The Childrens Rebellion

Green and Red and Blue

He woke up in a room of pale metal and cold air, panting for breath.

"Nice to see you in the wakin' world, kid," Techno said, his slow drawl of words making Tommy turn to look at him sharply. The half-Piglin was chained to the wall made of dark metal, and his wrists were stained with dried blood from tugging at the manacles—to no avail, of course.

Tommy stood up, blood rushing to his head and making him stumble as he gasped and nearly fell, terror staining his thoughts as he looked frantically around for—there—

Ranboo was sitting in a corner, unchained, his knees drawn to his chest as he stared balefully at Tommy. "Hey," he whispered.

"Thank fucking God," Tommy croaked out, sinking to the floor, his knees slightly bent as he rubbed at his forehead. "I thought—maybe..." he trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

"No," Ranboo said, tilting his head slightly. "Not yet, anyway."

"Blasted cuffs," Techno grumbled, tugging at them. Tommy winced as he saw a thin tendril of dark blood—darker than his, darker than Humans'—trail down Techno's forearm. "We were transported on a spaceship somewhere," he added, when he couldn't break the cuffs, even with his increased strength. "I woke up partway through that. Knocked out, again, of course, but not before I felt the hum of an engine."

"Why didn't the L'manburg find us?" Tommy whispered, staring at the cold metal ground.

"Either Chroma is working with the Benecia, or he stole a medical freighter," Techno said. "It's a pity that you and Ranboo are no longer wearing your trackers."

"I didn't..." Tommy swallowed. "I didn't think it was any more dangerous than Kinoko. Less, even—it's a station floating in space! There's nowhere to fucking go." He slammed his hand on the ground, wincing at the stinging pain.

"Hey, it's okay, Tommy," Techno assured him. "It's not your fault."

"Yeah, it is," he whispered. "I shouldn't have accepted this mission. I should never have made you come."

"I don't know if you knew this, Tommy," Ranboo said, his lips cracking as he twisted his lips in the embodiment of a broken smile. "But you can rarely make me do anything that I don't already want to do. I chose to come. I wanted the same revenge we all wish for."

"Can you—" he started.

"No," Ranboo said, cutting him off. "Or, ah, not out of the room, anyway. The liquid they gave me—or what little they could force down my throat—I can't teleport further than, ah, five feet. And certainly not through any walls."

Tommy slumped against the floor. "Fuck this," he said miserably.

"Don't worry," Techno told him, which was incredibly helpful in this stressful situation. "In about—six hours, I think, the L'manburg should realize we're missing. It'll take Wilbur about fifteen minutes to obtain a warrant to search the medical station, and when they find Minerva and not us...well, their questions will have answers eventually." He raised an eyebrow when Tommy winced. "You oppose these methods."

"You speak of torture," he croaked out.

"I do no such thing," Techno said stiffly. "Minerva does not seem like a very resolute female. Under Philza's harsh questioning..." he shrugged. "Well, who knows."

"I feel somewhat mollified," Tommy grumbled. "Somewhat."

"I'm scared," Ranboo voiced aloud, saying what they could not. Tommy scooted back until he was sitting against the cold wall next to the Enderian boy. "Is it okay to be scared?"