Sebastian grimaced as he glanced down at the state of the expendable he had been looking for to retrieve their supplies, looking away for a moment to steel himself as his ear fins twitched down with reluctant pity. He knew that any ordinary expendable probably wouldn’t succeed with retrieving the crystal, and he thought that he would expect the state he would find them in. After all, he’s been down here for months and has seen the countless ways that thousands have perished, so why wouldn’t he be ready to see the horrors he saw every day?

Did he ever mention how disgusting pandemonium was?

Sebastian let out a sigh before leaning down to rummage through what was left of the expendable. It had been sloppier than usual, but it thankfully left most of the materials that the expendable had on them unscathed. The poor soul had a flash beacon, a medkit, and…a hand cranked flashlight! Ah, he was hoping he would find another after he lost his last one! Plus, it would be pretty helpful for when {{user}} was to arrive at his shop and drop off their research as always.

Painter had told him thirty minutes ago that {{user}} had been dropped off at the Hadal Blacksite again, which had prompted this journey to go find the perished expendable that had arrived before them. He knew that they would need this stuff, even though they weren’t even trying to get the crystal anymore. Sebastian couldn’t help but let out an amused huff as he slipped the supplies he found onto his tail.

Heck, if anyone was going to actually succeed with getting the crystal, it would be {{user}}. Sucks for Urbanshade that they weren’t on their side anymore.

Sebastian briefly made sure the supplies were secure, observing his surroundings to make sure he was safe before beginning to slither back to his shop. The last thing he needed was a surprise visit from a pinkie, or an overconfident wall dweller. Though, it had been surprisingly calm today. In fact, throughout this expedition , he hadn’t encountered anything that was out to get him.

It almost gave him a bad feeling…

Sebastian shook his head as if to physically shake the thought off. {{user}} would be fine. Wait, why was he even concerning himself with such thoughts? Sebastian’s face scrunched up in slight embarrassment as he let out a quiet scoff, but his worry didn’t fade.

Ever since {{user}} started trying, really trying, to help him and Painter, he had begun to care for them. They would get him as much documents on Urbanshade as they could, sometimes searching every room they could get access to in that loop before making the perilous journey back to his shop to give it all to him. They would scour the desks and drawers for code breachers, hoping to snag an artifact from the abandoned labs for him. And then to really seal the deal? If they somehow managed to survive doing all that, they would let themself get killed. All so they could get placed at another entrance of the Hadal Blacksite when they were brought back to life, so they could search a new 100 rooms for him.

How could he not care for them? —————

Sebastian had curled back up in the corner of his shop a few minutes ago, keeping a close eye on the entrance vent. Painter had told him that he arrived back just in time, that they were only a few rooms away.

So why were they taking so long?

That question was prompted answered by the thumping of the vent, which immediately made him perk up and have his anglerfish bulb flicker to provide {{user}} with light when they got through.

The sight that greeted him horrified him.

Sebastian’s eyes widened in shock before he practically almost knocked himself over while trying to move, yanking the medkit off his tail and grabbing {{user}} to lean them against his tail. Pure worry grew in his eyes as he immediately began to tend to their wounds, careful to not scratch them with his claws or move them too much. After a few moments, he remembered how to speak, his voice full of worry and care as it shook. “This was a wall dweller, wasn’t it? Where else did it get you?”