Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Goodbye, Player."

Walking through that portal was easy physically, but not mentally. Niko and Player had said goodbye a couple times now, but this truly was goodbye . Niko was about to be home, and they should be excited about that. But never getting to see Player again was still weighing on them. Everything faded to black, and their eyes shot open to reveal a darkened ceiling.

"No."

Niko hadn't necessarily been trapped in the world for a very long time, but they knew that ceiling when they saw it. They sat up, seeing the same room they had woken up in so many times.

"Player, what happened?"

. . .

"Player, are you there?"

"What the heck?" Player quietly mumbled while watching the events on their Switch. He saw less, only a 2D bedroom with a pixelated Niko inside. The game was supposed to be over, so what was this? A bonus level that nobody knew about?

Actually, OneShot could hardly be referred to as a game. It was an experience. An adventure, between a god and his messiah, who was certainly more alive than any video game character he had seen. They all were. Silver, Calamus, Alula, Kip, Plight (why does everyone call him that?), George, Ling, Prototype, Rue, Cedric, even the World Machine itself. They were all alive. They had especially felt this feeling with the last 4, who had assisted them in the final quest, the "Solstice Run" as other players put it. These people were his friends, and he had to get to the bottom of this.

He saw the text going across the bottom of his screen attempting to get his attention, Niko screaming for him to please respond. He had no diologue options, and so they couldn't communicate. He clicked the purple square in the top-right corner, minimizing the "window" and revealing the simulated OS homepage. Many people claim this doesn't feel as "emersive" as the Steam version, which actually makes changes to game files, and even the player's wallpaper. However, the idea of a Switch game containing a virtual desktop through which one could play the game was interesting. And the whole "collectible wallpapers, themes, and characters" concept was cool as well.

Nevertheless, clicking on files, there didn't seem to be any clues. No new popups or files, no changes to the desktop . All Player could do was what he did best, which was guide Niko through this world, and hope it was just a one-time glitch.

Chapter Text

Checking Niko's inventory, Player could see they still had the clover-covered journal. Good, they could do Solstice again if need be. As they had done many NG+ runs prior to Solstice, Player was almost subconsciously able to guide Niko through the steps to unlock the computer.

". . ."

Player clicked "OK"

"You found me."

"OK"

"....Why?"

Odd, why wasn't the World Machine acknowledging what just happened?

"You're already too late. Not much of the world remains

"This will be apparent when you go outside."

"This place was never worth saving."

"...Do you still want to try?"

Not a word about the repeat.

"Then, remember this:"

"Your actions here will affect Niko."

"Your mission is to help Niko leave."

Player started to skip through the messages, sensing that nothing was wrong.

And that was bad. If this was some sort of secret bonus level, the diologue would have changed.

"No. This does not feel right at all."

Wait a minute.

"Have we... already been through this, Player?"

Wait a minute.

"But that should be impossible..."

"You only had one shot. I wasn't supposed to exist after that..."

"[Niko hears the sound of a door unlocking]"

Seriously? It was just the normal diologue. Nothing had changed. Player led Niko through the house, barely paying attention, simply, deciding to get Niko through Solstice again. Once they left the house, they had met with Prophetbot.

"[Ah!]"

Prophetbot ran over to Niko.

"[That Lightbulb...! You Are Here!]"

"Yes, that's what you said last time." Niko replied, their face showing up next to the text on the bottom of the screen."

"[Yes!]"

"[Welcome To Our World. Wait, What Do You Mean, Last Time?]"

"Last time we met, when it was supposed to be the final reset."

"[I Am Afraid I Do Not Know What You Mean.]"

"Ok," Player muttered to himself, knowing that Niko couldn't hear. "Prophetbot doesn't remember, but Niko does."

And then the realization hit him.

"Niko remembers. Like, proper remembers. No vague details, they remember what just happened."

"[Anyway, Welcome To Our World, Friend!]"

Player mentally noted that the Prophet HAD deviated from the original diologue when given an unexpected question by Niko.

"[I Am Most Humbled By Your Presence. Yes!]"

"I don't need an explanation" Niko unexpectedly said. "I know what the sun is, who Player is, what I have to do."

"[Oh? But, How?]"

"Because we've already done this." Niko had said, likely trying to jog the Prophet's memory.

"[This Is Our First Time Meeting.]" Prophetbot said, and Niko simply walked away.

A quick Google search on Player's end had revealed that Solstice really was supposed to be the end, and future runs could only consist of a hologram Niko generated by the World Machine.

Everything was the same. Barrens, blah blah blah, mines. Solstice activated, minecart spawned, finally Niko was faced with...

"Prototype!"

"[I...]"
"[Recognize the light in... what?]"

"Proto! it's me, Niko!" Niko cried again, trying to get the robots attention.

"[Yes. How... did you know my name?]"

no.

"We met here before when we saved the world. When we... fixed the World Machine?"

Proto was silent.

Too silent.

"[You cannot know about the World Machine. Only me, my siblings, and father are aware of such things.]"

Now, it was Niko's turn to quietly stare.

"[What did you say your name was, again?]"

"Niko. Please tell me you remember."

"[Remember what?]"

"Player, why doesn't he know? I thought he and his siblings were supposed to remember?"

"I don't know, Niko. I don't know." Player said out loud to a messiah that couldn't hear him.

"[Siblings?]"

"...yeah?"

"[I do not understand how you are aware of such things.]"

"Don't worry about it." Niko had started to dismiss the robot. "I'm the messiah, I have the sun. Just hand me the memory card so we can move on."

The rest of Solstice went on like normal. Niko did not attempt to discuss the repeat with ordinary residents of the world, only trying again once they reached Cedric.

"Cedric?"

"It's you!" The pilot said.

"You... um..."

"Niko." The small child replied. "Please tell me you remember us."

"Ah!"

"N-Nice finally to meet you! What do you mean us?"

"Me and Player. You don't remember us, do you?"

"I assure you this is our first time meeting."

"Ok, just forget it. Need help with anything?"

Many minutes later, Player had barely even been paying attention as he guided Niko into a small room containing a tree. Out came a familiar fox.

"You're here!!!"
"Niko!"

"Rue? Do you remember?"

"Did you... already meet the others?"

"We did, and we met the World Machine. We SAVED the World Machine!" Niko told the small fox.

"What? That's impossible. It's still-"

"You don't remember, do you?" Niko simply asked the fox.

"What are you talking about?"

"Nevermind, let's go to the clock room."

They did just that. And once they reached the World Machine, Niko and Player both knew that if they didn't remember, nobody would.

"[Niko...]"

"Do you remember us saving you?" Niko got straight to the point.

"[Relax. What are you talking about?]"

"The previous session, where we met?"

"[This is our first time meeting face to face. It shouldn't... Why did you come here!]"

"Impossible." Niko turned back to Player. "Why doesn't the World Machine remember? They should-"
"[You know my original name?]"

The conversation went as it should've from there. Hopefully, this would be the last time they met. That's something Player never really thought before. They wanted to be able to interact with Niko, and had always dreaded Solstice, only ever doing it out of guilt for keeping Niko trapped for so long.

Finally, they were saying goodbye.

"Looks like you managed to do it!" Cedric said.

"You managed to tame the World Machine, Niko!" Rue added.

"Yes, We did it... again."

"[You mentioned my name before I told it to you.]" Proto commented.

"And mine, and even the World Machine's!" Rue added, "How?"

"It happened twice. All of it. The minecart, the boat, the squares." Niko added.

"Hm. That's odd." Cedric said, "Do you think it could happen again?"

"Hopefully not, I should go now." Niko said, the others calling out their goodbyes as the small child entered the top of the tower and replaced the lightbulb.

In the once again well lit room, they exchanged goodbyes.

"I... have to say goodbye again."

"I hope I get to go home this time. I can see the field..."

"Go, Niko. The world is fixed, the final session is done." Player had been given that option, likely due to the World Machine's newfound cooperation.

"Player! You're finally saying something different!"

"I can only talk to you through specific sentences at specific times offered to me by the World Machine. Now, they are finally allowing us ot communicate."

"Ah." Niko said, "That explains it. I'm glad you weren't ignoring what was happening on purpose. Do you know why we had to do it all twice?"

"I don't. You should go now."

"I guess you're right. Goodbye, Player."

"Goodbye, Niko."

Player watched Niko disappear into the bottom of their screen. The program closed.

Player stared at their screen for a second, the simulated OS showing his fake wallpaper of Niko grasping the sun, their eyes closed. Why had he, and nobody else, been given this mysterious second chance? Niko had deviated from their predifined diologue, and so had everyone else when prompted. This was proof to him that, while everybody else's copies may have simply been a meta video game, what he had here was a universe. A digital universe filled with digital souls.

A black screen suddenly showed up, and the guides flashed before him, as if he was starting a new game. He clicked through them, and saw a familiar scene.

Niko woke up, back within the darkened room.

"Player? What is-"

He saw Niko looking around, this time deviating from predefined textures as well as code. They looked straight ahead, directly meeting Player's gaze.

No way. This can't be good.

Chapter Text

"Player? What is-"

Niko began to look around, before looking at Player.

"You... can't respond to me, can you?"

. . .

"Ok, let's-" Niko started, before stopping. They realized the world had reset again, and they were trapped, again.

"No, no, no!" Niko ran to the computer, and entered the password "SOLSTICE". The computer loaded up, and messages began to flash.

".  .  ."

They tried to click "OK", but couldn't. Player had to help.

"You found me."

"....Why?"

"You're already too late. Not much of the world remains"

"This will be apparent when you go outside."

"This place was never worth saving."

"...Do you still want to try?"

"Then, remember this:"

"Your actions here will affect Niko."

"Your mission is to help Niko leave."

Everything went by exactly as before. Why wasn't the World Machine remembering? They went through the house, finally meeting with the Prophetbot.

"[Ah!]"

Prophetbot ran over to Niko.

"[That Lightbulb...! You Are Here!]"

"Don't say that again. I already put it back. I put it back twice!"

"[I am afraid I do not know what you are talking about. Allow me to explain some things.]"

"[May I first ask how you arrived here?]"

"I already know all that." Niko said. "I have to get to Prototype."

"[Prototype?]" the Prophetbot asked.

"Yes, I have to get to him in the mines. I still have the journal-"

"[How do you know of him?]"

"Just-" Niko started, before simply running away, much to the confusion of the robot.

Player watched Niko head to Silver's house on their way to the mines. They had never moved without Player directly inputting joystick commands. How did that even work? Some kind of mind control? Come to think of it, the implications of that were... not so great. Nevertheless, that didn't seem to be necessary this time, as Niko had been through it all enough to know exactly what to do.

"Silver?" Niko said as they peaked their head in the door.

"[The lightbulb...]"

"[So, are you the "messiah"?]"

"I'm assuming you don't remember me, do you?"

"[I do not know what you mean. We have never met before.]"

"It doesn't matter, I'm going to the mines, and you probably wanna come with me."

"[It is my duty to accompany you at least once.]"

"You already have, but ok." Niko replied. As Player could only read what Niko says, he cannot hear things like tone of voice. However, based on their face, he could guess it was likely quiet and annoyed.

In the mines, Niko pulled out the journal, but nothing happened.

"Player?"

Player used the joystick to place Niko onto the clover, and then opened it again.

"Ah." Niko said. The minecart appeared, and soon they were met with the control room.

"Prototype, do you remember me?"

"[I...]"

"[...recognize the light in your eyes.]"

"[You are the person I am destined to meet.]"

"No!" Niko had snapped, causing the robot to step back. "We have already met. In fact, this is the third time, now."

"[I am afraid I do not understand..."]

"[Hey, you okay in there?]" A voice said behind them. The yelling had attracted Silver's attention.

"[I heard you shouting and wanted to come check...]" she started, before stepping forward.

"[...It's you...]"

"[...you're the robot that insisted on living in the mines, are you not?]"

"[My friend told me to...]"

"Neither of you remember anything?!" Niko suddenly cried, both robots looking at them.

"[What are you talking about?]" Silver asked.

"[Just now, you said my name. I hadn't yet given it to you.]" Prototype said, "[You mentioned us having met twice before.]"

"You," Niko turned to the taller robot. "Surely you remember our last two times coming to the mines."

"[No.]" Silver had said. "[We should go.]"

"First, I have to restore Prototype's memories," Niko said. "I have to configure this to a map of what the buildings are, right?"

"[Yes, the residential tracking system must be up to date for the memory backup to work.]" Prototype added.

"[Let me do it.]" Silver said, approaching the panel.

Soon, Proto had his memories, and the group was on their way back to to the minecart.

As Niko approached the Minecart, a message flashed on Player's screen.

"[I remember it... what happened in the Tower.]

"[What I tried to do... and how you managed to see through it all.]"

"[We HAVE been through all of this.]"

"More accurate than you think." Player said alloud to an entity that couldn't even hear him.

"[Even though it was only supposed to run once... you still managed to come back.]"

"The tunnel's about to collapse, just like the last two times, right?"

"[The what?]"

"[What happened?]"

"I can't even tell them." Player looked at the controls, quite literally at a loss of words.

Suddenly, a single option appeared on the screen, "Niko, explain what happened." Player clicked it.

"Hm? Why? Everyone already knows."

Another option, "Please, just explain it."

"Ok." Niko replied, "We met Proto back there in that room, this minecart collapsed..." (they basically just explained the entire plot of Solstice.) "...and when it finally came time to say goodbye, we were back in that dark room again. We went through everything I just described a second time, and then it reset again. Each time, nobody remembers anything abiut the previous "final sessions", and it's really weird and we don't know what's happening."

A message on the screen read "[Player, did you... somehow do this?]"

Two options: "Yes", and "No". Player clicked "No".

Another message, "[Do you know why this is happening?]"

Another yes or no. Player clicked "No".

"[Very well, this may be a problem. Guide Niko through it all again.]"

And Player did just that. From the mines, to the sacred ground, to the clock room, and finally to the Entity.

"[I suppose we have met before.]" the Entity said.

"Yes." Niko replied. It was strange, the experience was coded so that, while NG+ could be done endlessly, there was only ever supposed to he one Solstice run. How was this happening?

"[Player, there is an application on my desktop. One you may not recognize.]", the Entity said, facing Player.

Clicking the purple square in the corner, the Player went back to the desktop, and looked through the various "applications" that were apart of the simulated interface. OneShot, Music Box, Themes, Customize, Badges, Portals, Wallpapers, Diologue, Documents, Help, Friends, Gallery.

Wait, Diologue?

Player's eyes looked back to the symbol, a basic comic-style diologue box with lines representing text. They double-clicked it, and the window that opened up was a text box with 40 characters and a keyboard, containing 26 letters, 10 numbers, several punctuation marks, and several common words such as "yes", "no", and a few others. A popup appeared reading "Use this to communicate with Niko."

"Niko, can you hear me?" Player typed out.

"Yes, why?" Niko responded.

"The Entity gave me a new application."

"?"

"I can type out sentences."

"Instead of just picking between things."

"Cool!" Niko said, their face lighting up.

"[I thought this could help.]"

"[If this repeat thing doesn't stop, I mean.]"

"Ok." Player typed.

"[Before you leave, what happens to me?]"

"[At the end of the story.]"

"We helped you." Player typed, "We tamed you."

"[Very well.]" the Entity said, before the squares disappeared.

_

They didn't share a thing with any characters other than Proto, Rue, and Cedric. Once they reached them in the credits, they said their goodbyes, and Niko asked the question they were all likely thinking.

"What should we do?" Niko had asked the three. Rue was the one to answer.

"Keep going through the events as they originally happened. If it doesn't end after a while, come explain it to us again."

"We can do that, right Player?"

"Yes." Player replied.

"Ok, we better go." Niko said, the others saying their various goodbyes as they left.

_

The sun was placed, and now they were back in the well-lit room for the third time. The goodbye was slightly less emotional this time, as they both were aware of the likelihood of a fourth repeat. Niko entered the portal, and the OneShot window closed. Player waited a minute, and it reappeared. Guides, followed by the cutscene of Niko waking in the dark room. Player looked over at a whiteboard hanging on their wall and sighed, taking the cap off a black marker, and writing 3 tallies in the top-left corner.