Chapter Text
Suddenly the room went quiet, Elliot too was no different as he felt his heart suddenly tighten to a painful degree. Why, why was that brought up? In front of a crowd as well, now everyone will see him, and will notice something wrong with him. They’ll all hate him, they’ll know that he was considering it, to finally stop being murdered, to finally give up on his team and betray them like the selfish person he was. It made him feel sick.
Chance however, saw something different, everyone was oddly quiet, confirming their suspicions on something happening. While they weren’t quite sure why everyone was acting so secretive, it was only natural for him to start reading the room, to understand what was going on. Eventually after a long pause, Dusekkar was the first to speak up, “a descent to the darkest of spaces was my fate, a mirror stood at the end with a face much like my own await.”
Upon hearing that, Elliot perked up, he wasn’t the only one? Still, he couldn’t just stand around and hope no one notices. Maybe if he participated in this discussion less people would naturally be suspicious. “Oh! Me too actually, I thought it was a dream at first,” he nervously laughed, to which Noob looked at him for a moment. God people were already catching on, it made his heart suddenly feel like it was about to jump out of his chest. “I didn’t see much though, just a really creepy version of me.”
Guest furrowed his brow however as he looked around the group, “yourselves huh? I saw someone different, my wife stood in front of me instead. Ah but it wasn’t her, I also saw an imitation, whoever is making this kind of thing has one twisted sense of humour.”
007n7 nodded along, his expression was distant but he was clearly upset about something. “I um… also saw family in the mirror…” he started but eventually trailed off, a hint of resignation covering his expression when he looked around at the group who likely didn’t care. Builderman then took the spotlight as he spoke up, “everyone. Raise your hand if you saw a mirror after dying,” he declared. Unsurprisingly, everyone raised their hands, even Chance who didn’t say anything about it before.
Eventually, after realizing all of them saw the same things Elliot then spoke up, hoping that maybe, if everyone got the same letter as he did, then they could all laugh it off and pretend it was all okay. “Did anyone else get an item as well?” he asked the crowd, this time however there was an eerie silence. No way… was he the only one? But that meant-
“I got a picture,” Chance then spoke up as they pulled out a small polaroid photo. On it was Chance, dressed in a white suit vest and a red collared shirt, cards lined the side of the collar. It was a rather sharp outfit, made obvious with their status. Right beside though was someone else, also sharply dressed but eerily smudged out, the face was practically removed from the picture. The one defining feature of the person standing next to Chance was the ice crown, a rather expensive accessory, no different from the value of Chance’s fedora.
Builderman also took out a polaroid photo, unlike Chance’s which looked like a selfie, his looked more like a business photo, showing almost all of the Roblox Moderators and Admins. Near the centre was Builderman, wearing a suit with the ban hammer behind him. “It seems the photos are personalized to us,” he commented as he tucked the picture back into his pocket.
A few others revealed photos, Two Time had a picture with them and someone wearing a large hat, Guest having a picture of his wife and daughter, and noob with a rather old picture of them with an unnamed guest before the removal of guests.
Not everyone got a photo though, Dusekkar, Shedlesky, and 007n7 didn’t come forward with anything. Elliot had no picture either, thankfully everyone seemed to have forgotten that he was the one who asked about the items, they were all busy discussing the meanings of the photos, specifically about their loved ones. Maybe while they were talking he could be like Two Time and hide in some corner until everyone either forgets about him or they all part ways. That would be the plan at least, had Chance not walked up to Elliot. Having just slipped out of their own conversations about the photos to glance over at the pizza worker. “Come with me,” Chance whispered as they suddenly walked upstairs, heading to the bedrooms.
Oh god did Elliot’s heart race, did they know? They probably figured out how suspicious he was, would Chance want to reveal the secret to everyone there? He couldn’t just let Chance wait though, the longer he let them wait the more suspicious he would seem. With a heavy heart and what felt like chains around his ankles, he dragged himself upstairs, entering the room with the clearly ajar door inviting him in.
Chance was leaning against a wall, waiting, in their hands was a piece of paper not the same photo of him with the mysterious person.
There were blood stains on the paper.
Elliot stared in shock at the paper, did Chance get the letter too? That means he wasn’t the only one, oh god he could cry from the relief he felt when he realized that he wasn’t the only one who was offered such a cruel temptation.
“Now before you think I killed someone,” Chance quickly quips as they nervously laughed, “I did not, but would you believe me if I said I got two things from the mirror?”
There was a look of vulnerability on Chance’s expression, one that surprised even Elliot. Normally Chance was always so composed, not even their own gun blowing up would affect their demeanor. Right now it looked as if they were one moment away from getting in trouble, because in a sense, they were. If Elliot wanted to, he could easily betray Chance, use them as a scapegoat and never have anyone suspect him as a traitor, but he couldn’t at least not now.
“I just wanted to ask, do you have a letter like this?” Chance then asked as they handed over the paper, letting the crumpled sheet rest in Elliot’s hands. Sure enough? It was the same letter, except with Chance’s name instead. They were being rather open about this, a little too open, this wasn’t like them at all. Chance always kept their cards close to their chest. Elliot could still painfully remember all those times when Chance just obscured information just because it “wasn’t necessary,” the unnecessary information in question being the poor condition of the gun, so poor that not even Guest can fix it.
But they were being honest, a part of Elliot wanted to trust Chance, to really believe they were wanting the best for each other, but does Chance know how much it hurts to watch your entire team die? Especially since they so often got hurt for various random reasons, it was insulting really. He doesn’t want to give up the option, but Chance also can’t know about it either, with a heavy heart he steadied his expression and shook his head. “No, I don’t think so, but this letter is really… something,” he nervously frowned as he looked at the contents, pretending he hadn't seen those words before.
“Ah… well I’m not surprised,” Chance then answered as they crossed their arms, “I have a few suspects about who’s the most likely to get these notes. Noob was already investigated, if they really had it I doubt they would be as calm as they were right now.”
Not everyone had it? But who then, that was worrying, if someone powerful like Shedlesky or Builderman turned… it would be hard to tell their fate. “Who… do you think has it?” Elliot then asked, if Chance really trusted him with that information then they probably could get more. This trust can turn into something valuable, if he ever gets into trouble, Chance can vouch for him.
“I’m not fully sure, but I think it targets people who have a reason to go to the killer’s side. For example, I think I was chosen to get this letter because whoever the mirror person was, they wanted me to switch for fun, appealing to my need for adrenaline. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad offering, but I’m just as much of a businessman as I am me. Why else do you think I own a successful casino?” Chance grinned pridefully as they fiddled with the coin in their hands. “That’s actually why I came to you for help, I think you’d be the best option to help search for the other letters.”
Him? Why? That stunned Elliot for a moment, what about him seemed trustworthy? Especially since they’ve been nothing but nervous for the entire break duration. Was he that good at lying? For some reason that thought sent a jolt of pride through him.
“Others? What are you going to do with them once you find them?” Elliot inquired, a fair question that Chance had to think about a little bit after. “I’m not sure, the last thing I want to do is split the group though. I just don’t like the idea that someone could silently betray all of us. Maybe I’ll burn the letters, or bury them somewhere.”
Elliot just nodded along, knowing that his letter was hidden away and won’t be found any time soon. But it does work in his interest that they find all the letters, after all, maybe it will confirm that he shouldn’t join the killers, no matter how much his intrusive thoughts wanted him to sign that letter. “Alright, I’m willing to help, and I’m assuming we’re not telling anyone?” he asked, to which Chance nodded.
They then huffed a little as they looked at the photo, the face looked practically burnt off as if placed under a lighter. While the photos were less interesting, that doesn’t mean it didn’t interest him a little. “Do you know who that is?” Elliot then asked as he pointed at the person who was beside Chance. Making friends in high places wasn’t that unusual, especially for the type of person Chance is. A person with a hat as expensive as that while surprising wasn’t fully unexpected. Chance then smirked as they glanced at Elliot, “I’ll tell if you show me your photo,” he jabbed. Shit he still remembers the fact that he was the first to bring up the idea of having photos. Very nervously he then laughed, “it’s embarrassing… fine I won’t pry,” he lied again. Chance luckily didn’t question it further as they just tucked away his photo. “I couldn’t care less about other people’s secrets, don’t worry about it. Cmon, let's go back to the others,” they then suggested as they pushed themselves up from the wall and walked back out into the hallway.
Elliot simply followed, observing the crowd below as they split into their own respective groups to talk. Chance had a confident smile as they walked down, waving at Noob who seemed to be in better spirits now that the weird mirror thing was addressed. They were so calm, unaware, he could suddenly understand where Chance’s deductions came from.
Everyone around him was acting wary, one might assume that it was just because of the strange mirror event that everyone was on edge, but with the knowledge that it wasn’t just them who had the offer, it suddenly made Elliot hyper aware of everything that was going on.
Naturally, if he had to point fingers at someone, it would be 007n7. He had a son on the other side, it would be natural to want to be with him, but without proof it would be hard to really get the notes. Besides, Chance wanted to play it casually, a statement more reinforced when he spotted them playing billiard balls with Guest, all while chattering off about something.
He could do the same, Noob was free right now, just lounging on the chair to relax a little. The moderator team was a little bit too big for Elliot to go to right now though, besides, he couldn’t imagine them wanting to do something to harm others, it was their job to protect and build. And to be honest? He doesn’t really want to talk to Two Time or 007n7. He was doing nothing again.
No he’ll be strong, he can’t think about the letter right now, he needed to help Chance, to find all of the letters and get rid of them. Unfortunately, that meant his option is Two Time, not the best choice but Noob was already cleared and he would rather not talk to 007n7 at all. They were busy admiring the photo they got, even scribbling down a few words onto it with a sharpie they found somewhere.
“Best Friends” in bold text, something they seemed rather proud of. It also stuck out from the small photo of them, a large scarf and multiple black bandages covering their arms, accompanied by someone else. “Who’s that?” Elliot inquired as he wandered over casually, inspecting the little picture there. Whoever that person was, they also had a spawn symbol on their chest. It really makes one wonder what the hell is Spawn and how many people actually believe in something like that.
Two Time however just smiled as they looked at the photo, gently admiring this stranger beside them, “Oh! Someone blessed by spawn, the kindest person I know,” they sang with praise as they took the photo and attached it to their waist. Already, he was a little uninterested, still, he kind of recognized that person in the photo. A hat like that looked familiar, almost like a hat he remembered seeing at some point in the games, but he couldn’t really put a name to it as he just shrugged.
“That’s nice,” he absentmindedly replied before going back to look at Chance and Guest who were focusing less on playing pool but more so talking. The two have grown to respect each other, protecting when one was struggling, and generally handling the killers together. Besides, when you’re fighting for your life, it’s inevitable that a bond will form between the two.
Elliot somewhat envied their ability to just talk whenever they wanted, as well as appealing to any topics they wanted. Of course their signature topic is always gambling, but they were a good host as well. Right now he struggled on speaking to Two Time in a way that doesn’t give away that he was looking for the letter.
“So… do you think there's someone behind the whole, mirror thing?” Elliot then asked in hopes of getting Two Time to open up about the truth. There was a little bit of a pause as they hummed however, “Spawn does not communicate in mirrors, a rather undignified method if I may add. However, the mirror reflects on one’s inner thoughts, and there I saw Spawn, a deceitful version that cannot be described. I wouldn’t trust it. There are no gods in a place like this.”
Sure, good enough, that is an answer however long winded and rather back and forth it was, still, it was interesting how everyone seemed to be seeing someone that meant a lot to them, but if that really was the case, where were his parents?
“But they gave you the photo,” Elliot pointed out, to which Two Time nodded, “ah a photo and a piece of paper, but I cared little for the paper, never picked it up.”
Never?? Elliot was baffled, he was forced to pick it up but Two Time could just leave it? A slight feeling of anger towards whatever that mirror monster was bubbled in his chest, why the double standards? No matter though, if Two Time never picked it up then that means they didn’t have it. That’s good at least, one less person to worry about. He’ll pocket this information somewhere in his mind, for now though he just sat and watched Two Time admire the pictures. “Well, I suppose that’s good, you can’t trust whatever that thing does,” Elliot sighed, to which Two Time just nodded.
The games were taking a while to start. Sitting with Two Time could only be so entertaining, after a bit, religion talk gets annoying real quick. It seems everyone else was thinking the same thing as well. While it was good that they’re not dying right now, all of a sudden Elliot was painfully aware and even sympathetic towards Chance and their hatred for boredom. The island they were trapped on offers nothing really, he remembered seeing Noob heading up for the DDR machines upstairs, Guest and Shedlesky heading outside to spar for a bit, and Chance was just playing solitaire with himself.
If the games weren’t even starting, then why keep them here on this island either? This sucked, it sucked a lot. What made him only feel worse was that in a twisted sense, he missed the games as well. Who even knows how long they’ve been trapped here, at this point it was like a really fucked up job, clocking in to run for your life and coming back to the stupid cabin where nothing changes.
Were the letters the cause of this? Elliot dug his nails into his palms as he thought about the floorboard. He wanted to look at the letter again, to see if he had missed any conditionals. That’s when he remembered, Chance never asked for their letter back, they gave the letter to him, likely in hopes of just being far away from it. Maybe he can quickly check, fine print was always important after all.
He suddenly got up, much to a confused Two Time who just waved him goodbye. Maybe the letter could have more information, if that was the case… would he even share it? It doesn’t matter, he just needed to check, surely Chance wouldn’t mind.
Once again he raced towards the bunk beds, sitting on the bottom as he shut the door. There, it was, the letter that has been nothing but a pain to him, the one that has been tugging at the back of his mind. He smoothened out the crumpled parts, letting the text appear legible as he scanned it, scanned anywhere. The dried blood flaked off with little bits landing on the floor, Elliot made sure to stomp on them a few times before sweeping them underneath the bed. There had to be something, anything, was it really that vague? He shook the letter for a bit, trying to see if anything would fall, why would it? It was just a flat sheet of paper, there couldn’t be anything hidden inside. Unsurprisingly there was nothing as Elliot groaned in frustration, this whole traitor thing was wearing him down. Why the hell did Chance approach him of all people? Why not Shedlesky, or Builderman? They’re far more capable than he was, he was just a pizza worker for god's sake, what could he have possibly done to deserve being here?? He really thought that he had a genius idea, double checking the letter.
All of this frustrated him to no end, he thought about his own letter, and the strange lack of a photo, sure others also had no photos, but the majority did, and he definitely had family he cared about. Couldn’t he at least get that?
Running a hand through his hair, Elliot stared at the letter, those same stupid words, it would be nice to stop dying, it would be nice to have eyes on him, to have everyone realize how screwed they were if he wasn’t on the team. That thought sent another jolt of excitement through his veins, but he immediately stopped himself as he thought about the situation right now, Chance was trusting him, and worst case? One of the other survivors would suddenly turn with no warning. Trust, right, he was working off of trust right now.
That was when he heard the sound of a loud gunshot, one that made him jolt as he hurriedly tucked the letter in his pocket. The only person who had a gun was Chance, and that half broken weapon sometimes went off when they were just walking. Still, he felt a compulsion to go check, to just see if they were okay, pizzas would still work in the lobby, right?
Running down the stairs, he walked into something a little less intentional, Builderman was yelling, his voice thundering as Shedlesky just nervously looked down. All of a sudden, Elliot knew this wasn’t something he should miss, ducking behind a nearby wall he watched in silence as he saw Builderman holding something in his hands, a crumpled, bloody letter.
“Why. The hell. did you not tell me about that!?” he shouted to Shedlesky who just seemed nervous, not quite afraid but there was a look of clear guilt in his expression. “Oh my god, so you’ve been lying this whole time. And this is what it takes for you to let down that facade!?”
Shedlesky just frowned as he threw his sword into the ground, letting it stick right up with the wood beneath it indented from the sharp edge. His eyes however instantly zoned in on Elliot as he just shook his head, “go call your meeting, everyone needs to hear this,” he spoke with a lot more aggression than Elliot has ever seen him use, not even being close to death or other survivors failing to help him prompted that much anger. Feeling that it was dangerous for him to go anywhere outside of the two’s sights, Elliot emerged from behind the wall as he looked down. “S… Sorry… I didn’t mean to appear like I was being rude… I got curious,” he admitted truthfully as Shedlesky just sighed, “no worries, he was being pretty loud wasn’t he?” A small smirk found its way to both of their faces as Elliot briefly looked back at Builderman who was rounding up everyone.
The meetings were being held a lot more regularly than normal, but right now was an abnormal time, they all felt the strange shift in the mood of the games, or lack thereof. There was nothing more entertaining for whatever twisted god up there who wanted to get a kick from seeing them fight for their lives, it’s how it's been for practically years, they were all used to it. One by one, everyone shuffled in, a mix of fatigue or boredom covered all of their expressions. The last one in was Chance, right he wanted to check on them, but they looked fine? The gun wasn’t even smoking which confused Elliot a little. Builderman then interrupted his thoughts as he stood at the centre of the room, standing over everyone as he glared, “now, I know not all of you were tellin the truth when we all got those photos. Who here got somethin like this?” He announced as he held up a bloody letter, interestingly enough, the name got blurred out, just underneath the chicken scratch over it he could make out one letter. T.
But that couldn’t have been Two Time’s letter, they said they didn’t pick it up, and knowing them? They were probably telling the truth. The name was too short to even be them though, it had to be someone else, but who? Maybe it was one of the others here, trapped before them and generally just being rather distant from their group. Either way, the revelation of the letter took everyone off guard as Builderman sighed. “I want people to come forward, not to out themselves, but to destroy them. We won’t have to have any drama here, so just come forward, and confess.”
There was a long awkward pause, one that went on for a little too long than what it should be, until Guest took the first initiative and went forward, placing down his letter in front of Builderman, the same bloody letter but with Guest’s name on it. “Tch… it was getting hard to hold this thing…” he muttered quietly in shame as Builderman took the letter, without hesitation he threw it into the fire, letting it sizzle away until the yellow turned black. Ashes scattered until there was nothing of it left behind. “Thank you for stepping up first, anyone else?” He then asked as he looked around, Guest was extremely distant from everyone after the revelation.
At first Elliot glanced at Chance, wondering if they’ll step up, they have expressed the desire to throw away the letters as well, so why are they so silent? Although he was no different, his own letter hidden under the floorboard, waiting to be dug up when the time was right. To nobody’s surprise, 007n7 stepped up next, dropping the letter in front of Builderman who just scoffed a little. Shedlesky seemed a little upset at this but there were no words to be said about it, there wasn’t even a single congratulations for stepping up and doing what was right, because it was the bare basics.
He really was a hypocrite wasn’t he?
Chance then went towards 007n7, seemingly talking to him in private. Whatever it was it seemed like it did the trick to stop him from leaving the area just yet. Just two letters didn’t satisfy Builderman however, he had a hunch there were more, his eyes then landed on Chance who seemed to notice the gaze and just shrugged. “Way before you man, I don’t have the letter on me, I got rid of it,” he casually commented, much to a confused but a reluctantly accepting sigh. There was a look in his eyes though, one that Elliot had a feeling Chance also saw, everyone who didn’t step up was likely to be investigated personally.
At least it was until Shedlesky’s stomach grumbled, causing an embarrassed smile from him, one that lasted for only a second as a sudden realization dawned on them. Hunger? In the lobby? They’ve been hungry before, in games when a chase goes on for way longer than it should Elliot would toss a pizza to those who were burning out of energy. This was far more than just concerning, this was downright worrying. Never before have they been hungry in the lobby. If health was reset to max in the lobby, so was hunger.
And if it wasn’t? They would need to find food fast, but how could they find enough for 9 people? His first thought was to dig around in his pockets, no pizza, he stopped questioning how he could pull pizzas out of his pockets a long time ago, but this is the first time he felt anxious about his hands reaching nothing. Shedlesky seemed to have the same thought as well, trying to grab his chicken, only for nothing to come out.
Worse? Noob let out a startled yelp when they saw letters reemerging from the fires, Guest’s, 007n7’s and whoever the T letter was, they all returned, and now there was a new letter on top of all of it. The same bloody corners and crumpled state, as if a child had thrown it towards the group with the hopes of them reading whatever bullshit that was written on there.
Builderman’s brows furrowed as he crouched down to look at the new letters, a new sense of worry consuming him as he glanced at the words. All hostilities had dropped as he looked around at the group who was waiting for him to read it out loud. “This… ugh… it’s getting worse, can someone else-”
Chance was the first to step up, taking the letter as they smiled, “whew, let’s see what… oh.”
There was a blank pause, one that really got the crowd anxious. If Chance, the guy who loved joking around more than anything, even in a life or death situation, was getting nervous then it meant something really bad was happening. Their smile faded a little, becoming more of a nervous twitch of their lips as they read the letter out loud.
“Dear survivors, there is now a timer, I am growing impatient. The games need balance, it needs a new face. There is no food in the lobby, make your choices now.”