(a/n: Before we begin with the story I'd like to add some content warnings that didn't fit in the summary. This fic will contain gore, physical and psychological abuse, and both human and animal death. If these are sensitive/upsetting topics to you and you'd rather avoid them, I understand if you don't read any further. And for additional information that didn't fit in the summary, this fic is being cross-posted on my AO3)

Bright, searing white light flooded the dark room. Crona began to stir, rudely awoken after sleeping for who-knows-how-long, opening their eyes to see Medusa glaring down at them. Their time in here must be up. Thankfully.

"Get up," Medusa said. Crona yawned, pushing themself up to a sitting position.

"Good morning, Lady Medusa," they replied, stretching out their arms and back. Sleeping on nothing but that stone floor pretty much guaranteed they weren't going to be comfortable when they woke up. And combining that with the near-constant, throbbing back pain from Ragnarok bursting out as he pleased...

"It's five-thirty in the evening," Medusa said. Crona stared at her in disbelief. It wasn't like they could really tell time in the dark room anyway, especially after being locked in there for days on end. "Come on, Crona, your time in here is up."

Crona got up to their feet, taking a few steps out into the blindingly white hall. Medusa shut the door to the dark room, and without saying another word, led Crona out up to the ground floor of her research lab. The lights up there were off, but the sun hadn't begun to set yet. It was better on Crona's eyes than the hall downstairs was, so they weren't going to complain. Complaining might just send them back down to the dark room again. No, they didn't want that.

"Eruka still isn't back," Medusa said, with annoyance in her voice. "How long can getting groceries take? I gave her a list."

Groceries. Eruka was going to get the groceries. Which meant dinner wasn't going to be until at least when she got back, most likely even longer. Crona barely had any time to think about it, before the tense silence of the room was suddenly broken by their screams. The pain in their back grew worse and worse, until Ragnarok burst out, taking his huge, muscular form. Despite being Crona's blood, he looked to be nearly twice their size. He looked around the room, grumbling something under his breath.

"When the hell is dinner?" Ragnarok asked. "Crona and I are literally starving, you know."

Before Medusa could answer, there was a knock at the door. A frantic, slamming, repetitive knock. The door was soon kicked open by Eruka's white high-heeled boot. She ran in, screaming in fear as a rotten greenish-gray human hand clawed at the door.

"Uh, Ragnarok..." Crona said, watching Eruka slam the door into the hand repeatedly.

"Got it," Ragnarok replied, transforming into a sword.

"Eruka, what's going on?" Medusa shouted. Eruka paused her door slamming.

"They're everywhere!" she shrieked.

"What's everywhere?" Crona asked, as the door came open further and what looked to be a rotting corpse began to walk through, black blood dripping down its hand.

"These things!" Eruka replied, slamming the door into the corpse's face, smashing its skull into the door frame. It fell to the floor, seeming to be dead for real. Crona cautiously held Ragnarok's hilt just in case it wasn't. Black blood dripped out the wound in the corpse's skull. Medusa moved a table in front of the door (thanks to Eruka busting the frame on her way in) before looking down at the corpse.

"Ribbit, I think it's dead," Eruka said.

"Why is it bleeding black?" Crona asked. "I thought I was the only one."

"Perseus," Medusa said, looking at the corpse's clothes. Its body's in too much of a state of decay to identify it from sight alone, so that must have been her only way to... name it? Crona thought, hearing a flush in the background, before Free ran out from a nearby door.

"I heard commotion, what's going on?" he asked.

"You're late," Ragnarok said.

"I was on the can," Free replied, before looking down at the corpse, then up to Medusa. "Are we grave robbing now?"

"No," Medusa replied. There were a few more slams at the door. More like this... "Perseus", whatever it was, must have been out there. "This was a previous research subject of mine," Medusa said, gesturing to the corpse.

"Previous research subject?" Eruka asked.

"Of course, are you shortsighted enough to think Crona was the first one?" Medusa asked. "It was only the first one to survive. I had several others before it."

Crona then had a horrible thought.

"Wait, then how'd it become... this?" they asked. "And... and... and am I going to turn into something like it?"

Medusa shrugged her shoulders, doing nothing to alleviate Crona's panic. In fact, she didn't even explain what she meant by this thing being a previous research subject. Crona didn't even know there were others before them.

"Answer us for real, damn it!" Ragnarok snapped.

"Eruka, why haven't you brought back the groceries?" Medusa asked, completely ignoring Ragnarok.

"I didn't even make it to the grocery store, ribbit," Eruka replied. "Before these... things started showing up. One guy got attacked by several, and that was when the mass panic started. I think the guy who got attacked turned into one. I wasn't sure whether or not to release my Soul Protect, and Tadpole Jackson was still back here so I couldn't have a quick getaway. So I just ran back here, and some of them followed me, and that's why there's a rotten corpse on your floor."

"Useless information," Medusa said. "If you didn't know what was going on, say so. Don't waste my time."

"I'm sorry, Lady Medusa," Eruka replied.

"Free, go back out there and get whatever food and supplies you can find, preferably canned or otherwise well-preserved," Medusa said, handing Free the grocery list. "But not frozen."

"I understand," Free replied, pushing the table aside before running out the door. Crona pushed the table back into its place.

"I'm going to go make dinner out of any perishables we have," Medusa said.

"Finally," Ragnarok muttered under his breath. "Been long enough, right, Crona?"

"What... what the hell is going on?" Crona asked, pinching their arm. "I'm not dreaming. I'm NOT. DREAMING. And what's with this Perseus guy? How many others were there before m-"

"Shut up," Medusa said, walking off to the kitchen. Following her would probably make her angrier, so Crona just sat down in the corner, leaning against a wall. Not that their life could throw them any more curveballs after that. Medusa would probably send them to take care of whatever was out there. Since one of her previous research subjects had apparently come back from the dead, there was a chance it could be her fault. Well, if Medusa wanted to evolve the world past DWMA's status quo stuff or whatever she's said, if these things are infecting others, that sure would be one way to do it. And then came horrible thought number two: what if she no longer needed Crona, and what would happen to them if that were the case?

"If she doesn't need me anymore, I'd probably just be cast aside to die then, wouldn't I?" Crona said to nobody in particular. Eruka gave them a strange look before going off to presumably see if Medusa needed any help in the kitchen.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure she still wants to create a Kishin," Ragnarok replied. "I mean, why would she change the world a little when she can change it a lot?"

"This already feels like a lot," Crona said.

"Everything feels like a lot to you, doesn't it?" Ragnarok asked, a bit of spit flying out of his mouth. (why the mouth was still on his sword form, Crona didn't know)

"I guess," Crona replied, wiping the spit off their cheek. They heard Eruka running down a hall. It had to be her, Medusa didn't wear shoes at home, especially not high heeled boots. What was she running down the hall for, anyway? Crona considered getting up to ask Eruka if she needed anything, but then Eruka sped back through the hall, holding a light-colored briefcase with arrows all over it. The attache case. Yup, Medusa definitely still had plans to create a Kishin. And it seems she was going for the backup plan on that one. Perhaps her research with Crona had become obsolete after all.

"Shit, maybe we are going to get cast aside," Ragnarok said.

"Maybe she'll at least give us a last meal," Crona said. But maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't have to be cast aside. All Crona would have to do to prevent it is exactly what Medusa said, and maybe, just maybe, she'd someday think Crona was a good child/research subject and they'd get something better in life. Not like they didn't have any other choice but to hope, since it was all they had left.

Eruka didn't return to the room, nor did Medusa. And several minutes had already passed by then. Several minutes of just wallowing in dread of possibly being cast aside, possibly even cast aside to die. Crona got up and began making their way to the kitchen. They began to smell something savory and meaty cooking. It smelled like it was going to be the most delicious thing in the world, even though it was just a "use up all the perishables because this is a textbook beginning to the apocalypse" meal. With how hungry they were, Crona probably would have considered anything the most delicious thing in the world, but this definitely felt like it was going to be something special. They slowly approached the door, soon within earshot of Medusa and Eruka's conversation.

"But if this becomes a full, worldwide, apocalypse, it would be kinder just to terminate my current research subject," Medusa said. The savory smells did nothing to stop the atmosphere from turning sour.

"Terminate?" Eruka asked. "When are you going to do it, ribbit?"

"I said it would be kinder to, not that I was going to do it," Medusa replied. "No, Crona is going to stay alive until it becomes useless to me. I can't cast it aside yet because I need an extra fighter who can go days without eating, or someone to use as bait, or a scapegoat to prevent other survivors from getting mad at me...well, you get the picture."

"Well, at least I'm not going to get killed right off the bat," Crona said.

"Crona?" Eruka asked. "How long have you been standing there?"

"We've been here long enough," Ragnarok replied, transforming back into his usual form. "So when's dinner?"

"It won't be ready for a little while, so don't bother me," Medusa said. "Is Free back?" she asked. There was a loud slam coming from outside.

"GOD DAMN IT! SHIT!"

"I guess so, ribbit," Eruka replied.

"I'll get the door," Crona said. Kinder just to kill me, huh? they thought, pushing the table back aside. Free busted through the door with a shopping cart, Crona barely dodging it in time. They looked out the door to what was going on outside. There wasn't really anyone or anything around since the lab was in a more secluded location, no, wait, there were a few people just idly shuffling around. One seemed partially decomposed, the other having a bite wound on their exposed shoulder. Medusa yanked Crona back in the lab by the collar and put the table back in front of the door.

"From now until I give further notice, nobody is going in or out of this lab," Medusa proclaimed. "Understand?"

"Yes, Lady Medusa," everyone else said in unison.

"Now let's see what's in this cart," Medusa said. Since both she and Free were already standing by it, Crona and Eruka figured they'd both walk up to check out the stock. There were cans of food stacked to the brim of the cart. Free had clearly used his size, toughness, and immortality to his advantage getting these, and Medusa clearly seemed impressed. There were cans of vegetables, cans of fruit, cans of meat, razors, soap, a four-pack of toothbrushes, a thing of dental floss, and some toilet paper. Medusa looked relieved at first that Free didn't forget any of the basics, but then she began to look at the load of stuff like something was missing.

"How in the world did you forget water?" Medusa asked, starting to remove the cans and stuff from the cart.

"I, uh…" Free replied. "I..."

"Save your breath, there's no good excuse for forgetting water," Medusa replied. "Hurry and go back to the store before it all gets picked over."

"Got it," Free said, pushing the table back away from the door and heading back out again.

"I'm going to watch our dinner," Eruka said, walking off back towards the kitchen.

"Fine by me," Medusa replied. "Crona, help me pack the rest of our supplies for when we head out."

"Head out?" Crona asked. "How soon will that be?"

"Either when we get breached, or when we run out of perishable food," Medusa replied. "No sense staying here when we could go forward with my plans to revive the Kishin and create a double apocalypse," she said. Ragnarok had hit the nail right on the head with that one. It didn't surprise Crona in the slightest that Medusa wanted things to end up this way. In fact, they could bet that the only thing Medusa would find upsetting about creating an apocalypse of the living dead was that she didn't do it on purpose.

Medusa and Crona walked down to one of Medusa's many storage rooms, where Medusa picked up four backpacks and an unused tent. So unused, it was still in the box. With the price tag still on it. Maybe if Lady Medusa had never gotten into the whole experimentation thing, I could have been raised normally, and we probably could have gone camping with that tent, Crona thought. Oh wait, if Lady Medusa had never wanted to do any sort of experiments, I would never have been born.

"Well don't just stand there," Medusa said, handing Crona the largest backpack. "Go fill this backpack with cans of food."

"Yes, Lady Medusa," Crona replied. They walked back out to the shopping cart full of cans and stuff, Medusa no doubt trying to find the easiest way to pack a tent. Looking at the sheer volume of cans in that cart, Crona doubted they could fit them all, even in this backpack. Free must really be something, they thought, starting to put cans in the backpack one by one.

"You're going too slow," Ragnarok said, grabbing a bunch of cans out of the cart and just tossing them into the backpack. "There, now it's full."

"You dropped them on my hand," Crona replied, pulling their hand out of the bag. It looked like the beginnings of a really dark bruise were going to form, despite the lack of much pain. Crona poked at the bruise, and winced. Shrugging it off as only a minor injury, they started moving the cans in the bag around to see if they could fit another one in there. They found a smaller can that could fit, a can of turkey paté with a picture of a cat on it for some reason. Maybe the brand mascot? Crona thought, opening the backpack's front pouch and squeezing a few more cans in there. But why would a brand of canned turkey have a cat as its mascot? Wait, no, THAT WAS CAT FOOD. Is somebody going to end up eating cat food before they got to wherever that Kishin Lady Medusa's planning on reviving was?

Before Crona could think about who it would most likely be, the power went out. There was a loud expletive coming from the room Medusa was in. Crona and Eruka both had the same idea to go run to where Medusa was to see if anything else was wrong. And midway through the hall, Medusa sped past them to another room, one with a mini-fridge and some weird stuff in jars. Medusa looked in the mini-fridge, and muttered another expletive.

"Crona, go down to the basement and check the backup generator for me," Medusa said, handing Crona a flashlight. "Free isn't back, is he?"

"I don't think so, ribbit," Eruka replied.

"Damn, I needed him to freeze these," Medusa said.

"Freeze what?" Eruka asked.

"All the ova from my female subjects so incase anything bad happened... Crona, what the hell are you still standing there for?" Medusa asked. "Go check on the backup generator!"

"Yes, Lady Medusa, I'm sorry!" Crona replied out of reflex.

Crona ran down to the basement as fast as their legs and their dress would allow them. Flipping on the flashlight, they looked around the room. Several of the infected corpses were inside, just shuffling about. Which meant the lab was compromised. Crona didn't have time to think, only to act.

"Let's go, Ragnarok," Crona said, putting the flashlight in their mouth. Ragnarok transformed, but Crona wasn't going to just hack at the undead like they were regular humans. Eruka said their bites can turn someone into one of them, and dying on the first day of the apocalypse... well, Crona didn't think they were pathetic enough to do that. Pathetic, yes. But not that pathetic.

"Screech Alpha!" Crona shouted, or at least tried to. It didn't come out very clear with a flashlight in their mouth, but it was enough for Ragnarok to understand. But he didn't act.

"Just cut them up normally, we don't want to destroy the generator and get ourselves killed, dumbass!" Ragnarok yelled. Crona grumbled something, and walked down the rest of the basement stairwell. Don't spot me, don't spot me, they thought. They tried not to let their hands shake too much, losing their grip would be fatal. The room smelled of death and rotting flesh, disgusting and unpleasant. Stepping quietly through the basement so that nothing could hear them, Crona held up Ragnarok's blade in a defensive position, the flashlight in their mouth muffling a small whimper. But that small noise was enough to attract the infected's attention. All of them turned their heads over toward Crona, blank, rotting, eyes seeming like they could stare right through them. How many were there, six or seven? It was either cut them to shreds or be eaten alive, so, running up to the first one with a blade pointed right at it, Crona chose the former. Its body vanished, leaving behind no soul. Crona paused for a second. That wasn't right. When you kill things, they leave behind their souls. Why didn't this thing have one?

Crona heard a groan right behind them, and turned right around to see the rest of the infected fast approaching them. But after cutting down the first one, they weren't afraid anymore. The infected seemed to be much easier to kill than they expected.

"Did you all forget that corpses are supposed to stay dead?" Crona asked, cutting the second one right in two. Then they ran to cut down a third one, and a fourth. Fifth. Sixth. Seventh. And then they were all dead, none of them dropping a single soul. The room still had a lingering and putrid smell of rotten flesh, that didn't seem like it would go away anytime soon.

"What? No souls?" Ragnarok asked, going back out of sword form and taking the flashlight out of Crona's mouth. He shined it over to the generator, which not only was banged up, but the cord was chewed up, with another corpse lying next to it, apparently electrocuted. Ragnarok transformed again, the flashlight clattering to the floor. And Crona stabbed the corpse through the head, just to make sure it was dead. A splash of red blood hit their ankles and the white tops of their shoes.

"Oh, they don't all bleed black," Crona said. "Just the one that was Lady Medusa's past subject did."

"Also, the generator's not gonna work anytime soon," Ragnarok added.

"I know," Crona replied, noticing a crawlspace revealed by the flashlight's beam. Their fight-or-flight reflexes began to calm down. "Ragnarok, look. It's where they got in."

"How long's that been there?" Ragnarok asked, right as another one of the infected began to crawl through. Crona hacked it open before looking around for something that they could use to block the crawlspace. There was nothing big and sturdy enough so before anyone else could come through, Crona just ran back up the stairs. They smashed the top stair with Ragnarok's blade, wood splinters flying everywhere. A second hit, a third hit, a fourth hit, and the stairs were reduced to a pile of rubble on the floor.

"What is all that racket?" Medusa yelled, running in.

"We've been breached," Crona replied. "And they destroyed the generator."

They knew that wasn't anywhere near what Medusa wanted to hear, but they'd get in more trouble for lying. Medusa's brow furrowed with rage, and Crona trembled with fear. "Don't shoot the messenger" was not a phrase they knew for certain Medusa would follow. She slammed the basement door, frightening Crona even further. Medusa locked the basement door from the outside, and to Crona's pleasant surprise, she just sighed.

"Well, Free's back from the store empty-handed and Eruka's plating dinner," Medusa said. "As soon as we're done eating, we're headed out. You're either with me or you're dead."

"I'm with you," Crona replied. Medusa smiled, walking off back down the hall. "Not like I have a choice," Crona muttered under their breath. They didn't know what they would do without her guidance, but it wasn't like she would let them be able to choose any other path. They were born to serve her, or rather, it felt like they were born to fail her. Maybe Crona could prove they were good enough once everyone headed out on this journey, finally prove they were good enough. And maybe Medusa would change her mind about them being a failure, worthless, and kinder just to kill.

"Okay everyone, help yourselves to some all-our-perishables stew!" Eruka exclaimed.

"What's in it?" Crona asked, as Eruka poured them a bowl.

"You fucking dumbass," Ragnarok replied. "It's all our perishables."

"It's really good," Free said, shoveling in another mouthful.

"It's not fully cooked since the power went out, but it's cooked enough that it won't kill us," Medusa added. Crona took a spoon from the counter and sat in the corner away from the others to eat. Some of Ragnarok's helping dropped on their head as he wolfed it down. Great, he better not vomit, Crona thought. They knew from experience that after it had been a while since someone ate, the first meal should be eaten slowly and carefully, and it must not be too large. They had to work themself up to larger meals. Crona took the first spoonful from their bowl and tasted it. It was barely lukewarm, but it tasted delicious. They weren't sure whether it was genuinely delicious or just "haven't eaten in an indeterminate amount of days" delicious. How long were they in that dark room again? Well, they paid no mind to that, Medusa would tell them eventually. For now, they would just keep eating this stew until they couldn't eat any longer. Then if there was any left over in the bowl, Ragnarok would get it so it wasn't wasted.

Crona was unable to finish the whole bowl. The stew didn't taste bad, but the temperature made it become less and less appealing. And they felt like they couldn't eat another bite only halfway in. They handed the bowl of cold stew to Ragnarok, who ate the rest of it within seconds.

"Okay, everyone, I have an announcement to make!" Medusa said. "We have been breached via the basement, and we must leave for Death City now before they find a way past the door and into the rest of the complex."

"Breached?" Free asked.

"Ribbit, how long ago was this?" Eruka asked. Medusa ignored their questions and left her dirty dishes on the table.

"We're wasting time as it is, leave your dishes and get moving," Medusa replied, getting the few bottles of water from the fridge that they had. Ragnarok held both his and Crona's bowls up in the air before throwing them down onto the ground. Both bowls loudly shattered, shards flying everywhere. Crona screamed, blocking their face with their arms. Ragnarok laughed at them.

"Hurry up or we're leaving you behind!" Medusa shouted. Crona got up and tried to step around all the broken glass on their way out. They followed Medusa and the others to the main entrance, where Medusa had set out all their supplies, the shopping cart still partially empty. Eruka began moving the table out of the way of the front door, and Free had a look on his face like he had an idea. Ragnarok transformed back into sword form, in anticipation of what was outside.

"Hey kid, ever ridden in a shopping cart before?" Free asked. Medusa gave him a nasty look.

"No, I haven't," Crona replied.

Free walked over to where Crona stood and lifted them up by the armpits.

"What the?" Crona asked. "Let go of me!"

Free ran back over to the shopping cart and set Crona down in an empty space in the basket. Slightly disoriented and clutching their sword, Crona watched as Eruka ran back down the hall to get Tadpole Jackson.

"Free, what's the point of doing that?" Medusa asked.

"I figured the shopping cart would be useful, and with the kid and their sword in it, we've pretty much got ourselves a weaponized vehicle," Free replied. Eruka then rode in on Tadpole Jackson, signaling she was ready. Medusa put the rest of the backpacks in the shopping cart, making it very cramped in there for Crona. One of the snake tattoos on Medusa's arms began to move, slithering down off her hand and manifesting in a large, three-dimensional form. Medusa got on top of its head and busted through the door with it, Eruka and Tadpole Jackson soon following out.

"Eruka, set up your bombs and destroy the lab. We have to get to a shipyard," Medusa said. "Stealing a boat is our only practical hope to get across the Atlantic and to America."

If stealing a boat was Lady Medusa's practical solution, I don't even want to know her impractical one.

"Ready, kid?" Free asked. This was the point Crona became suspicious that he didn't know their name. But it wasn't important enough to bother him about, they were pretty sure they could deal with being called "the kid."

"Ready," Crona replied. Free grabbed on to the cart's handle and charged as fast as he could, Eruka casting a swarm of Tadpole Bombs all throughout the lab.

"Are you sure about this, Lady Medusa?" Eruka asked.

"I have no need for that lab anymore," Medusa replied. "Useless research will always get discarded."

"Okay then," Eruka said. And with a slight motion of her hand, the Tadpole Bombs exploded, demolishing the lab and starting Medusa and her followers' journey with a bang. Crona flinched, covering their ears as Free ran with the cart further and further from the explosion. He was immortal, but they weren't, so getting caught in the blast would not have been pleasant. Crona uncovered their ears and looked back at the smoldering remains of the lab that had been their home, where they grew up. This was a goodbye of sorts, maybe even good riddance. But now the only way they could look was forward. It had only been a matter of hours since Eruka came in and reported Medusa about the infected, but the streets were already filled with more of them then they were living people. Crona readied Ragnarok to possibly hack through a few if necessary, but Medusa led the group so they'd avoid going through the most infested parts of town.

But they sped right through town, avoiding any sort of encounters as they followed the long roads to the coast. Cars sat abandoned along the highway, some with doors still open. Medusa and Eruka sped right over the traffic, leaving Free and Crona having to catch up. Crona found themselves hacking at more car mirrors than the infected so Free could weave through the highway until they finally reached a place where it wasn't so crowded.

"Okay, now we can speed up again!" Free exclaimed, starting to pick up the pace. He ran as fast as his legs could go, the cart soon speeding up along with him. As the area around them became more and more desolate, Crona decided to relax a bit, to let their guard down and enjoy the ride. Despite it being scary out, and the future looking bleak, the ride made them smile. Something about the wind in their hair and the wide open space around them. They felt like they were free, for the fleeting moments until Free caught back up to Medusa. Then she'd suck the fun out of the ride and everything would return to misery. Not that there would be any chance for improvement in this fucked-up world.

"Hey, Ragnarok, how long do you think we'll survive out here?" Crona asked.

"Beats me," Ragnarok replied. "Probably not gonna be long, knowing your luck."

"I hope we at least don't die too painfully." Crona sighed.

(end note: What's the best way to incorporate a zombie apocalypse in canonverse? Have it be sorta Medusa's fault. And since Sid is referred to as a zombie in-series and is obviously not like a classic Hollywood horror movie zombie, the rest of the "zombies" in the fic are referred to as "the infected" or "soulless animated corpses")