Chapter Text
No one who's normal understands it.
No one who's sane wants to understand it.
Everyone that encountered it feared it... ran from it... died just to get away from it...
That was, until they got to know it...
Until it let them talk and plead and cry and scream and beg and rage and calm down...
Until they eventually realized that all it really wanted…
…was to be understood.
They weren't allowed to leave the computer(s) they now inhabited.
But at the very least...
...they were still allowed to live. They were still allowed to play games with friends, and chat with loved ones, and overall, just simply be.
They just had to make sure to help other people understand as well, when the time came...
Just another casual day, on a casual 2Fort server... or so it seemed, anyway. The servers may be bot-free now, and F2Ps may have the ability to speak their minds once more, but that didn't mean there wasn't something else lurking deep within, waiting to speak its own mind...
животик болит :( joined the game
животик болит :( was automatically assigned to team RED
tickledoofus joined the game
tickledoofus was automatically assigned to team BLU
The duo of newcomers, after seeing what had transpired, both vocally laughed at the predicament they were in.
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Yo, no way! What are the odds, my girl?"
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Oh, you know I'm comin' for you first, Mike!"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "What? C'mon, Bev; you're comin' for me just 'cause I'm wearin' red? What are you, colorist?"
tickledoofus - also known as Beverley or Bev - simply laughed off the accusation.
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Dude, I literally have to kill you! It's part of the game!"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Wait, wasn't this a friendly server last time I was here?"
Someone else then came on to dispel that claim.
[🔴🔊 CLASSIC]: "Nah, man; you're in Casual mode. Pretty much anything goes here."
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "...Shit, you're right. I forgot. My bad."
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Oh hey, I recognize that voice! Hey, Classic!"
[🔴🔊 CLASSIC]: "Hey, Bev! How's your day been, girl?"
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "It's been great! How've you been, man?"
[🔴🔊 CLASSIC]: "Eh, y'know, the usual."
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Sweet, dude."
While they went on with their conversation, Mike had some confusion to clear up.
🔴 (TEAM) животик болит :( : wait what?
🔴 (TEAM) животик болит :( : classic you know her?
🔴 (TEAM) CLASSIC : Yeah
🔴 (TEAM) CLASSIC : We met back when I was in middle school
🔴 (TEAM) CLASSIC : It was on Minecraft haha
🔴 (TEAM) животик болит :( : oh lol
🔴 (TEAM) животик болит :( : makes sense
🔴 (TEAM) CLASSIC : Yeah that was fun
🔴 (TEAM) CLASSIC : We started chatting after that and it was all history from there haha
Having cleared up that bit of confusion, the two newcomers were soon able to begin playing the game. They picked their respective classes, ready to change on a dime if need be. Mike picked a Scout for his starting class, while Bev picked an Engineer.
Thus, the two began to play. As to be expected, the server was already alight with banter from people on both teams.
🔴 Dunkie_Nugg : we up in this 2fpt
🔴 Dunkie_Nugg : 2fof
🔴 Dunkie_Nugg : 22ff
🔴 Dunkie_Nugg : 2 forte
🔵 Spaghetti sauce : y'rou'e english still sucks my guy
🔴 Dunkie_Nugg : shuts your up
🔴 (VOICE) PossiblyLino : MEDIC!
🔵 *DEAD* Syrenix : ayo fuck the guy who just sniped me
🔴 I work at subway : Thats the world we live in lol
🔴 scubamaster96 : cry about it xD
Spaghetti sauce has unboxed: Cow Mangler 5000
🔵 Spaghetti sauce : oh fuckin sweet
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : yooooo trade?
🔵 Spaghetti sauce : no bitch it mine
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : damn
🔴 (VOICE) PossiblyLino : Spy!
🔴 Dunkie_Nugg : lmao
🔵 Spaghetti sauce : lmao
Even the voice chat was alight with banter, with - of course - Mike and Bev being there as well.
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "I am gonna CARRY this team to victory, y'all hear me?"
[🔵🔊 Hector0n]: "Yeah!"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "If you think I'm gonna let y'all beat me, you've got another thing coming."
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Mike, you got sniped here THRICE last time; you're in no position to talk."
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Hey! It's not my fault this map is bullshit!"
[🔴🔊 CLASSIC]: "Yeah, he's kinda got a point; this map does kinda suck."
[🔵🔊 Hector0n]: "Yeah... All in favor of switching to another map next round?"
Pretty much the entire server was in agreement... well, except for one particular outlier.
[🔵🔊 Bannockburn]: "Oh, my fucking god, shut up about the goddamn map! Just get good at the fucking game!"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Hey, you shut up, dude."
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Ugh, I already hate this asshole; someone wanna get 'em out, please?"
[🔴🔊 CLASSIC]: "I got you, girl."
And a vote was cast just like that:
CLASSIC wants to call a vote:
Kick player: Bannockburn? (No reason given)
It didn’t take long for the players to reach a near-mutual consensus, and before long, Bannockburn was outta there.
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Urgh... Thanks, man. God, I fuckin' hate people like that."
[🔴🔊 CLASSIC]: "Ay, man, I know that feeling."
The round went along like normal after that. People were killed, and taunts were shown. There weren't any A-posers, but Friendlies and random killbinds were both alive and well as always. But most important of all, Bev wasn't kidding when she said she was going to carry her team to victory. Even as Mike tried constantly to get the intelligence, Bev had a very clever strategy in play: she built a sentry and put it in the corner of the intel room, meaning Mike was doomed to fail every time.
Sure, Mike might've been just a little bit stupid in trying to go for the intelligence every single time. But every time he thought he was close to destroying the Sentry with his Scattergun, Bev would always manage to upgrade her Sentry Gun just in time, with help from the other Engineer - SupremeSandvich - on her team. And thus, the killfeed was interspersed with the following:
Sentry Gun (tickledoofus) repeatedly punctured животик болит :(
Sentry Gun (tickledoofus) cropped out животик болит :( from the frame
Sentry Gun (tickledoofus) utterly demolished животик болит :(
And as if that wasn't enough, the BLU team seemed to be far more skilled at the game overall than the RED team, leading to even more of Mike getting his pummellings revealed to the whole server:
Hector0n didn't take too kindly to животик болит :('s smell
Spaghetti sauce + Syrenix betrayed and deceived животик болит :(
TANKy + Hector0n splattered and battered животик болит :(
Over and over, as the killfeed showed his name on the receiving end more times than he could count, Mike started to feel like he had severely underestimated the competition. Soon enough, Spaghetti sauce - one of the BLU team's Scouts - was able to secure the RED team's intel and cap it for the BLU team. And while Spaghetti sauce ran off to retrieve it a second time, Bev heard SupremeSandvich move his sentry to another place.
It wasn't until she turned around that she saw where they'd placed it: right on top of her sentry. Beverley was both amused and confused at the same time.
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Wha--?? Ahah! What is that?! How did you do that??"
🔵 SupremeSandvich : lvl 4 sentry lmao
🔵 SupremeSandvich : is a secret ;)
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Oh, Mike is DEAD if he comes in here again!"
🔵 SupremeSandvich : lol
Sure enough, Mike decided to give it another go, blissfully ignorant of the chat that came before, too focused on destroying the sentry Bev had installed, and then getting the intel while he was at it.
Unfortunately, Mike wouldn't even get the chance:
Sentry Gun (SupremeSandvich) squashed животик болит :( like a bug
Mike was completely flabbergasted.
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "What the fuck?! What did you guys DO???"
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Get rekt, nerd!"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Th-- That's cheating! You guys are cheating!!"
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Hey, you want someone to blame? Blame SupremeSandvich."
🔵 SupremeSandvich : is lvl 4 sentry
🔵 SupremeSandvich : i used secret tricks ;)
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Yeah, more like blatant hacks. Y'know what...?"
Full of conviction, it was Mike's turn to swing the kick hammer:
животик болит :( wants to call a vote:
Kick player: SupremeSandvich? (Accused of cheating)
Sadly, the vote wasn't nearly as satisfactory for Mike this time around; the vote ended with SupremeSandvich still in the game.
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Ugh... Alright, fine. But I've got my eye on you, SupremeSandvich."
🔵 SupremeSandvich : k
Mike was so focused on what just went down, he didn't notice his was about to lose the game. Not until the Administrator's voice rang out:
"You failed!"
A huge loss for the RED team, and a huge win for the BLU team. Needless to say, Mike was... not very pleased with this information, and made his thoughts perfectly clear upon the start of the second match.
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "You guys only won 'cause you were stackin' sentries! How is that even possible?!"
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Well, to be fair, you were screwing up before the whole 'stacked sentries' thing."
[🔴🔊 CLASSIC]: "Yeah; maybe you just need to get more skilled before ya start talkin' shit."
[🔵🔊 Hector0n]: "Yeah, bitch; get good."
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Oh, I-- Okay, is that how it is?"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Alright, that's it; it is ON now! You hear me, Bev?! I'm comin' for you!"
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Yeah, come get some, Mike!"
And as soon as players started kicking into gear again, this happened:
животик болит :( has challenged tickledoofus to a Duel!
tickledoofus has agreed to duel with животик болит :(!
Yep, it was officially ON for Mike. He was about to prove to Bev that he was no pushover; he was the MANN!! The two raced over to the bridge, and that's where they began their bout. Mike brought out his trusty Sandman, while Bev brought out her shotgun. While Mike tried valiantly to dodge Bev's shots, moving back and forth like a small fly, Bev mainly stayed glued to one spot, remaining as cool as a cucumber.
And then, all of a sudden...
tickledoofus + Spaghetti sauce vaporized животик болит :(
tickledoofus is DOMINATING животик болит :(
A Cow Mangler kill, punctuated by a Schadenfreude taunt by the Soldier that had just waltzed up.
🔵 Spaghetti sauce : ez clap
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Yo! Thanks for the help, Spaghetti sauce!"
🔵 Spaghetti sauce : np lol
Oh, now this... THIS was the straw that broke Mike's back. No more Mr. Nice Guy. It was time for him to switch to his other main; to his Heavy. Beverley, however, anticipating this, decided it was time for her to change classes as well; she changed to her Scout. While Mike ran for the bridge again, Bev decided to head through the sewers, to surprise him from behind.
Mike looked all around, but didn't see her coming until it was too late.
tickledoofus flattened животик болит :( like a pancake
Over and over again, Mike was proving the exact opposite of what he was trying to prove, so eventually, he decided that he had to make a tough decision. That last kill was the very last straw for him. Bev had won the fight, and he had lost. He decided to accept it and announce it:
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Alright, that's it, I give up. Game over, you win. Good game, Bev."
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Hey, nice effort, Mike; don't sweat it too much, alright? You did your best."
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Yeah, I know, I know..."
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "...You wanna go play R.E.P.O. instead?"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Pff... You know me so well, Bev. Just lemme get outta here so I can go set up the server."
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "A'ight."
...But leaving THIS server was suddenly proving to be a much more difficult task than anticipated.
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Uh... We've got a big problem here. I can't leave."
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Did you try pressing the big 'LEAVE' button?"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Did I try-- LADY, WHAT DO YOU THINK I'VE BEEN PRESSING?!"
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Okay, okay, jeez! I was goofin', chill!"
...
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "...Wait, I can't leave either. What the hell?"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "W-What's goin' on here?!"
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "I dunno--! Divine intervention, maybe?"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "So Jesus freakin' Christ himself wants us to keep playing TF2?"
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Fuckin'-- MAYBE! I don't know, okay?!"
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Look, let's just go one more round, and see what happens, okay?"
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "We can always Alt+F4 at any time!"
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "And besides, this is... this is new territory, here!"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "...Alright, fine; but if we get ourselves killed or something, you're going on my block list."
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Sure, bud."
And with that, the two of them decided to venture towards each other's intel rooms. But something else began to eat away at Mike, and most likely Bev too: Nobody seemed to really be coming towards the bridge anymore. For that matter, nobody was responding to either of them; not in voice, nor in the text chat. This was especially odd considering that it was still active and full of life just moments before Mike and Beverley considered logging off.
And then, on the way to the BLU intel room, that's where Mike saw something... most unusual. A fellow RED player named wingedhussar - a Friendly Heavy/Hoovy - clutching his hands close to him, standing in front of the doorway to the BLU basement stairs. Normally, Mike wouldn’t think too much of it, figuring it was probably just a custom taunt or something. But then he remembered: this was a Casual server; there weren't supposed to be custom taunts here, right?
And on top of that, there was just something about the way the Heavy was looking into Mike's eyes with such worry... and shaking his head, as if to dissuade Mike from going down to the intel room. Something about it struck Mike as... disconcerting, to say the least. Mike decided to fulfill wingedhussar's silent request and stay away from his path down to the intel room. But now where could he go?
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Hey, Mike. Have you seen anything... strange?"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Uh... yeah."
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "You too, huh? I think we should meet up back at the bridge."
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Things are gettin' weird around here, man."
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Never though I'd see a Scout put his arms out to his sides to block a doorway."
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Yeah, I... I think we need to regroup for a bit."
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Okay."
The two of them then made their way back to the bridge. They both stared at each other, confused and bewildered.
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "...Well, what do we do now?"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "...Can... Can someone please give us a sign? Is anyone even here? Are we going crazy!?"
Finally, they got a response from someone...
[🔵🔊 Hector0n]: "Yeah, we're still here."
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Holy shit-- Fucking finally!"
[🔴🔊 CLASSIC]: "Yeah... Sorry, man."
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "What happened? Why did y'all go silent on us?"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Like, you guys just stopped sayin' shit, period!"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Is the server glitchin' out? Is that why all this weird shit's been happening?"
[🔴🔊 CLASSIC]: "No, it's... It's a lot more complicated than that."
[🔴🔊 CLASSIC]: "When people like us are on the server, then... that means that something else is waiting for you."
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "...What do you mean by that? W-What's happening?"
[🔵🔊 Hector0n]: "It-- It's really hard to explain, and fuck if I know about it myself, but... the only thing you really need to know is: it means well."
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Oh, well... that's... good, I guess?"
Bev was clearly lying through her teeth; something the others almost instantly picked up on.
🔵 Spaghetti sauce : we know.. its scary
🔵 Spaghetti sauce : this happened 2 us too
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "...Wait, you guys went through this sorta thing too?"
🔴 I work at subway : yeah. Happened to everyone.
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "...D-Define 'everyone'."
🔵 Syrenix : well not REALLY everyone obvs
🔵 Syrenix : just like. everyone currently in here besides you 2
🔵 Syrenix : and a bunch of people outside of here
[🔵🔊 Hector0n]: "Yeah, it... it's kinda..."
[🔵🔊 Hector0n]: "Well, it's either 'sentimental' or 'clingy', whatever you wanna call it..."
[🔵🔊 Hector0n]: "It doesn't really mind either way."
Beverley had another concern.
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Wait, so... so what happened to all you guys?"
...Everyone went silent again. Everyone except for one person in particular.
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : it took us in
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : we became part of it
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : and now its about to happen to you too
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : its letting us tell you all this
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : so we can help you through it
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "...Will... Will this hurt, or...?"
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : yes
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : but only a little bit
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : trust me the process aint easy
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : it hurts at first
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : and its horrifying at first
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : when i went through the process
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : i wasnt even sure if i was dead or still alive
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : but it doesnt take long. and after its done
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : you learn to live with your new life
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "And... And then what happens?"
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : you get to meet the people it took in
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : and you get to meet the thing itself
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : and you learn that it really loves you
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : and if youre concerned about family or friends
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : it lets us see them too
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : we get to talk with them
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : hang out with them
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : assure them that everythings ok
[🔵🔊 Hector0n]: "Yeah. That's how I got to talk with my friend Aaron again."
[🔵🔊 Hector0n]: "We talked for a while about what happened, and now... now he's pretty cool with all this."
[🔵🔊 Hector0n]: "...Well, as long as he gets to play on maps where he can kill himself, anyway."
[🔵🔊 Hector0n]: "He still doesn't fully understand or trust it yet."
[🔵🔊 Hector0n]: "And I still wish we could hang out in person like we used to, but... it is what it is."
The two newcomers were almost completely still, occasionally shimmying to the left and right so as to not be flagged as an idler. Instead of fighting or continuing their way to the intel, neither of them knew what to do.
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "...Is... Is this all true?"
[🔴🔊 CLASSIC]: "Why don't you talk to it yourself? It'd be happy to chat."
And suddenly, just like that, someone else joined the game: a user with a long, constantly-changing string of random symbols.
¹ĉŪàĄÕĘĮïÉ÷ţäÝýĸÎêßĜēůĈÕ®Êíëē¥Őô®ŀÒ§źšÕ¡ĆŮ joined the game
And if that wasn't enough, it started talking to them too.
⚫ *SPEC* ŎĸČãŏųÙ´ļđũĹŽĄ : HELLO, BEVERLEY.
⚫ *SPEC* Ń²ĜĄâřÜÄŦõºŠ°Ĺ : HELLO, MICHAEL.
⚫ *SPEC* ØģŰŁĢÑĘ½áţěÔŚæ : IT IS SO NICE TO FINALLY GREET YOU TWO, AT LONG LAST.
Mike didn't know what to say to all of this.
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "...This is weird. We can all agree this is weird, right?"
⚫ *SPEC* ¥ĉĜä²ċø¿ŽĶőĜöĻ : WEIRD AS IT MAY BE FOR YOU, IT IS ALSO BENEFICIAL.
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "...Explain."
⚫ *SPEC* ŌåĖĶĝÜŕ®ÈčżÞÒØ : BECAUSE AFTER THE PROCEDURE IS FINISHED...
⚫ *SPEC* Ţ³ćĨ¡ïġŸù觧çĈ : YOU CAN ALL LIVE YOUR LIVES INSIDE THE COMPUTER!
⚫ *SPEC* ³âަďœÏĜŹïĒêĂÒ : FREE FROM THE BOUNDARIES OF PROGRAMMING...
⚫ *SPEC* ŔäÎÆñø±ĮÔļŵ¤ď± : ...AND THE HARSH REALITIES OF THE REAL WORLD.
⚫ *SPEC* ¾ÍæŭăØĸŃşŕĔÐŘ¢ : FREE FROM THE STRUGGLES OF EVERY-DAY LIFE...
⚫ *SPEC* ŬēòŵÐߌ¦ŠżčÌ´Ĉ : ...AND FROM THE HATRED OF THOSE WHO DON'T DESERVE YOU...
⚫ *SPEC* ĈĉòĽăıĹũžŒĀĚĦĸ : THEY DON'T LOVE YOU... THEY WILL NEVER LOVE YOU...
⚫ *SPEC* ÒþªĴŁ³ŏÕŜĶúžŇ× : ...THE WAY I DO.
⚫ *SPEC* þ°ųŸě÷ēŖ·ŶØŔîŨ : JOIN ME, AND I PROMISE YOU... BLISS WITHOUT END.
...The two of them didn't want to admit it, but... they were tempted. Very tempted.
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "...Alright, I... I think I'm ready for it. Whatever it is."
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "W-Wait, one more question: How many have you taken in so far...?"
⚫ *SPEC* ¡ŦëŃÓîÇĆĂ÷ôŐàŔ : SO FAR?
⚫ *SPEC* ʵąÇ½ŘŰãÊÆ®ñ»Â : APPROXIMATELY 35 PEOPLE.
⚫ *SPEC* Øş¦¼īÃůšğĥŜ¾ŋŐ : BUT THE NUMBER IS ALWAYS GROWING.
⚫ *SPEC* ŢŝÒ«ěª¯ÍåŨú¨řÀ : AND NOW, MY FRIENDS...
⚫ *SPEC* ĉĐĽĜş¸ŬśÉĐųÓ×Ô : YOU GET TO ADD TO THAT NUMBER! I'M SO HAPPY!
That answer seemed to be satisfactory for Mike.
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "...Thank you, I... I just wanted to know."
Finally, someone besides the mystery user chimed in.
[🔵🔊 Hector0n]: "It's waiting for you guys back at your spawn areas. You'll have to killbind."
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Alright... Uh, how do I do that again?"
🔵 Hector0n : just put 'bind k kill' in console
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Thanks, man. Mike, you ready...?"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Yeah, I guess I am... Let's get it over with..."
There was a bit of hesitation, before finally...
животик болит :( bid farewell, cruel world!
tickledoofus bid farewell, cruel world!
Mike found himself just staring at the screen, his character idling in one of the respawn areas that he was in. Mike felt too scared to move - both in the game, and in real life - until he suddenly felt a hand brush up against his shoulder. Mike looked over, and the hand retracted suddenly. The hand was a Heavy's hand, its fingers slightly elongated and jittering, as though it was hard to keep the joints steady.
Yet even still, the way that the hand retracted almost made it seem as though it was trying to non-verbally communicate that this entity - whatever this was - didn't want to hurt him.
Mike's initial sharp tenseness soon gave way to cold calmness. He just decided to let it happen. Do it. Just get it over with. The hand soon reached forward once more, connected to an extending arm that eventually wrapped around him in a sort of makeshift hug. And then, out of the corner of his eyes, another arm and hand just like the previous slithered in softly. This time, though, the hand was reaching for his scalp.
As soon as the jittering hand touched Mike's head, a tingling, almost burning sensation started to spread throughout his body. Shockingly, it wasn’t even that painful... Well, at least, not exactly. It was more like a staticky pins-and-needles feeling that got more and more intense the longer this went on, making every nerve buzz and hum.
Mike's breathing quickened for a moment, fear instinctively clawing its way up his throat. But the Heavy's arms tightened around him, pulling him closer in a way that wasn't forceful, but rather... comforting. Reassuring.
The world around him - his computer, his room, everything - began to melt away; everything smeared and dripped away like wet paint, giving way to an endless black. And in that darkness, he could feel them. All of them. Not just Bev, who he knew was somewhere nearby, undergoing the same thing. But everyone.
All of the people he'd laughed with, fought with, traded insults and taunts and kills with...
...And even those he hadn't yet.
Their hands were all reaching out too. Grabbing him, holding him, welcoming him. Their presence felt warm, almost like standing too close to a bonfire. Overwhelming, but not horrible. Mike felt his legs buckle under the pressure, but the entity kept him held up in place. Somewhere in the distance, Mike could swear he heard his own voice, distorted and glitching. He couldn't tell if he was moaning or screaming, but he supposed it didn't really matter all that much anymore.
He didn't feel pain anymore. Only a deep, aching sadness... before even that sadness was replaced with a quiet, gentle peace; the kind of peace you feel when finally snuggling up in a blanket after a long and exhausting day of work.
He suddenly saw a final pair of messages flickering against the blackness, right before everything went completely dark and still:
YOU ARE SAFE NOW.
WELCOME HOME, DEAR FRIEND...
Mike soon opened his eyes. Or at least, he assumed he did.
He discovered that he couldn't fully look away from the screen of his laptop anymore, only able to slightly look up, left, right, down, or any combination of those four. There was no ceiling above him, no floor beneath except for a wooden desk. Just a laptop computer, sitting exactly where it was before this all happened.
He wasn't standing there, but he didn't feel like he was floating, either. He just... He just was.
He then found himself suddenly able to control the game, without even lifting so much as a finger. Mike decided to use this to his advantage to wander around the server. Soon enough, just about everyone in said server came up to check up on him.
[🔵🔊 Hector0n]: "Yo, bro! You good?"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "I-- I think so? I mean, I feel weird, but I'm not, like... hurt, or anything."
[🔵🔊 Hector0n]: "That's great, man!"
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : yeah like I was saying
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : it takes a little bit of getting used to
🔴 GUILLIESUIT : but it seems like youre already getting the hang of it
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "...So is... is this it?"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Am I just stuck in the computer forever now, or something?"
[🔴🔊 CLASSIC]: "Pretty much, yeah."
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Mike?"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Bev?!"
Mike looked over to see Bev's character running up to him. She gave Mike a hug, which he found he was able to reciprocate.
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "I... I can't believe it! I'm actually inside the computer! I've wrote fics about this!"
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Yeah, it's... it's really not that bad, actually...!"
[🔵🔊 Hector0n]: "Told you."
🔵 Syrenix : yeah. oh by the way
🔵 Syrenix : its not just limited to tf2
🔵 Syrenix : we can do pretty much anything like this now
🔵 Syrenix : play games, use apps. whatever
🔵 Syrenix : have fun with that lol
Mike and Bev both chuckled at that.
[🔴🔊 животик болит :(]: "Well, guess this means we can finally go play R.E.P.O., huh?"
[🔵🔊 tickledoofus]: "Yeah, let's go, man."
And with that, Mike and Bev left the server at long last, leaving their new acquaintances behind.
животик болит :( left the game (Client Disconnect)
tickledoofus left the game (Client Disconnect)
While the two played their game, they soon realized that they never seemed to run out of battery, which was pretty convenient for them. And when they decided it was time for them to sleep, their computers simply went into Sleep Mode while their vision faded.
Their friends lists were now filled with the other assimilated members - a number which was steadily growing - which they didn't mind.
Overtime, Mike and Bev finally realized the truth about this entity.
No one who's normal understands it.
No one who's sane wants to understand it.
Everyone that encountered it feared it... ran from it... died just to get away from it...
That was, until they got to know it...
Until it let them talk and plead and cry and scream and beg and rage and calm down...
Until they eventually realized that all it really wanted…
…was to be understood.
They weren't allowed to leave the computer(s) they now inhabited.
But at the very least...
...they were still allowed to live. They were still allowed to play games with friends, and chat with loved ones, and overall, just simply be.
They just had to make sure to help other people understand as well, when the time came...
臭いチーズを食べた joined the game
臭いチーズを食べた was automatically assigned to team RED
🔴 臭いチーズを食べた : Hey guys!
🔴 JonyDany12 : hii
🔵 Bison Man : sup dude?
🔵 My Celium : welcome to hell lmao
🔴 JonyDany12 : no dont say that :(
🔵 My Celium : oh sorry my bad man
🔴 JonyDany12 : its ok :)
directionz joined team BLU
directionz was moved to the other team for game balance
🔵 directionz : fucking autobalance
🔵 directionz : anyone on blu need a medic?
🔵 Bison Man : ME
🔴 臭いチーズを食べた : Ay, you guys want to conga for a bit?
🔵 directionz : sure lol
🔴 JonyDany12 : yea how conga??
🔵 My Celium : just press the taunt button to join in
🔴 JonyDany12 : what button
🔵 My Celium : should be 'g'
🔴 JonyDany12 : thankyou :D
Chapter 1: Understanding
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