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Player wasn't sure what exactly had happened, they just knew that all of a sudden, two of their only friends had disappeared. Possibly for good.
How they'd met the two almost felt like a fever dream, they still couldn't believe it. Come to think of it, maybe it really was just a long, vivid dream. That would explain why they couldn't find either of them anymore, even if there was nowhere else they could go.
They still remembered that day like it was yesterday, though maybe it truly was.
It was a night like any other, they were travelling the numbered doors of the hotel, watching as the numbers increased while being careful to take note of what number they were on just in case Dupe was lurking around the rooms again.
As the numbers reached 20, they were getting themself ready to run from that drooping creep with multiple eyes, it was more unsettling than the entity actually named Eyes. They had checked numerous times if they still had the medicine in their pocket as a precaution, keeping their guard up and preparing for the worst.
That was, until they came across a door with a skull for a lock. It wasn't all the time they found a skull door—as they called it—checking the skeleton key in their pocket, they figured they'd check it out; See what surprise the door had for them this time.
Though, instead of all the different rooms they'd already gotten used to seeing, they found themself in some lobby room. It wasn't like the hotel lobby at the beginning, it looked more like a waiting room, including couches and a simple coffee table at the center.
The design of the room seemed different from the hotel's usual aesthetic, looking more like some terrible mix of wood, metal, and brick designs. There was a hatch on the ceiling, as well as a metal door on the other side of the room. Neither of them looked like they could be opened from this side.
They had stepped inside to explore more, until they heard the door slam shut behind them. As luck would have it, that door also couldn't be opened from inside the room. In other words: They were stuck there until they died, probably.
They'd found some time to explore, at least. There wasn't too much to investigate, however. There were a few drawers, but none of them had any coins or any useful tool that could help them out. And of course, they just had to get bit by Timothy when they opened the last drawer.
'Fine, be that way.' They could only think to themself as the tiny spider crawled under the desk. They never did consider just squishing him under their shoe, but that was partly because they just didn't care too much. That spider was the only thing that felt real in this strange place.
After some more minutes of walking around, they finally sat down on one of the couches, deciding the best thing to happen would be to wait. Maybe Void would find them and help them out. Hell, maybe even Rush. Or if they turned out the lights, they might even consider letting Screech bite them.
Eventually, they heard a hatch opening, turning to the metal door on the far part of the room. Then, some person in a jumpsuit with a strange logo on the sleeves walked through. They had an oxygen strapped to their back, one of the first things Player had noticed.
For a second, they had wondered if this was some new entity, but this someone seemed too... animated to be an entity. They almost looked... normal, if Player even remembered what that looked like after so long. They barely even recognized their reflection in the bathroom mirrors sometimes.
"Um... Excuse me," the person had started, stepping inside and letting go of the door. The moment they did, it had shut behind them. They jumped back when it did, immediately retracting their hand. They didn't seem too shocked to see the other, however.
"Hi," Player said, perfectly masking their shock. This really was an actual person, someone that could talk, had a physical form, and didn't have malice in their mind.They didn't have too much to talk about before they heard the hatch on the ceiling turning, and someone fell down.
So essencially, there were now three strangers gathered in a single room that seemed like it couldn't decide on a design. Though, if there was one thing they had in common, it's that they all seemed wary of one another, bracing themselves to either fight or run.
But after some time, the one in a jumpsuit decided to speak up. "So... where are we, exactly?" they asked. Though, it seemed pretty obvious that the other two also had no idea where they were.
"I could be wrong, but this room looks like a combination of three different locations, or just those three locations attempting to merge into one. We are all from different... hm, I don't necessarily want to say hells." The guy from the ceiling had spoken up.
He reminded Player of a priest, if they even truly remembered what those were and what they looked like. Well, he did look the part anyway. "What, like universes? I mean, I'd buy it. I've never seen much of anyone in a very, very long time." They said.
"Well, you're not the first people I've seen recently, but you both are the first ones I've seen down here in the facility." The one in a jumpsuit added, seeming to pause for a second before shaking off whatever thought had appeared in their mind.
"Okay, first of all," Player interrupted before they could expand further on where they are. "I need names, I can't keep referring to you both as the priest and jumpsuit person i my head. I'll even go first, you can call me Player, I'm just a tourist."
Right after they spoke, they received no response as the other two seemed to look around, catching each other's gazes. It almost looked like neither of them were willing to go next, one out of distrust and the other out of awkwardness. Eventually, the one in the jumpsuit spoke up.
"I think I've forgotten my name by now, but everyone there calls me Expendable." They admitted. For a second, Player understood why they weren't willing to speak up. That was just sad.
"And I'd prefer to simply be called John." The last of the three had introduced.
"Okay, great. Now back to the main topic, I don't think either of you had come from a hotel, am I right?" Player asked, diverting the conversation back to their previous topic.
"No. I think I already implied this earlier, but I came from an underwater facility...ish." Expendable glanced back at the door they walked through to get here, having only entered since they were looking for more research to buy some stuff from Sebastian.
"I hadn't even come from a building." John shrugged lightly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"So... yeah, we all came from different areas that shouldn't be anywhere near each other, yet here we are in a room that somehow connects all three sites. Nothing I'm not used to, but still." Player had been to the Backdoors, Rooms, and the Outdoors enough times to be familiar with areas that make no sense, after all.
"I'm not too surprised either." John nodded his head once in agreement. His whole situation didn't make too much sense, but it was his own wrongdoings that got him there in the first place. So if this is God's plan for him, he'll endure it.
"How..." Expendable was about to start, questions already flooding their mind, but they ignored it for now. "Anyway, good for you both, I think... but I have no idea how this is supposed to make sense."
"It's not supposed to."
"Yeah, I got that." They tried not to make their irritation obvious, but it wasn't really working.
"Well! I think this is a good oppurtunity to share about each other's situations, so we can get a better understanding of where we are. It probably won't work, but I'm also bored, and this is my break from the horrors I go through regularly." Player explained.
The other two did not argue with that.
And so, the rest of the hour was spent explaining what each of them were going through and the basic settings and mechanics of their eternities, as they agreed to call them. Slowly, they found themselves enjoying this, since this was probably the first actual conversation any of them have had in a while.
And maybe, the three would end up becoming good friends in the near future, if this kind of room did end up spawning again in all three of their locations.
Thinking back to that time, Player couldn't help but miss it. That was the first time they'd actually met people outside of the entities in the hotel, and they were nice...ish. Hostile at first, but who wouldn't after what each of them experienced?
Sitting in that same room, Player looked around again. The door to Hadal Blacksite was locked shut, the light above it pitch black, it wasn't even on. The hatch in the ceiling lost its handle, too. It seemed that neither were to be opened again, probably for forever.
They remembered when both doors were once open, accessible. None of the three wanted to cross worlds and take a look at what each of them were going through, but curiosity really had a way of making it into people's minds. So there was one day, where they found themselves in the hotel.
A few doors after escaping Seek, they'd eventually made it to the courtyard, where Player had wanted to bring the two in the first place. Since once remains underwater while another is stuck through endless brick walls, they thought it would've been nice to show the two the greenery of the Hotel.
Well, even if some of that plantlife is plotting to kill them the second they head back to the outdoors or into the greenhouse. Whatever, it didn't matter that much now. "Here, this is what I wanted to show you both. Don't worry, the plants here are docile."
They stepped down from the stone walkway and onto the grass, lucky enough that it wasn't raining at the moment. They looked around for a minute, before looking up at the sky. They still weren't sure if it really was a sky or just a void, but they didn't have it in them to care yet.
They breathed in the outdoor air, recognizing the sense if security and safety that the courtyard had to offer, even if that safety only applied to the courtyard itself and not what came after it. Still, this was a good place to just sit and talk with the other two.
The other two were looking around the area, taking in the sight and how the place had made them feel. John was enjoying this, appreciating the serenity from here that he rarely got from his own situation. Expendable though... was a bit of a different story.
They knew Player had said the plants here were harmless, but they couldn't help but think back to those cursed grassy figures. Harmless when you look at them, but it's a switch once you look away. Still, they decided to trust Player, since this was the tourist's eternity, not theirs.
The aforementioned tourist sat on the stairs leading down to the garden, glancing back at the other two with a silent question in their eyes. John walked over to sit to their right, and Expendable followed after and sat on their left, albeit reluctantly.
"This is nice. Peaceful." John looked up at the sky next. It wasn't that different from the sky in his eternity, if it even was a sky in the first place, but this in general was different from what he would experience back there.
Expendable was still looking around the garden, keeping an eye out for... something. They could admit that it was paranoia, but after repeatedly going through that facility, seeing those grass monstrosities so many times, could you really blame them for the lack of trust?
After a while, they swallowed down their worry, and let themself relax in the calm atmosphere that the courtyard had provided them. "...Yeah, it is." They sighed, turning to the side to carefully lean back against Player. The tourist was the slightest bit bothered by being used as a backrest, but didn't argue against it.
They sat there in silence for a minute or so, before Player finally spoke up. "Well, now we've seen my eternity, you think either of yours are good, too?" They asked, honestly curious about visiting.
"I believe it's safer that we do not visit mine, for the dignity and purity of your souls." John said, earning worried glances from the other two.
"I'm... gonna ignore how concerned I feel about that." Player turned away from him, instead focusing on the person still slightly leaning against them. "You think yours is gonna be accomodating enough?"
"Well... so-so." Expendable shrugged lightly. Player's eternity had been somewhat alright—ominous and slow in the worst combination, but it wasn't too bad. It was similar to theirs in a way, just a bit less action and more on tension-building.
"So if we were to visit yours..." Player trailed off, waiting in case Expendable was going to add anything or argue against their offer. John leaned back to look at them as well, unable to deny his own curiosity.
Expendable looked back and forth between the two, internally asking themself the same question. It wasn't like they weren't sure that the other two would survive... well, partly sure. And anyway, all three of them could revive, none of them could ever truly die.
"It wouldn't be too much of a problem, though I might need to get you both masks and oxygen tanks..." That would end up being a slight problem, but they otherwise seemed pretty fine with it.
"Right, I forgot about that..." Player had said, looking out and at the garden in front of them. "Anyway, it's not like you have to, I'm just asking."
"Yes, these visits are really just out of curiosity. I'm quite content with staying in that room with you two, listening to stories about your eternities even if we're unable to experience it ourselves." John added, nodding his head slightly in agreement.
"Yeah... I also think all of us already have a bunch of shit to deal with—" Player had paused when they felt the sinner staring at them, before choosing to ignore it for the sake of their safety. "—And... maybe we shouldn't combine each other's suffering just for the fun of it."
Expendable just listened to their words, letting out a light huff once the two were done. "Fair enough."
After looking back and forth between the two entrances, Player finally stood up, walking over to the coffee table at the center of the room and placing a single lotus flower on the table. Call it a waste of a good revive, they'll call it a small offering.
They really wish they had more time, ironic given they genuinely had forever. They had all the time in the world, but they'd thought that the other two had the same. Guess they were wrong, all three of them were. That hurt more than anything they'd experienced before.
They walked back, plopping down on the couch again and merely staring at the flower at the center. It wasn't exactly planting the lotus, but maybe it could still work as a regular revive for the other two. Assuming they were trapped or could still revive.
They thought they were already used to the loneliness, but being faced with this solitude again after meeting those two? They missed them, they missed their companions. They missed just sitting here and talking, resting before eventually continuing their runs.
They supposed it goes without saying, 'Good things come to an end', or something like that. But couldn't this situation have been an exception? In a world that defies logic and the rules of the real world, couldn't that saying have not applied?
Regardless, what happened had already happened, and unfortunately there was no changing that. They'd just have to carry the memories with them, for the rest if their time in this hotel. The other two might come back one day, they might not.
But for now, they'll just keep moving forward. Just another mishap in their eternal torment, among many others. No matter how much it stung, they had no choice but to keep moving.
So with a heavy heart, they stood up, walking over to their door. They looked back at the room, remembering every conversation they'd had, every minor activity they could think of to pass the time or to just 'bond' with one another.
They knew they'd eventualy forget, that's what came with living forever. As much as they didn't want to forget, they eventually would. They didn't want to leave, but they knew they had to. Their world wouldn't allow them to stay there.
Taking a deep breath, they spoke: "Thank you, for I had met you both. I'll hold onto the memories we shared, for as long as I can, until the end."
Those words wouldn't reach the two, but they couldn't help but say them anyway. They could always just let themself pretend that the two would hear it, just before they left once and for all. They turned back to the door, preparing to walk through and close it behind them.
"Goodbye, you two. Rest well, wherever you are."