Chapter Text
Hours before Maya had returned home from work, she originally found herself sitting in one of the communication observation rooms of her uncle’s company Deluge Labs, bored out of her mind as she had the scanners in one terminal set to pick up any encrypted signals.
Her team had first started picking them up almost three weeks ago now. Always being sent out at random times yet didn’t seem to be strong enough to last long enough for a full transmission and would fade almost as soon as it appeared. When Maya brought this up to her uncle, he just brushed it off as something unimportant. Even her fellow directors seemed to have a similar attitude… but more along the lines of “Not my Department, not my problem.”
So that’s what led to Maya being here past the normal work hours. Research and Communications were what she was in charge of as one of the board of directors, so as its head she had to take it upon herself to investigate this unknown transmission.
She couldn’t investigate or try to look into the signals during the normal work day as she had other duties and tasks that needed to be done. Sure her uncle was the CEO, but Maya took her job seriously and insisted on clawing her way to her position through her own merits. Plus with the random nature of the signals, it was hard to predict when the transmission would even pop up again anyways. So here she is, getting overtime to investigate something that might not be that important. All alone in a dark lab with only the screen and a desk lamp lighting up the area she sat in.
At least I brought a book with me to pass the time… Maya thought to herself with a sigh. While the blonde director loved to read romance and mystery style books normally, this week she decided to dive into her love of really bad books. It was something that she and her husband bonded over early in their dating time, making fun of books that were so mind-numbingly bad or were just frustratingly bad with their messages that they became comedy gold to the two.
This book was one she bought based on the cover alone off Amazon about a few years back but never got around to reading it till now. It had a poorly hand drawn image of a woman in a military outfit with her hair down and a thousand yard death stare. Sure Maya’s art skills weren’t anything to write home about, but seeing as her husband was a tattoo artist and often showed off some of his breathtaking works… well she could easily say that by the cover of this book alone, the story was going to be an absolute dumpster fire that she and Curtis would be making fun of for months.
Jesus Christ I’m only on page two and I’m already having so many issues with it… Maya thought to herself as she closed the book and took off her reading glasses in order to try and stave off her oncoming headache. She genuinely wished Curtis was here… then she could have read some of the passages to him and seen his dumbfounded reactions… maybe even hear some funny jokes from him about the character.
Maybe bringing this book was a bad idea for a time waster…
Ping!
Maya paused what she was doing and looking at the screen she saw the blip of the unknown transmission attempting to connect once again.
Perfect timing!
Immediately getting to work with the communication systems, Maya flipped on the standard recorder that was company policy to use whenever a transmission was made or any type of communication was passed through digital means within the lab. If the last couple times she’s seen this blip pop up were any indicator for how long this transmission signal would be active for, she has to work quickly to get the connection or else the signal would go dead within another minute.
Come on, come on, connect already! Maya thought to herself as she slipped the communication headphones onto her ears, not hearing any static that would indicate that a connection had been made yet. Though that didn’t last for long as the sound of radio static filled her ears only a couple seconds later, and without wasting any time Maya turned on her microphone.
“Hello?”
Static, no sign of a response.
“Hello? Who is this?”
Static, more silence and Maya felt one of her hands already reaching up to clutch at her hair… Was she actually just wasting her time on a dead signal?
“Unknown signal. Please Identify yourself.”
There was a beat of silence that left Maya almost wanting to cut the communication right there and write the signal off as a “dead signal” in general.
“This is Sebastian Solace… and I want to make a deal.”
Solace…. The name echoed in Maya’s mind. The name of the family that helped her husband and his sister when their parents died in a horrible car accident a long time ago. The name associated with some of the most important people in Curtis’s life. And Sebastian Solace was… No, focus Maya. It’s… probably a cover name.
“A deal? What kind of deal are you offering, Mr. Solace.” The name felt weird to utter. There was only one Mr. Solace that she ever knew and he was with her husband celebrating the birthday of one Sylvia Solace.
“That depends… Who am I talking to right now, and what company are you associated with?”
“I am Director Faroh of Deluge Labs.” She stated, hearing a quiet muttering of her last name through the static… the voice sounding a little surprised. “I will repeat… what deal are you offering for Deluge Labs, Mr. Solace.”
“Right… well Director, I have in my possession at least a few decades worth of classified information, documents and projects from one, god awful cesspool known as Urbanshade.”
Maya blinked. Urbanshade was one of the leading scientific research labs that Deluge Labs was constantly in competition with… if what “Sebastian” was saying is true then this would benefit the company for sure…
“I’m of course willing to part with this information. But… only if you can guarantee mine and my… associates safety and freedom from Urbanshade’s clutches.”
Maya narrowed her eyes in thought, one of her hands carding through her hair as she debated. On one hand, this “Sebastian Solace” was offering a really good deal for Deluge Labs if what he could provide was true… Her uncle and the other directors would approve the exchange in a heartbeat… but on the other hand was the fact Sebastian Solace, a man who was like a brother to her husband and very nearly became his official brother-in-law, has been dead for over a decade. There was no guarantee that what he was offering was even real if this stranger was hiding behind the name of a dead man.
“Mr. Solace.” Maya started, taking a deep breath and closing her green eyes to mentally prepare herself for what was to come. “How do I know what your offering is even real?”
“Are you kidding me right now?” The disbelief in the man’s tone through the radio was so palpable, that Maya could easily picture a man’s face with a furrowed brow and clenched teeth, in her mind's eye.
“No. I think I’m being perfectly serious right now.” Maya straightened herself up in her seat, eyes staring straight at the screen, which showed the connection status she had with this signal was still holding on rather strong. “You introduced yourself to me with the name of a deadman. How can I trust someone who's hiding their identity? How can I trust the information you have to offer my company is even real?”
“You’ve got to be fucking…” the voice trailed off into silence, most likely the man had stopped using whatever transceiver to collect himself… if the strange, inhuman growl in his tone was anything to go by.
The hell was that? Maya thought with a shudder.
“Trust is a two way street here, Director Faroh.” The man claiming to be Sebastian finally said, a heavy sigh in his tone that still had Maya on edge. “I knew some people with the same name as yours. Last I checked it wasn’t a common last name, and they didn’t have any extended family. Granted it has been a long time since I had a chance to check…”
Maya blinked. That… wasn’t what she was expecting… if this guy was just using the name… how would he know about Sebastian’s connection to the Faroh’s? It wasn’t completely common knowledge from the case…
“I… married in.” Maya confessed, stunned that she herself divulged some of her own personal information. But… just to confirm… “These people you know… knew… was one of them, Curtis Faroh?”
A laugh was heard through the static. Low, almost disbelieving in tone.
“Don’t tell me… you married that dumb ass?”
“You’re actually marrying this dumb ass?” The memory of Sylvia learning of her engagement to Curtis all those years ago now came to mind immediately. Spoken in a tone that was a mix of disbelief and with a joke somewhere in there… Sebastian’s own tone was the exact same as hers had been.
“Yeah… yeah I did.” Maya muttered, her thumb tracing the cool metal of her wedding band as her eyes felt like they were starting to water a bit. Taking a deep breath, Maya decided what she was going to do. “You said that you were looking for freedom from Urbanshade’s clutches… Could you please elaborate on that a bit.”
Sebastian at first sounded a little surprised at how quick Maya seemed to turn around… but seemed to immediately shift into a more serious tone as he talked about the Hadal Blacksite. A research lab deep underwater that was under Urbanshade’s control… and filled with monstrous entities and genetic experiments keen on ripping apart any human they caught sight of. Though he was unable to describe all the dangerous creatures in full detail… Maya still felt a cold shudder run down her whole body… even more so when Sebastian mentioned how limited his time was due to the large number of “Expendables” being sent in to retrieve something that Urbanshade wanted back. A Crystal with unknown properties by the sounds of things…
“What… happens if Urbanshade get’s this crystal back?” Maya asked, though feeling like she already knew the answer… she needed it to be recorded.
“... Then it’s Game Over for everyone left here in the Blacksite.”
Maya’s heart dropped. This… maybe something that would require more finesse and power then a single lab could offer. No… this was something that, in her own opinion, would need some government intervention, maybe even the FBI to assist with in order to take down Urbanshade for everything it’s doing.
“... I’ll be sure to bring this up to my fellow directors and the CEO. We’ll… I’ll do my best to get something started for an extraction…”
Even if he’s not actually Sebastian Solace… if even a fraction of this information about the Hadal Blacksite is true… I don’t want him or anyone else to suffer there any longer.
“How… long would that even take?” The shudder in the man’s voice really had Maya wishing she could do something right then and there that would help.
“I… don’t have an ETA yet. However I’ll try to keep in contact so long as you keep sending out signals. I just… I need to confirm some things and…” Maya paused, taking a deep breath to try and at least maintain a professional demeanor… if only for the records. “Just… please. Try to hold out a little longer.”
“Fuck.” She heard the deep, shuddering sigh the man uttered on the other end and a faint sound of movement through the static. “Just… God… hurry it up. There’s no telling when Urbanshade’s going to give up on the Expendables and send in people who actually know what they are doing.”
“I understand. Deluge Labs will keep in touch.” Maya stated, turning off the digital recorder and taking in a deep breath before speaking into her mic once again. “Oh… and Sebastian.”
There was silence, no words spoken through the static… but the sound of something shifting told Maya that he was still listening.
“Happy Birthday.”
The connection dropped, and Maya felt tears starting to fall down her face.
…
“That was him…” Curtis muttered, his golden eyes wide as slow tears trailed down his pale cheeks. He held the recorder in one shaking hand, not remembering the moment he picked it up at all, while the other was covering his mouth. He had listened to the whole thing, paid close attention to everything Sebastian said and it shook the tattooed man.
Maya had reached a hand out to gently wrap around her husband's own, careful of the recorder still in it as she gave the hand a soft squeeze. She knew it was a lot to take in… but it was probably worse for Curtis to take in as he knew Sebastian better then she ever did.
“He’s… he’s alive.” Curtis muttered, voice a mix of emotions as he processed everything. Maya gently still holding his hand and feeling herself begin to shake, ready to start crying once again.
“I… tried to look into the location where the signal had been coming from.” Maya started, her eyes still on the recorder. “Theres… something is blocking the signal from being properly tracked. Even if I brought this to the CEO, or the other directors… we wouldn’t be able to find the Blacksite without a solid location.”
Curtis’s brows furrowed.
“So you’re saying you won’t be able to reach him in time?”
“I… don’t know.” Maya admitted, her free hand brushing some of her hair from her face and guilt weighing her heart. “One of the other directors might be able to figure something out… maybe a way to track the signal better or…”
“... Maya, please… don’t leave me in suspense here.” Curtis chuckled humorlessly, unable to resist making an attempt at a joke if only to make the situation a bit easier to handle.
“Or… they’ll probably want to send someone with a beacon of some kind under the guise of being one of the… Expendables that Urbanshade would pick up.”
Curtis froze once again, staring at Maya with wide eyes. All while the strawberry blonde woman looked defeated… seemingly already knowing which option her fellow directors and her uncle would want to take.
If that’s the case… Curtis thought to himself and took a deep calming breath in, and out before gently pulling Maya in for a soft kiss on the lips. Maya to her credit was momentarily confused, but still leaned into the affection from her husband… until he pulled away with an almost sad smile on his face.
“I need to make a couple calls.”
Maya felt like she had just been dunked into a pool of frozen water as Curtis left the digital recorder in her hand and got up from his seat.
“Curtis-”
“They’ll need to know what’s going on… plus if your boss needs someone to set up the beacon, well… better to have a willing volunteer as soon as possible, am I right?” The tattoo artist laughed, slicking back some of his dark brown hair and trying to come off as if it wasn’t a big deal.
Maya however, was not buying it at all as she ran up and hugged her beloved from behind. Her arms wrapped tight around him and her face buried into his back.
“You don’t have to do this.”
“I know…” Curtis muttered. He knew… god he knew he didn’t have to do this but…
The very last memories he ever had of Sebastian kept playing out in his mind. Curtis… was the last person to have ever been able to visit Sebastian before they took him away for his execution. The young man had been broken, petrified and had clearly been crying ever since his sentencing… and the fact Sam who had been in the crowd had fainted as soon as the verdict had been read. Curtis had wanted to help him… god how he wishes he could have helped him… but no. All he did that day was give the bad news that Sam had to be hospitalized and… and how Izzy almost didn’t make it due to all the stress Sam had been under at the time.
“I’m so sorry…” Was all Curtis could utter that day. He couldn’t comfort Sebastian… he was unable to help him at all and probably only made everything worse… and it haunted him to this day.
But now…
“I’m not letting Sebastian die down there… not when there's something I can actually do this time to help.”
Maya’s breathing hitched as she held Curtis as tight as she could.
…
Sebastian was still reeling from his conversation with Director Faroh.
After she had wished him a Happy Birthday (was it really his birthday already?) the connection to Deluge Labs had been cut. Sebastian couldn’t tell if it had been cut by Director Faroh herself, or if the connection on his end had been cut by either Urbanshade finding the signal, the radio deciding to crap out on him or his scrambler locking onto it and… well scrambling the frequency.
God I hope Urbanshade wasn’t the one who cut the transmission… Sebastian thought to himself as he checked the radio. Being extra careful with his claws as he opened it up just to make sure it wasn’t just his poor attempt at putting the thing together, and try to take his mind off the spiraling fear of the hell hole that’s ruined his life, continuing to ruin it. To his relief after checking it and the attached transceiver, it seemed more like the radio itself was the problem as its batteries seemed to finally run out of juice.
Good thing I keep a large stock on hand. Sebastian thought with a sigh of relief. The claws of his right hand carefully pushed some hair out of his eyes while one of his ear fins flicked slightly as he replaced the batteries. However as he replaced the batteries, Sebastian’s mind crawled back to Director Faroh.
I still can’t believe someone actually married Curtis… let alone someone in a position like hers. As funny as it would be in a normal setting for him to think about, all this thought did was have Sebastian spiraling down thoughts related to everyone else from his life… questions about his family that he wouldn’t be able to have answered so long as he’s in the Hadal Blacksite.
Is mom okay? What about Sam and our daughter? Is Gabriel’s marriage still going on? Did Sylvia get her big break? How long has it actually been ?
These questions kept popping up and made the mutated man shudder with unshed tears. The silence and unanswered questions were getting to him. His long body coiled into itself, while his claws dug into the fabric covering his scaled arms and side as the mounting question of just how much of his life was actually stolen from him began to settle in. He couldn’t focus on anything else. There was nothing around to shift his focus on to stop the crushing feelings of despair…
“Heeey Sebastian.”
The robotic tone broke Sebastian out of his distress, much to his relief.
“Painter…” Sebastian couldn’t help but flinch at how choked up his own voice sounded. God… isn’t this just a shitty birthday huh…
“Oh uh… So is this a bad time or…?”
“No actually… You’ve kinda come at a great time actually.” Sebastian admitted, hard shelled hands carefully rubbing at his light sensitive eyes for a moment before turning to where Painter was talking from.
It was a leftover tablet from one of the scientists that Sebastian hooked into a portable generator he found in the Maintenance areas, along with a stolen and modified signal tower to ensure that the tablet itself would be able to connect to the mainframe Painter was controlling. It was one of the easiest ways to communicate with Painter when multiple Expendables were walking through the halls, and to keep updated whenever Sebastian found himself hiding out or resting in his shop areas. Especially after a long day of scavenging and dealing with the more… idiotic Expendables.
“You sure it’s a good time? Cuz no offense but last few times you were crying you kinda wanted to be left alone and-” Painter rambled, the digitally drawn face on the screen moving and looking rather uncomfortable within the digitally drawn lines.
“I just finished talking with Deluge Labs.” Sebastian stated, pulling himself back together in a sense now that he was able to properly distract himself.
The AI was quiet for a moment, a neutral expression drawn onto the white canvas before Painter seemed to finally process just what Sebastian said. The drawn on expression immediately changed into one of wide eyed excitement.
“REALLY?!”
Sebastian hissed at how loud Painter’s voice was. His only thoughts being, Any louder and it would have busted the speakers. Even as Painter began going off in their own excitement.
“That means we’re gonna be heading to the surface soon! Right?! We’re gonna be getting out! We’re actually going to be getting out! Right?! RIGHT?!”
“Hey don't go overheating yourself now.” Sebastian scolded, rubbing at his ears and feeling them flick from the sheer volume that Painter had been going off on.
“Oh, right. Sorry. My bad.” Painter apologized, doing their absolute best to not overheat the processor in the tablet in their excitement, as well as actively turning the volume down a bit once realizing just how loud they were being. “It’s just… We’re finally gonna be getting out of here! To the surface!”
“About that…” Sebastian trailed off, his sharp teeth grazing his cheeks as he thought of how to tell Painter exactly what was said.
“Is something wrong?” Painter asked, their drawn face now looking much more concerned before a literal lightbulb was drawn onto the screen for a split second. “Did something happen? Is that why you were upset?”
No use hiding it. Sebastian thought before telling the sentient AI what happened in the call.
Painter for the most part seemed to take the whole thing in stride if the neutral expression on the screen was anything to go by… or maybe they were buffering for a moment. It was hard to tell sometimes.
“So we just gotta wait a bit longer huh?” The disappointment in the robotic tone was hard to miss. It left Sebastian feeling a bit guilty for ruining the artistic AI’s good mood. “Well, it’s not the worst news at least. Just need to hold out until we get an ETA or EVAC notice right?”
“Basically, yeah.”
“Alright then, not that different from what we’ve already been doing then. But on the plus side there’s a higher chance of escape now. So I’ll take it.”
“Glad to see you’re taking all this in stride.” Sebastian couldn’t help but chuckle slightly and lean down into his coils… he must have adjusted to be coiling at some point in the conversation.
“Well yeah, of course I am. You promised we’d get out of here together. Hell you’ve been keeping a lot of your promises for me this whole time. So yeah, if you say we gotta wait a little longer then we gotta wait a little longer. We’ll definitely get through this. Because you said we will and I trust you Sebastian.” Painter explained, their tone coming off as both very nonchalant but matter of fact at the same time… it kinda made him think about Sam. More specifically the last time he was able to talk to her before his sentencing…
“I know you didn’t do it Seb. I know the truth will come out and the courts will have to see you’re innocent as well! Hell once you’re out we can look into suing the jackasses that sent you here.” He remembered her laugh… the same one she used whenever she was trying to cheer someone up. He remembered how her hand pressed against the glass that separated them at the time and the soft nearly teary eyed smile graced her face. “We’ll get through this Seb. I know we will.”
But we didn’t get through it in the end… Sebastian thought, his eyes glancing down to the blue-gray scales that overtook his formerly tanned skin. His three eyes soon shifted their gaze towards Painter, the drawn expression looking so hopeful and excited… No way in hell was he going to destroy that for the AI.
“Yeah. We just need to wait a little longer is all… then we’ll be home free.”
And Sebastian really hoped that was true. For both their sakes.
…
Since the birth of her daughter and the trial, Sam’s had a very hard time both falling asleep and staying asleep for long periods of time. In her better nights she could usually sleep for about 4 hours uninterrupted… Tonight sadly didn’t seem to be one of those nights.
Sam sat in the living room of the little home she made for herself and Izzy, with a nice warm cup of hot chocolate in hand as the TV was turned on at a low volume to provide a soft background noise.
Looks like I’m going to need a double shot of espresso before I take Izzy into school in the morning. Sam thought to herself while brushing some of her loose brown hair behind her ear. A deep sigh escaped her lungs before she took a sip of her hot chocolate. I’ll try going to sleep again after this cup, but at best that’s gonna be another two hours of rest… not to mention I’ll need to hurry to the venue after Izzy’s in school so I’m going to have to double check my equipment before we leave… god why did the insomnia have to be a bitch tonight?
As she was lost in thoughts about what she needed to do in the morning, the sound of a text notification from her phone snapped the golden eyed woman out of it.
“Who the hell’s texting at one in the morning?” Sam muttered to herself, as she reached over to where her phone was charging on the arm rest of the recliner chair. Her brows furrowed when she saw it was a message from her brother of all people… telling her that he’s setting up a video call “With the Family” and that it was important. Worry began to fill her heart. While Curtis may be a joker, he never does them at times when everyone else would be sleeping…
Something bad happened. Sam thought as she hurried into her bedroom to grab her laptop, powering it on and waiting for the video call invite with her set of earbuds plugged in just in case it got loud enough to wake Izzy up. Thankfully not too long after everything was turned on, she got the call invite and opened it up. On the screen was of course her brother, and surprisingly Gabriel was already there as well, looking like he just woke up from his pajama button up top and the fact he had his glasses on instead of his usual contacts.
“Syl’s going to be on in a minute.” Curtis stated, his face straight with none of his usual humor… Sam hasn’t seen him like this since she had been hospitalized after Sebastian’s trial.
“Curtis… please… at least tell me someone didn’t die.” Gabriel muttered, a scared look in his blue eyes. Sam didn’t blame him for this… since she was fearing for the same thing. There weren’t many reasons for Curtis to be calling all of them this late at night after all…
“I’ll tell when Syl gets on.” Curtis sighed, his hand rubbing the back of his tattooed neck.
“No offense Curt… this isn’t very comforting.”
“Yeah. I know… just hold on for a little longer, okay Bug?”
Sam could only nervously bite at the stud in her lip. The use of the dumb childhood nickname that he’s called her since the day Sam had been born really wasn’t as comforting, or relaxing as Curtis probably hoped it would be. In fact it actually made her more scared about what he wanted to tell everyone.
Please don’t let it be bad news…
The screen soon changed to include another window as Sylvia joined the video call, her curly black hair looked to be a big mess and her blue-green eyes were set in a tired glare as she had a soft looking throw blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
“Someone better be dead or dying for you to wake me up this early… especially when you know I have rehearsals in the morning Curt…” Sylvia growled tiredly as she rubbed at one of her eyes.
“Sylvia please… don’t joke about that.” Gabriel sighed deeply, while pushing his glasses up slightly to pinch the bridge of his nose.
“Far as we know that’s what it actually is though Gabe…” Sam muttered, rubbing at the soft fabric of her pajama sleeve as her nerves were starting to get to her.
“… Well guess I’ll get this part out of the way first then. No one is dead… yet I mean.” Curtis started and Sam felt herself freeze, the worst coming to mind.
“Is Maya alright?”
“Oh Jesus Christ I didn’t actually mean that. Oh my god is she alright?!” Sylvia panicked, looking far more awake and regretful now on her side of the screen. Gabriel on his end was silent, almost looking pale as he wrapped his arms around himself.
“Maya’s fine.” A deep sigh of relief echoed from everyone else in the group chat. “But she is kinda involved with something that just happened.”
“… How so?” Gabriel asked first, a stern frown on his face making Sam think of Isadora’s own. Out of all the Solace siblings, Gabriel was always the one who took the most after their mother after all.
“Well… let’s start with the fact that Sebastian’s actually still alive.”
Silence filled the chat. Sam for her part felt as if the world tilted, barely able to hold herself up in her seat with how her arms shook. Her vision swam as she couldn’t even look at the screen when everything exploded.
“Bullshit!”
“Sylvia-”
“Don’t start with me on that Gabe! Don’t fucking start!”
“Syl…”
“How fucking dare you Curt? You know how we all felt when he died! You were there when your own sister was hospitalized for weeks after the verdict! Don’t you fucking mess with us about this! I thought you were better then-”
“Sylvia!” Gabriel’s shout made Sam finally focus on the screen again, noticing her vision was blurry from tears that had been running down her face. It even stunned Sylvia into silence… After all, Gabriel wasn’t someone who raised his voice often. “Let Curtis explain… he wouldn’t have called us at this time to make such a horrible joke… especially after your own birthday.”
Sylvia was quiet after that, and through her slightly blurred vision Sam could note the presence of tears on Sylvia’s own face through the screen. Looking towards Gabriel’s portion of the screen showed that he hadn’t been crying like both Sam and Sylvia clearly were, in fact he almost seemed to be stone faced… but Sam could notice a slight shudder in the man’s frame.
He’s trying to keep it together like always… Sam thought to herself as she began wiping at the tears on her face.
“... Fine…” Sylvia relented with a huff. Her arms crossed and she seemed to lean back into her seat, waiting for the news that Curtis would deliver about… Sebastian being alive.
Boy did he deliver… Curtis talked about what happened with Maya in Deluge Labs, even played a bit from the recorded conversation she had and the sound of Sebastian’s voice in the recording… Sam had broken down sobbing. She was vaguely aware of Sylvia being stunned into silence, the moment Sebastian’s voice was heard in the recording… and how Gabriel himself had a shocked look and finally broke down with a few silent tears in his eyes while muttering his brother's name… They all knew Sebastian’s voice, even with the rasp of time affecting it. It was the same voice they hadn’t heard in over ten years, outside of old attempts of Youtube videos that were never posted and recordings of family gatherings.
“... Maya’s going to be meeting with the CEO and other directors of Deluge Labs to figure out a way to get him out.” Curtis continued after the shock of the recording hit everyone. Sam forced herself to focus, trying to calm her tears and noticed the somber look on her brother’s face. “Though knowing some of those old bats, there’s a very likely chance they’re going to be sending people to Urbanshade pretending to be criminals to even get a lock on the location.”
Sam suddenly felt cold. Realizing immediately what her brother was about to tell them next.
“Don’t…”
“Look if it actually comes to that, then I’m volunteering first chance I get.” Curtis interrupted, a determined look on his face, even as Sam felt like she was going to crumble.
“You… you can’t…” God no, please don’t do something so reckless! Sam wanted to say, but found her throat clenching up, preventing the words from properly coming out. As much as she wanted to get Sebastian back home, and God did she want him back even after all these years, the fact that her brother… the man who stepped up to basically be her guardian when their parents died just before her 14th birthday… he was planning to go into something that would get himself killed. “I-... I can’t…”
“... Then sign me up as well…” Sylvia’s voice cut Sam to the core with horror.
“Absolutely not!” Gabriel cut in, a horrified look on his tear stained face.
“Yeah Syl, you really shouldn’t-”
“And that goes for you as well Curtis!” Gabriel snapped, cutting Curtis off immediately with a glare. Though two years younger than Curtis… Gabriel has always been the more mature one between the two eldest siblings. “You both want to help Sebastian. I get it, really I do. Hell I want to go to this “Hadal Blacksite” myself and drag him out of there, but think about it! Why is Urbanshade sending in people labeled as Expendable? The chances of dying to something unknown at this location are too high! You can’t help someone if you’re dead before getting to them.”
“... Gabe’s right…” Sam managed to rasp out, her body still shaken and voice cracked from all her tears. “We… we don’t… don’t know what’s in this Blacksite… but it’s dangerous… too dangerous.”
“And yet Seb is trapped there with the danger.” Sylvia stated, her eyes practically alight with a fiery determination. “Say Deluge does send someone down there undercover as an Expendable… how would Sebastian know if he could actually trust them? He’d probably think that they could just be another Expendable… or hell even a trick from these Urbanshade bastards themselves. Besides, I refuse to leave my brother’s safety in the hands of some strangers for another second longer.”
“I was thinking kinda similar myself actually…” Curtis admitted, his posture shifting into his usual nonchalant position with a shrug. “Though, I still don’t agree with you joining me Syl. As the old man of our little family here, I should be the only one risking their life.”
“Don’t even joke about that Curtis!” Sam scolded loudly, only to cover her mouth immediately when remembering Izzy was sleeping in the next room over.
“…. Yeah, alright… that was in pretty poor taste wasn’t it?” Curtis chuckled humorlessly and rubbed at the back of his neck.
“Practically dead on arrival there Curtis…” Gabriel muttered in an annoyed tone, ignoring the groan from Sylvia, and the affronted stare Sam was immediately sending his way… though the snort from Curtis was practically silenced on the spot from both women glaring into the cameras at him.
“You’re both seriously making jokes right now?!”
“Pun both intended and not. My point still stands.” Gabriel defended himself, looking away from his own camera and attempting to remain serious looking.
“Alright look. Jokes aside, I’m serious. If and only if they decide to send in some fake Expendables, I’m volunteering. Maya’s already aware and not happy with my decision… but it’s still my decision to make, and I’m not letting anyone else join me and risk any of you getting hurt or worse.” Curtis explained, and in the background Sam could swear she heard Maya shout something about not wanting him to take any risks either.
“And that is precisely why if you’re volunteering then so am I, dumbass.” Sylvia pipped up, and then just as Gabriel and Curtis both looked like they were going to say something she raised her hand as if to silence the both of them. “Someone has to have your back after all. I’m not letting you take this big of a risk by yourself… So good luck, you’re not changing my mind at all on this.”
A silence followed soon after. Both Sylvia and Curtis sat firm with their decisions, while Gabriel and Sam both sat there in worried silence.
“... Just… Promise you’ll both make it back…” Sam finally relented. Far too tired to keep arguing the point, especially since it was now basically two in the morning and she barely even had two hours of sleep in her to begin with.
“Sam you can’t seriously be okay with this…” Gabriel pressed in concern.
“You know how stubborn both of them can be…” The brown haired woman sighed, brushing her hair behind her ear and her golden brown eyes almost looking dull in the light of her computer screen. “Nothing we say can convince them not to go through with this… Just one thing though…”
Silence filled the chat once again as Sam took a deep breath to calm herself for what she needed to say.
“If , and only if Maya’s company does go through with the Expendable plan and you two do join it… I want you both to promise me that you will come back, with Sebastian all in one piece… and I want you both to remember… that if either of you end up dead down there… I swear to god I will find a way to haul your corpses back up to the surface, and find a way to bring both of you back to life. Just so I can kick both of your asses back into your graves myself.”
Silence followed once again, though this time with Gabriel looking mildly disturbed as he had forgotten how cold Sam’s rage could be… while Sylvia and Curtis both looked uncomfortable, but seemed to understand where Sam was coming from at least.
“Oh… and Curtis, one last thing.”
“Jesus Christ, there’s more?”
Sam ignored Gabriel’s comment, focusing solely on her brother’s part of the video call screen. Curtis looked like he was ready to shrink in on himself from the glare he was receiving from his much shorter sister.
“I am punching you the next time I see you in person.”
“... Love you to bug.”
The call soon ended after that, with everyone exchanging quick good nights with each other. Sam found herself still staring at her laptop screen long after the call had ended. Her anger had already fizzled out into a cold, numb feeling throughout her body. Too many things had happened… too many things for her to process properly.
Maybe I can actually get some more sleep out of this… she thought to herself, as she finally closed down her laptop. The numb feeling didn’t leave her as she slid off of her bed and walked out of her room. Sam’s body was practically on auto pilot as she stood outside her daughter’s bedroom, before opening the door slightly to peek in at Izzy’s sleeping figure.
Sprawled out across the twin bed with the comforter thrown off, her baby girl snored away. Blissfully unaware of the emotionally taxing conversation her mother just had, and Sam was thankful for it.
No child should ever have to see their parent breaking down… Sam thought to herself, a pang of guilt springing up in her heart… remembering the times when she did breakdown around Izzy since the day she had been born. The last time had been when her baby was only five years old… and Izzy had innocently asked her mother why she didn’t have a dad. Izzy had gotten so scared and worried for her that the little girl had broken down into her own confused tears, not understanding why her mother started crying and was unable to talk from how much she broke down.
She never really asked me about Sebastian again without one of her aunts or uncles around after that… Sam reflected a little, as she slowly closed the door to let Izzy keep sleeping peacefully. Though it was as soon as the door was closed, the most important thing she learned that night rang out in her head.
Sebastian’s still alive.
Almost eleven years now since the day he was said to have been executed…
He’s still alive.
So many sleepless nights and questions on how he might have turned out had he lived past the age of 21… Questions that could now in all honesty be answered and yet… a quiet, bone chilling question nagged at Sam’s mind now in the dead of night.
Would Sebastian actually want anything to do with us when he returns?
Eleven years… Twelve if one counted the fact Sebastian had been arrested in December of 2013… That’s more than enough time for someone to change entirely. And as much as Sam wanted her best friend and former fiance back… too many things were different now. Gone were the days she and Sebastian would rant and rave about movies, would listen to mixtapes they would make up of each other's favorite songs, and would argue over if pineapples belonged on pizza or not (Sam still firmly believed they made the pizza more savory and better). Gone were the days they both used to be each other's rock when life kicked them down…
Sam wasn’t the impulsive, optimistic 20 year old Sebastian had last seen… She was a tired, mildly depressed single mother at 31 years old who was doing her best. God only knows how Sebastian has changed since then… how much he changed since being with Urbanshade…
Sam literally had no idea what could have happened over the past decade… and the thought of Sebastian wanting absolutely nothing to do with her or their daughter… let alone never wanting to see either of them even once filled her with a cold dread. Before when she believed that Sebastian was still dead… she had every belief that the Sebastian of the past would have actually loved their daughter and they could have still been happy together… but now with all the unknowns…
Stop it Sam… She mentally chastised herself with a shake of her head. Her arms wrapped tight around herself as her body kept shuddering uncontrollably. There’s more important things to worry about… like the very real fact your own brother and your other best friend are going to be risking their lives to make sure Sebastian gets home.
Sam barely knew how to even start unpacking that… the most she knew was that she had to tell Izzy that she wouldn’t be seeing her “favorite aunt and uncle” for a while but still seeing her Aunt Maya around without Curtis… Hell, Sam barely knew how she was going to tell her 10 year old daughter that “Hey, you’re dad is actually alive and wasn’t actually killed by a fucked up judicial system.” without said daughter looking at her like she had lost her marbles.
Oh God how are we even going to tell Mama Solace?
Sam was definitely not getting any sleep tonight as questions without any real answers and spiraling worries kept plaguing her mind.
…
Two weeks. That’s how long it took for Deluge Labs to set up their fake Expendables and the signal beacon they would be carrying. Two long painful, grueling weeks for the Farohs and the Solaces.
Curtis and Sylvia had said their goodbyes and cover stories to their friends and coworkers on why they would be gone for a while… while their family knew the truth. It hurt the most when they had to break it down to Isadora while she was still in the hospital from her hip surgery. The older woman had scolded the two of them for deciding to do something absolutely reckless… yet also softly told them to come back safely, saying how she didn’t want to mourn anymore of her children… and to “Please bring my hijo back home.”
After that… It was surprisingly easy for the two of them to slip into the pool of criminals being picked up by Urbanshade for their expeditions into the Hadal Blacksite. It was a little more tricky to hide their beacons, specially designed by Deluge Labs to appear as ordinary bracelets, when putting on the unique jumpsuit/diving gear that Urbanshade outfitted them with… but they thankfully managed and kept the devices covered by their sleeves.
Now came the hard part… surviving the depths of the Hadal Blacksite, with the crew of six actual criminals that accompanied them in their cramped submarine, finding Sebastian… and getting out alive.