“What do you want, Villain?” Leader growled, their eyes narrowing as their hands curled into fists. They didn’t have their weapons, they weren’t even in uniform! But they didn’t have time to think as Villain took a step forward, and they took one back, backing away until they hit the alley wall.
“Now, now, none of that,” Villain waved his hand as if dismissing an unimportant question, stalking forwards until Leader had backed themself into a corner between the alley wall and the side of a dumpster. “You have something of mine, and I want it back.”
“What are you talking about?” Leader’s eyebrows furrowed, as they pressed their body as far away from Villain as they could. They were stupid, they should have brought something. A knife, their gun, anything would have worked. But they were defenseless.
“Your newest team member, what do they call themself—Whumpee,” Villain snapped their fingers, and pointed at Leader. “I want you to hand them over to me.”
“Absolutely not,” Leader immediately snapped, their breath hitching as Villain pressed even closer to them. “Whumpee came to us to get away from you. I’m not going to-”
“You don’t have a choice,” Villain snarled. In a second, their gun was no longer in it’s holster, Villain’s finger hovering over the trigger, the muzzle inches from Leader’s chest. “Hands up.”
Leader slowly raised their hands into the air. “I won’t.”
“Like I said, you don’t have a choice. I know who you are, I know where your team is. I know where your family is. And I will kill them all, one by one until it’s just the little turncoat, with no one left to protect them.”
Leader bit the inside of their cheek in distress. One life for a dozen, that was nowhere near a fair trade. But then again, when was anything ‘fair’ with Villain? They were a hero. Whumpee had come to them for sanctuary, for protection from the very monster that stood in front of them. Leader couldn't just hand them over...
Cw: escape attempt, rescue attempt, past abuse/torture
Whumpee hid in the farthest corner of the dark, damp cell, their nose tucked into the corner, knees pulled up to their chest in a futile attempt to spare some body heat.
A small whimper slipped from their lips at each little noise that met their ears, praying that each set of footsteps that passed their cell weren’t Whumper’s. They couldn’t take it anymore. It hurt.
Something was happening. Whumpee could tell. They didn’t know what, but something was happening. Whumper never had this many people, the most had ever been three or four. But this seemed like dozens of people, running past the little closet of a cell they had been stuffed into, shouting at each other. It seemed as if they were tearing the place apart from the inside.
If they were that aggressive, what would they do to Whumpee? They didn’t want to think about it, a soft sob shaking their entire body. Whumper was bad enough, but dozens of people, all looking to take out their frustration? Whumpee realized with a terrible sinking in their stomach that this could be their last night alive.
It seemed as if Whumpee’s worst nightmare was coming to life as the doorknob rattled. Someone was trying to open it. Clearly they didn’t have the key, Whumpee realized, as their breath hitched. That meant it wasn’t Whumper…
They whimpered as a loud thud hit against the door, burying their face in their knees, the chains around their wrists clanking together with the movement.
Another loud thud followed, then another.
On the fourth, the door slammed open.
“Hello? Is anyone in here?” A loud voice called into the room, and Whumpee flinched back, pressing a bloodstained hand to their lips to keep from crying out. “Oh, uh, hey there,” The person cleared their throat, glancing back over their shoulder. “I found one!” They called to no one in particular.
A small sound slipped from Whumpee’s lips, as they brought their bound hands up in an attempt to cover their head, waiting in horrible anticipation for the first blow.
“Oh, yikes… uh, hi,” The person awkwardly muttered, taking a step into the room and glancing around. “My name is, uh, it’s Caretaker… I’m not going to hurt you… no one is anymore. Why don’t you come on out of there?”
If they weren’t so utterly terrified, Whumpee would have laughed. No. Absolutely not. Why on earth would they go by choice? They never did. They liked to think that they never would. Though it only ever earned them more pain, they would have to drag them out like they always didn
Whumpee cringed terribly as a hand just barely brushed their shoulder, but it retracted just as quickly as it had come.
“We’re uh, we’re here to rescue you,” The stranger muttered, awkwardly rocking on their heels. “No one is going to… uh, no one’s gonna hurt you anymore.”
Whumpee couldn’t breathe. Their heart was beating a million little beats a minute, it felt as if it was going to burn a hole straight through their chest. Whumpee dared steal a terrified glance at the stranger, their large frame towering over Whumpee even as they crouched, before burying their face back in their ratty pant legs.
Whumpee’s breath caught as they realized something, quickly looking back up.
The door was open.
The door was never open.
Whumper never left open, not after what happened last time.
Without a second thought in their mind, only one word playing on repeat, echoing against each crevice of their brain, Whumpee kicked out, their bare foot hitting the stranger in the shin.
“What the- ow!” The person exclaimed as Whumpee kicked them again, knocking them back off balance. They fell to the ground with a loud crash, cursing as Whumpee bolted.
The bright industrial lights burned Whumpee’s eyes, such a stark contrast to the dark little cell. The tiled floor was freezing against their feet, their legs barely able to hold their weight. But they ran.
They knew the route. It had taken millions of failed attempts, but they knew how to get out. They knew where all the closets were, the storage rooms and those filled with torture equitment. They knew where the bathrooms were, and where Whumper’s personal chambers were.
But most importantly, they knew where the exit was.
“Hey! We have a runner!” The stranger shouted from somewhere behind them, and Whumpee stumbled, tripping over air, but they kept going. They darted past a group of people, only straining to run faster.
“Woah, take it easy!” Someone threw their arms out, blocking Whumpee’s path. They skidded to a stop, quickly changing their route, slamming open a door door and taking off down a side hallway.
They finally came to one of the many back exits, their energy already dwindling to the point where it was difficult to stay upright. This was the closest to freedom they had ever gotten, they weren’t going to fuck this up.
Fate seemed to be on their side. The door handle twisted easily, swinging open to reveal the dark stretch of land. The cold air stung Whumpee’s lungs, their cheeks flushing, but it was a bittersweet kind of pain. They hadn’t been outside in—how long had it been? Months? Years?
It was snowing. Beautiful white, fluffy flakes softly drifting to the ground in large flurries. Whumpee could see their breath.
Rocks cut into the bottom of their feet as they stumbled out into the open. They only needed to make it down that one hill, before they could disappear into the forest. Whumper would never be able to find them in the forest, not in the dark.
The hill was steep and uneven, covered in divots and roots of trees long since chopped down. Whumpee screamed in surprise as their foot snagged on a rock, their momentum sending them tumbling down the rest of the hill. Stars exploded in front of their eyes as their head hit against the frozen ground, as they landed at a heap by the base of a tree.
Whumpee groaned, blinking their blurry eyes until the world came back into focus. Abovehead, a full moon shone through the layer of thick wintery clouds. Whumpee let out a breath, fogging the air in front of their face. It had been so long since they’d seen the moon…
Whumpee pulled their attention away from the sky. They couldn’t get distracted. They needed to go.
Whumpee pushed to their feet, their vision going dark for a long moment. Pain shot through their skull, and Whumpee winced, bringing a hand to the back of their head. I came away covered with something warm and… sticky. Whumpee’s stomach flipped as they realized it was blood.
They needed to go.
Before Whumpee could even take a step, a large arm wrapped around their waist. Whumpee screamed, thrashing as their arms were pinned to their side.
No, no, no! They hadn’t even heard anyone coming down the hill!
Whumpee fought against the arms restraining them, the last of their strength leaching into their pitiful escape attempt.
“No, no!” They screamed, kicking out as hard as they could. “I was so close! No!”
“Calm down,” Caretaker grunted, their grip around Whumpee only tightening. “I’m not going to hurt you!”
“Please! I was so-so close!” Whumpee’s voice cracked, their struggles slowly becoming weaker and weaker until they fell limp in the stranger’s arms, unable to do anything but sob quietly.
“Shh, take it easy,” Caretaker murmured, scooping up Whumpee’s legs, cradling their malnourished form close to their chest. “We’re on your side… we’re going to help you.”
Whumpee sobbed, turning their face away from the stranger so they couldn’t see Caretaker’s expression. They didn’t want to see the fury and disappointment they were sure was there, just like it was always when Whumper was dragging them back. Back to their tiny cell, back to the constant pain and misery.
“We’re not going to hurt you, I promise,” Caretaker mumbled, trying their best to soothe Whumpee. “You’re safe now. Everything’s going to be okay.”
When the Whumpee is finally being rescued. Caretaker clutches their tiny, starved frame close to their chest as they creep through the halls of Whumper’s base.
They weren’t out of danger’s path. Caretaker knows this, but they need Whumpee to stay as still as possible, or risk reopening the multitude of injuries littering their body.
Caretaker’s headphones cover their ears, Whumpee’s eyes shut peacefully, though they weren’t quite asleep. Their favorite song blasts in their ears, masking the sound of Caretaker’s footsteps down the hall. It had been so long since they’d heard those lyrics they held dead, and even though they were still being carried through the cold, poorly lit halls, it felt like they were home.
After the Whumpee gets rescued, Caretaker takes them for a manicure. During their captivity, their hands had grown rough and calloused, covered in scars and bruises.
At first, Whumpee didn’t want the nail technician to touch them, and refused to even let them see their hands. But then after a lot of convincing on Caretaker’s behalf, they give in.
Though their hands may never be the same baby-soft they were before, it’s a step in the right direction.
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