Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Po picked up the custard, looking over to her friends. Her eyes landed on Laalaa and she smiled. She walked over to her.

"Hey, Laalaa." She greeted her. "Hey.." Laalaa has been down lately. She had a bad dream that affected her badly. "Would you like some custard?" Po asked, holding up the custard for Laalaa to take.

"No, thank you. I'm not really hungry.." Laalaa said with a frown on her face. "Oh, okay. I'll go see if Tinky Winky wants it." Po smiled at Laalaa before turning around and handing the custard to Tinky Winky.

Po wondered why she didn't want any custard. She loved custard!

10 HOURS LATER

Po slept quietly. She shifted occasionally in her bed. Laalaa had another nightmare. Dipsy had a dream about food. Tinky Winky died in his sleep, and came back as someone else.

He got up, looking at the custard machine. He broke it, making a loud noise in the process. Po woke up, startled by the noise.

"Hey! Why'd you break the machine?" She tilted her head. Po got up, watching him leave the dome. She looked over to the others.

Should she wake them up? Nah. Why would she need to do that? Tinky Winky was probably fine. But she didn't appreciate him breaking the machine when she had just fixed it.

She got a flashlight, and went outside to look for him. "I should look at the lake.." She decided. She walked, and walked, and walked, until she was finally there. She sighed, relieved to see Tinky Winky. "Tinky Winky?" Po walked a bit closer to him.

He turned around, screaming. Po's stomach dropped.

Chapter Text

Guardian's breath hitched as he saw Po's hanging body. She slowly swung back and forth.

"..I'm so sorry." He said quietly. He collected the custard by the tree that she hanged from.

He continued to collect the rest of the custards. When he reached the last one, Tinky Winky stood behind it. Guardian slowly approached, anxious. Before he could get close enough to take it away, Tinky Winky consumed it.

Purple mist covered him, and he turned into a huge monster. Guardian took a few steps back. Tinky Winky screeched, making Guardian turn around and run away.

Tinky Winky followed close behind, making Guardian panic. He ran to the cave, too afraid to turn around to see how close Tinky Winky was.

Guardian immediately ran into the cave's entrance. He looked back for a second. Tinky Winky screeched when he realized he couldn't fit into the cave. Guardian sighed and slowed down.

He explored the cave, looking for the exit. There were papers on the floor all around the cave. They were all about a best friend trio.

Guardian assumed that things didn't end well for them. He stopped for a minute when he heard something behind him. A scream.

He turned around to see a huge brown monster. It's left arm was mangled and disgusting. It's jaw was hanging open. Guardian's eyes widened as it ran towards him. "What is that!?" He exclaimed before running away. He ran and ran until he saw a ladder. He climbed up the ladder without looking back.

He sighed, realizing he was finally at the outskirts. He would be at the satellite station soon.

Chapter Text

Guardian saw a light in the distance. It was a fire. He walked towards it, hoping to find another Teletubby.

He did, but it wasn't what he was expecting.

"Laalaa? Is that you?" He called out. The yellow Teletubby jumped up, eyes wide. "Who are you? D-don't touch me!" She asked. "Are you okay? What're you doing here?" He tilted his head slightly, confused. "H-how do you know me?" She stepped back.

"I'm the Guardian." He told her. "G... Guardian?" She looked confused. "I was ordered to watch Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Po, and you. I'm meant to prevent things from going wrong. Such as preventing you leaving the main land. Everytime any of you tried to leave the lands, we would erase any memories of what you've seen outside the Teletubby Lands, and drag you back in. I'm supposed to look out for when that happens.” He explained.

"I..no. That can't be true.." Laalaa whispered, stepping back.

"Why weren't we aware of this?" She asked." We couldn't risk your security. If you found out, you would've tried to escape if you knew there was more beyond the mountains." Guardian's eyes moved away from her and focused on the fire.

"You knew! You knew this would happen!" She yelled at him. "You knew whatever turned Tinky Winky into a monster existed!" "I'm sorry, but I didn't."

"Now they're dead! This is all your fault!" Laalaa cried. "Laalaa, listen!" Guardian exclaimed. "NO, YOU LISTEN! You could've done something to stop this, and you didn't! You just didn't care! You only cared about your stupid job!" She yelled.

"I had no clue this was going to happen! I only knew what happened when it was too late! Stop blaming me when I knew as much as you did!" He yelled back. "I'm going to take you with me and find out what's going on, but if you can't stay calm, I'm going to leave you here and go on my own." Guardian looked back at her.

"You're right..but I'm not sorry. I'm just really mad at everything. All of my friends are dead.." She sighed. "I understand." He told her.

"I wish that was true, but you don't. You really don't." Laalaa looked down at her feet.

"What're you doing here anyway? I thought you were..well.." Guardian asked. "I ran away from the house when Tinky Winky killed Dipsy..I ran until I found this place, and used it as a hideout." Laalaa informed him.

"Calm down, everything's gonna be okay." "I hope you're right.."

"So, what's your plan?" Laalaa asked him. "We need to get to the satellite station and contact other Teletubbies." Guardian told her. "No matter how hungry you are, do NOT eat any custard." He started walking, Laalaa following close behind. "Okay.." She sniffed.

Chapter Text

Guardian picked up the last custard. He and Laalaa walked through the outskirts.

"The satellite station isn't too far from here, come on, let's go." The two tubbies walked away from the outskirts.

Laalaa looked back, a small tear falling from her eyes. She knew that she would never see her friends again. Guardian kept his eyes on the road ahead, looking through his night vision camera.

Laalaa wasn't sure that she trusted the Guardian, but she needed to stay with him for her own survival. She would leave as soon as she could.

Laalaa looked over at Guardian, inspecting him. Her eyes widened a little when she realized the hat he had on was Dipsy's. Did he have it the whole time? She wondered. As she thought about Dipsy's hat, she began to think about her ball. She missed it, but it wasn't important anymore.

Guardian noticed her staring at him. "Do you need something?" He asked. "Uhh..no." She immediately stopped looking at him. "Okay." He looked back at the road.

Laalaa yawned, tired. "How far is the satellite station from here?" She asked. "Not much farther." Guardian answered. That doesn't help. Laalaa thought. She began to study him again, being more careful to not get caught.

He appeared to be albino. His red eye shined in the rising sun. The other eye was scarred, and looked in a different direction than his left eye. It looked kind of gruesome. Laalaa shivered as she looked at him. His straight, short hair was a stark contrast to her curly, long hair. He had long side burns, however. He had a brown bandana on his neck.

Laalaa began to admire his appearance. He was beautiful, in a way. She began to worry about her own appearance. She sighed out of relief when she saw that she looked perfectly fine, despite her situation.

Even though Laalaa was sure she hadn't been spotted staring, the Guardian moved his hair to cover his right eye.

"Do you think Po's okay?" She asked. "...She's not." The Guardian said, barely over a whisper.

"Did...did you see her corpse?" Laalaa didn't know she had died. "Yes." Guardian still didn't look at her. A strange noise was heard, and Laalaa moved closer to Guardian.

As she traveled with her own stalker, she began to wonder who the people working with him were. He said he was ordered to stalk them, so there had to be someone with a higher role than him. Who? Who would order him to do that?

Laalaa's eyes brightened when she saw the station.

"The satellite station! Finally!" Guardian exclaimed.

Chapter Text

Laalaa and Guardian walked around the station for a while. Mangled corpses lay on the ground everywhere. Guardian stopped, notice a note on the ground next to one of the corpses that was in better condition than the others.

She's gone. He kneeled down to read the note. Laalaa stood over him, looking anxious as she looked around them.

There was so much blood.

The note said "Get out before it's too late." Guardian put it down, and got up. He and Laalaa continued through the station. Guardian stopped abruptly, making Laalaa bump into him.

"Ack!" She exclaimed. Laalaa backed up, and looked around Guardian's shoulder.

There was a blue Teletubby. "Hello?" Guardian approached him. The Teletubby was extremely beat up, but he was still alive. "Are you *cough* from the military?" The Teletubby looked up at him. "No..What happened to you?" Guardian asked.

"*Cough* I was attacked by a green monster.. He had no head.." He told him. Guardian kneeled down to his level. "What's your name?" Guardian asked. "My name is Ron..*cough* I worked here with other Teletubbies." Ron introduced himself.

"I'm trying to contact the military. Do you know where the computer is?" Guardian asked. "It's in a room near here..you can *cough* find it if you crawl through the vents." Ron pointed at the vents next to Laalaa.

Guardian got up and nodded. "Come on, Laalaa." He walked to vents and crouched, beginning to crawl through the vents.

"Alright." Laalaa followed him.

Chapter Text

Laalaa crawled through the vents carefully behind Guardian. "Hey, Guardian?" She had to ask an important question. "Yes?" Guardian asked in a deadpan tone.

"Who were the people that ordered you to..."monitor" me and my friends?" Laalaa asked. "...That's classified." Guardian said quietly.

Laalaa sighed. "Why can't you tell me? I doubt it matters if it's classified anymore. We're in an apocalypse, Guardian." She had an edge in her voice.

"We're not in an...apocalypse. Yet." Guardian sounded more agitated.

Laalaa and Guardian finally got out of the vents, and entered the room with the computer. Guardian began to contact the military, leaving Laalaa to think. She wondered who he worked with. Were there other Teletubbies being monitored?

Guardian was done contacting the military. "Alright, come on, let's get back to-" A loud scream cut him off.

He immediately rushed through the vents, Laalaa following close behind. He reached the room which Ron was in before they left. Ron was dismembered. His arms and legs were all over the floor.

Laalaa gasped, covering her mouth and nose due to the horrible smell of death.

Guardian was visibly upset about this. Laalaa wondered why he cared. He didn't seem to care about her much.

She reveled in the fact that he was under distress, ignoring her own. "Let's get out of here." Guardian sighed. He walked away from the corpse. "What do you think killed him?" Laalaa asked. "Probably the headless monster he mentioned earlier." Guardian shrugged.

His previous shock was completely gone, disappointing Laalaa.

Why do I even try to talk to him? She angrily wondered.

Chapter Text

Guardian was tired of all of these twists and turns. There were too many. He didn't even know where he was going, but he didn't let Laalaa know that.

This sucks. He sighed in frustration when he ended up walking in a circle. He somehow ended up in a completely different place later, however.

He stopped immediately when he saw Tinky Winky and Po. They looked like their normal, playful selves. "Guardian? Is something wrong?" Laalaa asked behind him. Guardian didn't answer.

"Play with us!" Po said. Guardian shook his head and kept moving forward.

He stopped again when he saw Dipsy. He looked normal, too. "Guardian, we should go.." Laalaa sounded scared.

Guardian didn't realize until it was too late.

Dipsy turned into a headless monster when a chainsaw was heard. Guardian's eyes widened, and he backed up. "Run!" He yelled at Laalaa. The two ran away.

Dipsy chased after them, carrying a chainsaw. Guardian let Laalaa in front of him. A red laser was seen in the distance.

"Laalaa! Jump!" He warned her. Laalaa spotted the laser and jumped over it just in time. Guardian did the same.

Dispy ran into the laser, and it blew him up. A battered body lay on the ground, chainsaw across from it. Laalaa stared at Dipsy, tears forming in her eyes. Guardian picked up his chainsaw.  I might need to use this later. He turned around, walking towards the exit.

Laalaa followed him slowly. "I don't want to run into any more infected tubbies.." She sighed. Guardian silently agreed. Guardian continued through the satellite station, bloody chainsaw in hand.

A blue robot stood in the distance.

"Noo Noo? What're you doing here?"

Chapter Text

Noo Noo? What're you doing here?" Guardian stopped behind him. Noo Noo turned around to face him.

Noo Noo smiled sinisterly. "Hello, Guardian." He greeted him. Laalaa stepped into the light, revealing herself to Noo Noo. Noo Noo looked surprised when he saw her for a moment, but he quickly masked his shock.

"Why are you here, Noo Noo?" Guardian asked more demandingly. "Don't you see? I was the one who infected the custards." Noo Noo chuckled.

Laalaa stifled a gasp, her eyes widening.

Guardian's face went from surprised to pissed in a heartbeat. "You WHAT!?" His voice sounded like a mix between a yell and a growl. Noo Noo laughed at the two. "You Teletubbies were too weak and soft. I had to make you stronger. I infected the custard with a virus that makes Teletubbies stronger, faster, and more violent." Noo Noo chuckled.

"*Sigh*, I fear you know too much now. I'll have to kill you." Noo Noo laughed. He turned around and left, leaving Laalaa heartbroken.

The announcer by the wall sprung out of the ground, startling Guardian and Laalaa. Guardian wielded his chainsaw, looking determined. Laalaa backed up.

There was no way she could defeat that thing. She hid, leaving the Guardian alone to fight the mech. Well, as much as I want the announcer gone, I want Guardian gone just as much. Laalaa silently wished that Guardian would die after the announcer did.

She covered her ears. The chainsaw and the mech were so loud. Her heart hurt from the previous conversation.

Why would he do that to us? Didn't he love us? She wanted to cry. Laalaa's eyes burned, and her ears and chest hurt so bad. She just wanted this to be over. She wanted her friends back. She wanted to go home. She wanted to wake up already, and see Tinky Winky smiling at her.

But no matter how hard she tried to wake up, she couldn't. Laalaa wasn't having a nightmare like the night before. This was real, and she hated every second of it.

She looked up when the noises stopped.

Guardian stood over her with a worried look on his face. The announcer had been defeated, and Guardian hadn't. Damn. Damn it all.

"Let's go after Noo Noo. He needs to be stopped." Guardian said quietly. Laalaa noticed how quiet his voice always was. She hated it.

She nodded, agreeing. She got up, following him outside. They made it just in time.

"Noo Noo! Stop!" He called out to the robot. Noo Noo stopped a great distance away. He looked frustrated.

"You defeated the announcer I see." He muttered.

Guardian stepped forward. "You're like an annoying bug. Po, kill." Noo Noo stepped aside, revealing the very last person Laalaa wanted to see.

Chapter Text

Po stepped forward to reveal herself.

Laalaa immediately wanted to break down again. She knew Guardian would have to kill Po. If he didn't, he would be killed, and unlike Laalaa, he didn't want that. He didn't want that at all, but that was all Laalaa wanted anymore.

But Laalaa needed him, whether she wanted to admit it or not. She silently watched as they fought.

She felt useless. She felt tired. She was broken beyond repair, and she had no more energy left to fight with. She had no adrenaline rushing through her, just anger. And anger wouldn't help her win against Guardian.

Po was now in her third form, resembling a spider. Laalaa remembered how much Po hated spiders.

Po slashed at Guardian. He dodged it, much to the dismay of Laalaa. He kept attacking her, and every time he did, it hurt Laalaa as well. She looked away when Po started to collapse.

She heard the chainsaw go off one finale time. Laalaa looked back to see both Po and Noo Noo destroyed. Guardian looked angry, and it made Laalaa scared to approach him.

Who was he angry at? Laalaa? Po? Noo Noo? Himself?

She looked up when she heard a helicopter. The military was here. Laalaa began to cry. Tears came rushing out of her eyes, and she felt ashamed. Guardian stared. She felt so weak and tired, and she had let Guardian see that.

But she couldn't stop. She also felt happy. So, so happy. The military was here, and she would finally be free, away from Guardian forever.

Guardian stopped looking at her, and turned his attention to one of the soldiers that were questioning him. He explained everything.

A pink Teletubby made her way to Laalaa. "Are you okay?" She asked softly. No. "Yes." Laalaa assured her. Anne put her hand on Laalaa's shoulder. "It'll be alright. We're here to help you. We won't let anything bad happen to you anymore." She smiled at Laalaa warmly, just like Po would.

Laalaa smiled back at her. "What's y-your name?" She asked. "My name is Anne. What's yours?" Anne had a distinct smell. She smelled just like flowers. "My name's Laalaa." Laalaa felt so much better with Anne here comforting her.

"You'll be okay now, Laalaa. I promise you."

Chapter Text

Laalaa looked down. The ground was so far away. Laalaa, Guardian, and someone named Dutch were in a helicopter.

Laalaa had never been in a helicopter before. She glanced at Guardian. The right side of his face was way worse than it used to be. Po had mangled it, and now his face made Laalaa uncomfortable. It was terrifying to look at. Blood dripped from his fur.

Po had also stabbed him near the heart, but missed. Laalaa hoped he would get cleaned up at the military base so she wouldn't have to put up with the smell of blood any longer.

She looked over at Dutch. His fur was pitch black, and he had a helmet on. Laalaa admired his fur. It was well-kept, unlike Guardian's.

Guardian wiped the blood off of his face. It only got more blood on his arm. He sighed. It would take so long to get all of this out of his fur. He glanced at Dutch. He looked a bit suspicious. Guardian stifled a laugh, thinking about how suspicious he must look himself.

Guardian looked down at the ground. They were pretty high up, and it made him sick. He hated heights.

He looked at his shoulder. Po stabbed right through him, and it hurts like hell. So does his face. Guardian wondered what his face looked like right now. Probably worse than his shoulder, because Laalaa looked sickened when she glanced at that side of his face.

He knew his hair wouldn't be able to hide something like that, so he made no efforts to hide it.

Guardian put a hand over his shoulder wound, hissing at the sudden pain that shot through it. Dutch noticed and stared for a few minutes. Guardian looked out of the helicopter, looking at the mountains a few miles away.

He tried to move his leg, but it hurt when he did. He looked down and noticed it was mangled as well. How lovely. He hoped he would still be able to help like this. He tried to move his leg again so he could see the wound fully. It was a huge gash across his calf, making him gag at the sight. He could see his bone. Guardian looked away and just focused on the mountains.

The sight of the ground being so far down worried Guardian. What if he fell? What if Laalaa fell? He shuddered at the thought.

Finally, we're here. He thought with relief as a building came into view. The helicopter landed, and everyone got out. Guardian thought about how he must look like a crazy person with all of the blood and dirt clinging to his fur. He no longer looked as graceful as he did when he started this journey. Dutch took Guardian and Laalaa to a place where they could shower. Finally.

When they were done, Dutch guided them to Lenny. He was the one that Laalaa and Guardian would have to talk to about the infection.

"Lenny." Dutch walked up behind him. Lenny was busy beating a machine with his knife because it wouldn't work. He jumped, Dutch's voice startling him. "Oh, hey Dutch." Lenny turned around with a smile. "Who's the Snowball?" Lenny glanced at Guardian. "I'm called the Guardian." Guardian sighed.

"He and Laalaa are here to tell you about their experience with the infection since Richard isn't here." Dutch said. "Oh, okay." Lenny stared at Guardian's wounds. "Uhm.. shouldn't you have gotten him taken care of beforehand?" Lenny asked Dutch.

"We didn't have time. Do you know where Richard is?" Dutch asked. "He got a distress signal from some kind of fortress." Lenny yawned.

Dutch walked away, going to find Richard.

Lenny grabbed the Guardian and took him to the hospital wing first. Guardian had to have stitches on his leg, and bandages on his face and shoulder. As soon as they were done with that, Laalaa and Guardian followed Lenny down the hallway.

"What's that?" Guardian asked Lenny when he heard a scream coming from the room below. "Nothing for you to worry about." Lenny glanced back, stopping. "It sounds important." Laalaa raised an eyebrow. "I said it's nothing for you to worry about. Now come on." Lenny snapped.

Laalaa and Guardian exchanged glances. They started following him again. They reached some kind of investigation room. They sat down in their seats, watching Lenny closely.

"Alright, now tell me what happened."

Chapter Text

"Laalaa, you go first." Lenny smiled at her invitingly.

"Well..It all started when my friend, Tinky Winky, woke me and my girlfriend, Po, up in the middle of the night. She got up and followed him, but I pretended to sleep as well as my boyfriend, Dipsy." Laalaa explained.

"An hour later Tinky Winky walked back into the house. He...he..he tore Dipsy's head off..I had to run away from him. I barely escaped. I ran to the caves, and took refuge in the outskirts. Guardian found me there. We traveled to the satellite station. Dipsy was there. He had no head, but he could still see us somehow. He carried a chainsaw and chased us with it, trying to tear us apart. We led him to a laser because he just wouldn't stop or go away. He died, and Guardian took his chainsaw." Laalaa explained.

"We found Noo Noo, and he confessed to making the virus. He made Guardian fight some kind of mech. We went outside to confront Noo Noo after Guardian had defeated the mech. Again, he made us fight something. Or..someone. It was Po..." Laalaa wiped a tear off of her face. "Po was the one who gave Guardian these scars." Laalaa gestured to Guardian face and shoulder.

Lenny nodded, writing everything down. "Alright. Guardian, your turn." Lenny glanced up at him.

"I was made to monitor the four Teletubbies. One night, I woke up to see Po hanging from a tree, Dipsy's head on the slide inside their house, and Laalaa missing. I had to collect all of the custards so I could see what was wrong with them. Tinky Winky ate the last one, and he turned into a monster three times his original size. I had to run to the caves to escape. I found Laalaa at the outskirts, as she already told you." Laalaa noticed how much fidgeting Guardian was doing as he explained.

"Laalaa already told you what happened after that." Guardian stopped explaining, looking at the floor.

Lenny wrote all of that down. "So the infected tubbies can have multiple forms, right?" Lenny asked. "Yes, both Tinky Winky and Po did. Po had three, Tinky Winky had two." Guardian said.

"I see..." Lenny said softly to himself.

Guardian stopped staring at the floor, and began to stare at Lenny. Lenny didn't seem to notice. Laalaa saw something warm in his eyes as he watched him. Love, maybe? Laalaa giggled silently to herself. Guardian had a little crush, it seemed.

I really like how his hair looks. It's very pretty. Guardian admired Lenny's appearance. Lenny's hair was slicked back under goggles. He had a lab coat on and some gloves. Guardian loved the way he looked. He wanted to compliment him, but it would be very awkward and random.

Why is he staring at me? Lenny wondered. He didn't mind, but it was weird. Lenny looked back up at the two. "That's all we need." He got up, putting his notebook in his pocket. He looked at Guardian, and they locked eyes for a second. Lenny guided Laalaa and Guardian to two spare rooms. Laalaa had the one on the right, and Guardian had the one on the left.

"You two can stay here for now." Lenny said. He and Guardian locked eyes again. It only lasted a split second, but for some reason, Lenny felt flustered after he left.

Lenny ignored the feeling and walked to his lab. When he got there, he saw Gary sneaking away with a knife. HIS knife. "GARY! GIVE ME BACK MY KNIFE!" Lenny shouted, suddenly chasing the orange Teletubby. Gary ran, laughing as Lenny struggled to keep up due to the amount of people in his way. "GARY! GET BACK HERE!" Lenny pushed someone out of the way, making them curse as they got pushed into another worker.

"Lenny! Gary! Stop running and get your asses over here!" A deep voice called after them.

Lenny and Gary both froze. Gary looked back with a guilty face. Lenny took his knife and slowly walked over to Captain Richard and Conor, trying to stall. "So.. you're back." Lenny sighed.

Conor didn't look angry, but Richard looked furious. "Why the hell were you running through the halls and pushing people?" Richard snapped at them. Gary looked down. "Gary stole my knife." Lenny glared at Gary. "Sorry, Captain, it won't happen again." Lenny said. He then grasped Gary's shoulder and pulled him aside.

"Don't take my knife ever again." Lenny growled. "I won't, I won't! Calm down!" His brother put his hands up to show defeat. "You got us in trouble with the Captain!" Lenny exclaimed.

"I know. I'm sorry." Gary glanced at Richard. "Whatever. Just get back to work." Lenny let go of his shoulder. He noticed that he left a red mark on Gary's shoulder. Lenny looked away, guilty. He walked back to his lab again. He never noticed Conor following him.

"Lenny, can we talk?" Conor whispered to him. "Uh..sure?" Lenny followed him somewhere private. He just wanted to get back to work.

"We need to talk about Richard."

Chapter Text

"What about him? Is there something going on?" Lenny was surprised that they were talking about the Captain.

"He..I know this sounds crazy, but he..he killed Dutch." Conor sounded uncertain. "Are you sure? He's our Captain! He's loyal to the military, so why would he do that?" Lenny stepped back. "I saw him. Dutch was trying to bring him back to the base, but when Dutch turned around, Richard shot him in the chest and left him there." Conor explained hastily.

"Why..?" Lenny asked himself. "I..I think he saw me watching. He threatened me earlier." Conor stuttered. "This is crazy. You're..you HAVE to be lying." Lenny accused him.

"I'm not! I told you it would sound crazy. Please, believe me! I'm telling the truth!" Conor pleaded.

Lenny thought for a moment. "I don't know if I believe you, but I'll keep an eye on him." He sighed eventually. "Now, I have to get back to work. Bye, Conor." Lenny walked away from the whole thing. Why would Richard kill one of his own soldiers?

Laalaa looked in the mirror, admiring her fur and hair. She looked so much better now that she had access to showers again. She looked a lot more...alive. She felt that way, too, despite her circumstances. Laalaa has felt so exhausted lately, but now she could rest.

She wondered what Guardian was up to. Is he watching me? She wondered, anxiously looking around. She saw nothing, and no one.

Laalaa sighed, relieved. She stretched, and cracked her back. "That's much better." She thought aloud. She put on her bracelet and necklace. She had gotten them from Dipsy when he was still alive. She missed him.

Laalaa looked at the door for a few minutes. Should she take a walk? Would they let her? She felt embarrassed when everyone looked at her when she was out of her room. She guessed it was understandable, since she doesn't leave her room much. Laalaa finally mustered up the courage to go outside of her room.

She opened the door and immediately felt horrible. Her shoulders felt heavy and her eyes burned from the bright lights.

Laalaa continued anyway. She walked down the hallway, maybe looking for someone.

I should visit Anne. Laalaa smiled as she thought about her friend. She was so kind and strong. She helped Laalaa with a lot of things. As she continued to think about her, Laalaa realized it sounded like a crush.

But no one could replace Po. Or Dipsy, for that matter. Laalaa knew she would have to let go someday, but not right now.

She arrived at Anne's door, and knocked quietly. Anne opened the door, immediately smiling when she saw Laalaa. "Hey, Laalaa! How're you doing?" She asked Laalaa as she entered. "Good, I suppose. A lot better than how I used to feel. How about you?" Laalaa said. "I'm doing well. I'm happy to hear you're getting better, even if it's only a little progress." Anne sat down next to Laalaa on her couch.

"I'm glad you're doing well, too." Laalaa smiled at her. "I love your jewelry. Where'd you get it?" Anne politely raised the heart-shaped locket to her face so she could see it better.

"My boyfriend, Dipsy, gave it to me." Laalaa's smile got bigger as she thought about the day when he presented the gift to her. "Well, he had amazing taste in necklaces." Anne said. "Oh, yes. He loved jewelry just as much as I do. He had so many rings and necklaces. He also gave me this beautiful bracelet." Laalaa raised her wrist to show the gold bracelet.

"So pretty! I used to have a few bracelets like that, but they got lost." Anne sighed, admiring the bracelet.

"I hope you find them someday." Laalaa lowered her wrist. "Me too."

Chapter Text

Laalaa looked into the mirror. Her hair was so long, it reached her thighs. Laalaa held a pair of scissors, and held them up to her hair. It would only get in the way if she were trying to escape from something.

She watched as her beautiful hair fell to the ground. She felt so much lighter.

Laalaa's hair was now only at her neck. The curls made her hair poofy, and she laughed as she looked into the mirror. She looked like Po when she got her hair all dirty in the mud. Her laugh faded away slowly.

She's been in the military base for a year now. Being next door to the Guardian was hard when he was constantly making noise.

She doesn't hate him as much as she used to. She feels at peace with him finally, but she still doesn't trust him. Laalaa put the scissors in the cabinet that was hidden in the mirror. Inside was medicine, a small med kit, and now her scissors. Laalaa cleaned up her hair, humming a familiar tune to herself. She couldn't remember what it was called, though. Tinky Winky had taught it to her because she loved singing. When she had forgotten most of it, Guardian retaught it to her.

Laalaa wished she could sing with Tinky Winky again.

She shivered when cold air hit her newly exposed neck. She went to her room to get dressed. Laalaa put on a tank top and jeans. It was nothing special, because she didn't plan on going outside anytime soon.

She sat down on her couch, sighing.

She laid down and propped her feet on one of the armrests. Laalaa closed her eyes, enjoying the peace and quiet. Such a thing was extremely rare at the base. The floor and Laalaa's face were dappled with the sunshine of the morning sun. It shined softly through the window.

She smiled at the warmth of the sun. Laalaa always loved the morning.

Guardian yawned as he got up from his bed. It still freaked him out when he could barely hear himself, despite it being like this for a year.

Tinky Winky had fucked up his hearing, and now his ears worked terribly. And not to mention the constant pain he was in because of the fight with Po. He didn't care, though. They weren't themselves. He doesn't blame them. He blamed Noo Noo.

Guardian slowly walked to his bathroom. He opened the door, frowning when he could barely hear the creak of the door. He washed his face to wake himself up. Guardian looked up at himself in the mirror. His long hair rested on his back. He had to squint his eyes to see his reflection. "I forgot to put my glasses on.." He sighed. Guardian left the bathroom and put his glasses on.

He could see better now.

Guardian put on jeans and a t-shirt. When he was dressed, he glanced at himself in the mirror. He looked shitty as usual.

He heard a knock at his door. It must've been quite loud for him to hear it, he thought. He walked to the door and looked through the peephole. It was Lenny and Anne. Guardian smiled.

He opened the door and greeted them. "Hey. I haven't seen you guys in a while." He said, allowing them in. "We need to talk, White." Anne said. She had urgency in her voice. "Okay?" Guardian raised an eyebrow. "A year ago, Conor told me something about Richard." Lenny said. Guardian started to worry.

"He told me that Richard, our own Captain, had killed Dutch. At the time, everyone assumed Dutch was killed by the newborn army, and so did I. But we were wrong. I've noticed the way Richard looks at Conor. I'm not dumb. It's very obvious that he's hiding something, and I'm worried for Conor. I've been keeping an eye on Richard, and he seems to plotting something. I stole these papers from his office." Lenny pulled out three papers from the pocket of his lab coat.

Guardian walked closer, interested. "They have information on the infection, and how it was made. It mentioned Noo Noo, as well. It seems you were right about him." Lenny handed Guardian the papers. He looked through them. His brain hurts from thinking this early in the morning.

One of the papers said that bites could also cause infection. "Has anyone gotten bitten?" Guardian asked. "Anne did. But surprisingly she didn't turn like others." Lenny turned to look at the pink Teletubby. She showed her bite wound to Guardian. It was on her arm, and it looked nasty. The bite was sort of ragged, like the infected had extremely messed up teeth. "I'm not sure why I haven't turned, but I'm worried something bad's going to happen to me soon." Anne said quietly. Guardian looked up at her. Then back at the bite. Then the papers. "You..you'll be fine. Maybe we can make a cure. Maybe the papers will tell us how." Guardian fretted. He didn't want her to turn, and she didn't either. "Captain Richard had all of this?" Guardian was honestly surprised. "Yes. Conor was right about Dutch, too. He's been threatening Conor to stay quiet. He had writings in his journal about it, but I heard him walking over and had to run back to my lab before he caught me." Lenny said.

"What do we do with all of this?" Guardian looked up at the two. "We don't know yet, but we'll have to keep it until it's important." Anne explained. "Wow." Guardian sighed, taking in all of the information.

Chapter Text

Guardian couldn't help but stay awake that night. There was so much on his mind. Richard killed Dutch? And he's possibly on Noo Noo's side? Anne could be infected!

He groaned. Guardian got up from his bed, rubbing his eyes. He grabbed a snack and sat down on the chair next to his bookshelf. As he ate, he began to feel sick. He was so worried for Anne. What if she turned in the middle of the night? Would it hurt? How much would it hurt? Thinking of Anne screeching in pain made him cringe. Guardian sighed, unable to eat his snack any longer.

Laalaa sketched a kind looking Tinky Winky. He carried his red handbag in his right hand, and he had a soft smile. Po stood next to him, hugging her best friend. She drew cute bunnies and flowers in the background. Laalaa smiled as she drew the scene. It was so familiar. She drew the warm sun shining on the two Tubbies. They looked so peaceful and happy. Laalaa missed days like that. It's been so long since she's felt any real happiness or excitement.

Laalaa jumped when she heard a loud thump from Guardian's room. She scowled at the wall. What on earth is he doing at this hour? She wondered.

Laalaa lightly tapped on the wall. "Sorry!" Guardian's quiet voice was somehow heard through the wall. Laalaa chuckled to herself. He was so clumsy. She thought about her stalker for a minute. Lately, her opinion on him has changed. She now felt.. indifferent about him. She didn't care anymore. He's less creepy now, but he's still pretty annoying.

She turned the page of her notebook, and began to draw him. His long ponytail, his white fur, his scars, and Dipsy's hat.

Laalaa observed the drawing for a second. She forgot to draw the bandana! She quickly added it, and looked at it again. He looked mean. Well, he was, but in the art he looked Miles' level mean. She fixed his expression to look more laid-back.

Laalaa looked at the wall. Guardian resided at the other side. Was there a hole in her wall? Was he watching her? She observed her wall. Nothing. She sighed, relieved. It's been a year, but it changed nothing but an opinion. Laalaa was still worried that he was watching her. She looked around her room for a hole, or maybe a camera. Nothing. Thank the Sun Goddess. She returned to drawing. She drew Po, Dipsy, and her. They all sat in a beautiful meadow with the sun shining on them warmly. They all had smiles on their faces. They looked happy. Laalaa smiled again.

Chapter Text

Lenny tapped his pen on the desk. He didn't know what to say. He was supposed to be doing a report on the newborns he was experimenting on, but something so odd and unbelievable happened. A newborn talked.

It was the one with arms and fur. He already knew she was a bit different, but he didn't know infected could talk. He thought they could only scream and growl. Lenny sighed, and put the paper to the side along with the pen. He laid back in his chair for a moment, thinking. It surprised him at first when the newborn spoke, but now he was just confused. He wondered how to explain it without sounding crazy. Lenny knew the entire apocalypse was crazy, but an infected talking? That's insane. Maybe he was just hearing things.

No, he definitely heard her speak. He wondered what to do with her. If she can speak, she'll definitely have her uses. Maybe he could get information from her? Lenny began to wonder if the others could talk. He got up from his chair and paced around his room.

What did she say again? Something about hunger? Oh, that's right. She was hungry. Lenny fed the newborns of course, but not often. He wasn't surprised that she was hungry. Lenny frowned, deep in thought. He jumped when a loud knock was heard at his door. A knock like that could only be Guardian's. "Hold on!" Lenny called out, rushing to hide the records. He put them in his drawer, and went to answer the door.

"Hey, Guardian." Lenny waved slightly. "Can we talk?" Guardian asked. "Of course. Come in." Lenny let him inside.

"Is Anne going to be okay? I haven't gotten an update in days." Guardian asked. "I believe so. I think she might be immune. No Teletubby has lasted as long as her." Lenny explained. Guardian sighed with relief. "So she's alright?" He looked around the room. "Yes." Lenny sat down in his chair at his desk. "Have you spoken to Laalaa lately? She's been avoiding everyone." Lenny asked. "Uh, no. She doesn't really like me much. Because of the whole.. stalking thing." Guardian sighed.

"Ah." Lenny looked down at his desk. "Well, she hasn't been speaking to Anne or Conor, and she only comes out of her room to get food or take a shower." He fidgeted with his sleeves. "Do you know what's wrong with her?" Guardian tilted his head. "No, nobody does." Lenny said.

"Hm..maybe I can talk to her. But I don't know if she'll want to." Guardian sighed.

Chapter Text

Laalaa stretched her arms, yawning. She fidgeted with her bracelet for a minute before walking to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth quickly. Guardian wanted to talk to her today for some reason. He said he was bringing Anne, so she couldn't refuse.

She changed into a beige dress and put on her sweater. Laalaa sighed, and opened the door. She tried to seem as confident as she could when she walked out, but she could tell she was failing. It was the first time in weeks she went out of her room for more than 30 minutes. Laalaa looked down at her feet, embarrassed by the amount of Tubbies staring.

Guardian waited beside Anne. Maybe I should've watched her better. He thought. No, White. You can't do that. Remember what Anne told you about boundaries?

Guardian honestly felt embarrassed for still having those thoughts. He wasn't going to watch her anymore.

He tried to repress those kind of thoughts. The kind of creepy intrusive thoughts you get in the middle of the night while you're trying to sleep. That's how he saw these thoughts. It's hard to keep them away, though. Guardian looked up from the ground when he heard rushed footsteps. Laalaa panted, very obviously out of breath. "Why'd you have to choose the place that's across the building?" She pouted.

"I imagine you're not getting much exercise in your room." Anne laughed. "Guardian isn't either!" Laalaa tried to defend herself, but Anne just put on a smug smirk. "I've been making him exercise as well. You'll need to be fit if you're going to survive in an apocalypse, silly." She chuckled.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Laalaa asked. "We wanted to check in on you." Guardian said. "Well, now you know I'm perfectly fine." Laalaa sighed, already knowing what was coming. "You've been in your room doing whatever for weeks, Laalaa. You barely come out." Guardian crossed his arm. "And you've been doing that for years. So what if I do it for a few weeks?" Laalaa argued. "That was different. You're not watching people, are you?" Guardian only half-joked. "No, of course not. I just don't..have the motivation, I guess. I can't stop thinking of my friends." Laalaa sighed. "Well, you could've talked to someone. You know that I'm always here for you, Laalaa." Anne put her hand on Laalaa's shoulder. "Sorry for worrying you. I'll try to come out more." Laalaa smiled at Anne warmly.

"Good. You need to go outside, too. Like, the actual outside. Believe it or not, you need sunshine." Anne laughed. "I know, I know." Laalaa's smile got bigger. She appreciated her friend being worried for her. "Thanks for taking the time to talk me about this." She turned over to Guardian. He nodded. "Of course."

Lenny glared at Richard from across the room. Richard didn't notice him staring, he was too busy staring at Conor. Conor just kept his head down, ignoring them both. Lenny knew what Richard was up to, even if he would never say it to his face. Well, he would someday. But not today. He definitely wanted to tell him, though.

I know what you did, Richard.

Chapter Text

Conor tried to make his footsteps as quiet as possible. It was particularly dark tonight. He looked around, making sure Richard wasn't near. Or anyone else, for that matter.

He snuck over to Laalaa's room, and lightly knocked on the door. She opened the door, smiling. "Hey, Conor. Do you need something? It's pretty late." She tilted her head slightly. "Could I stay the night? I can't sleep." Conor asked, slightly embarrassed. "Oh, sure." Laalaa moved out of the way, letting him in. She quietly closed the door. "Do you wanna talk about it?" Laalaa asked. "Not really." Conor said. "Alright." Laalaa moved to the kitchen to make her friend a snack.

"Your room is very nice." Conor tried to make small talk. "Thanks. I took inspiration from all of friend's rooms. They all had such good taste." Laalaa smiled as she remembered the dark reds and blacks of Po's room, and the soft greens of Dipsy's. Tinky Winky had lavender and other shades of purple with some white accents. She always had yellow. She used to have curtains with lemons on them. "You talk about your friends a lot. How long did you know them for?" Conor asked. "My whole life. I don't have a single past memory that they aren't in." Laalaa decided to make sandwiches. She didn't have anything else.

Conor moved to the kitchen where she was, standing beside her. He felt anxious. "Have you noticed any weird about Richard lately?" He asked. "Hmm..no, not really. Did something happen?" Laalaa glanced at him, confused. "He..n-nevermind. Nothing happened, I was just curious." Conor stuttered as he spoke. "Alright." Laalaa was done making the food, and handed Conor his sandwich. She ate hers with a smile on her face.

After they were done with their food, Laalaa turned off the lights and settled into bed. Conor just sat down awkwardly in one of her chairs.

Laalaa patted the extra space next to her on the bed. "You can sleep here with me, if you want. I'd feel bad if I made you hurt your neck and back by sleeping on a chair." She opened her arms as if she was inviting him to cuddle. Conor slipped under the covers, immensely more comfortable than he was on the chair. Laalaa wrapped her arms around the silver Teletubby, and he leaned into her hug. He rested his face on her neck.

They fell asleep not long after.

Chapter Text

Guardian fidgeted with the rings on his finger. They were all connected to each other, and it was fun to mess with them. Anne had gave them to him as a gift. He was hovering over his journal. It had multiple writings of what he knows about the infection so far, including what Richard's papers had on them. Maybe I should get Anne a gift, too. He thought. It was what Po and Tinky Winky always did.

If he was being honest, he only knew how to keep friendships because of watching them. At least something creepy had something mildly good come out of it.

Guardian looked up at his window. He thought about his name for a moment. Guardian didn't seem fitting. He's no Guardian anymore. He thought back to what Anne always calls him. "White". That sounds nice, he thought. He liked that nickname. Maybe I should be called that. Guardian makes no sense anymore. He considered it for a moment. He slowly nodded to himself. "That'll be my name. White." White said softly to himself. He could barely hear his confirmation.

White looked back at the rings. He wasn't entirely sure why, but Anne seemed to always have such big impacts on him. She just had that special charm to her, he guessed. She was an amazing friend to everyone. He hoped everyone else appreciated her just as much as he did.

He knew Laalaa certainly did, and Lenny.

White smiled to himself as he said his new name over and over in his mind. He should tell Anne about it first. She'd like that, being the first one to get the news. She loved being first.

He got up from his desk, and walked out of his room. He didn't have anything else to do, so he might as well tell her now. White walked through the halls, a smile on his face. When he reached her room, he knocked on the door to see if she was in there. Anne answered the door. "Oh, hey, White." Anne smiled at him. "Can we talk? I need to tell you something." White asked. "Of course!" Anne let him in, and closed the door. "What did you need to tell me?" She asked.

"So, I've been thinking about my name. Everyone calls me Guardian, but it doesn't feel right anymore. I'm not a guardian anymore." White explained. "Oh?" Anne tilted her head. "I think I should just change my name to White. Some of you already call me that, and it makes sense, unlike Guardian. It feels nice to be called White." He told her the best way he could. The White Coats didn't teach him how to talk to others. Anne smiled at him. "Alright. If that makes you more comfortable, then I'll support your decision. Have you told anyone else?" Anne gave him a small hug. "No, you're the first person I've told." White said. He saw a small sparkle in her eyes.

"Who will you tell next, and how will you get the news across the entire base?" Anne asked. "I'll tell Lenny next. I'm not sure how I'll tell everyone else." White thought about it for a moment.

"I can help, if you'd like." Anne offered. "I'd like that, thanks." White smiled softly at her.

Chapter Text

MONTHS LATER

White walked slowly behind the soldiers. He was on a mission with Anne to collect custards so they could study them. He looked at his surroundings, making sure there was no infected. They were in an open field with a few trees. The sun was incredibly bright, and he hated it.

White saw that there was a custard by a tree to the left, so he broke away from the soldiers. He took it, and quickly looked around him. Nothing.

He walked back to the soldiers. "Hey, Anne. I found a custard." White said. She looked back at him. "Good. I wonder how many are here." Anne replied. Anne jumped when she heard a high-pitched scream. A newborn came running at them, catching the soldier's attention. One soldier shot at it, immediately killing the thing. They continued walking until they stopped at a tree. "Alright, everyone take a partner and go find custards. White, you're with me." Anne commanded. White followed her as they looked for custards, occasionally looking around himself.

"How do you think the custards got here?" Anne asked. "I don't know. Maybe they were planted so an unsuspecting Tubby would eat one." White narrowed his eyes when he saw something in the distance. It was small at first, but it got bigger as it approached them. "Hold on. What's that?" He stepped forward. Anne stopped, and stared at the thing. It slowly revealed itself.

It was an entire army of newborns, walking towards them. "We have to get the others and leave." Anne said urgently. They both turned around and ran, calling out for the other soldiers. Most of them came back, but two were missing. "Where are the rest of you?" Anne asked, counting the soldiers. Anne looked over at the trees when one soldier came back badly injured. White looked over at the hills, too worried about the army to focus on the soldier. "What happened? Where's your comrade?" Anne questioned the soldier. "A pack of newborns attacked, and he was-" The soldier was cut off when a newborn bit his neck, causing blood to gush out. Anne gasped, startled. "Anne! We need to leave!" White called out when he saw the newborn army was even closer than before.

Anne was about to turn around to face White, but the pack of newborns that the soldier had told her about ran out of the trees, attacking the group of soldiers. Anne shot at the newborn that tried to bite her, killing it. A soldier screamed as they were mauled by three newborns. Anne's eyes widened when she saw a berserker coming out of the trees.

White stared down the hill, watching as the newborn army began to run towards the noise. He looked back at the soldiers, and left the hill. He equiped his knife, and began to take out the newborns that were attacking them. White glanced at Anne, who was busy trying to take out the berserker. We're going to die. White thought as he saw the newborn army crossing over the hill.

Chapter Text

Mi-Mi grunted as she rose from her bed. She rubbed her tired eyes, looking around. Something banged on her wall from the other side, making her jump. "Daa-Daa?" She called out. Another bang, this time with a yelp. She got up, and ran to Daa-Daa's room. "What's going on-" Mi-Mi was cut off by her own scream. Daa-Daa lay on the floor with a puddle of blood surrounding him. Ru-Ru stood over him. "What did you do!?" She exclaimed.

Ru-Ru looked back at her. His eyes were completely black, with white irises. Umby Pumby tiredly stumbled through the halls, rubbing her eyes. "What's wrong? Why'd you scream?" She asked, yawning. Umby stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Daa-Daa's dead body. She screamed, this time louder than Mi-Mi. It woke everyone up. Ru-Ru ran towards them, grabbing Umby Pumby. "Let go of me!" She cried. He slashed at her right eye, making her scream again because of the pain. Her shoulder began to bleed from his claws gripping and ripping it. "Let go!" Umby Pumby tried to push him away. Mi-Mi grabbed Ru-Ru, pulling him away from Umby Pumby.

Ping ran to Umby Pumby, as well as Nin. Umby Pumby looked horrified as she looked at her leg. Or, lack of a leg. "Oh my sun goddess!" Nin gasped. "What is wrong with you!?" Mi-Mi continued to fight Ru-Ru as he tried to escape her grasp. He eventually escaped, and pounced on Nin. She yelled out of surprise, her eyes widening. He grabbed her arm, ripping it off. Nin screamed.

How on earth is he doing all of this!? Mi-Mi wondered as she tried to pull him away from Nin. Duggle-Dee ran forward, and grabbed ahold of Nin. He pulled her away from Ru-Ru. Instead of giving up, Ru-Ru turned his attention to Ping and grabbed her arm. She gasped, and tried to pull him off as hard as she could. Baa grabbed her and Umby Pumby, taking them away from Ru-Ru. Ru-Ru's long claws left a deep gash on Ping's arm. Ping cried, holding her arm. "What the hell are you doing!?" Duggle-Dee asked Ru-Ru. He didn't respond, instead he just growled and snarled. "Get everyone out of the house!" Mi-Mi told Baa and Duggle-Dee. They both nodded, and proceeded to help everyone escape.

Mi-Mi held Ru-Ru down, looking around for some kind of weapon. She spotted a butcher's knife in the kitchen, and ran to it. Ru-Ru ran after her, trying to catch her. Mi-Mi turned around, and slashed his neck open with the knife. He fell down, holding his neck. Mi-Mi ran to her room, grabbed her bag, and stuffed the knife inside. She rushed to get outside, ignoring Ru-Ru's snarls and attempts to attack. "Follow me!" Baa said.

Everyone followed Baa, and no one looked back.

Chapter Text

White groaned, covering his eyes as a bright light hit them. He sat up, and looked around. He was in the infirmary. He gasped when he looked at his leg. It was gone. My leg! What happened to my leg!? He looked around himself, eyes wide as he searched for anyone else. No one was there, except Anne. She was asleep on one of the beds next to him. His vision was extremely blurry, so it's not like he would've saw them if someone was there anyway.

He picked up his glasses from the small table beside him, and put them on. White tried to remember why he was in here.

White was knocked down when two newborns attacked at the same time. One bit into his leg, while the other tried to bite his face. He fought it off, and quickly killed it with his knife. Anne ran to him, and shot the newborn who had a grip on his leg. White tried to get up, but his leg hurt like hell. He groaned as Anne lifted him from the ground. "We need to go, now!" She called out to the last surviving soldier. They nodded and ran to the two Teletubbies while calling the military for help. Anne let White lean on her for support while they escaped the hoard of newborns.

Oh. Right. He looked over to Anne again. She had a deep gash on her back. White assumed she got it from a scorpion newborn or a berserker. He looked back at his amputated leg.

------

Umby Pumby walked behind Baa. They had originally gone to the Teletubbies house, but the blood told them that they had been killed. So, they had to travel until they find someplace to stay. Umby Pumby didn't like this plan. She wanted to find her sister. Surely Laalaa escaped?

Umby Pumby looked around. The dark made her anxious, and she jumped at any small sound. They stopped when they saw firewood on the ground in front of them. "Who do you think is here?" Duggle-Dee asked Baa. "I don't know. There's no fire. Maybe they left." Baa said. "Maybe we should stay here. There's enough shelter." Ping said, pointing at the long pillars and ruined building. "I guess." Baa walked over to the building and sat underneath.

Everyone began to separate, looking around. Umby Pumby stayed by the firewood, staring at it.

Chapter Text

Lenny opened the door to the infirmary. White was awake, but Anne was still passed out.

"Hey. Are you feeling okay?" Lenny asked, sitting down in the chair beside him. "Yeah, I guess." White just stared at his leg. "The soldier that was with you told us what happened. He died not long after, though." Lenny explained. "How'd they die?" White questioned. "Blood loss." Lenny said. "Is Anne going to be alright? That wound looks bad." White tore his gaze away from his leg to look at Lenny. "Yes." Lenny nodded.

------

Umby Pumby started a fire. The fire was warm, so she stayed beside it the entire night while everyone else just stayed under pillars and a building. Idiots. That won't keep them warm for very long. She thought.

She sat down and curled up. Her balance was off as she sat, because of her missing leg. Umby Pumby couldn't get her mind off of that night. Why would Ru-Ru do this us? She wanted to cry more and more as she thought about it. Something or someone MUST'VE set him off somehow, because he would never do that to them. But he did. Umby Pumby wiped a tear off of her face, flinching as a sharp pain shot through her shoulder.

------

Laalaa hummed a song as she cleaned up her room. She put up the book that she was reading, and began to make her bed. She put the newly washed sheet on her bed, then she put her pillows and blanket on. Laalaa picked up the clothes that were on the floor, and put them in her laundry basket.

She paused when she heard a small noise from above. She looked up, but saw nothing. Laalaa sighed. She put her laundry in the washer, and went back to her room. Laalaa flopped onto her bed, groaning. Her back hurt worse than it usually did today. Laalaa stretched her back, cracking it. She sighed. It felt much better, now. Laalaa looked out the window, noticing the sky was getting dark. It was dusk, now. She might as well get ready for bed.

Laalaa laid down, and closed her eyes so she could sleep.

Chapter Text

- DAYS LATER -

White was finally out of the infirmary, as well as Anne. White had to use crutches to get around now because of his missing leg. Just great. I'm half-blind, half-deaf, and I have no leg. He thought.

He stumbled across his room, trying to get to his desk. He almost fell, and had to grab onto the edge of the desk before he sat down. White sat in his chair, sighing. He grabbed his journal out of his desk drawer, and wrote down everything that has happened in last few days. Lately he's been having nightmares with this huge shadow. It had a shiny mouth, and a shiny television on it's stomach. It always freaked him out whenever he saw him. White also sees Tinky Winky and the others in his dreams, which only freaks him out more.

He felt like he was going insane. He's seeing them outside of his dreams, as well. There's no way Richard's going to let me fight if everything keeps going bad. I lost my goddamn leg and I'm having hallucinations! He wanted to scream. He felt so frustrated with himself. Why did he ever go on that stupid mission? Why did he ever leave the sewers?

White closed the journal and put it back in his desk drawer. He got up, and looked around the room for his crutches.

They were across the room. Amazing. How lucky he is. He groaned in frustration and staggered across the room to get his crutches. White placed them under his arms when he finally made his way to them. I hate this. He thought. He moved on his crutches so he could get to the door. He went to the cafeteria to eat. When he got there, he tried his best to ignore the stares. They all looked at his face, or his leg. Not all of the soldiers were adapted to his face, and none were used to seeing his leg. Can't they at least try to be discreet about it? He wondered.

White sat down at a table that was completely empty so he could avoid questions about his scars. He didn't see anyone familiar in there, so he just kept to himself the entire time he ate.

Chapter Text

Lenny walked behind Richard, glaring at his back. Does he know that we know? He wondered. White, Anne, and Conor walked in a small group around Lenny. What does he want? Conor was quietly panicking. Laalaa walked behind the group, keeping to herself. Why is everyone so tense? She asked herself. She doesn't know what Richard did.

White stayed close beside Conor. What is he trying to pull? He had his hand close to his dagger, but not close enough to notice. He didn't trust that Richard wouldn't try to kill them all to keep them silent. It's what he did to Dutch. Where is he taking us? Anne wondered. Anne and Lenny glanced at each other. No one except for Richard knew what was going on. "So..where are we going?" Laalaa asked. "You'll see when we get there." Richard replied. Laalaa pouted.

They continued on for about two minutes until they reached Richard's office. They all entered the room. Richard sat down on his chair, and sighed. "I need you all to go on a mission. There's this abandoned school a few miles away that I need you to investigate. It should be simple. I doubt you'll find any threats there." He said.

"Really? Do you remember what happened last time when you put Anne and White on a 'simple' mission? An army of newborns attacked!" Lenny complained. He wasn't even supposed to go on missions. He's a scientist for crying out loud! "I don't think a bunch of newborns would hang out in a school. You'll be fine." Richard said sternly. "Why am I even going? Why is LAALAA going?" Lenny asked. Laalaa silently wondered the same thing. "Based on the files that the White Coats showed me, it seems Laalaa is the best person to go on this mission. The rest of you are just here to protect her. As for you, Lenny, I want you to write down everything that you find interesting. As I already stated, it's an investigation, and I need someone to write everything down." Richard said.

Laalaa cringed at the thought of someone having files on her. She looked over to White. He looked at the floor, a bit guilty. He couldn't just have Gary write things down? Lenny crossed his arms, but stayed quiet. "Um, sir? Who are the White Coats?" Laalaa asked sheepishly.

"They're a group of Teletubbies who study other Tubbies. They're the ones who had White watch you and your friends. They are highly secretive people, so that's all I know." Richard explained. Finally, I get to know who White was working with. "Does that mean White was a White Coat?" Laalaa looked back at him. White looked horrified at the idea. "No! I'm not a White Coat!" He franticly said. Oh, good. Lenny was relieved. "Okay." Laalaa shrugged. Why is he so opposed to being a White Coat? They seem pretty important. She wondered.

"Anyways, please get ready for your mission. You have two hours to prepare. A solider will escort you to the helicopter after your time is up." Richard shooed them away.

Anne and Conor began to whisper to each other after they left the room. Lenny presumed they were talking about Richard. "I wonder why he said I would be the best one to go on this mission." Laalaa said.

Chapter Text

Laalaa talked with Anne while the group traversed the abandoned schoolhouse. "What do you think we'll find here?" Anne asked. "I don't know. Something about this place feels familiar." Laalaa looked around the place, getting a bad feeling. "Maybe there will be an infected." Anne said. "And when I say infected, I don't mean a newborn. I mean an actual Tubby. It'd be so fun to fight." Anne looked excited. "You want to find an infected?" Lenny sounded repulsed. "You don't?" She looked behind herself to look at him. "No, of course not. Why would I want that?" He crossed his arms. "You're always cooped up in that lab of yours. Live a little! Fighting a monster twice your size would be exciting, would it not?" Anne said. "I don't find being torn apart very exhilarating, Anne." He grumbled.

"Whatever, old man." She pouted. "I am not old! I'm literally 23!" Lenny exclaimed. Laalaa wasn't surprised Anne mistook him for an old person. He had a few gray strands of hair, probably because of stress. "Wait, you're 23?" Conor suddenly spoke up. Lenny looked like he had just been stabbed. "Ye- Wha- YOU DIDN'T KNOW THIS!?" Lenny shouted, catching White's attention. "No? Gary told me you were like 40." Conor said. "I can't believe this.." Lenny sighed.

White suppressed a chuckle. Honestly, I thought he was in his late 40's.... Laalaa felt a bit guilty.

"Never believe a single word Gary says about me. Ever." Lenny growled. "How does it feel looking three times your age?" Anne laughed. Lenny looked like he was about to stab her three times. "Let's not fight. If something is in here with us, it'll have an advantage if we're busy bickering over Lenny's age." White said. Everyone quieted down and began glancing around themselves.

White looked at a military helmet on the floor. The soldier that had escorted them to the helicopter had mentioned something about soldiers going missing here. "Reminds me of Miles." White said quietly. No one has seen Miles for days. A part of me hopes he never comes back. He thought. White and Miles never got along, and they always fought. It only got physical twice, though. On the other hand, Anne was great friends with Miles. They've known each other for years, and are very close.

White was a bit jealous of him, but he didn't really care too much.

"Oh, look. There's custard." Laalaa pointed out the bowl sitting in a corner. Lenny wrote this down in the small notepad he had. Anne picked it up. "We should get this back to the military." She said. Everyone agreed and continued on.

Chapter Text

-21 YEARS AGO-

Lilith's breath was ragged. Every single little breath hurt. Blood pooled out onto the floor, telling her that her time was up. She was about to die. She always knew that her actions would catch up to her, just not like this.

Just a few hours ago, she had been the happiest woman alive. Lilith had given birth to her son. She never even got to name him before he was taken away from her. Men in white coats had shot her multiple times just so she would give him up. Oh, Sun Goddess, please let me live. She knew her prayers would go unanswered and unfulfilled. They always did. But she had a small sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe, the Sun Goddess would help her for once.

She bled out on the hospital bed, silently crying. She was unbelievably miserable. But she was also so angry. They took away her baby. She barely even got to hold him before they entered the room and took him away. Lilith looked at the poor nurse on the floor. They were shot as well, so there would be no witnesses. At least that was what Lilith assumed. She tried to speak to them, but her throat hurt and the only thing that came out were pained groans. Her side and chest hurt from getting shot. Lilith looked up at the ceiling, and sunk into the bed. She wanted to scream at the Sun Goddess, but she knew she couldn't. She wasn't upset that she was dying. She was upset because her son was taken away from her, and she couldn't get him back even if she wanted to.

What're they going to do to him? She wondered. No one just walks into a hospital and takes a child for no reason.

Suddenly Lilith felt a burst of anger. They're going to do something to her son. She tried to get up, wanting to catch up to the Tubbies in white coats. Her entire body ached, and she failed. I will get my baby back. She promised. They won't get away with this.

Chapter Text

Laalaa and Conor had split from the group an hour ago. So now, it was just Lenny, White, and Anne. Lenny and Anne were too busy bickering to focus on where they were going, so Anne would bump into White occasionally.

"Gary is not reliable! Just because he says that, it doesn't mean it's true!" Lenny exclaimed. "We all know it's true, Lenny." Anne teased. "We all see the way you look at them." She whispered. She glanced at White to see if he heard. He looked like he was in his own world. Good. Anne had a smug grin on her face while she teased the Teletubby.

"I do not like them. That would just get in the way of my work." Lenny put his hands on his hips. "Crushes are nothing more than distractions." He stated. "Crushes are natural." Anne argued. "Why are you so defensive about it?" She laughed. "Because it's a lie! From GARY!" Lenny said. White was eavesdropping, but he said nothing. He had no idea what they were arguing about. He never heard any rumors about Lenny. "Uh-huh, sure." Anne chuckled. "What on earth are you two talking about?" White decided to speak up. "Gary told everyone about Lenny's crush on 'someone'." Anne explained.

"On who?" White asked. Lenny glared at Anne. "Don't you fucking dare." He whispered to her. "You." Anne laughed. Lenny sighed. White wasn't sure to say after that. "Oh. Okay." He just left it at that. "Why the hell would you tell him!? Now he thinks I'm in love with him!" Lenny whispered to Anne. "Because you are in love with him." She whispered back. "There's no way you're saying all of this just because of Gary. What is your evidence for this claim, Anne?" Lenny growled. Anne smirked. "Every single time he's in the lab, you can't take your attention away from him. You're constantly glancing at him, and can barely focus on the computers. I remember one time you shooed away one of your workers just so you could talk to him." Anne recalled. Lenny looked embarrassed for a moment, but quickly masked it. "So? Maybe we're just good friends." Lenny crossed his arms.

"You let nothing distract you from work, EVER. Why would you make an exception for him? You've only known him for a year." Anne said. Lenny just sighed, defeated. "We can talk about this later, Anne." He said.

-----

Laalaa ran behind Conor, breathing heavily. The ghost ran after them, trying to catch them. Laalaa knew this ghost. She used to be her friend. She thought that she was just imaginary. The ghost got closer, outstretching a hand to Laalaa. "CONOR, RUN FASTER!" Laalaa exclaimed. Conor sped up.

His body hurts from running so fast for so long. When is she gonna give up? He wondered.

Chapter Text

Conor panted heavily, tired out from all of the running. "I think we lost her." Laalaa said, also panting. "We need to find the rest of our group and tell them about the ghost." Conor said. "How? We have no idea where we are, or where they are." Laalaa asked. "Uh..I don't know, actually. Let's just walk around until we find them, I guess." Conor sighed. "What if we find the ghost again? Our attacks do nothing." Laalaa glanced around them. "We'll just run again. There's nothing else we can do." Conor said.

They continued on through the school, occasionally looking around themselves. They stayed quiet and in the dark, hoping that would help them stay hidden from the ghost.

----

White flicked his ear dismissively when Anne tried to get him to back her up on one of her many arguments with Lenny. She sighed and went back to bickering with Lenny. Why are they always fighting? He wondered.

White glanced back at Lenny. Did Gary tell the truth, or is he just trying to start a rumor? He saw Lenny a bit different now, even if he didn't know whether it was true or not. Having a friend crush on you is....odd. It feels awkward. White knew he, himself, loved Lenny, but he didn't know if Lenny loved him. Gary was known for spreading rumors, so it was entirely possible that he was just lying. Goddess, this is so confusing. White thought.

I do NOT like White. Crushes are just for kids. I do NOT like White. Lenny repeated in his head. Crushes are just distractions. Love in general is just a distraction. There are better things in life to focus on. Like work, or beating the shit out of Anne. Why the hell would she tell him that? What does she even get out of it? Lenny wondered.

The small group got startled when two Teletubbies came rushing at them. "Laalaa? I thought you guys were exploring the place?" White asked. "There's a ghost! She tried to kill us! We need to leave!" Laalaa exclaimed. Lenny quickly wrote this down. "Where did you see it?" Anne asked. Conor pointed to the left. "Can't we just get rid of it?" Anne suggested. "How? Nothing harms it." Laalaa looked over to her. Anne thought for a moment, then sighed. It's not like any of them were priests. "Let's get out of here." Lenny crossed his arms.

The group left the building, and got on the helicopter. "That was boring." Anne sighed. "Did you want us to stay and die?" Lenny asked. "Whatever." Anne looked outside of the helicopter. They were above ground now, and going back home.

"What did the ghost look like?" Lenny asked. "It looked..human. Her skin was extremely pale, and she had black hair. She had black clothing and black liquid pouring out of her eyes." Conor explained. Lenny wrote all of that down.

Chapter Text

Mi-Mi wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. She wished she had grabbed a jacket, but she had no time. So she was stuck in the cold wearing a skirt. Amazing. She thought. "There's nothing here to start a fire." Baa said. "What? Are you serious?" Mi-Mi pouted. "I'm sure we'll find someplace warm soon." He reassured her. Mi-Mi sighed.

"Can we just move on from this place? It's too cold to stay here." Duggle-Dee complained. "I agree with Duggle-Dee. Let's get away from here." Nin said, fluttering her eyelashes to get the snow off. "Alright. Let's go then." Baa sighed. Everyone followed Baa as he walked off. "Hey, do you hear that?" Mi-Mi stopped, listening closely. She could hear voices in the distance. Everyone stopped fo listen. "Let's go check it out!" Ping said excitedly. "What if they're killers? We can't just go up to strangers, Ping." Mi-Mi stopped her from walking towards the voices.

"Pleasseeee?" Ping pleaded. Mi-Mi sighed. "Fine. But don't let your guard down." Everyone began to approach the voices.

The voices stopped when they got close enough. They could faintly see the two Teletubbies through the snow. One of them was harder to see than the other, considering his white fur. "Hello?" The woman called out. Umby Pumby's eyes widened in surprise. She knew that voice. "Laalaa? Is that you?" She asked. The woman glanced at the man, earning a sheepish grin from him. The two Tubbies began to approach the group, revealing themselves. It really was Laalaa. And someone else.

"Laalaa!" Umby Pumby rushed to her, hugging her. "What're you doing here? Did something happen?" Laalaa asked. "Ru-Ru..he, um..killed Daa-Daa." Mi-Mi mumbled. Laalaa looked over to her, a horrified look on her face.

"You guys didn't eat any custard, did you?" She franticly asked. "No, why?" Baa crossed his arms. "The custard is infected with a virus that will turn you into a killing machine." The white Teletubby said. "Is that why Ru-Ru killed Daa-Daa?" Ping questioned. "Most likely." He muttered. "Where's Dipsy, Po, and Tinky? Did they..um.." Nin asked. "Tinky Winky killed Dipsy and Po." Laalaa's voice was shaky. Everyone went silent. Duggle-Dee looked horrified. "Laalaa? Who's this?" Ping spoke up, pointing at the white Teletubby. "That's White. He..uhh..is a friend of a friend." Laalaa decided to keep his former job hidden. White just looked at the snow. "Hello, White! My name is Ping!" Ping quickly became happy, as if she heard nothing Laalaa said about Tinky Winky.

"Hello, Ping." White's voice was soft and polite. We've introduced each other, so now that means we're friends! Ping decided.

Chapter Text

"Now that we've got introductions out of the way, would you like to come back to the military base with me and White?" Laalaa asked. "Yes!" Umby Pumby immediately agreed, and the rest of them nodded their heads in agreement. "Alright. Then let's go." Laalaa smiled. Laalaa lead the large group to the helicopter. "Richard might be overwhelmed by the amount of recruits." White murmured. Laalaa chuckled and hopped onto the helicopter. Everyone got settled on the helicopter after her.

Ping sat next to White, pestering him with questions. "Where are you from?" She asked. "Um...the..east?" White said awkwardly. He had no idea where he was from. "What's your favorite animal?" Ping questioned excitedly. "I guess wolves." White replied. "What's your favorite color?" Ping kicked her feet back and forth. The helicopter was off of the ground now, freaking some of the Tiddlytubbies out. "Blue. And pink, I suppose." White leaned back. He was still as scared of heights as he was when he entered the helicopter for the first time. "Cool! I like pink, too!" Ping said excitedly.

"Ping, leave White alone. He doesn't need to be bothered by a million questions." Laalaa scolded. Ping stopped asking him questions, but she was still staring at him.

"I guess she's found herself a new friend." Nin said to Baa. "It's a good thing she's so loud or else he wouldn't be able to hear her." He scoffed. "I'm surprised she isn't freaked out by his face. She usually hates things like that." Duggle-Dee pointed at his scar. Either White didn't notice them gossiping about him, or he was ignoring them.

Ping wasn't the only one staring at White. Laalaa was looking at him with a bit of anger in her eyes, Mi-Mi noticed. Like he had wronged her somehow. Mi-Mi glanced back and forth between the two. White just stared at the wall of the helicopter with a blank expression. He looked completely out of it. "What's up with him? Does he usually do this?" Mi-Mi asked Laalaa. "Yeah. He does it all the time. I think there's something wrong with him." Laalaa sighed. White flicked his ear, letting them know they weren't as quiet as they thought they were. Laalaa didn't care, but Mi-Mi felt a bit embarrassed. Mi-Mi looked outside of the helicopter and saw that they were finally at the base.

"Alright, we're here." Laalaa said. When the helicopter landed, everyone hopped out and followed the soldiers to Richard.

White looked a bit anxious and fidgety. Like he was waiting for something. When they got inside the building, White broke off from the group and went to this room that looked like a lab. Mi-Mi felt like this was a bit off, but she ignored it.

------

"Hey, White." Lenny greeted him. "Hey. Uhm, can we talk?" White asked. "Sure." Lenny shut off the computer, and followed White somewhere private. "When we were on that mission at the abandoned school, was Anne telling the truth?" White questioned. Lenny stayed quiet for a moment. "I-..well, I'm not sure." Lenny stammered. "I do lo-" Lenny was cut off by a sudden bang. The door to the room that to two were in was busted open by none other than Gary. Lenny groaned.

"Really?" Lenny crossed his arms. Gary just laughed.

Chapter Text

Lenny and White were very awkward around each other for weeks. Their relationship was... confusing, to say the least. Neither of them wanted to confront each other after Gary had burst in. It made those small meetings with Conor and Anne excruciating.

Eventually, Laalaa was told about what Richard did. She's been helping Conor the best that she can, but she has no experience with these kinds of things. Plots weren't her strong suit, but she was sure that Noo Noo would have no problem carrying this out.

She sat in her chair, balling up her fists as she thought about Noo Noo. She had seen him as her father her whole life, but he was just tricking her to get what he wanted. Laalaa felt embarrassed and angry when she thought about it. She always took pride in her intellect, but now it seems she had none to begin with.

She listened as Lenny spoke. "We need a plan. We haven't been doing anything but watching Richard, we need to do more. We don't know when he'll kill another one of us." He explained. "We have all of his papers about the infection, which is very risky. He knows that they're gone, and he's been looking for them. I don't think he'll think to search me, so I can hold onto them." Lenny had his arms crossed as he spoke. "What if he does search you?" Anne asked. "He won't find them." Lenny said, though Laalaa could hear a hint of doubt in voice. "What will the rest of us do?" Laalaa questioned.

"White can keep an eye on Richard. He'll be like a scout. So will Conor." Lenny said. "Laalaa, you'll sneak into his office while he's not there in case he has something important. Anne will make sure you don't get caught." He tapped his fingers on his arm as if he was being impatient.

Nobody objected. They jobs they were given fit them pretty well, so there was no reason to complain.

White's ear flicked when he heard Ping's voice outside the door calling for him. Does he always do that? It's hard to take him seriously when he acts like an adorable cat! Anne wondered. Ping opened the door, a huge smile on her face. "Hey, White! Come look at what I found!" She beamed. White had no choice but to get up and follow her. He couldn't say no to her, no matter how hard he tried. No one could, actually.

Anne chuckled, watching as the little girl dragged him out the door.

Chapter Text

White's breathing was heavy as he stared at the blood on the floor. Po's hanging body swung gently back and forth from the tree above him. White knew this wasn't real, but he couldn't help but start panicking when he heard a scream. He whipped around, looking behind himself where the scream was heard. Tinky Winky ran towards him, only making White panic more. He couldn't run as fast as he used to because of his missing leg, but he still tried.

He moved as fast as he could on his crutches, but eventually Tinky Winky caught up with him. He grabbed him, and tried to attack. But, the next second he was gone and White was in a strange place. The floor resembled a chess board, and there was no sky. It was completely pitch black.

"H-hello?" His voice was shaky from the previous shock.

The only response he got was laughter. White wanted to curl up into a ball and just cry. He saw a light in the distance, and began to walk towards it. He already knew what was going to happen. It was the same every time.

A huge shadow ran towards him, but instead of the dream ending before he caught him, the shadow grasped onto his shoulders. White struggled to get out of the shadow's grasp, but he failed. The grip on his left shoulder was excruciating, considering his scar still hurt like hell. "Get off of me!" He yelled, trying to push the shadow away as it got closer to him. It pressed one of it's hands on his chest, burning a mark into it. White screamed in agony as it did the same to his hands.

----

White woke up with a gasp, sweating. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead, panting. He noticed that his hands were black, and looked injured. He began to panic again. He thought it was just a dream.

He got up from his bed, and decided to go the showers. Maybe a shower would clear his mind, and help him realize that he was just hallucinating as usual.

But he wasn't hallucinating. It was completely real. The water couldn't get rid of something that was now apart of him. No matter how hard he scrubbed his arms, the injury wouldn't go away. At one point, his arms and hands began to bleed from the constant scrubbing. White held his face in his bleeding hands for a moment. He was one more inconvenience away from breaking down completely.

He sniffed, wiping tears off of his face. Maybe in the morning he'll feel better, but until then, he's going to cry himself to sleep for the millionth time.

Chapter Text

Anne walked up to Miles to welcome him back. He's been missing for so long. "Welcome back to the base, Miles. Where on earth have you been?" She tilted her head. " 'Was trapped in a cabin. These monsters were planning to eat me." Miles growled. "We've all been worried for you. I'm glad your back." Anne smiled and hugged him. Miles wasn't very used to hugs, so he just awkwardly wrapped his arms around Anne.

Laalaa watched to the two, bored out of her mind. White wasn't there for her to tease because he was busy watching Richard, so she had nothing else to do. She didn't feel like drawing, so she just sat in the cafeteria talking to the occasional soldier.

She felt tense, and upset.

-----

White stood in Richard's office, listening as he told him about his new job. "You'll be watching the kids. We can't just let them wander around, they could get hurt. Or worse." Richard said. White stayed quiet for a moment. Watch the kids? Seriously? He barely knew them! Why couldn't Laalaa do it?

"Why, sir?" He asked, a bit too soft. He internally cringed at the way he said it. "Because I don't want you fighting anymore. You had to have your leg amputated on your last serious fight. You can't fight with no leg. You can barely even hear, so I can't trust you to go on missions anymore. You have to have glasses to see, and what happens if you break them or if they get lost?" Richard listed off his reasons rather rudely. White paused again. He couldn't believe that Richard just said those things. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

He closed his mouth, and just nodded. White headed out the door, feeling humiliated. Suddenly he hated Lenny's plan. He had to be near Richard all. The. Time. And now he just told him he couldn't fight because of his leg.

He went to his room, ears flattened like a scolded child. White sat down on his bed and set his crutches down. He sighed, tired of everything. He laid down slowly, wincing when his back hurt from doing so. If it wasn't for Noo Noo, he wouldn't be in the situation. I guess it's better than being stuck in the sewers with that White Coat. He thought.

Chapter Text

White's finger twitched as he watched the kids. He was tired of sitting around all day. He hoped Conor was doing a good job on keeping tabs on Richard. He looked down when he felt claws dig into his leg. Ping was climbing up his leg while trying to escape Duggle-Dee. "Ping-" White was about to tell her go somewhere else, but as soon as she got onto the couch, she hid behind his back. White sighed. He rubbed the claw marks on his calf. They burned pretty badly.

"What are you doing, Ping?" He asked. His voice was more aggressive than he intended it to be. "I need to hide from Duggle-Dee!" She half-whispered. White just sighed and let her hide behind him.

Duggle-Dee was running around everywhere trying to find Ping. White smirked, watching him run around like an idiot.

----

Laalaa snuck into Richard's office quietly. Anne stood outside the door, guarding it. Laalaa looked around the office for files or paperwork, but anytime she found something it was just about the people working at the base, or things or about the White Coats. She went over to the desk, checking all of the drawers.

Finally, she found that there was a file on the infection. Lenny must've missed it. She thought. She took a second looking through all of the papers inside the file, and decided it was good enough. She put it in the red bag in her hand. She had taken Tinky Winky's bag with her when she ran away.

Laalaa quickly looked through the place again, but found nothing. She quietly left the room, nodding when Anne asked if she found anything. They went to Lenny's room, trying their best to avoid everyone. Lenny let the them, and checked to make sure nobody was following them. "What did you find?" He asked. "A file about the infection. Here." Laalaa took it out of Tinky's bag and handed it to Lenny. He looked through it for a moment. "This'll be helpful. Thanks." Lenny looked back up at her. She nodded in acknowledgement.

----

Conor panicked a bit when Richard asked what he's been up to. "U-um.. I guess nothing much." He stammered. "Okay." Richard shrugged.

As Conor looked at his boyfriend's murderer, he only felt fear and anger. Conor's never been courageous, exactly, but he's not a coward either. I'll take you out if I have to. He clenched his fists. He was going to get revenge for Dutch, no matter what.

----

1 YEAR AGO, THE DAY OF DUTCH'S DEATH

Dutch held his breath as he approached Finn. He laid there, back to the wall. "Lieutenant Finn? Are you alright?" He asked. He got closer, and realized that Finn was bleeding. He began to run towards him, panicking. "Finn? Finn, wake up!" He shook Finn violently. Finn remained passed out. He was dead.

Dutch jumped when he heard a cough. He moved away from Finn's body and went to the person who had coughed. "Captain Richard?" He was shocked to see Richard sitting on the floor, coughing up blood. "Dutch? What're you doing here?" Richard asked. "We got worried when you hadn't come back to the base in hours." Dutch helped Richard up. They started walking away from the fortress, but suddenly Richard stopped. "Are you okay? We need to get to the base and tell the others what happened." Dutch was about to look back, but he stopped when Richard said something.

"You're not going anywhere." He growled, raising his gun.

He shot Dutch straight in the heart, killing him.

Chapter Text

Richard read the papers thoroughly. The White Coats had sent him a file on Guardian. Or White, as he liked to be called. It listed basic things like age, date of birth, race, etcetera. The paper said he was 21 last year, so Richard assumed he was 22 now. They couldn't keep tabs on him anymore considering the apocalypse, and his escape from the mainland. Richard wondered why someone so young was working for the White Coats. Usually they had Tubbies who were older and more experienced.

He didn't have to wonder for too long, however. The file quickly answered his question. Apparently, the Guardian had been working with them his whole life. Interesting. Richard thought as he read. It mentioned his personality as well. Richard couldn't understand how that was important at all, but he read it anyway. Gullible, quick to get violent, observant. Pretty typical behavior for a guardian, except the violent part. Richard raised an eyebrow when he read it.

The file that the White Coats sent on Laalaa was helpful, but this one was just confusing. Richard wondered why they sent this to him if it has nothing useful on it. Richard read the second to last paragraph with a bored yawn.

It said his skin was sensitive in the sun. Richard assumed his fur helped him with that, so it had no relevance to him. When Richard read the last paragraph, he raised his eyebrows. It mentioned how he was from a place out in the mountains. It had been abandoned about 15 years ago. Richard thought nobody lived in the mountains. Infact, everyone thought that. How come the Teletubbies there didn't die from the cold? He wondered.

Richard quickly hid the file when he heard a knock at the door. It was Conor. Again. "Come in." He said.

Richard was a bit concerned when he saw Conor come in with his gun, but he ignored it. "What do you need, Conor?" He sighed. Conor shut the door and locked it. "I want to know what happened at the fortress." Conor had a tight grip on his gun.

"You already know what happened. A newborn army attacked us and killed everyone." Richard crossed his arms. "That's not true! You know I saw you!" Conor shouted. Richard scoffed. "Saw me doing what?" He asked. "You shot Dutch in the chest and left him there to die!" Conor got closer to Richard's desk. "No, I didn't. I think the apocalypse is getting to you, Conor." Richard narrowed his eyes. "DON'T LIE. I saw you do it, Richard! I heard it, too! Did you kill Finn, too?!" Conor raised his gun at Richard's head. "What!? You know I would never kill him, Conor! I didn't kill either of them!" Richard started to get angry. "Stop lying! Why did you kill Dutch!? What happened to Finn!?" The silver Teletubby put his finger on the trigger. "I didn't-" Conor shot Richard in the face, flinching at the loud bang.

He began to hyperventilate. Conor looked around franticly, trying to find somewhere to hide the gun. Soldiers would be rushing over here any minute. He hid it behind one of the dressers and ran out of the office.

Oh my goddess. I just killed the Captain. He began to regret his actions. This wasn't apart of Lenny's plan, but Conor couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't let Richard live any longer.

Chapter Text

White's ear perked up when he heard a knock at the door. The Tiddlytubbies all looked over to the door, confused. "I'll get it." Nin said. She opened the door to see a strange silver Teletubby with a bit of blood on his face. "Conor? Why is there blood on your face?" White seemed to know him.

"I-I made a mistake. Can I hide here for a bit until everyone calms down?" Conor stuttered. "What? What happened? Did it have something to do with that noise?" White got up. "Y-yes. I'll explain in a minute." Conor went inside and approached White. Nin closed the door cautiously, and felt she needed to lock it. White guided Conor over to the closet. Before Conor went inside, he whispered something to White.

"I killed Richard." He said to White before shutting the closet doors and locking them.

White stared at the closet for a minute, shocked. He slowly turned around, burying his face in his hands and groaning. "What's wrong? What'd he do?" Baa asked. "Nothing... everything's fine. He did nothing." White sighed. Everyone knew he was lying, but they didn't ask any more questions. Nin and Baa shared a glance.

White unlocked the door and exited the room, telling Nin to lock them back after he left.

----

White moved as swiftly as he could to the lab. He wasn't sure how Lenny would react to this, but he knew he wasn't going to like it. He ignored the stares from the workers when entered the lab. "Lenny, we need to talk." White said urgently. Lenny looked up from his computer. "Okay?" He followed White somewhere private. "Conor killed Richard." White blurted out. Lenny was silent for a minute, as if he was processing what he just said.

"He what? I don't think I heard you correctly." Lenny raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "He killed Richard, Lenny." White said again. Lenny paused again. "Why?" He said, freakishly calm. "I don't know, he didn't explain any farther. He just walked into the room and asked to hide because he killed Richard." White was frustrated. "Was that what the noise was? He is aware that soldiers are going over there to investigate, right?" Lenny's voice sounded increasingly angry. "What the hell are we gonna do?" White hissed. "This is why I had a fucking plan. Now, soldiers are gonna be investigating everyone. They'll find the files, White!" Lenny's voice was a mix of a shout and a whisper.

"I was planning on killing him when he was out on a mission! The plans all fucked up now!" Lenny was extremely frustrated with Conor. "We're so fucked." White groaned.

Chapter Text

Laalaa and Anne stared at each other for a moment. Lenny told Anne what Conor did, and told her to tell Laalaa. "He...what?" Laalaa finally uttered. "Shot Richard in the face." Anne repeated awkwardly. "Is Conor okay? He didn't get caught, did he?" Laalaa asked. "He's fine, the soldiers are still investigating the 'crime'." Anne moved her fingers in air quotes. They all knew Richard deserved it, but Conor had still ruined the plan. Laalaa didn't care as much as the others, but it still concerned her.

"So what're we gonna do?" Laalaa tilted her head a bit. "Lenny doesn't know yet. He and White are talking to Conor about it right now." Anne shrugged, her ears flattened. Laalaa sighed.

-----

"What did you do with the gun?" Lenny asked. "I hid it behind one of the dressers. It was stupid of me, but I didn't have time to think after I had killed him." Conor explained. "Killing Richard was stupid of you. They'll go around searching everybody for clues, and find out that we were plotting against him." Lenny scolded. "I know." Conor sighed.

"Maybe we could-" White was cut off by a loud bang. The door had been knocked down by soldiers. Lenny's stomach dropped when he saw the files in the leader's hand. "What is this!?" They shouted. "Uh, papers that Richard g-gave-" Lenny was cut off by the yelling of the soldier. "Don't lie to us! Tell me where you got these!" They said. Guns were pointed at the there of them, making everyone anxious. White narrowed his eyes, trying to think of something.

His ear pointed up when he got an idea. "RUN!" He shouted at Conor and Lenny, pushing them out of the way of the soldiers. They ran outside of the room, trying their best to avoid bullets. White was right behind them, moving on his crutches. "We need to get Anne and Laalaa!" Conor said.

-----

Anne jumped when the door was swung open. "Come on! We need to leave!" Lenny shouted. Laalaa rushed to get Tinky's bag as Anne went with the other three. When she finally found it, she ran after the four Teletubbies. She yelped when a bullet was shot right next to her. She ran faster, panicking. She's never been in a situation like this.

Anne's lungs burned as she ran. She made sure everyone was in front of her, counting the Teletubbies in her head. White, Lenny, Laalaa, and Conor. I need to get Miles. She knew it was stupid, but she couldn't live without her best friend. "I'll be back in a minute!" She yelled to the others before running to Miles' room. She was vaguely aware of the two soldiers running after her, but she didn't care.

She swung the door open, startling Miles. She closed the door and locked it. "What's going on!?" Miles asked. "Conor killed Richard because he killed Dutch and now soldiers are after us because they found Richard's papers in Lenny's room and they found out we were planning to get rid of him!" Anne said quickly. It confused Miles, but he still followed her to the rest of the group. Anne was slightly surprised when she saw Gary in the group, but she knew why. Despite their constant arguing, Lenny still loved his cousin. Anne doubted Gary even cared for this place anyway, so she didn't question why he would go along with Lenny.

Conor breathed heavily, already getting exhausted. He was relieved when he saw the exit.

They pushed past the soldiers by the door and continued escaping. They had to rush to the gate to make sure it wasn't closed before they could leave. As Anne exited the gate, she looked back at the soldiers. They were trying to keep up with the group, but failed. The gate was closed, and the group was now safe.

They still continued running through the forest until they were far enough.

Chapter Text

Mi-Mi slightly panicked when White never came back to the room. A few hours ago he came back with Lenny to retrieve Conor, but he never returned to the room. "What do you think is going on?" Duggle-Dee asked. "Were those gunshots?" Ping questioned.

"I'll go look for Laalaa. Maybe she can tell us what's going on." Umby Pumby said, getting up from the couch. "Are you sure? I don't think it's a safe time to be out of the room right now." Mi-Mi crossed her arms. "I'm sure." Umby Pumby left the room.

She looked around the base for Laalaa's room. This is gonna take forever. She thought. The place was huge, and it was kind of like a maze. Umby Pumby continued through the halls until she found her sister's room. She knocked on the door, but no one opened it. She knocked again, slightly confused. Again, no one. Umby Pumby decided to just walk in. The place was a mess, and some of her stuff was missing. Tinky's bag, her necklace and bracelet, and her sweater. Umby Pumby assumed that she had left, but why would she make such a mess in the process?

The mirror was completely shattered, presumably by accident. What happened here? She wondered. Suddenly she had a bad feeling about staying in the room, so she cautiously walked back to her own room. When she got there, she explained what she had found. "The entire room looked like it had been hit by a tornado. The mirror was shattered and furniture was knocked down. Her stuff was missing, and she wasn't there." She explained.

"Where is she?" Duggle-Dee asked. "I don't know. Obviously she must've left the base if she did all of that." Umby Pumby crossed her arms.

"Should we go look for her?" Nin wondered.

-----

Laalaa's heart sank when she saw the blood leaking from Conor's side. "Um..Conor.." She weakly point at the bullet wounds, making him glance at them. "Oh." He said. There were three bullet wounds on his waist, another on his thigh, and one on his chest. "I think they were trying to aim for my leg." Conor laughed.

Nobody else laughed, instead they just stared at the wounds. None of them had time to bring any med kits, or anything that would help them in this situation.

"Conor.." Anne slowly approached him. "I-I'm fine. I'll be fine." Conor stepped back. "Conor, you're bleeding out, you will not be fine!" Lenny crossed his arms. He couldn't do much but yell at him at this point. Laalaa looked down at her torn jeans, wondering if she could rip off a piece of cloth. She looked back up when Conor spoke. "Just leave me here. I'll slow y-you down." His voice was shaky from the pain he was in.

"Leave you?" Laalaa asked softly. She didn't want to leave another friend to die alone. She had already made that mistake before. There was already enough blood on her hands. "We don't have another choice, Laalaa.." Anne's voice was more quiet than usual. "He'll die if we leave him here!" Laalaa argued.

Lenny and Gary glanced at each other, ears flattened. "He'll die if we take him with us, too. There's nothing we can do to help him." Anne said. "We need to go before the military finds us." Miles warned. White just nodded in agreement. Laalaa stared at Conor for a moment. Conor smiled. "Goodbye, Laalaa." He coughed. "Bye, Conor." She held back tears as she walked away with the group.

Chapter Text

Laalaa felt bitter and angry. She had lost another friend. She had to go on another journey with her former stalker. They don't even know where they should go. Laalaa couldn't stand being near White and Lenny at the same time. They were so awkward with each other.

Currently they were past the outskirts, and they were traveling through the mountains. "It's so cold here.." White complained. Laalaa was glad she brought a sweater. "Where are we even going?" Gary asked Lenny. "You'll see when we're there." Lenny put his hands on his hips. Gary groaned. Laalaa noticed something about White that she didn't notice before. His chest and lower arms were pitch black. She furrowed her eyebrows, confused. "How did that happen?" She asked him, pointing at his chest.

"Oh, uh..I don't really know? I just woke up with it." White murmured. "Uh-huh.." Laalaa crossed her arms. There's no way he just 'woke up with it'. He's albino, he's not supposed to have any pigmentation in his fur. "Seriously, White, how'd you get these?" She pressed. "I just told you. I woke up with them." White looked confused. "Okay, do you have any theories on why you 'just woke up with them'?" Laalaa raised an eyebrow. "I had a dream about Po and a shadow before I woke up, but I don't think that it had anything to do with it." White confessed.

"...A shadow?" Laalaa let her arms fall to her side. "Yeah. A huge black Teletubby with no face, and a shiny television." White explained. "You're seeing that guy in your dreams, too?" Laalaa questioned. White stayed quiet for a moment. He just nodded, not sure what to say to that.

-----

Umby Pumby cried into Mi-Mi's chest. Soldiers had informed them that Laalaa died with a few others. White, Anne, Miles, Lenny, Conor, and Gary. Ping was really upset when the soldiers told her what happened to White. Mi-Mi ran her fingers through Umby's hair, trying to comfort her. "It'll be okay. I'll help you get through this." She said. Umby Pumby hugged her tightly, sobbing.

Chapter Text

--A YEAR LATER--

Laalaa pressed her foot on one of the floorboards of the cabin. It creaked loudly, making her wince. Sometimes having hearing way better than almost anyone else sucked. She had no idea how to fix this, but if she didn't, it would most certainly attract infected. Maybe she could get Gary to fix this. She shook her head slowly to herself. He's an engineer, not a builder. Maybe Miles would know how to deal with it.

For now, she would just make sure that everyone avoided that floorboard. She glanced at White over in the kitchen. He wasn't really doing anything, just hanging around Anne and Lenny. Things were much better between the three of them now that they confessed their feelings. They were inseparable. Usually that was a good thing, but sometimes it wasn't. Once, they got lost together in the woods and took an entire day to get back to the cabin. Laalaa wondered how Lenny got lost when he was the one who brought them here in the first place. Maybe they distracted him.

Anne was cooking something in the pot, presumably soup of some kind. Usually Anne hated cooking, so Laalaa wasn't sure if she was in a really good mood or just doing something nice for the rest of them.

Laalaa went to her room. She wanted to take a small nap before lunch. She laid down on her bed, sighing. Laalaa closed her eyes, falling asleep rather fast.

---

White smiled as he listened to Lenny talk. He wasn't smiling for any particular reason, he just like Lenny's voice. He didn't even know what he was saying. White looked over at the door of the cabin when it made a small creak. Miles entered the cabin with an exhausted look on his face. "Are you alright?" Lenny asked. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired." Miles sighed, dragging himself to his room.

Lenny made a small "hm" noise and went back to talking to Anne and White.

White's knee brushed against his prosthetic leg, making him shiver. The metal felt so cold. Lenny had made it for him. He wasn't sure where Lenny got the parts, and he never asked. Anne smiled at something Lenny said, but White wasn't paying attention. He tapped his leg, but he didn't hear the noise. "Hey, White?" Anne looked up from the pot. "Yeah?" White stopped messing with his leg. "What was your life like in the sewers?" She asked. "Oh, uh..boring, I guess. The only thing I really did was sit and watch some cameras." White shrugged. "You had to have done something other than that. How'd you live down there? Where'd you get your food and water?" Lenny put a hand on his hip.

"A White Coat would bring food and water down there occasionally. I don't think he liked me much." White really didn't do anything down there.

"What was he like?" Anne asked. "He was just..weird. He was just blatantly rude. Awfully touchy, too." White cringed as he thought of him. "Eugh." Lenny gagged. Anne looked concerned, which made White feel a bit worried that he had said something wrong. "Touchy? Why would he need to be touchy if he was just bringing you food?" She stirred the soup a bit slower. White shrugged and made a small humming noise.

Anne dropped the subject, looking back at the soup with a worried face.

Chapter Text

Tinky Winky shivered rapidly, hugging himself. He couldn't stop thinking about what he did. It's been two years and he's still horrified with himself. Blood stained Dipsy's bedsheets and the slide. Po and Laalaa's beds remained untouched. Tinky Winky couldn't bring himself to look at the beds beside his, too full of guilt. Black tears ran down his face as he sobbed. His fur was stained with Po and Dipsy's blood.

He gripped the sheets underneath him, choking on his tears. He hated how he hurt every Teletubby he met. His body ached from the previous...he didn't know how to describe it. He had turned back to his normal form after that white Teletubby escaped him. Stretch marks rested all over his body.

Tinky Winky heard a small shuffle to his right, making him snap his head up, growling. He tried his best to hold himself back from pouncing on the armless Tubby, but he failed. He stopped growling for a minute, as if he realized this person was no threat. He got off of them cautiously. They groaned in pain, but it's not like they could rub their sore back. Tinky raised an eyebrow, curious. He's never seen a Teletubby with no arms or fur. A second one came inside the dome. "Are you alright? I heard a-" She stopped when she saw Tinky Winky. This one was different. It had arms and fur, but otherwise it looked the same as the other one. She narrowed her eyes, trying to see better.

"Err...who's this?" She asked the other one. "I dunno. He tried to attack me, but I guess he changed his mind." They replied.

Tinky Winky opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He furrowed his eyebrows, confused. The fluffy one eyed him suspiciously, crossing her arms. "Can't you speak?" She asked. Tinky once again tried to talk, but failed. He shook his head. "Well, uh..hello. This is Juniper." She pointed at the furless one. Tinky raised his eyebrow as if to ask her what her name was.

"I don't have a name." She said, uncrossing her arms and putting them on her hips. She studied him for a moment, trying to come up with a name for him. She couldn't come up with anything creative, so she just chose a color. "Uh..could I call you Violet?" She asked. Tinky Winky thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, Violet. I guess we're friends now." She had a small smile on her face. Friends. Tinky Winky liked that. This could be his second chance.

Chapter Text

Laalaa frowned at the drawing. Something was off with Tinky's face. She narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what was wrong. His nose looked fine. So did his eyes and mouth. So what was wrong? She groaned, realizing the hair looked different. His hair was covering some parts of his face. Tinky never had hair covering his face. She silently scolded herself.

She fixed it carefully, making sure not to mess up Dipsy, who was right beside him.

She sighed, looking at her work. It took so long. It looked perfect. Tinky, Dipsy, and Po stood by each other in a field of sunflowers. Laalaa's favorite flower. Dipsy's hat--now White's--sat on top of his head. Tinky carried his bag, and Po was on her scooter. Laalaa's ball rolled across the field in the background. Laalaa missed her ball, and her friends. I'll be fine without them. She said to herself, though a part of her disagreed. It's not like she had much of a choice. She couldn't sit in her room and cry about them forever.

She closed her sketchbook and set it down on her bed. Laalaa sat there, bored. She might as well get some sleep. She laid down and pulled the covers over herself, and tried her best to fall asleep.

------

Laalaa's back was against something fluffy, which made her turn around to look at it. White lay passed out on the floor behind her. She recognized the black and white floor, and began to panic. The only time other Tubbies appeared in her dreams is if they're dead. "White?" She shook him awake. She wouldn't let him die, for Anne's sake.

"Eh?" He blinked a few times, trying to wake up. "Laalaa?" He yawned. "Why are you here?" Laalaa asked. He looked around, and Laalaa could sense the immediate unease and fear. White shrugged lightly, and continued to glance around himself.

He's probably looking for the shadow or my friends. Laalaa recalled all the nights she heard Lenny and Anne trying to calm White down after a bad dream or hallucination. She felt a bit bad for him, but she had her own problems as well. She got up, brushing off her knees. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she decided she might as well look around the place.

White stayed where he was, ears flattened and claws unsheathed. His fur stood up, alert.

Chapter Text

Laalaa narrowed her eyes at the approaching light. "He's here." She alerted White. He snapped his head over to her direction, eyes wide. The shadow was getting closer. Laalaa wasn't sure how White was in her dream, but she didn't think too hard about it. She tensed up when she heard the shadow's chuckles and laughs. She hated his voice, it was so annoying.

White stood up, getting off the ground. He silently backed away from Laalaa and the shadow. He knew the shadow had most likely already seen him, considering how bright his fur looked in this pitch black..room? He didn't know if it was a room or some kind of landscape.

The shadow slowed down and stopped in front of Laalaa. That's a bit strange. She thought. The shadow let out a small laugh, smiling at her. She flattened her ears, feeling a bit anxious.

"What do you want?" She asked the shadow. "I want to make a deal." His voice was deep and threatening. "What?" Laalaa hadn't actually expected it to talk back to her. She stepped back. "What kind of deal?" She was confused. There were no deals to be made in an apocalypse. "I can bring your friend back.." He started. "Which one?" She raised an eyebrow. "Conor." His smile got wider. Laalaa felt a small burst of excitement. "Okay..but what do you want from me?" She asked.

The shadow pointed to White. "Him." He said.

Laalaa looked back at White. He didn't seem very happy about this. "Really? Him? What would you want with him?" Laalaa looked back to the shadow, crossing her arms.

"You'll see." The shadow gave no closure. Laalaa thought for a moment. She would get Conor back, but White would most likely die, and that would upset Anne greatly. "Would he die? Or get infected?" Laalaa asked. "He'll slowly turn into an infected, but he'll still be with all of you." The shadow explained. "How slowly?" Laalaa thought it sounded..fine, she guessed. "It would take about a year." "Deal."

White looked horrified by Laalaa's decision. Really? Just like that? I can't say I'm surprised, but really? White thought.

Chapter Text

The shadow laughed, and snapped his fingers. Laalaa woke up in her bed as usual. She looked around for a moment, before processing what she just did. She just sold White's soul to some random demon for Conor. "Oh my Goddess, what have I done?" She groaned. She wasn't thinking when it happened. She was a bit relieved that White would at least have a year to say goodbye to Lenny and Anne.

Her heart sank when she realized how much this decision would hurt Anne. Anne's heart would be absolutely shattered. Her ears flattened as she tried to think of a good excuse to justify herself. She was doing this for Conor. That's not enough. She thought.

-----

White breathed heavily as the shadow got closer to him. "Stay away from me!" He shouted, dodging the shadow's large hands. He stepped away from the demon, trying to stay as far away as he could.

The shadow chuckled at White's attempts to get away.

The shadow eventually caught him, as it always did. White struggled in it's hands, digging his claws into the shadow. The shadow didn't seem to care.

It dug it's claws into the middle of White's chest, laughing. White screamed in pain, trying to escape. Scarlet blood ran down White's body and the shadow's hands. It grabbed ahold of White's heart, ripping it out harshly. White's screaming stopped. He wasn't dead. The infection would keep him alive.

Chapter Text

White woke up in a cold sweat. He panted, looking around the room. Lenny and Anne were still asleep. White could still feel the pain in his chest. He put one hand on his chest, still breathing heavily.

White got out of bed, wandering outside the room. He stopped at Laalaa's door, but he never entered. He didn't want to see her right now.

He just sighed and went outside the cabin.

He continued on through the dense forest before he found a river. He glanced around himself, looking for newborns. Nothing. He sighed in relief and went down the small slope leading to the river. White removed his clothes and got in the water. He shivered as the cold water raised above his shoulders. White stopped when the water was at his neck.

He wasn't sure what he was doing. He just sat in the cold river, looking forward.

He blinked when he saw something move in the forest. He narrowed his eyes, examining the trees and bushes. He silently hoped that a newborn or something wouldn't interrupt his "bath". Held his breath as something walked out of the bushes.

It was a familiar orange Tubby. "Gary? What're you doing out here this late?" White tilted his head. "I was gathering firewood for the fireplace. What're you doing out here taking a bath?" Gary raised an eyebrow.

"I needed something to distract myself." White shrugged. "From what?" Gary asked.

"Uhh.. it's not important right now." White murmured. "Okay? Well, I'm gonna get back home. You should probably hurry up with that before Lenny wakes up and sees that you're gone. You know he's a light sleeper." Gary chuckled, walking away.

White blinked, a feeling of worry arising in him. Lenny would probably be wondering where he was if he woke up, and try to look for him.

As soon as Gary was out of sight, White got out of the water and grabbed his clothes. He groaned as he realized he would have to put the dirty clothes back on to get home. He should've brought other clothes. He would have to put on new ones when he got home.

He put his shirt and pants on, but he didn't bother putting his shoes back on. He ran through the forest, ignoring the light tugs at his ears whenever he passed through brambles.