Archive of Our Own ^beta

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I didn’t mind being at an undisclosed laboratory in New York, working as a forensic scientist for the National Government, mainly doing research in old cases, and side work that the main scientists had pushed aside, it paid well, and provided a job related to both of my majors which is all anyone can ask for now a days. I’ve only worked this job for a month, I originally didn’t even think I would get it, so I am grateful to have it at least. I graduated university a year ago, so finding jobs this high ranking was nearly impossible, so I take what I can with having to do all the side work the more qualified workers set aside if it means I can prove that I know what I am doing.I sit at my desk, reorganizing a collection of old cases dating back to the 1940s. I groan when I notice this, these files have not been archived into the digital archives that we use now, which means I get to add some more overtime to my week.
After about two hours of work, I land on a file from December of 1944, and it is about the finding of Hellboy by the BPRD. I look at it confused, Hellboy was said to be a myth, and the BPRD nothing but a legend as well. The file talked about Rasputin, Hellboy, and the supposed head of the BPRD Dr. Broom. I read the file multiple times, along with the other files around the same time, all of which led to nothing but more questions about this mysterious figure, and completely hidden agency. “I need more help than I thought I would.” I mumble this to myself as I reorganize the rest of the files I was working on, leaving the unarchived ones in a neat stack. I take the file from December of ‘44,and leave my desk. I adjust the collar of my jacket and my hair, and then I head straight to the top researcher at the lab. I knock on the door, and wait for it to be opened. The door swings open and the older women, Linda Smith, who runs the research department smiles a bit at me. “You’re done with the files already?” I shake my head no. “No ma’am but I did find this file and I would like to speak to Dr. Broom if he is still alive to return this file to his office because it should not be here.” She gives me a surprised look and ushers me into her office. Without saying a word to me she proceeds to shut the door, and walk over to her desk, picking up her phone and dialing a number. As it rings I stand awkwardly near the entrance of the office, not wanting to disturb her or interrupt the call. “Dr. Broom, this is Linda, the test worked.” I only hear her side of this conversation and I am mildly confused, but very interested nonetheless. “Okay, so the Jersey office? Got it.” She puts the phone back down and sits at her desk, I take a seat on one of the chairs in front of her. “Alright, so, when your file was originally sent to us here at the lab we sent it to the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense after your interview here because your skill set. It is not often you see someone with Forensic Science and History as their majors.The BPRD though are very picky about who joins their ranks, so they wanted to test your skills out to see if you truly had it in you to potentially work for them.” I nod a little in response, still mildly confused on what this has to do with the folder, case, this mysterious Hellboy, and myself. Linda noticed and continued to explain the situation: “By finding the folder and inquiring about it you passed the first part of the Bureau’s ‘audition’ if you want to consider it that. Along with your curiosity about the case your excellent work done here, and overall professionalism has secured you a new career.” Linda explains this and writes down something on the notepad resting next to her on the desk. “I’m not to sure what you mean.” I say this and she smiles and rips the piece of paper off of the notepad and hands it to me. “You got a transfer and a promotion.” She says this and points to the paper: “that’s the address of your new job and living quarters, your ride will be here at 3:00, go pack.” Linda explains this and moves to her phone and dials that same number again. “Broom, who’s gonna be in the truck on the way here?” She asks this and nods. “Just Abe and Manning? Alright heard.” She places the phone down once again. “Go ahead to the dorms and pack up all your stuff, there will be a truck here at 3:00 for you, if you forget anything we can ship it.” I nod again and stand up. “Doctor, are you certain about this? Im not sure I’m qualified for a secret intelligence agency position.” I ask this and she laughs. “Nonsense, you’ll do just fine, now go time is not on your side.” I nod and exit the room. I stand in the hallway for a moment, still holding the classified file. I check my watch, it’s noon and I have to clean up all of my stuff. “Crap…why couldn’t I get more time for this.” I mumble this and begin to walk the halls of the headquarters, making my way to the dormitories. I fumble with my keys as I open the door to my apartment. I walk in and look around, I have only been at this job for a month so I am still not completely unpacked at least. I place the file down near my purse, and I begin to repack the halfway emptied boxes.
Two and a half hours of work cleared the whole apartment completely in the boxes I originally packed with. I take a few trips down to the curb of the headquarters to get all of my stuff to the pickup spot Linda wrote down. I would have asked for help, but I am not to well acquainted with any of my coworkers. After bringing all of my boxes down to the curb it was 2:45. I adjust my bag on my back, and look at the entrance to the headquarters where Linda walks out. “They’ll be here soon, so sorry again for all of the confusion about this job, but I can assure you that what is to come will be better than what you’re doing here.” She explains this and I nod. “I understand.” I chew the inside of my lip a little, mainly out of anxiety and a little of frustration. Before anyone slightly awkward words can be spoken, a garbage truck pulled to the curb. I look over to Linda and she smiles a bit. “Looks like your ride is here.” She says this and pats my shoulder. I look at the truck as the back opens up, and two people walk out. I quickly release that people may be the incorrect description of the individuals who walk down to the curb. A fish man walks up to me, and offers his webbed hand out to me. He gives me a smile and I smile back and take his hand, the best way to describe his handshake was like a touch tank at an aquarium. “It’s wonderful to meet you,” he says my name and explains the information he has about me. I look a little confused on how he knows all of this information. “Did you read my file?” I ask this softly. He shakes his head, and nods down to our hands. “I learned everything I needed from that.” I nod and he lets go of my hand. “I am Abraham Sapien, please call me Abe, it is nice to have a new colleague.” He explains this and I smile, this already is more communication with someone than I’ve had in the past month at my current job. “It’s great to meet you, thank you so much.” He nods and the other person walks up to his side. I immediately recognize him from the file and folklore I’ve heard around this area, Hellboy. The well built red demon man stood infront of me, next to Abe, a cigar hanging out of his lips, wearing a large trench coat, and most notably other than the fact he is a red demon man, being the large stone right hand. “Nice to meet ya, Hellboys the name but based on the look you already know that.” I nod and offer him my hand. He takes it in his left hand and gives me a solid handshake. I open my bag and take out the Manila folder and offer it to him. “You weren’t wrong about me already knowing you, but it’s great to meet you.” He looks a bit confused by the file and takes it holding it in his right hand, flipping through it with his left, he notices what it’s about and smile a bit, smoke leaving his mouth as he does so. “Thanks for giving this to me, but you’ll do fine with us I bet.” He tucks the folder under his arm and takes the cigar out of his mouth, throwing it to the ground and stomping it out. I don’t stare to much at either of the men, making eye contacting while we talk mostly as to not make them feel uncomfortable. Linda watched the exchange with confusion, she did not expect these two to arrive to my knowledge, and she does not avoid staring. Abe notices this and sighs a bit, “You we’re expecting Manning and not Hellboy, I know, but we’ll be out of your hair now Dr. Linda Smith.” He explains this and grabs a few of my boxes, I look surprised. “I can grab those-“ I begin to say this and he shakes his head, “Its no issue.” He places some of the boxes into the back of the garbage truck, and I follow him with some as well, and to my surprise, Hellboy does as well. “You ready then?” He asks this as he helps me place the last of the boxes into the truck. I nod and look at him, I examine his eyes, the unnatural yellow almost appeared to glow against the red of his face and his dark hair. “Yeah, thank you so much again, both of you.” He nods and closes the trunk. He walks back into the truck, followed by Abe, the driver nods to both of them, and I look back at Linda, she nods and I step up into the truck. The door closes behind me, and I sit down in the empty seat next to Hellboy, across the hallway from Abe. “Well, you took this better than most people.” Abe says this and I shrug. “I mean, you two are just other people so it’s no difference to me.” I explain this and he and Hellboy exchange a look, I notice Hellboy flash him a smile. “Well, welcome to the family then.” Hellboy says this and I feel the truck start to move as my new life begins.

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We’ve been in the truck for about 30 minutes, having small talk and getting to know one another. It was nice to finally meet some friendly people for once. “So, do you guys not get new workers often?” I ask this curiously. Abe shrugs and I look to Hellboy. “Not often, since this is a whole secret, it’s surprising that they sent us to get you and not the director,” Hellboy says, pulls out a cigar, and lights it. “Do you guys not get to leave a lot or something?” I try to ask this as politely as possible. They both shrug a little. “We leave for missions, but citizens cannot see us, or else we’d have a whole lot of trouble on our hands,” Hellboy explains this and blows out a puff of smoke. “Most of the world is not ready to handle both our existence and the idea that everything that they know is not as it seems,” Abe says and I nod. “So was picking me up technically a mission?” I ask this with a slight smile and Hellboy laughs and Abe just nods. “Technically yes, but compared to our regular missions this is nice.” He explains this, and I feel a little more at home with the odd duo.

I fell asleep on the ride to the headquarters without even realizing it, We had all stopped talking and the second I looked out the window I was out cold. I feel my shoulder being tapped leading me to shift a bit, and when I finally blink the sleep away from my eyes I notice Hellboy standing in front of me. “We’re here, You slept for a while, honestly I was starting to become convinced you were cursed or something.” He says this and I laugh a little. “No, not cursed to stay asleep, more like plagued by a lack of it.” I joke back and follow him as we both exit the truck. I notice a few agents helping move my boxes when I notice an older man walking up to us. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you, I hope your transfer was not too much trouble.” He explains this and I recognize the man from the file I had found, In said file though he was much younger he still looks very similar to his younger self. “Professor Broom, it’s amazing to get to meet you.” I say this and smile at him, he offers his hand and I shake it. “Likewise, you seem well-adjusted to this group already.” He looks at Hellboy, and Abe who are both standing a little farther from us. “Yes sir, both of them have been nothing but friendly and welcoming, I am very grateful for both the opportunity as well as the kindness I’ve been shown so far.” I explain this and I notice the truck drive away, my stuff must have been moved already. The Professor notices my expression change and shakes his head. “Your items have been moved to your new living quarters, Abe or Hellboy can show you where you will be living once I get the key back from the agents, now come, let me give you a tour.” He explains this and leads me into the New Jersey Headquarters of the BPRD. He walks me through the Headquarters, explaining each area, what my schedule will look like, and when I start working. “You can start the day after tomorrow so you can get more comfortable here first, but you will help with researching for missions as well as being on-site assistance at missions, it can be dangerous but you should be fine.” He explains this and we stop in the library. “If you should need anything, just ask and someone will help you.” I nod and he walks up a spiral staircase to what I assume is his study. I stand in the Library for a bit, looking around taking in the surroundings. I am brought back to reality by the sound of people talking as they enter the library. Hellboy, Abe, and a woman with dark red hair all walk in. “There she is, guessing your tour just ended?” Hellboy asks this and the group walks up to me. “Yep, I just need to find my room later.” I explain this and he nods. “Well, this is Liz Sherman, our fire starter, she tends to go on missions with us.” The woman waves slightly at me. “Nice to meet you, hope these two haven’t caused too many issues.” She says this and shakes my hand. “They haven’t, thanks for asking though.” I reply with a smile and she smiles back. “You came at a good time, We haven’t had super troublesome missions lately, it’s been fairly calm.” She explains this and notices the time on the grandfather clock behind me. “I should probably head to bed it’s late well early, it was good meeting you.” She explains this and slips out of the room. I hear a splash and notice that Abe went into the large tank in the library. “I agree, Have a good night you all.” I take this as my queue, and I look to Hellboy and he nods and we slip out of the library. “Alright, I can show you to your new place.” He says this and I nod. “That would be great.” I reply with a yawn and he hands me the keys and begins to walk me towards my room. We stop at a door, close to both the other dormitory apartment-style rooms and the library. “Here we are, if you need help or anything I’m at the giant metal door at the end of the hall.” He explains this and I smile. “Thank you so much for everything today, honestly this has been one of the best days I’ve had in a while.” I explain this and he grins. “Let’s hope for even more to come them, welcome to the family.” He says this and walks down the hall, his trenchcoat and tail making his departure even more dramatic. I unlock my door and walk in. I turn on the hallway light and look around a bit. The housing is situated almost like an apartment, a living room with a half wall connected to a dining room and kitchen. There is an open door leading to a nice-sized room with a queen bed and all of my boxes waiting for me, along with a door next to it. I open that door and notice it leads to a nice bathroom. I shut the door and walked into my room. I unpack my box with clothes and grab a set of pajamas, which consisted of literally the first shirt and sweatpants I could find. I look at the time and see it’s 3:00 am, I can unpack and get situated tomorrow, right now I just need a shower and some rest. I take a quick shower, brush my teeth, and fall asleep almost as soon as I hit the pillow, overwhelmed with exhaustion and excitement.

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I blink the rising sunshine out of my eyes and I sit up in my bed. I look around my new room, noticing all of the unpacking I need to do, and sigh. It’s still early only 7:00 in the morning, I barely got any sleep last night but I know I won’t be able to fall back asleep now. I roll out of bed and I stretch. Despite only getting four hours of sleep I feel refreshed and excited for the day. I change into the first set of clothes I find in my still yet-to-be-unpacked luggage, which happened to just be a part of black cargo pants and a t-shirt, but honestly comfort over quality today seemed like a good idea. I went through the basics of my morning routine before leaving my room at 7:30. I need to find a cafeteria but I have absolutely no idea where I am going.
I decided to retrace my steps from last night, finding myself in the large library, It was quiet and the lights were dimmer due to it being a weekend and so early in the morning. I walk down the stairs into the main section, and I notice Abe sitting on one of the chairs in the room reading. I was somewhat surprised he wasn’t in the tank, but I don’t know enough about him to know if that is where he spends most of his time. “Ah, good morning, you’re up fairly early considering when you finally got to bed,” Abe says without turning around to face me, I knew that he had heightened senses, but damn I barely made any noise on my way in. “Morning Abe. I did, all things considered, thanks for asking.” I awkwardly shuffle over to him and he gestures to the empty seat next to him. “Well, what is your plan for your first real day as an agent?” Abe places the book down on the coffee table in between our two chairs and looks across at me. I think for a bit before responding. “Well, I need to unpack definitely, and I want to walk around and figure out where everything here is since I’m still clueless,” I say this with a laugh and he nods, engaged in our small exchange. “Well, I can help you learn where things are if you would like some company.” He offers this and stands up and gestures to the room surrounding us. “You already know one room, so you are off to a good start. Well, technically two rooms including your own.” He corrects himself and I stand up and follow him as he leads me through the labyrinth of halls in the building. The major areas we visit are the labs, medical rooms, research rooms, and the various training and artifact rooms. I grew comfortable around Abe quickly, he is very knowledgeable and has a good sense of humor as well as genuine kindness. I don’t have to tell him much about me after our first meeting, but he asks anyway which is very considerate. Around 9:30 we end up in the cafeteria and I smile towards him. “I’m starving this is the best ending spot you could have picked!” I say this with enthusiasm and he laughs a bit. “I figured you out to be peckish, so I assumed this would be the grand reveal.” He says this as we scan our BPRD badges and begin grabbing food. “Thank you so much for everything so far Abe, Honestly I don’t think I can put into words how grateful I am,” I say with a smile as we sit down at a table. It is around 9:00 in the morning but since it’s a Saturday there are not many people here.
We continue to just talk and eat, it’s nice to have a friend for the first time in a while. “I should probably go unpack so I’m not stressing about doing it tomorrow.” I say this as I place my dishes in the drop-off and follow Abe back to the library after breakfast. “Of course, if you need any assistance please call for me.” He says this and walks towards the ladder into the pool. “I will, thanks, Abe.” I wave and begin walking back to the dormitories, I hear the soft splash of water in the distance as I close the library’s door behind me.
I fiddle with my keys and unlock my room when I hear another door open. I turn to the end of the hall where I see Hellboy's door open. He waves and I wave back. “What’re you up to?” He asks this and walks towards me, I smile and open the door to my room, and gesture to the arrangement of boxes scattering the floor. “The joyous world of unpacking.” I walk further in and he follows behind me. “Need any help? You seem a little over your head.” He looks around at the assortment of boxes and I shrug. “I wouldn’t mind some help, but if you’ve got better things to do don’t feel forced to help,” I say this with a smile as I grab one of the few boxes that were actually labeled. I undo the tape on the box labeled: ARTS AND CRAFTS and grab the pair of scissors and a box cutter. “Pick your poison Hellboy,” I say with a smile and offer the two objects to Hellboy, he takes the box cutter and I sit down on the floor and begin cutting through the tape on the boxes. He sits down next to me, and we both have small talk. I learn of his love of Baby Ruth’s and Cats, with the promise of meeting them once we finish, and he learns about my interests and about some of the objects in my boxes. It takes about two hours to completely unpack everything. I wipe my hands off on my pants and smile at the demon in my kitchen, carefully putting mugs into my cabinet. It was slightly amusing watching such a big guy be so gentle with my stuff. “Alright Hellboy, you said I could meet the cats, and I’ll be heartbroken if you bail on me,” I say this with a grin and I lean on the island counter separating my kitchenette and living room. “Call me Red if you want, that’s what Liz and Abe call me, and yeah lemme put this last mug up.” He carefully puts a mug covered in cats into my small cabinet. “I like that one, it’s nice to have another cat person here.” He closes the cabinet and follows me out the door. I lock the door and walk down the hall to his room. He pulls the door open and walks me in and I look around, taking in the environment, and then I see them: so many cats. I squeal a little dive to the floor and start petting all of the different cats. “Hi, babies!! You are precious!!!” I say this and Hellboy kneels down and they flock to him. One of the smaller kittens starts playing with his tail. “You have a buddy.” I point to the orange kitten playing with his tail. He laughs and shakes his head. “Yeah, that’s the usual here.” We continue to play with the cats when all of a sudden an alarm starts blaring. I jump a foot and he sighs. “Welp sounds like we’ve got a job, sounds like you’ve got your first mission.” He stands up and grabs some equipment. “Let’s get outta here.” I suddenly feel an overwhelming sense of dread at the idea of going into a fight. “Wait I thought it was just a desk job?” He laughs a bit. “You’ll not be as upfront as me, but let’s just say Professor Broom didn’t wanna scare you away.”

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I turn to Hellboy with wide eyes. “I haven’t even gotten a uniform yet?! How can I help at all?” I frantically ask this as I follow him out of the door into the main hall. “Your uniform is here already, you’ll do fine trust me. Panicking will just make you worse.” He leads me to the main loading bay where I see Liz and Abe, along with a few other agents. Abe smiles at me and Liz nods at me. Hellboy starts getting stuff into the truck and I walk over to Abe and Liz. “You look stressed, don’t worry you’ll be fine,” Liz says as she unpacks a utility belt, tan jacket, handgun, bullets, ear piece microphone, and a file from a box. “Alright, so here is all your required equipment, it’s pretty basic and if you need anything else say the word.” She explains this as I begin to slide the jacket and belt on, both labeled with the BPRD logo. “Abe and the Professor read your file and saw that you had professional training in shooting, first aid, and fighting skills at a police level from the academy you went to, that’s why you already have a gun no questions asked.” I slide the gun into the holster on the belt, and the bullets into a case. I notice that there is a small first aid kit in the pack on my belt as well. Before I decided to take a government science and history position I was originally going to be a detective or first responder for the police, but I don’t tell a lot of people unless they need a resume. I notice Liz adjusting her earpiece, and I do the same. “You’re gonna do fine stop overthinking this so much,” Abe says as he finishes suiting up. “Alright…” I take the file from Liz and the three of us load into the truck. Hellboy looks up from the large gun he was cleaning at us. “You all took your time huh.” He says this with a grin and I laugh a bit. “Yeah, I’m holding them behind with me,” I say sarcastically, and I sit down next to him. So far the person I feel the most comfortable with is Red, but I feel welcomed and comfortable with the whole group so far.

I open the folder and begin reading through it, Abe has a copy of it as well. “Paranormal Activity localized in an abandoned hospital from the late 1800s, early 1900s.” I read this to Liz, Hellboy, and the other agents. “Medium danger level, entities are said to have both physical attributes along with being primarily ghastly, so expect to be poked, tripped, and potentially even stabbed.” I read this out and the others listen carefully to my explanation. “The main objective is to clear the hospital of its old patients from the looks of it. They are assumed to be tied to the building itself.” I flip to the next page. “How many spirits should we expect?” Hellboy asks this as he flips the normal bullets out of his gun and slides bullets with holy water into the barrel instead. “The file says anywhere from 5 to 50, so great question,” I say this with a laugh to try and keep myself from freaking out, and he sighs. “Child’s play, this’ll be a breeze.” He says this and I blink a few times. “Jesus really? This is what an easy mission sounds like?” I say this with anxiety lacing my words. “It’s pretty much like the regular old missions,” Abe explains as he finishes setting up his equipment. I continue to read the rest of the file, and then I notice the medical records attached detailing some of the patients who are possibly spirits. “The building was mainly for tuberculosis patients, they are tied to the building because it was miserable at the time since there was no cure so all they could really do was sit and wait, so they are tied to the building not by choice but because they wanted a better ending,” I say this and try and think of a solution. “If we could figure it out without blowing up the building that might be nice because it would be an easier cover-up, or breaking all the windows for fresh air so they feel less trapped,” I say this and Abe nods. “Sounds like a good plan”. The rest of the car ride was spent having small talk until we reached a stop.
The abandoned hospital was not hard to spot in the distance. The large building from the 1800s towered in the almost vacant field it inhabits. Nature has been overtaking the building slows eating away at the bricks and formation of the building while covering it in a layer of moss, vines, and leaves. The view from the vehicle is almost movie-like like with the sun slowly setting behind the structure. “Based on the building style, location, and time of abandonment I think it is safe to assume this wasn’t in a very popular location, just a hunch though.” I say this as the group begins walking towards the hospital. “Time-wise that does make it very possible, before cars this isn’t a very easily accessible area” Abe answers. “We should split into groups, Liz and I can take the first floor and you and Red can take the second floor.” He says this as he pushes the rusted iron fence gate open. He pauses, he must have picked up on the last person here. “No one has entered through the main gates in years, the locals wanted it to be torn down, but it was too expensive, so they left it to nature.” He explains this to the group. Hellboy lights a cigar between his teeth, “Not surprising, it’s a dump now, barely any vandalism either so this place must be really shitty or really haunted, I’m gonna guess the second option is more likely.” Hellboy says this as he walks through the gates and we all approach the looming building. “I don’t see anything super out of the ordinary outside at least, so that’s a start.” Liz says this as she examines the crumbling exterior. “I’d be a bit cautious this place looks like it’ll go down at any minute.” She opens the main door into the hospital and we all filter in after her. The main doors lead into a large, open main entrance room, with a reception desk in disarray, dark hallways leading to different areas of the building, a sitting room, and a large staircase at the center of the room where to the right wall accompanied by an antique elevator that is far beyond any idea of repair. Liz steps further into the room, and holds her palm open, fire dancing between her fingers and the dust in the air while it produces a steady stream of light. “Wow, this place is incredible, I didn’t think all of the furniture and architecture would still be in place.” I say this as I reach into one of the pockets on my utility belt and grab my flashlight. “Pretty damn impressive if you ask me.” Hellboy says this as he looks around, noticing the completely sun-bleached and molded spots on the wall that I can assume used to be artwork or photographs. Abe presses a few buttons on his suit and has his source of light. I try to turn on my flashlight, and it doesn’t work, so I shake it a few times and press the button which does the trick and further illuminates the dark room. “It feels wrong in here…” I say this softly, and Liz hums in agreement. “Our main goal now is to find the source of the haunting or free the spirits, if worst comes to worst we can always demolish the building and hope that does the trick.” Abe explains our objectives and he and Liz begin to split from the group. “If anything happens call us.” Liz adds this and nods to us. “Right back at you sparky.” Hellboy replies and looks toward me. “Alright, no point in waiting around for the problem to find us, let’s hunt some monsters.” He grins and I smile back. “Alright, in the files I have a layout of the building if that will be helpful, but I think we can find the way upstairs pretty easily.” I explain this as we begin to cautiously walk through the building, approaching an eerie stairway. We make it to the stairs and I look at them. “I don’t think I trust these stairs to not break under us.” I say this doubtfully and Hellboy puts a foot down on the stairs to test the stability, I also just realize at this moment he has hooves instead of feet, but I choose to not comment on it. “Seems steady enough.” He says this and cautiously puts his full weight on the stairs, the stairs don’t seem to be affected at all. “Come on, I think we’re good.” He says this to me as he begins to make his way up the stairs, and I follow after him cautiously. “You see anything odd yet?” I ask him and he shakes his head. “Nope, just a creepy ass old building.” We reach the second floor, and we both freeze.
Standing at the end of the hall is the ghastly figure of a woman, she has her long hair in a period typical bun, and her dress is plain and simple, you would think she was alive if she was not see-through, and if there was not blood on her sleeves and dripping from the corner of her mouth. Hellboy carefully lays his left hand on his gun, and I slowly approach the figure. “Good evening ma’am.” I say this politely to her. The spirit tilts her head, surprised that someone has entered her domain. She blinks slowly at me, and we both stand still just looking at each other. “Is there anything I can do to help you?” I ask this softly, Hellboy watches from the sidelines, staying back to see how this interaction goes. The woman nods and slowly drifts towards an open doorway, and I follow behind her. The room has around 10 other spirits, ranging from young children to older people. Hellboy follows us in. “Well shit, you got the whole welcome committee.” He says this and I hold back a laugh. “Please tell Abe and Liz we found the activity.” I tell him this with a smile. The woman motions for me to move closer, and I hesitantly approach, I can hear Hellboy talking behind me and through my earpiece. I walked to the group and I hear a slightly hissing noise, and before I can register it, the wood underneath my feet gives way. The woman smiles and tilts her head as I feel myself falling through the broken floorboards. “Oh shit!” I hear Hellboy say this as I fall and I hear rushed footsteps followed by the distant sound of gunshots. I clench my eyes shut and my body braces for impact, and everything goes dark.

Chapter Text

Everything is quiet, my whole body is sore and I can faintly smell fire. I blink a few times, my eyes adjusting to the dark, I see a large figure approaching me, and despite my body pleading for me not to move, I move onto my knees and grab the small handgun at my waist. I feel tears in my eyes from the pain of moving. As the figure approaches me I realize it’s Hellboy. I sigh a bit in relief and immediately realize how much pain I’m in, my back is throbbing, my left ankle is swollen, and the back of my head is aching. I cry a little and look up and realize I fell through the floor back to the first floor of the building, the ground where I was standing was damaged from rotting, water damage from the large hole in the ceiling. As I look up I see the ghostly woman and she lets out a shriek before vanishing. Hellboy finally reaches me and offers me his stone hand. I take it and stand up. I let out a small yelp and wince in pain, I have splinters through my clothes, and my ankle is definitely twisted, not broken at least. The light from the hole I fell through makes my head spin, so I must have a concussion too, great. I stumble a bit and Hellboy steadies me with his other hand. “Can you walk? That was quite the fall?” He asks this and I nod. “The ghost above us, she screeched, she might be trying to trap us in here as revenge for being locked here.” I wheeze this out, trying to steady my breathing. “We’ve got to get out of here, fast, Liz started a fire and her and Abe are beating it too, turns out they had a shitty time here too.” I nod and he begins to walk, I try and keep up and awkwardly limp next to him. I turn around for a moment and see the group of ghosts from earlier. “Hellboy, they are following us.” I say this as I hold onto his arm. He notices this. “Shit.” He pauses, analyzing the situation and looks at me. “Can I carry you out so we move faster?” He asks this and I nod. “Yeah, just be careful with my back and ankle. I can shoot if you let me use your gun.” I say this and he hoists me up, gently lifting me so he is holding me bridal style. “Grab it and let’s go.” He says this and I take his gun from his regular hand and hold it with both hands over his shoulder, the giant gun is out of proportion to me, but I hold it steady and aim each shot carefully since every shot counts, holy water bullets aren’t exactly cheap or easy to make. I shoot one spirit and it vanishes into mist as Hellboy runs us through the labyrinth of the first floor. The fire that Liz set is already spreading fast, and the entrance is blocked off. “Shit, we’ve gotta go another way.” He says this and begins to run down the opposite hall. The hoard of ghosts continue to chase us, almost like they enjoy the thrill of the hunt. I aim another shot carefully, but miss. “Shit.” I try again and hit the spirit in the side, it stumbles back before vanishing. I notice a window and tap Hellboys shoulder. “Go out the window, it’s the safest bet.” I say this and he sighs. “Alright fine, just protect your eyes from the glass.” I nod and lay my head into his shoulder and he kicks the window and climbs up and over it. Once we hit the grass outside I look up, the spirits don’t follow us out, and I notice the fire rapidly moving across the building, taking down the memories of the past. I sigh in relief a bit as Hellboy stops running and walks us back to the truck. I move a hand to my earpiece, “Liz, Abe, we made it back to the truck, are you guys clear?” I ask this and wait for a response. “Crystal, we’re heading over now.” Liz responds and I move my hand back down as Hellboy walks inside the truck and places me down on my seat. He stands in front of me and I hand him his gun back. “Thanks for saving my ass back there.” I say this with a smile. “I’m sorry I wasn’t more helpful out there.” I say this softly and he sits down next to me. “It’s fine, you did good out there considering it was your first time. How hurt are you?” He asks this as he scans me over. “My back feels like shit, my ankle is twisted, I think the back of my head is bleeding, I might have a concussion, and I can feel splinters all over, but considering I’m alive, I’ll take it.” I respond and give him a grin. He chuckles “that’s a good attitude to have. Once we get back I’ll get you over to the med bay.” He says this and I nod. “I would really appreciate that.” I pause for a moment “sorry for wasting your bullets.” I say that softly as he examines the comedically large gun. “Wasn’t wastin’ I’m surprised you could even fire it honestly.” He reholsters it and I sigh in relief and wince a bit when I do. “I think I fucked up my ribs too.” I remark this and he laughs “no shit really? You fell through the floor I figured you would be a lot worse for ware.” He grins and I smile a bit. “Oh yeah I feel like shit but the adrenaline is keeping me from noticing too much.” I admit this with a laugh and Liz and Abe walk into the truck. “Not bad for your first mission, but next time try not to fall through the floor.” Liz says this with a smile and gives me a nod. “I’m never gonna hear the end of this am I?” I ask this with a grin and jokingly roll my eyes. “No, I’m afraid not, especially with these two as your company.” Abe says this as he settles back into his seat. “Seriously you did great considering this was your first go around.” Liz says this as she takes her seat. “But yes, Excellent job, but you should try to be a little more careful next time, you and Hellboy are far too wreck less.” Abe says this as the truck begins to move. I nods and my eyes feel heavy. “I will Abe.” My head feels heavy on my shoulders and Hellboy looks down at me from his seat next to me, “You can rest now, try and get some shut eye till we get there. You did a good job out there.” I nod and let my heavy eyes close and I drift off to sleep.
I see the woman staring at me, she looks less frightened, more confused. I’m starting to wondering if I made the right call to burn the building because what if there is no where for them to go.

I wake up from my dream through someone softly tapping my arm. “Hey, we’re home, I’m gonna carry you to the med bay alright?” Hellboy says this quietly, waiting for me to agree. I realize I fell asleep against his shoulder, which is slightly embarrassing, but I’m too uncomfortable to care. “That would be great.” I respond and he carefully picks me up again. He’s very gentle with me, despite his strength he is very careful to make sure I am comfortable. I lean my head on his shoulder as he walks us inside. “Thank you so much for everything…really from helping me move in , and letting me play with cats, and being so nice to me…and now carrying me to the med bay, you’re really doing too much.” I say this quietly, my head pounding and I am starting to become aware of how uncomfortable I am now that the adrenaline has worn out. He laughs a bit, “it’s no problem, honestly, you’re a good person and I’m happy you are adjusting as well as you are.” He says this as we walk through the labyrinth of the BPRD headquarters. “How many ceilings should I expect to fall through while working here?” I ask this with a laugh. “Hopefully not many more but it’s part of the job honestly” He responds with a laugh as he walks into the med bay, carefully laying me down on the empty bed, I notice the doctor and nurses already there and the amount of supplies already prepped, the already know what happened. “Thank you Hellboy, really,” I say this softly and he nods. “It’s no problem, we’re a team we’ve gotta watch out for eachother or else we’re fucked.” He says this with a smirk and as I get surrounded by medical staff, he turns to leave. I want to reach out and ask him to stay, but I am too worn out and uncomfortable to bother, so I let the staff do what they can to help.