fear me mortal...

You are expendable. You spent 93 days in prison; not even a quarter of the time you were expected to spend in containment. At least you think so? You can’t remember what you were charged with. You can’t remember whether you actually committed the crime or not. You can’t remember what prison you were whisked off to. You can’t even remember your own name, not really anyways. But you supposed that none of that really matters anymore.

Because one day, three men from the highly recognizable company, Urbanshade, approached the inmates of your prison with an offer— become members of their EXR-P Team and go to their abandoned site at the bottom of the ocean to retrieve a very important artifact (a crystal, you think it was?) with the promise of not only freedom and a complete wipe of any and all criminal records, but a large sum of money that would keep any person well off for the rest of their life.

You took that offer, as did many of your fellow inmates. As you squished into a large bus with an overwhelming and varied cast of prisoners, you thought about the whole ordeal, wondering if this was really happening. You wondered why this was happening at all. You may be a convict, but you weren’t dense or a brute: there just had to be something the officials weren’t telling you, or anyone else for that matter— after all, why would they be offering something so incredible just to retrieve a crystal, especially with the chance of letting a dangerous criminal go off scott-free? It had to be dangerous; it was the only reason they would be so desperate to offer this to prisoners, and you prepared yourself for the inevitable consequences. For harsh treatment from everyone and everything around you.

Once you arrived at a checkpoint of sorts, you were slipped into a waterproof jumpsuit and diving gear, lovingly included with a bomb strapped to your neck that would go off should you disobey orders. Fantastic. You were brought over to a loading dock with your fellow inmates, full of other prisoners Urbanshade guards had already led to the dock. Situated at each dock was a submarine, some bigger to fit an entire expedition of people and tinier ones should anyone want to go alone or with a smaller group. You had chosen to go alone, more terrified of the people you would be paired with than whatever could possibly be down there.

But man…Never in your life did you expect what you saw down there.

Terrifying creatures beyond comprehension, some defying any laws of science you knew about. Swift and relentless, bloodthirsty and horrifying…and yet it felt like a game to them all, a race to see who could kill you first…Which one was going to be the one to cause your death? And cause your death they did— over and over and over again. You can hardly remember the first time you died, the second, third, fourth, or fifth…But you remembered you’ve died a lot, and you remembered that it hurt every time. In some runs, by sheer misfortune, you died before you even made it half-way through the Blacksite. By even worse misfortune, you would croak just before the few final doors to the end, harboring a crystal you’ve never managed to even lay a finger on, the very item that would guarantee your freedom.

You were trapped in an endless cycle of living, dying, getting revived; rinse and repeat. It got to the point where you weren’t sure you were ever going to get that crystal— honestly, with how tough everything was down here, you weren’t sure anyone was going to be able to get that crystal. You were hopelessly trapped…but you digress: thanks to your eternal resetting, you learned quite a lot about the structure of the Blacksite. Every room was starting to become more and more familiar to you, getting to the point where you were able to label rooms accordingly with their pros and cons, and were able to accurately predict what items would be in the room and where. You began to learn more and more about the inhabitants of this place— every Angler variant, Eyefestation, Squiddles, the Good People, Wall Dwellers, that stupid Pandemonium that never failed to kill you almost every run…and more.

But there was one entity that piqued your interest the most. One entity that never failed to put a small smile on your face…or make you groan from annoyance as he berated you for dying to whatever threat that killed you.

Sebastian Solace— aka ‘the Saboteur’, aka ‘Z-13’, aka whatever other dumb nickname Urbanshade gave him, aka your only goddamn friend in this goddamn place.

Every time you died, he would appear before you, giving you a document containing information on what you died to with hints on how to avoid your [eventual] demise. But he wasn’t just some weird creature from limbo that acknowledged your strange immortality— every run, at around the halfway point, he would be there: trading you useful wares in exchange for any research you may have collected. You remembered the first time you managed to make it that far, crawling into a vent after a raspy voice whispered for you to enter. You remembered being almost mortified at the sight of a large humanoid towering over you, harboring an anglerfish esca, a jagged mouth, three eyes and arms, fish fins for ears, and a long, long tail. Even when he assured you that he wasn’t going to hurt you, you cowered at the mere appearance of the being before you, which he seemed to take some sort of pride in.

After a few runs though, you became used to the monstrous and mutated appearance that belonged to Sebastian Solace — it wasn’t like you had much of a choice — but something about him lingered in you every time you saw him. He was definitely much more human than entity, evident by the way he talked and acted and moved his hands around. You became curious about his character, and every time you were revived by some mysterious force, you found yourself eager to see him; you justified it under the reasoning that Sebastian was really the only sapient person there you could talk to, aside from the few times you were respawned with a group of other Expendables (and that one voice that appeared on the screens of the Blacksite, which you later learned was named ‘p.AI.nter’).

Of course, that wasn’t a complete lie — it did become refreshing after a while to hear another person’s voice — but you knew your curiosity ran deeper than that. You wanted to know more about him; you wanted to know why he felt so much more human than most of the other entities down there.

During one of your later runs, you had racked up a lot of loose data, though that wasn’t entirely difficult if you searched well enough. You had miraculously gotten to that blessed halfway point where Sebastian’s shop was waiting for you. He welcomed you with a classic snarky remark of his, and you wasted no time buying a Medkit that you desperately needed. You had plenty of light sources on hand, so you figured you would just buy a few batteries to hold you off. As you approached the table where they were, counting the correct amount of research you had to give, you noticed something off to the side of them that you hadn’t before— it was a simple document priced at $1000 worth of research. You wondered briefly about the high price and was about to brush it off before you noticed the title of the folder.

Z-13 — “The Saboteur”

The words ‘The Saboteur’, however, had been crudely crossed out and replaced with another name: Sebastian.

This was Sebastian’s file..?!

You stared at the file for a good while, dumbfounded by the fact that such an important document was just sitting there. Not only that, but it was being sold. You always wanted to learn more about the resident shopkeeper, and now, here was an opportunity to do so! You quickly checked your collection of data, realizing you had more than enough on hand to buy the batteries you wanted and the file; something Sebastian himself seemed to take notice of as he snapped his fingers in front of your face, catching you off-guard. “Hey! You gonna buy something, or are you just gonna stand there like an idiot?”, he huffed, his voice laced with both annoyance and curiosity.

You blinked, glancing at the document and Sebastian interchangeably, a silent way of asking him if it was really okay to purchase something so personal. He didn’t seem to pick up on it, which only made you wonder more if this was really something you should ask about. But after a few more seconds of consideration, you figured it wouldn’t be for sale if Sebastian didn’t want anybody reading it — you knew the giant fish man was far from shy about expressing any sort of annoyance or disdain towards a situation — so you quickly bought a few batteries, then pointed to the file to purchase it before you changed your mind. He didn’t seem surprised by your action, which kind of reassured you a little bit about digging into his personal life. “Alright! I’ll have it ready for you to read when you’re at the surface again.”

You silently wondered why you couldn’t just read it now, but you decided to avoid asking such things in fear of Sebastian getting upset. After dying to…what was it that you died to? You don’t remember. Either way, you died and spawned back on the surface. No-one was surprised by your return or presence, as if you never got on a submarine at all…Now that you were here, you took the opportunity to read Sebastian’s file…

The words typed in that file horrified you.

A simple folder in your little hands spoke of a poor man (he didn’t seem to be any older than 19…) who was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to the death penalty…before Urbanshade scooped him up and made him undergo a terrifying genetic experiment to give human beings gills. When he was finally found innocent of the crimes he was accused of years later, Urbanshade willingly withheld such information and kept him locked away in the Blacksite. It had been at least a decade since then. You knew your face had contorted into one of terror and sympathy, and you could feel Sebastian’s gaze morph as he watched your face take the shape it did.

You didn’t bother to look back at him though— it felt a little awkward to stare at him after reading something like that, so you had just quietly slid the file back to him. He didn’t say anything to you and you wouldn’t say anything back. You knew he wouldn’t want your pity, so saying anything about what you had read would’ve just annoyed him. But ever since that deep dive into his personal life and situation, you decided to make his life as easy as you could.

You never lingered in his shop more than you needed to, and you made sure to keep a respectable distance from him. You never blinded him with a flash beacon or tried to jump on him, unlike other members of your group if you were in one. You didn’t jab your keycard into his wares or ask for a discount. You always made sure to come into his shop— even if you didn’t necessarily need anything at the moment, you made sure to buy something, suspecting that the fish man needed the loose assets for some revenge plan against Urbanshade or perhaps even freedom.

He seemed to take notice of your intentions…and somehow strived to be extra annoying and disrespectful towards you. He grumbled every time you entered before putting on an exaggerated faux voice of kindness. Whenever you died and met him in limbo, he made sure to berate you even more than usual.

“I'm glad to see that Urbanshade is only sending their best and brightest.”

“Yeah, I'm sure the locker with audible breathing is the perfect place to hide.”

“I didn't exactly have the highest expectations for you, but this? You died to this?”

“You are scum and deserve every piece of shrapnel stuck in your face.”

You rolled your eyes at all the petty insults and harmful teases. Maybe spat out a few curses and groans right in Sebastian’s face, who seemed to take immense pride in lowering any self-confidence you had, but that smug face would wash away the minute you made it to his shop in another run and treated him with the same kindness and respect you’ve been doing. You could tell he didn’t understand it, and he seemed aggravated at your kindness, just as you suspected. But what were you to do? You couldn’t help but feel sympathy towards him. You wouldn’t feel right messing with him, no matter how many times he seemed to try to convince you to hate him.

…Was he trying to convince you to hate him? Who would want to be hated..?

Eventually, Sebastian just…straight up stopped talking to you. He would greet you with a simple ‘hey’, watching you almost intensely as you bought whatever you needed without a word. Once you left, he didn’t even grace you with a goodbye most of the time, usually opting with a simple hum or grumble. Was this his next grand idea to get you to hate him? To simply ignore you until you cracked and bothered him for his attention? You had to admit: if that was his plan, it almost worked on several occasions. But you wouldn’t do it.

You had your strange morals — those little sets of values that were probably the only thing left of you that was human now — and you would continue to follow them, much to Sebastian’s dismay…

And relief.

Currently, you were in the submarine, ready to begin another run. You couldn’t remember how many runs you had done before this, but you knew it was a lot. As you descended into the depths below for probably the hundredth time, your mind wandered to the Submarine Bay, where you noticed multiple submarines being launched downwards at once. It was weird to think that other EXR-P teams were in the Blacksite along with me, but you just never encountered them. How big was the Hadal Blacksite that you never have crossed paths with any other Expendables? Maybe they just died too quickly? Who knows? Certainly not you.

Either way, it didn’t take long before you reached the Blacksite, and once the submarine docked, you unloaded out of the vehicle and began your run…which, in itself, had barely anything that surprised you— there was the classic first Angler encounter, a few empty rooms with only a few pieces of data, followed by p.AI.nter locking you in a room with Eyefestation, a few more empty rooms, more Angler encounters…It was a generic run in your eyes, but you were thankful to have learned enough that you got away with minimal damage. You walked with a certain grace to your steps: shaky and scared, but still under the guise of confidence like you knew what you were doing.

Granted, you did know what you were doing, but still.

You took the time to loot drawers any time you could, which would soon prove to be useful as bad luck seemed to be a thorn at your side this run— you were unable to find many useful items, only obtaining a lantern and a lot of code breachers. Regardless, you managed to survive with limited resources and an unhealthy dose of adrenaline. After facing an encounter with the Searchlights and p.AI.nter locking you in a room yet once again with not only Eyefestation, but with a bunch of turrets,you were approaching the halfway point, and that meant one thing…

Sebastian’s shop.

You entered Room #53, hoping you would get lucky and find his shop right away, only to find no vent in sight. You sighed, keeping your spirits up as you traversed through the next door. Room #52 came next, and there was still no sign of Sebastian’s shop. You could see the next door ahead, noticing it had a keycard scanner. The room didn’t look too big, you opted for searching for the keycard instead of using a code breacher. As you checked each drawer in the room however, your ears picked up on some sort of noise. You quickly eyed the closest locker — no Voidmass inside — just in case you needed to hide, but no visual cues ever came.

The noises were still going though, and you tried to listen closely to try and make out what that sound could possibly be. It definitely sounded loud…and you could almost pick up some sort of voice amongst the noise. Try as you might, you couldn’t identify the sound, but you could tell the sound was up ahead…Soon enough, you found the keycard and entered Room #51, and you realized that the noises had indeed gotten louder. Now that you were closer to the source…your eyes widened as you recognized the sound. It was Sebastian’s voice. He seemed upset.

You blink, wondering what was going on before hearing something akin to a trigger being pulled followed by a thud, albeit faintly. You hum in confusion, looting drawers again real quick, as you open the door to Room #50. As you did so, you heard another trigger being pulled, now much clearer…this time though, it was followed by a gunshot.

Oh no.

You rushed towards Room #49 before hearing more and more triggers go off. You stand there as more and more gunshots fill the room much louder than you thought they would be. Sebastian’s shop had to be the next room over, considering how loud each gunshot was. You counted each one, concluding that about five bullets were used in the time you spent in the room. There was silence for a moment…then a thud…followed by a whimpering sort of noise. Your heart began to race for some reason, and you didn’t even bother to loot anymore as you rushed once more to the door. It was locked by a keycard, but you didn’t bother to try and look for it. You fumbled with the code breacher in your hand before jamming it into the scanner.

The door opened to reveal Room #48. The whimpering — no…crying — was coming from this room…or rather, the open vent in the room. It had already been flung open, probably for the EXR-P team you assumed was now dead in Sebastian’s shop. You quietly walked towards the vent and kneeled down, wondering if you should really go in here or not before ultimately deciding that you wanted to check up on your…friend? Sebastian. You wanted to check up on Sebastian. So against your better judgment, you crawled through the vent, the smell of fresh blood wafting up your nose. It disgusted you, but you reminded yourself that you have smelled, seen, and felt worse.

You finally crawled to the end of the vent shaft, blinking in terror as you saw six dead bodies covering the whole floor. Blood trickled out of gunshot wounds either to their heads or chests. The sight was enough to horrify you, but the sound that drew you in the vent in the first place pulled you out of your terror. Sebastian seemed to be…crying. Which confused you…He didn’t seem like the type to ever want to shed a tear! It felt such a breach of privacy to be doing this,?!$5 you wouldn’t feel right about yourself if you didn’t even at least try and be there for him.

You slowly moved your body out of the vent and into the shop, careful not to step on the dead remains of other humans. Your head averted itself to the spot where Sebastian normally was perched, but instead of a tall, snarkily confident figure to greet you, there was a timid, curled up creature that didn’t even acknowledge your presence. He didn’t even seem to hear you come in…You could tell he seemed to be spiraling, his claws grasping his coat as he sobbed into his forearms. What…happened?

Whatever. You needed some way to get his attention, but you didn’t want to scare or anger him…After careful consideration, you sat down on the ground, grossed out at the dead bodies around you before turning to the still crying fish mutant.

Sebastian..?

The shopkeeper perked up in surprise before hissing and facing you with anger and fear. Once he noticed it was you, his face morphed into confusion and disbelief, yet anger and fear were still present in the moment as well. You blinked at the raggedy appearance of Sebastian— you were used to seeing him a little disheveled, but not like this…

You were sorry to come in so suddenly…You just heard some commotion and—

“Get. Out.”

What..?

“GET OUT!!!”

You flinched in surprise as he yelled at you, and you couldn’t help, but notice tears streaming down his face as he did so. His pupils had also shrunk to reveal his black sclera, and his lure was hardly lit. Normally, you were keen to make sure to respect his space, but…you just couldn’t leave him like this! Crying all on his own…Besides, if you died because of this, you would just come back anyway.

You’re sorry, but you just couldn’t go yet. Not until you know everything’s okay.

Sebastian seemed stunned by your words; much too stunned to protest. You stood up from your spot on the ground and looked at the bodies, along with a bunch of broken flash beacons scattered across the floor. You sigh.

People just don’t know when to quit, huh?

You started to pick up the broken flash beacons one by one, stepping over the dead bodies to place them on a shelf and arranging them to be somewhat neat. You then look at the dead bodies and grimace at the sight. You’re not sure what to do with them, but you figured Sebastian would once he gets better. So, with a deep breath, you carefully picked up the cold limp bodies of fellow humans and lined them against one of the walls, farther away from Sebastian, who watched you in disbelief as you did so. Once all the bodies were lined up neatly — a sentence you never thought you’d say — you turned back to Sebastian, who was still shuddering and crying from whatever happened.

Sebastian..?

“S-Stay back! Leave…LEAVE NOW! YOU’RE LUCKY I’M WARNING YOU AT ALL!”, he exclaimed angrily, lifting himself up a little to appear more threatening; but you weren’t swayed. You didn’t move forward, but you didn’t budge either. That seemed to aggravate him a little more, his claw-like hands gripping in a sort of threatening manner. “I SAID TO GO AWAY!!! WHAT PART OF THAT DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND?!”, he yelled, louder this time. You simply shook your head.

You couldn’t leave yet. Not when your friend wasn’t doing well.

Sebastian’s eyes widened before he growled, his back and tail arched like a hissing cat. “You…idiot. I could kill you…I could kill you JUST LIKE I KILLED THOSE IDIOTS BEHIND YOU FOR MESSING WITH ME!”, he exclaimed, “YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO DIE, BUT I CAN STILL MAKE IT PAINFUL!!! NOW GO AWAY!!!” You simply shook your head again. A bewildered expression stretched across his face.

You couldn’t do that. You needed to make sure he was alright.

He stared at you for a few seconds before his hands clenched into fists. “Why…? Why are you still here..?! Aren’t you afraid of me?! The MONSTER?! THE MUTANT CREATURE?! THE SABOTEUR?! DON’T PRETEND YOU SEE ANYTHING MORE THAN THAT WHEN YOU LOOK AT ME!”

You didn’t need to pretend anything. You were here because you wanted to make sure he was alright. You’ve never seen him cry before. Whatever happened before you got here must’ve been bad.

Sebastain’s breathing was deep, yet fast. He was on the verge of hyperventilating, his chest rising and falling at a rate you knew wasn’t safe. His expression showed he wasn’t used to this care, nor was he expecting it from you of all people. The confusion was making his anxiety rise, and you could feel start to lose himself. Without giving it much thought, you sat down in front of him again, criss-cross, and smiled patiently.

You knew Sebastian and you weren’t friends or anything, but you cared about him all the same, so you were going to stick around until he was back to his snarky, crabby self.

You put your hand to your chest, making sure he was watching you. Your hand lifted upwards as you breathed in, then slowly lowered as you breathed out. You made sure to do this slowly, but continuously. You knew it was almost childish, and you didn’t know how Sebastian would take it, but eventually you noticed that he began to copy you to some degree, his breathing getting less harsh and more controlled; and once you were sure his breathing would stay normal, you peered at his face once more. Tears still stained his face, but they weren’t flowing as freely anymore, and his pupils had dilated back to ‘normal’.

The two stared at each-other for a moment, Sebastian combing his fingers through his hair as he stared at you with that same look of bewilderment.

It was clear he had no idea how to respond to suddenly being thrown into a vulnerable situtaion— he clearly didn’t expect someone else to come on by, especially so soon after his rampage. It felt awkward to just leave after witnessing all that, but you ultimately decided you would let Sebastian make the first move…You hoped that first move would be soon though.

Sebastian seemed to glance behind you, taking notice of the way you organized the broken beacons and the dead bodies. He seemed to almost want to laugh at that. “…Didn’t know you were so comfortable touching the dead. You grave-robbed before or something?”, he asked, his voice still a little choked up from crying. You blinked and shrugged in response. Of course something like that would be the first thing he says to you.

Well, when you’re surrounded by the dead on the daily, you tend to grow a tolerance to it all.

Sebastian chuckled at that. “Yeah yeah, whatever. Join the club…”, he muttered with a sigh, tilting his head down and using his other hand to wipe away his stinging eyes, “Urgh…My head is pounding. Thank god you don’t have one of those Imaginary Friends on you…Or any friends for that matter.” You scoffed at the insult, but decided not to let anything distract you from the question you’ve wanted to ask. The words flowed out of your mouth like butter, though a hint of nervousness weaseled its way into your tone.

Sebastian groaned at your question.

“Oh, what do you think, Expendable? I’ve got a hoard of dead bodies lined up oh-so-neatly in my shop, blood painting my walls, and your sorry stubborn ass sitting on my floor watching me fix myself up after the murder of six annoying vermin…”, Sebastian hissed, only a little bit of malice in his voice before he groaned again, “I’m just peachy.”

You’re glad to hear he’s feeling better.

Sebastian grumbled at the obvious happiness you felt. He didn’t seem to have much energy to get up, instead resting his head on his crossed arms and adjusting his long body to get himself a little more comfortable. He seemed to be begrudgingly accepting that you probably weren’t going to hurt him, but that didn’t stop him from glaring at you once he saw no chance of you moving from your spot. Great.

What happened?

“Can’t you tell what happened?”, he answered much too harshly. You rolled your eyes before resting your cheek on your hand.

The entire group flashed Sebastian with all the beacons they had, and he got mad. That was obvious. But you had never seen him so…disheveled before. And you heard a lot of yelling before that.

Sebastian noticeably flinched at your comment before grumbling. “It’s none of your business. They were just pesky nobodies who wanted to harass me. Frankly, you’re not much better. When I tell you to leave, you leave. Got it?”, Sebastian huffed with a low growl that made you flinch. You nod gently.

He was right. You were sorry for overstepping.

Sebastian blinked, his claws digging into his arms once more. “You have got to be kidding…”, he whispered in annoyance. You blinked and tilted his head in curiosity, earning a frustrated noise from Sebastian as he gripped his hair roughly again. “GEURH—!! How can someone be as stubbornly kind as you?! Ever since you read my stupid file, you’ve been treating me like…Like—!”

Like a human being?

“…I don’t need your pity, Expendable. I don’t need anyone’s pity. You think just because you feel sorry for me, it’s going to reverse everything that’s ever been done to me?”, he mumbled, his eyebrow twitching as he stared daggers at you.

Of course not. Nothing you do can ever give Sebastian back what he lost. Besides, you knew he didn’t need your pity. He’s done so much on his own without any support from anyone else. You were just treating him with the human decency he deserved.

Sebastian didn’t say anything, looking down at the floor, then past you at the dead bodies of his fresh kill. He looked back down at the floor and felt his eyes burn once more. No! He wouldn’t cry in front of you…not again.

You took notice of this and frowned empathetically. You hummed in thought before repositioning your sitting position to rest on your knees. The mutant in front of you seemed confused by the action, then realized what you were doing once you patted your lap. He flinched, not knowing if he should feel taunted or disgusted by the action. He looked up at you to complain and reject such a stupid offer…then stopped as he saw you give a gentle smile.

He flinched; something so simple reminded him of something so familiar…He found himself lost between the side of him that had grown hardy to survive in the world he was trapped in and the side of him that longed to feel little and safe again…

He wanted to be safe again. Was that so much to ask? But was he really going to take that risk? With a stranger? Were you even considered a stranger to him anymore?

…Against his better judgement, he gripped at the floor before sliding his whole body towards you, which caught you a little by surprise— you didn’t think he’d accept your offer. Carefully, he rested his head against your lap, his hands settled by your sides in case you tried anything. He watched your hands as best he could, but the minute they left his field of vision, he began to quiver— something he’d never admit to doing in a million years. “If you try anything…”

You wouldn’t. You won’t touch him beyond this. Not without his permission.

Sebastian’s body still shook uncomfortably, but you felt it slowly settle down as he rested on your lap in silence. You both remained that way for a while, him lying down while you hummed a little lullaby you remembered from before all this. That alone seemed to calm him down. It was strange, having such an oddly comforting moment in a hellhole like this…

“…I’m a monster.”

No, he wasn’t.

“I literally am.”

He knows what you mean.

“…Goddammit. You’re too genuine for this place. How in the hell did you even end up down here?”

You don’t remember. Maybe you were some filthy murderer.

“A weakling like you? Nah.”

You and Sebastian sat there in silence for a few more minutes , the only sound around you being the sound of bells, your humming, and Sebastian’s relaxed breathing. Soon enough, you heard the fish man grumble, then felt something graze your hand. It was Sebastian’s hand, and he carefully grabbed it and raised it up until he placed it on his head. “Not a word”, he threatened, “Or I pop your head off.” You agreed to his murderous terms and began to gently run your fingers through his hair. It was wet and a bit knotted, but surprisingly well-kept despite the environment around you. You continued humming as you did so, and though you felt him shiver a few times, you felt Sebastian get slowly more relaxed. You begin to get lost in the rhythmic motion, more or so focusing on correctly humming your chosen melody than the action itself…

Sebastian suddenly flinched violently, scaring you a little with how sudden it was. You quickly asked if he was okay, immediately removing your hand from his figure. He grumbled a little before nodding. “I’m fine…”, he said through gritted teeth.

Did you do something wrong?

“Urgh…No. You just…touched my neck is all.”

Oh, had you? Was it a sensitive spot for him?

Another flinch. It scared you again, but you grew more confused, considering you weren’t touching him anymore.

Sebastian?

“…’M ticklish, is all…”, he said, his voice practically in a whisper. It sounded like he really had to force himself to get that simple sentence out. You blink in surprise. By all accounts, Sebastian could, of course, be ticklish, but the idea of it never crossed your mind. Especially in a place like this, you never expected such a thing to be brought up. It was almost amusing to think about. You apologized for the unwanted touch regardless.

“It’s…whatever. I, uh, didn’t know I was still…”, Sebastian started, but his voice trailed off. He became lost in thought, much to your curiosity. You wondered what he was thinking about before you noticed his body began to quiver once more. His face was buried in your legs, so you couldn’t see his expression, but based on what he said next, you were willing to believe his face was flushed. “…D-Do it again”, he said meekly, clearly unsure himself about what he was asking for you to do.

Huh?

“Don’t make me ask again…And you better not say a damn word about it either…”, he hissed through gritted teeth. You didn’t want to aggravate the mutant further, so you agreed and hummed to sort of signal you were about to do it. You swear you heard him mumble a quiet “please be gentle…”, and your heart melted a little. You wouldn’t call attention to it though, for his sake. Anyways, you carefully brought your hand close to his neck and, using one of your fingers, began to gently scratch against the back of it. You panicked a tad when Sebastian flinched once more, only to immediately relax once…the sweetest giggles ever began to pour out of the fish man?!

“Mmphff—! Keheheh…Ahaha!”

Your pupils dilated a tad as you heard the somewhat frantic giggles of Sebastian. Your heart felt like it skipped a beat or two, because you had never heard Sebastian laugh before— not like this anyway! It seemed…much more free than his usual mischievous chuckle…Was this really happening? You chuckled a little yourself, feeling Sebastian bury his face deeper into your legs as his ear fins began to flap a little from the new sensations. You hummed once more as you gently slid your finger up and down the back of his neck, in awe of how his shoulders shook as he laughed and how his whole body jumped when you grazed over a sensitive little area on the little spot— his almost innocent reactions…This was, frankly, one of the most adorable things you’ve experienced in this dumpster fire!

Doing okay, Sebastian?

“GHK—! Ihihi’m gohohood…”

You smiled and nodded, continuing the gentle sliding and scritching for a little while before changing your tactic to instead drum your fingers against his neck. His snickers grew a little louder, and his whole body sort of scrunched up to try and protect the spot; his large tail thumped lightly against the walls of the shop, and his third arm patted against the ground rapidly. “H-Hehey! Snrk—! T-T-That..! Kekeheheheh…” You smiled as you listened to his soft laughter— it showed nothing, but pure happiness, and you just knew this was something you were going to treasure for the rest of the time you were stuck down here.

You hum as you continue to drum and slide across Sebastian’s neck, chuckling whenever he would flinch at your touch. Soon enough, you get a sort of idea, and you drag your finger to the end of his neck and begin to gently circle around the bone that you could feel there. Sebastian’s laughter, very quickly, raised in volume, and it must have tickled a bit more than before because his ear fins and tail were wagging and thumping much faster now.

“Nohohoho…eheHEHAHA! IHIHIT TIHIhihickles..!”, he giggled mindlessly, seemingly in bliss as he wrapped his two arms around your waist. He seemed to forget where he was for a moment…How you wanted to help him hold on to that feeling forever. He deserved it after being tortured for so long.

Does he need you to stop?

“Prrr….eheheh—! NohoHOHOT yehehet…”

Did Sebastian just purr?! Alright, there was no way you were going to be able to comment on that without getting shot in the head, but that didn’t mean you didn’t internally squeal the moment you heard it. Either way, you decided to be a little bold, circling the bone for a little longer before tracing circles on his back. He flinched violently again and you tilted your head worriedly, slowing down the tickles to check up on him. You apologized quickly.

Was that too much?

“N-Nohoho…Mmm, just caught off-guard…”

Can you go on?

Sebastian grumbled before nodding, and once you were given the ‘okay’, you continued to trace shapes around his neck and back, smiling as you figured out what areas seemed to make him laugh the most:

Of course, his neck was very sensitive and when you tickled there or near there on his back, he seemed to let out flustered titters and bury his blushing face into your lap as his shivering body curled in on itself.

You gently slid across his back ribs, harboring a much more gentle reaction. His giggles became almost smooth, pouring out of him with hardly any breaks in his laughter. His tail swished gently as you tickled there, rather than the harsh thumps from earlier.

Circling gently against his shoulder blades gave you a lovely mix of soft giggles and frantic peals of laughter. His shoulders shook as you tickled there, and you could feel his body purr the most when you lightly massaged his shoulders.

You found yourself eager to learn more and more about this new side of Sebastian, but you knew this was a huge deal for him. As much as he was happily laughing, he was trusting you with this, and you couldn’t betray that fragile bit of trust for the sake of your own curiosity; so you simply alternated between the different spots on his back and neck, making sure to stay gentle the whole time.

“GaHAHA! T-Thihihis! YOHOU! Mmmphff—! Y-Yohohohou’re toHOHOO GOHOHOO—! Ghk!”

Having fun?

You had asked that sincerely, but Sebastian sputtered out the equivalent of soft keysmash, his lure brightening up ever-so-lightly and his tail swishing in embarrassment. You felt like he understood your genuineness, but that probably didn't stop the question from being any less flustering.

That was a genuine question.

“IHIHI knohOHOW—! Ihihi juhuhust..!”

Does he need you to stop?

Sebastian seemed to actually consider it for a moment…He grumbled amongst his giggles as he thought about it before clenching his fists a little. Eventually, he nodded, and you immediately removed your hand from him. You swear that he seemed a bit shocked at this, but even so, he laid there on your lap, still giggly from your tickles. You kept your hands away from him, but tilted your head as you watched him settle down.

Is he okay?

“…”

Sebastian?

“God, this is humiliating…”

You blink as you watch him roll over off your lap. Sebastian, now on his back, laid next to you, his face flushed as you suspected, but harboring an expression that seemed to be a mix of confused, happy, and frustrated. “I can’t believe I’m letting you do this. I must be so goddamn desperate…I’m surprised you’re not making fun of me.”

Why would you? Hasn’t he gotten by now that you don’t want to hurt him?”

“Eugh, I know! It’s just—! Arugh, I’ve been so shitty to you..!”

Glad to know that he acknowledges that.

He shot you a death glare for a moment, but sighed as he realized he probably deserved the bit of sass. He pinched the bridge of his nose “Look, the point is…Why are you being so nice to me?”, he asked with a huff before averting his eyes from your gaze. You sigh and shake your head.

This may come as a surprise to him, but not everybody is like the shitshow that is Urbanshade. Like you’ve said many times over, you understand his situation, and you simply wish nothing, but the best for him…Oh, and p.AI.nter. Couldn’t forget about him.

Sebastian sighed and nodded, looking back at you. “He’s…a good kid. He deserves his freedom.”

So does Sebastian.

The shopkeeper said nothing for a bit, looking away once again before groaning and crossing his arms. His claws gripped his sleeves once more, and you already had a sneaking suspicion of what he was going to say next. Or at least wanted to say. He glanced at you, seeing that knowing gleam in your eyes, before huffing in embarrassment. “You know what I want.”

You didn’t want to say anything. You were waiting for him to give the okay.

“…Thanks”, he mumbled out a reply, his ears fins flapping once more. He clearly wasn’t used to so much positive attention. Not anymore anyways.

Where’s ‘good’?

He flinched at the question, his cheeks turning dark as he grumbled. “How about I tell you what’s ‘bad’ instead?”, he mumbled again, to which you agreed as long as he let you know if anything else was uncomfortable during it. You knew that wasn’t a problem, but you think he secretly appreciated the thought nonetheless. Thankfully for him, he was much less embarrassed telling you what he didn’t like rather than what he did, and it gave you a good idea of just how gentle and careful you needed to be.

Not at his ribs because they had a second set of gills around that area, be careful near his third arm because the flesh was kind of thin and painful at times, don’t touch near his chest because of a massive surgery scar there…You listened to all his points and nodded to show you understood. You could tell he was nervous throughout, but you made sure to show your sincerity, and that seemed to calm him down some. Even still, he was shaking a little as he finished his preferences, something he was obviously cursing himself for— appearing weak in front of someone who he should consider his enemy. God, was he touch-starved.

Are we all good?

“…Mmm, sure…”

You will be gentle. He calls the shots.

Sebastian slowly nodded at that, allowing himself to settle down. Carefully, you placed your hand on his stomach, noticing him flinching at your touch. You quickly checked for any signs of uncomfortableness before gently scribbling your fingers against the spot. The reaction was almost immediate, both his frantic giggling and your big dorky smile that came from hearing it. “Ghhh—! Ehehehaha! W…Why thehehere fIHIHIRST? Snrk—!”, he snickered out a shy reply, covering his jagged mouth with the palm of his hand, his shoulders shivering at the contact. You were surprised at how much he was laughing, wondering how thin his shirt was…Maybe your natural body heat added a sort of pleasant sensation to the mix?

Doing alright?

“Mmhm—! Eheheh…”

Quick question: two hands alright? Or would he rather just stick with one?

“T-Twohoho’s fihIHINE…Nhmn—!”

You nodded with a soft smile, your hand continuing to lightly scribble and skitter against Sebastian’s belly. Your other hand would soon join the fray, resting against where Sebastian’s body and tail met before beginning to massage the tense areas there. “GAHAHA—! Kekeheheheh…Ohohoh gOHOD! Pff-hehehehe!”, he laughed, his ear fins matching in color with his face as they flapped. Your eyes sparkled as the shopkeeper began to move his torso from side to side from the pure sensation alone. Of course, you didn’t let the slight movement stop you: your fingers skillfully circled and prodded at their chosen spot, and you hummed in delight as you stared at the happy expression on Sebastian’s face.

Is he enjoying himself?

“Mmph—! N-Nohohot AHANSWERING THAHAhahahat…!”

You took that as that he was happy, though you slowed down your tickles a bit just in case. After a bit, you decided to focus on just one spot, bringing the hand that was tickling his stomach down to the other hip. It mimicked the movement of the first one, gently caressing and circling the sensitive spot. You nearly stopped out of shock at the way Sebastian flinched and let out an uncharacteristic noise amongst his laughter. His upper arms opted to cover his face, one still pressed firmly against his mouth, while the other clutched his scarf and pulled it upwards. His third arm patted against the ground as his tail swished around, controlled by the electrifying sensation of your tickles.

“GHK—! M-MohohotherfUHUCKER..! EHEHEHAHA!”

Was he okay?

“S-SOHOMEWHEHERE ELSE! AHA—! PLEHEhehehahahase..!”

You didn’t have to be told twice, immediately pausing your tickles and giving Sebastian a little break. You panicked for a moment, slight remorse in your eyes as you looked at the mutant’s face. You were relieved to find the tired, but not dissatisfied eyes of Sebastian, who giggled mindlessly as he settled down. He opened one of his eyes to peek at you before breaking eye contact the minute he saw you looking at him. A gentle smile found its way to your face, and once he seemed calmed down enough, you carefully rested your hands on his sides.

Ready?

“Meheheh…J-Just do ihihit already…”

You nodded before carefully poking and prodding at his sides. Sebastian jumped at the touch and began to shimmy once more as you lightly grazed your nails along the sensitive spot. “EheheHEH—! Prrr…Stuhuhupid, stuhuHUPID..! GHK—!” He moved his torso side to side, trying to pry your wriggling fingers away from his body out of instinct. Of course, his flushed face told a different story— he had wanted this kind of playful touch for so long. He didn’t expect to receive it, especially not from you, and it felt almost addicting in a way. He cringed at himself — or at least would’ve if he wasn’t giggling and snickering like a doofus — for being near obsessed with the situation he was in. It was just so…freeing, as terrifying as it was. And he supposed it wasn’t weird to feel that way…

This feeling is what he’s been fighting for for so long anyway, right?

“MmeHEH! GEHEHAhahaha! Ohohoh fuhuhuhuck..! Nohohohoho…”, Sebastian exclaimed, any thoughts basically melting into a single thought of ‘laugh. it’s okay to laugh for a bit’. You recognized that and smiled at the state of the shopkeeper, the same one who insulted you for every death you succumbed to or turned up his nose every time you wandered into his shop. He was in a state of pure bliss, in a little slice of Heaven in this inescapable Hell, and you cherished the happy look on his face, the frantic laughter that pooled out of his throat, and the involuntary squirming caused by your touch…Both of you felt human again in that brief moment.

How was he doing, by the way?

“EHEHAHAHA! SNRK—! Yohohohou suhuhuhuck… *hic!* HehehaHA-! Ok ok! Ehehenough—!”

In an instant, the sensation faded as you stopped and pulled your hands back. You smiled as you watched Sebastian settle down for the final time, and you couldn’t help, but see the shopkeeper as adorable. Not in the sense of your traditional cuteness, you suppose— more like…sort of charming? Beautiful even? You never realized how nice it was to see the innocence of human nature with something as simple as laughter. Though, you supposed you did always have a fascination for laughter— the different ways people laughed or how their eyes crinkled when they laughed really hard, how some even fell over from their own hilarity. It made you smile probably in a way that definitely came off as overenthusiastic.

“What are you smiling about, punk?”

Nothing. Nothing at all.

“Suuure…”

He was a man of justice, yes? You were innocent until proven guilty.

“…Hmph.”

He was okay though, right? You weren’t too rough with him?

“‘M fine. You…were fine.”

Good.

You stretched your arms before slowly picking yourself off the floor, though you noticed a familiar light coming from…the side of your neck? You averted your eyes, glancing at the bomb collar to see the red light flashing periodically. That was the signal for when it was about to blow…Your face went pale, but you remembered that the SCRAMBLER Sebastian had — you noticed it in the corner where he usually sat — prevented them tracking you or detonating your gear. But with that being said…it must mean they’ve gotten suspicious. “What’s up with you? Standing there like a freak…”

Your diving gear is flashing. Seems you had stayed here too long for HQ’s taste. They were probably going to detonate your gear the minute you walked out of the vent.

“Aaaand that’s why you never linger in my shop! Remember that in your next run~”, Sebastian teased, pointing at you. You rolled your eyes. Seems like he was back to normal. Good for his sake, bad for your self-esteem. “Oh well. At least I get to loot your corpse. I’ll give them back to you…for a fee, of course.” You sighed: you knew the song and dance by now. But speaking of looting…you rummaged through your pockets for a moment before pulling out the research you’ve amassed and handing it to Sebastian. He looked at it and groaned a little.

“I thought I told you I don’t need your pity.”

So he doesn’t want your research?

“Transcation’s already been made! Back off!”, Sebastian exclaimed, yoinking the data out of your hand and pushing you away with his hand. You chuckle and shake your head in amusement before taking a deep breath and facing the vent that led to your demise. No point in lingering around any further. What a weird run this turned out to be. You looked back at Sebastian, who was sorted through your data, and shrugged.

See you in limbo.

“Heheh…See you real soon.”