Chapter Text
BLACKROCK
##/##/2012
00:35
Coil quietly slinked through the empty streets of Blackrock, his bright orange hoodie pulled over his head. Puffs of his breath came out from behind the face mask he wore. It was a bitterly cold night, but he needed to persevere. He was way overdue for a restock of crystals, and he needed them as fast as possible.
Sure, it was a dangerous game, robbing this place every couple months to power his gear. But it was worth it. His punching power was amazing on its own, but with his enhanced gear he was unstoppable. And luckily for Coil, this game was one he had gotten VERY good at. On most occasions, his escapes were swift and quiet. And even on nights when he *was* discovered, he managed to fight his way out with no issue. And tonight would be no different. Though something felt… off.
*Hm, weirdly quiet tonight,* he noted. *Eh.*
Coil shrugged it off. He had a job to do, and the quicker he could get it done, the better. Besides, he can defend himself!
He noticed the air getting heavier around him, the cold mountain air being invaded by a suffocating presence. It was then that he heard a crunch in the snow, echoing down the monochrome street. His hackles raised, visibly representing the shiver down his spine. “Wha- ugh.”
Coil immediately took a phighting stance, his hands poised to jab the first bot he saw. His tail puffed, and he roared, “Ok, Junk Bot! Let’s do this!”
No response.
Until someone approached behind him.
“Oh, I’m no junk bot,” said a gargling, raspy voice.
The crystal criminal didn’t even get the chance to turn around before a searing pain shot through his arm. He looked down at his shoulder, seeing a pink crystal shard lodged in his flesh. He could feel the crystal emitting something into his blood, the sensation making him want to vomit. Blood already began to pool around the wound, staining his orange shirt a macabre scarlet.
He whipped around as soon as his attacker’s hands left the shard, glaring at him with a burning, fearful rage. Coil screeched at him, his voice cracking and betraying his pain. “YOU- GAH-!”
The pain started to spread up his arm, which caused it to go slack. It felt like fire and ice were clashing in his nerves. The crystal kept humming with sickening, nauseating energy as it released more and more poison into his veins. He fell into the snow as the pain reached his core, wracked with tremors as his body exploded with sheer agony.
“No no no- OW- NO!” he shrieked. The attacker didn’t even flinch, nor show any remorse. He just laughed as he loomed over Coil’s deteriorating form.
“Tch. You’ve been a thorn in our side for MONTHS now, yet you fall to just a shard in yours,” he said. His tone was patronizing, as if he were talking to a misbehaving dog.
But as far as Coil knew, that’s all he was to the mysterious inphernal looming above him.
His vision began to go spotty. He looked up at the inphernal, only he could barely make out what his assailant looked like. He cursed himself for letting himself fall so easily, for being caught off guard and being brought down by some glorified broken glass. But he’d get out of this. As soon as he regained his senses, he’d get out of this. He would wake up... right?
The attacker’s voice began to sound distant and echoey as Coil’s awareness began to fade.
“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you.”
“Rather, I will **IMPROVE YOU.**”
And that was the last thing Coil heard before the pain and poison took hold, and he blacked out.