Chapter Text
"The rain won't fall, your breathing starts to stall."
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When cold reaches bone, and heat cannot follow,
A thick blanket was draped around their trembling form, pausing their fast train of thought.
They blinked back to reality, staring out at the rain-less sky, leftover water dripping from the cover of the porch.
Noob and Veeronica raced around in the mud, clothes caked in dirt with Chance cheering them on. It hurt Two Time's soul to watch.
They were still shivering, the chill feeling bone deep. No one else seemed affected by the temperature, laughing and chatting as if they hadn't gone through a week of non-stop thunder.
A hand gripped theirs without warning, and they immediately knew it was Elliot gently tugging them back inside the lobby, where it was warmed by the fireplace's heat.
"Are you okay?" the pizza man asked, turning to face them after closing the door, the corners of his mouth turned down in concern.
Two Time's tail twitched, and then coiled around their right leg, tight enough to ache. If they could bruise, it would leave a mark. They gripped the blanket and tilted their head towards the floor, dull eyes narrowing.
They couldn't leave Elliot without an answer, that was far from polite. Two Time was many things, but disrespectful had never been one of them.
"I..."
A voice echoed in the back of their head. Distorted, glitchy, it wasn't a voice they knew, but swore they heard before. When?
"Do not worry, my friend! This one.. is fine, Spawn will make sure of it," they mumbled towards the end, as if they didn't believe what they were saying.
Elliot sighed. "C'mon, your hair's a mess, let me help."
Memories were a tricky thing. Sometimes they leave with nothing but a trace that has you scrambling for an answer, other times it's gone completely, as if plucked out of your head.
Two Time took a chance to think while Elliot brushed their hair, allowed themself for just a moment to doubt everything they've ever known.
It hurt, like their mind was being controlled by something that wasn't them, something desperately trying to hide things.
Their mentor.. Amarah, they knew him, his face was crystal clear, so then why was Azure's always hidden in shadow?
What color were his eyes? Did he have freckles? What did he smell like? What were his hobbies? They couldn't remember any of those details anymore. The answer was on the tip of their tongue, yet never quite ready to leave their mouth.
Their final moments were blank. They died, somewhere in a flower patch, but they couldn't piece together how. The only thing from their past life that wasn't missing chunks was.. the sacrifice.
Two Time blinked, and they were back in that church. Empty benches, an altar looming far ahead of them.
The air was bitter when they inhaled, it stung their throat and made their chest hurt, yet they couldn't stop breathing it in.
The Spawn symbol was glowing on the wall, surrounded by old food offerings and bowls filled with blood, both human and not. Animal carcasses littered the floor, flowers withered in pots, and Two Time felt a sense of dread settle in their stomach.
They weren't supposed to be here, were they? The creature keeping specific memories locked away didn't want them to see this again.
They hesitantly walked down the aisle, footsteps echoing off the walls, standing right in the middle of the circle formed with the sacrifices.
A note was nailed to the wall, the top tearing when they ripped it off, bringing it close to read. The words kept shifting, letters spinning around on the paper until they finally got in order.
Two Time.
What are you doing?
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Throw me to the flames, so I will feel no sorrow.
Azurewrath sat before the raging fire. Sparks spat out into the air, never causing any actual harm.
His hat rested in the middle of his crossed legs, glaring up at him with those void-like eyes, mouth twisted into a frown.
They tilted their head at it, confused.
'I don't appreciate being treated as an emotional support creature,' a voice hissed in their mind, full of fury. It was almost funny, having a hat act as their superior, but also.. they couldn't really taunt it that much.
After all, said hat was their only source of communication, besides body language he supposed.
Azure hummed an apology and lifted it back up, placing it onto his head, making sure it wouldn't tip over and fall to the ground. He'd never be forgiven if that happened.
It huffed, pleased at Azure's co-operation. 'Thank you,' it whispered to them. They couldn't see it, but they knew its eyes were closed. They had a feeling.
They shrugged and returned to watching the logs slowly turn to ashes, getting consumed by the flames and being able to do nothing about it. It sounded familiar.
His eyes narrowed, shaking his head, disturbing his unwanted companion.
'Stay still, would you?' it grumbled, the noise making Azure's tentacles twitch in discomfort. They hated how much it sounded like them, their own voice, from before.. Well, everything.
His hair slipped over his shoulders into his face, shadowing it even more than it already was.
From the doorway, a glitchy voice giggled, staring out at the rain. "It's stopping," Noli alerted, c00lkidd at the deity's side, the demon child's tail swaying close to the floor.
"Finally, I'm tired of being near you freaks," 1x1x1x1 replied, looking up from his sword sharpening.
"Now that's not nice," Noli taunted, laughing as it floated closer, looming over the virus.
1x1x1x1 swiped at it with her sword, but Noli slipped away before the blade connected with his face, laughing loudly.
Azure watched all of this silently, one hand fidgeting with the frayed ends of his veil, thinking.
The storm was almost over, they could finally separate from each other and go back to their normal routines, less yelling and arguments.
But as the ex-cultist looked towards c00lkidd, the child appearing very much so like a lost puppy, they felt bad. Poor thing just wanted friends, he just ended up in the wrong crowd.
c00lkidd met Azure's gaze, a bit of light returning to his dark eyes, quickly scurrying to the botanist's side, leaving Noli's.
They didn't complain, just raised an arm and let the kid get comfortable, tracing patterns into his arm with the tip of his claw.
He hated to say it, he might have wanted the storm to last just a bit longer. There was something about being surrounded by people he knew, it comforted him, even if they weren't close. He couldn't explain why.
They took a deep breath, resting their head on top of c00lkidd's, careful with the horns.
They'd be okay, he was sure of it.
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Your name I shall sing, scared and trembling,
Two Time yelped as they hit the floor, scrambling to their feet, looking back at the black and red creature quickly approaching.
It had a top hat with the letter S and large eyes, but no other features they could make out. Their tail quickly coiled around their leg, but they couldn't feel its grounding pressure.
"What are you doing, Two Time?"
"You're not supposed to be here, you're not supposed to remember."
"Stop trying to remember."
It reached out towards their face, and they quickly shut their eyes, their shaking hands flying up to shield themself.
Nothing happened. They didn't feel anything. No pain, just emptiness.
They hesitantly let their eyelids part, seeing a flower field before them, no sign of that creature being here. The edges were surrounded by woods, but past the first few rows of trees, it was like a void.
Their arms lowered, pushing themself back onto their feet, panting as they scanned their new surroundings.
They knew this place. This was one of the few memories that wasn't stolen from them. This used to be them and Azure's favorite place, one they'd constantly sneak out to visit.
They moved towards center of the field, where a tall tree stood proudly, their stumbling quickly turning into sprinting. It was a feeling similar to what they felt during rounds, that flight or fight instinct, constantly being on edge.
They just wanted answers, a solution, something to explain what happened to them. Anything that wasn't silence.
They stopped right at the base of the tree, where their dagger laid in the grass, blade stained with red. A bouquet was placed right next to the weapon, which was rather ironic, considering the tree was already surrounded by flowers, but this felt.. different.
Carved into the bark was Azure's name, theirs right below it. Like a gravestone.
"Two Time," that voice called out again, the scene slowly distorting, pieces bugging out of existence, and the creature returned to interrupt them.
"Why are you running, why are you trying to escape."
Two Time's eyes widened, reaching for the dagger. It probably wouldn't do much against a thing that didn't seem at all affected by its surroundings, but they needed to feel at least somewhat prepared.
Their hand tried to wrap around the handle, but it sank into the ground, a bundle of glitching pixels left where it once laid.
"Go back to the lobby."
Spawn knows they weren't doing that.
"Tell me what you did. Tell me what happened," they demanded, not even trying to keep the smile on their face, spinning around to face it.
It paused, as if amused by their fighting, their stubbornness, that desperation in their tone.
"You died, and I gave you life again."
They opened their mouth to respond, to argue that it wasn't true, but a voice echoed through the deteriorating field.
'Two?'
Elliot's voice.. right.
"Elliot's calling, go back. Now."
What seemed to be a hand was placed over their eyes, an ache settling in their brain, feeling as if their skull was being pulled apart.
It hurt. So bad.
"Two Time? Are you there?"
They gasped, their heart pounding in their chest, nails digging into the couch cushion, the fabric struggling to stay together.
"Woah, what happened? Are you okay?" the pizza man asked, audibly concerned, leaning in front of them. His eyebrows were knitted together, placing his hands on their shoulders, kneeling down to get their attention.
"I'm.. no, I'm not."
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We'll all die someday, alone and afraid,
Everything was okay. The rain had stopped, the skies returned to their foggy but stormless state, and he could still check up on c00lkidd and Guest 666, so why did he feel such a strong sense of dread?
They frowned as they approached their cabin, the only one surrounded by blooming flower bushes and vines. They were his main source of comfort here, an attempt at something familiar.
Two Time took a lot from them. Humanity, peace, their life, all for a god who Azure now knew was false.
It hurt.
He walked up the porch steps, gently nudging the door open, listening to its loud creak of complaint. The inside still remained pretty empty, with little to no furniture, just the essentials. He'd tried to fill up the space with even more plants, but that didn't quite help.
The botanist headed towards the bed and sat down, tentacles curling around themself, his eyes watery with unshed tears.
The hat stirred back to life, giggling. 'Don't cry now, I can't translate sobbing!'
Azure yanked it off his head, his soured expression making it shut up quick. Heaven forbid he just wanted to sob in peace.
'Well sorry,' it grumbled as he set it on the nightstand, glowing eyes blinking.
There was an anger bubbling in his chest. Towards the hat, towards himself, towards everything.
'Calm down,' the hat hissed, feeling this rage, a bit of panic slipping into its expression.
The cabin started glitching. Things faded in and out of existence, like whatever was keeping them here got upset. It snapped Azure out of their fury real quick, exchanging it for surprise.
Their eyes flickered around at the black and red pixels, and then ended on the hat, confused.
'Oh, well someone got on the Spectre's bad side,' it hummed thoughtfully, like this was just a regular occurrence.
'..Get out before the pixels reach you.'
The last thing Azure wanted was to die, specifically alone, so he grabbed the hat and rushed towards the door, quickly kicking it open, backing away from the slowly consumed cabin. He didn't even have time to mourn the plants.
The other killers also stumbled outside, some scared, most of them just annoyed. Azure slipped their hat back on, just in case.
Care to explain? he thought, walking towards the small crowd that had gathered, hands clenched.
'No, I don't,' it responded, smug. How annoying.
They didn't try to force an answer out, that'd have been a losing battle.
Instead, he focused on the scared look c00lkidd was giving him, the low growling coming from Guest 666, then the practically vibrating with anger 1x1x1x1.
"What happened?" a voice came from afar, Nosferatu pushing up the hatch to the basement, the vampire looking quite confused.
About half of the killers turned turned around in surprise, staring at Nosferatu in multiple ways. Some disgusted, most just judging.
"Where have you been?!" Noli yelped, "You missed everything!"
"I was hibernating," the vampire shrugged, looking around at the pixels, as unbothered as Azure's hat had been. The botanist still didn't get it.
"Oh my Telamon..."
In the blink of an eye, all the bugging stopped, and everything snapped back into place.
"Hey, it's fixed," the vampire mumbled sleepily, "goodnight." Then he was gone, back into the basement. Maybe they'd see him again soon, maybe not. That one was almost always hiding.
Azure backed away from the group, going to check on his cabin. Concern was tugging on his heart strings and making him worry that the plants had been killed in the process.
But as he approached the porch, it was as if nothing happened. There was no damage, no indication that there'd been a glitch, it was.. normal.
So confusing...
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A land forsaken by the gods above,
Elliot considered his life to have been pretty average.
He grew up making pizza, had a loving family, got to do what he loved.
Sure, there had been.. 007n7, but that was the only downside. Mostly. And then death.. 007n7 was worse.
One could imagine his horror when Two Time broke down into tears in front of him for the first and probably last time, talking about memories being stolen and how they didn't even know their real name anymore.
How do you comfort someone going through that?
The Spectre was an interesting creature, its motives unknown to the survivors. Sometimes it was helpful, most of the time it just wanted entertainment, but this just felt straight up cruel.
Oh yeah let's take the mentally unstable cultist who, apparently, was manipulated into killing their own lover and then died from flowers somehow and take away any memory they had of their identity, that'll be fun!
Elliot was learning as he went.
"You're okay, it's okay, breathe," he repeated over and over until Two Time listened, hugging them tighter than necessary. He needed the reminder that they were still there, people disappeared all the time in this place.
Something was off and it wasn't the lack of memories.
He pressed a finger to Two Time's pulse, only to find.. It was beating, fast.
Two Time was dead, their heart was forced to beat but it was always just enough to keep them functioning. Their lungs expanded way more than just the shallow breathing Elliot was used to, there was a bit of warmth beneath their skin as well.
They clung to him like they'd die again if they let go, face hidden in his chest, tail curled around their own waist.
"Two Time," he said, voice shakey, "you don't feel dead."
That made the cultist pause, one of their hands releasing his shirt, assumingly so they could look at the redness that returned to their fingers.
Blood. Heat. Life.
The Spectre did something, that bugging wasn't fixed. It had a lot of control over the place, it could make them go through torture again and again, but it couldn't take away their life permanently.
"Elliot?" Guest 1337 called, stepping into the lobby, eyes narrowed in concern.
The pizza man looked towards him, then held Two Time closer.
He had the puzzle, he just needed to connect the pieces.
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Your future is not promised, there is no love.
Azure had always been rebellious to the leaders of the cult. He questioned things, didn't follow blindly, wouldn't do orders without a reason.
They were bold, lively, still had a bit of the outside world in them. That was dangerous for ------, dangerous for -----, dangerous for everyone.
.. - / -.-. .- -. .----. - / -... . / .- ...- --- .. -.. . -.. / -.-- --- ..- / -.-. .- -. -. --- - / . ... -.-. .- .--.
He had always found peace in -----. They were his comfort, his guide, they kept him in check when he needed it
----- was Azure's everything, and then they betrayed him.
- .... . -.-- / .-- . .-. . / ... - .. .-.. .-.. / -... . .- ..- - .. ..-. ..- .-.. / - .... . -.-- / .-- . .-. . / .- .-.. .-- .- -.-- ... / -... . .- ..- - .. ..-. ..- .-..
The botanist sighed, air whistling through the zipper holding his mouth shut. It had been a long... Day? Night? Afternoon? It didn't matter, it had been tiring.
They wanted to rest. That was the only thing they were allowed, so they'd use it greatly.
However, as they lay there on their bed, something wouldn't let them rest.
He grumbled, adjusted a bit, then accepted he'd be getting no slumber this time.
Azure rubbed their eyes, looking across the room at his reflection in the window's cloudy panes.
What he saw made him freeze.
Their eyes were slowly turning back to white, iris becoming visible, pupil rounding itself out. They sat up straight, looking down at their hands.
The skin was still purple, but he could see a more human tint beneath the surface, trying to take over.
What could this mean? Azure didn't know, but he hoped it meant an exit, a way out of this torturous place. His life... Could it be returning?
He stood up and left the cabin, not even caring to close the door.
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Maybe in a second your last breath fades,
Guest 1337's eyes widened when he saw color returning to Two Time's skin, something that had only ever been white and ghastly.
The soldier looked down at his own, seeing the same thing happening.
Their humanity was returning, mostly. It was trying to.
"What happened?" he asked, returning his gaze to them, kneeling down at Elliot's side.
"Two Time.. did something," the pizza man mumbled, "we don't know what exactly, but it's causing... This." He gestured to them all.
"You died, and I gave you life again."
Those words were constantly echoing in Two Time's mind.
"You died, and I gave you life again."
The Spectre had returned it, maybe accidentally, they weren't sure. Two Time had almost forgotten what being "human" felt like.
Their ears twitched, their tail still kept tightly wrapped around their abdomen. These features were given to them when they entered this realm, would they be gone? Would Two Time be without the pain?
Guest 1337 snapped his fingers in front of them, getting their focus.
"Two Time, Shadow," he inhaled, "you might have just given us an escape."
Elliot butted in, "we think the only thing that was keeping us under the Spectre's control was.. we didn't have life, not actually. Let’s talk to the others. They need to know,” he mumbled, giving them a reassuring smile, trying to be comforting.
“Yeah… Let’s do that,” Elliot agreed, slowly rising to his feet. Guest 1337 followed, tugging Two Time up with him.
Together the two of them dragged Two Time outside, the cultist not moving otherwise.
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Maybe right this moment, the heavens await.
A loud, painful buzzing wormed its way into their ear, deafening any other sound as he raced towards the lobby. Warm lighting coming from the windows guided him towards the door, and when they pushed it open he found the others waiting.
They seemed to be experiencing something similar. c00lkidd’s eyes had regained color, hands becoming something more human-like.
Guest 666 had patches of fur falling onto the floor, revealing the pale flesh underneath.
John Doe was for once actually aware, looking around anxiously, like he didn't know where he was or how he got here.
Noli.. well, the side not covered by a mask was.. what was the reversal of decomposition? Whatever, that’s what was happening to him.
iTrapped was losing the ice on him, leaving a puddle of water at his feet.
The only one unaffected was 1x1x1x1, her appearance remaining the same.
“Azurewrath, do you know what's going on?” she asked, tone almost accusatory, turning to face him when he entered.
The botanist blinked, then shook their head no, curling his tentacles around himself. He knew just about as much as they did.
John Doe cleared his throat, surprised he even could, and spoke up. His voice was raspy, weak from a long time without using it.
“We’re.. regaining our humanity, it seems,” he whispered, just loud enough for them to hear most of what he said.
“So, basically, we’re undying? What does that mean?” Noli asked, hands flying up to his face, very clearly alarmed by this sudden change.
“Must’ve been something the survivors did. They are always ruining everything,” iTrapped huffed, confused about the glares sent his way, arching an eyebrow. "What? I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Sure, whatever you say.” Noli’s glowing eyes narrowed, shrugging iTrapped’s comment off. No one liked iTrapped okay, he was snobby and rude.
c00lkidd looked at John Doe, his expression hopeful. “I’m gonna be alive again? Will I see Dad?” he asked, his tail swaying behind him.
John Doe shrugged. “Maybe,” the ex-roblox worker replied.
Azurewrath knelt down beside the child, gently rubbing his head, giving him a small smile. c00lkidd beamed, grinning from ear to ear. To him, a maybe might as well have been a yes.
Conversations blossomed and died among all the killers, sharing ideas as to what this could mean, what would happen next. 1x1x1x1 had remained mostly quiet, observing everyone, the beast slowly being removed from their forms.
He groaned, turning and stepping out of the room, arms crossed over their translucent chest. Azurewrath perked up, watching her storm off, as if angry about something.
They excused himself, parting from the group to follow after the virus. No one really noticed, too engrossed in another debate about previous hackers and the Spectre.
“Is something troubling you?” the hat said for him, breaking 1x1x1x1 from whatever trance they’d gone into.
1x1x1x1 spun around to glare at them, frowning. Azurewrath put hishands up in surrender, trying to not seem like a threat.
After a bit of a stare down, she growled and turned their back on the botanist, sulking like a spoiled child being denied something.
“If you all do escape," she started, letting himself open up, “and it's because your ‘life was returned to you’, then what about me?”
Azure’s confusion must have been visible, because when they moved to look at him again, they made an eye-rolling gesture. 1x1x1x1 didn't actually.. have pupils, so it was more so their head rolling than their eyes.
“You're stupid for being some sort of scientist. I’m not alive, I’m code, I was never living,” they snapped, taking a step towards him.
Azurewrath blinked in surprise at the suddenly violent tone. “I’m sorry,” they thought, “what’s.. code?”
1x1x1x1’s face twisted in disgusted judgement, staring at them as if they were an alien. “You don't know what ‘code' is?” she asked, then connected the dots. “Right, you grew up in a cult, how would you?”
He cleared his throat, preparing to explain. “Code is what creates things that are digital, kind of. It’s not a living creature, more so human-made to serve a purpose, like buildings maybe.”
Azure nodded, listening along, completely invested in the new knowledge being given to them.
“So,” she continued, “if the reason you can leave is being alive, I.. can't come with.”
“Because you’re not,” they added, staring at the virus with what could’ve been empathy, but it was short living.
A shout from the fireplace ruined their mostly peaceful moment. It sounded like something along the lines of "THAT’S A NOTE” but Azure wasn't focused enough.
The botanist looked back at 1x1x1x1, who shoved him aside to check on the commotion. Azure trailed behind them.
Back with the group, they saw Nosferatu in the doorway, holding a piece of paper. Noli hovered over and snatched it from his hands, clearing his throat to read.
"There is a-” cough break, "apologies. There is a portal to the survivors’ island. If you want to leave, find it quickly, or you will die permanently. Good luck, Spoctre…”
“Spectre?” iTrapped asked.
“It’s written Spoctre,” they tossed the note aside, “anyways. Portal hunting when it’s muddy, let’s go!”
The hunting consisted of much slipping, a few arguments, and maybe one person being pushed into the mud. Aka ITrapped.
But when they found it, 1x1x1x1 did not step inside with them. They stayed back, watching, thinking. He must've long accepted this, that they weren't going to make it out.
Azure turned to look at her, c00lkidd clinging to his hand, and smiled.
The virus, for the first time, returned one that was just as soft, then placed a hand on his shoulder and shoved him through.
The portal sealed the moment Azure made it to the other side, not even giving them a chance to reconsider it.
They didn't see her get consumed by the pixels. They didn't want to.
.. - / -.-. .- -. .----. - / -... . / .- ...- --- .. -.. . -.. / -.-- --- ..- / -.-. .- -. -. --- - / . ... -.-. .- .--.
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It can’t be avoided,
“Elliot, Two Time, Guest 1337,” Shedletsky greeted, and before any of them could say a word, he added, “I know what happened. We.. got alerted by a note. From the Spectre.”
He pointed to a piece of paper currently in Builderman’s possession.
“Alright. Find the portal, find the killers, and we’re out!” the oldest of the group announced, turning to face the three new arrivals. “Jane came out with it, said it's from the Spectre, or as it wrote, ‘Spoctre’. Don’t ask me why,” he held it out for them.
Guest 1337 took it quietly, scanning the contents, and then sighed. “Are we sure it's real? Not just another ga-”
Boom. An explosion somewhere in the forest, pixels beginning to creep up from the water.
“Time runs short, we cannot delay. Run, friends, to the exit they say,” Dusekkar helpfully provided.
“Don't let the pixels reach you, the portal’s probably somewhere in the forest. C’mon, let’s go!” Shedletsky yelled, unlatching the gate to the woods and swinging it open. No one stopped to consider the fact they'd never actually been in the forest, they just left.
The adrenaline was enough to keep Two Time from zoning out. They kept up with the others, stayed as quiet as possible, avoided any glitching they encountered.
Their ears twitched, listening for any other voices that weren’t the group’s.
Nothing except for the distant buzzing and artificial birds chirping. They were starting to get worried.
The cultist lingered more towards the back of the crowd, next to 007n7, who was shaking slightly. He looked scared. Far from hopeful.
“What is troubling you, friend?” they ask automatically, curling their tail around their leg to keep it from snagging on any fallen branches. Those hurt really bad.
The father flinched, his breathing heavy. He looked at Two Time with wide eyes, taking a moment to recognize them, and then he relaxed.
“Nothing, so-...” he caught himself before he could finish, shaking his head, “just nothing.”
“It doesn’t seem like ‘nothing’ to this one,” they said stubbornly, tilting their head, “you’re one step away from returning to the living world, perhaps beside your kin, why do you fear?”
“I just.. what if he doesn't revert back like.. like we have? What if he’s still..” he didn’t say the word, but Two Time had a feeling he meant ‘monster’.
“But you love him,” they argued, “is that not enough to pardon the appearance?”
“I guess you’re right…”
“I try to be.”
Two Time looked ahead, eyes shimmering in the dim lighting. Their dagger hung heavy on their hip, a grim reminder of what they’d done in their first chance at life.
Pieces came slowly, moments leading up to the sacrifice and the aftermath, coughing up purple petaled flowers that were growing in their lungs.
They hadn't died from the flowers alone, but that part was still fuzzy. It was one big puzzle, and they were still missing parts to complete it.
“There,” someone called out, pointing to a small gap in the trees that merged into what looked to be an open area.
Two Time waited for the others to pass before they slipped through the bushes, wincing at the branches scratching their skin. It felt weird, knowing those marks would now last longer than a few minutes.
The other side was way larger than what it first appeared to be. None of them had ever really explored the island, afraid there’d be far worse creatures out there just waiting for a taste.
Hard to believe none of this was actually real.
In the center was the portal they’d been searching for, a big oval swirling with scenery that switched frequently on the other side. Behind it were the killers, but one was missing.
“Where’s.. 1x?” Shedletsky asked, wings fluttering behind him.
Azurewrath looked Two Time's way, the shadow didn’t meet his gaze.
“They didn’t make it,” iTrapped shrugged. Chance ducked behind Guest 1337 at the sight of him.
The pixels had reached the trees surrounding them, spreading like a forest fire through the grass.
“Just go through, we can't stall any longer,” Builderman snapped.
_________________________________________________________
you cannot escape.
Seeing Two Time again was like feeling that dagger pierce through their heart for the second time over. The traitor wouldn’t even look at him, acknowledge their presence, acknowledge their worst mistake.
His new features were mostly gone, leaving behind a creature that looked painfully close to a time before his death, when they were still making flower crowns and talking to the younger members about plant biology.
They felt as if in a trance when they moved towards them, only to be held back by a hand gripping onto theirs.
c00lkidd stared through the survivors, focused on his father. 007n7 looked just as happy to see him. There were unshed tears in the man’s eyes, it almost made up for the aching loss.
They’d finally made it, one step away from a moment they had only ever dreamed of. Freedom, a second chance at living. They’d paid their debts and were being released from this hell a changed person, now far more knowledgeable.
With what felt like a boulder weighing him back, he dragged their feet forward, into the portal, c00lkidd having already gone through with his father, and Guest 666 on his heels beside Noob.
Cold, bitter wind whipped past their face, pushing hair away from his cheeks, almost tugging his hat off with it.
Azure coughed, trying to shield himself from the merciless blow, cracking an eye open to scan his new surroundings.
They were in an all too familiar flower field, with hills that seemed to roll on for miles, petals blooming everywhere. The sky was a clear blue, sun shining brightly amongst the clouds. Dried soil crunched beneath his boots, and he immediately spun on his heel.
Two Time had stepped out behind them, and where the portal had been was now an old, well-loved tree. Their names were still messily carved into the bark.
“So it separated all of us, sending us back to where.. we died?” he thought out loud, backing away from the shade, into the sun's warm rays.
“It appears so,” Two Time mumbled, their eyes cloudy.
In a place filled with so many memories, there was little left to hide. The Spectre couldn’t control them anymore, now they were on their own, and Azure seemed just as lost.
They escaped the artic, all that was left was to wait for the cold in their bones to thaw, and let heat take its place.
⛈️