Chapter Text
Tamsy’s day starts as it always does. He wakes up at five AM and picks up a small rectangular device with smaller screens attached around the perimeter. On each smaller screen, it cycles through showing a feed of the different rooms of the cleaners' base, starting with the cycle of rooms that set off a motion detector the most to the least. He can use buttons on the side of each screen to toggle that camera to stay displayed or to move it to the larger screen in the middle.
As always, he spends the first few minutes of his morning going through each of the feeds. Jabber and Zanka decided to both sleep in Jabber's room after their fight; approximately 81% of the time, they go to Zanka instead. This changes that percentage to.. 76%. Interesting. In the living room, Gris is already awake, and Enjin passed out over his lap, something that used to never happen; however, since Enjin had made more.. Discoveries about himself happened more. Tamsy figured that it was him just discovering his dependency on the other man and allowing himself to relax in his presence, and allowed the larger man to take care of him during his now more frequent all-nighters.
The rest of the base is unnoteworthy, simply adding to his statistics in ways that hardly matter. Amo is curled up at the foot of Tomme’s bed (he didn't even have to frighten her; she's begun having worse nightmares all on her own! Oh, how he could preen with pride.) Dear had a nightmare and is in Bro’s arms, average daily things.
He makes mental notes and updates his catalog with the findings of the morning until he hears the noise go off that indicates movement. He pulls up the camera feed and grins.
Rudo was finally awake. Taking out a small remote from his pocket, he presses a button, watching as the light on a small MP3 player he had placed there earlier brightens, and the audio begins to play. He understood that static helped to add an eerie atmosphere to the tape, so he ensured that when recording it, it had that. Classics were classics for a reason.
“Rudo?” A soft voice, that's followed by a distinct lack of noise, Tamsy wonders how long it will take for him to recognize it.
Each time Tamsy would ask her a question or remark, all noise cuts from it, ensuring that he wouldn't be caught from something so rudimentary, that of course doesn't mean that he doesn't remember what he said, just ensured it was for his and the girls' ears alone.
‘Yes, you used to know him, correct? Your friend, quote-un-quote, who killed his own father.’ He remembers saying to her. He knows that Rudo had been working hard on figuring out how he felt about her, which only helped encourage the plan he already wanted to execute. Rudo sits up in his bed, rubbing his eyes with glove-clad hands, and he stands, wobbling a little, and walks over to the device. He can't help but giggle at the wide-eyed expression on the boy's face as he realizes the voice. It’s almost adorable how he picks it up and holds it to his chest as Chiwa’s voice rings out again.
“I- I don't think he did it. Something.. It happened. I don’t know what exactly, but.. Rudo wouldn't do that. He talked about how he liked his dad. He wasn't like the other kids, talking about their parents like they hated them.”
He remembers the soft expression on her face, how conflicted she looked. ‘People pretend to be who they aren't all the time.’ Rudo’s face changes, the emotion almost palpable through the camera feed. Something feels odd to him about being talked about in the past tense. He walks over to his bed, sits, and leans against it.
"He was different. I don't think he pretended to be kind; I think he was kind. In his heart. When I got home, I cried so hard I threw up. Rudo didn't deserve to die, he- No one believes me. I tried to talk to my parents about it, but they think I'm insane for even thinking he might be innocent. Almost forgot in real big trouble for 'questioning what I had been told instead of just following,' which made me a little upset."
He remembers fighting not to laugh at the little girl, ‘The angels questioned before they all fell.’
Rudo’s face begins to look questioning, perfect! At this point, he should be questioning basically everything he knew about the girl. Rudo had talked previously about how stubborn she was. Goodness, this would throw off the entire concept he had of being upset at her, and with how begrudgingly daydreamy Rudo could be- The span of silence is ended once again, "Angel? What does-"
He shook his head, ‘Keep speaking, what did you do after?’ The look on her face shifted from being confused to her taking a deep breath in and nodding at him.
“Right, um, the house was clean when I got there. I wanted to see if- it was dumb, I know, if I could see what really happened. I didn't find anything, but it just feels wrong. He wouldn't do that; he would never do something like that. I saw him start crying over someone wasting food once. He was already overstimulated, but things like that weren't uncommon; he was so sensitive- why would he ever prove people right about him?”
He had looked at her and given a smile that made her shiver. ‘Sometimes the monster we want to hide comes out in unsavory ways. That's what happens when you try to repress something. I'm sure that wasn't the case for your precious Rudo, though. So tell me, Ms. Chiwa, what would you do if you could see him?’
Rudo started down at the device, obviously discontent with the lack of hearing the interviewer, and seemed to realize the tape was coming to an end soon.
"What? No one survives going into the pit."
The boy flinches at the mention, and Tamsy sees just a flicker of hope in his gaze.
‘Rudo is different from how you imagine him to be. His capabilities may be more than you bargained for.’
"What- does that even mean? I know he was strong, but he couldn't survive something like that, no one does!"
The mic cuts for the last time of that recording, and he sees a grimace on Rudo's face. Mm, same furrowed eyebrows and eyes as when he attempts introspection.
Rudo makes a quite frankly adorable hum noise upon realizing it's over. He clicks the next button carefully and stares down at the file name, and goodness, Tamsy knows he did well simply from the look of confusion when he sees the unfamiliar address.
"Please- I I'm sorry I didn't think-! Augh! Please, I promise I won't talk about Rudo again-"
He practically giggles at the reminder of that evening as the girl's distressed voice comes through the small device. Ah, the look of confusion when he had grabbed that tiny little neck and shoved her to the ground from her chair, almost intoxicating!
It ended up being cut from the audio he put on the device, but at this point, she was scurrying back to the wall as he pulled a gun of the same make and model as Ms. Riyo’s, and fired a warning shot into the glass of water she had been drinking out of without even sparing it a glance. The glass had shattered, and a piece was embedded in her hand when she panicked, causing there to be stains all in her little sphere clothes and a pool to collect where her hand rested once she had herself firm against the wall. He walked closer, ensuring there was another bullet in the chamber, and grinning down at her. She looks back up at him with tears streaming down her face as he aims it.
‘Oh, how I just love how pathetic you look, dear, awful shame it has to be ruined.’
The recording started again.
Her sobs fill the room as she begins chanting something under her breath, praying to a cruel god. "Nonononono,"
The sound of a loud crack escapes the device, and he grins at how the boy's face somehow had gotten paler. Rudo stands and clutches it to his chest, practically running out of his room.
Tamsy switches to the camera in the hallway. Aw, his face is red from tears he's obviously trying to hide, hair all ruffled up, this is a keeper!
“Whoa, kiddo,” Enjin had woken up at this point and stood up using Gris as a crutch upon seeing the boy go for the door.
Rudo holds the screen out, addresses clear on it, and Enjin sighs.
“Alright, what's this mystery address?”
“Chiwa-”
He raises an eyebrow, and when Rudo tries to walk out the door, he grabs his hood and drags him back.
“That rude little girl-”
“We need to go there- she!”
He sighs and glances back, holding his hand above his head and opening it.
“Gris!”
Gris fumbles in his pockets and tosses his keys to Enjin, who breathes out and drags Rudo towards the entry.
“Bye, boys?” Gris sounds confused but amused and leans back in his seat.
“Fuck it, I got today off, let's adventure some, huh, Rudo boy?”
Rudo lets himself be dragged, but they are interrupted at the entrance by Semiu, who makes a whistling noise. Enjin stops as soon as the noise enters the air, turning to look at her.
He props a hand on his hip. “Come on, Semmi, just tryna take the boy on a trip, nothing much.”
She narrows her eyes and rests her head on one of her hands; her glasses emit a glowing aura, and she sighs.
“You're taking someone else with you.”
Enjin groans and releases his hold on Rudo’s hood, leaning against a nearby wall. Semiu flips through what he presumes is a schedule book and puts a hand to her collar.
“Tamsy, are you busy?” Her voice is bored, making it clear to the boys in the room with her that she’s not happy with whatever he’s trying to pull.
“No, ma’am, is there something you need? I can be down in just a moment if needed.” Tamsy had known that Semiu would be calling him, but still ensured it wouldn't be weird with how quickly, so he got started on putting his uniform on. Perfect timing.
“To the front, take however long you need, but be quick with it. I can tell someone's getting impatient over here.” Enjin had started tapping his foot on the ground, and Rudo seemed not to be very present, staring into the void with wide eyes.
She glances at the people in front of her and back down, lifting her hand back. “Gris, come with your man before he does somethin’ stupid.”
A groan and squeak of the chair he was sitting on is heard before he says, “I'm up!”
She closes the schedule and leans back in her chair, putting her hands behind her head and taking a breath. “Once they get down here, you are permitted to leave. Enjin, I need you to understand that going to an unknown location with just you and a fifteen-year-old is a horrible idea. Are you a decent giver? Yes. Does that mean that it's ok to put people in danger because of your inflated ego? No. Trynna fuckin’ leave without asking. Have you lost your damn mind? Did ya ever have one in the first place?”
Enjin rolls his eyes. “Decent giver my ass.”
She scoffs, and they wait in mostly silence for the others to enter the room. Gris appears first, having only taken a few moments because he practically ran there. His partner can get into a lot of trouble and life-threatening situations, and it would not be the first time he has had to get him out of them. Tamsy is next, appearing a few moments later, hair up in quite frankly beautiful fashion and a soft look of worry on his face.
“Goodness, I certainly don't mind using my day off to help a cleaner in need, but I hope that everything is alright. What’s happened?”
Enjin begins to walk towards the door, grapes on Rudo’s hood secure again, “Mystery address.”
Tamsy raises his eyebrows and then nods his head, following along without further question, Gris close behind. They pile into the truck, Gris taking the passenger and Rudo sitting behind the driver's seat.
“Are you feeling alright, Rudo?” Tamsy glances over at the boy, who is staring down at the black device in his hand, a look in his eyes as if he is blaming it for his feelings. Of which would be somewhat accurate, but in the end, this was all for the best. “You’ve been staring daggers at that thing for, goodness, much longer than logical.”
“I don’t know what I want to find. I don't know what to hope for.”
That crack, it could have been something just to scare- why was it given to him? The interviewer knew who Chiwa was- they may not even find her there! How would she have gotten from the Sphere here? That was her voice. He thinks that he would know it in his sleep at this point; he may not like her as he used to, but she was still the only person who wanted to be friends with him. Even if she left at the end, she thought that everything she thought was wrong, being told otherwise by everyone around her, and he thinks that if he were shown the same things she was, he would be confused too.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Rudo had curled slightly in on himself, hands on the opposite shoulders, and leaned down, and Tamsy bent down a little to look at him as he asked, bursting him out of his thoughts.
He looks up and looks over at him, confusion on his face. “Talking about things may help you get your thoughts in order. If you don't think it will help you, don't have to, of course, but talking out loud may release some steam, as well as help us to understand what we may be walking into.” Tamsy leans back and nods his head, wanting to encourage speech by not crowding and intimidating the boy.
“I think Chiwa is hurt.”
Tamsy thinks, ‘Oh dear, Chiwa is much more than hurt, I made great sure of that,’
Tamsy says, “Ah, I think I remember you talking about her in the past. I was under the impression you were quite upset at her. It's kind of you to still be worried about her after what she had done.”
“She didn't know what happened.” He takes a breath and nods, convincing himself along with Tamsy, “She took the information she had, made an assumption.”
The older man gives a slight frown.
“That's a very mature perception, Rudo. I truly hope that she turns out all right. I think you can have confidence in the other cleaners to help in any way they can.” He places a comforting hand on Rudo's back, “It will be ok, Rudo. Don't worry.”
He works on calming himself and leans back, looking out the window, and, now being back in the land of the living from his dissociative state, grabs onto the door as Enjin’s driving is, as always, horrible. Enjin recites what he remembers as the address, and Rudo confirms. From there, it is relatively quick to get there.
“Aalright! Ladies and gentlemen, we..” He stomps on the brake, causing all of the people in the car to surge forward, “Have arrived.”
It is a desolate place, the building number being the one practically right next to where Tamsy had engaged in his last little.. Date with Tomme which, which he had chosen on purpose. Tomme and Gris are primarily the ones who look over the paperwork. Helping Seimu with scheduling is something that they both do every Sunday, and with this, it would ensure that she would be able to further connect it to Tamsy. Therefore, she would be able to have another piece of evidence, but also, he had been working on chipping away at her. This was both something to test how Tomme reacts, as well as get Rudo closer to the spot he’s aiming for. Needless to say, things were going perfectly!
Rudo gets out of the car immediately, the force causing him to wobble a bit, but nevertheless, he begins to trek towards it, the building plain and standing tall, seeming to have been abandoned by the rough shape. All of the buildings looked eerily similar, and before he gets halfway there, a tug at his hood pulls him back.
“Kiddo, you are absolutely not going first.”
They form the same lineup they had before: Enjin, a natural leader, and Gris, having experience being around kids, knowing they may slip away if you aren't watching like a hawk.
Enjin opens the door, eyes connecting with something within the building as a horrible stench hits the group. “Gris, take Rudo back to the truck.”
Rudo's eyebrows scrunch, and he moves to walk forward. “You don't have to protect me, let-”
Warm hands settle on his shoulders.
“Come on,” Gris’ voice is gentle, understanding the boy's feelings.
Rudo looks towards the door, and back at the truck, he can feel his heart begin to race in his chest. His feet move before his mind does, and he runs to the door, the only thing that registers in his mind before he feels Gris pick him up is red.
His vision goes black for a moment, his body confused by the movements, and he next registers that he is sitting in the passenger seat of the car.
“Big breaths. Four seconds in-”
“I know!” Rudo shouts, kicking the glove compartment and falling back in his chair.
Gris breathes in, aware that if you breathe in certain patterns, oftentimes the people around you will follow them subconsciously, which is something useful when you're in life-threatening situations daily. Or just around people who get overstimulated easily.
Pain radiates in his foot, and it helps to ground him as he stares stubbornly at the window at the door that Tamsy and Enjin entered moments earlier.
“This is all bullshit.” He mutters under his breath, causing Gris to take a deep breath.
“Enjin wouldn't have wanted you away if it was something you should be dealing with. He and Tamsy have it under control; we just need to trust it will all be ok, he’s just wanting to keep you safe.”
Rudo narrows his eyes.
“What even would they be protecting me from! I’ve defeated trashbeasts the size of the damn compound, I'm not some flower!”
“There are things worse than trashbeasts out there, kiddo, if Enjin thinks you need to know, he’ll tell you later.”
He scowls, and the rest of their time alone is spent in silence, and Enjin and Tamsy walk out a while later. Tamsy’s hair has been thrown up in a hasty bun, and Enjin has a look of trained calm on his face.
“Chinese fire drill, original positions.” Enjin says when he gets close, before throwing a smirk at Gris, “Unless of course you want-”
Gris groans exaggeratedly and rolls his eyes, and they all sit as they did on the ride there.
“What was in there?”
“We’re gonna have Semiu go out here when we get back, probably have Tomme drive her since she has pretty damn good skills when it comes to seeing things we don’t.”
Rudo grumbles and crosses his arms. Why can't he just see what happened? For once, Tamsy feels the same way about something. He had worked so hard getting those screws in the high-up ceiling, ensuring that every slice of her tender flesh would allow for the effect he wanted. Eh, at least Enjin seemed to appreciate his work. That appreciation may have been spent practically the entire time they were in there, cursing at whoever had done this, but it gives him practically the same high. He truly hopes that he will be able to see the look on Tomme's face when she comes through. That was something he had subtly hinted at, having her come to examine. Of course, he ensured that Enjin still thought it was his idea. Ah, the look of horror at the fleshy wings beautifully extended from the young girl's body, he could write essays about the meanings of each thing he did, the white delicate wear the girl was clad in, but luckily for him, just the right person would know. Tomme may not know everything yet, but goodness, if it isn't looking like she truly understands it all. Just the thought of the beautiful things she will realize dares to make his rotten heart bloom.
Tamsy furrows his brows, putting on a sweet and worried tone. “Really, Rudo. You should trust Enjin, the things in there aren't meant for small eyes.” Both implying that he was small and inferior, of which he had an issue with, which was only made worse by his extended time spent with Zanka, as well as implying that something horrible and gory had happened, which would up his anxiety tenfold.
“Was Chiwa in there?”
He resists a smile.
“Most of her was.”
Rudo's eyebrows raise, and he looks at him.
Enjin’s voice is heard as he shouted back, “Tamsy! What the fuck, shut up!”
Tamsy softens his eyes and looks at him through the rearview mirror, expression innocent and confused. “It’s better we quell his anxiety, isn't it? Allowing the boy to simply imagine what happened may lead him to think of things much worse than reality.”
He hears Enjin grumbling something and takes a breath as Gris glances back at him.
“Apologies, fellows, I will keep my mouth shut until told otherwise; he's not my kid after all.” The mere reminder of his stake in Rudo's life will only work to make him feel worse about this whole situation, understanding that he has to figure out how to delicately say that his old friend was found brutally murdered and altered as well as invoking a sense of anger towards Tamsy for the earlier comment he made, which, of course, to anyone who asked would simply seem illogical. Of course, what he said wasn't nice. How was Tamsy meant to know he wasn't supposed to say that? He hardly implied or said anything that was actually in there, just gave a small piece of information. Something that other people would understand, or think they understand, as just him trying to help, and having a moment of being bad with emotions. Almost every cleaner had some form of neurodivergency or trauma that ensured they were distinctly different, so this would just be brushed off as normal.
“It’s fine.” Enjin's grip on the steering wheel increases slightly; the hold he normally has on it falters just slightly, a few centimeters below his regular grasp.
He hums, a noise of introspective thought as he stares out the window, watching the dust kick up as the engine rumbles down the streets, allowing them to return to the cleaners facility quickly.
“Rudo,” Tamsy says once the others were already in the building, Rudo was following but stalled at the man's speech, “I was told about the recorder. I'm.. so sorry that you had to hear something so brutal.”
Enjin hadn't heard the recording. Something Tamsy was well aware of, but of course, if anyone noticed this, he could simply say that he was walking by Rudo's room when he had heard it, and connected the dots when he saw the body and the way the boy grasped the device as if evaporation was inevitable, and all evidence would be lost in the car.
After a moment of silence, Rudo's gaze shifts from the floor up at him. “What happened?”His voice is hard, as if this is the most sure he has been in years, or rather, his life given his age. “I’m not a baby, and you already made it pretty fucking clear that it wasn't good. I won't tell Enjin what you told me.”
Internally, Tamsy is grinning. The opportunity to have something truly over the boy? An opportunity to form a relationship of secrets. Unfortunately, Tamsy is too smart for bait such as this. With his earlier statement, as Rudo so eloquently pointed out, if he said anything that was fear-mongering or considered too scary, he could run off to his parents. They would believe him in a moment. Tamsy would be in trouble, and of course, he would find a way to solve it. This was just a dumb risk.
“No.” He states simply, taking a slight breath out.
Rudo seems shocked at his refusal, “What?” the question slipping off his tongue.
Tamsy breaths and begins to walk towards the building.
“No. It’s good you understand what it means if you ever want something to work out with that little girlfriend of yours.”
Ah, how he loves poking at bruises. Rudo had been awfully protective of Amo after he did his whole kidnapping schtick. They were certainly an interesting pair, traumatized, mentally unstable teenagers. Goodness, Amo had almost ripped Rudo's hand off on reflex when he first tried to hug her. She had been crying; it was a motion of attempted comfort, especially given how, quite frankly, horrible the boy is at anything adjacent to feelings.
Tamsy wonders how it is. Living in a world unaware of each moment. Not having to think about what they think you're going to do, what they think you think they think you're going to do- goodness, he could go on for hours if given the chance. Not having to play the complex game he constantly plays with people who don't even realize they are participants, playing with people who have yet to realize just how predictable and far behind they are. He turns into his room and sits down on his bed. Tamsy shrugs. It was fun, to put it simply. He may not be able to understand emotions or feel emotions as some people do, but goodness, he would be lying if he said that toying with them wasn't fun.