Chapter Text
Where was the killer?
007n7 slowly peeked over the side of the wall, c00lgui at the ready. A cold bead of sweat rolled slowly down his face.
He looked around hurriedly. Grass, trees, more white walls randomly placed, little cabins of the same colour— all was normal. 07 hid back behind the wall, preparing for a teleport.
“Peek-a-boo!”
A red figure suddenly emerged in front of 07, sword in hand.
He seemed to be full of playfulness and whimsy.
His skin was pulled taut over his ribs, face a grotesque grin, text engraved into his torso.
This red figure 07 knew all too well, despite his distortion into monstrosity. But it really couldn’t be. Please. Pleasedon’tletitbe—
The exploiter’s eyes widened as his own baby son pulled him up into a chokehold.
c00lkidd smiled wide, his yellowed teeth sharp enough to shred open his father’s heart, as his grip tightened on 07’s neck.
“It’s so nice to see you, dad!”
.. / -- .. ... ... / -.-- .- / - --- --- --..-- / -.- .. -.. .-.-.-
7n7 wakes up, still tired, being no stranger to the lethargy that remains even after a few hours of rest.
Still dressed in his usual attire—blue sweater, his iconic burger hat, glasses, khaki jeans, and dress shoes—he turns himself around from his side until he was lying on his back. He hadn’t changed before he collapsed into bed that day. 007n7 inhales sharply, sweat still clouding his vision. A hand comes up to scrub his vision clear, while the other grabs his glasses on the bedside table. He puts them on.
Blinking rapidly, his eyes refocusing, 7n7 sighs. His cabin ceiling is plain, simple wood with an old fashioned lamp hanging from the centre. There’s a switch on the lamp. One of the old-timey ones, where you have to pull the rope to light it up and pull it again to shut it off. The light was on, the way 07 liked it; it staved off the horrors for a little longer when he tried to sleep at night.
The Spectre, the entity presiding over their realm, liked to make sure that they were all well-rested in the comfort of their rooms so that it could have its fair share of entertainment the next day. As much rest as they could get, even though everyone seemed to be consistently plagued by night terrors of loved ones, blood, and the pounding of the chest as death hummed its familiar tune.
The days would fly past with death after death after death. And without any new people getting forsaken, it seems everyone in the cabin had fallen into the routine that hell had forced upon them.
He looks back at his early days, when he would try desperately to live by summoning clones to block attacks, teleporting as soon as he heard the killer, and messing with his rudimentary-version c00lGUI to find any way to survive. 7n7 smiles to himself, remembering the first time he had summoned a clone. The sheer exhilaration he had felt, just from creating a copy of himself, right after moving past the Spectre’s blockades in his c00lgui.
He had almost felt like his college self again; snarky, egotistical, and loud, like he owned the world. With gui in hand, 7n7 had tricked the killer so many times that they just avoided chasing him. Oftentimes, he was the last man standing. 7n7 felt guilty about that.
He did nothing about it.
That was still much too scary.
07 thinks of his son.
It had been c00lkidd again today.
He had grown horns, gnarly and twisted. There were claws engulfed in flame that left burn scars wherever someone was attacked. His form was becoming more monstrous, more terrifying. c00lkidd’s eyes didn’t hold the same childlike wonder as they used to. 07 ran from him.
7n7 had noticed the deterioration of c00lkidd’s humanity as well as his mental state. Recently, in the rounds against c00lkidd, he was squeezed to death. He preferred it to the earlier, more brutal methods. As fire engulfed him, at the very least, he was in his son’s arms. While the pain from the fire hurt, it was more bearable than not being able to hold his kid. The others seem to pity him. At this point though, being burned felt normal. His ribs crushed in the warm embrace of his son, the finality in the blazing warmth, beautiful in its simplicity and reminder of what once was.
07 flips onto his side, shutting his eyes in a futile attempt to sleep. C00lkidd's murderous image appears in front of him, ingrained into his eyelids.
007n7 opens his eyes, not willing to linger for a second longer.
Next to his bed is a simple bedside table. Wooden, like the rest of the cabin, but holding 07’s most important possession. His wallet, a basic leather pouch, holds printed-out photos of him and c00lkidd. He treasures them like gold. 07 almost wants to reach for it again, to brush his fingers across the tangible paper and look once more at his son’s innocent face, lest he forgets, but resists the urge. He has to sleep, after all. Thinking about the past would only make it harder.
But really, what was the point, when the past will appear in his dreams anyways? What was the point in trying anything, if there wasn’t a deadline for how much he could try anymore? God , he hated revival. He would die, permanently, for an easy, dreamless sleep.
He did die for his son, though, so the fact that he’s willing to die for something as simple as a dreamless sleep made it seem like he’s lowering his standards. Sad.
It seemed as though 7n7 was not getting any sleep tonight.
He swings himself around into a sitting position with his shins dangling off the bed. Immediately, a searing pain rushes to his head. He quickly collapses backwards into the bed.
Damn anaemia.
Staring at the ceiling, the dull lantern swinging from a chain, 7n7 wishes he could die again. He thinks of shaking hands connected to scarred arms, grasping tightly on cold metal, slowly snaking towards his chin. Maybe he wouldn’t be in this situation right now, if he had just been a better person. Maybe he and c00lkidd and Noli would still be alive and kicking.
07 sighs. That chance is over now. Even though the lingering wish remained, what was the point?
In his head, he can see a vague vision of himself. He’s wearing glasses, still having that smug goatee, and looking overall just… much younger, much more egotistical. That’s always him, inside. Whenever he does something or others do something, he will still present as a snarky little voice in 07’s head.
007n7 grins cockily at his present self.
BANG!
What was that? Where did that come from? Did Builderman explode another sentry prototype? Did Taph’s excavation bomb go off accidentally?
̶0̶7̶ ̶i̶g̶n̶o̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶f̶a̶c̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶s̶o̶u̶n̶d̶e̶d̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶g̶u̶n̶s̶h̶o̶t̶.̶ ̶H̶̶̶e̶̶̶ ̶̶̶i̶̶̶g̶̶̶n̶̶̶o̶̶̶r̶̶̶e̶̶̶d̶̶̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶r̶e̶m̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶b̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶h̶a̶n̶d̶.
He needs to know. Someone could be hurt— after all, pain was worse than death here, 07 rationalized.
7n7 sits up quickly, ignoring the sudden nausea it brings him, pacing out of his room and into his lounge. He strolls with a purpose to the entrance. 07 pulls open the door to his cabin, stepping out, as he takes a breath of fresh air.
The lobby realm is split into the main house, their quarters, and some littered around cabins. There are people in them, but 07 and the other survivors had never really befriended any of them. Perhaps it was because they probably weren’t human— there was the same repeated dialogue, a lack of unique interactions, and really robotic movements that made them feel like 07’s own clones.
The main house is the largest cabin, the centrepiece of the realm. It has two stories, large glass-pane windows, and is made out of logs piled together in a classic homey log cabin-in-the-woods style. A bulletin board lay at the front, full of posters from their past, a constant reminder of their unresolved grievances.
In front of the main house, though blocked by the trees, stood the individual quarters. It seems as though they were built to be miniature versions of the main house. The cabins are split down the middle, with four on each side of the house, entrances facing towards it.
There was a long, winding dirt path connecting all of the structures, as they were quite distant from the house. Furthermore, little posted lamps lit up the road, gleaming a yellow light not dissimilar to the fake stars in the sky.
7n7’s cabin is on the right side of the main house. He’s the second farthest from it, and lived alone there.
To his direct right, the room furthest from the main lobby, is Noob’s cabin. They stand there, chewing on their hair, wearing a bright blue shirt, dull green boxers, and white slippers. Their eye bags seem to protrude under the lamp outside their cabin. Noob has their hair in a simple ponytail with loose strands sticking out, yellow hair messy and uneven. With a nervous expression, Noob’s eyes dart around, before they step out the entrance. 07 looks at them and gave a small smile. Noob smiles back, albeit nervously, and gives a little wave.
To the left of 7n7 is Chance and Two Time’s cabin.
Two Time stands there, dark eyes stark against pale skin, watching like a predator, searching, searching, while Chance—oh god, why was he still wearing his sunglasses— sticks his head out, looking back and forth.
Two Time is donning a black cotton pyjama set with the Spawn logo sprinkled on it, their dark hair messy as ever. They grip tightly onto their dagger tightly, seemingly searching for danger.
Chance, on the other hand, is wearing a gorgeous pink silk robe, draping down onto the ground. Their grey hair is down in long dreads, but the whole illusion is partially ruined by the fact that his hands held onto his gun and that he is still flipping that unique coin he seems to constantly carry around. Today, their luck is pretty good, are they're around 5 '10, just a little shorter than Two Time.
Chance winks at 007n7 and Two Time just… doesn’t look at him. It’s awkward. 07 had messed with the Spawn cult once, and Two Time recognizes him from then. They don’t forgive him, and the stories from the other survivors don’t help 07’s case either.
Being hated sucks, but he deserves it.
The cabin farthest to the left, next to Chance and Two Time’s, is Taph’s. Taph is wearing a pink, fluffy onesie. It looks almost weightless to the touch, having the same consistency as the clouds in the sky. There’s little dog ears on the hood, wads of fabric in the tell-tale shape. 07’s almost sure that if he touches the material, he would feel the water vapour seeping through.
Chance is the one to break the silence, as well as the scoping of the (potential) battlefield. He sighs, lowering his gun and readjusting to a more comfortable posture. “We should probably meet up with the others.”
Two Time nods, sheathing their dagger in a convenient spot in their belt, and breaks out into a wide (and creepy) grin. “I agree! After all, the others might have been the ones who caused the explosion.” After a brief pause, they walk quickly down the stairs. They look at the others. “Aren’t you all coming?”
“👍!”
“S-sure! Let’s go.”
“Yeah, yeah— Two Time, where the fuck did you leave my damn hat ? I’m not going out without it.”
07 listens idly, before heading down the stairs. It’s cold. 7n7 can feel the tinge of ice on his skin, the uncanny loneliness from being in such a realm. He misses the warmth of the cabin already, though the cold is slightly alleviated because of his sweater.
The sky is currently pitch-black, with a few specks of light here and there. In the center lay the moon, which seems to always be staring at them. It’s in the shape of an eye.
07 is currently standing on the unpaved pathway. Surrounding him is the dull grass, blades swaying unnaturally as there was no wind. The cabins are surrounded by trees on three sides. However, there’s a singular pathway connecting all the cabins leaving into the distance. If they kept following the path forward, to the very end, they would find the others.
If he squints beyond the forest surrounding them, he can see the faint lights of the main cabin. Strange. Were they always on at this time?
Chance seems to have found his hat. Walking out with a sustained vigor, still in their (frankly beautiful) robe, he poses, tilting his hat a little, giving Two Time a flirty wink. They roll their eyes at him. Typical Chance.
They had just passed their fifth lamp, and were getting close to the diversion in the path where they could get to the main lobby. So, halfway to the other cabins.
Just as 07 has this thought, however, the others emerge from the far distance. They seem to have had the same idea as Chance and Two Time.
Guest 1337 stands in front of most of the others. He shivers. Probably because he wasn’t wearing a shirt. The only thing that Guest is wearing is boxers. While 07 respects it, because damn that man has abs, Guest probably should’ve worn something before walking out.
Next to Guest stands Elliot. It seems that they’re having a spirited discussion— Elliot seems to be berating Guest for something. Guest seems to be apologetic about it. Elliot has his blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, as per usual, and wears a red t-shirt paired with dark gray sweatpants. He looks more exasperated than angry.
Behind Guest and Elliot, following close behind, is Shedletsky. The man is wearing his usual “Blame John!” shirt, but with only boxers underneath. He’s also wearing blue slippers with the Roblox logo on them. The wings surrounding his face are unkempt and messy.
Next to Shedletsky is Dusekkar. His pumpkin head is still on, and he still holds onto his handy staff. However, instead of his usual robes, he’s wearing- jeans? Either Dusekkar wore jeans and a shirt to sleep, or he had changed before coming out of the cabin. Or maybe he just hadn’t slept. But he still wears jeans, a far cry from his usual decorative attire and robes.
Behind them both, lingering slightly, stands Builderman. He’s noticeably shorter than all the others, at roughly 4’9, but is still noticeable from his hard hat. He wears relatively normal sleep clothes— a sleeping gown (basically an oversized shirt) with the Roblox logo on it. Builderman scratches his beard and yawns.
The others seem to have noticed their group approaching. Two Time, who had been walking at the front, waves stiffly in a big movement. They jog towards the other group before stopping in front of Elliot, seemingly to enquire about Guest’s lack of clothing.
07 walks slowly and awkwardly behind the others, even Noob, who seems to be actively terrified. As they get closer, 7n7 can begin to hear their conversation.
“So,” Elliot says, “I see this man walking out the door and he’s wearing nothing but boxers. The others had come out to, y’know, enquire about the second Big Bang or whatever, and he’s just! Naked!” Elliot sighs.
“Well, I didn’t really have a choice in that matter, because I-“
Elliot puts a finger over Guest’s mouth. “Shush. We’re getting to that. “
“Anyways, he then tells us that he only has one set of clothes and an extra pair of boxers. One! He just washes the set every day!” Elliot looks exasperated.
“Yeah, it’s still in the wash.” Guest chimes in nervously, pushing Elliot’s hand aside.
“Apparently, he didn’t know about the stupid fucking closet!” Elliot gesticulates angrily. “Never mind that the day you spawn in there are holographic arrows pointing towards it in your sight, he just— thought they were a trap?”
The closet is a construct in the main lobby that just churns out free clothes based on what the owner wanted. It was pretty cool, and many of the survivors took some clothes to bring back to their own cabins.
Guest looks down sheepishly. It’s kinda cute. “It’s true. The arrows are still pointing in my vision. I had just died from an ambush though, so you can see why I was so hesitant to go.”
“However, there was no reason for you to not have gone after a few days or so. May I enquire why?” Two Time asks, hand on hip.
“It just never… really came to mind.”
Chance walks forward. “While it’s nice to know why our resident Guest is eye candy right now, (though he usually is too, wink wink,) don’t you guys think we should maybe check out the main cabin? I don’t think the lights are supposed to be on right now.”
Everyone mutters a consensus as they begin their stride towards the cabin.
The main cabin, standing tall, is still the variety of oak wood that 07 remembers. The first floor of the building has its lights on, but intriguingly, not the second level. Also, the front door’s slightly ajar.
After a brief huddle outside the door, it’s decided that Shedletsky should go in. This is because he actually has something to defend himself with, isn’t basically naked, and is a tad bit more mentally stable than the others.
Two Time looks a bit disappointed at that, a hand twitching close to their dagger.
Sheddy winks. “If I don’t come out in ten minutes or so, wave my handkerchief and remember me fondly!”
He grins as he opens the door to the max width. After a couple seconds of surveying, his expression immediately dims, a darkness shrouding his face and his wings curling in around him. Shedletsky holds himself with the same grim nature he did when he was Telamon, and turns back at the others with a hardness in his eyes.
“Shit.” He says through clenched teeth. “I don’t think any of us thought this would happen.”
He stares directly at 07. 007n7 shudders. He’s still afraid of the glare admins give him.
“007n7. You go in first.”
007n7 looks around for a second and points to himself. “Me?” He mouths wordlessly, as Shedletsky nods, almost to himself.
He repeats himself. “You go in first.”
7n7 swallows heavily, a cold bead of sweat running down his face.
He doesn’t know what he’s expecting. Has the past finally caught up to him? Was there some sort of divine punishment waiting in there? Would death finally come? As he walks up the stairs, he can feel his nerves tingling a little. He’s acutely aware of every hair standing upright, every synapse screaming for him to run. Why is Shedletsky so serious? What is in there? What had caused that bang, sounding like the gun that ended his own life? 07 pushes past Shedletsky.
At first, 007n7 doesn’t know what he’s seeing. The cabin is normal. Log walls, balcony, lantern, no noose, and a staircase on the side that leads upwards.
Was that..?
007n7 slowly walks forward, not daring to believe, not daring to hope. He closes his computer programme, the c00lgui, the only form of protection he had.
He strolls forward more hurriedly. Oak wood, couches, pillows, head mounted atop the fireplace— all was normal, except for one thing. A while bundle of blankets. 07 kneels down beside a bundle, a solitary tear running down his face.
It wakes up.
“..dad?”
A red figure lies in the bundle, small, scarred, with horns sticking from his head and a face just like the day he last saw it— except different. Wonderfully human.
His skin is pulled taut over his ribs, but that’s covered by text engraved into his now oversized T-shirt.
07 knew him— no, knows him all too well. He doesn’t dare to believe it. Last he saw him, he was monstrous and large, and 07 himself was crushed in a blaze of warmth— he had been running away from his baby, who he thought was a monster.
The exploiter’s eyes widen as he realizes it’s his son lying in the white blanket. 07’s eyes begin to well as he grabs onto his boy.
c00lkidd, startled by the touch, opens his eyes blearily. His mouth opens in shock or in daze, yellowed teeth still sharp but blunted somewhat. c00lkidd’s eyes fill with tears, and in a wail, he sits up to hug his dad. It feels wonderful. There’s no fire consuming him.
07 chokes on his own sobs, the corners of his mouth turning up into a small smile as tears fall onto c00lkidd’s face. Over c00lkidd’s crying, he mutters,
“ It’s so nice to see ya, kid .”