Chapter 1: 'Oh you don't know it yet, but baby, I've already got your heart'
Chapter Text
"OOF"
Maria exclaimed as their butt hit the ground and they were transported through a portal. They landed in the middle of a snowy realm, getting up, they decided to walk through and follow the lights, despite being a blinding red. They clutched the goggles and made sure the backpack of a cat-shark was still on their back. What had happened?
When they reached the end they turned the corner and found a cabin. Opening the door, they saw 3 people, all of which held a sword to their face, yelping loudly, they slammed the door. Before they could regather their thoughts, a black bodied person with a green see through torso and skeleton ribs grabbed them bny their hair and dragged them back inside. Maria screamed and kicked, but to no avail. They were knocked unconscious and tied to a chair.
When they woke again they saw a fully red, childlike kid with horns and a tail staring at them. They took the text "Team c00lkidd. Join today!!" on their shirt to conclude that his name was c00lkidd.
The kid yelled something Maria couldn't fully hear and then they heard loud footsteps of the same person who had dragged them back inside. The person ripped their zipper on their mouth open, the red glow of their eyes blinding.
"Who are you. Name, origin. Where did you come from." Maria flinched at the bright red and tone. It was scratchy. And demanding.
"I-uh-ah.... uhmm.." They looked to the side, noticing their goggles and backpack were gone, they began to shake. "MY GOGGLES! WHERE ARE THEY! WHERE DI YOU PUT THEM. YOU MOTHER FUCKERS!" The green torso'd one kicked their chair, "oi, answer my goddamn question."
"My names Maria-and I just fell here. I just followed the red lights- now where are my items!" They wailed, desperate to get the last things their mother had given them before they fell down here.
Oh how they missed their life..
They were knocked unconscious again and began hallucinating. Before they were brought here they had a good life. Their mom funded for their transitioning, their HRT, top surgery and was able to get bottom surgery as well. They had hated being born female. But their childhood was nothing bad. Sure their family was poor, but they always managed to stay happy. Until one day, their dad was fired from his job and, since they had no stable income, they had to live on the streets and sell their belongings just to get by. Maybe they'll remember more later... but right now they were waking back up.
When they woke back up they were in a separate room and given four choices. Either they can join "1x1x1x1's team" and be killed, and turned into a minion during matches, join "c00lkidds team" and be turned into a pizza delivery person which would burn a survivor that gets too close, or join "Mafioso's team" and be turned into a "goon" and do basically the same as c00lkids, just with your own weapons. Maria will admit, they laughed at the word goon. But then they looked at the last option, or be a scavenger. During the nights they'd go out and scavenge for materials in order to stay alive. Since they weren't proven stabile enough to be a killer.
Maria weighed their options heavily, then noticed Mafioso's would give them the most amount of freedom-so they went with that. They grabbed the uniform and put it out. But they were too afraid to go downstairs, so, they went back to bed.
Waking up at 4 in the morning, Maria had to use the bathroom, I mean, how long HAD it been, so they went downstairs and did their business after finding their way to the bathroom. Before heading upstairs they were stopped by someone drinking coffee.
"Yo. You." Maria turned their head quickly, startled. "Uh-Me-yea?"
"I see you picked your option. Welcome to the goon team." He visibly paused. Maria let out a giggle, and then turned to go all the way upstairs, they went to their bed, took off their clothes and fell asleep. Not knowing the feeling in their stomach that was forming for the man who had just spoken to them.
Chapter 2: 'I know you do your wash on Sundays and you separate your whites'
Chapter Text
Maria woke up in a sweat at 8 in the morning, shooting up in their bed. Hitting their head on the ceiling.
"ow-ugh-fuck-" They got fully up and rubbed their head, "That's gonna be sore, isn't it..?" Turning their head they grumbled and muttered something 'this isn't a dream then.' and got dressed. Only to see that there was only two outfits. The suit they picked out, and the clothes they fell here with. And, since those are the cleanest or best clothing they snagged the suit and put it on piece by piece. Maria adjusted their hat, goggles, and slowly went downstairs. Peering around the corner they saw that everyone was stil there, with the addition of a new one. A beast looking guy with a giant spike which was rested on the green torso'd individual.
Maria silently walked to the bathroom to relieve themself and got jumpscared when they saw someone already in there.
"Fuck-ugh! DO you mind?" They exclaimed as they quickly zipped up their pants.
"I-uh-Sorry.." Maria quickly turned their head away and patted the wall for the exit. Deciding to go outside. With the cold biting into their skin, they found a secluded area and did their business. They sat out their for a while out of embarrassment.
A low voice that was gruff checked the grandfather clock. "Someone go get them. It's been like 15 minutes." Someone in a ushanka stared at him, his voice almost matching the previous man if it wasn't for his heavy Russian accent. "Sir, we do not know that person. They came here just yesterday." Before he could continue the man spoke again. "Soldier. I know what I'm doing. Trust me, they'll be valuable." Soldier replied, firmly, "well I'm not getting them." The, assumgly leader tilted his head after extinguishing his cigar. "Contractee. You seem to have talked to them yesterday, right? Always awake when we're asleep. Go get em."
With no choice the man with the headphones and a Brenton hat got up and walked over to the door of which Maria had exited. He grabbed the coat on the rack and slugged it over his shoulder. Opening the door, he followed the footsteps left in the snow.
"ggrahahh, fuck!" Contractee took his headphones off and rested them on his shoulders to get a better direction. Someone was shivering, he could hear it. Ever since he had gotten here his ears were more sensitive, which is where his headphones came in.
When he finally found the person, they were knocked unconscious with a pool of blood surrounding them. Contractee panicked and scooped the body up, quickly sprinting towards the door and fell to the floor after forgetting to step up.
"waaaaaaaa!!" His face hit the concrete, but the person he picked up was fine as he had held their head. Still they woke up. "uhhgggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh......." They opened their eyes, but he had already got off as to not seem weird. Maria pushed themself up, and two other men got around them, one with just shades and a giant top hat covered them in a giant blanklet.
The gruff and deep voice basically penetrated the silence. "If ya do that again, Maria. I will not have one of my boys fetch you and you will freeze to death. Do I make myself clear? You may be apart of this, but we do not take kindly to weak people." Maria drifted their dull and hazed gaze over to the man. "...I-understandd..." They hugged themself as they moved towards their room and sat on their bed, taking off their accessories and throwing them on their dresser.
Dear; my lovely child.
Hello, Harlinka, I am afraid you are gone forever, where are you I am scared for you. And I miss waking up to your bright voice and hopeful eyes even when we have nothing. You are still my everything and I'm sorry if I had done anything to make you hate me. Please... Come back...
Love, your matka.
Tears fell onto the ripped paper, before the woman tossed it into the wind, in hopes of her child finding it and coming back home. It had been only a day, but yet she had missed them so much. Sure she had Maria's brother and her own mother, but with food and water being so scarce since their golden hunter left mysteriously, they have no way to get anything.
While Maria looked at the backpack propped against the wall they couldn't hold back the tears starting to fall and pushed their legs to their chest. "I miss my mom..." They quietly sobbed while the mess of the leader and his members starting talking as if they were just a mistake of an addition which only made them cry harder. And, with the lack of their anti-depressants, made it all the worse for them. "Will I ever be capable of being my old self ever again?"
Chapter 3: 'I've got a million polaroids with all the dates penned in red ink'
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Maria woke up from their nap, tears dried on their cheek and the leader staring directly at them.
"A-ah.. Sorry-I-uh.." They quickly wiped the dried tears and pushed themself up. Before they could speak again Mafioso said something first.
"Go out and scavenge."
Just that? They thought, just scavenge? Wasn't last time they were out they almost died from the cold? Why were they going out again. But Maria couldn't fight back as they were thrown the bosses giant coat, the bunny lapel hitting them in the jaw.
"ow-ah.." They grabbed it and hauled it on their shoulders. It was heavy, but somehow bearable. Before they were about to leave the same guy, Contractee, threw them a black scythe. "Here, incase you find an animal or a threat." As they closed the door they instantly regretted it, but decided agaisnt going back. They wanted to prove to the group that they were more then someone who was just a convivence to past the time, or to lighten up the mood. The cold bit into their skin, even with the giant coat 1x1x1x1 had brought for them off of a body. As Maria's combat boots left inprints in the crunchy snow, the sun was fully setting.
They stopped for a second and laid against a tree as they had been walking for a few minutes now to watch the sun fully go down before a unfamilliar shadow approached. They shook, and stood up, drawing their scythe from their back holster.
"Who's there!?" They shouted, and they saw the person clearly. It was the freakish survivor. They didn't know their name, but they held a dagger to Maria's throat, while the same was with their scythe.
"I could as you the same question. You're not familiar, oh-god. Bless the spawn I make it out of the alive.... I wouldn't want to waste my second life for something like this..."
"D-did you just say spawn??"
"Yeah.. What do you know about it--forget it! Who are you! Don't you know this region is where the survivors get their daily materials to live here!" their face strangled into a more serious look as the dagger began to draw closer. Maria let down their scythe to avoid blood being drawn from their throat. It sank into the ground and they felt some sort of sadness as Contractee had handed it to them.
The other person holstered their dagger and stood back up. "Tell me, who are you and what are you doing here?"
"I-uh, came out here to find C00lkidd-some-" Maria was instantly cut-off by someone rushing up to the survivor. A boy who smelt faintly of pizza and home. "Two time! I thought I told you to not act reckless-god- why does no one listen to me in this place!" Maria couldn't help but giggle at the name, "Two Time? Is that seriously your name?" The other guy turned to them, but before they could ask, Maria had slipped away back into the cabin, their scythe back in their back bag and some supplies. A medkit, some beans, supplies to make that pizza contractee wanted, enough water for a month, and a few books to keep them entertained. Maria enjoyed this time outside, though. More familiar. They began jumping ontop of randomly placed objects, vaulting and grabbing ledges. They started to think of home again, how they were a parkour legend from their days of poverty, but eventually had to trail back.
Plopping all of it down in their respective areas, popping open a water bottle, and taking a sip. They slouched onto the couch, sighing. Thanking themself for their quick thinking and surviving their encounter
“So-sir—ahahaha… about that, uhm… pizza?” They looked unnervingly at Mafioso, “I-uh-got the supplies for them,”
Coolkidd had a slight frown at the mention of pizza, “Agaaiinn?? We JUST had it!” he grumbled while Maria put their hand over his mouth. “it’s fine. I’ll find something else-uhm-tomorrow. Besides we need to eat something before the uh… next… round…?” Maria gulped at the thought of murdering someone, their scythe was clean and polished, but they’ve never killed someone before. Maybe this time it would be different.
“Why do we even kill them anyways… what did they do to deserve it?” The guy with just the shades shrugged, "Boss says we kill em', we kill em'. That's all. They might owe debt, they might not. Who knows." The one with the top hat loudly exclaimed, "CAPOREGIMMEE WHO CAREEEESSSSSS. Boss says we DO. Regardless, besides, I know you enjoy hitting em with that police baton." Caporegime, as it sounds just shrugs and pushes him playfully before grabbing a bottle of water himself and going up the stairs. "And I know you love stabbing people directly in the gut with your sword, Consigliere." Maria took off the giant coat and shoved it back over to Mafioso, before he declined.
"You keep it, kid. I've been 'ere longer than you. 'Used to it." He flicked a flame to life and lit his cigar before stepping outside.
At the dead of night Maria woke up, and walked over to the plank maniac's room and looked through his room. He interested them the most, with their heart tugging an unfamiliar sensation at them, and their gut almost fluttering. They kept on looking til they finally looked at him sleeping. He looked so peaceful. Maria felt their face warm up. Not only from embarrassment, but also from just him. They wanted to know what they were feeling, but instead they took a necklace from his side-desk on the left side of his bed and held it before leaving with it.
"I want to know these feelings, and what they mean, but I am afraid." They said as they left the room and went outside. While walking they collided with someone who appeared to be just spoke. They, obviously, tripped over the robe and fell, falling into the smoke of black. Maria started coughing from the gas.
"gaa- What is it this time..." They turned back around to see the robe reshaping with the cloud of smoke curling back into whatever form it may have been. A singular eye poking out.
The smoke had formed hands and solidified, helping Maria up. They grabbed it. The body started signing, then took one quick look at Maria's outfit and then threw a bomb directly at them.
"AAAAA" OWWW-" Before Maria could ask them why they had done that, they were running off. Maria shrugged the specs of purple off their shoulder. 'Glitter, great' and headed back to the Cabin, sitting down and grabbing a slice of the pizza someone had cooked while they were asleep, before peeling off the pepperonis and eating it.
"When are you guys gonna tell me the other people in the woods, huh? I just got BOMBED by the cloud of-of SMOKE! SERIOUSLY??" They silently screamed, trying to seem bossy. before the their mouth got burned biting into the pizza of which they started fanning their mouth.
"UGHHHHHHHHH!!!" Maria accidently said too loud, and, someone who sounded like they had a voice changer on screamed, "SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!"
Maria finally went back into their room after eating the slice and fell asleep, the necklace in hand. Were they developing something boderline illegal..?
Dear Maria;
Please come back soon, I miss you so much. The family is starving, but we've gotten by. But more then the food I miss your smile which warmed this whole plain, cold, alleyway. Please, come back around soon. I swear I will give you everything you've ever wished for. Even if you got caught or in trouble. Please.
Love, your matka.
Notes:
If some of the segments in this chapter sound familiar NO THEY DON'T