M4DN3SS R3DACT3D (a sh!t madness combat story)

[[N!NE-N!NE.5]]

[[ 9.5 happened long before any part of this story.}}

Sanford blinked open his eyes to an empty greyscale room. 

It looked familiar enough for him to tell he was in one of Nexus's bases, he just had no idea which one. Or how he got there, for that matter.

He could hardly remember what had just happened. Images of agents' bodies in his hands and  yelling over the  noise in his head ran through his mind but he wasn't sure what exactly went on after it had taken full control. 

How the fuck did it get me here?

The first thing he did was look down at his hands- they were normal, no blood, no possession. He could see just fine, and the silence in the room was loud- not crowded with extra voices and static.

He grabbed a nearby gun on the ground and stood up, looking around for the door. Surprisingly to him, it was already open.

When he walked out, he looked down both ends of the hall- one side lead to an exit door.

Perfect.

Just as Sanford opened the door, a second figure was already out there, gun in hand. He made to shoot them, but when they turned around and waved to him, he stopped in his tracks.

Deimos.

"What the hell are you doin' 'ere?"

He tried to ask, but Deimos, as usual, hadn't fully listened and was running out to a crowd of agents around the door.

"Dei? Hello? Deimos!"

Sanford followed him out into the open, meeting the familiar sound of constant gunfire once again- from him and Deimos, mostly.

Just as it looked like most of the agents were taken care of, a series of shots rang out and hit the younger man beside Sanford. He glanced over just as his body fell back, and he quickly finished the rest of the agents off before turning to check on him.

Sanford forced himself to not get choked up so soon at the sight of him, and knelt down beside the body.

He'd looked over him like this many times before. Usually, an explosion had just gone off nearby or they'd gotten knocked out in a car crash, and the injuries were never super severe. Deimos always had the strength to say he was okay and try to pick himself back up, even if Sanford had to help him a bit.

But this time, he was damn near unrecognizable.

Half of his face had just been blown to pieces and bullet holes were scattered around his entire body. Blood was slowly pooling around him, and Sanford felt himself growing less calm.

This wasn't the first time Sanford had seen him this way, but that wasn't making it any easier.

Why him?

Sanford knew full well that these parts of purgatory were made special for whoever was trapped in them. He'd seen and heard too much from Hank, and plenty from Deimos when he came back the only time it happened to him. Up until this point, Sanford hardly had the experience himself, but he'd been stuck in that first level for long enough to get the idea.

Their worst memories, biggest fears, nearly constant fighting and killing and sometimes dying again yourself in a pretty gruesome way.

And even if he'd never admit it, there were a lot of things Sanford was fucking terrified of.

Losing Deimos was one of them. So was being alone.

Maybe... just for a few minutes...

Sanford carefully sat down beside Deimos. He looked around at the dark, bloody area around them, then back at his friend's body.

Why not me?

"I shoulda had your back, Dei. M'sorry." 

>>>>>>>>>>

"Ey, 'Ford."

Tired eyes turned to the younger man beside them.

"Yeah, Dei?"

"D'ya think we're ever gonna make it outta all this?"

Sanford raised an eyebrow. "Outta what? ...Nevada?"

"Yeh, outta the state, outta this... Nexus hellhole..." a smoky exhale. "All of it. Just... done."

"Mm.. well.. we gotta take down Nexus first, don't we? Then things'll start gettin' better.."

"Back to normal, maybe?"

"What, like there was a normal Nevada in the first place? It's Nevada."

A slight laugh. "Well it was Nevada without the mass murder, crazy government schemes- ehh, actually, I nevah knew that for sure- and the uhh.."

"Gettin' paired up with some random on the team you're against?" A slight smirk crossed Sanford's face.

"ahah, well, you ended up likin' me," Long inhale, exhale, cigarette being waved around with hand gestures. "So m'not mad about that."

"Neither am I." Sanford sighs, relaxing into the cold wall behind them.

Silence.

"When are y'gonna give up those cigs?"

A scrutinizing stare. "Eh? What's wrong with me smokin'?"

"You know damn well..." Shifting to face the shorter figure. "Why s'bad, Dei."

Sanford reaches over, takes the cigarette out of the other's mouth. He puts it out on the ground beside him.

"'Ford-"

"Y'can go without it for a couple hours."

"A couple hours?"

"Mhm. We're stuck here until mornin', remember?"

An annoyed glare. "Why's that gotta stop me from smokin'?"

"'Cause I want you restin' up. Hank's gonna be pissed if we ain't workin' well later. And I'm not gettin' in trouble w' him 'cause of you."

"Ahh, whatever." Deimos still relented, settling down beside Sanford and resting his head on his shoulder. "Wake me up if you hear anyone. If one of those agents gets me it'll be really fuckin' embarrassing."

A slight smirk. "Y'know I always have your back, Dei. Don't worry about it."

"An' I always got yours.. I care about ya, 'Ford. Ight. I'll stop w' the sappy shit before you get annoyed. 'Night."

"Sleep good, Dei."