Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s all your fault.

Two Time gasped for air as their lower body crumpled against the ground. Their lungs (why were they still breathing?) burned, and something in their chest cracked back into place.

They were… alive.

Why were they alive?

It must have been the Spawn, they thought, as they lifted their head and blearily stared at the people frozen in shock before them.

“He…llo…?”

One of them jolted, and ran closer. At this proximity Two Time could now see what looked like one of those… what was it again? Delivery drivers? Two Time made a noise of shock as the delivery driver stuffed something into their mouth.

“….’m…..llio….t thi…. al yo….”

They still weren’t sure what the strange person was feeding them, but it tasted really good! Two Time happily ate it without resisting, thanking the Spawn for their good fortune.

Slowly, the world came back into focus. They were laying on their side, surrounded by several people. Directly over them was the delivery driver, while further back stood some sort of winged person, a serious blue haired individual, and a fancily dressed person wearing a hat.

“Greetings!” They cheerfully said as soon as they thought their voice could handle it.

The delivery driver stepped back, a worried expression on their face.

“Are you alright?”

Two Time smiled. (They were always smiling.) “Of course I am! May I inquire as to who you may be?”

There was a muffled laugh in the background, and then the sound of a slap.

The delivery driver seemed put off by their smile, but returned it anyway.

“Oh, yeah sure. I’m Elliot. Over there,” Elliot turns to point at the laughing bird person, stern blue haired individual, and fancy person, who was clutching their face. “Are Shedletsky, Guest 1337, and Chance.”

Two Time nodded, beginning to stand up.

“I am Two Time! Are you knowledgeable as to where we are?”

Elliot facepalmed.

“My bad. We’re not sure where we are exactly, just that we all have cabins, food, water, and have to do rounds.”

“Rounds?” Two Time questioned.

Elliot sighed.

“I’ll explain more as you meet people. SHED. CHANCE. GET OVER HERE!”

The two flinched at being yelled at, and they (+ Guest) walked over to Elliot and Two Time.

“Ugh, why isn’t Guest being yelled at?” Shedletsky whined.

“Because I actually trust him, unlike you.” Elliot replied. “Now come say hi to our new member.”

Shedletsky looked past Elliot to Two Time.

“Oof, you got stuck here too?”

Shedletsky was then smacked by Elliot.

“Ow ow! Hey! I’m just saying, it sucks for them! But don’t worry,” Shedletsky reassured, turning back to Two Time. “I and the others will help you.”

“My deepest gratitude.” Two Time replied, wondering what the danger was.

Elliot, who was getting annoyed by the lack of introductions, sighed.

“Okay, you three, this is Two Time. Guest, can you please go get Builderman while I explain everything to them?”

Guest nodded. “‘Course.” He then walked off.

Elliot took a deep breath. “Okay, Two Time, let me explain some things to you.”

“Geez Elliot, let ‘em breathe for a moment.” Chance interjected.

“Shut up Chance.”

“My bad.”

“ANYWAYS,” Elliot continued. “Usually we’re stuck here with the cabins. However, every day, a round will start. During a round we all get teleported(?) somewhere else, although we can’t leave there either and there are still no other people. What there are, are killers. Usually one of them, who will try their best to murder all of us. Sometimes they succeed, but anyone who dies reappears here unharmed. Also, if at least one of us survives for around three to five hours, then the round ends and they get sent back. You got all that?”

Two Time nods, contemplating. Obviously the infinite life is the work of the almighty Spawn, but Two Time doubts that They would orchestrate such a situation as this. Hmm. Perhaps They were showing mercy on this group, on account of the pain they were going through. That was more likely.

But why were they here? To spread the word of Spawn to those blessed by It’s grace? Or for something else?

“Hey, lemme introduce you to the others.” Chance said, having walked back up to them without Elliot realizing.

Two Time nodded. “Lead the way.”

Chance grinned as he took the cultist’s hand, dragging them away to the main cabin where Builderman had gathered everyone else after Guest explained the situation.

“Alright, Two Time, was it?”

“Indeed.” They responded.

“Well,” Chance said. “One thing Elliot didn’t mention is that everyone here’s got some kinda ability to help ‘em during rounds. Now me personally, I can flip a coin, and if it lands on heads I get more bullets for my gun.

“How useful!” Two Time exclaimed. “You must be extremely helpful against the killers!”

Chance chuckled.

“Yeah, well… If it lands on tails I get weaker, and my gun doesn’t always work…”

Two Time looked surprised.

“Oh! Well I pray for luck in your endeavors.”

By now they had made their way to the main cabin where everyone was gathered. Chance paused before opening the door.

“Alright, now don’t judge ‘em too hard, they’re… their own brand of civilized, an’ if they give you trouble, you can let me know.”

Two Time nodded. What an interesting introduction! Elliot had seemed normal enough, if a bit short-fused. They wondered what the others would be like…

Chance gave them once last look, then pushed the door open.

Two Time curiously stepped inside, their tail swishing behind them. The interior of the cabin was warm, with one large table on the left side. Also on the left side was what looked like a small kitchen. On the right side was a TV, and a large couch, which currently held who they presumed were the others.

Chance frowned.

“Hey, where’s Dusekkar?”

“Uh- he said something about feeling a dissonant energy? He didn’t want to come, I think.”

The burger-adorned man spoke up, however he seemed to cower into himself when everyone looked over at him. Elliot was glaring at him- when had he gotten here? No matter. It seemed that there were pre-existing tensions in this group, how interesting! Two Time stepped forward.

“Greetings, my name is Two Time.”

.

I’m sorry.

Chapter Text

Elliot sighed as he watched the group introduce themselves to the newbie. Things were going… well enough, although he was slightly annoyed that Dusekkar had decided to skip out on introducing himself.

Elliot took a moment to really look at the newbie. They looked normal enough at first glance, but upon further examination Elliot noticed an odd symbol on the front of their shirt. They were also extremely pale, and IS THAT A TAIL?!

Elliot stood frozen at the definitely real tail that he somehow didn’t see before. He… supposed that he’s seen stranger, it just surprised him.

Elliot jumped as he was poked on the shoulder by Chance, who immediately took a step back and raised his hands.

“Sorry,” Chance apologized. “It just looked like you were spacing out.”

Elliot nodded.

“…Thanks.”

He took another look at Two Time.

“Have you… seen that symbol before?”

Chance turned to look.

“What symbol?”

“The one on Two Time’s shirt.”

“Hm.” Chance thought about it for a moment. “Y’know, it looks kinda familiar, but I’m not sure.”

Elliot turned back to Chance.

“Ah. Thanks anyway.”

Chance grinned.

“No problem.”

• - ————

Two Time was having fun meeting all these new people, they were quite interesting.

Guest and Builderman seemed the most stable out of everyone, and Two Time made an internal note to stay clear of both of them.

Elliot was both stable and the closest to snapping, although he did have some tension with the burger-adorned man, who still hadn’t introduced himself.

Chance was friendly enough, although Elliot was annoyed by both him and Shedletsky for some reason. However, Chance appeared to always be on edge. Two Time supposed that it could be a result of the gun thing they were told about, but they doubted it.

Shedletsky was also very interesting, in that he was guilty. They had no idea what it was that he was hiding, but they hoped to find out.

Two Time turned to look at the hooded figure who hadn’t even spoken yet.

“That’s Taph.” Builderman explained. “He doesn’t talk.”

Taph quietly signed what Two Time recognized as “Hello.”

Two Time smiled, and signed hello back, adding “nice to meet you.”

Taph went completely still, before starting to sign so fast that Two Time couldn’t keep up.

“You know sign?” Builderman asked.

Two Time nodded. “Of course. I know many languages, how else am I to spread the word of-“

“NO WAY, YOU KNOW SIGN?!” Shedletsky interrupted. “Two Time, you HAVE to teach me!”

Two Time turned towards him.

“Certainly, we shall have to discern an appropriate time at a later date.”

“You’re almost as bad as Matt, so I’m just gonna assume that was a yes!” Shedletsky cheers.

Builderman shoots a tired and annoyed look at Shedletsky, who either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care.

“Enough harassing the newbie, Shed.” Guest cut in. “C’mon Two Time, I’ll show you to your cabin.

“You have my appreciation, soldier.” Two Time responded, moving to follow Guest out of the room. They had to repress their grin at the minute flinch from Guest at the name.

They walked slowly, Two Time’s tail swishing behind them in quiet excitement.

As they neared the front of a cabin lacking any decorative details, Guest stopped, turning to Two Time.

“Listen,” Guest’s voice was low and firm, but not stern. “I just want you to know that everyone here has their own thing goin’ on. That means nobody’s lookin to air out your dirty laundry. However, if you got anythin’ you think could be a problem for everyone, or a problem for you, or even just somethin that’s weighing on you, you come to me, understood?”

Two Time was frozen for only a moment, before smiling and replying.

“I shall bring concerns foremost to you, soldier. Your extended hand has my gratitude.”

Guest responded with only a sharp nod, before walking off.

Two Time watched him go, tail flicking in agitation. For a second there, they almost- they almost thought of-

Such matters are unimportant now.

They turned around, opening the door to their cabin. The inside was plain, consisting of a bed and a sidetable with a lamp.

They quietly closed the door behind them. The plainness was nothing they weren’t used to, although they would have to work on setting up an altar to Spawn.

Distantly they wondered what materials were accessible here, as from what they saw during their time outside, they’re on a rather small island with no way off. There had to be food and water, obviously, but where was it coming from? Perhaps Spawn had blessed this island.

For now, there were more pressing matters. Like how they were supposed to make an altar here. They had a table, but no bowl… they could carve the symbol of Spawn into their wall using their dagger. But they needed a bowl… perhaps there was one in the kitchen.

Two Time opened their door to find that it was quite dark outside. It had gotten that late already? They must have been thinking for a long time. Perhaps it was for the best, they didn’t want people questioning why they needed the bowl.

Two Time quietly closed the door, and headed to the kitchen.

They encountered nobody on their walk there, and when they entered the main cabin, they found it was empty as well. However, the lights were still on.

Doing a quick search of the kitchen, Two Time easily found a cupboard full of dishes, however they were all plates.

Maybe that was the plate cupboard?

Checking the rest of the kitchen yielded only silverware and some cleaning supplies.

How inconvenient.

They sighed, and turned to leave the kitchen, only to be met with Taph.

“Hello!” Two Time signed. “I didn’t see you there.”

Taph returned their greeting, before asking

“What are you doing?”

“I’m hungry, I was looking for food.” Two Time responded.

“#### is the only one who cooks, and he is asleep.”

Two Time didn’t recognize the sign Taph used. It was E, then what looked like a two fingered Z, then A.

“Who is ####?” They asked, repeating the sign.

Taph looked confused for a moment before facepalming himself.

“Sorry, #### is E-L-L-I-O-T.” He signed.

Two Time nodded in understanding.

“Tomorrow can you show me everyone else’s names?”

Taph easily agreed.

Chapter Text

Two Time ended up carving a bowl themselves. It was crude, but a good show of their devotion. The wood was quickly stained maroon the following morning. Two Time yawned as they exited their cabin. A brand new day, how glorious! They were quickly met with Chance, who was walking towards their cabin.

Chance waved. “Two Time! Wassup? Elliot told me to come get you, breakfast is in five.”

Two Time blinked. “I see. Pardon my ignorance, but what does that entail?”

Chance stared at them for a moment. “Geez… this is almost as bad as Dussekar…” He mumbled. “Uh, breakfast today is pancakes.”

The duo began to walk back to the main cabin. “My sincerest apologies once more, but I am not aware of what… pan cakes… are?”

Chance sighed. “Did’ja come from the sixteenth century or what? You’ll see in a minute.”

Pan cakes ended up being flat, fluffy, sweet bread. Two Time simply ate them as they were, along with eggs, instead of partaking in the strange things everyone else was dumping on their food. The only one who seemed to share that sentiment was Builderman. Surprisingly, Guest had the most excess on top of his food, complete with strawberries that Two Time quietly began stealing from his plate.

“So, newbie, got any fun stories to share?”

That was Shedletsky, whose pan cake was covered in strange wavy strips. They thought for a moment.

“C’mon Shed, leave ‘em alone.” Builderman interrupted. “They just got here, I’m sure they’re still processing.”

Chance rolled his eyes. “Lighten up. Storytime’s a good way to get to know each other, it’s not like they have to give us their whole tragic backstory or whatever.”

Shedletsky nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, lighten up.”

Elliot sighed. “Go ahead Two Time. They won’t shut up until you say something.”

Two Time had been thinking while the others were talking. “A fun story?”

“Yeah!” Guest nodded encouragingly. “Doesn’t have to be anythin’ big, jus’ somethin’ to help us get to know ya better.”

“Hm.” They thought a moment more. “I suppose there was the time that I snuck into my Head Priest’s private quarters.”

Their audience was wide eyed, paying full attention. Chance quietly asked“Head Priest?”, but was silenced by Shedletsky.

“He had previously denoted my… friend, to low level chores for no reason. I sought to right this injustice, and rewrote his entire sermon for the following evening. He did not notice until halfway through, at the very least.”

The audience snickered at that. (Barring Taph, obviously).

Shedletsky grinned. “What’d you write?”

Two Time looked to the side in slight mortification. “It was a very long tirade pertaining to the use of spontaneous headstands in day to day activities.”

Chance snorted. “Why that of all things?!”

They shrugged. “I was in a rush.”

Taph tapped them on the shoulder. They looked over and Taph signed, “Can you do a handstand?”

Two Time nodded. Taph gave them a thumbs up before continuing to eat their pan cakes, which were filled with strange chips.

The other survivors stared at them, the ones who did not know sign language left confused.

“Well, that was a great story, Two Time! Reminds me of back in the day, there was a time when…”

Two Time continued eating while Guest told a story about how some of the soldiers he knew in the barracks liked to pull pranks on each other.

After a long breakfast which ended in Shedletsky and Chance throwing the “whipped cream” at each other, Two Time, Elliot, and Guest were left to clean up.

“Ugh… Those idiots.” Elliot grumbled, moving a stack of dishes into the sink.

“They ain’t that bad.” Guest defended, cleaning a mixture of whipped cream, strawberries, and blood off of the walls.

Elliot gave him a pointed look.

“Alright, so they’re a lot,” Guest acknowledged. “At least this wasn’t like last time.”

Elliot shuddered. “I had repressed that. Why did I even make pancakes, again? I thought I swore off it after that incident.”

Guest grinned. “For th’ newbie, of course!”

Two Time, who was previously just sitting on the table and watching the cleaning happen, spoke up when they were mentioned.

“I did appreciate your culinary efforts. This is the first time I have tried… pan cakes.”

Elliot smiled, albeit wearily.

“No problem Two Time. I’m glad you enjoyed the food. If you ever want something specific, or want food early, or even just want to eat alone (I definitely wouldn’t blame you), just let me know, ‘kay?”

Two Time blinked. They honestly weren’t expecting Elliot to reach out, he was burdened enough as it was. Somehow, the fact that he chose to anyways felt…

….

It was probably nothing.

Elliot’s face had started to grow concerned, and they realized that they’d been silent for too long.

“My deepest gratitude for your offer! I shall notify you if I require such assistance!”

Elliot nodded, and went back to cleaning. Two Time watched for a bit, but eventually got up and headed back to their cabin to do their daily rituals. Just because they were in a place like this now, doesn’t mean they could neglect their duties.

Two Time prepared themselves and their altar for their daily meditation hour in prayer.

Shamefully, they had to stop their mind from wandering during meditation. During this time they should’ve been focused on the Spawn, prayer, and servitude, but the still silence remained them of…

Of…

…

Two Time didn’t realize they were hyperventilating until they heard their own breaths in the quiet of their cabin. They bit down on their lip until they became dizzy, but it quelled their breathing. Eventually, they calmed down, and returned to meditation.

Now they just had to-

“TWO TIME!!”

They jolted in place eyes flying open. Horrified, they turned back to their cabin door, where Shedletsky was standing, panting.

“I thought I should come tell you, that a round was star… uhhh…”

Shedletsky trailed off as he took in the scene in front of him. “What are you…”

Before Two Time could retort, (interrupting meditation, how sacrilegious), a strange noise ring out.

ROUND STARTING

And then they knew no more.