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Noli could be considered a deity of sorts—a god of pure chaos. Aged legends whisper tales of a broken legacy, re-earned through the pact of two supernatural beings, both clawing for power. Chaos was second nature for Noli. It lurked wherever he went like a second skin. And tonight, a certain God had decided to perform a little bit of tomfoolery on a not-so-lucky guy.
I sat by the lake, my legs dangling off the edge. I came here for some quiet from that godforsaken campsite. On my lap was a hairbrush. I don't really know why C00lkidd had gifted me this to protect myself; I had my swords, for crying out loud! So being gifted such... puny items felt humiliating for someone of my power. Yet I took it out of kindness nonetheless.
I tugged at my skin—if it could even be considered that. It wasn't really skin, if it could be called that to begin with. It was malice, hatred, or whatever you call it. Formed by decades of hate created from me loathing Shedletsky, I hated that man so much it could take many book series to describe it in words. It... consumed me into this being of hate. Theoretically I could tear the skin off, but I would be seen as weak in my normal form, and it would prove painful when I tried. So I only keep it sometimes to tug at. I didn't really need the hairbrush for protection; back on the topic of it, for I was a fallen god! -- Or whatever Robloxians call me, I could protect myself!
I sighed and picked up the hairbrush, looking over the wooden texture, and tapped it with my nails. Didn't look durable but... whatever.
A devious grin was plastered on Noli's face, albeit not entirely visible. The Void Star hovered beside him, resting in his palm. It emitted a faint pulse of energy. He snapped his fingers. A sudden whirl of purple smoke (dramatic, we know) shot up from the deck behind 1x1x1x1. A loud snap and crash! boomed behind them. Noli, in all his flair, appeared in the centre of the smoke with a graceless reveal. He threw his hands out dramatically, bowing.
"0h, I know you just 4dore me! Wond3rful appl1use, people, truly. 1t is I-- N0LI! I gr4ce you with my presence!" He shouted. A quieter, 'woohoo!' cued in the background after he'd finished.
I blinked a few times from the smoke catching me off guard; whatever sensors I opened up by ripping skin off got into them, and I started coughing harshly due to the circulation within me. Once I let out my final cough, the initial shock finally wearing off, I turned my head, eyeing Noli.
"H0W D1D U M4N4G3 2 F1ND M3?” I asked, genuinely confused by how he found me. I put the hairbrush back on my lap, looking around to see who made that woohoo sound. I eyed the survivors' cabin, where they normally rested and did whatnot. Not seeing anyone outside, I turned my gaze back on the demigod. I squinted to see if I was just crazy; I reached over and tapped him.
"Oh, he is real" is what I immediately thought of. "...H3Y," I forced out to be civil and proper with my "equal."
Noli only inclined his head in the slightest acknowledgement to 1x1x1x1's greeting. He turned around, forcing his back to face 1x1x1x1. Arms still raised, he continued, "Y3s! Truly, it is I! NOL1! No need to fret or panic-- rejoice! I h4ve returned!" He spun back round. "How did I-I-!-1-I!1II1II- manage to find Y0u!? Well, we'll n3ver know, now will we? I have my w4ys 'r0und here, 1x1x1x1!" Noli simply smiled. "But th4t's besides the point! Hardly, no, BARELY! How 1-I'm-m-m here is n0t important at all! Yes, y3s, you've he-e-eard th4t right!" Noli began pacing back and forth on the deck.
I watched Noli do his silly explanation while he paced about as if he were some special person, which he wasn't.
He might have just autism or be just clinically insane/stupid, but that's like besides the point.
I scooted over to open more space, patting the spot beside me to try and ease the pacing of him even if I didn't know he would pay attention to me.
“D4D3 K33P QU13T, 1F S0M30N3 F1ND$ US 1T’S UR F4ULT.” I frowned, raising one hand to fiddle with the zipper on the mouth that was unzipped currently, letting me even do these reactions. I thought for a moment, was Noli just bored and 'needing' entertainment when technically it was a want and not a necessity, or was it just to bother me?
“U N33D S0M3TH1NG OR JS 2 B0THER M3?” I asked to be sure of his intentions.
Noli quickened his pace. "Qu1et!? We're in the middl3 of a lake! N0 one's going to h3ar us out here!" He abruptly came to a halt at the end of the deck, right before he would have plunged into icy waters. "I w4nted to bother some0ne, and that someon3 just happens to be you-- isn't it lovely!" He dropped his arms to his side. The Void Crown surged with a bright light. "0h! I've gotten an id3a. 4 GENIUS ON3!" His voice burst into a glitchy excitement. He rushed over beside 1x1x1x1, seating himself right where they had gestured. Noli held up his void star eagerly. He nudged 1x1x1x1's shoulder. "We-e should t0rment some of the p30ns! The l1ttle things that skitter around during our sh0ws!"
“U M34N S4RV1V0RZ?” I questioned and raised a brow. I eyed the cabin again, gesturing vaguely towards it. I seriously did not know what Noli's deal was; he treated everything as if it were a playground! -- which in this realm for the 'killers' like me might've been one, but for the survivors was debatable, although personally I'd use the term 'roughhouse. 'I think I saw a playground once? Might make Noli happy if I showed it to him.
“OH AND BY ‘P30NZ’ U M34N TH3M?” I asked for clarification when I gestured to the cabin. “4ND—WDYM SH0WS? 1T’$ R0UNDS!—UNL3SS U C0NS1D3R WH3N W3 D0 R0UNDS 4S SH0WS TH3N… WEIRD” I stared blankly at Noli and took the hairbrush off my lap and set it to act as a barrier or a gap between us even though I knew he wouldn't care or think I was setting it down elsewhere. It's better to try, right?
Noli scoffed. "Whatever Y0u call them, sure. You and 1, we don't se3 eye to eye, 1x1x1x1. Cl3arly you're bel0w my level of expertise!" He placed a hand on 1x1x1x1's shoulder, patting it slowly. He smiled. "Th3 suriv0rs are really nothing more than 4 couple of l1ttle pr0ps to b3 toyed with and thrown after. Obv1ously!" Noli discreetly shoved the hairbrush set between them aside with his spare hand. The brush plummeted into the deep waters behind them, drowned in the lake. He deliberately shuffled closer to 1x1x1x1. He tilted his head to the side in an almost mockingly flair. "S0-o-o-o... you g0nna join!? I dont have all d4y !"
I absolutely SMACKED Noli's hand away from my shoulder when it made contact and contemplated his face next when he inclined his head in an almost mocking manner. I forced myself to look down at the water instead of his stupid face. I can't go down there and get the hairbrush, or I'd short circuit, because I'm half robot now; that doesn't mean I can handle that much at once. I glared at Noli, remembering 1x1x1x1, breathe in and out, and not yelling at him...
“0K4Y… F1|\|3.” I muttered, my voice glitching out into static halfway. What if I pushed him in the water? I giggled at the thought. “F1RST, G3T MY BR4$H.”
Then I just PUSHED him into the water. Whoops, my hand slipped, I guess.
Noli rolled off the deck and plunged straight into the freezing waters. The Void Star immediately dissipated as he fell. while his crown remained hovering over the lake. It fell completely silent. . . A fleshy hand suddenly shot out from the waters, uselessly grasping at the air.
I stared. Was he joking? ...Oh god, he was actually drowning. I forced out a sigh to try and sound annoyed, if he could even hear me down there, and sat back on my knees and reached down, pulling Noli on the deck again. I rolled my eyes, acting irritated even if I initially panicked and felt worried and scared and whatnot for him.
Although I'll never admit that if my life depended on it. I raised my hand to rub my eye.
Noli collapsed onto the deck. There was a beat of still silence. He raised his head weakly, yelling, "HEY! Y0U THR3-E-3-3-E-W US I-1-1N THERE! THE [##$@] W4S THAT!?"
I looked down at the water, then at Noli, and lowered my hand forcefully to actually see him properly and rolled my eyes. “1 D1DN’T KN0W U COULDN’T SWIM!” I exclaimed and went into a criss-cross position. "U G00D?"
I stifled a snicker when looking at Noli's form when he looked like those... 'er. stupid things; I forgot the term.
"EV3RY0NE KNOWS 1 C4NT SW1M, H0W C0U1D Y0-O-O-0-N0T!? 3VEN THE G0DFORS4K3N KID KN0WS!"Noli forced out a wheeze to clear his lungs. "Y3ah, I'm fine. I always am! W3 call th0se backst4ge mess-ups." He sat up properly, stretching his legs. One leg shifted to kick 1x1x1x1 straight in the calf. Noli was looking off into the distance, whistling.
“I D0NT L1S—“ I cut myself off and bit my lip to suppress a reaction coming out. I pressed my elbows on my knees and buried my head in my hands and let out a series of codes, all of which translated to cussing out Noli in binary.
Once I finally got that all out of my system after a few minutes, I looked up.
“4|\| |). T|-|1$ 1$ G01NG 2 B 4 4TT3|\/||>3-|)M4R|)3R ( |-|4RG3 1F U K3P UP 4|_|_ TH4T ST4G3 T4|_K!" I screamed at Noli even as the other acted aloof.
[Translation: "And this is going to be a attempted murder charge if you keep up all that stage talk!"]
Noli shrugged carelessly. He leaned back and propped his elbows out on the deck. "W3ll-l-L-L not like w3 can die, anyways! K3ep up the g0od work, you're surprs1ngly good at 4cting-- angrily, that is."
"01010011 01101000 01110101 01110100 00101110 00100000 01010101 01110000 00101110” I paused mid-speech and stared at Noli, knowing this was his fault. I cleared my throat to try and get a reaction out of my body before I finally got the desired one and turned to the lake and coughed—almost even puked up code. "Eugh..." I turned back and then back to the lake. “D0 U W4NT 2 G0 B4CK 1N TH3RE? BC U S0UND S0 C0NF1DNT 1N N0T DY1NG," I gestured to the lake.
“W0ULD L0V3 2 T3ST 0UT N0T DY1NG 0N U.”
"Rude." Noli rolled his eyes. The whistling ceased. He momentarily looked at the lake. "N0pe, drown1ing seems B0-0-O-O-0-0-ORING. W3 all can't die, 1x1x1x1. Sh0uldn't you know that? Y0u're one of the UNCs here, 4ren't you?" Noli let a small snicker escape him. He held a hand up to his mouth. "S0-0ooo we still terr0rizing l1ttle s0uls or not?"
“…” I eyed the lake and then Noli.
“01011001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01101101 01111001 00100000 01100110 01101001 01110010 01110011 01110100 00100000 01110110 01101001 01100011 01110100 01101001 01101101 00101110." I followed up on what I promised by pushing him in the lake.
Silence, blissful silence again. I smiled, uncrossed my knees and let my legs back in the cool water and turned back to watch the moon.