Chapter Text
"Looks like the freak finally decided to show his face!" Daddy slurred, stumbling towards him.
Wemmbu gripped Egg tighter, shivering against the basement door. He could smell the 'adult drink' on his Daddy's breath even from where he was standing.
Mommy rushed over, her expression furious, "Did you know about this?!"
She was screaming as she gripped Wemmbu's arm, her sharp nails digging into his skin and leaving red lines behind. The pain caused him to drop Egg as his face screwed up and tears lined his eyes, but he kept his mouth sealed shut.
"Did you know that your good for nothing father was drinking his day away?!" she shook him by his shoulders, making him feel dizzy at the rough movements.
Wemmbu did know. He knew very well what his Daddy got up to during the day while Mommy was at work. But Daddy would get mad if he told Mommy. But now Mommy's made at him anyway!
Wemmbu desperately shook his head in denial, but his Daddy laughed, "Oh yeah, the brat knew the entire time! Caught me coming home drunk one day. Ha! It's not like the brat could speak up against me!"
Wemmbu's eyes widened, why would Daddy tell her that?!
Mommy's eyes turned dark and her hand flew up, connecting with his face with a loud smack. Wemmbu couldn't help but cry out, angering his Mommy even more with his noise.
"I work hard for this family!" SMACK! "And my useless husband drinks all my money away!" SMACK! "And my freak of a son keeps it secret from me!" SMACK SMACK SMACK!
Blood dripped from his mouth as his cheeks stung. One of his teeth laid on the ground, having fallen out during the violent attack. Wemmbu couldn't hold it in anymore, he screamed in terror and pain. It was a sound he had never dared to make around either of his parents, but he couldn't stop himself.
It hurt and he wanted the monsters.
Mommy was furious and Daddy cackled behind her. She picked Wemmbu up by his arm, hanging him by the little limb. He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and heard a small pop next to his ear. He shrieked as Mommy threw him against the closed basement door, a loud thud sounded as his body hit the door and another followed as he then hit the ground.
Wemmbu sobbed in pain and reached for Egg, who was laying on the ground next to him. The toys one eye was a deep shade of red, darker than he's ever seen it.
Daddy snatched the toy from his trembling hand, holding it up high with a slurred giggle.
Tears in his eyes, Wemmbu couldn't stop himself from screaming, "NO!"
He gasped, covering his mouth as his parents turned to him with furious eyes, "What the fuck did you just say to me?!"
Daddy's large boot, the tip of it covered in hard metal, came down on his still bruised tummy. Wemmbu screamed again, pain flooding his system. His hands reached out and clawed at his Daddy's ankle. He didn't know why he was suddenly fighting back against his parents, he had never dared to before.
"Tch! Little fucking brat!" Daddy shook Wemmbu's hands of his leg, kicking his head into the basement door behind him.
Wemmbu's head hurt, his hearing started fading and the room went dark.
Wemmbu wanted Mane.
~
The kitchen went dark.
Not like when the lights go out and dim the room, it went pitch black. The entire kitchen disappeared along with Wemmbu and his toy, leaving just the two adults in an empty space.
"What the fuck?!" the woman screamed, smacking her husbands shoulder, "What did you do?!"
"Me?!" the man roared, "Fuck you mean, what did I do?!"
A deep voice sounded all around them, "Wow, aren't you two pathetic!"
The woman grabbed the man and held him like a shield, causing him to push her away, "The fuck are you doing, woman?!"
"Be a fucking man and protect me!" she hissed.
The voice chuckled, a growl following the sound, "How could two fully grown adults attack their own child?!"
"Who are you to judge us, huh?!" the man hissed, "You don't know what we've been through because of that brat!"
"He's six!" the voice roared, "He's just a kid!"
"You have no right to judge us!" the woman shrieked, her head frantically swinging around to find the source of the voice.
"You two are despicable." the voice growled, "I'm going to enjoy this! Don't worry, you won't die. Not this easily. Not yet. We want to have a bit more fun with you two."
A face finally appeared in the darkness, green eyes glowing in malice and a grin stretched eerily across its face.
Then nothing but pain and terror.
~
Wemmbu woke up feeling numb.
He knew - somewhere in the back of his mind - that he should be in pain. He knew his shoulder was popped out of place, knew that he had hit the wall and knew that someone (his Daddy, maybe) had kicked him in the head. He could taste blood in his mouth and if he ran his tongue across he teeth, he's sure one would be missing.
But all he felt was numbness and he's honestly happy about that.
Wemmbu shifted in place, cracking his eyes open and looking around the dark room. It wasn't his room in the basement. The walls were made of what looked like wood, he'd assume that the floor was too but he couldn't actually see it. The bed he was on was large with huge, soft blankets and fluffy pillows.
Was he being held?
Wemmbu lift his head up from where it was resting, locking eyes with Mane's. Remembering what he just went through, tears came to Wemmbu's eyes.
Mane smiled sadly down at the boy in his arms, "Hi Wemm. You're safe now."
Wemmbu began to sob, "Hurts!"
"I know," Mane soothed, brushing a hand through his long hair, "I know. Mane's got you now. And I'm not letting anyone hurt you again."
Wemmbu sobbed into Mane's shoulder, years of built up fear and sadness suddenly flooding out of his body all at once. He wailed at the cruelty of the world. Every time he finds happiness, something comes and ruins it for him.
It's not fair!
Wemmbu began to fall asleep as Mane hummed and rocked him. He couldn't help but wonder if this was what it was like to be loved?
~
Mane will kill them.
He'll do it and he'll do it with pleasure.
But first, they would play with them a bit. Scare them, make them lose sleep, make them paranoid, anything that will make them think they're going crazy.
Any injury Wemmbu got from them would be replicated on to their bodies, let them feel the pain they put a six year old through.
Mane sighed and ran a hand through his hair, he needed to calm down. He didn't want Wemmbu to wake up again, the poor boy needed rest. So did Egg, who was asleep next to him, exhausted from using all of his energy to help heal Wemmbu.
He leaned back on his nest, stretching his long legs and digging his paws into the blankets. Wemmbu had truly rotten luck, always having someone around to fuck over his day. Mane and the other monsters would have to be more careful letting him out of their sight.
Mane had panicked when Spoke ran into their realm practically sobbing. He'd explained through his cries that Wemmbu's parents had attacked the boy. If it were anyone else, Mane would have asked why they didn't help Wemmbu. But this was Spoke.
Spoke was a special type of monster. Despite him being around for hundreds of years, he was mentally stuck as a teen. A manipulative teen, sure, but still a teen. He was scared, the void monster had never really been violent. So two angry and violent adults would have definitely been out of his league.
Mane had patted his head, sending him off to Mapicc's house (apparently they had made up??) before rushing off to find his kid.
His cub.
His cub that he found unconscious and bleeding with Egg growling maliciously in that mans tight grip. He kind of blanked out at that moment. The next time he was conscious, the 'parents' were lying in pools of their own blood, still breathing.
He had scoffed at the two, picking up both Wemmbu and Egg - who was in his human form to help heal the younger boy - and took them through the house gateway. He brought them to his den, laid a sleeping Egg in his nest and went to clean and bandage Wemmbu's wounds.
He was still furious, but for now he stayed calm, both of his new cubs in his nest and his older cub crawling in with them. Flame had placed himself behind Egg, sandwiching the boys between them with a purr.
Mane could get used to this.