would be pleased of your kindness.” They assumed their unusually chipper smile. Taph closed the door, hesitating before heading over to her own cabin.
They were… strange. Taph pondered for a moment. Then she smiled.
(I think I'll get along with them just fine.)