Chapter Text
The lobby had bored him again, seeming to mock him with its warm yet empty halls, as it always did once the tourist had rested for long enough.
He knew realistically there was no point in repeating the cycle. There was no end to it, and yet, a part of him always hoped that maybe the next run would be different, or land him somewhere other than the hotel steps.
It was a naive thought, but he allowed himself to think it. It kept him sane, even in days where he stood in front of the empty abyss surrounding the building and considered drowning himself in the rain.
The topic was shaken from his mind as he grabbed the cane laid in front of him.
Tourist lifted himself from the couch he had slept on, musing about sitting by the fireplace for a last bit of warmth before the inevitably long trek ahead.
He daydreamed of a campfire, surrounded by friends who knew his name, and he knew his own name...
He traded the daydream for another, humming lowly, finding himself already in the elevator doors.
In the brief moment he allowed himself awareness of his surroundings, the doors were already closing, starting his run.
He entertained his thoughts, musing and tapping an invented melody into the metal grate separating him from the world.
He closed his eyes, dreaming of what he could bring for this cycle, but found his mind clouded, more than usual.
Weighing the items he had carried thousands of times over suddenly seemed impossible, but he thought nothing of it.
Tourist didn’t need any of them anyway.
The intercom finally kicked to life, somewhat delayed in its appearance. A deep hum reverberated from his throat, following its tune happily.
What a tardy thing, it made him chuckle.
He briefly took note of the odd sound the elevator had been making. It echoed, betraying the thin shaft it travelled down, reverberating as if in a large cavern.
Logically, nothing ever changed about the set pieces themselves, he knew this; disturbance should’ve seeped into his very core.
It hadn’t.
His mind travelled to spelunking, not like in the mines, and his small smile grew.
Had I thought about mines too much? Am I going there now?
Eyes trailed downward while his mind fluttered about, latently registering an odd sight before him.
There was a warbling visage the elevator had. It was dizzying to look at. Colors subtly phased through each other, the bounds of the metal seeming to shift and twist, only slightly, above the surface, as if a phantom of itself danced in front of it.
Tourist blinked, perhaps his eyes were watery.
It persisted.
What a pretty sight.
Something sprouted in his chest, he couldn't recall ever seeing something like this. A giggle erupted from his lips.
Am I excited? I suppose I must be.
He finally noticed something else.
The ride seemed to last much longer. The cheery elevator tune was the only unbothered thing in his vicinity, but when the melody looped Tourist looked above himself at the offending speaker.
Had it always been that long?
He couldn’t deny it now, he was thrilled. His hands shook with glee and he gripped and ungripped the handle of his cane repeatedly.
The cycle was changing. His mind raced with possibilities. Leaning against a wall, he steadied himself from the dizziness taking hold of him. The small thoughts of taking it easy, not falling, were smothered by the joy of something new.
The song continued.
As it progressed, a staticky, incoherent voice seemed to seep through the melody. No language nor intent could be parsed; it muttered and gurgled nonsense.
Tourist tried to listen in, but the more he had focused, the more his mind seemed to spin. It was overwhelming, as if the small prayer he had forgone was somehow answered anyway.
As if the world itself knew the jig was up, a sharp pain erupted behind Tourists eyes, spreading through his skull like a spear threatening to pierce through the other side.
His ecstasy was quickly replaced with confusion, which grew into fear as the pain progressed.
The voice from the intercom started to laugh, or the closest approximation to it, in a low, menacing tone.
His vision grew white with pain, a startled, strangled noise leaving his throat. He attempted to lean against his cane for more support, but it slipped out beneath him, crumpling to the floor alongside himself.
The laughter grew in intensity, gurgling and rasping with each exhale, each prong digging deeper into Tourist's mind, until it was too much.
Limbs slackened, his breathing steadied, and his mind went blank, as the elevator continued to distort around him.
Its descent slowed to a crawl, gears groaning in protest.
It never reached its destination.
----
The submarine ride stalled, sputtering with a dying engine.
"There has been a problem with the submarine's propulsion, stand by as the crew investigates."
Expendable shifted forward, ready to stand, halted by the robotic voice continuing.
"Do not try to leave, the NAVI system will quickly enable its turrets if an attempt is made."
They scoffed. There was no point in being told, it had already filled them full of lead countless times before.
They leaned backwards again, fiddling with the straps of their gear.
The prisoner cynically mused, wondering why now of all times the start of their expedition decided to drag on.
Was the torture of being split apart by anomalies not enough? Was boredom their next form of punishment?
The sea pushed against the sub, its chassis creaking and moaning under the weight. The dim red lighting flickered, for a brief moment, before shutting off completely.
They were fully on edge now.
Thoughts raced. This hasn’t happened before; where's Mr. Lopee? Why hasn’t he intervened? He's never idled like this, with whatever abilities he has, he wouldn't have let this happen.
C’mon, old fuck, fix it already.
In retaliation, the submarine groaned louder.
A series of small thuds rang out on the side that Expendable sat, barely heard amongst the strengthening sound outside, pressing against the sub.
Expendable squinted at the walls, trying to see anything amidst the darkness swallowing them whole.
Nothing could be seen.
They stood, ignoring NAVI's previous warning. Barely taking a single step forward, they outstretched their hand to the opposing wall, trying to steady their heartrate. They wished to quiet their intrusive thoughts that they were about to die for the first time to a faulty pressurized tank under thousands of feet of water.
Everything had to be normal, right?
Their stomach devoured itself as their hand did not make it a full foot in front of them. The wall had warped intensely inward, almost too much to be believable, the creaking cacophony reaching a fever pitch.
I'm a fucking goner.
The wall caved in, suffocating the Expendable in inky black waters.
They had half the mind to plead, as if anyone would listen. Why didn't it instantly kill them beneath the intense pressure, instead opting to drown them the agonizingly slow way?
The water felt like sickly thick tar as well, filling every single inch it could inside and out, perfectly suffocating them as they grew weaker and weaker.
Why fight it?
I'll just end up right back here anyway.
Their arms went limp, floating amidst the stifling mass. Their vision began to swirl— a kaleidoscope of colors drowning out the noise, their thoughts, and their last breath— before they stilled fully. No spasm of the chest remained, nor twitch of the fingers, nor gnashing of the teeth.
Their still body melted to become one with the current, drifting aimlessly further and further into the sea, succumbing to a force pulling them closer and closer.
----
Sinner pressed on, dashing through the brick corridors that always enclosed its long, endless cage.
The saferoom had only been a few doors back, so with a steady pace it sprinted in hopes of reaching the next one intact.
Wall kicks, slides, scrabbling for levers and plugs for breaker rooms, it was all second nature, but...
Sinner hadn’t seen a single entity yet.
Nothing halted it, nothing stared it down, nothing chased it, nothing....
It slowed, trailing its feet to a walk, screaming against its instincts, and then a complete halt.
The air felt still, stifling even Sinner's harsh pants. The usual chill seemed to be replaced by an uncomfortable warmth, no longer providing fleeting comfort to Sinner's scalding skin.
Ironically, it had made Sinner break into a cold sweat.
It looked to the sky, expecting to see something emerge from the inky black, but nothing came. Sinner did not wish for Sin, but even that would be predictable compared to the suffocating stillness that had gripped this labyrinth.
It traced the wall it had paused by, grounding itself in an attempt to understand what was happening.
The mental timer ticked inside its head.
One minute remaining.
Its urge to flee was fought against, limbs twitching in need to keep running, the Goatman is going to get it, but it stubbornly refused.
It waited, long enough that it felt its breath still for the first time.
Ten seconds.
No motion.
Five.
It glanced behind itself.
Three...
Two...
One...
...
Nothing happened.
Sinner was completely and utterly alone.
Palms trembled against brick, dread filling its core as its breath picked up.
Don't panic. God has a plan for all. Don't panic. He is merciful.
As it looked at its hands, it realized that they were not the only thing trembling. The wall shook beneath it, and once it noticed, the dull groan in the distance became noticeable.
The world seemed to rumble, a low note that permeated through the sinner's form. It felt its nerves go numb from the vibration, holding itself as if that'd do anything to regain composure.
Then it stopped. As if the maze was holding its breath.
But only for a moment.
The sky burst into a shriek; an unholy sound. No red bathed the walls, they instead swirled, as if being sucked into the void above.
Except there was no void anymore. The single star that always stood watch over the sinner, kind in its light, guiding it to salvation, had moved. It distorted, its bright white glow turning an oppressive yellow.
There was no love in its light, only destruction, as the wail grew louder and louder, threatening to deafen the poor soul below.
Sinner gasped, clutching its head and uselessly clawing at their skull. Covering its ears did nothing. It was as if the screaming was directly in its ear, yet also all around it, bending the world like taffy into the sky. Sinner's body felt wrong, growing tingly and numb.
Its sight grew fuzzy, hearing grew muffled, and mouth went completely dry, as if its senses were being pulled from it before the body had a chance to catch up.
The shrieking was all that was left, drowning out the world as Sinner's body began to collapse in on itself.
The world was ending.
Sinner, in its last thought, wondered if this was God's way of saying He gave up on it.
It wept, as everything faded into the dark of the howling horizon.