#oh god I'm so nervousdkjlfskdf

[amunisence]

Nevada isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us

Rogue Player AU: Prologue Part 1

Madness: Project Nexus Self Aware AU belongs to saltymongoose

I was also inspired by Purgatory Mode - New Player AU by dallyfae who further inspired me and encouraged me to post my fanfic

Check them both out they're phenomenal! Story is on an indefinite hiatus.

CW: Violence, obsessive behavior(?)/toxicity(?), slight language, Player is all around not a good person here tbh-

This originated on the idea of the Player being a "bad guy". After all, the Player is a powerful being. The Player could easily develop a Phobos-esque God complex from the endless adoration from the vessels. Also I'm just doing this for fun, so I don't mean to step on anyone's toes whatsoever. I also haven't finished Arena Mode yet, so my AU may not be 100% lore accurate forgive me. I'm so nervous to post this, but I had a lot of fun writing it so enjoy!

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No one knows how it began. Sure, there was a lead-up to it. Hank, Sanford, Deimos, and the others could sense the Player's new craving for violence and power, but they didn't know where these new desires manifested. Despite some of the group's apprehension, they did not confront their concerning behavior until it was too late. Their beloved Player turned rogue and abandoned them. It is now up to the forsaken vessels to put aside their differences and stop the Player's rampage before Nevada resides further into disaster.

In an attempt to corner them, the vessels agree to use Sheriff as bait...

Sheriff, on the other hand, absolutely loathes this decision. They want him to act as bait for the Player? Someone, he not only respects but is rather intimidated by? It's not like he could say no—not with Hank there.

According to Christoff, the Player seems to be targeting any grunt in a position of power. That's why Sheriff, who's in charge of MERC, is the only one at short notice who could draw them in. Christoff warned him that his defenses would need major reinforcements against the Player. The goal was to distract them long enough to give Christoff and the others a window of opportunity to act.

After a long night of deliberation, Sheriff constructs a fort of defenses that he hopes is dense enough to delay their wrath. Christoff predicts MERC will be targeted today for a myriad of reasons, but the main gist Sheriff got was that he's "next in line".

Like Christoff predicted, the Player did indeed arrive at MERC, but... they’re different from how Sheriff remembers them. The Player's strings, now dull ebony, are tangled tightly around their being (and it honestly looks uncomfortable). Your soft tender smile is now stoic and sour. What happened? 

"AUUGH!" a cry from one of his men jolts Sheriff back to reality. The Player slams the recruit to the ground while their strings grasp another.

"Where's the Sheriff?" with no response, the recruit is haphazardly flung over their shoulder. This display puts a deep pit in Sheriff's stomach. They really are out for his head. It won't be long before they breach his first line of defense, so he retreats further into the building for his own sake.

---

"Christoff, where the hell are you?" Sheriff plants himself around the corner from the Player. He's sweating enough bullets for an army.

The Player, on the other hand, is irritated by everyone's lack of cooperation. Is it that hard to tell them where the Sheriff is? Their strings catch a wrench inches from their skull. The Player snaps their head back and locks eyes with the laborer trying to strike them. Amidst his pleas for mercy, their strings spin around his neck and drag him closer. They get a hold of the wrench and raise it threateningly.

"You have three seconds to tell me where-"

Klang! The wrench propelled out of their grasp. Someone shot at them. The Player’s eyes snap to the anxious cowboy pointing his revolver in their direction. Merely tossing the laborer aside, the Player homes in on the fleeing Sheriff.

"Christoff, get yer ass here now!" He rounds another corner but collides with another grunt. "Hey! Get! Get outta my-" Sheriff now sees the bright red orbs of the grunt in front of him and recoils with a yelp. He then spots Christoff not far behind. "Well, ‘bout time you showed up."

"I trust that you were well equipped to preoccupy the Player until our arrival," Christoff says with crossed arms. Before Sheriff responds, the Player approaches from around the corner.

"Player, you go no further," says Christoff"Yes, not without that," the Player hums, stretching an arm towards Christoff, "Ť̵̬h̵͎͆ȅ̸̦ ̵͓̓k̷͚̉ḛ̵̓y̸͈͑s̵̞̃t̷̥̆ò̸̤ń̵̙e̸̤͠ ̵̤͌f̵̞̕r̶͈͝à̵̤g̷͙͠m̶͇̋ẻ̶͖n̵̙̆t̴̢͆.̸͖̎"

Edited A/N: I cannot believe I didn't fact check myself when I said "artifact" instead of "keystone fragment". I wasn't entirely wrong, but I meant keystone fragment f- so I fixed it.

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