*Artwork by: Deaki.Art on Artstation | Please ask this artist for permission before reposting their work.*

(Please don't roast me on typos. I'm going to go back and re-edit this again but not right now. I'm pretty sure I failed this quarter lol. My addiction to this book and cod men is beyond overwhelming, but that's okay. In the end, we all are addicts, that's why we're here....right? Also that airsoft guy....he fell off. He couldn't handle me fr. He was a fun phase tho 😔😔. ENjoyyyyyYyY!!!)

*SETTING: PARKING LOT OF ASYLUM*

I crossed my arms and began itching my elbows. I was growing more and more anxious by the minute. One part of me knew that I had to walk over there, and that there could be, nor would be, any way that I was escaping it. But the other part of me just wanted to run away and hide under some pillows. I took a deep breath and turned to face Horangi who was still standing behind me, looking as worried as ever. "LT, are you sure you're okay?" He asked, his voice matching the expression on his face a little too well.

I cleared my throat and nodded, before turning back around to gaze out into the parking lot. "Let's go." I ordered, trying to keep my voice as still as possible. As both Horangi and I made our way through the almost empty parking lot, I felt my stomach begin to turn with nerves and I let my gaze drop down to my boots; feeling all too nauseous to keep my head level.

   All of this felt like it was happening so fast. Today was the day I was finally going to see König again after....how long? A week..? Or two? However long it was, it didn't change the fact that I was nervous and even a bit scared to see him again. 'Would he be the same caring and sweet König...or would he have truly lost it..?' Part of me was scared to know the answer to that question.

The sound of Laswell's clear voice broke me out of my thoughts. "Belledonna!!" she exclaimed, rushing over to me with open arms. I jogged a bit to close the distance and almost leapt into her arms as she embraced me with one of the warmest hugs I'd ever felt. "I hope you've been okay honey." She murmured. I nodded in her embrace and looked up to see that Price had made his way over to me as well.

   He was clutching his hat in his hands and was looking at me with eyes full of both guilt and pity. Knowing that he felt bad for what happened to me, brought upon a feeling of nausea and also warmth. I closed my eyes and sunk more into Laswell's hug, until she broke it. She pushed me back from her and held my shoulders, making me look at her. "I heard what happened. That man in there....he it wasn't him who hurt you was it?" She asked, well more like told.

   She seemed to have already firgured out that König meant no harm; to me at least. I shook my head profusely, "Of course not. If anything, he saved me." I said, in a jittery tone. Laswell continued to observe me with watchful eyes, seemingly testing my resolve, until she finally had enough to go by. "Alright, I trust you Belle. I sure do hope you aren't lying to me." She said, releasing her grip on my shoulders. "Of course not ma'am!" I said. She gave me once last glance before turning around and walking back in the direction of the entrance of the hospital.

I turned to look back at Horangi who I realized had been frozen in his tracks all this time. "Horanigi? Cmon let's go. Why are you just standing there...?" I questioned. He jumped a bit and quickly made his way over to me. When he caught up, the both of us exchanged looks and painstakingly made our way over to the rest of the Captains. I formally greeted Price and Horangi went over to greet his Captian.

   All the while, I tried my hardest to ignore the piercing gaze of Ghost. I payed him no mind, even as KorTac's captain was introduced to me by Horangi. Even when the same captain began questioning me on König 's behavior, I still payed him and his soul-piercing stare no attention. Eventually, the group made it's way into the Asylum. It was then that I realized the stark difference between the outside and the inside of the place.

   Unlike the exterior of the building, which was more brighter and more modernized, the lobby was noticeably dimmer with outdated furniture filling the space of an otherwise empty lobby. Some white paint had begun peeling off of some of the walls. However, it was in no way unkept. Looking at the sight, combined with being in a pin drop silent foryer, it naturally gave off an eerie vibe.

   Before we could even enter the facility fully, everyone was stopped by staff. "Good morning military personnel, I assume you are here for a visit?" One of the women staff asked. "Yes ma'am, we have an appointment with Dr. Oscar." Price said, stepping forward. The lady nodded and turned to face a coworker who then proceeded to hand her six headphones.

She turned back to Price and handed them to him. Price gave a quick examination of them before glancing back at us. Sighing, he faced the nurse again and gave her back one of the headphones, earning a disapproved look from her. "I strongly advise you all to put these on while we navigate the halls, as it can get a bit loud n' rowdy in here. Especially with visitors, as you all are new faces."

   Price looked as if he wanted to say something, but chose not to for whatever reason. Instead he turned around and handed ghost the pair of her tried to return. The lady gave a nervous chuckle and waited patiently as each of us took a pair of the headphones and fitted them to our heads; except for ghost. Once we were all set, we looked back to the staff lady in expectance. She put on a pair herself and so did the other staff.

After she finished, she clapped her hands together and withheld a pleased look. She raised a finger to point to a button on the side of the headphones and pressed it. Again, each of us followed the lady's lead and pushed the button. Almost immediately, a soft hiss began to play in the headphones. "Alright! Now time for some rules." The lady said, her voice now traveling through the headphones.

   'Could Simon hear any of this...?' I asked myself. I subconsciously glanced back at ghost, to see how he was listening in. As a result, he glanced down at me and I instantly whipped myself back around. 'Nevermind...that is not my business.' The lady's semi-staticky voice rung out over the headphones, bringing my attention back to her. "First things first you are all required to stay with the guides. Even though you are military personnel and are probably capable of protecting yourselves when in danger, it's always best to be more safe than sorry."

We all nodded in unison, taking in the lady's words. "These are dangerously mentally ill people and normal methods of immobilization sometimes do not work on them as they are pumped up with calming meds." She continued. I wasn't sure what it was, maybe it was the fact that she called the people inside "dangerously mentally ill." It wasn't as if I cared about how the lady described the patients, but a tiny sting hit my heart. König wasn't dangerous nor was he mentally ill, to me at least. I couldn't say what he acted like around other people.

"Secondly, you are not to pay any attention to the patients as you pass by the cells. If they call you, do not answer." She said, clasping her hands back together. "That's pretty much it, any questions?" We all looked at one another in unison before Price spoke up. "No ma'am." The lady gave a quick nod before turning around and unlocking the doors with a keycard. We all slowly exited the foyer and entered the lobby. The lady locked the doors back before turning around to face us once more.

"Right this way please." She said, excusing herself and brushing past Price. We followed the lady down a series of tight and narrow hallways, down a few staircases and an elevator which we were currently on. As we were about to get off of it, the lady stopped in her tracks and turned to look at us. Her face was scrunched up in an expression that was between fear and disgust. "We are about to enter one the more hazardous levels in the hospital. I strongly advise you to follow those rules down here." She said in a whisper before whipping back around and stepping out of the elevator.

Price looked back at us, worry was written plain and clear on his face. It was his way of silently asking if we were alright. As he glanced over each of our faces, we all made sure to reassure him by giving him a thumbs up when he looked at us. After getting his silent reassurance, he turned around and walked out of the elevator to meet with the staff lady who was patiently waiting for us. We all followed Price's lead and stepped out of the elevator.

As soon as we did, a pungent odor hit my nose and I almost immediately hurled over. I caught myself and opted to cover my nose and mouth with the collar of my shirt. I glanced at the others to see if I was the only one who was affected by the smell. After a quick scan of the group it was obvious that I really was the only one who seemed to notice it, besides the staff lady who's face was pinched so tight it looked like an anus. We navigated yet another floor. As we did, I couldn't help but notice that the further we went, the darker and damper the hallways seemed.

I couldn't see what was in the cells as we passed them by, nor did I want to see. If the air was this stale and pungent, it was probably no surprise that the cells looked like a shit-show. As we neared the end of the hallway, the lady took a quick turn to the left and unlocked a metal door that was secured with chains. It was sealed so tightly Price and Kortac's captian had to step in and help the lady remove the chains. She thanked them and forced the door open, walking down what seemed like another hallway.

That's what I would've liked to believe it was, but it's smell told a different story. The thing was as dim as it could get. It was small and tight and we ended up having to go in a single fine line just to fit through. And dear god, it smelled atrocious. Just when I thought this situation couldn't get any worse, I lost my traction on one of the stones under my feet. As you could've imagined, I panicked and grabbed a hold of the first thing my hand fell onto; Simon's jacket.

My little slip made the entire group pause and look back me. I chuckled nervously and let go of Simon. Rebalancing myself, I assured everyone that I was okay. The lady continued leading the way and after what felt like eternity we finally made our way into a more spacious but significantly darker area. Everyone groaned in relief as navigating that tiny little dungeon was no easy task. The lady turned on her heel and clapped her hands, getting everyone's attention.

"As you might have noticed, it is a bit darker down here compared to the other floors." 'Other floors?' I asked myself. Ever since we started making our way around this place, I always had the feeling that we were descending or going underground, but I never payed it any mind. The lady continued, "We do apologize for it. Dr. Oscar is down here with the patient. I assume he's administering, or trying to give the calming meds to him." The lady huffed as she continued walking.

Down another long hallway and we reached a chain link fence. "Wait right here please, I'll ca-" "No need Lucy, I'm right here." An older man called out from behind the fence. "Greetings military personnel, I assume your journey down here was not a pleasant one." He joked, earning a chuckle from Price. Everyone else stayed silent. The man awkwardly cleared his throat and made his way from behind the metal fence. He formally introduced himself as Dr. Oscar, the main psychiatrist who oversaw all of König's treatment for the past week and a half. He shook everyone's hand's and cleared his throat once again.

"It's nice to see that you all made it down here in one piece!" Almost as if on cue, a blood curdling scream followed with feral growls erupted from behind the doctor. A seemingly rage filled string of German curses followed. The doctor sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Em, I apologize for this. Right now we are trying to give him his meds. Please excuse me for a moment." He said, turning around and making his way back through the fence. I don't know what came over me but I rushed forward and called out to the doctor, stopping him in his tracks

He turned to face me, "Ma'am, I highly advise you to stay put. He might be your Sargent but he has been deemed as highly unstable and unpredictable. He's mauled a total of 7 people since he's first got here." He said. I stared at him, eyes wide with shock. But instead of feeling warded off with fear, his words aided my determination and dire need to see König. Before I could even say anything someone bumped into me. Crashing their upper body onto my back and taking a hold of my forearm. "Ignore the lass. Go on, do what ya got to do mate." A gruff, Manchester sounding accent voiced.

I rolled my eyes and yanked my arm away from ghost. "Take me with you. I think I can prove helpful." I said in a haste towards the doctor. He sighed, not bothering to argue with either me or ghost. Instead he turned around and continued walking down the hall where more screams could be heard. I took it as a sign to follow and so I did. Not long after I went through the chain link fence, I heard the sound of Horangi calling out to me. "Lt? Wait up, I'm coming too!" He said. I sighed and halted in my tracks, the doctor did as well.

   "Thanks." He said, when he caught up to me. The doctor continued his trek down the seemingly endless hall with me and Horangi following closely behind. Except for the occasional inhumane screams and curses, and the sound of our boots hitting the asphalt, it was pin drop silent. That was until the doctor spoke up. "Young lady. Excuse my sudden intrusion and if I may ask, what is your relationship with the patient?" He asked. It took a while for me to respond to him as I had no idea what our relationship was. It was plainly obvious we were more than just contractual lieutenant and Sargent, or were we?

   The sound of the doctor clearing his throat brought me back out of my thoughts. "Sorry about that. As you might already know I'm just his lieutenant, that's all." I said. Which in turn, earned a sarcastic scoff from the doctor. A tiny frown began forming on my face, and I snapped my mouth shut. He must've caught on to the shift in the air as he quickly tried to apologize. "Please don't take any offense it's just, for a lieutenant and Sargent relationship-" Before the man could even finish his sentence I cut him off. "So you think I fucked him a good couple of times? Is that why you think I'm here?" I said, stopping dead in my tracks.

   Such a trival assumption normally wouldn't phase me, but I had heard, smelt and seen so many triggering things in the span of 20 minutes, it was only fair that I was set to explode on the poor man. As if programmed to do so, the doctor halted and spun around on his heel. Horangi's footsteps also came to a sudden stop. "So? Is that what you think our relationship is doctor? Since you think you know everything." I spat, nearing closer to the doctor. Horangi rushed to my side, grabbing a hold of my shoulders to prevent me from getting any closer to the doctor. I didn't even bother to struggle against him. But his efforts at calming me were proving to be in vain.

   Slowly, I felt as each one of my nerves began to ignite. I was beyond enraged and it was taking everything in me to keep my mouth shut. 'How dare he. Does he take me for a slut or something? König's personal cocksleeve?' The sound of the doctor's voice quickly snapped me out of my thoughts. It wasn't because I wasn't angry anymore, oh no no no, I simply wanted to know what else the fucker had to say. I wanted to see if he was going to fan the fire. He cleared his throat rather aggressively, "I apologize as I didn't mean any offense. It's just the symptoms the patient has been displaying. I was...I was just trying to see if you could potentially be the person he's been feigning about." He muttered, before turning around and walking off.

   Horangi let me go and I turned around to mouth a 'thank you'. He nodded in response and we both jogged to catch up with the doctor who had surprisingly put quite some distance between us. I decided to speak up when we caught him. "About....this person-" I started, before the doctor cut me off. He stopped abruptly again before turning around to face me. "What is your name?" He suddenly asked. I stared at him in confusion before answering. "Belladonna. Most people call me Belle." I said. Even through the almost dark hallway I could see the smile grow on his face. "You are that person." He said, whipping back around and setting a pace that was even faster than before.

   I turned to look back at Horangi. He seemed just as confused as I was. At least I wasn't the only one who was lost. "Come along now! We've wasted enough time." The doctor called out, already further down the hall. Again, Horangi and I jogged to catch up with the man. For a short man, the fucker sure could walk fast. "Hey Dr. Oscar, what did you mean I was the person?" I asked, barely keeping up with the man's fast walking pace. "I meant that you are the one who brings back his sanity." He spoke back. "Sanity? What do you mean sanity?" I questioned. "You, Belle, are the antidote or the cure to the man's insanity." The words antidote and insanity swum around in head. I knew that he was diagnosed as clinically insane, but to hear someone else clarify it was a different story.

As we neared the end of the hall, we were met with another chained door. By now, the screams that once filled the long, semi dark hallway had long since stopped. The doctor began to frantically unlock the door while trying to initiate small talk to fill the now very apparent silent void. "You know, he didn't use to be all the way down here. He was a good lad, until he wasn't." He said, finally getting the door free of its locks. We walked through it and he continued, "It started of with him pacing about, muttering to himself. Then he became.....very violent, just out of the blue. He almost managed to escape the facility completely, one time as well." I made sure to hum in acknowledgment as I listened to the doctor speak.

   "He was already here for psychiatric evaluation, but besides his mood swings and violent outbursts, we really had nothing to go off of. Nothing to really put the stick in the mud that he was really insane. That is until one day a nurse walked in on him carving the name 'Belle' into the wall over and over and each time he did it, he seemed to get calmer. And so for a while we let him continue. But that's not the point here. The point is he has been diagnosed as insane, but on top of that he is dangerously obsessed with both the idea and the embodiment of you. You are his break from reality."

  As I followed the doctor into yet another room, I couldn't even bother to utter another word. Everything seemed so unreal, all of this. The doctor's voice shook me from my thoughts again. "We are here. I don't know how he will react to seeing you Ms Belle, but fear not as he should be chained up. One thing you should never forget is no matter how obsessed and infatuated he may seem with you, don't even think for a second that he will not snap and hurt you. He is insane." I nodded slowly and turned to look back at Horangi.

   He seemed just as shocked as I was. The doctor pulled out a keycard and scanned it on a nearby door. As we entered, I had to squint my eyes at how bright everything was.  When my eyes adjusted to the excessive amounts of light, I first noticed a staff member on the ground clutching a bleeding arm. My hands flew to my mouth in shock as I could clearly see the white meat from the gash. "Doctor! Thank heavens, what took you so long? Ane is in dire need of stitches and we failed to administer the patient his meds.

   The doctor held out a hand behind him, planting me and Horangi where we stood. "There's no need for the meds. As his antidote..." He said, half turning to face me again. "....Is right here." He motioned for me to come forward and I obliged. Looking around, I found myself confused maybe even lost. I didn't see König anywhere. 'Was this a trap?' I thought to myself. "Where's König?" I asked. The doctor chuckled and pointed to a large pitch black cell that sat in the far back of the room. "He's right there." Almost as if I was possessed, I brushed past the doctor and the staff, ignoring their warnings to not go near him.

   "König! König where are you?" I called out to him, keeping a fair distance away from the iron cell. I heard the sound of shuffling and chains being rattled somewhere in the cell before everything fell silent. 'Was that him who moved? Or someone else...?' I continued softly calling his name until I ultimately gave up. I whipped around and marched back over to the shock ridden staff. "Does his cell have any lights?" I asked. The ladies exchanged nervous glances at one another before one of them spoke up. "I think... if he didn't already destroy them. Even if he didn't, I don't think it's wise to turn them on. Every time we do, it just enrages him to no end." She said.

  I scoffed, "Sad. I can't see shit in there. Can you turn them on?" I asked. I was getting more and more impatient as time went on. The two ladies exchanged worried glances to one another before one of them ultimately trotted over to a light switch and flicked it on. In no way would I have ever been able to prepare for both the sight and sound that came from that iron cell. As I neared closer, I saw that König was in fact there, but it was like he wasn't.

   His back was to the wall and he was curled up in a ball on the ground with a huge spilt down his sniper mask. His clothes were tattered and ripped. He had cuts and bruises all over his body and heavy anklet on placed him. Cautiously, I neared the cell. But even as I got so close till the point of gripping the bars, he didn't acknowledge me. It was then I got a good look at his eyes. They were beyond dead. My stomach dropped as far down as it could go. It was such a sickening sight. However, not long after the lights were turned on I began to see just what the staff members were so worried about.

   It started off with him rocking himself back and forth more and more aggressively. Then he started to claw at his arms until finally he just began screaming. All of it was horrifying to witness and through it all I just kept on whispering his name, hoping, praying that he wasn't gone past the point of no return. Eventually after not getting through to him I turned around to signal for the staff lady to turn back off his lights, but before I could even do that, König's screaming came to an abrupt stop. Shocked, I whipped my head back around to see him looking up at me with hazy eyes.

  "König." I whispered for the final time. He let his head hang and began pressing the balls of his hands against his temple. "No...no...no....stop. You aren't real. Bitte.....bitte.... bitte...just leave me alone. Ich flehe dich an." He mumbled into his hands. "König! I am real. Look at me." I said, trying my hardest to not break down right there on the spot. I knew I had to be strong for the both of us. In a fit of desperation, I whipped around and asked one of the most stupidest questions a person in this type of situation could ask.

   "Can someone open his cell?" I asked. When no one seemed to budge I began panicking. Knowing that the man I had missed so, so much was behind those iron bars, beating himself up over what he thought to be a hallucination of myself completely broke me. And it wasn't long after my realization that I began ugly crying right there in front of everyone. My sobs were so powerful, I lost the strength in my legs and ended up slowly sliding down to my knees. All the while, I was clutching those cold iron bars as if they would magically crumble if I squeezed them hard enough.

  The doctor made his way towards me and the sound of keys jingling in a lock made my head shoot up. I couldn't have imagined what I looked like in that moment, but I didn't care. The minute he unlocked the cell's door, I shot up and steadied myself. Slowly, I made my way inside. "König..." I called out to him, earning more head shaking and groans from him. I eased my way closer and closer to him until I was within touching distance. I sniffled and hastily wiped away my tears, plopping myself down in front of him.

  After a while of just sitting there and taking in his appearance, I mustered up the courage to reach out and gently rub his a part of his forearm that was free from any cuts and bruises. He flinched noticeably hard from the contact, and as a result his head shot up. I was met with his hazy, dead eyes once more, and I couldn't help the tears that squeezed their way out of my eyes. As slowly as I could, I raised a hand and stuck it through the gaping hole in his mask, cupping his cheek. He had stubble, making it feel a little rough, but I didn't mind. I began gently rubbing a finger up and down in a soothing manner.

  After some time, I watched as the life slowly began returning to his eyes. "Mein Schatz...." he rasped. Upon hearing that nickname, I burst out into tears and he wasted no time pulling me in for a hug. He nuzzled his face into my neck and pulled me as close as I could get to him. "You came to find me...." He said. His voice was beginning to croak as well, suggesting he was holding back a sob himself. But that didn't matter.

What mattered was that I found him again, and I was so, so thankful for that.

* AN/
I just wanted to give a huge thank you to anyone and everyone who has read my book so far. This mini fandom we have here is honestly the best! Everyone is so nice and respectful and not to mention goofy. Thank you all for being so understanding with me and my horrible update schedules, lol. (I put out an announcement last night saying that I couldn't update bc I was too tired, AND SOME OF YOU GUYS WISHED ME GOODNIGHT LIKE WHEN I TELL U MY HEART ALMOST EXPLODED-) I love you guys more than you could ever imagine. Kissess <3333

-Xileona.

(4973 Words)

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//Tissue? Long chapters suck, the editing is ass. If you are awake rn, go to bed!! Also what u think? Was it a good reunion or nah? Y'all alr know the drill....how was your week? Goodnight btw it's 1:00 AM rn 😴 //