To Bring Back A Friend

by Crycodile

Summary:

Noli missed when him and 007n7 would go out hacking and causing havoc; So much so that after he has gotten forsaken he can't manage to kill his own partner. Alerting the Specter, it would offer him a deal. The specter would bring 007n7 back to their good old days as a killer while Noli takes his place as a survivor.
Noli gladly accepts ready to get his friend back, no matter the cost.

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Aka: Noli forces 007n7 into a killer role which ultimately backfires.

Notes:

Hello everyone! This story started as a drabbled written at 2am!! Expect some spelling mistakes and grammar errors but overall enjoy! Thank you to my friends who worked as Beta-Readers!

FANART!

DUDE THEY DID SUCH AN AMAZING JOB!!
https://www.tumblr.com/mashmelly/786568826798129152/almost-12h-of-time-lapse-lololo-ahahahahha-fanart?source=share

Chapter 1: To bring change.

“Are you just going to keep moping?” The disembodied voice echoed.

Noli's gaze wavered from the photo, first instinct to look to who was talking to him but remembered that he couldn't quite see the Specter.

“...Maybe? I mean, my best friend of 10 years ago suddenly shows up on an opposite team that I'm supposed to kill repeatedly and I'm stuck with his used tampon of a brat.” Noli huffed, his eyes focusing on 007n7's face in the photo. College, where they'd first met.

“I thought you said you could do this.. get revenge for him leaving you. Is that not the case anymore..?” The Specter hummed, while the voice not directly degrading, there was a tone of underlying malice to its words.

“...I don't know if I can kill him, I mean, it was that… things fault that he gave up everything good he had. I think we could go back to the good old days though if we just.. gave him that taste of power again!” Noli made a gesture that looked as if he was crushing something in his hands, before looking sadly at what he might have crushed. “..It was supposed to be me and him. Forever. I can't believe he's forgotten that..”

“Do you want to give him a chance?” The Specters voice echoed with an unknown tone.

“Huh? A chance at what? If you're talking bout the fedora guy, I think dear 7's done with the gun stuff.” Noli laughed bitterly.

“Well, if it brings back your morale.. I'll offer you a nice deal. You swap with 007n7. I'll give him all the tools he needs to be a good hacker again, give him that taste, and see how he does as a killer. You, however, will be just like the rest of those prey animals since we have to keep this game fair... This change may be temporary but I do think it is your best shot at getting… that dear old friend of yours back.” The specter chose its words delicately, like a friend giving advice.

“Really?! You'd do that for me?” Noli's eye lit up, his half a face scrunching into a smile. “I accept, no questions asked! Being one of those squealing rabbits can't be that hard!” Noli heard the specter hum in agreement before presenting him with a small, glittering object.

A bullet.

Noli's face froze for a moment then awkwardly came into a fragile smile. “...Hey.. pal, what is this?”

“I need you to do some.. convincing. Talk to him, see if he agrees. If he doesn't have any incentive to kill his ‘teammates’ or you for that matter, then he'd ruin the game, no? If he doesn't agree then.. I guess force him to give it a shot. That should hopefully make him resentful enough to get the job done.” The Specters voice came out in distorted giggles. “Don't worry, once you redirect his.. aims in life, he'll respawn right here with your pals.” Noli hesitantly nodded to his words, rolling the bit of ammo in his palm. “Hopefully this cures your small case of misery. Good luck with your friend.”

Noli felt his code shift, a void coming over his eyes before light could greet them again.
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Warm fire danced in front of him, as he was met with a fire place. His eyes traced the chimney upwards, looking at the strange drakobloxxer taxidermy.

“..What a nice choice in decor.” He scoffed. He was about to turn around, when he felt something press into his back, pricking at what little skin he had left. A sharp blade threatening to cut him if he dared move. “So much for hospitality!! I don't know how dear Seven puts up with you people all day!” He cackled, putting his hands up in feigned surrender.

“What are you doing here, Noli.” Animosity came from a stronger voice, Builderman, ever the leader that he is. Noli turned his head to look at who was threatening him, seeing Shedletsky holding the blade steady while Builderman readied his investigation.

“Nothing that should worry you this much, I assure you.” Noli chuckled, whipping his body around and grabbing the sword with his skeletal hand. He yanked it from Shedletsky's grasp, causing him to scowl. Noli idly admired the sword, despite seeing it so many times already. “I mean, threatening someone when they don't even plan on hurting you? Shame on you!” Noli jabbed the sword upwards, through the drakobloxxers head, which oddly enough began to bleed.

“You've killed us enough times to know you certainly aren't a friend.” Builderman clenched his fists. He wasn't planning on punching him, was he? Noli scoffed at the thought. “What do you want, Noli?”

“I'm just here to talk with a friend, thats all. Could you point me in the direction of 007n7?” Noli feigned innocence. Builderman glanced at Shedletsky, who was focused on getting his sword back, before taking a glance at Dusekkar, who shrugged.

“...You.. stay here. Shedletsky, go get him.” Builderman carefully directed.

“‘Stay here?’ Giving orders to the person who could wipe you out in seconds. Clever, Builder.. always so clever.” Noli rolled his eyes but complied anyways, taking a seat on the couch next to someone dressed in a pizza uniform, they scooched away uncomfortably. Shedletsky didn't seem so keen on giving into Noli's demands but it was easier to listen to Builderman than fight it.

Within a few minutes, quiet footsteps next to Shedletsky's heavy ones could be heard, as the main cabin door creaked open. 007n7 entered behind him, taking a moment for his dead eyes to land on Noli. Recognition was the first thing that appeared on his face, before a low simmer of anger.

“SEVEN! Oh, how I've missed you bud-! We seriously gotta talk more often during rounds, I don't think I can go any longer without a solid conversation!” Noli lept up off the couch and scooped 007n7 in a hug, which 7n7 stiffly reciprocated. “How've you been? These prudes treating you right?”

“I'm fine… what.. what are you doing here, Noli?” A cold response, nothing Noli wasn't already used to.

“Well, I'm here to tell you a nice little announcement! I'M JOINING YOUR TEAM!” Noli spun with a little flare. He got a few odd looks, a scowl from most though. Builderman readied to say something but 7n7 spoke sooner.

“What?! No, no. Noli, go back. You.. you can't join us.” 007n7 held himself, eyes widening at Noli's statement. “Noli, you've killed us. That's not something that you can just.. suddenly come back from.”

“I mean, you came back from hacking pretty quick. Didn't you ruin that pizza guys life? Defaced his father's establishment for the fun of it? Oh, oh! Or Builderman, and his Lil admin lackeys! Surprised they don't kill you on the spot! Yet you're still here defending em and acting all…uh. Okay, I wouldn't say friendly but you still help each other.” Noli laughed, relishing the uncomfortable looks he was gaining.

“...Noli, people still haven't forgiven me for what I did and- and as they should! Noli, we've hurt people and there's no coming back from that and you certainly can't come back from repeatedly torturing us.. for.. for whatever reason you have!” 7n7 was exasperated, not understanding how Noli couldn't grasp such a concept.

“..So.. you think that since you did something bad 10 YEARS ago, you deserve to be treated like dirt by these people?” Noli's playful voice turned dead serious in seconds.

“I've hurt people during and after my hacking days- directly or indirectly. I ruined their lives, Noli. They don't have to forgive me.” 007n7 took the quickest glance at Elliot who was watching warily from the couch.

“Indirectly? Are you saying that little demon of yours did something?” Noli idly floated around 007n7 in circles, something he had found playful. 7n7 couldn't help but be reminded of sharks finding prey.

“C00lkidd got into somethings he wasn't supposed to and caused trouble for others. It's nothing you should worry about. What you should be doing is going back, you aren't welcome here Noli.” 007n7 got a little more stern, the mention of his son putting him further on edge.

“So you're telling me that the Lil blood stain ruined your college life, got you banned from a pizza place, and then killed you? I don't know how you could love such a creature!” Noli gasped dramatically, his words clearly getting on 7n7's nerves.

“...He doesn't know what he's doing. You can't blame him for being oblivious.” 7n7 was turning a bit pink.

“I'm not talking about his game of tag. You should know what he did.” Noli grew dead serious. “He killed you- even if it was at your own hand, he did it.”

007n7's face grew in disbelief. “Are… are you blaming my suicide on C00lkidd?”

“Wait- you committed suicide?” Elliot spoke up finally, his eyes widening at the new revelation.

“Well- Ell-” 007n7 began but was shoved aside as Noli huffed, “YEAH! The brat up and ran away from home then expected dear Seven here to just.. suddenly be okay! If the thing you wasted your life on just up and left suddenly, you'd put a bullet in your brain as well! The kid's a monster!”

“Noli, leave.” 7n7's face was reddened with rage. “JUST LEAVE ME THE #### ALONE ALREADY!”

“Sev- I'm tryna help you-!” Noli looked taken aback, not used to hearing him yell. Seven was a quiet killer, chasing to bottle up his emotions and handle them on his own. 007n7 doesn't yell.

“OH, yeah, yeah, and you were helping me when you were trying to STALK ME just to force me into doing stuff that I didn't want to do when I SPECIFICALLY TOLD YOU THAT I WAS DONE. YOU'RE NOT HELPING, YOU NEVER HAVE- IN FACT YOU'VE MADE MY LIFE WORSE! I had to move so many times so that you and that little cult of yours wouldn't come after C00lkidd- I took up three jobs just to pay off everything and yet you STILL TRIED TO RUIN IT. NOLI. WE HAVEN'T BEEN FRIENDS FOR 10 YEARS. GET IT IN YOUR HEAD ALREADY.” 007n7 was out of breath, tears threatening to spill over as he wanted. The cabin grew quiet, sickeningly so. Noli was dumbstruck, never knowing such things could come from the man.

“...007n7.” Noli began, hand hesitating as he felt for the small bullet. “I'm going to get you back from.. whatever this is and that is a promise. This.. is for your own good.”

“What could you possibly know about what's good for me?” Venom laced his words as he bore into the skeletal hacker.

“I.. am going to join your team, in exchange of you joining mine.” Noli was hesitant, feeling something like guilt well in his stomach. “It'll be just like the good old days, Seven! Give these people what they deserve for tormenting you so often, isolating and ignoring you! It's what you've always wanted- and it's what you want now!” Noli's words slowly grew with confidence, he was so sure that the friend he lost would come back to him.

“No. I… Noli- no. I'm not going to kill people. I'm not a monster anymore.” 007n7's words were firm but his actions betrayed him as he hugged himself tighter, a form of comfort. Some of the survivors were beginning to get up from their seats, Builderman whispering to Shedletsky as he finally dislodge his sword. Noli's time was running out. Noli rolled the bullet cupped in his hand.

“You'll thank me later.” Just as Guest got up from his position to ram into Noli, Noli used a tendril to launch the bullet straight into 007n7's skull.

“NO-!” Guest stopped his charge to veer towards 007n7, who stood there frozen as blood began to pour over his face. A blank stare as he focused on nothing. “007n7? Are you there? 7n7?!” Guest's stoic face was filled with fear, he put his hand over the bleeding wound.

Noli was tackled to the ground by Shedletsky, who had begun to throw punches. “WHAT DID YOU DO!?” His wings fluffed with his growing rage as he tried to stab the hacker.

“Elliot, grab bandages! Noob, grab some rope! Dusekkar, help Shedletsky restrain this B######!!” Builderman was in action, while a little too late, still efficiently. Elliot froze, in a stupor for a moment but hearing Builderman's voice forced him to move. Noob nodded as he ran outside. Dusekkar had begun to summon a spell- and through all the chaos, a single sound rang out.

A ping.

A small black text box with a red border appeared over 007n7's shoulder, the C00lgui.

“You know what to do next.” It read. Before anyone could react, it rang again. Ping… ping.. ping ping ping ping.. pop-ups had begun to cover up what was left of 7n7. His code had begun to glitch, life coming back to him as he was wracked from his temporary death. He let out a raw scream, emotional, loud and filled with static, it was the last sound they heard from him. The pop-ups had stopped, before slowly closing automatically. Where 7n7 once stood, there was nothing. He was gone.

Chapter 2: Settling in.

Summary:

Noli begins to fall in line with the other survivors, 007n7 finds himself lost and back at square one.

Notes:

I know azure would likely be way more aggressive but personally I see him as a self-confident flower boy who just wants to be happy. The violent tendencies come from the Specters control so you will see that with him still.

“WHAT DID YOU DO!? YOU.. STUPID.. HACKER.. SCUM!” Shedletsky's voice grew shrill. Noli wasn't all there as his brain focused on where his friend once was. Only remnant of him being there was a small puddle of blood that had leaked from the wound before Noli was dragged away. Dusekkar and Noob had managed to tie Noli up, keeping him glued to a chair from the winner's table.

“Noli, explain what happened.” Builderman's voice came quietly but the danger was still there. Noli considered fighting back, but he felt his powers weakening as odd bits of flesh had begun to regrow. The switch had already been made.

“I was pretty sure most of you were there for that conversation but I guess if you're deaf- Me and 007n7 swapped roles. Imma be helping you weaklings while good old Seven regains a taste of our glory days!” Noli continued to fail to see what the issue was, the few survivors that stuck around seemed to be sickened or angered by his words. His gaze shifted from the pizza guy, who he had recently learned was called Elliot. Elliot was tapping his fingers on the winners table, completely lost in thought but made to stay in case anyone needed medical assistance. Shedletsky was sent to the corner, wiping off what looked like blood from his sword as he continued to scowl, anger evident. Dusekkar stood next to Builderman as they crowded Noli's view of the poor cabin. Guest 1337 had stood to the side, stoic face back but turmoil laid behind his eyes.

“Why? Did you do something to anger your boss to get demoted like this or is this some plan for the future?” Builderman's suspicion remained, his arms tightly crossed, refusing to turn his gaze from the rotten hacker.

“Well- I caught a bad case of the blues thinking that I'd have to kill my bestie for the restie almost all of eternity so I moped and moped and moped until our dear pal Specter gave me a nice deal! I told you what I wanted. I want my friend back, so I'm getting him back. There isn't much more to it, it all boils down to you're stuck with me and the person you treated worse than dog #### is gone. Happy?” Noli remained bitter towards the group for their treatment of 007n7, as well as his personal beef between him and the admins..

Builderman sighed, hand coming to his face as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Elliot's gaze had lifted from the table to the wall as he spoke. “...Was.. was it true what you said-? About him… his.. the suicide?” The younger man swallowed thickly, forcing himself to look at Noli.

“OH. Yeah, I found his body and everything. Took a peashooter then went KER-BLAM! Brains n blood everywhere!... After the kid was gone I was kinda hoping we'd catch up- go back to what we used to be but apparently the Lil devil in red had some other plans. If you're thinking about blaming yourself for his death, there's no reason to. It's the kids fault, all of it is. Not yours.” His words didn't have any remorse, it was stated matter-of-factly. The people around him fell into some kind of silence, waiting for Elliot to mull over his words.

“....Okay. Builderman- can… can I go now? At least outside the cabin..” Elliot's face was laced with sorrow.
Builderman gruffley nods. “Yeah. You didn't do anything wrong, okay kid?” Elliot wished he could believe that. He solemnly walked out, leaving the admin's and guest alone with the ex-hacker.

“So- is this how I'm gonna be spending the rest of my days or-?” Noli vaguely gestures to the binds.

“You realize you can never go back, right? You were safe as a monster. Why give it up?” Shedletsky asked bitterly, walking back to the group with a more level head.

“Once 007n7 realizes what a good friend I was with this gift I've given him, he'll forgive me and return the favor- which is putting me back as a rightful killer. Then we'll both be on the same side again, fighting against you admins, hacking, causing chaos-! Everything will be right again.” The rotted hacker grew excited for the possible memories that they'd make.

“.....####ing delusional.” Shedletsky went back to the corner, not wanting to look at Noli any longer. Builderman let out a long sigh.

“This is getting us nowhere. He's right about one thing though, we're stuck with him. While we got the time we ought to figure out how to get him.. settled in.”
Dusekkar finally spoke, “Even if we let him call this place home, it's not a good idea to let him freely roam.”

“Seriously, guys, a genuine psychopath!” Shedletsky piped up, holding a chicken wing in hand. Noli briefly wondered where he kept all that chicken or better yet, why chicken?

“I know. I'm not happy bout it either but we gotta work with what we have… right now, we should start a list a people who are willing to babysit Noli… and I don't think I'm comfortable with removing 007n7's stuff yet, in case this is a huge hoax so we'll set him up in Two Time's cabin.

They've been begging for a roommate lately so hopefully this'll be good enough..” Builderman seemed unsure about his choices, but ultimately decided it had to be good enough for now.

“So we're putting the cultist with a cult leader? Great.” Shedletsky spoke with his mouth full, very clearly stress eating. Builderman frowned at his colleague but made no comment towards it.
“..Guest, do you mind.. taking over from here? I still haven't prepped for the next round and with the possibility of 007n7 being a… one of them, I need more time to do so.”

“..Of course. I'll make sure he stays out of trouble... You can sign me up for that babysitting sheet of yours too. I don't want to do it 24/7 but every now and then would be fine by me.” Guest walked over to the rotted hacker, tugging at the ropes that Noob did a surprisingly good job tying. He vaguely recalled Noob discussing something about a summer camp. He shook his head, as if it’d rid him of the thoughts before releasing Noli of his binds.

“Oh, finally!! Took you long enough! I was worried this was about to get freaky!” Noli chuckled, rubbing at the skin on his wrists… wrists? Noli paused, looking at the skin that had regrown over his skeletal hand and begun to climb up his arm. It was strange to see it look somewhat normal, after so many years of the void stars rot. He didn't even think it could be undone but here he was, becoming a flesh bag again. He frowned.

“Ew.” Shedletsky broke Noli from his thoughts, the disdain still clear on his face. Noli laughed as he was tugged away by Guest, out of the main cabin. Guest was quiet, silent gesture of follow me was the only communication provided as he began to walk towards a row of cabins.

“Silent treatment? I mean, fitting for a soldier but you know you could talk to me. Where we going anyway? To this Two Time's fellow?” Noli chirped, hoping to get something from the man but he remained quiet. “You know, if this is how you treat all new survivors, I think your team morale is gonna plummet QUICK.”

“We don't.” Guest was curt with his reply, Noli could see his fingers twitch, clearly irritated by being near the hacker.

“OH, so you do talk! For a second I thought I was gonna have to deal with you like that demolitionist fellow! I tried talking to him once but all his hand signs and gestures just.. really don't make sense, y'know? Tried telling him that, and the little jerk flipped me off! Could you believe him?!” Noli feigned hurt, hoping to get a reaction from Guest, but the walk remained silent. The soft crunching of leaves and sticks as they walked through the forest, towards some cabins that were far out of the way, at least from the main cabin.

“These are the survivors' cabins, where all of us stay. You will be rooming with Two Time.” Guest kept walking, facing away from Noli so it was somewhat hard to hear what his gruff voice was saying.

“Say, would you mind slowing down a bit? Have.. I dunno, a real conversation, team mate??” Noli took a few long strides to be parallel to Guest, who refused to look at him. “What's the Two Time person like anyway? Sheddy said he was a cultist, should I worry about being sacrificed in my sleep?” Noli chuckled at the joke.

“Maybe.” Guest looked over at Noli momentarily, before focusing on their destination.

“...Maybe?? You're joking, right? I don't particularly care for being a sacrificial lamb!!” Noli giggled nervously.

“We're here.” Guest stopped finally, deep in the woods and in the very back of the survivors cabins. The cabin, for lack of a better words, was creepy as ####. The shading of the trees cast a shadow over the home, vines crawled up it out of moss, almost threatening to swallow the rotted wood back into nature. Noli looked through the windows, a few had cracks on them, one of them had a full spider colony and one- Noli yelped as he was met with two dark glittering eyes from inside the cabin, a pale face coming to press against the glass.

“Good evening! What may the spawn help you with?” Their voice was a bit muffled by the glass.
“Care to come outside so we could have a.. conversation about our new… uh. Whatever- Come outside.” Guest somehow seemed more uncomfortable.

“Of course, dear friends!” Two Time quickly came to unlock the door, a large thin lipped smile plastered on his face. “Now, What may the spawn help you with?”

“You look like a freak.” Noli said, looking the skinny person up and down.

“Oh. What an interesting way to greet someone. I enjoy your lack of skin!” Two Time still smiled, face not changing in the slightest.

“....Greetings aside, Builderman had decided that this guy is going to room with you for a bit. Do you mind if he does?” Guest rested a hand on his hip.

“Why of course, I am always happy to house the unfortunate! I was not expecting such an.. interesting roommate, but I happily accept!” Two Time walked over to Noli, giving him a tight hug.

“OH.. ew.. it's touching me.. ITS TOUCHING ME!” Noli screeched as he tried to pull Two Time away.

“You are in good hands, friend.” Two Time pulled away, grabbing Noli's shoulders into a death grip. Noli physically cringed.

“Well- okay, glad you enjoy your new.. pal. I gotta go help Builderman plan for.. stuff. Can you make sure this guy doesn't get into any trouble? No murder or anything like that?” Guest shifted awkwardly.

“Why of course! I shall treat him as well as the Spawn treats us. I wish you luck on your endeavor, friend!” Two Time did not let go of Noli once, but snapped his neck towards Guest like an owl. It almost looked painful.

“....Thanks. Good luck.” Noli couldn't tell who Guest said that to as he walked off, leaving Noli with the person who walked as if 1000 ants were piloting a corpse.

“Come in, come in!” Noli felt like he was walking to his death. Inside the cabin was a mess of notes, insane scribbling and lines carved into the wall. He saw the glint of a dagger by the others bedside before deciding that this is definitely how he died, permanently. Sacrificed by an ant man. “Alright, you can sleep over there!” Two Time pointed to a bed across the room from whatever mania that he just looked at. Surprisingly enough, it was a blank slate. Uncomfortable bed sheets, eerie plain walls and a few bugs to accompany it. A downgrade from killer living but not the worst.

“...You're not going to kill me in my sleep, are you?” Noli hesitantly asked.

“If you need anything, I'm rightttt here! Or behind the cabin in the middle of the night, but thats my alone time. Don't bother me during my alone time. Oh- Aaand you get a journal! Builderman insists that we keep journals so we can stay ‘sane in this hell hole.’ I don't know what he means though, this place is very nice!” Two Time completely ignored his question. Nice. He took the journal from Two Time, flipping through the empty pages briefly.

“Yeah. Very nice.” Noli frowned. “Wait, isn't it always night here?”

“The moon still rotates, giving us the equivalent of a day and night cycle. Buildedman once made a sundial to help us figure out the time but it did not work very well due to this place being covered in shadows.” Two Time hummed, picking up their dagger, angling it in the moonlight before attaching it to their belt. “How long will you be staying?”

“As long as it takes for 7n7 to remember his loyalties.” Noli huffed, plopping onto his rickety bed.

“Oh. For a while then.” Two Time opened a few drawers on a desk that was covered in strange markings, pulling out an obviously home-made pencil. “For your journal. Try not to use too much of it, we only make a few every now and then. Oh, and don't try to eat it!”

Noli took the pencil as well, giving Two Time an incredulous look. “Why would I eat it?”

“Dinner is when the moon is just above the cabin. We have a bell that we ring when it's time although you usually can't hear it from here. 007n7 usually comes to get me when it's dinner time… oh. I will ask Elliot to put some dinner in the fridge for us if we happen to miss the deadline.” Two Time looked out into the woods, the general direction the main cabin was in.

“What do we have for dinner?” Noli rubbed his fingers across the rough wood of the pencil as he warily watched the other.

“Pizza. It is quite a wonderful food actually! I never knew such ingredients would compliment each other so well, I thank the Spawn for giving us such a wonderful meal to have everyday!” Two Time smiled widely, showing off his teeth which looked as little sharper than normal.
“Pizza? EVERYDAY?!” Don't get him wrong, Noli loved pizza. Everyday though? He would scrape his taste buds off with a cheese grater. “You don't eat anything else? What about chicken??”

“...None of us are very good cooks. Elliot knows how to make pizza because of his job.. and he has an infinite supply. Chicken is very limited and usually reserved for Shedletsky.” Two Time bit at his nails. “We don't have ingredients for much else. We cannot farm very well due to a lack of sunlight and animals.. are sparse and usually inedible. It is simply safer to stick with what we know in order to avoid further poisoning.”

“You guys live extremely sadly.” Noli was beginning to realize what he had signed up for. He figured he could handle being killed repeatedly, but living like this? Another story. “I'm gonna have to resort to cannibalism if thats the diet you guys got!”

“...Not the worst idea but we need all our friends in top condition if we are to survive. Perhaps you could look for something to eat if that is so much an issue. Everyone has something to bring to the table, perhaps food could be yours!” Two Time smiled brightly despite his previous comments.

“I… I don't cook.. and if the 10 of you have searched this place head to toe, I don't think I'll find anything else. Coding's my thing, forever will be.” Noli shrugged nonchalantly.

“Perhaps the Spawn will bless us with something. Ah, but that is for later. So much time has already passed, it is time for a round to begin. I hope you are ready, friend!” They grabbed Noli's wrist, yanking him from his bed and practically dragged him into the woods. Noli took note of another cabin near Two Time's, wondering who might reside so close to a freak.

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Ping.

007n7 was lost. He had recently respawned, memories of what had just happened flooding his brain which had forced him into a fit of sobbing. Why couldn't he just be happy? Have one thing go right for him!? He collapsed onto wet grass beneath him to sob, bringing his hand to wipe away tears but stopping at the sight of it.

His hands had blackened with corruption, curving into angular claws that's gradient turned from black to red. He cursed to himself, looking around before spotting a body of water. He scrambled over to it, trying to get a good look at himself. His body wasn't his anymore. While his eyes remained dead, just above them were large horns, similar to C00lkidds smaller ones, they laid right in front of his burger hat. Both his hands had turned into long claws, they could easily tear away skin if he wasn't careful. The corruption followed up his arm, falling down the rest of his body, occasionally spawning pop-up's that read random messages… not random. His thoughts. Any vague thought that tugged at the back of his head but was shoved away came back as a pop-up for the world to read. His clothing had changed too, into something he'd wear in his early hacker days. He had his old leather jacket back, torn at the edges but still his, and the shirt was the old cat one he would wear all the time.

‘Back to the good old days.’ Noli's words rang in 007n7's head as he continued to sob. What had become of him? A guttural scream erupted from him as he raked his claws through the dirt, whatever was holding him together finally snapped as he gave up on hiding his emotion. All his work, all the effort he put into becoming better, all the years of trying not to be a monster was undone within no less than an hour and once again, there was nothing he could do about it.

 

When he was done sobbing for what felt like an eternity, he laid on his back, staring up at the un-twinkling stars. He didn't want to move, he didn't want to be awake anymore. He wanted to die more than ever but knew that he couldn't no matter what he tried so the next best thing was to rot.

He couldn't even do that though, someone was clearly alerted to his screams as a shadow slowly fell above him. “....Are.. are you okay?” A hatted man had asked, tentacles protruding from his back.

“No. It doesn't matter though.” 7n7 was bitter, to say the least. He looked up at the man with an unzipped mouth.

“I mean, I think it does. You let out a scream good enough to scare Jason awake so, figured I ought to come deal with it… you.. look familiar.” he spoke hesitantly.

“I was one of the survivors, if that helps any.” 007n7 lifted the dirt covered claws in front of his face, a pop-up reading ‘monster’ coming into view as well.

“Was?” The grass next to 007n7 shifted as the mystery person laid down next to him. “I didn't know it was even possible for survivors to switch sides. Why'd you change?”

“I didn't want to.. I wanted to make it up to all of them.. for being a bad person, but.. Noli-” 007n7's breath hitched on another incoming sob.

“Wait- Noli?? He's been gone all day- are.. sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you.” They grew quieter with every word.

“It's okay- but, Yeah, apparently Noli decided that he wants me back as his right hand-man so the best way to do that was forcing me as a killer while he takes my role as a survivor. Oh, and he chose to air out my laundry to everyone I worked so hard to impress, basically bringing me back to square one… and he insulted my only son. So, y'know. Doing good.” 007n7 laid his claw across his chest, almost as someone would lay dead in a coffin.

“OH.. oh S###... so… so he betrayed you.” His face grew darker at the revelation. “####ing Noli… The guy was a jerk but that's.. thats low.. well, I guess let me be the first to welcome you to the team..” They slowly got up, turned around and offered a hand to 007n7. “I'm Azure. Welcome to the team of the misfits, the mangled and the betrayed who finally get back at those who deserved it. You are?”

7n7's face cringed at the idea of revenge, but the idea slowly turned sweeter at the idea of making Noli feel the pain he did… he froze, realizing what he was thinking and shook his head. He hesitantly reached his claw out, carefully taking the hand offered to him. “...007n7. Thanks.”

Azure yanked the other up, using the tentacles on their back to steady 7n7 as he was on his feet again. “Would you like to meet the others now or would you like to take a moment to recuperate?”

The ex-hacker paused. “...C-C00lkid.. he's here right?” Anxiety gripped his stomach at the thought of his son, worrying that his son would resent him or have completely changed without him. “I think.. I think I need a moment. I don't want to worry C00lkidd when we meet again. He shouldn't have to worry about anything at all…”

“Oh yeah you're the kids dad! He doesn't stop talking about you- all good things I assure you! Once you're ready I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see you.. In the meantime, why don't we go somewhere quiet? Would you like to see the greenhouse-?” Azure fiddled with their fingers.

“Greenhouse? You can grow things here..?” 007n7's interest perked, the idea of eating anything that wasn't pizza made his taste buds tingle.

“Yeah, anything from vegetables to flowers! I'll show you!” Azure gestured for 7n7 to follow which he did, stumbling though as he felt disoriented by his bodies changes. Azure led them through a much denser woods, greenery threatening to snag them at any moment while they walked. “Personal recommendation though, try not to go this far into the woods. It can be tough to navigate out of and it's not a good idea to get lost.”

“Ah, it wasn't exactly on purpose. I just happened to spawn there before..noticing the changes… this is the killer's area, right? Where you go after the rounds?” 007n7 couldn't help but look around, worry fueling his curiosity.

“Yeah, this place that much different from your guy’s hidey hole?” Azure joked.

“Very! On our side everything is just.. Dead. I'm not sure how much I enjoy the overgrowth though.” 007n7 got his foot stuck on another root, almost tripping.

“It keeps us by our cabins, no way of wandering…” Azure pushed aside some large leaves, revealing a large glass structure, humidity inside it fogging the windows but it was still very clearly a greenhouse. “The greenhouse, basically my home!... I don't actually live here.. we have small homes we stay in…”
“You just meant you spend most of your time here? I get it, I'm not going to judge you for that…” 007n7 chuckled. It was kind of weird, not walking on eggshells with someone. The pressure to make a good impression was still there but without the precedent most people had, it gave him some relief that he could just… be himself for once.

“You're surprisingly normal.” Azure seemed to have blurted out.

“Not something I hear often.. the others are that different-?” Azure thought about 007n7's words.

“Well.. when you got a bunch of people who look forward to offing the people that messed them over.. or got messed up for other reasons… you're going to end up with some characters.” Azure pushed open the greenhouse door, humid air hitting the duo in the face. “C00lkidd is fine, he's just.. a little hyper and a hint of a pyromaniac.” 007n7 nodded, adding up to what he already knew. Azure grabbed an odd looking Venus flytrap, tilting it in his hands. “John Doe isn't all there due to that.. virus of his. He mostly mumbles about his wife.. 1x1x1x1x1 is.. angry. Almost all the time. Embodiment of hatred, I know, but they could still learn to take a chill pill. Oh, and there's Jason. Jason is mute, he uses sign language. He's not a bad guy, just major mommy issues.”

“Heh, that sounds like quite the cast.” 7n7 stopped by some of the red flowers, admiring how well they grew.

“That's putting it lightly. You like those? Spider Lilies. Popular in Japan, they basically represent rebirth- as to not go full plant nerd on you.” Azure hummed. They set the plant pot down and walked over to a bunch of purple flowers. “My favorites are nightshades.. they don't have the best ideas surrounding them so I won't get into it.”

“....You don't seem a lot like a killer.” 007n7 looked at Azure, despite their monstrous appearance, their personality betrayed all of that.

“Well.. as you so eloquently put it earlier. I didn't want to be. My lover stabbed me for something he loved more than me.” Azure grew solemn, eyes focused on the flowers he was weaving together. “I grew angry and the specter took advantage of that anger… I've been a puppet for years now, just there for that thing to get a bit of action in killing then tossed aside like a toy. I won't lie, I was way worse than this.. the specters influence made everything just.. amplify. I was so angry.. but being angry gets tiring, so I take the time between rounds to just be me. Who I was and work to who I want to be. I do hope you don't judge me during the rounds, it just takes over. I don't have a say in anything.”

“That's.. that's terrible-! I'm so sorry-” 007n7 scrambled to cover up his mistake of bringing up a sensitive topic.

“No, you would've found out sometime anyway. Just means we have more in common anyway- You were betrayed by Noli and I was betrayed by Two Time. Kind of funny how hard it is to have some decency these days but at least we have a chance to get back at them.” Azure approached 007n7, placing a flower crown atop his head, which awkwardly fell around his new horns and old burger hat. Azure pulled a crown of nightshades and dropped it over the sentient hat they wore. “To being friends in this hell hole.” Azure reached out their hand.

007n7 froze, not fully grasping what they had meant at first before tearing up. So easily he had made a friend just by acting like himself. Not once had they shunned him, pushed him away, or judged him by his history. It was an undisputed sign of the progress he put in. His face curled into a sob as he took Azure's hand and shook it. “Y-yeah-! To friends!!”

Chapter 3: Close with death.

Summary:

Noli discovers what it means to die while trying to figure out how to survive.

007n7 reunites with his son and meets the dysfunctional family that is the killers.

Notes:

A little more calm before to the storm, just as a set up. Confrontation happens next! :]
It is currently written, just under review by my beta reader and some possibly revisions!!

Noli was genuinely in hell. The round had started recently, before him and Two Time even made it to the main cabin. Then, his least favorite area spawns in around him, ultimate assassin's ground. Finally he had somehow managed to spawn next to the freak that is Two Time and the one who very clearly hated him the most, Shedletsky.

“You, check who the killer is.” Shedletsky said curtly, approaching Noli.

“What??” Noli had no idea what he was talking about.

“007n7 could check who the killer was. Can't you do the same, hacker??” Shedletsky tapped his foot impatiently.

“I didn't know he could do that.. how did he?” Noli pulled out a star shaped icon that expanded into a hacking panel. He stared for a second. “....WHERE THE #### IS MY STUFF?!”

“007n7 mentioned that his c00lgui was downgraded when he arrived. Perhaps the same has happened to yours?” Two Time spoke, peering over Noli's shoulder to see the screen.

“Can you check vitals either or are we completely without that technology thanks to you?” Shedletsky huffed, running a hand through his hair, seeming to be the only thing that kept him from a fight.

“I… have no idea how he did it. I don't have that kind of code..” Noli was searching through different windows, trying to figure out what he did and didn't have.

“That is okay friend, it never takes long for us to find out who the killer is. Why don't you do generators while you figure out your new abilities? It would be a great help to the team” Two Time pat Noli on the shoulder.

“The things I do for you, Seven..” Noli grumbled as he walked away from the two. He was slowly realizing how rash of a decision he made, uncertainty penetrating the fantasy he had let take over his brain. He heard the clinking of machinery nearby, with a sluggish approach he had found someone in a dark robe working on the machine. Oh, it was the demolitionist.

Taph looked over at Noli, instinctively reaching for a bomb, but paused when he remembered their recent changes. The mute began to make gestures towards Noli. “👉🔌🔋❓️😕” (Do you know how to do Generators?)

“I genuinely have no idea what you're saying, but if it’s anything along the lines of me taking over this generator, then yes.” Noli pushes Taph aside, looking inside the panel of wires. Taph grew very clearly frustrated.

“🖕🔪💀💫👿” (#### you, hope you die Noli.) Taph walked off, unspooling a wire as he went to who knows where. Noli simply gave a loud giggle as he shoved his hands into the small compartment.

This.. was a lot harder than expected. It was a simple game of color matching that Noli just couldn't get right. By the time he had connected his first wire, the loud thrum of theme music had begun to play.

“RUN!” Elliot choked out, before being split in half by a green blade.

“I'd like to see you heal that chicken again, pizzaboy.” 1x1x1x1x1 had spat at the corpse, the anger radiating off of them in waves as their gaze lifted from the body towards the newest survivor. “....Noli?”

Noli looked side to side, deciding the best exit. “Wow, would you look at that-! I suddenly remember leaving the microwave running!” He spun around and had begun to run.

“NOOOOLIIIII, WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!?” 1x screeched after them, Noli could hear them winding up an attack.

“NOTHING TOO BAD, JUST DECIDED I NEEDED A SMALL CHANGE OF PAAAAAACE!” Noli narrowly dodged the oncoming infection. “WATCH WHERE YOU SWING THAT THING, YOU COULD HURT SOMEONE WITH THAT!”

“WHY THE HELL ARE YOU ONE OF THEM!?” Noli questioned if he could even reason with the embodiment of anger, but for the sake of his temporary life he rambled.

“OH, WELL. I KINDA GOT LONELY AND WANTED 007N7 TO BE MY FRIEND AGAIN SO I FORCED US TO SWAP SIDES. NORMAL STUFF, YOU KNOW? THIS ISN'T A BETRAYAL THOUGH, I'M STILL WITH YOU GUYS SO IF YOU COULD NOT KILL ME THAT'S BE NICE!” In Noli's sporadic spiel, he hadn't realized that he was driven into the shooting range, a dead end.

“So you gave up your role just because you got lonely?” 1x's voice was heavy and threatening, a slow approach with his blade dragging on the ground.

“....Maybe? What answer doesn't get me killed..?” Noli took slow steps away from 1x, silently hoping that the pain he was about to experience would be quick.

“Pathetic.” 1x threw a sword through Noli's stomach, the velocity shooting his body back against one of the targets. A bullseye. “You disappoint me all the time, but this is a new low for you.” 1x narrowed their eyes at Noli, who was slowly losing consciousness. He yanked the sword out of the other, letting the body collapse in front of him as Noli bled out.

 

Dying for the first round was not on Noli’s bucket list. Dying at all was not something he ever wanted to do. Yet here he was, trapped in darkness with a shooting pain going through his stomach. He could hardly open his eyes as he held his abdomen.

“Are you there, Friend?” Two Time’s eerie voice pierced the darkness as Noli came to, eyes struggling to open. “First death’s are always scary, but you will recover.”

“Grrgh… I’m not scared!” Noli finally opened his eyes, looking up at Two Time as Noli found himself on the floor, curled in pain.

“Then why are you crying?” Two Time crouched down next to Noli. Crying? Noli took a hand from his stomach to touch his face. He felt skin there for the first time in a while, skeletal half now covered in necrotic flesh. Not ideal but the fact it was there made him feel weaker. Human.

“It’s fine. Not used to pain anymore.” Noli quickly got up to stand, upset he showed any sign of weakness. “Why are you still talking to me? Looking that much to be a puppet in my show?”

“You act tough, but Spawn sees all. Whatever glory you may have had is gone, so you might as well enjoy this swill.” Two Time's eyes narrowed, smile becoming more of a threat. “We have a few more rounds today, so chin up!”

“....how many is a few?” Noli squirmed from his gaze.

“Anywhere from 20 to 50! The rounds can be quick or last for hours, depending on what your ‘friend’ wants us to do.” Two Time seemed a bit irritated, and emotion that was wrong on the pale figure, Noli thought.

“More ants crawl up your ###? You're acting like a jerk.” Noli joked, hoping to lighten the atmosphere with the survivor.

“No, but I think you did.” Two Time chuckled. “Spawn forgive me but you are quite impolite! I thought you were going to be part of our team like 007n7 was.. or are you going to go back on that as well?”

“My time here is limited. Why bother making friends when I'll be back to killing you all in no time?” Noli scoffed, stabbing a finger at Two Time's chest. They didn't budge.

“Noli. Hiding from the truth won't help you in the long run. I'd hate to see you make the same mistakes I have when the Spawn has given me the blessing of knowledge.” Two Time put their hands together in a prayer, remorse falling over their features.

“I think you're the one hiding from the truth, buddy. My good old Seven, back before that Lil demon, will come back to me after he learns the blessing of REVENGE!” Noli laughed loudly, curling to hold his stomach as he did. Two Time's face looked blank.

“He's gone, Noli. The person you're trying to bring back is long dead.” Two Time clasped their hands in front of them, a sorrowful look focused on Noli who had abruptly stopped laughing and slowly turned towards Two Time.

“You don't get to talk about us like that.” Noli growled lowly.

“Noli.. it's only you. Whatever you think you're doing now is only making it worse in the long run. He isn't coming back, you can't bring your friend back.” Two Time extended a hand towards Noli, “The sooner you accept us as your new teammates, the better it will be, no?”

“I only have one teammate and it will forever be 007n7. Stop talking like you know him better than me! I know him better than ANY OF YOU LOSERS!” Noli grew frustrated. His hands clenched into fists, the face of Two Time causing his blood to boil.

“That's the funny thing.. I think we knew him way better than you ever did.” and that sent Noli over, the rotted hacker launched himself from his place towards Two Time, putting them on the ground as Noli swung punches that didn't seem to do much to the other.

“Maybe this is a lesson you must learn on your own. Spawn forgive me..” Two Time sighed, a frown gracing his lips as he kneed Noli in his already hurting stomach. He coughed, looking sicker than he did before. He didn't stop though, he's shown enough weakness today.. and he needed at least one win.

“WOAH! LET'S NOT DO THAT?!” Elliot had just come back into the main cabin with a few medkits in case of emergency. He dropped them on the spot though as he rushed over to break up the fight. He tugged Noli off as he thrashed in his arms. It was surprisingly easy, he didn’t expect the hacker to turn so weak. He ran to check on Two Time after he shoved Noli aside.

“I am quite alright, simply a few bruises. Our new member appears to be having more issues.” Two Time gestured towards Noli, Elliot looked back at Noli, who appeared to be pouting. He walked over to check his stomach, watching as the already purplish skin turned darker.

“..Just a bruise, looks like that’s recently healed over skin… try not to agitate it too much” Elliot mumbled, grabbing for one of the medkits, ripping it open and handing some pain killers to Noli. “Two Time, what did you do?”

“1x did, not me. I simply aggravated the fresh skin for the sake of my survival.” Two Time rolled his shoulders.

“Now it’s going to take even longer to heal!” Elliot exclaimed, running a hand down his face.

“Would it not be easier to simply let him rebirth?” Two Time helped Elliot lift, unceremoniously dropping Noli onto the table.

“I- maybe-? No… No. What if we don't one of these days- and Two Time that's the equivalent of murder!! Just because it resets all our wounds doesn't mean it won't hurt!” Elliot gave Two Time a look of disbelief.

“It was self-defense.. and he's a murderer anyway. Your empathy is not that warranted.” Two Time narrowed his eyes, irritation becoming a strange form of anger.

“What even happened?!” Elliot grabbed a needle and thread to ready stitches.

“We had a discussion about 007n7. I upset him. I was simply trying to help.” They shrugged, gaze not wavering from Noli's suffering face as he struggled to force pills down, waterless.

“HE'S GONNA COME BACK NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY, YOU.. YOU RAT!” Noli exclaimed, making more pained groans.

“....O-oh. Look, Two Time, we're supposed to be a team! Let's not provoke each other and put some.. grudges behind us.” Elliot's gaze couldn’t stay on Two Time, mind drifting to something that the other picked up on.

“Like you did so well? You are treating the person who's murdered us multiple times better than you ever did 007n7…” Two Time's frown grew. “No matter, you may deal with Noli. I'd like to attend to other business.” The tall man turned, walking away from the two as Elliot stood in disbelief.

“Are all of you this much of ###holes??? I thought the guy was creepy but I didn't think he'd attack me back!!” Noli sat up, hand running over dried blood and his new wounds. “Stupid, fleshy body.”

“Was it not before?” Elliot packed the supplies he didn't use back into the kit.

“Well- somewhat. You saw how cool my skeleton looked! I didn't realize that being killer added a perk of durability.” Noli scoffed, scooting off the table. “Y'know what, #### that creep!! You, be my roommate!”

“Me?? Sorry, I'm already rooming with Noob.” Elliot went to grab the medkits he dropped.

“USELESS! ALL YOU PEOPLE!!” Noli whined like a child. “What does a hacker gotta do to get some good servants around here??”

“Maybe try being nice, for one.” Elliot scoffed. “I'm starting to see why you might've gotten punched…”

“Kneed… and what is that guy's problem though!? You don't go up and lecture someone about their best friend, pretend you're helping then not expect to get attacked!! He was in the wrong too, he should've had to apologize while I beat him!!” Noli failed to see the bits of irony in his statement.

“Two Time and 007n7 would talk some. I think Two Time viewed 007n7 as a good friend since they were both ….outcasts together…” Elliot walked over to a chest by a bookshelf, placing the medkits he was holding inside next to a few other materials. “I don't think they got particularly close but when that's all you got, you'll take what you can get.”

“So you were bad enough to 7n7 that you forced him to hang out with that freak?!?” Noli looked disgusted.

“.....007n7 hurt us, Noli. It's hard to forgive when you could never forget… and with C00lkidd hurting us, it's hard not to blame 007n7 for how the kid turned out.” Elliot scratched the back of his head, guilt most prevalent on his features. “..and with you here, we can't help being reminded of what happened with the hacking. We-.. I just… thought our actions were justified since he did so much wrong… I didn't know it had pushed him so far.” Elliot gripped his shoulders, gaze hitting the floor. “I guess I didn't want to accept that he had stopped being the villain I'd visualized him as, cuz then it'd make me the evil one.. y'know?”

“I already told you to not feel guilty for C00lkidd's actions. I mean, he's the one who burnt down your pizza place, right? Tormented you, took away my friend and turned you into the villain! You aren't at fault, pizza dude.” Noli put his hands on his hips, acting as if he was scolding a child.

“I am, though. I still treated him wrong and.. I think I'm only starting to realize how C00lkidd might've been the best thing that ever happened to 7n7… caused a whole hacker to redeem himself and face every problem he could have caused. I'm not sure what you think C00lkidd did besides give him the gift of fatherhood, but you're putting way more blame on a literal child than is deserved. It wasn't C00lkidds choice to be adopted and raised by 7n7. It was all 007n7's.. and maybe.. you could learn to respect that..?” Elliot looked hesitant, unsure of why he was trying to reason with someone who was much closer to a monster than human.

“MAN, IS THIS LECTURE NOLI DAY!? Cuz genuinely, uninvite me from it!! C00lkidd took 007n7 away from everything he loved, including me!! That's final, now stop talking about it! I'm sick of talking to you rabbits!” Noli walked over to a couch and flopped onto it.

“Maybe don’t do things that require scolding?” Elliot sat in a recliner, across from Noli. The latter ignored Elliot, opting for agonizing silence as they waited for the round to end. It wasn't long, as fighting with his new roommate, getting stabbed and repaired, then having heavy conversation with a literal pizza worker took up a lot of time. He took a glance at a few making eye contact with Taph again who flipped him off then walked to the kitchen. Shedletsky's gaze also wandered to the two seated but chose to not bother with it, starting a topic with Noob about burgers.

Builderman had made his way over to the duo, “What the hell happened here??”

“Two time and Noli got into a small fight. Two Time ended up attacking Noli in a healing wound since they thought that he was gonna kill them.” Elliot played with his thumbs in his lap as he talked to the older man. “I bandaged him up, he should be fine if he is drafted into the next round. Two Time walked off somewhere, they seemed a little heated..”

“Can't leave you alone for a second, can I..?” Builderman's disdain for Noli became more evident. “Aye, Guest! Stick with Noli, keep him in the round so he can't get in trouble outside of it.” Guest nodded, giving a thumbs-up.

“💫👿❓️👉🔋🔌😒” Taph signed at Builderman. Dusekkar spoke for his friend, “Noli doesn't know how to do a generator, couldn't teach him, too busy being a hater.”

“...Really?” Builderman turned towards Noli. “...I thought they were quite simple.. uh.. Guest can't do them overly well either..” Builderman looked around the room. “CHANCE! COME OVER ‘ERE!” The gambler looked down from the top of the stairs, where he was quietly flipping his coin till next round.

“What's up, Mr.Bossman?” Chance's cocky tone got on Noli's nerves.

“You're switching jobs with Guest, protect Noli AND teach him how to use generators, would ya?” Noli frowned, being passed around like some toy to all these survivors sucked.

“Really? Thought the big bad could handle himself- but, sure, whatever you say!” Chance slid down the banister of the stairs and walked towards Noli who was lying down, throwing a pity party. “I'll get you up and going in no time!”

Noli frowned, “...Great. soooo excited to work on some old machinery with a guy who kills himself half the time.”

“Ouch, words hurt y'know? Wouldn't kill you to be friendly.” Chance adjusted his glass, continuing to smirk.

“How did you all find out what your abilities were???” Noli changed the topic, wanting to talk with someone who wasn't Chance.

“Trial and error mostly. Find out what you have then try whatever you got in the round to see what it does.. just try to do it a bit away from other people in case it's explosive.” Builderman's eyes flicked towards Taph for a moment then came back to Noli's.

“Some abilities have requirements you gotta meet first too. Took me forever to figure out I had to gamble with a coin just to use my gun or roll a few dice!” Chance chuckled.

“Some abilities also have a charge time.. like 007n7 had to wait a few seconds before he could teleport..” Elliot spoke for the first time in a while.

“Is it too much to ask for a guide??” Noli huffed.

“I mean, there's a chance-” Builderman was interrupted by Chance snapping his fingers into finger guns. Builderman glares. “..that it could reflect your old abilities. Like bombs and hallucinations?”

“My voidstar is off. I didn't think the Specter could affect literal god-like items but here we are.” Noli huffed, holding said item in his rotted hand.

“Well, the faster you figure it out the better..” Builderman turned towards the crowd of survivors. “GET READY! Next rounds bout to start!!”

------------------------------------------------------------

“There, I think that's all the work that needs to be done around here.” Azure wiped their forehead of sweat. “Thanks for the help! feeling any better?”

“...Yeah… Yeah, actually. I never realized how much went into growing plants.” 007n7 chuckled.

“Hard work but it's worth it!!” Azure smiled. “And now that you're feeling better how bout we--”

“EVERYONE. MEETING. NOW!!!” The glitchy voice exploded from a large mansion-like house.

“...that would be 1x. Guess there's no putting it off any longer- they probably saw Noli last round.” Azure opened the greenhouse door for 007n7, then locked it behind them.

“...They aren't going to kill me, right?” 007n7 fidgeted with his hands.

“Physical fighting isn't exactly allowed between killers but hasn't stopped them before.” Azure stretched their arms, walking towards a large building. “Our main cabin. Use it for food and all that.”

“Ah, same as the survivors.. well. Yours is much bigger and.. well-kept.” 007n7 stood behind Azure as they opened the front door for them.

“THAT PRICK NOLI BETRAYED US ALL! HE'S ONE OF THOSE WORMS!!” 1x's voice boomed from the cabin.

“Worms?? How’d he turn into a worm?! I wanna be a worm!” C00lkidds voice rang out excitedly.

Jason signed back, ‘I don’t think he means that literally. I’m pretty sure he meant the survivors.’

“Ohhhh… You think he could say hi to dad for me??” C00lkidd still sounded excited.

“Why don’t you say hi to him yourself?” Azure chuckled, walking in with 007n7 trailing behind. 7n7 smiled awkwardly, waving to his son.

“..DAD?! HOW ARE YOU HERE DAD?? Wait wait- AND YOU LOOK LIKE ME!!!” C00lkidd got up from his perch on the couch and ran towards his dad, capturing him in a hug. “WAIT ARE YOU A TAGGER NOW?! OH WE’RE GONNA HAVE SO MUCH FUN PLAYING TOGETHER!!” 007n7 froze up a bit, finally able to hold his son without the worry of his neck being snapped brought warmth to his heart. His son was back and no one could take him away again.

“Well… Noli got a little bored of being a tagger so he went on to be a hider.. He asked me to swap with him so I’m here now with a little bit of a new look.” 007n7 explained carefully, hoping the other killers would understand what he was saying to C00lkidd was what happened. “We’re gonna tag them all in no time, kiddo!” 007n7 pat C00lkidd on top of the head affectionately.

“YAY!! THEY’LL NEVER KNOW WHAT HIT EM! WE’RE GONNA DO SO GOOD TOGETHER DAD!! OH- OH! I GOTTA SHOW YOU MY ROOM AND- AND- MY NEW ABILITIES!!” C00lkid grabbed onto 007n7’s sleeve starting to drag him away but Jason put a hand on C00lkidd’s shoulder and shook their head ‘no.

Your dad needs to discuss some more adult topics, okay? Why don't you go prepare your room to show him? Or go find out what Bluudud and Pr3ttyPr1ncess has gotten into?” Azure smiles nicely, squatting down to meet C00lkidd’s eyes.

“OH eww… stinky adult stuff.. FINE! but I expect you to be done talking when I'm done with my room! THAT IS A ROYAL DECREE!!” C00lkidd exclaimed, scampering off to his room.

“..Royal Decree?” 007n7 looked at Azure.

“He's been pretending to be a king a lot lately.. easier to just play along.” Azure shrugged before turning to the group of killers. “Now, as you heard, Noli pulled a fast one, betrayed us and 007n7. It adds another person to our list to give hell but our priority should be showing 007n7 the ropes!”

“Aren't you that cowardly hacker? I always hated your clones and that teleportation? Terrible.” 1x had their arms crossed, tapping their fingers in an unknown rhythm.

“That's their way of saying you were formidable.” Azure smirked at 1x's glare.

“OH, uh… t-thank you!! I didn't think I did that well..” 007n7 rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed by such a back-handed compliment. “So uhm.. how do you go about this.. killing business?”

Jason titled his head and began to sign, ‘Are you really going through with this? I'm sure the specter would send you back if you underperformed..’

“...I.. have been thinking about that.. As much as I want to be a survivor.. and correct the mistakes I've made.. I have to stay with C00lkidd. I've come to terms with the fact that I'll always be a monster to them. Irredeemable and doomed to make the same mistakes.. so might as well! If this is the price I have to pay to watch my son succeed, so be it.” 007n7's eyes blazed with conviction as he made his speech, determination written across his face.

Mafioso, who has been creeping in the corner nodded approvingly. “Can always respect a family man.”

“Maybe it'll get the kid to shut up about you.” 1x1x1x1x1 grumbled.

“Heh, probably not but whatever makes him happy. Now, 007n7 what exactly do you need to be shown-? I'm sure you're already quite familiar with death.” Azure turned towards him again, a little confused.

“How do you stay motivated to just.. keep doing this repeatedly..? There's some people out there that, as far as I know, don't deserve to be eternally damned.” 7n7 felt guilty, thinking about Noob who was one of the first to reveal their tragedies.

‘Pull a 1x. Stay mad. Whatever they may have even slightly done to you, hold onto that and amplify it.. and if not mad, then remember who you are doing this for.’ Jason signed, it was hard to see what expression he held with his mask.

“####ing ‘pull a 1x’!? I SHOULD BEHEAD YOU RIGHT HERE FOR THAT!” 1x had flexed their claws, stalking towards Jason, who held his hands up defensively.

“I'm surprised you bothered with sign language.. figured it'd be another thing on the long list of hates.” 7n7 giggled.

“Of course I learned!! In case that bloodied poultry man decides to pull something.. I need to be ready from all angles!” 1x exclaimed.

“Poultry man? That's a particularly bad one.” Mafioso flipped a coin from his pocket, laughing at how 1x was progressively getting angrier.. and perhaps flustered?

“Is that a nickname for Shedletsky-?” 7n7 quirked an eyebrow.

“UGH! YOU ALL ARE INSUFFERABLE!” 1x stormed off.

“Code for, I'm done talking because I'm being bullied.” Azure laughed.

‘Needs thicker skin.’ Jason signed, a laugh coming from behind his mask.

“Say- how's the order chosen for who gets to be the killer in a round ?” As far as 007n7 was aware there was certainly no pattern, just a change in likelihood of who'd show up.

“Random, mostly.. we can request to show up though, increasing our chances.. C00lkidd likes ‘playing' with the survivors so he asks for multiple rounds… 1x as well, but more to kill Shedletsky repeatedly. There's a system in place though, so if someone isn't killer within a few rounds, their chance to be forced as one is heightened.” Azure explained, hoping they made some sort of sense.

“Oh- is that why it's so rare for John Doe to appear? He just never asks?” Even when they've had about 40 rounds in a row, 007n7 recalled how the old robloxian only appeared for about 3 of those.

“Oh.. well like I said he's..” Azure was looking for the right words.

“Gone senile?” Mafioso chuckled. “Pretty sure all he does is talk to the wife, who we don't even know is real, while the infection rots his brain! Geezer couldn't even bother to come to a meeting.”

“...You- mean Jane Doe? She's… kind of at the survivor cabin..” 007n7 rubbed his own shoulder awkwardly. He heard a faint shuffling from upstairs.

“Kind of? Shouldn't she be a survivor if she's going to be at a survivors cabin??” Mafioso questioned.

“She's… an NPC. Repeats the same dialogue everytime you talk to her, never moves from her place and nothing behind her eyes. Whoever she was, it.. it's not there anymore.” 007n7 looked towards the floor, now hearing the staircase creaking as someone came down. “I didn't know Jane that well but-”

“Why are you talking about my wife?” A Voice filled with static rang, the glitchiness hurt 7's ears as they spoke.

“Ah, speak of the devil! Nice to see you come out of your room, John!” Mafioso gestured.

“Who are you? My wife? Where's my wife?” John limped down the stairs, walking towards 007n7.

“John, we're just introducing everyone-” Azure started.

“You said something about Jane.” John's gaze was unblinking, the taller beast of a man looked down at 007n7, looming as he waited for an answer.

“Ah- at the survivors cabin- there's.. someone who looks a lot like Jane. I… think it might be her but I'm not fully sure..” 007n7 chose his words quickly, whatever didn't get him stabbed in the moment.

“They found you dear.. you want to go look…?” John began muttering to himself. “I'll make you proud, dear…” The man walked back a bit, now staring at someone who simply wasn't there. 007n7 looked over at Azure nervously, looking for some reassurance that what he said was okay- or better yet, was John okay.

“And there he goes again. Been a while since he came to.” Mafioso hummed. “Oh, next rounds going to start… HEY SPECTER! THROW ME ON THE WHEEL! My boys and I have debths to collect.” A small chime rang out from somewhere, Mafioso nodded.

“...I'm going to add my name to the ring as well.. Will you be okay here 007n7? You should probably prepare for your round.. and remember, little things can push you a long way. For C00lkidd.” Azure clasped a hand onto 007n7's shoulder as a form of comfort. The other man nodded.

“For C00lkidd.”

Chapter 4: What does it take to bring back a friend?

Summary:

Noli learns that being a Survivor means facing your demons.
007n7 finds out that love can come from the strangest places.

Notes:

TW// Blood, Character Death, and kind of gore-?
I tried not to go too far out of what's canon-typical but just incase you don't want to read something like that, I put warnings inbetween what happened. Its more or less character development for 007n7 and The Specter. You can skip it if you want to, it doesn't harm the story that much.
ANYWAY
Thank you all for supporting me through writing this, I had a ton of fun!! I'm glad you all enjoyed how I chose to characterize everyone and I hope this delivers as a finale!
Yes I know :[ Finale.... but not to worry!
I do plan on continuing in this universe with one-shots, so stay tuned for that!

The rounds continued on, Noli would die repeatedly, often first or second. He didn't even bother to think of the other killers when he made the decision to swap but he also didn't think they'd get so angry! He would purposely lead the killer towards other players, didn't matter the role, hoping to get whoever was trying to stab him off him- but it didn't matter, the killer's would NOT LEAVE HIM ALONE. The only benefit he found was testing the abilities that still remained. He could plant bombs on the killer's and detonate them when he wanted to but he only got 2. He could summon a tendril that dragged himself towards another player, making good getaways. He could make a hallucination that looked like him, which made it harder to find him. The void star allowed him to do very basic coding, he actually managed to figure out how to do the vitals once he obtained a bit of each survivor's code.. but finding out who the killer was remained off the table.

Everytime a round would start, he was hoping to see 007n7, whatever glory he's come into but everytime it wasn't him. It made him anxious, that perhaps he had been duped by the specter and made to kill his best friend or he's gone back to the world before this hell leaving him behind. Other survivors had begun to look at him funny as well, probably assuming that Noli had lied about the whole ordeal but was too nervous or wrapped up in the rounds to bring it up. Noli didn't bother to try and prove himself right either, him being there in all his necrotic fleshy glory should be enough proof that something had at least changed.

“Alright guys, we're almost done. One more round to go.” Builderman announced to everyone. Noli was thankful, laying down on the couch and resting an arm over his eyes.

“Are… you okay…?” Elliot's hesitant voice came through Noli's haze.

“Annnd why would you care?” Noli slightly moved his arm to look at the pizza deliverer.

“I do check ups on everyone after most of the rounds are over…. You also kinda had a rough round with Azure there. Usually he's the worst on Two Time but he was brutal on them and you.” Elliot played with the buttons on his shirt. “How'd you piss him off..?”

“No idea! Barely talked to ‘im- the worst I've done to the sap is rearrange his plants completely!! Ugh.. I'm so ready for this to be over.” Noli groaned.

“You ought to get used to it, we do this every 3 hours!” Chance leaned over the back of the couch, poking Noli teasingly.

Noli rolled off the couch and let himself hit the floor. “End me. I think I still have nightshade poisoning.”

“What? Did you eat Azures nightshades???” Elliot exclaimed.

“Hehe, he didn't on purpose! Azure held the poor guy down then shoved a ton of flowers down his throat to choke on! Then smashed his teeth in!!” Chance exclaimed. “I don't think I've ever seen tentacular dude do anything like that!” Noli groaned.

“That is certainly new..” Builderman mumbled from the side, listening in on their conversation easily due to how loud Chance was being.

“I know right?! I mean Noli ended up tumbling and all that before Azure came in to stab him and then- ###### #### ####-” Chance's words turned into a strange buzzing, the familiar sound of tags.

Noli's vision went dark before he could even retort to Chance.

-----------------Gore warning!!----------------------

He didn't know what came over him. In the lobby he felt fine, but the moment he entered the round an overwhelming sense of anger and mania came over him. The itch to plunge his claws into someone else insatiable, he wondered if this is what the specter did to Azure. He growled to himself, lugging his disproportionate body through the hallways of a familiar home, searching for what he once called his friends. He thought that when he saw them, he would stop, unable to follow through with what was expected of him but those worries were squandered the moment he saw Chance. His thoughts danced with information about him, the gambler, betrayed by a friend.. shot his kid. Made C00lkidd cry. A cheater. 007n7 flexed his claws, looking at his abilities on the C00lgui, he selected a dashing ability. His stomach felt hot, heat surging through his veins as the sound effect of a lighter clicking played. He propelled himself forward, aiming at Chance, he grabbed the gamblers midsection with a claw and held it.

“URK- HAH-! 0-007n7! Long time no see buddy? L-looking a lot like your kiddo… ANYWAY- How you holding up??” Chance coughed, unable to squirm from the beasts grasp. He hoped that something of the old 007n7 was still there, something Chance could pull out from the depths and use to not get himself killed.

“Much better now that you're here! I'm glad we were friends!” 007n7 tilted his head playfully, pop-ups appearing rapidly. ‘Why did you hurt him!?’ ‘YOU SHOT MY SON.’ ‘Stop shooting near me..’ Chance was confused at what it was trying to tell him, but didn't get to think much more as his abdomen was squeezed. Chance began kicking, squirming in his grasp, spitting up blood as he was slowly crushed. 007n7 scrapped the body off like a smashed bug, idly gazing at the blood. He did it. He killed someone. Before he could even spiral about what that meant, he heard the sound of someone clinking something with a hammer. He gave a slow approach, seeing Builderman set up a turret in what appeared to be his old living room. He looked at his abilities, thinking over what to pick next, then choosing one that sent out a clone. It allowed him to pick what the clone looked like, so he chose the shape of Taph. He directed it to run right by Builderman, hopefully getting his attention. It worked.

“Huh? Oi Taph! I thought I told you to set up a trap over that way. Where you goin?” Builderman didn't move from the machine, making sure it was fully up so it wouldn't explode. The body of Taph suddenly fell though, the clones time running out. Builderman shot upwards, leaving the machine to crumble as he began rushing over to his team mate. “Taph!? Taph what happened??” 007n7 crept up behind Builderman, who was kneeling at the corpse. The soft shuffling of feet slightly distracted him, but not enough before he swung at Builderman's shoulder. It didn't fully make contact, he knocked Builderman over, he was sure of that, but couldn't quite see as the real Taph had rushed over, tossing a bomb at him. The pink smaug coated his vision, forcing his head to spin. He couldn't see.. is this what they've been using on the killer's this whole time?? On C00lkidd?!

“✋️🛑😌⬇️‼️” (Stop, calm down!!) Taph signed once 007n7 was able to see. He stood on the other side of a very easy to see tripwire. 007n7 opened the C00lgui, selecting a familiar ability.

“Calm down?? I'm perfectly calm!” 007n7 crept forward, the ping letting him know it was charged. He clicked the button, teleporting behind Taph before he was ready and kicked the other down. “Maybe you're the one who needs to take a nap. Calm your nerves, hm?” 007n7 snapped Taph's neck, smiling at the homage he made to his son. More noise.. more scuffling.. He left the body to go make another. He could hear someone sniffling, in the kitchen he had entered but they weren't directly in the open. He pulled the spider from his hat and set it down on the ground, directing it to scan for survivors. A marker appeared on his C00lgui, the survivor was hiding in a cabinet.

“Helllooo in there..” 007n7 opened the cupboard, revealing the shivering form of Noob, who almost choked on the ghost burger they were wolfing down. “There you are!”
Noob scrambled backwards, crawling through the kitchen cabinets hoping to avoid getting grabbed by 007n7. Their crying didn't help Noob hide as 007n7 followed behind them, tearing off the doors one by one as they passed. Noob made it to the end of the row, huddling in a corner, sobbing fully. 007n7 didn't remove the door yet, hearing their pleading voice.

“P-please! Don't do this-!! I-i don't wanna die!!” Noob shook with fear, 007n7 felt a pang of pity through the waves of aggression he was feeling but chose not to act on it. 007n7 flexed his claws stabbing them through the cabinet door, hearing a squelch then a thunk as they pierced something. He could hardly feel his fingers as they grew wet with blood. He repeated this action until he could see a small pool of red dribbling from the cabinet door. He didn't remove the door, moving on when he heard the sound of someone vomiting.

------------------------Gore end!------------------------

The last round had started. Noli hadn't spawned near anyone and in fact.. the map was new. At first he thought it was the hotel, the cream walls of a bedroom being the first to greet him but he slowly realized the furniture was off. The room was spacious, almost liminal, with few pictures hung on the walls. Noli approached them, while blackened and hard to see, he could make out the picture of an adult and a child getting ice cream. A few more pictures were like that. Worry tugged at the back of Noli's mind, something told him that he was in danger despite being alone.. he continued to walk on, a gray fog curled around his feet that contained a smoky smell. The next room he entered was a kitchen. A few knives were laid across the counter, covered in blood of course, alongside a few miscellaneous rotting meals. Noli felt the kitchen to be oddly familiar. As he walked, something under his feet crinkled within the fog. He stopped, leaning to pick it up, bringing a missing poster to his face.

It was C00lkidd.

He idled by the poster for a moment, then let it drop. He needed to keep moving.. but every step he took, his feet fell atop more papers. They slowly crept up the walls as he made his way through a hallway to a room at the end, coated in C00lkidds posters. Noli gently opened the door. It was a child's room, with a Drakobloxxer themeing. Dinosaurs, plushies, small action figures, towers built high with Lego blocks and more things a child would love.. yet the room was off.

A gun laid on the floor. The drakobloxxer bed sheets were covered in strange viscera… and suddenly Noli felt sick as his brain tugged forth the memory of discovering 007n7's body, then immediately he vomited. Tears fell from his eyes as whatever he had eaten came out, nightshades and pizza mostly. Noise rattled from behind him, his head slowly lifted to look back into the poster filled hallway.

“Riiing.. around the rosie.. pocket full of posies..” Noli's face fell upon 007n7. The horns like C00lkidd, the corruption of the c00lgui and his old hacker outfit? It brought so many emotions to Noli he couldn't choose what to feel.

“7n7! You.. you made it!” Noli wiped vomit from his mouth, smiling at his old friend. The others stare remained blank. “How are you liking killer life? Get some sweet revenge on these people who have wronged you!?” Noli opened his arms to 007n7, welcoming him to a hug that never came. The beast stared. “..do… do you recognize me, pal..?”

“How could I forget my worst friend?” 007n7's smiled sweetly, like one would do when they were greeting someone important to them but it felt so wrong. Noli had forgotten what instincts had felt like, so used to being the cat in a mouse chase but right now his flight was in full drive. “And honestly, I'm just about to feel what revenge tastes like!”

“What.. what do you mean? Oh, are you enlisting my help?? I know I was a pretty good Killer so I understand wanting to learn from one of the best-!” Noli rambled, taking a step back.

“No, you weren't.. and I'm more curious to see how you'd do as a survivor.” 007n7 made no moves, only watching the other man squirm in his gaze.

“Hey.. 007n7, can I be honest with you? I don't think I can do this anymore… being a survivor sucks! All your cabins suck and so do your ####ing teammates!! I want to be a killer again- so once you get good.. you think you could.. make me one with you again?” Noli looked sheepish, holding his hands together and providing puppy dog eyes as a child would.

“Why would I ever let you in a position of power again when all you do with it is ruin my life? I helped you get that voidstar and you used it against me.. you got a cult and used it to torture me and C00lkidd! Oh. And then you got the role that allowed you to kill me over and over and over again… before giving it to me!” 007n7 swung his head loosely, almost corpse like as he focused on Noli, pop-ups reading ‘monster’ repeatedly. “You know how hard I worked to erase you from my life? Burned everything that we had, repressed all our memories and tried starting over with everyone I've wronged? You ever think of the reason why I avoided you?! MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT YOU AROUND…” 007n7 yelled, revealing sharpened teeth as he crept closer to Noli. “But.. I guess I should thank you. You gave me the gift of fatherhood again and.. the opportunity to do this.”

“N-no, 007n7, that child hurt you, I was just trying to show you how it-” Noli started before 007n7 grabbed onto Noli's necrotic arm, his grip crushing whatever bone was in it. Noli let out a shrill scream as he was lifted off the ground. “IT'S MANIPULATING YOU.. STOP! YOU'RE GOING TO HURT YOUR ONLY FRIEND.. YOU DON'T WANNA DO THIS!!”

“I do.” 007n7 raised a claw, ready to claw open whatever insides Noli had onto the bedrooms floor but stopped abruptly, dropping Noli to the floor. “ARGH-!.. I thought better of you..”

“Simply doing my part, no hard feelings, friend!” Two Time removed the blade from 007n7's back, leaving the killer stunned. They grabbed onto Noli's good arm and tugging him in front of them. “I'll tank hits for you, just run!”

“Wh- why are you helping me? WAIT DID YOU STAB HIM?! He doesn't know what he's doing- the specter had to have don-” Noli kept looking backwards, seeing a large figure approaching.

“Does it matter? The spawn gave me the ability to save you so I did. You are making the same mistakes as me and getting hurt for it.. I simply cannot stand by!” Two Time looked like he was running out of breath behind Noli. There was a sound of a light clicking..
Flick.. flick… and then a fire lit up behind them. 007n7 had set himself on fire before leaning back.. and lunging towards Two Time, as fast as a bullet; His claw gripped onto Two Time's head, crushing it instantly.

“TWO TIME!” Noli yelled, barely able to see the corpse fall before 007n7 was after him again. He skittered around a corner, almost slipping as he ran into another room, a strange living room set ablaze from broken machinery. Noli looped around the couch in the center, briefly noticing Elliot gesturing for Noli down a hallway. Noli listened, barely registering that he passed Guest before Guest whipped around and smashed his fist into 007n7's face.

“Stay off duty, soldier..” 007n7 grumbled, rubbing his nose of blood.

“Hurry, this way..” Elliot tugged Noli away to a dispenser Builderman had set up in a far corner of a bathroom.

“Oh.. great. You found the trouble maker.” Builderman grumbled, rubbing his obviously dislocated arm.

“Wasn't hard to.. 007n7 was after him non stop.. Guest took his attention temporarily..” Elliot mumbled. “Any idea where we are?” He gazed out into the hall, keeping watch for 007n7.

“It's his home. Where he rotted and died. Twisted by the Specter.” Noli grumbled, feeling the bones in his hand slowly reform with a prickly feeling. He pulled up the vitals, hands shaking at how quickly people were being taken out. It was record times, easily.
“.. The only other person left is Guest and he's at 12%..”

“...Alright, you guys stay here. We have another few minutes to survive, I'm going to go help guest.” Elliot shifted nervously, not even close to ready to face the monster he's helped make.. but for Guest he had to. He dashed out the door, rush hour's speed boost pushing him along as he hoped he could make it to Guest in time.

------------------------------------------------------

007n7 backed away from an incoming charge from Guest. He hit the wall roughly, from a close miss.

“I thought you were supposed to protect survivors. Why didn't you stop Noli sooner? We could have avoided all of this.” 007n7 ran towards Guest 1337, trying to stab his claw through the others stomach but missed as Guest rolled out of the way.

“Builderman told us not to interfere until his word. I would've rushed in sooner to get Noli out of there if he didn't tell us not to!” Guest breathed heavily, speaking through gritted teeth, holding the lacerations on his arm closed in an attempt not to bleed out. Guest's movements grew sluggish as he barely blocked another attack from 007n7. He threw a weak punch, but his fist was caught in 7n7's claw.

“Always listening to others orders… Y'know you're one of the few who didn't fear me. It made me curious, the fact you treated me like all the rest of ‘em… a teammate.. I respect you for that.. and for what I'm about to do, I almost feel as if I let you down… I’m sorry, Guest. Enjoy your rest.” 007n7 looked a bit solemn, as he used his claws to slit the throat of the other, ending their life instantly. 007n7 rested the body on the ground, taking a moment to wipe off his claws. He turned, before something hit the floor in front of him, a slice of pizza.

“Before you kill me. I want to apologize.” Elliot stood there, breathless, clearly using the last of their stamina to get here. 007n7 picked up the pizza and took a bite, gaze lazily falling on Elliot, waiting for him to speak. Elliot felt sweat dripping from his brow, as he mustered up whatever courage he had left. He silently scolded himself for being thankful that Guest was dead, so he wouldn't have to be there to hear whatever was going to come out of his mouth.

“Well? Elliot, I'm willing to hear you out.” 007n7 took another bite of pizza, more forcing himself to eat it. His taste buds rejected it so often that he could hardly enjoy it.

“I… I was selfish.” Elliot began, mouth turning more dry as he began to talk. “I knew it was C00lkidd who burned down the pizzeria and that he was simply trying to make you proud, even if it was by hacking.. I blamed you though, put you in debt simply because I thought I was right for punishing a hacker who ruined the lives of so many others.. I thought it was justice… and I continued to treat you like that even when we we're just trying to survive this hell together. I was cold, rude.. and refused to heal you when you needed it.. and apathetic… I'm sorry 007n7. You tried so hard to apologize and I… I shut you out. I should've helped you recover.. get the redemption you deserve.” Elliot clutched the fabric of his shirt, keeping him grounded as he spilled everything on his mind.

“...what brought this about?” 007n7's gaze had softened. He had wanted to be accepted so badly, yet now that he finally has it.. it just didn't sit right with him.

“...You… you died.. died like that.. because of us. If someone was just there to help you- instead of shunning you… more could've been done to prevent all of this!” Elliot gestured to everything around them.

“So you're apologizing because you pity me?” 007n7 narrowed his eyes, taking a step towards the other.

“No. I'm sad about what happened, yes, but I'm here to finally act as a friend.” Elliot's words grew stronger. “And as a friend.. I'm telling you to stop.. you're relapsing into something you're not. 007n7, this isn't who you are now. You're a sweet father working hard for his child's future.. not a bloodthirsty monster. You're giving Noli what he wants When we can get out together.. with C00lkidd..! Please, don't do this. Don't be a killer.” Elliot's words fell on deafening ears, the beastly man scraped his claws on the wall as he shook his head violently.

“Elliot, this is what I'm doomed to be. I am a hacker trying to raise my kid on the right path. A single father who would do anything for his son, including kill. That is who I am and will continue to be.” 007n7 scrunched his eyebrows together, letting a few tears fall. He pulled up his C00lgui, the lighter sound cue playing as he set himself ablaze, launching into a dash. He grabbed Elliot by the midsection, toppling him to the ground.

The pizza worker looked up at 007n7, weakly smiling. “I forgive you for what you did. I’m sorry it took so long.” 007n7 sobbed, He couldn't hold it back anymore.. he was accepted. Elliot, who had resented him for years, had finally forgiven him.. at the worst moment imaginable.

“It's okay.” 007n7's voice came out in a whisper, the flames from his body effectively cooking the other to death. Elliot didn't even get a chance to scream as everything melted away into ash. 007n7 let the particles fall from his hands, tears falling to the floor with it. How did success manage to hurt so much? Did it matter..? Any remorseful thoughts he had were quickly corrected, reminders of why he should keep going at the forefront of his mind. For C00lkidd. For himself. For new beginnings.

He needed to kill Noli.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Noli adjusted his wrist, genuinely considering how a spray can of weird healing stuff repaired bones and yet, there was his hand.

“Elliot didn't make it, did he?” Builderman rested his head against the wall, clearly trying to think of some kind of plan, but failing. 3 minutes left, yet that amount of time wouldn't be enough to save them.

“...Nope. It's just us.” Noli looked at the vitals, the large X's over their profiles signaling their death.

“....Damn. I don't think we're gonna make it… why couldn't you have just left him alone?” Builderman dryly chuckled.

“Is there anyway to slow him down more?.. perhaps kill him-? We don't know how much health he has but he might not be that tanky…” Noli ignored his question, sick of having conversations like that.

“I dunno. Even with a team full of sentinels, we can barely take down C00lkidd.. and he has the least. I can set up a turret, but it takes a while and can easily be taken down. All it does is slow… and what do you have? You got clones.. but I feel like the guys who've been using them for months.. years? A while- would be able to see through it… you're not good with your tendril ability yet either.” Builderman spoke aloud, watching the timer slowly tick down.. the scraping of claws managed to get louder.

“So all I got are some star bombs that'll barely bring us to two minutes?... do we just let ourselves die?” Hopelessness settled in Noli's stomach, whatever fantasy that made him think he could possibly reason with 007n7 shattered with the bones in his hand.

“...No, there's a small chance one of us could survive. Last man standing brings us to about one minute… but you'd have to survive 007n7 alone.” Builderman cracked his knuckles nervously, shifting further into the corner as a manic giggling could be heard nearby.

“..’you'd?’.. you're not planning on leaving me alone with that husk, are you??” Noli spoke in a rough whisper.

“You have a better chance than me. I don't have enough time to heal.. and turrets only do so much. My abilities are made to help others survive, not me. You're a survivalist class, based on your abilities.. so you have a better chance of living… While I don't think you deserve this kindness I'm gonna give you- any survivor win helps keep up morale. Consider it your first job as a survivor, yeah?” Builderman forced a smile, trying hard to be friendly with the hacker but it was clear he wanted to do anything but that. “I'm gonna give it a shot, see if I can buy some time. You find a good place to hide.. or get ready to dodge in.” He walked over to the entrance. “Good luck.”

“Thanks..” Noli grumbled, not happy with the recent development… Builderman nodded, walking out the room- and immediately the sound of something crunching could be heard. A scream, a squelch and silence… then music. A highlight appeared over his body and just in front of the room he was in, a red highlight. The timer had dropped to 1 minute 20 seconds. The chase had begun.

“I heard cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny.. wanna put that theory to the test?” 007n7 pulled himself from around the corner. Noli ran, instinctual fear fueling every step as he bounded through the halls of the too familiar home. Music played throughout the map, it reminded Noli of the song that played between C00lkidd and 007n7 as well as his own chase music. Noli, for once, opted to be quiet. He couldn't face the thing 007n7 was turning into. this wasn't the hacker who had helped him through college, his right-hand in chaos. This wasn't the meek survivor either, the one that he couldn't bring to kill no matter how much disgust it brought him when the other would cower. A husk of both sides, it's corpse-like movements, the hollow voice it brought; His friend was a dead man walking.

“C'mon Noli, no more words to say!? I thought you had some GRAND plan for us!!” 007n7 cackled, unable to hold in his laughter as he dragged his claws along the wall, dashing after Noli. 50 seconds…

“I do as long as you won't kill me!” Noli slid on the hardwood floors, hitting the wall painfully but kept running in order to outpace the other.

“Why wouldn't I!? You wanted me to get a taste of revenge against all those who wronged me! I'm simply doing as you said, like usual!!” Noli heard the sound of fire crackling, narrowly dodging a dash that came from behind. 007n7 was right next to him now, claws stretching forward and slashing Noli across the face. Noli yelped, scrambling away and holding the new wound, his vision grew blurry with tears and blood, no longer able to see who he was trying to run from and his mind filled with fog. His back hit a wall, forcing him to face whatever was looming in front of him.

“Noli? Would you stop cowering away from your old pal? You're treating me like I'm a monster here!!” Familiar cockiness, delirium clouding Noli's brain, he barely made out the shape of 007n7. His 007n7. From the cat shirt to the pink glasses.

“7?? Y-you're back! You really are back!!” Noli sluggishly moved to hold his friend, holding onto the fresh clone like it would disappear at any moment. “You.. you wouldn't believe the nightmare i’m going through..”

“I'm sure I would bud- wanna talk bout it?” 007n7 reciprocated the hug immediately. Noli nuzzled into the others shoulder.

“No. I don't want to ruin the vibe.. I think I'm dying.. for real this time. If I wasn't then I don't think I'd be seeing you.. but I do want to tell you something.” Noli chuckled, wooziness coming over him as he could hardly stand up straight. He could see red clouding his vision with the tears as he was slowly bleeding out. 20 seconds.

“Anything.” 007n7's comforted, holding Noli upwards.

“I love you. I don't want to lose you again.” Noli sobbed out, moving his head to look at the clone. 5 seconds.

“.....I know.” The static was back in his voice.. and within seconds a claw shot through the clone's head and at Noli's, the last thing he remembered being a sickening crunch…

 

He respawned in the cabin, tears spilling over immediately as he fell to the floor, not bothering to hold himself up. The other survivors glanced at him, some looked like they wanted to help but didn't want to get close. Not even Two Time approached. He had failed. Reality set in, his stupidity coming into light as he knew he gave up everything for someone who no longer cared about him. It wasn't C00lkidd's fault.. and neither was it 007n7's. He had pushed his own friend away with his selfishness and there's no one to put that blame on but himself. He was stuck with the guilt.. and fully believed that he didn't deserve it. Why… just why was he getting hurt so much for trying to bring back a friend?! He let out a wail, emotion overcoming the rotted man as he was forced to face the truth.

-------------------------------------------------------------

007n7 watched as the bloodied mess of Noli slowly faded away, a familiar screen coming up. The Killer's have won. Voice's around him began to congratulate him as he slowly came to in the Killer's cabin.

“007N7! That was insanely cool!” Azure patted 007n7 on the back, smiling widely. “Gotta thank you for ending Two Time like that, it was so satisfying..”

“DAD! DAD! DID YOU TAG EM?!” C00lkidd came rushing down the stairs, tackling his father, crawling up him and forcing 007n7 to hold him in a hug. “I'm not allowed to watch the TV during tag games- I wanted to watch you get those cheaters!!” C00lkidd pouted.

“Of course I got em, kiddo! Couldn't let them get away with playing unfair, no?” 007n7 chuckled.

‘You were brutal.’ Jason signed, a weak chuckle muffled by the mask.

“I… honestly don't know what came over me.. does the specter influence how you feel-?” 007n7 shifted C00lkidd in his arms, gently rocking the child by swaying side to side.

“Yeah. Alters memories, helps you hold grudges… whatever gets you to do it's work.” Azure huffed.

“S-sorry.. didn't mean to kill the mood.” Jason shook his head at 7n7's words.

‘It's part of the learning curve, we're here to help you with any questions you have.’ Azure nodded with Jason.

“YEAH! I can teach you all the C00L things I've learned! WAIT WAIT- YOU THINK SPECTER WILL LET US BOTH BE TAGGERS TOGETHER?! WE WOULD BE SO AWESOME!!” C00lkidd was about to shout more when a door upstairs slammed open.

“WOULD YOU SHUT THE #### UP, DUDE. I'M TRYING TO STREAM.” Bluudud emerged from his cave, the pink child coming from behind him.

“You're just mad that you're losing. It's not hard to get good.” Pr3ttyPr1nc3ss smirked.

“I would be doing good if I HAD ABSOLUTE FOCUS.” Bluudud glared at the people downstairs, pausing to see C00lkidd and the other man. “...Oh. Hi Mr.C00lkids dad… didn't see you there…”

“I didn't know your mom allowed you to swear.” 007n7 quirked an eyebrow, a smug smile coming across his face.

“Ahah.. haha… well- I’m getting older you know!” Bluudud was starting to turn a bit pink.

“So she wouldn't mind if I talked to her about it?” 007n7 shifted C00lkidd to one arm, placing the other on his own hip.

“UGH- OKAY FINE. YOU CAUGHT ME- PLEASE DON'T TELL MY MOM!!” Bluudud pleaded.

“Then apologize to C00lkidd for cursing at him. You could've asked for us to nicely quiet down.”

“...sorry…” Bluudud grumbled.

“Heh.. Pink looks good on you. Better than that dumb blue.” Pr3ttyPr1nc3ss flicked Bluudud on the nose.

“UGHHH!!” Bluudud whipped around and stomped back into his room, slamming the door shut.

“Heh. Hey, Mr. C00lkidd's dad, you are formally invited to one of my tea parties. I expect you to be there 4 pm sharp or face the consequences.” Pr3ttyPr1nc3ss waved C00lkidd towards her. He hopped out of 007n7's arms, ran up the stairs and took a small envelope, skipped back down the stairs and launched himself into 007n7's arms again, just to hand him a letter.

“Oh.. uhm. Why?” 007n7 looked at the childish invitation, smiling at the nice drawings.

“You were a survivor, which means you know them and a lot of their dirty secrets. I require that information, especially the tea about Guest 1337.” Pr3ttyPr1nc3ss waved her hand dismissvely, breaking back into Bluududs room, presumably to make more fun of him.

“....Why Guest 1337???” 007n7 didn't realize the soldier had a target on his head.

“Oh! Don't tell anyone but Bluudud has a HUGE crush on Guest!! He really likes his blue hair!” C00lkidd exclaimed, earning snickers from the killer's around them.

“Uhm.. I won't tell a soul, C00lkidd. You can trust me.. but if you wanna tell a secret, perhaps you should whisper it.” 007n7 chuckled.

“Not really a secret, his crush is so obvious.” Azure giggled. “Anyway.. back to your victory 007n7, why don't we celebrate?? A first sweep is something we should congratulate you on- and I'm itching to bake a cake.”

“Cake?? We get to have cake?!” C00lkidd exclaimed. “What flavor? Chocolate? Red velvet?! Red velvet's the best flavor, just so you know.”

“Noted. I'll see if we have something for red velvet.. but this is 007n7's victory. Perhaps he should choose-?” Azure tried to put his words lightly.

“Oh. Okay! Dad, what do you want??”

“Uhm. I personally like marbled cake a lot.. but I don't mind red velvet.” He smiled at C00lkidd, who was wagging his tail excitedly at the thought of a desert.

“....Why don't I just make both-? That does mean someone else is taking over dinner today though.”

“What's for dinner? Please tell me it's not pizza.” 007n7 felt like he would vomit if he had one more slice.

“What's wrong with pizza?” Mafioso had come out due to the commotion.

“It's a good food, don't get me wrong but when you have it every day for every meal this whole time we've been here- you'd be over pizza too.” 007n7 laughed awkwardly.

“The survivors seriously don't have anything else to eat?? I almost feel bad… “ Azure mumbled the last part.

“I mean- as far as I know that's what we had most of the time. I didn't attend all the meal times…”

“DAD! You said you wouldn't miss any food times! You promised!!” C00lkid pouted.

“I know.. I'm sorry, kiddo. I just forgot sometimes planning on how to best you at tag! You got too good!!” 007n7 tried to take a lighthearted approach, Azure made a face while C00lkidd mulled over his father's words.

“Mm.. I didn't mean to make you skip meals… I GOT IT! I'M GOING TO COOK FOR EVERYONE!!” C00lkidd exclaimed. 007n7 wanted to correct C00lkidd's words but Azures look told him not to.

‘Can you cook-?’ Jason hesitantly asked.

“....I'LL LEARN!” C00lkidd kept up his confidence.

“Why don't I help you C00lkidd? We can cook together!” The ex-hacker offered.

“NO. I'm cooking for you! I don't need help!! In fact, I'm starting right now!” C00lkidd ran off to what 007n7 presumed to be the kitchen.

‘...I'll go help him.’ Jason audibly sighed, walking towards the new clattering noises.

“...The kitchens going to burn down, isn't it?” Azure sighed.

“If you aren't here to deal with it, technically it's only Jason's responsibility.” Mafioso mentioned nonchalantly.

“WHAT? That's not how that works!?” Azure exclaimed as Mafioso quickly made his way towards the door.

“Would you look at that, it's suddenly time to feed my rabbits! Wouldn't want to keep them waiting, would we?” Mafioso tipped his hat and exited.

“.... does that count as leaving us to die?”

“I'd say so.” 007n7 chuckled.

“What a jerk.” Azure grumbled, walking over and sitting down on the couch. “....Life really has it out for you, huh?”

“...huh-? Oh.. uh.. Yeah..but it's nothing I don't deserve. Pure karma.” 007n7 was going to sit in the recliner furthest from Azure, but Azure tugged on his sleeve so he'd sit with him.

“I dunno. This feels a little far… Getting brutally murdered by your son, some kids you used to babysit and your ex-friend? While stuck on a side of people who despise you?” Azure bit the inside of their cheek, which 007n7 assumed would be more painful since he had a zipper for teeth. “I'm just going to nip this in the bud before it blooms into something worse.. We aren't them, 007n7. Here, we've all made some kind of mistake, hurt someone else then felt sorry for it.. even 1x. We have no room to judge you, so we won't. You're one of us now.. so you don't need to hurt yourself anymore.”

“Hurt myself-? No, no.. I haven't done that in front of you.. have I?” 007n7 turned pale.

“You don't think starving yourself isn't a form of self harm? How bout all the times you used yourself as a meatshield so someone else wouldn't take damage? Or all the times you pretended to run out of stamina just so you could get killed by us? 007n7, that is the definition of self-harm.. no, suicide even!” Azure seemed genuinely concerned, despite their blunt words.

“I'm sorry- I.. I guess I didn't think about it like that- I.. just wasn't all there…” 007n7 was looking to find an excuse, hugging himself.

“It's not your fault. The people who should've helped lift you up let you spiral for some pettiness. You didn't deserve that, 7n7. If you have any problems, please come talk to us. Baggage isn't made to be carried alone and I don't think I'll let you. I'm not going to push you much further, it's just something.. I think you should know.” Azure watched as 007n7's face curled into a sob with every word they said. “.. do you want a hug?”

“I.. I wouldn't want to impose.” 007n7 hiccuped. Azure didn't say anything more, hugging the new killer tightly as he sobbed. 007n7 didn't fully know why he was sobbing this time. Hearing someone acknowledging his pain and offering to help him, it felt like someone was helping lift the weight that had been crushing him for so long, the same weight that forced him into his mind and tormented nonstop. It was gone and in it's place, happiness. Never did he think that a place that should be hell would he find a home.. but that's just his luck right? It didn't matter though, he was where he belonged
now and for the briefest moment, 007n7 allowed himself to be loved again

-----------------------Epilogue!------------------------

Despite what it feels like, time passes in eternal night. Noli hadn't gotten used to being a survivor much, trying to bargain with the other killer's to put in a good word with the specter, hoping they'd let him back onto the team. It often didn't work out for him though, the killer he was talking to either mad that he betrayed all of them or that killer preferred 007n7's company more than his. Noli still tried to be friends with 007n7, trying to convince the other that they could be good together, if he was just given a chance. Still, to no avail, 007n7 would target either Noli or Two Time first. Noli assumed that it meant 007n7 had become good friends with the old cultist, Azure, much to his dismay.

Noli managed to apologize to Two Time, only doing so after he was kidnapped in the middle of the night and almost sacrificed. The other survivors stayed wary of him, Elliot only healed him when necessary, Builderman scolded him for when he tried to negotiate with the killer's, and besides Two Time, Chance was the only one who'd strike conversation, much to Noli's dismay. Noli had considered following the same path as 007n7, a path of redemption but the idea of cowering, becoming weak like he did made Noli's skin crawl, so he chose to keep pursuing power. No matter what it meant.

007n7 had settled into a killer lifestyle a lot easier than he had expected to. With a supportive group of misfits alongside his son, he fell into an odd domestic life with a side of killing. While he only planned on fathering C00lkidd, he somehow had become a father to all of them, comforting them when needed and bringing justice to the survivors when they hurt one of his many ‘children.’
007n7 got some form of therapy, even if it was just talking with his new teammates. Whenever he relapsed, someone was there beside him to help and 007n7 couldn't be more thankful.

Time continued onwards, days repeating for the two as their ideals changed for better and worse.

Notes:

If you ended up crying like my Beta reader did, there's a tear jar at the exit. Feel free to donate!

 

Some art I made for this fic!
https://www.tumblr.com/crycodilesobs/785120840712912897/a-scene-from-my-ao3-fic-in-chapter-4?source=share

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of To Bring Back A Friend