Chapter Text
He was a prisoner, unredeemable and inhumane. That is why he was hundreds of miles under the sea, looking for a stupid crystal. It was all stupid to him.
"You disgust me."
Expendable turned his head towards the red figure 40 studs away, sighing deeply. She was always disgusted. To be honest, he was disgusted too. But for now, all he could do was collect data and push open doors. Right now, he was at door 91, a far ways away from The Ridge. His Imaginary Friend kept on being demoralizing as usual, but he was just happy she wasn't arguing with the Blue one. That'd give him another headache, and he was just starting. This place gave him the creeps, too. Everything was desolate and lonely, broken down and crumbled. Hallway after hallway, it was all the same. Even his 'friends' were hallucinations. Probably. Expendable couldn't wait to get out. But it felt wrong. Grab a crystal, get out, full pardon plus lifetime supply of money. That idea never sat with him right, but maybe Red was getting to him.
He continued on, eventually passing door 70. It was easy, since he'd done this over and over and OVER again. Angler, Pinkie, Chainsmoker, Blitz, he all knew them. Pandemonium... was a tricky one. But it hadn't shown up yet. Expendable had tuned out the Imaginary Friend's arguing, but unfortunately also his surroundings. He knew he'd messed up when his knees were kicked out and he fell to the floor, grappled and struggling like a fish in a net. The thing holding him down growled, opening its jaws to take a bite out of his shoulder.
Then all the weight left his back, followed by a loud bang and a black figure in his peripheral vision. Who...? Maybe it was another wallcrawler, but it didn't run when he slowly looked up at it. No, it turned it's gaze towards him with a sickening amount of pity in its eyes.
"..Are you alright?" It said softly, as though what it just did was NORMAL. Whatever it, or they, were, they were taller and stronger than Expendable was. It felt a little intimidating, but if he died, he'd just do it all over again.
"'M fine. Didn't have to do that, y'know." He replied, pushing himself up and dusting himself off. The wallcrawler was very dead. So, no worries there. They didn't respond, but it looked like they hadn't seen another human in months, probably years. I've only been doing this for a couple months, but it always hurts like hell. They didn't seem to buy it one bit, but they didn't push. "Who are you?" Expendable asked, shaking out his very knotty and unkempt hair.
"I'm John Grace." They answered shortly, scanning the current rooms. "And who are you?"
"Err.. My exact name is classified, but you can call me Expendable."
"Expendable? That's.. very dehumanizing and rude." John pointed out, raising an eyebrow in slight concern.
Expendable grumbled, already done with socializing. At least this guy seemed quiet. Maybe he wouldn't add to the POUNDING headache Expendable was currently experiencing. He didn't even bother to look John up and down. It wouldn't do much anyways. Expendable never had great eyesight. John's eyes never left Expendable, like he was wary and trying to decipher what Expendable was doing. He was also very jittery and nervous, as if the two needed to run right now.
Expendable didn't pay much attention to John. He opened every drawer before opening the door, motioning for John to follow.
"What'd you do to get here, huh?" He said absentmindedly, sliding a drawer open. John snapped out of whatever daze he was in, his wide eyes turning to look at Expendable. "What do you mean?" "Well, you gotta be a criminal to get down 'ere. And a pretty bad one at that." He answered, stuffing a small notepad into his pocket. "..What?"
Expendable snorted, opening the next door. His headache had gone down a bit at least, so he could actually deal with a new person. Besides, this John figure didn't even look like he belonged down here. No wetsuit, no oxygen tanks, no Urbanshade motif. Just... gowns. Expendable looked around the room, trying to focus his vision on every counter, drawer, and number just to make sure he wouldn't have to deal with an injured ball of anxiety. Maybe he'd finally have some decent company instead of the two melting gumdrops who were in the midst of divorce. Expendable didn't respond to John, since it was easy enough to understand.
And of course, the lights flickered. They were taking too long.John muttered under his breath, narrowing his eyes at the ceiling lights. Expendable reached out, hesitated, then grabbed John's wrist, pulling him aside and behind a desk. He then yanked John down to crouching, pressing his side against John's.
"Stay. Quiet." Expendable hissed, releasing John. He could stand if he wanted to. But for some strange reason, John decided to place a bit of trust in this stranger. Seconds later, a distant roar became ever louder, piercing the strained silence between the two. This only made John more jittery as he peeked out from under the desk, catching a glimpse of a malformed fish which appeared to be an angler, with scarily sharp teeth and a gaping jaw. Expendable's hand tensed as if he was prepared to cover John's mouth if need be, but he did nothing. Then it went dark as the lights were burnt out, sending small shards of glass raining down on them. As soon as it passed. Expendable stood up, offering a hand to John as a common courtesy.
"..Thank you." John muttered, taking Expendable's gloved hand. His touch sent a small shiver down Expendable's spine, like the gentleness hid a thousand razor blades lying in wait. John seemed to notice, but didn't comment on it. He stood up, brushing himself off and cautiously looking around. It was dark, but still light enough for tiny reflections on the desk in front of them. John seemed to have a better time finding his way through the dark than the Expendable did, probably because he could actually adapt to different lighting.
John had opened the next door for Expendable, waiting for him at the other side. Although he was extremely impatient, Expendable eventually made his way there. But there was something different about this room. Instead of the thick, heavy metal doors, there was a wooden one with a silly sized padlock. The padlock wasn't even placed correctly. Expendable slid it off, opening the door to get hit with the smell of musty carpet and rain. John looked over Expendable's shoulder, taking in the warm lighting and dusty rugs. This room was extremely out of place for the Blacksite, but maybe it'd be better. Wait, if HQ decided.. No, going too far would be a bad idea.
"I can't go further here. You can go in if you want, I'll wait." He muttered, not explaining why. Instead, he just stepped back, his head turned towards John. John narrowed his eyes in suspicion, looking between the hotel-like room and Expendable. He waited patiently until he heard a loud creak followed by soft footsteps. Both John and Expendable tensed, one clenching his fists while the other looked ready to bolt. Whatever made that noise eventually made itself known. A man dressed in 1900's fashion turned around the corner, spotting John by the door. The mystery man seemed to brighten up, then his face sunk in slight horror as he waited for something dangerous to happen. Nothing did.
The man's face had three glowing symbols under his obscured eyes, one yellow, one red, and one blue. When John didn't move a muscle, the man took a curious step forwards, tilting his head and muttering something. This approach only made John warier as he took a small step back, his fists clenched threateningly. Expendable stepped forwards, holding out his hands like he was breaking up the two from a fight.
"Woah, woah. Let's not be hasty here. I assume we're all.. sentient humanoids, at least, which means we have no reason to splatter each other's guts on the walls. How about.. Err, John, you take a breather." Expendable said quickly, like he was slightly stressed. He barely even knew these guys!! And yet, here he was, making sure some pent up priest and a curious guy weren't going to get into a fight.
The man relaxed slightly, sighing in relief. He stepped closer to Expendable, intruding his personal space. Expendable stomached it, even though he was obviously uncomfortable with that weak smile, fidgeting hands, and hesitant words.
"I'm.. Expendable, and that one over there is John Grace." Expendable picked himself up, making his exterior closed off but also proud and brash. The sudden change in attitude caught the stranger off guard, but he coped.
"I'm.. I.. I forgot. I suppose I'm Tourist." He smiled gently, walking past Expendable and closing the hotel door. Now the three were in the Blacksite with separate goals. Wander, retrieve, and reprieve.