Chapter 1: A Gambler Gets Hungry
Chapter Text
What is the definition of peace?
Is it being content, or simply living? It's different for everyone, so can you really ask for a true definition? Does that make the feeling something subjective, because nobody could tell you what it is? 007n7 didn’t know, and he wasn’t sure if he ever would. He rolled over in the bed, closing his eyes tighter. The air felt tight, his breathing flimsy. Pondering this was much easier than thinking about literally anything else, seeing how his… life(? Death?) was going.
Not that he didn’t think it was deserved. God, he was a stupid person back then. What was the word for this? His brain couldn’t form a response. Still, he couldn’t even keep the only person he wanted safe, well… safe. All his life choices led to here. Where he did good, it could've been- no, should've been better. … Atonement. That was the word.
He raised himself off the mattress with a push, steading himself. Even as tempting it was to lay still and sink into nothingness, he probably shouldn’t. He was already useless enough in matches with no offensive abilities, so the least he could do was anything outside of them. Pushing open the main cabin door and ignoring the lack of eyes, he steps towards the kitchen.
He figured he could cook something. 007n7 couldn’t guarantee anybody would eat them (maybe Guest) but he could try. While most meals he made were sub-par, most were too tired after matches to make anything at all. A win-win in terms of people getting food and the repentant being very slightly less so. This purgatory truly was insanity.
He moves towards the cabinets, opening them rather slowly. Anything here can be parlous… The slow cutting of the various possibly inedible vegetables harvested was a rhythmic, almost nice thing. Chop chop chop. He wondered how C00lkidd was doing. He wished he was there for him. Chop chop. 007n7 moved to the stovetop, sliding the diced food onto a pan.
Now he's thinking about the rounds. He tries not to, but is that really possible anymore? It wasn't. Or it felt like it wasn't. Was it possible to get something to C00lkidd? He stops for a second. It felt pretty plausible if he thought it over. The sentinels don’t just appear with their weapons do they?
Guest doesn't count. That's amazing because Guest is pretty much the only one who chooses or is even willing to talk to him. But with the Spectre’s weapon of choice for him being his fists that's not even something he can ask. 007n7 can barely even hear the sizzling of the pan, but the pop of oil confirms it's there. Chance maybe? Would that ruin what little he's built with them that wasn’t hate like the rest?
007n7 sidesteps to the counter and slumps his head down, groaning. But… if there was a chance (hah- pun not intended) he could get something to C00lkidd then it was worth it, wasn’t it? He lifts his head marginally, keeping a light eye on the pan. What would he even make? He wasn't skilled in much other than hacking, and he couldn't quite buy gifts here…
“Whhaaatcha making?”
007n7 jumps back at the sudden words, and if that speak of the devil saying wasn't true then what was Chance doing here? He pushes himself up, grabbing his composure like it was something physical and heavy. His eyes slide over to the pan, the food almost done. That's one way to attract Chance, duly noted.
“I'm uh, just making food. Would you… like some?” He squints his eyes, smiling wearily. There was definitely a better way to put that, but 007n7 was too focused on whether he should ask Chance about bringing things into the match to find the right words.
Chance, somehow very expressively (007n7 is still rather confused about that, he's been here for a while and never figured out how Chance manages to be so revealing) seems hungry.
“Well don't mind if I do, y'know?” They smile, leaning further towards 007n7. “I'm not Shed, but I would never turn down an offer of food!” And he guesses settles that. 007n7 looks at his hands, and then at Chance. Now or never, right? Chance moves, grabbing a plate from a random cabinet when 007n7 speaks up.
“Hey, do you… have to bring your gun with you?” Chance pauses, turning towards him. He tilts his head, confused.
“Uh… if you mean like if I didn't grab it before a match? Yeah, it doesn't just come with me.” They are now plating their food. A rather generous amount too, but to be fair nobody else is here anyways. Must be a match the two of them didn't get put into. “Though I don't think I could like… bring a different gun with me or something. Actually I haven't tried. Should I?”
Chance flaunts their gun, flourishing his hand like it's magical. Anything could be magical here though. They grin cheekily, turning back towards the counter. “Why'd you wanna know Sev? Maybe lady luck could bless you too, if you wanted to try carrying around one. A gun, that is.” Chance picks up a fork and 007n7 starts cleaning the things he used, putting things away with a metrical tone. Chance takes a bite, humming in satisfaction.
“I'm just thinking about things. I don't have to bring anything in, so for hypotheticals it's… nice to know.” 007n7 explains as he slots another ingredient in the cabinet. Chance takes another bite and nods approvingly. With that, they turn on their heels and walk towards the door, plate in hand.
Right before they reach it, they stop and swerve around. His expression is curious, yet amused. Or at least that's what 007n7 assumes, he can never be too sure with Chance.
“You're interesting, know that Sev?” They grin, the action stretching across their face. “Stay lucky, ‘kay?” He pushes open the door, and with that, they are gone.
007n7 just… freezes? I mean what in Robloxia does that mean? Stay lucky? Maybe he's overthinking this. The silence feels extra suffocating without Chance, but at least 007n7 got the info he needed.
Nothing to do other than to try right? What's the Spectre going to do, kill him? If it was for real then he'd just thank it. 007n7 packages some of the extra food. That's all he can think of to give C00lkidd right now, because as far as he knows a match could start right after the others get back. He would have to keep it on himself for a while to see, so maybe it was a bad idea but it was one nonetheless. He places the other extras of the food in the fridge, knowing someone will find their way to it. Maybe it's better if they don't know 007n7 made it.
He walks towards the exit, stopping in front of the table the survivors left will spawn at. Nothing happens. He twists his feet and forces himself to keep moving forward. He certainly hopes the Spectre is bored.
Chapter 2: The conquest of 007n7 to get food to his son
Notes:
Uh so I had lore for ITrapped and 007n7 meeting but they changed Noli's lore so I cant use that anymore..
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Soon after, the others get back. This time, by some luck (or maybe the Spectre wanting to see where 007's gift leads) the match starts only an hour after the last one. While not totally uncommon, 007n7 kinda expected naught and another dent in his already low expectations for himself. For the Spectre to practically laugh in his face and tell him how stupid he was. Horror Hotel.
He shifts, the food container still in hand. About 5 minutes after leaving the main cabin he realized he had absolutely no pouches or belts or whatever. He wanted to facepalm at his own stupidity, but he had to hold the food because The Heights knows if he put it down the Spectre would start a match. Now that he's in a match though, he has to multitask. He’s never been exceptionally bad at it, but for a single father… not to mention his past as an exploiter, you would think he would be better at the skill.
He frowns, his hands twitching. He turns, looking for a generator. Anything to occupy himself, to give him time to think about how he should go about this. He forgot to pay attention to who the killer was, and he didn’t exactly have any abilities to tell who the killer was. Not to mention he wasn't even sure how he would get any of the killers to actually take the food before slaughtering him.. Taph was in the match though, so maybe the killer would run into a tripwire?
Finishing his generator he gets up, and looks around. There doesn’t seem to be any of the bright saturation indicating 1x, or any of John Doe's traps. He turns the corner, no sign of any terror radius. 007n7 checks the survivor overview, Noob dead, and Two Time and Chance both somewhat hurt. To be fair for Chance it could be their gun exploding on them. 007n7 looks around,and comes to the realization he doesn’t have a medkit. Hopefully they would both survive.
007n7 stops, a cold breath caught in his throat. There could be a medkit around here he could give to Chance or Two Time. He walks forwards, each step feeling heavier than the last. He keeps his head high though, vigilance weighing on him. Another step, and the spark of an unfinished generator. Seems like somebody worked on it a bit, if the bar means anything at all. 007n7 twists his head, eyeing his surroundings. Perking up at seeing no sign of life or death. Odd, but there could be a reason.
He rubs his arms. Elliot is in the match. He doesn’t want to take a generator from Elliot if he went to heal somebody, but if it’s here then he might as well contribute; right? He hunches down, connecting each tangled wire. The silence is almost deafening, but it's an easy choice to stay in it rather than wander. The silence isn’t soothing, per se, but reassuring. 007n7 tilts his head, a little confused at the layout of these wires. He's usually not all that confused at these puzzles, but this one's a little tricky. He fiddles with the placement.
This one to this… The sound of a chilling track plays. Oh shit. Wait wait, no this is good. He doesn’t have a plan but he can’t stop time or anything, so improv will have to do. He turns, the footsteps revealing ITrapped, gripping the Darkheart. ITrapped isn’t a killer 7n7 sees often but maybe he could get ITrapped to help… He thinks of the few interactions he had with ITrapped.
He technically knew of ITrapped before this realm, but the interactions they had were brief. Of course he was aware of ITrappeds lying nature, which led to the minimal interactions. 007n7 takes a step back, ITrapped approaching. May madness was before his hacking time but they met randomly before ITrapped got sent to the banlands. And before ITrapped apparently escaped. They oddly hit it off, but that was also when 007n7 was a dumb highschooler. So what was he supposed to even say? That was what- 15 years ago he met ITrapped? 007n7 grips the food container tighter.
He had to say something before ITrapped got in close range right? One last step back, and now he was against the wall. Hah… so not ideal. “WAIT… I uh, need you to help me with something!” 007n7 shut his mouth almost as fast as it opened, the words flying out. ITrapped stops, his grip tighter on the Darkheart, and 007n7 takes it as an opportunity to keep talking.
“I was just wondering if you…” 7 shoves the food container in front of him, his arms steady, masking his emotions. ITrapped could probably grab it from this length, at least if his hit range has anything to say for his reach. ITrapped steps forward, and 007n7 leans back. It doesn’t work very well though, because he’s basically already up against the wall. “Give this to C00lkidd please. From me.” 007n7 has no idea where this ‘confidence’ is coming from, and it seems neither does ITrapped.
“And… Why would I do this? What purpose could this possibly serve me?” ITrapped turns the Darkheart, the blade almost a void looking thing. 007n7s eyes dart around, but he’s got nothing.
“...” It's almost comical, this position they are in. ITrapped leaning over him, looking about ready to practically guillotine him. All while 007n7 holds out his crappy food made for his son. Why did 007n7 think this would work? He would say there is no way he's pulling out his exploitation days, but the thought of C00lkidd not getting this makes him start to consider it.
“You can kill me after, get me down to death's door, anything. I know I'm a survivor but- please? Just this once.” 007n7 turns slightly, so one of his shoulders leans more towards ITrapped. A show of the past, maybe. “Just… just a favor. I keep mine.” Okay yeah sure, that was a bit of a jab on 007's part, but he couldn’t quite resist. The fact ITrapped was even letting him talk gave him a boost of confidence. He’d assumed he wouldn’t even get this far when ITrapped just came up like that.
ITrapped angles his head to the side, his crown tipping slightly to one side. The indifference on his face slowly turns into a smile. He takes a second to readjust his gloves, then leans in further. He stares at 007n7 for an unnerving amount of time, which really isn’t that long. Well, like Chance 007n7 can only assume ITrapped is looking straight at him. ITrapped's face being covered by a black square; except for his mouth and all that.
After a while longer ITrapped takes the food container out of 007n7's hands, the act somehow graceful yet harsh. “Anything, you say?” He points the Darkheart at 007n7s neck, swift and precise. The blade nicks his neck, but nothing serious yet. ITrapped and 007n7 hold that stance for what feels like forever, before ITrapped seems to have decided what he wanted.
He drops the sword from its place at his neck, then holds up one of his gloved hands. Holding up two fingers. “Two seconds. That's how much time you have to run away.” 007n7 is stunned at this sentence. This seems to be a recurring thing, doesn't it? This would be great and all if ITrapped wasn't basically blocking all of his exits. He was still pressed against the wall, and ITrapped had given him some room when did the whole neck-blade thing, but he was still a little stuck.
The first finger goes down, accompanied by a “One.” from ITrapped. 007n7 just accepts it at this point. A faint ruffling sound is heard somewhere and 007n7 turns to the noise, then shakes his head. He already knew the reality when giving out this offer, yeah? With all these matches, you think giving up like this would be more commonplace. Even still, the counting made him a little offset. Not exactly anxious, just uncomfortable.
ITrapped never reaches zero though, because ITrapped is promptly stunned by a dagger to his back. A hand with fingerless gloves grabs 007n7s own firmly, and sprints. Each step from the former is ghost-like in presence, a kind of quiet that is near impossible at times. The silence of a cultist, but that’s to be expected with Two Time. Two Time flings 007n7 into a random nook, blocked from someone not looking, and huddles there themself. This isn’t 007n7's first rodeo, but it's not common for 007n7 to be saved like that with such perfect timing.
Sentinels get there when they can of course, and he isn’t that useful anyways, so he understands he’s probably the lowest priority. Two Times eyes slide over to 007n7s, their wings twitching. They must be on their second life. He takes a second to look at their wings, and they are well… He doesn’t usually see them this close. They don’t seem calm, but they don’t look panicked. But being honest, does Two Time ever with that smile always on their face? They sheath their dagger and lean against the wall as ITrapped’s cold harmony passes by, a sighing success. 007n7 is silent for another second looking at the still long timer, then looks to the side. Two Time is currently staring at him. This will be a bit, huh?
Notes:
So I semi use info from the actual hackers and actual dates to create a timeline. Obviously forsaken has changed some events in canon but when I mention dates I'm mostly math-ing them out
For example I talk about ITrapped and 007n7 meeting 15 years ago and for it I'm using dates/instead of the years compared to when this was made just the time in between. 2012 was may madness and when ITrapped got banned, and I use 2014-2016 which is two years to say how long 007n7 was hacking for. So one: 007n7 wasn’t hacking (or at least majorly) in 2011-2012.
Did I mention this book isn’t canon compliant? I feel like some characters (cough ITrapped now that they’ve changed Noli’s lore) have more potential than just being Chance's fake friend. Also another thing… I’M NOT AT ALL TALKING ABOUT THE REAL PEOPLE. These are still the characters, im just using irl dates since we don’t have a complete timeline yet.
Onnnne more note, Yes the sword nicking 007n7 did make him take damage. That's why Two Time arrived when they did, it was honestly just luck that the first place they looked was where ITrapped and 007n7 were.
Chapter 3: The cultists frozen heart
Notes:
Haha hey guys what if I told you I hc Two Time is iron deficient. Why? i'm unsure..
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
007n7 shifted his weight, a shivering exhale coming from him. These ITrapped matches were always cold, but the cultist beside them made it slightly less so. They were both still huddled in this corner, praying (literally for Two Time) that iTrapped wouldn't find them. 007n7 wasn't worried about himself, but rather the twitchy shadow beside him. They were at 100% hp, but that doesn't mean all that much when their max number wise was forty. It also didn't help that they weren't all that covered, their gloves thin and sheer.
Said person was staring at him still. They had to have heard at least a bit of his and iTrappeds conversation, but how much he didn't know. They fall quiet, and it's then that 007n7 realizes just how much they mutter. To be fair he's not usually around the sentinel, even with how much they go around preaching the spawn. Their wings droop, falling in an almost trance.
They open their mouth a little, but nothing comes out. There isn't much he can do, cramped in this space other than look at them. Or the wall, which might actually be better. Their smile doesn't drop, moreso rounding into an owlish look, before their mouth closes. God 7 feels awkward. He wants to leave, but where would he go? iTrapped had less of a chance of finding them this way, and Two Time was already on their second life.
Why'd they come out to help him anyways? Why when they were so vulnerable. 007n7 puts his hand on the ground to steady himself. Maybe there is a reason he can't do these things right, can't help. He's just him, after all.Two time squints, and it's their tail this time that fidgets. They finally seem to find their words, because this time when they open their mouth out comes sound.
“By Spawn you are appealing…” The words are a breath, almost like they didn't think about them and how they would form. Two Time almost instantly retracts after saying that though, and they snap back into their mania. 007n7 doesn't know what to say, or how to feel. He's never exactly been called appealing, and there could be multiple meanings for this situation. He would say they meant getting into danger easily, but the way they said it makes him doubt.
Instead of questioning them though, he opts to ask about the others. That's safer. That's something he knows. “Are you okay? Are the others? You’re on your second life…” he pauses, briefly. “I know there are bad matches but you seem shaken. What happened?” Two Time looks bewildered at his observance, as if they aren't cramped in a tiny space together. All the generators were done too at this point. I mean there are multiple supports in this round though. Shedletsky and Guest must have been left out, which kinda sucked for the team but 7 really couldn't be talking.
Two Time looked down solemnly before shifting backwards, wings pressing against a rock. Those wings look like they'd hurt the cultist, now that he thinks about it. “I'm not a big fan of the cold, see. Nothing you should be apprehensive of, ex-exploiter." 7 leans on one of his hands, mood tightening at the mention of his exploitation. He can't complain though, because if they were uncomfortable in the cold like they said they still went out and saved him.
007n7 stays quiet, the answer pressing into his thoughts. The environment change that comes when iTrapped as the killer is colder, he isn't quite sure how he didn't pick up on who the killer was faster. Two time picks at the bandages on their arms, peeling them off then re wrapping each one meticulously as if it would heal them. The quiet was choking, but 007n7 wasn't sure what there was to say. They must feel the same, so they start humming. An old, rhythmic thing. 007n7 has never heard it, so he assumes it comes from their cult.
007n7 decides to peek out from the rock standing, but no sounds or anything. He had no idea if Taph just hadn't placed anything or they were just too far to see the outlines. He twists his head, and realizes they are in one of the very corners of the map. Horror Hotel had quite a few of these nooks and crannies though, so he couldn’t say he was surprised. He feels a tug on his back, Two Times hold strong. He falls back a little, stumbling almost on his back if not caught by Two Time. He shoots them a bewildered look, but the look on theirs doesn’t reveal much. Their hands were freezing cold.
“Just stay here. The round won’t be much longer, and it's safer to hide with no other objectives to do.” They let go of him, explaining. He plops himself next to them again, questioning. Two Time leans back, their wings folding slightly against him. They slide their eyes to his, speaking once more. “The Spawn shall keep us in mind, I'm sure.” 007n7 looks right back. His intent wasn’t to leave, but he avoided eye contact anyway.
“You’re right. Sorry.” He taps his finger on his thigh debating how accurate he really was with that statement. He couldn’t tell if what he said was a lie, or a twisted truth, but the apology was genuine. Two Time shifts once again, as their tail starts dragging back and forth. They both sit in silence again, with nothing else to do. Two time traces the hilt of their dagger, and 007n7 fiddles with his c00lgui. He hasn’t been able to improve it, everything that should work just didn't. Trust him, he’s tried.
Two Time checks the remaining survivors, and 007n7 can tell it's probably not going well with how Two Time subtly tenses. They don’t move to get up, but chances are one of them will probably be detected soon. 007n7 glace at Two Times wings again, and stands. Two Time definitely didn’t expect so, because they seem to flounder a bit at his sudden stance. 007n7 turns on his heel, speaking “I’ll go distract ITrapped, I'll be fine” and walks away. This way Two Time will have better odds at surviving, so it would be worth it.
They don’t trail him, or if they do it's silent. He picks up a Bloxy Cola looking for ITrapped, the drink still cold. Maybe it's just the way they are, or maybe it's because ITrapped is the killer, 007n7 wouldn’t know. He only really picked up medkits to give to others. Finding a killer is much harder to do when you are actively looking for them for some reason. In the end, ITrapped is either hiding or killing Two Time, and Two Times health doesn’t go down at all. Or he could be looking for one of them and they just be going in circles around each other, but that seems unlikely because of (most) killers being able to detect survivors.
The round ends uneventfully, but boredom is better than brutal murder (depending on the situation and person, 007n7 supposes). When they got back 007n7 tried to slip away, but Two Time and him respawned at the table, like the last survivors always did. He couldn’t help but notice Two Time looking a little out of it, almost drowsy. 007n7 leans backwards, pushing out of his seat. He checks the fridge, Two Time still sitting at the table.
“If no matches started then there was no reason anyone couldn’t sit there” was something Builderman said a while back. I mean time was truly just a concept here, except for in matches. He walks towards the kitchen and opens the fridge, a portion of food he made earlier still left inside. While he was glad he could do something to help, he was also glad there was some left. He plates the food, and sits it in front of Two Time, slumped body; head down on the table. He could hear their murmurs, but they were faint.
At the sound of the plate they look up, their mouth rounding into a circle. They haul themselves upright as 007n7 peeks away, trying to avoid unnecessary eye contact that came with the cultist. They stir, sitting themselves straighter this time. He hears a tiny “Spawn bless.” as the fork scrapes up the food and chewing is heard. Well, that's a job done well enough. 007n7 feels awkward just being here while they eat (although this wasn’t the same with Chance, oddly enough), so he leaves. There wasn’t really much more to it.
He takes breath of fresh air on the main cabin porch, then hears the opening of the door.
Notes:
I fear I left this on a cliffhanger slightly but its fine you'll just have to wait and see who comes to talk to 007n7 next time.