Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

George began to laugh.

His clothes were soaked with blood, he could feel it sticking to his skin, dripping down the side of his face.

On the ground in front of him lay the entire inventories of the two strongest people on the server.

He laughed even harder.

-------------------------------------------------------

Technoblade respawned in his bed, surprised more than anything. George had managed to kill him. George now had his entire inventory. George. The man was tiny, weak, insignificant. He never fought, not with his words or his sword. He was a coward, at least that was what Techno had assumed of him.

But now, he wasn’t so sure. George had just taken down the two best swordsmen out there. At the same time. And was barely hurt.

There was a knock on Techno’s door, he glanced out his window to find George standing there. Wearing his armour. Carrying his sword. Techno was filled with rage. The voices were screaming for blood. Somewhere in his logical mind, Techno knew that no matter how good he was, he wouldn’t beat George. Not when the man was wearing the strongest armor and carrying the strongest sword on the server. Not when he had nothing but a withered stone axe.

At that point, he didn’t care. He hefted the axe from it’s place in his chest, and went to open the door.

Techno had watched empires rise and fall, he had fought on the front lines of too many wars to count. He knew death. Knew her better than anyone ever should. He knew death, knew corruption, he knew what power could do to someone. He knew anger, knew happiness. He knew sadness and he knew relief.

Technoblade did not know fear.

He didn’t know fear, but perhaps it was time he learned.

George stared at him with a look in his eyes that Techno had never seen before. It was the look of someone who knew just how much power they held, and knew how to use it to hurt people. It was the look of a god, a vengeful, violent god.

And Techno was terrified by it.

The anger slipped out of his mind, quickly replaced by fear. His hand gripping the axe began to shake.

George took a step into his home, and Techno stepped back. That in itself was something Techno had never done. He prided himself on never backing down, on taking up every offer for a fight, and winning. But he hadn’t won this time, had he?

George took another step, and pointed his sword- well technically it was Techno’s sword- at Techno.

“Drop the axe, Techno.” Techno knew when a fight was hopeless, he knew, in his logical mind, that this was hopeless, but there wasn’t a bone in Techno’s body capable of surrender. He raised his axe, ready to fight.

Techno swung, and the sound of stone shattering was heard throughout the room. Of course the stone would shatter, it hit the netherite at full force. Maybe if it were freshly forged, or maybe if the netherite weren’t as strong as it was, the blow would have made George flinch.

George may have felt nothing, but the netherite armor was enchanted with thorns three, meaning he had Techno feeling the full force of his own blow. He should have put that into account when he decided to attack his own armor.

Techno, now armed only with a wooden stick previously used as the handle of an axe, knelt, one hand holding his gut.

Techno had dealt himself more damage than he could ever hope to do to George. That is, if Techno weren’t a seasoned veteran. He knew how to get around armor. He just needed to focus, he needed to ignore the fear, focus on the anger, hone in on George’s weak spot.

However, at this point, Techno was fighting himself. He had specifically designed his armor to combat the weaknesses usually found in armor. That meant, the only place Techno could reach were George’s eyes, which were covered by those stupid fucking goggles.

He readied the stick, and jabbed it into George’s eye. It shattered the frame of his glasses, and for a moment, Techno celebrated his small victory. In the next moment, however, Techno was back on the ground. He had been hit, the blunt of George’s sword slamming down on the back of Techno’s head. Before he could prepare himself, he was hit again. And again, and again, and again.

And Techno was taking too much damage. Without armor, being kicked by someone wearing netherite boots hurts. A lot.

He was going to die again. George was going to beat him to death in his own living room.

“George!” He managed to choke out between coughs of blood. George paused,

“What is it?”

“I…” At the sight of Techno's hesitation, George raised his sword. Techno used this moment to regain stability in his stance, then in one last desperate attempt, he swung his fist in the direction of George’s face.

He felt something hit the back of his head, and everything went black.

————————————

Techno woke up in a room he had hoped to never see again. On three sides, obsidian surrounded him, on the fourth, a curtain of lava. It was the same cell, although it had been slightly modified. There was no longer a cauldron for him to drink from, nor was there a toilet, a bed, a bookshelf, hell even the clock was gone off the wall.

There was no attempt to make the cell more accommodating.

It was only when Techno tried to move that he realized he couldn't. His neck, now collared, was chained to the wall. His arms were shackled to the floor, and he wouldn't be able to stand even if he wanted to.

For a while, he just sat there. His head was pounding, and the heat in the cell caused incredible discomfort. The iron wrapped around his wrists and neck absorbed incredible amounts of heat. Surely he would have burn marks there. Techno went in and out of consciousness. It wasn’t until hours later, when the lava began to rise, that Techno forced himself to stay awake.

George walked across the bridge, dragging two people with him. Techno lifted his head, but he couldn't make out who the two people were.

Eventually, George reached the cell, and tossed the two people in. Techno noticed that they looked very similar, and he now realized who they were.

Dream, and XD, laid unconscious on Techno’s feet. George now had the two most powerful humans, and a literal god trapped in a cell. Techno could only watch as George did the same to Dream and Xd that he had done to Techno. When he was done, he finally looked at Techno.

“Enjoy your stay!” He smiled, then walked away.

Techno could still hear the man laughing as the lava once again fell. At that time, Techno noticed just how beat up his new cellmates were. XD’s head was pouring blood, there were deep gashes along his skull. Techno could see bone peeking out from inside. The god’s wings were bent at angles that wings should never be bent at. There were feathers missing, and pieces that looked as if they had been set aflame. Although Techno could see that XD was in pain, he was sure the god would live.

He couldn’t say the same about Dream. There were dozens of small, shallow cuts on his chest, his leg was bent at an unnatural angle, and on top of all of that, the man had clearly been stabbed. George had made no efforts to clean the wound, so blood still seeped out of it. If it wasn’t treated soon, he would bleed out. If it wasn’t treated correctly, it would become infected. Either way, Dream would die.

It was hours before another person stirred. XD slowly opened his eyes. It took the god a few moments before he was fully conscious.

“Hey.” The god looked over at Techno when he spoke, “How’d a god lose to a human?” XD stared at him, and for a moment, Techno feared the god wouldn’t answer, but then he sighed, and responded,

“Who said I fought?” The god fell silent, and stared into the floor. Techno wanted to push for more answers, but the look on XD’s face stopped him.

It was another few hours before something changed. Techno, who had previously been watching the rise and fall of Dream’s chest, now had nothing to watch. Dream had stopped breathing.

“Yo, God.” XD looked at Techno, Techno nodded his head in the direction of Dream,”Is he dead?”

XD stared at Dreams body, then looked back at Techno,

“Not quite yet.” As if on queue, Dreams chest rose. Techno let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. The man was still unconscious, but at least he wasn’t dead. It was another large gap of time before anything changed again.

“Hey XD.”

“Yeah?”

“Why can’t you just like, teleport us out of here or something?” XD didn’t answer. Techno wanted to hit him.

Eventually Techno lost count of the hours. He had no idea how much time had passed in their silence. Eventually, Dream’s breathing stopped for good, and the man disappeared in a cloud of white smoke. Eventually, a pit began to grow in Techno’s stomach. Eventually, his throat was so dry that he could barely speak. Eventually, Techno heard dispensers firing. Eventually Sam came, bringing food and water, and eventually, George followed behind him.

It was a potato. A single, raw potato. There was one cup of water. Sam tipped the cup of water into Techno’s mouth, and he drank it all, thankful for his thirst being quenched. It was gone too soon. And then Sam left, leaving the potato in the place where Dream once sat. Techno wouldn’t be able to reach it. He vaguely wondered where Dream had gone. George stood in the center of the room.

“Darling,” He looked at XD, who slightly raised his head, “A pair of pliers, please.” XD stared at George,

“I… I need my halos, dear…” George frowned, but pulled two golden circlets from his inventory.

“Where?”

“Place them in x formation, over my head, they’ll do the rest themselves.” George followed instructions. When the pieces were in place, they bonded together, and began to glow. The circlets were floating above XD’s head.

“Now, Pliers? And maybe some darts.” XD waved his hand and the requested items appeared in it, “Thank you, Darling.” Then George ripped the halos from XD’s head. They stopped glowing, and once again became two plain golden circles in George’s hand. The wounds on XD’s skull reopened, and he was bleeding once more. However, this time, XD had a smile on his face. George turned to Techno, and Techno realized what was going to happen.

Now, Techno had been tortured before. It’d be impossible to fight in as many wars as he did and not get taken prisoner at least once. Although, in those situations, Techno knew why he was getting tortured, he knew that soon enough Philza would be there to save him. He knew he needed to protect the information of his country.

In this situation, Techno was unsure how long he would last. Last time, it took Philza three months, and that was when only Sam was guarding the prison. Techno wouldn’t be surprised if in the next few days, Philza ended up in Dream’s old spot.

Techno clenched his jaw, closed his eyes, and braced himself for the first hit. He was expecting to be kicked, or maybe punched. He expected skin on skin contact, something that would leave him with a black eye. What he was not expecting was a dart.

The first dart missed Techno completely, not anywhere close to him. The next dart landed by his ear, still not quite hitting it’s mark. The third hit Techno in the shoulder. It was a small stinging, but Techno had felt much, much worse pain. Fourth his gut, fifth missed, and the sixth his chest. George didn’t have very good aim.

When the darts were all thrown, Techno sat there. A small stream of blood dribbled from the shoulder wound. It didn’t hurt, not compared to other things Techno had suffered. Next, George got closer to Technoblade.

He had a pair of pliers in one hand, and his other was reaching for Techno’s face. Techno tried to pull away, but with the combination of the collar around his neck and the wall directly behind him, he didn’t get far. There was a foot or so of chain looped on the front of the collar. George wrapped his free hand in it, and yanked. Techno’s head was forced down, and The pliers neared his mouth. Techno clenched his jaw, refusing to open it to let George’s pliers in.

Eventually, George plugged his nose, and he was forced to slightly open his mouth to breathe. At that moment, George managed to put his finger between Techno’s teeth. Techno bit down. Hard. It broke skin, blood flowed into his mouth, and yet George didn’t pull away. In fact, he barely flinched. Techno didn’t know how that was possible.

George pushed another finger in, and forced Techno’s mouth to open. Faster than techno expected it to happen, George stuck the pliers in, and yanked out a tooth. Once again, a mild pain. Unpleasant, but Technoblade had experienced much worse.

Techno lost count of time after the first hour. George only ended up pulling four teeth, but then quickly moved on to the next thing. Just some regular, typical torture. Techno was punched, kicked, slapped, more times than he could count. He was waiting for something really bad to happen, but it never came. All the pain George was causing was simply… mild. Techno had been expecting him to be brutal. Completely and utterly brutal. But he wasn’t. Clearly he was not experienced with torture, if he thought this would break Techno.

It was somewhere into the third hour when things changed. For about ten minutes, George left Techno and XD alone in the cell. He returned to them pulling someone behind him. Whoever it was was still fully conscious, he was walking behind George, not being dragged. Techno saw a flash of green and at first thought it was Dream. Then he saw the large, black wings dragging behind the body.

Philza.

George had brought him Philza.

Stupid move. Techno and Philza would easily be able to break out of here together. They could do anything if they put their minds together, George would be no match for them. Techno couldn’t help but smile.

Phil was ushered into the cell and forced to his knees in front of Techno. George pulled out a knife and held it to Philza’s throat. Techno’s smile dropped.

“George…” Techno’s voice held a warning, “Don’t do this.” George smiled, unanswering. Instead, Philza was the one to speak.

“It’ll be okay, Techno, it’s gonna be okay.”

“No, no Phil! You can’t- George!” Techno looked to George. The man was staring at him, cold, dark eyes. A sinister smile on his face.

George pressed the knife a bit harder into Philza’s neck. A single tear flowed down his face.

“Tell Tommy I'm sorry, and-” Techno wasn’t paying attention to Philza’s words, instead focusing on George. “Techno! Look at me. Tell Tommy i’m sorry, Tell Wilbur i miss him, and Tech, hey” Techno was shaking his head at Philza.

“You won’t die, Phil , don't talk like that.” Philza smiled sadly,

“Tech, you’ll be okay. Just kill this motherfucker for me.” Techno nodded, “Good, and tell Kristen I love-” The knife moved across Philza’s throat before he could finish his sentence. His blood sprayed all over Techno, and George released his body, letting it fall into Techno’s lap.

Techno screamed. A broken, guttural screech.

George just laughed.

Then, Techno woke up.

Chapter Text

He was still in the cell, darkness surrounding him. XD was still bleeding next to him, George was nowhere to be found.

“XD.” The god didn’t answer, “Hey, XD.” He didn't even move a muscle, it was as if he were a part of the background.

After a few more tries at communication, Techno gave up.

George returned to the cell shortly. Once again, the man was dragging Phil behind him. It was the same as last time, Phil was conscious, unharmed, and forced to his knees in front of Techno.

George said the same words, almost exactly.

Techno had to remind himself that this wasn’t real. He wasn’t sure where the dream started and ended, but this wasn’t real, Philza was okay, Philza was alive. He has to believe that it was the only thing keeping him sane.

While sleeping, the voices were usually silent, but in this dream, they were screaming. They had been in the first one, that was partially why Techno was sure it was reality. Now, though, Techno was positive that what he was seeing was not real.

Once again, George slit Philza’s throat, letting the man’s blood drench Techno.

It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real.

He repeated the words to himself nonstop. The voices were louder than ever. Screeching at top volume, demanding George pay for what he’s done. Demanding vengeance, demanding blood.

Philza’s blood soaked through Techno’s clothing, and he felt the liquid on his legs.

No, not Philza’s blood- this wasn’t Philza. It was an illusion, it was imaginary. This was not real.

Techno woke once more.

He was left unaware of what was real and what wasn’t.

This time, he was alone in the cell. No XD. No Dream. No sign that either had ever been in the room at all.

He was all alone.

The voices were quiet.

Was this reality?

……………………….

George wasn’t sure where his powers came from, but that would not stop him from using them to their full ability. He had only recently found out about his strange ability, only when XD said something he shouldn’t have. George took time to practice his ability. He started with the only willing subject he could find: himself.

Manipulating one’s own dreams is a task unaccomplishable to most. George, however, was not most. It took him a week at most to have full control over his own dreams, now it was time to test it on a person.

George didn’t tell anybody about his ability, one night in Kinoko he simply reached out with his mind, connecting to that of Karl Jacobs. Inside that man’s head was a mystery George would never be able to solve.

He paid no attention to the other things in Karl’s mind, instead, he let the man dream of pleasant things. And when Karl came to breakfast the next day, a smile on his face, speaking of the wonderful dream he had, George knew he had already won.

The next day, George approached XD, demanding armor, tools, and support. Everything he would need in order to take down Dream and Techno.

The whole server had underestimated him. They thought him weak, a coward. He was no coward, no weakling. He had a god on his side. He was smart, cunning, and he would prove it to the entire server.

He was in control.

So he began, he killed Dream, killed Techno. He kept Dream somewhere, separate from Technoblade. He couldn’t let them work together. He kept Techno in Pandora’s box, and he kept Philza occupied with an illusion.

Techno was unconscious, and he would stay that way for a while, trapped in a never ending nightmare of George’s creation.

XD followed George around like a lost puppy, or perhaps like a loyal hound. Depends on the way you looked at it. The god bent to George’s every whim, giving the man his everything, and then more. George had stripped him of his halos, tore his wings straight from his back, chained him up and left him to rot, and yet XD found that he was not upset with the man.

How could he be? George was perfect.

Dream, though, Dream was a different story. The demon was bitter, of course he was. He had only just escaped one prison, only to be thrown into another. Dream was pissed off, to say the least. He didn’t know where George was keeping him, nobody knew, except for George, that is.

Nobody would find him.

Apparently, George had discovered that demons like Dream didn’t need food or water to survive, which left Dream alone, bored, and slowly going insane in the damp stone room he was stuck in.

The people on the server barely noticed the absence of the two. Even if they did notice, George doubted they would care. They were public enemies number one and two, nobody would be upset at their disappearance. Nobody except for Philza.

Or, that was what he thought.

He was surprised when Ranboo typed in general

Ranboo: Has anyone seen Technoblade anywhere?

Fuck.

A chorus of ‘no’ answered Ranboo in the chat,

Ranboo: For that matter, has anyone seen Dream, either?
Tubbo_: No
TommyInnit: Noooo
Ph1LzA: No, I haven’t.
GeorgeNotFound: Isn’t that a good thing?

Nobody answered him, the chat went silent.

--------------------------------------------

In dream three hundred ninety eight, Techno made a decision.

He was tired of Philza being marched in, he was tired of waiting for George;s speech to end, he was tired of waiting, agonizingly, for his friend to die. He wanted to speed it up, perhaps if the dream went by faster, if Techno did something other than just sit and wait for it to end, he would be able to escape whatever sort of trap George had him in.

Techno made a decision.

He slammed his entire body weight into the obsidian wall behind him repeatedly, waiting for it to break, to shatter. And eventually it did, with perfect timing too.

George dragged Philza into the cell, forcing him to his knees.

“Technoblade, i see physical torture has no effect on you-” Techno didn’t wait, he took one of the many obsidian shards on the floor and stabbed it straight through Philza’s heart. Immediately, he woke up once more.

That was much, much better than the alternative.

The next time Philza was dragged into the room, Techno did the same thing.

The voices were quiet the entire time, not even one peep out of them. Techno counted this as a victory. Yes, he was stuck wherever George had him in reality, but he had figured it out. He beat the puzzle George had set out for him. He found the clues, put it all together, and beat the game. IN doing so, he also silenced the voices, which was another, separate victory.

In his mind, Technoblade won.

Chapter Text

Ranboo was worried.

Nobody had seen or heard from Techno in days, not even Philza. No matter where Techno went, Philza always knew, if he did not, something was incredibly wrong. He was worried for his friend, wondering what on the server was strong enough to take Technoblade and leave nothing left behind.

Technoblade wouldn’t go down without a fight, not under any circumstances. And Techno never lost fights, not unless his opponent had some sort of leverage over him. That meant, whoever had taken Techno was incredibly strong, and had something keeping Techno in place.

Then, there was the matter of Dream.

Ranboo had seen him from a distance, heard stories of the terrible things he did, of how he did nothing but destroy everything in his path.

Ranboo was locked in the prison, he was sharing a room with some guy in a blue sonic onesie. He had never met the guy before, and sincerely hoped that he would never have to interact with the guy again afterwards.

-------------------

The thing about Pandora’s box, is that if you’re in one cell, it doesn't matter if it's maximum security or otherwise, you could hear every other cell. So, Ranboo heard Dream’s screams, and heard him begging for someone to stop. He wasn’t sure who it was that was hurting him, but he found that he felt bad. He felt bad for this supposed monster.

Nobody deserves that, not even if they were a monster.

The second time Ranboo heard Dream screaming, he waited till the sound died down, then knelt near the vent in the floor. These were the vents that allowed the cells to hear each other.

“Dream?” There was no response from the other cell, Ranboo tried again, “Dream are you there? It’s Ranboo.” Another long gap of silence, then,

“I’m here.” Ranboo sighed in relief.

“Are you okay? Relatively?”

Dream took a moment to consider his answer, then responded with,

“It's been worse.”

It was then and there that Ranboo decided he would somehow get himself into that jail cell.

---------------

Ranboo didn’t hate Dream. He couldn’t hate Dream, not after the time they had spent together in the prison.

He couldn’t hate him, but he couldn’t like him either.

He was torn between two sides, one being Techno, Philza, Niki, Dream. The monsters of the server. His friends. The others being Tommy, Tubbo, Micheal. His … friends? Family? He wasn’t sure. Tubbo and Tommy both hated Dream, and for good reason, but Ranboo… he found himself on the verge of speaking up every time the two would bash the demon.

Maybe that was why, when both Techno and Dream went missing, Ranboo made the decision to search. Server be damned, they were his friends. He would find them.

Ranboo went to George first. The man was known for having relations with Dream, maybe he knew something the rest of them didn’t. He knocked on the man’s door, then waited in awkward silence. He could hear George moving around inside, he knew the man was home.

George opened the door with a scowl on his face.

“Hello, Ranboo, may I ask what brings you here?” Ranboo’s nose twitched, George smelled overwhelmingly like a demon. Like Dream.

“I was wondering if you knew where Dream was?”

“No idea, I haven't seen him since the jailbreak.”

“Why do you smell like him?” George went silent, Ranboo stepped forwards, getting one foot in the doorway to prevent George from locking him out, “You smell exactly like him, if you haven’t seen him, then why do you smell so strongly of demon?”

“Do I smell like Dream, or like a demon?” Ranboo hesitated, George continued speaking, reversing Ranboo’s advances and forcing the teen back outside, “Dream isn’t the only demon on the server, Ranboo, do your research next time before you come accusing me of things.” George slammed the door in Ranboo’s face.

Ranboo immediately knocked again. The door swung open to reveal and even more pissed off George.

“What.” Ranboo stayed smiling,

“Well I wanted to know if you wanted to help me search for him, and Techno, of course.”

“Why would i?”

“I figured since y’know you and Dream…” George’s eyebrow rose,

“Since we what? Held hands? Kissed once or twice?” Ranboo’s mouth opened to speak, but nothing came out, “Dream means nothing to me, and Techno means even less.” George slammed the door again.

Ranboo turned and walked away.

----------------------

“Don’t make me do it, Ranboo. Don’t make me put you down there.” Sam said. Ranboo outside his cell, he had picked the lock, which set off the alarm, “Just get back in your cell.” Ranboo didn’t listen.

He ran at Sam, and immediately felt a pressure on the back of his neck, then everything went black. He woke in the maximum security cell, Dream at his side.

His plan worked.

“Dream!” Dream was surprised by the excitement in Ranboo’s voice.

“Why’d you do this to yourself, kid?” Dream would never admit it, but in the few days he had spoken with Ranboo through the vents, he had grown somewhat fond of the kid, “Why?”

“I needed to know.”

“Know what?”

“That you were okay.” And that shattered Dream’s heart.

-------------

The next day, Ranboo went to Philza.

“Boo, i know you wanna help, but i can’t let you come with me knowing it could put you in danger.”

Philza was going on a trip, a trip somewhere far, far away. Far outside the realm Ranboo knew. Philza told him he was going to get reinforcements, someone, or something, that could help them find and save Technoblade.

Ranboo begged the older to let him come, but Philza refused over and over.

“Stay and take care of the house for me, okay? Carl and Steve need someone to watch over them while I'm gone. Do that for me?” Ranboo nodded, Phil continued, “Thank you. I’ll be back before you know it, and Ranboo, please, stay out of trouble until I get back.” With that Philza took off into the night sky.

Ranboo watched as the man’s silhouette disappeared within the stars, then he watched some more. The stars were beautiful, they painted a beautiful picture across the night sky. Ranboo only wished he could have someone here to enjoy it with.

--------------

Quackity appeared two days after Ranboo was thrown in the maximum security cell.

“I hear we have a new guest! Isn’t that exciting, Dreamie?” Dream had his head down, he was shaking slightly, Quackity kicked him lightly when there was no response, “Answer me when i talk to you.”

“Please don’t hurt him.” Was all Dream said. That was when it clicked for Ranboo. Quackity was the one hurting Dream. Quackity was the one giving Dream all his scars. Quackity was the one causing the screams that inevitably brought Ranboo to Dream.

Quackity was looking at him. Ranboo quickly put his head down to avoid eye contact. Quackity grabbed him by the chin, forcing their eyes to meet.

“It seems Dream’s grown fond of you… How much do you think it would hurt him for me to hurt you?” Ranboo’s eyes widened, but he quickly shut down the panic response. This was what he hoped for. That he would get hurt in Dream’s stead.

“Do it then.” Quackity let out a small chuckle, and released Ranboo’s face.

“Oh? Ranboo you’ve grown a spine since the last time we spoke. I remembered you as a coward,”

“I remembered you as a friend.” Quackity smiled.

“I don’t care!”

Quackity kicked Ranboo in the gut.

Dream watched in horror.

-------------

Tubbo_: Ranboo where are you?
Ranboo: Phil’s house. I’m house sitting while he’s away.
Tubbo_: Micheal misses you.

Ranboo sighed, tucking his communicator away. He felt bad, truly, he did. He had left his husband, his child, behind in pursuit of a man who had caused said husband a lot of pain. And he didn’t even succeed.

Steve hopped onto the couch next to him. Although the polar bear was, well, a polar bear, he was really like a giant dog. Steve curled up, putting his head into Ranboo’s lap, Ranboo scratched it, and Steve almost smiled.

--------------

Ranboo woke to a damp towel being pressed into one of his wounds. He blinked a few times before he could see straight. Dream knelt over him, cleaning his wounds with a rag.

“Dr,.m” Dream’s head snapped towards him

“Ranboo! You’re okay!” Ranboo tried to sit up, but pain shot through his torso. He laid back down, “Quackity really did a number on you, fuckin bastard.” There was a large gap of silence as Dream continued cleaning him up.

Ranboo just stayed in his position, in too much pain to move.

“Did he hurt you? After I passed out?” Dream’s features darkened. Ranboo got worried.

“No, he didn’t.” Dream answered,

“What happened?” Ranboo was confused by Dream’s demeanor. If Dream hadn’t been hurt, why did he seem so angry?

“After you passed out he… Well, he didn’t stop. He kept going, for way too long. I thought he had beaten you to death. You were breathing so slowly that for a second I didn't think you were.”

“Oh… That’s good.” He wasn’t dead, Dream wasn’t hurt. No harm, no foul. Hehad accomplished exactly what he wanted to.

“Not good, you almost died.”

“But you didn’t get hurt.”

“I should have!”

Both went silent, the only sound being the steady flow of lava over the entrance of the cell.

----------------

Ranboo was cooking dinner when his communicator dinged,

TommyInnit: Big Man! Where are you?
Ranboo: I’m house sitting for Philza and Technoblade.
TommyInnit: Mind if I stop by?
Ranboo: Sure, I'm making mushroom stew.
TommyInnit: Be there in 10.

Ranboo wasn’t sure what he expected from Tommy, but thirty minutes later he sat alone at Phil’s kitchen table. There were two plates set out, but his guest had yet to show.

Ranboo: Tommy, where are you? You said you were gonna be here 20 minutes ago, food is getting cold.
TommyInnit: Sorry big man, almost there.

Moments later, Tommy all but broke down the front door.

“Ranboo! Mah Friend!” Ranboo smiled,

“Hey, Tommy.” The two sat at the table together and ate. Dinner was done fast, and then Tommy cleared his throat.

“Ranboo, serious talk time.”

“What’s up?”

“You’re looking for Techno and Dream, right?” Ranboo nodded in response, “Why?”

“They’re my friends.” A simple response. A true response. Tommy’s brow furrowed at Ranboo’s words.

“What about Tubbo? And Micheal? And me?”

“You’re my friends as well.” Ranboo said it as if it were the plainest fact in the world.

“You can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Dream hurt me, Techno killed Tubbo. They aren’t good people, Boo.” There it was again. Tommy was so insistent on hating Dream that he didn’t realize anyone else could have differing opinions.

“Do you know what the prison is like, Tommy? When you’re actually a prisoner?” Tommy didn’t respond, “Do you know what it’s like when every other night you fall asleep to someone screaming? What it’s like to be able to hear, but not see this person? Do you know what it’s like to bond with them? To want more than anything to be able to really see them? To make sure they’re okay?”

“You don’t know what it’s like in that cell. You have no idea what it’s like to be surrounded by Obsidian and lava on all sides, no way out, and nobody to help you when someone comes to hurt you. You had the privilege of a stone cell, a roommate, real food. You don’t get to talk about the prison, not when you were barely in it.” Tommy and Ranboo were both furious.

They stared at each other. Still seated at the table.

“If i’m a monster for considering Dream a friend, then what are you?” Tommy raised an eyebrow at Ranboo’s question,

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re friends with Wilbur, aren’t you? Quackity?”

“Wilbur’s my brother, and… What’s Big Q got to do with this?” Ranboo could have laughed. In fact, he did. Tommy had no idea what Quackity had been doing to Dream in that prison, “What’s so funny?”

“You have no idea what Quackity has done, do you?” Tommy didn’t answer. Ranboo pulled up his shirt, revealing a long scar. It was a jerky and jagged cut. Ranboo remembered it vividly, that was the wound that caused him to lose consciousness the second time around. “And that’s not the only one. Here, on my back,” Ranboo turned so Tommy could see the carving in his back. Quackity’s symbol, “My arms, legs, everywhere, Tommy. And who did it all? Quackity. I’m missing seven teeth. I can barely use my left hand, my tail is no longer existent! I have burn scars in so many places that you probably thought it was my regular skin! The man you consider a ‘friend’ is just as much a monster as Dream. None of us are good, Tommy. None of us.”

It took Ranboo a moment to realize that he was crying. Once that realization hit, all the anger left his body.

“None of us are good, Tommy, so why does it matter? If we spend so much time worrying about who’s good and who’s bad, we’ll never be able to enjoy life.”

“I’m sorry.” Was all Tommy said, then he stood, and quietly left the house.

--------------------

“I should have!”

“Dream, nobody deserves this.”

“I do.”

“No, you don’t. Prison itself is bad enough, but nobody, nobody, deserves to be repeatedly tortured. Not me, not you, nobody.”

There was a long gp of silence before Dream’s response,

“Can I hug you?” Ranboo nodded, and Dream collapsed into his lap, carefully wrapping his arms around Ranboo’s torso. It should have been uncomfortable. It should have hurt, but at that moment, Ranboo felt nothing but rage.

What happened to this man when he wasn’t there to protect him?

Quackity came back two days later, this time not only hurting Ranboo, but Dream as well. Ranboo never felt more helpless in his life.

On the days in between Quackity’s visits, the two would patch eachother up, then Ranboo would listen attentively while Dream told stories of his life before the server. He heard about other lands, places far, far away from the world he knew. People, great warriors, gods that Dream had encountered in his life.

Every time Dream spoke of his past, his blue eyes lit up with a sort of fondness Ranboo would never experience. It made him happy to know that Dream had been happy. It made him wish he could have met the demon earlier in his life.

After three weeks in the maximum security cell, Technoblade appeared to break them out.

-----------------

Ranboo: Dream, where are you?

He had sent dozens of messages just like it, hoping for but never expecting an answer. When his communicator dinged, Ranboo looked at it in surprise, before picking it up to read the message.

Dream: h=elp;

Chapter Text

Philza knew something was wrong when Techno’s name popped up in the death logs. Immediately he messaged his friend, and immediately, he received an answer.

Ph1LzA: Techno?
Technoblade: Im fine, we were just joking around

The joking around was believable. What wasn’t believable however, was that Techno was ‘joking around’ with George. And that Dream also happened to be ‘joking around’ at the same time.

It was suspicious. Incredibly so.

Ph1LzA: Are you sure?
Technoblade: I'm sure, Phil.

For now, he would stay in the shadows. He would watch George, see what he was doing. There was most definitely something wrong.

Philza watched George for three weeks, but the man barely moved. He was in his house, sleeping, for the majority of the time. When he did leave, he only ever went to a nearby village, where he traded with some villagers for food, then he returned home, and went back to sleep.

Could it have been a fluke?

No, no, there was definitely something wrong. Techno hadn’t answered a message since immediately after the death message. Nobody had seen him since. Philza had checked the prison, it was eerily empty. And what was even stranger, was that Dream was gone as well.

The two had completely vanished.

Philza spent days searching every corner of the server for the two. He found no sign of them. Nobody had seen or heard anything. Sam told him the prison was empty, even let him look at the security footage, they weren’t there.

Something was wrong, and Philza had a feeling that George was at the center of it all. He couldn’t prove it himself, he needed help.

He knew what he needed to do, where he needed to go. Ranboo had agreed to house sit, so Phil was free to go.

He made it three days into his journey before meeting any sort of resistance. He had decided to travel through the nether for a bit every day. It was faster, but it was riskier, in the nether anyone could find him.

He was in the nether when he saw Techno.

His friend’s body was on the ground, Phil approached slowly, scared of what he would find. He knelt next to the body, and reached out to flip the body onto its front. The mirage fizzled away, and Phil was left staring at nothing.

He heard footsteps behind him and quickly turned. Just in time to avoid a blow from George’s sword. Phil immediately pulled out his own to block the next hit. George was outmatched from the start, maybe, maybe, if George had caught Philza off guard, he would have been able to hit him once and take him out.

But with Philza fully engaged in the fight? George never stood a chance. The man flared his wings, and George realized at that moment why Philza was known as ‘The Angel of Death.’

Philza immediately went on the offensive, raining blow after blow down unto George. He was relentless, never giving George a chance to strike back. Eventually, George stumbled, and ended up on his back, slowly moving away from Phil. George stopped when he reached the edge of the plain. The top part of his body was leaning over lava with nothing to hold him on except his own two hands.

“If I die, he dies!” Philza’s scowl dissipated.

“What?”

“If i die, XD is on the order to immediately kill Technoblade however many times it takes for him to be dead.” George smiled when Philza stepped back

“Get up.” Philza held out a hand and helped George up from the ground, “As soon as Techno’s safe, you’re dead.” George just smiled, then responded with.

“Come with me, Phil.” At Philza’s hesitation, George continued, “Come with me or Techno never sees the light of day again.” Philza followed George.

The man led him through a part of the nether he had yet to explore, and then to a completely unfamiliar portal.

The portal led to the prison.

Philza knew what was coming.

“Don’t worry Phil, you won’t be in the main cell. That one’s already occupied by our good friend.” George chuckled, Philza was confused. He had checked, he had seen the feed from the cell, nobody was there. George saw Philza’s confusion, “It’s not hard to fake security footage, Philza.” Phil felt stupid, of course Sam would hid the real footage from him.

George put Phil in a waiting cell, then left him alone.

Phil could hear something, someone. It took him a few minutes of searching to find the vent below the bed in the cell. He pushed the bed to the side in order to hear more clearly.

“Phil… I'm sorry Phil, I'm so…” That was Techno.

“Techno!”

“Phil..”

“I’m here! Tech!”

“‘M sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, it’s okay, I'm here, we’ll get out together.”

Techno went silent, it wasn’t unusual for him to go quiet in the middle of a conversation, but in this situation, Philza thought it strange.

“I’ll get you out of here Tech, I promise.”

Three days into Philza’s imprisonment, George returned.

“Let’s go, Phil.”

“What?”

“Techno won’t break, so I figured why not kill his best friend in front of him.” Philza breathed in sharply.

“You’re a monster.”

“I don’t care.”

“I’m going to fight you every step of the way.”

“You fight, Techno dies instead. It’s you or him, your choice.”

“I need time.”

“You have an hour.” George left the room.

Philza let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. He immediately went to the vent.

“Techno, I'm going to die. I’m going to try and do it before George has the chance to bring me down there, but Tech, if he gets me down there… I want you to be the one to do it. I don’t want to give George the satisfaction of killing me. Promise me, Tech.”

Techno didn’t respond, and Philza simply had to trust in the fact that Techno could hear him.

“Please, Techno, don’t let him kill me.”

After that, Philza moved his bed back over the vent. He removed the sheets from the bed anc checked their strength. He searched the cell for something to hang the sheet from, and decided to use the lantern in the center of the ceiling.

He tossed up the sheet, looping it around the lantern. He took the two open ends of the sheet, and tied it into a noose. He pulled his bed over just enough so he could lean off the edge and fit his head through the loop.

Philza took one deep breath, and jumped.

He was not ready for the pain, instantly he struggled to breathe, the sheets made his skin burn, he found himself instinctually reaching for his throat, then he realized what he was doing, and dropped his hands to his sides.

His vision filled with dark spots, he wasn’t breathing anymore.

Everything went dark.

Then, there was a distant shout, and Philza fell to the ground, taking a deep intake of breath automatically. His hands were pulled behind him, cuffed at his back, then he was lifted off the ground.

“It was a good try, but I won't let you die. Not yet”

Philza was dragged through the prison, but when they reached the bridge to the main cell, Philza spoke up,

“Let me keep my dignity, George, let me walk.”

George looked at him for a moment, before releasing his wrists.

Then Philza walked, head held high, into the waiting arms of death.

Chapter Text

Dream: h=elp;

Ranboo shot off the couch, grabbing his coat and shoes and immediately taking off into the snow.

Ranboo: Coords?
Dream: 33, 204,

Ranboo saddled up Carl. Techno would be furious, but hopefully, he’d understand. Ranboo rode faster than he ever had in his life. He reached the coords in record time, and found Dream’s body curled up at the base of a tree. The demon had no shirt on, and was covered in wounds. There were cuts almost everywhere, and bruises or scars where there weren't. He hopped off the horse,

“Dream!” The body didn’t respond. Ranboo flipped Dream’s body onto it’s back so he was facing the sky. He put his fingers to Dream’s neck, feeling for a pulse. He breathed out a sigh of relief when a slow but steady beat hit his hands. He struggled to lift Dream’s body onto the horse, but once they were both stable, he took off.

He rode with just as much vigor, but instead of returning to Phil’s home, he made his way to Ponk’s base.

Holding Dream in his arms, he kicked the door repeatedly, screaming for Ponk to open up. By the time the man finally did, Ranboo was crying. It was the middle of the night, Ponk was in pajamas,

“Ponk, please, he needs help.” Ponk looked down at Dream, clearly hesitant because of who he was, “I’ll pay you whatever you want, I don't care what it is, but he’s going to die. For good. Please, I'll do anything.” Ponk nodded slowly, then they stepped back to let Ranboo and Dream in.

“On the table.” With one big swipe of their hand, Ponk removed everything from the kitchen table, Ranboo laid Dream's body down.

“Please…”

--------------------

The third time Quackity showed was the worst.

At that point, it had been three days since either prisoner had eaten, they were weak, and still barely healing from the last torture session.

The first thing Quackity did when he entered the cell was cuff Ranboo to the wall. The kid could barely move. He had to sit and watch as Quackity did unspeakable things to Dream. His friend. Quackity carved things into the demon’s skin, things that wouldn’t go away.

The loudest dream had ever screamed, however, was when Quackity took a knife to his head. For a moment, Ranboo thought Quackity had stabbed his skull, but then, he saw the strands of hair fall to the ground. He was confused, why was Dream so worried about a bit of hair?

Then he saw it. Two small horns peeking out from under the skin. It made sense, Dream was a full blooded demon, of course he would have horns. Quackity began hacking away at Dream’s horns, fully intending to cut them off, however, he had a dull knife, it would take hours for him to saw through them.

After the third hour, Dream stopped screaming. Ranboo wasn’t sure if it was because he had grown used to the pain or if he simply couldn’t scream anymore. To be honest, Ranboo would rather have Dream scream, than to hear him quietly sob as he begged for Quackity to stop. In the following hours, Dream offered everything he had, Ranboo offered more, but Quackity didn’t listen.

By the time he left, Dream was left hornless, and there was blood pouring from open wounds in his head. He fell to the floor, curling up into the corner. The worst part? Ranboo couldn’t do anything. Quackity never unchained him, he was stuck.

In that moment, Ranboo made a vow that next time? He’d be there.

--------------------

Ranboo sat on Ponk’s couch, his leg bounced as he fiddled with his fingers. He wanted to help, but he knew nothing about these types of wounds. The best thing he could do was sit and wait.

“Ranboo.” Ranboo immediately stood and turned to face Ponk. They were covered in blood, “He’ll live. Now get him out of here.” Ranboo smiled and nodded,

“Thank you.” Ranboo dropped a stack of diamonds into Ponk’s hands, then picked up Dream’s body off the table and returned to Carl outside. He hefted Dream onto the horse, then climbed on afterwards, and held them both in place. He rode back to Phil and Techno’s, much more at ease then he had been previously. When he reached the cabin, he brought Carl to the stable, then carried Dream’s body inside.

He was so focused on Dream that he didn’t notice the other person standing in the center of the kitchen.

“Ranboo.” Ranboo didn’t register the sound as he laid Dream on the couch, “Ranboo!”

He looked up.

“Oh, hey Tubbo, i’m kinda busy right now but if you wanna come back around dinner we-”

“Ranboo we need to talk.” Ranboo frowned,

“Can it wait?”

“It’s been waiting for ages.” Ranboo sighed and walked over to the kitchen.

“What?”

“We’re getting a divorce. I’m keeping Snowchester, and Micheal.” Tubbo said, face completely blank

“What?”

“We’re getting a divorce, i’m-”

“No! I heard you perfectly fine! What the hell? Why?”

“Ranboo, you haven’t been home in months.”

“I was in prison!”

“And who’s fault is that?”

“You think I did something? I was in there for Micheal!” Ranboo didn’t want to yell, but his voice was slowly raising,

“And when you got out? You didn’t think that maybe your husband would want to see you?”

“I did, I came home!”

“For a day.”

“My friends went missing, Tubbo. I couldn’t just stay home.”

“Your friends that torture and kill your other friends, right.” It was there that something in Ranboo snapped.

“I’ve had this conversation a thousand times, Tubbo. None of us are good. Remember when you tried to execute Techno without a trial? Remember when you exiled Tommy on Dream’s order? Remember when you abandoned Tommy and Wilbur to work for Schlatt of all people? You think those things make you a good person?”

“I never said I was a good person, Ranboo, but I'm not gonna go off and befriend the person who abused my best friend for months on end.”

“Tubbo, why was Tommy out there with Dream in the first place? Remind who sent him there? Remind me who didn’t visit him for months, left him alone out there?”

“I did. And I took full responsibility for it, at least I'm able to recognize when I'm in the wrong.”

“At least I'm able to recognize that you can befriend people with differing opinions than yours.”

“He’s a monster Ranboo!”

“So am i!” Tubbo went quiet, “So is Quackity, and Wilbur, and Tommy, Niki, Puffy, You, Bad, Sam, Techno, Phil, all of us are monsters!” There was a large gap of silence, “All of us are monsters to someone else. if that’s what you want to use to choose your friends, you’ll end up alone.”

“M’ Ran…” Both heads in the kitchen turned to the couch, Dream was waking up, “‘boo..”

“If you’ll excuse me, I'm going to check on my friend.” With that, Ranboo left Tubbo standing in the kitchen, and went to sit by Dream, “Hey, Dream, It’s me, it’s Ran.”

“Ran…” Dream’s eyes fluttered open, and when they made contact with Ranboo’s, the demon all but leaped from the couch and into Ranboo. He wrapped his arms around the enderman, “I’m so fucking happy to see you, you have no idea.”

Ranboo slowly returned the embrace. From a distance, Tubbo watched the two interact.

“I’m glad you’re alive, I wasn't sure you were gonna be when I found you.”

“Thank you, Ran, Thank you for coming.”

“I’ll never leave you again. I promise.” Dream hugged him again, then the two slowly got to their feet. Dream was leaning on Ranboo,

“Oh, hello, Tubbo.” Dream looked between Ranboo and Tubbo, he noticed the tension, “If you guys were in the middle of talking, i can go upstairs or something…” Neither answered him, “Okay then…. Uhm, Tubbo?” Tubbo looked at Dream, hatred in his eyes, but curiosity as well, this was the first time Tubbo was seeing Dream’s face, “I’m sorry. For everything. There’s no reason to forgive me, but from now on I'll be better, I promise I won't hurt you or Tommy ever again.” Tubbo turned on his heel and left.

“They’ll warm up to you eventually, Dream, they just gotta get to know you like i do.”

“I hope so, but if not, at least i’ll have you.”

“You’ll always have me.” Dream smiled.
-----------------------------------

Techno had lost count hundreds of dreams ago.

It was the same thing over and over again, Philza walks in, or gets dragged in, it changes, then, Phil gets pushed onto his knees in front of Techno. George begins to make a speech, but before he can, Techno ends the dream, then wakes up and the dream starts again.

The voices started up again.

Tehcno went through the routine- Wait for Phil to show, grip the obsidian shard hard, kill Philza quickly, wake up. It was a constant cycle, one that was getting faster and faster each time it happened.

George brough Philza into the cell once more. Techno gripped that sharp piece of obsidian, just waiting for Philza to get close enough. The man was forced to his knees in front of Techno.

Philza, as usual, had tears in his eyes, he was smiling sadly at Techno.

“Hey, old friend.” Techno had heard the words a thousand times over. It was no different than the last hundred or so times this happened. Techno pulled out the obsidian shard and quickly stabbed out and up, straight into Phil’s heart. Killing him instantly. His friend’s body fell into his lap.

No- not his friend’s body, because this wasn’t real, and Phil wasn’t dead.

Techno closed his eyes, waiting for the familiar sensation of waking up once more, but the sensation never came.

Philza’s wound was not particularly bloody, it was one stab, clean and precise, straight to his heart, and that made the sensation of his blood soaking through Techno’s clothing even more sickening.

Techno looked up at George, who was staring down smugly.

“I thought I'd have to do it myself. Do you wanna remove his wings for me too?” The man chuckled, as if this were some joke.

Techno closed his eyes once more, waiting to wake up.

“Come on George, just wake me up already!”

“Oh, darling, you are awake. This,” George gestured at Philza’s body, “Is very real, and you’re the one who did it.”

Techno went silent.

The voices filled his head, screaming, crying, begging to wake up. There were so many, and they were so, so loud. There was one, however, one voice that stood out above all the others. A soft, welcoming voice. There was no screaming from it, no yelling, just a simple, calling

'Come, Technoblade, rest. Let us handle rest.'

It was tempting, it was so so tempting. Techno had heard the voice before. Thousands of years prior, when the Antarctic Empire was at its peak, when it was Techno and Phil against the world. Phil had lost his second life, and Techno, stupid, young, naive Techno let the voices guide him. He gave them control, and sank into the confines of his own mind. He had followed that voice, and the others ended up brutally murdering thousands. Philza was the one to bring him out of that haze. When he was in control once more, all he could feel was guilt.

'Come, Technoblade, let us avenge him. It’s time for you to rest.'

Techno didn’t answer the voice, and instead, fought to stay in control. He cradled Philza’s body in his hands, not wanting to accept the fact that his friend was dead, gone, forever. And it was his fault. He was the one to put that Obsidian through Phil’s heart.

'Come rest, child, you deserve it.'

There was a hand reaching out, one that vaguely resembled that of Philza’s.

'We can handle it from here, Techno. Come rest.'

Techno took the hand.

Chapter Text

George removed the body first. He brought Phil’s corpse to the castle, now his castle. The body was dropped in the throne room. XD was already there, on his knees next to George’s throne, head down.

“Welcome home, darling.” George smiled at XD,

“Hello, would you like to help?” XD raised his head, his eyes widened when he saw Philza’s corpse laying on the ground, “I’m gonna remove his wings and hang them somewhere. I’m thinking right above the throne, that way everyone will see them. What do you think?”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea.”

“Glad you think so, come help?” XD stood and began walking towards George, “Grab my ax.” XD picked up George’s ax from its place leaning on the throne. He brought the weapon to George, “Thank you, hold him up while I cut them off.”

XD lifted the corpse from the ground and held it in his arms, the corpse’s back was facing George. George liften the ax, then brought it down on the corpse’s back, right where the wings met the spine. The skin broke. George swung again, and again, and again. Although Philza was already dead, blood dripped out of the wound slowly.

The wings dropped off of the corpse’s back and hit the ground with a light thud. A few feathers fell from them.

“XD,” XD looked up at George, “I want the body burned publicly, can you set that up?” XD nodded, “Good. Go.” XD nodded once more as he stood, then he carried the corpse from the throne room.
-----------------------------------
Ph1LzA was slain by Technoblade

All over the server, life stopped.

Tubbo stopped dead in his tracks, ignoring the wind whipping at his skin. Then, he turned and ran.

Tommy dropped his picaxe, barely flinching when it hit his foot. Then, he turned and ran.

Niki gasped with terror. Then, she turned and ran.

XD smiled sadly.

Ranboo’s breath hitched.

Dream turned to him in horror.

“Ran.” Ranboo couldn’t hear, not over the pounding in his ears. Or was that in his heart? He didn’t know, “Ranboo. Hey, boo.”

Ranboo was hyperventilating.

Philza wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near Technoblade, Philza was supposed to be somewhere far, far away. But he wasn’t.

And Techno.

Technoblade would never kill Philza, never. He would never do more than playfully wrestle him in the living room. But that was for fun, it was safe. They never actually hurt each other. Technoblade would never hurt Philza. Never.

Ranboo felt something sour in his mouth. He bit down.

A lemon. There was a lemon in his mouth.

His breathing slowed.

“Ranboo.” The lemon was removed from his mouth, “Are you with me?” Ranboo nodded, “Good. Can you talk?” Ranboo opened his mouth to speak but no words came out, he shook his head. “Okay, that’s okay. Hey, we’re going to be okay, there was obviously some sort of error, there is no way Technoblade would ever hurt Philza. You know that, I know that. It’s not possible, he’s okay.” Ranboo nodded along with Dream’s words.

Moments later, the door slammed open.

Tubbo walked in, caked in snow.

“Ranboo!” Dream and Ranboo both looked to Tubbo,

“He’s nonverbal right now, Tubbo.” Tubbo nodded. It had happened before, with Ranboo’s anxiety it was no surprise.

“Ran, nod or shake your head, are you okay?” Ranboo hesitated, “Physically, are you okay?” He nodded, “Good, good. Do you want to hold something?” Ranboo nodded, Tubbo approached and held out his hand, “You can squeeze as hard as you want.” Ranboo squeezed lightly.

Dream went to close the door, but something caught his eye.

“We have company on the way.” Tubbo looked over to him, “Niki… and, Tommy.” There was a pause, “I should probably go somewhere else.” Ranboo began violently shaking his head. “Boo, i don’t want to scare him, or make him mad or anything.”

“Please.” The word came out, quietly. Ranboo was shaking, “Please stay.”

“Ran…” Dream glanced back out the door, then back at Ranboo “They’re almost here, I'm just going to cause conflict.”

“Basement.” Ranboo said, “Go to the basement.” Dream nodded,

“Okay. Call me if you need anything.” Dream made his way over to the basement door, climbing down the ladder and sitting at the bottom.

Ranboo stayed, holding Tubbo’s hand in his own.

“Thank you, Tubbo, for coming back.” Tubbo stared at him,

“I’m still upset with you, I just…” He remembered the night Ranboo disappeared, “I had to make sure you weren’t, y’know.”

“I know. Thank you.” Tubbo nodded.

Tommy and Niki entered the house.

“Ranboo,” Niki breathed out in a sigh of relief.

“You alright big man?” Ranboo nodded,

“Physically, yes.” Niki nodded, and Tommy responded with,

“That’s good. I’m glad.”

“Thank you guys, all of you, for coming.” Niki began to say something, but was cut off, “Before any of you say anything, I need to make an announcement. Dream is here,” Tommy’s eyes widened, “He’s in the basement, he’ll stay down there for the entirety of your stay if you want him to, but I ask you to let him contribute to the conversation. He is on our side, I promise you,” Ranboo looked directly at Tommy, “He won’t hurt you. If he tries, well, it’s a four versus one.”

Tommy looked at Tubbo, Tubbo stared back at him. The two had some sort of silent conversation while the other two watched. Then, finally, Tommy responded.

“He can come up, but I have terms. He has no armor, no weapons, and I have to be closer than he is to the door at all times. If he makes one move in my direction, I'm out. Got it?”

“Got it.” Ranboo walked over to the basement door, “Dream! It’s all good for you to come up.”

Ranboo stood at the top of the ladder and waited for his friend.

“You sure?” He said, as he climbed onto the floor

“Do you have any weapons on you? Oh, and Tommy is going to be between you and the door at all times, okay?” Dream nodded, pulling a knife from his boot and handing it to Ranboo.

“Okay. That’s it.” Ranboo nodded and led Dream into the living room. Tommy held Dream’s gaze in cold fury. Dream smiled sheepishly. “Hi.” Tommy ignored him, instead turning to Ranboo.

“Obviously, Techno wouldn’t kill Philza unless he was tricked into it. I think this has something to do with all the other weird shit that's been happening lately”

“I agree,” Ranboo replied, “There’s definitely something up, the question is who’s behind it?”

The group was silent for a few moments, then,

“George. It’s George, and he has XD on his side.” All eyes turned to Dream.

“And why should we trust you?”

“Tommy-” Tommy’s head turned to Ranboo,

“No, don’t Tommy me. I asked a completely reasonable question. If you’re to blinded by whatever fucked up perception you have of him, you can leave. You forget everything he’s done to this server.” Ranboo shut up, surprised by Tommy’s response, “So? Dream?”

“I…” Dream glanced at Ranboo, a silent check to see if his friend was okay. Ranboo nodded at him, and Dream continued, “After I escaped prison, I ran. I had planned to stay gone, but Techno asked me for help on a mission, and I owed him a favor, so I came back. That was when it all began. George killed me, then killed Techno, the only reason he won either fight was because of XD’s help. I assume he got to Techno first, but eventually he found me again, and dragged me back to the prison. Not before beating me half to death and leaving me with a stab wound in my gut. He made a mistake, though. I died a few hours later, respawning back in my bed. A few-”

“I asked why we should trust you, not for your sob story.” Tommy glared at Dream

“Sorry,” Dream responded, “Short version; he kept me, tortured me, showed me everyting he was doing, i escaped early this morning. If you need further evidence, I'm happy to show you the still healing wound he gave me. Ranboo and Ponk can vouch for the terrible condition i was in after escaping him.” Tommy looked to Ranboo when Dream was finished.

“I found him this morning. He was barely alive. Ponk did some work on him, and I brought him back here. Tommy, he’s telling the truth, the wounds on him now are fresh, they aren't from when we were in the prison.”

Tommy just stared at the two of them for a bit, Ranboo looked to the floor, avoiding eye contact with the angry teen.

“So,” Niki said, her voice slightly calming the tension, “How do we take him down if he has someone as powerful as XD on his side?”

“We aren’t strong enough, not even all of us combined, not with the three most powerful people on this server subdued.” Tubbo said,

“I think if i can talk to him i can get him to at least stop helping George, if i say the right things, he may even join our side.” Dream said,

“What makes you so confident? You think so highly of yourself?” Tommy asked, skeptical of Dream, but the man was ever so patient with the angry teen,

“He’s the reason I was able to escape, XD and I have a pre-existing relationship. George may be his lover, but I'm his son.” With that statement, the room went silent. Dream’s biggest secret, the thing he had been protecting from everyone for years, out in the open.

Tommy looked away.
-----------------------
George returned to the prison after hanging Philza’s wings on the wall behind his throne. Techno was completely still, George wasn’t even sure he was breathing.

“Technoblade.” No response. George nudged the man with his foot, “Get up, we’re leaving.” No response.

He got to work regardless. He released Technoblade’s hands from their shackles, unhooked the collar around his neck from the wall and instead hooked it onto a chain held in his hand. During the entire process, Techno was still.

It wasn’t until George tugged on the chain, trying to get Techno to move, that the man did anything. He lunged at George like a feral animal, aiming his hands for the man’s throat. George was taken by surprise, and hit the ground hard. Techno was on top of him, his hands around George’s throat, squeezing hard. He was going to die.

He waited for his heart to stop, waited for Techno’s hands to release his dead body from his grip, then it hit him. The feeling of life returning to him, the feeling or air re-entering his lungs, his heart beating once more.

GeorgeNotFound has reached the achievement [Post Mortem]

George sat back up, and immediately sent Techno a kick in the stomach. The man was still weak from his time spent unmoving and unconscious. George took advantage of the other man’s weakness and cuffed his hands behind his back.

“Try that again and i’ll cut your fucking hands off.” George spat in Techno’s face. Techno just smiled at him. George tugged on the chain, and Techno walked behind George, shoulders high, a smile on his face. George led him out of the prison, along the prime path, and into the palace.

When Philza’s wings came into view, Techno froze. George tugged on the chain again, but Techno didn’t budge.

“Technoblade, Move.” Techno didn’t move an inch, “Move.” Techno looked at George making eye contact with the man.

George, unlike Technoblade, had known fear his entire life. He treasured his fear, nurtured it as it grew. His fear protected him, kept him diligent, kept him careful. The fear he knew was safe, it was nothing like the fear whispering in his ear when he met Technoblade’s gaze. This fear was different, it belittled George, it was harsh, rough. It was mean, it would tear at George’s skin and laugh as he bled. He knew fear, but he never before knew victory. When he had let his fear guide him, he was always second place, following in the shadow of someone else. The shadow was safe, but it was a dark, lonely place.

He did not know victory, but it was his turn to take first.

George didn’t cower. He shoved the whispering voice to the back of his mind, blocking it out with the newfound wave of confidence.

“Those make you angry?” He said, referencing the wings. Technoblade let out a low growl. “What was that, are you some kind of wild animal?” George laughed at his own stupid joke, which just seemed to anger Technoblade further. “You know what I think about wild animals? I think they need to be trained.” Then George was in motion, taking out Techno’s knees and forcing him to the ground. Techno stood quickly, but George gave him no chance to prepare himself before another hit came, this time, his gut. Techno flinched, barely, but he did. Another hit, then another, then another.

The hits rained down on Techno, blow after blow. George didn’t stop, not when Techno hit the ground, not when a tooth fell from his mouth, not when the man began to bleed. George wasn’t sure when he began to laugh, he lost himself in the rush of victory. Here he was, standing over the man known as the strongest on the server, the best fighter on every server. Not only his own. Techno was supposed to be the best, but George had beat him.

George was the best. Not Dream, Not Technoblade, Not Philza. Not any other person on this server. George.

George.

George.

“George!” George paused his beating when a hand landed on his shoulder, “You’re going to kill him.” XD stood behind him, “You won’t prove your point if he’s dead. Nobody will believe you if you’re dead.”

“XD, did you make an announcement about the burning of Philza’s body?”

“Yes.”

“Good job, thank you.” XD smiled.

“Of course, anything for you.”

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

George smiled.

Chapter Text

There was something brewing. There was tension in the air no matter your location. The announcement had been made. The Angel’s body was to be burned publicly in seventeen hours. The King would be attending. There were a select few who knew the King, knew who he was, what he was doing, but the rest of the citizens were left clueless. They hadn’t had a King in ages. Not since the previous had stepped down. The King was malicious, he took and took and took and never gave in return. The people were anxious. The people demanded answers. The King answered them with bodies. 

The people stopped asking. 

---------------------------------------------------

The announcement had been made server wide. Philza’s body was to be publicly burned in seventeen hours. The ‘King’ would be attending.

The team had seventeen hours to get rid of George and save the server. As of now, their only hope was the man that previously reigned terror. 

Dream. 

Their only hope was Dream. 

Yeah, Tommy wasn’t gonna let that happen. He didn't care if everyone else decided Dream was good, he didn’t care if it turned everyone against him, he didn’t trust Dream. Never would. Never again. 

----------------------

“Tommy.” 

“I’m sorry Dream, i’m- please i’m sorry it was an accident i swear it’ll never happen again i’m sorry please Dream please i’m so-” 

“Shut up, Tommy. Your whining is annoying.” Tommy shut his mouth. Not wanting to anger Dream further, “All i asked was for you to do a simple task! Is cleaning a few dishes really that hard for you?” Dream swung at Tommy, slapping him across the face, “Look, Toms, I don't enjoy hurting you, but you need to learn, okay? I’m sorry for hitting you.” Dream held out his arms, ignoring Tommy’s flinch as he did so, “Come here Toms, I'm sorry.” Tommy welcomed the hug. 

He pushed the fear to the back of his mind, accepting the warmth of an embrace as he cried into Dream’s chest. 

-----------------------------------

“Tommy?” Tommy looked up when his name was called. After the group had decided on their plan, people had begun to set off and do their own things. Dream was staring up at him. The man was seated, whereas Tommy was standing, “Can we talk?” 

“No.” 

“Okay, I'm sorry.” Tommy scoffed. 

“What is with you? Nothing you do is gonna make me believe you. I know you’re still the same under all...” Tommy gestured to Dream’s entirety, “This. Make it easier for the rest of us and just stop pretending. Go back to that prison, it’s where you belong.” Dream’s brow furrowed, then his face softened again. 

“I’m sorry for upsetting you Tommy. I’m going to leave now. Let me know if you’re ever willing to talk, there’s a lot of things I want to say.” Dream stood up and took the same path Ranboo had a few minutes earlier. 

Tommy had work to do. 

Ranboo was focused on enchanting his armor when Dream entered the room. 

“Ranboo.” 

“Yeah bud?” He finished his current enchantment, then turned to his friend, “What’s up?” 

“How do I get Tommy to listen to me? I don’t expect him to forgive me or anything, in fact I would be worried if he did, but I want him to know how sorry I am, and I want him to know that I won't hurt him ever again. I tried to tell him just now but he didn’t want to talk. I didn’t push it.” 

“He needs time Dream. You really hurt him.” 

“I know.” 

“This is something Tommy has to do, you have to let him come to you. I’m sorry, I wish there was another way to do it.” 

Dream left Ranboo to enchant in peace. 

-------------------------

Tommy was running away. Not physically, no he was only walking, but he was leaving everyone else behind. He was leaving Tubbo, leaving Niki. Leaving Ranboo. 

Running from Dream. 

It was hot in the desert of Las Nevadas. Tommy had been dressed for the winter of the arctic, the snow and wind surrounding the base of his family. He was sweating, but not bothered enough to remove clothing. 

He was thirsty. And hungry. But mostly thirsty. 

It was so hot. 

So bright. 

Tommy was tired. He needed to take a break. That would be fine, right? He just needed a few minutes, then he could keep going. It would be fine, He would be fine. 

Right? 

Tommy collapsed. His legs gave out, his vision blurred. He flipped himself onto his back with the little strength he had left. 

It was so bright. 

He blinked, closing his eyes and opening them a moment later. When he did, it was much more bearable than before. The light had been dimmed slightly, there was a nice breeze, he no longer felt hungry or thirsty. Tommy sat up, finding himself in the center of a small hill. He was surrounded by rolling hills covered in flowers. Or rather, covered in a flower. 

The hills were covered in alliums. 

He felt someone tap on his shoulder, he turned to see, 

“Phil!” Tommy tackled the man in a hug, the two rolled down the hill in each other's arms. “I knew you weren’t really dead, there’s no way! You’re Philza Minecraft” 

“Oh, Toms.” Philza separated from his son, “I’m sorry, I'm still dead.” 

“What? How am I seeing you? What’s going on, Phil?” 

“I’m not sure, Toms, I've been here since I died.” 

“Did Techno really kill you?” Philza nodded, 

“Yes. I asked him to. It was either a quick, painless death from Techno, or a slow, torturous death from George. Please don’t blame Techno, he did nothing wrong.” Tommy nodded, “Tommy, XD is the weak link in George’s plan. He’s your best hope.” Tommy scowled. 

“Of fucking course he is! Everything ends up in that… asshole’s favor!” Philza frowned, 

“What do you mean?” 

“Dream, he’s claiming he’s XD’s son, that he can get XD on our side.” Philza laughed, “The fuck? What’s so funny?” 

“Is that what you’re so mad about? Toms, your dad is the Angel of Death, your brothers are the Blood God and the Poet of Madness. Your mother is Death herself. If anyone here has a claim to divine heritage it’s you.”

“That’s not the point, my divine heritage is useless right now, this is our only hope.” 

“Tommy, your mom is Death. If you call for her, she’ll come. Death prevails over life, every time. Destruction over creation. Kristin over XD. If anyone has the power to win this war, it’s our family.” There was a faint calling, Philza looked into the distance. “You have to leave now, Tommy, or you’ll be stuck here forever.” 

“I don’t want to leave you.” 

“You have to.” Philza wrapped Tommy in another hug. 

                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Toms?” Tommy was back, back in the desert, melting in the brutal heat. Starving, thirsty, and tired. Someone was calling his name, “Tommy? Are you alright?” A hand on his shoulder. 

He opened his eyes. 

“Will?” 

“Hey, Toms.” Wilbur hugged his brother, Tommy ignored the faint smell of cigarettes, ignored the alcohol in Wilbur’s breath. In his haze, he could pretend that Wilbur was the same brother he had growing up. He hugged back, tightly. “Come on, let’s get you some water.” Wilbur lifted his brother out of the sand, and began to carry him. Tommy was too out of it to note where they were going, he focused on the comforting hold of his brother. It was familiar, it was safe. Nobody could hurt him, Wilbur wouldn’t let them. His brother would protect him. 

There was a blast of cold air as they entered a building. It was refreshing, but caused Tommy to shiver at the sudden temperature change. 

“Hey Will- Is that Tommy?” Another voice came, 

“Yeah, I found him passed out on my journey in. He’s dehydrated, hungry, and exhausted.” Within moments, there was a cup being pressed to his lips. He drank the water quickly, chugging it down desperately trying to quench his thirst. Once it was empty, it was quickly refilled, and he downed a second cup. The third he only sipped. At some point, Wilbur had set him in a chair. He smelled something being cooked, and as his mind began to clear, he realized where he was.  

Tommy had reached Las Nevadas. 

He smiled, and took another sip of water. Soon enough, food was placed in front of him, a steaming bowl of soup. It smelled delectable, and Tommy’s stomach rumbled at the sight. 

“Thanks Big Q” 

“Of course, Tommy.” Quackity smiled sadly, “Eat up, okay?” Tommy nodded and began eating. He took his time with the food, savoring the flavors bursting on his tongue. When he was done, Quackity whisked his empty dishes away, off to who knows where, and he was left sitting alone in the center of the casino. He didn’t know where Wilbur went. 

Soon enough, Quackity joined him at the table. For a while, the two sat in a comfortable silence, one sipping water, the other wine. It wasn’t until Tommy set down and empty cup that Quackity spoke up, 

“Are you okay Tommy?” Tommy pondered the question, before responding. 

“No.” Then the floodgates broke, and Tommy spilled everything. 

He told Quackity everything about exile, the explosions, the beatings, the manipulation, humiliation, dehumanization. Told him about the particularly bad punishments, when Dream would leave him knocking on death’s door, tied up, bones broken, starving, hungry. How Dream would leave him there to rot for days, coming back to a body, only to yank him out from death with his stupid fucking book. He told Quackity about what really went down in that prison, the real reason he was so vulnerable to Dream’s fists. He told Quackity about Tubbo leaving him, Ranboo siding with Dream, his brothers, Techno, freeing Dream from prison, Wilbur disappearing. He told Quackity about the nights he spent alone, curled up in a ball shaking and crying because of the flashbacks, unable to move on. He told Quackity about his failed attempt at therapy, how he was unable to be fixed. He told Quackity about Dream’s return, about his pity party, about everyone choosing Dream over him, about Dream’s attempt to manipulate him once more. 

When he was done, tears were spilling down his cheeks, his words were barely audible under guttural sobbing. He could barely breathe, but with Quackity’s hand on his back, rubbing slow circles, Quackity’s voice in his ear

“It’ll be okay, Tommy.” With Quackity’s patience, he was able to calm down. 

“Sorry Big Q, didn’t mean to go all soft on ya.” Tommy said between sniffles. Quackity just wrapped him in a hug. 

“You don’t need to apologize for anything. I’m sorry, Tommy, for not being there for you. I got so caught up in Las Nevadas and I didn't realize my friend was hurting. I’m sorry, I should have been there for you.” Tommy buried his head into Quackity’s chest holding the man tighter. Tommy was pretty sure that nobody had ever genuinely apologized to him before. Quackity didn’t even need to apologize in his eyes, but still, an apology felt good. The reassurance that someone, anyone, still cared about him was good. 

“I need help, Big Q.” 

“Anything. Name it, I'll make it happen.” 

“I just need a place to stay for a few days.” 

“Of course.” Tommy smiled. Now that he was somewhere safe, he would need to find a way to contact his mom. When Tommy went to bed that night, for the first time since before L’manburg, he felt safe. 

~~~~~~~

Tommy woke to multiple voices, yelling. 

He made his way to the entrance of the casino quickly. There, Quackity stood aiming a sword at Dream’s throat. Dream had his hands in the air, mask off. Wilbur stood to the side, trying to convince Quackity to drop the sword, Quackity was refusing. 

“Look man, we just wanna make sure Tommy is okay-” Dream sounded so… genuine. 

“You remember Prison Dream, yeah? What’s stopping me from killing you and throwing you back in there? One more step, one more step and you’re back in that cell.” Tommy remembered what Ranboo had shown him, the long, jagged scar, the brand on his back. He felt sick. 

“Quackity, hey, Come on.” Wilbur cut in, “He just disappeared from them all yesterday, they’re scared.” 

“And you!” Quackity turned to Wilbur, keeping the sword on Dream’s throat, “If you really cared about Tommy you wouldn’t be worshiping the ground that…” Quackity gestured at Dream “ This , walks on. He hurt Tommy a lot, and you betrayed Las Nevadas, brought the abuser to our doorstep when I promised Tommy he’d be safe here.”  

“Quackity.” Everyone went silent as Tommy made his presence known, “Thank you.” Quackity nodded at him, “Wilbur, Dream, i’m fine, you can relay the message to everyone else. There, satisfied?” Dream and Wilbur stared at him, then looked at eachother, having a silent conversation, then they turned back to Tommy, 

“Okay, I'm happy to see you’re okay.” Dream said, Tommy scowled. 

“Eat shit and die.” He said in response. Dream just sent Tommy a smile, then turned and left, Wilbur on his heels. Immediately, Quackity turned to Tommy, 

“I’m sorry Tommy, are you okay?” Quackity went to hug him, but Tommy pushed him away, 

“I’m fine.” He contemplated continuing, and Quackity stared at him, waiting for him to keep talking, “...What did you do in that prison?” 

“Gave Dream what he deserved.” Quackity responded, face hardening, “I’m not proud of the things i did in there, but they needed to be done.” Tommy looked down. Ranboo’s burn scars came to mind. 

“What…” The series of small lines in Ranboo’s back, neat, organized cuts, “Why Ranboo?” Despite everything, he couldn’t help but wonder. Quackity’s smile turned to a thin line, lips pressed together as he contemplated what to say next, 

“Sam put him into the maximum security cell after an escape attempt. He had become incredibly close with Dream. I caught them planning an escape together. Ranboo was going to help break Dream out. I needed to do something to stop him.” It was a good lie, Tommy would have believed it if he hadn’t seen the scars on Ranboo with his own two eyes. He wanted to believe it, wanted to believe that there were still good people out there, that Ranboo was wrong, and Dream was the worst, and he wanted to keep the idea in his head, the idea that he was the hero, and Dream was the villain. 

Tommy expected anger. He expected to want to hit Quackity, yell at him. He expected disappointment, another friend, lying to him, becoming a monster, hurting others and lying to him about it. He expected fury at Quackity for trying to justify the things he did to Ranboo. 

He didn’t feel any of that. There was no fiery anger, no icy rage. No words to scream or fists to swing. 

He was left with shallow disappointment. 

“I expected better from you, Quackity.” 

Then he left the casino, leaving Las Nevadas behind. 

~~~~~~~~~

Tommy could see everything from the top of his tower. Over the trees, L’mangburg stood, even from here, he could see the people of the city making their way around, heading to work for the day, dropping kids off at daycare. In the opposite direction, snow was falling, he saw smoke rising from Techno’s cabin. Directly below him, the destroyed campsite stood. 

Dream had gotten angry, incredibly so, Tommy wasn’t even sure what he had done wrong. Maybe Dream was mad before he had shown up, maybe he had only come to let off some steam. Tommy said something wrong, apparently, and Dream ended up deciding that blowing his entire home to bits was a good punishment. 

Now he sat atop a cobblestone tower. 

He could jump. 

He could jump, and he’d have peace for a while at least until Dream found his body. 

He could jump, and hope and pray that Dream let him stay dead this time. 

He could jump. 

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Tommy broke the cobblestone slowly, making his way back towards the safety of flat ground. 

He should have jumped. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tommy had been wandering aimlessly, not having a destination in mind, but carefully avoiding the prison, Las Nevadas, and the arctic. Eventually, he found himself in a familiar area. He made his way through a gap in the cobblestone, pushing vines aside to find the long abandoned entrance. 

Pogtopia was dark, but Tommy lit himself a torch. The place was still covered in buttons, a tribute to Wilbur’s former insanity. Tommy still remembered the day his brother died. He remembered the horror he felt as his family fell apart. His father murdered his dearest brother, and the other brother let loose his full arsenal on the country that Tommy had put his blood sweat and tears in to building. 

He had lost everything that day. He lost his family, he lost his country, he lost the life he had grown to appreciate. He was no longer TommyInnit, vice president of L’manburg. He was no longer Wilbur’s brother, not longer Philza’s son. He was just Tommy. 

He ran his hand along the buttons on the walls, remembering when the halls of this place were filled with warmth, laughter. He remembered when he and Wilbur had first invited Techno to join their revolution. The farm Techno had made was surely dead now, the plants would be shriveled up and rotting. The water would be long gone, and the dirt would be dry. 

He pushed open the door that led to the farm, surprised to find water running up and down in rows, and freshly planted potatoes filling the moist dirt. 

Someone was still using it, and they had been here recently. 

He heard footsteps behind him, then he turned. 

“Fundy?” 

“Tommy?” 

They stared at each other for a moment. Both seemed to be in shock, unable to comprehend why the other would be here. 

“Hey,” Fundy finally broke the silence, 

“Hi…” Tommy responded, there was another gap of silence, then, “You've been living down here?” Fundy nodded slowly, 

“Had nowhere else to go. Phil was too focused on his big secret project. Eret disappeared, everyone else kinda… hates me. Figured there's already a bed here, a farm, and nobody would expect someone to be living here, so nobody would bother me.” Tommy nodded along, “What are you here for?” 

“Reminiscing, I suppose. I needed some… alone time.” 

“Oh.” Another large gap of silence. “Are you going to Phil’s funeral?” Oh, right, that was today. “It’s in four hours, I haven't decided if I'm going to go or not.” Four hours. 

“Fuck.” Fundy’s eyebrows rose in question, Tommy saw his confusion, “I need to get into contact with my mom, soon.” 

“Need any help?” Tommy smiled, 

“Most definitely.” Fundy smiled back at him

The two set off to work. 

        ~~~~~~~~~`

When Wilbur and Dream returned bringing the news that Tommy would not be aiding them in battle, the group in the arctic had to alter their plan slightly. Nobody missed the look Dream and Ranboo shared when Wilbur mentioned Tommy had been staying with Quackity.

Ranboo was nervous, incredibly so. Then again, when was he not? This was a different type of nervousness, though. He wasn’t scared about fighting George, he wasn’t scared that Dream would be unable to talk XD into helping them, he wasn’t scared that he would go into the fight and not come out of it. 

He was nervous to see Phil’s body. He was nervous to see what had happened to Techno in that prison, nervous to face the reality that his family was gone. He was nervous for afterwards. If they won, everyone would be happy, but still, Phil would be dead, Techno would be… somewhere, and Tubbo would still be leaving him, Dream would still be the most hated man on the server. 

He’d be lonely, he realized, and that was what he feared more than anything. 

“Boo?” Ranboo looked up from the map in his hands, Tubbo was standing in the doorway

“Hey, Tubbo, what’s up?” He took a step into the room. 

“I wanted to apologize for everything.” 

“Oh, you don’t have to-” 

“No, let me say this Ranboo. I’m sorry, for not trying harder to break you out, I'm sorry for blaming you for leaving when you had no other choice, I'm sorry for getting angry about your new… friend. I’m sorry for saying I was going to leave you. I’m sorry for being so stubborn, for refusing to believe that a person could change. I’m still not totally okay with the whole thing between you and Dream, but I need you to know that if this all goes sideways, you are still my husband, and I will always love you. If we succeed, and we make it out of here alive, I don't want to take Michael and run. I want you to come back to us, move back into Snow Chester, I want us to be a family again. And if you don’t want that, we’ll figure something else out. I won’t leave you, and you won’t leave me. Okay?” Ranboo just nodded, still comprehending everything that Tubbo had said. After waiting a few moments, he responded. 

“Tubbo, you shouldn’t be the one apologizing here. I’m sorry for leaving without a word, I'm sorry for being stubborn and refusing to see your side of the story. I’m sorry for not being around, for constantly disappearing. I would want nothing more than to go back to Snow Chester. I love you.” They stared at each other for a moment longer, before Tubbo all but tackled Ranboo into a hug.

The two left the room together, making their way back to the living room, where the rest of the group was gathered. Niki, Wilbur, Tubbo, Ranboo, Dream. An unlikely team, considering everyone’s relationship with each other, but they had work to do, so they put their conflicts to the side, and Tubbo laid down a map. 

“The burning is taking place here, it’s a safe assumption that George will be seated above it, probably where the podium used to be. If he is, a sneak attack will be hard, his back will be covered, but if we cause a distraction big enough to remove him from this space, we can attack.” When Tubbo finished speaking, Niki continued, 

“I have some extra TNT, for a distraction.” 

“Perfect,” Tubbo responded, “I think our leading fighters should be me and Wilbur. We’ve worked together before, and are both entirely unattached to George.” He glanced at Dream, “While me and Wilbur are fighting George, Dream, you go find XD, Ranboo you go with him, make sure nothing goes wrong, and if it does,” Tubbo slipped a firework into Ranboo’s hand, “Let us know.” Ranboo nodded. 

Each person in the group shared a look with each other. 

This was endgame. 

Win or die. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

George was not a patient man. As every second ticked by, he found himself more and more eager to just do it now rather than waiting. He wanted to see the faces of everyone on the server as the Angel of Death’s body was burned. 

He wanted to see the look in everyone’s eyes as they realized that there was no stopping him, not anymore. He was especially excited for a certain someone to show. He had been hoping to see Tommy, with all the commotion on the server, he’d expected the kid to have tried something by now. 

He wanted to see the defeated look in Tommy’s eyes when he realized there was no hope left for him. He wanted to see the boy crumble to pieces and fall into nothingness. He wanted to laugh when Tommy cried for his dead father, he wanted to relish in the tears spilled over a man that never truly loved him. Tommy had always been Philza’s second choice, and yet Tommy had an undying loyalty to the man. George would never understand it. He never understood why people were so loyal to anyone other than themselves. Because they were friends? All friends did for him was stab him in the back. Was it because they shared blood? A stupid reason to trust someone, George’s blood family left him to die. Why let something as stupid and silly as family hold you back. 

He would never understand. 

George sat on his throne, it was built for someone much taller than him, but he made it work. On one side, Technoblade kneeled, silent, but visibly shaking with anger. On the other side, XD stood, hands crossed, and head down. Behind him, Philza’s wings were on display. Each was a show of power, if anyone would dare seek him out, they would be met with the power of a god. 

There was a loud creak, and the door to his throne room was pushed open. 

“George?” He recognized that voice. 

“Fundy, strange seeing you here.” The fox entered the room sheepishly, as if he were terrified. The poor thing was practically shaking in his boots. “What brings you to the castle?” 

“Is it true that um…” Fundy paused, and looked to the side, George passed it off as fear, “you’re king now? Sorry, that’s a stupid question obviously you are, i mean look at where you’re sitting and i- I guess i just wanted to see it for myself.” 

“See what, Fundy?” Fundy glanced away again, George stood off his throne, and approached Fundy on foot, “Please, enlighten me.” 

“See this, Asshole” George turned to the new voice in time to see Tommy swinging a netherite picaxe down on Technoblade’s chains. He looked to XD, but the god seemed preoccupied with something, 

“XD!” XD looked at him, then vanished moments later. Technoblade picked himself off the ground. 

George was fucked. 

Tommy looked at Fundy, the two nodded at each other, smiling. George was sickened by it. He pulled out his sword, and readied himself for a fight. He expected technoblade to come at him first, but the man stood frozen in place. Instead, Tommy and Fundy attacked in sync. 

XD may not have been present, but the gifts he had given George were. Increased endurance, strength, and swiftness, all useful during battle. However, Tommy and Fundy were both seasoned veterans, despite how young they were each had already fought in multiple wars. Wars that George had ignored, wars that he had left alone. They were more skilled in battle than he was, he knew that. With his gifts, he could only hope to hold out long enough to escape. 

He was losing. He was going to die. Tommy and Fundy worked in perfect order, like a machine. They didn’t let George get even a moment’s break, they were raining blows down on him like there was no tomorrow. He was tiring out. Even with enhanced endurance, he was no match for two soldiers. They were going to kill him. 

He was going to die. 

The reality hit him like a bag of bricks. He had seen death before, but could never fathom it happening to himself. His totem was gone, used when Techno choked the air out of his body. He was going to die, lose a life, no longer would he be the only man on the server with all of his lives. 

It was fine, though. They had no idea where his base was, if he died now, he’d simply respawn, return, and regain everything that he had lost here. 

He was going to die, but he was going to come back ten times stronger because of it. 

He smiled. 

TommyInnit has slain GeorgeNotFound 

    ~~~~~~~~

XD heard her calling. 

His other half. She was calling to him. 

It started small, a few whispers here and there throughout the day, but when the strange fox boy entered the throne room, whispers turned to screams. Dead souls began to follow him wherever he went, they would strike up a conversation, telling him that Kristin missed him, wanted to talk to him. Whispers turned to talking, and talking turned to yelling at him to return to the celestial realm. Telling him that his sister was calling, that he needed to return. He had been out of his realm for far too long. He knew he was going to be called back soon, but he had been hoping it could have been after the burning. 

Oh well, his time had run out. 

There was nothing he could do to stop it. If Death was calling his name, he sure as hell was going to answer. Not even he would dare to upset Death herself. She welcomed him warmly, simply stating that she needed to chat with him. 

“It’s been too long, brother.” 

“Too long indeed. How are you, Kristin?” The Lady smiled, 

“I’ve been good, good, yes, minus the fact that My husband has recently come to me, much before his time, and without my wedding gift. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?” Kristin was smiling, to anyone else, it would have seemed like an innocent, genuine question. To XD, it was condemning. 

“Philza?” 

“Of course, he wasn’t called ‘The Angel of Death” for no reason. And yet when my angel came to me in death, he was without his wings. Do you know how much it hurts to remove an angel’s wings?” 

“He was already dead.” An admittance of guilt. Kristin’s smile dropped. 

“So you admit it, you aided a mortal in killing my husband.” He could do nothing but nod. “I admire you for telling the truth, and I have a few more questions. Just a few hours ago, my son called out to me. He said that your mortal was, in the words of Tommy, ‘A tyrannical asshat with a god complex.’ Now, you know how much I hate tyrants, and you know that we are not supposed to be so directly involved with the mortal world. I know your job requires so much less work than mine, but still, you’d think that with all your free time you would perhaps build a relationship with your son, rather then aid an idiotic mortal in murdering my husband. Makes sense, right?” 

“Yes.” 

“Glad we're on the same page. Now, normally I would just replace you, however I find it difficult to kill you. You see, I want to watch you suffer. You’re gonna go back to your foolish little mortal, and he’s most likely going to beat the shit out of you for letting him die. After that, you go and you apologize to your fucking son. He deserves a better father than you, but the least you could do is help him from here on out. If you do all that, I'll think about letting you keep your position.” XD gulped. “You choose how to act now, XD.” 

He was fucked either way. If he chose George, Kristin would wipe him out of existence. If he chose his son, George would hate him forever, but he’d keep his family and his godhood. 

He could die with his lover, or he could live with himself knowing George would hate him forever. 

XD had a choice to make. 

He already knew what he was going to choose before he returned to George. The love of his life, he would do anything for George, he had said it time and time again that he was willing to die for the man. Now, that was a very real possibility, and when XD made a promise, he stuck to it. 

He would choose love. 

Love, and die. 

Chapter Text

hey guys

in light of recent events regarding technoblade, i dont feel comfortable finishing this story with how i had planned for it. because of the place technos arc was going to end here, it feels wrong for me to write. i will be discontinuing this story. sorry.

i have another work in the process of being written, but again ill be taking time to greive, and i hope you are all as well. its a sad day for all of us, and i want you guys to know im here if you need someone to talk to. my discord is “chunky water slide#4324” youre welcome to message me there if you need someone to talk to.

love you guys
bye for now
-kaz (the author)