Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Subject: #0941

Lead Researcher: Dream Wastaken

Dream had just been assigned a new subject. Clutching the folder of papers to his chest as he walked through the halls, only bringing an arm away to wave a passing coworker with blonde hair. He’s heard about Subject #0941. Nothing good to say the least.

And as he reached his office, setting the folder down before going through the papers, he could tell that he was in for it. Maybe this was his boss’s way of firing him, he thought, looking over the most recent paper that was unfortunately covered in blood.

All that was hastily written was a warning about how much an animal the subject is.

Shifting through the papers, Dream frowned at the lack of photos, usually they're in the folder. Deciding not to focus on it for now, he pushes the papers aside and began his own

Entry #1: Subject #0941 was brought in on 7/16/20. I was brought in as the new Lead Researcher after the previous one was severely injured due to negligence unknown reasons. The subject is very dangerous, and must be regarded with caution according to it’s files.

Collecting up what he might need, he began his trek to where it was being contained. Wondering what it was exactly, as he stepped into the viewing room.

As soon as he did however, he met with the smell of rotting meat, nearly gagging as he pulled a relatively clean cart out into the hall to put his papers on as he cleaned up. The janitors should have cleaned up already, but one look through the files, he found that there was Danger Level Order after a janitor had been killed. Frowning, he sighed then put on some disposable gloves, even going as far as tightening his cloth mask to hopefully avoid some of the smell.

~

After removing the spoiled raw meat and cleaning up the blood that had dripped from it as well as cleaning the dirty glass, he finally got a moment to look at the subject. A hulking pig wearing torn clothes that overwise might’ve been a bit more for formfitting if it wasn’t. His fur looked matted and briefly he thought of the beast from Beauty and the Beast as he watched it with a frown.

There hardly seemed to be anything with it other than in appearance, though, there was just a pile of more rotting meat in it’s cell that could guess potential illness in the future. Deciding he couldn’t stand it, he got up with a sheet of paper and pencil as well as some of the cleaning supplies he still had with him and headed in.

On his break before getting called in, his co-worker had mentioned wanting to try to get a list from subjects and Dream decided it might be best to try with this temperamental subject in hopes of making it more comfortable here. Past researchers weren’t as thoughtful and it often did lead to their deaths.

Moving towards the entrance to the containment cell, he took note of the guards. They were Sam and Punz, the two strongest guards, who gave him a look as he attempted entry.

“It’s disgusting in there.”

Sam through his gasmask drawled, “Exactly, it’s pigsty for a pigman.”

“I say we let him go in.” Punz shrugged, “If anything it’ll give us something to do other than just stand out here.”

So he was let in alone. Which on the record, is frowned upon, but Dream wanted his subject to at least have a clean room, no matter the potential unsavory consequences.

Unsurprisingly, the subject noticed him immediately. It watched him curiously, barring it’s tusks when he got too close. For now, he avoided eye contact, it was a precaution mostly because a different subject had violent reactions to it before.

Taking a step back, he places the pencil and paper on the floor in front of it, “Can you write a list of some things you would like in here? I can’t promise to give you everything, that’s up to my boss.”

It huffed before turning away so Dream just took that as a no, but left the paper there anyway and went to clean the corner of rotting meat. At least it didn't attack.

Bagging all of it made 3 bags that he dumped outside and asked one of the guards to deal with. Then he began scrubbing the floor.

As he did, he wondered if they should try a variety of foods if he didn’t like raw meat. Stopping and miming a gag under his mask, he wondered what did. Cats, maybe? Or like big cats? Shaking off that train of thought, he continued.

Once finished, Dream sighed, looking down at his lab coat, it wasn't pristine to begin with, but now it had a few dull patches of blood. Same with his jeans, but they almost looked like oddly coloured grass stains. Turning, he frowned, seeing the paper still where he left it, but as he went to retrieve it, he was surprised to find ornate writing on it.

“Oh, that’s very nice handwriting…” Dream mumbled, compared to his own that one could call chicken scratch it was almost overly fancy.

Seeing that the guards had done as he asked, he went back into the viewing room. Throwing the pair of gloves away, he went to wash his hands before pulling out his entry for the subject as well as the paper.

In order to help potentially calm down the subject, I have given it a pencil and paper while I cleaned out its containment area from rotting raw meat. I don’t think it likes raw meat, I believe we should attempt other foods.

In turn, it gave me a list of objects that it wants. However, looking at it, it doesn’t seem to be in English. I can’t help right now until I can talk with Eret to get it translated. However, for the records, I’ll make a copy of the list here.

- Mei rubrum pallium
- Potato
- Philza
- Mei gladio

Luckily, potato was in English so I can get that. It gives a hint to as what it's diet is. However, I’m not sure what a Philza is, if it’s deemed safe when discovered then maybe we can give it to it. For now, I can do potatoes.

On another note: The subject has strangely very ornate handwriting.

Chapter Text

Subject: #1223

Assistant Researcher: Alyssa Lavender (Commonly referred to as Lavender)

After passing by her research partner in the hall, the blonde female made her way towards a lad given the name Subject #1223. She was intrigued by the provided information and image with the subject's file.

Once she had entered the containment chamber, she noticed how the subject peered at her in fear and curiosity.

Entry #1: Subject #1223 was taken into custody after officials found it alone on the streets. The subject was given basic necessities such as nutrients and bedding, but the subject appears to have an assortment of flowers and plushies. The most dominant of the plushies was the multitude of bees. #1223's file mentions how it loved bees and requested for some as pets. Sadly, the request was rejected and instead gave the subject a safer option.

The female slowly crept towards the subject, hoping to coax it out of hiding. She brought out a wrapped up cookies and creme chocolate bar and gingerly broke a piece off. Holding out her hand, she gave a gentle smile as she offered the chocolate to the subject.

It took five minutes total for the subject to come out and accept the chocolate. The blonde ruffled the subject's hair with a soft chuckle.

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? You can have the candy while I ask." She spoke.

The subject eagerly nodded, most likely at the thought of having more of the chocolate.

With a series of simple questions, I learned that #1223's birth name was Toby. When the subject was found, it was referred to as 'Tubbo' by the guards. According to 'Tubbo', they were afraid of the researchers in the past for using unsanitary methods on them.

#1223 spoke about how they loved bees before they were left alone by their unknown family. When the subject wrote down a list of activities/items they enjoyed, the list consisted of the following: 

•Flower Crowns

•Piano

•Boats

•Flavors

•Alter Egos

The subject explained each one and the last two are concerning for someone like them. Upon further questioning, #1223 mentions how they used to play pretend and how 'Flavors' and 'Alter Egos' came to be. 

When I gathered the subject's file and my journal, the subject suddenly clung to my lab coat. Tears pricking their eyes, threatening to spill out as the subject pleaded for me to stay with them. All I responded was that I promised to visit the following day. This satisfied the subject, suggesting that they fear being alone.

Lavender gave a sad smile towards #1223 and left the room to write up the report on the subject. She was surprised to find her masked researcher companion had a rotting stench surrounding him. Instead of being blunt, she decided to share what she learned with her colleague. What he had to share about Subject #0941 intrigued the female. Making her even more curious about the remaining subjects held in the facility.

Chapter Text

Subject: #0941

Lead Researcher: Dream Wastaken

He had just gotten done checking on Subject #7001 when he got the call from Ponk, the onsite medic. Subject #0941 had attacked Tommy, the intern. Not only that, the subject wasn’t let anyone get at him and none of the tranquilizing darts were working. Rushing out, he found himself running through the halls towards where it is kept.

Nearly tripping as he reached the door, he was suddenly shoved by someone. Looking up, he realized it was Sam, who just quickly brushed past him, gun in hand.

As he disappeared around the corner, he noticed at the door, there was no Punz, but there was Ponk.

“Ponk! What’s happening currently?”

They turned around, “The subject isn’t letting anyone get in.”

Dream chewed his lip as he thought. The subject had seemed pretty neutral on his existence, so maybe he could try. As he thought it over he brought out his entry sheet

Entry #2: Subject #0941 has reacted negatively to our Intern, Tommy. Onsite medic has called me in, saying that the subject had attacked him. It is not letting anyone close. I am going to try as yesterday, he didn’t seem to mind my presence.

“Let me try.” He demanded.

Unsurprisingly, or maybe it was surprisingly considering yesterday Punz and Sam had just let him in, they looked at him like he was crazy.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

He shrugged, “I went in there yesterday and was fine.”

“You what.” Instantly, he was being looked over, “Did it attack you?”

“No! That’s why I think I should try.”

Ponk just glared before relenting, “Fine, but any signs of aggression, you are out of there.”

With a simple nod, Dream turned and opened the door. As soon as the door closed, Subject #0941 turned to him with a growl that seemed to fade as he raised his hands. Tommy laid at his feet, hopefully unconscious.

“I’m just here to help Tommy.”

It seemingly gestured towards the kid and grunted, a question of ‘This Tommy?’ most likely. With a nod, the beast slowly moved away from the body. With the same caution, Dream headed over and dropped to his knees, checking him over.

He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding with he realized that he had a pulse although he was bleeding and looking quite pale.

As he left, Dream heard a rough sounding voice ask, “Est ipse iens ut bene?”

Unsure what he meant, but hoping that he was right in thinking that it was asking if Tommy was going to be alright, he just nodded, tacking on a, “Hopefully.”

Then they left, he passed Tommy onto Ponk, who quickly accessed that Techno didn’t attack him as it was a gunshot wound. Then after that bombshell left to go patch him up.

First things first, he went into the viewing room. The cell and guard area had cameras set up to make sure that these things don’t happen. As he rewound the tapes, he brought out today’s entry.

Subject #0941 did not attack Tommy the intern. He was shot by a gun. Currently rewinding the security tapes to see who shot it. Will record on here what I see.

The tapes show Tommy entering the containment area with the subject’s meal, some raw potatoes. As he left the potato on the ground and turned, Subject #0941 advanced towards the placed potato. On the other camera showing the guards, Sa-

He smudged the page as he moved to pause the tapes and stood up suddenly. He couldn’t watch anymore. His plan was to storm to the infirmary, hoping to see Tommy and ask him.

Luckily when he got there, he was awake.

“Tommy.” He sighed, “I need to ask-”

Then the door was swung open. Both looked, Dream turning to do so, to see Sam fuming, smoke raising out his gasmask.

“Sam! My friend!” Tommy greeted loudly, before putting a hand to his chest, “Why’d you shoot me?”

“Yeah, Sam, why?” Dream greeted with gritted teeth.

Sam in response, grabbed his arms and held them down with a bruising grip to his sides, “Subject was going to attack.”

“The subject went for his food.” He shook his head, “I saw it on the tapes.”

The grip squeezed tighter and even with the mask the smoke coming from Sam reached his lungs.

As he coughed Tommy spoke up, “Sam. I’m going to have to report this.”

“No. I don’t think you will.”

“What are you going to do if I do?” The teen laughed, albeit a bit nervously.

Dream couldn’t really breathe at this point and didn’t really notice when Sam moved him to face Tommy.

“Or else he suffocates right now.”

Tommy paused, “Sam… you know this means… if this were to ever get out… I mean…”

“And that’s why it won’t.”

“Alright. It won’t.” The teen glared, “Just let him go.”

The grip let go and he fell onto the floor with a thud. Just as Sam slammed the door as he left, Ponk came out and pulled Dream onto the bed next to Tommy.

“I heard everything.”

~

For the rest of the afternoon both of them were stuck in the infirmary. It wasn’t until the evening could he go back and record the rest of the entry.

Sam shot Tommy. Switching back to the Containment Area camera, it shows Sam trying to get Tommy out, but Subject #0941 took a swipe causing him to stumble back and out. Looking quickly over at the Guard Cam, he presumably called Ponk, the onsite medic. Other than that the subject seemed to be trying to protect Tommy from any farther threats.

The subject has not deemed me a threat yet so I retrieved Tommy without a problem. Unfortunately, the bullet has to be removed and he is currently in surgery. Hopefully, Sam learns from this error.

On a brighter note, I am hoping to be able to get permission for baked potatoes as raw potatoes aren’t that nutritious and we want our subjects to stay healthy. At least I do.

Dream looked up at the clock and sighed at the time before he started coughing. Taking a swig of water, he noticed Eret was at the door.

“Hello, Dream.” She greeted, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah...” He cleared his throat, “Yeah.”

“Okay… you wanted to ask me something?”

Dream nodded before pulling out the entry from yesterday, “Subject speaks in a different language and I was hoping you could translate it?”

Sliding the paper over, Eret read it over before taking a sticky note from the stack on Dream’s desk and writing it down, they always had such neat handwriting, but it still wasn’t as ornate as the subject’s but it was close.

Mei rubrum pallium - My red cloak
Philza - ?
Mei gladio - My sword

“I hope this helps.” He smiled and Dream smiled back then they asked, “Which subject is this for..?”

“Subject #0941.”

“Oh?” Eret adjusted their sunglasses before mumbling something before walking away, heels clicking on the smooth tiles as he went.

Despite the weirdness of the sudden exit, Dream just brushed it off and turned to the list. The sword was out for sure, but he was sure the subject was listed to have come in a red cloak of sorts. Standing up he stretched, back cracking, he could deal with that tomorrow. It was unlikely the keepers would even still be here anyway.

The halls were dark and empty as he walked towards the exit and Dream felt eyes watching his every movement. He could only hope it was just Sam’s.

Chapter Text

Subject #1127

Assistant Researcher: Alyssa Lavender

The blonde felt like she should visit another subject based on how she was told that she couldn’t form any attachment to any subjects whatsoever. Even though #1223 practically clung to her coat, she knew she’d visit again. Making her way down the hall, she double checked the files before entering.

Entry #1: Subject #1127 is recorded as a low level subject yet is dangerous. Perhaps This is due to the subject's appearance or abilities. At first glance, it appears to be half Enderman with a green eye. The other half is white with a red eye. 

Lavender decides to enter the room to see if the subject really was dangerous.

"⊑⟒⌰⌰⍜?" The subject spoke.

The female was immediately confused and cocked her head. The subject said something and yet, she didn't understand what was said.

"Hello. Do you speak English?" She asked slowly. The subject shook its head. "Can you understand me?" This time, the subject nodded. The female wrote that down.

Subject #1127 can not speak English but can somehow understand the language. Eret will have to be called in to translate for further research. At the current moment, there appear to be no signs of hostility nor any sign to indicate the subject as dangerous.

"I'm going to ask you some questions and I'd like you to write it down using this pencil and paper. I'd like to get to know you and possibly learn your language." Lavender stated.

Handing the materials to the subject, the subject scribbled strange symbols as it wrote. 

The following is what the subject has written about itself. I will have Eret translate at the end of the report. Here is what #1127 has written:

⊑⟒⌰⌰⍜, ⋔⊬ ⋏⏃⋔⟒ ⟟⌇ ⍀⏃⋏⏚⍜⍜. ⟟ ⊑⏃⎐⟒ ⌇⊑⍜⍀⏁ ⏁⟒⍀⋔ ⋔⟒⋔⍜⍀⊬ ⌰⍜⌇⌇, ⏁⊑⟒⍀⟒⎎⍜⍀⟒, ⟟ ⍙⍀⟟⏁⟒ ⟟⋏ ⏃ ⏚⍜⍜☍ ⏁⍜ ⍀⟒⋔⟒⋔⏚⟒⍀ ⋔⊬ ⎎⍀⟟⟒⋏⎅⌇. ⟟ ☊⏃⋏ ⍀⟒⋔⟒⋔⏚⟒⍀ ⟒⋔⍜⏁⟟⍜⋏⌇ ⍜⍀ ⟒⎐⟒⋏⏁⌇ ⏁⊑⏃⏁ ⊑⏃⎐⟒ ⏃ ⌇⏁⍀⍜⋏☌ ⎐⏃⌰⎍⟒ ⏁⍜ ⋔⟒. ⟟ ⏃⌿⍜⌰⍜☌⟟⋉⟒ ⟟⎎ ⟟ ☊⏃⋏'⏁ ⏁⟒⌰⌰ ⊬⍜⎍ ⋔⍜⍀⟒.

Lavender had wide eyes as she scanned the page full of symbols. The subject had a bit to write and it was more than she could have asked for.

"Thank you for this. If I could, do you have a name? My name is Lavender." The blonde introduced.

"⍀⏃⋏⏚⍜⍜."

"I'm sorry. I don't understand. Perhaps I should call Eret-" she's cut off as the subject spoke.

"☊⍜⎍⌰⎅ ⊬⍜⎍ ⏁⟒⏃☊⊑ ⋔⟒ ⟒⋏☌⌰⟟⌇⊑? ⊬⍜⎍ ⏃⍀⟒⋏'⏁ ⌰⟟☍⟒ ⏁⊑⟒ ⍜⏁⊑⟒⍀ ⍀⟒⌇⟒⏃⍀☊⊑⟒⍀. ⊬⍜⎍'⍀⟒ ⎎⍀⟟⟒⋏⎅⌰⟟⟒⍀ ⏃⋏⎅ ⟟ ⎎⟒⟒⌰ ⌇⏃⎎⟒ ⏃⍀⍜⎍⋏⎅ ⊬⍜⎍."

"I wish I could understand what you are saying. You're very unique and I'm excited to continue visiting you. Until my next visit." She waved towards the subject and it returned the gesture with a smile.

She reaches Eret's office and handed the paper to them.

"Can you translate this for me? Subject #1127 wrote this when I visited today." The female explained. 

They raised their eyebrows, trying to read the writing. Eret sighs and shook his head in defeat.

"Sadly, I can't translate Enderman. Perhaps the subject could teach you." Eret suggested.

Lavender nodded as she gathered the papers. "If I can learn this language, I'll be sure to take notes for future records. Thanks for the help Eret." 

Eret sadly could not translate #1127's words. The next visit for the subject will have the goal of learning basic Enderman. Perhaps a key of the English alphabet and the Enderman alphabet could be made to easily translate future messages with the subject.

The blonde sighs as she glanced at the two files she had been given for Subjects #1223 and #1127. #1223, who said their name was Tubbo, doesn't deserve to be in this research facility. Then #1127 seems like a normal Enderman despite having half of itself unknown. Both enjoyed her company when she had come in.

'You aren't allowed to get attached to the subjects. No matter what situation they are in, they are only research subjects. Even if I want to adopt them and take care of them properly, that can't happen.'

"Fuck. I need to clear my head of those two. I wonder how Dream is faring at this moment."

Chapter Text

Subject: #0941

Lead Researcher: Dream Wastaken

Dream had delivered the subject his dinner. Considering Sam had gotten moved to a different subject that day and Punz was lenient, if anything wanting some action, he was able to bring in a baked potato. He kept complaining on how he missed the other day, though which Dream had to disagree with. Tommy offered of course to bring it, but he wouldn’t let him, moving him down to work with the mid-levels subjects or below.

For now, he sat down nearby and brought out his paper, prepared to write.

Entry #3: I have given Subject #0941 a baked potato. Seems to be happier with it baked than raw.

Once he was finished writing, he looked up and realized that the subject was staring at him. Their eyes met and Dream made note that it’s not like Subject #1127, who gets upset over eye contact. Then he made a personal note that they were a beautiful, striking red. Before he could register what was happening, he moved closer and there was a clawed hand on his head.

“Aurum.”

Unsure what that meant, he just nervously smiled. Then the claw was removed and he was speaking again.

“Aurum,” He then gestured towards himself, “meum nomen est Technoblade.”

Dream’s eyes lit up. It’s not often the subjects give their names and he especially wasn’t expecting it from this subject.

“Are you Technoblade?”

The subject nodded and stood up.

“My name is Dream.” It felt right to give him his name after he did.

Technoblade turned around and tilted his head then pointed at him, “Aurum.”

He supposes that Dream would be different depending on the languages, so for now he can be Aurum. Right now, he had other things to do like write what just happened down.

Subject gave me his name! It’s Technoblade and I tried to tell him my name, but he doesn’t seem to understand my name. Instead he calls me Aurum. Eret hadn’t told me the language. I’ll have to ask them later and maybe then we could break a bit of the language barrier.

He looked up to see the subject once again staring at him. Suddenly, he felt a cough coming up in his throat. Dream pulled his mask down as a coughing fit started, smoke came out, and he heard a growl from the subject.

Sam was dangerous. Originally, he didn’t have any first hand experiences, but, now he does. Makes him wonder why they let him be a guard, but maybe his anger issues got worse or maybe who ever was researching him sucked. That would make sense, he didn’t seem to want to be put back in one of these.

As his coughing subsided, Dream realized that Technoblade was hovering around him, hunched down, trying to figure out how to help him.

“Esne bene?” He asked, gently touching his back.

After letting one more cough, he shakily stood up, pulling up his mask.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” He tried to reassure him, before walking towards the door.

Technoblade followed behind him until he was few feet towards the door. Then he headed up to the viewing room where his bottle of water was. Not to mention, he needed to head home soon.

So as he walked he wrote the last bit of today’s entry for Technoblade.

I have unfortunately gotten on Sam’s bad side and have his smoke stuck in my lungs. I had a coughing fit and he showed concerned towards my health. I think he has been wrongly labeled as dangerous or maybe he just needed someone friendly. I know other researchers are pricks don’t prioritize kindness.

As he entered, he was surprised by someone tackling him to the ground. Hands gripped at his throat as he was dragged away.

He never did get his water.

~

When he regained consciousness, he was in one of the lower leveled subject rooms. One of the mid-levels if he had to guess. He dealt with some of them in his time, but couldn’t exactly remember.

“Dream.” Someone spoke and he looked to see the face of Subject #0017, “I bet you know why you’re here.”

He’s the one who did the research, knows of the subject’s power of flight as well as manipulation. It could be liken more to mind control however. Unless you know about it, then it doesn’t work.

“I’ve gotten Sam to help me with this of course. It’s why he’s been acting so weird.” He smiled, “I don’t want you dead, Dream… just wishing you were.”

And then a knife was swinging down.

Chapter Text

Subject #1223

Assistant Researcher: Alyssa Lavender

Rubbing her eyes, Lavender squinted as the bright lights switched on. She decided to come in early and check on #1223. Maybe even let the subject color in a coloring book while she spent time with them.

Upon her arrival to the room holding the subject, she noticed it was open slightly. And the sound of the intern was inside.

“You’re so clingy! Why the fuck are you so clingy?” The blonde male asked out loud.

Lavender lightly knocks on the door, alerting both boys to her presence. The subject immediately peeled away from Tommy and enveloped me in a bear hug. The female stroked #1223’s hair with a chuckle escaping her lips.

“Why the fuck are you here so early? Don’t you have things to do before coming here?” Tommy asked. She shook her head.

“I honestly wanted to check on #1223 and #1127 early. They’ve both enjoyed my company so far. Maybe I’ll start referring to you as Tubbo.” She ruffles Tubbo’s hair and hears him giggle.

Tommy cocked his head in confusion. “Tubbo? That’s an odd name. Did his parents name him after a tube and just added ‘Bo’ to create Tubbo?” He asked. The female shook her head.

“He told me that his real name is Toby but earned the name Tubbo after being brought in. I think it’s adorable.”

“Do you like him? Do you like Tubbo?” 

“What the fuck is wrong with you!? I'm like the same age as both of you. Besides, if it were my choice, I’d want to adopt him like a brother. Same with Subject #1127. I think if I really tried, I could get them both out and to my house safely. Neither of them deserve to be treated like this.” Lavender states.

Entry #2: Upon entering the room, Subje- Tubbo was being brought food by Intern Tommy Innit. The intern was complaining about how Tubbo was clinging to him when he was trying to leave. I have brought flowers and activity books for Tubbo to use during my early visit. Tommy was free to leave but insisted on staying.

It was two hours later that Tommy and I had to leave Tubbo so I could quickly check up on Subject #1127. Tommy is still staying with me for some reason.

“I need to bring food to him. You distracted me from my task.” He stated. Lavender sighed as she followed the blonde child to where the chorus fruit was stored. She was surprised that the facility even had some.

When they opened the door, Subject #1127 grinned upon seeing the blonde duo. Tommy placed the plate of chorus fruit onto the table while Lavender took out her notepad.

Entry #2: Subject #1127, according to Intern Innit, consumes chorus fruit from it’s home dimension, the End. Surprisingly enough, the subject was ecstatic to see Tommy and I. I wonder how often Tommy visits to feed these subjects.

Lavender pulled out the calligraphy activity book and a separate notebook and handed it to the subject. Tommy held a confused expression on his face.

“What are you doing? He’s a fucking Enderman! He won’t understand a thing we say.” The boy exclaimed.

“Actually, he does understand us. He just can’t read our language. Eret doesn’t understand Enderman so I’ve taken it upon myself to see if #1127 could teach me. And I’d teach him our language. Look at what he wrote last time I came around.” She handed Tommy the page that was written in Enderman. 

The lad scrunched up his face as he tried to decipher the odd symbols. His face relaxes as he seems to have discovered something.

“Hand me the notebook and a pen. I think I know what some of these could be. ⏃ looks similar to our A. And ⍜ is just Enderman for O.” He states.

The female grins at the thought that the intern of all people could somehow guess the letters of Enderman. 

“This ⟒ looks like a sideways E and ☊ looks like a C with balls. ⟟ is our I but instead is a penis.” Tommy is laughing at this point. And the blonde girl could only groan at his immature jokes. Now she won’t be able to unsee those.

But she began to see a pattern. And the subject was nodding along to what was being said. So, we were getting the right letters connected.

⋔ was Enderman for M.

The two were there for around two hours and managed to get the alphabet conversion for Enderman to English. 

Intern Innit and I have created an Enderman to English letter key with the assistance of Subject #1127. Based on the conversion, the alphabet is as follows:

A = ⏃

B = ⏚

C = ☊

D = ⎅

E = ⟒

F = ⎎

G = ☌

H = ⊑

I = ⟟

J = ⟊

K = ☍

L = ⌰

M = ⋔

N = ⋏

O = ⍜

P = ⌿

Q = ⍾

R = ⍀

S = ⌇

T = ⏁

U = ⎍

V = ⎐

W = ⍙

X = ⌖

Y = ⊬

Z = ⋉

And the message that the subject had written during my previous visit is translated below.

Hello, my name is Ranboo. I have short term memory loss, therefore, I write in a book to remember my friends. I can remember emotions or events that have a strong value to me. I apologize if I can't tell you more.

So in response to us learning this, we created small sentences and let Ranboo read them. We earned something similar to a chuckle to some of our pieces. 

After bidding a farewell to Ranboo, the blonde duo made their way towards Lavender’s shared office space with Dream. What surprised the two was the masked man was not to be seen.

“I would’ve thought Dream would be here by now.” Lavender hummed as she set down her files onto her desk.

“Last time I saw him was when I was- hurt! Subject #0941 had ‘attacked’ me. Turns out it was protecting me.” The boy quickly stated.

She frowned and glanced at the empty desk. 

“Perhaps he took the day off today. I heard something about him having a bad cough from Sam.” Lavender states with a shrug. Tommy nervously shifted and was glad that the female was pouring over the Enderman to English notes again rather than continuing.

“I think I’ll give Tubbo and Ranboo a little thing to remind them that they are more than just subjects. Thanks for helping me out Tommy. Now Ranboo and I can have proper discussions when I visit him.” 

The blonde duo bid each other goodbye and Lavender decided to glance at the time, waiting. Once she figured enough time had passed, she scurried towards the security room and tried to watch the previous day’s footage in hopes of finding Dream. The first thing she checked was the camera for Subject #0941.

She watched him enter and she could tell he was attempting communication with the subject. She hears the name Technoblade and assumes that’s the name of the subject. A few more minutes in, she watches Dream leave and not return to the room. She scanned through other camera footage but came up empty. 

She could only assume that whatever happened between Tommy, Technoblade, and Dream, the blonde boy clearly didn’t want her to know. That only confused her further. Hopefully Dream was okay and isn’t gone for long.

Chapter Text

His head was pounding when he woke up. Looking around, he almost choked. Dream found himself in a trashed room. Very close to what the containment areas look like. As he moved, he noticed that his back felt sticky and when he looked down at where he had been laying, there was a puddle of blood.

Struggling up, he heard an intercom buzz on.

A crackling voice spoke over it, “Mr. Wastaken, you are underneath your facility. As you should know I am one of the oldest subjects here. I was here before you, I will be here after you.”

Dream rushed towards the door and into the halls, where the speaker only seemed to intensified.

“I know you call me by my number, but why don’t I introduce myself.”

As he ran down the hall, a menacing laugh echoed out before the intercom clicked out and he could hear metal scrapping against the ground.

“You can call me Quackity.”

With that Dream turned around and started running. There was the sound of flapping wings and he spared a glance behind him to see the subject coming towards him at great speeds.

Yelping, he dodged, but as he was passed, the sword in the duck’s hand swiped his arm, but instead of turning, he stopped for a moment. Then he heard him walking to where he was in front of a different entrance.

Dream didn’t see the punch coming or the slashes. And eventually he was left once again.

“I’ll be back, Mr. Wastaken and it’s going to be worse.”

He sat there catching his breath for a while before getting up and limping down the hall.

~

Dream wasn’t sure how long he had been walking when he heard the cackles echoing through the hall again. He started running, his lungs struggling with every breath as Sam’s smoke lingered and his whole body felt in pain.

He was sure he looked worse for wear, he could feel the dried blood on his face and bruises all over his body.

Quackity caught up quickly. It wasn’t surprising. The subject had made sure he couldn’t move fast. He was pushed from behind, his ankle throbbed as he tripped over his feet. He screamed as he felt the weight of the duck on top of him.

“Do you know why you’re here, Dream?”

He shook his head as he sobbed, trying to get away.

“It’s because of what you are. A researcher. A warden.”

He was picked up by his hair to face the other, “I lost my eye to one of your people. You just so happened to be the one I picked to finally stop.”

Heavy feet entered the hall and through tears, he saw Sam, holding a knife, that Quackity reached for.

“Dream. You’ve been here long enough.”

The knife was held up to his throat, close enough to draw blood.

Quackity just laughed, “Any last words, Mr. Wastaken?”

“Sam,” Dream rasped out, “you are being manipulated by him.”

Then he was felt pain as he was slammed into the ground. His head hit it hard and felt a piece of debris cut him.

Blood poured down into his eye as the subject above him screamed, “You’ve just ruined everything!”

Then the knife was slashed through his coat numerous times, each more violently than the one before, until Quackity was tackled.

“Run, Dream.” Sam said as he held down the other, wrestling for the knife.

He hesitated for a second before meeting Sam’s eyes. Fear, concern, and malice were mixed in his green eyes. The last thing he saw was the knife being raised to his chest.

“Go.” Sam demanded.

So he turned and ran.

~

He heard the dragging feet behind him. Sam couldn’t keep Quackity down for long unfortunately it seems. As he reached a dead end with two researcher doors to both sides, he tried one. Locked. So he figured the other was too.

The shadow of the subject chasing him turned the corner and in the dim light he could see him coming. Then a door was being slammed open and he was being dragged into the locked room.

Panicking, he tried to struggle away and whoever it was let him. He curled up in the corner, letting out a whimper as he heard footsteps approaching.

There was a sigh before a curious foreign voice spoke, “Now, who are you and what are you doing down here?”

His whole body ached and before he could even think about answering, there was loud banging at the door.

“Dream…” Quackity snarled, “I know you’re in there.”

Flinching away, he buried his head in his knees. As it continued, threats getting louder, the other in the room tsked before walking over.

There was small glass in the door so, maybe what stopped the banging was the fact he saw the other. He didn’t hear the door open or close at any point, but he was probably panicking.

When it stopped, there was pencil and a paper being shoved in his hands.

“I know you’re a researcher so I figured making an Entry like you guys do, might help calm you down.”

Shakily he held his pencil and stared at the paper for a moment. Before it was taken back after he wrote his name then handed back when something had been written.

Subject: #0000

Lead Researcher: Dream Wastaken

Entry #1: Subject #0017 has trapped me down in the old research facility underneath the current one. Sam is no longer under his control. This may as well be my last entry as I am very injured. Quackity, or Subject #0017, has attacked me numerous times.

Dream looked up at the formally written Subject number then finally looked up to who was in the room with him. In the dim light, he noticed that it was one of the oldest subjects that had been rumored to have escaped or disappeared.

Then his eyes flicked to the sleeping bag and wrappers on the floor. Seems like he’s been here for a while.

I found Subject #0000 and I think they are safe and trustworthy. Maybe I will be able to find out more before I die.

His body was much more relaxed and he was feeling sleepy. Maybe it was from all the running or maybe it was from blood loss, he couldn’t tell.

As his eyes slipped closed, Dream could hear snapping, but it sounded so distant and far away.

~

When he woke up, a light was being shone into his eyes.

“I don’t think he has a concussion.” A familiar voice spoke, “But next time can you wait until I come down and not come get me. Someone could have seen you.”

“No one did though and hush, he’s waking up.”

The light was removed and he blinked away the dots then he realized he was still where he was and still with the missing subject, but was also met with Wilbur, one of the researchers under Eret.

“Wilbur?” He slurred out.

He hummed, “Yeah.”

Dream could feel bandages all over his body as he became more aware. The blood had been rinsed off his face if his wet shirt and empty water bottle nearby was anything to go by. Then he felt a wing wrap around him.

“Would you like to update that entry of yours?” The winged man asked.

He hadn't even noticed that his breathing had started getting heavy. Once aware, he nodded dizzyingly. Then the paper was put into his hands and before he could write anything, Wilbur stopped him.

“Just so you can get it down, Philza came up to the current facility to get me.” He informed him before glaring at the other, “He’s not supposed to do that.”

With a small nod this time, he started writing.

Subject #0000 went and got Wilbur, a researcher under Eret. Wilbur told me his name is Philza. He saved me from dying. He’s trying to keep me calm I think.

Then he noticed the blood on Wilbur’s shoes.

Pointing them out, “Whose blood is that?”

“Uhh.” Wilbur frowned, “So, it’s either yours or Subject #0017.”

“Huh?”

“Philza got him good, but he’s still out there.” Then he paused, “Your entry said something about Sam? I haven’t seen him.”

Dream stopped, “You read my entry?”

Wilbur gestured to the other, “He shoved it into my hands to prove he wasn’t lying.”

Then he pieced together something.

“Your name is Philza?”

He received a nod then when he opened his mouth to question why, there was a loud sound coming from above him.

“Oh, they’ve just had a containment breach.” Wilbur mumbled.

Then their door was slammed open and Philza moved to cover both of them.

“Dream?”

He peeked out and let out a sigh of relief, “Sam?”

At the sight of friendliness, Philza moved and as soon as he did, Sam fired. A cry of pain came from the brunet next to him.

“What the fuck, Sam?” Wilbur asked as he doubled over in pain.

He held up his hands, “In my defense, I was never trained.”

Dream looked over at Philza who looked up in awe at the taller, “That guy is an idiot.”

“Okay, Philza. I need to go see Ponk now.” Wilbur sighed and frowned, “But there’s also a containment breach going on.”

“Oh yeah probably about Quackity.”

Philza stuck out his tongue a bit at the name, “I always didn’t like that guy.”

“I can show you the way out.” Wilbur spoke, “Philza. You stay here.”

The winged man frowned but nodded, but that’s when Dream remembered what he realized.

“Do you know a Techn-” He managed to get out before being dragged away.

But he didn't miss the look of recognition and betrayal that crossed his face.

~

It wasn’t a long walk, but it sure felt like it. As soon as they exited the stairwell, Eret spotted them first.

“Subject #0941 escaped not to mention Subject #0017 is missing.” He informed them, “Also, thought you finally took a day off, Dream?”

“No, I was kidnapped by Subject #0017.”

She pursed her lips, “Oh. So, maybe that’s why he’s irritated.”

“Where is he?”

Eret pointed in a direction and Dream took off. There were sounds of protests, but he ignored them. He followed the sounds of gunfire and chaos.

~

When he reached the room where they had Technoblade cornered, Dream froze. Guns were trained on him and he had blood coating his already matted fur.

He made an note in the back of his head to hose him down one of these days.

Before he could make his presence known to the other, his head snapped towards him, nose sniffing.

“Aurum.”

“Techno.” He sighed in relief.

The pig beast moved quickly towards him before pulling him into a smothering hug. Dream just relaxed and smiled into the fur. There was a rumbling coming from him almost like a cat purring before he let him go.

“Smelled…Aurum’s… blood.” He grunted out then admitted, “Was. scared.”

He lowered himself to Dream’s level as the gunmen around yelled for a ceasefire. Red eyes shown with concern.

“Esne bene?” He asked softly.

Dream just smiled, “I’ll be fine.”

Then he held out his hand and when the massive clawed hand took it, he tried to mask his flinch. A whine sounded and he knew that it had been noticed. Figuring he could deal with that later, he led Technoblade back to his containment. He waited until he settled down before trying to leave.

“Aurum, tutum.” He purred, suddenly pulling Dream close.

He softly smiled and let himself be embraced. It felt… safe.

Chapter Text

Subject #1127

Assistant Researcher: Alyssa Lavender

Subject #1127 had been terrified when he heard the commotion. The containment breach made him wish Lavender or Tommy could've been there by his side.

But he knew that the female couldn't have known that something like this was going to happen. No one knew that the breach was going to happen until it did. And Ranboo was terrified of being alone with his thoughts and emotions.

Fortunately, he wakes up a couple hours later but with restraints on his ankles. He didn't know what had happened but he didn't remember being chained up to the wall previously.

Tugging on the chain, the Enderman hybrid tries to free himself until the door to his room opens. Quickly ceasing on his tugging, he turns to find the blonde female gently closing the door. 

"Hello Ranboo. I hope you are doing well since I was last here." She stated.

Ranboo just stared at the female before writing in his notepad to communicate with the female.

'⎅⍜ ⊬⍜⎍ ☍⋏⍜⍙ ⍙⊑⊬ ⟟ ⏃⋔ ☊⊑⏃⟟⋏⟒⎅?'

He watched as the female translated it into English before giving an answer. She only frowned.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't here yesterday, so I don't know why you were chained. I'm lucky that Dream was found yesterday during that whole fiasco. Perhaps I can see if someone saw who chained you from yesterday." She answered.

Entry #3: Subject #1127, also known as Ranboo, appeared to be chained to the wall when I first arrived. 

Lavender and Ranboo spent the time working on Ranboo's English. Every time he misspelled a word by either adding an extra letter or forgetting a letter, the female would chuckle before correcting him.

She was especially attentive when trying to familiarize herself with Enderman. And the roles become reversed in the teaching and learning.

Ranboo and I have spent about two hours teaching one another English and Enderman. It is safe to say that neither of us are used to each other's language. But, I will admit that tutoring him in English is surprisingly fun. The wall in communication between us is slowly falling.  

"I meant to apologize earlier. I wish I had been here with you and Tubbo during the breach. I was wondering if you could tell me how you were feeling about yesterday. Were you afraid? Did you feel safe in the room or not?" Lavender asked.

Ranboo began to think about the previous day and the emotions he felt. The extreme fear of who might appear in his containment room and hurt him. Or imagining what would've happened if Lavender had been present. Could she have been hurt just like her fellow researcher? Would she have protected him if he were attacked? If she was injured, would he be able to protect her?

The female watched as the Enderman hybrid clutched his head in pain. Fear shone on her face as she could only watch as the subject suddenly lowered his arms and just stood up.

It didn't even look like he was staring at her but, past her. Towards the door. He was staring at the door.

Subject appears to have entered a state and I am unsure how to approach the subject. I fear that physical interaction may cause the subject to act out and possibly inflict injury upon me.  

Lavender notices Ranboo teleport out of the ankle chains and walk towards the door. The blonde is immediately surprised by the action. All she knew was that he ended up teleporting out of the containment room.

She dashes out of the room searching for the subject. Frantically glancing around, she finds herself near Tubbo's room. Peeking through the door window, Lavender found the Enderman hybrid giving Tubbo a comforting hug.

It appears that the chains were used to keep the subject from leaving his room. Perhaps during the breach, Ranboo made his way towards Subject #1223 and was tranquilized in response to leaving the room. Tubbo appears to be calm and snuggling into Ranboo's arms. Maybe Tubbo had been afraid as well during the containment breach and the two subjects found each other comforting?  

"Tubbo?" The female whispered. The boy looked up and met her blue eyes. Ranboo on the other hand, still had a blank expression on his face.

“He just came in and started comforting me yesterday. Is he alright?” Tubbo asked, a British accent apparent in his speech. 

This surprised the blonde, hearing the voice that belonged to the brunette. She finally got to hear his voice after the few visits she had done. Especially since Tubbo only responded through a written answer.

“Ranboo came in yesterday? Did anything else happen yesterday that I wasn’t informed of?” Lavender asked.

“Uh, besides the security breach, I was just hiding in here. Then Ranboo? He appeared in my room and just sat down and held me close to his body. I think my tears hurt him.” Tubbo answered.

“That’s to be expected from an Enderman hybrid. Water burns their skin. Perhaps it will shake Ranboo out of this state.” The female hypothesized.

Tubbo shook his head and blocked the researcher. She raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Tubbo, I need to get Ranboo out of this state and return him to his room. Subjects aren’t supposed to interact with one another. If I’m given permission, maybe I can set up a playdate for you two to spend time together. For now, move.”

“Don’t hurt Ranboo! He’s done nothing wrong and if water hurts him, then you shouldn’t use water on him. There has to be another way that doesn’t involve hurting him. Maybe we could talk to him in his language?”

The boy at this point had tears streaming down his face. The female sighed before placing the water bottle on the floor. Tubbo immediately grabbed it and held it in his hands.

Lavender could only chuckle in response to the boy’s actions. She walked up to Ranboo and gave him a light shake from his shoulder. 

Nothing happened.

Tubbo frowned as the female tried a little harder in shaking the hybrid. While she worked on waking up Ranboo, Tubbo decided to write down in the researcher’s entry what was happening.

Ms. Lavender came into my room to find Ranboo holding me close to his body. She asked me about yesterday when he had appeared during the security breach and I told her that I had been hiding in my room until Ranboo came in to probably protect me?? To wake Ranboo up from his weird sleepwalking state, Ms. Lavender was about to use her water bottle. I blocked her and stated that she shouldn’t hurt Ranboo just to wake him up. So now, she is shaking him. I suggested we talk to him in his language, even if I didn’t know it. I just don’t want Ranboo to get hurt.  

Tubbo glances up from writing and notices that Lavender successfully woke up the hybrid and he was trying to communicate with the female.

“Tubbo, hand me a pen and paper. Ranboo needs it to talk with us.” She states.

The brunette did as he was told and handed her the items. Both watched as symbols were written and Tubbo, being the dyslexic person he is, did not understand what was being written down.

⍙⊑⟒⍀⟒ ⏃⋔ ⟟? ⏃⋏⎅ ⍙⊑⍜ ⟟⌇ ⏁⊑⟟⌇ ⍙⟟⏁⊑ ⊬⍜⎍? ⟟⌇ ⊑⟒ ⏃⋏ ⟟⋏⏁⟒⍀⋏ ⌰⟟☍⟒ ⏁⍜⋔⋔⊬?

“You are in Tubbo’s room. This is Tubbo, a subject like you. Not an intern like Tommy. I have to take you back to your room now before I get in trouble for letting subjects interact with each other.” Lavender explained.

“How did you understand that? It’s like you could already read those symbols and understand what he said.” Tubbo exclaimed.

“Even though I wasn’t here yesterday during the breach, I’ve been studying the language. I want to be able to communicate with Ranboo somehow. Whether it’s through Enderman or English.”

“I- I can’t believe how much you care about us! The researchers in the past never tried to get to know me and didn’t care how I felt. Only ran tests on me and stayed at a distance.”

⏁⊑⟒ ⌿⏃⌇⏁ ⍀⟒⌇⟒⏃⍀☊⊑⟒⍀⌇ ⟟ ⊑⏃⎅ ⊑⏃⎐⟒ ⍜⋏⌰⊬ ⌿⍜☍⟒⎅ ⏃⋏⎅ ⌿⍀⍜⎅⎅⟒⎅ ⋔⟒. ⏁⊑⟒⊬ ⟒⎐⟒⋏ ⎍⌇⟒⎅ ⍙⏃⏁⟒⍀ ⏃⋏⎅ ⌇⏃⟟⎅ ⏁⊑⏃⏁ ⟟⏁ ⍙⏃⌇ ⎎⎍⋏ ⏁⍜ ⌇⟒⟒ ⋔⟒ ⌇⎍⎎⎎⟒⍀.

Lavender glanced at the writing the Enderman hybrid had written and frowned. Making her question who would try to hurt a subject just because they could.

“What did Ranboo say?” Tubbo asked.

“He said that ‘The past researchers I had have only poked and prodded me. They even used water and said that it was fun to see me suffer.’ I’m starting to wonder how many subjects like you two have only been hurt because of these ‘past researchers’. This is concerning, to say the least.”

Before the three could go into deeper thought, the blonde shook her head and gathered her belongings. Tubbo realized that Lavender and Ranboo had to go.

“Okay Ranboo, time to head back to your room. Say bye to each other and let's go.” She states.

Tubbo and Ranboo gave each other an awkward hug, and waved as the hybrid was led out of the bee boy’s room.

Once returned to his room, Lavender spent the time teaching Ranboo some English. And it was mostly with writing in the language. She figured she’d just teach the hybrid sign language so he didn’t have to try speaking. Adding onto the amount of things she would be spending her free time doing, rather than relaxing.

Even after leaving Ranboo’s room, Lavender made notes on learning ASL herself and lessons to teach the hybrid. With a sigh, she placed the files on her desk and went home for the night.

Chapter Text

Howdy and Hello everyone! Lavender here to give a brief update regarding the progression of this story. 

I will continue writing as I have talked with Sky/TheBrokenWriter911. As they have fallen out of the fandom, they’ll give me the basic plot notes to continue the storyline from Dream’s perspective. 

I hope you all are just as excited as I am to see how this story will unfold and if everything will be fine by the end of it. Make sure to comment reminders to update if you all want more updates!

-ItsLavender

:)