Chapter Text
“Hello Sebastian. I’ve been watching you.”
Sebastian whipped around towards the voice, their hand on their gun holster if he deemed it neccesary to take that action.
He…he couldn’t make out what said it. A yellow smudge? Had he pressed one if those annoying buttons? He didn’t know they came in yellow, but it was a possibility.
“I must say, you are quite the intresting fellow.”
Behind him, it was behind him! His head whipped around again, to see- nothing? Where- where did the voice go?
“I must apologize for that, I’m not exactly corporeal in this… world... currently. So I am simply glimmers.” An item, a flashlight, specifically, seemed to glimmer, reflecting off yellow light. He could barely see it in his perephrial, and he turned to stare at it. The light came from somewhere, he couldn’t really tell from where, but he saw it just the same.
Sebastian didn’t like this one bit. Not at all. New things were bad things, he learned. In this time loop, anyways. How had he learned that? He didn’t know.
“You’re aware of the loop, correct?” Sebastian drew his gun. He did not like this. “Show yourself. Enough talking in my head or whatever. Now.”
The voice seemed to consider this. “I… would if I could, believe me. However, most of the time I can only show myself to dead people, and you dont recall when you die, unfortunately.” Sebastian’s face dropped into a scowl, his eyes narrowing. “This is the twelfth time I’ve talked to you, actually. Doing this is only possible through…loopholes, so-“
“What do you mean when I DIE..?” Sebastian practically GLARED at the poor flashlight.
“Well. I can’t tell you that, because then he gets mad and resets your memory again.”
Sebastian’s anger turns into shock, and then suspicion. “Why can you remember then, yellow light thingy?”
“It’s Curious Light, to you, and since I’m akin to him in nature- not in temperament,” he quickly added when he saw Sebastian’s face, before continuing. “I can remember becaue of that. Tell me Sebastian, do you want to see the sun again?”
The room was quiet a long moment, before distant voices and footfall could be heard. “You have shoppers, it seems. Ah, one of them is- well. You’ll figure it it out.”
Sebastian ignored the voice and slammed the vent open with a little more force than was neccesary (which sent the grate flying across the room and crashing into the opposite wall, the poor grate, mantis shrimp are powerful after all) “Hey! In here!” He adopted his shopkeeper persona. Oh, how he hated it.
And then came the party. Four total, from the sound of voices. A familiar face came through the vent, the only one who remembered the loop. “The one who just CANNOT keep their coffin shut. Welcome back,”
They nodded, buying the handcranked flashlight and a medkit. And then buying 4 batteries.
“This one also can hear me but actively chooses to ignore me.” The voice loudly noted, ignoring the people coming into the shop. Everyone ignored that statement.
“Ah, first timers! Since your friend here has already come a couple of times, I’ll keep this short. Name’s Sebastian, and I am but a humble shopkeeper, trading in research. These very helpful items are yours to keep! For a price, of course.” A couple of weird looks at the other loopstuck guy since to them you only got to go through once- Sebastian never bothered to get their name- but mostly fear and abject horror at his appearence. Yeah yeah, get over the fish monster already.
The doomed people bought things and left. Silence.
“You aren’t a monster you know.”
The annoying voice again. He…he tried to keep ignoring it.
“I’ve seen quite a few worse peices of work. You? You’re a good person.”
“Good people don’t end up here.” The words came from the expendable. “Or at the very least, they don’t stay good down here.”
More silence.
“You and I have very different definitions of a good person.” The answer was almost whispered, almost unable to be heard.
Sebastian finally spoke.
“Yeah yeah, get over it. Go have debates about semantics somewhere I’m not inclined to shoot you.”
More silence. They all stared at each other, or at least Sebastian stared at the glowing flashlight and the Expendable at Sebastian.
“I should go,” the expendable noted.
“You should.” Sebastian said.
The shop went again silent as the Expendable left.
“Nice guy,” the light said.
Sebastian was still staring.
“So, Curious Light or whatever your name is-“ Sebastian trailed off as he suddenly perceived a figure floating in front of him. “You are floating.”
Curious light, who he presumed was the figure, slowly turned to look at him. “That is true. This-“ he gestured at his appearance- “makes things significantly easier.”
Sebastian wanted to throw something at the guy, his condescending tone was getting on his nerves. “By all I held dear do you ever shut up?”
The figure smiled deviously before replying. “No. But this next topic you’ll want to hear, I think.”
Sebastian eyed the ghostbuster rounds he had found earlier from looting. They were tempting. “This had better be something I want to hear, ghost.”
“Would you like to see the surface again?”
Silence. Fear, anticipation, muddled hopes resurging. No, no. Hope never worked out. Skepticism. His face settled there. Distrust. Caution. Safety. “I would like to see the sun again, yes. Why..?”
“I can take you there- the surface, I mean. And keep you there. For as long as you’d like, including forever.”
“…how…?” Sebastian’s voice came out barely a whisper, the floating figure smiling in a menacing way- granted, all smiles were menacing with the permanent shadow cast on the personification of curiousity. Curiousity killed the cat- or rather the fish- felt very real right now.
“I will tell you what I require of you. How is not something I feel particularly inclined to tell you, but rest assured I can. I require an answer within 10 to 15 minutes of my question for reasons that will be made clear shortly. Do you agree?”
Sebastian considered it.
The radio crackled on. “Hey Sebastian?”
“Yes kiddo? What do you need?”
“Who are you talking to?”
“Some guy called Curious light. Reminds me of the imaginary friend.” Curious light looked insulted. Good.
“You said something about the surface?”
Sebastian paused. Painter wasn’t supposed to find out. He wasn’t supposed to get involved with this, he already had to kill for him, he didn’t want painter to get involved with the power plays of gods-
“Sebastian. I asked Painter before you. You’re a hard man to talk to. Will you agree to the terms? The only reason I ask this is because Painter asked me to. Otherwise I’d just inform you about the time limit and then ask your decision,”
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed, staring bullets into the light. “I… I agree.”
The floating figure smiled a much less intimidating smile (was that intentional?) and cracked its neck (does it have BONES?)
“I need to see Lopee.”
“No you don’t.”
“He doesn’t need to what? I can’t hear,” Painter’s voice came through curious with a hint of..something in his voice.
“Let me finish?”
Curiousity was met with sceptic silence.
“The reasons I need to meet him are my own, but the reason I’m asking you is because painter has to die in order to get-“ Sebastian did not hesitate, he lunged for the ghostbuster bullets and shot.
“SEBASTIAN? ARE YOU OKAY?”
“I WILL BE after I KILL HIM.”
The figure kept talking. “I need Lopee to be in a specific place so I can trap him and end the time loop. Nice effort by the way, but I would be revivng painter, of course. I didn’t think you’d agree if I didn’t, but painter was still on board if it meant you went free.”
Sebastian kept firing. “Dramatic today, aren’t we? Do you not remember who kills him?”
“Sebastian WHAT ARE YOU FIRING AT?”
Sebastian did not want to remember. But the memories came flooding back. The only, the ONLY person he had left was dead, because he TRUSTED- the expendable. He was going to kill them. Right when they thought they were safe. Take their hopes, shatter them kill them- take out their beating heart. Show them what it means what it means- Lopee. Lopee stopped him. he stopped HIM FROM REMEMBERING HE-
“That doesn’t look pleasant. You should probably stop gripping your hands, you reopened your arm wound and your hands are bleeding-“
“YOU.”
“Me.”
“You…you were there.”
“One time. Curiousity kills the cat.”
“Can I kill them?” Narrowed pinpricks of eyes.
“Kill who???” Poor Painter was very confused.
“If them is the expendable, yes! Me, no. Lopee? He can’t be killed here but you helping me would make him VERY upset.”
“Deal. You revive painter.”
“I’m glad we could come to an arrangement. Until next time, as your oh-so-mysterious benefactor seems to be intent on kicking me out. Stardust out.” Nothing happened. “You have to blink, you dolt.” Sebastian rolled his eyes (as much as one can when you dont have pupils) and blinked. Lopee stood in his shop.
“YOU WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO REMEMBER.”
“No, you bitch. Kill me about it.”
“YOU WILL FORGET, THEY WILL FORGET. YOU WILL ALL FORGET. EVERY TIME.”
“I hate you.”
“I KNOW, SEBASTIAN. BELIEVE ME, I KNOW.”
And it all faded away.