Chapter Text
The base was quieter than usual. Rejoice was on some sort of “secret mission” that he had kept extremely tight-lipped about, and not even the loudest pleas from Tai could persuade those lips to loosen up.
Tai, however, wasn’t thinking about it too hard–he was more focused on trying to find that stupid armor trim that Rejoice insisted on him using, saying that having matching trims would solidify their status as teammates.
Tai, unable to win any sort of argument against Rejoice, had reluctantly folded, and his hand was currently buried elbow-deep inside of one of the many chests that were littered around the base, using the other hand to brace himself against the wall as he shifted through junk that hadn’t been touched in months. Old maps with at least an inch of dust, a cracked compass he swore he’d already burned, and even a random book and quill was wedged behind gleaming potion bottles.
“Where did I even put that stupid thing?” Tai muttered, shutting the chest’s lid only to open up another. “He didn’t even tell me where it wa–”
He stopped, confused as his hand brushed against a folded piece of paper that was covered by a large stack of enchanting books. Usually, he wouldn’t be worried about such a trivial matter like a folded piece of paper, but there seemed to be a prickling sensation that he felt throughout his body wherever his fingers brushed against it.
Tai frowned, shifting things aside to get a closer look at the paper, tossing enchanting books out of the chest as he took the paper out.
He doesn’t remember putting paper in this specific chest. He doesn’t remember anyone putting paper in here. This crate was for tools, not random notes, as the rather rude sign attached to it pointed out.
Still, it could’ve just gotten mixed in. Stuff shifted around the base all the time, and Tai was by all means no organization expert. Maybe it was just a shopping list? Or a map?
It was worn, not exactly old, but showed signs of being creased multiple times. It was yellowed from use, the edges feeling slightly softened as he ran his hands over it. “Huh,” Tai says, turning the paper in his hands. “How did this get here?”
There was no name. Not even a mark to show who it was written by.
For a second, he considered putting it back, like this paper was just not something to be worried about, and he totally wasn’t dying out of curiosity to open it up.
Then he scoffed quietly at himself. “It can’t be that abnormal, can’t it?”
He unfolded it, expecting it to be some kind of birthday card, or even just a hastily scribbled note with coords written on it, but what he found was nowhere close to either of those things.
—
The first thing he noticed weren’t the words. It was the handwriting, its large loopy letters and dotted its i’s looking exactly like his own.
Tai stilled, moving the paper closer to his face as he examined the writing some more.
No.
No, that couldn’t be–
The same slant that only his bad posture could manage to create. The same ink that only came from the pens he ordered from the server marketplace, that he allowed no one else to even think of touching. The same–everything.
It was his.
Exactly his.
His grip tightened on the page. “When?”
He forced his eyes to finally move to the words, latching onto each syllable like his life depended on it.
—
You’re going to want to throw this away.
Tai’s breath hitched slightly at those words.
Or laugh. Or come up with some explanation that makes this easier to ignore.
His jaw tightened, foot tapping against the spruce planks as he continued to read.
Don’t.
—
You may not believe me, but I am you.
And if you’re reading this, then you’ve already done exactly what I remember you (or should I say myself) doing.
Tai swallowed, moving to sit down on the floor as his legs wouldn’t stop shaking.
No.
No, this had to have been–
There had to be a trick, or a setup, or something, anything really, that made this make the slightest bit of sense.
—
Don’t believe me?
Check the back of your left hand. The scar near your thumb–you got it trying to pry open a rusted latch during season one. You told everyone it came from the ridges of the mace, but we both know that that wasn’t the truth.
His hand moved before he could stop it, lightly tracing over the ridged bumps of the scar.
That didn’t mean anything.
Maybe..Maybe someone else found out somehow?
—
You tap your fingers when you’re thinking too hard. You’re doing it right now. I know you this well, because I am you.
Tai froze, his fingers still absent-mindingly tapping against the chest, and he forced himself to stop.
A sharp, irritated breath left him as his mind raced with questions.
“Okay. That doesn’t mean anything.”
Anyone who knew him well enough could write this. Right?
—
You’re still trying to rationalize it. Good. That means you’re still early. There’s still time left.
Tai’s eyes flicked back up, rereading the sentence as he got more and more confused every time.
—
I’m not going to waste time convincing you. You’ll do that yourself.
All that matters is this: Rejoice will betray you.
Tai blinked. “No. He wouldn’t–he couldn't, he needs me.”
—
Not suddenly if that's what you’re thinking.
That’s the mistake I made–thinking I’d see it coming. We always thought Rejoice was an open book, but then again, we’ve always underestimated the determined ones who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
He designs his grand scheme in moments you feel safest in.
He builds them when no one else is around to watch.
And he will strike whenever you are the most underprepared, and he will try his absolute hardest to win.
Tai’s hold on the paper tightened, as he remembered Rejoice’s “secret mission”.
—
Never trust the moments where you feel the safest, because those were what Rejoice took pleasure in building; all of it, just a trap for you to fall into.
—
Tai stared at the line.
Once.
Twice.
Again, for good measure.
But it didn’t make sense.
Rejoice…
Sure, their allyship had started when Rejoice had all intended to kill Tai, but surely, surely, they had moved on past that? Surely Rejoice was satisfied with that dripstone trap they had built together and after killing him, started caring for Tai as a teammate, rather than a target?
—
You won’t see it at first.
He hesitates sometimes–just a second too long to be considered normal, yet you always brushed it off. Try to notice it next time you two talk. I guarantee you that whenever he lies, it will show.
He deflects with laughter and jokes when you get too close to the right questions.
And watch the timing of his words. He’s very careful with them, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he rehearsed the way the conversation is meant to go before he goes to you.
Tai exhaled slowly through his nose.
This was fucking ridiculous.
Someone was messing with him. That was the only explanation that actually made sense.
And the handwriting–there were ways to copy handwriting. It was usually inaccessible on the server, as people who specialized were rare and not usually willing to sell their services, but maybe Boomie had offered it in the shop as a one time thing?
—
You’re still thinking someone faked this.
Tai’s stomach dropped, previous thoughts forgotten as he realized that there was more.
—
You’re wrong.
But you’ll figure that out soon enough.
—
“Yeah. Sure.”
He read faster now, irritation bleeding into his focus as he just wanted to forget this had even happened.
—
Test him if you have to. I know you will.
Give him something small to work with, something you can control.
Watch what he does with it, and I’m sure you’ll figure the rest out on your way.
—
Tai let out a short, humorless breath.
Right. So set up a test, create a situation where anything could be interpreted any way he wanted. Like that was so simple.
—
Even if this is fake, you know you can’t afford to ignore it.
Being too stubborn was always going to be the death of us, and you know it.
—
Tai stilled.
Not because the words were convincing, they were anything but convincing. But he begrudgingly admitted that it was true. The second the letter found its way into his hands, he knew that he didn’t plan on letting it go anytime soon.
If there was even a chance–
No.
No, that was how this all worked out. This was exactly how you get pulled into something like this in the first place.
He exhaled, dragging a hand down his face. “This is so stupid.”
It was stupid. It didn’t even make sense.
Rejoice wouldn’t—
Wouldn’t what?
The thought stalled as Tai frowned, folding the letter halfway, but he paused and unfolded it again.
His eyes kept going back to that one line.
—
Never trust the moments where you felt the safest…
—
The base seemed so much quieter than Tai remembered it being, and a certain Rejoice, who always found a way to make noise everywhere he went, seemed to be missing from it as well.