TW // blood, violence
For some background I'm naming the Red Leader Ruby for this (even tho he's only mentioned like once) lmao--
Also writing this quickly made me like the professor much more. Silly insane guy :D
•
“Professor…?”
The words felt so far away, yet the professor knew they couldn’t be far. He didn’t want to get up yet. He groggily reached out an arm and grabbed a salmon plush he had nearby, and chucked it at wherever the voice came from.
“You, uh, you missed.” Professor Red recognized it was M now, and groaned as he felt him place the plush next to him, “Good morning.”
M tried to smile despite the professor not seeing it, and when the professor only curled up further under the blankets, M sighed to himself and climbed onto the bed, wrapping his arms around Professor Red.
He wasn’t in his lab coat anymore, the Assistant had pulled him out of it. He still had traces of redstone on his skin though, and that only made it feel rough to the touch; a texture like the sand children would play with, but M didn’t care. Except he didn’t know what to say to him, so he just held him and held him tighter.
He hated the feeling of not knowing how to help, like he didn’t know how to help Sabre before. It dragged him down and made him feel less fit to be a leader- if he couldn’t help his own friends and family, how could he help his people?
Professor Red stared at M’s hands, then slowly leaned closer to him, letting him hold and silently comfort him. Yet Professor Red couldn’t bring himself to hold onto M back, despite how much he cared about him, so he held the salmon plush and squeezed it like a stress ball.
“We’ll get through this. Assistant made the tracker so… He’ll be found…”
The news of the tracker being finished made Professor Red want to spring up, but he still felt the familiar grogginess of just waking up after at least 12 hours of napping (well, sleeping considering how long he’d been out.). The world felt oddly comfortable, with M next to him, with the blankets on his bed being just soft enough to make him feel safe and concealed. It wasn’t warm, but the texture of everything felt smooth, slightly wrinkled, soft, and pleasant. A feeling of tranquility.
The professor wasn’t tired enough to drift off again unfortunately, so he let himself rest and daydream as M held him. It’d be okay to stay like this for a minute or two longer; they both needed a break anyways.
/
Sorin stared at the empty bowl momentarily before picking up the leftovers he had grabbed. He begrudgingly poured the leftovers into the bowl, the leftovers were still warm. It was just beef and potatoes, nothing special. Regardless, he had to make sure Sabre didn’t starve to death.
As he picked up the bowl with one hand, he opened the door with the other. He heard a small hum from Sabre as he opened it, acknowledging he’d noticed Sorin. Sorin didn’t care, he stared at Sabre while holding the soup bowl.
Sabre’s hopes rose a bit, was this food? He hadn’t really eaten anything since yesterday, and his body was aching from being held still. Sorin had come in and given him some water a few more times, but no food. It left his stomach growling and rumbling emptily. The water made his stomach feel thin, like he had something in there but it wasn’t enough at all.
“Here.” Sorin held the bowl to his lips, and Sabre knew it was food. It took a second for him to know it was soup, and slightly cold, but he wasn’t complaining in this situation. It also wasn’t the best soup either, the potatoes in it were completely soggy by now and mushy. Regardless, food was food.
Finally, the bowl ran dry, and Sorin pulled it away. He stared at Sabre for a moment, long enough to make it feel awkward. Sabre stared back before finally opening his stupid mouth.
“What are you going to do with me..? I- I don’t think you want to hurt me but… just let me go, alright? You don’t.. Probably don’t want to do this.”
“It’s not that easy you-” Sorin paused, stared at the wooden bowl, and without warning he threw it across the room. It didn’t break, only firmly clanked along the floor as it hit the ground, “You don’t get it! I can’t just bring you back, they’ll kill me! Everybody will kill me! I can’t go back- I can’t go anywhere!”
Sabre tried to speak, but Sorin began to rant on more and more, raising his arms and gesturing wildly as he did so, “EVERYBODY LOVES YOU! You- YOU- I just want all of this to end, I want to stop waking up thinking I’m in misery I-...”
The silence came over the treehouse, and Sorin’s arms fell to his sides, and he exhaled and all his body language dropped to a slump. He looked exhausted.
“You came back, and things felt worse. I-I know it’s not completely your fault, but goddammit.”
The silence basked the house, and Sorin looked around. Sabre shifted uncomfortably, unsure how to take care of the situation anymore.
“I want you gone. That’s how this horrible feeling, these horrible thoughts, will go away.”
“And what happens after you get rid of me? You’ll still think horribly of yourself.”
The house went silent, and Sorin stood there. He didn’t say anything, and Sabre didn’t push it. Sorin’s fist clenched, unclenched, and he inhaled and exhaled as if something was unraveling inside him. Sabre wished he could run, do something to get away, instead he had to sit with Sorin, who seemed more like a ticking bomb right now.
He whispered to himself, stepped back, grabbed a nearby coffee table (more like a nightstand) and threw it across the room again. Sabre wished he could shift back anymore in his chair, but he was at the very end of it. There wasn’t any more he could move, he just sat silently.
Finally, Sorin noticed him again, and he looked at him with a malicious glare in his eyes.
“Sorin-”
He stepped closer, and despite Sabre’s legs being tied up, he skidded the base of his feet against the wooden floor in desperate attempts to get away. He felt like if he didn’t, Sorin would kill him.
“Sorin! Sorin!”
Before Sorin could grab him, he flinched back from the yell. Sabre went silent, and he wished he could read Sorin a bit better to tell if he was angry or scared. Sorin stared holes through Sabre, then he turned to leave, only stopping to put the small table back on its legs, but not putting it back.
Sorin only turned his head back only to glare directly into Sabre’s eyes, then slammed the door.
/
Assistant tinkered with the tracker more and more, but unfortunately it kept springing loose, either the button fell out or it short circuited or it plain didn’t work at all. It had only briefly been able to work, but took too long to try and connect to Sorin’s location, and broke before Assistant got anything useful from it.
“M told me you made the tracker?” Professor Red said, walking through the door. He wasn’t dressed to work, with no lab coat on or anything. His hair was messy, and looked to be hastily tied up into a small, messy bun. Assistant gave a mechanical scoff and looked at the professor.
*”It’s been made, yes. However, circuiting it to work properly and track Sorin has been-” As if on cue, the tracker suddenly shot out hundreds of sparks, letting out a small beep as it did so, “... A process.”
Professor Red sighed and quickly walked over to the tracker, popping off the cover and he began to examine the gadget, furrowing his eyebrows.
“It’s not that it’s having trouble picking up a signal-”
*”I never said that.”
“Hm.” The professor said while side-eyeing Assistant, “Regardless, the wiring is messy. It works, but it’s messy and falls apart quickly. The energy signatures needed are way off, each needing a different amount for the location of the…” He began to ramble off while tinkering with it. Assistant stood there and watched, focusing on what he was doing and listening intently.
“Stupid little kidnapper. I’ll slap him.” The dead serious tone in Professor Red’s voice was almost comedic, if not for the situation.
*”How long is this expected to take?” Assistant asked, despite already estimating how long. He just wanted to wake the Professor up a little bit more.
“Depends. You have little knowledge on his energy signature right now, right? Have you tried connecting to Sabre?”
*”I have. It’s somewhere far west, but not quite precise enough to find him. I’m assuming you want me to head over there?”
“Yes. If you find them, do not engage.” Professor Red ordered with a wave of his hand, “Just come back with as much information as possible.”
*”Order does not make sense. Engaging could help Sabre.”
“I know! I know, but we don’t know what the kidnapper is capable of, therefore…” He shifted a bit and lifted the tracker, then turned to grab his goggles off a nearby hook. Technically, they were just a random pair of safety goggles and not the ones he always wore, but it didn’t quite matter.
*”You’re worried about me.” Assistant stated with a factual tone, almost a teasing one. Assistant grinned and patted the Professor’s back. *“Thank you for the concern. I’m- glad you’re my creator.”
Professor Red looked up to him, almost like a wide-eyed cat, and put the tracker down to hug the Assistant. His body was smooth, metallic and cold, but the Professor found it comforting regardless. Assistant reached his arms up and firmly planted them on the professor’s back, letting out a small mechanical hum of happiness.
“I’m glad I created you too, kid.”
*”I have no age.”
Professor Red chuckled at the statement, and nuzzled closer to the Assistant. Yet the Assistant, despite still having emotion, didn’t give up quickly.
*“Regardless, you should not act emotionally on this. Whoever it is I can deal with, or I can retreat if necessary. Gathering information, while helpful, would only be a waste compared to what I can do.”
It made sense, Professor Red knew that. He knew it better than anybody, it’d make sense. This ‘Sorin’ fellow couldn’t do much harm to the Assistant logically, besides a few scratches or hits. A dent or two that could be easily fixed.
Yet, the professor hated the thought of it. It’d be stupid for him to go, seeing as red steves healed far worse, so the Assistant dealing with Sorin was the safest option. Yet, what if he got too injured? What if he lost power? What if something somehow malfunctioned? What if the Assistant died?
None of these options were good, but logically it would be fine, but mishaps did happen.
*"Professor?”
The mechanical voice dragged him out of his thoughts, and he gently pulled away from Assistant to tap on the table, weighing the options laid out for them.
“Go look, get close. If the Sorin boy is there, do not go in. If he isn’t, get Sabre and get out, understood? If your power is low then-”
*“Understood Professor.”
/
It had to be near 5pm when Sorin entered the room again.
Sabre felt like he really was beginning to go crazy. He’d been left alone, only hearing Sorin pace around, scream and talk to himself, throw things around occasionally or leave to treehouse for a bit. Sabre had been sitting here, still, alone, shifting and squirming, yanking and pulling on the rooms in hope they’d come loose and he could leave.
They hadn’t, of course. One of Sabre’s wrists was fully numb, and he hoped that wouldn’t lead to any bad medical problems. Mentally, Sabre felt exhausted. He’d just gone on and off sleeping, whether it be day or night. He didn’t know when he was waking up anymore.
He’d cried, why wouldn’t he? Now knowing why Sorin hated him, it made it feel worse. He didn’t want to remember his corruption, he didn’t want to remember how cold and miserable it was, the amount of blood on his hands, the gooey and freezing texture it held as it crawled over his skin, his bones, his own breath-
Sabre was dragged out of his misery from Sorin lifting his chin to look at him. From the red lighting due to the sun setting, and the lack of lit lanterns, Sorin looked far more intimidating than before. It was like when he and Sabre ‘talked’ that night, the look of uncertain peril in his eyes.
Sorin’s hand moved from his chin to hold the side of his face with the scar, and felt the rough texture of the skin along it.
“Do you regret it?”
The words cut through the air like a knife, and it took a moment for Sabre to realize what he was talking about. The realization of what it was was dreadful, but he answered anyway.
“Yes! Yes of course I do- Please, I didn’t meant to hurt anybody, I just-”
“You don’t. You don’t.”
Sorin spoke as if it was factual, like he knew it better than anyone. Sabre paused and shook his head violently, sputtering and blurting out begs to convince Sorin otherwise. For a moment, he fell silent when he saw Sorin pull something sharp out of his pocket; a knife.
Slowly, he raised it to where he’d been holding Sabre’s cheek, and the tip of the knife slowly dug into his skin as if it were paper. Sabre winced and inhaled, but never closed his mouth, making a strained gasping sound. Then the knife quickly began to drag across his skin, and blood began to leak out of it quickly.
“STOP! STOP! STOP PLEASE-” Something in Sabre suddenly snapped, whether it be from being isolated and tied up for days, or his lack of communication, or his thoughts spiraling down to his worse moments, “I’M SORRY, OKAY?! PLEASE, PLEASE, JUST LET ME GO! LET ME SEE MY FRIENDS!”
Sorin had already flinched back from Sabre yelling, but he didn’t drop the knife. The warm blood seeping out of Sabre’s cheek and down his chin was unpleasant, but thankfully it wouldn’t scar.
The room went silent, and Sabre looked up at Sorin, tears filling his eyes and a few falling down and mixing with the blood. Sorin looked at the red on the knife, and inhaled as if he barely even noticed it before, as if it was suddenly poured on like he didn’t notice.
Sorin ran out of the room, leaving Sabre alone again, and Sabre screamed.
/
The night was cold, and Light was finally ready to go to bed. It’d been long enough today, maybe things would go better tomorrow. They were getting closer to finding Sabre- he thinks? He couldn’t tell, but hopefully-
*”Light.”
“GAH-” Light jumped back and pulled out his sword at the robotic voice, only for it to be the robot Professor Red liked to keep around. Assistant Steve. Light let himself become slightly less tense, and slid his sword back into the holder while silently pretending he didn’t just yank it out.
“A-Assistant. What’s- why are you here?” It was a struggle to find words after being scared like that, and Light knew he’d be scolded by Assistant for it.
*”Relax, moron! I come with good news! Mostly good news.”
/
Light tried to pretend he didn’t practically burst through the door once he heard the news of the tracker. The professor had rambled on and on about how long it took, mostly due to having to fix improper alignments, and being forced to take breaks (He was starting to think Assistant had done a few things to mess it up, only to get the Professor doing /something/, or maybe they were both stressed.)
“Light, it’s late, you really shouldn’t-”
“You shouldn’t be up this late either. Now, where’s the tracker?”
“Mm. On the table. Just have to power it on.” The professor said while yawning, tapping the button on the tracker mindlessly, “Assistant found the general area too. No exact coordinates, but once you get in the area it’ll lock on. Well, it’s already locking on but.. More precisely… Mmm.”
“Go to bed, professor.” Light mumbled, taking the tracker as he gestured it to him, “I’ll take it from here.” Professor Red glanced at him and nodded, sighing as he began to walk away. Before he was fully gone, he turned back to Light and tugged his sleeve.
“Prof-”
“Assistant.. Mm, told me that he heard Sabre screaming. Be careful.”
“Did- why didn’t he save him?! If he was there and heard him!?-”
“No one else gets hurt.” The professor responded in a dead serious tone, not bothering to glance at Light. He fidgeted silently with the end of his shirt, and despite Light wanting to chew out the professor for just letting Sabre be possibly tortured, he tried to tell himself to not push it.
“If he was being hurt, Assistant would’ve done something. It was just too risky-”
“Do you not care? Sabre could be dead right now-” In all honesty, Light only half meant it, but he was frustrated enough. This could’ve been solved if he just went in and grabbed it, although he did somewhat understand his worry.
“I care plenty.” The professor snapped back, turning to glare at Light, “Unlike you, I don’t see my friends as items, I have lost plenty and I’m not risking my own creation- my own son to be hurt.”
His tone was laced with malice, clearly fed up with the entire situation. His fists were clenched as he stared into Light’s eyes, and Light paused before he could respond.
“You tried to dissect Sabre…” He trailed off the more he stared at the professor, who wasn’t trying to hide the anger in his face, “... I do care. I do care, I swear. I just-.. I’ve lost people, I’ve lost plenty of people, I’m the general of the colorless guards.” He clarified, his words quickly coming back, and once they did, he couldn’t stop talking, “I have lost so many people, so many people who won’t see their family or friends ever again. Do not, no, never tell me I don’t know what it’s like to lose anyone.”
Light paused and continued, “No, no. I know what it’s like more than you! I have lost hundreds, and you’ve lost what?-”
“MY FUCKING FRIENDS! THE PEOPLE WHO HELD OUT THE MOST HOPE THAT I MATTERED? THEY’RE GONE! RUBY! COLLE! EVERYONE WHO CARED THE MOST IS GONE! YOU LOST SOLDIERS, YOU DIDN’T LOSE YOUR FRIENDS!”
Professor Red snapped, the amount of anger and emotion he kept wound up finally breaking out, loud enough where he wouldn’t be surprised if he woke M up. Light flinched back from the sudden aggression, never expecting it from the Professor. Professor Red didn’t seem to expect it either, because after he took a moment to breathe, he left and hurried away before Light could say anything.
Light only stood in the room for another second. He didn’t recognize the names of who the professor yelled out, but he didn’t need to. He shouldn’t have lashed out, he was a general; and he was also tired. Emotions were confusing, and his own weren’t an exception.
Light clicked the tracker once, and it began to beep.
’Hang on a little longer Sabre’, Light thought to himself, ’We’ll be there soon.’
•
Oh boy stuffs gonna go down next chapter heheh :)