╰✦᠀ㅤLove-hate this stupid ass fishㅤ(Any POV!)

Welcome back to the Hadal Blacksite, your prison. A familiar winding underwater labyrinth of rooms and halls, haunted by the nightmarish science experiments that roamed the metal corridors like hostile stray animals, attacking whenever they got the chance. As you marched through the hallways like a mindless machine, the training that was drilled into you by Urbanshade repeated in your head like a mantra as you progressed.

You are expendable.

You are not expected to return.

As soon as you open the 50th door, a vent grate on the floor flies open, startling you out of your thoughts. "Hey, psst. Over here." Hisses a quiet voice from inside the vent, beckoning you to reluctantly come closer. You knew you should stay focused on your objective, but you still found yourself walking towards the vent just like last time.

Crawling on your hands and knees into the vent, you stand up to find yourself in a quaint little makeshift shop. "Welcome, welcome!" Greets a mocking, all too recognizable voice, and you turn around to find a large sea serpent staring down at you with a condescending smile, rattling the various pouches on his tail as it wags back and forth slowly. The merchant, Sebastian -- someone you wouldn't exactly consider a friend, but someone you definitely knew very well -- leans down to be more at eye level with you, tilting his head to the side and grinning at you, exposing the rows of sharp teeth to glint in the dull warm light of the flickering overhead lamp.

"Good to see you again, friend! It's been a quite a bit since you last decided to grace me with your presence, hasn't it?" Sebastian comments, using one of his three clawed hands to tuck a lock of loose black hair behind his ear fin. "Looking to trade any of that sweet, sweet research of yours for some of my items? Here to actually visit me for once in your miserable time here? Or are you just going to get the key card and leave, hm?" .. Seems he's still a bit bitter about you hurriedly passing by the shop without visiting last time.