❝...you aren’t supposed to                         be smoking in here.❞ 

Fingers rake through shaggy hair before he shook his head, turning  away. Fuck. A quick glare over towards his partner he snatched up another packet of cigs, searching for one left. Just one to calm his frayed nerves but of course there was nothing in the pack. 

              ❝...I brought you coffee.❞

❝Mm? Thanks just put it on the desk Joseph.❞ A folder in his hands he flipped through a few pages before scribbling some notes down onto one of them.  Off to the side were pictures of the crime scene. The fire. Charred bits of debris and a half concealed photoset of what looked to be a small blackened chunk of..  ❝Is there something you needed?❞ Peering up towards the other Detective his brow raised. Tone neutral and hardly dismissive he was simply curious. 

Drawing Sebastian be like…

Drawing Joseph be like…

            ❝…what can I say?                        Guess I’m just more                        personable than you.❞ 

            He kept his voice low and tepid, and held down a hard cough for fear that       raging maniac was still too close behind them. Considering his last bullet was       buried in the tattered groom-looking monster’s thigh, he decided that his partner’s       intervention couldn’t have come at a more opportune moment. The air felt thin       here, but it was difficult to tell whether it was due to the altitude of the asylum on       the mountain or the cacophony of spilt or otherwise expired chemicals bleeding       through the walls. Whatever the reason, it was difficult to take in– as much as       the sheer horror of what they’d stumbled upon, like some nightmare from a post       -apocalyptic film where the patients now ran the asylum. What had happened here?

Finally straightening up he ran fingers through sweat matted hair.  “No fuckin’ clue. How we got into this shit is moot though. Right now we need to concentrate on how exactly to get out of it.” 

A loud almost meaty sounding thud was heard against the door.  That ..man was on the other side, trying to shoulder it open. And from the sounds of the restless creaking, Sebastian calculated that  it wouldn’t take but a few more powerful hits for that to happen. Eyes dart about the room they were now trapped in and he found a metal pipe something strong at least to perhaps try to ward off the monster long enough for at least Joseph to escape. 

“Find something.” The Detective hissed under his breath, eyes never  leaving the door as it burst open the and Groom was before them. Barrel chest heaving as he glared from one bride to the other.  “DARLING! I can forgive such an atrocious act!” And he motioned towards the  bullet wound in his thigh. “But you running, the both of you r u n n i n g away is  something.. so absolutely heinous that I.. I..” Tone lowered, now hissed and  savage. “Cannot forgive, whxre!” And he lunged at Sebastian who held the  metal pipe in a bat-like manner. 

A swing and a sickening thunk as Sebastian clocked the variant against the temple hard enough to rock his arms to the core.  But it wasn’t enough, it merely stunned Gluskin for a brief moment. “Fxcking swine! This is how you repay my LOVE!” He screamed. 

             D a r l i n g … The uneasy feeling in his stomach turned sour as the other’s       disposition grew darker and more erratic, his grip on the knife only intensifying       despite the detective’s clear command. He hadn’t been given the chance to warn       of his impending shot as his training instructed him to do when dealing with an       assailant before the delusional man lunged for him, all muscle and blood-splattered       power. As an officer of the law, his morals were strict and his training was relentless:       don’t shoot to kill unless you have no other choice. But he was also overtly aware       that there was little to no chance of him stopping the bullish charge of the maddened       behemoth. Instead, instinct overwhelmed and took command of his range of motion,       taking swift aim for the beast’s thick thigh as he fired a hot wad of lead deep into the       stretch of muscle in an attempt to sever the assailant’s perambulation. Sebastian’s       appearance couldn’t have come at a more opportune moment, his less seasoned       counterpart momentarily distracted from the situation at hand by the hoarse, familiar       cry.

            ❝–Seb !! R U N !!❞ 

            Heels met the puddles ( of what he didn’t wish to think further on ) peppering the      concrete with an audible splash, gloved fingers catching the loose, filthy folds of his       partner’s shirt sleeve as he darted past him, adrenaline charging through his veins       allowing only a single thought to register through his cortex– 

                                                     ☂&?

                        THE PENGUIN & THE RIDDLER

❝I’m not finished with her, you see. I’m going  to have to teach you some manners Darling.❞   Still clutching the knife, his grin returned.  ❝You’re so eager for my attention Dear. Well..❞ There was short pause before muscles tensed and he was on the move within an instant. The monstrous variant charging towards Joseph. ❝Now you haVE IT!❞ Eyes wild he laughed, yelling. 

As Eddie lunged forward, Sebastian burst through a set of doors.  ❝Joseph!❞ Came the sharp cry; both relieved and then alarmed. 

             ❝…that thing… Ruvik. What is he, exactly?                               He doesn’t seem to be restricted                               by the laws of physics…❞ 

            Gloved fingertips sift mindlessly through the protected pocket of his vest,       drawing forth the slim, familiar body of a previously requested vice to which his       plea had received no answer. Sufficiently, no: Joseph didn’t smoke. And he       wouldn’t dream of it. 

                                                   But he knew Sebastian did. 

            And knowledge begat preparation for emergency situations. If the nightmare       they’d been unwittingly thrust into didn’t constitute an emergency… well then,       perhaps his partner’s assertion about fire and brimstone wasn’t too far off the       mark after all. Wordlessly ( in regard of the gesture ), he passed the cigarette to       his frayed partner; yes, he was frayed, falling apart at the seams… albeit slowly       and with great selfishness. Sebastian was a cornerstone in times of crisis… but       his lingering guilt had reared its ugly head once again, and at a most inopportune       time. For once… the nerve-soothing vice could be overlooked.

None of that really mattered though right now,  ❝ The problem isn’t how we got I N, right now have to worry about getting O U T. ❞ Glancing towards his partner he noticed the slightly frayed rolled stick of nicotine and he slumped his shoulders a bit. Bless.

Reaching out he snagged it greedily, muttering a quick thank you under his breath, silver lighter already in hand he flicked it open. Flame tickling the end until smoke finally puffed out in hazy tufts. Inhaling a long slow cancerous breath he closed his eyes briefly. 

❝ Where was this earlier? ❞ He asked with a slightly humorous lilt to his tone. 

❝ I suppose we..” It all happened within seconds really but before the disfigured monster could lumber any closer, Sebastian stood up, the handgun removed from its holster as he aimed. Arm steady he held it straight out, finger tight against the trigger as he held his breath. 

The deafening whip like crack of the weapon was enough to knock the disgusting creature onto its back. Stunned, writhing but not dead. Not yet anyway. Sebastian loomed over it, or her he supposed. At least it used to be. Mutilated beyond recognition the mouth of the thing had its lower jaw torn clean off, bones fractured and twisted, flesh torn and reshaped. Taking another drag from his cigarette he exhaled a plume of smoke before tossing the lit poison onto the beast, setting it aflame. 

This is a summary of what The Assignment/The Consequence revealed to us. I purposely left out theories as they are up for speculation. Below are the facts and connections. If I missing anything major or something needs correction, please message me. And I’ll fix and/or add it. 

WHAT WE KNOW NOW: 

Ruvik is the puppet master. He found a host inside all who left STEM, but would most likely have a better host in Leslie and Sebastian (due to the traumatic event connection mentioned in The Consequence) 

In connection to the point above, Sebastian’s headache/seeing ‘Ruvik!Leslie’ at the end of the main game is a hallucination caused by Ruvik’s possession of him (since Leslie is a prisoner of Mobius as seen as the end of The Consequence)

Ruvik has a host inside The Administrator, meaning he indirectly controls Mobius 

The Administrator inside STEM was not the real Administrator, but Ruvik creating something for Juli to fear (”I know what you crave, what you fear…” This scene from the main game was shown in The Consequence to further push the idea that it has been Ruvik controlling nearly everything inside STEM) 

Some of the missing posters from the main game are irrelevant to actual events as the KCPD team, Jimenez, Leslie, and Tatiana were only in STEM for 37 minutes, according to Myra (however, the posters are part of Sebastian’s subconscious, so they could mean more on a personal level)

Haunted!Joseph, Haunted!Sebastian, Haunted!Connelly are controlled by Ruvik (among the other haunted)

Jimenez and Connelly are DEAD, Juli is still WITH MOBIUS, Sebastian is FREE and completely alone, Leslie and Joseph are ALIVE for now, but in MOBIUS HANDS

Sebastian’s journal entries (timeline, Myra’s dedication, opinion of Juli, etc) are questionable due to the flashbacks we saw of him and Joseph 

Myra was the Agent in Juli’s tapes—i.e. the agent who inducted her (in the KCPD interrogation room), injected her, put her up for brainwashing, etc etc etc. 

Ruben was in contact with Mobius and worked for them for a short while 

STEM’s purpose is to act as a world-wide brain washing project (however, this is debatable since it was STEM!Admin who told Juli this and he is revealed to be a projection of Ruvik)

Juli really likes cats? (Cat save, cat plushies in hospital, cat plushies on desk)

The people of Cedar Hill Church were essentially a cult and performed obscene experiments on living creatures (including a dog (Sentinel) and a set of human twins (Neun/Zehn))

Juli lived in Elk River Village and her family was apart of Cedar Hill Church (whether they had anything to do with the experimentation going on there is questionable, however there is the connection to the Elk River killer—i.e. Ruben and Mobius)

The Victoriano family gave money to both Cedar Hill Church and Beacon Mental Hospital (indirectly(?) gave money to Mobius for the latter)

Sebastian started smoking heavily at Lily’s death 

Shade is a creature of Ruvik’s 

Myra’s allegiance is questionable, however we know she was working as a Mobius agent during her time with the KCPD since Juli’s induction was conducted in a KCPD interrogation room after she was arrested 

What one sees inside STEM is a matter of perspective (meaning: we don’t know whose POV is reliable)

TIME SPENT IN STEM: 

In the main game, the first ‘pulse’ felt in the vehicle was when Sebastian, Joseph, Juli, and Oscar entered STEM because of Jimenez activating it from Beacon Mental Hospital (how they ended up in the tubs is up for debate) 

Sebastian is outside of STEM when he sees Juli in Beacon at the end of the game 

EVERYTHING in The Assignment is inside STEM 

The Consequence is spent entirely inside STEM until Juli is with Myra 

❝ Wait! We can’t go that way! ❞ The young boy had already snuck through a half open gate. F u c k! ❝ Leslie wait! ❞ Reaching out through the gate he tried to snag the collar of his hospital garb but was unable to grasp it.

            ❝…Actually, I’ve been thinking about that–❞

            He didn’t bother to acknowledge the former inquiry; it didn’t dignify a       response. Besides which, a cigarette would hardly help the Detective catch       his breath. The familiar flash of bound leather between gloved palms made       an appearance, stark white pages spread beneath the protective guise of his       glasses that reflected the minuscule embers of his counterpart’s efforts.  

            ❝…Remember how fast things went South after                             we arrived at the hospital? No one seems to                             remember much of anything after that. So I                             started to wonder– How did we all end up                             separated in the first place? It would be almost                             impossible for any assailant to do so without                             at least one of us recalling something. And the                             things that have been happening… the things                             we’ve seen out there. It’s almost… outside the                             realm of reality. It’s more like… we’re in a 

❝ Do you believe in hell Joseph? ❞ The question was tentative, quiet but curious. Religion was something that never really came up between them. Though he himself was raised Catholic and it stuck with him. However such a wild notion conflicted heavily with his down to earth skepticism and the need to have proof of such a claim. But, he figured that was what faith was, wasn’t it? Belief without proof.

❝ Maybe it’s not a nightmare but purgatory. Not sure why you’d be here though. ❞ With a sort of half smile he glanced over at his partner. But for him? There could be one thousand different reasons.

Shout out and a big thanks to haunted-microwave for the sweet idea on this piece! Draw all of TEW’s cast in suits! I loved the thought, and jumped at the chance!

Then I thought why else would you wear suits except to a fancy party..? and no party is complete without alcohol… to Joseph’s eternal dismay. Seb’ll quit someday. Later. I tried to give everyone something that’d match up with their personality :)