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“Didn't you see the news today?”
“I heard they said it looked like rain”
“All the words I left unsaid that day”
“Stained the sidewalk drop by drop with gray, oh”
“Rain or shine, I'm by your side”
“So why won't you look my way?”
“The weather forecast's calling for another cloudy day”
~~~~
One of the worst things about having fallen into the Forsaken Realm was that she had lost her wedding ring.
That, and also the constant torment from being hunted for sport. But frankly, losing her wedding ring was the top problem in her books.
The second problem was the loss of her documents. That one really pissed her off. She’d worked very hard to catalogue all of her relevant information together, and it was incredibly rude of the Spectre to take that from her.
Jane Doe had been hunting for her documents relentlessly the past few days since her arrival to the Realm. From her botched first Round, to the scant time allowed between them, she had learned a lot from her time so far.
The main cook of the group was, undoubtedly, Elliot. He was the heart and soul of the group, and practically ran the place with his charisma and dedication to his work. Of course, he’d never admit how much power he held in the first place, and would most likely credit his own efforts to the others.
Some of the others helped him out in the kitchen from time to time. Guest 1337 and Noob were the main assistants, but on the rare occasion it seemed that even the infamous 007n7 could bully his way into the kitchen. Admittedly, his lasagna was to die for, and if they all got out of this situation alive she would potentially pay him to make lasagna for her forever.
It was really good lasagna, even with the limited ingredients.
Speaking of ingredients, Jane had seen the work the little Avian Two Time had put into their garden next to the main cabin. Apparently, it had started with only a few unnaturally fast-blooming flowers that Two Time had acquired, before steadily morphing into the verifiable bounty of fruits and vegetables it was now.
She hadn’t stepped foot in the garden, of course. She had whatever the opposite of what a green thumb was, and zero interest in getting scolded for her poor plant-caretaking abilities.
It would just remind her too much of John, and the plants he used to decorate their home with. He never let her touch them then, either.
The Sentinels, and those with actual weapons at least, were in charge of providing meat for the group. She had been invited along on a hunting trip with Chance, Two Time, Shedletsky, and Guest, but had declined, citing that she was still getting used to things.
Later that day, the four brought back the biggest buck she’d ever seen, with Two Time smiling proudly with a bloody dagger. Presumably, it was the smallest of the group who had brought down the animal, if Jane was reading the situation right.
She had ventured out with Taph into the woods to help check their traps, the next day. Taph had set up an ingenious series of prey snares that had successfully caught some smaller game, and Jane felt a touch proud of the young Immortal she had once babysat. They had done well for themself in this place, despite the horrors surrounding them.
Unsurprisingly in the process, they had released any rabbits that had been caught in the traps. Taph hadn’t explained, but Jane had functional eyes, and knew it was for Chance’s benefit.
Unlike some types of Hybrids, it was a bit more awkward for a Rabbit Hybrid to eat rabbit meat.
She had also spent some of her time in Dusekkar’s home, planted near the main cabin that the rest of the Survivors preferred to hang out in. Jane had spent the time reading books from the Mage’s collection, trying to find any slip of information that could help their situation.
Admittedly, there wasn’t much that she had found in the books. Coding knowledge felt useless when no one even had access to the code, and there was no history recorded of this place, inside or outside.
Jane had needed to hide between the shelves a few times during her search, due to the presence of Builderman wandering the halls. He was almost overly determined to talk to her, and was barely deterred by her icy demeanour. Something about how he was trying to do better, but Jane barely believed it.
After all, it was on Builderman’s orders that her husband was locked away.
It was Builderman’s fault that John had become the monster he was now. She would never forgive him for that.
Shedletsky had tried to talk to her about the situation as well. He tried to explain that Builderman was doing better, that he was putting in a real effort to be a better person and to make up for his past mistakes. She had shut him down with only a few meagre words.
“If you were in my position, would you forgive him?”
He had gone silent at that, quiet and contemplative as he backed down. She left him like that, and felt no pity in her heart for the Avian that had fallen in love with a monster.
Veeronica was also a frequent sight for Jane, who did her best to help Shedletsky keep the morale of the group up. Whether it was through scheduling game nights, or simply being a shoulder to cry on, the young Helperbot was often seen running around the campsite, always trying to make herself useful.
She’d even offered to help her with the laundry situation, which she had gratefully taken up. There were no washing machines in the Spectre’s Realm, after all, and everything needed to be hand washed if they were dirtied between Rounds.
While Jane had tried to keep herself distant from the group, she felt herself being drawn in further and further against her will. With so many magnetic personalities, it was impossible not to.
Even after her failed attempts at getting through to John, the group still held onto her, allowing her the grace of support without expectations.
It was…. Weirdly nice, to have people to fall back on for once.
~~~~
The first document she found was Shedletsky’s file.
It was during a 1x1x1x1 Round, of course, as the Spectre definitely found some level of irony in the situation. Jane couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw it, just laying there innocuously on the ground, untouched by the darkness of the map.
“Mrs. Doe? Are you alright?” 007n7 asked her from where he was kneeled next to a nearby Generator, watching her curiously as she trudged over and picked up the file, a small smile appearing on her veiled face. She tucked it under her arm, before hoisting up another Crystal Pitch, spinning around and nailing the Killer from across the map.
“I’m fine. Excellent, actually.” She responded coolly, smirking at the enraged sounds of 1x1x1x1 getting hit with her Resonance. A gunshot rang out, Chance’s One Shot landing while the Killer was startled from the surprise crystals.
Leaning against the half-finished Generator, she opened the folder up, flipping through the handful of notes that came with it.
“Hmm. Only about a third of them…. I’ll have to keep looking.” She muttered to herself, casually ignoring 7n7’s confused looks. Finally, she tucked the papers in her bag, and hoisted up her hatchet over her shoulder.
Time to head back into the fray.
The Round passed by quickly, with only Elliot dying near the end of the Round from a Mass Infection that surprised even the Killer with the fact that it hit anyone at all. The poor Merfolk had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, it seemed.
The next Round, one taking place on the C00l Carnival, most likely held another of her files, most likely another third of the Shedletsky documents.
The moment they spawned into the Round, Jane took off, eyes searching frantically as she tried to find the folder. It would be on the ground, waiting for her to just pick it up and collect it.
Naturally, she was interrupted by c00lkidd’s Corrupt Nature sailing through the air, impacting on her arm and slowing her immensely.
She swore softly under her breath as the child-turned-monster approached her with an excited giggle, slowly backing away until the Slowness effect was gone, before finally making a run for it.
Unfortunately, her attempts to flee were cut off with a devastatingly accurate Walkspeed Override, and she let out a strangled cry at the flames licking at her skin.
Thinking quickly, she tossed a Crystal Pitch at their feet the moment her shaking hands were able to access her bag, dodging out of the way of another swipe. Ideally she’d get a few more levels of Resonance on the Killer, but she was out of time.
She hefted her axe threateningly, the child grinning at her with deeply malicious intent, before doubling over in pain with a cry as Shedletsky’s blade suddenly swung through the air, landing firmly in c00lkidd’s back.
“I’m telling Dad!” Screamed the child, and there was a pang of regret in Jane’s chest at the upset in his voice. She shook it off easily, and bolted while she still could, clutching her previously injured arm to her chest.
“This way!” A familiar voice cried, and that was the only reason Jane followed it, ducking into the large red building that resided on the map. She was met by Elliot and 007n7, the two quickly leading her to a corner while Elliot fed her a slice of pizza.
“Don’t you know not to run off like that?” Elliot scolded. “It’s better to stick together, there’s safety in numbers, Mrs. Doe.” He sighed, arms crossed as he shook his head. She avoided eye contact, and focused on eating the pizza slice.
“It was for something important. You wouldn’t understand.” Jane responded frostily, only to be surprised by the small stack of papers that 7n7 pulled up.
“Was it for these?” He asked softly, handing them over the moment she raised an arm to grab at them.
“Yes! Where did you find them?” She asked urgently, and 7n7 hummed for a moment.
“They were by the ferris wheel, laying next to a Generator. Can I…. Ask?” He tilted his head slightly in curiosity, eyeing the documents. She shrugged lightly, trying not to jostle her still-healing injuries. She needed to repair her Shatterpoint when she was done here.
“They’re just documents. My documents. My findings, and all of the information I’ve collected. If you see any more of them, bring them to me immediately. There’s sensitive information in there, and I’m not fond of the idea of the Spectre having access to all of them.” She explained with a sigh.
“You were…. Investigating our disappearances, right?” Elliot asked, and she nodded briskly.
“I thought it might be linked to my husband’s own disappearance from the Banlands. I was correct, clearly.” She huffed, receiving an awkward chuckle from 7n7 and a nod from Elliot.
“Looks like it.” Elliot agreed.
Looks like it indeed. What an understatement for the situation she had uncovered.
~~~~
The next set of documents, once Jane finished collecting Shedletsky’s files, were Dusekkar’s.
Admittedly, she didn’t have a lot on the old Mage. He was the secretive type, and kept to himself most of the time. They ran in separate circles, and so she wasn’t used to seeing him so frequently. Once she recovered her files, she’d have to add to them with the new things she’d learned from her time in the Realm.
The first few papers were actually found by Chance, the Rabbit-Moth having hopped up to her with a cheeky grin, presenting the papers with a flourish.
“A little birdy told me you’ve been hunting for these! Found these while I was flipping my coin, so here you go!” He grinned at her, and Jane nodded in thanks, tucking the papers back into her bag. The two were forced to separate shortly after, due to John’s Corrupt Energy spiking up between the two.
She wasn’t particularly useful the rest of that Round, if Jane was being honest. It was difficult for her to raise her hatchet against John, whether he was cognizant of her or not. It just felt…. Wrong, to do so.
At least the other Sentinels seemed to understand, and covered her more fiercely than usual, allowing the group to etch out another win, something that felt like a rarity half the time.
The next Round found her alone on The Tempest, her teammates already scuttling around in the distance. Hopefully, if she played her cards right, she’d be able to find the next set of papers.
She watched the others from afar, keeping an eye out as Noli Void Rushed into the group. He was only able to hit a single Survivor, poor Two Time, before getting nailed on the head with her Crystal Pitch. Jane ducked behind a pillar as Noli’s glitched shriek of rage sounded out, one of the other Sentinels landing a stun.
She crept around the map, occasionally lodging her Crystal Pitches at Noli’s form, still searching for her papers, when she spotted them.
Laying on the dirt-covered floor were her papers, and she grinned something sharp as she lunged forward to grab them.
Only, she was intercepted by a Nova, pulling her backwards with a yelp.
“THERE YOU ARE!” Cackled Noli, clearly still irritated by her constant Resonance. Thinking quickly, she made a move for her axe, feinting to the left as Noli charged up a Void Rush and slammed into the wall behind her.
She had to move with haste. She nearly slid on the floor as she managed to collect her papers, before spinning around and nailing Noli right in the chest with her Hatchet, stunning the Killer just long enough for her to make an escape.
Lesson learned. Never let your guard down in a Round.
At least after that Round, she didn’t need to go hunting for the last set of papers by herself. One of the others, Taph this time, had found them the next Round, proudly presenting them to her. She couldn’t but smile at the younger Immortal’s exuberance.
It was nice to have a team, even if she didn’t fully trust all of them yet.
~~~~
The last set of files. Her most dangerous set yet, if only for the knowledge stored within.
Builderman’s documents.
He was an ancient Deity, and only something that long lived could have a history as ripe and turbulous as his. He was so many things. The first Admin, the CEO of Roblox, her Creator, and the man who doomed her beloved husband.
She needed to find those files.
The first Round had the Survivors on Yorick’s Resting Place, the sky as dark and overcast as always. It was always annoyingly humid on this map, most likely due to the rivers running their courses throughout it.
So far, her files usually appeared a good distance away from the Survivor’s spawn locations. Either halfway or entirely across the map, it seemed.
Luckily, she wasn’t searching alone anymore. The rest of the group had fully picked up on her search, and now everyone was keeping an eye out to help her. It was…. Nice.
She hadn’t felt cared for like this since John was infected. Not even by the Admins.
She kept to the outskirts of the group, throwing her Crystal Pitches at the Mafia Don himself from a distance. At one point, literally every Sentinel managed to miss their stun except her, somehow. She felt mostly bewildered at the circumstances, and had to suppress a laugh at the sad faces surrounding her.
Mistakes were normal, even if they had deadly consequences in this Realm.
It was by the time she circled to the Manor that she finally found the first files, tucked away in a corner of the building.
The rest of the Round passed quickly with zero deaths, at least. Even with her splitting off from the group to continue her search, the others were able to stand their ground safely.
It made the slaughter of the next Round feel all the worse for it.
1x1x1x1 tore through the Survivors with a vengeance, eyes locked on Shedletsky. It barely gave Jane Doe any time to search for the papers.
It felt all the more tragic when she found them with Noob’s body, clutched tightly in a cold, dead hand. They had been trying to bring them to her, no doubt. It made her chest ache to see them like that.
She was quick to fall after the retrieval of her documents, a stray Mass Infection destroying her Shatterpoint, before 1x themself appeared from around a corner, and with a quick blow with their Daemonshanks, ended Jane’s Round.
The failure to help anyone stung more than the death did. It had only been a few days worth of time for her in the Realm, barely less than two weeks, and she had already grown numb to the slaughter. Was that wrong of her? Everything still hurt just as fiercely as it would normally, she was just….
Numb to it.
What an irrelevant train of thought. Jane had more important things to worry about, such as the last of her documents.
Luckily, it seemed she wouldn’t have to find them alone.
The Round went as typical for her, these days. Crystal Pitches littering the field, before swooping in at any opportune moments with her Hatchet to stun the Killer, Guest 666. An equally as new as her Killer, and a terrifying opponent at that.
They were massive, dwarfing even Shedletsky’s impressive size, bigger than John, bigger than even 1x. Easily the biggest Killer trapped with them, it made her a terrifying foe that was difficult to stun effectively. She just brushed off most blows like they were nothing. It was like trying to fight a giant demonic dragon, except she only had a measly hatchet and a jar full of crystals.
It took her full focus to keep the majority of the team alive, and even then, they still lost a few to Guest 666’s Bloodhunt. She had no time to search for her missing documents, barely even enough time to think about them, either.
Luck must be on her side for once, for after the Round, she was proudly presented with a set of papers by Veeronica, the helperbot absolutely beaming with pride as she handed them over.
Apparently, the helperbot had found the papers shortly before being struck down, but somehow they stayed with her despite her loss. Neither were willing to look a gift horse in the mouth, so Jane merely accepted the papers with a smile.
Finally, her collection was complete.
~~~~
There was only one thing left that she was missing.
It had taken it. Her wedding ring. More valuable to her than any documents, and she had found not even a glimmer of the metal ring in the grass. It was infuriating more than it was upsetting.
Of course, the Spectre had to make it a spectacle. It never did anything by halves.
Jane Doe found herself appearing on a map, a new one. The shattered, glitching remains of Roblox HQ, a painful resemblance to when her beloved husband had first gotten infected, to when it overtook him, and all he could do was rampage in fear and pain over what had taken control of his body.
Naturally, she wasn’t alone. Her teammates weren’t present, most likely being forced to watch the Round on the television in the main cabin. But she wasn’t alone, no.
On the other side of the map, stalking her, waiting for her to trip and fall into a trap, was her husband.
John Doe.
She flinched at every heavy footstep he took, creeping around and ducking between and under desks to stay out of sight. He hadn’t used 404 Error yet. Was he just toying with her?
No, John wouldn’t do that to her. Whatever was controlling him, however, she’d be willing to blame easily. Sadistic and cruel, to puppeteer a man against his own wife.
He was massive now. He was always a large man, full of life and joy and love, but now? He was far greater than her in size, the corruption swelling him to an unbelievable mountain of a man. His corrupted arm, the spike, dragged lazily against the ground, most likely too heavy for him to lift it anymore. The other twitched violently, the claws swiping at the air in small, violent motions.
She kept her eyes peeled, looking on every surface she could get away with for a glimpse of her ring. It had to be around here somewhere.
Finally, 404 Error sounded throughout the map, and Jane broke into a sprint.
She heard John’s roar echoing behind her as she ran, heavy footsteps sounding louder and louder by every breath. A swipe, and impact, corrupted claws raking through the back of her coat like butter. They sliced neatly into her skin, and she felt the blood soak into her shirt.
Despite the pain, she kept running.
There was a hole in the ground, dark tendrils of corruption spiraling out of it. It was coming up on her left, and a terrible, wicked idea raced across her mind.
This was going to be tricky, but she had no choice if she wanted to get her ring back and survive this encounter.
Moving quickly, she let herself be purposefully trapped with her back to hole. John approached her slowly, with a painfully empty gaze. It hurt to look him in the eye, and her hands trembled.
Finally, the moment of truth. The massive form of her husband lunged forward, right as she dodged to the side. In a quick spin, she slammed her Hatchet into his back, the force of the blowing knocking John right off the edge of the pit.
The ground trembled. The Corrupt Energy retracted. And Jane? She ran.
She could see it, there in the distance on the other side of the map. It was a straight shot to it, she could make it. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, and nearly slid on her knees to come to a stop and pick up the ring.
It looked as perfect as the day she received it.
A roar echoed behind her, and the heavy footsteps of an enraged John could be heard. She willed the nonexistent timer to hurry up, she had finished her goal, hadn’t she?
Was her Hatchet ready? It had to be, right?
Jane spun around, the ring shoved quickly into her pocket for safe keeping. She hefted up her axe, and willed herself to not hesitate.
Don’t hesitate, don’t hesitate, you just need to last a little longer, please just let it end-
John roared, and lunged at her, and all Jane could think was that it just wasn’t fair.
~~~~
The cabin was quiet when she got back.
The Survivors had huddled around the fireplace, soft and quiet in their mutterings, their discussions of what they had seen. She knew they would be watching her the moment she opened the door.
She had spawned in by the campfire outside. Alone.
At least she had her ring back, finally.
“....Jane? Are you alright?” Builderman’s voice called out to her gently, and she froze for a moment. Slowly, she turned her head to face him, her expression concealed under her veil.
“....What do you think.” It wasn’t a question.
Silently, while the Survivors watched her intently, she moved into the kitchen. She opened the rundown refrigerator, and withdrew a single plate of food that had been left inside.
It had been left for her.
She carried the plate with her as she exited, heading straight to the basement.
She would return the plate later. Jane had a lot of work to do.
At least she had her ring back. That made it all worth it, in the end, no matter how brutal the sting.
It was her own fault for getting hopeful, for believing in fairness. This was not a Realm built on the concept of Fairness. It was cruel, and twisted, and sadistic, and more interested in seeing the suffering of its prisoners than their redemption.
Her dinner tasted rather bitter that night. It all felt like ash in her mouth.
Her back hurt, distantly.
She had work to do.