plague-karm

[plague-karm]

Literally me

the writer’s urge to ask your friends “do you wanna see a little somethin’ i’ve been working on?” when the little somethin’ you’ve been working on is 800 words and ends in the middle of a sentence

[plague-karm]

Hadalpelagic Zone Part 6 time hell yeah. It’s been around a month since Sebastian moved in with the gang so this is less of a narrative piece and more of a catch up session…mostly. So here’s how everyone’s been doing recently.

Bentley

•This man is absolutely killing it

•He’s bought a lot more instruments and he knows the basics on how to use all of them (he does accordion solos at least once a day)

•Makes breakfast since he’s the only one with a decent sleep schedule

•He’s beginning to perform a lot more outside of town and he’s become popular as a result

•Him and Lena are still close but they’re drifting a little for “reasons”

•He’s very good at keeping the fact they have a failed science experiment living with them, makes up excuses on a dime and everyone believes him

•Has built up the ULTIMATE button up wardrobe, even in winter he wears them

•”Hey Ley are you sure you aren’t cold in that-?”

•”NOPE!”

•Usually the one to organise events

•Still pisses off Sebastian every chance he gets (he’s very easy to tease)

Lena

•Say hello to the company’s new head accountant!

•She is going up in the world and she shows her excitement in very normal ways (she looks like she’s tweaking in every company picture she’s in bless her)

•A lot bubblier now, she likes telling people about the ✨numbers✨

•Still goes out partying on occasion but has a healthier work-life balance than before

•Her motor issues have come back thanks to her body getting used to normal conditions again, the others help her out if it gets too much

•Dripped out to the MAX. Affliction? Tripp NYC? Cupcake Cult? She has it all (there’s a reason she took the room with the walk-in closet)

•Struggles with walking home at night thanks to all the times she almost got killed in the Blacksite but keeps up a brave face for Valen’s sake

•Still goes to Sebastian’s room whenever she’s stressed out of impulse, she’s quiet though so he doesn’t mind

Valen

•He’s gotten better at going outside

•Has started making felt puppets, does 18+ puppet shows for the others on weekends, they’re weirdly invested in it

•Has started going to therapy to help him process what he went through in the Blacksite (the only one who’s in therapy finally in this group that’s emotionally mature)

•Started back at the florists

•He’s really struggling with keeping the fact that he’s living with an abomination of nature that may or may not be one of the most dangerous creatures currently living idk

Sebastian

•Has somewhat gotten used to living with other people in a normal way, he really isn’t used to being seen as just “a guy” again y’know? Being seen as an equal is weird

•Argues with Bentley all the time, especially in the morning, Lena and Valen bet on who’s going to win

•He got a custom guitar made for him since Lena has a lot of connections, he almost cried when he received it

•His hair’s longer now (he sometimes ties it up)

•He missed normal food so much oh my god

•His sister’s a tattoo artist so she covered up the branding he received from Urbanshade with a badass anchor snake, the trio approves

•He talks to Valen a lot more due to them having the same mother tongue, yes they drink cerveza cristal, yes he orders it in multiple crates (he hasn’t had a drop of the stuff in years let him live 😭)

•He keeps his door open at night because of the amount of times Lena comes in

•He wakes up later than everyone else because his eyes are still adjusting to the sunlight

•His room has bioluminescent lighting on the walls

•He still has trauma regarding what happened to him and his body so his room gets torn up a lot as a result, he cleans up afterwards though. The others are aware of this and they leave him to do his thing (it’s too risky to approach him in his feral state)

•He’s still an alt guy at heart but he wears a lot of fancy stuff for the sake of his dignity (the fuckass cravat gave me ideas alright?)

•I feel like a lot of old music played throughout the Hadal Blacksite intercoms as a form of psychological torture for its residents so their sense of time could get warped so he kind of got used to it after a while. It plays in his room sometimes

•He overhears EVERYTHING the trio talk about upstairs, the blackmail he has is endless

•He knows about what happened to Bentley’s family, but he never brings it up because he has limits, he’s a condescending asshole but he isn’t a monster (no matter how much he tries to convince himself that he is)

•He knows that SOMETHING happened to Lena that caused her to runaway from home…he can never hear it properly though, he hears her humming a lot at night whenever she’s working on analytics downstairs, it helps him sleep

•He also knows that Valen’s still heavily effected by what he saw in the Blacksite, a part of him feels somewhat guilty considering the monsters being released was his doing but he found out that the others didn’t really blame him for going off the deep end so that guilt isn’t something that haunts him all that much

•Still sells stuff but does it in an incognito way (old habits die hard), wears a massive cloak and does it in really isolated locations like under a bridge or something idk

•He becomes an urban legend in town because of this. Bentley really wants to milk it but he isn’t letting him profit off his likeness

•Yes fat fish Friday is canon here, this man literally has whale dna you can gaslight me all you want he is NOT a twink lmao

•Is surprised that all of them are actually doing a good job at keeping him a secret…

It doesn’t last long though.

[plague-karm]

Hadalpelagic Zone Part 5 lets gooooo. It’s been a week since the trio have moved into the abandoned property and things couldn’t be better, and then a familiar face visits them in the night asking for a request they couldn’t refuse.

It’s been a week since Bentley, Lena, and Valen had moved into the abandoned property. They managed to get the thing refurbished and they were all trying to get the months they lost in the Hadal Blacksite.

Bentley rejoined his community theatre group and he was THRIVING, it was the happiest he had been in months, being right where he belongs, the stage, and the stage alone. He was pleasantly surprised by the fact that people had been wondering where he was, the only way he responded to that was “around” because the real reason could get him and the others into some serious shit. It looks like Lena was right, he really wasn’t as alone as he thought.

Lena had gotten rehired as an accountant in the towns building firm, she was so relieved to be back on working with numbers, they were familiar to her, something that wouldn’t change, something that wouldn’t leave, she liked organising things. She had even gotten her raccoon stripes dyed back in, finally, she felt like herself again. She didn’t feel like she had to stay as small as possible for the sake of her life, she could start unmasking now like she hadn’t been able to in the past.

Valen mostly stayed at home since he was still paranoid about being nabbed by something (or someone). He’s gone out for small trips (like visiting his mom and going to the shop) but he can’t do anything outside of that for the time being. Lena would often go with him for walks at night to get him more used to the environment and less paranoid but it only worked for a few minutes.

“Sorry…I’m really trying but all I can see are those eyes…”

“Hey it’s okay, we can go back I won’t judge, I’m tired anyway”

The three had made themselves at home and nothing was going to change that.

But their lives are never that easy, are they?

Lena was asleep in her room one night when she heard gentle tapping on her window, her experience at the Hadal Blacksite had left her somewhat paranoid, not on the same level as Valen but she was close, she was already practicing on how not to pay attention to every weary instinct she had as she believed it was her body playing tricks on her and she managed to ignore it…but then the tapping got louder, faster, she tried to ignore it by putting a pillow over her head but the noises persisted and she was starting to get annoyed. She changed into a black nightdress and looked around her room for anything hard to throw in case it was someone wanted to harm her. However, she quickly realised that it would take a fortune to recover any of this stuff if it got broke so she looked down at her shaky hands and said…

“Yeah this’ll work”

She took a deep breath and stepped onto her balcony, keeping her eyes closed as she slapped the face of whoever it was, there was no response for what she was doing, all that could be heard were crickets and the sound of her hitting whoever it was. They quickly put her hands to her sides, it was like they were hitting air and she didn’t even realise until…

“Relax I’m not gonna hurt you”

Lena stopped slapping the air when she realised who it was. It was Sebastian. He managed to reach her balcony at his full height and he looked somewhat shy, she tilted her head at his sudden appearance.

“Hello”

She sounded soft, mostly because she was tired though, the other two caught wind of the noises and stormed into her room with quite the diverse weapon arsenal. Valen was wielding a frying pan and a pepper shaker while Bentley was wielding his tuba.

“IF YOU’RE GONNA TRY AND KIDNAP US YOU’VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING MOTHERFUCKER-“

And then the two saw who it was and they yielded, Bentley looked pretty happy to see him in all honesty, it’s not every day you meet someone who can match you in verbal combat. They joined Lena on the balcony and Valen looked really confused as Bentley spoke to him.

“Never thought I’d see you again! Looking different too, very shiny”

Bentley wasn’t lying, he did look different. His hair looked a little more well put together and his clothes were different, his mom actually took up sewing during his disappearance so he was wearing his a new white shirt akin to what wore before but without his jacket.

“…How has no one noticed you out and about?”

Valen asked.

“Well it turns out the people in this town are just like you, stupid”

“I’ve missed you too, wait, why didn’t you just knock on the door?”

“….”

“Yeah, it’s just down there…and you’re pretty flexible so you can fit through there easily I think”

…Oh god, their lack of logic was rubbing off on him, he squeezed himself through the door and looked inside, the place looked really nice, and he could fit in here without much issue, which was important considering what he was going to ask them.

“So, what brings you here? I thought you were going to live with your mom for a bit?”

“I was but it’s too risky, if they find me that’s gonna put a target on her back”

“…Mate, you’re part shark, you can rock any other humans shit you’ve got nothing to worry about”

“And have her worry about if there’s going to be a group of armed men outside her house any minute because I’M her son? I’m this now, it’s not fair on her…so we talked…and…since you SOMEHOW survived it all…I wanted to know if you’d…uh…”

Bentley realised what was going on and he looked beyond overjoyed, he rushed to get a chair and sat down

“What are you doing…?”

“I’m sitting down for this…!”

God he just HAD to make everything harder for him didn’t he? He looked at Bentley’s knowing face while the other two looked confused, he sighed and mumbled

“If I could move in with you…?”

“Oh come on if you’re gonna say it make it so the face and boy kisser can hear you”

“Boy kisser…? That’s a new one”

“Seriously…?”

“What it’s better than what I could be calling you”

“Fair enough…”

“Can I move in with you?”

“Look I barely listened to projection classes in my old uni course but even I know that’s lacking-“

Steam was practically coming out of him as he answered in a way Bentley deemed “suitable”.

“Oh my god- CAN I MOVE IN WITH YOU?!”

Bentley jumped up and cheered while the others looked surprised

“Oh, I wasn’t expecting that”

“Me neither…buuuut I don’t mind new company”

“Okay…on one condition”

Lena walked up to him with little hesitation, it caught him off guard, especially regarding how different she was out here compared to what she was like in the facility. In there she could barely say a word, consumed by paranoia and the fear of death, similar to how he was when he was fully transformed, but out here…she seemed more in control? Calmer? It was hard for him to explain. She tilted her head as she said..

“Are you quiet?”

“When I want to be”

“Do you mind the sounds of high pitched music playing through shitty speakers at 3AM?”

“That sounds really specific but sure-?”

“Do you like risotto?”

“Never had it”

“That will change”

She turned to the other two.

“He is okay”

He was Lena approved, Bentley clapped and Valen looked concerned.

“Wait…what room is he having?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean where is he gonna stay? The rooms in here are big but I don’t know if they can uh…uh…”

“Yeah we might have to ask for an extension-“

And then Lena got an idea and she smiled softly.

“The basement”

“Huh?”

“We don’t use it for anything and there’s a really deep hole in there, we can renovate that into a room for you”

“Maybe we can turn the hole into a pool so he doesn’t dehydrate?”

Lena clapped.

“Yes yes yes that will be perfect”

Even after all this time he never understood them, it was like they were creatures of habit that accepted everything that came their way, a giant deep sea creature they can form a symbiotic relationship with? Sure, why not? Taking his body from a collapsing facility because they didn’t want to let him die? Sure, why not? Letting said creature move in with them solely because he asked? Sure, why not? He couldn’t wrap his head around it.

“I’m tired and I have work later so we’ll look at it tomorrow”

“Sounds good to me”

“I’ll sleep in here for now, it’s big enough”

“Great! We’ve been meaning to get a guard dog anyway”

“Don’t push your dumb luck”

“Sorry”

Bentley and Valen went back up to bed and Lena followed suit, and as they went up they swore they could hear him say something in an incredibly weak yet gentle voice.

“Thank you…”

[plague-karm]

HELL YEAH 🔥🔥

Hi Sisyphus nation can I join yall😍😍😍

Still havent P ranked the guy i am losing it

[plague-karm]

Fuck it official Hadalpelagic Zone playlist (so far, I might add more but idk) none of this will reflect future events in the fic at all I swear to god the entirety of Wolf didn’t inspire the initial concept in the slightest.

Also I’m pissed off that Nostalgia Ultra isn’t on streaming because if it was American Wedding would 100% be on this list

[plague-karm]

Hedalpelagic Zone Part 4 Time Babyyyyy, the gang escape the facility and are currently on the run in a stolen truck. Reunions are had and bonds are slowly getting stronger.

They got out.

He never thought he’d see the day, but they got out.

It all happened so fast, one moment he was awaiting another visit from the triad and the next everything was crashing down, he was knocked out, probably by falling debris but he doesn’t remember exactly what it was but he woke up in a van, he felt a little cramped and his senses immediately heightened when he saw the trio in the front with Valen manning the wheel.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!”

Valen shrieked at the noise while Bentley and Lena turned to him and spoke in her normal monotone manner, practically disregarding the chaos outside.

“We’re out”

“…What?”

“We found an exit and got out”

“How?! You don’t even have the-!”

Lena was holding the crystal, dear god, they were so stupid that it somehow rounded back to them having brains.

“How did you even get it in the first place?!”

“We walked”

God he wanted to scream so bad, he had spent YEARS in that place trying to figure out how to leave, to see his mom and his siblings again, the lack of sleep and proper nutrition had been killing him…and these three do it in the matter of months?

“God I missed the sun”

“Me too”

He heard this and he immediately slithered to look out the window, Lena moved over so he could see better. He squinted a little since he hasn’t seen the sunlight in so long, that and the dark and dreary look of the Blacksite was something he had unwillingly gotten used to…he forgot how beautiful it looked. Bentley parked the truck in an empty field and the three got out, Bentley unlocked the back of the van so Sebastian could get out too, and it finally hit them, they were free, Bentley started laughing and crying like a maniac as he embraced Lena and Valen

“We’re free baby~!”

Lena smiled and followed suit with the laughter while Valen clung onto them for dear life, Sebastian just sat quietly and admired the view, it had been so long since he had felt this relieved, body be damned, this was probably the calmest he’s felt in years. The others took notice of his silent tears and Bentley saw that it was getting dark

“Look I’ve already dealt with the cold in there let alone out here so I say we-“

“Leave him for a bit”

“…Are you sure Len?”

“Yeah, he was stuck in there for years, no sunlight, no sky, let him take a minute, I’ll join you in the truck later”

“Alright”

Bentley and Valen continued talking as they strode back to the truck and Lena stood by him, she knew from the file that he probably hated being touched without a warning so she just stood there waiting for him to notice that it was getting late and it was time for them to go. He looked down to see Lena and flinched, he wasn’t really used to any of this so he just listened as she spoke to keep himself grounded.

“It’s getting dark”

“I know”

“We have to go soon, I don’t do well in the cold, I know you want to stay out here but I don’t really know where we are, and we need to figure out a plan soon”

“You’re telling me you had all the time in the world to haul my body into the truck but you didn’t figure out what to do after that?”

“We were in a rush, and we were scared, everyone else was dead…and we couldn’t leave you behind because…”

“Because what…?”

Lena hesitated, what if she told him she knew about the folder and he couldn’t trust her? That would be awful, besides, that was Bentley’s truth to tell, not hers, so she shrugged her shoulders and said

“It wouldn’t feel right letting you die, please?”

“Fine, I’ll go back in but only because you were polite”

He slithered back inside the back of the truck and Bentley took the wheel since Valen was tired

“It’s been a while since he’s slept eh?”

“Yeah…this is gonna affect him for a while isn’t it?”

“Yeah”

“…I’m sorry”

“For what?”

“Convincing you to sign those sheets…I was really drunk and-“

“Don’t worry about it, you didn’t know we were gonna get dragged into that shitshow, besides, if you and Val didn’t suggest it we wouldn’t have met guppy in the back”

“Don’t call me that again”

“That’s a promise I can’t keep”

He rolled his eyes as Bentley continued driving, Lena was keeping a close eye on all the road signs to see where they were to home, and lo and behold, their dumb luck had struck again.

“We’re still in Cali”

Bentley looked at her in disbelief.

“Fuck off”

“No really, we are, look”

“This is where you lived BEFORE you got dragged to hell?”

“Yeah”

“I moved in with Bentley after I ran off a few years ago and Val moved in after we graduated uni”

“Wait what-“

Bentley interrupted him and turned to Valen as he slowly woke up, seeing how he was in the Hadal Blacksite broke his heart. His life didn’t have hardship like him or Lena’s, he has a family, he looked like he was going to go far, he never had to deal with survivors guilt or self doubt like him and Lena did. So seeing him so afraid in there, afraid to move, afraid to blink, afraid to even breath, it destroyed him, so seeing him slowly come back to his regular self made the hell they went through completely worth it in his eyes.

“Hey mate, you wanna go and get some real food? None of that wall dweller shit?”

Valen shot up and exclaimed

“YES”

Lena clapped and followed suit

“Yes yes yes yes please god I can’t believe I’ve survived this long without pizza please please please-“

“Alright alright, I’ll have to go in to get it though, bloody van’s too big…”

“Hey Sebastian do you want anything?”

“…”

“It’s been a while since you’ve eaten anything good right? So I get it if it’ll take you a while to-“

“Pen. Paper. Now”

Bentley parked in an open space and Valen went through his bag to give him what he needed

“Is this pen too small for your claws or-?”

“I know what I’m doing hand it over”

“R-Right…”

He wrote down what he wanted and Bentley looked on in horror, he knew he would’ve been famished after a decades worth of confinement but he was still shocked

“…Can we even AFFORD all this???”

“Yeah? My money’s on here”

“Wait- how do you even HAVE money? Weren’t your belongings confiscated?”

“We managed to find a secret room that had our stuff in before everything blew up”

“My phone has my inheritance on it”

“We’ve been living on Lenny’s inheritance for months now”

Dear god, and he thought he was hopeless.

“…Did ANY of you have jobs?”

The three glanced at each other

“…I do stand up? Sometimes?”

“That’s a funny way of saying community theatre”

“It just feels weird saying it out loud alright?”

He was in disbelief, they really were a gaggle of idiots who had no idea what they were doing!

“Let me rephrase, do any of you have a REAL job?”

“Ouch”

Lena raised her hand

“I’m an accountant”

“At least ONE of you has a brain…”

“Hey! We managed to escape the facility that should count for something!”

“I guess”

“Right, I’m going to get the food, don’t kill them while I’m out”

Bentley left the truck, leaving Sebastian alone with Lena and Valen, the latter continued the conversation from earlier

“I used to be a florist before we got taken…oh god, are we gonna get fired?”

“Probably”

“No, you’re legally dead”

The two looked at him with surprise, Valen looked more shook up than Lena but he could tell from their pause that his comment got to them

“W-What do you mean by that…?”

“When I was…taken, I was pronounced dead so no one could look into…”

He was going to continue, but he didn’t want them to know, they were aware of what happened to him, Bentley was the one who stole his file after all, but they could tell that he was still reeling over what happened, so they wanted him to tell them in his own time. Lena checked the news and saw an article saying that she was declared dead and Valen saw something similar, he immediately began to panic.

“O-Oh my god my mom- I-I’ve gotta call her!!”

He left the van to call her outside, leaving Lena and Sebastian alone together once more, she was sitting with her legs crossed, absentmindedly glancing at the truck interior. He stretched for while (which was a massive relief for him) and saw that Lena was still sitting down, strange, he thought she’d want to tell someone she was alive by now…

“Aren’t you gonna tell someone you’re okay?”

“I’m okay”

“No- not ME, family? Friends?”

Lena tensed at that, she knew it was a reasonable question for him to have but it still stung considering why she decided to run off in the first place

“I messaged some of my friends while Val was driving, they kept on telling me they thought I was dead…I guess that’s explains why they thought that…”

Now she was going to take a risk, she wasn’t sure if he would be okay with answering this, but she was going to try.

“What about you?”

“Hm?”

“Do you have anyone waiting for you?”

He shivered, of course he did, he missed his mom, his brother, his sister…but would they even want to see him like this? In the state he’s in? Would they have moved on? He believes that they have…but a part of him desperately wants them to believe they haven’t, oh god, he misses them so much, Lena noticed his fins droop a little and apologised

“Sorry, I didn’t want you to get upset, I just wanted to know if you had anything left here…”

Bentley and Valen came back in with an ungodly amount of pizza

“I can’t BELIEVE you got me to carry most of this!”

“Hey those boxes are for the creature and THESE are for the rest of us a little labour won’t kill you!”

Finally, some good fucking food, after all these years. He ate like an animal but the others didn’t care, they just ate like normal in the back of the truck. When they finished the question ringing in everyone’s minds was finally brought up.

“So…what now?”

Bentley shrugged

“I…dont know actually”

Well great, this was just PERFECT! Not only had he been rescued by these idiots, but they’re also had no idea what they were doing and are currently risking it all for his sake! This couldn’t have gone any better! He noticed Bentley’s nervousness and immediately took advantage, he had been teasing him for so long, the thought of him finally getting his own back after months of snarky back and forth was far too tempting to resist

“You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?”

“S-Sure I do! It just takes a while for ideas to come up!”

He face palmed, god, they really were idiots, idiots he had grown attached to and are grateful for (without them he wouldn’t have escaped), but still, they were really stupid.

“Why didn’t you just leave me for dead huh?”

Bentley scoffed and talked without thinking

“We couldn’t just leave you to die! Especially after reading what happened to-“

Bentley covered his mouth but it was far too late, Sebastian glared at him and Lena turned to him with knowing eyes

“You might as well tell him Ley…”

“Okay, fine…”

Bentley got his file and his fins flared out

“That’s where it- HOW DID YOU EVEN GET THAT?!”

His voice reverberated throughout the truck

“I kinda…sorta-“

“He stole it”

“Len…!”

“You were gonna try and lie your way out of it Bentley she was just saving you…”

He snatched his file back and put it into one of the many patches strewn across his tail and he folded his arms

“Look I’m sorry alright I got curious…”

“Did you look?”

All three of them looked really guilty, that’s all he needed to see, he turned to Lena

“That’s why you wanted to get me out? Because felt bad?”

“No I-…you had your life taken from you…and you dying in the place that did all of those things to you didn’t feel right…”

He could sense genuine empathy from her, it was almost like she was talking from experience…he didn’t want to pry though.

“Well, the first thing we have to accept is that we’re on the run”

“They said to shoot you on sight right?”

He nodded, the three looked at each other and Bentley smirked

“Finally, a good reason to move out!”

“Yay”

He felt like he was losing his mind! They had to leave their home behind for ASSOCIATING with him and they were acting like it was the greatest thing to ever happen to them?! What was their problem?! His eyes twitched as Bentley started driving again, this was going to be a long few days…

During those days the trio got everything they needed from their old ratty apartment, they didn’t have much, they were living on caffeine and a dream prior to being kidnapped. They got back in the van and Valen visited his family for a while since he missed them, Lena, Bentley, and Sebastian watched from a distance as they cried and embraced each other, Valen really had it better than all of them combined huh?

He eventually came back into the truck and he was beaming, it was the happiest he had looked in months, he was excitedly talking to Lena about how much his little brother had grown and how his mom was still working at the florists despite shutdown threats they faced months prior. Sebastian sat quietly, contemplating what could happen if he ever saw his mom and siblings again, would they be okay with him being like this? Would they disown him? He didn’t know…until an hour later.

It turns out his family had moved closer to where his old college was and Bentley figured out they were still alive, they made sure no one was outside when they pulled in close to the drive, he was so nervous, he felt like his heart was beating out of his chest…Valen looked up at him and said

“It’s okay, you’ll be fine”

Bentley knocked on the door and his mom answered, the poor woman looked like she hadn’t slept in years, she did a double take at Bentley before she realised he wasn’t who she thought it was, Valen spoke up

“Hi Miss Solace, we have someone who would really like to talk to you”

Valen moved out of the way so he could make his presence known, he fiddled with his claws, his mom almost shrieked until she saw the hair…

My god…could it be…?

“…Mijo?”

And that was all it took, many tears were shed that night, mostly from him, Valen teared up a little, the guy was a sap but who could blame him? They eventually all came inside and they explained everything, his mother eventually called his siblings and even more tears were shed, Bentley got along with them surprisingly well, Lena mostly kept to herself so this moment could happen as naturally as possible, and Valen found out something on complete accident. While Bentley was boasting about his uni exploits, him and Sebastian said something in unison.

“Dios, ¿todavía está hablando de eso?”

They looked at each other in shock, huh, they had the same mother tongue, who knew? Finally, something they had in common. They continued talking for a while and Bentley and Lena took notice

“What do you think they’re talking about?”

“I don’t know…probably killing the British or something?”

“Haha, good, we deserve it”

Sebastian stayed at his moms house that night, god knows he needed it, the trio took the truck and ventured around town for a while until Valen pointed out an abandoned looking house in the distance, they drove over and inspected it, it was HUGE.

Three floors, massive basement, they continued looking to see if there was ANY sign of someone living here, but there wasn’t

“…Did we just find a new house on complete accident?”

“I think so…”

“…Guys, the front doesn’t have a number, it’s unlabelled…you know what that means right?”

“What?”

“We don’t have to pay rent…”

The three celebrated and spent the night doing what they could with the house, obviously they’d need some outside help to refurbish the entire place but they managed to get their rooms sorted and the dust cleared, Valen went to sleep while Bentley and Lena smoked on the balcony.

“I never thought we’d get to do this again…”

“Me neither…”

Lena looked at Bentley, she could tell that today had been hard on him, seeing Valen and Sebastian do something he’d never get the chance to do again must’ve stung in some capacity.

“Has today been hard for you?”

“You want me to be honest?”

“Yeah”

“…Yeah it has…but…I’m happy they’ve got people y’know?”

“Ley…we have each other, we’ve always had each other remember? I’m not completely alone in this and neither are you”

Lena got close to him and he nodded

“I know…”

They looked at each other for a while until Bentley cleared his throat

“What are you gonna tell the office when you go back?”

“That I was in a coma”

“Seriously?”

“They know about my motor issues, they’ll believe me”

“Right…do you want to…?”

“No, not tonight, I’m not sad enough”

“…Me neither”

Lena put her cig out on the ashtray and yawned

“I’m gonna go to sleep, I haven’t had a good night in ages”

“Yeah me too…night”

“Goodnight”

The two went into their bedrooms and had an actual good sleep, no monsters, no strange noises, no constant weariness to keep them on their guard, they were free to do as they pleased. Nothing else will come of this.

Nothing.

[plague-karm]

Part 3 of Hadalpelagic Zone wheyyyyy. The gang find Sebastian’s file, their reactions are exactly what you’d expect.

They had been here for a few months now and had mostly gotten used to it, Lena was a little more talkative and Valen was still terrified of the place but he was significantly more chipper than he was when he first arrived, Bentley was the same as ever but had a bit more compassion now that he was back in a role he was familiar with, a protector. The trio woke up in their hideout to find the bombs strapped to them were completely gone, they talked about it as they went through the vent.

“What…?”

“How are they gone? They were strapped to our vital organs…”

“Yeah who could’ve-“

The three saw a rare sight as they entered the vent, Sebastian was sleeping…and there was a screwdriver next to him, Bentley smirked

“I knew he couldn’t get enough of us”

“I should thank him the next time I stay here”

“Should we wake him up or-?”

“Nah mate, if he’s pissy normally than imagine what he’s like when he’s just woken up he’d be a nightmare”

“Yeah let’s leave him, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t get that much sleep anyway”

Bentley and Valen went back through the vent, Lena wrote a little note and put it on the desk before joining them.

“That almost makes me feel bad for what I took earlier”

“What did you do?”

“You’re never gonna guess what I found a while ago”

He pulled out a certain someone’s file with a wide smile on his face

“Sebastian’s file…?!”

“How did you get this?”

“I got it without asking”

“…You stole it before you entered the vent didn’t you?”

“I’ll apologise to him at a later date”

He opened it

“Time to see what you’re really like…”

To say that they were horrified by the file’s contents would be a grotesque understatement, Valen was in tears and Lena was in a state of shock, Bentley felt like he was going to be sick…how could ANYONE even fathom doing something like that to another human being?

“What the fuck…”

“Oh my god, Ley, he was innocent…! Look…!”

“Jesus fucking Christ…”

Lena and Valen couldn’t process any of this, Valen was too chocked up to add anything meaningful to the conversation and Lena had her hand over her mouth, she was shaking, holding her head as she was trying to comprehend what happened to him, she had no idea how he was still alive after all that. Bentley made a promise to himself that day, that if they ever found a way to escape this place, they were taking him with them, god knows he needed the peace.

[plague-karm]

Hello! I need medication for life to prevent my lungs from collapsing, this implies permanent treatment with steroids, oxygen therapy, control of oxygen in the blood and antibiotics to prevent the development of bacteria in the lungs.

I'm afraid I have to insist on this because it may be the only way to get my treatment.

I need medication for life to keep my lungs from collapsing, this costs around $700 per month.

Things are really tough on me,I can’t afford. Please donate🖤

.

[plague-karm]

One of the only characters I’m unironically using the “they did nothing wrong” quote for. He didn’t even kill those 9 people for fucks sake he can do whatever he wants I’ll defend him until my dying breath.

i forgive sebastian completely bc if i was mutilated, had my bodily autonomy completely stripped from me, was experimented on, treated as subhuman, and isolated for 12 years as punishment for some shit i didnt even do, THEN had said mutilations exploited for slave labor, just for the people who did it to me to try to make it up to me by letting me go to arts and crafts every Wednesday or some shit id do much worse. "he killed dozens if not hundreds of people by letting a bunch of monsters loose in a containment facility" good for him??? the fuck??????? lmao???????????? deserved?? based??? tf do you want me to say

[plague-karm]

Now the gang have woken up in the Hadal Blacksite and wake up in different areas, they’re separated and they finally meet the fish man, bonds are unwillingly formed.

For further context go through the “Hadalpelagic Zone” tag that’ll give you all the lore you need

Bentley

Feels really guilty about Lena and Valen getting dragged into all this

He’s quick on his feet so he’s doing alright, mostly

Is the first to discover Sebastian, oh how they hate each other :3

Bentley is a guy that’s been desensitised to a lot of shit due to the fire so he’s not really all that scared of him, likes pissing him off

Sebastian cannot STAND this guy! Who the hell does he think he is?! Crawling in like he owns the place…

But his hair…why does it look like…?

You know damn well Bentley flashbangs him every chance he gets, manages to leave through the vent before he can get shot or grabbed

Bentley feels more in control when he does this, he hates feeling hopeless and he doesn’t want the situation he’s in to break him down

Lena

Absolutely MISERABLE

It’s too loud, too cold, she wishes she just died in all honesty

Paranoia is at an all time high, 100% believes the others are dead

Manages to find places to sleep despite everything

She just wants to go back home man :(

The only reason she’s still alive is because her adrenaline makes her one hell of a sprinter

Valen

He’s struggling the most :(

He hasn’t been through past trauma like the other two so this is how he gets his

Trying to keep a brave face but he cries himself to sleep every night

Keeps their graduation picture in one of his pockets

Constantly thinking about the bomb strapped to him

His whimsy is withering away :(

Cries himself to sleep every night and prays to god

Eventually everyone finds each other at different times, Bentley finds Valen in an abandoned office and the two cried in each others arms for five minutes straight, they stay together constantly for each others reassurance, they’re trying to find Lena to no avail. Eventually introduced Valen to Sebastian

“What…?”

“Don’t worry mate he just sells stuff, he’s a pain in the ass but look, he’s got batteries. Probably the only bastard in this place that has sentience”

Sebastian messes with Val CONSTANTLY during their first encounters, he’s very easy to tease, Bentley always comes to his defence though and they’re evenly matched in verbal combat.

While running away from something they managed to find Lena hiding in a closet and they immediately got out of dodge, she was so relieved to see them that she started sobbing instantly…the other two could tell she hadn’t slept in ages.

They told her that Sebastian wasn’t an active threat before they gathered in the shop so she was only taken a little off guard by him.

“There’s three of you now huh?”

“Yep”

“Any other idiots I should tend to while you’re at it?”

“Nope, just us, and she’s staying here”

“Are you serious? I’m not a charity!”

“Tough shit, she hasn’t slept in…I don’t even know how long, me and Val have given you good fucking money you owe us”

He sighed in an aggravated manner and begrudgingly agreed

“Fine, but if she does ANYTHING stupid she’s going back out with you”

“That wasn’t that hard now was it-?”

“GET OUT!!”

Valen shrieked and quickly crawled through the vent, Bentley shrugged and followed. Lena was sitting on the floor close to the desk, she looked like a corpse, the only way he could tell she was still alive was by the small twitches in her hands and legs.

This became the new routine, Bentley and Valen would come back with data, Lena would either join them or sit down in a worse state than before, he’d have a back and forth with Bentley, but one question stayed in his mind…

“How the hell were they still alive?!”

Bentley was running on pure spite while the other two had practically given up on everything! He hears what they talk about outside too! They’re stupid! All of them! Every single one of them! If they were put in his position they would’ve croaked years ago! But…they were in his position, weren’t they? Forced here against their will, granted they weren’t experimented on but they were clearly miserable, even if they showed it in completely different ways…when Bentley didn’t show up during his usual quota he felt off.

“Heh…maybe he FINALLY kicked the bucket, thank god, if I had to put up with Valen’s shrieking again I would’ve-“

He stopped himself immediately…why the hell was he using their names?! They’re EXPENDABLES! They’re not people they’re numbers! Lambs for slaughter! They’re NOTHING!

…But still

He found himself missing Bentley when he wasn’t there, yeah he annoyed him but having someone who wasn’t scared of him for once…was actually kind of nice…

Valen was slowly getting used to him and apologised profusely when he flashbanged him a few days ago, he wasn’t as jumpy as he used to be…

And if he was going to be honest with himself…Lena was the one who intrigued him the most, she was the only one who never spoke (whether this was willingly or not he didn’t know) and her eyes…the same blue he had all those years ago. No matter how much he tried to tell himself otherwise, he always thought back to those days, when things were normal, when he actually had a future ahead of him, before all this…

Sometimes he heard Lena humming to herself, it sounded hoarse, maybe that was her coping mechanism? He didn’t know, he actually recognised a lot of the songs she hummed, some Metallica, some HIM, holy shit, he had something in common with someone that wasn’t just “I want to escape this hellhole”. Whenever he wasn’t occupied with something he’d join in, he wasn’t sure if she heard him or not but he didn’t care, he felt normal for the first time in years…

His worst fears were coming to fruition.

He was getting attached.

And he didn’t know what to do.

[plague-karm]

You know when you find a character from a certain thing and you’re mostly fixated on that character and not the thing they’re from as a whole? Yeah that’s basically what this is, don’t worry I’ve done research but again I have to preface, I am still VERY inexperienced for writing characters from pre existing IP’s. That and the concept for this has kinda spiralled out of control so I’ll be posting it in several parts (which is what the hadalpelagic zone tag is for!)

Before we get into anything crazy though I might as well introduce our expendable trio!

Bentley Graham

Age: 25

His voice claim is Jack O’ Connell

The self proclaimed leader of the group

Beyond competitive, always sees as argument as a chance to get better at being an engaging talker

Easily the biggest extrovert of the three

Has dreams of becoming an entertainer in any way he can, has thought of several game show concepts but he never put them out there because he’s a huge slacker

Wholeheartedly believes that it can always get worse! :D

His hair is IDENTICAL to Sebastian’s when he was human, that definitely doesn’t make their relationship even more antagonistic than it already is

Does work as a standup comedian and loves performing for others

He lost his family in a house fire accident when he was younger which lead to him being orphaned, that day still haunts him so he’s an on and off alcoholic as a result. He also hates fireplaces

He’s very protective of his friends as a result of survivors guilt

ALWAYS wears button ups, you’d have to force him to wear a normal shirt

An absolute nightmare to be around if you’re not on his good side, he WILL prey on your weaknesses

Always coming up with crazy ideas that he loves to rope the other two into

He sees potential in everyone and years to crack every shell he finds

Lena Draxler

Age: 24

Her voice claim is Marina Diamandis

Very blunt and weary due to years of masking but becomes a lot more silly and joyous when she’s comfortable with people (unmasking is love, unmasking is life)

Has an unnamed motor disorder, it’s more apparent outside of the facility due to the conditions outside

Was constantly pushed to do better at studying by her family due to them not wanting to take care of someone who was “lesser” than them, she ran away from home at 16 as a result

Oblivious to a comical extent

Her eyes are identical to Sebastian’s when he was human, he tends to stare a lot because of this

Is half Italian on her mothers side but she lost the accent after she ran away, she can still speak it fluently though

Collects rocks

Works as an accountant (what can she say? She loves the numbers)

Gravitates towards people who she knows can protect her

Scene fashion fanatic, she has the hair and everything

Has a debilitating fear of needles and hospitals

Social chameleon, can talk to pretty much anyone if they’re tolerable enough

She holds people’s hands when she’s comfortable enough with them

Valen Garcia

Age: 22

His voice claim is Harvey Guillén

Puppet enthusiast, wants to make puppet shows for adults and children when he’s older

The only normal one lmao

The best person morally out of the three but he has no qualms with screaming at someone if they insult his friends

Worried for his friends

He was almost kidnapped when he was younger so he has a debilitating fear of the dark because of that

Full of whimsy!! :D

The Trio As A Whole

Bentley and Lena have known each other since childhood and they met Valen because they all went to the same university, they’ve been losing braincells together ever since

Bentley managed to get his own apartment and Lena moved in with him after she ran away

Lena and Bentley have been in an on and off situationship since she was 16 and he was 17, no one knows about this except for them, the reason they started it is because they felt incredibly lonely and they were willing to do anything to alleviate the pain…even if it meant getting down and dirty, because that’s what friends are for, right?

Ever since they graduated they’ve been aimless party animals who don’t know what to do with their lives

Valen moved in with them after graduation

They get drunk or high almost every night, they’re dealing with life so well

One night in a drunken haze they’re given envelopes with the Urbanshade sign up sheets on them, Bentley was dared by the other two to sign them, and he did! What could go wrong?!

Everything.

Everything went wrong.

[plague-karm]

The initial concept of this has kinda changed drastically lmao, there’s still gonna be angst but in a different way

Hey what if I put Sebastian Pressure into a fucked up onesided polycule for no reason? I only know the basic lore but I just thought it would be funny, this isn’t for future reference at all istg

[plague-karm]

My Sisyphus keychain from @terminalkisser arrived and I absolutely LOVE him, very shiny :)

[plague-karm]

Now that I have more followers you’re legally required to read my original shit because fuck you

There you were, sat in the cold crevices of your lab, faced with the only thing you can stomach, lord how you’ve tried, lord how you’ve tried to enjoy the fruits from this plane like you did in your youth, like you used to, but when your forced to eat this for six years straight you don’t really have a taste for anything else.

You see the way he looks at you, knowing you devour the flesh of his kin as frequently as you drink away your past to no avail, but anything else makes you retch, and with that, you’re reminded of darker times.

Times you couldn’t fight back, times you couldn’t move, times where you craved a gentle, loving hug instead of…you can barely comprehend the thought.

You always loved fruit as a child, but now its sweetness repulses you, and even now as you stand high above those you deem unworthy you still feel that pulsation around your neck.

You scratch away, you bite, yet there’s no one there, just ghosts, all you see are ghosts. And yet through it all, he was there, why does he even hang around here anyway? He doesn’t work, he’s committed to play, that’s all he’s meant to do. Yet the things he tells you, the temptation to break free from those holding you back from your true potential.

If you said you never felt tempted to follow his word you’d be a liar, the one thing that always made you fight back was your children.

They were never meant to be here, you didn’t want them, but they’re here, and despite everything, despite…how they were made, you love them. You love them so much.

When you brought them back you gave them the choice of what they wanted to look like, and everyday you breathe a sigh of relief that every time you look into their eyes, you never see his staring back at you, begging you to hate them as you do him.

After everything you don’t view yourself as human anymore, you feel so alien from those you’re supposed to lead, but…that’s why you’re better right? You went through hell and came out on top, you’ve made discoveries they could only dream of, they should worship you.

As you have your feast of Pyromanial flesh it’s warmth nurtured you in a way you hadn’t felt in months, the chills of your sickly body ceased as your eye pricked with tears at this familiar feeling. You felt close to her again…how you felt when she saved you from walking off and never getting up. You miss her, so much, and no matter how hard you look at him, he will never be her.

He’s not calm, he’s not smart, he doesn’t push back, god how you hated him, every stutter made you want to break his neck and leave him for the winged unholy bastards to feast on for years to come…

But why did you feel a hint of compassion? His circumstances were so different from yours…why is he so patient with you? Why does he come back again and again? Why does he keep on insisting that he’s your friend…?

Your anger skyrocketed and you broke your mirror with your weakened fists, breathing heavily as you could barely stand. You looked down at the broken glass, you wanted to scream, but you didn’t, your children are asleep remember?

You finished your meal, the flesh that you fight against is also yours to conquer, to control, to devour, to dominate. Yours alone, what that foul creature once paraded as fearsome beasts that struck fear into the hearts of billions were now your appetisers.

You overcame them, you won, you are beyond anything that roams this earth…

Then why do I feel like he’s always staring back at me…?

[plague-karm]

Hello, my friends, I hope you're all well 🫂💗

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your generous and constant support. During these challenging times, you are our true source of hope. With your kindness, we are one step closer to regaining stability and security. 🙏🏻🍉🍉

However, we’re still far from our main goal and have not yet reached even a quarter of what we’re striving for in this campaign. 😔

Reaching $9,000 as soon as possible will ease the burdens we face and help us rebuild our lives. 🙏🏻🇵🇸

Every contribution, no matter how small, brings us hope and takes us one step closer to a brighter future. 🙌🏼❤️

Thank you for everything you do; your support gives us the strength to keep going. ❤️💚🤍🖤

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[plague-karm]

Please support me

, I'm Karam Al Nabih from Gaza. My home, dreams, and university have been destroyed by the war. I'm a software engineer in my final semester, and I'm urgently seeking your support to rebuild my life and help my sick mother.

Please consider donating, even a small amount like 10 or 15 £, as every contribution makes a difference. If you can't donate, please share my story to help me reach my goal. Your support means the world to me.

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Vatted by @nabulsi @90-ghost

.

[plague-karm]

Hey what if I put Sebastian Pressure into a fucked up onesided polycule for no reason? I only know the basic lore but I just thought it would be funny, this isn’t for future reference at all istg