comfort in hell.

by Anonymous

Summary:

jane doe finds herself in the realm of the spectre. it did not intend for her to be there, and she has no use to the spectre, but she isn't allowed to leave.
jane decides to make herself at home, the best she can.

Chapter 1

it's been a little over a year since the disappearance of john doe, and most of the people around jane have accepted the possibility that he's been deleted, but she doesn't want to accept that as the truth, not yet, not without solid evidence. they're both test accounts, both of which are viewed as important to builderman himself, surely he wouldn't have just deleted one of them without discussion, right? after all, builderman went missing first— why would he come back just to get rid of one of his beloved testers?

jane groans to herself, shoving her face into the palms of her hands as she leans over the kitchen counter. she thinks over the possibility of john being deleted, she doesn't want to think that builderman had any involvment with her husband's disappearance but she thinks back to the state she last saw john in, corrupted by his own old code that he refused to let go of. she wanted to try to help him with her own knowledge, but he refused even her. she shoves away the incoming memory of the argument they had that night. she runs the deletion idea through her mind, builderman was always so kind to everyone in HQ, he had promised to help each and every robloxian the best he could... so, what if he really couldn't help john— that would mean he went against his own promise, and what if that was so awful to him that he couldn't bring himself to face his own guilt... so, he chose to go MIA and deleted john.

"but, what about shedletsky and mr doombringer?" jane mumbles to herself, lifting her head up slightly to look over at the stove. the water is starting to boil up but, she's lost her appetite. again. she leans back, reaching for the pot with one hand and turning off the stove with the other. she pours the water into the sink, and abandons the pot, she can wash it later. she hums quietly, shedletsky and mr doombringer had also disappeared shortly after builderman, and no one really knows what could have happened to any of them. she wasn't close to shedletsky or mr doombringer at all, so she can only depend on others' theories but, barely anybody had given her a confident answer. she doesn't even know the number of times she's heard "oh, mr doombringer is probably too busy in the banlands...", but surely he'd be seen around whilst on breaks?

it's been a little over a year and she has barely gotten anywhere with her own investigation. it wouldn't hurt to snoop around HQ, would it? she'd be going against her own principles but, she just wants to find out what happened to her husband, and her boss. she misses them. she rubs her face, not realising how deep in thought she ended up in, being surprised by her own wet eyes. she frowns as she brings her hand back to her side, letting out a defeated sigh as she leaves the kitchen to head to the front door, grabbing her keys and a coat on her way out.

she hasn't been to HQ since his disappearance, but she knows that she didn't get fired for her absence at all. one, she's a tester account, and two, she remembers that brighteyes promised to make sure that jane always has a spot at HQ and that she understands jane's decision to take a break from work. brighteyes was always so sweet to her, she hopes she can return to work after all this and maybe catch up with her. her hot chocolates were always the best, but she would never admit that when john was around.

 

it was nearing the time that work would end, and if things are the same as she remembers, builderman was always the last in the building at this time so, the building would be empty by now. she makes her way inside, and chooses to use the stairs up to builderman's office. she reaches into her pocket to grab her keyring again, checking each key to make sure that she still has builderman's spare office key, and she shoves it away when she sees that she has two spare keys, one that he had given to her, and the one he had given to john. 

at some point, jane finds herself regretting taking the stairs, remembering that builderman's office is on the top floor, but she decides to keep walking. she's always hated elevators. as she reaches the top floor, her hand slips into the pocket, sorting out the keyring to hold onto the key into builderman's office. jane hesitates as she stands at the door, he trusted her to never go snooping and she feels her heart ache as she slips the key into the lock, twisting it slowly as if she's afraid to see what lies behind the door. she takes a deep breath, and opens the door as she exhales.

nothing had changed. it's like builderman was still here. 

she carefully steps towards the desk, and spots a teapot— one that she recognises as one of clockwork's inventions. she thinks this one is a camera, so she gives it a small, nervous smile, "guess we both want builderman to come back, huh?" she turns to the pc, and thinks about the password for a few seconds, trying to remember what it was. she guesses it on her first attempt, and takes a seat in the swivel chair, shuffling it closer to the desk. 

she takes her time looking through anything that could aid her in her investigation, she finds something that dates back to the night before builderman's disappearance, so she chooses to read it. it's vague, and doesn't sound like builderman, but jane can tell it's his own words. he wrote about some broken code that he claims has been trying to reach out to him, and at first jane thinks that he had been corrupted by the code, but as she reads on, she learns that the code is sentient, and that builderman theorises that it's a piece of a corrupted robloxian's code that is asking for his help. 

she thinks about her husband.

she thinks about what she could have done to help him.

( nOTHinG. )

she reads on, builderman had struggled to track down the code, claiming that it seems to be in multiple places at once and moving constantly. then, his words become frantic and he writes a vague apology to mr doombringer, apologising for a disagreement they had. the franticness ends, and the last that builderman wrote is "it's coming for me. i don't know what it wants. please keep robloxia safe."

jane leans back in the chair, blinking a few times as she processes the information. was this a note to mr doombringer; could this be why mr doombringer had also disappeared? had he gone to search for where it could have taken builderman, and it had taken him too, and then shedletsky and her husband?

what could it have possibly wanted from them?

she reads over the information again, and again, and again. she catches onto something when builderman's writing becomes frantic, she notices the text is ever so slightly glitching, and she's thankful that she is a tester, otherwise she wouldn't have caught onto that. she hums to herself, thinking about other times she's seen a faint glitch like that and the only thing she is reminded of is a corrupted experience, but usually they're larger and more dangerous. she's not quite sure of how it could have possibly occurred in builderman's entry but, it's small, and she can easily remove it before it gets worse. she raises her hand up to the screen, trying to focus on the glitch but her head begins to feel like static. she tries to pull back but the next thing she sees when she blinks is darkness.

 

( yOU WeREN'T SUppoSED TO looK fOR HIM. )

 

she rubs her eyes, muttering about the weirdest dream she had. there's a soft push to her arm, and she mumbles for five more minutes, turning to the side to get some more sleep. she doesn't get to, as her arms are harshly pulled on, forcing her to sit upright. she yelps, blinking a few times, staring at the face in front of her. he looks like shedletsky.

wait.

"shedletsky?"

"jane, what are you doing here?" he asks her, concern written all over his face. he turns his head around, looking up to someone dressed in a military uniform, he shakes his head at the standing figure, "we'll tell him in the mornin'." he says to the other. shedletsky returns his attention to the tester, a hand coming up to check her face, "are you alright?"

jane, still somewhat half asleep, nods, "mhm... wait, where are we?" she looks around, realising this is nowhere she recognises. there are cabins and trees around them, when did she end up in an experience like this? she looks to shedletsky for an answer, but he can't seem to meet her gaze, slightly turning his head to the figure behind him who clears his throat, "we don't exactly know, but we are trapped here. both admins and exploiters have tried what they can to escape but,"

"we're trapped." shedletsky finishes, looking back at jane with a frown. his hands return to rest on her arms, "how did you get here?"

"i don't know, i was..." she bites the inside of her cheek, she can't exactly admit she was just snooping around an admin's office. she looks down at the ground, trying to process the new information on top of what she had learnt from snooping. whatever the code is, it's more powerful than the admins, and it's bought people here for a reason unknown to jane, and she thinks she'll never know the reason judging by the expressions of the two in front of her. a part of her regrets being curious, but another part of her is happy that she knows what has happened to them.

"where's john?" she asks, lifting her head up at shedletsky, tilting it like a puppy would. he lets out a sigh, standing up and helping jane to her feet, "he's... here but..." shedletsky can't seem to finish his sentence so the one in the uniform comes in, "there's a lot to explain, but it's late so you should get some rest. i'm keeping watch tonight, so you can take my room." he gives jane a small smile, "shedletsky, could you..?"

"got it, thanks guest." shedletsky nods weakly. he gestures for jane to follow him. she walks close behind him, looking around the area as she follows, the whole place seems eery, and jane finds herself fiddling with the cuffs of her sleeves, a nervous habit that she hasn't done in a while. she feels a sinking feeling within her body as she realises that she won't be returning home tonight. 

shedletsky leads her to a cabin beside a big log house. he turns to her, crossing his arms with a small smile. "guest's roommate is... a bit odd, don't mind them if they're awake. i'd offer you my own room but," a sigh, "you'll see him in the mornin'." 

"should i be worried?" jane asks quietly. shedletsky coughs awkwardly, "look, just get some sleep. i'll tell you everything in the morning." that doesn't ease her worries but she nods and mutters a small thank you, walking into the cabin. she closes the door behind her, and wonders if shedletsky's roommate could be john, and she almost opens the door again to ask him but... with the way he acted, she has a feeling that something had happened to john here.

she hopes that he's okay. he needs to be okay.

she suddenly finds it difficult to walk, but she makes her way to an empty bed. the guest's bed— she thought guests had been removed, but she can ask about that tomorrow. she just wants to sleep and see john again. she'll see him tomorrow. she crawls into the somewhat comfortable bed, hugging the comforter tightly, as she feels tears begin to fall. she doesn't even know what she's crying about, but she supposes she'll have a reason to cry when she wakes up. 

Chapter 2

the first thing jane focuses on when she wakes is the unfamiliar bed. it wasn't the most comfortable, she had tossed and turned in the night and she's pretty sure she had briefly woken up in her sleep to try and get more comfortable. she then reminds herself that she's no longer at home and that she probably wont be for a while. she sits upright, stretching with a yawn as she thinks about the situation she's found herself in. on one hand, she's happy that she's found out the truth, and that john is still alive but, on the other hand... she's not too sure yet, she doesn't know too much about this place. maybe a downside would be that they're stuck here but again, she doesn't know what this place is like.

she crawls out of the bed, rubbing her face as she walks towards the door. in her half awake state, she's not yet aware of her surroundings until she bumps into someone. she startles and stops to apologise to them, but is met with an unnerving smile, "oh, you're a new face... may the spawn protect you." they say, bowing their head as they carry on with whatever they were doing. jane decides to ignore their unnerving presence and chooses to carry on with her own thing. she walks out of the cabin to find and thank the guest that had offered her his bed but it seems that someone was waiting for her, as the swordfighting admin grabbed her arm and dragged her to the side of the cabin.

"did you sleep well?" he asks, hands once again on her face to check if she was injured. she gently shoves his hands away with a nod, "the bed wasn't comfortable but i slept well." he chuckles quietly, his arms crossing as he looks to the side, "two time didn't give you any trouble, did they?" 

"oh, the..." jane trails off, not really knowing how to describe the guest's roommate, but she shakes her head, "just greeted me. should i be wary of them?" she asks, somewhat amused by shedletsky being so worried over her, just like builderman would have acted back when she and john had just started their jobs. shedletsky makes an unsure hum, "they mean well but they're a bit... odd, to put it simply." he pats her shoulder with a grin, and gestures with his head for her to follow him. "i've already informed builderman that you've ended up here. we'll give you a run down on what happens here, alright?"

he guides her to the main house, walking her to where builderman sat alone eating his breakfast. upon seeing jane he rises to his feet and greets jane with a hug, rubbing her back as he whispers apologies over and over again. jane hugs back and can't hold back the tears that fall, but the admin lets her cry into his shoulder, soothing her with quiet words. they stay like that for a moment, long enough for jane to be comfortable with him leaving her arms - 'he's not going anywhere,' she thinks to herself. "i'm sorry we had to reunite here," builderman gives her a small forehead kiss as he steps back. he gestures the tester and other admin over to the booth that he was sat at, and he offers the rest of his breakfast - which was quite the sad attempt at a toast, still being a bit flimsy - to jane who hesitantly accepts it. shedletsky and builderman share glances as they silently figure out where they should start.

a groan comes from shedletsky, "so, we're trapped in a game of cat and mouse to put it simply."

a mumble from builderman— he clears his throat to explain more than what shedletsky had given the tester, "kid, this side of the fence are..." he trails off with a small hum as he thinks for the best way to describe their group, " we're the survivors, we're all friends here. once or twice a day, a few of us get chosen to entertain whatever put us 'ere. we gotta survive 'gainst one killer of its choosing for 'round 3 minutes. each of us have abilities given to us by..." he makes a vague gesture with his hands, "whatever put us here— i dunno what it is." 

"we admins were nerfed." shedletsky huffs, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table. "i've still got my swords but someone left his banhammer home."

"is john a survivor?" jane asks quickly, before the two admins start bickering with one another. she swallows the last bit of her food, using a hand to brush away any crumbs that had fallen onto her lap. there's a long silence that makes jane regret asking, she sinks in her seat and quietly asks another question, "how bad is his corruption, then?" there's a small silence, but builderman answers her with a sigh, "...all up 'is arm." he moves his hand over his other arm to show the amount of corruption, his face cringing as if he doesn't want to think about it too much. jane nods, standing up and leaving the kitchen. she wants to see him. she'll go over the fence and let him know that she's safe. she'll hug him and he'll kiss her. she really wants to see him again. it's been too long. 

she's only barely down the steps of the house when a hand grabs her arm. she turns to see shedletsky's stern face, "it's not safe to go over there. he's not... himself. whatever happened here has changed him. i don't think he even recognises the admins." jane finds herself hesitating to move or even speak. her lip quivers and she avoids his eyes. "look, this isn't robloxia. those beyond the fence are threats to us, and that means your husband. we don't even know what abilities it has given you..."

"i just... want to see if he will recognise me. i want to see him again." jane quietly mumbles, using her free hand to wipe any incoming tears. a sigh comes from shedletsky, "if we get put into a round with him, then i'll be by your side." jane lifts up her head and smiles at him. the admin smiles back at her, loosening his grip on her arm to gently rub it in an attempt to comfort her. he looks out towards the cabins, "we should introduce you to everyone before the games start. good thing it's my turn to wake everyone up, wanna join me?"

 

shedletsky hasn't seemed to change all that much, as he still enjoys barging into places without knocking. he lets himself into the first cabin, and calls out for the two roommates inside, "7n7, chance, wake up!" there's a groan and jane follows shedletsky into the small bedroom. the roommates share a bunk bed, the lower bed being empty and from the one above, a tired face peeks over. "hey chance, where's 007n7?" shedletsky asks, tilting his head as he rests his hands on his hips. the robloxian— chance— mumbles something that the admin and tester couldn't quite understand before he laid back down, turning away from the two. shedletsky looks back at jane with a look of disbelief, he turns back to chance, "not even gonna say hi to the newbie?"

chance sits up again, looks down at shedletsky and jane, giving her a small wave. she gets no smile from him, but she can't blame them— they don't look awake at all, and after jane waves back, they immediately lay back down with another mumble, "had th' worst round last night, 'm goin' back to sleep." jane wants to ask how the round went, but before she's even able to open her mouth to ask, shedletsky guides her out of the cabin and laughs lightly, "usually, he's a lot more social." jane fiddles with the cuffs of her sleeves, and decides to ask the admin instead, "what happened in the round?" she asks, glancing back at the closed door behind them. the admin clicked his tongue, "their abilities are based on luck and, well... luck really wasn't on their side last night; their gun blew up on em right after elliot helped them."

"we aren't even protected by our abilities?"

"oh, we are... chance just has to be careful." shedletsky seemed a bit too amused by chance's situation. 

jane doesn't really know how to respond to that, so brings up the unfamiliar name the admin mentioned, "who's elliot?" shedletsky points to the next cabin, tilting his head to nonverbally tell jane to follow him inside. shedletsky walks in quietly this time, leaning on the frame of the bunk bed. he crosses his arms and looks down at the two roommates who are cuddled up on the bottom bunk. shedletsky seems like he's debating whether or not he should lean in and yell, but he decides to stay where he is and lightly nudge them awake, "come on you two," when that didn't work, he moved to the side of the bed to bend over and drag one of them into a sitting position. from where jane stood, it almost looked like shedletsky was trying to wake up two cats. she let out a small breathy chuckle at the sight which earned a quick confused glance from the admin.

the one he dragged upwards turned to their side to wake up the other, "noob, c'mon."

"you two slept well?" shedletsky asked, taking a step back as he crossed his arms. the awake one shrugged, "they had a nightmare about that round so they hopped into my bed," they rubbed their eyes with a yawn. they blinked a couple times at jane before processing that she is standing there, they don't say anything, only giving her a small nod of acknowledgement before returning their gaze back to the sleeping figure beside them, "i'll be up once noob wants to wake." 

"see you two later." shedletsky smiles, guiding jane out of their cabin. "that's elliot. she's our best healer. the noob with her— those two are close, you'll rarely see one without the other." he says, walking over to another cabin. he looks at jane, hand raising to pat her head, "it's important to make friends here, alright? we need to all get along." jane laughs lightly, brushing his hand away, "i gathered. you don't need to treat me like a child, you're reminding me of how builderman would act."

"ah, speaking of him, do you remember taph?"

jane thinks for a moment, then blinks at shedletsky, "is there really so many involved with HQ here?" shedletsky shakes his head, muttering about a coincidence, and goes to open the cabin door. he leans on the door frame, "taph, you up?" a hum comes from inside and shedletsky gestures for jane to follow him inside. taph seems to have just finished sorting out their robes, and gives a small wave to the two. the admin looks at jane and then back at taph, "she showed up last night, might need a roommate."

taph pauses, looking at jane and then nods slowly at her, as if asking if she'd want that. jane hums with a nod, "i'd be fine with staying here." she doesn't know much sign language, only the basics, but she hopes that won't be too much of an inconvenience for the two of them. "that's sorted then, thank you taph," the admin pats jane on the back and leads her out of the cabin. they walk by the next cabin, but shedletsky doesn't bother to stop by, only gesturing towards it as he explains why, "hm, dusek's here too, but he's usually up and about before me or builder wake up— this is why he's not allowed to wake everyone."

"how did you all end up here?" jane asks, causing shedletsky to stop in his tracks. a hand comes up to scratch the back of his neck as he turns to face jane with an uncertain expression, he exhales with a small shrug, "a few of the stories from us survivors..." he brings a hand up to his chin as he thinks, "i'd have to guess that we were bought here because we went against our principles. the thing here only really... 'talks' to us before a round, but we can't communicate with it so it's just a theory." the admin answers, using air quotations when mentioning communicating with it. jane hums, maybe the glitch had nothing to do with her ending up here if his theory is the truth. she thinks about last night and supposes he could be right in his guess. she lets out an awkward chuckle, "ah. i- uhm. i purposely went against my own..."

shedletsky stares at her, "did you... intentionally come here?"

"well, i didn't know i would... end up here." she avoids his gaze, rubbing the back of her neck now. she supposes she can admit what she had done last night, she chews the inside of her cheek and laughs nervously, "i broke into builderman's office." jane is caught off guard by shedletsky bursting out laughing. she just admitted she broke into an admin's office and he's laughing. she stares at him with a frown, confused. the admin looks at her in disbelief, "that's you going against your principles?" jane clenches her jaw, turning her head to the side as she feels her cheeks grow red. wow, she really sounds like a goody-two-shoes now that she thinks about it. she decides to switch the focus onto him, "what about you; how did you end up here?"

he doesn't respond to her. he just shrugs and continues walking, "we should find 7n7."

 

they find 007n7 with the guest, both of them sat by the lake. the guest, who jane learns is guest 1337, sees them coming and hands 007n7 off to the admin and tester, saying he's going to get some rest before the games start. "still thinking about last night?" shedletsky asks the robloxian, and from beside the admin, jane bites her lip as she realizes the games aren't like the regular pvp experiences she used to have so much fun playing in. the survivors here are struggling, even after hours have passed. jane feels like she should return to the main house, not wanting to intrude on whatever shedletsky wants to talk about with 007n7, but the robloxian with the burger hat gestures for both of them to sit with him.

007n7 hums with a small uncertain shrug, "i really gotta stay outta elliot's way, huh?" shedletsky makes a small noise of disagreement, "it's not your fault for how elliot was last night. i'd blame chance," a light chuckle comes from 007n7, "i mean, come on, saying you've got this and then having your gun blow up right after you've been healed?" jane looks over with a frown, she spots 7n7 leaning back to look at jane. he frowns at her, "sorry that you're here, i'm 007n7."

"i'm jane doe." jane says, quickly replaces her frown with a small smile. 007n7 nods, trying to return a smile but it seems uneasy, he looks back at the lake and jane folllows his gaze. "i think that's the first you've actually given your name to someone here." shedletsky points out with a laugh. jane rolls her eyes, "i'll reintroduce myself to everyone when i can." 

"everyone's usually together after rounds or for dinner, if that'll make things easier." 007n7 coughs weakly. jane nods, then wets her lips as she looks over at the other two, "when do the rounds start?" shedletsky quietly chuckles beside her, she's always been like this: always asking questions to quickly understand something. she has to as a tester, she and john used to go back and forth with questioning and answering when testing new things to help builderman as best they could. the admin gives her a small pat on the shoulder, "around lunch and after dinner, usually." shedletsky answers after a short moment of silence, "sometimes it likes to pull us in off schedule."

the tester nods, looking back at the lake, deciding to lean into shedletsky for comfort, his arm wrapping around her as she got close. a shaky sigh escapes her, "alright, i think i'll get used to this quickly." the tester tries to keep her smile but it drops as she realises that she won't ever be returning to what she once called home. this is her new home but she doesn't want to get used to it, she wants to find the truth of everything and take everyone out of this experience. she should be at HQ with john, discussing the features of the experience to help builderman and mr doombringer take it down and ban the one behind it.

but, the admins can't even do anything here. 

she can't help them.

 

at least she can find peace in the fact that john is alive, and that he's near.

Chapter 3

it was nearing the time that a round would usually start, so everyone was fully awake by now, and jane, observing everyone as she does, made a mental note that these minutes before a round seemingly gets everyone on edge. dusekkar had informed her that they don't know who will be picked until the last minute, though with his unique way of talking, chance had to simplify his words for her. builderman had called for a briefing to discuss new survival plans to include jane. the table had been pushed away from the chalkboard to make room for him to stand and write down anything that could be useful.

currently, she had a bunch of faces staring at her in disbelief. she looked down at the table to avoid the stares, nervously fidgeting with the cuffs of her coat's sleeves. chance let out a weak chuckle, "ya sure you don't have abilities?" jane shrugged, looking up at him, "maybe i'll get them when i end up in a round."

"that could be a possibility but, we all spawned 'ere with our abilities." builderman took off his helmet to scratch at his head, turning back to the chalkboard, writing something down. an annoyed sigh came from him as his shoulders slumped, "i'll have ya stay by taph's side, actin' as distractions.. but, there's the possibility you'll be targeted since yer new... if that happens t'be the case, i'll need ya to keep by guest over 'ere."

"el's you'll be by my side, then?" guest 1337 leaned back in his chair, looking over at elliot with a smile. elliot rolled her eyes, "when am i not?"

"when noob's around ya." chance says with a small laugh. elliot closes her eyes with a small laugh, her face growing a bit red as she shrinks in her seat. builderman hums, eyes looking over at noob with a smile, "actually, noob, d'ya think you could be by jane's side? ya slateskin's quite useful." noob's eyes widened, and they straightened up in their seat as if they were caught not paying attention. their jaw clenched with a nod as they looked over at jane with a forced smile, "i-i'll try my best!"

"don't force yourself," jane said softly, she turns her head to builderman with a small frown, "i'd rather not stress anyone out over a newbie. we can respawn, so i don't mind if i die." she's a tester, she's used to respawning a million times over. she chews the inside of her mouth, remembering how everyone seemed shaken up after dying - she hopes that she'll be okay. she has to be okay. if she crumbles ever so slightly, how will john be sure that she's safe?

she hopes that john is in the round.

dusekkar brings her out of her thoughts with a soft sigh, he gives her a nod as he turns his head to her, "the mindset we knew remains, but do not take death so lightly, for in this eternal hell, only few can act knightly." he speaks softly, and if he could change expressions, jane would think he's giving her a smile. chance nods, "mhm, a lot of em have to be selfish to survive. me, twos, sheds and guest over there have abilities that can slow the killer down." he hums, leaning forward to rest his head on his hand. "death only brings the killer more time." guest 1337 adds, crossing his arms as he looks at the floor. 

builderman clears his throat to get everyone's attention. he's written some stuff on the chalkboard during everyone's discussion. "'right, so as i was sayin' - jane will stick by taph's side 'n help him out with his traps, though if she is targeted, 1337 and elliot will stick by her." he taps on the chalkboard to point to other plan's he's written down, "if taph or 1337 are not chosen, their subs will be 007 and shedletsky, got it?"

"and if none of those are chosen?" shedletsky raises an eyebrow, waving a hand waiting for builderman to continue. builderman hums, looking over at chance for a second, before turning back to the board, "sorry chance, we can't risk havin' yer gun explode 'round a newbie so..." he trails off, writing something before stepping to the side to let everyone read the third plan: himself and noob. jane wanted to object to having noob as a backup, but builderman put his hand up to silence any disagreements, "that is final. we can figure it out more after the round." chance chuckles, moving his hand away from his head to scratch the back of his neck, he leans back on his chair, far enough for him to balance his chair on two legs, "yeesh... ya really don't trust me with the new girl, you'd rather trust them with her?"

"noob can be useful, they did help you out last night after your gun exploded." elliot says, sitting up from her slouching position, looking over at chance with a furrowed brows. two time hums, a hand coming up to rub noob's shoulder, "it is unlikely that us four will not be chosen to defend everyone, so worry not my dear friend." they turn to smile at builderman, "though, i do want to ask why i am not considered as an option, no offence taken." builderman, ignoring two time's question, clears his throat with a clap, "glad to hear there are no objections, now get outta my sight you lot." he makes a shooing gesture with his hand, dragging an empty chair out from the table to sit in. a few mutters come from everyone as they get up from their chairs to go and do their own things. jane gets up from her seat, and decides to sit by the stairs as she watches everyone. 

elliot, stopping as she walks up the stairs, taps her on her shoulder, making a gesture with her head to point upstairs, "i'm gonna go play ddr, do you wanna join?" jane shakes her head with a chuckle, "thank you for the offer but i am embarrassingly bad at ddr." elliot laughs, "me too, but i'll let you be." she gives her a small wave before continuing on up the stairs. jane's eyes turn back to the main room and she spots shedletsky and guest 1337 lingering by the door, the admin holding a sword in his hand as he appears to be talking about... well, sword fighting. jane remembers her curiosity about the guest and she quickly rises to her feet, rushing over to the two.

"ah, guest was it?" she smiles sheepishly at him. he turns to her with a smile, tilting his head, "mhm, what's up?" though, before she could ask, shedletsky quickly drags her outside onto the porch. he lets go of her arm and sighs, crossing his arms, "you're curious about how a guest is here, aren't you?" jane gave him a forced smile, awkwardly laughing. the admin chuckles, and flicks her forehead, "i don't remember builder coding you testers to be so nosey."

"well, we are meant to be asking questions to help the admins out." 

"okay, i get it. startin' to wonder if your ability will be interviewing the killers." he laughs, a hand now on his hip, he wipes his mouth with his other hand as he tries to figure out how to word his answer for the tester. he makes an unsure hum, "the thing here seems to be able to travel in time. recent experience but noob and the guests are from 2017, everyone with HQ is from around the 2020's, 7's from 2014..."

"there's another guest?"

a nod from shedletsky as he sucks in a breath, making a small hissing sound. he points to the fence with his head, "noob's old pal... you remember the guest 666 rumour?" the admin turns his attention back to the tester who's nodding, looking as though she's writing down mental notes. "well, she's real... ended up in banlands after a fight with noob then she ended up here." his head turns to the front door after hearing some commotion, and he guides jane back into the house, and watches as a few people gather into the main room. 007n7, noob and elliot are all lingering by the fireplace, elliot staring at the other two in disbelief. jane turns to shedletsky for context,  "round's starting, looks like it wants to mess with us today." he says. builderman, emerging from the other room, spots the admin and tester, and walks over to them, looking between the two. it takes jane a moment to understand, but she remembers shedletsky mentioning some sort of communication between the survivors and the experience owner, "i didn't get anything," she says, but she isn't too sure what she's meant to be listening out for.

"how odd." two time says, suddenly right by the trio, appearing to have walked in from the outside. they startle jane, and jane wonders when two time had left the house. two time claps their hands together, smiling at jane, "newcomers often get pushed into a round right away, perhaps you are protected by the spawn." jane takes a step back with an uneasy laugh, "actually, i technically did come here on purpose, i don't think the owner thought of abilities to give me yet..." jane trails off, watching everyone turn to her at her confession, and she thinks elliot's jaw drops even lower for a second, but the tester blinks and elliot has disappeared, along with the other two that were with her. chance whistles, and jane notices him leaning on the frame of the door to the other room, and she looks at the expressions of the others; they're all looking at her for an explanation to her ending up here. builderman is frowning at her. she raises her hands, swallowing before she speaks "i'll explain after they all come back."

 

whilst waiting for the round to end, the survivors that were left alone talked amongst themselves, and jane sat by the fireplace, taking her time to properly word everything. she probably should have waited for the round to be over to say that, everyone's probably hoping that she knows how to get out if she purposely came here. she curses at herself for her wording, she didn't intentionally come here, but she did want to find out where the admins and her husband had ended up so maybe that does count...? she groans, leaning back in the chair, thinking over what had happened last night. she thinks about the entry, and the faint glitch that she had noticed. in her peripheral, she spots builderman join her by the fireplace. she turns her head to him, waiting.

he takes a seat, sucking in a breath through his teeth, "y'know, " he starts, quiet and unsure, "i thought shed's was kiddin' when he told me that ya broke into my office to come here." he lets out a chuckle, leaning forward to rest his arms on his knees. jane thinks for a moment, remembering that builderman usually is quiet when talking about something he's ashamed of; she remembers a few times he'd talk quietly to doombringer about some failed experiences that he had sent her to. "ah," jane starts, "you left the glitch?" she immediately regrets getting straight to the point when she watches his shoulders slump, he raises his eyebrows for a second at her question, a hand coming up to scratch his neck as he nods, "honestly wasn't sure if i managed to pull it off." he wets his lips, frowning, "snagged a bit of its code as i felt it comin', slapped it onto the entry as it got closer. came here 'n waited for a saviour." he let out a weak chuckle.

jane frowns, looking over at the fireplace, watching the flames eternally dance, "i won't tell them, i'll only say what i found." builderman was about to speak, but the attention of the two was quickly grabbed by the commotion in the other room. "oh my swords, noob, you're great!" elliot's voice came from the other room in nervous laughter. builderman looked over to jane, gesturing for her to follow him into the other room. the three that were chosen were sat at the table, elliot hugging noob with 007n7 from the other end of the table clutching his chest with a wince.

the table quickly fills up as the three calm down from the round, and jane chooses to stand at the end of the table. she looks over at builderman, then choosing to glance over everyone, "i will say my confession was poorly worded; i didn't intentionally come here, i only wanted to find out what happened to my husband and the admins. last night, i decided to go into builderman's office and looked through his files to see if i could get any leads," she fiddles with the cuffs of her sleeves, looking at builderman before continuing, "i found a glitch in his office, it was small so i thought i could get rid of it but when i touched it, i... i ended up here."

"so, you lied to me?" shedletsky raised an eyebrow at her. she shook her head, "no, your theory just made me think that the glitch had nothing to do with this!" at her panic, the admin laughs, shaking his head, "just messing with you." jane forces a smile, looking at him for a moment, then she lights up, remembering a voice she heard before ending up here, "i think it told me i wasn't meant to look for him."

"the owner?" chance leaned forward, resting their head on their hand as they looked at jane. she nodded, "that's what i heard before i ended up here." she frowns, looking down at the table. two time hums, "strange is it not? a few of us have connections to a killer, some kept as secrets," they glance over at a few, but jane misses who they're talking about as she lifts her head. "from the way you are with the admins, it is safe to assume your husband is an enemy to us, yes?"

"jane don't gotta answer that." builderman says, stern as he glares at two time. two time only smiles at him before turning their attention back to the tester, "if your husband is an enemy to us, i wonder why it didn't immediately bring you here." they tilt their head, waiting for jane to answer. she avoids their gaze, looking over at builderman instead, "i'm guessing it's safer to not specify who, huh?"

"that's the best option." 007n7 says quietly, coughing into his fist as he avoids elliot's stare. dusekkar stands, using his staff to help him to his feet, "i think it is best we all depart for now, let us all destress, for in the next few hours, our compatibility will be put to the test." he bows his head, and turns to exit the room. shedletsky rises to his feet, leaning over guest 1337, tapping his shoulder and gesturing for him to follow. jane watches as they all leave one by one, leaving only her and builderman.

"'course you'd come lookin' for john." builderman smiles softly at her. jane laughs weakly, walking over to sit next to the admin. he reaches an arm around her, holding her close. "the killers seem to 'ave the worst parts of 'emselves take over, he ain't the same john y'know."

"you know i'm gonna ignore that until i see it for myself." jane says quietly. the admin gives her a squeeze with a chuckle, "i'll be by yer side if ya do anythin' stupid." jane doesn't respond, only nodding, letting them relax in the silent embrace of one another. jane didn't realise how much she's missed builderman's hugs, she doesn't really want to move. 

Notes:

i am not smart enough to figure out how to write dusekkar's rhyming thing properly. fuck it we ball.

anyway, tiny bit of elliotnoob, or whatever their ship is called. that's one of the background ships, and i will say that the background ships will barely have anything, just tiny little bits hinting that they exist here.

Chapter 4

jane's first week comes and goes rather quickly, and in those days she is kept as a witness to the torment the others are forced to deal with. she isn't quite sure why she hasn't been thrown into a round yet, and she'd rather her time come sooner than later. chance had told her that she's real lucky, but she couldn't even muster up a smile at his words. sure, it's probably a good thing that the owner of the experience doesn't know what to do with her but, what will happen when it does figure out what to do?

it doesn't help that she overheard noob and elliot talking about how john doe hasn't been in a round since her arrival. she's sure that everyone has connected the two dots, but she can't find herself to worry about what the others think of her now. she's just worried about whatever will happen when she's forced to face her husband. 

"mind if i join ya?" a voice from behind her asks. she turns her head to see that 007n7 had come to the docks, he seems to always relax here before heading to bed. she sees why, it's a nice spot, easy to focus on your own thoughts. she nods, opening her mouth to speak but being unable to form any words. he smiles and sits down beside her, one leg lifted up to rest his arm on. he clicks his tongue, "don't mean to sound full of myself but, i'm sure you've heard of my name since you're with the admins?"

the tester hums with a shrug, she has heard of him. she never really cared to focus on anything other than her work, but she remembers mr doombringer's filtered swears when ranting about a certain exploiter that is currently her company for the night. "here and there. you were a bit of trouble for them." she tries to force out a chuckle but it comes out flat. she sighs, picking at the grass beneath her, "if you're worried about opinions, whoever the admins seem to be okay with, i am too, and it seems you're on good terms now so-"

"that's not what i was here for," he says with a small laugh. jane hums, focusing on the fact he had come here for her rather than for himself. she tilts her head at him, waiting. "my son's... here as an enemy to us."

"ah." is all she can manage to respond with. she then quickly stumbles over her words to properly form a response but she's met with 007n7 giving her a small smile, shaking his head. "it's alright. he doesn't realize what he's doing... i'm just thankful that whatever brought us here is..." he trails off for a moment, facial expression telling jane he's thinking. she turns her head back to the water with a frown. he put the two dots together, and she's somewhat thankful that he brought the topic up. at least there's people she can trust here. 

jane would like to call everyone here a friend of hers, as the admins had told her that everyone here are friends. she quickly realized that was more them speaking to her as a tester rather than her as a friend, she finds it amusing that they still have that habit even after not being at HQ for a year or so. she wants to call everyone a friend but she thinks if they were all in a better situation, it'd be much easier to do that. there's been arguments here and there between those she's seen relaxing together, and she can tell that builderman and shedletsky are seconds away from an argument. she thinks that they almost have argued at least four times since her arrival, and that she's the reason they haven't yelled at each other. they're doing it for her sake, but she hopes their argument comes quickly as she would not like to see the two with pent up anger for another.

she doesn't realize that she got lost in her thoughts until she hears 007n7 clear his throat, quickly getting her attention. "i wouldn't recommend blindly running into his arms but," a small laugh, "just know whatever he does, he's likely not aware of the harm he's causing." jane forces a smile at him, internally cursing at herself for completely missing everything he had said but she thinks he's on about john given the context. she feels a bit too embarrassed to ask but even what she managed to hear is good enough for her. that's another person telling her that john isn't himself.

her smile falls.

"thank you." she says with a small nod. she can't help but feel a bit awkward now, and she thinks its time for her to head to bed and leave 007n7 to his spot. she rises to her feet, brushing off the dirt from her clothes, "i'll be off now, goodnight." she can't find herself to wait a few more seconds to hear him bid her farewell, and she's off quickly, heading in the directions of her shared cabin. she hopes that taph is either asleep or not in the cabin at all, she just wants to sleep and worry about everything in the morning. she hesitates when she reaches the door, and she finds her eyes wandering off to the fence by the main house. the fence that seems to work in separating the killers from the survivors, funny how that works.

she really doesn't like to hear that john isn't the same john she loves. 

 

her body moves without her realizing it for a moment. she's running to the fence, scrambling to climb over it. she can't find it in herself to stop. she struggles with the climb, stumbling when her feet meet the other side. she continues running. running. and running. and then she feels a tug on her leg. and then, in a blink, she's upside down.

"woah! nice c--catch!" a glitchy voice comes from her right. she immediately regrets crossing the fence, and she thrashes about, trying to force whatever had grabbed her to loosen. she looks at her ankle, seeing red wrapped around it tightly. her eyes trail off, following the line of red and eventually she finds herself facing a monstrous looking beast wearing a roblox hat. it's smiling at her, head tilting as it watches her. she doesn't scream, speaking in a low whisper, "let me go, i-i will return to-"

"mmh, you're a n--NEW FRIEND!" the glitchy voice speaks again, and jane quickly turns her head to look at the speaker. a figure shrouded in black with a void star crown. this really does not look like it will end well for her. she closes her eyes, awaiting her demise but after a few seconds, nothing comes. she opens an eye, only to see the void star wearing robloxian staring at her, rubbing their chin with the other hand on their hip, in a very exaggerated way. jane blinks at them. "y-you're not going to kill me?" she asks them quietly, and the one holding her carefully lowers her to the ground, letting her go. the smaller of the pair spoke, their voice distorting into another's for a moment, "whA--AT? are we meant to, even off schedule?" they turn to who jane assumes is guest 666. the large figure looks down at the other with a shrug.

huh. jane takes a hesitant step backwards, these guys are just normal people?

a part of her hopes that john will be the same john she knew, and that part of her screams to keep running to find him but she can't find herself to do so. she's really not quite sure to make of all this, the survivors are horrified of the killers and yet...

this void star guy sounds like an idiot.

"wait. are you guys... survivors, too?" jane asks, finding it hard to believe she's meant to be afraid of these two. the smaller turns back to jane silently, and jane stares back, unsure of what she should do. after what feels like an eternity in silence, they seem to startle, "S--STEP BACK, JACKBUTT--!" they yell out in another person's voice, but then a second after, they speak quieter this time, and in what jane assumes is their normal voice. they're looking around in a slightly hunched posture, as if they're hiding from someone, "survivor? survive who?"

"what?" the tester really wonders if it's even worth staying around, this guy is hurting her brain. she frowns at them, "are you okay?"

"ohhh, i remember! you're not m--meant to be here!" they ignore her question, standing up straight and holding out their hands, making a shooing gesture. "r--run along now, lest y--you want to see me go B--BEAST MODE."

jane thinks she should return to the survivor side. not because she's scared of this guy going... 'beast mode', but because she has no clue what they are saying. she takes a quick glance at the guest, but he seems to not want to say anything, or maybe he can't speak. she'll wonder about that another day. she looks back at the robloxian with a small nod, "i... i'll go now, i guess." she turns around, heading back to the fence. she takes a small glance back at the two once she's about to climb back over but they're already gone. 

weird.

 

she hopes that no one had noticed her climb over the fence, but as soon as she returns to the other side, she's met with a very unamused builderman. his arms are crossed and his foot is tapping the ground, she feels like she's about to get grounded by her father. he doesn't immediately say anything, which makes the tester a bit nervous, but eventually, he sighs, shoulders slumping as he drops his head, "outta my sight, we'll talk in the mornin'"

now she really feels like she'll get grounded. 

"sorry." is all she manages to say, avoiding his gaze. she is quick to hurry over to her shared cabin. the door is slightly open, and she assumes that taph is out of the cabin, so she doesn't fully close it when she steps inside. the cabin is empty, with only her inside, but she finds it really doesn't make a huge difference as the cabin is often quiet even with the two inside. she pulls her coat off, hanging it on a chair, and slides her shoes off as she gets into her bed.

she's not sure what to think of the two supposed killers she had just encountered. they didn't seem to be that horrifying, but she comes to the conclusion that the killers also have a wide variety of characters. maybe she was just fortunate enough to meet the weirdly kind ones. she hums to herself, moving to rest on her side. she could have just gotten extremely lucky with her impulsive decision but she thinks back to what 007n7 had said before, remembering how he said something about his son - or john, not being aware of what they're doing. the two she had just met seemed to be quite in control of themselves. 

could the killers be controlled in the rounds?

but, the void star owner mentioned a schedule, so they seem to be aware of the rounds. or at least, those two seem to be.

jane groans to herself, just talking to them made her brain hurt and now thinking about the killers situation is hurting her brain even more. she thinks that guy gave her a headache. she rubs her face with a small yawn. now is a good time to sleep, she feels like her brain will explode if she thinks about the void star owner for another minute.

Notes:

noli is going to be so painful to write dialogue for.

anyway, didn't really know what to do for this one, my apolocheese.

Chapter 5

jane had been awoken earlier than usual, by someone knocking on the door of her cabin. she dreaded answering the door. she knew it was builderman, and she really hated the fact this situation she got herself in is making her feel like a teenage girl about to get into trouble. she's always followed the rules that builderman had set for the test accounts, and she's never seen him disappointed in anyone, so she can't help but feel nervous about whatever will occur.

the builderman she knew was all smiles and praise. he always saw the best in people, and believed that everyone should be given a second chance — she recalls him wanting to set up a program for banned accounts, she never found out what came of that idea. she balls her fists, grabbing her bedsheet. the builderman she knew is gone. she quietly chuckles to herself, of course, he's changed — who would be the same after living in a place like this for so long?

she's seen how stressed he's been, and she can tell he's seconds away from yelling at someone. she really, really doesn't want to experience the rage of an admin, but if she tries to avoid him, it could get worse for her. she lifts her head up, looking across the room at her sleeping roommate. she should probably get this over and done with before the admin barges in and wakes him up.

she sighs, relaxing her shoulders that she hadn't realised were so tense. she uses her arms to push herself up from her bed that she's been sat on for roughly 5 minutes, caught up in her thoughts. you're a grown woman, she thinks to herself as she walks to the door, quietly and carefully. she's focusing on every movement she takes, every breath she takes. everything seems so loud in this quiet room. she twists the handle of the door, opening it as quiet as she possibly could to avoid waking her roommate. she winces as the door hinges squeak and the wooden floor creaks beneath her as she steps out. she sucks in a breath as she turns to close the door, and feels her jaw tighten as she notices a figure in her peripheral. builderman is waiting beside the cabin, watching her carefully walk out. 

builderman doesn't say anything as she approaches him, he only gestures with his head to nonverbally tell her to follow him. she swallows a hard lump that was forming in her throat, anxiety creeping up on her at his silence. despite her worries, she keeps close to him as he walks to the main cabin. the door is already wide open, as it usually is during the waking hours, but it is only the two of them inside. she focuses on the sound of his boots on wood as he guides her to the side room, taking a seat at one of the booths. the admin finally breaks the excruciatingly painful silence once jane sits down across from him. he starts with a heavy sigh, hand coming up to scratch at his head. to jane's surprise, the admin doesn't yell at her, but asks her in a barely audible whisper, "what were you thinking?"

jane knows she doesn't have to answer him, the answer is obvious, and they both know that. she sighs with a small frown — he's not mad at her, only worried. "i wasn't harmed," she decides to say instead, in an attempt to ease his concern. "they were kind of weird, they didn't seem interested in harming me at all — in fact, they seemed surprised i even thought they'd hurt me. i remember one of them mentioned a schedule." she covered her mouth with a hand, quickly realising she had slipped into work mode. she lowers it a bit, giving the admin a small, sheepish smile. her hands move to rest on the table, "they seemed more like... cartoony villains than actual threats."

"ya haven't seen what they're capable of." the admin spits out, a little more harsh than he had intended it to be. "look," he wets his lips, sucking in a breath as he tried to figure out what to say. "in the rounds, they don't think twice about what they do. they're completely different to what you saw." he looks at her with furrowed brows. jane hums, "they're being controlled, right?" she asks, tilting her head. builderman's mouth opens, and then shuts, looking as though he had never taken that into consideration. his hand moves to rub the bridge of his nose as he sighs, "gettin' some crazy deja vu."

 

"d'you remember 2x2?" the admin asks her, looking at her with an uncertain expression. the tester nods with a small laugh, of course she remembers them, everyone knows who 2x2 is. though, her smile is quickly forgotten as she realises the implications, "are they here, too?"

"sorta." 

what does that mean?

"kept this from the others since i wasn't too sure if i was just dreamin' it all but, they seem to have come here willingly, just like you." builderman leans back in his seat, looking unsure of his own words. "they told me that over on the killer's side, they're just regular people that want to escape too. told me that they're being manipulated to hurt us but..." he trails off, leaning his head back to stare up at the ceiling. "i refused t' believe 'em. had an argument. next thing i know, they vanished." 

jane nods along with his words, taking in every word he tells her. she can't find it in herself to be surprised about 2x2 willingly coming here. the tester doesn't really know what she would label 2x2 as, but she's sure that despite the experience being undetectable from the admins, 2x2 would have known about it as soon as it was created. they're a mystery to her but she knows what they're like and what they're capable of. she smiles to herself, finding comfort in the fact that at least someone is on her side, and that someone just so happens to be one of the most powerful entities. 

"do you think they're still here?" she asks, already preparing herself to check every crevice for that brick if she needed to. builderman's gaze returns to her as he leans forward, resting his arms on the table, "they've taken the form of a robloxian so i'd think i'd have seen 'em by now but," a shrug, "nothin'."

"a robloxian?" jane blinks at him. a half chuckle escapes the admins lips, "i'unno why. i won't ever understand em."

"so, there's no trace of them, anywhere?"

"nope. nada." builderman responds, lifting his hands up slightly from the table. jane hums, leaning back in her seat. 2x2 came here, willingly, and vanished after builderman refused to hear them out. she wonders if they'd have left to live on the other side of the fence. she opens her mouth to speak on her thoughts, but as if reading her mind, the admin interrupts her, "don't even think about returning there."

"builderman-"

"jane doe." he says flatly, crossing his arms. "at least, not fer a while, 'kay? don't act on impulse, not here." he doesn't let jane say another word, standing up to leave as soon as he's done speaking. jane doesn't follow him, or attempt to speak, and stays where she's sat as she watches him leave the cabin. she chews the inside of her cheeks. she's not quite sure what to do with herself, everything she learns about this place just leaves her feeling lost. 2x2 is here, and just like her, they weren't invited here and they also saw what the killers are like when not in a round. she wants everyone to be safe, and she hopes that is 2x2's goal, too. 

Notes:

updates may be super slow from now on since i have like 4 different writing projects going on