Chapter Text
Morning announcement speakers crackled awake before the lights fully turned on.
“Good morning, residents.”
The voice was too cheerful for six in the morning.
Multi already sat awake on the bottom bunk, staring at the floor like he’d been listening to the static before the message even started.
Around him, the dorm slowly came alive - metal bedframes creaking, someone coughing, bare feet against cold tile.
“Breakfast begins in fifteen minutes. Please remember that Sector C remains restricted until further notice.”
Nobody reacted to that part anymore.
Quackity groaned dramatically into his pillow.
“If they wake me up before sunrise one more time, I’m actually gonna die.”
No response.
Quackity lifted his head slightly, one eye open.
“Did you not sleep again?”
Multi shrugged without looking at him.
That annoyed Quackity more than an actual answer would’ve.
“Whatever…” Quackity stretched lazily, wings spreading behind him with a quiet rustle.
Multi’s eyes lingered on them for a second too long.
He liked moments like this. Small, normal things. People acting like people instead of experiments pretending to be children.
“Uh… you good?”
Quackity’s voice snapped him out of it.
Multi looked away immediately.
“Yeah.”
“M’kay…” Quackity sat up properly now. “Wanna go get breakfast together?”
“Okay.”
That was weird.
Multi was always quiet, sure, but today something felt… off. Colder than usual.
Quackity’s stomach twisted slightly.
Did something happen?
Did the workers take him somewhere again?
Without really thinking about it, Quackity crossed the small space between them and dropped down beside him on the bed.
Multi glanced at him briefly, one brow lifting.
Usually Quackity would start bothering him on purpose around now poking at him until he reacted, just to prove he could.
Most people avoided touching Multi entirely.
Quackity didn’t.
Nobody else could get away with it, either. Anyone else would’ve gotten hissed at, bitten, or at least shoved away. But Quackity could crowd into his space all he wanted and somehow Multi never stopped him.
Quackity reached up and squished his cheeks between his hands, forcing him to look forward.
Multi frowned slightly but didn’t resist.
“There you are,” Quackity said. “Once you’re done sulking, you’re telling me what’s wrong.”
Multi rolled his eyes weakly.
“C’mon,” Quackity continued, finally letting go. “Let’s go before they run out of edible food again.”
...
The Avian held onto Multi’s hand as he dragged him toward the cafeteria.
Multi followed a step behind like always, shoulders slouched, wings twitching faintly with irritation.
The moment they walked in, the staring started.
Kids.
Workers.
Everyone.
Multi kept his eyes on the floor.
“Think they’ll have pudding today?” Quackity asked loudly ..way too loudly for this early in the morning.
“I don’t know,” Multi muttered. “Hopefully. For you.”
Quackity grinned.
“Why do you never eat pudding anyway? Do you just not like sweet stuff?”
Multi hesitated.
How was he supposed to explain that he barely trusted most food here in the first place?
“…Don’t know.”
“You should try it.”
Quackity shoved a tray into his hands before grabbing his own.
“Okay.”
After getting their food, they sat near the usual group of kids.
Quackity immediately started talking to everyone around them while Multi stayed quiet beside him, only half listening.
Most of the kids had gotten used to him by now.
Mostly.
Ash still looked at him like he expected him to bite someone at any moment.
Multi ignored it.
“Wait,” Quackity suddenly said, turning toward Katie. “Did you know Multi’s never had pudding before?”
Katie looked horrified.
“Seriously?! You’re missing out!”
Multi sighed softly.
Before he could say anything else, Quackity peeled open the pudding cup on his tray and scooped some onto the tiny spoon.
Then he held it directly in front of Multi’s face.
“…What are you doing?”
“Say ahhh.”
“This is humiliating.”
Quackity only moved the spoon closer with an annoyingly smug smile.
Multi stared at him for a second before reluctantly opening his mouth slightly.
The pudding was… surprisingly good.
Sweet. Way sweeter than anything the Federation usually served.
Around the table, the other kids watched with quiet amusement.
Katie looked especially invested.
Multi chose not to acknowledge that.
“And?” Quackity asked eagerly, leaning against the table with his chin propped in one hand.
“…It’s nice,” Multi admitted quietly. “Really sweet.”
Quackity beamed.
“See? I told you!”
Before Multi could react, another spoonful was shoved into his mouth.
Multi let out a low growl.
Quackity ignored it completely.
After a while, the conversations around the table grew louder, attention drifting elsewhere.
That was when one of the Federation workers approached.
Everything in Multi went rigid instantly.
Quackity noticed immediately.
Without thinking, he reached over and gently brushed his thumb across the back of Multi’s hand.
The worker smiled pleasantly.
“If you could follow me.”
Multi stood slowly.
His sleeve shifted just enough for bruises to flash across his arm - dark fingerprints, thin cuts still healing.
Quackity’s hand tightened around his spoon.
The worker guided Multi away like nothing was wrong.
Nobody else at the table said a word.
...
The hallway felt colder away from the cafeteria noise.
Multi walked silently beside the worker, wings tucked tightly against his back.
Then the worker suddenly stopped.
Multi tensed immediately.
Instead, the bear reached into his coat and held out a juice box.
Multi blinked.
Slowly, he took it.
The liquid inside was dark red.
Fresh.
Blood.
“Have you slept today?”
The worker’s voice remained gentle despite its faceless appearance. Somehow, it still sounded like it was smiling.
Multi kept his eyes on the floor.
“No.”
The bear only nodded.
“How was breakfast?”
“Bland.”
Frustration slowly curled tighter inside Multi’s chest.
He hated these conversations.
The fake softness. The pointless questions. The way they acted normal after everything.
“What about the pudding Quackity fed you?”
Multi froze.
Something about the question felt wrong.
Wrong enough that his wings immediately flared outward in warning.
“How did you—”
A sharp shock ripped through the collar around his neck before he could finish.
Multi choked on a hiss, stumbling back against the wall.
A quiet whine escaped him before he could stop it.
The worker tilted its head.
“Answer the question.”
Multi’s hands curled into fists.
“…It was fine,” he muttered bitterly.
For a moment, the hallway went silent again.
Then another figure appeared at the end of the corridor.
Cucurucho.
Multi immediately straightened instinctively.
The second bear approached calmly before stopping beside the worker.
“Stand over there.”
The kid obeyed without argument this time, moving toward the wall farther down the hallway.
His wings tucked tightly against his back as the two bears began speaking in low voices.
He couldn’t hear most of it.
Only fragments.
“…instability…”
“…attachment…”
“…observation…”
Then:
“Quackity.”
Multi’s stomach dropped.
Panic curled tightly in his chest.
But before he could even process the situation.. before he could think, speak, or run – rough hands suddenly grabbed his arm.
Multi startled violently.
“W-Wait—”
The worker ignored him completely.
The hallway blurred past as he was dragged forward, claws scraping uselessly against the floor for a second before he forced himself still.
Fighting never helped.
The large doors ahead slowly creaked open.
SECTION C.
The words alone made his stomach twist.
And then he was dragged inside.
...