Chapter Text
Dawn took a deep breath, grabbing a keycard he saw on a desk, .. 100. Was the previous thing he experienced a lucid dream? He wondered… his brows furrowing in thought, before he eventually opens the door, seeing the door at the end of the hall say 99… his heart dropped.. he was supposed to go through 100 doors, in a facility he had never seen. But hey, maybe there was a chance he’d survive.
He quickly opens the door 88 and hops into a locker in a hurry. An angler comes by really fast, looking like a smear of colours and lines instead of a propper angler fish.. but he didn’t mind. He went in further, looking around to see if anything was on the desks, research, perhaps any left-over food or water… anything, really! He walked to the next hall calmly, before stopping, quite shook with what he’s seeing… server rooms-? He had enough knowledge and experience in technology to know what a server room is, but.. HERE? Of all places?…. He did see many computers in desks, just left to collect dust and use up the electricity. He saw hundreds of them turned on in one of the rooms, he looked at the screens briefly, they were on the same site… “Hadal Blacksite . Com”… or something? He didn’t want to snoop any further, in case they were watching his every move. He has started to feel weaker, knowing he hadn’t drank whatsoever ever since he came here. He opened the door 78 and smiled, he saw water, and a green flare in said water, he could drink that- and he did, he didn’t care if it was good or bad for him, his body has to handle some sort of danger if it wants water! He then took a deep breath and put on the diving gear mask that was in the backpack. He calmly breathed through the oxygen in the tank he was carrying around… he didn’t feel its heaviness until now, it was bearable, but he’d rather not feel how heavy it is. And so he swam towards the door at the end of the hall… but something deterred him from entering. He saw the sign flicker, and then he heard it… growls and sounds that something is moving around.. and it was just a door separating them. He took a deep breath and quickly swam to the other door he didn’t see before, he didn’t hear the alien noises.. so he entered, and it was right, he wasn’t beaten up by whatever could be hiding behind a door like that. He exhaled and swam into that room, only for the door to shut behind him and a voice to speak to him. “Ever get the feeling something baad is gonna happen? *Hehe* Well, you're right!” He saw a face on the sign instead of a number for the door.. his face felt like it was being grabbed by an unknown force, until he saw a green light shine on the area around, his instinct was to pull away instantly, feeling panicked, he clawed at the door he was supposed to enter, to no avail.. “QUIT BEING A COWARD!” He heard the sound of that voice again, but this time way more angry and wanting him to pay attention to the green light… but he didn’t. He clawed at the door until it opened, and he flew into the hall that was hiding behind it, he felt his soul leave the body for just a moment.. before taking a couple deep breaths to calm himself, only to see the lights flicker.. once.. then twice.
Dawn opened the door 70.. and then looked behind, only to saw some sort of weird creature turn around and run off.. he wasn’t sure what that was, but he was glad he wasn’t going to get jumped by it. He strolled around the hall, scooping up any research, food or water into his backpack to carry, and moved on to the next. He wasn’t too sure on what exactly to expect.. that’s when he saw it. A small open room with some sort of creatures on the ground..? He came closer.. they looked like bunnies? He approached, and looked over one of them, lifting it up into the air, it made some adorable noises.. he noticed it had 6 legs, but they looked like stubs. He watched one of them walk around, it didn’t seem to have any issues.. he stared back again at the bunny he was holding mid-air because it made another sound.. he pet it gently, not knowing if they’re really sensitive or not.. and then placed it slowly back on the ground, they looked kind of silly, with purple colours, mainly the “ears” were purple and the tips of their fur(?).. he then continued on, not having any special item picked up.. he did see a hole in the wall of the little room, wondering what was inside.
He walked to the next hall, feeling fatigued. He saw a door to an unmarked room, it had a brown rim.. he went inside, seeing many computers and desks around, some were pushed off, like someone stood up in a big hurry without caring if the desk moved. He then approached one of the computers, but once he touched one, a sound started going off… a beeping of some sort- he retracted his hands, and the beeping stopped… he guessed it was a sign to leave the computers alone, for now.. he made his way to yet another door, but he noticed something strange… when he opened it, there was a different looking space. He cautiously approached a locker, in which he saw a red void mass.. he then glanced away. He was in a construction zone..? It was way too dark for his own comfort, he advanced to a desk, and opened a drawer, he finds a flashlight!.. but he still doesn’t feel safe, he flashes it briefly, only to notice that the battery is going down very fast.. too fast for his liking. So he decided to not use it, placing it inside a pocket for safe keeping. He took a deep breath and kept going.. surely there would be a rest spot soon enough..?
He sighed a breath of relief, opening the door 65, he recognized the old halls he walked through. He felt very thankful in this moment, taking his time and searching through the drawers inside the hall and even looking out of the windows.. he did notice however that there were pipes under a grate he walked on.. perhaps they had no other place to hide them? After what felt like forever, he finally opened the door to the next room, only to be greeted by an intense green glow from one of the windows, and an unknown force dragging him to look that way, but he defied it. He hid behind a wall, finding a spot where he can stare at the source without it staring back. His mouth hang open as he looked at a shark, who’s front was covered by a bunch of green coloured eyes with X-shaped pupils.. the eyes got smaller the further they were from the “face” on the shark, with the shark itself being pure black, he could however see a couple small nicks in the fins, which made him feel a bit bad for this creature.. he would love to help them out… but his job was something different, plus he doubted this shark would let him help. Eventually he stepped away from the wall and rushed to the next door, when it opened… the shark was no more. He didn’t have a clue as to what this shark was supposed to be.. some sort of.. searching help with how many eyes this creature had… he wondered if the creature had a name too.. he reached the door 50 in no time, he was surprised himself at how fast he reached this point, and also that his reflexes knew most of the dangers even if he could’ve sworn this was his first time here… but he swept that under a rug and kept walking, until he heard a familiar “Pssst, over here!” And a vent being opened up with a big blue hand, but then going back into the vent.. he squinted his eyes, but followed, feeling a sense of warmth and familiarity.
“It’s good to see you again.” Sebastian blinked, recognizing those horns and face.. its Dawn. The question is, if Dawn remembers him. Dawn stared with a blank expression for a moment before carefully saying “Sebastian…? Wait.. I’ve never been here before though? How come I remember stuff??” Sebastian kept his smile.. the only indication of him reacting being him widening his eyes a little as he tried to think of what to say. “Yes, that is my name, friend.. you can buy things from my shop using that research you’ve collected, why give it all to those bums upstairs who didn’t even tell you anything about this place… plus, you help me out, and I give you an item.. sounds good?.. ugh, who am I kiddding- Dawn, it’s okay.. you know how a ring doesn’t have an end to it? Imagine that but.. an experience. That you just, can’t trully have an end of the experience… I mean, you can think of the ending as the end.. but not really, since you’ll be thrown right back in..” Sebastian at first kept up his shopkeeper quota, saying what was already established last time.. but it was clear that Dawn needed a little hint as to what was going on. Dawn stared at Sebastian with unblinking eyes.. his ears drooping and his tail dropping between his legs.. he… died? But how? He shouldn’t be able to- the spellbook said that nothing is able to harm him! Only mental anguish and self inflicted force without outside influence, like if someone made him push a trigger on a pistol to fire at himself. He stood there.. staring at the tall fish.. then dropped his sight onto his hands with his fingerless gloves. This couldn’t be happening.. he had a limited amount of lives aswell, 9 in specific. If he dies 8 more times, it’s over.. he’s going to hell. This realization only makes his eyes water, his knees giving out, making him fall to the floor, he then hugs himself, laying on the ground with tears. Sebastian on the other hand.. just can’t help Dawn. He doesn’t know if Dawn would even want help from him now that the truth was revealed.. plus, he isn’t a good shoulder to cry on, and he knows it. So he just stays there, now with a slight frown, muting down the light of his lure to now hurt Dawns sensitive eyes now that he’s crying. “Can I.. stay here for a while? I’m scared.. I. I shouldn’t be able to die, I casted a spell on myself to protect me from bodily harm. But.. if I died, it means I’m not protected.. I do still have 8 lives still.. but I don’t think 8 attempts to get out will help whatsoever..” Dawn shakily explained, looking up at Sebastian with a sparkle of hope in his eyes.. he didn’t expect to be taken care of like a prince in a castle, he is ready for anything life here would throw at him, ready to get absolutely massacred but live to tell the tale. He just didn’t want his life to end.
“You can stay here as long as you wish, kid.. just be aware, they are always watching you…” he pointed at the backpack Dawn was wearing, making Dawn look over his shoulder and attempt to get the backpack off, only to get lightly faded with electricity, making him stop his attempt. “Oh.. fuck.” Dawn helplessly murmured, hurrying his face into his hands, not having a single clue on what he should do next. Staying here indefinitely would be a pretty good idea, but even Sebastian might grow tired of his antics… so he sits himself in a corner of the room, contemplating on what he should be doing.. even if he was just an Expandable-505.. he mattered up there, on the land. His mind wandered off, remembering his loved ones, making yet another tear roll down his cheek. “Expandable.. 505… I’m expandable. I don’t matter.” He said, before collapsing to the floor.