Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a bright sunny day as students in a middle school were lined up outside as a teacher lectured them about acceptable behavior on the field trip. The trip, which most students had looked forward to the entire school year, was a trip to the highly renowned Odd World!

Paige, who was standing near her friends, was playing with one of her blonde, braided pigtails nervously. She glanced over to Ashley, trying not to frown. “Have you been to an amusement park before?”

Ashley shook her head. “No, not that I can remember. If I have, I think I was really little.”

Connor perked up slightly as he glanced over at them. “Oh! I have! It was… uh, technically a festival in town, but everyone said it was like an amusement park with all the rip off dolls and rides there!” he chirped, pulling out a small purple doll with long gangly arms out of his hoodie pocket. “I was gonna sneak and bring one of them, it’s supposed to be one of the characters from the Rainbow Friends show…! But I dunno if it’s actually a character or just another one of the weird looking rip offs my Mom and Dad keep getting me.”

“It looks really cute, Connor,” Ashley said with a small smile.

Connor nodded with a smile in return, holding the doll close. “Oh! By the way, what do you think Odd World is gonna be like? Do you think it’s gonna be like… suuuper fun or oddly boring?”

Paige chewed her bottom lip, briefly adjusting her glasses. “I hope it’s fun. I’ve… I’ve never been on an actual ride,” she said, the joke completely flying over her head due to how nervous she was.

“I hope it’s fun too,” Ashley agreed.

“I think you guys’ll love the rides! Or… rides in general, I mean. They can be so fast paced and fun or they can be slow and peaceful…! And slightly boring but whatever!” Connor chirped.

Paige shifted from foot to foot. “Well… don’t um… Accidents can’t happen on the ride, right? Like… nobody can fall off… right?”

“Yeah, accidents don’t normally happen!” Connor said as he rocked back and forth on his heels. “I think accidents only happen when people are being silly and forget to keep the ride in check.”

Paige seemed slightly less worried, though she was still playing with her hair. “If you say so… One of the other kids at the lunch table was talking about how their brother got hurt on a ride.”

Connor paused before nodding while he messed with the small doll in his hands. “Ohhh… the people who were keeping it in a good condition must’a forgot! It’s not often people get hurt on rides! I don’t think so at least.”

Paige offered him a weak smile in response, seeming ever so slightly relieved.

Connor smiled back before perking up as he noticed kids starting to filter into the buses.

Ashley turned to glance at them. “Well… where do we wanna sit…?” she asked quietly.

Paige paused, taking a moment to think. “Um… I like sitting in the back.”

Connor grinned, pocketing his purple plushie before grabbing their hands and rushing over to the bus. "Then let's hurry before the back seats are taken!"

Ashley squeaked in surprise, stumbling to keep up with Connor and Paige.

Once they were inside, Paige went to sit by the window.

Connor sat next to her before motioning for Ashley to join them. "C'mon! There's room for one more!"

“O-Oh, okay.” Ashley cautiously sat down next to Connor, fidgeting with her sleeve.

Paige stared out the window, lightly kicking her legs back and forth. “So… when will we get there?”

"Uhh… I dunno? Probably in a few hours?" Connor guessed with a small shrug.

“A few hours?” Paige whined. “We’re never gonna get there…”

"We will! Don't worry," Connor said with a small smile. "Just take a nap! It'll be like it was only a few minutes!"

“A… nap? On a bus?” Paige wrinkled her nose.

"Yeahhh?" Connor tilted his head. "I normally take naps on the bus; it isn't that bad."

Paige thought about it for a moment before leaning her head against the window and shutting her eyes, shifting around to get comfortable. After a pause, she took off her glasses, putting them in her pocket.

Ashley glanced at Paige before looking at Connor. “So… are you going to take a nap, too, then…?”

Connor nodded, pulling out his plushie and holding it close. "Yeah, beats listening to everyone else's conversations."

“O-Oh… um, okay.”

Connor paused before holding his plush out to her. "Wanna hold this while I sleep? I… don't wanna drop it by accident."

She bit her lip before carefully taking the plush. “Okay.”

He smiled before pulling his hood up and curling in on himself slightly.

Ashley held the plush close, looking down at it briefly before sighing quietly and looking out of the window opposite of her. A few minutes after everyone got settled, the bus began to head off towards their destination.

–

A few hours later, the bus was driving through a heavily wooded area with a ferris wheel clear in the distance, its lights flashing in the dark. Eventually there was a fork in the road with a sign with the words 'Odd World' written on it as well as an arrow pointing to the left. 

Paige was snoring softly, her cheek pressed against the cold window. The other kids seemed to be doing much of the same, either asleep or simply resting their eyes.

As the bus approached the sign, it seemed to change directions and now pointed to the right. The bus driver merely shrugged as he turned down the now-dirt road, ignoring the hazard and danger signs.

Ashley blinked, looking at the signs in confusion. "Why are we heading towards a biohazard…?" she mumbled to herself.

When some of the kids on the bus began to murmur, Paige perked up a little, rubbing her eyes. “Mm… Are we there yet?”

Ashley hesitated. "I–"

Just as she was about to speak, there was a bright light outside the bus along with the sound of something exploding– sending the bus sideways into the rocky cliffside.

Ashley cried out before slamming hard into the seat in front of her and slumping to the ground, blood trickling down from her head.

Paige, who was still groggy, smacked her head into the window, causing the glass to shatter.

Connor, who was somehow still asleep, got flung out of one of the windows and hit the ground outside.

As everything settled, a few figures appeared from the shadows. Two of them were fairly tall while one was a lot shorter and human-shaped. The more human-looking figure walked over to the first kid he saw, narrowing his gaze before turning towards the larger figures. 

“Collect them all and bring them to base,” he said, his voice firm.

The two larger figures stared for a moment before nodding as they both ambled over. The one with longer arms reached in to grab the kids still in the bus while the other picked up the children on the ground. Once they grabbed some of the children, they dragged them off deeper into the forest.

At some point, when they came back for the next batch of children, the one with the longer arms paused when it discovered Ashley. It glanced towards the other figure briefly before proceeding to pick her up carefully, wrapping its arm completely around her before picking up more children in its other arm.

The human-sized person didn’t seem to be paying attention to the other two figures, instead going over to one of the kids on the grass– Connor– and attempting to drag him off by his arm. After a few tugs, he grunted. “What are they feeding these kids nowadays…? Ugh…”

The other figure, who seemed to be wearing a crown, perked up at the word “feeding” as it looked over at the humanoid. It stared before making a small grunt sound.

The human-like person paused, glancing over before seeming annoyed. “Don’t eat any of them– I need most of them alive.”

The crowned figure huffed, grumbling as it picked a kid up and started to drag them away.

The humanoid turned his gaze back towards Connor. He was about to continue dragging him, but then he noticed a few deep scratches on his face. He made a displeased noise, glancing up towards the other kids that were still on the grass and seeing that most, if not all of them were injured. 

Connor winced, groaning quietly as he opened his eyes slightly.

The human-like person froze, his eyes darting downwards as he released his grip on Connor’s arm.

Connor blinked slowly, glancing towards the bus in confusion before he slowly seemed to realize what had happened.

The humanoid stared, judging his reaction and seeing if he’d be able to talk to him. He cleared his throat, hoping that it was dark enough where the boy wouldn’t see his face. “You’ve been in an accident, but everything will be alright,” he said as reassuringly as possible.

Connor was silent for a moment, staring at the bus. "M-My… friends…" he said quietly before wincing, curling in on himself a bit.

The humanoid rolled his eyes. “They’ll be fine. Are you able to stand up, child?”

Connor hesitated. "M-Maybe…?"

“Your legs don’t seem injured– try to stand up.”

Connor hesitated again, wincing as he sat up and held his side for a moment before shakily standing up. 

The humanoid hummed with interest, looking him up and down. “See? You were able to stand up. That’s better than what any of your… friends are able to do as of currently.”

He blinked, looking at the humanoid worriedly. "H-Have none of them woken up yet??" he asked quietly, removing his arm from his side briefly only to quickly put it back.

“No, nobody but you is awake,” he said, starting to get tired of answering questions. “Though, I’m sure they’ll be fine. Just come with me, and I’ll treat your wounds.”

Connor hesitated, fidgeting with his sleeve. "B-But shouldn't we cuh-call an ambulance…?" he asked nervously, slightly unsure about the random man's trustworthiness.

"...It'll take them a while to get out here," he told Connor slowly. "Some of your friend's wounds need to be treated quickly."

“O-oh, um… alright,” Connor said quietly with a small nod. “Do you want me to, um… help bring them to wherever we’re going…?”

The human-like figure grunted, eyeing him. “You wouldn’t be able to lift them up, child. Just come with me, and I’ll treat the injuries you have.”

“E-Er… alright,” he said quietly with another small nod.

The humanoid lightly huffed, beginning to walk in a direction and expecting the kid to follow. After a moment, he spoke up. “What is your name, child?”

Connor blinked before quickly following behind him. “U-um… I’m Connor.”

“A Connor, hmm? I can’t say I’ve met anyone else with that name before… Do you have a last name?”

“U-um, my last name is Finley.”

“Connor… Connor Finley…” He pulled out a small notepad and pen from inside his lab coat, quickly writing it down. “Do you remember any of your classmate’s names?”

Connor nodded slightly as he listed a few names before hesitating. “I-I, um… don’t know a lot of their last names… b-but I do know Ashley and Paige’s last names…!”

He paused, glancing over to him. “What’s Ashley’s last name?”

“H-Her last name’s Robinson,” he said with a small smile.

“...Oh.”

He paused, tilting his head slightly. “Um… do you know her? O-Or her parents or something??”

The humanoid grunted. “You ask a lot of questions, don’t you? No, I don’t know of her. The name just sounds… unique,” he stated, even though the name was fairly common.

“E-er… sorry,” he said quietly, fidgeting with his sleeve.

The humanoid didn’t respond, instead walking up to the front of a building. There were lights, but they weren’t turned on despite it being dark out.

The tall, long armed figure ambled past them, ducking into the building and completely ignoring them.

Connor blinked before noticing the crowned figure walking past them as well. “Um… are these your friends…?”

“...Yes. They’re in… costumes right now,” he told him slowly, stepping indoors but not bothering to hold the door open for Connor.

Connor blinked, quickly going and stepping indoors as well.

The humanoid slowly walked through the building, leading him to a room filled with medical equipment. Although most lights were off in the building, the few that were on revealed that the person’s head… wasn’t exactly normal.

Connor paused, staring for a moment. “Um… are you wearing a costume, too?”

“...I am, yes,” he said slowly. “I am wearing a costume.”

“Okay…” he said quietly, unsure whether he should keep asking questions or not.

The humanoid gave him a sideways look before stepping into a room that actually had a light on. “Sit on the metal table in the middle of the room,” he said firmly, going over to a cabinet and searching through it.

He hesitated before doing as asked, sitting on the table nervously.

“On a scale of one to ten, how much pain are you in?”

“E-Er… well when I was laying down it was about a seven, b-but right now it’s a solid four.”

He hummed. “Does it hurt when you breathe in?”

“Y-Yeah.”

The human-like person went back over to Connor, holding a syringe filled with pale fluid. “Take your coat off.”

Connor hesitated before nodding slightly as he removed his hoodie.

He rolled his eyes before reaching forwards, gripping his arm. “Now, I need you to hold still. This won’t hurt.”

He nodded again, doing as he said.

The humanoid slowly inserted the needle into his arm, pushing the fluid into the vein. He stepped away, discarding the needle. “How do you feel?”

He didn’t respond for a moment before saying, “A-A little sleepy…”

“Is that so?” he said, almost amused. “Why don’t you lay down for a moment? The… medicine needs a moment to work.”

He nodded sleepily with a small hum before laying down on the table, sliding his hoodie back on.

The humanoid watched for a very long moment, folding his arms behind his back before releasing a large sigh. “Who knew children could be so annoying?” he muttered to himself. He glanced out into the hall, wondering if the other two figures had already brought the rest of the children inside. “Blue? Green?” he called out.

After a moment, Blue looked into the room with a small grunt.

He huffed. “Took you long enough.” He glanced over to Connor. “Take him to where the rest of the kids are. I’m fairly certain he only has a broken rib and some scratches, so he should be fine.”

Blue stared for another moment before going over, picking Connor up, and dragging him out of the room. Blue brought him down the hall to a room filled with children lying either in beds or on the floor.

The humanoid watched for a moment before turning towards one of the cabinets, gathering a few things before following after him. He peeked into the room with all the children, squinting at a few of them. “Where’s Ashley?” he said, though mostly to himself.

The sound of Green walking nearby stopped before he presumably turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

The humanoid paused, setting the things down in the room before glancing back out into the hall. “Green?”

Green was near the end of the hall, his arm was coiled around someone. He paused, glancing over towards the humanoid.

“What do you have in your arms?” he asked firmly, walking over.

Green didn’t show him what was in his arms, instead taking off around the corner.

The humanoid swore under his breath, running after him. “Get over here!”

Green made a noise that sounded vaguely like a party horn as he continued running, ducking into a room off to the side.

He scowled. “Green, you better come here or else you’ll get the taser!”

There was another party horn sound before Green slowly came out of the room.

The humanoid didn’t seem pleased, glaring at him.

Green stared at the humanoid before huffing as he slowly unraveled his arm.

He stared before making a low noise. “You remembered her?” he said bitterly.

Green stared, hesitating slightly before nodding.

The humanoid moved forwards, seeing if Ashley had any injuries that needed to be attended to in a timely manner. The blood on her head had dried, thankfully. She had a few minor cuts and bruises on her face and arms, but other than those injuries and the more-than-likely mind concussion she had, she appeared to be completely fine.

He sighed, though still slightly annoyed. “Put her back with the rest of the children.”

Green stared at him blankly before huffing and coiling his arm around Ashley again. He headed down the hall and back to the room with all of the other children, gently setting her on the couch.

Ashley made a small noise, curling in on herself.

Green paused, patting her shoulder before leaving the room.

Chapter Text

Ashley yelped as a loud banging noise startled her from her sleep. She frantically looked around, panting for breath before wincing and gripping her arm. “Ow…” She glanced around at the room in confusion. “Where… Where am I…?”

Connor was passed out on the floor near the couch, though he and a good few of the other kids in the room looked fairly uncomfortable or injured in some way.

Ashley paled, standing up and looking around. “Oh my gosh…”

The sound of banging came from the vents again.

She turned and peeked into the vents in confusion. “What’s in there…?”

A pair of eyes appeared in the darkness.

She yelped, falling over in fear before scrambling to look at the creature. “W-Wait!”

The eyes were just about to leave before she spoke. When she addressed them, the creature looked at her slowly.

Ashley bit her lip, lowering herself down so she could meet the creature’s gaze. “Hi… um, Mister? Miss?”

The eyes blinked.

“…Um…” Ashley hesitated. “Wh-What’s your name?”

There was a long, agonizing silence before a raspy whisper responded: “You would not understand me if I told you.”

“Wh– Yeah, I would. I’d understand you.”

The creature visibly recoiled, looking at her with their eyes wide. “You… You understand me?!”

She nodded. “Is… that a problem?”

“…Oh my God…” The creature backed away nervously. “Oh my God, you understand…” They turned and disappeared further into the vent-system.

“Wait!” Ashley got to her feet and ran out of the room– finding that it was surprisingly unlocked– racing down the hall and following the sound of banging in the vents. She stumbled a bit on some stray puddles of water, but otherwise she was able to keep up relatively easily.

Eventually, the banging noise disappeared into a locked room in one of the many halls. Ashley pressed her ear to the door to listen in.

"–I'm not joking!! One of the kids understood me, Red, I swear it!!" the creature was saying breathlessly.

The person, Red, scoffed. “I’m sure you’re just imagining things.”

“I’m not imagining things, you overgrown Looky!!! A kid was just asleep on the couch, I went to go check on them, and she heard me and began talking with me!”

“I’m not–” he made a displeased noise. “Whatever. Again, I’m sure you were just imagining things.”

“I WAS NOT IMAGINING THINGS, RED!!!”

“Alright, alright. Assume that I believe you. Which child understood you? Did they have short hair, long hair…?”

“Some little brunette girl! She was wearing red-rimmed glasses, had a black jacket on, she kinda sounded like a female version of– Cyan, what are you doing?”

Ashley paled as she heard footsteps approach the door. After a moment’s silence, she heard a voice growl, “You were followed.”

She squeaked, running away from the door as something large slammed it open. Ashley quickly skidded around a corner and dove into a locker, hiding from sight.

A beat of silence went by before Red made a low noise. “You should’ve known better, Purple.”

Purple made a noise of anger. “How was I supposed to know that little brat followed me?! It’s not like I can tell much anyways! I’m freaking colorblind!!!”

“Then how did you know what colors the child was?” Cyan’s voice asked.

“Because I can compare different shades of gray to ourselves for reference, you friggin’ half-witted donut!!!”

“Quit arguing, you two. You both need to find out where the girl went. Don’t bother going into the vents, Purple– she couldn’t have gone far.”

Cyan grumbled before walking away.

Ashley covered her mouth, glancing up as she saw the shadow of something large approach the locker she was hiding in. “Stupid Red and his stupid rules… ‘Oh, you’re just imagining things–’ Imagining things my tail. She straight-up told me that she could understand me. Lord forbid Red eeever listen to me,” Purple’s voice muttered. They opened up the locker and froze, staring at Ashley in surprise.

Ashley slumped to the ground, staring up at him. “H-Hi…?”

The large creature matched her gaze. Now that Purple was out of the vents, Ashley could see they were almost reptilian in appearance, with an elongated muzzle and a set of extremely sharp teeth. Purple’s fingers were long and clearly made for dragging people into its clutches.

Ashley blinked, pulling out Connor’s plush and glancing at it before looking back up at Purple.. “Wait… y-you’re Purple from the Rainbow Friends…?” she asked weakly.

The creature stared for a minute before letting out a wheezing breath. “ …God hecking– GUYS!!! I found her!!! ” Purple called, turning to look down an adjacent hallway.

Red slowly made his way towards them, keeping his arms folded behind his back. His lab coat had a few smudges, but otherwise he seemed fairly… menacing.

Ashley paled, staring up at Red in panic.

Purple turned to look at Red, aggressively gesturing to Ashley. “Wanna keep doubting me some more, jackdaw?”

Red grunted, giving Purple a slight glare before turning his gaze towards Ashley. “How much did you hear?”

She shook her head. “Nothing except that… th-that thing… Cyan? I-I think it was Cyan– th-the one who said they had heard me,” she lied.

Purple glanced at her before once again aggressively gesturing to her and glaring at Red. “She understood Cyan, Red!!! How the blazes do you still doubt me?!”

Red returned his gaze to Purple, seeming very unhappy. “If you don’t quit undermining my authority, I will send you to the Dark Room.”

Purple made a face. “Not the Dark Room…” they mumbled weakly.

Ashley glanced up at Purple, hesitating. “Do… Do you usually get treated like this…?” she asked quietly.

Purple shrugged. “I’m technically not supposed to leave the vents.”

“Why? The vents seem a little too small for you.”

“Not really. I–” They paused, looking at her in surprise before giving a faint smile. “You did that just to prove to Red that you understood me, didn’t you?”

She nodded slightly.

Red didn’t seem amused. “Irregardless,” he began, eyeing Ashley, “You’re not supposed to be out here quite yet. I’m fairly certain I locked the door, but someone must’ve unlocked it…”

“If you’re about to blame me, it wasn’t me,” Purple said quietly. “I already told you I had been in the vents.”

Ashley hesitated, fidgeting with her sleeve. “S-Sorry, sir,” she mumbled.

Red rolled his eyes, though taking a moment to think. After a moment, he scowled. “Green… He likely unlocked it…”

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Purple said with a shrug. “He seems to like this kid, too.”

Ashley glanced at Purple. “Why…?”

“I dunno. My guess is you remind him of someone. You remind me of someone I used to know, too– she was a tiny thing. I don’t remember her name all that well. ”

She bit her lip. “W-Well… um, I’m Ashley. Ashley Robinson.”

Purple’s eyes widened as they looked at her in surprise. “You’re… wait…”

“Enough of this talk,” Red snapped, glaring at them both. “Purple, you’re dismissed.”

Purple flinched, glancing at Red before letting out a sad sigh and walking away without another word.

Red looked over to Ashley, narrowing his eyes as if he was thinking about something.

She paled slightly, quickly pocketing the Purple plush. “S-Sorry again, sir,” she whispered.

…He sighed. “It’s natural for one to want to escape an unfamiliar situation. However, next time, don’t leave the room unless you’re instructed to.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

Red placed a hand on her shoulder blade, guiding her back to the room that had the rest of the children.

She trembled slightly as she walked with him, gripping her arm tightly as a dull ache washed through her shoulder.

Red slowly pushed the door to the room open, stepping aside and allowing her to go inside. “Don’t tell anyone else about… anything. Do you understand?”

Ashley nodded slightly. “Y-Yes, sir.”

Red huffed. “If any of your friends ask about anything, just say that you have no clue.”

“Yes, sir,” she mumbled.

Red gave her one last look before moving back towards the door, shutting it and making sure it was locked. After a moment, his footsteps traveled down the hall.

Ashley glanced at the door, covering her face and slumping against the wall.

“Red’s a jackdaw, kid. Don’t take it personally.”

She squeaked, turning to look at the vents to see Purple’s eyes staring up at her. “Wh– I thought you were dismissed?!”

“I was, but I realized Red didn’t feed Orange yet today and Orange is about to rampage.” Purple’s hand slunk out of the vent and gently gripped her hand. “Y’alright?”

She nodded, sitting down next to the vent. “Y-Yeah… um…”

“Do you have a question?”

“Wh-Who’s Green?”

Purple chuckled quietly. “Green’s a big goofball. You’d like him. He is blind, though, so you’d have to talk to him for him to realize where you are.”

“Where… Where is he…?”

“Right now?” Purple’s hand gestured towards the door. “He’s coming this way.”

There was the sound of squeaks somewhere outside the door. Once it was close there was a soft tap on the door before the handle jiggled slightly. There was a pause before there was a sad noise on the other side of the door.

Purple glanced at the door before looking at Ashley and slipping their other hand out to show a small key. “Go unlock the door for him, kid.”

Ashley took the key. “Where did you-?”

“Oh, I stole Red’s spare a long time ago.” Purple winked. “Go let Green in.”

Ashley smiled and nodded, running over to the door and unlocking it.

There was a pause before the door opened and a large green creature that looked like an inflatable tube man with legs and googly eyes ducked into the room. It felt around for a moment before pausing when it touched Ashley.

“Green, meet Ashley Robinson,” Purple said with an audible smile. “Kid, meet Green.”

Ashley reached out and gently touched Green’s hand. “Hi, Mister Green,” she said quietly.

Green paused before his arm gently coiled around her and held her close.

She laughed, giving Green a hug. “Hi.”

Purple chuckled, pulling the vent grate out and slinking partially into the room so their head and arms were fully visible. “Green remembers you, too.”

Ashley blinked. “He does…? How would he remember me if we’ve never met before…?”

“We have met before. You were just really, reeeaaally tiny. I think you were… maybe two? You were barely able to speak back then.”

Green nodded, making a party horn sound as he gently sat her down.

Ashley looked up at Green in surprise before looking at Purple. “You… knew me when I was little?”

Purple nodded. “Green, Blue, and I did, yeah. We were the first ones around… although I was considered a failure since… well, I’m essentially a noodle boy to a lesser degree than Green is.”

Green nodded again.

Ashley smiled faintly, fidgeting with her hair. “Um… was I a good kid back then…?”

Purple smirked. “Best we ever encountered. Green would babysit you whenever your dad was too busy with his work– you fell asleep a lot in Green’s arms– and Blue and I constantly fought over who’d get to help feed you and who’d get to help you comb your hair. Blue usually won the feeding arguments by punching me in the face, but hey, I learned how to braid your hair, so I suppose I at least got something good out of the entire endeavor.”

Green made a motion like he was laughing before sticking his forked-tongue out.

Ashley giggled quietly, reaching up and patting Green’s head as best as she could after pocketing the key to the doorway.

Purple watched them, smiling fondly before their eyes darted to the door. Their eyes dilated. “Red’s coming! Scatter!” They quickly dove back into the vents, replacing the grate so it looked like Purple was never there.

Green jumped before quickly moving away from Ashley and started to leave the room as fast as he could.

Ashley stepped back, watching Green leave and fidgeting with her sleeve as she let out a small breath.

Fast footsteps came down the hall a few moments after Green was gone. The door to the room slammed open, revealing a very unhappy Red. He glanced around before settling his gaze on Ashley. “Where did he go?!”

“Who, the giant green tube man? He walked in, looked around for a bit, then left,” she lied.

Red narrowed his eyes. “Looked around?” he repeated with a scoff. “Well, he couldn’t have gone far… Which direction did he go in?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. He shut the door behind him when he left. Maybe that way?” She pointed the opposite way from where Green had actually run.

Red seemed very displeased. “Useless child…” He stomped off towards the direction she had pointed, leaving her be once relocking the door.

After a moment, she slumped her shoulders with a small breath. “Oh, boy…” She looked at her sleeping classmates, rubbing her wrist before going over to check on them. Since they were all still out, Red coming in suddenly may just be a one-time thing… hopefully.

Most of them had minor cuts and bruises. Some of them looked to have their arms or head wrapped up just enough to be at least mildly acceptable medical care.

Connor was laying near the couch, having a few small scratches but otherwise looked fine.

Ashley walked over and knelt down next to Connor, gently nudging him.

Connor made a quiet noise before wincing slightly. "Hmmm…? Where's the funny man…?" he mumbled sleepily.

Ashley hesitated. “Funny man…?”

"The… t-the man with the red ball head costume," he said, sitting up with a wince.

“Oh… uh, he’s not here. It’s just us kids.”

"Ohh…"

Ashley nodded, pulling out the purple plush and holding it out to him. “Here, Connor.”

Connor blinked, reaching out and gently taking it. "Y-you kept it safe…? I f-figured it would've gotten burnt in the bus…"

Ashley shook her head. “No, it was in my jacket the entire time. I made sure of it.”

He paused before smiling faintly. "Thanks, Ash…!"

She nodded, pushing her hair back. She glanced at the vents, blinking slightly when she saw Purple’s eyes once again. “Huh…?”

Purple gently shoved a small box out of the vent before disappearing into the darkness.

Connor blinked, glancing towards the vents then the box. "Um… was that a friend…?"

Ashley hesitated, picking up the box and looking at the tag to see ‘To Ashley’ on it. She opened the box and blinked at the sight of a golden locket in the box. She pulled the locket out and opened it, showing a small picture of herself, Purple, Blue, and Green drawn in crayon with the words ‘Welcome Home’ written at the top.

Connor tilted his head. "Is… that a locket?"

Ashley smiled and nodded, clasping the necklace around her neck and holding it close.

Connor paused before smiling faintly. "It looks good on you, Ash…!"

“Thanks, Connor.”

He nodded as he shakily stood up. He paused, glancing around. "Wait… i-is Paige not up yet…?"

Ashley shook her head. “Not that I can tell.”

"Mm… I hope they actually g-got her out of the bus…" he said quietly before adding. "The funny man also said t-that the ambulance is gonna take awhile to get here… I-I wonder if it's arrived yet."

Ashley blinked, glancing at him. “Red called an ambulance…? When did he do that?”

"I-Is his name Red…?” He asked before pausing and quickly adding. "And it was back at the b-bus… I don't know what time it was but he said he had said it was going to take a while till they arrived."

Ashley frowned. “Oh… hm.” She glanced at the vents to see if Purple was still there but saw nothing.

Connor nodded slightly. "Y-Yeahhh…"

She bit her lip. “Maybe we’ll find her later…?”

"I hope s-so…" he said quietly, holding the purple plushie close.

Ashley nodded, giving him a brief hug before settling down on a separate bed.

Chapter Text

Paige woke up with a groan, rubbing her forehead. After a moment, she glanced around, noticing that she was on a bed. “What… What happened…?” As she woke up a bit more, she noticed a few bandages on her arms, making her frown.

“Good morning,” Ashley said quietly from nearby.

Paige sat up, starting to panic a little. “Where are we? Did… Was there an accident?”

Ashley nodded. “Yeah, the bus exploded… that was a few days ago, though.”

Connor nodded as well with a small wave. "And a funny man with a red mask has been taking care of us since then."

Paige became very pale. “Wh… What? A few days? An-And what man?”

“Yeah… everyone had a lot of head injuries and other problems, so we had to stay here for a few days,” Ashley said quietly. “There’s no word about our teachers, though…”

"I hope the red guy helps them, too…" Connor mumbled quietly.

Paige seemed… sick, covering her mouth. “Wh-What if our teachers are… are…”

“I have no idea,” Ashley said, walking over to the vents. “Let me ask.”

Paige frowned. “Ask? Ask who?”

Ashley didn’t respond, instead knocking on the wall above the vent. After a moment, soft growling could be heard as a pair of eyes appeared from the darkness.

Connor motioned to the vent. "That's her friend! She apparently knew them when she was little."

Paige seemed a bit freaked out, but she trusted her friends enough to not start screaming. “O-Oh.”

After a bit, Ashley moved away from the vents and walked over to them. “They said they don’t know what happened to the teachers. Apparently us kids were the only ones that they found.”

Paige winced. “Well… maybe they’re still okay…?”

Connor nodded slightly. "Yeah… maybe they're okay! Maybe the ambulances got there but since we were gone and already being treated they took the teachers?"

Ashley made a face before shrugging.

Paige shifted from foot to foot, frowning more. “I want to go home…”

"I'm sure the funny man will let us go when we're all healed!" Connor chirped with a small, hopeful smile.

Ashley glanced at the vents nervously.

Paige twiddled her thumbs, glancing towards the door. “Are we… stuck here?”

Connor hesitated. “Only for now! The red guy doesn’t want us to explore because I think he thinks this place is dangerous for children.”

She gave him a wary look. “If you say so…” She sat there for a long moment. “So… you’ve all just been… sitting in here?”

“Uhhh… yeah,” he said with a small nod.

“...Have you… been able to eat?”

Ashley nodded. “Red comes by with food for all of us. It’s usually sandwiches and water, but at least it’s not the big bags of kibble he has.”

“Bags of…” Paige seemed disturbed.

“It’s not for us. Apparently it’s for something else.”

She frowned. “Will he… let us go if we ask nicely enough?”

“I… don’t know.” Ashley glanced at the vents. “I haven’t asked… he doesn’t seem to like me, though…”

Paige released a shaky sigh, taking a moment to collect herself. She glanced back over to the door. “Well… what if we sneak out?”

A knock came from the vents as the eyes reappeared.

Ashley blinked, walking over. “What’s the matter?”

The creature in the vents growled, its eyes darting to look behind it every so often. Eventually, the growling fell quiet before the creature scrambled away.

Ashley frowned, looking at Paige and Connor. “They said ‘it’s time for testing to begin.’”

Paige paled once again. “What? What test– are we taking a test?”

“I have no idea, but they sounded like they were hyperventilating…”

Connor made a face. “Oh… That… doesn’t seem very good…”

Paige lightly played with her hair, trying to comfort herself. “I’m not good with tests… I hope it isn’t anything hard.”

Ashley shrugged before jumping as the sound of loud banging echoed through the room, almost like something was trying to get their attention.

Paige squeaked, stiffening. “What’s…?”

The vent opened as the lizard-like Purple emerged and stood up, towering above everyone.

Paige stared with large eyes, speechless. The other kids seemed to have a similar reaction.

Connor blinked, looking up at Purple before gasping. “He looks like my plushie!”

Ashley brightened, running over to hug Purple.

Purple held out a hand, gently stopping her and shaking their head. They looked at the students before turning and pulling a large metal crate filled with cardboard boxes of varying sizes, colors, and shapes.

“Are those… boxes?” Paige spoke up quietly.

Purple nodded, stepping back and gesturing to the crate before holding up a finger.

Ashley looked at them. "They're saying that we each need to take one box. We're going to need it for testing… at least, according to them."

“So… we just pick a box each?” Connor asked, tilting his head slightly.

Purple nodded again.

Paige still seemed a bit unsure, but still went over to pick out a box.

Ashley glanced at Purple. “We get to pick any box?”

Purple nodded slightly, smirking.

She glanced into the crate and pulled out a box that had pictures of Purple themself on it. She smiled, showing Purple the box. “It’s you!”

Purple made a gesture like they were laughing.

Connor smiled faintly before going over and peeking into the crate.

Paige eventually pulled out a plain tan box, releasing a small breath and trying not to seem nervous.

Connor reached in and pulled out a box with pictures of Green on it. He made a happy noise as he held it above his head happily.

Purple smiled, watching and waiting for everyone else to grab a box before nodding and diving back into the vents.

“Why do we need a box?” Paige mumbled aloud.

“To be like cats and hide in them, I reckon!” Connor chirped, wearing his box on his head as he put his hands on his hips.

Paige couldn’t help but lightly smile at that. “Maybe so.”

A solid minute passed before a static-like noise sounded overhead and Red’s voice could be heard. He proceeded to explain what to do, how his blocks were missing, and where the blocks needed to be put back.

Ashley looked up in the general direction of where Red’s voice was coming from, her expression falling.

Connor blinked, looking up slightly before smiling faintly. “Ooooh! So it’s gonna be like hide and seek where we hide in the box when he comes around and we collect stuffs! I get it! This’ll be fun!”

Paige smiled more, seeming slightly excited. “Oh this does sound fun! I like collecting things.”

“It’s not going to be that easy…” Ashley mumbled. “Red won’t be the one chasing us down. I have a feeling that’s why Purple gave us these boxes.”

“Oh? Would it be the funny man’s friends in the costumes following us around?” Connor asked, tilting his head.

Ashley frowned, glancing at Connor. “Those aren’t costumes.”

Connor blinked. “They aren’t?”

There was a loud bang somewhere outside with a distorted laugh shortly after.

Connor jumped at the sound, looking towards the door. “W-what was that??”

Paige became very pale in an instant, somewhat hiding behind Connor.

Ashley turned, her eyes widening. She glanced down at the locket around her neck, opening it to look at the picture inside as her face turned pale. “Blue…”

“B-Blue? Is that your friend??” Connor asked, glancing over at Ashley.

“ …Hide. Everyone, use the boxes and hide!” Ashley said quickly.

Paige didn’t hesitate to do as she said, quickly using the box to cover herself. 

Connor nodded and ducked into his box, as well, curling up under it with a slight wince. 

Most, if not all of the other children were quick to get under their boxes too.

After a couple moments, the door swung open as a large, blue, humanoid character with a button for an eye crept into the room. He hummed distortedly as he glanced around before noticing Ashley.

Ashley stepped back nervously. “H-Hi, Blue… um, do you… remember me…?”

Blue stared at her, freezing for a moment.

She hesitated, stepping closer to the door. “U-Uh… Blue…?”

He paused, his remaining eye squinting at her before nodding to himself and going towards her.

Ashley yelped, turning and running past him and out of the room.

Blue blinked, making a startled noise before chasing after her.

She quickly ran down the hall, making sure Blue was still chasing her before turning a corner.

Blue made a noise. “Back! Come!” he shouted as he chased after her.

Ashley squeaked, trying to pick up speed.

Blue continued to chase her, slowly seeming to gain on her before tackling her in a bear-hug.

She yelped in surprise, looking up at Blue with wide eyes. “B-Blue?!”

Blue made a happy noise, holding her close. After a moment, he stood up while still holding her and started to walk off somewhere.

“B-Blue, where are we going?!”

Blue didn’t respond for a moment. “Food. You eat.”

“Wh– I’m not hungry right now, Blue!”

“Stay,” he said, setting her down in a chair in one of the halls as he went to get her some food. Noticeably, there wasn’t a camera pointing down this hall. “Eat, yes?”

She blinked, looking towards the vents to see Purple watching her and clearly laughing. “Wh-What’s so funny?!”

“I can’t believe it was just an on-sight thing for him! That’s just too funny!” Purple opened the grate and climbed out, getting to their feet. “It’s amazing that both he and Green remember you! Your dad’s gonna be furious!”

“My… My dad?”

Purple’s smile faded quickly as they clapped a hand over their mouth. “Oh, dagnabbit…”

Blue blinked, looking back at her as he fumbled with the bowl of cereal he just grabbed after entering a nearby room.

Purple stumbled backwards. “I’m going to die… oh, God, I’m going to die. Red’s going to kill me.”

Ashley reached out for them. “Purple, wait-!!!”

Purple dove back into the vents and disappeared.

Blue hesitated, putting the bowl in front of her and setting a spoon down beside it. “Can… keep secret, yes?”

Ashley looked up at him, nodding.

Blue nodded with a small smile before nudging the bowl. “Good, now eat.”

She hesitated before giving another nod, using the spoon and taking a bite of cereal.

Blue watched, sitting on the ground as he leaned back slightly. “Where go? Haven’t seen in long time.”

“I… I don’t honestly know. I don’t even really remember my time with you, Green, and Purple.” She nudged some of the cereal around with her spoon, sighing. “All I really remember is that I’ve been in a foster home since I was pretty young… probably four or five.”

“Mm… you were very small. Still small but you were… smaller,” he said with a small nod. “Was fun. Missed you lots.”

Ashley smiled faintly, looking at Blue. “Did you really punch Purple in the face if they tried to feed me instead of you?”

“Will do again if they try to steal job,” Blue mumbled, crossing his arms. “Always my turn, never theirs.”

She broke into laughter.

“What?? Is true! They try to steal job, I punch their face! Very fair terms!”

Ashley covered her mouth, trying to stop laughing.

“Am wrong??” Blue asked with a pout.

Ashley stood up after she calmed down and hugged Blue happily.

Blue blinked before hugging her back.

She curled up against him with a smile. "Thanks, Blue… I needed a good laugh."

He nodded, holding her close. "Very welcome… though, still am not wrong."

She giggled. "Nope. Not wrong at all."

Blue nodded before smiling again. "Good."

Ashley hesitated before looking up at him. “Hey, Blue? Can you promise me something?”

"Anything," he said with a small nod.

“Please don’t attack anyone… M-My friends and I are all trapped here and… and Red probably wants us to die.”

Blue paused. "But if no kill… will get no food… and no food will mean more bad times."

“But they’re my friends, Blue!”

Blue hesitated. "I… I no kill…"

Ashley hugged him. “Thanks, Blue.”

"But… what do when see friends? Red will be angry if do nothing."

“Um… maybe you could chase them? Y’know, until they hide in their boxes?”

“Friends have boxes?”

She nodded, pulling out her own box to show him. “This is mine. It has Purple on it.”

Blue paused before perking up. “I seek and they hide, yes??”

“U-Um… yeah, I guess so…?”

“Fun, fun!!” Blue said with a distorted laugh before nuzzling her cheek. “Can do! Can do!!”

Ashley laughed, giving Blue another hug. “Thanks so much, Blue.”

Blue nodded. “Welcome! Very welcome!”

Ashley stood up, glancing at the cereal before gesturing to it. “Want me to finish eating before I go and rejoin my friends?”

“Yes, eat food,” he nodded.

She laughed quietly, sitting back down and eating her cereal.

Blue continued to watch, sitting on the ground and bobbing his head back and forth.

After she finished, she set the spoon down in the bowl with a smile. “Thanks, Blue.”

Blue nodded, standing up and going over to the bowl and picking it up. “Very welcome, Ashley.”

She smiled and nodded, getting to her feet. “I’d better go see how my friends are doing.”

Blue paused before nodding. He briefly went into the room before going back out into the hall where she was, having put the bowl up. “ Go see friends, will see soon. ”

“Thanks, Blue. See you soon!” She ran off to go find everyone else.

In a room with two wide open entry-ways and a pile of things in the middle of it, a box with pictures of green plastered on it scooted over to a block. After a moment, Connor peeked out of it and grabbed the block with a happy noise. “Aha!”

Ashley laughed, walking over to Connor. "How many does that make?"

Connor blinked, looking over to Ashley before smiling and running over to give her a hug. “You’re alive!!”

She blushed but hugged him back. "Y-Yeah, I'm alive. Blue chased me for a while but I eventually lost him."

He nodded, blushing faintly. “Ohhh! Good job!” he chirped with a small smile. “And we have about fifteen! I think we have almost all of them.”

"I think there's twenty-four blocks, Connor."

“Yeah, but twenty-four is about eight blocks away! And I just got one so that would be sixteen, so we’re about seven blocks away now!” he said with a grin.

"I… It's eight blocks, Connor. Eight plus sixteen is twenty-four."

Connor paused. “Oh… Well still! It’s really close!!” he chirped with a small laugh.

Ashley smiled faintly and nodded.

He nodded happily. “C’mon! The stage is up there!” he chirped, gently taking her hand as he went up the sloped hallway.

She followed behind, looking around to make sure Blue was keeping his word.

Paige was near the stage… though, she was very much still in her plain box, trembling.

Ashley blinked, walking over and nudging the box. “Paige, come on.”

Connor blinked as well. “Ohhh, so that’s why I didn’t see her anywhere,” he said, going over and placing his block on the stage before going back over to Paige. “Paige… we only have eight blocks left… It’d go faster if you helped out.”

She released a whimper. "I don't wanna come out…"

"Paige, it'll be okay. Blue won't hurt anyone," Ashley said.

Paige frowned, peeking her head out of the box to look at her. "How can you be so sure?"

"I just know. Now come on. He might chase us, but to him it's just hide and seek. We hide, he seeks, but he won't hurt us."

Paige took in a steadying breath before getting out and folding her box up. Though, she still seemed extremely nervous.

Ashley smiled and pointed. “You go with Connor down that way, and I’ll go check on the others down the maintenance tunnel.”

Paige gave a weak nod at that, standing close to Connor.

Connor grinned, gently taking Paige’s hand. “C’mon! Let’s go check the backstage area!” he chirped before running off.

Paige made a startled noise before stumbling beside him, trying to keep pace.

Ashley smiled faintly, running off to go make sure Blue wasn't killing anyone.

Some kids ran past Ashley before ducking into a box as Blue ran past before pausing. He laughed giddily when he noticed they ducked into boxes, starting to walk off before noticing Ashley and waving at her.

She waved with a smile, laughing quietly.

Blue smiled happily before walking away.

Ashley watched, letting out a small breath before walking away, as well.

Chapter Text

Paige gently placed a block on the pedestal, releasing a breath. “Okay, that was the last one. Are we… done?”

Static-like noise sounded overhead before Red’s voice could be heard. He mentioned something about getting some rest, however, before he turned the speakers off, he said one last thing that made Paige shiver. 

“Ashley. You and your two friends stay at the theater.”

Ashley froze, looking at the speakers nervously.

Connor paused. “Uh…?”

Ashley stayed quiet, gripping her sleeve tightly.

Paige frowned. “Why does he want us to stay here?”

“Um… maybe he wants to talk to us about something…?” Connor guessed.

Paige adjusted her semi-cracked glasses. “But why would he want to talk with us?”

“Uhm… Maybe we did something wrong…??” Connor suggested with a small shrug.

Paige paled. “I hope he doesn’t hurt us.”

“I… I’m sure he won’t…!” Connor said with a small smile.

Paige gave him a wary look. “Why else would he want us here?”

“Um… to tell us not to go to certain places…?” he said slowly with another small shrug. “I, uh… I don’t know why else he’d want us together here.”

Paige twiddled her thumbs, lowering her head. “I hope that’s all he wants us for. He… He doesn’t seem nice.”

“I’m sure he isn’t all too bad… maybe he’s just in a bad mood!”

“What are you all talking about?”

Paige squeaked, turning her head and seeing Red standing at the doorway. She slightly hid behind Connor.

Connor blinked, glancing at Red before waving. “Oh, hi, red guy!”

Ashley stared at Red nervously, taking a preemptive step backwards.

Red walked over to them, eyeing Paige before glancing over to Connor for a moment. He eventually settled his gaze on Ashley, slowly narrowing his eyes. “Do you know why you all are here?”

Ashley looked at the ground, staying quiet.

“Um… not really, no,” Connor said quietly.

Red seemed displeased. “Well,” he began, “I’m sure you’ve all seen Blue. He, in short terms, was supposed to kill you. And, for some reason, he killed nobody. I know he’s not too competent, but I was certain that he’d get at least one person.” He eyed Ashley. “So, thusly, one of you must’ve done something.”

Ashley… still didn’t say anything.

“Why would one of us have done something? We’ve stuck together the entire time,” Connor said as he tilted his head. 

“And maybe you have. But one of you had to have done something,” he said firmly.

Paige winced, slowly glancing towards Ashley. She decided to stay silent too.

Connor still looked a bit confused. “But why us? There’s like… thirty of us in total.”

Red looked between them all before once again settling his gaze on Ashley, narrowing his eyes. “Maybe so, but you all are the most likely suspects. Besides… your female friend won’t stop looking at Ashley.”

Ashley flinched, backing up a bit more.

“I mean, you’re just very intimidating, red guy. You more than likely are just making them nervous,” Connor stated with a shrug. “To be fair… you are keeping us in a room and saying we can’t explore unless we are told to… and not to mention that we only get tiny sandwiches and a glass of water.”

“Connor, please stop,” Ashley whispered. “I… I did do it. I told Blue not to hurt anyone.”

“Hmph.” Red squinted at Ashley before glancing back at Paige and Connor. “You two are allowed to go back to the room. Ashley… you stay here with me.”

Connor made a face. “I… think I’m gonna stay here.”

Red slowly walked closer to Connor, looming over him. “I suggest you go. If you don’t, I will make an example out of you.”

Connor hesitated before shaking his head and glaring up at him. “No.”

Paige winced, reaching over and tugging at Connor’s hoodie. “Don’t make him mad…”

Connor shook his head, looking back at her. “No! He’s gonna hurt Ashley!”

Ashley glanced at Connor sadly. “Connor, I… I-I’ll be okay,” she said weakly. “Just go. There’s… there’s no point in making him mad… please.”

Connor just shook his head again. “No.”

Red made a low noise, stepping closer to him. “This is your final warning. Leave now, or face the consequences.” 

Connor glared up at him. “Screw you. No.”

Red hummed. A moment passed, two, and– and he lurched forwards, pulling something out of his pocket and– and tased him. 

Connor screamed, stumbling backwards slightly before crumpling to the floor.

Ashley’s eyes went wide as she stared at Connor, trembling in fear before collapsing against the wall.

Paige watched with large eyes, horrified.

Red scoffed. “See, this is why you listen to me.”

“You…” Paige seemed like she was close to crying.

He rolled his eyes, leaning in close to Connor and checking his pulse. “He’s alive– it didn’t kill him.”

Paige furiously rubbed her eyes, sniffling softly. “He– he’s dead… he’s not gunna make it…”

Red seemed irritated. “He’s not dead yet– quit crying.” 

Paige sucked in a breath, continuing to rub at her eyes. “S-Sorry– please don’t tase me…”

“I’m not–” He glared. “I’m not going to tase you unless you do something ridiculous.”

She stood there, terrified.

Red… sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead in a tired way. “Just– just take him. Drag him back to the room you share with the rest of the kids.”

Paige whimpered. “But… what if he dies in his sleep?”

Red glared once more, and she stiffened. “I could always take him, but you won’t see him ever again.”

Paige weakly went over to Connor, trying to pick him up but failing. 

“Do you have zero upper body strength?”

“I-I…” Paige whined. “I’m trying my best!!”

“Your best sucks. Just– no, lift with your back, not your arms. You–” He glared harder. “Are you stupid?”

Paige seemed like she was going to cry more.

Red scowled, rubbing his face for a moment. “Cyan?” he called out. “Come here.”

There was the sound of loud footsteps as Cyan walked into the room, chirping quietly as she walked over to Red.

He pointed at Connor. “Take him to the rest of the children.”

Cyan bobbed her head and grabbed Connor with her teeth, dragging him by the leg out of the room.

Paige cringed before quickly shuffling after Connor, not wanting to get left behind.

Red released a long breath, allowing his shoulders to sink. After a pause, he glanced over to Ashley. 

Ashley was staring at him with wide eyes, her hands over her mouth as she shook. “Y-You…”

“I?” Red squinted at her.

“You… Y-You tased… I-It was Blue… H-He had done something, an-and… and– oh my God, you had… y-you nearly killed him…”

Red stared before grunting. “Nothing dies unless I want it to,” he said lowly, walking over towards her.

She scrambled backwards. “G-Get away from me!!!”

He kept walking towards her, continuing, “If someone disobeys me, they deserve to get hurt.”

“Y-You’re crazy!!!”

“Maybe I am,” he said calmly. “But as long as you play along, you, likely, won’t get hurt.”

“Wh-What kind of parent harms his own daughter?!”

Red paused, staring at her for a long moment… before chuckling darkly. “So you remember.”

Ashley trembled, looking at him in panic.

Red moved closer, seeming very… menacing. “I’m surprised you can remember that far back. You were very… unsuccessful, with a lot of things.”

“Th-The child protective services– they took me away because you were insane!!!”

“Yes, yes– they, unfortunately, took you away from me while I was out in public with you. However…” He leaned in close. “You’re here now.”

She went ghostly white, staring up at him.

Red leaned back, giving her some space– though, he didn’t seem quite done with her yet. “There’s so much to do,” he began. “I never got to thoroughly experiment on you… Maybe I should erase your last name from your memory– it was made up, anyways.”

Ashley quickly got to her feet and tried running for the exit only to find Cyan staring at her angrily. She froze, staring at the creature in fear.

“Don’t move,” Cyan said with a cheeky smirk.

Red seemed slightly amused at Ashley’s attempt to run. “There’s no escape from this place. Your only escape would be that of death– and I don’t let things die unless it’s on my terms.”

Cyan walked forward, forcing Ashley to move back so Cyan didn’t grab her arm. Ashley squeaked as she ended up running right into Red, turning to look at him in wide-eyed panic.

Red… rolled his eyes. “You act like I’m going to eat you– you should’ve been more scared of Blue than me.”

“Blue didn’t want to hurt me when he saw me! He just wanted to make sure I had eaten something!”

“Hmph. You should see him when he’s hungry… Whatever,” he said firmly, placing a gloved hand on her shoulder. “You’re coming with me.”

Ashley tried to move away, but Cyan growled at her. Ashley trembled, staring at Red.

Red tugged her along, bringing her down a hallway. Though, noticeably, they weren’t going in the direction of the other kids.

Chapter Text

Orange was mere moments away from falling asleep when he heard loud footsteps coming towards the door that led into his private cave. He released a disgruntled noise, lazily peering over the ledge.

After a moment, Blue came in while leading Green behind him.

Green bonked his head on the doorframe, making a startled noise before ducking under it and walking a bit closer to Blue.

Blue glanced back at him before looking over at Orange and giving a small wave. “Orange, hello!”

“Hi? What’re you two doin’ in ‘ere?” Orange asked lazily.

Blue paused, glancing back at Green briefly. “Looking for someone. Small, has glasses? Have seen?”

Orange tried to think… “Naw, I don’ think so. Have ye asked Red?”

Blue made a face. “No. Red wouldn’t say, though. He’s a–”

Green smacked Blue, making a soft party horn sound.

“Am right! You know! He hurt us all!” Blue stated with a frown.

Orange stared for a moment before huffing. “Well, if ye can’t find who you’re lookin’ for, Red might be your only option.” He then thought about something. “Oh wait, are you talkin’ about the kiddo that got zapped?”  

Blue was silent for a moment before slowly staring at Orange. “Child was what?”

“He was zapped wit’ that taser Red always keeps on ‘im… Though, now that I think about it, Purple didn’t say anything about him having glasses… Ya didn’t hear about that?”  

“No! Didn’t hear at all!!” Blue said as he threw his nubs into the air. “Why the–” as he swore Green covered it with an agitated party horn. “–Did he shock child?!”

Orange frowned. “I dunno why he did it– maybe he had a good reason… though, knowing ‘im, his reason probably wasn’t all that good.”

“Is child! Child can do nothing against him! No reason to shock!” Blue stated angrily before going back over to the door. “Will have word with him. Green stay, you fall down the maintenance shaft and I affectionately strangle you.”

Green made a noise, looking towards Blue with a ‘what the fuck’ look.

Orange grunted, seeming mildly concerned. “Blue, don’t say or do nuffin’ that will piss Red off. Ya know he ain’t the best person when… mad.”

“Tough fucking luck,” he stated as he went through the door and slammed it behind him, heading towards Red’s room.

Sure enough, Red was in his personal room, typing away on a keyboard. There were several monitors on the desk in front of him, but only one of them was on.

Blue went up behind him before grabbing him by his shoulders, picking him up and throwing him into the adjacent wall.

Red made a choked noise, startled out of his mind. “What the?!”

Blue didn’t say anything quite yet, going back over to him and picking him up again and throwing him at his desk.

Red grunted in pain, squeezing his eyes shut. “What– What are you– why?”

“You know why,” Blue growled. “Why shock child, Red. What gained from it?”

Red finally looked at him. “You…” He grunted again, though more out of annoyance. “You’re upset over that? The boy is fine!”

Blue’s remaining eye narrowed, going over and picking him up again. “Wrong answer,” he stated before throwing him at the wall again.

“Fuck!” he hissed, grimacing. “Just– Just quit it!”

“Why? You shock child. You shock Green. You shock me. You never stop,” he stated in a matter-of-fact tone. “You see no reason to stop. I see no reason to stop either.”

“Without me you’d just be a monster,” he growled. “You’d do things without rhyme or reason, and, and– and probably would try to eat even more people!”

“Coming from person who hurts everyone he touches,” Blue scoffed, starting to go over before pausing as he thought of something. “How about this; if fix mistake. Won’t throw you at wall thirty more times.”

Red scowled, though something flitted through his gaze at his first sentence. “And how would you like me to fix my mistake? Huh? Should I kiss his boo-boos and tuck him into bed?”

Blue gave him a deadpan stare. “You know what mean. Help him feel better. Medical attention, not left in bed for untold hours,” he stated with a frown. “But it seems like you do want to be thrown at wall thirty times.” 

“You’re lucky I don’t zap you right now,” Red muttered bitterly, glaring. “The boy had it coming to him– he wouldn’t listen to me, so I decided to show him what happens when orders aren’t followed.”

Blue stared at him before walking over, picking him up and throwing him back at his desk. “You’re lucky if not kill and tear you to pieces!!” he shouted at him. “Children can be disobedient but you don’t tase them with taser!! They are children , Red!! Children not know better!! They not like us!! They can’t handle it!! You’ll be lucky if child actually wakes up!!”

Red grunted deeply in pain, having difficulty in standing up straight. “Quit… urgh, quit being dramatic– they’ll survive a light zapping…”

“Bullshit, Red! Know you better than to ‘lightly zap’ someone! You used same voltage as the rest of us, you pitiful piece of trash!!” Blue growled. “Fix. Mistake. And may not beat the living hell out of you.”

Red narrowed his eyes in a challenging sort of way. “And what if the boy dies? What then?”

Blue gave him a menacing glare. “If child dies. You die.”

He scoffed. “Why do you care so much? You never cared about any of the adults that have been murdered. Besides, the children are just… test subjects– who cares what happens to them? They’re durable.”

Blue stared before going over to him and decking him.

Red lost his balance, falling to the floor and holding his face, groaning in pain as he landed on his spine.

Blue stared down at him. “You fail to understand the situation. Made promise. Will keep promise. I not care who tries to kill them. They won’t die. And will make sure those who kill will be severely punished. This includes you, Red.”

He grunted quietly, taking a lot longer to recover. “Fucking… fine, whatever, just… quit it…!”

“Say it.”

Red removed his hands from his face, and noticeably, there was a bruise already starting to swell on his cheek. “I’m, I’ll…” he made a pained noise, trying to sit up so he wasn’t on his back.

Blue stared at him as he rolled his remaining eye before pausing. “Also…” he started, picking him up from under his arms. “If find out you killed or hurt Ashley again. Will make sure you drown in the river in the mines.” With that, he tossed him onto his bed and started to leave. “Fix mistake. No hurt Ashley. No kill children.”

Red grunted yet again, laying on his side. “You remind me too much of him,” he muttered mostly to himself.

Blue glanced at him but said nothing, just leaving with a huff.

–

Connor made a quiet noise, opening his eyes slightly. His vision seemed to be a bit blurry as he glanced around briefly.

The room was very… white. There were white walls, white ceiling, white floor, white beds, white cabinets. It smelled faintly of lemon scented cleaning chemicals. 

Off to the left was a splotch of red and black laying atop a different bed, simply… there. The thing seemed to breathe, oddly enough.

Connor paused. A splotch of… red…? And black…?? He was still for a moment before jolting slightly as he quickly sat up, realizing who it was.

Red grunted, placing the large book he had been holding to the side. “Don’t move so quickly…!”

He made a face, not listening to him as he started to get up from the bed. “N-nope, nope, nope, nope,” he said quietly, wanting to get away from Red as fast as he could.

Red scowled. “If you move too fast you will throw up.”

“Why should I listen to or believe you? You shocked me!” Connor said with a frown, glancing towards him.

“You deserved it,” he huffed, slowly standing up from the bed. “You should learn to listen once in a while.”

Connor glared daggers at him… or in his direction at least. “I was going to listen to you, but then you decided you wanted to hurt Ashley! Why should I listen to someone who actively wanted us to die and used us to do petty tasks as an experiment?”

Red rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t understand. Besides, Blue…” He made a noise of distaste. “Blue has… convinced me not to kill any of you.”

Connor narrowed his eyes. “Riiiight. You just got sick kicks out of it and now after your own friend said ‘hey, this is rightfully screwed up!’ you change your mind on a dime.”

“Well, technically it wasn’t on a dime– you’ve been out for, like, two weeks.”

Connor paused. “Wha… You shocked me and only probably a week in after you were told this is screwed up you decided to check if I was even still breathing?!”

Red folded his arms, huffing. “Blue came to me a few days after the incident– not a week. And, I’ve had several thoughts about letting you die since I’ve came to help you– you’ve had, like, five seizures in your sleep.”

Connor stared at him before walking around the bed and kicking him in the shins.

“You-!” Red gritted his teeth in pain, shoving him away by his head.

He stumbled back slightly before sticking his tongue out at him. “That’s what you get for trying to let me die!”

“You probably would’ve been fine without my help!” he hissed, glaring at him.

“Yeah, says the red blur who thinks he’s god and can just kidnap kids to experiment on! We would’ve been fine if you didn’t bring any of us here!”

Red glared. “Red blur? Did…” He paused. “Red blur? Can you… see me well?”

“Barely, the only reason I even realized it was you was the fact that you’re the only red thing in this building other than the curtains, some of the walls and one of those little blocks on the floor. And the fact that your pants and suit are black,” Connor stated with a small frown.

Red… stared before releasing a grunt, walking up to him. “Okay, that’s not good– stay still.”

Connor made a face but… surprisingly stayed still.

Red pulled something out of his breast-pocket that looked somewhat like a pen– before shining it directly in Connor’s eyes.

Connor made a noise, blinking a couple times before moving back slightly to rub his eyes.

Red didn’t seem pleased, though in a different way than his usual displeasedness. “Okay. Now… I need you to keep your head still and follow the light with your eyes,” he said, slowly holding it up for him to see without shining it directly in his eyes this time and moving it from side to side.

Connor tried to follow the light but kept having to look away to cover his eyes with a small pained noise.

Red sighed, pocketing the light. “Okay… Does anything hurt right now– other than your eyes? Does your head hurt at all?”

“Not… really? Everything feels kinda tingly though,” he said quietly.

“Very descriptive.” Red shuffled over towards the door, flicking the overhead lights off and making the room completely dark. “Is that better?”

Connor uncovered his eyes before nodding. “Uh… yeah, that’s a lot better, actually.”

“Do you want a small light source– like a lamp or something– or do you want to stay in complete darkness?”

“Um… suuure…?”

“That…” Red huffed loudly. “That does not answer my question– you know what? I’m getting you a small light. I’ll be right back. If you feel like you’re about to have a seizure, lay down on the floor away from furniture.”

Connor paused before nodding slightly. "Er… alright?"

Red rolled his eyes before leaving the room, shutting the door quietly. 

Connor made a face, fidgeting with his hands nervously.

“Y’alright, kid?”

Connor made a noise, looking around quickly. “W-who said that??”

“Up here.”

Connor paused, looking up.

Purple was sitting up in the rafters, looking down at him as their tail wagged back and forth. “ Hi, kid .”

Connor stared for a moment, squinting slightly. “Um… hello… white splotches???”

“ Eh, close enough. Most people only see my eyes and hands anyway. ”

“Uhhh… Are you… Ashley’s friend…??” 

“I’m Purple, yes.”

“Mmm… okay,” he said quietly, rubbing his eyes again and not bothering to question how in the world he could understand them. 

Purple crawled down from the ceiling, looking at Connor carefully. “Need any water?”

“Um… I think I’m fine…” he said quietly, wavering on his feet a bit.

“Don’t keep standing, kid. Sit down. It’s not a good idea to stand when you’re mentally traumatized and have been zapped to high heaven.”

Connor nodded slightly before promptly falling over.

“Ah, heck.” Purple picked Connor up and set him down on the bed. “Stupid kid… that dumb taser is too much for a kid. Blue’s gonna kill Red if Red doesn’t tase him first.” Purple moved back, rubbing their arms and wincing as they nudged large bruises all over their shoulder and arms. “Ow. Stupid Cyan… what a jackdaw.” They sighed, crawling up into the vent and going back into hiding.

A minute or two passed before the door opened and Red stepped back into the room, plugging in the small lamp he had in his hand. He sighed, seeming tired. “Ashley is fine, Blue. You don’t need to know where she is.”

Blue growled, following behind him. “If you care about your spinal column at all. Tell me.”

Red seemed very displeased. “Can’t you just take my word for it? Besides, the boy is…” He glanced over to Connor, pausing.

Blue glanced over at Connor before very quickly glaring at Red. “Red.”

Red grunted loudly. “He was fine when I was here!” He went over to Connor, checking his pulse.

Blue went over and decked him in the face. “Lies!”

Red stumbled back, holding his face in pain. “Ugh! You–” he made a frustrated noise. “I’ve been trying so hard to keep him alive all this week– I even got out my old pediatric textbook!”

“Bullshit! The only thing you care about is experiments!” he stated, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. “If don’t fix your fucking mistake, I will hang your innards around this fucking building, Red.”

Red scowled, glaring. “I’ve been trying to help him– and let me go!”

“Why should I? You aren’t letting Ashley go or telling me where she is,” Blue stated angrily, throwing him at the wall.

Red coughed, taking much longer to recover. He stood up shakily, glaring harder. “Do you really want to see her right now? She’s hooked up to a lot of things right now, and you aren’t known for being gentle.”

Blue stared for a moment. “What the fuck did you do to her?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Red rubbed his back. “Cyan’s at fault.”

“Don’t go blaming Cyan for things you’ve done, Red,” Blue growled as he went over to him and pushed him into the wall.

Red grunted, having trouble standing up straight. “She– She went out of her way to discipline Ashley. I said nothing! I said nothing, and did nothing. All I’ve been doing this past week is taking care of injured children.”

“I know that’s not what you’ve been doing,” He growled, leaning over him. “What have you been doing to Ashley?”

“I’ve…” Red seemed hesitant. 

Blue stared down at him. “Red. Get her with the rest of the children and I won’t turn you into my next meal.”

“Kind of hard to do that when she’s hooked up to several things,” he muttered, glancing to the side before sighing. “I’ll… take you to her,” he said, seeming defeated.

“Good,” he grumbled, moving back slightly.

Red slowly hobbled over to Connor once more, making sure that he was still alright. “Purple,” he called out, “Make sure that he doesn’t fall off the bed or something while we’re gone.”

Purple coughed from the vents. “Yes, sir.”

…Red grunted. “Did you… were you here when me and Blue came in?”

“Nope– just watched Cyan faceplant in the river. Serves her right for biting Ashley. By the way, Blue, he wasn’t kidding about that. Completely unprompted, Cyan attacked Ashley. Heck, that’s why I’m bruised, too. I had to get Ashley away from Cyan and that stupid dino bit my arm.”

Blue grunted, looking a bit more angry now.

Red rubbed his face, releasing a very long breath. “If there’s any more fighting around here I’m never ordering pizza for any of you ever again.”

“I see you still have a death wish,” Blue stated as he narrowed his eye at Red. “Take that away and I may just eat you instead.”

Purple coughed loudly, taking his words in a completely different direction than what he meant.

Red huffed deeply, slowly shuffling out the door and into the hall. “I’ll leave you the crust I don’t want.”

“I will still eat you if you do that,” he stated, following behind him.

“You get one slice of pizza. One.”

“Half.”

“You are not getting four slices after beating me up.”

“I can easily kill you right now and let the children go free, Red.”

“Fine– two slices.”

“Red.”

“...Two and a breadstick.”

Blue was silent for a moment. “Make it cheesy bread and we have a deal.”

“I am not spending extra on cheese breadsticks.”

“Then give me the entire pizza.”

“Just let Blue have the cheesy breadsticks, Red,” Purple said from the vents as they passed one. “He’s not even two inches away from you; you’ll only take two more hits before you’re unconscious for a month.”

Red glared at the vents before returning his gaze towards where he was walking. “It costs two dollars extra to get the cheese breadsticks. I am not made of money.”

“We can kill the delivery man,” Blue deadpanned. “It’s not that hard to skip payment when living in the woods.”

Red seemed displeased. “If too many of them die they’ll quit delivering out here.”

“That’s why we do it once a year.”

“This sounds like the start to an urban legend,” Red muttered.

Blue glanced at him. “Well, you don’t want to spend more money on cheesy bread, so why not become cryptids?”

Red grunted. “We are not becoming cryptids– we already look like freaks.”

“Am fabulous, fuck you,” Blue said with a small frown.

Red huffed, folding his arms behind his back. “Regular humans will see us as freaks. We aren’t normal.”

“Not care, just want cheesy bread.”

“And I want a million dollars, but we all can’t have what we want,” he muttered.

“Red. You get what want all the time, shut the fuck up,” Blue said as he rolled his eye. “Cheesy bread once in a while isn’t going to kill wallet, numbnuts.”

“...You could ask in a nicer way,” he told him.

Blue was silent for a moment. “…Please get cheesy bread.”

Red… sighed deeply. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“…Thank you,” he mumbled.

Red kept walking forwards, eventually reaching an out of the way door– the one Blue had gone into when getting cereal. He pulled out a set of keys and unlocked it, revealing his lab.

Blue glanced around briefly before his eye narrowed slightly at Red. “What experiments have done, Red?”

He rolled his eyes. “I haven’t done anything too major. Just some simple tests to see if she’s normal or more like us.”

Ashley glanced at them, rubbing her arm before noticing Blue. She blinked in surprise before glancing at Red. “I thought you said you weren’t going to bring him in here because he would kick your ass.”

Red made a displeased noise. “Well, he already did that earlier,” he said, rubbing his slightly swollen cheek.

“He got beat for tasing child and saying child was alright and lying about it,” Blue muttered as he glared at Red. “He also got beat for not saying where you were for the past few weeks.”

Ashley hesitated. “It has been how long?”

Red rolled his eyes. “It’s been two weeks at most… or so I think,” he muttered that last part.

She blinked, slowly looking at Red in concern. “I was down here for two weeks?”

Blue narrowed his eyes drastically at Red. “You’re lucky she’s in the room right now, or I’d throw you into next month.”

Ashley rubbed her arm, looking at Blue.

Red scowled, rubbing his sore back. “You’ve already pretty much have before this point. I can’t even lay down on my back anymore.”

“Dad, you don’t need to explain what you and Blue were doing earlier,” Ashley said with a faint smile. “I can already guess what happened.”

Red paused, staring blankly at her.

Blue paused. “Huh…?”

“I’ll explain later, Blue,” Ashley promised.

Blue nodded slightly before he glared at Red again. “Also, what mean when say ‘simple tests,’ because I know that ‘simple’ is fucking bullshit coming from you.”

Ashley snickered, looking at Red. “Come on, Dad, don’t leave your boyfriend out of your secrets.”

Red coughed, covering his face for a very long moment. “He. He is not my boyfriend.”

“Are you sure? ‘Cause judging by your appearance, you two were doing something together.”

Blue stared in confusion, saying nothing.

Red grunted deeply, seeming almost embarrassed. “He was– He was beating the fuck out of me!!”

“Dad, please, you don’t need to tell me about your bedroom escapades.” Ashley smirked, leaning against the wall.

“N… No! No bedroom activities were being had!!!”

“Mmm, are you sure about that?”

“I–” He glared. “I am pretty damn sure, child.”

“Do not swear at Ashley, Red,” Blue growled, glaring at Red again.

“She’s insinuating that we… y’know…!”

“What? What is she insinuating?”

“Do you really wanna tell him, Dad?” Ashley asked pointedly.

Red seemed angry. “You…” He glared harder at Ashley. “You are not the nicest child.”

“Gee, I wonder fucking why?”

“Quit– quit using that type of language. You shouldn’t even know anything about sex! You’re like, eight.”

“I’m twelve, Dad. Besides, I’ve been called worse by my foster parents.”

Blue made a face. “Do I need to have a talk with them?”

“I haven’t lived in a foster home for nearly two years now.”

“Still stands. Will talk with them.”

She smiled faintly. “Thanks, Blue.”

Red released a grunt, still not seeming all too happy. He looked back over to Blue. “Now you’ve seen her– you can leave now.”

Blue glared at him. “No. Know that look. Won’t leave.”

“I’m not going to torture her,” he scoffed. “She’ll be fine.”

“Red,” Blue started, looming over him. “I will not let you experiment on her. Get the fuck out while I detach her from the machines.”

Ashley hesitated. “Um…”

Red made a low noise. “You will do nothing and like it.”

Blue stared down at him before picking him up from under his arms.

Red grunted deeply, squirming in his grip. “Let– Let me go!”

“Let Ashley go, and I might.”

“Don’t–” Red snarled. “Don’t make me hurt you.”

Blue stared at him with a deadpan expression and promptly threw him at the wall.

Red made a noise of pain, squeezing his eyes shut for a long moment as pain shot up his spine.

“What was that about hurting me?” Blue growled.

Red slowly opened his eyes again, taking in a deep breath and steadying himself. “Blue,” he began calmly. “Leave my lab.”

“Give reason why I should leave,” Blue demanded as he glared daggers at Red.

“You’ll get hurt if you don’t,” he told him softly.

“Don’t care. I’d rather get hurt than let you hurt Ashley,” Blue growled.

Red slowly narrowed his eyes, his voice firmer; “Blue. This is your last warning. Leave.”

Blue glared at Red, going over before punching him in the stomach and kicking him into the wall again.

Red growled, taking something out of his pocket– his taser.

Blue stared for a moment before smacking it out of his hands.

Red didn’t expect him to do that, so he was startled when the taser skittered across the floor, staring at it blankly.

Ashley glanced at the taser before picking it up.

Blue paused, looking at Ashley before tilting his head slightly.

Ashley looked down at the taser before glancing at Blue and gesturing to Red. “How long would Dad be unconscious if I use this on him?”

Blue thought for a moment before shrugging. “Don’t know, but is good to try new things.”

Red grunted deeply, taking a few steps back. “Do not tase me.”

"Then don't tase Blue like you tased Connor," Ashley said bluntly.

“I wouldn’t have to tase Blue if he didn’t keep on beating me up!”

"Well, that's your problem now, isn't it?"

“You are being fucking stupid, that is only reason I hit you.”

Red scowled. “Well, you’re stupid all the time and yet I rarely hurt you!”

Ashley rolled her eyes before rubbing her head.

“Hurt all the time, what the fuck are you saying?” Blue said with a frown. “Shock when minding own business! Very rude!”

“Whenever I did shock you, you deserved it, you brute!”

Blue stared at him. “You are unarmed, Red, I can pulverize you and you would be powerless to stop me.”

Red growled, very much pissed off. “Then do it! You keep talking about it, but won’t go through with it!”

Ashley stood up, holding the taser close before glancing at Blue.

Blue stared at him before huffing, turning to look at Ashley. “Hmpf…” He grumbled as he went over to Ashley and started to disconnect her from the machines.

She watched him, keeping the taser turned off and away from him.

Red made a low noise in his throat, very pissed off. He took a moment to think before promptly leaving the lab, leaving them be.

Blue glanced back at where Red once was before sighing quietly, glancing back at Ashley. “Ashley’s friend is in medical ward. Red took care of him but child might not make it. Seems very… fragile? Red says child woke up but when go look, child was unconscious on bed.”

Ashley let out a breath. “Okay… I think Dad was working on something to help Connor get over the taser’s effects…” She stumbled a bit, leaning against Blue.

“Mmm… Doubt that,” he said with a small sigh, picking her up carefully. “Was probably more substances to test on you.”

“Oh…” She winced, curling up against him.

Blue nodded slightly. “Want see friend? Purple is with him as well.”

“Um… yes, please.”

Blue nodded slightly, heading towards the medical ward.

Ashley hesitated before glancing up at Blue. “Is… Is Purple okay…?”

Blue paused before nodding slightly. “Think so. Am unsure though, they not hop down to see if truly is.”

“Cyan roughed them up pretty badly…”

Blue hummed with a frown before they arrived in a large dark room with a single lamp on.

Ashley gasped, hopping out of Blue’s arms and running over to the bed. “Connor!!”

Connor was unconscious in the bed, noticeably his breathing seemed to be a bit off.

“Connor?! Connor– what’s wrong with him?!”

Purple’s tail lashed out and caught her before she fell over. “Kid, running is not a good idea right now, not after experimentation. Calm down.”

Blue nodded slightly, glancing at Purple’s tail briefly. “Purple is right. Need to calm down, Red will come later to check on child… as terrible as Red is, he won’t let subjects die unless he wants them to.”

Ashley teared up, slumping against the bed. “But… But Connor…”

Purple crawled down from the rafters, rubbing their bad shoulder. “Ashley, it… it’ll be alright. Connor will make it. Besides, we don’t want Cyan to come in here because we’re all causing a commotion.”

Blue huffed. “Not care if she comes in, will hurt her for hurting you both.”

Purple gave a faint smile. “I appreciate that, Blue.” They looked at Ashley. “Do you know what kinds of experiments Red did on you, Ashley?”

She shook her head. “No… I was unconscious for most of it.”

Blue frowned faintly. “Well… he not do it anymore. Will not let him.”

“Thanks, guys.”

Purple leaned against the table, giving a smirk. “So… what was all the commotion I heard about Blue and Red possibly being a couple?”

Ashley blushed. “Sorry… I couldn’t help myself.”

“Don’t be sorry, kid. I had a great laugh out of it.”

“Am still confused about what mean about that,” Blue said quietly.

“She was basically making fun of her dad and saying that you and he were dating despite Red clearly disliking you.”

Blue still looked confused. “Huh…? What does fruit have to do with me and Red?”

“Romantic kind of date, Blue, not the fruit.”

Blue paused before making a noise. “Eh– We– no!”

“Exactly. She purposely teased Red and implied he was romantically interested in you, all to get a reaction out of him.”

Ashley nodded, rubbing the back of her neck. “Sorry, Blue…”

Blue looked oddly flustered despite not being able to blush what-so-ever. “I– no– is fine?? I– it look like that?? To everyone???”

“Not everyone, but… sometimes it kinda seems like you two like each other,” Ashley admitted quietly.

Blue made a noise. “I– maybe a little but– I–” he paused. “Never really thought about it… was Red aware of this as well??”

“Didn’t seem like it,” Purple said with a shrug. “I know Green and Orange have seen it, though, and I think maybe Yellow has, too.”

Ashley blinked, glancing at Purple in confusion. “Orange and Yellow…?”

“…Did Red not introduce you to Orange and Yellow?”

She shook her head.

“…We’re remedying that right now. Blue, wanna bring her down to meet Orange while I go find the flying dinosaur?”

Blue nodded slightly. “Er… sure, guess can do that.”

“You might wanna carry her, though. She looks like she’s gonna tip over… oh, and let Green hold her, too.”

Blue nodded, going over and picking her up before glancing at Connor. “Shouldn’t someone stay with child in case hurts himself in sleep?”

“Oh, shoot, you’re right… uhh…” Purple looked around before snapping their fingers. “I’ll send a Looky to get Yellow.”

“… a Looky?” Blue asked in a deadpan tone.

“Buddy, it’s either the Looky comes here and rolls around uselessly if the kid seizes up, or the Looky can go get Yellow to help. Pick your poison.”

Blue sighed. “Put too much faith in Looky but… sure, send to Yellow.”

Ashley glanced at Blue. “Is… Orange nice…?”

Blue nodded as he started to head towards Orange’s cave. “Very nice, talks weird.”

“Oh… Okay.”

Blue nodded again. Once he was near Orange’s area, he glanced over at Red’s room briefly before sighing as he walked past. Once he was actually at Orange’s door, he just walked through it and closed it behind him. “Orange! Brought friend!”

Orange peered over his ledge lazily, squinting in his direction. “Who?”

Ashley waved. “Um, hi.”

Blue held Ashley out like a wet cat. “Friend! Name is Ashley! Was looking for her a while ago before I beat up Red!”

Orange hummed with interest. “Oh, that’s…” He paused, staring. “You. You beat up Red? Is that why I heard doors slamming?”

“That was Red hitting the wall,” Ashley said.

Orange grimaced. “Oh.”  

She nodded. “Um… where’s Green?”

“Well, I dunno. I think he left when uh, when there were loud noises.”

Blue made a face. “Told him to stay!”

“You told ‘im ta stay a week ago!”

“I not care! Told him stay, he should stay!”

Ashley blinked, glancing up at Blue. “You were looking for me for a week…?”

Blue paused before nodding slightly. “Almost week, yes. Why?”

She teared up and hugged him tightly.

Blue paused before hugging her back.

Orange sighed, taking a moment to think. “ Should I go look for Green, then?”  

Blue thought for a moment before shaking his head and setting Ashley down. “No, I’ll get him. Keep eye on her and make sure Red doesn’t come to get her. If he does, tell her to tase him. She still has his taser,” he said, patting Ashley’s head. “Stay here, yes?”

She nodded, giving him another hug. “Thanks again, Dad,” she whispered.

Blue made a noise before smiling and holding her close. “Very welcome,” he said with a small sigh before moving back. “Also no moving too much, will fall.” He patted her head before leaving the room.

She waved, leaning against the wall.

Orange watched Blue leave before glancing over to Ashley. “Sooo… why are ye so… affectionate towards us? I mean, I know we don’t got the prettiest mug, so… why?”

Ashley shrugged. “I mean, Purple, Blue, and Green helped raise me, so I’m pretty familiar with them. As for the rest of you… I don’t know. All I really know is my dad is a psychopath and Cyan hates my guts.”

Orange looked at her oddly before rubbing his face with a clawed hand. “Now wait a minute– I feel like I’m missin’ some details. What?” 

“Red. He… He’s my dad.”

…Orange stared. “What?”

"Red is my dad. I… Child Protective Services took me away from him when I was four after he tased Blue so badly that I had a panic attack in public a little afterwards, when he took me to the store with him."

Orange still seemed very confused. “He… Red has a kid???” 

Ashley nodded.

“I… I never knew,” Orange muttered, still seeming very confused. “Red uh… He’s not too nice at times, and… and I didn’t know he’d have a lil’ human kid.”

“Yeah… I have no idea who my mom is, but… Red’s my dad. And he experimented on me, too… it’s how I can understand you all.”

Orange frowned. “I was wonderin’ why you could understand Blue n’ me… Well. Sorry that your Dad is the worst person ever at times.”

“It’s fine… I’m getting used to his asshole-ishness.”

Orange grunted, looking away. “Well… he’s an asshole most of the time. You jus’ gotta get ‘im in a good mood.”  

“Cyan seems to be the only one who can do that.”

Orange… sighed. “Yeah, Cyan can put ‘im in a good mood… But you’ve only been ‘ere for a week or so, right? Ya don’t know him that well– hell, none of us REALLY know much ‘bout ‘im.”

“Um… we’ve been here a lot longer than a week.”

Orange nodded along to that. “That… sounds ‘bout right– I ain’t the best at keeping track with time… An’, I’m sure you’ve seen Red being a massive ass more than not. Though…” He grunted. “I shouldn’t be talkin’ to ya about this… I don’t think Red can hear us through the cameras… or on most of ‘em, but… I shouldn’t be sayin’ stuff behind his back.”  

She let out a small breath. “Right…”

Orange flicked his tail nervously… “Ssso, uh.” He paused, trying to think of a different topic. “Uh.”  

Ashley glanced at him.

"Ssso… do you have any hobbies?"

“Um… well, I draw in my downtime.”

"That's cool, that's cool," Orange said, seeming… awkward.

Ashley gave a faint smile. “You’re not used to talking with people, are you?”

Orange groaned. "No. I don't see humans often, an' the other Friends usually will think I'll bite 'em if I talk to 'em for too long… I mean, to be fair, I DO bite. A lot."

She nodded in understanding. “Not to mention I doubt most humans can understand you in the first place.”

"Yeah… Red'll sometimes give me somethin' ta chew on, but, uh… It don't last long."  

“Hm… maybe I could find you something?” She hesitated. “If… If I can even escape, that is…”

Orange looked at her. "Escape? You think ya can escape?"

“No… I doubt I can.” She walked over to a rock and sat down on it. “Dad won’t let me leave, and Cyan’s pretty insistent that I stick around… my friends could possibly escape, but…”

Orange… shrugged. "I mean, it ain't too bad here. We're fed. We have a roof over our heads. What more could a person need?"  

Ashley winced, looking at her feet. “My friends…”

Orange frowned before sighing. "Look, I won't stop ya from tryin' ta escape. Jus' know that escaping is… difficult."

She sniffled, covering her face.

He cringed. "D-Don’t cry."

“I-I’m going to die here…”

Orange seemed guilty. "I'm sure Red won't kill ya. Besides, if he does try somethin', ya always have us ta count on."

She hiccuped, looking up at him sadly.

Orange slowly climbed down towards her, his tail lowered. “Sorry… I’m not good wit’ kids.”

“I-It’s fine…” She rubbed her eyes.

Orange slowly reached over and… awkwardly patted her shoulder.

After a moment or so, Blue came back and was leading Green in once again.

Green just barely ducked under the door frame before making a happy noise that he didn’t bonk his head.

Blue smiled faintly before pausing when he noticed Ashley crying. “…Why sad?”

Orange winced. “I-I didn’t mean ta make her cry!”

“I-It’s not his fault…” Ashley wiped her eyes, shakily getting to her feet. “I just realized I… I-I may never escape…”

Blue paused before frowning as he narrowed his eye at Orange. “What Orange say?”

Orange shrunk back, seeming guilty. “I jus’ said it would be hard ta escape– not that it’s impossible!”

“Dad won’t let me escape! Cyan’s already proven that he won’t let me even try to fight back against him!” Ashley said.

Blue frown deepened. “Can deal with Cyan. She’s dumber than she acts.”

Green glanced towards Blue before walking towards Ashley.

She looked up at Green, meeting him halfway and hugging him.

Green paused before gently coiling his arms around her with a small sigh.

Orange still seemed pretty guilty, his tail still lowered.

After a moment, Blue took a deep breath. “Orange, come here.”

Orange seemed slightly startled, but still walked over to him.

Blue reached out and gently patted his head. “Didn’t know. But be careful, children fragile. Very emotional and easy to scare and hurt.”

Orange nodded quietly, though still appeared mildly guilty for making a kid cry.

Ashley curled up against Green, letting out a shaky breath.

“You’re alright, Orange, you didn’t know,” Blue repeated with a small sigh.

Green gently rocked her in his arms.

Orange glanced downwards, making a noise. “She said she wanted ta escape, but… how in the world would she accomplish somethin’ like that?” He said quietly, trying not to be loud enough to where she’d hear.

Blue hesitated. “I… not know, but can try to help. Perhaps stall Red and Cyan enough that there’s big gap for them to flee?” he whispered back.

“Yeah, but then there’s the issue on findin’ a way outta ‘ere. I’m pretty sure Red locks up everything that leads outside.”

“Can break his wimpy locks,” Blue said with a small huff.

“Well, if you’re sure.” Orange said with a soft grunt. “We’d probably only get one chance. If we mess up…” He trailed off, frowning.

“…Won’t mess up, not allowed to.”

Orange lowered his head, briefly glancing back towards Ashley. “When do ya plan on escaping?”

“I-I can’t escape,” Ashley said quietly. “Dad won’t let me.”

Orange grunted. “He doesn’t want ya escapin’, yeah, but that doesn’t mean you can’t. We just… have to plan it all out, I guess.”

She rubbed her eyes and shook her head. “N-No… I want to make sure my friends get out. I-I… I don’t really… I don’t care if I’m stuck here…”

Orange frowned. “I don’t think your friends would like it if ya got left behind in ‘ere. I’m sure there’s a way ta help all of ya out.”

Blue nodded. “We will get you all out, whether Red likes it or not.”

Ashley sniffled, rubbing her eyes some more.

“...By the way,” Orange began, “Where exactly is Red right now?”

“Who knows? He got the tar beat out of him by Blue and then ran off when I stole his taser.”

“His room, probably,” Blue said with a small shrug. “Got mad after I threatened to kill him for the tenth time this week."

Orange had an odd look on his face for a moment. “So… wait. If you’re able to beat him up, Blue, then… why don’t you just, y’know… kill him?”

Blue made a face, glancing to the side.

Ashley hesitated, looking at Green briefly before returning her gaze to Blue. "Blue…?"

Orange gave him a curious look, tilting his head.

Blue thought for a moment before just throwing his nubs in the air and promptly leaving the room.

Green paused, tilting his head in confusion.

Ashley bit her lip. "Is… Is Blue okay…?" 

Orange made a disgruntled noise. “I don’t know if he is, kid. I don’t know if he is…” 

Chapter Text

Red released a very drained sigh, almost limping down the hall. His posture was that of a shrimp, and since his cheek was so swollen one of his eyes was half-shut. Obviously, he was very much bruised and injured in some way after Blue had dealt with him a day ago.

He turned down a specific hall, making it into the medical ward and close to where Connor was. Though, before he went into the room the boy was in, he went into a different room– the one with the metal table in the middle. 

Red shuffled over to one of the cabinets, unlocking it with his set of keys and peering through the vials and medicine bottles. He made a frustrated noise when he didn’t find what he was looking for. “Are you kidding me? I’m out of vicodin? Ugh. At least there’s something for the boy…”

Eventually he settled on a bottle of pills, taking two out. He put the bottle back and locked up the cabinet before leaving the room, heading towards the room Connor was in. 

Carefully, Red opened the door, peering inside…

Blue was sitting next to Connor’s bed, gently nudging him as he stared intently at the unconscious child in a mixture of confusion and worry. Luckily, he didn’t notice Red peering into the room.

…Red stared blankly, unsure if he should go in or wait later. After thinking back to two recent incidents of getting his ass kicked, he decided on the second option– however, before he could take a step away the pills he had been holding slipped out of his gloved hand, clattering on the floor way too loudly.

Blue almost immediately looked over, staring at Red blankly.

Red kept staring right back at him, saying absolutely nothing.

“Should pick those up. Not sanitary enough in this place,” Blue deadpanned before looking back at Connor.

“...Right.” Red went to bend down– before grunting deeply and rubbing his back. “Ugh.”

Blue paused before looking back at him. He seemed to remember what had happened before sighing and going over, picking the pills up. He looked down at them before holding them out to Red. “There.”

“...Thanks,” he said quietly, slowly taking the pills from him and moving over to Connor, inspecting him closely.

Connor seemed… fine? His breathing was a bit off but otherwise he seemed to be normal…

Red looked Connor over for a moment longer before glancing back towards Blue. “Has he woken up at all?”

“For a few minutes. Had trouble staying up,” he said simply. “Tried to get up but wouldn’t let him walk around.”

Red hummed, setting the two pills on a small table. “Good– he shouldn’t be moving around too much. I need him to take these pills, but he can take them whenever he wakes up again.”

Blue nodded slightly with a small grunt.

Red stared at Connor for a solid minute… before slowly glancing towards Blue. “How long have you been in here?”

“Over four hours.”

“Hm.” Red was about to leave, but saw his textbook on one of the beds. “Oh, I forgot this was in here…” He gently picked it up with more care than he should have towards a giant textbook, releasing a deep breath.

Blue looked at him with a questioning glance. “Hm…”

…Red slowly glanced back over, holding the textbook almost protectively. “What?”

“Just surprised. Care more about block of useless paper than actual life.”

Red paused before scowling. “This book…” He faltered a little, looking down at it. “This textbook has sentimental value.”

“ How so? ” Blue asked as he tilted his head.

Red hunched up his shoulders, eyeing him. “Why should I tell you?”

“No reason,” he said with a shrug as he looked back at Connor. “Was just curious about reasoning behind loving book more than own child.”

“Hmph…” Red seemed wary. “Are you going to beat me up again?”

“No, not done idiot thing yet.”

Red huffed at that, returning his gaze to the book. After he took a moment to collect his thoughts, he spoke up. “So,” he began, “You know what a college is, right?”

Blue nodded. “Vaguely.”

“It’s basically a school that’s… bigger, and you go there for certain classes.” Red placed the textbook on the bed before sitting next to it. “A long time ago, I went to college. I took… a lot of classes, and gained a lot of experience in topics I didn’t know about at the time. While I was in college, I took a… I don’t remember what it was called, but it was some child development class– I think I needed it for my major.” He paused before seeming… upset. “I met someone very special in that class…”

Blue nodded slightly, listening quietly.

“Sometime during the middle of the semester, I had forgotten my textbook in class,” he said slowly, looking pointedly at the book. “By the time I remembered I left it, it was too late for me to go grab it that day. However, when it came time for me to go back to class– maybe a few days later? I can’t remember, but the person that had been sitting nearby me saw that I had left it and kept it for me. He gave it back, and…” Red seemed to be struggling to find the right words. “And we began talking.”

“Talking…?” Blue repeated as he stared at him curiously.

Red sighed deeply. “Yes, talking. He even… hold on…” He flipped open the textbook to the final page, revealing very curly writing and a series of numbers, all written in pen. “He left his phone number in here.”

Blue glanced at the writing. “And… what happened? Why stop talking?”

“He…” Red slowly closed the textbook, blanking out for a solid ten seconds. “We… talked for a long time– to the point where he became my par– business partner. But. But he…”

Blue stared at him for a long moment. “…Did he pass on?”

“...I don’t know what happened to him,” Red eventually said. “We… I started to do things he didn’t like, and… he just… he thought I was going too far and…” he trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

Blue hummed. “I see… Have tried to call number since?”

“If he’s still kicking, he won’t answer it,” Red mumbled, closing his eyes for a long moment. “Even so, he likely changed his number.”

“Hmm…” He glanced to the side. “What do after he left?”

Red made a soft noise, looking away. “I…” He grunted. “Can we talk about something else?”

Blue hummed. “Like what?”

“Like… I don’t know– anything else!”

Blue was silent for a moment. “What’s favorite food?”

Red… took a minute to think about it. “I… do not know. I don’t think I have a favorite food– I’m not much of a cook, and I don’t really eat out.”

“Mm… Not even pizza?”

Red then huffed. “Is your favorite food pizza, Blue?”

“Better than dog-food that you keep giving us,” he said with a small shrug.

“I can’t help that you eat so much,” he said, folding his arms. “If I didn’t give you dog-food, then all I could afford would be just noodles.”

“Could’ve just… messed with insides to try to make not hungry ever.”

“You’d still need to eat,” Red told him, setting the textbook on the small bedside table before carefully laying on his side, trying to get comfortable but failing.

Blue watched for a brief moment before sighing. “Need help?”

Red seemed a little frustrated, still trying to get comfortable. He eventually laid on his stomach, pressing his face into the pillow. “You did this to me,” he said, his voice coming out muffled.

Blue stared for a moment before going over and picking Red up.

Red grunted deeply, squeezing his eyes shut as if he was expecting to get beat up again.

Blue stared at him for a moment before holding him close.

…Eventually, Red peeked an eye open before tilting his head back and staring blankly at him, absolutely bewildered.

Blue didn’t seem fazed by the staring, going and sitting on the bed with him in his arms.

Red still seemed very much confused, though didn’t move. “Wh… Why?”

“Were struggling to get comfortable,” he said simply with a shrug. “Figured would help.”

“I mean… I guess you are helping, but…” He grunted. “You mentioned, several times, that you could easily kill me and have made it clear that I am not a good person. Why help?”

Blue merely responded with a shrug, staying silent.

Red sighed and let the subject go, staring off into space for a while. Though, before too long, he rested his uninjured cheek against him.

Blue paused, glancing down at him briefly before looking away with a small hum.

Although Red hadn’t planned on going to sleep, he began to feel incredibly drowsy, slumping against Blue. He closed his eyes, finally relaxing.

Blue blinked, not really expecting him to actually fall asleep on him. Rest his eyes at most, but not fully fall asleep.

Red didn’t move all too much, simply resting in an oddly peaceful manner. Before too much time could pass, though, he began to make soft noises in his sleep, akin to the sounds that come from a typical Looky.

Blue stared down at him before slowly patting his head.

Red made a sort of cooing noise, curling up against him.

Blue froze, unsure of what to do next.

Red didn’t shift around too much after that, becoming comfortable and warm. Though, the soft noises coming from him didn't stop.

Blue just… sat there, not moving for an untold amount of time and doing his best not to fall asleep himself.

After a while, Red's expression slowly changed from peaceful to displeased, and he shifted around as if he was uncomfortable.

Blue looked down at him, hesitating before patting his head again.

“Are you okay, Blue?” Purple said from the rafters.

Blue made a startled noise before nodding quickly. "Yes! Am fine! Can go now!"

Purple tilted their head. “Uh… are you sure…?”

"Very!"

“Um… alright, then…?”

Blue nodded quickly, clearly trying to hide the fact he was holding Red while he slept.

Purple blinked a few times before shrugging and crawling over to keep an eye on Connor.

Blue just awkwardly sat there, unsure of what to say now.

Connor made a quiet noise, shifting in his sleep slightly.

Red shifted around for a moment before finally settling against him once again with a deep breath, seeming not as uncomfortable as before.

Blue looked down at him before sighing, holding him close.

Red stayed like that for… a while. There wasn't a clock in the room, so it was difficult to tell how much time had passed.

After a moment longer, Connor woke up, though he still looked drowsy. “Mmmh…? When’d I fall asleep…?”

“A while ago,” Purple said bluntly. “‘Morning, sleeping beauty.”

He nodded slightly before glancing over and noticing Blue and Red. He squinted at them before arching a brow. “Um… what’re they doing…?”

“Don’t… Don’t ask, ‘cause I have no idea.”

“Are… are they dating, or…?” Connor asked quietly, glancing at Purple in confusion.

Blue made a face. “Not dating. Red tired and couldn’t help correctly if tired,” he said quietly as he glanced to the side.

Connor glanced back at Blue, not seeming convinced.

Red lightly grunted due to all the talking, stirring.

Blue blinked, looking down at him.

He stirred a little more before eventually opening his eyes, blinking slowly.

Blue stared at him for a moment before sighing. “Sleep well?”

Red looked up at him blearily, seeming to be thinking about something– a mortified expression quickly went across his face.

Purple snickered. “Morning, boss.”

“Not sleep well??” Blue asked in confusion.

“I-I…” He seemed very conflicted. “I… fell asleep on you, Blue…?”

Blue nodded. “Yeees??”

“And… you just… held me this entire time…?”

Blue nodded again. “Yes.”

Red looked so confused. “Wh… Why? You could’ve put me down at any time.”

Blue merely shrugged in response.

Red stared for a moment longer before awkwardly clearing his throat. “Well… could you let me go now?”

Blue paused before grunting and setting him down.

Connor glanced between them. “Soo… you two are dating, or…?”

Purple clasped their hand over Connor’s mouth. “Shhhhut. Don’t aggravate Red, please, for the love of all that is holy.”

Red eyed Connor, not very pleased at that moment.

Blue glanced at Connor briefly before glancing at Red. “Red. calm.”

He scowled. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

Blue’s eye narrowed slightly with a hum. “How nice, even after letting sleep on me, you act like jerk.”

“Red, seriously, don’t flipping tempt Blue,” Purple said. “He will absolutely deck you now that you’re awake.”

Red seemed very bitter, eyeing all of them before moving towards the door. “Make sure Connor takes those pills on the table.”

Blue watched for a moment. “Where going?”

“I’m not telling you.”

Purple glared at Red before rolling their eyes and falling quiet.

Blue frowned before starting to follow him. "Then I come with."

Red grunted. “Blue, you don’t have to come with– stay here with Connor. You like keeping him company, don’t you?”

Blue huffed. “I come with.”

"You'll be very bored if you come with me," he warned.

“Not care.”

"Hmph… fine," he muttered, stepping out into the hall. "If you're so insistent, you can follow me."

Blue nodded slightly as he stepped out as well.

Red rubbed his face, taking a moment to wake up more before starting to walk again. "How long was I asleep for…?"

“ Not sure ,” Blue said with a small shrug.

He huffed. "You're helpful," he said sarcastically. He slowly peeked into a room– the one with the metal table– and squinted at the clock on the wall. "I've been asleep for… for three hours? Sheesh…"

Blue made a face, glancing at him. “Not sleep that long normally?”

Red shrugged, going over to one of the cabinets. "I tend to sleep in two hour increments. I don't like sleeping long– if I do, things usually go wrong."

Blue frowned before huffing. “That’s why mad all the time. Not enough sleep.”

Red rolled his eyes. "Oh please– I'm not mad all the time. And who needs sleep? I'll survive."

Blue gave him a deadpan look.

Red glanced over and– and huffed. "Don't look at me like that."

Blue continued to stare at him with the same look before slowly tilting his head.

"Qu-Quit it! Two hours of sleep is plenty!"

“Going back to bed,” Blue said with a small huff.

Red crossed his arms. "I'm not going back to bed."

Blue’s eye narrowed slightly, crossing his arms as well. “Red.”

"Blue." Red narrowed his eyes at him.

“Either go to bed willingly, or will force to go to bed.”

"I am not going to bed," Red stated, opening up one of the cabinets and searching through it, not paying much attention to Blue. "I have too much to do, and–"

Blue just went over and picked him up. “Work can wait. Need sleep,” he said in a deadpan tone.

Red grunted loudly, squirming around in his grip. “Blue!! Let me go!”

Blue shook his head, adjusting his grip on Red to hold him bridal style. “No.”

Red kept trying to get out of his hold but eventually gave up, quietly pouting to himself.

Blue held him close with a small huff. “Give up?”

“Silence, you brute.”

“Rude,” he mumbled before leaving the room and heading somewhere.

Red still seemed very much grumpy, though eventually rested his head against him. “If anyone sees you holding me like this, I’m never getting you pizza ever again.”

“Will just steal yours if happens,” he said simply, glancing down at him briefly.

Red released a grunt. “You better not touch my food.”

“Well, if not get me food, will happen!”

Red then scowled. “I’ll give you the crust– that’s all you’re getting.”

“Shall see,” Blue said with a smug smirk.

He glared at him, becoming even more grumpy.

He glanced down at him before his smirk widened slightly. After a moment he arrived to Red’s room and sat Red on his mattress briefly so he could close the door.

Red still seemed very displeased, keeping his arms folded. “I’ll lay down– but I refuse to go to sleep.”

Blue huffed, glancing at him with a narrowed eye. “Why so stubborn about sleep? Is important!”

“If I sleep for too long, one of you could… I don’t know– burn the whole place down!”

Blue gave him a deadpan look.

“Quit looking at me like that!!”

“Like what?” Blue asked, pretending not to know what he meant and crossed his arms.

Red growled. “Like– Like that! You’re giving me that… look!”

“Don’t know what talking about.”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Do I?” Blue asked, narrowing his eyes at Red slightly.

Red seemed angry. “Quit playing dumb!”

“Thought wanted me be dumb,” Blue stated before going over, picking him up and sitting on the mattress and leaning against the wall slightly. “Go sleep.”

Red looked like he wanted to argue more but ended up grumbling under his breath, keeping his eyes open and not going to sleep just yet.

Blue sat there for a moment before huffing quietly, holding Red close.

Red shifted around just a little, getting comfortable and figuring that he wasn’t going to be released anytime soon.

After a few minutes, Blue’s head bobbed slightly as he fought his own drowsiness before slowly succumbing to his tiredness and falling asleep, holding Red like he was a teddy bear.

Red grunted quietly, trying to squirm away from him but finding that he… couldn’t really escape. “Oh c’mon…”

Blue made a quiet rumbling sound in his sleep that sounded vaguely like purring.

Red stared off into space for a good while, though was unintentionally leaning his head closer to Blue’s chest. The sound made him feel… oddly calm, for whatever reason. Were there certain benefits to specific frequencies? The thought made him want to do a few experiments involving it.

Eventually tiredness came back full force– he was always prone to it whenever staying still for too long. He tried to keep his eyes open for as long as possible but slowly closed them shut. After a moment, he relaxed against Blue.