A fanfic based on the Alone Operator, for all the monster lovers out there
Pairing is: Alone Operator (aka Simon Riley)/ Gender neutral Reader / John "Soap" MacTavish
Prologue/Drabble: Tomorrow
Chapter One: Going into an abandoned military facility for a quick job for some extra cash wasn't your best idea
Chapter Two: You go to collect your reward and end up with leaving with more than the money alone
Chapter Three: Johnny didn't want someone who asked questions - to him, anyways. That didn't mean you wouldn't try to get your own answers
Chapter Four: 20% done - You try to talk some sense into Johnny and get Ghost the one thing he wants
Side note but Cerberus Ghost but it's hyena Cerberus
This thought graced me briefly a couple of times, but now that you said that out loud, why not make it into official first spinoff episode of the hyena 141 au?
CW: 1345 words, hyena!Cerberus!Ghost, shifter!au, hyena 141 au, poly141 with elements of poly141 x gn!reader, fluff
I present to you hyena Cerberus!Ghost (and hyena task force 141) headcanons:
Tug-of-war 3 vs 1 as in every Ghost head gets to play with its own opponent out of other three boys at the same time. It's the only way they can have a chance against the mass of this huge monster, since whenever one of them tries to go one on one, he gets flung around with the piece of rope they're competing over. Yes, when they're in their human forms too. Hyena Cerberus!Ghost is a force to be reckoned with even more than normal hyena!Ghost.
Every head of the hyena Cerberus has a unique mane. The right one (the left if we're looking at him directly) is a hyena buzzcut basically, kept short and neat: it grows unevenly and quickly becomes patchy if he doesn't groom it that way. Just like with the skull shape (yes, I'm making it canon that it's not a natural pattern, but something he needs to bleach regularly, otherwise he'd have a normal cute hyena muzzle), Price is the one Ghost trusts to do that. When the fur gets too long and starts acting out, he comes to his Captain and sits patiently as John works the humming shaver, leaving a nice streak of short, thick and very fluffy to the touch fur. It's the softest out of the hyena Cerberus Ghost's manes, so it always attracts Soap's restless fingers - he buries them in the fluff, tugs and scratches, and that absolutely melts Ghost, even if he tries not to show it, since this scruff always gets particularly itchy.
The middle head has, on the contrary, the most coarse mane, it grows the longest, since it's not a liability (there really isn't a way to grab onto it in combat, the brave idiot that tries gets his hand chewed off faster than he can realize his mistake), and is striped, dirty blonde broken up with patches of brown along the long crest all the way to the back. It's the most extended one, too, going past Ghost's massive shoulder blades along his spine and slowly mingling with the shorter fur somewhere in the middle of his back.
Finally, his left head (or right if you look at him head-on) has something similar to his human hair: blond and wavy, so even if it grows as long as the middle one, it looks shorter due to the curls. It's Gaz's favourite mane, he never misses a chance to get his deft fingers into the soft strands and twirl them - or nuzzle into them and chew on them in his hyena form. Gaz also tried putting products into this mane, softening it further and trying to make the curls even more prominent, and Ghost got so pissy every time, grumbling and scowling all three mouths at Kyle, yet still allowing him to do it. If only because then he gets hyena!Gaz cuddling up to him and sniffing at the nice smells of the products massaged into Cerberus's hide...
Technically could easily be the most dominant one in the clan (until they get themselves a Queen, obviously), but requires someone's leadership over him, so never undermines Price's authority unless it's during play/train time and only without witnesses. If someone (probably a rookie, these dumb cunts always run their yappers without a single braincell active) even suggests a possibility of hyena Cerberus!Ghost overthrowing his Captain and taking his place, they get jumped by all the hundreds of kilograms of the beast, cackling at them menacingly in three voices, and cannot get up until Price calls his guard monster off.
Yes, he is extremely loyal. Ghost is in general the definition of loyalty, now make it cubic because of three heads, each with a more or less separate personality, even if they are still connected into one conscience. Complicated? No shit, but you don't really have to think too hard about it. At the end of the day, this is still Ghost, he is still a terrifying enemy and the best ally. And he has his human and hyena traits and moments just like anyone else.
Hyena Cerberus!Ghost is weak for ear caress just like normal hyena!Ghost. Reliant on hearing, he obviously demonstrates immense trust whenever he lets someone cover his plush round ears and massage them, turning him all putty and pliant, or, if it's one of the other hyena boys, lick and nibble on his tender shells, tickling them with hot breath and gentle grumbles. This is also a good way to ground him when he has a flashback or struggles mentally: cover all three pairs of his eyes and lavish some sweet attention on his ears, filling them with nothing but loving words and soft humming. No explosions or cries, no alarms allowed to go off in his heads. Only safety.
He loves to be cuddled. Any version of Ghost does, being the little spoon or laying cradled like a baby is that man's joy of life, he needs that safety cocoon, but if it's relatively hard to accomplish even with normal sized Ghost, hyena Cerberus!Ghost needs the whole clan to swarm around him in a mess of human and hyena limbs, all flanks covered and protected. When not everyone is available for a giant cuddle pile, whoever Ghost sees first, falls victim (literally) under his weight plopping on top. How come Soap is the one that gets squished the most?..
Only lets all three of his heads sleep at the same time when he feels completely safe, which isn't often, but having everyone dear to his big monstrous heart huddled around definitely helps. His right head (with the short buzzed mane) snores the loudest, but the middle one makes weird gurgling noises. It's okay though, just some trauma aftermath.
It's actually more or less impossible to put collars/collar on him because of the way his anatomy works, but it never stops everyone who loves him from trying. However, I recommend trying headbands (with bows or other season appropriate toppers - like soft antlers for Christmas or devil horns for Halloween). If you think a giant mass with three rabid, drooling, scowling snouts gets less intimidating with a pretty pink bow on the middle head, think again.
While he tolerates (hardly) headbands, he actually enjoys when you or Gaz braid tiny braids into his middle mane and put small beads or feathers or other little tokens there. He never says that, but he actually considers those lucky charms that keep him from harm.
Needs help with grooming. His mass and three heads partially glued together make it hard to reach some places on his hide, so it falls on his more than willing partners to do it for him. Everyone has their own style, with Soap being an absolutely unbearable playful menace about, Gaz going extra miles to pamper his Lieutenant and Price staying methodical, but extremely thorough. Hyena Cerberus!Ghost's hide is always in the best condition no matter what trouble he gets into, because there are people (hyenas) that love him. And will lick him clean of blood whenever he gets drenched in it.
Actually hates being alone. One-headed Ghost, human or hyena, already prefers to always be a silent presenсe in his partners' vicinity, but three heads and the jumbled thoughts, voices and other unpleasant experiences that come with those, make him even less of a loner than everyone thinks. Having Johnny talk/cackle all of his ears off is a much better alternative to being consumed with three separate inner monologues that sometimes take him to very, very dark places.
One of his (and everyone's in the clan) favourite things is to hug him around his partially grown together necks. Hyena Cerberus!Ghost is a thick boy, so you need to spread your arms veeeery wide to grasp all his might in an embrace, but it always feels like drowning in the softest, fattest, sweetest giant plushie. Three fluffy snouts nuzzling the hugger's head, low, slightly distorted purring coming out of three throats. Hyena Cerberus!Ghost needs love, and he is finally at the point in his life, where he has it in abundance.
oouughh,,..submissive/bottom cerberus ghost has been on my mind for WEEKS
there's just something about seeing this big scary monster being submissive yknow?????
To be fair, it is a new body, new form. There's a lot of hands, triple the mouths, and a whole lot to learn to work and navigate. After all, having six hands isn't the easiest thing to coordinate in general.
Much when all three of your brains aren't working and you're only thinking with the head below ;)
He knows he can't help his appearance now but he's still worried about hurting you! There's a lot going on, a lot he hasn't figured out how to navigate. After all, its not like he really expected human contact again, much less someone so enthusiastic about everything he has.
Smut under the cut 18+ MDNI. Very tame but still suggestive enough :D
Also I'm SUPER sick right now sorry if this doesn't make any sense
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Never had he expected to feel the touch of another grace his skin, much less one so warm, so tender, caressing every little plane of his twisted, chimeric form.
No, he'd told himself after spending many nights alone and avoiding his reflection in the ripples of puddles and mirrors alike with a vengeance, the love of another wasn't something monsters got.
They were cast out, left to rot, driven away with ammunition and scorn brandished in a fist. Fingertips caressing their forms, skimming across skin that no longer fit their bodies as it frayed and tore, with great reverence wasn't befitting of such beasts.
Yet you didn't heed that warning. You didn't look at the common sense signs plastered, urging you to stay away from such things. The embers of your passion singed them until they smoldered into heaps of ash, crumbling away into the wind. No amount of words or warnings alike would go heeded, not even when he argued them himself.
His words fell upon deaf ears when he pleaded for you to leave him, a twisted monster like him had no life left to give, especially not a life that he could give you.
"A life without you is hardly living at all." Fell from your lips the second he tried pushing you away once again.
Now they were written on every inch of his skin with kiss-swollen lips in a silent promise, ceaseless worship poured over him in a way that he dared not protest anymore. Not that he had the mind to, not when your lips found the delicate skin on the base of his throat.
Two of his hands dug into the pillows above while the rest scrambled for purchase on the sheets. A low, rasping keen echoed from deep within his chest, blond lashes flutter as his eyes rolled back.
Through the rush of blood in his ears, the faint whisper of a small "Pretty boy," Sent yet another shiver down his spine, his whole body wracking with a tremor as his heart fluttered.
All of his tongues tied in that moment, caught like the noises in his throat as your nose traced up the column of his throat and those lips found his jaw. Nuzzling underneath, you scarcely let him catch his breath before you were trying to push it out again with the sinful swipe of a tongue that traced up his jaw.
At that point, he wasn't responsible for the noise he made or how his fingers twisted further, nails digging into the sheets, threatening to tear them apart with how hard he grasped and trembled.
Tracing your nose up to his, you leaned in, letting your breaths mingle as your warm weight pressed him down further into the plushness of the mattress. Hot breath mingled with his as he inhaled sharply, committing to memory every feeling he thought he'd never deserved. A feeling a monster like him shouldn't-
As if reading his mind, lingering kiss followed suit on all three lips, your hips rolling down onto the insistent warmth that had been pressed against you from the moment you pinned him down. You weren't going to let him think about such things, that much was clear. Not tonight and not ever for as long as you lived.
Your fingers never ceased their movement as they slipped lower and lower, raking through the swath of light curls blanketing his abdomen. Each centimeter further your hand swept was matched with yet another kiss, another taste, another silent plead for him to take the affection you gave.
The promise you made earlier echoed in his mind as you finally took ahold of his length, the last of his breath escaping him in a noise reminiscent of a faint moan. You weren't going to just show him how beautiful he was to you - you were going to make him feel it too.
Are y’all not fucking with cerberus/ three headed ghost skin??? Where is the art where is the hype???? Zombie ghost had yall damn near feral why is there only ONE FIC ON AO3?!?!?!
I want more cerberus Ghost fics. Not, like, porn though. I want gut-wrenching, horrifying origin fics. I want his terror and the raw intimacy of being combined with your teammates to be palpable. I want to taste it. And it has to be gorey and heavily synonymous with bone deep devotion and the act of giving himself up completely to the monster because it's the only way he can be close to his family again.
I know I’m not the only one who took one singular, inquisitive glance at the new Alone Operator skin for the upcoming season and went “Would”. I need need need content on him
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If you had to rank all the terrible decisions you’ve made in your life, this would certainly be in the top ten. Breaking into an abandoned place was a bad idea on its own. Now multiply the magnitude of that by twenty, considering it was supposedly some kind of military facility at one point in time before it was left to rot. Then add in the factors that you were alone, without a map, and no cell service. Yeah, definitely not your smartest decision.
Dozens of garish yellow and red signs marked with a variety of warnings used everything under the sun (and law) telling you not to proceed decorated the corroding chain link fences that lined the property like it was going out of style. The crumbling facade of iron and concrete that made up the walls were made out to match. Everywhere you looked there was yet another warning, another thing telling you to turn back now. That should've been a sign, right?
Well, it wasn't the sign you were listening to. That one, the only sign you cared about right now, you had spotted stapled to a telephone pole as you were waiting to cross the street to go to your favorite grocery store. The crumpled, salmon pink flier hastily crammed in your backpack was your savior and your curse that brought you here.
The reason being a whole whopping $500. Something that would greatly benefit you and cause a whole less of a headache this month - and allow you a chance to breathe. It was a chance you couldn't pass up. And it's not like it was complicated. All you had to do was: get into the desolate fort, get proof of evidence of being inside there (photographic AND physical), and get out. Simple. Easy money. A task that even you could manage in maybe an hour or two, tops. You'd be an idiot not to do it.
Why anyone would pay that kind of money for you to go in there was beyond you. Quite frankly, you didn’t care. Money was money. Everyone had their reasons and if they were paying that much for a task that was that simple, then you weren't going to pry. All they had to do was pay up when the time was done, you'd never think about it again, and you'd be on your merry way a whole lot better off and a little bit richer.
Just to be certain that this wasn't a prank or someone trying to harass their ex with a pathetic attempt to get their number out there, you called the number scrawled hastily on the rain-soaked, faded poster. A harried Scottish accent confirmed without a doubt that this wasn't fake and was real as real could be. Truth be told, you didn’t understand much of what he said aside from “Aye”, which was close enough. He seemed to be talking at a million miles an hour in a near frantic tone. Surely, that was a red flag. But right now you were colorblind to everything except green.
It was enough motivation for you to throw some gear into a backpack and head out late in the night to the address of the once-important fort. The promise of cash and having it soon in your hand was plenty to get you moving.
Against your best instinct, against your gut screaming at you and telling you to turn back, and against all common sense - you went forwards anyways and decided today was the day when you’re going to pretend that you’re illiterate and those warnings meant nothing to you anyways.
Stale, stagnant air filtered through the respirator that hung snug on your face. If you breathed in a lungful of whatever was in here without it, it's likely you would’ve ended up with some new kind of respiratory disease previously unheard of - you're sure of it. Algae and lichen clung to some damp crevices, decorated with splotches of black mold the darkened the corners even more along the outskirts of the inky, lingering shadows.
Each cautious step forward onto the rubble and gravel covered ground ricocheted off the dilapidated walls of the corridor, fading into the abyss of black that stretched on far beyond what you could see. Though you doubted the protective eye ware helped you see better - it was probably more of a hindrance but you didn't want to take any more risks than necessary. The last thing you needed was a hospital bill.
The pathetic beam of warm, yellow light your flashlight provided scarcely illuminated the void that swallowed the hallway whole. What little you could see did nothing to motivate you forward. More disintegrating ceiling and rubble-buried winding halls greeted you with the same unwavering stillness as the rest of the place.
Crumbling, bleak, cold passages decorated with mildew, mold, and umber mystery stains you really didn’t want to think about alike stretched in a winding labyrinth you tried your best to navigate. Sparse nearly-disintegrated warning signs served as place markers to guide you through the otherwise directionless building, offering you the smallest sense of navigation and a sense of knowing where you were going.
One foot in front of the other, step by slow step, you made your way through the place untouched by light and people alike.
It shouldn't be that hard, you mused as you kept on walking. Whether it was just to reassure yourself with a steady mantra or confidence was left up to debate, but the fact remained: it was simple. Get an object that irrefutably proved you were here, take a picture - and that was it. That was all.
Now, that still left the question of what to take and what to get a picture of up for debate. Scouring the building hadn’t turned up anything worthwhile so far, except maybe some signage. But they were all too… generic. They were all something that could easily be faked and pulled from elsewhere. And a picture of them or another dimly lit, basic hallway wouldn’t do you any good. It would get you a door slammed in your face, a laugh if you’re lucky, and certainly no $500 which was the whole reason you were here in the first place.
Maybe you should’ve asked specifically what he wanted you to bring and a picture of….
Who are you kidding? You wouldn’t be able to understand a lick of what he said if you did. Maybe his accent was better in person, maybe he had told you in the hurried, almost anxious tone and you weren't remembering - but trying to talk to him again through the phone was a hopeless endeavor. Unless they were keeping a spare brain in here and translating software, you doubt you'd be able to even begin to try and understand the guy. All you could do was silently curse yourself for not asking, curse him for not being more coherent, and try your best to find something unique, snap a picture, and get out of there before you regretted stepping foot in this place even further.
With grumbled curse, knowing very well that you had to go further in the hopes that something actually substantial would greet you, you kept on going. There was no turning back now, no. You'd come too far. One more step forwards got you closer to that money and being out of here.
Yet lady luck wasn't making this easy, nor was she on your side today. A majority of doors you came across had been locked - barricaded, and certainly not something you could open. Their heavy, unyielding steel frames stood impassive, unmoving, and scarcely caring of your plight or any force used against them. It's almost like they stood there, mocking you silently for even trying. It was a waste of energy to even try with another one when the first twelve hadn't done anything more than groan slightly, giving the tiniest shudder before stilling in their frame.
Rounding what must’ve been the hundredth corner, you braced for yet another blank hallway and another unmovable door, but what greeted you was something different enough to cause you to halt in your tracks. An open door. A single, open door marked with a flickering, old bulb dangling above as if it were on its last legs, trying to stay alight. A wave of relief washed over you as you couldn’t help but to sprint forward, closing in on the hope that you could be done and out of here - and you’d have your money before you knew it! It was almost over. This aimless wandering with a stuffy mask and glasses to match was almost over.
Ignoring all common sense, you chased that feeling - quite literally. Caution was thrown to the wind as you darted into the room, your eyes flickered all over the first true, non-vacant room you’d found in here. Empty hospital beds with yellowed, stained linens haphazardly jumbled across their tops lined the walls. It wasn't a pretty sight but right now, it was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen.
Panning your flashlight around, the warm, washed-out beam glinted off the dusty metal IV stands and carts littered about. Cobwebs spidered the corners of the walls and the rest of the surfaces alike, though their inhabitants seem to have left long ago.
Scanning the room, a few seconds ticked by before you finally found just what you needed, dangling off the foot of the bed by a worn hook. There it was, your holy grail: a brown piece of hardboard and rusted metal alike holding down frayed, yellowed pages. It's the only time you can officially say that you've been happy to see a clipboard - much less, elated and overjoyed to see such a simple piece of office ware. You could practically kiss it and taste sweet, sweet money right about now.
Swiping it from its place, your eyes flitted over the blotched, inky text scrawled on it, silently praying that it would have just what you’d need. The smallest corner of a logo stood in the top right corner, while the rest of the patient information seemed to have been rubbed at or swiped away. And your heart nearly sank in short-lived disappointment. Water stains distorted and warped the paper but your saving grace came in the form of a date and the name of the complex, officially signed at the top of the paper.
The warm, giddy feeling that had been so fleeting earlier came back with a vengeance that lit up your heart and face alike. This was it! This was just what you needed. Placing it down, you fumbled with the camera clipped onto your belt, the tremble of excitement in your hands doing little to aid you. Snapping a picture of the clipboard with a quick click and a flash of light, you stuffed your saving grace into the weathered backpack you had donned.
Task one - done. Now to get a good picture of the place and you'd be done. One simple click, one move, and one terribly annoying walk through the forever expansive hallways, and you would be out of here and back in your comfy bed before you knew it. Maybe you'd even get to catch up on a single episode of your favorite show.
Stepping back into a corner where you could find a vantage point, you held onto that flickering flame of hope as you pointed your camera and flashlight alike in the same direction to snap a quick picture of the room. With a simple click and a flash of blinding light, the deed was done. You could finally be out of here.
Or so you thought.
A sparse glint caught your eye as the bright flash ebbed away, the shadows returning full force aside from the gleaming, round lights that turned towards you. Your heart skipped a beat as you froze, your breath hitching as a wave of fear sunk the beginning of its talons into you.
No, no. Not a glint, you realized with horror. Six. Six luminous, reflective lenses glowed in the dark as they turned to look right at you. Staring.
Your heart sank even further into your stomach, your blood running cold, as the corner went dark once again for a fraction of a second before all six glowing dots were back and all were looking right at you.
With a trembling hand, you kept your flashlight lowered. You don’t think you wanted to know what that was. No creature - no living being that big would have six eyes.
You took a step back.
Then another.
Another.
The ice-cold sensation of your blood coursing through your veins, your heart erratically beating against your chest harder and harder, kept you from screaming. A creak of the protest from the old hospital bed sounded like a gunshot in the otherwise too-still room as the thing stood and started moving towards you with footsteps that were all too quiet, all too soft for a thing of that caliber.
Whatever breath you had been holding escaped you as it lumbered out of the shadows. An unearthly, sickening gurgle spewed from its maw as if it were choking on its own saliva.
Even through the respirator, the scent of putrid rot and decay wafted from it as it drew closer and closer, your stomach tensed as you gagged, the bile threatened to rise from your stomach as the urge to puke took you by surprise. If you weren’t wearing the respirator, you’re sure you would have - and maybe you would have noticed it in the room sooner if you could've picked up the stench of death.
The urge to run, all instincts screaming at you, pleading and begging you to run for your life simply didn’t work as you stood rooted to the spot as it finally stepped into the trembling, watery beam of light that cut through the speckles of floating dust. A scream of horror caught in your throat as you finally stared up at the abomination's mangled form with wide eyes.
Three heads, all fused together in a webbing of crimson, sinewy membranes moved in sync. Six eyes - six, now unblinking, cloudy eyes settled on you. Despite the milky, glassy sheen to the eyes settled and sunken deep into the heads (or in the raw membranous flesh in the case of one eye on the head to its left) - it tracked every single movement and breath, focused on you with near predatory ease. Five arms hung loose by its side, with two of them being partially fused together in a sick amalgamation. Bits of pallid skin had long ago sloughed off, exposing muscle that had blackened with exposure but somehow not rotted away.
Skull masks and balaclavas covered most of their faces - and you supposed that was a good thing. If the distended, broken jaws of the heads were indication of how it would look underneath, you’re happy declining on seeing what lay below. Drool spilled onto the fabric, or some mystery liquid, bubbling up as it made yet another noise. The motion caused your have to fly up to your covered mouth, your heart and stomach alike retching.
Torn tactical gear adorned the twisted cerberus, blackened with fluids, almost as if it had once had a purpose - to protect. But your mind wasn't there, it was on its existence. The abomination, the chimera, the thing that shouldn’t exist and went against all aspects of nature stood in front of you unmoving for a moment until you took a single step back.
It took a step forward.
Ever so slowly, as if moving through molasses, it drew three scarred hands up, reaching for you.
That was all you needed to take off. Up and out through the hall where you came, your legs strained as you sprinted. Each footstep echoed louder and louder down the void of black and gray you came from, flooding out the sputtered groan from it but you didn’t care. Consequences be damned, you didn't care how loud you were or how much attention you drew. You were better off getting caught by a guard or hell even the police - at least they’d have guns.
Every inhale scorched your lungs, the fire of fatigue seared deep into every strand of your muscles as you kept on pushing, but you didn’t stop - you couldn’t. Not until you cleared the hallways, skirting through the piles of debris and around the same desolate corridors you had meandered through prior. Not until the crisp, chilled night air finally greeted you as the stars twinkled above, oblivious to the sheer horrors below.
Not until you finally jammed yourself through the cut hole in the chain link fence, any pain of the metal scraping at your skin dulled out by the adrenaline flowing through your veins, empowering each sprinting step forwards until you were far, far away and back in the safety of your car.
Note to self: Don’t ever trust fliers you find on telephone poles.
This guy better be ready as soon as the sun graced the land again to hand over those five Benjamins. Hopefully he likes his mornings started with pounding knocks to his door and a middle finger to the face.
જ⁀➴
The darkness echoed with the patter of fading footsteps as the mystery person sprinted away, completely aghast with a look of sheer primal fear painted on their limited, exposed features.
They didn’t see how his fingers flexed, hands still outstretched in the air, twitching once again at the loss of something warm, something human that he came so close to grasping.
They didn’t see how he stared at where they were, not moving from the spot he stood. Nor did they see his clouded, hazy eyes downturn as he dragged his form back to the bed with great reluctance.
Nor did they hear the drowned out, garbled words that took all his energy to choke out and force his broken jaws to move.
“Don’t…. go….”
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Thinking of maybe making this a series! Any feedback is welcome and appreciated! It's been a while since I've written so forgive any mistakes,,,,
Edit: part two has been posted!
| You finally go get your $500 - and more than you bargained for.
A follow up to this post:
https://www.tumblr.com/ghouldtime/76173291
