Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It has been maybe a few days since the expendables got the crystal. A few days since Painter has failed to fend off the expendables and is now paying the price. That price being stuck in the Hadal Blacksite for the rest of their lives until death takes them. There is little to no power anywhere around the blacksite besides Painter themself, and if they want it they have to activate it themself. Painter is also starting to miss the expendables a little bit. It was fun to mess around with them when it came to turrets or fake doors, the way their screams filled up the room until their final breath. They would be lying if they said they didn’t enjoy it just a little bit. If they were lucky, an expendable would come straight into their room. The interactions didn’t last long, but it was the most they got down here besides Sebastian. But now they don’t seem to get either of those.

The day started like normal, or as normal as it can get for a place like the Blacksite. Painter wakes up and performs their morning routine, routine being to try to get in touch with Sebastian via radio, as it was their main way of communication when the crystal was still here. Lately, ever since the crystal got taken, Sebastian has grown even more distant, which Painter didn’t even know was possible. Earlier Sebastian at least gave them tasks to complete and a clear directive, but now he doesn’t even want to talk to them. Painter doesn’t know why, but is determined to make their only friend down here feel better and let them know they are not alone. They are not going to give up on him even after everything. Painter has already lost so much, they weren’t about to lose Sebastian too. As usual nobody picks up and Painter is left to their own devices.

Just when they were about to call a second time, they heard the signature beeping at the entrance that would signify someone’s arrival. The thing is that Urbanshade has completely stopped sending people in after they got what they wanted. So why would they send in more? Haven’t they taken enough? What else could they possibly want? It’s been a while since Painter would use the security cameras. There are no more threats or expendables to guard the crystal from, so it would be no use. But now this seems like something worth investigating.

—

Upon getting on the cameras the first thing Painter sees is a submarine planted at the entrance of the Blacksite. Their first thought was that Urbanshade decided the crystal wasn’t enough and they had to come back for more, but taking a closer look at the submarine proved otherwise, Its logo is different from Urbanshade. The people coming out of the submarine don’t look the part either. They are wearing full armor, not even their faces are showing. They have the same logo on their uniforms as the submarine. They seem to be conversing with each other, one of them speaking through a radio (or walkie talkie) a bit different from Sebastian. Painter decides to turn their audio receptors on. The first thing they hear is coming from the radio.

“Make sure to leave with as many of them as you can. When you’re done, go back to where you came. Stay online as you go forward.”

Who is ‘them?’ Who did they come here for? The guy with the radio starts speaking to the rest of the group.

“Remember the instructions. Collect any anomalies and data you come across and avoid using lethal force unless absolutely necessary.”

Who are the anomalies? Are they talking about them?

“Please step out of the submarine.”

There are more on the submarine? Painter thought all of them were standing at the entrance. With that soldiers started pouring out in numbers Painter didn’t know was possible. The submarine looked big, way bigger than the one expendables came from, but not that big. It’s going to be harder to fend them off with numbers like that. Why were they here in the first place? If they’re here for the crystal they’re way too late for that. Except they didn’t mention anything about the crystal, only about the ‘anomalies.’ By anomalies do they mean them? If that’s the case then they seem to be in some deep waters(pun intended). Not only could they threaten Sebastian, but also Painter themself. No, they do not care about the others trapped with them. Painter and Sebastian are fighting to get out and they won’t let anyone get in the way of that. But if they want to make that work, they’re going to have to alert Sebastian on the situation. The group's motives aren’t known for sure yet, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

—

Sebastian leans against the wall of his former shop. He is currently racking his brain for any ideas of escape. He’s tried to escape before by exchanging his wares for the expendables data while Painter would guard the crystal, which they failed to do. It’s because of Painter that they are in this mess in the first place, and now Sebastian has to come up with plan b. He’s not going to let a minor setback stop him from getting his old life back, along with burning Urbanshade to the ground. He will not let Urbanshade win.

Just then his radio goes off again. This is the fifth time it has gone off these few minutes that Sebastian didn’t care to count. Upon checking he sees that it’s from Painter. What has gotta be so important that they keep calling him? They should know better by now. Then it goes a sixth time, then seventh, then eighth… Why does Painter keep doing this? They usually aren’t this persistent. Are they that lonely? Well it serves them right. But he supposes he will pick up this one time just to get them to shut up.

“SEBASTIAN!!”

“Jesus christ, WHAT IS IT!?” His voice rasps from the lack of use these past couple days.

“PEOPLETHATWEDONTKNOWAREHEREANDITHINKTHEYWANNAKIDNAPUSIDON’TKNOWWHATTODO-”

“DUDE, SLOW DOWN! …can you say all that over again?” There is a pause on the other side of the line before Painter continues.

“Ok… So there are strange people that we haven’t seen before at the entrance. And before you ask, no they are not from Urbanshade.”

Of all the things Sebastian expected to hear on this call, this was not one of them. What did they mean by kidnap?

“How would you know that?”

“Because their uniforms and submarine have a different logo. They also said something about taking the ‘anomalies’ with them.”

…You have got to be kidding.

When Sebastian thought things couldn’t get any worse, an entirely different company decides to screw everything up, as if everything hasn’t been screwed already. He can’t use them to his advantage or help either. They might get him to the surface, but not home. Sebastian is done. Done with everyone thinking he is less than a human. Done with thinking them thinking they can do whatever they want with him. Done with them taking his freedom away from him when they have already taken enough. He will not let them.

“Okay listen to me Painter, you and I are going to keep a low profile. You will have your turrets and fake doors on standby but will ONLY use them when necessary. Keep your eyes or whatever you call them on cameras at all times.”

Good. This should be hard to mess up.

Painter responded with an overly cheery, “Yes captain! I will not let you down!” Yeah right.

With that Sebastian hung up the call. Escape has never seemed so important until now, and it was very important before. If he doesn’t get out on time, they will take him away and he will never get the chance of freedom ever again. He will not let that happen.

—

It worked! It actually worked! Painter knows they should be nervous, maybe even scared, but they instead feel excited knowing that they will be able to talk to Sebastian more often. Not only that, but this probably means he hasn’t given up hopes of escape! When they both get out of this place, Painter will be able to go back to painting like they always dreamed of. This time with someone else to replace the previous person that was cruelly taken away from them. Maybe ‘replace’ isn’t the correct word, nobody will ever be able to truly replace their father, but they will make it to the surface with their new friend.

Both of them will make it no matter what it takes.

Chapter Text

Today Mrs. Christine, or Chris for short, along with fifty other soldiers would step foot into the Blacksite via submarine. After months of training this will be her first of many missions and she does not plan to disappoint. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous, not only for her job but for her own safety. Luckily for her she is surrounded by other trained professionals that have been here way longer than she has. Surely they would know what to do. As long as she does what they say and sticks close to them, she will be ok. That is what she tells herself.

As the submarine reaches the dock, she along with the rest of the soldiers stay in place waiting for instructions except for their commander, who steps out of the submarine. It is completely silent except for the sound of her own breathing and heartbeat. Not once does anybody say a word. After a long five minutes, the soldiers all get the same message.

“Please step out of the submarine.”

They form a single file line and walk out in a calm and orderly fashion, Christine being closer to the back. Time passes before their commander starts speaking once again.

“Once I am done speaking, you are all going to go into your assigned groups. You are to collect as many loose assets and anomalies as possible. Avoid using lethal force unless absolutely necessary and we will not be leaving until every single one of them is contained. Please wait in your assigned groups until you’re dismissed.”

Fortunately, it doesn’t take too long to find her group. It’s a small group of four while most others were groups of five or six, so it was easy enough to identify. None of them speak, the only words she can hear are her own thoughts.

How long will she be here? As far as she knows, there can be just as many anomalies here as there are in the Foundation. If that’s the case, she would be here way longer than anyone here would want to be. As important as this mission is to her, she would also like to get this over with and get back home as soon as possible back to her semi-normal life. Nobody can live a truly normal life under the S.C.P. Foundation.

“Hey, is this your first time?” It was Mr. Davidson. She knew him well enough to know his name on a first name basis. She wouldn’t say the two were friends, more like acquaintances, but he is nice enough. He is a well-known veteran here in the Foundation, Working here for the past thirty years. Yet he is still as young as the day he arrived, somehow not crushed by the countless forces. Yet here she is, already tempted to back away when the mission hasn’t even started yet.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”. Her voice comes out raspy as this was the first time she has spoken since she left for the Blacksite.

Her two other teammates stay silent. One simply leaning on the wall further away from them not even caring to listen to their conversation. The other is looking through their bag for their radio, maybe a little snack too.

“Groups one, two, and three, you are all dismissed. The rest of you wait here for further instructions.”

Chris is in group two. She and her three other partners make their way to the already unlocked door. What she sees on the other side is fallen desks and chairs in the center, lockers and drawers pushed to the walls, and giant claw marks on the floor. The walls are blackish gray in color while the floors are a light gray that could really use a sweep. The room is a complete mess compared to the dock. Nope. Definitely not sketchy at all. However the groups behind her are waiting and she's the one standing in front of the door. No matter how nervous she is, she will have to take the first step. After letting out a heavy sigh, she walks into the room.

Not one of them is aware of something, or rather someone is watching.

—

Sebastian sits in front of a table with a mountain of data while the radio sits on the floor. Another smaller pile sits right beside him on the floor because there was no possible way for it to all fit on the table. Broken DNA vials he no longer has use for are scattered across the shop. He couldn’t fit all of this into his bags even if he wanted to.

Yet it still isn’t enough.

It won’t be enough to be worth their time. He will need to collect more if he doesn’t want to be left behind like he was so many years ago, he honestly lost count. He won’t be getting a second chance if he messes this up. He’s surprised he’s even getting a chance at all.

The expendables used to be his way of getting his data. They would give up data in exchange for resources like med kits or of course, the flashlight. The data served no purpose for them. The most it will do is take up space. Most of the resources Sebastian gives out serve no purpose to him either. What use does he have for a flashlight if he was cursed with night vision and ultra light sensitivity? It would be constant torture. As if the flash beacon isn’t already enough. It was a win-win for everyone, even if for most of them it ended in death. If it wasn’t for the monsters who lurked down here he probably would have more than enough already.

But the expendables are no longer here. They were taken away from him the moment they reached that crystal.

Now he has developed a new routine. He would slither out of his shop and gather whatever data is left himself. It’s simple, but a very risky game to play. He doesn’t know if Urbanshade has truly left this site for good, or if they are still looking to kill him or something much, much worse. His scrambler can only do so much. As if it wasn’t dangerous enough, another completely different company is currently in the Blacksite. Not only does he risk being caught, they could also take any leftover research he hadn’t collected, destroying any hope of escape. This is why working with expendables was so much easier. They did all the dirty work for him without the risk of him getting caught. So now he is trying to come up with a new plan yet again. Something that doesn’t require him to leave his shop too often while getting as much data as possible.

Sebastian is snapped out of his thinking when the lights flicker in his shop and shut down temporarily, the only source of light being his esca. While its variants are nowhere to be seen, the angler itself has been one of the only remaining monsters in this facility for a while now, coincidentally since those people arrived. He’d rather not think on that part too much. It’s nowhere near as much of a nuisance to when the expendables were here since it would kill his customers, but it was still a pain in the ass.

Sebastian’s thoughts are interrupted again when he can hear faint footsteps coming in his direction. It doesn’t take long before the footsteps are in the same room as him, with the vent and thin wall being the only thing to separate him from the source of panicked shouting.

“There are only three in here!”

“Just go into the next room!”

“Oh fuck- WE NEED A KEYCARD!”

“SHIT!”

Sebastian didn’t really think he would ever be in such close proximity to these people and he was complaining. For once he is thankful that the angler shut off the lights in his room. But time is running out and the screaming is getting closer. After a few seconds he probably won’t have to worry about them anymore. The survivors will go back to where they came since they don’t have the keycard required to continue forward, he does. And he sure as hell isn’t going to give it to them. Everything is going to be fine.

“Hey! I got here first!”

“GET OFF ME!”

“WAIT-”

He hears a thud and one of the locker doors slam shut. Even if there was a locker in the previous room, which there probably isn’t if they had to continue in here, there is no way in hell that poor soul is making it in time. Sebastian and the one who took the locker both knew damn well the one left out wasn’t surviving this. They might be working in groups, but in the end everyone is only looking out for themselves, and this guy learned the hard way. Some things truly never change.

He hears the bulbs shatter as screaming of both the angler and soldiers pass by him. He thinks the angler might’ve bumped into something due to the loud bang that followed a few seconds before. A bit weird since the angler isn’t one for clumsiness, but who is he to judge? A lot of DNA vials fall and break on the floor because he can’t keep his stupid tail under control.

Time passes before Sebastian lets out an angry hiss as he is violently flashed by the lights suddenly turning back on. It looks like the flash beacon has some competition, even though the lights aren’t fully turned on. When gaining his composure the first thing he notices is the vent door(?) sitting in the middle of the room with one of its screws popped out. So that’s where the banging came from. That’s definitely not good, especially since there's a chance those guys are still in here with him. Before he can make a move to put it back, his keen hearing picks up the sound of light breathing. Weird, he should be the only one here. Unless they somehow found a way in through the vent? Though Sebastian doesn’t recall humans being strong enough to break the vent door open with their bare hands.

The sound of glass shattering along with stinging in his tail is more than enough to snap him out of his thoughts. He turns his head to see DNA and glass shards on the floor, some of it piercing into his tail. How many times is this going to happen? This is the second time this happened this week, at least he thinks so. He can’t keep losing his research just because he can’t keep his tail under control. At this point, the guests aren’t the only ones threatening his research. He bends down despite his aching back screaming at him not to. Why would he need a broom when he can use his big ass hands to scoop for him? The scraps proceed to be dropped off next to the shelf closer to the entrance because of the lack of trash can. He luckily doesn’t need to go to that corner often since he removed all the data on the shelves to the table. The times he does are occasionally one of the reasons why he uses up his medkits, one of the few items that are actually useful to him.

A single glass shard shines mockingly at him, the sharp tip pointing towards him. Seems that he missed one of them. He bends down to pick up the shard when he catches a glimpse of a shoe under the table. Sounds of shallow breathing and shuffling can be heard. Occasionally the sound of sobbing is enough to break apart the tension surrounding them, if only for a moment.

There is no way.

The glass shard long forgotten, he bends down further practically laying on his stomach when he meets the terrified eyes of a soldier. Their visor is mostly destroyed, allowing Sebastian to see their wide terrified green eyes. They have their knees to their chest practically shaking while pointing a rifle at him. How they managed to stay out of his sight for this long is a mystery, because this is a terrible hiding spot.

Before Sebastian can form another thought, he hears a loud bang with a sharp pain in his shoulder shortly after. He immediately springs back up with blood pooling in his hand as he tries to cover the bullet wound. Despite this, drops of blood still manage to reach the floor. He’s pretty sure the bullet is lodged in there somewhere. The soldier lets out a startled and probably terrified squeak as they are picked up and slammed in the wall. They drop their gun and it clatters next to Sebastian’s tail.

Before they can let out a scream Sebastian’s hand grabs onto their neck and begins to squeeze. It’s cruel, but it’s the only method he can think of right now that doesn’t cause too much commotion. He’s already caused enough already. He can only hope that the group from earlier left already. Even if they did, he can’t take any chances. Even with the helmet and cracked visor, he can see their face turning a light blue and feel their body begin to go limp. Their choked gasps began to disappear. He can see life slowly drain from their eyes as a single tear begins to form. Both of them knew what the outcome would be.

A loud bang is suddenly heard from the still open vent. Before Sebastian can turn around, another shot lands on where his thigh would be. The sudden pain and the loud noise next to his ears(?) are enough for him to drop the unfortunate soldier. A loud gasp comes out of the wounded soldier's lips as the intruder emerges from the vent and begins to speak.

“PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!” The voice is a bit deeper but no doubt feminine. There was nothing in that voice but sheer panic thinking the worst had happened to her friend. She has a rifle in her hands similar to the previous soldier, the only difference being that he’s pretty sure that it’s fully loaded.

What little confidence she had immediately shattered upon locking eyes with Sebastian. Her eyes widen and her breath hitches. Her skin turns a ghostly pale, unable to look away from the elephant in the room.

“No.”

A few seconds of stunned silence at the sound of his voice follows before a voice is heard again, this time from the wounded soldier.

“You can talk…?” The voice is barely above a whisper. He’s pretty sure he’s the only one who picked up on it. He’s surprised the soldier can speak at all with the current state they’re in. The intruder somewhat regains her composure and begins to speak.

“...Please do, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I- You fucking shot me!!”

“I… will do it again if you don’t come with us with your hands above your head.” It would be threatening if it weren’t for the lack of conviction in her voice. It sounded less like a command and more like a plea.

So this is what they wanted? He would prefer death over being a lab rat again. They wouldn’t actually kill him anyway. He would be of way more use to them alive than dead. So what’s the harm of saying no?

“No. Never again.”

Another shot is fired, this time hitting the wall behind him. This time it’s the guy who he had held against the wall before.

“Last chance.” The wounded soldier rasps. Pathetic. He should be the one giving orders here.

“No.”

Chaos erupts. Screaming immediately fills the room. More shots are fired, thankfully and somehow all missing him. Tables and desks get tipped over and dozens of DNA vials crack under the weight of Sebastian’s tail. He can feel the shards of glass penetrate his scales as warm fresh blood trickles on the floor. It would normally be soothing, a twisted kind of comfort if he had enough time to acknowledge it.

“BACK UP, WE NEED BACKUP!!”

What was this lady doing? She didn’t even have her radio since he made sure it was destroyed during the fight. He doubts anyone can even hear her over the loud gunshots and shouting of her teammate in the background-

A violent flash of light engulfs the room. His head aches. The ringing is overwhelming. His eyes can’t find any sort of comfort no matter how hard he tries. Everything hurts. It only lasts a second, but a second too long. That damn flash beacon.

“OVER HERE!”

A new voice decides to greet him once he gets out of his state of shock. The voice yet again belongs to a female, but this time more light. Though he couldn’t catch a long glimpse of her before she vanished along with her two rescued coworkers.

Not for long.

Sebastian dives for the open vent and tries to grab onto something. Anything that can lead him back to them. He finally feels what he thinks to be a foot and yanks on it. What follows is a loud yelp and the sound of voices.

“NOO!”

Sebastian is very rudely interrupted by an opposing force on the other side. The object he is grabbing onto is yanked towards the other side. He was so caught off guard that he almost let the poor soldier go. Almost.

“I got you!”

Pull.

“Please, YOU CAN’T LET THAT THING TAKE ME!”

Pull.

“Chris, help me out here!”

“I’m coming!”

It’s too late. Before Chris can assist, the soldier is violently ripped out of her hands and plunged into darkness. It ended as quickly as it started.

—

With one of the soldiers back in his grasp, seemingly the one who caused this mess in the first place, he once again pins the poor flailing soldier to the wall. Except this time there is no hesitation.

“WAIT-”

He raises his fist and strikes. One punch in and their screams vanish. What takes its place is a sickening crunch. Blood and brain splatter across the floors and walls. Despite the soldier’s head being no more than a bloody pulp, he still keeps going. One sickening crunch after the other. He hates this sound, and yet he can’t get enough of it. It was addicting. After what felt like forever but was actually maybe a minute at max, he drops the deceased soldier’s body on the ground. Blood colors his face a deep red, his coat too forever stained. At least he won’t have to worry about food for a few.

Fuck being careful. What’s the point if the rest of them already know? It’s not like they will be here for much longer anyway, not if he says anything about it.

For now however, he has a very important call to make.