🔴[Error]🔴 ~ MCYT Lab AU

Chapter 6 ~ Ranboo

Tubbo pulled Tommy's door open, hearing Philza lock it as he stepped inside, holding a tray of what looked like demented chicken nuggets. "Hey, uh, Tommy?" He passed the tray to his friend. "What is that stuff?"

"I dunno, but it's edible." Tommy said, shoving a handful into his mouth. "It's pretty good once you get used to it. Want some?" He attempted to place one in Tubbo's hands.

"I'm good thanks." Tubbo muttered, pushing Tommy's hand away gently while trying not to throw up.

He sat next to the boy, staring at the wall akwardly as he tried to think of decent conversation starters.

"I found out Philza's trained scientists before me." He said at last. "Do you know who?"

Tommy looked at him funny for a moment, then continued eating. "First Techno, then Wilbur, then, uh..."

Tubbo frowned at him. "Then?"

Tommy leaned towards him, his voice dropping to a whisper. "His name was Ranboo. You'll probably ask Phil about him, I can't stop you, you bitch, but if you do, don't believe everything that asshole tells you."

~~~~~

"Hey, uh Phil?" Tubbo cringed inwardly. Philza didn't seem happy the last time he asked questions. "I was talking to Tommy today, and he told me you used to have an apprentice named, uh... Ranboo."

Philza looked up from the vials they had been sorting. "Uh-huh?"

"Does he work here, like Wilbur?" Tubbo asked experimentally. He still had no ideas about what Philza could lie about.

"No." Philza said. "He doesn't. Only my other two apprentices."

"Right." Tubbo stared at the white table. Why was everything here white? "What happened to him?"

"He was killed."

"By a scientist?"

"By a hybrid."

"Is that who you were talking about when I first met Tommy?" Tubbo pressured. "When you said he had killed before?"

Philza paused before answering. "Yes." He said simply.

Was this what Tommy had been talking about? Was Philza lying, and Ranboo is still alive?

Maybe Philza wasn't lying. Maybe he just didn't know. That would make sense, too. Tommy didn't say he would lie, he just said he shouldn't believe everything he said.

He looked up, noticing a tall brunette staring at him from the other side of the room, surrounded by shorter working scientists. He realised he recognized him; he had seen Philza talking to him multiple times.

"Who's that?" He asked, glancing at his mentor then back at the tall guy.

Philza followed his gaze reluctantly. "That's... Wilbur."

"That's him?" Tubbo asked, surprised. "Can I talk to him?"

"Looks like we don't have a choice." Philza said gruffly. Tubbo looked back to see Wilbur walking towards them, a smile on his face.

"Hello!" He said cheerfully. "It's Tubbo, right? Phil's apprentice? I've been looking forward to meeting you!"

"You have?" Tubbo asked, while Philza gave his son a warning glare.

"We should really get going." Philza muttered, standing up.

"But you arn't done yet!" Wilbur protested, gesturing to the unsorted vials on the table.

"We have other things to deal with." Philza guided Tubbo to the door, ignoring his high-pitched "We do?".

"Then I'll come with you!" Wilbur insisted, standing up as well.

"Don't you have other things to do?" Philza glanced over his shoulder.

"Nope!" Wilbur chuckled. "Unlike certain people, I've already finished all my tasks. Philza muttered a curse under his breath and walked away, ignoring Wilbur, who was practically skipping as he followed them.

Tubbo had no idea where Philza was leading them. He was starting to get used to the many pathways, but he was getting confused, and could've sworn he had seen 'MOBS #2' and 'HYBRIDS #3' twice.

"Hey, Tubbo?" Wilbur, to Philza's obvious annoyance, tapped him on the shoulder. "Wanna see something cool?"

"We're busy." Philza said briskly.

"Don't lie." Wilbur said. "We've been walking in circles! What, you arn't scared, are you?" He had a mischievous glint in his multi-coloured eyes.

"Yes I am," Philza said to both Wilbur and Tubbo's surprise. "And you know exactly why."

Tubbo glanced at them nervously. What was so bad, it scared Philza? He had always imagined that nothing could scare his older, experienced mentor.

"Let's just go and get this over with." Philza muttered, trying to ignore Wilbur's delighted expression as he whipped around and lead them around a corner.

He noticed as they stopped only a minute or two later that he had been to this part of the facility before. It wasn't far away from Tommy's cell, but he quickly realised that they wern't heading there.

Wilbur opened a door labelled 'TESTING #7'. He didn't know what he had been expecting to see inside- he hadn't been in a testing room before, and didn't want to- and was surprised to see it was completely empty.

Wilbur locked the door quickly. "You can take your coat off, by the way." He mentioned. He had already taken his off, revealling an uncomfortable-looking yellow sweater with tears down the sides and underneath his arms, where what looked like grey-blue 'wings' were unexpectedly showing.

Tubbo quickly took his own off, grateful for a chance to stretch his own bug-like wings. He flicked his antennae out of his messy brown air, shocked at suddenly regaining his sharpened senses. "Neat." Wilbur commented. "I've always wannted to see an insect hybrid."

Tubbo noticed Wilbur's long, winding, spiked tail, and instinctively began running through the list of hybrids he knew. "You're a phantom?" He guessed, glancing at his odd webbed wings again. Wilbur smiled proudly and nodded.

He turned to Philza, who had also revealled his hybrid features. He had a pair of large, dark, silvery-grey wings, and random feathers all over him. "You look like a crow!" He exclaimed.

"I'm an elytrian." Philza corrected his apprentice. "We studied thoss just the other day, remember?"

"Oh, right, sorry." Tubbo murmered, only half listening as he stared at his wings. "How do you manage to hide them?"

"Potions. Both of us use them." Wilbur answered him, passing him a round vial of blue-green liquid. "Just a drop or two works." He explained. "It'll come in useful for you, wings are hard as fuck to hide."

"Thanks." Tubbo said, hiding it in one of the pockets of his coat.

"I think that's enough for today." Philza said quickly, pulling his coat back up and drinking a drop of the potion. Tubbo watched in amazement as his wings vanished in a whirlwind of grey feathers.

He drank a drop himself and gasped in surprise as his wings disappeared in a heartbeat, but the feeling of becoming deaf again as his human senses returned nearly blocked out his excitement for a moment.

Bit of trivia: Tommy's cell is in 'HYBRIDS #4', which he shares with one other hybrid, Purpled.