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It had been two years since Guest 1337 went M.I.A, presumed K.I.A.
They never found the body. Matt told himself that every day, but his hope had dwindled down. At this point, it hurt more thinking that he was alive, out there and probably being tortured daily by remnants of the Bacon Empire. That was probably the source of the weird dreams.
Sometimes, when Matt would lay his head down to sleep, he would open his eyes to a strange sight. He hovered over Guest 1337’s shoulder, silently watching as he and a group of strange people got killed. Admins, time hadn’t dulled his memories in the slightest. He looked more exhausted and more anxious, but it was still Guest 1337, clad in his uniform like he was just about to get deployed. In these dreams, he would usually work on a strange machine or hover around one of his teammates before someone showed up and tried to kill them. The murderers ranged from a cackling child singing songs to entities thought to be mere myths.
Guest 1337 was always putting himself in the way, charging into the killer and taking their attention away from vulnerable teammates. That meant Matt had a front row seat to watching him get ripped apart, and no matter how much he told himself that it was just a dream, that didn’t stop tears from trickling down his face when he woke up. They hadn’t been exclusive to just him, Daisy and even Charlotte confessing to having similar ones. They had seen a doctor about it, but the best answer they could come up with was the trauma of watching him sacrifice himself causing survivor’s guilt in the form of these dreams. Once or twice Matt had considering doing something about it, a wild fantasy of finding these places and reaching Guest 1337 from his hell, returning him with their family, but it simply wasn’t possible.
“Still thinking about him?” Molly asked, gently squeezing his hand.
Matt smiled. She was one of the only good things to come out of the war. “Always. I just can’t shake the feeling that maybe he’s out there…”
“I wish I could have met him.”
He laughed. “Yeah. Something tells me you two would’ve been good friends.”
With a sigh, Matt let his head fall onto his pillow. Even if the contents of the dreams were horrifying, it was still a relief to see Guest 1337 again. “Goodnight, Molly.”
“Goodnight, Matt. Sweet dreams.”
When Matt opened his eyes again, he was standing near a giant stone castle. He blinked. Still there. Okay. This was probably a dream.
The grass crunched beneath his feet as he walked, a cool breeze whistling through the air. When he had seen Guest 1337, he had never made noise before. Tentatively, he reached out and touched a strange wooden wall. It definitely felt real, grainy beneath his hands. Nearby, he could hear people talking.
“Okay, 007n7, Veeronica, you guys try to go for the generators in the back. Give it a couple minutes to make sure the Killer isn’t there, but the sooner we don’t have to worry about that portion of the map the better.”
“0N IT!” A vaguely synthetic voice chirped, followed by a rattling sound.
“Stay safe out there, Shedletsky. It’s been a while since we’ve seen 1x, so keep your guard up.” A softer voice said. 007n7? Hadn’t that been an Exploiter that disappeared a while ago? And Shedletsky, an Admin, also mysteriously gone… what were they doing in his dreams?
“Hey, I’ve got their one weakness covered: vertical elevation.” All three of them laughed at that, with the fondness of a well-loved inside joke. The footsteps began to split up as Matt peeked his head around the wooden wall. A busted generator waited behind it. This had always been important in the dreams. The people in it were always talking about “gen efficiency” and how they “only had one gen done with half the team dead!” and things like that. Should he… try to fix it? What would that do?
“Greetings!” Matt narrowly avoided punching a disturbingly pale Robloxian in the face. They stood behind him, a wide grin stretching ear to ear. Strapped to their side was a gleaming dagger, blade wickedly sharp. “A new face, I see. Why, you are in the exact same uniform as Guest 1337! Another soldier joining our ranks?”
“You know Guest 1337?” The person’s grin only widened at his confusion. Eugh.
“He is my fellow Sentinel! Ah, if you seek him, I fear he has spawned elsewhere. Nonetheless, your paths will cross! The Spawn wills it, I can tell. It never does anything without reason!” They walked past him and in front of the generator, bending down to open one of its panels. “But where are my manners? I am Two Time, a humble disciple of the Spawn. Are you aware of the grace our lord provides?”
“Uh… loosely.” When Matt was still at the orphanage, a group of people had shown up at the door, proclaiming that they knew a new family for the poor lost souls living here. The staff had swiftly shooed them out, and while he wasn’t sure if the Spawn was what they were peddling, Two Time talked in the exact same way they had.
“How fortunate! I will not have to introduce you into their grace, for-“
“Two Time, don’t scare the new guy.” The slightly chiding voice belonged to a yellow-skinned Robloxian, clad in a blue shirt and green pants. He felt a pang of sadness in his heart when he saw them; they were so young, and the same exhaustion that Guest 1337 had was visible on their face. “Hey there. My name’s Noob.”
“I’m Matt.” Like clockwork, they opened up a panel too. “I don’t really know what I’m doing here.”
“Yeah,” Noob sighed. “Well, be on your guard. Last thing I saw, Chance and Guest 1337 were keeping Slasher occupied, but he’s real sneaky anyway. Trust me, I’ve taken enough chainsaws through the stomach to know.”
Matt chose to ignore the part about the chainsaw. He couldn’t let this opportunity slip away. “I have to see him.”
“…Slasher?”
“Guest 1337. Please, we haven’t seen him in years, we’re so worried for him back home-“
“Pardon the interruption, but could you perhaps be the same Matt that is his childhood friend? The one who got shot in the head?” Two Time tilted their head, still arm-deep in the colorful wires of the generator. Wasn’t that an electrocution hazard? Or a tetanus hazard? Both, maybe?
“It was in the chest. I almost died, but I was nursed back to health. Listen, I need to find him-“
“Did they give you pizza too?” Two Time asked.
“Huh?”
“No, he must’ve had a proper medic. They’re probably down that way.” With a rumble, the generator activated again. Noob pointed to the distance near another one of those wooden things, nearby a tree and a huge rock. Sure enough, there were tiny figures moving around. “Be careful. Slasher doesn’t have any ranged attacks but he’s strong enough to make up for it.”
“Matt here is a soldier! I am confident that he will be able to protect himself. Besides, I will watch his back. The Spawn bays for the blood of the wicked…” Matt wasn’t too sure if he wanted Two Time watching his back, but they rounded a corner and disappeared instantly.
“Yeah, they do that a lot.” Noob said. “Well, good luck. I gotta find another generator.”
And now Matt was alone(?), getting pointed towards a murderer (?), hoping to every single god out there that he was going to see Guest 1337(?). He jogged, trying to conserve his energy if he really needed it. His heart thudded in his chest regardless, head spinning at the mere thought of getting to see Guest 1337 again. Matt wanted to punch him and ask where the hell he had been, or grab tight onto him and never let go, or weep into his arms, or kiss him, or maybe all four of those at once. Unfortunately, when he arrived to the scene of the battle Guest 1337 was nowhere to be seen.
Near the giant rock were the actual, honest-to-Admins… well, Admins. Shedletsky’s sword was drawn as he slowly circled a large man in a mask, an imposing chainsaw revving in his hands. Slasher, probably. Nearby a wooden wall was Dusekkar, staff pulsing with a blue energy. Slasher abruptly lunged forwards, Shedletsky swinging his sword just too late to do anything about the roaring chainsaw. A glowing shield materialized around him so fast Matt was surprised it wasn’t there a couple seconds before. “Thy skill is great, thy experience in cashes, so why on earth do you keep missing your slashes?”
“Oh my god, Matt, not now.” Shedletsky whined, seemingly unbothered by the chainsaw bashing against the shield. Matt blinked. Was that Dusekkar’s real name?
“I am merely saying that if thou actually looked, thou would not get baited by a hook.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ve got a skill issue and all that-“ Shedletsky rolled his eyes, but swiftly did a doubletake when he realized that Matt was standing there. “Wha- Guest 1337? I thought I told you get yourself fixed up!”
“Thou eyes deceive, mine must too; why is your hair not blue?” Before Matt could say something, like what the hell is happening or where is Guest 1337 or oh god the chainsaw freak is coming at me, Two Time seemingly materialized out of nowhere and stabbed their dagger directly into Slasher’s back.
“I see you are acquainted with Matt!” They said, twisting the dagger with brutal force. He winced.
“I’ve known Dusekkar for literal centuries.” Shedletsky pulled out a wing of fried chicken and began to eat it, still casually talking as if there wasn’t a violent murder in their midst.
“Not the Divine Pumpkin! This is an old friend of Guest 1337’s. The army one, who got shot in the head?” Slasher still writhed in pain, hands shielding his face. Matt felt his fear give way to supreme confusion.
“Oh shit, really? What are you doing here?” Shedletsky rested his hand on his hip, tossing the bone aside where it hit Slasher on the head. “Whoops. My bad.”
Slasher swung a machete directly at his head. Shedletsky barely avoided getting decapitated, a long line of red blooming on his arm instead. “That’s our cue to run, both Matts! Stay alive, new Matt! Be careful of your cooldown!”
Matt might’ve been confused, but years of army experience kicked in. When faced with a violent threat, you neutralized it. The blade swung for him next, but his arms blocked it, and in a fluid motion he transferred the energy into a brutal punch. It connected satisfyingly with Slasher’s face, sending him reeling to the floor. Matt wanted to do another, to grab the machete and plunge it into his heart, but he couldn’t. It was like there was something constricting around his ability to carry out violence and telling him that there was a timer of 24s before he could do that again. Fuck. It was rapidly dawning on Matt why Shedletsky hadn’t taken the opportunity to kill Slasher when he was still stunned, instead opting to flee. Opting to flee like he should have 3.5 seconds ago.
Matt began to back away, refusing to take his eyes off of the incredibly dangerous man in front of him. Blindly fleeing would only make it worse, right? He couldn’t die like this, not when he was so close to seeing Guest 1337 again. An eye beneath Slasher’s mask began to glow red as he stomped forwards.
Before he could do anything, a man in a burger hat ran forwards into the loving embrace of Slasher’s chainsaw. Matt gaped in horror as a burst of pink smog filled his vision, swiftly getting yanked backwards by a hand. He whirled to attack when the burger-hatted man, now dragging him up a stone ramp shushed him, pulling him higher and higher until he felt dizzy. In a whisper, 007n7 said, “That’ll fool him for a bit. We’ll be safe up here until he leaves.”
“You-“
“Died? It was just one of my clones. I wasn’t going to let anyone take a Raging Pace boosted Gashing Wound.” He smiled sheepishly, pushing up his glasses. “Thanks for the help, Taph.”
A cloaked figure, standing at a platform on top of the stone tower, impaled a stake into the… stone? What? How did that work? They began to move her fingers in Common Robloxian Sign Language, saying, No problem! Hello, new guy!
“Hi,” he whispered back. “I’m Matt.”
007n7’s eyes widened. “Guest’s Matt? The one who-“
“It wasn’t the head. It looked a lot like it, but it wasn’t the head.” Perhaps Matt was being a little too snappy towards someone who saved his life (whatever a Raging Pace boosted Gashing Wound was, it definitely wasn’t good), but cut him some slack. All he wanted to do was go to sleep and now he was fighting for his life, and he didn’t even get to see Guest 1337.
Touchy subject, huh? Taph swiftly began to assemble a cube-looking thing, carefully placing a glowing core into the center. A Subspace Tripmine. It was a rare bomb, too rare to be used as a weapon in the war with the Bacon Empire, restricted almost entirely to the Admins and those they deemed worthy of using it. Its destructive power was so immense it could reduce stone to rubble in a few seconds flat. Taph seemed to catch his staring. Weak here. So much weaker than it used to be. Still thwarts the Killer, so that’s something.
“Yeah.” Matt mumbled. “Listen, have you-“
There was a sharp snapping sound, as a red highlight of Slasher’s body appeared at the bottom of the ramp. 007n7 had pulled up a panel, with the bar loading. “Alright, Matt. You’re going to have to jump once he gets up here.”
“Jump? I’ll break my legs!” He had learned how to tuck and roll during training to minimize the impact with the ground, but this was way too tall for that.
No it isn’t! You won’t get hurt! The Specter will just slow you down. It would be too boring if we died like that. Taph flung the Subspace Tripmine downwards, watching as the purple glow became smaller and smaller as it whistled through the air.
“He’s right, Matt. The rules of this world-“ In a blur of code, 007n7 disappeared, leaving Matt at the top of a tower, forced to decided between almost-death from a three-story drop and certain-death from a very angry Slasher that was getting closer and closer.
I will go first, since you need convincing. Taph walked off the edge before Matt could stop her, his eyes unable to look away from their falling body. Surprisingly, she did not splatter on the ground, walking it off in a matter of mere minutes. They gave Matt a thumbs-up before running away.
When in Rome, monkey do.
The impact from the ground was jarring, but he didn’t feel his bones shatter into dust, nor did he crumple to the floor in pain. Good enough for Matt to blindly pick a direction (forwards, thankfully) and start running. Okay. He was in the same sort of nightmare prison where Guest 1337 was held, where Exploiters and Admins reacted to everything as if it was exceedingly normal, and he could do something to stall the violent murderer trying to hunt them down, but only sometimes. Great. Fantastic. Never been better.
The castle he saw at the beginning of his maybe-dream had a ramp to the side. Height was probably good, even if his lungs were burning and he barely avoided stumbling over his own feet and and and-
Burning pain sliced through his back as Slasher finally landed a hit. Emboldened by his success and Matt suddenly being unable to run, no matter how much he willed it, let a chainsaw pierce his chest. It felt so real. It was real. Matt could no longer pretend that this was just a strange dream, not when he had watched Guest 1337 enough times to know what was coming next: death. It hurt so much he could barely think, blade whirring as the spikes caught on his flesh and began to spin. Was this what Guest 1337 had lived through every time Matt saw him? He just wanted to see him again. Just once, talk to him, tell him that Matt and Daisy and Charlotte were still waiting for him, still loved him-
“Hey, Slasher!” Like an angel sent down from the heavens, Guest 1337’s voice echoed around the castle walls. Matt groggily looked up to see him standing on one of the parapets, just as strong and determined as ever.
“Guest…” Matt slurred, feebly reaching an arm up for him. He could see the pain in Guest 1337’s eyes at his state, further supported by the way his lips curled into a snarl. It was all worth it. He’d take an agonizing death if it meant getting to see him one last time. Blackness swam at the edge of his vision, but never enough to let him fall into blissful uncontioustess. Matt knew that he should have bled out long ago, but perhaps the same rules that stopped him from dying from a long fall kept him alive now. Yes, he could see it, in the corner of his mind: 5 hp.
His senses remained intact otherwise, giving Matt a front-row seat to Guest 1337 as he began to do what could only be described as absolutely busting it down to California Girls.
What.
This was a dying fever dream, or maybe just a normal dream, because there would be no reason why this would ever happen had it been real. And yet, in defiance of every logical thought that had ever existed in Guest 1337’s mind (and perhaps the rest of the world), he continued to dance, yelling the lyrics aggressively as if sheer volume would be the thing to save Matt’s life.
“Ca-li-fornia girls, we’re unforgettable! Dai-sy dukes, bi-kinis on top!” Guest 1337 punctuated every syllable with a swing of his arms, switching to windmilling them shortly after. Hell (for that was the only thing this place could be) had broken his dearest friend after years spent getting murdered. That was the only explanation as to why he was still going, yelling about sun-kissed skin so hot it’ll melt your popsicle, and probably to why Slasher was staring up at him with so much fury he trembled. More horrifying yet was the thought that there was a method to Guest 1337’s madness; that he knew something about this land that Matt didn’t, and that something would spare him.
Slasher pulled his chainsaw out, kicking Matt’s still alive body to the side. He wheezed pathetically, but Slasher didn’t seem to care. All of his attention had focused on Guest 1337, who had pushed one fist forwards and waved his other arm sideways as he started from the top. He proceeded to switch this motion to the opposite side as Slasher charged up the ramp, letting Matt see that he was a Bacon Hair. So that was why he was going after Guest 1337.
Matt struggled to his feet, barely limping behind another wooden wall, this one nearby a white room. “You’re not Guest 1337.”
“You’re probably the seventh person to tell me that today.” He said, or at least he tried to. What came out was closer to a wet gurgle.
The person, dressed in an apron, bent down to his level. “It’s always the newbies who end up horrifically mangled. Let me guess, ran out of stamina? Okay, I know this is going to sound crazy, and you probably have a lot of questions, but I need you to eat this slice of pizza.”
Matt might’ve asked why had he not been in agonizing pain. At this point he would go up there and join Guest 1337 in serenading Slasher if it meant that his insides no longer felt like they were on fire. With the person’s help, he managed to choke down the pizza. Miraculously, the wound in his stomach began to close. “…What..?”
“Not important. Right now you need to get to a Dispenser before Slasher decides to finish the job. There’s one in that direction, and Guest 1337’ll keep him busy long enough for you to at least be back to full. Go.” He pointed at a faint glowing outline through the walls, soft green instead of red.
“What about you?” Matt pushed himself up. The person in the apron looked almost exactly like the cashier at Builder Brother’s Pizza, face on missing posters stuck up around the neighborhood.
“Don’t worry about me.” Elliot said, readjusting his visor. “It turns out that getting targeted a lot makes you really good at juking and looping.”
“Okay,” Matt said. It felt odd to just leave him behind, but Elliot was clearly more experienced in these matters than him. He managed to make his way past the stone tower and into this strange construction area, where Builderman himself was crouched down, carefully setting up some sort of turret thing.
“Hey there. Hunker down low here and heal up.” Builderman had a kind smile on his face, picking up his toolkit once the Sentry was done. It had the same glow as the dispenser. “Hang on, I remember you! You had a lovely speech at Guest 1337’s memorial.”
“Thank you, sir.” Matt limped closer to the Dispenser, seeing a soft red mist pour out of the top. Someone else was crouched beside it, what appeared to be the blown apart remains of a flintlock pistol sticking out of one pocket.
“Aw, none of that. In here, I’m just Builderman. Alright, fellas. I’m going to see if the others are holding up okay. Chance, be more careful in the future. Wait until your Weakness-“
“Wears off, I know. Trust me, I’ll win it big next time!” The other person, Chance, said. Two halves of some shades were tucked into his other pocket, revealing their soot-covered face. Despite that, an easygoing smile grinned at Matt as they leaned against the massive metal beams. “Hey there. You come here often?”
“Uh.” Matt said. “I have a wife. And a husband.”
Chance sighed, clearly disappointed. He fished a coin out of his suit pocket and flicked it despondently. “The handsome soldiers always do…”
Matt chose to ignore that. “What happened to you?”
“Oh, y’know. Trying to get three charges so I can buff my health. He comes at me too early for my Weakness to wear off. I panic and get a misfire from my flintlock. Almost die and get sent to the corner to heal. On the bright side, I did manage to reach 130 hp. You can do anything with enough gambling, pal.” Chance pumped their fist in celebration. “Yes! Finally!”
He adjusted their fedora, and the shades mended. Chance slid them back on and pulled the now-repaired flintlock out of his pocket. They flipped his coin a couple more times, getting more and more excited as he did. “Well, I’ll see you around. Maybe. There’s a Killer that needs stunning! Good luck out there!”
Chance ran off, leaving Matt to sit with the Dispenser. It was a nice change of pace after everything he had experienced. Quietly, he weighed his options. If it really was just a dream, then telling people that he had seen the missing people trapped in some sort of castle land getting attacked by a guy with a chainsaw would get him get called crazy and completely discredited. On the other hand, if it was real and he didn’t do anything about it, then he might be dooming them to a life of eternal suffering. Matt’s “hp” was all the way back up to 102, which was good enough for him. He had the feeling that time was running out, and if he didn’t get to see Guest 1337 at least once he was pretty sure he’d end up bashing his head against the wall. He ended up passing the robot on his way out. “Veeronica, right? Have you seen Guest 1337 anywhere? It’s urgent, I have to see him again.”
“YUPP3RS! RIGHT 0VER THERE BY TH3 RAMP. BE C4REFUL!” She continued spray-painting a rabbit pointing at a clock onto the wall.
Matt ran. All of the people he had met had seemingly converged here, and all of them were harassing Slasher in various means. It was like a well-choreographed dance, with the Killer being given no room to breathe whatsoever. Shedletsky’s sword sent him flying down the ramp, and right as he shook it off to continue climbing Two Time stabbed him in the back. A shield stopped Slasher from retaliating as Chance took careful aim and fired, reducing him back into his stunned state. All the while, a Sentry had been peppering him with bullets, courtesy of Builderman. Any bit of damage Slasher did manage to deal was healed by Elliot, who was holding a hot slice of pizza at the ready. 007n7’s clones would get up in his face, soaking up damage before flopping over right as a Subspace Tripmine blew up. In the lulls between cooldowns, Noob would chug a Slateskin Potion before positioning themselves directly in front of Slasher, who Matt was honestly starting to feel a little bad for. “Holy shit.”
“It’s amazing what a couple years of practice can do to your teamwork skills.” A warm and familiar voice said. Matt whirled around to see Guest 1337 smiling softly. “Hey, Matt. Admins, I’ve missed you.”
Matt sunk into his open arms. Guest 1337 had grown a bit of stubble, and he seemed almost… more rectangular? It didn’t matter. He was still the same man he and Daisy had fallen in love with. “You’re really here?”
“Yeah.” Guest 1337 rested his head on Matt’s shoulder. He smelled like gunpowder and sand. “It’s really me. I don’t think we’re going to have much more time together.”
“What?” Matt croaked. “Why not?”
“It’s probably like those times Brighteyes and 118o8 showed up with us. A temporary addition to our roster to remind us of the lives we left behind.” Guest 1337 had a sorrow etched deep on his face. Tears began to well up in his eyes. “I’ve never stopped loving you or Daisy or Charlotte for an instant, Matt. Truthfully, I can’t even believe you’re alive.”
“You went around telling everyone I got shot in the head, huh?” Matt rested his forehead against Guest 1337’s own. Remember this, he told himself, remember everything about him before you wake up.
“It looked like that, Matt. I thought I had lost another loved one.” Guest 1337 leaned into Matt’s hand, patiently letting him wipe away the tears. “Listen, we’re working on busting out of here. The Admins have a plan- I can’t risk telling it to you in case the Specter overhears, but I promise you’ll see me again. Tell Daisy and Charlotte to be strong for me, Matt.”
“Always.” Matt’s gaze turned back to the commotion. Slasher had just barely managed to break free of the chaos and was now staggering towards them, only for Veeronica to come blazing in on her skateboard and knock him back into the mosh pit, where he was stunned again. “I’m glad you’ve got people to watch your back here, even if your methods are a little…”
“Crazy?” Somewhere in the back of his mind, a timer began to tick down.
“I was gonna say unorthodox.”
“Yeah. I mean, Slasher already hates me because he’s a Bacon Hair. California Girls is a separate thing, although I’m not sure why.” Guest 1337 put his hands on his hips, watching as Slasher just gave up and hid his face in his hands. Almost as if on cue, all of the Survivors broke out into an uncannily synchronized dance of, you guessed it, California Girls. “I’ll see you soon, Matt. Just hold on for a little bit longer.”
Blackness swallowed his vision as Matt bolted awake in his bed. The morning sun was shining through the window, Molly groggily waking up next to him. “Matt? Is everything alright?”
“…I am never going to be able to hear California Girls the same way again.”