Chapter Text
As soon as Doc opens his eyes, he knows something is very, very wrong.
One; his lab coat is missing, so he is only wearing his shorts.
Two; it's cold, and he's led on his side on freezing concrete.
Three; there's bars in front of him.
....Wait.
Instantly, Doc moves to sit up, placing his hands behind to push himself to his feet, when a wave of nausea hits him straight in the gut, making him stumble and catch onto the bars. As he blinks the white from his eyes-
-"Doc?"
He quickly swivels his head, looking to his right-
It's Ren.
Doc frowns. "Ren? Are you.....how you feeling?"
Ren groans, rubbing his face, placing his forehead against the bars. "Fuck, I feel sick man" Doc then notes that Ren is in a similar state of undress, even his hair tie seemed to be missing.
Doc looks forward then, eyes scanning the hallway outside of his cage. The whole floor was made of concrete, dark stains and scraped in random places. Across from him, there were another three cell's, and looked very much like his own, all the walls were made of bars except the back wall, which was made of black, plain brick. There was a mat next the one side that Doc guesses would be the bed.
Doc strained his eyes, he could of sworn he saw something.
Bright feather shifted, before a head of blonde hair peeked up from the shadows.
Doc signed. "Grian.."
Said man looked around, moving to stand before Doc or Ren could tell him to go slow, and fell into the bars with skwark. He pushed himself upright then, looking down at himself. The avian blinked in confusion, before he looked back up to Doc, still looking very confused. "Why am I only wearing my trousers?"
Doc groaned, rubbing his forhead. "I dont know, we just woke up here like you"
Ren nodded, looking around. "Do you think we're the only ones here?"
Doc shrugged. "Lets find out- WAKE UP!!"
Ren and Grian jolted, and from either side of Grians cell, there were twin groans. That was followed by a growl on his left. Doc turned to the sound, and his eye caught a mess of long red hair. Cleo stood up then, frowning down at themself. "Really? Took everything but my bra and trousers?"
Doc chuckled. "I don't think whoever took us cares about decency"
To the left of Grian, a bright blaze appeared. Tango blinked his eyes clear, looking out of his cell. "What the....."
To the right, Mumbo moved forward, blinking tiredly, then he rubbed at his eyes, looking around, and then down at himself. He flushed slightly, wrapping his arms around himself with a sheepish smile. "Uhh, well, this is awkward"
Grian rolled his eyes. "Mumbo, we are all half naked, no need to be embarrassed" Grian frowned, looking out and up into the hallway. "Where are we?"
Doc frowned, "I don't know, I've been trying to get a signal-" he tapped his faceplate. "But where ever we are, there's something that scrambling my systems" Doc looked to Cleo "Can you see anything?you too Ren, you're both closest to the ends of the hallway"
Cleo, pressed themselves against the bars, turning their head to the end. "Nope, just a hallway with a dead end" they looked back to Doc. "What are we looking for?"
Doc shrugged, "a door, window, anything that looks....off"
"How about a door with a weird symbol on it?" Ren asked, sarcastic tone heavy.
Doc nodded. "Yeah that- what's the symbol?"
Ren, with a hum, pressed against the bar. "Uh, like, a circle? With a-" He squinted. "Red capitol P in? And a black capitol L over the top of it? "
Doc's breathing stopped.
He knew this place.
Tango frowned, looking to Doc. "Wait why dose that sound familiar?" Doc grabbed into the bars, blinking in shock.
"It stands for Path Lab" He mumbled, feeling sick all over again. "Its a lab where they bring in infant mobs and infuse their DNA with that of a human, then they-" Doc cleared his throat. "T-they put them through levels of- horrible tests and experiments"
Grian inhaled deeply. "Wait i- what? How did they even get on the server? Where are the others?"
Tango shook his head, looking deep in thought. "All I remember was working on the citadel and then- nothing?" The blaze frowned. "Why can't I remember anything?"
Ren nodded. "Yeah, I was in the castle grabbing a few things and- boom, I woke up here"
Mumbo rubbed his arms, obviously cold. "I was eating food, and then.....yeah"
Cleo nodded in agreement, then looked at Doc. "What about you-" She stopped as the expression on the creepers face.
He looked sick, sweating, deathly pale.
"Doc?"
Ren spoke up then, obviously lost in his own thoughts. "Wait so why wouldn't they take all the hybrids? Why only us six?" His ear twitched. "Is it cause were rare hybrids? Wait no- I'm here and I'm sure as hell not rare-"
Doc sighed, "it cause we're the strongest of the server, hybrid wise" Doc swallowed roughly. "We're here because of that"
Ren nodded, before looking over to Doc. "How....do you know this place, Doc?"
Doc laughed, but it held no humour what so ever. "This place is where a grew up" he said, seeing everyone look towards him with held breaths. "It where I ran from" He whispered, eyes focused on a dark stain in the hallway.
"This is where I was created"
For hours, there was nothing.
The hermits soon got tired and began to lay down on the thin mats, trying to catch some shut eye. They all agreed that whatever was happening it would be better to face it fully rested.
Cleo sighed, wrapping her arms tight around herself to try and stay warm. Technically, she couldn't really warm up, she was basically dead but-
She wished she had been closer to Tangos cell, to be honest.
She carefully turned over, looking to Doc's cell- she wasn't to worried about the creeper, he was covered in a thick layer of furr after all. Tango was a blaze, Ren naturally ran hotter then most, and Grians had large wings that he could wrap around himself. Mumbo though, was, for now anyway, only human-
She stopped.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the prison- that's what it was right? A prison- she finally got a good luck at Doc.
The sight made her undead heart ache.
Doc was sat with his legs pulled to his chest, arms tight around his legs. His eyes were focused on the front of his cell, he looked-
Void he was crying.
Silent, terrified tears rolled down his cheeks. His body trembled-
Cleo rushed to sit up, moving to Doc's cell, pressing against the bars "Doc? Are you-"
Doc flinched, wiping frantically at his face and nodding. He sniffed, looking to Cleo. "Its okay" He whispered, "go to sleep"
Doc looked to the cell door again, face dropping and letting out a long, shaky breath. "I'll look after us"
Safe to say, Cleo didn't sleep that night, all she did was reach through the bars to wrap her pinky around Doc's, offering all of the silent comfort she could.
She decided to stay quiet whenever Doc would start to cry multipal times through the night.
The door down the hall opened.
The hermits all jumped to their feet, each looking to Doc for a moment before moving to the front of their cells. Doc followed slower, trying to take deep, even breaths against the fear. The lack of sleep from last night was not helping him keep calm, especially knowing that Cleo of hermits had seen it.
Doc moved to grab the bars, looking to the doors. His eyes focused on the man-
His heart stopped.
Not him. Void anyone but him.
A tall man with pale skin, brown eyes and three scars over his left eye and leading down to the opposite cheek. The man walked to the cells, arms behind his back and a grin on his face. He looked into each cell, a clip bored in hand.
When he spoke, his German accent was thick, his voice rough snd croaky, almost like he hadn't spoke in a good few years.
"Name: Mumbo jumbo. Hybrid breed" He looked the younger man up and down, making Mumbo cringe back. "Unknown" he turned his head to Ren. "Name: Ren the Dog. Hybrid breed: wolf"
"Name: Grian. Hybrid breed, parrot"
"Name: TangoTek. Hybrid breed. Blaze."
"Name: Zombie Cleo" the man rolled his eyes. "A little on the nose- Hybrid breed. Zombie"
Then, he came to a stop outside of Doc's cell, the creeper glaring at him the whole time.
"Hello again, subject 77"
Doc could feel how his own face tightened and hardened, his eyes narrowing and hands clenching into fists. The man grinned, scratching at his scars. "Surely you remember me?"
Doc growled. "Yeah I do-"
"- Doctor Ryker"
Ryker left after that, throwing one last look to Doc, before making his way back to the door. Just before he left, he shouted over his shoulder.
"Someone will come by later to pick one of you for the exam, be good now my pets"
When the door slammed shut, the other five turned to Doc.
"How do you know him?"
"What the fuck is the exam?"
"Dude what's going on?"
"I still don't know where we are!"
"Doc? What's going to happen to us?"
He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. "Ryker created me, the exam is a test on what we can handle; how long you can hold your breathe for, what temperatures you can withstand, and more" Doc groaned, rubbing his face. "The tests are horrible, and that's just the first set, the second-"
He huffed, looking to Ren. "Well, it's how I lost my eye" Ren inhaled at that, eyes wide and sad. "Dude...."
Doc looked to the others then, grabbing the bars. "When the Extractor comes in, everyone get in the corner of your cell, don't speak, don't look at them-" Doc growled, looking to Grian. "And do NOT antagonis them"
Grian chirped. "Why are you looking at me?"
Tango signed. "Okay- something just, doesn't make sense" Tango pointed at Mumbo. "Why are you here? You're human"
Doc frowned then, now that Tango mentions it. While the server was made of primarily hybrids and such, five of the hermits were fully human, that included Mumbo. Everyone knew he was.....bad, at PVP, and extreme survival. The only things he was really confident in was Redstone, and there sure as hell wasn't going to be any of that in this place.
Cleo nodded then, looking confused. "Yeah, now that you mention it"
Grian laughed nervously, and Doc could see the shifty looks he throws to Mumbo. "I mean uhh...."
Mumbo sighed, rubbing his arm and looking resigned. "I'm not human" he whispered. "I'm......I dont know but, I'm not human" he looked away, frowning. "I didn't tell anyone, because I have no idea what I am- X saw something in my code a few weeks ago that suggested I have a hybrid gene laying dormant"
Mumbo looked to Doc then, looking terrified. "But-but he said large amounts of stress might activate it and now I feel like I'm on brink of a panic attack and I just-" He shuddered, covering his face. "I'm scared"
Doc nodded, clenching his hands and taking a deep breath. He tried to get his thoughts in order but-
-blood dripped down his face, the taste of copper causing him to choke and gag. The hands holding him down were tight enough to leave bruises, he growled, hissed, snapped to try and get away. Ryker came closer, scalpel in hand-
Doc really can't even think straight.
He forces his head up, trying to think of something to say-
-The door opens again.
Immediately everyone moves back, getting into a corner of their cell and sitting on the floor.
Doc doesn't.
He hears the footsteps get closer, the Extractors boots hitting the ground with heavy thuds.
Doc stay upright and against the bars. Faintly he hears Ren say his name, telling him to get back.
He doesn't.
The Extractor stops infront of Grian, and tilts their head. The avian covers his face in response, wings coming around to cover his body. They reach out about to unlock his cell, key card in hand-
"Hey dickhead"
They turn to look right at Doc, face covered by a helmet and black glass. Doc sneers back, hissing at his own reflection. "You scared of creepers?"
Extractor moved, turning to look right at Doc. "Not one bit"
Doc hummed in reply, titling his head, acting out like he's bored. "Well- you look like you're scared of your own shadow" He grinned, "Bitch ass looking punk"
For a moment theres silence, all of the other hermits seeming to hold their breaths. Then the Extractor swiped the card through a slot in the door lock, a loud beep echos through the hall, before they open Doc's door. "Get out, you'll take the exam first"
Doc steps out his cell, feeling the eyes of all the others on him. Ren moves to the front of his cell, eyes wide and ears back and he watches Doc walk towards the door.
Doc inhales deeply. He can handle this.
He's been through it all before, he knows where they'll cut, shock, burn and poke. He know every single test they'll do.
He has to do this.
He has to protect the others.
Doc forces himself to remain unmoving as the door is beeped open. He's then shooved through the door way, unable to stop his flinch when the door slams behind him- distantly he thinks he can hear Grian and Tango shout his name.
They walk down a long hall, it's kind of confusing to remember how many rights and lefts Doc's forced to take but he does. The walls eventually bleed into large, white tiles, and the floor turns into smaller white tiles.
White tiles. White tiles. White tiles.
Doc inhales shakily, he hates white tiles.
He counts the doors he walks past, and counts six to the left and eight on the right. All of them steel, and each of them have that carp swipe station.
They take another right, and walked in to an open room, the door being held open by none other then Ryker. Ryker stands before him, a smug smile on his face. Behind him-
-fuck, Doc wanted to run.
A large vat of water.
Water Doc knew would be freezing cold.
Ryker moved forward, reaching out a hand and stroking Doc's cheek, causing him to hiss back, discust swirling in his stomach. "You'll be good" Ryker says, eyes shining. "Won't you, pet?"
Doc growled back. "Fuck. You"
Rykers expression falls, anger on his face. Behind him, the other scientists run around, getting the Freeze Vat ready.
The man steps into Doc face, words tight and rigid.
"Wrong awnser"
!!!!
!!!!
With Doc gone, the silence is, funnily enough, deafening.
Ren paces his cell, looking back to the door, trying to strain his ears. Since Doc had gone through that door, there had been silence and no sign of anyone else coming through. Ren huffs, feeling worry build up in his chest. "How- how long do you thinks it's going to last? This...exam! Thing?"
Tango shrugs, sat with his back to the wall of his cell, blowing a cloud of smoke in his boredom. "Void knows, a few hours maybe"
Ren growled, tail whipping angrily. "And we just-sit here and wait?" He threw his head back. "Not to mention, Doc made those test sound freaking horrible man" Ren walked back to the front, eyes refocusing on the door. "And! Hes been here before! He knows the scientist! What?! And i know Doc, he'll act all stong and shit, but really? Hes scared" Ren pulled at his ears. "Void he is sooo reliving all of his past trauma right now"
Cleo rolled her eyes then, "and you should stop spiralling" The zombie rested her head on the bars. "Thers no way six hermits can disappear all at once without X knowing, he'll find us"
Mumbo bit at his fingers then, shifting on his feet. "But....Doc said the signal was scrambled so....." His voice went quiet as he continued, seeming to come to a realization. "How-how is Xisuma even going to find us? We have no way of knowing where we are, and neither does Xisuma"
Silence rained down the hall, each hybrid now looking worried. Grian sighed, wings curled around his body still. "Thanks for the peptalk Mumbo"
!!!!
!!!!
He scrambled at the glass surface, his chest, lungs and eye burning despite the freezing temps. His claws scratched uselessly along the glass, not even a single mark being left behind. The murky water blocked his vision so all he could see was blurred outline of lights and white lab coats. One of the coat came closer-
-and the vat tipped, forcing Doc out and he hit the floor hard. He landed on his right side, his flesh arm spasming from the way his body fell, he gasped against the tiled floor, coughing up lungfulls of water. Instantly, shivers wrecked his form, making him scramble to sit up-
-A harsh hand grabbed him by a horn, pulling his head back roughly. "Did I say you could stand, pet?" Doc hissed in response, still taking heaving breaths of air. Ryker smiled back, before looking to a large control panel in the corner of the room. "How long was it under before it started struggling?"
"Twenty-five minutes and forty one seconds, sir"
Ryker hummed, "No change then" He looked down to Doc. "What? You didn't improve yourself? Didn't you want to be the monster we made you to be?"
Doc bit back his flinch, instead he grinned up at Ryker, not holding back on his hisses. "What? Upset you didn't have a say in what I did for thirty years?" The hybrid flashes his fangs. "Old age finally catching up to yo-"
Slap!
Doc's head whipped to the side, the impact of Rykers fist on his cheek making him bite down on his cheek. Thick iron filled his mouth, but he didn't have time to do anything about it-
Rykers rough hand grabbed his face, squeezing hard on his cheeks and making Doc wince. Ryker looked furious, brown eyes dark and mouth pulled in a sneer. "Watch your mouth, you freak"
Doc grinned, gathering his saliva-
-he had to keeps Rykers anger and focus on him, not the other hermits, he could handle what happens next, they can't-
-no nononono, a part of him begged. The part of him that was making his chest heave and hands tremble, we have to be good, be good for fuck sake please-
Doc spit a wad of blood and saliva right into Rykers eye.
Ryker cried out, raising his arm and wiping his face, eyes wide and burning with anger. Ryker looked over to one of the other scientists. "Give me the striker, hold it down on its front"
Doc hissed as hands grabbed him-nonono not again- before be was pushed on his belly, body struggling to get away from the body's holding him down. Doc felt the air move around him, and he took a deep breath-
-"This should teach you a lesson, 77"
Slink!
Pain exploded thought Doc's back, blood immediately welling up and soaking his fur. He bit his lip and closed his eyes.
There was no point in begging for mercy, Ryker would only stop when he felt like it. And judging by how pissed he was?
Slink!
Doc was going to be here awhile.
!!!!
!!!!
When the door opens again, void nows how long it's been, the hermits press themselves to the front of the cells. They each watch as the Extractor drags Doc by his shoulder to his cell, the hybrid looking tired. Ren moves to grab the bars that separated his and Doc's cell as the creeper was thrown into his, the older man rolling up the floor and landing heavily on the concrete.
The Extractor chuckled, shaking their head. "For a animal that's done this before" they mocked. "You still haven't learned your place" They turned to look at Ren then, the wolf being forced to stare back at his own, scared face.
"Food will be delivered in the mornings, you'll have 10 minutes to eat everything on the plate, if not, you don't eat for the next two days-"they looked to Doc then, tilting their head. "-of course you dont get any food tomorrow"
Doc was silent as they walked away, and he only moved when the door slammed shut. The creeper hissed then, pushing himself up and resting his back to Ren's cell. "Fuck I forgot how rough it feels after the exam" he murmers. Ren kneels behind him, fitting a hand through the bars to rest against his shoulder.
Grian chirps sadly. "Are......you hurt?" They all seem to be dreading the awnser, and Doc feels bad about having to tell them but-
"Doc why is your back bleeding?!"
Fuck.
Doc groaned, closing his eyes. "Its a punishment technique to help me 'know my place' didn't work then-" he turned his head to look at the other hermits, each of them seeming to be in varying states of fear, cold and anguish. "It won't work now. Everyone else just- when they come in, stay hidden" he whispered. "I can handle it"
Ren growled, eyes still focused on the bloody long, slices on Docs back(He could count at least fifteen, even in the dark)mind struggling to keep calm. "But we-" his voice cracked, so he cleared his throat. "We're here? We-we can take some of the burden-"
"No" Doc cut him off, eyes frozen to the ceiling, the familiar feeling of desperation and fear filling him. "I've done all of this before" he starts, then smiles woefully, feeling his eyes start stinging from the pain in his back, head and deep in his chest.
"Its like.....I was made for this"
!!!
!!!
It became a pattern.
Once a day, the Extractor would come in and walk to one of the other cells, only for Doc to say something, hiss or growl, and get their attention on him. He would challenge and snark, and in their frustration, the Extractor would rip him out of his cell eveytime, before he was taken into that door.
Tango had even tired to get the Extractors attention, so that Doc could get some much need rest, only for the creeper the grab the Extractor, tearing at their armored jacket, ripping holes in the thick fabric.
Needless to say, Doc would always be chosen in the morning.
He would be gone for hours at a time, before he would be walked back to his cell in varying states of pain and exhaustion. Another scientist would bring their food by (Doc would only get fed one evey three days if he was lucky) Before a different one again would come back to collect their trays, then they would be left alone for the night.
Ren glanced at Doc now, he had just been brought back from the latest session. He was sat with his back to Cleos cell, taking little bits of bread, breath wheezing and coughing between bites. Ren frowned down at his almost empty water can, looking to Doc again. "Hey man" he held the water through the bars. "Have my water, you look like shit"
Doc chucked, spitting out another lot of congealed blood, he wiped his mouth, looking at Ren with blood shot eyes. The shadows did nothing to hide the large bruise covering his face, neck and entire side, the fur looking flat and slighty matted. "I'm fine" He whispered. "You need it more"
Ren bit back a growl of anger. "I really dont- I'm not the one that just got beaten back and blue"he narrowed his eyes. "Drink"
Doc shook his head, closing his eyes and resting his head back on the bars. "No" the creeper tilted his head back, hand pressed against his bruised side. "I'll get water tomorrow, I can wait"
Ren growled, hand tighting on the bars. "Why are-" he frowned at his friend. "Why are you taking all of it? We're here too, let us take some of the load, we can handle it" Doc shook his head. "The tests will only get worse from here on" he grumbled, wiping his eyes and wincing. "I can take it"
Grian shuffled where he was sat plucking feather out of his wings. "......How- how long do you think we've been here?"
There was silence for a moment, no one else knowing what to say to that. However, Ren knew it must have been a week, but with no windows, clocks, or regular food drop-offs, there was honestly no way of knowing what time it was. Doc sighed. "I don't know, maybe like.... nine days?" Grian swallowed roughly at that-
Mumbo spoke up then, eyes red and hair a mess from running his hands through it. "We've been here for thirteen days, not including the day or so we were unconscious for before waking up here. So altogether fourteen- many even fifteen, days" Mumbo wrapped his arms around his knees, shaking and tears filling his eyes. "Its been fifteen days- with no sign of anyone finding us" Mumbo sobbed quietly.
"We're going to die here" Grian moved then, pushing his hands through the bars to try and hug Mumbo. Ren watched with his heart in his throat and wide eyes. Fifteen? Void, it was making Ren feel sick. Where was Xisuma? Why was there no sign of any rescue?
Doc shifted, groaning and catching Rens attention, the rest of the hermits were focused on trying to calm Mumbo down.
Doc tilted his head, looking exceedingly tired and just- done. The creeper gestured to Mumbo. "Soon, you'll all loose hope- but not me" he whispered his next question, blood leaking from his nose and eyes focused on Ren.
"Still think you could handle it?"
!!!!
"You'll learn your lesson, pet"
How long could he go without oxygen.
A mask, very simler to a breathing mask, was strapped over his moith and nose, tight and pinching at the flesh side of his face. Steel chains were attached around his wrists, the metal grip tight and painful, those were attached to the floor itself.
Ryker stood in front of him, humming an old, German song that Doc couldn't quite place. "What's with the arm?" Ryker asked, looking at different tools at on the try infront of him.
Doc hissed, the sound muffled in the mask.
Ryker continues like there had been no interruption. "I know that was not my doing, so what happened, pet?"
Doc growled. "Fuck off"
Ryker turned back, sighed and turned a switch in his hand, looking down at Doc with a mock sad look.
Doc coughed, feeling the air be stollen right out of his lungs. He heaved, pulled against the chains, tried to get his feet underneath him to stand, but with the lack of strength and with the way he was positioned to be kneeling-
It left him scrabbling.
He fell forward, horns scraping against the tiled floor as he heaved, gagged, coughed.
Ryker kneeled before him, whispering in his ear.
"You'll learn soon enough, pet"
!!!
There were more tests.
Some were more tiring, and some were painful.
Running on a treadmill for an hour straight, to see how long he could run for before getting tired. (The speed gradually increased, with no food or water the entire week previous, he ran out of energy fast)
How long he could hold a certain weight above him. (The weight started at his own body weight, then increased every ten minutes)
What posions were lethal for him. (Apparently, something he didn't know; if he drank blended puffferfish, he had seizures)
That one had been horrible to wake up from. He had done so back in his cell, the other hermits looking at him in fear as he vomited up what little food he had in his stomach in the corner of his cell.
Then litre after litre of his blood was drawn, leaving him passed out for hours at a time in his cell, waking up feeling terrible.
More beatings for when he misbehaved- his back was constantly hurting at this point, sharp pain when ever he moved, and he knew his fur would be constantly matted with his dried blood.
His legs were sliced in random places, Ryker claming it was for more DNA samples, but Doc just thinks they're just to make it hard for Doc to walk. (Which it dose, he joked to Ren that he looked and felt like the cartoon deer bambi when he stands, hoping to elect a laugh, only to get a huff of sad, tired amusement instead)
Some days, most days, Ryker would strap him down to a steel chair and electrocute him. Sometimes waterboard him.
On the right side of his stomach, there are long, line of blisters from when Ryker had laid steaming, scalding steel on his skin, burning through his fur and searing his skin.
(He had mockingly wondered out loud if he should put his brand on Doc, something like his name, then laughed then Doc had began to cry in true fear)
Thankfully he hadn't.
His fingers were snapped, and then sloppily 'fixed'. His wrists was rubbed raw-
All in all. Doc was tired. Hungry. Thirsty.
Doc was just....
So ready to leave.
He just, needed to stay alive long enough to come up with a plan.
But he also needed to keep Rykers attention on him and not the others.
It was kind of hard to find a balance.
And then, before Doc knew it, a month had passed.
And then two.
And now three.
!!!!
He pressed himself against the glass heaving from the heat, unable to breathe. His whole body felt like it had been submerged in larva, his head was spinning and white spots were flashing like alarm bells in his vision.
Doc tired to inhale through his nose, but the stifling heat was making it nearly impossible.
"45.7 now sir"
He groaned, pressing his forhead to the glass, feeling the pools of sweat soak his fur. He forced his eyes open, feeling them sting and throb, to stare at the blurry figure stood on the otherside of the glass. He glared as Ryker titled his head.
"Higher"
Doc growled, his throat throbbing.
"50.2, sir"
Doc could feel the gunpowder in his blood begin to bubbles, causing the wounds on his back being to leak blood once again. He grit his teeth, feeling his legs shake and stomach churn.
"Higher"
"....Sir, anymore and we run the risk of irreparable brain damage to subject 77"
Ryker hummed, gaze cold as he held eye contact.
"Higher"
Doc heard the over head heaters burn brighter, he could feel the furr on his back begin to singe. He crouched to his knees, unable to even feel his back at this point. He couldn't decide where to sit, the heater was beaming at him, cooking him slowly but surely, he didn't even hear what temperature it had been set to.
He wrapped his arms over his head, trying to stop the burn on his face. His whole body felt like it two seconds away from exploding. He trembled, but he also felt sluggish and exhausted. He knew he couldn't sleep- he wouldn't wake up again.
Doc panted, trying with all of his left over brain power to think of a way to calm and cool down-
Doc laughed deliriously when his mind travelled back in time, back to the first time he did this, over thirty years ago. He licked his crack lips, closing his eyes-
-and pictured a large open, fresh green field covered with patches of flowers. Cornflowers, poppy's, daisy's and many more. The wind was soft and smelt like sweetness, gently brushing through his furr and caressing his skin. He purred and curled deeper into his nest, the moss soft around his body. His mother purred in response, chittering with happiness-
Doc took a gasping breath, feeling his chest seize, the hope he had been holding onto for- two months? Three?- feeling scarce. He felt the tears in his eyes immediately dry up, unable to even leave his eye. His throat was rubbed raw and he could taste the blood and gunpowder building up. He whined into his hands, curling up on his side, trying to cover his face.
He sobbed then, shaking, trying to just breath. He heaved, he coughed and blood leaked from his lips. His eye felt like it was going to burn up, the steel of his arm where it was attached to his shoulder was scalding to the touch-
-he could smell burning flesh.
Doc flet nausea settle in his stomach because he knew for a fact it ment that his shoulder was being cooked. The stub of his arm being surrounded by the steels causing a sort of heat hold, burning the already scarred and weak flesh.
Rykers voice came through the glass.
"Higher"
!!!!
Doc vomited.
As soon as the door to the heat chamber opened and he climbed out. He fell to his knees, the rolling nausea in his stomach burning its way up his throat. He heaved and shuddered- there wasn't anything in his gut to sick up, the last thing he had eaten was a peice of bread off of Ren about three days ago. He coughed trying to catch his breath. He could feel the disgusting stream of sweat trailing down his back, matting his already ruined fur, the sting of the sweat bringing into his back wounds making his whole body tremble as pain erupted through his back.
Ryker stepped forward, hand grabbing Doc's chin and pulling it up roughly, making the hybrid look him in the eyes, his face contorted into look of repulsion and anger. "You know you and your......gang of freaks are going to die here, right?"
Doc hissed, blinking rapidly to dry and stop his eye from burning. "Y-ou don't know -the- the hermits-" Doc growled weakly. "We'll get out- soon"
Ryker chuckled, letting Doc go and walking over to the table. He browsed the different items for a moment, before picking up a long, slim black pole. He turned to Doc. "You've been here three months and two weeks" Ryker smiled mockingly, before gesturing to the comm connected to the belt on his waist. "This comm? Untraceable to anyone outside of this server" Ryker walked over to Doc. "Your admin would have no idea where to go"
His tone went dark then, and he griped the striker in his hand tighter. "Stand, 77"
Doc stumbled to his feet-
-and fell forward onto Ryker, body weak from malnutrition and dehydration. Ryker pushed him back, striking him across the face and sending Doc flying up the floor, crashing into the tool table.
"Dont touch me you- horrible creature!" He shouted, stomping forward and drawing his leg back-
-he kicked Doc in the ribs, grinning when he heard a satisfying crack and Doc scream.
He stepped back then, brushing back the loose strands of his hair. "Take it back to its cell" Ryker scoffed. "Dont give it any food"
The Extractor nodded, grabbing Doc by one of his horns. As they dragged Doc away, the wounds on his back throbbed, leaving a trail of blood along the tiled floor.
Ryker pointed at the mess of vomit and blood, scowling. "Someone clean that up"
!!!!
!!!!
As the Extractor threw Doc back in his cell, they all cringed back at the state- and smell of him.
He looked like death. His fur was matted and tangled, patches of skin showing up even from underneath the fur. Cleo flinched back when the other hybrid hit the floor with a sickening crack, limp body turned towards their cell. His face was slack, mouth dropped open and eye blood shot. Sweat poured down his body, causing Cleo to scrunch up their nose slightly.
The zombie moved to the cell wall, glaring as the Extractor walked away, they squeezed a hand through the cell wall, pressing their fingers to his wrist. They counted for a moment, feing dread fill their stomach.
"His pulse is weak " they whisper, catching Grians terrified face. "I don't-" They inhaled deeply. "I think something is wrong-" They looked to Ren, not even trying to keep the panic of their face. "What's a creepers resting heart rate?"
Ren bit his lip, running his hands through his hair in a panic. "I- I dont- like, eighty beats per minute? Or-or something?"
Cleo let out a gasping, eyes wide. "Doc's- it definitely not-" they began to tremble. "His is definitely not that-"
Mumbo pressed to the bars, looking up to the doors, tears lining his eyes. "Help! Please!" Ren followed suit then, shouting for help too. They didn't have a choice right now, if not then he might-
Cleo pushed that thought back, reaching out their full arm length, pressing their palm against Doc's cheek, voice a whisper. "Doc? Buddy can you hear me?" A blue eye opened to look at them, pupil wide and unfocused. "Can you speak?"
Doc licked his dry and cracked lips, dried flecks of blood on the dehydrated flesh. "T....tir.....ed " He rumbled, voice quiet.
Cleo blinked back tears. "I know- I know but you-" they sniffed when Mumbo started sobbing, Tangos hair flared even brighter, Ren began to cry silently.
Doc's heart rate was slowing down.
Cleo sobbed. "Nono- Doc open your eyes-"
Doc's eyes fluttered, smile curling at his lips. "You........worr.....ied bout...me?"
Cleo gave a tearful smile, thumb brushing over Doc's face plate. "Well, you don't worry about yourself enough" They swallowed roughly. "So someone has to-"
Doc hummed. "....romice me....somethin'...." Doc shifted his hand, moving to press it against Cleos own, his grip weak and trembling. His nails were blue.
Cleo shook their head. They couldn't look at his hand.
Their own nails were blue, because they were dead, technically.
So why were Doc's blue?
Cleo wiped their face. "What? What do you need me to do?"
Doc's chest began to heave, his hand going limp, before tighting again. "....Don' panic......stay....calm" Doc groaned weakly. "Protec......othe's "
Cleo shook their head, eye narrowing. "No. Don't- fucking speak like that"
Doc smiled. "Its okay.."
Cleo shook their head. Looking around to the other hermits. They were all screaming for help, all in various state of hysteria. Ren was ripping at the bars, trying to pull the bars between his cell and Doc's apart. Mumbo was doing the same, voice broken and croaky. Tango was pacing, smoking leaking from his eyes. Grians was sobbing, chest heaving with his eyes focused on Docs burnt, thin and limp body.
They scrubbed at their face, black tears staining their face. "Just- stay awake OK? For me, for us- we'll be home soon- I swear-"
Doc nodded, eye fluttering shut and chest stuttering. "Yeah....you will...."
His hand went limp and Cleo couldn't feel a pulse.
The door at the end of the hall slammed open and three scientists ran out along with Ryker and the Extractor, they ran to Docs cell, opening the cell door with a key card. Ryker kneeled down next to Doc, placing his fingers on his wrist. He paused for a minute, everyone going quiet, the only sound being cries and sobs.
Ryker shook his head. "Its dead" he looked to one of the scientist. "Shame, I thought it was going to be stonger then that"
The shouts started up again, the scientist all moving to leave the room, Ryker reached down, grabbing Doc's arms while the Extractor grabbed his legs. "Take it to the autopsy room" He said coldly. The Extractor nodded, roughly throwing Doc's body- his dead, body- over their shoulder.
Ren screamed, cried- his blue eyes terrified and furious. "No! You can't take him! No ! We have to have him! YOU CANT HAVE HIM! GIVE HIM BACK"
Ryker sighed, waving the Extractor away. "I'll give you all sometime to rest, ill be by tomorrow night to pick a new tester" Ryker sighed. "I honestly though it would have lasted longer" he scratched at his scarred cheek, looking deep in thought. "I guess it was the heat test" He mumbled, walking down the hall. Shouts followed him, Mumbo in the corner of his cell, gripping his hair tight enough Cleo could see his nails digging into his scalp. Grian stared at where Doc was previously led, face blank with silent tears rolling down his face. Tango roared, claws ripping at the bars, scratching the single brick wall.
Ren stopped moving, hands gripping the bars of his cell, ears strained and eyes wide. His blue eyes filled with tears, and despite all of the screaming, the shouts- Rens whisper was the only thing that could register in Cleos mind.
"We....we need to bury him. Why did they take him?" He looked to Cleo, tears soaking his face. There was a resigned look on his face, acceptance, sadness and defeat.
"Xisumas not coming"
Everything stopped.
The pain. The fear. No food. Doc's sad face. Doc's painfilled body. Doc's silent crying. His blooded body. Burned. Thin. Tired. Hungry.
Doc.
Doc was dead. Permanently. And-
-And Cleo screamed.
!!!!
!!!!
"This comm? Untraceable to anyone outside of this server" Not if I connect it directly to the hermitcraft server address. I remember the numbers.
"Your admin would have no idea where to go" Because he doesn't know what's he's looking for. Ive never spoken to people about where I came from, of course Xisuma didn't know.
But-
The chip in my eye, it was a direct link to the hermitcraft server.
I just needed to grab the comm.
Doc stumbled to his feet-
-and fell forward onto Ryker.
Now I need a key card.
!!!!
!!!!
The creepers body was heavy over their shoulder as they walked. It was kind of funny, the creeper was taller then them, and the raw muscle it possessed was kind of intimidating at the beginning. Then, it had started to rapidly loose weight and energy, and the past few weeks it's had become weak- definitely lethargic.
It's wounds had to have been infected at this point, so maybe that might have been what killed it. They sighed as they swiped the card to the autopsy room, shoving open the door and walking to the large steel table in the middle of the room. They placed the creeper on the table, moving it's arms to lay flat by its sides. They paused, before turning and kneeling to the floor next to the table, where a small metal toolbox sat.
They undid the latch and began to pull out the tools they though the Doctor might need. They grabbed a bone saw, pliers, scissors-
-Pain erupted from the side of their head, a heavy, strong kick right in the side of their head. Their face hit the inside of their helmet harshly, and they grunted when they felt their nose break open.
They fell on their back, looking up-
The creeper stood over them, fists clenched and anger burning on its face.
It tilted its head. "You should have run"
They immediately scrambled back, panic piercing their chest as the creeper stalked after them. They rushed to whip out their striker, and put all their strength into a hit to the creepers legs.
The mob cried out, its right leg cracked and-
The bone popped out of its knees, blood pouring from the wound as the creeper fell to its good knee, growling and hissing as it held its broken knee.
Well, if the Extractor had to guess, they would have to say they might of ripped the knee cap off. They pushed themselves up then, making to bolt for the door. They had to worn Ryker- this monster would be on the war path now.
They heard a growl, and another crack of bone before they were tackled to the floor. They fell down, The creeper on top of them, they struggled, shouting and trying to push the creeper off.
The creepers hands wrapped around their neck, and it bent down to whisper against its face-
-"You should be scared of creepers"
They felt a pain, a horrible, indescribable pain, they could hear their neck cracking-
-they were gone.
!!!
!!!
The security guard looked at the monitors, sighing in boredom. Each of the monitors had the heartrates, tempatures and names of the diffrent scientists in the building. The Extractor and Rykers own reading being on a separate screen.
The guard looked down at the paper 'what was a eight letter word for-'
One of the screen beeped loudly, and the guards head whipped up. "What the-"
The Extractors heart rate had skyrocketed, and the guard stood up, panicking-
Then the heart rate on the screen abruptly flatlined.
The guard gasped, before jumping up from the desk they were working at and diving at the emergency shut down. With a loud slam of a hand hitting the button-
-all of the lights turned red.
!!!
!!!!
Doc whined, rolling off of the body underneath him and grabbing hold of his knee. He hissed and wiped at the pained sweat on his forehead. He took deep heaving breaths, he always hated dropping his heart rate- it threw him of kilter for hours after. Going from, well, dead to alive and kicking - literally - it took a lot out of him.
He hissed as he reached over to grab a roll of medical tape that was in the tool box. He groaned as he wrapped his knee up tightly, grimacing when blood immediately leaked through the makeshift bandages.
The lights suddenly turned red.
Doc groaned. "Oh for fuck sake!" He crawled over to the Extractors body- ripping the card from the cord that kept in attached to their belt, before stumbling to his feet. He made his way to the door, looking through the small window-
He could see all of the different scientists running down the hall, each with weapons in their hands. He knew that they all would have extensive fight training, so they would all be able to hokd their own. He rolled his eyes with a groan, before stepping back. He rolled his shoulders, clenched his hands-
And swiped the key card, allowing the mob of fighters to come rushing in.
!!!
!!!
The atmosphere in the cells was heavy.
No one had spoken in hours.
Ren was pressed into the corner of his cells, ears flat to his head and tail wrapped around his own legs. Tangos flames had never been dimmer, his red eyes looking, somehow, bloodshot and irradiated. Cleo was sat with her knees pulled to her chest, red hair covering her face. Grian was sat trembling next to a pile of colourful feathers, his wings drooping and purple eyes dull.
Mumbo could feel something shifting underneath his skin. His head was pounding, he felt sick, all he could picture was Doc's lifeless body. He pulled at his hair as tears continued to trickle down his cheeks. His legs hurt, his back, everything hurt.
He stood up on shaky legs then, pushing himself towards the bars. He looked around, scrubbing at his face. "Dose-" He cleared his croaky voice, watching as the other looked at him. "Dose Doc have any family?"
Ren sniffed, shaking his head. "We are his family" He laughed bitterly. "We were his family"
Cleo rasied her head, wiping her face. She had given up on trying to hide her upset at this point, unable to even comprehend the last few hours. "I guessed this place was permadeath" She whispered. "I just- I thought we would be out of here and home before we found out the hard way"
When Tango spoke, Mumbo shuddered at the sheer lack of any emotion. "Lets be honest. We're not going home. X won't find us" He huffed. "We're all gonna die, just like Doc"
Grian let out a broken coo, pulling at his wings even more. "No- he- no-" He covered his face, sobbing quietly.
Mumbo swallowed and looked away-
The lights in the hall switched off.
They came back on, but instead they were a bright luminous red.
From the other side of the door, there was screaming, shouting, the sounds of glass shattering.
They all looked at eachother in fear, none of them knowing what to do.
Something collided with the door, leaving a dent in the steel.
Bam!
Bam!
The dent got deeper, something ramming right into the door.
Bam!
Bam!
Mumbo felt the pain in his head grown stronger, his spine was beginning to ache.
Bam!
The door shot off and up the hall, the latches broken completely.
The five hermits looked towards the door, eyes wide and all of them trying to see through the red lights and awkward angles. Ren growled, feeling his hackles raise-
Doc limped through the door, taking heaving breaths and rubbing at his forhead where a nasty bruise was forming. He looked to the other hermits with an exhausted glare. "Tell anyone I had to ram the door like a goat-" he pointed at Grian. "I'll kill you"
!!!!
Ryker was just leaving his private quarters when the shut down systems came on.
He swore, looking around in a panic before rushing out of his door, he reached to grab his comm from his waist-
It was gone, where would he have left it?!
Subject 77.
Rykers shouted in anger as he rushed down the halls, running towards the escape pods. He passed the autopsy room on the way, and paused to look into the room.
The Extractor was on the floor, neck obviously broken. Ryker swore at that, quickly noticing that the creeper was gone.
He turned towards the hall, feeling something like fear hit his stomach.
Dozens of bodies littered the floor, broken wall and floor tiles. Pools of blood-
Ryker carefully made his way through the carnage, eyes wide and throat stinging. He heard a horrible, choking gurgle in a room to the left. He turned into the room, feeling his heart drop when he noticed it was the artillery room.
While they had weapons, Ryker made sure to keep them limited and spares. He had shock collars, shock rods, spare chains-
He stopped when he notices the scientist curled up on the floor, chest jolting and eyes glassy as he choked on his own blood, this throat had been ripped out completely. Ryker watched as the figure crouched over him stood to its full height, turning to look at Ryker.
Blood dripping from its hands, fur rasied and the pupil of it's organic eye a thin slit of pure rage. The red lights gave it a look of deadly anger, the blood dripping on the floor looking like black tar on the floor. 77 turned fully, looking directly at Ryker with a growl. The man underneath it went limp and his eyes dimmed.
In the creepers hand-
Ryker turned and bolted- he thought he had said to get rid of them- he didn't like having them next to all of his hard work.
He heard the distinct clink! Of a pin being pulled, and saw something hit the wall right beside him-
He screamed as the grenade went off, the pain hitting his shoulder and sending him flying through a steel door, landing in piles and piles of cardboard boxes.
He smelt the fire before he saw it-
He had to run-
!!!
!!!
Doc had been blown back by the blast himself, his head colliding with the wall. He quickly pushed himself up, the adrenaline making him move past the pain. He panted as he looked towards where the fire was spreading from, and estimated he had a good twenty minutes or so untill he had to worry. He made his way to the cell room- thanking his past self for remembering how many turns and twists there had been when the Extractor had carried him to the autopsy room.
He passed the lab room, growling and stalking into the room, the door had been left open, obviously by someone who had been panicking. He quickly disposed of the few scientist hiding in that room before-
-he screamed.
His grabbed the different beakers and smashed them up all the floor, he ripped the fixtures off the walls. He walled to the heating pod-
He was tired of being afraid, he was sick of being hurt-
He digs his claws into the control panel of the heat pod, tearing the wires out with a roar.
Its sparked, and Doc pushed him self out of the room when he began to smell the fire making its way up the hallway he just came from. He swore, before darting back up toward the cell room. He had just spent the ten minutes he needed destroying that room.
Shit.
As he got to the conrer just around from the cell room, he saw a few scientist running towards him, all of them holding weapons of some sort. He quickly killed them, before stumbling into a wall. His injuries were definitely worse then he had originally thought, his shook his head, and the pain in his head away, before continuing. The fire was getting so much closer then he wanted it to.
He laughed happily when he saw the hallway leading up to the cell room was free on flames or fighters, for now. He rushed forward, desperate to get the others-
He scanned his card-
Err!
Doc felt his heart drop to his feet, panic making his head spin. "What."
Err!
Nonononono-
Doc shouted and shooved the key card back in his pocket roughly-of course the security measures would kick in now.
He gripped at his hair- what did he do now? Go back and get Rykers card? He doubted the man was dead right now, he might have a chance to get to it-
His hands brushed against his horns and a plan sparked in his mind
Void-
Grian was never going to let him live this down.
!!!!
Mumbo felt relief, Confusion, wonder and a hundred other emotions fill his body, making him smile and laugh tearfully. Cleo looked at Doc like she was seeing a ghost- and in a way they all were. "Wait You-you were dead? How-"
Doc sighed, pulling a key card out of his pocket and limping over to the nearest cell, which happened to be Rens. "I can slow my heartrate temporarily" He started, swiping the card and waiting for the light to turn green. "All creepers can, its so they can explode. I had to be on the brink of death to slow it down enough go unnoticed" The door opened and Ren stepped out. "We sho-" Doc yelped when Ren wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close and making the green man wince.
Ren sobbed into his neck, tail wagging and body shaking. "Never do that again dude"
Doc nodded, stil grimacing. "Yeah, okay- Ren I love you too, but I have like five broken ribs" the wolf jumped back, face pale as Doc caught his breath, before he turned to let everyone else out.
!!!
"What's the plan?" Tango asked as soon as he left his cell, still in a state of disbelief. Doc looked like shit. None of them had gotten a good look at him yet, and to suddenly see him in all of his painfilled glory-
-it was a bit much for the blaze.
Doc stumbled to wall away from the destroyed door, placing his back against the wall and sliding down. The rest of the hermits rushed to follow, Tango moving up to grab under his arm and hold him steady. "How you feeling man?"
Doc groaned, rubbing his forhead. "Honesty? Like shit, but it's only going to get worse-" He glanced to Tango then, a remorseful look on his face. "I'm going to need you to pull out my locatorchip- I need to put it-" he dug into his pocket, pulling out Rykers comm. "-in here, to call Zizuma"
Tango swallowed roughly, rubbing his hands together and nodding. "Okay-yeah I can-yeah" The creeper nodded and titled his head back on the wall, groaning as his robotic eye switched off. "Ready when you are"
The blaze hybrid moved closer, placing his fingers either side of the darkend glass-
-his hands wouldn't stop shaking.
He cursed and clenched his hands, biting his lip when they still wouldn't stop their quivers. He looked to Doc, taking in his bruised and bloodied face. He felt queasy, ill.
Tango shook his head. "I'm-fuck I can't-"
Doc hummed, rasing his own hand. "Its fine, I'll do it, just tell me if I'm about to hit something that could kill me-"
Mumbo moved forward, face looking somewhat confident. "I can do it? I know redstone, you can just- tell me what to look for?" Tango stumbled to his feet and shuffled out of the way, letting Mumbo take his place.
The younger man pressed close to Doc, rasing his hand and pressing on Docs eye. He twisted his fingers and the glass pooped out. Doc closed his other eye at that. "Okay, now you can just lift the glass" he took a deep breath. "Underneath, right behind the main optical unit, the two first wires you see, theres a chip. About half an inch big" He looked to Mumbo, giving a sheepish smile. "You'll have to yank it out, I'm afraid"
Mumbo nodded, taking a deep breath. "Okay- let's do this quickly"
Doc took a breath, and he smiled when Ren grabbed his hand. "Yeah"
Mumbo pulled the glass away, seeing the powered down optical unit. He gently nudged that aside, finally seeing the wires, and poked through them, before moving to grab the small chip Doc had mentioned. "Okay" he took a deep breath. "One, two-"Mumbo grabbed and pulled-
Doc jolted away, shouting and growling as he curled away from Mumbo, hand moving to cover his eye socket. "Son of a-!"
Mumbo flinched away, grimacing in sympathy. "Sorry!"
They watched as Doc buried his face into Rens shoulder shuddering in pain. The wolf wrapped his arms around Doc's shoulders, keeping him close to his chest and shushing him. Mumbo reached over and grabbed the comm next to Doc's leg, he opened the back of the machine and placed the chip into the empty slot, before he looked over to Doc and Ren.
"What-" Mumbo bit his lip. "What now?"
Doc picked his head up before looking at Mumbo. It struck Tango then that he looked everybit his age. Doc held out a hand, nodding when Mumbo handed it to him. He pressed the button to turn the comm on, before he typed in the code he needed to activate it's signal.
<You Whispered to XisumaVoid> Hey X
<XisumaVoid whispered to you> who is this? What do you want?
<you whispered to XisumaVoid> it's Doc
Immediately, the comm started to ring, and the creeper swiped it to awnser before putting it on loud speaker. "Doc! Are you there? Can you hear me?"
Doc smiled, his face momentarily falling as tears filled his eye. "Void is it good to hear your voice"
On the other end, Xisuma cried softly. "Void me too- hang on I can track your location, I'm coming to get you-are the others there?"
Each hermit then spoke up, each of them tearing up at hearing their admins voice.
Doc smiled and rested his head back on the wall, he was so ready to go home-
"Subjesct 77!" Doc's eyes snapped open and he jumped to his feet, stepping forward to stand infront of everyone else. He watched as Ryker stepped through the destroyed door frame. The man look deranged with blood leaking from his nose, arm bent in an awkward angle and labcaot torn at the shoulder. Behind him, smoke started to fill up the corridor, orange flames climbing the walls.
Ryker panted, voice rough and mouth twisted in anger. "You- you did it again! You ruined everything! Again!? You-you monster!"
Grian looked to the comm, he breath picking up with panic. "Xisuma" He said, eyes focused on the mad man staring them down. "We need out, now"
Doc growled, voice dropping and body tencing. "Yes" Doc glared at him, face tight. "I'll keep destroying all of your work until you can no longer do anything to hurt anyone again"
Ryker scoffed, stalking foward-
-holding a sharpened striker buzzing with electricity.
!!!!
!!!
Doc inhaled- he could remember how that felt digging into him- before he came to a sudden and dizzying realisation.
Ryker was never going to stop.
Not until he was stopped.
Permanently.
Doc looked back to the others, eye narrowed. "If I'm not back in ten minutes, go home without me"
He didn't wait for an awnser before he was bolting towards Ryker, diving on him, and pushing him back through the flames. Ren watch as Doc was engulfed in the flames, eyes wide and mouth open. The othesr seemed to all be in a state of stunned silence-
Before Cleo inhaled and let out a wet gasp.
"Doc!"
!!!
!!!
The smoke where stifling.
It stuck in his lungs like a thick tar as he shoved Ryker through the hall, backing him up against walls. Each time Ryker would grunt in pain, Doc would draw back and punch him. Ryker scratched at him, kicked at him, spitting insults and swears as he shoved Doc up the floors. Doc growled back each time- hitting back with all the strength he had in his body. Doc grabs Ryker, hissing into the mans bloody face, before throwing him through a door to the right and up the floor. The striker skidded out of his hand and up the floor, crashing and leaves sparks in its wake as it scraped along the tilled floor.
Doc dropped to his knees, pressing a hand against his ribs and hissing in pain. He coughed into the air, blood leaking down his chin. Void- he might have internal injuries. He forced himself to stand, making his way over to Ryker with slow steps. The other man had stumbled back, chest heaving and eyes wild. "You can't kill me-" Ryker sneered. His eyes flickered to to blade on the floor.
Doc stayed silent, watching as Ryker dived for the weapon. The creeper could feel pain in every part of his body. His head pounded, his shoulders were sore, his chest felt tight and ached. His back was throbbing, his stomach rolled, his legs trembled-
He felt like he was going to die.
Ryker grinned evily at him. "You're still, weak. You cant kill me- you're nothing without me-"
Doc looked at the room around him. They had happend to get into the lab somehow. There was broken benches, glass and cracked walls. The bodies of the scientist littered the floor, pools of blood on the tile. The fire, which had spread to the vents, had began to overtake this room too now, the door, while still wide open, looked blocked by ruble. If Doc had to guess, the ceiling must have collapsed on the outside, keeping them trapped in here for the foreseeable future.
He smiled at that. Ryker wouldn't be able to get away from him-
"What happened to my parents?"
Ryker frowned, chest heaving and obviously having trouble breathing from all of the smoke. "I killed it"
Doc hummed, he guessed that might of been the case. Then he frowned because- "Dose that mean- I only had one parent?"
Ryker shouted then, seeming annoyed with Doc's question. He ran forward, blade rasied and crackling with electric. The creeper waited untill Ryker made it to two feet from him. He side stepped, sticking out his leg tripping Ryker over. He grabbed Ryker by the collar of his lab coat, and ripped him back.
Doc shouted when the sword sliced his side, and he immediately felt blood pour from the wound. He placed his hand against it and moved away, trying to distance himself away from Ryker. His mind was running overdrive. "No thats not-" He looked to Ryker, his confusion plain on his face. "I would have needed two parents"
Ryker laughed mockingly, looking at Doc with anger in his eyes. "Oh you do" He tilted his head, a grin on his face. "You have a father, and if that whore is still alive, a mother" he sighed quietly, seemingly dissapointed. "Both of them are human"
Doc stopped, heart freezing in his chest and stomach churning. "What- how?" He looked down at himself, feeling faint all of a sudden- from blood loss? From shock? Confusion?- he looked back to Ryker and braced his cybernetic hand against the wall, the other still pressed to the gaping wound in his side. "How-they cant- not human-"
Ryker roared in anger, charging forward again, rage obviously plastered on his face.
Doc roared back, charging forward and tackling Ryker around the waist.
They hit the ground, Doc pinning Ryker with a fierce crack. Doc sat up, grabbing Rykers wrist-the one still gripping the sword- and snapped it with a single twist of his hand. He took delight in Rykers pained shriek, and he grabbed the man by his collar, growling lowly. "What. Do. You. Mean"
Ryker coughed loudly, tears trailing down his cheeks-from pain, or the stinging of smoke Doc didn't know- "you were sick from birth" he started, voice hitching. "I had to-find a way for you to live-" Ryker tired to push Doc off of him, weakly struggling under the creepers weight. Doc stayed firm, horror and terror in his tone. "What did you do? WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"
Ryker grinned, blood on his teeth, the scars on his face making his expression of glee look distorted and sinister. "What's wrong subject 77?" Ryker smiled wider and Doc had a sudden sinking feeling.
"Dont recognise your own dad?"
!!!
!!!
Ren felt panic, dread and horror fill his every nerve as he made to run after Doc, but he was pulled back by a stong grip on his tail. He yelped in pain, before falling back against a scalding chest. Tango growled into his ear, his own voice panicked. "No you- you wont be able to- Ren youll burn!"
Ren struggled, clawing and scratching to break Tangos grip. "No! No! He needs me-hes hurt-please he needs my help!"
Behind him, Mumbo was talking into the comm, tears in his eyes. "Doc's gone he just- Xisuma please come get us! A-and bring water- Xisuma hurry-" Mumbo sniffed softly, shaking and pulling at his hair. "There's fire and- and Docs really hurt-please"
Xisumas voice came through then, stern, rushed but still somehow kind and calm. "Mumbo, I'm going to make a portal direct to this comms location. Place the comm in an empty space, we're coming through and we're bringing water for the fire"
Mumbo nodded and placed the comm in a empty area next to the cells, hands shaking as he waited. "Okay, ready"
The comm flashed-
-And a bright, green swirling portal took its place. Xisuma rushed out, chest heaving with something like hope. His eyes focused on the hermits, his eye lighting up as he rushed forward. "Oh thank the void!" All the hermits cried out in joy- and then again when Beef, Impulse, Joe and Scar came through behind Xisuma, all of them looking relived and teary eyed.
Impulse dived at Tango, the blaze hybrid crying as he released an unmoving Ren and wrapped his arms around the other mans waist. Joe dived at Cleo, sobbing into her shoulder. Cleo, despite trying to seem tough, cried slighty along side him. Scar pulled Mumbo and grian into his arms, eyes wide and face pale. His cannula was tight to his face and his chest was heaving, the cane he had been using was forgotten on the ground. Mumbo sobbed loudly into Scars shoulder, body trembling. Grian chirped and tweeted, wings wrapping around the both of them.
Beef moved to Ren, crouching next to him with teary eyes. "W-wheres Doc?" Ren growled at him, ears laid back and face tight.
"He went back to kill him" Beef made a confused sound- to which Ren stood on shaky legs. "Do you have water on you?" Beef nodded, standing with Ren. He glanced at the others and Xisuma, face determined but still looking scared. "X, I'm going to go find Doc-"
The admin looked worried, his helmet doing nothing to stop his look of fear and concern, before he nodded. "Be careful, and come back"
Beef nodded, before looking to Ren. "Lead the way-"
Ren broke into a sprint and Beef barely had time to throw water on the fire before they were running through the door and down the hall. Beef stayed back slighty, looking at the broken tiles, glass and-
-bodies
Dozens of bodies littered the hall. Blood was sprayed up the wall in uneven splatters and arcs. Puddles pooled on the floor, trailing into the crackes in the tile. Beef flinched back, eyes wide as he followed Ren. The wolf hybrid was looking through the windows in all of the doors, peaking his head in and then darting away. He seemed to not even notice the bodies or blood.
Beef felt sick.
"Who did this?"
Ren looked back, eyes dark and distant. "Doc did- he had to-" Ren blinked rapidly, tears in his eyes. "He was gonna' die-"
There was a scream up the hall, and both Ren and Beefs head snapped towards it. Ren gasped, blue eyes filling with horror and fear. "Doc!"
He bolted once more- Beef following close behind now. They came to a stop infront of a door to the right, and Ren heaved as he stared at the blocked door with wide eyes.
Beef could see Rens fear and desperation- he could see how tears lined Rens dull, blue eyes. He stomped forward, wrapping his arms around the large peice of ceiling tile. He grunted as he lifted and pushed it up the floor. Ren pushed him out the way then-
He placed his arms on the door frame, looking at the figure crouched on the floor.
Beef could only look on in horror at the state of the room. More bodies. More broken glass. More debris.
There was just, so much blood.
!!!!
!!!!
Everything was muffled.
The flames, the sound of the room collapsing around him. The heat of the fire, the pain in his body. The feel of blood matting his fur.
Doc could only stare down at Ryker, eye wide and body terrifying numb.
"You're lying"
Ryker coughed, eyes fluttering from pain. "Y-you were sick- the doctors told us you wouldn't last three day out of the womb-" he heaved, head falling back onto the tile. "I-i had too- I was promised a child-" He sneered, discust on his face. "You were weak- almost dead- so I took you-"
Doc could only stare, mouth open and eye burning. "No-"
Ryker chuckled, blood pooling and running down his cheek from his nose and mouth."I needed to make you- better-" He wheezed, voice faltering. "I hoped-you would be- more human"
His face twisted up then, and he almost looked sick. "You- y-you had more mob features-" he laughed again, tears of anger and pain filling his eyes. "You have always been a little freak- e-even since birth-"
Docs ears were buzzing- his head was spinning. Everything was blurry-
He realised he was crying.
His mechanical eye sparked and glitches like it knew it should of been crying too as tears rolled off his chin.
He thought- his whole life- that maybe his parents didn't want to give him up. He hoped that they had been looking for him, waiting for him to come home. He imagined a younger him in a nest surrounded by his siblings, his parents next to them. He imagined the feel of moss as he rolled, yipping and playing with his family.
He hoped that even though he couldn't remember, he had once had a family that loved him.
But-
He sobbed.
He was never loved.
Ryker laughed, cooing mockingly. "Aww what's wrong?" He mumbled in a evil tone. "Finally know you're unwanted?"
Doc sobbed louder, his body shaking and curling in on itself. It rang in his head. Unloved. Unloved. Unloved.
He tightened his grip on Rykers collar, and pulled back his steel arm-
Ryker shouted in horror, eyes wide and panicked-
His fist collided with the man nose, snapping instantly. Blood poured from the wound- spilling to the floor as Ryker convulsed and gagged on blood.
Doc kept punching-
Over.
Over.
Over.
And over.
Until Ryker stopped moving.
Doc threw his head back, his head cleared of its fuzziness. His ears popped, and his pain, physical and emotional all hit him at once.
His voice cut out, his throat burned and tears rolled down his face as he screamed.
Footsteps.
And then-
"Doc!"
Ren.
Doc looked behind him, eyes wide, body shaking and sobbing. He stumbled to his feet and towards Ren.
The hybrid jumped through the broken door, wrapping Doc up in his arms, shushing him and whispering reassurance. The creeper sobbed into Rens shoulder. He felt bad for soaking Ren with his own blood, but he was to distraught, to tired to really stop the embarrassing sobs from escaping him. Docs eyes flickers to the man stood next to Ren-
He cried out and Ren helped him move over the the bigger man. Beef looked to be in a state of shock, looking Doc up and down with wide eyes and a pale face. "Oh void..."
Doc smiled weakly, "I missed you-" he coughed harshly, the smoke was thicker in the hallway now, and the cracks, rumbles and shakes of the lab were getting worse. Beef turned away them, kneeling down. "Get on my back. Now"
Doc fell forward, Ren helping to keep him steady. He winced when Beefs back pressed on his ribs and side, but he kept quiet and squeezed his eyes shut. He trembled as Beef stood, vision going black and spotty "I think..." he warmbled, voice feeling weak "I'm gonna pass out"
Ren smiled, jogging along side Beefs speed walking. His was silently crying, but he looked relieved. "You can sleep Doc" he whispered, looking ahead and seeing Xisuma stood at the end of the hall.
"We're going home"
Doc hummed, head lolling forward on Beefs shoulder. His eye shut and-
-he finally feel asleep.