"Welcome to Dema..."

Tyler, Josh, and Clancy froze.

Thought Tyler and Josh didn't recognize the voice, Clancy did.

Clancy most definitely did.

"So where are you?"

Clancy's eyes widened, and the tiniest of squeaks escaped his lips.

Tyler narrowed his eyes in confusion and shared a skeptical glance with Josh.

Josh shrugged, so Tyler looked down at Clancy.

"Nico," Clancy mouthed silently.

His voice was quiet and slow and rough like sandpaper.

"It's been a little while."

Tyler grabbed Clancy's hand and ran.

✗✗✗✗✗

Tyler sprinted down the hall, yanking Clancy song with him. Josh ran beside them.

Leading the way was Jason the pet cheetah.

Of course, with Jason being the fastest land animal in the world, the three of them could hardly keep up.

But Jason knew that, and he went slow.

They were running for their lives, and they didn't stop running until Jason did.

The cheetah skidded to a stop in a narrow corridor with doors on either side, so narrow that they could only walk two by two.

Jason slowed his steps, walking down the hall with its head down low and the muscles in its back slowly flexing and relaxing. A low growl came from its throat.

"I got a question," Tyler said.

He was walking next to Clancy, who was still holding his hand. Josh walked behind them, gun at the ready.

"Yeah, me too," Josh added.

"Where the hell are we?" Asked Tyler.

Clancy seemed lost in another world.

The hallway they were walking down was skinny and dark. Rows and rows of heavy steal doors were on either side, with one little window at the top of them.

On each of the doors was a name and strange symbols painted around them.

"The cells," said Clancy dryly.

As the group kept walking down the dimly lit corridor, Clancy's deep chocolate eyes lingered on one of the cell doors labeled NED in big yellow letters.

"The cells," Josh repeated in half confusion, half anger. "You mean they actually put you in these tiny rooms?"

Clancy suddenly stopped in front of one of the doors. Tyler's heart skipped a beat when he read what was written on it.

CLNCY
IDENTIFIED AS FAILED PERIMETER ESCAPE
BY DEMA COUNCIL
VIOLATION OF SECTION 15398642.14

Clancy did the last thing Tyler expected him to do.

The kid smiled.

"I remember I was so proud when I got this badge," Clancy said, raking his fingers across the F.P.E. painting on his door.

"Proud?" Tyler questioned.

"Those who see the corruption inside the lies of Dema feel a responsibility to get out, and attempted escape should be honored," Clancy explained.

Clancy swung his backpack over his shoulder, unzipped it, and dug around until he found a black plastic card with yellow writing.

"I still have mine!" Clancy said, showing Tyler and Josh. "Dema punished us with it, be we wore it proudly. It showed we were strong enough to attempt escape."

As the kid shoved the badge back in his backpack, Josh peered over Tyler's shoulder.

There were little symbols all over Clancy's door, some spray painted, some scribbled in marker.

They were all colored in bright Bandito yellow.

"What do those mean?" Josh asked, nodding towards the drawings.

Clancy turned and looked, and his smile grew.

✺

"The Jumpsuit Medallion...An aerial perspective of the world of Trench. Amidst great solitude, it is our guide and our companion."

Ψ

"The Compass E Pitchfork. It symbolizes the overturning of the false compass Dema. Truth revealed. Rebellion. East is up."

||-//

"Double Bars Logo. Protection. Life. Hope. We're steadfast in our rebellion. We turn their false doctrine upon its head."

☬

"We are Vultures. We see both worlds, devouring death. We have a responsibility to turn death into life. We commit to living."

ғ̶ᴘ̶ᴇ̶

"F.P.E. The symbol of the Bandito underground. The Few, the Proud, the Emotional."

Clancy gently traced his fingers along the Trench symbols.

Lips barely moving, he sung a sweet song under his breath.

"Sahlo Folina."

Tyler silently promised himself that nothing, absolutely nothing, would hurt that boy ever again. Not if he could help it.

Tyler knelt down and put one hand firmly on Clancy's shoulder.

"You're never gonna see these walls again," said Tyler. "Trust me. You're free."

Sadness shown in Clancy's wide eyes.

Suddenly, he threw his arms around Tyler's neck, burying his head in the crook of his neck.

Tyler was taken aback at first, glancing up at Josh, but he slowly hugged the kid back.

"It's gonna be okay, Clancy," he murmured. "We're not gonna let anything happen. We're all gonna be okay."

But he wasn't really telling Clancy that.

He was telling himself.

✗✗✗✗✗

"I never got a chance to ask my question," Josh spoke up.

Josh still had his gun tightly gripped in one hand. The other was scratching Jason the cheetah behind the ears.

When no one responded, Josh took that as a cue to continue.

"Who's voice was that? And what did he mean by, So where are you? It's been a little while...?"

"Nicolas Bourbaki," Clancy replied simply. The name rolled off his tongue like he was rapping along to a beat.

"And...who is that, exactly?"

Clancy sighed.

"Nico. The leader of the Bishops. He was talking to me...He knows we're here, just doesn't know where. He hasn't seen me in a while."

"And he's not gonna see you," Tyler snapped. "We're gonna kill these guys so quick—"

Clancy cut off Tyler's rough, angry voice. He didn't like it. It almost scared him.

"It's my turn to ask a question now," he said, trying to keep a lighthearted mood despite the fact they were walking through the very place he was imprisoned.

Jason the pet cheetah purred, like it was the one answering.

"What's Missile Kid's real name?"

Josh let out a laugh and shook his head.

"What, we're sharing our real names now?" He asked, petting the top of Jason's head.

"Mr. Mad Gear already told me his," Clancy said with pride, as if he had just been told top secret information.

He looked over his shoulder and whispered to Josh, "It's Tyler."

Josh smiled in amusement at the kid sharing his secret.

"Mine's Josh," he whispered back.

Clancy turned back around and looked up at Tyler. He could barely see his face in the dim light, but there was a small smile gracing his lips.

"Missile Kid's real name is Josh?" Clancy questioned.

"Really?" Tyler pretended to be surprised. "I had no idea. He doesn't really look like a Josh, does he?"

Tyler and Clancy looked back at Josh at the same time, and the latter narrowed his eyes.

"Are you okay, Josh?" Clancy asked. "I just now noticed. There's bruises all over your neck."

Tyler laughed out loud at that, his bright laughter booming through the empty hall. Josh's face turned a bright red, and he pulled up his bandana to hide the dark maroon bruises painting his skin.

Clancy was confused as to why Tyler was laughing so hard.

"Shut up Tyler," Josh mumbled, his voice being muffled by the bandana over his face.

Tyler kept laughing until his face turned as red as Josh's. And soon, Clancy couldn't help but laugh a little with him.

"You guys are the coolest," Clancy said between laughter.

"I...wouldn't call us that," Tyler shook his head with a knowing smile. "We're not exactly role models."

"You know what we do for a living, right?" Josh added from under his bandana.

Clancy just shrugged and looked up at Tyler.

Even though he had a light, dreamy smile on his face, his eyes were still sharp and angry. There was a tiny scar on his otherwise perfect nose, dark stubble framing his face and chin, and toned muscles underneath his army jacket.

"We're cowards, that's what we are," Tyler said. "We're in the business of misery."

"Take my advice, kid," Josh said. "If you're walking home in the middle of the night, don't take a shady alley as a shortcut."

Clancy gave him an odd look. "Noted."

"But let's get one thing straight," Tyler said, a sudden harshness to his tone. "We kill people."

"Considering there was one less Bandito at training this morning, I got that," Clancy shot back.

Tyler smirked. "What I meant was, we don't kill just anyone. We kill the bad guys. The people that hurt the ones we love."

He glanced over his shoulder at Josh, and offered him a sad smile.

"You don't have to be afraid of us," Tyler finished. "We're not gonna hurt you. And we'd hurt anyone that tried to."

"I'm not afraid of you," Clancy chirped. "Well, I was when I first met you, you were really scary then."

Tyler scoffed and shook his head. Kids.

"But thank you, Tyler," Clancy said, quieter this time. "I needed change of pace. Since my parents—"

The group suddenly stopped. The cell corridor had opened up into a huge, empty room. It was like an indoor courtyard, with an open square in the middle of the floor dropping off to another three floors below.

There were large windows on either side, letting in what little amount of light Dema had to offer.

The light was a familiar, ugly blue-grey that made Clancy sick.

Chills ran down Tyler and Josh's spines. The room was deathly quiet.

There only noises were their footsteps and a strange splashing sound, like there was a fountain somewhere.

Tyler felt Clancy hold his hand tighter.

"This is where Nico stays," he said quietly.

A wicked grin spread across Tyler's lips.

"Perfect," he said, his voice slow and deep. He let go of Clancy's hand and pulled out his gun. "Josh, cover me. Clancy, stay close."

Josh nodded and held his gun at the ready. Jason the cheetah looked up at him expectantly with those sparkling black eyes, and Josh motioned for him to follow. The cheetah happily padded along after him.

Tyler had the familiar feeling that someone was watching him.

Despite the fact that he kept glancing over his shoulder, no one seemed to be in the room besides him, Josh, and the kid. (And the cheetah, of course).

Tyler and Josh went closer to the edge of floor until they could peer over to the floors below.

He couldn't see the bottom. Even though they were only a few floors above it, they couldn't see the bottom.

It was clouded by a pale green fog. From where Tyler and Josh were standing, the mist looked like it was glowing.

The splashing sound grew louder. There was something down there. Tyler and Josh could smell it.

It was a swimming pool.

Smelled like chlorine bleach.

Tyler held his gun straight out in front of him with both hands, his furious eyes glaring straight down the barrel as he crept along the edge of the room.

"Someone's here," Josh said next to him. "I can feel it, Ty."

"Is that the only thing you feel?" Tyler shot back.

He walked slower so that he and Josh were touching. Josh was behind him, walking sideways, his shoulder brushing Tyler's back.

Josh scoffed. "Not the only thing I wanna feel."

"Yeah, yeah, lover boy," Tyler shook his head, a low chuckle escaping his lips. "Last night wasn't enough?"

"Oh, it was plenty," Josh murmured, his husky voice hot in Tyler's ear. "But I want more."

Tyler's breath caught in his throat. "If you don't shut your mouth—"

"You'll shut it for me?" Josh's lips tugged up into a playful, sarcastic smirk. "Heard that one before, Tyler."

"You're walking on thin ice, Josh."

"So are you."

"I'm actually walking on tile," Tyler said sarcastically, looking down at the cracked white tiled floor under his feet.

Josh half-laughed and shook his head. "You're sexy when you're a smartass, you know that?"

"Ooh, watch your language," Tyler faked being offended. "There's a child around."

"Clancy has definitely heard you say worse, Ty."

"I was talking about the cheetah."

Despite the fact that they were in the lion's den, Nico's room in Dema, there was a light feeling around them. They were frightened, or angry, or anxious.

That is, until a thought crossed Tyler's mind.

The cheetah.

Jason hadn't made a noise since they came in the room, not even a purr.

Was their pet cheetah even following them anymore?

Why hadn't they been paying attention? They were dumbasses.

They were idiots, not dumbasses. Can't curse around Clancy.

Right then, another thought crossed Tyler's mind.

Clancy.

A shot of anxiety suddenly raced through Tyler.

"Josh," he said, whipping his head around. "Where's—"

"Tyler Joseph and Joshua Dun."

Tyler shot.

Without an ounce of hesitation, he turned around and shot a bullet straight at the voice that just said his and his lover's full names.

He missed.

And he never missed.

Nicolas Bourbaki was standing in front of them.

He was tall, almost superhuman tall, with a hooded robe covering his entire body that glowed red the darkness. A white, see-through veil covered his grey face.

Tyler fell slack. He slowly lowered his gun to his side and simply stood there, staring.

"No," Tyler breathed. "No no no."

Nico was holding Clancy, one arm locked across the boy's chest, dangerously close to his neck, holding him against his red robe.

Clancy was clutching Nico's arm, trying in vain to pull him off. He was kicking his feet, struggling to escape, a pained expression scrunching his face.

Next to them was Jason the pet cheetah, sitting at Nico's side. It trembled. The poor animal looked scared to death.

Nico slowly moved forward, pulling Clancy along with him.

"We've been expecting you," that quiet and slow and rough sandpaper voice said.

Tyler didn't hear him. He couldn't hear anything over the ringing in his ears.

His entire body shook with rage. His chest rose and fell heavily, his grip on his gun so tight his knuckles turned white.

The mere presence of Nico made Tyler and Josh feel inexplicably weak. The tall, red-robed figure gave off such an eerie aura the two were almost scared.

And Tyler was never sacred.

"You have such beautiful minds," Nico mused. His black, soulless eyes were locked on Tyler. "It would be so pleasing to have the leaders of the Clique as my prize."

The way Nico spoke, the words he was saying, it made Tyler and Josh sick.

They weren't objects. They didn't belong to Dema. No one did.

"Let go of the kid," Tyler said. His voice was deep and smooth. His jaw was clenched, eyebrows drawn together, eyes staring daggers at Nico.

He wasn't putting on an act; he wasn't Mad Gear. He was Tyler, and he was furious. He didn't want to play. He wasn't going to play.

He was going to kill that son of a bitch.

"You heard him!" Josh shouted. "Let 'em go!"

Nico chuckled, a sickening sound like nails on a chalkboard.

"Maybe you've misunderstood," the Bishop said. "I want you, so I am going to take you."

Tyler screamed.

He screamed at the top of his lungs.

He raised his gun and fired again.

And he missed.

✗✗✗✗✗
✗✗✗✗✗

One hell of a chapter, huh?

Don't worry, our boy Clancy is gonna be safe and sound.

Just keep reading my lovelies.

-Liz.