Chapter Text
Black holes were, inherently, destructive things.
Of all the celestial objects he could have supernova’d into existence as, of course he had been unlucky enough to be the most massive and dangerous of them all.
The singularity sighed, looking up at the night sky. While the others slept, he usually spent his time stargazing atop the hotel waiting for everyone else to wake up. The night sky was familiar and comforting, a long and gentle embrace from his previous home. He could almost pretend like he was in space again; the empty, cold, ever-massive expanse only had feelings of nostalgia for him.
In space, Black Hole couldn’t hurt anything.
Well, as long as he was careful- which wasn’t very hard- and strayed away from every blink of life or material or objectkind, he was comfortable with lightyears of distance between him and the nearest thing he could destroy.
It was so different from being down here, shrunk down to this size and humanoid-ish form, floating among the life like he wasn’t an infinitely massive being capable of destroying everything in an instant if he felt inclined to do so.
But now that he was experiencing it, not as a blue-greenish speck on the horizon of stars but as part of it, it was by far the greatest thing Black Hole had ever gotten to experience. Life. Earth.
…So, he supposed that’s why it made it all the more devastating to him when he ended up ruining things.
For star’s sake, of course he was going to end up sucking in a few things he didn’t mean to, or mess up a little part of the perfect planet he found himself on- but he didn’t expect to this extent.
He’d swore to himself he would devote himself to preventing the things he was made to do- joining Death P.A.C.T. back in BFB and being in every iteration since- but maybe it has always been naive of him to believe he really would never fumble.
In the end, his attempts to prevent destruction and death had ended up killing Tree and leaving him stuck in a canal for months. His attempts ended up causing the universe-damned apocalypse that could have nearly ended the world if they hadn’t gotten lucky with the cure.
Black Hole was, inherently, a destructive being.
That thought hit him suddenly, biting into him like the teeth of a bear-trap and sinking into his chest.
He knew it was true. He didn’t have any counterclaims to make, because the evidence was laid in plain sight for him to see. No matter how much he tried. Black Hole wasn’t usually an emotional guy- but now he could feel the shaking of his chest and his shivering breaths in some sort of flawed mimic of what he’d seen the others do before.
That’s when something- someone- appeared beside him.
Black Hole quickly flew backwards on instinct, startled by the appearance of the new figure. They had all the characteristics of the other Algabraliens he’d met before, but this was someone else.
They wore a large-brimmed blue hat dappled with stars, and a long cloak that flowed down past their knees. The Algabralien wore a silver moon pendant around their neck, and had long hair that laid down their back.
“Hey Black Hole! It’s good to finally meet you!”
How did they know his name? His accretion disc spun around with anxiety as he studied the mysterious person further.
“I hate to see you so upset… but I can help you! Let’s talk.”
Before he could muster up a baffled response, Black Hole felt himself being teleported somewhere else.
It looked like a quaint little room; two orange armchairs on either side of a small table, a lamp, and the entire area was swirling with colors of blue and speckled with stars. If he wasn’t preoccupied by the mystery-algabralien and the fact he had no idea where he was, he might have appreciated the design.
The person was now sitting in the larger of the two armchairs, and he was floating right above the other (too close for his liking, if you asked him,) right across from the figure.
“Uh.. who are you?” Black Hole spoke up first, tugging at the strings of his hoodie as he glanced around.
“Oh! Don’t worry about that,” They laughed, like it was an old inside joke, “I’m an old friend of Two’s! I’m just here to help.”
“Okay…. but why did you bring me here?”
“Well, I’ve been watching you and your friends for a while-“
“You- you’ve been stalking me!?”
She didn’t respond, just continuing to talk, “-And I’ve seen how upset you’ve been lately, Black Hole. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why… I mean, all the death and problems you’ve caused for everyone must still be weighing on you. I would feel guilty, too.”
He flinched a little at that- and he saw the other person’s eyes light up like that was just the response she had been looking for.
“But you don’t have to be.” They smiled innocently, tilting their head a bit. “What do you think about a little deal?
Black Hole looked to the side, deep in thought, before turning back around.
“Uh.. what.. kind of deal?”
They lifted up a hand, now suddenly radiating with magic and power. “I can make it so you’ll never accidentally kill a person again, Black Hole. I can make you prevent death! Simple as that!”
…Never killing anyone again. He’d do anything for that luxury, to truly dedicate himself to protecting life like his team had declared, to escape from his own nature. Everything he didn’t like about himself. Looking into their eyes, he already felt himself nodding without hesitation.
“You could really do that..?”
They nodded, smiling. “All you have to do is sign right here!” With that, she pulled out a contract from thin air, holding it up with a pen for him to sign.
Everything in Black Hole’s gut told him this was a bad idea. Alarm bells were ringing off in his head, everything about this felt wrong, but the offer was taunting and he couldn’t stop his hand from carefully taking the pen and signing his name in cursive across the bottom line.
The person grinned like a cat that’d just caught its dinner, swiftly taking the contract away before holding their hands together and opening another portal with a flick of their wrist.
“Thank you for your cooperation!”
Black Hole’s vision went dark.
.
.
.
.
.
.
When he woke up again, he was laying on the grass outside, squinting at the sun peeking up from beyond the rolling hills.
…Huh. It was day now. That was the first thing he realized.
The second thing he realized was that it was hot.
That was strange, because he shouldn’t be able to feel hot unless it was quite literally as hot as the burning core of a star, and guessing from the fact everything was not dead around him that could not be true.
Black Hole floated up from his position on the ground—
Wait.
He wasn’t moving.
That was a much more alarming realization than his potentially broken temperature sensations, and he quickly tried to push himself up with his arms– only to be hit with the sudden sensation of something poking and digging into the palms of his hands. He jerked forward, the motion semi-successfully letting him sit up.
Confused, Black Hole turned his attention to his hands which had never felt like that before. That’s when it hit him: those were not his hands.
His hands were supposed to be pitch-black, light-absorbing and spindly things vaguely shaped like everyone else’s. These were… flesh? Yeah. No, that was flesh. On his hands. Ok.
He had the sinking feeling that this was all because of that deal he made. It must have been, right? But… why had that… done this?
Now not blinded by the sun and stuck on his back, BH looked around the area, scanning his surroundings for anything recognizable.
…He was just outside the Hotel, on the grass, firmly in contest grounds. Thank universe. He could just wait for someone to find him, and Two could fix whatever had happened to him and everything would be normal again.
Black Hole exhaled, letting his shoulders drop and building anxiety rest. However, he still kept hyperaware to make sure to keep his hands off of whatever awful things the ground had stabbed him earlier.
Oddly enough, he could feel a lot more things in general now. It was making his head spin every time he moved; the abrasion of his hoodie that normally felt like nothing at all, something falling over his face and itching his back, the heat suffocating him in his baggy clothing and the occasional breeze that hit him and made him feel his clothes all over again.
Thankfully, it wasn’t too long before someone stumbled upon him sat outside the hotel, nearly smacking him in the face with the door.
“Woah! Whoopsies. Sorry… uh…?”
Black Hole immediately recognized the person by his voice- Marker. He looked up, and Marker tilted his head curiously.
“Oh…” He cleared his throat, surprised that even talking had a sensation, “Hi, Marker. Can you get Two for me..?”
“Huh? Ok!” Marker smiled, obliviously running back inside the hotel.
He returned in just a few seconds, swinging the door open (almost hitting Black Hole for the second time), now with Two walking behind him in tow.
“Hi…” Two started, looking at Black Hole with a confused expression. “...Marker, who is this?”
“No clue!” Marker shrugged.
What? He seriously wasn’t even recognized by his own teammate? Did he really look that different?
“It’s.. me? Black Hole.” He clarified, the anxiety building up in his chest once again.
Marker stood there, looking confused. “But Black Hole is a black hole!”
Two furrowed their eyebrows and leaned in closer. “Well, I suppose it could be possible for someone powerful to change your form. Gosh, how did this happen, Black Hole?”
“Well, I met this person and they said that–” He was suddenly interrupted by someone else swinging the door open, causing Two to make an ‘Eeek!’ sound and jump out of the way.
“Marker, is every alri— oh.”
Tree stood in the doorway, blinking as he looked down at Black Hole.
“Hi Tree.”
“Black Hole?” The green-haired person whispered back, looking between him, Two, and Marker.
“Seems like it.” Two said, putting their hands on their hips. “I sense magic here.” They waved in Black Holes' general direction.
“Well, uh…” Black Hole glanced up at Two. “Can you turn me back?”
“Oh, yeah, of course,” Two nodded with a smile, snapping their fingers together.
…Nothing.
Two frowned, furrowing their brows and snapping a few more times. “Ugh! Come on!”
“Can he… not be turned back?” Tree said, eyes wide.
“There must be some other magic here stopping me from using my powers on him.”
“I thought you were the most powerful!” Marker exclaimed, looking frightened.
“Well, yeah. I should be…” Two muttered, looking down.
Black Hole’s chest sank. If Two couldn’t fix this, then nobody could. He didn't want to be stuck like this– he didn’t even know how to move! Although… the celestial-turned-human frowned, looking aside, he did suppose he got what he had signed for. No more death-causing, right?
“Well… but… how am I supposed to compete like this?” Black Hole gestured to himself.
“I don’t think the others would mind if I paused the competition for a bit, just while we figure something out for you.”
Tree and Marker nodded along.
“It’s not all bad!” Marker added, grinning, “Now you can play toss the dirt with me!”
Tree rolled his eyes, but then added, “But Marker does have a point. I mean… why not make the best of it until we figure out how to turn you back to normal?”
Black Hole hummed, nodding. “Yeah… yeah, ok. We can do that.”
Marker cheered, and Two gave a big thumbs up, clicking their tongue. “Works for me! I’ll talk to you later Black Hole and we’ll try and figure this out, but I figure you might just want to rest for a minute.”
He nodded. “Yeah. This is all… a lot.” He breathed, shivering from the unfamiliar sensations racking his new body.
Tree frowned. “I can’t imagine… Here, uh, can you walk?”
“...No.”
“Oh, that’s fine, I can just help you–” Tree reached to grab a hold of one of Black Hole’s arms, and he flinched back violently at the touch. It felt like fire burning up his much too sensitive nerves, and he breathed heavily as he scooted back against the itchy and stabbing grass.
A pause.
“Oh- Black Hole, I’m sorry-” Tree blurted out, looking a bit flustered, “I didn’t even think-”
“No, no, it’s fine.” Black Hole shook his head, sighing. “I’m just… not used to it.”
Two made a ‘Hmmm’ sound, tapping their chin. “Well... If you want, I can probably still give you back your flight abilities, Black Hole. That way you don’t have to deal with walking.”
Black Hole exhaled with relief. “...Yeah. That would be… great.”
Nodding, the algebralien snapped his fingers, and Black Hole felt the familiar bits of power rushing to his fingertips. At least that had worked– he didn’t know what he’d do if he couldn’t fly. Suffer, probably.
He floated back up comfortably, relieved now from the awful textures of the ground and his own feet having to be planted on it.
“Well!” Two clapped their hands together, “I’ll… leave you guys to it? I promise I’ll do my best to fix this, Black Hole… and I’m sorry.”
He shook his head, “No. It’s not your fault. But… thanks anyways.”
They smiled, before snapping their fingers once more and zapping away elsewhere.
“So… new body? What happened?” Tree said, now fully able to look Black Hole up and down.
He was wearing the same clothes he usually did- a dark gray hoodie, accessorized with a Death P.A.C.T. pin, and baggy black sweatpants. But where his “head“ usually was a floating singularity, he now sprouted an actual head- with a face and all. His skin was dark-toned, and his eyes were covered by long black locs tinted purple at the ends that rested over his shoulders and his back.
“I… uh..” Black Hole tugged on his hoodie strings, a very telling habit of his, “May have made a deal..?”
Marker cocked his head, “What do you mean, deal?”
“Clearly not a very good one,” Tree observed, “Unless you wanted to be like this? But… I presume not, based on how you’ve been reacting.”
“No… I just thought I was just… never going to accidentally cause death again. I didn’t think that would mean this.”
The two others both made “ohhh” sounds, nodding.
“So you’ve.. Monkey’s Paw’d your way into becoming human?” Tree said, scratching his chin.
“…I guess.”
“Don’t worry, Black Hole!” Marker smiled, “We can teach you how to be a human! Right, Tree?”
Tree nodded. “Of course. We should probably go tell the rest of our team, though. I know Fanny will want to hear about this.”
“Right.” Black Hole nodded, turning towards the door. “I’ll just… quickly follow you guys up there? I don’t want to make a big scene…”
“The only people up right now are the early birds. And me, because Marker was running around looking for Two like he’d lost his cap.” Tree chuckled lightly.
“I was not! It was very important!” Marker declared, pointing up with one finger.
“You could have found Two a bit quieter.”
The two continued their light banter as they all made their way to the elevator, thankfully dodging Basketball already downstairs by the kitchen, and made their way to Death Pact Yet Again’s shared floor.
Black Hole floated by the couch, not quite sitting down in it but hovering right above.
“I'll go get the others!” Marker said enthusiastically, before aggressively banging on someone’s door from just around the hallway.
Tree sat down beside Black Hole on the couch, looking up at him curiously.
“I don’t think I ever asked you before… but how much did you actually feel, normally?”
“A lot less than this.” He said quickly, shifting uncomfortably in his clothing, “Hardly at all. I can’t imagine… how you all manage this all of the time.”
The other shrugged, “We’re all used to it. We’ve had our whole lives to get used to the sensations of touch. I don’t blame you if it’s difficult for you.”
“Yeah… that makes sense.”
“It’s kind of like how you’re so used to being alone I think?” Tree started, “You’ve told me before you have spent millennia just… floating around in deep space with no contact. That would drive just about all of us insane within a few years, if not sooner. We’re just… used to different things.”
Black Hole nodded along, following Tree’s line of thought. “…Yeah. I’d still rather not have to deal with this, though…”
“But touch isn’t all bad. You just need to become used to the normal things first.”
Black Hole tilted his head a bit at that, silently asking for Tree to elaborate.
“I mean… well,” Tree waved his hands around a bit, “I don’t know if it would work the same for you, but I know you’ve seen people use physical contact as a way to comfort each other before. It can make you feel better, or it can just… bring bonds closer. It’s a kind of love in itself.”
“Oh. That’s… interesting.” He ignored the itching feeling that came over him the more he thought about that.
Before either of them could continue their conversation, they were interrupted by Marker’s sudden presence, leading the rest of Death PACT Yet Again behind him in tow.
Fanny looked very grumpy, probably from having been woken up so early- though that might have also just been her resting face. She trudged right behind Marker, hands in her pockets.
Behind her, Pin and Robot Flower followed behind. Naturally, Robot Flower held no outward emotion obvious to anyone else, but Pin rubbed her eyes and yawned as she walked.
In the very back was Gaty, who seemed to be the least tired of the group besides Marker, curiously looking beyond everyone else crowding the hallway as they approached.
Blinking, Fanny stopped right outside of the commons, looking up to Marker.
“Is that…?”
Marker nodded, waving happily. “Yep! Hi Black Hole and Tree! I got everyone!”
Black Hole curled in on himself a bit, now feeling all the eyes on him as everyone flooded into the room.
“What the AIR happened!?” Fanny exclaimed, walking up close to Black Hole as she scrutinized his new form, looking him up and down.
“Well… there was the person and—”
“Don’t yell at him, Fanny.” Tree said sternly, shaking his head. “As I'm sure you can imagine, this is a lot for him, so let’s keep the loudness to a minimum.”
Black Hole nodded thankfully, and Fanny took a step back.
“So Marker Was Not Lying! You Really Are Human Now! I Thought It Might Have Been A Prank…” Pin spoke in her distinctive tone of voice, yawning a bit at the end.
“Yeah…” Gaty said, before smiling a bit. “Well, I think you look very nice.”
“Oh. Uh, thanks…”
“ARE YOU FEELING OKAY?” Robot flower asked, tilting her mechanical head as she sat down on one of the chairs.
“Kind of.” Black Hole shrugged. “It’s just… weird.”
Fanny nodded. “It’s very weird. AND you have a face now!”
“Having A Face Is Very Important.” Pin said solemnly as if she was speaking from experience.
“Two said we’re going to pause the Competition for a bit while we figure out how to fix Black Hole!” Marker supplied, nodding to the aforementioned celestial.
“That makes sense,” Gaty said, now also sitting down, “We would be at an unfair disadvantage with one of our teammates, um… disabled, for a lack of a better word.”
Black Hole sighed, “I really hope the others aren’t mad that it’s being put on hold because of me.”
“Nonsense,” Tree stated, “You didn’t intend for this to happen. And besides, I’m sure we were about due for a break soon anyway. They won’t mind.”
“Wait, So… Can You Not Do Your Pully-Attracty Stuff Anymore?”
He shook his head, “No. No powers. Uh, I’m only able to fly because Two gave me the ability. They felt bad because I couldn’t walk, I think….”
“Oh.”
“That IS unfortunate…” Fanny furrowed her brows, “But that would also mean you won’t kill things by sucking them up accidentally anymore, right!?”
“...Yeah.”
“THAT’S… GOOD, CORRECT?” Robot Flower queried.
“Yeah.” Black Hole nodded.
“Less Good From A Strategy Standpoint… But As Your Team Leader, I Am Glad We Have Found Light In This Situation!”
“Oh, and, uh…” Black Hole cleared his throat, before speaking up. “Can you all… try not to make a big deal about this to the others? I don’t want to deal with everyone prodding me and questioning me right now…”
“Of course.” Tree said with a smile. The others made sounds of agreement too, Marker giving a big thumbs up and Fanny nodding fiercely.
“...Thanks.”
“Well, If That Is All, I Am Going To Finish My Little Rest!” Pin declared, looking around at the others for affirmation before turning around and leaving.
“I AM… ALSO NOT FINISHED CHARGING.” Robot Flower supplied, flashing her battery power over her visor as evidence.
“Ok! Bye-bye!” Marker waved as the two of them walked back into their respective rooms.
“Why are they so tired..? I thought it was day already.” Black Hole questioned, seeming confused.
“It is, but we did just have quite the challenge two days ago. Everyone’s still a bit exhausted, I believe.”
“I think those two stayed up Late helping with the cleanup!” The purple-haired boy added, gesturing back to Pin and Robot Flower.
”Oh. That… makes sense.”
“You probably need sleep now too.” Fanny stated, tilting her head a bit.
“Did he… not.. before?” Gaty asked, confusion evident in her features.
“…Yeah.” He confirmed, nodding, “I don’t sleep. Or… didn’t? Uh, Fanny is probably right if that’s a thing all humans have to do. I guess.”
Tree sighed a little as a small smile crept on his face, “Yes, Black Hole, humans do need to sleep. And eat, and drink. Or we will die.”
Concern flashed on Black Hole’s face, “You can die from that…?”
“YES! And we’re not letting you die from any of those things either!” Fanny declared angrily, crossing her arms and closing her eyes.
He waved his arms a bit, shaking his head, “No- no, I definitely don’t want to do that. I just… don’t know… how?”
Still smiling, Tree stood up from his spot on the couch. “Alright, Black Hole, we’re going to give you a tour on basic physical self-care.”
“Oh. …Okay?”
“Why don’t we just get some breakfast to start?” Gaty offered.
“That sounds perfect.”
.
.
.
.
.
.
The day had been exhausting and incredibly overwhelming.
He quickly discovered that eating things made his head and stomach spin, and he’d felt awful being unable to eat any of the food Tree and Gaty had spent so much time and effort on. They reassured him that it was fine (Marker was more than happy to eat it for him), and he was subjected to slowly eating saltine crackers for the rest of the day, which seemed to be the only thing he could manage.
Besides that, he’d drank water for the first time (not nearly as bad as the food), been instructed on how to care for his hair to keep it “looking nice”, and the others had otherwise spent the time trying to acclimate him to touch.
Needless to say, he was not a fan.
All he wanted to do was not kill things anymore. Apparently that was too big of an ask to do without changing his entire self. That was the bitter thought plaguing his mind as he faux-paced around his room.
The room was bland- unlike the other rooms, which had slowly acquired decor to every contestant’s liking, Black Hole had never spent a single night in the room assigned to him.
He so desperately wished he was back on the hotel roof, or even back amongst the glimmering stars where his true home was. But the others had insisted he needed to sleep, so here he was.
“…Black Hole?” Tree yawned, opening his door with a creak. “Are you still not asleep?”
“No.” He deadpanned.
Sighing, the other walked in.
“I know you don’t want to, but you really do need to go to bed. It’s nearly one AM, and you’ll be miserable if you don’t go to sleep soon. And so will I.”
“I know… sorry.” Black Hole shook his head, “I just… have a lot on my mind, yknow?”
Tree nodded sympathetically, sitting on the side of the bed. “Understandably. I can’t imagine… would it make you feel better if I stayed in here with you?”
“Oh. Uh…” He paused, considering, “…Yeah. I think so.”
“Okay.” He stated nonjudgmentally. “I will then. Just… try to lay down? I know sometimes it helps me fall asleep when I'm near someone I trust.”
“Really?”
“Definitely.”
Accepting the response, Black Hole made his way over to the bed, and slowly sat himself down on top of all the blankets.
“Alright, but I’m also going to go to sleep now, so you know.” He said with another yawn, laying down while being sure to keep a comfortable distance away from Black Hole.
“…Okay.” He held his breath a little, instinctively fearing being too close and accidentally causing his best friend’s demise (again). But he simply took a deep breath, doing his best to relax despite everything.
Strangely, he felt comfortable for the first time today. It was weird, but he felt his limbs begin to feel heavy and his eyes close automatically as his consciousness started to drift.
The feeling of someone beside him brought back that itching, longing feeling again. But the warmth and soft breaths of the already deeply asleep Tree must've worked well enough, because he was already fading into sleep as well.
Black Hole’s situation was awful. Undoubtedly.
…But this? This was nice.