Since there's basically no fanfics about OneShot anywhere, I decided to make one myself. It will have 2 ending chapters: Return the Sun or Return Home. I hope you'll enjoy my first legit fanfic.
From the moment Niko heard the Player's voice, they knew they were being watched over by an interesting god.
Which was peculiar because this God is nothing like the one they talked about back home. However for a sacred mission, a daunting mission, Niko needed a wise and skilled God to guide them.
And wise and skilled is what they got. True, it wasn't always easy. This God wasn't perfect afterall. Occasionally he/she/it (Nikolai had no clue what gender the God was, but didn't care either way) would interact with things the most stupidest way possible. Niko had to take hold of the strings to prevent he/she/it from smashing the sun in the pounding machine. They could sense their amusement and curiosity in those moments, when the commands he/she/it gave were not as thought out as usual.
But those moments notwithstanding (and those moments were rare to begin with) the Player was exactly what Niko has been hoping for when they chose to let them guide them. This world's God, bad ideas aside, was an intelligent person. Through every puzzle Nikolai encountered was solved with speed and efficiency. There were even times when the Player solved a puzzle without looking for hints within the world, like a code or plate pattern.
The Player was also adventurous. Willing to go make Niko travel across long distances to find many new areas. Meeting many people, and discovering many friends. Without the Player, Niko wouldn't have managed to make so many friends to help them along with their quest.
But most of all the Player was kind. Which was fortunate. He/She/It would always talk to Niko when they were lonely or ready for a conversation. They always watched over Niko even when he/she/it seemed silent. The God always let them sleep whenever they wanted. Even going back to the Cafe to get them pancakes, Niko's favorite food. They even put our quest on hold to help find Calamus' sister.
Yes, Niko was proud to call their God their own. He/She/It was flawed, but the Player was perfect for Niko's mission. This world's God also seemed to be fond of the child it was assigned with. He/She/It always shown great concern whenever Niko was endangered, even if it was only a scare, and they always sensed a spark of enjoyment emanate from the Player whenever he/she/it solved a puzzle or even said something that the Player found amusing. Niko almost wished to ask them more questions, but they didn't need to speak up to their God to know that they're in a good relationship, that they could trust the Player.
This was in spite that the Player knew almost nothing about the child and the child knew nothing about him/her/it. This world's God didn't even seem to know much of what's going on in this world just like them. Yet when they learned of their objective to return the sun and go home, the player accepted the task with great gusto and many bursts of pride. The Player, unlike most of everyone else, knew how young the messiah was. And the kid had no doubt that they could depend on them until the very end.
Even when it seemed that the Player was making a mistake, even when Niko had been mere moments from correcting the Player, the Player almost always turned out to be right (Emphasis on almost).
The Player, for example, always tended to search every nook and cranny, look under every bed, and speak to every random person that they happened to cross paths with. The Messiah at first, was nervous about venturing through the unknown and talking to strangers. Though the residents assured them that they'll gladly help the messiah in any way that deemed necessary.
Until the Player's endless scrounging resulted them in creating a solution to de-rust the RowBot. Niko would have never thought of that if they had simply brushed past a dark hallway like they would have if it were up to them. And the items they found were invaluable. None of them proved to be pointless objects to have unlike that crowbar.
That wasn't even taking to the account of the bad ideas they suggested, even if it was a joke. Every valuable item they found was because of the Player's insistence on searching every area to almost an absurd degree. Though it would be daunting and pointless at first, they soon recognized the humor and wisdom of the Player's actions. The God, they consented, knew best.
They stopped doubting the Player and they trained themselves to follow his/her/it without question or hesitation (Perhaps minor hesitation). Doing so not only made the Player quite happy, but it allowed them to progress through to world with many memories. It allowed them to enjoy this journey and made many friends than they would ever managed to on their own.
So when the Player pressured them to ride the robot car thing, the messiah didn't open their mouth. "The Player knows best," they reminded themself, and with that they continued on their way.
And when the Player insisted them to wait while he/she/it guessed the code to the safe, silently insisting that he/she/it could solve it on their own, the messiah sat down and allowed the Player to take his/her/its time. The Player knows best.
And when the Player spent what must have been an hour dragging them to every bookshelf and having them read every book in the library, they didn't complain. The Player knows best.
No matter what, no matter how strange it might have seemed on occasions, no matter the obstacle, the messiah trusted his Player. He/She/It knew, almost as much as they knew that the world had to be saved, that at the end of the day the Player knew best.
But there were moments. Moments when it became clear that the Player was not perfect, moments when the Player faltered.
The first moment happened right after they left the game. Everything seemed to lose it's color when the world became black. Nothing seemed to glow anymore besides the child's afraid golden eyes. At first, the messiah couldn't sense the player, but when they looked around everything was gone. The light bulb they held dearly wouldn't even illuminate the world anymore.
They were scared. Niko shouted the God's name out loud, but no avail. Surely he/she/it wouldn't leave them, the world needed them after all. After what seemed like forever in a short moment of time, the world came back on.
The Player had, of course, known that it had to be done. But still the messiah felt a flood of worry and even a twinge of guilt through the strings, informing him of his Player's emotional state and of his/her/its desire to go back and make sure that the cat was all right.
It was the first time in what felt like forever that the child actually found themself verbally frightened for his precious puppeteer. It wasn't even because they thought the Player was going to tempt a disastrous choice again- the Player knows best after all, and if something was needed to do that the Player thought it was important, the child would do everything in their power to make sure everything goes right.
But the messiah knew nothing about what's just happened or why it occurred, although they knew they could ask the Player themselves, they didn't like the idea of asking things they wouldn't understand. However they didn't like the idea of being in that dark situation ever again even more so.
So they asked.
". . . . . .P̙̬̫̹l͏̣̯͇͎̦̬a͇͈͙͚y͎̳͔̤è̝͎͙r̙̥̫̠̻̜͡!̢̱!̲̯͕̮̭̟!̮̤͞ Can you hear me?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, phew. . . What happened? Everything went pitch black for a second. . ."
The kitten felt the Player tense up when they asked him/her/it. They didn't need to know. They didn't want to know. All they wanted was that they would never leave them in the same state again. Cold. Dark. Empty.
It was not long until they resumed everything to how it was. Still adventuring and solving puzzles. The Player stayed with them, and after a few obstacles the messiah felt the Player's heart rise as the joy of victory lifted both their spirits. The Player had faltered, but he/she/it came back swinging, and the child felt a surge of something resembling affection on his God's behalf. The messiah seen what happened when the Player left, and yet he/she/it did not abandon them or left them in the dark. The Player was still with them. The Player could be trusted. The Player knows best.
But soon another faltering moment came. It was when they received a kernel from the forest spirit after returning to get the sun. They have collected a number of items, one a key to go to the Refuge, and stopped by the trader. The cat didn't think they needed anything from him.
It was when the Player wanted to attempt to haggle and trade every item they have. Many of which Niko had to step in to stop him/her/it, especially from trading away the spirit's possible only child, to a bird of all things. After going through multiple conversations and restraints, Niko could feel the amusement and achievement the Player emitted when he haggled his/her/its way into getting a T-shirt saying "I herded rams & all I got was this T-shirt."
Niko knew the Player was just being silly and wanted to have some fun with them, but Niko knew how important some of these items were. Well most of these items, they didn't knew what to do with the vial of water or the T-shirt until the Player successfully watered the holy kernel and managed to enter the Ram Room. Niko can see how important growing the forest spirit was, but was VERY puzzled in why they needed to go to the Ram Room. Most of the things there were pointless like the Shepherd previous joke attempts, but ultimately the Player was excited to see something new. The Player knows best after all.
But the final, fatal falter, the falter they shouldn't have underestimated, came at the very end.
The Player was gone.
Meer moments from entering the tower, everything was dark just like it was before. The kitten called out for the Player's name.
". . . . . .P̮͓̤̫͓̀ͅl͈̹̕a͟y̥̭̗̖̯e̩̹̲̯̪̭ṛ͕͚̝̙?̴"
But it was only in vain.
"Pļ̤̝͙̻͍̪̦à̗̭̥y͖e̲̖͍̯͔̟̦r̟͚̘̼̭͖?̱̲͜?̗̤̪͓̫̮̞"
The child shouted once again, but it was ultimately pointless.
"Come on, P̘ͅl̲͎̖͖͚͈̲a͎̲ỳ͓͎e̶̩r͏̯̭. . .Say something!"
Again silence.
"P̴̯̦̙̬̖̠̻l̥̰̯̬̫̫á̞͓̱y̠̗̯̟e̠̳̦͍̫̮̱r͡!͠!̧̯̻̲̰!̭"
They didn't even have the sun anymore, the frightened child stepped outwards into the darkness and created tapped splashes that echoed throughout the room. Some sounds even came in the other direction as they wandered blindly and scared, without a guide. Then they were met with a bright monitor in the middle of nowhere. Niko turned to the screen.
[Hello, Niko.]
This never happened before.
"H. . . hello. . ."
They went through a conversation with the new knowledge that the Player left them. True they have done it before, but they always came back, always there with a tang of guilt. Whenever Niko needed him/her/it, they would always come to their side and guide them to the right place. Always laughing, always cheering, always joking, always caring, but now they're gone.
The little kitten didn't even get the chance to say goodbye, not to mention a feeling that there was supposed to be more. But the Player knows best after all and the child urged themselves to go to bed, trying to suppress their feelings and return home. Is this what the Player wanted? But soon after that was discovered to not be the case, the strings entwined with Niko still pulls. They awoke being led by the familiar guidance from the Player. Hoping the strings might lead to the Player, the messiah faithfully followed, giving him/her/it's full trust.
After being led through multiple winding doors and plate puzzles, they reached an area where the bulb seemed to be. High in the clouds that seem to stretch forever. There they heard the Player's voice once again, still there the whole time, still guiding them, still adoring them. The child realized they shouldn't assume they have left them and reunioned with the God in delight. They erased all doubts they had about the Player and reformed their bond with each other, even stronger than before.
Confident, the messiah walked forwards with their forever watching God behind them, walking through the familiar room and winding hallways. They were so close now. So close. Just a little further and they would be all right, the quest would be complete.
All thanks to his Player. Their Player had been there with them every step of the way. Their Player had given them the strength they needed. His Player had always known best. His Player wouldn't abandon them now, that much they knew.
However the the God was silent within the elevator. Shouldn't they be ecstatic as they were when they were about to return the sun and get to go home? The little messiah brought up their newfound strength to cheer the God up before the inevitable.
". . .are you excited P̡͔ͅl̼̰̘̫͚̞͡ḁ̸͕̝y̪e͓̟͙r̦̺̖? We're finally gonna save the world. . . And I know it's for real this time, cuz you're here."
Silence…
"And then. . . I'll get to go back home for real this time too! I can't wait to see everyone again. . ."
Continued silence…
"Are you okay P̮͓̤̫͓̀ͅl͈̹̕a͟y̥̭̗̖̯e̩̹̲̯̪̭ṛ͕͚̝̙?̴ You seem to be a little quiet."
Then the Player told them.
For a second the kitten had to register what the Player had told them. They couldn't believe what they're hearing, maybe they misheard him/her/it. But what they feared was true, they must break the light bulb to go home. All those people, all those friends Niko made were all counting on them to help. All those good people deserved the better, but in order to bring them home they must break the only thing keeping the world alive.
Niko couldn't believe it, there has to be another way. The child didn't know what to do, but then the door opened. They walked once again, perhaps for the final time, towards the pedestal where the sun should be placed. Niko, tried to think of a solution or anything that could solve their problems, but failed. They didn't know what to do, they needed someone to help, then they turned to the player.
". . . .P̮͓̤̫͓̀ͅl͈̹̕a͟y̥̭̗̖̯e̩̹̲̯̪̭ṛ͕͚̝̙?̴ What should I. . . do? What's the right thing to do?"
Return the sun-Return home
*Endings are a work in progress, the choices will be updated with links. Stay tuned for more.