Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Being in the woods was horrible, but being stuck in one for almost years? Horrendous.

Chapter Text

"That's enough, Yronica." 

The girl turned around, startled by the sudden interruption. Her 'anger' towards Aaaqil dissipated, turning into a a hint of irritation and annoyance towards him. He tried to take Callum's attention away, again.

She didn't love Callum, no. He was like a stupid puppy clingy to her and following her around like a damn lost boy. It was pathetic — really. Yet she found it pleasing, watch him always come crawling back each time an argument ensued, all because he wanted that same social status Yronica has—the popular kid—knowing damn well his popularity relied on her.

God, for all she cares, he could just go run over to Aaaqil anyway. That jock was annoying as hell, made great company but horrible humor, well, for her.

She stared at whoever was in the shadows that had interrupted her, her eyes searching for them. 

"Come out, Eman. I know that's you. Always is."

The wallflower walked out of the corner of the room, a low sigh escaping her. Her hands were already crossed infront of her chest, eyes looking Yronica up and down. "You shouldn't be doing this. Focus on the match and stop involving your personal issues during a round."

"Ugh. It's none of your business, Eman." 

"We need two more gens, and Aaaqil is needed for it." She checked the watch, eight minutes.

"Better be quick then." That tone. That damned tone, so full of disdain. Eman never liked the way she talked, so rude, so selfish. All she cared for was herself, she thought. Maybe—if that girl was shown a lesson, the she'd change? No way. The Mist is already a lesson. She's just hopeless. 

Aaaqil smiled at Eman, his glasses almost slipping off his face had he not notice it quickly. He wasn't close with Eman, nor definitely with Yronica, but they were still something he'd call.. 'friends'. 

He lets out a shaky exhale, preparing to exit the room alongside Eman, who looked behind her, a simple glare shot straight at Yronica. It was not hatred, just a threat.

The girl ignored her. Who was she to glare at her like that?! With-- with disdain?! With hatred?! Who does she think she is? She's not affected by her, she won't be. She's not vulnerable, nor was she weak that she'd just.. follow what Eman said.

But what was that deep, heavy feeling pooling in her stomach? Why did she feel disappointed—irritated. Not at Eman, but at herself. 

Tsk.

"Uhhh huhhhh.. two more gens and we're done!" Emery cheerfully hummed, his hands fiddling the wires of the generator with Gavin and Amari, his brows furrowed as he gritted his teeth.

"Uhh.. What the flip?" He clicked his tongue, the gen exploding as he lets go of the wires. "I am not doing this. Too boring, too complicated."

"Just help us get it done, kid," The officer mumbled, "then we can get out of this damned shit hole faster."

"Ack, right. Damn."

Amari still didn't approach the gen, instead, he seemed deep in thought. "I haven't seen the killer whether who it is. Pretty sure it isn't Android though, he's not doing shit that's messing up the gens and makes it harder."

"Not watcher neither." Sanjana emerged from the bush, Emery humming as he saw her while Amari looked surprised.

"The hell you came from??" 

"The bush."

"No, like, how did you get in the bush without a single one of us noticing.."

"Mari, just help with the gen! Stop babbling and help!" 

"Right, yeah, yeah."

"Has any of you seen Kelvin? I swear he was right beside me a few moments ago," the woman sighed, "that childish rat."

"I saw him casually walking around. He's not contributing at all this round." Gavin muttered, his eyes trailing over to the wires, his eyes slowly squinting as he tried to attach it together. He hummed as he managed to, his hands travelling to the next wire.

Sanjana hummed, her hand clasping on the detector Kelvin had lent her earlier. He gave it to him and said, "I'll go help with the gens!" But then she'll hear that he was just wandering around like an idiot? She swears, cursing that she'll certainly give him the sermon of his life once she finds her. He better pray that he hides faster than when she finds him.

"... I'll 'take care' of him." Muttered her, grinding her teeth against the other. Turning around to leave, she pivoted her head back one last time. "Hm."

She doesn't seem to respond any more further, a small sigh being the only thing she let out as she walked onto the staircase, sitting down on the pavement below.

Oddly enough, not a single one of them four saw the cracks that started to form below near the staircase, a faint red glow throbbing within it. Yet the three continued on with the gen, each time they had connected a wire ignited a spark within it.

Her head instinctively leaned sideward to her hand, her thumb finding her temple as she rubbed slow circles to ease the sudden headache that came to consume her thoughts. It was annoying, not having Iris near her, nor Kelvin bugging her. 

Kelvin bugging her?

Okay — when was she bothered about not having Kelvin bother her. But why was she so.. distraught. She shouldn't care that much — for all she knows is he could be slacking off in one of the rooms here at this.. stupid school. After all, he was like a damn parasite always sticking beside her — like a damn thorn in her way.

But why did she feel so worried? Why would she be worried? For all she cared — again — he could be hanging around with the others. For all she cared — he could be doing generators now. For all she cared — he could dead--

Dead. Again.

Her head throbbed, fingers trying to rub harder to soothe the aching pain that seared it's way into her skull. The last thing she needed in this hellhole was a bad headache and a slacking agent. The last thing she needed was to worry about a grown man. 

Kelvin. Where the fuck are you..

She stared at the gates, the mist almost taunting at the other end. It dared not seep through the damn holes of the gate, instead just sat there, waiting. Waiting. Don't look at me like that. It ridiculed her, laughing at her misery and the attempts of their so called agency's to 'capture' or to 'subdue' it. Stop. It's an anomaly, where are you so angry? Stop. It's fake. Don't believe in it.

She shut her eyes, counting each take of breath that she did in perhaps, hopes that it'd calm her down. She doesn't need anger to dictate her actions. She doesn't need to be crashing out over some stupid anomaly.

Then she opened her eyes.

"What the hell?--" Her breath hitched in her throat, eyes searching the surroundings that threatened to eat her whole. She rubbed her eyes, opening yet again to a whole new scene.

Screeches and screams of agony filled her ears, each sound horrifying than the last, each one filling her with rage. Wrecked buildings, debris spread across the city's street with people crushed underneath the rubble or vehicles that had turned over to maul their bodies. Explosion after explosion—each strong enough to make her feel unease despite knowing it can't harm her. Maybe—just maybe—it'd let her return in time, to subdue the terrorist, to end the terror he'd cause. Maybe, she'd be able to even stopKelvin from entering the rift, help the others, escape with them.

But the mist wouldn't do all that, it finds their suffering amusing. They're its chess pieces to a game they're all losing, to a game they're all dying.

Yet amidst the crowd—a certain silhouette caught her attention, their back turned to her. They laid motionless, standing still despite the chaos that surrounded them, and that lured Sanjana in. Her legs move slowly, each step bringing her closer and closer. Before she knew it, she was already reaching over to him. Him.

It can't be.

Sanjana gritted her teeth.

Is it baiting me? Why did I step forward? I should've thought more about my actions more. What am I doing? This is-

"Sanjana? What's wrong?"

She was right on her assumption, yet still was frozen in the shock, staring blankly at the man who wore blue led glasses, and practically the same uniform as Kelvin, if not more secure. Black hair was just as messy as Kiat's, a confused smile on his face. "Hello? You in there?"

That was a stupid question, of course she's in there, she thought. She pulled away, finally letting out a breath she didn't know she had held onto for so long. She had multiple questions, but one nagged on her more than the rest did.

What is he doing here—how is he interacting with her?

Shouldn't this be some sort of broken fragment of her memory used to taunt her? Shouldn't it be a haunting figment that would bring her guilt?

So why is this man talking with her so casually?

"You, how are you doing this," she uttered, "you're not supposed to be-"

"The exit gates are opened, you know? I bet Kelvin's already waiting." That pulled Sanjana out of her trance the same way that he was pulling her to the gates with him. The once sight of a city filled with destruction now returning to the gloomy and dark school.

Wait, is he really pulling her?

"Hey, let me go!" Multiple words of protest left her mouth as he continued to drag her, yet her eyes set on the courtyard.

Did Kelvin manage to get out?

P3-NG could feel his circuits running loose again despite his previous self-repair just a few hours ago. He's oddly starting be a bit faulty for a while now, his wires often starting to run loose after what had happened previously. It was a blessing the mist hadn't send him out there to a round yet, but he still had to focus on repairing his arm.

"And what is The Android doing?" A giggle broke free from the floor (?) as the girl pooled out of the crimson puddle that formed on the floor of P3-NG's cabin. He wasn't pleased having 'visitors' in his cabin, especially not when he's broken and when they come out of the floor. It was odd. Atleast her puddle doesn't leave any blood behind.

"What do you need?" 

"Just wanted to ask how you're doing? You rarely left your cabin after that match at Roanoke Woods." Ah right, that round. He believes that's where he started malfunctioning, or rather after it. Is it because he failed, letting the survivors win? Or did it have to do with the orb? Either way, it bought misfortune upon him.

"It's just my gears, nothing else."

"Maybe.. you haven't oiled it yet??? I'll tell the fish to come and help-"

"No. I need no one's help. I am perfectly operating and in no need of help."

"Hmm?" Kiara chuckled at that. No way in hell was he acting good—not when he looked like terrible shit. A patch of 'skin' were out of his body that showed gears and wires that stuck loose, a clear contrast to his claim.

"I'm not taking your word for it. You know, you can ask everyone out for help. We know we aren't exactly.. specialized or whatever you can it—for whatever your thing is..-"

"Robotics? Technology?"

"Ah, ah, yes! That. We can uhh maybe help out in some stuff.. you know. Err, like me giving you a makeover! Yes, yes!" She cheered, floating around him as she laughed. "Isn't that a fantastic idea?"

P3-NG can't help but feel a smile tug on into his lips. The girl's cheerful personality reminded him alot of Yan, when they were together. "If it's what pleases you, then it is what it is."

"You'd allow me?! Oh, you don't know what I have in store for you! I'd definitely give you some good casual and- and maybe formal outfits too! I think i have some suits but maybe you'd prefer sweaters? You seem like the type to wear a sando, oh so many decisions!"

The girl kept rambling on and on, jumping from one spot to another in a constant speed. It was amusing, at least in P3-NG's perspective. 

Chapter Text

"Dae-jung! Don't run from me!" 

A manic laugh escaped the man as he found himself trying to corner the other, who was desperately trying to find his path away from him. He's found himself running around in circles, growing increasingly tired as his stamina slowly ran out. He needed help, and quick.

As if his mind was read, a bullet grazed a wall nearby, hitting Ye-jun at his chest. He staggered, dropping his hammer aside then let out a low groan. He stared down at the ground before his expression twisted into anger, eyes searching for the man who had landed the hit on him. He glanced over at Dae- where's Dae-jung?

There he saw in the distance, his Dae-jung running off away from him, the green moss in the water sticking to his shoes, desperate strides just to get away from him. Dae shouldn't run from him, shouldn't run from his true, true love. 'Don't go', he wanted to speak outloud, to chase after him, but oddly, the bullet that had wounded him didn't heal immediately.

"Fuuuck..!" Through gritted teeth, he stepped aside and sat at the cold concrete ground. "Just heal already!"

He pressed a firm hand on the wound, wishing it'd just heal, yet he felt the damp spot growing further. He's attained worse than this, but why won't it heal? He needs to catch up with Dae-jung, he needs to have him in his hands, make sure he doesn't flee from him again.

Were his eyes blurring? Presumably. Even he can't tell. Was his vision always like this? He wears contacts for a reason — one of which to help his increasingly growing worse eyesight. Growing mad won't solve his problem, just like Christoph taught him, breathe in... breathe out.

He paused, adjusting his breathing to his liking, one in which he won't feel the pain in a manner that he'd consider it to be borderline agony. Oddly, this shot was much more painful than the hits he'd taken before. 

"Fantastic." He grumbled, fingers gently pressing to the wound. Several thoughts circulated to his head, one of which is taking off his shirt to cover the wound fully. The Mist won't allow that, as far as he knows, at the very least it doesn't allow inappropriate actions. He'd say he's pretty grateful for that, he does think that maybe he can attract Dae-jung closer to him by showing him his abs, though. But no, guess he'd bleed out until the round ends. It's ridiculous, really, he admits. 

Ye-jun pushed himself up once he saw a silhouette in the distance. Maybe, he'd feel better if he gets his hands on the figure. He finds that thought laughable, odd, like killing someone would magically heal it. Maybe he sgould've already kill that stupid officer. Well, better now than never.

Ye-jun managed to push himself up, fingers digging into the hard concrete wall, the force able to rip off a part of the wall if he were ever to insert his nails deeper.

He'd try to sneak up to the person, then it'd be a quick down, he thought. But where was the fun in that? Now, his only problem would be the wound. It's alright. If he can pick himself, he surely can at least have some amount of fun with him.

A few more steps, he thought. He can catch up to the man, who in particular, seemed rather confused and dazed. Was he new? No, Ye-Jun would've been informed then. Stunned? Yeah, no. Ye-jun doesn't have a stun ability. Maybe they were just plain stupid. Yeah, that's right. Like thar stupid jock.

The hammer was brought up to the air, poised to strike when he needed. He wasn't going to attack immediately, of course. He was going to give them a slight fright first.

"Boo." He laughed as he felt the terror of the other spiking up, their hand dropping a set of.. books, that they were holding. How did they sneak books here? Is that a new perk he wasn't made aware of?? A new person? 

"Ah! You scared me, si-" Both men froze as they stared into their reflections. They could see the glares of green each emits, the other a bit more softer than his. He's seen weird shit here, but fuck, what the hell? He already found it ridiculous to see Kiara alive and well — not out there for blood, but him? There's no fucking way there was a universe where he looked different, most certainly acted different by the looks of it.

"Who are you." Ye-Jun pinned the man to the ground with all the might he could muster. He didn't think about killing him yet, not with that handsome face he presumably stole. Did this man really tried impersonating him? That's funny. He'd say the other looked more like a damn university student with what he was wearing, with the vest and the armband. 

Wait. 

Wait, pause.

"M-Mister! Let's t-talk calmly.. and maybe.. drop the weapon." His arms were raised, but Ye-Jun insisted and kept him down, growing even more enraged.

"Who are you?" He questioned, the grip on his hammer shook, poised up to attack. "What in God's green earth is going on?!"

"Ye-Jun! M-my name is Ye-Jun!" Sure, he knew that, but what the fuck is going —that's the actual question he was an answer on. 

Albeit tempted, Ye-Jun let's go of the other, wincing when he pushed him off. "Rude."

"You.. look like me," the other pointed, who tilted his head as he inspected Ye-Jun. "Wait, no, you are me!"

"No shit, Sherlock." He grumbled, picking himself up and brushing the man off of him when he put his hand on his shoulder. "Are you pitying me? 'Cause if you are, I don't need it." 

"Geez.. angry much..?" He chuckled, coming off awkwardly as the silence threatened to consume them both. Ye-Jun was not amused. 

"10 seconds." He grumbled. "I hate this shit."

"What?"

Almost on cue, around 8 seconds later, mist seemed to slowly approach them, covering their sight and the surroundings. The Mist seemed to come out of nowhere, as if an anomaly mysteriously spawning in, at least, that's what the student thought. 

"What- what's going on?! Dae-jung, where's Dae-jung?!" 

"..."

Wren emerged from the dark, his sight set on the three working on a generator not far off the cabin's entrance. Despite the mask dimming his vision, he may have a clear view on who these are. His gut tells him it could potentially be Eiji, Yan, and Gabrielle. He'd say he's in an advantage. Those two girls can't run that fast, and he'd just be able to down them with a throw anyways. Plus, why not further irritate the jock by killing off his brother? He loves that idea. 

The thought made him laugh, his hand already reaching to grab for the knife in his pocket. He admired the shine of the sharp blade, his hand retracting back before he threw it off—landing a shot on Yan's head.

Gab shrieked, abruptly letting go of the wires as she dragged Eiji along with her. 

That blow left a graze on her cheek, a small one thankfully. "Sorry... I really need to apologize to Yan.. I saw on the tracker that he was on the same spot for 5 seconds and didn't tell neither of you!"

"Hey, it's okay. Yan and I understand. Look, let's just find the others and help out with the generators, yeah?" Eiji let out a sigh, patting her back gently. "You can't really expect everything to go right into what you planned, even if you have the proper resources."

"Yeah, yeah.. let me just.. rest for a little while." Eiji understands. The girl wasn't really on the athletic side, though she proved herself just right with her intelligence. It's amazing who someone like her could create such a device. Eiji would say he fits the criteria for the word "smart," but one not enough to reach this level of intelligence.

"Hey, I've been trying to find you since earlier!" Both heads turn to the door. There stood Jun, who looked rather bored. He would want to be anywhere but in his hellhole, everyone wanted to.

"Well, is something wrong? Why were you looking for me?" 

"Actually, I am sort of looking for everyone — but whatever! I need you to come with me, you especially Gabrielle."

Gabrielle raised her brow, staring back at Jun with a certainly unamused expression. Jun's great at distracting — but he always gets in trouble with at least one of the survivors once a day. "Me? Did you get in trouble? Again?" 

"Would someone for once stop asking if I got in trouble whenever I ask for their help?" Jun muttered through gritted teeth. "But whatever, that's not what I'm here for. I just need both your help, smartypants."

"Is it a generator?"

"I suppose not. He's pretty stubborn and won't show that he actually can't do generators efficiently." Eiji snorted. That, for a matter fact, was true.

"Make fun of me later, for the love of God." The jock tugged Eiji by his sleeve, practically dragging the shorter boy with him who kept thrashing and babbling protests that Jun presumably can't hear at all. Or deliberately ignored by him. Either way, both felt correct. Gabrielle followed behind, who started giggling at the sight. Their bond together was wholesome, teasing here and teasing there, but mostly filled with love. Gab would say she's pretty jealous right now, but that doesn't matter. 

Jun carefully led them to the once Archery range, now practically destroyed with a glowing orb above and maybe bits of an asteroid or meteor on the ground? Eiji can't really tell — since as far as he can remember — this was the spot they found both of the Harris, Kiara, then Jun's counterpart as well as Seoung's. That was one of the times Eiji actually understood the gravity of just what The Mist can do, and what it is willing to do just to entertain themselves. It's borderline eerie and uncanny to know that an anomaly that isn't even supposed to exist, just straight-up kidnapped them and placed them in a sort of pocket dimension.

"Well? Why and what are we here for?" Gabrielle huffed as she checked the phone. 532. That's far enough. "You can't have just dragged us here for nothing!"

"I didn't drag you both here for nothing, obviously!" Jun cleared his throat. "Look, there's something wrong with it, I swear. I just can't place it. My best take for the moment was find you both, ya know?!"

Eiji hummed as he looked around. It looked fairly normal to him, the same large blue orb hovering above the generator, the cracks spreading and growing it's usual blue with a hint of red.

"Nothing's off. I like the red tint and all-"

Wait.

Wait.

"Is it supposed to have red?" Eiji murmured.

"What?" Jun asked, confused. "What is?? Complete your sentences, ugh."

"The cracks — it's supposed to glow the same color as the source — which is the orb." Gabrielle explained for Eiji. "I do notice a faint red pulsing inside the cracks. And with each pulse, the crack seems to spread.. it is slightly concerning. Not that we had some crazy activity happening for what? About a year now? Last crazy incident I wish would happen would be this whole twisted timeline thing."

"How have we not noticed this before, then? It spreads quite fast too.." He took out his camera and snapped a few pics of the cracks in different angles, including the orb in some frames. This would be useful for later. Well, he hoped it would. Though, Sanjana and Kelvin will surely have an idea about this.

"Must be recent. When was the last round on this map?" 

"Err.. well, Seoung and Makoto were here.. umm.." Jun paused.

"Well, that's like, four rounds ago. We have an idea! Okay, now investigation moment." She seemed pretty proud of herself. As she should. The gal was pretty intelligent, Jun admired her bravery at times as well. 

"We better hide, though. I am not risking my brains exploding to bits with Slasher's knife."

"Euuggh.. now I remember when I blinked while doing a generator and was suddenly back at the cabins as soon as I opened them. I found out he threw the knife at me through the gaps of the metal bars at that hospital. Shivers. Seriously."

"His knife would probably have remnants of our brains had it not been for the mist erasing any trace of blood and flesh at their weapons and clothes." Jun replied with a laugh.

"Do you think they can harm each other too?" Gabrielle wondered. "I suppose The Mist would allow them. I mean, Finley bears hatred against humans, which is the majority of them. Then there goes Principal Ross.. who's practically angry at everyone. I think it'd allow them, but only at a certain limit, not to the point they'd die."

"It sounds ridiculous. Being on the other side, I'd expect them to atleast have common ground towards each other. I guess not everything is resolvable."

"I mean, how would you feel if someone you love gets killed by other species? That's what happened with Finley, right?" 

"That's cool and all, but we're steering far from our main point here. You said the cracks are only supposed to grow blue, Gab? If so, why would there be red?" He squinted his eyes as he crouched down, fingers slowly reaching out to trace the carves and cracks on the ground. He did notice one thing. Each time his finger pressed on the floor below, the glow would ominously grow brighter, each time stronger than the last.

He pressed firm on the ground, keeping it that way for a few seconds before retracting back.

"Odd."

"Hmm? Notice something?" She looked down at the ground. "Hey, is the ground supposed to be this soft?"

"I don't think so."

"Maybe we shouldn't even be here." Eiji spoke up. "We might activate some sort of Mist teleportation.. uh.. timeline thing.."

"Eiji, it does not work that way." The girl looked at him with a slightly dumbfounded expression while silence followed. Jun, on the other hand, seemed to be trembling slightly, his expression curling as he bit his lip. Don't laugh. Don't laugh. He did surprisingly good holding it in, had he not, then Eiji would have started sulking and ignoring him later once they're back at the cabins.

Jun paused, looking at the large rock infront of him. He recoiled, when he traced human breathing that he hadn't sourced was there earlier.

"Who's there?" The question made Eiji and Gabrielle look at him oddly, almost wondering who he was talking to before they turned their gaze to the rock. They could see hair sticking out, a figure hiding behind it.

"Get out. Quit hiding." Gabrielle stated. "And state your name, will you?"

A figure emerged from behind the boulder, blond and rather well-built. He has similar attire to Kelvin, same vest as well as the earpiece. He would be lying if he said he hadn't heard of a person similar to the descriptions of the person in front of him. 

"Kiat Muang. That's my name."

"I've feel like I've heard that name before. I do have issues with recalling memories though, so it's a bummer!" Gabrielle chuckled. "Sorry, I may have sounded rude at first. Well, I'm Gabrielle Cole! Mister glasses here is Eiji Inagaki, and this tough dude is Jun Inagaki! They're both siblings, that much is obvious."

"I see. It's a pleasure then to meet you." Kiat smiled, though seemed a bit uptight. He was confused on how he landed here. First, he was running from the agency after.. that. Then, he awoke to this strange woods. Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if it's what connects the human realm to the afterlife. It's one of the few.. senseless things Alexei has been talking to him about each time they talk.

"Oh, and before you question it—I invite you to run with us!" Gabrielle smiled awkwardly as Eiji kept looking back.

"What?" 

"Run!" Jun pushed them forward to give them slight speed as he guarded them from behind, ready to brace a stab or a throw. Slasher was already at their heel, ready to strike as soon as they turned the corner into the broken cabin and..

...

He paused as a person who looked a whole like him suddenly grab his arm and try to pry the knife off. They had the similar mask and all, even the vest but a size smaller. Though, he didn't have time to dwell on such ridiculous things. He can't let go of the knife. This is his knife. The knife his wife gave him, one marked with his initials at the handle. He just wanted this person to scram off and mind their own business, he didn't need another pest in his way.

He grabbed the person's hand and pinned them on the wall, yet the person managed to slam him down on the ground. With a grunt and a intake of air, he managed to flip their position, pinning the other down as he kicked their mask away, then took off his own to breathe freely after that wrestle.

He had his eyes closed as he huffed, almost confused as to why the person underneath wasn't squirming away or fighting him off (which was stupid, in his opinion). Eitherway, some just accept their fate and die off to his hands, like-

"Wren?.."

...

Did you hear that?

He knows that voice. It's very familiar. A voice he's longed to hear, the voice he's begged the heavens to let him hear one last time.

Despite his hope, he feared if he, again, was just hallucinating. But what bad would it do if he just..

Stared down...

There laid a pair of eyes that stared up at him, frozen in shock as well. Eyes he's seen dead years ago.

"I've grown to love those eyes of brown that replicated the soft and gentle features you have. My dear, would you be so kind to stare at my deep ocean blue eyes?"