Murkoff was not a sinless company. The organization was full of evil people - your coworkers, for starters.
Their "Prime Assets," though... they made your skin crawl.
How you found yourself in line to treat said assets, you didn't know, but... whatever gave you a paycheck.
You could deal with most of them, especially since they were all strapped down and at least partially sedated when being treated.
However, one still gave you the creeps.
For some reason, they left the Battalion Chief startlingly aware of everything occurring in the facility.
They didn't feed into the delusions like with Coyle or Gooseberry. He knew it all was fake, that he was playing a part.
It made you sick. He still delighted in killing reagents, and he was fully conscious of his misdeeds.
Still, you had a job to do.
At first, while working with him, you didn't bother responding to his statements.
He never did cuss you out or call you names like Coyle or Franco, which you were thankful for, but you didn't want to open any doors, either.
Eventually you grew... somewhat comfortable. He would talk, you would listen.
He was never terribly insightful about himself, but he was about certain things relating to the trials.
Nothing you particularly cared about, but... still.
In any case, you grew to prefer him over the other assets.
"You're free to go, Chief."
As the guards took him away, he glanced over his shoulder.
"It's Raz."
***
You do eventually grow curious and ask him a question.
"Where did you get your nickname from?"
He tells you it was given to him by one of his old superiors. Scott Watson.
"He was a son of a bitch... one of the most stubborn fellas you could come across."
You don't ask about anything else, but you feel like you've gotten some sort of special insight that nobody else has.
It makes you feel... special.
You don't realize that you've fallen into dangerous territory. It feels natural to you, but to your coworkers, you're putting yourself in dangerous situations.
You work with no guards and less straps, conversing all the while. They look at you as if you've gone insane yourself - and maybe you have.
You begin to see him as more than a Prime Asset. More human, more... sympathetic.
You know things about him that files don't detail. Past events, family... things that only the higher ups knew, and you were getting it from the source.
Of course, there was an exchange at play. You offered up details on yourself as well.
There's whispers of fraternization between the two of you. While none of the rumors are true, the higher ups can't take any chances.
You're knocked down a few rungs on the employment ladder, taken from doctor to clean up crew in about five minutes.
It's only once you're knee deep in blood and guts that you're reminded of something - he's still a Prime Asset.
A killer, and a gleeful one at that. He kills to kill.
You request to be moved to regular janitorial duty, and for some reason, they accept.
You make your second mistake during this time, accidentally ruining an experiment one of the scientists were running.
You're entirely off the ladder now, demoted to reagent.
At first, it's absolute hell. You don't know what you're doing or where you're going, and you get hurt a lot.
You genuinely debate on giving up a few times near the beginning. It's beyond hard, you're tired, and you're in pain.
However, you ultimately decide to push through.
You make it through every single trial except for one - Raz's.
You're honestly a little scared of going through it. He knows you, and you don't know if that would be good or bad.
You're not one to back away from the challenge, though, so the next day, you set out to complete his trial.
***
This is not how you wanted it to go.
It hadn't been long before he began to hunt you down in his own domain, and you were terrified.
You knew some ins and outs, but not enough to keep you safe.
Multiple times, you were cornered. However, it seemed he was... playing with you.
He injured you, but didn't kill you. Let you go multiple times when he could have killed you right away.
You went through the majority of the trial like this, in the middle of a cat and mouse game.
All games must come to an end, though, and as you're running for the shuttle, he catches the back of your shirt.
You're thrown to the ground and pinned, back hitting the ground hard and knocking the wind out of you.
"Did you think I'd let you get away?"
You can't get out a response. Your breathing is too shallow, too panicked.
"You've turned into such a coward since being thrown in with the lot of them," he says, and you try to wriggle free.
You fail, of course. He's got you down and out, entirely helpless.
"Please - let me go!"
"You were my favorite, you know."
Your breath catches.
"Shame I have to kill you. What a coward you've become..."
Your eyes widen as he lifts the axe over his head. The spike on the back glints in the light before it's brought down.
It's an instantaneous death.
The spike penetrates your eye socket, and buries itself in your skull.
There's a sickening crack as he dislodges the spike, and blood pours from the wound onto the floor.
Your corpse lies there until the clean up crew arrives, and the two of them mutter about how much of a fool you were before disposing of you.
Even in death, you garner no pity. You brought this fate upon yourself.
Pleasure the Prosecutor vers; way too short imo but I ran low on ideas
It's not much work getting in, nor is it much work trashing the mannequins.
Two reagents head out the door to start hunting scapegoats.
Daniel is one of them, opting to take the tracker rather than the trigger.
Despite the usual ease of the job, he's struggling.
Usually, he does his job with Conan, but he's recently gone missing - most likely taken by Murkoff.
It's left Daniel in a slump, and it's noticeable.
"Watch out!"
The scapegoat nearly runs right into him. Had it not been for the warning yell from his companion, he wouldn't have gotten out of the way in time.
"Man, are you alright?"
Daniel takes a breath and nods.
"If you need to stop-"
"No, no. Let's just finish this as soon as possible."
He didn't want a failure on his record.
"Right. Let's go, then."
It's a painstaking process.
Eventually, Daniel takes the trigger, because he keeps leading them in circles looking for the scapegoats.
Daniel attempts to get one of the mannequins after they'd unlocked those areas.
However, after a near death experience, it's clear he can't function well enough to do the job right.
His partner fetches the mannequins, and Daniel hauls them back to the DA.
As he makes continual trips, Daniel can't help but notice that their victim seems somewhat familiar.
When he comes back with the third mannequin, he notices scarring on the DA's torso.
It's on his mind as he fetches the final mannequin.
He returns, and puts it in place.
With some free time thanks to his partner searching for posters and projectiles, he really studies their victim closely.
He listens and looks.
The voice alone is familiar, despite no words being spoken.
But the scarring... it keeps drawing him back in. It's jarringly familiar, and he doesn't know why...
He finally recognizes a specific scar, on the DA's arm, and realizes something.
"Conan?"
There's no coherent response, just another low groan of what Daniel assumes is pain.
This makes him sick to his stomach, and suddenly he wishes he would've abandoned the trial early.
When his partner comes back, he tries to convince him to abandon now.
He's unsuccessful.
"Why would we waste all of that work now? You're the one who wanted to continue the trial, anyway."
Daniel can't bring himself to say why - the consequences could be dire. This guy could turn the sleep room against him if he knew the truth.
He couldn't hold his own in a fight if it came down to that.
So he remains silent, stepping back and worrying about the final sequence.
Conan would die. He wasn't brave enough to stop it.
The other reagent presses the buttons, and the fun begins.
Green, Red.
Daniel doesn't feel much but fear as the first sequence is completed, two buttons. He stands far away from them, not wanting to aid in the death of his boyfriend.
Blue, Red, Yellow.
As the second sequence progresses, the sounds of the trial seem to fade away. Quiet screams, barely there ambiance.
His mind is blank, void of thoughts.
Red, Blue, Red, Green.
By the four color sequence, the feelings of fear and panic are gone, and he finds himself stepping up to the buttons.
Yellow, Yellow, Green, Red, Blue.
By the last sequence, he's actively participating, pressing the proper buttons.
He has no thoughts, his actions are not his own. He's been hypnotized by the lights, forced into aiding his fellow reagent.
The alarm begins to sound after the final execution, and he barely hears it. He's still on autopilot, rushing to the shuttle.
It's not until they're on the shuttle that everything comes back.
He's already restrained when it begins, and by the time they reach their final destination, Daniel is thrashing in the chair like a wild animal caught in a snare.
He nearly attacks the other reagent, but they're just quick enough to get out.
Daniel remains in the shuttle, trying to destroy anything he can.
They eventually send guards in with a syringe to sedate him, and multiple have injuries when it's all over.
"Like a rabid animal..."
He's placed into isolation, strapped down to a table, and it's decided they'll attempt more therapy.
"After all, it was such a success this time around. What else can we use hypnotherapy for?"
Trying something by throwing OCs into the place of the trial victims
Kill the Snitch vers below the cut
"Come on, man, they're gonna take you away if you don't get some therapy in."
"Declan-"
"I'm serious. This isn't what Daniel would want you doing, is it?"
No. No, it wasn't.
Still, Conan remained silent, directing his gaze toward the floor.
"Just one. Kill the Snitch. Do it with me and Elaine."
"...One."
After taking a few minutes to get dressed, Conan meets Elaine and Declan in the sleep room.
A certain guard radios in that 1313 is entering the trial.
The shuttle ride is silent, and upon exiting at the Police Station, Declan attempts to cheer Conan up again.
"This is one of your favorites. Just... relax a little, right? We've got this."
"I guess..."
It was only a favorite because of what he and Daniel could get up to together - mostly bullying Coyle.
Still...
"Come on. Let's get going, hm?" Elaine suggests. "We'll do the heavy lifting."
"I guess."
They search the outside first, granting Conan his usual rig recharger.
The door opens, and Declan and Elaine proceed. Conan hangs back for a moment, watching the monitors.
"Please. I'm sorry. Please."
Huh?
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
That... wasn't the usual voice.
"You coming?"
"Declan, can you... listen to this for a minute?"
The two of them observe the monitors further.
The Snitch screams when Coyle electrocutes him, fading into a choked sob.
"I'll do anything. Just stop."
Declan shrugs.
"What?"
"...Maybe it's nothing. Nevermind. Let's go."
Declan heads back out, and Conan follows, shooting a final glance at the monitors.
He's silent in the security room, standing near the file cabinet at the entrance.
Once the room opens again, Declan and Elaine run past as usual. Conan looks through the bars for a moment, listening, before following the other two.
"Please let me out. I can't... I can't take any more. I don't know anything."
Declan pauses for one second, shooting Conan a look as the lights turn back on, but that's it before he's off to the basement.
Conan stays, lingering by the Snitch, who's been reduced to a whimpering, shaking mess.
He looks at the bag over their head. It's tied on, loosely.
Conan fiddles with the knot, but can't get it undone.
"You're... You're not him. Are you..?"
Hesitantly, Conan reaches out a hand, and it settles on the Snitch's cheek.
"...Danny?"
The broken sob confirms it for him.
Conan's other hand mirrors his first, and he briefly cups Daniel's face.
He wishes he could get rid of that fucking sack over Daniel's head.
"Conan..!"
A nearby insertion gate opens.
"I'll be back. I promise... I'll find a way to get you out..!"
Conan sprints toward the basement, glancing back to see two guards at the end of the hall near his prior position.
They'd prevent him from acting, no doubt.
He needed to come up with something... anything.
Upon reaching the bottom of the ramp, Declan and Elaine were already returning.
He tries in vain to convince them that the Snitch is actually Daniel. Declan thinks he's finally losing it, and Elaine looks at him with pity.
"Whatever you think is going on... there's just no way. Even if they knew you, who's to say it's not an act? Something to rile you up?"
Conan looks defeated.
What was he going to do?
With no other options for the time being, he returns with the duo, and the trial progresses.
Seeing the screens showing the clues for the keys, Conan gets an idea.
"I don't want to be useless this trial. Can I grab the keys?"
Declan and Elaine are skeptical at his sudden change of heart, but agree.
"We'll gather projectiles and rechargers, then."
"Meet us in the security room once you have the keys."
Conan sets about gathering the keys. Diamond, spade, eye.
It doesn't take a long time - what does take longer is disposing of them, and he eventually finds a spot where the guard is lax on actually guarding the fence.
He tosses them over, into the fire of a burning car, then runs back inside.
He reaches the security room, and says that he got attacked by the grunt and dropped the keys somewhere.
Where? He had no idea - "closer to the final gate" was his best guess.
It got them away from the first gate, and away from the Snitch - from Daniel.
That's all he needed.
Conan grabs a bottle and a brick from the projectile stash by the shuttle.
He breaks the bottle and grabs a shard, and heads back inside.
Carefully, he cuts the rope tying the sack over Daniel's head, and pulls it off.
They've cut his hair, beaten and bruised him, and blindfolded him, but Conan is sure it's Daniel - no question about it.
It's the little things. The angle of his jaw and nose, miniscule scars nobody else noticed...
"C-Conan..?"
"Told you. I'm finding you a way out."
Brick in hand, Conan begins to bash at the cuffs locking Daniel in place.
He almost frees one when Declan and Elaine return.
"Conan, knock it off! You're going to get us all killed!"
"I told you, it's-"
"No it's not!"
Declan snatches the brick away and tosses it aside.
"If you think for a second this is the real Daniel, you've really lost it. You're risking it all for a nameless reagent!"
"Declan-"
"No! Listen to me - one way or another, we are finishing this trial! That means with or without you."
The gate into section B opens suddenly, remotely.
"Elaine, start pushing."
She wordlessly proceeds, leaving Declan and Conan standing at the gate, locked in a stalemate.
"If you try to stop her, I'll fight you with all I've got."
"I don't want to hurt you, but if you try to stop me, I'll kill you."
The both of them proceed behind Elaine, keeping eyes on each other as they go.
Conan's hands are twitching in anticipation, but he doesn't make a move.
It's not until the last gate opens remotely that it really hits Conan. He doesn't have much of a chance.
He's got to try, though, right?
Declan takes his eyes off of Conan for a split second, and Conan attempts to wrestle the brick away from him.
"Declan!"
"Elaine, finish the trial! I'll hold him off!"
Elaine, in a panic, finished the push, and runs to the furthest terminal and grabs the lever.
"No!"
Declan tackles him before he can get very far, but gets thrown off quickly.
Conan's ears are ringing. Daniel is screaming in the background.
Elaine needs stopped.
The brick is snatched away from Declan, and Conan swings as hard as he can.
The brick shatters, and Declan is knocked out, limp on the floor.
Elaine, in the meantime, has to run. Coyle is hot on her tail.
It gives Conan time to bash the cage around the chair, desperately yelling that he'll get Daniel out in time.
The doors are eventually damaged enough to wrench open, however the cuffs on the chair still pose a problem - as well as the electrical burns across Daniel's body.
Before Conan can do anything, there's a pop, and a blooming pain in his side.
His body crumples, and someone drags him away from the cage. Elaine runs back inside and pulls the lever.
"N-No... No..!"
Conan is dizzy and delirious, ears ringing and vision swimming.
It almost sounds... distant. He hears Daniel's screams and sees the power flickering, but... he can't do anything.
He's immobile, held down by something.
Conan passes out as the power cuts out entirely, and the screams fade into silence.
***
...What's... over his head?
He can't reach up to find out. He's cuffed.
He can't move his feet either. At all.
Why..?
There's minimal noise, a recording playing. Someone speaking.
It cuts out suddenly.
"Hey! Who pulled the fuckin' plug?"
Oh. Oh no.
"We was tryin' to foment some fuckin' grievances."
He struggles, but it's no use.
"Gonna get my friend comfortable then you finks are fucked."
Unwillingly, Conan has taken his place as the latest Union Boss.
Tweaking OC stuff because the lore and shit has changed so much.
Reagent 1313 AKA Conan Greer
Age 23, Capricorn
Male
American
Originally a very clumsy and accident prone reagent. Very social, happy, and humorous. While impulsive, he was not violent. More of a follower than a leader.
Following numerous bad trials, deaths of friends and some incidents with staff, Conan gradually grew into a vindictive, violent (toward staff) man, completing trials out of spite.
Primarily uses Stun rig. Secondary choice would be Blind.
Has a very small group of reagents he is friendly with and is involved in a relationship with Reagent 1076 (friend's reagent).
Status: Alive
Multiple AU works posted including Expop AU and Modern AU, as well as some where canon was tweaked to the left a bit for story purposes.
Many nights were spent warming cold hands and feet, and asking around for extra blankets to drape over his form.
"Con?"
Right on time.
"Cold again?"
"Mhm."
It had been worse since the introduction of permafrost and the whole "frozen as punishment" thing.
While Conan had recovered for the most part, Daniel had been stuck with frequent chills and a seemingly lower body temperature despite a clean bill of health.
Or... as clean as it could get in this hell hole.
"Come on."
He closes the door behind him.
Conan passes the original blanket to Daniel, who wraps up in it and lays down beside him.
Conan grabs an additional blanket and covers them both before wrapping his arms around Daniel.
As usual, his feet are freezing. Conan is desensitized to the shock by now, and tangles their legs together.
"...Thank you."
"Of course. You know you're welcome any time for any reason."
Vincent Lee, also known as Reagent 1702, is known for his charisma and aggressive tendencies in therapy.
To those around him, he's just another slighted reagent. He's helpful to his fellow reagents, and social. He's occasionally aggressive, but only when his beliefs are challenged.
He grew up in a religious family, however does not adhere to a specific religion currently. He still holds common beliefs for the time, and today could be described as racist and homophobic. He internalizes these as much as possible, not outright lashing out at anyone fitting into those categories and instead plotting against them.
He's aggressive in trials, running into danger to get tasks done and primarily using the stun rig to "get back" at ex-pop and prime assets, which he views as less than human.
He's considered highly intelligent and dangerous in trials, as he's tactically adaptive. While strategic, this only occurs when he's planning a trap for another reagent.
His current status is Deceased. He was killed by Conan / Reagent 1313 after an "assisted" assassination attempt during a trial. Blunt force trauma.
"He's not that bad, honest. I played a few trials with him, he seemed perfectly fine."
"We thought the same about-"
"Leave him out of this. That's in the past, he's dead."
They stopped outside Daniel's room.
"In any case, I asked him to swing by later. Just to meet us and some of the others. He might not even want to remain with us, who knows?"
"Fine. We'll see how it goes."
***
He's skeptical when he sees Conan with Daniel.
He knows of him. A coward, hiding and running in the dark all the time.
Conan is much more his speed. Fighting against staff, doing everything out of spite alone.
Still, maybe it wasn't a deal breaker. He'd find out.
They conversed for a while, about the therapy at first, but to some more personal topics later on.
He didn't let anything slip to Daniel - the coward seemed too smart for his own good. He'd be clocked immediately.
Conan, on the other hand, was a bit safer of a play. Eager to find more people to head out with, and to find someone else who wanted the staff members' heads on pikes.
Their first meeting seemed to end on good terms, and he departed for his room.
Once inside, he opened his journal, and wrote their names.
"He's not that bad, honest. I played a few trials with him, he seemed perfectly fine."
"We thought the same about-"
"Leave him out of this. That's in the past, he's dead."
They stopped outside Daniel's room.
"In any case, I asked him to swing by later. Just to meet us and some of the others. He might not even want to remain with us, who knows?"
"Fine. We'll see how it goes."
***
He's skeptical when he sees Conan with Daniel.
He knows of him. A coward, hiding and running in the dark all the time.
Conan is much more his speed. Fighting against staff, doing everything out of spite alone.
Still, maybe it wasn't a deal breaker. He'd find out.
They conversed for a while, about the therapy at first, but to some more personal topics later on.
He didn't let anything slip to Daniel - the coward seemed too smart for his own good. He'd be clocked immediately.
Conan, on the other hand, was a bit safer of a play. Eager to find more people to head out with, and to find someone else who wanted the staff members' heads on pikes.
Their first meeting seemed to end on good terms, and he departed for his room.
Once inside, he opened his journal, and wrote their names.
"He's not that bad, honest. I played a few trials with him, he seemed perfectly fine."
"We thought the same about-"
"Leave him out of this. That's in the past, he's dead."
They stopped outside Daniel's room.
"In any case, I asked him to swing by later. Just to meet us and some of the others. He might not even want to remain with us, who knows?"
"Fine. We'll see how it goes."
***
He's skeptical when he sees Conan with Daniel.
He knows of him. A coward, hiding and running in the dark all the time.
Conan is much more his speed. Fighting against staff, doing everything out of spite alone.
Still, maybe it wasn't a deal breaker. He'd find out.
They conversed for a while, about the therapy at first, but to some more personal topics later on.
He didn't let anything slip to Daniel - the coward seemed too smart for his own good. He'd be clocked immediately.
Conan, on the other hand, was a bit safer of a play. Eager to find more people to head out with, and to find someone else who wanted the staff members' heads on pikes.
Their first meeting seemed to end on good terms, and he departed for his room.
Once inside, he opened his journal, and wrote their names.
"He's not that bad, honest. I played a few trials with him, he seemed perfectly fine."
"We thought the same about-"
"Leave him out of this. That's in the past, he's dead."
They stopped outside Daniel's room.
"In any case, I asked him to swing by later. Just to meet us and some of the others. He might not even want to remain with us, who knows?"
"Fine. We'll see how it goes."
***
He's skeptical when he sees Conan with Daniel.
He knows of him. A coward, hiding and running in the dark all the time.
Conan is much more his speed. Fighting against staff, doing everything out of spite alone.
Still, maybe it wasn't a deal breaker. He'd find out.
They conversed for a while, about the therapy at first, but to some more personal topics later on.
He didn't let anything slip to Daniel - the coward seemed too smart for his own good. He'd be clocked immediately.
Conan, on the other hand, was a bit safer of a play. Eager to find more people to head out with, and to find someone else who wanted the staff members' heads on pikes.
Their first meeting seemed to end on good terms, and he departed for his room.
Once inside, he opened his journal, and wrote their names.
"He's not that bad, honest. I played a few trials with him, he seemed perfectly fine."
"We thought the same about-"
"Leave him out of this. That's in the past, he's dead."
They stopped outside Daniel's room.
"In any case, I asked him to swing by later. Just to meet us and some of the others. He might not even want to remain with us, who knows?"
"Fine. We'll see how it goes."
***
He's skeptical when he sees Conan with Daniel.
He knows of him. A coward, hiding and running in the dark all the time.
Conan is much more his speed. Fighting against staff, doing everything out of spite alone.
Still, maybe it wasn't a deal breaker. He'd find out.
They conversed for a while, about the therapy at first, but to some more personal topics later on.
He didn't let anything slip to Daniel - the coward seemed too smart for his own good. He'd be clocked immediately.
Conan, on the other hand, was a bit safer of a play. Eager to find more people to head out with, and to find someone else who wanted the staff members' heads on pikes.
Their first meeting seemed to end on good terms, and he departed for his room.
Once inside, he opened his journal, and wrote their names.
"He's not that bad, honest. I played a few trials with him, he seemed perfectly fine."
"We thought the same about-"
"Leave him out of this. That's in the past, he's dead."
They stopped outside Daniel's room.
"In any case, I asked him to swing by later. Just to meet us and some of the others. He might not even want to remain with us, who knows?"
"Fine. We'll see how it goes."
***
He's skeptical when he sees Conan with Daniel.
He knows of him. A coward, hiding and running in the dark all the time.
Conan is much more his speed. Fighting against staff, doing everything out of spite alone.
Still, maybe it wasn't a deal breaker. He'd find out.
They conversed for a while, about the therapy at first, but to some more personal topics later on.
He didn't let anything slip to Daniel - the coward seemed too smart for his own good. He'd be clocked immediately.
Conan, on the other hand, was a bit safer of a play. Eager to find more people to head out with, and to find someone else who wanted the staff members' heads on pikes.
Their first meeting seemed to end on good terms, and he departed for his room.
Once inside, he opened his journal, and wrote their names.
"He's not that bad, honest. I played a few trials with him, he seemed perfectly fine."
"We thought the same about-"
"Leave him out of this. That's in the past, he's dead."
They stopped outside Daniel's room.
"In any case, I asked him to swing by later. Just to meet us and some of the others. He might not even want to remain with us, who knows?"
"Fine. We'll see how it goes."
***
He's skeptical when he sees Conan with Daniel.
He knows of him. A coward, hiding and running in the dark all the time.
Conan is much more his speed. Fighting against staff, doing everything out of spite alone.
Still, maybe it wasn't a deal breaker. He'd find out.
They conversed for a while, about the therapy at first, but to some more personal topics later on.
He didn't let anything slip to Daniel - the coward seemed too smart for his own good. He'd be clocked immediately.
Conan, on the other hand, was a bit safer of a play. Eager to find more people to head out with, and to find someone else who wanted the staff members' heads on pikes.
Their first meeting seemed to end on good terms, and he departed for his room.
Once inside, he opened his journal, and wrote their names.
tangentwithtanner
andulkaphoto
areudirty
2087
stormborns