Chapter Text
“TwoTime.”
TwoTime looked up quickly, their dark eyes wide. Elliot stood a slight distance from the booth TwoTime was sitting at, eyeing them nervously.
“Can you come meet the newbie?” Elliot asked tentatively. “They have the same symbol on their chest as you… we– we thought you might know them.”
TwoTime’s eyes widened more, the thought of… no… it couldn’t be. They shook their dark messy hair out of their eyes and pushed themselves out of their seat, shaking slightly.
“Sure…” they murmured.
Elliot left TwoTime behind and walked back to the main area, the dim lighting, fireplace, furniture, and log walls trying too hard to be cozy in this hell, where the newbie was sitting. They leaned on the armrest of the green couch, eyes shadowed but their expression clearly read to be scared like any other newbie would be.
The survivors’ voices all overlapped, everyone asking questions at once. TwoTime caught a few words, “the symbol… like TwoTime… that cool witch hat…” TwoTime gently pushed through the crowd, needing to see if it really was him. As they made it to the front, they found themselves standing in front of him. As the two’s eyes met, TwoTime made a noise in between a gasp and a choke, never expecting to see him here. They felt dread creeping into them, how were they supposed to face him again after everything they’ve done?
“A-Azure?” TwoTime stammered.
Azure looked away from TwoTime almost as quickly as he looked at them and immediately moved back on the couch, back pressing against the opposite arm rest, shaking with hate, anger, and something else.
“TwoTime. I didn’t– you…” Azure stuttered, trying to sound stronger than he really was. His mouth felt dry, the amount of words left unsaid that night, that dreadful evening of nightshade flowers.
Was what he was feeling… love? For TwoTime?
Surely not, they had to HATE them now. After all, what TwoTime did was unforgivable. Heart pounding, he suppressed these feelings, and snapped back to reality. He wouldn’t remember that night. He wasn’t ready to face it all over again.
The other survivors quieted down immediately. Dusekkar was the first to speak up, his voice firm.
“You two know each other?” he asked, but still glancing between the two, mind racing, feeling the tension between them despite not knowing what happened to them.
“I… I need some air…” Azure muttered, head down. His hat followed the movement, shadowing his eyes darker than before while walking quickly out the cabin door and into the cold night. His footsteps echoed behind him, them being the only sound as the rest of the survivors watched him in stunned silence.
Azure continued to walk a bit of a ways away, footsteps heavy on the short staircase down to the grass, the thin layer of frost melting beneath his dark brown boots. The moonlight created an almost peaceful environment, but by the others’ tired expressions and messy looks, he knew it wasn’t. When he looked back, gaze wandering, he saw no one followed him, especially not TwoTime. Good. It’d be too much to have to see them again. He leaned over the balcony of another building across from the main cabin, breathing heavily, lungs taking in gulps of cold air.
Why was TwoTime there? Why did they have to see each other again?
TwoTime looked at the door Azure had exited through, no longer seeing him, but almost wanting to chase after him. To apologize, maybe. But what would an apology even do? Looking back, they noticed all the survivors staring at them.
“TwoTime, it’s quite obvious that you have an association with the newbie. Azure, you said. Explain why he was acting like that, like he was almost afraid of you. Sit.” Dusekkar was assertive, gesturing towards the now empty couch and making it known there was no way to get out of this interrogation.
TwoTime sat and began talking. "Azure and I... we..." TwoTime let in a sharp breath of air, and their gaze slowly lowered down to their trembling hands. “"We were once very close. Until one day he... died." And while TwoTime was worried about the forward confrontation, they also felt the same, gut wrenching feeling they had felt when Azure died. Like they had lost a lifetime, or a piece of their soul. It would never be the same. Not after that
Dusekkar, bewildered as he was, spoke further. His mind was hitting a brick wall. "He simply died? Could you explain how, exactly?" Dusekkar raised an eyebrow, curious due to TwoTime's nervous stimulations.
“I…” TwoTime looked up at the other survivors still surrounding the couch, looking at them expectantly. “I… I killed him,” TwoTime forced the words out of their mouth, their stomach twisted with guilt and bewilderment that those exact words were able to escape. They looked down, not wanting to see the others’ reactions, but not before seeing everyone’s faces change. Shock, maybe. Disgust, probably. They weren’t sure. Trying to make everyone feel less of… whatever this was towards them, they quickly stammered, “B-but it was-”
“For the spawn?” Dusekkar cut in. He knew what TwoTime was like and knew this was the only explanation. His gaze flickered towards the spawn symbol TwoTime wore on their shirt. He knew not everyone was perfect, especially not TwoTime, but them being so deep into the cult was something Dusekkar didn’t expect.
“I… yeah.”
Dusekkar held the shared eye contact for a bit longer, but something in his eyes changed. Disappointment. He then shook his head, averting his gaze as if too disgusted to look at TwoTime any longer. He spoke again, his voice icy. “I’ve heard enough.”
Azure rested their arms on the balcony railing, still breathing heavily. He collected his thoughts, the earlier confrontation still affecting him despite being so far away. He rested his head against his arms on the railing, taking in the cool breeze.
“Azure, was it?” a voice asked from Azure’s right, making him jump. He definitely wasn’t expecting to see anyone.
“I’m Noob.” Noob introduced themself before taking out a Bloxy Cola and taking a sip. They took their time drinking some, swallowing, before asking, “So what was with you and TwoTime back there? You two clearly knew each other.”
Azure looked up from the railing and met Noob’s eyes, who was slightly shorter than him. He began telling the same story TwoTime told.
“TwoTime… they… as a sacrifice? To- to the Spawn?” Noob’s eyes were wide with shock.
“Yeah…” Azure confirmed, head down, pulling his hat down again, for it had moved back up, eyes shadowed more.
“Well… the round’s starting soon. Do you have any items, anything on you that you got to keep?” Noob asked kindly, tilting their head slightly.
Azure looked down, patting his pockets, looking everywhere for something.
“I’ve got nothing… maybe I missed something,” Azure murmured, looking away.
“It’s alright, I’m sure you’ll discover your abilities during the round. Speaking of, it’s starting now.”
The ominous timer ticked down to zero and everything went dark.