Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[Olivine]

Olivine Nguyen, college student and freelance artist, was absolute dogshit at video games.

Granted, she could be good at some things, like cooking up the greatest cheesy noodles known to mankind or studying at the last moment for an exam and just barely passing it, but when it came to video games it felt like all her braincells decided to collectively vacate the area.

The only thing she could play without wanting to jump off a cliff were mobile games and Roblox. And seeing that one was off the table for now due to her phone's memory being almost full, she's settling for Roblox.

Olivine sighs as she watches her friends play. "Dude, just- holy fuck they're goated. How."

"That hitbox! That hitbox's- AAAAA-" That guy sounded like he was actually being killed, but his scream cuts off comedically from his wifi buffering.

"LMAO look at this loser. He got absolutely yoinky-spolinky'd."

"Maaaan I ALMOST had it. ALMOST."

Ollie rolls her eyes and spectates the round. There's two players left, one of them being a complete stranger and the other being one of her friends playing John Doe. They're absolutely cracked, laying down digital footprints near the bridges of Yorick's Resting Place and tearing up the place trying to get to the other player.

Seeing that nobody she knew was left alive in-game, Ollie began cheering for the killer instead. "Come on, Loferus! You can do this!"

"YEAAAAHHH go get 'em! You got this, man!"

"Go fuck 'em up!"

Ollie leans back and grins widely, watching as her friend managed to get the stranger and end the round. The lobby was half-half- some of them were her friends on the call, the others were just some randos they'd picked up in the public server.

She's pretty happy with what she has so far, but to her dismay, her phone rings from the other side of the room. "Shiit- I gotta go, guys. Someone's calling me."

"Oh, alright! Go ahead, we had a good run!"

"See ya, Vaus."

Ollie hangs up the discord call and exits the game window. She gets up, picking her phone up from the side table and checking the caller ID. It's... not someone she knows?

"Damn, thought it was mom and all that." She hangs up, and leaves to go back online- but her phone rings again, and she lets out a sigh. Ollie checks it again- yup, same number.

"Can just just- ugh!" She narrows her eyes, and rejects it again. "Scammers these days..."

She sets it down again cautiously, watching the screen. It doesn't ring again. Ollie steps back, rubbing her hair. "Finally, some peace and quiet. Back to my-"

The entire room goes dark. Her bedroom lights flicker out, and the covered window behind her desk also goes pitch-black- which makes her heart stop, because it's ten AM in the morning, not midnight.

'Oh shit oh shit oh shit-' Her mind kicks into gear, reverting back to monkey brain and screaming at her to HIDE from whatever danger was approaching. She ducks into the bottom bunk of her and her brother's bunk bed, and covers herself in a blanket.

There's the sound of slime dragging through the floor, akin to a horror movie. "BE NOT AFRAID."

"Sir this is the scariest moment of my life."

"..."

"..."

'Shit. I gave my position. Oh well, like it wasn't obvious before.' She thinks.

"... What are you here for?" She says, trying to keep her voice calm. "What do you want?"

"I'm not here to kill you or anything, no no no. That'd be against terms of service." The voice states. It's hard to listen to, with multiple voices overlapping and making it sound like a chorus of souls instead of a singular being. "I'm here to offer employment opportunities."

"..." Ollie is completely silent. "What."

"Congratulations, Olivine Nguyen- you have been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be sponsored by me, [REDACTED]." The voice says. "Monetary payments are possible, but we often pay our beneficiaries in good fortune, karmic justice, reincarnation benefits..."

"What???" Ollie is just befuddled now, hearing the voice go on and on about a whack-ass job. "Look, dude- you can't just break into my house for an interview. I don't even have my resume yet, I'm in college."

"You don't need a resume for what you're gonna do." [REDACTED] clears their throat, and Ollie resists the urge to peek up from the covers she's hiding under. Whatever they were, looking at them directly seemed to be a bad idea.

"Well. What am I gonna do?"

"We... I am looking to make entertainment for higher beings. Eldritch gods, if you will." The being says. "You've proven to be a prime candidate in the past, and we're bestowing upon you the ability to interact with one game world of our choosing."

"E-excuse me?"

"Yes... 'Forsaken', was it?" [REDACTED] drawls. "We'll let you safely project your consciousness into the game and play it as if you were an in-universe participant in the Spectre's games."

"Am I gonna get trapped there with no way out." Ollie deadpans. She's read too much isekai manga and stories to know that getting Sword-Art-Online'd is a bad idea.

"No, you will be able to leave the game and rejoin whenever you want. Forcing you to stay would only make the story boring." [REDACTED] yawns. "And besides... don't you want to help the poor souls trapped there? It's not in your reality, but they're still suffering there..."

"Why the hell should I help them?" Ollie crosses her arms under the covers. "Isn't it impossible to get them out of the Spectre's hell or whatever?"

"But you can cause chaos. Liven up their bleak purgatory, give them something to fight on for..."

"Bullshit. If you're as powerful as you are, you know how bad I am at that."

"Oh, you'd be wrong, Olivine... but alas, if this can't convince you..." There's the same slimy, squishy sound as before, and something is thrown onto the blanket she's hiding under.

Ollie doesn't poke her head out. She uses her arm to drag the stack of hundred-dollar bills back under her covers to see if they're real. They smell like real money, with that distinct crisp-old bill smell.

"... This is a thousand bucks."

"Indeed."

"My parents are gonna question where I got it."

"Just tell them it's from your new internship at Void Co."

"I- wait you got a company? Nevermind that- how the hell am I gonna study for college, then? I can't do this 24/7."

"You get to choose when you enter the game, and time moves slower in the real world compared to the game world."

"... Do you guys have job benefits? Getting chased around by a killer definitely warrants that."

"We have medical coverage, life insurance, dental, vision, and a 401k."

"Deal." She's never agreed to something so quickly before in her life. She hears a melodic chuckle from [REDACTED], and steels herself. "Good. Very good."

"When do I get started, then?"

[Shedletsky]

He's tired of this. Tired of having to protect the other survivors, tired of having to sleep in cramped cabins with everyone else, tired of running for his life day in and day out.

John Shedletsky is tired. He doesn't want this. But neither did Builderman, and he made his friend make a promise with him to protect the other survivors. This isn't what he expected when he went out to find all those missing accounts in Robloxia- but now he's stuck here, without his admin powers and without a way to contact any other admins to save him.

He's trapped. He hates being trapped. But Shedletsky hasn't felt hatred in years, after... that mistake. He's done his fair share of blunders- making up so many identities so he can avoid his duties as an admin, abusing his power to secretly cause chaos, making them because he didn't want to deal with the consequences of his actions and pinning the blame on his embodiment of hatred-

... Well. He had a lot of issues. Shedletsky may be the best swordfighter in Robloxia, but he can't face the things he's done. All that strength, none of that responsibility, all of that cowardice.

He sighs, running a hand through his curly hair and looking back outside of the bathroom door. It's in-between the rounds, and they've already had one for today- but it's not uncommon for them to have two or three in a day.

"Shed? You alright there?" Builderman knocks on the wall beside bathroom door, and Shedletsky sighs. "I'm busy!"

He's wrapping bandages around his hands, making sure they're squeezing his palms tight. He's satisfied with his work and goes outside, leaning on the wall as Builderman looks at him in concern.

"You look pretty rough, Shedletsky. Is there anything going on?"

"Not much but the usual, Builderman." He puts on his usual smile and jokingly punches Builderman's shoulder. "How was last round? Did you get the generators finished?"

"Mhm. Ain't that hard, but Jason's always on Elliot's tail. It's like everyone's gunnin' for the poor boy."

"He is the best healer in the team, after all."

"No doubt about it."

Shedletsky and Builderman walk over to the shared living room of the main cabin, watching everyone else do their thing. 007n7 is in his room, but Chance and Noob are both chatting about something while Chance is flipping his coin absentmindedly. 

Elliot is busy cooking something again, and Guest 1337 is by his side chopping up some vegetables. Two Time was muttering to themself while Dusekkar listened closely, letting them relax.

Shedletsky wasn't there last round- whatever made them do this sometimes put all of them against the killer, but other times they'd just toss in some of them and watch them struggle to escape. Shedletsky had been around long enough to experience one of those rounds, and worse, with 1x1x1x1.

That... was not his proudest memory. But then again, none of his memories in this place were particularly proud. Robloxia's admin, reduced to nothing but a normal person running for their life.

He feels that familiar tug in his chest, and he flinches. Everyone else seems to have a similar reaction, knowing that they were about to get transported to another round in a minute or so.

"Alright, who's coming along this time?" Fortunately, it seemed that everyone raised their hand. Builderman nods, and sticks to Shedletsky, elbowing the other man. "You go help the others. I'll be with Dusekkar setting up the sentry and dispenser."

"Got it." Shedletsky feels his eyelids get heavier, feels his body go weightless as his vision darkens- and he's transported to wherever the round would take place.

But... this time, it's different. He doesn't get that feeling of returning to his own body or the grass under his bare feet- instead he's still feeling light and ethereal, like he's still floating.

Shedletsky opens his eyes and is met with the sight of his own body.

Naturally, he freaks out. "What the hell is happening?! Why am I here?! Is that- am I actually DEAD?!"

While the admin was freaking out about being in spectator mode, he doesn't notice his own body rise up to it's - his?- his feet. What he does notice is when he starts speaking.

"Uuugh... where in the world did I...?" Shedletsky looks on in horror as he sees himself get up from the ground, rubbing his frizzy hair as it looks down at his hands.

"Wh- shit, I'm yellow, aren't I. Great." There's a long, suffering sigh, and it feels damn weird to hear his own voice not coming from his own mouth. Given, that is his mouth, but he's not controlling it, so-

'No no no- have I gotten HACKED?!' This freaks Shedletsky out more than anything in the world. Even 1x1x1x1 hasn't made him feel this sort of fear and confusion before.

Getting their account taken over, in Robloxian terms, was like getting possessed by a malicious spirit. It could have come from another Robloxian such as an exploiter or hacker, or from some mysterious 'other' source altogether. Usually, unless the hacker could be kicked out and 'exorcised' from the Robloxian, Builderman and the other admins just banned them.

And now here he was. An admin, getting hacked. He can't believe it, he doesn't want to believe it- but he's trying to fruitlessly get back into his own body.

"GET OUT OF MY BODY!" Shedletsky charges at his own form, but the person controlling it doesn't seem to see him. He ends up passing through them like a ghost. After a few more attempts, including an attempt to punch himself in the face, a few more tackles, trying to stand directly inside his corporeal body- Shedletsky is left panting and in despair, tired and unable to do anything.

"N-no, I... I can't-" He can't let it end like this. He's still conscious, even as a ghost or something, so he tries to figure out what to do next.

"Wait, am I...?" The voice mutters, looking down at his shirt and gently lifting it. "... Fuck."

Shedletsky flinches, completely taken aback to hear his own voice cursing without the profanity filter on it. Oh, he does not like that. "Language!" He calls out, but nobody hears him.

"I thought they were just going to drop me in, not-" The person possessing him brushes off his shirt, getting a good grip on his sword as they begin to job across the map, getting a good view of where they were heading.

'Glass houses. Either they're going to die very quickly, or they're gonna hide.' Shedletsky thinks.

Fine. He can't do anything now, but from how the thing controlling his body is talking- they're just as confused about this as he was. The admin watches them mutter under their breath as they try to get their bearings on his body.

"Okay, Ollie. You've played this game before. It- isn't that different, just act casual, swing your sword if needed, and run. Not that difficult."

So it- no, they had a name. They seemed to be highly cautious, sticking to the borders of the map and ducking between walls. Shedletsky watches Ollie, whoever they were, lead his body straight to a bunch of the others doing a generator.

Shedletsky tries to get their attention, floating towards them quickly and waving his hands. "Elliot! Chance! I'm here, damn it- that's not me! Someone's hacked my account!"

"Chance! Elliot!" Shedletsky flinches, realizing that oh shit, Ollie somehow knew their names. "You guys need any help fixing the generator here?"

"Nah, we're fine." Chance waves at him and he gets closer, sword at his side. "You sure you don't need me for anything?"

"You can find Two Time, right? They're busy trying to find another generator, so it's going to be a pain to keep them safe if they're busy."

"Right. On it, Chance." Ollie-Shedletsky- Olledsky? - gives them a thumbs up and runs off, slipping in between the walls and keeping an eye out for the killer. They see John Doe chasing Guest 1337, but turn the other way and try to find another generator.

"What are you DOING- go around and stun him, god's sake-!" Shedletsky wants to grab himself- Ollie- whatever by the shoulders and shake him back and forth frantically. Instead, he's forced to watch as he runs towards Two Time.

"Two Time." The person using his voice is much less enthusiastic when addressing them. "You need help with the generator?"

"Very much so, yes." Olledsky kneels down and pops open the panel on the side, re-routing the wires as they squint and try to see in the darkness.

Shedletsky looks at them do it- Olledsky has a much more messy way of fixing the generators, pulling a the wires and untangling them in a hasty manner. It wasn't as fast as Builderman doing it, but it was still fast enough.

There's the sound of heavy footsteps from afar, and both of them freeze, hearing John Doe approaching. For some reason, Shedletsky could hear... glitching noises? They seemed to be rhythmic and steady, almost like the beat of a song.

"You stick behind me." Olledsky breathes out, looking slightly nervous despite the grin on his face. Two Time looks at him, confused, while the being taking over his body draws his sword. "I'll go deal with him."

'Wait- WAIT DON'T STUN HIM IT ONLY MAKES HIM FASTER!' Shedletsky wants to scream out at himself, but Olledsky seems to be serious in dealing with John Doe.

Two Time rushes away while Olledsky keeps on steping closer to John Doe. Shedletsky can practically hear the mysterious, glitchy music swell up and become more intimidating.

"Hey! Half-rate Robloxian!" Olledsky caws out, sounding arrogant and smug. "Come and get me!"

The moment he shouts that out, John Doe is sprinting at her. He runs, letting the being trail behind him as he circles one of the rocks in the area. John Doe stabs the ground with Corrupt Energy, the spikes jutting up. Olledsky manages to narrowly avoid them, snickering.

Shedletsky could only watch tensely as he grins, laughing. "Watch THIS!"

They run up to him, distracting John Doe and letting Elliot and Noob run past them. The sword is in their hands, they're a couple of feet away-

And he swings. John Doe pauses, looking at him. Dusekkar, who's floating silently behind John Doe and was about to sprint away, pauses to look at him. Hell, Chance stops to look at Olledsky.

He'd- just missed. Like, two feet away from the killer, too. The person possessing his body just missed a swing two feet away from where he was supposed to be attacking.

Shedletsky feels his soul shrivel up and mortification fill his face. 'Oh god, he's TERRIBLE at this.'

Ollie could only look back up at John Doe and say one thing. "That was a misinput."

"..."

'SLASH!' John Doe, on the other hand, doesn't miss his attack. Olledsky lets out a pained yelp, and drags himself away from the fight, holding his arm as he sprints off. John Doe is tailing right behind him, arm outstretched and roaring.

"I SAID IT WAS A MISINPUT AAAAA-"

Ollie rounds a corner, and runs out of stamina. Shedletsky winces as he sees himself get slashed by another spike, and John Doe corners him in one of those walls scattered around the map.

"T-this isn't fun at all! Booo!" The person taking over his body petulantly says. "I messed up! What kinda hitbox is that?!"

"I'm gonna be so- AAAAAGH-!"

There's the sound of crunching bones as he's picked up and stabbed in the chest. Shedletsky himself doesn't feel the pain, but it still is gory and unpleasant to watch. The faker's body is thrown to the side, ragdolling.

Shedletsky feels the familiar sensation of his vision going dark again, the music cutting out abruptly as he's tugged back to the cabins. He's hoping that he would be pulled back into his own body, but nope. He's still left floating as the impostor was left lounging around on the couches.

"You too, Guest?" Olledsky turns his head towards Guest, who is catching his breath on the floor. The soldier glares at him. "Where were you?"

"Protecting Two Time. They managed to get away, so it's not too much of a loss- hey wait, how'd he get you?"

"Rounded a corner and got ambushed. I didn't have time to block it."

"Ah, shame." Olledsky lays down on the couch, taking a deep breath. "You didn't see that, did you?"

Shedletsky is completely silent, still not willing to remember that atrocious sword swing. Guest 1337 looks baffled. "Saw what?"

"Ah. Good." Olledsky lets out a sigh. "Man, I sucked back there."

'Yeah, you did.' Shedletsky thought. He crosses his arms, and pinches the bridge of his nose. "What am I going to do..."

The possessions continued on for a whole three days. Shedletsky had to follow his body around, watching as he interacted with everyone.

It... hurt. Watching the person controlling him act all happy and enthusiastic towards others, and they barely noticed because it was similar to the facade he always put on for the survivors to hide his own problems.

They actually seemed to like him better than before, seeing that the others didn't look at Olledsky with annoyance at times. Usually Shedletsky would pull out some of his chicken and munch on it if he wanted to avoid talking to other people about problems, but the impostor...

"Hey, 007n7." Ollie sits down next to the former exploiter, and he seems absolutely shocked at the fact that Shedletsky, out of all people, was actually talking to him. "I- know that you're often avoiding everybody, and that they're not exactly the most welcoming. I'm really sorry about that."

"Wha- huh?" 007n7 looks absolutely out of his depth, hunched over and glancing up. Olledsky tries to give him a friendly smile, patting him on the back.

"If I'm gonna be honest... you don't seem like a bad guy to me. You tried your best to change and that's that." Shedletsky looks worried. 007n7 seems like he's one hard day from breaking down completely, which was way too often. The impostor continues to comfort him. "If you ever want to talk about anything... well, I might not be this 'friendly' all the time, but I can help you as much as possible."

"I- okay?" 007n7 relaxes, and accepts Olledsky's handshake. He pulls him in to a hug, taking both the former exploiter and the admin off guard.

"Keep holding on, okay? You're a great asset to the team, and even though some of us aren't fond of you... I don't know where we'd be without you, 007n7."

Shit. That seemed... far more personal than Shedletsky was willing to deal with. He didn't like the exploiter, but seeing that he's actually being this much affected by how the team was treating him was kind of heartbreaking.

Whoever Ollie was, he seemed to handle everyone's emotions far better than Shedletsky himself. Granted, he kept on proving to be absolutely horrendous at wielding his sword (Shedletsky swore that he was going to die of mortification on one of those rounds because HOW IN THE CODE COULD HE MISS POINT-BLANK-), but when it came to de-escalating conflicts, Olledsky could do so in a better way than anyone else.

"Chance, you've been missing your shots the entire time last round! And that's not counting the times your gun misfired!" Noob complains, still sore from their own death. "Aren't you going to make that thing not misfire every time?!"

"I'm trying to! At least I do something useful to the team- all you do is run around and try to save yourself!"

"I do the generators!" Noob shoots back, furrowing their brows and nearly crying. "It's not like I'm trying to be useless!"

"Hey hey hey- what's with the ruckus?" Shedletsky watches Olledsky get up from the bed in his own room, dragging themself over to the argument. "Dusekkar- mind telling me what these two are arguing about?"

"Noob and Chance are at odds with whose contribution is better than the other's, for both feel like they are of more worth than another." The pumpkin-headed admin says. Ollie sighs, and looks at the two with disappointment.

"Now, what did I say about this." Ollie crosses Shedletsky's arms, adopting the signature 'disappointed dad' tone that Shedletsky's heard before. 'Was he a father or something before this?'

"Everyone here is a valued person. Even though you can stun the killer, Chance, it doesn't mean you disregard the others. And Noob- aiming and hitting a shot is hard, even more so that Chance has a gun and not a sword like me."

"Look who's saying that! You're one to talk- you've gotten so rusty that you haven't managed to land a single good hit on the killer last round!" Chance snarks back.

Shedletsky feels a jolt of shame at that before remembering that it's not him controlling his own body. Olledsky looks at him with extra disappointment instead of anger, and it makes Chance flinch.

"Now, young man... don't make me lecture you. You're a proper fella, so don't go disappointing me with your manners, alright?"

"Y-yes, Shedletsky." Even Chance himself seems shocked that he caved in so quickly. The parental disappointment vibes are strong with this one.

After that argument, Shedletsky observed Ollie's routine in his body. It was apparent that they were still getting used to his body- there were times where they stopped to scratch at the body hair on his arms and legs, flexed their fingers, or looked very awkward.

Using the restroom was an affair that he'd rather not focus on, and he just floated outside of the restroom whenever the impostor had to do that. Otherwise, they mostly kept their uncertainty and awkwardness away from where the other survivors could see. They seemed like a master-class actor.

There was only one Robloxian who figured out something was wrong with him, that Shedletsky wasn't himself. It wasn't Dusekkar, despite working with that man as an admin for years- no.

It was his closest friend and the only other person he trusted completely in this living hell. Builderman.

[Builderman]

'WHAT THE #### WHAT THE #### WHAT THE ####-'

That was his exact thought process whenever he was around that... thing that was masquerading as his best friend.

Ever since that one round, he's been constantly on edge and expecting something to go wrong, for the impostor taking over his friend's body to just snap and kill them all. But nothing like that happened.

It all started like this- during that first round, he'd been setting up the sentry on the mountain vantage point, and the dispenser was tucked away in the corner for Two Time and Elliot to heal at. That was fine! Perfectly fine.

What made him uneasy was that he saw Shedletsky miss his sword swing from afar. And it wasn't the usual close miss, where Shedletsky would be right next to the killer but they'd step back at the last second, no. It was an absolutely humiliating miss that was two feet away from John Doe and had him questioning if his friend really was Telamon, the creator and swordmaster of SFOTH.

When the round finally ended and he'd managed to make it out as one of the three survivors finally left alive, he'd expected Shedletsky to be in the living room chatting and eating his fried chicken as usual. His friend always had a habit of hiding his embarrassment like that.

But instead, he saw everyone but Shedletsky hang out at the common room. Guest told him that his friend had gone to sleep in one of the rooms, and Builderman brushed it off as Shedletsky trying to cope with that slip-up.

The next round rolled around the next day, and when both he and Shedletsky were chosen to go again, he's expecting to cheer up his friend with a few jokes. Builderman is teleported over to Planet Voss, and he gets to work building a sentry over at one of the generators.

Still. No Shedletsky. He assumes it's because his friend spawned on the other side of the map, but at this point, an unsettling feeling creeps up his spine.

There's not much to do except fix generators, and even while he's doing that, he's watching out for the killer's footsteps. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Shedletsky barrels out of the darkness, the sound of Chance's flintlock echoing out.

"Hey, Builder! I need a dispenser here!" Shedletsky waves over at him from a distance. "Won't you help out your old pal?"

"Yeah, sure, John. Whatever you-" Builderman looks up from his sentry, only to freeze when he sees Shedletsky looming over him.

Except it's not Shedletsky. He's got his signature curly hair pulled back in a ponytail that Builderman knows for a fact that the real John would never have, and he's wearing crocs instead of being barefoot. Shedletsky hates wearing shoes.

"Wait." Builderman glares at the stranger. "You aren't him."

"Whaaat?" The faker lets out a small laugh, hoisting his sword onto his shoulder and tilting his head. "Come on, Dave, it's me!"

"No. What did you do to him." Builderman's voice is filled with a gravitas that he hasn't used since his early days, and he's itching for his ban hammer. Not so that he could ban Shedletsky, so that the other admins could come together and find out what insolent user decided to hack his friend-

'Breathe.' Builderman manages to barely compose himself, feeling both anger and fear but putting it aside. They're in the middle of a round. They can't afford to deal with this, not at the moment.

"And besides, even if I was lying-" The figure steps forward and uses his friend's height to try and intimidate him. It... semi-works, but he's used to Shedletsky already being tall. "I still helped protect you and the others."

"Build that dispenser. We need it."

Builderman doesn't take his eyes off that... thing, even when he's busy swinging his hammer and building up that dispenser. He sees him stand next to the building, leaning on Shedletsky's sword as if it was absolutely nonchalant in just taking over an admin's account.

"Thanks, Builderman." Not-Shedletsky responds with a grin and another tilt of his head. "You're a life-saver."

"... Just do your job."

"I'm hurt! No 'nice to see you' or 'thanks for staying alive'?"

Builderman ignores everything that impostor tries to say to him. When time runs out and the round is over, he's going straight into Shedletsky's room to confront the hacker and-

He's not there. Of course. Builderman turns to 007n7, his jaw gritted. "Where's Shedletsky."

"U-um... what?" The former exploiter doesn't seem to know what's going on. "You're awfully angry- what's going on?"

"None of your business." Usually Builderman would be a bit more tactful, but 007n7's talking to him when his friend's account just got hacked. It was not a good time. "Just tell me where he went after the round."

"I... think Dusekkar said that he saw him go outside? I'm not sure..."

Builderman follows the directions where everyone points him- and still, he can't find Shedletsky, for whatever reason. He's itching for his admin panel, for a quick teleport straight to wherever that impostor was hiding to figure out what was their deal- but alas. He's stuck here.

This pattern repeats for the next few rounds. He does manage to catch Not-Shedletsky in between the rounds, but that impostor was clever enough to surround itself with the other survivors and make them unable to stop the conversation.

Builderman is fuming inside. He's not afraid anymore, just pissed as hell, because what kind of person takes over his friend and strings the other survivors along like that?!

He could just... tell everyone that Shedletsky wasn't who he seemed. That his account was hacked and the guy talking to them wasn't the real Shedletsky. But seeing that there were only three admins here and he can't afford to have the other survivors panic about one of them being compromised, Builderman can't let them know about this.

Builderman finally manages to find Not-Shedletsky on his own on the second day, having kept his eyes on his "friend" constantly and even dying first in that round so that he could find the impostor when the round was over.

'Bingo.' He follows Shedletsky out of the main cabin and into the back, where he sees his "friend" stab into one of the trees and use his sword to climb up onto the top of the roof. 'So that's where he's been hiding out.'

The impostor seems to be sleeping on top of the cabins, which explained why he couldn't find Shedletsky within his room or any other room for the last two says. Builderman climbs up the tree as well, approaching Not-Shedletsky from behind and standing over him.

"Get up." Builderman hisses, and the impostor looks up with a nonchalant laugh. "Hey, Builder! You found me, eh?"

"Don't talk ta' me like that. You know damn well that I know you ain't him."

"Come on, sticking with that story again, Builderman?" The impostor rolls onto his stomach and gets up, brushing off his shorts. "I told you- why should it matter?"

"Why should it- are you playin' with me now?" The CEO grabs Not-Shedletsky by the shirt, yanking him down to eye-level. There's a flash of surprise and uncertainty before the stranger schools his face back into a calm one.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." The impostor makes a 'so-so' motion with their hand. "But let me get this straight- I ain't done anything to your friend's mind. This is just his body."

"So you do admit you're a hacker." Builderman growls. "Give him back."

"No can do. Don't know where he is, but I've got one more round scheduled for tomorrow." The impostor talks like this is his job or something, as if this twisted game of death was just some sort of shift they're clocking into.

"One round." He doesn't trust them. "You're saying you'll give back his body after one more round tomorrow."

"Course I will. It's part of my contract." The fact that Not-Shedletsky was talking this casually about business was a weird deja-vu thing. Even when they were admins they at least treated their job with more respect and seriousness.

"What contract?"

"... I'm not allowed to say." The hacker using Shedletsky's body looks away and up into the sky, and then quickly looks back at Builderman.

"Of course." Builderman glares at the stranger wearing his friend's face, not believing them for a second. "And I bet you're not allowed to say your name, either."

"I can, I don't give a damn." Not-Shedletsky leans back and gives him a shrug. "It's Ollie, by the way."

There isn't a single thing that makes sense about this hacker. Giving out their username, even if it's only a snippet of it and probably fake, doesn't even make sense. He could find their account if (and only if) he managed to get out of this purgatory.

"Ollie... I'll remember that name." Builderman keeps his sight on him as long as possible, even when he's climbing off of the roof and back onto the ground. Olledsky continues to stare back, both of them refusing to back down.

It's the impostor that breaks eye contact first, going back to resting on the roof of the cabin. Builderman lets out a breath he didn't know he was doing, and goes back into the main cabin.

If he spent the rest of the day tinkering with and looking through his (very restricted) admin panel to see if anything was wrong with Shedletsky's account, that was on him.

[Olivine]

Oh, this was different. Not good, seeing that she actually kind of felt the pain that came with dying to a killer, but different.

This was a welcome reprieve from her life being monotonous, and the fact that she got big bucks from this helped as well. She's got a job now! That's better than what she expected from someone like herself!

Even with... all of this, she's doing better than expected. It's only been three hours instead of three days, and she's using this free time to relax before her studies. It also helps that this counts as some sort of pseudo-dreamscape that she can access using her laptop.

Ollie's pretty damn happy! Meeting all of the characters, getting along with some of them, absolutely avoiding some others because she hates them with a burning passion (ahem ahem TWO TIME). 

Currently, she's he's chilling out in the kitchen, humming as he makes some eggs while everyone else is milling about. There's not enough things to do in this hellscape except socialize, but cooking's nice.

he beats the scrambled eggs in the bowl as he hears the other survivors talk behind her. Builderman is sitting on the couch, staring at Olledsky as if he'd walked in on her dragging a dead body. Fair enough, since he'd taken over his best friend's body and acted like nothing was wrong.

A small, sadistic part of Ollie that came from being a writer made her pause. How pathetic. 'Shedletsky can't handle his own consequences.'

'Nobody except his best friend noticed that he was different, and he's left being nothing but a bystander."

"You can make EVERYBODY like him more. But it wouldn't be him- they'd like him only when he's possessed by you-"

Olledsky shakes his head, his curly hair puffing up. They dispel that idea from their head, not wanting to address that odd thought. She'll have to remind herself NOT to treat them like characters, because that's messed up and not good.

"Hey, Shedletsky." Olledsky turns around and gives the survivor a grin. It's Guest 1337, so not so bad! "Hello, Guest! Doing well I hope?"

"As well as I can be in here." Guest says curtly. Olledsky's expression softens. "Want some eggs, then?"

"... No, just- maybe someone to talk to." Guest says quietly. Ollie nods, and finishes up making his omelette. "Missing someone?"

"... Yes."

Olledsky sits down next to him at the dinner table, taking a small bite of his omelette as he looks at the soldier. "Tell me about it."

"It's- about my wife and kids-" Guest 1337 starts off, but before he can get it off his chest, Olledsky realizes that they're about to get transported to another round. "Are you kidding me? Right when we were about to talk about that?"

Honestly, he can't believe the Spectre. This sort of pettiness to just... mentally torturing these random Robloxians is absolutely useless. Olledsky feels like this is just targeted towards anyone who's trying to get free therapy during their time here.

"Look- your kid and wife are probably fine. I don't know much about them, but-" The impostor gives him a gentle pat in the back. "Knowing you, you must have been an amazing father if you care about them this much, even through all of this."

Guest 1337 has an indescribable look on his face, but it's clear that he's reassured by his words. Olledsky gets up to place the dirty dishes in the sink, and he takes out his sword as he feels himself get transported to the new round. It's Planet Voss, thank god- enough space to run and hide.

'Let's see... who's the killer now, out of all of them- WAIT-' Olledsky immediately hears the imaginary 'sword-slash sfx' that he associated with the most god-awful killer in the game to go against.

"Oh god... it's 1x isn't it..." The possessed Shedletsky grips the hilt of his sword tighter, feeling tense. He's in for a world of pain if he doesn't get this right, and he's guaranteed to be found by Shedletsky's embodiment of hatred.

But he's not really Shedletsky, is he. He's Ollie, puppeteering a body that isn't hers and using it to play along with the other survivors.

'Might as well make myself useful, and distract everyone else so that we won't die.' Olledsky runs towards the sound of whirring generators, and glances over at Noob, who's busy working on it with Guest 1337.

"Hey- 1x's gonna be here this round." Ollie gives them a heads-up, and Guest looks at them with some confusion and suspicion. "How did you know?"

"... Weird-ass ticking sound whenever they wind up their blade."

(In reality, Ollie had the benefits of having the nature of the video game telling her who the killer for the round and giving her their chase music so that she could discern how close they were to her.)

(Shedletsky also knew when 1x1x1x1 was present during a round, because he was connected to them. But it's not like he told anyone else but Builderman about this, and that was the problem.)

"If that's the case, then you'd be around to help us, right?" Noob asks. Olledsky nods, and looks towards the distance with a worried expression.

"They might go after me first because I'm the only sword master here." He explains. "Or they might go for me last. It... might not be the best idea to stick close to me during these rounds."

A reasonable excuse for the both of them. Olledsky leaves Guest and Noob with a friendly wave, and sets off to try and find 1x1x1x1.

Silence. Aside from the sound of screaming and carnage from afar, there isn't much that betrayed the fact that the hacker was the one present during the round. Olledsky winces, realizing that he might be the last one standing at this point.

The sound of a 'click', and the last man standing theme swelling up. Olledsky ducks behind a wall, and grips the linked sword with both of his hands.

"Creator." The voice that echoes throughout the map is low and gravelly, exactly like the voicelines he expected from 1x1x1x1. "Hiding now, aren't we?"

Olledsky's eye begins to hurt a bit, and he bites back a cuss, realizing that 1x must have used Unstable Eye to find him. 'Tch-! Whatever. I can do this, just- don't let them see my face until the last second.'

'Will they know I'm not Shedletsky? Probably.' It'd be insanity if Shedeltsky's own embodiment couldn't distinguish him from an impostor.

Olledsky waits. He hears the song get louder, and louder, and then the sound of Mass Infection. 'To the side!'

He sprints to the side, the blade narrowly clipping his stomach and making him wince. It takes some effort from the inexperienced fighter for him to suddenly kick back and dodge the Entanglement that flies through the wall.

'Fuck!' He internally curses and grits his teeth, using the time he had to dash over to another wall, creating distance between himself and 1x1x1x1.

"Running away now, are we? How fitting." 1x1x1x1 fumes, and Olledsky waits for him to pop out on the left side of the wall. 'Keep it silent, keep it steady-'

"There you are!"

'Slash!' The daemonshanks crash down, but instead of hitting Olledsky, they hit her linked sword. 1x1x1x1 expects this, but what they didn't expect was for Not-Shedletsky to charge at them and tackle them to the floor, using the sword as leverage to get up and pile-drive the killer.

"AGH!" Olledsky slices his left arm on one of the daemonshanks by accident, the poison burning his skin, but he continues to pin down the killer using the element of surprise. "Gotcha-"

"Foolish! Did you think that you'd beat me resorting to such underhanded tricks, creator?!" 1x1x1x1 roars, but they're stunned silent by a quick punch to the face.

"Shut the fuck up!"

Ollie isn't sure if it's the ineffective punch or the profanity that makes them pause, but before he knew it, he was easily picked up by the throat and lifted up.

'Oh that is NOT a pleasant feeling.' Even with the effect of the pain numbed in this world, Ollie could still feel the pressure and tightness of the strong hand around her his neck.

He wants to scream, but instead, he looks down at 1x1x1x1 with a grin, kicking and squirming. The hacker squints their eyes, as if they're having a double-take.

"You're not Shedletsky."

Ollie tries to respond with a snarky 'well no shit' but ends up making cut-off, strangled noises instead. The hacker throws him over to the ground, watching as the linked sword clatters to his side.

"Ha! You're the only one- other than Builderman that noticed." Olledsky gets up to his feet, rubbing his neck as he picks up the linked sword.

"He.... HAHAHAHA!" 1x1x1x1 seems absolutely amused at this, throwing their head back to laugh. "The great Telamon, admin of Robloxia and master of swords- hacked!"

"Not exactly. I'm just... borrowing his body." Olledsky gives them a knowing smirk, leaning on the linked sword. "You can keep a secret, can't ya?"

"And why should I?" 1x1x1x1 taunts. There's enough time on the clock for them to kill him, but they're spending most of it just taunting the stranger puppeting Shedletsky's body.

(Unknown to both of them, Shedletsky was watching the exchange in horror and anger in his spectral form. Nevermind having some kind of compromise with Ollie- he needed her gone NOW if she's getting all buddy-buddy with 1x.)

"Because it'd be far funnier for the others to not notice anything's wrong with him before I slip up." Olledsky yawns, and lets out a bit of a laugh. "Besides, aren't you like, his unwanted son or something? I find it disappointing that Shedletsky's such a deadbeat dad."

"... Excuse me?" 1x1x1x1 says with complete bewilderment and some disgust at the idea of his creator being his 'father'.

"What?!" Shedletsky's also tweaking out as Ollie cackles, using his body to belt out those heavy laughs. He's completely unaware that the real admin is just spectating him as he chats with his creation- son- whatever!

"I mean like, this isn't wrong! He did create you, did he not?"

Olledsky feels the swoosh of a sword, and clumsily ducks back, falling onto her back. "W-woah, hey!"

"That MAN is NOT my father!" 1x1x1x1 hisses. "I am the EMBODIMENT of his hatred and his negative emotions! I am the weight of his sins that he's avoided!"

"That just proves my point, mister daddy issues." Ollie leans forward, smirking. "If I somehow spawned in an embodiment of my own hatred or something, I'd raise them to be a funky little fella. Gonna call them 'Ollie Jr.' and set them on a bunch of tax collectors so that they can burn down IRS headquarters."

"Silence!" 1x1x1x1 points their blade at his face, even though Olledsky has a shit-eating grin on his face. "I refuse to be mocked in such a way!"

"Hey, it's not mocking you. If anything, I'm ragging on Ol' Shedletsky for being a terrible father." Olledsky raises his arms up, and scoots away until he can get his linked sword back into his hand.

"Tch." The hacker glares at the impostor up and down. "Now I don't have the chance to kill him properly. This was supposed to be a duel between us, and look where we are now."

"You've gotten in our way."

Olledsky tilts her head, and seems absolutely baffled. "Why not fight me instead?"

"You're a terrible swordsman. Your aim is shit, you can barely swing your sword with the right technique-" Ollie winces at this, and unbeknownst to her, Shedletsky is burying his face in his hands at the second-hand embarrassment.

"Okay, okay- wait, the others told you, right." He says, pointing. 1x1x1x1 looks at them with a 'yeah, duh' expression.

"... Figures." Olledksy sighs, and raises his sword. "Doesn't stop me from trying, anyway."

A wide grin spreads on his face, the shadows casing an eerie shade over his face. Olivine's got a talent for looking scary as shit despite her weakness, and it's something she's gonna use to her full advantage.

"So I'll fight you as if I am Shedletsky!" She He charges at the hacker with her blade, snarling like a rabid animal while she does so.

"That's more like it." 1x1x1x1 has an interested grin on their face, sneering. "You'll never be him- Shedletsky would never have such a look on his face."

"A shame!" The killer sidesteps the charge, and Olledsky tries to pivot, using a wide arc to continue the momentum of the charge towards them. "You lack his skill-"

"But have so much gleeful malice!"

The end of that battle was already decided before Olledsky even faced 1x1x1x1. He'd never stood a chance against the embodiment of hatred.

But he'd at least gone out with a bang! Not a lot of people could say that!

Ollie feels himself herself slip out of the world, waking up at her desk where her laptop was on. The spectator screen is displaying a very shaken and confused Shedletsky, now free from her control as everyone else hangs around in the main cabin.

"See you later, friend. I might bring a few more people into this server later, if all else goes well!"

Ollie laughs, sounding a bit like a cliche anime villain before clearing her throat and closing her laptop.

[Shedletsky]

He's back. He's finally back, thank the Heights- he doesn't have to witness his own body be piloted for the rest of time in this living hell.

Shedletsky didn't even know that this was a kind of fear he could even experience until he saw his own body interact with the survivors like nothing was wrong. Until he saw that only one person aside from his literal embodiment of hatred realized that it wasn't him.

That... hurt. To know that almost all of the other survivors, even Dusekkar out of all people, didn't see what was different about him. In fact, they seemed to like him more when he was possessed rather than when he was normal-

"Shed. Shedletsky, are ya'-" Builderman hurries up to him, glancing at everyone else and leading him away into their own room. "Shedletsky. Are ya'- back to normal and all that?"

Shedletsky takes a moment to collect himself again, breathing heavily. He looks Builderman in the eye with a haunted expression.

"We're all in danger."

"... That bad?" Builderman's expression is completely serious. They haven't been this serious since April 1st, and that was saying something. Not even the John Doe incident topped this.

"I just got hacked- of course this is bad! This is the first time an admin's account got hijacked in the history of Robloxia!" Shedletsky frantically takes out his admin panel, checking the history. "And there's nothing. No evidence of who 'Ollie' is, what they want to do with me- heck, there's not even a trace of suspicious code left on my account!"

(It's because Ollie isn't actually a hacker, and instead a 'higher being' using his body to do her business. There's no trace of code because she isn't made of code like Robloxians are, but of flesh and blood.)

(Besides, it's not like she knows how to code. Far from it, actually.)

Builderman and Shedletsky spent the rest of their free time today checking both of their accounts for any trace of malicious code, and then checked everybody else's account. It was usually a serious invasion of privacy, but given the circumstances, this was necessary.

They still didn't find anything. Yes, even when checking 007n7- although Shedletsky felt guilty when he didn't find anything up with the ex-hacker. He should have believed 007n7's word that he'd never go back on his old ways, instead of acting like this.

There wasn't much else to do except share everything they did know which each other, which wasn't much.

"You're saying that his name's Ollie- which we both already know- and he's out here taking yer' account for a job or something."

"He implied it." Shedletsky crosses his arms, and sighs. "Dave, you know I could hear you when I was getting possessed, right? I could see you and all that- I just can't talk or be seen. Like a ghost."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah." Shedletsky rubs his curly hair with some frustration, but every time he tries to feel hatred for whoever decided to take him over, it just- doesn't register at all. All of his hatred was in 1x1x1x1, and that made it so that he couldn't really process that feeling. Can't process it if you don't feel it in the first place.

"Man- first this hacker steals my body, then he eats my chicken during the rounds and makes me look like a fool- and now he's out and about calling 1x1x1x1 my son and me a deadbeat dad!"

"Right? He's ain't gonna- wait what was that last part."

• Original concept for the AU!

• Design for Possessed Shedletsky. Still male, despite Ollie possessing him!

• Watch her hit this clip that's gonna show up in the top 100 fails compilation.

• A meeting between "friends".

• How Ollie's signature "creepy faces" work on Shedletsky!

• 1x1x1x1 and Olledsky interaction lmao.

• Poor admins... they're not recovering from this

Chapter Text

[Builderman]

He hates it. Shedletsky can say he "dislikes the experience" and can go around the actual feelings he feels towards whoever "Ollie" was because he literally can not feel hate, but Builderman has enough hatred and distrust to feel it for his friend.

If Shedletsky can't say that he outright hates her, he will. Builderman's a good kinda friend in that way. Currently, there isn't much breaking the monotony of this hell- they're stuck waiting for the day's round to begin again, either watching the artificial darkened sun outside or staying in and lounging around.

Builderman's eyes dart over to Shedletsky, whose brows are furrowed. He sighs. "Expectin' another visit from them again?"

"I guess so." Shedletsky tries to keep up his unbothered facade, but Builderman knows him well enough to see the fact that he's disturbed.

There's currently a bit of a schedule, here. Shedletsky would be normal for about a week or so, and then his body would get hijacked and puppeted for three or four days before he regains control again after a round.

It's predictable. It's planned. It's terrifying. Because it confirms what the thing using his body was saying about it being a job to him. This is going to happen over and over, until Ollie quits. They don't even know if that hacker can quit, or if he wants to.

"What do you think about it?" Shedletsky crosses his arms. "I've made a lot of enemies over the years as an admin. Do you think it's someone I knew before?"

"Most likely. They seem 'ta know everyone's names." Builderman sighs, rubbing his forehead in frustration and stress. "And- we can't even do anythin' about this because we ain't got a lick of our old admin powers in this place."

Builderman hates this. He hates not being able to protect people, to serve his duty and role as an admin. He knows Shedletsky hates being powerless too, the sword master reduced to nothing but running and hiding.

... It's been taking a toll on both of them. Shedletsky sighs. "If anything, they might have been from the Heights. I've pwned so many Robloxians before that I don't know who Ollie might be."

"Even with that fake name, I'm sure we can find 'em. They're spendin' time with you, after all." Builderman pauses, and looks back and forth conspiratorially as if he was trying to find any sign of being overheard.

"And you're sayin' that he doesn't know 'bout you seein' his every move?" Shedletsky did tell Builderman about the out-of-body experience, after all.

"It looked like it. Let's hope that sticks around." The swordsman scratches the back of his head. "How many days has it been again since the last one?"

"It's been... a week, I think." Builderman makes a gesture, and then frowns. "It's going to come back again today, isn't it."

"I still don't like him having his grubby hands on my chicken!" Shedletsky complains. Builderman shakes his head. "Shed, those are yer' hands."

"Still! The point stands!"

Shedletsky and Builderman both get that slight tugging feeling, and they realize that a round is about to start in a minute. "Darn it." Builderman sighs, and tips his construction helmet. "See you later, then."

"See you three days later, buddy." Shedletsky has his sword in hand, nodding. Builderman knows that when the round starts, it won't be Shedletsky that greets him.

Builderman closes his eyes and feels himself get transported over to the map. He opens them up, seeing the horror hotel.

There's heavy footsteps by his side. 'Oh, great. It's THEM.'

"Howdy, partner!" The mockery of his friend's voice rings out behind him. Builderman turns around with an angry look to glare at Olledsky. "Looks like we're working together again, eh?"

"... Cut the chase. I ain't letting you do anythin' outta my sight, hacker." Builderman spits that word out like venom, far from his usually friendly and calm tone.

"Geez, okay, okay! I won't leave you!" The stranger in his friend's body laughs, getting up close and personal to pat him on the shoulder. Builderman flinches, and pushes his hand off. "You could have just said that you missed me, Builderman!"

'Don't react. He's tryna' get under yer skin.' Builderman squeezes his eyes shut, and lets out a deep breath.

"You know, you're awfully weak for the head of Robloxia. I thought you'd be a lot more powerful, you know?" Olledsky says as Builderman sets up his sentry, swinging his building hammer with a bit too much force.

"Ah, ptooey. Guess this is beyond all of your power, then." The faker shrugs, and looks in the distance as they see John Doe absolutely tear into Guest 1337.

"Damn. He's aboutta die." Olledsky gives Builderman a look. "Unless ya let me run over there."

"Wh- run on over, then!" Builderman sputters, still pissed off. "Save him!"

"I dunno... I'm not the one that made the promise with you, Builderman. Shedletsky is. I'm not contractually obligated to save anyone here." Builderman feels rage and frustration building up, and (maybe) starts to understand why Shedletsky would get rid of his own hatred.

Ollie laughs at the expression on his face. "Oh, don't be such a grouch! Course' I will." He runs off, using his blade to stun John Doe for a second before running off. Unfortunately, stunning John Doe was not a good idea, because now the killer was fast, angry, and gunning for Olledsky instead of Guest.

"Ha! Come on then- let's dance!"

That round ended in half of the survivors living and Olledsky (unfortunately) being one of the half that were left standing. Builderman gives him the stink-eye while Dusekkar looks concerned.

"I sense that you and Shedletsky have both been falling apart, and may I ask what caused this change of heart?"

"... I can't tell ya'. Not here." Builderman glances at Olledsky, who is still giving him that unnerving, shit-eating grin. He glares back and turns away. "This is admin business. I'll tell you in my room."

"Very well then, for I will depart- I simply wish to know what knowledge you will impart."

[Ollie]

"Man, this is what I'm talking about!" Ollie laughs, having struck up a conversation with Elliot. "You're such a great guy, Elliot- I gotta thank you for that pizza back there. If it weren't for you, me and the others would've been roast!"

"You're welcome." Elliot smiles, busy cooking the meal for tonight's dinner. From what Ollie could tell, the Spectre usually fed the survivors the bare minimum, but lately they've been giving all of them enough food to have three square meals today, plus some left over.

He assumes that his sponsor, [REDACTED], had something to do with this. 'Thank god. Or would it be thank the gods, seeing that there's more than one for sure?'

Olledsky leans over, watching Elliot prepare the turkey roast for dinner. "Man, that would do really well with mashed potatoes..."

Elliot snorts. "By Roblox, I wish. There's only some veggies that I can cook with it."

"I can steam them for you, if you want." Ollie suggests. Elliot raises an eyebrow, completely taken aback. "I thought you only ate your fried chicken and didn't care about cooking stuff.

'Damn, Shedletsky might, but at least I have SOME class.' Ollie rolls his eyes. "Just because I eat chicken all the time doesn't mean that the only thing I know how to cook is chicken. I can cook other stuff too."

The veggies are already washed. Olledsky goes to Elliot's side, getting a butcher knife from the counter and chopping up the carrots and cucumbers. He's slow and methodical, not because he's good at it but because he can't really go too fast without making it messy.

Ollie gently puts the chopped vegetables on the top of the steamer, then fills the bottom with water. The stove is turned on and he steps back.

"See? Easy." Olledksy washes his hands in the sink. "Anything else I can help with?"

Ollie spends the next hour or so preparing the food for everyone. Cooking for nine people is far different than just making something for himself. Usually his mom just cooks for him and the rest of the family, and Ollie cooks for a snack.

It's really calming. Olledsky hums as he chops up some more vegetables, since they wouldn't have fit in the steamer all at once.

He doesn't notice it, but Elliot is staring at him oddly when he hums and quietly sings to himself. "After all you've got to live in life, leave the dying to the dead," Ollie hums, Shedletsky's voice being much softer than usual with her control. "If your flame is burning strong, why watch the shadows on the wall..."

Ollie continues to hum, unaware. Elliot mumbles. "I didn't know you could sing."

"... I don't." Olledsky says. He finishes up the rest of the veggies, placing them in a bowl. "It's not what I like to do in front of others."

"Ah. Sorry." Elliot shrinks back, but Olledsky waves him off. "No worries about that- I just miss having some music to listen to."

Ollie's honest with that. He does miss having music other than the chase music whenever she does these three-day shifts. "Lemme see if I can find a way to get something to liven up the place. If we do find a way to get some music, maybe we can have some karaoke to lighten up the mood?"

"Sounds... good!" Elliot brightens up at that, and Olledsky smiles in return.

When he walks out of the kitchen, he slips out of the cabin door and outside, looking up at the artificial night sky.

It's hazy and dark, with only a few fake stars to light the way. Olledsky climbs up to the roof, the cold night air biting at his skin. It doesn't really bother him, seeing that all pain is numbed for Ollie when she's in the game.

"Damn, what a lame-ass skybox... does it ever become daytime here?" Ollie mutters to himself. "The Spectre's ass at this." After those words, there's a drop in temperature and a feeling of discomfort, but Olledksy simply leans back with a cocky smirk.

"Touch me and my employer's gonna whoop your ass." He says out loud. "You know that."

Ollie feels the cold recede, and he gets the feeling that the Spectre is pissed. Reluctantly not bothering her, but still pissed.

"Ahh, hoes mad." Olledsky revels in the fact that she's not constrained by the same chat filter as the other Robloxians. "Hoes mad."

A branch from a nearby tree falls on her and makes her roll to the side with a groan. "Okay, okay! Geez, no need to be a sore loser, ack!"

It's definitely not a good idea to be taunting an unknown entity of darkness and despair, but Ollie's just in one of those silly moods. Just a bit of tomfoolery, perhaps.

'This is a private server... I wonder if I've got access to anything?"' Olledsky holds out his hand, closing his eyes and squeezing it shut. 'Uhhh...manifest? Appear?" He's picturing a window of some sort, like one of those power-fantasy manwha she was fond of.

It doesn't work. He makes a few funny faces, focusing and commanding it in his head. It takes around twenty or so tries, but Ollie finally cheers when a dark grey holographic panel flickers into her view. "Heck yeah!"

To her delight, it's not just an admin panel- it's access to the internet. Not Robloxia's internet, her internet. He's just hoping to dear god that none of the Robloxians can see the panel's contents.

(Shedletsky, looking down at what the hacker is doing, freezes when he sees the familiar sight of an admin panel. He's full-on panicking and it only gets worse when he realizes that he CAN'T see what the impostor is typing, only a blank holographic screen.)

([REDACTED] is just thankful that they always remembered to censor Ollie's information, because if they didn't it would be VERY awkward to have the survivors see a possessed Shedletsky snickering and gawking at ship art of themselves.)

'Hell yeah I can access Youtube! Karaoke night is on, if I can get this to play on a boombox!' Olledsky thinks to himself. Getting a boombox wouldn't be hard for the gamer, seeing that one of the game's emotes literally came with one.

[Elliot]

Shedletsky's been acting weird as of late. Then again, it might be the stress of their situation making the admin act more erratically than usual. Guest 1337's not sure what's going on between him and Builderman, because sometimes those two can be close friends and other times Builderman looks like he wants to strangle Shedletsky with his own hands.

If you were to ask for Elliot's opinion, he would say that he didn't mind. Whenever Shedletsky was in one of those "moods" for a few days, he'd always be more helpful around the cabins instead of doing admin stuff with Builderman or going off to train with his sword.

Sure, Shedletsky became inexplicably terrible at his usual swordsmanship whenever he entered those periods of extroverted-ness, but Elliot could forgive that. Shedletsky actually picked up his pizzas this time instead of leaving them in favor of his own chicken.

It's the start of another round. Elliot's spawned in next to a generator, so he's busy working on that, pulling at the wires and connecting them together as quick as he can. He knows the killer is out there somewhere, and that if he doesn't at least get one generator on by himself-

"Ch- ch- ch-... ha- ha- ha-" Elliot freezes hearing this in the distance, and begins to sweat as he hears Chance yell, but no gunshot. 'Don't tell me his gun misfired!'

Great. Now he's got to deal with Jason. Elliot quickly finishes up the generator, scrambling to his feet just in time as Jason sprints towards him.

"Gotta go gotta go gotta go-" Elliot pants, dodging behind a wall and hoping to dear god that someone can distract Jason from him, please-!

There's the sound of the linked sword being drawn, and an actual hit. "Yes! Finally! Ahaha!"

Elliot turns around to see Shedletsky, who's sprinting alongside him. "Let's get outta here, Elliot! I'll distract him!" The pizza boy nods, splitting off from the admin while Shedletsky spins around to confront the killer again.

'Wait, isn't his sword on cooldown?! What's he gonna do?!' Elliot panics. 'Don't tell me he's going to be an idiot and sacrifice himself-'

He doesn't throw himself at the killer. Instead, Shedletsky pulls out a boombox out of all things (When in the world has the admin been able to get that? HOW'D he get that?).

"Get a load of this!" Shedletsky presses the play button on the boombox, and what proceeds to play is the most horrendously loud music that Elliot could only describe as 'circus hardbass'.

"♫ My name is the fucking Mimic oh yeah, My name is the fucking Mimic oh yeah- duh duh duh duh, duh duh duh duh duh- ♫"

Elliot, along with Chance and Noob because they were also busy running from Jason, kinda just stood there blinking. They're more surprised to hear uncensored profanity from the song than anything else. Hell, even Jason paused to listen and try and comprehend this dogshit beat.

"Oh, wait, wrong music. Sorry about that." Shedletsky fumbles to press some buttons and change the music again.

"♫ Wooooah, story of Undertale- ♫" Click.

"♫ Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down- ♫" Click.

"♫ I swore I'd never sin again, but my patience's running thin... ♫" Click.

♫ Shawty's like a melody- ♫" Click. "Where the heck is it?" Shedletsky mutters, making the others question his music taste.

(The real Shedletsky is getting the worst case of second-hand embarrassment in his life... so far. Because Ollie can always do worse in the future. "Just turn off the damn music...")

Shedletsky finally seems to settle on a song, hoisting the boombox over his shoulder. "♫ They say my hunger's a problem, they tell me to curb my appetite- ♫" 

"Yeah, this fits. Alright Jason, now you can chase me." Shedletsky says, acting like this is the most normal thing in the world.

"..." The killer has always been mute, but Elliot can practically feel the judgemental stare from him. Elliot had to admit, this beat was pretty good if not for the situation they were in.

Shedletsky proceeds to run off like an idiot blasting music while Jason chases him down, leading him away from the other survivors.

Chance hides out with Noob and Elliot, while Elliot gives him some pizza to eat and regain his health. "What in the world is going on with Shedletsky?"

"Heck if I know. He's at least helping us out by distracting." Elliot says. Noob nods. "Y-yeah... he's trying his best at least..."

[007n7]

Shedletsky's been the only other person besides Guest 1337 willing to talk to him, and that's new. Honestly, he's just happy to see that someone else is willing to look past his.. past.

007n7 wasn't selected for the round that Elliot was in recently, which was a slight relief because the man still absolutely hated him and wanted nothing to do with him. That's understandable. It's the consequences of his actions biting him back, from all that exploiting he did.

Recently, though, Shedletsky's been... off. He doesn't know what got between him, Builderman and Dusekkar, but the two latter have been staring at Shedletsky with distrust and wariness. Did something happen between them?

Whatever. It's none of his business. If he didn't want people digging up his past business, then he wouldn't dig into their own business.

Shedletsky spots him from across the room and his smile brightens up. "Oh! 007n7!" He strides over, clapping him on the back like he's an old friend. "How's it going? You're looking like you'd just swallowed a lemon, haha..."

"Isn't it always like that?" 007n7 rolls his eyes, drawing into himself nervously. "Honestly, I don't know why you'd associate with me... even if it's out of pity."

"Pity?" Shedletsky tilts his head, and the taller man frowns at that. "I mean, sure, but it would wrong of me to only hang out with you because of that."

"You don't have to sugarcoat or lie about it."

"Dude." Shedletsky pinches his nose in frustration. "It's still wrong of the others to just- isolate you like this. I know you've ruined a lot of lives with your exploits, but you at least changed. That's more than what I could say for some of the people here."

"..." 007n7 stays quiet.

"Fine." The admin lets out a sigh, and pats him on the shoulder. "How about we talk about less serious stuff? Tell me- what's your favorite food?"

"... I thought you'd just assume that it was burgers."

Shedletsky snorts. "Please. I don't assume stuff. And if you ate burgers all the time, you'd get tired of them."

"I guess so." 007n7 relaxes a bit. "Burgers are nice, but I like desserts too. Parfaits are nice."

"Oh, I agree. Strawberry?"

"Banana Yogurt and Cereal, actually." Because when he'd had to raise his son, he'd make healthy desserts to trick the kid into eating his fruits.

"That sounds great!" Shedletsky chirps. "It's pretty obvious my favorite food is fried chicken- but if you wanna know, I've been wanting some smokes salmon sushi as of late for a change of pace..."

007n7 and Shedletsky chat for a while, both of them not realizing Builderman and Dusekkar listening in on them. Sure, it's not incredibly ground-breaking information- but anything on the mysterious hacker taking over Shedletsky's body is important. Even if it's something as small as their favorite food.

The next day, 007n7 wakes up from his own shared room with Two-Time and Chance. It's far earlier than usual, since the surroundings outside were darker than usual. The day-night cycle in this purgatory was odd, in how there was never enough brightness to be truly classified as "morning".

He can't really fall asleep again. The former exploiter had one of those dreams that wasn't really a nightmare, but made his heart hurt and tears leak out of his eyes. Dreaming about the kid he's lost tends to happen, far too often in this hell.

007n7 lets out a sigh, getting off of the couch he was sleeping on and exiting the cabin. He makes sure to close the door gently on the way out, feeling the cold night air nip at his skin.

Nothing but the black sky and the flickering lights of the other cabins greeted him. It's too dark for anything and the other rounds don't start until all of the survivors are awake.

Instead of dead silence and the sound of the wind rustling the trees, there's the faint sound of... music? 007n7 furrows his brows, and walks towards the small stretch of woods behind the cabins to see where it was coming from.

The former exploiter sees Shedletsky... sitting by himself? The admin is swaying to the music coming out of a boombox, singing along with the lyrics in a low, quiet tone.

"♫He died holding four kings and an ace, the smell of foreign wine and faint smile on his face...♫"

"♫ Hushed words could be barely overheard, 'To go so shamelessly, oh, what a waste'... ♫"

007n7 feels a bit guilty listening in on Shedletsky. He's trusted 007n7 enough to semi-forgive him, and while there's still a long way to go in terms of him getting accepted, there's still a tense air around him and Shedletsky at times.

"♫ After all, you've got to live in life, leave the dying to the dead! If your flame is burning strong, why watch the shadows on the wall? ♫"

He doesn't know where Shedletsky managed to get a boombox, but then again, this man was an admin. Did he finally manage to get something into this purgatory without his powers being restrained?

The jazzy music plays on, and Shedletsky lazily spins his sword as he sings. He continues to be surprisingly upbeat, despite being stuck in this situation- until the music calms down to a melancholy, slow tune.

"♫ Death has no favourite child... ♫" A sigh, and he continues on. "♫ He visits those who wait... and he visits those who ought to have a while... ♫"

"♫ But fighting fate has a price... Disturbing the order of things- Means you need to make a sacrifice! ♫"

The music swells up again, but Shedletsky is cut off with a yelp as 007n7 accidentally steps on a branch trying to get closer. "Ah! What-"

"S-sorry..." 007n7 rubs the back of his head, stepping forward from the shadows. "I heard the music, and, well..."

"..." Shedletsky tilts his head, frowning. "You couldn't sleep?"

"No. It's- the usual." The former exploiter sits down next to Shedletsky on the log, and he turns down the music. "Everything that's happened is just... a lot. Being stuck here really wears us all down."

Shedletsky nods. There's a silence between the two of them.

"... How do you do it?"

"Huh?" Shedletsky turns around, tilting his head at the question.

"You know. How do you..." 007n7 gestures at the admin himself. "How do you keep your cool? Still somehow have a smile on your face?"

Shedletsky is quiet for a moment. His expression becomes more contemplative. "... I'm really good at acting, I guess. And when you're given the choice to let everything crumble apart or act all fake-happy, there's no other option."

007n7 feels like that's an awful way of doing things. "So you're just putting on a mask all the time? Bottling it up? That's-"

"I know." Shedletsky sighs, and rubs his forehead with his hand. "But... if it makes you guys happy... I'll do it."

He gives 007n7 a reassuring smile. "It's worth it seeing you guys get out of this alive."

(Shedletsky is watching his whole conversation, unable to be seen by either of them. He looks more concerned about how the impostor seemed to have broken him down to his deepest, most basic thoughts so well.)

(Were they a master manipulator and a genius? Or were he and them far too similar, and they knew exactly how they were the same?)

[c00lkidd]

Playing tag is so much fun! But sometimes, all the other adults are really mean!

C00lkidd is blissfully unaware of the harm he is causing his father and the other survivors,, gleefully 'tagging' them and putting them to sleep without knowing the true, twisted nature of this death game. Maybe it's best if he stays oblivious, because there's no chance of escape for him.

There's no chance of escape for any of them, both the killers and the survivors. Maybe it's best for him to think this is all a game, or else he would have been in pain thinking about all the harm he's caused others.

The ten-year-old kid gleefully skips back and forth between the rooms of the Horror Hotel, humming to himself as he passes by each of the doors. "And this here is for papa when he shows up again and goes to sleep, and this here is for Mister Builderman-"

He's planning where he should lay down the other survivors to "rest" when they visit the place for today to play. The unfixed generators hummed in the distance. "So, so boring... they always play wrong!" He says to one of his pizza minions.

They say nothing in return. Of course they don't, they're just clones. Still, C00lkidd talks to them like they're old friends. "Dad's really good at tag and hide and seek! But his friends are all mean! The one with the glasses and hat keeps on shooting me with his gun and it hurts, and mister soldier keeps on tagging back!"

His own sense of right and wrong has been muddled by the Spectre erasing his memories whenever he starts to slowly figure out the harm he's doing, and living with other unstable killers doesn't do well for his mental state.

Sure, C00lkidd may be blissfully unaware. But that doesn't mean he feels distress sometimes from these rounds.

The kid perks up, getting a feeling in his head like an alarm going off. "Oh! They're here!" He gets to sprinting around, looking towards where the survivors would spawn in.

"Ready or not- here I come!!!" He yells, using a walkspeed override to bash through the doors and make some of the survivors jump in terror.

C00lkidd beams when he sees his dad in the crowd, scrambling to get away. "Dad! You're here!"

"Get away from me get away from me-" His dad rambles, sprinting off in the opposite direction. C00lkidd laughs, even though something feels off. The young child laughs as he chases after his dad, throwing a brick at him. "Silly dad! I wanna tag you first!"

The child manages to catch up to his father, swinging his clawed hand down on his back. He crumples to a heap in the floor, and then glitches out of existence.

"Awww, you got me, dad!" Coolkidd pouts. He'd just fallen for a clone, chasing it down- and his dad was probably far, far away now. "Fine... I'll save you for last!"

He turns around to the other survivors running about, and immediately sprints towards the gambler. Chance lets out a high-pitched shriek, trying to fire their gun but it blows up in their hand, making them limp.

"Gotcha! Tag!" C00lkidd picks up Chance by the neck, squeezing it until it snaps. He giggles, throwing Chance aside as the man "sleeps" on the floor. "That's one down!"

C00lkidd begins to chase down the other survivors- but they keep getting away! There's the chicken man who's always with Mister Builderman, but he's with that soldier guy and those two hurt! He doesn't wanna get tagged back!

The red child lets out little giggles as he chases down the magic pumpkin man. "Hey! Get back here!" He throws a corrupt nature, but it misses.

Dusekkar manages to lead C00lkidd right over to one of the generators, where the chicken man was working on it without the meanie soldier by his side. "Tch, dang it, why does he have to be this close-"

C00lkidd stops for a second, checking if the chicken man with the sword was going to run away. 'No? He's all distracted and busy, yippee!'

(What the poor child doesn't know, however, is that Olledsky is currently raging over this generator. He's messed it up five different times already, because he can't just step away and reset the wire configuration like in-game. He's got that gamer rage all pent up in him.)

The little kid laughs, and he cocks his arm back like a baseball pitcher to throw his corrupt nature at Shedletsky. "Hahahaha! Gotcha!"

The brick hits the back of the man's curly head with a meaty 'thunk'. Coolkidd is giggling all the while, but his giggles die down as Shedletsky turns around.

Olledsky does that thing where Roblox players use shift lock to turn around slowly. His body isn't even moving his feet- he just snaps into an A-pose and slowly turns to look Coolkidd dead in the eye. There's the sound of stone scraping against stone.

"..." C00lkidd looks at him with a bit of nervousness. "Eh? Why aren't you running away?" He tagged him, right? He should be running away-

The chicken man then begins to smile in the creepiest way that C00lkidd has ever seen, and that's saying something because he's gotten used to the 'Jeff the Killer' image from his own exploiting. Olledsky's face is shrouded in shadow as her teeth are bared wide, eyes looking more inhuman than ever.

C00lkidd starts to sniff and whimper, and apparently the chicken man took this as a sign of weakness because then the big, scary man began straight-up sprinting at C00lkidd while making scary noises.

"AHASFHSKFJKG:SASJF-!" Olledsky does the verbal equivalent of shouting a keyspam, and the terrified ten-year old screams, sprinting the other way to escape this monstrosity. "AAAAAAAAHH-! WAA-AAAH!"

Olledsky laughs like a maniac, snarling gutturally as he chases C00lkidd around the map while flailing his arms crazily, linked sword in hand. "AJKFKAKJGAAAA-" She screams, slamming into a wall and continuing to sprint at him.

"WAAAAAH! DAD! DAD!" C00lkidd cries out for help, terrified. "DAAAD!"

(007n7, on the other side of the map, feels his fatherly instincts kick in for no reason. He raises an eyebrow, looking at nobody in particular as he does the generator with Builderman.)

("Do you hear anything?" He asks. Builderman shrugs.)

The scary chicken man makes snarling and snapping noises with his terrifying toothy mouth, and C00lkidd turns the corner, springing out into the open. "L-LEAVE ME ALOOOONE!"

He looks behind him, and screams in a hysterical way- because Olledsky is now down on all fours, scrambling to chase him like some sort of fucked-up spider thing. His limbs were splayed out and stumbling discordantly.

"AAAAAAA-!" C00lkidd runs past some of the survivors, which were spooked and a bit confused as to why the killer was running until they looked behind him and their faces collectively blanched.

"GIVE ME YOUR LIVER!" The scary chicken man howls, and C00lkidd sobs. "NOOOO! I want my liver! I want my liver!"

Noob is just staring at Shedletsky with a horrified expression while Guest 1337 has an extremely concerned look on his face.

"Do you think he's finally gone cuckoo?" Noob asks Guest 1337. Guest can only stare at the sight in front of him. "...Maybe."

C00lkidd doesn't want to play anymore! That man is scaaaary! He wants his dad to protect him!

"DAAAAD!" He screams, sprinting towards 007n7. The man blanches, terrified as the killer rockets into his general direction where he and Builderman were fixing a generator.

"DAD! DAD!" Instead of grabbing his neck and snapping it like he expected, his son the killer is frantically tugging on his arm and looking scared for his life. "DAD! HELP ME! WAAAAH!"

"W-what do you mean- OH MY GOD!" 007n7 sees the massive figure sprinting towards all three of them in the distance.

Shedletsky looks nothing like his normal self. His curly hair is more disheveled than anything that he's seen in his entire life, sticking up like a wild animal's fur. His entire face is twisted in a grotesque, feral grin as he sprints head-first towards them. The admin looks like he's going to maul them with his bare teeth.

Builderman gets up from the generator, finally finished with fixing it. He jumps back when he sees C00lkidd trembling in 007n7's arms, confused as to why the killer is cowering with them rather than killing them. "What in tarnation is going on?!"

"HEEEEERE'S SHEDLETSKY!" Manic, hyena-like laughter bursts out from behind him, and Builderman whips around to see Olledsky jumpscare them.

He wouldn't admit this later, but the CEO of Roblox lets out the most high-pitched, girlish scream he's ever let out in his entire life as the thing controlling his friend's massive, strong body slams into the wall behind him, only having narrowly missed Builderman because he'd jumped out of the way at the last second.

The man trembles as Not-Shedletsky whips his head over to C00lkidd, and the killer scrambles out of 007n7's arms to run away. Not-Shedletsky follows him, snarling and laughing the entire time with a crazed expression on his face.

They don't see the both of them for the rest of the match, but can damn well hear the screams and laughter.

(When the round ends and all of the survivors are yanked back into the cabins, everyone has a haunted look on their face as Shedletsky pants, wiping the sweat off his brow while grinning happily.)

("Man, that was such a good break! Finally got to let loose, haha!" He laughs, walking off to his own room. Elliot, who wasn't in the round, raises an eyebrow at Builderman and 007n7's pants-shittingly fearful expression.)

("By Roblox, what happened?" Builderman doesn't reply, staring straight ahead. The real Shedletsky, who was floating behind Builderman in his spectral form, also had his jaw open wide in some sort of horrified shock.)

(He didn't know his face could even DO that.)

[Extras]

• Smug Olledsky with his boombox.

• Olledsky isn't afraid of the admin because she knows they're not the "real" admin in her world, only characters. Unfortunately, this means she has troubles with personal boundaries when it comes to them.

• Ollie is the type of person to know EXACTLY how to push someone to their limits from being so annoying. And yes, that is the "I NEED YAOI" Builderman picture but redrawn.
• She's also one of the few people that can piss off Shedletsky to the point of regaining a small portion of his ability to feel hatred back. In this moment, 1x suddenly feels a bit weaker for no apparent reason...

• The (horrifying) scenario in which the survivors can actually see her admin panel but she doesn't know that they can.

Chapter Text

[1x1x1x1]

'So. The little hacker is going to be a reoccurring guest here, isn't he?' 1x1x1x1 thinks. He sharpens his blade against a rock menacingly, chasing down Noob as they try their best to gulp down a Slateskin potion.

"Resistance is futile, Robloxian. Accept your fate." Noob gets hit with Entanglement, struggling to break free even more because of the slowing effects of Slateskin. When he finally manages to break free, the potion has already worn off and 1x1x1x1 jabs at him with his sword, filling his head with poison and exploding it.

"Hm." 1x1x1x1 looks around their surroundings, seeing almost nobody around them. They use Unstable Eye, seeing two different individuals on the map- Two Time, who was busy hiding out by themselves, and Shedletsky.

But it really isn't Shedletsky, is it? Because Ollie was possessing him now, and he's making an effort to run towards the hacker, sword in hand with a wide grin.

"Heeeey, 1x!" They chime out, waving their hand jovially. "Did ya miss me?!"

"More than I missed my creator. Which is not saying much, because I do not miss him at all." The embodiment of hatred narrows their eyes, staring at the impostor with their typical scowl, if not a bit more intense. "Your face is disgusting."

"Not my face! But hey, I'll take that as a greeting!" He leans on his sword, making 1x1x1x1 cringe at how badly the linked sword is being handled. It's blade is dull from a lack of sharpening, and it's being waved around like a prop rather than a weapon.

"Stop leaning on that blade. It'll dull the #### thing." He spits out. Olledsky blinks, tilting his head. "Eh? I thought you'd immediately kill me or something."

"It's awfully boring to kill an unskilled fool that keeps throwing himself at me over and over again, even if he's wearing my accursed creator's face." 1x looks at him disdainfully. "And seeing your atrocious attempts at swordplay make me want to hurl."

"Damn, okay then." Ollie snorts, rolling his eyes. "It's only Two Time left, and if you kill me right now, they'll be on their second life. You'll kill them easier."

"What kind of- tch. You want to be killed?" The hacker looks absolutely annoyed and frustrated. "... You're more of a freak than I expected."

"Hey! That can be taken the wrong way!" Olledsky says. "But I'm just questioning why. Don't you want to beat up your dad or something?"

"Not when it's this dissatisfying. And for the last time, Shedletsky is not my father."

"Eh, whatever." Ollie hums, kicking some dirt from the ground as the timer ticks down. 1x1x1x1's killed a lot of the survivors early in the round due to sheer luck this time, and so they're left with only two- no wait, three since they've just noticed 007n7 with Unstable Eye activated again.

... Matter of fact, 1x1x1x1 doesn't feel like killing any more for this round, for some reason. None of these three are satisfying to kill, because if they caught any of them they'd be sitting ducks. No fighting back, no hatred to feed off of because they're all filled with fear...

Ollie frowns, tilting his head down to see 1x's eyes as they use their ability. "Does that hurt?'

"None of your business." Yes, it does hurt, actually. Not as much as being hit by the survivors or their own creator's sword, but the soreness in their eyes is undeniably a bother as their vision blurs.

"... Okay. Just... worried." He says quietly, leaning back. "Who's left?"

"The exploiter and the winged fool."

"Oh, 007n7's still alive. That's great!" Olledsky smiles a bit at that, but it goes back to awkward silence as 1x1x1x1 just... stands there.

"Hey, why's your torso all transparent and that?" The hacker groans as Olledsky asks another question.

"Haven't you got all of the information prior to this, pest? I thought a hacker able to hijack Shedletsky's account would know a thing or two about his secrets."

"Again, not a hacker." He says. 1x1x1x1 doubts that, and so they simply growl and try to get some peace standing around.

Unfortunately, Ollie persists. "What's with the poison, then? Can you make your own poison without the Daemonshanks? Why do you get poisoned whenever you step in the water at Yorick's? I though you'd be immune?"

"Shut up before I kill you slowly and painfully." 1x1x1x1 hisses, their fists tightening around the handles of their swords.

"Ahhh, you're mad! Gotcha!" How childish. This... fool possessing his creator is resorting to schoolground tricks like that annoying red child they shared this purgatory with. They will not give him the satisfaction of being killed, because it's clear that Olledsky is trying to rile them up.

"I will do no such thing. Now, leave me alone." There's only two more minutes left in this round. They can't wait to be rid of this insolent whelp, and if they killed him, they'd be stuck for longer.

"Hmph! Fine." Ollie sighs, sitting cross-legged on the grass while 1x1x1x1 just... stands there, resting. Despite hating the annoying little shit that possessed their creator to the point of it making them not want to kill him, 1x can't help but glance at the being possessing Shedletsky once in a while.

The way they carry themselves is not serious at all. They're treating this like a game, more so that it seems like they could leave whenever they want. They... envied him, and hated him more because of that. Not as much as they hated Shedletsky, but still.

"... Hey." Not-Shedletsky perks up, getting an idea. "Hey! I know what you can do!" 1x1x1x1 groans, realizing that Olledsky had just found another way to bother them. "What the #### is it this time, then?!"

"Well, you know how you don't like to kill me because I'm like, really bad at sword-fighting?" Ollie asks. "Why don't you train me?"

"... Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" The person possessing his creator's body stands up, crossing their arms. "You're good with your swords, right? Train me!"

"What in the admins' god-forsaken right made you think that I would train you, out of all incompetent, horrendous Robloxians?" 1x1x1x1 thinks they're having a fever-induced stroke, if they could ever have one.

"You can pretend to talk down on me and beat me up because I'm using Shedletsky's face?" Ollie suggests, giving them a small shit-eating grin. 1x just stares.

"You don't have any sort of shame? Any sort of pride for successfully taking over an admin's account, and then throwing away his reputation with your non-existent, #### sword skills?"

"... Well, yeah!" Ollie makes a derpy face, and 1x1x1x1 resists the urge to just stab them right then and there because of how similar they were to Shedletsky in that moment, minus the lack of skill. "You incorrigible-"

They can not believe that this hacker was this- this- shameless! Actively ruining Shedletsky's reputation as the sword master of the SFOTH and unbeatable champion, bumbling around like a jester and making a fool of himself!

"Pleaaaase? I'll do anything if you just train me!"

1x1x1x1 pauses. They remembered that whenever Ollie ended up leaving after their three-day possession period, Shedletsky always seemed more... easily embarrassed. He'd stick around Builderman way more than usual, and deflected whenever one of the other, clueless survivors asked him what he was doing the previous day.

'Shedletsky can SEE this. He REMEMBERS being possessed.'

That thought changes everything. 1x1x1x1's face slowly morphs into an evil grin as they begin to hatch a dastardly plan.

They're going to make their creator act like an absolute idiot.

"You're saying that you're willing to do anything, yes?" 1x1x1x1 looms over Olledsky, hoisting up one of their swords. "Anything?"

"Of course!" The hacker says, bowing and smirking. "Anything you say, I shall do, master!" He acts like one of those overenthusiastic, bumbling pages that are eager to serve a knight.

"AHAHAHA! YES!" 1x1x1x1 can practically feel the humiliation that their creator must be experiencing right now, seeing himself kneel to his manifestation of hatred and call them that. "Yes, very good! I'll make a proper swordsman out of you yet, pathetic whelp!"

"Yes, sir!" There's no way in hell Shedletsky would say such a thing, but hearing it in his creator's voice is good enough. "I'll make you proud!"

The round ended before they could actually start training, but 1x1x1x1 was certain that they'd made Ollie say enough embarrassing stuff.

"No please, lord 1x1x1x1! I am just a measly servant!" He'd said in Shedletsky's voice, sounding mockingly terrified. "I don't hold a single finger in terms of power and skill to you, o great sword master!"

"Ahahaha! Tremble before me, Telamon- for I have beaten you in battle!" 1x1x1x1 gloats. Olledsky falls to his knees and bows.

"Nooooo! You are the true master of the Heights! I cannot compare to you!"

The hacker chuckles at the memory, sharpening his blade against a rock. It's been a day since that round, and seeing that three days have passed from when Ollie had arrived here again... Shedletsky should have his body back.

That thought makes 1x cackle horrendously again, imagining the look on his creator's face. Ohhh, it's about to be GLORIOUS!

(Back at the cabins, Shedletsky is coming to his senses, getting up from his bed as he gets used to his body again. He pauses, recalling everything he's seen Ollie do with his body- and proceeds to bury his face in the pillows, screaming his lungs out in frustration and mortification.)

(There's almost nothing left of his pride. His reputation is ruined if this ever came out, and he's only thankful that 007n7 and Two Time were too busy hiding than seeing what his possessed self was doing.)

(He hasn't felt hatred in a long time... but seeing himself get turned into that mockery of himself and with that hacker staining his hard-earned reputation just so IT could get trained by his creation...)

(He feels a flicker of the acidic feeling rise up in his gut.)

[Ollie]

Maaaan was that a good idea. Ollie's grinning to herself as she exits the game, closing her laptop and resting for the day.

Ever since she's taken that job offer from [REDACTED], she's been cruising on money from it. Her parents were surprised, but overjoyed to learn that their daughter had such a lucrative job at such a young age- and with little college experience, too!

They still wanted her to stay in her classes and finish her college education with a bachelor's, but with all the ridiculous amounts of cash rolling in, she's able to schedule less classes and lengthen the time to a five-year college experience instead of a four-year.

Ollie's leaning back with a grin on her gamer chair, right in the personal office she's been given. They really aren't lying, after all- she'd managed to get in a doctor's appointment next week to check on her health, her parent's bills are being paid, and she's living a happy, luxurious life.

This was amazing. She wasn't a burden an unemployed student anymore, living off government checks like her parents did back when they were poorer. She's made it as a person.

Ollie sighs, getting up from the table to walk out of the office and wait outside for her parents to pick her up. The office was near her university, so she didn't have to walk far to get to her "job".

Her parents think she's taken an internship at a pharmaceutical company. They think that their little girl has worked hard to climb her way up to the corporate ladder, and that she's done it fair and square.

'Ha! As if.' Ollie's smirking face turns into a soft, neutral frown as she steps off the stairs and onto the curb where her parents would drive by. 'In this economy? In this day and age?'

'I'd never manage to get a perfect job. Everything is fucked.' She thinks. And Ollie's correct- the real, outside world is in shambles.

Her major was a good, stable one- but it was hard to find jobs when you didn't have connections. All the "entry-level" jobs require at least five years of experience and pay like shit, and she's stuck in California with increasing prices and pain.

She had to take this deal. It seems too good to be true- but if someone useless like her went out into the real world, she wouldn't make enough money or even find a job with her useless skillset. She's not good at gaming, either- but it's giving her money, alright?

Ollie would do anything to make her family happy. Anything to keep the people in her life safe. If it meant making shady deals with eldritch gods and playing the part of their personal entertainment... so what?

"Hey! Dad!" She waves her hand frantically, smiling as her father pulls up in the family car. "I'm here!"

Her dad nods, saying nothing but having a content look on his face. "How was work today?"

"Oh, nothing much." Ollie lies. "It was a lot of busy work. I was stuck doing cost-analysis on one of the marketing campaigns of VoidCo- apparently they're spending too much on the higher-ups and there's not enough funds for the new employees below me..."

Her dad simply listens as she spouts off nonsense she's cobbled together from her classes. He's got no idea that she's been world-hopping into another reality to run from killers, to risk her (fake) life for their own luxury.

Because is that not what love is? Sacrifice?

Ollie finished talking a few minutes ago, and she pops in her headphones like what she did wasn't absolutely wild. There's nothing left for her to do but wait until tomorrow, in which a week would have passed in-game.

'Can't wait to learn how to swing a sword!' Ollie's smiles a bit, hiding her sheer excitement and enthusiasm at the idea of being taught by a legendary Roblox hacker, even though it was just some alternate-universe version of the test account the real John Shedletsky used.

"Man, it's weird..." She mutters to herself. Her dad is blasting some sort of news podcast on the car radio, and she frowns. Ollie turns up her own music through the headphones, ignoring the chatter.

'It feels weird knowing that these characters are... real people here. They're so lifelike, and yet they're not real.' Ollie shakes her head. It's best if she distinguishes the survivors from some of their real counterparts, or else her mind's going to start to hurt.

A day passes and goes by quickly. Ollie gets up early, attends her college classes, sits her ass down for three hours studying, and then goes to walk towards her office building.

The place is practically like one of those photos of the Backrooms, empty hallways and carpeted floors. She takes the elevator to the third floor, going into the twenty-sixth room where the comfortable gaming chair and fancy desk was held.

There's even a small couch on the side, furnished with some comfy pillows and a wool blanket. Perfect for when her body passes out while her consciousness is inside the game's universe.

Ollie navigates to the Roblox homepage, and to Forsaken. She hovers her mouse over the 'join' button, taking a deep breath.

She clicks it.

Instantly, she feels like she's sinking into a pool of cold water, being dragged down to the layer of reality below her where the game took place. Her form is squeezed and compacted, her soul flickering in order to match with the code that Robloxia was completely made out of.

Ollie's not a Robloxian. She's a flesh and blood human, her own reality being made up of atoms and physics instead of code like the others. She's more real than them. And that was something that set her apart.

After diving down, she he began to settle down in his own skin, feeling the coolness of the night air and the tense quiet of the round starting. Ollie is out- Olledsky is in.

He immediately gets to work, slipping in and out of sight. There's a few survivors here and there, and he jogs up to Noob, helping them do the generator.

"Heya. Need some assistance?" He grins.

"Shedletsky! Y-you're here!" Noob stutters, but there's a bit of unease in his eyes as he glances at him up and down. "But- um- you really could've shown up at a better time..."

"Lemme guess. 1x is here, aren't they." Olledsky already knew, and it was practically instinct at this point to recognize the killer based on vibes alone, not just the game's nature.

"Wow... you've run into them already too?" Noob whispers. Olledsky nods, lying as always. "I think I've got an idea on how to distract them- maybe I can talk it out."

"What?! Are you crazy?!" Noob is understandably shocked and worried. "Doesn't it- I-I mean, don't they hate you? A lot?"

"Can't help but try." Olledsky shrugs, knowing damn well that he's going to absolutely be safe. They made a deal with him, after all. It's time for Ollie to get some sword-training lessons.

Olledsky runs off, and simply wanders around Planet Voss until he starts to hear the tell-tale sign of 1x1x1x1's chase theme. He ignores the literal warning sirens, and steps forward.

"Heeey, 1x! How's it going, sir?" Olledsky laughs, leaning back on the wall. 1x1x1x1 swings his blade at him, and Ollie yelps, stumbling backward and nearly falling on his own sword.

"I see. You really are him." 1x1x1x1 seems amused, tilting their head up.

"Well, duh! Don't tell me Shedletsky's tried to impersonate me!" Ollie makes a silly face, sticking his tongue out. "Did he really?"

"He did. Right after the previous round- and tried to backstab me."

"Well that's not nice!" Olledsky laughs, her mouth stretched wide in a non-serious grin. "You've gotta be kidding me! I'm the one impersonating him here, not the other way around!"

"I suppose he didn't like what you made him say last time we met, amusing little whelp." 1x1x1x1 smirks, remembering the embarrassing act from Ollie. "His pride must have been so damaged that the oh-so-great Telamon was reduced to cheap tricks."

"That means I did a good job!" The impostor laughs, and he gives 1x1x1x1 a little performative bow. "Now, about that deal..."

"Fine. Let's train, shall we?" 1x1x1x1 looks at him with some disdain returning to their face due to their incompetence. "Don't fall behind. I hate repeating myself."

"Yes, master!"

The next few minutes went by slower than expected. While the survivors were obliviously fixing the generators and wondering where the hell Shedletsky and 1x1x1x1 were, Ollie was busy copying some basic sword techniques with the killer.

"Starting position- left foot ahead." Ollie mimics them. "Hips towards your opponent, not sideways!" 1x barks out, and the impostor quickly adjusts

"Sword at shoulder level, then- forward! Out of the line of attack!" 1x uses their daemonshanks to nudge Ollie's shoulder as he steps forward. "Bring down the blade in a straight line!"

Ollie swings it down, but 1x1x1x1 gets all aggressive and fussy. "No, no, no! What the #### are you doing- move it so that the pommel is protecting your hand, idiot!"

They demonstrate using their own sword. Olledsky copies them. "There! Tch, useless ####! Can't even do a basic Oberhau without ####ing it up!"

Ollie's subjected to tons of insults and curses from 1x1x1x1, who seemed to delight in criticizing his every move and make fun of his inexperience. Ollie didn't mind. He was used to this kind of stuff.

A memory flashed in her mind. A tutor loomed over her, snapping at her while she tearily sniffed and erased her mistake on the worksheet.

"Aren't you ashamed of yourself?!" The older woman hisses. "It's wrong! Again!"

"I- I'm sorry.... I d-don't get it..." Ollie was never good at math.

The tutor scoffs, looking down on her with disgust. "You're wasting your parents' money here if you don't learn this. They didn't send you money so you could go play around."

Wasting her parents' money. Of course she didn't want that. So Ollie wipes off her tears and continues to work on the math homework again.

So no. This was nothing to him. He's been called worse, and been under higher mental stress when he was younger. Ollie repeats the step a few times, with 1x1x1x1 glaring at him the whole time.

"Doing such basic, remedial things... ugh!" The hacker continues. "That's enough. Next- the Zornhau. Basic defense against a basic attack."

They point their blade towards her. "Now, try to use what I taught you."

Ollie does so with gusto, pulling off a sloppier version of the Oberhau strike that 1x taught him. 1x1x1x1 retaliates quicker than he can react, poisonous blade inches from plunging from her face. "This is the Zornhau."

"Woah..." She couldn't even see it moving. "How'd you do it?! It's so fast!"

"Watch." They break it down, stepping back into position. "First, dodge the incoming attack. For your basic strike, all I had to do was lean back."

"Then, I react to your blade." 'CLANG.' Their daemonshank clashes against his linked sword, and Olledsky recognizes it as the simple strike from before. "Instead of going for your body, I go for your blade."

"Re-orient the tip of your blade to your target..." 1x1x1x1 points the locked blade towards Olledsky's throat. "And move forward." They slide it slowly closer to his throat, making Ollie nod. "Mhm."

"I'll perform it once again- and then you will be the one blocking my attack. Got it?!"

"Got it, sir!"

Ollie trains with 1x1x1x1 as much as the round allows him to. When they finally finish the short round, Olledsky is left with a wide smile on his face and an angry, suspicious Builderman and Dusekkar tailing them.

"Oh, there you guys are!" Olledsky laughs. "How's it going?"

"... Good 'nough." Builderman can't say anything in worry of the other survivors figuring out Shedletsky's "problem" and it's making the air between them tense.

"If you want anything, I'll be right here then!" Olledsky then proceeds to plop himself in the middle of the main cabin, where he knows the two other admins can't do anything without the whole thing seeming suspicious. Almost everyone is here.

Dusekkar looks lost at this, and Builderman quietly seethes. "Fine. We'll be in our rooms if anything." Olledsky watches the two of them go without any fanfare. 'Hm. Sooner or later they'll give up and tell the others. I've been way too obvious, but the other survivors don't seem to approach me about it...'

'Is it because the Spectre's purgatory is completely closed off? They must assume that nobody can get in to 'hack' an account, so they must not believe that Shedletsky's been compromised.'

Hm. Not so bad. He's got an airtight alibi for the time being- until it all falls apart or he chooses to rip his mask off.

[Chance]

He's got no idea of what's going on with the damn admins lately. Nobody does.

Shedletsky's usually the one joking around, even if the mood doesn't call for it- because that guy was the backbone of the team morale. But recently, his enthusiasm has been... a bit too much?

Like don't get him wrong. Chance is glad that everyone's getting along, because that makes the rounds easier- but Shedletsky seems to be straining his relationship with Builderman and Dusekkar in order to make them more happy and comfortable.

He's been talking to 007n7. Helping Elliot cook. doing chores around the cabin when nobody's around, and then bantering with the others. It's like Shedletsky's distancing himself from his role as an admin, and that makes Chance worried.

Did... Did Shedletsky give up on trying to find a way out of here? Is that why he's trying to be so cheerful? Why the other admins are mad at him?

Chance sneaks off from the main cabin, slipping outside and walking towards where Builderman and Dusekkar were staying. They sidle up to the cabin door, pressing their ear against it to try and overhear what the two are talking about.

"That absolute piece of- ugh!" Builderman wants to curse, but he stops himself, instead banging his head on the wall in frustration. "I can't believe that we've got ta' put up with that impostor just walkin' around."

"I must admit, this fool is unfit. For us to tell the others, we must remit."

"Dear Roblox... give me the strenght ta' not absolutely kill that hacker that's hijackin' Shedletsky's account." He hisses out. Chance freezes, realizing what's been going on.

'A hacker?! Here?!" They can't believe it. Someone managed not only to reach them in this hellhole- but actually hack an admin. What sort of code mastery would even allow them to do such a thing?

'No wonder they're keepin' it under wraps. This is going to make the others freak out, no doubt about it.' Even Chance is sweating at the implications.

Despite this, there's a glimmer of hope. Because if someone from out there, back in Robloxia, managed to get into contact with them... that means that there's a way out of this purgatory. They're beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel, no matter if it's a red light or only a minuscule speck.

Chance steps back, trying to recuperate, but his luck runs out and a floorboard creaks. They freeze up.

The sound of Builderman and Dusekkar's talking halts, and they begin to walk towards the door, their footsteps heavy and menacing. Chance stands stock still and nearly pisses themself when he's met face-to-face with two angry admins.

When the two saw him, they visibly relaxed and got less angry. "Oh, it's only you." Builderman lets out a sigh of relief. "It ain't them. That's..."

"It is fortunate that Chance was at our door, and not the deceptive hacker we abhor." Dusekkar lowers his staff, and the two step aside. "Come in if ya want."

Chance steps inside the cabin, adjusting his hat. The two of them close the door and lock it, glancing around worriedly.

"How much did ya' overhear?" Builderman asks. Chance makes a so-so motion. "Enough to know that Shedletsky isn't who he seems. Honestly, I thought something was up, but for him to be hacked is..."

"I had difficulty believing that my friend is not what he seems, for the possibly of someone accessing this server is beyond my dreams."

Builderman nods. He sits down on the cabin chair, looking out the window. "It's... understandable that y'all didn't think of Shedletsky bein' hacked, but it's still gonna take a toll on him if he doesn't know that y'all actually noticed the change."

Chance winces. That must have hurt for the admin, for everyone to assume that he was putting a front up as usual for them. A literal boy crying wolf. "Ah. That isn't good."

"Right." Builderman shakes his head. Dusekkar is the one to butt in. "This is a disturbing matter most grave, for telling the others will lead to an outrage. Chance- can you keep this under wraps, in order to prevent this alliance's collapse?"

"Seems about right. I'll do all I can." Chance nods. "But sooner or later, the others are gonna find out."

"... We know." Builderman rubs his forehead. "But we're trying to find a way to ban it, or at least make it tell us how it's getting access to this place."

Chance leaves the two admins to stew in their own worry while he walks out, sweating as he sees Shedletsky out of all people walk out the main cabin and directly at him. But that's not really Shedletsky, is it?

"O-oh. Hey there, pal!" Chance laughs, trying to keep his cool. They glance back at Builderman and Dusekkar's cabin, their eyes obscured by their sunglasses. Thank Roblox that he can't see where they're looking.

"Nice seeing you too, Chance." The fake Shedletsky grins, and Chance notices for the first time how unnerving it is- lips pulled back a bit too much to be Shedletsky's own smile. And Shedletsky usually doesn't grin with teeth- he just smiles.

Not-Shedletsky pats him on the back, making him stiffen up. "Going outside to get some fresh air?"

"Mhm. Yup." Oh god this feels like a hostage situation more than an interaction.

"That's good! Make sure to get some rest and good food before the next round- can't have you or the others passing out."

Chance nods frantically. He does not want to draw this situation out- Luck may be in his favor, but he's got nothing against an admin being possessed by a hacker.

"W-what are you doing out here, then?" He asks.

"Eh. Going to look for 007n7." The hacker gives a bit of a knowing smile, and of course. Of course it's interested in the former exploiter. "I must say- he's a great guy. But I'm more interested in his c00lgui."

Chance is quiet as the faker talks. "I mean, all of that potential- he would've been on par with an admin! Even I'm not able to figure out what he did."

'So THAT'S why he's trying to get close to 007n7.' Chance realizes with a sick feeling in his gut. 'He wants the c00lgui for himself.'

(In reality, Ollie had just noticed that Chance was awfully skittish, more than before- and that he'd left in the general direction of Builderman's cabin. He figured out that Chance must have learned that he's an impostor.)

(So Ollie adapts and improvises. Shifts the suspicion from 007n7, who's still oblivious and innocent to his true nature, towards himself. The big, bad villain of the story. It's more believable than Ollie actually befriending 007n7 because she's fascinated by his backstory and pitying him as a father.)

The hacker waves goodbye to Chance. "Well, that's that! I hope you have a good day, Chance- and make sure to get some rest! It's almost night-time!"

Chance is left trying to scramble away from the situation as casually as possible. God damn, this shit is more terrifying than when his casino got visited by the mafia.

[Two Time]

"Praise be the Spawn, for he is good; for their steadfast love endures forever."

Two Time is kneeling at their makeshift shrine in the cabin they share with 007n7, tucked away in their own corner of the room. They knew not to disturb their roommate when he was there, but currently he was away somewhere else and they needed to pray.

"Glory to the ones who uphold the sacred doctrine of the Spawn, for their sacrifice and devotion will be rewarded-"

The door to their cabin opens, and they expect 007n7 to be standing at the door, most likely skittish and tired as usual- but instead one of the admins are there. Shedletsky, was it not?

'The one with the sword. Hm.' Two Time respected the admins, like all good Robloxians- but they respected the Spawn much more. To them, the admins were akin to stewards for the great Spawn- maintaining the order of Robloxia so that sin did not run rampant in the world.

"Ah! Right- I've been looking for you." Shedletsky gives them a smile, closing his eyes. "Two Time."

"Yes. What is it that you need?" They say, getting up from their kneeling to look the admin in the eye. He looms over them, practically overshadowing the cultist with his wide frame and height.

"Well, don't take this the wrong way... but recently I've been looking into everyone's past. Trying to see if you all can work better together somehow." Shedletsky says. "And I just gotta ask..."

"Was it worth it?"

Two Time pauses. 'He... must be talking about something else, right? It's not what I thought he meant.' "Was what worth it?"

Shedletsky shrugs, and leans on the wall of the cabin. "A few rounds ago. You ran off instead of helping the others. We got wiped that round because you were too busy running instead of helping us do generators."

"Please. My abilities are not fit to doing such a task... I would have been in danger, for the killer was far too close to the generators for me to do such a thing."

"You've got a second life, Two Time. Far more useful than some of us when it comes to tanking hits." Shedletsky argues. Despite this, his voice is calm and analytical. "Why wouldn't you do so?"

"The pain is not worth the measure. And if I enter my second life, I get weaker. You know this, admin." They try not to sound so insolent towards Shedletsky- as casual as this man looked, he was still one of the most powerful Robloxians out there.

"I do. But Chance gets weaker every time he fails a coin flip, and I don't see him running away when times get tough." Shedletsky crosses his arms like a disappointed father. "Honestly..."

"Have you come into my abode just to lecture me?" Two Time looks up in annoyance. They did do generators, just when it was safer to do so. Shedletsky was just getting on their nerves, and it wasn't boding well for them.

"Again, I'm gonna ask you- was it worth it." His voice is laced with unamused gravitas. Two Time flinches, not having heard the usually-cheerful admin use this tone before. "Leaving the others to get sacrificed?"

"If it means that I get to live, then so be it." Two Time hisses. "You're one to talk- I've seen you run away before and leave the others to die as well!"

"When I'm unable to swing my sword, Two Time. I leave when I don't have a choice." Shedletsky growls. "You, on the other hand, do. You could sacrifice one of your loves to help the others, and yet you hoard it greedily like it's a damn medkit."

Two Time and Shedletsky are both locked into an argument, with Two Time making snide remarks about his inconsistent sword skills and Shedletsky taking jabs at their 'uselessness'.

"At least I do not miss sword swings half the time when a killer is chasing me!"

"I actually do the team a favor. You, on the other hand, have a useless ability that screws yourself over whenever you're the last one standing."

"You DARE-?!" Shedletsky was outright insulting their second life now?! The one Spawn had graciously gifted them for their sacrifice?!

He was insulting Azure's life? The life of their former best friend?

"Oh I do." Shedletsky hisses. "You've got two times the lives, and yet you're somehow two times as useless compared to everyone else."

"You INSOLENT-!" They lunge towards Shedletsky, who doesn't retaliate by dodging or pulling out his sword like they expected- but by slamming his first in their face.

Two Time gasps, reeling back with a broken and bloodied nose. They're looking up at the admin, who is snarling at them with a hateful expression.

"I'm sick and tired of you sacrificing the rest of the survivors whenever you wanna get out of a round alive." He spits out. "After all, that's what you're familiar with, right? Sacrifice?"

The cultist scrambles back as the admin walks towards them, slowly but steadily. For some reason, Shedletsky seems even more terrifying than any of the killers they've faced up to this point.

His face is contorted into a wide, feral grin of anger and frustration. He looks like he's about to bite Two Time's head off, gums showing as he pulls back his lips to smile.

"I wonder what Azure would think of you now." He says, picking Two Time up by the shirt. The cultist freezes. "How did you-"

"Know about him? I did say that I did my research on everyone here." Shedletsky(?)'s eyes dilate. "I know you two used to be good, good friends. And I know that second life you have... isn't yours."

"How would he feel? If he knew he was going to be backstabbed, that his life was going to be wasted on the likes of someone like you?"

He drops Two Time down on the hardwood floor of the cabin, stepping back. The admin brushes off his hands, as if visibly disgusted by touching them.

"Throwing away your friend as if he meant nothing to you, all in the name of a god who doesn't care. Pathetic."

"... You're not Shedletsky." They say, their eyes widening. Because the happy-go-lucky admin would never drop their facade in this way, and surely this wasn't the thing that Shedletsky was hiding behind his cheerful demeanor. No, this is someone pretending to be him.

"Took you long enough." He sneers. "The others don't know yet- well, maybe Chance now and the other admins. But hey, congrats on figuring out. Weeks after I took his body."

"You... No." They're at a loss for words. A hacker? Getting inside here out of all places, and managing to possess an admin?

'No. This isn't a hacker.' Two Time's instinct told them that the thing standing in front of them wasn't anything normal like that. No mere Robloxian could just break into this purgatory out of their own free will and puppet an admin like this.

"You're a god?"

"A... god." Not-Shedletsky begins to chuckle to themself, before their laughter slowly grows to a manic cackle. "A god? No no no- you flatter me. But you're the only one to realize that I'm not a hacker! Even though I told them outright that I'm not!"

"Then what are you." Two Time scrambles back, glaring at Not-Shedletsky. The impostor gives them a little fancy bow. "Ollie, at your service."

A name. Not what they were, but who. Shedletsky- no, Ollie speaks to them with a hint of disgust. "And I don't take well to traitors and cultist nutjobs. I've seen gods before, Two Time- and none of them give a damn about your well-being or worship unless you're entertaining to them."

"Try not to let this slip out, 'kay?" Ollie mockingly pats their head, and turns around to leave the cabin. "Because if you do..."

"Who knows what I'll do."

[Ollie]

That was the most cathartic thing she's done in her entire life.

Olledsky usually wasn't this violent or intimidating. Even with her antagonistic behavior, which was kind of a given seeing that she was working for [REDACTED] and therefore indirectly collaborating with the Spectre- she wouldn't go so far as to punch someone in the face.

Ollie had to cause chaos and negativity once in a while, in order to uphold her deal. She had to be interesting and feed the Spectre a bit, in order to stay in this game despite her blatant rule-breaking.

But when it came to cults...

Ollie hates cults. He hates them with every fiber of his being, wants them dismantled piece by piece and for their leaders to live and suffer the most gruesome fates-

'Deep breaths.' Olledsky calms themself down as he walks over to their usual sleeping spot, which was the top of the cabins. He lays down, feeling the cold night air whip around them as he contemplates everything.

He can't let his rage get the better of him. It's just... betraying his friends and family seems almost alien to him, like it's some cardinal sin that he'd never do. Even if his family ended up being murderers or something (which they weren't- they were as normal if not a bit stuck-up and overly rule-abiding), he'd gladly help them hide the bodies.

Ollie was loyal. That was who he was- that one personality trait. He wasn't smart (her time as a gifted child has long gone and passed), he wasn't pretty (her fat body and messy hair didn't make her look appealing at all), he wasn't perfect (like everyone else was).

His loyalty is the one thing that's been kept over the years. He despises other people for throwing that away, for stabbing their close ones in their back. And he hates how cults use loyalty to twist and manipulate their victims.

Two Time was a victim. Ollie knows that. But he also knows that they were part of that cycle of abuse, and killed Azure- and he won't forgive them for that. 'They're past the point of return.'

'They need to have their faith broken down, their mind shattered- so that they can rebuild it back up into something normal once again.'

That's a very flawed, very dangerous way of thinking. Ollie shouldn't be making this decision for Two Time, because they were their own person.

But there was one catch... they kind of weren't a person to him. They're a character from the Roblox game Forsaken. There was so much dissonance between Ollie's cushy, normal life and the crushing despair here that he just... didn't see it as real.

Olledsky shakes their head, and checks the time internally in their head. 'It's been only one round, and since it's night time now and a day has passed... only one hour of work.'

'Hm.' He usually stays for three days (or three hours in real time) in a row, but [REDACTED] said that he could split up that time however he wanted, as long as Ollie did all those three hours. 'I should tell the others about this- they've been wondering what job I have that allows me to have so much free time.'

Ollie forcibly ejects himself herself from Shedletsky's body, splitting her soul from it like a bug molting out of it's skin. She feels herself getting pulled out of the depths, returning back to her layer of reality like a bouy rising quickly to the water's surface.

She opens her eyes up with a sucked-in breath. The room is still the same- the digital clock on the office wall shows that as she expected- only an hour has passed.

Ollie opens up Discord, navigating to the server where all of her friends are. Since it's a school day, only a few of them are online- one of them being Mario.

[Discord]

🧵    🔕   📌    👥    ︙

#general >  

Vauschen Today at 1:30 PM

Yoooo who up forsakin' it

mario  Today at 1:30 PM

yo vaus!!!

Vauschen Today at 1:31 PM

Hey mario!!! Dude how are you free.

Don't you have like. high school.

mario  Today at 1:31 PM

nah man different time zone

Vauschen Today at 1:32 PM

Oh right

I forgor

Anyways. Do you want a job?

mario  Today at 1:33 PM

jit what

Vauschen Today at 1:33 PM

It's like this freelance thing I got hired for

100% online. I even get to play Forsaken

mario  Today at 1:34 PM

dude what thats not fair!!!

Vauschen Today at 1:34 PM

Don't worry, i talked to my boss

Said they're gonna be hiring

Want me to contact them?

mario  Today at 1:36 PM

perchance i want free forsaken money

Vauschen Today at 1:34 PM

epic, man

See ya there :)

Ollie hums contentedly, leaning back in her chair. She looks up at the ceiling, speaking to nobody she could see. "Hey, [REDACTED]- you up to sending this guy some cash for a job as well?"

No response. But she's got the feeling that they got her message. Mario goes quiet on his end of the discord conversation, and the rest of the members were either too busy in a video call gaming, or going to school, or sleeping (because different time zones were a bitch).

Ollie thinks to herself as the clock ticks on, humming as she waits for whatever Mario is gonna say. As expected, it took only a few minutes before he's freaking out in chat.

[Discord]

🧵    🔕   📌    👥    ︙

#general >  

mario  Today at 1:50 PM

@Vauschen

@Vauschen

what the fuck

Vauschen Today at 1:51 PM

Told you man

it makes big bucks

mario  Today at 1:52 PM

whod you send to my house brah

Vauschen Today at 1:52 PM

Hell if I know, some rando

you gonna hop onto the private forsaken server?

I sent you the link

https://www.roblox.com/games/18687417158/Forsaken#!/game-instances

mario  Today at 1:53 PM

yeah sure i got some time

'Bingo.' And with that, Ollie got one of her friends to 'play' with her. Another person from her reality, another survivor to possess. It's perfect.

Ollie smiles, and goes back to the tab where the private server was. She clicks on the "join" button and dives back into possessing Shedletsky, a grin on her his face.

Unfortunately for Shedletsky, it seemed like he was in the middle of talking to Builderman, who'd just watched his friend face-plant onto the couch, poof up his hair inexplicably, and gain that oh-so-familiar shadow over his face.

The CEO of Robloxia freezes, looking close to strangling the person in front of him while Olledsky laughs, leaning back.

"Aww, did you miss me? I'm not one to skimp out on my job, you know!"

"You're getting three days a week of this- whether you want to or not!"

[Dusekkar]

Ever since Builderman had told him about the hacker that has taken over Shedletsky's body, he's been working tirelessly to figure out what is going on.

There's not a trace of anything in the man's code. And that's saying something- admins are usually the most powerful and well-guarded out of all Robloxians, their own code being layered with countermeasures and protections against exploiters and corruption. After what had happened to John Doe, everyone at Roblox HQ made sure to up their security.

It's like getting a vaccine for a virus. Sure, you can still get it- but the virus isn't going to hurt you as much because your body's already well-fortified against it and defends yourself well.

Dusekkar, running out of options, turns to his specialty instead: magic.

Maybe that thing wasn't lying, and it actually wasn't a hacker. Maybe there was some sort of dark magic that worked in tandem with the code in order to possess Shedletsky, and that was why it showed no trace.

Magic in Robloxia was... odd. Sometimes it showed up in code, sometimes it didn't. It was magic- inexplicable, worked on it's own set of laws, and made no sense to the average layperson. In fact, different wielders and schools of magic made no sense to each other. So what chance did he have to easily figure out Shedletsky's possession if it was purely magic?

"I have a suspicion that I must share- that Shedletsky's possession may not be the code's affair." He says to Builderman, who is currently pissed off that Shedletsky got possessed again after a few hours of mysteriously being free from Ollie's grasp. "The culprit may be using a magical means, for nothing we see is on our screens."

"You... may be right." Builderman looks frustrated at this. He may be the richest man in Robloxia and the head admin, but he didn't know anything about magic.

Builderman was all about lines of code, about blueprints and inventions and innovation. Dusekkar was the one researching magic and it's properties, not him.

"I may have to leave this to you, then." He looks absolutely defeated. Builderman hates not being able to help Shedletsky in any way. "Dusekkar... you can figure out what's going on, right? You can kick them out?"

"Given enough of my effort and enough of my time, all shall be right and it will absolve for it's crime."

"Great." Builderman sighs, but suddenly both of them feel that same tugging feeling on their chest.

'Another round, another day? For what purpose do we have to play?' Dusekkar thinks, glancing at the rest of the survivors. All of them seem to be participating again, including... him. Olledsky is seen grinning eerily wide, as if it had something nefarious planned for the round.

Dusekkar narrowed their 'eyes' underneath their pumpkin mask. 'I shall keep my eye on you, no matter how you run through and through.'

He's not going to let this impostor hatch any of his schemes. Dusekkar feels himself getting transported to the map, his body becoming lighter as he slips into an ethereal, spectral form-

And then he doesn't feel that same sense of materializing back into his solid body. The sorcerer begins to panic, realizing that he's floating in the air and staring down at his own body.

"No! N-No, this can't be!" He begins to frantically search for his staff, but then realizes that he can't pick it up- and that the Staff of the Winds looks far different than what he's used to.

It's got a more sturdy handle, and there's a glowing red orb atop the end that wasn't there before. His own hijacked body grabs the staff, groaning as he gets up. "Man, this is such an epic gamer moment..."

Instead of his usual grey robes, the impostor using his body is clad in flowing, deep purple robes, with a wizard's hat seated atop his pumpkin mask. His carved mouth seems to be more angular compared to what it normally was, and instead of a simple pair of robes underneath his primary robes-

Are those- is that a fucking tank top and shorts?! Dusekkar is absolutely floored by the sheer unprofessionality of the being possessing his body that he forgets to speak up.

"Damn this fit go hard." The stranger says. "Ollie really was right huh."

'It's not Ollie.' That thought races through Dusekkar's mind, and he pales at the implication. If that was the case... then it means that there were multiple individuals able to possess the admins.

Olledsky barrels down the path, and grins wider than he's ever done before when he sees the Not-Dusekkar. "Mario! My man!"

"Ayyyy." He gives a casual wave, not even bothering to rhyme like Dusekkar normally does. "It's you, Ollie!"

"Whaddya think, eh?" Ollie spreads her arms out dramatically, laughing. "Pretty cool, right? Let's go teach these suckers how we do this!"

"Yeah sure lol." The fake Dusekkar- Mario- ends up following the over-enthusiastic swordsman over to where the rest of the survivors were while the real Dusekkar floats along, staring in horror at the sight.

"Matt?!" He whips around at the mention of his name, seeing Shedletsky floating nearby with a similarly ghostly appearance.

"Shedletsky, I see. You have been trapped here just like me."

The admin crosses his arms, his expression of surprise turning into an annoyed 'I told you so'. "Welcome to the club, Matt."

"Took you long enough."

[Extras]

• Let's fuckin' gooo this is for my homie Mario (thank you for all those long-ass comments, we've come a long way!!!)

• The possessed dweeb himself.

• The first friend to join the game!

• Dawg they are NOT letting this go.

Chapter Text

[Dusekkar]

'Why am I subjected to such a fate, when misfortune has befallen the admin as of late?!' Dusekkar thinks, his mind panicking as he sees his body get puppeted by the hacker- no, the being? It wasn't clear.

"Yooo, this is so epic. I'm gonna go do magic and all that shit." The impostor uses his voice in a more casual, deadpan way that makes the mage flinch. 'No profanity!'

"Ahaha, Mario- why don't you test it out on me, then?" The being possessing Shedletsky spreads his arms out, closing their eyes. "Hit me with a plasma beam, buddy!"

"Aight, bet." The mage clumsily spins his staff while Dusekkar is internally screaming 'THAT ISN'T HOW YOU DO THE MOTION', and somehow a red bolt shoots out of the orb at the top and hits Olledsky in the chest.

He laughs, running back and forth a bit to test it out. "Oh, now this is better! I feel like I'm runnin' with the wind here, Mario!"

"Yup." Marekkar looks back to the castle at Brandon's Place, where Builderman is busy setting up defenses and Jason is absolutely dogging on Chance as he struggles to stay alive. "Yo, we going to help them out or what?"

"I like your idea, Mario! But I guess I'll be callin' you Matt or Dusekkar when you're floating around next to them..." Olledsky has that same sharp, sly grin on his face that promised nothing but trouble.

The admin could only watch in dismay as he sees the two run off towards the other survivors. The only thing keeping him from losing it completely was the fact that the actual Shedletsky was floating right next to him, looking just as terrified (if not a bit frustrated).

"Don't worry, Matt- they won't stay for more than three or four days at max. That's... the only reassurance that I have." Shedletsky's hand is clenched, grasping at his side for his familiar linked sword. "I'll be fine. You'll be fine."

"Three days can lead to a fate most severe- are you saying this because it is the truth or because you want us to persevere?" Dusekkar shoots back, wanting to take off his mask and just- let loose.

"It's the only thing I can hold on to." Shedletsky says, his voice strained. "Look- let's just follow them and watch what's going on, okay? So we can warn the others about what's to come when we get our bodies back."

"... It is the only route we have, and so I shall, with you, travel down the same path."

Dusekkar feels uncomfortable. Who wouldn't, having a completely unknown person (who might not even be a hacker- only Roblox knows what it truly was) use their own form as a conduit for chaos. But there was also the spark of curiosity that stirred inside his head.

If the being was not a hacker, what was it? What was able to change the pre-written rules of reality without the use of code? What was able to so effortlessly go through the defenses that Robloxia's admin put up?

'And, if it is linked to magic somehow... what sort of magic are they using?'

He watches as Mario- no, Marekkar floats over to the other survivors, using his spawn protection spell to shield Olledsky as she charges at Jason. The novice swordsman manages to hit his swing, cheering as he runs away. "Let's gooo!!!"

How frightening. He acts almost exactly like Shedletsky in terms of his enthusiasm- even Dusekkar is unsure if he is being genuine or faking it. Shedletsky rolls his eyes and cracks a small smile. "Of course it hit that swing, it's possessing my body, after all. It has my muscle memory."

"Did the impostor not falter at first, when you were first inflicted with it's curse?" Dusekkar thinks back to the impostor's initially pathetic track record of hitting their sword swings.

"..." Shedletsky declines to comment on that. Most likely because his pride depends on it.

"Fascinating... he lacks all the grace and skill with magic that I possess, and yet the impostor has the natural talent to use my abilities with no stress."

The mage was right. Whoever 'Mario' was clearly was not a magic practitioner and got all their knowledge from movies and such, waving his staff around like a fool. But it was clearly working, and he was somehow supporting the team- so that's good?

Shedletsky hums and thinks it over. "Hey- you and Builderman were talking about how they might be magical or something?"

"Indeed- for the lack of code that we have seen implies that these two's powers lie beyond an admin's screen."

"Damn it." Shedletsky curses, running his hand through his hair. "If it's magic and all that stuff, then me and Builderman don't have any defense against that. No wonder it's been running circles around us..."

The two of them could only continue to watch. While Jason is chasing Elliot, Olledsky jumps in front of him to take a blow with a laugh. "Hehe- eyes on me, sucker!"

"Shedletsky! Thank Telamon you're here!" Elliot says out of habit, and then it clicks for him. "Er- thank... you that you're here?"

"You're welcome!" He gives Elliot a charming, toothy grin, and Marekkar steps in to hit Elliot with a plasma beam right as he uses his Rush Hour ability, making the healer speed off into the distance.

Builderman is still setting up a sentry on the castle, getting ready to jump down. Olledsky cranes his head up and waves. "Heya, Builder! Jason's gonna be coming up the other side, so you better jump!"

Both him and Chance make varying faces of distrust, with Builderman looking like he's swallowing a lemon. Guest 1337 yells out behind them and tackles Jason over the side, buying them some time to jump down and recover.

"Ugh- darn it all!" Builderman shoots Olledsky a glare, and Dussekkar sees the real Shedletsky stick out his tongue at her immaturely. "When are you ever gonna leave us alone?!"

"Not now, when there's Jason nearby." He says playfully while running alongside the two, Marekkar lagging behind and out of sight. "Or do you wanna face him alone, hm? Without my sword?"

Chance raises an eyebrow, their face still set in a smile. They seem to revel in the risk and unpredictability of having an unknown factor intrude into this purgatory. "It ain't your sword, though?"

"What do you mean?" The impostor tilts their head while running, and Dusekkar shudders when he sees that it's akin to a bird stabilizes their head during flight. "Unless you're taking a chance here, and saying that I'm not Shedletsky..."

"It's in my name, baby!" Chance winks and finger-guns at Olledsky. He blinks, taken aback at the attempt at flirting- before laughing.

"You're just like they said!" He howls, laughing. It causes Olledsky to slow down and actually catch their breath. "Cheeky one, aren't you?"

If it weren't for the fact that Jason was busy getting distracted by Guest 1337 and Marekkar, all of them would be bothering Olledsky for making so much noise. Builderman glares at him, grumbling under his breath.

"Now, seeing that the others aren't here, and Chance showed his cards- I guess we can have a heart-to-heart." Olledsky leans on the stone wall. "You two have been chatting, haven't you? Got a normal user rootin' around in big, bad admin business, Builder?"

"He stumbled upon it himself." Builderman hisses. "You leave him out of this."

"Awh, but he's such a lucky fella! Right place, right time..." Olledsky chuckles, and Dusekkar sees him play with the hem of Shedletsky's shirt absently. "You're a fascinating one, Chance."

"I'm honored that a big, bad hacker like you is putting me in your sights." He laughs.

"What, the adrenaline from the danger making you high?" Olledsky's expression becomes a bit sharper, more smug. "You should really curb that little addiction of yours before it gets someone hurt- especially someone you love."

(Ollie, in actuality, is being completely genuine here. She's seen the extent to which Chance risks themself, seen all of the angst in the fanworks and how it could lead him to ruin-)

(But her warning comes out like a threat. Perfectly fine- because if she makes it sound like she's going to harm him using his fatal flaw, maybe then Chance will think twice before chasing danger.)

Chance's expression falters a bit, and Dusekkar feels a chill go down his spine. Shedletsky's teeth are gritted as well, the whole air tense.

"What? Do you really think that playing around with fate's gonna only affect you, Chance?" Olledsky swings his sword over his shoulder. "Take it from someone who's seen a lot- it'll always end up backfiring, and not on you."

"..." Chance's poker face doesn't break this time. "So what? I know it's part of the risk."

"They always say that." Olledsky looks to the side, scanning the horizon for any other survivors eavesdropping. "And they don't know what it means until it actually happens."

Builderman is standing in the back, listening as the conversation between the two happen. So are the two 'spectator' survivors- Shedletsky and Dusekkar both have the feeling that Olledsky knows what he's talking about.

"That's enough." The only admin not possessed puts himself in between Chance and a nonchalant Olledsky. "You're not in the position to be making any threats here."

"Oh? Why not?" He raises an eyebrow. Builderman glances in the distance, and sees the familiar blue pumpkin-head of Dusekkar(?) before he floats away to protect another survivor.

"Because it's three against one, and you're outnumbered." The admin threateningly raises his building hammer, and Chance spins their flintlock in their hand. "Give up. Your threats mean nothing."

"Do they?" Olledsky actually relaxes, sheathing his sword and his grin turning into a more casual smile. His eyes still have that smug look in them. "Go ahead. Call for Dusekkar."

The actual Dusekkar cringes, with Shedletsky looking at the clusterfuck of a situation unfolding. Because Dusekkar wasn't there for them.

"Dusekkar! He's here." Builderman shouts out, glancing around for where he last saw his coworker. "Help us out!"

Chance glances behind Builderman, and smiles. "Pumpkin fella'! Man, are we glad to see you!" However, as "Dusekkar" gets closer, Chance's expression turns a bit confused.

Builderman is still completely trusting in his friend and coworker to back them up. "Dusekkar- good timing! It's been making trouble fer' the rest of us, so right 'bout now would be a good time to-"

"Sorry, man- I don't think I'll be able to help ya' out."

Builderman and Chance lock up completely at Dusekkar's uncharacteristic voice- because the normally calm and eloquent mage sounds like a stoner.

Both of them watch as "Dusekkar" floats right past them, and ends up on Olledksy's side, new purple robes and wizard's hat tilted up to reveal his carved face.

"Marekkar! Am I glad to see you still alive!" Olledsky laughs, wrapping his arm around the new impostor. "Because now, our little argument is getting a bit more fair."

"Don't you agree?" Both of them are grinning, looming over Builderman and Chance.

'By Robloxia,'  Dusekkar thinks. 'This is a problem most dire- for both of these impostors intend to conspire.'

[Builderman]

The round had ended right after that declaration. it didn't help at all when Builderman was just yanked from the darkness and tossed back into the main cabin with Chance, still reeling from what he saw.

The CEO of Roblox... doesn't know what is happening. He thinks this is just a joke, that Dusekkar is trying to get up close to the impostor in order to get a better chance to get a hit in-

But Dusekkar doesn't get up close and personal. Dusekkar doesn't trick his enemies like this- and Dusekkar definitely doesn't talk like a hispanic stoner about to pass a blunt.

He overhears the two fakes talking to each other from far away. Builderman can't help but go out into the patio, looking at the two talk near the dock.

"Did you see those two?!" The being possessing Shedletsky laughs raucously, using his voice to sound absolutely amused at the terrifying situation they created. "Chance's got some guts- but maaan, Builderman folded so easily!"

"Ayyy, Ollie- I think you've spooked the poor guys a bit too much..." Not-Dusekkar says, looking worried. Olledsky frowns, pouting. "Mario... they're the ones who approached me first! I'm just giving them a lil' bit of excitement!"

"Besides-" He waves it off. "It's not like this is any scarier than being chased around by a killer!"

Olledsky was wrong. He was completely wrong. This was scarier than anything that Builderman faced in this hellhole- because it was new and unsettling.

Builderman was feeling panic and dread bubbling up FAR too quickly than he could deal with. Dusekkar was GONE. REPLACED. Was this because he told him first about the possessions? Was it because he asked Dusekkar to look deeper into it, because it seemed to be magic and not hacking?

It was his fault. His fault, his fault, HIS FAULT-

'Is- is the possession SPREADING?  Are those THINGS takin' over more of the survivors the more people know about it?' Builderman begins to spiral, his mind panicking over every possibility.

Because at this point, if it was magic and NOT hackers like he had theorized before- everything went down the drain. The ONE magic user they had was susceptible to possession, and is currently out of commission.

'It's- fine. Keep yerself together, Builderman- you ain't gonna fall apart. Even if- oh darn it, what if they possess ME next?! What about Chance?!'

The only reassurance he had was the fact that the possession was only limited to a set time period- but three days provided enough time for all sorts of chaos to happen. Those things had an opportunity to inflict all sorts of harm to the survivors, and it wasn't even confined to the rounds!

While Builderman was spiraling into terror, he jumps when he feels a hand on his shoulder. The admin takes the closest thing to a weapon he has- his building hammer- and swings it behind him.

"W-woah!" Noob stumbles back, looking shocked and scared. Builderman flinches, and immediately puts down his weapon. "Ah, Noob? Please- don't be sneakin' up behind me."

"Y-yeah, I'm sorry..." The younger Robloxian nervously stutters out an apology. "It's just- everyone's waiting for you and the other admins inside."

"What?" Builderman's eyes flick back to the cabin, where the rest of the survivors are. Chance is nervously peering back out, pushing their glasses back up- while Two Time looks like they're about to swallow a lemon.

'Do- do they want answers?! Oh no, oh no no no- this is BAD. If they figure out what's goin' on, not only is there gonna be chaos, but- ain't those THINGS gonna be able to possess them too?!'

Builderman doesn't know what to do. His stress gets worse. He can't leave these Robloxians without answers, that'll only make things worse- but he also can't give those answers because of the risk it poses.

Noob is still standing there, looking back and forth between Builderman and the open door. He's taking deep breaths, weighing the pros and cons of each choice, trying to regain his sense of logic amidst all his fear-

And the damn impostors decided to look over to him. Immediately, Olledsky tilts his head with a grin and Marekkar looks at Builderman and Noob with a 'huh wha' kind of expression.

Noob doesn't seem to realize what's up, jogging over to the two. "Hey, mister Dusekkar, Shedletsky- you two okay?"

"Never been better!" Olledsky laughs, brightening up. "What's up, Noob? Need anything?"

"I-It's about you three..." Noob says. "The others want to talk about how you've been acting lately. I mean, Builderman's getting really angry at you for no reason sometimes, and Dusekkar hasn't been rhyming!"

The poor guy is completely earnest in his worry. "So that's why we want you to actually talk about what's going on. Guest 1337 wanted to host a meeting."

"Dang man, guess we getting some therapy now. Awesome." Marekkar gives them a thumbs up. Noob looks at the admin up and down, confusion as to why Dusekkar was wearing those purple robes instead of his usual grey ones- but simply gave a smile. "Oh! You got new clothes! They look- um- nice!"

"Thanks gang." Marekkar says. "You got a nice fit too. Fire."

Once again, seeing 'Dusekkar' respond in such a casual, nonchalant way makes Builderman feel some sort of uncanny valley feeling. The mage was far too old to be using slang like that, and neither did he wear such... informal clothes under his robes.

Builderman scrambles to get inside the cabin before the rest of the possessed admins, seating himself at the table with the rest of the survivors.

"There you are, Builderman!" Elliot cried out. He crosses his arms and pouts. "You really need to talk to Dusekkar and Shedletsky- the two of them just ignored me when I was yelling for help! Dusekkar didn't even try to cast his spells on me!"

"I... have to admit, Dusekkar was being awfully close to Shedletsky that round. I don't think he used his spawn protection on anyone else, even if he did give us a few plasma beams now and again." 007n7 notes.

Oh, this is bad bad. They're not even trying to hide the fact that something's up. Olledsky way have been out of the ordinary and disruptive, yes- but Marekkar? He completely changed up his outfit, personality, and way of speech.

"Is something wrong with Dusekkar? He hasn't been speaking in rhyme like he usually does." It's Guest 1337's turn to sound concerned. "If something is up, this might affect the whole team. We need to know what's going on between you three."

Chance tries to de-escalate the situation as best as he can. "Hey, maybe they can handle it privately, right? It's kinda rude making then air out all their dirty laundry..."

"Yes, it's a bit invasive- but I think it's reasonable that we get some answers. Especially when your problems are affecting us as a team and making it harder to survive." 

Builderman's hands are balled up into fists, squeezing his eyes shut. "I ain't supposed to say any of this, okay!" He yells, stunning everyone. "I ain't gonna let it slip, because it's only gonna cause y'all to get in a whole world of trouble-"

"Let what slip, Builder?" Olledsky says. He's looming over everyone at the table, standing besides the doorframe with a curious Marekkar and a skittish Noob.

Builderman's breath hitches, and he looks up at the impostor with sheer hatred and some fear. "You..."

"Yes, me. Your old pal." Olledsky waves it off and grins. "You all said you wanted to see us, right? For a little check-up?"

"Exactly." Guest 1337 looks at the three admins with a stern expression. "You three have been acting odd lately."

"Builderman and you have beef now? What's up with that?"

"Y-you're also a lot more cheery now..." Noob stutters out.

"Dusekkar isn't rhyming! The heck? And what's with the new clothes?"

Builderman watches as the rest of the survivors point out all the inconsistencies between the impostor's disguise and their behaviors. He feels a sense of conviction and relief that they've finally managed to see through the facade-

Only to feel like a bucket of ice-cold water has been splashed over him once he remembers that they weren't trying to be subtle. Marekkar didn't try to rhyme or change his clothes to fit Dusekkar. Olledsky acted completely out of character at times, and only wasn't caught before because his personality was similar to Shedletsky's already.

'No-' Builderman's vision begins to blur from stress, and he breathes in shakily. 'They WANTED to get caught. Because if they did-!'

Olledsky's smile turns from genuine to sharp and sly. He lets out a laugh at all the worried comments. "Ahahaha- you're really worried that much about us? About him?"

"Wha- what's that supposed to mean?" Elliot asks, furrowing his brow. Noob shivers. "S-Shedletsky, you're getting kind of... creepy?"

The survivors who were in the round with a feral Olledsky all shuddered at the memory. The false admin leans on the table to get closer to the others. "What, creepy? Perish the thought. I've just been trying out a few new things lately."

"Dude, just get to the point." Marekkar says, bonking his staff gently on Olledsky's head. The fake admin rubs his curly hair, frowning. "Ow, man... sheesh, lemme build it up."

Guest 1337 narrows his eyes distrustingly at Dusekkar(?) and his hand twitches. "What are you hiding from us." It's not a question now- it's a command.

"Hiding? Us?" Olledsky tilts their head with faux-innocence. "We weren't hiding anything, Guest. If anything, it's the admins' fault for not telling you, and it's your fault that you never noticed."

"Stop joking with us. What is going on?" Guest grits his teeth, and has to refrain from slamming his hand on the table- because this was has teammate, and while he hated people not taking their situation seriously, he also understood that this was how Shedletsky coped with it.

Unfortunately, Olledsky was not Shedletsky. "Come on, why don't you take a guess?"

"If I had to guess..." Chance hums, testing the waters. "It's because you're an impostor, and you're not the real Shedletsky."

Silence. Elliot looks at Chance with 'what the heck???' written all over his face, while 007n7 furrows his brow in confusion- and a bit of concern. "Chance, this is no time to be messing around-"

"Awww, no fair!" Olledsky pipes up, their head in their hands as they mock-pout. "You already knew, Chance- I wasn't asking you!"

Builderman begins to tremble. It's like watching a car accident happen in slow motion- because 'Ollie' was just toying with them now. It was baiting them, but Builderman and the others don't know for what.

"... What?" Guest 1337 steps back, his hands unclenched in shock for a second. "What do you..."

"I never said that I was Shedletsky, dummies." The impostor gives all of the survivors a wink and sticks out his tongue. "You just all assumed that everything was normal."

"..." There's still some shocked, disbelieving silence. Shedletsky was the jokester here, surely this was another prank of his...?

"Come on man, this is serious." Elliot says again. Two Time mumbles to themself as they inch away from the meeting, trying to get out of sight- but Olledsky's eyes dart over to them and they freeze in place. "I'm not joking! Because if I was really Shedletsky..."

"I wouldn't be able to do this." Olledsky opens his user panel, and pulls out the boombox from before. They have a sharp grin on their face. "And I doubt the real Shedletsky would never fucking curse, huh."

A fist flies directly into his face, making him stagger back. Guest 1337 is standing up from his chair, eyes locked onto the stranger and looking pissed off.

Oh, he did NOT like being deceived.

"Ahaha- nice shot!" Olledsky spits out some blood and a tooth, wiping his sore cheek. He straightens up and looks Guest in the eye. "But I'd advise against doing that again- this is Shedletsky's body, after all. Not mine."

"All the damage you do to it... well, when he comes back in a few day's time, he'll be feeling the effects." Olledsky snickers. "So try not to take your anger out on me, eh?"

"What are you." The whole survivor's table is tense, looking at both Olledsky and Marekkar. Guest 1337 turns over to the mage and he holds his hands up. "Woah man, I just got here."

"You heard the guy." Olledsky has the gall to simply place his hand on Guest's fist and gently guide it down. "If you're going to beef with us... well, let's just say that we can make your life a living hell."

"Bruh I didn't even say that-" Olledsky cuts Marekkar off. "So! While I get your anger at being tricked by us- I must admit that this is simply our job."

"A-and... what is your job?" Noob asks, nervous.

The being in Shedletsky's body gives them a terrifying, toothy smile. "Why, it's entertainment, of course."

This pisses Builderman and the others off. Olledsky is about to get jumped by EVERYONE, with only Chance stepping back and flipping their coin in order to see how this was going to go down.

"Entertainment? ENTERTAINMENT?!" Builderman hisses. "You think this is a GAME?! That our pain, our suffering- was for ENTERTAINMENT?!"

"Oh, please, don't make me sound ruthless." Olledsky laughs, holding up his hands in a defensive way. "It's not for my entertainment- it's for whatever is keeping you here."

They walk around the survivors, Shedletsky's taller body making them seem like a big, intimidating threat. "Whatever's... keeping us here?" Elliot sweats.

"Yup! It's my new job- I make the rounds and the whole place interesting by causing chaos, and in return, you guys reap the benefits for pleasing the Spectre and my... employers." Olledsky's face flickers for a second, an indescribable look of unease at even mentioning them- but it's quickly replaced with that same smug look.

"In short- think of us as enrichment for you. Taking your place during rounds, letting your souls take a break..."

"Dawg please stop yapping." Marekkar says, his voice blunt. "You're gonna bore them to death."

"Sheesh, fine, fine!" The impostor groans, and sighs, annoyed that their intimidating speech was interrupted. "Alright, blah blah balh, I'm here to keep y'all from going insane, I possess Shedeltsky because it's my job now, and you're gonna be seeing me weekly for like, three days at a time."

"..."

"What the ####-"

"Language!" Builderman hisses out, holding his head in his hands. "I know it's bad, and I hate whatever these two are doing- but it's no excuse to use profanity!"

"Lmao. Shit balls piss fuck." Marekkar says with the most deadpan voice ever, and the rest of the survivors stare (either in confusion or jealousy at him being able to cuss). Builderman makes a muffled screech of anger into his hoodie sleeves.

"Oh, come on, Builderman. You're the one at fault here- instead of telling everyone else about dear old Shedletsky getting taken over," Olledsky drawls. "You decided to make it a little secret between you two. And Dusekkar wouldn't have rooted it out himself if you didn't tell him, too."

The non-admns were glancing at Builderman with either betrayed or distrusting looks. Builderman steps back, looking like he's at a loss for words.

It was ridiculously easy to turn them against each other. But Ollie's only going to go this far.

Olledsky watches the whole scenario with amusement in his eyes. They take a back seat to the chaos before noticing 007n7 staring at them with wide, betrayed eyes.

"You... it wasn't Shedletsky that... I thought..." He thinks back to all the times that he'd been comforted by the admin and confided in him.

"Ah." Olledsky's expression calms down to only a serene smile. "Yes. That was me."

"But... why..."

"Call it a sense of pity, I guess. Hell, assume that I did it only because I wanted to learn about you." They shrug. "I meant every one of those things I said, 007n7. It's just..."

"This is business. And I can't really open up to you in return if you're going to be a client."

[Elliot]

He can NOT believe this. He CAN'T. The one good thing that happens to them, Shedletsky being more open and friendly, turned out to be a facade.

They've been lied to. Deceived. They didn't even notice that one of the admins had been periodically body-snatched until the other one got possessed as well, and the hacker- person- thing controlling Dusekkar's body doesn't seem to give a damn about subtlety.

It rightfully freaks Elliot and everyone else out. Because if those things wanted to, they could have hidden among the survivors for much longer.

'How well do we really know Shedletsky?' Elliot shivers. 'Is that... thing really that good at impersonating an admin, or did Shedletsky never show his real self to us?'

Elliot always had the feeling that the admin was putting up a front with his cheeriness. He thought that while it wasn't healthy, it kept everyone going and that was good enough.

'Guess that's another drawback. That if he's possessed, we can't tell if it's Shedletsky pretending to be happy, or if it's an impostor pretending...'

The two... hackers(?) introduced themselves. Not-Shedletsky had given them all that sly, knowing smirk while introducing himself.

"My name's Ollie- but you can call me Olledsky when I'm taking your friend's body for a spin." He jabs his thumb over to Not-Dusekkar, who is busy looking at something on his... admin panel? They can't see what's on it. "This here is Mario- or Marekkar."

"Yo." Marekkar waves at them, far less intimidating compared to his coworker. His face was far less punchable, as well, but Builderman was still seething in the corner.

Elliot's opinion of Ollie? It was... mixed.

Elliot been tricked like all the other survivors, yes- but this was also the same person that helped out when he was cooking, in comparison to Shedletsky, who just sat around most of the time eating his own chicken and training. He was also the same person Elliot saw singing by himself, when he didn't think that anybody was watching...

It was weird. Knowing that they technically had some people 'visiting' the hellhole they were trapped in. He was one of the survivors who pressed them about how they managed to get in here, how they could get out-

And it was a dead end. Mario had shrugged, and Ollie had just stifled a laugh.

"Freedom? Are you kidding me?" Olledsky looks at his fingernails as he regarded Elliot and Guest 1337, who were both standing in front of him as he cooked the meal for tonight. "Even I don't know how I'm doing this."

"Just- give us a straight answer. For once." Guest looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel from the frustration he was experiencing. Elliot glances at him, worried.

Olledsky shakes his head. "If you're asking me, then you're out of luck. I get tossed here once a week, get told keep you guys entertained and sane, and they just let me go." They taste the soup, and then add some more salt. "And I'm not even from Robloxia!"

"Woah woah woah- what?" Elliot is flabbergasted. "What do you mean, not from Robloxia?! Are you like- some sort of body-stealing alien?!"

"Hey! I take offense to that." He pouts. "I mean, the definition fits- but I don't look like what you're thinking!"

Elliot sees Builderman eavesdropping from the corner of the room. He's pretty sure the admin has gotten ten times more paranoid ever since Dusekkar's possession, and had developed a habit of stalking his friends whenever they were possessed.

Olledsky either doesn't notice, or doesn't care about this. He pours some of the soup into bowls and huffs. "I'm not a Robloxian like you all. None of us are! So even if we did know how we did it, I'm sure it wouldn't work on your end."

"..." Guest seems to be on-guard when he says that he's not a Robloxian. "If you're not a Robloxian, what are you?"

"That's for you to figure out!" Olledsky laughs. "Think of it as a little game- I give you the breadcrumbs, and you'll have to figure it out yourself!"

"We can just ask Mario, you know." Elliot crosses his arms. "He's much more blunt." Olledsky blows them a raspberry. "Ha! As if he'd dox himself!"

"... Dang it!" Elliot curses.

So yeah. Weird alien body-stealers had their friends hostage for three days a week. Sure, this might as well happen.

Elliot grumbles, and Guest 1337 marches off to at least attempt to confront the other possessed admin. Olledsky's sly smile slips for a while, revealing a more concerned expression.

"Hey, pal..." Ollie says, his tone more low. "Sorry about that, okay? I might be an ass- but I know being trapped while we get to leave is... disheartening."

'Oh, you don't know HALF of it.' Elliot envies those weirdos, and he's sure that every survivor stuck here does as well. "Yeah, I guess..."

"If it makes you feel better..." They pull out their admin(?) panel and type in a few things. "I can make the next round different."

"Wait, you can do that?" Elliot is floored. Never in the time they were stuck here did any of the admins manage to change anything with their powers. Sure, they could send out long-distance messages, fix a few things around the rest areas, but changing a round?

"Yeah, not to an extreme extent- and I can't do it too often or the Spectre starts getting pissy to my boss." Olledsky says, sighing. "But I'll try to see if the next round can be easier for all of you."

(Shedletsky, who was still spectating this in all his ghostly glory, flinches at this. He feels a lot of things at that moment- fear that this weirdo was somehow more powerful than him in this situation and could actually impact the rounds was one of those feelings.)

(But there was also envy and shame that he couldn't do the same for his team. Curiosity as to what it planned to so. Contemplation at WHY it was acting so... human, uncharacteristically kind compared to it's sadistic and playful personality.)

Elliot didn't really trust it. Ollie might still be lying, and he wasn't sure- and besides that, they had only one more round to go before Shedletsky and Dusekkar could get unpossessed.

After a few hours of rest and relaxation, Elliot feels that familiar tug on his chest like when he's placed into the round. Looking around, he groans in annoyance once he realizes that he's at the C00l Carnival with everyone else- but then he furrows his brow in confusion as he feels something in his left hand.

"E-eh?" He lifts up his hand to see himself holding a gun. It's a small black pistol, nothing too special- but he hasn't held nor seen a gun in person, even before he'd gotten forsakened.

"Pretty nifty, right?" Olledsky lets out a laugh, patting him on the shoulder. "I gave every survivor a glock this round. It was in the VIP commands section, and I was able to barter a bit to have it for this round only, so..."

Builderman is staring down at the gun in his hand as if he was dreaming. Guest 1337 immediately pulls out the clip, eying the bullets. "It's real." He takes one of the bullets out, rolling it between his fingers. "You actually gave us real guns."

"No cap this is legit." Marekkar says. The possessed mage cocks the gun back, and holsters it on his belt with the safety on. The rest of the survivors ready up their guns, running to do the generators.

Elliot kinda just... follows in shock as he holds the pistol in his hand. Olledsky decides to pull out his sword instead. "It'd be better if I don't use a gun, or any ranged weapon for the matter."

"Why not? It's a literal gun!"

"Well, I've got a track record for having shit aim, and I've accidentally hit people that I wasn't trying to hit before." The impostor says. "So I'm sticking to the sword. But maybe you can try it out?"

Elliot gulps. He sees the survivors in front of him, and a bunch of gunshots begin to ring out as they absolutely just mag-dump on John Doe.

The corrupted Robloxian roars in both pain and anger as Guest, Chance, and Builderman all shoot. "Eat lead, sucker!" Chance laughs, running circles around the killer. Everyone else is just doing generators or just... sitting there, relaxing.

"Damn, you might actually kill him, you know..." Olledsky says, impressed.

Marekkar floats nearby, giving Builderman spawn protection for a while before he lost line of sight and sighed. The magic shield shattered once the possessed mage was unable to see his teammate, and he sighed in disappointment. "Damn."

"Hey, Marekkar!" Olledsky runs up to him with a laugh. "You okay man?"

"Naaah bro, I'm out of mana. Builderman wasted it." He complains. But instead of just running away from the killer, the pumpkin-headed admin simply gets a mischievous look on his face.

"I may be out of mana, but I'm not out of bullets." He takes the glock from his belt and clicks off the safety, pulling the trigger. "I cast 9mm bullet to the head!"

Elliot kind of just. Stares at the chaos unfolding. John Doe actually seems to be running away from the survivors as bullets whiz through the air.

He begins to laugh at the absurdity of the situation- first quietly to himself, and then it escalates to full-blown cackling. He raises his hand, aims the gun, and shoots. "BANG!" He nailed John Doe right in the head.

'Dang, I NEEDED this.' Having the killer run away from them for once feels incredibly cathartic. They managed to actually beat the killer to the brink of death with the guns alone, but alas, the round could not last forever.

Elliot is plopped back into the cabin, all of the other survivors chatting about the round. "Man, it feels good to finally shoot something without my gun blowing up! But then again, I liked the risk..."

"I... have to admit, I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be relieved to pick up a gun again..." Guest 1337 mutters.

Shedletsky, who did not have that ponytail he had before and looked way more disoriented than in the round, was splayed out on the couch with Dusekkar. The other admin had his head in his hands, hunched over and looking embarrassed.

"Yo- you two back to normal?" Elliot asks, concerned.

"... What do you think?" Shedletksy says. He looks more annoyed than anything that his teammates have finally figured it out, and only because the thing possessing him had to spell it out for them.

Dusekkar, on the other hand, just makes a groaning noise and hides his face more. Dear god, he was NOT recovering from this now that his teammates knew what he sounded like while possessed by a (possible) stoner.

Two Time art from the previous chapter... dawg I forgot to post it

Yeah they're not helping their case as villains.

[Extras]

• It's Mario! Also Mario if you are reading this sorry for calling you a stoner so much in the fic, you've got stoner vibes

• The arcane magical arts of the Second Amendment being put into action.
• I cannot draw guns for the love of god

• Elliot crashout is justified this man needs a break

[References for all the Survivors and Killers!]

Don't expect me to follow these refs 24/7 lol my lazy ass does NOT remember design consistency

Non-Possessed Survivors!

Non-Possessed Killers

• My lazy ass is not drawing Jason Voorhees 

For those of you unable to see the art:

https://ibb.co/album/ZSXFKT

Chapter Text

[Discord]

🧵    🔕   📌    👥    ︙

#general >  

Gray (Not Cotton)  Today at 6:31 PM

Morning!!! [sparkly 'good morning' pic]

Cotton (#1 007n7 fan)  Today at 6:32 PM

Heya!!!! Good morning!!!

Vauschen Today at 6:35 PM

gm gray!!! It's like night time for me tho lol

Gray (Not Cotton)  Today at 6:36 PM

nah it's fine lol

Cotton (#1 007n7 fan)  Today at 6:37 PM

dude, how's mario doing??? he's been going offline the same time you are

Vaus y r you and mario goin offline at the same time is there something you're not telling us?

u bffs like me and gay now???

Gray (Not Cotton)  Today at 6:37 PM

GAY???

Vauschen Today at 6:37 PM

gay [emoji of Builderman saying 'I need yaoi']

mario   Today at 6:38 PM

gay [emoji of Builderman saying 'I need yaoi']

Cotton (#1 007n7 fan)  Today at 6:38 PM

gay [emoji of Builderman saying 'I need yaoi']

Gray (Not Cotton)  Today at 6:39 PM

SHUT!!!! /j

Vauschen Today at 6:40 PM

Nah, we got the same job

Cotton (#1 007n7 fan)  Today at 6:41 PM

doesn't he live on the other side of the world???

Vauschen Today at 6:42 PM

No our job's online

We get BIG bucks playing Forsaken for a weird-ass eldritch god

Gray (Not Cotton)  Today at 6:44 PM

haha yeah right

and i'm gary

Vauschen Today at 6:46 PM

I'm not joking

I'll send it over

...

Gray (Not Cotton)  Today at 7:10 PM

huh

Cotton (#1 007n7 fan)  Today at 7:14 PM

WHAT THE FLIPPITY FUCK

Vauschen Today at 7:17PM

Yeah [REDACTED] tends to be a bit overwhelming

Try not to look

Directly at them

Gray (Not Cotton)  Today at 7:18 PM

my eywes aksdaaaa

Cotton (#1 007n7 fan)  Today at 7:20 PM

couldve told us ahead of time

i think i nearly died eesh

Vauschen Today at 7:20 PM

sorry

but yeah

I'm gonna be busy with my family

So you two can play and get cash without me and mario

https://www.roblox.com/games/18687417158/Forsaken#!/game-instances

cya!

Cotton (#1 007n7 fan)  Today at 7:22 PM

see ya!!!!

Gray (Not Cotton)  Today at 7:22 PM

cya

[Chance]

Honestly, he's having the time of his life! The thrill of seeing who might be possessed next, the possibility of those weird not-Robloxians being assholes like Ollie or kind of chill- that's what made this all a gamble.

And Chance ALWAYS likes gambling. He's run out of luck to have ended up in this hellhole, but what is the Spectre's hell but a huge game of life and death?

Chance... didn't like being trapped here. But the adrenaline high was enough to drown out their sorrows and keep them going every day. Nothing like a good chase-down by a bloodthirsty killer to keep him feeling lucky!

They adjust their tie as they lean over the desk in their shared room, sighing. "Hey, Noob."

"Yeah, Chance?" Noob pokes their head up from the bed where they're resting, unable to fall asleep after a bad round. "What is it?"

"I'm thinkin' about the weirdos. You know, the ones messin' around in Shedletsky and Dusekkar's bodies?"

"O-oh... yeah, them." Noob sounds nervous, but then again, they were almost always nervous when dealing with killers or unknown things. "I think 'Ollie's a bit... too much."

"Oh, he's a real big guy, actin' all tough and scary. If you ask me, all he's tryin' to do is throw us off our game." Chance rolls their eyes underneath their sunglasses. "I've met folks like him- they're a dime a dozen in my ma and pa's casino."

"I d-don't think you should be insulting it... w-what if it can hear you?" Noob stutters.

"Even better." Chance smirks as he fiddles with his flintlock. "The next round's comin' up in a minute- so I get to gamble of one of the two get me or not for that little comment."

"Chance, it's going to backfire-" Noob gets cut off when Chance waves them away. "So what? I'll be safe after three days! And besides- it's a nice, painless break for me if they actually decide to hop in my body and take it for a ride!"

Chance feels that familiar feeling of darkness engulf them, and they sink down to the void, feeling the Spectre take them.

The survivors all had an idea that something had taken them and kept them here for it's sick entertainment, but to have it confirmed and be given a name by their mysterious possessors...

'I wonder what else they know that we don't? Haha, might as well try and test our luck to find a way outta here!'

Chance opens their eyes- but they feel awfully light and airy compared to when they normally spawn into the map. They look down to see their own body laying on the floor as they float above it.

"Haha! I was right again!" He smirks, leaning back on the air and floating as a ghost. "Wonder who decided to hijack me, this time? Is it Shedletsky's nuisance? Or Dusekkar's?"

He sees himself stumble up and groan, wiping their eyes as they adjust his glasses. "W-Where... oh right, Ollie said that we'd look different..."

The stranger in his body looks down at their hands, muttering to themself. "Oh... I'm grey now. Cool." They try to straighten out his suit and tie, but end up making it looked ruffled. "Aw man..."

Chance's first thought of the new intruder was that they were the complete opposite of him. He always had a confident stride, even when running away from the killers- this stranger was slipping between the shadows and skittishly looking back and forth.

"Come on, Cotton... Where are you, come on..." They mutter, rushing past a generator and towards someone. Chance blinks under his glasses, realizing that they're running towards 007n7.

"H-hey! Hey!" They wave their hands clumsily, dashing towards the former exploiter. "Cotton! Cotton!"

"Gray? Is that you?" 007n7 turns around, and damn that man looks intimidating. Chance personally wasn't acquainted with the man during his hacking days, but with the intimidating shadow over half his face and the glowing red eyes, the man looked uncanny.

"Cotton!" 'Gray' hugs the fake 007n7, smiling. "You're here! It's so nice to meet you, finally!"

"Nice to meet you too!" The two of them stick together like glue, Gray trailing behind Cotton with a soft smile. "God, it's... I can't believe this. I'm actually meeting you, even if it's not your real face. You know?"

Cotton laughs, their (his? it's?) mischievous smile brightening the usually gloomy face of 007n7. "It's as real as we can get through a screen!"

The two of them go back to the generator, with Cotton taking the left while Gray takes the center.

"We really gotta come up with names when we're running around as them..." Gray mutters. Cotton snickers. "Ha! What if you call me B0w7n7?"

"Really? B0w? Like Bow, your old username?" Gray says, tilting their head. "Um- I guess you can call me Grance when I'm like... this."

"Grance... man, that sounds so silly! Why not Grace or something?"

"..."

"Oh, whoops. Right, uh- Grance it is." The two continue to fix the generator, with Gray- no, Grance- ironically being better than B0w7n7 at doing so.

Chance tilts his own fedora down, observing the two with some boredom. They both seem to be close friends, but both of them talk like they've never seen each other before... had they met online? Do weird alien-body-snatchers even have the internet?

007n7's own spectator-ghost self floats over, looking slightly flustered. He mumbles something under his breath, looking away.

"Oh, hey, 7n7!" Chance perks up, waving him over and grinning. "What's up? Looks like we're sharin' the spotlight for these weirdos!"

"It lifted up my shirt. And called me a twink after checking out my torso." 007n7 buries his head in his hands. "What even IS a twink?!"

"..." Chance resists the urge to snort at the sheer confusion the middle-aged man was exuding.

The two of them finish the generator, both B0w7n7 and Grance walking together as they scope out the area. "The killer's Jason for this round, right?"

"Yeah, last time I checked..." Grance says. 007n7 blinks at this. "How'd they even know without running into him?"

It doesn't matter, because Jason ends up running up from out of nowhere, sprinting up to the two impostors. Grance lets out a small screech of fear, fumbling for their flintlock and dropping it.

B0w7n7, on the other hand, takes out 007n7's c00lgui and quickly sends a clone in front to block the slash, laughing as he does so. "Let's go go go!"

Grance stumbles, picking up the gun and running along. They clumsily flip Chance's coin, landing on heads twice before getting tails.

"One more, Gray! You can do it!" B0w7n7 cheers them on. "Heads!"

They manage to get heads, and their hands shakily aim the flintlock pistol at Jason. Grance pulls the trigger, and it blows up in their hand. "O-ow! A-agh!"

"Shit! Gray!" The impostor curses, worried for their friend. 007n7 and Chance both instinctually wince at the ban-worthy cuss word. He drags the trembling Grance over to a safe spot, using his c00lgui to teleport them away. "Don't die on me this round, dummy..."

Elliot is hanging around somewhere nearby, leaning on a wall as Builderman's dispenser heals him. "Hey!" B0w7n7 yells, waving his hand.

The pizza delivery worker narrows his eyes when he sees him. "Oh, it's you."

"Hey man, I know, I know- could I get a pizza slice?" B0w7n7 did a convincing impression of the actual ex-hacker, looking sheepish as he glances down at Grance. "For, uh..."

"Not for you." Elliot tosses a pizza slice, and Grance picks it up with shaky hands as they stuff it into their mouth. "Time to get back to...  Shooting.  I guess... Thanks."

"No problem." Elliot turns around, and the two of them slip away from the main group of survivors.

007n7 looks uneasy to even have the impostor be near Elliot, worried that it would ruin any (tiny) good standing he had with him or any of the other survivors. "I'm not that forward, a-am I...?"

"Nah, man!" Chance laughs. "You're just as quiet as the other one- it's like we switched places or something, with those two weirdos runnin' around!"

"I guess..."

[Guest 1337]

He did not like their situation one bit. Not at all did he trust those two impostors, even if they haven't done anything outwardly bad to them yet- Olledsky just had those bad vibes, and being down two admins made him feel like this was a planned, targeted attack.

Whatever the case was, Guest 1337 was on the lookout for any suspicious activity Shedletsky and Dusekkar might exhibit, because they were set to be possessed next week at a random time.

He was so engrossed in his observation, in fact, that he accidentally bumped into Chance after the round, who lets out a small yelp.

"Chance? Oh, I'm sorry." Guest nods at them, letting the gambler slip by.

"O-oh! Guest! It's uh- nice seeing you!" Chance skittishy says, backing up. "You okay? After last round?"

"Yes, I'm fine. It was a bit difficult, but I was able to defend Elliot well." The soldier crosses his arms,  and Chance awkwardly looks to the side, muttering. "That's- nice. Uh-" They stumble out of the room with some hesitancy, and glance back at Guest before heading off.

'Weird. Chance is acting awfully shy.' Guest 1337 narrows his eyes. 'I know he might just be having an off day- but what if he's possessed? I can't let him get hurt, if that's the case.'

He's not taking the possibility. Guest 1337 follows Chance's path, watching as they skittishly slis away and gets into one of the cabins. It's not Chance's cabin at all, it's 007n7's and Two Time's, but those two were somewhere in the lobby.

"Chance" sighs, sitting on one of the beds and sitting down, their knees curled up to their chest. "Dang it... three days? Of this?"

They run a hand down their face, taking their shades and placing them on top of their fedora. "I can't even see with these on... why did I even choose Chance?"

'I was right. They're not Chance.' Guest resists the urge to just come in swinging- because they're not being aggressive towards him. The... thing taking over Chance's body just left the main cabin instead of messing with anybody else, so maybe he could corner them here...

Guest 1337 gently closes, then knocks on the cabin door. Not-Chance lets out a squeak and there's the sound of rustling as they bury themselves in the sparse blankets. "H-hey! Who is it?!"

"It's Guest. We need to talk." He says with an authoritative voice.

"D-do we really? I don't feel so well..." The impostor lies. Guest furrows his brow- that wasn't even a good excuse.

"Come out. I know what you are."

"..." There's some silence, and then the door opens. Chance's face looks terrified, and their hand is slightly trembling as they look up at the soldier looming over them. "H-hi..."

Guest 1337 crosses their arms. "You're not Chance."

"... N-no." They try to look to the side for an escape, but seem to give up and slump over. "I'm not."

"Why are you here." Guest 1337 wants to know exactly why they're here. they don't seem to be like Ollie or Mario- the impostor didn't grin like they were about to eat everyone, or talk like they had several blunts.

"I- um- my friend said that this was a good way to get money..." They rubbed the back of Chance's head, sheepish. "And she was right. I mean, the money's cool, but- I get to see you all..."

They trail off awkwardly. "N-nevermind."

The soldier doesn't know why, but for some reason, when Chance was possessed... they seemed way younger and more scared of everything around them. 'That's ridiculous- don't think that way. This is a body-stealer that's not even a Robloxian- who's to say that they're not putting up a facade?'

"What's your name?" He says, barking out out and looking distrustfully down at the impostor. They straighten up. "I-It's Gray, sir! But Cotton calls me Grance when I'm like this!"

"Gray... hm." 'They also said something about 'Cotton'... is that the friend that led them here?' "Don't make any trouble here. I am... very against keeping any of you impostors around, but it looks like we don't have a choice."

"T-thank you, sir!" Grance gives him a two-finger salute, and then flicks their eye over behind Guest 1337. "U-uh- shit!"

Guest makes a face at the profanity, but follows Grance's line of sight over to 007n7.

Or, at least he's sure it's 007n7. Now that the ex-hacker was closer, the soldier tenses up at how his face is shadowed over and his eyes are glowing a soft, eerie red.

007n7(?) quickly intercepts him, putting himself between Grance and Guest. "Heeeey, Guest! It's good to see you, Guest- last round's kinda stressful, eh?"

"Um-" Grance is cut off by 007n7 raising his hand. "And I know- you're getting all buddy-buddy with Chance because their gun blew up last round. But hey! They need some rest, okay?"

Guest 1337's alarm bells go off. Right before they went off to spy on Grance and monitor Shedletsky and Dusekkar, they saw 007n7 quietly retreat away like he always had. So for him to suddenly be buddying up with him here?

"Gray." Not-007n7 hisses. "Get outta here- I'll distract him."

'Oh, so he's DEFINITELY possessed too.' Guest 1337 feels a chill roll down his spine, because for Chance to be possessed was one thing- but for 007n7 to be taken over? The one survivor with the c00lgui, the former exploiter?

The impostor could do some real damage to the other survivors if they knew how to. And that was what scared him.

"Cotton," Grance says, exasperated. "Cotton you're blowing your cover. He already found me out."

"Wha- I mean-" Not-007n7 stumbles, and lets out an embarrassed cough. "I tried helping you out for nothing? Man..."

'So THIS is Cotton.' Guest 1337 makes a mental note. How MANY of these body-snatchers were there? There's been four already, and their sheer numbers are making him feel like they were a threat they can't avoid.

"Fine- I guess I'll have to introduce myself." The other impostor holds out his (her? Grance mentioned 'she', did these things have gender?) hand. "I'm Cotton! Or Bow, if you're going by my formal name."

Guest hesitates, but shakes the hand anyways. Who knows what he might do if he rejects it. The being laughs. "Don't worry! If it feels kind of weird- just call me B0w7n7 if it's easier."

He flashes a sly grin at Guest 1337. "It's great to finally meet you."

Oh, that does not reassure the soldier in the slightest. But Guest stays strong, glaring the impostor down and keeping a firm handshake.

B0w7n7 only responds with a small giggle and lets go. "Aww, man, who so mad? I'm not gonna go through and cause the whole place to blow up- promise!"

"You have the c00lgui. And if that's not enough to make me distrust you, I don't know what else will." The soldier sneers. "I trust 007n7 with it, but I wouldn't trust anyone else."

"Huh... so you do trust him!" B0w7n7 looks like he's the cat that caught the canary. Guest 1337 wants to punch him in the face, but he reminds himself that his teammate was probably going to feel it after he regains control of his body, and that poor 007n7 was built like a twig.

If he'd actually punched the man, 007n7's poor spine would probably snap and he'd be out of commission until the Spectre healed him.

"You are very lucky that I can't do anything about this yet." Guest sucks in a breath. "I have my eyes on you."

The two of them nodded- Grance more nervously, and B0w7n7 in acceptance. "I'd be disappointed if you did, haha! Knowing how you are..."

"And how do you know who I am." Guest says. "I've never met you before."

The fake hacker laughs, his (her?) expression sly as he answers for the shyer impostor. "I've known you before - a lot of people have heard of you, the last guest." B0w7n7 leans forward a bit, their red eye glinting in fascination. "But seeing you in person... you're waaay different."

Guest 1337 scrunches his face up. And there was the thing he disliked. Olledsky was more sly with her gloating, but B0w7n7 was more dramatic, more loud and in-your-face.

Olledsky 'hid' his identity until it was too obvious. B0w7n7 immediately revealed it when his friend was in danger of being caught.

This... was not going to be a fun conversation with the others.

"You're telling me WHAT." Builderman looks like he's about to blow up with how flushed with anger his face was turning. Shedletsky wasn't faring much better, blankly staring at where Chance and 007n7 stood.

Well, not exactly Chance and 007n7. Their possessed counterparts, Grance and B0w7n7, were seated on the other end of the table. The gambler was fidgeting with his tie, trying to straighten it out, while the hacker kicked his feet up on the table.

"I-I'm sorry." Grance bows their head. "I- um... really needed the money, and Ollie said that she had a job in mind..."

"Who cares about the cash! I mean, it's awesome and all that- but I get to meet you guys!" B0w7n7 grins, looking enthusiastic. "I'm looking forward to working with you all!"

Noob is frozen, staring at Not-Chance with a terrified look. Guest 1337 could only imagine what they were thinking. 'Probably 'I told you so' to Chance. He was always taking risks and probably pissed off those... employers to have one of them possess him.'

'Whatever the heck the 'employers' are.' Guest 1337 sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just cut to the chase and introduce yourselves to the others."

"I-I'm Gray. Or Grance. I-it's nice to meet you all."

"I'm Cotton! Or B0w7n7 if we're going by my 'work' name!" Bow7n7 winks and does a peace-sign with their hand.

"More of those demons... taking over our bodies for entertainment." Two Time spits out, glaring at the two. Grance flinches and hangs their head low, while B0w7n7 has an annoyed expression.

Elliot regards the fake 007n7 with some frustration. "Great... just great." He points accusingly at him. "I don't trust him with that dang c00lgui, and I certainly don't trust you!"

"Aw, sorry about that... but you don't really have a choice!" He says, taking off his burger hat and twirling it on his finger. "But if it makes you feel better, I don't know how to code!"

"That just makes it worse!" Elliot screeches, terrified. "You shouldn't be poking around it if that's the case!" Guest also feels like he's about to have a stress-induced stroke, because having a mysterious being randomly type in and delete code with no knowledge of what it does was far more dangerous than an experienced hacker.

"Fine, fine, geez- I'll learn how to code on my own if it bothers you..." B0w7n7 rolls his eyes. "But lay it off on the old man, okay?! You've been on his case for ages!"

"You have no idea what he's done!" Elliot shouts, frustrated. Guest 1337 feels an argument brewing, but it's Shedletsky that defuses the situation.

"Hey- settle down, okay? We can't be arguing with the... newcomers that drop in." He keeps that goofy expression on his face, but there's a flash of discomfort on his face when he has to address B0w7n7 and Grance. "They're at least being reasonable, compared to some of the others we've met."

Grance blinks, curious. "Eh? Are you talking about Ollie and Mario?"

"Yes, them." Shedletsky's mood soured at the mention of Ollie. "Mario is... fine enough. Ollie we have problems with."

Dusekkar chimes in with his own opinion. "The two of them are both trouble, and now it seems like our problem has doubled. For I was humiliated in my own form, and I was forced to watch as that fool performed."

"Fool?! Hey, take that back!" B0w7n7 pouts. "Mario's no fool! He's a great person to talk to and our friend!"

"Your friend made me speak in the most ghastly of ways, and for that I shall not give him any praise." Dusekkar insists. The pumpkin headed mage looks embarrassed just remembering the way he acted while possessed.

"Well, yeah! Mario's in high school, of course he's gonna be talking like that?" B0w7n7 says, frustrated. "Why do you have beef with him?"

Everyone just... freezes. "... What?" Builderman looks like his whole train of thought just shattered.

"Yeah? Mario's like, fifteen." B0w7n7 looks at all of them, confused. "Ollie didn't tell you how old he was?"

"He's a KID?!" Guest 1337 slams his hand on the table, making Grance flinch. He immedately regrets it when he thinks, 'Oh dang it, THEY might be a kid as well.'

"Look, I know you guys don't like us." The impostor says, grumbling. "But we're just doing a job and bringing money back to our parents."

"THAT'S THE PROBLEM!" Builderman explodes, clearly frustrated and worried. In retrospect, a lot of Olledsky's and Marekkar's behavior made sense when he saw them as teenagers- Ollie as the edgy, brash older teen and Mario as just some young guy looking to get money casually.

"How old is he?" Shedletsky asks. "I mean- Ollie. Your friend. The first-"

"U-um..." It's Grance who answers. "I'm not sure if- she'll let us..."

"She's... one of the oldest if I recall." B0w7n7 rolls her eyes. "Like, she's been pretty open with it."

Builderman sighs and is now less worried about having a teen to deal with. He thinks Ollie might be an adult like them, maybe a parent of one of these... beings. But the more they talk, the more they seem like people. "So, Ollie's an adult."

"I mean legally, yeah. Ollie's nineteen though, so I don't think-"

"AND YER SAYIN' HE'S THE OLDEST?!?!" Builderman screeches, his worry immediately cranking up again.

"No, Ollie's one of the oldest. Grey's twenty, and I'm sure they're second oldest?"

'Huh.' Guest thinks about how shy and nervous Grance acted around all of them. 'I guessed that they were the younger one, but then again, Noob's also skittish...'

"... Twenty." Builderman says, his eye twitching. "Noob is twenty-five. And they're the youngest here."

Guest 1337 and the rest of the survivors wince. They knew Builderman was big on safety, especially when it came to young Robloxians. Oh, he was pissed.

"Who. Who hired ya." He hissed. "I refuse to let ya run around when our lives are in danger and-"

"Woah woah woah there, old man-" B0w7n7 raises his hands up. "We aren't in any danger, swear! We don't really feel a lot of pain since it's numbed a bit, and we're getting paid well-"

"How old are you."

"..."

'Ohhh no.' Guest has the feeling that the kid was pretty young.

"Um- that doesn't matter!" B0w7n7 laughs nervously, looking to the side. "Come on, I'm at least older than Mario, alright! Nothing to see here-"

"Anwser the question." Builderman runs a hand down his face.

"I'm turning 17 in a few months, if that counts?" The hacker winces, smiling as if he'd get out of this situation.

"..."

B0w7n7 shoots up from his seat at the table and scrambles, using the c00lgui haphazardly to get out of the situation. He screeches and jumps over the table to avoid the survivors grabbing him.

"GET BACK HERE!" Builderman yells. "YOUNG MAN, IF YOU DON'T TURN BACK AROUND-"

[Builderman]

Good news- he was less paranoid than before. Sure, he's pretty certain that these not-Robloxians are probably some sort of ungodly demon spawn or mini-eldritch beings with a completely different perception of time than them-

But fifteen. By Roblox, that was just five years older than c00lkidd. And he was willingly going into this hellscape for money?

Builderman had all the Robux he needed and tons left over back home. He could buy anything in Robloxia he wanted. The fact that these kids are going into a death game just because they wanted some money and to provide 'entertainment' was-

'Oh god. I- what...' Builderman tries to get himself back together. 'No. They ain't Robloxian, what if they're only that age in whatever weird time they use-'

It didn't stop the worry and panic from building up. He's the CEO of Roblox, the leader of Robloxia- he's supposed to protect and create. And here he was, forced to watch what might be teenagers dive face-first into the Spectre's twisted games.

The day passed. Another round. Builderman couldn't help but run off the moment he spawned in the map, Shedletsky forced to run behind him and figure out what he's doing.

"Looking for those two?" He asks, his own expression worried. Builderman nods, and sighs once he sees B0w7n7 and Grance working on a generator together. "Yeah. Oh thank god, they're safe."

There's suddenly a familiar wind-up sound, and Shedletsky freezes. He jumps into action, but it's far too late when a flash of green flies through the air and hits one of the two impostors.

B0w7n7 lets out a hiss as he's hit- it doesn't hurt like a real sword slash, but it still hurts. They shoved Grance out of the way of the attack, the fake gambler landing on the ground with a grunt.

"Kid!" Builderman panics, and Shedletsky immediately rushes off to find 1x1x1x1. "Kid, you alright?!"

"I'm- fine! And don't call me a kid, I'm not in kindergarten or something!" B0w7n7 winces, and shakes their arm better. "At 65 health... this doesn't hurt as much as I expected..."

Builderman makes a worried face, and builds his dispenser right next to the hacker. Sure, he's wearing the man's face, and right now he looks he's in his late thirties- but Builderman's seen how the kid acts when he's not in a round.

They're both much more quiet after that confrontation. Both of them looked way more at-peace compared to Ollie and Mario- Cotton and Gray kept to themselves, sitting together at the tables and trying to make themselves not seen.

"Look- heal up, 'kay? It ain't good for a survivalist like you to be runnin' about, even if we do find a medkit somewhere."

"Aw, I don't need a medkit- I can just body-block with my clones!" B0w7n7 flashes a cocky smile, even as he's leaning on the dispenser with a bleeding arm. The wound knits back slowly, and Builderman sighs.

"Yer' almost as bad as Shed with all that reckless runnin'..."

"I can distract well enough to keep everyone safe!" He protests, but Grance (who was busy flipping their coin and getting themselves to three charges) butts in.

"He's right. You need to take care of yourself..."

"Not you too!" B0w7n7 complains. "I don't wanna deal with people mother-henning me. I can do just fine on my own!"

Builderman makes a skeptical face. The slim hacker winces, feeling where his wound was and massaging it. "Okay, okay... it hurts a bit, but come on! You don't have to be worrying all the time!"

Grance sighs, but then turns their head when they hear a scream. They see Guest letting out a panicked yell, being stabbed in the chest by 1x1x1x1 and falling to the ground.

"I'll be seeing you-!" They cackle, throwing Guest 1337's now-headless body to the side. Grance looks like they're about to throw up, and B0w7n7 looks queasy- but he keeps his cool.

"Grance- you've got three charges on that gun, right?"

"Right!" The fake gambler nods. B0w7n7 holds out his hand. "You know what we practiced!"

Builderman watches as Grance gives their gun to their friend, who takes steady aim. 1x1x1x1 looks up from their kill, grinning widely. "I see you... and what a sight." The hacker laughs. "Taking up arms? What would your son think-"

'BANG!' B0w7n7 nails 1x in the head with their shot while Grance and Builderman use the opportunity to sprint away. The CEO of Roblox is panting as he's running for his life.

"He can just do that?!" He shouts, still reeling. Grance mutters to themself, looking embarrassed. "T-they're a better shot than me..."

(The actual 007n7 is spectating the whole thing, looking just as shocked at Chance. The gambler glances back at him. "Hey, so uh- are you actually that good of a shot?")

("NO???" 007n7 holds his hands out, confused as hell. "I've never been that good of a shot in my entire life!" Sure, he's given himself a gun with admin commands before during his hacking days, but he's not THAT good at using one!)

'Great. Just great. He's got the c00lgui AND knows how to shoot a gun.' Builderman feels the stress rising again, so he takes a turn and tries to find another generator to work on.

When him and Grance round the corner, there's a generator being worked on by Elliot himself, who was struggling to untangle some of the wires.

"Howdy, Elliot- I'm here." Builderman kneels down next to the pizza delivery worker and begins helping him out, his hands digging into the panel and getting to work. "Need some help?"

"Builderman! You're here! And-" He turns over to Grance, making an uncomfortable face. Grance, in return, draws back with a guilty expression. "Oh. Um- they're here too."

The "at least it's not 007n7" is unspoken, but Elliot might as well have been shouting it out loud with how obvious his discomfort was.

Grance helps with the generator on the other side, but they keep stopping and staring at Builderman while he works, making most of the progress in fixing it. 

'What are they even doing?' Builderman stops working for a second to stare back at them. Grance looks down sheepishly and slowly starts untangling their side of the generator again, but it's clear that they're still more interested in what the CEO of Robloxia is doing.

Once he finishes up, he gets to his feet and helps Elliot up as well. Grance shuffles to the side, glancing around themself to see if there were any other survivors who needed help.

"You don't have your gun..." Elliot says. "Where is it? Don't tell me you lost it."

"No, I uh- gave it to B0w7n7." Grance mutters. Elliot immediately freezes and looks to them with a frustrated face. "You gave your gun. To him."

"Y-yeah... B0w's a better shot than me..." The impostor skittishly steps back and hangs their head low. "I'm sorry to upset you."

Elliot's reminded that 'oh right, these aren't Chance and 007n7- they're people far younger than all of them'. Because the shy, unconfident demeanor did not fit what he knew about Chance in the slightest.

"Fine." Elliot lets out a grumble. "I guess you can pawn it off to B0w7n7. But he can't use it without your coin."

As if right on cue, the hacker barrels down into the place where they were hiding, blood streaked down his shirt and a mad glint in his eye. "H-heyyy, guys... Elliot!" He straightens up, trying to look less like a madman. "I know, I know-you hate me... but could I get a pizza slice though?"

"Sheesh, fine." Elliot throws a slice at the hacker, who scarfs it down in a second. "And for the record- I... don't dislike you, but him."

"Oh great! Cool, cool- uh-" B0w7n7 spins back around to Grance, plopping the flintlock into their hands again. "Here ya go, pal! Charge it up, and it'll be good to go!"

"Yeah, I got it..." Grance begins flipping their coin again, but uses a stack of three to do a hat trick and get rid of their weakness. For a split second, Builderman sees the shadowy figure of... hands disappear from their legs, but it vanishes as fast as they recover.

"Woah, what was that?" Elliot looks more concerned at what he saw. Builderman shifts. 'So I wasn't seeing things- he saw that too...'

"Oh, um- that?" Grance flips their coin, and frowns as it lands on tails. "It's- I dunno. Whenever I fail a coin flip and get another stack of weakness, it just-"

Elliot screeches in fear when a shadowy hand grabs Grance's ankle, smoking at the "end" of the wrist. Instead of looking scared, the false gambler simply sighs. "Yeah. Every time I get a stack of weakness, these hands appear... it makes sense, because it's telling everyone how vulnerable I am."

Builderman just... stares at that. 'Just another thing that makes them seem inhuman... is this some sort of curse because they're not a Robloxian, and they're possessing Chance's body?'

Most likely it was. But he does his best to just shove that in the back of his mind for later, because OH ROBLOX 1x1x1x1 caught up to them. AGAIN.

The hacker goes for B0w7n7, but the man sends out a clone to block the entanglement flying his way. "Missed me!"

"You insufferable-!" 1x1x1x1 roars, right as Grance takes another coin flip and lands their third charge. "B0w! Now!"

They toss their gun to B0w7n7 again, and once more, their friend lands a headshot. Builderman groans, knowing that it wasn't a one-off lucky shot and that the impostor can just do that whenever he wants.

"Ghck-!" 1x1x1x1 is temporarily stunned, but their eyes flick up and lock onto B0w7n7, who sticks out their tongue and blows a raspberry. "LMAO IMAGINE!"

"You're... acting more like your son!" The hacker laughs, expecting to strike a nerve. It would have worked with 007n7, yes, but this was Cotton.

"Well, tell him that I said hello!" B0w7n7 turns their nose up at them. "And that he's grounded! For life!"

"Ahahaha..." 1x1x1x1 narrows their red eyes. "So be it."

The clock ticks down, the round ends. All of them are dragged back to their own place, with the survivors in the cabins and the killers... somewhere. Builderman isn't sure.

He's looking at B0w7n7 with some confusion, his brows furrowed. "Why'd ya do that? They're just gonna be insufferable the next time we're seein' them- yer words ain't working."

The fake hacker only pouts, plopping himself down on one of the seats and pulling up the c00lgui to... play Tetris? "Does it look like I'm scared of some lime-jello, fishbone-lookin' motherfucker?"

"Language, young man!"

Looks like Builderman has his work cut out for him...

[c00lkidd]

He's been too scared to play with his papa and his papa's friends for a while- because that big chicken man was SCARY now! He doesn't want to run into him!

c00lkidd shivers once he remembers how Shedletsky(?) had barreled over and tossed him into the ballpit with no remorse, then continued to chase him and scream about 'sending him to Ohio'. What even IS Ohio???

The red child scuttles over to 1x1x1x1, who'd just finished a round. He tilts his head, looking up at the taller killer. "Mister 1x! Mister 1x!" He tugs on the killer's hand, unafraid even as 1x1x1x1 sends an annoyed glare down at him. "Did you see my papa there?! Is he okay?!"

"Ugh, yes." If they had pupils, they would be rolling their eyes at the child's nagging. "Your father is fine enough."

"S-so he's not hurt by that scary chicken man?!"

"Why would Shedletsky out of all people- oh, right, him." 1x is reminded of Olledsky, and how... intense c00lkidd's last encounter with the mysterious possessor was. "Don't you worry. That fool would not dare lay a finger on his ally."

"Really?" c00lkidd visibly relaxes. "He's dad's friend?"

"... Unfortunately, yes." 1x1x1x1 looks angry even at the mention of Shedletsky, so c00lkidd changes the topic.

"What did dad say? Ooh, was he tired? Did he go to sleep?"

"Quite the opposite, actually." 1x1x1x1 leads c00lkidd to the killer's quarters- a run-down wooden mansion, with more spacious rooms in comparison to the survivors. The Spectre clearly favored them. "He was much more energetic instead of moping around and running away."

c00lkidd trails behind 1x1x1x1. The hacker gives him a sharp grin. "Oh, and he says that you're grounded."

"What?!" c00lkidd's grin drops and he looks upset. "Why?! What did I do?!"

"He said that you're grounded, and I quote- 'for life'."

"Nooo! You're lying!" He yells. The kid continues to tug on 1x's arm, pouting. "You're lying!"

"I'm not, brat. Now, leave me alone- I've got to train." The hacker scoffs, but gives c00lkidd a half-hearted pat on the head. "Out of my way."

1x1x1x1 slams the door to their room, and c00lkidd is left alone, pouting and annoyed.

'Papa grounded me?! Forever?!' He stomps away, getting some crayons and paper from his room and laying on the floor of the living room. c00lkidd scribbles, still upset.

'Is it because I didn't play with him in a long time?' c00lkidd frowns, and sniffles. 'I didn't want to play because that chicken man is scary!'

'But... papa misses me...' He presses so hard on the paper that the crayon snaps in half, and c00lkidd throws it on the ground in frustration. 'I don't wanna see him, I'm scared...'

'I gotta be a brave boy!' c00lkidd puffs himself up, cleaning up his mess and picking up the drawing he made. It's a rough crayon sketch of himself and his papa, both standing in a sunny field of flowers.

The red child skips over to the hall, opening the door to reveal his own room. Without his father to chastise him, he's drawn all over the walls with crayon and marker.

The white plaster walls are scribbled over with fake grass and blue clouds, along with miscellaneous splotches of paint. A fake yellow sun was drawn up in the corner, where he'd bothered 1x1x1x1 to lift him up to draw it himself.

c00lkidd tapes the drawing he made onto the wall, where countless other drawings were made. Most of them were of memories of him and his dad, but a few of them were of the survivors and killers.

"Riiight there! Perfect!" He grins widely. "Papa's gonna see me again! I'm gonna say sorry, and he's going to un-ground me, and we'll play tag!"

c00lkidd jumps onto his bed, hugging one of the countless plushies he's gotten from asking the Spectre or Jason. Who knew the silent serial killer could sew stuffed animals so well?

He lets out a yawn, tired after a long day. "Goodnight, Spectre... goodnight, papa..."

He falls asleep, letting out a rumbling-snoring sound akin to a kitten purring. Even for a Robloxian, c00lkidd was odd- many of his traits were made more unnatural by the Spectre's alterations, like his hands sometimes growing into massive claws whenever he tries to 'tag' the survivors.

c00lkidd sleeps for a while before he gets bored, waking up and rubbing his eyes as he yawns. A lack of a day-night cycle didn't mean that his circadian rhythm was gone, it just meant that he was able to sleep when it was 'night' in the Spectre's realm.

He drags himself up from his bed, not bothering to make it. The child walks over to the kitchen, where he opens up the fridge.

"Mister 1x... there's nothing here..." He complains. The Spectre spawned in food for them like the survivors, but it's not like c00lkidd could cook. "Mister 1x!"

"I'm cooking, brat." They snarl, gently swatting c00lkidd's hand away from the stove. "Sit down."

c00lkidd plops himself down on the dinner table, and John Doe comes lumbering in, taking a single slice of bread from the pantry before walking away. Jason sits down on the opposite side.

"I wanna eat! I wanna eat!" He kicks his feet back and forth impatiently. Jason stares at him while 1x growls again. "I'm cooking, brat. Patience!"

They finally slide some eggs and bacon onto a plate, along with some lemon juice they squeezed by hand. c00lkidd takes a sip of the lemon juice, scrunches his face up, and complains. "It's too sour!!!"

"Picky little ####..." 1x1x1x1 grumbles, and he dumps some sugar into the kid's glass of lemon juice, stirring it. "Here you go. Now shut up and eat!"

c00lkidd seems to be satisfied with the sweetened drink, and munches on his breakfast. Jason takes his own plate and disappears, most likely eating in the privacy of his own room to prevent anyone from looking under his mask.

The embodiment of hatred scrunches their face up when they have to eat the food. 1x was never really used to the taste and texture of "normal" foods, absolutely despising it- but their physical form required sustenance not found in their preferred foods.

They force themselves to eat the eggs and bacon, and sigh when they finally finish, going to drink the ridiculously sour lemon-lime juice without sugar. c00lkidd has already finished, rushing off to outside the mansion and waving his hands up and down.

"Spectre! Spectre! Spectre!" They call out, trying to catch it's attention. "I wanna go play! I wanna go see my dad!"

The Spectre doesn't verbally respond, but c00lkidd gets the feeling of 'confirmation' projected into his head, and he grins. "Thank you!!!"

He closes his eyes, getting the feeling of being lifted up and plopped down somewhere as he's spawned into the map. c00lkidd cheers, realizing that he's at his favorite place. "It's my fun park!!!"

The C00l Carnival was made for him and him alone. It had all of the best parts of his favorite places in Robloxia, all mashed together. c00lkidd runs towards the fountain, where he knew all of the survivors would spawn.

"Papa!!! Where are youuu?" c00lkidd dashes forward, his claws growing out unintentionally. The rest of the survivors run, and he freezes when he sees the tall, scary chicken man- but Shedletsky also dashes off to do the generators, sweat running down his brow.

'The scary man is running away! Papa scared him away!' c00lkidd beams, his head turning over to 007n7. "I knew you'd save me, papa!"

His father stands, rooted to the spot. He's got a wide-eyed expression, the night's shadow casting over his face and his eyes glowing a slight red like whenever he uses the c00lgui.

"Oh- c00lkidd!" He gives his son a shaky smile, which c00lkidd returns with a wide-mouthed grin. "Papa!"

c00lkidd misses his papa so much that he wants to play tag right away- but he's gotta ask 007n7 to un-ground him first! So he stops himself from playing.

"Papa! You didn't run away!" He runs forward, tackling his father in a hug. "You didn't run away from me!"

"I missed you so much, dad!" c00lkidd grins up at his dad. 007n7(?) looks away, stuttering like he's not sure what to do.

"I... Yeah. It's nice to see you too, kid."

"Papa... d-did you really ground me? Forever?" c00lkidd says, his eyes watering. He makes himself look as sorry as possible, to make his dad forgive him.

"U-um-" 007n7(?) seems to be at a loss for words, pushing up his glasses. He frowns, crossing his arms and looking away. "Yeah! You're grounded! For life!"

"But papaaa!" He wails. "What did I do?!"

"You- you don't stop! During tag!" His father says, complaining. "You keep on trying to tag us when we're tired! And we... fall asleep because you're making us too tired!"

c00lkidd frowns, looking sorry. "Sorry, papa... b-but Spectre says that you need to sleep..."

He sees his dad pause, and an unreadable expression flickers over 007n7's face. "Papa...? A-are you still mad?"

(Unbeknownst to the child, his REAL father was looking at the scene with some trepidation.)

(007n7... wanted to tell his son what he was doing, to stop c00lkidd from going down the path he did when he was younger, but it was already too late. And he didn't want c00lkidd to lose his innocence, either- if his son learned he was actually killing people, he'd be devastated.)

("Please, just-" He tries reaching out to B0w7n7, but his hand phases through them. She can't hear him. "Please." He begs. "I... don't know.")

(Should he tell his son the truth? Or let him live in this hellscape in blissful ignorance?)

B0w7n7 flinches, and sighs. "No, not really... your papa just doesn't want to play tag all the time."

c00lkidd frowns. "But I gotta play with you and the survivors! The Spectre says so!"

"I know, but doesn't it get boring?" His father pulls up something like the c00lgui, but it's blue and dark grey instead of black and red. c00lkidd can't see what's on it, but B0w7n7 gives him a reassuring smile. "How about we have a water fight instead, okay?"

"H-huh?" c00lkidd is confused. "Silly dad- I don't have a water gun! And we're not at the beach or the pool!"

"But we do have a water faucet somewhere!" The hacker says, laughing. "Come on, kid- lemme get it." c00lkidd's eyes sparkle as his "dad" somehow pulls out a water gun from the unknown gui.

"Yaaay!" He runs off with the empty water gun to find a water faucet. B0w7n7 uses their user panel to spawn in more water guns and some water balloons, running over to Grance when his "son" isn't noticing.

("Hey, Grance- you too Guest. Screw it, everybody here!" B0w7n7 tosses them all the water guns- this time filled with water. "Look what I got!")

(Builderman looks absolutely confused as he holds the water gun. "Wha-" Guest 1337 is similarly baffled, and Two Time just stares at them. Noob seems to be pleased at their own water gun, which is the same shade of yellow and blue as them.)

("I've promised the kid that we're gonna be having a water fight instead of playing "tag" like he always does- so you suckers play along, alright?!" Bow7n7 stresses, giving the last two water guns, a pistol and one of those long-range cylinder ones to Elliot and Dusekkar.)

("So he... won't be killing us this round?" Elliot asks skeptically. B0w7n7 glares at him. "I'm not shooting a child with Grance's flintlock, Elliot. Either you play along or I whoop your ass myself!")

"Ready or not- here I come!" c00lkidd rushes out with a completely filled water gun, shooting it at Builderman. It harmlessly splashes off his helmet and face, and the man sputters.

The other survivors are hesitant to start, but Bow7n7 rushes in with a laugh. "Come on, kid- do better!" He splashes a water balloon on c00lkidd's shoulder and shoots him in the chest with the toy. "Your old man's beating you!"

"No fair!" c00lkidd complains, and aims his gun at his "dad". Bow7n7 uses a clone to deflect the water from himself, and the clone also has a water gun equipped- it shoots c00lkidd before ragdolling onto the ground and glitching away.

The red child finally manages to splash his dad in the face with his own water gun, giggling. "I got you! I got you!"

"That's the spirit!"

Builderman looks at the scene with an unreadable expression. It seems to sink in that c00lkidd was just a kid, trapped in the Spectre's realm just like them. Seeing the "monster" they'd shot and slashed at and ran away from act like any normal child was...

He was interrupted from his thoughts when a water balloon splashes in the side of his face. Builderman whips around, seeing Shedletsky grin and shoot his water gun at him.

"Come on, Builder! We got a free round!" He laughs. Grance is also shooting their gun at Two Time, but their aim is abysmal and Two Time pelts them with water balloons in return.

(The REAL Chance is screeching in dismay at how his limiteds were being soaked with water. Oh well!)

Everything escalates into an all-out water fight- Builderman, Dusekkar and Shedletsky were dunking each other in water, while Grance is beefing with Two-Time and Noob. Guest 1337 was helping B0w7n7 hunt down c00lkidd, using his actual military experience to shoot the water gun harmlessly.

It felt, for one round, like they weren't trapped in a hellscape. Like they were just people who happened to meet each other and were goofing around.

c00lkidd secretly wished that every round was like this.

[???]

The Spectre may be nothing but lines of sentient code, but it could still feel emotions. And right now, it was feeling sheer rage and frustration.

It made this game to specifically be hopeless and for the pitiful Robloxians to feel fear, hatred, despair- so WHY was it getting nothing but positive emotions?!

The Spectre fed on negativity. The worse and more intense the emotion, the more it was satiated. All that to make it stronger, to spread it's influence like a virus throughout Robloxia's underbelly...

And now it was reduced to doing THIS! Under the supervision of it's two new "business partners"- [REDACTED] and [EXPUNGED].

It hated it. It hated it so much. But it actually feared those two higher beings more, because it could do nothing- nothing to things that weren't made of code, nothing to the all-encompassing, vastly powerful beings that could reach above Robloxia's reality and bring in these interlopers.

The Spectre had never even seen those two- but their mere voices were enough to convey their power. The code had a feeling if those two were to actually appear in this world, Robloxia would simply be rended to pieces, glitching and shutting down from the inability to contain and render them.

"Awww, don't be such a sore loser!" [EXPUNGED] says, the sound of rusting and wind permeating their being. They gave off the distinct feeling of red strings. "It was getting awfully boring, seeing all of them suffer over and over in the same way... even WE think they need a break."

"Indeed." [REDACTED] chimes in. Their voice was layered like the waves of the ocean, and was as vast as a cosmic sea. "Too much suffering is bad. They get used to it. It gets normalized."

The Spectre 'asks' them why it had to tolerate this. Why it had to make it's victims feel happy.

"Because you don't know how to maximize their suffering. Tch, for a being that consumes it, you have no idea how to prepare it well..." [EXPUNGED] criticizes them.

[REDACTED] sounds confident and sly, like their main employee. "Tell me- how do you extract the most despair and suffering?"

The Spectre says that it traps the Robloxians within it's world, wearing them down over and over with no remorse. It says that it keeps them alive, to suffer endlessly.

"How pedestrian. Let me tell you how to REALLY do it."

"Constant suffering is boring- but worse for you, it's normalized for them. The more they suffer, the less affected they are by it, and the more numb they feel whenever one of them dies."

"So you get less emotion over time, and where does that get you?" [REDACTED] says.

... The Spectre thinks it over. It has been getting less power lately, even though it's got a lot of survivors to feed off of, and some of them even have tragic connections to the killers. 

"Indeed. So when they're used to suffering, they feel less. They know it's pointless to feel any happiness."

"But what if you gave them crumbs of happiness? Gave them false hope, give them moments to bond with each other and the killers?" [REDACTED] purrs. "What if you gave them breaks- inconsistent, brief respites from the pain?"

"They'll never know when it happens again." [EXPUNGED] whispers in glee. "They'll never know when they have to face being killed, never know if they'll have to face the killers they befriended or see the comrades they bonded with get ripped to shreds..."

"Paranoia and fear in the unexpected. Giving them hope, only to take it away and stomp it out." [REDACTED] says, their tone full of faux gentleness. "You are quite literally farming their emotions- think of it like taking care of a nice crop."

"Plant the seeds of hopelessness in the future. Water it once in a while with some good moments, and when the time is right..."

"Rip it out of the earth and reap your rewards."

[Extras]

• Who needs a clone when you're self-sacrificial?

Chapter Text

[Shedletsky]

Compared to Ollie, those other two were a LOT less trouble. He's beginning to think that he simply got the short end of the stick and that the thing possessing him is just an asshole.

A young asshole, if B0w7n7's word was to be believed, and most likely some edgy college freshman- but it still didn't change the fact that he was being puppeted by someone with a (probably) questionable moral compass and no regards for how the other survivors felt about this.

'It's been... a week now, right? Since I last got hijacked?' Shedletsky internally groans, and walks up to Builderman. His friend seems to have already prepared for that, levelling an annoyed look.

"That time again?"

"Mhm." Shedletsky runs a hand down his face, frustrated. "I'm going to be out for three days again. By Robloxia, I already know this is going to be a pain in the butt..."

"Don't worry, I'll warn the others." Builderman lets out a sigh. "And if he does anything stupid in your body, just remember that I'll forgive you."

"Thanks." Shedletsky gives Builderman a half-hearted high-five. He was still mortified at the fact that Olledsky begged 1x to train him, and had resorted to ruining his reputation and begging. Begging! Him! The sword master of the Heights!

That's not even starting with the fact that the red child was afraid of him now, and only a while ago has worked up the courage to try and kill him. Now that c00lkidd didn't see Shedletsky acting like a total crackhead and chasing him down on all fours, he was back to throwing bricks at him and trying to sic his pizza minions on the man.

'Please, for the love of Robloxia, PLEASE let it not be as bad this time...'

Shedletsky feels himself being pulled into another round, closing his eyes and feeling himself get light. When he comes to his senses again, he's floating in the air with 007n7 by his side, looking worried.

"They're back again..." The ex-hacker mutters, pushing up his glasses and looking at B0w7n7. "Why? They keep on getting hurt, and even if they're getting a lot of Robux for this, surely this isn't worth dying over and over again..."

"I don't know." Shedletsky says. "But dang it, he's back." He's more concerned about Olledsky than any other of those mysterious beings. "Can't he calm down? I don't want him messing around with 1x and coming up with some- evil master plan!"

"I mean- wait, they're close to 1x1x1x1?" 007n7 looks concerned at that.

"I don't know how or why those two can even be in the same place together, let alone talk without 1x not stabbing it- but Ollie's doing it somehow! And that's not a good sign!"

Shedletsky was damn sure that if 1x could somehow stay amicable with Ollie despite him using Shedletsky's face, then those two would be an absolute menace to the survivors if they schemed to torment them.

The only reprieve he had from the possibility of Ollie just turning sides and killing everyone with his own sword is the fact that he didn't seem to kill. At all. Sure, he was intimidating- threatened Two Time every time he had some time alone with them, had a face that looked like they would rip someone to shreds, and did some... questionable stuff sometimes.

But Olledsky never went any further than that. So that possibility was ruled out, at least for now.

Shedletsky watched as he saw his own body get up, donning that familiar smug grin. However, it drops for a while in slight confusion and shock when he sees B0w7n7.

"Huh, that's not a skin I recognize... hey, wait." Olledsky looms over B0w7n7, tilting his head. "Who is it?"

"I dunno, who are you?" B0w7n7 snarks, looking Olledsky up and down. "Because I don't think you have dementia, Shedletsky."

"Nah, it's Ollie." The false swordsman begins to smile. "I'm sayin- are you Cotton or Gray?"

"Dumbass, it's me! Cotton!" Bow7n7 elbows Olledsky in the stomach, and he lets out an 'oof'. "I thought it was obvious?!"

"Well, now it is!" Olledsky lets out a barking laugh, his expression turning from sly and unsettling to a genuine smile. "Of course you'd take over his body. Trying to see what he's like?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Bow7n7 turns his nose up at the idea.

"Don't say you've got no idea when I've seen what you post about him! Geez, and I thought my comments about Firebrand were bad!" Olledsky claps his arm behind the fake hacker's shoulder. "I recall you saying that you'd 'give that DILF some more meat on his burger'-"

"Shhh! Shut up!" B0w7n7 screeches, his face turning red. "That was a joke! A genuine joke, okay?! I don't actually feel that way about him!"

"Yeah, says the one with '#1 007n7 fan' on her chat name."

"SHUT UP!!!" The teen possessing the ex-hacker's body takes off his burger hat and whacks Olledsky on the head, making him laugh. "Okay fine, fine! Geez, I'll stop!"

"You better! Because it's awkward now because he's an actual guy!" B0w7n7 huffs, hiding his face in his hat. "How am I supposed to face the fact that he's like, my dad's age?! And I said all that stuff about him?!"

Shedletsky seems relieved to know that he wasn't the one stuck in perpetual embarrasment. 007n7 is complaining and wailing at the fact that oh god, he possibly had a fan of his old self.

"Did- oh god, did he know me because of my exploiting?! Did he-" His mind kind of buffers as he processes what Cotton said. "HE SAID WHAT ABOUT ME AND BURGERS?!" The father was red in the face. "HE HAS A- WHA-?!"

The admin's mouth quirks up in a smile as he snickers. Shedletsky was taking any chance to lighten up the mood between him and the hacker. "Aww, looks like the kid idolizes you, haha!"

007n7 just buries his face further into his burger-hat as he floats along with Shedletsky, and lets out a muffled scream. They get dragged towards Dusekkar and Chance, who, wouldn't you know, were also floating around as ghostly spectators.

"Ayyy, nice seein' you too around!" Chance clicks his tongue and finger-guns at Shedletsky and 007n7. "It isn't just me and the pumpkin here!"

"I am glad to see you all converge with us, and yet I fear that these ruffians shall not receive our trust." Dusekkar glides alongside them, in a much more graceful manner seeing that he was already used to floating around normally.

"Why bother? It's not like anyone else's gonna blame you for actin' weird. They already know it's not you!" Chance says, their hand going to flip their coin but then pausing once they remember that they don't have it as a ghost.

"Lucky for you, your weird possession-thing isn't a complete embarrassment like ours are." Shedletsky crosses his arms. Dusekkar nods in agreement. "You have it easy, Gambler- for Lady Luck seems to be in your favor."

Shedletksy glances down at Olledsky and the other possessed survivors. He's just casually chatting in the round, standing around while Builderman and Elliot get chased around by John Doe.

"Ayyy, can't believe I'm meeting you guys!" He says, laughing. "Gray- how's it going? Last time I heard, you had some trouble with work and all that..."

"God, don't get me started. My shifts are getting longer and I'm getting paid less... I'm technically working two jobs now counting this."

"Oh, mood, mood." B0w7n7 chimes in, nodding. "Hey, Ollie- what's college like, anyways?"

"Yeah, dude..." Marekkar tilts his pumpkin head.

"OLLEDSKY, GET YERSELF OVER HERE AND HELP ME!" Builderman yells out, frustrated. Elliot tosses a pizza over to the CEO of Roblox and he gets healed, but John Doe takes a swipe at him again and he yells in pain.

"In a minute!" Olledsky yells back, and turns back to B0w7n7 and Marekkar. "Yo, Marekkar- give him a shield and I'll go stun John Doe."

"Aight man." The young mage does as he's told, protecting Builderman with his (or technically Dusekkar's) magic while Olledsky rushes forward. He (embarrassingly) misses his swing, but distracts John Doe away from Builderman enough to let Grance toss their gun to B0w7n7 and for the ex-hacker to shoot the killer, stunning him successfully.

"Scatter!" John Doe lets out a roar, breaking out of the stun after a few seconds and charging towards B0w7n7, who sprints away with a laugh and skip.

"Can't catch me!" He dodges a slash from the corrupted Robloxian, and uses his clone to block an attack and slip away.

Shedletsky is still stuck to his impostor, watching as he young man munches down on his chicken as Builderman, Grance, and Marekkar regroup to do the generator. 'Is it even a "he"? ' Shedletsky's mind drifts to yesterday. 'B0w7n7 had a different gender than the Robloxian she was possessing, but still used 007n7's pronouns whenever she was impersonating him.'

It didn't really matter- what did was the fact that Olledksy actually seemed to do his job when two of his possessed friends were workin on the generator. Shedletsky could see how it scanned the surroundings with a much more alert look, it's usually confident smile becoming more serious.

Grance is staring at Builderman again while he's working. Shedletsky's not sure why that is- but apparently it's enough to freak Builderman out that he stops doing the generator and stares back at the fake gamber.

"What is up with ya gawkin' at me whenever I try to work?!" He says, clearly stressed at having four Robloxians possessed, two of them being his fellow admins and one of them being a dangerous exploiter.

"U-um- I-" Grance curls in on themself, their eyes flicking away and not able to form words out of shyness.

"Man chill. He's just curious." Marekkar says. The mage finished up his side of the generator, and it whirs to life, completed. "Hey Grance, aren't you like, big on machines and all that engineering stuff?"

"..." Grance seems to be self-conscious at that. "I'm not- that good at it. It's just something I'm interested in."

"Why don't you ask Builderman here about it?"

"I don't want to be a bother..."

Shedletsky raises an eyebrow at that. Builderman blinks, not expecting the thing possessing Chance to actually be interested in something other than observing him to hunt him down. It's like having a skinwalker stare at you but then learning that it just wanted to watch you for the fun of it.

"You could've just said that." He says carefully. Builderman is wary at this, but from how Grance looked genuinely mortified at revealing their interest in engineering.

"I- I know, it's just- I can learn about it myself on my free time." Grance flips their coin again out of a nervous habit, even though they've already got three charges. "It- it can't-" They struggle to find the words to express their opinion. "It can't be that important, compared to what you do. You've got to survive, do all the difficult stuff that comes with being an admin, and I'm just-"

"..." The fake gambler goes silent. Builderman seems to be internally debating on what to do- if this was a ruse just to let his guard down or something. But despite that, he relents.

"Fine. You can watch me if I'm fixin' the generators." He groans. "Don't make me regret this- I ain't going to give you a second chance."

"O-oh, thanks." Grance twiddles with their hands, and the round ends before their conversation can continue further.

Shedletsky is pulled back to the cabins, still floating around as a ghostly spectator. This time, it's Dusekkar who nudges him as he watches the four possessors crowd together and chat.

"To think that these four are merely youth- such a thing is unbelievable, but seems to be the truth." The pumpkin-headed mage watches Marekkar as he continually pesters Ollie and Gray about college.

"Hey, why the fu- fudge are you so interested? College is just boring work and all that, and you're not even in the same country as us."

"I dunno man." Marekkar shrugs. "What are the classes like? They're the same, right?"

"You're saying that I know what your high school is like, Mario." Olledsky sighs. "It's nothing big. You choose your classes, they shove a bunch of homework onto you, and you gotta study or the midterms and finals are gonna fuck you over."

"Cool, cool. Uhhh-" That same dark gray-and-blue panel pops up in front of Marekkar, and he scrolls through it, already looking bored. "Broo... what's this?"

Shedletsky was also asking the same question. He can't see anything in that weird holographic panel Olledsky used. Dusekkar sidles over, also curious. 'Is it their version of an admin panel? B0w7n7 has the c00lgui, but this might be worse if they somehow have more power than us...'

Olledsky leans over. "Oh, you haven't figured out how to use the user panel yet?"

"The wha?"

"The user panel." Olledsky pulls out her his panel and taps on it, swiping across... something Shedletsky can't see, but he's sure that they were maneuvering across a more complex GUI with buttons compared to just typing in commands. "It's got a ton of stuff- connectivity to the internet, some basic commands for the VIP server..."

"Did you check if we can do stuff like we can in the game?"

"Game?" Chance raises an eyebrow, floating behind Grance.  Dusekkar lets out a frustrated groan. "They share your recklessness and your disregard for danger- for them, I feel that fgames of death and risk are no stranger."

For Shedletsky, Chance, Dusekkar and 007n7, they don't know that Ollie, Gray, Cotton and Mario are players. They don't know that for them, this all is actually a game that they used to play with no risk at all. They don't know that those four, aside from being able to leave at any time, also have the luxury of seeing their families again, of having all the power of a player in a video game.

For them, these are just reckless, if not powerful and mysterious, teenagers. Hell, Shedletsky knowing that the kid possessing Dusekkar is only five years older than c00lkidd makes him feel overprotective.

It also makes him dislike Ollie. Because he was older, he should have known the consequences, he should have been smarter than to play a death game and draw in all his friends to this hellhole-

(She was also only nineteen. Nineteen, in a world that was confusing and a family that needed money. And this wasn't dangerous to her- she saw everything in Forsaken as a game, after all!)

(A game of fake life and fake death. Many Robloxians thought that way, with how they were able to respawn- Shedletsky himself saw his own countless deaths in the Heights as nothing but stepping stones to prove his greatness as a swordmaster.)

(But Ollie? Ollie was a step above that. She wasn't a Robloxian, she couldn't respawn- but she had the privlage of being born in a higher plane of reality, of playing a game that the Robloxians didn't know they were playing.)

(Shedletsky was a protagonist- but Ollie was a player.)

Shedletsky snaps out of his musing when he realizes that the possessed survivors are still talking.

"Yeah, so you click on this- it takes you to the wiki. Pretty convenient, right? I can't believe they just let us have that!"

"Y-yeah, but isn't that- um..." Grance side-eyes the rest of the survivors, while B0w7n7 snickers. Shedletsky furrows his brows, confused at what they were saying or looking at without the context of what was on the user panel.

"Nah, it's fine if you don't think... too hard about it!" Olledsky laughs. "It's knowledge, and knowledge is the best weapon we have. It's good that we're not unarmed, yes?"

"I guess so!" B0w7n7 says. He clicks on something, and pauses. "Wait- what about skins?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah. Um-" The fake exploiter tilts his own user panel so that Olledsky can see. "Can we use skins?"

"Oh. Oh right!" He turns over to the user panel, muttering as he swipes and taps through. "Where is it, where is it- I'm pretty sure they were here somewhere..."

"You didn't try it out?!"

"No, I was worried about how it was going to affect- uh-" Olledsky sighs, seemingly finding what he's seen looking for. "Rounds, and all that. If you're curious, I'll be the one to take the risk first."

He taps on something. Suddenly, there's a poof of smoke, and then five more copies of himself suddenly flicker on his shoulders like artificial copies.

"Yooo, it does work! Five more Shedletksy's!" He laughs, spinning around. The five copies of himself on his shoulders seem light as a feather, despite making him tower over the other survivors (and sometimes clipping into the walls whenever it was too tall).

"W-What?!" Noob sees the frankly ridiculous sight and spits out their drink. Builderman nearly faints at the sight of six more Olledskys, before he calms himself down at the realization that it's just a hologram.

"By the Spawn... these fools can change their appearance whenever they want." Two Time feels uneasy at this, gritting their teeth. Guest 1337 rolls his eyes, and Elliot mumbles at how goofy Olledsky looks.

"Wait wait wait- lemme try it out, lemme do this-" B0w7n7 pulls back their own user panel and uses it, poofing into smoke as they change 007n7's appearance as well. As the smoke clears, the ex-hacker is instead wearing a cute shark onesie and a shark plush strapped to his back.

"Oh yeah, now let's go!" He lets out a gleeful laugh, taking the shark plush off his back and hugging it back and forth. "Grance, you gotta check this out!"

"I remember that outfit..." 007n7 mutters, rubbing his chin as he thinks. He looks taken off guard at seeing the familiar sight. "c00lkidd used to love it. He had this whole shark phase after he got bored of Drakobloxxers..."

B0w7n7 tugs at Grance's sleeve, giggling. "Come on, I know that you're curious! Aren't you gonna try it out?"

"Okay, okay, I'll try it out, geez!" Grance complains. Marekkar is still navigating his own panel, and the two of them choose to test out their own skins. Two loud 'poofs', smoke fills the room, and Marekkar dissipates it with a fancy swipe of his long-sleeved robes.

Chance's face quickly drops as he sees what his possessed self has changed into, and Dusekkar freezes, making a noise akin to a dying chicken.

Grance's headphones and glasses are replaced with shabby cardboard, and his clothes are replaced with ripped, dirty threads. And to Chance's dismay, his limited fedora is gone, replaced with a shabby white one. "Are you kidding me?! I look like I'm pan-handling outside of my own casino!"

"Hehehe... Homeless Chance..." Grance lets out a small chuckle of their own. "Marekkar- you got-?"

"YEEEES!" The fake mage twirls his staff- but it's not a staff anymore. It's a comically large syringe, filled with glowing pink magic. His casual robes and mage's hat is replaced by oversized, cutesy doctor's robes and a frilly pink dress. "Let's goooo! Loveshot Miku in da house!!!"

"Why has this fool chosen to don such a frivolous dress- with this ridiculous outfit I feel such a sense of distress!" Dusekkar is hiding his pumpkin-head in his face from mortification. "I would never wear that at my current age, for such clothing is unbefitting of a wizened mage!

Builderman is just... staring at Marekkar and the ridiculously girly outfit. He's not even sure what to say at this point, seeing the ridiculous things the other possessed Robloxians are wearing and just giving up on his commentary.

"If- it makes you feel better, pumpkin fella- at least you're rockin' the dress?" Chance offers helpfully. "Like- I have to wear those rags! My limiteds are GONE! Gone!"

"There, there..." Shedletsky pats him on the back, reassuring him. "I'm sure they're just hanging on to them- limiteds don't just disappear without any reason, and I doubt they're reckless enough to just throw such a valuable thing away."

The next round with those four putting on ridiculous outfits was, of course, a total wash. B0w7n7 and Grance did fine, but Olledsky got spotted right away and Marekkar was uh... somehow tripping balls as he used his needle-staff to provide spawn protection to the other survivors.

"Mare Mare beam, bitch!!!" Marekkar said, firing a plasma bolt directly into c00lkidd's chest and slowing him down.

"No fair!!!" The kid pouts, stomping his leg. "You get to dress up as a pretty princess! Why don't I get to dress up like a drakobloxxer or something?!"

Shedletsky looks at Dusekkar with some pity, as the pumpkin-headed admin lets out another strangled sound.

'This is ridiculous...'

[Two Time]

If you had to ask them, they think those demons have no right to be intervening in their torture. The fact that they were free to leave whenever their "job" was done just solidified to Two Time that they were simply demonic beings possessing their fellow survivors to taunt them and make this purgatory worse.

Why else would Olledsky corner them and threaten them? Why else would it know about Azure, about their past regrets? Why else would it make them feel this helpless?

One was bad enough. And now there were more demons. More despicable beings that came in here for amusement and decided to make their lives harder.

'Maybe if I prayed more to the Spawn, these foul beings would be exorcised from this world?' Two Time wondered. Then again, they were not a priest- simply a humble follower of the Spawn.

What power did they have to perform an exorcism, to go against these demons? What authority did they have compared to their mentor, to the rest of the Spawn's more valued worshippers?

So they simply waited. Waited until the other possessed survivors fell asleep, and most of their normal teammates were asleep as well- the only one left being Olledsky.

They know he's not asleep. That... thing tended to climb up on the roof of the cabins and sleep there instead of Shedletsky's bedroom. Much more reassuring considering they didn't want ANY of those unholy beings near their sleeping quarters, but alas.

Two Time walks out of their shared cabin, crossing their arms and looking up on the roof. Sure enough, Olledsky was there.

"You. Demon, get down here- we need to discuss a few things." Two Time hisses. The possessed swordsman only glances down with a disdainful look. "And why should I? I made it very clear that I don't want to even see your face around me."

"You've been stringing us along and yanking us around like we are your puppets." They narrow their eyes. "I know that your youth is simply another deception."

"Wait, wha- did they dox me? God damn it." Olledsky groans, throwing his hands up. "Who was it? I told them that I was fine with revealing my age, but not to you guys-"

"That demon possessing the exploiter. I refuse to believe that they are that young, with all the malice in their eyes."

"Demon-?! Hey, that's Cotton you're talking about! She's a good kid and I won't have you talking trash about them!" Olledsky jumps down from the cabin roof, rolling and landing on his feet. Two Time stiffens up as he looms over them, glaring. "Look. I'm fine with you having beef with me. I, for one, hate what you've done and what you represent."

"Likewise, demon."

"But I won't have you bad-mouthing my friends." He hisses. "Listen here. Believe us or not- I won't let you ruin their reputation because they haven't done anything wrong."

The swordsman takes a step forward. "So go ahead. Say whatever shit-" Two Time winces at the uncensored profanity. "... you want about me, but the moment you say a single lie that slanders the others- I'll make sure you won't open your mouth again."

"Lay a hand on me, and the other survivors will know." They glare back at Olledsky. "I do not care for them as much as I do for the Spawn and it's glory- but they are my comrades nonetheless."

"Comrades? Really?" Olledsky snorts, leaning on the wall. "You and I both know that you damn well have such a nice track record of being loyal to your 'comrades'-"

"Silence." They snarl. Two Time looks back and forth, anxious to see if any other of the survivors heard that comment, because they don't want them to know about Azure- their greatest regret, their greatest mistake.

"We shall talk in the cabin about this." They say with finality. Olledsky grumbles, folding his arms together. "Fine. We'll debate about this somewhere else. But where?" He taunts. "My friends are in the main cabin."

"Did you forget that my shared cabin is free now? 007n7 is absent."

"... Fair enough." Olledsky follows the cultist back to their cabin, leaning on the wall as they close the door behind them. "Let's fight."

"... As in a physical fight like before, or-"

"Verbally, duh." Olledsky rubs his face with a groan of frustration. "I would love to punch you in the face again- but now that I've got the others here on the job, I have a responsibility to at least try and act civil with you. No physical violence, sadly."

"I appreciate the sentiment." Two Time snarks back. The both of them stand there for a moment. The fake swordsman assesses them, looking up and down with a more neutral face rather than outright hostility, compared to before.

"... Why?" Was all he could ask. "I know I asked you before. And it was about refusing to distract or tank hits. But... this time, I think you know that I'm asking about Azure."

"..." Two Time is quiet. There's a seething sort of rage inside of their chest, a 'how dare you talk about him' kind of way- but there's also a deep grief and regret that bubbles up.

"You don't know what I had to do. What I tried to do." They say, their tone shaky with anger. "A demon such as yourself would never- never understand the trial I had to face in the name of my faith."

"And your faith led to your best friend-no, your partner, dying to your hands." Olledsky snarls. "I would never have done such a thing. Throwing away loyalties, cutting ties as close as those?"

"I would have killed to have a life with a partner. You killed your partner to have a life."

"... You lack a partner?"

"Shut up, I'm only nineteen." Ollie complains, but this time it's more light-hearted compared to his previous comments. "Just- don't detract from the damn argument, Two Time."

"Very well." They furrow their brow. "As I said- you do not know the glory of the Spawn. He and his alcolytes have helped me through my darkest nights, lifted me up from the darkness and into their grace."

"But did they love you, as an individual? Did the other followers care for you not for the prayers you provided, but for your worth as a person?"

"... They cared. Azure cared. More than anybody else outside of the Spawn's following."

"Hmph." Olledsky seems doubtful at that, but they shook their head. "At least you're telling the truth. What you think is the truth, anyways."

"Excuse me?" They hiss in outrage. "Are you implying that Azure, that the others-"

"Azure? No. He really loved you- I know he did." The demon says so with so much certainty that Two Time takes pause, wondering if Olledsky also had knowledge beyond their comprehension and about how Azure really felt about them.

"The thing I'm dubious about is if that... religion you were in was really loyal to you. Yes, you were loyal to them- but would they do the same for you?"

"Of course! The Spawn rewards it's followers accordingly to their devotion-"

"I'm not talking about the Spawn, Two Time. I'm talking about your fellow worshippers. Would they have sacrificed everything for you as well?"

"Of course they would have. To even imply otherwise would be blasphemy." Two Time turns their nose up at Olledsky's verbal prodding. "You know nothing of the loyalty between us."

"Oh, I assure you, I know a lot about loyalty." The fake swordsman makes a gesture with their hand. "I'm here not just because I wanted some fun- why else would I willingly subject myself to pain?"

Two Time stares at them dubiously. Olledsky continues. "I suppose needing money for your family is a universal constant... you and the other survivors already know that we do this for the cash."

"If you were simply doing this for monetary gain, then you wouldn't be so damned cheerful running around." Two Time rebuts. Olledsky shakes his head. "No, it's normal for us to be a bit... like that. It's the only time we get to see each other in-person, after all, and life is kind of stressful outside of this."

"So you do live in some sort of hell, if our suffering amuses you that much."

"No, where the hell did you get that from- ah, nevermind." Olledsky sighs. "Fine. I guess you can say I live in hell. No idea where my other friends live, though."

"I knew it." Two Time feels like they had their fears validated- Shedletsky had been possessed by a demon after all!

(In reality, Ollie was just making a joke about how living in California was literal hell from how high the rent and cost of living was. It still didn't matter, because Two Time and Shedletsky, who was still spectating Ollie despite his exhaustion, now thought she was a literal demon.)

(The admin feels a chill run down his back at how blatant Ollie was about her "true" nature.)

"So you aren't a nineteen-year-old-"

"No, no, they weren't lying. I really am that old." Olledsky lets out a dramatic sigh. "And it's a pain in the ass to provide for my family when the price of a dozen eggs is over ten dollars."

Two Time isn't sure if they're horrified or if they expected it for hell to have ridiculously high prices for food. "Ten- how much is that in Robux?!" Because they have no idea how the heck the conversion rate from hell-dollars to Robux is.

"Uhhh lemme do the conversion real quick- Uhhh, it's- oh god, really? That much?" Olledsky looks horrified as he's typing into his user panel. "Um. Eight hundred robux for ten dollars."

"WHAT."

"Uh. Yeah. Inflation hit us pretty hard." The demon shrugs. "So yeah. I need the cash. How else would I repay my family for their love?"

"If they really loved you, then you wouldn't have to repay them." Two Time says.

"I'm doing this for them, out of my own will. They don't have to ask me for anything." Olledsky says this with a sense of finality. "They love me, and I love them. Is that not the highest form of loyalty I can give them?"

[Builderman]

"Yer supposed ta' use the extra scrap metal for bullets. It's always infinite fer' me, prolly' because the Spectre wants it to be, but I still need to make the ammo box fer' it ta' work..."

Grance sits right next to Builderman, completely silent. As shy as they were, there was just something unsettling about them. They seemed restless, shifting around in their own chair as their eyes were slightly shaded over.

"Grance. Are ya' payin' attention?" He looks at the possessed survivor with some concern, but mainly with trepidation because of how oddly quiet they were. Even for a shy person like Grance, this was out of the ordinary.

"H-huh? Oh, yeah! Sorry." They blink, pulling down their glasses and trying to focus. "Right, so uh- ammo box here, connect it to the actual 'gun' part of the sentry- add the camera and sensors here..."

The two of them were going over Builderman's sentry blueprints. It's one of his older designs, something he's already improved upon- so he isn't too scared about Grance taking it apart if he were to build it during a round.

"That's right." Builderman nods. The engineer uses the opportunity to take a look around at what the other survivors are doing.

Elliot is cooking for them again before the round for today. Two Time was uh... out in their own cabin, avoiding the impostors completely. Noob was busy munching down on their own share of food with Guest 1337.

Marekkar leans over next to B0w7n7 in one of the tables, looking at the c00lgui and chatting with him about how to code.

"Yeah, uh- I know some Lua. It's not a lot but it's good starting off." The fake mage pokes at the c00lgui, but since he wasn't the 'owner', his finger goes right through it. "I think you'll be fine with some Youtube videos explaining it-"

"No no, I want to try this out now- uhhh..." B0w7n7 pulls up his user panel next to the c00lgui, and stares at it for a while. They begin to slowly type into the c00lgui and test things out- thankfully, without any negative consequence so far.

Builderman shrugs and turns back to Grance, who is fidgeting around again, this time with their tie.

"Again- mind sittin' still? Yer' squirmin' around like a worm on a rainy day."

"S-sorry, I'm just- ugh!" They grip Chance's fedora and pull it down on their face, frustrated and embarrased. "It's just- the time difference is weird and it's making me all stressed and-"

"Woah there, slow down, bucko." Builderman says. He reaches out to pat them on the shoulder a bit, but freezes when those same shadowy hands start to flicker and wrap upwards on Grance's shoulders.

They make a muffled sound of distress, sucking in a breath before trying to compose themselves. "It's- fine. Why was I...?"

Builderman is still staring at them nervously, pointing at Grance's arms. "Yer' hands are- um-" He makes a gesture towards the shadow-hands grabbing their arms and legs. The fake gambler lets out a yelp, attempting to brush them off. "G-get them off me! W-why are they here?!"

"Grance! You okay?" B0w7n7 gets up from their seat, scrambling. "Those aren't supposed to show up unless you've got Weakness- did you flip your coin?"

"N-no... it's not supposed to happen here." Grance only gets more stressed, the shadowy hands seeming to grip tighter the more they were stressed. "I- It's not- I don't know-"

The possessed survivors, naturally, were getting more agitated and nervous the more they tried to figure out what was happening. Those negative emotions just made the hands grow more solid, gripping their wrists and ankles harder.

The rest of the survivors feel a sense of unease, and Builderman's suspicions got worse. It doesn't feel good seeing Grance break down, especially because they were sharing Chance's face.

"I- o-oh god, what is going on-?!"

"Grance." Olledsky appears behind them, making them jolt at the unexpected appearance. "Deep breaths, analyze what's going on. We can help you, alright?"

It's surprising how quick Olledsky can switch to being serious, despite his previously lackadaisical and reckless behavior. "Now. Take out your user panel, and check all of the info on yourself."

Grance takes out their user panel, but seems to be stressed navigating it. "I- god, I don't know where-"

"Click on the list of names, and then on your own name. Do you have your stats?"

"Y-yeah, I do..." Grance leans forward, reading off their user panel- and flinching as they realize. "T-twenty Malice?!"

"Wait- really?" Olledsky actually looks nervous at that, navigating to their own user panel and trying to find the settings. "Shit. They've got- it- it actually accumulates? but I'm sure that-"

He goes completely quiet as he seems to find something, his expression turning desperate. "Okay, Grance- listen to what I say, okay? Navigate over to the tab on the right with the gear icon- go over to the "game settings"- and press on the switch that says 'disable being killer'."

"Wh- oh no. Oh no no no-!" Grance grits their teeth, terrified. "No! I- dang it!" Everyone suddenly gets that pulling feeling they always get before a round, but this time, it seems to be stronger than ever. "No!"

"Wh- 'disable being killer'?!" Guest 1337 pushes forward, his expression angry and taken aback. "You could have possessed them at any time, but chose not to?!"

Olledsky places himself between the angry soldier and his panicking friend, who is stuck between navigating their user panel and trying to hide themselves from Guest. They were progressively getting more and more scared, trembling from all the stress that just built up out of nowhere.

"Leave them alone. It's not like we want to possess the killers- we haven't even done it yet." The false swordsman uses his stature to block Guest 1337, corralling him away from his friend.

"Well then maybe you can explain what is going on for once instead of hiding all this from us-!"

Before any of the survivors could do anything, they black out, feeling that same tug in their chest whenever they have to be dropped into a round.

Builderman gets up from the ground, sucking in a stressed breath and looking around. Just his luck- Olledsky seems to have spawned in right next to him, it's expression being more serious than he's ever seen it before in the last few months since it started appearing.

"You." He grabs him by the shoulders, not caring that the thing possessing his friend's body towered over him. "Tell me what is going on. What's malice? What in tarnation is yer' friend doing?!"

Olledsky grits his teeth, and shakes his head. "Damn it. Damn it all- of course I forgot to tell them to turn off that setting when they got here, of course I failed to remember-"

"What? Y'all forgot that yall could just- possess killers?" He already distrusts Olledsky more than he does with the rest of them- but to know that he could have taken over one of the killers at any time to slaughter them all-

"It's not like that, damn it!" Olledsky blows up at him, actually losing his cool. The possessed swordsman slams his hand on a tree next to his head, and Builderman flinches, realizing that this is the first time that the thing was actually showing anger.

"Do you think they want to kill?! A bunch of them are just kids! I just found out about this!" He gestures over to the darkness. "Just- fine. Build up a sentry and a dispenser when you find the others- I'll explain."

Builderman reluctantly nods. He goes up to the castle in Brandon Works, seeing Elliot and B0w7n7 working on a generator.

"Hey- fuck." Elliot immediately has a jolt-reaction to hearing a curse word and Builderman glares at Olledsky, but B0w7n7 perks up. "Ollie! You're here- sheesh, I was getting worried that-"

"No time to waste." He looks at Builderman while the admin sets up his sentry, mumbling under his breath. "I'll explain to him and Elliot about the whole... Malice mechanic, and how that's gonna be a problem."

Builderman finishes up his work, and goes straight to business. "Explain. Now."

"Fine." Olledsky leans on the castle wall, glancing down at the ramp once in a while. "So, to explain- 'Malice' is something that builds up the more rounds we survive as survivors."

"In short- it's an unwanted process where if we collect enough of it, the possessed survivor with the highest malice is forced to possess the killer instead." Olledsky grips the hilt of their sword. "Usually, it wouldn't build up if we willingly choose to not become killers- but it's been building up even when we turn that ability off."

"Wait wait wait- if Grace-" Builderman feels weird speaking that being's name instead of referring to it as "Grance". "If they're not possessing Chance anymore, does that mean Chance is running around?"

"..." Olledsky looks down, and sees two other survivors sprint up the rant. He lowers his sword, sighing. "Damn, looks like it."

Because one of the survivors was Chance, all unpossessed and looking stressed beyond belief. "H-hey- mind helpin' someone out, Elliot?"

"Oh, sure!" Elliot is about to throw his pizza, but Chance holds up their hand. "Woah woah woah- no, not me- Marekkar!" He points down. "The poor kid's getting hounded by 1x- but like, it's not 1x?"

'1x1x1x1 but... not 1x1x1x1?' Builderman doesn't know what that means, but Olledsky seems to know, cursing under his breath and jumping down. "You all stay here! I'll be dealing with them myself!"

As if the survivors would listen to him. Builderman immediately disobeys with the rest of the team, trailing behind the fake swordsman as he sprints towards the sound of slashing.

"A-agh! Not cool, bro!" Marekkar is thrown back, a mass infection making them limp away. "Ollie?! Cotton?!" He seems to be surprised.

"Behind me! I'll help stun!" Olledsky rushes forward, slamming into the killer with Shedletsky's linked sword.

And he... missed. The linked sword sliced through the air, barely nicking the place where 1x1x1x1 would have been, because the killer had stepped back and wound up for their entanglement.

Olledsky yelps and is forced to roll to the side, dodging the blades coming his way and letting it clip into the wall behind him. Builderman and the other survivors could see what 1x1x1x1 looked like.

But it wasn't really 1x, was it? Instead of a toxic-green glow in their transparent torso, it was a blinding gray. The hacker had grown fluffy, long hair from their neck like a mane, and their domino crown was now the Platinum version instead of the Viridian version.

The thing that really solidified the fact that this wasn't 1x, however, was the new additions to their body. A long, skeletal tail whipped back and forth behind them, and small ivory horns peeked out from inside their domino crown.

"Damn it. Damn it!" Olledsky runs back, but since they were way too close to Not-1x, their back was exposed and the killer lunged forward, using their claws to slash at it. "Ghhk-!"

"Ollie!" Marekkar quickly puts up a spawn protection, protecting Olledsky from the next few slashes- but the possessed 1x simply cracks their head behind to snarl and lunge towards him instead.

"Out of the way!" Guest 1337 charges at Not-1x1x1x1, blocking their sword swing and landing a devastating punch to their gut. The killer lets out an animalistic scream, staggering back.

Builderman and the other survivors manage to run away, but Olledsky stays, his sword at the ready.

"Gray! Gray, are you there?!" He keeps a safe distance from his friend. "Gray- god's sake, what is going on with-?!"

The killer breaks out of the stun and lunges at Olledsky, slicing him in the thigh with mass infection. He lets out a pained yell, but keeps trying to fight with her friend possessing the killer.

"Gray! I'm telling you- I don't want you to do this, you get me?! You're going to regret this later!"

Builderman watches from afar, unable to stop the rising feeling of pity in his chest. Despite how much he hated it for possessing Shedletsky, it seemed to at least care for it's friends.

'Gray is possessing 1x1x1x1... but at this point, with the uncharacteristic rage and violence they're showin'... are they the one gettin' possessed?'

[1x1x1x1]

The hacker was furious. Fuming, even- because never in their entire life did they expect their own body to be hijacked by one of those fools following Ollie around.

They figured out something was up once 007n7 stopped acting like a coward and started reverting back to his old ways of taunting and tricking others. It became very clear once he saw Dusekkar in such ridiculous clothes.

1x1x1x1 was laughing when they managed to kill the other possessed survivors, and even Olledsky at times (although they still had their deal of sword-fighting lessons once in a while). But now? Actually being possessed themselves? It was like an ironic stroke of karma.

They watch themselves glitch out, their green torso turning gray and the horns and tail sprout out of their shadowy body. 1x was floating like a ghostly spectator, forced to watch themself run around like an idiot.

"No you ####ing FOOL! YOU ABSOLUTE NINCOMPOOP!" They raged, their screams unable to be heard by anyone. "REVERSE GRIP?! ON MY DAEMONSHANKS?!?!"

They were tweaking out big time, as if Gray was using their precious swords like literal walking sticks- which would actually be more useful than whatever the hell they were doing here.

1x1x1x1 lets out a strangled groan, continuing to dig their claws into their own forearms in frustration. "No no no- even OLLIE was better than this. And he was a damn beginner!"

Speaking of Ollie, they turned their head back to see the man they were training knocked to the ground, sword locked against Gray's daemonshanks. The hacker glared at them, only addressing Olledsky. "At least you had the braincells to know how to use a sword correctly when you started. Ugh."

The possessed survivor couldn't hear them. 1x1x1x1 was in 'spectator mode', and Ollie was busy fighting for his life. "Gray?" Olledsky was panting, gritting his teeth as he kicked his friend off him. "Gray, I'm- sorry to do this- but I have to stop you!"

He goes for a strike at Gray's arm, but the possessed killer roars as it whips it's long, cord-like tail and makes Olledsky yell in pain. "YOU. ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"W-wha-" The possessed swordsman stumbles back, his eyes wide. "What? What the hell are you saying?!"

Gray doesn't seem to be themself at the moment- their stress and negative emotions amplified to a hundred with the malice affecting them. "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! ALL THIS!"

"WHY DID YOU ASK US TO PLAY THIS GAME?!"

"Well I didn't force you to play, damn it!" Olledsky snarls back, looking hurt. "You made this choice yourself, you wanted the money- so snap out of it and get a good look at yourself!"

His linked sword slams down on Gray, making them screech out and get stunned. Olledksky manages to run away, but not before taking one last remorseful look at their friend.

1x1x1x1 is looking at the whole display. They scoff. "Pathetic. He shouldn't have hesitated."

"Oh, GREAT. Look who's here." A familiar, snarky voice rings out behind 1x1x1x1, and the killer freezes, immediately feeling angry. "YOU."

Shedletsky, along with Dusekkar and 007n7, were all floating behind them. Dusekkar and 007n7 were more wary, but Shedletsky is straight-up looking at them like they weren't a threat. "Hey, zipper-mouth- looks like you finally got a taste of what it's like to be me, huh?" Their creator snarks.

"Cease this incessant prattling!" 1x reaches for their daemonshanks, but then comes up with nothing. Oh, great. Their greatest weapon was out of their reach, being used by a complete idiot.

The only reassuring thing was that Dusekkar and Shedletsky also lacked their signature weapons, so they couldn't really fight each other when being spectators.

"If I recall, SOMEBODY made me look like a dummy because some weirdo wanted to use my body to train with my sword." Shedletsky crosses his arms. "And now your own body's running around. I mean, really, reverse grip-?"

"I KNOW IT'S REVERSE GRIP. SHUT UP." They seethe. Shedletsky laughs, just as irritating and hatable as ever. 1x1x1x1 gets desperate and tries to throw a punch at their creator- only for their fist to clip through his face.

Shedletsky stays silent, not expecting for himself to be immune to damage. The other spectating survivors freeze, also figuring this out.

Then, a slow, smug smile begins to spread on Shedletsky's face. "Oh 1x.... You know what I'm thinking?"

"##### ### ##### ##### ##########!!!" 1x begins to rage, throwing their hands as they repeatedly try to claw at Shedletsky's face and fail. They're screaming out so many curses that the chat filter is struggling to keep up with them.

"Scream all you want- you're stuck here with us!" Shedletsky laughs some more. 007n7 looks down at the other survivors with concern- they're all fine, because Gray seems to be terrible at possessing 1x1x1x1 at first...

But B0w7n7 looks devastated seeing their friend like this. Marekkar is standing by a dispenser, trying to hide the fact that he's shivering a bit from the pain- and Olledsky has dropped his smile.

"Let us watch as this round proceeds- for I feel like these four will be in dire need." Dusekkar suggests. Shedletksy glances down and seems to get the message as well, shrugging. "Might as well enjoy the show with the others..."

[Extras]

• Full design for Grayscale 1x1x1x1!

• The joke skins: 5 more Shedletskys, Loveshot, Homeless, and Onesie

Chapter Text

[Gray Gr4yscale 1x1x1x1]

Everything hurts.

Not physically, as each bruise of a fist or graze from a gun is barely felt on their now monstrous form.  Even the slash of Ollie's sword is nothing against the pain in its heart, though it still hurts it more than usual.

No, it's that overwhelming hate.  It can barely feel anything besides the loathing, can barely think of anything besides how much it despises what its friends dragged it into.  It hates how the days drag on so slow nowadays due to that stupid time dilation.  It hates that it is forced to terrorize real people, to puppet Chance's body around like they are nothing more than a toy.

Its tail whips back and forth as it watches Olliedsky run.  Like a coward.  Away from Gray.  Away from his problems.

So it pursues.

It feels both nimble and ungainly, as it runs with limbs not its own but feel seemingly right.  Like it was always meant to be this.

The swords are weighty in its fists, even as it holds them wrong.  It does not care, too preoccupied with catching the one it chases to change its grip.

It is just about to strike at the swordsman again when he turns sharply, dodging its slash and running up the ramp that leads atop the castle in Brandon Works.

It's tail whips with a sound akin to a thunderclap, irritated.  The coward won't even face it properly.

It realizes why he decided to climb only when it gets riddled with bullets.  Not the kind from Chance’s gun, but another.  Builderman’s sentry.

The ammo isn't the only thing that slows it.  

It doesn't know why Builderman's there.  Logically, he should be halfway across the map, away from the commotion.  Away from the monster that is it.  Not standing right next to his newly built sentry.  Yet here he is.

It doesn't move to attack.

He doesn't deserve to be chased around for eternity.  To watch as his teammates, his friends, get piloted around by strangers.  He doesn't deserve to be ridiculed and taunted by the ones it calls friends.

So it just stands there, being bullied by a machine it was just learning about minutes ago.

It is angry and seething with hate, but not at him.  Not at these innocent strangers it just met.

It turns, distantly registering that Olliedsky got away, and trots off to find a new target.

[B0w7n7 Bow]

There’s a common theme when it comes to Bow’s friends.

She makes a new one, whether in real life or online. Gets attached to the words on a screen. Gets attached to the people she meets.

Then she fucks up. 

Usually, she knows what she’s done.

Either she stops talking to them due to insane, insane burnout– acts like an absolute bitch, or just plain dumps them due to a bad choice in friends. She really does try to see the good in everyone, it’s just… she’s not so good at seeing the good in herself, either.

Sometimes it’s bittersweet. Sometimes life just gets in the way and they drift apart.

For these moments, she allows herself to grieve.

But… There’s also those times.

Times where she’s not sure where she went wrong. Times she’s oh-so-confident in her ability to keep a friend only for it to blow up in her face.

And this? This right here? This gnawing in her stomach, this empty dread that threatens to spill out of her throat, like the blood that bubbles up and leaks out from between her teeth?

Like the tears that form at her eyes and threaten to spill with each heavy breath she heaves?

… yeah. She’s terrified.

She’s terrified because she fucked up and she doesn’t know why. 

Please. She’s 16. She can’t know better– she has no idea what she’s done. So please. Please leave her be.

B0w7n7 can hear the rampaging, screaming Gray– no, not Gray. That’s something else. Somebody else, because Gray would never… Gray would never do that.

Grayscale 1x screams and rampages, and B0w can faintly hear the shing of a sword and the clash of steel on steel. He cowers against the wall he hides behind, hearing heavy footsteps growing closer… closer.. closer… until he can’t take it anymore.

It’s hilarious how instinctual it’s become now. Feeling the familiar buzz of the red c00lgui as he summons it through sheer will.

She’s muttering under her breath, every swear word she can think of as her fingers sink into the gui, frantically typing out the relatively (thankfully) easy command.

“ Fuck. Shit. Crap. Bitch. Fuck… fuckfuckfuckfuck cào– cào cào cào–”

His fingers tremble on the keyboard, and he’s forced to spam backspace to start all over again. B0w moves away from their hiding spot, feeling their body slow down into a drawling pace as they force their hand to type in the right words.

Teleport…. 007n7… furthest… spawn…

Press it. Press enter.

Quickly, before it’s too late.

His finger misses the button. Once. Twice. “C’mon, you bitch, c’mon–”

A faint click, and the enter key is pressed.

There’s a roar right behind her just as she feels the familiar, sickening pull of the teleport, and she barely has time to register the dull glow nearby when she turns around–

Holy shit it was right behind her. A gleaming eye full of hatred.

“ Cào nǐ zǔzōng shíbā dài–”

She’s torn apart into little bits and pieces of code– torn apart and reformed back into code– no, flesh in a new location. She can feel herself moving. Every particle, every pixel… every shred of meat and blood that makes up her true being. She’s torn apart and put back together again. Her feet touch solid ground, and she stumbles, suppressing a gag at the horrible, horrible feeling.

B0w7n7 slowly takes her hand off her mouth.

“...Oh my god, Gray I’m so fucking sorry.”

She had. Cursed out… Gray’s entire bloodline… on instinct.

“I need to tone that shit down…who am I kidding, I won’t.”

Chuckling morosely to herself, B0w takes a moment to register where she had ended up. Her eyes– or would it be eye, in this case? – flicker back and forth, checking the corners.

It’s quiet. There’s a lack of wind that makes it eerie. Disturbing. Dark. 

Furthest spawn point. Huh.

“...Hah.”

She’s alone.

“...I–”

B0w7n7 stumbles to a broken down wall, leaning heavily on it and breathing out heavy breaths. He looks at his trembling hands, wiping his sweat-stained palms on his shirt.

“Why the hell does 007n7 sweat so much…” B0w takes in another shaky breath, putting more weight onto the wall.

She’s alone.

“Why did I… why did I even– hah–”

Her hand swipes– no no, not– no she swipes over the user panel, not the c00lgui– red or blue? Red? No, blue–

Check your stats. Check your stats. Check them. Check them. Click on yourself and check your stats. Ch–

Her hand hovers over the user panel, frozen.

Please.

Please please please no, no no she doesn’t want to–

The toggle is still disabled. It’s okay. It’s okay. She’s okay. She can ignore and ignore and ignore the feeling of dread creeping up her back, the need to dig her hands into flesh and rip it out–

Just like what Gray was doing. Follow in the footsteps of your dear friend, won’t you? Follow in their path– they’re older. They know what they’re doing– it’s all just a game, after all. Allllll just a game. You know you want to. 

You know you want to hurt. You know your life right now is less than stellar. They don’t want you. They’re keeping you around because you’re funny. That’s your only trait. The day you can’t provide jokes and quips they’ll throw you away. They’ll watch you slowly wither and they’ll laugh. 

What a joke.

“...”

B0w turns off the user panel without touching anything, staring at the ground in front of them with a blank expression.

It won’t hurt. It won’t hurt to just… ignore it.

Keep it disabled.

Keep it turned off.

It’s not there if you can’t see it.

There’s a common theme when it comes to Bow’s friends. Many common themes, in fact.

She’s dependable to them.

She’s helpful.

Funny.

Reliable.

At least, she tries to be. She attaches herself to the people she loves, of course. Attaches herself to friends in an almost unhealthy way.

She doesn’t know why. Maybe it’s because she wants to leave an impact.

She just doesn’t want to be forgotten.

Her hands shake more, the possessed ex-hacker sliding down with their back against the wall to rest their head on their knees.

He did something wrong. Something wrong and it must’ve been him– it must’ve been his fault to do this because his friend wouldn’t have done that otherwise– because Gray would not– this wouldn’t be happening if B0w hadn’t done something.

But what did they do? Push Gray away? Make them uncomfortable? Make them not want to– make them so–

What would B0w have possibly done… for Gray to be so, so angry?

There’s the metallic tang of blood that threatens to spill over, spill out of their mouth. They hate the taste of blood…

They turn to the side and spit it out. It’s grotesquely satisfying to watch, a small puddle gathering up in the grass.

They stare at it.

The tight feeling in their chest grows.

She’s alone.

For once, B0w allows themself to cry.

[Ollie Olledsky]

Their first round with a possessed killer. Great. Absolutely great!

Olledsky is taking in deep breaths, watching the distance as the timer in his head ticks down to zero. He feels that tug in his chest, feels herself himself get dragged back to the lobby where everyone else was.

Chance is gone. Grance is back, standing in the corner with a haunted expression at staring at the wall. Olledsky approaches them. "Grance?" He asks. No response.

"Grance? Gray." He uses their real name instead. There's a shudder, and a small, quiet sob.

Olledsky flinches. She's He's never been good with people crying- hell, he can barely handle himself crying. He hasn't done it in months, if he recalls. Instead, Olledsky goes to check up on the others.

Marekkar rightfully looks disturbed at what's just happened. He sees his pumpkin-headed friend check his user panel quickly to see if he's disabled being killer, and then quickly dismiss the panel.

"Marekkar- you doing alright, man?" He asks. "That shit must've been a shocker to you."

"Nah, man." Marekkar deflects it quickly, waving it off. He pauses for a second, a flash of worry on that pumpkin-face of his- before it's quickly replaced with a chill expression. "I'm just- kinda feelin' tired after that. Gray's damn good at chasing."

"Yeah. I get the feeling." Olledsky glances back to Grance, who is still isolated by himself in the corner. The non-possessed survivors are looking at them warily, as if they're a predator ready to strike.

All he sees is a scared, stressed friend. Olledsky isn't scared of him. Not now.

He's just like her. He didn't know this would happen.

Olledsky lets Marekkar leave, poofing out of Dusekkar's body and leaving the mage disoriented. He turns to B0w7n7 instead, checking up on the girl possessing the exploiter.

He She was silent when she reappeared in the cabin, aux casualness unnerving as she walks on over to collapse on the couch.

She crosses his legs (not hers, because the body wasn't hers, no?), pulling up the C00lgui and proceeding to stare at it blankly.

"You doing alright, friend?" Olledsky asks.

There's silence. "... What the fuck was that, Ollie?"

He She flinches. Ollie glances away, looking guilty. "Look, I- I don't think we knew that was able to happen. I don't know what happened, Gray didn't know what happened- what we can do is make sure this doesn't happen again."

Ollie kneels down so that she's eye-level with B0w7n7 Bow. Shedletsky's body was so much different compared to the one she had back in real life- large, powerful, intimidating in size. Not what she needed now.

"I promise you. I won't kill anyone." She says. It's reassuring. "I turned off my settings. I'll make sure everyone else does as well."

After a moment of staring, the red panel is dismissed. Bow puts 007n7's hand down, intertwining his fingers and placing his hands on his lap before closing his eyes.

He looks pissed. She looks pissed.

"Do you think that'll help?" She hisses. Ollie flinches. Bow continues. "Do you think that it'll help after Gray had to deal with that? Why didn't you check to see what'll happen before you said we could join you?!"

"I- I wasn't-" Ollie is genuinely taken aback. "I'm sorry. I should've tested it out on myself. Before anything."

"No." Bow hisses. She gets up on his feet, standing above a kneeling Ollie. "You're older than me- you're supposed to know better, Ollie!" She closes her eyes and grits her teeth. "And don't go saying that Gray's older than you and that he should have known too- you just sent out the invitation without telling them!"

"I- god, I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Ollie apologizes over and over again. Bow had a good reason to be angry- that was traumatic and Gray was crying.

(Shedletsky is watching as the thing taking over his body, that cocky and smug and borderline antagonistic thing, was suddenly reduced to apologizing and borderline cowering.)

(It made no sense. He, she, whatever it was- it made no sense.)

Bow seems to see that she maybe went a bit too far scolding Ollie, and her expression softens on 007n7's face. "Just- don't do that again."

"I- I won't." Ollie closes Shedletsky's eyes, and she exhales. "I promise."

"I'll just- I'll just leave with Gray." Bow says. She stands up, getting up to walk over to the other player. "I know our shift's not over- but you can call someone else to fill in."

And below her breath, where Ollie can barely hear her, she mutters "Sorry".

"Wait! How-" Ollie was about to stop her, but she pauses. 'They're tired for today. Don't stop them from going.'

"... Okay. I'll call up one of the others and warn them." Ollie says with a soft voice. "Go. You and Gray need time to recover."

Both her and Gray poof out of the survivors' bodies. 007n7 is left stumbling as well, Chance catching him and helping him stand up straight.

Ollie looks at all of the survivors, who are still stunned at the development- and she logs out.

[Discord]

🧵    🔕   📌    👥    ︙

#general >  

Vauschen Today at 2:20 PM

hey. rail. rail. rail.

@rail_runner5000

InfiniteChaosRail Today at 2:21 PM

Heya garden gnome

Vauschen Today at 2:20 PM

DAWWWG NOT MY HEIGHT

Anyways

This is important

InfiniteChaosRail Today at 2:25 PM

Yeah?

Vauschen Today at 2:28 PM

I know this sounds strange

But like. I have a job. Some higher being tosses me into Forsaken and I cause chaos

But like I invited the others and apparently malice exists and Gray became a killer for a round and everyone left

Help

InfiniteChaosRail Today at 2:31 PM

Woah woah calm down

I believe you, just explain it slowly

Vauschen Today at 2:35 PM

Okay. So. I was approached by an eldritch being one day

And it said that if I possessed a survivor from Forsaken, in the actual game, it would pay me for "entertainment"

And I took the deal

I have a VIP server that when you join, you can possess the survivor and then play in the Spectre's realm

I can get out if i want

InfiniteChaosRail Today at 2:40 PM

That sounds... dangerous

What if you get trapped

Vauschen Today at 2:48 PM

They agreed to not let that happen in the contract

Okay

So I didnt know this. But Malice actually exists and builds up in the game the longer we're in there

And Gray had a ton of malice

Then got booted over to possessing 1x

And he

.

He kind of lost himself. Tried attacking us in the round

When it was over he was back to posoessn Chance

*possessing

InfiniteChaosRail Today at 3:00 PM

Ollie

That is LITERALLY the definition of one of those demonic deal tricks

You're falling into a trap

Vauschen Today at 3:04 PM

I know

But I need someone to fill in their spots for today

Like. REALLY badly. It's imporant

Rail, can you like. Please

I know it's a risk but

InfiniteChaosRail Today at 3:00 PM

...

You're lucky you're a friend of mine

And that I need to make a deal with some weird god for what I want in life.

Send them over

[Rail]

Rail Runner 5000 was your average guy- and that's what he disliked about himself.

He had a boring 'real' name. He was kind of average-looking. Had good grades, a good family, a good job- it's just- he didn't like his body.

He didn't like being human. Too weak, too fallible- and humans did nothing but mess up and cause pain and failure and suffering.

No. He wanted out of this fragile human body, to become something else. Anything other than this.

But alas, such things were impossible in the mundane, real world. That was the only kind of thing you found in power fantasy webnovels and old fanfics written by desperate, edgy teenagers.

Rail... started noticing things about his friends though. How Vauschen- no, Ollie- started going online and offline at the same time as Gray and Bow and Mario, even though half of them were from completely different timezones.

He noticed how they seemed more chipper but out-of-breath during voice calls, as if they'd spent some time running. There's also the fact that Discord says they've been playing Forsaken for days on end when it's only been a few hours together.

So when Ollie reached out, all panicked and talking about eldritch gods contacting her and the others- Rail believed her. Because why else would she lie?

Rail is at his computer, leaning back on his swivel chair. He feels the air get colder, the uncanny feeling of being watched somewhere- before the room goes pitch-black.

There's a presence behind him. "Greetings."

He turns around. "Oh that's a slug." As much as he was expecting a tentacled monster or a biblically accurate angel, cosmic-patterned slug was not what he was expecting. Rail's vision is blurry and he can't make out the finer details from the sheer power that... being had, but he got the gist.

It's not bad, per se. The slug-deity seems to be absolutely massive, it's head barely squeezing in through his window. Rail raises an eyebrow.

[REDACTED] looks at him for a moment, and if the cosmic slug could make a scrunched-up face of bewilderment and mild distaste, it would. " ...I will pointedly ignore the feeling you're having at the moment, you wanted to negotiate?"

"Yes, may-"

“No."

"How about-"

“No."

"You're not even-"

“In this level of reality I am omniscient, I already know what you're going to ask." Amusingly enough, the higher being keeps cutting him off.

"Can I say it anyways?" Rail asks.

"...If it gets you to stop."

"May I invoke a META?"

“sigh This isn't a CYOA, you're not getting an Essence. I'm doing the equivalent of paying out of my own pocket for this."

Rail continues to barter. He's doing this on his own terms. "Can I forgo the clearly fae-tier trapped contract with lasting compensation and benefits and instead be an Unpaid Intern working for Experience and be paid in a single instantaneous compensation option to become a full real life Demon?"

“...Even with the omniscience I wasn't expecting that. Fuck it, sure, why not. Make you the only demon in this universe, a lot cheaper than what the others are getting for sure."

"If it's cheaper, how about a few... Specifications, to my soon to be Demonic Capabilities?" He folds his hands.

"You literally have one of the worser cases of ADHD, how are you able to concentrate so hard on this?"

"Practice and hyperfixation."

The next two hours are filled with tons of bartering and negotiation, with Rail badgering [REDACTED] on what he wanted in his unpaid internship. He's used to leading the conversation on his terms, on his home ground. Business was his forte, and he's not letting himself get outplayed.

"Gods, you are SUCH an annoyance to deal with. I get why they decided to just give you the powers and let you go wild in that other universe..." [REDACTED] complains, their mind elsewhere. "I've got no idea how they do it. The paperwork must be apocalyptic."

"I'm taking it that I'm an employee of a higher being in another universe?" Rail asks, unimpressed. "One that's taken a lot of workplace freedoms and gave myself a lot of power?"

"How the fuck are you- oh right. Fourth-wall breaking meta." [REDACTED] sounds like they might start developing alcoholism. "God, why [Crossover], WHY did you have to revive that fucker ugggh..."

"I'm going to take your annoyance as a good thing." Rail says. He pulls up his laptop, and makes a 'gimme' motion. "Now- your end of the deal."

"Tch. Fine." The higher being narrows its' eyes. "I'll honor it- but only because Void Co. would get my ass if I broke the terms."

The massive slug slips it's head out of the darkened room, and Rail's vision goes black. He feels the pins-and-needles feeling all over his body, like a blanket of static slipping over. He feels himself have an out-of body experience, then the feeling of something growing on his head and out of his spine.

When he finally regains his eyesight- there's nothing new with his body, still human. But something changed. What?

"Hey, where's- I asked for the full package." Rail furrows his brows. "Or do I have to file a customer complaint?"

"It's because you're possessing your own human body, idiot." [REDACTED] hisses. "Look in the mirror again, and think of shedding that form of yours."

Rail moves over to his bathroom, where there's a mirror above the sinks. He closes the bathroom door and exhales.

It feels natural. The illusion melts away- four large pairs of horns flicker into reality above his head, and a long, arrow-tipped tail whips up behind him.

He really did it. He's actually a demon now.

"Good." He says. "They won't know that I changed."

"Exactly to your parameters, Rail Runner 5000." [REDACTED] grumbles. "Now- go fulfill your end of the internship, and get the hell out of my sight."

[Builderman]

The whole situation was... tense, to put it at least. Shedletsky's been unpossessed for a few hours now, and the three-day schedule has been thrown entirely out of whack by what happened last round.

Just... they can possess killers. Granted, it didn't seem to be willingly, but they could. And that thought alone made him more wary of them.

Builderman paces back and forth, glancing at Shedletsky as the other admin just sits there.

"When do you think he- I mean, she's gonna return?" Shedletsky says. "She's got to return, right? It's a given at this point."

"That's what I'm thinkin' 'bout." Builderman says, gritting his teeth. "Darned it- those four are actin' like teenagers, but who in tarnation knows what they're like? They ain't Robloxians."

"I know... whoever was possessing chance, they looked really upset at the fact that they got forced into 1x1x1x1." Shedletsky taps his finger on the table, focused on what had happened. "Builderman- everyone else's doing their own thing now, right?"

"Yeah? I reckon Chance's takin' a break with Dusekkar, an' 007n7's out in his cabin tryna' figure out how they're gettin' into our heads."

"We should- regroup if Ollie comes back and possesses me." Shedletsky says, his face serious. "It said something about bringing in someone to take up the shift in Mario, Gray, and Bow's place. So whoever that might be, we need to know and be on guard."

"Right back at ya, partner." Builderman gives a thumbs up. "Now, this ain't gonna be hard as long as we tell the others first-"

Immediately, right after he says that, there's a 'poof' of smoke coming from Shedletsky's body, making him hunch over a bit. Through the haze of the smoke, Builderman could see his friend's curly hair lengthen and tie into a messy ponytail.

''Course, it just HAD to happen right as we're runnin' our mouths 'bout it!' Builderman thinks, and if he was a lesser man, he'd be cursing up a storm. But since he's decidedly against cussing, he instead just glares at Olledsky as she he gets up.

"Heeeey, bitches! I'm baaack!" He laughs, leaning on the table. "Did ya miss me?"

"You're in a better mood." He hisses. "What happened to saying 'sorry'?"

There's a flicker of annoyance over his face before Ollesky waves it off. "I'll deal with that later. But for now, you gotta call everyone here! I've got a fun little announcement to make about the new guy."

That sets off alarm bells in Builderman's head. He sucks in a breath, and begins to visit the other survivors in the cabins or outside.

Once everyone is gathered back in the main cabin, they're all very on-edge when seeing that Olledsky is back. "What's he doing here." Elliot whispers, shiftily eying the possessed swordsman in front.

"I'm so glad that all of you could make it here!" Olledsky chirps, wide smile on his face. Some of the survivors flinch- they know that a wide smile like that on the first possessor's face meant nothing but trouble. "I'm glad to announce that we have another one of my friends joining us!"

"Where are they, then?" Guest 1337 says, his expression wary. Two Time steps forward, their eyes narrowed. "What have you and those demons done now?!"

"Hey, heeey! No need to be so aggressive!" Olledsky laughs. He makes a nonchalant gesture with his hand. "I've talked to the guy- he's rather harmless compared to me and the others."

"But he deserves some fanfare!" The false swordsman giggles, patting Dusekkar on the back and drawing in Builderman by the shoulder. "Time's pretty wonky back in our world compared to here, so while I'm mentally 19- I'm actually older than most of you here!"

Dusekkar tenses up. Builderman looks like he's about to punch Olledsky in the face because technically he's not young in Robloxian years, but the fact that he's using Shedletsky's body stops that.

"I might be old- but not as old as my friend. He's ancient! Older than Roblox itself, actually!" He cackles after dropping the bombshell. "Isn't that amazing?"

Noob looks like they're about to faint. 007n7 can't even wrap his head around it, and Elliot makes a sound that's a cross between a gasp and a strangled cough.

"Woah! So we got an actual god out there, huh?" Chance laughs. "Stronger than the big admins!"

Guest 1337's fists are shaking now, and Two Time looks downright murderous, trembling. "You really are trying something." The soldier spits out. "What's the purpose of telling us this."

"Why, it's to prep you for the game, of course!" Olledsky chirps. He leans forward, head in his hands as he looks all innocent. "Me and my buddy had a talk- and he wanted his introduction to be fun!"

"The rules of the game are simple." He looks at Builderman in the eye, smirking. "My buddy's already possessing one of the survivors. You gotta guess which one of them it is, before the end of our three days here."

"Have fun~!" Olledsky laughs, loud and feral like a hyena.

Builderman... by Roblox, he hasn't felt this amount of fear in ages.

Older than Roblox itself. Older than the current threat that's in front of them, and he can't tell which one of the survivors are possessed, because there's no sign of possession. 

"One of us, it's one of us-" Two Time is vibrating like a rabid Chihuahua. "Spawn save us! Oh, deliver us from this dastardly demon, and reveal the impostor-!"

"Two Time, now is not the time to be preaching about the Spawn!" 007n7 panics, his hands grasping his burger hat. "Builderman- you've got an idea on who it is, right?!"

Everyone looks at him and Dusekkar expectantly. Dusekkar's eye-holes are wide, and he shakes his head, backing off. "The impostor's guise is nigh undetectable to my magic, and they have us thoroughly tricked."

"I- I ain't got an answer either." Builderman says with gritted teeth. He feels helpless, powerless- because he can't help his fellow survivors and Robloxians figure out who the impostor is.

He's meant to protect them. And here was a thrice-damned being that toyed with them and proved that he couldn't do anything against it. It took his friend's face, and now it's going to mock him like this?

'Ollie truly is a monster.' He thinks.

"Now- when's the next round again, I gotta make some stuff ready..." He says, wandering off outside. The survivors take at least thirty or so seconds to process what just happened before arguing breaks out in the middle of the cabin.

"What do you MEAN one of us is an impostor-?!"

"I bet it's 007n7! I mean, have you seen how he acts-"

"No?! I've been possessed already! It's someone else!"

Builderman can't do anything but watch everything crumble apart. Great, the possessor managed to pit all of the other survivors against each other, possessed or not. This is absolutely catastrophic.

"Fellas. FELLAS!" Builderman yells. The other survivors stop for a moment, unused to hearing Builderman yell in this tone at them. "Stop bickerin' like yer' tryna' lunge fer the last slice of apple pie!"

His southern accent was notably thicker at how pissed off he was. "Y'all can figure out who's the phony if you take some time. We've got three days- and that's enough time to find out who's who."

"... Fine."

"What if we can't find them, then? What's gonna happen to us?!" Elliot takes off his visor, fidgeting with it. The others similarly simmer down, but there's suspicious gazes directed everywhere.

Builderman sighs in relief as he sees all the fights broken up. "Shedletsky, if only you were here..." He groans. It's only been a few minutes since Ollie took his body over and Builderman is already missing his friend. "You'd know how to deal with this easier."

[Two Time]

"How dare they- how dare they, how dare they, how DARE THEY-!" Two Time screeches, their hands tangled in their dark hair. Shedletsky is floating next to them, similarly stressed. 

Because whatever was possessing Two Time wasn't like the other possessors at all. There was no visible change in their appearance- Olledsky had his longer hair and shadowed face, B0w7n7 had slightly red eyes and a half-shadowed face, and Marekkar had a completely different wardrobe.

Grance was... kind of difficult to tell apart from Chance, but they wore his clothes in a messier way and couldn't shoot his gun to save their life.

But the new guy? A complete natural. He was puppetting Two Time's body and acting better than a Hollywood star. Two Time watches as they slip back into their cabin, glancing at 007n7 'warily' and slipping their knife back under their pillow.

"That wretched demon scum-" They hiss. "Spawn, I pray to you, help expel this treacherous beast from my body."

"I don't think that's gonna help, Two Time." Shedletsky says. "They're, um- reading that book of yours and praying."

Two Time whips their head down to see the impostor praying at their shrine like they usually do. There's a few differences- like the way that he's kneeling slightly away, bowing their head down a bit farther than usual. But aside from that, they're reciting the verses from the Spawn's teachings flawlessly.

"Give thanks to the Spawn, for he is good; for their steadfast love endures forever." They recite. "To he who alone does great wonders, their steadfast love endures forever."

It sickens them. They can see the four ghostly horns curled around their head- a vicious mockery of their faith, as nobody else seemed to notice them. Could the survivors not see the wolf among the flock?

"Despicable. To think he is powerful enough to endure the Spawn's wrath, or for him to bypass their sight entirely." Two Time is twitching for the knife at their side, but alas, it was under the impostor's pillow.

"H-hey, settle down, buddy." Shedletsky says, sweating. "I know you're upset- but the others can probably figure their disguise out! They figured out Ollie and the others, after all!"

Two Time... isn't so sure. They didn't figure out something was up with Shedletsky until that thing decided to confront them, and even so, that was far too late.

Olledsky could have killed them right then and there. He has Shedletsky's sword at his hip, but all he decided to do was punch them in the face and snarl at them. It was a warning.

Who knows what this older demon could do?

The day passes by. The others are all rife with distrust- even though the rounds had ended for the day, the air was thick with tension. There was so much negative emotion that the Spectre was probably eating well tonight.

The Spectre... to think they now knew what had trapped them there. Two Time shudders as they talk to Shedletsky.

"These demons are colluding with our captor. Sentient code feeding on our sins- absolutely dreadful." They hiss.

"..." Shedletsky is unnerved. "I know. Only thing that's keeping them from tasting my blade is the fact that we can't harm them without harming our friends."

An enemy they can't fight. An impersonator who seems to be stringing their comrades along effortlessly. If Ollie was the herald of disaster, loud and brash and big- then Rail was a silent puppetmaster.

Two Time watches as their own body sneaks into the kitchen to grab some spare food. Of course, it's all stale and boring- they grab some crackers and silently munch on them.

Suddenly, Elliot walks into the kitchen. Two Time holds their breath, floating over the pizza delivery worker's shoulder. Even as they're invisible and intangible, they've got their hand hovering on his shoulder.

"Elliot- that is not me! This demon is pulling the wool over your eyes!" They cry out. Elliot, unfortunately, is clueless.

"Heeey." He looks uneasy as Not-Two Time looms over the counter, carefully eating their saltine crackers. "You're not getting into the kitchen again for the knives, are you?"

"I assure you, healer- I am not." The impostor says, their voice on-par with what their own inflection usually was. "I do not want you or the others to suffer from me hearing the voices again."

'How does he know that?!' Two Time begins to breathe quickly, their eyes blown wide. Does this demon have access to their mind?!

"Uh- huh." Elliot drawls, eying them carefully. He doesn't suspect them to be possessed- because Two Time was already unsettling as hell and acted like they were one bad day away from just snapping. "It's just- please get out of the kitchen."

"Ah. Of course." Not-Two Time slips away, but not before poking their head eerily through the doorway. "You are cooking, are you not?"

"... Yes?"

"I would like to have.... bread and water. For a follower of the Spawn such as I shall have humble meals." The impostor says.

"Alright." Elliot sighs. "At least that's easy."

Two Time puts their head in their hands, lamenting at the fact that by the Spawn their comrades were clueless. They were unaware that this is unfortunately the side effect of being creepy as hell and scaring other people.

It's not their fault that the only other person that would have known they were acting off was Azure. He was the only one that looked past their creepiness and awkwardness, and what did Two Time do to him?

... Maybe this was a punishment the Spawn sent their way after all. Why else would they be possessed by a demon in this hellhole?

The three days pass by without much happening. Nobody's talking to each other normally- they're all on edge, walking around every conversation like it's a landmine.

Shedletsky is practically screaming at Builderman that it's Two Time that's being possessed, but he's invisible. His fellow admin can't hear him. Two Time, on the other hand, feels miserable.

They've been shadowing every other survivor when invisible. They've heard all of the rude remarks, all of the times they said they were 'scary' and a weird creep that keeps trying to push their religion.

'It's not my fault that I'm like that! The Spawn's word is holy!' They think. The other cultists Spawn followers were much more warm and inviting compared to them- this isn't a cultist thing, they're just- like that.

It makes them hate themself. It makes them doubt their worth here.

(It's exactly what the Spectre wants.)

Olledsky, however, is absolutely living it up. He's laughing, patting everyone on the back even though they're glaring at him like he's the devil himself, and making jokes at everyone's expense.

"Man, you guys are reaaaally bad at playing this game!" He flashes them a toothy grin. "Step it up!"

"You. Are Insufferable." Builderman hisses. Dusekkar isn't even saying anything, because Olledsky is pissing him off to the point where he KNOWS where he won't be rhyming.

"Awww, I'm good friends with you too, Dave!" Olledsky laughs, patting him. The other survivors flinch at how loud she is.

"Gods, just got to get through one more day, please..." Noob mutters, looking away. "He's scarier than Two Time, and that's saying something."

The actual Two Time flinches at the insult.

"What was that?" The fake Two Time asks, tilting their head to the side owlishly. They're pretty sure that he they know, they're just acting as clueless as the real Two Time.

"Nothing! Eep!" Noob squeaks, running away.

It's already been two days. This is the third day. Two rounds have passed by, and while the impostor was present in one of them, they'd hidden on the sidelines too well.

They're quiet. More experienced and mature- nothing giving them away. They don't do generators at all, which makes their teammates complain-

But it's like usual. More complaints about them being "useless as usual" under their breath, more getting ignored. This sucks.

The round starts up again, and Two Time breathes out a sigh of relief when they see their body show up on Ultimate Assassin Grounds. What they AREN'T happy with, however, is the fact that they spawned in a corner with OLLEDSKY.

Shedletsky, who is floating by their side, lets out a groan of frustration. "Oh you've GOT to be kidding me, 1x is-"

"Heck yeah! 1x1x1x1's the killer!" Olledsky pumps his arm up, grinning. "Hey- I'm buddies with them. Try to hide in the corner or something, alright? I'm gonna have a little chat with them about Gray and apologize."

The impostor doesn't say anything- they just nod and slink away. Two Time wants to follow them, but they're more curious as to what Olledsky would do. Shedletsky is tense, like he doesn't want Two Time to know something.

"... What?" They ask. He shakes his head. "It's nothing."

The false swordsman laughs, smiling at the killer. "1x! It's good to see you- I should probably tell you what went on those few rounds ago..."

"You best have an explanation, pest, or else I'll have your head on my sword." They hiss. The daemonshank is pressed against Olledsky's neck, tilted downward.

"Okay, okay! Fine!" Olledsky puts his hands up. "Okay, so, for starters- Gray didn't mean to do that.

Olledsky goes on to explain what Malice is to 1x1x1x1. He's awfully friendly with them, despite the skeletal monster being a literal killer that's probably ended their lives too many times to count.

"And- well, if it happens again, it's probably because of Malice. I don't think they chose to possess you specifically, just that the Spectre or our sponsors choose that." He explains.

"Tch. Pathetic." 1x1x1x1 hoists their swords up. "I must admit, it is... amusing that the other foolish survivors got their accounts hacked, but if they continue to aggravate me during my quest to kill them all..."

"I don't think you can abstain from killing us, even if you wanted to. Our employers and the Spectre seem to love our pain." Olledsky lets out a 'tsk' of disappointment. "But you're getting all buddy-buddy with me, haha!"

"Only because you are humiliating Shedletsky, and you are amusing enough to live." 1x1x1x1 sneers. "Or do you forget how many times I've killed you as well?"

"Deserved! And it's all part of the grand game, buddy." He lets out a barking laugh. "Are we going to train again? Or is this a normal match, as usual?"

"... Hm. After last time I was here, and that disgusting friend of yours hijacked my body... I don't think I'll let you live." They decide. "We can train later. Now? I want revenge."

"Normal match it is, 1x!" Olledsky gives them a grin and sprints off. Two Time is baffled at how docile 1x1x1x1 was with him her compared to the survivors.

"Of course the demon gets along with that hacker." They spit out. Shedletksy looks just as frustrated and confused.

"I don't get it. 1x1x1x1 usually hates everything in the third dimension and wants to destroy Robloxia for this- so why is it the exception?"

"Who knows." Two Time shrugs. They watch as Olledsky dodges a mass infection and runs past Elliot, laughing as 1x1x1x1 completely ignores the (befuddled) healer for them.

"Wow, you're really focused on me, huh?" They grin. "Thought you'd go for Mr. Pizza guy there?"

"Please. He is getting... boring. You and the others are new." 1x1x1x1 admits. They throw their Entanglement, which misses Olledsky and embeds itself into Guest 1337 instead, who winces and struggles against the chains.

"Oh? Why is that?" Olledsky snickers, using Shedletsky's sword to stun 1x for a few seconds, enough for Guest to break free, stare at him distrustingly, before running away. "Honestly, I thought you'd be screaming insults at me and hating me as much as the others! I'm wearing Shedletsky's face, of course!"

"I am... just as bewildered as you too." 1x1x1x1 replies, growling under their breath. "And I hate it. You are an annoyance, a pest- but most importantly, an anomaly."

"Hmm... if I recall, your goal is to wipe out all of the third dimension, is it not? Bring Robloxia to it's knees?" Olledsky hums.

"Yes. By the gods, I HATE this stupid plane of reality, I want to see it BURN and be under MY rule-!"

"Guess it's good that I live in the fourth dimension, tee hee!" Olledsky- no, Ollie- confesses.

The activity grinds to a halt. Shedletsky makes a face trying to comprehend how a fourth-dimensional being would look, but nothing really comes to mind. Ollie's mentioned having stuff a human Robloxian would have, and so have the others- but was that a lie?

"... Fascinating. So that's why." 1x1x1x1 muses. They hoist their swords, analyzing Ollie Olledsky for a moment. "The fourth dimension- it is time, is it not?"

"Ahaha! Most likely!" The impostor snickers. "Was it what I said about time being shorter for us back in our reality? Or was it the fact that I'm older than most of these accounts?"

"I see." 1x1x1x1 says. "But that just makes me want to defeat you even more, then. I wonder how the blood of a higher-dimensional being fares?"

"Well unfortunately for you, I'm stuck using Shedletsky's body!" Olledsky sticks his tongue out and blows a raspberry. "So you're only gonna get his lame blood!"

"Tch. Insufferable." Two Time watches with some satisfaction when 1x1x1x1 finally catches Olledsky with an entanglement, making him let out a bark of surprise. They chain it into a mass infection, which makes the fake swordsman stumble after getting out.

One swift stab to his chest, and he falls to the ground, gasping. Despite this, Olledsky is still slowly laughing.

"You- gggck- got me good!" He coughs up some blood, grinning. "See you next- time..."

His head is sliced clean off. "I hope to never see you again." 1x1x1x1 spits out, but it's with less hatred and malice in their voice than usual. In fact, it sounds more like a parting jab than an actual insult.

As the dead body falls limp, Two Time sees 1x1x1x1 turn over to the other survivors with a more hateful glare. "Now, to deal with the rest of you filth."

[Rail Rail Time]

Silent. Quick, deadly, and unsettling.

Those were the qualities of the vessel he was possessing. Gods, it felt exhilarating to be one with the shadows, to play the role of the mysterious, crazed cultist.

Rail palms the ritual knife in their hand. Two Time update came early, and all for them? Perfect.

He'd They'd kept quiet in their one previous round. Found a nice, secluded spot in Planet Voss and performed the ritual, then did nothing but crouched and hid in the corners. Call it cowardice, call it running away from their teammates- Rail was being smart and pragmatic about this.

Think before you plan. Plan before you act. That was the motto they'd taken to heart in the business world.

Every businessman that he'd met in his time dabbling and interning in corporate has had nothing but ulterior motives and knives behind their back. What's one more backstabber?

Rail moves on the edge of the map of Ultimate Assassin Grounds. How fitting of a name. They feel Two Time's spawn tail lash behind them, swinging back and forth as they slink along the border like a cat.

1x1x1x1 is currently thrashing Guest 1337. The soldier is struggling against the hacker's ranged attacks, getting hit with a mass infection .

'Hm. I won't let that stand.' Rail Time crouches, getting closer and closer until- stab!

Their arm jolts forward and they STRIKE, hitting 1x1x1x1's back with frame-perfect precision. The embodiment of hatred roars out in pain and anger, before whipping behind. "Who DARES-"

Rail Time has already sprinted away, slipping into one of the buildings and then past Elliot. They smirk as the pizza delivery guy gets eviscerated, 1x far too focused on getting rid of the healer and trying to find who the fuck did that.

Shedletsky is possessed, and Olledsky is dead as hell, so he's got no idea who's wielding a blade. 1x1x1x1 growls. "I cast necromancy! Rise..."

1x's minions claw their way up from the ground where the dead survivors were, their steps unsteady at first but then wandering the area. Rail Time is crouched, the 'undetectable' effect helping them slip through the minions easy enough until-

STAB! Again, a perfect hit on their back. This time, 1x1x1x1 turns around in time to see Rail Time's face, black eyes locked into their red ones.

"You." They hiss. Rail looks up with a focused expression, dodging the sword swing and running off.

They roll to the side, dodging yet another slash, and then zig-zag. They catch their breath by walking across the loop, then changing course when they hear the tell-tale sign of a mass infection winding up.

Dodge. Run, then walk, then run again. Dodge an entanglement, and when Rail feels their cooldown on their stab finally finish up- they start slowing down to bait 1x1x1x1 into getting close.

"You're dead meat!" They snarl. A lunge straight ahead, Rail's foot planted on the ground-

And a STAB to their heart. 1x1x1x1 is slowed for a second, unable to attack- but quickly snaps back into action, slashing his sword into Rail Time's face.

Rail doesn't flinch and tanks it. They run off to a corner, passing by Noob and giving them a quick thumbs up before turning another corner.

There's a confused sound, then a yelp of fear as 1x1x1x1 barrels into Noob. The minions surrounding them claw at Noob, making them scream in pain and fear before running off as well.

But 1x1x1x1 wasn't focused on getting Noob, were they? They wind up a mass infection and throw it at Rail Time, and this time, by sheer bad luck, it hits. Rail's eye twitches as they continue to run, but then their stamina runs out and they're left panting.

As naturally good as they are at dodging, this is still the first round where they're directly facing the killer. 1x1x1x1 catches up to them and hits them with an entanglement, trapping them.

Their health is low. They know it. Rail is still eerily quiet as 1x1x1x1 approaches them, sword in hand.

"One life down. One more to go." There's a sharp grin on their zipper-like mouth. 1x1x1x1 swings their daemonshank at Rail Time's neck, cutting it off.

Or at least it should have cut it off. Because the moment the blade half-tore through their spine, there was a rush of POWER and a demonic wail as Rail Time poofs into a cloud of smoke, dropping down on the ritual mark they've carved into the ground far away.

They let out a hum, slowly getting up from their crouch. As they do, they meet Builderman and 007n7's eyes.

Those two look at them with terror in their eyes- and Builderman's hand is clenched into a fist, trembling.

"Greetings." Rail says, their voice slow and steady. "I assume you two have found me out."

"Congratulations."

[007n7]

There was a weird glowing symbol carved into the ground. He's got no idea what it is, and it's making him nervous.

"Builderman." He says, completely serious. "Do you know what this is?"

"I ain't seen anything like it." Builderman furrows their brow. "But it ain't any symbol I've known before. Heck, looks a lot like the spawn, but- like a moon. Ya get me?"

007n7 nods. Before they can figure out what was going on, though, there's the sound of an inhuman shriek in the distance, the symbol glows, and then a figure poofs out in a haze of smoke.

It's Two Time. But it's not exactly Two Time- because their body was slightly bulkier, less slender and quick and more of like a swimmer's build.

Their spawn-shaped wings weren't there- instead, there were a pair of thin, spawn-shaped horns jutting from their dark hair. The spawn symbol on their shirt had changed to that same half-moon spawn that was carved into the ground, glowing with an eerie moonlight hue.

The figure gets up from their hunched crouch, towering over both Builderman and 007n7. Two Time was never this tall and intimidating- because unlike Olledsky or the other fourth-dimensional beings hijacking their bodies, this one changed Two Time's entire figure.

"Greetings." They say. Their tail swishes behind them, long and sinewy. "I assume you two have found me out."

"Congratulations." They clap robotically, tilting their head with a smile that had none of Two Time's unsettling creepy-factor... which was somehow worse.

"You. You're the impostor." Builderman holds his building hammer so tightly that his knuckles are turning white.

"Mhm. I think it's rude that you didn't notice your friend acting off- even though I did try my best to be close enough to them."

"Who- are you?" 007n7 stutters. The horned being gives them a curt bow. "Demon King Rail- or Rail Time, when possessing this body. At your service." He says. "Ollie sent me here to fill in for the others- and it seems like you all need my help."

"We didn't need anything from your kind." Builderman says, his voice laced with venom. "Olledsky was enough trouble- now we have one more of- your sort."

"You can't exactly deny fate." Rail Time says. "I just took an unpaid internship here. Ollie and the others? They've got a contract with the powers above."

"The- what?" 007n7 is taken aback. "What do you mean, powers above? You have gods?"

"Don't we all?" The so-called demon king tilts their head again, tail drooping. "There is no such thing as a 'strongest' divinity. We are all simply small fish in a vast, infinite ocean." They say cryptically.

007n7 has no idea what that's supposed to mean, but Builderman, who's been alive for centuries longer than him and has probably understood cryptic messages and metaphors from the other admins- shudders.

"You understand." They turn away. "They sealed their fate foolishly. I am just here to make sure they don't fall apart."

"..." There's tense silence between them as the round's timer ticks down. 007n7 feels himself get tugged back to the main cabin, gasping for air as he gets up from a couch.

Builderman and Dusekkar are both still alive like 007n7- so they are all staring at Rail Time's horns, which seem to have disappeared.

Their physique, on the other hand? Still changed, along with the moon-spawn symbol on their shirt. The other survivors rush to check up on them, but pause when they see Rail Time.

"... Two Time?" Elliot asks, his voice cracking. "But- I thought-"

"Not quite. They are currently unavailable." Rail brushes off his shirt, leaning back on the couch as if it were a luxurious throne.

"Ayyy, well look who's finally decided to drop the act!" A loud, familiarly infuriating voice booms from behind them. Olledsky steps up, leaning on the armrest. "Rail! You're looking like a million dollars today!"

"I appreciate the compliment, Ollie." They say, amused. "Or would it be... Oiled-up-sky...?"

The false swordsman visibly cringes at the mispronunciation of his name. "Ooo, not quite! Try again!"

"Oll-edu-skee."

"That's even worse."

"All-seeing eye."

"That's not even-! Ah, forget it, you can call me Ollie, Rail." He says, giving up.

Olledsky huffs, crossing his arms. "And you were so close to winning the game too!" He complains. "You're damn good, though- lasted through two of the days! Longer than I did without getting noticed, haha..."

"Oh please. As if it was difficult." They say, waving their hand. "Are you to introduce me to the survivors, or should I do it?"

"No worries!" Olledsky has a wide, toothy grin on his face, and the other survivors feel a chill up their spine as he kneels.

"All rise- for you are in the presence of the first demon!" Olledsky says, dramatically flailing. "The Traveler of Worlds, Aimmon of the End, ruler of the underworld- Demon King Rail Runner 5000!"

(Ollie, of course, was being dramatic. She liked hyping up her friends, and since Rail told her that he's turned into a demon- why not hype him up?)

(It was also gonna freak the fuck out of the survivors, so that was also funny.)

There's a beat of silence, before Builderman furrows his brow with some suspicion. "Yer' named after th' gear?"

"Eh?" Olledsky blinks, before turning his head to face Rail Time. The (apparently) demon king crosses his arms. "And? So what? I like the name."

"Jus'- that's yer' real name?" Builderman asks, completely baffled.

"It's the name I go by now." Rail looks at him- the leader of Robloxia and the richest Robloxian in the world- with disdain. "It's rude to judge someone by their preferred name, David Baszucki."

Builderman feels a full-body jolt at his full name (where'd he even get that name, anyways? He doesn't know why it brings him so much familiarity) being mentioned, and he hisses. "Do not."

"Then don't bother me about my name, and I won't do the same with you."

The fake Two Time is nothing like they were.

They were charming, charismatic- and they were far more social than Two Time. The only thing making the other survivors and admins hesitant to interact with them (him?) was the fact that they were a demon.

Olledsky might be a demon as well- but Rail Time didn't mention what he was in reality. Surely the so-called king of demons would comment on one of their subordinates, but he's treating "Ollie" like an equal. Whatever her true self was is still a mystery.

For a demon, 007n7 thinks that Rail Time is awfully human. He likes making jokes, he sticks close to Olledsky during the last few hours together, and he's talking about having a job as an actor and such.

It... makes no sense. But back in Robloxia, there were tons of Robloxians that weren't human. Maybe their world was something like that?

007n7 shakes the thought off, and continues tiptoeing around the kitchen. Most of the other survivors are asleep now, even though they were on edge with the reveal of Rail Time. All that stress of trying to figure out who was the impostor made them skip lots of sleep, and made them even more exhausted in rounds.

007n7 only managed to sleep because he really didn't care about his own safety. Sure, it was unsettling- but he was used to being ostracized and outcast for being a former exploiter.

He passes by one of the rooms in the main cabin. There's a light flickering on in the closed doorway as he hears two voices speak.

It's Two Time and Shedletsky's voices. No- it's Rail Time and Olledsky.

"You know, it's really weird how c00lkidd was meant to be a throwaway account for 007n7." Rail-Time says. They lean back on the cabin wall, unaware of 007n7 listening in on the other side, c00lgui on hand to amplify the noise.

The former exploiter freezes. 'What... what did they mean by that?' He thinks. He's heard of alts, of identities that his fellow hackers would don in order to evade bans from the admins, but- c00lkidd?

His son was his own person! They were clearly mistaken- got him and his son mixed up, most likely- but why was there a sinking feeling in his gut? Like he was hearing something that he wasn't meant to?

That he was going to learn something that he wasn't supposed to know?

"Yeah, I'm just as surprised as you, Rail." Olledsky hums, rubbing his hair. "Like- I know the users that made these accounts have their real-life actions impact how fate plays out for these Robloxians- but still!"

"Having c00lkidd- which I'm pretty sure was meant to only be the one hacking and using the c00lgui, be an actual kid 007n7 adopted..."

Rail-Time pauses. "I think.. it's best he did adopt that kid. If that was the purpose of the account..."

"Bitch, c00lkidd was a puppet account meant to be banned and terminated in place of 007n7, the 'real' account!" Olledsky whisper-shouts. "I'd expect 007n7 to just- leave him there for dead, use that kid as a scapegoat... but he's adopted him here?"

"Damn." Rail whistles. "007n7... that makes him c00lkidd's actual dad, right? Like, code-biologically."

"Mhm. So in a roundabout way... he's the reason why c00lkidd was abandoned to die in the first place. It's just lucky that the kid arrived on his doorstep."

"That kid was meant to die."

007n7's hands drop to his side as those words hit him. It- no, they're talking like they actually have control over accounts, over Robloxians- like Robloxians weren't people but-

'No. What- what am I-' 007n7 isn't stupid. He's worked with code and made his c00lgui, for goodness' sake. He knows what accounts are in the context of Robloxia's internet, about what alternate accounts are used for.

The dots are connecting in ways that he doesn't like.

'These two- they said 'users' and 'accounts' like they were two separate things. They talk like they're above us, even above Builderman at some times-'

They're the ones running Robloxia as a simulation, right? They're where the code comes from, where everything comes from. No- if they made Roblox as a whole, then they'd be able to code them out of here- maybe just... users that participated in the world that Roblox's creators made.

This- this changed everything. 007n7 doesn't even know if he should tell the other survivors- they're going to have an existential crisis if they do, and the despair's already bad enough in this hellhole.

And- oh gods, c00lkidd. His son. An alt account. Seeing that he was a former hacker, and that his son was an alt connected to him, that meant-

No. No no no no no- his son was meant to be banned in his place, he was the reason why his son was like that-

Or would it be the user controlling him that was at fault? No, yes, maybe- it made no sense-!

While 007n7 has a quiet mental breakdown, his breaths growing louder and heavier in the dark, the door behind him slowly creaks open.

Olledsky and Rail Time lean over him, the light behind them making their figures bathed in shadow and surrounded by an eerie halo of yellow.

"Looks like someone decided to go snooping around..." Olledsky says, his voice low and amused.

"Should we tell him?"

• Art above drawn by Asperanna!

[Extras]

• The one controlling all of this mess. [REDACTED], the Embodiment of Discovery. AKA, cosmic slug.

• How [REDACTED] would look like in reality (more incomprehensible and photo-realistic)

Chapter Text

[007n7]

He's standing stock-still in front of the two higher beings that have taken over his friend's bodies.

They're certainly not meant to have access to Shedletsky's and Two Time's account- in their reality, he supposes. Maybe Rail Runner could have, seeing that he's a literal demon and all that- but Ollie? She seemed like some hacker on a power trip.

Far too much like his old self.

"Well, there goes that little tidbit of information." Olledsky sighs dramatically. "I was going to like, save that for later! Keep all of our cards to our chest, you get me?"

"Ollie." Rail Time chides him her. "Don't say that to the poor man, he just had his world shatter before his eyes." The fake Two Time shakes their head. "007n7- how much of that did you hear?"

"I... I-" He gulps, his hands shaking uncontrollably. "I didn't hear anything. I swear, I was just- p-passing by..."

"Don't lie." Olledsky grins, his teeth bared wide. It looks more of like a threat than a smile. "You don't have to- we won't hurt you if you do."

That somehow sounds even MORE terrifying, and 007n7 scrambles back until he hits the wall, whimpering. Rail Time lets out another long, suffering sigh. "Ollie. You're scaring him. You're scaring the one guy who's going to blab about this."

"What? It's not like they're gonna believe him or anything!" Olledsky snorts. "They barely trust him in the first place!"

"He's going to run to Builderman, and even if he doesn't trust 007n7 he's sure as hell going to believe him." Rail Time hisses back. "Ollie, grow a backbone, get some tact- and apologize to the damn man for spooking him."

"Fine, fine! Geez!" Olledsky grumbles, that smile still on his face but looking more annoyed. "I'm sorry for giving you an existential crisis and making you look more of like a sopping wet cat than you already are."

"Ollie!" Rail Runner pulls Olledsky back, despite the false swordsman's taller size. "I am so sorry- this is highly unprofessional of her."

How was 007n7 supposed to respond to this? Thank the demon for their mercy? Pretend to be brave? Run away? 

Can he even run away from this?

Rail looks 007n7 up and down, then back at Olledsky. He looks downright hungry for conflict. Rail Time pinches their forehead in frustration, and waves him away. "You know what- just go. I'll deal with the poor guy here, and you just- go to sleep."

"Man, why so serious, Rail?" He rolls his eyes under his shadowy face.

Thankfully- Olledsky slips away, walking past 007n7 and blending into the darkness. He only sees his imposing figure through the main cabin door before they disappear.

One down. Now he's left with the demon in front of him. 007n7 is still terrified out of his mind, but at least he can run away from Rail Time alone.

"Are you okay?" The impostor asks. They back up, leaning on one of the tables. "Need any food, a glass of water- what's up?"

"..." 007n7 doesn't trust Rail. Not after having to look behind his back to see who the impostor was. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm not gonna ask for your soul or something. I don't even need it." Rail nonchalantly takes out a glass and fills it halfway, handing it to 007n7. "So. Tell me honestly- how much did you really hear."

Maybe it was the fact that 007n7 was tired, or because Rail's tone was much gentler and less intimidating than Two Time's or Olledsky's- and maybe it was because his son was also a demon of some sort. 007n7 cracks.

"It's... my fault, wasn't it?" He mutters, sipping the water. A small part of him hopes that the demon possessing his teammate poisoned it. "c00lkidd. He- I... alt account?"

"I see. " Rail closes their eyes, and lets out a frustrated groan. "You heard that much."

007n7 nods. Rail Time looks at him carefully. "And you know what that would mean. Why we're talking like this." He sounds like a young schoolteacher chiding a student.

Mentally, 007n7 is older than Rail. He's in his fourties, for Robloxia's sake- while Rail was only twenty-one. But Rail was older than Roblox itself, and that was throwing 007n7 off his guard.

It's weird, talking to someone that was both younger and older than you. A young man, and an incomprehensibly old higher being. Both at the same time.

Just like his son. His little boy, and a bloodthirsty killer. He just can't wrap his head around it.

"It's my fault that c00lkidd even ended up getting into hacking." 007n7 says, his voice shaky and quiet. "I- I gave him the c00lgui. I tried to make it safe. I didn't watch him enough-"

"Woah, woah- calm down, dude-" Rail tries to catch 007n7 before he begins spiraling, all the fear he had of the possessors bleeding away as the other information begins to hit him.

His son was meant to be some stranger's throwaway alt account for hacking. HE was meant to be the one left standing, the one to evade all blame- and the one behind his son's death.

He was the one who started hacking, was he not?

"Or is it- I dunno, who's fault is it, if it isn't mine?!" He begins to freak out. "Who's the one controlling my life?! My future?!" He's full-body trembling now, hunched over himself. "I... do I even have free will? I'm just- an account, am I not?"

"007n7. n7." Rail Time says, their hands flying to his shoulders. They grab him, making him flinch and stumble. "Listen to me."

"Sure, your reality might be a video game to us- but it doesn't make you any less of a person." Rail emphasizes. "The others- they might be kind of detached. See you all just as- characters." He shakes his head. "I- it's wrong, but I don't blame them. It feels- weird for me to be here, and I don't doubt that the others feel the same way too."

007n7's eyes are wide, and it's still not snapping him out of his spiral. "O-oh god, my son- was it always meant to end up this way? Was he meant to-" He chokes up at the last word.

He doesn't want to say it.

"No. Even if there is fate, even if things were pre-determined- there's likely hundreds, throusands of alternate universes out there where it didn't end this way." Rail Time shakes him. "Do you get it? You did your best. And the guy who made your account, who made c00lkidd and influenced fate in this reality- he was probably just a kid at the time who didn't know he was causing all of this."

"Do you get it?" The demon says. It hugs him close, and 007n7 didn't really notice how close he'd let the impostor get until now. He'd be dead if this was a killer, and he's supposed to feel uneasy at this being who's essentially caused all the survivors to panic for days on end with his ruse.

But Rail just seems to have a knack for being charismatic and comforting others. They pat 007n7 on the back. "There, there."

"You don't have to think about this, okay? Just... keep it to yourself." Rail Time looks worried. "If you reacted this badly to knowing what we are and why we're so... 'like this', then I can't imagine how someone more unstable like Two Time or nervous like Noob would react."

"Wait- but aren't you possessing Two Time? Won't they know?" 007n7 asks, eyes daring behind Rail.

"Oh, you're talking about... hm. I didn't consider that." Rail furrows their eyes. "Then we'll get to that problem when it comes up."

007n7 is left there standing in the kitchen as Rail Time walks away, slipping into the main room to sleep next to the fireplace. He goes back to the empty cabin he should have shared with Two Time, and tries to go to sleep after what he's heard.

In the 'morning' (or whenever the darkness was less overwhelming in the Spectre's realm), he wakes up to see Two Time looming over him.

"..." He's VERY unsettled at how they're staring at him directly in the eyes. "Hello, Two Time..."

"Do you know what happened last night?" Two Time tilts their head owlishly. "Those... demons. We'd taken a rest with the admin, unable to keep our eyes open longer- do you know what they have done at all? If you were awake?"

007n7 thinks back to the conversation he and Rail had. Thinks back to the mental breakdown, how he'd questioned his reality and would have been broken if not for the reassurance that yes, he still had some control over his life.

Two Time is not ready for this. Neither was Shedletsky- the admins barely trusted him, and he's not sure how they'd see him if they knew he'd semi-trusted a demon and one of the possessors.

"... No. I was asleep." 007n7 says. "But if anything comes up with them, and they return, you should go to Builderman."

"Duly noted."

[Ollie]

Life outside of the rounds was... she didn't really know how to describe it.

Have you ever had a dream where you'd woken up, brushed your teeth, went to school and then, in the middle of the day, you woke up back in your bed? That feeling of disorientation, of waking up from such a realistic dream that you have to shake yourself out a little?

Yeah. It was kind of like that. Three days in three hours, coming back home and then going to sleep in her own body was... something, after all.

Ollie rolls out of her bed for the next day, and checks her phone. Only one college lecture today, and then after that, she's doing her homework for two hours, then going to 'work'.

She climbs down her bunk bed and changes her clothes, brushing her teeth and yawning. "Good morning, mom." She says, still too tired for this.

Her mom looks at her, smiling. Ollie's vision is blurry because she left her glasses on her desk. "Mhm. Mẹ thương con. (Mom loves you.)" She's already making some hot coffee, the familiar 'thock-thock-thock' of the metal spoon hitting the inside of the mug filling the air. "Work again?"

"Yes." Ollie sighs, rummaging through the fridge and taking out a hot pocket. "Ay, it's such hard work... and I still have class to look forward too."

It's a lively morning- her dad is still driving back from his night shift, and her brother is just waking up from the bottom bunk. The fan is blowing in the background, she's checking her backpack for her laptop- and yup! Everything's ready.

Time rushes by. Her mom drives her to her university, and she spends the time before the lecture studying. The lecture happens, she blows through the homework as quick as she can but- agh. It's a pain in her ass.

'My head hurts. I keep on doing the steps wrong, but WHY?' Ollie puts her head in her hands, letting out a annoyed growl.

A passing student gives her a disgusted look at the noise. She ignores it, but stops herself from making any more noise. It's better when she's quiet, after all.

"Okay, fuckin' hell." She mutters to herself. "Work time, I guess."

It's a short walk to the office building next to her university, and on the way there, she passes by a Target.

Her university has a bunch of shops nearby so that dorming students can blow their cash on household items. Ollie is hungry, but she doesn't want to spend her money on a one-time fast food haul.

'Speaking of fast food. Ugggh, I hate how the cabin's food in the game is absolute ASS.' Ollie thinks. She remembers how all of the stuff the Spectre gives to the survivors is barely enough for them to get by- sure, it fed them, but it was bland, unappealing, and downright depressing.

'Really wish I could bring along some food if I ever go to work- but I'm not sure if [REDACTED] even allows me to do that." She absently buys a bag of chips and some of those glass bottles of coffee. "I should call them up..."

She pulls out her phone as she waits in line at the cashier. It rings up for a few seconds, before the familiar chorus of voices reply.

"Greetings, Olivine. Our favorite employee." [REDACTED] says, with all of the sleaze of a clever dealmaker. "You decided to call us?"

"I'm just curious about my job." She says. "Can I bring in stuff from outside? Like- food, drinks, clothes..."

"Oh? We'll set that up, then." [REDACTED] hums, the background noise on the other side of their phone sounding like the gentle waves of an ocean. "Bravo! You had such a compelling role as a villain, and played your part effortlessly. You always provide good results, so we'll let you and the others do your job."

Ollie beams at this. Praise, from her employer! It's definitely new, since she's never had a job- but the feeling isn't so bad!

(She's never done this before. Her first job, the first sense of independence at getting money and being able to support her family and not be a burden...)

(It feels amazing. She'd do anything for this.)

"T-thank you!" She says, stuttering. "Um- [REDACTED], boss- I- what's the limit to this? What can I not take, what can I take-"

"Anything, really." There's a shuffling noise, as if they shrugged on the other side of the line. "As long as you have the item in mind, and it's either on you or on your line of sight, you can take it."

"L-like... what if I want to take a whole closet of clothes? An entire car?"

"Go nuts." The higher being said. "I'm going to be busy... 'negotiating' with the Spectre. We kept it's end of the bargain- and now it's got to keep it's end."

Ollie grins. The feeling of knowing that someone powerful is backing her up, the reassurance that the Spectre was nothing compared to [REDACTED] and their power... it was everything.

She can do this. She can make all the money she needs, and all of her family would be proud of her.

"Have a great day." [REDACTED] hangs up, and Ollie reaches the cashier.

Instead of buying the chips and coffee like she'd planned, the short young woman lets out a sheepish laugh at the cashier's counter.

"Do you know where you sell the pillows and blanket sets?"

[Shedletsky]

He's terrified. Gods, he's never been this terrified in his centuries of existence, when he was Telamon- well, that was wrong. He did feel terror at what happened to 1x1x1x1, but... this was different. It's been far, far too long since he's been afraid for himself rather than other Robloxians.

They've got someone, something older than Roblox itself in the hellish purgatory with them. If how things were going were any pattern, Rail Runner 5000 might be possessing Two Time on a weekly basis.

More of them. He can't- he doesn't know what to do if there's going to keep being more and more possessions. What if everyone gets possessed by the end of this? What if one of those beings just- doesn't let go of their body?

And that's not considering Ollie. Gods, it was- she was infuriating.

He's somehow getting all riled up even though all of his negative emotions and hatred is supposed to be sealed within 1x1x1x1, but somehow, someway- she was just- ugh!

Shedletksy doesn't know what to do. This hellhole isn't what what he was expecting, and he's used the week between possessions to recover and apologize to everyone.

Everyone doesn't really blame them for being possessed- it's something completely out of their control, and it's not like the admins know how to prevent this from happening. The one unpossessed admin is Builderman, and Shedletsky doesn't know if it's because he's the leader of Robloxia or if it's for some other unspecified reason, he's completely safe.

"Has it been seven days already? Geez, time flies by really quickly." Shedletsky rubs the back of his head, grumbling a bit. Dusekkar looks up from his work.

"As it may seem, those five hold the answers we seek. It is your turn to be possessed for the week." Dusekkar says, his voice melodious and tired. 

If being possessed wasn't bad enough- they happened randomly across the week as well. Chance and  Dusekkar were possessed for about half the week, and then Rail popped in for one day. Then there was also Bow, who went in on her own...

Builderman reckoned it was because of the whole fourth-dimensional time dilation thing. Not all of them seemed to be around at the same time, so it was- disconcerting, to say the least.

So at least one or two of them were at least "out" of their own bodies for the entire time. It was a good time to rest, because they didn't really feel the pain that their possessors did when in the rounds- but really?

Possession wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't bad either.

Shedletsky feels that familiar tug in his chest, and he lets out a sigh. "See you three days later, Matt."

"I bid farewell to you in turn, for it is your... possessor that merits the most concern."

"I know, Dusekkar. I know." Shedletsky sighs, and he's dragged into the next round with the chosen survivors.

Immediately, he opens up his eyes and peers down at his body, which is getting up with his sword in his hand. It has a bit of a shit-eating grin on his face- but when has it ever been a normal grin?

"Let's gooo- and who's the killer for this round?" The impostor tits his head to the side for a bit, trying to listen to something that Shedletksy can't hear. "Wait- bluudud? He's here?!"

Olledsky lets out some loud, manic laughter. "Oh my god! So they are separate people!" Shedletsky doesn't know what he's talking about but it sounds... concerning?

"bluudud... he's one of those guest killers. I wonder how Ollie's going to deal with them." Shedletsky muses to himself.

There were times when the monotony of the rounds were broken up by completely new killers- either from Robloxia or some odd alternate universe of it. bluudud was just one of them- there was that odd harpooner version of John Doe that was far too much into whaling and "The Pale" (whatever that was) and a mafia boss that Chance seemed to be trying to avoid at all costs.

It made no sense at all why the Spectre would let them appear only sparingly when it could clearly trap them in here with them. Shedletsky banishes the thought and focuses on what dumb, possibly embarrassing thing Olledsky was going to do now.

bluudud is halfway through snapping 007nt's neck, laughing as he does so. "Killstreak! Let's goooo!" He's got all of the snarkiness and unwashed-gamer energy of a teengae Fortnite streamer. "Get a grip, old man! I'm totally pwning you all!" (Unfortunately, he didn't notice the real 007n7 running away from his dead clone.)

"Hey! You there!" Olledksky yells, pointing his sword at bluudud. "You're streaming, right?!"

"Yeah? Damn, chat- it's Shedletsky! He's on the stream!" bluudud cackles. "Woah, I can't believe it! I'm gonna get to pwn one of the admins here!"

The actual Shedletsky, who's floating behind his own body, looks confused and concerned. 'Streaming... does the kid see this as a video game? And he thinks he's streaming?'

He reckons that c00lkidd could have seen it as a game, because he was so young- but bluudud looked older than c00lkidd by two years. Did the Spectre mess with his perception?

The idea that some of the killers might not know that they're killing them, that c00lkidd can't fully see the bloodshed he's causing... it makes Shedletsky uneasy.

What if the Spectre decides to mess with their minds instead? Who's to say it hasn't already?

Olledsky, fortunately, distracts him from that train of thought. "Oh cool! You're streaming!" He begins to grin widely and like a crack-addicted maniac. "Good!" And he begins to say almost every curse word he knows.

"SHIT! FUCK PISS BALLS MOTHERFUCKER SHITASS-" Olledsky screeches, cupping his mouth with his hands so that he could make it louder. bluudud visibly recoils, not expecting an admin to begin spewing obsenities.

"HEY! Hey hey hey- I'm going to get banned, dang it! My mom's gonna see this stream!" He complains, waving his hands. "STOP!"

"FUCKNUTS BULLSHIT BASTARD-" Olledsky cackles, scurrying to the side to avoid a corrupt nature and then sliding to avoid a walkspeed override. Hell, he's not even using his sword yet because this shit is funny. "WEEEEEINERRRRR!!!!"

"SHUT UP!" bluudud yells, and he punches the ground. Two clones appear. "bluudud 4, bluudud 9, show 'em how it's done!"

The other survivors in the distance are staring at the stand-off, with Builderman looking like he'd shove his ban hammer so far up his best friend's ass for cursing before reminding himself that no, this was not his friend but someone else wearing his face.

Olledsky yelps, and he swings his sword prematurely to get rid of one of the minions that were too close. bluudud takes the opportunity to throw another corrupt nature, which nails them on the shoulder. "Trickshot!"

"That isn't even a trickshot, FUCKNUTS!" Olledsky shouts, flipping him off. "You didn't even do anything fancy!"

"HEY! Don't call me that!" bluudud complains. Shedletsky is visibly upset that Ollie is using his voice and face to curse out a literal teenager. The demonic Robloxian pouts, stomping his feet and actually slowing down a bit to recover. "I'm telling my mom!"

And that, right there, was bluudud's mistake. Both Shedletsky and bluudud didn't know this- but Ollie was a menace to her best friends.

Why? Because she had a habit of jokingly flirting with their parents. It mortifies them to no end, and even the most well-put-together of her friends are both mortified and impressed at Ollie's antics.

"Your mom, you say?" Olledsky stops to waggle his eyebrows and don the most snarky grin. "Is her name 118o8, to be precise? Sweet-lookin' lady, loves the color lavender?"

bluudud completely freezes at that. "Wh-wha?" The rest of the survivors are also looking at the two with some intrigue- how did this higher-dimensional being know the killer's mother?

"Y-yeah- that's... how do you know my mom?!" bluudud screeches, clearly worried. He doesn't know that this is Olledsky trying to get under his skin, and thinks that this is just normal old Shedletsky saying this.

"Oh, I know your mom very well, bluudud." Olledsky brags. "Me and her go waaay back! She's real cute, got great taste in ice cream, and I think she's got some killer thighs."

bluudud can't say anything, his jaw agape in horror. He's dropped his arms to the side, limp. It's like watching a car crash in slow motion in front of him.

"NO!" Shedletsky seems to have caught on to what Ollie was trying to do. "I'm MARRIED! Don't say that sort of stuff!"

Alas, nobody could hear his cries to stop. Olledsky's grin becomes sharp and sassy as he looms over bluudud, not even afraid that he's going to get killed now.

"I mean- I sure got a taste of her ice cream, if you know what I mean." Olledsky looks downright maniacal now, crossing her arms. "You can even call me step-dad now, kid."

"No... no no no NO NO NO-!" bluudud backs up, his face full of terror at the realization. "NOOOO!"

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Maniacal laughter fills the air. "I FUCKED YOUR MOM, SHIT LIPS!!!"

Shedletsky feels like dying. Never mind the humiliation with the training he had to do with 1x1x1x1, never mind the way he missed his swings- this was what was going to put him into the grave.

On the sidelines, the other survivors are watching in similar parts second-hand cringe, mortification, and bewilderment. Chance leans over to whisper to 007n7. "Hey. Uh- do you- know that person?"

"Eh? She- how the heck does he know her?" 007n7 asks, baffled. "118o8- she used to be in my old exploiting team until she quit. bluudud used to know c00lkidd." He says.

Chance nods, then pauses. "Did she really-"

"I don't know, and I don't know if I want to know." 007n7 responds, cutting them off.

Shedletsky was actually kind of relieved that Ollie decided to isolate herself from the other survivors after that round, because gods was that embarrassing.

She'd basically made a poor 12-year-old think that Shedletsky, admin of Robloxia, took his mom to poundtown. That was bad enough, but Shedletsky was a married man- he can't be seen saying that sort of stuff!

The fake groveling and being all buddy-buddy with his embodiment of hatred wasn't enough, but now Ollie was ruining his reputation like this, too?! It makes him fume in anger.

'Ugh, what if Brighteyes sees this?' He thinks, feeling homesick. He misses his wife. Having some... thing mock his marriage with her by saying that was terrible.

Shedletsky has an obligation to trail behind his own body, to see what Ollie was going to do. Once it was clear that the possessed survivors could see what their bodies were doing without the beings knowing... it kind of fell upon them to keep the others safe. Spy on those... demons? Humans? 4th dimensional monsters? It's not even clear.

He sees Olledsky's cocky, shit-eating smile fade when they're far away from the other survivors, down to nothing but a neutral face.

It's... unnerving. Always is, when he sees that whole facade drop and his possessor act like somewhat of a normal person.

It reminds him of himself. It's unsettling.

"Fuckin' damn it." There's a loud sigh, and he looks down at his hands. "Guess that was pretty funny, huh." Olledsky Ollie lets out a low chuckle, turning the linked sword over in his her hand.

Shedletsky also isn't grinning- there's no need to put on a goofy front in front of his teammates, when they can't hear or see him. He floats on behind her, watching as she goes into one of the survivors' cabin bedrooms.

She takes out that strange blank user panel again- and reaches into it like an inventory. Ollie struggles a bit to take whatever it is out of her inventory, as if she's not used to using it (or like it's brand new).

A blanket. It's thick, woolen, and definitely more comfortable than the thin, itchy sheets in the cabins that the Spectre provided them.

Shedletsky looks at this, completely still as he tries to figure out what's going on. Why was she doing this? To have a more comfortable bed for herself? To taunt the others?

His previous thought was disproven when she continued pulling out more blankets. And more blankets. And even some pillows, for some good measure.

"Tch- who the hell sells blankets all folded up like this? I thought they'd at least put them in those plastic covers or something..." She complains quietly.

Ollie isn't... acting all villainous and smug. She's just existing. And that's more out of the ordinary than what she's done so far.

She uses Shedletsky's body to make the beds, covering the hard mattresses with fluffy blankets and pillows. She goes to every room in the main cabin when she's sure that the other survivors aren't there, and just... gives them pillows and blankets.

Shedletsky watches as she strolls out of the main cabin, putting that sly, untrustworthy grin on again as she passes by Guest 1337 and Builderman. The soldier clenches his fists, and Builderman sucks in an angry, labored breath.

"What? You got anything to say?" She He says sassily. "I bet you're just jealous I got play and you don't."

"I'm married." Guest 1337 hisses. "And I have a kid."

"Yeah, well I got to smash a killer's mom. So- I got more game." He turns around and flips them off as he heads to the other cabins.

But the moment he's out of their sight, he's putting the pillows and blankets all discreetly on their beds, his asshole demeanor replaced with the attitude of a bored office worker.

Like being an asshole was just a job  to him her. A fun job at times, yes, but other times she just... doesn't have the energy to care, or feels uncomfortable doing so.

"Stupid effin' job." She mutters. "It's fun. They're idiots. They're such stupid, stupid blorbos. But they've got to be all stupidly realistic. I feel bad for doing this to them."

"This isn't... why do I feel like this." She stops, furrowing her brows. "Why should I be worrying about them when I'm getting paid for this shit? It's fun." She says. "It's fun, it's easy- and I won't get another job opportunity like this."

It's more like Ollie is convincing herself that what she's doing- all the tormenting and embarrassing she's doing to the survivors- was perfectly fine. She knows it's not good. But she doesn't know if she can stop.

"They're not my family. They're not even real." She scrunches up Shedletsky’s face. "Stupid. Fuckin' stupid."

She finishes up putting all of the blankets and pillows on their beds, and slips away. Ollie takes a deep breath, puts that punchable expression back on, and steps out.

That night, when the survivors all are recovering from the second round of the day, there's a shout of confusion from Chance's room. Builderman bursts in, only to be baffled at the sight of actual pillows and blankets on their beds that aren't old or raggedy.

"Wha- Where'd these come from?!" Builderman is instantly suspicious, running his hand down the blankets and looking under the pillows for anything suspicious. There's nothing.

"I dunno! But man, they're comfy!" Chance laughs, jumping onto his own bed without any hesitation. They let out a loud, satisfied sigh at the sensation of actually warm blankets and something soft to rest their head.

Noob is also in the room, bewildered. They press their arm against the pillow, and then pull it back. "It's soft..."

The rest of the survivors also find the new blankets and pillows, one by one. Some of them, like 007n7, Guest 1337, and Chance, are so tired that they just crash onto their beds and fall to sleep immediately.

The others like Builderman and Dusekkar, however, are suspicious. "You. Did you do this?" He grips Olledsky by the shirt, pulling him down with a glare. "What's your plan? What are you trying to do to us?"

"Eh? Why the fuck would I be giving you pillows and blankets?" Olledsky rolls his eyes, and looks absolutely annoyed. They look convincingly bored and unamused. "Hell if I know who did this! I'm here to make this entertaining for the Spectre and my boss, not give you beauty rest."

They believe him. Because why else would the villain do this with no drawbacks? It made no sense, and therefore it was probably stupid.

(Shedletsky... doesn't understand it at all, even though he saw it with his own two eyes. It was all confusing and inconsistent.)

(Why was she helping them, right after working with the Spectre? Why did she refuse to let the survivors believe that she helped him? Why was she like this?)

(What a mystery.)

[Bow B0w7n7]

She's not on at the same time as Ollie and Mario and Rail- thank god, because she's not even sure how she's going to face them.

She blew up at Ollie- for a good reason, yes, but she still feels bad about it. Ollie clearly didn't know, she was her friend- and they've been all acting weirder and weirder since they've played the game.

Bow's been getting more irritable and snappy, and sometimes just crying for no reason. It's carried over into real life, where she's getting frequent mood swings.

Is this because of the malice that's building up? Last time she checked, she disabled being killer with everybody else, and it's not supposed to change or increase but- it keeps rising. The number keeps going up. She doesn't know what it'll do, but it doesn't feel good.

Bow sighs, and she feels herself slip into 007n7's form once again for her shift. Gray isn't far behind, appearing as Chance as they adjust their glasses.

"U-um- Bow. I... I'm sorry." They say. "I'm sorry for last time, and- god, I almost hurt you so badly if Ollie wasn't there..."

"It's fine, Gray- it wasn't your fault. And you couldn't control yourself." She reassures them, patting them on the back and gently reassuring them. "We've got to apologize to them. It's... all our fault that this happened, anyways."

The both of them run into Shedletsky, who's busy cooking some eggs with Elliot in the kitchen. "And I'm 100% sure we didn't have this bread before- did the others bring it in?"

"I dunno. I'm just glad be have something other than boring crackers or well-done, unseasoned meat again so..." Elliot trails off as he sees 007n7 and Chance at the doorway. "... Hey."

"H-hey." Gray Grance swallows, and Bow notices how they're incredibly nervous. They step forward slowly. "I- I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry." They take off Chance's hat and give a bow, trying not to look up because of how nervous they were. "I don't... I didn't know that would happen. And I'm sorry for breaking all of your trust in me."

Elliot and Shedletsky are quiet as they see them look incredibly scared. "A-and I know you're probably not going to forgive me- but- I just- wanted to make amends. I should have been more careful going in here, I should have known what would happen-"

"Grance. Calm down." Bow B0w7n7 steps in front of them. "Look. I'm going to be honest- neither of us knew that we could become the killers until now, and they didn't like doing it, either."

"I don't think they were really 'themself' because of all the malice." B0w7n7 explains. "If you wanted to know why they did that, then... that's why." He said.

There's some more silence between the four of them. Shedletsky is the first survivor to talk.

"Hey, if you're gonna apologize, get everyone else here." He shrugs, seeming chill and unbothered- but there's the feeling that he's thinking about it in more serious terms.

Elliot, on the other hand, looks conflicted. "You? Apologizing?" He sounds incredulous.

Grance lets out a whimper, and B0w7n7 flinches. Elliot quickly backs up. "Hey, I don't mean it in that way. It's just- with the track record you... guys have with toying with us and trying to get under our skin, I wasn't expecting an apology."

The possessed exploiter looks remorseful at that. "I... sorry about that, too. Look, we verbally agreed to a contract when we wanted cash, and..."

"You're doing this for money?"

They had to drag all of the survivors out of their cabins and gather them in the main cabin so that Grance and B0w7n7 could speak. Grance is downright terrified at having to stand in front of all of them, especially with their distrusting or downright angry glares.

"I... I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry-" They begin to break down again, sobbing and hiding their face in Chance's fedora. "I didn't mean to ! I didn't want to, but it's all my fault- I should've checked-"

"Grance! Take a deep breath-" B0w7n7 holds their arm, and places it on the table. "And focus. You can do this, alright? You need to give them an explanation."

Grance nods, their eyes still squeezed shut. Usually Chance's glasses would cover their eyes, but with Grance, the shades were tilted down enough to see their distressed expression. 

"A-alright. What... what do you want to know?" They ask, looking towards the survivors.

Guest 1337 clenches his fist, but unclenches it as he tries to keep himself calm and rational. "Why are all of you here in the first place? The one taking over Shedletsky said it was for the Spectre's entertainment, and that you're getting paid for this- but money isn't your only reason, isn't it."

Grance wilts under his glare, but B0w7n7 answers half of it to help. "It's... complicated. To put it bluntly, the economy's so shit on our side that we're unable to get a job, even in the future. If we even do have a future." He sucks in a breath. "The world... isn't a great place for us."

"Yeah, it's..." Grance looks down, ashamed. "To put it bluntly... It's fucked.  Even in a four person household we're barely getting by as is.  My dads always going on about me putting my extra money away for my future.  But with that one job, and me paying rent, I didn't have any!"

B0w7n7 complains as well. "Taxes are fucked, prices are going up nearly every month, and the economy charges interest on student loans. Interest. Do you understand what that means in a world where one class can go up to 3k? Even more?" He throws his hands up. 007n7 and Builderman, who have both went to college in Robloxia, balk at the idea of having one college class cost 3k Robux. What the hell was that inflation?

The possessed exploiter sighs. "I'm already being pressured into being a better student so that I can even scrounge up enough money to get myself through one year of further education." 

Grance grimaces.  "Yeah... College is way too expensive nowadays.  It's why I ultimately decided against going." They cough. "...Besides, it's nice to actually see my friends. I don't exactly have any... 'IRL'."

"Y'all ain't making any sense at all!" Builderman hisses, throwing up his hands. "This isn't just some job y'all can clock out of- this is life or death fer' us!"

"We know." B0w7n7 lets out a long sigh. "But it's what we're assigned to do, and we can't back out because- because-"

It's not that she can't breathe, it's the fact that her lungs won't let her. There's a burning need to inhale, inhale, INHALE that won't let up, a pressure down her throat almost like the feeling of drowning, she's drowning on air, she can't breathe, she can't breathe, she can't breathe.

Her hands scrabble at 007n7's her neck, red indents leaving their mark as she tries, tries desperately to tear out the pressure, she has to rip out her throat and get rid of the blockage, get rid of the struggle.

Her ringing ears vaguely register the dull thud of her body stumbling over itself, barely registers the panic that shoots through her veins, before she can breathe again.

"Bow!" Grance Gray yells, panicked. The other survivors also feel uneasy, as if someone was being choked out in front of them as punishment.

When the pressure finally relents, Bow can finally gasp for air. She coughs, punching her own 007n7's chest as she he recovers.

"I- ack- d-don't think our employers would like us telling you." He says, breathing heavily. "So. I don't think we have a choice. In going out, that's what."

The other survivors look at B0w7n7, horrified- because that was a teenager getting threatened and harmed by whatever mysterious gods were forcing them to work here. 

They're not the most powerful ones in the game. Far from it.

[Mafioso]

It's not the first time he'd been called into this realm, nor would it be the last.

The Spectre, his... employer, was an odd being. Never in a million years did the mafia boss think that he'd be working under a jumble of sentient code to hunt down survivors for it's little death games, but who was he to question it?

It's been this way for years now. He gets summoned in his sleep with a bunch of his men, and they stay for a few days before waking up perfectly normal back in Robloxia.

The Spectre pays well. Not only does he get a briefcase full of Robux, but he and his men get it's protection in the form of things going well for them, whether it be their enemies "coincidentally" getting into horrific accidents or disappearing off the face of the earth.

He doesn't have any qualms about killing his fellow Robloxians. None at all. He's done it a hundred times before in his line of work.

"Alright, men- we've got a special assignment today." He paces in front of Consigliere, Contractee, Soldier, and Caporegime. "There's a new problem that the Spectre mentioned- and although we don't have all of the information, we can carry out the hits as always."

"Alright, boss!" Contractee pipes up, smiling. "So you call us in if you need us! Business as always, right?"

"I'll be calling for backup more often with the new threat." Mafioso says gruffly. "So don't be slacking off, boys."

"Got it, boss!"

"Affirmative."

"You know we won't let you down!"

The mafia boss tilts his hat down, and he feels that familiar pulling feeling as he's summoned towards the round. "Hmph. Let's see who's ready to get their debts paid."

He runs forward, looking for any of the survivors. There's a flash of red as one of them- the pizza boy, if he remembers correctly- runs away. "I see one of them." He calls out to his men over the radio.

Contractee and Soldier pop up, teleporting next to him. "We got your back, boss!" They chase down the screaming pizza delivery worker, and while they're busy making sure the healer wasn't pulling any funny business, Mafioso was currently roaming Yorick's Resting Place to find those pesky survivors.

'Now where to go... the house should be the first place to check. And if I run into any of them there...'

He sprints over to the place, passing by the trees and the poison rivers. Before Mafioso could come closer, however, the pizza delivery worker runs screaming, straight at him, with his men on the survivor's tail.

"Gotcha." He pulls out his sword and dashes forward, slashing. Elliot yelps in pain, and makes a sharp turn to the right where Guest is doing a generator.

"Two targets spotted. Men, go get them." Mafioso throws his briefcase at Elliot, who collapses to the ground dead. Guest 1337 blocks his punch, and lands a punch in return. The mafia boss is stunned, gritting his teeth and letting out a low chuckle. "Unnecessary really. I'll be taking your debt."

"You're making a huge mistake." Guest pants, his brows furrowed as he runs from Mafioso. The mafia leader sprints after him, not far behind. "You won't take me down. I refuse to let my team get hurt!"

Mafioso catches up and lands a punch this time, right on Guest's torso. The soldier flinches, but goes for a charge that knocks Mafioso back to his knees.

"You stand no chance." Mafioso simply gets back up and continues chasing Guest, who leads them to six of the survivors.

Mafioso raises an eyebrow. Builderman looks incredibly peeved at the other five- which would make so sense, because Shedletsky and Dusekkar were two of them.

(Unbeknownst to him- those five were all the players taking over the survivors' bodies. He'd been called in for this very special purpose, after all...)

"And I was saying like- that's what she said!" Shedletsky(?) snickers. 007n7 lets out a laugh, and Chance snickers along. Dusekkar, who's floating around in new purple robes and a purple wizard's hat, snorts. "Yoooo, man..."

"You are. So close to getting banned." Builderman hisses, finishing up his sentry. "If it weren't for the fact that I can't do anything about y'all, y'all be banned off Robloxia. No appeal, no nothin'."

"Awww, come on, Builder! I didn't curse even once for that joke!" The other admin cackles.

"That's ain't the point. The point is that you made a TOS-breaking joke, and I ain't going to accept that!"

"Targets up ahead." Mafioso calls into his radio, summoning Consigliere and Caporegime this time. "Here we go, folks. You know what to do."

The two of them nod and rush at the survivors- only for Shedletsky Olledsky to turn around and suddenly drop his smile. "Yo? YOOOOO!" He yells.

"It's the fuckin' mafia boss! The big man himself!" He seems to be absolutely beaming, as if he's met a celebrity. Mafioso freezes temporarily, as if stunned by hearing an admin cuss unfiltered.

"Damn, why he kinda..." Grance muses, looking at Mafioso up and down. "I mean- n-nevermind!" They avert their eyes, clearly embarrassed. Mafioso's hand twitches when he sees Chance.

The rest of the survivors make various noises of agreement while Mafioso just stands there, annoyed. Are his targets mocking him? He simply growls and lunges at the survivor closest to him.

"Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" Olledksky laughs, swinging his sword at Mafioso. He misses, and is met with the sight of a very ticked off mafia boss staring at him.

"No. It's a bunny." Mafioso grits his teeth and pulls out a white bunny this time, tossing it at Olledsky. It clips into him, damaging him and making him yelp. "Ack-! Bunny?!"

Mafioso takes out his blade and swings, but Olledsky manages to scramble away with a laugh. "Come and kiss me on my mouth- I'm feeling romantical!"

"What in Telamon's name-?!" Mafioso reels back, understandably baffled that an admin would say that to him.

His goons, on the other hand, are actually struggling with the survivors. "Toss me!" B0w7n7 holds out their hand, and Grance tosses him their flintlock. He takes aim and fires at Caporegime, who stumbles back and falls over, respawning. He did not expect the exploiter to pull that move.

"Capo!" Consigliere is shocked for a moment before he glares at the survivors. "You're going to pay for that! Nobody hurts the family!"

Marekkar simply looks at him in the eye and readies a plasma beam. "LMAO. Suck on deez nuts." The mafia member gets a beam to the face, and then a stab to the back by Rail Time. "Hm. Slow and sloppy. You could have done better."

The fake cultist cleans off their knife gracefully, watching as Mafioso is struggling with a  jokingly flirtatious Olledsky.

"I mean, when I said fuck the mafia, I didn't mean like this- but I'm not complaining!" He laughs uproariously, biting into his chicken and dodging another briefcase thrown at him.

"You will NOT disrespect the family in such a manner! I refuse to be the butt of your jokes!" Mafioso barks, clearly irritated at how the admin was taunting him.

"Oh, don't be such a sore loser..." He glances over to his friends, then perks up at an idea. "Hey! Run away from the IRS- we aren't paying our taxes!"

"Oh shit!" B0w7n7 yelps, and grabs Grance by the sleeve. "I'm outta here!"

"Daaaamn, guess we gotta go." Marekkar floats off.

Mafioso snarls at the other survivors running away, and decides that it's more productive to chase them down rather than deal with an annoying Olledsky.

"It'd be easier if you just surrendered! Your debt is ours to collect!" He shouts.

"Nuh uh!" Olledsky immaturely sticks his tongue out to blow a raspberry at Mafioso. "I'm not taking orders from a fed! The IRS is a scam!"

"WE'RE NOT PART OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE!" He think he's going to pop a blood vessel with how much Olledsky is pissing him off.

(Meanwhile, Shedletsky and Two Time are busy watching Ollie piss off Mafioso. Two Time mumbles to themself about how 'of course a wicked demon would be able to cause such strife', while Shedletsky sighs.)

("She's a lot like 1x1x1x1, huh... if they'd got into trolling like me." He muses. "Ollie's good at getting people angry. And if Mafioso's too distracted chasing her...)

'BAM!' Grance's gun goes off out of nowhere, with B0w7n7 pulling the trigger and aiming. It hits Mafioso square in the head, stunning him and making him snarl.

"Awesome shot, Grance!" Olledsky shoots them a wolfish grin, and the rest of the possessed survivors crowd him.

"Yooo, can't believe the big man is here. Epic. Awesome." Marekkar lazily circles the man, tilting his head. "What kinda stuff do you do, Mr. tax collector?"

"I am NOT a tax collector, I'm a DEBT collector-!"

"Yeah, yeah, what's the difference." Olledsky swings and hits him again right when he's about to be un-stunned, and Mafioso lets out a frustrated yell. "What are you DOING?! What in the world is different with you all?!"

"Oh, damn, did 1x not tell you?" Olledsky asks, and Mafioso makes a noise of confusion. "I thought that at least the Spectre might make it obvious, with their new co-workers and all-"

"What? You, of all Robloxians, talking to 1x1x1x1?" Mafioso struggles to get up. Before any of them can stun him again, he holds up an arm. "Truce. For now. Just so I can understand what in the #### is going on-"

"Aight. Take your time." Rail Time leans back on one of the walls, letting Olledsky explain. The false swordsman lowers his sword, and begins talking. "Okay, so the gist of it is..."

Not-Shedletsky then goes on to tell Mafioso the most insane story ever, with the admins and some survivors getting possessed in order to fufill the Spectre's (and some new, mysterious beings') quota of pain and suffering.

"Yeah, so we're like- not the survivors. We're here on hire and as temporary stand-ins for like, three days a week here." Olledsky shrugs. "That's the whole gist of it. The others can introduce themselves first."

"Yo. Wassup." Marekkar waves, Dusekkar's staff strapped to his back. "I'm Mario. Call me Marekkar if I'm takin' over this old guy's body."

"This is Bow- or B0w7n7. I'm Gray, or Grance." Grance gestures towards their friend and themself. "That's Ollie who just talked to you, or Olledsky if she's possessing Shedletsky-"

"Yup. That's me." Olledsky gives a thumbs up. "And big shot with a knife here is Rail. He's-" Olledsky pauses, noticing that Rail had slipped off somewhere else. "Damn. Guess he's already left... probably isn't far, but he's a sneaky guy. Oldest of the bunch, and seeing that he's a demon king older than Roblox itself..."

Mafioso sincerely doubts that. "Mhm. So this is what the Spectre pulled me in for. Your debts."

Olledsky lets out a snort. "Oh, not really. More of like reality TV show mixed with tons of horror comedy. We're not exactly risking our lives here."

For some reason, this irks Mafioso. Maybe it's because it's damn clear that the Spectre is toying with him now and sending him to do trivial things, and how these... ghosts and demons were trying to act all nonchalant with him.

"How... inconvenient. I suppose my job got a lot harder." He grumbles. "There's enough time left in this round. Shall I end the truce?"

Olledsky blinks, then looks at the other possessed survivors. They kind of just shrug and give a thumbs-up. "Aight. Guess so."

Mafioso takes out his briefcase and chucks it at Grance's head, making them yelp and stumble back. Both B0w7n7 and them scramble out of the way, while Olledsky raises his sword again to stun Mafioso. "Then let's get to it!"

Marekkar gives Grance a shield as they stumble away, running far from the fight. Olledsky gets hit by the mafia boss again, forcing him to back off and bite off a chunk of Shedletsky's fried chicken. "Mmph- you know, I'm imagining this as your pecs right now. You've got a niiice set of-"

Mafioso gives the faux-admin a punch in the face, immediately killing him. He glares at B0w7n7, who is still standing there staring at him.

"Do not make another comment about my looks, or I swear to gods I will-"

"Oh my god I WANT you." He says, albeit jokingly.

"..." Mafioso ends up getting another kill.

Art by Asperanna!

Chapter Text

[c00lkidd]

Mafioso is one of the cooler adults c00lkidd likes to hang around- not as cool as his dad, of course! But he hasn't been able to hang out with his dad here except when they're playing tag.

Jason is nice, but he's too quiet sometimes, and c00lkidd doesn't understand sign language. 1x1x1x1 takes care of him sometimes but they're such a grumpypants! And John Doe is scary! c00lkidd remembers his dad telling him that John Doe would hack his account if he didn't eat his veggies!

Sometimes other people would visit the Spectre. Like that anooooying bluudud and Mr. Mafioso. c00lkidd likes when this happens! Well, maybe not always with bluudud but the others are fun! It's boring talking to the same three people all the time!

Currently, Mafioso was off playing tag with the survivors. c00lkidd knows that he likes to tag them to take their debt away, and he thinks that's so nice! His dad always had a lot of debt and he looked sad all the time. Maybe Mr. Mafioso was taking his debt away and making him happy!

c00lkidd is sitting at the table and drawing while 1x1x1x1 sharpens his daemonshanks, grumbling under their breath about something. He's getting way less grumpy whenever the (scary) annoying chicken man is talking to him!

"I'm bored... when is he gonna come back?" c00lkidd complains. "He takes too long to tag the others!"

"Patience, little brat." 1x1x1x1 growls. They re-oiled the whetstone and flipped their blade to the other side, maintaining the back-and-forth motion of sharpening. "You know he isn't a hacker like us."

"But still! I wanna talk to mister Mafioso!" c00lkidd huffs, putting down his crayon. "I wanna pet his bunny!"

"Ugggh, you will. Just wait." The embodiment of hatred looks up to see c00lkidd kicking his legs and scooting back from the wooden table.

"1x, can you play tag with me again? Pleeease?" c00lkidd asks. "I wanna train when my dad's gonna play with me again! So I can tag him!"

1x1x1x1 lets out a warning rumble. "No. I am busy sharpening my blade, and you won't bother me until I am finished- got it?" They were trying their best not to curse at the child, even though it was most likely going to get tagged.

c00lkidd pouts and sits down right next to 1x1x1x1. He glances at the other killer for a while, listening to the calming hiss of the blade being meticulously sharpened.

1x1x1x1 had all of the skill and grace that Shedletsky had when sharpening their blade. Their hand gently dragged the whetstone across the metal, watching as it slowly became deadlier.

"How do you do that?" c00lkidd asks, tilting his head. "I try sharpening my sword on rocks all the time, and it doesn't work like yours!"

1x1x1x1 pauses. "Sharpening your sword on rocks." They say, sounding like they just witnessed someone saying that they put ketchup on cupcakes. "You... where have you been sharpening your sword?"

"Uhhh... that place I play tag with in the castle, Glass Houses..." c00lkidd lists off every place he's tried to sharpen his blade. Practically any map with rocks, he's tried to do it.

1x1x1x1 stops sharpening, their voice strangled. "c00lkidd. You have been trying to sharpen the Firebrand. On rocks?" They normally would laugh at their beloathed creator's SFOTH swords being misused, but this affront to swordsmanship could not be overlooked.

"Yeah! And it's really really not working and now my sword won't cut anything well..." c00lkidd pouts.

They had to stop themselves from yelling at c00lkidd at the atrocity he'd just committed to the sword. "Pathetic whelp-! You aren't supposed to use any rock to sharpen a blade, and- ugh." They stop sharpening their daemonshanks, cleaning it up quickly with a cloth.

"Give me the Firebrand. I'm going to teach you how to properly take care of a sword." 1x1x1x1 says.

c00lkidd nods, and takes the sword out of his inventory. He gives it to the older Robloxian, and 1x1x1x1 grimaces at all of the chips on the blade's edge. "No wonder your performance has been lacking." They spit out.

"Now, since it's this bad- you will need several sharpening stones. NOT random rocks." The embodiment of hatred pulls out a coarse-grit whetstone, and a fine-grit whetstone. "Feel the surface of these, and tell me the difference."

"O-one is uhhh..." c00lkidd struggles to find the word. "Bumpier?"

"Coarser. Now, coarser stones like these are used to fix cracks or breaks in the blade- and finer grits like these are used to sharpen it to a point..."

c00lkidd's boredom is sated as he carefully listens to 1x1x1x1 lecture him on what to do. The other hacker pours some honing oil onto the coarse grit stone and places it on the table. "Now, you hold your blade at a thirty degree angle, and carefully run it back and forth."

"How is it- thirty degrees?" c00lkidd stares a bit closer, and 1x1x1x1 gently shoves him away. "#### fool. Do you want to get cut?!"

"S-sorry, Mister 1x!"

1x1x1x1 rolls their eyes and continues sharpening the blade. "Tch. Use your brain."

Half an hour passes before 1x1x1x1 finishes up buffing out all the chips and cracks. They set the coarse whetstone away, and raise an eyebrow at c00lkidd, who's already back drawing and bored.

"Can't even be bothered to pay attention." They grumble, but continue to take care of the Firebrand for c00lkidd. They take the finer whetstone and begin to sharpen the blade again.

However, right as they were getting started, there's the sound of Mafioso getting sent back to the killers' mansion, falling onto a couch and breathing heavily.

1x1x1x1 pauses, and c00lkidd beams. "Mr. Mafioso! You're here!" He bolts over, tugging on the man's coat. "Did you win? Did you win?!"

"..." Mafioso looks incredibly frustrated and annoyed. 1x1x1x1 assumes that he didn't manage to kill a lot of survivors, if he did at all.

"Are the others here?" Mafioso asks, quite suddenly. 1x1x1x1 looks annoyed in return at the question. "Why the #### would I know? Or even care?"

"I'm asking because apparently the survivors are possessed by something." Mafioso complains. He sits down on the dining table and slams his hand down, making c00lkidd yelp in shock. "Did you know and not tell me?!"

"Possessed? Like... like a spooky ghost?!" c00lkidd says, shivering. "I don't wanna go up against a scary ghost!"

1x1x1x1 groans. "Don't tell me those ###### ended up spilling- ugh. It'll be a pain dealing with them now that they don't bother hiding anything!"

"YOU knew and you said nothing?!"

So. That was why c00lkidd was cramped up in the living room with all of the killers, squirming next to bluudud (who was CLEARLY not happy to be here instead of in his room, gaming).

"Ughhh... what's going on, old man!" The preteen complained. "I left my match to be here! I was just about to reach silver rank, too!"

"bluudud, shut your mouth. John Doe, Jason- good to see you two here." Mafioso says. The machete-wielding killer is silent as always, nodding as he sits next to John Doe.

John Doe is making a rumbling sound, scraping his corrupted arm on the hardwood floor. 1x1x1x1 gives him an angry look, and he stops.

c00lkidd is kind of nervous, if he had to admit. After all, there's a ghost somewhere with his dad's friends! What if his dad gets hurt?!

"1x1x1x1. Please elucidate why one of the survivors told me to 'kiss him on his mouth'."

"Which one was it." 1x1x1x1 says in a strained voice, already at their wit's end despite the conversation just starting.

"It was one of the admins. The one you hate."

"Do you know how little that narrows it down?!"

"Fine. The one who keeps eating chicken and hitting me with that sword of his."

"Oh. Him." 1x1x1x1 feels like they would pop a blood vessel if they actually had blood vessels.

"Yes, him. Now explain to us why you didn't share that the survivors players were being puppeted by those... infuriating debtors!" Mafioso yells. c00lkidd's mind blocks out "survivors" because of the Spectre's influence- but there's a feeling of wrongness when that happens.

"Does it look like I want to deal with them?! They're almost as bad as Shedletsky!" 1x1x1x1 throws their hands up in the air. "That brat possessing the hacker keeps on making comments about my hips! All of them are absolute menaces to deal with!"

Jason is silently watching the argument go down. He doesn't really seem to care, more bothered that he'd have to chase down new victims with new patterns.

John Doe, on the other hand, seems to be getting slightly more lucid from whatever corruption he was harboring. He can't speak, but there's a warbled sound of confusion that comes from his mouth.

1x1x1x1 looks back at John Doe with a scoff. "Yes, that does explain why they are more insufferable. Especially when trying to- eugh, flirt with us."

"Exactly! I had to kill two of them because they were busy oogling me instead of running away like any SANE Robloxian!" Mafioso complains. "Che diavolo?! (What the hell?!)"

"Only one of them is... acceptable enough, and even he is dreadfully brainless at times." 1x1x1x1 admits. "Still. Shedletsky being absent from his own body is better than his usual pathetic, oafish self."

"HIM?!" bluudud shouts, looking terrified. 1x1x1x1 raises an eyebrow. "Indeed. I can't stand looking at his face, ugh- but he's less of a bother when taken over by another person."

c00lkidd just looks at bluudud go through all of the stages at grief at once, unaware that bluudud is wondering WHO fucked his mom other than the admin.

"1x?" c00lkidd asks, whimpering. "Is the chicken man scary now because he's being possessed by a g-ghost?" His mind flashes back to the way Shedletsky Olledsky said he'd eat his liver and ran towards him on all fours.

"Please. I doubt Ollie would be a ghost." 1x1x1x1 snorts. "He's more of a... hacker."

"Oh! Uh... so he's hacked into chicken man's account?" c00lkidd cautiously says. "That makes more sense! He's not too scary if that's the case! ... Kinda."

c00lkidd reckons that if he sees the scary hacker taking over the admin's account, then he's going to fight with them! They won't scare him, he's a big boy- and he won't let them scare his dad, either!

"If I see the scary hacker possess the chicken man- I'm gonna punch him!" c00lkidd crows. "Do I punch him in the face?"

"Hmm... if he is being annoying, yes." 1x1x1x1 muses. "Although, I rather you would not- that fool is rather amusing bumbling around in our swordfighting lesson and humiliate Shedletsky for me."

"Okie!" c00lkidd nods. "I'll do that!"

[Rail Runner 5000 Rail Time]

There was something so surreal about suddenly getting the one thing that you’ve been looking for the better half of your life- and then just going back to doing your normal routine, as if nothing had happened to begin with.

Despite them not existing on one of his bodies, Rail feels the weight of his new horns on both of his heads. His tail waves behind him in a phantasmal set of sensations as he walks through his house in a comfortable bathrobe. His underwear and shirt are on, of course, the cool air of the rather generously sized townhome brushing past the cloth on his human form as he strode to the kitchen.

While his new true self didn’t exactly have a real need to eat anything anymore, his disguise still required it. His lessened taste made it much easier to eat his prepared, basic, maybe even slightly disgusting (by some people's standards) meal than one may expect. He simply no longer had a point to eating things that tasted better while he's in his human body- not when Rail could save them for his much more sensitive demon tongue.

The forgotten bags of pasta in the pantry, which had gone untouched for almost a year now end up being a blessing in disguise, since he didn't have to go buy anything new. Setting some water to boil is an afterthought, Rail trudging to the den beside his kitchen to flop on the couch, laying still for a moment.

When he stands back up, he looks nowhere near the same.

His tail, accompanying his demon form, swishes behind him when Rail props himself back up. A lingering feeling makes itself known at the back of his mind- and wasn’t that a very strange thing to see? Himself in the 3rd person, his own mortal body, in such high detail of which most people can't manage to imagine in their head. Topped with the high of ascending his mortality, the strange internal sensation of his own demonic power, there were now times where he would just stare off into nothing and enjoy himself for once.

It was the sound of bubbling water that brought him back to reality, his head snapping to the side  at the hissing, steaming pot. Rail smiles, brushing the fur on his face out of the way as he cooks the food for his human body. He was practically on double duty with cooking, needing to feed BOTH of his bodies. But there's definitely no regrets, Rail thinks, using his tail to pour in some salt into the boiling water. He rips open the pasta bag with the literal claws he now has, adding the pasta itself to the hissing water.

It was almost instinctual. Getting used to the feeling of the third limb could be best described as having to repeatedly get over a small mental block: small, but barely large enough to stub your toe on. The block was still noticeable- just in a way that caused the slightest bit of lag to any actions you dictated. 

But still, baby steps, after all he still had absolutely no idea how to use his demonic power for anything- yet. One thing at a time.

Soon enough, the pasta was finished. Rail entered his meat puppet (the loving nickname for his human body) and piloted it to eat the mushy and salty rigatoni. The alarm he had set on his phone went off just then, a reminder of his only contractual obligation.

He had cashed in all his stored vacation days, having many from the fact that he only cashed them in on the rare occasion when he ran out of sick days. A blessing from his foresight- it gives him 3 whole months to figure out where to slot his internship at Void Co. into his already busy work schedule. 

Rail finished up his food quickly enough, rinsing off the plate and making his way over to his laptop.

Sitting down in a comfortable position, he easily typed in the 42 character password to the device, navigating to the now permanently bookmarked Roblox tab- to begin his ‘shift’ ‘working’ ‘for’ the ‘company’ that was disguising purgatory as a video game. Very badly, in fact.

The very instant he pressed on the play button, he was out like a light.

When he came to, he was kneeling down in prayer to the Spawn.

Rail stood up and stretched his new limbs, once again feeling like his skin was slightly too tight. A downside that came with the hyper awareness of the body he was inhabiting not being the body he was just in. It was most likely just a random secondary consequence of being a demon, and the feeling would soon pass just like it did the last time he came here. 

Rail brushed a hand through Two Time’s messy hair, only to feel it resist order and return to its slightly chaotic mass of anime spikes. He sighed in mild disappointment.

He had a new instinct on how to possess someone– some kind of mix of pleasure, melancholy, uncomfortableness, and nostalgia. He still felt the capability to push his ‘true’ self out of the body he was in now, but refrained from testing if it would just send him back to the real world or bring his actual real body here.

Pulling out the ritual dagger Two Time was known for, he inspected it over before flipping it around in his hand through his own practice. He almost cut himself– having not counted for the weight of the thing– but still managed through his own skill and whatever leftover muscle memory remained.

Rail put the dagger away and proceeded to pat and squish his face, practicing and memorizing the feeling of his new facial muscles somewhat– to allow him to play at his now planned trolling.

A single round of acting like he wasn’t possessed, then playfully dissing those who didn’t notice the swap. It was a bit of harmless amogus-ism to give the Spectre a reason to allow him to stay without too much pushback. Then, he’d be going back to being the voice of reason to the kindergarten that was his current friend group.

He didn’t care who started it, that didn’t mean it was fine to spam how the other was a poopy head, goddamnit. He snorted at the thought.

“Maybe I should adopt to saying ‘medamnit’ instead..?” He muttered to himself. That’s how demon kings usually cursed in fiction when using the term, after all. The powerful ones at least. 

There was a faint sense of annoyed bemusement in the air, only noticeable to him through his own sense of demonic power. The Spectre was paying direct attention to him for now, though like the skin tightness, that too would fade somewhat as Ollieball played the villain and the Spectre went back to glutting itself on the new negative sensations generated by the chaos she brought with her.

Ignoring it, he straightened up, and walked out of the ‘hidden’ prayer room Two Time had set up. Making his way to the dining room to get something to eat, though the phantom sensation of just having ate dug at him somewhat, Two Time’s actual need overpowered the dissonant feeling. 

Rail schooled his expression into Two Time’s characteristic slightly creepy smile as he saw that Elliot was in the kitchen again, just like last time. “Greetings, Elliot.”

“Two Time, where’ve you been all day? After that last round you just vanished.” Elliot spoke, doing his best to prepare something less bland than plane avocado and saltine crackers.

“I have been praying to the Spawn since we returned, thankful for its many blessings and asking to be spared another day from that demon coming back.” Rail said, injecting a believable amount of spite into the word and hiding his own amusement at speaking about himself like that. 

“Oh yeah, it's about time for that right? Seems like we get an extra day though so… What do you want.” Pizzaboy stated rather than questioned, the discomfort on his face around ‘Two Time’ evident and his movements getting the slightest bit more twitchy.

Signs of no longer wanting to be in the area but social norms demanding he stay put. Two Time would have a hard time noticing, no doubt, but Rail had plenty of experience in cold reading, it helped a lot in negotiations to prospect for the lowest price the other was willing to sell for. 

“I simply wish for something to sustain myself, perhaps some salted oatmeal this time.” Rail said, easily slipping into prepared cultist cadence.

Elliot blinked. “How do all those carbs not get to you?” He said, Shedletsky hoarded some of the only protein they were afforded by the Spectre, only letting the cat that made its home in the lobby have some sometimes. The only other was fishing in the lake, by hand.

It was gross and exhausting, but the fish gotten was almost always enough for everyone to eat themselves full. Always pan fried, as there was no oil, no seasonings besides salt, and whatever could be boiled out of the swampy lake water.

“The gifts of the Spawn are vast and varied, truly-”

“N-No thank you, I don’t need another spontaneous sermon, just… Wait outside the kitchen, I’ll bring you your oatmeal…”

Rail nodded with a blank expression, internally patting himself on the back for another successful deception just as the sensation of emotion charging the air faded away back into noise. The Spectre had pulled back its gaze for the time being.

Leaving the kitchen, Rail knew that it would take a while for his food to be ready, with the cabin’s lack of a microwave the whole oatmeal-ifacation process would have to be done by hand, which would take at least 10-15 minutes with the dinky wood stove Elliot had to work with.

In the lobby of the main cabin were the usual suspects, the main survivors all being exhausted after the previous round, the side characters most likely being held in reserve by the Spectre for when one of the main crew finally get their soul ground down into an emotionless dust and discarded like one would a used candy wrapper. 

Making eye contact with the cat that lived there too, Rail blinked as the thing did some sort of bow towards him. Not even tensing up in that way cats did when a normal human made direct eye contact, or even the frightened way cats did now that he was a real demon. 

Chance glanced over just in time to see the little interaction, looking over to rail who responded with a confused shrug before the atmosphere in the entire cabin lowered into a dreadful gloom. The next round will start in 30 minutes. 

He instantly got down onto a knee and started praying to the spawn, really just muttering out vague religious words and hoping no one tries to make out exactly what he was saying. Finishing that up after about 30 seconds and doing an about face back to the kitchen.

“Forget about the oatmeal, let us prepare for the coming tribulation.” He said, looking at Elliot who had dropped a bowl of perfectly good watery oats. 

It was a tense remaining 30 minutes as everyone put themselves into the proper headspace to survive the coming round. Uneventful, dull, boring. All things that serve to increase the negative emotions that were to come and provide the Spectre with its main course for the next hour or so.

The transition was unlike the one Rail had experienced when his consciousness was pulled into Two Time’s, rather than a near instant transition it was a pull at one’s own being into a location that wasn’t familiar at first. He didn’t know who was the killer for now, but that would soon change as a visual was acquired like usual.

Wandering around the dark forest of a map, he kept both an eye and an ear out for whoever the killer would be for the current round as he went looking for them purposefully. It was great practice in dodging and messing with the killers by infuriating them was both thrilling and kept their attention away from the other blorbos that were supposed to be hunted. 

Soon enough, he’d find Elliot desperately running for his life, being chased down by a laughing C00lKidd. The child threw a brick forward and bonked Elliot through the chest as the projectile continued forward, phasing through matter on its way to wherever it was going.

He had already planted down a ritual spot, so it was up to him to fulfill the revival requirements just in case c00lkidd here decided to lock in and send him to the last man standing. Rushing forward and slicing the red child on the arm with Two Time’s ritual dagger, c00lkidd staggers to the side a bit and changes focus, giving Elliot enough time to run off without so much as a thank you.

“Oowie, that hurt!” The kid said, turning to look towards Rail with a bit of a pout on his face before it changed to something else. “Ohh who are you!? Oh you’re so cool!” the child shouted out, coming over with an excited grin and doing a weird little bow thing before circling around the possessed cultist.

“Why did I do that? Your name is Two Time, right creepy? Or, not so creepy now? Huh?” The killer child asked the demon wearing the cultist’s skin. Whatever sense he had making it clear that he was not in front of the cultist right now.

Rail Time scratched the back of his head. “I'm actually not Two Time, call me Rail Runner 5000, or just Rail for short. I am the Demon King, and I'm pretty sure the little bow you did was because you noticed, if subconsciously.” he speculated, the red child’s eyes all but growing sparkles as the blade he was carrying was dropped and forgotten for now.

 “Holy Cow for REAL!!?! THAT’S SO COOOOL!!! Why are you mr creepy guy??” C00Lkidd yelled out while circling around the possessed survivor.

“Well, Usually I’m very busy, so sometimes I take over a stressed human’s body so that both of us can destress with some fun games, I’ve been the one in control for the past few days in fact. Two time is a very stressed out guy, you know.” The Demon said to the Imp, reaching out and planting a fingerless gloved hand onto the pure crimson kid’s head for a headpat.

“OH yeah, very stressed, its why Mr. Spectre always tells me to play a game of tag with everyone so I can help them go to sleep! You wanna play mr demon king?” C00lKidd said with an entrenched excitement in his voice.

“Only tag all the time isn’t good for the mind or the body, you know, you need to play something else every once in a while so the game really keeps its impact, how fun would tag be if its the only game you ever play for the rest of your life, huh?”

“Oh, I guess it’d get boring sometimes, and finding everyone after they all scatter is annoying…” The child admitted.

“Exactly, you can go back to tag next time, but this time how about we play something new? Everyone gathers in a circle near the center of the forest and we all play a game of truth or dare, how about that?”

“OOH! THAT SOUNDS FUN! Uh, will Scary-letsky be there? The weird not-chicken man girl thing with the spooky face and the uhhh… head thing?” There was something resembling a snort that escaped the possessed Two Time at the name the demon child had attributed to Oiled-up-sky. 

“Olledsky? No she’s not here just yet. Don’t worry about… Whatever it was that gave her the nickname.” 

“Okay! Pizza Minions! Go tell everyone its Truth or Dare time!” The child screamed, summoning his pizza boys to go find the others. Their usual flaming hot pizzas replaced with a sheet of paper this time from what the demon king could see. Probably saying something like ‘come down to the campsite to play truth or dare!’. 

It didn’t need to be said, but Demon King Rail was absolutely flabbergasted about how all the bullshit he was spewing was actually working. 

Every minute or so, c00lkidd would send out another pair of pizza guys to let everyone know about the new game. c00lkidd spent the time talking to Rail about various things, to which rail bullshit and lied through his teeth to keep the child entertained as they waited. Though soon enough, the others would arrive one by one, on edge and put off by how not stabby c00lKidd was being.

“Hey mean punchy guy! Hey Pizza boy! Hi Noob! Uhh boomy bob? Ooh Scaryledsky isn’t here like you said, Demon King Rail!” The crimson kid said as the other survivors arrived one by one, all of them flinching and staring at Rail Time as the kid let the secret slip.

Rail sighed lightly and gave a charismatic smile to the gathered group. “I was keeping it a secret to surprise them later, c00lKidd.” 

“Ooh like a prank?! I LOVE PRANKS! I’m very sorry for ruining your prank mr. demon king…”

“It’s no worry.” Rail replied to coolkid’s apology. Elliot looks surprised, frowning at the possessed survivor with sudden wariness- more than the one Two Time normally gets. 

Chance simply laughs in surprise. “So it was you! Man, we would’ve never figured it out. I thought it was just Two Time.”

“Well, it is kind of my whole thing. Here at least. So yeah, truth or dare.” Rail said, a bit awkward now that he’s been found out because of coolkid and not anything that he could have planned around. “Who are we waiting on now?”

“Uhh, Builderman’s in the round, I think?” Chance shrugs, seemingly the only one willing to be civil. “So I guess it's just him.” Noob, hiding behind Guest, nods, glancing back.

“Well Old Man’s not fun anyways, those sentries hurt… LETS PLAY!” c00lkidd shouts out and… Sits down, vibrating in place.

“Well then, Chance, your gun? We need something to spin and I don’t think any of us have a bottle… Wait, Noob, mind using your Slateskin potion for this?” Noob flinches at suddenly being addressed, looking at the other survivors in worry, before deflating and unclipping a bottle full of grey liquid. Guest takes it, handing the container as if it’s a bomb to Rail.

“What, it's not like you’re going to use it for this round anyways.”

“I-I uh, I guess…” Noob stutters, unsure, but already relaxing a bit as c00lkidd takes the bottle from Rail and places it onto the ground with a giggle, spinning it violently enough that despite the astroturf-adjacent ground adding friction to the bottle, it zipped around like a Beyblade for a few seconds. 

“Who’s taking care of the grass? Why is it so perfect?” Rail wonders out loud as he notices. Keeping an eye on the bottle as it slowly began to slow down. 

Guest grunts. “The thing that is keeping us here, most definitely.”

The bottle finally finished its rotation, the grass scraping against the grass with the opening of the bottle itself pointing directly to where Rail was sitting down. 

“I guess I’ll be the one to begin. Sure, Hmm… Guest, truth or dare?” The demon asked politely, everyone glancing over to the guest in question. 

Glaring at the possessed two time, Guest grunted lightly. “Truth.”

There was an invisible pressure draped over everyone. Rail’s eyes widened imperceptibly but with a shaken head it let up slightly. “Well then, if you had to choose between unlimited bacon, but no games, or games, unlimited games, but no games, what would you choose?”

“What?” Noob said from the side as c00lkidd suddenly lost his mind giggling to himself.

“Hitting with the impossible questions already, Mr. Demon king?!” The murderous child managed to say between laughs.

“Unlimited bacon, since no matter what I choose I wouldn’t have any games… What?” Guest said with barely a delay, looking confused to why he just went for it or so. “I wasn’t able to ask for a clarification?”

“If I were any other demon, I would use this opportunity to find out your true names, as technically when we all sat down we entered a sort of contract or so. It's already been dissolved when I noticed. Much stronger than normal, most likely due to the Spectre.” Rail ‘explained’, lying through his teeth once more as he speculated on what exactly was going on.

“What’s going on over here?” Builderman said, having finally come out of where he was hiding to find everyone sitting down.  “I go to set up a nest only to find that none of you even bother to hide.”

“Oh hey construction guy.” Rail said with a little wave. “We’re playing Truth or Dare, as I’ve explained to C00lKidd that just playing Tag all the time would get boring to everyone.”

“You’re not Two Time…”

“Nope! He’s the awesome cool Mr. Demon King! More demon and more king than that weird version of Mr. Doe!” At c00lkidd’s words, Builderman’s eyes narrowed. The nervous looks on everyone else’s face wasn’t not helping.

“C-Come on, Builderman, sit down or we’ll have to play… ‘tag’ again…” Noob said through stutters and glances towards the two demons of the circle. 

The others shuffled around so that there would be an open space as soon as Noob finished describing what they were fearing, essentially peer pressuring the admin into sitting down with them. Builderman stumbles somewhat, trying to say something, but stays quiet and gives the possessed two time a glare before joining the circle a moment later.

c00lKidd twitched in excitement as he grabbed the bottle in the center and spun it violently once more. The bottle, almost jumping out of the circle after it spun around and slammed into Chance’s knee, slowed down to a stop right on Guest. 

He stared right at Rail Time, looking to want to choose him for their choice, but sighed a bit before turning to c00lkidd instead. “Truth or Dare, c00lkidd.” The former soldier asked.

“YIPPIE ITS MY TURN! Dare dare dare!” c00lkidd said with abundant cheer.

“...Hm, do a backflip.” At those words, c00lkidd’s already smiling face turned into a grin sort of like Bluudude’s. With teeth, though sharper than the blue child’s completely flat teeth, and not a nasty rotten black that came with the color inversion.

“HELL YEAH! WATCH ME, I’LL DO A DOUBLE BACKFLIP!” The child said, standing up and walking out of the circle of survivors. Getting to a clear patch of the dark forest before attempting to do a backflip and failing, multiple times. He wouldn’t give up until he managed it though.

Builderman’s eye twitched a bit when the child said the word Hell, though it wasn’t on the filtered word list, it was still a negative term. Rail would keep that in mind, if only to be able to troll Builderman by asking why his ‘home’ dimension was on the no say list.

“Looks like we have a bit of time, uh, why are we going along with this whole game?” Chance asked as C00lkidd was just out of earshot when the survivors were whispering, busy trying to do even a single flip without falling on his ass.

“Cuz I managed to convince him that you need other games to ‘tire you out so you could sleep’ and that tag would get boring eventually. It's either play along or he starts stabbing us again.” Rail said.

“And why do you care? It's not like that’s your real body.” Guest asked the disguised demon with narrowed eyes.

“It's not, doesn’t mean I don’t feel what happens to it. I could have also not done this just as well and empowered this body somewhat to jump up the cliffs lining the edges of the forest.”

“But you won’t because you’re workin’ for the Spectre.” Builderman chimed in with his own untrustworthy look.

“I'm not. I'm here as a favor to Olivine when Grey and Bow weren’t able to complete their shift. I am under no obligation to stick to the 3 day rule and if I must I can either leave or stay for years at a time. But I’m not an asshole so I stick with precedent.” There was a scoff to rail’s side, Builderman looking away in quiet anger and just about to say something before c00lKidd shouted out in triumph.

“I DID IT! WOOO! I CAN’T WAIT TO SHOW DAD!” He said before rushing back to his spot right next to the demon king. “Next, Next, Next!” And spun the bottle around once more.

This time landing on Builderman.

“Rail was it?” The admin said in a false politeness, waiting on the mentioned demon’s reply.

“That is correct.” Rail Time responded, not really seeing where this was going beyond getting asked the question.

“Truth or Dare.” Builderman stated, as though it wasn’t a question.

“Dare?” Rail tried, knowing that this would be one of those asks where no matter what it would have the same outcome.

“I dare you to show all of us what you really look like.”

“YOOOOOOO! Do it do it do it!” c00lkidd chanted to his side as Rail stared Builderman in the eye with a completely blank expression. “Come on, he dared you, you gotta do it now!”

“Kid’s right, show us what’s piloting the spawn- what’s piloting Two Time.” Chance said, clearly about to have said something very strange as Shedletsky, who had been very quiet and serious about the whole thing, glared at the gambler out of the corner of his eye.

There was a pause that flowed through all the survivors, broken up only by c00lkidd’s excited vibrations to see the demon king’s real self.

He had felt the ability to just push himself out of the body like he could with his human self back in the real world, he’s even mused about what would happen if he did. But he’s never actually tried. For all he knew he couldn’t actually get out of Two Time like he could his body, then it would be a very awkward discussion afterwards with the rest of them.

In the end though, he just sighed lightly and went for it. Appearing to phase out of the spawn cultist’s back while wearing what his real self was wearing outside in the real world, his casual purple turtleneck as despite living in Florida he kept his thermostat at a comfortable 62 degrees, solely for the purpose of wearing cozy clothing. Comfy baggy sweatpants for much the same reason as well.

His tail swayed behind his back as he felt the weirdest sense of embarrassment from everyone staring at him, even including the body he just left as the real Two Time seems to have taken over as he left.

He doesn’t let it show, of course, and barely even lets on that he was the slightest bit uncomfortable as he walks back forward and goes to steal a spot in the truth or dare circle, right next to C00lKidd. Of which seemed to be visibly restraining himself from trying to hug Rail out of excitement.

Directly across from him, Shedletsky had an unreadable expression on his face as the usually more humorous admin inspects Rail’s fluffy white furred face, the large set of 4 horns growing out of the side of his head, the tail idly waving in the air behind the ‘new’ arrival. 

There was barely even a moment of silence to take in his appearance before the ‘shink’ of a knife sounded out, the real Two Time’s dagger planted right into the Demon King’s unguarded chest. The Spawn Cultist’s face was in a manic grin before it crumbled, the sound of metal cracking audible as the formerly possessed Robloxian quickly pulled out the ritual knife from the Demon’s flesh. 

Dully glowing black and swirling blue blood dripped from the two pronged tip of the dagger, but no deeper than that as the blood flowed in along the spider’s web of hairline fractures along the metal of the blade. 

“Hmm, blessed blade. Congratulations, you’re the first being to make me bleed in over 12 thousand of your years.” The demon in question praised with a small smile and a clap. The hole in his turtleneck showing off pristine white fluff as it seemed the wound had healed itself within the time it took for the knife to be withdrawn.

The turtleneck he had on wasn’t as lucky, with a new tear over his right pectoral and a small amount of staining that was a strange indigo, it glowed in the relative darkness of the forest they were in. “This was one of my favorite sweaters though…” 

“HEYY we’re not playing tag right now! It's Truth or Dare time! Next!” C00lKidd shouted out in excitement before grabbing the bottle again and spinning it once more as hard as the demon child physically could. 

Once more, the bottle landed on the newly revealed demon. The cultist next to him cradling his ritual dagger like it was his baby and glaring out of the corner of his eye at the demon as rail looked around. Shrugging his shoulders a bit, he turned to his side to look to c00lkidd. 

“Truth or Dare?” He said plainly, giving the little child a smile.

C00lKidd burst out in a large grin once more. “Dare! Dare! Dare!”

“Hmm, you know those generators around here yeah? Complete one of those as fast as you can, ok?” The demon said. 

The child smiled widely as he shot up to his feet and ran off into the dark forest to look for a generator to complete. Rail watched him run off, tail idly waving around behind him and hands in his lap idly fiddling with his new sharp claws.

“That’s the rest of the round free, then.” Rail said before turning back to the others around him.

“What are you?” Shedletsky said, finally. None of that trolling edge to his voice as he glared at the only demon remaining with an intensity matched by Builderman’s idle stare. The engineer having stopped glaring a few minutes ago.

“Olivine already gave away my title, she was being very literal.” The demon responded.

“She? You’re saying Ollie is a girl?” Shedletskty asked with a bit of confusion.

“Believe what you want.” Rail shrugs.

“Why did you come here?” Guest said, cutting off whatever it was that Shedletsky was going to say next.

“I’ve said it before, Ollie asked me to take over for the others, I think it was Grey specifically, you know them as Grance. Another part is that I owe the others that have partnered with the Spectre a debt, if you will. The others are under contract, but I am here as… well, an unpaid intern essentially.” The demon said with a bit of an exaggerated scowl.

For him, it was obvious he was playing it up, but for the others who weren’t as experienced in reading expressions, and even Chance who hasn’t practiced in who knows how long, it was confirmation he was telling the truth. That Rail found being a simple intern demeaning for someone of his standing, the newborn demon would allow them to keep this misconception.

“And why must it be MY body, demon?” The cultist seethed, venom in his voice.

 “That’s not an insult, that is literally my species. And it was a random chance, I could have just as easily been Noob or even Builderman. In fact, I could swap if I wanted, though I’ve grown too used to that Ghostfire dagger by now, it's grown on me somewhat.”

“What is that ritual you do?” Chance asked before anyone else could say anything.

Rail shrugged. “I knew literally nothing about Two Time before I found myself inside his body, so I just went with the motions. Just a little circle, a dash of magic, a bit of ritual sacrifice powered by that knife they have, and it works like you saw it. I’ll slide you the human compatible version before I go, Two Time.” The gift only got a glare from the cultist.

It bothered them that they had to learn that ritual through hard work and devotion, and had to literally sacrifice Azure to get the gift of respawning- only for this demon to simply repeat their motions and get it on the first try, no sacrifice needed.

Before anyone could say anything else, however, the round ends, everyone feeling the same pulling sensation on their chest. Rail rolls his eyes and 'falls' back, focusing on the way his demonic soul merged into Two Time's body again.

They awaken on the couch, back to looking like the cultist. Builderman and Shedletsky are warily staring down at them, Builderman's hand on his hammer.

"Oh, don't be such a spoilsport. I don't want to hurt you at all, and I'm not allowed to." Rail says properly, fixing up Two Time's outfit and brushing the dirt off their clothes. "Good game, by the way."

"... Good game."

[Guest 1337]

Guest 1337 has always been a serious man on the battlefield. Sure, he's kind and can crack a joke or two when there's no danger and when Matt was around, but after being Forsaken...

He hasn't really been able to let down his guard at all. Guest's responsibility is to protect his team, keep the killer at bay for as long as possible while they ran and did generators.

It's... really taken a toll on him. Before, he used to consider himself a pretty kind guy as long as you weren't a Bacon or a bad guy, but now...

He feels like he's gotten far more serious and downright unreasonable at times. He wonders if all his barking out orders and trying to strong-arm the team into being safe has made them think of him as a bossy person.

And with the introduction of these... possessors? It only made him more uneasy and paranoid.

What could they do to them, if they weren't so keen on messing around? Olledsky himself (herself?) was the worst of them- even then, Guest 1337 had a feeling that he had the potential to be even worse.

There isn't much he can do, because if he punches them in the face, he'd be punching his friends in the face. It makes his skin crawl, knowing that he can't do anything about this.

What if more of them get possessed? What if the next possessor was malicious like Ollie? What if he gets possessed next?

All these questions swirl in his head like a whirlpool that he can't swim out of. This isn't a war he was used to, not guns firing or beating up people in hand-to-hand combat. No. This was a war of the mind.

Guest 1337 was... decently smart in the battlefield, but when it came to stuff like hacking and mind games? He wasn't as good as the admins or as skilled as 007n7. That was an area he lacked experience in.

Gods, he's scared. Whether it be for the teenagers and young adults that agreed to a deal that they clearly didn't understand completely, or for his teammates being possessed by powerful, reckless beings.

Should he be afraid of the possessors or pity them? Should he listen to his instinct as a father or as a protector? He glances over to the fireplace, where two of them were huddled together, roasting a bag of marshmallows.

"Mario- you sure you'll be fine on your own this shift? The others aren't gonna get on until your third day here, and I'm gonna be out for the entire week after this."

"Nahhh, homeslice- I'll be peachy." Marekkar waves Olledsky off, sliding a marshmallow off the skewer and popping it into his carved mouth. "I'm chillin'."

"Well, if you say so..." Olledksy gets up to his feet, and sighs, stretching a bit. He takes the bag of marshmallows and shoves it in the survivors fridge- which has had far better food than usual, courtesy of the mysterious beings.

"Aight. See ya." Olledsky makes a v-sign with his hands, and falls backward onto the couch with a 'poof'.  Shedletsky sits up with a groan, face back to normal and rubbing his forehead in frustration. "Ughh..."

"Good to have you back, sir." Guest 1337 nods, and helps Shedletsky up. "Do you need a rest?"

"After what happened? Yes." He says. Shedletsky sighs and walks over to his cabin room. "I need a break, man..."

Guest 1337 is left in the main cabin, looking over Marekkar as he quietly roasts his marshmallows.

All the other survivors were in a round. He was kind of left alone with Shedletsky, Marekkar, and himself- and Shedletsky is far too tired to deal with anything right now, so he supposes he can sit and watch the kid.

"You there." He calls out. Marekkar turns around with a 'huh?', his hat tilting to the side. The mage adjusts his hat and scoots around to see Guest 1337. "Yeah, man?"

"..." Guest 1337 doesn't know how to start this conversation. How can he, with Marekkar- no, Mario- not being a Robloxian? What can he even talk about to relate with him?

'When in doubt... he's a teen, right? A bit older than Charlotte's age, now that I think about it.' Guest 1337 muses. 'I suppose I can talk about school.'

"Are you... doing well in class?" He says, testing out the waters.

"Eh. Well enough." Marekkar turns back to the fireplace, looking at the fire absently. "Same boring stuff as always... mom's proud that I got a job, though. No importa de escuela mucho me hace un poco aburrido. (School isn't really important to me and I'm a bit bored.)"

Guest doesn't know a lot of Spanish, but he knows enough to understand the gist of what Marekkar said. "It's important to stay in school, young man. Why do you even need the money if your parents want you to have an education?"

Marekkar makes a face, and looks to the side. "... None of your business, dude."

Guest remembers how Grance and B0w7n7 talked about the state of the economy, and how bad things were in their fourth-dimensional home. 'It's weird, knowing that even though they're leagues older than us, they're still subject to all the problems we have. Taxes, capitalism, all that stuff.'

Guest sits down next to the mage, looking at the fire as well. "So... why did you possess Dusekkar? Is it because you're important or something? The son of some kind of powerful mage back home?"

"Nah. I'm not like that." Marekkar shakes his head. "I'm a normal kid. Kind of bad at math, know how to do a pretty cool kickflip... man, I wish I was as cool as Dusekkar, haha."

The young man possessing Dusekkar seems passive. Not as bombastic or as chaotic as the other possessors, who tended to flaunt their edge over the survivors or actively mess with them.

IF he had to think about it, Marekkar was... probably closer to a normal Robloxian. Rail was literally a demon king, Olledsky was a schemer that almost nobody could pin down correctly, and Grance and B0w7n7 were... well they were also close to normal Robloxians but Grance had that weird shadow hand thing that made him suspect otherwise.

"You know how to skate?" He asks. Marekkar nods, and makes a so-so motion. "Ehh... yeah I can. I'm good at basic tricks and know how to get from place to place, but all that fancy, flashy stuff? Nahhh."

"Don't sell yourself short. I'm sure you're going to get better if you practice." Guest 1337 says. 'What am I even saying? Having a normal conversation about skating, out of all things? In this situation?'

It kind of sours the mood, knowing that Mario could just leave whenever he wanted to go back to having a normal life. Guest's hell was literally just a day job to the kid, and he's not sure if Marekkar could even empathize with him completely.

"... Thanks." The young mage says. "That's pretty cool of you, man."

Guest 1337 actually manages to open up a bit to Marekkar after that. It's mostly because the teenager sticks to him during rounds after that, doing his best to shield and protect him when he's holding off the killer.

Even when Mario goes through most of his shift during the week, he's much more open to Guest 1337 compared to the other survivors. Heck, even when Olledsky was making jokes about him "throwing the round" when he missed his punches and blocks, Marekkar stepped in.

"Hey, bro... that isn't really nice." Marekkar says, frowning. "Lay off the jokes. They're not funny."

"Eh?" Olledsky tilts his head, his grin actually faltering a bit. "You're- really..."

"Yeah. It's not fun." Marrekkar crosses his arms. "I know you're hired to do this but like- give him a break? He's tired as hell."

The rest of the survivors watch in some fascination as Olledsky actually backs off and stops joking. "Ah, fine, dude. If you say so." He walks past Marekkar and Guest 1337, shrugging.

"Really? He actually-" Noob whispers, just as surprised. Marekkar sighs. "She's a cool guy. Sorry if she's... an asshole, but it's just her job."

"To be... an #######?" Elliot asks. "What kind of job is that?!"

"The... boss wants us to be fun to watch." Marekkar says. "Entertaining. Ollie's just supposed to be the bad guy, you know?"

That doesn't make Guest 1337 any less trustful of Olledsky. Sure, Marekkar might say she's fine, but there's a difference between being told something and seeing it himself. Guest isn't really believing the young mage, even though he trusts him a bit.

"If that's what you say."

All of the survivors are milling about the cabins and doing their duties- making dinner, doing laundry at the pier, cleaning their living quarters. The round was tiring, but they still had to make their hell at least somewhat inhabitable.

Olledsky had disappeared to wherever the fuck she's gone off to- probably on the rooftop taking a nap or trying to explore outside of the survivors' area. Guest 1337 knows that the survivors just get teleported back if they go too far outside the cabin area and the lake, so why bother?

Marekkar was busy munching away at a sandwich while Guest eats his own rations. It was a pretty quiet "evening", all things considered.

Then Guest 1337 makes a rather stupid decision. Maybe it's because the round before was extra stressful, with Jason managing to kill him first then going after everybody else. Maybe it's the fact that Marekkar respawned in the main cabin with a scared look before brushing it off. But now...

Guest decided to talk about his own problems. Maybe Marekkar would feel better, knowing he wasn't alone in his worries.

He sits down with the teen on the couch, patting his back hesitantly. "I... know it must be really hard for you. Doing this." He says. "Does it... hurt?"

"Not as- much as it would." Marekkar admits. "I... think you guys have less nerves compared to us. It hurts way less."

Guest 1337 nods along, trying to ignore the (slightly unsettling body horror) comment. "Running back and forth really reminds me of the war. Before all of this."

He begins dumping all of his worries, and it ends up more of like he's venting to the damn kid instead of comforting him.

"The bacons... they took everything from me. They nearly took over a good part of Robloxia before we fought that battle and I- didn't make it home." Guest 1337 squeezes his eyes shut. "I don't even know how to feel about this, just- ugh. Those damn bacons."

"Hey, lay off the insults, man. The bacons weren't thaaat bad." Marekkar says.

Immediately, the whole cabin goes silent. 007n7 winces, looking incredibly upset at what Marekkar had said because Guest 1337 has told him what the bacons had done to his mother and father before. Builderman, who'd personally attended Guest's "funeral", also looks similarly mortified and angry.

(Marekkar doesn't know what he's said wrong, yet. After all, he's talking about the bacons in-game, not the bacons in The Last Guest that everyone's heard of. And bacons in his version of Roblox were just new players without Robux.)

Guest takes in a deep breath, and pointedly corrects Marekkar. "Mario, they killed my parents."

"Oh. Yeah, I get that but-" Marekkar gets an expression on his face that's half between discomfort and confusion. "Me and my brother were bacons? So it's kind of-"

Guest 1337 doesn't really hear the rest of it, because his mind just goes numb at that. There's a ringing in his ears from the stress and eveything's muffled around him

Marekkar is a bacon. The same people that's oppressed his kind, the same that killed his parents and killed him-

The idea of one of their possessors being a bacon- that they had power over him and might do something, might harm them in a way that he can't protect the others from... it makes him terrified.

Right after he started trusting Marekkar Mario a bit, too. He shouldn't have let his guard down.

Mario seems to have figured out that he's said something wrong, because he goes incredibly quiet. "Oh. I didn't know, I shouldn't have- I'm- sorry." He gets up from his seat, and hastily floats away.

The next round after that, he still tries to defend Guest- but Guest 1337 keeps on breaking his line of sight, avoiding his protection. He doesn't trust Mario. Not if that guy was a bacon sympathizer.

"Come on, dude- you're going to die if you don't get a shield." Marekkar says, clearly distressed. Guest just ignores him and goes to Elliot, who's currently doesn't have his pizza at the ready.

"Guest, I know you don't like bacons but this is just- kind of far." Elliot tries to put it lightly. "My pizza's on cooldown. Go to Marekkar."

"..." He's quiet. Doesn't respond until later. "I'd rather take my chances than go to him for help."

"Guest 1337, I swear to the gods- go over to the kid. He's the only one capable of keeping you alive now because Builderman's not in the round." Elliot insists.

Guest 1337 still continues pushing forward, but reluctantly lets Marekkar shield him with magic. When he looks back, the mage is... sulking? Marekkar has gone all quiet and refuses to meet his gaze.

"Hmph." Guest runs off when Elliot's pizza is ready. Marekkar visibly wilts, and the teenager gets even more distressed when Guest 1337 decides to sacrifice himself instead of going to him for protection.

(He feels guilty. So, so damn guilty. THE Guest 1337, one of the most heroic survivors here, probably hates him now.)

(Damn it, he should have known. Should have known that Guest 1337 wasn't talking about THOSE kinds of bacons, should have remembered how the movie went-)

(Mario needs to make this right. Somehow.)

(He's not sure how.)

Guest 1337 ignores Marekkar after the round. Then the round after that, and up until the other possessors join in for the week and mess things up. Marekkar left, and Dusekkar was just left all wary and awkward around Guest.

He didn't blame the mage- the whole situation was a mess. The other possessors, like Bow and Gray, kept whispering to each other and giggling like there was a joke they couldn't understand, and Rail was busy reining Ollie in like an unruly dog.

Guest is sure that Shedletsky was practically ascendant once he realized that the demon king dealt with Ollie. No more embarrasing jokes about banging someone's mom, no more threatening the other survivors as long as he was around...

Well. That was until Ollie pulled that odd holographic panel out and furrowed her brows. She navigates somewhere, and reads the... message?

"Hey. What are you reading?" Rail leans over, and their expression gets more concentrated before they makes a face. Guest 1337's not sure what that expression means but it doesn't look like they're (he's?) happy. "Mario DM'ed you?"

"Yeah, something about feeling really bad about-" Ollie pauses, then leans in. Her eyes dart across the screen, and her smile becomes ominous.

It's less of a grin and more of like a dog baring it's teeth. She's pissed at something.

Guest 1337 quickly learns that the 'something' was him, because she whips her head up so quickly that it makes a snapping noise. Ollie stalks over to him, using Shedletsky's body to look Guest in the eye.

"You. What the hell were you thinking?" She hisses, her hand twitching.

"Are you talking about... Mario?" He asks. Guest 1337's had enough time to reflect on his initial reaction to the kid's words. "I- may have been irrational about him."

Mario didn't know about what the bacons did to him. He doubted that was the case- he was only apparently fifteen, after all. And- if Mario was a bacon that got stuck in a higher plane of reality, he wasn't going to blame the kid for what he couldn't control.

"Irrational? He's been moping and quiet for like, the entire damn time!" Ollie hisses, poking Guest 1337 in the chest with a finger. "You've got no right to be judging him because of what he's said to you- and even though he's not a bacon anymore, you're acting like this?"

Guest 1337 looks away, feeling guilty. Ollie crosses her arms and looks at him like he's a disappointment. "So? Answer me."

"It's wrong of me to assume that he would have hurt us, just because he's a bacon or was a bacon in the past." He admits. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah. You better be." The look on her face is downright murderous. "You don't get to start this- racism shit with my friends. Got it?"

"I'm not racist!" Guest 1337 visibly reels back from the accusation. "What in the name of Robloxia are you- me?!"

"Yes, you." Ollie hisses. Guest 1337 feels something twist in his gut at the idea of him being discriminatory- because that's what he's done, right?

"Okay, I get it! I'm sorry, really sorry about this!" He backs up, and Ollie doesn't follow. "I'm not the one you should tell that to." She says. "Mario's hopping on tomorr- next week for you guys. You better clear this up with him pronto or I'm gonna identify as a fucking problem."

He's too horrified at the implication of what he's probably made Mario think than to chastise her for using profanity. That was Builderman and the other admins' jobs, after all.

'What have I done?'

Behind Guest 1337, Builderman is bewildered at how Ollie is acting. "Is he- she actually defending him?" He can't believe that the antagonistic asshole seemed to be protective over her friends- heck, he even though that the only person she cared about was herself.

"Hey, don't be surprised. I told you guys that she's a really good friend." Rail says. "It's just... she doesn't consider you guys friends. Hell, to her, you're probably just people her clients wanted her to mess with."

That doesn't reassure Builderman, Dusekkar, or the others at all. Ollie plops herself back down on the couch and sighs reading through the user panel she has.

"Yo, by the way-" Rail leans over, and lets out a soft chuckle. "Tell Mario that I'll take any one soul he wants, if he's feeling sad."

"Pfft- alright!" Ollie Olledsky says with a snicker, typing. The moment she hits send, a faint light flickers on the spawn symbol on Rail Time's shirt.

"Oh shit, that counted as a contract? Sweet." The demon king comments.

Aaaand that just made it worse for Guest 1337. Great. Now he's gotta hope that Marekkar forgives him, because he's definitely not willing to lose his soul.

[Ollie Olledsky]

Now with her his friends in the picture with him, Olledsky is far more easygoing now that there's enough of them to cover for him, just in case the other survivors get on his case.

He's fond of his friends, don't get her wrong! But the survivors? Yeah they're people. Yeah they're also playthings. He thinks of them as both things at the same time, and it makes his gut churn a bit to see what he's becoming.

'You're seeing them as nothing but playthings. And you're justifying it because you want more money. Taking pain and suffering and exchanging it for cash, just like those people you hate in the world-"

He shakes the idea from her head. There's nothing he can do about this- he made the deal with [REDACTED], and he can't back out.

"Yo, suckers-" He says, affectionately nudging B0w7n7's burger hat and gently punching the top bun down. "I'm gonna be training with 1x1x1x1 again, so if we get him in a round, mind takin' everybody who isn't possessed into some corner and play uno or something?"

"Gotcha, Olledsky." Grance gives a thumbs up. "Me and B0w are gonna make sure the others don't find out-"

"Nah, I'm pretty sure they know. Someone's seen it before- I don't know who, but they snitched." Olledsky rolls his eyes. "And I don't give a damn about what they think. It's hella fun!"

"How'd you even convince 1x to train you, anyways?" Rail asks, raising an eyebrow. Olledksy rubs the back of his head. "Oh, not much! I just have'ta make a fool of myself and pretend I'm Shedletsky or something- really stokes their ego!"

"Figures." Rail Time says. They pause, humming as their tail swishes behind them.

The fake cultist ponders for a moment, before perking up with an idea. "Why not make it better for them, then? 1x1x1x1's whole thing is like, humiliating Shedletsky, right?"

"Yeah. Dude literally made me beg and say 'I' was pathetic and couldn't even hold a sword." Olledsky shrugs. "I'm honestly surprised to see how petty 1x1x1x1 actually is, but then again- slay, girl! Go get your revenge!" He says in an overly girly voice.

(Shedletsky, who is watching the whole thing go down, has the feeling that he's about to absolutely HATE the next round. Every time Ollie possesses him he feels like she can't do anything more embarassing or stoop any lower- only for her to prove him wrong.)

(Why, oh gods why, was this girl so good at being insufferable?!)

Bow7n7 giggles at this, and so goes Grance. "Hey, if they're the embodiment of hatred, then of course they're gonna be a certified hater!"

"How come they don't really target you as much? I mean, you basically have Shedletsky's face..." B0w7n7 asks.

Olledsky gives them a sly smile, leaning down and whispering conspiratorially. "Here's the thing- 1x doesn't really feel immediate hate towards us like he does with other Robloxians- because we're 4th-dimensional beings to them! Not 3d like Robloxians!"

"Damn... guess that explains a lot..."

"I wouldn't recommend trying to befriend them, though. They're still a major grouch and would probably kill you on the spot, especially Gray." Olledsky winces. "They were not happy that you possessed them that time."

Gray draws inwards towards themselves, and Ollie lets out a sigh. "It's alright. Happens to the best of us- and we should get the whole malice thing checked out if it's gonna continue to haunt us like this."

Rail, who's decidedly not liking how the mood of the conversation was plummeting, decides to step in. "Anyways! About that suggestion I was making-"

"You know how there's a Telamon skin?" Rail says, pulling up the wiki. "And how the SFOTH map is uh... accessible to us?"

"Wait it IS?" Olledsky scrambles to look at his user panel, and sure enough, it's hidden in the "private server" section of the tabs. "Damn... damn!" Olledsky begins to giggle and grin menacingly. "Oh, I get what you're saying Rail!"

"That's right. If you want to make them really happy, then you might as well go the full mile. Dressing up as him in his prime, losing on a replica of his territory..." Rail says, listing off all the pros of going through with this idea.

"Rail, you are a genius and if you weren't already gay as fuck and have a boyfriend, I'd kiss you." Olledsky says jokingly. "What else should I do, oh great and powerful demon king?"

"Hmm..." Rail glances over at the private server commands they had. "You can give yourself the... linked sword, the actual one from the commands, and lower the cooldown speed so it's more accurate to regular sword-fighting.

Olledsky does the suggestion, putting in the conditions for the next round when it happens. B0w7n7 gives a little smile. "I'd love to see you battle them and do some training- from afar, of course!"

"Ah, yeah. They'd be in the line of fire if 1x1x1x1 decided to try and attack them... the original SFOTH was a pretty cramped map." Olledsky notes, thinking about it as he taps his foot on the floor. "I don't mind being seen- but I gotta hope that Builderman, Dusekkar, or Guest don't butt in."

"We'll stop them if that's the case." B0w7n7 reassures him, patting him on the shoulder. "Trust us! We'll let you have your meet-up with 1x1x1x1, hassle-free!"

"You got the Uno cards, Grance?" The false gambler shuffles their deck of colorful cards in their pocket, sweating. "Huh? O-oh, yeah! Got it!" They hand them to Rail for safekeeping.

Olledsky flashes them a grin. "Perfect idea! Now, lemme see if I can try on that skin before we got in a round..."

His hand moves over to the user panel, and he hovers over the 'Telamon' skin. Olledsky hesitates to push it for a second, but does so with a reckless, proud mind. Why should he be afraid? He's face more powerful beings, including her boss!

There's a crackle of energy and the same poof of smoke that appears during a transformation fills the air. Olledsky feels his hair shorten a bit, and his clothes disassemble and materialize into long, flowing robes.

But then something else happens. There's a slight sore sensation on his back and then something bursts open behind her. "Ack?!"

The other survivors scramble into the room as they hear the commotion. Builderman, who was already there, waves off the smoke with a cough and his eyes widen at the sight. "JOHN!" He yells out. "What in your name is happening-" And he cuts off because he remembers 'oh right, this isn't Shedletsky'.

Two impressive wings burst out from behind Olledsky, colored white and gold. The parts next to his back are a light brown, then the feathers fade to a light yellowish gold and then an off-white.

There's a feeling of slight pain next to his temples as the same wings burst out and flap a bit, as if they haven't seen the light of day in ages.

"A-agh, holy shit- this is..." He hunches over, stretching the appendages on his back. They shrink out of reflex afterwards, folding to a more reasonable size as he stands up again. "Man, what the hell were you doing to these wings, Shedletsky? You're making me feel like I'm an arthritic old man!"

The survivors gape at the sight. Builderman looks ready to jump into action if anything's going wrong, but even he's shitting bricks at what this implies.

This is a god in front of them. A possessed one. Whatever Ollie had in her field, whoever was 'employing' her, was strong enough to restore Shedletsky to his former deity form and keep him possessed despite his overwhelming power.

(Shedletsky feels himself SHUDDER in some uncomfortable, uncanny feeling as he sees himself don that old form again. He's left that past long behind him, he's ditched that form and those wings- even though he loved his wings and flying more than anything- when he defeated and sealed away 1x1x1x1.)

"Ahaha- this is so cool!" Olledsky Telamollie cackles, flaring out his wings. "I guess Telamon's finally back to his old self! Look at these bad boys!" He flares out his wings, knocking a book off the shelf. "Whoops."

Rail Time snorts, but his tail lashes in agitation. "Maybe don't use that form often- I... don't like it."

"Eh? Why not? These wings are sick as fu- oooh right, you're a demon. Shedle- Telamon probably stinks to hell and back from his divine scent." Telamollie says. "Uhhh- I'll swap out back to normal after the round. Don't wanna have you feeling bad, Rail!"

"Fine... but make sure 1x doesn't absolutely gut you when they see you like this!" Rail complains, waving his hand.

"Hey, 'course I will!"

On the sidelines, Builderman analyzing the situation with a keen eye. "Damn it, damn it all- that varmint's got access to his ol' self... How in the name o' Roblox did she even manage to do that?!"

Guest 1337 is frozen up, not really sure what to do. He doubt a punch could stop a god. Dusekkar, who was similarly shitting bricks, used his magic to assess Ollie's new form. "... yt the stars, what a relief- for this form is simply superficial, and a god's body she did not thief."

"Eh? Oh, thank Robloxia. That's-" Builderman sucks in a breath. "That ain't that bad."

"W-what do you mean, 'n-not that bad'?! That's Telamon!" Noob stutters out. They point at the possessed god. "He's the god of swordfighting! The master of the Heights, Shedletsky's predecessor-"

Elliot shakes his head. "I think we're screwed."

Builderman sighs, and runs a hand down his face. "No, no- that ain't it. Sure, she's got a hold of Telamon's body- but she ain't got any of his godly powers. It's just... new fancy-lookin' wings an' all that." He's stressed beyond belief, looking at Telamollie as he grins at all of them menacingly.

(Two Time, who was currently residing with Shedletsky as a ghost, slowly turns to the swordsman. "... You. YOU were Telamon?")

("H-hey! I was his REINCARNATION! Not Telamon himself!" Shedletsky lies. "I only had a fraction of his power- how didn't you know this? I thought the others told you!")

(Chance is grinning ear to ear. "Oh? She's hijacking a god now?" He laughs. "Now, ain't that interesting! We've got ourselves a possible way out!" 007n7 just nervously looks down at Telamollie.)

Telamollie feels that same pull in his chest, his wings twitching a bit. "All right! Straight into action, I see- who's coming with?"

Half the normal survivors- Elliot, Noob, Dusekkar- raised their hand. Rail raised their hand as well. Olledsky beams- perfect! A small group, and they won't cause that much trouble to him if he meets with 1x1x1x1. "Perfect! Now- let's get this over with, shall we?"

He feels that familiar sensation of being tugged back into darkness, and closes his eyes.

[1x1x1x1]

1x1x1x1 was used to the Spectre's tricks. Usually, it was giving them nightmares, taunting them with their loss against Shedletsky, making them wonder what it would be like if Telamon actually was better to them-

But all of those things were nothing. 1x1x1x1 was strong enough not to fall for some- paltry mind tricks that were designed to take lesser Robloxians off their guard. But they were better.

This trick, however... how in the absolute hell did the Spectre recreate the Heights?! The same place that- that they-

...

Pathetic. They were better than this, this was nothing. 1x1x1x1 shakes their head, and they focus on where they've spawned. They're near the rotating traps, but they seem to be non-functional.

'Perfect. It's not like this matters anyways.' 1x1x1x1 thinks to themselves. 'I've fought in the Heights hundreds of times before. 'I'm on home territory. I have the ADVANTAGE here.'

All their thoughts stumble to a halt when they see him.

The same grey-and-black robes as before. The same large wings that sprouted from his back, intimidating and regal as the day he sealed them away. The day that Telamon betrayed them- their trust- their creator-

Their creator was here. Not that stupid persona he put on as Shedletsky, not that bumbling oaf- THEIR CREATOR WAS HERE-

A spike of pure hatred (and pain, sorrow, betrayal betrayal betrayal why did you do this to me) bubbled up in their gut. They take their daemonshanks, and practically sprint to get to Telamon.

The other survivors don't matter. They need their creator dead, NOW.

(Shedletsky is checking on the other survivors while he's intangible and invisible, making sure that Dusekkar wasn't going to go floating in to intervene. He sees a flash of black and green in the corner of his eye, turning around to see an absolutely ENRAGED 1x1x1x1 to barrel towards Ollie.)

"YOU." They snarl, swinging their blade forward and throwing an entanglement, only for Telamon to- bow to them?

A proper, reverent bow. Telamon sunk to one knee, stabbing the linked sword he had in his hand and lowering his head.

"1x. I greet the master of the Heights." He said, his voice awed and amused. "I bow before your greatness!"

"... What?" 1x1x1x1 was properly stunlocked into not immediately killing their accursed creator. Telamon did not bow- he was as prideful as a god could get, and he would NEVER say that anyone other than him was the master of the Heights.

"Skibidi among us alpha rizz." Telamon (?) said, snickering under his breath. "This is a certified identity theft moment."

"... Ollie?!" They asked, bewilderment being tainted with hate, but not enough to attack. This was an incredibly unusual thing, seeing that they would normally destroy anything with Telamon's face on it.

"Who else?!" Telamon Ollie says, spreading her arms out laughing. "Guess whose body I managed to hijack!"

"Preposterous. This is..." 1x1x1x1 was caught between wanting to drive their daemonshanks over and over into her chest due to her appearance, or laughing uproariously at the fact that the mighty Telamon had their account hacked and body taken over.

"A friend of mine suggested that I do this, so that you can like- beat me up and get all your hate out." Ollie says, waving it off. "I wanted you to feel like the swordfighting lessons you're giving me were worth it, sooo..."

1x1x1x1 doesn't really respond at first. Then, their zipper-like mouth slowly began to twitch up into a malicious smile. "Ehehehe... AHAHAHA! Perfect! Absolutely PERFECT!" They throw back their head and let out a villainous laugh.

Ollie snickers, making sure to keep 1x1x1x1 in the spotlight. "So... you up for it, 1x?"

"Aren't I?!" They grin, taking up their daemonshanks- but then get a better idea. "Hmmm... but it'd be no fun if you don't fight back. The real Telamon would have put up a fight."

"Yes! Of course!" Ollie says, and she pulls out her user panel. "Uh- do you want me to get a sword without the stupid cooldown that the Spectre set?"

1x1x1x1 looks at her up and down. Ollie's expression is curious and genuinely friendly, but 1x1x1x1 can't really see anything except for the fact that the face of their accursed creator was staring back at them.

"... Go ahead. It's not like you can actually beat me, and it'll only make it more fun." They gloat.

"Okay!" Ollie takes out a broadsword, using the private server commands to give herself the weapon. She huffs as she gets up, steadily holding the blade like she's been taught by 1x1x1x1. "And um- when do we start? Do I uh... act like an asshole or something? I dunno what Telamon was like to you..."

1x1x1x1 grimaces. "... It would make it.... more realistic if you were to insult me on my swordsmanship."

"But that's not true!" Ollie pouts. The expression looks childish on Telamon's face- 1x1x1x1 was used to seeing nothing but apathy, scorn, and maybe acceptance once in a while from their creator whenever they were sparring. "You're an amazing swordsman! You can beat anyone here!"

"Tch. Simply idle flattery." They say. Because they'd lose to Shedletsky half of the time, and that small amount of loss was enough to make them hate themself.

"I don't really feel comfortable insulting your swordfighting." Ollie admits. "I mean- sure, I'm an asshole- but I like taking the piss outta things that are somewhat true, you know? Me saying that, It'd be a total lie..."

"Whatever. This has dragged on for too long- and I am itching for a fight." 1x1x1x1 raises their daemonshanks. "Think of this as... advanced training. You going against me at my full potential to see how far you've come." They lie.

1x1x1x1 just wants to beat the shit out of Telamon, but with Ollie wearing his face. They want to see their creator humiliated with no way to fight back properly.

"Okay!" Ollie Telamollie nods, her his wings fluffing up as he gets into position. "On your mark, get set-"

1x dashes forward before Telamollie can do anything, and lands a devastating hit on their shoulder. Telamollie yelps, nearly dropping their broadsword in shock, but he gets back up and barely blocks the next sword.

Unfortunately, 1x1x1x1 has dual daemonshanks. The other one goes directly into his gut, making him yelp. It's incredibly fortunate that the possessors feel less pain in comparison to the survivors' bodies they're possessing, because Ollie would normally be passed out or in shock by now.

"Pathetic. You can't even block that, Telamon?" They hiss. Their blades crash down and are barely blocked by Ollie Telamollie. "You've gotten weaker!"

"H-haha, I guess I have..."  He laughs, coughing up some blood. The false god manages to stumble up to his feet, and hold the broadsword in front of him. "Keep it coming! I'll get better!"

1x1x1x1 doesn't show mercy. They swing their blades at Telamollie's neck, only being blocked by the broadsword he's shakily holding.

They land blow after blow on their friend creator, completely forgetting the fact that this wasn't Telamon. "Weak. Slow. Sluggish. All of your moves lack refinement." They laugh.

(Ollie feels like she's being mocked. Like she's being insulted. But she also knows that these insults were meant for Telamon, so she keeps quiet.)

(Shedletsky, despite being VERY annoyed at Ollie for making him look like this, making Telamon look incompetent- actually begins to worry for her. 1x1x1x1 looks like they're taking this too far.)

"You said that I'd never surpass you! That I'd have to settle for being the best mortal swordsman, and not like you!" They laugh, sounding more maniacal and desperate. "Then WHY did you keep pushing me to be like you?! Why did you force me to become better than all the others, when I wouldn't EVER be enough for you?!"

Ollie lets out a gasp of pain when the blade hits Telamon's body again, and she stumbles back on the main platform. She glances down at the ledge, terrified of falling even though she's got wings now.

She doesn't know how to use them. She knows this map is going to probably have some way to prevent the survivors from dying to anything other than the killers, but this-!

It's scary. But this is her friend new mentor, and she's gotta pull through! To get those sweet, sweet sword fighting lessons and help a friend get over their issues?

"You're not getting away this time." 1x1x1x1 snarls, lifting up Telamon by the neck. Ollie claws at their hands uselessly, gasping for air. "No, you're not flying away and trapping me in that hell EVER AGAIN!"

Their other hand takes one of their daemonshanks, and-

Slash. Hack. A sawing motion, along with a high-pitched scream that doesn't sound like something Telamon would ever make.

("NO!" Shedletsky yells. His hands are trembling, his eyes are unfocused at the sight- because just as he got his wings back, just when he's seen his old self- his wings are gone.)

Ollie is trembling and trying not to make sounds of pain- because even with the dulled pain, this hurts a lot. God, what- she's beginning to get woozy from blood loss.

"1-1x?" She asks, looking at them with confusion.

"Goodbye, creator." They say, snarling. 1x1x1x1 tosses Telamon off the cliff face of the Heights, watching as their creator's wingless, battered body falls to it's certain doom.

There's... silence after that. 1x1x1x1 expects themselves to feel some kind of positive emotion at finally defeating and killing their creator, but alas. They're the embodiment of his hatred, and they don't get to feel good things.

And revenge never satisfies someone completely. It only leaves them empty.

Ollie always made jokes about Telamon Shedletsky being their father but this... There's the feeling of something acidic and heavy rising in their chest, not like the burning fire of hatred but-

They don't know this emotion. They're feeling something they're not supposed to. What the hell is it?! It feels- like-

1x1x1x1 doesn't have a word for it. But if Ollie was there, she'd call it sadness. Regret. Guilt.

1x1x1x1 kind of just... stood there. On the ledge. Looking down at where their creator's body fell. "Are you proud yet- father-?" They ask quietly. "Is this enough for you?"

"I've finally surpassed you."

(Shedletsky, who was watching the whole time, unseen and unheard- physically recoils at those words. He feels shame, guilt, uncertainty hit him like a fucking TRUCK when he hears 1x1x1x1 say that.)

("I- they- what?" They saw him as a father? He- oh gods, what did he do them as Telamon? What DIDN'T he do to them as Telamon?)

(This was his fault. Was it?)

(Shedletsky's going to have MANY sleepless nights thinking about this.)

1x1x1x1 is jolted out of their reverie when Rail Time practically charges at them from the side, dagger in hand. "WHAT-"

"You absolute piece of shit." Rail's hand tightens around their dagger's handle. "What was that?!"

"I disposed of Telamon, that pathetic-" 1x1x1x1 snaps out of it and then remembers that- oh shit. That wasn't Telamon. That was Ollie.

"She said you were going to train her!" Rail stresses, gesturing at where 1x1x1x1 threw Telamon Ollie off the heights. "And you did this?!"

"..." 1x1x1x1 backs up from the cliff edge and away from Rail, but the demon king grabs them by the shoulders and looks up with a glare. "No. You stay here. And explain why the fuck you treated Ollie like that."

"The gall of this-!" 1x1x1x1 has the urge to throw Rail off the Heights as well, but their conflicting emotions were distracting them. They push Rail to the side, and take one of their daemonshanks.

Both of them are interrupted by a meaty 'thump'. Rail and 1x turn their heads over to see Telamon Ollie's body, fallen from the sky.

"Oh, right..." Rail groans, massaging his temple. "This map specifically... the Spectre made it so that we can't die from falling." He says, in part relief.

1x1x1x1, on the other hand, was frozen to the spot. He looks down at Ollie, whose back is a bloody mess from getting her new wings sawed off and being stabbed. Despite all the pain she's in, she looks up to her mentor with a grin.

"H-hey... I did- pretty well, right? I-" She coughs out some blood, and wipes it off her mouth. "I didn't do bad, right? You're- you're going to train me more?"

There's a feeling of disgust in 1x1x1x1's gut- not at her, but at themself. Seeing her ask if she did well like this, pushed to her limit and clearly not able to fight but still forcing herself to, it reminds them of-

Themself. All those centuries ago with Telamon.

They take a step back. Ollie drags herself forward, leaving a trail of blood on the floor. "1-1x... c-come on, I can still train- I- I'm not weak, I can take another hit-" She lets out a weak laugh, looking up at them with some desperation. "I-If you're not happy with what happened, I- I can act more rude! I can pretend to be Telamon better, I-if it makes you happy-"

She sounds desperate. For validation, for praise- just like themself. Too much like themself.

"No. This is- enough training for today." 1x1x1x1 hastily says, trying to push down the mounting horror at what they're seeing. "You have done- well enough. We can continue later and I'll properly train you."

They begin to walk away from Ollie, not wanting to see such a pitiful, sad  pathetic sight. Ollie reaches out with a hand, trying to grasp at 1x1x1x1 despite being on the floor and too weak. "P-please! I can- I'll do better! Just- don't go? Please?" She begs.

1x1x1x1 feels their entire form tense up from those words. (They've said the same words long, long ago towards Telamon.) It feels wrong to stay back and help a survivor wearing their accursed creator's face.

But it feels worse to let Ollie languish by herself, begging for someone's attention and praise. It feels like they'd be doing their younger self a disservice and being exactly like Telamon.

1x1x1x1 turns back, and looks down at Ollie. She's panting, trying to struggle to her feet but unable to because of how weak she feels.

"Get up." They grab her forearm roughly and she winces. 1x1x1x1 adjusts their clawed hand so that it didn't break through any bones, and slings their possessed creator over their shoulder, making sure not to touch the raw, exposed wing bones on the back. "I won't be training you this intensely later, whelp. You can't push yourself too hard or else everything will hurt."

She doesn't say anything- and just nods. 1x1x1x1 lays her down father away from the edge of the Heights, and the two of them simply wait for the round to end.

(When they returned, all of the survivors in the round where whispering to each other. Sure, they didn't hear what was exchanged between the two beings and the killer- but the fact that 1x1x1x1 was MERCIFUL and didn't kill anyone after hurting Ollie that badly was astounding enough.)

(Shedletsky was... mildly happy to see that his wings were fine after the round, being restored to their pristine condition. He's far more occupied at the realization that he fucked up BIG TIME with 1x1x1x1's training, centuries, ago, and that his creation actually saw him as-)

(Right. No need to think about that.)

(And after Ollie stopped possessing him- he was glad to know that his wings still stayed despite not being Telamon anymore. Shedletsky, with all of his faux-goofy demeanor and his facade of happiness, had his wings back.)

(It's a small victory in an overwhelmingly bad situation.) 

[Extras]

Chapter Text

[The Spectre]

This was the best deal it's made in it's entire existence. Scratch that- this was the best deal made in the entirety of Robloxia's existence, too, because GODS DAMN was this beyond it's expectations!

The angst! The turnmoil! The malice! All of it, swirling around the survivors as these players enacted their will! Not only that, but the flavors of despair that they brought about...

The self-loathing. The desperation for approval. The unease and terror of what the higher beings might do to them- all of that- delectable in a way that surpassed a three-star Michelin meal.

The Spectre wasn't just eating anymore, no- it was feasting. Glutting itself on the negative emotion and all it's delicious variants, of the grief and distrust and despair and anger...

"Having a good meal yet again, Spectre?" The chorus of voices echoes around them, and a familiar heavy presence fills the air. "It's good to see that you've learned from our lessons. See, now, isn't it so much better when you let these little playthings remember and get attached to each other?"

The Spectre approves. It didn't expect this sort of complexity to harvesting their negative emotions- usually it was just enacting pain straightforward, and getting results right away. It supposes that this is akin to cooking a meal for Robloxians.

"Yes, yes- I see." [REDACTED] chuckles, their form shifting. "A shame I can't be inside that server of yours directly. My mere presence would brick all of Robloxia if I wormed my body into your reality."

Perish the thought. The Spectre was very much not suicidal enough to let this... being into it's reality. Simply hearing it's voice like a phone call was enough to make it unstable at times, glitching it out.

If this is what [REDACTED] and [EXPUNGED]'s mere voice could do, then perish the thought of what their presence can inflict upon the Spectre. No, as cruel and sadistic as it was, it had enough braincells and a survival instinct.

The Spectre questions why [REDACTED] and [EXPUNGED] were bringing in more 'players', and worried about them somehow breaking out of the purgatory. If they were so powerful, being on a higher plane of reality so that Forsaken was a game to them- then that meant there was a possibility of them helping the survivors escape its grasp.

"Oh, don't you worry your pretty little head about that, Spectre." [EXPUNGED] says, a bit condescendingly. "We'll make sure that they don't. And if they do, well... there's always some punishments we can inflict."

[REDACTED] hums in agreement. "You'd be selling us short if you think we don't plan everything out. We know EVERYTHING that is going to happen, and we'll help be the chess masters of your little game."

The Spectre wonders what will happen now that Mario, Ollie, Gray, and the others know of their malicious intent. How would they even draw in more players to this game?

[REDACTED] chuckles menacingly, slimy as a car salesman about to con an innocent schmuck. "Nothing that a good ol' game of sabotage and some money can't do, Spectre dear. Watch and learn."

[Discord]

🧵 🔕 📌 👥 ︙

> celestial_kat

celestial_kat Yesterday at 10:20 PM

gn vaus!!! hope you're doing better with work :]

Vauschen Today at 1:20 PM

kat

kat kat kat

god, i fucked up. badly

kat if you ever see something

someone

that tries to make a deal with you

DON'T ACCEPT IT IF IT'S FROM [REDACTED]

(Message not sent)

KAT

(Message not sent)

[Kat]

Now, Katrina Rexler was far too busy with school and figuring out how to put together this damn cosplay to be checking her DMs. They're usually more active on their friends' server, but this week has just been so busy.

"There's not enough hot glue here, wait shit is this part falling off- FUCKING- ARGHH!" She screeches in frustration. "Shit. I'm running out of time to get the stupid prop done, and I've already spent enough on the damn tickets!"

They'd been speedrunning their giant boombox prop for their - well, Boombox cosplay, in hopes of getting it done with some time to spare before the convention in a few days. They only have time to work on it now because school is blissfully out for the summer, leaving them to suffer under the weight of college application prep instead of test prep. Joy.

'Speaking of school... I heard the others got a job offer somewhere. They're doing pretty well...' She thinks. 'Good for them. I wish I could get my stupid etsy set up faster...'

Her phone rings. It's a Discord call from... who? They don't remember one of their friends being called [REDACTED].

"Hell no." They obviously hang up the call. A minute later, their phone rings again, and she furrows her brows. "The fuck? Why are they still bothering me? I don't even know them!" Again, another rejection, this time blocking the creepy account.

This was the wrong move. Her phone's screen glitches and the lights in her room flicker ominously, before going pitch-black. Kat blanches, scrambling back to their desk and grabbing a pair of sewing scissors to defend themselves just in case.

"Oh HELL no- who's there?!" She shouts. "I'm warning you, I'm armed fucko-"

"Greetings, mortal. Be not afraid." [REDACTED] greets her.

"... Why the hell is there a slug poking it's head through my window. Why are you that big. Are you a fucking - eldritch thing? Probably an eldritch thing. What do you want,” she says with a glare.

[REDACTED] does the equivalent of an eyeroll. "Please. I'm here to talk to you about employment opportunities." They say. Their 'hands' sprout out of the hole in their body, holding a clipboard with paper. "Are you perhaps interested in making lots of money by simply playing video games? By having fun in the name of entertainment?"

"Nope." Kat quickly shuts them down, popping the ‘p’ and continuing to glare. "I don't know who or what you are- but you won't trick me into some bullshit contract."

Because trusting a random black and purple slug that hurts to look at and is most likely Eldritch is right out of the picture, especially since said slug is offering them a job. This is suspicious with a capital S.

Kat is not going to risk this. Not for fun. She's already got enough on her plate with school and art and cosplaying and writing and- you get the picture. She's not going to add a job with responsibilities to the mix, especially one like this!

"Are you sure? It comes with amazing employment opportunities." [REDACTED] states, their hands flipping through the paper. "We cover dental, vision, life insurance, 401k, reincarnation benefits-"

"And again, I said no. I already don't have the time or energy," Kat says, getting more agitated and insistent. They ball their hands up into fists, the scissors in their hand gleaming threateningly. "Now either you fuck off or I'm about to fight a god-"

"And your friends are at this job." [REDACTED] says.

Kat hesitates, tensing at the mention of her friends. "... My friends? Like, Ollie, Rail-"

"Yes, them. Why else do you think they've been so busy as of late?" [REDACTED] croons, knowing that they've got her interest. "They're trying to get their own money, provide for their own family- and they get to see each other in-person at work, too! In a way."

Kat's grip on her scissors tightens, weary. Nothing good comes of a contract, and if her friends are mixed up in this... "What's the job?"

"Oh, simple." [REDACTED]'s eyes narrow, and if they had a mouth they'd be grinning widely. "They're playing Forsaken. Possessing the survivors, helping them get through the rounds and breaking their monotony..."

The higher being knows. It knows that Kat can't stop herself from worrying, that she'd follow her friends to the ends of the earth (and beyond) to help them, and would grow far too attached the survivors. Perhaps even see them as friends, unlike some of the others.

"You know, you can accept this job. Help those poor souls in need, try and get them out of their purgatory and back to the life they deserve... Or if that's not possible, you can always offer your words of comfort..."

The gears are turning in Kat's head. Her friends already signed on to this. They're stuck in a bad contract, trying to… entertain something, she guesses. They're reckless, she knows, and playing a very dangerous game. Helping the survivors - who are, no doubt, actual people in their world - would be a plus as well. More importantly, though - she has to protect them. Her friends. She has to.

She puts down the scissors, still weary, and looks at the massive slug. "How much are you paying, and what are the terms?"

Bingo. Like a fish to a hook- they took the bait.

"It's very much simple." [REDACTED] explains, tossing Kat a stack of a thousand dollars. "You will be spending three hours every day inside the game's world. Those three hours would translate to three days in Forsaken, and you'll be paid weekly."

Kat nods, looking as the higher being opens up her laptop and begins typing down something. The page for Forsaken in Roblox pops up, and there's a private server that has... her friend's faces on them. Most of them aren't on, but Ollie is.

'So they aren't lying... why didn't Ollie tell me about this?' Kat thinks. "Hey, slug-bitch-thing- the others will be there, right? Who? Like, is it a bunch of them? Ollie? Rail?"

"Oh? Him?" They ask, tilting their head at the mention of the latter. "The demon king is currently an intern for Void Co., and does not have to get on daily. But he does fill in for the others when missing."

"Smart," She mutters. She grabs her jacket sleeves, a nervous habit. "What about- Mimical? Aqu? Are they in the rounds too?"

"I've already reached out to the former. You two can join at the same time." [REDACTED] smiles. It's not a good smile. "Just like siblings."

"Yeah. That's... nice." They say, narrowing their eyes. They don't like how much this creepy slug knows about them, about how they see a few of their friends. But what choice do they have? ‘They need my help.’ "I accept the offer. I'll wait for him to get online, and we'll go when we're ready. But don't expect me to be on at normal hours otherwise right now, I have shit to do this week," she grumbles with a glance at her unfinished prop.

"Very well. He shall be with you shortly."

[Mimical (Siddha)]

Another procedure. He had to complete this quickly; the due date was coming by fast.

Siddha rummaged through his bag, pulling out fat folders filled with sheets of paper accumulated through the school year, with only a semblance of organization that itself was a mess. His backpack was like a zoo for forgotten pencil shavings and stumps of chewed pencils that lay in a graveyard. 

He pulls out some paper, and his mind blanks for a second before he facepalms and takes out his laptop. Crap- he had to make a print of the rubric. He opened his school site and fired up a new print.

As a fisherman in a cellulose sea, you tend to lose some important documents! Anyways, he stepped around the academic mess on his carpet floor and a new rubric, ink fresh and still warm from the machinery. 

His handwriting may have looked like a graphite based modern art piece, but you get what you get- at least he had something playing in the background to fill in the awkward silence.

He munched on some popped lotus seeds while powering through. Lead tip racing across. Making a vortex cannon as a final project was already cool, but having it be something that is used for future classes was even cooler. 

Siddha learned a lot about science, but somehow there's always something more that he needed to account for. On his quest for exploring and applying the discoveries that some mammalian brain found out.

But here he was, a normal kid with nothing too special, but he would get there eventually, right? 

Don’t think too hard about it. Just do your work. That is all.

“West of Loathing” played, and the rhythmic chanting of “Bless this Mess” helped take his mind off things. 

He reached for his phone, then suddenly got a call. Siddha dropped it out of surprise. Not expecting the caller.

A Discord call, from [REDACTED].

He didn’t trust it. Did someone find his account, was this someone who changed their name, who was [REDACTED]? They declined the call, not wanting to be hacked or something of that sort. 

The room was plunged into inky darkness, the area around him disintegrating into the void. 

What the hell was that? It was horrifying, paranoia clenching his eyelids down in a desperate attempt to not look, as if he was dealing with a goddamn reverse weeping angel.

His sanity was gently cradled by the embrace of slimy whisps, vulnerable to the addicting knowledge that he would experience from seeing what was near him.

“Hello Siddha, I heard you’ve got some friends that disappeared.”  A strange being said from beyond his perception. 

“What the fuck is this. Am I on drugs, is this a dream, DID I DIE?!” Siddha said with panic in his voice, fingers gripping into his hair for support. 

Siddha took a peak, a little sliver of his surroundings. The dark void was so mesmerizing, things from beyond swirling around like a primordial soup made up of eldritch nature and eldritch knowledge. It’s patron deity stealthing, dainty manipulators peaking through, hypnotic pattern frying every neuron and gag reflex, everything felt so strong-

It was too strong. The smell of burning tires and plastic invaded his olfactory sense. He vomited, but his skin felt like it was coming and going, unraveling like shavings of a pencil, eyes mitosing and everything became a paradoxical parallax of precognitive proportion. 

He splintered then became four then a billion then a half then one whole again in a matter of nano second before his own register. 

Then silence again. Back to a normal inky void. 

His eyes, he was normal. Dear god he was normal. “Wha-what was that. I-”

He vomited again, bile dripping down his mouth. His senses return, numbness fading. 

“That was the beauty possible, one that I reign over. Void Co. finds you a useful good Siddha.”

“Excuse me. Fuck I am dead. This is a fever dream. Help.” Siddha weakly asked, hands on the floor like a sad sick dog. He struggles to get his bearings, his mind slowly coming back to itself like the lens of a microscope focusing on a slide.

“I’ll take that as interest in the proposition. Money, benefits, so much you desire. All you have to do is participate in a game world, and cause chaos and intrigue to the characters.”

Siddha stood up, knees shaking. His abdomen was killing him, and even though he was feeling better, a lot faster, it was a paralyzing feeling. “So you want me to work. In some game. This isn’t a dream, it is too specific. Whatever this is feels too real.”

“You finally figured it out, you goose-brained twat. Now you in or in, you only really got one real option. This or the real world buddy.” [REDACTED] said with surprising informality

“God this is so tilted. I have no information.” Siddha said with surprising defiance in his voice, some sliver or modicum of bravery left. 

“Ooooh, Mr. Big Boy is in town. Well, I heard you are one explorer of sorts. Imagine a free world with new, unseen discoveries. A world that desperately needs someone like you.” [REDACTED conjures an illusion.

Around him he found himself on a stage, cheers surrounded him. Boards and analyticals filled the air. Sketches and documentation of his own handwriting, done in such a professional grade. Feelings of dopamine and relief filled the air as it didn’t seem too perfect to be unbelievable, but just enough. The direction he wanted. Hope.

“Amazing huh. Imagine all the un interrupted and nurtured discoveries possible. Of course to fit your human limitations. Unless you want to see the true wonder again.”

“I can’t. I have so much in the real world. I don't know what you are, but this is so… so much.” Siddha replied, he won’t, he can’t-

“I know others have accepted the deal. Maybe a particular Kat. If I recall.” [REDACTED] said with a sly twinge to his voice.

Siddha was speechless. He couldn’t say anything. Kat was there? Maybe he should… for his future right? He didn’t exactly need the money, but the experience. And deep down, his friendship

“Deal, but I am stronger than you may think.” Siddha said, his one last sign of strength. 

"That is what they all say my little way finder, that is what they all say!" [REDACTED] laughs. "Now enjoy this Void Co. job, no take-backs!"

Mode could be the non-existent ground shake, be tried to step, but everything felt lighter. His body collapsed, void pouring out of its jaw like an unholy water faucet, as he felt his ethereal presence sink, melting into something new.

[Elliot]

"When do you think we'll be possessed, Elliot?" Guest 1337 gruffly asks in the middle of a round. "I reckon it's only a matter of time, until..." He sighs, running his hand through his blue hair.

"Don't think about it that way. The others already said that it's manageable enough- if they're together." Elliot says. He rummages absently through his pizza box, only to find that his ability was on cooldown. "Let's just hope whoever's possessing us is better than what's possessing Shedletsky, right?"

"Definitely." Guest 1337 gruffly says. He looks... guilty. "Some of them, I can't help but feel- sorry for? They are just- teenagers, after all."

"Still feeling bad that you chewed out that kid for being a bacon?" Elliot asks, snorting. "You're not at fault. The kid didn't know, you didn't know. And before you forget, Ollie practically threatened you with Rail stealing your soul for that."

"They are not normal Robloxian kids, Guest. You shouldn't let your guard down around them, no matter how bad you might feel." Elliot reminds him. He pats Guest 1337 on the back, then tosses him a pizza. "You've got to look out for yourself. I know you're one of the strongest here and you can punch the killers in the face, but please don't think that you can do the same with the weird fourth-dimensional... things."

"They're not things, they're teenagers, Elliot." He stresses. The pizza delivery man just sighs.

'He's going easy on them just because they're kids. c00lkidd's younger than them, and he doesn't hesitate to defend the team when HE'S around.' Elliot thinks.

Elliot was raised as a no-nonsense person that did their work and did it well. He wasn't the best employee at Builder Brother's Pizza for nothing- even as the son of the owner, he earned his position. He's a hard worker, doesn't take excuses from rowdy customers or bad employees no matter how young or inexperienced they are.

Sure, there's times when he feels sorry for c00lkidd and the possessors. But the team is first and foremost. Even 007n7 takes priority over those kids.

There's the sound of Jason trying to kill Olledsky in the distance and failing, because Elliot and Guest 1337 can hear his hyena-like laughter echo throughout the map. He's loud, and a great distraction.

If it weren't for the fact that Elliot saw him her get absolutely obliterated by 1x1x1x1 that round, and for her to be acting so pitiful that time- he would have thought nothing was wrong.

Ollie is a great actor. No flinching, no acting upset- just her usual asshole self. No trace of that young woman who begged for validation from a killer, who willingly let herself get beaten up and de-winged just for sword lessons.

"Nah-nah-nah-nah! You can't catch me!" She He sing-songs, running away with a skip in his step. "Jason! Too upset that you can't kill anyone who's not distracted teenagers making out? Hahaha!"

Oh dear gods she was acting like c00lkidd. This can not go well. Elliot watches as Jason rages and tries to swing his machete yet again, only to hit Olledsky's arm and make him snort. "I've seen paraplegics in a dark room aim better!"

Dusekkar is right behind him, sending a plasma beam Jason's way and slowing him down. Chance pops out of a corner and shoots their flintlock, stunning Jason.

"Let's GOOOO! Suck on that, shithead!" Olledsky crows, laughing. Elliot can already feel the glare that Builderman is shooting the possessor, even though he can't see the other admin anywhere nearby.

The round ends with a very ticked off Jason and the survivors making it out with little to no casualties. Which is honestly pretty good in a round with Jason- despite being a rather normal Robloxian, no hacks compared to the other killers, Jason was a huge threat.

Elliot has lost track of how many times he's been killed by Jason compared to the other killers- even he was able to evade c00lkidd better than that damn serial killer.

He appears back in the main cabin with everyone else, and takes a while to breathe. There's not much going on- that cat is still hiding away from all the other survivors, and it's not like he can pet it.

Olledsky, unfortunately, is sprawled out on the floor in front of them, face-first onto the hardwood floor. Builderman makes a face of disgust before dragging him up. "Off o' the floor. It's dirty, eugh."

"Mmgghph." The fake swordsman makes a muffled noise of protest, but lets themself be dragged onto the couch and thrown onto the cushions. "What, I thought you'd be happy I'm on the floor and all comfortable?"

"I'd rather not have yer face on the floor when it's Shedletsky's face. He'd throw a fit."

"As if he wouldn't already throw a fit with the shit I'm doing." Olledsky says. Builderman gives his head a gentle whack, to which the impostor responds with a half-hearted middle finger.

"No cursing." He says.

"Fuck you."

Elliot's reminded of his own little sister (she would've graduated high school by now, right? He's not even sure, time here is strange)- before he shakes the thought off. 'Don't get attached. Don't. They're dangerous.'

Olledsky yawns as he pulls up the user panel he has and browses through it. It's silent. There's no raunchy jokes, no badgering the other survivors, no trying to get under their skin- the girl was just... existing.

This was kind of rare, even for after a match. Looks like she actually wore herself out a bit. Elliot thinks it's a good sign- because if Olledsky can get tired, it's proof that she's not all-powerful or terrifying. They can relax when she sleeps or whenever she's gone.

Suddenly, there's a feeling of vertigo for Elliot, like he's supposed to be somewhere but it's not working. Olledsky seems to have noticed his discomfort, and tilts her head to the side. "You okay, pizza boy?"

"None of your business." He rubs his head, groaning from the dizziness. Like hell he'd trust Olledsky to be around when he's feeling off. Elliot stumbles over to the bathroom, rubbing his forehead and looking in the mirror.

Nothing seems off. He just looks kind of nauseous, maybe a bit pale- so why was he feeling like he'd fall asleep at any moment? The survivors didn't get sick often, since apparently the Spectre didn't like it's playthings being unable to run away from the killers.

Elliot feels that same pull in his chest, and his expression furrows into surprise. "Again?!" 'Another round, and not an hour later?! What the hell?' It wasn't often when that happened, but when it did, it was always a pain in the butt to deal with. Most likely, Jason got so mad that he wanted a rematch.

He goes out of the restroom to see a few of the other survivors look just as tired and haggard as himself. Olledsky seems to be just as annoyed, his grin strained. "Are you fucking kidding me..."

"I-I think I'm fine... I wasn't there last round." Noob stutters out. "So if a-anyone wants me to help..."

"Thanks, Noob." Chance says, sighing. He flips his coin out of habit, frowning as he sees it lands on heads. "Guess Lady Luck's not in our favor today..."

Elliot readies up, taking a stretch before he can be transported into the round. Everyone's probably going to die with how tired they are, and with how pissed off Jason is.

He feels that familiar tugging feeling in his chest, then his vision goes dark and his body goes limp. All the weight of his form goes away for a second, and Elliot would usually savor that moment before he's teleported over to the map, but...

He doesn't feel his own body. Elliot panics, opening his eyes to see that he's floating above his own body, which is laid flat on his (it's?) back. There's a spiked bracelet on his wrist that he's sure that he doesn't own, and there's a shadow over his face that looks eerily like Olledsky's.

"...They really weren't lying. Damn." The new possessor says, stretching his arms out and wincing. "Ow ow ow, cramp," they hiss, shaking Elliot's left hand, which was still sore from throwing all the pizzas last round.

"I've been taken over... great. And they're already swearing..." Elliot sighs, looking absolutely done with his life. If it wasn't bad already, he's got to watch himself either absolutely fumble this round and not save the others, or they're going to die first. Amazing.

"Hey! Elliot!" Elliot whips his head around to see Shedeltsky, who's quickly floating over to him with a surprised look on his face. "You're next, huh? I expected it to be Builderman, with how tense and scared he was, but..." Shedletsky trails off as they see Noob yelping and floating in the distance, also spectating their own body.

"I look so different! I don't remember wearing glasses! Or a hat like that!" Noob says. Elliot glances down at who's possessing Noob.

Their form was kind of different- still plump, but more stocky and well built around the arms. The impostor was wearing a red beret and a scarf covering their neck. They were currently taking note of their surroundings, muttering.

"WHAT THE FUCK? Oh, fuck, I'm NOOB!" Mimical adjusts his glasses. "Well it's not going to stop me... Wait, oooh, what species of plant is that?!" They started to scribble down notes with a pen onto a notebook, brought from somewhere, before he was bodied by elliot, in a sudden wave of energy. They felt their legs wobble, trying to recover from one hell of a hug.

"Mimical! You fucking asshole, you're here!" The faux-Elliot runs over, waving with a wide grin on their face. "I can't believe you're actually here! Like, we're meeting in person and all that, and I know it's not your face, but- wow!"

"Huh? Wait, how do you know my name?" Mimical, the possessor, adjusts their glasses as they squint their eyes. "Hmm... You're not Elliot, Hurricane KATrina, you're here!"

"In the flesh! ...Code? Something like that," Kat sqys with a grin in Elliot's body, and for a second Elliot is reminded of himself when he first started working at his family's pizza restaurant. "Good to finally seeya, Mim!"

Kat hugs Mimical again tightly, shaking them back and forth a bit in enthusiasm. Mimical hugs back, but awkwardly coughs. "As much as it is great to see you, Kat- we have bigger issues at hand."

They both look up to see Guest 1337 struggling with Jason, clearly trying to hold him back but not doing much with his block on cooldown. Mimical runs forward, reaching behind for Noob's slateskin potion only to get... Nothing in their hand?

"Damn it, of course- new moves." Not-Noob sighs, and adjusts their beret. They look closely, brain working and processing the visual information before them in an unexpected and focused way. They can sense the sweat, the exhaustion, how Guest's breath seems to waver. His stamina. Then looking more closely they could seem even further, the subtle gesture, how Guest's arms seem to be locked, how his legs are unprepared. his ability cooldowns! "Hm. So that's what my passive does... Kat! Guest 1337 is at 65% health. Throw a pizza if your cooldown is up!"

Elliot watches as the person possessing his body rummages behind them and pulls out a slice of pizza, tossing it at Guest 1337. Guest hastily snatches it up and takes a bite, and his wounds heal up enough so he can get away.

Unfortunately, that means that Jason's attention is focused directly on those two. Mimical yelps as the blade was sent crashing down his way, and Kat curses under their breath in panic. "Shit - MIM!" They grab them by the hand and practically sprint in the opposite direction, trying to get help.

"Shitfuckshitgoddamnit- HEY!" They curse wildly under their breath before yelling for help, panicked. "YO, A LITTLE HELP?!"

They're actually somewhat panicked and guttural, despite knowing that death isn't permanent and having their pain dulled. Elliot realizes- oh right, this is what newcomers are usually like.

Gray and Bow were detached enough from this reality to not be 100% affected with their deaths. Mario was... also similarly detached, but Elliot had the feeling that the kid was pushing the problem aside and just not addressing it.

Rail was literally a demon king, no other comment. And Ollie was probably the spawn of something unholy so he's not even going to try and figure out what she was.

"FUCKING HELL! Fuck's sake," Kat yells out, dragging a panting Mimical behind them. "Literally ANY help would be good right now, I'm on cooldown and I'm not letting this idiot die on my watch-"

Speak of the devil and she shall appear. Olledsky barrels into the fray, sword in hand as she whales on Jason and kicks him back for good measure. She's panting and heaving after having run here, but she's there. Safe.

"You two. I don't know- which of you two you are, but- run. I'll handle this." She lets Kat and Mimical catch their breaths, eyes locked onto Jason. "Builderman's up ahead, take a right. He's got a dispenser and sentry set up, so do what you gotta do."

Kat nods, and Mimical follows their lead. The two of them end up where the rest of this round's survivors are, all crowded next to Builderman's dispenser.

"H-hey, help- I, help him please. He needs to not be dying right now, Jason got him pretty bad and I'm out of pizza right now," Kat blurts out in a rush. They don't really care that they're obviously breaking their role and making their disguise useless. They have a friend to help.

Builderman immediately freezes up a bit, looking at the two. The other survivors warily glance at them, because it was obviously not Noob despite the same face and clothes. "Great. And who are you?"

"Call me- fuck, i really shoulda thought this through more," they mutter. "Y'know what? Fuckin'- Ellikat. Sure. Call me Ellikat. And this is... um. What should I call you here, broski?"

"Mode. When I'm on the job, please call me Mode." Mimical- no, Mode said. "I'm trying to keep our first meeting professional. Best if my life is less connected." Their wince in pain, talking despite the discomfort. "This is still Noob's body. Better keep that addressed."

Guest 1337 isn't sure what to think of them, especially after the whole debacle with Ollie and Mario, but he's the first to extend out his hand in a handshake because Ellikat healed him. "I'm Guest. But you most likely know me already, with how... she talked about us."

"No? I mean-" Kat Ellikat looks confused and a bit worried. "Well, yeah, I know who y'all are from - yeah, but Ollie and the others didn't say anything about you guys or their job." There was a small pause. "None of them fucking talked about this, but I am not leaving them or y'all to deal with this bullshit."

Builderman reflexively chides them for cursing. "No profanity!"

Ellikat blinks. "Oh, right. Roblox swear filter. Sorry, it's a sh- bad habit of mine, but i'll try to reign it in."

Elliot is floating next to Noob and leaning over, trying to see what was going on while Shedletsky was going out to monitor Ollie again. "That makes no sense..." Elliot mumbles, looking worried. "If that's the case - them not telling the newcomers, I mean - then how did they even get here?"

Noob frowns. "I-I don't think they're really behind it all... r-remember last time? With... the choking?"

"..." Elliot recalls how Bow looked like she was physically struggling to breathe even though she was possessing 007n7's body, after trying to even mention who their boss was.

Before they could say anything else, however, Olledsky barrels in with Jason hot on his trail and blood all over their chest. Eyes cold and uncaring, stalking the possessed pheasant of a man.

Jason whipped his machete out, and eyes glaring with his inevitable apporach. He already killed so many. What was one more chicken to slaughter. "HEY! Need some healing here! A-and some help!"

Guest 1337 blocks the next strike from Jason and retaliates with a meaty punch. bones cracked, but the stun faded in an inhuman amount of time, somehow recovering like some juggernaut. Chance tries to shoot his flintlock but it jams and doesn't go off, so Olledsky has to rush in for a slash and get another stun in. The sword sliced through the hockey mask, Jason grabbing his face and dropping his machete in an attempt to recover.

It won't last long though. It never lasts long enough.

"One- minute left!" Olledsky pants, and she flashes the survivors a sharp grin. "I'll be the one cooking up the dead meat-"

"Olledsky, get yer' hide outta the line o' fire and let the others deal with it." Builderman deadpans. "Yer' one hit away from becoming roadkill and I ain't having the Spectre keep us here fer' longer."

"Ahhh, fine." Olledsky rolls his eyes with a 'tsk', but pauses once he sees Ellikat and Mode. "... Kat? Is that..."

"Yeah it's me, Ollie!" Ellikat pouts, crossing their arms together in frustration. "And Mimical too! Why didn't you tell us this was your job?! I am not letting your dumbasses get killed here, dude."

"Oh no. Oh no no no no-" Olledsky's grin cracks and he shows genuine panic and concern, backing up. "Shit, no- you- did you see my warning? At all?!"

"What warning?" Ellikat asks, and Olledsky's face falls. "..."

There's silence in the entire round, and tension thick enough to cut with a knife. Jason stumbles back up from his stun, an Olledsky grabs the two's wrists and drags them away, running.

"We'll talk about this later. In private." He hisses with urgency, clearly rattled by whatever was going on.

[Noob]

Of course, they sneak in with Elliot after the round, in order to see what the heck was going on between Ollie and the new survivors. Shedletsky was doing it too, because why wouldn't he be curious about what was being discussed?

Noob phases through the cabin wall, but doesn't really find them. Elliot is similarly confused, scratching his head.

Shedeltsky sighs. "They're outside. Behind the cabin where Noob usually sleeps."

"O-oh! Right." Noob sheepishly floats over to where Shedletsky is saying, and watches as Olledsky Ollie paces back and forth, a worried expression on her face.

There was a distinct line between Olledsky and Ollie. One was an act, the other was the 'real' person possessing the admin. She was much more genuine when she wasn't around the survivors and when she thought that nobody was watching her.

"Look- Kat, Mimical- you're both in danger." Ollie says bluntly, pulling out her user panel. "I don't know how they contacted you when I tried reaching out and warning you but-" She shows them her panel. "See here? I specifically warned you both not to make a deal."

"... Ollie, the message didn't send. And even if it had? I would still have taken it," Ellikat Kat says slowly. The shadow on her face seems to darken, solemn and angry, trembling as her hands grip the hem of Elliot's shirt. "I saw the creepy fucker. I write eldritch horror for fun, Ollie. I just refuse to leave you here alone to die without me. I refuse to let you go unprotected and unhealed." Her hands shake slightly, tightly gripping onto Ollie's shoulders. "I don't know what the end result will be - if we're going to get sent to hell, or die, or-"

"No. No, you're not going to die, just-" Ollie lets out a sigh, trying to keep her composure and keep the situation under control. The wings on her back droop. "Look. That damn being- they're a shady bastard. They said me and the others can't back out of this job once we verbally agreed, and Rail is... honestly I think he's free to leave but I feel like they might do something to him if he doesn't stick around."

Both Kat and Mimical are completely focused, trying not to freak out. "Ollie, I know how this shit goes. This won't end well for you - for any of us. We have to be careful, very careful," Kat says, their voice strained with a frustrated concern.

"Right. Right. Sorry." Ollie runs a hand down her face, her wings fluffing up. "But this... nothing's happened yet. They didn't directly harm us, but it's ominous. Like I don't trust them at all."

"I know. Neither do I." Kat grits their teeth, subconciously putting themselves in front of Mode, maybe out of some sort of protective instinct. That seems to be their main drive, anyway, from what Noob can tell. "But... we agreed. Probably too quickly. And now we've got to see it through." They sigh, heavy but determined. "Whatever. For now- when are the others usually here?"

"Depends on the day. Different timezones means the time dilation is... weird about what three days of the week they appear on." Ollie explains. "I'm sure the others will be here either tomorrow or two days later, but... yeah."

Kat sighs again, softer this time. "At... at least I get to see you guys." Kat mutters, her voice surprisingly soft, a sharp contrast from the brash and loud tone from earlier. "That's- nice. Even if it is in a situation like this." She sounds almost... vulnerable.

"... I must admit, this is... a rather worrying predicament we've gotten ourselves in." Mode admits. "I should have considered the possibility. Shouldn't have let my need for experience and worry blind me to this trap. But... it is rather pleasant to see you here too."

The conversation turns over to the usual. How to navigate the user panel, how to contact the others, what chores they're supposed to be doing in the survivors' camp- nothing too unusual. But Ollie cracks jokes, tries to redirect their attention to the positives. At least they were together, at least they were alive, at least they got to 'play' with the survivors.

Noob, Elliot, and Shedletsky all make disdainful expressions at the last point. Kat also seems to be disturbed at this. "Ollie. You can't just talk about them like they're not people."

"I know, I know!" Ollie insists, her expression furrowing. "But- come on. We have to be detached from them some way. And you know I'm not wrong. Compared to them-"

"Nope. Nuh-uh. I'm stopping you right there." Kat narrows their eyes, pointing an accusatory finger at Ollie. "I know that you're supposed to be the bad guy- hell, you told us directly. But it doesn't mean you get to dehumanize them. Are you even listening to yourself?!"

"..." Ollie is quiet. She grumbles, looking away, and the wings on her back draw inward. This is the first time Noob has seen actual guilt on her face- well, on Shedletsky's face. "Do you think it's easy for me? To even see them as toys? Sure. They're not real to me, or they are real to me. I don't care if I contradict myself-because what difference does it make when they've planned it all out for me?"

Kat stares at Ollie, expression unreadable, shadowed eye leering uncomfortably. Mimical writes more down. Trying to figure out what information on their predicament that they do have, looking more and more stressed by the sudden shift of atmosphere, just barely detaching themselves in itchy discomfort.

"... Nevermind." Ollie mutters. "Let's get back to the others. The survivors have to get used to you two, and as long as you're friendly with them, they'll tolerate you better than me."

Ollie steps away, and Olledsky steps out from behind the cabins, fake smirk on her his face that's so shit-eating that it's convincing. Like he didn't just fret over his friends like a worried mother, like he wasn't a person with an actual heart.

"What were you saying to them?" Guest 1337 confronts her, expression stern.

"Nothing much." Olledsky snickers, one of his wings flaring out as a dismissive wave. "Just talking about how fat your ass is."

Guest 1337 makes a disgusted face as he turns around and walks off. "Forget I asked."

Noob thinks to themself. 'Oh definitely... she's avoiding the question and making it so Guest doesn't bother them.'

Shedletsky, who's also been listening in to the conversation, sighs as he runs a hand down his face. "This girl... she's a menace." He lets out a chuckle. "Is it bad that I see myself in her? Gods..."

"I don't know. Have you ever commented on someone's ### before?" Elliot snarks. Shedletsky responds with a laugh, his own wings fluffing out in amusement. "Only my wife's!"

"Ew, keep that to yourself." Elliot says, and Shedletsky only laughs louder at that.

Noob decides to leave them be, and follow Mimical Mode. The person possessing their body- probably a nerdy teenager, now that they think of it. Similar to the others.

Mode takes their hexagonal-patterned journal out, and begins to mutter to themself as they write in it. "Last round was a disaster... what even are my abilities? All that running, and I wasn't able to access the Bloxy Cola or Slateskin..."

The possessor pulls up their user panel, albeit with some difficulty- he was new to this after all. Noob floats over to them and sits next to them on the couch, leaning over to see what's on the screen.

It's blank, of course- none of the survivors, whether being possessed or not, could see what was on the screens. Mode swipes through it for a while, then pauses.

"Hmm... my passive is 'analysis'. And abilities... what do you mean my class is 'informant'?" They raise an eyebrow. "Isn't that supposed to say 'support' or 'survivalist'?" Mode goes quiet for a bit, their eyes roaming across the interface so they can properly read.

"... I see. Fascinating..." Mode begins jotting down notes, and while Noob can't see the user panel, they can see the moveset that the possessor writes down.

Class: Informant

Difficulty: ★★★★☆

Other stats remain the same.

New Passive!

* Analysis - Ability to see status effects, cooldowns, and stamina of all survivors. And the status effects and stamina for Killers. Does not show through walls.

Abilities
* Glasses Glint (ACTIVE)  When in unobstructed view of the killer, be able to use this ability. For 10 seconds, be able to view the killer's ability cooldowns, and anyone in a Small radius around Mode can see them as well upon this ability activation. Gives helpless for 2 seconds to the user. Cooldown of 17 seconds.

* Insecta Impirium (ACTIVE) Plant down a bug in a location. This bug will take 5 seconds to activate. When activated, it will make semi frequent chirps. Any survivor or killer that enters its radius will be pinged to Mode with their identity for 2 seconds, And any other survivors will see them highlighted for 1 second. You can place at max 2 at a time. Cool down of 25 seconds. 

* Eusociality (ACTIVE) We are together, we are one, we are powerful. When this ability is used, the furthest bug will quickly fly directly to Mode, ignoring walls. Once it reaches Mode, he will gain speed 3 for 5 seconds. If the killer is in close proximity, they will be pushed back by a small amount. This doesn't work if the killer is in a prolonged animation. Cooldown of 50 seconds.

Noob lets out a little squeak of fear. Bugs? They're deathly afraid of bugs! Even with the threat of death looming over them every round, they'd rather charge directly into 1x1x1x1 than touch a spider. No thanks!

"Fascinating... I mean, I've researched entomology for fun before, and biomimicry in engineering is rather complex when making designs based on bug anatomy." Mode hums. He holds out his hand, closing his eyes- and a small bug glitches into existence.

"Oh, ew ew ew!" Noob gags, floating backwards as quickly as they could manage. "Why! Why does it have to be bugs?"

To the regular person, the bug wouldn't be anything too special. It looks like a small beetle, maybe one of those small green June bugs that buzz around all the time during the summer.

He tosses the bug up into the air, and it automatically hovers around and circles them, landing on his hand with a quiet chirp.

"Cotinis nitida. Found in the eastern United States and Canada." Mode says, letting it crawl to the tip of his finger and onto the ground. It makes the chirping noise again, this time much louder.

"That would be... Insecta Imperium. Now, for Eusociality..." Mode takes a few steps back, and focuses on the bug. It does nothing but stay there. He furrows his brow and adjusts his cap. "How do I do this... it's much harder."

Mode snaps his fingers, and there's the sound of buzzing wings as the bug gets up and slowly flies over to him. As it lands on his shoulder, it glitches out, and Mode's body twitches a bit.

"So this is what Speed III feels like. Let me try." He dashes off to one of the cabins, touching it's wall and dashing back. Noob reckons that the being possessing his body was going as fast as Elliot.

"I-I don't like the bugs..." Noob mutters to themself. "But they're useful, I guess..."

Mode closes his hexagon-patterned journal and puts it behind him in his inventory, and groans as he stretches. "I wonder what the others do between the rounds. Certainly it's going to make for some good observational study."

Noob then had to watch as Mode awkwardly and obviously stared at everyone in the main cabin, just standing there in the corner. Occasionally he whips out his notebook and jots down some notes, and it really felt kind of demeaning at times.

Noob feels like their freinds are being analyzed. Monitored. Experimented on like a scientist would to a lab rat. It's unsettling, and only goes to show that whoever or whatever was possessing them, they had a degree of separation from the Robloxians that would never really sit right.

Several of the survivors came and went into the main cabin while doing their daily chores. Builderman, who was busy maintaining the electricity and plumbing of all the cabins for the survivors, had the unfortunate luck of being there when Mode was staring.

"..." There's awkward silence between them. Builderman simply keeps an eye on him warily as he uses his tools on the cabin's wiring.

"Can ya' stop it with the gawking?" He says, clearly annoyed and unsettled. "Yer' lookin' like a barn owl with how big yer' eyes are."

"Apologies. But you all are too intruiging to pass up on observing." Mimical rubs the back of his head sheepishly, and steps aside. He lets Builderman work unobstructed, simply staring as the admin unscrews a lightbulb and replaces it with a new one.

"If I may ask-" Builderman startles, nearly dropping the lightbulb in his hand. "How did you procure a lightbulb? I was unaware of how that would be possible, seeing the Spectre's realm doesn't have the resources to make one..."

"I've been findin' stuff to maintain the cabins outside in the woods, all scattered 'bout. Reckon the Spectre likes makin' us do all the dirty work of maintainin' the cabins." He complains.

"Hm. Unreasonable, but expected of such a being that would willingly trap you all here." Mode says. He adjusts his bandana. "I hypothesize that the only reason why we are not dragged here and kept here permanently is. Well." He pauses.

Builderman stares at him expectantly. "What? Spit it out,  you ain't gonna leave me hangin'."

"... I am unable to say the current hypothesis." Mode drones out, his expression flickering with some fear. "My employer has forbidden me from doing so. Failure to comply will result in punishment."

Noob, who's floating behind Mode, looks concerned at those words. Mode sounds almost robotic with how he's responding, as if he's delicately suppressing his emotions in order not to draw attention to the Spectre.

Builderman seems to get the message. He lets out a sigh and a grumble. "Fine, do what y'all want. But this ain't over- the moment you and yer' friends get to say what's up, then tell us."

Mode nods, and there's more awkward silence between the two. Builderman leaves to check out the other cabins, and Mode is left standing there. Alone.

He sits down on the couch, flipping through the notes he's taken so far. It's incredibly detailed, along with messy sketches of all of them, but Noob doesn't like reading the stuff because it feels invasive.

"Hey, Mode!" Noob startles up, hearing Elliot's voice. They look up not to see Elliot but Ellikat, leaning over the couch and grinning at Mode. "You're looking real sharp, actually! Sick outfit, dude."

"Haha, yeah." Mode laughs, relaxing. His demeanor switches from analytical to friendly. More casual, less like a scientist at work. "Nice seeing you too, Ellikat. Did Olledsky debrief you on what to do around here?"

"Mostly cooking- Elliot's the team's main cook. Do you know he makes a mean lasagna, apparently?" Ellikat opts to sit on the arm of the couch, just because. "Man, I'd pay to get to try that. Maybe I could bribe Chance or something."

The real Elliot floats in, intangible and undetectable, right behind Ellikat. He looks grumpy- clearly annoyed that he couldn't help his team.

"You in the same camp as me, Noob?" Elliot asks, crossing his arms. "She's... fine enoughat cooking. Makes a passable meal for the others." He says.

"T-that's great! But- um- what's got you all bothered, Elliot?" Noob asks, worried for their teammate. "Did she mess something up?"

"No, no, it's not Kat, it's-" Elliot sucks in a breath, and makes a muffled scream as he buries his face in his arms. "Ollie."

"W-what did she do?" Noob stutters out, worried. "Did she hurt someone?!"

"SHE BROKE PASTA IN HAAAALF! AND THEN BROKE THAT IN HALF AGAIN!" Elliot lets out a wail at the affront to Italian cuisine. "She CRUSHED the pasta noodles into a powder and then boiled it! To, and I quote- 'see how it tastes'!"

"O-oh." Noob says, a bit underwhelmed. They know how important cooking was to Elliot, and for Olledsky to do that must have pissed him off a lot.

"And. She ####ing ate that slop after boiling it. She didn't use the tomato sauce, noooo- she used KETCHUP! KETCHUP!" Elliot howls like he's in physical pain. "May she ROT in HELL!"

"... I-I'm just going to leave you here..." Noob nervously responds, inching away from the enraged pizza delivery worker.

Yeah, even with the new addition to the possessors- Ollie was still a menace that got on everybody's nerves. Noob can only hope that she sticks to simply annoying and infuriating them, instead of using her skills to do much worse things.

But then again, maybe that was a futile wish. [REDACTED] and [EXPUNGED] want a villain, after all. She doesn't have a say.

None of them do.

[Shedletsky]

Shedletsky was sure that the world was treating him and the other survivors as a joke at this point. Because why else would two more of them get taken over? Why else would almost all of them be possessed by now?

A day later after Mode and Ellikat arrived, the others decided to appear and possess everyone else. Marekkar was the first to arrive, poofing up into Dusekkar's body when the mage was in the middle of talking with Builderman.

"Ooof- maaan, it's always trippy joining when there isn't a round..." The teenager complains. He brushes down his robes, before he turns over to see the others.

B0w7n7 pokes his head out behind one of the main cabin's rooms, and Grance follows suit. "Heeey Mario!" He grins, waving. "You ready for work?"

"Ready as I can be. Is Rail coming?"

"For one day, I think- he's saying he's busy this week with something." Grance replies. "I mean, that's cool- as long as we don't have to deal with Two Time, I'm down with it!"

Two Time, who was listening in on the conversation, has their eye twitch in annoyance. "Tch! The audacity of these-"

And they were immediately cut off with a 'poof' of smoke, slumping over and getting possessed. Rail Time shakes themselves off and waves the smoke away. "Heya, guys."

"Hey Rail!" Grance gives him a friendly wave. "Ollie said that she'd be here, and that she had something important to say-"

And right on cue, Olledsky bursts into the main cabin, panting. "Okay, okay. I came as soon as I heard- you guys are okay, right?" She asks, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm sure we're fine- and why are Elliot and Noob behind you?" Rail asks, squinting his their eyes. "Wait- I recognize that soul, it's warm and familiar..."

"Rail! Rail, you're here!" Kat beams, running up to the demon king and hugging him. "Holy shit, you're ALL here! Damn there are way more than I thought-"

Rail looks like he's seen a ghost, freezing in place. "Kat, you... what?" He's terrified that one of his best friends ended up being roped into this job. "Kat. Kat you agreed to the deal?!"

Ellikat's expression turned from happiness to concern to something conflicted, the shadow darkening once more. "I... [REDACTED] said that you and Mimical would be here, and Ollie. I couldn't just leave you here unprotected, dude, I'm going to help. Come hell or high water," they growl, almost defensive.

"... They said that you'd be here." Mode says, his eyes narrowing under his glasses. "Kat, were you were not supposed to be here? Did you accept simply because you heard I was already contracted?"

"No. I accepted for all of you. And for the survivors, too. I'm going to help," she says, resolved. "...It certainly added to my concern, though."

There's a sense of unease and terror between the possessed survivors, before Olledsky steps in and uses his wings to block their view. "Hey, look- what's done has been done. I did my best to warn them, and I'm sure you all did too but- I assume our boss intervened and didn't let it send."

"Yeah." B0w7n7 says bitterly. "And we're gonna have to watch as everyone else is dragged in here with us. Are we just going to gloss over this? Act helpless?" He spits out.

"Hey, hey! Calm down, Bow!" Olledsky ends up having to comfort them and keep them from losing their temper. "Look. I know it's bad- but we'll just have to fight through it. The others will be safe as long as we're entertaining, and we can buy them time-"

"Are you kidding me Ollie?! Do you hear yourself?!" B0w7n7 snaps, and Shedletsky winces. What follows is an argument between Olledsky and her that everyone tries to break up.

007n7, who's drifting closer to Shedletsky and Dusekkar, looks concerned. "Is it me or are they becoming more... restless as time goes on? More aggressive?"

"By that, what do you mean? Is there trouble brewing, going on behind the scenes?" Dusekkar asks.

The hacker furrows his brows. "I- don't know how to describe it, but- she's glitching a bit? I can see afterimages."

007n7 was right- subtly, Shedletsky could see the tell-tale flicker of a slight glitch in her body. It's barely noticeable from a distance, but it was there.

'What's up with that...?' He thinks. It's worrying, but not as worrying as the argument in front of them right now.

"You're only saying that because you suck up to the boss!" B0w7n7 complains. "Ollie, you're my friend- but god you don't understand shit! This is our friends we're talking about- you can't just do nothing to stop [REDACTED]!"

"Does it look like I can do anything?! If I try, who knows how they're going to react!" Olledsky hisses, glancing outside and using his wings to cover them from above. The two unpossessed survivors left- Guest 1337 and Builderman- stare at the group warily while they argue. "I'm trying. The best I can. And I suck up to [REDACTED] because if I don't, we're all going to be in trouble. I don't want to take my chances with them."

B0w7n7 seethes, but there's more desperation and nervousness underneath their anger. He takes a deep breath and calms down, hands unclenching. "Yeah. I... I know. But god, I don't want the others to be dragged into this."

Ellikat lets out a small huff, and pulls in Bow7n7 for a pat on the back. "Look, I'll be fine, okay? Don't worry about us- we'll face whatever's thrown our way, and I'll try to help y'all as much as possible. Let's not argue about this."

"... Okay."

The argument died down after that. Most of the possessors were familiar with each other, with Ellikat being really close to Rail and Mode. B0w7n7 was chatting with Grance as usual, and Marekkar seems to be standing with Rail, Guest 1337 and Builderman.

"Look. I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions, and I should not have acted that way towards you." Guest bows his head deeply in regret. "Even if you are a Bacon, I- shouldn't have assumed that you were like the Bacons I faced during the war."

"Nah man, it's fine. I fucked up big-time saying that..." Marekkar says, rubbing the back of his head. He looks sheepish and genuinely sorry. "I- I'm not a Bacon anymore if it makes you feel better. Neither is my brother."

"... How in tarnation are you not a Bacon anymore?" Builderman says, baffled.

"I- um... changed my avatar." Marekkar says, his voice soft. "Didn't really fit me or my brother.

Now, normally, if Builderman and Guest 1337 knew that Roblox was a game to their possessors, he'd understand that Marekkar was talking about changing his avatar as one would change skins and customize themself in-game. But since he and Guest didn't...

"Avatar" had two meanings. It could be an icon or figure representing someone in a video game... or a manifestation of a deity in a mortal form.

So Builderman rapidly paled as he misreads Marekkar's words and lets out a strangled "that's nice". Guest 1337 is also similarly shell-shocked, and tries his best to put on a brave face.

"Oh! That's- good." He says hastily. "What's your avatar now?"

"Ehhh some kinda mage. Fits with how I've been assigned to Dusekkar here." The god normal-ass teenager shrugs. "Got the whole fit- pointy purple hat, robes."

Dusekkar, who's watching the whole interaction, looks perturbed. "A god from another plane of reality resides in my form, and might hold magic far vaster than I can perform."

Marekkar was not a god and just a random skater, but it's not like the survivors are going to understand this with the sheer disconnect between puppet and puppeteer.

"I'm just- going to go now." Guest 1337 quickly zips away, trying to recuperate from learning this and figuring out a plan on what exactly to do. It's good that Marekkar wasn't a bacon and he'd forgiven him for his little mistake, but- he's more unnerved at perceiving the young god as this powerful.

He thinks his punches can't do anything against a god, but he'll at least try. Marekkar, on the other hand, is left standing alone and looking remorseful. "I don't know what I did wrong..."

"You did your best, Mario." Rail says, patting him on the back and sighing. "I don't know what's up with them- they don't trust us for a good reason, yes, but they're acting like we'll bite or something."

Shedletsky snorts and rolls his eyes. "Yeah, right. Implying you're a god and apologizing at the same time- that definitely isn't going to scare him." He sarcastically says. The admin is used to this kind of nervousness and fear as Telamon- it's one of the reasons why he left his old name behind.

And speaking of his old self... Ollie. He's She's not with any of her friends, simply looking over everyone by herself and making sure that another argument doesn't break out.

Even with that shit-eating smirk on her face that seemed to be the default, she seems... lonely. Isolated. Like as much as she's all friends with the others, she isn't the one they first gravitate to.

It's difficult to see how she's really feeling on her face- but Shedletsky knows. Her wings are tucked inward, drooping slightly as she surveys the room and sees that everyone else is having fun.

"Eh. Fuck it." She mutters. Ollie Olledsky summons the user panel again and browsing through it, bored. Shedletsky sees her him poof into smoke once again, and his appearance changes into something that wasn't quite Telamon but still just as intimidating and divine.

Black and grey robes replaced with gold and white, and his wings had much more jagged feathers at the end. The pair of wings on his head fluffed up, and his face was covered by two wheels inlaid with eyes.

"Yo? Yoooo-" Marekkar rushed over, gawking at Olledsky. "That's the uh- Guardian Angel, right?"

"Yeah. My favorite skin, actually!" Olledsky's grin widens, and he pushes aside that feeling of loneliness to act like nothing was going on, that everything was normal, totally. "Ooo, my wings are a bit bigger- someone get me a mirror, I wanna check 'em out-"

As Olledsky rushes over to the bathroom for the mirror, the others begin to be just as interested. "Wait- we can use skins?" Ellikat asks, vibrating a bit. "God, I gotta try out the uh- ones for Elliot, they're usually the best-"

Elliot, who's busy watching himself be possessed like the other survivors, looks kind of sheepish and afraid at what might Kat might put them in. "Please don't make me look like an idiot, please."

Ellikat pulls up their own user panel and there's a poof of smoke. What's left standing there is an alien with green skin, blue pizza uniform and rounded antennae.

""Grak! Zorak tu fling blobstok!" Ellikat begins to speak gibberish, their voice distorted. The rest of the possessed survivors crowd around them and begin messing around.

"Hey, can you say like, curse words?" B0w7n7 asks, circling around their friend. Rail grins widely, their tail wagging. "I wonder if I can try to translate it..."

"Right behind you, Rail." Mode says. They've got their notebook already in their hands, staring at Ellikat. "Kat, how about you say... 'Bitch-ass motherfucker'?"

"LANGUAGE!" Builderman yells from outside the cabin. He was pointedly ignored.

"Zoo-mglorp flinglejepet." Ellikat says, completely deadpan. Grance lets out a barking laugh, and Bow7n7 grins widely. "Ooo! Say something else!"

"Premtreu zorgat gloob florp, wii." Ellikat's gibberish makes no sense whatsoever, but it's still amusing. "Zylox for the glarbt."

"I have NO idea what you said, but it sounds funny!"

Grance hums and decides to change their own skin to a similar alien-like being, with a green suit and sparkle time fedora. Chance visibly brightens up at seeing the limited, squirming aside Elliot to take a better look. "Is that a sparkly time fedora?! I've got a red one back at home, but a green one... I won't mind having another one!"

"Zyrg holpka vibb nub glorp..." Grance says, and Ellikat perks up. "Gloop glorp!"

Both of them begin to chat together in gibberish, and Mode scribbles down their best approximation of what they're saying. The transcript, despite being written down quickly was still legible enough to read.

"Hmm... I can get what they're saying, but it isn't really a direct translation." Rail Time muses, their tail wagging. "I can understand all human languages, being a demon- but this isn't exactly a human language."

"Then how are you even able to understand them?" Olledsky asks. Rail puffs up, slightly annoyed at the fact that they were next to an 'angel'. "Well, even if they're aliens when using this appearance- they've still got souls, no?"

"Oh right, demon king." Olledsky sighs, and notices Rail's discomfort. "Oh, shoot- um, let me just change in a bit-"

Chance is visibly getting more and more happy as they see Grance cycle through more appearances, each with different colors of the sparkle time fedora. "Blue and pink sparkle time fedoras as well?! If this wasn't fake, then I'm practically set for life!"

"Gambler, there are other things to be focused on other than your limiteds." Two Time hisses, clearly unhappy at being forced to look at Rail puppet their body. "I figure it is a blessing that the demon is unable to change my appearance."

The others continue to play around with their appearances, elbowing each other and laughing. And yet again- Olledsky Ollie is left behind. Sure, she's in the middle of all them, she looks like their equal (which is more than Shedletsky could say compared to her and his unpossessed teammates)- but she's alone.

Shedletsky thinks that it's because she's surprisingly quiet and calm when she's not deliberately provoking anyone. Since only Builderman and Guest 1337 were left unpossessed, she can only really hang out with her friends and focus on keeping them together.

Turning his attention back to the others, the others seemed to have settled on finding the appearances they liked for the next round.

Grance is currently donning a copy of Chance's... old casino uniform? There's even the red sparkle time fedora that Chance always bragged about, and even a fancy poker chip in his hand.

"Hey, lemme try!" They flip the coin, only for their hands to fumble, drop it, and land on tails. "Aw, damn it..."

"Don't worry Gray!" B0w7n7 says, his voice more goofy and deep. They've apparently swapped appearances to a... skeleton with a blue hoodie and hotdog on his head?

"That- doesn't even look like me." 007n7 says, scratching the back of his head in confusion. "Who even is this? They don't look like a normal Robloxian-"

"heya."

007n7 yelps, rocketing backwards from whoever snuck up on him. "Ack! Who are you?!"

The other possessed survivors simply stare at the short skeleton in front of them, not even paying attention to their possessors were goofing around anymore. 

He's got the same casual smile and blue jacket that B0w7n7 was donning, albeit with no hotdog on his head. Shedletsky and Dusekkar tense up a bit, unsure of what to do.

"heya. name's sans. sans the skeleton." Sans held out his hand, and being an admin- Shedeltsky decides to be the one to test out the waters and shake the stranger's hand.

Mode chokes slightly from laughing at the silly skin, interrupted by a loud fart sound that rips through the air. Shedletsky can't help but freeze for a second, before letting out a confused laugh. "Wha?"

"the ol' whoopie cushion in the hand trick. always gets em." Sans says. The other survivors are also restless, talking amongst themselves.

"So is he a newbie? I'm pretty sure he didn't show up until that gal decided to go look like him." Chance comments. Noob nods, glancing at Sans. "Y-yeah... what were you doing before you got forsaken here?"

"i dunno, pal- was just having a really nice nap on the surface, babysitting a kid and all that- then next thing you know, i feel like i've taken a shortcut and i'm stuck as a ghost here." Sans lets out a chuckle. "i was just bone-doggling around, if you catch my drift."

Shedletsky lets out a "ha!" at the pun, before gently elbowing Sans. "You look like you'll fit right in with us! Although, we should probably explain what's going on here..."

"'prolly should explain it to mr. bunny over here, too." sans floats over and gestures over to the side. Elliot looks baffled. "H-huh?!"

"Oh my gods- a bunny!" Chance somehow seems happier than when they saw the limiteds that Grance was wearing, because there was now a massive fluffy bunny in a worker's uniform. It- he?- waves at them with his oversized paws, and pulls out a bunny-shaped popsicle behind himself to give to Chance.

"Aww, thank you, big guy!" Chance has a lick of the ice cream, and practically beams. "I haven't had ice cream in ages! And it's mint flavored, too!"

Elliot glances down to see that- huh, Ellikat was using the bunny's appearance as well, happily being patted by her friends. "Dude, I'm FLUFFY!! This is awesome actually. 10/10, no notes."

The survivors crowd around the bunny at first, but he seems to get all nervous, ears pinned back. Sans raises an eyebrow (bone-brow?) at how desperate the survivors look for ice cream. "woah there, bucko- poor guy's looking real stressed from all of you crowding him."

"O-oh, sorry... 007n7 and the others back off, and they looks just as apologetic as him. "What's his name, anyways?"

The large white rabbit taps on the nametag on his uniform. Two Time leans closer, squinting at it. "... Gubby is your name, yes?"

Gubby nods. He gives a thumbs up with his paws, and rummages in his pockets to give the other survivors rabbit-shaped popsicles as well.

Shedletsky practically devours his while Dusekkar thanks Gubby. "I thank thee for your sweets, for in this purgatory we certainly lack any treats."

"purgatory, eh?" Sans asks. Chance nods, and decides to be the one to explain it to both Sans and Gubby. "We're all basically trapped here by some... thing called the Spectre. Makes us run around and try to survive killers like it's some sort of twisted game, and basically we've got to do generators and survive."

"The rounds usually happen once or twice a day." Shedletsky adds on, still taking hungry bites of his popsicle. "Mmph- speaking of, you don't seem like a Robloxian... where are you from?"

"and you don't look like a normal human either." Sans lets out a chuckle. "I've met a skele-ton of humans, and none of them are as yellow as you are."

"I bet you no-body is like me, funnybones!" Shedletsky grins, making more jokes with the skeleton. "You're putting out some real rib-ticklers out here!"

Sans then proceeds to explain his side of the story. Apparently, he's from another universe entirely and not from Robloxia, so there goes logic out of the window.

"To get this straight- you're a monster that was freed from the underground because some kid decided to break a magical barrier and fight the king of monsters, only to face his deceased son and win with the power of friendship and determination?"

"yeah. that's basically it." Sans shrugs. "dunno what's too difficult to understand about that."

"What I don't understand is how humans would go to war against monsters! I mean- humans are just a sub-species of Robloxian! You'd fall under the same blanket as us..."

"nah. different universe, remember?" Sans tapped his skull with a bony finger. "i'm not made of code. or, at least i don't think i am."

"Weird..." Shedletsky feels unsettled at this. He can clearly feel Sans' code like the code of every other Robloxian because of his status as an admin, but- to think Sans wasn't originally code like they were, it was outlandish.

It's as if you took someone from the 'real' world and told them that it was possible for a person to not consist of atoms. Made up of something entirely new. The fundamental building blocks of Robloxia were made of code, everything was made of code.

So for Sans to originally not be made from it? Color him intrigued.

Dusekkar is similarly curious, floating closer and circling around Sans. "By the gods... your code is similar to our own, and yet your body is made of a magic yet unknown."

"monsters are made up of entirely magic, ya know." Sans shrugs. "i know some basic magic theory, so if you wanna chat...?"

Before they could speak more, however, there was the sensation of pulling that usually preceded being dragged into a round. All of the possessed let out varying exclamations of disappointment as they were dragged into the round with the invisible survivors. As well as the frustrated screams of one noob possessor.

[Sans]

Sans has no idea what's happening, and that's saying a lot because he's went through countless resets with Frisk. This was the first time he's been dragged into a weird deathmatch-purgatory game with a bunch of... humans? And his body's being possessed by someone else?

'huh, guess this is one of those body snatching situations. nothing in my calculations told me about this possibility happening, but hey.' He shrugs as he floats behind the kid possessing his body- apparently some teenager named Bow.

The burger-hat man seemed to be following her as well, since she'd taken over his body. "T-this is so weird... how does this even work?" He mutters, thinking it over. "My code is still there, but there's traces of your code as well- how would it convert your magic to code, and what does the process look like?"

"hey. nice seeing another egghead in here with me." Sans says, and 007n7 looks sheepish. "I... Builderman is much smarter, and the only reason why I'm so interested in code isn't as good as it seems."

"why not?" Sans asks. "pretty cool if you ask me. kinda neat how you can just bend reality however you want, but the whole thing seems kind of iffy."

"You can't just- code anything you want willy-nilly!" 007n7 throws his hands up in the air, still following Bow as he does generators with Grance and Olledsky. "You can cause serious trouble! Glitches! Viruses! All that nasty stuff that comes with exploiting!"

"hey, man, chill out." The skeleton floats over, eying the generators before shrugging- he didn't think they were interesting enough because he's seen way more complicated machinery in the Underground. 'alphys' work is more reliable than that junk. it's like the spook wants them to suffer through fixing them.'

"heard from a little birdie that you have your own shortcuts." Sans jokes. He watches as Bow uses the c00lgui to teleport away- kind of impressive, how 007n7 made his own powers out of code instead of studying magic.

Sans was already thinking about how code and magic intertwined here. That Dusekkar guy was pretty interesting, with how his magic was completely different from monster magic or human magic, but still did the familiar functions of casting a barrier or stunning someone.

He knew a fair bit of programming himself. Alphys was the one making the robots though, so she had more knowledge than him.

It was all kinda fascinating to him. But what unnerved him was the whole possession thing. Seeing the way the survivors' bodies were being controlled, how the possessors were treating this all like a job or a game... it reminded him a lot of how Frisk was acting back in the Underground.

Before all the resets had ended, and they just... seemed to snap out of it. When he was busy tracking an anomaly that was making timelines jumping left and right.

Sure, there weren't any timelines at play here. But he'd heard one of the possessed say something about time dilation, and the pieces kind of clicked for him.

'they're like the thing possessing frisk.' He concludes. 'dangerous. but there's a bigger boss at play here, and from the looks of it, this situation might be like frisk's but different.'

Sans thinks this over. He hums and haws over the technicality of how to break it to 007n7 and the others that they might be a video game in the eyes of these possessors, but he simply shrugs and decides against it.

'nah. i'm too lazy for this, and this'll only cause a heapin' spaghetti-load of trouble.'

He feels something prodding at the back of his mind, and he backs away from that line of thought. 'woah there. who's knockin' on my cranium like a door?'

"Simply someone who wishes to keep this charade going."

'you must be the head honcho. real bad guy act you're pulling here.'

"Yes, I know, I know. Big, scary [REDACTED] coming in to mess with the plot. You of all people know what comes from messing with those above you in narrative power, right?"

'ooo, ouch. you really breakin' my non-existent heart there, buddy.'

"Ha ha, laugh it up. I'm having a conversation directly in your head, can snap you out of existence in a mere millisecond- this kind of audacity is refreshing, to say the least."

'hey, what can i say? i'm too lazy to be a suck-up.'

The mental conversation between Sans and [REDACTED] is completely silent, with 007n7 looking over to see the skeleton simply pretending to nap while the interaction happens. He's none the wiser to what Sans is experiencing.

"Good to know you're smart enough to not spoil the plot, skeleton. It'd be a shame if I had to kill off a fan-favorite cameo."

'that's a real rib-tickler right there, pal- i'm a fan favorite? who would'a guessed.'

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You're lucky that I feel merciful enough to let you off the hook, skeleton."

'nah. i don't think you're bein' merciful. after all, you're just as trapped and powerless as everyone here, eh?'

"..."

'you're talkin' big about not spoiling the plot and how you're runnin' the narrative- but you're stuck to it as much as the kids runnin' around in those bodies, and the survivors and killers here.'

"... Clever. Verrry clever. I should've known..."

'that i would've figured it out? buddy, i've played these games before.'

"Are you fucking kidding me with the Squid Games reference, Sans."

'you actually used my name, cool. and i dunno what a 'squid games' is but it sounds real funny.'

"... I will not engage in this conversation anymore and be made a fool of. Goodbye."

And with that, [REDACTED] left. Apparently they didn't want to reveal too much of their secrets- because Sans was an expert in digging too deep and uncovering things he wasn't meant to.

"huh. sweet." he cracks open his eye, realizing that the round ended. Bow was currently chatting with the other possessors players, and 007n7 was hovering over her, fretting over the small wounds she had. Sans didn't even know he could track dust here, but here he was.

"Sans! You're awake!" 007n7 says, looking worried. "Did you see what happened to Bow?"

"nah. was too busy talking to a slug." He says nonchalantly.

"Oh okay. Wait wha-" 007n7 turns around, confused, but right as he's about to ask Sans another question, the skeleton feels a pulling sensation and his vision goes dark yet again.

When Sans wakes up, he's at the beach where Frisk was hanging out, having woken up under an umbrella. "huh. strange dream."

Frisk scampers over to him, beaming. They sign and point towards Papyrus and Undyne, who are playing volleyball. Papyrus seems to have gotten tangled in the net. "Sans- you're awake! Can you help your brother?"

Sans looks over at Papyrus, who lets out a loud "NYEH HEH HEH!" and tries to wave at him, but is still stuck in the volleyball net. "SANS YOU LAZYBONES! HELP ME GET UNTANGLED FROM THIS NET THIS INSTANT PLEASE!"

"heya papyrus. how'd you even get like that?"

"WELL," Papyrus starts out, clearing his non-existent throat. "I WAS TRYING TO SPIKE THE VOLLEYBALL, BUT UNDYNE GOT IN THE WAY AND SUPLEXED ME! BY ACCIDENT!"

"I'm sorry for that, Papyrus! But rules are rules!" Undyne shouts, flexing her muscles. "Wrestling-volleyball's just not your style!"

Sans looks over at his friends and his brother, and he shrugs. "eh, sure. why not."

[Olledsky Ollie]

Olledsky watched as B0w7n7 unequipped the "Comic" skin, turning back into that sad middle-aged twink DILF. He snickers, watching as his friend makes a dramatic bow.

"Thank you, thank you!" B0w7n7 chimes, grinning ear-to-ear. "That was my performance as the funny Megalovania man!"

"Bravo, B0w7n7!" Olledsky praises him. "You did pretty well! I loved the puns, by the way- they were some real rib-ticklers."

"Hey, I was Sans! Not you! Only I get to make the bone puns!" His friend complained. It was in a rather joking way, so Ollie lets out a small chuckle. "Okay, I won't tread on your comedy territory... no bone puns."

Their other friends were chatting away- Mode was jotting down notes in their journal about John Doe's corruption, making hypotheses and writing observations while Ellikat and Rail helped him out with their own accounts of the round.

B0w7n7 turned over to Grance and immediately started making jokes about the milestone skin making them look 'fruiter than an orchard', and Mario was trying to talk to Guest 1337 and Builderman again- although those two looked like they were trying their best to avoid him.

Olledsky... wasn't really needed. She figured. All her friends had their little small friend groups that they were most comfortable with- Ellikat Kat saw Rail and Mode Mimical as her closest friends. Grance Gray and B0w7n7 Bow practically came as a duo. 

Marekkar Mario was a friend, yeah, but he wasn't her best friend or something. Olledsky Ollie hasn't had a real best friend since...

Since...

...

Maybe it's best to avoid that line of thought. She's got no reason to be thinking about that, and it won't make anything productive.

Ollie puts on the same bland, shit-eating smirk as before as she slinks into the shadows, acting like she's going to plan out some evil scheme. Builderman notices her and narrows his eyes, but he quickly averts his attention back to Marekkar, who's sharing cookies with Guest 1337 and him to try and make them feel less intimidated.

Let him think that Ollie's some sort of evil manipulator and mastermind. 'I don't even have a plan here, Builderman. You're smarter than me and yet you're fooled by my tricks.'

Ollie's sure as hell not smart enough to outsmart an engineer. She's horrendous as math, the engineering classes she's taken in high school have all been boring and she was saddled doing all the boring presentation stuff instead of actually inventing.

She thought she can't outsmart Builderman. But with the people here being so negative towards her, with her whole role as a villain and the facade she's built up- well, if she can't outsmart him when he knows the truth, then she'll have to make sure he never knows the truth.

Outmaneuver if you can't outsmart. Outplay if you can't outmaneuver.

Ollie hums to herself to try and keep herself company, walking outside into the dark and alongside the coast of the... lake? Beach? She's not sure.

"♫ Addicted to adrenaline, and always looking for attention-
thought to be so genuine, when she's suddenly met with apprehension... ♫" She sings softly, picking at Shedletsky's stupid t-shirt out of boredom.

"♫ The fighting has begun, and she'd do anything to get ahead- like using people as ladder rungs, and sweeping eggshells under the bed. ♫"

Maybe if she convinced herself that she didn't need them, that she was actually a bad guy- maybe then it wouldn't hurt as much. It shouldn't bother her, that she's not the favorite, that she's not someone's preferred friend. It's greedy. It's egotistical.

"♫ Toddler's cries that grow louder and louder, relishing in untestable power- ♫"

"♫ Glowing red in a black and white scene- the one and only candle queen! ♫"

And it's exactly what a villain was. Greedy, egotisitcal, self-serving- it's what she is.

Ollie doesn't deserve to play the hero- that's what she thinks. She's gluttonous, greedy, only concerned about herself and her family the most- she tells herself this over and over again, and it's the truth.

People like her don't deserve the role of a hero.

There's only one person that probably understands her, and she's gone and messed it up. Ollie sighs, pulling out her user panel to look at her inventory.

She's planned to apologize to 1x1x1x1. There's a bag of one of those dehydrated limes usually used for cocktail garnishes, since Ollie read on the wiki that it was 1x1x1x1's favorite food- and she also assumed that they were fond of other ungodly sour things, so she also bought those incredibly sour gummies that had no sweetness to them.

There hasn't been a round with them since... last time. They've gotten John Doe and Jason, Bluudud and Mafioso- but no 1x1x1x1. And there's only one day left after this shift before 1x doesn't see her for what feels like a week to them.

She won't let this slide. She needs to apologize to them.

Olledsky stands by herself at the shore. She's far away from the main cabin and other survivor cabins that she's certain that nobody could hear her yell.

"Spectre. I want to see 1x1x1x1." She says, completely serious. There's no fake smile on her face, just a furrowed brow that you'd usually see on Shedletsky during a round.

(Of course- Shedletsky had tailed her. Followed her in his invisible and intangible form, making it his duty to monitor her and prevent her from harming the other teammates.)

(He looks just as serious as her, clearly upset that she's even invoking the name of the being trapping the survivors here and trying to barter with it.)

(To see his creation- no, his child, out of all killers. He still was... still trying to figure out what to do.)

"Spectre. I know you heard me." Ollie says, sucking in a breath and glaring at the night sky. "Bring me to 1x1x1x1. Now."

Still silence. The water gently ripples across the shore, and an artificial breeze threateningly caresses her arm. Ollie's eyes dart behind her to see a shadow threateningly loom in the trees, before it disappears.

"I will not repeat myself again." She tilts her face down, and looks up in a threatening manner. Shedletsky, when he was Telamon, could do rather terrifying expressions- but not as uncanny as how Ollie's pupils dilated wide and stared up with little light in her eyes. "I am not asking on behalf of myself, but my employers."

(Shedletsky shivers as there's weight behind those words. Like a spell being evoked, like a ritual being performed. The abyss calls.)

(He's not sure if he can handle looking into it.)

There's a beat of silence before the tension unwinds. Like the Spectre gave up, and refused to press further. Ollie nods, and then steps forward. "Good. Now, where do the killers reside here?"

A pause. It's as if the trees stayed silent, before a feeling of pulling is felt in her (and Shedletsky's) chest, pointing them across the water.

"... Are you fucking kidding me." Ollie deadpans, her creepy expression changing to a normal, annoyed one. "Do you expect me to swim all the way there?!"

Again, silence. But it feels awfully petty of the Spectre. The breeze flows through the trees haughtily.

Ollie rolls her eyes and grumbles, wading through the water of the lake. "Oh, fuck you too." She says, before beginning to do a freestyle stroke, swimming away from shore.

Shedletsky didn't wear swimming trunks for nothing, after all.

(The admin watches as the girl possessing his body swims through the water- and seems to be actually making progress despite how sloppy her technique looked. Apparently Ollie knew how to swim.)

(More surprising was the fact that the Spectre didn't teleport her back to the cabins, despite her going farther and farther away.)

(Guess he was going to be the first survivor to figure out where the killers resided in this hell...)

[1x1x1x1]

They didn't feel ready for a round. Not after last week. Not after what had happened to Olledsky- no, to Ollie.

They were in their room most of the time. Training. Trying to get their mind off how she crawled over to them, blood staining the floor in a macabre trail as she practically begged for them to stay, begged if she was good enough and if they were proud of her and-

1x1x1x1 feels hatred. All sorts of hatred that Telamon housed back then- hatred of mortals, hatred of weakness, even self-hatred.

That self-hatred was especially strong this time. They ignored that familiar acidic feeling rising in their gut, how it burned in their rib cage like their poison and how it seeped through their veins and very being-

Why must they be a manifestation? Why must they be his hatred, and not just his power, not just his legacy, not just his child-

1x1x1x1 swings their daemonshank at the training dummy, and it gets sliced in half. They brutally stab it over and over again, the tip of their blade jabbing into it's chest.

"Die. Die die die die DIE-" They snarl, their anger bubbling up. "DIE!"

There was a certain pattern to their hits, whenever they trained on dummies like these. When they wanted to direct their hatred at Shedletsky, they stabbed the dummies' heads, sliced off their neck- anything to get rid of their accursed creator's face.

When they hated themselves, however... it was straight through the chest. Good practice for disposing of their undead minions (who looked too much like them), and whenever they wanted to rejuvenate the rotten.

Straight through the chest. Like how Telamon did them in, like how they deserved.

There's a knock at their door, and they let out a rattling snarl. "How many times have I told you all- I am NOT participating in whatever drivel you want me to!"

"Mister 1x1x1x1!!!" c00lkidd frets, clearly afraid. "Someone washed up on the shore! Mister Mafioso's gone, and bluudud's being all mean to me about it!"

"Eh?!" They snarl, throwing the door open and looking down at a nervous c00lkidd. "Why didn't you send Jason to check it out?!"

"Mister Jason's out in the forest again..." c00lkidd shifts, frowning. "I don't wanna bother him..."

"Ugh. Fine." 1x1x1x1 sneers, and stomps on over out of the wooden log mansion the killers resided in.

Their place was nestled a bit farther in the woods, with the sandy shore of the lake being a few minutes' walk from the living quarters.

"I really hope you're okay, Mister 1x..." c00lkidd says, twiddling his fingers and looking worried. "I don't want you to be upset. You look really sad..."

"Sad?" 1x1x1x1 scoffs. "I do not get 'sad'. I am hatred incarnate."

They're lying. They're lying and it's what's keeping their sense of self, their identity, tied to hatred. If they don't hate Shedletsky, if they don't hate Robloxia and everyone and everything- then they aren't 1x1x1x1.

They lost their identity as Telamon's creation and his protégé after that damned prophecy. They lost it when they lost to their creator in sword-fighting, when they were sealed away in the Necrobloxicon- they lost everything when their own identity shattered.

Never again. They are Shedletsky's hatred, and nothing more.

1x1x1x1 finally reaches the shore of the Spectre's realm, looking down on the sand.

"...  Are you ####ing kidding me." They say, seeing none other than Olledsky body laid face-down and wings sticking up awkwardly. "How the #### is he here?!"

"It's the scary one- I checked." c00lkidd whispers. "She's really tired, and I don't think she's waking up..." He pokes her with a stick, and Olledsky Ollie twitches, letting out a groan.

c00lkidd lets out a squeak of fear and takes out a fling brick, tossing it at her her head. She lets out a loud "OW!" and flips over, wings flapping erratically and tossing around sand. "What was that for?!"

"Don't eat my kidney!" c00lkidd yells, another brick in hand as he scoots back from her.

"I'm freaking tempted to with how you just threw a brick at my face!" She complains, getting up.

"Enough." 1x1x1x1 snarls, stepping in between c00lkidd and Ollie. "How did you even get here, Ollie?"

"I uhhh... fuckin' swam here." She says, rubbing the back of her head and sighing. "Threatened the Spectre to see you, actually. Hope my boss doesn't dock my pay because of this..."

1x1x1x1 and Ollie kind of awkwardly stare at each other. c00lkidd tilts his head, wondering what's going in between the two. "Mister 1x? Is something wrong?"

Ollie turns to c00lkidd and looks him dead in the eye. "c00lkidd, if you don't turn around this very instant and let me have a talk with 1x1x1x1 here, I'm going to marry 007n7 and become your stepdad."

"NOOOO!" c00lkidd yells, looking shocked and horrified. "I DON'T WANT YOU TO MARRY PAPA!" He immediately scrambles back, scampering off back to the mansion. 1x1x1x1 looks at Ollie with a 'what the fuck' expression and she just shrugs.

"Hey, it works, right?" She says.

"I do not know what is it with you and your constant flirting with almost every. Single. Killer and survivor." 1x1x1x1 spits out, slightly disgusted. "Do you find this amusing?"

"Why yes, it is rather funny." Ollie snarks back, a small smile on her face. "Makes them squirm more than the hundredth death threat you guys toss at them."

"I would rather not see you use my creator's face to try and 'pick up' others in front of me. Eugh." 1x1x1x1 gags. Because even though Shedletsky might not see them as their child and they don't see him as their father anymore... there's still that slight mortification when they see their 'father' flirt with other people.

"Ahh, fine." Ollie says, and sits down on the sand, her fingers digging into the tiny grains and her wings drooping down. 1x1x1x1 stands looking down at them.

More awkward silence between them. After last time, 1x1x1x1 doesn't know what to say to her other than the usual snark- which wasn't what they could do now. Olledsky, similarly, struggles to say what she wants to.

She takes a deep breath, looking down. "I... I'm really sorry, 1x. I shouldn't have taken Telamon's appearance and suggested that..." She gulps, squeezing her eyes shut. "It's my fault. For digging up painful memories."

1x1x1x1 stares. Really just... stares at her. No response.

"A-and-" Ollie stutters, her expression becoming less of a facade and more genuine than she's ever been around her friends lately and the other survivors. "I want. To give you this. As an apology."

She summons her user panel, rummages through the inventory, and brings out a... bag of dehydrated lime slices? And a bag of sour gummy worms.

'How does she even know I only eat sour foods?' 1x1x1x1's mind echoes, while Ollie continues rambling nervously.

"I- I figured this would be a good apology- I- you just seem like the kind of person to like sour stuff, a-and food's always a good way to make friends because I'd always like it and-" She hides her face, ashamed. "... Please d-don't be mad at me."

"..." 1x1x1x1 looks at the person in front of him. His creator's accursed face, his stupid curly hair and atrocious shirt and infuriatingly casual clothes compared to Telamon's grand robes, like he's trying to distance himself from all the pain he's caused 1x and say that he hasn't done anything to them at all.

But this is Ollie. Just some random stupid girl that's taken over his body as a vessel, that begged them for swordfighting lessons and pestered them with jokes and stuck around despite being looked down on for being friendly with a killer.

Someone who was willing to make amends with them even after they ripped her wings off and threw her to what she thought was her death. Too nice, too desperate for validation.

... She's a damn good liar, just like they are.

1x1x1x1 makes their decision. They snatch the bag of sour candy and dehydrated limes out of her hand, rolling their eyes and scoffing. "I will... accept this offering and your apology." They say carefully. "I never intended to have a repeat of last time, anyways."

Ollie looks up, relieved and desperate. "S-so- you're not mad? Y-you're not going to- stop training me?" The quiet 'You're not going to leave me?' is unspoken.

1x1x1x1 doesn't need to hear it to understand that this is what Ollie is actually begging for. "You're not skipping out on training." They snarl, acting as aloof and aggressive as they can. "It'll take a lot more than that for me to stop. No excuses for skipping."

"Y-yes, sir!" She says, scrambling up on the sand and smiling, grinning ear to ear. It looks a bit different from Shedletsky's grin, a bit more toothy, inexperienced but eager.

(Shedletsky is watching the whole thing go down. It feels like he's seeing a side of 1x that he's neglected for so long, that Telamon neglected for so long.)

(He's spent his entire time pushing away the thought that maybe 1x1x1x1 was more than just his embodiment of hatred, maybe that he could have raised him better, maybe he could have changed himself as Telamon instead of removing his hatred.)

(He can't really push it away now, when faced with so much proof that 1x1x1x1 COULD have been better. It makes him feel sick to his stomach, that he ran way from his problems instead of confronting them.)

It feels wrong of them to be the one accepting this gift. They were the one who hurt her, after all- it's completely baffling and foolish that Ollie would be the one apologizing.

"What I do not get is why you are doing this." 1x1x1x1 looks at Ollie with frustration. "Why would you decide to apologize to me of all people. You're supposed to feel rage! Betrayal!"

She's supposed to feel the same despair that they felt when their own creator struck them down. A mentor hurting their own student.

"Am I... supposed to?" Ollie asks. She pauses for a bit, then shrugs. "Sure, it hurts, but like... even though you're an asshole, I don't really feel hatred towards you."

"A foolish decision, really. Do you not feel hatred like that oaf, Shedletsky?"

"No, I can feel hatred. Two Time proves that." Ollie says. "But you? I don't know why I don't hate you."

1x1x1x1. Not being hated. The whole concept of that was foreign to them. Sure, their fellow killers didn't hate them, but it was more of a courtesy towards their coworkers. c00lkidd was a child and didn't really understand what 1x was doing, either.

Here was a person, who 1x1x1x1 had hurt, saying that she can't bring herself to hate them.

They don't know why. She doesn't know why.

"I... am regretful that our previous encounter ended up the way it did." 1x1x1x1 slowly states. Apologizing was unfamiliar to them. "I let myself go too far. I lost sight of the fact that you were not, in fact, my creator, but simply wearing his face."

Ollie looks absolutely floored and waves her hands. "No no no- it's fine! It's fine! I probably like, reminded you of some trauma and god that was terrible- I'm the one at fault here-" Her feathers are puffed out in mortification.

"Ollie you absolute buffoon. You are apologizing, for me hurting you. I- ugh, I hate even offering this, but..." 1x1x1x1 grits their teeth, trying not to let the foreign feeling of pity rise up in their chest. "I will allow you to ask me to do one favor for you. One thing."

"Can I use the favor now, then?" Ollie asks, wringing her hands, wings tucked. "I uh- feel like it'll be awkward if I ask later."

"Tch, go ahead." 1x1x1x1 crosses their arms together. "What is it?"

"I want a hug." She says.

"A... hug." 1x1x1x1 makes a scrunched-up face of disgust. "You want a hug."

"Yeah?" Ollie rubs the scratches of her head, looking embarrassed and unsure. "You- don't seem like the person to like physical contact at all, and I know you have issues with me using Shedletsky's body and all that- so you don't have to-"

"No. You misunderstand. Why did you ask for a mere... hug instead of- I don't know, something more valuable?" The hacker was visibly annoyed.

"I don't know!" Ollie says, pouting. "I just want a hug from you, I guess? It's been kind of a long day for me, so..."

1x1x1x1 was disgusted at the idea of themselves showing any... affection. Much less towards anything that resembled their creator. But this was an apology towards Ollie, and since they promised her...

"Fine. ONE hug. You are getting one hug." 1x1x1x1 hisses out. "Got it?!"

Ollie practically lights up like a Christmas tree and bolts towards 1x1x1x1, tackling them in a hug as her wings flare out and wrap around them. "Hell yeah!" She laughs, embracing them and grinning. "I get to hug the great 1x1x1x1!"

1x1x1x1 grumbles, and looks down at Ollie. She's still using Shedletsky's body, but it's still so weird and unnatural to them that they don't feel that same acidic, burning hatred when met with his face.

It's... nice. Hugging Ollie (and to an extent, their creator) was like embracing something stable, warm and strong- something they'd wished for never really got the chance to feel.

Telamon's hugged them before- very rarely and so long ago that they didn't remember fully. It didn't feel the same as this.

Maybe if they didn't hate Shedletsky with every fiber of their being, maybe if they didn't become his embodiment of hatred and Shedletsky didn't run away and ignore his problems like a coward- it's all maybe, maybe, maybe.

Maybe if things were different, their creator father could hug them like this too.

It's disarming. They hate it. They long for it. 

"Oh wow, you're cold." Ollie snickers, poking at their shoulder. She tries to lighten the mood. "It's like, really firm jello or something. You're absolutely jacked but like, the kind of jacked that can punch through a wall-"

"I assure you, I will not do something that unrefined." 1x1x1x1 snorts, looking down at Ollie. She's still hugging them, not wanting to let go.

"Tch, why are you still-" They try to shove her off, sheathing one of their daemonshanks to push her head away. "Unhand me!"

"You never said how long the hug had to be!" Ollie chirps, returning back to her teasing, infuriating self. "So I might as well keep it going as long as I can, since this is our only hug!" She flaps her wings, shedding a few yellow-white feathers in the process.

"You insufferable- ugh! You remind me of that red brat." 1x1x1x1 complains, trying to wiggle her off. "If it makes you unhand me sooner, then you are allowed to hug me once again- but ONLY when you ask me beforehand, alright?!"

"Hell yeah!" Ollie cheers.

After that awkward hugging, Ollie and 1x1x1x1 decide to hash out a deal between the two- after they've done all the Spectre's rounds for a day, Ollie could visit the killers' side anytime she wanted, as long as 1x was available and as long as she didn't go near the mansion.

"I do not need to put it through your head, thick as Shedletsky's skull is, that going where the other killers have no cooldowns and do not have to hold themselves back is a bad idea." 1x1x1x1 stresses, gritting their zipper-teeth.

"Aww, don't worry! I'm not that dumb... maybe." Ollie lets out a snicker. "I just won't get caught!"

"Ollie." 1x1x1x1 hisses. "I will not save you if you attempt such idiocy."

"Aw, fine, fine!" Ollie sighs, giving 1x a smile. "It's nice seeing you again, 1x- but I gotta swim back because the others are probably wondering where I am. I don't even know how long I've been passed out on the shore..."

"I am glad to see you go, if that is the case. I hope all of our future meetings here are shorter than this one, if we even meet at all." They spit out, with no real venom in their verbal jabs. "Goodbye."

"Aww, see you later as well, 1x!" Ollie waves goodbye to them.

1x1x1x1 watches as their... acquaintance slips into the water yet again, wings tucking inward as she swims across the lake with surprisingly well despite Shedletsky's body being made for flying rather than swimming. They scoff, rolling their eyes. "Ridiculous."

They would rather rip out one of their ribs than say that the pest was beginning to grow on them far more than they'd expected. She was amusing, that was for sure, but now she was amusing in a way that wasn't just for humiliating their creator.

(And maybe... they'd actually find a like-minded friend under the guise of a villain. Just like themselves.)

[Ollie Olledsky]

When Ollie finally reached the shore of the survivor's cabins, she claws at the sand, panting and gasping. Her wings are soaked like before, heavy and cumbersome and waterlogged.

(She hated them. God, they made her look like a flying pig. She hated herself, she hated how she didn't deserve these wings, how she wanted them cut them off AGAIN-)

So she ignores the feeling of unworthiness and dysphoria from the extra limbs. She was perfectly fine with Shedletsky's body- hell, she enjoyed being a big, tough guy sometimes and changing her gender for a bit (and she was going to nip the bud that she might be genderfluid RIGHT there, because her parents sure as hell wouldn't understand that).

But enough about herself. She's worried about her friends. Were they okay? Did they wonder where she was?

Ollie pants, shaking the water out of her hair like a stray dog and standing on the porch of the main cabin. "Guys? You there?"

Kat and Rail were her only friends currently in the main cabin. They're talking with some worry in their voices, clearly trying to figure something else.

"Do you know where Ollie went? I've been trying to find her, but- damn it! It's like we can't fucking travel across the forest here. Did the Spectre take her or something?"

"I'm not sure. But I'm sure she's fine- Ollie always comes back. She wouldn't disappear without a trace, she cares a lot about us and all that." Rail responds, his tail swishing behind him.

'... Huh. So they did notice me go missing.' Ollie feels... guilty, for making them worry so much. She stumbles into the main cabin, coughing a bit from the cold. "H-hey, guys..."

"Ollie!" Kat rushes over to her, still in Elliot's body. She rummages for a pizza slice, and hands it over to Ollie. "Where were you?! We were worried sick!"

"I just took a bit of a swim at the lake... and um." She glances around, trying to see if there was anybody there. "Don't tell the survivors this, but- I threatened the Spectre."

"Ollie! That's completely risky!" Rail says, his tail lashing behind him in stress. "What if you were- I don't know what the Spectre can do to us compared to your employers, but they're still a threat!"

"I know it's bad, but- I'll explain it to you guys over in the group chat after my shift, okay?" Ollie pants, running a hand over her face. "Where... are the other guys, anyways?"

"Um... Mario and Gray are asleep. Bow is still out looking for you, and Mimical is... busy."

Ollie could hear a loud yell of "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" come from one of the cabins, along with a loud poof of something. She sticks her head out of the main cabin to see one of the other cabins be filled with smoke. "You okay, Mimical?!"

"Oh, Ollie! You're safe!" Mimical stumbles out of the cabin, looking haggard. "That's- good. I was trying to mix Noob's Bloxy Cola and Slateskin Potion, but since they just weren't mixing I decided to try and heat the mixture up-"

"And it blew up."

"And it blew up, yes." Mimical sighs. "I'm not sure what will happen if I drink both at the same time, un-mixed, but that'll have to wait for a round."

"Yeah, yeah." She sighs, and wrings some more water out of Shedletsky's shirt onto the dirt below. "Mind helping me tell Bow that I'm back?"

"Sure thing!"

Ollie and the rest of the possessed survivors end up meandering about for the rest of that day. When it came time to sleep, she stayed up longer than the rest of them, staring at how they were huddled up in front of the main cabin's campfire with blankets and pillows.

"..." She glances at Rail, who's busy doing his own thing in the kitchen. There's no need for her here, even though she's just as tired as the rest of them.

Ollie sighs, walking out of the main cabin and away from the warmth and firelight. She's so tired that she passes by Guest 1337, who she doesn't notice eying her suspiciously as she clambers up a tree and rolls onto one of the cabin roofs. There's already a pillow, blanket, and cheap air mattress up there, from her previous sleeping habits.

"..." It's quiet. Lonely. She's nowhere with her friends.

Why does she sleep by herself, all alone and isolated where it was hard to find her?

...

Distrust. Both in her friends and herself. As much as she cared about them, her friends just... weren't her family. They weren't the reason why she was doing this in the first place. They were good people, yes, but she just couldn't bring herself to fully, deeply trust anybody from the 'real' world except her family.

And... she didn't trust herself. She had to play the villain, after all. The scapegoat, the one that the survivors would blame instead of her friends, the one that was supposed to cause chaos and see the survivors and killers as nothing but playthings.

Ollie curls up in herself, wings folding back and hidden under Shedletsky's t-shirt once again to avoid any potential sneak attacks on those new, sensitive limbs.

"... Goodnight." She whispers to everyone and no one in particular. And only when she was 100% sure that none of her friends or survivors were watching her, she allowed her eyes to droop closed and fall asleep.

Chapter Text

[007n7]

He can't get it out of his mind. Admins, he couldn't get it out.

The terror of being 'not real' to these higher beings, that his fate was dictated by someone who didn't comprehend that he was a person- it gripped at him and refused to let go.

'How powerful are the beings possessing us? Rail Runner was a demon king, Mario was- possibly a god? And Ollie is something that nobody really knew, but it sure as hell wasn't a normal Robloxian.'

007n7 deals with the stress by sitting at the desk in his cabin, hunched over it and trying to take notes on his c00lgui. Thank the gods he added a notepad to it during his college days- he did so that he could cheat on tests, but this was a good way to keep notes without anyone else knowing.

The notes were... messy, to say the least.

Whatever the #### is possessing us (Users? Creators? unsure)

• all seem to be teenagers + young adults in their age, but are MUCH older than all of Robloxia
  • Note- Rail Runner 5000 (possessing Two Time)- Older than Roblox itself, by a large margin? POSSIBLY MOST DANGEROUS
• Accounts, alts, users- ??? the "main" acc is the Robloxian and alts are disguises? But c00lkidd is my son and he's his own person, even though they call him an "alt"
• The guy that made me (or my acc) was young.
• What they call us suggests Roblox is a simulation/video game to them or something
  • If they know Roblox as a video game, they have to have accounts
  • Do they exist somewhere in robloxia? Are they their "creations"??? Do they know about their creators?
  • Do their accs act as conduits vessels for them?
    • No, most likely like me + others, unaware
• Conclusion - oh gods they're playing us for money.

He does NOT like the fact that he's powerless here. The old 007n7 would probably crash out at the idea that he's not the one in control, that someone else was dictating his fate- but damn.

Never let it be said that 007n7 was not observant. Now that he knew that the survivors were most likely video game characters in their possessors' eyes, their reckless, dismissive behavior made a LOT more sense.

Mode was the curious type, trying to figure out all the "game's" mechanics and using that knowledge to his fullest. Grance, Mario and B0w7n7 seemed to be more causal players.

Honestly he's not sure what Rail's deal is. The demon king was just there.

Ellikat was one of those players that always played support and tried to be a goodie-two-shoes to a game's NPCs, even though they weren't 'real'. And Ollie was... well... a dick. A troll. Probably the same type of person 007n7 was in the past.

'This is going to be a total wreck... where do I even go from this?'

Pushing aside the... frankly concerning implications that came with Robloxia as a whole being a simulation, 007n7 focuses instead on what he and the other survivors could do when trapped in this realm. 

If their possessors were from a higher plane of reality and this was a video game, then surely there were rules they knew. Surely there would have information on what the survivors could and couldn't do, how they could survive better in rounds, and in the best case scenario- escape this hellhole themselves.

'But for that, I'd actually need someone who'd be WILLING to cooperate with us, even at the risk of their 'boss' harming them...' 007n7 remembers. The sight of B0w7n7 hacking up her lungs and collapsing was... not exactly pleasant, knowing that in his body there was a 16-year-old. Good gods.

He taps his hand on the desk, looking down at the c00lgui and all of the names of the currently possessed survivors- and it hits him.

'I... don't like going to Elliot, even if he's possessed- but if Kat is the most supportive of the possessors, then she's at least the most willing to give answers.' He concludes.

007n7 gets up from his desk, stretching. Kat wasn't possessing Elliot today- she'd possessed him a few ways ago so he'd have to wait more for her to come back and give him answers, so that idea was put to the side for other things.

He walks out into the wilderness, then into the main cabin. Inside, Grance and Rail Time were cheering Marekkar on to do... something.

"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" Grance and Rail chanted, watching as Marekkar proceeded to down Bloxy Cola after Bloxy Cola. 007n7 isn't even sure how they got THAT many, even with Noob being able to summon an endless amount of them courtesy of the Spectre (albeit with a cooldown).

Speaking of Noob, the survivor was busy chugging as many Bloxy Colas as they could as well. They wiped their mouth, tossed it aside, and cracked open another can.

"Chug! Chug! Chug!"

'Don't tell me these guys are doing a drinking contest...' 007n7 groaned. "Noob! Duse- I mean, Marekkar!" He says, his voice stern. "Just what are you doing?"

The two of them pause while looking at 007n7. Rail has a clipboard with a ton of tally marks on the paper.

"We're seeing who can drink more Bloxy Cola." Rail says matter-of-factly. "Noob's got the highest tolerance, but we were curious about Dusekkar's body and how it would handle so much Bloxy Cola."

007n7 resists the urge to facepalm. To explain this in our term, they were doing the equivalent of chugging several Coca-Cola bottles WITH the coke in it- the Spectre buffed the caffiene content and effects of Bloxy Cola in order to make it work the way it did during the rounds.

"Bruhh... I think I'm seein' colors..." Marekkar says, his usually deadpan voice sounding woozy. "Holy shit, I think I'm unlocking the secrets of the multiverse..."

Noob, on the other hand, is trembling like a hyperactive chihuahua. Their teeth are chattering as they speak, giving the shakiest thumbs up earlier. "Y-yeah! I-I'm d-doing a-alright-"

They proceed to get up, and practically SPRINT out of the cabin faster than 007n7 has ever seen them. "... I don't think they moved that fast against any of the killers." He says faintly.

"Don't worry, they're fiiine." Grance waves 007n7's concern off. "I'd be worried, yeah, but Bloxy Cola isn't that bad compared to like, Witch's Brew and it's effects-"

"It has. So much caffeine in it." 007n7 stresses, his eye twitching. He turns to Rail Time. "You. You're the adult here. Why didn't you stop them from being irresponsible?!"

"Nah, it's cool. Noob is probably going to be okay, and Mario is just peachy!" He grins.

Marekkar, on the other hand, collapses onto the floor and begins to vibrate, clipping into the floor as they make Half Life 2 ragdoll noises.

And JUST to make things worse, 007n7 feels that same pulling sensation that means a round is about to happen. He groans, taking out his c00lgui and preparing it.

"Why is this our life..." He groans. Hey, at least this beats being bored before a round- if the possessors did one thing right, it was that they were entertaining.

The former hacker was pulled into the round- and damn it. It was C00l Carnival. Of course it was. He groans as he gets up, and sees Noob practically bolt into the distance like a skittish gazelle, the Bloxy Cola's effects still in action.

He turns over to Builderman, and sees the admin try to ask Marekkar for something.

"Marekkar, ain't you gonna give all us folks some protection or...?"

The possessed mage is floating mid-air- well, sort of. It's more like he's suspended mid-air, not bobbing up and down like Dusekkar's usual floating but just stuck there.

Marekkar begins to shake, the sound of something like a jet engine starting up and getting louder- before he ROCKETS off like a damn missile and starts rapid-fire screeching.

"YEAHHHHH-!" He yells, spinning his staff and firing off a plasma bolt.

The rest of the normal survivors watch on in awe and horror as Marekkar slams into c00lkidd and begins circling him like a hyperactive shark.

"GetPWNEDgetPWNEDgetPWNEDgetPWNED-"

(Dusekkar, who is watching this all happen with Two Time and Chance, physically cringes at how erratic he's acting. "Forgive me friends for my body acting brash- for I think this young deity will have a sugar crash.")

("Dang, I think I saw them drink like... thirty Bloxy Colas before the match. No wonder they're acting like this." Chance says, half impressed and half horrified at the health implications. "You think your heart can handle that much sugar and caffeine, pumpkin man?")

("... I feel that when I return from whence I came, my body and mind shall be in a lot of pain.")

("Mhm. Sucks to suck.")

"Ack! What's wrong with you, pumpkin man?!" c00lkidd pouts, clearly upset at how the admin was too fast for him to hit. "Slow down! It's no fair!"

He tries to summon his clones, but Marekkar flies back like a crackhead and spins his staff dramatically.

"I CAST GATLING GUN! FUCK YOUUUU!" He yells, his eyes and mouth blazing with flame.

c00lkidd can only let out a confused "huh?" before Marekkar practically pelts him and his clones with a barrage of plasma beams, yelling all the while.

"Ow ow ow ow! No fair! You're cheating!" c00lkidd whines, and runs away.

007n7 is, understandably, upset at the fact that his son was being shot at by a crackhead wizard. "MARIO! If you don't stop that right now, young man-!"

Marekkar whips around, and 007n7 tenses up. He'd forgotten in the moment that whoops, this was a god that was hijacking a powerful admin's body, and he'd just drawn his attention.

"AJAHFAAAAA-" Marekkar starts yelling, and begins to fly, rocketing off the ground and drunkenly sailing in the air like a bumblebee, before exploding in a burst of blue light mid-air and falling, slamming onto the concrete.

He kind of just. Lays there, in the Family Guy death pose, as Shedletsky tentatively walks up and pokes him with his sword.

"Auuugh..." The possessed mage groans, and his head falls down as the sugar crash finally hits. There's silence for a moment, before the sound of loud snoring fills the air.

"..." The survivors just look at Marekkar, and then each other. Rail Time just shrugs. "Hey, at least he's calm now."

"Wow, he's definitely not used to Bloxy Cola... the sugar crash hit him pretty fast, and Noob's still fine." Grance notes. And sure enough, Noob races back with the same manic expression on their face, panting and trembling as they grin.

"I-I-I finished all the generators! Y-yeah!" They cheered- and proceeded to immediately flop down on the floor and die immediately.

"... Nevermind."

That round was one of many rounds that those three decided to do. 007n7 was pretty sure that he'd never drink too many Bloxy Colas again, killers chasing him be damned. throughout the week, he saw Mode, Olledsky, and Bow7n7 took control of him again- and finally, he landed into a round where Elliot was wearing that spiked bracelet again and had a shadow over his eye.

Ellikat was happy with their role as a healer, albeit overly protective. 007n7 ran into them shoving a pizza into Guest 1337's mouth, glaring at the soldier.

"For the last time, I told you to eat! You're below half of your health, and you're not dying on me!"

"MMPH-! Mmm-hmm." Guest 1337 nodded in agreement, his words still muffled from the pizza in his mouth. "Mmm."

"Good." They let go of his shoulders, and pat him on the back. "Now go deal with the damn killer."

The soldier runs off, and 007n7 approaches them cautiously.

"Hey, um- Ellikat, right? Or do you want to be called Kat..."

"Eh, I'm fine with either." They say, kneeling down to work on a generator. "What do you need? I'm glad to help."

'It feels so weird, hearing Elliot's voice say that. He usually hates talking to me, much less helping me with anything.' The former exploiter thinks.

"It's... about what Rail Time and Olledsky were talking about." He says quietly. "The- whole 'everything is a game' thing."

They freeze in the middle of doing the generator, and look at 007n7 with an indescribable expression. "..."

"L-look." He sucks in a breath, nervous. "I- I know I'm not supposed to know this, but- I just- overheard them talking. Rail tried to explain it to me and calm me down but- I still have questions."

"I'm not angry at you, Seven, I'm just- ugh." They get up from the generator, finishing it even as they fumble a bit. "Those two should have known not to talk about this, right in front of you..."

Ellikat adjusts their visor. "I'll talk about it, yeah- but only after this round. We've got to survive." They run off towards the sound of Chance yelling for help, a pizza in their hand.

007n7 watches them disappear into the distance, hoping he'd finally get some answers instead of more questions.

After the round- only one of them had died, and it was Chance because he'd decided to take a risk and shoot with only one heads and several stacks of weakness. Ellikat was very much frustrated at that, berating them a bit before letting them go back.

"Don't try to take too many unnecessary risks! You would have lived if you didn't take that shot!" They say, their hands on their hips.

"Sheesh, okay, okay! You know, my whole thing is gambling, Ellikat- you don't have to yell at me about it! Elliot wouldn't be doing this!"

"Wrong. Elliot would be doing the same thing." Ellikat pouts. "Ugh, fuckin' hell, you're impossible..."

They go over to 007n7, glancing around at the rest of the survivors to see if they're occupied. "... Let's go. I've got a place to talk."

The single father follows the possessed delivery boy to the forest at the side of the survivor's camp, hidden in the darkness.

"I'm pretty sure the Spectre can hear us, and so can our boss... but hey, this is the closest we can get to privacy." Ellikat lets out a sigh, leaning on the tree. "So, tell me- what do you already know?"

007n7 spills. About the fact that c00lkidd was meant to be his alt, the things that Rail explained to him, the theories he had. It isn't easy to talk about- he's confused and nervous, of course. But it gets the point across.

"Huh... that must really suck." Ellikat crosses their arms. "They're right- this is a game to us. But... you guys are still real people, if that makes sense."

The teenager waves their hand. "It'd be messed up to say that you weren't, you know. So- I guess that's it."

"If we're a game, then- what-?"

"Roblox itself is a game platform." Ellikat explains. "This realm- Forsaken- is an asymmetrical horror game to us. Or, uh. Was, to me. I can't really look at the 'game' version and here as the same place anymore, you guys are obviously whole-ass people. Can't speak for the others though. "

It is kind of messed up, that he's living in an endless loop of pain and death, and it's all just some game made by someone in another world. Hell, he's not even sure if they can get out if that's the case.

"But if it makes you feel better, the Spectre isn't all-powerful. Not like-" Ellikat freezes up, before looking up and shaking their head. "... Fuck. I can't say that?"

"..." Nothing but silence responds them, but 007n7 feels a chill down his spine.

"Fine. Ugh." They grumble. "That's all I can't say. I can't say how I know the stupid fuckin' Spectre is vulnerable, how there's something worse out there- but keep that in mind. For all of our sakes."

There. Hope. 007n7 is relieved to know that their captor isn't an all-powerful, all-knowing god, but he's still concerned about what is powerful enough to have it shut Ellikat up about the possibility.

'And what do they mean by 'worse'?'

Isn't that a terrifying possibility. He moves on to another question. "What exactly are you?"

"Huh?" Ellikat tilts their head, the shadow on their- well, Elliot's face. "What do you mean by that?"

"Rail is a demon. It's obvious, he states it outright." 007n7 says. "But what about you? About Ollie, Mario, Gray, all the others?"

"Eh? Oh, them." Ellikat lets out a small laugh. "Don't tell the other survivors- I think our boss wants them to find it out themselves- but everyone aside from Rail is a normal human being."

"Bull####." 007n7 exclaims, then looks embarrassed at his own shocked cursing. "I understand with everyone else, but Ollie? She's not human."

A flash of anger appears on Ellikat's face. "Don't say that about her. She's 100% human, even though she doesn't seem like it sometimes. I... that might be a 'side effect' of our deals, so to speak."

There's a feeling that 007n7 did something wrong saying that, and he could equate it to someone calling c00lkidd a "monster".

"Look." Ellikat takes a deep breath. "Ollie might be fine with people calling her a monster. She might like being seen as scary and more powerful than she is."

"But keep in mind- she's a damn person. She's got parents, a brother, a life outside of her job." They point at 007n7 accusingly. "You out of all people know not to judge a book by it's cover."

"... Sorry. It's just- she's..." He rubs the back of his head.

"A handful? Yeah." Ellikat sighs. "Ollie's always been like that since we've known her. But she's a good person. Just... she's got the idea in her head that to be 'entertaining', this whole place needs a villain to band up against."

007n7 walks back out after the talk, looking at all of the possessors in a new light.

The next round, B0w7n7 ends up hijacking his body. He looks at her entering the kitchen of the main cabin, cooking a bowl of shrimp fried rice with a silky egg pudding.

The smell wafts up and out of the cabin when everyone's asleep. They quietly crack the egg inside the pan, and 007n7 takes note of their her movements.

Slow, deliberate, comfortable. Like someone who's done this a million times before. He wonders if Bow's parents taught her how to cook, or if she did it herself.

'She's really good at some things, but sucks at others.' He's not forgetting how she somehow managed to burn water that one time. Thank gods the cabins were fireproof.

[Discord]

🧵    🔕   📌    👥    ︙

#general >  

Vauschen Today at 5:30 PM

Dudes GUESS WHAT I MANAGED TO DO

I GOT TO THE KILLERS' CABINS!!! Or like, mansion. It's more like a bigass log mansion

mario  Today at 5:31 PM

legit???

Cotton (#1 007n7 fan)  Today at 5:31 PM

YOOOO

How'd you do it?

Gray (Not Cotton)  Today at 5:33 PM

WAIT REALLY?

Vauschen Today at 5:36 PM

Had to bully the Spectre into it, and only succeeded because [REDACTED] wanted more entertainment

Unfortunately to get there I gotta swim for a long time across the fuckin' lake

But it's cool, I got 1x some food for apologies and we're buddies again

celestial_kat Today at 5:40 PM

wait fr?

i can swim, can i join you?

Cotton (#1 007n7 fan)  Today at 5:41 PM

me too

Gray (Not Cotton)  Today at 5:45 PM

Me three

Vauschen Today at 5:46

Damn dawg does everyone here know how to swim???

mario  Today at 5:47 PM

not me

celestial_kat Today at 5:49 PM

mim says he can swim too, iirc

Vauschen Today at 5:52

Huh damn, guess I don't gotta be the delivery boy

The killer's mansion is a bit farther from shore though, and try not to get killed

I think only we can go there when we're possessing the survivors

Cotton (#1 007n7 fan)  Today at 5:55 PM

got it, don't worry

Vauschen Today at 5:56

Hmmm

On second thought, try not to go to the island until I tell 1x

They're going to be pissed if we all just unexpectedly show up

And I'm not the sort to go back on a friend's promise

celestial_kat Today at 5:58 PM 

ohhh kk that's fine! go tell them first and we'll be practicing swimming, i haven't done that in a while lol

[Olledsky Ollie]

Now, right after she'd managed to make up with her buddy 1x1x1x1- she of course had to tell her other friends about the fact that she'd managed to get to the killers' cabin.

After doing so, she relaxes a bit, looking at the laptop in front of her. She's got some plastic bags full of food (courtesy of the survivors, of course- she can't troll them effectively if they're all hungry and starving!) and some more amenities like soap, toothbrushes, and toothpaste.

'Thank god mom doesn't check what I use on my credit card... I worked hard for all this cash, and I'm spending it how I want.'

If spending her cash means helping out the survivors making the cabin a more comfortable place for herself, then there's nothing wrong with this!

The biggest thing Ollie is going to try bringing in, however, is something that she's always had her eye on in order to make things more interesting.

Her iPad is sitting on her work desk- loaded up with ibisPaint X, an old version of Capcut she refused to update, and several other art programs she loaded up.

She's learned how to lock some apps like Google, Tumblr and Youtube in order for the survivors not to stumble randomly on their own fandom. Ollie, as cruel as she was, is NOT gonna let any of them stumble into the hellhole that was THAT side of the Forsaken fandom.

'Eugh. I can feel myself disintegrating just THINKING about it.' Ollie shudders, and clutches the tablet close to her chest.

She enters the game, and now he feels himself carrying all the stuff that's in his inventory. Ollie Olledsky grins as he gets up from the ground, brushing the dirt off himself.

"Right outside the cabin... haha, guess I got lucky! No round for me right now!" He goes into the main cabin and sits at one of the tables in the back, setting up his stuff.

(Meanwhile, the actual Shedletsky was rubbing his head, recovering from the sensation of being taken over again.)

(This is getting more annoying than terrifying...)

Olledsky cracks his knuckles, and turns on his tablet. He looks at a list of names and commissions from several friends and strangers online, and grins.

"Time to get some work done."

Now, one skill that Olledsky was damn proud of was his ability to mimic people's voices, given enough time and practice. Once he's heard people speak for a long enough time, he could replicate what they sounded like.

Olledsky coughs, and tries out Chance's voice. It's that kind of cocky voice he expects from characters, like Sonic the Hedgehog but older and with a bit deeper tone. "Testing, one two three..."

"Lady Luck must be in my favor!"

"Oh, shoot..."

"Take a chance with Chance, baby!" He winks and points at nowhere, trying to get into character. "You ain't seen nobody like me!"

Now, why exactly was Olledsky trying to replicate Chance's voice? Maybe because he'd gotten a few commissions of Chance doing something absolutely hilarious...

Olledsky's grin is wide as he pulls up a video from a friend, something he'd specifically made for this moment. It's that horrific "Babygirl? Daddy's home." meme with the cursed, poorly drawn Sans... but with Chance instead.

Babygirl, daddy’s home (Chance Forsaken version)

(Shedletsky's expression turns from confusion, to shock, and then amusement as he sees what the hell Olledsky was planning.)

("W-wha- pfft-!" Shedletsky has to hold back a laugh because holy hell, that wasn't supposed to be funny, Chance is his TEAMMATE for Robloxia's sake. But still..)

Olledsky tries to imitate the same comedically deep cadance of the video while also making it seem like Chance is saying that. "'Babygirl?' No, no, too deep... 'Babyguuurl?' Nah, too fuckboy-y, I think.."

He tries again, winking at the camera. "'E-ey, babygirl...'" Olledsky recoils from how awkward it sounds.

"Ugh, it's so hard trying to mimic a person who's mimicking a voice..."

(Shedletsky is too busy laughing his ass off, attracting the attention of 007n7's ghost. B0w7n7 is busy in a round and therefore he had the time to just. Teleport back into the main cabin in boredom.)

("Hey, what's going on? I don't know why you're laughing but-" 007n7 freezes, watching Olledsky flex his arms and try mimicking Chances' poses in the Flipaclip animation.)

("... What???" He asks, baffled.)

Olledsky pouts, and groans. 'Maybe if I try other voice lines and try to make Chance sound genuine about the joke...'

"Babygirl? Daddy's home." He bites his lip and looks at the video, trying to mimic the face drawn. The false swordsman has no idea that Shedletsky and 007n7 are looking on in bewildered amusement.

"Eh. Close enough." Olledsky saves that to go back for later, before checking for another VA commission. "Hm... making 007n7 sing... Rabbit Hole?"

There's some silence in the cabin before Olledsky furrows his eyebrows, thinking about it. "Hm... I can't do it in Japanese, I only know English. So which English cover should I use for it..."

He glances back and forth before opening Youtube, making 100% sure that he's using a guest account to hide her search history. He pulls up the video of Will Stetson's cover of Rabbit Hole.

"... Eh, close enough. Builderman's gonna kill me." He has a smug expression on her face, knowing that the cover was damn well not up to Roblox's TOS.

(Right behind her, Shedletsky is bursting out in even MORE disbelieving, amused laughter. 007n7 is blushing bright red at the suggestive lyrics and the OUTFIT the cover art had.)

("Wh- NO! WHY?!" He wails, mortified that Olledsky even had that idea. "What the heck is she doing?!?!")

("A-apparently this!" Shedletsky cackles, falling over and trying to float smoothly as he looks at his possessed body watching the video. "O-oh, what if she tries to draw you in the BUNNY SUIT too-")

("DON'T GIVE HER IDEAS!!!" The single father screeches.)

Olledsky gets up, straightening herself up as she puts on the video and uses the tablet's microphone to sing.

"♫ Loving and liking, They’re just one and the same, same- You’re not that special, I’m just playing the game, game! ♫"

It feels like a fever dream, hearing the normally shy and subdued 007n7's voice singing in a sassy, confident tone.

"♫ “Hey, I’m sorry” – Is that really what you want to hear me say? No way! Don’t get all stressed and depressed over this ok? ♫"

He spins around, one hand on his hip and one hand wagging a finger to the beat.

"♫ Stop! Don’t you know, never wanting any more is rule number one? Right from the start not to give it any heart, it’s only for fun! ♫"

Olledsky can rap, apparently. Using 007n7's voice. And with some impressive speed. At this point, the real 007n7 and Shedletsky are not sure if they should be impressed or yelling in shock.

"♫ Mr. Commitment, you can find the exit over to the right
Oh my, are you really staying for the night? ♫"

He spins around again and makes a cutesy, smug face. Nobody would believe anyone if they said that the great Shedletsky was making a >:3 face, but apparently Olledsky could.

Shedletsky calms down from his laughing, listening to Olledsky sing in the background as he goes over the implications.

'So she can mimic people's voices... That's definitely going to be a problem if she ever decides to use that against us.' He scratches his chin as he continues to wonder what exactly Ollie was, and why she was bothering to mess with them like this.

007n7, on the other hand, just has a defeated expression on his face. "Just end it. Please. I don't sound like that. I wouldn't sing something like that."

"Not even when you were hacking?" Shedletsky elbows him softly.

"NO! Not even when I was in college!"

And apparently the world seemed to hate 007n7 in particular, because Olledsky sang the next lyrics with sass.

"♫  Bursting rubber, we’re instant lovers, And under the covers, we smother each other and- ♫ "

007n7 makes a noise akin to a dying cat, and curls up in a ball in embarrassment. Shedletsky bursts out laughing once again.

"♫ It’s no dilemma, come dear, you gotta- ‘Cuz once you recover, We’ll go for another- This Vampire’s a talented sucker! ♫"

007n7 is really doubting the notion that Ollie is a normal human- she must be a demon that feeds on embarrassment and shame or something, because no way in hell was this not just to mess with him.

Or she's just a master-class troll.

When the song finally finishes, Olledsky is panting in exertion, but smiling. He stops the recording and laughs breathlessly.

"Well, all in one take! I'm getting better at singing with other people's voices, I guess!"

Olledsky takes a few minutes to recover, and drinks some of the water she'd brought before taking her tablet and walking over to the kitchen.

He re-stocks the place as his break, shoving in the plastic grocery bags full of food. "Elliot should be able to make use of these ingredients... If he doesn't try to poison my food, of course." He snickers. After all, Olledsky did fuck up Italian cuisine on purpose.

'Who needs to exploit like 007n7 to piss off Elliot? All you need is some atrocious cooking!'

He cracks open a glass bottle of Thai Tea he'd bought for himself and chugs it down, unbothered at the idea of pissing people off and making enemies.

"Hm... I should try other stuff." He taps his fingers on the kitchen counter, thinking about what he could do with the survivors' voices for a bit of profit. "Guest 1337... he sounds like the kind of person who'd make people swoon with only his voice."

"I should probably make ASMR of him or something."

(Thankfully, 007n7 had left to see Bow7n7 back at the main lobby of the cabin, because Shedletsky heard this and his eyes bugged out of his head.)

("HUH?!?! Man, I guess she's really dead-set on using us for one purpose or another..." He reckons it's not as bad as the Spectre trying to puppet them around like damn playthings, but using Guest's voice like that did sound kind of... invasive.)

Olledsky thinks about it a bit, before shaking his head and sighing. "Nah, they're gonna start requesting me to say gooner shit if they think I'm a hot guy. I swear, some people on the internet are weirdos."

She may make jokes about 007n7 and Guest 1337 being DILFs, but it's for the bit. She very much respects their boundaries in practice and Isn't going to be an asshole to them by trying to cop a feel.

"Okay, so that's the ASMR idea scrapped... but I'm still doing memes." Olledsky pops up some images on the user interface he has, yawning. "Hm..."

Shedletsky can't see what's on it, but from the way he chokes back a laugh and grins, it's probably something that would get him banned.

"Guess I'll do this, haha..." He walks back to his tablet, and is about to send the image over to his email- before he freezes.

Chance is looking at the tablet with one eyebrow cocked up, snickering. "Hey, Olledsky- didn't know you were into me in that way."

"Uh. Um." For once, Chance sees Olledsky actually look embarrassed. "Look man, that was a commission from someone. I'm pretty sure that it's so cursed, that everytime someone listens to that audio, an angel loses it's wings."

"Uh huh. Keep tellin' yourself that." Chance presses play on the video, and snickers as he hears the audio. "Man, I don't remember ever saying that! But I gotta admit, it sounds pretty close to me!"

The false swordsman puffs up at the praise. "Why thank you! I did it myself!" He mimics Chance's voice, snickering.

"Yo! That's actually pretty cool!" Chance makes finger guns at him, and he gives them a smile. "Hell yeah!"

"Can ya do anyone else?" They ask, flipping their coin in their hand. Olledsky makes a dramatic gesture.

"Darlin', ah' can do any of y'all here." He says in Builderman's southern accent. The only thing that makes it clear that it wasn't Builderman was the fact that the admin would never call anyone 'darling'.

"So I ain't a talentless hack-" He switches his pose, dramatically hiding his face behind his hand. "Because the Spawn has blessed me with this holy voice." He says with Two Time's voice.

"Unfortunately, I'm not perfect." Olledsky drops the act, and goes to his tablet. He rewinds the video and coughs. "I've been trying to do this one, and I can't just get your voice right."

"I heard, yeah." Chance leans back. "I'll help ya. For a price, 'course."

"What is it?"

He gives a sheepish grin, and makes a drinking motion. "You know, some good liquor. I've been missing the stuff I always got at my casino..."

Olledsky winces. "Ah, sorry. I can't buy any liquor- Only nineteen, remember?"

"Wait, really?" Chance barks out a laugh, still in disbelief. "Seriously? I thought they were lying, given that..."

"Nah, they weren't." Olledsky makes a so-so motion. "I can't drink, can't buy the good stuff. So you don't gotta do the voice acting-"

"Nah, it'll be funny." He cackles. "Just buy some board games or something like that."

They give a thumbs up and clear their throat, coughing a bit as Olledsky holds up the tablet to record their voice.

"Babygirl? Daddy's home." Chance says, trying not to bust into laughter as he sees himself on the screen- and fails. "PFFT-"

"Aw, man! Try again!" He says. "Dude, you almost got it!"

"A-ahah- wait, I-I'm just- ppft-" Chance snickers. "Just... the bunny-print boxers?"

"Do you actually wear those, man?" He asks.

"Nah, heart-patterned."

"Bro, are you a cartoon character or some shit? Goofy ahh." Olledsky says.

"Hey! I'm helping you out here!"

Chance clears their throat, and tries again. "Babygirl? Daddy's home." He dramatically laughs. "Come here, princess."

"..." Olledsky has to quickly end the recording in order to finally laugh. "Ahaha! Perfect!" He covers his mouth with one hand, trying to muffle the sound.

"You got anything else I can do?" Chance asks, messing around with his coin. Olledsky shakes his head. "Nah. I'm good- but if you want to hear me dub over a few shitty memes, go ahead."

"Oooo, I'm interested!"

Olledsky can only grin as he shows them the meme he's about to use Builderman's voice for. "Opinion on this, Chance?"

The gambler is stunned silent for a minute- before letting out the loudest wheeze-laughter known to mankind. "AHAHAHA- O-OH ADMINS, THAT'S-"

(Shedletsky's jaw drops as he sees the image- and the absolutely mortifying render of his best friend wearing a maid dress.)

("W-WHAT IN THE WORLD-?!" He shouts, getting psychic damage from the sheer idea of his serious friend doing this. Shedletsky begins to laugh once again, his lungs strained from all the wheezing.)

"Hehehe... knew you'd like it." He coughs, and practices using Builderman's voice for a bit before actually saying it out loud.

"I mean, this ain't exactly th' thing I 'xpected from folks on the 'net, but I ain't gonna turn it down if it's gonna make 'em happy." He says, drawling out that southern accent.

"Chance, ya ready fer' me ta' take a shot at sayin' this?"

"Ahahah- k-keep going! Do it!" The gambler eggs Olledsky on.

"'Kay, this here's mah impression of this here post..." Olledsky says in Builderman's voice.

"Name's David Baszucki. Y'all can call me Builderman, but I ain't mind bein' yer daddy~"

"Ah' go by he/him, I'm th' possessive n' dominant type- and ah' always pay mah taxes." He says dramatically, leaning back and flexing one arm.

Chance is busy dying on the floor while Olledsky keeps on going, deepening the husky southern drawl of Builderman in a way he would never say something.

"Now, be a good boy fer' yer alpha, darlin'..."

The gambler practically dies at that. Chance rolls back and forth, his laughter echoing throughout the cabin. Olledsky snickers, gently nudging them with his foot.

"Hey, pipe down or yer' gonna bring th' others over'ere." He says.

"... Pardon?" A distressed, baffled southern accent asks.

Olledsky's eyes widen and he whirls around to see Builderman- and the rest of the survivors- gaping at him like fish.

"Uh." He drops the accent in shock. "I mean. Um." He gives a nervous grin. "Did I at least get the accent right?"

Builderman looks like he's conflicted between beating the shit out of Olledsky, mortified that such a thing exists of him, or horror at the fact that the thing possessing his best friend can apparently mimic voices.

Bow7n7, on the other hand, is busy eating popcorn they'd summoned from the c00lgui, munching as they watch the drama go down.

"Told you she's pretty cool." She comments, elbowing Dusekkar. The other admin is similarly mortified.

[Siddha (Mimical) Mode]

What would be a scientist's greatest dream, the best conditions for endless experiments?

It would be a place where all the variables are reset at the end of the day, where they could perform all the observation and experimentation they could without the fear of morals and death.

The Spectre's realm could make his wish come true. Here, if the survivors or killers died, they'd be automatically brought back. Respawning after a round was expected.

Sure, the survivors still remembered what happened, and that posed a problem to repeat experiments during the rounds- the variables aren't completely controlled, but that's perfectly fine.

They've even got diverse body types and such! Shame that most of the subjects are male or gender-neutral.

Siddha sucks in a breath thinking about this. He fiddles with the rubber bracelet he has, flipping it in and out. "I've got a few experiments I need to try... if it weren't for the Spectre blocking me from doing so, I'd mix the Bloxy Cola and Slateskin Potion."

He hums. "I wonder... there's definitely out of bounds areas, right? Ollie managed to get past one of them by pressuring the Spectre..."

He was talking about the lake, of course. In-game, you couldn't swim past a short distance from the shore, the rest being blocked by an invisible barrier... but for Ollie, she managed to go past it.

"I should visit the killers' place- after Ollie gets permission and warns the others, of course. If the killers get aggressive, then I'll have to shelve that for later..."

He shakes his head and takes his hexagon-bound field  journal, putting it in a backpack. Siddha isn't the type of person to go that far, to make the survivors get hurt because of his experiments- but he does see them as test subjects.

'Got to remember that science has ethics for a reason. A proper scientist should always do things in accordance to the scientific method.'

He clicks on the 'play' button once he finishes preparing.

Instantly, Mimical feels himself being dragged downwards into the game, letting out an exhale as he feels himself becoming Mode.

He awakens at the beginning of a round, staring down Elliot as the pizza delivery guy flinches a bit seeing the familiar hat and glasses on Mode and not Noob.

'Glass Houses, huh... There's a lot of places where I can deal with.'

"Greetings. It seems like I am back." Mode adjusts his glasses, seeing that Elliot is at full health and stamina. This is the beginning of the round, after all.

He sprints off and hides behind a wall, then goes up the stairs to plant a bug. Mode drops down, seeing the killer in the distance and running into the distance to plant another bug in the corner.

"That should help the team if the killer gets close..." He mutters. After all, they're getting pinged if the killer steps near that location, and so will his teammates.

(Noob, who's floating over Mode's shoulder, is wincing away from the beetles. They did NOT like bugs at all, which was obvious- but it didn't help that they were thinking of those things crawling onto their dead body and eating it.)

("Just get rid of them after this round..." They lament.)

Mimical hums, peeking out from a wall to observe c00lkidd. He's the killer for this round, gleefully chasing around Bow7n7 because he thought they were his father and not the girl possessing him.

"Red coloration of skin, large claws... Is he a drakobloxxer? Or at least part drakobloxxer?"

"No, Rail said he instinctually bowed to him, so c00lkidd is some sort of demon..." He hums, thinking about it. "So most likely an imp, seeing how short he is."

He thinks about the fan-interpretations of c00lkidd and sighs. "Oh well... at least pr3typriincess is canonically part drakobloxxer. I wonder if she has scales, or can donate some of them..."

Mimical, being a natural scientist, was curious about all the non-human Robloxians. Hell, he'd be willing to take samples from the human Robloxians too, because it's obvious they're not the same as Earth's humans.

"Is 007n7 a human, or did his exploiting change him into something else? How can Dusekkar float with magic? How does magic work in their realm, if science is there too?" He begins thinking out loud, absently working on a generator.

So many questions. So many possibilities. Honestly, he could be the first one doing inter-dimensional studies, but this was a job meant for entertainment, not experimentation.

'But there's nothing saying that I can't do both!' Mode thinks to himself. 'I'm gonna be like Bill Nye or Neil DeGrasse Tyson! I'll be legendary!'

He continues doing the generators, hearing the chirps of his beetles across the map and checking in on the killer's position once every while. Unfortunately, since he had only two bugs placed down at max, he didn't notice c00lkidd sneaking up behind him until-

"SURPRISE!" Childish giggle fills the air and Mode grits his teeth, the feeling of a brick hitting his head making him drop and roll out of the way. Just in time too, because the Firebrand lances forward, c00lkidd using his walkspeed override to nearly hit mode.

The young scientist glares at the child, annoyed. He adjusts his glasses for his Glasses Glint ability, and runs off as he sees that c00lkidd's attacks are all on cooldown.

"HEY! Get back here!" c00lkidd pouts, running towards Mode. The scientist snaps his fingers to bring back his bugs, hearing them buzz across the map and slowly fly towards him.

"Sorry, kid- I don't take blood samples from anyone under fifteen!" He yells, sprinting off. He conserves his stamina, and passes by Guest 1337.

"Guest! A little help here?" He asks.

"On it." The soldier rushes in front of Mode and blocks c00lkidd's punch, wincing as he knows what he has to do next. "Sorry, kid."

'BAM!'

"O-OW!" c00lkidd yells, sniffling as he's stunned by the force of Guest's punch. "That hurt! You're stupid and meeean!"

Mode gets out of sight and sighs, re-planting his two bugs after they gave him the speed boost he needed. "What a mess... if my abilities were an actual class in the game, the players would be saying that I'm too hard to use."

He slumps down on one of the walls. The round was almost over- just a few more seconds.

Ten, nine, eight. He impatiently taps his fingers on the concrete of the wall.

Seven, six, five. Mode takes out his journal, flipping through the pages and writing some notes on c00lkidd's durability.

Four, three, two. He continues writing, and finishes on time.

One. He closes his journal with a 'poof'.

When he gets back to the lobby of the main cabin, his focus is on Chance. The gambler looks frustrated, like their gun blew up on them once again and messed up their whole round. 

'Chance mostly died early on because of weakness and a faulty gun. I wonder...'

Mode walks up to Chance, waving at him. "Yo."

"Oh! Hey, you're that guy that's possessing Noob!" He gives Mode a smirk and a wave. "What's up."

"Uh- may I see your gun?" Mode takes out his journal once more, and flips to a new page. He wants to take notes.

"Huh? Sure. Don't break it though." Chance takes his flintlock from his hip, and sets it down on the table. Mode picks it up carefully, and gently taps it on the barrel. "Hehe, sweet thing. I never knew you were into antiques."

He turns to chance. "Smokeless blackpowder, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Classy." Mimical sets it down, and notes the flintlock's type and model down on his journal.

Chance is left looking sort of awkward as the young scientist writes. "Uh... kid, what do you want? This is getting awkward."

Mode straightens up.  "I could find you a six shooter from my dimension. If that is what you fancy, hotshot." He's certain that he could find a gun somewhere, even though he's not exactly old enough to get it from a shop himself. 'You'd be surprised on what you find when asking around and doing favors.'

The gambler, however, is tapping their foot. "Hmmm..." He's not so sure about it. Chance likes the risk of potentially dying- his flintlock replaced with any other pistol would take that adrenaline rush away.

"Spin the barrel, hope it doesn't over heat, jam, or break from every flick. You would be on the razor's edge. Either a single shot, or a fan the hammer, a risky play." Mode offers. "It's just as risky as your flintlock, if not more. And it's newer, too."

"You got a deal." Chance grins, his glasses glinting in the cabin's light. Mode chuckles.

"I knew you'd love it once you heard the risks. I want to do a risk assessment study on these sorts of weapons in a hostile environment such as this..."

He pulls out a paper and pen. "Sign here for the study. It's just procedure."

Chance takes the pen and doesn't look before signing- he likes the risk of it, after all. "Of course- another experiment?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Now, there was one of the survivors- other than Builderman and Dusekkar, of course- that piqued Mode's attention.

Two Time.

That might be surprising for some people- why would an unstable, delusional cultist be of any interest to an aspiring environmental scientist like Mode?

It's because he's curious. Curious about their second life, how their delusion was somehow empowered by the Spectre, their psychology...

Mode may be an environmental scientist, but he wants to dabble in all sorts of science. Biology, chemistry, psychology...

He doesn't approach the cultist at first. No- he does what they do to the other possessed survivors, and observes them from a distance.

Mode writes in his journal about them. His glasses glint, activating and giving him information about them- and not just health, stamina, and cooldowns.

[Name: Two Time. Gender: Non-binary, they/them pronouns.]

He jots down the stuff he already knows into his journal.

[Part of a cult that worships the Spawn, they sacrificed their lover, Azure, in order to obtain their second life. Their mentor was Amarah, a higher ranking member in the cult.]

[Not to be trusted with knives. Possibly suffers from schizophrenia, BPD, or a host of other mental conditions due to the Spawn Cult's influence.]

[Possibly dead due to nightshade poisoning.]

He makes notes of everything else- on how their second life was canonically given to them by the Spectre, their in-game abilities and how it translated to the actual reality of this world, and their appearance.

Mode doesn't need to do much but observe. Analyze. He begins stalking them between rounds and during them, which was pretty damn obvious because Noob was bright yellow with saturated clothes.

(Noob, who was still watching their own body, felt a sense of discomfort and unease at how the young scientist was stalking the spawn cultist so outwardly.)

("I'd never thought I'd see the day that I'd look so... creepy." Noob comments. 007n7, who was watching the whole ordeal as well, nervously looks aside.)

("I'm sure he's just curious...")

There's a lot of things that the wiki doesn't tell about Two Time- like, for example, the fact they tend to go outside and take care of the wildflowers growing behind the cabin.

They also like to stretch their arms with their wings whenever they go to their second life, and they wince as if in pain.

And then there's the fact that Two Time really likes eating plain and simple foods, like oatmeal or-

"Demon." They hiss, suddenly popping up next to Mode during one of his many observation periods. He yelps, nearly dropping his notebook before quickly shoving it in his inventory. "Ah, Two Time!"

"I would appreciate it if you did not stalk me like prey." They hiss. "What is with you? Are you planning something nefarious, just like your wicked brethren?"

"Please, the only thing 'nefarious' about this is the lack of controlled variables and the sheer amount of experimenter bias I am possibly making." He says. Mode adjusts his glasses.

"Tch! I don't know what you are up to, foul demon, but I have my eye on you..." They hiss, pointing at him. Mode backs up politely and puts his hands up.

"Perish the thought. In fact..." He tilts his head. "I am interested in the teachings of your religion. The... Spawn, was it?"

If he's going to learn about respawning, it'll have to be from both Two Time and Dusekkar. Two Time for the faulty version taught in their cult's doctrine, and Dusekkar for the way it actually works. 

"Really?!" Two Time's tail immediately perks up, and it wags at the thought of finally finding someone to convert to their religion. "I mean-" They cough, trying to look more stern. "No! You're simply trying to get information out of me!"

"Perish the thought." Mode says, chuckling. "I can't do anything too bad trapped in Noob's body- and who knows. You might get two devotees instead of just one."

Mode can take this risk- he's determined from his observation that Two Time is more of a follower than a leader, far less charismatic than Amarah would have been. One of the ways people get drawn into cults is because their recruiters or leaders were popular and well spoken, and... well, Two Time was obviously a nutcase.

'I still need to exercise caution, though. They are unstable to the point of hurting others, and I must not feed into their delusions TOO much.

Mode clears his throat, and follows Two Time to their cabin, taking out a clipboard- because them seeing him write in the journal with his observations would certainly upset the cultist. "So tell me the basic tenets of Spawn."

Two Time proceeds to burst out rambling about the religious scripture and peppering in quotes from their bible, their hands waving in an animated way. The crazed look in their eye becomes... reverent? Earnest?

They speak with the same interest and fervor of an autistic person infodumping about their hyperfixation- Mode Mimical would know, he's met a few friends like that. He's not autistic himself, just weird.

Mode absently takes notes as he thinks to himself. 'Maybe if Two Time wasn't in that cult, either from indoctrination or birth, they wouldn't be so unwell.'

'They're a mentally unwell person that's being taken advantage by a cult, even in the cult's absence. Their conditioning must be so entrenched that they believe every word of their teachings as gospel.'

Mode nods along and asks questions like "Oh, what was your commune like?" or "What did your daily routine entail?", and Two Time answers with fervor.

All the while, the young scientist keeps on writing.

[The Spawn Church (name of cult pending, they actually have multiple) isolate their followers within communes hidden in the wilderness. Unsure if Two Time lived in the central or "main" commune, or if this is just a branch. The fact that it was so expansive and well-furnished with many followers implies that it is the former.]

[Daily schedule usually consists of chores and gathering food from the wilderness, along with daily prayers and religious studies. Most of the electricity, plumbing, and such are maintained by cultists with skills in the trade that teach apprentices.]

[In that way, the Spawn Church keeps itself isolated without needing to ever interact with outside society, unless in dire circumstances.]

[This isolation is needed to hide their more insidious, dangerous religious practices. While newer inductees are given more innocuous rituals like burning incense, reciting prayers, and gathering 'natural' ingredients from the woods, more serious members practice self-harm, ritual sacrifice, and other violent acts.]

[In my theory, Two Time's sacrifice of Azure was most likely an excuse to get rid of him, most likely for subversive thought or behavior. He most likely was indoctrinated at a later age, while Two Time was indoctrinated very young or at birth, given the fact they said they "have worshipped the Spawn for as long as they remembered".]

Mode pities them. Truly. But the cognitive dissonance of knowing that Two Time was a fictional character, a Roblox OC made by the developers, made him see them more of an informative thing rather than a person.

If it was a real person talking about their cult, Mode would have felt icky and wrong for using them as an experiment. Yes, he feels some pity and sympathy, but not as much as he should.

"I see... you have been very informative. The Spawn interests me greatly." Mode straightens out their bandana and gives them an awkward smile. "I look forward to talking to you more in the future, Two Time. It seems like my time is up."

"Of course, of course! I wish you well, even if you are returning back to the hell you belong in." They say, a bit too enthusiastically. "I hope that the Spawn's wisdom gives you the salvation to respawn as an angel among the heavens, demon."

"A-ah. Okay." Mode looks a little freaked out at how happy Two Time seemed about suicide. It isn't that they're trying to insult him or disparage him, no- they genuinely think he'll be reborn as a better person if he dies.

'Concerning...' Mode thinks as he logs out, going back into his body as Mimical instead.

[Kat Ellikat]

Kat didn't like seeing their friends die. They didn't like seeing the survivors die either. Hell, they didn't want to see anybody get hurt, but this was Forsaken. They should have expected it.

The first time they saw Mimical Mode die from John Doe, they broke. Wouldn't leave his side for the entire rest of the time they were there, insisting on keeping a closer eye on everyone after that. They broke down fully only once they were back in their own body, unable to sleep.

Every round where someone died wasn't easy. Sure, some of them may be intentionally antagonistic to the killers and die with a smile (looking at Olledsky, here), but Kat Ellikat still panicked. Still felt their chest get tight and their heart beat quicker.

It isn't healthy. They shouldn't be in these death games, because they know it's warping their ideas of life and death and making them panic far too much.

But they did this for their friends. They got drawn in because [REDACTED] said that Mim was there, that everyone else was here too. They'd been swindled, but they know they've been swindled, and now they're waiting for the inevitable hammer to fall. They'd do it all again if they had to.

Olledsky is with them currently. So is Grance, Bow7n7, and Mode. Mode's a nice face to talk to, and he's practically their brother.

"You okay, Kat?" He mutters, patting them on the back. "You took a nasty blow back there for Guest- hell, I don't think you're supposed to do that, seeing that he's a sentinel-"

"I'm- fuck, I'm fine, Mim." They hiss, their back still sore. "I just need some time alone."

"Alright. But tell me if anything goes wrong." He says, his voice much softer than his usual analytical tone he uses with survivors.

The possessed delivery guy drags themself over to the bathroom, closing the door and hunching over the mirror. They take slow, deep breaths as they think about what's happened so far.

'I can't do anything except heal. I'm not as good as Elliot- he's been trapped here for years, and knows how to evade the killers and support his teammates better than me. And the aforementioned teammates don't trust me for shit - can't blame them, really, but it's still discouraging.'

'Everyone's been acting cranky and antsy outside of the rounds, too- are they really affecting us that much? Or is it just because of school and teenage hormones? Or insomnia again?'

'I don't know. Fuck. I just- don't know what to do.'

Ellikat is stuck in one of those moods where nothing seems to be clicking. They're perfectly fine, no physical wounds after a round- but their mind is a mess.

Life's been stressful for them. They feel guilty for possessing Elliot, scared at taking this deal, worried for their friends and the survivors.

"What am I supposed to do?" They mutter, frustrated and stressed. "How... How the hell am I supposed to deal with this?"

Olledsky needs to be put in check. The others are clearly having the stress of the higher beings holding them hostage to this job- nothing bad has happened yet- but they feel like it will. They grit their teeth against the flood of tears threatening to spill from their eyes, the ones they've been holding off for too long again.

"I just wish..."

'I just wish my friends were safe.'

(Meanwhile, Elliot is floating right behind Ellikat. He feels apprehensive at seeing the teenager possess his body and act like this, but he tries reaching out and patting them on their- his shoulder.)

("Hey, kid- calm down." He says gently. "Look, I don't trust you here, and you definitely don't hear me, but...")

("You'll figure things out.")