Work Text:
Isadora couldn't believe it. Her son was alive. She wished the agent in front of her would walk faster, and would take her to her son post haste. Her hands spammed sporadically as she walked, nervous energy burning through her veins.
Her chest ached and her heart twisted as she replayed what they had told her.
“Ma'am, we found you son. He is alive but has been living alone for over a decade. This has caused severe mental degradation.”
That's why Isadora was here alone. She had not told Carla and Luis of what had happened. They didn't know Sebastian was alive. She was scoping out the situation first. Both of her children had worked through their grief, like warriors in a raging battle. And they had come out the other side.
Isadora refused to throw them back into the front lines with nothing to be gained.
“Here he is.”
The special agent halted before a slick metal door, and it opened a moment later revealing a prim woman, a neat pair of glasses perched on her nose. Grey eyes studied Isadora with a thoroughness that made her senses alight.
“You are Isadora Solace I presume?” The woman asked.
“I am.”
“Come inside. Please remain quiet until I give you the sign to speak.”
The woman swung around and walked without further ado and Isadora hurried after her. The door slid closed, the bang sending a shiver through Isadora, like an ill omen. It set her on edge, body tensed.
The small hallway opened up into what looked to be an interrogation room. Isadora remembers a similar one, except her son had been handcuffed at the table, puffy eyes glancing up at her when she entered with a police officer. There had been hope in his eyes then. The last time she saw him, there had been nothing but defeat.
This room was empty, and the woman took a seat at the table, offering Isadora the other one wordlessly. Isadora ignored the metal chair's biting cold, crossing her arms over her chest and levelling the woman with her infamous glare.
Lesser people would have cracked. The woman just slid a file across the desk and mirrored Isadora's posture.
“What is this?” Isadora asked suspiciously.
“Everything you need to know.”
“Where is my son? You said he was here.”
“You can see him once you've read the file, Mrs. Solace.”
Isadora took the file, flipping it open. Her eyes widened at the first picture.
It was Sebastian, staring into a camera with an ID board, eyes red, face tight and an orange jumper that did not match the hopelessness in her son's ocean eyes. His mugshot.
Below that, was a paragraph of words. Isadora started to read.
_____
Z-13 - New codename: "The Saboteur", previous codename "Handy Man", real name: “Sebastian Solace", is to be KILLED ON SIGHT without hesitation.
______
“What… what is this?” Isadora breathed, glancing at the woman.
“I suppose I should explain some of this. After your son was arrested in 2013 he was approached by a company known as Urbanshade. They targeted many people on Death Row, exploiting the vulnerability of the people's mental states to coerce them into signing contracts. To work for the company.”
Urbanshade. Wasn't that the big company up in Canada? And what did the woman mean ‘targeted’? Isadora forced herself to take a breath. Nothing good ever came from lashing out.
“Sebastian was one of the people to sign a contract that allowed the company to use them as test subjects for their medicinal branch—”
“Is Sebastian sick?!”
“In a manner of speaking. Physically, he is healthy, if severely malnourished. However, it's his mental state that has declined. You see, Urbanshade wasn't just testing medicine during their human trials, but Sebastian, after showing positive results to most of the medicines, was put into a different program.”
Isadora glanced back at the file.
_____
Z-13 is incredibly dangerous; caution is required if encountered. Despite his size, Z-13 is incredibly nimble, allowing him to quickly outmanoeuvre and flank operatives.
—-----
“Despite his size?” What the hell was that supposed to mean? Sebastian was 5,8 just slightly above average.
“Sebastian was apart of a genetics experimentation program.”
Isadora felt the blood leave her face.
“He was kept in the Hadal Blacksite, an underwater facility that doubled as both a lab, prison and mining monitoring site. Sebastian was one of the first subjects to receive the treatment. Urbanshade hoped to give humans the ability to breathe, but combining human and various fish DNA.”
______
It should also be noted that Z-13 is currently in possession of our experimental portable SCRAMBLER, meaning that any and all CCTV, radios, and other communications equipment will be rendered offline in a ██ by ██ stud radius of his presence.
_____
“What did they do to my son?” Isadora hissed, paper bending beneath her nails.
“The experiment was a success, Sebastian has gills and can breathe underwater. The physical side effects however…”
_____
Operatives must conduct a communications check with HQ every 5 minutes to ensure they are not within range of the SCRAMBLER. If HQ cannot be reached, operatives should remain on high alert for a possible ambush whilst attempting to check in as often as possible.
—----
“Sebastian, after being physically changed, obviously lashed out the moment he saw an opening and escaped, killing almost all personnel in charge of his transportation.”
“No, he… Sebastian would never do that!” Isadora exclaimed. “He's not a violent person.”
“At that point, he wasn't a person at all, Mrs. Solace.”
______
After feigning the effects of anaesthesia, Z-13 pretended to succumb and woke up unguarded during transport. He killed Elite Guardsman ███████, acquiring his high clearance keycard, and proceeded to release as many monsters as possible from their containment cells, causing a site-wide lockdown.
—-----
“He escaped and let loose some of his fellow experiments. As far as we can tell, he was the only survivor of the human trails.”
“Let me see him.” Isadora demanded. The woman simply shook her head.
“My employer has deemed it necessary that you read the entire file before we can show you Sebastian.”
“I don't give a SHIT what your employer thinks!” Isadora snarled. The woman barely reacted.
“I understand you are upset, Mrs. Solace, but I will not take you to Sebastian until you've finished that file. Isadora took a deep breath, forcefully schooling her face into calm and picked up the accursed file again.
____
Before stealing and reconfiguring the experimental SCRAMBLER, CCTV captured Z-13 trading stolen items for research findings from EXR-P expedition party members. His exact motivations remain unknown, but encrypted radio broadcasts to Innovation Inc, Bloxtop, Deluge Labs, and Pinewood suggest he is gathering confidential Urbanshade information to leverage a way out with a rival organisation . Although uncertain if he continues to trade with incoming parties, it is highly probable.
—-----
“After losing control of their facility, Urbanshade initiated their Expendable Protocol. Again, recruiting desperate criminals to retrieve a highly dangerous crystal inside their highly dangerous facility. Exploitation, again.”
____
In early 2015, Z-13 was selected to be part of an experiment to give humans gills, using DNA strands from a blue whale, ███████, a sea snake, a great white shark, a mutated anglerfish, a silver spiny fin, and a mantis shrimp. Whilst the experimentation was a success and Z-13 gained the ability to breathe underwater, the obvious visual and bodily side effects left much to be desired.
—-----
“You said anaesthesia… didn't work on Sebastian? Then how did they…?” Isadora trailed off, horror dawning in her expression.
“We presume Sebastian was awake during the genetic experiments, partially because anaesthesia didn't work and partially because the scientists, if they can even be called that, wanted to monitor his brain waves during the changes.”
Isadora's hands shook slightly and she swallowed down bile. They had forced him to be awake during the…
____
These side effects were quickly ironed out and refined on future test subjects, and the gill procedure was quickly applied to all the Guardsmen working at the Blacksite. The initial periods following the experimentation are the optimal times to reverse physical side effects, but this was not deemed necessary for Z-13 due to his LR-P status. His monstrous appearance, characteristics, and abilities led to his classification as Z-13.
—---
“They could have reversed the side effects?” Isadora choked out. “And they didn't?”
“Yes. They chose not to. Urbanshade still believed him to be a serial murderer. So they saw no need to waste resources on him.”
“But he was declared innocent!”
“Read the file, ma'am.”
____
In late 2015, it was discovered that Z-13 had not killed the nine individuals he was accused of, and that an innocent man had been wrongfully sentenced to death. Despite this revelation, it was decided not to inform Z-13 or release him to the public, as he was legally declared deceased. At this stage, reversing the mutations was no longer feasible, as the opportunity to do so had long passed. However, his rank was changed to MR-P, providing him with better living conditions and access to recreational programs available to MR-P's.
—-----
Isadora kept her face cold, her teeth grinding against each other.
—-----
Under no circumstances can Z-13 be allowed to leave the Blacksite alive. If any operative encounters Z-13, they must abandon their previous objectives and, as Mr. Shade himself states, "Shred their mags until their trigger-finger bleeds."
If these documents are shown to unauthorised personnel, you'll be put up for demotion, and any cover-up fees will be sent to your relatives.
—---
“They kept him hostage in the facility, creating monsters outside to hunt down anything they saw. They had gun turrets placed within the ravine where the Blacksite is located and had their mining robots set to kill anything unauthorised that moved.”
Isadora looked back at the mugshot. He was barely recognizable with that icy expression on his face. What had they done to him?
“After spending years in relative isolation and no constants in his life, Sebastian's mental state started to rapidly decline. That is where we are now.”
“Take me to him,” Isadora said immediately. She didn't care how bad his mental state was or how he looked with the ‘physical side effects’. She wanted to see her son.
“Of course, follow me.”
The woman stood and a door slipped seamlessly open behind her. The walk was completely silent. Isadora felt like death itself, the world drawing away from her like she was watching herself through a window.
Then the woman opened a door and Isadora's eyes flew to the huge windows beside them. Another room, much like the one they had been in, but bigger revealed itself behind one way glass.
There was a large bed in one corner, and a pool of sorts in the other. She only saw the creature pressed up against the furthest corner.
It was huge, standing almost 9 feet with its back hunched. Its body broke off at the waist, legs replaced with a long serpentine tail, probably twenty feet in length. There was a belt fastened around the tail, little pouches covering pale blue sacks and fins spread down the spine before two larger fins sported from the very end. The body was oddly disjointed, looking much longer than could be comfortable.
The creature wore a dark cloak with a white shirt, obviously stained— was that blood?— and dirty. Was that an extra arm poking out from its ribs? Was that a bloody bandage? And there were obvious claws on its fingers, some of the walls holding gouges, probably from the creature itself.
The only familiar thing about the creature was the hair. Isadora could recognize hair like that a mile away. It was pure ebony, falling down the crea— down Sebastian's shoulders. That was his hair. That was Sebastian.
Sebastian was facing away from them and Isadora noticed he was swaying lightly, head bumping against the wall rhythmically.
“Hold on.” The woman clicked a button on the control panel stretched out before them. A soft ping echoed through the room. Sebastian's head whipped around violently. Isadora gasped. She did not recognize the face. It was blue, two aqua pupiless eyes widened. There was a smaller one above his right eye. A lure danged down in front of his face.
And teeth stuck up from his upper and lower lips. Jagged and sharp, needle pointed. She could see specks of blood on his chin, probably from where his teeth had stuck into his flesh. It was horrific, but worse than that, was the animalistic snarl on his face.
“Sebastian?” Isdaore put her palm against the glass.
“I would not recommend calling attention to yourself.” The woman said. “He lashes out.”
“I am his mother.” Isadora hissed. The woman eyed her, then shrugged.
“Go ahead, I'll turn off the shielding.”
The woman clicked another button and suddenly, the section of glass in front of Isadora lost its darkness. Sebastian's eyes snapped to her, and he cocked his head to the side, the fins on his ears flaring.
“Sebastian?” She called. “Sebastian, baby, can you hear me?”
Sebastian slithered forward, serpentine body undulating behind him. It was slow, and he seemed very hesitant, eyes never leaving her face. Isadora kept perfectly still, feeling the woman's eyes boring into her.
“Hey hijo, are you alright? I'm here now, everything is going to be fine.” Isadora said softly, letting a gentle smile meld onto her face. Sebastian hesitated, pulling his hands against his chest and leaning away. Isadora's heart clenched.
“No, no, hey, Seb, it's alright. Just listen to my voice, okay, hijo? I'm here.”
Sebastian glanced up at her and then, impossibly slow, absolutely terrified he extended one giant hand— easily bigger than Isadora's head— and put it up against the glass, right over Isadora's hand.
“Impossible…” the woman muttered.
Isadora only had eyes for her son. And then she started to see the similarities. The way his eyes clenched shut methodically, like it did when he was hurt. How he pulled his head down, arms against him, to make himself smaller. That angered her. He had only ever adopted that posture when his father had yelled at him.
Had these people hurt him too? Isadora opted to focus on her son completely instead. He needed her right now, after everything he had been through.
“Mom..?”
It was his voice. It was HIS voice. Her Sebastian was there and he recognized her. That strange animalistic sheen in his eyes had vanished, replaced with broken lucidity.
“Yes, yes Sebastian I am here, you’re alright.”
“Oh… so you’ve come to set me free?” He muttered softly, so soft it was barely a whisper.
“Yes, baby, you’re coming home.”
“No I, mom, I can’t. I’m stuck here.”
“Stuck where, hijo? You’re out, baby, you made it out. You can come home.”
“I…” His eyes glazed over, focusing on nothing.
“Sebastian?”
No answer. Isadora fought to keep her breathing even. She could not break in front of him now, he needed her more than ever.
“Sebastian? Baby, listen to me?”
Still no answer. His hand slipped from the glass, pulled against his chest, his eyes narrowing slightly as a pained expression bloomed on his face.
“Sebastian, hey, Sebastian look at me. Sebastian?”
No answer. He flinched backwards, as if struck, flailing onto the ground, three arms scrambling backwards. His tail slammed against the ground before pushing him back into his corner and he covered his face, burying himself in his coils.
“Sebastian!” Isadora called desperately. No, what had happened? He had been right there, he had–
“Let me go to him.” She whirled on the woman.
“I would not recommend that.” The woman pointed to a place right before the pool. Isadora’s eyes narrowed. There was a dark stain on the floor, right before the door.
“One of his caretakers got too close for Sebastian’s liking. He bit the man, lost an arm. We barely got him out in time.”
Sebastian had hurt someone? He… no it tracked. The file hadn’t lied. The Sebastian she remembered might have been innocent but this Sebastian had been forced to evolve, to change for his own survival, to fight for it.
Isadora looked at her baby and noticed quiet shaking. Was he crying?!
“Let me inside.” She demanded, harsher this time. The woman stood and Isadora followed her out into a hallway. The woman pulled out an access card and swiped it. The door hissed open. Sebastian shuddered, pulling his coils tighter around himself, his tails fins shivering.
Isadora walked forward, ignoring the stain on the ground.
“Sebastian?” She called again, stopping when she was about two metres from him.
His body froze.
“Hijo, are you in there?”
His head popped up, and she could see tear tracks on his face.
“Mom?”
“Yeah baby, it’s me.”
“You came for me?”
“I did. I always will.”
“Oh, I didn’t think you would come.” He admitted quietly. Isadora choked back a sob.
“O-Of course I would come, baby.” She took a slow step forward.
Sebastian rose upwards, suddenly drawfing her. Isadora had to fight not to step back, out of his shadow. She held out her hand. If he would just take her hand, then she could take him home. They would adapt for him, if they needed to move they would move. Whatever he needed as long as he came back home.
Sebastian lowered himself down, until his face was inches away from her’s, bathing her in a soft blue glow.
Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out– was that a gun?!
And put it in her hand.
“Take me home, then.” He whispered, his voice breaking.
Isadora frowned in confusion. What did he expect her to do with this? Had he given it to her to seem less threatening?
“Sebastian, I’m not scared.”
“Okay. I won’t be scared either then.” He breathed. “Take me home.”
Isadora held out her other hand and Sebastian took it. But when she turned towards the door he lurched backwards.
“Where are you going?” He gasped.
“What do you mean? We’re going home.” She kept her voice even, carefully so. There was something wrong here, something she wasn’t picking up.
“I can’t go out there. They.. they’ll kill me.” Sebastian choked out, his voice wavering.
“No they won’t baby, they–” Isadora froze.
“Yes they will! They hurt me, mom, and they’ll keep hurting me if you don’t take me home!” Sebastian cried, pulling himself backwards. Isadora watched, with dawning horror as Sebastian’s eyes became glassy, his movements listless.
“Sebastian?”
He ignored her, falling back into his coils.
“Sebastian?”
No answer, not even a movement. Nothing to tell her he was even alive in there.
Isadora considered for a moment. How would he react to touch? Not well, considering what he had been through, but maybe, if he could just see her again, he would come back to her, wherever his mind was taking him to.
“Sebastian?” She stepped forward, putting a hand against his tail. The reaction was immediate. One moment Isadora was standing, the next she was in the air, a vice grip around her waist lifting her up into the air. Blue fins flanked her back and a snarling face met her, teeth bared viciously.
“Se-Sebastian wait–”
“Mom?” He breathed. “Y-you’re here.”
“Yeah I am, Sebastian, I… baby I c-can’t breathe.” She choked out, struggling against his tail. His eyes widened and he placed her on the ground, as gently as he dared.
“I’m so sorry, I.. oh, you’ve come to take me home?” His eyes had landed on the shotgun in her hands.
Isadora despaired as he repeated the words.
“Can you not remember, baby?” She breathed, forcing a small smile onto her lips.
“Yeah, you promised. You said next time, you would take me home.” He said, a child-like spark in his eye.
“I am going to take you home.” She said slowly. Sebastian smiled, baring his teeth. Isadora had to fight not to flinch.
Silence stretched. Sebastian cocked his head to the side, obviously confused. And Isadora was still missing something.
“Are you not going to do it then?” He asked quietly.
“What, no, I am going to take you home.”
“THen do it.”
“Do what?”
Sebastian leaned forward, taking the gun in her hand and repositioning it, so her finger was on the trigger. Ice swept through Isadora. He continued, positioning her other hand under the barrel and then, as if it was the simplest thing in the world, positioned the gun so it was aimed right between his eyes.
“There, now take me home–”
Isadora lurched backwards, shock on her face, wrenching herself free from Sebastian’s grip and flinging the gun against the wall. It shattered.
Sebastian stared at the weapon in shock then turned to Isadora, tears dripping from his eyes.
“Why… why would you do that?”
“Sebastian, I am not going to kill you!” She cried. “Why on earth would I do that?”
Sebastian’s expression fell, one of utter betrayal and defeat on his face.
“You promised. You said you would!” He yelled, hugging himself as tears traced his face. “You SAID SO!”
It all clicked then. He had been hallucinating. Malnourished, isolated, alone. Constantly under threat, no wonder he had made up caricatures to protect himself. And her caricature had promised him a way out. Death.
But Isadora wasn’t her caricature.
“Sebastian, I don’t want you to die.” She tried to school her expression, tried to smile.
“But if you don’t it’s only a matter of time before they find me! They’ll come for me, mom, you said you would get me out of this place, back home! You.. you lied to me!” He screamed.
“Hijo, you are out of the Blacksite, you aren’t–”
She was suddenly slammed against the wall, pinned by a powerful tail that threatened to crush her. She could breathe, she tasted blood on her tongue from where she had bit her lip.
“You aren’t my mom, my mother never breaks her promises!” He hissed then whipped around staring at the glass of his enclosure. “Is this funny to you Urbanshade?! Is this entertaining?! What? Were the experiments not ENOUGH FOR YOU?!” He screamed, voice cracking. Pure rage alighted on his face.
“I’ll kill you all!” He roared, a guttural growl escaping with the words. Suddenly, an alarm started to blare, red lights flashing from the roof above. The door burst open and men in black gear streamed in, guns cocking and fixing on Sebastian. Her Sebastian.
“No!” She tried to scream, but the words barely left her mouth when the first shot rang out. Sebastian let out a feral roar and launched himself at the guards, Isadora forgotten behind him.
“Wait!” She screamed, coughing through bruised ribs.
Sebastian carved into the men, swatting them like flies. Gunfire exploded from rifles, shotguns and tranquillisers. She saw small explosions of red as they entered his skin. Sebastian didn’t even bat an eye. His tail whipped around, deadly accurate and squashed three guards against the ground, horrific cracks echoing through the room.
Then another three went, slammed against a wall, bodies popping like water balloons. Sebastian was completely covered in blood, ear fins back and teeth bared in a snarl. They too were used, sinking into hot flesh and biting right through the armour like it was paper. Tearing flesh like it was nothing.
“You think this is funny, Urbanshade?!” He screeched, voice manic. “Sending more people after me?! I’ll give you what you deserve!”
It was a slaughter house, Sebastian was death incarnate, whirling around like a well-oiled machine, like a feral animal, sowing destruction like he was born for it. And Isadora came to a conclusion. This was NOT her Sebastian. Her Sebastian would never do this to anyone, had cried when he accidently stepped on a bee. He was soft, and gentle but filled with quiet strength.
Not this brutal strength, capable of flinging men around like toys.
Sebastian coiled his tail around the last man. He struggled viciously, breaths panicked. Sebastian started to squeeze. The man let out a sharp cry.
“This is what you get.” He snarled at the man. “I am only what you made me. This is ALL YOUR FAULT!”
Isadora couldn’t take it anymore, couldn’t watch as the man’s face turned red, then purple, then blue. His movements became lethargic, his breathing shallow. Sebastian’s manic gaze fixed on the man’s face. There was horrific satisfaction there, venomous and raw. Sebastian was enjoying what he was doing.
“Please…” The man gasped.
“‘Please’” Sebastian taunted. “You never gave ground when I begged ‘please’. That never stopped you from RIPPING ME OPEN YOU ASSHOLE. PLEASE. PLEASE?! We’ll see if Satan accept your begging when I SEND YOU TO HELL, YOU–”
A shot rang out.
Sebastian stiffened. A moment of utter quiet followed. Isadora’s knees threatened to give out under her, the gun shook in her grasp.
The man dropped from Sebastian’s hold, the tail flopping uselessly to the ground. Sebastian, after a moment of standing still, dropped onto his side heavily, his head hitting the concrete floor with a sickening crack. Isadora’s legs moved before she could think and she fell to her knees before his face, lifting his head onto her lap.
“Mom…”
She startled, finding blue eyes fixed on her.
“Sebastian… I, I–”
“You’re here?” He breathed listlessly.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“You’re… taking me home?” He let out an agonised keen. There was blood pooling from dozens of bullet wounds on his body, quickly pooling onto the ground. Soaking into Isadora’s pants. Oh hell, there was SO much blood.
“I’m, I’m taking you home, baby, I promise. GET HELP!” She yelled over her shoulder, vision going blurry as tears welled up in her eyes.
Sebastian let out a small giggle, the sound so abrupt Isadora’s eyes widened. He had a smile on his face, despite the pain.
“I’m going home…” He breathed.
“Yeah, baby, you’re going home. SOMEONE GET HELP, PLEASE!” Isadora spotted the guard she had saved, getting to his feet unsteadily. “You, please, get help! He’s bleeding out!”
The guard walked towards her, then shot Sebastian in the head. The shots rang out. Sebastian’s body spasmed, blood exploding onto Isadora, bits of bone and skin as well. She was absolutely drenched in it. In his blood. In Sebastian’s blood, in–
The world tilted on its side, static filling her ears.
And suddenly Sebastian was pulled to her feet, tan skin and ocean eyes and raven hair. Her Sebastian.
“What…?” She breathed. He smiled at her, pulling her into a crushing hug. She returned it full force, breathing him in, the familiarity of it bringing tears to her eyes. Sebastian was the first to let go, but kept his hands in her’s. There was that scar over his nose, that glint in his eyes.
“You brought me home.” He said, leaning his forehead on her shoulder. “Tell Carla and Luis I said hi, okay?”
“What are you–”
Suddenly he shoved her back and Isadora plummeted into the void.
—--
“Mrs. Solace?” She startled awake. She was in a hospital bed, and that woman was standing beside her.
“You.” She hissed.
“Yes. Me.” The woman replied. “I came to check if you are alright. You have a few bruised ribs, but otherwise seem alright.”
“Why do I have the feeling you are here with an ulterior motive?”
The woman smiled humorlessly.
“Your family is here to see you–”
“What happened to Sebastian?”
“He died.” The woman said simply. “Do you want to hold a funeral?”
“No.” Isadora whispered, averting her gaze, eyes fixed on her hands. Hands that had help Sebastian, right before he died. He had recognized her. He knew her then, in those last moments. Was at peace. Was alright. It didn’t make the crushing grief go away.
“My son died in 2013.” She said simply.
The woman nodded.
“In that case, the official cover story for your injury is a hit and run. We already officiated the papers. Good day.” With that the woman strutted out of the hospital room. Carla and Luis burst in, worry etched onto their faces. Carla pulled Luis back before he could barrel into her.
“Careful idiot, she hurt her ribs!” Carla hissed. Luis had a guilty look on his face.
“Sorry.”
“It’s alright, Luis.” His mom offered him her hand and he took it, palm warm against hers. Not cold, not damn, not icy and sharp. Not–
“Mom?” Carla asked hesitantly. “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Isadora blinked, forcing a smile onto her face.
“I’m alright, baby.”