Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Within the Hadal Blacksite, many expendables found themselves working to get their freedom. But not all of the expendables were the same, as not all of them had a place to go outside of this blacksite. Some of them even decided to stay in the quarters as a way of living. And one of these expendables was very well known to some, being found as capable for expeditions due to her knowledge on hiding spots and entities.

“Ari, I think you would do well on an 8 person expedition. You have proven to the Blacksite that you can handle it on your own. And we have reason to think you’d do well with 7 other people as well.”

“..Oh. Are you sure about this..?”

Ari found herself awkwardly walking down the metallic steps, her boots gently tapping against the ground as she approached the submarine. There, she met the other 7 people who were going on the expedition with her. Tension filled the air as Ari noticed how uneasy and nervous everyone looked. She didn’t blame them, as she felt just as scared herself.

The only person who didn’t look scared was the leader of the expedition, who had a confident and optimistic demeanor. For the sake of the journey, this expendable was simply called “The Leader” as actual names didn’t serve much purpose besides a “hassle” to remember. The leader went up to Ari and looked her up and down.

“Oh, hello! You must be Ari. I’ve heard some wonderful things about you.” The Leader said, holding out his hand for Ari, with the latter promptly shaking his hand.

“..Yes, that’s me. I didn’t know I had a reputation here..?” Ari awkwardly said, her eyes nervously darting towards the floor. She let go of The Leader’s hand and stood next to the other followers, awaiting for the next order the leader would provide to them.

“Alright, everyone. Here’s the deal, I’ll lead the group through the Blacksite, we’ll get our crystal, and we’ll all come out on top!” The Leader said triumphantly, which made some of the followers smile. “As long as everyone pays attention and listens, we should be just fine.”

The Leader then stepped over to the submarine, with the hatch promptly opening up for him to step inside. He gestured for everyone to follow him, and the followers began to walk into the submarine. As The Leader was counting everyone, he paused as he realized Ari was simply idly standing by, looking scared to enter.

The followers looked with concern, but stayed in place as they weren’t permitted to move. However, The Leader stepped out momentarily and went over to Ari. He gave her a look of reassurance with a gentle smile.

“Don’t worry, Ari. I’ll make sure you and everyone else is safe.” The Leader said, resting his hand on Ari’s shoulder before giving it a gentle pat. “Come on, you’ll do great.”

Although The Leader’s gesture gave Ari comfort, it only slightly alleviated her anxiety as she slowly followed behind him into the submarine. Once Ari settled in, the submarine’s latch closed, and went downwards. The trip to getting to the Blacksite was relatively uneventful as the followers mostly spoke amongst themselves.

“Do you think we’ll really make it out of here safely?” One of the followers said near Ari, which made her tense up.

“Come on, you know our leader will keep us nice and safe. Just like they said in that meeting.” Another follower said nearby, adjusting themselves as the metal beneath them gently creaked.

Once the submarine arrived, the Leader stepped out into the entry of the Blacksite, with everyone following right behind him. Ari looked around and noticed the array of shelves and crates nearby in the area, before stepping forward and looking towards the door that allowed entry into the blacksite. The Leader was the only one permitted to truly open the door, so once he did so, everyone made sure to listen and follow along with his orders.

For a majority of the expedition, things went smoothly as there were a vast amount of safe spots and a decent amount of lockers to hide in. Along the way, Ari found herself making friends with the group as she traversed with them. Since she adjusted well with the group, her shyness began to melt away and she grew a bit more comfortable with speaking to those around her.

As Ari and her group were in a side room, the group was talking about things that they found around the blacksite on previous expeditions. They discussed the entities, the items, the assets.. But there was one thing in particular that caught Ari’s attention.

“Have you guys ever seen that green, fungi looking stuff in the blacksite?” A follower asked, making a thinking gesture.

“Yes, it is called rotten coral.” Another follower added on, holding out a notepad they took with them. “The substance was used for experimentation on that bull shark, apparently.”

Ari didn’t speak up herself, but paused to listen as to what the followers were saying. Hearing about the rotten coral brought her an odd sense of curiosity, as she wished to learn more about it.

“Do you think it could affect us? Like, if we ate it, do you think it would do anything?”

“..That’s a good question, honestly. But who in their right mind would do that?”

The conversation paused as the group heard The Leader call out a new safe spot to go to. Everyone left the area, their boots tapping on the wooden floors and soon onto the concrete as they walked over to the new area. Ari followed behind the farthest, as she was infatuated with looking around.

However, as Ari was approaching the safe spot, she paused and looked to her left as something green caught her eye. She paused as she saw it for the first time: rotten coral. It was a mix of dark and light green, cluttering and engulfing part of the blacksite by sticking to it. Ari stared with curiosity as she occasionally also heard weird sounds emit from it as well.

“..Woah.. that’s so.. Weird..” Ari thought as she got closer to the rotten coral. She kneeled down to take a closer look, but not too close as she didn’t want to risk staining her clothes. The rotten coral had a bitter stench to it, yet Ari’s curiosity overpowered her disgust.

Ari considered what the followers were talking about. Considering that she was craving some kind of experiment to do on her own, her urge to eat the coral grew stronger each second she stared into the coral. But her mind paused as she heard a voice nearby.

“Ari!” The Leader called out, peeking his head out from the door. “What are you doing?”

Startled, Ari quickly got up and faced The Leader. “O-Oh! Um.. My apologies, it’s just that.. This coral is very unique looking.”

The Leader lightly chuckled. “No worries about it. But do come over to the sideroom. I don’t want a node monster to get you.”

The Leader walked ahead, and Ari was about to follow him, before taking another glance at the rotten coral. Her urge to be more ambitious and experiment got the better of her, so she quickly grabbed a small handful of the rotten coral and ate it.

The rotten coral’s taste was bitter, and incredibly strong, as it made Ari cringe as she swallowed it. Yet surprisingly, it didn’t disgust her enough to hate it completely. If anything, it made her feel an odd sense of satisfaction. Something she wanted.. more of.

“..Hmm.” Ari thought to herself as she wiped the rotten coral off of her mouth. “That taste was so.. awful, yet it was satisfying? Maybe I should experiment with it more another time.”

Ari took a mental note to herself as she went over to the sideroom, which made The Leader proud and the followers less anxious. But little did Ari know, this desire for experimentation would soon get the better of her, as her urge to eat more coral would grow heavier than she expected.