drowning in shallow waters

by ran_winkw0nk

Summary:

When Technoblade breaks Dream out of prison, what he was not expecting was Dream to be so…so…How could he put this into words? …Different..? He imagined Dream to come back looking like a fierce lion let out of captivity…but instead he was met with a scared little mouse that felt the need to apologize for existing.

 

A singular question remained in his mind…

‘What happened?’

Notes:

have big plans for this <3 i’ll try to post as often as i can

Chapter 1: “You know the drill.”

Summary:

quackity is back, and he’s had a bad day.

Notes:

TW!!

mentions of gore,
depersonalization,
blood,
torture,
(i’ll leave these next TWs at the end of the chapter, so if you would like, please skip to the end real fast and read it. this tw might give away some. you guys can determine it this is spoiler alert worthy or not)

also, pls tell me if i need to add any TW’s!

Dream was awoken by a sharp kick to the stomach, sending him sliding across the floor and knocking the wind out of him. He wheezed and blinked rapidly to rid his mind of the incessant buzzing. Everything felt so… unreal.
As if he was simply a child at an aquarium.
The world seemed to slip just out of reach… It felt like he was swimming (or drowning).

Sir’s voice broke the white noise in his head,
“You know the drill.”
Dream flinched at Sir’s sharp tone. He sounded mad. More than usual.
He scooted back up against the wall and placed one clammy hand on a nearby chest to help lift his own weight—which was surprisingly little, but felt like the weight of the world considering his now too weak body and fragile stature.

Once Dream had balanced himself, he blinked away the dark spots that clouded his vision and looked up at Sir, who indeed, looked more annoyed than anything. Sir lifted his axe and slammed it down onto the chest Dream was leaning on for support just a couple seconds ago. Dream flinched back and blocked his face with his forearm. Sharp claws dug into his arm, wrenching a pained cry from his throat as the duck hybrid shoved him back into the wall and thrusted their knee into Dream’s stomach. Dream fell to his knees, coughing and sputtering—the casino owner spat on him and sneered,
“Where’s my proper greeting?”
Sir’s golden wings bristled. Dream didn’t have the strength to lift his head, after he had used almost all of it just standing.
“G-Good…” Dream thought for a moment before looking up at the cracked clock on the wall. It was high noon.
“Good afternoon, Sir.” He rasped, too tired to feel humiliated of the honorific he had been forced to use for the past few months and braced for punishment of whatever he had done wrong this time. Sir didn’t hit him this time, instead, he simply smiled, “That’s more like it! Now, let’s get down to business. Are you willing to talk today? Because I’d be more than glad to blow off some steam” The casino owner emphasized the last part wickedly and clenched their teeth. Dream knew he couldn’t just tell Sir that he didn’t remember the Revival Book’s contents.. and if he waited long enough, then the torture would only get worse. He was trapped between Scylla and Crybdis. Oh dear lords, how was he going to get out of this one?
“I..I..uhm..” Dream stuttered and bowed his head. The duck hybrid crouched to eye level and tilted his head to the side.
“Hm?”
Neon green eyes now gone unfocused and dull. A foggy film shielded his dilated pupil when Sir came into view. Dream felt oh so tired all of a sudden as black dots filled his vision. Dizziness took over, and it felt like he had stood up too fast even though he remained on his knees. Black lined his vision and the blood drained from his face. Sir suddenly looked more confused.
“What was that, mutt?” He asked Dream and put a rough hand on his shoulder.
Maybe...Maybe this time he could tell him. End his suffering. He could tell Sir he didn’t remember, and Sir would lash out and finally deliver the coup de grâce he rightfully deserved…No…No…He deserves to bleed…He deserves to suffer for his actions…He doesn’t get to have something as merciful as death...

“Not gonna talk? Oh my gods, Dream…. Listen,” Sir sounded angry this time. His eyes held the hottest of flames. Dream’s breath got ragged. He couldn’t force himself to speak, his throat raw from dehydration.
“I have given you all of my patience, you dumb fucking mutt! I take time out of my fucking day to come see you! Every godsdamned day! I’ve been helping you all this time, and this is how you repay me? That’s it! If you don’t wanna talk, then don’t!” Sir yelled in his face and stood. He pried his axe from the
chest and approached Dream with teeth bared.
Before he knew it, Sir had shoved him to his back with one foot and kept him pinned while he raised his axe. Dream yelped and tried to scoot away to no avail as Sir brought his netherite axe down. The blade missed his head by a hair, sticking the sharp tip into the obsidian below, leaving Dream to squirm and weakly grasp the foot holding him down.
“Qua—Sir, please..please” Dream pleaded.
Sir seemed to perk up at that, as if he’d just remembered something important. Then he smiled, that sickening, terrifying upturn of his lips that would send a shiver down anyone’s spine.
“You’re right, green man. I don’t want to kill you just yet...Y’know, I’ve had a pretty shitty day as it is...so seeing you beg me to stop will be like music to my ears.”
Needless to say, Dream immediately regretted speaking at all. He’d rather Sir put him out of his misery than suffer longer. Why did he say that? Why would he say that?

The duck hybrid threw his axe to the side and reached down, picking up Dream by the collar of his prison jumpsuit. It was a stupid mistake. He wasn’t thinking. It just slipped.

Sir dragged him over to the cauldron of water and dunked his head in the lukewarm water. It would have been icy, if it weren’t for the hot veil of lava surrounding, causing Dream to sweat profusely. The water filled his nostrils and stung his eyes from the amount of blood and dirt making it impossible to see through it’s cloudiness by now. It hurt. Sir adjusted his other hand to grip him by his hair and yank him back out of the water again, allowing him to take a half breath before plunging his head into the water again. He held him under longer this time. Water filled Dream’s lungs and he screamed, only to generate even more bubbles, making little room for air. Sir pulled him out and threw him to the floor. Dream gulped air like a fish out of water, because technically, he was. Very soon, however, he was on his hands and knees, coughing and heaving. Tears filled his eyes and he hiccuped some more, hugging himself thin.

Sir had more plans, though, so the break was short-lived. The winged man crouched in front of Dream and spoke,
“That was fun, wasn’t it? No? Well I certainly liked that. I’ll have to remind myself to do stuff like that more often...Oh! I have an idea!” Sir grinned and grabbed Dream by his wrist. He proceeded to haul him over to the edge of the lava, so close that the heat felt to be cooking his skin where he stood. Sir reached into his inventory and whipped out a long, shiny, branding rod. It looked brand new, sharp edges and polished metal.
“Ah, yes. This baby got out of the blacksmith’s just last week. I’ve been saving it in case I needed to refresh your memory. Because if you start thinking you’re higher than me, I have to put you in your place. And now, since you’ve been wearing my patience thin, I have no choice.” Sir smirked and dipped the tip of the rod into the lava and pulled it out after a second. The rod was red hot and dripped with lava. Sir looked over at Dream, who was now crawling to the other side of the room as fast as his weak and tired body could take him. Sir tapped the end of the rod on the ground, shaking off the ash and droplets of lava still sticking to it.
“Drowning you was fun, but I really do need that info. So, if you have any knowledge on the Revival Book that you’d be willing to share with me, please speak now or forever hold your peace” Sir quoted with a smirk as he approached the man who was currently curling in on himself in the farthest corner.

Sir cooed and clicked his tongue,
“You brought this upon yourself, really. You should be grateful that I visit at all, unlike everyone else on this damned server. Since I care enough to visit you, I think it’d be only fair to give you a mark of my own that’ll remind you of me!” Sir giggled, fake sympathy licking his words.
“Consider it my token of appreciation! Hopefully after this, you’ll realize how powerless you really are. Doesn’t that sound fun? Killing two birds with one stone; isn’t that nice?” The duck hybrid hissed the last word as he planted the burning design on Dream’s back, burning through the jumpsuit and into skin. Dream writhed in agony and dug his nails into his own flesh, drawing blood. Sir tore away the rod, nearly finished with the branding and now very annoyed by all Dream’s squirming, making it hard to finish the imprint.
“Stop squirming, would ya?” He slammed his foot into Dream’s back, flattening him out and pinning him down. The casino owner then bared his teeth and dug the rod back into his skin, sizzling and tearing flesh, a sickly sweet aroma filled the room once Sir had taken it back a second later.

“See? That wasn’t so bad, now was it?”

The sight was sickening…
Torn and burnt flesh, bits of muscle and tissue, trails of blood slithering down Dream’s spine, and at the center of it all, was an immaculate design of a cartoon duck.

“I don’t know about you, but I feel so much better now that that’s off my shoulders. I’ll see you in two days! A short break would be nice..” Sir smiled and picked up his axe. He turned his back to the trembling form still lying on the cold obsidian floor and called to Sam, the veil of hot lava slowly making way for a bridge coming across.

And with that, he was gone.

Notes:

TW! (Small Spoiler)

thoughts of verbal self-sabotage in order to end one’s suffering by the doing of another,

drowning
____________________________________

 

—sorry this chap took me awhile pals. i was spending time with family for the holidays—

Chapter 2: “I’ve got this under control.”

Summary:

Technoblade is here, and he’s suddenly 10x more protective

Notes:

TW!

Panic attack

 

((i don’t believe there are anymore tws..but if there are anymore i should add, please let me know! i’ll put them up as soon as i can :D

A piercing explosion accompanied by the sound of glass shattering startled Dream awake. His eyes shot open and his ears rang, making him cover his ears and let out a loud whimper. An alarm sounded, making it much worse on his poor ears. Trying to curl in on himself only stretched the skin on his back and made him scream in pain. The ringing hadn’t stopped and everything was so loud and it was really hot and why was there an explosion? Is someone coming? Will they hurt him? Where is Sir? Sir will be so mad! He’ll— Strong arms wrapped around his frail figure and lifted him. When he looked up, all he saw was a blur of pink, red, and beige.

Technoblade.

Dream’s mind started to wander and as Techno carried him, he noticed that he didn’t feel any of his wounds—hell—even his back felt numb! His senses felt so heightened, and even so, he still couldn’t feel any of his injuries. His head was pounding and blood rushed in his ears, mixed with the ringing and muffled voice. Everything was so blurry and dots peppered his vision..Time seemed to go by so fast. Techno set Dream down and sat directly across from him. Techno pulled out a tool he couldn’t place the name of and reached up to his face. Dream flinched back and scooted away. Techno grabbed Dream’s wrist lightly and asked him to come closer. Dream obeyed. He knows he must never disobey orders. Techno brought the tool closer to Dream’s face and cut the leather strap that held his muzzle in place. The muzzle dropped to the floor and Dream gasped. He brought his hand up, feeling around for the cool metal and leather, but it was all gone. There was a muffled voice telling him something…and as he felt around for the muzzle, which was now lying on the ground, his mentality was completely obscured by a thick fog. Dream spiraled deeper and deeper as he felt around his face, trying and failing to process what was happening. A glass bottle was brought to his lips. The muffled voice was back..but it sounded clearer this time, cutting through the haze. “—ink….ter…ease” Dream heard bits and pieces of Technoblade’s sentence, like a laggy phone call. Dream tilted his head and took a sip from the glass, the sweet liquid washing over his taste buds and coating the inside of his mouth with a sweet, sticky, gelatin-like substance.

 

It healed most of the small wounds and fixed any internal bleeding, but other than that, all the big injuries would need closer inspection and proper dressing. The brand, however, would definitely need stitching.

The potions effects ran through his veins almost immediately, even with just a sip. If he had anymore, though, he’d surely throw up. Another potion was held to his chapped lips, this time, he could see a bright orange-ish liquid that smelt of ash and bit like honey… either way, he sipped some of it and the effects immediately got to work, making his skin feel cooler, as if he’d been suddenly dunked in a pool of tea tree oil and toweled down. A shiver ran down his spine, the heat of the lava having no effect on him whatsoever.

Technoblade adjusted his hold on Dream and stepped over the rubble, telling him to take a deep breath, since they’d be swimming through lava in just a moment. Dream took a deep breath and screwed his eyes shut, the fire resistance taking him over fully as he was now submerged in the lava. Techno moved quickly and maneuvered Dream through the lava as fast as possible.

——

Once they were in the cave, Techno lightly set down Dream and let him catch his breath. Dream quickly brought his hands to his ears when the sounds of yelling leaked through the walls of the cave from the prison. Tears streamed down Dream’s face, and he started rocking back and forth. Dream’s breathing quickened too, which was…not good. Technoblade didn’t know how to comfort him, so he just nudged Dream’s knee with his knuckle, gaining Dream’s attention immediately.

“Can…Can I touch you?”

Dream looked like he definitely didn’t want Techno to touch him but nodded anyway. Techno scooted closer to Dream and sat in front of him; he leaned in so their foreheads touched and put one hand on Dream’s shoulder, the other carding through the blond’s messy locks. Techno wasn’t one for calming someone down, especially since that was Phil’s thing, but he did remember how Phil would help him when the voices got too loud.

“Hey…It’s gonna be okay, alright? I’ll stay right here with you, and I won’t leave you. We have to go though, and we can’t stay for long, but it’s going to be alright. We’ll escape this hell hole together, and I won’t let anyone hurt you. I’ve got this under control. Me, Phil, and Niki have been planning this for weeks. I promise we’ll get you out of here.” Techno whispered to a volume so even if Dream was covering his ears, it still got through to him.

“Okay, Dream, do you know the 4-7-8 method? I need you to follow my breathing” Techno said slowly and exaggerated his breathing, hoping for Dream to follow.

“Breathe in through your nose for four seconds,” Techno tapped the beat on Dream’s knee.

“then hold for seven seconds,” He held his breath and watched as Dream puffed his cheeks slightly.

“and breathe out through your mouth for eight seconds.”

He breathed out and watched as Dream did the same. That alone made him want to cry of relief, but he kept tapping on Dream’s knee and exaggerating his breathing for another few minutes until Dream’s breathing evened out fully until all he heard were a couple light sniffles and hiccups. “When we get home, we’ll get you all fixed up, and we can have hot chocolate and no one will ever find us. You can cuddle with Steve and we can sit by the fire..Don’t you like Steve?” Dream nodded once after a second.

“Yea…Steve’s nice… oh, hey, do you wanna play a game?” Technoblade questioned. Dream nodded again.

“Can..can you talk right now?” Dream waited a moment and nodded slowly. “Alright, uhm, can you name 5 things you see?” Dream nodded but stopped himself and rasped, “Y-You…wall…lava, coal, and a tor—” Dream let out a loud cough. “-a-and a torch” He cleared his throat and wiped a few stray tears. Technoblade winced at how broken and tired Dream’s voice sounded, but he spoke nevertheless to try and calm his own and Dream’s nerves. “Alright. That’s good! Great job, Dream! You’re doing so well, I’m proud of you” Techno smiled and continued, “Now, can you name four things you smell?”

“Uhm..uh..dust…sweat, damp grass…a-and something sweet.” Technoblade cringed at how Dream seemed to notice the aroma of his own burn marks, which still had that sickly sweet smell that Techno chose not to comment on.

He’d already seen the burn through Dream’s jumpsuit and the brand when he picked up Dream.

“Well done! You have an excellent sense of smell, Dream. You’re doing great! Can you name 3 things you taste?”

“Metallic..sweet…and bitter” Metallic? Shouldn’t the healing potion have helped with that?

“We’re almost done. You’re doing wonderful so far! Two things you can hear?”

“Your voice, and the-the lava…”

“And finally, one thing you can feel?”

“My clothes..”

“You are very good at that game, Dream! I’m so proud of you. Do you…Do you think you’re ready to get going now?” Techno asked softly. Dream sniffed once and nodded.

“Can you walk?” Dream thought for a moment before looking down to avoid Techno’s gaze and slowly shook his head. “Alright, that’s okay. I’ll carry you, but you’ll have to take a deep breath and hold it in when I tell you because we’ll have to go through water.”

——

Technoblade gently passed Dream to Phil, who cradled Dream to his chest as carefully as one would be to a newborn. Phil turned and walked over to his horse and whispered, “Hey, Dream?”

Dream hadn’t the energy to even move his head to look up at the man or even hum and acknowledgement, so he just tightened his grip on the blond’s coat. Phil noticed this and his eyes only softened and he said quietly, “We’re going to get on a horse now, if that’s alright. We need to be fast though, so we can’t walk it, I’m afraid.” Dream only frowned, but allowed himself to be hoisted onto the horse, and wrapped his arms around Phil as they rode.

Notes:

sorry for really short chap. but in this chapter, it’s featuring the one, the only man ever, Philza Minecraft. so that’s gotta make up for it, right? right?? °v°* oh my gods please don’t hurt me, i’m sorry—it won’t happen again, i swear—please..i’ll make longer chapters, I’LL MAKE LONGER CHAPTERS!

Chapter 3: “He’s losing oxygen!”

Summary:

They get back to the cabin, and Dream’s not lookin so hot

Notes:

TW!!

Vomiting
Blood
 

(btw, i’m not a doctor, so some of the scenes in this might be a bit inaccurate)

Phil cocked his head slightly and yelled over the snowstorm, “We’re almost there! I can see my fence in the distance!” Techno wasn’t far behind. After getting Ranboo out as well and making sure no one would follow, he caught up quickly with a short cut he hadn’t told Phil about. Dream felt like throwing up. — Phil’s horse skidded to a halt at the pen.

Phil got off and helped Dream next, leading the horse in the pen after. Technoblade came to a stop right behind them and got off. He took a moment to catch his breath and lead his horse into the pen as well. As soon as their horses were fenced in, Phil turned to Dream and asked, “Can you walk?” Phil got his answer when Dream’s knees buckled and Phil caught him. So, he hoisted him up bridal style, and carried him up the steps, kindly asking Techno to open the door for them before carrying Dream inside and setting him down on the couch. Phil stretched and popped his back, then turned to Techno and gestured for them to go to the kitchen.

They sat down and Phil leaned in, whispering even though Dream probably couldn’t hear them from in the living room. “He’s way too light for comfort. I thought Sam was supposed to be feeding him?” Phil looked concerned. Techno simply answered, “Well, when I was with him, he hardly ate any potatoes, claiming that ‘raw potatoes made him feel sick.’ He proved his point when I made him eat more and he ended up just throwing up all over the floor which was disgusting. Bleh.”

Right then, almost as if on cue, they heard Dream heave. Technoblade shot up from his chair in an instant, almost knocking it to the floor, and ran to the living room. Phil sat there, completely flabbergasted for a moment before standing up and following after Techno. By the time Phil got there, Techno was already by Dream’s side and talking to him.

“Are you alright? Can I get you anything?” Dream just simply wiped his jaw lazily and slowly blinked before whispering, “W-Water…”

“Okay, I’ll go get you some. Hey, Phil, can you—” Phil cut Techno off with the answer he was looking for, “On it.” Techno and Phil met in the kitchen. Phil, grabbing a bowl and some cloth as well as a bottle of chemicals. Techno, fetching Dream a glass of water, cloth, and a potion of healing.

Phil quickly got to work on scrubbing out the bile, while Techno gave Dream his water and started soaking the cloth to apply to Dream’s more visible wounds on his face and hands. That reminded Technoblade, “Hey, Phil, we should probably get Dream cleaned up and out of those labelin’ rags they call prison wear.” Phil nodded and stood, taking the dirty cloth and empty bottle to the kitchen. He set the items on the counter and returned to Technoblade’s side, turning his attention to Dream. “Mate, you ain’t looking so good, so we’re gonna get you in a bath, alright? Is that okay?” Dream lolled his head to the side and nodded slightly. “Ok, you’re gonna have to wait a second, though, so I can get the water ready. Is it alright if Techno reads to you while you wait?”

“Is fffine…” Dream slurred and turned to look up at the ceiling. He giggled and hiccuped once, “Back kinda hurts.” That was all he said before closing his eyes and smiling at nothing. Techno and Phil went into a panic as a couple droplets of blood leaked from under Dream. They quickly lifted him up, noticing a large blood stain on the couch cushions. Technoblade picked up Dream and carried him to the dining table. Luckily there was nothing in their way as Techno set Dream down and carefully flipped him over.

Holy shit…

There was blood, too much blood, and Dream was losing more and more by the second. Techno quickly flipped him back over and unzipped the top of the jumpsuit. Phil rushed over and helped sit Dream up and get his top off, revealing the gruesome image of a cartoon duck staring back at them. Blood leaked from the open wound and trailed all down his back. Phil had seen so much worse, but he had to keep himself from vomiting this time and looked away. The image stayed engraved in his memory, and oh, how he wished he could just forget it. But now was not the time to panic, he had to get Dream to stop bleeding, and fast. Phil reminded himself of his first-aid knowledge and prided himself on finally being able to put it to use.

First, he needed clean cloth. Phil took off his black robe and ripped off the bottom of it before tossing it to the side. Next, he had to apply direct pressure to the wound. So, Phil wrapped the cloth around Dream’s chest, covering the brand entirely. Dream giggled and laid his head on Techno’s shoulder. And now, since Dream’s been bleeding all over the place, his blood pressure must be low and if his blood pressure was low, then that could only mean he’d also be running low on—

“Phil—Phil, he’s losing oxygen!” Techno shouted. Phil ran a hand through his hair and shouted back, “I’m moving as fast as I can! I just gotta…” He tucked the end of the cloth under the first wrap. “Done! Windows!” Phil lifted Dream into the air and rushed to the door, which Techno had already opened. Phil knelt on the ground and sat Dream up in his arms like a ventriloquist puppet, saying, “Dream, come on, you need to breathe. I know it’s cold, but you need to breathe for me, okay?” Dream simply looked at Phil and blinked. Phil supposed just telling him wouldn’t work and started tapping Dream’s thigh, breathing in an exaggerated breath, holding it, and breathing out to the rhythm of the tapping. — Dream finally started breathing normally. Phil and Techno both let out a sigh of relief where they sat on their porch.

“Let’s…Let’s go inside. You left the windows open, right?” Phil asked Techno.

“Yup.”

“Good, cause we’re gonna need to keep them open for a bit.” Phil carried Dream back inside and set him on the couch once more. Techno flopped down next to Dream and let out a sigh, “That was exhausting”

“Tell me about it.” Phil agreed and sat next to Techno. He slipped his bucket hat off and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand before tossing it on the coffee table. The sun was just beginning to set in the sky and the two were already drained. Phil got up to go get some tea for them.

By the time he got back, they were both dead asleep and leaning against each other. The sight was hilarious yet adorable at the same time, considering that they were once arch enemies—and were now closer than they’d been in a while. Hell, they didn’t even look like they cared that they were this close..they just felt so tired that they set all their cares aside and hugged up close to each other and breathed the same air for a moment as they slept soundly next to one another. Phil couldn’t let this scene slip, so he quietly left the cabin and tiptoed to his own.

Once inside, he scrambled up the ladder, nearly slipping a couple times and barged through the door, snatching his camera off the nearest shelf and making his way back down the ladder and to the other’s cabin. Phil held up the camera,

Say cheese..

Notes:

couldn’t pass up the perfect opportunity for a photo, could he?

Chapter 4: “Did you have a bad dream?”

Summary:

Dream has memories and a panic attack.

Notes:

TW!!

past abuse
panic attack

if there are any other TWs that should be mentioned, please let me know!

“You’re nothing but a fucking monster.”

Sir hissed and grabbed Dream’s face harshly.

“You and Technoblade have caused so much pain and destruction. You deserve this. You shouldn’t have been alive in the first place. You deserve to bleed.”

The duck hybrid reached up with his pliers and forced Dream’s mouth open.

“The only reason you’re still alive is simply because, one, you don’t deserve to be let off the hook so easily and freed from your sins, and two, you’ve got info. And if you’re not gonna spill, then I’ll just make you..” He grabbed a tooth with said pliers and yanked. Dream let out a pained cry as the tooth fell to the ground.

“We don’t have to do this Dream…Just tell me what I want to know and I’ll stop.” Sir loosened his grip on Dream’s jaw slightly, allowing him to speak. He waited a moment and finally let go.

“You know, I was gonna rip more teeth if you decided to stay quiet, but I actually have something much more entertaining.”

Dream didn’t want to know…but either way, he stood stock still, worried if he moved an inch, Sir might get mad and strike him. Sir reached into his inventory and pulled out what looked to be…

A….

No. It couldn’t be. Sir wouldn’t bring such a thing. He wouldn’t…

“I’ve just been calling you ‘prisoner’ this whole time…but I suppose it would be a nice change, hm, mutt?”

Sir held up a muzzle.

Dream woke up screaming and crying. He brought his hands up to his face and felt around for the muzzle, finding nothing, but he could still feel the leather straps and metal between his teeth and resting on his lips. Suddenly, a loud pair of footsteps were heard, and Dream flinched. What if Sir had come back to get him? Were they upset with him for yesterday? Had they gone to get Sir for being bad? These thoughts only made him cry harder. Soon enough, someone was crouched in front of him.

“Mate, mate, are you okay? What’s wrong? What happened?” The person asked in a panicked frenzy and put a hand on Dream’s shoulder. Dream flinched harder this time and slammed his head back into the wall, making him yelp. The person immediately took their hand away as if it had burned them. Someone else stepped into view and looked Dream in the eyes.

“Dream, listen to my voice” The one speaking had a deep voice. “Did you have a bad dream?” Dream was shaking like a leaf and only answered with, “Please—Sir, I’ll be good! I’ll be good I swear! Please don’t make me put it on!” He was tripping over his words and curling up into a ball. Phil looked confused but Techno seemed to connect the dots. Techno turned to Phil and whispered, “During my 3 months, he had to wear a muzzle, and wouldn’t stop mumbling about how hard it was to eat and he was always so paranoid about someone going by the honorific, ‘Sir.’ Whenever I asked who this ‘Sir’ was, he just started shaking and crying. He kept telling me to only call him ‘Sir’ or else he would get mad and hurt me. He seemed much more concerned about my health overall.” Phil’s eyes widened and he rushed to calm Dream down.

“Can I touch you?” Phil asked softly. Dream did not want to be touched.. What if he struck him for waking them up? What if he was too loud? Dream shook his head and quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry-y for being loud, I-I didn’t mean to, I promise I-I’ll be quiet, please, I’m so sorry” He wrapped his arms around his legs and rocked back and forth to try and calm himself. Phil nodded,

“Okay, that’s alright. Can you tell us what happened then? You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to” Dream immediately started rambling,

“Th-There was the pliers a-and the-the-the..he said..he said.. and-e-entertaining— and I wasn’t being…no…no no no… and then he…and…called me a..a-a..m-mu…I-I can’t..” Dream was having a hard time breathing, clearly. Phil started tapping his finger on the coffee table and breathing loudly. Dream started following his breaths and slowly calmed down. Dream leaned forward, putting his full weight against Phil and allowing himself to fall asleep. Phil, who looked quite shocked, remained frozen where he was, Dream leaning on him, passed out. Phil slowly turned to look at Techno,

“What..What do I do?”

“Your problem now.” Techno got up and climbed back up the ladder. Before Techno closed the trapdoor, he said,

“You’re stuck. If you wake him, I’m not helping. I’m going back to bed.”

Notes:

oooooo it always ends with slight fluff, don’t it?

Chapter 5: “Only one way to find out…”

Summary:

Techno and Phil are detectives boo yah

Notes:

No TWs, I’m not sure. BUT! please tell me if i should write any! :)

Techno and Phil sat in Technoblade’s room, trying to piece together what he had said. Phil left Dream downstairs to rest.
“We’ll have to bathe him soon, but first, what was it that he was saying?”
“I don’t know, Tech. I really don’t know.”
Techno’s eyes suddenly widened and he stood.
“What is it?”
Techno walked over to his nightstand and opened the top drawer, pulling out some pins, thread, parchment, and a fountain pen.
“What are you—” Phil started. Techno held up his hand, cutting him off.
Techno wandered over to a wall covered with a sheet. He ripped off the sheet, revealing an old cork board. Techno quickly got to work on taking down the old pins and slips of paper with messy scribbling. He uncapped his pen with his teeth and walked over to an ink jar, screwing off the top and dipping the pen. Phil cocked his head, still dumbfounded. Techno slammed a piece of paper on the cork board, making Phil jump back. He ripped up the paper and wrote on one scrap,
‘Mutt’
Everything suddenly clicked in place for Phil.
He was writing down everything Dream has said so far!

Phil watched as Techno then wrote and pinned papers to the wall. Once he was done, he stepped back to admire his work.
On the papers were,

‘Mutt’
‘Entertaining’
‘I wasn’t being’
‘Called me a’
‘Please don’t make me put it on’
‘I’ll be good’
‘Sir’
‘Pliers’

“We’re gonna figure out what happened to Dream in that prison no matter how long it takes.” Techno grumbled.

“Well, you were there, why can’t you say?”
“This ‘Sir’ guy didn’t visit while I was there.”
“Did he say much while you were there?”
“We hardly spoke to each other at all. I asked him for all the info he knew, and he wrote about the prison in complete silence. Whenever he did talk, though, he was always warnin’ me and gettin’ all paranoid. Either that, or just crying and hidin’ in the corner.”
“Jeez…He sounds so much different than the Dream I knew.”
“I know, right?” Techno agreed.
“Anyway, is this all we’ve got?”
“Yeah” Techno grimaced and pointed to the paper that read, ‘Sir’ and said,
“I'm assuming Dream was called a ‘Mutt’ by ‘Sir’ because he was wearing that muzzle like some kind of rabid dog.”
Techno wrapped thread around the three pins,
‘Mutt’, ‘Sir’, and ‘Please don’t make me put it on’
“I can only guess that’s what he meant by, ‘Please don’t make me put it on’ as in, not make him wear that muzzle again.” Phil stood shell shocked at how well Techno was piecing things together. And at that moment, Phil started putting things together in his head and stepped forward, lightly nudging Techno out of the way.

Phil grabbed the thread and started connecting pins until…
‘I wasn’t being’-‘Entertaining’—‘Sir’-‘Called me a’-‘Mutt’
Atleast, that’s what Techno thought went in order from what he connected.
“As for the pliers, I’m guessing that was a form of torture. Only one way to find out...” Phil carefully opened the trap door and started going down the ladder. Techno followed quickly after.

Notes:

ooOooOOoOoOoOoOOoOooOo Technoblade Holmes and Dr Phil Wattson

Chapter 6: “No one will hurt you ever again”

Summary:

Tech and Phil clean Dream and then
S T I T C H E S

Notes:

TW!!

stitching
slight mentions of gore

 

if there are any i missed, please let me know!

 

 

(I’m no doctor, or a surgeon, so pls no hate)

They checked his fingernails and toenails, then reached up to open his mouth. Phil paused, worried Dream might wake up. Techno looked over to Phil,
“What’s wrong?”
“What if he wakes up?”
“Well…uhm…We do kinda have to check his other wounds… Would it make you feel any better if I gave him a potion of weakness?”
“Yes, Techno. Yes it would.”
With that, Techno wandered over to the kitchen and crouched, checking under the sink and retrieving a splash potion of weakness from the far corner of the cabinet.
“Now, it would only scare him if we tried to make him just chug it, since he’d have to be asleep for a long time for us to do a full inspection, so I got something just as powerful as a full bottle. But, if he wakes, and he will, I need you to calm him down as the effects set in.” Techno ordered Phil.
“And what about me?”
“Glass o’ milk.”
“What if I fall asleep too?”
“You’ve built a slight immunity to splash potions, right?”
“…Yea?”
“Great. You won’t die. Just some milk will cure you, right as rain. Don’t sweat it, old man. I won’t let you fall asleep.” Techno smirked to himself. Phil gave Techno a bitter look at the nickname but nodded anyway. Techno ran back into the kitchen and came back shortly with a glass of milk, setting it on the coffee table next to Phil.
“Alright, I’ll be just over here, so be weary of any glass, cause I ain’t gettin’ the backlash of those effects.”
Phil shot Techno a glare before turning to Dream and placing a gentle hand on Dream’s arm.
“Ready?” Technoblade asked and held up the potion.
“Ready.” Phil assured, signalling Techno to smash the potion on the floor.
Dream shot up in an instant and whipped his head around, frantically searching for the source. Tears built in the corners of Dream’s eyes. Phil quickly dove to Dream’s rescue and began carding his fingers through Dream’s bloody, dirty, matted hair and smoothing out any loose strands. He carefully combed through Dream’s blond locks, calming the man almost immediately.
“Hey..Hey..It’s okay. That was just Techno. Everything’s alright. No one’s hurt..Me and Techno are here, we aren’t going to hurt you..It’s alright…Sir isn’t here. Sir can’t hurt you now that you’re under the protection of the Antarctic Empire. No one will hurt you ever again.” Phil traced around Dream’s knuckles with his thumb and continued to untangle the knots in the blond’s hair with his other hand. Phil yawned and let his eyes droop slightly as he slowly set the younger down to rest again.
Once Dream was fast asleep, Phil reached a shaking hand over to pick up the now heavy glass of milk and raise it to his lips.

After just 3 sips, Phil wasn’t so tired anymore and helped Techno sit Dream up. Dream, who was fast asleep, would be knocked out for the next 3 hours. 3 hours was all they needed.
“Wow. Went a little overboard with calming him down, huh?”
“Oh, zip it, Blade.”
“Come on! I mean, yes, that did sound pretty calming, but you could’ve said something like, ‘Oh, it’s alright. You’re okay. I’m okay. We’re all okay. It’s pretty poggers’ Not a short speech—I mean—I’m not sayin’ don’t do it, it’s just, that was a little excessive is all.” Techno shrugged. Phil stared blankly at Techno and blinked a couple times before turning back to Dream and undressing him the rest of the way. Techno checked in Dream’s mouth and, to no one’s surprise, he was missing teeth. Whoever had done this to Dream, was surely going to get a beat down after this. Phil turned to Techno,
“We gotta bathe him now. But after that, we’ll need to remove the skin on that brand or the scar tissue will never heal correctly. After that, stitches.” Phil stated. Techno looked a little sick and turned to Phil,
“Can’t we just fix all the other wounds first and then worry about the brand?”
“Yeh, sure, whatever.”

—

The water was lukewarm by now, and they had already set Dream in the tub to soak. They kept his boxers on to let him keep his dignity and his privacy in such a vulnerable position.
Techno grabbed a sponge and soaked it in soap and water, scrubbing at the dried dirt and blood coating Dream’s skin.
Phil was lathering Dream’s hair and gently untangling the knots and scrubbing the matts and dirt that’s built up and cemented his locks together.

Once they had scrubbed him clean, they tended to his injuries. The brand had since stopped bleeding and they had bandaged all the wounds that needed attention.
Now, they sat at their dining table with all sorts of tools and supplies, as well as Dream—lying chest down in front of them. They only had an hour or so till the potion wore off, so they had to be quick about it.

Techno soaked up the extra blood with a stray cloth and passed Phil a small dagger.
“Just cut out the brand part and we’ll stitch 'em up. Take a couple deep breaths and—or you could just do that. That’s—Yea. That gets the job done.” Phil cut off Techno half way through his sentence by immediately getting to work so he wouldn’t get anymore nauseous by just sitting around.

The skin was removed, revealing deep red flesh and muscle.
Phil turned to the side and put a hand over his mouth before Techno nudged him and put a curved needle in his hand.
“C’mon, we only got 30 minutes.” Phil shook his head and swallowed, turning back to Dream’s motionless body. He threaded the string through the eye of the needle and leaned in, connecting the needle with Dream’s flesh. Phil had to keep himself from vomiting as he slowly began stitching the brand.

—

After stitching the brand, Phil proceeded to rush to Techno’s bathroom, a hand held over his mouth, and lock the door. Techno winced as Phil heaved from a couple room’s over. Now, he wasn’t going to lie, it was a bit abnormal for Phil to be squeamish all of a sudden, especially because of all the lives he’d taken as the Angel of Death, and all the gore he’d seen.

Maybe it was since they retired, seeing it all over again was just sickening.

Perhaps.

Notes:

AGAIN! im not a doctor. nor a surgeon. don’t judge or i’ll steal your..your uh… your dog! (what if they don’t have a dog, kris, ever think about that?)
i’ll uhm…i dunno. but pls don’t judge.

Chapter 7: “No, Phil! It’s not okay!”

Summary:

Phil talked with Tommy and Tommy wanted to come over. Techno and Phil better figure out something, and quick.

Notes:

TW!!

Past self-harm(hand banging and digging fingernails into flesh)

i think that’s all. let me know if i missed any!

It had been a week since Dream arrived and 3 days since the stitches. Dream, initially, freaked out over getting them and was told to not move his back too much. Technoblade had offered Dream a pair of his heavy linen pants—to which Dream accepted immediately—still very much embarrassed about not being allowed back in his jumpsuit since it was still tattered, gross, and quite frankly, Techno and Phil hated seeing him wear it. Dream sat on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, looking out the window, trapped in a daze. Techno awkwardly cleared his throat and walked over to Dream.

“Hey..uhm…I have a pair of linen pants and I-I uhm..thought you might..want it..?” Dream turned to Techno and nodded quickly. Techno smiled at that but caught himself and returned his features to neutral.

“Alright. The bathroom is down the hall, and uh, if you need anything…uhm…I’ll be in my room. Just call or I dunno…make some noise.”

Techno reminisced of a time he couldn’t call for Phil’s help when the voices were too loud. He couldn’t speak. his throat felt as if it had closed up and all he could do was let the hot tears stream down his face and dig his fingernails further into his scalp. That night, the only way he got Phil to come and help was banging his head repeatedly on the wall. It was partially to get his attention, but mainly to try and get them to shut up. They were so loud.

Dream nodded to him and shakily stood, slowly making his way down the hall.

 

Phil was currently in his own house, talking with a very paranoid Tommy over his communicator.

“Can I please hide at your place? Listen, Phil, I’ve been trying to be a big man, I really have! But…That green bitch could be anywhere and I can’t risk sitting on my ass and waiting for him.”

“Mate, calm down, it’s okay. You can—”

“No, Phil!” Tommy cut him off,

“It’s not okay! You can’t just say that like Dream isn’t out and about, ready to kill!” Tommy shouted over the line. Phil covered the speaker and took a deep breath.

“You can come to me and Techno’s house if it’ll make you feel any better. We’ll keep you safe.” Tommy didn’t know who had broken Dream out of prison yet, nor who had helped with it. Phil was planning on telling Tommy sooner or later, he couldn’t just keep the truth from him.

“I will! In fact, I’m bringing Shroud with me too. I can’t risk them being hurt as well.” Phil chuckled lightly,

“Alright, you can bring your therapy spider.”

“They’re not a ‘therapy spider’! They’re my One And Only Son, the Light of my Life, My Little Boy!” Tommy shouted.

“Whatever you say, Toms.” Phil smiled and said his goodbyes as well as Tommy. As soon as Tommy hung up, Phil rushed to Techno’s house and knocked frantically on the door. He would just rush in, but Techno always keeps his door locked just in case. “TECHNO! TECHNO!” Phil cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted. Phil wasn’t normally one to freak out, but Tommy would be arriving very soon. They had around 30 minutes or less. Phil knew that Tommy would try to pack as fast as possible and get there as soon as he could since he was clearly worried about Dream jumping out of the bushes and dragging him back to exile. 

They didn’t have time.

Notes:

Listen, I’m so sorry for being absent for a while. I was spending time with family and since there’s been a new semester, it’s been a big difficult to get back on a schedule. I’m planning on posting again later today, and i apologize for the inconvenience.

-Kris

Chapter 8: “Tommy’s coming over!”

Summary:

Techno and Phil argue a bit :0

Notes:

i dont think there are any tws, if there are, let me know :)

The door swung open and Techno stood with his axe in hand, ready to swing at anyone.

“HEH?!”

“Techno! Tommy’s coming over! We have to hide Dream..or..or..Or something! If Tommy sees Dream, he’s gonna flip!” Phil screeched, Techno grabbing his arm and pulling him inside. Techno locked the door again and marched off to the kitchen, Phil following close behind.

“Well…first things first, we need to clean up any evidence that Dream is also here.” Phil started rambling and sat down across from Techno. 

“No.”

“What?!” Phil’s eyes widened at Techno’s answer.

“We can’t keep Dream hidden forever. We gotta prove to Tommy that Dream isn’t gonna hurt him.” Techno replied nonchalantly.

“But the whole reason Tommy decided to come here in the first place was to escape Dream!” Phil almost shouted, catching himself when he remembered that Dream was like 3 rooms away. 

“Well, he’s just going to have to deal with it.” Techno shrugged.

“But he sounded so scared when I called him!” Phil stressed,

“He called because he felt unsafe! I can’t just allow him to be in the same room as the person he was trying to hide from!”

Phil didn’t know why he was fighting Techno about this anymore. Techno was as stubborn as a mule, and nothing would change that. 

“Yea? Well, you said ‘yes’ to him coming over, right?”

“What was I supposed to say? ‘Oh, Tommy, you can’t come over because Dream is here.’ ‘Tommy, you can’t stay at my house, so why don’t you just stay at your little dirt shack and wallow in fear and paranoia for the rest of your days.’ NO!” 

“So then what do you propose we do? Keep the truth from him forever?” Technoblade made direct eye contact with Phil, a silent message, ‘Just trust me on this’

 

Phil sighed and nodded. 

“Okay. But how do we introduce Tommy to

 ‘Not evil and manipulative Dream?’”

“Just act normal and let Dream chill wherever he wants. And when Tommy arrives, act like it’s completely normal for Dream to be here. Tommy might have a panic attack, or try to run, whatever happens, we have to assure Tommy that Dream isn’t bad anymore, and soon enough, they’ll warm up to each other.”

 

“Techno..” Phil sighed and continued.“They aren’t just going to ‘warm up to each other’, it's going to take literally forever for them to be able to sit next to each other peacefully. But we can give it a try.” Phil finally gave in.

Notes:

sorry for a short one, but i’m gonna post again soon :)

Chapter 9: “Come on, Tommy’s here.”

Summary:

TOMMY ARRIVES!

Notes:

no tws, i think ;-; let me know if i need to add any! :D

Tommy collected his things—well—just the essentials. Y’know. Shroud, Shroud’s leash, 2 stacks of cooked meat, full netherite, his weapons(all of them), cookies, seeds, 3 buckets, his bow, and all his potions. Just the essentials. Then, as soon as he had all that packed and Shroud leashed up, he headed on his way. 

 

—

 

Phil immediately began tidying up and preparing tea. He had already drunk 5 cups today but was still so stressed and constantly looking out the window. At one point, Techno had to pull Phil back inside before he got frostbite. The man looked as if he’d keel over at any second, refusing to take a break and sticking to the windows. Whenever Techno thought Phil had actually sat down and rested, it was just Phil listening for the dogs to go haywire. 

 

—

 

Tommy was already half way through the Nether and could see the portal in the distance. He quickened his pace and smiled,

“Fuckin’ finally!”

 

—

 

The voices were going nuts, shouting this and that, driving Techno insane.

 

HE’S ALMOST HEREEEEEEEE HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

 

don’t be shy, look out the window :)

 

omfg the dogs are gonna go insane lol

 

catJAMcatJAMcatJAMcatJAMcatJAMcatJAMcatJAMcatJAMcatJAMcatJAM—

 

stfu he’s almost here

 

Bring out the fine china :0

 

pogboy_69 is on his way

 

better hide piss baby

 

listen for the dogs

 

—

 

Tommy saw the cabin in the distance and smiled to himself, running towards the faint glow of a lantern in the distance.

 

—

 

HE’S HERE!

 

Techno stood and went over to Phil, who had finally fallen asleep. Techno shook Phil’s shoulder lightly.

“Phil, wake up.” Right then, the dog’s started barking like crazy. Phil sat up with a jolt.

“How long was I asleep?!” 

“An hour. Come on, Tommy’s here.” Techno replied easily. Phil shot up in an instant, nearly knocking Techno over, and ran to the door, flinging it open. Techno followed close behind and shushed the dogs. 

Dream sat up in Techno’s bed as the dog’s went berserk. Nightmares plagued his sleep, and it felt almost like he hadn’t slept at all. The first thought that came to mind was,

 

Is Sir here?

 

Dream panicked and got up, looking around the room for a good place to hide.

 

What if they let Sir in? What if Sir takes him and brings him back?

 

Tears welled in the corners of his eyes, forming a lump in his throat as he helplessly searched for a small space to tuck himself into and hide from whatever danger may come through that trapdoor. 

Dream spotted a desk and immediately dove under it, covering himself in the duvet from the bed so he looked like a pile of laundry. Dream held his breath and covered his mouth. 

 

—

 

Tommy gently turned the door knob and cracked the door awkwardly before kicking open the door and collapsing on the couch. 

“Oh my gods! I cannot believe I actually made it!” He rejoiced and rolled over onto his back. 

“Techno, I am stealing your room and you can’t say anything about it.”

Techno chuckled, but the laughter was quickly cut off when he remembered Dream. He went to stop Tommy, but the boy was already laughing and carrying his bag up the ladder and pushing open the trapdoor.

“You can sleep on the couch!” Tommy half joked and pushed open the trapdoor.

Notes:

OOOOOOOOHHHH TECHNO FUCKIN HURRY

Chapter 10: “How do I put this…”

Summary:

Tommy sees Dream

Notes:

i dont think there are any tws. please tell me if i should make any! :)

Tommy gasped and held a hand to his mouth.

 

Phil squeezed his eyes shut and prayed to whatever gods that were listening. 

Techno’s breath hitched in his throat.

“…Techno…” Tommy began, slow and calm, a slight tremble to his voice.

“Y-Yea?” Techno tried to keep his voice calm.

 

“OH MY FUCKING GODS, DUDE! YOU DIDN’T TELL ME YOU GOT A RENOVATION! THIS IS SICK DUDE! There aren’t papers all over the place and it’s so fucking clean here! This is so cool!” Tommy shouted in child-like wonder and scrambled up into the room, looking around in awe. 

Techno was confused, but still let out a sigh of relief.. but immediately tensed up again when he realized, 

‘Where’s Dream?’

 

Phil stood and followed quickly after, almost slipping on his way up the stairs. Techno rushed after them and stumbled into his room. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he searched the room for Dream. 

 

That’s when he saw a pile in the corner…or, what looked like a pile. It was his duvet…but it was—trembling? 

Techno speculated further and realized

Dream was hiding.

 

It must be hard to breathe under there and really hot…He’s gotta get Dream outta there before he overheats or passes out. 

 

—

 

“Hey, uh, Tommy?” Techno awkwardly smiled.

“That’s my name.” Tommy replied confidently.

“How do I put this…” Techno contemplated for a second.

“Listen, me and Phil brought someone to the house, and they are currently scared shitless. They mean no harm and they’ve been through an awful lot. More than you can imagine. So, I know you may not really like our guest all that much, but they’d be dead if we hadn’t saved them from whatever hell they were in before. Please, no yelling, or swearing too much, and don’t freak them out.” Techno urged and made direct eye contact with Tommy, a very serious look on his face shown strongly.

Tommy’s features softened and he cleared his throat.

“Uhm…And, uh, where exactly is this guest of yours?” Tommy questioned, glancing around the room for a moment.

Techno took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Phil suddenly looked more uncomfortable… Tommy was very confused.

 

“They’re uh…They’re in this room right now.”

 

Tommy chuckled nervously at that.

 

“Where?” 

 

“They’re…well…” Techno slowly pointed over to the trembling duvet on the ground. 

 

Tommy’s eyes widened and he just simply stared at the pile.

 

Techno looked Tommy in the eyes and said,

“You may not be too keen on finding out who’s under that blanket, but I assure you, they are completely harmless. Do not yell at them. They are very sensitive, even though you may not believe it at first. One second,” Techno said sternly and turned to the pile, slowly approaching it. 

 

Techno lowered his voice drastically and carefully put his hand on the figure.

 

Dream froze. He felt as if he couldn’t breathe anymore. 

He’d been caught. 

There were muffled voices in the background, and one sounded from right next to him.

 

“Hey, Dream? It’s me, Techno. It’s okay, you’re safe. Can you come out?” 

 

Tommy stood stock-still. His breathing quickened and his fight or flight instincts were going nuts. 

Dream? He’s back? 

 

Memories flashed through Tommy’s head faster than he could think. 

 

He’s back he’s back he’s backhe’sbackhe’sbackhe’sbackRUNRUNRUNRUNRU—

 

A gentle hand was placed on his shoulder. He flitted his gaze to the person beside him.

 

Phil.

 

safesafesafesafesafesafe

 

Phil gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze and looked back over to where Techno was crouched. Tommy watched as well. 

His thoughts slowed as Techno muttered soft affirmations to the blanketed figure and gently rubbed their back.

 

“It’s okay. It’s just me, Phil, and Tommy. Tommy won’t hurt you. Sir is far from here. Phil is here, too. Phil will protect us if anyone comes up here.” Techno spoke uncharacteristically soft. It sent shivers down Tommy’s spine.

 

Dream slowly took off the blanket and peeked his head out.

 

Tommy wanted to cry. He wanted to scream. His view on Dream had changed so drastically in the past few seconds that Dream had come into view. His mask…was gone. 

 

And with that, all Dream’s scars were very much visible. 

He was practically painted with them.

 

Dream and Tommy stared at each other in silence.

Notes:

healthy dose of prolonged eye contact

Chapter 11: “One week.”

Summary:

Switching POVs a bit, but either way, Quackity’s pissed and for the first time, Sam is actually shook.

Notes:

TW!

yelling

 

i dont think there are anymore tws, tell me if i need to add anymore :)

Only then, had Tommy noticed the corkboard. Phil and Techno were downstairs with Dream. Papers were scrawled on the desk and a fountain pen rested on the ground. Thread, pins, and scraps of parchment strewn across the corkboard.

Tommy looked a little closer and read the papers. A couple words/sentences were connected specifically by thread. It took a moment for Tommy to piece it apart and guess the order, but, in the end, all he read was:

 

“I wasn’t being-Entertaining—Sir-Called me a-Mutt”

 

It only confused him further. He now knew that Techno and Phil broke Dream out of prison, but he didn’t understand what the corkboard messages were for. He’d have to ask Techno about that later.

 

Phil and him had talked earlier about if he’d ever be able to 

‘get along’ with Dream. Tommy narrowed his eyes at the corkboard.

 

Never again. 

 

—

 

The look on Tommy’s face when Dream took off the blanket was indescribable—and that same look stayed engraved in Techno’s mind. He couldn’t stop trying to imagine what Tommy was thinking at that moment. It was a mixture of fear, shock, anger, and sadness. 

 

—

 

Phil shifted his gaze over to Techno. He looked lost in thought as he brushed Dream’s hair after the blond had allowed it. Phil wanted to reach over and shake his shoulder to snap him out of it, but whatever he was thinking about, it seemed important, so he wouldn’t intervene. 

 

Dream seemed to be forcing a smile off his face and he looked awfully tired. Phil was just hoping that Dream would finally get some proper sleep. He took a sip from his teacup and sighed. 

 

All of us need some proper sleep.

 

—

Quackity heard the alarms loud and clear, quickly rushing to the prison to find Dream, but no one was in the cell. Just rubble and dust. The ruins of the glass and sensors lay in ruin, shattered glass littering the cell. Quackity slowly turned to Sam with a hard glare. 

“ Where is he ” The question was short, simple, and should have been easy to answer.

 

“I don’t know.” Sam mumbled.

 

Quackity shouted and wrapped his hands around Sam’s throat, shaking him and cursing wretched things. 

 

“Q-Quackity—Listen—” Sam tried and failed.

“NO, SAM! YOU LISTEN TO ME! WE ARE GOING TO FIND THAT FUCKING MONSTER AND PUT HIM BACK IN THAT GODSDAMNED CELL OR I’LL HAVE YOUR FUCKING HEAD” Quackity screamed at him in rage.

“B-But—”

“NO BUTS! I DON’T CARE IF YOU’RE THE FUCKING WARDEN OR WORK AT SUBWAY, I’LL HAVE YOUR HEAD ON A STAKE IF I CAN’T GET THAT DUMB MUTT BACK IN IT’S CAGE”

 

Quackity yelled and finally let go. He took a deep breath and seemingly calmed himself down.

“One week.” was all he said before turning to leave.

“We don’t even know where to—”

“ONE WEEK, SAM.” With that, Quackity left.

Notes:

Sam is s h o o k e t h

Chapter 12: “What’s Jenga?”

Summary:

tommy, techno and dream play jenga :D

also, tommy goes on a walk

Notes:

no tws as far as i know, let me know if i should add any :)

Techno drags Tommy down to the living room to sit next to Dream. 

 

Tommy scoots further away so he isn’t sitting directly next to him. 

 

“So! Bonding activities! Any ideas?” Techno asks with a forced smile. 

“No. I’m not doing any of your fucking ‘bonding activites’” Tommy put the last part in air quotes with his fingers and crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. 

 

Techno sighed and left the room for a moment.

—

 

Techno came back a bit later with a box of some sorts a

s a n d w i c h e s.

 

“What the fuck is that”

 

“J e n g a”

 

“Omfg Dream it’s Jenga” Tommy’s eyes lit up as Techno slowly tipped the box, revealing the already stacked blocks. Dream gasped and sat up straight, gazing at the large tower of blocks.

“We’re playing Jenga?” Tommy asked in disbelief. 

“Yuh” Techno simply replied and quickly added,

“So, who’s going first?”

“What’s Jenga?” Dream questioned, staring wildly at the tall stack in front of him.

 

Techno and Tommy gasped in unison,

 

“I knew you were a traumatized, homeless teletubby, but I expected you to at least know what Jenga is” Techno seemed slightly offended.

 

“I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry—” Dream started apologizing but Techno shoved a sandwich in his mouth, cutting him off. 

 

“Here, Techno sandwich for your worries” Techno smiled and reached over to pull out one of the blocks.

“May I have a  T e c h n o  s a n d w i c h  as well :)?” Tommy grinned at Techno.

“Of course, why the fuck do you think I brought them in the first place?” 

Tommy opened his mouth to answer but Techno held up a finger,

“Don’t answer that. Your turn.” Techno gestured to the tower. 

Tommy slid out a block and put it on top.

 

—

 

They had been playing Jenga for at least an hour by now, and Tommy got more comfortable around Dream.

 

“Alright, big man, you’re up” Tommy lightly elbowed Dream with a sinister smile.

 

“B-But—It’s not even…It’s swaying! How am I supposed to…” He paused in thought and reached out a shaky hand, using his index finger to gently nudge a block out of the stack.

 

Techno was happy that Dream had dropped his whisper and had started to form more of a solid, less frightened personality. At first, Techno always approached Dream as if he was a hurt animal that was terrified of everything(in a way, it was true) but Techno had never seen this side of Dream before. He supposed that Tommy just had that kind of effect on people, to reveal a more fun personality for them and make them feel more free and open. Happier. 

 

“Hey, Tech, you there man?” Tommy was waving his hand in front of Techno’s face, snapping him out of thought. Techno blinked a couple times before reaching forward instinctively to pull a block, but was only met with air, a pile of blocks lying on the ground. 

 

“Dream knocked the tower over. We’re out of sandwiches. And I’m going to kill you if I don’t get more Techno sandwiches ASAP!”

 

Dream flinched at Tommy’s shout, to which Tommy immediately turned to face Dream and apologized quickly. Dream was already shook by the sound of the tower crashing and Tommy rubbed his back, soothing him and petting his hair softly. 

 

“Anyway, I’m gonna go out for a bit if you don’t mind.” Tommy smiled and stood, leaving the cabin. 

 

Techno shook his head and chuckled at Tommy’s antics. He met Phil in the kitchen, who was leaning against the counter and grinning like an idiot.

 

“So, they’re getting along?” Phil smiled wider(if that was even possible.)

 

“And you said they wouldn’t.” Techno retorted and took out the bread knife, slicing a loaf.

 

“Eh. Past is in the past. I get it, I was just a little doubtful at first, but I guess trauma really helps in situations like these if they both have it. They have something in common. Both have been hurt more than any should ever have to live with…and they are able to deal with each other’s presence because of it.” Phil rambled, heartbreaking slightly half way through. Neither of them deserved what happened to them, but what happened, happened; and they couldn’t stop it from happening either way. 

 

Techno nodded and finished the sandwiches. Dream was playing with his fingers and tracing his own knuckles with his other hand just as Phil had done that one time. He seemed entranced in thought, looking but not seeing the wall in front of him. Techno set down the plate of sandwiches on the coffee table, snapping Dream out of his trance in the process. 

 

Tommy said just for a bit.

 

Techno wondered to himself where Tommy might be.

 

—

 

Tommy was having the time of his life. He was walking and talking with a raccoon about his whole life story(leaving out the trauma and shit) and everything was calm…

yup. Everything was completely fine…

Totally normal…. 

Nothing bad was gonna happen….Nothing unexpected…would be a shame if something bad did happen though and I threw you back into a pool of angst, huh? yea. everything is completely normal and nothing bad would ever happen…

 

Shroud was following in the trees and Tommy had already named the raccoon he found. Their name was Toast. Toast was a blond raccoon. Tommy enjoyed Toast’s company, and Toast enjoyed Tommy’s company.

 

[A/N] HAH! YOU THOUGHT SOMETHING BAD WAS GONNA HAPPEN, HUH? well, too bad. this chapter is only happy stuff :) enjoy it while it lasts… also, if anyone knows the fanfic that this raccoon is from, congrats. you get bragging rights :)

 

Tommy started to ramble to Toast and quite frankly, it seemed the raccoon didn’t mind and almost looked as if they were listening. 

 

Shroud crawled down from the trees and went to Tommy’s side along with Toast.

 

“Listen, fellas, I’ve been thinking recently, maybe I could actually be friends with Dream instead of putting up a fake happy go-lucky facade about hanging out within 4ft of my former manipulator, like—wouldn’t it be nice to just drop it?” He ranted and stared Toast in the eyes.

“You’re right! I can’t just drop it! I’ve still got trauma and shit, and I’m gonna live with that for the rest of my life! But…Dream’s also got trauma now apparently, so maybe we can bond over that and cry on each other’s shoulders because apparently that mother fucker is a completely different person from that..that… green bitchboy that fucked over Wil—my nation!” Shroud made a sound of distress at Tommy.

“I know that I would normally be acting all immature and completely irrational, saying stuff like, ‘i can’t go near that dude who is clearly still out to get me and definitely doesn’t have trauma just like me that’s worth acknowledging’ cause saying that shit is just fuckin messed up, selfish, and stupid. Like, who in their right mind would believe that now??”

Tommy thought for a second before saying,

“I guess it is a little weird…maybe it’s because I’ve been beaten around so much that I’ve got no choice but be rational, get over my fears, and be mature. I never really got a chance to grow up, and it seems that neither did Dream, so I guess we could grow up properly together. Clean slate…”

 

“Gods, Tommy, you sound like Phil” Techno’s voice startled Tommy, who immediately whipped around at breakneck speed and fell back into the snow.

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT—COCK AND BALLS” 

Techno chuckled at Tommy’s reaction. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone scream that out of shock before.” Techno smiled, walking over to help Tommy up.

“Jeez, Tech, you scared the ever living shit outta me..” Tommy gasped, grabbing at his heart and using his free hand to grab Techno’s, hoisting himself up. 

 

“Why would you follow me?”

 

Techno shrugged and smiled,

“I dunno. Just wanted to know where you were off to for like half an hour.”

 

Tommy stared at him incredulously for a moment before half shouting, 

“Half an hour?! You must be as old as Phil is with your terrible time per—percepto…Percep—Per…Pertio…” Tommy stumbled over his words for a moment.

“Perception?” Techno questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes! That! Only an old man like you would know that word”

Tommy grinned maliciously at Techno as they walked back to the cabin.

“I’m not old. I’m 22.” Techno deadpanned.

“No. You are very old and dusty, I can smell your old man wrinkles from here”

“You can’t smell wrinkles?”

“Exactly! I am a full adult with a big fists and bills to pay. Your sense of smell is significantly lower due to your incredibly old age ”

Techno chuckled and shook his head as Tommy listed off the reasons as to why he was so old. Dream and Phil both looked up from their card game, Speed. 

“ And! And, and! Don’t forget! You’re currently retired. Retirement home. Only old people such as yourself and Phil go to retirement homes” Tommy smiled wickedly, staring up at Techno with a challenging look.

 

While Phil was distracted, Dream placed down the rest of his cards and slapped the table, 

“Speed!” 

Phil snapped his attention back to the deck and brought his hands to his face, hissing.

“I win again!” Dream truly smiled this time.

“Gah! Dream, I swear, I’ve played Speed and so many other card games for years, how are you of all people, able to best me?” Phil half pleaded, shocked at Dream’s amazing skill.

Dream just shrugged.

“Practice.”

 

—

 

Phil let Tommy bring Toast in. So, now Toast lay at Tommy’s feet, stretched out on their back and lightly snoring as Tommy wrote down what had happened that day. His therapist, Puffy, had recommended he take up journaling as a way to cope.

 

Dear Journal,

 

Got to Tech’s. Played Jenga with Dream and Tech. Dream is not as much of a wrongun as he was before, so that’s sort of progress..? pog? Anyway, I went on a walk and met a raccoon, which I named Toast. Toast is pretty poggers. That pink-haired bitchboy snuck up on me and scared the shit outta me. He keeps denying how old he is. Techno and Phil have a weird corkboard. I should really ask them about that soon. Phil’s tea tastes nice. It’s like Jasmine with honey and cream or smth.

 

-Tommy

 

Tommy put down his pen and lied back down in Techno’s king sized bed. It was like laying on a cloud. Very soft. Tommy leaned to the side and placed his journal on the nightstand. 

 

He’d just have to ask them about the corkboard tomorrow.

Notes:

ooooooooooo gonna be a tough conversation, huh? anyway, tongue tied is a pretty good song, what do you guys think? i’m totally not distracting you so you won’t think about the next chapter (°▽°*)
*sweats profusely*

(edit from future author: people can’t just set their trauma aside for a magical friendship with their past abuser, it doesn’t work that way. i was just too lazy to make chapters describing how they slowly came to terms with each other, and i was definitely aware of these facts at the time, i just wanted fluff right away cause the gods and goddesses above know i deserve the fluff lmao)

Chapter 13: “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Summary:

Tommy had a bad dream :(

Techno and Phil talk

Notes:

TW!

vomiting
derealization

Tommy woke up the next morning in an instant with a massive headache and an upset stomach. He got up as fast as possible, swaying slightly and blinking away the black dots that peppered his vision. Tommy almost slipped on the first rung as he clambered down the ladder and made a sharp turn down the hallway and barely made it to the toilet in time before he was vomiting like there was no tomorrow. Techno heard everything and quickly got up, rushing to the bathroom and kneeling by Tommy, rubbing his back gently.

He was fully awake by now and knew to call Phil. Dream was sleeping beside Tommy that night and Techno instructed them both that if they were stressed out or anything, they could call. 

 

Dream sat up as soon as he heard Tommy get up and make his way down the ladder. He rubbed his eyes and got up to follow Tommy. Dream felt a little funny…Like he was floating. His head was foggy and his legs felt like they were led. His feet didn’t touch the ground and his legs didn’t strain. All he saw before he fell to the ground was Tommy climbing down the ladder in a rush. 

 

Phil was fast asleep before his front door was slammed open. Phil jolted awake and fell out of bed, quickly regaining composure and throwing on his robe, tumbling down the stairs to see who it was. He hardly had time to put on his sandals when Techno ran inside and grabbed Phil’s shoulder, looking him straight in the eyes. Shocked, crystal blue, meeting determined, stark red. Phil immediately questioned Techno, his heart rate spiking.

“What happened? Are you okay? What’s going on??” 

“It’s Tommy—I—He just threw up—in the toilet of course..I don’t know what to do..?” Techno grunted with just as much confusion lacing his words as Phil. 

Phil nodded once and the confusion was replaced with worry and determination, pushing past Techno and slipping inside his cabin. Phil made his way down the hall as sounds of sobbing and hiccuping filled the cabin. Phil winced as another heave was heard. He knelt down by Tommy and rubbed his back, just as Techno had. Techno stood in the hall, pinching his nose and looking at the ceiling. 

 

It brought back bad memories and he honestly hated the sight and smell of vomit. It made him sick.

 

Soon enough, Tommy felt better and was just sobbing. Techno had left to get a wet rag. Phil listened to Tommy’s rambling between broken sobs.

 

“Da—Phil—I…I can’t, I was back in exi-ile and…and Dream was th-there and” Tommy burst into tears and hid his face in Phil’s shoulder, crying his heart out. Techno came back soon after but paused. Phil was trying to ignore how Tommy almost called him ‘Dad.’

“Bad time?” Techno asked as Tommy weeped.

Phil looked over his shoulder at Techno and mouthed,

‘Just a second’ 

Techno understood and sat on the ground. 

Phil wrapped a wing around Tommy as some sort of comfort and gently ran his hands through Tommy’s blond locks. 

 

Gods, why did they have to be so broken?

 

—

 

Once they got Tommy all cleaned up, Phil sat next to Tommy and talked to him. Techno took one last glance at Tommy and decided to check on Dream, who would most likely be freaking out right now. He expected to walk in(or rather, climb in) on the other blond sobbing and hugging himself, but what he witnessed was completely different. Dream was sprawled out on the ground, completely passed out. Luckily, there was no blood or anything, but there was the possibility of a concussion..

 

Techno rushed to Dream’s side and flipped him over, resting Dream’s head on his lap. He examined Dream for any injury, but found none. Techno sighed in relief and let himself relax. 

 

The only thing he had to really worry about now was why he passed out. 

 

Techno shook Dream slightly to no avail and just decided on picking him up and laying him back down in his bed, tucking him in. He’d have to revisit that later.

 

—

 

When Techno got back downstairs, he felt pretty awkward for walking in on their conversation. Tommy was talking to Phil quietly and seemingly attempting at not bursting into tears once more.

 

“—and..and then th-there was this..and..” he took a deep breath and Phil gave him a patient nod.

 

“y-you weren’t-n’t there..” Tommy sniffled and a single tear rolled down his cheek. 

“Oh, Tommy…” Phil gave him a pitying look and opened his arms for a hug, which Tommy immediately dove into, sobbing like the world was gonna end at any moment. Tommy grasped at the back of Phil’s robe like a lifeline as Phil whispered soft things like,

“It’s gonna be okay”

“I’m here now”

and

“He can’t hurt you anymore.”

 

As soon as Techno came into view, Phil looked up. Tommy loosened his grip and turned around to face Techno. Honestly, he kinda felt bad for the kid. He didn’t deserve to bear the weight of all that pain and suffering. 

 

Techno sighed softly and went to the kitchen. No, he wasn’t making tea, that was Phil’s thing. He was stress cooking like he always does.  

 

Phil came in right as Techno was cutting the potatoes into eights. 

 

“Potato soup?” He questioned, but Techno shook his head and used his knife to swipe all the pieces into a bowl to set aside.

“No,” Techno replied shortly and reached into a cupboard above to grab the olive oil.

“fish.”

“Ah, so what’s that then?” Phil leaned on the counter as Techno reached into another cabinet and pulled out Parika, Rosemary, and Thyme. 

“Side dish.” He grunted and began pouring the olive oil over the potatoes as well as sprinkling the spices on top. Techno placed the bowl in the furnace and turned to leave, but Phil grabbed his shoulder.

 

“What’s wrong?” He gave Techno a worrying look.

 

Techno shrugged off Phil’s hand and crossed the living room, leaving the cabin to grab the fish that was hanging up outside. 

 

Phil sighed and sat down at the table, drumming his fingers impatiently. What was he to do with Techno? He knew that something was up when he started cooking. Only Phil ever did the cooking but was teaching Techno as well. 

 

Techno arrived in the kitchen once more, placing down the two salmon he retrieved from outside. Phil watched Techno skin and cut open the fish, pulling out the bones and tossing them in the trash. Techno slammed down the cutting knife, slicing through the fish like a hot knife through butter, and leaving a mark on their precious cutting board. Phil sighed once more and got up, plucking the knife from Techno’s grip and putting the tip down on the board.

“Watch.” Phil instructed and Techno nodded.

Phil put the heel of his palm on the fish and curled his fingers, slowly bringing down the blade and making an even cut on the fish. He glanced at Techno and pushed the fish forward a bit, keeping his knuckles against the side of the blade and slicing it again.

“If you don’t curl your fingers, you’ll lose one.” 

Techno nodded and took the blade from Phil, repeating what Phil had done. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Phil asked softly and looked Techno in the eyes. 

Techno sighed, knowing he couldn’t just ignore the question and took out a pan, placing the fish even across it.

 

“It’s just…” Techno poured the olive oil over the fish.

“I want to know what happened to Dream, and now Tommy’s here and that makes it so much more complicated,” He ranted and sprinkled the spices on the fish carefully.

“and Tommy needs help as well and I want to know who this mother fucker called ‘Sir’ is,” Techno put the pan in the top furnace.

Phil nodded to show he was listening and gestured for them to sit at the table, to which Techno happily obliged, sitting across from Phil as always.

“and I don’t want to say the wrong thing and scare either of them, and I know I’m supposed to be strong and cool—but  it’s just…” Phil placed his hand over Techno’s and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Techno sniffed and looked down at the table, avoiding Phil’s gaze.

“It’s just really hard.” 

Phil’s eyes softened and he spoke at a near whisper,

“It’s okay to not be okay.”

Techno slowly looked up to meet Phil’s eyes, and for the first time, Techno felt truly vulnerable. 

Phil got up and circled around the table, kneeling to Techno’s level and opening his arms. Techno sniffled and leaned in, wrapping his arms around Phil. 

 

Phil has only gotten a true hug from Techno 5 times. Make that 6. 

Notes:

techno is the big sad : (

Chapter 14: “I’ll go get Techno”

Summary:

Dream has nightmare of exile :(

Notes:

TW!!

blood
manipulation

tell me if i need to add anymore

The world went black, leaving room for a new to come alive. Truly alive, but not living in his eyes. Dream glanced around. He was in a cold boat, rowing through a rainstorm. He thought he was alone…until he heard a soft, broken sob. He looked over his shoulder, only to see a beaten and bruised little boy with hopeless eyes and tears spilling down his dirtied face. 

 

“I d-don’t want to go.. Why did Tubbo leave me?” The boy asked, voice hoarse and quiet. He heard his own voice, stronger and sharp as a blade.

“Tubbo sent you away, Tommy. Besides, you did this to yourself. You hurt your nation. You put everyone at risk. I am simply here to keep everyone safe from you and your childish actions.”

The boy bowed his head and sobbed. 

 

He didn’t really say that, did he?

 

…..

 

The boy’s hair was so dirty that he almost looked like a brunette besides the bits of blond sticking out here and there. His face had tears streaks clearly visible washing past the dirt smeared around his face. Dream was standing in a tent with the boy. 

“Thomas, I thought I told you to get ready for training. Did I not?” His voice uttered, a scowl forming.

 

The boy’s name was Thomas. 

Thomas reached up a scrawny arm and scratched his shoulder through a hole in his shirt. Dream cocks his head at him slyly. 

“I’m just… tired, is all.” Thomas averted his gaze. 

 

“Why? Is it because your best friend left you for his stupid country? He doesn’t care about you. He never did. He was just putting up with you. I’m the only one who cares enough to visit. I give you tools, food, shelter, and this is how you repay me? By being lazy?” The voice spits, making the boy flinch. Tears build in Thomas’ eyes.

“I’m sorry. I’ll get ready.”

 

….

 

“Again!” The voice shouted at the young boy laying on the ground, head bleeding. 

The boy shakily stood and brought his sword up, getting into his stance.

“Bend your knees unless you want to get knocked back down. Gods, I can’t believe I decided to even visit today when you’ve done nothing but avoid my instruction.” The voice complains, Thomas immediately responding in a flash.

“I-I’m sorry, Dream ! I didn’t mean to..I’ll…I’ll learn. I’m sorry for not listening. I’m sorry for letting down my best friend.” 

“Just like I taught you” Dream smiles underneath his mask and strikes Tommy Thomas across the face with his sword. Thomas drops his sword and falls to his knees, reaching a trembling hand up to his face. 

Blood beaded at the long slit and slipped down his face. 

 

The man shook his head with a frown tugging at his lips. He brought up the hilt of his sword and jabbed the boy in the back with it, sended the boy to his hands as well, coughing.

“You said you’d learn.” The man snarled, kicking away Thomas’ beaten up wooden sword.

 

“Pathetic” He spat and watched as the boy’s blood dripped to the dirt, soaking in.

“Y’know, I wanted to do something fun with you after training, but now you’re wallowing? That’s sad. But, nevertheless, as your friend I should help.” Dream sighed and knelt, handing Thomas a water bottle from his inventory.

 

“Can I please have—” Thomas began, the man cutting him off.

 

“What? What more could you possibly want? I so graciously offer you a hydrating bottle of water, and so much more, and it’s still not enough. You’re so ungrateful.” He growled and kicked dust into the boy’s face. The boy coughs and he wipes tears from his eyes. 

 

…

 

The man gets out his shovel, digging a new hole for the boy while Thomas mindlessly tries to redirect his attention to a mooshroom that had wandered into Logsted. He pauses when his shovel breaks into a hollow area with light spewing from the hole. Dream digs more, completely ignoring the boy’s antics. A whole room filled with chests is revealed. He face palms and lets out a shaky breath, attempting to calm his anger. 

 

“I thought you were better than this, Thomas.” The man stated, uncharacteristically calm.

 

The boy stumbled over his words and grabbed Dream by his shoulder.

“Wait! Dream, I’m so sorry—I-”

“I trusted you. I am your best friend! You don’t keep secrets from best friends. After all that I’ve done for you. This…You went behind my back, and—and you… No. That’s the last straw.” He hopped down into the hole and started pulling out sticks of dynamite and a box of matches.

“ Dream wait!” Tommy screamed and tumbled into the hole as well to try and stop him. Dream watched through his own eyes as the man knelt and began lighting the tnt. He took a couple steps back as the TNT exploded. The boy covered his ears and cried out in pain. The man stood and crawled out of the hole, slipping past the boy. He pulled more dynamite from his inventory and lit them, scattering them throughout Logsted and the boy’s base.

The boy tried to stop him, to no avail. The man watched as the boy attempted to collect the TNT and move it, only getting hurt in the process. Thomas screamed when Tnret was reduced to ash and rubble. Blood trailed down from his ears from the explosion. 

The boy knelt in all the rubble, frozen in shock. He slowly brought one hand up to his ear and snapped his fingers. Tears welled in Thomas’ eyes as he snapped once more, then trying the other ear. 

 

Dream smiled and approached Tommy, placing a hand on his shoulder as the boy continued to frantically snap next to his ears. 

 

“A fresh start”

 

—

 

Dream’s eyes flew open and he gasped. Phil was sitting in Techno’s room reading when he heard Dream suddenly sit up in bed, taking in a sharp breath. Tears trailed down the boy’s man’s face and he brought his hands up to his ears, trying to drown out the voice in his head. ( His voice)

 

Phil got up and rushed to the blond’s side, asking him what was wrong in an instant. 

 

“A fresh start”

“A fresh start”

“A fresh start”

“A fresh start”

“A fresh start-A fresh start a fresh startaftreshstartafreshstartafreshstart—

“SHUT UP!!” Dream screamed and Phil snapped his mouth shut. Everything suddenly snapped into place in Phil’s mind.

 

“I’ll go get Techno”

Notes:

I’m sorry.

Chapter 15: “It’s…It’s there”

Summary:

Dream is frightened to figure out that all that really happened.

Notes:

no tws…i think. let me know if i need to add any

Techno sat Dream down at the kitchen table and talked for a bit. Tommy was allowed to sleep a bit more in Phil’s cabin after the incident that morning. 

 

A little later, Tommy joined them. Only now had Dream noticed the long scar over Tommy’s face and the hearing aids.

 

If the scar had been an inch longer, it would’ve rendered Tommy blind as well. A couple times, more than he should, Tommy had slept with his hearing aids in so if any danger approached, he would hear it and wake up instantaneously. 

 

Phil rubbed his eyes lazily and took a sip from his tea. Dream began to panic again, realizing that the nightmare had really happened. Phil noticed Dream’s breath pick up as he stared at Tommy. Even though Techno and Dream had talked, Dream didn’t tell Techno the entirety of the Dream. 

 

“Hey, hey, mate, what’s up?” Phil fled from the kitchen and sat next to Dream. Tommy was staring right back at Dream now.

 

“It’s…It’s there” Phil had no idea what Dream was talking about.

 

“What’s there?” He questioned and leaned back, giving Dream some breathing room.

 

“The..The…” Dream paused and reached up his own hand, tracing a line across his face, gesturing to Tommy’s scar.

Tommy tilted his head and reached up to his own face, feeling the scar tissue. 

 

“Oh my…Dream, what was your nightmare about?” Techno knit his eyebrows in concern and leaned in.

Dream slowly pointed at Tommy, touched his own ear, and balled his hands into fists, pushing them together before parting them and splaying his hands out-imitating an explosion. 

 

Techno’s eyes softened and he gently muttered,

“The Logsted incident.” 

 

Tommy tensed up and stared down at the table.

He had told Techno and Phil all about exile if only for them to help in any way they could. Well, Tommy actually signed it to them because he was technically deaf. 

 

“Dream, were you scared?” Tommy asked, voice barely a whisper. 

 

Dream nodded.

 

“Do you remember what happened?”

 

Dream shook his head.

 

Of course. 

 

He was scared and confused. Tommy wanted nothing more than to shout at the man, but he really shouldn’t when he was this fragile and couldn’t remember a thing. It was almost like he was… a ghost.

Notes:

…

Chapter 16: “I want to talk without words”

Summary:

Techno teaches Dream some sign language

Notes:

no tws, i think. let me know if i need to add any

Techno brought Dream out on the roof of the cabin one night.

 

Dream wore Techno’s red cloak while Techno wore his heavier, lightblue cloak lined with more fluff.

 

Dream pulled the cloak tighter around himself and watched the stars. 

 

“So…Ranboo said he’s going to stop by tomorrow. Are you cool with that?” Techno looked over at the blond. 

Dream shrugged and took a second before answering,

“Who’s Ranboo?”

 

“Ranboo is pretty cool. He has a husband and a son apparently. He forgets a lot of stuff though. Don’t mind how tall he is, he’s a really nice guy.”

 

Dream nodded and he nervously turned to Techno. 

“Can…I want to talk without words. Talking hurts my throat.” 

Techno didn’t understand that well but could tell it was probably from not talking for days or even months on end. His eyes sofftened and he slowly reached over.

“Can I touch your hands?” He asked, Dream nodding slightly.

 

Techno held one of Dream’s hands up. 

“Do you know what sign language is?”

Dream shook his head.

 

“Well…it’s talking but with your hands.” 

Dream looked confused.

“Here, I’ll show you the alphabet.” 

Techno held up his free hand and made a fist, thumb untucked. 

“This is A” 

Dream copied Techno.

 

—

 

Phil was starting to get worried. Dream and Techno had been out there for hours…

 

Right as Phil had stood to go and find them, the sound of a trapdoor opening and footsteps sounded, trailing downstairs. Dream’s cheeks and nose were red as well as Techno’s. Phil sighed and leaned on the wall.

“You scared me! I thought you two had died or something…” 

“Technoblade never dies!” Techno smirked and lightly elbowed Dream.

“Show Phil what you learned” He smiled and watched Dream sign the alphabet.

 

Phil grinned and praised Dream.

“That’s wonderful, Dream! You learn quickly!” 

 

Dream smiled. Sir never praised him. 

 

—

 

Techno spent the rest of the night in his room, teaching Dream signs and pulling books for sign language off his shelf. Tommy watched from across the room and laughed at Techno’s jokes, occasionally diving into their conversations to show Dream how to swear in sign language.

 

At the end of the night, before Techno left his room for Dream and Tommy to sleep, he placed the stack of ASL books on the nightstand, gently ruffling Dream’s hair and saying, 

“You can study on your own if you’d like, but make sure to get some good sleep. We have much to do tomorrow.”

Notes:

i promise the next chapter will definitely be longer :)

Chapter 17: “Who sent you?”

Summary:

Quackity sends his goons(Slimecicle & Purpled) to take Dream back

Notes:

no tws, i think :0 tell me if i need to add any

 “Slime, buddy, listen,” Quackity kept his tone even and calm.

Slimecicle nodded eagerly, a grin tugging at his lips with barely concealed excitement.

 

“I need you to go to Technoblade and Philza’s cabins. Can you do that?” Quackity questioned—but it was more of a demand than anything.

 

Once again, Slimecicle nodded. 

 

“While you’re there, can you search their cabin? But make sure you’re quiet and sneaky, don’t blow our cover. I’m sending Purpled there as well to pick up Dream if you find him there.. I have everything else covered. I just need you to do a quick inspection. I’ve checked every house on the Greater Dream SMP, Kinoko Kingdom, Snow Chester… beyond that, even.” The casino owner traced the calluses on his hand with his thumb and smirks, reaching into his pocket and brushing past the small ceramic chip that sat heavy in his pocket. 

“If you find him, take him out back and pass him to Purpled. He’ll do the rest.” The curl of his lips was sly and tickled with poison. Quackity tilted his head slightly, lips parting slightly to reveal a single gold tooth among rows of pearly whites, brought into a sickening smile.

 

Slime bounced on the balls of his feet like an excited six year old at a theme park.

 

“So, what are you waiting for? An invitation?” Quackity snapped. Slime spluttered and turned on his heel, picking up speed as he went.

 

—

 

Tubbo put a hand on Ranboo’ shoulder and held up a finger.

‘Wait here’

 

The goat hybrid climbs the ladder to their room and stumbles over to the nightstand, snatching up a writing utensil and Ranboo’s memory book, making their way back down stairs just as fast as they had ascended. 

 

They smiled and held out Ranboo’s book for him.

Ranboo smiled and gently plucked it from Tubbo’s hands as well as the pen, tucking it in his satchel. Ranboo leaned down and nuzzled Tubbo’s cheek before they kissed and parted ways. Tubbo stood in the doorframe, huffing out a dry, uneven laugh.

He forgot to say goodbye to Michael.

 

Tubbo rolled his eyes and let out a strangled noise, weirdly pitched and awkward sounding, though loud enough for Ranboo to hear. Ranboo stopped in his steps and turned to face Tubbo, incredulously. 

Tubbo grinned and ran inside, eventually returning with Michael in his arms. Ranboo’s eyes widened and he ran back, quickly signing,

‘I love you, Michael. I love you, Tubbo. Goodbye.’ 

Ranboo leaned in and headbutt Michael, nuzzling him before leaning back and kissing him on the forehead. Tubbo waved at Ranboo, turning to go back inside.

 

Ranboo huffed and trudged through the icy snow, biting his ankles and whipping his sides, scratching his face and pointed ears. 

 

—

 

Tommy glared at his food, though the anger was short lived when Dream walked in, snapping Tommy’s attention to the tall blond. 

Dream looked from Tommy, and then to the bowl before signing,

‘Want me gone so you can be mad at soup in peace?’

He was still learning the basics. He had apparently tried to study all night and all day before coming down for lunch. 

 

Tommy groaned and rubbed his eyes, turning to look at the slightly amused man.

“No, it’s fine, I’m just not hungry, but Phil is making me eat and I feel like I’m going to be sick”

 

‘You need food!’

 

“I know! Just…maybe not that much food” Tommy simply replied, shrugging again and resting his chin on his palm, propping up his elbow on the table. 

 

“Anyway, since you just started learning sign language last night , I’m guessing you got some good sleep since you’re already so fluent” Tommy glared at Dream.

 

Dream sighed and signed to Tommy,

‘Sorry. You’re right. I should get sleep.’

 

“You better, or I’m slipping sleeping pills into your tea.” Tommy grinned mischievously and took a slow sip of his own tea. 

 Dream suddenly felt significantly less thirsty and put down his tea, choosing to look out the window instead. The snowstorm hadn’t let up and Dream just hoped that Ranboo would be safe.

 

—

 

Slimecicle danced on his toes and slunk in the shadows.

“We’re off to find the cabin! The wonderful cabin of Philza from the Antarctic Empire! Blah blah blah blah blah—lyrics I remember but am too lazy to sing!” Slimecicle sang as he dodged ponds of ice and pushed through the harsh winds of winter.

 

He dodged clumps of hail as he danced along, arms coated in a thick layer of ice and snow. A light blue cloak lined with white fur and clad in jewelry caught the light, making Slime freeze. 

“Technoblade from Pogtopia! How good it is to see you! I am also made of bones :)!” Slimecicle announced his presence and bounded over to Technoblade, who looked rather confused.

 

“Who sent you?” He snapped and grabbed Slime by his shirt, slowly drawing his sword and examining his surroundings.

“…” Slimecicle was about to answer enthusiastically with,

‘Quackity from Las Nevadas of course!’ but Quackity taught him to lie in case anyone asked. So he responded with what Quackity had made him rehearse for hours.

“Foolish from Las Nevadas! Foolish from Las Nevadas told me you have the blueprints for a project he is working on!” 

Slimecicle said and hugged Techno. Technoblade seemed skeptical before letting out a quiet laugh and saying, 

“Of course he’d feed that lie to you just to get you out of his hair. Come on, let’s get you out of the cold.” Technoblade muttered something else to himself before leading Slimecicle to his cabin. 

 

—

 

Phil heard the dogs barking and ran outside, shushing them, and walked to the fence, expecting Ranboo…but instead, Techno was already back from his stroll and he had—Slimecicle? 

 

“Slimecicle?” 

 

“Philza from the Antarctic Empire! I am here to get blueprints from Technoblade from Pogtopia!” Slimecicle declared and gave Phil a slimy hug.

Phil seemed taken aback for a moment before awkwardly hugging back.

 

‘Why is he here?’ Phil mouthed to Techno behind Slime’s back.

 

‘Quackity sent him’ Techno signed and frowned at Phil. Phil frowned back but quickly plastered back on his fake smile, pulling away from the hug and gesturing for them to go inside.

 

Phil knew to trust Techno because he also knew that Techno could tell a lie from anywhere and Slime’s body language while he said it practically declared the lie. The only person Slime took orders from was Quackity. Phil signed to Techno quickly,

‘Did he hug you too?’

‘Yes’

‘Think he’s lying?’

‘I know he’s lying.’

Slime was blissfully unaware of the frantic signing behind him.

 

—

 

Dream started quizzically at Slimecicle, who looked way too happy in his presence. Slime hadn’t stopped rambling to him about how cool it was to see him here. He didn’t understand who Slimecicle was… not entirely, anyway. That is, until Slimecicle brought up Sir.

 

“Yea! And the crazy thing is, Quackity didn’t even have to ask!” 

 

Ah, so here’s where the shoe was finally dropped. His breathing picked up, despite his sad attempts at the breathing exercises Phil had taught him.

“What’s wrong, Dream from the Greater Dream SMP?” 

 

Dream snaps his mouth shut. He didn’t know what to do. Before he can stop himself, a choked sob escapes his lips and a string of words along with it.

 

“I don’t want to go back there. Everything hurts so much. I-I don’t want to—I can’t— and I’m so tired -I-I—” 

Dream was cut off when Slimecicle wrapped him up in a hug, holding him tight.

 

“I don’t know how to help you, Dream from the Greater Dream SMP, but I like hugs, and I hope that helps you so you are not sad anymore.” 

Slimecicle was surprised when Dream hugged back, hiding his face in Slime’s shoulder. 

Techno heard this whole interaction from the kitchen and was actually pretty shocked, because he thought that Dream wouldn’t be speaking for a while..But as long as someone is there to comfort him.

 

If Slime’s shoulder was soaked in tears after their hug, he didn’t mention it. 

 

“Do you feel better?”

 

Dream nodded. 

 

“I have a feeling like someone hurt you. Someone that hurt you enough to make you this upset. Is this true, Dream from the Greater Dream SMP?” Slimecicle asked.

 

Dream was sick of not telling anyone, and quite frankly, he wanted it off his shoulders.

 

So, Dreamed began signing what he could to Slime, half hoping he wouldn’t understand.

 

‘Sir visited me almost daily during prison. Hurt me a lot. Treated me like dog. Told me I wasn’t entertaining enough and forced a dog mouth guard on me. Hurt my back with hot iron duck. Pulled teeth.’ Afterwards, he immediately regretted what he had signed and curled into a ball, hiding from Slimecicle’s burning gaze.

 

“I am sorry. I cannot undo that, but I can be here for you.” Slimecicle smiled and softly added,

“Who is ‘Sir’?”

 

Dream froze up and inhaled sharply.

 

“It is okay if you feel the need to avoid that question.” 

 

Dream shook his head looked at Slimecicle,

 

‘Can’t say name. Guess.’ He signed.

 

“Oh, I have an idea,” Slime grinned at Dream.

“I will say every letter of the alphabet, and you will pat my shoulder once for the starting letter of their name. So, if I said L and you pat my shoulder, I would think of names starting with L. Understand?”

Dream nodded for confirmation. Slime nodded back and began listing off letters.

—

“……..J….K….L….M…N….O….P….Q—”

Dream pat Slime’s shoulder lightly. Slime stopped and pondered.

 

It wasn’t long before the slime hybrid spouted, 

“Quackity from Las Nevadas?” 

Dream looked away and bit down on his bottom lip until he tasted copper.

 

Slime’s gaze softened and he put a hand on Dream’s shoulder. Dream flinched, thinking Slime would hit him…But he didn’t. He stayed tense, though.

 

“Quackity from Las Nevadas spoke to me 3 days ago. He told me to trust nobody. I thought I could trust him. It appears I am mistaken. I cannot trust a man who has hurt people. I know you hurt people, Dream from the Greater Dream SMP, but you have endured more pain than you have caused because of it. I believe you have already strung your consequences and become a better person. I am sorry.” 

 

Dream’s eyes widened in surprise—he hadn’t expected that answer at all. 

 

He turned to face Slimecicle before giving him a hug. Slime gladly accepted.

 

—

 

Phil overheard Slimecicle telling Dream about trusting Quackity up until now. He didn’t mean to listen in, and he knew it wasn’t his business, but he had to if only to help Dream in any way he could. Now, he and Techno knew exactly who to rip limb from limb. Technoblade was napping upstairs. He hadn’t heard a thing, but Phil would tell him as soon as he awoke. 

 

…

 

An hour later, the dogs started barking again. Techno got up, grabbed his sword and cloak, and went out to shush the dogs and check who it was. Ranboo stood at the gates, a forced smile and terrified eyes shown beneath his hood. When Techno approached, Ranboo swallowed dryly and tried to greet him, failing miserably and only letting out a small warble. 

Techno knew something was up, but kept cool about it. He noticed the second pair of shoes just behind Ranboo’s, but he knew better than to comment on it immediately.

“Hey Ranboo. Why the long face?” Techno said cooly and smirked.

Ranboo stuttered and stumbled over his words before finally choking out, “Nothing much. J-Just wanted to drop by to chat for a b-b-bi-hiii…hit.” 

“Just to chat for a bit, hm? Alright. Come on, don’t want you freezin’ yer tits off.” Techno gestured for Ranboo to follow. 

 

——-

 

Purpled pushing the knife further to Ranboo’s throat and walked with Ranboo, remaining hidden under his cloak, he walked in Ranboo’s footsteps to hide his own. Ranboo swallowed the lump in his throat and attempted to even his breathing. Blood beaded at the spot where Purpled held the blade, a quiet threat. 

Fear crept up Ranboo’s spine when he felt someone following him. It was eating him from the inside. At the sudden sound of another pair of footsteps crunching in the snow, he whipped around and shouted,

“Who’s there?” 

.

.

.

.

…No answer.

 

As soon as Ranboo reluctantly turned back around, he was met with a pair of bright purple iris, slicing through the snow and suffocating Ranboo under their gaze. They narrowed their eyes and brought a bayonet to Ranboo’s throat, holding their index finger to his lips,

“Shh..” 

 

Ranboo nodded and let the person hide under his cloak, pressing up to him so they were hardly visible. They followed him like that all the way to the cabin, bayonet still pressed just below Ranboo’s adams apple. 

Ranboo took in a shaky breath and stepped through the threshold. 

 

—

 

Dream and Slimecicle both looked up from the puzzle they were doing on the coffee table. 

Dream’s eyes widened and Phil quickly took action, going to stand in front of Dream, blocking Ranboo from view.

“Hello Ranboo!” Slimecicle greeted cheerfully, his gaze flitted to the other pair of footsteps, leading under Ranboo’s cloak. 

“Pur—”

“How lovely for you to join us Ranboo!” Phil cut in and awkwardly approached Ranboo. Ranboo quickly signed,

‘help’ 

‘i know’ Phil signed back and gave Ranboo a hug.

Ranboo let out a choked sound and a tear slipped down his cheek. 

Phil reached through the arm hole in Ranboo’s cloak and grabbed Purpled’s arm, forcing him to drop the blade.

Ranboo gasped and clutched at his neck. 

 

Dream and Slimecicle sat and watched this all go down, shocked as ever. 

 

Phil took a step back and grabbed the back of Ranboo’s cloak, lifting it off him and kicking Purpled to the ground. Purple coughed and grabbed his stomach, heaving. Phil kicked Purpled in the face, satisfied at the loud crack. Phil picked up Purpled, who would not stop kicking and screaming. Slimecicle stood and followed Philza out the door.

“I’m so sorry, Philza from the Antarctic Empire. Purpled from Las Nevadas and I were on a mission. I realize now that our mission was foolish and we never should have trusted Quackity from Las Nevadas.” Slimecicle apologized, but Phil brushed him off.

“It’s alright, mate. You didn’t know. As long as no one’s hurt.” 

 

Slimecicle nodded and watched Phil dump Purpled in the snow outside the fence, turning back to the cabin. Slime narrowed his eyes at Purpled and stepped on his leg before he could rise to follow Phil. Purpled cried at the sudden addition of weight and cursed Slimecicle out.

“WE HAD A MISSION! WHY ARE YOU STRAYING? ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID??”

“I’m sorry, Purpled from Las Nevadas.”

“I’m calling Quackity” Purpled said simply after calming down. 

“He’ll be sure to rip your head off your fucking shoulders.” 

Chapter 18: “Are you guys okay up there?”

Summary:

Quackity is coming.

Notes:

TW!

Slight mentions of blood
Ptsd episode(never experienced this before, please correct me if it’s a panic attack or something else)

(I don’t think there are anymore tws, if there are anymore i need to add, let me know in the comments)

Needless to say, Quackity was pissed the fuck off. He happily answered the call from his communicator, expecting a ‘mission success’ or maybe a, ‘dream acquired’ or something of the sort…Definitely not a, 

“Sorry, sir. But it appears that Slimecicle has taken sides withDream and strayed from our mission.” Purpled’s voice rang in his ears. And, like any movie villain, he crushed the communicator in his fit of rage. 

 

Purpled swallowed at the radio silence on the other end of the line. After all, it could only mean bad news. Surely the anger would be directed at slime boy and not him… Right?

 

—

 

“Y’know, I find it kind of humerus.” Techno smiled and leaned back in the puffy couch cushions next to Phil. Dream and Tommy were solving a puzzle upstairs. 

“What?” Phil quirked a smile and tilted his head to looks at Techno.

“Quackity. He sent his little goons to do his bidding for him because he’s a coward.”

“Well, that was awfully straightforward” Phil chuckled and leaned back as well, staring at the ceiling.

 

A loud thump sounded from upstairs and Phil frowned, a pit forming in his stomach. 

 

“Are you guys okay up there?” Phil shouted, but got no answer. Techno stood with Phil and they made their way up the ladder with expert speed. 

“Dream? Tommy?” Techno called and opened the trapdoor, revealing Tommy on the ground giggling and Dream smiling, a scrappy wooden sword in hand, pointing at Tommy. 

“I win again!” Dream exclaimed and laughed.

Phil huffed a sigh of relief, Technoblade and him going to climb back down the ladder, but suddenly Tommy stopped giggling and went dead silent. Dream stopped as well. He dropped his sword and knelt by Tommy, 

“Oh-Oh my gods, Tommy, I’m so sorry—I—Are you okay?? I didn’t mean to—I didn’t..I didn’t—” Dream began spiraling and staring at Tommy’s face. 

Tommy was shaking and crying, a hand held to his face and another clutching his stomach. 

 

Phil and Techno both climbed back up and rushed to them.

“What happened?” Phil questioned Dream in a hurry, Techno kneeling by Tommy and trying to snap him out of it.

“I-I..no-no, no, nononono! Not again!” Dream’s eyes watered as he stared at Tommy and then at his hands. Phil took Dream’s hands and looked him dead in the eyes.

“It’s okay, mate. Tommy is okay, you haven’t hurt him.”

“B-But I did! He’s—He-He’s blee-bleeding!” Dream cried. 

 

Techno traced the scar on Tommy’s face and held out his hand. Tommy felt as if he was drowning in molasses.

“See? It’s okay. It’s gonna be alright, Tommy. Dream can’t hurt you anymore. You aren’t in exile.” Tommy held Techno’s hand and touched his finger tips. No traces of blood. Tommy traced his own scar and held up his hand. 

 

He wasn’t in exile.

 

The drowning feeling began to let up and he finally let himseld breathe.

 

—

 

Quackity gripped the hilt of his axe, the familiar weight settling in his palms. He was gonna kill that fucking traitor no matter how long it took, and then, he was gonna make sure that green bitch never got to see the light of day ever again—in fact—he didn’t deserve to live. Dream’s blood would stain his hands and he would smile. Technoblade and Philza can learn to mind their own damn business and stay the fuck away from Pandora’s Vault. Actually, he’d had enough of their bullshit. He was gonna take the lives of three people that day, and nothing could persuade him now.

 

The duck hybrid stormed past the welcome sign of Las Nevadas and pulled out the one item he’d kept from the Butcher Army’s infiltration.

 

Technoblade’s Compass.

 

Notes:

Ooooooooo cliff hanger..?

also, short. sorry for not posting for long time :( i’m working on it. i have plans for other stories, though, so that’s exciting :))
i have big plans for next chapter, so don’t worry

Chapter 19: “Dream, mate, can you hear me?”

Summary:

The voice in Dream’s head gets the better of him.

Notes:

!!TW!!

Self harm(look for the ====== stay safe loves! just scroll past until you see the ‘======= TW ENDS HERE’)
Blood
Suicidal thoughts

please let me know if there are any i missed now matter how ‘small’ they may be! i will add them as soon as i can!

Needless to say, Dream’s memories had been plaguing his thoughts more and more frequently. He didn’t know how to describe what he was feeling…but he felt so so wrong. 

 

When he looked in the mirror to clean his face, all he saw was a mutt. Nothing but a godsdamned mutt. That’s all you’ll ever be.

 

Dream screwed his eyes shut and tried to shut out the thoughts, focusing on the feeling of the warm water pouring over his scarred hands and the wet cloth in his hand.

 

Technoblade knocked on the bathroom door.

“Hey, Dream? You've been in there for a while, what are you, constipated?” Techno joked light heartedly, but when he got no answer, he awkwardly tacked on, “I mean…If you are, I uhm, I-I have medici—” “I’m fine!” Dream snapped out of his haze and cut him off quickly.

“No, seriously, like, if you actually are, I can get—”

“Just cleaning my face, Tech” Dream deadpanned and shook his head, wringing out the cloth, turning off the faucet, and rubbing his face with the warm, damp rag.

Techno grunted in response and Dream heard Techno’s boots begin to retreat, but stop and come back.

“But if you ever do get constipated—” “End of discussion.”

 

Techno took the hint.

 

—

 

Techno read Dream and Tommy one of his favorite greek myths about a Greek Hero named Theseus, which of course, Tommy had heard over a thousand million bajillion times but was willing to listen to it again if only to see the look of wonder on Dream’s face. He looked so..young… 

 

Childlike wonder displayed perfectly in Dream’s behavior, even his eyes glimmered with curiosity as he leaned in evermore from where he sat on the floor as Techno rambunctiously read from the book and made wild hand gestures.

 

Dream was absolutely thrilled to hear about this hero. He kept inputting his own comments, gasping, cheering, and spilling all kinds of responses as he sat cross legged on the carpet. No one had ever read the blond a story before. Though, no one else besides him knew that. He couldn’t help but feel a bit of shame curl up in his gut, making him feel the slightest bit miserable.

Enjoying your little story time, mutt? Disgusting monsters like you don’t deserve such kindness. You never deserved love in the first place. They hate you. They’re just putting on a dumb act for you, but soon it will all go to shit. You’ll fuck up and they’ll throw you out in the snow. They never cared for you in the first place, what makes you think they’d pass up such an opportunity to get rid of you? 

A familiar voice in the back of his mind hissed and spat at him, words dripping with cyanide and venom.

You’re just making it harder on them. Making them take care of you, and forcing the child you manipulated into playing your stupid little games. Everything just has to be about you, huh? All you ever wanted was attention, attention, attention!

“That’s not true…” Dream mumbled, barely above a whisper.

You’re fucking selfish! You just sit around all day and hog their attention, eat their food, and waste their time! Why don’t you do them a favor and throw yourself off a fucking cliff!

Dream felt tears pricking his eyes and stood abruptly. Techno gave Dream a confused look. The blond just blinked away his tears and quietly stammered, “I-I..I u-uhm—uh-uhm…I gotta get..” He took a deep breath and continued, “I’m gonna go get a glass of water. ‘m p-parched.” Techno stared for a moment before nodding and asking, “Want me to continue or wait for you to get your water?” Dream exhaled shakily, stopping midway to the kitchen, and turned around to face the pinkette.

“I’m gonna take a nap. I don’t feel too good… I’m s-sorry” Dream stuttered and continued to the kitchen. Phil was making tea and noticed Dream standing awkwardly in the entrance.

“Oh, hey bud. What’cha doin’?” The question caught Dream off guard and he found himself freezing at the question despite it being so easy to answer, and such a casual question at that. Why was he so anxious? Why couldn’t he think straight? Why was everything so scary? Why did he feel so nauseous? Why did he want to run away?

Why do you want to paint yourself in fucking scars?

 

Dream’s breath hitched in his throat and he felt Phil’s eyes boring into him. Phil’s gaze shifted to one of worry and concern when Dream suddenly stopped breathing and froze up like a statue. He rushed to Dream’s side and wrapped a wing around his back. 

“Hey, hey, Dream, you alright?” 

Dream didn’t answer.

“Dream, mate, can you hear me?” Phil’s feathers ruffled and he stared into Dream’s glassy eyes.

You’re a monster. You create enough problems as it is, and all you ever do is hurt them and stress them out. One less mouth to feed is all they need. 

A voice similar to Sir’s echoed through his mind.

Dream found meaning in that voice. Rationality. 

I’m right, and you know it. So stop being such a fucking burden . 

 

Before he knew it, he was sitting down at the dining table with Techno, Phil gently rubbing his back. 

“Ah, there you are. We were worried. Do you want a glass of water?” The elytrian questioned softly.

You’re a horrible person. Disgusting. All you ever do is make life more stressful for them. You’re nothing but a dumb mutt.

“…Y-Yea..”

Can’t even be bothered to say ‘please’. You’re an animal.

Phil nodded and stood, hurrying over to the faucet and pulling down a glass to fill.

You shouldn’t have asked. You’re just hogging their supplies. You don’t deserve it. You never did. Monsters don’t deserve kindness. 

Dream slowly brought his hands up to his ears, attempting to block out the voice. Techno looked up at Dream and furrowed his brows.

“Do you want some noise cancelling headphones? What’s wrong?” He asked in an uncharacteristically soft voice.

You don’t deserve their concern. You’re a monster. They hate you. You’re making them baby you. They never wanted to take care of you in the first place. They are being forced to.

“I-I…” Dream’s voice cracked and he pressed the heels of his palms further to his ears. 

Why won’t you just fucking die already?

Dream dropped his hands and stood up abruptly, hands gripping the edge of the table. Techno stood as well just as Phil walked in.

“Woah, woah, woah, are you okay?” Phil nearly dropped Dream’s glass. Dream nodded and swallowed, turning on his heel and bolting up the ladder. 

The voice in his head was booming in his skull, telling him to do unspeakable things, and reminding him of his worth. 

Dream slammed the trapdoor shut and locked it, sliding a couple heavy objects on top just in case. Techno and Phil banged on the trapdoor and yelled for Dream to open up. 

You deserve to feel pain. You deserve to die. 

Dream searched frantically for something—anything to ground him. 

 

(TW FOR SH STARTS HERE!)

=================

 

Dream searched all of Techno’s chests until he brushed past a pair of shears. The sounds of random items spilling across the floor as Dream searcher registered more frantic shouts. 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE?” Techno shouted and slammed his fists into the wood, the trapdoor slightly budging. Phil yelled for Dream to stop whatever he was doing and open the trapdoor. Dream glanced nervously at the shears before shaking his head and snatching them up with trembling hands. 

 

You deserve to bleed. You never did anything for them, and here they are, helping your selfish needs. You’re a monster. You’re a horrible person.

One.

The banging got louder as blood dripped down his arm, settling his nerves slightly.

No one will ever love you. What made you think they ever cared in the first place? Who could ever love such a heartless monster?

Two.

The hinges on the trapdoor started to break loose, the yells a bit clearer.

You’ve hurt so many innocent people and now you are just a worthless mutt. A rabid dog let out of it’s cage. Everyone is afraid of you. Everyone HATES YOU! 

Three.

A long, thin sword slipped through the crack, wiggling, prying at the lock on the trapdoor. 

Everything would have been perfect without you there to ruin it all. You manipulated a child! You have caused so much destruction! You betrayed your only friends!

Four.

The trapdoor flung open. 

You should have died in that prison. Besides, no one would have cared anyway, infact, they would be happy! Celebrating that you were finally gone. What makes you think that Techno and Phil wouldn’t be just as happy as everyone else?

Fi—someone grabbed his wrist, forcing him to drop the shears.

 

================

(TW ENDS HERE!)

 

Dream blinked a couple times before looking at the person who had grabbed his wrist…

 

 It was Tommy.

 

—

 

Phil gasped and covered his mouth when he saw Dream. Techno’s eyes widened and Tommy rushed into Techno’s room, grabbing Dream’s wrist. Dream dropped the shears and looked at Tommy, tears welling in his eyes. 

 

“I-I-I’m..” Dream sniffled and hiccuped. “I’m s-sorry-y..” Dream sobbed and threw himself into Tommy’s arms, hugging him tight.

Techno and Phil just stood, looking around at Dream, the shears, then the mess. It was all just…shocking. 

 

Why hadn’t he told them?

 

—

—

 

Somewhere across the snowy tundra, Quackity trudged through the snow, carrying his heavy battle axe behind him, practically melting the snow around him from the heat of his pure rage radiating off him like a space heater.

Notes:

i’m sorry, this was some heavy shit and the angst just gets worse after this chapter, but i promise, there will be more comfort along with the angst! stay safe! <3

Chapter 20: “Dream, you’re acting like a moody teen.”

Summary:

phil and dream see tubbo and quackity. tommy finds dream in the enchanted forest.

Notes:

!!TW!!

blood and gore
violence
death
(please, if there are anymore i should add, please let me know right away!)

Phil refused to leave and scrub the floorboards yet, both he and Tommy chose to stay as Dream sobbed. They chose to stay as Techno cleaned his arm and wrapped it in bandages. They chose to stay as Dream cried about what a horrible person he was. And they chose to stay if only to listen to and comfort Dream as he screamed at them for stopping him. He wailed all night long, yet Phil, Tommy, and Techno never left. They swore to stay by him every hour of the day from then on—well, at least one of them had to. They were scared half to death when they found him, and made a silent agreement to make sure that it never happened again. No matter how overprotective they were being. But of course, Dream was allowed privacy, like in the bathroom, but other than that, someone slept next to him every night, one of them accompanied him on walks(he was never allowed to leave the house without someone else), and someone had to be in the same room as him at all times(besides the bathroom, they would stand outside the door).

 

In short, they wouldn’t leave him alone. Dream…was slightly irritated. Annoyed, if you will. He had been signing aggressively at Phil for the past 30 minutes over why he should leave him the fuck alone for 2 minutes. Phil… didn’t break. Infact, he even asked Dream if he wanted to walk the dogs with him. Either it was walk the dogs with Phil, or piece together another fucking puzzle with Tommy…which he was growing quite bored of by now. 

 

So, he did the only reasonable thing, and went with Phil. 

 

—

 

The walk wasn’t too long, and they avoided the forest. Phil was attempting to make small talk the entire way, but was quickly shut down every time.

“Dream, you’re acting like a moody teen.” Phil chuckled and squeezed Dream’s hand slightly. 

‘Tired’ He signed and looked back down at the snow beneath his shoes. 

“Well, have you been feeling any better?”

‘I don’t know’ Dream exhaled sharply and looked up at the sky, scanning the clouds.

The man just sighed with a melancholy look and faced back at the dogs before freezing in place. Phil pulled Dream back and hid him behind his back.

 

 There, in the distance, was a lone figure…As they neared, Phil could make out who it was and took a sharp breath in.

Dream’s breath hitched in his throat when he looked over Phil’s shoulder. 

—

‘Tubbo?’

 

 Phil signed with a bitter look, eyes widening as he outstretched one of his wings, shielding Dream from view.

 

Tubbo got closer, and Phil took a couple steps back, reaching to his side and unsheathing his sword.

 

‘What are you doing here?’

 

‘Wanted to see where Tommy went. Ranboo was here for quite some time… thought I’d scope out the place a bit.’

‘Thought Tommy talked to you regularly?’ Phil questioned and raised a brow.

‘He did. Last message he sent me was week ago, all he said was, ‘Crowfather is being mother hen. Won’t be back for a while Tubbo.’’

‘Well that’s a little cryptic’ Phil laughed at Tubbo’s sour look, but his smile quickly dropped when he realized how serious Tubbo looked. His eyes looked murderous.

‘Where is he’ It was more of a demand than a question. 

‘Who is that?’ Tubbo noticed the other pair of shoes behind Phil’s.

‘Doesn’t matter’ Phil signed quickly and gently nudged Dream, gesturing for him to run back to the cabin.

 

—

 

Tubbo took another step forward, drawing his crossbow and nocking an arrow.

‘Who was that?’ Tubbo tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. His ear twitched and he dug his hooves further into the snow.

‘Doesn’t matter’ Phil signed once more with a look of finality. Tubbo didn’t look fazed at all. In fact, he simply raised a hand, snapped, and stepped aside to reveal another figure in the distance. They looked up and smiled at Phil…or, at least he thought it was a smile, because he’d recognize that glimmering gold tooth from anywhere. 

 

—

—

 

Quackity had been walking for what seemed like ages until

he stumbled across Tubbo. Tubbo seemed pretty taken aback at first…

 

‘Tubbo’ Quackity signed and smiled, stepping forward to put a hand on his shoulder, but the younger withdrew, baring their teeth. The goat hybrid drew their crossbow, which was already nocked. The casino owner smiled bitterly and took a couple steps back, bringing up their hands in a placating manner and furrowing their brows.

‘I’m not here to fight. I am going to Technoblade’s home to get Dream’ Tubbo lowered his crossbow slightly at that and lifted one hand, quickly signing back, 

‘You’re dumb. How do I know you aren’t lying?’ 

‘Bubblegum bitch broke Dream out. I’m impatient.’ 

‘Fair.’

Their conversation went on for a while until they struck a plan.

‘I talk with them, if anything goes shit, I signal you.’ Tubbo smiled at Quackity and held out his hand to shake. Quackity took it; and it was sealed.

 

—

 

The dogs snarled when they saw Quackity, they’d been taught to not attack Tubbo(unfortunately) and the duck hybrid just laughed. Quackity took out his own crossbow when the dogs approached, and killed half of them with a firework. 

 

An explosion of color and sound from the distance made Techno look up from his book, seeing a small firework go off in the distance. 

 

A collective yelp was heard as the firework exploded. Well, that certainly drew some unwanted attention, and if not, then Techno must be deaf. 

 

—

 

Techno got up quickly from his chair, dropping his book and alerting Tommy in the process. Tommy had turned down his hearing aid, so he was certainly surprised by Techno suddenly rising from his seat and grabbing his axe and cloak, storming out the door in a rush. The first thing Techno noticed was footsteps leading away and into the forest, but he thought nothing of it, choosing to join by Phil’s side to fend off Tubbo whilst the dogs held off Quackity for a bit. 

 

—

 

Dream was scared shitless, to say the least. He was just on a peaceful walk with Phil and the dogs when all of a sudden someone approached. He didn’t know who it was at first…and looking over Phil’s shoulder didn’t help much, since his memory was still shit—but he did recognize that face…He just couldn’t place his finger on where he’d seen them before…

‘…best for the nation…exiled…’

Dream was standing beside Tubbo as he signed with trembling hands, attempting to keep his composure at Tommy’s complete look of betrayal. 

Dream knew he had once understood all of it…at some point…he didn’t recognize this memory. It was all so foggy. He was only familiar with certain signs. Though he understood that at one point in time, he had understood Tubbo’s every sign. He knew that he knew this, it was just so so hard to remember. It was like looking through the lenses of someone else’s life. 

 

Dream trembled, not because of the cold. He gripped the back of Phil’s shirt until Phil nudged him with his heel. Dream knew that meant to escape, so escape he did. Actually, it was more of a ‘Let my legs guide the way’ moment. Because he just turned and sprinted….right into the enchanted forest he wasn’t ever allowed to go near…nevertheless, he ran and ran until he spotted a clearing. It was a hill! And it wasn’t even snowy…strange. Atop the hill sat a lonely oak tree, age shown indefinite in its features. It had to be somewhere around a hundred years old.

 

Patches of lavender circled around the tree and let off a very strong aroma. Dream scrunched up his nose at the overwhelming scent, but that didn’t mean he didn’t like it…of course he liked it, because Techno smelled like lavender. Maybe that was something that Dream could keep to himself. Besides, Techno was a scary guy, and it was kind of underwhelming and would probably ruin whatever reputation he had if anyone found out or got close enough to smell the sweet lavender scent that radiated off him. Dream smiled warmly at the thought and giggled, imagining Techno with a basket of lavender and little lavender stems woven into his braid, the vibrant purple clashing with the soft baby pink of Techno’s smooth hair. 

 

At some point, he found himself sitting at the edge of the hill, just beneath the tree, looking down at the valley. He held a small bouquet of lavender in his palm, slowly inhaling the strong scent of lavender. Dream combed his fingers through the grass, feeling the blades brush past his hand, a sort of tingly feeling passing through his finger tips. He closed his eyes and kicked his legs over the edge, feeling the wind ruffle his hair and breeze past him. There was no soft chill that ran down his spine. There was no frost coating the ground and curling up the trunk of the tree. And there was no amount of snowflakes drifting through the air. It was warm…He smiled and leaned in.

 

—

 

Tommy slowly stood, brushing the nonexistent dust off his knees before snatching up his coat and venturing outside in his boots. He turned up his hearing aid and looked around for Techno. 

In the distance, he heard the telltale sounds of fighting.

 

Techno might need his help.

 

He thought for a moment until his gaze drifted to the half covered footprints in the snow. Tommy looked all around before deciding to follow the mysterious footprints. 

 

Could be Phil.

 

But Phil was fighting.

 

Tubbo?

 

Tubbo was fighting Phil. And he already knew where Technoblade and Quackity were.

 

A chill ran down his spine and a thousand imaginary bugs crawled under his skin. Tommy picked at his nails as he felt a sudden sense of dread rush over him when he entered the forest…

 

He thought he heard whispers..or, more specifically, a whisper. It was quiet at first, but then he heard it. 

 

A voice. 

 

“He’s in danger.” 

 

The voice was a woman’s. She whispered in his ear, causing him to whip around, searching for the source. Tommy’s breathing quickened as he searched, until he saw a lovely lady with pitch black wings, dark hair…and a veil? She looked as if she was dressed for a funeral. Tommy saw her smile fondly at him before placing a hand on a tree nearby, turning around, and disappearing behind the tree. Tommy’s eyes widened and he ran to where he had seen her. 

 

No footprints.

 

He scanned every inch of that small patch, looking for where the woman had disappeared to, but what he didn’t notice was how his footprints quickly dissolved after him, except for the mysterious footprints he had seen earlier.

 

—

 

Techno managed to slash Tubbo on the arm, rendering him enough leeway to squeeze past and get to Quackity, knocking him off his feet and tackling him to the ground. Techno disarmed him quickly, threatening him only once before Quackity stopped struggling, letting Techno pin him there. 

 

Honestly, it was kind of confusing…Quackity still had this dangerous look in his eyes as if he had planned for this to happen, and his smile remained smug as ever.

Techno hated it. He wanted nothing more than to wipe that stupid grin off his face. 

 

Techno swung at him, almost knocking out another tooth. Quackity giggled. Giggled. It took more than usual to regain his composure and choose to save it for later. 

 

The piglin hybrid huffed, getting off Quackity and kicking him in the stomach with his hoof. The casino owner laughed loudly, sounding a bit like the wind had been knocked out of him. 

 

—

 

Quackity was angry as fuck, but after his run in with Tubbo and the plan they had set up, he was feeling cheery. While Quackity was being pummeled, Tubbo would sneak in and find Tommy. Quackity would deal with Dream once Tubbo came back with Tommy. 

 

He couldn’t help but smile when he saw how angry it made Techno. 

 

—

 

Tommy followed the mysterious footsteps through the icy snow. The lovely lady kept taunting him…walking through small clearings, feeding deer, going on a nice stroll, and then straight up poofing from existence. I mean, who the hell does she think she is? Making him feel fucking delusional. Now, what was strange was the whispers he heard whenever he saw her. There was this…dreadful aura around her. Now, as he followed the footsteps further into the forest, he saw the funeral woman one last time..Her wings dragged on the icy ground, her long veil barely touching the snow, and a look of mischievousness on her face. Tommy waved at her and tried to get her attention. She was holding a small withered flower. For the first time, she actually looked up and made eye contact with him. Tommy felt as if he was gonna throw up at this point. She giggled and turned, running along the footprints, her wings fluttering ever so slightly. Like all the times before, she disappeared behind a tree..But this time she left behind a large black feather. He spun the feather between his fingers and looked up.

 

Tommy stared in shock, almost gagging at the sight he saw.

 

There, lying in the snow, was Dream. It didn’t look like him though…Quackity was standing over him, axe in hand. Dream’s body was all cut up and bloodied, mutilated and torn apart. Quackity was grinning from ear to ear. Quackity looked up at Tommy, noticing his presence. 

 

“Oh, hello Tommy. I’m sorry you have to see this.” 

Dream looking like a fucking zebra with red stripes, blood gushing from his skull. His torso was hacked open with an axe, organs spilling from the gash. 

Tommy’s breath caught in his throat.

Dream’s eyes were glassy and empty. His mouth was agape, blood slowly dripping from his parted lips. 

Quackity smiled sickly and yanked his axe out of Dream’s ribs, laughing quietly to himself. 

Notes:

:)

Chapter 21: “I am not a dream, am I?”

Summary:

Tommy is still figuring things out, but he got the gist of what happened to himself when he last saw Dream. Trauma buddy bonding time <3

phil and tommy have a talk, and then techno and phil have a talk.

Notes:

!!TW!!

mentions of gore
past death
panic attack
dissociation

Tommy stared in horror for a moment before blinking….

 

When he opened his eyes—

He was back in the living room with Dream, Techno, and Phil. Tommy was sitting on the ground in front of a puzzle, holding a puzzle piece, while Dream signed frantically about cooking or something. Techno rolled his eyes and settled back on his book. Tommy screamed and fell backwards onto his hands, scooting as far away as possible. 

 

Three sets of eyes landed on him, concerned looks bored into his skull. Tommy covered his head with his hands and stared at Dream with an indescribable fear. All he saw was a bloody, mutilated corpse with a fucking axe lodged in it’s chest. He tugged out strands of hair, unable to tear his gaze away from Dream’s empty fucking eyes. He felt like he was about to throw up. 

 

Phil stood from his chair and approached Tommy carefully, kneeling in front of him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, Toms, what’s up bud? Tell me what’s wrong.”

 

What happened?

 

Can’t they see?

 

Dream is dead.

 

Why are they acting like nothing is wrong?

 

Techno and Phil seemed gloomy. A bit off. 

 

“B-But—D-u-u-uhm” Tears welled in Tommy’s eyes as he stared at Dream’s dead eyes.

 

“Drea-Dream” Tommy managed to spit out before leaping to his feet and rushing to the bathroom. Tommy slammed the door and locked it. He heaved into the toilet until there was nothing left. Afterwards, he just curled up into a ball and cried.

 

Outside the door, Techno and Phil had jumped into a nervous conversation.

 

“I think it’s because of what happened a couple months ago. I would also be pretty traumatized if I saw that. I feel bad for the poor kid, probably scared shitless.” Phil put his head in his hands and Techno just shot him a sympathetic look. 

 

“I know you’re worried, Phil, but stuff like this takes time. The most we can do is just be there for him.” 

 

—

 

Once Tommy ran out of the room, Dream stared at the spot where he was sitting, completely confused. 

 

“Dream?” The blond whispered quietly. Techno and Phil left the room to talk quietly in the hallway, leaving Dream to contemplate alone. 

“Did he have a bad dream..? Was he referring to me as..as..a dream?” His own voice echoed in his mind. His memory had been foggy for a while now, and Techno said that he had a name before what happened 2 months ago. Techno said that it didn’t feel right calling him that anymore. Techno knows everything. He is very smart.

“I am not a dream, am I?” He wondered allowed before getting up to go ask Phil. Phil also knows everything. He knows how to comfort him when he is sad, or has trouble remembering things. Phil is also very strong. He carried him back to the cabin after…

 

Dream wandered down the hall and ran his hand along the wood. 

“…is just be there for him” Phil and Techno spoke in hushed voices, but as soon as Dream made his presence clear, they shut up immediately. 

“Hey, mate” Phil smiled at Dream. Dream just nodded his head once and stared at the pair.

“…Am..am I a dream?” Dream asked and furrowed his brows at them.

Phil swallowed hard and Techno cleared his throat softly.

“You know…I thought that this conversation might come up at some point…” Techno continued, phrasing his words carefully.

 

——

——

 

Everything was so overwhelming…

 

…

 

Dream was dead? 

 

…

 

He didn’t take the news well, obviously. With one kid sobbing his heart out behind a locked bathroom door, they also had a scared little ghost curled up, spiraling into a pretty major panic attack from the looks of it. 

 

“Lucid, are you alright?” Phil tapped the ghost’s shoulder, registering a hard flinch from the blond. Phil withdrew his hand as if he’d been burnt. Lucid hadn’t flinched like that for a couple weeks now after he had gotten comfortable and relaxed. This was…fine. Just a couple steps back is all. He can work with that. It’s not like someone had ruined his entire mini zen garden of Lucid’s trust after hours of raking sand, rock placing, and helping Lucid through nightmares. 

 

A crescendo of screaming tore through the nearly dead silence of Technoblade’s cabin. Tommy was screaming bloody murder. 

 

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” They heard loudly, even the door couldn’t muffle the absolute fear in the kid’s voice.

 

Phil immediately went to try to get the door open while Lucid took to crying as quietly as he could. Techno petted the ghost’s hair gently and rubbed circles into his back.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. Tommy’s just having a particularly rainy day.”

The ghost peeked out at Techno, hiding half their face in their knees. Their arms stayed wrapped tightly around their shins, holding themself tightly. 

“I-Is Ph-Ph-Phil getting him an umbrella-a?” Lucid stuttered and sniffled. Techno’s heart broke at the sorrow and genuine curiosity that filled Lucid’s voice. Techno gave a soft, reassuring chuff and hugged the ghost gently. 

 

—

 

Once Tommy had finally stopped…uhm…stressing over the situation so much, he decided to wash his face. However, to his horror, upon standing and popping his back from such an uncomfortable position, in the mirror staring back at him….was himself. Obviously. But what caught  his attention was how his hair had grown long enough to curl around his ears, his naturally bright blue eyes gone a little duller and a distinct scar on his chin. The scar was pinkish, considering it was probably new. Tommy had tried to push the thought out of his head; prayed to any gods who were listening that it was just a hallucination…some sick dream…but with the growing pit in Tommy’s stomach, he came to realize with absolute horror that this was in fact, not a dream. Tommy screamed. And just like that, everything went to shit. There were fast paced knocks at the door and he couldn’t breathe and everything was just too loud, oh my god please, it hurts! 

Tommy covered his ears and backed into the wall behind him, sliding down and screwing his eyes shut. 

 

…

 

There was one secret that Tommy kept from everyone. Honestly, he was quite embarrassed of it, which was only part of the reason as to why he never told anyone. You see, he had these dissociative episodes. One minute he’d be drinking coffee, the next he’d be having a lovely conversation with Ranboo two days later. This is the first extra long episode he’d had, and honestly, he was scared. Normally, he would keep acting casual as if nothing was wrong after he’d just blinked into an entirely different setting, and as clueless as a chihuahua with amnesia. He managed to keep his composure. But not this time. Definitely not.

 

  He didn’t know how long he’d dissociated this time, and he was beyond scared to ask. To find out how long he’d been out of his fucking mind ( literally! ) But he had to know. He had to tell someone because this time he couldn’t pretend to be a big man any longer. He was bound to snap like a twig at some point, so he might as well get it over with. 

 

So, he waited for Phil to pick the lock or break the door down because he just didn’t have the balls to unlock it himself.  

 

Tommy truly didn’t know where he left his strong confidence, swelling ego, spitfire quips, manliest of manliness, or even his overall mentality—but wherever they were, he better find them quickly because he was just about losing everything he had to keep him steady. Oh! Look! Now he was hyperventilating again! Fan-fucking-tastic! 

 

And now his whole fucking world was spinning on it’s axis! He was detaching from his goddamned body like some stupid mofo in the sky decided to take scissors to his precious golden threads that connected his mind and body. Great. Just great. 

 

Tommy was having more fucking flashbacks faster than you could say ‘Technoblade never dies’ and holy shit his head hurt like hell.

 

Flashes of sharp steel-toed boots digging into his stomach and a loud voice screaming profanities at him. Fists meeting skin. Bones popping out of sockets. The sickening crunch of every bone in his hand. Ear piercing shrieks. Explosions and crashes..it was all too much.

—

 

Pretty soon, Phil got the door open. He expected to see blood or something..but what he got was Tommy sitting on the floor, covering his ears, and staring off into space. A feeling of guilt settled in his stomach at the thought of frightening the boy with his loud knocks and jiggling the doorknob so frantically. Though, before he could let it consume him further, the winged man knelt in front of the blond to inspect him. The boy didn’t flinch at all or even twitch as Phil cautiously checked the boy’s face and arms. He wasn’t taking any chances. Not after what happened all those months ago with Dream…He didn’t like to think about it.

 

Tommy wasn’t injured. But he was being as quiet as he’d been for a couple of months now. He was staring off into space like he’d been doing during those two months..and that’s when Phil realized the lazy film shielding Tommy’s pupils..

How had he not noticed before?

A deep coldness seeped into his bones and settled with a faint trace of overwhelming guilt. Tommy had been spacing out an awful lot, and it seemed as if he wasn’t ever fully there during those two months. This was the first time he’d ever shown any emotion in those two months. The first time his eyes didn’t look empty. 

 

He had talked about what mental illnesses or lapses can occur due to trauma so they knew what to look out for…he never expected dissociating to be one of them. 

Why had the kid never told us? 

Was this his first time?

Thoughts of doing something wrong and not being approachable enough plagued Phil’s mind as he snapped in Tommy’s ears, waving a hand in front of his face, trying to ground him. 

 

After a healthy dose of snapping his fingers in Tommy’s ears, the kid seemed to finally ‘wake up’. Tommy gasped, a strangled sob tearing through his throat as he hugged Phil tightly, afraid the man would disappear into thin air, leaving him alone with his own thoughts. Phil just chirped quietly at the frightened blond and wrapped a wing around him.

 

“I-I’m so sorry, Phil” Tommy sobbed, and Phil shook his head, shushing him quietly. “I’m sorry I never told you” He cried harder and buried his face in his dad’s Phil’s shoulder. Phil went to say something but Tommy beat him to it,

“I was just so scared to tell you g-guys that I-I’d been dissociating—and I didn’t know what to do…”

Oh. There it was. Tommy was scared. 

“I was in the forest a-and Dream was—” He cut himself off with more sobbing. 

 

ProtectProtectProtect

SAVE BABY BIRD

Help flock!

Flock in DANGER!!

The bird in Phil’s mind screeched, but Phil paid it no mind. He knew what he was doing.

 

Though, as he comforted Tommy, he couldn’t help but wonder,

 

What did the world do to you, little bird?

 

He wanted to kill who traumatised his son Tommy. He wanted to kill Dream..

 

But Dream was different. Dream was Lucid. Lucid, the broken ghost of a broken man who suffered far too much punishment for something he didn’t even remember. It was all just so heartbreaking. Even for Techno, who hardly showed emotion at all but still shed tears for Tommy and Lucid when he heard about the fucked up life they were forced to live. Nevertheless, Phil was set on protecting his flock, no matter what it took.

 

…

They sat there for a moment, Phil gently petting Tommy’s golden curls while Tommy cried his heart out. 

 

When Tommy finally calmed down enough to stand, he clung to Phil’s side as they entered the living room to find Techno and Dream sitting together on the couch, the pinkette reading the ghost Greek poems. When Tommy glanced at Dream to finally get a better look at him, they made eye contact. All he saw was these…cold..dead eyes. Pure, milky white iris. No pupil at all, it seemed. 

 

Even though Tommy couldn’t really see where the ghost was looking, they seemed to be directed at him specifically. They were wearing a warm, ivory sweater with a long stitch down the front with a couple smudges and stains of sage green here and there. Ivy vines curled around his throat and were tangled in his hair, a couple leaves poking out from some loose stitches in his sweater. Thin vines bloomed from under his sleeves and trailed down his bony, scarred hands, twirling around his fingers. His mask was set on the side of his head, tucked gently over a bushy mess of dirty blond locks, wavy and unkept as ever. They were slightly curly, but other than that, it looked like it really needed a good brushing. The mask itself was cracked severely and the smiley face was faded in some places. Thin trails of ivy leaked from the small crevices and gaps in each crack.

 

Dream looked…different; to say the least. 

 

Yea, he’s definitely missed quite a bit. 

 

—

 

Phil sat Tommy down and cleared his throat.

“Alright…hm..where to start….” He contemplated quietly while Tommy anxiously picked at his nails. The man cleared his throat once more and looked up to meet Tommy’s gaze.

“So…Dream. Yea. Well, he used to go by Dream. His name is Lucid, now. Lucid is a confusing little ghost..but, think of Ghostbur. Ghostbur can hardly remember anything besides happy stuff because he was..he w-was…” Phil coughed and averted his gaze, eyes watery. 

“He did not have a very fitting demise.” Was what the man settled on. “And neither did Lucid…so…I talked with him for a bit to see what he remembered. I can explain why he looks the way he looks, what’s been happening with him for the past two months, and what happened in general.” 

 

Tommy was fucking mortified. It had been 2 months?! He already wanted to crawl into a hole and die. But, he didn’t have time to panic. So, instead, he opted for simply leaning in to listen.

 

“He told me that he loved plants when he was younger. He would climb ivy in his backyard or whatever…I guess that explains the..uhm…the vines..?” Phil reminisced and scratched the back of his head.

“I remember offering him his old jacket, and he cried. They don’t like the color lime..”

 

“I-I’m sorry, Phil…I d-don’t really like that-that color. Could I maybe k-keep my sweater?” The ghost questioned thoughtfully and tilted his head.

“Of course!” Phil smiled cheerfully. Lucid lit up and pulled out a clump of sage green, playing with it a little before grabbing Phil’s hand and placing it in his open palm. Lucid giggled and pushed Phil’s hand back to him, now holding the green.

“Oh! Thank you so much, Lucid!” Phil smiled fondly at Lucid. 

 

“I thought that maybe their green worked like ghostbur’s—uhm—well—his blue…so I asked..and he told me that—”

 

“—it absorbs nasty feelings like guilt…remorse…shame…oh! and it helps when you’re sick!” Lucid’s laugh was airy and quiet.

 

“And surprisingly…it worked..a little. When I held the green, I didn’t feel as regretful for killing Wilbur…but, my guilt still stayed strong as ever. I could never forgive myself…but I’m glad I was offered a minute of peace.” Phil smiled and took a sip from his milk, chai tea latte. 

“You want a sip? It’s pretty sweet.” He offered, and Tommy nodded. Phil handed him the mug and he took a short sip of the sweet liquid, smiling at the nice taste.

“I like it.” He said quietly, still smiling.

“I’ll be sure to make some more.” Phil smiled back.

 

—

—

 

After much discussion, Tommy finally understood. Along with understanding, he made a proper confession about his dissociating. 

 

And after quite some talking, Phil had noticed something completely out of the blue..from when Lucid was alive. How could he have not noticed it the entire time? It had been 2 months since Dream’s death! 

 

Dream had been skipping almost every meal for days on end.

 

Well…It wasn’t like they could do anything now. He was dead now. No one could fix this absolute fuck up. They were a ghost now…unless… 

 

“Techno?” Phil called, leaning backwards so his head poked out of the entrance.

“Yea?” Techno replied and slowly set down his book, going to meet Phil’s gaze.

“Did—Did you notice uhm…actually, let’s talk about this upstairs.” Phil rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked over at Tommy, “I’m sorry, Toms.. We’re gonna have to pick this up late.” Tommy nodded with an understanding look, giving Phil the go ahead.

 

Phil nodded curtly at Tommy before turning to climb the ladder, Techno quick to follow. Halfway up the ladder, Techno stopped, knowing he and Phil would be having a long conversation, so, he turned to Lucid(Lucid does not do well alone, and had to constantly have something stimulating him. This, Techno knew for a fact after a month of hanging out with the ghost.) 

“Hey, uhm, Tommy?” 

“Yea?” Tommy responded from the kitchen.

Uhm… Me and Phil are gonna talk for a bit. Could you maybe…uh…I dunno, do a puzzle with—”

“No!! I mean—” Tommy coughed after his sudden outburst and quietly added,

“I d-don’t like those puzzles that much..” Techno was very confused. Mainly because all the kid ever really did here was put puzzles together. 

“Well..Then…I don’t know! Figure something out, because I’m not leaving Lucid alone.” 

Lucid perked up at this, but they slowly turned to look at Tommy, smiling brighter than ever.

“Ok, ok. Just give me a sec. I’m still processing.”

“Alright, take your time, we’ll be upstairs.” Techno said with finality and finished climbing up the ladder, closing the newly added trapdoor on his way in.

lucid is too good for this world

Precious little bean

w h o l e s o m e  <3

Trauma bros bonding time  :  )

aww techno cares about little ghosty lucid

The voices in Techno’s head cooed. Techno just grunted and walked further into the room.

 

“So..Techno. When Lucid was..y’know… Dream ; did you notice how he kept skipping meals?” Phil cocked his head to the side, akin to a bird, feathers poofing on his back.

“Yes, actually. I would make him snake on light foods throughout the day so he was at least getting something in his system.” Techno replied with a shrug. Phil was baffled .

“Is he.. Was he still extremely light?”

“Well, yea, a bit underweight, for sure, but I got some meat on his bones so he wasn’t totally just a walking skeleton.”

Phil visibly sank in relief, sighing lightly and rubbing the bridge of his nose to relieve some unwanted tension in his looks. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I had it under control!” 

Phil sighed again, “Well…” The blond was so tempted to list off the things the pinkette definitely did not have under control and insult the piglin hybrid’s incompetence, but he didn’t want to start a fight at a time like this, so he snapped his mouth shut. “What was that?” Techno was always one to try and push people to be aggressive. “Nothing.” Phil knew a way around his tricks. “No, really, what were you going to sa—” Techno was cut off by the sound of a vase shattering. 

 

Phil huffed and turned, brushing past Techno to climb down the ladder.

 

Techno was expecting to hear crying but all he heard next was giggles and a snort, so he ran over and peaked his head out of the opening. Phil was kneeling on the ground, picking up pieces of a broken vase. Lucid had a hand to his mouth, snickering quietly. Tommy was kneeling, holding the pieces of the broken vase, looking on the verge of tears. 

 

At this moment, Techno decided, 

It’s going to hurt so much more when I have to let you go.

Notes:

im so sorry for not posting in a while :(
btw, funfact: i’m making a playlist for this and i listened to I Love You So by The Walters while writing the end of the chapter :) the rest of the way i just listened to stevie wonder

Chapter 22: “Who was it?”

Summary:

Techno and Phil finish the bunker. Tubbo calls.

Notes:

!!TW!!

mentions of bombs

(if there are any other tws i should add, pls let me know! i will add them immediately!)

Techno knew he’d have to let them go at some point. He and Phil both knew. It hurt so goddamn much to know the exact date. He had blabbered the whole fucking story to Phil one night, sobbing into the man’s arms, when Lucid and Tommy were both asleep. 

 

Techno knew they wouldn’t be able to travel far away enough to escape it, and they didn’t have time to prepare a bigger bunker. They couldn’t avoid it. The trip outside the radius would take days and they wouldn’t make it in time. 

 

Bile rose in his throat as he imagined the massive explosion, burnt and charred bodies littering the ground, only he and Phil able to fit in the bunker comfortably for the next 3 weeks. The construction would take days, unless they had Lucid and Tommy’s help. 

 

Tubbo relayed the message to Techno, asking him to say his goodbyes and pray for mercy. They wouldn’t have time to get to Snowchester.

 

So, in exactly 12 hours, a nuke would be dropped on their cabin. They already had supplies in the bunker, and they could just take the ghost and Tommy out of the radius, but that would take too long. They were running on borrowed time here. Tubbo promised to destroy both cabin’s Techno resided in. He messaged Techno, saying that he was tired of his anarchy, of Techno, of Phil even. Tubbo hated them for the destruction they had caused. 

 

Techno stared down at the glowing screen of his communicator. ‘I’m going to rid you of your home, as you did to us. I will destroy your supplies and resources, as you did to us. I’m going to make you pay for what you’ve done. So, give Tommy back, or I’ll just destroy everything you love. 24 hours to make your decision. I hope to hear from you by then.’

‘No.’ Techno had sent back to Tubbo. He thought he had time. He hadn’t even checked his map to see how long it’d take to escape the radius. He could’ve packed and left by the time the 24 hours were up.

‘Alright, I’ll be fair, and give you another 24 hours to get the fuck out of there. You should be lucky I’m feeling generous.’

 

No. No, no, no. Technoblade wasn’t going to give up that easily. He wouldn’t go down without a fight. 

 

So, he climbed up the ladder as fast as he could and threw open the trapdoor, quietly slinking into his room and checking every chest, pulling out every tool he had. 

 

He had to wake up Phil. They had to make a bigger bunker. It was the only way. 

 

…

 

Phil sat up in his nest, rubbing his eyes, when Techno knocked on his door. The blond stretched and opened his wings, listening to the joints pop before standing and wrapping himself in a robe over his crow patterned pajamas. He went to answer the door, but the piglin hybrid was already standing in his living room, looking ready to fight off a hoard of zombies. 

 

Then the realization hit him…Oh… Oh…

 

Perhaps this is about the news he’d heard yesterday? 

 

Phil glanced at the clock on his wall.

12 hours left.

 

“Phil! Phil! You gotta listen to me, Phil!” Techno looked genuinely scared this time. Phil straightened his posture, noticing the panic in his friend’s voice.

 

“Ok! Ok! I’m listening! What is it, Tech? What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Phil replied hurriedly, raising his hands in a placating manner.

 

“We have to build a bunker. Like, right now.” 

 

“Don’t we already have one?” Phil was definitely confused…

 

“It’s not big enough. There aren’t enough supplies. It isn’t low enough in the ground. We’re gonna die if we don’t build another! They will die! We will all die! I don’t wanna fucking die, Phil!! We don’t have time to esca-” Techno stressed but was cut off when Phil grabbed his cheeks and bumped their foreheads together, looking the pinkette straight in the eyes.

“Calm down, Techno. I know you’re stressed. We are going to build that bunker, we’ll get supplies, and we’ll hide in there until everything’s blown over, alright? Just please, breathe for me Techno.” Phil watched as Techno’s eyes softened. Techno closed his eyes and inhaled slowly, feeling his chest inflate with air before slowly breathing out through his mouth.

 

He opened his eyes and stared back at Phil, blinking away tears. “You promise we’ll be okay?” Techno asked, looking on the brink of cooking a four course meal with how stressed he was. 

 

“I swear on it, Techno.” 

 

—-

—-

 

After a bit of preening(with help from Techno, of course), they set off to the un-enchanted forest in their area. It was still dark out, but no mobs had crossed their path so far. So, now, as Phil and Techno chopped their way through three more trees, they found themselves relaxing a bit and descending into a more comfortable routine. After a while of chopping and replanting, Phil left to collect some concrete and obsidian along with some other materials while Techno began digging where they were chopping trees. Phil gathered all the materials rather quickly, returning with three stacks of obsidian, white concrete, stone bricks, ladders, and some other things. The man knelt and called down into the hole for Techno to ‘look out’ before dropping the ladders, which the piglin hybrid caught with ease, quickly getting to work on placing them.

 

Once Techno was out, he took half the items from Phil and they headed down the ladder, tools in hand. It seemed a bit cramped, so Techno dug out a big portion of the new bunker. Phil was finally able to squeeze his way in and sit in the cramped bunker. Techno sighed and looked at Phil. 

 

“We’ll need to extend the walls a bit and make the ceiling higher.” He declared and cracked his knuckles. Phil nodded curtly and lifted his pickaxe at an awkward angle, mining away at the roof.

 

Techno nodded back at Phil before turning to the walls to begin mining.

 

.

.

.

.

.

5 hours left

.

.

.

.

.

 

They had been working for hours by now, hacking away at stone and building up the layers of stone bricks and obsidian. Soon enough, though, they had everything finished with just 4 hours to spare. They made several trips back and forth, packing chests full of supplies that could last them a month. 

 

.

.

.

.

.

2 hours left

.

.

.

.

.

 

Time was ticking, and they had to get Tommy and Lucid in the bunker as soon as possible. Technically, Lucid could survive, but they were going to bring him along anyway because…morals.

 

They scaled the ladder and stood in the snow. 

 

Technoblade narrowed his eyes at the clock he held. 2 hours. He blew a strand of hair out of his line of sight and pocketed the clock, tapping Phil on the shoulder. The elytrian had been  chattering off to one of his crow friends. Techno knew very little of the crow’s language, since his winged friend had taught him  little. All he caught was ‘bird’, ‘baby’, ‘many’, and ‘find’ before the crow flew off. Phil turned to face his friend, a stony expression grown soft. His dull blue eyes glittered like the snow in the rays of moonlight spilling through the trees. Techno looked him in the eyes, silently gesturing for them to go get the kids. Philza nodded at Techno and turned to the cabin, taking off into the air with a beat of his mighty wings. 

 

The pitch black feathers cast a moving shadow over the snow as he swooped, spiraled, and dove through the air like an angel in grace. Technically, he was. Angel of Death. Everyone on the SMP knew him as Death’s Angel. Graceful as a bird, he soared and sliced through the air, akin to a blade. Techno followed close behind, axe strapped to his back, he galloped as fast as he could. Hooves digging into the snow and meeting ground, he propelled himself through the icy winds, hopping the fence easily. He skidded to a stop at the front door, panting and huffing. His breath was visibly, making him look slightly like a cartoon boar to anyone else. 

 

Techno chuffed and opened the front door of the cabin. The inside was pitch black, the only light being the open door and the glowing enchantments on his axe(which was gifted to him by Ranboo). He stepped into the cabin, leaving the door slightly ajar for Phil, who entered a second later. They both were equally fast, but Phil took a bit longer to slow and land. 

 

—-

—-

 

Techno and Phil climbed the ladder to Techno’s room, where Lucid and Tommy were located. The kids pair in question were indeed asleep upstairs. Tommy was curled up next to Lucid, who was hovering slightly over the bed, a bit more transparent than usual, and lightly snoring. Tommy didn’t make a sound as Phil gently scooped him up, wrapping three blankets around the boy like a burrito before cradling him gently. 

 

Techno prayed that Lucid had allowed them to touch him still as he reached forward, hoping his hands wouldn’t just go through the ghost(waking up Lucid was difficult). The piglin hybrid sighed in relief when he was able to carefully drag Lucid into his arms. The ghost was not affected by the cold, so he wouldn’t have to worry about wrapping him in blankets. 

 

They quietly escorted the two down the ladder and out the door with an hour and a half to spare. 

 

Once they were in the bunker, Techno reached into one of the chests and pulled out every duvet, blanket, and quilt he had crammed into that small double chest. Tommy and Lucid barely stirred as Techno formed a make-shift nest on the ground(with some help from Phil, of course. That man knows literally everything about how to make a comfortable nest). He carefully picked up Tommy and placed him in the nest first, tucking a corner of the blanket around him, and then going to move Lucid. He was startled by his communicator suddenly going off, the theme for pigstep blasting in the quiet bunker. Tommy groaned and rolled over. Techno’s eyes widened and he quickly pulled it out of his pocket, answering the call. 

He forgot to turn off his ringer.

 

Phil looked at Techno with a confused expression before tucking in Lucid. 

 

“Hello?” Techno answered quietly, wandering over to the edge of the bunker, near the ladder.

“Hello, Technoblade. The nuke will go off around…”  There was a pause on the other end.

“An hour or so. Listen, I know you care about your brother, my best friend, so I also understand that you wouldn’t let anything happen to him. Brotherly love and all that. You two may have had your disagreements in the past, but you wouldn’t let anyone, and I mean anyone, lay a finger on your brother. You know the consequences of your actions from the past. You know what Dream did to your sweet little Tommy. And this is why I’m not afraid to bomb your whole damn territory because I know Tommy will be safe. Best of luck, Technoblade. I expect to hear from Tommy after the debris has settled.” The line went silent, and the tell-tale click of the person on the other end hanging up sounded. Techno let his hand drop to his side. 

Communicator falling to the ground with a clatter. 

 

“Who was it?” Phil whispered-shouted from across the room.

“Tubbo.” Was all Techno said before going to join his friend on the ground.

Notes:

Tubbo: give tom >:(

Techno: *refuse*

Tubbo: nuke time >:)

also….uhm…………….a little spoiler for next chapter to keep you well fed while i work on it—

 [silently slips ‘avian tommyinnit’ tag under the table]

don’t tell anyone who doesn’t read the notes ☺️

Chapter 23: “Oh, I knew that.”

Summary:

Techno, Phil, Tommy and Lucid are in the bunker :) but Lucid want’s Techno’s nail file—which is not very strange, but ghosts don’t need to file their nails…A bit of Lucid’s(Dream’s) past.

Notes:

!!TW!!

mention of PTSD episode
blood, cutting(not sh, i promise
kind of surgery
mention of past dehorning
explosion

(if there are any other tws i should be aware of, tell me, and i will add them!)

“Tubbo?!” Phil practically shouted, but winced when Lucid whimpered and shifted in the nest. Techno pet Lucid’s hair, carding his fingers through the ghost’s translucent curls. 

 

“Yes. He let me know that he knew Tommy would be safe from the explosion” Techno replied monotonously and leaned back on his palms. Phil gave an incredulous sigh before answering calmly, “How would Tubbo know that you wouldn’t just throw Tommy out into the open when the bomb goes off?” 

 

“He thinks I’m his brother.” 

 

Phil’s eyes widened and he barked out a laugh.

“Your brother?? That’s insane! What brother would blow up their sibling’s country and neglect them for years on end?” 

 

Techno looked completely unfazed and just stared at Phil with a blank expression. 

 

“Y-You’re not actually brothers, are you? Cause you guys would have a lot of things to work ou—” 

“No. We aren’t brothers. This is my resting face.” 

“Oh! Phew! That would’ve been awkward! I mean…Imagine if we were a big family in an alternate universe? Like—if you and Tommy were brothers...Oh, boy! That would be hilarious! Can you imagine?” Phil laughed and Techno cracked a smile. 

“What if you were my dad in another universe? What if me, Tommy, and Wilbur were brothers? How insane would that be?” Techno joked and grinned brightly. “Man! That would be—That would be the death of me!” Phil chuckled. Techno and Phil soon fell into an awkward silence, both staring distantly at each other. Phil let out an awkward chuckle and brought his wings closer around himself. 

 

“Well…Uhm…We better get some sleep, then.” Phil rubbed the back of his neck and scooted over onto the nest, curling around Lucid and Tommy, using his wing to shield them from view. Technoblade sighed and curled up next to them, under the safety of Phil’s wings. 

 

—

 

When Techno awoke, he felt like absolute shit. He was sweating his tits off and his vision was all blurry. He couldn’t have slept that long… 

 

Techno sat up, rubbing his eyes and looking around the dimly lit room. Torches were slowly going out on the walls, and every sense of ambience seemed to stay muffled. He rubbed his eyes to get the gunk out of them before glancing around again. The voices could sense his confusion, and seemed a bit panicked…’a bit’ was an understatement.

 

WHAT TIME IS IT?!?

BEE BOY HAS BOMBS

RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN

OH MY FUCK DON’T CLIMB THE LADDER

NOTSAFENOTSAFENOTSAFENOTSAFE

PROTECT RUNT

CHECK THE TIME

 

Techno checked the clock on the wall and his breath hitched. Everything came back to him in a flurry. He clutched his skull splitting headache with a groan…He’d only been asleep for 58 minutes, if he’d done his math correctly..Which could only mean—

 

A loud, earth shattering explosion rang out. Luckily, they were deep enough underground that it was slightly muffled…But everyone else shot up in an instant. Tommy was sobbing, and silent tears were streaming down Lucid’s face. Phil hugged Tommy close. The poor boy looked to be having a PTSD episode. Tommy wailed into Phil’s robes and Lucid leaped into Techno’s arms. Techno traced the words of an old poem onto the ghost’s back, since the piglin always found that soothing himself. The first trapdoor rattled, iron cracking slightly, but no radiation seeping in. They had three iron trapdoors installed. Technoblade’s instincts were going haywire, though. So something had to be wrong, besides the obvious. Nausea pooled in his stomach, bile rising in his throat as he witnessed the faint glowing on Tommy’s back through his tunic. He just hoped it wasn’t what he thought it was.

 

—

—

 

After calming Tommy and Lucid down, Phil and Techno stood to go to the other side of the bunker. Tommy and Lucid were fast asleep once more, the glowing on Tommy’s back having dimmed. The boy complained about his back aching until Phil gave him pain meds and sent him to the nest. 

 

“Techno…Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Wings, maybe?”

“Yea. But avians are always naturally born, unless it’s a human. In that case, it’s only a matter of built up trauma, or a strong, strong desire to escape. Tommy should have gotten them ages ago, then.”

“But Dream manipulated him. He would’ve thought he didn’t want to leave.”

“Ah, makes sense.” Phil rubbed his chin and squinted his eyes at the floor, bucket hat shielding his upper face from view as he thought.

“So I’m guessing it was only a matter of time before it all became too much…Then that would make this a late set. We’re gonna need to keep him from laying on his back too much, and avoid touching it. We’ll have to stock up on more pain meds, cause now that they’ve started forming under his skin, they won’t stop until they finally break free.” Phil took off his hat and scratched his head, sweat beading at his temple. Lucid shifted under the blankets, both men snapping their attention to the little ghost. Lucid yawned and sat up in bed, slowly beginning to hover over the nest. The blond unbent their legs and floated over to Techno and Phil, rubbing their eyes lazily. 

‘What are you talking about?’ Lucid signed, motion slow and tired. ‘Nothing, don’t worry’ Phil smiled lightly and signed back at Lucid. ‘Head feels weird’ Lucid rubbed his head and furrowed his brows. ‘Can you try to go to sleep please?’ Phil stressed and pet the ghost gently.

‘Okay. That feels nice’ Lucid signed and smiled warmly, leaning into the touch. Phil was slightly surprised at this action, since Dream would either melt, slump over like a doll, flinch, or never admit to liking the touch. Lucid was the first to actually communicate his interest and make it very clear in his actions. Phil smiled fondly at this. 

 

—

—

 

“Oh, what? Did you think I wouldn’t notice? Your little ram horns have just barely started growing in…aw…I’ve got myself some mutton… A little sheep hybrid…hmm..No..I’ll have much more fun reverting you back to normal.” Sir chuckled and kicked Dream to the floor. Dream coughed up blood and whimpered, ears pinning flat to his head.

 

“You’re a monster. A freak. You remind me of that bastard Schlatt…I can’t believe I was his right hand man. Your mother would’ve been disgusted.” Sir sneered and reached into his inventory, pulling out a dehorner. “Her sweet little boy, finally growing horns of his own. She’ll be grateful when she sees the sawed and sanded stumps of what was once an ugly pair of curly horns.” He stepped forward, backing Dream into the furthest wall. “The only other ram on this server is fucking dead. I’d hate for you to look like a dead man…” Sir planted a foot on Dream’s chest, pushing him into the wall and preventing him from squirming. “So I guess I’ll just have to take care of these for you…” He leaned in and held the dehorner to Dream’s first horn. 

 

Lucid woke up screaming. His head would’ve hurt, but he was a ghost, so it just felt uncomfortable. No one had noticed his sheep ears, since they were tucked behind layer upon layer of wavy, dirty blond hair. The stubs of what used to be his horns were growing again..which must have caused the discomfort. He had to file them down before they could notice. They would be disgusted. Outraged. Disappointed. 

 

They would surely throw the poor ghost out of their…whatever this place was. 

 

So, he searched through the chests to no avail. He just had to get his horns out of sight…Somehow…

 

Wait!

 

Lucid’s ears perked up and he grinned, floating over to a sleeping Phil. He shook him once before the man sat up, yawning.

“Mmm…What is it, mate?” The man hummed and rubbed his eyes. Lucid smiled and pointed at Phil’s talons. Phil looked confused for a moment, looking down at his black tipped talons before looking back up at Lucid.

“What about them?” Phil questioned and tilted his head.

Lucid didn’t know the sign for nail file, so they just made the motion of someone filing their nails. Phil’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “I don’t file them—that would hurt my nails…Sorry, mate. But, don’t worry. Techno has a hoof-care kit…But that might be a bit damaging, considering that the file is like a heavy duty cheese grater. He does carry a nail-care kit everywhere he goes, though, but don’t tell him I said that. He likes to care for his claws, and he would kill me if I told anyone about his obsession with constantly keeping his nails to perfection.” Phil chuckled and pat Lucid on the head, thumb brushing over the growing stump. His eyes widened and he stopped, feeling over that spot once more.

 

Lucid yelped and withdrew, pulling his hair over the uncovered stump. Phil started to stand, not taking his gaze off the ghost. 

“Lucid…Wh-What did you need the file for?” Phil began slowly.

 

‘My nails’ Lucid signed with shaky hands, avoiding eye contact with Phil. “Lucid, mate, your nails are perfectly fine, and practically transparent.” Phil deadpanned and took a step towards Lucid. Lucid flinched back and slowly began to sink into the wall. Phil attempted to grab Lucid, but his hand passed through the ghost. His breath hitched as he watched the sheep hybrid disappear into the wall. 

 

—

 

Phil had never told Techno before, but he knew about Lucid. He hid it though. He had seen Dream’s ears when they cleaned him. He noticed Dream’s poofy tail poking through a hole in his boxers when they clothed him after a bath. What he wasn’t ready for, however, was finding out that Lucid’s horns had barely grown at all…and on top of that, Lucid was asking for a nail file. Which Phil knew for certain that they would definitely not use for their nails. 

Were they planning on filing down their horns again ?

—

—

Lucid waited in the void until he was sure they were asleep before reappearing in the strange room. The ghost then proceeded to sneak the nail file out of Techno’s pocket and sit in the corner of the room, filing away at his horns. It felt really uncomfy when he struck what was supposed to be a nerve, which might’ve hurt a lot if he hadn’t been a ghost. Lucid heard the grinding of the file on keratin and bone, sanding in his ears. 

 

He only stopped when Techno stirred. Lucid slipped the nail file back into Techno’s pocket and curled up in the nest. Techno sat up, looking over at Lucid, clearly showing signs that the ghost had been awake. He felt Lucid take the object out of his pocket before, but said nothing.

 

Techno knew Lucid wasn’t asleep, but he chuffed and scratched Lucid behind his ears anyway. 

 

That night, even if Lucid was never looking, Techno still signed 

‘I love you’. 

 

_

-

 

“Listen, Tech,” Phil spoke quietly while Lucid and Tommy played their 135th round of Go-Fish. “That’s my name.” Techno responded non-chalantly. “Last night, Lucid asked me for a nail file,” Phil looked around wearily. “What’s wrong with Lucid wanting to keep his nails in tip-top shape?” Techno raised a brow at Phil. “It’s just— He doesn’t need to. A ghost’s nails stay in perfect condition as long as they’re dead!” Phil stressed and rubbed his temples. Techno seemed unfased. “Can’t blame him for trying.” “Listen! Tech, I didn’t want to tell you, if only to spare his privacy, but—” Phil took a deep breath and continued, “Lucid is a ram hybrid.” 

“Oh, I knew that.” Techno shrugged.

“W h a t ?”

“Hm? You thought I hadn’t noticed? We literally bathed him , Phil. But besides that, what are you getting at here?” Phil stared at him incredulously before shaking his head and answering, 

 

“I have reason to believe that Lucid is filing down his horns.”

 

—

 

“ That’s your verdict?” Techno snorted and grinned at Phil.

“That is probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my lifetime. What’s your evidence?” Phil eyed Techno for moment.

 

“His horns have been getting shorter. Y’know, when we found him, it looked like his horns had been sawed off. They were bleeding stumps. Well, dried blood, but you know what I mean. Anyway, whenever I would pat his head, I would gently feel the horns to make sure they were growing at a healthy rate…But they were only getting smaller, which was quite strange. Last night, when I asked him about why he needed the nail file, he cried out and tried to cover his horns, which were already covered. He looked tense, and I wanted to give him a hug… He may have taken it the wrong way, because he just disappeared and didn’t allow me to touch him.” Phil admitted solumnly and looked down. 

“Phil, I admit that wasn’t the right thing to do..And you should have taken a different approach, but I see why you’re worried. Have you noticed anything else?” Techno sympathised gently.

“No. Have you?” Phil shook his head and looked quizzically at Techno. “Yes, actually. He was awake last night. You were asleep. I felt him take something out of my pocket but kept my eyes closed. I heard some shuffling…and something else, then he slipped the object back into my pocket before curling up on the nest and going to sleep.” 

 

Phil stared wide eyed at Techno for a moment before turning to look at Lucid and Tommy, who were playing Spite and Malice, giggling to each other. 

 

“Phil…I-I didn’t want to believe you…But all the evidence adds up. I don’t know why he would be taking to such a painful and useless task. He might have a good reason for it, though. Ghosts can’t feel pain, right?” 

“No.”

“Thank the gods..” Techno sighed in relief, sagging his shoulders. 

 

—

—

 

After about three weeks of living in the bunker, Tommy’s back pains began growing more and more until he described it as ‘unbearable’. Phil knew it was time. Phil was just born with wings, like any elytrian, but this was a new avian. He’d have to be ready for anything. So, he fished through the chests and pulled out a weakness potion, promising Tommy to get the wings out as soon as possible. Tommy reluctantly agreed, basically putting his life in Phil’s open palms. 

 

Phil splashed Tommy with a weakness potion and watched as the boy slowly drifted off into a pure state of total unconciousness. Phil got to work quickly, grabbing a dagger from one of the chests. It wasn’t exactly a scalpel, but it’d work. He had read a bit about human to avian transformations and how to get their wings out safely…so he knew what he was doing….Kind of…

 

Techno spread out the boy and layed him across his lap, looking up at the ceiling so he didn’t have to watch as Phil cut into the boy’s back. 

Phil made two, parallel incisions where the most of the glowing originated blood pooled out of the wounds, but was soaked up immediately with a soft cloth that Phil had balled up around the incisions. Techno held back a gag as poof of bloody feathers began to sprout out of the wounds.

 

 Soon, a pair of bloodied, ruffled wings had fanned out of the incisions. Feathers sprouted and sealed around the wounds, leaving only the wings. Phil had helped unfold and pull out the wings, feathers falling from the new wings and piling on the ground. Phil took two buckets of snow that had mostly thawed and melted it near a torch, rinsing the bloody cloth. He soaked the cloth once more before wringing it out and using it to clean the wings, which were splayed out on the ground, one in Techno’s face. Techno pinched his eyes shut and wrinkled his nose at the awful stench of blood. Lucid watched in awe.

 

_

-

 

“C’mon, mate, these wings are huge, and I need some help cleaning them.” Phil chuckled and sneered at Techno. Techno sighed, finally able to set down the boy on the ground. 

“Lucid, can you please sit Tommy up while we clean his wings? It’ll only be a moment.” Phil asked Lucid softly. Lucid nodded vigorously and rushed over to Tommy, gently lifting him into a sitting position, holding his back just below his wings. 

 

Techno grabbed a cloth and got it damp, helping Phil scrub off the blood to reveal it’s natural color a little more. The wings itself were a lovely pallette of ecru, toast, copper, and shortbread. The feathers were dusted with hazelnut spots and stripes, making them look like a barn owl wings. They were…gorgeous. 

 

There were stray feathers in Tommy’s hair, which Techno combed out with his fingers, grinning at the boy’s new set of wings. 

 

_

-

 

Techno and Phil kept a careful eye on Tommy, but at some point, Techno decided to sneak away and dispose of his nail file, no matter how badly he loved his own nails. 

 

“Phil?” Lucid tugged on Phil’s sleeve that night.

 

“Yea?”

 

“Where is Techno’s nail file?”

Notes:

our poor boys… i know you expected me to probably post later because of the minor spoiler i gave, but i pulled an all nighter and kept adding more to the chapter just to take longer. BUT! either way, here you go :)

Chapter 24: “There’s no way…”

Summary:

They leave the bunker and Techno calls Foolish for coordinates :)

Notes:

I don’t think there are any tws, but if there are any i should add, please let me know and i will add them! :)

“Why?”

 

‘I need it.’

 

“For what?”

 

‘For my nails’

 

“Oh. Well it’s gone now. We got rid of it.”

 

‘Why?’

 

“Mate, we don’t want you filing down your horns. It isn’t healthy for them.”

 

Lucid gasped and took a step back, hands fumbling to try and sign back, but their hands were trembling too much. So, they spoke softly.

“You knew?”

 

Phil furrowed his brows and gave Lucid a pitying look.

“Yes. When you were alive, we bathed you the night you got here. And you really shouldn’t hide your tail all the time…Restricting it like that must be uncomfortable.” 

 

Lucid slowly began to dissipate from existence, turning transparent, but Phil cleared his throat. Lucid stopped, barely visible. 

“Can I please have some green?” Phil asked kindly. Lucid looked into the man’s eyes before slowly reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small glass vial of some sage green substance. The cork was sealed with candle wax, dripping down the side of the bottle. A small length of twine was wrapped around the bottle, tied to his waist band. Lucid carefully undid the knot before handing the bottle to Phil. 

 

“It matches your clothing.” Lucid whispered and smiled at the man. The elytrian grinned at the bottle and asked Lucid for some twine. Lucid handed over a spool of twine, which Phil then used to tie around his neck as a necklace. 

“I love it, Lucid. Thank you very much.” Phil smiled fondly at Lucid. The ghost smiled brightly at Phil, going back to their bubbly, ghostly attitude. 

 

“Do you want to read stories with Techno?” Phil smiled at the ghost, who was definitely excited now. Their face lit up and their ears nearly showed through their curtain of hair. 

 

Lucid curtly nodded and stuck to the man’s side as he went to ask Techno to read them a story. Techno huffed a sigh, but they knew he was just as excited to read to them. To tell the great stories of heroes passed in myth and legend. 

 

He read Homer’s Iliad to them, summarizing the parts none of them understood. After all, it was a Greek poem with far too many big words. It was an old book, spine falling apart, patched together one too many times, but the pages remained intact. 

 

The story was ancient, indescribable, beautiful, fantastic…It held Lucid’s full attention til the ghost fell asleep on Tommy’s shoulder. Tommy wrapped a wing around the ghost and cracked a smile at their sleepy look. The blond just patted their hair and tucked their head under his chin. 

 

—

—

 

When Lucid awoke, they were all laying in the nest. He slowly inched himself out from under Tommy’s arm, who made a small hissing sound. Lucid gently moved Tommy’s wing, sneaking out of the nest and floating over to Techno’s side. Lucid gently tapped Techno’s shoulder. The pinkette sat up immediately and looked at Lucid.

“Yes?”

“Can…Can you…”

“No nail file.”

“No. Not that. I was just wondering if uhm…if you could read me another story…” 

“Oh…sure. Which one this time?”

“The one about Arachne”

“Are you sure? That one’s a little scary..”

“I’m sure.” 

 

—

 

Being woken up by Lucid was one of the many things he expected to run into that night, but what he was not expecting was Lucid to ask for a story. Techno thought Lucid would check his pockets before asking for a nail file, but they didn’t. 

 

It was strange…Lucid hadn’t even asked for his rasp(Or as Phil liked to call it: his ‘heavy duty cheese grater’). 

 

Lucid just sat and listened in awe as Techno waved his hands around wildly or brought his voice to different octaves to imitate the voices, such as Athena’s loud, booming voice when she lost the weaving competition, or Arachne’s smug tone while she announced her victory. 

.

-

_

 

Before they knew it, 5 weeks had passed and it was safe for them to travel onto the surface, which was nothing but a smoldering crater. Phil and Techno didn’t mind the idea of building a new cabin, but Tommy sure did get a kick out of it. The avian didn’t know why someone nuked their cabin, but he found it hilarious because he did not live there…not fully. 

 

They decided to collect their supplies and head out somewhere they were sure no one could find them. So, they got in contact with Foolish. Foolish was someone they could trust. Someone who lived farther off than anyone they knew. 

 

“Techno!” Foolish’s voice crackled through the speaker. Techno winced and held the communicator away from his ear for a moment before dragging a hand down his face. 

All he had to do was ask Foolish where they could stay that was far away, or maybe even just live with the totem hybrid.

“Hello, Foolish.” Technoblade grunted and pinched his eyes closed with a long, annoyed sigh. 

“Do you know where I— we can—” 

“My man! Where have you been? I haven’t heard from you in ages! How’ve you been doing?”

“Fine. Do you know wh—” Foolish cut Techno off and began to ramble, “That’s amazing! I’m doing great! You know, we should schedule a meetup or something..Oh! I could show you the statue I’m working on! You see, long story, but, like, apparently god visited me and he told me to build him this huge statue of—” 

 

“ Foolish! ” Techno shouted, the other end going dead silent before a quiet, “Yes?”

 

“Listen..Tubbo nuked me and Phil’s cabin, so we were wondering if..” “Oh no! Why would Tubbo do that? What happened? Are you—” “—you could redirect us to a far off location that’s completely secluded. That would help a lot.”

 

“Oh…Yeah, I can do that. I-I think I know a place… I’ll send you the cords.” Foolish responds quietly before going dead silent once more. 

“Lovely. It was nice talking with you, Foolish. Goodbye.” 

“Goodb—” Techno hung up before Foolish could finish.

 

.

-

 

Lucid hugged themself as they left the snowy biome. 

 

The entirety of their traverse through the mountains, Phil kept urging Tommy to jump off a ledge, telling him it was to

 ‘Test out his new wings’, to which Tommy immediately denied, opting to walk the whole way there. 

 

Lucid’s horns had finally grown out enough to be somewhat visible, but he still tried to cover them.

 

“What time is it?” Lucid asked, pulling Phil’s hat further down to hide his horns. Phil looks up at the sky before responding,

“Eh…Around four pm.” 

 

Tommy gives Phil an incredulous stare. 

 

“You can’t just tell all that from glancing at the sky!” The avian stammers and glares at the sun. “There’s no way..” He murmurs before tearing his gaze away to look at Phil. 

 

Phil just shrugs and grabs Tommy’s arm. Tommy squawks as he’s lifted into the air.

 

Baby bird! 

Baby bird!

 

The crows chant as they swarm around Phil. The elytrian chuckles and drops the squirming avian. 

 

__

—

 

Somewhere in the distance, Techno hears a loud, high pitched shriek that echoes through the valley. Shortly after, it’s followed by the caws from a murder of crows. Techno chooses to ignore it.

Notes:

i keep imagining tommy screaming like a little girl and i don’t know why.

Tommy: *literally falling to his death*

Phil: : ) c a w c a w.

Techno: oh no! anyway.

 

(sorry for short chapter :( i finished this in math class lol)

Chapter 25: “I’ll be sure to join you.”

Summary:

They make it to the tower and Lucid get’s his very own room! :)

Notes:

i can’t recall any tws, but if there are any i should be aware of, please let me know!

For the rest of their journey, Tommy kept a safe distance from Philza Minecraft. Tommy has a newfound hatred for crows.

 

At one point, however, Phil tried to apologize.

“Tommy—listen, I’m sorry. I was just messing around. You know I wouldn’t just let you fall…”

“ JUST MESSING AROUND?! Bitch, this will be fucking engraved in my memory! Is throwing me off the canyon considered ‘messing around’ to you?? What if you weren’t there to catch me? Listen here, dickhead, my bird instincts haven’t kicked in yet.. so if you even expect me to start flappin’ my godsdamned wings when you toss me off a cliff, you better be fuckin’ ecstatic when I do!” Tommy spat and glared at Philza. 

 

“I’m sorry, mate. I shouldn’t have assumed you were ready for that yet. It was my fault and I take full responsibility. I promise I won’t do it again.”

 

“Damn right! I better see some tears in your next apology, but I’ll let this one slide.” Tommy fixed Philza with a glare, practically boring into the man’s very soul before lighting up again. “Anyway! Let us be on our way once more!” Tommy grinned and fluttered his wings, racing past Phil, who just simply sighed and jogged to catch up with the boy.

 

—

 

At some point, the blond attempted to pass Techno, but the piglin held out his arm, stiff as a board. Techno stopped in his tracks, letting Tommy run into his arm and double over, coughing. “Oi! What the hell was that for, man? Fuckin—

W o a h” Tommy gaped at the large mountain base. It looked a bit like Tubbo and Ranboo’s near the border of Las Nevadas, but much cooler. Like a wizard’s tower, or a Pillager Outpost. 

 

Either way, it was fucking epic. Ahem, pardon me; it was fucking pogchamp.  

 

…

 

Tommy scaled the stairs to the tower so fast that it made Phil’s knees weak. Techno narrowed his eyes and trotted up the steps just as fast, chasing after the boy who was currently jiggling the doorknob. Lucid stayed behind to trail after Phil, who took his sweet time popping his old man bones. 

 

—

 

When they got in the building itself, Phil noticed all the Elizabethan Era paintings of great warriors, monarchs, rulers…and Lady Death. 

 

There was a single painting of a woman with dark, sweeping black feathers that had a certain sheen to them, akin to an oil spill, and pitch black hair that spilled over her shoulders. A large, black sun hat was placed atop her head, black, withering roses decorating glossy black ribbon fastened securely around the bell of the hat. A long, black tinted veil trailed down to pool at her feet, which were fitted into gorgeous, shiny black heels with a sort of oil spill effect. She was adorned in gorgeous gold jewelry with a small shimmering emerald hanging from a gold chain on her right ear. Her makeup was just as stunning; black lipstick and gentle, fading eyeshadow with a soft liner and mascara. Her ivory skin was covered in a beautiful, poofy black dress that almost completely hid her heels. There were flecks of shimmering glitter on her dress, catching Phil’s eye almost instantly besides her long veil. 

 

Philza brought his wings tighter around himself, tears building in his eyes. He took in a shaky breath before exhaling deeply. He tilted his head to stare at the ceiling, blinking away the tears. Lady Death was standing beside her beloved Angel in the painting. Phil was much, much younger when that was painted. He had to stand still next to Kristen for hours, but he didn’t mind it, as long as he was next to the love of his life through it all. 

 

Lady Death was once mortal, until she was visited by the court of the Gods one sacred evening. After a bit of talking, the Gods brought up how they needed a new ruler of the dead. They explained how they found her to be their best option. 

 

So, after many tears and one too many goodbyes, she obliged her new position as Goddess of Death. 

 

—

 

Tommy zoomed through the base, flapping his wings ecstatically, slightly lifting himself off the ground as he covered every hall in the tower at least 5 times.  

 

The owl was running down a hall and not watching where he was going when he ran straight into a wall, falling flat on his ass. “Ow! What the fuck..?” Techno narrowed his eyes down at Tommy, who stared up at him in fear. “U-Uh—Whoops?”

Tommy mumbled. Techno made a weird piglin sound and shuffled to the side, letting Tommy get back on his feet and pass him quietly. 

 

…

 

Technoblade escorted each of them to their rooms when they were done exploring, Lucid following with a bounce in their step—well—with great excitement…? (Ghosts don’t touch the ground, I don’t fucking know) 

 

At the end of the hall was a very dusty room with a well worn looking violin in the corner, leaning against a tall bookcase. The A string was snapped, the bow was nowhere in sight, and the instrument itself was coated in a thick layer of dust.

 A Victorian style bed with curtains sat in the middle of the room, pushed to the wall. There was an ancient nightstand with carvings of strange symbols all over the top  that looked less old, but still ancient. Parts of the carvings were covered by a fancy gold lamp with a stained glass lampshade. A desk covered in old papers with piles upon piles of books was pushed to the farthest left corner. The desk chair was in pieces, wood splintered and shattered all shoved under the desk.

 

…Strange…

 

Next to it was a smaller bookcase with several gaps, suggesting that more than half of them were gone. There were a couple paintings on the wall, swords were mounted galore as well, all polished to perfection, not a speck of dust or grime to be seen, sharpened beyond what was necessary. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust…(besides the swords of course)

 

A dresser of some sort was leaning to the right wall, one leg missing, all the contents on top of the dresser nearly falling off along with antique, shattered picture frames on the ground next to the dresser. A vase of flowers was on the edge of the dresser, all the flowers wilted and covered in cobwebs and mold that crawled up the shriveled brown stems. 

 

It was old. Very old. And Lucid loved it. 

 

The ghost turned, already jumping in excitement. 

“Thank you, Techno!!” Lucid’s voice echoed with a hum of pure, utter joy. Techno jumped slightly when Lucid wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. Techno slowly wrapped his arms around Lucid. “Yep…You are-uhm…you’re welcome?”

 

“Oh—well-I-I have to go..now..?” Techno gently pat Lucid’s head, feeling the ghost’s cold embrace loosen. 

 

Lucid gave Techno one last smile before waving and closing the door.  Once Techno was gone, Lucid sighed and smiled, wandering over to the window and opening it to let a gust of chilly air flow in. The ghost took a couple deep breaths and closed his eyes. One of his ears twitched at the sound of a knock. Lucid spun around and grinned, “Come in!”

Phil opened the door and walked through, glancing around. 

“Nice room, Lucid.” 

“Thank you, I moved in myself.”

Phil chuckled at his joke and smiled fondly. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know we’re having dinner in twenty-ish minutes.” 

 

“I’ll be sure to join you.”

Notes:

dinner time :D

Chapter 26: “I think you’re being a bit dramatic.”

Summary:

we stan lucid supremacy <3 also, tommy gets drugged haha

Notes:

tw

yelling
poison
injury
blood

(i promise you there is no angst <3)

btw, incase you didn’t know, i am only now editing my past chapters. they’re small edits though, but at least my work won’t count as no beta, right? right?? i dunno. but anyway, this is mainly my fault cause i didn’t read the emails that my editor sent me with corrections for all the past chapters, so the edits are coming late lol

Tommy chased Lucid around the tower, laughing and giggling. Lucid slammed into a wall when making a sharp turn at some point, but he just stood up and kept on running. 

 

Later that day, when Techno noticed the two holes in the wall(clearly from Lucid’s horns), he smiled fondly and let it be.

 

Tommy’s feathers scattered across the carpet, which Phil gathered and collected in a small wooden box. Yes, the elytrian knew that sounded unsettling and creepy, but it always warmed his heart when he plucked a feather from the maroon carpets and spun it between his fingers, imagining the golden haired owl laughing and sprinting down the hallways with his ghostly little friend.

 

When lunch rolled around, Phil entered the tower with fresh loaves of bread and plenty of vegetables. They sat down at the table, eagerly staring at Phil for a new story. Every day Phil or Techno brought home food, it came with a story of a new village and the people they saw there. Tales of fighting off mobs as they held their cargo close to their chest. Swatting away villagers that tried to steal their goods. 

 

Lucid technically didn’t need to eat, but he liked to anyway. It was never really filling besides when he’d eat while being told a story of how they got it back safely. Lucid loved it when Techno told stories. 

 

The growing stacks of jars, bottles and vials all bunched together on Techno’s crowded shelves didn’t bother him much. He didn’t care if the sage didn’t really work, he appreciated every bottle Lucid gifted him. But he was growing tired and felt significantly less guilty with his surplus of sentimental shades of green contained in small bottles. 

 

At one point, Lucid even gifted him a couple green, sage scented candles that he got from gods know where. Whenever he felt like it, he would light two or three and just simply inhale the scent of dry sage. It was calming, in a way. 

 

Phil got Lucid to try a nice, steaming cup of green tea. The ghost spit it out in seconds. Phil chuckled, thinking it was too hot or bitter. It was the latter. Which made Phil laugh harder.

 

Tommy seemed to brighten the room with his smile and he finally got to enjoy the childhood he never had. Lucid was healing from the loss of memory that his former body held so dutifully no matter how heavy the load was. Lucid was a strange case…Had everything that a human did, except he only saw the good in things. Lucid reminded everyone of a jumpy little kid. Nothing on their mind except the happiness of others and those little glass bottles of guilt repellent. Phil didn’t know if those bottles actually could get rid of guilt and remorse, or if that was just his mind shoving away those feelings in turn of focusing on the ‘magical’ qualities of the little green gifts. Either way, it was the thought that counts. After all, such a sentimental gift should be treated with appreciation no matter it’s use. Never look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

…

“Phiiilllllll! I wanna cook something!” Tommy groaned, leaning over the sofa to glare down at the elytrian. 

 

Phil sighed fondly with a bit of mock reluctance and closed his book. “What do you wanna cook, Toms?” 

 

Tommy paused in thought. He hadn’t thought that far ahead.

 

.

.

.

 

After a bit of silence, there was another winy, “Phhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiilllllllllllll! I WANNA COOK SOMETHING!” Tommy drew out Phil’s name once more and pouted like a child. In all honesty, Phil couldn’t say no to Tommy’s puppy eyes. “Alright…How about we make some stew?” Tommy nodded exuberantly at Phil’s suggestion. “Yes! Yes! Let’s make stew and poison it and give it to Techno. He will drop dead and Lucid can revive him so we can do it again! It will be such an epic trollollolloll and Technoblade will cry.” The owl hybrid plotted expertly, nodding along to his own words.  

 

An air of confidence and mischievousness was radiating off of Tommy, giving Phil the idea that maybe Tommy wasn’t joking around about poisoning Techno. What made the situation even worse was that Phil actually considered poisoning Techno…

 

Well,  t h a t ’ s  n o  g o o d .

 

Phil shook his head, attempting to clear his thoughts, and looked over at the other blond, who was still plotting an assasination on Techno; “…and then I’ll—”

“Great idea, Tommy! We’ll poison Techno.” Phil quickly cut in. “You are so amazing, Philza Minecraft, I am always right. I am so glad that you agree with me.” 

 

—

 

“Hey, Tommy? Do you wanna try it first?” Phil asked softly with a malicious look in his eye. “You didn’t put the poison in yet, did you?” Tommy gave Phil a questioning look. The elytrian chuckled and shook his head. “Good. Cause if you put some fucking drugs in here or something—IT BETTER NOT BE DRUGGED!” Tommy pointed an accusatory finger at Phil’s chest and lifted the ladle, taking a minuscule sip.

 

“AaaAaaAsafafYauGauahHhaahJhahUagHyahauGauagavajsbusgajayagjYgUayagauafagauavAh” Tommy choked, his vision going blurry. The world spun around him and he tipped on his heel. “What’s wrong, Toms?” Phil grinned and stared at Tommy, who was fucking  d y i n g. “Maybe—M-Maybe…a bit more….paprika?” Tommy slurred and face planted. 

 

You see, not many things can make Philza truly laugh. He finds great joy in poisoning people and making them suffer, so as soon as Tommy doubled over, Phil broke into wheezing laughter. “AHAHA! YOU SHOULD’VE SEEN THE LOOK ON YOUR FACE! BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” 

 

When Phil finally pulled himself together, he looked down at his son Tommy and nudged him with his foot. “Toms?” 

 

No answer.

 

“Tommy?”

 

Tommy was still making out with the floor, wings splayed out behind him. Slowly, a pool of blood formed at the base of Tommy’s skull. 

 

“Oop—”

 

…

 

“I fucking hate you, Philza Minecraft. You’re the worst. The absolute, fucking worst.” Tommy snarled from where he lay on the couch, a bandage wrapped hastily around his forehead. 

 

“I’m sorry—I just thought that it’d be funny…” Phil apologized weakly. “FUNNY?!? Are you fucking BONKERS Phil????!!!!? WHAT THE FUCK?!?? THAT WASN’T FUNNY! I COULD’VE DIED!” Tommy screamed at Phil, who looked rather bashful. 

“I think you’re being a bit dramatic.” Techno took a sip of his tea and stared lazily out at the snowy skies. “Says you! You’ve literally grown an immunity to poison! How can you do that anyway?! It’s literally impossible!”

“Better immune system.”

“You don’t even—  w h a t” 

Lucid was hanging around the corner, nervously watching the avian make ado. They couldn’t help but worry for the fledgling—after all, he was hurt! 

 

It had been weeks since they got here, and Lucid’s horns had grown significantly. They were still self conscious about them, but not so much that he felt the need to file them down. The ivy sprouting from his head was beginning to curl around his horns.

 

—

 

Later, sometime around midnight, Lucid used his super cool ghostly powers to make Tommy wake up. The boy slowly sat up, looking around until Lucid made himself visible in the corner of his room. “Lucid, don’t do that! You scared the ever loving shit out of me.” Tommy put a hand to his heart. 

“I’m sorry. Earlier you looked like you needed some green, so brought you this.” Lucid reached through the hole in his sweater and pulled out a pendant necklace. The pendant was an itsy bitsy vile of crushed lavender stems and a bit of sage. 

 

Tommy’s eyes welled with tears and he slowly reached out and grabbed the necklace, clipping it in place around his neck. 

“What’s wrong? Why are you sad? I’m sorry! Do you not like it? I can take it back!” Lucid fumbled for an apology, but Tommy held a hand up, letting out an indignant chirp. 

“N-No—No, it’s fine—I love it…It’s just…No one’s ever really given me something like this. Sure, Tubbo gave me a bandana, but Dr…But someone burned it.” Lucid tilted his head like a bird, wondering what the hesitation was about. 

 

Tommy shook his head and blinked a couple times. “Lucid, why are you so nice to me?” The ghost seemed surprised by this question, “What do you mean, Tommy?” They asked. 

 

At that moment, Tommy noticed how small Lucid sounded. Lucid looked nothing like Dream. Didn’t even resemble him…Hell, even their height! And—And their voice…They sound…Small. Not like a seven year old, but close enough. 

 

And only now does Tommy realize that Lucid is an image of Dream when he was younger. 

 

Everything has finally clicked into place. Lucid…Lucid isn’t the opposite of his former self…He just holds the vessel of themself that had kindled the most happy memories in his past life. 

Notes:

ahhhhh i’m back! hullo :) i missed you guys. writing and posting and hearing your thoughts brings me such joy. my own little escapism. things are hard irl, but here, i can write about far off worlds and people roleplaying in a block game. in all honesty, i find a sense of calmness when i’m surrounded by this community. it’s like painkillers to all my issues. it isn’t permanent, but it can make me feel better for a bit. i love you guys so fucking much and all the support you’ve given me is just—ahh—i can’t even begin to describe how grateful i am. thank you so much for being here. this story has a long way to go, and i promise that it will have an ending. every ending is bittersweet, and we all hate when it’s over…but i have so many other stories and i can’t wait to spill my plots and share my ideas through the words on a page on a website filled with people just like me. it’s…it’s relaxing. it’s so much more than just a hobby. i think i would call it an escape? no. not an escape—a home. it’s a home i can return to without worries for all that shit happening out in the world. i’m sorry for rambling—i just ahhhh i’m so happy. once again, i love you guys, thank you so much <3

-kris

Chapter 27: “We have something to show you.”

Summary:

boob boy is worried for bee boy’s mental well being : )

techno and phil want to show lucid and tommy smth cool but also—asl improvement pog?

Notes:

no tws, i think :) lmk if i need to add some tho :D

i’m sorry for being gone so long tho :,)

hope u enjoy :D

Tubbo sat holed up in his study, head in his hands, still working over whether he should try to track down his best friend or bomb another fucking settlement out of frustration.

 

Listen, nuking Technoblade and Phil’s cabins may have been a bit…Harsh—but Tommy and him were best friends! More than that, even! (Not romantic) 

 

They were the best of best friends! Practically brothers! He was just afraid of losing his best friend again… And, yes, what he did was purely impulsive, but he knew that Techno wouldn’t let anything happen to Tommy, not with how he was watching the kid like a hawk. Techno is literally keeping Tommy hidden away from everyone like fucking Golem.

 

Tubbo isn’t evil… is he?

—

-

 

Ranboo stalked down the ladder to Tubbo’s study and peered in through the door. 

 

Tubbo was asleep and drooling over a map of the snow biome.

 

They slowly pushed the door open and ducked in through the crack, stepping over papers to Tubbo.

 

The warm glow of a candle lit the room dimly, just barely keeping a flame after being kept through hours of work. 

 

Ranboo placed a gentle hand on his husband’s shoulder and shook him awake. 

 

Tubbo sat up in an instant and looked over at his husband with parted lips. He looked slightly dazed and half asleep, but awake enough to tell what was going on. Tubbo wiped his chin and stared into Ranboo’s heterochromatic eyes in question.

 

“Come to bed.” 

Ranboo signed with furrowed brows, clearly concerned for their platonic husband’s mental health. Michael was fast asleep back upstairs, soft snores echoing through the cabin.

 

Tubbo shrugged Ranboo’s hand away and rubbed his eyes. He leaned back over his work and picked up a quill. 

 

Nope. No. Not happening. 

 

Ranboo smacked away the quill in Tubbo’s hand, registering a confused bleat, which Ranboo ignored and instead lifted up his Bee into his arms. Tubbo squirmed in Ranboo’s grip, making noises of retort and little squeals. He tried to buck his hooves at the tall man, but to no avail. 

 

Ranboo adjusted Tubbo in his arms and carried him up the ladder. Tubbo crossed his arms as he was set down in bed.

 

A frustrated tear slipped down Tubbo’s cheek and Ranboo sat beside him, leaning in for a hug. Tubbo happily collapsed in Ranboo’s arms, screaming and wailing muffled by the man’s shoulder. Tubbo’s hot tears singed Ranboo’s skin, but he did not care, as tears soon began to well up in his eyes as well.

 

They knew it would leave scars, but they were too filled with grief to care. 

 

Tommy was not dead, but he could still die. 

 

It was safe to say that Ranboo and Tubbo both wanted nothing more than for Tommy to come home. 

 

—

-

—

 

‘Technoblade’ 

 

Lucid had been practicing Techno’s sign name, which was made by signing pink: signing the letter P and tapping their lips with their middle finger using the same hand. They used this tapping motion with the letter P on their hair to symbolize Techno’s pink hair.

Lucid was hoping to learn a couple more sign names soon, but for now they could tap their shoulder. After all, they did talk a little. But it was only a little. They were planning on going fully non-verbal to enjoy the quiet more, so they wanted to learn everything they could while the information was still available.

So, he spent hours studying in the middle of the night with Technoblade, learning more and more phrases and words.

 

By morning, he was ready to ask Phil and Tommy about their sign names.

 

…

 

Predictably, Phil’s was ‘Bird’ and ‘Dad’ but mixed: Well, the ‘Bird’ was just a G placed at the right of your lips, pinching them together once before letting go, acting like a beak. Dad was holding out your hand with all five fingers out and tapping the thumb to your forehead once. So, Phil’s was being his hand to his forehead, all five fingers out, except the index and thumb were stuck in the G sign and he would tap his hand to his forehead.

Tommy’s was not to complicated, having it just be the sign for

‘Man’, but instead of an open hand, he signed the letter T and brought his hand to his forehead before bringing it down to his chest. 

So, with that, the names are done! And now he knew how to ask for a cup of tea and various other things. He keeps forgetting how to sign ‘Secret’ and ‘Numbers’ though…

 

…

 

Whatever. Tonight, they were having breakfast for dinner, which meant a special occasion. 

 

Lucid bit into their bland waffle, politely declining any and all toppings, choosing to instead hold their waffle and eat it like a cookie. Tommy was arguing with Phil over a plate of eggs and Techno was shoveling hashbrowns into his mouth at the speed of light.

 

Lucid put his waffle down and tapped on Techno’s shoulder. Techno paused, fork halfway to his mouth, which was agape.

 

‘Why are we having breakfast for dinner?’ Lucid signed and waited quietly for Techno’s answer.

 

‘You’ll see.’ Techno smiled at the little ghost who just stared back blankly with their endlessly milky iris’.

 

Lucid huffed and sat back in their chair, twirling a vine from their hair around their finger.

 

Phil chuckled when Tommy munched loudly on his crispy, burnt waffle, glaring at his father figure friend as if they were the bane of existence. “How do you burn fucking waffles? That’s like dehydrating water! I bet you burnt that waffle just for me! You hate me, Philza. I know you do. I can’t believe this. Why don’t you serve me up some could eggs as well, huh? What if you just—I dunno—crack the egg right on my plate, just a yolk, yea?” Tommy taunts, talking around his mouthful of ultra, mega, crispy ass waffles. “Again with the eggs! Mate, just fucking—”

 

“Hey, Phil! Don’t we have something to show them?” Techno interrupts loudly and points a thumb behind him.

 

Phil stops mid argument and presses his lips into a thin line. Suddenly, his face breaks into a wide grin and he stands abruptly, chair screeching behind him. Tommy flinches at the loud sound, but recovers instantly, eyes following where Phil joins Techno’s side.

 

“Kids,” The man begins with a smile in his voice, “We have something to show you.”

 

“Obviously.” Tommy shrugs with a deadpan look. Phil bites back a retort and grins wider. “Me and Techno found a new room.”

 

At this, Lucid and Tommy do not flip out.

 

No, shut up. They don’t. They just get…a bit giddy.

 

Notes:

yes, hello, i am back :) it’s me, yes, i know, hype, amirightoramiright? heheehmhehehehehhehdgdbdnmejehrudjeksknslwidnwodjdnodncksjxjxixhx

Chapter 28: “I think you’re a masochist, Phil.”

Summary:

(angst)

phil and techno show tommy and lucid an old room filled with painful memories of their past.

Notes:

tw/cw

mention of past death
mention of past fire
mention of past injury(smoke inhalation)

“Well, it’s pretty old. Surprisingly enough, me, Techno, Wil, and…someone else— used to live here.” Phil ran his hand down the old walls as they made their way down the corridor. 

 

There was a burnt and charred door at the end, barely standing on its hinges. Around the door, all the walls were black and deteriorating. 

 

“This is it. My…” Phil cleared his throat, the word ‘wife’ stuck to his tongue. He placed a hand on the now cold doorknob.

 

“Someone used to stay in this room before there was a fire. A candle had lit the curtains aflame. We put it out before it spread too much, obviously, but… They, uhm…” Phil blinked back tears and turned the knob. It still smelled burnt and rotten inside the room. Phil only showed them this room because he thought it would ward away old memories. Bring closure. But it only brought tears back to his eyes. Burning memories, quite literally, engulfed his mind. Techno watched Phil with a steady gaze as Lucid and Tommy explored the room.

 

Lucid was the first to speak up, lifting a small, broken picture frame from the heap of old memories that were scattered around the room. “Who used to sleep here?” Their voice was soft and kind, non-judgemental and echoey.

 

Phil sighed and looked around at the old pictures on the walls, burnt and crooked from where they hang, lost in time.

 

“My wife’s room.” The elytrian managed to choke out as Lucid turned around the charred image in their hands. The picture frame was broken and burnt, practically falling apart in their hold. There were two people in the picture: a figure, whose face was obscured by a large hole that had probably been burned through with falling ashes. Though, it was pretty easy to tell by how this guy was dressed that this man was Philza. He looked much, much younger. Beside Philza was a woman with long, silky, black hair. Her face was covered in a dark veil. She looked ready to go to a funeral.  They both had wings as dark as night, an oil spill sheen on their feathers stood out. Crow-like wings. 

 

Down, in front of Phil and this mystery woman, were… a smudge? 

 

Lucid brushed away the soot with their thumb and stared closely at the two teens who were kneeling in front of the couple, smiling wide. 

 

Well, only one of them was smiling wide. The one who was smiling had brown, curly hair that had been attacked and stuffed under a red beanie. This one was wearing glasses and a yellow sweater. 

 

The other had pink hair, looking a bit older. They had glasses as well. Their ears were pointed and they had two small tusks poking out from their bottom lip. This kid looked a lot like Techno… Actually—

 

Lucid turned around and signed Techno’s name. Luckily, Techno had been staring at them.

 

“Yes?”

 

‘This you?’ Lucid smiled and pushed the photograph into Techno’s hands.

Techno’s eyes widened and he handed the photo to Phil, who just choked back a sob and muffled his cries with his hand. Techno rubbed his back gently and let Phil lean into his shoulder and cry.

 

Lucid frowned. They didn’t want Phil to be sad. They didn’t want to make Phil cry. Why is Phil crying?

This is very strange. Phil doesn’t cry. Phil never cries. Lucid is the one who always cries. Why is Phil crying? Why? What did Lucid do wrong? Did Lucid do something wrong? Oh, gods, what if he did something wrong? 

 

Lucid rushed over to comfort Phil, petting his head like how Techno normally does. Techno is very good at comforting. Maybe Lucid should let Technoblade comfort Phil. 

 

So, Lucid backed away. Tommy looked from Phil to Lucid, then back to Phil before landing on Lucid. ‘What did you do?’ Tommy signed and marched right up to the ghost. Tommy was holding a large, black sun hat with a veil. 

 

When Phil finally calmed down and pulled away from Techno, he burst into tears once more upon seeing the hat. Tommy quickly put it down. “Sorry! Sorry!” Tommy stammered and put his hands up in a placating manner whilst slowly backing away from the hat. “No,” Phil sniffed loudly and scrubbed at his eyes. “It’s fine—I’m just really emotional today.”

 

“I think you’re a masochist, Phil.” Tommy says and leans back on the wall behind him.

 

“Mate, I don’t think you know what that means.” Phil sniffles again and wipes his nose.

 

“Of course I do! You brought us here on purpose just so you could be sad and cry. It’s pretty obvious, though, man’s likes his crying sessions. I can vibe with that.” Tommy shrugs with a smirk. Phil immediately shook his head.

 

“No—no—Tommy—A masochist is someone who gets an abnormal amount of dopamine from experiencing pain. I just thought I would gain some kind closure from showing you guys my wife’s old room…” Phil finally manages to compose himself.

 

“How did…Do you mind me asking a question?” Tommy asked as he traced a hand down a particularly burnt wall, charcoal dust gathering on his fingers.

 

“Ask Techno, please. He knows the history. I would just start crying again if it’s about…Well…” Phil took in a sharp breath of air and turned around to face the doorway, chewing his knuckle as a silent tear slipped down his cheek.

 

Tommy nodded in understanding before turning to the piglin hybrid. “Is Phil’s wife dead?” 

 

Techno nodded solemnly and kept his head bowed in respect.

“How…How?” Tommy bit his lip. He’s sure she must have gotten out fine—with a fire as minor as this. Probably a couple major burns…But there’s no way that…

 

“Smoke inhalation. Me and Wil were there. She passed out in Phil’s arms and never woke up again.” Techno let a couple tears fall to the charred carpet where he and Wil had been watching Phil’s wife die in the man’s arms. 

 

Techno was twenty, at the time. It’s still hard to believe that Kristin died seven years ago today. Phil and him were, and still are, good friends. Techno ran from his old family, having been apprehended by the government. An old government that had obscure laws and policies. While the king’s men held down his parents and siblings, Techno snuck past and managed to escape unseen. 

He decided to stay with a man a bit older than him, by like, five years. Eh. They became close friends. Yes, it sounds pretty creepy for a twenty two year old guy to become friends with a seventeen year old, but, obviously, they were practically thick as thieves when Techno turned twenty. They lived together and Techno liked hanging with Phil’s son, Wilbur. Wilbur and Techno were like brothers. 

 

But that was a long time ago. Now, Lucid, Tommy, and Phil stood in silence.

 

Techno can’t exactly remember why they left. Maybe it was the pain of remembering. Moving farther away was just an honest move to get away from their past. They fought and fought for many, constantly on the move, until Phil and him went into retirement after a scandal regarding L’manberg, Pogtopia, and the Greater Dream SMP. 

 

Seven years felt like forever, but now that Techno is standing here, in the middle of their reason to leave this place behind in the first place, it feels like just yesterday that they were crying over Kristin’s dead body. 

 

…

 

Phil has lost quite a lot in his life, he won’t lie. The man has lost his wife and his son. All he has left is Techno, Lucid, and Tommy. Well, he also has Wilbur… Revivedbur. 

 

But he hasn’t spoken to his son in ages. He knows that Tommy isn’t too fond of Revivedbur, especially since the destruction of L’manberg, which was hosted by the man himself. It only made sense for Tommy to be sour towards Wilbur. Wilbur was mad. He had driven himself to insanity and blew up L’manberg because what more was that hell hole to become if not a corrupted memory of ‘what once was.’ 

 

Wilbur knew they couldn’t call that place home anymore. It was once beautiful and perfect…but then government got in the way. Separated people. Severed relationships. Corrupted their land. It was a mess…Wilbur knew that Manberg was destined to fall. So, he watched the world burn. He blew the whole damn place to smithereens and begged to be murdered at the hands of his own father. 

 

Phil certainly has a lot more on his plate than he first imagined. When Phil—When everyone lost Dream, he was the one who grieved the most…Until Lucid showed up and made everything better. Phil was desperate to be rid of his guilt and remorse. It was all so painful. He’d lost almost everything, so he asked for some green. And then some more. And then a little more. Soon enough, the pain was just a stray thought. 

 

The one thing Phil couldn’t escape, however, was the death of his son. His son, whom he had killed with his own two hands. 

 

Overall, Phil and everyone else are just a bit messed up in the head. Whilst everyone around them somehow manages to stay above water with a forgotten promise of shallowness, Phil

drowns in the ocean deep waters. 

 

Well..Maybe it’s not just Phil. Maybe, perhaps, we’re all just drowning in shallow waters. 

 

—-

—

 

“I think it’s about time I tell you about Kristin.” Phil says, barely above a whisper.

Notes:

kristin pog? pogn’t? WE INSTALLED THE DEAD FAMILY MOD IN—

Chapter 29: “What do you mean by ‘visit?’”

Summary:

phil talks to the boys about his wife. phil is wife haver. yes. he has a wife. he has a woman. philza has a woman. phil is married? poggers?
y e s

Notes:

tw/cw

mention of past death
mention of past fire
mention of past injury(smoke inhalation)
blood
self-injury-ish(crushing a glass, out of stress, of course :))

“Kristin…She…She was my wife.” Phil begins, slowly stirring his tea with a spoon before gently tapping it on the edge of the porcelain. “You probably already know that by now. There’s a couple pictures of her around here, somewhere.” The man takes a sip of his tea and places it down with a soft clink. 

 

Tommy leans in and folds his arms across the table.

 

Lucid stays floating in the corner of the room, listening in.

 

“She was…gorgeous. So, so beautiful. I loved her more than anything.” Phil reminisces fondly and swirls his finger around in his tea distractedly before pulling it out and wiping it on his shirt. 

 

“We had a son. I’m sure Tommy and Techno are very aware…Wilbur. Wilbur would send me letters. He spoke of a country in the making. Of tyranny and friendships, everlasting. It truly was a joy to read them. He’s a lovely writer…A good poet, too. And—well—he also likes to sing…and play guitar. I guess you could say he was multi-talented.” Phil smiles fondly, only for the smile to fade just as quickly as it had come.

 

“He left. He left to make a free country with Tommy. The only reason he left was to cure his grief. He left the nest after Kristin…” Phil closes his eyes and huffs. 

 

“Me and him had fought. And I said some things I never should’ve. He packed and left the next morning. We made up after that fight…over letters. We talked and talked from afar. I asked if he wanted to return, but he was happy with staying alongside Tommy in their ‘perfect country.’” The elytrian takes another sip from his tea and narrows his eyes at nothing in particular. Lucid comes in close to sit beside Techno and Tommy.

 

“Well. I’m getting a bit off topic, aren’t I?” Phil chuckles and clenches his grip on the teacup.

 

The porcelain cracks.

 

“Kristin. My wife. The love of my life. She died seven years ago. Like Techno said, smoke inhalation. I don’t know what was happening before I arrived, but I remember hearing screams. There was smoke coming from her room. We put it out, but she was still having trouble breathing. She died later that night. Ash, soot, and smoke in her lungs. She never coughed it out or flushed her system of all that gunk…And so…” Phil stares down at the table. The teacup is close to shattering. Techno places a hand over Phil’s, in an effort to calm him.

 

“Maybe it was something else, because her death just seemed so sudden. She was breathing oxygen…wasn’t in the fire anymore… I don’t know. I’m no detective. All I know is that she died. Wilbur left. Me and Techno left soon after. Well, more accurately, Techno went to help with Pogtopia, and I stayed in a cabin, far from me and Techno’s old one. I dunno. It’s a bit jumbled in my head…I told Wilbur about my new location, and he kept sending letters. Soon, however…He told me of a festival…BUT! I’m getting off topic again.” Phil apologizes with tired eyes, and the teacup breaks in his hand. Blood drips down his hand into the spilled tea. Techno quickly gets up to help Phil with his hand.

Phil distractedly plucks the pieces of glass from his hand, and gods does he look fucking out of it. He looks so tired. 

 

The man just broke a tea cup, glass embedded in his fucking hand, and he just—just doesn’t even care?

 

What a mad man. Tommy scrunched up his nose and watched Techno clean up Phil’s hand.

 

“Anyway, Kristin. Right.” Phil murmurs off-handedly as if he must’ve forgotten or something.

 

“I talk to her sometimes…A couple times, she’s been allowed to…visit.” Phil drawls and closes his eyes.

 

“What do you mean by visit?” Tommy speaks up, leaning impossibly closer. 

 

“Have you ever heard of the goddess of death?”

Notes:

ughhh i love cliffhangers

Chapter 30: “You’re wife is the Goddess of Death?”

Summary:

conversation over the goddess of death

also, talk of revival?

Notes:

i don’t think there are any tws, but pls lmk if i need to add any :)))

also, SHORT CHAPTER HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA

‘The Goddess of Death?’ Lucid looks up with a grin, his ears finally perking up.

 

“Yeah. That’s my wife for you.” Phil nods in confirmation.

 

“Your wife is the Goddess of Death?” Tommy’s eyes widen and he plants his hands down on the table firmly. 

 

“Yup.” Phil smiles, a hint of smugness in his tone. 

 

“That’s….uhm…” Tommy pauses and presses his lips into a thin line before gesturing for Phil to come closer.

 

Phil leans in and Tommy whispers something in his ear, the man pulling back with a laugh.

 

“No! She doesn’t look like the grim reaper!”

 

Phil pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head softly, unable to keep a smile off his face.

 

“She is the one who escorts souls to the other side. Let’s them die. Anyone who is killed by an unnatural cause becomes a ghost, I know that much. Their soul is separated from their body…Leaving only the good memories to the ghost, and all the pain and suffering to their soul, who is in their own, personal limbo.” Phil smiles and leans back in his chair.

 

“That makes me wonder…What is Lucid’s limbo like? Actually—” Phil frowns and sits up straight in his chair.

 

“Can we bring Dream back?”

 

Everyone goes still.

Notes:

SHORT SHORT SHORT SHORT SHORT SHORT SHORT CHAPTER AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

n e r d s

Chapter 31: “I miss Ghostbur.”

Summary:

they talk over the idea of bringing Dream back…Painting time?? HELLO?

Notes:

tw/cw!

light swearing
some yelling
mention of possible death

please lmk if i missed anything! also, i’m back! i’m so sorry it took me this long :( enjoy

“Bring Dream back?” Tommy’s voice cracks and he looks over at Phil incredulously, as if he’s grown a second head.

 

“Dream had the revive book. And now he’s dead. He’s gone. Jschlatt had the revival book and he gave it to Dream, who is dead as a doornail. Lucid is in Dream’s place.”

 

Lucid is completely oblivious as to what the fuck they are talking about.

 

The small ram hybrid just stays quiet, as always, and plays with Techno’s hair. Technoblade doesn’t seem to mind. 

 

“Phil—Are you bonkers? ” Tommy laughs and grips the edge of the table with white knuckles.

 

“We can’t revive anyone!” Tommy grins with a crazed look in his eyes.

 

“I know a way. I’ve tried it before, and it didn’t work…But I can find some other way.”

 

“But we’re just fine with Lucid! Lucid is—He’s precious! He’s—He’s perfect in every way!”

 

“Lucid apologist.” Techno calls from where he’s sitting.

 

Lucid braids Techno’s hair faster.

 

“Look, Toms, Dream never deserved what happened to him. I want to give him a second chance…Or rather, a fourth chance. But Lucid—” 

 

“ Don’t . Don’t talk about me like I’m not here.” Lucid’s voice is raspy and broken. Everyone’s eyes land on the ghost when he speaks to them. Lucid never speaks. Sign language is all they’ve ever used as communication. Never speaking. Always silent.

 

“Lucid—” Tommy starts, but pauses when Lucid signs his name. 

 

‘I’m part of this conversation, too. Please tell me if you are planning on swapping me with my soul. I understand that I am the ghost of someone you know. Tell me before you send me to my eternal fate.’ Lucid signs hesitantly and bows his head.

 

They probably wouldn’t know it, but Lucid listens a lot more than he should. 

 

Every whispered conversation, joke, comment, and lie…Lucid’s heard it all. After all, what else is he to do but quietly stand around till his presence is forgotten?

 

Techno sighs deeply, and Tommy can tell it’s one of understanding and exhaustion.

 

“He’s right. We can’t just leave him out of things like he’s…” 

‘nothing but a ghost.’ sits stubborn on Techno’s tongue. 

 

He doesn’t let it pass his lips.

The four sit in silence for a moment. 

…

“I miss Ghostbur.” Tommy is the one to break the silence, because of course it’s Tommy who has to speak up. At first, silence was annoying and awkward, but during exile…it was unbearable. So, now, of course, it is perfectly logical for Tommy to absolutely despise the idea of being left in complete silence; shut up.

 

“I do too.” Phil admits reluctantly.

 

Techno just hums.

Lucid fiddles with his fingers, trying to think of the right thing to say in this situation, but nothing comes to mind besides the one stray thought that’s been in his head the entire conversation. 

 

So, they catch Techno’s eye with the general sign for ‘attention’ and nods their head at Phil and Tommy.

 

Techno seems to get the message.

 

“Tommy, Phil.” The two in question look up quizzically.

‘You can revive me. I would not mind. I can tell that whoever I was, was definitely not a happy person based on the knowledge I’ve gathered. I don’t want to die, but I will if it helps.’ Lucid signs and glanced down at the floor as if it’s the most interesting thing in the room. Quietly, he fiddles with the hem of his sweater and waits for an answer.

The silence has never been more suffocating.

 

A rope has been snaking its way around the Tommy’s neck since the start of the conversation, but now it’s just been pulled taut—and Tommy can’t fucking breathe.

 

Techno feels the color drain from his face and his lips quirk downwards.

 

Phil furrows his brow in deep concern as his wings bristle.

The group sweats bullets because Lucid just gave them permission to bring back Dream—fully aware that he’ll be killed in the process. 

And the worst part about it is that they really do wanna bring Dream back.

 

So why is it so hard to decide?

—-

Lucid almost starts humming under his breath when Phil clears his throat. The ghost looks up from the table and drops their hands in their lap. 

 

“Lucid…We care a lot about you. We love you, even. Hell, I’d even go as far to say that you’re family…”

 

‘I know where this is going.’ Lucid stares down at the table. He can feel tears building in his eyes, and he doesn’t know why he is surprised. He was the one who suggested they kill him in the first place. 

 

This is where the shoe drops.

 

“So, that’s why I feel like we should wait a year or two and come back to this.” Phil smiles fondly at Lucid’s look of bewilderment.

 

“‘Wait a year or two?’” Techno exclaims.

 

“What about Dream? His body could be fading in limbo right now!” Tommy declares, and he never thought in a million years that he’d be saying something like that about Dream.

 

“Then we should at least spend the last few months this year with Lucid. We want to bring Dream back, yea, but we shouldn’t throw out Lucid like he’s trash. We’ll give him a bit to come to terms and say his goodbyes.” Phil resolves, gesturing vaguely to the ghost in question.

 

‘That sounds reasonable.’ Lucid signs despite the dread pooling in his stomach. 

 

“I’m glad you agree, Lucid.” Phil smiles at the ghost.

 

—

 

The last few days of the week go by slowly, Lucid practically dragging his feet as his last day creeps closer and closer. 

 

They’ve been trying to ‘come to terms’ like Phil said, but they just don’t know how to properly accept their upcoming death, or in other words, revival. 

 

Lucid didn’t want to admit that they’d been sort of sticking to Tommy’s side ever since their last conversation, constantly asking him to hum that one song they think they recognize.

 

Tommy says it’s an old song from an even older time.

 

Though, whenever they ask if there’s words to it, Tommy suddenly looks on the brink of tears and then Lucid freaks out because ‘What’s wrong? Why sad? Happy!’ Lucid signs quickly and leans in to give Tommy a hug or give his hand a quick squeeze.

‘Have some green!’

 

‘Do you want some green?’ 

 

‘Here! It’s green!’

 

‘It’ll take your guilt away! Then you won’t feel sick anymore.’

 

Lucid has been giving more and more of their green away, determined to make it easier for Tommy, Techno, and Phil to let them go—because they can practically feel the waves of reluctance and sea sick guilt rolling off the trio whenever Lucid is around. 

 

They don’t know why, but somehow, their green makes it worse.

 

Lucid just hopes it’ll get better before it’s finally time for them to go.

 

—

 

It’s been another week, and whenever Lucid listens to Tommy hum, he finds himself feeling something strange. It’s not carefree or happy-go-lucky. It’s just…a looming sense of despair. 

 

He tries to shove it away, because now Tommy’s started muttering some of the lyrics under his breath and Lucid can’t help but strain to hear it.

 

“—place…emancipate…hmm..hm…tyranny..—lers…is real…” 

 

Tommy stops abruptly and blinks away tears, scrubbing furiously at his eyes.

 

Lucid wants to give him a hug, but they’re sure that Tommy would get upset that they were secretly listening in. 

 

…

 

‘I want to paint.’ Lucid smiles as bright as the sun when he signs to Phil. 

 

Phil smiles back, almost just as bright. Lucid can’t help but notice that his smile looks sad.

 

“Sure thing, mate. Wanna invite Techno and Tommy?” Phil is already getting up from where he’s sat at the dining table, abandoning his already cold tea.

 

Lucid nods his head frantically, his smile never once dropping. 

 

“Alright, I’ll go get them. Can you go find the painting supplies for me, please?” 

 

Lucid nods again, zipping off to gods know where.

 

Phil sighs with a tired smile. 

 

Gods, he’s really gonna miss that ghost.

 

…

 

“Why’d you call us here?” Techno asks blearily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. It’s pretty clear that he’d been having a lovely nap before he was so rudely awoken by Phil knocking on his door.

 

“Yea. And where’s Lu—” As if on cue, Tommy is cut off by said ghost barreling into the main room, spilling paint supplies behind him. 

 

‘Sorry. I dropped some stuff.’ Lucid signs with a sheepish smile, their ears pinning flat to their head. 

 

Techno sighs, a small smile growing on his face.

 

“I’ll help.” Phil’s smile bleeds into his voice.

 

Tommy and Techno wordlessly kneel down beside Lucid and Phil to help pick up the brushes, canvases, and paints. 

 

…

 

“Okay, so like, we’re painting?” Tommy quizzes with a tilt of his head. Strangely, Tommy reminds Lucid of a bird.

 

Techno huffs from where he’s sat on the floor, struggling with his canvas stand. 

 

Phil already has his canvas set up and is currently mixing colors on a paint palette. 

 

Lucid is sitting cross legged on the floor; their grey, translucent hands are coated in every shade of green as they ferociously scrub at the canvas with their brush. 

 

Phil is positive that at least ninety percent of Lucid’s painting was done by their hands.

 

 Phil is also positive that the brush Lucid is using will no longer be available once they’re done. At this point, either the brush will break—or the canvas will tear. 

 

“Okay, then…so…Lucid’s just…Yea, okay…I’ll—I’ll just get started on mine. Think I’m gonna paint a dick or something.” Phil snorts and Tommy just shrugs. Unlike Techno, who seemed like he was fighting a bear, Tommy set up his canvas stand with ease.

 

Phil glances back at Lucid and decides, Fuck it, I’m teaching this ghost how to paint.

 

So, he reluctantly sets his paint pallet and brush aside, wandering over to sit cross legged beside Lucid.

 

“Whatcha painting, mate?” Phil asks softly, staring through Lucid’s transparent skin to see the absolute abomination they’re creating. 

 

Lucid’s sweater is stained with green paint—or is that just the normal green they always carry around? Phil can’t tell. 

 

Nevertheless, Lucid pauses and turns to Phil, positively beaming.  

 

‘Green’ Lucid signs with a proud look. 

 

“It’s very pretty! There are a lot of things that are green, especially plants. Wouldn’t it be even more pretty if you used that green to make some plants?” Honestly, Phil can’t tell if there’s even a single speck on that painting that isn’t green. 

 

Phil’s just grateful that Lucid didn’t find the bright, annoying, migraine-inducing shade of green paint that was tucked far behind the rest of the paints. 

 

‘I don’t know.’ Lucid huffs and stares down at the still-drying canvas. 

 

“Here, is it alright if I draw something real quick?” Phil asks.

 

Lucid hesitates for a moment before nodding. 

 

“Alright, be right back.” Phil gets up and rushes back to his room.

 

..

 

Phil returns with his fountain pen and ink pot that he uses for writing letters and making lists. 

 

He kneels down beside Lucid and gestures to the canvas. 

 

Lucid, if not a bit reluctant, hands over the now dry canvas. Phil’s lucky the paint he has dries quickly.

 

“So…Let’s say…I want a white sage bush. Well, normally I’d get some green paint, but since it’s already on the canvas…” Phil begins to draw some stems and leaves over the green. 

“All I have to do…is outline.” Phil finishes the small doodle of the sage bush in the bottom right corner. It’s been ages since he last drew, and this felt refreshing. 

 

Lucid gazes down at Phil’s drawing before a wide smile stretches across their face and they snatched the pen from Phil, immediately getting to work on every little plant they saw on the way to the tower…well, most of the plants they saw. The rest were forgotten. 

Tommy is currently working on a masterpiece. 

 

It’s gorgeous, really. 

 

(Well, it’s gorgeous in his eyes. Not so much to Techno, apparently.)

 

“Oh my gods, Tommy. What is that?” Techno groans and runs a hand down his face.

 

“Sorry! Can’t hear you Techno! I’ve got me ‘earing device down.” Tommy grins and turns the little dial on his hearing aid down.

 

He doesn’t need some—some fucking pig to tell him what he thinks. 

 

Can’t Technoblade see that he’s making abstract art?

 

“I am the Pablo Picasso of the Dream SMP.” 

 

“What?” 

 

“What?” Tommy repeats back at Techno.

 

Techno blinks.

—

“So…” Phil stood back and admired their paintings.

 

Phil’s…was a crow. Standing on a window sill.

 

Tommy’s is…well…it’s something. That’s for sure. Abstract art? Maybe?

 

Technoblade’s was pretty obvious. Just a…really, really detailed watercolor painting of a potato.

 

Lucid’s looked to be some kind of jungle.

 

Notes:

i was originally going to do a set of digital paintings because i didn’t know how to describe them, but i actually managed to get in a solid description of each! i’m very proud of that one so you guys didn’t have to wait any longer for me to finish the paintings.

edit-hey! my friend painted lucid’s painting and the plants for this! :)) check out the art in the link. (warning, this is my instagram account. i don’t know yet if they have one. they do not have an ao3 account that i know of, i will bully them later for that /j, so i cannot tag them.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CeM5-t3pLAu/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Chapter 32: not a chapter.

i’m sorry guys. i know i haven’t been posting as much as i’d like, and i’m trying to stay on top of it. i’ll stop wallowing in self pity now, so i can announce what i really wanted to say.

i don’t know if you guys have already seen the news, but, technoblade is dead. it’s not a joke. i remember yelling at my friend and calling them a liar and to stop fucking around, but they’re right. if you haven’t yet, i suggest you watch his last video, here:
https://youtu.be/DPMluEVUqS0

i don’t really know what to say. technoblade deserved so much more. i think it would be wrong of me to continue writing about him after such horrible news, so i think i should at least say something first.

in dream smp lore, technoblade’s will said he would fight god. i can only hope that he’s winning now. rest easy, blade. o7.

 

technoblade never dies—as long as we carry on his legacy. i’m not gonna pretend as if he never died, i acknowledge that, but i’m still going to write my stories, and technoblade will be in them. it’s kind of my way of coping.

i’ll be dying my hair pink in memory of the man who changed so many lives and touched each one of our hearts. the legend will live on.

blood for the blood god.

take care, you guys. drink water, eat food, and live your life to it’s fullest. i think technoblade would probably be laughing at me right now for crying so godsdamned hard. i love you guys <3

-kris

Notes:

fuck cancer

Chapter 33: “This is not something you have to do.”

Summary:

lucid and phil have a chat.

Notes:

tw/cw

slight unintentional sh
mention of death/revival
mention of execution

Tomorrow was the day. The day Dream would be revived.

 

They always wondered how they would be killed…They knew someone had to murder his ghost in someway or the other..But he didn’t know what they’d do.

 

Strangle him? Stab him? Poison? Suffocation? Burning? Drowning?

 

Well, now that he thinks about it, water has always left blisters on the back of his hands whenever he’s washing up after playing in the mud…Rain left scars in the shape of little spots where water met translucent skin. Water always burns more than anything, slipping past his ghostly abilities to deflect pain. 

 

So, water, then?

 

Perhaps not. Maybe, just maybe, Phil has a special blade that’ll slice right through him like hot butter.

 

A double death. Double murder. And he’s supposed to consent to that.

 

Gods, Lucid wanted more than anything to slip into a peaceful sleep and never wake up. Never have to face their guilty faces as he closes his eyes for the last time. He wants to be in Dream’s point of view. He wants to be Dream. Anything to soothe the ache in his bloody, massacred, dead heart.

 

But fussing over such nonsense will only suffer the circumstances on Dream’s behalf; Dream, who is still in the void and fading away because Lucid just had to suffer through so much emotional trauma.

 

It wasn’t fair. 

 

Why couldn’t Lucid stay?

 

Why couldn’t Lucid stay and play with Tommy and tease Phil and beg Technoblade to read just one more story. 

Lucid groaned and balled his fists, knuckles going bone white. He didn’t want to go!

=====

Lucid sniffled and curled up on his Technoblade’s old bed and wept; hot, burning tears trailed down his clammy, translucent skin. The moisture from the tears burnt his skin and left deep indents. 

It hurt so much. 

Physically and emotionally. 

Why couldn’t he just stay? 

Sadness.

Why did Dream get the privilege of coming back?

Anger.

Lucid was so caught up in their emotions that they didn’t notice when someone opened the door. Nor when someone sat on the end of the bed.

 

“Hey, big man..” Tommy spoke softly.

 

  How does one comfort a ghost?

 

“You okay?” The blond asked after a moment of hesitation.

 

Lucid sniffled and shook his head.

 

“I know you don’t want to go…So how about I help you come to terms with it? I know that’s something you’re supposed to do…but—uh, I can help cheer you up?” 

 

Lucid waited a moment before nodding hesitantly.

 

‘Can I take some green?’ The ghost signed hesitantly.

 

Tommy nodded vigorously with a bright smile. 

 

“Oh! Yea, of course!”

…

“Lucid…” Philza and Lucid were in the living room, having a quiet conversation. Technoblade and Tommy had long gone to bed about a couple hours ago.

 

Dream’s ghost just hummed, having turned to messing with a loose string between their fingers.

 

“I want you to listen to me, and I know you have, just please…” Phil sniffed.

 

“We love you, Lucid, more than anything. We won’t do this unless you want us to. We don’t want you to feel pressured into anything. Lucid, I love you like I loved my own son. You are family, Lucid. I want you to know that. Do you understand?” Phil blinked away tears as he stared over at the ghost, who looked to be absentmindedly picking at their vines now.

Lucid nodded.

“This is not something we have to do. Are you ready to go through with this? Take as much time as you need to think it through.”

“This is not something you have to do.” 

 

“We won’t do this unless you want us to.”

 

“We don’t want you to feel pressured into anything.”

Now this is a revelation for him. He doesn’t have to go.

He can stay!

…

This is his chance to say no! He has an option.

Why are they hesitating? They can just say no and stay with them forever and ever!

…

…

Lucid took a deep breath in, and nodded.

Notes:

hi guys, i’m back. i know it’s been really hard for all of us, but i’m persevering. i’m going to try and post more often now, honest. in fact, as i’m writing this, the next chapter is about 1/3 of the way done. i’m thinking of maybe posting once a week? i’ll try my hardest—adhd really is a bitch, so i can set reminders.
anyway, thank you so much for staying and reading, it means the world to me :)

Chapter 34: “…Dream?”

Summary:

Dream is back.

Notes:

tw/cw

implied/referenced past death(revival)
ritual

if i’ve missed anything, ANYTHING at all, please, please, please lmk and i’ll fix it

Lucid breathed in the thin mountain air mixed with the scent of fresh flowers.

Alliums.

Next to them, a familiar flash of gold caught their eye, and they looked over to watch Tommy slide down beside them. 

 

The boy curled his fingers into the cushiony grass, just feeling for a moment. 

 

…

 

…

‘It’s time.’ They signed. 

Lucid’s milky, white eyes showed no emotion, despite never being full of any in the first place.

“Are you sure you’re ready?” Tommy placed his hand over the ram hybrid’s, despite it feeling cold and clammy.

The ghost just offered a sad smile and nodded.

…

“So you’re going to want to stand right there…” Phil adjusted Lucid to stand in the middle of a chalk circle as Techno kneeled and drew the rest of the symbols on the outer edges. 

“Tommy, do you have the hoodie and the hair?” Technoblade asked the teen, who answered by holding up the hair brush and hoodie.

…

Everyone held their breath as Lucid closed their eyes, a light glow blooming in their chest.

 

Tommy watched as Lucid’s leaves and vines began to decay and fall off, piling on the floor.

 

Lucid’s skin slowly became less and less transparent. 

 

Suddenly, a bright light flashed through the room, temporarily blinding the group.

…

When the smoke finally cleared, Tommy hesitantly opened his eyes.

 

Phil gasped.

 

Techno sucked in a breath.

“…Dream?”

—

It didn’t feel real. Tommy couldn’t believe his eyes. 

 

There, lying in the center of their chalk circle, was Dream.

 

Sure, he looked a bit different; with a white streak in his hair, pale skin, and a stitched up hoodie—but it was still Dream.

 

Their Dream. 

 

He’s back.

Notes:

short chap! it’s finally here! dream, he is back, yes :)

Chapter 35: :)

Summary:

dream’s limbo :)

Notes:

tw/cw

mention of blood
past major character death
mention of past sh(scars)
mention of past torture

if i missed anything, please lmk. stay safe, ily guys <3

A few months ago…

…

Dream closed his eyes and inhaled the sweet air. 

 

For the first time…everything was quiet. 

 

But not the disturbing kind of quiet—just…peaceful.

…

When Dream opened his eyes again, he was in a room with cool, black obsidian. The cell was painted in a dim, orange glow. 

 

Dream looked around at his old cell. The ground was stained in blood and bile.

 

Dream felt around his face for a muzzle, but found nothing.

 

His horns had grown out…

 

Dream checked over by the cauldron of murky water, lifting his hoodie.

 

There, on his back, was the scarred remains of Sir’s brand. 

 

When he rolled up his sleeve, the scars were still there, so this isn’t a flashback. 

 

Dream turned to look at the flowing wall of lava.

 

Surprisingly, if he squinted

 enough, he could see… through the lava?

 

That’s not right…

 

Dream approached the lava and leaned in, gazing through it like a window.

 

Behind the lava wasn’t the platform Sir usually stood on.

 

There, just beyond, was the picture of a still, snowy forest. 

 

Tommy was there…but he was crying. His face was completely devoid of any emotion besides raw fear.

 

In front of Tommy, Sir was standing over a bloodied corpse, axe in hand.

 

Sir was speaking to Tommy, but Dream couldn’t quite hear what he was saying.

 

The more Dream focused on the corpse, however, the more familiar it became.

…

There, lying in the snow, was Dream’s dead body.

 

Dream…was dead.

 

Dream hiccuped and stumbled backwards, placing a hand over his mouth to muffle his sobs.

…

Present…

Dream sat, curled up in the middle of his cell as he cried into his knees.

 

Suddenly, a loud, painful squeal erupted in front of him. 

 

When Dream lifted his head, he was no longer in his cell…but on a train platform. In front of him was a train, having just barely come to a stop.

 

The doors opened.

 

Dream stared at the open doors for a long while before finally standing up and boarding the train.

 

On his way in, someone else passed him. Someone with a white sweater and green ivy lacing their body. They looked…tired.

 

Dream turned around to face whoever it was, but the doors had already closed.

As the train pulled away, Dream gazed out the window at the translucent person standing on the train platform, dropping to their knees with their head in their hands.

The ram hybrid wished to comfort them, but as soon as the train passed through a tunnel, he’d forgotten all about that mysterious ghost stranger.

Notes:

this sure has been a rollercoaster. i hope you all enjoyed, as this is the last chapter of drowning in shallow waters. you guys can determine what happens next—i won’t be doing an epilogue. i’ve been drained of my plotting juice for this one and i wanted to get it out asap so no epilogue. huge thanks to my wonderful editor and best friend, ammie. i will not be sharing their full name for privacy, but they’ve helped me develop this wonderful fanfiction all the way to chapter 34, when their google account was terminated, so they can no longer help me edit my stories, but i’m so very grateful for them and how much they’ve helped me. i would add ammie’s ao3 user, but they haven’t created one yet, as they only edited the story in google docs. i’ve never been more proud to have finally finished disw, and now i can move on to work on my other fanfictions: brother of sun and ichor, there is a bittter triumph in crashing when you should be soaring, ballad of theseus, etc. but of course, i can’t leave without thanking all of you amazing readers. i would like to thank you, reader, person behind the screen, for taking the time to go on this wonderful journey with me. i apologize, for i cannot put my gratitude into words, but i hope you get the message :) but, anyway, this is the first fanfiction/story i’ve ever finished, and it’s all because of your amazing love and support all the way. i’d like to dedicate this work to alex technoblade, in memory of that absolute legend. i remember when i first started writing, i could never finish what i had started, and i never truly appreciated what i wrote. so, i posted my first ever fanfiction on ao3. posting on ao3 gave me a certain motivation—a certain drive to continue. over the course of writing this book, i realized that i had finally found a place i could project and let it all go. i found my happy place. this was also the time when i finally got my antidepressants and learned to participate in life a little more. this isn’t goodbye, this is thank you. thank you, for everything. i can’t wait to finish my other projects, and perhaps start new ones along the way, but, as of now, thank you. thank you, reader. i love you all so much for your comments, kudos, bookmarks, and or just simply for reading all of this—the book and this long ass end note. there’s just not enough words in the world to describe how thankful i am. so, i guess, this is the end of drowning in shallow waters. thanks for sticking around.

-kris