Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There weren’t many faeries left.

Most of them hunted to near extinction.

Those who were left were hardened killers, untrustworthy of all, some sort of half breed of fae and human, or stuck in some lab to be studied.

Dream was one of the fae’s in a lab.

He had been caught with his mother, she was a water faerie, and had been weakened by the drought. Thus lending in their capture. 

Dream had been too young to do anything.

And now that he was old enough to do something, he couldn’t.

Dream had very strange abilities. He could read minds and walk through dreams, earning his name. If he concentrated hard enough and made eye contact, he could control them. And he could have escaped by now.

But he didn’t, he couldn’t, because if he did something, then he would end up killing the only thing he cared for.

When he had been captured, his mother was pregnant. And after eight months of living in constant pain, she gave birth, the stress killing her of raising a young in this environment.

Five years old, Dream didn’t know what to do.

The scientists found this as a perfect opportunity to raise the young fae and ‘tame’ him.

Dream had spat at that, and refused to let his brother be controlled.

So he did everything to tear down any seeds that had been implanted in his mind.

They gave the kid a name? Yeah, Lycius was a dumb name, Tommy suited him much better.

They rewarded Tommy for listening to them? Dream would remind him about how they had both been starved to ‘see how long they could last’.

They told Tommy to do something? Dream would tell him to throw a temper tantrum.

When Tommy didn’t behave they would punish him. And at first the punishments had been little things, like one of his toys would be taken away, or he would get the worst food they had. But then it became worse.

One time Tommy had accidentally set someone’s shirt on fire. And that led to him being isolated from Dream for a month.

Dream had caused a riot. He had shrieked for days, he had projected his thoughts to them all, showing the violent ways he would dismember them. He had eaten as fast as possible and then controlled his gut to puke on them.

And they only let Tommy see him again when Tommy had started starving himself, the scientists had been so scared that they had brought Tommy to Dream, telling him to make him eat.

They now knew not to separate Tommy and Dream. But that didn’t mean that they had other ways of punishing Tommy. Now if Tommy didn’t listen, they would beat him, Tommy coming back to Dream covered in cuts and bruises.

So when his baby brother at the age of six, had been thrown back into their cell with one of his wings torn to shreds, he knew that was the last straw.

Not all faeries had wings, Tommy was one of the lucky ones, being able to take to the sky, despite his ability contrasting against the freedome. Tommy had a strange ability, because while he would still be as easily charming as other Fae’s (Tommy hadn’t truly developed that skill yet, but Dream disagreed), whenever he got upset or sad, or even happy. The world would react. 

Tommy had a nightmare? Thunderstorm outside.

Tommy got angry? It seemed the earth itself was trying to split apart and swallow the problem.

Tommy was scared? The room might just erupt into flames.

And not only was Tommy so strong, but able to fly? It was amazing. But they had torn his wing, ripped it to shreds, crushed the possibility of Tommy flying away from this place any time soon.

The wing would regenerate eventually, but it would take around ten years, maybe more. And by then, the scientists were hoping to have him controlled.

Tommy’s wings were beautiful, resembling that of a butterfly, with intricate patterns like flames over an ocean.

And one of them was ripped.

Dream found that he was done with this game.

Because if it meant his brother would be hurt, Dream knew that he might just cheat.

He was only eleven, but he had been training his power.

Dream held Tommy close to him, studying the people that walked by the glass window of their cell. Until he spotted the person he wanted.

Dream stared at them, entering their mind and inserting a creeped feeling. They eventually turned and saw him staring at them.

The scientist walked over. They were one of the people in charge, and Dream knew that they would be questioned.

Dream quickly pulled his mask off, locking eyes with the person.

They tried to scream, tried to run away, but Dream didn’t give them a chance.

“Don’t move, don’t make a sound, do nothing out of the ordinary”

The person froze, eyes still locked with Dream.

Dream felt a smile creep onto his lips, he heard Tommy gasp beside him.

“What are you doing?” Tommy whispered.

Dream tightened an arm around his brother. “Getting us out, Tommy I need you to follow me and stay quiet, we can’t mess this up”

“Ok” Tommy nodded.

Dream refocused his energy onto the scientist. 

“Do not break eye contact with me. You will open this, and let us out, then you will lead us to an exit, and let us out. While we are walking you will act like you are taking us both for an experiment. After we are both long gone, and we have been found out, you will return to normal, but not after saying the we went east”

And the person did as Dream said, they opened the cell, leading Dream and Tommy out. Dream walked beside them, their head was turned slightly so as to not break eye contact.

They turned several hallways, any interruptions were quickly dispatched by their controlled puppet.

They stopped in front of a door, the scientist laying a hand on a pad and the door opening.

Dream and Tommy walked outside, Tommy gasping at the surroundings. Dream had told Tommy of the outside before. But Tommy had never actually been outside, always in some replication of the outdoors.

It was nighttime, Dream had made sure of that, not only for their escape but also so the brightness wouldn’t damage Tommy’s eyes.

“Let’s go”

Dream grabbed Tommy’s hand and bolted. Running as fast as his legs would carry him, Tommy was next to him.

The lab was located in a field next to a forest, a chain link fence separating the field from the forest.

Dream ran to the edge of the fence, the top of it had barbed wire on top, so they couldn’t climb over.

That’s alright, he had another idea.

“Tommy, we need to get under this fence, do you think you could make a hole?”

Tommy nodded. “Yeah, u, how do I?”

“You know the feeling of when you get angry?”

Tommy nodded.

“Good, I need you to take that feeling and the energy that comes with it, and focus on the dirt underneath the fence”

Tommy shut his eyes, taking a deep breath in, a small frown appeared on his face. After a moment the ground under the fence pushed and carved itself into a shape so they could crawl under.

Tommy crawled through, Dream right after him, it was a bit of a tight fit, but Dream made it through.

And then, he picked Tommy up, knowing he could run much faster than him. And ran into the tree’s. He was already exhausted from using his energy on controlling that person, and running was draining him even quicker, but he kept going. He must've run for an hour straight before he took a break to walk.

Tommy eventually fell asleep in his arms.

And Dream fell into a steady rhythm of running until he got too tired, and then he would walk until he had caught his breath, and then run again.

He had kept that up for the entire night and into the morning, until his legs wobbled beneath him and he couldn’t take another step.

He thought they were far enough, so he climbed a tree with mild difficulty as he was still holding Tommy, going until the branches could just barely hold their weight. He nestled himself in a web of intertwined trees and branches, it wasn’t comfortable, but at least it would be harder to be seen and he wouldn’t fall.

___

Tommy muttered under his breath as the fish slipped out of his grasp.

He knew what Dream would say.

“That’s why we don’t catch fish with our hands, they don’t like to be caught so they made it harder. Don’t try to catch fish Tommy, it will lead to nowhere, go pick some berries”

And he knew he was stupid for continuying to sit by the riverbank trying to catch a fish. But it had been forever since he had some actual meat, and not just berries or bird eggs they found in a nest (Tommy always felt bad about eating bird eggs, and he hoped the mothers would get over the loss quickly). Also he wanted to surprise Dream with a nice breakfast, and prove him wrong (but that was only second on his mind).

It had been two years since Tommy and Dream escaped their prison. They had both been living off of the natural resources, never staying in one place too long. Tommy didn’t mind, as long as they didn’t run into anyone they were fine on their own.

Another fish flickered by, stopping to hover still in the water. Tommy reached tentatively over the water, making sure his shadow didn’t fall over the water and startle the fish.

He was about to smack down and scoop the fish out of the water, when he heard something snap, and a splash as something entered the water not too far away.

Immediately Tommy forgot about the fish and darted to a tree, climbing up it at light speed and leaning back into the trunk. He was glad that he was covered head to toe in muck and dirt, he would blend in better.

He got hidden just in time as two people walked along the river, one of them in the river actually.

“Phil’s not going to be happy about you getting your clothes wet” Said one of the people- actually, kids, they were both kids, looking around Tommy’s age. But Tommy knew better than to go say hi even if they were near his age.

The kid who had spoken first was walking along the riverbank, and he was tall, like strangely tall for being around eight, seeming to almost near six feet. He had black hair and his skin was strangely pale, on his head he wore a massive hat, sagging down and well covering over his shoulders. He kept himself under that hat, never stepping out of its shade, and keeping his arms close to his sides, as if he was hiding from the sun.

The other kid was walking in the shallows of the river. He had fluffy brown hair and mild freckling across his face. In contrast to the other kid, he seemed to be especially short, barely reaching four feet. He wore a green shirt and brown shorts. But of the two of them, he was the one who stood out. Because replacing the ears of a normal human, were two very dog-like ears atop his head. And trailing behind him, peeking out from under his shirt was a big fluffy tail. And this wasn’t just a costume, because his ears tilted to the sounds around him, and his tail was wagging indefinitely.

Tommy had heard of werewolves, he was not unaware of their existence.

He had first heard of them from the scientists when he was four. They had said something about ‘the aggressive one’, and some other facility. Tommy hadn’t understood. So that night he had asked Dream.

“Werewolves are like.. Hmm. They’re like us. They don’t have abilities like us, but they are hunted like us. They are unwelcome to the humans, they are not our friends, but they are better than humans”

“What do they do?”

“They can turn into wolves, and often have a form that is human-like, but with ears and tails of wolves, although some can hide their wolf features. They usually travel in packs, or with their family. On Full moons they are forced to turn into wolves, but they are bigger, and it is harder for them to control themselves. Which is why you never want to be around a werewolf when a moon is full”

Tommy had never thought that he would actually meet- or see persay- one. Especially not someone his age. He assumed that wolves were like fae’s and that they too were in danger and near extinction, so any kids would be safely guarded.

The werewolf pup snorted at his friend walking along the riverbank. “I don’t think Phil would be happy about you stealing his hat”

The kid looked a bit guilty. “Come on, I need this. Besides you were the one who suggested we go outside. Even when we aren’t supposed to”

“He can’t keep us cooped up forever! Besides we aren’t that far , if something happens someone will hear us”

“But it’s dangerous, what if someone sees us”

“Then we’ll bite them, and then run home, problem solved”

That sounded like they had a family. Or a pack. Had Dream and Tommy accidentally stumbled into some pack’s territory? That wasn’t good. Tommy had to get back to Dream and tell him that they had to leave.

Tommy shuffled, trying to get away from the two kids and back to his brother without being noticed. Tommy crept along the branch, getting further away. But then he didn’t hear any commotion from the two, and when he looked at them, they were frozen in place. Heads raised into the air.

The werewolf's ears were twitching, picking up any little sound, as was his nose, as if he was smelling the area.

The other kid stood still for a moment, before swiveling his head around to stare at Tommy. Tommy made eye contact, and understood why the kid was wearing a hat. One of his eyes was bloodshot red, like that of a vampire. Which would make sense to why he wore the hat, so he wouldn’t burn, and his pale skin. His mouth was open slightly, and Tommy could see a hint one a blunt fang, not yet fully grown but still dangerous.

The werewolf also turned his head and looked at Tommy.

And they stayed like that for a moment, keeping eye contact.

Tommy tried to think of a plan.

He couldn’t outrun them. Vampires were often quite fast, and that kid could turn into a wolf and easily outrun Tommy.

So maybe he take advantage of where he was, he could climb to the top of a tree and then travel through the branches to Dream, and use his power to keep the kids away from him. Yup, that sounded like his best bet.

“Hey!” The werewolf kid called, running to the otherside of the river and to the tree Tommy was on.

Tommy bolted into the branches, climbing as high as possible while making his way back to where Dream was.

“Come back! We’re not gonna hurt you” The vampire called.

Maybe that was true, but it could be equally a lie, and Tommy knew by now that you don’t take chances with people who aren’t Dream. Tommy shot a glance behind him.

The two had climbed into the tree’s after him, and were running along the lower branches.

“Fuck off!” Tommy yelled.

And almost by command the branches under them twisted strangely so the two were forced to stop and hold on the tree’s. “The hell?!” He heard the werewolf call, a bit paniked.

Tommy paid no attention and kept going, he thought that by now he should be nearing Dream. Instinctively he let out a warning, reaching towards the ground with his energy and making it shake twice.

That meant to be wary, but that Tommy was also coming towards him and full speed. (They had come up with a lot of different warning signals)

Almost immediately he felt Dream’s thoughts be opened up to him. 

“Where are you, what’s going on?”

Tommy replayed what had just happened through his head, showing his memories to Dream and where he was currently.

“Get higher up, keep those two kids away. A vampire with a werewolf can’t be good news. I’m on my way.”

Okay.

Tommy started climbing up, creating a nest of branches under him as he climbed, which would not only help him not fall, but also block the kids from getting at him. 

After a moment of climbing Tommy’s head breaked through the branches and leaves to see above the forest. It was a sea of green, birds flew, and rivers running through it. But one thing that broke it up was the massive mansion that looked to be three kilometers away, which in hindsight, wasn’t too far.

How had they gotten so close to civilization without noticing?

Tommy quickly sent the image to Dream, who was getting closer by the second.

Below he could hear the snapping of branches, it wasn’t Dream, it was the two kids, trying to make their way up to him.

“Hey, we just want to talk!” The werewolf called.

“Go away!” Tommy yelled, forcing any branches to curve out of their reach. And then he had a better idea. He made the branches they were standing on suddenly curve to the ground, making the two kids drop. Any branches that would have interrupted their fall also curved away. Meaning the two kids had a direct drop to the ground.

He thought he heard one kid scream and then burst into tears. He hoped neither of them were hurt too badly. Although, they had been chasing him, so maybe he did hope they had broken a leg or something.

He heard more rustling, and when he looked down, he could see Dream creeping through the branches, making sure to not be noticed by the two kids.

Tommy shifted some branches to make Dream’s climb up easier, and in a moment Dream had popped up next to him. The first thing he did was grab Tommy and force him into a hug.

“You ass,” Dream said to him, a stern expression on his face. “What happened to you won’t sneak off? What happened to stay near me, what happened to ask if you can go look for food or whatever you do and to stay in yelling distance?”

Tommy looked down through the branches. “Sorry, guess I got carried away” He mumbled.

Dream’s expression softened, those glowing green eyes becoming much less stern. “Well, now you’ve learned your lesson. Anyways, we have to get out of here before one of those kids parents come by”

“Too late, although I guess not, considering I’m not their dad” Said the voice of someone who had somehow gotten next to them.

Tommy shrieked at the person sitting just below them.

They just laughed, it was breezy and light, and filled to the brim with a sense of security.

Although that sense of security did not affect Dream and Tommy, they were fae’s, and another faerie’s charm could not affect them.

Dream breathed out next to Tommy. “You’re a faerie?”

The person looked up and met his gaze. He looked to be around Dream’s age, his hair was black and well kept. His skin seemed to reflect every possible beam of light, making him look like he was otherworldly. He had a pair of sleek dark wings that were angles, resembling that of a butterfly, on his back. To any human he would seem beautiful and charming, to a fae he seemed like a normal kid “Yes. You two are fae as well?” He said, tilting his head.

Tommy and Dream were both caked in a layer of dirt, to better blend in with the nature. Any of that distracting beauty given up in favor of being able to hide. They did not speak in intent to trick or make feel secure, because they only spoke to each other, and didn’t need to be unfriendly.

But they were both identifiable as fae, from the energy pulsing off the, to Tommy’s wings, to Dream’s unnatural green eyes.

Dream nodded. “Not well kept, but we are faerie”

The other fae regarded them with interest, he pushed himself up, his head breaching above the branches and coming eye to eye with them. “Hello, my name is Quackity, resident of the Esempii household”

Tommy and Dream shared a glance, no faerie was stupid enough to just share their name, it could lead to extreme danger, always involving humans. But this was one fae to another, and they did not seek to cause malice to each other.

“My name is Dream, and this is my brother Tommy, we have no household”

Quackity’s eyes seemed to sparkle for a moment. “Sorry to hear that, don’t worry, you soon will”

Dream narrowed his eyes. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Quackity waved a hand at them. “Look at the state of you two. You’re clearly on the run, otherwise you would at least bother with hygiene. The Esempii household is for people like you two, people like us. If you are hunted by human, you are promised sanctuary by ‘monsters” 

Tommy’s eyes widened. That sounded great! A place where all those in danger were welcome.

“Careful Tommy, this could be a trap” Dream told him through their weird telepathy.

But how? The fae is right in front of us, as well as a vampire and a werewolf. How could this be a trap?

“I don’t know, but we have to stay wary”

Okay.

“And how should we know that you aren’t in cahoots with hunters? You could be leading us to our deaths”

Quackity looked a bit pissed now. “Why would a fae trick another fae? What have I to gain? I am not telling you this to trick you, I am telling you this to help!”

Dream looked at him for a moment. “You have a shield”

Quackity’s eyes widened, he nodded.

“Let it down” Dream said.

Quackity looked at him skeptically, but did so.

Tommy felt it. Like a shift in the fae’s presence, his energy not just a wall but rather flowing freely.

Dream looked him in the eyes and then said. “Alright then”

Quackit looked at him, eyes wide with fascination. “You can read minds”

Dream nodded. “ So either we’re going to some sanctuary or you are under the impression that this isn’t a trap”

Quackity laughed. “I’ve lived here for seven years, I think that by now I’m certain. Come on, let’s get out of this tree, I think you owe Tubbo an apology”

Tubbo turned out to be the werewolf kid, who had sprained his ankle when falling out of the tree.

“It’s no hard feelings, I was scared when I first got here too” Tubbo said to them, leaning on the vampire's shoulder.

The vampire nodded. “I’m Ranboo”

“I’m Tommy and this is Dream, sorry about running from you guys” Tommy said, thinking that he should get his turn to speak.

Tubbo waved a hand as if he was pushing the past away. “Nah, probably shouldn’t have yelled at you”

“Come on,” Quackity said, turning towards where the mansion was. “We should get back home and introduce you guys to everyone else, and also get Tubbo checked up. Also by the way, you two have to clean the bathrooms for a week”

“What?” Tubbo cried.

“Everyone saw you guys leave when you aren’t supposed to, and we already decided your consequence”

Ranboo let out an annoyed groan. “Look what you’ve gotten us into”

___

Tommy woke up to the ringing of a bell.

From other rooms he could hear groans of protest.

Dream laughed from the otherside of the room.

Tommy turned in bed and blinked at him drearily. “Taking pleasure in other’s suffering”

“They should wake up earlier” Dream said with a grin, looking through a drawer to find his mask (the other kids weren’t used to Dream's eyes, and often ended up puking after making eye contact with him).

“Sorry not everyone likes getting up at the crack of dawn” Tommy said, sitting up in bed and yawning.

Dream threw Tommy a pair of shorts, a shirt and some underwear. “ What can I say, I like a nice sunrise, get dressed quick, I think it’s waffle day, though I’ll have to ask Wil”

Tommy nodded as Dream walked out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

Even after three years of living in the Esempii, it still felt weird to wake up everyday to a household who loves and cares for you. To people who gave you food and never hurt you, who didn’t expect something of you and just exempted you the way you were.

It was weird to be around people who just like you, were hunted for simply existing.

Tommy found that he liked it here.

Tommy found that he liked the people here.

Tommy found his home.

Chapter Text

To Technoblade, the world was a set of rules.

Hunt, and be hunted.

Kill and be killed.

Run, and be chased.

Techno strictly followed the rules of hunting and running. He would like to say he rejected killing from his rules. But that would be a lie.

Techno had learned at a very young age that humanity did not care.

Because humans were being killed by monsters. And it was bad. It was clearly bad and unjust.

But then Technoblade remembered how the humans cared so much for other humans, going ‘Oh it’s such a shame, another two humans were turned into vampires, the poor souls’ and said poor souls were being hunted to the end of the earth to die.

The humans cared until you were no longer human.

The humans cared until you were a monster.

Technoblade would not try and sugarcoat the word monster. Because while others said “Oh, I’m a humanoid, I am a fae, I am a vampire, not a monster’, Techno knew what they were, monsters .

And yet everything that wasn’t human was dubbed monster. Even humans that acted like monsters were still humans, because they look like us, do they not? They spoke somewhat like us, and had emotions like us, they just needed help. 

But if a monster tried to use that logic, they would be shot, hung from the skies for all the world to see, with the title of monster.

Technoblade was one of those monsters.

He had sharp teeth that could rip a man’s leg off, and claws that yearned for blood. He had the ears and tail of a monster, and most importantly, he acted like a monster.

Technoblade had long given up on acting human, or trying to fit it.

No, he was not human, he was a monster. And after so many times of it being repeated to him, he believed it.

Technoblade had stopped acting human, and instead acted like he was expected to act.

He never let his guard down, he didn’t talk, he hunted for the prey in the forest, and if you witnessed Technoblade, then you were no longer a witness, you were a corpse.

It was actually, shockingly hilarious the reason why Technoblade was what he was. 

He had been a child, living with his family, playing with his friends, going to school, learning. He had been so unbearably normal.

He was always told.

“ Don’t go into the forest, dangerous creatures live there”

He was a bold child, rebellious and dumb.

He wanted to challenge the forest, he did not believe it when it said it held creatures.

Technoblade paid for being foolish.

For deep in the forest was a lady.

She had been beautiful, with hair like silver and skin so fine.

“What are you doing in the forest little one?” She had asked, a voice as soft as wind on the leaves.

“Exploring” He had answered, because that was the closest to the truth he could get.

“Surely you have heard there are things that lurk in the dark?” A hint of a song under her words.

He had scoffed. “Things in the dark aren’t so scary, I think I’m scarier”

“Am I not scary? Do you not find me intimidating? Do you find me secure? Do you find me pretty?”

That had confused him. “You’re not scary. But you’re not really safe either. I bet I could beat you in a fight”

Then she had laughed, a laugh that sounded nothing like the lady he had spoken to, a laugh that sounded like fingernails on chalkboard. “Seen through my trick already by one so young? Child I am more terrifying than you could ever think. But you have humoured me, and for that you can live. Although maybe you could be a bit more useful, I don’t like when people enter my woods, why don’t you take care of that? You shall be the least frightening thing in the world”

He does not remember going home that night. He does not remember going to sleep.

But he woke up.

He woke up straight from a dream and into a nightmare.

It had been odd at first.

He had opened his eyes and seen a lock of pink hair falling over his face. Which made no sense as no one he knew had pink hair. So he went to a mirror, and found that not only did he have fluffy pink hair, but it was joined by two puffy white ears and a soft fuzzy tail.

He had rushed downstairs to find his family and to ask what happened. But he did not find his family. Instead he found his town in a state of shock and fear.

And then two cold people had come to collect him, telling him that they knew where his family was.

They did not.

Instead he had a muzzle placed over his mouth and was thrown into a cage.

Then they brought him to a place. With more cold people in white coats. They prodded at him, causing him pain.

And then on the full moon, they locked him into a room, where he was left to turn into a beast.

They experimented more with the beast, once he was able to control it.

They started trying to get the beast to hunt things. But he did not like it when he hunted. But they would hurt him if he didn’t hunt.

And quickly he took a change of action.

“You shall be the least frightening thing in the world”

That’s what the lady had said.

He wanted to prove her wrong.

And quickly it became that if it first you thought that he was soft and non-threatening, your opinion would change quickly.

Because even if he was not scary, he was dangerous.

And when you are dangerous, you become scary.

And they dubbed him Technoblade .

Every full moon, they would lock Techno into that empty white room, and watch behind a wall of glass for the whole night.

Slowly Techno managed to gain more and more control, but the cold people did not notice, because Techno did not act any differently when he had control of the beast.

And that’s why four years after capture, Technoblade escaped.

He had lept at the glass, shattering it, and had ripped out the throat of those watching. And once he had escaped their room by busting the door open, he ripped out the throats of any there in sight. No, not just any in sight, of any . He had roamed those halls for the entire night, checking every room, every nook and every cranny, and making sure that everyone was dead.

Even the others being contained, caged like him were killed. Not out of spite, but out of mercy. It was not pleasant being what he was. The others must agree. He would help them be free.

And then he had left, running through a field and jumping the fence, its wire cutting at his stomach, but he ignored the pain in favor of running.

It took him a month of travel, but he eventually made it.

He made it home.

But he was not welcome.

They shoved fire in his face, and the people who had been his friends ran from him.

He was not welcomed.

So he took his quarrel to the forest, stumbling through the overgrowth until he found her again, now four years older.

And while he had grown, she had not.

“Hello Bubblegum, do you mind if I call you such? I believe it fits you quite well” She snickered at his pink hair. The pink hair that she had made grow.

He snarled at her, Technoblade was no foolish child challenging the forest. He was one of the creatures of the forest. “What did you do to me?”

She waved a hand dismissively.  “You said you were scary, I gave you a chance, though you are truly just a lost puppy dog” She taunted him further, he felt anger brew underneath his skin.

“Why do they run from me?” He said, a growl at the back of his throat.

“Because you are what they fear. You are a monster, a creature made for destruction, a thing of the dark. They fear the dark. But you are nothing to fear. A harmless puppy”

It was a shame that that night there was a full moon. 

And it was a shame that she had chosen to taunt him so close to night.

Technoblade mused at the difference between him and the fae. He had at first been bold, but over those four years he had become cautious, become smart, become calculated. And it seemed that she had stayed ever so arrogant, ever so bold, and ever so full of herself.

But now Techno knew who was the wiser.

Oh how the beauty was so confident in herself that she thought that she could control the beast.

And of course, neither of their paths were good ones.

But he thought he knew which path was smarter.

After all, her path had led to her dead in a forest, and his path had led to her blood on his hands.

Technoblade decided then and there that if he could not be human, then he would be a monster.

And he let that monster free.

He gave into the urge to hunt, and ripped his town to shreds.

And much like back at the lab, he left no one behind.

Whether you were barely a day old or ancient, it did not matter, because they were human.

And if the humans had a right to kill monsters.

Technoblade thought that the monsters had the right to kill humans.

__

Technoblade crouched down, eyes narrowing in on the deer.

It knew something was off.

It knew it was not safe.

But it did not know which way danger would come from.

It swiveled it’s head around, trying to see the danger it could sense.

Looking.

And looking.

And looking.

But looking in the wrong direction, and in seconds his jaws closed around its neck, biting so hard that the head was severed from the body, falling limp onto the ground.

The body still stood for a second, before the legs wobbled, and it collapsed.

And he tore in, eating as much as possible, how long had it been since he last had a good meal?

Blood

The voices whispered, were whispering, always whispering in his ear. Although he preferred it to when they were screaming.

The voices were an odd manifestation, they were his inner wolf. His instincts that demanded to hunt and to kill.

Technoblade turned back into his humanoid form (his lycan form he liked to call it). The voices were harder to hear when you weren't wolf, although still there.

He looked down at the deer carcass, mostly bones and fur now, Technoblade found that he had no limit to food, and the more he ate, the longer he’d last, so he found no point in eating small amounts.

Technoblade started walking through the forest, heading to a clearing that he had visited before.

This forest was nice. He had to admit it. And even though he would never stay in one place for too long, the idea of setting up a territory crossed his mind (a thought that would’ve never entered his head before).

He particularly liked this clearing, it always seemed to capture every piece of light, let it be rays of sun or beams of moonlight.

A twig snapped behind him and he swiveled around, making eye contact with two people.

One of them was a fae, looking to be around twelve or thirteen, the other was a vampire, who seemed to be fine out in the sun.

Technoblade growled.

He wasn’t quite fond of fae’s.

Really he wasn’t fond of anyone, but after being turned into what he was, he really wasn’t quite fond of faeries.

It was also a shame because that meant that once he killed these two, he would have to move again with the chance of hunters being around. And he liked this forest.

Technoblade launched himself at the pair, turning into a wolf mid air.

His plan was to bite the fae’s head off and then the vampires before it got a chance to run, although if it did he could always make chase.

Although his plan was intercepted by another werewolf coming out of nowhere (in wolf form) and tackling Technoblade.

They rolled over, a growling ball of fury. Technoblade managed to shove the other wolf off and stood his ground, watching as she came to stand in front of the fae and vampire. He raised his lip in warning and she did the same, going the extra mile and throwing in a growl.

“You dare hunt on my territory?” She questioned him. She looked strangely familiar.

He snarled at her. “This isn’t your territory, I smell no markers”

She growled at him. “I have no markers, but it is still my territory”

“That’s not how it works”

“I’d say I work a little different”

“Why? Because of the filth you're guarding?” He said looking at the fae, who flinched back from Techno’s gaze.

She growled, baring her teeth and taking a step closer. “Watch your mouth! This territory is under guard of the Esempii”

“Oh look, you got a fancy name for your pack, doesn’t change what you seem to be harboring”

“The Esempii is not my pack”

“Really? Where’s your pack then, because I’m not scared of some fae and the blood sucker”

She growled warning at him. “The Esempii is much more than just a fae and a vampire. I haven’t a pack, they were killed leaving all but me and my brother. The Esempii takes in those like us, those who are hunted”

Technoblade snorted. “I don’t care about your little gang of monsters”

“Oh but you should”

“Why is that?”

“They will take you in and help you, you could live among us, free and not hunted”

“What makes you think I need help?”

“Where is your pack?” She retorted.

“Never had one, never will”

“See, you need help. We can help you”

He bared his teeth at her. “I have been fine on my own”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t pretend like I don’t see the metal scorching on your chest, you have been picked up before by hunters and escaped, that means the next time they will catch you, you will be killed”

“You think I don’t know this? Tell me, how did your pack die?” A small realization had come to him to why she looked familiar.

“They were killed in a lab, along with every human inhabiting it. Why?” Suspicion coursed through her, suspicion and a bit of fear.

Fear for good reason.

He bared his teeth, half as intimidation, half as a smirk. “At the age of four I was caught by hunters. When I turned eight I broke free and massacred the lab, every single human, dead. And every single monster along with them. Now let me ask you this, do you think I need help now?”

Something glinted in her eyes. “Yes”

He growled. “Do you not know who I am?”

“I do, and that’s why I think you need help”

And then she turned back into her human form.

She looked around Techno’s age, and she equally had pink hair, though it was a shade light and shorter, and much better kept. Her ears and tail were light hazel tinted red at the end.

She took a step back, whispering something to the vampire, who’s eyes widened, before he said something to the fae and picked it up then they both ran off.

She fixed him with dark eyes. “Only a coward would stay in wolf form to confront a lycan form”

He growled.

That was true, but only an idiot would open themselves up to get struck like this.

But he was no coward, and he knew what he could and couldn’t handle.

He turned into his lycan form. He was much taller than her, he realized was a twinge of satisfaction. But even so, next to her he truly felt like a wild animal. Because while her hair was braided and neat, his was tangled and full of sticks and mud. Her clothes were pristine, her fur well groomed, his clothes were torn and worn, his fur matted and grubby.

She snorted at his appearance, he growled in response.

“What? You going to argue that my attire is somehow worse?” 

“Bold of you to taunt me” He said, his voice hoarse from not having talked to anyone in around seven years.

“You don’t scare me”

“I should”

“Why?”

“Because the last one who was stupid enough to live without fear died to my teeth” He said, lifting his lips and showing off his canines.

“That’s where I am different. Because I am smart, not stupid, nor without fear. I just have reason. And you, do not scare me. Because while others look at you and see a monster, I see a boy in ragged clothes who has been on his own for far too long”

“Well then you must be blind” He sneered. “Because I am a monster, I am and always will be. As will you, you should accept it as a fact. Because we are not people, there is no us. There is monster, and human, and if you are monster, then you live alone”

She looked at him, her expression falling into sadness. “It’s sad that you believe that”

“It’s sad that you don’t”

“You don’t have to be hated, you could join us. The Esempii will help”

“I don’t need help” He growled.

“Yes you do”

“I am fine on my own, I don’t need help”

“I didn’t say you weren’t fine on your own, I said you needed help. Because you seem to have beaten yourself down with what people have made you”

Technoblade didn’t have a response to that. Because it was true. Now he wouldn’t say he had beaten himself down, but he had accepted to be what others made him to be.

Her gaze softened. “Follow me, you can check out the mansion and meet everyone, you can meet Phil, I think he’ll like you, you’re both stubborn. And even after that, and you still would rather be alone, then you can go, no one will stop you”

And again, Techno didn’t know how to respond.

So he followed her.

He followed her to a house of people. Of children. Some were older than him, some were his age, many were younger.

But when the man called Phil entered they all quieted, crowding around him.

She introduced Technoblade to them, and in return they all introduced themselves.

Her name was Niki, her little brother Fundy, a quiet boy who stayed ducked behind Phil.

The vampire and fae from before were Wilbur and Tommy.

Tommy’s older brother Dream, another fae.

Tubbo, another werewolf, taunting a tall vampire called Ranboo.

A fae named Quackity.

There were all kind. Dream holding stories of him and Tommy also surviving in a lab.

Wilbur shared the experience of being hunted.

And Tubbo related to surviving on his own.

So many of these people were like him.

So many of these people seemed to like him.

And while Technoblade didn’t know about tomorrow, or the next day, but he did know that he would at least stay for today.

Chapter Text

George watched as the forest burned around him, any stray flames that came near him were immediately turned away.

He had never wanted his life to escalate like this. He had never expected his life to escalate like this.

Sapnap stood beside him, keeping eyes on the flames. He was supporting most of George's weight.

"What do we do?" Sapnap whispered, mostly to himself.

"I don't know" George responded, trying to flip through their options.

No way either of them could return to town. Sapnap might've had a chance, but then he had gone and set the forest on fire to try and protect George. George had no chance of ever returning, he would be burned at the stake.

They could try surviving in the forest, but neither of them had any idea how to do that.

And what if George attacked Sapnap on accident? He didn't know how long he had before he would end up turning.

"Have you ever heard of the Esempii?" Sapnap asked suddenly, George tried to stand on his own, but failed, Sapnap just barely catching him.

"Yeah… I heard it was an army of monsters being raised to destroy humanity" George said. Is that where Sapnap wanted to go? George didn't want to kill people, monster or human, he just wanted to be normal.

No chance in ever being normal now.

Sapnap shrugged. " My mom told me that if anything ever went wrong then I should just head north, and eventually I'll get there. Mom said that that's where she had been going before she fell in love and had me."

"Oh, but will they accept me? After all I'm still not… Y'know" George didn't want to say it aloud, almost as if, if he didn't say it, it wouldn't be true.

"You will be soon, I think they'd welcome you, they might even help"

"I guess we don't have any other place to go"

Sapnap nodded, and together, with George leaning on him, they made their way though the forest, north.

They had traveled for a day, and George was getting more and more tired.

The gash in his leg stung, and whenever a beam of sunlight crossed his neck, it felt like an iron being held to his skin.

His vision was starting to get blurry and he was thirsty.

He heard Sapnap say something to him, but it was lost to the sound of blood rushing in his ears.

His vision flickered black, and then came back.

They had stopped walking, and instead Sapnap was basically carrying him.

The world went dark, and George fell to the ground, drifting out of consciousness.

__

Phil had caught scent of something… off.

He was going for a midnight walk, as he usually did, it gave the kids a chance to throw a party and think he didn't notice.

This was not only to clear his head and get some calm after the storm of the day, but he also got the chance to check for any humans nearby.

And, unfortunately, he did scent human. But something was off, and it was mixed with blood and something else that he couldn't quite put his tongue on.

So he went to check it out, cautiously keeping to the shadows and his ears pricked.

He could hear rustling, and someone breathing heavily, they were saying something over and over again, but too quiet for Phil to hear.

He got closer, and spotted two people. Teens really, they looked around Dreams age, somewhere close to seventeen.

They looked human, and they might be. Except that Phil noticed the bite mark on one of their necks.

Phil stepped into their field of view, and instantly the kid who wasn't bitten snapped his head in Phil's direction.

He sighed in what seemed like relief, and then paused after a moment saying. "I really hope I'm not being an idiot and you've just come to kill us"

Phil snickered. "I'm not one for cannibalisme"

The kid smiled at him. "That's reassuring, what about me then, up for any fae's?"

Phil cocked his head at the teen. "You're a fae?"

That seemed hard to believe, he looked like a normal human, no aura around him at all.

The kid nodded, holding up a hand and producing a small flame flickering between his fingers, then quickly put it out. "Half. Man, I didn't even consider not being recognized as a fae. I'm Sapnap, by the way"

Phil nodded. "I'm Phil. Glad your not just human, otherwise you would've had two options, become one of us or die"

Sapnap's eyes widened. "Strict rules much? Uh, are you part of the Esempii?"

Phil nodded. "I run the place. I suppose you came in search for refuge?"

Sapnap nodded, a smile playing at his lips. "Yes, my friend here, George, got turned and, well, town wasn't too happy about that. We had heard of the Esempii and that it helped people like us"

Phil nodded looking at the unconscious boy. "How long ago since he was turned?"

"Uh, yesterday early morning, or I guess the night was just ending for you"

"I guess, although I don't really sleep… At all. Everyone is awake at different times so I try to stay available. Let's get you and your friend back to the house" Phil said, walking over and picking George up. Sapnap gave him a skeptical look, but didn't argue.

The walk back to the house was quick, and in a moment Phil was opening the door, calling out. "I know that you're all still awake, Quackity come get this kid settled in, Wilbur help me in my room" 

In a moment both Wilbur and Quackity were by Phil. Wilbur spotted George in Phil's arms and the two bite marks, immediately understanding.

Quackity just grinned at Sapnap.

Phil let them get into whatever shenanigans they were going to do, often they had some weird initiation that involved annoying whoever was being picked on for that day. 

Wilbur followed him up the stairs and opened the door for Phil, leading into his room.

It was really just desks and a bed piled in the corner that was exclusively for turning vampires. He set George down on the bed and turned around to find Techno standing by the door, looking very awkward and out of place, like he was intruding.

"Something up, mate?"

Techno shook his head. "No, I just have a feeling that Sapnap's 'initiation' will be to braid my hair, and I'd rather not have a stranger touching my head, so I came to hide up here because they won't bother you"

Wilbur grinned. "Aw come on, you're ruining all the fun! Don't you remember how great your initiation was?"

Technoblade frowned. "No. If I remember correctly you made me hide all of Tubbo's toys, and then when he started crying I had to deal with him"

Wilbur nodded. "We thought that one up just for you."

Phil raised an eyebrow at him. He recalled that one, specifically where a wall of children blocked him helping Tubbo. "Wil, can you get me some disinfectant and bandages? His leg looks pretty bad."

Wilbur nodded and immediately scurried off to fetch what was asked of him.

Techno moved to stand at a wall, trying to blend into the shadows, but his bubblegum pink hair and snow white ears and tail sticking out. Even so he was still out of the way. "You don't mind that I'm here, right? "

Technoblade had had a hard time settling in, at first he was aggressive to the other kids, especially the fae's. And after he had gotten used to everyone he stayed mostly shy and antisocial. Phil could tell that Techno didn't know how to express himself, so Phil told him that if something was on his mind then he could come ramble to Phil.

"Of course I don't mind, just try not to disrupt George"

Techno cocked his head at the unconscious teen, spotting the bite marks on his neck. "He was bitten"

It wasn't a question, but Phil nodded anyway. "Yeah, apparently he was bitten and Sapnap helped him escape from town"

Technoblade frowned, his ear flicked in anger at the mention of them being chased from their home. He let out a small growl. "He isn't even a fledgling and they kicked him out? And I thought they still had some preservation for their own kind"

Phil gave Techno a sympathetic look. No one knew anything about Techno's past other than the news headlines.

Werewolf escapes laboratory!

A werewolf massacred the whole facility, even the other specimens!

Techno wouldn't share anymore than that.

But Phil suspected that Techno had been wronged by humans other than those in his lab from the way he flinched at mention of hunters or any human in general.

A crash sounded outside the door.

"Bitch! Do I look like I have pink hair to you?!? Or ears? Or a tail? Fuck off I'm trying to help your friend!"

And then more scrambling and then Wilbur opened the door to the room and slammed it behind him.

Techno snickered at Wilbur, who gave him a death glare in return. "I got what you needed" he said, handing Phil the disinfectant and bandages.

Phil quickly got to treating the wound, Wilbur had gone to go stand against the wall with Techno, and they were both whispering to each other in teasing voices.

When Phil finished wrapping the leg he checked the kid for any other injuries, but only found a few bruises. "Alright, that's all I can do for now. You two can go"

"What are you going to do?"

"Stay here in case he wakes up"

___

Sapnap rubbed his head, apparently Wilbur could pack quite the punch. And yell even louder.

Quackity snickered at the bottom of the stairs. "You think Will is bad? Wait till you have to fight Techno, the guy has actual experience with fighting, and it's an unfair fight because if his strength"

Sapnap groaned. Why was this how he was welcomed? First George had to get carried into a separate room with some random vampire, and now he had to braid the hair of apparently the newest member of the Esempii.

Ranboo walked up to Quackity, whispering something to him. Quackity listened then sighed in disappointment. "Phil's always ruining all our fun, Sapnap you won't be able to get to Techno right now, he's hiding with Phil and we're not aloud to bother him when he's working with changelings"

Sapnap breathed out in relief. From the read he'd gotten off of Technoblade, he didn't think he'd make it out alive if he tried to braid his hair.

Sapnap made his way down the stairs and heard a massive crash. 

Quackity turned in the direction of the crash. He frowned. “I hope you two are planning on putting that back.”

“Sorry, no can do, we’re not strong enough” Tommy responded.

Sapnap stood next to Quackity and saw what he was talking about.

Tommy, Ranboo and Tubbo had toppled a couch over onto its side, and were now sitting under it, Ranboo setting up a blanket as a sort of wall.

“I call bullshit, I know for a fact that at least Tubbo is strong enough”

Tubbo shook his head. “Nope! I, uh, hurt my wrist”

“Well in that case you should be in bed healing it, off to bed. And while your resting, everyone else can discuss why Tommy and Ranboo aren’t strong enough to push a couch and remake their diet”

Ranboo scoffed. “Fine, we'll put it back when we’re done… Also how would you remake my diet?”

“We will only bring you day old rabbit blood mixed with painkillers”

He frowned “I don’t think that will improve my diet, actually, worsen it probably”

Quackity just shrugged. “Not my problem”

“It will be when he complains” Tommy grumbles.

Quackity grinned. “I’m not in charge of his feeding, he can’t complain to me, he’ll have to complain to Wilbur or Phil”

The trio frowned at him.

“Tubbo bite him,” Ranboo said.

“Why me? You bite him, you get more out of it”

“I can’t be held to charge if you bite him, right Tommy? We just saw Tubbo go after him”

Tommy nodded with a solemn expression. “It was so weird….. Sapnap you won’t tattle right? If you do the consequence is a bite mark”

Sapnap shook his head. “Won’t say a word”

“Ok, great, Tubbo go!” Tommy pushed the werewolf out from under the couch.

Tubbo turned around and growled at him. “I am not getting blamed for your dumd idea”

“Yes you are”

Tubbo lept at Tommy and they both fell into a little wrestling match.

Ranboo managed to slip out from under the couch and stand next to them to avoid their little tussle.

“This happens often?” Sapnap asked, seeing how unfazed Ranboo and Quackity were.

Ranboo nodded. “It’s practically a morning tradition, I got my own room because these two can’t keep from their nonsense”

Quackity’s eyes widened as Tubbo started trying to strangle Tommy. “This is getting a bit out of hand- Boys!”

They both paused, Tommy having pinned Tubbo to the ground and the wolf kicking at his stomach. “What!?” They snapped in almost unison.

“If you’re going to do this, could you move it to your room? Or at least the training room? I’d really rather not have to sew a couch cushion back together, or… Y’know, put out a fire”

They both glared at him, but Tommy stood up and helped Tubbo up, grumbling about how Quackity was ‘so mean’ and they were going to go annoy Dream.

Sapnap watched them go with amusement. “They seem fun”

Quackity yawned. “Oh yeah, their absolute shits…. We should probably find you and George a room, get you all settled in and then head off to sleep- hopefully George should be up by then” Then he turned and addressed Ranboo. “You gonna sleep tonight?”

He shook his head. “Nah, gonna stay up, fix the living room, see if Wilbur and Phil need help with anything”

“Alright, come on Sap” 

Sapnap followed him up the stairs and into a hallway to the left. It had a bunch of doors with different people’s names labeled.

Wilbur

Quackity

Big man Tommy ft, no one else (And Dream)

Tubbo and Ranboo only Tubbo

Fundy and Niki

Ranboo

Quackity opened a random door checking the inside, before shaking his head and closing it. "So uh, you and George wanna share a room?"

Sapnap thought for a moment. "Yeah, sure" he didn't think that either him or George would trust being alone in this house for at least a month, at night they'd at least have each other.

Quackity sighed. "Makes my job a bit harder. Hmm, how about… " Quackity opened a few more doors, before settling in a room opposite to Dream and Tommy's.

When they walked in it was mostly bare, two beds pushed up against the wall, some dressers, and strangely a cooler in one corner. "This is pretty bare, but I figure it should do, for housing a vampire and a fae, don't open the cooler if your blood squeamish. Uh, any preferences with sleeping? I know that Tommy was picky when he first got here"

Sapnap shook his head. "No, I basically am adapted as a regular human, this is good for me"

Quackity gave him a somewhat tired smile. "Alright, I'll let you get settled. If you need anything just knock on Ranboo's door, he'll be there to help. Someone will wake you up if George wakes up. In the morning we have a set breakfast bell, so, be ready for that… I think that's everything"

"Alright, goodnight"

"Night"

___

George woke up very confused.

He was in a bed, a very comfortable bed.

And he was also thirsty.

Like really thirsty.

Why was he so thirsty-and goddammit, why the fuck was the sun trying to burn his eyeballs off.

He rolled over in the bed, trying to get as far away from the sun as possible.

"Get up you lazy ass". Sapnap called.

George turned his head, blinking drearily at his friend who was holding… something, some kind of red juice. Whatever, he wanted the juice.

George held out a hand, asking for the cup.

Sapnap just laughed and handed it to him.

George took a sip and- holy shit. This is pretty good! It was exactly what he was looking for, and quenched his thirst.

"Was that good?" Sapnap asked, half sarcastic, half curious.

"Yeah, mm'want more" George said sleepily.

"Alright, hand me the cup"

Sapnap did in fact get more. And it was equally as good as before.

George had also finally woken up, looking around. "Where are we?"

"The Esempii"

"What the monster army?"

"Nah, turns out they're really more like a monster foster home, it's nice here, you'll like them"

George nodded, realizing what that meant. "I guess I really am a…" he didn't want to finish the sentence. Because he didn't want to be a vampire . 

All his life he has been taught that vampires are bad. That they are dangerous. And now he is dangerous.

Sapnap gave him a pitying look. "It won't be that different. There's already three vampires here, and they're all pretty chill. The guy who runs the place, Phil, is a vampire, they'll help you out"

George smiled at Sapnap. "I hope so"

Sapnap nodded. "I know so. Now go the fuck back to sleep, you should get some more rest, especially if your going to be forced to go through innitiation"

"What?" George sputtered.

"The kids here have some weird kind of code. They make the dumbest task for us to do, and apparently if they do something wrong the rest of the kids get to choose your punishment"

George laughed. "Sounds fun "

"Oh it is"

___

Sapnap was sneaking through the dark, George at his side. Actually, George was mostly guiding him, he could see a lot better than Sapnap could.

Up the stairs he knew that a pack of children and Phil were waiting for them. Hopefully with a first-aid kit.

He could hear the rise and fall of someone sleeping, and as they turned the corner they saw a massive wolf, white as snow, sleeping on a glorified mattress.

Which was a bit horrifying to say the least.

Both Sapnap and George had a handful of elestics, their job being to braid tiny pigtails into the wolf's fur.

George looked over at Sapnap and he nodded, both of them settling in reaching distance of the werewolf.

Sapnap suspected that one bite from the beast could serve him in half.

Just as George was reaching out to tie the first braid, the wolf's eyes snapped open, two orbs of blue glaring at them. It lifted it's lip in a warning.

Sapnap just sighed. "Look, we don't want to do this, and you know it"

The wolf just rolled it's eyes, getting up and walking over to the stairs leading up. Apparently Technoblade's room was just the basement. He didn't feel comfortable with a room and a door that could lock, so instead they set him up a bed in the basement where he slept in wolf form.

 He just growled at the stairway and then turned back around to face George and Sapnap.

George raised his hands in a somewhat surender, the wolf just snorting at him.

Technoblade shook his head and turned into his lycan form, wearing a pair of blue pajamas, and went to sit down on the couch, back facing them. "Let's get this over with, if you give me pigtails I'm gouging out your eyes, and if you pull my hair or make a single comment on it I'm ripping out your throat"

Sapnap and George shared a look of bewilderment.

"Noted" George said, both of them going to settle behind Techno and start braiding his hair.

It wasn't a nice braid, by no means. It was tangled and odd and didn't include all of the hair, but it was a braid.

So when they called everyone down, George and Sapnap had completed their initiation. And the moment it was completed, Techno pulled off the elastic, found a brush and brushed his hair, glaring at them the whole while.

The others laughed at it, Phil sitting next to Techno on the couch and telling he did good. 

"Can't believe you managed that" Dream snorted, Tommy was curled up next to him, starting to fall asleep.

"I know, it was an epic battle,but we managed to pin him down and get that braid in," George joked.

Techno scoffed. "Oh yeah, I nearly died"

"But Technoblade never dies," Tubbo said with a goofy grin. He seemed to have an admiration for Techno.

Techno grinned back at him. "You got it kid"

Phil looked down at his watch, checking the time. "Alright, you guys should really be getting some sleep"

Wilbur frowned. "Phil, we don't sleep on initiation night, it's spent trying to pry information out of the newest members"

Phil raised an eyebrow, glancing over at Tommy. "Alright, but after you've done that, get some sleep, Niki you're in charge" and he got up, walking out of the basement to do whatever he wanted to do.

"Why are you always in charge?" Quackity asked.

Niki gave him a leveled look. "Because I'm the only one who listens, other than Ranboo, but he's too young to be left in charge"

Wilbur gave her an offended look. "I listen, I listen the most"

"You're a brat" Techno commented from where he was taking pillows and blankets out of a closet.

Wilbur grinned at him. "I know"

"Shouldn't we be, y'know, questioning them?" Dream asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Right, right," Wilbur said with a very serious frown.

Sapnap felt kind of nervous, although he wasn't sure why.

"We only have one question for you" Quackity said, tone fully serious.

Dream leaned toward them, and George and Sapnap leaned in too.

"What's your favourite kind of ice cream?" Dream said, a grin visible under his mask.

Everyone burst into laughter, except Tommy who frowned at them and covered his ears, burying his face into Dream's chest.

"Seriously? All that build up for that?" George said, but his grin was massive.

Dream just shrugged. 

"Welcome to the Esempii"