Upon the Ruins of a Broken World II A Dreamsmp AU

Down the Cell

Tommy and Wilbur followed the fox through the white halls, ducking past corners, silent as ghosts. Wilbur especially, he was barely a whisper of movement, walking languidly and blending in perfectly with white walls. 

His skin almost seemed to lose color as he walked on.

Tommy slipped on the smooth floor and Wilbur caught him before he face-planted. 

"Concentrate, Tommy." 

There was barely a wisp of the kindness and love that usually rang in his brother's words. Tommy frowned and nodded. 

"Sorry, I'm just trying to concentrate." Wilbur said as he saw his golden-haired brother's face.

Fundy flicked and ear and Wilbur fell silent as the fox halted by a corner. Fundy lifted himself to his hind-legs and twitched. 

Calling Wilbur over, Tommy realized with satisfaction. 

Wilbur slunk to the fox and peered past the corner. A groan racked the building and Tommy felt vibrations tear through the walls. What the hell were the others doing down there?

Tommy walked up to Wilbur and peered past the corner. The hallway stretched away into the distance but that wasn't what caught Tommy's attention. 

It was the number of huge glass windows that lined the walls. From Tommy's viewpoint he could clearly into the first one and the sight took his breath away. 

There was a thing in there... or at least, half a thing. 

The red body was nearly round, two chubby legs sticking out beneath it. A single bloody bone stuck out from the flesh that drippled gore onto the floor. 

"That's kind of suspicious..." Fundy whispered. 

"Seems like there was an imposter..." Wilbur muttered. 

Tommy stared at them like they were crazy. There was a dead body before them for goodness sake!

"Is the coast clear?" Wilbur asked, looking up and down the hall. 

Fundy took a long inhale, slightly opening his mouth to breath in deeply. 

He gave a curt nod and Wilbur surged forward.

Tommy followed his brother into the hall and studied the cells. Each one had three closed sides, made of concrete. The last one consisted of thick glass and a glass door. Each door had a access pad installed next to it. 

The scientist could stare at the poor people inside for as long as they wanted. The hybrids had no privacy. 

Each cell had a bland white bed in one corner and a small toilet in the other. There was nothing else. 

To Tommy's relief most of the cells were empty. He froze as he walked past another one. 

A person lay in the bed, though the blanket wasn't white like the others. This one was stained a dark red, the blood dripping onto the floor. Tommy stood before the glass, watching the rhythmic drip of the red.

Wilbur came to stand beside him and gently pushed him on. 

"We have to help him..." Tommy muttered, the sight of the body engraved in his mind. 

"He's already gone, Tommy." Wilbur whispered. "Fundy can hear their heartbeats."

Tommy shot a glance at the fox hybrid. Fundy only looked at him sadly with those dark eyes and flicked and ear. There was nothing they could do. 

Tommy continued past more empty cells and then froze at the sight of something, someone familiar. 

Fundy came to stand beside him, staring silently into the glass.

There, amidst torn linens and ashes sat a dark-haired teen, his head buried in his hands. Tommy swore he heard slight sobbing.

"Sapnap?" He breathed and the teen's head shot up. 

Tommy started at how different he looked from his usual black-haired self. Sapnap had sharp yellowish ears and his eyes glowed the color of sizzling embers. His hand were dark, almost as if they had been burned and his sported thin claws on each tip.

He still wore his white shirt and black pants. Still wore those ridiculous checkered sneakers. He didn't wear the enthusiastic grin and confidence he usually carried. 

Sapnap cocked his head to the side and studied Tommy. 

"Tommy...?" 

Tommy nodded and raised his claws, slicing a large circle through the glass. Sapnap leapt up and threw himself forward and Tommy pushed the glass in. 

Sapnap caught the glass and groaned at the weight, lowering it slightly before dropping it, allowing the glass to shatter. 

Sapnap jumped up as it did and landed, his shoes crunching glass as he stepped out of the cell. 

"You're a hybrid too..." Sapnap said, looking Tommy up and down. 

"Come on, Sapnap, we're getting you out of here." Tommy said. 

"Who's this?" Wilbur asked as he came forward. He studied Sapnap critically, though the hybrid's face turned to fear. 

"You-you're Spectre... Leader of the hybrid revolutionaries." Sapnap stuttered. 

That earned a wry smile from Wilbur. 

"Revolution... I like that. And you are?" 

"Wil, this is Sapnap, I met him after you left." Tommy said. After you left...? Why did something spark at that thought. 

"So Sapnap," Wilbur said, holding out a hand and bowing his head charismatically. "Would you like to join us, the revolutionaries?" 

Sapnap hesitated a second, shooting a glance to his cell. Hate clouded his shimmering eyes. 

"Yes." 

He took Wilbur's hand and they shook on it before Wilbur smiled and continued searching the cells. A faint boom sounded from below them and the building shook again. 

"Damn it..." Fundy hissed. "We don't have much time." 

Wilbur nodded and broke into a controlled sprint, skimming past the cells, all of which were empty. 

"Why are they all empty?" Tommy heard Wilbur ask Fundy. 

"I don't know, but I don't like it, Wil." Fundy said back. 

Wilbur caught sight of the last cell in the hall and skidded to a stop. 

"Puffy!" He called softly. 

As they had run, Tommy had to support Sapnap. The hybrid was thin and pale despite the fire that sizzled in his eyes.

By the time Tommy and Sapnap had caught up with them, Wilbur had cut a hole in the glass like Tommy but had sliced two small holes, which he and Fundy grabbed and used to lift the glass free. 

They had obviously done this before.

Tommy gasped at the sight of Puffy. 

The hybrid was in her goat form, her rainbow hair pale and limp. She sported ugly bruises and marred skin, dried blood leaking from her nose. 

Wilbur leapt forward and lifted her gently, looking at Fundy. 

"She's still alive." He said and Wilbur nodded. Tommy saw the faint silver lining his eyes. 

"Let's go." Wilbur said and stepped out of the cell, falling into a light jog, keeping Puffy close to him. 

Tommy could see the pain in his eyes. The deep sadness. 

But he could also see a storm in there. One that roiled and brewed, dark as the night and cold as ice. 

It was rage.