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“So, is everyone good with their jobs? Any complaints?” Guest 1337’s voice rang out from where they were all clustered in at the Winner’s table.
Today’s meeting was about assigning proper jobs amongst the Survivors, a task that Two Time was endlessly bored by, even if they refused to show it.
Instead of revealing their boredom, they had sat with perfect posture, paying visible attention to Guest 1337 and Builderman as they argued over who would have to do what. Two Time already had a job, a self-assigned task of tending to the small garden they had begun growing outside. They were the only one with the knowledge of how to cultivate both crops and herbs to a degree of usefulness, and if they were being honest….
It made them feel important.
They were the only one with this skill, and while Noob was a quick learner, they were still a novice at what Two Time had taught them already. They were important here, in a place where food was scarce outside of what could be hunted and what their captor would occasionally grant them access to.
Two Time had never been important like this before. It was kind of scary.
They tuned everyone out as the meeting began to come to a close, people shifting impatiently as they waited to be released from the situation. It was then that they spotted it, sitting innocuously on a spare chair that Builderman had carved in some sort of episode.
A box. Black, with white detailing. There was a symbol etched in white on the top, that Two Time couldn’t quite make out from where they were sitting, but it felt familiar. Abruptly, ignoring the questioning looks and sounds of the other Survivors, they stood up, and walked over to the box.
The Spawn’s symbol stared up at them.
Leaning down, they hesitantly lifted the box, finding it to be of minimal weight. They turned, allowing the other Survivors to see what they had found.
“What the- When did that get there?” Guest 1337’s brows furrowed in confusion, coming closer to inspect the box. He didn’t try to take it out of Two Time’s hands, which they were grateful for. It was clearly addressed to them, after all.
In response to the Soldier’s comment, they merely shrugged, careful not to jostle the box. What if whatever was inside was fragile? They’d be heartbroken if they broke something that surely must be a gift from the Spawn.
“Do you…. Wanna open it, bud?” Shedletsky asked from his place leaning against the wall, expression most likely curious. At least, Two Time was pretty sure that’s what the head tilt meant.
They nodded silently, before carefully prying the lid off the box with one hand. Their eyes, already wide, widened further as they saw what was inside, their pale complexion turning ashen.
Their hands trembled, and they nearly dropped the box entirely, the lid slipping from their talons onto the floor. They felt a pang of regret at such an act against anything bearing the symbol of the Spawn, but it was quickly overtaken by the rising horror.
The Soldier stepped forward, placing a firm hand on their shoulder to steady them as they wobbled in place, mismatched eyes staring down into the box.
Inside of the box was a singular item. A ritual dagger, blade etched with runes. The handle was just as they remembered it, but the blade was clean. Unlike the last time they had seen it.
The last time they had seen the Ghostfire Dagger, they had thrown it into the woods behind the Elder’s back, shortly before the events that led them to this Realm occurred.
“Two Time? Are you alright?” They weren’t sure who had spoken, their eyes fixated on the dagger. They could hear whispering in the background, surely the other Survivors, but no, it sounded familiar, didn’t it? They could almost hear it, hear him again-
“Two Time!” Someone shouted, and they yelped as they startled, nearly dropping the box. Looking around, they were quick to spot Shedletsky hovering over them, looking down in concern.
“I was calling your name, are you okay? What’s wrong, fledgling?” He crooned to them, glancing at the box with the dagger inside warily.
“It’s…. This was my dagger.” They finally explained, voice soft and a little hoarse from not having spoken a word that entire day. They hadn’t felt up to speech, as they occasionally did, and so had spent most of the day in either their garden or the rafters of the main cabin, watching the Survivors run around.
“You know how to wield a dagger?” Two Time couldn’t even blame Shedletsky for sounding so incredulous, they were well aware they didn’t seem like the combative type.
Of course, the Killers thought that too, and were quickly corrected in that thought when Two Time turned their talons against them, even if their attempts were futile.
Silently, they nodded.
“It looks real cool, Times!” Chance chimed, sidling up to Two Time’s side and throwing an arm around their shoulder. They blinked rapidly, staring at him for a long moment. He smiled back, charmingly. They blinked again.
“....Thank you?” They guessed, receiving a grin in return.
“I suppose we’ll have to see what you can do with that thing in the next Round, Two Time.” Builderman spoke up from his place at the head of the table, leveling them with an unfortunately familiar evaluatory look. The kind that made them feel like a small bug under observation. They nodded silently.
“C’mon, Times, let’s go find a good spot to keep it in your room!” Chance decided, tugging Two Time away from all of the peering eyes and endless whispers. Taph jumped up from their seat, latching onto Two Time’s other side as they signed their decision to join the two.
The three made a quick escape, with Chance chattering the whole short walk to Two Time’s cabin.
Inside was rather barren, if you ignored the drawings of the Spawn that Two Time had decorated the space with. They were pretty handy with a paintbrush, and had created several small paintings on plain paper, their only available canvas, to decorate their space.
“Wow, you’ve got…. Quite the decorating skills!” Chance said, as if trying to imply something. Unfortunately, this fact went directly over Two Time’s head, and they merely nodded in acceptance of the supposed compliment.
They had even managed to get one of the paintings on the ceiling, so that Two Time could stare at the Spawn’s symbol every time they went to sleep!
Admittedly, Two Time had been spending a lot of time sleeping outside since they had done that, but that was just because the early Summer weather was pleasant, is all. No other reason.
“[Do you have a sheath for it?]” Taph signed, having snapped their fingers in order to draw the proper attention needed for communication. Two Time, still holding the box despite everything, glanced down inside of it.
It was still upsetting to see the blade, to be reminded of what had occurred due to that silver metal. Two Time didn’t particularly want it at all, but to reject a “gift” from their captor would probably be tantamount to suicide.
Two Time would rather avoid that route again, if they could manage it, so they shifted the blade aside in order to look at literally anything else inside of the box.
“Oh. Yes, there is one.” They hummed, removing the leather sheath from the box. It was as equally decorated as the blade, a perfect match in dark brown leather. Was it just them, or did it feel wet in their hand?
Upon closer inspection, they deduced the sheath was dry. The feeling of wetness spilling on their hands continued to exist. Two Time continued to ignore it, turning their attention to their allies.
“Alright, now we’re talkin’! Maybe we should make you some kinda holster for it? Like a thigh holster! Then it’d be easy for you to grab!” Chance mused as he flopped onto Two Time’s rickety mattress. Their bed was made impeccably, or at least, it was before Chance threw themself onto it. Two Time hadn’t slept there in nearly a week, now.
The rafters of the main cabin were far more appealing to them.
“Who will get the leather, then? You?” They raised a single brow at Chance, who laughed joyfully at their expression.
“Fair point, fair point! But hey, you can join the hunting team now if you know how to use that blade! Could help with the post-hunt prepwork too. Whaddya say? Wanna spend more time with ol’ Chance?” The Gambler had partially sat up, staring up at Two Time for once. While Chance’s height had a tendency to fluctuate, it was still rather rare for him to be shorter than them.
They might happen to like it when he was looking up at them. But they’d never admit that. It would be sinful of them. And Two Time wasn’t a sinner, after all.
“I suppose you have me convinced. Taph, will you be joining as well?” They turned their attention to their other compatriot, who gave an enthusiastic thumbs up.
“[I can make traps for days!]” They enthused in quick hand motions, enough to bring a more genuine tilt to Two Time’s smile.
“Excellent. We will make a wonderful team. The Spawn dictates it, after all, and shall grant you both with blessings.” They clasped their hands together fervently, eyes closed as they broke into a small prayer. It was a prayer of good fortune and good health, directed onto Chance and Taph.
“You’re funny, Two Time.” Chance drawled with a grin, relaxing back onto Two Time’s bed. They ended their prayers with an exaggerated eye roll, really more of a head roll, in response. Taph giggled silently, a gloved hand pressed against their bandana.
What an odd trio they must make.
~~~~
Turns out, Two Time can go invisible now!
How did they learn this? By figuring it out halfway through their first Round with their new weapon, of course.
They had crouched down to try and hide from the Slasher behind some loose map geometry, when they had glanced down to find themself partially see-through. It wasn’t true invisibility, that was for sure, but Two Time was definitely a lot more difficult to see now.
The Slasher hadn’t expected them to lunge out from behind the corner, stabbing him directly in the back, either.
They ran away from the scene of the crime, vanishing into the darkness of the map before the Slasher could regain his bearings, the distant cackle of Shedletsky taking over as a distraction echoing in their eyes.
Their hands were shaking. When did they start shaking? The moment they picked up the blade? Or the moment they entered the Round?
Did they ever stop shaking in the first place?
No time to think, they decided as they regrouped with several of the others. They were busy right now.
The small group was lightly injured, surrounding one of Builderman’s Dispensers. Noob and the Hacker were knelt over an unfinished generator that sat just out of range of the Dispenser, making quick work on the machine.
Taph could be seen laying down a Tripwire off to the side, before pausing and tossing a Subspace Tripmine in the direction Two Time had come from, most likely to help give a headstart in case the Slasher followed them.
Chance was leaning against the Dispenser, holding a hand over a bloody arm and talking to Builderman in low voices. They had gotten nicked by the Slasher’s machete earlier in the round, and had retreated here to heal up while Elliot stayed in the fray, focusing on the active combatants.
Two Time stumbled over to the Dispenser, one talon tight around the handle of the dagger’s grip. They kept their gaze low, refusing eye contact as they breathed a silent sigh of relief at the healing energy coursing through their body.
“You good, Two Time?” Chance asked suddenly, startling the Avian into looking up at him. They were quick to make sure their smile was fixed in place, before giving a shaky nod.
Was Builderman still whispering? He wasn’t doing a very good job at being quiet, even if Two Time couldn’t make out what he was saying.
Or was it Noob and the Hacker, 7n7, whispering to each other behind them? That seemed unlikely, as neither were particularly chatty during Rounds.
Where was it coming from-
“You sure, Times? You look paler than usual.” Chance cut in, a slight hint of concern in his masked expression. Two Time smiled wider.
“Everything is fine.” They declared, as the whispering got louder, a specific voice mingling in with the noise.
They hummed softly to themself, barely able to even hear their quiet vocalizations over the whispering, no, the shouting that roared in their ears. Their hands felt wet and sticky, though maybe it was just sweat? They glanced down, forcing their expected flinch down at the sight of red blood oozing over their hands and talons.
It wasn’t real, they reminded themself. They hadn’t been injured yet this Round. There was no reason for there to be blood on their hands.
But wasn’t there? Weren’t their hands forever stained red because of what they’d done? Wasn’t their dagger stained red and bloody from the crimes they had committed? Their heart eternally shattered, never to be repaired?
Two Time decided that it wasn’t time to unpack those thoughts, and in fact, they had no interest in ever unpacking those thoughts. Throw the whole thing away, actually, so they didn’t have to deal with it. There was a Round going on, and at any second the Slasher could appear and wipe out their entire group.
They had been granted an opportunity to protect their new allies, instead of running around uselessly. They refused to waste this chance.
~~~~
He found them in the woods behind their cabin, curled up in the tree branches with their dagger in hand.
Instead of doing something reasonable, like calling them out of the tree, Chance decided that, despite his fancy, restrictive clothing, he would climb up to meet them.
Two Time could only stare on in moderate shock and confusion as the Gambler scaled the tree with surprising dexterity, settling himself as close to Two Time’s branch as he appeared capable of.
“....What are you doing here?” Two Time whispered, grip tight on their dagger’s handle. They kept their other arm hidden partially behind their back, the rest of it obscured by their clothing.
After all, the bandages that normally lined their arms had been removed on that side, just for a little bit.
“Thought you seemed off after that shitshow of a Round, and wanted to give you some company. I’ll leave if you want me to, though.” They explained with a relaxed smile on their face, eyes hidden by their sunglasses.
Two Time contemplated the question for a long, quiet moment. They shifted their weight slightly, tightening and loosening their grip on their dagger as they thought.
“....Please don’t hate me.” They said softly, bringing their exposed arm forward.
They knew it looked bad. That they were ugly, hideous beneath the bandages. And that it was their own damned fault that they looked like this.
Marks lined their exposed arm, symbols of the Spawn etched into flesh, alongside various lines, ranging from neat, to messy, to small, to large. The scars were innumerable, and disgusting. Raised lines against pale flesh.
What was even worse was the new lines, like red ink on paper, trailing down their wrist and onto their bloody hand.
They had never needed a dagger to hurt themself. Their body was enough of a weapon to serve their purposes.
“Oh, Times….” Chance breathed in a soft voice, leaning forward slightly as if trying to be closer to their disgusting form for some reason.
“You should hate me. I hate me.” They said, matter of factly. “I’m gross. I’m messed up in the head, really badly. You don’t know the extent. I hope you never do.” Their voice began to waver.
Chance just stared at them, a frown painting their dark face. They looked so concerned, over someone who didn’t deserve it.
“Please, say something. Say how you hate me, already. I know I’m weird. I’ve always been weird, you don’t have to pretend. I understand. I promise. I promise I understand if you want to go-” Their breath hitched on a sob they desperately suppressed. “I won’t be mad, I get it, I wouldn’t want to talk to me either-”
“Times, breathe. Please.” They gasped as they sucked in a lungful of oxygen, their breaths coming quicker and more ragged.
“I don’t hate you, Two Time. I’m sad, yeah, but that’s because you’re hurt. I don’t like seeing you hurt.” Chance explained, finally leaning across the small gap and placing a hand on Two Time’s knee. They could feel his gaze through the sunglasses, intense and bright.
“But-” They croaked.
“Shh, no, I don’t hate you. You can’t make me hate you, either, I promise.”
“You can’t promise that! You don’t know what I’ve done-”
“I’m no saint either, Times. You can’t make me hate you. Will you please let me bandage you up, at least? I don’t want you to hurt anymore.” Both hands were on their knees, and Chance was all but begging. They hesitated, eyes darting around nervously.
“But- But what if someone sees? I can’t- I can’t do this- I’m sorry I can’t-”
“Breathe, Times, breathe. We can just go back to my cabin, and I’ll go grab you some supplies. It’ll be fine, no one’s going to see you if you don’t want them. You’re the stealthiest person I know, after all.” Chance reassured, offering a gentle smile. They tried to breathe slowly, before hesitantly nodding their agreement.
“There we go. Let’s get out of this tree first, alright? I’ll go first, I can catch you if you fall!” The Gambler smiled widely, quickly climbing down the tree. Against all odds, Two Time snorted.
“Sure you will, Gambler. Sure you will.”
The climb down was uneventful, and so was the short walk to Chance’s cabin, just next door to Two Time’s own. No one was around to see the two hurrying inside, Two Time’s arm clutched just in front of their chest.
Chance was only gone for a moment, practically sprinting away to get medical supplies for Two Time’s arm. They were back in record time, a roll of bandages, a small bottle of what Two Time had come to learn was called hydrogen peroxide, and some cotton swabs to help clean the wounds.
He was gentle as he cleaned their wounds, warning them when they were about to use the cleansing agent so that they could brace against the stinging pain. They were painfully gentle as they wrapped new bandages up their limb, far neater than those on the opposite arm.
“....Why do you care so much?” Two Time whispered. Chance hummed, considering for a moment, before speaking.
“You just…. Remind me a little bit of someone. But better, somehow.” He explained slowly, and they nodded.
“Don’t get it twisted though, I like you for you, not what you remind me of.” Chance smiled reassuringly, and despite everything, Two Time offered a small smile back.
They weren’t sure when their grin had faltered, but they were willing to suspect it had happened during their breakdown in the forest.
“I like you for you as well, Chance.” That got them a bigger smile, before Chance finally sobered up. He looked at them carefully, and it was enough to have them anxiously clasping their hands together.
“Listen, Times…. I know I can’t stop you. But could you at least tell me next time this happens? So I can bandage you up? Please?” He was all but begging, pleading them to allow him this one mercy. They hesitated.
“....Fine. If you insist. The Spawn blesses you, Chance. You are far more worthy than I to receive its blessing.”
“Thanks, Times. Now, do you want to take a nap? Because I definitely want to take a nap. This was exhausting.”
“....Perhaps.”