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“Miss 1x!!!” A high pitched voice yelled from across the cabin, muffled through 1x’s door. The being of hatred sighed, eyes opening, readying herself for the light pattering of foot across wood, as the child’s voice came closer.
Sitting up from their bed, hair tousled and chains poking uncomfortably into their side, they readjusted the metal, lazily combing their talons through their hair. Three quick, but polite, knocks smacked against the door.
“Uhm, Miss 1x?” The child said once again, though this time quieter. The child was annoying, but she had to admit, he had good manners, and never came in without knocking or asking first.
“Yes?” She answered, blinking slowly. She didn’t rest often, mainly since she didn’t even need sleep, but today was particularly exhausting, the survivors of the rounds today were extra flighty.
“Can you make dinner?” The imp requested, sounding a little sheepish. 1x narrowed their eyes, confused, slowly standing and grabbing their cloak off a chair, wrapping it around their neck over their metal collar and dragging the long cape over their back, hiding the mutilated wings sprouting from their back.
This was one of the main reasons he didn’t allow anyone in his room without knocking first; didn’t want anyone stumbling across the stubs of wings along his back. It was shameful.
Fluffing his hair slightly, he hid the smaller stubs of wings behind his ears within his hair. Luckily, both were white, so they were naturally hidden, but better safe than sorry.
Opening the door, 1x looked down at Coolkid, frowning.
“It’s Slasher’s night, is it not?” he asked. Due to Slasher and 1x being the only competent cooks in this cabin, they took turns, and he’s pretty sure tonight was Slasher’s turn, it was why he took a nap so willingly in the first place.
Coolkid scrunched his face, grabbing the spaded end of his tail in a nervous habit.
“Yeah, but, he’s acting funny again. He won’t talk at all either.”
1x felt bubbling annoyance rising. Great.
He knew Slasher wasn’t the most stable character, often mumbling to himself and having odd mood swings, and even occasionally shutting down, which Coolkid had dubbed as “acting funny.”
“Fine, I’ll cook, but you’re helping.” She grumbled, earning an excited cheer. Usually, she prefers to cook alone in silence, but she’s been trying to drag the child into cooking alongside her lately, hoping he’ll learn by watching.
Coolkid is one of the only three killers here that truly needs to eat, after all. He’s mortal, Robloxian, even if a devilish one. The only other two who need to eat are the other children, Bluudud and PrettyPrincess
1x is an artificial being. Non organic. Made of variables of base codes for weapons, vessel containment, knowledge, admin power, and the life force of a fallen admin. Thus, she technically didn’t need to eat. She did, however, feel hunger, albeit with a much slower metabolism. She knows the pain of starvation all too well from growing up under Telamon, and avoids that pain if possible.
With Slasher, he’s an odd case. 1x knows his real name is Jason, as he’s signed it to them all multiple times, but she’d rather go with Slasher, his front name. Less personable. She’s also 90% sure he’s an undead. She read his organic code once, an act she can perform when removing her eye, and found his code half decayed and old, very likely undead. He eats alongside Coolkid, but when not offered food, he seems unbothered.
Noli is someone 1x isn’t even sure of. He isn’t in the cabin terribly often, and when he is, he hides in his room. He’s often exploring the woods and the boundaries of this world, teleporting as he pleases. It’s obvious just looking at him, but that man isn’t alive. Half his body a rotting corpse with a skull, the other half purple flesh formed from the energy of the Void star, bound with his being. The comedy mask is annoyingly expressive too.
John is the most annoying. 1x had immediately recognized the code infecting him as parasitic, and while she didn’t know the exact branch of code, she knew it was one that fueled it's host, meaning he didn’t need food. John, however, doesn’t know this, due to his brain mostly being driven by instinct, and so the man would eat anything he deemed edible; cooked meals, stale crackers, mice, fish, tree bark, and even an entire rock once. He always acted as if he was starving too, but 1x quickly realized it was merely an attempt to steal extra food he’d store for later, leading to her finding food lodged in random places around the cabin. Coolkid often calls John a big dog, with his behaviour.
Mafioso is one seen few and far between, the man and his goons having their own cabin deeper in the woods, so they aren’t seen as often. As far as 1x is aware, he and his men are regular Robloxians however, and definitely need to eat. They seem to hunt and cook for themselves, but occasionally one of the goons is sent over to ask for any leftovers. 1x gives them whatever is left from their previous meals.
Stepping into the kitchen, feeling the cold tile against his feet, 1x opened the fridge to see what ingredients were supplied this week. From the looks of it, two skinned and gutted rabbits from a previous hunt (likely Slasher; John tends to only go for large prey), a container of bone broth 1x had made a few days ago, courtesy of Slasher’s instructions, some carrots, and a singular potato.
Good enough.
1x grabbed the handful of items, setting them on the slightly bloodied counter which wasn’t cleaned properly, it smelled faintly of rabbit. Shuffling through cabinets to find the needed dishware as Coolkid reached into a lower cabinet, dragging out a large pot with a grunt.
1x glanced towards the living room as he worked, spotting Slasher sitting idly on the couch, staring at a wall. He’s likely been like that for hours.
Grabbing a cutting board and a bottle of olive oil, which 1x had learned tasted quite unpleasant on it’s own, 1x got to work washing her hands, making sure there was no blood stuck in her talons, before cutting the rabbits, using just her talons was enough, due to how sharp they were, making quick work of the rabbits. She could hear the rattle of Coolkid struggling to get the pot on the stove behind her.
Once the rabbits were thoroughly shredded, she turned and washed her claws and the cutting board off in the sink, as one of the few things she knew about cooking beforehand was that raw meat is a no go around other food.
Walking back over, she helped Coolkid lift the pot to the stove, making the child huff, but not complain. They really needed a step stool or something for the kid.
Tossing the rabbit in the pot to cook along with a lazy drizzle from the olive oil, she turned the heat up and set a wooden spoon beside the pot in preparation. Then, turning to the devil child, picked him up and sat him on the counter, careful not to nick him with her talons, allowing him to observe. He seemed content with this, as Coolkid kicked his feet and smiled up at 1x.
Grabbing the carrots, she lined them up on the wooden board, quickly cutting off the tops and throwing them into a bowl on the counter, which was for scraps undesirable to be eaten. When the bowl was full, it’d be snatched up by John, as there was nothing that man wouldn’t eat.
As they cut the carrots, with a bit more effort than with the rabbit due to how tough they were, they spoke without looking up.
“Do you remember how to cook meat?” they quizzed the child.
“You move it around lots, and always use oil or butter or it sticks to the bottom and makes it icky.” Coolkid replied. 1x hadn’t used butter before, on account they didn’t have any, but appreciated the extra effort.
“Good.” They praised, causing the imp to giggle. 1x had learned that praise seemed the best method for teaching the child, as scolding just upset him further. It was a bit tough to get used to, as 1x had grown up with scolding and disappointment, rarely praise, but if it worked it worked.
“I wish we had chicken, chickens really yummy, but I never seen one in the forest.” Coolkid commented as 1x finished slicing the carrot, setting it aside and grabbing the potato.
“Well all we have is rabbit, deer, mice, and coyotes. Tough luck.” They replied, causing the child to huff and cross his arms.
“Chickens my favorite.” He grumbled, “Chicken nuggets are the best, especially the drakobloxxer ones, dad always made me those.”
1x vaguely remembered what a drakobloxxer was, Coolkid had described them many times and said his carnival had drawings of them. 1x is pretty sure it’s the red lizard.
“Well we don’t have those. We have rabbit.” 1x shrugged, looking at the bits of potato and carrot stuck to her claws in discomfort. She washed them in the sink.
Coolkid stayed quiet for a minute, a rare occurrence, seemingly thinking.
“Do you like chicken?” Coolkid asked, an innocent question, but one that still gave 1x pause.
1x did not like chicken.
For a number of reasons, but perhaps it stemmed from how Telamon constantly ate it. He’d bring a bucket of it home, eat most, give 1x the leftovers. It was fine at first, but eating it constantly for years made it taste like vile paste.
The mere thought of it reminded her of Telamon. Returning home, mouth full, content, after leaving 1x alone for another week.
Offering her that same chicken, after leaving her to starve. She’d be so hungry she’d accept it, she had to, but it tasted so revolting she considered just starving.
Blinking, 1x realized she’d gone silent, and Coolkid was staring at her with a confused expression.
“No.” She eventually said, stirring the rabbit around in the pot.
Coolkid hummed, “Then what’s your favorite kinda meat?” He asked.
“Deer.” She answered immediately.
“Why?” Coolkid persisted.
1x thought about it, she honestly wanted to say the taste, as it did taste really good, rich and earthy, something entirely different to chicken. But truly she had another reason.
“When I escaped my creator,” She began, causing Coolkid’s eyes to widen in surprise, she rarely spoke about her past after all. “I had to hunt for myself. I found deer my favorite to hunt. Rabbit was easier, but deer were smart, flighty, made me think. Whenever I caught one, it was my own food. I got it all on my own, and no one else could take it. The meal was a victory.”
Coolkid let out a quiet “oooh” as he listened, thinking it over. “That's cool, it's like winning a game!”
1x nodded along. Sure, it was a game. Whatever made the child understand better.
Dumping the potato and carrots into the pot once the rabbit was thoroughly cooked, 1x then opened the container of bone broth. They had learned from Slasher that putting just about anything in water for an extended period made a very nice tasting liquid, so they did it often.
Adding the broth and lowering the heat, they set the wooden spoon aside. The soup would need a bit to cook.
Grabbing Coolkid, they placed him back on the floor, before heading towards the living room themselves. Slasher was still staring at the wall, unmoving.
1x ignored him and sat on the opposite end of the couch. Coolkid jumped up beside them.
Sighing, 1x adjusted themselves until comfortable, grimacing as their sore wings pressed against the back of the couch, chains rattling as they shifted. They noticed Coolkid staring at them with an expression that said he wanted to ask something.
“What?” 1x asked, turning to the child.
“Can I braid your hair?” He asked, “I promise I know how, I used to make braids in my dads hair.”
1x considered it. Their hair was a mess already, so it couldn’t hurt. But it reminded them of Telamon. Every fucking thing reminds them of Telamon. He used to braid their hair, helping keep it out of their face for sparring practice.
Then there was also the risk he’d find the wings.
But this was just Coolkid, a little imp, it was a simple request. Nothing to do with Telamon. The child wouldn’t understand the implications of white wings, of godly admins.
“Sure.” They accepted, getting off the couch to instead sit on the floor in front of it, back to Coolkid, allowing the child to reach their hair.
Coolkid grabbed a handful, which wasn’t much in his small hands, and gently ran his claws through, pseudo brushing it. 1x was a little impressed he didn’t pull at all.
Lulling into silence, 1x stared at the window as the imp’s hands worked away, making small braids into their hair.
She allowed her eyes to shut, content. The silence could only last so long though, it was inevitable that with Coolkid’s hands reaching higher, he’d find the wings eventually.
“Woah, you have wings on your head!” Coolkid exclaimed, amazed.
1x nodded wordlessly, tense, but staying still. Children were curious. This was fine.
What wasn’t fine was when she felt small clawed hands brush against said wings.
In pure reflex, she whipped her head around, pulling the wings away from his grasp, watching him sharply as her tail rattled in warning.
Coolkid had let go immediately, eyes wide and leaning back against the couch.
“Sorry!” he squeaked, “Should’ve asked first, they just looked really cool..” He apologized, looking down guiltily.
1x sighed, rattle silenced as she calmed down. She didn’t really mean to react so aggressively, but it was near instinct. Anything to ever touch her wings ended up painful.
“Yes, you should’ve.” She mumbled, slowly turning away again to face forward.
They sat in silence for a while, with an occasional rustle from Coolkid shifting around. The child didn’t dare speak.
1x felt a little bad, he couldn’t blame the child for being curious. Perhaps an explanation would ease Coolkid’s nerves.
“My creator wasn’t kind to my wings.” He stated. A simple fact. Coolkid responded after a moment.
“Why?” he seemed genuinely puzzled.
“They scared him. Reminded him of…the past.” 1x decided to carefully leave out the fact that the wings signaled admin godhood.
“But, that’s not your fault?” Coolkid said.
“Perhaps not.” It sure felt like it was from what Telamon constantly shouted at him. “But it brought fear to my creator nonetheless, and he did not treat them with care.”
Coolkid was quiet for a while again. 1x didn’t turn to look.
“How could he do that??” Coolkid asked, sounding distressed, “That’s mean, you aren’t mean to people who are different. Dad says so.”
1x fought back a bitter laugh. He didn’t blame Coolkid for thinking so simply, the mind of a child is often simple.
“Doesn’t matter what your dad says, child. People will do what they want.” 1x replied.
Coolkid seemed upset by this, as he shifted around behind him.
“Well, I’ll tell my dad your creator is a meanie and needs to learn, and he’ll let your creator know when we see him!” Coolkid declared. 1x snorted.
“Sure, kid.” He relented. If the child wanted to yammer to that hacker, he can do as he pleases. Although, the thought of Coolkid blabbering about 1x’s creator “being a meanie” when Shedletsky was potentially around was a very entertaining thought.
“You should talk to my dad, he’s not meanie, he’s very nice.” Coolkid continued, mood seemingly lifted.
1x immediately dismissed the idea; he doesn't talk to survivors, he belittles and insults, before the survivor can even get a word in.
However, he gave pause to think about it. Recently, in rounds, he noticed that Coolkid’s father was acting rather strange. Usually, the hacker was gone the moment 1x spotted him, teleporting away at the last moment and sending out sneaky clones to trick 1x. Recently however, he hadn’t.
1x wouldn’t speak to survivors, but he listened. When sneaking up on a group, he’d often hear them speaking about one another, useless drama 1x cared naught for.
They had taken note of stories of the hacker, 007n7 though. They’d hear how the hacker was an outcast, in a separate home and often ignored. They also noticed how in rounds, 007n7 would often be abandoned by his team mates. Pitiful really, how do they hope to survive if they abandon one another.
One of the most recent stories they’d heard, earlier today in fact, was that the hacker was moping. Worried for his child, apparently, and 1x had noticed it too. During rounds, the hacker was quick to give up, seemingly forgot to teleport, put out barely strategized clones, and stumbled over his own feet. It was boring.
1x didn’t care for the survivors, they were a Being of nothing but Hatred afterall, but what they did care for was the will of the survivors. A sad, given up survivor was no fun, and 1x would hate to become bored; they were made to fight, they’d go mad with nothing to fight back.
1x decided to themselves they would confront 007n7 whenever they saw him next, and inform him of Coolkid’s safety.
For now though, 1x enjoyed the silence of the living room, leaning their head back against the couch, silently allowing Coolkid to begin braiding their hair once more.
1x closed their eyes to rest for a moment, but must’ve dozed off, as they awoke to gentle poking at their scalp and the strong scent of the bone broth wafting through the cabin. Coolkid told them it’d been almost an hour, the soup was definitely ready.
Standing, she felt the small braids along the length of her hair, and hummed, satisfied.
Entering the kitchen, she instructed the child to pull out bowls and silverware, causing Coolkid to hop up on the counter to rifle through the cabinets.
As he did that, 1x headed down the hall towards the bed rooms, walking to the room at the very end of the hall, she opened the door, not bothering to knock. John made a confused hum from where he lay on his bed, clearly half asleep.
“Food, you big lug.” She informed, causing the man to perk up and follow her out of the room. As she passed Noli’s door, she slammed her fist against it passive aggressively. It’s unlikely he was here, but if he was, that was all he’d get.
Walking back into the kitchen, she found Coolkid neatly lining the bowls along the counter; three normal sized ones, one small one, and one extra large one. Spoons lay in each bowl except the large one, which was for John.
They had learned quickly that John’s mutated clawed hand couldn’t hold small silverware, but he seemed just as happy to drink the soup. Whenever they had solid meals, Coolkid insisted 1x cut it up for him and John, saying it was polite. 1x did so after witnessing the mess John can make trying to eat whole foods, cutting it up allowed John to poke each piece with a single claw.
Spooning generous helpings into each bowl, 1x told Coolkid to sit at the table with John, which did make the child a little nervous, but he listened. The child was still terrified of John, insisting he would bring the end to Robloxia and would kill him at any moment, according to his dad. 1x had snorted at Coolkid’s naivety, so afraid of a simple man corrupted by code, rather than the Being of Hatred made from a god. Than again, no one knew 1x was Telamon’s.
Two dishes in hand, 1x gave Coolkid his food first, finding it amusing how he had sat at the farthest seat from John as possible. 1x handed John his food second, who immediately began scarfing it down.
Grabbing the third bowl, 1x walked into the living room, finding slasher still siting, but seemingly more aware, as he looked over at 1x, looking a little bit sheepish, probably aware 1x had to cook instead. 1x handed him his food wordlessly, nodding. She didn’t hold his strange episodes against him.
Finally grabbing her own food, 1x left Noli’s portion at the counter, and sat herself at the table next to Coolkid. She had begun sitting next to him whenever they ate, as he seemed a bit less afraid of John, probably believing 1x would protect him. She’d been attempting to get the kid used to John, as his fear was very annoying and hard to work around. She’s also pretty sure John really wants to interact with Coolkid, for whatever reason. Perhaps he was a father as well? 1x has no idea.
Eating in comfortable silence, faint crickets heard from outside the cabin as they did, 1x allowed himself to relax and stop thinking for a while.
After a few minutes, Slasher joined them at the table, seemingly fully present in the mind again, scooping soup beneath his mask carefully.
It was peaceful.
-
No more than a day later, 1x got sent into another round.
Originally, she wanted to take out the little braids in her hair, but when she started doing so, Coolkid ran up to her and insisted they HAD to stay in for a couple days, because “It shows you care.”
1x didn’t care that much honestly, it would be annoying having her hair down and in her face mid chase, but the child started to tear up and she decided to keep the braids, lest she faces the wrath of a crying Coolkid.
So here they were, chasing after Shedletsky with their hair draped down their shoulders and repeatedly falling over their eyes.
Their creator seemed to notice it too, as he gave them a confused look when they approached. 1x didn’t give him a chance to blabber about it, as they immediately entangled him and rushed towards him.
They chased him towards the graveyard of the map, tunnel visioning on him, so much so they were too eager to swing their swords that they failed to see Shedletsky pull out his own, slashing it into 1x as they hissed in rage.
Once recovered, the man had disappeared from the graveyard, running far towards one of the many bridges of the poison river. Grumbling, 1x began to give chase again before pausing, hearing the faintest buffering of a code panel. A coolgui, to be precise.
Quickly tearing their claws into their eye, they spotted the aura of 007n7. Perfect.
He was merely on the other side of the wall, and was likely already here when 1x chased their creator over. Dashing around the corner, they lashed their daemonshank into his arm, cancelling the command.
The hacker yelped in pain, stumbling back as blood began trailing down his arm, wincing as the venom had certainly already invaded his blood stream. He tried to run.
1x reached forward quickly, grabbing the back of 007n7’s shirt and yanking him back, possibly with more force than necessary, as the hacker fell over. 1x took the opportunity to stab one of their swords into the ground beside his head, a clear warning.
The hacker, wisely, stayed down, although he was clearly panicked; wide eyed and breathing quickly, eyes darting around for escape routes.
“I will not kill you.” They started calmly, causing the man to pause, staring up at the killer, confused.
“Why?” He asked, voice shaky, untrusting.
“I do not want to.” They answered, “I wish to talk.”
007n7 looked even more confused. “You…want to talk?”
“Yes.” It was a simple concept, but 1x understood it was quite out of character for them.
“How do I know this isn’t a trick?” The hacker continued. 1x was getting annoyed.
They leaned down, causing 007n7 to tense, but simply pulled their sword out of the ground, then, taking both of them, set them aside, leaned against the grave yard walls.
It seemed this was convincing enough, as the man sat up, looking between the swords and 1x, still wary, but less afraid.
“What, uh, did you want to talk about?” He asked, idly pressing a hand against the wound in his arm with a grimace.
“Your son.” That got his attention, 007n7 immediately looked up at 1x.
“Is he alright?” He asked worriedly. 1x felt this conversation might take a while, so they sat as well, far enough from 007n7 to not scare him off, but close enough to give chase if needed.
“Yes.” 1x confirmed, pushing her hair out of her face, now that she was finally outside of chase.
“Is he eating alright? Sleeping? Rashes or itches?” The man rapid fired, his concern for his son overtaking his fear of talking to a killer.
1x nodded, “Yes, we made sure he is fed once I realized he was a regular robloxian, and he sleeps fine. I haven’t noticed rashes, but that’s oddly specific.” She pointed out, a bit confused.
“He has sensitive skin,” 007n7 explained. “Part of his imp features, I think. He gets rashes really easy, and the base of his horns gets itchy.”
1x hummed in acknowledgment. “He does scratch at them a lot.”
007n7 sighed, seemingly relieved by the news. “Thank you, god, I keep trying to ask him during rounds if he’s okay but he…”
“Is busy playing.” 1x finished for him. 007n7 nodded.
They sat in silence for a minute. 1x was about to get back up, but the hacker spoke again.
“Do you take care of him?” He asked, seemingly more comfortable.
1x blinked, considering. She would say both she and Slasher and, kinda, John all do. But now that she thinks of it, it’s mostly her. Slasher helps with meals and wrangling Coolkid when she’s gone, but whenever she comes back, he runs to her. Guess she counts as caring for him.
“Yes.” she confirmed. “The others help.”
007n7 looked confused by this. “Even John?”
“Somewhat. His mind isn’t they're, but his intention is. He carves wooden toys for the child, tries to be gentle with him, but the imp won’t let him get close. In moments of confusion, where John is heavily corrupted and forgets us, he protects Coolkid viciously.”
007n7 seemed stunned by this, blinking slowly. “Huh, didn’t know there was much humanity left in that man.”
1x nodded. It was hard to believe a corrupted beast such as John could be so careful with a child.
“What…What does Noli do?” 007n7 asked, hesitant, expression tight in an emotion 1x couldn’t identify.
“Nothing.” 1x replied. “He is rarely at the cabin, only sometimes arriving for food or to annoy someone, than leaves for days. He used to be strangely aggressive towards Coolkid, but John scared him off. Now he ignores the child, nothing but seething glares.”
007n7 seemed troubled by this.
1x paused, they weren’t one to care about relations and drama within people, but they were admittedly curious.
“Did he know Coolkid?” 1x asked.
The hacker nodded slowly, but didn’t elaborate. 1x didn’t push him to.
After another moment, 1x stood back up, chains rattling with the movement. 007n7 tensed, standing as well.
“That was all. Go, I will spare you all this time.” 1x extended their mercy, than backtracked. “Not Shedletsky. The rest of you will live.”
007n7 shrugged, most survivors had accepted 1x hard targeting the admin constantly, even if they didn’t know why. 1x wondered how much longer it’d take until the chicken admitted the connection.
“Thank you, for watching Coolkid.” 007n7 said quickly as 1x grabbed their Daemonshank, heaving one over their shoulder.
1x considered how to respond. It was the bare minimum they could do, for a child trapped in hell. It made them far better than Telamon ever was.
“Mm.” They acknowledged, then sprinted off towards the poison river, heading for the mansion the admin no doubtfully resided in.
The mere thought of Telamon, and how horrible he would be if a child were to be under his care in this world left a vile taste in 1x’s mouth.
They ran faster, spotting the admin in question. He noticed them too late, and was swiftly hit with a venomous mass infection. He fled into the building, no other survivor in sight, and was cornered.
Just as the man pulled out his sword, 1x lunged, impaling him in the chest before he had a chance to swing.
They pulled out their sword. Shedletsky fell limp.
1x stared down at the corpse, hatred boiling as their tail lashed behind them, the rattle echoing like a death toll.
They would be better than Telamon.