A/N: Is this self-indulgent? A thousand times yes. I have no regrets. Also, there needs to be more fan art of these two, but for now have a pic of Red.

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The world was dark.

For an indeterminable time he lay in the void, staring out into the vast nothingness. Voices swirled somewhere in the distance. They crooned at him, whispering sweet nothings in his ears until they too were drowned in a muffled fog of silence. He didn't move, content to fade too as all life eventually did when it died and the soul inside left for a better eternity. There was someone, someone who had wanted him to live, who he had wanted to live for . . . but they were so different now. And without them, that torn to pieces version he loved, what was the point?

There was no hope for them surely.

Except . . .

"Please don't die on me. I love you, so stay alive. I need you Sasha, the world needs you."

And then another. This one not from the past, from the echoes in his memory.

"Hey. Can you hear me? We need you to wake up."

That voice.

He had heard it before.

It was quiet yet intense, firm in a way few voices could be at that volume.

And the pleading it held, the tinged hope mingling with worry.

Who are you?

He didn't know it well, the owner of the voice, and yet . . .

Faust opened his eyes.

Everything was a strange blur as light flooded his vision. He squinted, struggling to focus on the details. The brightness burned at the back of his skull, making him groan. If this was supposed to be the after, the place of no pain then why was he hurting now? Eventually the world started to form a picture, though it barely made any sense.

White-washed walls and dimly lit sconces, a beeping monitor. There were a few old chairs stationed by the door. He was in a bed —a hospital bed— it whined at his slight shifting. The sheets over his legs were a pale blue, like washed out scrubs. Disinfectant spray made his nose itch as further discomfort bloomed behind his eyes. And then there was the person at his bedside. Her hunched over form and bags under her eyes said enough about her health, as did the way her silver hair was poorly tucked into a bun. She wasn't dressed the same way as the last time they talked, right before he laid down his life for his squad.

"You . . ." He breathed.

"Glad to see you're finally awake. It took a lot getting this far, and if Doctor Y/N hadn't agreed to it well . . ." GreyThroat trailed off. "At any rate, I'm glad you're healing."

There was more she wanted to say judging by the way she gnawed on her lower lip. He decided to let it be, trying to sit up better, only to slump back when pain exploded in his stomach. It burned like a torch in his gut. Any squirming made the feeling worse but it was hard not to move with how uncomfortable everything felt.

"Ugh."

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"No. I-it hurts."

"Then drink this. It'll help." A new voice spoke up, holding a glass right up to his lips. Faust drank it thirstily, realizing as the water touched his tongue how dry his mouth was. When was the last time I drank or ate? He closed his eyes, letting the coolness from the water wash over him. It was cleaner than anything he tasted before.

"Hmm, should I leave?" GreyThroat again.

"Probably. I'll need to speak to him alone. And Kal'tsit will want a word with him."

"Should I go get her?"

"No. Or at least, not yet." The other voice murmured.

"Alright, I'll leave you to it then. And please, take good care of him." GreyThroat murmured quietly.

"Will do."

Click.

His eyes were welcomed by the sight of a hooded figure upon opening them. Judging by their tall stature and glove covered hands, a lab coat carefully concealed for the most part beneath the hood, he would guess this was the Doctor GreyThroat spoke of. This was the person he'd seen standing beside the small rabbit girl back in Chernobog. The memory was faint, dusty after everything else he'd been through recently.

The cup was removed from his lips when all the water was gone. A hand was extended to him kindly. Shakily, he grasped it and shook the limb. His body was still somewhat numb, some form of medication running through his veins. "It's nice to meet you Faust."

"I would say the same, but I'm a little confused." He admitted.

The Doctor tilted their hooded head. "Of what? Tell me and I'll do my best to clarify."

"How am I here? Who are you?" The second question may have been pointless, but playing dumb wasn't exactly a bad strategy. Let the enemy think you're weak, they let their guard down that way. The rebellious part of him that wanted to flee was dampened by the straightforward answer which followed. When was the last time someone in command wasn't lying to him?

"GreyThroat found you on her way back to the ship. She ran into . . . Mephisto," Doctor frowned at the name but persisted. "and he begged her to take you to Rhodes Island. And so she did, and thankfully went to me first. I agreed we needed to help you and, well, now we're here." Doctor explained. "This is the medbay by the way. And I promise there's nothing to fear here. No one will hurt you. Oh! And I'm Doctor Y/N by the way."

"Hmm. I suppose that's good to know."

Eno . . . He had these people take me in. It was a bizarre thing to think about. The information struggled to process in his mind, sink into his brain as a fact. But there's no other explanation. He wouldn't have left me to die, nor would he have let me be taken without dying first. But letting me go, giving me up . . .

A conversation from a while ago played in his mind.

"What if we went to Rhodes Island? What if we chose peace?"

Had Mephisto . . . No, had Eno finally listened?

"I don't know if GreyThroat informed you of this: you lost a lot of blood. Frankly, you're lucky to be alive after all you've been through." Doctor continued to explain.

Faust shot Doctor a wry smile. "I suppose I have you to thank for that."

Y/N rubbed the back of their head — a sheepish gesture. "I can't say I'm responsible. I made sure you got treatment, but as to who saved you, well, you'll have to thank Shining and Ptilopsis for that. Silence too. They're some of the best medics we have working here."

"I guess I'll send them my regards."

If I get the chance. Just what exactly am I doing here?

"Yes, once you're better you sure can, but for now I'd like you to have a look at this. I hope you'll consider it." Doctor murmured.

Y/N sat down in the chair next to the bed, the metal groaning as it scratched against the ground. Faust pushed back up with his hands, feeling rushing slowly back to his fingertips as he got traction in the soft bedsheets. One glance at his arms revealed clean skin, bandages wrapping up his elbows he didn't realized were scraped. That IV poked out of the back of his hand, a thin straw carrying clear liquid speckled with bits of gold. His gaze fixated on it for a moment, wondering what exactly it was. But a cleared throat dragged him back to the Doctor, who was handing him a clipboard. A piece of paper was held down and with it a pen. He read over the words on the page, landing on the ones in bold.

APPLICATION FOR RHODES ISLAND OPERATOR

His brows furrowed. "You're giving this to me? I don't think I'm—"

"Qualified?" Y/N asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. I wasn't exactly on friendly terms with this organization a few days ago."

Faust knew the sentiment from Reunion towards Rhodes Island was overwhelmingly poor, with anger tailing the line of full on hatred. He swallowed down his uncertainty as he set the pen free. The Rhodes Island symbol was on the middle of it, the tip rounded out to use on tablets with a clod of rubber. The document was simple, a terms of agreement followed by a signature line at the bottom. It was a contract, something official. There'd never been something like this in Reunion. Talulah had found Eno and Sasha and propositioned them. Two young boys —who were hardly adults— asked to join an organization meant to promote a cause bigger than themselves. And for two outcasts that didn't sound so bad . . . but there was no fine print to read, no telling what tragedy they would face in midst of the grandeur of promoting their beliefs.

And he was sick of losing.

"I know. We all know. But I have a feeling you're different."

"What exactly do you mean? I support Reunion's dreams." Faust told Y/N firmly.

Doctor waved their hand vaguely. "You support creating a world where Infected can live in peace. We do too, but we have a different way of going about it."

"Yes, you would have us live with the people who would cause us harm." Faust pointed out.

For all the idealism of Rhodes Island, this fact made his stomach flip. He thought about Eno's parents, who had hated him and hit him and hurt him. He thought about all those kids who used to pick on Eno and Sasha, kicking them down because they were smaller, weaker, and then infected.

"I never said we were perfect. No one is. But not all the people who aren't Infected are bad. Wouldn't you say they have a right to live as well?" Doctor asked.

"Yes. I suppose it's fair."

"We want a world of understanding, of acceptance and peace. But that won't happen without good people who support us. Who are willing to fight for us too."

"Sounds like something she would say."

He couldn't see it, but something told him Doctor Y/N was frowning. "To my growing understanding of her, Talulah used to be someone you could believe in, an idealist who dreamed big."

"Used to . . ." Faust trailed off, finding there really wasn't any way to defend the Reunion Leader. And yet. "How do you know her so well?" To his knowledge, the Doctor had seen her once.

A head shake, slow and miserable. "I don't."

"Then how?"

"I've spent some time talking to FrostNova. She's made me aware of what type of person Talulah was. And how she's changed." Doctor explained quietly.

The mere mention of FrostNova's name made him tense up. She was the type of woman you didn't cross lest you wanted to be frozen alive. Along with Patriot, the white rabbit was among the most trusted of Talulah's commanders.

"You say you talked."

"Yes. And then fought, and then talked some more. I didn't want to fight her, but she wouldn't have it any other way." A small sigh. Faust realized then why those shoulders were hunched forward, why Y/N's speaking was lowering in volume. Sadness.

"How is FrostNova?" He dared to ask, suspecting he knew.

But why does this person care about her? They're meant to be enemies.

"She died, but not before joining Rhodes Island."

"I see." Faust had not been close to her.

Still, her death brought him great sadness. Because if anyone could've led Reunion after Talulah and Patriot it would have been FrostNova. She's gone. Not even a word of farewell. And for her to join Rhodes. It put things into perspective, proved to him something he already knew.

"Listen, I know you've just woken up, but there's something I have to get across. I don't care that you're from Reunion. I can tell you didn't like the things Mephisto did, thought he went too far when he created the horde. It shows me you have compassion, that you, like FrostNova, are someone worthwhile. Are someone worth saving. I-I wanted to save her. I tried. But the Infection was too far ingrained within her and she chose to spend her last moments fighting." A sniffle. "I've watched so many people die recently . . . Good people, and maybe it's just my own selfish wish but I want to save someone, need to save someone. So please, let Rhodes Island save you. We can give you the best treatment here, make sure your surrounded by people who will care for you. And you'll get to continue making the world a better place for the Infected too. And it doesn't have to be as an operator but—"

"Okay."

"O-okay?"

"I'll join Rhodes Island." Faust murmured, announcing the decision a big part of him wanted to make for some time now.

"T-that's great! Looking forward to having you on board."

Faust tapped the pen against the board. The contents really were simple on the page, well laid out with detail, however . . .

"I do have one condition though."

Doctor nodded. "That's completely fine. What is it? I'll try to see if their is something I can do."

Faust drew the pen's tip over the one section he'd been staring at. "This here, where it asks what I want my code name to be."

"Oh! Well, I don't think anyone would mind if you kept the same name." Doctor told him.

"No, no. That's not what I mean. I," he swallowed. "I want to be called something else."

"Sure, that's fine by me. You're welcome to call yourself whatever you'd like."

"Alright then."

It was with a smile that, for the first time in years, he wrote down the name he was born with. The name only one other person had used in the past several years. The little voice in the back of his head, the one who had loved him and always would, cheered as he signed the paper with that name. And he knew he made the right choice when Doctor scanned over the name and greeted him again, this time Y/N's tone was light. Glee perpetrated their voice.

"Glad to have you with us Sasha."

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A/N: So yes, I know there wasn't really any Mephisto in this chapter. If I do another chapter of this maybe he'll show up again. I really wished Faust's character could've been saved in game. It really was a waste of a good character, but I digress. Let me know what y'all think in the comments and don't forget to vote!