𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐨𝐝𝐬 | 𝐦𝐜𝐲𝐭

𝟎𝟓 | 𝐜𝐚𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐦

Ch. 5—carnage

The air was toxic. That was the first thing Tubbo had noticed.

The underworld, despite being said to be an empty hellscape with nothing but fire and lava and ash, was well-designed, save for the red haze that lingered over the place and never seemed to leave. It just looked like a normal city, whatever that meant, with skyscrapers and billboards and streets littered with passerby. It raged with a destructive silence. It was hot yet cold, a burning winter that snapped at even his own skin, which shouldn't be possible considering that Tubbo was literally the god of the sun. He shivered, not used to the rather uncomfortable feeling, and ran his hands up his bare arms that were pricked with goosebumps.

It didn't affect him as much, but the air felt like breathing in tiny needles, at least to him. He held his breath to shoo away the sensation before asking Jschlatt, who had beckoned him into a sleek black limousine. It's interior was lined with white leather seats and cupholders, while the roof held fluorescent lights that made his eyes hurt from looking at them. 

"The air, it feels so acrid and painful, why..?" He asked quietly. Anyone could tell that the boy was uncomfortable even though he had no excuse for it. Something in his heart kept him from resting easy, whether it be the burning feeling in his fingertips and cheeks, as if flames were slowly licking their way up his arms, or his heartbeat that felt strangely irregular, or that his throat was slowly beginning to close up, making it difficult to breathe even though he didn't need to breathe.

"To assure that the weak die.  I don't really have much of a use for those who can't fight, so it's better if the environment kills them off—just one less job for me." He explained, his tone laced with disinterest as they rolled past buildings. The cityscape was unapologetically urban. There were no trees or city planted blooms, just monoliths of concrete soaring out of the sidewalk in an exact grid pattern, with nothing but the smoggy haze that crept over the land and clung to all that it touched. Sometimes, he felt that he had to rely on the sky—a blood-red crimson, to remind him that it wasn't the monochrome world that it showed to be. 

As the vehicle moved onward, they neared a skyscraper that towered over all else, a jungle of steel and glass that grew right out of the concrete metropolis. Its windows glared down at him like a many-eyed monster, but the doorway that should have been lit was strangely dark, and gaped like an open mouth. 

Tubbo hadn't realized that they had stopped until Jschlatt lightly tapped on his window from the outside. He jerked awake from his daze and briskly scrambled out to join him. He rocked back and forth on his heels and tried his best to keep his hands from shaking as he followed in his tracks.

 "Here's the capital building." Schlatt began, glancing back to make sure that Tubbo was paying attention. The latter nodded half-heartedly and decided that, for now, he'd ignore the painfully increasing ringing in his ears—the low shriek that was getting louder and louder by the minute. 

"It's where I do most of the realm's work- training regiments, war planning, all that good stuff. My elites also spend most of their time here, unless they're deployed for an attack of some sorts." Tubbo nodded again, his attention hung by a thread—a last-ditch effort to try and stay grounded, anything to stop the primal urge to flee, to go back home, to see Tommy—

Tommy. 

The world, for a moment, stopped spinning. His feet met solid ground and he regained his senses for a split second. He had left Tommy in the Overworld. That's why he felt on the brim of puking, he wasn't with his twin. For whatever reason, he had completely forgotten about how they could not be separated, perhaps it was a spur of the moment decision on his part, but he knew now that he had to go back, it was what his mind was telling him, but getting away from Jschlatt might prove difficult. Especially since he was hanging the threat of destroying the humans without hesitation over his head. 

He sucked in a breath, maybe to keep himself composed a little longer, at least until he could excuse himself and go back for Tommy. If not for himself, but for the world—he didn't want to cause any more destruction than he already did. 

They stepped through the opened doorway just in time for the lights to flicker back to life. Inside was a ghostly sight that made even the horned man in front of him jump.

A gaggle of demons, warriors nonetheless, crowded in the first-floor landing. All of them were terribly bloodied and injured in more ways than one. In the front, Dream stood, well, barely stood, sort of hunched over and clutching at his stomach. Blood had soaked through his hoodie and his mask was cracked in two. The rest were injured in similar ways, either with burnt skin or signs of frostbite. Some even bore deep claw marks that scored their skin and seeped crimson onto the tiled floor. Shockingly enough, Jschlatt straightened and started spouting questions to the man in the green—now red, hoodie. 

"What happened? None of you died, did you? It'd be a real pain in the ass to replace some of my finest soldiers." He added the last part as a mutter under his breath, just loud enough for everyone to hear. Dream, despite looking like he'd kick his ass at any given moment, spoke with a shaky breath. 

"They were ready. When we rushed the border we were met by enemy forces almost immediately, Technoblade himself fought on the front lines. They—they have George. He said that he needed to speak with you right now, or else he'll kill him. He says that, if he finds us n human territory again, he won't hold back at all." 

Tubbo had never seen Dream in such a disorientated and fearful state. He was always calm and collected, borderline homicidal sometimes but you get the point. He never really knew the true strength of Technoblade's forces, but if what Dream was saying was true, and that this was just a sample of what he could do, he was beginning to think that maybe, joining Jschlatt was a horrible idea.

"Tommy was there. Well, he made it there right before we retreated. He looked really pissed off and almost killed us while we ran. I—"

"Tommy?" He blurted. Dream, at last, took notice of him and dipped his head. Schlatt didn't bat an eye and instead cast Tubbo a sidelong glance before turning to him, clasping both hands together. 

"Well, I see we've already gotten a mission for you. Go back to the human realm and speak to Technoblade on my behalf, because I, personally, don't want to." He pushed him along in the direction of the elevator. "Press the big purple button, it'll transport you to a gateway just west of the northern border. Oh, and while you're there, get Tommy as well." 

He was rather unceremoniously shoved through the doors and waved away through the rapidly closing gap. He had a very small feeling that he was eager to get rid of him, possibly because he didn't spare Tubbo a second glance after the doors began to close. Not that he cared, because at the moment, well,

He had much bigger things to worry about.