Chapter Text
“Hold still, now.”
Tommy doesn’t need to be told to hold still, he knows how a damn blood test works. He just has to breathe in and out, stare at that one spot on the ceiling, and not pay any attention to the syringes filling up with his blood.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven... They’re taking more than usual today. Tommy shifts his arm slightly, and rough hands hurry to hold him in place. “I said hold still. ”
“Alright, alright. No need to fucking lose your mind.”
The nurse doesn’t answer. None of them do, most of the time. They treat Tommy like an exotic sample to jab and poke at with their equipment, not something to have a conversation with, unless it’s part of whatever test they’re running at the moment.
Well, that‘s just fine with him. At least it’s better than how most of the other hybrids have it here.
“We’re done here,” the nurse says, jerking the needle out of his arm for the last time, a tad too aggressively, making Tommy curse under his breath and scold himself for talking back again. “We’re just going to take a few feathers, and then you’re free to go.”
A familiar nervousness twists the usual knot in Tommy’s stomach tighter. Having his feathers taken is one of his least favorite things to go through. Luckily, they don’t usually do it more than once or twice a month, but he dreads the moments it’ll inevitably happen again.
Nevertheless, he sits up on the examination table and obediently straightens his left wing. The feathers are ruffled from laying on top of them while the nurse was drawing blood. The examination table isn’t designed for hybrids, and he has nowhere to put his wings except for under his back where all his weight is on them. Not much of the equipment here is very hybrid–friendly. Kind of funny, he sometimes thinks, considering that this entire facility is built for hybrids.
He feels the familiar pinch of a feather being gently pulled away from the sensitive skin of his wing and braces himself for the pain.
Pluck. He flinches and a hiss escapes through his teeth.
Pluck. Pluck. Breathe in, breathe out.
It’s just a couple of feathers. Don’t be a baby.
One final pluck, one final flinch, and the nurse gestures for him to get up. “Alright, we’re done for today. You can go to the cafeteria for a snack.”
Tommy nods and stands up, slowly, the edges of his vision blurring for a second. He’s fine though, it’s nothing. One time he fainted from standing up too fast after a blood test. It was scary for a second, but afterwards him and Dream just laughed about it.
His bare feet patter against the cool tiles of the hallway floor as he makes his way towards the cafeteria, his stomach rumbling as a reminder that he hasn’t eaten since yesterday – that’s another downside of the blood tests, having to go without food beforehand. He hopes there’s something good for him today. His usual meal is some sort of gray pudding that sticks to his teeth and doesn’t taste like anything, but sometimes he gets nutrition bars and shakes with it. He’s noticed they give him better food after he’s gone through something particularly unpleasant.
Well, if a couple of feathers can buy him a meal that actually tastes like something, he’ll take the trade any day.
One time, back when Tommy was healing from a broken leg, Dream brought him a strawberry milkshake. He had never tasted anything as good, and he hasn’t since then; it tasted like pure happiness on his tongue. He tried to drink it slowly, to really savor the treat, but it was gone all too soon. Good things always are.
He slips through the swinging door into the cafeteria, his wings carefully tucked behind him to stop them from getting in the way. He doesn’t want to seem like a stupid clumsy avian who stumbles around and knocks things over. He has enough memories of people laughing at him because of his dumb wings, and it always earns him a stern lecture from Dream.
You’re not like the other hybrids here, Dream’s voice begins in Tommy’s head for the thousandth time, right on cue. You should know better. You should at least try to act like a human.
He does try, he really does. Even though it rarely feels like he’s getting any credit for it.
Well, at least some people here are nice to him. Like the man at the cafeteria, the one handing him all his meals. He always smiles at Tommy and sometimes gives him some extra food if he’s hungry enough to ask.
As Tommy walks through the room, the man greets him with a smile and a wave. “Hi there, 01! What would you like to have today?”
Hybrids don't usually have names, they just have numbers. Tommy’s is 01 because he's been here the longest; he doesn’t remember his life before this place, he was so young when he was brought here. And because he's extra special, as Dream says, he also gets an actual name. Almost as if he was a human.
Only a few people ever use it, though. Mostly it's just Dream who calls him Tommy, sometimes one of the doctors too, but that's more rare. Really, Tommy prefers to keep his name from everyone except those he's closest with. It's like having a secret identity. No one knows he's special enough to have his own name.
“Hmm.” Tommy scratches his head and pretends to ponder. “I think I’ll have a hamburger with some fries on the side. And a big serving of ice cream for dessert. Oh, and a Coke to drink.”
The man starts piling some packages onto a tray. “I’m afraid I just gave the last burger to the guy before you. I can offer you some delicious nutrition porridge and a chocolate–flavored protein bar, though.”
“Sweet!” Chocolate is Tommy’s favorite flavor. “You’re the best.”
“Always a pleasure doing business with you, kid.”
Tommy doesn’t actually know what hamburgers or fries or ice cream tastes like. He gets to watch movies sometimes, and he always asks for something he’s seen people eat in those. Even though to him it’s all just pictures on a screen. It’s like an inside joke he has with the cafeteria guy; a really sad joke, but a joke nevertheless.
He takes his tray and makes his way towards an empty table. There’s no shortage of those. He’s not sure if the other hybrids come here at different times or if they eat somewhere else entirely, but he never sees any of them in the cafeteria. At most, he’s accompanied by a few faculty members, nurses and such, who usually pretend like he’s not there.
He’s not sure if rarely seeing the other hybrids is something he likes or not. He does see them sometimes, passing them in the hallway where they’re always escorted by guards, or sometimes when they’re being tested together with him. He’s always curious about them, but somehow they seem even more hostile to him than the doctors.
It makes sense, given what Dream has taught him about hybrids. They’re erratic, animalistic, closer to beasts than humans, and it’s usually best to stay as far away from them as possible. Tommy has even witnessed their true colors once or twice, seen someone freak out and try to attack one of the doctors, inevitably getting dragged away by the security guards. It’s not a nice scene to witness. Yeah, other hybrids are definitely very scary.
Not Tommy, though, he’s different. He’s better than them. He’s so lucky that Dream found him when he was young enough, that the scientists could teach him some manners. To get him to behave like a human, not like the rest of his kind. Over the years he’s grown to be quite proud of how well he can behave himself despite what he is.
But he’s not a human, and he never will be one. No matter how well he’s been trained, no matter how hard he tries to hide his wings and obey the doctors and behave, all it takes is one disappointed look from Dream to reduce him back into a pathetic hybrid kid who should feel grateful that he's even allowed to exist.
You can pay it back by helping our research, Dream always says. There's so much we can learn from your kind. This is all for the future of humanity.
He talks about that stuff a lot. About their research, the future of humanity. Their future, not Tommy’s . Tommy’s future is here in these walls, sitting through the experiments and trusting Dream’s reassuring words about how it’s all for the greater good. About how he’s such a good, selfless kid for always cooperating so well. Not at all like those other hybrids, the dangerous troublemakers.
Maybe if Tommy tries extra hard, if he sits still through all the experiments, if he holds his tongue and cooperates and never complains, maybe one day Dream will let him see the outside. It’s a stupid dream, one that’s almost certainly never going to come true, because he is a hybrid and hybrids are dangerous and need to be contained; that’s just the way things are. There’s no use going against it. But his heart is foolish and the spark of hope is difficult to extinguish.
He wonders if the moon is as bright in real life as it is on a TV screen.
The white hallway is empty as he exits the cafeteria, nibbling on the protein bar as he makes his way towards his room. He doesn’t have anything scheduled for the rest of the day, so he’s free to roam the facility. Well, at least the very limited area where the doors aren’t locked. Cafeteria, lounge room, the showers, his room. If he wants to go anywhere else, he needs a faculty member with a keycard to let him through the doors.
He’s not in the mood to go to the lounge room, where he could entertain himself with some books he’s read a thousand times already, or board games he has no one to play with, or the crappy console with two old games on it, so he just heads back to his room. He’s still feeling a bit fuzzy after having his blood taken, so maybe he’ll take a nap. He’s not worried about his sleep schedule, they’ll give him a pill if he can’t fall asleep later.
Sometimes they make him take it even when he tells them he doesn’t need it.
He pushes open the door, the thought of laying his head on a soft pillow stretching his mouth open into a yawn–
“Hi, Tommy!”
The voice makes Tommy straighten his back and tug his wings tighter behind him before he could even consciously recognize it. Then a millisecond later he does, and suddenly his face is all smile from ear to ear. “Oh! Hello, Dream!”
The lead scientist is sitting on the one chair Tommy has in his room, facing the door, presumably with a warm smile on his face. It’s hard to tell with the white mask covering the lower half of his face, but Tommy has become an expert at figuring out his mood just from his eyes. It makes it much easier to interact with him, since he never takes the mask off. Sometimes, being able to predict whether Dream is having a good day or a bad one means the difference between Tommy having a good day or a very bad one.
Today he seems happy, almost cheerful, and Tommy lets himself relax a little bit. He walks across the room in a couple steps and sits on his bed, facing Dream.
“Your results from last week’s tests are in,” Dream begins, idly shuffling through a bundle of paper on his hands. “You seem to be recovering well. We might be able to move to the new stuff faster than we expected.”
Tommy’s feathers twitch nervously. “What kind of new stuff?”
“Don’t worry about that.” Dream’s tone is reassuring, but it simultaneously sounds like a warning. Don’t ask too many questions. You might not like the answers. “Would you like to spend some time together? I have an hour of free time. We could play something in the lounge room.”
None of the other doctors or scientists ever spend time with Tommy, but Dream often offers to hang out with him. Nothing special, just chatting, playing board games, sometimes watching movies. During those times it almost feels like Tommy has a friend. “Yeah!” he says enthusiastically, his smile getting wider. “That sounds nice.”
“Right. Let’s get going, then–”
Dream doesn’t get to finish his sentence, because the door slams open and almost knocks Tommy over. He’s about to turn around and shout at whoever just barged into his room like this, but freezes as he realizes the intruder is Punz. The head of security.
“We’ve got a problem at Section 8,” the man says, panting, not sparing Tommy even a glance. “It’s 12. He’s causing trouble again.”
Tommy knows 12. Well, he doesn’t exactly know him, but he’s one of those hybrids he’s seen a couple times. 12 is a bee hybrid, and because he and Tommy both have wings, the doctors used to study them both at the same time pretty frequently in the past. To compare their traits and stuff. Sometimes making them compete against each other in different tasks. 12 is definitely a dangerous troublemaker, and he has never shown an ounce of friendliness towards Tommy. The feeling is mutual. In fact, Tommy could even say he’s a tiny bit glad to hear the kid seems to be in trouble.
These days, he doesn’t go through a lot of tests regarding his wings anymore. They mostly give him different pills to see how his body reacts to them, or put him on different diets, or make him sleep less – stuff like that. It seems like they either figured out everything about his wings or just gave up with them. Aside from taking some feathers every now and then, they mostly leave them alone.
“That brat again,” Dream sighs. “We really gotta do something about his attitude. What is he doing this time?”
“Just going nuts in lab 218,” Punz replies. “Flying into the guards, slamming into walls. He managed to punch Sapnap in the face when he tried to grab him. Completely out of control.”
“Right. I’m so sorry, Tommy, but it seems our game break needs to be rescheduled.” Dream gets up and hurries after Punz. “I’ll get back to you once we’ve sorted this out,” he says right before the door slams shut after them, leaving Tommy alone.
Well. That’s a bummer.
But at least he can take that nap now.
At first, he isn't sure if the sound of sirens is just a part of his dream or not. It penetrates through the soft layers of sleep, digging into his ears and dragging him to the surface with cold fingers and sharp claws.
Tommy opens his eyes, and even while still disorientated from sleeping – how long was he asleep, anyway? Why did no one wake him up? – he immediately realizes that something is wrong. The sirens fill his room with their unbearable noise, and he can see red lights flashing through the tiny window on his door. His ears can pick up distant sounds of running, shouting, screaming.
With his heart up in his throat he stands up and walks across the room, carefully, as if the floor could crumble under his feet at any moment. He peeks through the window. Nothing – the hallway is empty. A bright red light flashes on the ceiling, painting the white tiles in ominous crimson. The sound of sirens is overwhelming.
Something is clearly very, very wrong, and Tommy isn't about to sit in his room and wait for someone to tell him what to do. He needs to get somewhere safe. He needs to get to Dream.
He pushes the door open, and the noise hits him even harder, forcing him to cover his ears with his hands. His heart is pounding in his chest, blood humming in his ears to the rhythm. What’s going on? He’s never experienced anything like this before.
Left or right? Left, that's where the employee–only areas are. That's where he'll find Dream. He takes off, running through the hallway, trying to force down the sense of terror swirling in his stomach.
He takes the final turn and stops in front of the glass door with a keycard reader, out of breath from running. He can hear noises from afar more clearly now, the shouting and something crumbling down. The adrenaline in his veins keeps him from realizing how bad the situation looks like. Something has triggered a facility–wide alarm, he's alone in the hallway under the glaring light and deafening screech of the alarm, and has no idea what's going on.
The door is locked, of course, and his firm yanks barely budge it. He slams his fists against the glass, even though he knows perfectly well that it's unbreakable – bulletproof, in fact – and screams from the top of his lungs. "Hello? Is anyone there? What the fuck is going on?"
A minute passes, then another. Tommy is starting to panic, stuck behind his stupid door while god–knows–what is probably on the loose in the hallways. The sirens drill into his ears, but aside from them, everything is eerily quiet and empty. He's beginning to lose hope of anyone answering, until suddenly he hears running footsteps from the other side. Punz appears from behind the corner, looking startled as he recognizes Tommy.
The man swipes his card and opens the door, standing in the doorway to intentionally block it. When he speaks, he has to almost yell for Tommy to hear him over the sirens. "What are you doing here, 01? You really shouldn't be wandering around!"
"I just want to know what's going on!" Tommy retorts, furiously trying to come up with a way to get past him in order to look for Dream. "I woke up to the sirens and it's fucking freaking me out!"
Punz glances over his shoulder, then back at Tommy. The usually so calm and indifferent man is clearly on edge, his jaw tense and teeth gritted. "Listen, there's been a breach." The words are quick and tense, his voice strained from stress. "It's not safe out here. You need to get back to your room right now, and make sure to stay there, too. We'll sort this out."
Well, that doesn't ease Tommy's mind one bit, it's rather the opposite. If someone has broken in – or if something has broken loose inside the facility – and Tommy isn’t safe in the hallways, there's no way in hell he would be safe in his room, either. His door doesn't even lock, for fuck's sake, except when someone else locks it from the outside–
He needs Dream. Dream would know what to do, Dream would protect him. He needs Dream, he needs Dream–
Punz seems to realize that Tommy isn't going to obey his orders, because he strides forward and tries to grab him. Tommy is faster, though, lunging under his arms and darting past him into the restricted hallway. He can hear Punz yelling after him, but his mind barely registers it as he forces his legs to run faster. All he can think about is the next turn, the next hallway, desperately trying to find Dream. He bumps his shoulder on the wall at a sharp turn and almost falls, stumbling over some rubble on the ground. And then…
The hallway ends into a pile of crumbling concrete and shattered tiles. A huge hole stretches across the ceiling and the wall next to it, revealing the night sky above. The view of the stars is breathtaking, and for the first time in his life, Tommy can smell the night air coming from outside, hitting his lungs cold and fresh like a drug.
He doesn’t pay any attention to it, though, because in the middle of the destruction stands a man with pitch black wings big enough to stretch all the way across the wide hallway. And he’s looking straight at Tommy.
Tommy’s breath hitches in his throat and his knees almost buckle under the weight of his terror. He takes a shaky step backwards, suddenly hoping that Punz would still be after him, but he’s managed to lose the man in the maze of hallways, and now the hybrid looks at him and says something but Tommy can’t hear him over these goddamn sirens and oh god, he just wanted to find Dream–
“Hey,” the man says in a louder voice. He’s closer now, hurrying towards Tommy, who’s frozen in place. “It’s okay, you’re safe, we’ll get you out of here. Just hold on for a second– HEY! THERE’S ONE MORE DOWN HERE!”
Someone shouts something back through the hole from outside, and Tommy can’t make out the words but it’s suddenly dawning on him that the outside is right there. If he wanted to, he could just take a few steps and see it for himself. The thought is mesmerizing and terrifying, something so forbidden suddenly being so close.
Dream would be so angry at him for daring to even think about–
The hybrid turns back to him, crosses the distance between them with a few quick steps and grabs Tommy, pulling him closer. “Hold on tightly, okay? It’s going to be a bumpy ride.”
Tommy shakes his head and tries to pull away, weakly pushing against the hybrid’s arms, but the man doesn’t even seem to notice. He’s just about to scream for help when he hears a loud bang and something whizzes past him.
Was that a fucking gunshot?
He turns his head, looks over his shoulder – and there’s Punz, sprinting through the hallway towards them, his feet hitting the floor tiles in a furious rhythm, in his hands a gun aiming at the hybrid’s head. Tommy screams, shouts his name in relief, but suddenly the enormous black wings are around him and all he can see is feathers.
“Get ready!” the hybrid screams right into his ear. “We’re taking off!”
Taking off to where, Tommy wonders, and then he realizes they’re right below the hole in the ceiling. He makes one last desperate attempt to rip himself free, and then the man spreads his wings and flaps them once, twice, Tommy’s hair blowing wildly in the wind like grass in a storm, and then he simply shoots upwards with his arms firmly wrapped around Tommy. Another bullet shoots past them, but Tommy doesn’t even hear the gunshot. His stomach does a flip when he looks down and sees the facility quickly shrink smaller below them as they speed towards the stars, faster and faster. His knuckles turn white as he grabs onto the man’s shirt and swallows back his dinner, which is threatening to come back up. Below him are forests and fields, stretching endlessly towards the horizon, the white buildings reduced into a miniscule stain on the canvas.
It’s too much. The shock rips through his mind, finally pushing it past the brink of giving up, and everything goes dark.
The last thing Tommy sees before losing consciousness is the big, round, impossibly bright moon shining on him.