They the Wubbox : Rewritten

[Chapter 64]

Humbug walked with Epic Dandidoo down the halls, passing a few locked doors until finally reaching the visiting room. Despite what Humbug thought, he was really the only one there. Nobody else seemed to be visiting inmates at all.
"Does nobody else come to visit?" Humbug bent down to ask Dandidoo quietly.

"Not really. We have...Maybe ten visits a year at maximum. Not that we don't let people visit, because we let them with reason, but nobody really comes around."

"Oh... That's really sad..."

"It might be, but no one minds. Your visitors are just up here."
They made their way past a few stalls, then on the one Dandidoo brought him to, he saw two familiar faces, which instantly brightened his mood as if it were electric.

"Reebro! Dragong!" His wings fluttered behind him quickly, dashing over to the stall with an excited look.

"Hey, Humbug! It's been a long while since we last saw you!" Reebro smiled back, leaning forward in the chair slightly. Dragong was beside him, his face flat like always, but not carrying the usual scorn he had towards everyone.

"I thought you were just gonna let me be here alone, but you actually came!" He was tapping his legs, his wings still moving about behind him, fighting the urge to run around.

"Yep! We just had to come by and make sure you were alright." Reebro responded, his eyes gently covering with emotion.

"What about Eompom? Wouldn't she want to come as well?" Humbug asked, his face slightly lowering.

"Well, actually, she was the one that planned this! She told us to come because she knew we were close, but when she asked her jobs if she could go, they refused, saying it wasn't a valid reason to leave work, and threatened to fire her if she asked again. We only heard about this recently."

Humbug grumbled, looking down. "That job was always restrictive on her. Once I get out of here, She won't be stuck in a job like that.."

Reebro chuckled softly. "It's good you're looking out for her. What's life like here?"

Humbug sat down on the chair there, stretching his arms over the desk. "Well, It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was a bit...Panicky, but they are actually pretty nice monsters; Inmates and Staff. I wouldn't say...Friends, but I have some I talk to, and a room mate."

"There's no one being rude to you, is there?"

"No, they're just fine. A-And Earth is here too, the wubbox! Y-You remember him?"

"Oh, yeah! Why is he here?"

"Because of the whole...War and everything...He was mind controlled..."

"Oh...I wondered why he rushed off like that. But he's doing better, right?"

"Yes, he's doing good. And...It's a bit weird here. Y-You'd expect fights, violence, and everyone trying to escape constantly, but my group doesn't. They either talk, do activities, or sit and sun-bathe like critters."

"Really? I never would have guessed." Reebro hummed with slight surprise.

"Well," Epic Dandidoo added, "There's three sections of monsters. The first is less bad crimes, and they are the least violent. The second–yours, Humbug–is of pretty bad crimes, but they also seem not very violent. But the third group is like what you'd see in movies or shows, but a bit toned down. They tend to do more bad things, and fight a lot. They did the worst of the worst, and will likely stay in prison for the rest of their lives."

"Y-Yeah. So, I'm in the second one." Humbug told him.

"Are there gangs in there?" Dragong asked, his red antenna flicking gently.

"Uhm...The Sun Seven..? I-I dunno, it's a weird place..." Humbug looked away, bringing his claws over his fur. "T-The Sun Seven are just the monsters that have been there the longest, nothing special.."

"Have you made any new friends or acquaintances there?" Reebro asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Well...I've been talking to Hyhehe, Rare Clavavera, and Rare Riff, but not really 'friends' per-se..." Humbug shrugged. "W-What about Eompom? How is she doing? O-Other than her job not letting her come here, of course."

"She..didn't really tell us much about how she's doing. But I assume she's doing well, from what we heard."

"How are the other ethereals? Are they safe?"

"Yeah, they've been well. Kazilleon and Arackulele had left to have a date-night on plant island, Nebulub left to see a friend, Jeeode left to go back to water island for a meeting, the wublins came around to deliver a message, and along with the wublins, five new 'triple-element' ethereals came around, and their island was inside the ethereal island! You'll have to come see it, it's amazing!"

Humbug's wings buzzed behind him. "That's really cool! Do you know the names of these new ethereals?"

"There's...Auglur, Meebkin..." Reebro thought, pausing to think.

"Gadzooks, Yooreek, Blarret." Dragong added.

"Yeah, and those three! They're really nice, you'll love to meet them!" Reebro encouraged, lightly jittering in his chair.

"I'm sure! They seem really nice! But who knows how long I'll be here. I don't completely remember much..."

"Well–"
Their conversation was cut short when the door on Humbug's side was opened, and a Pango gestured to Epic Dandidoo with their claws. She couldn't leave Humbug alone under any circumstances, so she stood up, and turned to Humbug. "Come with me." She whispered.

Humbug looked scared again, but stood up and followed Dandidoo to the door. Pango and Dandidoo exchanged hushed words, then Dandidoo stood back up to face him. "Humbug, please go with Pango, you're going back to your cell."

"W-What? W-What about Reebro!" He asked quietly, looking fearful of leaving so soon.

"Don't worry, just follow Pango, alright?"
Humbug scrunched up nervously, not wanting to go, but not thinking of disobeying. He followed just behind the pango, walking back down the hallway, but turning right to go down to the cell's corridor.
"Don't be worried, alright Humbug? Nothing bad is going to happen to you."

"B-But why is this happening?"

"...I can't disclose that information. But just have hopes, alright? You'll be fine."

Humbug took a slow, deep breath, feeling the nerves run through his body like mites. He tried to not panic, but it was in his nature to panic all the time.

———

•words : 1078•