Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

REQUESTS ARE CLOSED FOR NOW! (as of July 10th) They will reopen once I start posting some of them, thank you for requesting! This’ll be the last update for this part of the fic for now besides the actual stories. Again thank you for requesting :3

Rules :D
I CAN DO:

Fluff (🌺)

Angst (🔪)

Smut (🔥)
I can't guarantee smut will be any good but here's hoping

Basically anything that isn't problematic if that makes it easier.

If any minors are involved it'll be a SFW chapter btw. (NOTE IF THEY ARE ONLY MENTIONED IN A NON-PROBLEMATIC LIGHT THE CHAPTER CAN STILL BE NSFW!!)

If there are any rare-pairs you want me to do then I will gladly do them :D

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I WILL NOT DO:

Rape/non-con

Proships/darkships

Any extreme kinks such as piss, shit, vomit, necrophillia, misuse of guns, knives, or any weapons in a sexual manor, ageplay, wound fucking (this also includes eye sockets), blood as lube, vore, feet + more to be added.

Dream game (I'm so sorry y'all it seems genuinely interesting but I can't bring myself to play it :C)

Any OC's (sorry again :C)

Any Reader/Character prompts

Age regression (I know this and age play are two different things but I do not feel comfortable writing fully grown adults acting like kids at all im so sorry)
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IFFY (I can do it but it depends on the context):

Breeding kinks

Crack fics

Any AUs you want me to write! Unless it’s problematic.
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If you request anything that I have in my not do's then it will not be done. Simple.

Also content warnings will be in notes if anything triggering like self harm/suicide are in it! I don't want anyone to relapse :(

Any who, have fun requesting! :D

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LIST OF REQS/FINISHED REQS (as of AUG 02nd ^^):

1: 1x1x1x1/007n7 (SFW angst/fluff 🔪🌺) ✅ DONE WITH ART!! It’s less angst/fluff and more hurt/comfort(?) sorry :(

2: Doomsekkar AKA Doombringer/Dusekkar (SFW [?] angst/fluff 🔪🌺) WIP!! 2nd part I wrote is out!! No art yet, that would be spoiling! :D

3: Tough luck AKA Guest 1337/Chance (SFW fluff🌺) ✅ DONEEEEE this is like hurt/comfort too i think? idk man

4: Daisy/Jane Doe (SFW fluff🌺) ← working on this one rn :D

5: Two Time/Taph (NSFW fluff🌺)

6: Telamon/Taph (SFW fluff 🌺)

7: Noob and 007n7 (SFW fluff 🌺)

8: Tough luck AKA Guest 1337/Chance (SFW angst/fluff 🔪🌺)

9: Knucklesandwich AKA Guest 1337/007n7 (NSFW smut/fluff 🔥🌺)

10: John Doe/Jane Doe/Guest 1337/Daisy (NFSW smut/fluff 🔥🌺)

11: Paycheck AKA Chance/Elliot: PLOT TWIST ITS YURI!! (SFW fluff 🌺)

12: Two Time and Chance (SFW angst and fluff 🔪🌺)

13: Noli/007n7 (NSFW smut 🔥)

14: Elliot/Guest (NSFW smut 🔥)

2.5/14 done!! :D

!!!UPDATEs!!! (posted SEPT 12TH 2025) WHERE THE HELL HAVE I BEEN? good question. uuuhm. is it bad to say i lowkey forgot about this :( either way im back to writing! so sorry about that, i promise it wont happen again! ----------------- archive for updates ig ----------------- (posted AUG 2ND 2025):
Holy moly! An update?! Yes!! This is sorta like an update log ig? Anything before this will not be logged as I lowkey forgot about them. But besides the art ig nothing would really NEED to be logged, right? Okay, besides that, I actually have news!!! Brand new unrequested oneshots are gonna get released!! Not sure when… but they will be thrown in here for ease and organization (or something?), but requested oneshots will be marked with a pink heart 🩷, while unrequested ones will be marked with a yellow heart 💛! Unfinished requests, or ones that are going to be released in parts are marked with a jelly fish 🪼! Anywho, where have I been? Gghuguuuugh besides living life, I’ve been helping out my dad with some of his medical stuff! It has slowed down, but my dance classes have started back up so that may or may not be a factoring contributor? Who knows, I’m still on summer break! Please note that this will not be my highest priority to work on once I get all of the current pending requests done, will it reopen? I’m sure of it! When will it reopen? When I have no other ideas! When is that? No clue! All in all this little segment is just for updates for the requests being released in parts, where I have been if I've been gone for a little while, or just small things! Anyways, cya when I’m done with the next request! :3

Chapter Text

Hate.

It’s all they ever felt.

It’s all he knew.

Taught from a young age.

She held it like a thin blanket on a cold night.

It’s similar to the thorns on a rose, the venom from an angel’s trumpet.

Even when stuck in the Banlands, locked within a cage for the rest of eternity, hate flowed through her veins.

But ‘only knowing hatred’ changed when they were torn from the real world, and tossed into a game.

It was around a month since they were thrown into the mix of this cat and mouse game, and it happened within Yorick’s resting place.

The atmosphere was cold, the grass crunched like it had already died, but the lake was prosperous with poison. 1x1x1x1 took note of how deep the lake actually was, some parts were as shallow as a puddle, while other areas could’ve been as deep as an ocean. But one thing about the lake was no one could drown in it. Odd was an understatement for the lake, but 1x1x1x1 wasn’t complaining, it was useful for knocking the survivors into it and finishing them off while they were struggling.

This round was going well for 1x1x1x1, there was three minutes and thirty seconds left, as Guest, Elliot, Shedletsky, Two Time and Chance were all already dead, with both Taph and Noob low on health as well. 007n7 was planned to be the next one gone. Now 007n7 was always an easy target, usually giving up if he was at death’s doorstep, but saving him for last was a pain in 1x1x1x1’s ass. His dumb teleporting and cloning abilities were hated by all of the killers except C00lkidd.

1x1x1x1 saw in the distance while outside of the mansion made out of rotting pine wood that 007n7 had pulled out his c00l.gui right beside the river, seeing that she was right there, practically the closest to him.

007n7 was rushing, trying to type in his teleport command as quickly as he could, and silently cursing himself out, it's been years since he’s had to type any sort of command so he was rusty. He made an oath to not use his c00l.gui when he adopted C00lkidd, but desperate times call for desperate measures. His glasses kept slipping off the tip of his nose from the sweat, his bones ached, Though in a place where time bends at its own will, and life isn’t fair, 007n7 didn’t see the entanglement headed straight towards him.

He let out a yelp as he stumbled backwards, one of the daemonshanks was digging right into one of his thighs, while the other looped around both of his legs before sticking the landing right into 007n7’s shin. His c00l.gui disintegrated into hundreds of lines of code before seemingly disappearing into thin air. 007n7 tried to keep his balance, but the uneven ground betrayed him, and he slipped into the river head first. Shit! He wasn’t really much of a floater in water, and with his legs bound together while there are two shanks in them? No one left would help, he shuddered at the thought of drowning alone. At least when you get your head split into two there’s usually someone around trying to help, and your murderer above you, but drowning in a poisoned cold lake? The only thing accompanying you is your own thoughts, and 007n7’s might as well be a cluttered, unorganized mess.

There was a splash.

Bubbles started to rise up as the water rippled, disturbed at the sudden weight.

But no one came back up.

Whatever, 1x1x1x1 decided not to pay any mind to 007n7 for now, there were more important people to go after.

His skin felt like it was burning off, he was stuck. Just stuck. 007n7’s eyes were squeezed shut, but they stung. The worst of it was in his wounds, it felt like they were drenched in gasoline then lit on fire, but he held out some fragment of hope that someone, someone on his side would help. 007n7 raised his arms, trying to splash to get someone’s attention.

1x1x1x1 let out a low chuckle, watching the water weakly ripple from a distance. Someone would help the man eventually, and it wasn’t going to be them. This weak team usually helped each other out, so what difference would it make in this situation? He looked behind himself, and saw Noob running into the mansion. Wow, no wonder why these guys can barely survive all three rounds in a day, they have the survival instincts of morons.

For her, hate was like an umbrella word for everything he felt. All sorts of anger, pain, anguish, it was all there, covered up by a blanket and a craving to make others perish. They didn’t mind what the others thought of her, all that mattered was that they all felt the same pain that he did at one point. But nothing would match what happened in the heights, or in the Banlands, since everyone healed up as soon as they returned to the cabin after suffering for five minutes. It didn’t make sense to 1x1x1x1, but she would try their best to do what it takes for everyone to ache like he did at one point.

Soon enough, within twenty seconds, Noob was torn apart by his swords, and what remained of them laid in front of 1x1x1x1. It was a mangled mess, but 1x1x1x1 had made it, created it, caused it. But there was no relief. Relief… it was unnatural to 1x1x1x1. They had never felt it, the weight off of her shoulders, the sudden feeling that calmed everyone, he didn’t know what it was like. Even after killing who created them, there was no relief. There never was. There never has been. It felt like there never will be, no matter how much 1x1x1x1 tried. She sighed at the thought, but there were still annoying people that had to endure agony. It would be easy, the only defense that the rest had were Builderman’s annoying turrets, but those were a cake walk to destroy.

1x1x1x1 walked out of the mansion, and saw Taph setting up a tripwire on one of the bridges, not a thought in that head of his. Weird as the other two weren’t around Taph. She decided not to think about it, and sent out a mass infection right towards the demolitionist. He didn’t look up until it was too late. Taph tried to abandon his trip wire, but as he stood up it hit his back. It burned as he tried to run away, but 1x1x1x1 was right on his tail.

As the time ticked down, the water still weakly rippled. No one noticed. No one cared. Hope was a silly little thing, not one usually compared to hatred and demise. Hope lingered like hate, but it was less angry and selfish, it was more fearful and selfless.

1x1x1x1 sliced through the steel tripwire like it was butter, and rushed right to Taph. He was limping, and you could make out terror in each of his steps. They landed a slash on the demolitionist right after Dusekkar missed one of his spells, and that hit was the one that caused him to keel over and die. His body laid in front of the towering hill, the hill with Builderman half way down.

Dusekkar was half health, sitting beside one of Builderman’s dumb dispensers. Builderman seemed to be doing fine, full health, a freshly built turret on the other side of the hill.

Pathetic.

1x1x1x1 narrowed her eyes, watching Builderman trying to slowly make his way back up the hill. They sighed before he started to run up the hill.

007n7 had lowered one of his hands to cover his nose and mouth, trying to keep his breath, he still held out hope. Some sickening hope that someone was going to help him. But deep down he knew no one would. He knows all about his reputation with the other survivors, so why would they come and help him out of all people? He kept trying to bob up and down, has his hand even made the smallest splash yet?

A sword was penetrated right through Builderman's chest, and roughly torn out. As soon as 1x1x1x1 did so, they reached for his daemon shanks, to only realize that she didn’t have them. Dusekkar was already running away from 1x1x1x1, waiting for the two shanks to stab him somewhere in his body.

Has no one really helped that loser yet? 1x1x1x1 grumbled to themself, they hadn’t been around that area of the map since he knocked 007n7 in, so maybe someone helped him. Oh well, he could catch up to the pumpkin mage in no time, he seemed to be slower here than back on the heights. She cracked her neck before she dashed for Dusekkar.

Dusekkar had made it around the graveyard, not noticing anyone struggling in the water. He turned his back, watching 1x1x1x1 getting closer and closer. He summoned a spell to hit him, but 1x1x1x1 simply moved a little to the left. Dusekkar sighed and let out a curse, turned around, and tried to keep running.

1x1x1x1 was out for blood, that crave to cause harm wasn’t satisfied, it never was. He quickly caught up to Dusekkar, who was in front of the bridge over the river. They brought up one of their swords, and slashed his stupid pumpkin head. The Two minutes and thirty seconds was shortened to one minute and ten seconds, and 007n7’s body was highlighted in red. Underground, in the river, legs still bounded together by the daemon shanks. The water that was vigorously rippling when the man was first knocked in, was now weaker, and 1x1x1x1 could tell that 007n7 was attempting to try and catch someone's attention. She grumbled to herself, if they were going to win this round one way or another, he had to fish him out of the water. Just before the red highlight faded away, 1x1x1x1 took note of what seemed to be like 007n7 giving up. He was still squirming in the purple water, mainly his legs but that was probably because of the daemon shanks, his one hand that he was waving had stopped. It floated there, with the rest of his body. Odd how no one took initiative to help, 1x1x1x1 saw Builderman run away from the graveyard. Whatever, this is a one and done, a quick kill, an easy win.

He strolled to where 007n7 last stood before falling into the lake, and glanced into the purple tinted water. Soon bubbles started to float up, 007n7’s hand that was covering his nose and mouth left, he was going to let himself die in a lake that he can’t drown in. 1x1x1x1 quickly dipped their arm into the water, grabbed onto 007n7’s hand that floated above his body, and yanked him out of the water with ease. As soon as 007n7’s head was above the murky water, he was gasping for air. How long was he even under for? His burger hat fell to the floor, his glasses were askew, and 007n7 was trying to wipe his eyes with his free hand.

When 007n7 finally opened his eyes to view his savior, they quickly widened to shock, seeing 1x1x1x1, her hand wrapped around his wrist and holding him up with ease.

“How long have you been in there?” 1x1x1x1 asked, his eyes narrowing at the end of their sentence.

“Oh! I-uh… good question…!” 007n7 sputtered out, feeling the grip around his wrist tighten. A dumb little nerdy smile was sprawled on his face, revealing fear.

1x1x1x1 sighed before questioning something else.

“Ugh, scratch that. Where was anyone else to help? I saw Builderman glance at you as you fell in. I’ve seen the rest leave you for dead more often than everyone else.”

“...Ah. Well, I don’t exactly have the best history with most of the others. It’s… it’s karma for past actions.” 007n7 sheepishly replied, looking away from 1x1x1x1.

“Just karma? Nothing else more… forceful? Anything full of hate?” 1x1x1x1 grilled, tilting their head slightly. Confusion was normal to them, if anything it was what they usually felt when not flowing with hate.

“No, it's more just avoidance. It makes sense why they do it, I sorta deserve it in the end” 007n7 explained.

Those words made 1x1x1x1 more confused. How can a person be surrounded by people that don’t actively like or help them, but don’t hold hate in their heart for each of them?

“-Sorry if I sound like I’m rushing you, but could you please just kill me? I don’t want the others to see this, sorry. Thanks for being…”

“Concerned?”

“Yeah, concerned. Thank you.” 007n7 mumbled, waiting for the pain.

1x1x1x1 grunted as a response while moving their other hand to hold 007n7’s throat, and quickly broke it. For once it felt… oddly wrong. Was wrong a good word to describe it? Whatever, this feeling will go away as time flies by, everything else usually did.

That’s when it started.

The hate that they held for so long had grown some bubbles of curiosity for a different feeling.

How could no one hate the people around for treating them like shit?

1x1x1x1 felt like giving the man an ounce of mercy, something the other man obviously hadn’t been given in a long time if you looked at his appearance closely.

This feeling was new, but it was far from liking.

Far from love.

Such emotions and feelings would never reside in the great terror that is 1x1x1x1! Afterall they are the creation of hatred, why would she need to feel such things?

Why would he need to feel anything other than hate in the first place?

Towards a measly exploiter that pathetically gave up when he found a rather annoying child on his doorstep?

Please, there were so many better options in this realm alone!

Even then people were rather boring and bothersome, just fuel in the fire for the hate that he was.

—

It was during the time of the third round for the day, and 1x1x1x1 was busy making dinner for everyone, especially c00lkidd, he was cranky and tired after rounds and 1x1x1x1 was not in the mood to deal with him and his shenanigans. Honestly for a kid so hyper, him and 007n7 were polar opposites.

C00lkidd was hyper, probably insane, overly happy, too happy for here anyways, happy to be around anyone and everyone, up to everything cheery and just… annoying. But it’s not like some of the survivors.

007n7 was usually tired and achey, no one would be surprised if he had some sort of mental problem, really depressing, sometimes you could see tear tracks down his face, and while annoying there was always something off with him. Usually giving up after taking a couple of hits.

Ambition wasn’t everyone’s thing though.

Sure as hell, it was barely 1x1x1x1’s thing.

The sizzle of the pan brought 1x1x1x1 back from their thoughts, the burger patties were almost done. He looked at the stove top clock, C00lkidd should be done around now if everything was going well.

Their one hand held the handle of the pan, her other holding the spatula, but there was something that wouldn’t leave his mind.

Someone wouldn’t leave their mind.

He wasn’t leaving her mind.

“OW! No fair!” C00lkidd shouted from the living room, seeming to have just spawned in.

“Ha! Loser! You lost another round!” Bluudud mocked.

1x1x1x1 sighed, his one hand leaving the handle of the pan to drag it down their face.

“Oh calm down you two! Didn’t you guys ever learn any manners?” Pr3typriincess grumbled from upstairs.

“Not now you three! Can’t you guys just wait for tomorrow to be a bother?” 1x1x1x1 shouted from the kitchen, flipping the burger patties over once more, making sure that they were evenly cooked.

“UGH… whatever fine… how’d the round go anyways C00lkidd?” Bluudud asked, pausing whatever he was watching.

1x1x1x1 was placing the patties on a large plate, eavesdropping on the conversation. Something about C00lkidds whining intrigued her this time.

“Uh… it was going well until I saw my dad crying in a corner. I was gonna try and go ask him about it but Guest hit me in my head really hard! It’s okay though, I tagged some of his friends though!” C00lkidd explained, it sounded like he was moving from the floor to the couch, sitting right beside Bluudud.

007n7? Crying? In the middle of the round? Pathetic! 1x1x1x1 scoffed at the thought as they grabbed a bag of burger buns from the pantry, why would a grown man need to sob when he has his life on the line? …The circumstances he seemed to face during this predicament made it feel fair though.

No, no, was she REALLY thinking about someone as sad as 007n7? Mercy is for the weak, hate will rule the world, and their mind!

“Meh… can you really blame him? Us going after them is like a–”

“BLUUDUD!” 1x1x1x1 shouted.

“What?! What did I do?!” He grilled profusely, annoyance and fear flowing through his blood.

“What did I talk to you about literally just last night?” 1x1x1x1 rhetorically asked, sarcasm bleeding through her tone.

“Oh… Oops.” Bluudud mumbled, before turning to C00lkidd to talk about something else.

The two kept talking while Pr3typriincess was making her way downstairs.

1x1x1x1 knew that the specter preferred for them not to tell C00lkidd or Pr3typriincess about their “games”. Bluudud knew, he had figured it out within his third day here, but he said he was fine with it, and somewhat enjoyed it. Odd for a twelve year old, but 1x1x1x1 wasn’t complaining, at least he could form a more coherent plan than the other two.

—

007n7 was sitting at the desk in his cabin, anxiously and unknowingly chewing on the back of his pen as a lined journal laid in front of him empty. There was something off with 1x1x1x1 earlier, she was never so… observant? Was it close to the right word? No, they were probably just curious. Curiosity kills the cat, and old habits die hard. Meals were usually put off as a second thought to 007n7. It grew from something he did from college, to when he let C00lkidd eat more food than him when money was tight that month, then when he genuinely forgot to eat after C00lkidd went missing, now it was just him trying to avoid the others. Anything to avoid them, everything to not disturb them. None of them deserved 007n7 to be around, he made some of their lives a living hell for years. Even during rounds, he couldn’t list the amount of times he saw others just leave him hurt, leave him to die first. It felt normal, it really did, until that moment when he saw 1x1x1x1 holding him up, fresh out of the lake. That was the first amount of care he had seen in anyone in a while that wasn’t just pure pity.

Sure it may have been a little harsh, but 007n7 would accept anything that was given to him like a stray animal in the middle of a cold, dead winter.

Though his head felt foggy, nothing had felt right in ages, but those forty five seconds reminded him of something warm. Something he yearned for. Something that he craved.

Oh who was he kidding? Comfort? From someone that's killed him god knows how many times? Oh 007n7 was sure funny in his college years, but now he was just grating to listen to.

He sighed to himself as he rested his head on his desk. Just a quick moment with his eyes closed, then he would pack up and grab a quick bite to eat. It didn’t matter how lonely he was.

Just a quick moment…

…with his eyes… closed…

…then he would… pack… up…

…and… grab a… quick… bite… to eat…

…didn’t matter how… lonely…

Just… a quick… moment…

Nothing… longer…

…pack up…

…grab a…

…to… eat…

…eyes… closed…

…lone…ly…

Just as fast as he closed his eyes, sleep accepted him to rest.

It was a rare phenomenon.

—

Dinner was served! Most of the killers in the cabin thanked 1x1x1x1 for cooking it, then went to their respective rooms. Besides… the three kids that someone had to be responsible for.

1x1x1x1 was damned that Noli was not going to take responsibility over C00lkidd after overhearing him trying to tell the kid to talk to his father for him. Now it was one thing to persuade him for a chat, but the things that were mentioned didn’t feel right for a ten year old to even utter.

John Doe, Guest 666, Doombringer and Azure didn’t really show interest. Either from the corruption when they showed up or they just didn’t want to be around loud bashful little shits, 1x1x1x1 was a little glad none of them tried to be their main care taker. That and C00lkidd and Pr3typriincess showed obvious discomfort around John Doe and Guest 666, probably the myths that were spread.

As sweet as Jason was with the three of them, he was often off doing his own thing. And no one really understood him besides the cloaked demolitionist.

iTrapped was… uh… best to assume that he wasn’t the most caring when it came to anything that needed care to be around. With the way he talked about the gambler was… it showed everyone that he was not capable of taking care of kids in general.

After all of this, it left 1x1x1x1 to take priority, and with him not wanting the cabin to explode, he took it and held it with bothered eyes. But whatever they were doing, it seemed to be working. If only there was someone else around that was responsible that didn’t scare the shit out of C00lkidd.

1x1x1x1 hated the thought that they were the only one that Bluudud, C00lkidd, and Pr3typriincess was the only one in the entire cabin that they wanted to hang around. Why not go bother someone else? If only someone else responsible joined the killers.

Who would it be though? None of the admins, Doombringer would go after them immediately with his messed up version of ‘justice’. That and 1x1x1x1 would try to kill Shedletsky if he even dared to show his face here.

Taph would probably be in the same boat with the admins and Doombringer. Unless Doombringer didn’t know Taph beforehand? Nah, Taph was usually around the admins so it would make sense for him to be under the same umbrella as them.

God forbid Guest 1337, he would probably just try and leave. Yeah he was a father, 1x1x1x1’s heard him talk to the others about his daughter before, but he just didn’t seem like the kind of person to stay. Also as much as Bluudud denies it and his crush for the man, there would be a weird dynamic between him and Guest 1337.

1x1x1x1 has heard all of the stories with C00lkidd and Elliot’s pizza place, so he wouldn’t be a good fit in the first place. That and a lot of the killers didn’t like his magical healing pizza.

Two Time was just creepy. No one knew what it was about them, but Azure has mentioned time and time again that they would not be a good fit in general. Weird. No one really knew why Azure knew. Pr3typriincess also hated Two Time with a burning passion.

Chance was a no-brainer. Him and iTrapped in the same room as well… uh… would he even make it through a day here?

Noob could be a good fit. They were just annoying and shy.

Who else was there..?

Oh! 007n7! C00lkidds father. He’d be the best one out of everyone here. Other than he can’t exactly cook much, 1x1x1x1 heard Elliot talking to someone else about it. Would he be hard to teach though?

Why was 1x1x1x1 even thinking about the survivors anyways? They all deserved to be here, them and their annoying strategies and abilities, the bullets, the spells, the weapons, the healing, it was all annoying. That was one of the cons with 1x1x1x1 residing in their hell, he had to deal with them every once in a while.

She sighed, looking at the kids at the table from the kitchen. They were fooling around, having a grand time. Even in hell, the three found friends.

Funny how C00lkidd’s and 007n7’s current situations were polar opposites.

—

Underground war.

No amount of hate would convey how much 1x1x1x1 despised this map.

The underground tunnels, the walls above ground, the stairs, the holes, it all was just a giant obstacle course to win. A terribly annoying one. But it was all to win. All for it. A blue flag danced with the wind, 1x1x1x1 caught a glance of who was on this side of the wall.

Elliot and Chance had run up the stairs, assumingly doing a generator. Taph wasn’t far behind from them, 1x1x1x1 saw from the spot they were hiding in. She looked to the left, Builderman and Dusekkar discussing something, and Shedletsky walking towards them.

He sighed, there were only so many people he could see from this spot. She knew who she was looking for, and observation in one spot wouldn’t help. Something about him and the lake felt odd. The way no one helped him, the way that he gasped for air when 1x1x1x1 did help him, the way he didn’t even try to escape her grasp, if anything he sunk into the touch. He hated 007n7.

Hate.

Hate was all he knew.

They didn’t want to feel anything else.

She hated the thought of feeling something else.

He hated the thought of feeling something else towards someone.

They hated him.

She hated 007n7.

It was funny, 007n7 seemed to fear him, but he didn’t try to escape yesterday! How pathetic, how weird, no wonder why he seemed to be alone.

It reminded them of someone else.

What were they doing?! Twenty seconds of thinking? Doing nothing? They have to keep her head screwed on, and screwed on right!

HEY THERES MORE ART? WOOHOO!! mainly lazy doodles that have nothing to do with the story but whatever AND YES IF YOU ARE SEEING THIS IM WORKING ON THE NEXT CHAPTER

Chapter Text

7:09 AM, MRDOOMBRINGERS HOUSE

Spring was arriving soon, buds were growing on trees, but it was still too cold for anything else outside to grow through the melting snow. Since the flu season was just ending, and snow mold was everywhere, Doombringer found himself coughing whenever he got up. It’s been happening since early December. It was mid-February. He was getting severely annoyed with this, getting up and immediately needing to cough up phlegm for months was getting on his nerves.

For the past couple of months it’s been something new, aggravating, his throat was usually scratchy and sore, his voice dull, he could barely stand up some days and was forced to go home by the other admins. One of the admins who checked up on him the most was Dusekkar and his somewhat infuriating rhymes. The last thing you want to deal with while fighting the third cold of the month are riddles and poems. Though he could forgive the mage, he was the most helpful besides Builderman.

Since it was only the middle of March, the temperatures were easing up from the harsh winter, but not warm enough to walk out of the house without a coat. Today was only meant to get up to a high of -16 degrees celsius (3 degrees fahrenheit.) Doombringer wore his usual fleece lined coat, fur peaking out of the hood, big clunky boots he’d usually wore everywhere within the city, and whatever black pants he could find for that day. He grabbed his keys, and his trusty ban hammer, and he was good to go stop by the HQ before his shift started! Before Doombringer could even start to head out of the door, he felt something building up in his throat. So as one does while recovering from a dumb little cold, he coughs into his hand, trying to prevent the mucus from clinging onto his coat. It was a nice one he had owned for a couple of years, he never wore it much when he first got it, god knows what would’ve happened to it when two morons kept griefing that pizza place Builderman likes so much. But since one of them was ‘banned’, the other one had calmed down, and as professional as Doombringer had to stay, something in his head made him wonder what made those two have a falling out. Whatever, morons are left in the past, he had to go to work soon before he was late.

8:17 A.M. ROBLOX HQ

Ambition was high, while overall energy was low. In the two towering buildings, connecting at the bottom, and a pedway around one of the middle floors, in the left one there was a cozy library, books took up any and all space they could. When there wasn’t any room on the many shelves, they were usually sorted on the ground, stacks and stacks. While it wasn’t a popular room, it was one of Dusekkar’s favorites. He couldn’t tell if it was the sturdy pine walls that reminded him of his old cabin in the woods, or if it was the warm golden light the lamps gave off. Either way, this is where he spent most of his time in the buildings. It was calm, quiet, though it felt like something was missing. Dusekkar wasn’t one to talk to many people, so could it be a person to befriend? Whatever, as long as it wasn’t—

“Oh Matt!” Someone called cheerfully from behind the locked door.

Dusekkar grumbled to himself as he fumbled around his desk for a bookmark, he knew exactly who was behind that door. The door opened, and there he was. The master of the heights, the once all mighty god, Shedletsky. Dusekkar sighed, having been up all night.

“Sorry did I interrupt something?” He asked, holding a drink tray full of coffees with a star logo on them.

“Not to worry, I was not focused on anything important. Truly a shame. Are there any flurries still? I still have to drive through the forest.” Dusekkar rhymed, trying to blink awake, he hated staying up all night, but his mind had other plans.

“Yeah, there are a couple of storms rolling in all at once soon. Not today, but the weather seems like it’s gonna get worse before better. Which is a shame, Brighteyes and I were gonna go look at flowers to plant later, but there is only so much we can do. Also I picked you up a coffee! Pure black roast, just how ya like it!” Shedletsky rambled on, holding the tray out, trying to remember whose coffee was whose.

“Oh… how pleasant. Luke isn’t a part of any of this, is he? This is truly becoming out of hand.” Dusekkar questioned grabbing a cup with the darkest liquid that was peeking through the thin paper cup.

“No, I asked him about it earlier but he’s been trying to make it warmer. Probably where the buds on some trees came from. Oh, do you also know if Doombringer is here at all? I checked his office and some of the common areas but I haven’t seen him anywhere.”

“He should be arriving soon. That is unless he is ill yet again…”

“He better not be, this’ll be my fifth cup of coffee for him that gets given away or tossed in the trash! What’s even up with him? He does usually get sick around the winter, but this is insane!”

“Personally I am pondering if these viruses were from one of the old facilities those survivors had to flee out of. The aged laboratory to be specific, it holds quite the appearance.”

“Oh it could be. But Builderman wasn’t there too long ago and he seems perfectly fine.” Shedletsky brought up.

“Ah. Could he possibly have a weakened immune system?” Dusekkar suggested before taking a sip of his drink.

“Maybe? Your guess is as good as mine, but I have to go deliver the rest of these coffees before they cool down. Let me know if he comes along sooner than later!” Shedletsky said before he walked down the hallway.

“I shall see you soon, when the clock strikes noon.” Dusekkar nods, watching the swords master walk away.

The snow was slowly falling down, like something you would see in a calm movie, as Doombringer pulled into a parking spot at the back of the HQ, feeling exhausted. It’s okay, he was going to be fine, he just needed to pull through this sudden second winter and then it would finally warm up. Oh but then the snow mold would make everything worse! Damn it! He sighed, and turned off his car, there was only so much he could do against the weather. Doombringer braced for the cold as he opened his door, expecting a cold wind to barge into his car, but was a little surprised for there to be a faint breeze. Whatever, it could’ve been worse. The car door was slammed shut as Doombringer walked towards the back of his car, and opened the trunk. He picked up his hammer, slammed his trunk closed, and started to make his way through the dark. It wasn’t the thick of night, but the clouds blocking what little sun they had at eight in the morning was painting the city in a deep blue. He watched his breath take the form of clouds before disappearing in the air. It reminded him of the smoke that the library was coated in, not from anyone smoking inside, but from the amount of all nighters Dusekkar would pull in there.

“John, that doesn’t matter! Let me pay ya back–”

“How many times do I have to say that it’s okay, you don’t need to pay me! I make enough money to do this, didn’t we go over this when I did the first coffee run?” Shedletsky kept trying to dismiss and deny Builderman’s money, but if anything it was being shoved right into his pocket.

The door to the left of them creaked open, and Doombringer walked right through it, and was met with the scene. Builderman had a five dollar bill crunched in his fist, trying to shove it in one of Shedletsky’s pockets, while Shedletsky kept trying to dance around, avoiding the money while holding a drink tray with two cups of coffee left. It wasn’t until Shedletsky turned his head to the door, feeling a breeze, and saw Doombringer standing in it.

“Doombringer, you’re finally here! Where have you been?” Shedletsky called out, taking Builderman’s attention away from trying to give him money, both of their gazes looking right at Doombringer.

“Ah, just sick again. If this doesn’t ease up soon I don’t know how I’m gonna be able to work.” Doombringer answered, stepping into the building with snow coating his clothes, and shut the door behind him.

“Again? Don’t ya think it’s about time to go get yourself checked out?” Brighteyes shouted from the kitchen.

“It’s winter, the season of colds and flus. I’m sure I’ll be just fine if it warms up sooner than later.” Doombringer said, taking off his heavy coat.

“Are we sure you just have been getting colds and flus? With how often you’ve been sick is starting to make me believe this might be something else.” Brighteyes replied, leaning out of the doorway, looking right at Doombringer himself.

“She does have a point, you’ve missed a lot with how much time you’ve needed to take off.” Shedletsky brings up, not noticing Builderman sliding a five dollar bill into one of his pockets.

“Again, I’ll be fine in the end, just wait for spring to come along and I’ll be as healthy as a spring chicken!” Doombringer said, hanging up his coat on a coat rack.

“With your definition of healthy you would be in the hospital right now. Do you know the amount of times someone has had to drive you home because you couldn’t, let alone stand?” Builderman says, standing up and away from Shedletsky, hoping that the bill he placed won’t fall out.

“Can’t be that much. I only remember Dusekkar a couple of times, Shed like once when you were hungover, you, Clockwork a couple of times, Reese once, Luke twice, and… uh…” Doombringer trailed off, looking up at the pumpkin mage looking down at everyone from the stairs.

“Forty three times within the past four months. From November twenty first to February tenth.” Dusekkar blurted out, not even attempting to sprinkle in a riddle or two.

“WHAT?! Forty three times?! I only remember like, eight!” Doombringer said, gobsmacked at the thought it was even over ten.

“I drove you home seventeen times, Builderman seven times, Shedletsky and Brighteyes combined six times, Clockwork six times, and both Reese and Luke have both driven you four times.” Dusekkar explained, floating down the stairs to meet the others.

“And that’s what happens when you keep coming into work sick.” Builderman chuckled.

“Hey, at least he’s dedicated to his work! It’s better to have someone that tries to overwork than someone that just doesn’t.” Shedletsky butted in, grabbing a cup of coffee and handing it to Doombringer.

“Take it easy today, you still sound a little stuffy.” Builderman said as he turned towards Doombringer.

“I’m perfectly fine! I just gotta stop by my office and—”

“Do you not recall the last time you uttered that sentence, then you almost got into a car crash on the highway because of how drowsy you were? If anything, do you not want to rest until you are well enough, and you don’t view things in a blur?” Dusekkar questioned, still afloat.

“Which time are you talking about?” Doombringer asked before taking a sip of his coffee.

“…you’ve almost gotten into a car crash more than once because you were sick?” Builderman grilled, twisting his neck to look at Doombringer again.

“Do you still even have your licence?” Shedletsky asked.

“Yeah of course I still do, I haven’t been in a crash in these past four months! My car is still pristine.” Doombringer bragged before taking another sip of his coffee.

“Barely..” Someone muttered.

Doombringer rolled his eyes hearing the comment, but he decided not to pay any mind to it. He has missed a ton of work that he should catch up on, Builderman can’t do everything by himself.

“Alright, well I’m off to go look at appeals, hopefully they aren’t too backed up.” Doombringer said as he started to walk away, throwing his hammer over his shoulder once he was far enough away from hitting anyone.

“I haven’t checked any since last night so they shouldn’t be too bad. Remember to take it easy, you still sound sick!” Builderman shouted across the hallway.

“Great to hear! I’ll be just fine!”

Dusekkar watched Doombringer walking down the hallway, something in him felt like he was not going to take it easy. Overworking himself as soon as he could stand up straight sounded normal, all they had to wait for was his inevitable burn out. Dusekkar yawned as he made his way back to the stairs, maybe he himself was burnt out.

8:52 AM, MRDOOMBRINGERS OFFICE

Some time had passed since Doombringer first entered the HQ since last week, and he was busy giggling to himself at some of the appeals. While some of them were genuine, others were just jokes. Most of the work when reading appeals at this point was to look at their record, look at the message, and why they were banned, and mainly just deny. Deny, deny, deny. It could’ve been for a couple of hours, it could be for a month, in the end they were all forced into the Banlands to serve their time. The bans weren’t even interesting ones, it was just bullying, or scamming, no exploiting or hacking. If anyone was, it actually brought a fight, a challenge. But no, there was nothing physical with scamming and bullying, it was only a denial of an appeal, and to move on to the next batch. The last little sip of his coffee had grown cold as Doombringer kept cycling through the appeals, nothing too monumental was happening. Whatever Doombringer had wrong with him this time seemed like it was not going to let-up anytime soon. His throat was sore, his head pulsed with pain, his chest had a more longing sort of pain, and his hands and feet felt colder to the touch compared to his torso. In the end, this was new. Probably some silly flu, it’ll blow over sooner than later. His thought shifted to how often he had been sick in the first place. God what was he, weak? Weak was something that did not fit with his personality, if anything he was more concerned. Tired too, tired was another good word. Weak was silly. Was everyone else okay? They had all seemed tired earlier when he walked in. As Doombringer let his thoughts wander, they led him right towards Dusekkar.

Out of nowhere while thinking about him, there was a pain in his chest. Nothing catastrophic, but it was there. Lingering. Doombringer mumbled something to himself, he really had to go get checked out, shouldn’t he? Maybe Builderman or Dusekkar knows– Ah! There it was again! It pulsed! It wasn’t his heart, was it? Nah, he never had heart problems, he was as healthy as a goat! …As healthy as a sick goat could be at the moment. Weird… Doombringer rested his head on his hand, holding it up so he could read these damn papers. Even with the amount of sleep he had gotten recently he had been more tired… does Dusekkar even sleep! Ow, what was that?! The pain, where was it coming from?! Someone has to know… he’d ask someone about it later, for now, reports and appeals.

Reports and appeals…

Reports…

and appeals…

Doombringer could feel himself dozing off, catching his eyes as they tried to stay shut.

Would a little nap hurt? Only fifteen minutes. Anymore and someone would send him home yet again.

Maybe he should cut it shorter, ten minutes, and if he needed anymore then he can take the extra fifteen minutes. Easy! Done and done. Doombringer usually wasn’t the one to fall asleep during moderating, but whatever was wrong with him had him rung out of energy, barely eating or drinking anything for days because he just didn’t feel like it. He’d be fine in the end, he knew it. For now… sleep!

9:24 AM, HQ BASEMENT

Dusekkar always found the term ‘love is in the air’ dumb. To be fair, he never really understood the feelings in the first place. He was more the knowledge type, the one always setting up his future with predictable moves. It was good to know what was going to come, it was good to stay calm and not get into trouble. The main reason why Dusekkar was in the basement was because he was looking for a specific book that wasn’t held in the library. It was an old book, Dusekkar had seen it around the HQ before, but it didn’t seem to be in any of the spots a book usually would’ve been. One of the other employees that worked in the basement had the radio playing, listening to the news.

“As flu season passes by, a new form of illness has stolen the show, where people slowly suffocate on flowers.”

The words piqued Dusekkar's interest as he was sitting on his knees, digging through one of the many books.

“The initial disease is called ‘Hanahaki’, a disease where flowers slowly take over your body from the inside. Its origin is unknown but everyone can be infected while it is not transmitted through anything physical.”

“Yeesh, that sounds brutal.” Someone piped up, their chair spun around to face the radio.

“Do ya think MrDoombringer has it? He’s been gone an awfully long time.” Someone else mentioned.

Hanahaki.

It sounded familiar to Dusekkar.

“It is best to wait and see what happens, do not make up conclusions as of now. Illnesses usually create different reactions, it is better to clear up any confusions before he– Ow!” Dusekkar lifted his hand up out of the way immediately, a stinging pain in his hand. He looked down, seeing a mouse trap holding on.

“...There are mice down here?” He asked, snapping the mouse trap off and letting it fall to the ground.

“...Well… I… I gotta go!” One of the employees said before they made a run for the stairs, a faster escape than the elevator.

Dusekkar sighed, mice in the basement yet again? Though before he could scold anyone, his attention was quickly taken by the radio.

“—Hanahaki symptoms are: weakness, coughing up petals, pain in the chest and fatigue for the first stage. This stage lasts around two to three days before stage two. The second stage is struggling to breathe, vomiting up full flower buds, and flowers piercing through the skin and weaker organs, usually the hands or eyes first, sometimes traveling up the trachea and revealing themselves from the mouth which then brings the struggle to eat as the esophagus is flipped upwards, leaving the lungs more vulnerable to any substances intruding. This stage usually lasts around two to four days. The third stage is the final stage for surgery, as it is the last stage to have the bouquet of flowers contained in one area. Patients are usually hospitalized by now as they are unable to breath without pain. This stage is where they start vomiting up full bouquets, and where vines start to take over the cardiovascular system–”

“THERES MICE IN THE BASEMENT AGAIN?!” Builderman shouted from the main level, his voice practically shaking the basement.

Dusekkar took this note to leave before Builderman stormed in, maybe the book was somewhere else afterall.

Hanahaki.

The word rang in his head, like an annoying church bell that echoed throughout the empty building.

It was a familiar word, each syllable had its own sense of dread. He’d have to look it up later, maybe someone else knows where the book is.

9:26 AM, HQ COMMON AREA, MAIN LEVEL

“—The fourth stage is the final stage, where if surgery was applied it would only lead to fatal outcomes. Vines and flower buds have taken over the cardiovascular system, blood barely making it through the vessels and veins, while the mouth was full with flowers. Vomiting up flowers is the most common at this stage, the body trying anything to remove the disease. Flowers usually break through the palms of hands, fully blooming. At this stage, breathing is near impossible, the only way to cure it is having your love reciprocate your feelings for them. Hanahaki has seen a spike of infections, going from nearly zero per week to five. The number is increasing as time moves foward, and medical authorities heavily urge that if you or a loved one is affected, to get it surgically removed. Note this does lead you to no longer feel love towards who you love, but it is a life or death—”

“What’s Builderman even yelling about again?” Clockwork asked as he walked into the room, yawning.

“Ah, more mice are in the basement again.” Brighteyes chuckled before she took a sip of her coffee.

“Again? How many times does someone gotta tell the coders down there you can’t bring food to the basement? Just come up to the main level!” Clockwork complained, was it really this hard to follow the rules?

“I’m pretty sure they keep getting in through the cracks of the basement. Though the food probably doesn’t help.” She explained, internally groaning as she’d known her break was about to be over soon. Why did she think taking the early morning shift was a good idea?!

“Whatever, it’s not us getting in trouble! Anyways, is Doombringer sick again? I haven’t seen the guy at work in ages!” Clockwork commented, taking up an entire sofa chair, sprawling his limbs out.

“Yeah don’t count on him being here for long. He didn’t look well when I peeked out of the kitchen earlier.” Brighteyes replied. She set her coffee on the table in front of her, and got up and stretched her arms.

“Aw what, your breaks over? You’re the only one that’ll take the early morning shifts with me!”

“I know, I know, but with the way Builderman’s acting I can’t expect ROBLOX to be so proud either.. Best not to push their limits for a bit, y’know? Even then Doombringer and John are here, they can take their breaks with you until you can clock out.” She said as she picked up her mug, a plain black one with a picture of a whale with a nuke on it. It may have been Shedletsky’s, but whatever, they were married! Any dishes they pre-owned were now shared between the two, it wasn’t even a surprise anymore.

“Man, that’s even if Shed’s here! You know how often he runs off to the heights..” Clockwork complained yet again.

“I’m sure you’ll find something to occupy yourself for the next fifteen minutes! Anyways, I gotta go! Cya later!” Brighteyes waved goodbye before she left the room, walking to her office.

Clockwork sighed, there was no one else around besides Doombringer! As much as he liked the guy, he didn’t want to catch whatever he had been dealing with recently. Though would a visit harm him? Hm… so many outcomes from a quick pop-in.

Dusekkar climbed up the last of the stairs, god who made the idea to make the basement so deep?! He sighed as he finally made it to the main level, not noticing Clockwork on the sofa chair. Maybe Doombringer saw the book when he made his way in? It wouldn’t hurt to ask, if he was still here that is. He started to float down the hallway, not noticing anything different. It was warm in the hallway, and Dusekkar glanced in an office that had a door open. There was Doombringer, slumped over, sleeping. Huh, you see new things everyday. Dusekkar himself was groggy, but he had rarely ever slept at the HQ. For Doombringer to fall asleep here? Outside of his house at all? Shocker! Dusekkar snuck in, careful not to knock anything over, staring at the brute that was sick, sleeping at a desk. Dusekkar wanted to slip off his robe and slip it over Doombringer, as it was fleece lined, but would he enjoy that? ..No, it’s better to wake him. Builderman’s shouting earlier meant that anything was on thin ice. His hands hovered over Doombringer’s body, hesitation flowing through his veins. Clockwork had sneaked around the door, watching Dusekkar just floating there. He snickered, what a situation to see! Dusekkar whipped his upper body around, seeing Clockwork spying on him.

“What is it that brings you here? I thought you would have been long gone, back to your office located in the rear.” Dusekkar asked, his gaze narrowing.

“Oh just seeing what Doom was doing. Brighteyes just got off of her break, Luke is busy with that island full of disasters, and everyone else is busy with work or just isn’t here. I wasn’t expecting you to be here at all!” He replied, a cheeky smug on his face.

Dusekkar rolled his eyes, outside of serious situations all of the admins and moderators seemed to have some sort of knack for acting utterly stupid! That or there was nothing that remained in their skulls besides air and half a brain cell everyone has to share with each other. He knew he couldn’t really say anything about their heads being empty as his own was only full of flames, but come on. Really? These people always find amusement in the dumbest things!

“Ooo wait is someone in looooooooooooooove?” Clockwork mocked, his grin only growing bigger at the thought.

“What?”

“...Y’know? …Love? You and Doombringer?”

“What?! Love?! Love at all is a profound statement! I am unaware of what the feeling is like for a person!” Dusekkar exclaimed, his flames growing brighter at such an assumption.

Doombringer groaned as he shifted, sounding stuffier than earlier in the morning. He wasn’t even aware if anyone was in his office right now.

“You really don’t know what love feels like?” Clockwork asked, his shit eating grin was replaced with curiosity.

“...Am I meant to?” Dusekkar replied, his flame dimming. Was he really meant to? What even was ‘love’? It sounded silly to Dusekkar, he’d never love another like Shedletsky loved Brighteyes! Sure they were cute at times, it was something Dusekkar would never be interested in.

“I mean personally I’m not judging. But have you even experimented? Dipped your finger in the water?”

“...What are you guys even talking about?” Doombringer asked as he wiped his eyes, then stretched his back with a groan.

“Oh… Just…” Clockwork stuttered out, dealing with grumpy Doombringer? It was more of a death sentence!

“We were discussing the whereabouts of a specific book I am searching for. The title is along the lines of ‘rare diseases’. Do you perhaps know where it could be?” Dusekkar asked, half lying but it was a good enough excuse in Clockwork’s book. He’d pay Dusekkar back later.

Doombringer shook his head, the odd pain in his chest more prominent. He wasn’t trying to show it though, it’s been weeks since he got a full week of work in! If anything, the last place he wanted to be was home.

“Ugh… what time is it?” Doombringer asked, trying to wake himself up.

“Nine Thirty.” Clockwork answered

“...Damnit.”

“How long were you asleep for?” Dusekkar questioned, concerned for Doombringers health.

“Ah… just like five minutes.” Doombringer lied, leaning back in his chair. He was silently cringing at himself for sleeping in an extra twenty minutes or so.

“Are you sure you’re feeling alright? You don’t sound well.” Clockwork added, walking closer to the two.

“I’m just fine! Peachy actually! There is no way I’m going back home before my shift is over!” Doombringer said, sitting up and straightening his back. The only way he’s going back home is if someone drags him!

“...Yeah, sure. Like I’d believe that. Alright whatever, I’m gonna leave you lovebirds alone! Cya!” Clockwork mocked again, chuckling at himself as he left.

“Goddammit Clockwork! How many times do I have to say I do not know what love feels like!” Dusekkar scolded, his flame growing brighter again.

Doombringer raised his eyebrows at the thought… him in love with Dusekkar? Out of the ‘blue’ the pain was there again, and worse. Doombringer brought a hand up to his chest, but the thought was sweet. Dusekkar sighed as he turned to look back at Doombringer, who was looking paler than usual.

“Are you sure that you’re okay? You don’t portray anything good…” Dusekkar asked, just trying to make sure.

“Yup! Just fine. Thanks for making sure I’m alright though!” Doombringer replied, ignoring the pulling pain in his chest.

“As long as you feel okay, just make sure to let someone know about any dismay.”

Dusekkar waved goodbye before he left, closing the office door behind him. Doombringer sighed, the pain felt like it was slowly growing. Something about him and Dusekkar? It sounded nice but it hurt his chest. God what was wrong with him? His chest was fine just yesterday! He turned back to his desk, looking down at the papers sitting on his desk.

5:45 PM, MRDOOMBRINGERS CAR, OUTSIDE THE HQ

The rest of the day was a doozy for Doombringer. Builderman came to check up on him once, giving him a cup of tea, but the rest was a blur. He doesn’t remember if he finished anything or if he just sat there staring into nothing. Honestly anything that had happened right before he opened the back door and let the freezing wind howl around him. Doombringer didn’t even notice Dusekkar glancing at him from a window a couple of stories above. He could feel his eyes threatening to close, his head bopping up and down while waiting for his car to warm up. A couple of seconds with his eyes closed wouldn’t hurt, right?

Doombringer closed his eyes, ready for an ounce of rest, even though he spent half of his work day asleep.

But there was a pain in his chest. Slightly worse than before. Out of nowhere he got the urge to cough.

As one does, he coughs into his arm, waiting for phlegm to shoot up out of his throat… but the feeling of something sharper than the usual mucus caught his attention. It was delicate, but it hurt. It started to hurt, his throat already raw but the pain stung now, tears building up in his eyes. Three more coughs, and then finally, just finally the mucus was launched out of his throat. It sat in his mouth, alongside the odd object that grated against his throat. Doombringer took off one of his mittens, and took out the leafy feeling object. To his surprise a petal was pinched between his fingers, covered in sticky fluids and appeared out of nowhere.

“A petal?” Doombringer asked himself, blinking a couple of times.

A petal.

In his possession?

It was bright red, seemed to be from a rose possibly? It looked to be in tip top shape if anything. But that’s what got Doombringer’s head to spin. A rose? A flower at all? From his throat?! What, did he eat a flower in his sleep? There were no flowers in his house at all, so where would it even come from?! Doombringer sighed, sinking into his seat, his car warmer than before. Maybe he was just still too sick. He dropped the petal into an old, empty cup of coffee, the lid missing, and picked up a napkin for his hand still covered in only what he could assume was phlegm. Sleep… it’s all he wanted in the end.

Maybe… with Dusekkar? WOAH, no, nope! That pulling pain had turned into a pierce, pulsing with his heartbeat.

Maybe just going home for now would help…

Chapter Text

BOOM!

The explosion echoed across the map, and everyone knew who exactly it was.

The killer was on Chance’s tail, and they were already injured, but their gun exploding was just the cherry on top. His body fell to the ground, the timer rose up from thirty seconds left to one minute. Chance’s corpse was missing half of his face, and their arm lacked his grey skin. Guest cringed from afar, he couldn’t do anything to help Chance in the moment, the others couldn’t either. That had to have hurt, especially after the day Chance seemed to have. Explosion after explosion, Chance’s attitude seemed to have… been more melancholic than before.

“You good soldier?” Builderman asked, walking up to Guest while hiding in one of the yellow structures that were spread around glass houses.

“Yeah, just a tad bit worried over Chance.” Guest admitted, watching John Doe limp across the map.

“Ah, I wouldn’t worry over him, they usually bounce back!” Builderman shrugged off, not really thinking about it.

Guest felt conflicted. Chance has been like this for days! Six rounds in a row so far, luck had stabbed them in the back, and he was barely making it through the rounds beforehand.

“Are you sure?” Guest questioned, letting the time tick down.

“I mean we all have our bad days, right?” Builderman mentioned.

Chance gasped when he sat up in the manor, again?! Really, again?! They grumbled to himself, lady luck has rather been… absent. They had what, a minute left to go hide? Yeah, something like that. He’s seen the way the others treat… the ones that don’t get to do so much. Chance got up from the floor, and brushed himself off. Tomorrow will be better! Afterall, gambling is his favorite thing to do! They opened the door, letting the cold breeze in. Ah. Cold night.

Fun.

Sighs of relief and abolished anguish were heard all around the table. Almost everyone survived that round, even Elliot! He had a knack to get targeted by most of the killers, so it was glad to see that he could still pull through! Guest let his shoulders relax, the last round was really anticlimactic besides Chance’s gun.

“Woohoo! Three for three!” Shedletsky cheered, getting up from the table to add another tick to the chalkboard behind them for their win.

“I’m surprised we’ve gotten a streak this big! This is win… what, nine?” Elliot asked with a smile on his face.

While everyone was busy celebrating their victory, Guest was busy staring off into space.

Something felt off…

There wasn’t really anything they could do against the cold in their cabin. Chance has tried what felt like everything he could do, but still it wasn’t enough. It never was. Within the recent days, the rough environment outside had only grown colder and harsher, which didn’t do anything to help Chance’s predicament. While he got one of the nicer cabins compared to some of the others, the walls weren’t put together properly which let all of the wind inside. They really didn’t have to gamble on which cabin they got. As Chance curled up in his bed, they felt a shiver go down his back, and he sighed. His pajamas they were given here were thin, which also didn’t help either. Nothing did. They closed his eyes, waiting to fall asleep.

Their mind wandered to all sorts of things, Spade, his family, gambling… him. Chance’s body stiffened at the thought of ITrapped, which prompted them to turn over. Tossing and turning, over and over again, time ticked on. After what felt like hours, Chance was still laying in their bed, staring up at the roof above him, shivering. His blanket was rough, it felt closer to the mattress that was beneath them, no sheets at all. They let Taph take it, thinking Taph would give it back sooner than later, but sooner never came. It’s fine, that was a gamble! Chance was just… unlucky that day, that’s all! Chance felt real unlucky recently though. Chance closed their eyes again, waiting to fall asleep.

That was until a stronger breeze blew through their cabin.

He groaned as he turned again, their thin blanket not doing anything to warm him up.

Toss and turn, round and round again, nothing was comfortable. Chance just grumbled to himself, as he sat up and grabbed his coin from his nightstand. Heads meant they went to go get help from someone, tails meant they dealt with his consequences.

He flipped the golden coin, watching it twirl in the air, and it landed on the edge of their hand, falling to the ground.

“Dammit!” Chance mumbled, getting up from their bed as the coin rolled around on the ground.

They watched the coin fall over, landing on heads.

That wasn’t a fair coin toss, was it?

He picked it up from the ground, and flipped it again. Chance tried to grab it, but his finger tip hit it while it spun in the air, and it fell across the cabin again.

Tails.

Chance just sighed again, frustrated. Just one fair toss. Was it that hard to ask for?

He picked up the coin again, and flipped it.

Instead of the coin landing in his hand, it landed on his wrist, and fell to the ground.

Heads.

But it wasn’t a fair gamble.

No, Chance had enough of this coin helping him control his every move! He picked it up, and tossed it across his cabin as he shouted something more on the incomprehensible side.

They stood there, panting. The coin landed on heads. Three to one. Chance threw on his glasses and shoes, and left his cabin, yearning for some form of comfort.

Guest was busy in his own cabin, busy trying to draw out the pizza place map, his fingers tapped on the desk he was sitting at, trying to remember what structures were where. As much as he liked to draw, something stayed on his mind. Chance. Chance and their unlucky gun. Guest knew Chance would call it anything but unlucky, but having a chance to blow up when using it? The peak of unlucky. He had handled guns before, and during the war he’s only seen a gun blow up once. And the end product was not pretty. So how could Chance take so much over and over again? Guest was pulled out of his mind when he heard a couple of tense knocks on his cabin door.

Knocks at his cabin door this late?

Guest got up, tucking in the, quite frankly uncomfortable wooden chair in, and went over to the frail door. Guest was confused when he heard muffled sobs and panting. He opened the door, seeing Chance. Chance looked like they were on the verge of a full on breakdown.

“Chance?-”

“Can I just… stay for the night? …Please?” Chance begged, their voice wobbly.

Guest stood there, still confused. What happened?

“Sure, are you okay though? You-”

“...I… yeah.” Chance mumbled.

Guest moved to the side, letting Chance in, no other questions asked.

As soon as Guest closed the door, he felt Chance latch onto his back. Dear god, Chance was freezing!

“How cold is your cabin?! You feel like you’re shivering!” Guest pointed out, feeling Chance’s grip get tighter.

“I don’t think the wood is put together properly, but oh well I got it in a gamble.” Chance answered, his voice still cracking.

“In a gamble? How unlucky are you?” Guest tried to crack a joke, attempting to lighten up Chance’s mood, but all Chance did was let out a groan. Dad jokes aren’t the best for this situation, are they?

“Can we just go to your bed for the night…?” Chance grumbled, oh Guest was so warm.

“Sure.” Guest replied, no hesitation involved.

Chance hopped off of Guest’s back, and crawled into the small but comfy bed. Guest walked over to his desk to turn off the lamp, and with the removal of the golden light, the moonlight was the only thing lighting up the cabin. Guest climbed into bed, already feeling Change wrapping themself around his body. Guest grabbed the blanket, and covered the two, and he felt Chance shudder out of warmth. Chance and Guest tangled their limbs with the other under the thick blanket. Guest removed one of his hands from Chance, taking off their sunglasses, and placing them on the night table. Guest felt Chance sink into his chest, how was his cabin like? Definitely not put together if they were this cold this often. Guest decided not to worry about that right now, and closed his eyes.

Warm.

Stable.

If only Chance was lucky enough to be with Guest more often.

“...Thank you Guest…”