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Welt woke up shivering. Why is it so cold? he thought to himself, his eyes half open. He tried to pull up his blanket, but there was nothing there. How odd. The pillow he was laying on was a lot harder and more uncomfortable than he was used to, he soon realized. As his vision began to clear, he realized the concrete floor below him was familiar… but not that of his room at Lab 42.
This isn’t right.
He felt the bed frame. It was made of cold metal, akin to that of a prison. A prison he was too familiar with.
This place is…
He sat up slowly, noticing the gray concrete walls surrounding him, no windows at all. He looked up at the bright laboratory lights, nearly blinding, as a dark realization set upon him.
It can’t be…
Panic began to set in as he jumped out of his bed. He was wearing his old lab clothes, the one he always wore before he came to Lab 42. A cardboard box was sitting on the floor beside the bed. It was just a small pile of books, not even the stuffed animal Tesla had gifted him not too long ago. His only belongings.
He felt his head hurt as he realized where he was… and why he could be here. This was… this was where he would always be kept, in the deepest parts of research facilities, a “forbidden experiment” no one would dare speak of. His 9th circle of Inferno, the deepest pits of hell.
He shouldn’t be here. They promised he’d never had to go back. They promised.
“Don’t forget to breathe,” said a voice from behind him. He turned around to see a man with blonde hair, dressed in attire fit for a king. His sturdy green eyes seemed to pierce into his soul. “Why, Ω1, you’re as pale as a ghost. Schicksal doesn’t want its most prized specimen to die of asphyxiation.”
“W-who are you…?” breathed Welt, backing away from the man. He didn’t want anything to do with him. He just wanted to go home.
“Surely, you must know me. Or perhaps you may have forgotten our first meeting, Ω1.”
“Clown Alpha…”
“Wonderful. I believe I don’t have to introduce myself, then.”
“...Where is Ein and Tesla? What did you do to them?” Welt tried to hide the shakiness in his voice. “You forced them to bring me back, didn’t you. You still needed me, didn’t you.”
Otto shook his head and sighed. “Ah, Ω1, you have too much faith in yourself. Did you really think they would want to put up with you any longer?”
Welt’s heart sank. No, it couldn’t be… they were so nice to him. Why would they just give up on him like that? They wouldn’t… they couldn’t. He tried so hard, right?
“Don’t shed too many tears over them,” continued the overseer. “It was never going to work out, anyways. It was foolish to believe that someone like you could ever adjust to a normal life. Because you, my friend, are anything but normal. And that is precisely the reason why you are back here.”
Welt sat on his bed, dejected. He couldn’t even bring himself to cry - tears weren’t enough to express the cold loneliness he felt. The overseer frowned, as if he was dissatisfied by his reaction.
“This is the way the world works, old friend. Those who are different become outcasts of society. People will pretend to be your friend, only to abandon you like some toy they get tired of playing with. The good people in this world have died long ago. Sins are all that remain.”
“Ein… Tesla… they wouldn’t just abandon me like this,” Welt hissed. “You’re lying to me. I know it. Tell me the truth, Otto. I won’t fall for your sick lies.”
Otto clicked his tongue. “Ω1, you can’t hide from reality forever. Soon, you will have to admit that this is human nature. That people will inevitably leave you.”
“Ein and Tesla would never leave me.”
By now, the overseer seemed frustrated with his stubbornness. “They made you naive, old friend. Accept your destiny, outsider. Face the truth.”
“I know the truth! And I know you’re lying!” His voice began to crack. “Please, tell me you’re lying!”
Otto crossed his arms, looking down on Welt. “They won’t miss you, Ω1. In fact, it was like you were never there.”
Welt swallowed, but stayed silent. He wanted to cover his ears and block out the blonde devil’s words, but he wanted to hear what he had to say. Something inside him was telling him that this man’s words had some reality to them, that maybe his friends really did abandon them, or that they weren’t his friends at all.
“They’ll always have each other, you know. They never needed you like you needed them.” Otto leaned in closer. “Are you sure that they are the ones who would never abandon you, or are you the one who wouldn’t ever dream of leaving them?”
“Get away from me,” Welt said quickly, moving back. “Ein and Tesla aren’t the kind of people who would leave me. They- they care about me. They do. They really do, I know it.”
He repeated these words, again and again, hoping to drown out the little voice in his head who was telling him that they couldn’t care less about him. Hoping that if he said this enough times, he could trick himself into believing with his whole heart that those words were true. They had to be true. What could he possibly do if they weren’t true?
“Of course, this doesn’t mean to say that the doctors are bad people,” Otto said, standing upright once again. “They had no obligation to really care for you, and we both know this.” He chuckled bitterly. “They’ll be better off without you, anyways. You’re a bad omen, Ω1. You’ve known this, since the day you first awoke from your slumber.”
Silence followed.
“If anything, I’d expect you to feel happy. Your dear friends get to live their happily ever after together. Better than some of us, I’d say.”
More silence.
“Don’t you think you’re being selfish, friend? Wouldn’t it be cruel to keep insisting that they truly loved you, when leaving you would be better for them in the very end?”
Even more silence.
“You never asked if they really cared about you, did you? Because you were afraid of the truth. And now, here it is, right in front of you.”
“Please…leave me alone…”
“You already are.”
Welt fell to the floor, curling up into a ball. He wanted to go home… but he didn’t have any home to return to. He never had one, did he? He was afraid, but there was no one to comfort him. He didn’t want to be alone anymore, but maybe he always was.
But he wanted Ein and Tesla to be happy, he really did. He really loved seeing them smile. If leaving him in hell made them smile more, even if he would never get to see them, maybe it was for the better. He didn’t have to worry about seeing them sad, or seeing them pity him anymore, so he let tears flow. No one would be there to wipe them from his face, just like always.
He cried for a home he never belonged to. For friends who didn’t care for him. He was glad they weren’t here now, watching him, because he didn’t want to see the pitiful looks on their faces. Did he even deserve them, anyways? Surely, someone as loveless as him didn’t deserve to be loved at all.
He wished he could have at least told them what they meant to him before they left them here. It may have been meaningless in the end, but at least he could have tried a little harder to give them a reason to love him. Maybe they would have let him stay a little longer. He would have loved that.
“It’s time to go, then,” Otto said. Welt still didn’t budge, curled up beside his bed, sobbing quietly. The overseer frowned. “Get up. Prolonging this won’t do anyone any good.”
“I-” Welt stopped. He couldn’t feel his heart beat anymore. Otto was right, and he knew it. There was no use in fighting anymore. This was his life now. He braced himself for what was to come next, as he had countless times before. The pain meant nothing anymore. But it still hurt to think about the life he could have lived.
The overseer personally escorted him out of the holding room, holding onto him like he was a prisoner. But Welt didn’t want to escape, anyways. He had nowhere to run. His vision began to go blurry, as he started losing consciousness.
Welt woke up shivering. He pulled his blanket up to cover him, snuggling himself deeper into his bed. His pillows were stained with tears, as he hugged his stuffed animal tighter.
Wait. This is…
He gasped, sitting up in his bed. It was his room, the one in Lab 42. The books messily stacked in the corner, the table in front of his bed with a single picture frame of him, Ein and Tesla - all of these were his. He sighed, laying back down in his bed. It was just a nightmare. A terrible, horrible, messed up nightmare.
He heard a knock on the door. “Welt?” Ein called. “Are you awake yet?” He felt a lump form in his throat, as anxiety began to rise. For some reason, he was afraid of the idea of seeing his friends, despite it all being a dream. He didn’t think Otto was telling the truth anymore, he was still here in Lab 42, after all. But if he were to look at them, he feared he would break down into tears once again, and that’s the last thing he wanted to happen.
Muffled voices came from behind the door. “Maybe he’s still asleep. He went to bed somewhat late last night.”
“Mophead, did you not hear that noise?! Besides, he never sleeps in this late! Oh god, what if someone murdered him in his sleep?”
“Dr. Tesla, I highly doubt anyone would have any motives to do that other than you.”
“Shut up. Okay, but kidnapping is a high probability, right?”
“Don’t worry so much. He probably bumped something in his sleep.”
“Well, I’m sure he won’t mind if we make sure he’s okay, right?” He heard the door open, Tesla popping her head into the room.
The girl immediately noticed Welt was awake. “See, Mophead, told you he’s awake.”
“Well he’s not dead,” Ein noted, walking inside with Tesla. “And he wasn’t kidnapped either.” She then noticed Welt’s pale, terrified face. “...Welt?”
“Welt, are you okay?” questioned Tesla. “Gee, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I-” Welt buried his face in his legs. He was still shaken by that terrible nightmare. Ein, concerned, sat down on the bed beside him and patted him on the back.
“Nightmares? It happens to the best of us.”
Welt nodded, looking up to face her. He nodded dejectedly, with a frown.
“Oh…” Tesla muttered, sitting down on the bed too. “Do you, uh, feel comfortable telling us about it?”
“...Well…”
“Don’t feel pressured to say anything,” Ein assured him. “But, as your friends, we care very deeply about you.” She emphasized “friends” in a way which calmed and comforted him. He rubbed his puffy eyes.
“Yeah… we’re friends, right?”
Tesla frowned. “Welt…”
“We’re friends, Welt,” Ein said. “I promise.”
“Yeah,” Tesla agreed. “What she said.”
“O-okay.” Welt took a shaky breath. “Sorry. I just had a really bad nightmare.”
Ein sighed. “Don’t say sorry. Remember what I told you?”
“Right, so- I mean, thanks.”
“I saved some french toast for you, by the way,” Tesla said. “It’s a little-” She was suddenly cut off by a surprise hug from Welt. He held her and Ein tightly, not wanting to let go.
“Thank you, I really care, I love you!” he said quickly. If not now, perhaps he’d never get the chance to say it again. Ein and Tesla relaxed, hugging him back.
“Thank you, we really care, and we love you too, Welt,” Ein sighed. “And also, Tesla burnt the toast.”