Chapter Text
Elliot woke up with a groan. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, still too tired to open them. His bed was notably more stiff than normal, the atmosphere also noticeably colder.
He stretched his arm a bit with a yawn, trying to properly wake themselves up before they entered another round.
His fingers traced the edges of what he assumed was his work attire. He could still feel his work vest and black sweater on, along with his work pants. Maybe he forgot to change into something more comfortable for sleeping last night. It wasn't the first time he forgot to change out of his uniform, especially when the rounds ended later than the norm.
He felt rather suffocated, too. Had he forgotten to remove his scarf as well?
His soft, messy yellow bangs covered his face, the ends of the strands practically stabbing him. He combed them to the side with his fingers, noticing his visor was messily placed on his head while doing so. He was a bit confused as to why he was still wearing it, but brushed it off with the same excuse he used with his uniform. He positioned it back to normal, still messing with their tangled hair.
Still half asleep, they turned their body, their legs now hanging off of the bedside. Their feet contacted something cold through their thin socks. Metallic. Absolutely not wood or scratchy carpeting.
Instinctively, Elliot retracted both of his legs back onto the stiff mattress.
“ What the …?”
He squinted down and stared at the floor. A floor he didn't recognize.
His groggy brain was still registering what 3he was even looking at. The material of said floor was definitely not carpeting. He swore he went to bed in his own cabin, right? Maybe he passed out in one of the maps– was falling asleep in a round even possible??
Actually, he couldn't remember anywhere in the lobby where such material could be located. He certainly didn't recall anywhere on the maps having navy blue tiling.
He looked around, slowly growing more panicked. He silently begged to see something he recognized, to know he knew where he was. Maybe closed window blinds, or curtains that failed to block out the sunlight.
No curtains.
No natural light he could see.
There was a massive window a little bit away from the foot of his bed, one he wasn't familiar with.
He’s just a boxed in cell he didn't recognize in the slightest.
Where the hell was he now ??
He inspected every inch of his new surroundings, trying to identify something he remembered. He couldn't take being sent somewhere else without knowing where or how, not when he finally got somewhat used to the endless rounds of cat and mouse.
He tugged at what he expected to be his scarf, but he was met with that same feeling.
Metal.
There was a metal collar around his neck.
If he wasn't panicking before, he surely was now.
Oh. My. Telamon. WHAT THE HELL? OH MY GODS WHY DO I HAVE A COLLAR ON AND WHY AM I IN A PRISON CELL WHAT THE HELL WHAT–
Oh gosh I need to calm down. Panicking isn't going to get me anywhere…
Just breathe! Don't panic, at least not right now. Save that for later.
Ugh, I hate this so much.
Euh, this feels so weird… this collar is so heavy, too…
Elliot looked around, still trying to control his breathing.
The room he was settled in was rather small, maybe eight feet by eight feet in area. His bed was positioned in the corner, the metal frame being felt through the thin mattress. There was a shelf that hugged the wall at the foot of his bed, one of wood, presumably. A table sat beneath the window, the studs colored a light grey.
The window had a thick black stud frame around its borders. He wasn't too keen on trying to see what lies beyond his new quarters at the moment, but he could make out some large TV screen that held itself high on some kind of structure. A few tables were scattered around said structure, as well. Or he thought so, at least.
The floor was halved, his bed situated in the navy blue side while the window and door on the soft grey tiles. The floor colors went up the walls but stopped midway, showcasing white colored bricks built on top of each other. The toilet had a few studs of tile surrounding it.
Why was it in front of the door ? That’s such a lack of privacy…
Builderman is probably shaking his head at the sight, haha.
He softly chuckled at the thought, a soft smile climbing onto his features at the idea.
Hm, maybe the one thing he’ll recognize are his friends. Hopefully. He’d rather them not be going through damnation, of course, but it would calm him down to see a familiar face.
He ripped off his scratchy covers and swung his legs back over the side of his bed like previously. The metal collar was still cold against his skin. Elliot still had to get used to the device, but it was still rather uncomfortable.
Ugh .
Why do I have this on anyways? And who put it on me…
There was a wooden desk and computer chair at Elliot’s right. The chair wasn't pushed in, so it was lying in the middle of the path between the bed and the desk.
He took a minute longer to properly process his surroundings. They spaced out for a bit before snapping back to his hellish reality. The harsh glow from the ceiling lights probably played a part in that, forcing Elliot to blink, subsequently putting an end to his blank state of mind.
He spun his ankles on his heels, stretching them before planting his feet on the cold, metallic floor. He noticed his work shoes next to them, positioned next to the bed frame. Convenient.
He combed his hair with his fingers a bit more, hoping that it didn't look like a rat’s nest. There weren't any mirrors, at least in his room there weren't.
He stared at the door. It was lined with a dark gray frame, a small window outlined with the same material. The door was painted with white, the metal handle and hinges shining under the lamps installed into the ceiling.
Hm, maybe it was unlocked? There was clearly something that lied outside of the room he was placed in.
Ah, why not give it a try…
Elliot got up, stretched his back a tad more and pushed the chair into the desk. Then he went to open the door. The door handle’s cool metal stung his warm hand. He simply tugged downwards, then the door opened outwards with a soft push.
He released the handle, having already completed his objective. The atmosphere of the larger room was a lot cooler, a lot more unwelcoming despite how vast the building was. He noticed that there were two staircases on each side of the building, a second floor worth of cells he assumed were akin to his own.
There were normal cafeteria tables littered around some large… spinner ? In the center. Strange. Definitely so. Ugh– what was this Spectre playing at now ??
He inspected the new setting once more. On one side, there seemed to be some kind of room being showcased. He walked over it, mentally noting down the large TV screen above it. It was just a blank black screen, probably wasn't on at all. Or perhaps the glare from the lights hid what was being shown.
He inspected the interior of the closed off room through the large windows. There was a control panel of sorts and a chair with large lights planted above it. He could make out a few desks or panels in the back, cabinets pressed against the walls and exposed, rusted pipes. A few paintings in the back were hung, and a stray wheelchair could be seen in the far back. The aqua colored floor tiling was chipped away at and rusting over, probably due to the lack of care. Maybe the room had simply not been used for a while?
Elliot internally flinched at the implication of why such a thing was here. It looked awfully similar to an electrical chair, or perhaps something where experimentation would take place.
They looked around, wanting to explore further despite how the rooms and cells creeped the pizza worker out. He settled on walking to the other side of the building and checking out what there was to show.
He kindly waved at the other survivors he spotted who looked like they had just woken up, them waving back. Some were more outgoing with the action than others, some just tiredly raising their hand. Some other robloxians had already made their way on the lower floor, looking at the strange room he just left. Some were hosting conversations with another near the cells. Some were inspecting the large wheel-thing. He should check that out later, too.
Hm, come to think of it, Chance might get excited upon seeing the massive spinner. They have those kinds of things in casinos, right?
Well, he reached his destination after about ten seconds. The other wall had a large black screen, a brick wall below it and padding, or something resembling padding, covering the walls in the side.
Elliot wandered over, curiosity piqued. He touched the padding on the right of the screen–
Oh. Wait, they're drawers of some kind. Heh, they looked soft from afar, whoops. Each one had a blank tag on it, a label waiting for a title to be written onto it.
His fingers latched onto the handle, subconsciously pulling it towards him so he could take a peak at what it might store.
He stared into the storage, which just turned out to be a whole lot of nothing but a gush of cold air rushing and attacking his face. His interest turned into annoyed confusion. Jeez– why were the drawers so long anyways? And so many of them? It's probably large enough you could fit a person in it–
Oh.
Maybe he shouldn't think about that right now.
Yeah, maybe I’ll just look for someone to talk to! Good idea. Absolutely.
He looked around in search of someone to host a conversation with. Maybe someone knows what's going on…
Hmm. Builderman, Shedletsky, Dusekkar and– is that Doombringer? were talking on the upper floor of the cells.
Chance was circling the spinner like it owed him money.
Guest 1337 seemed to be talking to… who was that?
Guest and another soldier were talking at one of the cafeteria tables. Elliot had never seen Guest so… content? Comfortable, relaxed maybe? He and the person next to him seemed to be having a friendly conversation, the two laughing at inside jokes he didn't get.
Elliot found it adorable, frankly. Guest deserved whatever happiness he could get after everything he’s done for the team, afterall.
His companion had the same army uniform Guest did. He had dark brown slicked up hair and tanned skin. They looked similar to Guest 1337 in a way, just a change of colors, that being Guest having dark blue hair and white skin. Though, Guest had notably a lot more scars and his hair was a lot messier and unkept.
Elliot felt safe to assume they were friends considering how Guest let his tough exterior break down around the man.
I wonder who he is?
They seem to be close to Guest, so maybe they're an ally?
A new survivor, perhaps?
Hm, maybe I should let the two be for now. Questions later. They seem to be having fun, anyways. I wouldn't want to ruin that.
Okay, who else might be free?
They scanned the vast room further.
Noob was with… okay, is that another guest? As in a classic one? Wow, so many new cast members…
Eugh… 007n7 was on the opposite side of Elliot’s position. He was inspecting the room Elliot was just at.
Elliot looked away in disdain, side stepping so the large wheel would obstruct his view of the ex-exploiter.
He was considering going over to Chance, who was basically in front of him at the moment.
Their dark gray hair was tied in a ponytail with the rest of it neatly on his face. He wore his suit’s jacket unbuttoned, as normal. There were little accessories on the lapel, along with a small, thin chain that connected one of those accessories to one of the buttons.
His fedora was positioned on top of his head, the poker card decor strapped behind the band that was around the hat. He had his clockwork headphones and glasses on as per usual. His tie dangled from his collar, a thin gold bar clipped to it. His black shoes glistened under the ceiling lights. His belt had a keychain hung from it, just two dice and some fake poker cards.
They seemed to be inspecting the wheel before them, slowly walking around the large structure.
A faint aura caught Elliot's eye.
Holy– is that Noli ?? What the hell were they doing here?
They ran up to Chance and hurriedly tugged at his sleeve, trying to gain his attention.
“Jeez, jeez– oh Elliot! How’re you–”
“Erm, why is there a killer here?!”
Elliot blatantly pointed at the entity in question, their voice obviously panicked and concerned, but remained rather hushed to not draw the being’s attention. Chance’s classic smirk seemed to waver, but he still retained his confident persona.
“Well, I mean, they aren't really doing anything. They're just…” Chance squinted at the being. “...Leaning against the wall like any normal, non-dangerous individual?”
“Why did I decide to run to you of all people?” Elliot jokingly complained before sighing, but he was no less concerned for the safety of his friends.
“Hah– good question! But, considering they aren't massacring us on sight, I'd say we're probably fine!” Chance supplied.
“...’ probably ’?”
“Wanna take a bet on it?” Chance pulled out their iconic golden coin, planting it on top of his thumb already.
“... I'd rather not, honestly. But maybe you're right. It's kind of strange they aren't chasing anyone, though.” Elliot huffed, before inspecting the being the two were talking about.
Actually, now that Elliot took a closer look, they looked a bit different than normal. Half of their body wasn't a purple rotting corpse with bright binary emitting from it. Instead, the entity seemed to be just one solid color, that being black. Both eyes were now both glowing pure white, their left eye no longer being an empty socket. Their mouth was closed at the moment.
They adorned a black hoodie and pants, the hood draped over their head obscuring their dark, messy hair. The void crown still floated off the side of their head, but the void star the entity normally held wasn't in view.
They were leaning against the staircase, staring at something. Their expression didn't change, just the same blank look, so he assumed they were just zoned out. They were silent the whole time, too.
It unsettled Elliot by a lot. Well, they were just yards away, and Noli was certainly not something one would like to mess with.
Elliot certainly had experience with that prior to being forsaken, not that he even did anything in the first place.
Elliot shifted his attention back to Chance, feeling the entity’s stare bore into the back of his head. He chose to ignore that for now, however.
“So, uh, spinner.” Elliot started up again. “Any idea on what it's here for?”
“Nope, not really. But for certain it’ll probably be the main thing here considering how large the dang thing is,” Chance guessed, flipping his coin.
Elliot looked down at the spinner. The little bars had labels of… oh Telamon– why are their names and profile pictures on the bars?
At least Chance’s theory makes more sense, I guess?
Elliot nodded along, already tuning out the sound of the coin being flipped every second. The white and red sections of the wheel looked like they were already spinning on their own, albeit extremely slowly.
There were names he didn't recognize, and names he did. Those being his survivor friends and the… the killers .
Well, maybe the killers can't hurt them here? It's unlike Noli to just… not do anything?
“Uh, do you know who Azure is? Or Jez?” Elliot asked, pointing out the unknown titles and profiles.
Azure wore a gray hat that obscured their eyes and had a scarf. A little purple flower sat on top of the hat, probably as decoration. They had shoulder length black hair and white skin.
Jez looked like just a classic bacon with white skin, though they had a little x-shaped scar beneath their left eye, similar to Shedletsky or Guest 1337. They had a bandana tied around their neck with a camo design.
“Nope. Never heard of ‘em, not until now,” Chance answered. “Seems like there's a bunch of new people here. There's a Matt, a Brighteyes, you get the idea!”
“Ah, I see.”
Elliot saw Guest and his friend approach from the corner of his eye, so he turned his head and greeted the duo.
“Oh, Hi Guest!” Elliot waved with a welcoming smile.
“Good morning Elliot, Chance.” The man nodded. “I'd like to introduce you both to my friend; Matt.”
“Nice to meet you both!” Matt greeted kindly, extending his hand.
“Same can be said here!” Chance replied, pocketing his coin and shaking with the new ally. “You both’re wearing the same uniform, did you fight in the war together?”
“I mean, yeah, but we were friends way before we joined the army,” Matt supplied, Guest nodding along.
“Oh, nice! Hah, it's kinda weird seeing Guest so… not serious?” Chance got elbowed by Elliot.
“Pfft– are we talking about the same person? Guest’s only ever serious when it comes to war,” Matt joked.
“Oh please, we were basically at war against the killers, give me a break,” Guest chuckled along.
“Well, you are a very important asset to the team, that's for sure. Doesn't matter if you're serious or not,” Elliot commented, receiving a thank you from the last guest.
“So, any idea what this big ol’ wheel might be for?” Matt asked, inspecting the profiles and names that were plastered on it. His face briefly darkened upon looking at it, not going unnoticed by Elliot.
What was that about?
Maybe they recognize someone other than Guest?
“Well, the current theory is that it'll be part of the main event, given the sheer size of the thing and the fact that it's in the middle of the building,” Chance explained, inspecting the structure.
“That makes sense, but what might this event be?” Guest questioned, not really expecting a solid answer.
“Maybe it's like a game? The wheel spins, lands on a name, then they have to be It for a friendly game of tag or something,” Chance guessed, an obvious joke.
“If only,” Elliot chuckled softly.
“Given our predicament, that's just a dream,” Guest commented. “That would be a nice break, though.”
“Whatever this event is, it's got to take at least over a few days time, right? There's beds and tables, surely this won't be a quick time activity.” Matt proposed. “Did any of you see the strange room over there on the other side? Looks like it could be where an experiment was held.”
“I did, actually. I had the same thought.” Elliot replied.
“Ah, I didn't check it out, I went to the spinner immediately,” Chance answered, pointing a thumb to the wheel.
“Unsurprisingly,” Elliot teased and got a soft punch on the shoulder from the gambler.
“H-hello everyone! What are you all doing?” Someone came up to the group.
Noob came up to them, a new person trailing behind them. When Noob stopped, they stopped and stood beside them.
Noob had their yellow hair tied up in a loose bun, colorful dyed strands of blue and purple hair falling out of it. Their bangs were messily covering their face, but Noob didn't seem to mind.
They had a blue and purple sleeveless sweatshirt on and green cargo pants on and black shoes with purple and yellow paint splattered on them. They had black fingerless gloves on with a few colorful splatters of paint on them. Their belt had a few small pockets, barely large enough to store anything. Their belt also held two Bloxxy Colas by straps.
The guest had a classic red and black Roblox hat on, their white hair tied up in a small ponytail, about below shoulder length or so. Their bangs were brushed apart, but were equally as messy as Noob’s or Elliot’s. They had a thin red streak of hair that traveled down their bangs and ponytail.
They wore a black hoodie, a red sweater’s collar underneath the shock collar. Their hoodie had little red and white details, as per classic Robloxian colors. They had baggy black jeans and shoes akin to Noob’s just without the paint. They also had a belt similar to Noob’s, but instead of Bloxxy Cola, they had a can of spray paint.
“Oh? Who's that, Noob?” Elliot asked curiously.
“Is that another guest?” Chance asked.
“Actually, yes! This is Guest 666! I just call them Sixer for short. Any pronouns. W-we were old friends,” Noob explained, the guest in question waving silently. “They ah, t-they don't talk much, so p-please don't force them…”
“That's not a problem, Noob. I'm Guest 1337, nice to meet you,” The soldier extended their arm, the other guest reluctantly taking it.
“ Nice to meet you, too .” They signed, Noob translating.
“Whoa, sign language? I learned some a while back!” Chance commented, Guest 666 seeming to lighten up at the claim.
“ You did? ”
“Mhm! I wanted to be able to greet anyone who entered my casino! Though, I'm way better at translating than signing, hah.”
“ Oh, that's no problem! ”
Noob was watching the two, a soft smile on their features. They were happy their friend had other people who could understand them as well. Taph would probably be delighted to talk to 666, too.
The other three, despite having no idea what the other guest was saying, were able to fill in the blanks based on Chance's responses.
Wow, never knew that Chance knew sign language. That's cool!
“O-oh! I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but who’re you…?” Noob asked the other soldier, but he didn't seem to mind.
“I’m Matt! Old friends with Guest 1337 here, nice to meet you!”
“Ah, nice to meet you too!”
Hands shook and the group went back to the previous conversation of what they were doing here.
“O-oh, that’s kinda big…” Noob noted the obvious. “...Why are our names on it?”
“We’re theorizing that this thing will be the main event!” Chance supplied, though he was rather vague about what they meant.
“...What?”
“We’re theorizing that the spinner is key to the main event, basically,” Elliot stated, Noob responding with an acknowledging ‘oh.’
“ What do you think the spinner is for, though? ” 666 signed, Noob translating for everyone.
“Well, my initial thought was that maybe some kind of event happens, and the spinner chooses who does what, or something along those lines,” Chance answered, 666 nodding along.
“Though, quick change of subject, I have a question; Why the hell are there shock collars on us? Where are we– prison?” Matt asked, reasonably so.
“Wait, w-were in prison ?? With shock collars on??”
“ Awh hell no. ”
Oh. I kind of forgot we had those on, heh…
I’m a bit surprised I haven’t brought the topic up myself. Must have slipped my mind.
“Valid question. Though, my best guess as to why we have them on is to keep us in line,” 1337 responded while stealing a few glances to a panicking Noob. “Uh… Noob?”
“ Just give them a moment… ” 666 signed while rubbing Noob’s back, trying their best to comfort their friend.
“ Okayyy , so while they calm down, are we going to discuss that the other TV above the silly-experiment-room is on?” Chance pointed at the screen in question, just in case the others didn’t know what they were referring to.
Oh, that’s definitely not creepy at all…
The TV displayed the profiles and names of everyone, including the new cast members. The title read that there were twenty-five contestants still alive.
“Huh, thanks for pointing that out,” Matt said, squinting his eyes to inspect the profiles.
“No problem.”
“Jeez, twenty-five people stuck here? That’s like, nearly seven other people randomly pulled into this place…” Elliot thought aloud.
“We got Elliot, Noob, Seven, Shedletsky, B-Man, Dusekkar, Taph, Dusekkar, myself, Two Time, Guest, Jane…” Chance adjusted his shades. “Oh shit, there are more killers here? They look so… different?”
Huh?
Elliot squinted his eyes at the screen, walking around the spinner to get a clearer view.
“Oh, you’re right,” 1337 agreed, which got Elliot more curious.
Oh! They weren’t wrong! Jeez… so it isn’t just Noli who looks different?
Interesting… I wonder why the sudden change of appearance…
John Doe lacked the corruption around his eye and his normally wide, vicious grin was replaced with something more gentle and warm.
C00lkidd’s features weren’t sunken into his face, though his eyes were still pitch black. They looked far more childish and far less like a demon, at least to everyone else, that is. He still wore his propeller hat on top of their unbrushed hair, but had a light blue bandana in addition to it.
Bluudud’s eyes were pure white, akin to Noli’s. He had a pair of gaming headphones on his head and a bright red bandana. His hair had a very subtle white to blue ombre to it, and was equally as messy as C00lkidd’s.
Pr3ttyPriincess had black eyes like C00lkidd, but with longer lashes. Her bright pink hair was neatly brushed and her bangs were wavy. She had her large pink bow be the tie for her ponytail, with the majority of her hair staying down.
Jason was… well, Jason. Nothing notable.
1x1x1x1 was the complete opposite, however. Their skin was now white and they adorned small fluffy wings behind their ears. Their white, silky hair was tied in a messy ponytail. Their bangs partially obscured their right eye, but it was overall still visible.
Their domino crown was tilted off the side of their head, with some kind of black corruption spreading from their right eye. The same eye was completely red, while their still unaffected eye was normal. White sclera and black iris. They wore a white scarf.
Heh, I wouldn’t have recognized them if their name wasn’t under their picture…
Noli’s profile was the same as Elliot saw them earlier. Half of their face was no longer a purple rotting corpse, and their eyes still emitted a white glow. Though, their mouth sort of represented a comedy and tragedy mask, as their mouth was still halved.
“Maybe the collars are the reason Noli over there isn’t attacking?” Chance prompted, pointing a finger to the killer, who was still in the same spot.
“Maybe, it seems plausible. Though, what would the reason for the change in appearance be?” 1337 asked, putting a hand to his chin in thought.
“The hell are you people talking about?” A new voice chimed in, successfully grabbing the group’s attention.
“GAH!! 1x1?!” Noob screamed, quickly backing away.
“Oh, shut up, would you? I can’t do shit anyways.” 1x was climbing down the first set of stairs from the top floor before simply jumping off of it, landing in a graceful crouch.
“...why?” Elliot asked incredulously.
“Collar, dumbass.” 1x pulled down their scarf just enough to reveal a similar collar to everyone else’s. “I threatened someone earlier and there was some kind of warning beep, which implies I would have probably been punished for going through with the threat.”
“...oh.”
1x pulled their scarf back up.
“...Who exactly did you threaten?” Matt asked suspiciously.
“Noob.”
“...That checks out.”
Elliot inspected the killer’s new appearance. Their torso wasn’t see-through, just a plain mint colored shirt. They had baggy black pants with a belt on. On both sides of said belt, there were empty cases for where their swords would go. They had black combat boots on with thin silver chains as decor.
Their scarf seemed to double as some kind of cape, the thing draped over their shoulders and hanging off their back. The ends of the scarf looked torn and ripped, the color also fading into black. Their ponytail reached about waist-length.
“The hell is the spinner for?” The entity questioned, walking over closer, with Guest 1337 sidestepping protectively and Noob backing farther away with Guest 666. 1x looked the soldier up and down before huffing.
“You know I just said I can’t hurt you even if I wanted to, right?” 1x smirked.
“You better not try anything, then.” 1337 said sternly with his arms crossed, earning a scoff.
“Not intimidating, but whatever,” 1x waved off. “Now, what’s the wheel for?”
The group explained their theories, 1x making comments on them from time to time, mostly regarding how obvious they were and how they could barely pass as a theory.
Elliot heard the patter of more footsteps and conversation from a different group, but Chance greeted them before he got to.
“Oh! Morning B-Man, Shed, Dusekkar… and…?”
“You can address me as Doombringer.”
“Well, good morning Doom!” Chance greeted them like normal.
Does he seriously not know who Doombringer is?
Oh, whatever…
“I take it none of you know where we are?” Elliot asked the group of admins, receiving their versions of ‘no’.
“Nah, we were just teleported here in our sleep, I think. No idea what this place is,” Shedletsky replied more thoroughly.
“I can’t recall going to sleep,” Doom commented, mainly to himself, which got him a glare from Builderman.
“Anyways, y’all think this spinner is part’a the main reason we’re here?” Builderman asked, basically reading everyone’s minds. He went over to the spinner in question, probably running through every single possibility as to what it’s for.
“That’s exactly what we were thinking, actually,” Matt piped up, Builderman nodding.
Shedletsky looked rather nervous while he was looking at the wheel, before his eyes trailed over to 1x1x1x1. He grimaced while the creation of hatred glared at him.
Why does 1x hate specifically Shedletsky so much?
I don’t think Shed ever told anyone…
The admins were inspecting the wheel, not noticing Noli teleport over and spark conversation with 1x1x1x1. Noob yelped in surprise and jumped away, but the two killers paid them no mind. Elliot could barely make out what the being was saying, as all he heard was a bunch of glitches and sound effects, but 1x seemed to understand perfectly.
Everyone else came to the center eventually. Some relationships were way more obvious than others, at least to Elliot they were.
For starters, Guest 1337 and Matt both shot death stares at the bacon, Jez, who shot the both of them a glare back, though not one of resentment. They held distance between each other, the tension obvious.
Do they have beef with each other or something?
Oh, right, the war. How could I forget?
Second, 007n7 came over with three radioactive children trailing behind.
Ugh, seriously?
Elliot backed away from the single father, getting closer to the group of admins.
007n7 quickly glanced at the scowling pizza worker before walking over to their co-worker, Noli. C00lkidd, Bluudud and Pr3ttyPriincess were playing a game of tag, with C00lkidd being ‘it’. From the looks of it, the game only seemed to consist of the three of them, but Elliot still tensed up when the kids came by him.
Anyways, he tried putting their presence to the back of their mind. He’d much rather focus on people who hadn’t terrorized his work place for the fun of it.
Jason was sulking silently in the corner, near where Noli was originally.
John and Jane Doe came by after a while.
When the two of them both bumped into each other, they immediately hugged the other tightly. John held her by the waist and spun her around before he set her back down and the two kissed. Elliot found it adorable and he, along with a few others, were clapping for the two, which subsequently caused them to blush harder. Noli was blaring romantic music through the whole event, to which 1x complained about.
Two Time and another with the witch hat, Azure, came by not long afterwards, talking to each other. Two Time seemed a lot calmer and happier, their normally unsettling grin replaced with a warm smile. As far as Elliot could tell, the two were also a couple, as they were holding hands. The both of them also had a faint blush on their cheeks and Two Time’s tail was wagging, which only pushed further on Elliot's guess.
Not that his intuition mattered. The two were happy with each other, together or not.
Again, Noli blared romantic music the second they laid eyes on the two, which made the duo turn red. 007n7 had to tell the entity to cut it out.
A woman with purple hair tied in a messy bun came by next, and wouldn't you know, she's Brighteyes. She had a zipped up bright purple jacket and fluffy white scarf. She had some basic black jeans on, with short dark purple combat boots on.
She also happened to be Shedletsky’s wife.
The two hugged each other on sight and Bright immediately started planting kisses on Shed’s cheek.
“Oh my gosh, where have you been??” Brighteyes exclaimed, hugging the sword-master so tightly it looked like he was being suffocated. He opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off.
“Y’know what? Doesn’t matter,” She decided for herself, releasing Shedletsky. He chuckled and the two started talking about what had been happening, Builderman also joining in on the conversation.
1x1x1x1 scoffed at the sight, but somehow Brighteyes noticed and came over and fussed about them like she was their mom, leaving Builderman and her husband. Elliot wanted to stop her, yell “Wait no that’s the literal embodiment of hatred and a ruthless killer!!!!!” but his body betrayed him and let her do her own thing.
Besides, 1x was acting like a teenager who’s tired of being treated like a child and was pushing her away instead of cursing out her bloodline, so it's either Brighteyes simply has that aura or the two know each other. Considering that Brighteyes was married to Shedletsky, and 1x has some kind of relationship with the sword-master, they probably knew who the other was.
Brighteyes then proceeded to drag the poor thing over to the other two admins and she joined in on their conversation, 1x standing there awkwardly.
“You all are making me feel real single right now,” Chance pouted jokingly, referring to the various couples that had just revealed themselves.
“Imagine being single,” Shedletsky teased further, slinging his arm around his wife’s neck. Chance gasped dramatically at the reply, putting a hand to his forehead to really sell it.
Elliot was giggling at the scene, before he heard someone walk up from behind him, the steps slow and condescending.
“Awh, you forgot me already? Shame, really,” A new voice came.
A man with yellow skin and hair entered the conversation. They adorned a large ice crown on top of their head, their hair tied in a neat braid that sat over their shoulder. They had an ear piercing on their right ear, a mini gold chain. He had a dark blue sweater vest and formal black pants and shoes on. They wore a few white ruffles that emerged beneath their vest’s collar, a small blue pendant in the center. A small chain connected his chest pocket to another button on his vest. They had a jacket draped over their shoulders, the collar connected by another small gold chain, but he didn’t wear the sleeves.
Huh? Who's that?
Chance tensed at their voice. Tensed in a way Elliot had never seen before.
“...oh? Fancy seeing you here,” Chance commented, putting his poker face back on and turning to face the speaker.
“I could say the same thing,” the stranger replied back.
The two stayed silent, Chance pocketing his coin for the stare down. The other had a smug smirk on while Chance still had his poker face on, but a bead of sweat ran down the gambler’s face.
Elliot had no idea what to do in that situation, so he just looked away from the crowned man and tried thinking of something to talk about with the gambler to distract him. Naturally, that’s when all possible topics of discussion blanked on the pizza worker.
Guest 1337 stepped in between the two, obviously noticing the tension between them. Elliot decided to back away from chance’s side to stand with the soldier instead. “I'm sorry, but who are you?”
“...iTrapped, pleasure to meet you. And you must be the last guest, yes? I've heard a lot about you…” iTrapped asked, clearly not intimidated by the soldier. “How you took out 20% of the Bacon army and their general? Impressive.”
Elliot noticed how Jez tensed up at the remark.
“Whatever you're getting at, it isn't working. I suggest you stay away from us for a while,” 1337 stood his ground.
“Chance clearly isn’t comfortable with talking to you right now, so please leave him alone for now,” Elliot spoke up, his tone a bit more defensive and rude than he had meant.
iTrapped huffed at their persistence, their eye twitching subtly. He glared daggers at the gambler, then turned around. They walked away to find someone else to talk to, raising their hand in signal of a goodbye.
Once Chance knew that iTrapped couldn't hear him, he dramatically let out a relieved sigh. “Thanks guys, close one there.”
“Anytime. I saw the way you tensed when you heard his voice, I just thought I should do something.”
“Welp, thanks again, really! When we get out of here I'll be sure to repay my debt to you guys.”
“There's no need for that, I'm just doing my job,” 1337 declined.
“Yeah! What are friends for, right?” Elliot agreed.
“Nah, I insist! C’mon, you've both saved my ass more times than I can count, including this, I literally owe you both my life!” Chance pressed, with Guest 1337 still turning him down, much to the gambler’s disappointment. The soldier left his position to go back to talking with Matt.
“Y’know, you can stop trying to tip me whenever I give you a pizza during a round,” Elliot teased. “Half of the time you’re literally bleeding out.”
“And half of the time you’re the reason I’m still standing! Gotta pay five star work with a good tip, yeah?”
“Not when you’re literally dying?? I’m just doing my job as a healer, hah…”
“Whatever you say, but I’m still tipping you!”
“You’re impossible.”
“And you deserve a lil’ reward for your efforts!” Chance insisted, the two laughing about his antics during the rounds.
Everyone was gathered around the wheel after a while, different conversations on different subjects taking place. Elliot was talking with Chance, Noob, Guest 666 and Taph.
John, Jane, Brighteyes and the other admins were in one large group, either discussing how to get out of their current predicament or what was happening back at the HQ.
Guest 1337 and Matt were talking about something related to protecting everyone they could.
1x seemed to have escaped from the admins and was sulking in the corner similar to Jason.
Noob had introduced Taph to Guest 666 and the three were signing with each other. Taph seemed to be other-worldly happy to be able to sign with someone other than the admins, Guest 666 seeming to be more nonchalant. Though proven earlier, Noob knew dang well they were happy to know they had other people to properly communicate with.
Jez and iTrapped seemed to be discussing something, but Jez looked notably uncomfortable standing next to them. iTrapped seemed to be talking more, the bacon nodding absentmindedly, occasionally correcting or commenting. The ice crown wearer was clearly pissed whenever he did it, but they never announced it.
Azure and Two Time were frolicking around and preaching about their deity, the Spawn, which Dusekkar looked peeved about. At least in Elliot's eyes that is. He couldn’t blame him, honestly. The preaching got annoying for the pizza worker after a while, especially after a long round.
Noli was still speaking an alien language to 007n7 while the children were still chasing each other around.
“So, when do’ya think somethin’s gonna happen?” Builderman asked loud enough to draw everyone’s attention. “It’s surely gotta be soon, ain’t like we’re here for nothin’.”
“M-maybe it’ll happen later? What time is it…?” Noob asked.
Everyone turned their heads in search of a clock, to which 1x spotted first. “8:58 in the morning.”
“O-oh, thank you,” Noob mumbled, but 1x didn’t look like they cared.
“9 o’clock is normally when a round starts, you think something might happen then?” Shedletsky propped up.
“We still have to wait and see, though we don’t know yet what the reason for our arrival may be,” Dusekkar replied, Doom nodding along.
“The room ova’ there sure ain’t giving off a good vibe,” Builderman said, referencing the weird room with the TV above it. “Any idea why our profiles are ova’ it?”
“Well, it says ‘25 subjects remain’, which definitely implies some of us are going to have to go at one point,” Doom theorized.
“Unfortunately,” Dusekkar agreed. “But what we’ll be doing still remains a mystery.”
“I’d rather it stay a mystery. This place does not give off a good vibe.” Brighteyes claimed.
“What gave it away? The collars? Hmm, maybe the cells?” Shedletsky teased, receiving a whine from the woman.
The admins were still discussing what might go down, not noticing two minutes had already passed.
Elliot noticed the TV above the wheel turn to static, the sound ear-grating, before displaying an uncanny image. To say it freaked him out was… a bit of an understatement, to say the least.
“Oh? What's this?” Azure asked curiously, getting some to take a glance at what he was looking at.
“Eugh, w-what is that?” Noob asked, hugging Guest 666’s arm and pointing at the screen.
“Eww, that’s creepy!” Pr3tty whined about the ominous face on the screen, running over and clutching to 007n7’s pant leg.
She's certainly not wrong, it does look pretty creepy, eugh.
The only features visible were parts of the eyes and the teeth, the harsh shadows and lighting coming together to make the face look like it belonged to a horror film.
The sound of a microphone started up, gaining everyone's attention if the static before hadn't already. Noli was playing some obnoxious drumroll sounds until the image’s mouth started moving.
“ Welcome to the Death Penalty Program. ”
Wow, what a wonderful start .
“ Today, you will undergo a series of experiments. ”
“How… lovely,” iTrapped grimaced.
“Ooh! Is this a new game?” C00lkidd asked excitedly.
Ugh.
There’s no way this kid is still so oblivious to everything.
“ Compliance is not only crucial, but mandatory. ”
“ Therefore, measures have been implemented to ensure the integrity of our testing process. ”
Elliot subconsciously reached for the collar around his neck, putting the pieces together.
Oh. That's…
“The collars…” 1337 mumbled, loud enough for everyone to hear. Murmurs of agreement or of realization sounded out afterwards, Elliot simply nodding.
“ Let us commence with the first experiment. ”