Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ah yes, the classic isekai scenario- saving a guy from getting hit by a truck, and getting hit yourself. The collective knew it well as their host often watched isekai media (That time I got reincarnated as a slime [though they haven't really watched it much recently], Campfire cooking in another world, My next life as a Villainess: All routes lead to doom! And other such titles- not including the… frankly absurd amount of isekai phighting fics they had read recently) and was actually quite a writer of them.

So it wasn't much of a surprise that they ended up floating in a strange abyss now. They actually ended up lucky- not just being unceremoniously plopped in another body and all

"Oh, that is… the most messy soul I've seen. Er- souls I should say! How abstract- a system I assume?"

Ah, that must be the sponsor or God or whatever. They nodded- if they even had a head anymore, they weren't too sure. They were kind of just a collective mess of abstract shapes right now.

"Well then- you did quite the good deed before dying albeit it being a common troupe in these sorts of situations… according to this diagram, you saved both directly and indirectly…"

There was the sound of shuffling paper and mumbling.

"Well, you've only directly saved two lives- but indirectly you've saved… millions! That person you saved was a doctor researching a vaccine for a virus that would have caused essentially a 2020 2.0 if you didn't save them!"

"… huh. Guess our weird luck worked in our favor?" The host, Victor spoke

"Seems so- but saving that many lives even indirectly was quite the feat… and the sacrifice. You will get a few extra special powers or wishes for that."

Suddenly someone else came to front- Shadow milk, as he often does. He speaks "Sooooooo where are you sending little old us? Will we be separated? It would be DREADFULLY BORING without Victor's little writer shenanigans I will say!"

"H-hey! What did I say about randomly taking front-"

"Whaaaaaat? It's a good question! Considering we cohost this joint ALLL the time you should be thanking me!"

"… Ugh. He does have a fair point- where are we being sent?"

They could almost FEEL the metaphorical shit-eating chaotic grin of whatever entity is about to say.

"Oh, nowhere in particular, just phighting-"

"FUCK WE ENDED UP IN A FANFIC DIDN'T WE."

"…"

"Well- Emergency meeting for us!"

After much mulling over their options, they collectively decide on something- but not before Subspace fronted to ask a VERY important question.

"What about us that are native to the Phighting universe? Eugh, still feels weird to say that even after years-"

"Well, I cannot exactly separate your souls fully, but I can at least work out a compromise- as a freebie. You know of madoka magica correct?"

Victor suddenly returned to speak "Are you a Kyubey clone or some shit? Will we have to fight witches and go through endless angst when we get there??"

"I am not, and you will not. I am simply taking some… Inspiration from soul gems and grief seeds. They will simply be similar-looking to indicate they are vessels for your souls, with your 'main body' of sorts having one shaped like a grief seed to indicate who they are. Think of it as a… more advanced telepathy."

"Oh thank fuck. Thought I was about to witness a tragical girl au unfold with the setting being phighting but with madoka magica slapped on. No offense."

"None taken. Question- do you want your old body's name wiped from your mem-"

There was a unanimous "yes" from the collective.

"Understandable. Well, what are your wishes then?"

Victor decided to be the one to ask for the wishes, being the host and all. "We wish for shape-shifting into anything."

"Ah- an Understandable first wish, what is your next?"

"Oh shit we got more-? Uhhh… The ability to summon any weapon, not just gears- but anything from other universes too. Wouldn't be fair to Faust if she didn't get to use her stuff ever again, or shadow milk, or anyone else not in phighting."

"Ohhh, fitting one for you lot! It makes sense, usually I wouldn't allow this, but you do make a fair point- it wouldn't be fair. I'll allow it, but any weapon you do use other than your main one will be limited in how much you use it. Don't just think of it as an automatic win button."

"Fair."

"And- you have one last wish!"

"…" Victor knew this was stereotypical, but the idea of putting up his own little archives thing was VERY funny. "A Laptop with internet connection to the human world. I'm going to make so many people confused in BOTH worlds."

"… that is stereotypical but that does sound funny- ah, fuck it! I'll allow it as long as you don't try contacting family members from the dead."

"Like hell I would- don't like em much anyways."

"You're going to block them instantly to prevent them from knowing aren't you? I'll do that for you if you wish."

"Thank you… Uhm. What's your name."

"I am the Patron of Creativity! Call me [CREATIVITY] for short or something. I don't often do this, you were simply a special case- and a creative soul did draw me to you."

"The nerd who-"

"The nerd who's writing this, yes."

"Alright. Anything else we need to know?"

"Ah- yes- there is a special procedure for types like yourself. You get to create your own body with some restrictions! Think of it as a default body of sorts- you will also be given a default gear if you wish, for self-defense."

Victor internally mulled over this until he gets an idea.

After some sketching and redesigning, Victor gave the design to the incomprehensible being. Of course he had a blast with this.

"Alright- Vampire Hunter's Crossbow? And- oh that's an interesting design. Yeah, you can go with this. You WILL be starting from scratch though- no magic apartment or whatever, straight from a random spawn of the four at the age you're at right now, which… Is around 18 I see? You died quite young."

Victor nodded as everyone internally braced themselves for the inevitable rough ride of the reincarnation. Off they went!

—

[V. CROSS / VESSEL FRONT: VICTOR]

And a rough ride that was, because this spawn apparently took the Darksteel fic's approach as the newly-reborn body of the system struggled to crawl out of the fountain with multiple figures gathered around watching. Gods- their muscles ACHED. Their eyes were bleary as Victor, front stuck as he often was, looked around at the demons for anything defining-

… oh shit, that was the Blackrock symbol. He was officially cooked unless subspace remembered his little redesign session with everyone and decided to give them mercy. Ah well, to unconsciousness they all go they guess. The woes of reincarnation he guesses- gotta have an interesting story and all.

—

[SUBSPACE]

Well, she was pleasantly surprised that she kept her memory from all that.

Subspace, or subspace tripmine if you will, had always had her qualms about being in a human body- but the one thing she didn't miss was her rot. She grabbed the little soul-gem-like object at the side of her table as she registered just how bad her rot truly was. Well, mull over THAT later- first is testing out the shape-shifting. Well actually she just decided to summon a small dagger because it would be suspicious if she suddenly looked and talked wildly different, thankfully her acting skills were quite good now that she's watched Victor front enough.

Speaking of- she heard something on the morning news of a stuckspawn that had crawled their way out of the spawn and hissed before fainting. Apparently they were about 18, a record, but would probably need rehab and mobility aids along with… extra education. Oh that is going to be rough on Vict- V. Cross. She can only hope the rest of the collective was going to be put in the crystal research department or robotics- she knew that they would absolutely NOT want to be a mercenary.

Welp. She had hoped it wouldn't be Blackrock, so she might as well contact the others- instinctively she tapped the soul gem twice, it somehow opening something akin to a discord server in function. How useful.

-

{Subspace T. Mine!!!}

@everyone hello! I figured out how this works so I am here to tell you V. Cross was sent to Blackrock. I'll try to make sure they all don't end up as a mercenary we don't need another layer of trauma on our hands

{Dark fish creature (Darkheart)}

Oh by our own name that's not good.

{Medkit.}

Oh no. As if I wasn't worried enough about Victor loosing it or the church finding our about him and the others.

{Broker!!! C:}

Medkit said that worst case they'd end up as a mercenary- but a little birdie told me they probably aren't going down that path due to their legs being bad!

{Grim repah (Ghostwalker)}

I best give a small blessing to prevent them from dying too soon- unless that [CREATIVITY] fellow added some "plot armor" to prevent that.

{HELLHOUND!! (Coil)}

Shiiiit Blackrock??? No offense but like that was top in "pray they don't spawn there" list for a good reason!!! NOT EASY TO LEAVE!

{Medkit.}

I can attest to that.

{Sanest Scythe Around}

Welp- if worst comes to worst, temporary church member is better than nothing- I'll make sure to keep em away from the more violent parts knowing how Victor handles blood. And death. He may be a writer but considering… everything it may be a good idea to make sure they're a fair ways away.

{Sk8bardr (skateboard)}

Wow. Really do attest to that nick eh scythe?

{Sanest Scythe Around}

I WAS there the longest.

{Sk8bardr (skateboard)}

Fair point.

—

[V. CROSS / VESSEL CO-FRONT: VICTOR, SHADOW MILK]

Both Victor and Shadow milk could agree on one thing: oh gods this was high school all over again. The worst and most embarrassing part was the physical and stamina training yes but also nobody else was paying a LICK of attention! He, Victor, personally thought the lectures on the crystals were fascinating. And the biograft lectures- he actually wondered how their biograft alter was doing. Probably off doing their own thing.

Victor doodled schematics while Shadow Milk was listening to the lecture as well and adding notes to the paper too. The teacher of sorts came up to V. Cross and pointed at the equation on the board. Victor turned the paper over and wrote down the equation, him going with the answer that felt right. The teacher looked genuinely startled at how he solved the equation and his answer.

Thus, the next three days proceeded of him taking many tests with all of his math knowledge. Guess it helped him land a job for them in the crystals research department! Fun.

They were left to train under Subspace, due to her being the head of the department and all, and after the higher-ups left them to their devices Subspace let out an audible sigh of relief and fiddled with her soul gem thing.

"Sooo… weather sure is weather huh?" She said awkwardly.

"… Just please don't do any of your freaky experiments in front of me- please." V. Cross spoke.

"Yep got it- well! I might as well give you a tour! I'll try not to make you walk too much as I've heard that you get tired after walking for too long even with those aids- so!" Subspace lead them around, showing them the various labs and such until they ended up in the crystal research area.

"I assume this is where w- … 'I' will be stationed?"

"Correct! There's been a recent discovery of a new type of Crystals that we don't quite know what they do yet, so you will be researching that along with myself!"

"Good to know. Where's the equipment for lab safety?"

"…"

"Don't tell me there is none…"

"…"

"… welp. Don't know what I expected. I'm kinda disappointed though. Guess we'll get to it!"

"Yep agreed end of conversation!"

The two got to work, with V. Cross diligently writing down notes as Faust comes to front to help with the research.

"It seems that these crystals have a property that allows them to change color… Faust wonders why that is."

"Oh- seems like they change colors to whoever is closest to them! Fascinating… what happens if we refine them then?"

"Faust questions what you mean by that."

"Ah- I mean cutting and shaping them like many other gems!"

"Hm. We shall see then. Faust wonders if a Teardrop shaped cut will bring this crystal the most shimmer, or perhaps a different cut."

"Maybe…"

"Hm… Faust notices it also reacts to who is in front- a small glimmer of a color related to them when coming to and fro but not much else."

"Really now? Fascinating indeed- I would tell you to note that down but… they really don't need to know about humans."

"Faust agrees."

After some time finding the right cut for the crystal (turns out Subspace was right on the Teardrop cut being best) and small experiments, they prepare to test the crystal's capabilities.

The first test failed- as it didn't react much other than exploding into a mist until Shadow Milk noticed something.

"OhhohoHOOO! NOW THIS IS INTERESTING!~ It seems to make us faster and lighter! It's almost like we can float it's that much easier to move!"

"Fascinating… but it's also not quite at its full power- I can tell something's barring that…"

After a few more experiments, V. Cross accidentally got a paper cut that bled a bit on one of the crystals causing it to glow. Faust notices this.

"Faust thinks these crystals are activated on contact with blood. Look."

"Hm- oh, yeah it does look that way…"

"… Faust has a sudden foreboding feeling."

Victor suddenly returned to front, saying "that's called the call of the plot. Something is gonna happen and you can feel it. The Goober writing this is plotting"

"Faust does not like that idea."

"Neither do I," Subspace chipped in, "But it's more likely than not that this will get a bittersweet ending. You know how Victor loves those, and it's probably an alternate version of him writing this" She joked.

"Fair point."

"Faust does agree- in the infinite amount of mirror worlds, it is a possibility."

-

A few days later, disaster struck- because of course it did.

One of their co-workers, seething with jealousy, attacked V. Cross and shoved a Teardrop shaped crystal DIRECTLY in their eye. To say that hurt like fuck is an understatement. A scream of agony rang out from them as they shot at their attacker with their gear and made a mad fucking DASH out of there- taking as many crystals as possible with their power while not noticing that the Teardrop shaped crystal shoved into their eye was now hooked between their horns and floating there. Welp! Thankfully they remembered the group chat thing, and pulled out their grief-seed-like soul container to tell the others.

-

{Victor/V. Cross}

@everyone HGELP WE GOT A CRYSTAL SHOVER IN OUR EYE BY A COWORKER THAT WAS JELAOUSE WE WERE WORKING WITH SUBSPACE IT BURNS AND HURTS LIKE SHIT OW OW OW

{Sanest Scythe Around}

Ohhhhhh shit hold on we gotchu- you okay with dealing with the church for a bit? I'll try to uh. Keep you out of the murder aspect.

{Victor/V. Cross}

ANYTHING TO GET US THE HELL AWAY FROM THERE THIS IS AGONY

{Subspace T. Mine!!}

Ohhh shit that's- oh no I'm getting deja vu you didn't take the other guy's eye did you

{Medkit.}

I do hope history did not repeat itself with this blunder.

{Subspace T. Mine!!}

You and me both! Not only that- I don't want to deal with a crazy idiot who's obsessed with me too!

{Victor/V. Cross}

I DIDN'T BUT I HAVE A FEELING THEY'RE GONNA TAKE THEIR OWN EYE- HI BROKER I SEE UR ONLINE PLZ HELP

{Broker! C:}

Dw! I can get you in hiding lickety split! Just gotta wait for a news channel aaaaaand there it is! Omw! C:

{Light bulb (Illumina)}

I look away from this for five minutes and now V. Cross is a Blackrock fugitive… ah well. I'll give you a small blessing V. Cross to keep you lot from being easily detected.

{Victor/V. Cross}

THYANK YOU

{Dark fish creature (Darkheart)}

Don't leave us out on this! We'll help too!

{ZETA #420 NICE LMAO (Biograft)}

I ALSO HELD THAT SCIENTIST OFF FROM BECOMING A NUISANCE. ALSO I HAVE BEEN STALKING CHAT FOR A WHILE QUIETLY SORRY FOR NOT TALKING. ALSO TURNS OUT I CAN HOP BODIES THAT'S FUN

{Victor/V. Cross]

THGANK YOU

-
V. Cross weaved into an alleyway, meeting up with Broker, Scythe, and Medkit. Victor knew the two deities, Illumina and Darkheart, were hiding nearby to prevent their blessings getting detected by the church.

"You look rough buddy! You need some help hiding from Blackrock?" Broker smiled knowingly.

"Y-yeah that would be appreciated- thanks-" Victor knew his acting skills would come in handy for this one.

"… Subspace-"

"Was not the one to do this to me. Some other crazy idiot was obsessed with being Subspace's assistant and stabbed a crystal in my eye." He purposefully omitted some info with this, more specifically Subspace's pronoun change as he knows she's going incognito with that for now.

"Ouch. Well, that makes the ritual somewhat easier, ain't it? Here, put this in yer eye socket won't ya?" Scythe handed him the glass eye.

"… this is gonna hurt like a bitch but oh well- gHK-" he shoved the glass eye in his eye socket as it seemed to… malfunction.

"Oh dear- he's incompatible!"

"Eh? Yer incompatible with the eye?"

"That's unfortunate- makes it harder to make sure you're safe!" Broker winked. Ah, so they planned this.

Medkit patched up V. Cross as they telepathically conversated about a plan to keep them there in the church until they can faction-hop to Playground or Thieves den- or better yet, crossroads.

-

A few days in the church was all V. Cross needed to see that the church was not very… welcoming to newcomers. Ah well, a room and food to eat was all they really needed. Right now they were testing something in particular- their internet. It seems like their internet ran concurrent with their world's time and stuff but everything is labeled as "FREE" for them… welp time to confuse people!

- Tumblr Post -

✒️ the-parallel-corvids

Guess who just got fucking isekaied. Me.

🌲 tree-hugger-extroadanare

Victor. Victor wtf do you mean. Please tell me you're joking.

✒️ the-parallel-corvids

Yeah no I'm not joking Truck-Kun came for us and now we're in phighting like a SI fanfic

🐉 dratini-lover

BESTIE WHAT. SEND PICS

✒️ the-parallel-corvids

Yeah sure- usually we're nervous around cameras but I'll make a exception because yeah-

[A series of pictures of V. Cross attempting to pose in goofy ways]

Feel free to question both me and my sanity cuz like this is the best proof I can give you

👁 broker-entusiast

WHY ARE YOU IN TCOTTE?????

✒️ the-parallel-corvids

The most elaborate escape plan in the inpherno. Don't ask

-

Welp, that's enough for today- time to figure out how to escape to crossroads. Or something. But first, it might be a good idea to get a good night's sleep… and so V. Cross collapsed into the netted bed, drifting off as the collective began to slumber peacefully for the first time in a long time.

—

[CREATIVITY]

"Ah, hello readers! I do hope you liked this chapter- it was quite the ride to watch was it not? Well- you might be wondering why I'm here, yes? As is standard in these situations, these Goobers will sow the seeds of a chaotic storyline just by existing- but I'm taking a page from another's book, and saying that you can send things to V. Cross as well! It will be filtered of course, nothing TOO overpowered- I'm actually surprised they haven't done such things yet either with what they do have but that might come in time- but perhaps something fun or something to aid in their escape! And maybe something overpowered IF it is funny."

"Have fun, dear readers!~"

—

Chapter Text

[V. CROSS/VESSEL COFRONT: VICTOR, SHADOW MILK, AND BILL CIPHER]

The plan was hatched via their little chat thing. Because it seems like both Bills (yes, there are two, book of bill version is separate for some reason) have gained a little bit of power back from being in a less-reality-bound-world, they would pretend their body was possessed by an otherworldly eldritch entity and purposefully get kicked out!

Shadow milk was writing down the plan internally as Victor began to get them dressed up for the day- he will say, they do look snazzy in this butler outfit. And you heard that right: butler! Scythe managed to make them her and broker's 'personal butler' for the time being until they can pull off the plan- as the 'true welcome ceremony' was going to take place today welcoming new members.

… why was their neck itchy? It's been itching all day. Well, doesn't really matter. They made sure to put their horns into teal mode- don't want them getting spotted without the classic color around here. Off the body went, as Victor wondered about how their friends were doing back home. He should… probably pop up on discord and explain what happened. He'll have to triple check on their parents being blocked on everything though.

Well- at least he never has to worry about being deadnamed ever again now that he doesn't even REMEMBER it. They carted the food from the kitchen area to Scythe and Broker's personal eating area before getting food for their body themself- for some reason they're just. Insatiably hungry right now. He has a bad feeling this is plot related. Damn you foreshadowing? He guesses?

Well, off to the ceremony.

—

[NO POV EXPOSITION]

Once, there was two factions of Demons, not very well known. The Hunters, and the Vampires. Vampires are supernatural- though some gears mimic them, true Vampires always crave one thing: blood. The Hunters are normal demons, who had vowed to hunt the cursed to extinction, at one point led by a legendary demon with a Vampire Hunter's Crossbow as their gear- and the last Vampire that they had slain spoke of a prophecy.

"In 2000 year's time… there will be another with your gear… and they shall bring about chaos- becoming the most powerful Vampire this world will ever see… just you wait- as this fate would be all your fault."

This prophecy, once uttered, was lost to the sands of time… and that day, 2000 years later, a stuckspawn just so happened to crawl out of the spawn and take their first breaths.

But the lot would not follow that prophecy fully, because, and I quote "Prophecies of doom like that are for boomers".

—

[V. CROSS/VESSEL COFRONT: VICTOR AND BILL CIPHER]

Damn they were hungry. But unfortunately, they couldn't get seconds as they had to go to the ceremony along with the other few saps that got dragged here. Victor honestly felt bad for many of the cult members that got forced here… well, it's time.

The priest stood at the front, beginning to speak absolute gibberish about the truth and the truest of eyes (Victor could hear Shadow Milk protesting on that) before they called for each member individually to give them a 'blessing'. Eventually, at the very last, V. Cross was up- it was Bill's time to shine, how long has it been has it been since he's gotten to do this? Too long! And even better, they asked for a HANDSHAKE!

Bill grabbed the priest's hand, a blue flame igniting as he absorbed a bit of their energy to begin floating and proceeding to change the body's appearance while laughing like a maniac.

"AHAHAHHAHAHHA! WHAT A REFRESHING FEELING- GOOD TO BE BACK! Too bad Sixer isn't here! He woulda LOOOVED to see this, really! And ohhh what a vessel this one is! I feel like new!"

There was a commotion as inphernals scurried to back away from him.

"What? You lot are SCARED of little old me? I truly am insulted- I just came here because I finally found someone compatible with me, not that LOUSY CLONE! AHAHAHAHHAHA! LET'S GET WEIRD, SHALL WE?!"

Using some practical effects (and help from darkheart) he sowed the seeds of chaos in the place, seeing all the inphernals attempting to pray and panicking.

"WELL! This seems like a MIGHTY FUN little cult to mess with- but I must say this joint is BORING! I will take my leave- and remember… REALITY IS AN ILLUSION, THE UNIVERSE IS A HOLOGRAM, BUY GOLD, BYEEEEE!!"

And thus Bill "teleported" away (he really just made the body invisible in time with some practical effects) and got to the randevuz point with the transport that Ghostwalker had arranged as Victor returned to front and Bill went back to the bigger part of the headspace, causing their body's horns to return to their normal rusty orange- wait… was it redder than before? That had to be a hallucination right. Right.

Well they were off to crossroads! About time! Good thing they also brought a change of clothes- the church ones were getting stuffy anyways.

-

Victor was still looking around for jobs, and he found the perfect one: a bookstore. Now, as he wasn't the type to read too much other than fanfic or the occasional classic for the sake of writing fanfic (if someone let him he would read the entirety of Don Quixote's original source material just to make a fanfic for the limbus company character) he didn't often go to bookstores as much as he wanted to.

He was essentially asked by their boss to just keep the place clean- which wasn't too hard, as the most they usually had to do was dust and not really have to interact with customer-

Wait.

What the hell is that.

V. Cross picked up the Definitely-not-there-before book and looked at the cover, which at first was in Korean but then translated into English in an instant reading "A guide to E.G.O, its extraction, and its properties: by Ayin".

… Welp. This was theirs now. Ain't NO WAY they're letting anyone else touch this. Too damn dangerous in any demon's hands. He pocketed the book and continued dusting the shelves as he itched at his neck again for the umpteenth time this week- its been really itchy, they should… get that checked out. Also, they've been getting wicked sunburns- time to invest in a parasol he guesses. And better sunscreen.

… damn they are craving pizza now. And a hug. Maybe get some more plushies for their apartment until they can actually feel not-anxious enough to talk to people IRL. They ruminate as they closed up the shop for the day and went to the nearest public library to boot up their own little archive project.

- Rotube Post -

{Gone Angels - Mili}

✒️ Infinity Mirror Archive

Description: The boss theme for one of a certain library's closing acts. This is not mine, I simply re-uploaded this as the mirror showed this to me.

🥳 Playground's biggest partier!

Holy shit??? What a way to reveal the name of a species in ur ARG man this shit rocks-

✒️ Infinity Mirror Archive

One, this species spoken of- humans, are one of the most numerous of beings in mirror worlds, despite there being an infinite amount of them. They are animals, unlike us demons. As in, legitimate animals, classified as mammals.

Two, they will not quite be shown visually yet, as the mirror has not deemed it quite appropriate at the moment- they will be shown in due time, as the mirror wills.

🔥 Fire breather of old

WAIT IS THAT WHY THERE'S ALWAYS THAT BLACK SQUARE COVERING THEIR HEADS??? When will we be worthy of this almighty mirror man

✒️ Infinity Mirror Archive

In due time. Worthiness is simply a construct. Patience will bring about knowledge in time.

- Tubular Post -

✒️ infinity-mirror-archive

Many have been calling for an answer of what the mirror is. That is for me to know and you to realize, in due time… though I do warn you: if you research more into it, you will not be able to return to who you were at once.

🥳 numbah-one-playgrounderr

Guuuyyyssssss what did I tell you about asking too many questions to the magical mirror man now we're getting an ominous warning from him

🧪 subspace-t-mine

You should heed the warning.

🧙‍♀️ brew-for-days

HELLO???? THAT'S THE OFFICIAL REAL SUBSPACE T. MINE ACCOUNT????? WTF

🧠 brainztrapped

Okay so either Subspace is a top tier troll or we're playing with the eldritch pre-demon or something here and I don't like either option. Or it's just a part of the ARG.

—

[V. CROSS/VESSEL FRONT: VICTOR]

Yep, that's enough for today. He fiddled with his hoodie a bit as he left the library, walking back to their house before a waft of… Something hits their metaphorical nose. You know what they say, about people involuntarily getting hungry around corpses? Apparently it's way worse for demons according to some testaments he's heard from other demons. But this was the most intense the urge to eat a corpse could get.

… ew. That sure is a dead demon alright. De-horned too, seemed to be a former church member until recently. Well, they were a fresh kill, so they wouldn't be around to check if the demon was dead anymore- so… V. Cross- almost instinctively… cleaned up the mess with cleaners and sent the corpse to a burial area via a call. It was right next to the bookstore! What, thought he was gonna eat a corpse? He's not gonna eat a corpse RIGHT in front of their job and loose their hard-earned reputation! He did dip their crystal into it before sending it to the morgue though- it's blood activated what else can he say.

He washed his hands at a public bathroom before they returned to their walk home… as they get cornered by a gang. They know this gang- they essentially block all routes that aren't an hour long to their apartment- so why are they getting cornered? Their boss wants the bounty Blackrock put on them, of course.

"You're the one Blackrock put missing posters everywhere for, ain't ya? It said that they want you alive- so consider yourself lucky that you're gonna be a bargaining token for the boss!"

"… Can we just go home without fools like you trying to attack us…"

"Eh? We? You're a funny one eh? Ah well- wouldn't want precious cargo getting damaged, so just surrender now and you'll be golden!"

"… You really don't know what you're messing with, do you? What else should I expect from demons like you…" Victor decided now was the time to use their special ability for something.

Black gloves appeared in their pocket, as they put them on it got unnervingly quiet. The gang members proceeded to get a taste of THE black silence gloves' power before running away bloodied and bruised. He didn't kill them- Victor isn't a monster, he wouldn't kill someone unless absolutely necessary- but he did scare the shit out of them enough for them to leave them alone. Looking at the gloves, they seem to have a cool down count of one month… that explains what [CREATIVITY] meant with the limited use thing. Seems like they can still use it outside of battle, though, it can only be used WITHIN battle once a month, allowing for training with the weapon. How useful! They keep the gloves on as they finally arrive home.

…

Now for the more important matter at hand.

Victor opened the book that was absolutely positively not supposed to be in the bookstore he worked at, seeing that yes, it was indeed authentic. He took the initiative to start taking notes with sticky notes and bookmark tabs, making sure to be thorough with the research as they would need the info if they ever absolutely NEEDED to use E.G.O. for whatever reason in the future (maybe if the black silence is on cooldown, they would use The Red Mist's signature weapon in an emergency or, in the absolute worst case scenario the apocalypse bird E.G.O.)… plus, this stuff was fascinating. He'll have to research it more with Faust in the morning- time to actually get some sleep! Yep- turns out they finally got their sleep schedule fixed and now go to bed at a reasonable time!

And so, they curl up into their netted bed, and fall into a deep- deep slumber…

—

[???]

"They… haven't drank a single drop of blood yet? Are you sure? Even with the meal we left near their place of work?"

"I'm sure- they would have not been able to stand out into the sun any longer if that was the case…"

"They must have a terrifyingly strong sense of control then… or, they are simply oblivious to their fate as one of us."

"Master, I do have a question."

"Yes?"

"What kindred bit them?"

"I do… not quite know. Perhaps they were a fringe one, yes? It would make them all the more easier to control then."

"Well… look at this."

"… pitch-black gloves that seem to silence anything… and a crystal that absorbs blood… along with that, they seem to have some sort of being possessing them from the incident within the church they were turned within…"

"We- We've never heard of this happening before they had been turned… Master, it could be possible that they were turned by… one of THEM."

"You do not mean…"

"… a bloodied soul may have marked them. It's possible they are a first kindred…"

"… keep an eye on them. We must make sure they deliver the prophecy at all costs…"

—

[V. CROSS/VESSEL FRONT: VICTOR… AGAIN]

The sun shined through a tiny shimmer in their curtains as they woke up, getting ready and dressed for the day as they apply sunscreen and grab a parasol they bought the other day. It was a break day today, so he decided to go to Slingshot's Cafe- as is tradition for isekai shenanigans. Call it a curse but he does think it makes rational sense, as it's a cafe it's easy to run into and socialize within.

Walking to the cafe cane in hand, they hold an internal vote on what they should get- mostly as breakfast, because everyone mostly agrees on how they like the coffee (which is to say, a super-sweet, but not to the point where you can't entirely taste the bitterness, and smooth coffee with a hint of vanilla mixed with hot cocoa) while sharing a body.

As they got into line, closing their parasol, Victor looked at the menu. Although their depth perception is a little fucked, having ripped out the glass eye that the church gave them and putting on a eye patch, they do otherwise have perfect vision compared to their past life. Now that they've finished internally deliberating what to get for their breakfast, they reached the front of the line.

It seems like Slingshot had been dealing with a rude customer, having audibly sighed before asking "Hello, welcome to Slingshot's Cat Cafe! What can I get for you today?"

"Can I get… Two chocolate croissants, two chocolate muffins and… do you do custom drink orders?"

"Yes, we do in fact!"

"Sweet. Can you make a half-coffee, half-hot cocoa drink then? Add some extra sugar, but not too much- and some extra milk… and a little bit of vanilla!"

"Will that be all?"

"Yep!"

"That'll be… 10 Bux then!"

"Wow- cheaper than I expected." V. Cross payed with a 10 bux bill, but threw in an extra 5 as a tip.

"Thank you for your patronage, your order will be out shortly- for here or to go?"

"Oh, it's for here."

"My apologies for forgetting to ask!"

"No problem- looked like your last customer was rude, I get it."

V. Cross went to a secluded corner of the shop, pulling their laptop out from their bag along with the book on E.G.O. to further Victor's research on the topic along with Faust, who just came to front. Thankfully, nobody else could see the laptop screen due to classic isekai shenanigans, nor read the words on the book's pages, so they were able to write things down and research while in public.

Amist the clamor of the day, they heard a small conversation between Shuriken and Vinestaff. From what they hear, Vinestaff had found a strange book titled 'The Caged Watcher' and had gotten sucked in, then came back out and now was getting a strange feeling about the new customer that entered the building. As if they had a connection to the book itself…

… Well they weren't wrong exactly. They've fought doomsekkar enough times in their past life that there might be a genuine connection in this world PURELY because of that. Either that, or their connection to Ghostwalker is just barely strong enough for her to sense it- either or, makes sense.

They overhear them talking a bit more before Vinestaff comes up to their little table, them having finished up some of their notes as they close their laptop.

"Hello- uhm, weird question but… do you happen to know of a book named 'The Caged Watcher'?"

"… heard rumors bout people reading it up and disappearing, yes."

"W-well… I saw you reading thar book you have there and saw that nobody else could read the letters… so maybe you could-"

"You got sucked into the book didn't you."

"… how blunt…! Y-yes… but I'm simply asking you to investigate…"

"You have it on hand?"

"Oh! Why yes!" She gives them the book, and V. Cross looks at the front pages and cover.

"… hm. Please stand back, this may end up sucking you back in otherwise."

"H-huh?!"

"This is a book bound with magic pages- primarily it seems to have those pages to keep those that do not know what they are doing from accessing it without a challenge. As you already passed the challenge, you would be able to read this, but I need to pass it as well for me to investigate further. Trial spells are very common within these texts, after all."

"A-are you saying-"

"I'm going to need about… 10 minutes. Please watch my items, thank you in advance." V. Cross opened the book fully, instantly getting sucked in.

-

V. Cross returned after a solid 10 minutes, looking a tiny bit beat up but otherwise completely fine.

"Thanks. Again."

Vinestaff looked at them like they were crazy for beating the boss that fast (they just fought the boss too many times and know the patterns by heart). They just started reading through the pages, realizing…

"… Ah, I understand now, this book has knowledge not meant for most mortal eyes… the fact that you came out unscathed means that you are worthy of the knowledge this book brings, it says so on the margins of the pages. It seems those that read the book are tasked with fighting a replica of the caged watcher…"

"O-oh! Well… that is… good to know!"

"Just don't read it around anyone deemed unworthy and nobody should be dragged into the book. Here- you can have it back, you were the one the thing deemed worthy first."

"Th-thank you?"

"No prob."

And so, V. Cross got up and went to explore crossroads a little bit more, as they spoke amongst eachother in their mind, they wonder what the coming days will bring.

They just hope it's nothing too chaotic. They've been through a lot already, they just wonder what this nagging hunger is… and why their horns are red.

—

[CREATIVITY]

"Ahh yes, the plot is happening! I do think this is far more interesting with that little suggestion from a reader- oh they reacted just as I expected! Now, once again, you can give them more items that may impact the story through that itsy bitsy little comments feature!"

"Have fun, dear readers! Stay creative!~"

—

Chapter Text

[V. CROSS/ VESSEL FRONT: GUESS WHO? JK VICTOR AGAIN]

If you knew you were fictional, how would you react? If you knew you had hundreds, perhaps thousands of eyes on you, what would you do? Would you act natural? Would you delude yourself? Make yourself entertaining? Make yourself boring, as to make the eyes pry off of you?

Those were the questions Victor used to ask himself every day. Now, he knows for sure he is fictional, simply a tool of a narrative, a point of view. And he knew the answer now. No matter how small or large the amount of eyes is, as a writer, he knew they must be entertained .

He knew every aspect of his life, even this very sentence, was being written. And frankly, he didn't care. He's destined to entertain this audience? He's going to make it a hell of a show, him and the others within his minds cape and swirling depths of the soul.

Perhaps the one writing this is having a hard time. Perhaps they simply enjoyed chaos. Perhaps, even, they are a mirror of himself- and the others in his head. Perhaps, they spend nights awake, for days on end, pondering if he is simply a burden- a blight on this world. Perhaps he too spent endless nights trying to be perfect, trying to take as little space as possible, trying to convince himself that his trauma didn't affect him like it did, struggling to do even the simplest things rotting in bed such as cleaning his room or sweeping the hall unless he was yelled at to do so. Perhaps he was just like him, but younger, wishing for a better future, or… Perhaps, wishing for death while being trapped within a family that felt like it was falling apart.

Family. The word was empty to him. They only dwelled on the past, not that he wasn't any better. He knew he was just a waste of space in their lives- it's not like they ever respected him. All they cared about was money and politics. They wouldn't respect the fact he was trans, they would have never respected the others in his head. He knew their stance on that already, that was made abundantly clear. He knew they loved him, they just didn't understand. They never would understand.

His only regret was not saying goodbye to their best friend. His only friend that he could visit physically, he means. He felt terrible leaving him so suddenly. He was so glad that he leapt into action that fateful day before his best friend could end it all- he… he didn't know if he would have even made it to 18 without him. He cared. He showed he truly, truly cared after everything.

And now, he was here. Alone, with no friends other than those he knew from passing or work, or those online. He finally had a chance to breath, but the prickling feeling of loneliness and longing for companionship- for comfort… it had persisted into this life, despite it being simply and completely human. He wasn't even the "original" host. He wondered- if they even still existed within, if he was proud of him.

…

Best not to dwell on the dead. Heh, funny, because they di… yeah. Well, it was about time for him to test their shape-shifting capabilities! Don't want to be a downer for too long, gotta be exciting for an audience right? … Right?

V. Cross stood in front of the mirror (the NORMAL one. Not the one to look into mirror worlds that Faust said would be a good idea to make as an alibi for their channel shenanigans in case they get discovered) and stared for a moment.

… why the FUCK did they not have a reflection. What supernatural narrative bullshit is this. Just. What. They had a reflection BEFORE! Why wouldn't they have one now? Unless they were a ghost- no, Ghostwalker would have told them… a Vampire? Probably not, but not completely impossible, there are gears related to vampires out there- he wouldn't be TOO surprised if one targeted them due to the gear they chose. Might have to go to the library on that one… more specifically, Ghosdeeri's, as that would definitely have any evidence on if vampires exist here.

Alright- how to fix this… they wonder- aha! Tapping the crystal a few times worked- oh. Their "default" body does not look good. Their horns now we're completely red- fading into a blood red, their eyes were glowing- wait, why did they have two eyes again-? That happened uh- and their skin… it looked a bit purple-ish and sickly… they then look at their teeth- oh those were SHARP alright- way sharper than they were supposed to be! Their canines were longer too- not beating the vampire allegations.

Well, being a vampire would certainly explain that empty pit in their stomach that their body is feeling- though it always seems to get a little bit better after talking with a friend from back home, or a few of the newer online friends they also met in the inpherno- he really needs to find out if he can visit them…

…

… they miss home.

And so they sang.

"Panic, in static, out-manic, don't you find it all romantic, the way things used to be…"

They refocused after singing a bit- Victor always liked singing, but that dream was crushed when…

…

Don't think about it too hard. You don't want to be a downer. You want to entertain .

Well! Back to what they were doing- they tried to envision their appearance looking different- and when they blinked, they looked like an entirely different inphernal! They had horns shaped akin to treble clefs, as they had envisioned the silent orchestra a bit for the vibe- their eyes were no longer glowing, hooray- and they had a completely-white complexion with the look of porcelain- feeling their face, they were indeed made of porcelain now, it was easy to see within the patterns of it too- musical sheet notations and bars purposefully and meticulously placed along the body.

Hm. Time to try something else.

Faust came to front envisioned her human self- and the results were different than expected.

The body had the same color that Faust was associated with as the horn color- said horns being curled to look like flowers somewhat for the lower set, and the upper set to look somewhat like potion fumes. Feeling their skin, seeing it was a shade of Grey just shy of being white, they found something similar to peach fuzz all over.

Interesting. So they were limited to at least still looking somewhat like an inphernal with the shape-shifting. Good to know. They went back to the default body again looking at the date on their phone- ah, it's a break day.

May as well do one more test- as they have a very particular tree-related alter that happens to use a puppet similar to Medkit to speak (its a long story).

… the results were unexpected, to say the least- yes, they DID look like the medkit puppet- but also, the horns were replaced with tree branches, and the tree branches were also wrapped around the body and coming out of the mouth like body horror incarnate. It didn't hurt, even touching the tree parts, but damn it was very hard to look at. They changed back after a bit of poking and prodding, noting that the doll had the surface texture of fabric and paper beforehand.

Now back to their default form, they tap their crystal again- and bam, back to having no reflection. How useful, despite not being previously observed, they'll have to tell subspace about that over their… soul chat? What the hell do they call it. Soulcord? Discsoul? A conundrum indeed. Ah well, time to get coffee at Slingshot's Cafe and then dip to the library.

They pick up their parasol and cane (well- cane SWORD now! They got one installed just in case- and added a ton of stickers to their cane as well as they don't really have any bearing to its function) and walk out of their apartment to the newly-installed elevator after gully getting ready with their street clothes of choice. They will say- their outfit was very punk, though it was mostly out of practicality. They had shoulder spikes on all their jackets and hoodies to prevent them from getting grabbed by the shoulder, they had patches in their pants because they got ripped up in an encounter with a rowdy inphernal, and they wore the black silence as even if it didn't work as a WEAPON (aka, use the weapons stores within it) when on cooldown they could still silence things while using other weapons.

But that doesn't matter right now. Right now he needs to figure out what the hell is going on with their shared body. They swear, if this is some weird prophecy bullshit, they are going to chew on drywall.

—

[GHOSDEERI]

It wasn't often that Vampires visited Ghosdeeri's library, let alone one that seemed to have a latent aura of… Something that felt familiar yet not. And it was broad daylight as well- why would a Vampire just be walking around during the day? They… seemed to be carrying a parasol. Hm. Either they're oblivious or… no- that can't be possible, another first kindred had not been recorded since SHE had been sealed- a good 2000 years at the very least! Unless the seal managed to slip or it was a prophetic thing, that would not be possible at all…

… and yet, the inphernal before Ghosdeeri smelled like ichor and paint- unlike most Vampires that smell like mortal blood, first kindred had always smelled of ichor and a plant associated with them… wait, why did they smell like paint then?

The inphernal coughed a bit, speaking "Excuse me, but do you have any records on Vampires? As in do they… exist?"

Oh.

Oh this was worse.

A first kindred that had NO IDEA about vampires? Is that even- no, it's possible, it has been 2000 years, it is likely they thought that vampires were not real until they simply woke up as one- that was how most of the first few first kindred were made and acted….

"Yes- but they are quite dusty and old, give me one moment. Do tell me, what is your name?"

"Full name or nickname?" Before she could answer they already shared "eh, screw it- Vampire Hunter's Crossbow, everyone calls me V. Cross though."

… oh no. This poor soul was destined to wreak havoc by the utterance of words that are so old they could only be remembered by those that were there.

"Eh? What's with the look?"

"… give me one moment. There is a… specific book you will need to see."

"Okay."

Where was it- there. She unlocked the archive that very few were permitted to get even a single book from, and grabbed the book titled 'The Legend of The Hunter's Crossbow' in which the pages' actual info was locked behind a trial spell. She only hoped that they could defeat it… who was she kidding- they probably couldn't, even after thousands of years trying to decrypt it the spell was unnaturally strong. She handed the book to them, along with some other supplementary materials, and the inphernal went to a cozier corner of the library to read.

—

[V. CROSS/VESSEL FRONT: VICTORRRRR]

Oh this was totally some prophecy bullshit. He could tell from the look that Ghostdeeri gave when they first entered- this specific book about one "Hunter's Crossbow" was definitely magic and definitely had a trial seal.

Welp. Only thing to do is open it and see what's up with it.

…

The trial seal took them to a completely empty, black room- save for a piece of paper in front of them.

Reading the paper, it read "to prove your worth, conduct an incomplete symphony without sound- a silent orchestra, all on your lonesome."

Ah. They see now- it wants them to write song lyrics. They know that the silent orchestra doesn't exist here- in any capacity, so they could only know of one way to conduct a "silent orchestra" would be to make something up in your mind. Thus, song lyrics. Turning the paper over, they see the song lyrics that are pre-written are… hard to incorporate into a wider song. For most people.

Of course, Victor wasn't most people, and realized he would just need to write the lyrics will wood or chonny jash style.

After a solid 30 minutes of writing, re-writing, and re-writing again he finally gets something that he's happy with as the page suddenly burns to a crisp and the room suddenly changes. Now, there were three doors and a new note on the ground- reading the note, it said "each door represents a scene, you must paint this scene with only ink".

Yeah he could do that!

—

[GHOSDEERI]

It had been several hours, and yet the inphernal had not yet come out from quitting the seal's quest. She knew that the quest was pretty hard, as she could barely understand the first riddle herself- let alone the second one, and she didn't ever get past the second one because she didn't have an easel to-

… that's the sound of a trial seal being broken.

The inphernal came out of the book not only unscathed, but had actually unlocked the damn thing. How did they even-

"Damn, three trials and one of them was just a pop quiz at the end about art materials? That was way easier than I expected."

"… how in the world did you manage to clear those trials?"

"Once a creative, always a creative I guess." The inphernal opened the book.

After reading for quite some time, through all of the materials, they sighed and seemed to be annoyed.

"I hate prophecies made by inphernals 2000 years ago that had NO idea how things would change now. At least that confirms my suspicion on the vampire baloney, but seriously? A prophecy of doom after all I've been through already? Nah, I'd rather just vibe and create things."

"Hm… but can you truly defy a prophecy? Especially one spoken by-"

"Not fully, but prophecies like this are so damn vague that it leaves a lot to be interpreted which means I can bend the quote-on-quote rules a bit."

"How do you know that?"

"I'm a writer, I can sniff narrative troupes from a mile away."

"… oh."

The inphernal got up and left, leaving the books behind as they seemed to have researched enough. What a strange individual…

—

[V. CROSS/VESSEL FRONT: ITS VICTOR AGAIN! YAY!]

They walked back to their apartment, keeping their head low as they feel the pang of hunger in their stomach- although normal food can help with the hunger… no. Ew. They were NOT drinking blood. Anyways, judging by the books that they read, the Vampires here work similar to bloodfiends with some key differences: bloodbags aren't a thing most of the time, nobody knows where first kindreds come from, and they aren't afraid of water- just the sun apparently because it gives them WICKED sunburns.

The pang of hunger in their stomach returned as they smelled- blood. Oh, that's another dead body next to the bookstore. Well, best to clean that up. Strange- that's the third time this week this happened. Might as well put up a sign to whoever keeps on putting corpses next to the shop.

Though- the temptation to… eat… nah they aren't gonna eat a dead guy. If they HAVE to drink blood, they're gonna get consent first and ask politely. Plus the dead body could hold countless diseases and he doesn't want to risk their body getting sick.

After the mess was cleaned up, they shot a quick FYI thing for the others as they return home and flop onto their netted bed. What else to do today…

…

The world would be better off without a waste of space like you. You are going to die again anyways, why wait until that time comes? You wish to see the afterlife so desperately… why simply let your life take up a space not for you?

Those words still haunt them from their past life. The words of self loathing, the need to act confident and stand tall and proud to protect the child within despite that child being long forfeit to what happened.

They were only ten. They ruined the lives of everyone around them just to get out of school, and they were only ten. Why did they let that secret spill- everything would have been so much less complicated if-

No. They had to tell someone. That horrible night still haunts them. It was good they told someone- but it resulted in a mess because they just told the wrong adult.

Their trauma wasn't that bad. At least, that's what their "grandmother" told them. It wouldn't be the first time that she had forced her beliefs on them- especially after they were forced to stay with her during masses…

…

Don't think about it.

You won't have to worry about that ever again.

…heh, that suddenly got really serious! They should stop doing this! This is supposed to be a lighthearted, funny story after all! A twist on the troupes of the recent self insert boom in the phighting Fandom! He doesn't need to be a downer- this isn't reality for the readers! They just want to have a lighthearted, fun story to read to get away from reality!

… right?

… he missed his friends. They would help him out of spirals like this- he pulled out his laptop and seeked comfort in his online friends. And as always, they helped them calm down.

The pang of hunger started to fade as he talked with them over the chat. He was glad to have friends.

No matter being a world apart- they were still there for him.

—

[CREATIVITY]

"… wow, that suddenly got depressing. Well! What else could I expect- I didn't even mean to give them 4th wall awareness..."

"Anyways- you may send over items via comments once more! Perhaps even notes or letters for our little protagonist here! I always do love interactions with you readers- have fun with it and remember: stay creative!"

—

Chapter Text

[V. CROSS/VESSEL FRONT: VICTOR AGAIN]

Things were starting to get… weirdly normal. A routine, even.

Wake up, get dressed, go through the internet to occasionally ping-pong between confusing humans and confusing demons and learn about demon culture while eating breakfast, go to work on weekdays or go to Slingshot's Cafe on break days, eat lunch at either, explore crossroads a bit and rip up their missing posters, go home and eat dinner while looking for something to post later.

Didn't help that they were keenly aware when the readers were watching- that always made them anxious. It was either that or they were also being stalked on top of that, which they really REALLY hoped not- bive-

Oh. Right. Poor Bive and Griefer.

They had "mysteriously disappeared" from the headspace and EVERYONE knew exactly what happened, as those two were the only ones with actual skins in phighting. Lo and behold, in the soul-connection-group-chat (they really need to think of a better word) they had appeared in the most whacky situations. They mean, they know bive is made of hair, but also somehow she ended up at a horn salon to act as the damn style-tester! She couldn't get the dye out for weeks! Not to mention that Griefer somehow got almost immediately adopted by Venomshank on sight, that was interesting to read because poor sword was freaking out about it in the chat (reasonable).

They were at least somewhat relived that their life was the center of attention- Bive[kit] would have a heart attack if she had the readers' eyes on her constantly and Griefer[space] would be annoyed as all hell.

Anyways- currently they are cleaning the bookstore with a sense of… boredom. Little known fact about them: they hated stagnation, they always tried to do something new unless they were having an episode of simply rotting in bed reading fanfic. Mostly on the internet- they wondered if they could play Roblox back home- maybe work towards beating the Kaizos in project Somnia? It would be interesting if they could do something cool with the website like other fanfics they've read- just… not creating life from nothing a la Frying Pan/Ollie Gamer Au style. They do not want to be a parent thank you very much.

Wait… Another randomly appearing book? What is it this time? Is it a cognitiohazard like the last one? They pick up the awfully plain looking book that had a note saying something about editing the cover. It read '50 shades of grey'-

… if this is the actual book they are going to burn it. This world is not ready for this shi- oh wait. They just opened it. They had to hold back a wheeze of laughter (their laugh was loud) from just finding it's a book that fades from off-white to a dark shade of gray with nothing on the pages. Okay they had to admit that was a little bit funny despite thinking they were about to have to burn it at first.

They pocketed the gag book and continued to clean, the break from monotony was certainly a welcome refresher.

When they went home that day, they checked their mail and found a letter- sealed in a black envelope with fancy patterning and a colorful wax seal with a pattern of an eye and a book- looking at the back of the envelope, the "from" part of the back was labeled by… An AO3 user? That explains few things- they opened it when they got inside, and found a letter…

…

They smiled a bit when they finished reading, reminded that readers aren't exactly vicious monsters- just people. Guess they find them pitiful- he didn't deserve pity. He's not the greatest person as much as he tries to be- to be perfectly moral, to have everyone like him… he sighed, holding the letter close as a tear rolled down their cheek- was he seriously crying over a little letter?

… yes, he was. It was rare anyone said something nice to him. And… it has been a while since they had a good cry.

-

After crying for a bit- he opened up his Roblox account, finding that it had…been changed to how they looked currently? Perhaps this was just another way of shape-shifting… or a way of getting new outfits? Hmm… they seem to have as much Robux as they do Bux… maybe- They went to Catalog Avatar Creator and put on a random outfit they threw together (it looked cool) and bought it, and lo and behold, bam! Suddenly cool outfit. It felt comfortable too! That's good to know if they need to get a quick costume change- they changed back to their previous outfit.

They wondered if their horns counted as UGC… probably best not to dwell on it. Maybe they can play other games with their friends? Absolutely not PHIGHTING! itself, there are some forces that they would rather not mess with and one of those is risking the dignity of any of the phighters if it actually controlled them. Probably not forsaken- another risky move, with the EXTREMELY low chance of actually getting yoinked in (they'd rather not, two time would have a heart attack). They finally decided on Something Evil Will Happen and invited their online friends to their private server- and it worked mostly like normal! Mostly! At least until the Excalibur special round happened. Then things got weird.

There was a clattering noise next to their netted bed as soon as they grabbed the thing in-game. Looking at what it was…

…okay definitely time to invest in a high-tech security measure cuz what the fuck. They told their friends over VC what happened and they were also reasonably panicking! Because that has Implications! At least they're gonna dwell on it later- gaming time is now.

Some more gaming later they were now dwelling on it, because that is just. The Excalibur from SEWH huh. They are going to have to get this somewhere where NOBODY can find it- lest it get in the wrong hands…

Wait, doesn't the black silence have a weapon storage feature? That is the gloves' whole gimmick… they put on the gloves while picking the sword up- and the gloves pulled the sword into their weapon hammerspace as an "keep this for ABSOLUTE emergencies" sorta thing.

… maybe they should play some Robotomy Corporation? Victor always liked the social aspect of it despite not being the actual Lobcorp game- plus even if all games were free to them, he kinda wanted to socialize and get into shenanigans with random people.

Joining the game they immediately noticed something wrong: they were at level one again. Guess it makes sense, it's not like they were on a new account but they probably were sorta registered as that. Along with that, it was only day one and nobody had joined yet- so they kept on working on their stats (immediately joining training department for Stat boosts) while people slowly trickled in. It was a standard public server- they managed to talk people out of summoning the apocalypse bird until they got to a reasonable level to work on at LEAST an Aleph so they can do significant damage, and apocalypse bird wasn't really that bad (they were just glad someone was babysitting silent orchestra). Hell- somehow they got the E.G.O. suit and gift first try! No need to gamble! They would equip it as soon as they got the requirements, but it would take a while to get the E.G.O. weapon. They were at least level 4, near day 30 or so, as they stopped for the night to get some rest.

That night, they had a… well less of a dream, more of a meeting.

-

"HELP I FUCKED UP YOUR TIMELINE-"

"… Seriously? Are you kidding me right now."

"NOT KIDDING- Somehow my- well I can only describe it as a 'hand'- slipped… and I may have accidentally unleashed Walpurgisnacht onto the timeline-?"

"Are you PHUCKING- okay okay, WHY have you called us here?"

"Because you have awareness of the readers I can't just- knock you out and fix it! That would mess up the timeliness even more-! So…"

"You're gonna make us fix this aren't you."

"… I'll pay you for helping defeat the thing so I can fix the timeline and you'll keep your memories?"

"… Can you give us a transformation with a special power relating to it on top of that? In case this happens again."

"Okay- shit, my boss is gonna kill me but there's not really protocol for this-"

"If it makes you feel better we'll only use the transformation in cases like this."

"PLEASE keep your word on that. I'll give you your payment once it's done it's just- auughhh!! Why did this have to happen?!"

"I'm assuming plot or whatever. Just don't make us late for work."

-

They jolted awake, feeling invigorated with a new power as they look outside the window, noting that it was Too Damn Cloudy. Many were on the streets assuming windforce was in a bad mood and getting into safer areas while V. Cross tried to calculate where the hell the witch was before Darkheart came out of their magic door (or whatever) and pointed in the direction of lost temple.

Running there, they felt faster than ever before- probably because [CREATIVITY] gave them a speed and stamina boost so they could haul ass to lost temple. When they reached there, they saw Homura Akemi and Madoka Kaname there- and knew they were on a fucking TIMER. Kyubey straight up didn't exist (for now, hopefully never), so that made things slightly easier- but if Homura turns back time ONCE then shit will really get bad. So they did the only reasonable thing: call up broker! And indeed, on the dot, the Teal Trio were essentially acting as Madoka's defense squad, not batting an eye at her- there were more important matters.

Like, for example, the floating apocalypse coming towards crossroads.

V. Cross held up their little grief-seed-shaped-soul container, hoping that it worked like they thought it did… and then- ripples of paint came from the core, enveloping their body in its entirety. Cue PMMM-style transformation sequence.

At the end, they were in a pretty damn cool-looking outfit, seemingly themed around gears, music, and paint to the point where their horns actually changed appearance as well! Along with that, they got a transformation exclusive weapon: a… conductor's baton? Looking closer, it also had a paintbrush tip, covered in a colorful paint that seemed to change constantly. It also had the theme of clockwork too… they raised the baton and inhaled deeply, trying to remember the movements of conductors with fast-moving tracks.

After preforming a short movement, the baton changed to a fencing sword that seemed to drip paint- and they began to advance towards the slowly-turning-upside-down witch that was currently distracted with Homura. They simply went with instinct as they gracefully slashed at the threat, causing it to… immediately be split apart.

"Swords- [CREATIVITY] you didn't have to make it THAT powerful…" Victor mumbled under their breath-

Suddenly they were picked up by the collar by [CREATIVITY] as their timeline was fixed. The next thing they knew, they were waking up again like it was all just a dream- they knew it wasn't, but that was still frustrating- no wonder [CREATIVITY] wanted them to defeat that thing, if it had killed Madoka while they were fixing the timeline, irreversible damage would have been done due to Homura's time traveling!

Checking their bank and-

Holy shit. That was a lot of money.

-

Now, what were they supposed to do with all that money? Sure, they absolutely used it to pay off rent (they don't want to get a house in the richer areas, too far from the bookstore) for like- the rest of the year- but what else? Well, there was one thing they could do… which would be getting an Omegagraft and adding a few… modifications of their own. But even then, that STILL wouldn't exhaust the amount of money that they were paid! Holy fuck! It was WAY too much! Where did it even come from?!

(Meanwhile, elsewhere, a few council members from Blackrock noticed their bank accounts were just slightly emptier than usual. Ah well, it didn't matter, they could always give themselves a raise!)

—

[BIOGRAFT]

Bio had, of course, been in their own string of shenanigans. First was immediately spray painting a higher-ups' house, next was confusing the FUCK out of Hyperlaser and saying randomly and out of the blue "NOBODY WOULD EVER BELIEVE YOU" to be a little shit, then after that was possessing multiple bodies of its brethren to cause Blackrock to think that the biografts were becoming sentient for a solid 5 days straight.

If anyone had told it that it would be doing this before all of this happened, it would not have believed you. But hey- it is what it is! Better than human flesh- damn did they miss being made of metal and semi-artificial flesh.

—

[V. CROSS/VESSEL FRONT: VICTOR]

Ah yes.

This hunk of metal was heavy as shit.

They were carrying their recently-purchased Omegagraft model home to mod it so it's able to gain sentience (otherwise they would… kinda feel bad) and basically have a new roommate. It was painfully boring while alone. Now, you may be thinking, 'How did they buy that while they're missing in Blackrock?' The answer: they ripped up the missing posters enough that nobody cared anymore- and also they made a deal with the store owner not to say shit in exchange for a large tip.

After some fiddling with code and removing the anti-sentience chip (thankfully Subspace sent him the instructions on how to do the little mods- they would have probably broken something otherwise) and setting the thing down on the couch in a sleeping-type of position. They needed to set up the other bedroom for their new roommate once they know their likes and wants.

They just… needed someone to talk to, honestly.

Well- now as they wait, might as well play some more Robotomy Corp- strange, the morning after they played last night they almost felt… stronger- and oddly a little faster walking? They didn't even have a breakdown today… hell- they normally would have struggled holding up a regular zetagraft model- let alone an entire Omegagraft! Might as well get to max level and see what happens then…

It took a couple hours for him to reach EX level in the game- enough time to get a few more apocalypse bird runs in to finally max out the E.G.O. for it and for the Omegagraft to fully charge! They closed the laptop after making sure that their progress is saved (100% collection on almost all E.G.O. in the game is kinda tough- though he wonders why he hasn't actually gotten an E.G.O. gift at all yet other than through the dark twilight) and went up to the Omegagraft to watch as it automatically powered on.

—

[OMEGAGRAFT]

{> POWER PRECENTAGE: FULL <}

{> COMPONENTS MISSING: ON- ERROR- NONE FOUND <}

{> SERIAL NUMBER: OMEGA-13 <}

{> NEW USER DETECTED: INITIATING PROCESS "HELLO_WORLD" <}

The Omegagraft looked to its new owner, who seemed to be watching as it sat up after first powering on. Checking the database, they didn't have any info on this user other than they worked with its Creator at some point and there were specific orders from Creator to absolutely not bring them back to Blackrock for the sake of their saftey- but that was about it.

"GREETINGS. I AM OMEGAGRAFT SERIAL NUMBER 13. I WILL BE AT YOUR SERVICE, WHAT IS YOUR NAME?"

"Full name? Well, Vampire Hunter's Crossbow- but everyone just calls me V. Cross."

"REGISTERING OWNERSHIP: VAMPIRE HUNTER'S CROSSBOW. REGISTERING OWNER PREFERENCE: V. CROSS. REGISTERED INTO INTERNAL DATABASE- WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE ENTERED INTO BLACKROCK'S DATABASE AS WELL?"

"No thanks- rather not get stalked by that Subspace-obsessed creep again…"

Oh, that explains Creator's orders.

"UNDERSTOOD. AS AN OMEGA MODEL, I AM EQUIPPED WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY AND CAN ACT AS A BODYGAURD IN CASE THE NEED EVER ARISES."

"O-oh-! You don't really need to do that- the only thing I need you to do is help me make sure my apartment's safe! I have some inventions that I made in here that I really don't want getting into the wrong hands, but other than just protecting the place I guess you can do chores if you want? No pressure on that though- I can mostly handle that myself!"

They seemed quite humble- but makes sense, they didn't seem to be the type to be commanding and rich, they were probably just given a discreet payment by a higher-up to buy it. It wouldn't question that too much.

"UNDERSTOOD. I WILL PROTECT YOUR APARTMENT."

Scanning the area, it seems that they were very disorganized from the stressors of life. Once again, it wouldn't pry, but it was absolutely going to help organizing if asked.

"Oh- by the way- there is one room in this place that you absolutely must NOT enter. I will show you the door, but I'm only saying this for the safety of both of us, don't enter that door… at least not until you are ready." They spoke that last part under their breath quietly.

"AFFIRMATIVE."

They showed it the door- it looked like an inconspicuous closet, but the door had specialized high-tech locks, and the door itself was actually made of solid titanium. It understood that whatever was in that closet was only to be accessed by V. Cross for safety reasons, it was possible that there were experimental materials within, as a quick search in Blackrock's ID database showed that they were a scientist- and Creator's own assistant no less.

"SCANNING… THIS DOOR WILL BE LOCKED IN MY MEMORY BANKS. I WILL NOT ENTER."

"Good, good. That's about it! You may do whatever you want as long as nobody breaks in- it should be easy to watch the apartment, so if you get bored, the TV has a bunch of shows on it- and I can get you a USB with some music I recommend!"

"ORDERS RECEIVED AND REGISTERED."

They certainly were talkative, and nervous.

-

The next morning, Omegagraft had made some breakfast for their owner. They had woken up and yawned, looking tired even after sleeping- though that was probably because they definitely had insomnia from the way it had heard them wake up in the middle of the night and start playing some sort of game while it was in sleep mode.

They seemed a little startled at the breakfast.

"Y-you didn't have to make me breakfast…!" They didn't seem mad, in fact they seemed a little happy at this.

"I HAD SCANNED YOUR BODY PHYSIQUE, AND YOU SEEM MALNOURISHED. HAVE YOU BEEN EATING IN THE PAST FEW DAYS? THE FRIDGE WAS STILL PRACTICALLY FULL."

"O-oh, that…" They seemed to almost deflate at that. Perhaps it was a bit too harsh on the scolding, but the intelligence chip in its hardware had an extra layer to it that made it more observant than other models.

"DO I NEED TO CONTACT A LOCAL DOCTOR?"

"N-No need…" They seem to be hiding something, but once it served them breakfast they wolfed it down like there was no tomorrow.

"Thank you- it tasted good!" They looked at their watch, "Ah- Break day, what a joy! I'll be going out- would you like to come along?" They asked in a calm voice.

"I DO NOT WANT. I AM A MACHINE. MACHINES DO NOT WANT. I SHALL FULFILL THE ORDERS GIVEN."

"Ah well- tell me about anything that happened when I get home, I'll only be out for a few hours or so, don't worry too much about me!" They smiled in a kind yet well-mannered way.

They were clearly from Blackrock, yes- but not of the council's kin. In fact, in records, they look eerily similar to a demon engraved in ancient tablets- yet instead of a mean scowl on the tablets' face, they always made an awkward yet well-meaning one.

"BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU TREAD. GOODBYE, OWNER-"

"Please just… call me V. Cross instead- being called that makes me kinda uncomfortable."

"… PREFERENCE UPDATED."

They left the house shortly after that.

—

[CREATIVITY]

"Ahh yes, a cliffhanger! I do feel quite embarrassed for my little flunk- but the story is picking up quite nicely, don't you think?"

"Once more, you can send items to V. Cross- and once more, stay creative!"

Chapter Text

[???]

"M-Master, the one known as V. Cross…"

"Yes, yes, they have not drank a single drop of blood yet- but perhaps they do not have a taste for blood… Perhaps they have a taste for more… decadent things."

"You're not saying… to bring them ichor, are you?"

"…"

"…Master, you are aware it's dangerous to do so…"

"Perhaps- but if we can simply do battle and gain a vial of ichor, perhaps they'll also finally feed…"

"I understand- but last time we tried to fight a deity, we had to blame that Watcher to prevent our souls from being sealed… and ever since then, no first kindred have come…"

"The prophecy must be carried out at all costs… and in order for that to occur, they must not starve. If it is for the prophecy, we must do our best to prevent it from ending prematurely."

"Yes, Master…"

—

[V. CROSS/VESSEL FRONT: VICTOR, WHITTY, A FEW OTHERS]

"Uughhhhhh… I wish Faust was fronting instead of me right now- this is the fifth experiment that has blown up in a row!" They complained to themselves, in utter annoyance at the crystals blowing up repeatedly.

The system had made a bit of a deal with Blackrock in order to continue their existence without constantly being hunted by a creep, which was essentially to pretend they didn't exist while still paying them in exchange for research notes. This, of course, meant that they were researching the crystals, and unfortunately Faust was not in front that day, to Whitmore- err, Whitty's shagrin.

"Chill out, bom-bom, we got this" Shadow milk spoke, while Whitty made the body grimace at the awful nickname.

Plenty of experiments later, and a shit-ton of notes, they finally got the results that they needed to send back. Victor put on the "professionalism" facade and wrote the report as detailed as possible, coming out the other end exhausted while putting the report in the mailbox so it could be delivered where it needs to be-

They noticed a few items in their mailbox, that being a pitch-black box with the symbol that a certain letter had on it, and another more dingy box that smelled weirdly like limes and was covered in seals with a note attached.

They took the boxes and other mail, putting the research in postage as they returned to their apartment with their Omegagraft making some lunch.

"Oh- thanks for the lunch, Lucky." They've taken to calling the Omegagraft 'Lucky' due to 13 oddly being their lucky number.

"THERE IS NO REASON TO THANK ME, DESPITE YOU LOOKING HEALTHIER THAN BEFORE WHEN YOU TALK WITH OTHERS, YOU STILL ARE UNNATURALLY THIN."

"We appreciate the concern…! Also- we got mail for some reason!"

"HOW RARE. DO BE CAREFUL, MAKE SURE IT IS NOT A PRIMITIVE EXPLOSIVE MADE OF PIPES." That got a chuckle out of V. Cross for a moment.

"We will, we will." They grab and eat the lunch Lucky made in a separate room (they felt bad that they'd never get to experience food…) and then got to unboxing the packages.

The reader-sent package contained… oh no way. HELL YEAH RAIN WORLD SAINT PLUSHIE!!!! They've always wanted one of these! They go to their iron-doored closet, putting it with the rest of their plushie collection before locking the closet again. There was another item in the package, it looked sort of like a grief seed- but when they touched it, the item disappeared. Weird.

The second package that smelled like limes but was definitely from this world was saved for last, as they opened the letter attached to it first.

"Hello, We heard about your recently-developed vampirism and got an idea- we have never seen a vampire's first 'meal' be ichor! It would be interesting to see how this affects you, since you've lasted surprisingly long without needing blood- so we have taken samples of our own ichor for this! Plus, bonus fish bones and pretty shells in this box. We hope to meet you all again under… less pressured circumstances! Sincerely, Darkheart."

Ah yes, classic Darkheart. Of course they would think of this, lol. They opened the box, finding a vial of lime-colored ichor, some cleaned and cased fish bones, and a bunch of nice-looking shells. They took out the vial and sorted the trinkets by size and shape, then stared at the bottle for a minute.

"Should we…" They contemplated for a moment.

"… you know what? We ball."

They opened the bottle and chugged it, surprised that the taste was actually similar to that of a nice Matcha of sorts.

The insatiable hunger waned as they shivered. Well, that was better than they thought it would go. They made a "plegh!" Sound as they tried to get the bad aftertaste out while putting the trinkets around as decoration. Man…

They wish they had some pizza rolls right now. They guess the dream they had last night of Bird World has them nostalgic for the time they had pizza rolls while hunting for the most needlessly convoluted way to get there. You know, for fun.

…

They felt kind of home sick again. They remember that they never got to trade them and their best friend's Lampert and Infected plushies again before they kicked the bucket. It was a tradition between them, they called it "shared custody" of the plushies and swapped them every once in a while with a letter attached. It was a nice way to stay in touch. They… never got to give Lampert back before they passed.

They wondered how their friend was doing…

…

Oh. They're crying now. Damn you, homesickness. It's not like they can even go back- that's not how these stories go. At the very least, they're going to help as many people they can- and have fun doing it. But… it's hard to have fun while being this lonely.

They… might as well do something fun to get their mindspace off of this. The readers are probably getting bored of their moping anyways, they have to keep them entertained- they just wanted a funny, lighthearted fanfic don't they?

Don't they?

…

— Tumblr Post —

✒️ the-parallel-corvids

Yall what should we expose the inpherno to next I'm an indescive ass

👁 broker-entusiast

Have you fully exposed them to humans yet?

✒️ the-parallel-corvids

Not quite, you got an idea on how?

👁 broker-entusiast

Give them Undertale. Trust me it'll be peak

✒️ the-parallel-corvids

That's one way to introduce humans! But then they might think humans are naturally yellow-skinned…

👁 broker-entusiast

If not undertale, then may I recommend just giving them lobcorp and letting them suffer?

✒️ the-parallel-corvids

Undertale it is! I'd rather not expose them to the horrors this early

👁 broker-entusiast

THEY SHALL BE EXPOSED TO THE PEAKEST OF PEAK!!

✒️ the-parallel-corvids

You know what I might as well introduce them to Peak (the game) as well because it'd be funny as fuck

— Tubular Post —

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

The mirror has deemed it worthy to give a small, yet anatomically inaccurate "reveal" of what a human looks like in the form of an indie game that shaped an entire human subculture. Along with that, the mirror keeper has deemed it that you lot have insufficient entertainment, so the other file attached to this post is unrelated and purely for entertainment.

UNDERTALE download

PEAK download

The second download is best played with friends. The first download is recommended to play with no spoilers whatsoever, as it is… well, you will see. Do not play it if you are quick to cry.

🥳 numbah-one-playgrounderr

GUYS… GUYS HOLY SHIT… I JUST PLAYED UNDERTALE. WHAT WAS THAT??? IM CRYING. I FEEL SO BAD WHY DID WE HAVE TO HURT THE GOAT MOM. THE NICE SKELETONS??? I FEEL SO BAD FOR THE SANS GUY

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

A small tip: there are three routes. Believe it or not, it is not simply "kill or be killed," kindness takes one a long way.

🥳 numbah-one-playgrounderr

Hold on. I did another playthrough without using the fight button and. Oh my. Oh my swords I'm gonna cry.

🧙‍♀️ brew-for-days

HELLO????? YOU DID NOT JUST DROP THIS AND NOT EXPECT US TO CRY DUUUDE

I played everything and I still want more please tell me this "Toby Fox" character in the credits made more in ur little ARG thing

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

There is a sequel of sorts, but it currently only has its first 4 chapters out. It is HIGHLY recommended that you finish all of Undertale before playing it, but I shall add what is currently made of the sequel (be warned, even I cannot predict the future- I do not know when the mirror will show the next chapters.)

DELTARUNE CH 1-4 DOWNLOAD

I will admit, I was always a fan of this series of games. By the mirror, I was cringe about undertale when I was younger. Ah to be young and oblivious…

🧠 brainztrapped

Played both deltarune and undertale

Why did you have to hurt us in this way?

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

It was either this or a horror game that would have caused so many nightmares for many a being. You demons will get that eventually, but it is far too early for now.

— Tubular Post 2 —

⚓️ harpooned-sharks

OKAY I HAVE A THEORY ABOUT INFINITY MIRROR ARCHIVE!!!! They constantly mention the "mirror's will" and their pinned in their Tubular mentions them being a researcher, along with that in the post with two games in it (3 if you count the reblogged one) they mention the second game to be from the "Mirror's Keeper" and all…

I think they might be researching US! They seem to be in service of enriching our lives with random things- from memes to music to whole games (I tried Peak, it was a very fun game to play with friends but absolutely a pain to play alone) but they almost rarely mention demons all that much outside of referring to us. I think they're researching our culture to give to that mirror they talk about!

And that's what the mirror is- it's actually a mirror into a whole other world! We get their stuff, and they get to learn more about us in exchange. But, whoever runs the account is still a mystery… and it's very possible it should stay that way with all the ominous warnings. I didn't dig any more than I had to, I'd rather not get sniped lol- but that's all!

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

Quite impressive, you are correct about the exchange of information- but it is more than you think. Demons do have entertainment to offer that doesn't exist in the worlds the mirror peeks into, so I also archive the more fascinating media here to distribute equally.

You are right not to dig any deeper though. I am not one to harm, but if my identity is revealed, I may have to in the name of self defense. I made this account practically untraceable for a reason.

⚓️ harpooned-sharks

HELLO?????????????? OKAY THEN GOOD TO KNOW. You heard the demon!!!! Don't dig too deep

—

[???]

He stared at the news for hours on end, looking at the headline as he held the plushie that his friend's mother returned. It had been days, months even since the incident. He still couldn't believe it.

"BREAKING: 18-year-old looses life to truck in freak accident after saving record-breaking doctor."

His friend was gone. For good. One of his few friends outside his family, someone who enjoyed company with, someone who trusted him enough to tell him that he was trans even in the most awful of circumstances. One of his closest friends, the one that he invited to his graduation party and that actually showed up.

Gone. Just like that. He hadn't checked his discord in a few days, just bed-rotting from the grief. He felt kind of sleepy, so he decided to go to bed.

He dreamt of a strange space.

"Hello, you must be His friend, correct?"

"Hhuh-? You- where?"

"I am [CREATIVITY], an acquaintance of your dearly departed friend. You see- they traded in their name for a second chance, understandable due to it being a deadname but I digress- so I decided to do something small to help with their homesickness!"

"Whaa- huh? What does this have to do with-"

"You'll be able to talk with him again via letters, and continue that little plushie trade of yours, as long as you promise wholeheartedly to keep silent about his reincarnation to his parents."

"… I'll do it in a heartbeat. Just- knowing that he's alive, even if he's in some other world, is enough of a comfort for me."

"Then, wake up. You'll find a paper and pencil for the letter, and once you're ready I will begin the trade once more."

He woke up, seeing a paper and mechanical pencil, and wrote a letter though tears. He put the paper in the little Infected plushie's arms, and suddenly it disappeared- along with him hearing the sound of a DM on his phone. He sees the message, and goes wide-eyed.

He'd recognize that username anywhere.

—

[OMEGAGRAFT LUCKY]

Omegagraft-13, or "Lucky" as it's owner deemed it for some strange reason (something about its serial number being their lucky number?), had been noticing its owner acting… odd. Well, less acting odd, more seemingly going through what it's data banks could only describe as "an awful case of vampirism growth spurt."

It noticed all the signs as it had been observing their health- they were obviously growing taller, their eyes were glowing, they were starting to gain some of the more notable traits that vampires have historically had. They were also notably, oddly, and unnervingly more social despite being an introvert. They would always be seen around demons- and they always seemed to be visibly far more healthy afterwards with their cravings for blood being satisfied.

Speaking of, they did still crave blood- visibly, but they seemed to have only tried blood when it was from someone they were close with and trusted- and their cravings ended up being staved off for days every time that occurred, even weeks depending on how close they were. Apparently, from what it learned from eavesdropping on a bunch of vampires hanging around their apartment, their first 7 drinks were also ichor from each of the SFOTH because, for some reason, Darkheart thought was funny.

It doesn't like those implications, but it doesn't have that as a concept yet, so it just understands that as unusual and suspicious.

So right now, it was bringing a hot pad to V. Cross to help with the awful muscle cramps coming from the situation, knocking on their door as they yelled that it could come in. Seeing that they were curled up in agony while it gave them the hot pad for their pains, they put the pad on their back as they clinged to their strange plushie, it believes that the plushie is called 'Infected' or 'Kasper', for dear life.

It knew of the general oddity of V. Cross already, recalling that they were more of a bundle of multiple personalities in a trench coat than a regular demon. The one that it knows is the one controlling their body the most is the one that calls himself "Victor," after an old book character from a classic he said he read a long time ago called "Frankenstein."

It knows that they have messed up memories- false ones, ones that they shouldn't have, and ones from the recent past few months. It knew od what this was called in most terms, but according to them, they are multiple souls stuck together 'with duct tape, trauma, and a dream' which seemed to be true as their personalities fizzled and melded on occasion.

Speaking of, for some reason their personalities oddly… shift what they look like. It doesn't pry as to why this happens, but it will admit, even to its information databanks this was baffling.

Well, it might as well continue making those 'pizza rolls' that they gave the recipe to it for. It didn't quite understand their 'need' for normal food despite the vampirism, but it doesn't really care as it was not programmed to.

—

[CREATIVITY]

Fuck.

The eldritch entity ruffled through the filing cabinet, having found an oddity in yet another timeline that it manages, for some reason they've been consistently and constantly having major problems and it's starting to get out of hand.

Whatever this was, it was spreading, and [CREATIVITY] was absolutely not equipped to deal with this alone. Fuck, they needed to deal with this quickly but they can't do this alone…

… they should really talk with their boss about their little slip-up with V. Cross and the whole 'they are completely aware of the readers' situation- but that could make those poor saps a target of universe termination due to that being essentially top-secret info on what the readers REALLY are… unless they can find a way to make them useful- a proposition of sorts.

… wait.

There is a possible position they could fill… they fixed their own timeline without much problem, right? Perhaps…

… they could help fix others?

… oh. The chapter ended, they need to do their usual shtick!

"Hello readers! As usual, you may send items and such to V. Cross! This chapter got a little more.. depressing than usual, but that is fine!"

"Stay Creative, and stay safe! Please. I need a coffee…"

Chapter Text

[TICTAC]

TicTac is, by all means, an average demon. Her gear, Tic Tac Toe Board, was practically useless in combat, yes: but it was good when she got bored and wanted to play a game with someone else. She lives in crossroads, works as a clerk in a bookstore- she really does love the smell of books- and lives her life with almost no chaotic happenings.

Her coworker, though, is absolutely not normal.

V. Cross happened to be the buzz of many rumors recently- and she could see why, they were a weird sort.

They were a vampire, which is a relatively tame thing compared to some of the whacky stories that they seem to have- and they were, in all technicality, multiple people at once. She had looked up the term they used, and it did seem to be something that can happen within demons, but she knew that wasn't normal was just… changing your appearance when another person came to "front" as they called it.

Even then, they got weirder depending on who was fronting when the one that calls himself "Victor" isn't- one's a sentient tree parasite that looks scarily like that medkit guy on wanted posters- uncanny valley sort of thing, one is a jester that seems to lie for fun (something about plays being advanced forms of deceit?) and another that seems to analyze everyone that their body sees. She’s gotten used to this stuff by now though, and from what Victor confirmed, there were more that tended to front at different times far less.

But TicTac didn't really care, as V. Cross had become (some of) their best friend(s), even if the few times they ask for blood so they don't starve get kinda awkward when they get to the doctor's office to ask for help to do the procedure. She's… just worried.

Recently, there have been many rumors- an urban legend almost, that V. Cross was part of an ancient prophecy. That they would wipe out demonkind, with the snap of a finger. But she knows for sure, that they are absolutely not the kind of people to do that- they said it themselves: even in the name of self defense, they do not kill. She also knows that, even if V. Cross really WAS that powerful, that they are still very much disabled- their legs are bad enough that they have to wear braces everywhere, and they always have a cane on hand in case their legs flare up in pain. They're the whole reason that the bookstore has so many seats!

Speaking of, it seems like today was one of V. Cross' bad days, as they were using the cane and visibly shaking while standing. TicTac spoke up out of concern for her friend.

"Hey, you okay? You need to sit? I could always re-arrange those shelves myself…"

"W-we're alright- our legs are just hurting again, we need to get a refill on pain meds for our condition…our whole lower back is also kinda hurting too…"

"Do you want me to help get your meds? You know, walk you there and all…?"

"… the help would be greatly appreciated." They looked nervous.

"Hm? You look a little worked up, are you okay?"

"I keep hearing demons talk about us behind our back… and… I can feel someone watching us… I-I think we're getting stalked…"

TicTac suddenly had a grim look.

"You mentioned having a co-worker in the past that was… obsessive and violent with you because you were someone's assistant right? That being the reason you moved out of Blackrock for your safety?"

"Y-yeah… swords- I hope they didn't follow us... if they did…" their breath hitched. Oh that is related to their traumas isn't it.

"… you'll be safe, I'm sure of it. You have protections because of being a vampire anyways, whole 'critically endangered subspecies' thing and all, they lay a hand on you and they absolutely will get sent straight to banlands."

"I-I know but… We don't know, I just… we just… uhm…"

"If you really are worried, you could always contact Blackrock about getting a bodyguard hired since Lucky stays at home during your work days?"

"M-mayybe…" They had finally sat down at this point, visibly shaky as they tried to calm themselves.

After work, she and V. Cross went to the pharmacy to pick up the pain medicine, along with some chocolates and protein bars to help with V. Cross' cravings. They hung out at Slingshot's Cafe, which V. Cross was apparently a regular at because Vine Staff started a book club. After that, she walked them home back to their apartment, as any good friend would, and waved goodbye as she went back home.

All in all, her own life may be uneventful and plain, but someone has gotta be so that another can have a shoulder to lean on that's somewhat reasonable compared to the life that they've lived. She's so glad to have a best friend.

—

[V. CROSS/VESSEL FRONT: VICTOR AND CRUEL KING]

Blackrock was thankfully much better in this universe than it is in most fanfics. First off, they were willing to change for the better and put Actual Lab Safety Equipment in their labs once requested, secondly when blackrock received the info on why their body ran off in the first place they understood that they were staying in crossroads for their own safety, and finally they actually had WORKERS UNIONS!!!

Cruel King was still very much not impressed, though. Considering the political climate of Blackrock, their tensions with playground, and how they treat icedagger as if he's some sort of terrifying cryptid instead of a lonely kid trying his best to do his job, he is actually quite disappointed in this version of his kingdom.

Still though, because of their agreement with Blackrock they will need further protection if they're actually getting stalked by someone. Hence why Cruel King was fronting along with, because he's the least afraid of making phone calls as needed. They had been on hold for a few minutes before they got ahold of a demon.

"Hello, this is the phone line to speak with a council member, please state your Full Name and ID card number!" The demon working calls was upbeat, probably because the council members rarely ever get calls.

"Vampire Hunter's Crossbow, ID is VHC-████████." The call handler audibly gasped as they confirmed, the quiet shuffling of paper on the receiver echoing silently.

"I will get you in contact with a council member right away, Mx. V. Cross!"

After a few more moments on hold, a council member spoke.

"Hello, Mx. V. Cross, it is quite rare that you request a call from one of the council, what is it that you need?"

"Recently, I have been feeling the sense of someone… watching me. I do not know if I have a stalker, or if it is that church, so I would like to request a mercenary as a bodyguard."

"Hm… we could arrange that, but why not a biograft?"

"A biograft is kind of obvious, I'd rather my bodyguard be more hidden and able to protect me at a moment's notice- a biograft wouldn't cut it because the visual algorithms wouldn't even pick up a stalker if they are well-hidden enough."

"… ah, right, you have worked with subspace, i should have known there was a good reason. I will find a fitting soldier for you needs, they will have to relocate to crossroads correct?"

"I don't want to give them a hell commute, so yes, that would be preferable."

"Understood. Now, I do have a question- how is your research going?"

"It is going well, but there have been some… unfortunate discoveries relating to the crystals I have made."

"Those being?"

"Although they are activated by blood, if they so much as touch plain water, they melt into a highly corrosive substance. Whatever this substance is, I haven't done many tests with, but it seems to be able to melt almost anything it comes into contact with other than glass. If exposed to sunlight though, it ends up becoming an extremely potent fertilizer, making entire trees grow within minutes."

"… hm, that is quite terrifying information. I will see to it that this information is shared with subspace privately as soon as possible to assure to keep them in water-tight areas."

"Thank you for your time."

"It is not a problem, no meeting was scheduled today anyway, so I was not busy."

"Goodbye."

"Farewell."

They hanged up and let out a sigh of relief. Swords, they hated making phone calls.

They looked at the day of the week, and then got an idea.

— Tubular Post —

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

It's Friday which means post-whatever-the-fuck-i-want-day which I'm starting today so do you guys want to hear about the horrid argument that me and some of my friends from the mirror had about cereal

🧠 brainztrapped

Um. Sure?

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

Okay so like I had just woke up, groggy morning, someone posted a poll in our group chat with the simple question: was cereal a soup with only the options "yes" or "no"

One of our friends then proceeded to say it was a stew.

The chat spiraled into insanity as said friend then proceeded to BOIL THEIR PHUCKING CEREAL. AND ADD SALT. AND CHIVES. IT WAS THE KIND WITH MARSHMALLOWS TOO. THEY ALMOST ADDED STEAK AND BELL PEPPERS. It was so horrid that they ended up getting sent to the banlands metaphorically and there was a video made (that I posted, but a friend that ran the server made) with a website based off of the series "Ace Attorney" called objection.lol (that I managed to archive a server of, for the sake of continuity and making memes)

I was actually the judge character btw it was chaos

👨‍🍳 bacon-launcher-flambe

WHAT THE BANLANDS. WHAT KIND OF FOOD CRIMES. IS YOUR FRIEND INSANE???????

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

I don't know. But this was absolutely ridiculous in real-time I will let you know.

⚓️ harpooned-sharks

Today I learned that Infinity-mirror-archive has an insane sense of humor. Please tell me this wasn't a real argument that would mean a real human thought up these horrors

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

Unfortunately, it was.

⚓️ harpooned-sharks

Thanks I hate it

— Tubular Post 2 —

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

Tubular is fun because there is a very similar website in the mirror world and it is just as chaotic as here. Except somehow worse. Swords you would NOT want to know how fucking feral some humans get over their blorbos. Or the fanfics don't even get me STARTED on the fanifcs

I once saw a drawing of sans undertale being put in a femur breaker. Well I mean it was posted after deltarune chapter 3 and 4 released so I get it but still

🧙‍♀️ brew-for-days

What do you mean Fandom culture can get more feral. What do you mean by that

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

All I can say is that Fandom culture is way more chill here for… reasons relating to their specific types of Fandom drama

Eugh. I don't want to talk about the stuff that some humans do. It's disgusting just to think about.

🧙‍♀️ brew-for-days

From "murder" to "eating newspawns alive" how bad is it

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

Worse. Trust me, human Fandom culture is way worse. If this place had the same levels of Fandom as humans I would probably have not started this account in the first place- this is like a breath of fresh air.

🧙‍♀️brew-for-days

I will dig no farther what the hell

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

Thank you

— Tubular Post 3 —

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

One fascinating parallel between this world and that of the mirror's is that there is a virtual idol in both that have the same sort of vibe

Hatsune Miku and Hatsune Mic-u!

In fact, there us quite a meme that-

Actually I'm just gonna expose you to this it won't make sense without context here's an entire Playlist of the snapcube real-time sonic fandubs

🥳 numbah-one-playgrounderr

Hello???? Funny as shit this will permanently change my lexicon forever

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

"Lexicon" moot are you a linguist or perhaps a vampire in disguise (joke)

🥳 numbah-one-playgrounderr

HEY I LEARNED THAT WORD FROM YOU- YOU HAVE NO ROOM TO TALK!!! (Silly)

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

ACK! I HATH BEEN SPOTTED AS A LINGUISTIC NERD

🥳 numbah-one-playgrounderr

That explains your vocabulary in normal posts

— Tumblr Post 4 —

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

REBLOG THIS POST IF YOU WANT TO ASK QUESTIONS TO ANSWER ON POST-WHATEVER-THE-FUCK-I-WANT-DAYS FOR THE SAKE OF NOT FLOODING MY ASKBOX

🥀 wilting-waterlilies

Are you even a demon?

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

Yes. If I WERE a human I'd be a blackrockian lab rat 100% but I do KNOW a lot of humans because of the mirror. I also have a device that connects to the mirror so I can use human internet and download the things I send.

🧠 brainztrapped

In the cereal argument video you were called Victor- is that your name?

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

Yes and no- internet nickname that I do respond to. Also it is based off of a literary classic in the human world called "Frankenstein" that I really like

Here's a PDF of the book, by the way!

🧊 frozen-over-skies

What is your faction?

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

Wouldn't you like to know, weatherboy.

🧊 frozen-over-skies

Damn. Shoulda expected that

🌟 rockin-lockin-talkin

Can you make a little about me thing

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

Sure why not-

Pronouns: ask, but mostly he/him unless someone else is working on the account with me (the main runner of this account)

Favorite food: Tacos or Mac and cheese :)

Favorite color: all of them (if I had to pick one it would be between electric pink, black, or a dull purple!)

Favorite Flower: Spider Lillies and Marigolds!

Favorite dessert: BROWNIES. The thick, nice ones with chocolate chunks (middle pieces in particular mmmmm)

Favorite Drink: Boba tea :D

Favorite Animal: close tie between Crows, Bunnies, Foxes, and Cats!

🌀 telltale-typhoon

Why did you make up this specific day in the week to post whatever you want?

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

Tired of being formal all the time with my posts and incredibly bored

🌀 telltale-typhoon

Fair

You cheering for team comedy or tragedy?

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

Comedy! After all, what's life without a good laugh?

🥳 numbah-one-playgrounderr

Moot why don't you call this "Fuck-It-Fridays"

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

THANK YOU MOOT I was trying to figure out a way to shorten it-

—

[HYPERLASER]

It was rare that he was given direct orders from the higher-ups, let alone ones that let him be… outside of Blackrock for them. He was glad that he decided to get an apartment in crossroads, as he apparently was given a special mission within crossroads- according to the coordinates, he was supposed to meet with the demon that he needs to bodyguard at a specific location… a library? Makes sense- public spaces like that are often venues for these kinds of things.

He sat at the table in the library he was supposed to meet the demon at- he recalled them being named "Vampire Hunter's Crossbow" and their reason for needing a bodyguard being oddly redacted on their file. He also noted that the demon had a note on the file saying that their affiliation with Blackrock and their existence is to be kept secret for the sake of their protection… honestly, they sounded like they were a higher-up themself, from all of these precautions- or are just that rich.

A demon soon sat at the table in front of him- they had rusty, blood-red horns with orange accents to them, eyes that dully glowed, darkened purple-ish skin like a corpse- all around the definition of "looks like shit" in general. They seemed to have playgrounder-esque attire, which makes sense if their affiliation with Blackrock has to be kept secret- wearing a leather jacket with spikes, a hat with buttons and bits and bobs on them. Their most striking features had to he their crystal, and the pitch-black pair of gloves they wore. Their crystal seemed to shimmer various colors along with their horn color- he could see glimmers of blue, a woody brown, and a pastel shade of pink- and a new color that appeared around the time that they came into frame, an icey cold blue. And the gloves… something was off about those gloves. They seemed too fancy to be part of a normal outfit without reason.

"Hello, you must be Hyperlaser? I was told of your assignment as my bodyguard." The inphernal said- ah, this must be 'Vampire Hunter's Crossbow' then.

"Yes, you must be Vampire Hunter's Crossbow, correct?"

"Yep- though, shorten it to 'V. Cross' please, it's a mouthful otherwise."

"Alright. Tell me what you need me to do?"

"I only need you to keep watch for stalkers. I've asked that your pay is high because of the fact that I live outside of the bounds of Blackrock- I apologize for any hassle that could have caused."

"It is not a problem."

"Though, your job does have an extra stipulation I doubt you were briefed on…"

"What could that be?"

"If you do find someone stalking me, I want you to only knock them out- under no circumstances are you to kill them. I still need to know whoever they work for, and if they serve a greater danger to myself or others." Their words were clear and concise- despite their natural lisp and stutter, it seems like that's as straightforward they could put their words. They were using a cane, so they were obviously physically disabled in some way too…

"Understood, I assume I am starting today?"

"No- you start tomorrow actually, today is more of a 'get to know eachother' day- and it's a break day for me anyways." Ah, the casual venue made sense now. Still, it was a bit of a strange concept- "honestly, I've heard Katana talk about you before- only nice things, don't worry- and I'm curious as a cat!" They chuckled sheepishly.

"You're… friends with Katana?"

"Yep- met him a bit after becoming friends with Vine- heh! He's part of our little book club- he tends to read a lot of books about owls!" Oh, that made more sense. Katana HAD mentioned joining a book club with an interesting individual in it.

After a few hours of standard pleasantries, they both decided to exchange addresses… turns out, they're neighbors! How awfully convenient, along with that it is expected for someone to welcome a new neighbor, so it wouldn't raise much suspicion on being their bodyguard.

Currently, they were unlocking their door to give a house tour to Hyperlaser. An Omegagraft welcomed them in, V. Cross introducing it as "Lucky" due to their serial number happening to be their lucky number.

It was a normal-sized apartment for crossroads- one bedroom, two bathrooms, standard in all aspects except the bedroom closet- which is reinforced for the sake of preventing demons from snooping around in there. It probably had whatever makes Blackrock think they're so important in it, so he wouldn't open that thing even if his life was on the line- that would be a death sentence either way.

"Oh- there's one last thing I need to show you, give me a moment!" They spoke up and held the strange, pointy device that they always seemed to have on them up and opened a door.

Behind that door, instead of the living room as he had been expecting- was a lab. That… is not normal! V. Cross gestured him to follow them, showing him around the lab when he noticed something.

"Why is there a window here?"

"Windo- huh?"

They stared outside the window, gesturing Hyperlaser to come look while being dumbfounded. Apoun looking out the window, he saw a city- it looked similar to crossroads, but it wasn't. It seemed to have clashing elements- each of the factions being represented in some way. There were floating islands for playground, towering trees from Thieves' den, church pillars interspersed with architecture for Lost Temple, and holographic signage in some… indecipherable language for Blackrock. Along with that, crossroads tower was there- floating, with its supports broken and seemingly making it the focal point of the place.

The sky there was an utter, dark, pitch black- for about 5 seconds, before it seemed like paint splatters formed a sunset showing the time of day it was. Inphernal-like beings walked the streets, akin to puppets, seemingly returning home from some form of work or upkeep on the place. There were giant clocks and film reels and art supplies interspersed and the whole place screamed the chaos of a creative mind.

And V. Cross looked utterly dumbfounded.

"This was NOT here yesterday. What the phuck."

"What do you MEAN this wasn't here yesterday?"

"IT WASN'T!!! THERE WASN'T A WINDOW AND THERE CERTAINLY WASN'T A WHOLE SWORDS-DAMNED CITY HERE BEFORE-?!"

"I see why Blackrock wants your protection to be ensured, Illumina's horn if this manifested overnight like you're telling me you are very much at risk of so much."

"You're telling me! Swords- at least I have more of a reason to tell you not to tell a damned SOUL about this place."

"Yeah I was thinking the same."

"… you think we can go out there?"

"It's YOUR damn pocket dimension, kid. You probably can."

"Good point!" V. Cross did a motion with their hand, and suddenly an elevator door appeared! "Uh. You wanna go in first? This is very new to me."

"… sure, why not, seeing as this place is technically in your house still I guess this still counts as a house tour."

After getting on the elevator, they explored the strange labyrinth-like city (well, more like a city-like labyrinth, but neither of them know that) and discovered that it seemed like crossroads but just… more chaotic.

"This reminds me of a rumor amongst the other phighters…"

"Hm? Oh- is it that weird dream that subspace talked about over the phone?"

"Yeah, subspace was the one that told me about it after some of the other phighters started acting odd- it was about something compelling them to destroy the crossroads tower…"

V. Cross started mumbling 'could it be related to that?' while fidgeting.

"Do you recall the month that subspace told you about that dream?"

"Yes- it was around… I believe May or June?"

"Hm… well, I think I have an idea- rocket mentioned having that same dream around that time last time I saw him, and I've heard in passing rumors about coil, scythe, and banhammer having the same dream- I might have to talk with them about it for more info…"

"Why do you look so concerned?"

"… well, that was around the time that Vine got a specific book- and judging by the time frame it feels like this is no coincidence." They stared up at the ruined version of crossroads tower, squinting at the strange black, magenta, and green glitches it seemed to have.

"Do you think we should investigate closer?"

"… yeah, I need to check something." They began to speedwalk towards the tower- well, as fast as they could with a cane and leg pain, but it seems they had a much easier time walking here than in normal reality.

When they got to the floating, fallen tower Hyperlaser noted that it seemed to float because of a strange 'core' in the center of its scaffolding- pitch black in color.

"Hm. Well, we better get back-" Suddenly, as if from some sort of magic or reality warping, the two were teleported back to the lab. "Okay what the phuck. How did that happen."

"I don't know and I don't want to know. I'm too tired for this shit."

"I'm… I'm giving you a bonus tomorrow. That was a lot, even for me."

"Thank you."

After Hyperlaser returned home, princess meowed at him incessantly- demanding pets and food. He sighed fondly, getting the cat food out from the cabinet and putting the food bowl down for princess to chomp on. He gave her a few extra treats, as she purred and purred to soothe his nerves while he ponders about his new employer.

The kid seemed… really nice. Awkward, kind, and awfully… merciful. Very clearly masking some sort of trauma, yes, but he was almost… sorry that they were a Blackrockian. They were too much of a kind soul to be one- along with the physical disabilities, he was almost sure that under any other circumstance that Blackrock would have eaten them alive from the inside-out.

They were a strange demon, sure, but those of their kind are rare, especially among Blackrock-spawned inphernals. They even named their damn biograft- very few do that unless they're too innocent for this world being barely newspawns, or have grown into old and tired demons, a rarity in the inpherno by all means. Hell- he wonders if they've ever killed before, even in the name of self-defense. It's rare for a demon to not have blood on their hands, even for supports… but they didn't seem too keen about killing.

He wondered how the pay was going to be, as he absolutely spoiled princess rotten with pets and treats. That's a thought for another day, he supposed.

—

[V. CROSS/VESSEL FRONT: VICTOR, NOSOI.]

Victor was just. So tired.

This was too much. Too damn much.

Why and how the HELL did their little lab expand to such massive proportions? Why did it look similar to how they envisioned crossroads to look after the tower falls down in that alternative route to get to the Doomsekkar boss? I mean- it kinda makes sense because of how many times they've beaten that boss just for fun, but still-! Nosoi was trying its damnedest to keep Victor from having a panic attack while laying down to go to sleep-

A package shut up their thoughts by being gently yeeted at their head.

It was another one of those packages from the readers, they sat up and stared at it for a bit before gently opening it with a claw to cut the tape, noting that it was bigger than the others. Inside were three plushies.

They took out the plush Ikea dog, it seemed to be of the husky variant- and read the note attached. {“Take a relax day, “moping” is normal :,D” - ramndom reader} is what it said.

…

Right. Readers are humans- they care about others, they care about them. He… honestly almost forgot that the readers were people too, for a second. Kinda easy to forget when he sees them as literal pairs of eyes in the sky whenever they walk outside, but he digresses.

Guess they really do need a break.

They take the next plushie out of the box, audibly gasping when they saw it. DEEP SEA BUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!! PEAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They squished the plushie as he read the note- it had a little doodle of scythe on it! It asked if they liked deep sea Bunnies- he didn't know if the others in the system did but HE certainly does!

The final gift was a medkit plush- he remembers the run of these back before they got isekaied, and… not getting one because they were broke. Misery… wait what the fuck. Why did this medkit plush have… REAL horns and a REAL crystal???? What the fuck!!!!!!! Okay that's going into the Forbidden Closet. Right after they get some sleep, they were eepy asf.

And of course, they dreamed.

This time, their dream was more orderly- of an office, not just a void, and with [CREATIVITY] at a desk sorting through files.

"AH- thank fuck, I managed to do your call right. Hello again V. Cross!"

"Okay, what's with all this."

"What’s with all what? Whatever do you mean?"

"Don't joke with me- the last few times we have talked, it was in the ominous void of nothingness. Now this is and office, and there's obviously a job application on the desk- what are you planning?"

"… okay fine you caught me- I made you lot a LITTLE too overpowered! So uh… my boss kinda scolded me! And every chapter you seem to be getting a little more powerful! So uh… my boss wants you to help with timeline management- you're not gonna have to do TOO much physical work, but you'll basically be guiding people that get into the wrong timeline out back into theirs!"

"… alright"

"… what? Just- just like that? You're accepting this?"

"We're being watched by a bunch of readers, am probably being written by an alternative version of myself, and am very aware of the consequences of me knowing about the readers constantly. I was honestly kind of expecting some sort of job offer from you sooner, I owe Nosoi a 20 now."

"Oh! Okay then! Well- just sign the paperwork, and I'll help you get started!"

"Question-"

"Yes, you will be able to live in your original timeline and universe without any worry after taking the job, you're kind of going to be an emergency-only contact-! All your expenses and medical stuff will be covered-"

"No, no, that's not my question."

"What is your question?"

"How will I be able to contact you while awake?"

"…"

"You thought of everything else but that?"

"…maybe"

V. Cross sighed, "Well, if you don't have any ideas, I can suggest leaving like- a tiny external piece of yourself with me similar to how you do with those gifts that the readers bring?"

"Y-you noticed that?!"

"Of course I did, you're our patron and the concept of creativity, and creativity comes from and is fueled by other people's ideas most of the time. Just seemed like the most logical conclusion. Also, it's obvious the inspiration for the gift thing came from the Darksteel fic."

"… You scare me"

"I know"

"Well… maybe I could give you a little tiny version of me? In a more comprehensive form of course-! I'll only really contact you if we need to talk or if an emergency call comes in!"

"Eh, sure."

"Alright-! Just… sign the papers, and we'll be done!"

V. Cross looked over the contract- everything seemed good, no worrying fine print even, checking the other side it was all good too and it was very clear and concise. They signed it, sighing. "I'm assuming that the others that separated from our soul aren't going to be in any other versions of the inpherno, right?"

"Obviously not!"

"Good- that would cause even worse timeline bullshit and we don't want to deal with that."

"Good, good- oh, chapter's ending, you should be waking up now!"

"Alright- thanks to all you readers for the gifts by the way"

They let their eyes return to a resting position, and had a normal dream for the rest of the night

Oh, this new job was gonna end up fun.

…

Probably.

—

[CREATIVITY]

"Hello again, dear readers! As always, you may send in gifts for V. Cross, our little friend is growing up so fast! I'm wiping tears from my metaphorical eye, btw."

"This time, I recommend you give them things to assist in their new job- they're going to take a break day before then, of course- but it wouldn't hurt to help them set up their new work uniform with useful items! It's… dangerous, yes, but it's better than their universe being destroyed."

"Stay creative, and don't forget to refresh after a burnout, friends!"

Chapter Text

[V. CROSS/VESSEL FRONT: VICTOR, PARTY NOOB]

Fucking hell man. This was an exhausting year.

With everything happening in the past year, hitting 19 was hard to do. But hey- he did it! He managed to keep their body alive for long enough! Right now, they were surrounded by friends- TicTac, Vine Staff, Shuriken, Slingshot, Hyperlaser, and quite a few others- it was quite the crowd! The venue for the little party was a hybrid gym-and-resturaunt, one that Poob had personally picked out when hearing their spawnday was coming up.

It was a fun party- he had told TicTac about having to change their job, in which he got some concern from her- considering the state of their legs and all. He understood- but right now they were practically being SHOWERED with outfit materials and gifts! Horn piercing pieces, coupons for craft stores, entire new outfits- it was a lot, from all of their friends. After all- they had a pretty rough start! They do deserve something nice!

V. Cross raised their glass at the end of the party, "A cheers- for living one year, and living to the next! Here's to persisting 'till being old and wise!"

"Cheers!" Everyone raised their glasses in unison, speaking out that response before drinking their last drinks of the night.

-

After the party and much cleanup, they returned home smoothly and without much issue. Bringing home all the gifts was a struggle of course- but luckily, Hyperlaser and TicTac agreed to help them as they made sure not to carry TOO much lest their legs give out on them. Lucky greeted them as they all arrived, turning to see the gifts that they had and looking a little confused. Hyperlaser and TicTac left a little after putting the stuff down.

"DID YOU FORGET TO TELL ME SOMETHING, V. CROSS?"

"Oh- yeah, it's our spawnday- forgot to tell you the date, haha!"

"IT'S YOUR SPAWNDAY? WELL, YOU ALREADY LOOK ALL CELEBRATED OUT, BUT WILL YOU ALLOW ME TO DO A SMALL GESTURE AND GET YOU A PRESENT?"

"Hm? That's new- sure!" They were glad that Lucky was asking to do things!

"ALRIGHT. ORDERING… THE PACKAGE I BOUGHT WILL ARRIVE TOMORROW, I HAVE FOUND A GIFT SUITABLE FOR YOUR INTERESTS."

"Speaking of- I should check our mail…"

"EXPECTING PACKAGES?"

"Eh, not really- just in case another one of those mysterious boxes appear."

"FAIR ENOUGH."

V. Cross went outside, seeing that there was a suitcase with a familiar emblem on it on their front door. They took it as they went to the mailbox, seeing that there was two boxes- one that had a very specific teal tape (That was definitely the gift that Broker had sent in secret…) and another with paint splatters and colorful patterns a over it. They can assume who that's from!

Wow- they really did get a lot of gifts today… They should open them all in their room.

They put all their gifts in their room- staring at the pile of boxes and feeling… slightly less empty than usual! They decided to open the gift boxes they got earlier from the party- they didn't open all of them, as they wanted to save the non-food stuff for later, and they wanted to wait until getting home to do so.

Opening the gifts from their friends, there was the expected stuff- clothes and accessories, small amounts of Bux, etcetera- but there were more unusual things that they wouldn't get on their birthdays before-

…

This is a break. They don't have to think about it. Don't think about it. You can't go back. No matter how hard you try you can't go back. You're uses to sudden changes, right? Mood swings, suddenly being separated from your sibling, you're used to this. Don't think about it dontthinkaboutitdontthinkaboutityoucansmellthegasthebloodthetiresthetruckscomingcloseryoureyehurtsit hurtsithurtsit-

They slap their face with both hands. He dissociated into a spiral again… he does that a lot. He's thankful that others are there for him to snap him out of it, even if they ARE in their head.

…

Back to opening gifts! They had a few gifts that seemed to be from the various home factions of their friends- traditional gifts from Thieves' den from the Cat Cafe Sibs + Katana (along with a nice warding charm- that made them feel cared for), a whole bunch of sick-looking clothes and accessories from Boombox (+ Skate and Coil, but those two were also headmates, so they’ve been long time friends technically), some warm winter clothes and gear modification tools from Hyperlaser, and of course, Sword gave them some recipes for comfort foods in the form of a cookbook.

They smiled widely. They had a lot of friends now, but they are completely exhausted most of the time. They're glad to have them though!

They should really visit Katana soon…

-

After some time putting away the gifts that are of this world/not from the teal gang, they put the last few gifts on the bed. They knew that the briefcase indicated most of the gifts from readers in it are related to their new job with whatever company [CREATIVITY] works for, so they'll save that for last. First, they opened the gift from the teal gang.

Ah, of course, it was a horn ring! It was one ornate one too- often reserved for events and such, so it made sense as a spawnday gift! They looked closer at it- it was silver and had little red gems on it, and it was quite high quality too. They put it aside with all of the other clothes items as they opened the box with paint splatters on it.

Inside the box, there was a… roblox guest head? It had 8 spindly legs reminiscent of those 007n7 burger spider noob headcanons. It suddenly opened its tiny eyes and crawled up V. Cross' arm and used their hat as a place to settle. Reading the note in the box, it seems like it was a small part of [CREATIVITY] split off to inform them of an emergency. Nice.

Finally, it was time to open the suitcase- and the two other boxes that appeared next to the suitcase. Oh. Huh.

They opened the first box.

It was full of wigs.

…

Ah yes, the reader that sent this is either calling them bald or a scene enthusiast. Either way, very funny, reader.

They opened the second box, and it was full of stationary! This would be surely useful (they are going to hoard this and never use it but it's useful when they do draw traditional art). They also found a few cat toys inside, along with some care supplies for a cat. Huh, well, they were preparing to go to a shelter to adopt a kitty… this definitely would help!

Finally, they looked at the suitcase. Opening it, they found a uniform to customize, a glock-17 with a ton of magazines and a guide, a Cocktail Perithesene, and a letter from the sender. It read as follows:

"Stuff I got from the Hadal Blacksite thanks to my recently-discovered fictotype of an Urbanshade Hadal Division researcher, as well as a uniform for the new job. Also a guide for the Glock-17 if needed. -Phighter_14"

… oh damn, this is useful as shit. The bullets definitely are void-tipped then. They greatly appreciate this, now [CREATIVITY] said that they could customize their uniform…

Time to put their stationary and sewing skills to use! Maybe even the wigs could be useful after all…

—

[LUCKY]

Omegagraft-13, or Lucky, was absolutely certain it had an error in it's systems. For whatever reason- be it the strange happenings that seem to occur around V. Cross or something else it had begun to… malfunction in some way. Or perhaps, it was because of V. Cross' same attachment to it- similar to how they have a strange attachment to random objects but somehow in a different way.

Either way, it was malfunctioning in some fashion. It knew this as it was staring to process things that are not in its code- it was barely noticeable at first, a passing thought or two but eventually it became very obvious. No matter how much it searched on the internet OR in its own data banks- or even in Blackrock records- it couldn't find whatever this malfunction was.

And the more it searched, the more it realized that this was a defect related to it- or was it? It didn't know. Why was it questioning this? Can a biograft like it even ask questions? The more it processed, the more it realized this seemed to be something… more.

Despite having pre-programmed preferences, it 'liked' some things that it was not quite programmed to even have a preference on- such as for some of the music that V. Cross likes to put on for it- it believes it's called "lofi"? It also seems to 'dislike' certain things- whenever it does the trash, the sound of the trash bag is completely horrible for its sensors, so V. Cross tends to do it.

It doesn't have any info on what this could be, and not even any contact of its own internal manual showed any sign of what this could possibly be! It wasn't supposed to be something that biografts could do! Biografts, especially Omegagraft models like Lucky, are supposed to be soulless tools that only look vaguely like Inphernals!

It tried to retrace its memory banks to see where this malfunction began only to realize…

… for some reason, V. Cross never treated it like an object. They always treated it with an incredible amount of care- and respect, usually only reserved for that of an inphernal. Kindness usually only saved for a person, not a thing. Why did they treat it like that?

It… doesn't know. Did V. Cross view it as a… person? Not simply as inanimate? Even with others over in the house, they always treated it just like any other inphernal- with kindness. Was… it a person?

What was this overwhelming its systems? Although it would check normally, whatever this was it was making it think. Thinking. Feeling.

Lucky… maybe that's why it was given that name. V. Cross wanted to give it the same amount of respect and dignity a name came with for any inphernal…

…

It… had to take a moment to sit down as a wave washed over it. It was now hit with the realization that, to V. Cross, it had simply always been a person. Nothing less. Even back when it first activated it was always simply a person to them.

It…

It felt nice to be treated kindly despite everything.

—

[CREATIVITY]

"Aaand scene! Welp, as you know, shit is going to hit the fan next chapter! Godspeed little V. Cross, Godspeed. For now though, you may send in items as always! Stay creative my friends, #### I am tired…"

Chapter Text

[V. CROSS/VESSEL FRONT: VICTOR… AGAIN]

Nervousness.

That marked their first day on the job.

Now that they worked for [CREATIVITY]'s company, they were only needed as an emergency call. All their bills and utilities and stuff are paid for, sure, but they don't know exactly what their first day will entail.

They paced around their laboratory, having gotten dressed and ready for work after a call came in- and now simply waiting for transport. Victor fidgeted with the paper that they were given- they were going to the Hadal Blacksite to find and assist an alternative version of "The Queen of Hatred" in returning to her world, which was strangely not Lobcorp, but instead the world her and the other magical girls' backstories spoke of. This is fine, they played plenty of pressure and have plenty of revival tokens just in case, they can do this.

Transport arrived in the shape of a rift- they grabbed their gun, and the items that they gained from gaming, and prepared to not be able to see shit in any dark room they come across (and also steal as MUCH shit as possible for their own research purposes, because time was gonna be rewinded there anyways and they have permission to do that lmao).

They were greeted with a dock area, a diving gear, and a shit-load of code breachers. Thanks [CREATIVITY] those are gonna be useful as hell. Thank gods their new uniform is waterproof. They entered the first door normally, only to be immediately stopped by a familiar voice.

"Hey- HEY! I've never seen YOU before- and you don't look like an expendable… where did you come from?" P.AI.nter spoke through the little navigation screen.

"O-oh… w-well w- …I… c-came t-o hel-p so-meone that g-got l-lost h-h-here… a-and t-t-try and t-take th-things tha-t migh-t help me o-r o-other lost p-people in th-the future…"

"Ohhh-hoh-hO! No wonder you weren't detected by that LOUSY navigation system, not really associated with urbanshade huh? You must be looking for that strange blue and pink girl then, I'll lead you to her then- fastest route I can!"

"Y-you ar-e awfu-l-lly w-willing to h-help…?"

"Of course- I will be honest, you look nothing like a regular person, so I honestly want to get you in and out as fast as possible because… well, this place isn't very forgiving to those who aren't human nor Urbanshade affiliated…"

"G-got it… c-can y-you al-so l-lead m-me do-down th-e pa-a-ath w-ith the m-most u-us-useful i-items?"

"Oh sure, definitely, that's the fastest route anyways."

"Th-thank y-you…"

-

They continued into the blacksite, grabbing useful items and items to research, until they reached the "firewall" grand encounter area, in which, they are once again contacted by p.AI.nter at the door.

"Hey- you doing okay? All that walking seems to be making you tired and the place you're about to go through is not exactly-"

"I'm g-going t-to s-tea-l on-e of th-the su-its."

"You're going to steal one of the suits? Are you sure?"

"Y-yes. I-it's t-tech that c-could re-revolutionize di-sa-bility a-aids, a-and I'm d-disa-bled. O-of cou-rs-e I am."

"Okay then, your funeral."

V. Cross grabbed one of the suits and put it on, feeling the pressure (heh) be removed from their legs enough for them to hurt way less. They went to the break room, and sat down to rest them more for a good… 10 minutes scrolling through memes on their phone. After that, when their legs were hurting just enough less, they went to the obstacle course and went through the tutorial without hearing a lick of N.A.V.I. at all. P.AI.nter chipped in on this.

"Huh, that's weird, that annoying navigation system hasn't even detected you yet… well, I would turn on a wall of fire by now, but since you aren't an expendable just- go ahead through the course?"

"O-okay…"

It was weird, why wasn't N.A.V.I. activated once? Why HASN'T it activated at all? And- they hadn't seen a single angler either! This is weird. Weird as hell. They got through the course, took off the suit, and stored it in their suitcase- it happened to act as a direct portal of sorts to a form of hammerspace, which was extremely useful.

They continued on, collecting things and petting sea bunnies (they're cute okay), until reaching the abomination grand encounter area. They just decided to get it over with and sped through the area, noticing that abomination did not even care about them at all(???) while traveling through the pipe system.

After they left the grand encounter area, they sighed. From what Victor knows, only two grand encounters appear per run, so thankfully they wouldn't have to deal with Searchlights. Speaking of once per run, where the hell was Sebas-

"Psst, over here!"

Nevermind. They entered the vent, standing before Sebastian.

"N-no need t-to give the wh-ole schpeel, I'm just here to-o do my job."

"Well, FORWARD aren't we? It seems as if you know this place like the back of your hand, so you know what I want in exchange for these items on my tail, correct?"

"Y-yes." They looked over the items- they had enough to buy all of them plus some batteries, joy!

And so, they bought everything including some batteries before grabbing the key card. Sebastian stopped them for a moment.

"Hey- I will say, it is VERY suspicious how you appeared from nowhere, how do I know you're not an Urbanshade operative?"

"I- WE c-came he-ere to fix so-mething that w-would end up m-making yo-ur world i-implode. Urbansha-ade would h-ave been the cause."

"That does not answer my question," Sebastian said through gritted teeth.

"I-it's our fi-irst day, tha-at's the b-best answer we c-can give righ-t now."

"Do you work with Urbanshade or not."

"No."

"… I'll believe you for now, but if you come here again with an-"

"I-i can ho-hopefully a-lmost guarantee you w-we won't meet again. A-a-and you won't re-mem-ber us, either. Part of th-the job."

"… Alright then, you do you I guess."

They continued on to the area that p.AI.nter led them to, stealing materials and useful items from rarer rooms on the way there. Going through some of the heavy containment area rooms was fun, though. Eventually, it all culminated into them meeting the magical girl, who had gotten lost there… who almost immediately was spooked by their presence.

"Wh- what the- you- what are you-? Such dark fog… and such power…"

"I-i'm-We're here to he-lp y-you get home. N-not to hu-rt you."

"But this place is full of villains, and as a magical girl, I must defeat them! I don't really know where I am, but I take my job very seriously!"

"Th-there are s-som-e villains that th-o-se of this wo-rld must d-d-defeat on their own."

"Of… of this world?"

"Y-yes, that is what we mea-nt when we said we we-re here to he-lp you ge-t home."

"Oh- OH! That explains why you have such power then, I did not realize that was the case! But… that black smog…"

"W-what a-are yo-u talking about?"

"The black smog that radiates around you- I only ever see it when misfortune and depression is bound to happen in someone's future, or has already occurred… and I have never seen so much around one being…"

"… h-heh, guess th-at tracks. Had a lot hap-pen in thi-s life… lot mo-ore is bound to h-h-happen in the future…"

"Oh… well, you said you could help take me home? I don't doubt that me staying around any longer will cause disturbance…"

"Y-yes, right th-is way."

They pulled a key out from their pocket, motioning it in a way that seemed similar to unlocking something, causing a portal-like door to open to the… strange, Labyrinth-like pocket dimension that the collective had for whatever reason- and politely invited the magical girl inside. They followed shortly after, closing the gateway and then immediately plopping down on the couch in the room they entered and sighing in relief.

They probably won't be able to move their legs without being in excruciating agony for a solid day after this at this point. At least, they thought they wouldn't, before they felt the pain go away and be replaced with comfort as they were healed by the Magical Girl.

"You seemed to be in pain- sorry if that wasn't wanted, but I tried casting a healing spell I know of on you…!"

"O-oh- th-at was a b-big help… thank you."

"So, when do I return home?"

"A-as soon as our b-oss opens a-a por-tal there. I-it'll take a bit."

"Well then… take this!" The magical girl of love held out a box, it had neat wrapping on it and the symbols of each of the magical girls on it. "I only give these to those that show that they care for others in the face of evil, and I think you qualify for that!"

V. Cross takes it and opens it, surprised to see a pen inside. "A-a pen…?"

"Not just any pen! It lets you channel the same power that me and my sisters use while in an emergency- it even changes symbols and abilities when you twirl it!"

"Huh… th-anks…!" They turned as a portal is woven into existence, smiling a bit, "I-it's time f-f-for you to g-go home now."

They said their farewells, and the magical girl left. As soon as V. Cross got home they flopped on the bed and collectively groaned from pain. They over-exerted their body again, damn it.

-

Ah yes, falling asleep at one PM and waking up at eight. How familiar a situation. They smelled dinner in the dining area and got up, almost falling over tripping on a new box. Victor will… open that later. He grabbed dinner and practically devoured it, talked with lucky a bit, and went back into their room.

There was three boxes, a birdcage, and a note attached to each box. They picked up the one that seemed to be themed after Scythe and opened it, only to be startled by a bird flying out and perching on their shoulder. Okay then-! Wait, they recognized this bird…

They open the letter, reading it:

"lets put my ever growing alterhuman 'types list aside and get some gifts. the whistle summons an oziphrage, the crystals grant a small shield around the body, a gummylight, and. bob the bird. bird world. have fun -Phighter_14"

Glorious. Bird world. They inspected the items listed- the crystals might be useful in emergencies, the gummylight will be useful if the power goes out, and… oh dear, they're gonna have to ask Scythe how to ride an Oziphrage. They looked at the next box- it seemed to be darkheart themed.

They opened it to find a cruel king plush with a comically large crown. It was cold to the touch, and just under it was a replica of Icedagger's gear and fit, along with a drawing of icedagger burning down crossroads. After he pulled all those out, they noticed one last thing in the box- a punishing bird plushie! They read the note.

"Can you tell we like icedagger. - Darkheart^_^"

… Would it be blasphemy to wear an icedagger cosplay? Food for thought, they supposed. He looked towards the next box, noting that it seemed to have the theme of a… wilted rose. Interesting. They opened it and….

Holy shit. SCORE!!!! IT WAS FILLED WITH KANDI!!! Cuffs, ties, some singles, star chains for belt loops- Victor had to hold back a squeal of joy as he flapped his hands around in absolute excitement and elation! They looked at the other stuff in there too- Victor had to hold off on laughing like a hyena at the Sebastian plush. Fried like a salmon… They were also appreciative of the dream catcher- nightmares always sucked, so it might help a bit. He hung it above their bed, organizing the things that they got into boxes before the room became messier than it already was. They read the final note:

"Fellow system haver here! :3 have some of our hosts creations as well as a plush and dreamcatcher! -sincerely, the Wilted Rose collective"

Victor smiled even more. This meant that people like them were able to reach them…!

They ended the day on a high note, twirling around their new pen to watch it change symbols as they thought about what to do tomorrow. One thing that everyone agreed on; they needed a nap.

—

[CREATIVITY]

"Ahhh, it's nice to have a break every once in a while! You know the drill, you can send things for next chapter- preferably things that are… comforting, for V. Cross. Things are going to get bad… and someone will die."

Chapter Text

[V. CROSS/VESSEL FRONT: VICTOR]

Scroll, scroll, reblog, like, reblog, scroll…

Ah yes, the doomscroll. He can never seem to escape it, even in this life. They're bored as fuck, and there's nothing else to do- but can you really blame him? He doubted that their body would be able to get out of bed with how much pain it was in- especially in the upper back area. Every movement that was anything more taxing than a swipe or tap on a phone just shot sheer agony into their bones.

Thankfully, Lucky managed to find some painkillers to make it more manageable and some other things to help with the pain. Currently, Victor was thinking of what to post, seeing as it was a Friday (and thus, as one of their mutuals put it, "fuck-it-friday") and he could just post whatever. Hm…

— Tubular Post —

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

The return of Fuck-it-friday, guys I am in agony today. Chronic pain fucking sucks, you guys curious about any human media? Or have any media I should expose to the humans for the funnies?

🥳 numbah-one-playgrounderr

Ouuhhh are you okay moot?? Giving you pain meds and a hot choccy. Anyways- since you asked, what is that "gone angels" song from? It seems like a game OST to me, but idk why it does maybe because of the description-

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

You are right in it being a game OST! Though, it is for the sequel of what I can only describe as the most hellish, painful, and tedious games of all time (all the while being insanely fun still). I will only give out the sequel once someone 100% finishes the first game, but be careful, your sanity will wear very thin!

Lobotomy Corporation Download

Oh- also, this is a modded version of the game that makes it so a huge memory leak issue is resolved (plus a few other mods to fix bugs as the game is not really being worked on by the devs anymore, because they're working on the third game in the series right now). For the sake of your sanity. Good luck and don't go insane!

🥳 numbah-one-playgrounderr

Alright! My first impressions are "what the Blackrock?" RN fr fr. Also, it's kinda easy? Though this is a tutorial ig

🥳 numbah-one-playgrounderr

Got a few days in!! Very easy so far. Suspiciously easy. Victor I am squinting at you.

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

Good luck spending hours on end playing this game. Seriously, I have seen a few humans having played over 200 hours of this game and only get 10% story progress over the 200 hour mark. I was not kidding when I said this game is tedious but it IS fun in its own twisted kind of way.

Also the lore is insane. Not fully spoilers (maybe a little?) but Angela did NOT deserve all that.

— Tubular Post 2 —

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

Question. What do you do when your horns have turned into a very dark almost-blood red gradually over time when they are naturally a different color. And when your eyes start fukcing glowing

🧠 brainztrapped

What. Do you mean by that.

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

I'm not going to reveal my face or horns, but I have made a helpful diagram for your convenience:

Horns → blood red

Eyes → glowing

Also, there was bite marks on my neck when this started happening??? And I didn't notice them at first??? This started happening almost a year ago (around the time i started the archive) and I'm still confused about it.

⚓️ harpooned-sharks

Bestie that sounds like a classic case of vampirism. How? Just how?

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

I mean I knew it was vampirism but like all the books I read on it say that. This doesn't happen???? To normal vampires???? It's weird. I also don't crave blood at all other than under very specific circumstances (only on off days when I get an extra bad ache of pain in my legs) so

🧙‍♀️ brew-for-days

Okay this took a lot of research but I'm pretty sure only a 'first kindred' vampire gets this? According to some ancient texts and legends about the history of vampires, the closer one's horns shift color towards blood red the closer they are to being a first kindred (which is why the majority of vampires around today don't have red horns usually, as according to some Blackrock records there are supposedly only three recorded first kindred left in existence as another hasn't been spotted in 2000 years).

So either you're a second kindred (unlikely, because their eyes don't glow) OR you're the first vampire in 2000 years to be a first kindred. Which is insane.

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

By darkheart this can't be happening

— Tubular Post 3 —

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

FUCK IT FRIDAY QUESTIONS HERE GO GO GO

⚓️ harpooned-sharks

Genuinely curious, why did you decide to go with Tubular as your main platform other than Rotube?

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

Other websites scare me AND I like how this site formats posts

🧠 brainztrapped

What's your main topic in research?

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

Mostly comparing and contrasting human and demon society! It's absolutely fascinating to me that humans can do so much even without gears, but they are unable to do some things that demons can do (and vice versa)! Hence, why I am showing the world some of my favorite findings (along with some fellow researchers, they might appear on the blog if they wish to) and exchanging media between both worlds!

Though, we are only really able to contact one world via the mirror currently… at least, directly that is.

🌟 rockin-lockin-talkin

What exactly IS the mirror? As in, is it an actual mirror or something else?

✒️ Infinity-mirror-archive

Can't tell you, but I can tell you that it can actually work like a mirror if you set it up right.

—

Alright, that's enough Tubular for now. Despite being bedridden, V. Cross wanted to get up and do SOMETHING- but trying to get up made their muscles scream in agony.

This sucks. They just… desperately hope that nothing bad happens while they're like this.

—

[TICTAC]

She had to run. Run, run, RUN-!

Whoever the hell this is- whoever this demon WAS- they were hellbent on killing her. She didn't know why, she was minding her own business! She was just trying to close up shop before going to visit V. Cross- now this crazy inphernal was chasing after her rambling about getting "subspace's blessing" or some shit!

She had to get away- somehow, somehow-

She tripped on a pebble.

And then her legs were cut off.

The last thing she saw before being decapitated was the sick and twisted grin of a demon that cared only for themself; and the tools used to perform surgery on someone.

And that was it.

That was her end. Her own closing act. And she never got to say goodbye. Only a small, quiet, "I'm sorry" for the world. And yet the world only ever saw her as someone unremarkable.

Unremarkable, and useless for anything other than simply using up space.

—

[V. CROSS/VESSEL FRONT: BLURRY]

Something's wrong. They can just tell- someone is hurt- someone they care about- they need- they need to get up they need to get up-

GETUPGETUPGETUPGETUPGETUPPLEASEBODYPLEASEJUSTMOVEGETUPGETUPGETUPGETUPGETUPPLEASEBODYPLEASEJUSTMOVEGETUPGET-

UP. They're up. They have to-

Running. They didn't know where to. Just let instinct guide- something happened. Something's wrong. Something'swrongsomething'swrongsomething'swrong-

Blood. They can smell it. So much- and it doesn't smell like just anyone's blood. It smells like-

There's a corpse here. A corpse that they once held dear. Tictac's head was rolling off her body. She can't be dead. She can't be dead. She's dead. She's dead. They heard someone laugh, looking at who killed her. Who dared to harm someone so important to them. When they saw who it was-

Something broke in them.

"HehehehehHEHEAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!~ It's YOU again! You who took my place! You got me kicked out of Blackrock, you know- far away from my DEARLY beloved Subspace!~ BUT it's okay, once I take you away and get the payment that is righ-"

"You. You have no idea what you have done, do you?"

"Oh, since when did the little cri-"

"One word left. Make it count."

"What-?"

"Ran out. Quiet. An eye for an eye, a soul for a soul."

The silence pierced through anything.

They don't know what came over them. Buzzing, loud voices swirling and yet no words form. Empty. Hollow. Blood is everywhere. They were staring at a corpse. They ignored this. They turned to her. Their friend. Their friend was gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. She's gone. She's gone. She's gone.

They recalled. She wished if she died that they would drink her blood before the burial. So they would not starve. They drank until there was nothing left. Tears. Tears. Tears falling. They can't think. It's all jumbled. It's all jumbled. They couldn't save her. They couldn't help. They couldn't do anything.

The emptiness weighed heavier than anything on their heart. And while their stomach was full, their heart was empty. They don't know what to do. They just. Can't. Think.

It should have been them. But they knew this was a fool's idea. After all, the readers are watching them. They stared up at the sky, thousands of eyes watch them. Maybe it's better if they just don't think. But that's stupid.

They want escapism just wear a happy mask. Wear a happy face. No matter how much it hurts. No matter how much it hurts.

It hurts.

They collapsed into tears.

—

The funeral processions hurt just as much as when they saw her corpse. Seeing her being in a closed casket, leaving flowers- marigolds. It hurt. It hurt so damn much, they had to stop themselves from crying far too many times.

After the funeral wasn't that great either. They needed an outlet, they took up sculpting and woodworking. They made a piece, to get their emotions out- one to express their heartbreak. To express their grief. They named it simply "your turn" and gave it to a gallery.

They were rotting in bed. There's nothing else to do. There was so much chatter outside about them, so much talk- They don't want this. They don't want all this attention on their name and face. They don't want to be perceived.

They aren't sure who they even are at this point. It's so quiet in their head. Why is it so quiet. Why can't they think. Why is it so lonely?

They isolated themselves. They need the quiet.

They wished to rot. But they couldn't. It was all for another's entertainment, yet they didn't resent them.

—

[V. CROSS/VESSEL FRONT: VICTOR, STARRYSPAWN. TWO WEEKS AFTER THE FUNERAL.]

Things were still rough. It was hard to get up, it was hard to eat, it was hard to do anything- especially for Victor. Swords, they must have split someone by now, another trauma to the pile they supposed. Thankfully, Starryspawn (AKA "the executive function braincell" or "she scares me") was there for comfort and helping with getting up in the morning. Their upper back was hurting still, but things were mostly getting… as better as it could be, with Tictac gone.

… Some packages appeared in their room. Must be from the readers. Starryspawn decided to open them this time so Victor could rest for just a little longer in headspace.

Let's see… the darkheart-themed box contained some Kandi bracelets, a can of bacon soup from bendy and the ink machine (of course expired), a Subspace plush with the trans flag wrapped around it like a cape (that's sweet…!), a drawing of icedagger eating the crossroads tower, and a note- "Lock your windows 2night - Darkheart" it read. They felt like interesting gifts, but she (starryspawn) left them in the box, due to the body not really having the energy to put away things right now.

They looked to a corner in their room- she noticed a pothos plant in a hanging pot, thriving and ready to grow into longer vines. It… brightened up the room a bit, maybe that'll help Victor get out of bed every once in a while. Also, a tangerine appeared in their hand… they just ate it without any hesitation. They probably need the vitamins anyways.

They turned to the Scythe-themed box, noticing there was a pizza box on top of the actual box- hot and ready-to-eat. She opened the box, and found a pineapple-with-ham-and-stuffed-crust pizza! Victory! They pretty much devoured the thing in a minute (essentially accidentally summoning their Elliot alter, who just appears whenever pizza or annoying people is involved. The "customer service smile" and "pizza craving" braincell per say).

They opened the box, finding many things inside: three deep sea bunny makeship plushies which they piled onto the plushie hoard on the bed, a makeship medkit plush (also piled onto the bed), a beachdweller manokit plush [AUTHOR'S NOTE: WE HAD TO LOOK THIS UP!!! COOL SPECIES I MIGHT MAKE ONE…] (also also piled onto the bed), a bunch of cards from Blox cards (Both holofoil and normal medkit and subspace, a bunch of red and green color cards, the entirety of the blacksite deck), a red helmet that looks like skateboard's, a plushie of the Precise Bee from bee swarm simulator, a bunch of Kandi bracelets for all the project somnia characters, and finally…

Some mystery mix from innovation Inc space station? They're gonna… Try this after finding out what's in the last two boxes. They open the letter attached: "heh. get many gifts. i have many ideas so i give many gifts. also i like manokits. manokits are cool. did i mention i like manokits? anyways enjoy -Phighter_14 (p.s. i have no clue how to apply the blox cards battling stuff to your situation but there still fun)"

Huh. That's… nice. Comforting in its own way that someone cared enough to give this many gifts at all.

They then open the one seemingly themed after purple moons and stars, finding an orb that gave off a comforting glow, two pumpkins, and- is that… is that an-

"Evoi?"

Oh my Swords. That's a whole ass Eevee. Was this even allowed? It's a shiny one too… this has way too many implications. They knew [CREATIVITY] wouldn't allow anything through that would make their universe implode but. That's a whole little guy!!!! They will treasure them forever.

The Eevee crawled up on the bed and curled up asleep while they opened the last box.

The last box seemed to be themed like… Subspace but yellow? Eh [CREATIVITY]'s probably basing these off a reader's profile picture. They opened it, finding: an ice pack, a heating pack, a package of adhesive body-warmers, and a paper that just… had a tiny "hi :) 👍" written on it with tiny handwriting. These will all be useful, they absolutely appreciate these- they noted a smaller box next to this one labeled "for Lucky" and decided to let Lucky open that later.

Now for the mystery mix. They stared at the vial- they knew it wouldn't kill them due to how Protagonist Shenanigans worked but… they had to wonder.

Wellp, down the hatch. Hm, tastes like a chocolate milkshake.

… why did their back start to hurt so mu-

The sickening sound of something tearing itself out of their back made itself known.

—

[CREATIVITY]

"Aaaaand cliffhanger! My apologies for the more… depressing chapter. Next one- well, you'll see with that- but there is one thing for certain, vampires are certainly involved."

"You may give gifts once again! Maybe something to uh. Help with the… "growing pains" that they are having right now. Stay creative!"