Work Text:
When he sprinted up to the building, Schlatt could already see what the problem was.
Springing forwards, he leapt onto the closest tree and then crossed the branch to the window. Kicking it in, he shoved the shattered pieces of glass away from the frame. Then, he slipped inside. Ignored the others screaming at him to get out.
Looking around the room, he pulled the collar of his shirt over his nose. Tried to breathe through that. Smoke spilled around him. Swallowing, he glanced around quickly. Where’s the fire. Then, he paused, pulled out his communicator. Okay. Okay, where’s everyone. Where’s the kids. Pausing, he pulled up a map of where everyone was with the communicator. The kids were outside.
Eret and Fundy, though, weren’t.
Both of them were still in the building. Which was burning. Alright. Let’s go get our boys, he decided, moving into the hallway. Glancing around, he took a breath. Heat rushed over him and he quickly headed for the stairs. Towards where the life signals were. So far, he wasn’t sure how bad it was. From what he could tell, one of them was critically hurt. The other was hurt, too, just not as badly. I’ll have to take them out first and head back for the other one. Scowling down at the screen, he cursed under his breath. Why didn’t I update this? I would be able to tell who’s hurt! Cursing himself, he kept moving.
Finally, he managed to find the room they were in. Ramming his shoulder into the door, he swallowed. Growled. Then, he slammed into the door again, heard it rattle. Finally, it moved.
Inside the room, he found the pair. Trapped under a bookshelf, Eret was sucking in weak, pained breaths. Fundy, meanwhile, was leaning over them, holding onto the sides of their head. He was talking, clearly trying to keep him conscious. Then, Fundy raised his head and looked over.
“Schlatt. Schlatt, I need help. I need help.” Fundy said. Quickly, Schlatt made his way over and then knelt down beside Eret. Dark eyes fluttered open and met Schlatt’s for a moment. Eret smiled weakly, coughed. Bloodied, scraped fingers pushed against the bookshelf’s top, but didn’t get very far. “It fell on him, he shoved me out of the way when the first explosion happened.” He choked out.
Nodding, Schlatt braced his shoulder underneath the bookshelf. “Lift the other side. I’ll get him out and then I’ll come back for you, alright?” Fundy nodded. Then, he moved over. In the corner of his eye, Schlatt realised the weird twist to Fundy’s leg was from a nasty break. “Eret, can you move?”
Pushing against the ground, Eret gritted their teeth and dragged themself backwards. As soon as he was out from underneath it, he collapsed. Curled on his side. Immediately, Fundy and Schlatt dropped the bookshelf. Turning, Schlatt checked for any spine or skull injuries. Then, he scooped Eret up and looked down to Fundy.
“Just make sure you come back.” Fundy forced out, tail twitching and ears pinning back. Nodding, Schlatt turned and then raced away. Thundering down the stairs, he cradled Eret closer and then burst out through the front door. Fire roared around them.
Whipping off his jacket, he folded it up and shoved it under Eret’s head as Wilbur, Phil, Techno, and Puffy sprinted over. “He doesn’t have any spine or skull injuries. I’m going back for Fundy, he can’t walk on his own.” Before they could protest, he turned and started sprinting again.
Around him, there were several loud creaks. As he hurried up the stairs, he saw one of the walls fall away. The wallpaper had blackened and begun curling up. Swallowing, he kept running. The stairs fell away under him as he managed to get to the next landing. Looking down, he paused.
Okay, guess that’s not a way out then. Have to rethink. Looking down, he swallowed. Paused. Then, he turned and hurried to the room where Fundy had been.
“Schlatt, wait, wait!” Holding out his hands, Fundy screamed at him. Freezing, Schlatt glanced down. The floor was gone. Looking up, he paused. “The bookshelf was too heavy, it broke the floor and it’s gone. I don’t—I’ll be fine, go and get someone—“
Rolling his shoulders, Schlatt tipped his head to the side and then looked around. Then, he jumped to the side, landed on his fingertips and toes to the side of the massive hole in the floor. The ground started sliding to the side under him. Slamming his heels into the ground, Schlatt leapt forwards, landed by Fundy. Then, he yanked Fundy to his chest, pulled him closer. There was a crack around them.
“Schlatt! Schlatt, just let go. I’ll be fine!” Fundy said, grabbing onto the front of his shirt. Slipping down the slope of the floor, Schlatt rolled to the side. Then, he landed on his feet and kicked backwards, slammed himself onto the other side of the room. His back smacked into burnt wood and he held Fundy closer.
“Nope. It’s okay. It’s alright.” Schlatt said. Above them, there was a nasty crack . At the last moment, he glanced up. Froze again.
The ceiling crashed down around them, he curled his arms around Fundy, and braced himself for the hit.
+++
“Schlatt…” Someone was shaking his shoulder. “Schlatt! Wake up!”
Someone slapped him.
Snapping his eyes open, Schlatt looked up. Kneeling over him, eyes narrowed, was Wilbur. “You idiot. You fucking, idiotic twat! You could have gotten killed!” He accused. Pulling some bandages out of his jacket, he lifted Schlatt’s head and then immediately started wrapping them around his head. “How is that far to Tubbo?” Yanking the bandages back, he tightened them and then scowled down at him. “That’s not fair for him, is it? Huh? Do you ever think before you do anything? How is this fair to your family, just going and—running off and—“ Growling, Wilbur turned and forced a health potion into his hands. “You idiot!”
Then, he dropped his hands into his lap. Let out a breath and grabbed onto his nose. Looking to the side, Schlatt tried to find Fundy. “Where’s Fundy?” He asked. Looking over, Wilbur sniffed. “How are Fundy and Eret?”
“They’re—they’re fine.” Sniffing, Wilbur rubbed his nose. Schlatt took a shot of the healing potion. It tasted like cinnamon apple cider and sugar cookies. The kind that his nephew made. “Stop moving, just drink the potion.”
“How’s Fundy?”
“He’s alright.” Wilbur forced out. Much more gently, he worked on wrapping Schlatt’s ankle. “You’re not too badly hurt. We’ve already taken Fundy and Eret to hospital. You just need a little bit of first aid and then we’ll take you back home.”
“Okay.” Apparently, Wilbur had finished up what he was doing. Carefully, he scooped up Schlatt and started walking towards…wherever the front of the house was. Or wherever the exit was. “Am I your princess now?”
“Yes.” Wilbur shook his head, added, “As if it wasn’t proven enough by you being a damsel in distress.”
“Mhmm.” Dropping his head back, Schlatt groaned loudly. “Jambo! Jambo, baby boy! Where are you?”
Out of the forest, a very soot-coated Jambo came sprinting out of the forest. “Soup, what the hell. Why were you in there?” Wilbur asked. Hopping up onto Schlatt’s stomach, Jambo purred. Then, he wrapped his tail around his paws and shoved his head into Schlatt’s chest. Rubbing his ears, Schlatt looked at Wilbur.
“Don’t you call him Soup. He is a very dignified Jambo, thank you very much.” Snorting, Wilbur shook his head. “Don’t you give me that look! I’ll fight you!”
“You’re hurt.”
“I’ll still fight you.”