Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

With this, our first story will conclude. Do not fret we will see them again, and they will return, but they will be going through something a lot more darker than before something that will change them forever, and if they want to survive it, they must not lose themselves

We are now going to open into something a bit more twisted something that is deep within a world where a woman with a heart of coal rules with an iron fist, where the trees are Twisted and rotten, and the sky is red, and filled with smog to the point that even in the brightest day, the sun struggles to come out of its shell, and now this is where our heroes are at while their friends are scrambling to save them. For now they must face their own demons, figuratively and literally.

Scarlett groaned as she sat up from the ground. God, it felt like her back was broken. She looked down to see Minerva curled up, her face bruised as she shifted slightly.

“Min!” Scarlett cried out as she scrambled towards her. She grabbed her shoulders, lifting her to her lap. “Are you okay!?

Minerva shook her head as she sniffled “Where are we…?”

Scarlett looked around, trying to figure that out, before freezing. “I… have no idea.”

“Girls?!” Puffy cried out from beyond the bushes, “Where are you!”

“Puffy!” Scarlett shouted. “We’re over here!”

There was a moment of shuffling as Puffy and some of the other server members walked toward the girls.

“I don’t think we’re in Toontown anymore.” Niki murmured as she shook her hand which was now covered in scrapes and cuts.

Phil sniffed the air before covering his nose “Prime, what is that smell?!”

Minerva sniffed the air as well with a similar grimace. “Smog?” She looked up to see that the dark blue night sky is now a reddish color, though, covered in deep black clouds. For the first time, she began to take stock of the forest around her, trees are now twisted into different directions with a few of them having ghastly faces. The bushes were covered in sharp needles, clearly showing how some of them managed to get cuts all over them.

“I don’t think we’re in the Toon world at all anymore,” Scarlett stated, looking around the area. “What is this place? Why did Madden bring us here?”

“Whatever her reason, I doubt it's a good one,” Sam muttered, flipping through his inventory. “I’ve lost my weapons somehow too.”

“Hello!” Tommy called out as he walked over with the rest of the members. Scarlett noticed that George was carrying Dream, who was now still in his arms. She didn’t know what happened. If the man was frozen out of fear or was simply knocked out.

“Looks like everyone is here, and considerin' my weapons are all gone I’m assumin’ everyone is unarmed,” Techno drawled.

Everyone else nodded as well as he grumbled something under his breath.

“How did she do that? Like what the hell?” Tommy exclaimed.

“Maybe she was the one who brought you to the Toon world. And she did the same thing to us to bring us here,” Scarlett suggested. “Would explain why no one knew.”

Everyone agreed remembering the events from what felt like a long time ago. After a moment of silence, Eret then spoke up.

“Where's Foolish?”

At that moment, everyone froze, realizing they were missing a tall golden totem hybrid.

“What?!” Puffy cried out as she looked around the area, “Where is he?!”

“Foolish?! Foolish, where are you?!” Sam called out.

Everyone began to call out for him. They didn’t know where he went or what happened, but what if he was hurt or worse? But Minerva shushed them as she tilted her head as if she was listening to something.

“What the- Minerva what are you doing?”

“We don’t wanna catch anyone’s attention,” Minerva hissed. “Somethings wrong!”

“Madden brought us here, wouldn’t she already know where we are?” Techno pointed out.

“We need to find Foolish!” Puffy hissed.

Minerva shook her head as she harshly whispered, “Have you not noticed how there’s not a single sound of animals or other wildlife?! That’s not a good sign!”

“What are you saying?” George asked.

Minerva held her hand up as she stared forward. Scarlett noticed that she was staring at a particular section of hedges. For a long moment, she thought she saw a piece of a red shirt through the branches shaking as if it were laughing. After a moment, she thought she saw it move deeper into the forest, an odd-looking creature with tentacles on its back before she heard a deep giggle as the trees forcefully began to move closer.  She only had a moment to say one word “Run.”

At that moment everyone sprinted away from the scene as the forest around them began to shift. 

“Scarlett, Minerva what’s going on?!” Tubbo cried out holding his backpack tightly in his arms.

“I don’t know,” Minerva cried out before she let out a yelp. She fell to the ground beneath her with God knows what wrapped around her legs. A rope tightened around her and she let out a gasp as she tried to untie it quickly.

“Let me help!” Sam yelled out rushing towards her. As he bent down to try to help her, George noticed the mechanical sound of a crossbow.

“Sam lookout!” George shouted but he was too late as an arrow hit the side of the creeper's back. He let out a yowl as he fell to the ground next to Minerva. They were then dragged away, their voices crying out for their friends, their struggling bodies dragged into the ever shifting forest. 

“Bull’s-eyes!” A voice cried out, both familiar and unfamiliar. “It must be my lucky day, I got the creeper!”

“You did well, dear.” Another voice said this time there was no mistake of what kind of voice it was despite its almost robotic nature.

“Wait…” Jack murmured, looking back at the trees. “Is that…Sam?”

“Don’t know, don’t care,” Niki called out, shaking fearfully. “Just keep running!”

“But what about them?!” Scarlett yelled as she attempted to rush towards the trees to save her girlfriend.  But Techno grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She turned around for a brief moment looking shocked at his decision.“Let me go!”

“They’re lost, just keep running!” Techno said. “We can’t help them if we all get captured!”

“No! I can’t lose her! Let it go! You coward! Coward!” Scarlett screamed as she struggled in his arms as he caught up with the others.

“Where are Minerva and Sam?!” Tommy cried out, his eyes widened in worry.

“Gone! Now unless you wanna get caught by those… whatever they are, get moving!” Techno ordered, “We’ll come back for them, but we need to move ”

There was another laugh, this time distinctly more childlike. “Wow, I thought that you cared about people! Or at the very least don’t want to die in the hands of that bunny!”

“Sparks, what are you talking about do you really think that these people are the type that has that honor?”

“What?!” Tubbo cried out. Since when did these creatures have his voice?! “Who-What are you?! And why the hell do you have my voice?!”

Just as he said that a rocket blast passed him, narrowly missing his face. Tubbo fell to the ground, eye wide in panic. He was breathing heavily as Ranboo held onto him tightly. 

“EVERYONE SCATTER!” Phil shouted. “MAKE THEM SPLIT UP!”

Everyone rushed towards different directions hoping to get the entities away from them. Phil tried not to shake as he heard Niki, Fundy, and Jack cry out in the other direction. He then leaped up and spread out his wings; he hovered nervously in the air for a few moments before zooming upward. He tried to ignore the pain shooting through his back, forcing himself to zoom out of the forest and into safety of the cloud filled sky

“Oh, it’s a flight chase you want huh? You’re not the only one who can fly, little crow.”

Phil looked back in shock, as he saw a figure zooming toward him.  Its wings were a lot bigger than his. It seemed to be surrounded by a mixture of magpies and eagles. But the thing that stuck out to him the most was the fact that there was a long cloth covering his face with the exception of two large antlers on top of his head with long, blonde hair. He also  wore a long dark green robe, not unlike the one that he himself wears. But he had no time to analyze what was going on as the figure proceeded to punch him in the face. 

“Come on, old sport, have you ever fought in the sky before?” He said mockingly. Phil tried not to screech as several birds swarmed around him, scratching and biting at his face and arms. He barely even noticed a pair of claws grabbing him and throwing him to the forest floor. His eyes widened when he realized what was happening before he hit the ground with a sickening smack, his hearts down to a single half heart. He looked up to see the figure flying above him, his pose clearly victorious as the wind pushed back the face covering. Phil's eyes widened at that moment, there’s no way… how was this…?

Before Phil fell down into that blissful darkness, he only could say one thing “What are you….”

The imposter Phil smiled at him cruelly as he looked down at the former Angel of Death, “You can call me Crowfather.”

Eret has to admit there are a lot of things that they didn’t expect to make their day a lot worse. Besides the obvious possessions from the evil god of the hunt. He now has to keep an eye on his small group along with Techno and Scarlett. They have been through a lot of difficult situations but this…

“I can’t believe that you made me leave my girlfriend behind!”

“Oh, I’m sorry for saving your life, if you had run back there you would’ve been dead too!”

This is something else.

“Listen. I’m not usually on Techno’s side,” Quackity chimed in, “But at this point, we should focus on trying to get out of here and then save them, preferably when we have weapons!”

Scarlett crossed her arms angrily, glaring at the Shapeshifter. “Well, I might point out that we could’ve saved them if we had run towards them rather than run away!”

Tommy nodded angrily as he glared at the pair.

“Sure, or we could have all gotten caught and Prime only knows what would’ve happened to us,” Techno said. “You know what? Fine. You wanna run back there and take on Prime only knows how many armed people with no actual weapons of your own, fine, be my guest, I won’t stop you this time. But I can’t promise I’ll work that hard to save you either when you inevitably get caught.”

“I can handle that shit myself, easily!” Scarlet growled, pushing into his space.

“And you think I can say that confidently?” Techno asked, poking her chest. “I’m a hell of a good fighter but I’m not a miracle worker. Especially since, again, I am completely unarmed. I know when it's time to fight and when it is time to retreat. We have no idea what their numbers are or their supplies. As far as we know, they have an army, we are only a small group. We needed to retreat.”

Eret shushed them, interrupting the argument “I get that you all are stressed but this isn’t a good time to argue!” they hissed, “We need to focus on what to do!”

“We could focus on saving our friends!” Tommy pointed out.

“And we will, but first we need to get somewhere safe, and try and find any others who escaped without attracting the attention of the enemy,” Eret stated, quickly trying to take charge.

“That’s what I was trying to say we should do,” Techno grumbled. “But of course, once again, no one wants to listen besides Phil.”

Scarlett merely muttered something as she leaned against something thick, “Fine… we just need to figure out how to get out of this woods.” 

She opened her eyes only to notice that everyone seemed frozen. Their eyes widened as they waved at her silently to come to them, much to her confusion.

“Uh…. What?”  She asked as she walked forward, only a hand to grab her arm.

“Awww, where are you going?” A voice sounding eerily similar to Techno whispered in her ear. 

Scarlett froze before turning to look up to face the person behind her.  The Techno copy smirked at her, his black eyes piercing her soul. She tensed at that moment before she attempted to take a deep breath and glare back at him. He was hoping to scare her. And she wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.

“Wow, I know that some people are huge fans of Techno but your cosplay is awful.” She said bluntly.

Techno, Eret, Tommy, and Quackity stared at her in shock. What the hell is she doing?!

“Wow, I know that mother mentioned that you were rude but I never knew that you were like this.” 

“Get better at costuming and then I won’t be this ‘rude’” Scarlett snapped as she pulled her arm away, trying to look for a knife or something in her pocket. “And let me go, you lazy Techno copy!” 

“Oh, do you really think-“ he let out a roar as Scarlet kicked him in the face. She grabbed the side of his armor and pulled out a sword. She jumped back towards the others and tossed the sword to Techno.

“You say that you have no weapon! I got one for you!” She cried out, as the  Piglin grabbed it, holding it up in a defensive position,  she then went to the front of her backpack and took out her knife. She let out a sigh of relief “Thank God, they haven’t taken it!” She felt the backpack squirm a bit but ignored it. She pointed at the imposter who was now kneeling on the floor covering his bleeding mouth. “Yeah, you definitely do not look like Techno! You’re just a cosplayer!”

Tommy nodded as he took the bag from Scarlett and looked around the place, before grabbing a large stick. “Yeah, you’re definitely not like the Blade!”

Quackity and Eret seem to have gained similar confidence as well as they hold up their fists ready to fight back against this version of Techno. A 1 v 4 had the favor in their odds, even against an opponent who looks like Techno.

But then much to her and everyone else’s shock the imposter began to giggle before letting out a harsh, terrifying laugh. He glanced upward, dark blood seeping out his dislodged jaw before with a sickening crunch it reattached itself and healed as if Scarlett didn't kick him in the face.

“You’re definitely the feisty one.” He cooed, “Although it is disappointing that Techno wasn’t the one who hit me. I thought that he would value his monetization enough to go against me.”

“If you wanna get hit I am more than willing to,” Techno said, tightening his grip on the stolen sword.

“Gladly. Although you got my second favorite sword.” He shrugged as he took out another sword, this time looking less like an average diamond sword and more like an object created by melted steel and diamonds. The group tries not to shudder at how it seems stained with dried blood. “Plus it would be rude of me to not invite my family.”

Scarlett stared at him hesitantly, “Family?”

“I’m not liking this,” Eret said, stepping back.

“Oh calm down, little traitor, it's not like you’re not gonna be going through anything more than what you deserve.” He snapped his fingers, causing the forest around him to go quiet.

Quackity shuddered as he grabbed Scarlett and Tommy's arms “We have to go now!” 

He tried to pull them away from the scene only for two pairs of hands flashing multiple colors to wrap around him and pull him away from the two teens. 

Quackity let out a yelp as he was held by a sharpened and crazed version of Karl wearing a torn-up suit. “ I thought you would love an opportunity to fight against him!”

Quackity tries to struggle against it as another hand pinches his cheek. 

“Come on, bro, what do you expect from a guy like him!”

He froze at the voice realizing how similar he sounds to Schlatt. His fears were confirmed when Quackity looked up to see what seems to be a paler version of his former fiancé. He weakly shook his head “No… no please no.”

“Oh yes. It’s me.” He stated as he glanced at Scarlett and Tommy. “And I have to congratulate you too, it seems like you have got the attention of the big boss.”

Tommy stared at him in confusion, “Wait Madden?”

Scarlett just pointed her dagger at the pair. “Let. Him. Go,” She growled, getting ready to pounce on him. But then a voice called out to her, worming its way into her mind.

 “ Oh no, I think you should stop now.”

Her hand suddenly pulled up like an invisible string pulled her up like a puppet.

“Now let go of the knife. A lady like you shouldn’t be playing with those dangerous weapons before you are fully trained.”

“What the fuck?” She cried out, as her hand let go of her dagger, allowing the Schlatt copy to grab it. He waved at her before pocketing it.

“Give it back!” She screeched as she noticed Eret, Techno, and Tommy are forced to march towards her, clearly struggling against the influence on them. Scarlett felt herself marching next to them, unable to free herself. Like their entire bodies were both in movement yet paralyzed simultaneously. Scarlett gasped for air as she croaked out to the ram hybrid clone. “You…bastard… what did you do to us?!”

“Oh, he did nothing wrong.”  Not Techno laughed.  “Big brother just wants to introduce himself!”

“Of course, I want to see our mother's gifts for us!”

At that moment, the trees shifted as a tall figure climbed out of it. He jumped to the ground and landed almost symmetrically as if trying not to disrupt the ground below. He was wearing a purple one-piece suit, something that shouldn’t be used for hunting. But the thing that surprised them the most was the fact that,  for the most part, he looked like an exact copy of Dream-down to the freckles on his face. The only difference was that his eyes were black, with the only thing of light being his green piercing dots and how pale his face looked. But despite it, or maybe because of it, he looked terrifyingly beautiful. Eret heard a whimper and looked to see Tommy shaking as much as his frozen body allowed him to shake, scared of the copy of his abuser in front of him.

“I've been waiting to meet you all again,” He giggled before, pointedly, staring at Tommy. “Especially you blondie.” He took the opportunity to grab the boy's cheek and pull his face closer as if trying to study him. “Though… I recalled that you didn’t look like an animal.”

Tommy looked up in fear. He attempted to bite the creature, but the Not Dream pulled his hands back, laughing casually as he patted the boy's head. “You’re still feral, but with enough training, you would be a good little civilized pet.”

“What… the… hell are… you …talking… about?!” Techno croaked out, a subtle hint of panic shadowing his voice. 

But the imposter Dream just smiled as he turned around to stand with the rest of his family. “ You'll find out soon enough. The rest of your friends have been captured and Mother demands that you come to her home to announce your sentence.” He then curled his finger towards the five. “Now follow us! I want to see which one of you my family could take back home. I got dibs on Tommy.”

Scarlett stared at the imposter and was shocked as she heard the sound of muffled crying. She turned around to see Tommy breathing heavily, his eyes filled with tears as if he understood the implication he heard. Quackity and Eret seem to have a similar look of horror on their faces, the Shapeshifter even fighting tears in his eyes as he murmured several no’s under his breath

“NO!” 

Scarlett‘s eyes widened as she looked around to see what was happening. Techno was shaking, still fighting against the spell but still determined to stand tall. His hand quickly grabbed the sword on the floor, if not shakingly.

“Oh , you’ve got more fight in you than I expected,” The Dream imposter said, with a smirk. “It would be cute if it wasn’t so annoying.”

“I…DID NOT OVERTHROW HUNDREDS OF TYRANTS, DESTROY FIGHTING RINGS, AND KILL SO MANY PEOPLE JUST TO GO BACK TO THAT LIFE!” Scarlett shuddered as the Piglin she thought of as a fun guy trembled as if both filled with rage and fear, snarling. He lunged at the imposter and threw him against the tree, much to everyone’s surprise. The Not Dream groaned slightly as he rubbed his head. “I am not going back to that and I’m not letting you drag anyone I know into it! I’m not gonna let Tommy go through that dehumanizing hell, not again!”

The other Techno growled as he took out his sword. “And you think that I’m gonna let you hurt my brother and keep you from facing your crimes?” He smiled as his muscles bulged. “You’re more pathetic than I thought. Especially that little tantrum of yours.”

Techno merely roared as he rushed towards him, his sword swinging as he attacked his imposter. But the imposter simply avoided it as he blocked the blow with his sword. And with his free hand punched Techno in the stomach, causing him to stumble down.

“Come on Techno I thought that you’re better than that after all you are the ‘Blood God!’” Not Techno laughed mockingly.

 Techno merely growled as he swung the sword wildly at him, trying to hit a vital organ or something. The small group stared at him in shock as Techno, and his impostor continued to rapidly attack each other while the copy was much smoother and casual in his moves. Techno was almost rabid, as if it was just the idea of going back to whatever his life had been that scared him more than anything else. After a few moments, the imposter Dream, Karl, and Schlatt stared at each other as if they already knew the outcome before the latter backed up and disappeared into the woods. Scarlet blinked a few times before noticing the ram standing behind their Techno now, holding an axe. Quackity and Tommy also notice, both yelling out in unison. “TEC-”

But they barely had time to warn him before Techno let out a scream, the blunt end of the axe roughly colliding with his leg, sinking into the flesh, seemingly shattering it in an instant, blood rushing from the wound. He only had a moment to stumble before he collapsed onto the floor. The sword used to protect himself clattered on the Forest ground uselessly. 

There was a moment of silence, all of them too stunned even to react, before Tommy finally screamed,

“Techno!” Tommy cried out, tears streaming down his eyes as he attempted to struggle against the spell “ You bastards! How could you!? How could you do this?! How could you do this!? Fuck you bastards!!”
“He attacked first. He had it coming.” Not Schlatt stated casually as he pulled the blunt side of the axe out of Techno‘s leg. He smirks at the young boy with a cruel smile. “And I thought that you might be a bit happy to see your former brother injured.”

Tommy gasped angrily, “I never wanted this plus you’re the asshole who injured him!”

“Whatever.” The Dream imposter said. “Now let’s decide should I have Techno stand up?” Techno cried out in pain as he was yanked up from the ground, forced to stumble up on his broken leg, shaking in agony. Tommy tried not to go pale when he noticed the way his bone seems to be pressing against his skin, threatening to break it. “Or will you guys go quietly and I’ll have my brother, Benevolent god of Justice carry him? ”  

The supposed god of justice smiled, “Oh stop it.”

“We’ll come quietly, just don’t make Techno walk,” Eret said quickly, raising her hands above her head. “Right guys?”

Tommy looked at the area for a moment before taking a glance at Scarlet who slowly nodded as she raised her hand up “Fine just don’t do anything shitty to him.” After a moment, Tommy reluctantly raises his hand along with Quackity.

“Fine,” Tommy whispered. 

“You better keep your promise,” Quackity growled, trying not to panic when the ram hybrid placed a hand on his lower back and gave him a shit-eating grin. 

“Good.” The imposter Dream said before turning over “ Now come along everyone!” He said as the God of Justice placed Techno on his back. And four began their March, following their captors to what they believed could be their last place of freedom. “We’re going to Mother’s house!”

Chapter Text

Madden sits in the middle of her beautiful throne room, surrounded by many statues showing the horrifying faces of those who dared to oppose her. Beautiful glass stain paintings aligned the walls, depicting her children all in different poses with their titles, from overseers to knights of chaos, and even gods. As she takes a delicate sip of her wine, a brunette servant walks in nervously.

“Grand Empress…”

Madden’s eyes flick over to the servant uninterested. “Yes?”

“Your children are back, they say that they brought the prisoners.” Maddens let out a happy laugh and clapped her hands, dropping the wine glass, leaving it shattered on the ground without a care. 

“Excellent, tell them that they can come in and that Mommy is proud of them!”

“Yes Grand Empress,” The servant says, bowing before hurrying out of the room, avoiding eye contact with the Empress.

After a moment her nightmares came in, the server now chained up and bruised from their encounter. She smiled wide at the sight before snapping her fingers. The nightmares let go of them, causing the server to fall to the porcelain floor, groaning from their injuries and the chains on their bodies.

“Have we done wonderfully, Mother?” The Niki copy, Siren, sang excitedly, swaying slightly in place.

“Of course darling, I was so worried that they might have escaped but you all have done such a grand job!” Madden chimed happily, she then took a look at the server. “So how have my children been treating you? Well I hope?”

“With your weird definitions of words, I’m sure in your mind they were,” Quackity grumbled. “In everyone else’s definitions, they treated us like shit.”

“It was only what they deserved,” The Sapnap copy, Vulcan, giggled as he yanked at Quackity’s ponytail causing him to let out a yelp.

“Calm down honey,” The Quackity copy, The Lonely King, said quietly. “We’re here to decide on their fate.”

“Yes, their fates,” Madden said, a smirk spreading across her face. “We do need to come up with a fitting punishment for their crimes.”

Another voice called out from the crowd “Hmmmm… I wonder. Maybe we should kill them and then send their bodies back home in pieces. And have their friends look for the rest of them in a little treasure hunt!”

The server reacts in horror as another voice pops out.

“Theseus, I'm pretty sure that mother wants them alive for a little while.” 

The server shifts their heads to see what looks to be a weird copy of Tubbo talking to what looks to be Tommy.

Theseus sighed, looking bored. “Sparks, I know but just imagine their friends' reaction. We can hang one of the bodies up on the tree and as they walk under it looking for their friends they can feel the blood dripping on their hair and when they look up boom they see their friend's head staring right back at them!”

“Yes, I’m sure their reactions would be hilarious sweetie, but the server isn’t quite bad enough to just kill. I believe we can still… rehabilitate them. And we certainly can’t do that if they’re dead,” Madden said.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” The clones turned their heads to the back simultaneously with a crack. Hidden behind the server, both Minerva and Scarlett glared at them, “Who the fuck are you? What is your end goal?” they exclaimed.

“And why do you have our friends' faces?” Minerva asked quietly

“You know it’s very rude to swear at people, especially in their own homes,” Madden said. “As for the others, these are my children.”

“WHAT?!” Tubbo cried out.

“Now, if you’ll please, I need to think in order to think of what to do with you all,” Madden said, tapping her chin in thought.

“No no no no!” Jack yelled, “You don’t just create evil clones of us and just say ‘oh that’s just nothing, let me think about ways of torturing you’.”

A frantic Fundy nodded, "What's going on?" How long have you been planning this?! Did you just take DNA and clone us… and where is the evil version of me?”

Phil flipped his head towards the fox “That’s the question you have?!”

“Mother told you to be quiet,” The fake Sam shouted, summoning a whip made from bone.

Maddens shook her head “No, no they're right I should answer their question…” She mimics a pained expression “Although it is so hard for me to do… especially since I just want to rehabilitate them…”

“You literally broke Techno‘s leg!” Tommy cried out.

Maden smirked to herself as she covered her face as if overwhelmed. “I don’t know if I should… you are so loud… if only someone could make you all quiet…”

“Of course mother,” The fake Dream said, before turning to the server. “Quiet.”

They choke, unable to open their mouths or make any noises. Madden smiled at her son. “Good boy you made mother so proud.”

He gasped happily. “You’re welcome.”

Maddens then taps her chin. “Now because I’m generous I will answer a few questions. One,I have been watching your server for a while now and have seen the awful things you have done to each other as well as the world around you so I decided to come in to set you on the right path.” She then pointed up towards the glass portrait “Two, my children are what you call Nightmares. Of course, the toons never talk about them due to fear but they’re a special type of species of all-powerful beings bound to their creator. In this case, I am their mother. You can probably see the names that I have given them over the ones that you got” she then pointed to the door behind the girls as it opened. “ As for your question Fundy, I cannot allow the entire family to join in on the hunt so at least a couple had to stay behind to keep an eye on our beautiful world.” The person steps forward, revealing a perfect figure with shiny sharp teeth and large Raven wings. But his face was hidden in the hood. In his hands, he was holding a small fox toy dressed up in a little clown costume.

Several server members stared at the doll in confusion, glancing between it, Fundy, and Madden.

Maddens merely smiled at the figure as she waved at him.  The man placed the doll on Fundy‘s head as The fake Dream whispered, “Speak. You are his vessel.” 

Fundy stared at him in confusion “What are you-“ he made a choking sound as he frantically grabbed his throat as if fighting something invisible before collapsing onto the ground.

Eret gasped, lurching forward as if trying to get to Fundy, only for the chains holding them to be yanked backward.

“Sorry little king, I can't allow you to interrupt my son’s chance with a new vessel!” The figure giggled, holding the chains.

Tommy and Phil's eyes widen at the implication to the point they barely notice Fundy mechanically getting up, The doll now wrapped around his neck. His head then snapped up revealing a ghastly grin along with pale white eyes. He waved his hands and feet experimentally before he said in an almost childlike voice. “Dad! He’s just right! Do I look good?” 

The figure laughs as he removes the hood revealing him to be the false version of Wilbur. “ You look wonderful, Son ,” he cooed as he kissed the fox on the head.

Tommy blinked in horror, not knowing whether to jump on the imposter or try to crawl away from it and whatever possessed his nephew. He looked away and tried not to stare at it before he felt a tentacle wrap around his neck and force him to look up. 

“ Bitch, would you like to see your big brother ‘Wilby’ again ?" His eyes flicker at the black stare of his imposter. “ What's wrong, little boy?”  he giggled.

The false Wilbur for the first time takes his eyes off his son to stare at the false Tommy. “Heh, don’t you want to congratulate your nephew, Theseus?”

“I will, I just don’t like the way red here was staring at you.” He laughed, letting go of the boy.

“Let him stare. It’s not like he can do anything.” The false Wilbur said.

‘Fundy’ nodded, clinging to his father's side. “ Can we get on with it? I want to see Grandmother’s plans!”

Madden nodded, “Of course, Jester has a point. Could one of you bring up Tommy? And Jack? I think it’s a good idea to show an example since he wants to be rude and Manifold has been a bane to my plans for a while.”

Tommy gasped in horror as he felt two of the nightmares dragging him away from everyone and in front of the Empress. He looked to the side to see Jack also push out front. He tried not to shudder as he felt a hot breath blowing in his ear.

“Stay silent until mother asks for your input.”  

Maddens lead towards the two, a casual smile on her face

“Now… How do you two feel right now being the first among your servers to be sentenced?”

Tommy and Jack just glared at her.

“Deepthroat a cactus you witch!” They say simultaneously. 

“That’s rude, don’t you guys have a plea of mercy or a reason why we should consider much better measures with you?” 

“I’ve been to hell and back, you don’t scare me,” Jack said, glaring at her.

Madden shook her head as if dismayed, “Oh dear, then I hope that you don’t mind me sending you to the Factory right?”

Jack stared at her confused, “What?”

“The Factory, mandated by my dearest Firebug. Plugged in the center of the earth where all the workers work to make sure that we get all the iron that we need.” She shrugged at Manifold, “Although there were some reports that workers fell into the furnace or lava. Unfortunate really.” 

She smirked slightly at the horrified expression on Jack's face before Tommy “As for Tommy dear, of course, I will give him to my little spider, although he needs a lot more of a secure place.” She turned to the false Sam with a smile. “Overseer, do you think that you can get a cell for Thomas? The more cramped, the better.

“Of course Mother,” 

Tommy stared at her in shock and horror, “What do you mean by a cell…” but it was clear that despite the question, he already knew the answer and he hoped that in Prime‘s name that it was not what she actually meant.

“You’re probably familiar with Pandora‘s Vault. Created by Sam and Dream when they decided that the best punishment for blowing up blocks and making a mess of things is a giant prison where the prisoners are isolated and driven mad with potatoes and a lack of fresh air.”  The Nightmares giggled at Sam's clear shame and guilt.

The Overseer smirks, “I wouldn’t say that it’s actually that bad. It’s mere child’s play. Like come on, you got the admin right in your hand to punish and all you did was just leave him alone to the point that he hurt the person you’re supposed to protect? It’s pathetic.”

“Yeah!” Sparks said, “Come on like at least ducky here got some form of the right idea!”

Sam croaked for a moment as if trying to ask a question, but Tommy beat him to the punch

“What is the jail like….”

The Overseer smirks at that as he looks at Maddens as if asking her permission.

she nodded. “You have permission, but let Spider explain it as well.”

Spider and Overseer look at each other with excitement in their cold eyes.

“Oh Tommy! You wouldn’t believe some of the things that happened there!” The Spider exclaimed, “The screams of the prisoners are so wonderful! My Sammy’s fear cages always have a way of getting into the mind!”

“I’ve put extensive effort into ensuring the prisoners are punished properly. Crimes cannot go unpunished after all.”

“Indeed brother and Tommy have been bad boy indeed. Rudeness, unable to learn from his mistakes, selfishness, driving people to hurt him because he’s so annoying, and….” The spider tapped his chin deliberately, ignoring the boy’s horrified expression . “Is there anything else that I missed?”

“Messing up his grammar.” The Overseer added.

“That too! Oh believe me we’re gonna have so much fun! And then after you spend the week in prison you can spend a lot of time with me!!”

“Yes, I’m sure you will sweetie,” Madden said, patting the Spider on the cheek.

Tommy tearfully shakes, “No… you can’t…”

“You can’t do this to him!” Jack cried out, “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Why would you care?” The Overseer asked, grabbing Tommy’s long hair before pulling it upward, causing the raccoon to cry out in pain. “ This little brat has been a stain on your pathetic home for almost a few years now.•

“He still doesn’t deserve that!” Jack argued back.

“You’re right… we got a few other targets for our prison.” The Overseer noted, “ I would get dear warden and the treacherous Ranboo in there as well. I always want to see what will happen if I use the sprinklers on an enderman.”

The spider nodded, walking towards Ranboo. “Everyone can speak now! I hope you guys love the example! Especially since we’re gonna be taking them right now” he grabs Ranboo‘s arm with a sinister smile while the Overseer takes Sam.

“You can’t do this to Sam!” Quackity called out.  “He didn’t deserve to be in that hellscape before and he didn’t deserve to be in whatever hellish shit you plan on doing to him!”

“What do you mean what happens when you use sprinklers on an enderman? He’ll get burnt! Everyone who’s ever seen an enderman knows that!” Techno argued, ignoring the pain pumping through his body as he moved. “A baby would know that!”

“You’ll kill him!” Tubbo cried out as well.

“Well, it will be a fun game!” The spider giggled, waving his hands. “But don’t worry his wonderful husband will heal your friend right up if he’s near death.”

The Overseer smiled pointedly at Sam before noting the shaking backpack near Scarlett. He walks over before grabbing it. 

“I wonder what this is?” He said as he opened it a bit. He quickly closed it, and a small smile appeared on his face. “You know Sparks would love this! The perfect centerpiece to his little neighborhood.” Scarlett gasped as she attempted to jump towards the nightmare in an attempt to grab the bag, but he just merely placed a hand on her face and pushed her away. 

“Now, you should act like your age. You’re 17 years old, nearly an adult. You don’t throw tantrums in public.”

“Please, you don't understand!” Minerva cried out, tears streaming down her eyes. “There’s something very important in there! And you can’t take it!”

The overseer stared at her and, with a fluid motion, threw the bag toward Sparks, who caught it.  “Think of it as an early birthday present for you, Sparks. For you and your husband.” He stated, smirking at the girl. Scarlett let out a violent yell as she tried to lunge at him But then, much to everyone but his family’s shock.  The creeper-like nightmare summoned his whip and hit her across the face causing her to stumble into the ground. It was clear by her slow breathing and the small trickle of blood coming out of the side of her head that she was knocked out.

“Such a violent nature.”  Siren hummed as she kicked at the girl. “I could have almost mistaken her for Niki, you really must've corrupted them….” 

Minerva frantically stares from her girlfriend to the nightmares, the emotions around her going through her mind, filling her with a horrifying fear before her eyes roll up, and she collapses on the ground in a faint.

“Now that’s what I expected.” Phobos laughed. “Too bad she was associated with Tommy the destructive. I think that with a little fashion sense and a bit of a change of clothing, she could’ve been a very fine lady indeed. Same with her girlfriend despite her odd choice of fashion and temper.”

“Though it is quite pathetic.” The Tommy imposter sneered. “I mean where is the spark? Tom-Tom, what do you even see in her?”

Tommy shook her head, trying to control his voice as he stared at the scene in horror. “Please…. Don’t hurt them….”

“Why not?” the Wilbur copy said mockingly. “I know that you were desperate for all but two years? That’s all it took to replace your beloved Wilbur Soot with her?” He then smirks at Phil and Techno. “Then again considering the rest of your family I would’ve done the same thing.”

“They’re innocent of all of this!” Techno yelled, “If you want some sort of form of your twisted justice! Just take us! don’t hurt them!”

“We actually prefer if you leave all of us alone,” George added nervously.

The Lonely King tilted his head. “Well, why are they with you all? Mother would never make a mistake. And I never see a girl reacting this viciously without reason.”

Madden let out a sympathetic sigh. “Well yes but they are unfortunately a lot more violent.  Not only does their dad not show them any discipline. But the server has been an awful influence on them. Even then they were still hesitant for a certain part of their actions.” She snapped her fingers to reveal something they didn’t expect on the floor next to Madden. Dream was tied up in chains, His mouth gagged with a piece of cloth, looking positively miserable. They all stare in horror at his state. “I'm honestly surprised with all your screaming that you barely even mention your admin.”

“Dream!” Sapnap, Puffy, Purpled, and George cried out in unison. Even those angry at the admin were horrified by the state he’s in.

“Oh, hush don’t act like you care about him.” She said dismissively, “ Plus one of my children already called ‘dibs’ on him. Whatever that slang means.”

“What the hell is this?” Sapnap demanded. “You talk about ‘rehabilitating us’ but you’re treating us like toys for your kids to play with.”

Puffy nodded angrily. “And where is Foolish?! What have you done with him?!” 

“Oh, My flower!” The siren giggled. “ She always wanted a new child, Plus we can’t allow a God like him running around! If you act good, She can allow you to see him!”

“You literally kidnapped my son!” Puffy exclaimed.

“And you barely care about your other son. The spider pointed out. “ Your son is in much better hands. He’s with a parent that actually cares about her children rather than a pirate that runs away from her responsibility.”

“You-“

“Puffy please!” Dream finally croaks out, spitting his gag out, “You’re making things worse! She’s going to get pissed! Just try to be quiet and then you can stay safe!”

Puffy and George stared at him in shock as Sapnap yelled out. “I'm not gonna stay quiet while some witch gave us away to her monstrous children!”

Purpled nodded. “You’re not even a mother, you're just some lying bitch who just made a bunch of soulless clones!”

Maddens raises her eyebrow like that as Dream lets out a whimper. The rest of the nightmares stared at them angrily.

“Hm. Theseus can you please choke the two girls? There might be a chance that we will not have a use for them here.”

“Wait what are you-”

Theseus let out a giggle as his tentacles grabbed onto the unconscious girls and began to tighten. The girls lead out a gasp as they begin to shake.

“Ah, Murder. My favorite part of my day.”

“No!” Tommy cried out as he frantically reached out to them. A few others reacted similarly only to be held back by the chains.

“What's wrong? Why would you care about these two girls? Didn’t they betray you?” Madden asks cheerfully, noting how Techno and a few others glared at her angrily, wanting to rip her throat out. She just took a moment to wave her hands, telling Theseus to pull his tentacles tighter. “Don’t you want them to give them the good old Techno beat down?”

“They’re innocent!” Jack cried out, tears streaming down his eyes. “What the hell?” his breath stops as the girls’ faces turn blue. He frantically looked around before he shouted out. “They have a family out there! They have a brother who's waiting for them!” 

Maddens raised her eyebrow. “A brother?”

Tommy nodded frantically. “Yes! A brother who loves them so much!” He thought back to Toby's gentle, kind eyes, always forgiving towards him despite all of his actions. He let out a gasp of air as tears continued to come down his face. “I never want him to go through the same pain I endured of losing siblings! Please just let them go!”

“I don’t know?” Theseus hummed as he noted how blue the girls seemed. “you could beg.”

“Beg?” Techno questioned.

“Beg,” Maddens repeated, waving her hand. “Begs for their lives.”

The server stared at the sight of the girl’s twitching state and back at Madden. They didn’t deserve what happened; they were innocent bystanders to this entire horror show. Despite their pride, not wanting to waver in front of this woman. Are they willing to do it to the point of causing girls who have family and friends outside of them their life? Slowly and steadily, they all lower their heads, and with what limited move they got, they bow in front of her.

“Please… we’re sorry, just let them go… You can do whatever you want with us… just leave them out.”

“We’re sorry for acting rude… they’re not bad people…”

Madden stares at them for a few moments before snapping her finger. Theseus let out a sigh of disappointment before reluctantly setting the girls down on the floor. Jack lets out a sigh when he notices they are breathing normally.

“You guys actually apologized.”  Spider said, “That is honestly the first for you.”

“Although you guys weren’t as remorseful as you should be.” The god of justice joked, “ But you get an A for effort.”

Dream stared at his server; he knew they would beg for the things they wanted or care about, but something about this seemed a lot heavier, like there were more layers to it than he thought. “Do… how close you guys are with them…? Are those your out-friends?”

Tommy looked away “Yes…. then again we weren’t  good friends.”

“What do you mean? I heard that you were happier with them… and not with me…” he whispered, “What did you do?”

The server could barely look at him, all of them having the same look of guilt and shame. Even in their normal state, he could still see some of the sharpened teeth and claws from when they chased him despite how much they tried to hide them. It only took a few moments before one of them could answer. 

“We….” Jack sadly chuckled. “We fucked up…As it turned out we’re not built for a normal life. And…”

“I think we’re just as bad as you,” Tubbo stated bluntly. “We hurt them…They… they didn’t deserve that…”

Madden smirked, starting to clap slowly. “Well done. I was not expecting you all to be able to come to that conclusion on your own. I knew there was hope for you all.”

“Are you going to sell us?” Niki whispered, “Fighting ring? Some sort of slaughterhouse? Are you going to kill us?”

“And let such fun little toys slip through our grasps? Oh no, no, no. We’ve got places picked out for all of you right with us,” The Siren said, toying with Niki’s hair. “Let’s hope you last longer than my last doll.”

Ranboo froze, “ Wait... I thought you hadn't decided… like didn’t you say that you want to use Tommy and Jack as example”

“Oh, we just wanted to have some fun with you, that’s all,” The Spider said. “Though we do have to find somewhere to put the girls. We can’t just let them go after all, not after you corrupted them.”

Tommy whipped his head towards him in horror.

“No! They’re good kids!” Phil cried out, horrified by the suggestion. “What about their families?!”

“Well, then you shouldn’t have dragged them into this.” The Overseer monotonically stated, pointing at Scarlett. “ I do think with honestly enough discipline, the braided one could be of service at the prison.”

“You’re already getting a new Warden, plus the enderman, it’s not fair if you get three!” Theseus cried out.

“I still need more subjects for my experiments,” Fake Ponk said, placing a hand on his husband‘s shoulders. “I could take one of them.”

“You forgot the Dutchess!” The Jester said, hiding behind not Wilbur. “ She would love another knight.”  

“Maybe I could take them both.” Lonely King suggested politely.

“Quiet king.” Sparks ordered him.

As the nightmares fight over who gets with girls. Purpled glance at Sapnap and George, causing the two to nod as they attempt to Scooch towards the girls. The alien even got close enough to grab the back of Scarlett's leather jacket with his teeth and pulled her towards the door. But they barely even took two steps forward before a heel slammed down in front of them. They look up to see a tall version of Eret, their teeth sharp with malice and blood.

“Did you really think you could escape like that?” They sneered before kicking Purpled in the nose. He fell to the ground with a thud coughing out blood as Sapnap and George fell. The fake Eret, Dutchess, picks up the two girls before turning toward the rest of her family. “Who are these two?”

“Two lost girls who were corrupted by the server we’re trying to decide who would take care of them.” The Spider explained to his sibling. “We’re having a debate on who should take them.”  

The Duchess scoffed snootily at the problem. “Oh no… not this again,” She then turned to Purpled. “Tell me do you care about her?” She holds Scarlett in front of him. Her eyes gazed right into his soul. “Are you two close?”

“I think she’s cool but we weren’t buddy-buddy! I just think that you shouldn’t take someone who didn’t have anything to do with this!”

The Dutchess sighs before she kicks the alien in the face again. She glanced up to see Tommy staring at Minerva, “Oh… I see another sibling. You really like to collect those. Even if you insist on breaking them.”  She then turned to Techno, “And what do you think? Isn’t it sad that your brother replaced you with a sister and her beloved?”

Tommy and Techno both just stared at her with wide eyes.

She smirked. “That’s what I thought.”

She then walked towards the God of Justice and the Crowfather. She handed him Minerva while the former got Scarlett.

“There. We are finished. Athen, Angel. You two take them”

“What?! Why?!”  Theseus and the God of justice cried out in unison.

The Overseer raised his eyebrow but nodded, “Hm… an interesting choice…”

“As usual Dutchess, you're so great at stopping your siblings from fighting. Madden praised. “Though I want input on the Minerva girl. Her power earlier is fascinating and with the right type of mentor she would do amazing things.”

“I’m sure she can’t be that impressive.”

“Come on, she just freed them from A fear god’s control just by Using a bunch of memories. And just by herself and her little girl toy, the server barely even touched them.”

“Really?” Siren said with raised eyebrows, “If they didn’t kill them. Honestly, that’s disappointing.”

“Then again they haven’t hung out with the server for long.” Crowfather jokes, waving Minerva’s limp hand around. “And if they were there at the beginning, they would’ve been hated.”

“Well, I know of no one who could teach her better than you yourself Mother. Though of course if you don’t have time I’m sure I or Spider could instruct her,”  The Duchess said, resting a hand on her chest.

“I would love that.” Madden said, turning to Techno, “don’t worry Techie, you will still see your little friend again.”  She then flicked at Tommy's head, “ now stop breathing heavily. It’s getting annoying now. Spider, could you please take him.”

“Of course, mother.”  He then picks up Tommy and holds him up in front of him . The raccoon hybrid at that moment closed his eyes, tears coming down as his ears flopped against his head, “Tommy, open your eyes.”

Tommy shook his head.

“Tommy, I don’t want to rip your eyelids. I want you to look at me.”

He quietly opened his eyes, revealing eight spider eyes staring right at him, “Why are you upset? I’m going to be a better friend than little Dream here and he’s going to be my wonderful adorable little brother.”

Tommy briefly looked over to see Dream frozen in fear. Behind him was his evil counterpart holding his arm tightly. “Happy birthday to me!”

“Now I will say that this meeting is adjourned!”  Madden said happily she got up from her chair before unlocking the chains on Dream's body “Now take your pets, everyone! And don’t forget to take some of your other siblings' pets. They would love the gift!”

“No!” Tommy cried out as he attempted to get out of the Spider's hands, “Tubbo! Ranboo!”

“Tommy!”

Tommy continued to wiggle out of the spider’s arms as he heard the server members shouting for each other, desperately trying to avoid being separated.

He looked back at Madden who was walking away from everyone with a small smile on her face. The person who he thought he could trust could be someone kind. He had been tricked again… and now everyone is going to pay for it

“What have you done?” Tommy whispered as he was dragged away from the people he knew and into the cell made from his worst nightmare. The doctor only had one thing to say as she waved at him with a victorious look on her face. 

“What I had to do.”

Chapter Text

Callahan knew something was wrong the moment that the message appeared on his communicator. It takes all of his strength to try to take a deep breath as he walks towards Hbomb room before knocking on the door.

Hbomb sighed as he opened the door. “What is it?”

“I need your help with looking over this.” Callahan signed as he handed over the communicator.

“What, is it from the Captain?” Hbomb questions as he takes it. 

“No, it’s from one of the Toons.”

Hbomb smiled at that as he pressed the button. “Is it good news? Are they finished with the portal? I don’t see why you need to go to me to check it out first.”

Callahan just sniffy nodded, he already had a feeling that something was wrong. “I have a bad feeling.”

“Come on what the worst case scenario that-” he then froze looking down at the message.

“What happened! Am I just anxious or did something bad happen?”

The server has been kidnapped. We were able to open the portal, but it’s too late. We need to meet up and figure out how to save them. Bring your friends here as soon as you can.

Callahan and Hbomb could only stare at the message. How is that possible? From what they heard from Boomer, the last conversation they had there was a bit of a problem. Yes, they heard about that whole weird possessing shit, but that was different! What is going on?!

He frantically text back: What the fuck?! What did you do how did you fucking lose them?!

It only takes a few seconds for the toons to respond.

  We don’t know, we just did! We will open up the portal and we can talk then. Please. We need you.

Callahan sighed loudly, before responding Where is the portal opening? Do you know yet?

Currently at the center of your server. Probably where your other portals go to.

Callahan turned to Hbomb and signed “Get everyone.”

Techno groaned as he pulled on the chains around him. He tries to ignore the pain on his leg which is now wrapped in a cast. He already knew that he was screwed the moment that Schlatt's evil clone decided to  break his leg. But then those freaks decided to say, “wait there’s more” and not only kidnapped Scarlet and Minerva but also decided to lock him into a box again to take him away from Phil! Put on some sort of stupid collar on his neck…They even have the audacity to create a clone using Wilbur’s face and force Tommy into a hellish prison. 

Yeah but you would love to see Tommy suffer right I mean that’s what you do, you just allow Tommy to suffer because he deserves it right? And since when do you care about the girls? You never listened to what they say and were willing to hurt their brother.

He shook his head. Yes he may have messed up a bit but he needs to focus on getting out of here. The door opens to reveal his evil clone, Athen, and the Schlatt copy standing in front of him both smiling cruelly.

“Ah Technoblade, The blood god himself you won’t believe how good it is to have you.”  The fake Schlatt taunt, “Call me Remus. Although I would prefer you to call me Sir.”

“Fat chance,” Techno growled.

The clone, Remus, laughed at him. “You’re still feisty.” 

“I recommend you don’t do that.” Athen growled his red pupils glowing around the black of his eyes.

“Or else what? You’re going to kill me? Whip me?” Techno snarled, “I’m familiar with how you people work.”

Athen sighed, “ Well you could’ve been a good example but now we have to use it the hard way.”  He waved his hand towards Techno, “ Get up Technoblade. ”

Techno felt his body freeze as he felt himself get up from the cart and walked out towards the two. From there he could see the house behind them. A tall manor made from obsidian and concrete. He noticed two people working on some fields behind the House.  Remus waves at them causing them to run inside.

“Wow.. I was expecting a fighting ring.” Techno deadpanned, trying to ignore the anxiety in his chest.

“Oh no. You’ve done more than enough fighting. In fact, that’s your biggest problem. You don’t know how to do anything besides fight. You’re too violent,” Remus said.

“Well I don’t get how that would relate to working at a house.” Techno stated. “Where is Scarlett? You didn’t hurt her, did you?”

Athen shook his head “No the girl was surprisingly calm once I explained the situation. Granted it was mixed in with several swearwords and a demand to see her girlfriend again but once I showed her who she’s dealing with and who she's meant to protect.” He smirks slightly thinking about what happened. 

“She was willing to listen.” Remus added, “ You should really be like her more. She may not be less violent than you but she seems to be a lot smarter than you.”

Techno looked at them in shock before taking a deep breath. “Show me where she is.”

The two nightmares nodded as they walked towards the manor, “Come along.” 

Remus opens the door revealing a red hallway with several portraits and statues showing rams and pigs. Techno raises his eyebrow at the portrait above the mantelpiece showing Madden smiling down at them. Next to it were two portraits showing the nightmares. He read the three titles: God of Justice, the Diplomat and the Grand Empress. 

“Nice titles…. Why is she called the grand empress? I don’t remember her being a ruler,” his eyes narrowed in thought, “I think.”

“This is her kingdom. She took us in and with our help managed to create a better world out of the ashes of the old.”

“Uh… what was the old world like?” Techno asked, suspicious by the description, but Remus ignored him as he forced a bundle of clothing in his hand. 

“So you can go around and go all Blood God. No way.” He laughed as he pulled out a lever causing the mantlepiece to split apart. Revealing a dark staircase.

“Your room is downstairs in the basement. They’re on the way to get down there but I don’t think that we should show you just yet, considering who you’re supposed to be.” Remus laughed, “ Why don’t you change it to something appropriate once you get there. ”

Techno knew that there could be an opportunity here to fight them and then figure out his own way out.  The voices are already crying out for him to kill the impostors and run.  But Scarlett is in there and considering there are at least two more people here… he needs to get them first. The moment that he thought that a few of the voices seem to agree that they need to save the people first.

 With that thought he began the slow walk towards the staircase. it only took a few steps before Techno heard the mantelpiece close behind him. He let out a groan as he continued to walk down silently. It only took a few moments before he heard a crying child and then a familiar voice “There, There Finch, I'm here.”

His eyes widen as he quickly stumbles down stairs, ignoring the pains shooting up his leg and into his spine. He kept on doing this until he got to a decent size room where there were several mattresses and what seems to be an odd looking wall as well as a small tub. But he didn’t pay attention to those details as much as who was in the center of the room. Scarlett was sitting there holding a crying six year old boy while a few other children sat around her. Techno’s eyes widened in surprise at the clothing that Scarlett was wearing: A long black dress with a white apron and a pair of loafers, nothing resembling the punk is that is that he knew from her as he pushes the door open, the children notice him, huddling closer to her.

Scarlett looked up at the sound, eyes widening as well when she saw Technoblade standing there.

“Uh…hi?”

“What-Techno?!” She cried out in surprise. “You’re here?! I barely even recognize you!” Young boy presumedly Finch whimpered as he tightened his grip on her. She slowly patted his back as she got up, “He’s a friend.”

“Uh… Who are they?” Techno asked but Scarlett didn’t answer him as she quickly sat him down onto one of the mattresses. “Are you okay?”

“Uh-huh” but then Techno let out a slight hiss as she picked up his leg to set it on the tub.

Scarlett raises her eyebrow “Yeah I know, you definitely are not fine.” She turned to one of the kids, “Uh… Mary you say that you know where the bandages are right?” One of the oldest children, A tanned girl with curly brown hair and glasses nodded nervously as she ran to one of the shelves.

“I'm glad that you’re here in one piece.” Scarlett said, “I was worried that you would’ve gotten yourself killed.”

“They didn’t exactly give me a chance to do anything. Also, what is here exactly?” Techno asked. “Why are all these children here?”

“Welcome to Athen and Remus’s sector in the nightmare world. They are basically a mixture of a military base and a political hub. A.k.a. We’re in hell.”

“I figured that one out for myself. But that doesn’t answer my question about the kids, if anything it makes me more confused.” Techno paused before he spoke again. “Are they making child soldiers? Is that what’s going on here?”

Scarlett looks away, “I don’t know. I guess that they want some kids as servants? But we are meant to be their caretakers. Teach them about all the things they are supposed to do and make sure that they’re okay. And then when the time is right when they’re around 16 to 17 they’ll head out….” Techno noted how almost shaken she sounded. “So you could be right about that.” One of the boys hugs Scarlett, noticing her distress. “Is he upsetting you?” He asked loudly as he glared at Techno. 

She quickly shook her head. “No, he’s cool.”

The boy looked up towards Techno “My name is John! Are you Sir’s Brother?”

“I’m Technoblade, and no, I am not.”

The boy smiled as Mary came over with the bandages. “Here the bandages are Miss Scarlett. And Mr. Techno.”

Techno noted how nervous she sounded, as if she was afraid of upsetting him.

“Hey, Hey I’m not dangerous.” He said reassuringly. “You can just call me Techno.”

“Sir said that all caretakers should have A Mr. and Mrs.”

“Your hair is weird” Finch said, appearing behind Mary “I don’t see a lot of people with pink hair.”

Techno laughed, “I’m a piglin.”

One of the boys shook his head. “No? Aren’t you human?”

Techno blink at that. “No? I’m a piglin. Not human.”

Scarlett froze at that moment. “Wait so you didn’t change that form or something?” 

“What do you mean?”

Scarlett slowly gets up as she walks over to grab a piece of glass before handing it to Techno. “ What did they do to you?”

His eyes widened as he looked at his reflection showing his more human form. His voice seems to be just as shocked as he is as they cried out in unison over what they have done to Technoblade while shouting for blood. “What the? How? I don’t remember shifting to be in this form.”

He thought back to the conversation before and then one part sticks out to him. 

“Why not change it to something appropriate once you get there.”

His hand turned to the face as he growled, “Those little…”

“Techno, did they force you into this form?!” Scarlett cried out.

“Sure seems that way,” Techno growled, closing his eyes and trying to focus.

A few of the kids tilted their heads. “What are you then?”  Finch asked.

Techno just shakes his head as Scarlett unwrapped his cast and began adding a new layer of ointment and bandages. 

“How the hell did they do it without you noticing? Did they have some sort of magical spell or some?” She then glanced at the collar on Techno’s neck, and she let out a groan realizing what had happened. “Or did they use their collar on you?”

“Oh that… they didn’t do the same with you right?”

Scarlett took that moment to unbutton the top of her shirt to reveal a similar collar. “I think it’s meant to be like a mind control kind of thing to keep us from rebelling.”

“Even the children?!” Techno cried out but much to his relief, she shook her head and said, “Surprisingly they’re not that monstrous. Only us.” With that she finished wrapping. “All right, I'm done. Let me get a stick. She picked up a small stick by the door before giving it to him. “Could you get up?”

He let out a grunt as he slowly got off the mattress and began to slowly walk forward towards the privacy wall. 

Scarlett threw the clothing he received from the nightmares over the wall, revealing a black button up shirt and pants with a white apron,

“You’re so lucky.” She complained slightly, wistfully looking at the clothing as they disappeared.

“You didn’t get yourself a pair of pants?”

“Nope. Just the skirt.” She groan, “Something about me being more ‘ladylike’”

“So they’re sexist?” Techno asked.

“Kind of? I mean they keep on talking about Madden like she’s some sort of Goddess so I guess that she taught them that?”

“Probably,” Techno said as he came out of the other side holding his cape, shirt and pants, his crown laying on top of the pile. 

“I'll take it to the trunk,” She said as she reached out towards it. He quickly pulled it away from her. “No-I…I'd rather keep them close.”

“Techno…” She whispered.

“They’re important to me, okay?” Techno said.

“I know but I don’t want them to end up burning it or something…” Scarlett looked away “I overheard them talking about what they are planning on doing to you and the others’ stuff… at least in the trunk, I could make up a story that some guy buried it or something.”

Techno stared at the cape and crown for a couple minutes, before handing it over to Scarlett. She smiled at him reassuringly before walking over to the end of the room and putting it in a trunk where her leather jacket also lay, “Thank you for trusting me.”

He nodded and slowly walked towards one of the mattresses and sat on it. “you’re welcome… you’re not so bad, kid.”

“Miss Scarlet!!!” A redhead girl cried out, “We’re hungry!!!”

Techno turned to her, “Hey, we’re currently having an emotional moment here!!!”

Scarlett let out a laugh as she smoothed her dress out. “They can be like that. Luckily they gave us some food to feed them.” She grabbed the young girl’s hand. “Come on, Techno. let’s get some food.”

He nodded as he followed them surrounded by several children. 

Prime, this is worse than he thought.

Sam slowly tries to take his breath as the anxiety within him as the Overseer forced him to walk through a creepy looking street filled with identical houses and small huts. He could smell the odd scent of the coal from the mines.

“Calm down Warden, you’re acting like this isn’t an opportunity for you to actually have a use.”

“You and I have very different definitions of justice,” Sam said, struggling to keep his voice under control.

“Oh?” The overseer whispered his voice in a very odd tone. “Whatever do you mean?”

“Ranboo and Tommy are innocent. They didn’t deserve to be in this type of prison! They’re just kids!” He glared at his doppelgänger. “And the fact that you were considering forcing Scarlett to work here! That’s inhum-”

He immediately stopped his speech as the Overseer glared at him. The Overseer took that moment to tighten the rope around Sam’s neck as he leaned towards him.

“I will give you 10 seconds to fully think through what you’re going to say.”

He let out a croak from the lack of air. “I-I just don’t think they deserve it.”

The overseer let out a chuckle at Sam’s words. “ You really are stupid are you. You were actually going to say inhumane? After everything you’re just gonna say that?”

“It’s still wrong…” he murmured, looking side to side to see a few people running inside small huts, fearfully looking back at the two. “Do people live here?”

“Shades. You didn’t think it was my own siblings I had to keep in line, did you?” The Overseer sneered. “My siblings, unlike you and your friends, would never stoop to those levels.”

“What do you mean keeping them in line?!” Sam stammered. Sam stopped himself remembering some of the Nightmares mentioning about there being other prisoners. And the only prisoner that he ever had was Dream.

“Are you…. Who else are you keeping in that prison?”

“Rulebreakers and Troublemakers. Who else would I keep in prison? I thought you were supposed to be smart.”

“But Tommy and Ranboo are innocent!”

“None of you are innocent. Why do you think you’re here?” The Overseer growled. “If you ask me, all of you are beyond saving already. Suppose it just goes to show Mother is merciful.”

Sam went silent at that as he looked up to see A taller version of his vault except something seems off about it. Like it was a lot darker in color and light. He could smell a metallic copper like scent. Sam stumbles back feeling fearful by the sight of it causing the overseer to smirk at him.

“Heh. What’s wrong?” He said mockingly, “ I thought you would appreciate it.”

Sam shook his head, staring at the prison in horror. He could barely notice two pairs of hands grasping onto his shoulders.

“So you finally arrived brother!” The spider said, cheerfully ignoring Sam’s cries of surprise and horror. “I already placed Tommy and Ranboo in their cells if you’re wondering!”

“Wonderful. Thank you brother. It gives me more time to get my new Warden… acquainted with his new position.”

The spider nodded, “Of course maybe if he behaves himself during your little tour, we can allow him to stay with his friends!”

“We’ll see.”

Sam perked up slightly at the idea. While he had no idea what these people’s definitions of ‘behave’ was, he definitely wanted to stick close to Tommy and Ranboo. He couldn’t protect them completely, but he could try his best. He was forced out of his thoughts when he felt a pull from The Overseer.

“Come on.” He growled as he pulled Sam through the prison doors.

“Yes sir,” Sam muttered, though he hated calling the Overseer that he would do what it took to stay with Ranboo and Tommy. He grimaced a bit as copper smells grew stronger he already knew what came next, he’s probably gonna get killed a few times so that they can empty out his inventory but much to his surprise it didn’t happen as the overseer merely pulled him through a station where two robotic guards are waiting.

“You’re not going to kill me?” Sam asks meekly as the guards swing towards him and two lasers begin scanning him up and down. He shuddered  a bit as the robots glowed green and went back to standing in attention.

“If we were going to kill you, we would have done it already,” The Overseer grumbled. “There’s no respawn here, so don’t make me kill you. There won’t be any coming back.”

Sam swallows nervously as they continue their journey, his mind full of questions and fears with the implications of what he said but he barely even has a moment to even think before the Overseer snaps his fingers and points him towards a series of glass and metal cylinders filled with a fog-like substance. “These are the fear tanks. One of the many ways that we punish those who break the rules of our world.”

At that moment a scream came out from one of the cylinders as a hand pressed against its glass desperately scratching against it before it disappeared through the fog. Sam shutter at the fact that the hand  looks distinctively like it belongs to a young teenager.

“They don’t die in there right?” Sam found himself saying. He almost wants to hit himself for how desperate he sounds to this person. 

The overseer rolled his eyes, “Just someone from Sparks and Phobos little neighborhood. He wasn’t punctual about his mail.”  He pulls Sam, taking them away from the tank. “No one important.” 

They continue to go through the prison each room revealing more torturous devices and cells by the moment revealing the despondent prisoners that lurk within some of them barely even look at Sam to soak in their own misery, While others stare at him with a mixture of surprise and pity. Although Sam thought he saw a few looking at him with a mixture of confusion and maybe anger.

After a few steps he found himself in front of an office with the words Overseer over it. The overseer smirks at him and opens the door revealing it to be a large office surrounded by deadly weapons and trinkets. But the thing that stuck out from this dark room was on the table was the Ponk’s Copy smiling at him with a basket wearing a nice looking suit, the hat covering his eyes.

“Prometheus! I was wondering when you’d come back.” He said holding up the basket, making it apparent that that’s where the copper smell came from. “I hope that your prisoner wasn’t too annoying.”

“Surprisingly not,” the Overseer said as he tied Sam to the door handle.

Sam physically bit his tongue to stop from saying something about being tied to the door like some sort of pet, but he managed it. He just had to remember that this was for Tommy and Ranboo. Anything to stay with Tommy and Ranboo. This is for them.

Although it’s gotten harder the moment that The Overseer gave the fake Ponk  a kiss on the forehead. “I'm glad to see you honey. How was your day?”

“Doing pretty well!”  They giggled, hugging him close. “I'm close to completing one of our other children. A Minotaur! And he already is so obedient!” 

The Overseer smirks. “Good.” 

Sam impatiently waits hoping for a moment for this conversation to be over as if it’s not enough to deal with his worries for Tommy and Ranboo he will have to deal with The overseer flirting with a version of his partner. He closed his eyes hoping to try to ignore it.

“Hey you.” Sam opened his eyes to see the Ponk copy staring at him with a small smile. Knowing his sole audience is looking at them, he gave his husband a quick kiss on the cheek.  “I think that he did well today. We should give him to his friends!” 

The Overseer smiles lightly as he gets up with the basket in his arm. “Of course.” He walks over to Sam and unties the rope before taking him outside of his office and placing him on a section of a wall. “Just stand there for a moment.” 

Sam looks back-and-forth between the wall in the overseer for a few moments not knowing what to do before he say.

“So what-”

Before he could say anything else he felt the world spin around him. As he went from being in front of the smiling Overseer to the floor of a random jail cell. Sam let out a groan as he slowly began to get up.

“Sam?!” Tommy cried out as The raccoon hybrid ran to his side looking at him in surprise.

“Tommy!” Sam said, grabbing Tommy’s shoulders to look him over. “Did they hurt you?! Are you okay?!”

The boy let out a whine seemingly confirming the fear as Sam let go and revealed that a piece of his shirt was torn off with a large bruise on it.

“Tommy tried to run and try to get me to come along.” Ranboo spoke up revealing to be in the corner of the room. “That nightmare didn’t like it.”

“I figured something out.” Tommy exclaims as he rubs his shoulders. “This is bad but considering what we saw from before there could be a chance that we can escape here.”

“Maybe, maybe,” Sam said, though he had a sinking feeling that they weren’t escaping, not without a lot of trouble.

Mr. Manifold knew that it was going to be a long day the moment his door burst open , revealing the smiling face of his younger sister wearing her usual black and pink dress standing in front of him with a giant smile on her face. She was holding something behind her in a bag.

“Brother!”

He rolled his eyes fondly as he turned to her with a small smile, “I'm not  surprised to see you here. Did the plan work?”

Siren nodded excitedly, “Oh went more than OK, it went wonderfully! We got to more people than expected but I finally got my little doll!”

“That's nice.” He smirked slightly, “and I’m guessing that the bag is for me.”

Siren pouted, “Awww, you’re supposed to ask what’s behind me.” She pulls the bag to her front.  “Well I guess I could just give it to you now,”  She shakes it causing Jack to fall out, tied up and gagged. He frantically looked around the room looking both scared and angry.

“Ahh, yes. That one. I’m guessing Mother wants me to deal with him?”

“I'm honestly surprised that you barely even wanted a little pet!” 

“If I want  to deal  with a creature that runs around and screams a lot I already got Theseus.” Manifold joked casually, “And he already belongs to us and mother.”

Siren just stared at him for a moment before she let out a giggle, “he’s a little munchkin.” She grinned as she immediately grabbed Jack without looking as he attempted to make a run for it out the door.

“He’s already causing problems I see,” Manifold said, rolling his eyes. “I suppose I could give him a job in my factory. Hopefully he doesn’t do something stupid to get himself killed.”

“Of course.” She then took the opportunity to yank off his gag, placing Jack on  a chair. As if sensing what’s going through Jack’s head, the rope around him instantly attaches itself to the chair he was sitting on. “Try to be good and I will let you play around with my dolly!” She whispers before she skips out the door, waving at Jack as if she didn’t leave him with a nut job. Jack looked back at his doppelgänger trying not to fall into despair as he heard the click of the door behind him.

“So…. You’re the troublemaker that mother rants about occasionally.” His copy started smoothly as he looked over a piece of paper. 

Jack merely glared at him as he continued to look over the paper.

“Although I’m a bit surprised about you befriending a little boy.” He said casually as he raised an eyebrow interested in the development that he saw. “I thought you would have a bit of a dislike towards children and teens considering the other incidents involving you and Tobias right?”

Jack didn’t answer the question as he just glared at the clone. 

Manifold sighed. “Are you going to say something or are you gonna just sit there and mope?”

“What do you want me to say besides fuck you.” Jack growled, trying to not shiver, “Also why is your office so cold?!”

“This is a perfectly comfortable temperature,” Manifold said, getting up from his seat. “You really are going to cause me trouble, aren’t you? Oh well, I suppose I’ll have to figure something out. If Mother says I have to take you, then I have to take you.”

“Well I’m gonna be the worst employee that you ever have!” Jack swore, kicking  at the desk. 

“I have no doubt you will. But you’ll work or you’ll get thrown in the lava.”

Jack immediately froze as the nightmare picked him up by the arm, the ropes around him falling off, and began to drag him towards the door only to notice something on his wrist.

“Oh? You got a machine hazard on you?” Manifold joked as he went to pull Jack’s sleeve down, revealing the friendship bracelet. Jack’s eyes widened as he attempted to grab the bracelet only for the Nightmare to almost effortlessly pull the bracelet off of him before pushing him into the grounds. He held it above Jack’s head with a smug grin. “Didn’t know that you were that soft.”  

“Give that back!” Jack shouted frantically trying to grab it.

“Well you now have more of an incentive to work. Work hard and maybe I won’t throw this away. ” Manifold then slipped the bracelet into his pocket before he opened the door . “Maybe I might give it back if you work hard today. Your work uniform is in one of the lockers, I’ll have one of the workers show you it.”

Jack glanced between the pocket and the door before he let out a noise similar to a groan and sigh. He slowly walked out of the room and into the hot furnace below. But despite his neutral expression his mind was racing. A part of him already knew that he will be screwed for a while so there’s no need to scream out about how unfair it is or something. He just needs to figure out a way to get out of here. This person is a clone of him so that means that they’re similar enough to have similar weaknesses. He smiled at that. Yeah he just needs to figure out his weaknesses.

Chapter Text

There’s a lot of things that the small group expected when they first heard the news about their friends being in another dimension. Yes, they had to get used to a lot of the things that were told to them but the idea of traveling into another dimension was an entirely different thing. Somethings that only the legendary hermits could do and that was into a different time between the early days and the collapse.

But this….

“So they lost them.” Boomer said bluntly as he took out a diamond sword from the chest.

This is something else.

“Yes, the outsider said that they didn’t expect the server to use weakness potion against them.” Callahan signed, his tone clearly in disbelief. “ As it turned out, they expected them to just sit there and patiently wait for the exorcism to happen.”

“Why the fuck would they expect that to work?” Eryn grumbled, crossing his arms.

“And now they’re just gone?” Aimsey asked, eyes wide.

“Yeah!” Hbomb confirmed, “And  now they’re asking us to come over and help them out.”

XD let out an angry shriek that shows the more dangerous side to the normally playful God. “SO THEY EXPECT US TO CLEAN UP THEIR MESS!” 

“It seems like they were doing alright beforehand.” Callahan explained, hoping to calm him down. “I don’t think-”

“THEY LOST MY BROTHER AND THE ENTIRE SERVER AFTER LETTING THEM GET POSSESSED! WHAT PART OF THAT IS ‘DOING ALL RIGHT?’ THEY’RE DOING A GARBAGE JOB!”

“Because someone tricked them.” Hbomb says. “When they were trying to look for them they ended up finding a house that is connected to their town.” His eyes were dark as he thought about what he heard. “They were so fucking lucky she wasn’t interested in them.”

Tina tilted her head “She?”

“Who is she?”” Charlie asked

“Only the Bitch herself,” HBomb said.

The entire server went silent at that moment. There’s not a lot of people in their generation who experience her but anyone who grew up during the collapse and its aftermath knows who she is.

“Oh shit,” Aimsey muttered.

Eryn stared horrified at the implication. “How…. Tommy has been kidnapped by her?!”

“Oh fuck oh fuck oh fucccccck!!!!” Boomer cried out as he pulled his hat down, fully hiding his eye. His frog leaning against his head to comfort him.

“I thought she was dead.” Drista whispered, tugging at her mask.

“Apparently not,” HBomb said.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but are we sure we shouldn’t call back the Captain?” Eryn asked. “He fought her before, right? He’d know how to deal with her? Right?”  

Charlie tilted his head, confused. “What are you guys talking about? Who is ‘Bitch’?”

Everyone stared at Charlie in shock  at the questions.

“You don’t know who she is?!” HBomb Exclaimed. “How do you not know who the Bitch is?”

Charlie's usual smile disappeared at the question as his face went blank. “I was trapped on an island with some of my friends for most of my life.” Charlie said almost ominously “We never really focused on what’s outside our little world.” He then went back to his cheerful grin. “Continue!”

“Right…” HBomb said. “The Bitch was a woman who ran around causing problems during the collapse. Real nasty sort. Worked with traffickers, kidnapped people, murdered, the whole nine yards. Some people even say she managed to cause Herobrine Madness. I’m not sure about that last part, but it is generally agreed wherever she went, you were bound to find at least a couple maddened admin.”

“Heh?!” Charlie cried out, shocked and concerned. “So did any of you end up encountering her?”

“Most of us were too young,” Aimsey said. “Though Eryn is right, the Captain fought her a couple times. I think Kara and Iskall also encountered her.”

“Why else do you think that Guy got a metal implant?” Boomer stated. “During the great battle she managed to brutally injure them.”

“And she has our friends,” Connor whispered. “And my dad.”

“Pray to Prime that she doesn’t actually have the power to cause Herobrine Madness. Cause otherwise, we might not be getting Dream back,” Callahan signed.

Drista grip on her sword tightened at that, even XD seemed shaken. “Dream….George….”

“When did they say that the portal will open?” She asked calmly, the sound of lightning was heard in the server as the blue sky slowly changed into a gray color.

“In a few minutes, some of us had to stay behind to make sure that the server was in working order and keep an eye on the kid.”

“I can watch the kids,” Connor said. “I’ve never been much of a fighter anyway.”

“As much as I hate this, I should as well,” Callahan signed. “If anything happens to me, Punz becomes the admin. The last thing we need right now is to come back to the server completely under the egg’s control.”

“So it’s going to be us,” Eryn murmured. 

XD nodded reluctantly. “The only reason why I’m not coming is the same reason as Callahan as much as I want to shoot them all with lightning.” He turned to Eryn. “Do me a favor and make sure that she get a good punch in the face at least.” 

“First time I see her, I promise to punch her as hard as I can,” Eryn said, nodding. 

“If I see her before Eryn I will also punch her,” HBomb said. “I'm not walking away again.”

At that moment the communicator buzzed in Callahan's pocket.

“It's time!” He cried out, frantically signing as he opened the door in the safe house revealing a glowing blue portal. There’s something odd about it; unlike the usual ender portals it seems to be dripping with something sticky. A small group of people were standing there, all of them looking almost tired as they waited for them.

The server stared at the portal, before HBomb squared his shoulders to step through.

“Well…” He took one step forward as he slowly played a hand on the portal. It went through at that moment as a deep shutter went through his body. He turned around with a small smile confirming that he is not currently being devoured by some horrifying entity. “See you on the other side guys.” With that he went through the darkness to emerge on the other side.

Out of all the places to end up, he didn’t expect to find  himself on the floor of a lab. 

“Hello.” A voice said above him, sounding tired. A white glove hand appeared in front of Hbomb. He took his offer as he grabbed his hand and got up from the ground. Behind him he heard the others crying out.

Mickey smiles quietly at the group. There were bags under his eyes as if he spent hours fixing the portal. “I'm glad you’re here.”

“Well we have to be,” Tina said quietly as she brushed off the ink on her dress.  “It’s not like we can just ignore them.”

Boomer nodded, his eyes narrowed at the group. “Especially if they’re trapped in some dimension with a bunch of outsiders.”

“A bunch of what now?” Mickey questioned as a few other toons appeared as well to the scene, looking just as tired and worried as the mouse. 

“You’re from outside the server.” Aimesy explains amicably, stepping forward in front of Boomer.  “We’re all just a bit nervous.”

“I don’t blame you.” Bugs said, crossing his arm. “We just don’t want any more trouble.” But before he could continue he let out a cry of surprise as a fork hit him on the shoulder.

Drista growls at the rabbit holding another fork up high. “What were you thinking, losing my brother and his server like that?!”

He sighed as he pulled out the fork from his shoulders waving off a few people who were about to run in to help him. “I didn’t realize that it was that bad.” He glanced at the group. “And as for Dream we didn’t even realize that he was here.” 

“I’m guessing you also didn’t know that the Bitch was here either?” HBomb said.

“I mean, she’s a problem from our world, they probably don’t even know who she is,” Boomer pointed out.

“That is a very rude word.” Minnie stated, rubbing her head.

Daffy rolled his eyes at her before turning to them. “So you can explain some of the items that we found, right?”

“Possibly,” HBomb said. “Can’t tell until we see them.”

At that moment Entrapta and Pearl walk in with a box before they set it on the table. 

“Oh hi!” Entrapa cried out towards the group. “Are you the people from the other dimension?”

“Yeah, that’s us,” Aimsey said.

“Let’s see what’s in this box then,” HBomb said, walking over and opening it. His eyes widen at the side of the different books and items from the Minecraft world. 

“What… these….”

“Are those Admin Journals?!” Eryn cried out as he quickly grabbed one staring at the name in front.  

Mickey frowned slightly, seeming confused. “Admins?”

“That honestly explains some of the odd worlds.” Donald noted.

HBomb picked up a couple staring at the names on the front. “Deadlox, HuskyMudkip, Ssundee… These are all admin that got Herobrine Madness, aren’t they?”

“Uh… am I the only one lost?” Pearl murmured.

“You’re not the only one.” Daisy noted.

Donald thought about it for a moment before his eyes widened in horror. “Is she a serial killer??”

“I mean kind of,” Aimsey said. “Explaining the whole backstory about the Collapse and Herobrine Madness would take ages though.”

The Toons stood there silently in thought.

“So what happens if someone gets kidnapped by her? If they’re not admin? Could they survive?”

“Very bad things probably,” Boomer said. “There aren’t a lot of people who faced her and lived. Most died or got Herobrine Madness and had to be killed.”

Bug froze, but kept his face neutral.  “Has she ever encountered fear gods or avatars?”

“Can’t say I’m familiar with the concept,” Drista said. “Would they be a type of server god or general god…?”

“Best way to describe them as a type ofgGod that feeds on certain fears and the people that they touch with their powers…”

“Then no.”

Bugs let out a small sigh but still looks shaken. Mickey steps in with a similar look.

“He's asking because it’s not just your server who got kidnapped. His two daughters who managed to befriend them were the only people who managed to avoid getting knocked out, and they disappeared as well.”

“All the more reason to follow after them and quickly,” HBomb said. “Do we know where they got taken? Do we have a way to follow them?”

“We got a general location and Oswald got a few theories on locations but the problem is that we don’t really have a clue on where she could take down . That's actually one of the reasons for us looking through her house.” 

“Well we need to find out,” Boomer said, walking past them. “The longer we take the less likely we’re going to see them alive.” 

Drista nodded as she grabbed onto Mickey's arms and pulled him along. “Come along guys, it’s time for us to hunt for a Bitch!”

“I think there’s better words than the B word for her,” Minnie cried out as she ran after her husband. The Head Toons followed as well, leaving Entrapta and Pearl in the room alone. There was a moment of shuffling as the closet door burst open beside them. Both of them jumped in surprise but calmed down when they saw who was there.

“So they're going to help with finding them?” Toby whispered, his voice sounding tired.

“Sure sounds that way, Toby,” Pearl said. 

The boy smiled as he jumped. “I’ll follow them.” He attempted to walk out the door, only for Entrapta’s hair to pick him up and prevent his snooping.

“Hey!” Toby cried out struggling against her.

“Oh no you’re not,” Pearl said. “You look like you have not slept since the girls went missing. You need to let the adults handle this Toby.”

“I have gone to sleep!” Toby cried out. “Plus everyone else is looking for them! Why can’t I?!”

“Jon.” Entrapta asked.

“He actually hasn't, we've been trying to get him to go lay down for a while now.” Jon explained.

“But I have gone to sleep!”

“Two hour naps don’t count!” Tim cried out. “The last thing we need is for you to copy Jon's bad habits!”

Toby mumbled something under his breath as the two women took him outside and placed him on the ground in front of his house.

“Try to rest Toby.”  Pearl said reassuringly as she opened the door. “We’ll check on you later.”

Entrapta nodded as she placed on his shoulders. “Yeah,”

Toby barely looks at them as he walks inside and shut the door. He took a few steps to hide behind the stairs. He waited for a few moments as the woman left the area. After a few moments he ran out towards the window and opened it.

“Toby, what are you doing?” Sasha asked.

“I need to help find my sisters.”

“You need to sleep. If you don’t sleep soon you’re gonna make yourself sick or pass out. Or worse,” Gertrude said firmly.

“I can sleep when I find the clue!” Toby cried out as he jumped out the window. He then began his march towards the woods.

“Toby, the adults have already scoured both the woods and Madden’s house. What exactly do you expect to find that no one else has?” 

Toby looks away, ignoring them as he continues to wander deeper into the woods until he finds himself in the same spot as before, the field where they heard their screams. He takes a few deep breaths as he rubs the tears in his eyes.

“I can do this….” Toby whispered to himself. “I can do this…”

He walked around the area nervously ignoring all the cries for him to just come home. After a moment he let out a sigh as he looked at the ground.

“Martin, can I ask you something? Toby whispered, playing with his hair. “Was I wrong?”

“About wandering around when you’re supposed to be asleep?” Martin asked, a sarcastic tone noted in his voice.

“No. About the server…. You guys say that avatars have free will. They could be influenced by the gods but not enough to take away their will…” Toby looked down on the ground as he tried not to remember that night when Jack held him down as he forced the blue liquid down his throat. He held his neck as if he could still feel his hands.

“Did they really hate me? Like everything that they acted… were they really evil?”

They went quiet at the question. They knew how upset he was when George yelled at him or how scared he was from all other encounters when the server was the pack. But each time he barely even questioned their motives or actions, seeing them as victims of the events. But this is the first time they actively heard him question their relationship with him. 

“Oh… I can’t say that I know the answer.”

“Could you guess?”

“Do you want my honest answer?” Tim  spoke up. “ I don’t think they were evil as much, they were just unempathetic and a bunch of assholes. But I don’t think they were willingly trying to disregard others to an extent.”

“Yeah,”  Sasha agreed. “I don’t think any of them would willingly hurt people, but I don’t think they understand how other people would react to their behavior and are very stubborn with the way they act.”

Toby hummed as he looked down. “I guess that they just don’t like admitting their wrongs.” He let out a groan as he sat on the ground, tucking his legs to his face. “This is too confusing… how can we save them?!”

“I think I can help.” A voice called out to Toby; he jumped as he turned around to see a man standing by the tree lines. At least it sounded like a man, the shadows from the trees and the hood he was wearing made it hard to see his face.

“Who… Who are you?” 

“Doesn’t matter, but call me Obi.” He looked to the side casually before turning back towards the kid. “So, you say that your friends have gone missing right?”

“And my sisters,” Toby said. “We don’t know where they went.”

He went silent at that moment. “Well, I can tell you they won’t be found here.”

Toby froze at that moment. “What do you mean?” he whispered weakly.

“I mean they aren’t here, or anywhere close to here. They’re somewhere that “here” is unable to reach.  They’re not dead, but they are being held captive.” 

Toby‘s eyes widened in horror, shaking his head and began to slowly say no over and over again. Jon took that moment to take over as his eyes grew a menacing green at the person who was upsetting his boy.

“Who the hell are you? And how do we know that you’re not lying!”

Obi let out a sigh as he took out a bag from his pocket. “ Hopefully this will help convince you.”

Toby slowly takes up the paper from his hand and looks down and then before he lets out a small gasp. 

“Are those….” Toby takes out the two pairs of glasses, both of them cracked and bent in many places. One of them is even missing a lens. But despite all that he already knew what they were.

“Jack…Eret….” He whispered before he quickly put them back into the bag. “Where do you get them?! How?!” Toby shakes his head allowing Martin to take over.  “What the hell?!”

“I'm sorry to break your innocence like that, but this is important. You’re dealing with someone who is very dangerous and doesn't give a shit about other people.” the stranger explained bluntly, his voice turning more serious. “How much do you want to save the people you love?”

Toby continued to breathe hard as he looked up at the man not knowing what to do. On the one hand he does want to save the people that he loves and bring them back home. But on the other hand can he trust him? Also how does he know that he’s not lying? But at this point they have no clues nor leads… would it really hurt to get a little bit of help?

“With all my heart.” He declared.

Obi stares at him under his hood. For the first time, Toby caught a glimpse of what’s underneath. A pair of glowing, blackish blue eyes upon a tan face that had weird, shiny dots in random places.

“With all your heart?”  He repeated calmly before he pressed something against Toby’s chest. He let out a gasp, feeling a piece of paper in his hand. Toby stared at it while Obi walked away from him only saying. “That’s a start. Give this to your old man, kid. You’ll need it if you want to get into my world.”

“Where are you going?!” Gertrude called out, clearly shocked, and confused by the event.

But the figure just disappeared into the trees, leaving the child alone in the woods with the only item he got, the only item that could save his family.

Chapter Text

Michael yawned as he woke up on his bed. What happened? Was that all a nightmare? The hunt? The scary version of his parents? The odd lady with the creepy voice?! He let out a sigh of relief as he jumped off his bed and onto a blue carpet. He stopped himself as he looked down. He doesn't remember having a blue carpet at home nor at toontown.

Looking around, dread filled his stomach as Michael realized this wasn’t his room at all. Not his room in toon town or his room back home. The wallpaper was a dark color similar to blue or black and there were weird dolls all over the place. He looked up to see several paintings of screaming people either on fire or drowning in water. Michael thought that they were staring at him. He takes a deep breath and slowly begins to walk towards the door and open it, revealing that the house is similar to his room. 

“Hello?” He cried out, walking around the hallway. But it was silent, except for the sound of singing, Michael didn’t understand the lyrics but it was a good sign. He followed the sound nervously looking around, not knowing if someone would jump out and grab him. After a moment he found himself by a kitchen where the sound is the loudest. He sniffed the air for a moment, realizing the smell of turkey and mashed potatoes.

He peeked inside, curious about the sound and smells. And the room was the only room with a lighter color and the different kitchen instruments looked similar to the ones in Toontown rather than back home. In the middle of the kitchen, was his dad cooking something on the stoves. But Michael knew there was something off: he doesn't remember his father's hair being fully blonde, maybe blonde tips, but not fully blond, he doesn’t remember his dad looking human… and while he does have horns, he didn’t have two, and they didn’t seem to curl all over the place.

Michael backed away, not knowing what to do but he didn’t stop himself knowing he had to be a brave boy. If something is wrong he has to call out then if it turns out that it’s not his dad, he can run away….

He took a deep breath and yelled out “Hello? Who are you?!” 

And the person in the room chuckled as he turned around, revealing his black eyes. The only light in his eyes was a glowing yellow light similar to the warnings on his father’s work. Michael stumbled back, that's not his dad.

“Micheal!” His not dad laughed. “You’re just in time for supper!”

“You’re not my dad.” He stammered out. “Who are you?!”

“ I’m your father, your new one!”  Not-Dad said calmly as he walked over to the oven “Your father hasn't been taking care of you well, so we decided to take you in.” He took out the turkey and placed it on the table.  “Simple as that! Plus, you’re in a very good neighborhood filled with other children to play with if you’re worried about that.”

“New dad?” Michael asked.

“Yes. Michael, I thought you were smarter than that?” he said, tilting his head playfully. 

“I don’t want a new dad. Where are my dads? What is this place?”

There was a moment of silence. The nightmare walked over towards Michael and kneels in front of him. “ Why do you want to go back?”

“Because it’s my home. My friends are there. My dads are there. Why wouldn’t I want to go home?” 

“ I would say a Prison is more accurate than home, but you’ll see it more clearly once you can spend more time here.” 

“What are you on about?! My home is not a prison!” Michael argued “ Dad and Papa just wanted to protect me! They told me that it is dangerous for me to go outside alone since sometimes people attack kids!”

At that moment there was a small hum behind him as someone walked into the room and placed two hands on Michael’s shoulders. Michael froze, closing his eyes in fear. He has a good feeling about who's behind him, but he doesn’t want to see it.

“Come now, Michael. You’ll see soon, it’s much nicer here.” the person that he knew is not his papa, forcing his head up to make him look at him, showing off his purple eyes and sharp grin. “Now sit down, we got a special gift for you!” 

Michael quietly sits down on a chair, not knowing what to do as his not papa, walks out of the room. After a few moments, he walked back outside, wheeling a large closet box. He said it down on the floor as a young piglin stared at it in surprise.

His not-Dad let out a squeal of excitement as he ran towards it. “This is one of my favorite creations! Before you came around, we had to show a good example for our neighborhood of how they should be perfect!” 

Michael tilted his head, confused by what he said, “Perfect?”

“Of course. As the Grand Empress’s children, we have to set an example for the common folks, and mother accepts only perfections.” 

“So… what’s in the box that helps you?” 

The two nightmares smiled at him and with perfect unison, opened up the box revealing a young girl with brown hair and glasses wearing what looked to be a black jumper with a gray shirt and tie. Her eyes were closed as if she was asleep.

Michael nearly jumps back, not knowing whether he should be scared or curious. He took one moment to look at it looking up at his not parents “Why is there a girl in a box? Is she dead?!”

“Oh no, she’s not dead!” Not-Dad giggled “ She’s currently shut down! She’s a robot!”

“A robot?” Michael said, stepping forward slightly. “Like Mr. Sam Nook, Uncle Tommy sometimes talks about?”

“ Nothing like those piles of trash. Ours is a lot more sophisticated and her job is to make sure that you are happy! Your perfect playmate.”

Michael stared at the robot before back at the two.“I already had playmates back home. Like Jr.”

“ She's better than Jr. And you will see him again once we make his father and grandmother better-.”

But Michael interrupted them as he continued “And I was happy with my entire family. Why won’t you let me go home this entire time you barely answer my questions. Besides, we’re better than your family. I don't want better. I want my actual family!”

At that moment, the piglin froze when he noticed that the two false parents stared at him with a look of anger and disbelief. 

“How disappointing.”  His not-Papa hissed as he walked him, showing off his needle-like teeth. “Do you want to know why we took you in? Do you want to know why your old family is gone? We could allow you to just live your life and have fun.”

Michael just glared back at them “That’s what I’ve been asking for the last few minutes! Where are they and why did you take me?!” The nightmares look at each other for a moment before smiling wickedly. The poor child should have a taste of the real world if he’s gonna act like this. Not holding his hand, “Well if you are willing to get me to talk to you like an adult, I can say that you can call me Spark and my husband here is Phobos.”

Michael looked at the hands before looking back at him. “Those are weird names…. Do you also read Greek mythology? Like Uncle Techno?”

“ Occasionally, but mother was the one who named us,” Phobos said casually. “But anyway, your family has been going down a really bad path in life and if we haven’t stopped them, it would’ve ended with everyone that you know and love dead or leaving alone, and still a danger to society.”

Michael’s nose twists at the story “That sounds pessimistic. They seem fine to me!”

“Do they?” Sparks asked. “Or were they hiding their crimes from you?”

Michael was silent for a moment before he continued.

“I’m going to be frank with you; Tubbo is currently working at my factory while Ranboo is in the prison. And if you keep on misbehaving like that, I won’t guarantee that they will be safe.”

“What?!” Michael yelped, taking a step back, and staring at them with wide eyes.

“If you keep on acting up, we’re going to kill them,” Phobos smirked, clearly enjoying the fear in his eyes. “ Hey if you want some responsibility, then this is your first assignment. Behave and your parents will live.” He giggled as he boop Michael’s nose ignoring the fearful expression on his face. Spark and pick up Michael and walk them over to the table. The food surprisingly still looked hot despite the time. “Now, are you going to sit down and have dinner, or are you going to keep on throwing a tantrum?”

Michael whimpered for a moment, not knowing what to choose. He doesn’t want to submit to these two imposters. On the other hand, it was clear that the tone in your voice is that they’re willing to do horrible things if he doesn’t obey. He only knew a couple of stories from uncle Tommy about his encounters with Dream and even then it was never seen this bad. After a moment of silence, he already made his decision.

“ I’m ready for dinner….D-Other Dad?”

“Close enough,” Spark said casually as he placed the piglin in the chair. He turned to his husband. “ Sweetheart, can you turn on Darling so that she can come to eat with us?”

“Of course,” Phobos said, walking over to the robot. He went to the back of her neck and flipped something on after her moment, her eyes open, revealing a pair of green and red eyes as she stepped forward towards the kitchen, smiling.

“Hello family, my name is Darling, your perfect daughter! How may I assist you!”

“You can help out with passing dinner around with Sparks.”  He ordered.

She nodded as she walked toward Spark's side “ of course, father!” Immediately she picks up a pair of tongs as she helps her other father set dinner up.

Michael watched not knowing how to feel as the robot, place a plate in front of him with a small smile 

“ I give you the largest portions!” Darling said cheerfully “ I think you deserve it for being a good son!”

Michael doesn't know how to feel about being called a good son by his not parents.

“Of course, I’m in another basement… what’s with this freak show and locking people in basements?” Dream murmured as he shivered in the dark. He has been in here ever since he was separated from everyone else, and his current warden has thrown him inside and locked him up. He doesn't know how long it has been since then. But at the very least, he’s glad that he was sentenced to this place when he was recovering he couldn’t bear thinking about what could’ve happened. If he was already broken. For a brief moment, he saw a flash possible future of him, being a shaky, lowly servant, kissing at the feet of the supposed grand empress, but then the door opened, interrupting his thoughts. He looks up to see Theseus smiling down at him.

“Wakey wakey little pet,”  he chirps as he slowly walks downstairs. “Today is your first day of work! And I get to train you!”

Dream just glared at him as he slowly gets up from his spot. After a moment of silence, he attempted to dash past the nightmare to hopefully get to the door, only for the boy to grab him by the back of the shirt and slam him against the wall.

“Now come on, don’t make me mean on your first day,” Thesus growled. 

“You’re not Tommy…” Dream coughed, covering his mouth.

“Duh. I am way better than that annoying thing,” Theseus said, pointing at his face.  “Now, do you wanna do this the easy way or the fun way? 

Dream thought about it for a moment, it was pretty clear that this kid is nothing like Tommy, but if he just played along, then he could escape. But the moment that thought appeared in his head, he could feel every fiber in his body, screaming at him not to do it. If he has learned anything about people like the traffickers, playing along doesn’t guarantee you survival, same with resisting. Dream’s eyes light up with an idea: Maybe he can use his powers on him! If the clones have some similarities to the people that they are based on, maybe the kid could be easily scared by intimidation or something. He heard rumors about the hermits doing the same with their clones when they go rogue. 

He took a deep breath as he gave the boy a cruel smile even if it shake a bit. “Really? Do you think you can fight me? I have fought much scarier people than you!”Dream look around and noted one of the tentacles that seem a bit out of place and attempted to grab it, hoping to pull the nightmare off-balance. But then the tentacle latches onto his arm and tightens its grip on him. He let out a scream as the boy backed away, and he found himself on the floor far away from him.

“Wow, you’re whether very brave or very stupid,” Theseus laughed. “You said it yourself. I’m not Tommy. I don’t have his weaknesses.”

Dream attempted to pull away from the boy but he just slowly pulled him closer, savoring his fear.

”So what was even your plan you’re gonna scare me and then push me into the floor. I will whimper as you punch me a few times to run out the door.”  He said, as he pulled his tentacle, bringing him closer to Dream inch by inch. “The only reason why you even got this kid afraid is that you got the perfect circumstances of stupidity and content from the server, while the boy is so fucking touch starved that he needed anyone to be with him for like a fucking week, and then he suddenly wants to die!” 

He stops pulling at his tentacle the moment Dream gets close enough and grabs his face and pulls him closer.

“You’re not gonna be getting any easy shit from me. And if you ever did anything like that, I’m gonna make sure you will suffer in ways that make exile look like fucking child’s play.”  

Dream froze at the threat as someone yell out from the upstairs

“Theseus! Come back upstairs! You need to clean up the mess that you and Clementine made!” 

The boy let out a growl as he turned around.  “Demeter I’m currently busy with my pet! Let her play with that rebel!”

“You can bring him up now while you get Clementine to stop!” The voice said this time, a lot louder as she began to walk towards the basement.

The boy sneered in contempt before turning to Dream. “Come with me.” he dragged him upstairs, barely caring about any sounds of pain from Dream. He slammed open the door, revealing a woman with a flowy dark green dress with a crown of black roses waiting for them, her arms crossed with a deep frown. Despite the almost unfamiliar appearance of the woman, he already knew which clone she meant to be. 

Hannah's copy, apparently named Demeter, ignores Dream and just focuses on her brother. Her lips pursed in annoyance, “You haven’t told Clementine to stop.”

“Why should I? She’s having fun.”

“She's making a mess in the kitchen!”

Dream squinted his eyes, not understanding what they were talking about but he could hear a brief sound of something hitting the floor.

“Plus why are you so insistent that we should clean up? I get things that should be neat but what’s wrong with allowing Clementine to play!”

“Mother said that she’s gonna be visiting us in a few days and there could be a chance that she’ll be watching right now.”

The boy froze for a moment before he let out a sigh. “Fine.”  

Demeter smiled at him and waved at him to come with her, he followed, grumbling to himself as he dragged Dream behind him. After a few moments, he could hear the sound of the thuds more as a coppery sense filled the air. Knowing what it could means Dream tried to distract himself by looking at the walls, but he immediately regretted it when he noticed a bunch of skulls covered in plants with bits of hair and pieces of flesh on them along with pictures showing different atrocities that they have committed against its red walls. He then found himself on the floor of a kitchen. Dream leaned against a drawer only to feel something wet against said he turned around to notice blood on it. His strangle cries were ignored by the two nightmares as their backs blocked his view from sight. The only thing that he could see was a bloody-looking umbrella going up and down, showing to be responsible for the noise that he heard.

“She is doing pretty well with it!” Theseus giggled, clearly impressed by what she was doing. But his sister didn’t seem amused by it as much as he was. “Yeah, Yeah, get her to drop it.”

“ Fine, Clementine, stop it. I want you to meet my new pet.” 

The thudding finally stopped with a horrifying crescendo at that moment as the umbrella finally went down harder than it did before. After a moment, the person who is responsible for mass revealed herself to be a young girl looking no older than Tommy with blonde hair that is wrapped in a ponytail, and what looks to be a red and black suit-like dress similar to a doll. She is utterly covered in a mixture of gore and blood. Despite the horror show, her smile was surprisingly serene, as if she completed a test and got a good grade on it.

Theseus ignored Dream’s look of horror as he grabbed him by the arm and pulled him closer.  “Clementine, this is my new pet, His name is Dream.”

Clementine tilted her head as she stepped closer, her once serene smile immediately turned in vicious as she grabbed his face and began to pull at it. Though not saying a word, he could tell that she is enjoying checking out the new person. 

But Dream’s attention turned back to where she was and he was horrified to see that on the floor were the crumpled-up remains of a man with most of his face covered by blankets. 

Clementine seemed to notice it and pointed to herself and simply signed “Yes, I did that. Be very afraid.” Theseus laughed at that as he patted her on the head. Before Dream could stop himself he ended up stammering out. “I-I who did she kill.”

She frowned at him while the nightmares laughed.

“Why do you need to care about a random rebel?” Demeter mockingly asked. 

“I mean that was a person before he became a stain on the floor.” Dream deadpanned “Plus one it would be better if I get an introduction to the world so I won’t mess up anything…right?.” 

The two nightmares stared at him quietly for a moment before they finally shrugged.

“It would be a good idea, dear brother.” The fairy noted.

The nightmare, let out a sigh “Fine. I need to take him to work anyway. Clementine, pick him up.” 

Dream barely has time to put himself together as the girl picks him up, holding him by the side and opening the door to allow her master to walk through.

“Thank you. I’ll see you later sister.” 

“ I’ll see you later too.” She said back as she closed the door, allowing the three to wander to the outside world revealing that Dream was inside a small cabin rather than the large manor that he thought he was in with a small garden, filled with odd-looking plants and trees.

He attempted to look around, trying to memorize the path where he was on, but he was already lost the moment that his eyes left the cabin with the black rose thorns, already covering everything. He felt something hit the back of his head before being dropped onto the ground.

“Come on Dreamer I thought that you want to learn more about our world not look at the fucking daisies.”

“Coming,” He called out, glancing around one last time before turning to look at Theseus.“So are you one of the Lords of this place?” He asks to keep a distance from Clementine

“Ohhh, flattery, huh?” He smirked “ Well, for your information, I am. All of my siblings are. So that means you have to listen to us.”

“I understand but… aren’t you supposed to protect people because most laws that I know don’t have people being beaten on their own…” He stops himself when Clementine stares at him, shaking her finger as if telling him not to push it.

He swallowed as he then tried to change his question “ I don’t realize that there were a lot of rebels here.”

“Some people rebel against mother’s wisdom, and try to overthrow her along with us so it’s usually up to some like Overseer, Athen, Vulcan, and I to make sure that the population doesn’t do anything stupid.”

Dream looks away, remembering the three nightmares from earlier with the faces of his old friends. “How often do you guys have to execute rebels? Do you try to redeem them?”  He emphasize the redeemed part remembering how much the doctor seems obsessed with it.

Theseus laughed at that as if he has said a bad joke, “Oh don’t be silly! Those silly rebels aren’t worth the effort.”

“Uh… I thought you guys love the idea of redemption. You let us live….” He muttered.

“ You guys were lucky because if I was given permission, I would’ve made sure that you’ll be a lobotomized mess or another head in my wall. But luckily, you’re very entertaining!”  Before Dream could argue. He felt a hand grabbing his head and forcing him to look in front of him revealing that they were arriving at a large wall.

“We’re here!” Theseus yelled out cheerfully toward him  “Can you guess where we are?”

Dream just looked around, trying to figure something out. Clementine knocks at the wall door, causing it to open outward towards them as the boy giggles. The admin’s eyes widen, and when he realizes what he’s staring at the tall buildings and wooden structures. This time the city is filled with people, each one looking as fearful as the monarch butterflies fly all around them. But despite all the changes, he already knew what it looked like despite the twisted mirror.

Theseus smirked at him, as he walked towards the gates, and raised his arms, introducing the place.   

“ We have rebuilt the unfinished symphony! And now L’Manberg is the capital of our world”

Dream gasped as he was pushed into the city by Clementine, the city that he destroyed under fire, the city that is now a twisted reflection of what it once was as Theseus continued to laugh.

“Welcome home Dream!!”

Eret slowly walked as she was flanked by several robotic guards, each one marching in unison throughout a dark hallway as Madden and Duchess followed behind them. After a few moments, they finally said something.

“How long have you been pretending to be our friend?” she whispered.

Madden raised an eyebrow “Excuse me?

Eret repeated the question “How long have you been pretending to be our friend? I never really thought that I would meet you… Admittedly, I was a bit suspicious for a time before I ended up going to your place, same with Foolish. But still”

Madden hummed for a moment at the statement. “Then why didn’t you say anything? I’m surprised that you didn’t say a word.”

“Not very surprised that a traitor like you would do nothing about it.” The Duchess giggled.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Eret said, not reacting to the ‘traitor’ comment.

Maddens just smiled “ I am fond of you guys. That’s one of the reasons that I brought you. I’m hoping to give you a chance at a better life.”

“That's what they always said to me…” Eret mumbled to herself, noting a bunch of monarch butterflies passing by the windows, along with a series of closed doors. “So why did you bring me here? I doubt that you needed a puppet king.”

“Upset that there was no job fitting you’re calling?”

“ I’m saying that Madden seems to already have a couple of pawns to use for that angle.” Eret deadpanned looking straight at the Duchess. “I’m guessing that she’s like Dream except worse. At least he could fight his own battles.

“WHAT?! How dare you?!” They growled as they grabbed the king's collar, her hands raised as if to slap them.

“Now now duchess,” Madden said softly, taking one finger to turn their head towards her. “Don't forget about our little surprise for them.”

The Duchess smiles slightly as they lower their hand down “Oh yeah, little King don’t you want to see your friends? Or at the very least a couple of people who merely watch rather than help others.”

Eret still glared at the two “What are you talking about?

The Duchess opens the door to review a room filled with different screens and computers, each one showing a section of the nightmare world. Eret’s stomach drops, once they notice, one of the cameras showing what looks like above ground, revealing the familiar shape of the Twisted city that mimics L’Manberg. But it wasn’t just the city that caused them to react and forward in the room was George and Karl chained up and currently looking at the cameras looking just as horrified. The former was the first one to turn around his eyes glassy from the lack of sleep.

“Ere-Eret?” He yawned before he suddenly twitched, the collar forcing him to wake up.

The Duchess ignore George’s suffering before she ordered him “ Please get us to the hospital at camera 45, I’m looking for subject 011621”

Karl opens his mouth “ George is tired. Just let him rest for a bit and I can do it..”

The Duchess rolled her eyes “I’m guessing it was Hypnos doing.” She snapped her finger at George. “You can sleep for a bit. We got your replacement to make sure things are alright.”

Immediately George collapses onto the floor, going fast asleep as Karl quickly types up the code, the largest screen glitch for a moment before revealing a familiar totem sitting in the middle of a dark temple, looking groggy as he gently move back and forth.

“Foolish!” Eret cried out in horror.

“Oh, right, him. Surprisingly, besides that Michael kid the most, would I say innocent mother?” The Duchess asked Madden in a small voice, waiting for her to confirm or deny it.

“Oh, he’s got a lot of demons in his past he’s still running from,” Madden explained. “But he’s certainly good at putting on an innocent act. It takes a very keen eye to see the reality of who he is.”

The Duchess hummed at that “So I’m guessing that dear Medea and Anubis’s techniques are for the best.”

“What techniques?!” Eret cried out. She got her answer as a long-haired version of Puffy walked up to Foolish, along with a dark version of the latter with red eyes and  clothing fit for a pharaoh with jewels all over him. 

She gave him a cup of tea, something that he had taken, though considering his state she can’t help but question it. After a couple of sips, he slumped over onto one of the polls and went back to sleep. After that moment, the camera shut off leaving Eret alone in the room. The Duchess only had one word for them before they left.  “Any wrong move and we will kill the people you care about.”

After a moment, they were gone, and the door locked behind them. They stood there for a few moments before finally in despair, The king collapsed onto the floor as Karl ran to his side.

“Eret!” he cried out as he rushed towards his side. Eret looked up at him, tears feeling their eyes as they hugged him close.  

“I know, I know, we’ll figure something out! I promise,” he mumbled. 

Eret merely let out an indecipherable murmur as they slowly got up, looking out onto the different cameras, showing what was happening all over the place.All the torture murders brainwashing, and so many other atrocities by the nightmares and Madden

“They plan on hurting so many people…” she whispered.

Karl nodded, staring at the cameras. “The others are strong,” He said weakly.

She thought back to her museum with the limited information that she got about what happened to Tommy along with the information she got from Foolish about the Eggpire. She even thought back to the limited memories of her childhood, all the horrible things that she went through.

“There’s only so much for someone to take…” she stared at the cameras, trying to figure out what to do. “It's gonna take a while….” She slowly looked around the room, noting the glowing cameras. They need to talk somewhere else if they need to create a plan. 

“Karl… when George wakes up, we need to talk.”

Chapter Text

(Three weeks into the nightmare)
Deep within the factories of the neighborhood, the sounds of explosions were heard. Most of the people from the surrounding areas of the houses ignored it, already knowing what it belonged to. Inside, Tubbo was not having a good time, trying to avoid the Rockets shooting all around him, as multiple rocket launchers launched against him as he ran across the track, he looked around the room, trying to avoid it only for one of the rockets shrapnel hit him in the leg, causing him to fall to the floor only a few moments against the finish line. 

“Oh come on! Are you even trying?” Sparks cried out as he walked out of the protection room. “ I tried that with Theseus multiple times, and he managed to run across it without a single rocket hitting him.” 

He then glanced at the stopwatch. “At least you managed to get there faster than before.”

“Spark!” 

The nightmare turned around and smile when he saw his best friend along with Remus and Manifold carrying some equipment.

“Speak of the Devil!” Sparks said, have to leave as he stepped over Tubbo and went into hug Theseus who let out a groan, and punches friend in the shoulder,“Sparks! Not in front of the workers!”

“ I haven’t seen you in weeks. I’m taking as many hugs as possible now!” Sparks giggled but he back away from him.

“ I’m guessing that your tests were going well.”  Manifold noted looking at the different parts the floor.

“Not exactly,” Sparks said. “This idiot keeps getting hit.

Theseus laughed “Really?! It’s not that hard!”

“Is it really surprising?” Remus said “I’m just honestly surprised that the kid managed to survive.”

Tubbo tried to ignore it as he slowly tried to get up only to stumble downward much to Theseus' amusement. But Remus looks on with key interest. “ Does he do anything else besides testing?” 

“Nah. I don’t want him in the neighborhood. He’s already done enough harm when it comes to Michael.”

“Micheal?”  He whispered, as he slowly turned to him. “What… what is he doing here…..”

The nightmare, whip his head around, seemingly shocked at Tubbo’s words . “Wait, you didn’t know Michael was here?!” 

“No. No, I did not know my son was here!” Tubbo said. “What are you doing to him?!”

“He’s safe with me to take him in after frankly your neglect of your child! I mean the amount of times that he legitimately thought that being locked up in his house is a justifiable reaction is abhorrent!”

“NEGLECT?!” Tubbo shouted, stumbling upward. “What?! And letting him roam free to just get kidnapped by traffickers isn’t?! Is that ‘Good parenting’ in your book?!”

He steps forward in an attempt to attack him only for him to trip and fall. Theseus waves behind him with a cruel smile revealing himself to be the reason. 

“Besides, the fact that we can easily protect our own from those will hurt them.” Sparks announce coldly as he kneel in front of Tubbo. “There's also the fact that you left your son all alone every time you left the house. You didn’t even realize that he was kidnapped until your husband was literally killed and your enemy came to you telling you the news.” he grabbed  Tubbo cheek, and pulled him upwards. “And that’s not even getting to the worst of your neglect in the aftermath.”

Theseus shushed Sparks “Come on no spoilers~”

He stared at the two in confusion “What spoilers?”

Manifold smiled at him, I’ll look up petty in his eyes. “Personally, if I was you, I would just pretend that you didn’t hear. Mostly for the sake of your own sanity.”

Remus nodded before he asked Sparks “ how do you feel about him working part time at my house?”

Sparks stared at him in shock. “Huh?”

“I could use some more caretakers for the kids. It would keep him out of your hair, and having him be forced to work with his worst enemy would be hilarious.”

Sparks hummed at that. “And what would I get in exchange because I am really having fun shooting him with my inventions and Theseus is too busy with his own pet! He’s becoming responsible!”

The latter eyes widened at that comment, “I could bring him over and he could help out! I refuse to be insulted like that!” 

Sparks only took a moment to consider that before he smiled, holding his hand towards the older ram hybrid “Oh alright. Give me the reports when they begin fighting.” 

Remus smirks at him as he shakes his hand before putting him on the head. “ Thank you.” he turned to Tubbo. “Listen up kid, you’re gonna be coming with me soon, so you better get yourself prepared.”

Tubbo slowly get up, stumbling side to side as he leans against one of the polls.  he murmured out a quiet “Michael.”

Remus smirked, “You will get a good amount of Michaels, I promise you that.”

(????)

Fundy whimpers as he floats in the darkness. He barely understand why he was here. All he remembers being captured by someone that looks like George, and then being dragged in front of their now evil therapist, his question to Madden and then after that…nothing. He thought he saw some scenes of a struggle and…Wilbur…

He shut his eyes. There’s no way Wilbur came back like this, even in his lowest moments when he disowned him for siding with Schlatt and blow up L’Manberg. He was never this twisted. He immediately shakes his head, Maybe this is a bad dream or Vision. Maybe the exorcism worked and they’re asleep

He just need to wake up

Wake up

Wake up

Wake up

Wake up

There was suddenly a giggle above him like he was a toy doing a little dance.

“No no no, Only I could wake you up! Which I will do now! Wake up, new friend!”

 Fundy gasped as he shot out of a pile of stuffed animals that was acting like his bed.

“What…” he looked around the room which was filled with stuffed animals and puppets that seemed to be staring straight at him. He scratched the back of his neck as he picked up a stuffed fox dress like a clown that was on his head and looked at it for a moment before placing it to the side. “ Who lives here?” He mumbled, looking at a series of photographs, showing a bunch of smiling dolls and stuffed animals, along with a twisted family portrait of his family copies, holding a fox doll wearing a suit. “I thought Wilbur was weird when it came to my old bedroom…”

“ Do you really call your father by his first name?”

“I mean I wouldn’t really call him my dad he’s-” Fundy immediately froze, realizing that he’s alone, there is no one here. “Who? Who said that?!”

“I did. The fox doll suddenly said as it began to float in the air “Why did you put me away? You were happier before.”

“ What are you talking about?” Fundy cried out, seemingly ignoring the fact that it was a floating doll. “I was trapped in hell! like I can’t see, or do anything?! I only saw, like silhouettes?!”

The doll just giggled  “That’s it? You’re freaking out over being in some sort of boring void?” The doll proceeded to float on top of Fundy’s head before landing on it. “Have you always been this pessimistic?”

“ I wouldn’t call freaking out about a dark void pessimistic! What the hell is wrong with you??!” He groaned as he rubbed his head. “What is wrong with me for talking to some doll?!”

“That’s not very nice. I’m not just some doll.”

“I mean… what are you then?” Fundy then cried out as he felt his hair being roughly pulled back, causing his hands to suddenly move upward as if he was stretching. 

“Stop being mean to me! If you keep on acting this way, I’m gonna tell father and he’s going to kill you!”

Fundy frantically waved his hands at the doll “Okay, Okay, I’m sorry!” He yelled. “I just wanna know what’s going on? Where is Eret?! And Phil?! Where is everyone?! I’m just scared…” he whispered the last part, not knowing whether or not the nightmares would listen to him or just continue torturing him, but then he heard it giggled.

“Apologies accepted.” He then felt his hair being pulled down as he collapsed onto the bed, allowing the doll to stare at him in his eyes with its button-like eyes. “ If you want to know the answer: You’re in my domain! The great amphitheater!”

Fundy blinked “An amp-what now?”

“Amphitheater. A-m-p-h-i-t-h-e-a-t-e-r.”

“I still don’t know what that is.”

“It's a musical theater! It’s where I get to perform! Well, more like where we get to perform”

“We?!” 

“I can’t exactly perform like this. That’s where you come in.”

“Why should I allow myself to be possessed?!”  Fundy cried out “I want to see my family again!”

The doll tilted his head in mocked confusion  “Which family? The traitor that broke their promise? the grandfather that disowns you for something that your uncle also does? The other uncle, who always gets himself into trouble? Your friends that keep on abandoning you?  The Pack that turns you into a monster? Which family do you want?”

Fundy growled at what he said “ I’m not alone!”

“Then why didn’t anyone save you? Everyone seemed a lot more concerned about the girls then they were about you literally being possessed! Not a single one to worry about you. Oh no Fundy yet you seen so many people screaming for the girls”

“Eret was worried, weren't they?” Fundy said quietly.

The fox doll shook his head “ I’m sorry, they weren’t. And even then does that make up for the neglect?”

He looked away from the doll, who proceeded to use Fundy’s hand to pat him on the cheek as if trying to comfort him.

“ I will help take care of you. I just need you to do me two favors.”

“Fine….What is it?” He sighed

“First give me some control so that we can work together on our movements.”

Funny whimper for a moment before he then felt the doll pull at his body. This time he took the opportunity to slowly allow himself to get up in tune with the doll's pulls, and as it was a marionette on strings, he got up from the bed full of stuffing, and stood up on the floor. The doll clapped his hands. 

“You did a wonderful job! And now I’m gonna give you a wonderful gift before you do the next favor! You can call me Jester.”

“Jester…” Fundy said slowly, getting used to the name on his tongue.

“Don’t forget it! And now you can do the next favor! I need you to change into your human form!”

Fundy whipped his head upward towards the doll “What!?”

“ What's wrong? Why are you so upset?”

“I just… I don’t like being in my human form. Why do you need me to be in that form?” Fundy said

The Jester let out a sad sigh “It will be easier for both of us. You can get your own identity as a fox and I can get my own identity.” he began to shake as if he was crying. “ Why don’t you want to do that? Don’t you want to be your own person? Do you know what it’s like not to have an identity besides the one everyone expected?”

Fundy felt himself nodding, “I do.”

“Then why don’t you want me to have my own identity?” He whispered in his ear.

Fundy looks at his hands for a moment before he stiffly nods again, he closes his eyes and tries not to look at his hands for a few moments before he opens him, revealing a pair of human hands with claws at the end, his pale skin now slightly tanned from the the previous weeks of sunlight. He found himself smiling as  the Jester began to squeal in delight.

“Eeeeee! I love it! I love it!” he cried out as he hugged himself? Fundy? Both? Tightly and begin to spin around the room.”

“Y-You do?”

“Oh yes, yes yes you’re the bestest friend ever! I am so glad that you decided to be so selfless! You’re way better than your family!”

Despite himself, Fundy gasped happily. “What do you mean by better? I’m like the worst grandson and son!”

“I’m sure that’s what he thinks. But it wasn’t you who chose the guy who blew up his son and grandson’s home over his own family. It wasn’t you who completely abandoned his son when he was mourning his father. No, that was all him.”

Fundy nodded, he was right. He didn’t use that. It was Phil who made his choices. “Yeah…” just as he thought of that another face came to his mind. “But….Eret…”

“Oh Jester!” The Not-Wilbur cried out, interrupting his train of thought. “ It’s time for dinner, it's your favorite! Coconut pie!”

“Ohhhh Yum!” Jester squealed “ This is great! Do you like pie too?”

Fundy shrugged. He never really tried out coconut pie, but a part of him felt like it’s better to go along with it rather than getting him upset.

“I never tried it before but if it makes you happy, I think it’s probably gonna be great…”

(A day later after Tubbo)

Scarlett hummed softly as she brushed Katie’s brown hair. The girl was silent, despite the clear jolts showing that she was in pain despite her efforts. Scarlett sighed in frustration as she placed the brush down “I wish they could just give us shampoo and conditioner. I mean there’s so many tangles! Like is part of the punishment is giving us bad hair?!”

Techno let out a whine as John pulled his hair in an attempt to braid it. “ Well they’re succeeding then! I’m totally reformed now! I will never fight against governments again!”

John giggled “ You’re funny Mr. Techno!” The boy then gave him the mirror. “Sorry that I didn’t make you look nice.  I was trying to make you look like a piglin!”

He sighed as he looked himself into the mirror to see that his hair was still a tangled up mess this time wrapped into a braid. In any other circumstance, he would probably tell the kids that what he did sucks. He glanced at Scarlett as if to ask her what to do.

She took one look at him, narrowed her eyes and mouths three words.  “Don’t. Just Lie.”

“Uh… you did well kid.” John giggled in excitement as one of the other girls glanced at Techno, from Esma’s light green hair. 

“So what was your job before you ended up becoming a caretaker?” She asked bluntly.

“Did a couple things. Farmed potatoes for a while,” Technoblade said, tugging at his tangled hair.

“So let me guess you stole some potatoes from Ares here?” She said with a smirk.

“Nah, I never even met the dude until I got dragged here,” Technoblade said. “Madden just decided that me and my friends need to be ‘redeemed’ or something that didn’t make a lot of sense. Honestly, a lot of what she said sounded like nonsense.”

“I still think that this is a cult.” Scarlett said, her tension, still brushing, on Katie’s hair as the young girl turn slightly to Scarlett with annoyed expression on your face.

“Oh yeah, definitely,” Technoblade replied. “Honestly makes me miss the Eggpire.”

The girl let out a laugh, causing her short pink hair to bounce up and down “Welcome to the club. My name is Juno. And as for the cult thing, this place used to be a lot nicer until these guys came around, saying that they’re here to make the world a better place from our savage ways.” 

Esma nodded, “At least that's what they said.”

Mary shushes the two tying a bow on Finch “Esma, Juno. It’s not a good idea to say those types of things. The Sirs won’t be pleased if they hear what they are saying about them.” She then turned to the caretakers. “My apologies about my siblings' comments, you shouldn’t be hearing that.”

“Why not? It’s all stuff we already think,” Technoblade said. “They already kidnapped us.”

“They’re extremely powerful!” Mary cried out before leaning in towards Fechno and whispered: “And I heard that they could easily sense when you think about those things!”

Scarlett tilted her head, this is new. Have the nightmares ever mentioned it before or is that just a rumor to scare people? “How do they do that?”

“They're magic!” Finch cried out “Like wicked witches from the stories.”

She smiled at the boy, barely noticing the door behind her opening. “Hm, Interesting, so what kind of stories do they say about them?”

“If you want mythologies about our glorious rise, you could’ve asked us.” Athen chuckled, appearing behind them. “ or allow Duchess to take you to the museum.”

The children gasped as they quickly stood up straight. Scarlett and Techno stood up moments after, clearly trying to follow along.

“Hello, Sirs!” The children, yelling unison much to their surprise

Remus laughed at the sight “What with you two? You’re supposed to be setting an example for the kids. Not the other way around.”

“Sorry I’m not a mindreader,” Techno said. “You didn’t exactly explain the job.”

“Didn’t Scarlett explain it?” Athen asked, turning to the girl.

“Well, I assume that it was a babysitting job. Not also being a teacher.” She said in cold politeness. “You didn’t go into much detail of what you expected.”

The nightmares look at one another. “For once you actually have a good point,” Remus noted. “But there’s also another reason why we went down here. You’re going to get a coworker!”

“We are?” Scarlett said, looking surprised. “Who?”

Athen snap his fingers “Tubbo, come down here.”

“WHAT?!” Techno shouted, causing the children to jump and huddle together in fear as the goat hybrid slowly walked downstairs, wearing something similar to what Scarlett and Techno got. Her eyes widened, noticing that some of the burns on his face seem to have gotten worse as well as how numb he seemed to look. She quickly rushed toward Tubbo's side and grabbed onto his face. He barely reacted as she studied him. “Tub? Tubbo!? What happened to you?!”

Athen smirked “He went through some testing from our dear Sparks.” 

Scarlett's eyes turn red as she takes a few deep breaths and lowers her head. “Could you give us some ointment so I can heal them….sirs.”

Remus hummed. “I don’t know… I’m not sure if he deserves it.”

“ I mean it would be scary for the kids if he looked like he went through hell.”  She whispered, Scarlett tried not to look at Techno, who seemed to be shocked at her seemingly submissive attitude towards them. 

As much as she hated it too. It seems like playing along is the best option for everyone. “Plus it’s not good if he just stood there looking like a zombie….”

Athen took one moment to look at her before he tossed a small bottle at Scarlett’s head. She let out a yelp as it hit her before it landed on her lap. “Use it wisely. Do you got any questions about your work since you and your friend here were too dumb to understand.”

“What is our job?” Techno muttered, taking a moment to glare at the two.

“Basically you take care of the children and teach them to be better public servants. And you three need to set an example of how to be the perfect workers and servants.”

Tubbo then spoke up much to Scarlett’s surprise “What were they doing before you got them? Where were the parents?”

Remus raises his eyebrow at him “Who would like to know?”

“Me. Hence why I asked,” Tubbo said. 

“Kid, you do not need to think that all you need to do is to think about your job.” He then grabs Tubbo by the shoulder and pulls him away from Scarlett and stares into his soul, straight into his eyes, his brown pupils glowing. “And considering that you are already on thin ice for your performance at the factory. I recommend you focus on not fucking up these kids as much as you did my son and make sure that they’re happy.”

The goat hybrid froze at that moment, not knowing how to react as Remus got up with it, and a smile at his companion. “ So are you going to the manhunt tonight?”

Athen nodded as he turned around to go up the stairs with his brother, following “ Yep a couple of rebels have been captured and we decided that it will be the perfect punishment for them.” 

Remus chuckled, clearly excited by the news “I will be there to see it!”

At that moment, the group heard the mantle close, showing that the nightmares have finally gone upstairs. 

Scarlett let out a sigh of relief as she turned to Tubbo, holding up the moisturizer “Good news, Tubbo! We can finally make your skin smooth. Not to skin you alive, of course.” 

But He didn’t laugh at her joke as he just glared at her  while Techno stomped towards them with his cane, looking just as angry.  Scarlett stepped away surprised by their glare “What’s wrong guys? What did I do wrong?”

“You seem to be very willing to be buddy-buddy with the nightmares.” Techno growled, crossing his arms “What happens with the whole doing what’s right?”

Her eyes wide at the accusation,“I did it so we can get some healing stuff! There’s only so much that bandages could do for your injury, especially with you stomping around!” She cried out “What do you want me to do?!”

“We could have figured something out! Instead of just giving them what they want! What, you gonna just let them walk all over us the second we need something?”

Scarlett gasped, her eyes becoming more red at his words. She turned to the kids “Guys can you please go behind the screen door. I got words.” The children fearfully nodded as they ran away from the group as Scarlett get up on the floor.  “So what!? if we just keep on poking the bear until they eventually eat our faces off!?”

“And you think just giving in is the answer?!” Techno demanded. “If we just start doing whatever they say, we’ve already lost!” 

“It's to get their guard down so that we can eventually escape!” She growled, glaring at him “We’re currently underground with the only way for us to get out are through either windows too small or through the front door that they have access to. We got a bunch of kids who needed our help and we’re not leaving them behind if that’s what you’re thinking and our weapons are taken!” She stares straight into Techno’s eyes as she pokes him in the chest “So unless you could magically fist fight them into submission and manage to figure out how we can get out of here without us getting killed. Maybe you should actually fucking think for once and use some form of smarts!”

“But just giving them what they want isn’t smart!” Tubbo cried out. 

“What else can we do? Your face is completely covered in burns and we have no way out! If we keep just pissing them off they’ll just kill us or torture us or something!”

They all went silent at that moment, allowing her words to hang in the air, before Tubbo then asked “How did Michael get here? I thought that he was left behind when we fell?”

“He didn’t.” Scarlett muttered. “I felt him in my bag and I guess that it was a similar thing like us. It was a mistake on her part.”

Tubbo silently stared at her “Then how did he get into your bag?”

Scarlett crossed her arms, “He crawled inside my bag while you guys were doing your little hunting, and we decided to take him with us since he said that he could help…. Especially since Toby was out of commission for a while.” Scarlett emphasizes the commission part, glaring at the two.

“We were possessed, we didn’t wanna do that either,” Techno said, clutching his fists. “I like your brother just fine, not our fault Hunt turned us into jerks.”

“How did you think that that’s a great idea to just take him?!” Tubbo yelled out,grabbing her  arm

“I know, I know I wouldn’t have taken on the other circumstances!”  Scarlett cried out pulling back from him, “We were desperate, and Minerva managed to get a power up thanks to him!”

“Great, that completely fucking failed and now my son is being held captive by these monsters while they try to teach me how to ‘be a decent parent’ as if they aren’t locking kids up in a fucking basement!”

Scarlett takes a deep breath closing and opening her eyes to reveal it to be red, this time covering her whole eyes. “Well Maybe If you actually follow my plan for a few moments and figure out how to get their guard down better than arguing over semantics we could get your son sooner.” 

“Great, so that’s the plan. Play dancing monkey for these jerks hoping they’ll let their guard down instead of just coming up with some excuse to punish us while you put on the holier-than-thou act despite the fact that you got a baby kidnapped,” Techno said.

“Do you have a better plan?” Scarlett asked angrily.

Techno just huffed.

“Okay, say this works, we get out of the house, what then?” Tubbo asked. “Cause you seem to be missing a pretty big part of this plan. We’re in a weird place none of us have ever been before, we have no idea where any of our friends are, and we have no idea if or how we can get back to Toontown. What stops us from just getting caught the second we get out of the house and thrown somewhere more secure? Or just killed?”

Scarlett looked away “We’ll think of something. Plus knowing these types of people they’re probably going to be the type to show off so we’ll just follow along and then take every information that we got to use against them. And as for trying to get home…. Knowing Maddens she’s probably got some spells that got you guys here so there’s gonna be a chance that they’re gonna be some spells that will get us out of here.”

“Right. So none of us have an actual plan and you’re freaking out at us for not going along with your half-baked plan that is almost entirely built on assumptions,” Techno said. “Assuming they’ll let their guard down if we play along, assuming they’re the types to brag, assuming they give us any actual information, assuming we can actually figure out how to perform a spell when none of us have any actual experience with magic.”

“I know, do you think that I don’t know some of that?! I’d rather have some form of hope that we can get out of here, rather than just believe that there is no way to stop them.”

“Miss Scarlet, Mr.Techno, Mr. Tubbo, are you okay?” Mary asks politely.

Scarlett nodded, kneeling in front of the girl “Yes I’m sorry for the loud noises. We were just talking about something very important.”

“Katie doesn't like loud noises.” Juno added holding onto the shaking girl 

“I know I know I would try to make sure that it won’t be as loud next time”

As Scarlett continues to talk to the group Tubbo reluctantly turns to Techno. “I-I didn’t know that you were chosen to take care of a bunch of kids?”

Techno let out a low grunt “And I didn’t know that you were coming here.”

“I wasn’t originally. The other version of me didn’t want me around when he wasn’t trying to blow me up because he didn’t want me to be a ‘bad influence on Michael.’ He’s trying to steal my son.”

Techno tried not to flinch at the blown up part, “That’s….sucks. I mean that guy sounds like a bigger jerk, than you back then.” 

“You think?” Tubbo then glances at Scarlett. “I don’t get why she did that like she’s normally very strong willed like she barely obeys anyone…”

“Yeah…” Techno mumbled, looking a bit lost. He let out a sigh as he turned to Tubbo. “Look. I don’t trust you and you don’t trust me.”“Tubbo was tempted to mockingly, said yeah, you think but he allowed techno to continue.  “But we might need to at the very least tolerate each other's presence, if we’re gonna survive, especially if Scarlett is flip-flopping around.”

Tubbo sighed,  as much as he hate to admit it Techno got a good point. “Yeah…. I guess we should do that.”

Chapter Text

“You know, Minerva. You would actually have a better time if you stop moping.” Madden said casually as she sipped her tea. Minerva was sitting across from her, a pair of cuffs around her hands and wings keeping them together as she held some tea in her hand. Nearby was the Crowfather who took an opportunity to kick her leg to get her to react.

“Are you going to say something?” He asked.

Minerva glared at him, taking the opportunity to let out a small hiss. “ I don’t have anything to say to the two people who kidnapped me.”

“Still on about that? Really, it’s not becoming of a lady to carry on about something like that,” Madden said. “Besides, you wouldn’t even be here if the server hadn’t gotten you involved.”

“And they wouldn’t be in this situation if you haven’t been fucking with them!” Minerva, then let out a yelp as she fell a claw, pulling her hair back. She looks up to see the Crowfather narrowing his eyes at her. “Watch your tongue.”

Madden smirked. “ Minerva, this is one of the reasons why we have to take you. You became so wild under them. You even isolate yourself from your friends.”

“Have you met my Ren?” Minerva exclaimed,eyes glowing. “Trust me lady. Me and Scarlett were way wilder when we were kids. You ain’t seen nothing.”

“Which is one of the other reasons why I took you. I think that taming such a wild fire would be good for everyone.”

“What, so I can be a psycho control freak like you?”

The Crowfather growled at her, ready to strike her for her actions, but Madden merely held up her hand towards him. Causing him to sit down to wait for her ex instructions 

“No, no, I wanna hear what she meant.” She stares straight into Minerva's eyes “So you really are convinced that these are good people who just were led astray by Lil old me?”

“They certainly weren’t that bad before you put Hunt in their heads. The real them wouldn’t have attacked random children for no reason. They’re paranoid, quick to anger, and violent. But they’re not bad people. They were trying to change. You threw a wrench in that.”

Madden raised an eyebrow “How much did they tell you about themselves to you?

“They told me enough.” Minerva said standing up in her chair. “They told me about how the reason that they couldn’t leave was because they were afraid of being homeless even with how Dream treated them.” Her eyes hidden behind her at the memory of Tommy’s panic at the implication of dream being in the same world as them. “Tommy told me about what that bastard has done to him. You’re telling me that they lied about everything.? That every single little thing that they told me was just a way to just manipulate me and my family?!”

Madden and Crowfather patiently sit there as Minerva sits down and crosses her arms. “What do you have to say to that?

The crowfather hummed “It’s pretty clear how misled they are about their actions, even when they’re telling the truth, They still lie to you.”

“What the hell are you talking about how they ‘misleading’  me?!”  Minerva demanded. “What do they have to gain by lying to us?!”

He shakes his head sadly, as if Minerva has said the most hurtful thing. “Mother shall I give her a demonstration for her to truly understand.”

Madden waves her hand. “Of course she really needs it.” Minerva barely has a moment to react before the man grabs her arms and drags her out of the room.

“What the hell?! let me go!” she yelled out as she attempted to pull back from him. She looked around, attempting to figure out where she was. All she was a series of houses with with people walking around dumb, her eyes wide, and when she noticed one particular series of houses in various stages of construction with a familiar figure, slowly and steadily, trying to build it 

“Wait-I know him, is that Phil?! What is Phil doing over there?!” Minerva cried out as she was thrown into a small house. She landed onto the floor, found herself in a cushion room with a few people wearing combat clothing. They stood behind her in a straight line, trying not to shake at the nightmare's presence.

“What’s going on here?” Minerva said, quietly as she tried to back away from them.  She barely noticed the chains and cuffs around her falling away nor the crowfather handed her a battle stick.

He told his head at her as he forced her to turn around towards him. “ Have you never trained before?”

Minerva finally notices him quickly turn around to hold up her stick “Yes? Are you gonna teach me how to fight or something? What does it have to do with learning about your fucked up philosophy?!”

“Oh, you’ll see.” he growled before rushing towards her before she could react he punched her in the stomach, causing her to let out a gasp. He then used the stick to hit her in the leg, causing her to fall onto the ground. Minerva stumbles to the ground, trying to get up to fight back before she rushed towards him and attempt to hit him in the head but the crow father merely avoided as he took the opportunity to grab her by the neck and hit her against the cushions. She frantically looks back to see the people still standing there, looking away from her. She tries to reach out, trying to tell them to help. But the nightmare merely pulled her back into the fight and continued to pummel her. As she attempts to defend herself, covering her face to keep the worst of the injuries off of her. She can’t help but wonder why they weren’t helping her? Don’t they realize how much she’s hurting even then they could’ve at the very least do something. After a few moments of agony, she then fell to the ground, groaning, as she attempted to get up. The crowfather smirked, at her as he offered her a hand. “You need help, Owlet?”

Minerva glared at him as the nightmare merely picked her up from the ground by the arm. She shakes a bit in an attempt to stand up right, causing her to lean onto him. 

“Heh, I knew she was right about you.” he said, pulling his veil back to reveal a set of eyes staring back at her. “You’re just a baby bird who needs someone to lead her to the right path.”

Minerva coughed, deliberately getting some of the blood onto his face. “Fuck you…” She growled before returning back to the group with a angry glare on her face, despite the odd feeling in her gut, she then growled no out. “Fucking cowards… Why didn't you do anything?!”

“Oh, Owlet you still don’t understand?”

“That you’re fucking evil enough to beat up a kid. Yeah, I understand that!”

“You don’t. Not really.” He hummed, he then pointed at the group. “Why do you think that they stood by while you were getting hurt? 

“Cause they’re bastards? Or maybe just cowards?”

She instantly regretted it the way many of them look away from her. He chuckled at her answers as if she was saying something either stupid or weirdly adorable. “You got some of it correct but also because they were so into their own little problem that even when evidence was staring right in the face, they refused to get involved. But it could’ve been worse. They could’ve laughed at you or spit at you, as you are suffering, maybe even get involved in some of the beat down.” he held her cheek as he smiled at her in almost a father manner. “They could even dangle false hope in front of you only to just never return to give you what you want.”

Minerva blinks for the first time not knowing what to say “What…”

“Silence and individual inaction go hand in hand little bird. That’s the reason you were hurt. I may have hurt you, but it’s also their fault for not getting involved in attempting to help you.” With that he pushed Minerva into one of the arms of one of the younger people there.  “Make sure she gets clean up and has something good in her stomach. Mother said that there’s a lot of unanswered potential in her and we need to make sure that she will look presentable.”

Minerva looked away from him and much to her surprise, he then said “ just to let you know, I don’t think you and your girlfriend are evil I just think that you guys have some wonderful traits about you. And despite everything, You’re a fighter.”

As the people carry her away, trying to not aggravate injuries Minerva sits in her emotions, she doesn't know how to feel about what he had done. She hated him for hurting her, but it doesn’t make sense. Why did he then order them to help heal her and give her something good like he hadn't beaten her up. Same with the compliment was it some twisted way to show her kindness or was it just a way to manipulate her? She still sat there with that thought, as the servants wrapped her wounds with clear bandages.

“Ranboo, Ranbobbbb. Wake up!” Ranboo let out a groan as he opened his eyes to see Tommy, looking straight at him. Some of the bruises and cuts on his face and arms were still there, but he seemed to be smiling as if he found something great. 

“Tommy?” he murmured, as he slowly tried to get up from the mattress, his back sore from the last few weeks. “What are you going on about?”

Tommy's tail shakes as he begins to drag him off the bed.

“I think I found a way to get us out of here!” Tommy said. “We gotta just grab Sam and go.”

Ranboo immediately froze. A way out?! Already?! “Are you sure?!  What if this was a trap? Plus Sam is currently being forced to wander around here. How do we get him without the overseer noticing?!”

“Sam is going to come back in a few minutes.” He said quietly. “We just need to wait…”

Ranboo reluctantly nodded as they sat there, waiting for Sam. He stared at his friend as Tommy murmured, something to himself quietly, his tail still wagging, as if he was excited. 

“Uh…Tommy? Are you all right?” He asked, tapping on Tommy’s shoulder.

“What do you mean?” Tommy asked, turning to look at the enderman hybrid.

“I mean… with everything that happened you just focused on trying to get out of here like I don’t think I have seen your sleep since we got here. Also you’ve been making a lot more… noises” Ranboo, pointed at Tommy’s tail, trying to get him to realize what he meant.

The raccoon hybrid let out a chittering noise similar to a laugh. “What are you talking about? What noises?”

“ I mean I heard you screaming for the last few nights” Ranboo argued.

“Just nightmares probably,” Tommy said. He then turned around to the sound of the door opening. One of the robotic guards was standing nearby as Sam lumbered his way inside wearing different armor from before . It was a dark purple with a few dark red gems on it. Ranboo even noted the way the craving looked like vines. But the Part that surprised them the most was his mask. Rather than the dark green gas mask, it was a mask similar to the ones he used when creating redstone with some clamps on the sides to keep it on tight. They both rushed toward his side as the guard closed the door.

“Sam! Are you ok?!” Tommy cried out, grabbing Sam’s mask . 

“I’m okay,” Sam said. “The Overseer just wanted me in new armor. Said it ‘fit my position better.’ Bit difficult to move.”

Tommy growled at that moment. “Sam, we're getting out of here.”

Sam’s eyes grew wide as quickly got up on the spot. “ Tommy, what are you talking about?!”

“I’ve been in this cell a lot. I think I’ve figured out how to get out,” Tommy said. “It’s not nearly as secure as it looks. So much for this ‘Overseer’ having a better prison than you. Pandora’s Vault sucks, but at least it’s secure.” Tommy then pressed his head against the wall, causing the door of the prison cell to open up after a moment  he let go causing it instantly swing shut.

“Okay we can open the door, but how do we all get out if someone has to press their head against that spot?” Ranboo asked.

“I-”

“We’re not leaving you behind Sam,” Ranboo said, turning to the creeper hybrid. “Not happening.”

“ Well, I thought that we could use a rock? Or maybe one of the robot guards!” Tommy, exclaimed. “Like they got to listen to you too.”

“I don’t know Tommy, that's kind of ridiculous. Why would the Overseer give me some form of control over the robots?”

“I meant to be his second in command, right? So why not give you some control?”

Sam laughs softly, almost bitterly as  he shakes his head “Tommy I think that the most accurate term for me is guard dog. H-he wouldn’t just give me a position of power.”

Ranboo let out a cough, getting their attention, “What if we use some of the mattresses.”

“That could work!” Tommy said. “Come on Sam, help us move them.”

He nodded as he, Tommy and Ranboo moved the mattresses to the side and stacked them on top of it one another. Once they were piled up high, they pushed him against the wall. At that moment, the door swings open, calling out the sound of freedom for the three.

Tommy let out a laugh triumphantly as he stepped outside “We did it!” he whispered happily, towards the two as they stepped outside.

“T-That…was…” The Enderman experimentally takes a few steps forwards as he looks around the cells “Easy…”

Tommy nodded excitedly “Told you it’s not as secure as the vault!” He then frowned as he looked around the area, noticing the different cells. He then turned to Sam, with a familiar mischievous yet determined gleam in his eyes. “ How many people do they keep here?”

“Too many for me to count,” Sam said. 

He nodded “We are breaking them out too!”

“Tommy, that could take hours,” Sam cried out. “We can’t linger. Or else we’ll get caught.”

“At least let’s do the ones on our row!” Tommy waves at the people huddling together in different cells, staring at them in dull shock and some form of resignation. “No one belongs in cages!” 

“We will get to them once we get out of here,” Ranboo frantically said, attempting to pacify the situation.

But he shook his head “By the time that we might come back here they would already make it more secure! We can’t waste time!”

The creeper shakes his head as he grabs Tommy and throws him over his shoulders “I know, I know, but we can’t waste anymore time!” he cried out before He and Ranboo began to run down the hall. 

“Sam! Ranboo, let me go!” Tommy screech kicking at Sam’s back.

“I’m sorry Tommy, but we really have to hurry,” Ranboo said.  

“How disappointing my own Warden turned against me.” a voice said above them. “I thought you knew better than to run away Sam.”

A group of robotic guards, their eyes gleaming red, surrounding the exit of the prison.

Ranboo gasped “No!” 

Tommy growled as he looked around and immediately grabbed a metal pipe before jumping off of Sam’s back. “We’ll get out of here you imposter!” he then pointed at Sam “Plus you gave him armor and weapons! You’re basically gave us a chance to fight you and your robots!”

“Oh, did you really think I wouldn’t think of that?” There was a snap of a finger and Sam felt something heating up under his armor. He shifts uncomfortably as if trying to take it off before he lets out a loud hiss-like scream before collapsing onto the ground, shaking in pain.

“Sam!” Tommy cried out as he rushed towards his side, Sam let out a small whine as he slowly looked up towards him. His pupils turned from slit to normal over and over again as the smell of burnt furs fills the air.

Ranboo kneeled, reaching out towards him before recoiling away when he felt the heat emanating from Sam’s armor.

“What are you doing to him?!” Tommy screeched.

“I can’t let rebellion go unpunished. Return to your cells peacefully and perhaps I’ll turn it off before it cooks him alive.”

Tommy tearfully looked at Sam before looking back at the guards before he let out a small sigh. “Fine….” he slowly got up as he attempted to pick up Sam from the ground with Ranboo. Only for a hand to pull him away from Sam and Ranboo.

The Overseer stared at him with cruel eyes as he smirked  “Technically you're exempt from the cells for the night.”

“Exempt?”

“Yes, I think a night in the fear chambers will teach you. Plus I’ll report your actions to Brother so he can deal with you.”

Sam gasped as he tried to get up from the ground. “No….please…He doe-doesn't deserve it….”

Ranboo turned to him. “What the hell is a fear chamber?!”

“A place where you go through your own personal hell.”  The overseer snapped his fingers as the robots surrounded Tommy. “And earn his place there”

Tommy’s eyes widened, as he started to wiggle out of the robot’s grip. 

“No! I thought that he would let us go if we did what you wanted!” Ranboo cried out

“You tried to escape. I can’t just let that go unpunished.”  He snapped his fingers, causing Tommy to be dragged away by the robot

“Sam! Ranboo!” Tommy cried out, trying to reach for them, but Sam and Ranboo could only watch as the raccoon hybrid disappeared from sight as the other robots surrounded them to take them back to their cells. They can already hear their friend scream for help as they were locked inside; they barely noticed the button disappearing as the overseer laughed.

Niki groans as she looks down at the dress that she’s wearing. It was long and pink with yellow buttons and bows. Under normal circumstances she would probably see it at some fair that were selling children's toys. But this time she was the toy and she already knew the routine of what that would entail. But if she does this right  she could easily get out of here while everyone is distracted.

“Oh Dolly!”  The siren calls out to her “Come downstairs I need you to help me out with all my baking!”

Niki forced herself to smile as she walked downstairs to the basement, where several workers were slaving away, pulling at the levers and buttons that let out an odd gooey substance that goes into the oven before it comes out as grayish bread. She found out that she knows that the potions effects tend to make food odd looking, but it couldn’t have been that bad. And unfortunately, it seem like the nightmare had the same suspicion when the Siren frowned slightly as she picked up a piece of bread. She broke it in half before shoving it into Niki’s face.

“Taste it.”

She pulled her head back from it. Knowing what’s in there she looks up at the nightmare who continues to stare at her expectantly. Niki attempts to silently plead with her before Siren push it towards her again, with a slight growl.

Realizing that she have no choice, she took a small piece of it and ate it. After a few moments of chewing, she covered her mouth, her face turning a greenish color before she ran to the trashcan and vomit in there.

The Siren let out an angry scream before she grabbed a worker by the hair.  “You little shit! What did you do to my bread!”

“I-I I did what you instructed, Madame-” the worker tried to say,  But they were silenced when the Nightmare shove the bread in their mouth, before she grabbed them and carried them upward towards the direction of the oven. Its mouth is burning hotter than ever, seemingly licking its lips in excitement. 

“This will teach you to mess with my cooking.” She cried out. The worker screamed as they attempted to squirm their way out of the nightmare's grip.

At that scream, Niki quickly pulls her head out of the trash as she coughed out  the last piece of bread, she couldn’t let someone get killed because of her actions!

“No…Please… it wasn’t their fault…” 

Siren tilted her head at the girl, still holding the squirming worker. 

“Dolly, can’t you see that I’m busy right now, I’m about to make a new loaf of bread.”

“No… it’s not their fault they didn’t do anything to it….” She whispered before pointing at herself. “It was me…I caused it….”

The siren gasped as she dropped the worker onto the floor, fairly, noticing the shade scrambling away to their pals. “Dolly Why?! We were friends! I took good care of you. I even did your hair and gave you a beautiful dress.” She then walks forward to Niki looking at her with a sadden look on her face. “ Why would you kill me?” 

Niki glanced at her, “We are not friends.”

“Awww? Why not? I gave you the best room and housing out of everyone here.” She growled

“You try to kill them!”  She cried out, pointing at the workers that were now hustled together “You already killed so many innocent people right in front of me! And you expect me not to try to do something about it! To not try to kill a tyrant like you!” 

As Niki took a moment to take a breath after her rant, The nightmare just  raised her eyebrow towards her before turning to the workers. “You all have a day off. I want to talk to my Dolly.”

The workers bow towards her, letting out a small whisper of thanks before they rush out of the room, leaving Niki alone against the nightmare. She expected the nightmare to hit her to screech at her while telling her how awful she is, but instead the nightmare merely walked away from her as she picked at flowers and tossed each one into the oven.

“You’re still the same girl who came to the Syndicate are you?”  She noted, throwing a Gladiolus in there

“Techno is my friend. He help me out when I was at my lowest and gave me a new home after L’manberg.”

“Oh, yes, the home that you helped destroy. How kind of him for giving you a place to live after making everyone else homeless.”

She tried not to flinch at that as the nightmare continued “I mean then again you always have a habit of following people around. You follow Wilbur when he created his little city and to his grave, you followed Techno when he created his little terrorist organization and you followed Jack when he attempted to murder a child.” Siren smirked at Niki. “Do you notice a pattern?”

Niki crossed her arms “ you don’t know why I did that. Wilbur manipulated me and Techno-”

“Didn’t manipulate you? Also, that didn't explain the Tommy part. I mean what was that about?” She caused a chair to appear under Niki before she pulled her closer to her face to the point that the former could smell her breath. “I know that kid was a brat, but didn’t you think of him as a little brother when Wilbur was around?”

“That was before…” Niki said shakily.

“Before what?” The siren let out a small whistle and what Niki thought of as music began to feel the air causing her mind to dull slightly. 

 “ Speak up my little songbird/ explain your little story/Why kill someone that you consider a little brother/ to stab him in the back after all the trouble he went through.”   

Siren then presses a finger on her mouth before she says anything. “and you are aware of every single thing that you say/ And once you’re done, you’re gonna listen and believe what I said/My little cruel doll.”

“I….” Niki took a small breath  before she let out everything. Her voice is no longer scared but now filled with a unfamiliar rage that cause her to cringe in horror at its tone,

“I blame him for what happened with L'Manberg as well  as Wilbur’s death. I try so hard to help work the best I could! Rebelling against Schlatt even at the cost of my own business! Attempted to save Tubbo, when the others were too cowardly to do anything, and trained myself day and night to become strong! Then once we got the city back and victories in our hands, Wilbur just died after blowing up everything we worked hard for! And then, just when everything seems to be fine,when it seems like we could rebuild! Tommy has to burn that house!” she spat “He has to set up several places on fire and place us into a horrible situation! He even has the audacity to attempt to blame me! And then once he was exiled, things were quiet, and then we thought he died, and then it turned out that he signed with Techno. It was meant to help him blow up L’Manberg and then he messed up again and told  Tubbo that he doesn’t care about him and that Tubbo give Dream the discs led to the destruction of the city!” Niki took a couple breaths, not knowing where the anger and sadness came from, but knowing that it was from her but before she could stop herself, she let out more information. “And the worst part…. People always said ‘Poor Tommy’ how he went through alot! when all he did was just cause trouble! Being just a little pest!” She found herself letting out almost a deranged laugh that barely sounds like her and more so the puppet that the nightmare is pulling to dance.  “Jack told me that he killed him when he tried to visit him in exile, so we just decided that the only way to get things back to normal was just get rid of him and we tried every method but he still didn’t die…. And then he did and I  realized…. It didn’t feel good and I didn’t want him gone..”  Tears came out of her face as the nightmare clapped  her hands.

“And did you tell Tommy about the fact that you tried to kill him?”

“Not on purpose. It just slipped out during that one argument. I thought Sam was gonna kill me.”

There was a few minutes of silence, as Niki attempted to get up from her seat before she felt a hand push her back and the nightmares, black and hazel eyes staring back at her.

“I have to admit he should have killed you.” Then nightmare gleefully pushes Niki back, causing the chair to slam against the wall. “You’re a little selfish bitch you know that right?”

She shook her head. “No… I just-”

“You just wanna kill a kid because you think that he’s a little pest. You’re just like him!”

“What?”

“Dream! Although I did notice a bit of Wilbur as well in you!”  The siren giggled, spinning the chair around  “Though who can tell the difference in this pathetic server.”

Niki shakes her head, feeling dizzy, and barely able to keep her thoughts together “No…I’m…”

“Come on, take the compliment.” She held up her fingers as she began counting “ You manipulate Tommy into thinking that he’s his friend, you try to kill him for shit that wasn’t his fault and you let him do all alone when he needed you the most!” The siren frowns at her “Plus for all your yelling, all your only ‘proof’ being almost circumstantial evidence. Do you know who actually burned out those places besides that weirdo, George’s house?”

Nikki hesitantly shake her head

“It was your fiancé, Puffy and her little brat.” S he declared “ I bet if you had known about that, you would have killed her the moment that you saw her.”

Niki stares downwards as she processes information. She didn’t even know that even when they were under Hunt’s control. Why did she hide this from her? “It was Puffy….”

“Yes. And you probably don’t know much about exile, right? Otherwise, I bet that you would be a bit more reluctant to kill him.” Niki stayed silent as he stared at her “ Of course you did know. That’s the reason why you’re selfish. What would Wilbur think of you now?” She holds Niki’s cheeks as she wipes away tears. “Especially when he found out you try to kill his beloved brother~”

Tears stream down her face as she utters a hiccup “Please… I’m sorry… I was just angry…”

“And that’s the problem with you. You get angry and lash out before you know all the facts.”

Niki just shook slightly as she continued to cry. “Where’s…my friends? I want them back…. Please just… I want to go home…” She pulled up her knees and hugged it tightly as she continued to shake. “Please….”

“Hmmm.”  The Siren hummed before, pretending to think before she said “ you know, I wasn’t kidding when I say that you’re a follower. I could give you a chance to finally have a purpose and home.” 

“What….” She whispered, looking up at her.

“ You become my dolly full time and I’ll give you a purpose.” She offered “Plus, you won’t be dangerous to everyone else.” 

Niki stared at her in shock at the idea, there’s no way she would just give her mind up to her. She has seen what people like her do to others: just play them around like small puppets and then once they’re broke and just throw them away, but could she keep on doing this? Eventually, she’s not gonna take it anymore and more people could get hurt if she keeps on messing up. She refused to give into a tyrant.  

“No… I refuse…” She muttered as she slowly tried to get up.

The nightmare smirked as she begin to hum, 

“ Why would you ever try to fight me?” 

Niki stopped herself at the question as she struggled against the spell. The Nightmare grabs her hair and pulls her upward as the fog covers her mind. “You just want to stay here, safe, with me my little doll.”

She struggled for a moment, trying to get out of the fog in her head, but then the words continued to go into her mind and twisted to whatever desire the Siren wanted. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the Siren, staring at her with a cruel smile.

Chapter Text

The building lights glow, brightly lighting up the dark streets as a figure rushes pass the alleyways of the city, ignoring them scream behind him.

“Get back here!”

“Listen kid, I know that you don’t like it here but you’re risking our lives! This is the 100th time!”

“The bosses will kill us all if you don’t come back here, you selfish brat!”

“Find that riffraff!”

Purpled noted to himself that when he finally gets out of the situation to use riffraff in his vocabulary as he stopped to take a breath under the bridge as he heard the sound of running over him. His once nice clothing, were now torn to pieces showing the scars and burns from the more than a month of torture and accidents from being a part of Thanatos and Charon’s gang. Then again, a slave is more accurate.

This was hardly his first escape attempt, though Purpled was trying to avoid getting too excited over the fact that this one was going smoother than a lot of the previous ones. The only rewards that he got beforehand is the other gang members gaining more of a reason to hate him, and the nightmares using it as an excuse to use him for drug testing, or to send him to the more Hellish version of Las Nevada. He looked around the area of the bridge revealing that he was in the middle of a park with some people wandering around nervously, trying to go about their day, each person carrying expensive items like gems, or jewelry, basically begging for him to try to steal one. He reaches out, hoping to take one before he stops himself.

“This is a fucking trap…” He murmurs to himself before turning back around before he hears a scream, turning around to see a young woman and her friends shaking in the presence of one of the crooks that was chasing him.

“The sirs demanded you guys give tribute in exchange for your lives.” The man said, in an almost robotic voice. Holding out one hand while his other changes into a laser gun. The group  frantically nodded before they handed out money to their gangster for a brief moment, he felt a couple of them glancing at Purpled as if begging for him to save him. He’s still there in shock. At that moment on the one hand, this could easily be some sort of trap to mess with some sense of empathy that he have, and he will just run in there and attempt to save the day only to get his ass kicked and be dragged back to the hellish life that he was in bond, on the other hand walking away could also mean that either he let a group of people get hurt or it’s another one of their weird moral traps where if he made the wrong decision, they will call him an asshole for it. He stood there really stuck in his decision before he took a step back to test his theory. It was unfortunately confirmed correct as the once scared group in front of him turned in unison to spot him before they took out their weapons with a disturbing smile on their faces, their eyes glowing red.

“Are you having fun? Subject 070920?”

He immediately ran the moment that they say that barely needed a moment to whisper nope to himself. But before he could do anything else, he felt someone grab him and slam him against the wall. He opened his eyes to see that he was surrounded by a fog. 

“Congratulations you managed to get away for almost 13  hours,” His nightmare said monotonously as he revealed himself, his white hair, emphasizing the dark purple and black uniform that he’s wearing, his black and purple eye, studying him closely. “ That’s better than your run three months ago.”

Purpled growled at him as he attempted to kick him in the nose only for the nightmare to grab it, holding him by only one hand to keep him from falling. “I should have slit your throat in your sleep when I have a chance!” 

“Well, you didn’t.” Thanatos smirked as he dropped him onto the floor, and began to tie him up as the three robots were in place waiting for their other master.

“So, what's my punishment this time?” the alien asked mockingly. “I mean it’s clear that the drugs and shit is not working on me and I have to admit that Lonely King guy is a total simp and a loser compared to Quackity.”

“I agree,”  he said bluntly. “Not about how stupid we are, but if you are talking about Lonely King, he’s fine, but he’s too soft hearted. In my opinion, you would merely take advantage of his kindness.”

“Oh please, I don’t even think any of you are capable of kindness,” Purpled said.

Thanatos presses him against the wall. “ I think that you still being alive is a good example of that.”

Then both boys felt a breath of hot air breathing down their neck as a golden and black dragon appeared above them that seemed to be smiling at them. 

“Brother.” The nightmare greet as he throws the alien onto the ground. “Me and the robots got him.”

The dragon laughs before it flashes back into revealing a cruel copy of his brother with darker blond hair and red eyes wearing a white suit. Around his neck was a duller version of the medallion that Punz always wears. “Don’t you get tired of this chase?”

“Yeah, I’d be much happier if I actually got away from you jerks,” Purpled growled before attempting to spit on him. One of the young lady bots grabs the boy's hair before pulling him back before turning back to Charon.

“What shall we do to the prisoner, my lord?” 

Charon and Thanatos look at each other for a minute, trying to consider what to do with him.

“We can't send him to Lonely King again, but Spider is busy with Tommy.” Charon noted, tapping his chin.

“We can chop his legs off.” Thanatos suggested that he summon an ax.

“Yes but that would also make him completely useless. We want him to stop running away, we don’t want to make him useless.”

Thanatos begins to think long and hard about what to do next before he doesn’t remember what mother told them. “Wait… remember how mother managed to control them right?”

Purpled narrowed his eyes, what the hell is he talking about the only other time he could be talking about is-

He immediately froze, realizing what he could mean as the other nightmare begin to hum in consideration.

“You mean her empathy? We don’t want to overwhelm her too much. Besides, she already has a full plate tutoring Minerva.”

“Oh no, of course, but I mean by keeping them in a state where disobedience is impossible. Where they have no choice, but to obey.” Thanatos explains with a slight smirk.

His brother looks at him in surprise for a moment before he smirks right back to him. “Ohhhh, that is a very fascinating idea.”

“Wait if you’re planning on what I’m thinking that you’re planning, I mean you could just, you know, lock me into the basement for a week or send me to my room without dinner or something!?”

“Oh no, you’ll be getting dinner, we don't want you too hungry. Especially for tomorrow.” He snapped his finger towards the robots. “Send a message to mother and let’s go home.”

Purpled let out as he was dragged away from the scene. He has a bad feeling that whatever they’re planning it’s not gonna be good.

Toby nervously stared at the paper as he walked down the path back to town. All his thoughts on his encounter with the strange person he don’t know why the person would do such a thing, but it seems like he does want to help but at the same time, could it be that he’s working for Madden to do a little bit of misdirection to manipulate them. Even Jon and the others seem confused not knowing how to take in the potential clue.

“I mean it could easily be a trap”

“But we should at the very least give it to bugs he deserves some form of idea of what to do.”

“And what, risk giving him false hope?”

“It’s better than nothing.”

“I don’t know about you guys, but we can’t trust some random guy that we just met that he would tell the truth!”

“We don’t have any choice!”

“So we’re just gonna go along with it?!”

As his mind continues to twist and turn at the possibilities and feel not knowing what to do with the information, he barely notices voices calling out to him until Toby feels someone pull his hat off. Immediately, he turns around and grabs onto his aviator hat, facing the pale face of Glatt. There’s a moment of hesitant surprise before Toby spoke up.

“Why did you grab my hat?” He asked in an almost monotone tone.

“You didn’t hear us.” He replied as Lex, Ethan and a few other kids caught up with them.

Toby stared at them. “You could’ve just called me when I got home.”

“You barely came outside,” Lex pointed out before kneeling in front of him “Did you go into the forest again?”

“Uh-No.” he murmured, looking away from them.

“Don’t lie.” Yakko said, crossing his arms.

The boy let out a sigh, he don’t know whether he should be annoyed or just happy to have an outlet to explain his dilemma.

“Fine, I did. I was trying to search for clues,” Toby mumbled, “I want to figure out what happened and then I met some random guy who gave me a clue, but I don’t know if it’s real or not-”

“Wait, what?!” Lex cried out “What sort of clue?”

Toby handed her a piece of paper along with the bag as he continued to talk. “He just gave it to me. Tell me that he knows where they are and then he vanished so I didn’t have a chance to ask him any questions.”

The group stare at bag where they saw the the two broken glasses and the note which read:

To the leaders of this town, you have recently encountered Dr. Agatha Maddens, the woman who has recently stolen both the server and your children away. I am someone from the inside who wants to help you and this note contains enough magic to allow you to get through a portal to my world to rescue them.

I will warn you the people who ruled that place are not for the faint of heart; they will suck your brains and your breath, and pick the heart from your chest before stuffing you up with cotton just for the fun of it.

You need the strongest people around to get there and I’m counting on you guys.

Make it quick, time is different down there and if you take long enough, they will be lost forever.

Sincerely,

Obi

“What the…” Lex whispered as she stared at the letter in hand.

“So they went into the underworld?” Dot asked.

Ghostbur stays silent, covering his eyes as steam surrounds him. Glatt turned around in shock.

“Ghostbur, are you okay?” He asked, not knowing whatever to place a hand on his shoulder or not

“They’re coming home…” He whispers, a bit of hope in his voice, tears coming down his face.

“It's possible, but we still should be cautious.”  Jon tried to say.

Yakko quickly turned to him. “And what if there’s a chance that we could save our sisters!”

Wakko nodded. “Yeah! Like at this point, this is our only clue!”

“We can’t just abandon them. Not if this place is really as dangerous as this Obi says it is,” Lex pointed out.

“I know I know but we don’t know whether or not this could be a trap. I mean we barely know if the person is trustworthy or not!” Jon argued.

“What's going on?” Drista asked, appearing behind the group in a hoodie. “What are you arguing about?”

Jon turned to the goddess with a sweet, apologetic smile. “My apologies, but we currently are trying to figure something out and we’re trying to debate whatever not a clue is actually a real one or not-”

“There’s a clue!” She cried out as she leaned in closer to Jon. “What is it?”

“ It's a note but we don’t know,” but the goddess merely ignored it as she snatched the letter and read it deeply. Her eyes widen at each note of the letter. It only took her a few seconds before he dropped it onto the ground with a sigh.

“Okay, so we have no other clues?”

“We don't,” Toby said, taking over from Jon, “But we should at the very least try.”

Drista looks down onto the floor before slowly nodding.  “We need to get to the head toons and give them this. It could be the only chance we got to save everyone we know and love.” 

“Hello little crow,” 

Phil tried his best to ignore the call of Orpheus as the being that pretends to be his son walk toward him. 

“You know it’s honestly too bad.” he said, casually. “We never have a chance to get your son I mean, imagine his reaction when he saw the paradise that we created. It would've blown his gasket.”

Phil growls, as he slowly walk up the ramp to add another block to accursed houses.

“Why are you here?” He mumbled. “Aren’t you sick of making my life a living hell?”

“Awwww, why are you acting so mean to me I mean, my only crime was to tell you that you could’ve been a better father.”

“I know, I know, Just…” He looked away from him and said, “Leave me alone.”

Orpheus smirks as he leans into Phil. “What would you say if I could help you make that guilt go away?” 

The Avian hybrid immediately stops as he slowly turns around. “What are you talking about? He whispered. 

The nightmare shrugs. “Oh, you know I could just remove any semblance of guilt that you have, and make you perfectly focused and logical so you won’t have to worry about anything ever again.”

“This sounds like something that comes with a catch.”

“You’re recently serving out your sentence for all your crimes so at this point, you don’t really have a choice.” He smirks at him. “Plus, I can tell you all about how your favorite is doing if that makes you feel better? Same with your misbehaving grandchild.”

Phil froze. At that moment, knowing full well that this is probably the chance the nightmare has been wanting to tell him, but there’s also something off about at least one of the stories.

“What are you talking about?”   He muttered. “And what about Niki? Ranboo? Tommy?”

Orpheus sneered at him at the last name in the list. “Why would you care about the kid? I thought that he was a traitor, a rat who you has every right to pretend not to exist.”

Phil flinched at the statement, his face briefly, holding an expression of guilt before it went back to the neutral, yet annoyed expression.

“You’re not really convincing me that you have any good intentions of helping me.”  He grumbled, setting the bag breaks down next to the foundation of the house.

Orpheus just smirks at him. “How is repeating the words that you either said or supported equals me not having good intentions? I mean I’m just being honest. Why do you care about hearing about what’s going on with Tommy?”

Phil looks away, his dull blonde hair emphasizing the anger and frustration in his eyes. “I could still be worried about him.”

The nightmare just shrugged before him as he snapped his fingers at him. “Come with me Now .”

The Avian let out a small squeak as the collar around his neck, forced him to step forward leaving the bricks behind him.

“Good.” He summons a megaphone and then yells in the loudest tone.   “Citizens of the capital please keep the building supplies safe as we go out for a day of fun.”

“ Yes sir!” The people cry it out as they run towards the supplies to standby and guard it. Phil noted the mixture of fear, resignation, and reverence in their eyes as he was forced to follow the nightmare to the gates of the town before it opened to reveal a large dark forest. They step forward and walk out of the town in silence. It took a few minutes before Phil spoke up again.

“Does your mother have no shame?”

“And what do you mean by that?!” Orpheus growled, his hands slowly, turning into claws. “I suggest you watch your mouth here.”

“I’m not the one who twisted my son’s dream into some sort of perverted dictatorship.” Phil growled back. “You don’t think that I noticed what the supposed capital is to look like?! How dare she use the image of L’Manberg! After all the pain I told her!”

“I mean, you did the same thing with the whole doomsday attack, but whatever you want to think.”

“And oppress the people! Turn them into little puppets! How long have you been treating them like slaves!? How long have you been helping her!?”

“She’s our mother. Of course we’re loyal to her.”

“By cloning you from our DNA? It’s kind of fucked up don’t you think? Like how did she make you or did she find you and convince you to join her? I wouldn’t be surprised you probably love the idea of joining a tyrant.”

He did immediately stop when he noticed that they just stop in the middle of the forest over the nightmare shoulder. He could see a tall, twisted building that seemed to be a mixture of obsidian and nether, A twisted mirror of Pandora's vault.

But it wasn’t the vault that scared him, it was the eyes of the nightmare that pretends to be his son glow violently as the forest around him moves.

“Uh, listen if you are actually trapped by her then…”

“You’re a hypocrite, Philza.” He whispered as he stepped forward. Phil instinctively backs away before he finds himself hitting a tree, causing the nightmare to stand in front of him, fully letting out his wings, revealing something similar to the ones he dreamed Wilbur would have when he was only a little baby. A majestic pair of crow wings, except it looks torn in some places, as if it went through an explosion. But he barely connects the dots as his instinct screams at him to either attack or run.

“I thought your creator would teach you better than just to be a rude little bastard.”

Phil gasps as he quickly stood up and glare back at him.

“Don’t you dare mention him! ” He hissed at him.

“Awwwwww, what’s wrong you don’t want to hear about Notch? What about Steve, Alex and Hero! Maybe we can talk about them if you want. I mean imagine how he would react to seeing his friend being this weak,” he mocked, waving his hands.

He let out a scream of anger as he jumped onto the nightmare, his claws already deep within Orpheus' armor before pushing him down to the ground. The nightmare stared at him and shocked for a moment before he let out a smile.

“ Wow, I thought that mother was exaggerating about you being savage. You really are a monster.”  He smirked.

“I’m not the one who brought up someone’s dead friends!!” Phil growled, raising hand ready to strike at him, only for the nightmare to grab his hand. He let out a growl as he attempted to pull away.

“Come on, why are you so upset?”

“Because common fucking sense would tell you that bringing up someone’s dead friends is rude!”

“So is insulting one's mother!” He giggled, an almost deranged smile coming onto his face.

“So is kidnapping! And all the other fucked up shit you bastards are pulling!”

Phil felt his face being grabbed as Orpheus forced him to look at him in his cold eyes. 

“You did a lot of rude things. And I’m here to help you now. Are you going to come down or are we gonna have so much fun getting into your head and pulling out every. single. fucking. memory. of. your. friends.”

“You bastards don’t know the meaning of the word ‘help.’ Turning me into some broken doll with no free will isn’t ‘helping.’ It’s fucked up.” Phil pushed him and attempted to run back to the village only to be grabbed, struggling against Orpheus' grasp as the being shot up into the sky, and fly towards the twisted prison. Phil contains a struggle against it before he falls to a complete stop, and the nightmare throws him to the ground. Without warning he only had a moment to scream before he landed in someone’s arms.

“Brother, he really upset you.” Spider noted as Orpheus fly down to the ground.

“He was so rude and insulted mother.” He explained.

The spider shook his head in disappointment.

“Unfortunate.” He looked down at Phil with an almost saddened expression. “Why do you have to be so cruel?”

“Your mother kidnapped us and is having you torture us. Why the fuck would I not hate her? Or you?”

The two nightmares hiss at him as The Overseer walks out of the door, playing with an odd looking object.

“The room and light is finished. Is there anything wrong?”

“Phil just insulted mother.” 

“I pointed out facts. Hardly my fault you all consider me stating her actions to be an insult.”

“Mother is meant to be loved by all.” The Overseer said, his tone a lot more colder and more monotone.

“Well then, maybe she should stop kidnapping and torturing people. It’s not a very good way to get people to love you. Kinda does the opposite mate.”

The overseer looked at the spider as if asking for his permission. The spider glanced at The Overseer before glancing at the object before giving him a smirk and nodded.

“Right…” the overseer then turned the object around, revealing it to be an odd looking one with a blinking light at the end. “ Are you willing to look at this very moment, if that’s what you truly believe in?”

Phil rolled his eyes as he turned to him. “What, that kidnapping and torturing people is rude? Why-”

Before he could finish, there was a flash of light in his eyes, causing him to throw his head back in shock. His head feels fuzzy as a buzzing fills his head.

“What- What did you do to me?”

The overseer smirked at him, “ Allowing you a chance to let go of your anger.”

There was another flash of light before Phil just slumps against the spider's chest. His eyes just blank as if the soul inside of him had been snuffed out.

“Ha! It works!” Orpheus cried out in excitement. “I knew that mother, yours, and Sparks' invention would work on them!”

“Of course it would. We would expect nothing less than perfection. Especially with their minds already being fully open to suggestions thanks to her.” The Overseer said curtly as he stared at Phil.  “Apologize for your insults towards mother, Philip.” 

Phil’s eyes blankly, looking at the overseer before in a monotone voice said. “I apologize for my insults to the good doctor.”

“Mother will be so happy with the results.” Spider said happily as he clapped his hands. “Bring him to the room to finish up his process.”

Chapter Text

Puffy let out a deep breath as she placed  a nurse's hat on her head.  The smell of anesthesia and chemicals fill the air of her mediocre bedroom. She thought that dealing with this would eventually make it better, but it just seems like she was wrong.

“Oh Little Lammmmmmb!” Medea called out “I need you out here!”

She immediately jump as she open the door, revealing Medea standing outside, wearing her white crisp nurses uniform with a neutral expression on her face.

“There you little lamb,” she said calmly, before grabbing Puffy’s face and forcing her to look at her. “It's very disappointing that you took so long. I thought that you’ll be more punctual than that.”

She gritted her teeth at them. “ I’m sorry Miss.” 

“You should be getting a special guest today. If you set up everything at a good pace, then you’ll get to see him quicker!”

Puffy nodded, briefly wondering who this ‘special guest’ was. She walks towards one of the carts by the wall, filled with trays carrying what looks to be bowls of slop before driving it down the corridor, showing the different rooms of those in the hospital and dropping off each bowl into different rooms, trying not to look inside and see the prisoners who are trapped inside. The supposed patients who are either trapped within the restraint of their beds or an  supposed patients who are either trapped within the restraints of their beds, or are currently being operated by the twisted creatures created by the the  surgeon or just the patients alone twitching their beds as the  whimpered fortheirmothersfathersanyonewho couldhelpthem. Each time Puffy opened the door and put one in there on the floor or desk. She tried to not look at the cruel suffering inside as she thought of a mantra.

If you look inside you’ll only feel bad if you look inside you’ll only feel bad if you look inside you’ll only feel bad.if you look inside you’ll only feel bad.if you look inside you’ll only feel bad.if you look inside you’ll only feel bad.if you look inside you’ll only feel bad.if you look inside you’ll only feel bad.if you look inside you’ll only feel bad.

After an hour of tossing the bowls in, she managed to get the last one through a door before closing it with a sigh before she fell on top of her shoulder and jumped in fear.

“Are you Puffy…?” One of the newer nurses a young woman with blond hair and light blue eyes asked fearfully and she looked down on the floor. “…The Madame clone?”

Puffy whines at the comparison “Uh…Yes. That’s me.”

“Madame said you should go to the front room for your surprise.” Young nurse cried out with her eyes closed before she stood up straight.  “Please tell her that I did well in telling you.”

She jumped back from the girl’s statement. “Whoa! What makes you think that I would hurt you?”

“Uh…”  The nurse swallowed nervously as she looked around. “Because…you look like her… and anyone in madam's shape, has got to be in the same class as her!”

“I am nothing like her,” Puffy growled , crossing her arms. “Nothing.”

“But what else is she so hard on you yet don’t kill you? She must really care a lot. I want you to be the best you could!” The nurse said quickly with a small smile on her face

Puffy just stared at her in shock. “How? How does that make sense?!”

“That's how it works. That’s how everything works.”

“Bendy, I have been waiting for a Puffy for a minute now.”  Medea called out, echoing her voice throughout the hallway, “And if she’s not out here immediately, I’m going to put put you into Akhlys’s room and let them tear you apart~”

The nurse, Bendy, flinched in fear before she quickly grabbed Puffy’s arm and pulled her down the hall.

“Hey what are you doing? Let me go!” But the nurse ignores her before she push her in front of Medea and bow to her 

“I’m sorry madam, for being late! But Ms. Puffy was asking some questions and I was answering her.”

Medea sighed.  “Bendy why are you so… stupid.”
 Bendy looks away letting out a sniffle as tears begin to go down her cheeks. “I’m sorry.” before she walk away to get back to  her duties

Puffy angrily turns to the nightmare “Hey! She may not be the best at explaining things, but that doesn’t mean you have to be an asshole!”

The nightmare with her face rolled her eyes.  “Quiet, Puffy. Are you really going to argue when your son is here?”

The world around her suddenly went silent, as Puffy stood there in surprised at what the woman have said.

“Foolish…?” She whispered, voice thick with emotion.

“Yes Foolish,” Medea replied, rolling her eyes “He skinned his knee earlier. And I need you to help out with healing him.”

At that moment the door opens, revealing a sharp tooth version of Foolish with glowing red eyes, and a darker yellow skin tone, similar to Fool’s gold. It doesn’t take a genius to knew this was Anubis, Medea’s cruel son, Puffy wasn’t focus on him. Over his shoulders was the twitching form of her Foolish, his green eyes glazed over as he twitched a bit. Puffy’s mouth dropped open as tears began to stream down her eyes more. 

“Anubis, sit him down”  Medea ordered him as the nightmare set the totem down. The sheep hybrid rushed towards his side the moment that it happened.

“Foolish! Are you alright!? What happened to you!?” she cried out, hugging him tightly. Suddenly he pushed her away, she stumbled backwards, but managed to catch herself before looking up towards her.

“Foolish….”

Foolish stare at her, as if he doesn’t recognize her before turning to Medea.

“Papa… why are there two of you…?”

Puffy froze as she heard that, mind going blank.

Medea smirked at Puffy's expression before her face turned to a more solemn look for Foolish. “Honey, I told you to call me mother…. Have you forgotten?”

Foolish tilted his head, as he tried to remember before he slowly nodded his head looking guilty.  “Sorry, mother…”

Puffy’s hands tightened into fists as she started to shake. How dare this bitch try to steal her son from her?! That was her baby . Puffy silently swore that the first chance she got Medea was fucking dead.

Medea waves her hand at Puffy. “Also Foolish, she’s just a nurse. She’ll fix up your knee and then we can go back home. You can even play with the crabs!”

Foolish smile, not noticing the glare that Puffy was giving to Medea 

“That sounds wonderful mother… you’re so kind…”

Everything seems so silent. Scarlett thought as everyone around her was cleaning up the living room. Techno and Tubbo in particular were far away from each other, only occasionally glaring at each other, as Techno did the best as he could on his walking stick to polish the statues while Tubbo mopped the floor. Before the nightmares left for something they gave him a list of room to clean up and told him to clean it and make it perfect or they’re gonna have a little arena where they’re going to have a huge fight to murder each another. Juno turns to Scarlett with a concerned look on her face as she sort through the different books.  “Aren’t you guys going to talk or something?”

Scarlett flinches in surprise before turning towards the girl. “What?”

“Are you going to talk to them?” Esma asked calmly, throwing the trash outside of the room “You guys haven’t been talking for the past few days.”

“It’s complicated, kids,” Scarlett said, shrugged putting a book on a shelf. “We have a bit of a disagreement on a few things.”

Esma hummed “So how upset do you guys get if you’re alone together.”

Scarlett let out a scoff as she played with her hair. “If it's just Techno and Tubbo. Yeah they would kill each other but as long as I’m there, they might not do anything stupid.”

The children look at each other with an odd look on their faces before Juno and Esma smile at Scarlett.

“Good.” The children ran out of the room led by Juno and Esma. Before any of the caretakers could do anything it was a sound of something being pressed against the door, keeping them inside.

“WHAT?!” Scarlett screamed as she ran to the door and attempted to open the door. “Juno! Esma! Let us out! How do you know they won’t come back and see this?!”

“We check on the time. Usually they won’t be back until 8 o’clock and it’s 5 pm! Don’t worry we’ll keep an eye out,” Emma called

“What the Hell?!” Tubbo cried out, banging on the door as well with Techno following behind. 

After a few minutes, the caretakers sit on the floor, not knowing how to react to the sudden development.

“Prime, I don’t know which one did this, but they are so dead when I get out there!” Techno growled out.

“You are not killing the children,” Scarlett said, her red eyes glowing. “I’ll kill you first.”

“Not if the nightmares found us first!” Tubbo yelled “We need to figure out how to get out of here!”

“Not until you guys talk!” Juno cried out.

“But we will let you out if you get too stressed!” Mary added frantically.

Scarlett let out a sigh as she knelt in front of the door “Guys are you doing this because of our talk a few days back. we’re fine.  We’ll work it out.”

“At least talk for a few minutes…” Finch whispered.

Scarlett sighed before turning to the two. “Okay let’s talk… Do any of you guys have anything to say?” she said casually.

Tubbo looked away  from her “Which one? Your plan is bad? We’re currently trapped in a living hell? No one will come to rescue us ? You brought my son here? The fact that my best friend and husband could be in danger?”

Scarlett holds her hands “Do we have a lot to talk about….” she took a deep breath before asking. “ Could you explain to me why you think that my plan is bad? And if you guys have some grand plan that is better than mine?”

“We already told you. A. We hate the idea of giving in to these guys when it’s just what they want and B. It’s built on a million  and one assumptions. If even a single one of those assumptions is wrong, we fail,” Techno said. “And no we don’t yet. Believe me I’m trying to come up with one.”

Scarlett let out a loud groan “And, also for Tubbo’s point, I do believe that my family is looking to save us!”

“Well that’s a positive at least,” Tubbo muttered, his ears flickering. “We just have to survive until they get here and hope they’re stronger than the Nightmares.”

“ They are stronger even the smallest percent of them could figure out how to take on the nightmares.” Scarlett replied. “And even with everything that happened they will forgive you.”

“Forgive us!?” Techno said, almost offended by the idea. The voices scream out angrily at her words.

“I mean you drugged an entire town.” Scarlett pointed out.

“We were possessed,” Tubbo said. “Plus I’m pretty sure Madden was magically messing with our brains too.”

“Yeah, we had two evil people controlling our actions,” Techno agreed.

Scarlett looks at them. “Which are also fueled by your own biases and feelings. Because when it comes to stuff like fear gods and empath, they need a base before they begin the whole manipulation.” She crosses her arms, looking, almost reluctant to say anything else. “Plus even if you guys were possessed, it was still you guys doing it in their perspectives. It would still hurt, even if there  was manipulation involved….”

“Right, so we’re being held in hell and we’re gonna get punished for a choice we didn’t actually make. This just gets better and better,” Techno said sarcastically.

“No! It’s just they didn’t know you guys were trapped in there. do not gonna punish you for that if you just explain to them, what happened  and…” She let out a deep breath as she shook her head “I shouldn’t be doing that you guys are still learning and this is the worst situation to be arguing-”

“Oh, no, no no.” Tubbo exclaimed “You don’t just change the conversation when you just imply that we’re gonna get punished for something that we didn’t even do?!” 

“What do you mean by ‘still learning’? We’re not little kids!” Techno yelled out.

Scarlett jumped up from her seat in defense “I’m not saying that! You can still learn and still be an adult. I’m saying that people were still hurt! It still hurts my family!”

“And we weren’t in control of our actions! What part of that do you not get?!” Techno shouted. “Did you have control of your actions when you were a kid with your parent?  When you first arrived in town?!”

“Yeah! I did!” Scarlett cried out “I hurt so many people when I was a kid under the belief that I was protecting my girlfriend and my younger brother! I killed People!” 

Scarlett covered her mouth at that moment, realizing she said. Techno and Tubbo both stared at her wide eyed.

“I suppose that shouldn’t be as much of a surprise as it is,” Techno said.

Scarlett shook her head, looking, both embarrassed and horrified “Y-Yeah…” she looked down onto the floor. “I did a lot of horrible stuff…. And I had to learn to manage it.”

“And you can change. You have,” Tubbo said. “We’re just saying, punishing us and being upset at us for something we did when not in our right minds like it somehow is our fault isn’t fair. We did not make those decisions. Sure, maybe in different situations we would have, but our willingness to hurt people who we believe will hurt us, does not and should not prove we’d somehow do the same thing to people we trust and care about.”

Techno nodded “ yeah plus did you really have control over yourself? When you were a kid?”

“Techno. Drop it.”

Scarlett looked away for a moment before asking “If you explain your side of things about when you were kids I think I might explain myself when I was younger…”

“Explain what?” Techno said. “I don’t remember anything prior to meeting Phil as a teenager. I’m not even sure how old I am.”

“ Maybe the best thing I can ask for is why? What one for your minds when you made those decisions like disowning Tommy and….. the red festival. some of the stuff that I don’t understand..” Scarlett let out a sighed “you don’t have to, but it’s something that I always have trouble understanding.”

There was a brief moment of silence between the trio. Techno’s hoof tap on the ground a few times as he consider what his answer would be 

Finally, he said, “Unlike most of the other guys I only have one life,”I was scared and I thought I was gonna die. In my mind it was Tubbo or me.”

Tubbo stares at him in shock. “I… didn’t know that.”

“So you were scared. Scarlett said. “ Why haven’t you told anyone? I mean I know that Tommy and the others were upset, but I think they might understand.”

Techno let out a bitter laugh at that. “Nah. It’s easier to see me as the villain. Plus, you think I’m gonna tell my enemies that I only have one life? No thanks. The only reason I’m saying this now is because Ranboo trusts Tubbo. And I trust Ranboo.”

Tubbo looks away in guilt “I-I… I get it.  I mean, but it still hurts…. Then again, I sort of thought you were some monster after that. I don’t remember much but I just remember laughing and I thought I saw you and everyone else smiling. Especially Schlatt and Quackity.” Tubbo pulled his knees against his chest. “ I think a part of me was still  angry at Tommy about it when I exiled him…

“Really?”  Scarlett said “I thought it was a pragmatic thing like ‘Dream threaten that if you don’t do what I want, I will starve you to death.’”

“It's a huge part of it of course” Tubbo replied “But I guess I was already mad at him. It just feels like he doesn't understand the situation that we’re all in trying to balance responsibility with keeping us alive. I just never thought that Dream would do that…” Tubbo looked away from the two “He got one thing right… I was a coward. I didn’t visit him due to believing that it would make things worse and then the moment that I got that chance I just saw that tower and I just thought my friend had died….” Tears begin to run down his cheeks.  “I…should have visited him..,”

Techno frowned awkwardly, remembering when he mock Tommy during the beginning days or how he and Phil were dismissive of Tommy’s feelings about the  event.

“You can’t go back and change things now,” Scarlett said gently, resting a hand on Tubbo’s shoulder. “Best thing you can do is move forward, and if you haven’t yet apologize next time you see him. Tommy cares about you. He’ll forgive you.”

“So… what about you?” Techno asked Scarlett, hoping to get away from the conversation.

She nodded with a small smile. “Yeah. I don’t really remember much about my childhood. All I know is that I was suffocated under… something like dirt, and then I found myself in the woods. I found Toby and later on Minerva, was wandering as well for an entire day ahead of me looking for her mom while Toby was in a tree.” Scarlett’s  eyes darken at that moment. “ I don’t know why, but my first ‘angry’ thought.” She said, with quotation marks “was when I found out that Min’s mother abandoned her to die.”

“Really?”  Tubbo asked,his eyes widen in surprise.

“ Yep told her that she’s going to some picnic and then she was gone. We were wandering for  days and we would have died if the fear gods hadn't found us.”

Techno shook his head, the voices mumbled their agreements about how sad everything was. “Always sucks when that sorta thing happens.” He even noticed a few that are angry at Minerva’s mom. “Sadly, it happens to a lot of hostile mob hybrids. Think Piglins are the only exception.”

“Did they suddenly decide that they don’t want the kids and throw them out?” She asked deadpan.

“Not really. A lot of mob hybrids are born as just regular mobs but suddenly just turn into players. Monsters who aren’t part of the family will attack the kid so they kind of just abandon them somewhere. Piglins are better at recognizing our own, so the hybrids just get raised in the bastion,” Techno said.

“At least until a player’s natural wanderlust sets in,” Tubbo added.

“That’s kind of  fucked up…” Scarlett muttered 

Tubbo nodded, “Yeah, Mobs can be like that.”

“Anyway, like I said, before they see us as kind of a little test subject to see if you raise someone as an avatar if they could last longer. Overtime they got attached to us but it’s very easy for all of us to tell. Toby was isolated in the tower, while Minerva was given a nice treehouse to hang out and I wandered around the woods.” She smiles slightly, despite what she said, as if some of the memories despite her emotions about it are still pleasant. “ It was honestly nice just to imagine a bunch of kids running around causing chaos and then the Toons arrived and found us. And that’s when shit kind of went wrong…”

“Let me guess,” Techno  said deadpan, “They kind of see you three as some sort of wild children who needs to be tamed or something?” 

Scarlett shrugged “Not really they try their best to help but when you are the avatar of slaughter, you tend not to be the type that is willing to listen.”

“I can see that,” Techno said. “Prime knows the versions of us that Hunt created weren’t willing to listen to anyone.”

“Yep and then came the whole massacre incident.” Scarlett looked away from them,clearly reluctant to explain it.

“ I think that one of the toons mentioned it once when you took us on the tour,” Tubbo said. “what happened?”

“But you don’t have to talk about if you’re comfortable.” Techno quickly added

“A bunch of villains decided it would be a smart idea to kidnap us and try to ransom us. Unfortunately, me and Minerva really don’t like it when someone upsets Toby since one of them decided to hit him.”  Scarlett looks away to stare at red tilted windows. “By the time they found us we were covered in inky blood. And they had to put themselves back together again. It was a massacre. Most kids are not supposed to know how to rip a person's head and arms off, but I did that… and I was pretty proud of it”

She wiped her face, noticing tears coming down from it before letting out a small chuckled “Shit…why am I upset about it. I was only nine… and things got better.”

Techno and Tubbo stare at her in shock at her own dismissal of her emotions.  

“Scar…” Techno muttered,  “That was kinda of self-defense like you were kidnapped and you defended yourself.”

“I mean no one blamed me for that. They were just concerned about the fact that We mutilated a bunch of people. So they tried their best to keep me away from mom’s influence, and after a couple months to a year went from being very slaughter happy to… well me” she sat on the chair “I mean it felt good to do what I did, and in some way, I want to do…”

There was a moment of silence between the two as there was a knock on the door.

Scarlett hummed “Who’s there?”

“It's time to come out, we'll help you open the door !” Scarlett let out a sigh of relief at the door, clicked and opened it.

“Thank God you guys I was-”  she let out a horrified gasp as she saw Athen and Remus standing there looking at them angrily as they held the childrens’ hair .

“How disappointing. I didn’t know that you guys are this pathetic when it comes to taking care of a bunch of kids.” Remus growled, pulling up John hair  causing him cried out in pain. “There's literally three of you! How could you be locked up by them!”

“They’re faster than us!” Tubbo argued, clutching his fist.

Techno step in front of the two as he stated “I’m not exactly speedy with the leg injury,” 

Before any of them say anything else, both end up letting out a choke as Athen grab their necks. 

“Are you kidding me? You can’t even convince a bunch of children to obey you!” He then throws them back on the floor before turning around “We will punish the children for your stupid mistakes. Hopefully that will teach you to pay attention. So Remus, what do you think we should do to them?”

“No! Listen, I know that it’s bad but you don’t have to hurt them.” Scarlett cried frantically, waving her hands.

“Well, you should have done a better job then.” Remus smirked at her. “ I mean it wouldn’t be that bad we’re just going to send them to some of our family… maybe we can send them to Erebus’s little school house.”

“Ooo, perfect, he always has a way to discipline troublemakers, especially with his little creature. We’ll just feed  the worst of them to it.” 

Scarlett, Tubbo and Techno  let out a gasp of horror as the children begin to squirm and scream at that idea. 

These are babies

These are the imposters

Killed them!

Blood! Blood! For the Blood God!

Kill the false gods!

Protect the Kids

Protect the Kids

Protect the Kids

Protect the Kids

As voices scream out for him to protect the children, Technoblade out a growl as he holds up his stick, and attempts to hit Athen. At that moment, the nightmare grabbed the stick and pulled it. He stumbled forward and grabbed the wall.

“Hehe, I think I figured out why you were acting this way.”  Athen grab his face as his eyes glow red. “ Your voices in your head are so loud isn’t it?”

Techno feels a sudden heat go over his body as his voices scream in horror and rage. He thought he heard himself scream as he fell, an unfamiliar pair of hands, grab his shoulders and try to get him away from the nightmare cruel eyes. He then sees flashes of memories: a group of players fighting against a bastion before a hand grabs him after he pushed a younger Piglin through a hole, the bright lights and cheers of a fighting ring, the screams and smoke from a fire and a crying duck hybrid reaching out for him.

He collapsed onto the floor, coughing and wheezing as tears ran down his eyes. “What… what happened..”  He pat his head, hoping to hear something from the voices only to hear nothing in his head, not even a whisper. “What… What did you do? Where are my voices?!” He screamed out as Tubbo and Scarlett rushed towards his side.

Athen held up a floating red light before he created a bubble around it before placing it in his head. “I took them away. Now hopefully you’ll be calmer”

“What the Hell?!” Scarlett screams.

“How?!” Tubbo shouted. 

Techno was shaking as he focused on what happened, his voices were his first family, the people that were with him since he was taken from his home in into that fighting-

Wait….

“What are those memories that you placed in me?” Techno whispered, barely noticing the nightmares throwing the kids in the room and the apologies coming out of their mouths as they hugged him, and the other caretakers tightly.

“Those are your true memories.” Athen chuckled, patting his head.  “The ones that you hid away.” 

“What….”

Scarlett stared at her in shock “That’s insane!”

Remus smirk “Nothing is insane. Once you put your mind to it. Give yourselves a 10 minute break then get back to work. Also Techno for that little defiance, you're chosen to be an experiment for one of Orpheus’s drugs.”

They all look at each other for a minute, the fight within them finally drained, before saying “Yes sirs…”

Eret sighed quietly, as she watched a group of people lead by Sapnap carrying some heavy supplies for the Vulcan and Erebus Then, it change to Quackity attempting to defend a client from a stern face  of Remus and so on and so forth.

“How many times do we have to watch this?”  Karl murmured, as he covered his eyes from the cameras.

George quietly nodded as he rubbed his arms. “This is hellish.”

“Is this their plan? To just drive us insane?” Eret muttered. “I don’t understand the point of this.”

“Because you guys just watch.”  Kronos giggled as he popped into the room, his black suit contrasting with the deranged smile on his face. “You guys have all the power to help your friends and yet did nothing to truly make a difference. So we thought that we should give you a nice job as long as you watch the fun .”  He hugged Karl with a smirk “Plus you get to see your loved ones! We can even get a few friends to visit you!”

Karl looks away fearfully from him as Thesus opens the door with the Jester and Clementine holding Dream.

“There you are Theseus, we are waiting for you to bring in Dreamer!” Kronos said “You even brought Jester!

Theseus rolled his eyes “Come on. I was honestly having more  fun with him at my house. Clementine became a swell bub to him!”

The robot nodded before taking the opportunity to hit Dream on the head, causing the admin to flinch in pain and fear but that wasn’t what Eret was focusing on despite the pity he felt towards him. The one that he’s focusing on was the masked form of Fundy standing still as he and Clementine drop Dream onto the floor. The Jester notices the king, staring at him, and tilt his head towards him.

“Kit? Is this Eret? Your friend?”

Then the shaky voice of Fundy came out, answering the question. “Yeah… that’s them.”

Eret involuntarily let out a gasp as George ran over to pick up Dream by the arm and take him to one of the chairs.

Kronos hummed “Maybe we should leave you guys alone and have you four entertain Jester for a little while as we get a few items.”

“Huh?!” Karl cried out.

Theseus shrugged “ I don’t know he's acting up a bit. Ever since he got Fundy as a body.”

“Jester will need to figure out how to keep himself under control with his new body eventually,” Kronos said. 

Jester growled at the two “ I’m fine! I just want to play! It isn’t my fault that my knives hit a few people!”

“That is still not very mature of you!”

“Shut up Theseus! you love seeing shades dying!” 

Theseus froze in surprise as Kronos laughed. He let out a groan as he waved at Clementines to give him her umbrella. She gave him the umbrella which he then hit Kronos in the nose hard. The latter let out a yelp as he rubbed his nose.

“You're goddamn lucky that you’re my favorite nephew.” Theseus grumbled as he walked out the door with the other two following.

“Bye, Uncle!” Jester cried out before turning to the three with a devilish grin. “ I got you all in one place now!”  he giggled “Now do you have anything to show me? Or are we going to create our own little games!”

The group was silent as the nightmare continued to giggle. “ What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?”

Eret just crossed her arms as she turned back around towards one of the cameras. “ I have nothing to say.” She said bluntly as she clicked on one of the buttons showing  a village. 

“Awwww, I thought you wanted to talk to Fundy.”

“To Fundy? Yes. To some weirdo using his body like some puppet? No.”

“Hmmmm. Fine”  

The Jester then slumped down before he slowly looked up to them. “…Eret….” Fundy whispers as he takes off the mask. Being careful enough to not nudge the doll as he change back into his fox form.

“Fundy?” Eret said, turning to face him. “Is that really you?”

“Yes? Jester says that you wanna hang out with me.”  He murmured sitting on one of the chairs. “Are you…” He turned around and automatically flinched when he saw Karl, George and Dream staring at him. “What are they doing here?!”

“we’re not going to hurt you.” George said reassuringly, holding up his hands

“We’ve all been stuck here together, Fundy,” Eret said. “They brought Dream with them when you and Jester arrived. I’m not sure why. I won’t let them hurt you.”

“Actually they didn’t….” Fundy whispered, looking down on the floor “Like, Jester was nice and his family actually took care of me. All I have to do is help him perform in his amphitheater…”  He chuckled quietly “ I feel bad….”

“That wasn’t your fault,” Dream muttered quietly.

Eret nodded “Yeah. You’re being manipulated.”

Fundy blinked in surprise at that as he heard a giggle. “Wha-What?”

“Are you actually gonna believe them? Over me?”

“He and his family are trying to manipulate you by saying to be nice to you.” Eret explained softly. 

“No, No! That can’t be right.” he whispers, holding his head. “He’s my first friend. He can’t hurt me. He hasn’t hurt me.”

Karl, Dream, and George stare at him in worry at his shaking. Then Dream’s eyes widened , and as he noticed the doll slowly grabbing onto him

“Fundy? Are you okay?” Eret said, holding their hands up. “What’s wrong?”

Fundy continues to whisper as he slowly reaches out to the mask, hoping to grab it. 

Instinctively Dream quickly grabbed onto the mask and brought it towards his chest.

Fox let out a gasp attempt to jump towards the admin only to be caused by Eret. 

“No, give it back!” he screamed “please! I promise him to keep it close!” he then quickly shifts into his human form as tears continue to run down his eyes “ Why are you doing this?!”

“Because he’s trying to use you!” George screamed “Do you actually fucking think he actually want to keep you safe!”

“Fundy please, we only want to help,” Eret pleaded.

“Can you really trust them after everything they’ve done to you?” the doll giggled for the first time speaking up. “Are you actually gonna trust the admin who broke your heart and the two people who actually killed you?”

Eret’s eyes glow angrily as her hand easily reach out to grab onto the doll “You don’t get to-”

They let out a cry of shock as they pull away their arm, a bit of blood appearing on their clothing.

Fundy rushed over to the toy, a bit of blood on his teeth as he grabbed onto the mask and held it tightly to his chest, panting.

Eret stared at their arm in shock as Karl rushed over to Eret’s side.

“Are you okay? Let me see,” Karl said, pulling Eret’s sleeve up to look at the wound. “Shit, we don’t have any potions or bandages…”

“I….sorry….” Fundy whispered as he quickly placed a mask on his face before a familiar giggle came out of his mouth.

“Awwww, what’s wrong you’re upset that he chose me over you?” he then turned to Dream and grabbed his hair tightly “And I’m going to beat you up for trying to take away my mask and upsetting my vessel! How else could I look handsome!” Dream let out a scream as the nightmare began to hit his head against the wall.

“Dream!” George cried out in horror as he attempted to run towards him, an attempt to protect him only for his hair to be grabbed. 

“Oh, I can play with you too!” He then casually threw George against one of the computers, causing him to bash againsts it with a loud bang, cracking it before he slumped down covered in blood. Dream slump down as well when the nightmare lets him go.

Karl and Eret quickly backed away from the Nightmare, holding their hands up in front of them while staring at him in terror.

After a moment of silence, he  smiled at them then screeched at the top of his lungs “Daaaaaaaddddd! Grannnnnndpppppaaaaa! Soooooomeeeeooooneee!”

There was a sound of running before the door opened, revealing the Lonely King  “Jester, what’s wrong?”

Jester stared at him for a moment in disappointment before screaming again “Anyone beside the Lonely King!!!! He is not as fun!!!”

Eret and Karl just stared between the two, trying to slowly get as far away from them, and the door as possible, though there weren't many options in the room. 

Then the Wilbur nightmare came by looking both concerned and enraged. “What's going on here?! What did you idiot do to my son?!”

Jester let out a cry as he jumped into his dad’s arms “They were so mean to me! They refused to play with me, and I have to defend myself!!” 

Lonely king gasped, “That’s awful!”

“Welp, it's been nice knowing you,” Karl muttered as Orpheus stomped towards them.

“This is all just a misunderstanding,” Eret said shakily. “We were merely concerned for Fundy, we meant no harm. Plus George gets grumpy when he’s sleep deprived. Hehe…”

“Are you accusing my son of lying?”  The nightmare said calmly.

“Not lying! No, of course not!” Eret said quickly. “We just weren’t entirely clear with our intentions. That’s all.”

Orpheus and Lonely King stare at them for a few moments before the former takes a deep breath. 

“ OK I think I figured out what to do.” he said, as he summoned a book. “I’m going to hurt the ones that you love the most.”

“Isn’t your son in Fundy’s body right now? How do you hurt Fundy without hurting him?” Karl asked, before covering his mouth as Eret glared at him.

“Oh, no, my son is taking care of him but we’re gonna hurt your fiancés first.” And he then turned to the Lonely king. “About having the fiancés attending your wedding night as the main attractions. They would be wonderful golden statues.”

“No!” Eret shouted. “All Karl did was try to check on my wound, Karl had nothing to do with this!”

“ So are you the one responsible for what happened? The Lonely King ask politely

Eret looks downward as they look between the two knocked out members and Karl, before nodding. “Don’t hurt anyone here or outside of the computer room and you can do what you want with me.”

“Eret! No!” Karl cried out

Orpheus smirked at the king clearly considering the idea before he heard a slight groan of ‘No’ behind him of weight, revealing Dream, slowly getting up from the floor, blood dripping down from his head and over the bandages on the left side of his face

“Please… don’t hurt them…” Dream muttered, leaning against the wall to stay standing.

“Oh, do you wanna claim responsibility for what happened to my son now?” Orpheus asked.

Dream took a moment to glance at air for a moment before nodding  “Yes…”

The admin then let out a cry after the Nightmare grabbed his hair and began to drag him out of the room.  “Lonely King, could you arrange a meeting between Theseus and the overseer for me. I need to talk to them about his punishment.”

Lonely king nodded as he glanced at the group “And what about them? Also, we should wake George up.”

“Let them soak in their misery. We have no need for them.”

“But-” 

The younger nightmare began to say before his older brother glared at him with an annoyed look on his face. “Now.”

The nightmare only let out a short squeak before he ran out of the room, the other nightmare then smiled back at the group before he grabbed the knob.

“By the way, thank you for taking care of my son.”  he said coldly before he slammed the door shut.

“Did Dream… just take the fall for us?” Karl said quietly.

“It would seem that way,” Eret said.

Chapter Text

Jack groaned as he picked up another shovel full of coal before throwing it into the lava below, causing it to bubble as the burnt smell filled his lungs. He takes a deep breath, trying to suppress the panic in his heart. He looked around him to see his other workers shoveling with hard hats on their heads, their eyes hidden. They murmered a song under their breath about Manifold and how he always overworks everyone around him.

The loudspeaker turns on at that moment. 

Good morning to every worker in my wonderful factory! I’m having two important visitors today, so I want you all to be on your best behavior. Of course, you already know about my sister Siren, but she brought Orpheus with her. He’s very important to her so I want you all to make sure you give him some great entertainment” 

Jack thought he heard the nightmare murmur something under his breath about Orpheus being a prick. He rolled his eyes. He doesn’t give a damn whatever family drama the  Nightmares have; he just wishes that they just leave him and everyone else alone. But just as he thought that, the Nightmare called out to him

“Also, Jack, could you come to my office immediately? Yes you Jack. I know that you’re too lazy to shovel coal right yet manage to avoid being thrown into the lava like your other fellow workers, but I want you to come upstairs now!”

Jack turned red in the face as the workers turn to him with a similar look of dispassionate jealousy and annoyance.
He tried to ignore them as he placed the shovel gently onto the floor. Jack then began to walk up the rickety stairs and down the hallway over the lava to his office.

He shakes slightly, trying not to breathe the fumes. There was a moment that he hears Tommy’s voice yelling at him before firing the fatal arrows that led to his second death.

Jack shook his head, tried to get himself out of the memory, He barely notices his hand opening the door and letting himself into the office. The only thing that he noticed was his evil doppelgänger was waiting wearing the bracelet Toby made for him on his arm.

“I never really get these things. I mean there’s always more secure ways to keep a friendship bracelet.” Manifold murmurs as he stretch it out a bit.

Jack gasps as he instinctively attempts to grab the bracelet only for the nightmare to hold it above his head.

“Give it back!”

“Now why would I do that? Besides, it would just burn up anyway. And it’s not like you’ll ever see him again.”

Jack growled at him, throwing his arm down as he sat on the chair. “ What's the point of this?”

“Siren wants you there. Everyone views you as my pet for some reason. Honestly if it wouldn’t upset Mother I’d just throw you in the lava and be done with you.”

Jack kept himself from jumping at the threat. “Prime, or it sounds like you hate your family or something.”

Manifold rolled his eyes. “I don’t hate them, you fool! Try not to say that in front of Siren, she would’ve make you slit your own throat for that comment alone.”

At that moment there was a sound of footsteps walking up the stairs. Jack immediately recognized the first one: Siren.

“Keep up Dolly.” 

Jack heard someone respond to her like a “Yes, Madam.” Then  door opens to reveal Orpheus smiling at Manifold as Siren catches up to him, leaning closer to him.her ice sparkling as if he was some sort of rockstar

“Hello, Siren. I’m surprised you brought him along” Manifold said in an almost strained tone as he stared at Orpheus.

“Awww, brother, I thought you’re excited to see me?” he said as his hand went into his chest as if Orpheus was shocked by what he just said. “I talked to Siren for a little while and convinced her to take me with her.” 

Siren giggled as he played with her hair. She then notice Jack and Manifold curled their lips at the sight. Her lips widen into a wider grin. “Brother, your pet looks like you for a moment.”

“Sister, please, don’t compare me to that…thing,” Manifold said, sneering.

“Calm down, brother, sometimes a surprise pet acts similarly to its owner. It’s kind of something that he does.”

“I’m not a thing!” Jack yelled, getting up from his seat. 

“Then what are you?” Orpheus laughed, poking at his head. “You don’t seem like a human nor are you a creature, most don’t have stitches all over their body  nor suddenly come back from the dead after dying three times.”

Jack's eyes widened at the comment, but before he could either argue or jump on the nightmare. His clone coughed getting everyone’s attention.

“Aren’t you gonna show him your dolly, Siren?”

“Oh! You’re right!” Siren, open the door behind her and look outside. “ Dolly, it’s time to meet your friend.”

“Yes, Madam”

Jack’s heart stops cold as Niki slowly came up to the door, wearing a fancy pink puffy dress that reached to her ankles and white gloves. Her normally multicolored hair has now been removed to reveal her straightened blonde hair. But the thing that sticks out to him the most was her smile, which was too wide and glassy, as if she was forced to smile under the threat of death. Jack stared at her in horror as she stood in front of him as if looking past him.

“N-Niki….”

Niki showed no signs of hearing him as she walked over to stand next to Siren.

“Oh, my apologies, Dolly only talks when I told her she could.” 

“What have you done to her…?” Jack asked, shaking as he looked at what his friend had become.

“I explained to her a bit about how she was awful and always was a little follower and then I fixed her!” She explained, patting on Niki’s hair. “I sent her a little song, and then Orpheus here gave her some syrup, and then she ended up feeling all better! Now I got a beautiful civilized doll!”

Jack stared at Siren in disgust and rage. “You… You…”

“Calm down, you little twat.”  Manifold said, rolling his eyes. “ You’re acting like she’s dead, she's standing right in front of you. It’s just that she’s not activated yet.”

“This isn’t Niki! She’s taken away everything that made her… her!” Jack snapped, turning around to glare at Manifold. “What, is that the plan? Fix us by turning us into empty shells?! Turn us into toys until you get bored of us and throw us away?!”

“Technically yes, but you guys will be perfect. Once you’re perfect then we’ll drop you all back to your little server.” Manifold explained dryly as he look over some paperwork

“Ahh yes, drop us off back home once we’re incapable of anything until we starve to death or get eaten by zombies. So much kinder,” Jack said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

“Do you really think we’ll ever let you die?” Orpheus giggled, walking over to Manifold’s side. “Just because we’re dropping you off. Does it mean we wouldn’t keep you! Plus you’ll be the first examples of a new world order of perfection! Everyone would be wanting to be the DSMP! The most perfect server in the world!”

“Plus there’s a lot of potential dollies! I have seen some of the pictures of your girls. They need some good makeovers!” Siren said, holding Niki close to her chest.

Jack's eyes widened in realization at the implications of what they’re saying.  “What the fuck is Madden planning?!”

“Making everything perfect!” Siren giggled, pushing Niki towards Jack. “But for now I will let you play with Dolly! Say hi to your friend!”

Niki blink slowly at the command as she smiles widely at Jack. “ Hello Jackie! I miss you so much, how are you doing with madame’s brother?”

Jack stumbled backwards, not expecting that turn. Niki tilted her head at him robotically as she stiffly walks towards him. “Are you okay Jackie?”

“What the fuck?” Jack hissed, eyes wide. “What the fuck?”

Niki gasps, “No swearing! Only bad people swear!”

The Nightmares surrounded them, laughing at the comment, clearly amused by what she said.

“Isn’t she adorable!” Orpheus laughed

“She’s fucking terrifying is what she is!” Jack snapped. “If you’re turning me into that, no thanks! Think I’d rather be thrown into the lava!”

Manifold smirked at him. “You actually wanna die?”

“I don’t wanna be… whatever the fuck you turned her into! I’m rather fond of having free will!”

The nightmare wheeled himself back from Jack and gets up. He then turned to his siblings. “You know what… I think I will hang out with you guys for a bit. Leave our two pets to play with one another. Maybe for a couple hours. Maybe two days if we’re having too much fun.”

“Hey! Don’t leave me alone with her!” Jack cried out. “Aren’t you the one always complaining about how little work I get done?!”

“Well, no one’s gonna die if you’re gone for a while.”  Manifold grinned as he and Orpheus, walked towards their sister’s side. “Siren. You should give your dolly a fun little command so that she could actually do stuff with her best friend.”

Siren gasped at the suggestion “Like dancing?”

“Of course Siren could make them dance as long as they need to.” Orpheus whispered he pet her on the head.

Siren nodded with a sinister look in her eyes “Dolly, play with your new dance partner. You guys are doing the waltz.”

“Hey, hey I don’t dance!” Jack said as Niki suddenly grabbed him in an iron grip, 

“Dance with me, Jackie!” She said happily, as she pulled him into a parody of a waltz.  Jack’s stumbling legs in his attempt to escape contrasting with Niki’s more delicate style while mechanically doing what she was told. The three nightmares laughing as they left the room and shut the door behind them, locking it seemingly sealing Jack’s fate. He looks out at the lock door before turning to Niki, trying to hide the tears in his eyes.

“Listen I know you’re in there somewhere! I don’t know what they did to you, but I want you to come back!”

“Why would I, Jackie? I like being Dolly!”

“Because this isn’t you! None of these things are you!” Jack screamed. “And stop calling me Jackie!” 

Niki frowned at him, clearly upset by the answer. “ I don’t like being me from before. I was bad.”

“You were better than this! You made mistakes but at least you were a person! They’ve turned you into a literal puppet!”

“I was always the puppet Jack. To everyone., Wilbur’s, L’Manberg’s Techno’s, Hunt’s.” She stared intensely at Jack. “Yours.”

“So now you’re a puppet to her?! Is that so much better?! Being a puppet to one of the people helping torture the people you’re supposed to care about?!” Jack snapped.

“She cares about me.” She smiled wistfully “Madame is helping me see the light. I was awful.”

“She’s turning you into a doll! That’s all you are to her! A fucking dress-up doll!” Jack snapped, trying to push away again. “You’re not better! You’re fucking terrifying!”

“ Then what do you want me to be?!” Niki suddenly screamed, clearly distressed. “ If you know so much about me, what do you want me to be? And I can be whatever you want me to be just tell me!”

Jack then cried out, “You. I want you to be you," He felt the tears running down his eyes but he didn't care.... "Not some puppet, not some doll. Just you. I want my friend back.”

Niki stops in her tracks “Are we really friends?” She asked monotonously.  “We got together underneath a horrible goal. and I abandoned you. Friends don’t do that.”

“I think we were. I wanted us to be.” Jack sniffled, barely noticing how much he was shaking in emotion. “Maybe our goal was terrible. Maybe killing Tommy was just making him a scapegoat for all our hurt and anger. But it was better than stewing in it alone.” 

Niki blinked a few times. “What did you do when I was gone? Before we came here?”

“Drank. Curse Tommy’s continued existence. Be miserable,” Jack admitted shamefully.

“That sounds sad,” Niki whispered, leaning on his shoulder. “I’m here now. I know you hate this, but…. Do you still want me here after everything?”

Jack looked at her sadly. “Of course. You’re my friend. And I’m tired of being all alone.”

At that moment, Jack slowly begins to follow along Niki steps, just allowing the twisted show to continue. He barely noticed the nightmares watching in the window, seemingly entertained by his situation, but at the same time, he barely cared anymore. Even in some twisted way, he was finally not alone. He has a friend with him who wants to stick by his side. They were stuck like this for hours: their legs, became numb to the pain even as blood began to seep into their shoes, hunger and thirst racked their entire body, and their eyes drooped at points before they forced themselves to wake up.  It was hell and heaven at the same time

Then, after what seems like an eternity later, the door opens.

“You know…. I could let you two stay together.” Siren said, stepping forward “ I talked to my brother, and he seemed to be willing as long as you both do some work. But it depends on your decision, Jack. What do you want underneath that sea of rage and anger?”

Jack tiredly looked up at Siren, blinking at her for a moment. His body still dancing to her song. “What I want…?” He said after a minute.

“Yes,” Manifold said “ I mean, it’s not often anyone asks you what you want, right? Don’t you want an actual choice for once?”

“What’s the catch?” Jack asked tiredly, looking between them.

“ Besides, the fact that you had to do better with your work, nothing much obviously means you two will be in separate bedrooms and there'll be no funny business.”

“... I’m tired of being alone…” Jack said after a pause.

Manifold and Siren smiled in unison at his answer. “Good.”

“Dolly stop dancing. You can stay with your friend.”

Niki and Jack stopped and both collapsed onto the floor, breathing heavily, but despite that, there was a feeling of contentment in the air. Maybe things aren’t good, but at least they got each other.

Micheal shook nervously as Darling tied the last knot in the blue sailor uniform. Michael glances a few times at himself in the mirror to see what’s happening. His frown was deep in when he saw the side of his outfit. He looks like a baby.

“Don’t worry, brother, you look adorable. Father said that every boy wants to be a sailor.

“But I don’t want to be a sailor… Why am I even dressed like this??”

“Because we’re having a neighborhood barbecue,” Sparks said as he entered the room, holding a glass of wine. “By the way, Darling, for once, you did good with that knot. He looks like a proper sailor.”

“ Thank you, father!” Darling, said cheerfully

The nightmare ignored her as he turned to the piglin. “Michael you’re gonna be meeting some kids at the barbecue so I want you to be on your best behavior. You’re the example of the neighborhood, the best of the best.”

“Okay, other father,” Michael murmured under his breath. Sparks raises his eyebrows at the answer.

“You are supposed to say Yes, father, not okay, It’s rude.” Sparks said, waving at the kids to follow him.

”Yes, Father,” he said sarcastically as he and Darling followed him towards the backyard, where it seemed like a crowd of people were waiting with the kids wearing odd looking clothing. The women were each wearing polka dots or solid-colored dresses that reached their knees and ankles while the men wore black or blue suits. Even the children wore the same clothing, either copying their parents or also wearing sailor suits or dresses. 

Michael jumped when he noticed Phobos silently walking up to his husband’s side. He turned to him and smiled cruelly while Sparks clapped, his hands toward the group bringing everyone’s attention to him. 

“Hello everyone! I am so glad that you all have seen the newsletter my husband wrote. I love all of your clothing, despite it being impossible to look nicer than us”

“ Of course sir,” one of the women said, with a strained smile. “ I hope you love the food that we got for you!” 

They backed away to reveal a large set of foods like Burgers, hotdogs, salad, and so many other delicious options on the table. Michael sniffed the air as his stomach growled. How long since he had eaten? It always felt like each bite that he had inside wasn’t anything more than just sand.

He turned to Phobos “Other father, can I have a burger please?” He asked, trying to play to the nightmare’s sensibility

The nightmare smiled at him sweetly before saying “Not Yet. We must test the food.”

Michael frowned slightly, of course, they would make themselves the first to try out the food but right now he’s just excited to eat some food. “Yes, other father.”  

Phobos and Spark walk towards the table in perfect unison, take out a fork from their pockets, and pick up a burger, they bite into it. Spark’s eyes widened at that moment before he quickly spit it out.

“YUCK! What’s that?! Why doesn’t it taste like Mother’s cooking!?”

Phobos spit it out as well “It doesn’t taste like mother’s love who made this travesty?!” He looked around angrily at the crowd. “ Is it you, Susan? You stupid bitch! You always have been reading those stupid magazine recipes from outside of the neighborhood!”

The woman with brown hair and a red polka dot dress presumedly shook her head “No, no, sir, I only made the pasta salad! I didn’t make the hamburgers!”

“Then who made the hamburgers!?”

The crowd was silent for a few moments before one shaky hand went up, revealing a blonde-haired woman wearing a pink polka-dot dress.

“I went to the farmers market in one of the sectors and I heard that there’s something called spices… and I thought that that would be good for my burgers… I thought you might like something more exotic”

“ Mariam…” Phobos narrowed his eyes. “Have you read page 34 of the newsletter? One of the biggest rules of the neighborhood?”

“Do not step out of the status quo,” Mariam whispered. “But…. What’s wrong with a little bit of experimentation?…”

Phobos and Spark stare at her in anger. The latter looked at some of the food on the table before, he suddenly smiled at her. 

“Do you know what Mariam… maybe you should try something that I made.”

At that moment two servant girls with blank purple come out holding a pie and place it on the table. Spark walked towards it and cut a piece of it, revealing an odd red sticky substance inside as he put it on a plate. He then walked back and handed it to Mariam. “You should try it out. It’s my recipe”

“Oh… Thank you, sir…” Mariam said, shakily taking the pie from him.

She slowly takes a piece of the pie and holds it up, nervously looking at the Nightmares who wave at her to continue.

“Go on, eat it..” Phobos said

The woman gulped at that moment, glancing at the crowd that was looking at her nervously before shoving it into her mouth. After a few moments of chewing, she swallows it she opens one of her eye noticing that she is still alive

“Oh… thank God, sir I was worried that-“ she then began to cough harshly as she grabbed onto her neck and began to shake, her face becoming green color

Michael looked on in horror as Sparks placed his hand on his mouth in mock surprise “Oh no honey! what did you put inside the pie? You didn’t put in the Feel-Bad Sickness pills, did you? You do realize that would kill someone in a couple of minutes”

Michael stumbled backward, watching as the woman collapsed to her knees, before hitting the ground, convulsing.

“Oh no honey we got the wrong pie! Accidents happen if you make the wrong food or add something unexpected to a recipe!” Phobos yelled toward the shaking crowd, all of them who were fearful of moving in to help the woman “It’s not a good neighborly thing to do!”

Michael whimpered slightly as he turned to them, and whispered “Don’t kill her please I don’t like it!”

Phobos rolls his eyes “Calm down Michael you barely even know her.”

“But I don’t want my first barbecue to have someone dying in it!” Michael shook slightly trying to figure out what to say next before he cried out, “ I will scream! And ruin your party if you don’t cure her!”

Spark glared at him angrily “Don’t you fucking dare.”

Micheal glared back at him “If you don’t kill her, I will not mess up your party.”

Phobos stares at the piglin as he walks over to the now still woman and picks up her head, revealing her face is now entirely purple. She's not breathing

“Oh, no, she’s dead. I guess we’ll have to send her to one of our family members to bring her to life.” As he drops her head into the ground. And turns his head to a shaking family among the crowd. “ Mr. Johnson, I will send a new wife to replace Mariam and take care of your two kids.”

“But Mariam…” 

“She will be back to life as a servant girl. You'll see her during parties. Hell, I will send her to your house so that she can serve you and your children. Should’ve tried to control her more rather than let her cook bad burgers.”

Michael clenched his fists even as tears streamed down his face. They didn’t like the burgers so they murdered someone? And they were supposed to be the good guys compared to his actual parents?

Darling turned to him nervously, noticing the dark look in his eyes. “Michael, are you upset? I can take you inside so you can calm down before we get back to the party.” She whispered, holding out her hand.

Michael shook his head at her before taking a deep breath, ready to ruin the party before suddenly, his mouth was filled up with a spoonful of pasta salad.

“Here you go, Michael, delicious pasta salad for you!” Susan cried out with a strained smile on her face. She then whispers lightly in his ear. ”Kid you’re going to get yourself killed just shut up and eat it!” Michael’s eyes widened before he nodded slowly.

Sparks smirked at her as he walked next to her “Thank God, I was worried that he was about to scream and ruin the party” Spark said happily “Good job, Susan! You earned a spot in our decency award! We will give your husband a raise at the factory!” 

The woman gasped happily as he bowed her head towards the nightmare. “Thank you sir I’m so glad that you’re following us to have a few more dollars now my daughter will get a dress for the prom!”

“Of course hopefully Ramona would actually act like a lady with a couple of bucks.” Phobos laughed as he poured a glass of wine and handed it to his husband.  “And we can even arrange something so that she will meet a wonderful girl that could help tame such a brightfire.”

“Oh sirs you are too kind!” Susan said, a giant fake grin on her face.

Michael crosses arm as he sat on the ground. Trying to look away from the sight. Darling sat next to him with a sad look on her face.

“Don’t worry, Michael, I'll stay with you until you feel better. I’ll even get you some food if you want if you don’t feel up for it” 

Michael nodded slowly as he leaned against her “Just stay with me. I don’t want to be alone with them.”

“I know you’re upset she died…” Darlings whispered as she looked over at where her family sat.

“Her death shouldn’t have happened. All she did was decide to make food in a way they didn’t like. They claim they’re the good ones but my real parents certainly didn’t run around killing people for such… stupid reasons,” Michael spat, glaring over at them. 

“Sadly, that’s the way the world works here. If you’re not perfect, then you’re obsolete.

“Well, this world sucks. And so do the people in charge of it. I wish they’d all just drop dead…” Michael muttered.

Darling shushed him “Please don’t say that Michael I don’t want them to get angry and decide what’s up, that they don’t want you anymore or worse reboot you!”

“Doesn’t change the fact that it’s true. The food tastes like sand, I’m hungry all the time, and I’m stuck with a pair of murderers. I want my dads back. I wanna go home…”

Darling looked around for a few moments trying to figure out what to do before she saw that the servant girls hadn't taken the burgers yet. She sneakily walked towards them grabbed a couple from the stash and put it in her pocket. She then rushed towards Michael's side and placed it in his hand.

“ I don’t think this one tastes like sand. Maybe we just need a friend on our side to make things better.”

Michael stared at it for a second, glancing over at where the Nightmares were talking to one of the neighbors before smiling at Darling.

“Thank you,” he whispered before he bit down at the burger. It was slightly burnt, but it tasted so much better than the food that he had for the past few days. It actually tastes like Home for once.

The horses have as they pull along a carriage down the woods. Minerva was looking down at the handcuffs on her hand. If things couldn’t get any worse, she’s stuck with two new people. She doesn’t want to be with two new people. A shadowy figure wearing a white robe and halo the barely covers up his horn and a man wearing a warm gray mushroom hat and black cloak. Crowfather chuckled slightly at the look in her eyes “What’s wrong don’t like your new bracelets?”

Minerva looked up to glare at him, though she didn’t verbally respond.

Madden frowned at her reaction. “Come on, darling, don't you know it’s rude not to respond when someone is talking to you.”

“I have nothing to say.” She growled at her.

The shadowy figure, Erebus raised his eyebrow. “Are you sure, child? It seems like you have a lot to say by just the look in your eyes.”

“Even if I do, it’s nothing anyone here would be willing to listen to,” Minerva responded.

Madden sighed, “Hopefully you’ll have something to say when we arrive at the casino.”

Minerva raised her eyebrow at Madden. “Casino? I thought that you guys were against degeneracy or whatever. Don't casinos count?”

“We have regulations plus there’s a difference between simple leisure and the type that one of your little friends would’ve done.”

Minerva just shook her head, before going back to staring at her cuffed hands. Hypocrites, the lot of them.

The carriage stopped as the rider jumped off and walked towards it to open the door for the group

“We are here, Grand Empress,” They said

Madden smirked at the person as she stepped out of the carriage “Thank you.” 

The three other nightmares step out as well, leaving Minerva alone for a moment before she feels a tug at her chains.

Crowfather looked at her and said, “ Come out now.”

Minerva sighed, stepping out of the carriage and looking around.

It was a large metallic casino with shining lights and fancy engravings on the walls and door. There were people in the front wearing different dresses and stockings that look a lot more different than the ones that Minerva saw at Crowfather’s home; they look less like Victorian ladies and more like flappers girls from the 1920s.

Madden’s lips curled at the sight, disgusted by what she saw. One of the woman, A red haired woman with a black dress notice them and walk up to the group with a grin 

“ Hello, Grand Empress, Lord Crowfather, Erebus and Hypno” She said “My name is Ruth, and I’ll be your hostess to your suite.”

“What are you wearing?” Madden asked with a sneer, looking the woman over.

“Oh, It’s one of the dresses Lonely was offering. He was reading some books about casinos, and saw some of these dresses, and thought that it would be a good aesthetic for it.”

“Did he now? I’ll have to have words with him,” Madden said, her eyes glowing .

Erebus sighed. “ I’ll burn the books if you want, mother.”

She smiled at the demon, “Thank you.”

Minerva rolled her eyes, kicking at the ground.

Ruth for the first time noticed Minerva, 

“Who’s this? Is she an assistant?”

“She's my apprentice.” Madden said curtly. 

“Oh, so this is the apprentice I had heard so many rumors about,” Ruth said.

Minerva’s eyes narrowed at her “Huh? What the heck are you talking about?”

“The Grand Empress taking on an apprentice? It’s an honor some would kill for, and you shouldn’t be surprised people have been talking about it,”

She blushed at that “ I mean, I never really heard much from-”

The Crowfather placed a hand on Minerva’s shoulder, shutting her up.  “Show us where Lonely is. ”

Ruth nodded “Of course” she snapped her finger, causing the two other women to open the door, allowing the group to go into the casino.

Minerva winced a bit at the bright lights, but her eyes adjusted, revealing a large room with different fancy tables and lit candles. There were different crowds of people all over the place. Some of them were either sitting on the table, talking, or eating, while others played around with different casino games on the walls and on the floor. And that’s not getting into the smell of different foods mixing together into one smelly cocktail, Under normal circumstances, Minerva would have been happy to see that some people in this world were enjoying themselves, but much to her surprise, her body shuddered at all the sudden noises and lights, clearly unused to the influx of people and sounds. She began to take deep breaths try to calm her beating heart as her hands quickly shot up to cover her ears, trying to block out the noise.

Hypno, noticing her distress, leans towards her and removes one hand from her ear.“What's going on with you kid? This is an adult establishment, you should act like one.”

Minerva ripped her hand from his grip to put her hand back on her ears. “It’s loud.”

Hypno laughed at it as he turned to Madden and Crowfather. “Has she always been like this?”

“ Yes, she can be a bit of a brat.”

“Hey guys!” Lonely said, cheerfully wearing a blue stripe suit. “ I’m so glad that you guys are here, especially you mother!”

Madden nodded “I am very glad to see you too. But I need to talk to you about the clothing of your…” she waved at Ruth, “Employees.”

Lonely froze, noticing the annoyed look on her face.“ What’s wrong with that? I thought that it would look good for the casino. I even added some parts so that the dresses will be a bit lower and their  hair to be long enough so that they won’t be mistaken as boys.”

“Yes but, you still went behind my back and did some changes on the uniforms.” She said with a heartbroken tone. “Why didn’t you go to me or one of your husbands or Erebus for approval?”

He looked down on the ground. “I just… I’m sorry Mother.”

“It's alright, I forgive you. Once this is over, Erebus needs to see some of the books that you have been reading to see if they are good.”

“Yes Mother.”

Hypno rolled his eyes. “Now that that’s over with, you said that you got a suite and entertainment for us. We’re trying to show the brat a bit about our world.” 

“Yes of course!” Lonely said. “Would you like me to take you to your suites first to freshen up after your journey or jump right into the excitement?

“We can jump in.”  Madden said “I think that Minerva would love what’s in store.”

“Uh… what are you planning?” Minerva asks nervously, “ I don’t think you’re gonna be allowing me to gamble.”

“Oh no, no you’re not 21 yet. You’re going to be seeing a trial!” Lonely, said excitedly as Crowfather handed him the chain to her handcuffs

“You’ve got first row seats with Mother!”

Minerva let out a small yelp as she pulled towards the side of the room, revealing a small fancy room with the words VIPs on top.

He sat her down as the rest of the group, arrived inside and turned on the TV. Lonely sat next to her with a smile and whispered

“ I hope that Quackity doesn’t disappoint you too much. He’s a bad lawyer, but he makes good entertainment.”

Minerva flips her head towards him in shock “What?!”

The TV opens up to reveal Quackity in a room next to a young tanned woman in chains, Orpheus slamming his hammer on the table with a small smirk. “Order in the court everyone, now it seems like Miss Jasmine’s lawyer only got a few defenses on her horrible actions.”

Jasmine whimpered as Quackity cried out. “It was self-defense! Her husband was hurting her and she only did this as a way to defend herself!”

Remus rolled his eyes. “That’s no excuse for her actions, it’s clear by the way, she was acting after the crime proves that it was premeditated. Running away rather than getting the proper authorities.”

“What was she supposed to do? Just let him beat her?” Quackity demanded. “The authorities regularly ignored her husband’s abuse, you expect her to trust them in the aftermath?”

Remus smirked at him as he walked forward towards him “The police have stated that they barely even receive a call about it. As the phone records show, there were no calls in any of the times that she claims happened.”

Minerva mouth drop at the moment, noticing in the other nightmares, hands was the records, despite how small they are it seems like some of them have writings that seem to disprove that notion, or at the very least dampened that argument

“That was a fucking lie!” she cried out, only for her mouth to be covered by Hypno.

“Shut up and listen.” He growled

“The Police Chief and Mrs Jasmine’s husband were both very good friends. His testimony is biased.”

“Oh really? What is your evidence?” Remus asks politely. “You never presented anything related to it.”

Quackity’s eyes narrowed. “None of you guys provided anything I need to help her! I have to do my own research and I got some evidence for my claim! 

“Any evidence not presented to the judge previously is invalid. Overruled.”

“I was never given the chance to present any evidence!” Quackity snapped. “What’s the point of this bullshit kangaroo court?! You never fucking give me access to the evidence and any attempts to present my own evidence is overruled on some bullshit excuse!”

“Stop throwing a tantrum, Quackity, you’re acting like a child.” Orpheus scolded “Why are you so emotional over this case you seem totally fine with the others”

“I was upset when you do the same for crap on the other cases! But this one, this one is fucking too far even for your asses!” Quackity argued. “You know full well what I’ve been through, you know full well how much this would upset me!”

“Awwww, you are sad because you relate deeply to your client.” Remus mockingly said. “It's pathetic.”

Orpheus nodded. “And it’s clear that all the evidence that we got show that Miss Jasmine is guilty so I sentence her to death by beheading.”

Quackity collapsed, his head bouncing off the table slightly as he slammed his fist against it.

“No….” She whispered as two creatures in L’Manberg uniforms walked towards her to take her away.

“We’ll send her children out from the neighborhood and send them to the local orphanage.” Remus says casually. “Sponsored by me of course. ” He turned to Quackity with a smirk and clapped his hands . “Well done Quackity, another success story, you're really making it too easy to make me look good. You should really retire from being a lawyer, it's not good for you.”

Quackity didn’t move from where he had slammed his head into the table, shoulders shaking slightly. Minerva may not feel through the TV but it’s very easy to tell that he was crying. The nightmares barely even throw any sympathy as a look at him as if bored by the display.

“Mother… Lonely get your employee he’s acting like a baby.”

“This is entertainment?!” Minerva asked, staring at the screen as it turned off. “What the fuck is wrong with you assholes?!”

“It's just a little TV show Minerva.” Madden said casually. “ I thought that it would be a good entry points to understand how lucky you are.”

“You just made me watch a woman be sentenced to fucking death for defending herself! What was the point of the fucking trial if they were gonna ignore the actual evidence to declare whatever fucking verdict they want?!” Minerva demanded.

“Calm down, Brat. You’re 17 years old, a lady shouldn’t be acting like that” Erebus smirked. “Besides, it’s not like she suffered anything substantial.”

“Bitch, you swear even more than I do!” Minerva snapped. “Don’t put on the proper act, you’re not fooling anyone!”

She felt her chain being tugged away from him only to face Crowfather. “That's enough of that little girl. Besides, what do you plan on doing, going to him and trying to tell him how much you understand how he’s feeling and you want to help?”

Minerva’s only response was to spit in his face. He shakes his head as he wipes it off of him. “How mature.”

“Can you please not fight.” Lonely begged, shaking a bit. “Look kid I know that you’re upset because you’re emotionally attached to him but that’s the way the world works sometimes laws can’t be broken.

“WELL THE WORLD IS FUCKED UP!” Minerva shouted. “You’re sitting here making an abuse victim watch someone in his situation be put to death for entertainment! You claim to be better than the server and then sit here getting off on other people’s suffering!”

Hypno sighs as he takes out a pipe “God, this is ridiculous,”  He puffs out an oddly colored smoke in front of her.

Minerva tries to shake it away, backing up.

“What…..”  She began to sway back-and-forth from the smoke, everything around her begin to slow a bit. Minerva barely even notice someone sitting her down to the chair as the TV change into a odd looking spiral. 

“No…” Minerva whispered, as she slowly begin relax, it was like her mind being pulled into it.

“Just stay here child,” Crowfather said as he handcuff her to one of the couches. Minerva merely murmurs something under her breath as she saw some figures walking out of the door.

“We’ll come back to you when you’re fully relaxed,”  he said softly before Crowfather closed the door leaving her in the dark with the only thing in the room being the beautiful spiral.

Chapter Text

“How does your suit feel on you?” Madden asks, looking at The Overseer’s new dark gray suit as the dressmaker nervously stands on the side, hoping to get a good response from them. The Overseer stared at it, face expressionless. 

“It’s okay,” he said, ignoring the sigh of relief that came out of the dressmaker's mouth “I’m surprised that we’re having a party so soon.” 

“It’s less of a party and more like a way to get feedback from your siblings and to see how your little pets are doing.”

“That's a good point.”   Overseer said as he stepped down from the platform “Is there anything I should give to the prisoners so they can look presentable?”

Madden merely just snapped her finger causing the dressmaker to rush over with a whole bag. “I had Petunia make some clothing for the party and this is for your prisoners.”

He took a moment to glance at it before taking it in his hands. “Thank you Petunia for your service.”

“It was my honor Overseer, Your majesty,” Petunias said, before glancing at Maddens with a nervous grin “Is there anything else I can do?”

“Set up my dress, my Petunia,” she said casually as she walked out the door. “And Overseer! Make sure that they look good! We don’t want them to look stupid.”

“Of course Mother.”

Tommy was drowning within the fog all he felt was voices all around him pulling at his throat, laughing at him. he could barely think of anything as his mind. He already couldn’t scream anymore, only creating small croaking sounds from the stress.

“Phil was right to act like you didn’t exist.”

“No, he’s fucking not! He’s not right! He should have acknowledged me!”

“Oh? Like how you acknowledged Jack’s pain? Or Toby’s”

“He….He is only angry because he  wants to be angry! And I was possessed I would never hurt him in any other circumstance.”

“Is that what you really think, Tommy? Do you really think of Jack in that way? I thought that you cared for him! Plus Toby only acts like he’s fine, because he was too afraid of upsetting you.”

“NO- YES- NO- I DO, OK- I DO CARE FOR THEM- IT’S JUST THAT-”

“Just what? Just that you killed him and that you brushed off his pain? Just like you threatened the boy and attempted to murder him and brush off his pain”

“I DIDN’T BRUSH OFF THEIR PAIN!”

“But, you did. You never listened to him when he wanted to talk to you about it. You only went on about yours. That’s all you care about.  Your pain. You don’t give a shit about anyone else. Not even your friends.”

“THAT’S NOT FUCKING TRUE! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!”

“Why should We? You did hesitate when it came to choosing Tubbo over your discs.”

“….Yeah…I did…”

“And I reiterate. Phil was right to act like you didn’t exist. Now, repeat it.”

“Phil…Phil was right…to act like I didn’t exist.”

Tommy could feel whoever was drowning him smiling as it stared at him. His eyes looked out through the fog and he could see the spider staring back at him with a sinister grin on his face.”

“That’s right. Good boy.”

Tommy screamed as he jumped out off the floor. He frantically looked around, tears coming down his eyes. He didn’t notice Sam and Ranboo sleeping in the corner, and he immediately rushed towards them before crawling under them with a sound that was a mixture of raccoon screech and all too human cry.

Sam opens his eyes, noticing something pushing gently at him, glancing down to find Tommy trying to hide underneath him.

“Tommy? What’s wrong?” He whispered as he reached out to check on him Ranboo yawned.

“I-” Tommy sniveled before he murmured out, “I had a nightmare from that chamber-and I-I” he just covered cover his face, hoping to hide the tears

“Oh Tommy,” Sam whispered, moving closely to him. “I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”

“I…” he hugged Sam tightly as he let out a small, purring noise. It only took a moment before he whispered out. “Stay….”

“I’m right here, I’ve got you,” Sam said, returning Tommy’s hug and starting to purr gently. 

He barely noticed the door opening behind him before he felt a large hand pet him on the head.

“Heh, I have to admit this does look adorable.”

Sam slowly turned around as his anxiety rose to see The Overseer looking at him. He was wearing a fancy-looking suit the same color as his armor.  He dropped a bag in front of him

“You guys have 30 minutes to put on these clothes for tonight.” He tilted his head towards Ranboo and walked towards him before kicking at the Endermen’s back. “Wake up.”

Ranboo let out a groan as he got up from the floor. “Prime… what is it?” The ender man then cried as the overseer kicked him in the back again, this time harder. 

“There’s a better way to say that you little brat.”

“Sorry, sir,” he whispered as he got up on the floor and leaned against the wall. 

The Overseer rolled his eyes as he walked out of the door before raising a hand and said, “You all have 28 minutes now.” before shutting the door, leaving the three with a bag full of clothing.

Tommy took a moment to go inside the bag and pull out a white shirt and brown pants. 

“It’s rough,” Tommy murmured as he felt the shirt's cloth. “That’s not right.”

Sam pulled out a couple of other pieces, holding one up before handing it to Ranboo.He took it and went to the small bathroom in jail as Tommy continued to murmur to himself about how much the clothing doesn't feel right.  It takes a few moments before Ranboo stumbles out of the bathroom, clearly uncomfortable.

“ Tommy got a good point that feels like straw.”

“I doubt the Nightmares care about our comfort,” Sam said. “Can’t imagine it’ll go well if we refuse to wear it though.”

Tommy murmured under his breath in anger as he went to the bathroom, dragging the outfit behind him. “This party is going to suck!” he cried out as he slammed the door to the bathroom.

Minerva stands besides Maddens as different people wearing increasingly ridiculous clothing shuffled into the ballroom, looking more nervous than the other. She frowns slightly at their appearances, like their clothing looks ridiculous who would willingly wear that?! She then looks down at her own dress: Pink victorian gown with several layers over her, it does feel a bit hypocritical to call their clothing ridiculous. But she was surprised to see that there is an entire aristocratic society.

“I didn’t know that they were rich people in the nightmare world. I thought you took all the money…”  Minerva murmured absentmindedly to the doctor.

“Of course”  Madden said with a smirk,  “Plus I have to give some people rewards for their loyalty.”

The girl merely rolled her eyes as she jumped from the throne room and began walking down the stairs. “You said, I can see my friends and girlfriend again. Are they actually gonna come?”

Madden merely smiled at her before her to valets open the door revealing the nightmares, led by Spider, who is it wearing a grand suit made from green and purple silk

“We’re here, Mother! 

The grand empress let out a squeal of excitement as she waved them inside. Minerva rolled her eyes at the way the crowd seemed to clap their hands and smile at them as She walk away from the group.; it took her a few moments beforeshe noticed a familiar group of people trailing behind her wearing a mixture of simplistic fancy looking clothing, but the ones that particularly caught her eyes were three of her people. She immediately ran down and screamed out.

“Tommy! Scarlett! Jack! Everyone!” The server turned around and was surprised to see Minerva running towards them, despite the dress that she was forced to wear. Scarlett gasped she ran toward her girlfriend looking just as happy to see her.

Before they managed to reunite, Minerva let out a slight choke as someone pulled out her chained wings to pull her right back, she tried around to see Madden mad at her, actually waving her finger at her.

“Naughty, naughty. Good girls are supposed to be patient.” Minerva then looks back to see Scarlett similarly being dragged away from her by Athen while Remus laughs at her dilemma.

“I thought that the point was for us to see each other again.” Scarlett cried out “Can I have a chance to at the very least hug my girlfriend after a month!”

“Probably just using this to make fun of us,” Techno muttered, before letting out a slight yelp at the collar sting him. 

“Behave.”  Siren scolded. “We want you all to be on your best behavior. Honestly You should be more like Dolly.”

Minerva blinks at the name “Dolly?” 

Immediately, some of the server members begin to look uncomfortable. Techno opens and closes his mouth, not knowing what to say. She tilts her head, noticing Jack, in particular, looking away guiltily. Manifold smirks at Jack mockingly, patting his head. Much to her surprise she noticed the way he lean against it“I-should I be concerned about this?!” Minerva, eyes wide, and flips her head towards the siren. “Did someone die?!”

“She might as well have for how much she’s still there,” Phil said mournfully.

Puffy nodded slowly, looking just as distressed.

The Siren snapped her finger “Dolllly! Can you please show off the dress that I made you to mothers little apprentice!” 

Minerva would’ve normally scoured at the name before her eyes snapped to focus on the Niki slowly walking towards her. Her hair was long, clearly well taken care of, and she was wearing a cute little yellow dress with flower buttons and a yellow bow on the side of her hair. Under normal circumstances, it would’ve looked adorable. If it weren’t for the almost glassy, and vacant look in her eyes.

“Dolly, do you have an introduction for the apprentice?” 

Niki nodded as she stared at a horrified Minerva, an almost uncanny smile  coming over her face.

“Nice to meet you miss, my name is Dolly!

“What the hell….” She murmured, barely noticing the crowfather, picking her up from the ground before sitting her onto a chair

“How long has she been like this?!” she cried out at the server,who were being herded behind her into a series of glass boxes.

“What the hell is this? Why are you putting them in there?! They’re people not fucking dolls for you to stare at as decorations!! What the fuck is wrong with you bastards?!” She screamed out before a tentacle wrapped around her mouth stifling her her screams

“Can’t a man arrive here, fashionably late with his pet in peace!” Theusus growled. He walked in along with Demeter and Clementine wearing their own fancy clothing, the latter holding a wiggling bag. Maddens raises her eyebrows at him when she finally notices.

“What made you so late to the party? She asked calmly. “Usually you’re a lot more punctual than this.”

“It was his pet that kept on humming and screaming. Brother got so angry about it so he had to look through his Chambers for a way to shut him up.” 

“Little bastard made me late so I have to come here fashionably late so I won’t get a hair out of line.”  He murmured under his breath, punching against the bag.

Madden hummed in agreement. “Hopefully you got something nice for him.”

“Of course I did, Mother.” he said, as he dragged Minerva behind her-who was still kicking and screaming  something furious. He didn’t take the opportunity to drive her to her face and whisper angrily “Listen you little shit if I show you Dream chained up, are you going to stop screaming?”

Minerva froze at that moment, clearly shocked at the audacity of the suggestion but the nightmare ignored it as he threw the bag inside and poured out the man in there.

“Are you happy?”

Madden tutted as she looked at Dream’s state. He wore a torn shirt and pants that look like something pulled out from the dumpster with darken blood stains all over it. Although the biggest highlight was the muzzle on his face keeping him from saying anything. “Theseus. What were you thinking? This is hardly appropriate for the occasion. Didn’t you pick up the clothes I had Petunia make for your pet?”

“That was also the problem,” Demeter explained. “His pet also ripped it apart and tried to use it as a way to escape.”

“ So I killed a man and took his clothing.”

“And you couldn’t have done it in a neater way?” Madden tutted. “Really Theseus, I expect better from you.”

Theseus crossed his arms, clearly looking embarrassed “ I apologize Mother.” Minerva thought you heard him also mumbling that the guys should have let it happen.

“I suppose I can forgive this time, but don’t make a habit of this, Theseus. I wouldn’t want to have to punish you.”

The boy quickly nodded, seemingly there was a moment of  fear in his eyes before it went back to a neutral expression “Of course, Mother.”

“At least your pet’s muzzle looks nice.” Lonely King said seemingly attempting to make Theseus feel better.

“Yes and your pet looks….” he turned around to see Quackity wearing what looked to be a traditional lawyers uniform with a series of hearts sewn onto them. “Adequate. Then again, it’s very hard to make this creature look nice. I mean have you seen his teeth and beady eyes.”

Sapnap growled from inside his box, smoke coming from the corner of his mouth. But Vulcan, noticing that, waves his hand with a fire fueled with melting wax. He puts it over Karl’s box, causing bits of it to hit Karl who let out a cry of pain as the nightmare shakes his head at Sapnap.

“Listen if you’re gonna talk to us, could you at least give us food…” Minerva murmured “I think that most of us just rather get ourselves something to eat before getting humiliated.”

The nightmare stared at her for a few moments before they all laughed at her clearly amused by her demands.

“You’re so lucky that you’re so adorable!” Medea giggled “ if we gave you some bread would you keep on rebelling?”

Minerva just sighed again, crossing her arms and glaring at them. “No.”

“She’s definitely a cutie.” Erebus coos as he summons a few pieces of bread and hands it to her before throwing it into some of the boxes. “Don’t devour it all at once!”

Minerva merely glared at  him before ripping a piece of bread into her mouth. She immediately stopped as she then quickly spit it. “It tastes like sand!”

Meanwhile in the boxes a couple server members poke at the scraps suspiciously, others shoving them in their mouths only to immediately spit them back out. The only people who seemed to have no problem with 

It was Dream, though he merely just broke a piece of it, and put it through a small part of the muzzle that allowed him to eat and Dolly, who mechanically ate it.

The Antfrost clone clawed at the cages with a neutral, yet disapproving look on his face.

“You guys got two seconds to clean up the mess that you made. Otherwise we’re making you eat that.”

“How ungrateful do you have to be to beg for bread and then to spit it out?” Orpheus complained as he ate some of the bread. “ Siren took her time to make it. Same with Dolly.”

“And it tastes like sand,” Phil said. “I’m not my son. I’m not interested in eating sand.”

“You made a mess of it. You eat or we’re gonna make you clean it” Spark barked holding a bottle of bleach and napkins 

“Okay, give me the bleach. I’ll clean it,” Phil said, holding his hand out.

Sparks narrowed his eyes as he opened the cage door “You won’t cause any trouble, right?” 

“Sure I-“ Phil then let out a scream as the nightmare, spraying his mouth and attempting to put the napkin in there. He threw the gagging Avain on the side before beginning his attempt to clean all over the place. “Oh, you guys are so dirty with so many germs!  I’m going after that Tommy kid next so many germs on him!”

“Umm, I’m pretty sure that’s poisonous,” Sam said quietly. “Like, highly poisonous.”

“I’ll do my surgery on him if need be.” Akhlys dismissed “ It’s not his fault that you got him in distress.

“I’m not sure that’s… Nevermind,” Sam said, deciding against correcting the Nightmare when he saw the Overseer glaring at him wrapping his hands around his husbands waist protectively.  He tries not to listen to Tommy’s gags as the nightmare did the same to him.

Techno however did not care as much. “Isn’t bleach acidic? Like it’ll eat through his stomach lining? What are you planning to do, give him a new stomach?!” 

Sparks immediately froze before turning to Techno with a creepy smile “Really? I didn’t know that.” he stared at his bottle before he began to mumble something to himself. “People stay clean if they're dead….”

“Don’t you dare kill my pet,” Spider hissed, pulling the bleach out of his hand. 

“ Plus Sparks there’s better ways to help them stay clean.”  Theusus suggested as he walked over to the sink and poured water in a bucket. “ Just throw water at them.

Ranboo squeaked slightly, shoving the bit of bread in his mouth and forcing himself to swallow.

“At least one of the pets is behaving.”  Medea noted. 

Ranboo tried to smile slightly, though it was quickly interrupted by a coughing fit.

Madden shakes her head at them, makes an odd clicking sound with her tongue “Is everything done now. I want the guests to see them. And I want them to be on their best behaviors. ”

“Of course, Mother ” the nightmare  response nison as they want their separate ways to get the guest inside leaving Minerva alone. She waits a moment to make sure that they’re distracted before she rushes towards the glass boxes.

“Is everyone-“ she stops herself before saying okay before she then said “Is anyone not dying?”

“I think the only people who might be actively dying are Tommy and Phil. If they start puking blood we’re in trouble,” Sam said.

Minerva let out a squeak of horror before she rushed towards them “ARE YOU LOSING BLOOD!” She before she  even stop herself

“None yet mate,” Phil said weakly,  wiping his mouth on his sleeve and trying to avoid the puddle on the floor of his box. “I’ll let you know if that changes.”

Minerva then turned to Tommy “Are you not dying?!”

Tommy just shook his head while weakly hissing at her. She tilted her head at that.

“Have you guys created secret codes already?”

“No?” Scarlett mumbles 

Before Minerva say, anything else, the Ant clone coughed behind her

“You’re not trying to help them escape are you?”

“I’m trying to make sure my friends aren’t dying after one of you decided to force poison down people’s throats. You know, it’s kind of hard for someone to look ‘presentable’ when they’re covered in bleach, blood, and vomit.”

He let out a hum “Tell that to the rest of my family during a Manhunt.” He then picks up the girl before setting her onto the table. “Have you always been the yelling type?”

“My ren taught me to stand up for myself.”

“Ren?”

“Parent? What else am I supposed to call them?”

“Mother said that it’s either mother or father or parent. You came from a very strange world do you?”

“Plenty of people call their parents something less formal. Your world is the strange one,” Minerva argued. “Trust me, I’ve met people from plenty. The only people I’ve seen who regularly refer to their parents as ‘Mother’ or ‘Father’ hate their parents.”

The cat-like nightmare stared at her for a few moments before he then said “What’s your name again?

“Minerva what’s your name?” He asked

“Mother calls me Orion.” Orion explains as the noise of the people shuffling into the room begin to pick up all around them. He glanced around the room as waiters began to come in 

“Could you try not to spit food all over the floor just because you don’t like it.” he said casually before he took a napkin and placed it on her lap.  “Try not to cause too much trouble, Minerva.”

Minerva merely mumbled something under her breath as the nightmare walks away from her. She looked outward to see a bunch of people whispering to each other, either looking at their friend or other people. She rolled her eyes as she tapped her fingers on the table. Normally she would’ve had a book or something or talked to Scarlett or Toby. But she’s just in a hellish place without any form of entertainment.

“Why is no one dancing? Minerva mumbled under her breath. “And where’s the fun music? Don’t you guys have anything besides this classical stuff?? Even the ballrooms have fun music!” She stood up from her chair, getting ready to go try to dance or at her own form of music

“What sort of hooligans do you take us for?!” Medea hissed at her, forcing her back to her seat. “Unlike you, we actually have class.”

“Class?! People dancing at parties! Have fun! shake their booty!”

Scarlett had to stop herself from laughing at Minerva’s words, but the nightmares stared at her, almost horrified by what she said.

“What do you do over there?!” Theseus laughed, clutching his stomach, “Like what sort of savagery happens there?! “

“What's next?! does your youth wear shorts, skirts and show off their shoulders?!” The Duchess asked indignantly, “Disobey their parents?!”

“Minerva mentions that in their world children could hate their parents .” Orion added.

“Yeah, cause sometimes parents suck! My birth mother abandoned me in the woods when I was like five! I would have died if it wasn’t for Uncle End finding me and Ren taking me in. Am I supposed to love her for leaving me to fucking die?!”

Just as she said that a hand grabbed her mouth as she dragged out of her seat forcing her to look at Madden who was glaring at her. She looked at her children and the server before turning to Minerva with a smirk.

Minerva just glared back. She might not be able to talk with Madden’s hand over her mouth but she wasn’t just admitting defeat.

“We should do a pretty good demonstration of our power. Especially with our little project.”  She said casually before snapping her fingers. “Thesus, Phobos, Spider bring  Dream up to the stage and get everyone’s attention.” 

Both nightmares nodded as they opened the cage door and grabbed Dream. Minerva let out a small whimper when she noticed the look on Puffy, Sapnap, and George’s face, when they saw their friend disappear into the back of the stage.

After a few minutes, the announcements played on speaker and Phobos voice came out of it

“Hello citizens of L’Manberg! This is Phobos, and we’re going to do a pretty fun demonstration of a certain project that we’re doing~ let’s introduce at least one of our subjects of our rehabilitation program: subject 04252020, Dreamwastaken!”

The curtain opened, revealing frozen on the stage as if not knowing how to react.  People around him mumbled about his appearance, and mannerisms

“What an odd looking specimen.”

“Is he a Shapeshifter?”

“It’s very surprising that the nightmares would even do that. I mean you might think they would have a better standard, then this?”

Minerva noted Puffy banging against the wall as Sapnap and George growled at the cruel comments.

“We have been working on a certain project to figure out how to bend minds into whatever shape we wanted. And I don’t just mean a temporary hypnosis! It's a permanent way of discouraging rebellion!”

“Sounds fake,” Techno mumbled to some of the other server members.

Theseus snapped his head towards the Piglin with a slight smirk on his face before he said, staring into his eyes “What were the discs worth?”

“Nothing,” Dream muttered, eyes going glossy and gray as he slumped into himself.

The group let out a gasp as the crowd immediately went silent, seemingly just as stunned as the rest of them.

Spider smiled at the crowd as he showed off the still form of Dream. “This state lasts for up to seven hours, allowing us to do whatever we want to anyone. While self preservation prohibits them from being ordered to jump off a cliff. If we order them to stay still while we shoot darts at them. They will stay still.”  He then let out a hum before saying. “Dream tell us about that exile thing? Since I always found it so interesting that you managed to take one child away and no one ever noticed anything wrong even when they visited him?”

“Yeah!” Thesus yelled out in excitement.

“Don’t hide anything and I mean don’t hide anything! Tell them about your enjoyment!” 

“Yes sir.” Dreams answered in a monotone voice only before taking a deep breath. “ I was angry at Tommy. I thought that after Wilbur’s death that he would finally calm down from grief. But he was just as rebellious so I decided the best way to deal with him was to make him as less of a threat as possible. So I convinced my mother Puffy to help me destroy a couple of houses. She was guilty about abandoning me on the dock, so she decided that this will be a great way to spend time with me”

Minervas stared in shock at the statement. Scarlett was in a similar state of shock as she turned around and whispered to Puffy. “Wait… you let him in the dock?”

The pirate turns away from her in shame as Tommy shakes his head quietly whispering, don’t you dare over and over again.

But Dream wasn’t finished as he took a deep breath from that statement and continued.

“But I was lucky. Tommy was dumb enough to burn down George’s house with Ranboo Besides, the fact that I was pissed at him for doing that, it seems like a great way to keep him from causing any more trouble.” There was a slight smile on his face as if he was actively enjoying everyone’s reaction to what he said. “Tubbo was quickly convinced that I would starve them to death if they didn't give up on Tommy. So he gave him to me in exchange for the safety of L’Manberg. All it took was a couple of notes saying that Tommy hated him, and he believed enough to not visit him.”

As Dream continued to explain everything  the details became more and more horrifying and graphic. He  explain every way he kept the boy under control. He explains how Tommy initially was rebellious before slowly and steadily becoming despondent and desperate for attention to the point that he would beg for the admin not to go away. He even noted the times where some people did visit, and how they either gave out empty promises to help him, or just laughed at him since he was seen as such an annoyance by everyone. All while he smiled at the crowd barely noticing the tears in his eyes.

Minerva sat there, frozen, not even able to argue back or yell out for the admin to stop. Scarlet also sits there, face frozen in horror and a bit of disgust before she slowly looks back at Techno and Tubbo, whispering out a simple “Why?”

Tubbo just looks away in shame.

Spider giggled “How awful! I mean how did you get the entire server under your spell? How did you convince them that Tommy doesn't need ‘saving’,” 

Phobos added with a cruel sneer. “ Then again, there’s one person in the administration that actually knows about this to the extent of getting some journals. Yet, he didn’t say a word for some reason. Could you tell us who it is you know just in case?”

“Oh, yes, it was Ranboo!” Dream answered cheerfully with a painful smile. “I was using him to spy on Tommy!” He twitched slightly as if the real Dream was screaming inside, “He was so scared for his sanity that he didn’t wanna say anything, not knowing whether what he saw was real or not! I use my admin signature to trigger his state!”

“So that’s how he did that,” Ranboo muttered.

“Oh, I remember how you got him to betray all of the member's secrets! But I remember something that actually Ranboo figure it out, but didn’t tell anyone….” The nightmare smirks at Dream who immediately answered

“Yes, I had him blow up the prison that ended up trapping Tommy inside. It was a mistake on his part. I felt that he ended up dying as a result. He had two lives left!”

The entire server froze at that moment, Ranboo in particular. He died?! he don’t remember that time again what could he remembered that’s impossible how-

And then, for the first time, Tommy said something .

“You’re fucking lying!” He yelled out “You already use exile as a way to humiliate us; just leave him out of this!”

The Spider raised his eyebrow “Sit down pet; we are telling the truth for the audience-”

But Tommy interrupted him “ All you’re doing is just humiliating us! You’re not telling me the truth, you're twisting it, so you can make your own reality!”

Maddens Scoffed at that. “If you were actually sitting there and listening, you would’ve learned more. I thought you wanted everyone to know about your situation. That's what you wanted the right people to understand you!”

“And now it’s time for you to learn how truly friendless, unless you are”   Spider then turns to Ranboo and hissed out “ How does the coward live!”

“He lives in fear.” He mutters as Ranboo’s eyes widen in horror at what he just said before he takes a deep breath as his eyes close before opening up to reveal that his eyes were now blank like Dream. The red and green eyes are now losing their color.

“Did you or did you not blow up the prison? Tell the full truth.”

Ranboo nodded slowly.  “I did it. It happened after Sapnap showed me a picture of that accursed smile and I lost control…..I have nightmares about hurting my family under his control and I didn’t tell anyone because I was scared that everyone would be angry at me…..”

Tommy stared at Ranboo in shock and despair and at what he said, along with Sam, who looked just as shocked.

Madden smirks at him “You can’t trust anyone.” She whispered before she walk towards the stage, and towards the people

“My beloved citizens, despite all of the oddness and horrors of these creatures, I end up feeling a kindred spirit with them! A bunch of broken people without anyone to teach them the methods of right and wrong! So I have brought them into my heart and gave them a home! Even with this type of extreme method, it was for their own good, otherwise, they will cause chaos from wherever they go so if you see them running about, just come to your lords, and you will get rewarded for your loyalty! Let’s celebrate the spirit of rehabilitation and redemption, even for the seemingly hopeless!”

At that moment there was a huge round of applause from the people, each and everyone of them, smiling big at Madden and the nightmares.

Minerva looks around the place in horror as she slowly backs away from the odd emotions around her before, bumping into one big shape.

“Are you tired little bird?”  The crowfather whispered.

She opens her mouth to try to argue against it before her eyes glitch out in different colors. “I-” she then slumped against his chest not knowing how to respond with her emotions. “Tired…..”

Minerva felt something hitting on her back, and she normally turned around to see Jester heard staring at her

“Back off!” He hissed “My grandfather!”

The crowfather chuckled as Minerva attempted to stick her tongue out at him.

“How adorable.” He said casually, petting on their heads. The crowfather glanced at the server. Everyone seems to be in their own world trying to process what just happened and Ranboo was standing there still in his zombie-like state along with Dream. The only one who is not in deep despair was Scarlett who merely just crosses her arms and does not look at anyone. The Crowfather smirked slightly as he turned to Athen “ I’m very excited when you break her. She seems to be a very interesting case.”

“Oh yes, she is a very interesting one.”

Within the forest of Toontown, there is a sparkle, and hum a pure magic as a metal cylinder begin to glow.

“I guess that the guy was accurate.” Hbomb noted as the makeshift portal that they created shook and pulse at each bit of magic.

Bugs nodded, looking tired as he rubbed his eyes “Finally some good news… I can’t wait to get the girls out of that hellscape.”

Entrapta stared at it nervously, pulling her hair. “I’d be careful. This portal is still pretty unstable. Even with the note from this Obi it’s hard to get a solid grip on this place. It’s like something or someone is trying to shield it somehow. I’m not sure how long we can keep this thing open.”

Mickey turn to her “Maybe if we just pause it for a moment and just take the time to fix it up, we could-”

Eryn snapped his head towards the mouse. “No.”

“It wouldn't take long.” Steven said reassuringly, “We have some of the best inventors here!”

“Plus the last thing we need is the portal either collapsing or ending up destroying that or our reality.” Catra added.  “It’s not a good experience.”

“Plus, best case scenario and it crashes on us, we basically have to remake the portal from scratch,” Entrapta pointed out. “That's the best case scenario. There’s no, just flipping it back on if it goes down before everyone goes through.”

“Well We’ll go tonight then.” Hbomb suddenly said. 

The Toons stare at him in shock at his suggestion.

“I can't get this thing stable in two hours!” Entrapta argued. “Even with me, Gizmo, and Fenton all working together it’ll take at least a couple days.”

“We’re on a time limit!”  Hbomb cried out, “Maddens don’t take days to kill a person! Just get your best people here and then we can go!”

Bugs groan, rubbing his head, “Oswald, Halloway and Duke are currently trying to keep that place in check! And they’re the best person to help!”

Entrapta just signed. “Fine. I’ll do what I can to ensure no worlds will collapse but I can’t promise anything more. Just make sure everyone who’s going through is ready because I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold it open.”

Hbomb, along with the other Minecraft people, some of their weapons. “We were ready from day one.” Drista said. “We will get there before dawn!”

Chapter Text

Hbomb yawned as his communicator buzzed beside him in his makeshift tent. He took a moment to get himself together before picking it up. It was Callahan who left a message that already showed a mixture of concern, and a bit of impatience.

“It’s been a week. Any updates?”

“Yeah. ” Hbomb typed back. “ We were having trouble looking for the location but one of the kids, Toby, managed to find a clue.”

“Really it took them a week to find something?!”

“Apparently. Then again, they did get nabbed by the Bitch. Not overly surprising.”

“I know I know but the captain is gonna get impatient soon if we don’t give him any results.”

“And we’ll get them when we get them. Just try to keep him from blowing a gasket.”

There was a slight poke against his tent before someone pulled it away.  “Are you guys ready?” Minnie asked politely.

He nodded, “of course, did you get everyone?”

“Almost the entire town.” Minnie explained, pulling her head out of the tent. Hbomb crawled out of his tent and followed her towards the portal, revealing a huge group of people with different weapons standing by while Entrapta, Fenton, and Gizmo, were working on the portal. Nearby were the other server members standing by.

Hbomb chuckled, “It seems like the others were somewhat more popular to the town.”

“Everyone loves the girls,” Minnie said. “There are a couple who are concerned about the server.”

“Oh, OK” He muttered.

Bugs yawned as he walked over to the small group. “Just to let you know we’re gonna be going in groups of 8 to 10 so that we won’t overwhelm the portal.”

“I’ll go first.” Drista offered, floating forward.  “I want to get my brother back.”

“Same.” Hbomb added, “ I’m the one with the best combat experience.”

“Thank you!” Minnie said before she grabbed both of them by the arms, pulled them away from the rest of the Minecraft group, and pushed them toward a small group near the portal.

“Hey, my best friend is in there!” Eryn argued.

“And mine!” Boomer said with a scowl.

Bugs nodded. “We’ll put you in a group near the portal as well, we just don’t want it to get overwhelming.”

Aimesy glanced at the separate groups waiting. “You guys are really taking safety seriously.”

“I’m not surprised, I mean look at some of these people, they seem to be real warriors!”  Tina whispered, noting some of the people in the different groups

“I’m a warrior,” Eryn grumbled, crossing his arms.

Before Bugs could say anything else, from the corner of his eyes, he noticed a small shape, going through the different groups and trying to get through the front. He blinked a few times before turning to the Animaniacs, with an annoyed look on his face. “I thought you got Toby to stay home?” 

“We did!” Yakko  argued, “We literally put him in bed!”

“Toby, we know that you want to come, but this isn’t a good idea!” Jon cried out as Toby tripped onto the ground nearby Amelia.

“Oh no, no way!” Bugs cried out. “There is no way I’m letting you go through that portal. I already have two kids in there, I am not risking you!”

“But I want to help!” Toby argued out

“You’re only a child! You are not going and that is final!”

Before he could say anything else, a few other toons pick him up and begin the process of walking him back to town as Toby struggles to get out of their arms.

The server members looked outward in surprise before Eryn asked “Who is the kid?”

“That’s Toby.” Luz exclaimed. “He’s one of the youngest people here.”

“Scarlett and Minerva’s brother too. Bugs is already worked up about those two being missing, it’s not surprising he’s getting protective over Toby,” Hunter agreed.

Boomer hummed “Kids are always like that. Especially once they get to their double digits.”

Hbomb chuckled at that “Yeah. The captain told us all about how much Tubbo wanted to follow him and help out when he was nine.”

“Nine?” Yakko asked, tilting his head.

“Yeah. Getting close to when you’d start training but still a bit early by most people’s perspective,” Boomer said.

Just as he said that there was a huge glass of air as the portal opened up, glitching and going through a different color.

“It's ready!” Entrapta called out.

“Group one, go!” Fenton called out, causing the group nearest the portal to jump into action. They went into the portal in a flash, led by Tom Houston. Hbomb looks back at the group as he smiles at them “See you guys on the other side!” He said before going through the portal.

“Group two, you're next!”

Eryn let out a tired sigh. “Finally let’s do this!”

He looks forward to the portal, ready to save his friend. He even knows that two or three people are going through the portal at that moment, but just before he can go over, there is a slight hiss as the light, and the portal begins to dim slightly.

“No!” Entrapta shouted, trying to get the portal to stay open but it just let sparkle and shutter before it shut down. 

Everyone stood there in shock when the portals shut down. Tina blinked a few times before whispering, “How many people went through…?”

“I think I counted eleven,” Aimsey said.

“Can you get the portal back up?” Eda asked.

“Doesn’t look like it,” Fenton said. “The mechanisms are completely fried. We’re gonna have to start from scratch. It’ll take at least another two weeks to get this thing back up and running.”

“Shit….”

“We need to contact them!” Pearl cried out, “Steven and Connie are in there!”

“I warned you guys that it wasn’t ready, but no one was willing to listen to me,” Entrapta complained, looking distressed. “And now you’re mad at me because what I said would happen, happened?”

Mickey patted her head “I know, I know we’re sorry.”

Gyro played around with the radio, causing static to come out of it before a voice came out.

“Hello? What happened on the other side?” Amelia called out “Is everything all right?”

“The portal is fried,”Gyro said. “Just like everyone was warned would happen.”

“We’re gonna have to make a new one. Looks like you’re on your own for a while,” Fenton said.

“Is everyone okay over there?”

“Yeah. Just a bit dizzy, We’re currently nearby a forest. And this place smells awful.” Amelia murmured as she covered her nose. She was already concerned about it. The moment that she saw it, and even a note of it to Entrapta, but based on what the girl told her, it seemed like everyone was to be in a rush to get to their friends.

“This place is practically made of chaos,” Drista said, floating slightly. “If it wasn’t so dark and smelly I think I’d like it here.” She attempted to fly higher, only to fall to the ground with a thud. “Ow!”

“Are you okay ?”  Steven asked as he held out his hand.

“Yeah,” Drista said, using his hand to pull herself up and trying to get back in the air, only to fall back down. “Well that might turn into an issue. My powers don’t work here.”

Connie hummed in concern as she turned to HBomb. “Uh HBomb? What’s in your pocket?”

He turned to her in surprise. “Huh?” And at that moment, Charlie poked his head out of the pocket. “ Are we there yet?”

“Gugh?!” Connie cried out as she jumped back from him

“What the hell!?” Lex cried out, holding Hannah.

“Charlie? When did you get there?” HBomb asked. “And how?”

“I was interested in helping but I didn’t know how anyone else would react so I made myself so small and followed you guys!” he explained before jumping out and changing into his more humanoid form. He immediately frowned as look around the place. “ This is not a good place.”

“Nope. Not at all. But we’ve got to save the girls. And the server I guess,” Amelia said.

Hbomb narrowed his eyes at her before turning to Tom. “So, which way do we go?”

He looked around the area before noticing a cloud of smog rising from the other side of the woods. “Probably over there. If there’s smog, there is most likely civilization.”

Steven grimaced slightly at the sight as he began to walk “It might be a factory or something. I never got how someone could be willing to do this.”

“It’s for the money obviously,” Lex said casually, following Steven. A few others follow as well, leaving Hbomb standing there in surprise.

“Should we really be walking straight into the first civilization we see? We have no idea who’s in charge here, and if the Bitch is running the show, I seriously doubt anyone is gonna be friendly,” HBomb pointed out.

“ Who said we’re gonna be doing it in the open?” Amelia responded. “We’re just going to scout the area.”

HBomb opens and closes his mouth before realizing that most of the group is already determined to go, before letting out a sigh and following them. He turned to Charlie, who looked back at him with an odd seriousness. “We’re really in for it now, Hbomb of Catmaid Café.”

Tubbo whistles slightly as he carries the laundry. The sirs want him to hang them to dry for some occasion and tell him that if he done it right, he might get to see Michael. Probably far away since the better version of him doesn't like him near him, but he could take it. He just needs to work hard enough. Tubbo smiles softly to himself at the thought before taking out at least one of the shirts.

“Mr. Tubbo!” Esma calls out, smiling happily at his caretaker. “Do you need help with it?”

“Oh-of course!” He said as the young boy walked towards him, picked up a few pieces of clothing as well, and he hung them up. 

They work together in quiet harmony, trying to hang them up neatly. After a few minutes of silence,  Esma asked, “Have you been seeing those strange people near the house?”

“Strange people? What do you mean?” Tubbo asked, pausing as he pulled a pair of pants from the basket.

“Some people in cloaks. I think there are three of them and one of them has white glowing eyes as well.” The boy explains before tilting his head up again, and pointing behind him “And they’re one behind you!”

Turbo froze as a hand was placed on his shoulders

“Tubbo?” Eret whispered, pulling the cloak slightly back to prove their identity. Despite the blindfold over their eyes, there was no mistaking the curly brown hair and high cheekbones who it is. The goat hybrid takes a deep breath, not knowing whether or not he should scream for someone to come out, or just sit there, but before he can make a decision, the former king covers his mouth immediately.

“No no no don’t scream.” She pleaded quietly. “Please tell me you haven’t given in already!”

“Tubbo? What’s going on?” Scarlett asked, bags under her eyes as she held a sleeping Finch close to her; she immediately stops when she notices the person in front of her.

“It’s just me!” Eret said quickly, pulling their hood back to show their face fully.

Scarlett stared at the king for a few moments before saying, in a neutral tone, “You’re a sight for sore eyes. Why are you here?”

“ I just need to talk to you guys.” They didn’t notice Tubbo slowly removing her hand from his mouth.

She told her head at them, reminding Eret of an inquisitive bird. “Did one of the sirs send you here?”  

“Not exactly. But I was out running errands and I just needed to see a familiar face that isn’t Karl, Dream, or George.”

They stared at him for a moment; Esma looked between the caretakers and the stranger. “I’ll go get Mr. Techno.” The child said before the former king could stop them. He ran across the yard with Scarlett, moving over to allow the child to go inside. 

“What the- what are you doing?!”  Eret cried out, “Why did you allow him inside?!”

“He’s just getting Techno,” Scarlett said casually, barely paying attention to the world around her. “What are you so worried about?”

“Oh, you know, the fact that it could be a lie to get one of the nightmares.”

“Esma would never lie,”  Tubbo argued.

“You’re confident about that?” Eret said. “Most of the shades I’ve met haven’t exactly been the helpful type.”

“We took care of these kids from day one,” Scarlett said while yawning. “The Sirs tend not to be happy with lies. And we make sure that the kids are safe”

“They’re not happy with anything from what I’ve seen,” Eret said. “I have been forced to watch everything they’ve done. None of it pretty.”

Emsa returned, holding Techno’s hands tightly. Eret stared at his appearance in surprise. Besides the fact that he was wearing a uniform similar to Tubbo and Scarlett, as well as him being in this human form. He seems to be a lot more softer and more shy with some of his hair covering his eyes and his haircut short. He leans against a cane, making it clear that the injury from a while ago still affects him. He looks nothing like the warrior that he remembers from before.

Techno notices Eret in front of him before taking a moment to stand up upwards, before speaking.

“I’m surprised to see you around here.”

“I just wanted to see some familiar faces that I’m not locked in a room with almost 24/7,” Eret said. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”

He shrugged “ Oh, you know childcare. The kids tend to be a lot.” 

Eret hummed. “ Can we talk in private? Just you and Tubbo.”

Scarlett narrowed her eyes, she placed  her hands on her hips “Why not me?”

“No offense it’s just…” Eret rubs their head trying to think of something  “ I just recently got some memories and I just think that they are the best people to talk to.”

“Memories? What do you mean?” Tubbo asked.

“Please. I at the very least don’t wanna talk about it in front of a bunch of kids,” Eret said. “I’ll explain just… Please, Scarlett. I’m not trying to cause any trouble. I promise you that.”

Scarlett sighed “Five minutes, and then I’m coming to you. Come on, Esma.” The young boy nodded and stuck his tongue out at the king before walking inside. She slammed the door behind her, leaving the two other caretakers with Eret.

Turbo narrowed his eyes slightly at them “What do you want?”

“I just wanna know if I could trust you guys okay….” Eret explained, “I didn’t take advantage of some errands just to talk to you guys.” 

They pause for a moment before saying 

“I remember that we were meant to worked together at one point to avenge Ranboo.”

Techno and Tubbo just stared at him.

“I’m not saying you’re wrong, but what is your point?” Techno said after a moment. “ I don’t want to talk about what I would’ve done after that awful jailbreak.”

“I think I figured out a way how we could escape from the nightmare world. I recently met some new friends who to help us.”

Tubbo shakes his head, and he begins to turn around. “No, I-I’m going back in the house.” 

“What? You guys?! You can’t seriously want to stay here?!” Eret said. “They’re torturing our friends! 

“They’re helping us,”  Tubbo said in a monotone voice, as he began to open the door. 

“I’ve seen Ranboo throw in vats of water for being a couple of seconds late to things five times in the last week! That is not helping!” Eret argued. “When I said I had to watch everything they’ve done I meant it! And what they’re doing is torture!”

 Tubbo stopped himself in his tracks.  “We were already torturing each other….”

Techno looks away looking just as nervous. “Listen, can we change the subject.”

Eret just shook his head. “You don’t care. You really don’t care. People you claim to care about are being hurt, and you’re just gonna stay here because they’re not physically hurting you. Is that it?”

“No….” Tubbo turned around his hair covering his face “I’m not hurting anyone here. The sir… The better version of me. They were right…. I was a coward and pawn who exiled my friend to an abuser…. I don't want it to get worse….”

“Better?! Did I mention the torture?!” Eret demanded. “What about Tommy? Regularly forced to endure his worst fears? Sam being cooked alive by his own armor? Ranboo being thrown what is basically in acid for the slightest infraction? Or Foolish spending day in and day out so hopped up on drugs he doesn't even know his own father standing right in front of him?! Fundy! Jack! Everyone! Do none of the other’s suffering mean anything to you?”

Techno and Tubbo just blankly listen to him but to make matters worse, Scarlett’s voice appears behind them,pushing her hand through the boys, as she calmly separate them.

“How do we know that you’re not lying? The sirs only punish the guilty or commit any sins.” She said, with a similarly blank stare on her face. Her hands move to the other two caretakers hands to grab them. “I need to get them inside soon. The kids are hungry and the sirs need our services.”

Eret stared at the blank look on their faces, a deep fear pulled into their stomach as they realized what could have happened to them. They grab onto Scarlett and begin to shake her.

“Scar! What’s wrong with you! What happened?!” Eret pleaded toward her, “What did they do to you?!” They then noticed the collar on her neck and immediately went to try to untie it. Scarlett immediately let out a cry of horror as she attempted to push him away.

“What are you doing!?” She growled.

But Eret ignored her as they finally broke the collar and pinched the side of her neck. She let out a small gasp as she collapsed onto his shoulder. 

Tubbo and Techno stared at the scene in shock before the former grabbed Eret cloak, and pulled them from Scarlett towards his face.

“What are you doing?!” He yelled out “ Are you trying to get us killed?!”

“I’m trying to get us out of here while there’s still something to get out of here!” Eret replied harshly, “Why are you guys unwilling to at least listen!”

“Because we got our own people to protect! Our little siblings!” Techno yelled out  “Ever since the voices have been taken from me, they made a saw what we have done. We have hurt so many people! This is our only chance for redemption! To make up for all our ins!”

“Plus there’s always a reason there’s always a reason why they do this,” Tubbo cried out, clutching his hair. Eret can’t help but shutter about how much they sound less like themselves and more like malfunctioning robots. “ I can’t risk hurting Tommy and Ranboo again! I just can’t! I can't, I can't, I can't!!! Especially not after her!”

“So you’re just gonna let them get hurt by someone else?!” Eret demanded.

Immediately they went slack before they stood up at the same time.

“The Good Doctor and sirs know best,” They said in unison.

“TORTURE IS NOT BEST YOU MANIACS! THEY’VE BRAINWASHED YOU!” Eret shouted, grabbing onto them. “CAUSE THAT’S WHAT THIS IS! IT’S FUCKING TORTURE! WHETHER YOU’RE TOO BLIND TO SEE IT OR NOT!”

Scarlett groaned as she got up from the ground, rubbing her neck. “…You have to go now. They have heard you….”

Eret looks up to see two shadows of the nightmares coming down from the top floors. The king backed away slowly at sight before looking at the trio. They stood still and quietly watched Eret closely as if waiting for an order.

“I know you’re still in there guys…I’m not gonna let them turn you into mindless drones. I’ll be back.”

“You won’t, traitor.” They say in unison, with a similar look of blank anger, despite their body shaking. They point at Eret accusingly. “ Leave.” 

“I will. You’ll see.” With that, Eret pulled their hood back up and turned to flee, hopping over the wall and disappearing 

He didn’t notice that a certain avian was watching from one of the houses he’s building nearby.

Chapter Text

“Ah!” Hannah cried out as she tripped over another steel pipe and fell onto the metal-covered ground below. She gets up in the kneeling position as she looks at the other cut on her arm. She let out a soft hum of pain before she got up and continued walking, trying not to aggravate the other cut on her knee.

“Hannah, are you sure I can’t heal it now?” Steven asked as he licked his hand. “We don't want it to get infected.”

“I don’t wanna waste time,” Hannah said.

“It’ll take like five seconds,” Steven said.

Lex sighed, “Hannah, just let Steven heal it. We’ll be even more slowed down if it gets infected or something.”

She let out a small grumble as she held out her arm, Steven then placed his spit-covered hand onto her two wounds, and after a few moments, they closed up as if nothing happened. 

“You see, we still have time.” He said reassuringly before getting up. 

Hbomb, Charlie, and Drista stared at it with a mixture of confusion, disgust, and a bit of amazement.

“You can heal wounds… with your spit?” HBomb said after a moment.

“Yep!” Steven answered cheerfully “It’s something leftover from my mom. But she did it with tears.”

“He managed to heal my eyesight because we ended up sharing a juice box.” Connie chuckled, thinking back at the memory.

“Interesting. Is there, like, any limits to what you can heal?”

Steven shrugged, “Not really…. I have accidentally brought Lars back from the dead. But he became pink and I can go through his hair since it acts like a portal.” 

The server member stared at the boy for a moment before backing away slightly.

Amelia sighed before turning towards them. “Really?”

“Hey, You have to admit it is a bit weird!”  Hbomb argued.

Tom held his hand up, immediately stopping everyone. “We’re here.” He pointed in front of them, revealing a black factory plant. Something about it seems off about it, maybe it’s the fact that it's a type of black that seems to just suck all the color in the area, maybe it just looks so generic that they could barely remember anything about it despite looking at it, maybe it’s the sounds of screaming and crying.

Everyone stares in there for a few moments before Lex begins to back away.

“Are we fucking going to actually go in there and ask for directions or something?!”

“No!” Tom exclaimed.

“Yes?” Connie smiles nervously.

“Uhhh, are you crazy?” HBomb said. “Do you not hear the screaming? That place is trouble!”

“We got disguises.” She said as she  opened up her bag and revealed a couple of worker uniforms. “We can pretend to either be working here or just visiting!”

HBomb stared at her in disbelief as Drista turned to the group. “Has this kind of gamble worked before?”

“It honestly depends on where you come from,” Amelia explained as she took at least one of the uniforms. “Surprisingly it does work except we don’t have the same uniforms as them.” She pointed out to a couple people working.

All of them were wearing brown dirty overalls with goggles on their heads with the only clothing underneath the overalls was a cloth wrapped around their chest. Nothing like the blue clean uniform Connie was holding. The only thing that he’d have in common with those uniforms is that they are overalls.

“Oh.”

Hannah pat Connie on the back as she looked back at the prison, concentrating on a few of the workers in the front.

“So I guess we have to sneak inside.” Lex noted as she noticed some minecarts rolling out of a hole with tarps on top of it. She quickly grabs them and pulls them back.

“We’ll use them to sneak through that mine, and the tarp will help keep us hidden.”

“This does not seem like a smart plan,” HBomb said. “You heard the scientists! If we get caught we’re screwed. Cause there’s no one else coming after us. Not anytime soon.”

“Well, what’s a better plan Sherlock!”  Lex snapped.

“I don’t know, maybe don’t sneak into the weird mine for no real reason?” HBomb said. “We don’t even know if any of the people we’re looking for are in there. For all we know, we’re risking getting captured for nothing.”

“Two people are in there.” Hannah said suddenly.  “Webby and I managed to get a few people.”

“How do you know that? Who’s Webby?”

“Webby is her magical, spider friend, who acts like a protector for the Hatchetfield people,” Steven explains.

Tom nodded. “She’s not the most powerful goddess, but she does help when she can.” 

“We have to go in now,” Hannah said, as she got up from her seat and ran towards the now empty entrance.

“Right!” Steven said as he follow her

“Wait! Steven! Hannah!” Amelia called out.

Both young teens look back at the group.

“Come on!” They waved before they ran to the entrance and disappeared inside.

Amelia groans as Hbomb looks on in shock. Drista shrugged at them. “We’re on a time limit! And anything is better than nothing!”

She then zipped away from them, and into the entrance as well.

Hbomb covers his face in frustration.

“This is ridiculous we shouldn’t-“  He looked up to see that everyone was rushing towards the entrance. The only exception is Charlie who is standing by his side. “-and they’re gone. Fuck.”

“HBomb of catmaid café should we follow them? We can wait out here if you want.” Charlie pauses for a moment before saying.  “Like cowards.”

“Let’s go,” HBomb growled before running in after the group. “I swear if we get captured here and die, I’m never letting any of these people rest.”

It was good news and bad news. The good news is that the screaming, for the most part, turns out to be just machinery. The bad news is that they’re in a place filled with lava and sharp machinery. The group managed to cover their mouths as they waited in a cooler room as Hbomb and Charlie managed to catch up with them.

“Hey H!” Drista said cheerfully, “We thought you were dead!”

“Not as dead as we’ll all be if we don’t be more careful!” He whispered, harshly. “Why are we trusting the intuition of an imaginary spider goddess?!”

“Webby isn’t imaginary,” Hannah said.

“Shush, I’m trying to get a look at the main floor,” Amelia growled before she heard a scream from above she quickly looked up to see a man being thrown from the top floor of an office, and into the lava below there was a splash as a smell of burnt flesh filled the air. The group looks on in shock as a voice that sounds both familiar and unfamiliar laughs above the sight.

“This is what happens if you don’t meet your daily quotas, everyone! We want every single machine done by 8:00 PM. Otherwise, we’ll have a nice barbecue with all of you as the fuel or maybe even the food!”

Connie covered her mouth in shock. “That sounded like…” 

“Jack,” HBomb said. “But, not. What is this place?”

Tom hummed. “Maybe we’re in some sort of opposite world. Granted, I’m pretty sure that’s what your world is like but something like-”

“Evil twins!” Steven added. “Or, maybe Jack has been brainwashed… not by Hunt this time….”

“Manifold, brother, please be careful. I don’t want my dolly’s dress to get scorched. I work so hard on it.”

“Then why did you bring your doll to my factory?!”

“Can’t a girl visit their older brother?”

“You didn’t have to bring the doll with you. Plus we were created at the same time!”

“Niki?” Connie whispered.

“That might have been Niki’s voice but that is not something Niki would say,” HBomb said. 

“And why would Niki call Jack her older brother? Niki is older than Jack I’m pretty sure,” Amelia said.

“Also they say created.” Drista pointed out. “So they can’t be born either.”

Charlie ignored the conversation as he looked around the area of the factory. Surprisingly, it was boring from his perspective, just some plain old human misery and evil tyrants. If he wants that he could just go back to the loop he was in and do it with his friends. He continues to scan around the room before his eyes are caught with two figures walking down the hallway, carrying boxes full of coal. One is wearing the regular uniform with a shaved head, despite the lack of glasses, there was an oddly dark look on his face. The other one has fully blond long hair, and is skipping down happily, as if not noticing anything around her. Despite how completely different they looked, it was no mistaking who it was.

“I see Jack from L’Manberg and Niki from L’Manberg,” Charlie hissed, waving the others towards him. “Though, Niki from L’Manberg is acting weird.”

“Really!” Steven said he had to leave as he looked out to see the two walking back up the hallway already, completing their tasks. “This is great!”

“How do we get their attention?” Charlie asked, “I mean they’re far away.”

“Should we? You’re right, 'cause Niki isn’t acting like herself. What if they’re brainwashed or something,” HBomb asked.

“Yeah, Niki’s acting odd but how do you know Jack is brainwashed? He seems fine for being trapped in a murder factory.” Tom noted. “But, just in case we should grab them and sneak them out of there.”

Amelia nodded, “It is a better compromise.” She then stops herself when she notices something lying on her hair. She reaches out and plucks what looks like a monarch butterfly from her braid. “Huh…?”

Steven shakes his hair and notices a few other butterflies in there. He smiled slightly as they began to fly around “Awww! Hi little guys, what are you doing here?”

Connie and Lex look at one another as they see more butterflies surrounding them.

“Uh, butterflies don’t go to these areas do they?” Lex asked.

“No. They don’t,” Tom said. “This place is weird.”

Steven laughed “Maybe it’s a miracle!” He said, laughing as the butterflies began to tickle him he barely even noticed them slowly, lifting him up into the air, led by a butterfly above his head. Hannah's eyes widened as she looked down, noticing the same thing with her. She began to let out a scream as she began to shake, trying to get the butterflies off of her. “THEY’RE BAD! IT'S GOING TO KILL US! KILL THE LEADERS, KILL THE LEADERS!”

The adults and Connie’s eyes widened as they immediately began to try to get the butterflies off of their friends, but more swarmed all around them as they got picked up as well.

“What the hell kind of butterflies are these?!” Lex cried out, trying to rip them away from her only for more together under her.

“Creepy butterflies apparently!” HBomb said, trying to shake them off of him. “Why are they kidnapping us?!”

“Do you like them? I made them as a gift for a mother.”  Manifold laughed as he stepped forward from the dark. “And I made them so that interlopers like you can’t come in here.”

“I fucking told you guys this was a bad idea!” HBomb shouted, still trying to get himself free. “But NOOOOO we had to run headlong into the creepy factory in the world we were outright told was super dangerous with no fucking plan and no idea what was down here!”

“Come down, you’re actually in the best part of our home!” The Siren giggled, crossing her arms. “I am so glad to see more guests here! Especially those cute little girls!” She said, pointing at Connie and Hannah. “Imagine what my dresses would look like on them!”

“Leave them alone!” Lex and Steven yell out in unison, with the latter glowing pink at that moment.

Manifold tilts his head. “Hey kid, you should really get your powers tested out. You’re glowing pink.”

“Yeah, everyone knows that pink is a girl's color. It doesn’t fit boys! ” And her eyes sparkled when she noticed his gemstone. “Oh, I wanted it! Give me!”

“You can’t have my gem!” Steven argued, struggling harder against the butterflies, though now he seemed to be actually making some progress.

“Gems are also for girls! Now give it to me!” She stomps her foot in anger like a petulant child. “You’re a gentleman, you're supposed to give me what I want!” She screeched from the top of her lungs. 

Manifold shakes his head at the noises that she makes. “Listen, just give her the gem kid. What’s the worst that could happen?! What belongs to your dead mom or something!?” At that moment, the nightmare reached out, clearly ready to rip the gem out of him.

Steven stared at him in horror, before he began to breathe heavily, his eyes glowing pink before he screamed out. “DON'T TOUCH ME!” The butterflies disintegrated from the power as he floated in the air and hit the nightmare in the face, causing him to stumble back. 

“Brother!” Siren cried out, running to his side, barely noticing the other butterflies disintegrating as well, letting go of the group. 

Hbomb turned to the others quickly. “We need to get out of here!”

“Madame, are you okay? What's going on?” Niki whispered as she looked over from the corner before locking eyes with Hbomb revealing the glassy stare that looked through him rather than at him.“H… did Madame and Sir bring you over for the reformation program as well?”

“The plan was actually to rescue you. It’s the Bitch. You do realize what she’s done right?”

“You mean the good doctor? She's here to help us.”

“I suppose if you call giving a bunch of admins Herobrine Madness and killing a bunch of people good, sure,” HBomb said.

“H?” Jack steps forward, his eyes dark as he stretches his arms. Hbomb can’t help but shutter slightly, his eyes looking similar to the legendary voidborn of old. “What did you do?..”

“We’re here to save you!!”

“You fucked up big!” Two voices in unison behind the group say they turn to see the nightmares floating in the air, The Siren was glowing pink while Manifold grabbed a sword pointing at the group. “You dare come here trying to take away our pets! You're interfering with our work!”

“That was the plan,” Steven said as he grabbed Connie’s hand and the pair started to glow white before fusing. Stevonnie summoned their sword before leaping onto the nightmares with a cry.

Siren summoned a shield and blocked the sword before summoning a dagger in an attempt to slash them. 

Meanwhile, Manifold teleported by his sister before being behind Jack and Niki, and grabbing the back of their hair and head.

“Come on! I’m not going to get in trouble because you too decided to chat!” He growled as he began to drag them away. “You’re so dead when we’re done with these interlopers!”

“Let go of them!” Tom top cried out as he took out his hand gun and began firing at the nightmare, hitting him in the arm, he let out of his pain before letting go of Jack. The latter grab Niki and begin to run only to be blocked by Drista and Hbomb. 

“You protect them, I'll help out with fighting these creatures!” She orders before teleporting away.

“You two stay behind me,” HBomb said, getting into a fighting stance.

Niki let out a distressed cry, as she began to shake his shoulders. “Why are you fighting Madame and Sir?! She did nothing wrong!”

“She literally kidnapped you!”

Jack just pulled her away looking more stressed and angry  by the minute, “She’s under Madame’s spell.” HBomb didn't know whether he should be happy or more concerned when he noticed how much hatred the word was in his voice. “She doesn’t realize that we shouldn’t trust her.”

“I’m guessing you’re still in your right mind?”

“These people fucking suck and I want them dead if that’s what you’re asking,” Jack explained, simply glaring at Hbomb. “And I’m surprised you even came at all. I thought that you had forgotten about us..”

The man was taken aback by the hate in his tone now being directed at him. He was expecting some form of anger, but he didn’t expect this.

“I know two weeks is a bit long but we were trying to get you guys!”

Jack stared at him in confused shock and even more anger before he screamed out something that froze the former catmaid’s blood. “Two weeks?! It’s been two years! TWO YEARS OF HELL!”

“What?” HBomb said. “Jack, I swear, back on the server you’ve only been gone for like two months. I don’t know what’s with time here, but we wouldn’t just abandon you.”

“That's what they always say!” Jack, then picked up a still struggling Niki. “Stay away from us!” he growled as he ran to a hallway behind him.

Lex noticed this and quickly ran towards the area. “Where the fuck are you going?!” 

“Jack! Come back!” HBomb shouted, running after the pair. “I’m telling the truth!”

“Liar!” Jack screamed as more of his eyes began to be covered in black.  

“Even if you don’t trust us, do you really think Bugs would abandon his daughters?!” Hannah shouted.

“Phil literally stabbed his son! I have seen people do worse things to their children here!” He growled out as he climbed against one of the ladders leading to the trapdoor. “It’s all men for themselves in this world. Maybe bring in one or two people but that’s it! They already see me as a monster, and might as well be that! Be the worse I always said!”

“Bugs isn’t Phil! Please just see sense! They’re manipulating you!” Stevonnie cried out as Tom and Amelia fought the nightmares. They punch Manifold in the face, barely noticing a small bracelet coming out. “We promise we will help you in whatever way we can!”

“Just like the exorcism? Just like when you said you were going to help when I’m literally trapped with my possessed server?!” Jack laughed out loud, sounding more and more insane by the moment. He stared back at them, making it clear that tears were coming down his face.  “You guys are really good liars.” He pushed against a trap door above, ready to get out and run as far away from these people as possible. He doesn't want to be some charity case. He already knows that they’re just gonna leave him, and the others again once he becomes too much. That’s how it’s always been no one ever sticks around, they just leave people behind no matter how much they claim to have care. It’s just up to him to survive on his own to do whatever he takes to get what he wants. Hell, he’s just taking Niki along out of an obligation, but then he’ll just survive even if he has to be one of the most evilest monsters-.

“What about Toby? Do you really think he would abandon you!?” Lex screamed.

Jack stopped the moment that she mentioned Toby. 

Toby, who helped him the best he could, is the boy who seems so kind even through the worst events. The boy who would be devastated if he found out that Minerva is… That Minerva is…. 

“Toby?” He whispered, pulling down his hand.

“He’s worried sick about you,” Lex said more gently. “He wanted to be here too. You at least trust Toby, don’t you?”

Jack looks down, not knowing what to do as he holds Niki closely. “Yes.” he slowly steps down the ladder before standing in front of the small group. “Why? Why did you come to get us? After everything?”

“Because you’re my friends,” HBomb said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“And it’s the right thing to do,” Lex said. “Even if we’re upset with you, we’re still gonna help you out.

Before Jack could respond, Niki jumped out of his arms and hid behind him, still whimpering, This time it seemed like the glassy look in her eyes seemed to have gone away a bit.

Hannah holds up her hand. “Don’t worry we’re not going to hurt you.”

But she just quietly shakes her head and points behind them before saying. “Not if they have anything to say about it.”

At that moment, Stevonnie, Tom, and Amelia cried out as they were flying towards the group hitting Hbomb, Dritsa, and Lex.

“Sorry!” Stevonnie murmured, as they attempted to get up from the ground clearly hurt as Tom and Amelia got up injured as well.

The three still standing wheel around, to face the Nightmares, who look a lot more and more monstrous than before. Jack noted the white scales that are growing onto Manifold’s skin while The Siren has a more fish-like appearance.

“I can’t help but thank you for keeping our pets from running away. It would be so annoying having to chase them after killing you all.”

HBomb pulled out his sword, while Drista summoned what looked like a giant fork from somewhere.

“There's no way we’re letting you hurt them, where are the others?!” Drista screamed. “Are you keeping him in this factory as well?!”

Manifold laughed, “Come on, do you really think that we will keep everyone in this factory?! Each of our family gave them a loving home for ‘rehabilitation’.” He grimaced slightly as if not believing it.

“Yeah, 'cause being forced to work on barely any sleep and barely any food is the definition of ‘loving.’ I feel sooo loved right now,” Jack snapped back. “You bastards don’t fucking know what the word love means!”

“Like your server knows better!” Siren giggled. “Now I’m as much as I’d like to play with you all more. I think it would be better if you just listen to me!” Her eyes glow the moment she sings, her voice radiating around the group’s mind as they feel themselves stiffened in place. Niki and Jack begin to shake as they feel the same power as well, only moving their eyes at an attempt to look around the room for something to stop this.

“ Good! Any suggestions I should give to them, Brother?”  The Siren asked excitedly.

Manifold hummed. “As much as it would be fun to torture them or something I’d rather just get this over with. Walk them into the lava or something. You can leave them aware if you want to add some flare.”

Siren’s smile grew wider, revealing a roll of sharp teeth as she waved her hand, causing the group to turn to the railing, struggling against her control but unable to stop themselves.

“Now-” She suddenly screams as a lump of coal hits her throat, causing it to explode into a black fog that surrounds her causing her to cough and wheeze. The group felt their control over their bodies and returned to them as they quickly backed away from the railing over the lava.

Manifold rushed to her side, snapping his head up towards them. “Who dares!?”

The group looks at each other, not knowing who has done it, until a hand raises up, holding another piece of coal, revealing to be Niki glaring at the Nightmares as she leans on Jack for support. “I’m sick of hearing your stupid songs!”

The Siren opened her mouth only for a croak to come out rather than her usual song.

“Well, what do you know? Your voice actually fits you now,” Niki said, smirking slightly as Jack laughed triumphantly.

“You Bitch!”  Siren shrieks, the hoarseness of her voice making her louder, before she launches himself at Niki grabs her throat, and begins to press against it. “I’ll Kill You!”

Niki pushed her away before she ran away from her down the hall. “YOU GUYS DISTRACT THAT BASTARD I’LL DEAL WITH HER!”

“Niki!” Stevonnie and Jack cried out in unison before they heard Tom call out to them. 

“Hey guys! You better get ready!”

They look back to see Manifold grabbing a pair of rifles and rushing towards them. He pulls out his first rifle and shoots at the group only for Stevonnie to summon their shield.

“You’re all really pushing our patience!” he yelled as the workers around them ran for cover. “Do you all have a fucking death wish.”

“No, we have humanity!”  Amelia cried out as she looked for a bag and pulled out her own rifle to shoot back at him. “We’re not the one to kidnap a bunch of innocent people and gaslight them into thinking that they were there for two years!” 

“That’s… one way to explain that,” Jack muttered, ducking behind something to avoid being shot.

“Come on do you really think that they are fucking innocent?! do you even know some of the shit that they have done!?”

“Nothing justifies torture!” Stevonnie shouted. 

Manifold immediately growled at them before he heard a scream behind him to see both Siren and Niki fighting each other on the railing beside them over one of the lava rivers. Niki pulled at Siren’s hair as the nightmare attempted to scratch her neck open. Suddenly she kicked at her causing her to double back with a scream as nearly fell over the railing, only to grab it with her hand.

Manifold’s eyes widened quickly, summoning another rifle to shoot at the shield before pointing his other rifle at Niki’s back as she stood over Siren, seemingly trying to decide what to do.

“NIKI!” Jack shouted, rushing out of his hiding spot before pushing Manifold off the railing. The nightmare only had a few seconds of realization before he fell.

“JACCCCCKKKKKK!!!!” He screamed before he landed into the lava below with a large splash. For a brief moment, he shoots up screaming in agony as his skin melts before sinking to the bottom.

“Brother!” Siren cried out in horror and grief as tears began to come out of her eyes before Niki pushed her off, sending her screaming down to the lava below this time. Once she landed there, she didn’t bubble up to the surface. 

All over the nightmare world, the nightmare suddenly felt something gone out within them. They all stop what they doing as they turn around towards the direction of the factory, a sinking feeling appears in all of them. The portraits above the throne room, show two of their younger siblings cracking apart.

Both server members slowly breathe; they stare down in shock as their adrenaline finally goes down.

“That’s two down,” Tom said. “I don’t suppose you two know where any of the others are, do you?”

They both shake their heads.

 “Not really,” Jack muttered, picking up his bracelet. “We don’t tend to see them unless it’s during their bragging parties.”

“Bragging parties? Ugh, why am I not surprised?” Lex murmured, as she crossed her arms.

“Anyone injured?” Steven asked as he and Connie split apart.

Everyone shakes their heads as they look at themselves, besides some cuts and burns. None of them were that seriously injured. Connie looked down toward the lava. “That was a lot.”

“We probably shouldn’t stay here,” Niki said. “Knowing the Nightmares, if they don’t already know what happened, they will soon. And they’ll be angry when they come looking.”

Dritsa snapped her head towards her “Wait there’s more?!”

“One for almost everyone on the server,” Jack explained. “I think the only ones missing are HBomb and Callahan.”

Charlie tilted his head. “Including me?”

“Uhh, who are you?” Jack said. “I’ve never seen you before in my life. Are you even from the server?”

“It’s a long story,” HBomb said, waving his hand. “I found him in Eret’s castle while I was trying to figure out where everyone went.”

“I have bones!” He said cheerfully.

Jack and Niki just stare at him in confusion and concern.

“Maybe we can talk about this somewhere else?” Tom said. “Considering how difficult those two were to deal with, I don’t wanna have to deal with the whole bunch today.”

Hannah's eyes glow slightly. “Webby said they’re coming!”

“Then let’s move,” Connie said. 

Chapter Text

Phil gulped as he looked over his shoulder towards one of the rooms of of the house that he nearly completed, he don’t know what was happening, but from the screaming, he already know that something is very fucking wrong.

“What the fuck do you mean they’re gone!” Orpheus screamed “That’s fucking impossible!”

“I’m afraid it is true, son.” The crowfather said monotonically, though Phil could feel the anger in his voice. “ We don't know how, but it seems like whatever rebels have done this, they also took their pets. And that’s not getting into what happened at the hospital”

“Or they killed them!” Orpheus screamed.

Phil’s eyes widened at the news, they couldn’t be saying that two nightmares were killed?! He has seen people attempt to kill them all over and over again, and each time they’re attempts have failed. Hell, he even saw the results of those types of rebellions himself. So the idea of them dying is shocking.

“What did Mother say?” Orpheus asked this time, sounding a lot more calm than before.

“She currently thinks that it’s a fluke. That they were weak.” The Crowfather answered, not even sounding upset, “She promised that as soon as she gets a chance she could bring them back and make sure that they do things right.

Phil shuddered at the almost cold response that he gave. He felt grief before first, when Kristen was taken from him, and when he had to kill Wilbur, but never hit in his life, he had ever imagined hearing someone learn that their family died and just dismiss it like that.

“Understood. Any orders?”

At that moment Phil felt a deep sense of dread go across his body. subconsciously he walked over and grab a piece of wood. And then a fast motion put it against the door. 

“She suggested that we keep a close eye on our pets. Maybe make sure that they don’t attempt anything.”

“She doesn’t think their pets had a hand in it, does she? Siren’s doll was always so well behaved.”

“We should also consider Manifold’s pet. It has always been clear that he is unstable.”

“True.” Orpheus said. 

“Mother is doing more investigating. I’m sure Mother will know more soon. For now check on the little crow.”

Phil could already imagine the smile appearing on the being that had his sons face the moment that he realized the implications of check.

“Of course father.”

Phil slowly backed away as he heard the footsteps coming toward him before rushing towards one of the open windows of the incomplete house. He looked down at the ground, realizing how far the drop was. If he jumps now, there could be a chance that he can break something, possibly his arm or leg, and that is the best case scenario. He then heard something banging against the door as the wood kept nightmare from opening it.

“Philllll, open the door. Why did you block it?”

He froze in place as the nightmare continued to hit against the door, indecisive of what to do as the nightmare's tone became more threatening.

“Phil! PHIL!!! Let me in! I don’t know what you’re planning ahead, but if you don’t let me in right now, I will make sure that you wish that your pathetic life was never created!” 

At that moment it was a bang at the door crack apart. That was the incentive, Phil needed to back up and run out of the door and jump.

There was a brief moment of wind and waving before Phil landed on his back. He felt a sharp pain going across his wings.. he slowly got up to see that something was wrong: his wings were bent slightly in an angle that is not supposed to be. He attempted the flutter, only to feel that sharp pain intensifies.

‘This is bad ’ he quietly thought, trying to swallow down the pain.

“YOU!”

Phil looks up to see Orpheus glaring at him inside the house, his face twisted into a parody of how Wilbur’s anger would look as his wings spread out and claws appear at the end of his hands. “You dare disobey us, you ungrateful fool!” 

Phil froze for a moment, unsure if he was actually about to do this, but the moment that he saw the shadow of the crow father, flying out of the other side, the window he made his decision and began to run.

He looked back to see the Crowfather and Orpheus, flying towards him, both of them screaming threats towards him.

He looked around, looking for a hiding place before he spotted a market place filled with people, he merely ran into it quickly grabbing a cloak and wrapping it around him before hiding behind one of the buildings. He watched from the sidelines as everyone went quiet as the people turned around and noticed the nightmares. 

The pair prowled through the crowd, glaring around as they looked for him. One young woman stepped forward towards them, wearing a green dress and hoodie with a short haircut.

“Is anything wrong, sir?” she asked politely as she bowed to them.

“We’re searching for a dangerous pet. He’s a blonde avian with some broken black wings and blue eyes.”  Orpheus explained.  “Have you seen him?”

The woman hummed for a moment, glancing over towards the alley that Phil is in. “That depends… Does he have a cloak?”

“What sort of question is that?” The Crowfather snapped.

Phil froze. At that moment as the women merely look at them, almost like she was bored, merely showing that she knows Phil was watching her by the gesture two crossed fingers behind her.

“I could be mistaken, but you’re right it is stupid of me to ask…” She then pointed towards one of the houses at the end of the street. “I thought I saw him grab a green cloak and gloves and ran down into that house.”

Orpheus rolls his eyes at the woman as he begins to walk down the street. “Thank you for the information, I’m glad that there were some brain cells among you.”

Phil watched as the two Nightmares walked down the street, still not daring to come out. He wasn’t entirely convinced this wasn’t a trap of some sort. The woman had given them an incorrect description and incorrect directions.

The woman looked over towards him and said  “If you are waiting for a chance to run I recommend it now. People will be looking for you soon.”

Phil whispered an “Thank you” before running through the alley hoping to figure a way out of there.

The small rescue group stood there silently waiting for Niki and Jack to change into a new pair of clothing from behind the trees. 

“So, it’s a lot worse than we thought…” Steven murmured. “And we killed two people.”

“I mean, they were trying to kill us, so,” Tom said. “Plus if it makes you feel better, Jack and Niki killed them.”

Steven nodded slowly as Charlie asked “ do you guys never kill people before?”

“No. I try not to,” Steven said. “I mean there was Jasper… But I healed her! She’s fine. She’s fine.”

Charlie tilted his head “Interesting.”

“The only people that we killed were in self-defense,” Lex said, shrugging at the slime hybrid.  “Plus they come back to life once we all die and the timeline reset into something else, so I don’t think that counts too much.”

“So you guys don’t die, you don’t have like a ‘three lives, you are out’ policy?” Hbomb asked

“No. Though here I’m pretty sure it’s a ‘one life you’re out’ so be careful,” Tom said.

Hbomb nodded as Niki and Jack came out of the trees: Jack now wearing his sweater over the pair of brown overalls: while Niki wore the other full piece overalls, but this time put a green jacket over it. Much to the group surprise they were still carrying some of the clothes that they initially got for them.

“Did we get you the wrong size?” Connie asked, “I thought we got your measurements right,”

“No, you got it right, it's just that it didn’t fit us.” Jack muttered.

“What do you mean?” Steven asked. “How could we have gotten your measurements right and they don’t fit?”

“Do you mean it’s not your normal taste? I know it’s not what you’d normally wear but surely it’s better than those things,” Amelia said.

“No, we mean we’ve lost a bunch of weight,” Niki explained. “They basically only feed us enough to keep us from starving to death.” 

“Doesn’t help that if you’re not under their spell the food tastes like sand,” Jack muttered, holding his neck.

They all stare at them in shock at Steven quickly went into his back and pull out two bags of chips and handed towards them

“I know they’re not enough, but I hope that it could at the very least-”

He didn’t have time to finish a sentence before they both grab the bags and rip it open, and proceed to stuff the chips down their mouths.

 “Hey hey be careful we don’t want you two to choke!” Hbomb quickly said as he attempted to pull away the chips in an attempt to calm them down, but they pulled away from him, hissing at him before they continued to eat.

“Is the food that bad?” Dritsa asked, trying not to laugh.

Jack and Niki took a moment to just pour the rest of the chips into their mouth as they chewed up the last of it, tears running down their eyes before swallowing.

“We weren’t exaggerating when we said the food tastes like sand,” Niki said, wiping her mouth. 

Jack nodded “The fucking fact that sour cream chips is the ultimate savior said enough of our situation.”

Hannah sat on the ground next to them “Could you tell us more about the nightmares? Or at the very least this world…”

Lex turned to Hannah. “Maybe that’s not a good idea to ask right now…”

Jack shakes his head “I’m not gonna tell you everything but just enough so that you guys can know what kind of bastards they are.”

“Besides the fact that they are abusive tyrants?” Amelia asked

Jack laughed bitterly “Oh that’s just the tip of the fucking iceberg when it comes to these bastards.”

The rescue team look at each other fearfully at the implications. “What did they do?” Steven asks quietly “What happened to your friends and the girls!?”

Niki and Jack freeze as Steven mentioned the girls. The former opens her mouth before closing it as she looks away from them.

“I uhh… have some bad news about Minerva,” Jack muttered.

Everyone stomach drop at that moment. “What do you mean?” Connie asked, gripping her arm tightly.

“Minerva’s dead,” Jack said, trying to avoid looking at them. 

The rescue team stare at them in shock and horror at the news. That can’t be right, Minerva can’t be dead.

“W-What do you mean by that…” Lex whispered, covering her mouth.

“The whole story doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Niki admitted. “Something about her hitting her head and falling off a waterfall.”

“Knowing them, they probably killed her for not being obedient enough for them,” Jack muttered bitterly.

Lex sat down in total shock, Hannah crying and grabbing onto her chest. Steven shakes, fighting the tears in his eyes as Connie leans onto him, attempting to comfort him even the adults who attempted to be stoic , just as shaken, and filled with grief.

“We… can’t be too late….”  Lex whispered softly.

“I’m sorry,” Jack said quietly.

“Scarlett…. Toby …Bugs…the Warners…. They’re gonna be devastated…” Connie whispered before she froze “What happened to Scarlett. Is she alive?!” She asked frantically. 

“As far as we know Minerva is the only person we’ve lost,” Niki said. “If we move quickly we can hopefully keep it that way.”

“But first we need to figure out where everyone is. This place is huge,” Jack said. “And if we get caught we’re screwed.”

Hbomb nodded, “Yeah, we can avenge her if we move quickly.”

Despite their grief , they slowly get out from the ground and after a few moments, they all begin their trek across the woods.

They all silently walked before someone asked another question.

“ Where are we going?”  Dritsa asked “I mean, do you guys know a nearby town or something?”

“I only got some knowledge about this area.” Jack explained “The only thing I know is that we’re going to the capital.”

“Surely that’s a bad idea if we’re trying to avoid the Nightmares,” HBomb said.

“It is, especially if you have no idea where to go” a voice said above them.

The group froze as a figure jumped in front of them holding a sword. Instinctively Steven created a pink bubble around them. As the others take out their weapons.

“Who are you?!” Tom called out.

Niki however stepped forward. “Eret? Is that you?”

“In the flesh,” They said, pulling their hood down. “I can’t believe you all are here. I heard that Siren and Manifold had been taken out. I never thought it would be you all. It’s good to see you again HBomb.”

HBomb nodded as he bowed down towards them “It’s good to see you too. I’m trying to convince them not to go to the capital where we could be you know murdered

“I mean, where else can we go?” Connie asked 

“It would certainly be a risky venture,” Eret said, crossing her arms. “You might try the coast.”

“The coast? Why?”

“Jack and Niki aren’t the only ones who’ve broken free from the Nightmare’s grasp. Just recently, Puffy managed to escape the hospital, burn it to the ground, and commandeer a ship. Quite an impressive display,” Eret explained.

“That’s good.” Tom smiled

Hannah then asked “ we’re trying to look for Scarlett. Have you seen her?”

Eret frowned at that question. “I have.” 

She smiled at the answer “Really? That’s great, which way is she?”

“I’m not sure you’ll have much luck there though,” Eret said. “Her, Techno, and Tubbo are fully under the Nightmare’s spell. Convinced everything they’re doing to us is okay.” 

“What?!” Tom cried out “That’s impossible like Scarlett , is one of the most outspoken and short tempered people I know. She wouldn’t accept stuff like this!”

“Are you sure it’s not like you know an act or some sort of illusion, that the nightmares are using?” Amelia asked

Eret stares at them for a few moments, their eyes twitching for a minute. “Why the fuck would I choose to lie about that of all things?! What would I have to gain?!”

The Toons and Hatchetfield people immediately jump at that question

“We’re not saying you’re lying,” HBomb said. “We know, well I know, you wouldn’t lie about something that serious.”

“Yeah,” Connie said “We already lost one. We don’t want to lose someone else.”

Eret took a deep breath before signing. “I think finding Puffy would be your best bet. The ship would give you travel options beyond walking and running, and she might know where some people are being held. While I have theoretical locations of everyone, I don’t know the lay of the land very well. They only recently let me out of the area I was being held. I should go soon. They’re probably tracking me.”

Lex looked out of the ground for a moment before saying. “Before you go, where is the location of Scarlett?”

Eret just sighed. “I’m not talking you out of that, am I? 

They all shake their heads “I think that she just needs someone that she knows closely,” she explained.

“Same with Techno and Tubbo!” Steven added “Maybe with Jack and Niki, they could snap them out of it.”

“What?!” Jack yelled out.

Eret shakes her head before she responds, “She’s being held at Remus and Athen’s mansion. The three have been put in charge of taking care of a group of kids.”

“Oh! Maybe that’s the reason why she was acting like that!” Tom said, clapping his hands together. “She's always protective of the kids, plus if we convince him that if the kids come with us, they can be safe they would follow!”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” 

“Why not?” Charlie asked. “That sounds like a pretty solid plan. Convince him that the kids are endangered and then they will follow us and then we can release them from mind control.”

“Besides the double edge sword of them being protective which could lead to them attacking you. Athen is extremely dangerous,” Eret explained. “He makes Technoblade look like a pushover. Though, right now, he basically is. I might not know Scarlett that well, but I don’t think it’s an act. I really think you’d be better off trying to find Puffy.”

The Toons seemingly struggle against this idea on the one hand they want to get her so that they won’t lose someone else they love, but on the other hand going to the coast could mean that not only could they get another ally, but also a chance to have someone on the ship.

“Obviously we’ll go get her eventually,” Eret said reassuringly. “I’m not suggesting we leave anyone behind. I’m just saying getting Scarlett isn’t going to be nearly as easy as you think it will be.”

Charlie told his head towards the tunes who still seem to struggle with the idea before he then suddenly suggested: “What if we split up.” 

Everyone snapped their heads towards the slime man, in shock and surprise.

“What?!”

“I strongly advise against that,” Eret said. “This place is huge. And confusing. Even if you had people who knew the lay of the land it would be hard to meet back up.”

“Well, we could meet up at the coast,” Charlie explained, turning to Amelia, “Don’t you have any radios, Amelia of Toontown?”

She nodded as she took out two small radios, “Yes? But I’m with Eret on this. Even if we did split up where we meet”

“We can meet at the coast, do we have anything that could sign each other?” Charlie asked “Like a flare or something?”

“Charlie, I think you underestimate how big the coast is,” Eret said. “Plus there’s the risk of one of the groups getting caught. I shouldn’t need to explain why that would be bad.”

At that the slime hybrid hummed  for a moment, clearly trying to think of something as Jack stepped in.

“I kind of agree with Charlie here.”

Eret stared at him in shock. “Jack..,”

“I know it’s stupid it’s crazy and there could be a chance that we will not leave alive but…” He sniffled as he rubbed his eyes. “I just already felt guilty about what happened with Minerva and I don’t want to risk Scarlett getting lost as well.”  He murmured, not knowing what to say, as he play around with the bracelet on him “Please just give us some chance to at least try…..”

Eret sighed, rubbing her temples. “I can’t stop you. The mansion is due north of here.” Eret pointed behind her to the way she had come. “Just be careful not to get caught. And don’t say I didn’t warn you about their states. When you wanna head to the coast, head east.” Eret pointed east. “I’m not exactly sure how far it goes. I can’t give you any advice to meet back up if you insist on separating.”

“Thank you” Jack responded as Eret pulled up their hood.

“When are we going to see you again?” Drista asked

Eret shrugged, “I don’t know….. hopefully soon.” And with that they disappeared into the wilderness around them, leaving the small group alone. Jack took a deep breath and let out a sigh as he stared at the friendship bracelet on his arm.

“You really want to save her.” Tom said, placing a hand on his back.

“I don’t want Toby to have to go through the pain of losing both his sisters,” Jack said. “I feel like I owe him that much considering how much we put him through.”

Niki looked away from him from that statement, clearly looking guilty.

“So North then?”  Lex asked, taking out her gun.

Hbomb nodded, “Yeah, we better keep all weapons close for this one.”

Fundy hummed as he sat on a fountain, waiting for the Crowfather to pick him up. Dusk is slowly coming across the town as the shades quickly rushing to their homes try not to stay out too long.

“Where is he?” He whispered to the Jester as he brushed at the doll’s hair. “He doesn't like being late usually…”

“He and father are a bit busy right now” the Jester said quietly  “They’re also sad.”

“Sad?”

“Something…bad happened.” 

Fundy blinked at him, he never heard him ever say something like that before then again he never heard him ever talk quietly. 

He took the doll from his shoulder and hugged him. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Let's focus on waiting for grandfather and father.”

The fox hybrid silently nodded as he continued to look out towards the now quiet street in front of him.

And then he noticed a figure rushing past him, nearly knocking him into the fountain. Fundy quickly regained composure before yelling out.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!”

The person stops and turns to the fox, clearly surprised to see him. “Fundy?”

Fundy jumped in shock, before hiding the jester in his coat. “Phil?”

“Fundy, is that really you?” Phil asked, hesitantly reaching out.

“Yes? What are you doing here?” He asked.

“Aren’t you supposed to be with g-the crow father?”

Phil looks away “ I escaped. What are you doing on the fountain?”

Fundy tilted his head as he heard the whispers of the jester going through his mind. “Waiting.”

The avian stared at him for a moment before he stepped forward towards him and said “you should come with me.”

“What?!”

“ I know I know it’s crazy but this is probably our only chance!” Phil explained “Plus you’re away from your nightmare so you don’t have to worry about him taking you over.”

“I…” Fundy look away from him, as the Jester laugh silently

“Fundy please, I know I’ve been horrible to you, but I’m trying to do better now. Let me protect you.” Phil reaches out to his hand towards him. “I promise I won't let anything happen.”

Before  Fundy could respond, there was a shout behind them, causing them both to turn around to see a group of guards pointing at them dressed in gray and red knight armor, all their eyes glowing a similar color of red. One of the knights who seems to be the leader steps forward, sword in hand.

“The Lords ordered your capture, 11162020, step away from the vessel!” 

Phil glared at them as he grabbed Fundy and placed him on his chest before running away from the group. The guards let out different shout at they chase after him, a few of them, taking out their guns and shooting at the avian. Phil let out hiss of pain as a few bullets glazed against his skin. Fundy was mumbling, trying to get him just to leave him alone, that it wasn’t worth fighting against them.

As he continued to run, he turned to see another person he knew walking by with a young teen next to them he immediately took a sharp turn and hid in one of the alleys as the guards ran past him. He takes a closer look at the figure and recognizes who it is immediately: Techno was talking to a young girl with pink hair while they’re carrying a basket of what looks like bread or something. He let out a sigh of relief, it’s been a while since he saw him. Slowly, Phil steps forward and before any of them could respond quickly cover Techno’s mouth.

“Hey mate, it’s-”

He instinctively bash the back of his head against Phil’s jaw, causing him to stumble away, dropping Fundy who just crawled into a small ball.  Phil rubs his jaw, not knowing what happened as you look up to see Techno and the girl looking down at him.

“Mr. Techno’s, who is this?” Young girl asked him.

Techno shrugged calmly “An old friend, Juno.” He snapped his head back toward Phil. His red eyes almost blank. “Hello, Philza.”

Phil laughs nervously at the odd tone Techno is using, maybe he’s not in a good mood or maybe he’s just surprised to see him. “ Wow I haven’t heard you call me that name since you were 11…. This must be one of your charges right? Hera? Jupiter?”

“It’s Juno,” she said, pouting towards him as Juno crossed her arms.

“Nice to meet you.” He looked up at Techno “What are you two doing here?” Phil asked.

“We were just getting some extra supplies.” Techno stated monotonically. “What are you doing here?”

“I escaped and I managed to save Fundy and I wanted to get you.” Phil said bluntly as he rubbed his chin. “You know before you decided to hit me in the chin….”

“My apologies, you just startled me.”

Juno impatiently pulled at Techno’s arm. “Hey Mr. Tech, we should get going. We don't want Scarlett nor the sirs to get angry.”

“Of course,” he said, as he began to walk away from the avain.

Phil jumped as he quickly grabbed Technoblade by the arm,“Where are you going?!”

“Home.”

“You’re going back to those jerks?!” Phil said. “Mate, have you forgotten all the stuff they’ve done to us?”

“That’s my home.” Techno repeated, gripping Juno’s hand tighter. “ Why aren’t you going home?”

“Mate, this isn’t our home. My home is certainly not with those jerks!” Phil argued. “I’m treated like garbage, why would I ever want to go back to that?!”

Techno tilted his head for a moment before he then answered “You don’t wanna go back?”

“No!”

Juno stared at him confused, “Then you should go! They’re gonna be looking for you and just arguing with us is not gonna do anything! Just focus on yourself and your friend.”

“Techno is my friend,” Phil argued. “I’m not abandoning him.”

Techno stood there, clearly, not knowing what to do next before he turned to Juno. “I’ll be right back, just go inside and make sure you aren’t late.” 

The young girl stared at him “But…”

“I know it’s a big girl task but I trust that you will do this favor for me, OK”

“I'm 13.” The girl said sarcastically, but she took the two baskets and stared at Techno. “You are going to come back, right?

“I promise.” Techno whispers reassuringly.

The young girl ran away from the scene, trying to get back to the manor. Techno and still didn’t say a word to each other for a few seconds, the Piglin having his back turn against him

“You’re not a threat to the kids are you?” Techno asks quietly, putting Phil immediately on the edge. Before he respond, the avian take an opportunity to grab Fundy and put him on his back 

“What do you mean? Of course not!” Phil cried out. “What are you talking about?!”

“I just wanna make sure,” Techno stated, as he stared at him.

“You’ve certainly changed in the last two years. You never were fond of kids before,” Phil said, adjusting Fundy.

“I was just given my purpose by the sirs.” Before Phil could respond to that, Techno immediately grabbed him by the arm and ran, pulling Phil and Fundy away from the sight.

“Hey where are you taking us let me go!” Phil cried out as he struggled against Techno’s grip but he just ignored him before they arrived in front of the wall. He finally let go of Phil at the moment as he began to walk around the area of the wall.

“ What the hell?!” he cried out “Why are we at the wall? Where have you taken me?!”

“I took you somewhere safe….” Techno explained as he pushed at least one of the doors, opening it towards the woods. “If you want to go….. you can go, but I’m not coming….”

He’ll look at the exit before turning back to Techno, he breathed heavily as he rushed towards his friend “You can come with us now!”

“I can’t leave the kids,” Techno said, shaking his head. “I wish you two luck but I’m staying here.”

“You’re not actually happy there, are you?” Phil asked.

Techno was silent for a moment, his body twitching for a few moments before he said “I don’t know. But there’s a large part of me that wants to stay…. And if I’m not careful, I will tell them what happened…. I will have to report you and I am just fighting myself so much.”

Phil stares at him in shock at what he said, as Techno steps away from him, looking back at him with a look of fear and guilt in his eyes. “Please don’t make me hurt you please…”.

“Mate…” Phil said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “I will find a way to come back for you. Whatever it takes. I’m not abandoning you. I swear.”

After moments Phil rushed out of the town with Fundy in hand, disappearing into the darkness and woods in front of techno. Immediately Techno slammed the door as he held his head murmuring to himself. What the hell was he doing? Why didn’t he just leave?! Why did he help him escape?!…. How-how…

He heard a chuckle behind him as he trip over a knight's helmet, dust slowly coming out of it.

Techno had a few moments to stare at it before the pupils in his eye contracted as a hand touched his Forehead.

“I had to admit it is impressive… But it is disappointing that you allow your friend to escape.” Athen said as he lift Techno back onto his feet.  “I have to punish the town guards for that. The Duchess is gonna be upset with me and it’s your fault.”

“I’m sorry, sir….”

“Oh no, no, no sorry is not gonna cut it, I will have to send you away for a while as punishment. Especially considering recent events. I have no choice but to send you to Mother to sort you out.”

With that the Nightmare grabs Techno’s arm, and pulls him away as he grumbles himself. He needs to figure out a way to get this idiot to break permanently. He thought that his caretakers are perfectly trained, but it’s clear by his actions that more work needs to be done. Athen stared at his hand as he thought about what to do next. Maybe he does have a way to permanently break them.

Chapter Text

“Tommy?” Sam whispered as he patted the raccoon hybrid’s back. “Are you okay?”

Tommy just groaned, burying his face in Sam’s side. They sat there in silence as the noise of the Overseer’s work echoed throughout the prison. Ranboo was sitting in the corner of the room, looking at the two with a sad expression on his face. “Tommy… Do you want to talk or do you just need to rest more?”

“I…” Tommy just continued to bury his face as he pushed deeper into Sam’s side. “I just miss her…”

“I know, I know…” Sam hissed as he patted the boy’s back. He barely notices the jail door open as the Spider steps in.

“Is he still sitting there?” the Spider noted, looming over them.  “It's been weeks, he should've gone over it.”

“He lost his sister,” Sam growled. “Of course he’s still upset.” he drag  Tommy closer to him, hoping to protect him from whatever he’s planning.

“Oh, well, you don’t have to make a sound like it’s my fault.” The Spider said dismissively. “It's clear that this boy needed more than just your help. So I’m gonna be taking him to my house for the week.”

Sam looked in shock as Ranboo immediately said “Listen, you don’t have to do that. I think he would honestly prefer staying here!”

“He’s still a wreck after weeks. Obviously you two aren’t doing a good job of helping him get over it. If you were better I wouldn’t have to.” The nightmare then grabs Tommy by the shirt; the boy barely seems to have struggled as the Spider  lift him up. He let sigh and rolled his eyes. “If you guys are good, I could allow him to go-”

Before Ranboo could argue more, to convince the nightmare to leave Tommy alone. He heard a growl and turned around to see Sam glaring at the nightmare, his lips parted to show off a row of sharp teeth. The nightmare seem to know something was off as well, since he just stared at Sam for a moment with his eyebrows raised. He smirked and likely before letting out a small chuckle.

“I thought you had some control of yourself. Did you forget the last time you lost control?”

“Sam…”

But the creeper hybrid merely ignored Ranboo as he stepped forward slowly, his small tail lashing. The nightmare let out a small laugh as Tommy let out a small hiss.

“Sam….da….”

That was the kick needed for Sam to immediately attempt to pounce onto the nightmare, his jaw unhinging like a snake. Spider took the opportunity to jump away from the creeper, causing Sam to hit the door.

“Whoa, whoa, buddy, let’s not get too hasty.”  He laughed “ I never seen you this angry before. Or savage.”

Sam didn’t respond as he attempted to attack the nightmare again, screeching as he rushed towards the nightmare, only for him to jump up and using Sam’s back as a launchpad to jump out of the cell with Tommy.

“Thank you for the exercise, I needed that!” Spider said cheerfully “But you did attack me so I’m afraid that not only I have to report you to the Overseer, but I will also have to take Tommy for two weeks now.”

“Sam, please don’t do this!” Ranboo begged, “I don’t want you to get hurt!”

But Sam merely ignored him as he rushed towards the Nightmare. Laser focused on getting Tommy, but before he could even get close enough a large shape into the slide into view and kicked Sam back. Sam screamed as he hit the wall of the jail cell before collapsing onto the floor, knocked out cold.

“Overseer! I’m glad to see you!” The Spider said cheerfully as he looked at his brother “Your Warden has been acting up a bit!”

“What were you thinking?!” The Overseer cried out as he slammed the door “Are you trying to play with fire?! You could’ve been killed!” 

“And I’m fine, little brother !” The Spider said, emphasizing on the little brother part, his smile thinning. “I got what I needed and I haven’t been injured”

“You could’ve been!” 

“But I wasn’t.” The Spider frowned his brother, now clearly annoyed.  “ Are you going to sit there and argue with your older brother about this? Especially with one of your prisoners acting like a wet noodle and the other one like an animal!”

The Overseer opened and closed his mouth clearly surprised by what he said before shaking his head “Okay, okay, I’m sorry… I’m just worried…”

“I understand.”  He said softly as he placed a hand on his arm. “We'll talk in your office.”

With that Ranboo watches as the two nightmares walk away from the door. He waits for a moment before he rushes towards Sam's side, and shakes at him. The latter let out a moan as he got up from the floor. “What-Ranboo what happen….”

“You tried to attack the Spider!? What the hell is wrong with you!? Are you trying to be killed?!” Ranboo harshly whispered.

“I… Is that why everything hurts so much?” Sam muttered, curling up in a ball.

“Yes!” Ranboo immediately stopped himself before asking, “Wait-You don’t remember  attacking him?”

“No…” Sam whispered, “I just remember the nightmare, taking Tommy and then everything went blank… all I know is I just want him back…”

Ranboo stared at Sam in shock for a few moments before he whispered “Oh Prime…”

“Have you noticed that there’s not a lot of houses here?” Drista murmured as she looked around the limited houses that they pass by in the woods. They notice some of the people but many of them stayed inside their house, looking out from the windows.

“Probably for the best,” HBomb said. “We’re trying to avoid being caught.”

Tom nodded in agreement. “Yeah especially since we’re going to the worst version of Technoblade’s house..”

“Even then don’t you think it is a bit weird that everyone is afraid of us,” Steven noted, as he turned to one of the windows, where a young girl was looking out the window quietly. He waved at her, and the young girls, surprisingly waved at her back,  But then a hand pulled her away as her mother pulled the curtains down glaring at them. He let out a soft hum as Connie patted his shoulders.

“The shades don’t want to deal with any trouble,” Niki explained.

“I suppose I can understand that,” Tom said.

“Were they kidnapped as well?” Lex asked.

“I don’t think so,” Niki said.

“They were there when we got here,” Jack explained, “The nightmares also treated them like shit.”

“We kind of got that from the fact that your nightmare threw a man into the lava.” Amelia replied.

“Yeah he did that a lot.”  He grumbled, crossing his arms. “Same with Siren except she does it with her ovens, and she tends to create food out of their body parts.”

The Toons part of the group turn a bit pale at that, while the Server were a mixture of disgusted, neutral and interested.

“I wonder if that’s why most of the food tastes like sand. Are the shades made of sand?” Niki wondered aloud.

“I hope not.” Steven murmurs, covering his mouth.

“Come on, Techno. We only got a few miles away before we get you to Mother!”

The group immediately stopped the moment that they heard the voice.

“Is that….”

“Tommy?” Steven whispered, shaking slightly.

Jack and Niki both gasped, instinctively backing away from the sound. 

“This is bad!” She cried out in fear.

“Wait, isn’t that Tommy? Or at the very least the nightmare version of him.” Steven asked.

“It is. He’s the worst,” Jack said, looking around. “By far. We need to hide. Now.”

Lex tilted his head. “Wait, so on a scale of 1 to we’re fucked? How bad is he?”

“We’re completely fucked,” Niki and Jack said simultaneously. 

With that they grab the Steven and Lex, and pull them into a pair of bushes with the others following as well. Moments afterwards, pale version of Tommy wearing a torn up school, uniform, with light blonde hair and black tentacles on his back, steps forward, holding his sword with a rope in his other hand.

“Awww. I thought I heard the escaped pets”  He pouts. “I want to get back at them for killing the best siblings I got!”

Niki and Jack froze at the mention of them as more of the nightmare stepped forward.

“I know I know we’ll get them after we drop him off.”  Sparks said reassuringly, playing around with his hair. 

“Yeah,” The Lonely King added, rubbing his eyes. “I understand that it’s upsetting. It is for all of us, I never thought that they would never do such a thing…” 

“Yeah!”  Theusus cried out, bearing his teeth.  “I thought that they were broken!? And yet those things think that they could just kill us and get no consequence!” Before he can add to his rant he felt a tug behind him as he immediately harshly tug forward at it “For fucks sake, you worthless little pig come on!”

At that moment, Techno limp forward, staring blankly as if he barely notice the world around him. A glossy and armored version of Sapnap, a cloaked George clone and Clementine steps next to him with a smirk. 

The group stared at it in shock as they slowly attempted to get up from their spots only for Jack and Niki to pull them down. Before they can argue, they should stem as they put some sticks on the ground.

“Don’t you think you’re being a little bit harsh on it?” Vulcan asked, pointing at Techno “ it may have had a couple of malfunctions, but it isn’t that bad.”

“It let Crowfather and Jester’s pets escape! And now Jester has gone missing!”  Spark yelled “It’s not a minor malfunction!”

“We’ll track them down.” Hypno said reassuringly. “Me and Vulcan know these woods and villages like the back of our hands.”

“He helped someone escape?” Amelia whispered.  

“It’s Phil. Of course he did,” Niki muttered.

“It must have been recent as well!” Steven said cheerfully “This is great! That means that we could get through to him!”

“Shhhh,” Jack hushed Steven. “We don’t wanna get caught. Especially not by him.”

“We already managed to… get rid of some of the nightmares. Maybe we can do the same?” Hannah added.

Hbomb shakes his head “Considering how scared Niki and Jack are I don’t think he’s gonna be easy like the others!”

“We’re outnumbered too,” Connie pointed out. “We managed to take them by surprise as well.”

“There are only four Nightmares here! How bad can they be?! Like I managed to beat Tommy multiple times in our games!”

Jack let out an annoyed sigh, God, how are they so are they so thick?! Even after their interactions with the first nightmares. “He. Is. Not. Tommy! He's the worst!”

“Trust me. We do not want to fight them. Theseus is bad news, and Sparks and Vulcan are almost as bad,” Niki says before she let a small yelp before covering her mouth as a tip of a sharp umbrella, begin to poke around the bush

“Clementine, stop playing around! We have to move on!” Theseus yelled. 

At that moment the umbrella backs away as Lex begins to take out her gun. “ So if I shoot one of them in the leg that would at the very least take at least one person out? And what about that Quackity clone? How dangerous is he”

“Not as much as the others but I only see him at parties.”  Jack said “But-“

Before he could say anything else, Lex managed to shoot a few times, aiming at the nightmares legs despite her aim they managed to quickly avoid them. It took only a second of them, catching their  breath before the nightmares all turning their attention to the bushes.

“Who…. WHO THERE!”  Vulcan roared, fire coming out of his body.

“We’re fucking dead. Good job Lex. You’ve fucking killed us all!” Jack hissed.

“I think we might want to run,” Niki suggested.

Everyone quickly jumps out of the bushes and attempts to rush out of the area, only for Clementine to jump in front of them with her umbrella, pointing at them with a smirk.

“Well well well! Isn’t isn’t the little murderers and their group of accomplices!”  Theseus giggled.

“I fucking told you morons that was a bad idea, but did any of you listen? No!” Jack snapped, looking around trying to figure something out.

“I didn’t know they would just avoid it. I have this gun on silent!”

“We have good hearing!” Lonely King said cheerfully, hugging his angry husband. “Not even a silencer got us!

“I was also half way through telling you that it wouldn’t fucking work but you didn’t let me fucking finish.”

“Now who are you people??” Sparks ask, leaning in towards the group  “You don't look like shades, but you’re definitely not the server. He grabs Connie's cheek and licks it. “And your fear tastes like taffy…. What are you guys?”

“What the… Don’t lick her!” Steven said.

“I can do whatever I want, Pinky!” While he was distracted by Steven, Connie took that opportunity to kick Spark in the face.

“Gahhh!” Sparks shouted out, stumbling backwards.

Theseus growled at her as he grabbed her shirt.  “You little Bitch! What was that for!” 

“Calm down Theseus.” Hypno said, with a yawn, clearly bored. “ We can dispose of them once we get some of our questions answered. I can even give you and Sparks the girl if you guys really want revenge.”

Steven and Connie gasped, as Charlie interjected 

“We’re a group of people who are trying to save our friends! And I can’t help but notice the people around us…” Charlie pauses for a moment “They are afraid of you.”

“Yeah, well, they should be,” Theseus said.

“Only if they broke the rules.” Lonely king added, “Are you all from outside of our home?”

“Who wants to know?” Lex growled. 

“Who do you think?”  Vulcan growled. “We’re the ones in charge around here. Us and Mother. So you do what we say.”

“Leave them out of this!” Niki cried out “They have nothing to do with us!”

“Obviously they do, little doll,” Vulcan said. “Otherwise, why would you be with them?”

“Convenience” Drista said casually before summoning her fork, and pointing at the group. “I got a fork and I’m not afraid of using it so let us and Techno go and tell us where our friends are!”

Tom turned to Techno, who just stood still, seemingly not knowing what to do. Something about it seems off even with the tensions running high. “Tech? What’s going on with you?”

Hypno glances over at Tom, pulling Techno towards him. “Oh nothing, he’s just understanding that he’s currently broken and needs to be fixed.”

“Fixed?!” Amelia yelled out “How the fuck is this fixing?!”

“Cause that’s what they want,” Niki growled. “Us all completely broken and subservient to them. They don’t want us to be people, they want us to be puppets.”

“Way better than your previous savage way.” Sparks giggled

“That’s not better! That’s messed up!” Steven shouted. “They’re people, not toys!”

Hypno rolls his eyes “Well we can’t alway reason with crazy.” At that moment, he summons a sword and rushes at Steven. He raised his sword, ready to chop the boy's head off.

Steven quickly summoned a bubble, causing Hypno’s sword to bounce off before summoning his shield. The group takes out the weapons, knowing instantly that they’re not gonna be an easy fight.

“Oh! You’re a feisty one! I love it!” Hypno chuckled as his smile grew as he turned to his brother. “Vulcan! We’re about to get into a real swell battle!”

Vulcan smirks as flame surrounds him, causing a bit of himself to melt revealing a part of him as wax.  “Lonely, Could you handle the prisoner while we take care of the interlopers.” Before he could respond, the nightmare rushed towards Jack and Niki, throwing fireballs at them as both tried to avoid them as fast as they could. “Uh, are we actually gonna kill them?” Lonely King asked nervously as he grabbed the rope attached to Techno. “They’re from outside of town, don't you want to learn more about it?! Imagine the resources!”

Theseus rolled his eyes as he rushed towards Lex with his two swords, attempting to stab her as the teenager ducks and perry from the swings.  “We will leave at least one of them alive to interrogate them! Get over yourself!”

Lonely King just murmured under his breath as he sat on a rock, looking away from the battle, something on his breath not noticing Hannah, sneaking towards Techno, and with a small knife, slowly tried to cut the rope from his neck.

“Techno? It’s me Hannah,” she whispered softly towards him. “ What's going on with you?”

“I broke the rules…” Techno whispered. “I have to be fixed….”

Hannah shook her head “What do you mean? You don’t need to be fixed!”

“I hurt people. I broke the rules.”

“Just for rescuing your friends!? Hannah asked. “Look I know that you feel guilty about what happened back in town but we’re here to help you!”

He stared at her clearly confused by the statement. “Why do guys want to help me?”

“Not only are you a friend of the girls, it’s the right thing to do!”  She answered before she let out a yelp as someone pulled it back of her shirt

“What are you doing talking to him? Are you trying to get yourself in trouble?!” Lonely king yelled out before the young girl, quickly biting his hand, hard. The nightmare, let out a cry of shocking pain as he backed away from her and looked at his hand, letting out a small whimper as a black like goo came out of the wound. Hannah quickly went back to the rope and with one swing managed to cut it off before she felt a radiating heat behind her as sweat began to roll down her face.

“You bit my husband, you little brat.” Vulcan growled, smoke around him as he carried the Lonely King in one arm. Hannah tries to back away only for Clementine to grab her by the shoulders and wrap her in a crushing hug.

“Hannah!” Lex, Drista, Connie and Tom screamed as they attempted to run towards her, only for them to be held back by Theseus, Hypno, and Sparks with their weapons.

“Oh no, no no, cause this you get to deal with your consequences!”  Theseus giggled, pushing them back, “As usual. I managed to save the day with my own skills!”

“Technically, it’s Clementine.” Hypno pointed out, barely looking as he used his bow and arrow to pin Niki,Amelia, Steven and Jack against the tree, as they attempted to rush forward to help the girl.

“Well, Clementine is my creation, therefore, it’s my accomplishment.”

“Technically, I and the overseer made her for you, but OK…” Sparks murmured pointing his rocket at Connie and Hbomb.

Clementine nodded as she stared at the struggling young girl with a smug look on her face. The latter eyes glow slightly as she stared at them in horror.

“Madden…Why… why did she make you like this…?”  Hannah whispered. “She-she supposed to be gone, I thought that the server got rid of her or she-she just disappeared!”

Lonely king tilted his head “ what are you talking about? Did you know Mother?”

“Monster!” Hannah cried out in horror.

“Yeah, she tried to kill everyone!” Lex called out. “Your so called ‘Mother’ is a fucking serial killer!”

Vulcan stared at her in shock before stating calmly “I’m definitely gonna kill this girl.”  He immediately grabbed her braids and a light , causing a young girl to scream as she attempted to put them out. But the nightmare merely just laughed as he grabbed her neck. 

“How do you feel about being the first ever example to these outsiders about what happens when you fuck with us!” He laughed at his hands, and began to heat up, causing her to cough violently. Everyone immediately struggles against either the nightmares or the restraints against them trying to get to the girl, but just as all hope seems lost Hannah finally feels a gas of fresh air as Techno punches, the nightmare in the face knocking him away from the girl. He then takes the opportunity to roughly push Clementine away as well, causing Hannah to fall to the ground, and run away to Charlie’s arms. He takes a couple, deep breaths, clearly not knowing what just happened as he stared at the Nightmare in front of him.

Vulcan stared at the Piglin in shock for a moment before he growled out “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” 

“She’s….a kid….I’m meant to protect them…” he whispered, nervously standing there..

Vulcan took a bunch of angry breaths as Sparks roared at him “You bastard! That’s not what you’re programmed to do! You're the only program to focus on the ones that we assigned you!!!” The nightmare  immediately turns around, pointing the rocket towards Techno “You failure of a caretaker!” 

“No!” Hbomb cried out as he grabbed onto the rocket and pointed upward, causing it to hit a tree, setting it on fire. He and Drista immediately grab Lex, Tom and Connie, as he rushed towards the tree, where the other members were pinned against, along with Hannah and Charlie.

“OK maybe you’re right and the nightmares are harder than we thought.”  Drista murmured, as she take out the arrows from their clothing

“Yeah, you think!” Jack snapped.

Just before they could say anything else, they heard a scream from the trees. 

“Wait! We can’t leave Techno!” Niki shouted.

She, Amelia and Steven rush towards the scene and jump over the tree. In front of them was something that they couldn’t imagine. Techno was leaning against the tree, shaking looking scared out of his mind. But there’s also another feeling coming out of him: a look of pure despair and anguish. Despite them briefly wondering what happened that would cause them to realize the answer immediately when they looked down, At the bottom was a stump where his bottom left leg should’ve been. And what remains of it was held by Theseus who laughed as the rest of the nightmares, glared at the once mighty blood god.

“Now, look at you! You’re now truly useless! Selfish to the core, manfunctioning from his given purpose, and now lost a leg. Who would care about you now that you are no longer useful to anyone!”

“I…I…”

“Not as a Blood God! Nor a Caretaker!”  Sparks scream at the shaking Techno. “You’re Nothing!”

“What the fuck is wrong with you!” Steven screamed much to Amelia’s shock. “W-Why would you do this!?”

Theseus smiled brightly at the young man “He disobeyed, Steve-O! So he has to be punished!”

Niki stared at the stump where Techno’s leg had been, shaking in rage.

“You’ll pay for this, you psycho!” Before Amelia can stop her, She grabs a sword from her bag. “I’m going to fucking kill you!”

“Doll, are you really going to do this?” Lonely King asked, crossing his arms “ I thought that you walked away from your violent history. Especially when we outnumbered you.”

“Oh No, I want to stomp on her corpse!” Theseus giggled while Vulcan smirked as well

“This is gonna be fun!”

Then an Enderpearl was thrown against the tree where Techno was before a pop out to reveal Hbomb who quickly picked up the larger man and ran towards the small group.

“H?!” Niki yelled

“We’re getting out of here now!” he yelled as he grabbed her and turned to Amelia and Steven “Run!”

“No!” The group scream out as Hbomb through another ball, causing them to disappear from their view. Vulcan immediately turns to the tree, and breathes out a wave of fire, causing the tree to burn, and melt before revealing that the group is gone.

He stared out in shock and anger, along with the rest of his siblings before he let out a scream that shook the entire area around them.

“How the fuck did they escape?!” Theseus yelled, frantically looking around the area.  “Who do these people think they are?!”

“Mother will be furious!” Spark whispered, fearfully.  

Lonely King hummed nervously, as he shook as well. “I mean, She didn’t realize they were here yet….”

“I did.”   A group of robotic monarch butterflies whispered as they surrounded the group  “ I didn’t tell you yet.”

The nightmares froze as they kneel in front of the swarm.

“ I have to admit I didn’t realize that they’re gonna be causing this amount of trouble if you all could barely contain them. Especially after Techno’s little malfunction.”

“We apologize, mother, we didn't realize that he was going to malfunction like that.”  Vulcan explained politely, A look of desperation appearing on his face. 

“ I completely understand .” Madden muttered softly , as the sound of a sniffle was heard, as if she was crying.  “ I just wish that you guys have a chance to avenge your lost siblings. I felt so sad that their blood hasn’t spilled on the floor for what they have done…. But I can understand that it takes time.”

“I-”

“But don’t worry about it.”  Madden said calmly. “ I just worry that you might end up like your father: The Failure, Vulcan.”

Vulcan frozen at that statement. The rest of his siblings, and Clementine even stared at him with a similar look of surprise, and however, as the nightmare, instinctively backed away from the swarm. “No. No, I'm nothing like him! I’m perfect just like you wanted me to be! Your little firethrower!” 

“ I know you are. That’s the reason why I need you to do better. Especially since you barely even recognize my old friends.”

“Your old… Wait, were some of those people from Hatchetfield?” Hypnos asked.

“Yes. You remember how horrible they treating me just for trying to help. Especially Tom. All I wanted was to help him recover from the death of his wife and to get him to stop neglecting his son and not dating that little redhead whore.”

“Right. We will search for them and we will kill them.” Vulcan whispered as his eyes darken. 

“Do you want us to bring you their heads once we kill them?” Theseus asked excitedly.

“That would be a wonderful gift. But get information about  their home first. I bet that they have a decent amount of resources plus I want that Becky bitch alive.”

Chapter Text

Techno let out a groan as he opened his eyes slightly to the blurry figure in front of him. Amelia was finishing sewing his legs stump close, nearby was a makeshift peg leg seemingly made in his size.Despite all of his hopes from the beginning of the year of a rescue, or at the very least, an successful escape, he just dismiss it as a dream made by madman who don’t understand his place. He chuckled, he reached out towards the people in front of them trying to see if his arm would pass through them.

“…Now I know I’m dreaming…” He said flatly “You guys are long gone…”

“Nope. Right here,” Niki said, gently smacking him on the shoulder, reassuring him. Amelia took a moment to place the peg leg on his stump slowly backing off to see if it sticks.

“I don’t get it,” Steven murmured quietly, staring at his leg, “I tried healing it, but it’s not doing anything…. I thought his leg would’ve grown back or something…”

“Maybe your powers are weakened here like mine are,” Drista suggested . 

Steven let out a guilt ridden gasp, rubbing his arms“I’m so sorry, Techno… We should’ve been faster.” Connie hug him, leading her head on his shoulders.

“It’s not your fault,” Techno murmured, with a small smile. “ I’m just glad that they haven’t hurt you…. I would’ve felt a lot worse if they chopped off your leg.”

Tom stared at Techno in shock, before he switched into a more fatherly tone, “Okay…. Techno did they do anything to you like this before?”

“Chop my leg off? Do you see another stump?” Techno said dryly at the man.

“No, I mean… hurt you like this… that is not chopping a limb off, but like physically or mentally abusing you?”

Techno tilted his head. “I mean…. Yeah kind of but, I could take the brunt of it. It’s better than Tubbo or Scarlett taking it.”

Tom stared at him, “You seem like yourself…. We talked to Eret earlier, and they seem worried about you.”

Techno laughed awkwardly. “Yeah… I’ll admit I was in a bit of a state when Eret visited. Mostly into trying to protect the kids and  obeying my masters.” he rubbed his neck nervously, “I think seeing Phil shook me out of it. Honestly, Eret’s visit is a bit of a blur.”

Jack blinked in surprise. “What do you remember?”

“I know they snuck in, asked to talk to me and Tubbo alone, talked about something with Ranboo and the three of us, then tried to convince us and Scarlett to leave. We shut them down pretty hard.”

“Geez…Did the nightmares use some sort of mind control thing against you guys?” Lex asked, sitting next to them.

“Nah, think that’s just Siren,” Jack said.

“It’s more they get in your head. Point out every way you’ve ever hurt someone,” Techno muttered, tapping the side of his head. “Make you feel like garbage. Then promise to take it all away if you just do what they say. Promise that you’ll be better.”

Niki nodded “The mind control is just merely a set dressing to make sure that all of that is in there nice and tight.”

The entire group stared at them in shock for a few moments before Hannah said out loud

“This is a cult!”

“I mean it’s bad, but are we sure we should throw that word around?” Hbomb asked 

Lex shook her head “Oh no, no, no this is definitely a cult. We went through enough cults to know the signs of one.”

“How many cults did you go through?” Charlie asked.

“No matter! We need to get everyone out of that house!” Tom cried out.

“Wait, House?” Techno murmured.

“We’re going after Tubbo and Scarlett. You too, but well, you’re here now,” Niki said.

Techno nodded “You at least get the kids, right? They need help as well.”

“We’ll bring them along,” Tom said. “I’m just wondering, if Eret is right about how dangerous Athen is, do we wanna risk bringing Techno with us? Maybe we should split up after all, and a couple people head towards the coast to find Puffy.”

“Puffy escaped too?” He asked 

“Yeah! We can take you to her so that you can be safe from him.”  Drista explained. 

Techno stared at her for a moment before shaking his head. “No, I want to get my siblings.”

“Techno, your leg has been literally chopped off and I just managed to fix it.” Amelia exclaimed, pointing at the peg leg. “We barely know if you could get up on that or not!”

“We promised that we’ll get everyone, just rest.”  Connie added, patting on his head.

 “I’m not useless if that's what you’re thinking.”  Techno mutters as he attempts to grip on a log to get up.

“Of course we don’t,” Steven said. “But we don’t wanna take any unnecessary risks.”

Niki just shook her head smiling, “You’re not gonna talk him out of it. He’s Technoblade. Of course he’s not leaving anyone behind.”

Techno stands up for a few moments he stumbles around, clearly not able to balance the new peg leg. He then took a moment to still himself and step a few shaky steps forward. 

“I know I can’t fight, but you need someone to get them to trust you. The kids are shy of strangers, and Tubbo and Scarlett are very protective of them.”

“So Eret told us,” HBomb said before pausing. “Are Tubbo and Scarlett still… under their control?”

Techno froze at that moment as he held his head, clearly struggling with whatever was coming up. “I… I don’t know….”

“What's wrong-?”

“Tech… what did you do? Scarlett whispered, blocking the kids away. As if hiding them from…. He doesn’t remember her looking this angry and betrayed….

“I’m sorry….I-I help Phil and Fundy escape…”

“Wh-“

“Techno? Techno, look at me!” Niki said, shaking Techno’s shoulders. 

“I…..They… probably hate me….Sirs… are making them hate me…” he whispers shakily “I malfunctioned….”

“Techno, you’re not a robot, what makes you think that you’re gonna hate yourself for that?”

“You were trying to help your friend,” Lex said.

“That was selfish!” Techno cried out as he clutched his head. “Always me and Phil, I always choose the wrong choice-It’s always the wrong choice-wrong choice wrong-choice.”

“Helping someone else is not selfish!” Lex argued. “The Nightmares are just trying to get into your head again! They’re the selfish ones, not you!”

“Techno, whatever they’re putting in your head, don’t listen. That’s just what they want you to feel,” Niki said gently.

Techno stared out towards them as his arms lowered to the side. “I… I’m sorry that- I shouldn’t have scared you.”

“You were overwhelmed,”Steven whispered, patting his back. “It's understandable that you were panicking over it.”

“Are you sure you’re gonna be able to hold it together when we get there though?” HBomb asked gently. “There’s no shame if you think it would be better if some of us went off with you to find Puffy.”

Techno quickly nodded “I-I have to do this.”

Amelia stared at him not believing him before letting out a sigh. “I’m willing to go look for Puffy along with a few others.”

“I’ll go too!” Charlie added.

Drista smiled, holding her fork. “I’ll go help out with getting the kids, you’ll need muscle against Athen!” 

“Yeah!” Connie nodded “ I’ll help!”

“I think I’d rather go look for Puffy,” Hannah admitted. “I don’t really want to face that guy if we already have to deal with Athen.”

“Same.” Steven agreed reluctantly. “I… I do want to help but at the same time….”

“You’re a bit freaked out by the whole thing, witnessing an evil version of Tommy chopping someone’s leg off.” Jack guessed. “It's understandable. I’m only going because knowing Scarlett, she needs someone to snap her out of it.”

“Me too. I really want to get those two bastards.” Niki nodded, her eyes turning dark.

“We will,” HBomb said. “But maybe we should focus on getting Tubbo, Scarlett, and the kids out first?”

“Yeah,” Tom said, turning to the small group formed to search for Puffy. “How do you think we could reunite just in case something happened?”

Connie hummed, placing her hands on her hips. “Well, Eret said the coast basically follows the eastern side of the area and that the mansion is north of here, maybe once you guys get out of the mansion you head towards the coast and then follow it south?”

Tom nodded. “Good idea, meet you on the coast?”

“Meet you at the coast,” Amelia replied as she in the other small group left the area going to the east of the words before disappearing into the trees in front of them. Jack turns to the small group that remains. “Do you think that you could handle Athen?”

Connie shrugged as she held her sword tightly “I don’t know, but together we can do anything!”

“Please tell me you’re not gonna use the power of friendship….” Jack groans, covering his mouth.

Tom let out a small chuckle.“Little bit of that but also, we got weapons so it will help as well!” 

Surprisingly, they were only a few minutes away from the house as they walked closer to the Gothic styled household in front of them.

“Huh… I was expecting something more Roman for an evil version of you.” Lex noted, staring at the structure, leaning against the bushes in front of her.

“Probably too out there for Madden’s tastes,” Technoblade muttered, leaning on his cane.

“Do you know any shortcuts we can go into?” Tom asked, glancing at the window.

“Probably the back door, but that could be too risky,” Techno said pointing out at the back.  “Eret just jumped the wall but I’m not sure that’ll work all things considered.”

“What if we use something as a distraction?” Connie suggested. 

Before Technoblade could respond to anything, he noticed the front door open from the corner of his eye, causing him to yelp and quickly wave at the group to duck down in the bushes. Just when the group did that, Athen stepped forward wearing his dark golden armor. He looked around the area for a moment letting out a huff before walking back inside. Surprisingly they didn’t hear a click of a lock even after a few more moments.

“This is a trap.” Jack murmured “There’s no way that this is not a trap.”

Techno nodded “Yeah, this is not a good idea, let’s avoid the front door and get to the back-“

“NO! Esma!!! Esma!!!” 

All of them froze at the scream coming out of the house. They knew who it could be.

“Scarlett…”

“Please!!! Bring them bacccckkkk!!!!”

Before they could respond, Techno immediately launched from the bushes and ran towards the door.

Niki was the first one to jump up at that moment. “Techno!!! Techno wait!”

But he ignored her as he threw the door open and rushed inside.

“Shit,” HBomb muttered. “Do we follow him?”

“We might not have a choice,” Jack said.

With that the group rushed inside, barely even having the time to look around the house's different rooms. Niki takes a moment to glance at one room only to see Techno on his knees, shaking.She stopped in her tracks barely even noticing anyone else, as her focus went to her friend.

“Techno… what…” the moment that she stepped into her room she immediately gasped as she covered her mouth.

In front of Techno was a group of clothing, small enough to fit children that were empty of their owners, who were now nothing more than piles of the dust over the floor. Her eyes glance over to see Tubbo and Scarlet holding some of the remaining kids, their faces contorted in grief and despair with a bit of dust on their faces.

“Why…” Techno whispers softly, staring at the ground. He pick up on piece of clothing and hold it close to his chest as silent tears running down his blank eyes. 

“Oh my god,” Tom muttered, looking over the scene. The rest of the group came inside with similar looks of horror in their faces.

“How… how did these children… Who killed them?”

Scarlett and Tubbo barely could answer, still sobbing and shaking with the rest of the children. There was a chuckle behind them as  Athen steps in, smiling at the people

“I’m surprised that you’re upset Techno. I thought you like killing orphans?” 

The group took a few steps back before they felt someone behind them. Niki, in particular fell to hand going on her shoulders. Before one of them, grab her head and force her to look up to see Remus.

“Glad to see you soon little doll!”

Niki quickly pushes the nightmare away from her as she and the rest of the group back away from the nightmare.

“You monsters….” Lex yelled.  “You just murder a bunch of kids!”

“They’re just shades,” Athen stated with a shrug. “They’re nothing important. We’ll give them some new children once we deal with you all.”

“Nothing important!” Scarlett screamed, tears and snot running down her face. “They were practically our own siblings! Our family! And you killed them!”

“Watch your tongue girl.” Remus growled.

 Scarlett let out a scream at that moment, and attempted to jump at the nightmare, only to be held back by Mary.

“Miss. Scarlet please!” The young girl cried out. “I don’t want you to get hurt too!”

Jack glared at the nightmares, trying to ignore the scene in front of him. “So, what’s the point of all this huh? Did you just kill a bunch of kids just so you can get us inside?”

Athen just smirked at him. “I was planning on doing this anyway just to punish Techno, but… then I heard rumors that you’re coming in my direction from a certain little group and I decided to wait until you guys arrive.”

“So you kill a bunch of kids who did nothing wrong because Techno tried to help his friend?” Tom demanded.

“Maybe he should’ve focused on the people he was supposed to be taking care of if he didn’t want this to happen.”  Remus said casually, before suddenly, turning around and punching Drista who was flying towards him with her fork.

Drista shouted out, hitting the ground and stumbling backwards.

“Has anyone taught you that it’s rude to try to interrupt people while they’re talking?” Remus grimaces before casually disarming Lex when she attempts to attack him.

Techno starts to shake slightly, still staring at the piles of dust, hands clenched into fists.this is all his fault, He should’ve been faster he should’ve fucked hard when the nightmares come to take him away for him to be brainwashed, maybe he should have sneaked the kids out to Phil, For Prime sake if Techno have taken Eret’s offer to run then all the kids will be safe and Athen wouldn’t have killed them. A pair of hands appeared on his hands, causing him to look up and see Tubbo and Scarlett staring back at him.

“How… how do you get back?” Tubbo asked, hugging him tightly. “They said that you wouldn’t be coming back and we thought you were…”

“The others saved me,” Techno muttered, barely, even noticing the kids hugging him tightly. “Scar, You were right. The toons want to saved us.”

Scarlett smiled brokenly at the news “Oh…”

“Awww~ are you having a cute little moment?”  Athen laughed before grabbing Tubbo and Scarlett, and pulling them away from him. “Now look at what you do! you’re making them malfunction!”

Techno looked up, hands clenched into fists. “We are not robots.” He growled, unsteadily, getting up from the ground “I… I’m going to kill you….”

  “Can you?”  He asked, throwing the two onto the side nearby where Remus is fighting against the group, his hair covered in slime. The kids huddle together around their caretakers.  Mary patted them on the heads as she glanced at the piles of weapons.

He waves at Techno. “Come on, let's see what you could do.”

Techno slowly shakes as he holds up his hands. It’s been a while since he actually fought against someone but if it means avenging his kids, then he can at least try.

He rushed towards the nightmare, hoping to use his body mass as a way to knock him down only for the nightmare to merely slide away from him, and kick him in the stomach, sending him to a bookshelf breaking it, and causing a mirror to fall down and shattered to pieces. Techno let out a groan as he collapsed to the floor.

“That wasn’t very fun. I thought you'd be better than that.?”

Techno spit at him before quickly, grabbing his cane and swinging at the nightmares leg, causing him to stumble backwards.

Noticing that he’s distracted, Scarlett grabs a piece of glass and stabs at his back at the foot.

Athen let out a shout before turning around and grab her by the braids.

“What do you think you were doing?!” he growled before he felt a sharp pain in his side, causing him to stumble away and let go of Scarlett. He looked around, trying to figure out who was doing it, only to fill another sharp pain that caused him to stumble. Further, he glared to the side to see Tubbo's head down as he glared at the nightmare.

“I don’t think you guys are understanding what’s going on here.”

“No. I think we do,” Techno said, using his cane to push himself back up. “We’re gonna kill you for killing the kids. And then, we’re gonna make sure the rest of your Prime forsaken family pays too.”

The nightmares, eyes widen, and anger for a moment, only for him to notice Mary sliding the gun into Niki.

“What-“

“Athen!” Remus cried out as he rushed to protect his brother as Niki pulled the trigger. There was a singular banging sound as the goat hybrid’s head tilted in an odd direction, as blood sprayed out from the side of his head before he collapsed into the ground.

“No!” Athen screamed as he ran to his brother's side. “Come on you idiot! wake up!” He shook his body. “For Mother’s sake, wake up!”

But Remus didn’t respond, the blood already staining the nightmare’s armor. Niki stared at the sight in surprise. Yeah, she hated the guy, but she didn’t expect that she could kill him. How was that….

She didn’t have time to fully think about what happened as Athen’s head snapped towards her, his eyes glowing red to the point of covering the black sclera.

“You…. Murderer!” He screamed as he launched toward her. Niki jumps away from him, avoiding the nightmare at the slide across the floor. 

“We need to run!” Jake screamed as the nightmare ripped his sword from his mantlepiece. 

“I’ll rip every single one of you apart and use your fucking blood as paint!” he screamed as he swung his sword wildly around him; the group ran around, trying their best to avoid it.

“You attempted to kill us and have already killed a bunch of kids rulebreaker!" Drista yelled, using the fork to block his swings. “Why do you now call us murderers for active self-defense?”

“I don’t think he’s willing to make that argument!”  Connie screamed as she nearly avoided losing her head and grabbing her sword to block the swings. “We need to run!”

“But we haven’t killed him!” Tubbo argued back, rubbing the tears in his eyes, “I want him dead!”

Jack ignores that as he grabs a piece of furniture and throws it against one of the windows before grabbing Tubbo. “We’ll kill him later! Let’s go” with that. He jumps out the window with a few others following him as the rest continue to fight Athen.  Connie groaned as she held her stance, trying to stop the nightmare’s sword from stabbing her.

“Are you really going to die for a bunch of unholy monsters!” Athen growled 

“The only ‘unholy monster’ here is you.” Tom cried out before he shot at Athen’s arm causing him to scream as he dropped the sword. This gave her, and the rest of the group the opportunity to run towards the door.

“NO!”   Athen scream as the doors around them begin to close.

“We better hurry!” Techno screamed as they leap through the door before it slammed behind them. They barely even notice it as they rush into the woods in front of them.

“Do you think he’s chasing us?” Connie asked as she looked behind her.

“Just run!” Scarlett screams as they continue running down the wooded area, even as the sun begins to go down until they all collapse on the dirt, unable to run for much longer.

“Wow, that was….” 

“Mortifying…” Connie whispers as she stumbles around, looking for the group's other members. Jack’s was the first stumbled out, covered in cuts, but still alive

“Are…”

“He’s not dead….” Scarlett murmured as she took a few steps forward. Jack stiffened, expecting the girl to scream at him, but she just whispered. “Are the kids safe…?”

“I’ve got them,” Lex said, stepping out from the part of the woods, the kids rushing past him to their caretakers. Juno grabbed Techno’s leg as she let out a wail.

“Esma…Katy….Anne…they’re…” She gasped as she began to sob. Mary, Finch, and  John all cried as well, gripping onto their caretakers’ shirts. The trio hugged the kids tightly, tears in their eyes as well.

“I’m sorry about the other kids, you three,” Connie said quietly, as she stepped into the clearing.

“They didn’t deserve that….” Scarlett whispered.

“No one does,” Tom said, appearing behind Connie. “And the second we get the chance we’ll make sure he pays for it. But for now we need to rendezvous with the others.”

“The others?” Tubbo asked.

“Amelia, Hannah, Steven, and Charlie headed towards the coast to look for Puffy. According to Eret she managed to escape and steal a ship,” Lex explained.

“Really?” Scarlett murmured.

“Burned down a hospital while she was at it,” Connie said.

“The hospital where the surgeon and nurse is?” Mary asked, “Are they dead too?!”

“If they are, Eret didn’t mention it,” Tom said. “And that sounds like something she would have mentioned.”

Scarlett rubs her eyes as she stumbled upwards, trying to ignore the empty pit in her stomach. “So we're going to meet Puffy there….”

“That’s the plan. Just head east until we hit the coast and then start heading south,” Jack said.

“Puffy might know where we can find some of the others,” Niki said. “At the very least the ship should be safe enough for the kids.”

“Come on!”  Drista said cheerfully as she and a few others stepped forward before they realize that Scarlett isn’t following them, same with Tubbo and the children.

“Uh, Guys, aren’t you coming?”

Scarlett looked away for a moment before she asked, “How’s dad, Warners and Toby.”

“Worried about you,” Tom said gently. “All of them. If Toby and the Warners had their way they’d be right here with us.”

“I mean I can’t blame… How old is he now he probably would’ve been 15 or something….” She murmured, holding her head. She hiccuped as her tears renewed. “How could I tell them, Min….That I fail….”

“He’s still only 13,” Lex said. “For some reason, time seems to go faster here. As for Minerva… We’ll figure it out.”

“It’s not your fault Scarlett. You weren’t there,” Techno said gently, resting a hand on her shoulder.

“I just wanted everything back to normal…I didn’t….I never wanted this….” She wailed, hugging Techno close as she continued to sob. The group then come in to hug her close, trying their best to comfort her. 

After a few minutes, she seemed to have finally calmed down, rubbing her eyes. “So… we’re going to the capital soon right?”

“What’s at the capital?” Tom asked.

“Madden.” She whispered as she got up from the ground and brushed her dress, A look of pure anger in her eyes.

“Okay, I get you’re pissed, but maybe we should save the lady in charge until we get everyone out,” Tom said. “If only because we don’t want the Nightmares deciding to just execute everyone still held captive if we kill Madden early.”

“And also we definitely do not want to fight all of the Nightmares at once,” Niki pointed out. “The only ones dead are Siren, Manifold, and Remus as far as we know. That still leaves a lot of really dangerous ones, including Theseus and Spider.”

“Spider?”  Hbomb asked, “OK, I get some of the names, but what’s with Spider I mean who is he meant to be?”

“Their version of Dream,” Jack said. “He makes the real one look like a puppy.”

Drista froze at that before laughing nervously.  “Oh what are his powers I mean… there’s no way that the lady has managed to clone the powers of a full-blown admin… that’s almost impossible.”

“Don’t underestimate them,” Niki warned. “You saw what Siren was capable of, and she was one of the weaker ones.”

Scarlett nodded, moving her hair to reveal a nasty looking scar. “Yeah… let’s just say that this is the first cut that they made on me…”

Connie stared at the cut for a moment before she whispered, “They did what…”  Her eyes glanced at the rest of the server members.

“Did they do something similar to you guys… before they did that to Techno.”

“They hit me with rocket launchers a lot…” Tubbo said, before freezing as he thought about Sparks. “They still have Michael… I have to get Michael!”

“We will but first we need to find a decent spot.” Lex explained. “There’s could be a chance that we might be camping tonight

“I thought we were gonna go find Puffy?” Niki said.

“We will but look.” She said, pointing at the smog in the sky, turning darker by the moment “ it’s gonna get dark soon and I don’t feel like walking around the dark…”

“She’s got a point, Niki,” Jack said. “We should probably go a bit further though, maybe change up our direction some. With how angry Athen was I can pretty much guarantee he’ll be looking for us.”

Niki after a few moments, let out a quiet okay as the group begin to move forward in their travels.

“Do you really think that he’s gonna track us down that quickly??” Hbomb asked nervously looking around the darkened trees.

Techno nodded,  “Knowing him, if we don’t get to the coast soon, there will be a massive chance that we are not gonna live to see Spawntide.”

Chapter Text

Anyone who has been in the castle of the grand empress of the world, understands that there are certain times not to be around. Sometimes, when the grand empress disciplines one of her children or there was a discussion about what to do to improve their world, but this one is a lot more different.

“Three of them dead?”

“Yeah, and one of the hospitals was burned down! The nurse and surgeon were away at the time!”

“It was good that all the patients were outside when it happened like one of the nurses got a warning and then rushed them out before it blew up!”

“That’s honestly too bad they weren't there.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean it’s honestly too bad that they lost their hospital!”

They all kept his voices low as they watched the nightmares enter the throne room, which now looks a lot darker than before the stained glass showing fallen siblings are now covered by a cloth as Madden stares at them, her back facing the group rather than her looking at them.

“Three in one day… How could such a tragedy happen? And then an entire hospital burned to the ground….” She said quietly. The nightmares look at each other nervously at the tone in her voice. This is the worst type of state that she could be in the type of quiet anger that leads to more pain and suffer-Some of them shook their heads at that thought. Why would they think that? Mother would only punish them if they deserve it and she would understand this, right? 

Spider was the first step up, hoping to calm her down. “Mother, we didn’t know that they would react this way. We thought that they would be pacified at this point.”

Her fist slam against her throne, slientibg him “Clearly they’re not pacified if all it takes is a group of hoodlums to convince them to kill your siblings!” Maddens growled that she glared at them. “You’re all supposed to be better than this! They’re supposed to be in the process of becoming perfect!” She then placed her hand on her heart “Especially if it led to the death of your own family….”

She fell to the throne dramatically as if she was stricken by a horrible illness. “The moment that Athen told me about dearest Remus nearly broke my little heart… the fact that he had to sacrifice himself… that should never have happened.” She wiped her face as she was trying to wipe away the tears from her eyes as she covered her face.

Athen looked away in shame, as the other Nightmares stood there awkwardly, none of them dare to try to comfort their brother in front of her.

He kneel to her,“I’m currently tracking them down as we speak,”  Athen explains, bowing his head. “ I won’t rest until I can make up for my failure and avenge them.”

“I suppose that’s better than nothing,” Madden said before looking over the others. “And the rest of you?”

“I’m working on upping security at the prison. I will ensure those two do not escape.”

“We are also looking for Jester.”  Crowfather explained “ We recently got a message from him, saying that he currently got one of the prisoners wandering around half starved. He says that hopefully he will use them as a lure to get the others!”

Theseus tilt his head “What the hell is that kid doing?”

“He's currently stressing him out, getting him to believe that his vessel is sick with some sort of fever.”  Orpheus explains, with a slight smirk on his face. “I have to admit, it is very clever.”

Lonely King stared at the two for a few moments before letting out a small cough.“I still think that we should quickly get him. I mean we don’t know how dangerous that Phil guy is. The last thing we need is for him to get hurt….”

He froze the moment that his family turned to stare at him with similar looks of annoyance and disappointment. But in the case of Orpheus, it was anger as the older man leaned towards his younger sibling.

“And yet Jester despite being half your age managed to exercise a decent amount of control over his domain and vessel unlike you.”  He growled

Lonely finches at that statement, “I know that I made a few mistakes, but that’s not a reason to-” 

But Theseus interrupted him, “Did you do anything to improve your little casino to make sure that Quackity kid don’t do anything drastic! Like he’s one of the more unstable members!”

“I’m working on it!”

“Oh like how you work on it when it comes to that group of rebels infiltrating your casino.” Duchess laughed

“Children, children don’t be that way…” Madden said, barely hiding the smirk on her. “Let’s focus on how we should deal with the new group.”

“They’re from outside of town!” The Lonely King pointed out. “ We should figure out where they come from and then we can use it against them! Like we can either destroy their town, or assimilate them to our world!” 

“We can get to that point once we get the group.” Spider stated, rolling his eyes. “So we have a couple people missing, and only one presumed dead…we should set a trap for them.”

Maddens raises an eyebrow. “Really now?

“We still have several things they want. If we make one of the pets look like easy pickings we could lure them into a false sense of security. We can nab them from there. We just need to be sure not to underestimate them again.”

“What an excellent idea!” Madden said with a smirk. “ Some of them are either excellently conditioned or at the very least unstable enough to be used….”

The nightmares murmur to themselves, thinking about how they could use it until Orpheus’ eyes sparkle with a cruel idea.

“Say… lonely King, do you still have that Quackity Guy?”

Lonely King stared at his older brother warily, he knew his tone well enough to know that it’s nothing good. “Yeah? He’s currently in a very bad phase. Why do you ask?”

“I mean, he’s one of the only people to escape Technoblade and… if you want and you don’t have to…” Orpheus smirked at him as he circled around his nervous little brother,  “You should allow Athen a chance to use him to turn him from a down on his luck lawyer to a perfect soldier.”

Lonely King froze at that. “Are you sure? I mean I don’t know how stable he is and I don’t think it’s a great idea to just give them a weapon and throw him in front of the rebels. What if they managed to convince him to go on their side?”

Athen gave him a small smile, gently, placing a hand on his cheek, and having looked up. “I’ll deal with him. Just trust me.” 

“Yeah…Athen just went through an awful traumatic event…” Orpheus whispered in his ears, “ Don’t you want him to feel better by getting revenge on the person who killed our family.”

“I just…” Lonely King looked around to see his entire family looking at him expectantly. “Okay. You can have him.”

“Good boy.” Orpheus whispered, patting on his head. Vulcan and Kronos hug him around the neck and kiss him on the cheek at the same time. Surprisingly, Lonely king didn’t feel better from that but he still leaned into it.

“Excellent. Glad to know that you’re not too selfish.” Madden said with a small smirk.

“Prepare the sound stations as well. We have a few other methods to make sure that even if they get to their friends, they will get a few obstacles on the way.”

Tommy stares out the window as he scratches at it. Either way, to get out of this place. On the one hand, he hates that he has to be back with the more insane version of Dream while he’s already dealing with his feelings about Minerva but this could also be a chance for him to finally get out of here and, as soon as he gets out of here, he can get her some weapons and… he stopped when he began to think about it. How could he go back to the prison and break them out? The Overseer is bigger than him, and unlike Sam, he clearly wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.

“I will look for a hideout and create a little dirt hut.” he whispers to himself as he continues to claw against the window. “Yes, it will be a small little hut where I can sleep there nice and safe and then when someone passes by in the cart going to the prison, I will jump in and take over the ride. And then I can put them into straw and then take them out of there…”

Murmuring his nonsensical plan, he continues to scratch, until there is a slight crack on the window. He smiled,Finally he can finally get out of here. He turns his hand to the fifth, and begins to pull back, ready to punch the window only for a hand to grab him.

“Not only do I have to deal with a bunch of rebels and grief of losing my family. I now have to deal with a disobedient pet.” The Spider growled as he grabbed Tommy by the throat and forced him to look at him. “Do you have no shame, Tommyinnit ?!”

Tommy just hissed at him “You the one who kidnapped everyone! You’re trying to break me and my friends for that bitch’s evil plans!”

“Mother is not evil! She’s trying to help you all but you’re just making it so difficult!”

“Difficult?! I just don’t want to become a brainwashed zombie!” Tommy growled out “Why should I trust you? After everything you have done?!  After killing Min?! do you think that I will be easy just because the green bastard did it before!”

The nightmare stared at Tommy for a few moments before letting out a chuckle “Do you really think I actually killed your little sister? It was an accident, you know that.”

“She’s a fucking avian!” Tommy screams, covering his ears. “Fall down a cliff my ass!”

“Tommy, you have to accept that accidents happen, just like I have to accept that my little siblings have been murdered by your so-called friends.” The spider grip tightened on Tommy as he pull his hand away from his ear. “I don’t want them to hurt anyone else including you.”

Tommy glared at him, his tail staying still. Spider sighed.  “Tom-Tom, I know you don’t lack basic empathy to at least understand my feelings.”

“Your family is hurting my friends,” Tommy muttered, arms crossed. The nightmare can’t help a chuckle at that. He looks like a small child or a misbehaving puppy rather than the annoying troublemaker that he knows. Despite his twisting stomach and broken heart, it seems like the boy has so many ways to make him happy.

“Why do you consider them friends?” Spider asked curiously  “You keep on calling on friends for the past few years and every time I ask why you always get silent about it and then you end up going to my Web.” The nightmare points at the web above them which drips a mysterious fluid down at them.  Tommy tries not to look at the bodies that were in there now suck off their blood and fluids leaving a bunch of mummified corpses.

“Now I’m not gonna punish you for whatever answer you said,” the Nightmare whispered, reassuringly, “But at least try to explain to me why you consider them friends? After everything that happened?”

“Well, we made up!” Tommy argued “I mean sure we had to deal with that whole hot shit storm, but most of us just agreed that we should focus on getting better rather than fight over stuff. Plus I understand why Jack was upset at me now so we would’ve figured out our situation just fine without you kidnapping us!”

“Would you?” The nightmare whispered “Tom-Tom”

“Don’t call me that”

“Who, whatever, why are you forgiving people that hurt you? You’re supposed to be angry and enraged. Don’t you want the people who hurt you to suffer like you have?”

Tommy shakes his head. “No. I don’t. Because that doesn’t help.”

“Let me ask a better question? Do you forgive them? 

“I…”

“And if the toons had found out what happened to Minerva, would they have forgiven you?”

“I had nothing to do with that.”

The nightmare smirks “But you were the one to place her in danger. You dragged her into your little revenge against the dreamer and got her into this mess so it was your fault to an extent just like the rest of your friends. Because you made a selfish choice to go after Dream to get revenge. You truly have learned nothing from looking at the memory of your ghostly friend's death because you made a horrible choice..”

Tommy let out a screech as he violently hit the nightmares chest. “SHUT UP! Don’t bring her into this! I’m not gonna let you just use her as a way to fucking manipulate me!” 

“It's always manipulating.” Spider scoffed. “ You’re 17 I expected more vocabulary from you. Not like Minervas is gonna be learning any more vocabulary since she’s dead.”

Tommy screeches something incomprehensible as he continues to scratch his hands at the Nightmare’s chest not noticing that he barely even makes any progress with each scratch on his clothing or skin getting instantly healed. After a few minutes of stretching, Tommy finally stops hitting him, just merely bumping his head against the nightmare as he lets out a wail. The Spider, after giving Tommy a second, pats on his back as he makes small circles on his back. “Are you done Tom-Tom?”

Tommy stared at him with the red eyes from crying as he let out a weak hiss.

“You've been hissing a lot lately,” The spider mused as his eight eyes focused fully on him.

“What's going on with you?”

Tommy seemed to notice this as well, when he tried to open his mouth to let out a noise only for a weak chitter to come out, the boy kept on letting out more noises as his face became more and more panicked.

“Hm.”  The spider took a moment to flick Tommy on the head, much to both of their surprise. All of his raccoon features suddenly disappeared under his skin. From his raccoon slipping into his hair to his tail, slipping back into his spine. It’s like Tommy went from a raccoon hybrid to a regular kid.

“What…” Tommy murmured looking at his now declawed hands “What did you do to me…”

“I buried your… unsightly hybrid features. It seems to have buried your instincts as well. Good, hopefully that will get you to behave.”

“I…..” 

Spider smiled at him, as he tilted his head towards him “What I thought you don’t want to be a raccoon hybrid? Now I have a way to make you more normal.” Tommy whimpers slightly as  Spider’s poison in his mouth drips from his mouth. “Now accept it.”

Hannah hums nervously as night begins to settle over the woods. “Wow, I didn’t realize that this place gets really dark….”

Amelia nodded as she knelt by one of the plants on the ground. “Yeah, it seems like we’re getting close.

“Already?” Charlie asked. “How do you know?”

Amelia rolled her eyes as she pulled out a clump of grass with odd looking black bulbs “ this is black grass usually found near the coast in certain parts of New England.

Steven's eyes widened at that “I used to see those all the time back at beach city!”

“I see,” Charlie said.

“Hopefully we’ll get there soon then. I don’t wanna still be in these woods come nightfall,” Hannah said.

“Though it might be safer to stick to the woods at night. We won’t have a lot of cover on the shore,” Amelia said. “Though meeting up with Puffy today would be preferable.”

The small group nodded as they continued walking down the path.

“So… Do you think the others are doing well? Steven asked quietly. “I mean you’re going after one of the worst people here….”

“I’m sure that they’re fine.” Charlie said happily. “I mean, if they really are in trouble, the nightmares would have been yelling all about it to the point that even if we would’ve heard it.”

“True,” Hannah murmured, playing with her hat. She then glanced at one of the tree before Webby whispered. “Look in the tree on the left.” 

She turned to the side and spotted a small note on one of the leaves.

“What…” Hannahwhispered as she stepped off the path.

“Hannah, where are you going?” Steven asked as she jumped up to grab the letter. She stared at it, looking a bit confused at the odd language on it. It was a series of what seems to be Morse code.

“Uh… what does this say?” she whispered as she handed the letter to Amelia. The older woman took the note and stared at it for a few moments.

“What kind of code is this?”

Charlie crawled up her arms and took a moment to look at it,“Oh it’s Ender!” Before she could respond he quickly take the note from her and begin to walk away from her.

“Hey! She cried out as she went to follow him “Before you begin taking letters from people, could you at the very least tell me who is from!?”

“It’s Eret!” Charlie handed to her  “It’s a secret message from him about some updates!”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

“That's great news!” Steven cried out. “What did she say?”

Charlie stared at the note for a few moments trying to read it.

“Another nightmare is dead, it seems like everyone managed to successfully escape from Athen though something very bad happened and Eret is going to meet us later on on the path. We just need to knock on a tree with a nail on it!”

“What bad thing could have happened?” Steven muttered.

“You don’t think someone else died, do you?” Hannah asked, eyes wide.

Charlie shrugs, his green eyes staring straight into them. “I don’t know. They just know that the nightmares are angry and a trap didn’t work…. They got everything from their castle. Also, they got a warning that we need to get to urgently.” Charlie handed the letter back to Amelia as he look at the trees “We need to find that nail!””

Steven hands as he takes a moment to jump up in the air and float for a few moments as he looks around the area.

Amelia gasped as she stared at him in shock “What are you doing?!”

“Looking for that tree,” Steven said, looking around.

“Be careful,” Hannah cried out. “We don’t want to get spotted!”

He nodded as he take a moment to calm down, and allow himself to float down more. “I’ll try to make sure-“

He immediately stop when he notice that he’s floating in in between a pair of trees, and in the far middle of one of them was a small tree with a nail in it. Stars immediately appeared in his eyes at that moment. “I found it!” He yelled out.

“Then come back down here and let’s go!” Amelia called out.

He nodded as he came down to the ground and pointed off the trail. “They’re over there!” He explains as he walks forward towards where the pair of trees are and after a few minutes they arrive in front of the small tree. With confused look on her face, Hannah kneeled in front of it, and tapped on it with her finger.

“So we just tap on this a few times and then they will arrive right?” she murmured as he stared at it.

“That seems to be the plan.” Amelia murmured as she looked around the area before taking out her shotgun. “We should be careful just in case….”

“Just making sure that is the right description.” Eret said as she melts from the woods behind her. There was a mildly disappointed look on her face as if she was a parent who was scolding a child.

“Hello there, it seems like you have actually split up….”

“It was a lot easier for us to do.” Amelia explains curtly. “Especially since Techno’s leg was literally chopped off!”

Erets stared at her in shock as she lowered her hood down. “What!”

“Yeah, we have to pay for some of these nightmares, and they were a lot tougher than Siren, and Manifold!” Hannah exclaimed. “And the worst one seems to be an evil clone of Tommy! He’s the one who caused it!

“Theseus,” Eret said gravely. “It’s a miracle you all managed to escape him. He’s easily the most brutal.”

“No kidding.” Steven murmured. “He’s nothing like Tommy….”

“You can say that again,” Eret muttered. “It’s part of why I suggested you go to Puffy first. Siren and Manifold were among the weakest of the Nightmares. Only one notably weaker is Lonely King.”

Amelia stared at them in shock. “Wait, they're the weakest ones!?”

“Lonely King? Steven asked. “Isn’t he Quackity’s clone with short hair? clothes that look like it’s from a mafia movie? Those weird markings on his face?”

“That’s the one. By Nightmare standards he’s actually surprisingly gentle. Probably why most of his family looks down on him,” Eret explained.

“Hm.” Charlie hummed his eyes glowing for a moment for a moment before he then asked “You said that you got something urgent to tell us in the letter, right? What is it?”

Eret sighed quietly, “Well, there might be a chance that the Nightmares are considering using our friends as weapons against us.”

The small group gasps in shock and horror at that moment at all the things that they consider the nightmares to be doing, they never thought about that possibility.

“What….” Hannah whispered, covering her mouth.

“Why would they do this?” Steven cried out.

“They’re angry about us managing to kill some of their siblings and they don’t see us as human.” Eret shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure who it is though I’m keeping an eye on things to try to figure it out. If I find out, I’ll do my best to let you know. It’s none of the ones who have escaped already, I can say that much.”

Amelia nodded. “So how dangerous can your pals be? The last thing we need is for them to attack us especially after the whole thing with hunt”

“Depends on who it is. If it’s Sapnap, Purpled, or Dream, we’re in a lot of trouble. Though none of them are pushovers,” Eret said.

Amelia thinks for a few moments. She already knows how dangerous the server can be when they put their minds into it. Everyone else already learned that lesson when they all got knocked out by the server when they were under Hunt’s control. But maybe if They managed to outsmart them or manage to remind them someone that they care about they could hopefully get the person to snap out of the nightmare's control. Before Amelia could open her mouth to say anything though she didn’t notice the bushes behind Eret rustling. She immediately took the opportunity to point her shotgun at the bushes behind them.

“What the hell?!” Eret cried out

“Get behind me.” Amelia growled at them as Steven summoned his shield and Hannah held up her fist. “Something is coming up behind you!”

Charlie immediately picks them up. “Don’t worry, Eret of greater Dream SMP! You’ll be safe!”

They quickly nodded as they jumped off of Charlie, and took out a small sword that they got. “ Who's there?” she said, her voice radiating throughout the woods. “Are you a friend or foe!” 

There was a moment of silence before familiar voice come up raspy from what seems to be a few days of hunger

“Eret Mate…? Is that you?…” Phil called out as he stumbled out of the woods, his clothes torn, and his wing twitching in its makeshift bandages.

“Phil!” Eret said, lowering their sword and rushing to his side. “Are you okay? What happened to your wing?”

“It got broken when I was running away,” he said, with a slight chuckle and I was with my parents. “Well, I have been giving food to Fundy…. He is sick and I don’t know what’s wrong with him…”

“Fundy… Where is he?” Eret asked, stepping forward.

“He’s in a small hut that I made a few miles from here…” Phil explained. “I can take it to him, but try to be quiet. I don’t want any of the si- Monsters from getting their hands on him again.”

“We can do that,” Steven said. “If he’s sick maybe I can help some. I do have healing powers.”

Phil smiles weakly at the boy. “Thank you…” he then turned around towards the woods in front of him nervously, glancing around the place. “Now come on we need to get you guys in here… it’s already dark outside..,”

Chapter Text

Lonely opened the door to his buzzing casino, the loud, joyful chatter of people either playing one of his games on the slot machines or just drinking at the bar greeting his ears. Even the employees seem happy with the setting—happily chatting with customers in their red, black and white uniforms showing different card symbols—that is as long as you don’t notice the strings on some employees and guests who seem to stare past everyone rather than at them and just mechanically do the task that they were presented with.

He sadly smiled at the sight before he clapped his hands, causing everyone to freeze and turn to look at him.

“Hello, Lonely King!” Everyone cheered, appearing happy though he could see through the masks the fear in their eyes. He stopped for a moment and was about to tell them that he wasn’t not gonna punish them for having fun before they also added. “And hello to our Lord Vulcan and Kronos, your wonderful husbands!”

Lonely looking at them, confused. “My husbands?”

“Awww, Lonely, you haven’t forgotten us have you? Kronos whined, hanging on Loney’s arm. “ You’re supposed to be better than Karl.”

Lonely jumped at that joke as he shook his head. “Oh no, no, no. I was just distracted… I thought you would be staying with Mother. She was pretty distressed after everything.”

“Mother wants us to keep an eye on you.”  Vulcan said with a shrug.

“I see. Make sure I actually hand over my pet huh?” Lonely said with forced calm.  

“It's not like mother doesn’t trust you. She’s just worried that the pet could be too much for you if he heard that he’s going to Athen.”  Vulcan said reassuringly. “Plus it’s only until we kill them all and then he can be returned to you….he’s just a bit…more willing to kill for us….”

He nodded, though he couldn’t hide the doubt on his face. Lonely then heard a dull crashing sound further out in the casino. He thought he saw a shape similar to an avian zooming by out of the corner of his eye. 

Vulcan tilted his head, not hearing the crash. “Lonely, what’s wrong?” 

He shook his head, as he walked up to the employee door. “Oh no, nothing I’m just… apprehensive…”

“Don’t worry dear. Everything will be fine. They’ll be dealt with soon.”  Kronos stated as the Lonely King opened the door. It was more of a closet than what one expected to be a bedroom filled with different drawers and books that were perilously stacked on top of one another. The nightmares effortlessly went through the makeshift hallway before they got to one clean spot, where there was a mattress on the floor, and on it was Quackity who was curled up into a small ball, shaking slightly as if he was cold.

“Quackity.” Lonely King called out, with a firm tone. “ My brother has requested your presence.”

For a couple moments it looked like Quackity wouldn’t respond, before he slowly pushed himself to his feet, standing before them and swaying back and forth.

“Quackity?”  Lonely asked again as his two husbands stepped forward clearly suspicious. He softly yet firmly pushed them away from him.

“I’ll be fine… he’s not going to do anything.” He glanced at the still swaying shapeshifter. “ I think…”

“Even if he’s not going to attack, he is disrespecting you.” Vulcan growled before walking towards Quackity and grabbing his hair to force him to look at him. “When he asks you a question you’re supposed to answer you little shit! Do you not know how to answer when someone speaks to you!?”  He breathes smoke into his face, emphasizing his point.

“I-I… I’m sorry, sirs….” Quackity whispered.

“I’m going to be transferring you to Athen.” Lonely explained. “You’ve been acting out lately and we wanna make sure that you won’t do anything rash.”

Quackity’s eyes widened at the news as he backed away from them.  “No… I don’t wanna go….”

“Quackity-”

Vulcan just summoned a flame before walking closer to Quackity with a cruel look on his face. “Pet, stop moving. You’re making me angry. Do you know what happens when you make us angry?” 

Quackity breathed deeply as tears came down his eyes. “Please don’t hurt me, I just don’t want to get hurt….”

Vulcan scoffed, clearly unsympathetic to his pleas as Lonely came up behind him and patted his hair, trying his best to soothe him. “Don’t worry it’s only temporary, we just want you to be better, don't you wanna be better?”

Quackity attempted to glare at them as he shook though it just came across as something a lot more pitiful. “Then why are you tormenting me? Why can’t you just let us be?”

“Because you need to be taught a fucking lesson,” Vulcan hissed, shoving Quackity backwards.

“Yeah!” Kronos smirked, kicking at Quackity’s back. “You’re a disgusting little worm, who takes advantage of people! Didn’t you try to convince your father to allow you to kill Dream when he was at his lowest?”

“That wasn’t me, that was something else! It was in a different timeline!” Quackity cried out weakly as he tried to stand up tall.

Lonely glanced at his husbands before he slowly nodded. “And even then you barely helped Tommy when he was in exile. You just focused on Techno and you ended up placing the entire country in danger because of it. I’m sorry, but we just wanna make sure that you learn responsibility.” He reluctantly pushed him before grabbing Quackity by the arm. “You don’t have a choice in the matter. Are you really gonna fight it?”

Despite everything screaming at him to fight back, he just limply leaned against the nightmare. “Just don’t let him kill me. Please…”

Lonely stared at them for a few moments as he looked back at his smiling husband before looking at his soon to be former pet.  “He’s not. He has a better plan for you.”

Phil stepped toward a small hut between a pair of trees. Despite the more wooded area around them, there was a salty smell in the air that for people like Steven feels familiar.

“So you’ve lived near the coast all this time!” Steven cried out as he looked around the area.

“Not exactly. We’ve only been here for a short while. I threw it together quickly when Fundy started getting sick,” Phil said. “It’s not the nicest thing I’ve ever built, but it’s shelter from the elements.”

Eret nodded. “I understand.”

“We’ll help out,” Amelia added. “And some of us will look around the area for any signs of Puffy’s ship.”

“Hopefully she’s nearby,” Eret commented. “I know there’s a hidden cove nearby, it would be a smart place for Puffy to dock when she has to.”

“Grandfather…. who are you talking to?” a sickly voice called out. “Did you make any new friends?”

“Fundy?” Eret asked, rushing into the hut. Hannah’s eyes narrowed slightly as she  watched the former king entering the hut, a bad feeling filling her. 

Fundy was huddled within layers of torn up blankets,  sniffling and coughing as he turned to his adoptive parents. Eret tried to ignore how similar his human form looks to Wilbur with the exception of his orange and white hair. “D-Eret…? Or are you her… ”  he murmured, clutching a small item in his hands.

“It’s the real me,” Eret said, kneeling by Fundy’s side and resting a hand against his forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel awful, I was so scared… I was treated so awfully by Jester…” Fundy shook as he covered his eyes.  “He threatened me and tried to kill me….”

“Oh Fundy, I’m so sorry,” Eret said. “I wish I had been there. I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you.”

Fundy nodded numbly “It’s OK. Even if you were there you couldn’t have done anything other than just watch everything bad happening…. Ph-grandfather went through similar things. I’ve been trying to get him to talk about his experience, because…. he seems so hurt….”

Eret hummed as Phil walked inside rubbing his arms. “Do-do you need anything? I mean I could wash your blankets or that doll that you have…”

“Doll?” Eret asked, pulling their hand back and looking back up at Phil.

Fundy then began to cough violently as a reddish liquid came out of his mouth. “It hurts so much….”

Phil immediately rushed to his side, uncovering his mouth as he checked on him, to see if there’s any bleeding. 

Eret took a step back, mind racing. “Phil, this is going to sound crazy but I need you to trust me. What does this ‘doll’ look like?”

“Why do you need a description of some doll?!” Phil screamed, as Fundy hugged Phil tightly, his arms around his neck as he quietly cried out for his father.

“Because that’s not the real Fundy.”  Hannah suddenly said, as she stepped forward with the rest of the group following behind. 

Phil stared at her in shock. “What are you talking about? I saw him! Like he was there I felt he was real. What makes you say that that’s not my actual grandson?!”

“Phil…” Eret began to say, but he just interrupted them.

“Listen, I’m not crazy. I know that this is actually him!” Phil begged, Fundy slipping off his back and stumbling back to the bed. “I need to make up for what I have done to him!”

“Phil, I have dealt with Jester personally before. He possessed Fundy. That ‘doll’ is his real body. He’s using that to guilt trip you!” Eret argued. 

Phil froze as he glanced around to see Fundy muttering something and holding a small doll in his hand. Hannah stepped forward and whispered to Fundy “What’s that?”

“He’s my friend…” Fundy muttered, barely looking at her. “I’m trying to listen to him.”

Hannah instinctively grabbed onto the doll in an attempt to pull it away from him “He’s lying!”  Hannah screamed. “We have to burn it!”

“No!”  Fundy screeched, tightening his grip on the doll as he tried to pull it back. “I’m not gonna let you hurt my friend! He cares about me!”

“He doesn’t!” Hannah screamed as she managed to wrench the doll out of Fundy’s hands. Off balance, Fundy fell to the ground. He scrambled to get up, his amber eyes frantically looking around the room before narrowing on Hannah as he stepped forward. “Give him back…” he whispered.

“Fundy, please!” Eret begged, stepping between Fundy and Hannah. “He just wants to use you. I promise, we’re only trying to help.”

Hannah whimpered as Steven and Charlie held her closely. She almost let out a cry of shock as the doll jumped from her arm and grabbed onto Eret’s hair and began to pull at it “Stop. Trying. To. Mess. My. Doll. Up.”

“I am not letting you hurt my son,” Eret said, trying to pull the doll from her hair. “Now give him back!”

Phil was frozen to the spot for the first time in his entire life as Eret and everyone else fought for the doll. Normally he would already have burned the doll in his hand but he doesn't know how and he feels afraid of possibly hurting it. What if Fundy and Jester were so connected that if he destroyed it, he could just end up just killing them both. 

But he finally snapped out of his state as Fundy screamed as the doll grabbed onto his face.

“Fundy, I am so disappointed in you that you barely even defended me. I guess that I have to do this myself!”

“Please don’t do-“ Fundy screamed as the doll and him began to glow.

“Fundy!” Eret and  Phil shouted, as they attempted to rush to his side, only for them to be blasted back by the glow. After a brief moment, the glowing finally faded, revealing Fundy with the same cursed mask on his face from before and the doll nowhere in sight. Fundy collapsed to the floor without even a twitch to show that he was alive.

“No!” Phil screamed as he rushed to Fundy's side and began to shake him. “Come on, come on. Wake up. You gotta wake up,” he begged but his grandson didn’t respond as he was just laying there. He let out a wail of anguish as he clutched him closely. 

Eret collapsed to the floor with a similar look of horror and despair on their face. “No….”

“I'm so sorry Fundy, I never helped you when you needed it!” Phil cried. “ I’m so sorry that I abandoned you and rejected you when you just needed someone to care…. Please just come back….”

Amelia stepped forward. “Phil…Eret…”

Before she could say anything else, the ground shook below them, the sound of giggling was heard all over the hut as it began to twist and turn. Charlie tilted his head as he looked around the room. “I don’t think that rooms are supposed to do that.”

“No shit!” Hannah cried out as Phil was thrown across the room and slammed against the wall. Fundy—or at this point Jester—slowly got up, his movement more akin to a mannequin than a living breathing person, before he snapped his head at the group, the mask now grinning wildly.

“You Can't Have Him!” The puppet laughed.  “He's Mine. You Failed Him. He's Already Gone!”

“What have you done to him!” Eret screamed. “Give him back!” 

“No! It’s not my fault that you don’t know how to raise a child! I’m the better version of him! I got my grandfather, my father, my entire family! And I’m going to make sure that you guys don’t live to see another day!”

“Why…” Phil whispered as he painfully got up from the floor “Why didn't you just kill me out right why this entire charade?”

Jester giggled, spinning around.  “Why do you think? Because you’re funny! I want to tire you out so that once we get you, you will be too weak willed to resist us.” He turned to Eret “ Once a traitor,  alway a traitor huh, Eret?

“I never promised loyalty to you monsters. I’m standing right by the people who actually matter,” Eret growled. “Now give my son back.”

“Your son?!” he laughed. “You’re just as bad as Phil when it comes to his neglect. Like where were you when he was depressed, where were you when he was all alone dealing with nightmares? You didn’t even know that your son was having horrible nightmares! Phil might be a bigger dick, but you’re just as bad if not worse. Always dangling false promises of love when you’re just focusing on your own selfish desires of power!”

“SELFISH?!” Eret screamed. “YOU AND YOUR FUCKED UP FAMILY ARE USING LIVING PEOPLE AS PLAYTHINGS! AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO CALL ME SELFISH?! At least I’m trying! I fucked up in the past, but I’m trying! The only thing you monsters are trying to do is hurt people!!”

“Really? We have seen what could’ve happened in the future and all that progress led to nothing! All you did was just pretend that you’re doing great when in actuality, you barely made a dent.”

“I’m only one person. I’m not a miracle worker! I can’t single handedly solve all of the server’s problems!” 

“Not even saving your son from isolating himself before he offed himself to get away from his father?” Jester giggled, rolling his eyes.

“And you’re so much better?” Eret hissed, trying to ignore the pit in his stomach at the words. “Don’t act like you care about him. All you want is a puppet.”

“How does possessing him help??” Steven asked. “You guys keep on saying that you want to help but you’re not doing anything that could actually help them in the long run!”

 “I’ll give him a new body, but first I will have to turn all of you into corpses!” The Jester grabbed a stick before spinning the room around, causing the walls to turn into cards that spin around them while they point swords and guns at them. “Have fun figuring which one is me!” he giggled as he faded into one of the cards, and they began to spin more.

“Shit!” Eret cried out as the cards spun around the group. One of them cut Phil on the end of his wing, causing him to scream in pain.

“Welcome To The Show Of Your Life Everyone! As It Will Be Your Last!”

Amelia jumped away from a sword being swung by a card before she took out her shotgun and attempted to shoot at it, only for it to move away from her. “What the hell are these things?!”

“Did we end up in Wonderland or something?” Steven asked as he blocked several swords from piercing him and Hannah.

“More like Hellland!” Hannah cried out as her eyes glowed, and she attempted to push the cards away from them.

“How Does It Feel To Be Surrounded Phil?” The nightmare screamed as a bunch of fiery Fundy clones surrounded the group and blasted flames at them. “ And what about you, Eret? Do You Feel Helpless Now? Feeling like you can’t fight back?”

“What game are you playing,” Eret demanded, swinging their sword at the clones.

“Ever Played Three Card Monte? Find The Queen Little Girl”  More cards began to swing their swords at them.

“Anyone got a plan?” Eret asked, trying to look at the cards while also not getting her head chopped off.

“I don’t play cards, what’s three card monte?” Phil asked.

Amelia narrowed her eyes at one of the cards attacking  her which was showing a scene of a young fox boy, waving his hands at a woman with red hair and a green tail. “Did you guys notice some of the art on the cards?”

“I'm a bit busy trying not to get beheaded,” Eret said. “I’d rather not end up Marie Antoniette. Besides, aren’t there four queens? Which one are we looking for?”

“How do you… nevermind,” Amelia said. “ I think some of the cards are showing his life.” 

Charlie nodded as he covered one of the cards with his slimy arms “Yeah! Fundy of L’Manberg seems to miss the place!” He cried out as he turned the card around to show Fundy hanging out in the drug van with everyone else.

“Okay but which one is the Queen? That’s what Jester said, right? Find the Queen?” Phil called out. “Eret? Sally? Fundy himself?”

They all look at the car spinning around them, each one showing an event in Fundy's life that changed him. Eret resisted the urge to look away at the memory of him, standing in the middle of a room, surrounded by the dead bodies of everyone who was in the final control room, as the whispers grew louder.

“I just wanted to be noticed”

“ I never mattered as much as L'Manburg”

“At least he noticed me when I set the flag on fire”

“We Don't Need You”

“Yes we do”

“We Don't Need Anyone But Grandmother and the Family”' 

“Phil please”

“Father Always Cared Even When It Seemed He Didn't”

“Eret help me”

“It would be one of the more important moments right?” Steven called out, bashing a card back with his shield. 

Phil slowly nodded as he backed away from one card, showing Fundy crying in the middle of a burning village which occasionally flickered to a burning L’manberg. Wilbur stared out seemingly glaring at him as his chest gushed crimson blood and he held a limp hand under some rubble. As the card thrust its sword trying to chop her head off again,  Phil quickly ducks, and grabs it. Then with one strong motion slice it in half causing it to burst as Fundy’s Black hat dropped into the ground.

“No!”

“I got one.” Phil whispered as he stared at the Hat.

“Right,” Eret said, looking around for one card in particular. “Stab the cards.” Eret glances over to see the spinning card showing her worst mistake, spinning in front of her between two flaming clones, seemingly mocking her. She narrowed her eyes as she ducked away from several swings from a few other cards as she went after it.

“Be careful Eret!” Steven yelled as he summoned his bubble shield, and using his spikes, managed to tear a card, showing Fundy playing around with Tommy and Wilbur in the woods, causing it to split in half and reveal his black jacket.

“You’re making me very angry!” Jester bellowed.

Amelia looked around the area, trying to figure out where the third card was when Phil bumps into her. “Sorry!”

“Where is the third one!?” Steven cried out. “We know that Eret is currently grabbing that one, but where is the last one?”

Hannah closed her eyes as she attempted to get a connection with Webby. “She keeps on saying L’Manberg but I thought that we already got that one!”

Phil bit his lips for a moment and tried to think about which one it could be, since all the cards were showing just moments in Fundy’s childhood, and his time on the server. His eyes then stop at one particular memory, showing  him standing on the wall, setting the L’Manberg flag on fire as the background burns behind him with several shadowy figures on hook strings.

Phil eyes widen at the card, feeling the anger and wrath coming out of it. 

“Phil… I think we need to be careful with this one…” Amelia said, as he blasted a fire clone away. Yet Phil shook his head as he stared at his sword. “No, I have to do this.”

Before anyone could dissuade him, he rushed towards the card as it summoned several swords and quickly used one of the handles to hit Phil in the head.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Jester and Fundy laughed in unison. “You may have destroyed at least two of them but you and Eret have decided to go up against my worst forms yet!”

Eret let out a cry of pain as they were thrown next to Phil. The others gasped as they attempted to rush towards their friends' sides only for all the other cards to block them from running towards them.

The final control room card floats next to the rage card as the whispers quieted from the two. Then a ghostly form of Fundy with a blank mask appeared before them holding a red diamond sword “ Do you have any last words? Anything to say to your dear Fundy?”  

“Fundy I’m sorry,” Phil said weakly. “I know I hurt you but I was wrong.” The old avian slowly got up and took a few steps forward.

Eret nodded. “I know that I haven’t been great with you…. But I want to apologize as well. If I could have a chance to just change what happened in the past I would have done it but… I already know that I can’t change the past, but I hope I can change the future with you.”

“Pathetic as usual.”  The jester laughed as he appeared over them, no longer in his doll-like form, showing off more twisted caricatures of a taxidermy fox. “Fundy, kill them!” he ordered, seemingly relishing the fear. Eret and Phil closed their eyes, waiting for the killing blow to hit. But the fox didn’t obey as he just stood there, shaking quietly, as the sound of crying was heard behind the blank mask and the cards behind him began to crack. The Jester looked around the scene, confused by what was happening.

“What, why aren’t you attacking! You’re supposed to do what I want!” But Fundy continued to cry as he shook more.

“What’s going on??” Charlie asked in surprise. “Is that…”

“I think Fundy is fighting it!” Steven cheered.

Hannah nodded. “He is, but he needs an anchor. Otherwise he’ll be sucked back in.”

“Eret…Phil…”  Fundy whispered as his form flickered, being solid and ghostly. “Do you love me?”

Eret and Phil look at each other quietly for a moment before the former answers.

“Of course I love you, Fundy. I wouldn’t have offered to adopt you if I didn’t,” Eret said quietly as she hugged him. “I’m sorry if you thought I didn’t.” 

Phil nodded as he hugged Fundy as well. “Listen to me.You have every right to be mad at me– hell I have fucked up so many times. But this time I'm not going to abandon you. I'm staying right here for you and I'll help you out.”

The two cards crumbled to dust as the cards and clones faded away, leaving only the jester, struggling against the change around him. “No! Nooo! Don't Listen to Them Fundy! We Are The Only Ones Who Love You!” 

“I don't believe you.” Fundy whispered as he grabbed onto the mask and began to pull.  “ And  I want my body back now! ” he screamed as he ripped the mask off his face. The mask broke and the doll fell to the ground as he stumbled backwards from Eret and Phil. “Is… is it over?” He whispered.

“Yeah, yeah I think it’s over mate,” Phil said gently.

“We might want to deal with the doll before we start celebrating though,” Amelia pointed out.

Behind them, there was an unholy screeching from the little jester doll.

Fundy grabbed it and looked at the doll who he thought was his friend...the one who hurt him and so many people...the one who left bruises and cuts all over his body....who planned to use him as a vessel as his life drained away.

“You look so small from here.” he murmured, as he looked around the area and noticed a piece of flaming wood. Fundy slowly walked forward and grabbed it.

“Please….Don’t hurt me…” the nightmare begged as Fundy turned toward the doll. “I’m your only friend, how do you know that they’re not going to leave again?

Fundy just looked at him coldly “You’re a bad friend.” He then set the doll on fire as the nightmare screeched and screamed in horror and anger as it fell to the ground, shaking and spasm. After a few moments, it stopped when the nightmare whispered one last curse.

“My family will make you all suffer…”  and then it stopped, leaving nothing more than dust and ash. 

Fundy backed away, wiping the tears that were streaming down his face as Eret walked towards him. “Are you okay?”

“Better than I had been.” He laughed as he took a shuddering breath. “Is it odd that I kind of feel bad? He hurt me but… something about him seems so off like… he might be hurt in a different way…”

“Whether he was hurt or not, it doesn’t justify what he did to you,” Eret said. “Nothing could. There is no justifying what they’ve done.”

Fundy nodded as he turned to Phil. “Thanks for taking care of me despite the whole being possessed thing.”

“Oh you’re welcome mate.” Phil muttered. 

Then there was the sound of a ship horn echoing throughout the coast. The group turned around to see an old fashioned pirate ship floating to the shore. It was covered in mold and barnacles, along with some random assortment of wood and dirt, in an attempt to cover some of the holes there. 

“Hopefully that’s Puffy,” Eret said. “I should get back now though. If anything else happens you need to know about I’ll try to contact you.”

“Wait!” Fundy called out. “You’ll be back right?”

“I promise,” Eret said. “I’ll do what I can to keep you all safe from the inside. But be careful.”

Fundy nodded as two masked figures walked forward towards them. Everyone looked at one another before Steven stepped forward with his shield and called out. “Are you guys friends or foe?!” 

“Steven? What are you doing here?” Puffy asked as she pulled down her hood while the other figure did the same, revealing a young face with short orange hair, similar to a pixie cut with a pair of dented up glasses. Her throat was covered with bandages and a scarf.

Both toons and server eyes widened at the sight. It can’t be…

“Min….” Steven whispered, stepping toward her.

Minerva smiled slightly as she opened her mouth, her voice raspy and clearly in pain.

“Hey-Hey, Guys….”

Chapter Text

Quackity let out a shuddering sigh as he sit down in the stool in the manor waiting for Athen and Medea to call him inside.

“Hello?” A redhead young woman wearing a black and white uniform with a small necklace steps inside holding a basket. “The lord and lady want to see you now.”

Quackity glance at her clothing, before looking at her necklace, showing a monarch butterfly in a birdcage. “Heh… you’re new to this are you?”

The woman nodded, “Yes, my name is Camille, my family was offered a chance to get a better life if I work for them.”

Quackity stared at her for a few moments. “A better life?”

She nodded with a shy smile. “Yeah! The nightmares actually save me and the rest of them from my aunt and they say that they will do their best to help me and everyone else gets back on their…”

Quackity immediately stood up from his stool, and walked towards her with an angry look on his face “Do you want my advice kid?” He slammed his hand above her as she shook in front of him.

“Don’t believe in anything that someone said.”  He whispered before walking out of the door, leaving the terrified woman. “Sometimes something that is too good to be true is too good to be true. it’s a way for snakes to fuck with you.”

He walks out the door, trying to ignore the portraits and pictures of the nightmare’s time together. He tries not to cry a bit at the picture of the Lonely King, Vulcan, and Kronos’s wedding photos with Remus seemingly, acting like the best man. He soon found himself standing in a room that he already knew that the nightmares were in; he backed away against it, taking a deep breath to try to psych himself up before one of the nightmares called out to him.

“Quackity.” Medea called out.  “ Get in here now.” 

He let out a small cry as he stepped inside the room Athen and Medea were standing there waiting for him as expected, but he turned to the side and much to his horror, He also saw Vulcan, Kronos, and Theseus waiting on the other side. The latter waved at Quackity mockingly as the other two stood there with hungry looks in their eyes.

“What’s going on…” He whispered, backing away slowly before he felt a pair of hands, forcing him into a chair, and the chains wrapped around his arms and legs. His heart begins to race as he looks up towards the nightmares fearfully. “Are-are you going to kill me?”

“Sadly not.”  Athens growled as he got off from his chair. “Only because I need you for now.” he walked towards the Shapeshifter before grabbing his cheeks, forcing him to look up at him. “Can you still change into different forms or are you currently stuck in this form?”

Quackity weakly attempted to fight at his hand before Medea grabbed his hair, waving a syringe at him as a warning. “He’s currently having a mental block due to his own inadequacies as a lawyer. Lonely had to take him to me so that he could be sedated a few times.”

Theseus rolled his eyes “Of course, Pick a part, his pride and his inferiority complex, and he would fall apart, easy in my opinion.”

“Bi-bite me…” Quackity whispered, struggling against Medea grip. He doesn’t know what Nightmares are planning to do with him, but there’s no way that he will get killed or used by the nightmares.

“You’re not even going to allow us to offer you a deal for something better than your current life?” Vulcan questioned mockingly.

Quackity stops struggling at that question “A deal?”

“Yes, a deal.” Athen stated calmly as he walked towards him. “You seem exhausted, little duckie. Aren’t you tired of fighting a war for people who want to leave you behind? Why not take our hand and let us help you get those who love you back?” 

Quackity stared at him in shock “What are you talking about? And you are the one who took away my family!”

“Shhhhh….” Medea shushes as she flashes the light of the Hypno devices in front of Quackity, causing him to blink, and sway slightly. “What… my head…” He groaned as he stared at Athen smiling slightly.

“You know Quackity? It seems like everything that happened to you. It's your own fault.” Vulcan giggled. leaning on Quackity’s shoulder. “Like every time something good happened in your sad little life. You ruin it!”

“I-I didn’t ruin anything!”  he cried out.

“Oh, really? What about Schlatt?” Kronos asked “Do you have one job to take care of your lover so that he can be happy and yet you failed in the task.”

“SCHLATT WAS AN ABUSIVE ASS!”

“Then why did you date him?!”  Theseus yelled, his eyes glowing as he stared straight into Quackity’s soul. “Why go out the way to try to bring him back if he’s awful? Why struggle to decide whether or not to go back to him when you already have killed him? Where are you confused or were you guilty?”

Quackity opens and closes his mouth for a few moments before another flash of light blinds him again. “I could still be upset about what happened to him while hating him…” but despite his attempted tone of voice, it was clear that he was confused, his voice slightly slurring in the end of the sentence.

“So you ate his heart as a way to show your affection, how creepy.” Athen send mockingly. “I love it, it always seems like violence has always been something that you do no matter what.”

“Violence….?” He whispered, his eyes stared soullessly back toward them.

“Yes.” Medea whispered, petting his hair in a motherly manner.  “You like crushing those who angered you.” 

Athen kneeled in front of the duck “ Look at me. I am much more fulfilled and happy than you. You know that deep in your soul. Do you never feel happy being yourself?”

Quackity nodded slowly as he stared at Athen.  “I don’t…”

“And you want revenge against those who hurt you right?”

Quackity paused for a moment before he then whispered. “Yes.”

“What does the House loose”

Quackity struggle against it for a moment, even subconsciously, recognizing how the consequences of this, before in a monotone voice, he replied “Love.” He went limp at that moment, in his head, tilting on his shoulders. His eyes glazed over as tears come down his face.

Athen chuckled as he got up from his spot. “Before he ends up becoming susceptible to obeying me?”

Medea smiled at him, “It will take a while. But as soon as we’re done, he will be obedient to any command.”

“Perfect.”

“How…”  Phil whispered as Minerva handed him a candy bar. He took one look at it before he stuffed it into his mouth.

“I found her after the Crowfather tried to kill her,” Puffy said, chewing the last of her sandwich.

“He what?!” Amelia cried out as she got up from her seat.

“He tried to kill me,” Minerva said bluntly, rubbing her throat from where Steven added his healing spit on her skin. “If Puffy hadn’t been there, he probably would have succeeded.”

“Slit her throat and threw her off a waterfall,” Puffy explained with a dark look on her. “I had just escaped from the hospital when it happened. I had come to shore looking for any materials or anything I could loot, found her instead. If I had to say one good thing about Medea  she keeps a good amount of good medical supplies in her office.

Hannah nodded at that, “So I’m guessing that Nightmares have a good hospital to keep everyone alive? I thought that it would cost a lot of money if you went there?”

Puffy laughed at Hannah’s comment. “More you get to deal with Medea and Akylys doing twisted experiments on you unless you’re lucky enough, or unlucky enough, for one of the other Nightmares to like you.”

Fundy, Minerva, Eret and Phil nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, it kind of depends on the nightmare.” Minerva said.

“Okay, so why did the nightmares kidnap you and Scarlett.” Charlie asked, looking out the window  “If they know that you’re not going to obey or at the very least it will cause more attention towards you.”

“They were there,” Puffy said, looking away and rubbing her neck. “The Nightmares say it was because we ‘corrupted’ them but honestly I’m pretty sure it’s just because we’re close to them and they didn’t want any witnesses.”

Minerva nodded. “I think so too. Plus they've been acting very weird around me and Scarlett  when it comes to talking about what to do with us, and I didn’t like it at all. It feels creepy. They even try to ask about our home ....”

Steven shuddered. “You don’t think they’ll attack ToonTown, do you?”

Minerva shrugs “ I don’t know. They ask me questions, mostly that Lonely King guy about what it’s like outside of the nightmare world.”

“We might wanna send a message to the Head Toons to be on the lookout for any of them,” Hannah said. “Not much good if we save everyone here only to get home and find the town taken over.”

“Who all is here anyway?” Puffy asked.

“Not many of us, sadly. There were supposed to be more but the portal wasn’t stable. I suppose that’s what we get for rushing Entrapta even when she told us that would happen,” Amelia explained. “HBomb, Connie, Tom, Steven  Charlie, Lex, Hannah and Drista are the only people who managed to get through.”

“HBomb is here?” Puffy said, stopping in her tracks.

Steven nodded “Yeah? ” 

“It’s just… I haven’t seen HBomb in ages. We all thought he Logged Off, went to find a new server,” Puffy said.

Minerva shrugged  at the statement “Maybe he went back because he missed you all?”

“I mean, he certainly wouldn’t come all the way here if he didn’t care at least a little,” Puffy said. “Have you found anyone else or is it just Phil and Fundy?”

“Techno, Jack, and Niki are with the others trying to get Tubbo and Scarlett out,” Steven said. “We’re hoping to meet up with them soon.”

Minerva's eyes widened at that. “Scar! Is she okay?!”

“We’re not sure. Eret said she was under the Nightmare’s spell,” Hannah said.

Eret nodded “Yeah. Plus, she’s with one of the worst of the nightmares.”

Minerva paused and thought for a moment, before she then stated “Do you think that their magic could be broken with true love's kiss?”

Puffy raised an eyebrow at that one, Eret staring at her like she had grown a second head, while the Toons considered the idea.

“I mean… Do you really think Scarlett would give in to them?” Hannah said.

“They think I’m lying,” Eret grumbled.

“We think you’re mistaken, not lying,” Steven said gently.

“Plus if it was a spell, it can be broken by either the power of friendship or true love's kiss!” Minerva stated as if it explains everything to the server.

“Right…” Puffy said, before looking at Eret. “Have you seen Niki? Is she okay?”

“She seemed fine,” Eret said. “Angry, but I can’t blame her.”

Before Puffy could say anything, she heard some rumbling from outside the cabin. “Huh?” She stepped forward and opened the door slightly before quickly slamming it behind her with a terrified expression on her face.

“Oh, no, not her and she brought her son!”

“Her?” Steven asked.

“Medea and Anubis…”

“Shit,” Eret said. “I knew we shouldn’t have stayed put so long.”

“You guys stay right here! Me and Minerva can handle this!” Puffy ran out of the cabin along with Minerva as they quickly untied the ropes from the rock Minerva then pulled the lever allowing the boat to begin sailing.

“But what about the others?” Charlie asked

“We’ll return to shore once we’ve lost them,” Puffy said. “I know a cove just east of the mansion. We can head there.”

“Look out!” Minerva cried out as a cannonball was launched towards them. Puffy took the opportunity to grab the steering wheel, and with one swing, managed to move the boat just enough to keep most of the cannonball from creating a hole

“There you are, my little runaway lamb!” Medea giggled as her iron ship came out of the fog in front of them. Her uniform was more similar to a navy captain than a pirate captain but with the monarch butterfly symbol stamp on her hat. “I am very disappointed in you because you lost us to the hospital. Mother was furious!”

“What do we do?” Steven called out. “Can we outrun them?”

Minerva gave him a nervous smile as she waved her hand side to side “50-50, if we go normally.”

“Please tell me there’s a way to improve those odds,” Hannah said.

Minerva stared at the levers in front of her before an idea struck in her head “ I got an idea, but you guys have experience with riding boats, right?”

“Not really,” Hannah said.

“I’ve been on a ship once but my dad did all the sailing,” Steven said. “Unless you count Mom’s leg ship.”

“Uh… a little bit during the Antarctic empire stunt Me and Techno did,” Phil said quietly before Minerva grabbed him by the arm and tossed them towards the levers. “Follow my lead Phil! We gotta go fast” Minerva cried out as she pulled One of the levers causing the ship to zoom forward.

Everyone screams as they hang onto the railing or a wall on the ship, trying to keep steady.

“Minerva be careful!” Puffy cried out as she took control of the ship, using her steering wheel, to slow down slightly.

Amelia covers her mouth as she pulls her gun tightly, noticing what looks to be a long golden tail in the water.

“Uh… what is this?”

“Oh shit!” Puffy shouted, noticing the tail as well. “Eret! Amelia! Think you can figure out the cannons?”

“I can try,” Amelia said as she rushed towards one of the cannons. She was surprised by the designer of them, looking more similar to an illustration than what she imagined an actual cannon to look like.  “Is this an actual pirate cannon?!”

“Hell if I know, it’s certainly not the TNT launchers on my ship back home!”

“I’m guessing that’s the Nightmare version of Foolish in the water then?” Steven asked, attempting to summon his shield.

The boy got his answered as a stark like head pop out from the water, with a cruel grin, showing off his dark ruby eyes

“Yep, that’s definitely the evil Foolish clone,” Hannah murmured, as the creature proceeded to grab onto the railing and attempt to pull it back. Cracks begin to form against it.

“Eret, Puffy, you two know Foolish, can you think of any weaknesses they might share?” Amelia asked as she began to shoot at the nightmare with her shotgun, in one hand, and point the cannon towards him with the other.

“Not easy ones,” Eret said, attempting to fire her cannon at the Nightmare. “Foolish is a demigod. He’s not exactly full of weaknesses.”

Hannah closed her eyes and attempted to push back at the nightmare, hoping that her telekinesis could get him to let go.

The nightmare giggled at that “Awww, that tickles a little! It would’ve been funny if it’s not pathetic.” he reached out, attempting to grab onto Hannah only for Steven to summon a spiky shield and push it against the nightmare's hand. The nightmare grinted, clearly annoyed by the attack. Steven's eyes widened at the cannonballs, attempting to last the shipping to pieces and raise his other arm to summon a bubble over the ship. He let out a pant as sweat came down his forehead.

“I can’t do this for much longer and eventually have to put one thing down!”

“Really, are these your so-called saviors?” Medea giggled. “I don’t get why do even bother I’m doing this if they are not even prepared to fight us

“We need another plan guys!” Minerva called out. She begins to think, trying to figure out why the cannons are barely doing anything. She then stared at the cannon balls that were breaking against the shield in comparison to the ones that Amelia, Fundy and Eret are blasting the cannons towards the nightmares. She then look at Charlie who was just sitting there staring at the cannonball in the water

Fundy seems to notice this as well “ Charlie what are you doing?”

“We’re not using the right cannons,” Charlie murmured to the Fox hybrid. “The ones that are on the ship are different from these ones.” he points at the odd grooves and handles that are all over the candidates in the water in comparison to the ones that were coming out of the cannons on their ships 

“We don’t have any other cannons!” Puffy yelled.

Minerva stares at them  “Unless…” an idea, then pops into her head a small smile similar to the crazy girl from before she fell into this nightmare. “Steven, lower your shield. I’m getting some cannonballs.”
“WHAT?!” Puffy, Phil, and Steven shouted simultaneously.
“Min, are you sure?!” Hannah asked frantically.

“Phil’s wings are broken and no one else has wings. I’m the only one who could fly down and grab a couple. Plus, have you noticed that Anubis’s eyes roll back occasionally before he attempts to break against the wood?” Minerva explained calmly as she took off her hood. “If we hit them in the eye before, then, then we can lose him and also we just need a cannon towards Medea’s ship to distract him as well.” She then walked towards the edge of the ship and turned to everyone. “Just trust me on this,”

Steven looks away, clearly, nervous by her suggestion. Last time she asked anyone to trust her. It ends with her the only trapped with the pack, but also nearly getting her cell killed by the nightmares, considering everything this could be their only shot at not dying. “Just let me come with you okay… we nearly will last you once, and we don’t want to lose you again….”

Minerva nodded “ I promise I won’t ever leave anyone in the dark again.” Steven lets down the shield and Minerva zooms down towards the water and grabs a couple cannonballs

“Oh, no, you don't, you little brat!” Medea screeched as she fired more cannons at the girl but Minerva managed to avoid them, only allowing the cannons to nic her arms. Steven jumps off and floats using his own bubble shield to bump the cannons off of it and land into the water. Minerva pants as she flies back to the ship, rolling at least six of them to the ship.

“We only got a couple shots, use them when you see Anubis begin to roll his eyes back and when you get the best target towards the iron ship” Eret nodded as she ran back towards one of the cannons and placed the ball inside. Anubis launched a torch, the side of the ship where the cannons were, smirking the entire way.

“Uh..Eret” Hannah whispers nervously, as you begin to hold up her hands.

“Not yet” the king whispered as the nightmare began to jump upwards only for Eret to pull at the string, and cause the cannon to hit him in the face before he could have the opportunity to roll his eyes back.

“Ahhhhh!” he screamed as he fell back to the water, twisting and turning like a feral injured animal.

“That’s for Foolish you bastard!” Eret shouted.

The nightmare opens his eyes slightly ignoring the bleeding that is coming out from skull while it heals from the split in the middle. Something about that voice is familiar. “ Who the hell are you?” he growled.

“We have to go!” Puffy yelled out as She heard Medea screeching behind her, worried for her son. “ Minerva on second thought through the thing that you did earlier.”

She nodded with a small smile as she began to pull the lever. “Hang on tight everyone and send one last canon surprise!” Minerva cried out as the rushes towards them, the nightmare, not paying attention to Charlie, turning the cannon towards her and waving goodbye with a happy grin. “Bye-bye!” 

The moment at the shipper, get the zoom, Charlie blasted the last cannon towards the ship, hitting the front, causing a huge tear to appear in front of it while not sinking it, and it’s enough to force the nightmare to stop. She screamed and jumped up and down her ship as she watched the escapees run off to charts unknown. Anubis slowly and steadily flows to the side of her shift, with a concerned look on his face despite the bleeding.

“Don’t worry Medea, we’ll get them next time. We have all the time in the world.”

“They’ve got a lot of nerve… When I get my hands on her. she’ll wish she had accepted my previous kindness.” She growled before quietly turning to her son. “You’re healing….” she whispered, as she knelt in front of her son. “ at least they didn’t hurt you too badly….”

Her radio hissed as the Spider's voice came out on the other end “Is everything alright in the coast line, Medea ?

“We’ve had to give up the chase. The ship is too damaged,” Medea growled.

“Unfortunate… we found something troubling on the coast…”

Medea froze at that statement “ what do you mean?

“Jester is dead.. they burned him…”

“Another loss?” Anubis said with a shock tone. “I imagine Orpheus and the Crowfather are infuriated.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen those two angrier,” Sparks said on the other end. “Athen is still on the trail of the ones who escaped from the manor but if we don’t catch up with them soon they’ll be able to reach the coast and reunite with those on the ship.”

Medea shakes her head, this is getting ridiculous. It seems like every day they’re losing more and more family by the second and mother is probably beside herself in grief and worry. She stopped herself, remembering what she had done earlier, one of the plans to destroy this group. “What about Operation Violence… Do you think one of the subjects: 08172020 is ready?”

Sparks hummed in thought. “Maybe. The control seems stable but it’s unclear if his current training would allow him to overcome the group. Even damaged Technoblade has proven himself dangerous.”

“Keep working, we might need to use him soon.”

“I don’t know Michael,” Darling whispers slightly, as she looks over her little brother’s map. His desk have transformed into a series of pictures of entrances and exits along with the time sheets of many of the servants in and out “Why do you ever want to leave this place? You got good food, a nice family and you manage to become one of the most popular kids in the block.”

Michael shook his head as he looked through his closet. “They are not my parents. They’re evil.” he threw down a yellow rain jacket at  the bed.

Darling hushed him “You shouldn’t be saying that! What if they heard you?!” She walked around the room with a fearful look on her face. “ you know what our fathers would’ve done to us if they saw us conspiring against them!” she shutter slightly, if she was a real girl tears would’ve been coming down her eyes. “ I don’t want to go back to the box…”

“That just proves my point,” Michael said, setting his bag down. “If they really cared about us they wouldn’t do that sort of stuff. It’s messed up. My real dads wouldn’t do any of that.”

Darling tilted her head. “But they were nice to us… we celebrated your birthday last week and they got you a lot of presents…”

“Sure, they’re nice when I do everything they say,” Michael said looking back at how he acted when he tried to keep them from hurting Darling. “Besides, I didn’t want any of that. The cake was gross and none of the presents were things I actually wanted.” he points at the creepy dolls on the shelves along with the fancy clothings in the closet. “All I wanted was just to see my dads!”

Darling, with silence a few moments before she then whispered “Will you take me with you?”

Michael look at her for a few minutes, causing her to stammer back “I can stay behind if you want I mean I’ll-”

“Of course you can come with me.”

Darling jumped in surprise at his assertion. “Really?”

“Yeah, I’m not gonna leave you behind with them,” Michael said cheerfully, zipping up his bag. “When I take it back to my dad I can convince them to take you in!”

Darling eyes widen with excitement at that moment before she immediately stops at her tracks. “Wait, Wait, they won’t be upset at me for being with the fathers?”

“It’s not your fault they made you,” Michael said. “Besides, you’re not like them. You’re nice.” 

Darling smiled at that reassurance.

Michael then asked her “ do you like your name?

“My name?”

“Darling” Michael pointed out, “You never seem to be happy about it”

The robot girl laughed slightly at the comment. “Oh, it’s nothing, it's just the name that they gave me, you know I have to accept it….” She looked away sadly. “It’s also a way for them to act like they have a child after the nicknames that they like to give to each other. And then you came along and you became their favorite…”

Michael looked at her. “You don’t have to just keep your name. You can change it if you want.”

“Is that even possible….” Darling hummed for a moment. She looks around the room, not knowing what to choose before her eyes caught a drawing of a bright yellow sun. “ Is that what the sun looks like in your world?” She asked.

“Yeah, it’s better than the dark one here.”

“Then my name is Sunny.” she said cheerfully.

Michael smiled as he hugged her. “Are you happier now!”

Sunny nodded happily with a giggle. “I like it, it feels like…me….”

Chapter Text

Sam doesn't know where he is, he just knows that he’s back in Pandora's vault. Was it a dream? Everything about the nightmares,the girls toontown was just a bad dream…. ?

He let out a sigh not knowing how to feel as he looked around the area. Maybe it was a dream, maybe he’s just going crazy….

“Maybe you already are crazy Samuel.” The familiar voice of Dream sang as he stopped in the middle of the corridor. He looked around frantically. 

“Dream?!”

“Sam… why did you leave me?….”

Sam immediately rush down the hallway, not noticing  that the world around him begin to twist into impossible shapes. The smell of chemicals, and blood begin to fill the air and the weapons on the walls change into syringes and cages he done found himself in a room, and on the floor was the dead body of Tommy, Ranboo and Quackity, except the latter seem to be a lot more younger almost 4 years old practically a toddler. He backed away from the site, tears coming to this can’t be real. This is a nightmare. This is just a bad dream. He just need to wake up and-

“What's the matter Sam?” Dream, Ponk and another familiar voice tease as their voices surround him “Can’t handle the consequences of your actions? Can’t handle what must be done?”

Sam backed away breathing heavily as he continued to whisper no over and over again he doesn’t want this. He only became like that, because it was necessary to protect everyone. It wasn’t necessarily to protect Tommy, Ponk, Hannah and Quackity. He only hurt the bad people, that's the only people he ever hurt! Even if he have to tear them from limb to limb!even if he have to rip those bastards throw it out, just so he can survive!!!

Sam stops himself. Since when did he rip someone limb from limb. He knows that he ripped off Ponk’s arm but he doesn't remember, ripping him apart…in fact…

He wipe his mouth and stare at his hand, which is now covered by a reddish color,

where did the blood in his mouth come from? why is it coming out of his mouth?

Sam barely had time to question anything as he fell himself falling through a trapdoor, and landing in a table wrapped around chains and rope. He’s struggling a bit, feeling less like the feared warden and more like the crying kit who just wanted his Auntie and Uncle again who just wanted to see Boomer and Hannah… he just wanted to go home. He let out a fearful hiss as the shadowy doctor flickering between Dream, Ponk, The figure , Bad and Madden appeared before him, holding a syringe with an odd looking chemical, as everyone he knew and loved watched with grins on their faces excited to see him being torn apart by them. He continues to cry out in pain and fear, as blackish tears begin to come out of his eyes.

“No no no please don’t!”

“ I understand this must be painful…”    The doctor said casually as he flicked the syringe.

“No!! No!!”

“ I’m afraid it will only get worse.”

All the flickering figures of familiar faces fade as one inhuman smile is shown above him as it leans in to inject a syringe into his ear.r

“NOOOOOOOO!!!!” Sam cried out in agony as everything went black all around him. He breathed deeply as he frantically looked with bloodshot eyes around the room before he saw his shadowy creeper creature walking towards him. It feels familiar like he has seen it before. It seems similar to Hunt except it’s something else like he knows this thing for a long time….

It leans over him breathing quietly as Sam hiss at it softly.

“Help….”

But it only has one word to say to Sam. “Give in.” 

At that moment, he didn't know whether he  should cry, or laugh at the command, but he just let out a sigh of sense of relief everything around him faded away. Leaving only the familiar  instincts that he fell into a long time ago, but there’s something else to it that wasn’t there before: A need to protect what belongs to him

“Sam, Sam! Wake up, I'm here!” Tommy cried out as he shook the creeper who is lying limply on the floor. When moments earlier, he was screaming and spasming. 

“He's been asleep for a couple of hours now” Ranboo murmured with a confused and concerned look on his face “ Also, Tommy, are you gonna tell me what happened to your raccoon traits?!” 

Tommy turn to glare at him, and was about to tell Ranboo that it was none of his business before Sam let out a small whimper, and begin to move.

“Later, he’s waking up! Tommy sighed as Sam to move slightly to get up, “There you are! I gotta tell you-”

Tommy stopped at that moment when he found himself face-to-face with Sam’s blank, black eyes  staring back at him.His green irises  swallowed up by the black sclera leaving what seems to be a smooth  sea of black. Tommy shutter slightly being immediately reminded of the creepers that used to run around the server, hissing and charging up every time someone  dared to come near them. Then Sam hiss slightly at the boy as he placed his head on Tommy‘s head.

“Uh….” 

Sam just merely let out a purr-like hiss at Tommy as he took the opportunity to pat the boy’s head causing his raccoon traits to reappear but Tommy and Ranboo didn’t pay attention to that as they stared in astonishment at Sam’s odd behavior.

“Uhhh, Sam? Samuel? You feeling okay?” Tommy asked.

Sam just let out another purr-like hiss , reaching over to pat Ranboo on the head as well.

Tommy’s eyes narrow for a moment as Sam continues to repeat that action, he doesn't know why, but he feels a bit calmer and then he hears something from the back of his mind that surprises him: “Everything’s fine. Dad is here. Won’t let them hurt kits.”

“Tommy what’s going on with Sam?” Ranboo murmured, trying his best to back away from the creeper, “He’s honestly beginning to scare me…”

“Kits.”

“Excuse me?! Ranboo cried out

“Kits.” Tommy repeated “He’s saying he’ll protect us and calling us his kits.”

The older boy let out a groan as Sam continue to Pat him on the head, “Great. I’m stuck in hell, I have no idea where my son is, and now a crazy creeper hybrid has declared himself my dad,” Ranboo muttered.

Tommy stared at Ranboo in shock and anger. “He’s not crazy, he just… He probably bumped his head and just needed help!” Tommy pushes away at Sam’s hands paws? as he immediately grabs his face and begins to shake him the best he could.  “Come on Samuel! Snap out of it! We need your brain right now, not… whatever the fuck this is!”

The creeper frowned before he nipped firmly at Tommy’s ears.

“No, Stop that.”

Tommy immediately backed up, whining a bit. He rubs his ears before he lets out an odd sounding grumble. 

Meanwhile, Ranboo backs up before getting off the floor, and wandering around the room. His red and green eyes glowing in anxiety and fear. “This is fucking great. We’re all currently in hell lately the overseer has been revamping security, so any chances of escaping are now slimmer than ever and now the only guy who could theoretically protect us is now nipping us in the ears, and talking about us being his kids! Can things get any worse?!”

“Well aren't you three an interesting family?” Phobos giggled as the Overseer watched on impassively. “Honestly if it weren’t for the fact that we’re redeeming everyone, I would’ve asked our mother to just take the Ranboo guy! He is brimming with fear!”

“His behavior isn’t exactly befitting someone of his position.” The Overseer said quietly, his cold eyes gazing at Sam. “Though… I might be able to use this all the same,”

“What are you doing here??!” Ranboo yelled. 

Tommy let out a yelp as he tried to push Sam out of the views of the nightmares.  “Please don’t come in here. Sam is sick he got….uh rabies?… the flu? ….” The Raccoon hybrid stops for a moment to consider the idea “Do you guys even have diseases here?”

“We make sure our citizens are healthy.” The Overseer said casually, as he narrowed his eyes at Tommy’s tail. “My question is, how did you manage to get those unseemly traits back?”

“I don’t know! They kind of just… popped back up,” Tommy said. And then Sam begins to growl behind him much to his and Ranboo’s horror.

“Oh no no no no! Sam, please don’t do this again!” Ranboo begged as he rushed towards Sam’s side.

“My kits….” Sam hissed, stepping forward as smoke came out of his mouth. The overseer narrowed his eyes as he took his bone like whip from his holster.

“No.” 

Phobos then raises his hand up, as if having a more pacifistic route. “Calm down boy we’re not going to take away your little miscreants we’re just here to check on why you’re not out.” Then he took out a black pipe.  “Unless you want to attack, in which case I will make sure that you will regret it.”

Sam looked them over, staying in front of Tommy and Ranboo though he also made no move to attack. Merely on guard.

The overseer tilts his head, despite the mask it’s clear that he seems to be pleased by the results. “Good.” 

Phobos turned to Ranboo and Tommy as he blew a bit of smoke in their direction. “ You see, we're not that mean. We are just very enthusiastic about your rehabilitation!”

“Fuck your rehabilitation.” Tommy growled leaning against Sam’s fur as he yawned. “You’re just wrongun.”

Phobos smirked as he handed Ranboo a piece of paper and picture. “Here!”

“What’s this?” Ranboo say and he firmly take them

“It’s a picture of my son and daughter for Michael’s birthday! And a note.” 

Ranboo gasped as he opened up the note. A pit appears in Tommy’s stomach at that moment.

“Ran…”

The enderman stares at the picture and note in front of him and he breathes deeply as Everything in the world around him fades.

One shows Micheal quietly smiling at the camera surrounded by the nightmares and what seems to be citizens who smile convey the fear that they felt at that moment. Ranboo's hands begin to shake when he notices the bruise on the side of Michael's cheek. Despite the anger and grief that he felt, it was the note that scared him more than anything. It was just one symbol: 

:)

It was a smile that smile… which means oh no no no no no no

 Ranboo began to shake as he dropped a letter to the floor, covering his head.

“Ranboo?” Tommy whispered as he walked up to Ranboo but when the Enderman’s purple eyes landed on Tommy, and it was not Tommy… but Tommy’s corpse walking towards his blood dripping from the large wound from his head, with more blood coming out of his nose, ears and mouth, his eyes were wide, and white, barely showing the spark of life that he know Tommy have. 

“You killed me…” it whisper towards him as it grab his neck and begin to squeeze

“Kit?” Ranboo turned around to see Sam looking at him, eyes widened in concern.

Ranboo open and close his mouth as he collapse to the floor, and begin to back away from them, clutching his head as he whispered

“It’s not real, it's just messing with me. I'm here, I’m not a monster. I’m sorry, please just let me go home. Let me go home. “ He curled up into a small ball as his voice changed to a mixture of hisses and grunts of an ender man in distress.

Tommy stared at his friend, not knowing why Ranboo pushed him away like that but when he heard what he said, a part of him already knew what he was saying, but he didn’t want to believe it.

“Ran…Ranboob…Ranboo….” Tommy whispered as he walked closer “I’m not going to hurt you-“

“But I hurt you!” he cried out “ Why don’t you hate me! I deserve that as Dream for ruining your life! I’m a danger to everyone!” Ranboo covered his eyes. “I hate this state!!!!”

Tommy’s mouth was open in shock and Sam rushed from his spot and cuddled close to Ranboo, purring at the crying enderman. He then turned to Tommy and tilted his head as if to tell him to come here.

“I…”

“Kit. Here.” Sam called out gently yet firm Tommy flinch at the time and he quickly walked toward Sam and Ranboo. He looked over at Ranboo who was already burning from the tears. He sat down and hugged him tightly. 

“Ranboo I already forgive you” he whispered not knowing if he had heard him “I promised.”

Tom and Jack look out from the trees as the knights and guards comb around the coast.

“Is it safe…?” Scarlett whispered, holding one of the kids' hands.

Jack shakes his head. “No”

“Not even slightly. I think they know about our plan,” Tom replied. “I don’t see us being able to slip past those guards undetected. There isn’t much cover on the shore.”

Tubbo gulped. “You don’t think that they already captured them right…

Niki shook her head, “They would’ve been bragging all about it to say how screwed we are,” she pointed out. Though even with this reassurance her voice seems to have become stained.

“So they’re probably waiting out.”  Scarlett mumbled, fixing Juno’s shirt. “We are stuck for now…”

Lex hummed. “And they’re all over the coast….”

Techno nodded as he watched the Duchess walk toward one of her knights, a short red and white armor with an odd looking symbol in the front.

Hbomb tilted his head, despite their tall size they almost look like Eret. “Is that…”

“Duchess.” Scarlett muttered, “Eret’s clone and the reason why I got Athen….”

“And us.” Juno pointed out.

“Yes. I suppose some good did come of that,” Scarlett said, smiling fondly at her.

“She’s a tall one!” John cried out, jumping up.

“Keep your voice down John,” Tubbo whispered. “You’ll get us caught.”

“So they’re no sign of the runaways?” The Duchess asked, crossing her arms.

The knight shook their head.  “No, miss, they haven't come.

“Keep on looking H, brother wants them alive.” She said calmly before Duchess immediately stopped herself when she looked at a message in her communicator. She immediately sighed in annoyance. “Also keep your subordinates away from the subject. He killed them all…..”

He nodded, “Of course.”

Scarlett blinked in shock, “Oh shit…”

“They did an experiment to get us?” Niki muttered. “God I do not want to face one of Spark’s robots…”

“I’ve heard horror stories about some of the things the Overseer and Akhyls created.” Jack shuddered slightly.

Mary gasped in horror. “The tinmen…”

“Should I ask what the tinmen are?” Drista whispered. 

“You do not want to know…”  Scarlett whispered as she stared at the three children in front of her. She took the moment to count each one before she immediately froze. No…that could mean….

“Techno…. Do you have Finch?” She cried out, a fearful, yet hopeful reaction, appearing on her face.

“Uh….No….” Techno responds. “I thought he was with you..”

“What do you mean by that?!” Tubbo cried out “You didn’t lose Finch did you?!”

Scarlett squeaks as she looks over her shoulder to see Finch’s brown hair  disappearing into the trees beside her.

“Finch!” Scarlett  screamed as a rush towards the three lines besides her, heart pounding.

Tom’s eyes widened as several guard’s heads snapped to their hiding spot. “Shit! Move! Everyone move!”

The entire group begins, scrambled to get up and run as the guards rushed towards them

“Halt! In the name of the Duchess!” H cried out as he took out his crossbow. “Stop this instant!” 

“Scarlett if we die here I am soo kicking your ass in the after life,” Jack shouted.

Meanwhile, the young teen begins to panic as she practically looks around the area for the young boy. She can’t lose another kid this time she already failed in protecting everyone! Esma, Emma, Katie, Jones! she’s not gonna fail again. She runs deeper into the woods, not caring how different the terrain looks around her, not caring how twisted the beat up the trees look until she sees Finch happily, laughing as he plays around a bunch of lunar moths.

“Finch!” she yelled out as Scarlett pick up the boy “You scared me to death! What were you doing wandering around?!”

“I've never seen these butterflies before!” The young boy said cheerfully, trying to grab them. “I want to grab one to get them to you and Mr. Techno and Mr. Tubbo!” 

Scarlett stared at the young boy for a moment before she laughed, tears running down her cheeks, “Holy crap… you’re a sweet kid you know that right?”

“Scarlett!” Niki calls out as she pops out from the bushes.

“I found Finch.” Scarlet said weakly

“Yeah! And you got us found by the guards!” Jack yelled, stomping up to her, “What were you thinking?!”

Scarlett quietly looks down at the young boy before looking up at Jack “I… I just want to keep Finch safe.”

“Well that was a really shitty way to do it! Great, you found him, now he can watch everyone get shot before dying himself!”

Scarlett’s eyes wide, and at that as she backs up in horror  “No…I-I can’t have that happen!” Scarlett cried out, her eyes quickly turning red as she pushed Finch into Jack’s arms and grabbed the bag in his arms.

“What are you doing now?!”

Scarlett ignored him as She tore it open before grabbing a small sharp kitchen knife and began to march forward. Finch tilted his head at the sight not understanding what he was seeing.

“Where is Miss Scarlett going?”

“Uh….” They immediately got her answer: a scream was heard as the head of a Knight was thrown across the trees. Along with a couple of arms and legs of others. Tom jumps out of the bushes along with the rest of the group, with some shocked annd horrified expressions on their faces. The only ones missing were Tubbo and Drista.

Niki gulped slightly, “Was that Scarlett….”

Jack just opened and closed his mouth a couple times.

“They’re busy.”  Techno said calmly. 

“Yeah I don’t know what rile Scarlett up this much” Lex muttered. “I sort of understand Tubbo from what I heard about, but Scarlet normally doesn't get to this stage unless really necessary.”

“I mean Jack did kind of insinuate the guards would kill the rest of the kids,” Niki said.

“I mean, the Nightmares already killed four of them, I wouldn’t put it past them,” Jack said awkwardly. “...You don’t think she’ll do that to me, will she?”

“Depends.” Tom responded bluntly.

“Depends on what?” Niki asked.

“Depends on how long she keeps on fighting and how much blood there is.” Connie stated 

Drista laughed as she popped out of the bushes, covered in blood. “ That was the best battle ever been in since the Watcher wars between them and the demons

“Think we can get to the coast now?” Jack asked weakly.

“Not yet!” Drista cheered as the two caretakers blankly stepped out of the bushes, covered with blood as well.  “They went on a tactical retreat, so they’re just gathering up all their supplies right now. The nightmares are currently finishing off what we’re starting so we had to wait until tonight and then we’ll go because they will bring reinforcements tomorrow!”

Tom ignored it as he stepped forward towards Scarlet who seemed to be holding her knife tightly as murmur to herself.

“Uh…Scarlett…?” 

She holds up her finger, opening one red eye, while shaking her head before, closing her eyes again, and continuing on murmuring. But Tubbo seems to have come out of his trance as he shakes slightly. Techno slowly steps forward, clearly nervous as he looks at the goat hybrid.

“Uh…Tubs…. How’s the massacre?”

Tubbo shrugged, “I don’t know, I barely remember….” Techno nodded as he walked away, seemingly queasy as he leaned against a tree. The four children surround him showing concern for their caretaker.. They weren’t the only ones who were concerned about him as Hbomb stepped forward. This isn’t the Techno that he knew him as from Doomsday.

“Uh Tech… I didn’t know you were queasy about this. You manage to fight off Athen… what’s going on here?”  

“That was my first fight in a while… I’m not used to it,” Techno said. “They… worked pretty hard to make me hate myself for fighting. It shouldn’t have been my first resort.”

“Well it wasn’t your first resort here,” Connie said. “Those guys were going to kill us or at least send us to the Nightmares if they had won. You were defending yourself and the kids.”

“Yeah…” Techno murmured as Scarlett led against Drista’a arm.

“I will always protect my kids, no matter what,” Scarlett said, looking at Jack with her red eyes.

“Yeah, you certainly proved that point,” Jack said, edging behind Niki slightly.

Juno smirks slightly at Jack, somewhat mocking him. Scarlett meanwhile slowly got up and picked up Finch. “ Let's go to the coast now..” The young woman walked forward on the path already ahead of everyone.

“Uhhh… Didn’t Drista just say we should wait until they’ve cleared out of there?” Connie asked.

“Not much use fighting so hard to push them back if we’re gonna walk right back into them,” Tom said gently.

Scarlett stopped at that moment “Right, right… We’ll wait.”

“Hey um… who’s that guy walking towards us.?” Mary asked , pointing at an armored figure walking towards the group.

“Probably not one of our friends,” Connie said, drawing her sword as Tom and Lex aimed their guns.

Techno narrowed his eyes as he took a note at the armored and muzzled figure, particularly his black hair and clipped yellow wings.

He immediately froze when he realized who it could be but Tubbo beat him to the punch.

“Quackity?” Tubbo cried out.

Drista turns to the boy “The Duck Guy?”

“Q? What are you doing here? How’d you escape?” HBomb asked, stepping forward towards him.

Quackity giggled slightly as he pulled out a pickax murmuring something under his breath.

“Uhhh guys I don’t think Quackity is in his right mind right now,” Scarlett said, pushing the kids behind her.

“Teccccchhhhoooo!” Quackity called out cheerfully “I fucking found you!” 

“Yeah… How did you find me?” Techno asked, backing up slightly.

“Oh, nothing too fucking special ….” Quackity stiffly moved as he began circling the group, that same delusional smile on his face.

“Yep, definitely don’t think Quackity is in his right mind,” Tom said, lowering his gun slightly. “I could shoot him in the leg? Wouldn’t kill him.”

“Uhhh…” Tubbo steps forward towards the hybrid “Q? Are you okay?.” How did Quackity even get here? Discounting the likelihood that he was abandoned considering the nightmares will be keeping everyone under lock and key after the escape and murders. With the state that Quackity is in, he should’ve been captured almost immediately if he have escaped. With all those possibilities removed He have to consider another possibility that he doesn’t like at all….

“I don’t know about you guys but this is screaming ‘trap.’ I think Tom might have the right idea,” Lex said.

“Because I think the nightmares brought him here.” Tubbo said suddenly.

“What?!” Drista cried out. “ But we would have spotted him during our fight!”

“I mean, what other explanation is there?” Tubbo asked, carefully keeping his eye on Quackity even as he continued circling. “In his state Quackity should have been captured immediately, especially with how many guards there were swarming the area. Plus, how would he escape in the first place? After our escapes and killing Remus, Siren, and Manifold the Nightmares should be on high alert.”

“Remus?” Quackity laughs, as tears begin to stream down his cheeks. “ oh, him, the clone of my bastard boyfriend who I failed to make happy! Yeah, that guy oh boy, you got everyone so mad and we have to go through so much Security and torture! And I have to be giving away to Sir and they were so fucking mad and told me that I am so worthless…”

“Quackity, whatever they’re telling you, it’s nonsense,” Techno said softly. “I know you don’t like me and I’m sorry for hurting you in the past but I’m trying to help now.”

“You…” The duck hybrid’s eyes snapped toward Techno and his smile changed into a more hateful frown. “You… you ruined my life… you took everything from me and you think that just a plain old I’m sorry would actually fucking fix anything!” Quackity, then began to speed forward towards the group.“You really are a fucking fool you’re just trying to toy with me!”

Scarlett stepped forward, her eyes shrinking as she tried to fight against the red. “Q, you’re scaring us. Put down the pickaxe.”

“I know sorry doesn’t fix things,” Techno said. “That’s why I’m trying to help you. They’re only using you Quackity. Put the pickaxe down and come with us. We’ll find the others and get out of here.”

“No fucking way, I got a chance to fix everything in my life and all I have to do is to make sure that you are not alive to be in it!” Quackity then rush towards Techno. Immediately the former threw  lJuno and John to the side before he attempts to swing a pickaxe towards Techno’s throat. 

The piglin hybrid immediately jumped away from the swing as Hbomb jumped in front of him, and with his sword blocking Quackity’s attack .

“Quackity control yourself, this isn’t you!” he cried out as Quackity growled towards him, he expected a glassy look, or a look of mania on his face, but something that seemed to scare him more, was the almost hateful expression on his face that seemed to keep light in his eyes.

“Why are you fucking helping him?! What’s with fucking people, and believing that they have some sort of fucking obligation to help this bastard!”

Quackity grabbed Hbomb's hair and threw him across the woods. Then with the pickaxe blocks the bullets going for his legs before turning around with an angry hiss.

“Quackity, stand down!” Tom cried out “I don’t wanna hurt you, but I will disarm you if it’s gonna keep everyone else safe!”

Before the Shapeshifter could argue or even attempt to attack him then felt a huge burst of pain in his backside, nearly stumbling to the ground. He turned around to see Tubbo behind him, rubbing his horns along with Dritsa floating in the air with her fork, “Sorry Q… it’s nothing personal, we-”

Tubbo then let out a yelp as Quackity grabbed him by the neck and pulled him towards his face.

“What the fuck you just said to me!” He barked, his grip becoming tighter by the second “ Nothing fucking personal?!”

Tubbo begin to croak “I’m trying to help you Q! We’re friends. I don't know what the nightmares have done to you, but this isn’t the real you!”

“So what’s the plan Quackity?” Connie asked. “Kill Technoblade and the Nightmares just let your friends and family go free? Stop torturing them for imaginary reasons? You said it yourself. They think you’re worthless.”

“They’re trying to trick you!” Dritsa cried out

“Mind your goddamn business! This is my only chance to get my family back plus since when you guys care!?”

“We’re offering you a chance to get your family back, you idiot!” Tom shouted. “We’re trying to save you guys! We always cared!”

“Oh yeah? and you just sit on your ass for two years and then remember that we existed or the fact that you guys just left us there too right under his control and then act shocked when it didn’t work out well for you!”

“It wasn’t two years in town,” Jack exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “Think for a minute , Quackity. Would Bugs really leave his daughters for two whole years? According to them it was two weeks. Bugs wouldn’t abandon Scarlett and Minerva like that. Neither would Toby. Even if you don’t think they care about us, surely you’re not stupid enough to think they don’t care about them?”

Niki nodded “Yeah! And they were trying to save us from Hunt! So many ways! Did you just forget the giant exorcism circle Mickey showed us?”

“Oh…?” Quackity  glared daggers at her. He drops Tubbo before beginning to slowly walking toward Niki. “ You were part of the little syndicate…..”

She backed away, as Scarlett stepped forward towards Quackity. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop.

“Oh ho and Scar, you were friends with him.”

Mary, John, Finch and Juno jump in front of Scarlett the moment that they notice his dangerous tone.

“Leave them alone!” Juno yelled “I don’t care if you were the most powerful man in the world, I’m not gonna let you hurt them!”

“No.”

Everyone turned to look at Technoblade who stepped forward, pushing himself between Quackity and everyone else.

“This is my fight. I’m not letting anyone else get hurt for me. Not anymore. You wanna hurt someone so much Big Q? Then hurt me. Not them.”

“Techno No!” Scarlett cried out.

Quackity smiles slightly “Oh? Being selfless for once?” He held up the pickax towards them. “Let's dance.”

He ran toward him and swung at Techno. He cried out in pain as he stumbled, away from the hybrid covering his eye with one hand. 

“Mr. Techno!” The children cried out in a rush towards his side, Scarlet and Tubbo rushed toward side as well, looking just as horrified and scared. Techno waves them off. “I’m fine… I don’t think I lost my eye… I’m fine

Quackity froze at that moment, not expecting the reaction from techno. “What…. Why aren’t you fighting back?… Sir-Athe-Sir… said you’re-evil….”

“Because the Nightmares are liars,” Techno said. “They say we’re worthless and evil but then run around torturing people. Tell us off for killing people when half of these people kill the shades for fun. They’re hypocrites.”

Quackity let out a shuddering cry, as he looked at the pickaxe, now covered in blood. He looked into the metal which shows his eyes, which for a brief moment he saw the angry look of the people who hurt him. He drops into the ground as he kneels to the floor.

“I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to help you Quackity. Come with us. We can find Sapnap, Karl, Sam, all of them. You can still get your family back,” Techno offered gently.

Quackity stared at his hand for a moment “why are you acting like this… don’t you guys want to kill me, get revenge for what I did?! I hurt you! I was about to hurt everyone here!”

“You did. And I hurt you,” Techno said. “We’ve all hurt each other. Doesn’t make it right.”

Scarlett nodded “Yeah. Plus, they took advantage of your state.”

Quackity slowly take Techno’s hands as he slowly get up in the ground, 

“I… I didn’t take out your eyes, right?”

“I don’t think so,” Techno said. “Hopefully Steven can put it right. Someone said he can heal things, right?”

“Let me check.” Lex said as she removed Techno’s hand from his eyes “ you’re very lucky just a bit deeper and you would’ve lost it. As it is you probably won’t be able to see as well out of that eye.”

“Honestly, after this I’m retiring and being a full time potato farmer. I probably don’t need perfect vision for that.”

Quackity whines at that, rubbing at his arms.

“I was gonna do that anyway if it makes you feel better.”

“Oh…ok….” he whispered as he looked around the forest. “Is it me or is everything getting darker?”

“Oh! We need to go to the coast now”  Drista cried out, causing her to fly

“Come on, let’s go,” Scarlett said, picking up Finch and walking out of the clearing.

The group rush out of the woods, and into the coast, they whine slightly at the remaining blood and body parts on the Sands, although they were slowly being washed out to the seas.

“you guys were….. bloodthirsty…” Hbomb murmured as he stared at one of the knight's heads on the sand.

Scarlett Shrugged as she covered Finch’s eyes, ignoring the young boys' attempt to remove her hand,“ I haven’t been praying to my mom so I got a lot of energy that I need to get out…. You should’ve seen the Duchess' face when I chopped that guy's head off. She was livid.”

“Yeah…” 

“Think we should see if any of this armor might fit anyone?” Niki asked. “Bit morbid, but it’s not like any of us have any. Well, besides Quackity.”

Connie made a slightly disturbed look on her face. “Uh….”

“Yeah, let’s do it.” Lex replied, as she pulled an armor off of chest. “Hbomb, maybe you should take that helmet. It’s got your letter!” 

“Yeah might as-” HBomb froze, pulling the helmet off the head, eyes going wide as he found himself staring at his own face. This time a lot more pale with his eyes staring blankly at his doppelgänger.

“Maybe we put that one back,” Jack said, taking the helmet from HBomb and putting it back on the head.

“That is weird….” Tom murmured.

“How do you think we feel?” Niki asked.

Just as Jack put it back, the head suddenly jumped off, clicking its tongue.

“ACK!” Jack shouted, jumping backwards. “How is it still moving?!”

There was a sudden shot in the head fell back down in the ground

“You had to shoot it in the head twice otherwise they will just go back together again.” Minerva giggled as she stepped forward with Amelia and Puffy, smoking rifles in her hand.

“Wha… But… How… You’re not dead!!” Jack shouted.

Scarlet screams as she rushed toward Minerva, and with her other arm, grabbed her and spinned her around. 

“You’re alivvvvvvvvve!!!”

Minerva laughed, a bright smile on her face.

“But how?” Niki cried out “They say that you were killed in an accident!”

“I found her,” Puffy explained. “Though I wouldn’t call the Crowfather slitting her throat and throwing her off a cliff an accident.”

“ I still have a hard time speaking,” Minerva said, pointing at the scar in her throat before kissing Scarlett on the head. “Steven’s helped a lot but it isn’t perfect.”

“I see you got Tubbo, Scarlett and the kids just fine,” Amelia said. “And Quackity at some point. We managed to find Fundy and Phil on the way. They’re back on the ship.”

“Really!” Techno cried out, “Also, do you think that Steven could heal this.”

“I’m sure he’ll try,” Amelia said. “No promises though. Something about this world is messing with his powers.”

“I’m not surprised.”  Drista murmured “ It seems like all the nightmares were just causing trouble for everyone.”

“Yeah. We barely managed to get away from Anubis and Medea. Probably wouldn’t have if it weren’t for Minerva’s quick thinking,” Puffy said. “Let’s head back to the ship. The nightmares won’t stay gone long and we need to discuss our next move. I imagine most of you guys are starving too.”

“Of course! We have a lot of places to go!” Lex said, “And a lot of nightmares to kill.”

“I’m guessing that the project was a failure,” Madden said as she looked out of the window. “It seems clear that Quackity isn’t as submissive as we needed him to be. Lonely you idiot.”

Lonely King wilted under Madden’s attention. 

“Also Orpheus it seems like your son has failed in his task and died, so I have no choice but to send both you and Lonely to the same time out room for a little bit.”

Orpheus’s eyes grew wide. “What?”

“Do not make me repeat myself Orpheus. I’m in a bad enough mood as it is,” Madden growled. “If you question me one more time I’m punishing Theseus, Crowfather, and Athen in your place, same with your fiancés and father Lonely.  Now get into the timeout room.” Madden snaps, her fingers as a door manifest in the hallway, revealing a dark room.

Orpheus clenched his fists, marching into the room, Lonely King shuffling in after him, glancing up at Madden briefly before stepping in as the door slammed behind him before disappearing.

Lonely whimpered slightly as he sat on the floor in the dark room, trying to hide his tears. “Orpheus I’m so sorry what happened to Jester I didn’t…”

“Shut the fuck up! Of course you had to go and fuck up again!” Orpheus shouted, his hazel eyes glaring at him. “It’s probably your pet’s fault my son died in the first place! All because you couldn’t fucking train him right!”

“I didn’t know that would happen I just-“

Orpheus punched him in the face, causing him to fall to the ground, whimpering as he hold his cheek, ,  “No… Orpheus…please I didn’t mean to…”

“Oh no, no no no no no no, not after your latest failure. It seems like the only way you learn your lesson is if I beat you it into you!” He violently pushed Lonely to the wall and begin to stamp on his brothers back “You are fucking scum! The lowest of the fucking low! Even with all the powers in your hand, you have more like a shade, than a proper nightmare!”

“Brother…please…” Lonely but only for his brother to kick him in the face

“If you don’t improve immediately once we get out of this room, I’m gonna make sure that your life is a fucking living hell! You Bastard!!!”

Madden smirk slightly to herself as she listened to the carnage and Lonely’s screams inside. She already knew that a few more of her children were already in the room, clearly scared of what they were hearing.

“ I hope that you bring me good news because I already got another pair of punishments if I get more bad news…”

The Overseer gulped as he looked at Spider, Phobos and Akhlys who also looked back at him with fear in their eyes, “Oh no, no no mother I just came to ask you something. ”

“What exactly is so important for you to interrupt me when I’m in the middle of something?”

“We were wondering how natural it is for certain hybrids to turn Feral.” 

“Feral?” Madden asked before sighing. “Which one is it?”

“It's Awesamdude, 04282020!” Phobos cried out, looking around the room for any emergency exits.

Madden frowned at them, opening her mouth before pausing, thinking before speaking. “How is he acting? Specifically with Tommy and Ranboo?”

“He seems to believe them to be his kits.” Akhlys explained.

Madden smiled at that. “This might just be a blessing in disguise. Assuming you don’t mess it up like some of your siblings.”

“Of course not mother! We will never disappoint you!”

“Do whatever it takes to convince him you’re not a threat,” Madden said. “Creepers are highly protective of their young. Play our cards right and he’ll be little more than a well trained guard dog for us. But if the others get close to those two?”

Madden paused, the four staring at her in silence before she continued.

“He’ll tear them to shreds with his bare hands.”

“ So do you want us to train him after we convince him that we’re not a threat.” Spider hummed.

“One step at a time dear,” Madden said. “Focus on getting him to trust you first. Then we can worry about training him.”

“Of course, mother.” They all say in unison.

Maddens then whistled towards the Overseer and Akhlys, getting their attention. “I also recommend that you begin to use your creations against them as well. I know that you guys created a private collection to placate your more ‘parental’ sides, but I think that it’s time for you to actually bring them out to the world.”

The Overseer and Akhlys glanced at each other before nodding. “Yes mother.”

“Excellent, tell your other siblings to prepare and make sure to destroy anyone who could ruin our plans.”

Chapter Text

Fundy sighed in relief as the radio, after a moment of buzzing, finally allowed a voice to come through. 

“Hello, Hello, this is Fenton! Is everyone all right?”

“I fixed it!” He yelled out getting everyone’s attention.

“Fundy? Is that you?” Bugs asked.

“Yeah! And I’m with everyone else in the rescue party!”  Fundy explained as he handed the radio to Amelia and Tom.

“Hey Fenton,” Amelia said.

“How are things back in town?” Tom asked, kneeling besides her.

“A bit better. Everyone’s a bit worried for you. We barely heard you for the entire day.   What’s going on? Is everything all right? Have you found them!?”

“Yeah. As for here…”

“Everything sucks, and time is weird,” Lex said deadpan. “Apparently they’ve been here two years. That’s causing some problems.”

There was a moment of silence before everyone on the other side screamed out. “What?!”

“How bad is it to the point that two years pass?!” Daffy cried out “Are you sure it doesn’t just feel like that!?”

“I don’t know, like I said, time is weird here. As for who we’ve found, we haven’t found everyone but we have found a couple, including Scar and Min which Bugs should be happy about.”

“You did?!”  Bugs cried out his voice filled with joy before he immediately coughed, and went back to a more professional voice. “How are they doing?”

“I mean, all things considered they could be worse. We thought Min was dead but she’s actually not. You have Puffy to thank for that one!” Hannah said.

“To be specific you can thank her for me not being dead,” Minerva added quickly.

Bugs went silent. “You were dead….” he murmured softly. “Who… who tried to kill you….”

Minerva coughed for a moment before saying. “He called himself the Crowfather. Madden and him tried to turn me into some sort of apprentice for her, but I didn’t want to follow her and when I saw what was happening to everyone I couldn’t be part of that so one day I would try to kill him in the woods.” Minerva rubs her neck, leaning against Scarlett. “That bastard slit my throat and threw me into the waterfall. Puffy saved me before I bled out.”

“Luckily I had a lot of spare medical supplies on me from escaping the hospital,” Puffy said.

“Thank you Puffy .” Bugs said the last part with another voice layering over his own voice. “ Who is the crowfather? we already know about maddens, but who is he?”

“Some weird evil clone of me,” Phil explained. “There are weird evil versions of pretty much everyone on the server.”

“Clones?” Fenton asked, “ Wait so she cloned you all?”

A couple other voices followed as more people murmured their confusion at the word.

“Clones?”

“Did you use your DNA against you?”

“Is it possible in your world to create evil clones?”

“How did she keep them hidden without at least one person noticing them?”

Jack sighed that each of the questions, as the small group in front of the radio, tried to think of an answer to it. “I don’t fucking know. Maybe she took our DNA. We just know that she just stalked us and then decided that we have the perfect people to kidnap!”

“Maybe she took your DNA while you’re at the server?” Gyro suggested calmly. “ Is there anything that you notice about these clones??”

Jack shrugged, “ I don’t know. She just called them nightmares or something.”

“Nightmares… I wonder…” Mickey said. “I might have a theory but I’ll need to run it by Oswald first.”

Phil tilted his head. “What are you talking about? It just seemed like she just created some evil clones.”

“I’ll explain after I talk to Oswald. It’s a bit of a long story and there’s no use telling it if I’m way off base.”

“I mean, is there anything we should look for like…. Any descriptions?” Tubbo asked. “We just know that they just look like us with some minor differences like for example my evil clone, got full on blonde hair rather than just tips like my hair and his eyes were black with some glowing spot in the middle and he’s extremely homicidal though he try to disguise it like he’s some sort of father from some stupid 50s show.”

There was a sound of scratching at the table, as Mickey went silent, along with everyone else around him. The server members, along with the hatchet field group, even notice that even the few toons in the group went silent as well, scratching at something on their arms.

Instinctively the server members, the children and the girls begin to back away, their heart pounding at the sudden change of behavior. Tubbo flickers towards Scarlet and techno, as if Accident what to do as the rest look around for any form of rocks, or any item to either placate, or defend themselves. Dritsa, Hbomb, and Charlie notice it with the former walking up towards the toons  surrounding the radio. “Uh…. Are you guys OK?”

Steven shook his head at that moment as he turned to her “ Oh sorry it’s just…. You know Mickey and….” He looked up at Connie before shaking his head. “Never mind Mickey, are you still there?”

“He's going to call Oswald.” Bugs stated, his voice calm, as if trying to hide its shakiness. “ I want you all to listen very carefully for the next few minutes.”

Everyone nodded slowly as they all inch closer towards the radio. Even with the small group of the server still were a bit away from them.

“You all are facing something extremely dangerous and unpredictable. I don’t want to talk too much about it bud. It’s not just a theory, we have a little joke with something that we think that we have encountered. So I need you to treat this seriously. They are not going to just kill. They’d rather play around with their food before eating it and if they got attached to something and they end up losing it, they will stop at nothing until the person who caused it is not just killed but suffered.”

“Yeah that sounds about right,” Phil muttered.

“They also feed on your fear and trauma since they’re a part of you, they will know your deepest secrets and fears.”

“Wait, a part of us?!” Fundy demanded. “Wait, does that mean I killed part of myself?”

“Maybe that’s why Eret didn’t kill Anubis with that cannonball,” Amelia said.

“But I managed to kill Remus and he is not  a part of me!” Niki cried out. “What are you talking about?

“I think what I’m trying to say is that they usually represent the worst part of yourself and if the person on the nightmare hurt you a lot in some way you could destroy them, but depending on the amount of trauma as well as the amount of darkness that is hidden as well as out in the open the more powerful they are. Plus if their counterparts are not here, there could be a chance that those ones are a lot weaker….”

“I don’t know… I’m right here and the nightmare version of me is kind of known for being a weakling,” Quackity said.

“Really? What do you consider your flaws? And how do others see you?”

“Most likely Quackity of Las Nevada suffers from hubris, a whole lot of self hate, and an inferiority complex!” Charlie said cheerfully.  “He also wants to be loved but fears that it could lead to more pain.”

“Okay no need to call me out like that,” Quackity  cried out, backing away from him. “Also, what the fuck?”

Charlie just stared at Quackity, his eyes hardening slightly for a moment, “Because it’s very easy to figure out people like you. It’s always your type that ends up with a tragedy.”

Quackity stare at him in horror as HBomb pat him on the back. “He does that. No, you don’t get used to it,” he said.

“You said that you managed to kill Remus? Who does he represent and do you have a history with the person?”

“Schlatt,” Niki growled, throwing a rock at the wall. “Everyone has a bad history with him.”

“No one likes Schlatt,” Techno said.

“Connor technically likes Schlatt. I don’t get it either,” HBomb said.

“Maybe that could be the reason and since we got Ghlatt he doesn’t have a counterpart to feed on and he easily could feed on anyone… 

“Which means that the more powerful ones have to be the ones where not only their counterparts have a lot of trauma but also have a connection with everyone else that is deeper than just everyone hates him.” Daffy noted before laughing nervously. “ But considering your histories, there could be a chance that that nightmare is extremely rare…”

The small group silently looked at one another as Daffy then asked “She didn’t create a powerful nightmare from that person, right?”

Bugs sighed “Who is it?”

“That… would actually explain why Theseus is so dangerous,” Tubbo said, crossing his arms.

“Same with Spider,” Quackity said awkwardly.

“Well…. Do you gotta be careful with those guys because unless you got their counterparts or at the very least someone who got a big enough connection with either to slay them. There could be a chance that they are practically unstoppable…. Also keep an eye out for someone named Obi…””

“Obi? Who are they?” Puffy asked.

“We don’t know, he just came to Toby and gave us the key to the nightmare world and that’s how we managed to find you but I don’t know something about him seems a bit off and the last thing we need is you guys encountering someone like him and he turned out to be I don’t know a monster or a undercover nightmare.”

“We’ll keep an eye out,” Fundy said. “Next time we see Eret we’ll tell them to be on the lookout too.”

“Thanks, we gotta go now, but I hope that you guys stay safe and girls you can call me if you want to talk and if you want I can get Toby so he can talk to you for a bit. He’s currently sleeping, but I don’t think he would mind waiting up.”

Minerva and Scarlett nodded with a smile.

“We might call in the morning. We gotta get the ship running so that the nightmares won’t go after us.” Scarlett joked slightly. “We’re kind of wanted for murder…”

“Figures. You did say you killed at least one of the Nightmares,” Bugs said. “We’ll talk with you later.”

“See you later Dad.” Scarlett whispers softly as the radio turns off.

“Well, we’ve got some info now,” Puffy said. “Hopefully it’ll help us figure out our next move.”

“Yeah,” Techno murmured, rubbing his head. “Like I’m guessing that’s my nightmare is one of the more powerful ones, which… fuck….”

“Probably, but we’ve got you and me,” Quackity pointed out. “If anyone has a complicated history with you, it’s me. Now, I’m gonna get accused of having an agenda here, but hear me out. Sapnap.”

“Against Spider?” Minerva asked 

“Exactly my thought,” Quackity said. “The person with the most complicated history with Dream is Tommy but we already agreed going for the prison now would be a death sentence. Sapnap is probably our second best option to combat Spider”

Minerva frowned “Yeah, I get that… but…. With the wait time works I’m just worried for Tommy…. And I don’t know if he’s being tortured or….”

“I know you are Min,” Puffy said, resting a hand on Minerva’s shoulder. “I promise we’ll get Tommy out. But Quackity is right. We don’t really have anyone who could combat the Overseer well. And when he’s not there, he’s with Spider.”

“Yeah.” Scarlett murmurs quietly “Although my only question is, where is he? Like do we have a general location?”

“I’ve got some maps of the area,” Puffy said. “If we can find out which Nightmare he’s with, we can find him that way.”

“Wish Eret hadn’t already run off,” Fundy said. “She might have known.”

“So we're going to save your friends?” Juno asked.

“Obviously,” Puffy said. “I’ll admit I’d like to go save Foolish first, but I agree with Quackity’s statement about Sapnap.”

“So how would you do it?” Mary asks quietly. “You’re going up against the ultimate rulers of our world! Many tried to destroy them, and all of them failed!”

“Well we’ve already destroyed four of them,” Fundy pointed out. “Plus, from the sound of it, unlike people before us, we can actually destroy them.”

The kids look at one another as Juno and John let out a laugh. “So we’re all like superheroes. We should come up with some cool name like the server against tyranny, or the mighty knights of justice!”

“I’d like the knights of justice.”

“That sounds a bit… over the top,” Phil said gently.

Hannah and Lex laugh at the names. “It is.”

“But if the nightmares get to have some cool title to announce themselves as we might as well” Hannah added.

“Are you familiar with the myth of Pandora?” Techno asked.

Tom nodded “ Yeah, the gods gave humanity, a woman named Pandora, and she got a box that she kept all of society's  ill and when she opened it, it’s a end unleashing them.” 

“I don’t think that comparing us to someone who is unleashing evil into the world is the best name….” Connie noted.

“Yes, but it wasn’t just evil in the box,” Techno pointed out. “According to the myth, hope remained in the box even after the evils escaped.”

“Oh!” Steven yelled cheerfully “So We’re the hope in the box!”

“Pandora’s Hope,” Puffy murmured “It has a catchy name.”

Scarlett hummed as she picked up Finch,  “I’m guessing that we’re out here to destroy. The nightmares were technically the ills of this world or are the nightmares going out to us because they see us as the ills of our world?”

Finch yawned, snuggling up against Scarlett’s chest . “Maybe we should look for other people who are against the nightmares…. They probably want to help….”

“Let’s take one step at a time,” Amelia responded, pointing at the ship. “Let’s try to look for the next location.”

Everyone nodded as they walked towards the ship, all of them determined to save their friends and stop the nightmares from hurting their friends. 

Sapnap quietly hums as he looks over the animals wandering around the area, all of them either eating grass or laying on the ground without a care in the world. Meanwhile, the fireborn has to keep himself careful, if any of the animals were hurt in any way he will be in trouble. He then heard a slight neigh as a brown horse walked towards him. He shakes slightly as the horse stops in front of him and sniffs his hair. This can’t be…. He thought that he was dead after two years….. the memory of that suddenly lodged into his head the first time he ever heard Dream being angry at him the way he just screams in anger, grief and horror as Sapnap watches on, as the horse burns in front of him.

“Spirit?” he whispered, “How….”

Then he heard, screaming behind Sapnap , causing him to jump in horror as he looked back at the sound .

 The horse immediately backs back away from him, clearly startled by the noise. He turned around slowly and began to walk forward, praying that what was happening before he turned the corner to a small house. Just in time to notice a small carriage in front of him. 

“What….” Immediately he let out a yelp as a pitchfork was quickly shoved into his face. Its sharp edges nearly pierced his face. He stumbles to the ground, breathing frantically.

“Hello subject, I’m surprised to see you out of your spot.” Orion started quietly, kneeling in front of him. “ You’re not attempting to cause any trouble are you?”

“I heard a noise,” Sapnap said. “I wanted to make sure there wasn’t trouble.”

“We’re helping dear Theseus.” Erebus giggled as he stepped forward towards Sapnap with a smirk. 

“Right,” Sapnap said. “I just… Wanted to make sure there wasn’t any danger to the animals.”

The two nightmares look at each other for a moment before turning back to him. “So you have been keeping eyes on the animals, right?”

“Yes Sirs.”

The cat-like nightmare snapped his fingers, and with a puff of smoke disappeared for a moment before he reappeared, with a small smile. “ I have to say I am very proud of you. You haven’t indulged any of your instincts to destroy.” The nightmare patted him on the head. “You should be proud of yourself as well.”

Sapnap's eyes widened and his mouth gaped open. He leans towards the pat, despite every fiber of his being screaming at him, not to enjoy it he can’t help but feel a warm feeling coming in from the praise. “Thank you sir ….”

Orion’s smile grew wider. “Do you want me to give a reward to you for your good behavior?”   

Sapnap froze slightly. Was this a test? Or was it genuine? “Whatever you think I deserve,” Sapnap said after a moment, figuring it was a safe enough reply.

Orion nodded as he walked towards the carriage, leaving Sapnap alone with the copy of his father. Anxiety began to build up inside of him, as he attempted to look away from him.

“Oh, no, look at me. You don’t have to be scared of me.”   Erebus said casually. “Why don’t we talk for a little bit?”

He looked at the nightmare for a moment before murmuring “Of course sir I just…”

“What? You’re scared because I look like your father?” He questioned “Please I’m not going to talk to you about how much of a bad son you are. I just want to say how much I feel bad for you.”

Sapnap blinked. “Bad?”

“Oh, yes, you were abandoned by everyone you know and loved and they seem to just see you as some weapon. I mean, why would anyone do that?” Erebus sighed as he held his heart, false sympathy in his eyes, “Even if you do have your flaws like your habit of killing animals and stupidity. I just hope that your visit to Dream won’t be so hard.”

Sapnap froze, his eyes wide as tears began to come out.   “I’m going to see him?”

“Sapnap.” Orion called as he waved towards the man “ Theseus said to get in the carriage, his pet is in the back.”

Sapnap almost sprinted forward, nearly running to get to the carriage only to stop himself. The two nightmares stared at him with disapproval in their eyes. The fireborn realizing his mistake, takes a deep breath, and turns around bowing towards them.

“Thank you for your kindness, sirs. I will do everything in my power to repay it.” 

“You’re welcome.” Orion replies calmly, as Sapnap quietly walks towards the carriage and knocks at the door, causing it to slide open revealing Theseus smiling at him.  

“You’re very lucky it’s not often that anyone in your server gets to see my pets besides parties.”

With his tentacle he grabs Sapnap and lifts him inside before placing him on the floor next to a quiet Dream with a muzzle on his face. 

“Don’t worry I will unlock the contraction, so you two could talk” The Nightmare said casually as he was down and unlocked the muzzle causing it to fall to the floor though Dream still hadn't moved. “Alex, take us to Sparks factory.”

With that the carriage began to move, but Sapnap barely even noticed it as he stared at his brother. He already knew that he looks bad when he saw him a few times but it’s not often that he sees him like this. The clothing seems a lot better cut, as Theseus had taken more precautions to make him look as presentable as he could, even with signs that it was ironed. Yet it emphasized how fragile he seemed now, the neat and clean state just showing how broken he is.

“Dream?” Sapnap whispered, scooting as close as he could. “Are you okay? It’s me Sapnap.”

He turned to him, his single eye staring at his brother before he quietly asked, “Did they hurt? Are you okay?”

“I’m okay. Are you okay?”

“I’m Fine,” Dream whispered, looking away from him. “ I’m just… surprised that you’re not angry at me.”

“What do you mean? Why would I be angry at you?”

“I’m the reason why all the guys are here. I messed up so much of our relationship and I didn’t even apologize. I didn’t even try to make things right…”

“It’s not like the rest of us were blameless,” Sapnap said. “It’s not like George or I really gave you a chance to explain your logic, we just got angry.”

“I just wanted to protect you guys…” he murmured, as Theseus kicked him in the back of the head.

“No lies, pet. You already know what happens when you make shit up.” The nightmare then kicks into Sapnap. “Same with you, don’t you think that I won’t be reporting any bad behaviors.”

Sapnap watched as Dream immediately cried out. “Yes sir, we're sorry!”

“Good,“ Theseus opened the carriage door, revealing that they arrived at the multiple identical houses of the neighborhood. “We’re here, pick up your muzzle so I can put it back.”

Dream picked up his muzzle, holding it out to Theseus with a blank expression on his face. The nightmare smiled at him as he took a moment to relock the muzzle back to his face. Sapnap wishes that he could just jump in and stop it but everything in his system tells him to just wait to not pissed the boy off and then he can continue on. Just hang out with his friend is just smilesmilesmilesmilesmile.

He finally noticed what was going on around him as the nightmare patted him on the head “I like your smile you should do it more often, Sappy!”

Sapnap nodded quickly as he followed the nightmare and his brother, the latter who seemed to be looking up at him, happily, as if he was a pet, hoping for a treat from his owner.

Sapnap immediately looks away and tries to look around the place only to see a bunch of children, wearing identical clothing of jumpers and pants in a T-shirt, bouncing their balls and skipping rope in unison. All of them looking straight ahead with painful smiles on their faces hoping to keep themselves out of trouble. Theseus smirk at the sight of their fear before he hummed.

“You know I don’t like the sight of children. I wish they would just go back inside and I can get the newspaper.”

Almost on cue the mothers, then walk out all of them, smiling fearfully at him as a clap, their hands, all of them saying in unison. “ Darlings, time to go inside!” They all said as the children stop what they’re doing and begin neatly putting away the balls and jump rope. “We’re having a free day. How wonderful we’re so glad that Lord Phobos and Sparks  are so kind to give us this.”

Theseus laugh as Sparks and Phobos walk forward with their two children beside them. 

“Were you guys getting the red carpet ready for me?” he giggled. “ All I wanted was to just bring my pet over to help out with some of your machines against the rebels.”

“We just needed to make sure the kids were dressed properly,” Phobos said, shrugging at his friend. “I see Vulcan’s pet is here too.”

“Yes. He’s been doing such a good job we thought it would be nice to reward him for his good behavior,” Orion explained.

Sparks smiled as he grabbed onto Sapnap’s cheek and pulled it slightly. “That's good. We don’t want him to end up burning a house to the ground or kill some random dog.”

He shook his head as his eyes glanced over to see Michael and Sunny standing next to one another, trying to avoid eye contact from him. Phobos push them forward in a less than gentle manner. “Go on, say hi to your uncles and their pets.”

Michael looked away, crossing his arms as he mumbled out a “Hello Uncles….” He turned to Dream and Sapnap, looking uncomfortable. “Hi Sapnap and Dream.”

“Hello uncles and pets.” Sunny whispered.

Sapnap nodded at them, though Dream didn’t respond. Theseus narrowed his eyes as he raise hand, clearly intending to hit him before Orion grabbed his hand.

“So what are your inventions?”  He asked nonchalantly.

Spark grinned excitedly as he waved towards the small group pointing at the factory “Oh, believe me, I got some good ones!” Sapnap felt his arm being grabbed and dragged towards the factory, but he just stared at Dream as he quietly followed Theseus. He already knows the nightmare has mistreated him, but those living in interactions see Dream, even at his lowest moments have some form of resistance. But something must’ve happened that caused him to not even resist anymore.

He barely even notices Spark opening the door to reveal a series of robotic monstrous creatures standing in front of the factory. 

“Ohhhh. I’d love to see the rebels handle these,” Theseus said, eyes wide. 

“What can they do?”  Orion asked, tapping on one of the bear-like creatures. Sparks immediately turn around noticing it. “Be careful!” he cried out, jumping in front of the invention, “ These are very delicate and I’m still working out some of the kinks!”

“Really?”  Orion asked as Theseus laughed jumping around the robots with Phobos smirking at the two server members and children.

“What do you all think of them?” Phobos question them kneeling in front of them.

“I don’t like them. They’re scary,” Michael muttered, hiding behind Sunny slightly. The nightmare frowned at the two before turning to Sapnap and Dream.

“I mean, I wouldn’t wanna fight one,” Sapnap said nervously, hoping it would be an acceptable answer. 

Dream just nodded.

“So what do you need my pet for again?”  Theseus asked “Do you need him to like fighting it to submission or something?”

Sparks quickly shakes his head as he takes out a remote and presses the button, allowing two robots, step forward, “Oh no, I don’t want to get in trouble. We just want him to check on the motion controls of it to see if they can track people’s emotions and body heat.”

Dream froze at the statement. “Sir?” he whispered fearfully, turning to Theseus.

But Theseus merely looks at him unsympathetically as he waves at him to step forward. “Go on pet.”

Dream quietly steps forward, whimpering as he forces himself to walk forward towards one of the two robots. Michael's stomach dropped when he noticed the admin headed towards one particularly dangerous, looking animatronic, that can be terribly be called a fox.

“Other dad… I don't think he should come near that.”  

“Don’t interrupt Michael,” Sparks hissed. “And I told you, we are your fathers. Now stop calling me that or there will be consequences.”

Micheal looked away, Sunny squeezed his hand as a small way to support him. Sapnap looks between Michael and his friend as Dream finally stands in front of the robot. It tilts his head and seemingly sniffing at him causing him to whimper again.

Sapnap thought he heard one of the nightmares talking to him, but he could barely even focus on it. The only thing that kept his attention was the odd movement of the robot as it shakes at the slightest movement from Dream.

Theseus hummed, his face straightened, as if struggling with how he’s feeling. “So does it do anything else besides knowing where a person is and smell them?

“It can also tear through everything with his teeth and is very fast.” Sparks explained. “ The last thing we need is some unnecessary movement otherwise-”

But the nightmare didn’t have a chance to answer as the robots only lunged towards Dream, grabbing onto his arm with its teeth and pulling him onto the ground.

“Dream!” Sapnap cried out as he rushed towards him and jumped onto the robot, attempting to open the robot's mouth, panting fearfully as he tried to free his friends from the tight grip of the robot. Dream meanwhile cried as he laid on the ground, the pain from the teeth tearing flesh, and bone indescribable at his friend, attempting to pull him away from it. 

“I’ll get you out of this!” Sapnap cried out as pulled the mouth up slowly, getting the teeth off. “I’m so sorry I should’ve volunteered I could’ve-“

“You two stop and animatronic back off.”

Sapnap froze as the animatronic unleashed his grip on Dream’s right arm, revealing it to be nearly severed, except for a few strands attaching it to the rest of his body, the animatronic back away, its teeth stained with a crimson color. Spark kneeled down in front of the scene with a slightly pale expression on his face. “Well, this is concerning…..”

“You broke it!”  Theseus yelled as he punched Sparks in the face. “How do we explain this to our mother?!”

“It wasn’t my fault!”  Sparks screamed, slowly getting up from the ground.

Orion ignored the fight as he wrapped up wounds on Dream’s arm. Sapnap instinctively tightens his grip on Dream, growling at the nightmare, much to his surprise.

He stared at him in shock before calling out to Phobos and the two boys “Phobos, separate them. Theseus, Sparks stop fighting and get Akhlys.”

The two nightmares turn to their brother and separate themselves from their bakery before Sparks turns around to the two shaken children, and picks them both up by the arm while Theseus walks up Dream along with Phobos. The latter immediately grab Sapnap by the arm.

 “It’s time to go.”  The nightmare started monotonously .

“No!” Sapnap instinctively pushes the nightmare away and tightens his grip on Dream who lay limp in his arms, but it’s still quiet breathing coming out of him, holding his hands. 

Phobos let out an anger-filled shriek as he grabbed onto Sapnap and pulled him away from his friend‘s side leaving small marks as the only sign that they were holding each other tightly. The fireborn cried, tears coming down his eyes as he was thrown into the carriage, barely noticing the nightmarish doctor running past him towards his friend.

Eret took a deep breath as she opened the door into the camera room, revealing the Duchess sitting down on a chair holding George and Karl by the necks.

“There you are. Where were you? It doesn't take over an entire day to get to the marketplace and grab a couple of supplies.” The Duchess growled, tapping on their chair.

“I got a bit sidetracked by some riots.” Eret said coldly “It’s hard to get back when a bunch of people are nearly tearing down buildings to escape from Athen and Crowfather.”

The Duchess scoffed at the excuse. “You’re fucking lucky that you and your little friends here do your jobs right, otherwise I would’ve ripped your little white eyes out and use them as a necklace.”

“I try my best Sir,” Eret said calmly. “Should I return to work now or is there something else you need me to do?”

“Only one thing, friends have recently escaped.” The Duchess said, smiling, slightly actually put down George and Karl. “I want you and the rest of your pals to keep an eye out for them and report anything that you saw back to us.”

“Escape…?” George whispered as he rubbed his neck. “How did they escape from the mighty nightmares?”

“Some rebels decided to take them away, and fill their heads with fancies of returning to the savage ways” the Duchess said casually, her eyes going darker at that moment. “One of the girls that they corrupted managed to destroy my favorite servant.”

“Excuse me for asking, but why aren’t the other nightmares looking for them? 

I mean why trust us with this?”

The Duchess went silent, her black eyes staring at them. they had a look of grief and anger for a second before it went neutral again. “It’s none of your concern.”

And with a clip of her heel, she walked out of the room with a cold wind, blowing across the room for a brief moment before it disappeared with a simple shut the door, and a sound of several locks.

George turns to Eret, his eyes alert, despite the  state of exhaustion and pain. “What happened to you?”

“It’s a long story,” Eret said. “It seems the Toons have finally came for us.”

Chapter Text

Dream opened his eyes as the sound of machinery was heard above him  with someone besides him, murmuring under their breath. “Out of all the stupid things that have happened. We have to deal with an injured pet! Especially one that lost an arm!”

“It’s not my fault! Spark’s stupid robot who caused it!”

He quietly blinked as a nightmare continued to argue before he let out a soft moan towards them causing Theseus to turn around, finally noticing him.

“You’re alive.” He said casually as he sat next to him, patting him on the head. “I’m glad that you didn’t die. It would’ve been disappointing for me and mother to lose you.”

“Where’s Sap….” He murmured, reaching out towards the nightmare. “I want my Sap.”

“Oh him.” The nightmare hummed. “ I’m sorry but we had to send him back home. It was too much trouble letting him come with you. We don’t want him to end up messing things up with his emotions…”

Dream frowned sadly “Oh….” he feels so dizzy, as if something was messing with his head. Should he be concerned about this? Maybe not…Sir is here.

Nurse Bendy enters the room, holding some bandages along with a small syringe “Sirs…. Do you think these items are acceptable for….” They look down fearfully, despite how it felt to be just gawks at. Dream could understand why she’s upset. It’s very hard to not feel anything but fear or disgust seeing him. She then whispered “….What’s on his arm?….”

Akhlys raises his eyebrow at the nurse “What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing, I'm just curious…. Why did you do that?…. Is that why Theseus….?”

The young nightmares eyes widen in anger, the moment that the woman made that simulation. “Say one word, and I will grab the nearest scissors and shove it in your throat you harlot.” Theseus growled, his hand twitching to grab the surgical scissors on the table.

Nurse Bendy immediately backed away, whimpering as she held up her hands “Sorry sir I’m just curious I have never seen you ever give something to someone else…..”

“Return to your rounds, I’ll handle things here,” Akhlys said, taking the tray from her.

Bendy nodded, bowing before scurrying out of the room.

Akhlys took a break for a moment before raising an eyebrow at his younger brother. “Harlot.” he repeated.

“It isn’t my fault that she decided to question me !” Theseus yelled

“She’s the nurse. It was a medical question. Plus, if you murder my best nurse again there will be trouble Theseus. It took me long enough to replace the last head nurse.”

The nightmarish boy crossed his arms and murmured out “That time was an accident and I was helping her. Plus you get to use her for your next child…..”

“You cut her head off. That is not helping.”

Theseus sighed “ Okay, Okay, I’m sorry about the last time I killed your nurse. How long before my pet gets ready?”

“Your pet will be ready in an hour.” The doctor said as he lifted up the tentacle that is now attached to dreams arm. “Also Sparks said that he sent you an apology present. Someone to help take care of your pet while he heals.”

Theseus raised his eyebrow “What the hell would get me to actually consider forgiving him.”

“It can't hurt anyone and gives people drugs.”

Theseus tilt his head curiously. “Fascinating.”

Scarlett sighed as she looked out towards the coast as they got closer to a small dock hidden between the dark vines and trees of the area. She never was outside of the confines of the manor, but already from the glimpses of holes and burn marks on the docks. She didn’t like it. It seems like something bad happened here.  “So this is where Sapnap is?” 

“We believe so,” Phil said, swaying slightly. “It’s at least a good place to start. Most of us seem to have ended up with our counterparts, so Vulcan’s domain is a likely candidate.”

“It just feels like we’re in some sort of haunted location….” She whispered. “Puffy, Minerva, where did you find this place?”

Minerva flies towards her girlfriend.  “Honestly we just found it… it’s also where we also found the ship.”

“The hospital isn’t too far from here,” Puffy explained. “I don’t know where the ship came from.”

Fundy yawned as he and the other members walked out of the cabin wearing a mixture of armor and regular clothing with the only exception being the children, who wore more leather like armor that seemed to be less for fighting and more for protection.

“I’m glad you guys are already ready!”   Phil said cheerfully as he unloads the ship.

“Are we sure a couple people shouldn’t stay on the ship to watch the kids?” Tom asked. “Or at least one person? I’m not sure bringing them with us when it isn’t absolutely necessary is a good idea.”

“I can do it!” Fundy said cheerfully as he walked towards Finch and picked him up with a smile on his face. “Hi!”

The young boy took one moment to look at him before he kicked the fox in the face .

“GAH!” Fundy cried out as he fell to the floor as ran to hide between Tubbo and Techno. The children laugh at the site with Juno patting the boy on the back.

Phil scurried over, to make sure Fundy was okay.

“Finch, don’t hit people,” Tubbo scolded. “Fundy, don’t pick up the kids.”

“I’d like to take back my offer to watch the kids,” Fundy grumbled, rubbing his nose. “Yogurt was never this much of a pain…”

“He only trusts us.” Scarlet explained. 

Tom just groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “Of course they don’t. This world is messed up and them being willing to trust anyone else would make this too easy.”

“I mean… one of us can stay behind, and the other two can come with the rest.”

“Every single time we go to shore?” Tom asked. “Especially considering, even with Techno’s missing leg, you and him are easily our best fighters? You do realize why that’s not gonna work every time right? Especially considering Vulcan is among the best.”

Scarlett frowned slightly, “I mean….”

“One of you three can stay for now, we’re hoping to do this one without too much combat, but Scar, you’re gonna have to deal with the kids hating everyone but you, Tubbo, and Techno eventually,” Minerva said, resting a hand on her shoulder. “They can’t just keep hitting people in the face every time someone that isn’t you three approaches.”

Scarlett nodded at her suggestion. “Okay.”

“We can still help!”  Juno argued, “We’re very good with farm equipment!”

“Yeah!” John cried out. “We’ll be like ninjas

“I’ll stay behind for now,” Tubbo said.

“We are not letting you kids fight Vulcan,” Tom said.

“Yeah, we’d rather not see you turn into piles of ash,” Scarlett mumbled, crossing her arms. “Just… promise you’ll stay safe.”

The children nodded reluctantly as they backed away from the group, and stood behind Tubbo. Charlie tilted his head at them. “Maybe I can stay with you! I’m good with children!”

“Are you?” Quackity asked, rubbing his shoulders.

“Charlie, we still run into the kids don’t like anyone besides Scarlett, Tubbo, and Technoblade problem,” HBomb pointed out.

Charlie turns to Hbomb with a contentious look on his face. “Well, if one new person isn’t with them along with the people that they actually like then how else were they supposed to learn how to trust us?”

“That… is actually a good point,” Lex said. “Plus, if anything happens while we’re gone, Tubbo doesn’t have to defend the ship by himself.”

“That is also a good point.” Amelia noted as she opened up her bag and took out a small shotgun. “Do you know how to use this?”  she asked Tubbo and Charlie.

Both of them look at one another for a moment before they both start. “I think we prefer swords.”

“Are you sure I mean it would be a good idea to have something on hand especially since we don’t know the area yet.”

Tubbo merely answered by going to one of the barrels and taking out two swords. “We’re sure.”

Amelia nodded as she put away the gun “We’ll be right back.” With that the ramp was lowered, allowing everyone to go down from the ship, leaving Tubbo and Charlie behind.

The children wave at the Scarlet and Techno.

“See you guys later,” Mary said politely  before Juno yelled out, “And remember to subscribe to Technoblade!!”

John nodded as he repeated the phrase along with Finch. “Subscribe to Technoblade!!”

“Atta girl!” 

“Of course you taught them that,” Niki laughed.

They then walk into the wilderness, the ship behind, disappearing into the greens

Jack took the opportunity to walk beside Lex. There's something that had been picking on his mind and he can’t help but wonder why are they being so courteous to them?

“So…. You guys weren’t mad at us over the whole drugging thing….” he asked nervously.

Lex  shakes her head with a small smile on her face. “Oh, no, we were furious, but when we found out you guys had been kidnapped that kind  of became our main concern. Especially when that guy shows up and tells Toby you guys are being tortured.”

“Oh.” Jack muttered, slightly relieved by the news “That’s good… I was worried about Toby. Since the last thing I remember was forcing him to drink that weakness potion. And I want to say I’m sorry to him. He didn’t deserve that. None of you guys did. Especially since we are very good with figuring out potions in chemistry and-”

“I’m pretty sure Toby was the only person not upset at you guys,” Lex said. “He was still trying to get us to put the full blame on Hunt.”

“Really?”

“He’s really forgiving,” Steven explained softly. “He doesn’t like the idea of holding grudges.”

“At least you wouldn’t kill us when we get back.” Techno said jokingly, leaning on his cane, “It kind of would have a suck to come back only to get immediately mauled by a killer rabbit.”

“Y-Yeah.” Phil coughed. 

“Well at the very least Puffy should be safe,” Minerva jokes. “He does owe her pretty majorly.”

“Yeah.” Puffy laughed. “I think that that only leaves Toby’s ghosts to worry about.”

“Oh yeah, you might want to hide from Gertrude for a while. She wants to kill you with C4 for what happened?” Hannah said.

“But she’s literally in Toby's body. How would she even kill us?” Niki asked.

“The ghosts can possess Toby,” Jack pointed out. “Though, hopefully Toby would stop her from actually killing us.”

Scarlett laughs, already knowing how Gertrude could do it, only then suddenly stops when she notices a butterfly on Techno’s head.

“Uh….Techno….” She whispered as hesitantly reached out to grab it only for a ringing sound to come out of it. She instinctively backed away, barely even hearing anyone around her before she heard in the back of her head with Athen voice on the other end of it.

“How does the red rose bleed” 

Her mouth opened, involuntarily to say “It bleeds for the ones cut down.”

She stumbled back everything around her, turning gray as she thought she heard something whispering in her head. Techno rushed to her only for him to stumble, backwards and murmured out “He dies on his knees” before he collapsed, falling into a similar state

“Scarlett? What? Shit! Someone grab that thing!” Tom shouted, as the butterfly began to spin around and zoom towards Jack, who quickly backed away. 

“Fuck!” he cried out, covering his ears before an arrow come out and hit the butterfly, putting it against the tree.

“You idiots.” Purpled growled as he popped out of a bush, holding a crossbow, wearing a torn up purple sweater with a pair of cargo pants covered in dirt, “Took you long enough to come here.” 

“Yeah, we know, two whole years, yada yada yada. Look, it’s only been two weeks back in town we got here as fast as we could,”Lex explained.

Purpled scoffed. “So we were in some fairy land then, good to know!”

“Purpled, be honest, do you really think our dad would wait two whole years to come after us?” Minerva asked, looking up from where she was kneeling by Scarlett’s side.

Purpled rolled his eyes. “No, I just assumed that the nightmares must’ve told everyone that we were dead or some shit or we actually did die, and we went to hell”.  

“Nope. Not dead. And the Nightmares haven’t told us anything. Well besides that I’m apparently too girly,” Steven said. 

Purpled laughed, crossing his arm,“ They tend to believe in strict rules for people to follow, including color codes. You should’ve seen the amount of times I have to get something purple back just because it’s seen as a girls color” 

“I wonder how they handle Eret. Probably not well,” Fundy muttered.

“Well I’ll admit you’re not who we were looking for, but boy are we glad to see you,” Niki said. 

Purpled turn to the side note, as if hearing something before he waved at them “Be quiet they’re coming!”

Everyone still in their right minds went deadly quiet, drawing weapons as they glanced around for a hiding spot.

“Where is that boy? I can't believe that he just ran away from us again!” Thanatos growled.

Orpheus laughs at that, although Phil thought that he sounds a bit off. “Don’t worry I already got a solution to our little problem. I sent out one of the bugs to look for him.”

“Oh shit,” Fundy muttered.

“Wait, bugs?” Tom mumbled, before his eyes widened as he stared at the remains of the dead butterfly. “Oh shit. Does anyone know what that thing did to those two?”

“Come out, come out wherever you are your masters demand it.”

Scarlett and techno attempt to get up from the arms of Minerva, and Niki to walk out the bushes.

Jack quickled grabbed onto Techno to help Niki hold him down while Lex and Amelia grabbed Scarlett’s legs.

“Based on what we know, Fundy, you think you could kill Orpheus too?” Tom asked.

“Huh?” Purpled asked “ That’s kind of been impossible. I’ve been trying to shoot at the guy for four hours now he just takes it like it was nothing!”

“According to Bugs the only people that can kill the Nightmares are their counterparts or people who have been hurt by the counterpart. Since you don’t have a connection to Wilbur, you wouldn’t be able to,” Niki quickly explained. “You might be able to kill Thanatos though.”

“All things considered, I’m willing to bet my relationship with Wilbur is bad enough that I could kill him,” Fundy said.

“He’s not here! Orpheus, could you just get someone else who could help like Athen! Phobos?! Crowfather?! Hell you could even bring Theseus if you feel like it! These guards are useless.”

“It’s why we’re here,” Quackity explained as quietly as he could. “We’re looking for Sap. We’re hoping that he’d actually be able to kill Spider.”

“Sir!” One of the guards cried out as she ran up to the two nightmares. A few members peek out from the bush to see what’s going on “We found a bug, but it’s broken!”

“What the hell do you mean that is broken Martha!?”

“Sir my name is Alexandria-”

“Martha, we have no time to argue about your stupid name. What do you mean by my beautiful bug is broken? What the fuck did you do?!”

The woman immediately covers her face as if attempting to shield herself from nightmare wrath. “There’s a recording on it and they seem to have captured 2 subjects you’re looking for!”

“Shit!” Tom hissed. “We need to move! Now!”

“How? We can barely keep Scarlett and Techno from turning themselves in,” Niki pointed out. 

Purpled look at the two and think for a moment before gaining an idea, although he hates this more than anyone else would when he reveals it. “You guys know the area right?”

“Not really,” Quackity said, grabbing onto Techno’s leg as he tried to get up again. “Stay down damn you!”

“OK if you want to know where to look for Orpheus he has a small clinic, where he tests out his drugs. You need to go right before going into two paths and then go to the left one and you’ll get there.”

“But we’re not looking for Orpheus? I literally just told you we’re looking for Sapnap. Wait… Does Orpheus have Sapnap?” Quackity asked.

“No. You can get me once you get your fiancé. For him, go in the opposite direction then you can find him there. But go at dusk, that’s when the nightmares are least likely to be out and about.” Purpled whispered before jumping up from the bushes, and shooting the soldier in the head before she could say a thing that could reveal them. She collapsed to the floor with a scream.

“Orpheus, Thanatos you bastards! You fell for the oldest trick in the book!” Purpled laughed, brandishing the crossbow. “I literally hacked into it. Are you that dumb to fall for it?!”

“YOU!”  Thanatos screeched as the nightmarish mercenary rushed towards him, only to hit the nightmare in the head.

“Come and get me!” Purpled scream as he ran away from the two nightmares.

“Purpled!”  Jack cried out as the two nightmares rushed after the boy along with their soldiers, all of them hyper focused on the escapee. 

Everyone in the group stares in shock at what the mercenary has just done. On the one hand, he just gave them some critical information that could help them find Sapnap but on the other hand he just literally sacrificed himself to keep them from getting caught.

“I can’t believe he just- Stay down Techno!” Niki said, pulling Technoblade back down.

“But-Sirs….” he murmured for a moment before shaking for a moment, snapping out of the state “What the….” he stumbled back into Niki and Jack arms “what the heck happened?”

“You kind of went crazy briefly and tried to turn yourself in,” Quackity said, letting go of his leg. 

Scarlett whined as she stepped forward toward Techno, her eyes still blank as she leaned against Techno’s chest.

“I’m guessing she’s still trying to do that,” Techno said, glancing down at her awkwardly. 

“She’s definitely not snapped out of it,” Minerva said.

“She's not used to having this happen to her.” Techno sighed holding her close. “Most of the time the nightmares only do this when they need her under control more.”

“Wait, so they can just… make you do whatever they say by saying weird words?” Tom asked. “Oh this just gets harder and harder. I’m starting to think we should just keep all of you on the ship.”

“It’s literally in everyone’s head, unless you guys are willing to leave everyone in the ship. We need a better plan than that,” Jack said.

“Earplugs?” Amelia. “Would it work if you can’t hear the words?”

“I think so….” Jack said “The last thing we need it’s just for them to suddenly say that and we can just-” Suddenly a bag slammed next to Jack, causing him to jump away and it opened up, revealing a bag filled with earplugs inside.

“Okay that was either extremely good timing or someone gave us those,” Tom said. 

Connie turned around to see a man with a hoodie and an odd looking Mask looking at them before turning around and walking back into the woods.

“Hey! Come back!” Connie said, trying to follow him, Steven on her heels, though the man was quickly lost in the trees.

“Who was that?” Niki asked. “Wait… Do you think that was that Obi guy Bugs mentioned?”

“Maybe,” Amelia whispered, actually looking through the bag. “It is not just earplugs that were in there. There’s medical supplies, some bagged food and…. where did he get a keyblade?! it was in the museum!”

“A what now?” Fundy asked.

“That is a very inefficient design for a weapon,” Phil said, pulling it out of the bag.“Is it supposed to be an axe or a sword?”

“Will you follow us if we explain it?” Minerva asked.

“I mean I was gonna follow you anyway,” Fundy said. “I’m not interested in splitting the group right now.”

Minerva sighed “No I mean like a conversation. Basically, the head tunes on like us get memories of different versions of themselves. That usually means weapons that they need will appear. A key blade it’s sort a bit like a way to unlock the hearts of people and stuff, as well as fighting against shadowy monsters, called Heartless,”

“I see,” Phil said. “That sounds… oddly specific. Would it even work on Nightmares?”

The toons look at each other for a moment before they all shrug.

“Maybe?” they all said in unison

“I think we should’ve paid attention to Mickey’s explanation,” Hannah laughed, blushing slightly.

“We can probably ask him for an explanation next time we call town,” Tom said.

Hannah nodded as he took the blade. “So we're going left and then right to find Sapnap?”

“I think so,” Quackity whispered as he stepped forward, taking a deep breath. 

He stepped forward before Minerva then said, “What about Scarlett and Purpled?”

“Hopefully Purpled can keep himself going for at least a bit longer,” Tom said. “He seemed relatively okay. As for Scarlett…”

“Purpled…” Scarlett murmured as she shifted in Techno’s arm. “Where is he?”

“He decided distraction from the nightmare to save us.” Jack explained. 

Scarlett’s eyes widened as she asked,  “Who are the nightmares?”

“Come on Scar, snap out of it,” Techno said, shaking her slightly. 

“At this rate we might have to take her back to the ship,” Minerva said.

Scarlett let out an anger roar as she kicked all over the place. “I am out of it you idiot! I’m asking, who went after him?!”

“There you are,” Techno said, letting go of her. 

“Orpheus and Thanatos,” Tom said. “You and Techno were still trying to turn yourselves in. 

Scarlett froze her eyes filling with tears. She began to shake with anger. “Oh god….not him….”

“Him? Are Orpheus or Thanatos really bad?” Amelia asked.

She looked away, “I… was in a bit of a state when I thought that Minerva was gone…. And the two wonderful bosses that decided to give me to Medea and Orpheus for treatment…”

Minerva stared in shock “Oh….”

“I know that some of you guys are not the biggest fan of  Puffy treatment but at least she actually tries to make people feel good…. I just feel like shit by the time I got, pumped filled with several types of drugs”

“Purpled did mention a drug lab,” Fundy muttered. “Maybe we should go after Purpled first?” 

“But Sapnap!” Quackity cried out. “There could be a chance that he’s fine.”

“We’ll still go after Sapnap,” Puffy said, resting a hand on Quackity’s shoulder. “We’re getting everyone. But if Orpheus is that bad… we really shouldn’t leave Purpled with him for long.”

Quackity struggles a bit, not knowing what to do. “I just… I just don’t wanna lose him again….”

Minerva smiled at him, reassuringly as she hugged him closely, “And we won’t.”

Jack nodded. “Plus if we do this right we’ll get to Purpled and then back just in time to save him.”

Quackity rubs his eyes at the suggestion. “Yeah…”

Purpled growled as he was forced to kneel on the floor, covered in golden chains. Charon narrowed his eyes toward the alien.

“Disappointing, aren’t you tired of running away? Like isn’t it the the hundredth time we got you”

“102, you idiot.” Purpled laughed, glaring at the nightmare in front of him. “ I’m surprised you haven’t used your magical codewords or something like Siren’s song to get me to act like a puppet. Oh wait, I forgot she was killed, despite being supposedly invincible.”

He immediately felt a sudden blunt of pain as Orpheus punch him in the stomach at that moment.  “Insubordinate child, are you trying to get yourself killed? Do you lack empathy to the point that you don’t feel the pain of losing loved ones!”

“You kidnapped me, attempted to brainwash me, and tortured me. No, I do not feel empathy for you people. I think you’re getting your just desserts!” Purpled yelled. 

Thanatos groaned as he covered his face “What’s with everyone and using the word brainwashing!? It’s one thing to deal with the occasional voice in our head that says that now we have to deal with you, saying that type of stupidity!” 

“You literally created code phrases to completely take away our free will. That is the literal definition of brainwashing?! What the fuck do you think that word means?!”

“Please, you’re acting like it’s not a normal precaution. Even we have them it’s just that unlike you, we were actually well behaved enough to not have it activated.” Orpheus giggled, ignoring the horrified look on Purpled face. “Anyway, I think that he’s currently suffering from a huge case of hysteria so I think the best way to make sure that he doesn't end up running away again is if you transfer him to me temporarily.”

“We can handle our own pet.” Charon stated

“I don’t know brother, it would just be a minor precaution to make sure that he won’t act up again .” Thanatos hummed. “Plus considering everything at this point we can’t allow any reluctance to keep us from making the right choices.” 

Charon takes a moment to think for a moment before he lets out a sigh “Fine, you can take him.”

The nightmare, smug at how he managed to convince his brother, stepped forward towards the alien “Come on little one time for you to be a little test subject!”

Purpled immediately hissed Orpheus, as he attempted to grab the boy's sweater as he tried to kick him away from him “Get away for me!”

“Awww, you’re scared?” Orpheus smiled as he threw over Purpled his shoulders. Allowing the boy to see the shadowy, monstrous figures of his soldiers appeared beside him wearing torn up colonial uniforms. “Good, it makes me stronger.”

Chapter Text

Fundy shuddered as Pandora’s Hope got closer to the clinic. It didn’t really look like a medical clinic that one would usually imagine, but rather a cleaner version of the drug van that they used to hang out in. There was a brief moment where he thought he heard a sound of laughter from when he was young before Phil placed a hand on his back.

“Are you alright mate?”

“Just… I’ve seen this dang van in too many nightmares to be happy to see it again,” he whimpers. “I feel like I’ve been pulled right out of one.”

“You used to live here when you were younger,” Scarlett whispered, staring at the van.

Jack shook his head. “No, we used to hang out there during the L’maberg war…. I was honestly a bit more naïve at the time.”

“A lot has happened since then,” Fundy said. “I’m starting to regret not going for Sapnap first.” 

“I mean it’s already too late,” Minerva said, with a calm, determined look on her face. “We might as well do it….” She looked out to see two figures, stepping out of the clinic, revealing themselves to be two shadowy men wearing L’Manberg uniforms, walking around the property, murmuring to each other in a language none of them recognize. As they passed by, Hannah took the opportunity to jump off and slice through the two shadowy figures with a key blade causing them to disperse and leave the uniforms behind. The 14-year-old panted as she turned around towards the group with a grin. “They work with shadows….”

“Great. So… Are we just storming the front door, or…” Quackity said, looking over the van.

“Well, we can use this as a disguise!” Steven suggested, holding up the two uniforms. “Two of us will go inside and pretend to be guards, and then we will open a window to allow you guys to come in!”

“The guards are shadows… I don’t think that’ll work here,” Tom said. “This place doesn’t seem to follow Toon rules. It might work in town, but not here.”

“Hm” Steven whispered, putting on the uniform. “Do any of us have any illusion spells?”

“Not really, that’s not in my skill set. It’s more my brother’s.” Dritsa lamented.

“You! What are you doing with Frank!” One of the monsters in a group of four cried out, pointing at a small group before they rushed towards them. “Fran-”

Hannah immediately swung at them with the keyblade causing them to disperse as well.

“I think we have an answer…. They didn’t seem to think Steven is Frank ....” 

“At least we got that answer,” Minerva said as she gathered up the uniforms.

“Yep,” Tom said. “Didn’t think it would work.”

Minerva absentmindedly passed the uniforms to Scarlett, Techno, Niki and Jack. “You guys should put those on and then we can get in there.” She was startled as three of the uniforms were roughly thrown back at her.

“Minerva, you really need to pay attention to what’s going on,” Niki said, her mouth curled in disgust at the uniforms. “We literally just saw that they didn’t fall for that.”

“I mean… there's gotta be a better way than just standing there and going to the front door…”

At that moment a guard suddenly burst through the window and slammed against the tree before he slumped against it, clearly dead. The sound of screaming and fighting echoed out as a familiar voice yelled out. 

“Keep the fucking syringe away for me!” Purpled screamed, trying to jump out only for a clawed hand to grab him and drag him back.

“Don’t think we have time for stealth!” HBomb said, drawing his sword.

Amelia nodded as she took out a gun.“Let’s go!”

The group ran  to the side where the broken window was and jumped inside. They were quickly hit with the smell of death and chemicals, the stench burning  their eyes.

“Oh god…what the smell…” Drista coughed, her hands twitching, as if not knowing whether to cover her nose or rub her eyes.  “What is that guy doing?!”

Phil coughed as he stepped forward. “I don’t know, but something must’ve happened….”

His eyes clear up, making him realize that the clinic was a lot bigger than he thought, looking more like a professional lab than an actual drug van. Still, it was messy, with blood and chemicals all over the walls and floor, furniture broken all over the place and dead and dying guards everywhere. Scarlett ignored the sinking feeling in her stomach as her eyes flashed red. “Who-Who did that…” she whispered as they attempted to walk through the carnage.

“I…Don’t know.” Lex coughed, trying to look around the room.

“Purpled maybe?” Fundy said, holding his shirt over his snout. 

As they got closer the sound of fighting grew louder, the mess and smell growing with it. Minerva began to stumble around as she began to giggle.  “Oh….this is stupid….my head hurts….”

“We might need to retreat and figure something else out,” Phil said, coat covering his mouth and nose. 

Lex laughed as well. “Oh, hell no! We’re so close! He’s in there!”

“Yeah!” Jack chuckled. “It’s only a door away…”

“I’m pretty sure most of you guys are also getting high on laughing gas,” Phil said, pulling his coat closer to his face. “You can’t fight in this state.”

“Found him!” Tom yelled, his coat over his nose. Phil turned around to see the Nightmare and Purpled battling it out in the lab, the latter laughing. 

Amelia and Tom took a moment to rip a piece of cloth and cover some of their noses.  “Keep it close guys, we can't lose him yet.” Amelia ordered them.

Fundy nodded, drawing his sword with one hand while keeping his face covered with the other. He stepped inside and Orpheus froze before turning toward him, his eyes red with tears. 

“Kit?” He whispered, holding Purpled by the neck “Is that you….” 

He dropped the boy on the floor while he walked toward Fundy. “Oh…my son…I missed you….I thought I lost you like with Sally….”

Fundy’s eyes widened slightly. He thought…

Fundy nodded to himself , tightening his grip on his sword. Just a little closer.

Orpheus continues to smile before he stops, his eyes narrowing “Jester…..Why are you standing there…Are…”  he looks up to see Phil and the other standing behind him, stunned by the way he’s acting.

“You’re not my SON!” He screamed as he summoned two brown and red swords before rushing toward Fundy ready to kill him.

Fundy dodged to the side, avoiding Orpheus’s attacks, and swung at the Nightmare. The Nightmare blocked it before grabbing Fundy’s neck and throwing him to the side. The Nightmare turned to Phil with a cruel laugh. “So, you’re using the vessel as a weapon rather than facing me.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” Phil said, tying one of the sleeves of his coat over his face before drawing his bow. “We’re here to kill you.”

“We?” Orpheus asked, looking around the room,scanning each face. He watched as Purpled ran to the other’s side, smiling/smirking as he noticed the way they swayed in the gas, clearly lightheaded. “You all look tired…Are you sure you can all fight?”

Phil just notched an arrow in his bow. He hated to admit it, but Orpheus had a point. Even those with face coverings were feeling the effects and he didn’t give it long until people started passing out. He needed a plan.

 “Dad…You’re not going to hurt me right?” he said, showing a more ghostly appearance. 

“You’re not my son. And acting like his ghost won’t change that,” Phil said, trying to hold strong.”

“Really?” Another form of Ghostbur said, as he appeared beside Phil with a frown . “ You actually thought of me as a son? You call me a little doll, a lifeless version of your beloved Wilbur.”

Phil shook his head. The last thing they needed was hallucinating in battle. If they got out of this he was going to kill the monster.

He could hear some of the members collapsing around him, and some voices, calling out to him as the world melted away around him, leaving only him and his son.

“What's wrong Dad? I thought that you were gonna kill him like you killed me!” Wilbur laughed as he appeared in front of Phil wearing his Pogtopia clothing. “Come on you can do it. You managed to kill me despite having a chance to convince me off this path!”

Phil looked away, trying to keep himself from seeing, only for a hand to gently grab his face and turn it. His gaze is met with a smiling Wilbur with a white streak in his hair and eyes filled with tears and a hint of acceptance. “Do you love me? I never heard you say that to me… I just want to know before you kill me…..”

Phil let out a cry as he hugged his son. “Of course I love you. I’m sorry that I failed you so much. I should've been.... Please just forgive me!”

Fundy shakily pushed himself back to his feet, staring at the scene before him. The room was spinning but he had to focus.

Orpheus smirked as he raised his sword while everyone around him either collapsed to the floor, or fought the guards trying to get to Phil.  

“Oh dad…I can’t wait to see you again!” The nightmare laughed as he aimed at Phil’s neck and brought the knife down. Suddenly pain bloomed in his chest. He let out a gasp as he instinctively pushed Phil off. The guards turned around, seemingly shocked at the sight. Lex, Niki and Scarlett grabbed them and threw them out the window, allowing cool, fresh air to blow through the clinic, whisking the gas away with it. Hannah, finally having enough air to breathe, took the opportunity to use the key blade to kill the rest of the guards.

Orpheus shakily stared at the sword in his chest before looking at Fundy.

“You know, I might hate my dad a lot,” Fundy growled, twisting the sword to make it mor painful before pulling it back. “But you are definitely worse,”

The nightmare collapsed onto the floor, holding his chest as blood started pouring out of it. “This is impossible how… you’re just a vessel….We treated you well…WHY DID YOU TURN AGAINST US!”

“No. You treated me like a puppet. But the only one of us with strings was your monster of a son.”

“What…” the nightmare stopped realizing what it could mean, all this time and thought that it was Phil, the old, selfish fool, but he didn’t consider the alternative. He used the last of his strength to ask “You killed him….? The last of my kin and my Sally?”

“Yeah. You can ask him all about it in hell,” Fundy stated dully as the nightmare let out his last breath before he expired on the floor. A couple people groaned as they slowly got up off the floor.

“Well, looks like you were right about being able to kill him,” Purpled said, as he leaned against the wall. “I also noticed you didn’t get Sapnap.”

“We… Thought with it being… Orpheus, it would be… better to go for you first,” Scarlett panted, rubbing her eyes.

The mercenary raised an eyebrow before giving her a solemn nod and turning to Fundy. “Fox boy, you got my respect,” he patted him on the back. “I never thought that I would ever see you kill someone mercilessly.”

“Guess I’ve got more rage than even I expected,” Fundy said casually, staring at his sword. He then walked over to Phil and held a hand out to him. “Phil, are you OK?”

“I’m fine,” Phil said, taking Fundy’s hand. “Sorry I wasn’t more help. Started seeing things there.”

“I mean, you made a good distraction,” Fundy joked.

“Plus, it’s something that the nightmare was testing out. They create a chemical so that they can mess with people's brains.” Scarlett explained.

“Could have mentioned that before we just barged in,” Tom grumbled, holding Hannah by the arm.

Jack nodded. “Yeah, a heads up would’ve been nice!” 

“Yeah….” Scarlett said uncomfortably before turning to the rest of the lab. “We should burn it. The last thing we need is the nightmares trying to use that trick again.”

Techno nodded. “I agree, that wasn’t fun.”

Amelia nodded as she gathered up some matches from the bag. “Also, we need to talk once we get out of here because we can’t go around and barge into places. This is like the second time we rushed in and nearly died.”

“I agree, as much as I might like the element of surprise, at this point, the nightmares are probably going to get a lot tougher so we need to be smarter with how we handle things.” Puffy stated.

“I mean, they didn’t fall for the old, steal a uniform trick,” Steven said.

“Yeah, because that’s cartoon logic. This place does not work on cartoon logic,” Amelia said. “We'll talk more about this once we get outside. The last thing we need is to stay in there while the place burns down.”

“Let’s go.” Minerva said as she flew out of the clinic with everyone else following close behind her.

“Michael?” Sunny asks quietly as she opens the door revealing his darkened bedroom, the young piglin sitting in the middle quietly,

“Are you okay….” She asked, walking inside. “Fathers- the other fathers haven’t seen you all day…. They seem pretty worried ....”

Michael just shook his head, hugging his knees to his chest.

“Michael please….” Sunny begged as she crawled up the bed.  “I’m here for you. I know that father made a mistake with the animatronics, but-“

“Mistakes?” Michael suddenly said, looking up at her with tears in his eyes.

“I don’t know what else to call them. But Father has been acting off, like he seems to be legitimately upset at what happened… he even tried to create a gift to make up for what happened. Some sort of sun robot….” Sunny turned to him, looking both conflicted and scared. “Why would he do that?”

“Who is he trying to apologize to? Dream for ripping his arm off? Or Theseus for hurting his toy?!” Michael demanded.

“I don’t know! But I just… I mean, even if it’s wrong and twisted he did seem to have empathy for it.” Sunny explained, not noticing the shocked look on Michael’s face. “If we figure something out, we can convince him that this is wrong, then he could be willing to return your dads to you and we won’t have to run away and get hurt!”

“Dream isn’t an it!” Michael snapped. “He might have done terrible things, but he’s still a person! A person that got his arm ripped off! And that fake version of my dad is just upset that Theseus is mad! He doesn’t care about Dream getting hurt! He doesn’t care about anyone but the other Nightmares! Not you, not me, and certainly not my real family!”  

Sunny froze at that. “But why would he create me? He’s got to care for me in some way, he has to care for us if you took you in. Don’t you think that you might be a little bit wrong?”

“He didn’t take me in! He kidnapped me from my real parents! I had a family! I had a home and friends, and people who actually loved me, and they took me away to use me as some toy to play family with! And that’s all you are to them too!” Michael screamed.

“That’s not true!” Sunny yelled back, pushing Michael away from her. “I’m real! They say if I’m good then I could be real!”

“Well, then they’re just lying to you!” Michael growled back.

“Darling come out here I need to fix you up.” Sparks called out to her, interrupting their argument. Sunny took a deep breath as she crawled off the bed. “ I guess that you need a while to think about it. I’ll come back once I get fixed up…”

Michael didn’t respond, simply ignoring her as she quietly walked out of the room and shut the door behind her. She walked across the hall and stood outside the door to the lab. She took a deep breath and opened it, going down the stairs and arriving at the site. Sparks was on the floor with the animatronic present, murmuring to himself as he twisted the last bolts of it.

“Theseus will be so happy to see this!” he muttered. “After he sees this, he will have to forgive me. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to allow him to rip my heart out like he said he would… but…” He covered his face and wiped the tears away. “He would never hurt me.”

“Father, I’m here.” Sunny called out, finally getting the nightmare’s attention. His eyes widened for a moment before it went back to the neutral expression that she knew so well.

“Darling. There you are, can you please lay on the table.”

Sunny quietly nodded before she lay down, looking up as her father walked over to her and opened up her chest compartment, revealing a chip, and a series of wires and wheels.

“What do you need me to repair? Did you notice anything wrong?”

“No, I need to turn on your weapon chip.”  He explained, as he casually pulled the chip from the shelf.

“Weapon chip? Do you foresee me having to defend Michael or myself?”

Sparks shrugged with a smirk. “Maybe a little bit, but I want you to kill or capture Tubbo if he comes around to try to get my son back.”

Sunny immediately froze at that suggestion. “What…”

“Sunny, I know that I programmed you right. I am not gonna repeat myself. You know what I want you to do.”

“You’re going to kill Michael’s dad!” Sunny cried out. “But he loves him! He talked about how much he missed him and his other dad!”

Sparks growled at that. “ We’re Michael’s family! That brat needs to learn! And I will not have you repeating such nonsense either!”

“But…that also his family… Plus Michael taught me so much so I can become real for you guys! He even named me Sunny! I never liked Darling that much. It always made me feel icky. But when he calls me Sunny, I feel so much better! I know that he thinks that you guys don’t love us but maybe you can show him more affection and then he can see that you do care without killing anyone!”

Sparks froze at that moment, staring at the robot that he created, shocked at what she just said. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before placing a hand on her hair and brushing it softly. Sunny happily smiled. She knew that there was good in him! But he doesn’t seem to be smiling. In fact, she thought that she saw his face begin to twist more in disappointment.

“Father?”

“You have forgotten your programming, Darling. I have no use for a broken machine.” he said, bluntly as he walked over to grab a hammer before stopping himself. “Then again….. I think there’s a better way of  making a weapon, but there are just a few parts I do need to get rid of…”

Sunny gasped before she quickly jumped off the bench and ran out of the room, covering her chest as she went. Sparks let out a sigh. “Michael is in so much fucking trouble once we fix you.”

Sparks followed her up the stairs and slammed the door open to see her running across the hall.

“Phobos. The robot malfunctioned. Grab her”

At that moment, the nightmare immediately teleported in front of her and grabbed her by the bar. “Darling, must you act like a disappointment. I thought that we could program you better than that.”

“Let go of me! I don’t want to be destroyed! I thought you wanted me to be real!”

Phobos looked at Sparks with a flirty smirk. “Oh? You did say that you want her to seem like a real girl didn’t you? The perfect daughter for the family.”

“Yes, it’s very hard to make someone real when they’re nothing more than metal and a couple of ones and zeros. Especially since we already have a real child.”

Sunny froze at that moment as tears began to come out of her eyes, not knowing how to react.

“What's going on out here?” Michael whispered as he came out of his room, rubbing his eyes.

“Stay out of this, brat!” Sparks snapped, moving to grab Michael. “All of this is your fault!”

“What?!” Michael cried out as he struggled against his arms. “I didn’t do anything wrong, and I bet that Sunny didn’t do anything wrong either!”

“You corrupted her! She was a perfectly made machine until you had  to go and put ideas in her head!” Sparks growled .

“Honestly Michael you’re going to face the fate that befell your fathers if you keep on going on this path.” Phobos sighed. “Hopefully this will teach you a lesson.”

“Better than ending up like you! Dream got his arm ripped off and all you care about is Theseus being upset!”

The Nightmares stared at him angrily for a brief moment, and for a moment it almost appears as though their faces glitched, features changing from the similarities to his fathers into a twisted mockery of it.

Phobos picked him up and threw him into the door, the door slamming shut behind him. Michael jumped up and rushed toward it, pouncing on it only to discover that it was locked. Phobos phased his head through the door. Michael flinched back at the gory image, the missing mouth sent shivers down his spine, but even worse were the eyes so bloodshot Michael swore he could almost see the blood pumping through the veins as they stared straight into his soul. Phobos reached out and placed a bony finger on Michael’s chest.

“You may come out when you learn to be a loving son.”  He then phased back to the other side of the door as Michael ran up and slammed his body against it, despairing as he heard Sunny called out to him, screaming for help before it disappeared down the hall.

Michael shook as he collapsed to the floor, stunned by the recent events. He began to cry, not knowing what to do. As he cried, he looked over his shoulder to see the backpack filled with items in the corner of the room. He slowly crawled towards it and picked it up. He stared at it for a few moments before holding it close. He didn’t know if Sunny was gonna come back, or if she would be the same, but hopefully Sunny could survive whatever happened, and he could figure out a way to get them both out of there.

Tommy opened his eyes to see Sam nipping at his ears, waking him up as he groaned, leaning against the creeper. 

“Sam what do you want?” He murmured, despite his hind brain chirping at the side of him. Sam let out a hum as he tried to drag him towards a sleeping Ranboo.

“Want kits to see the stars, Kits should play!” 

Tommy groaned. “Sam this is the closest time we ever get actual decent sleep, just leave me alone.”

Sam frowned at him. “ Kit? You’re not happy…”

“I’m tired and keep getting woken up when I’m trying to sleep,” Tommy grumbled. “Just let me sleep Sam.”

Sam tilted his head as he continued to nudge at the younger. “Tommy,  I don’t understand?”

He rolled his eyes. “Sam. I. Want. To. Sleep.”

But Sam continued to nudge him, clearly not understanding that he doesn’t want to play or do anything else. Tommy began to wonder if maybe it’s because he didn’t really understand what he was saying? Like he’s a creeper and creepers hiss… He never really saw those big cats often. He’d he only heard stories of what their kids sounded like so he took a deep breath and ended up letting out a small hiss.

“Leave me. Want rest. Stop.”

Sam backed off, with a sad look on his face. “ Sorry Kit. Just want you to be happy.”

Tommy looked away trying not to feel bad for trying to set boundaries.

“I Want rest. I’m scared.”

Sam nodded. “I will protect kits. You sleep. I will be here.”

Tommy froze at that as Sam sat next to him and leaned his head against Tommy’s. That was the first time someone ever offered to protect him. Even when Wilbur was sane and not filled with paranoia, he would just tell Tommy that there were no monsters under the bed and just to leave him alone so he could deal with Fundy.

Sam started to purr, gently rubbing Tommy’s back as Tommy leaned against his side. Between the purring, Sam’s hand on his back, and just how soft Sam’s fur was, it didn’t take long for Tommy to feel sleep tugging at him. And something else, tugging at him, something similar more….odd. like he’d recognized something with Sam, something more profound than just a friend.

Tommy slowly began to close his eyes as he hissed. “Night….Dad….”

Chapter Text

“Have you heard the rumors, Amber?” A young black woman with short curly hair asked, leaning over the counter. It was hard to find a place to rest nowadays, but this small bar at the end of the woods was one of the last sanctuary left untouched. A hidden oasis surrounded by tangling trees.

“I’ve heard plenty of rumors recently,” The older woman said as she calmly mixed a cocktail to hand to a blue haired woman. “Some of the nightmares died under odd circumstances. You’ll have to be a bit more specific than that.”

“There’s a group of people responsible for it! OJ heard it from Angel earlier while in Las Nevada.” She said, almost bouncing in her seat. “Apparently some of them are even from outside of the area!”

Amber chuckled. This is rather interesting news especially with everything that’s been happening.

“Emerald, dearest, if they’re so famous then who are they?”

“No one seems to entirely know,” the patron, Emerald, said. “I’ve heard people say that they’re strangers from another world. But I’ve also heard whispers that it's the other versions of them.”

Amber immediately stopped what she was doing, her smile frozen on her face before she turned to the younger woman. She saw them a few times, but like most, they just see them as something that the Nightmares probably created. Or worse.

“Who?” The blue haired woman asked slipping her cup

“You know, those people the Nightmares and The Empress brought here two years ago that look like them. A couple people are saying they’re rebelling.”

Amber raises her eyebrows slightly at the news. This is extremely unexpected, but they could use this. Especially if it means gaining their home back. 

“Emerald. When you have the chance, please bring them to me. Also next time you meet with Eret, talk to them about some of the news. I want to hear their take.”

“I suppose I can try, though I’d have to find them first,” Emerald said. “Though, if it is that group who’s behind the deaths, then I suppose Eret might have some idea where to find them.”

“Of course! I just don’t want anyone to interfere with their journey.” 

As the two women continue to talk. They didn’t notice a hooded figure looking inside the bar, frowning slightly before turning around to continue his path to the coast. They may not have the best relationship, but it might be a good idea to get them on their side at the very least.

“ Mr. Charlie, what happens next? How did you manage to defeat the goat monster!” John cried out as the children surrounded the slime man who was telling a story about his past adventures. Tubbo anxiously looked out the window, seeing the sky was turning darker.

“Well kids,  little does, he know, there’s magic spell that could send a goat to hell, so with the help of some of my friends, I managed to find the spell in with the one chant meant to send the devil to hell, and managed to save our world from his horrible disasters and apples.” Charlie said, with his voice full of disdain at the last word. The kids’ eyes widened at the end.

“So apples are evil?” Finch asked quietly.

“They are evil, It gives the devil it’s power, and it’s the way for him to torture anyone in his path. If anyone ever consumes it, they will have a terrible fate. And it relates to one of my mistakes that it nearly happened to Grizzlyplays.”

The children lean forward, excited to hear more of the story, only for Tubbo to tap Charlie on the shoulder. “Sorry but can we talk for a moment? You can tell the kids the story later.”

Charlie nodded. “One moment, children! Next I’ll tell you all about Molympus!”

He then jumped out of his seat and went to the other room with Tubbo, who closed the door behind him. Charlie’s frown deepened when he noticed the worrying look on Tubbo’s face.

“What’s wrong Tubbo of Snowchester? Don’t you like the story that I’m telling them?” He asked politely.

“I’m just worried, man. It’s taking so long for them to get back. I mean, It’s already getting dark out.”

“Perhaps Vulcan’s area is farther inland than they expected? Or perhaps they ran into someone else.”

Tubbo groaned as he rubbed his head. “We should’ve gone with them. I’m just getting more and more anxious every time I stay here….” he began to wander around the room muttering out. “It’s like, every time I get more worried everything just gets darker.”

“Darker?” Slimecicle tilted his head, not knowing what to say to that. “But it isn’t nighttime? It’s only one o’clock.”

“Is it? Then why is it so dark?!” Tubbo cried out, pointing at the sky. “It’s pitch black out!”

Charlie leans over top of shoulders to see that everything seems so dark out there, not even stars out where to get some illusion of light. He took one moment to stare at it before he got outta a gasp, and quickly pulled in the curtains. He turned to Tubbo. “Get the kids to be quiet, something is wrong!”

“What?” but then he heard a shush revealing Juno and the other kids, leaning out towards the door with fearful expressions on their faces. “Quiet, there’s a man walking upstairs…..” she whispered. “Listen.”

Tubbo tilts his head to hear a series of footsteps of someone humming a song as he taps against the wood. And there was a brief sense of familiarity to it as if he heard it before, but the memory faded that he could barely picture it, and then a familiar voice called out, seemingly unchanged by the world around him.

“Oh Tubbo…. Where are you, Big man?”

Tubbo froze at that moment, knowing who it was, he turned to Charlie and whispered “Tommy…”

Charlie shook his head. “I don’t think it’s really him. Probably the Nightmare,” Charlie whispered back.

“Tubbo! I miss you so much I have been wandering these places searching for you! Why aren’t you coming out and saying hi? It’s been a while since we actually hung out.”

Tubbo looked away as he ran to grab his sword. “You guys stay down there I’ll go face him.” He pushed the kids inside and attempted to walk out the door only for a hand to grab him by the arm. He turned around to see Charlie, staring at him sternly.

“Tubbo, you can’t kill him,” Charlie pointed out.

“I’m Tommy’s friend and….I hurt him… a lot. That means that I could count on being one of the people who could destroy him.”

“That’s not how Bugs said it worked. He said the Nightmare’s equivalent has to have badly hurt you. Do you really think Tommy has hurt you badly enough for you to kill what is supposedly one of the most dangerous Nightmares?” Charlie asked, his grip on Tubbo’s arm tightening.

Tubbo tries to think back hoping for some form of memory. He thought back to how angry he was at Tommy during his presidency when he put the country at risk or when Tommy burned down his house. But besides those few moments, he couldn’t really think of anything else. Hell, even some of the ones that he wasn’t happy about don’t seem as big as exile, deserting his friend to someone that proceeded to abuse him and making him feel abandoned around the time that he was revived. Maybe there were a few moments that might happen in the streams, but they barely even count, Tommy's voice seems to have sensed that, for it just simply giggled and stated. “ What's wrong, Tubbo? I thought you hated me? Don’t you want a chance to get even?”

Tubbo forgot where he was for a brief moment to whisper out “What? Why would I want that Tommy… We are friends,”

“Come on, all you do is push me away unless that counts as friendship. I don't know what you’re talking about.

“Not Tommy,” Charlie quietly reminded Tubbo. “Theseus. Now come on, we need to figure out a plan.”

“You can come with me.” Obi said, walking behind Tubbo.

Tubbo, Charlie, and the kids almost screamed in surprise as they whipped around to see the new presence. “Where did you come from?!” Tubbo hissed out, equipping his sword and pointing it at the stranger shrouded in the lack of light.

“Who are you anyway?” Charlie asked.

“I am an ally, someone who is against Madden, and her rule,” he explained calmly, as if he didn’t just appear out of nowhere. “You're currently dealing with Theseus’s Shapeshifting abilities, and eventually he’s gonna stop trying to talk with you, break through the door and kill you all.”

“Well that would be unpleasant,” Charlie said. “And you can stop that?”

“Well, I can try. We need to leave the ship and then I’ll take you to your friends. There’s an area that I know that could help you.” he stated. “That also means that the ship will have to go.”

Tubbo’s mouth drops. “Are you kidding me?! This is our only chance for us to safely travel and still look for our friends! Why would we abandon it!?”

“There’s more efficient ways to do that. The ship sticks out like a sore thumb, it’s too easy to track. Plus, there’s very little you can do along the coast once Purpled and Sapnap are freed. The Nightmares don’t like the woods. You’ll be safer traveling on foot.”

Charlie narrows his eyes “How do we know we can trust you?”

Obi looked over the room, but it was hard to see who exactly he was looking at since his face was mostly obstructed. Juno grabbed a sharp stick and pointed it at him.

“I know I look shady as hell, but you don’t have a choice. If you stay here, Theseus will kill you and the children,” Obi warned. “I’m the one who told the toons where you could be found. I have been working toward Madden’s downfall since she took power here. I have no solid way of proving that, but if you trust me, I can keep you safe.”

Tubbo and Charlie look at one another. On one hand, is it really worth it to trust a stranger who just wandered into this place? How did he even get in? For all they know they could be walking to their own deaths. None of them had a chance to argue though as the door behind them began to pound, and Theseus' laugh became louder.

“Come on, little ones! If you don’t come out, I will rip your heart out and then eat it! You fucking dare hurt what belongs to me, and now I’m gonna make sure that you’ll all suffer for it!”

Immediately Tubbo turned around and said, “Yep we’re going where are you taking us?”

“This way,” Obi said, pointing out a tiny hole in the wall. It was barely big enough to fit a thumb through.

“So that's nice and all, but how the heck would that get us out of here!” Mary cries out. 

 Obi merely places a finger through it, tugs, and the panel opens up to reveal a small door. “There’s a lifeboat on the other side.”

The group looked at one another before  the children quickly began to crawl inside one by one. Tubbo nervously looks back as the door behind him begins to break and shake. Charlie grabs his arm. “We need to go.”

He then pulled the boy inside, crawling through the dark hole in front of them. Tubbo let out a small groan at the smell, trying to just focus on the fact that he will be reunited with the kids, he slid down through the hole and out  and found himself in the small life boat with the children and Charlie. Obi jumps in after.

Obi quickly grabbed the oars and began to silently paddle away from the ship where there was a huge sound of a commotion, as a group of voices began to screech and yell, as the sound of objects breaking echoed out. Mary shakes, sobbing as Juno holds her closely, trying to calm the other girl down. John looks out solemnly along with Finch, who just tilts his head towards the sight curiously.

“That’s too bad,” Finch whispered, “ I really like that ship.”

“I can understand that,” Obi replied. “But it’s big  and slow enough you’d be too easy to track. You’ll need to be able to move quickly and at the drop of a hat if you want to avoid capture.”

Tubbo narrowed his eyes at Obi. It was the first time he could properly look at him outside of the ship. He didn’t give off the same vibe as the Nightmares. The clothes he wore weren’t pristine and new, instead looking like he swam through a dumpster, found the first things that fit, and said “good enough”. As for Obi’s face… Well, he still couldn’t see it. A pair of pitch black glasses concealed his eyes, while a pale strip of fabric covered his mouth like a mask. Black splotches were on the mask, it was hard to tell if they were meant to be something, or just spillage. 

Still, Tubbo couldn’t trust him. “How do you know that they were there? And how did you know we were there? You just appeared the moment that he began to wander around.”

“I try my best to keep tabs on what they’re doing. When I heard Theseus was making his way to the ship, I came to warn you. I’d hoped to get here before he arrived though.”

Tubbo seems to calm down from that but he still seems to be suspicious of the man. Mary then spoke up and asked. “So. You’re an enemy of the Nightmares?”

For a second, Obi stopped paddling. “...I wasn’t always. Believe it or not, they weren’t always like this. Not before Madden got her hands on them.” His hands tightened on the oars as he began paddling again. “She’s my real enemy.”

The small group stared at him in shock. They weren’t really expecting him to say that. They thought he’d have some backstory involving the nightmares being evil or something, but this is pretty shocking. Charlie curiously stared at Obi. “That’s a very huge claim to make, Sir. What is your relationship with the nightmares like before they were evil?”

“That’s a loaded question,” Obi stated coldly, looking away from the slime. “Let’s just say we were close before they went down this path. But now… They’ve gone too far. They must be stopped. And I see no way to end this nightmare without killing them.” Before Charlie could ask anymore questions, the boat came to a stop as they landed on the coast. Obi jumped out first, and gestured to the others to do the same.

“We’re gonna be walking for a while if we’re going to get to Orion’s area. So if any of you guys need to eat, now is a good time.”

“Orion? So Sapnap isn’t with Vulcan?” Tubbo asked.

“Not anymore.” Obi responded, “The Nightmares have been moving people around. They’re hoping that by moving people around, you can be more easily captured.”

Tubbo froze at that. “So they’re trying to prevent us from freeing the others.”

“Yep. I know the Overseer is upping security at the prison, they’re working on new ways to take you all down. You’ve got them very upset,” Obi said.

Juno frowned. “Yeah, I’m not surprised. They don’t react well to any form of failure.”

Tubbo shudders, a bad feeling going all over his body as he realizes that they’re going to a dangerous Nightmare who could be ready to spring a trap on them in an effort to destroy them. “We need to get to the others, now.”

Obi nodded, already beginning to move forward, “And we will. But we have to go there now. If we want to catch up with them.”

The Overseer let out a small sigh as he looked through the cameras, to see Sam making his rounds. Despite Sam’s feral state, he does seem to have enough sense to obey him. Although he does have to admit, it is hilarious that he seems to immediately hiss at anyone who accidentally got near him. Maybe once Spider came over they could begin the process of training him.

He then heard the door behind numbers as Sparks appeared before him, his eyes glowing in anger as he shrieked. “I need your fucking help now!”  

He covers his ears as he’s been around towards the boy. “Don’t scream at me or I won’t help. What do you want?”

Sparks took a deep breath and calmed his voice, but his anger still showed. “Darling has gone against her program and decided to disobey me. I need you to help me fix her.”

“I see.” The Overseer stated as he got up from his chair “That should be easy enough. Probably just a bug or something. These things happen with even the best programming. Especially when exposed to corrupting influence.”

“It was Michael’s fault. I can’t believe that the boys have messed up his toy after all we have done for him!” Sparks ranted as he opened the door, allowing the Overseer to walk through.

“Thank you.” The Overseer said .

“You’re welcome,”  Sparks said, before continuing his rant as the pair walked down the hallway to the lab. “I don’t even know if he was always like this, or if his parents influenced him in some way, despite the fact that I kept him separated from them! Like the fucking nerve of him!”

“It sounds like you need a bit of help disciplining the child. It’s not surprising that he would become spoiled after living in luxury for a while.”  The Overseer noted as he arrived at the door of the lab.

“We have been disciplining him. The timeout room! Going to bed without dinner! The small slaps!  We even went to Mother for advice!”

“Perhaps those two’s influence on him is too deeply rooted,” The Overseer suggested gently. “Especially if even Mother doesn’t have any ideas.”

Spark glared at him. “Overseer as much as I appreciate that. I do believe that there’s a way to break the kid. I just don’t want to reboot him!” 

“Rebooting?” The Overseer merely hummed as he opened the door, revealing a small, white robotic dog, running towards him. She barks at him, happy to see her creator back at last. The Overseer rolled his eyes as he firmly kicked the dog away from him. “Fran, allow me to focus on the task at hand.” 

The dog let out a whine, slinking away to hide under a desk at the side of the room. The middle of the room also revealed an operating table, where the robot struggled to try to get out of the chains.

“Please let me go! I don’t want to be reprogrammed, I like being myself!”

The Overseer sneered at the young girl in disgust. “Oh, I’m beginning to see what you mean… I thought that it was just a minor bug but it’s a lot worse.”

“Can you fix her?” 

“I’ll try my best.” The Overseer said calmly as her eyes widened.

“Please…. Don’t do this…” She cried out but Sparks just reached in and turned off the switch on the side of her neck causing her to shut down.

“Thank you Overseer. I’ll let you get to work. I need to get home and deal with Michael somehow,” Sparks said.

“Understood. It shouldn’t take too long.” The overseer said casually before he then said. “I think that it would be better if you reboot the kid. If he doesn't remember who they are, then I doubt he'll be very rebellious.”

“I’ll… consider it,” Sparks said, frowning. “I don’t want to break him. You and I both know how bad it can be when it goes wrong.”

The Overseer looks away, his arms tightening thinking about it. “Yeah…. The incident…..”

“We already have to deal with at least one of our family members getting rebooted as well as the deaths! We’re not gonna have that happen again!”

Chapter Text

The skies around them slowly turned dark as Pandora’s Hope walks through the woods, already seeing a small house in the distance. But despite this, some of them were already ready to get off the path with Jack, being the first step off and trying to go into the woods, Hannah notices and immediately grabs his arm.

“Wait, where are you going?” Hannah asked as she looked at him.

“Trying to figure out what that house is,” Jack explained. “We can’t exactly just walk straight up to the front door. Or at least we shouldn’t.”

“Yeah,”  Minerva replied, “Besides, that’s Orion’s home, not Vulcan.”

Everyone looked at her, surprised at the statement.

“How do you know?” Scarlett asked.

“I had to visit him once because he was curious to learn more about what parties are like in Toontown.” Minerva has a slightly confused look on her face when she thinks back on it. “For some reason I think he thought that they were some sort of weird ritual kind of thing, like we were summoning demons or something?”

“Weird…” Niki said, turning to Purpled. “You said we could find Sapnap this way.”

“We can. I know for a fact that he spends most of his time around here. I saw him tending some animals during one of my previous escape attempts, though I didn’t get a chance to talk to him,” Purpled said.

“Previous?” Tom asked, tilting his head

“The one I ran into you guys on was not my first escape attempt,” He explained. “The thing about me is that I do not like being trapped. Like, if you ever trap me, then you deserve whatever shit I give out.”

“How many times have you managed to slip away?” Niki asked.

“That one was my,” He counted on his fingers for a moment. “102nd.”

“Daaaang,” Fundy laughed. “ I’m surprised I haven’t heard about it.”

Purpled shrugged. “I never got all that far. Longest I was able to stay away was two days. Up until now at least.”

“Huh.” Connie murmured, as she began to think about the accounts with the nightmares, and how many of them, with the exception of Orpheus, seem to almost expect them even during times when it doesn’t seem possible. “How do they figure out where you guys are?”

“Because they’re connected.” A voice said behind them as the hooded figure stepped forward, quietly, revealing that he had followed them.

Pandora’s hope wheeled around, Amelia and Tom pointing their guns at the hooded figure’s chest while everyone else drew their weapons.

“Hands up where I can see them buddy,” Tom threatened.

“Who are you? How long have you been following us?” Amelia demanded.

“Guys!”  Tubbo cried out, appearing behind him along with Charlie and the kids. “He’s ok! He’s not evil!”

“Tubbo? How did you get here? What about the ship?” Puffy said, lowering her sword. 

“Why are a bunch of kids?” Purpled asked.

“Oh… well-” Scarlett began to say before Obi interrupted.

“Your ship was compromised, and Theseus was on it looking for them,” he explained bluntly. “That wasn’t a good place to hide. The nightmares are keeping track of any ships coming and going, especially since you manage to humiliate Medea and Anubis.”

“So we’ll have to travel by foot from here on… Shit,” Puffy muttered, kicking the ground. “Do you have any idea how huge this place is? It’ll take ages to get from place to place.”

“I know some people who could help you.” He said casually.

Steven tilted his head curiously. “Who?”

“Obi the Forgettable stated that there is a Resistance group around here.” Charlie said suddenly.

Obi did a double take at the title before shaking his head. “Yeah… I know a woman who runs a speakeasy. She hates the Nightmares and Madden, even more than I do. If you explain your story she’d probably be willing to help. She also might be able to tell you where more people are, or at least open up more steady communications with Eret.”

“She does!? Minerva yelled excitedly. “This is great!”

Obi shushed her. “Keep your voice down. He can hear things very easily.”

Quackity stared at the cabin, only vaguely listening to what Obi had to say. Sapnap was so close…

He takes a look back to see the group talking to one another, seemingly trying to figure out what to do; he then lets out a brief sigh before turning and begins walking down towards the house. The voice is behind him, turning fainter by the moment. The houses seemed to be getting closer and closer, and soon he will be back together with him.

“Where are you going?” Techno asks seemingly, the only person who notices him.

“I’m not gonna sit around and wait for this guy to give some reason why I have to wait even longer to get my fiance back,” Quackity said. “I’ve waited two years for this. I’m done waiting.”

“I know, I’m coming with you.” Techno said.

“I don’t care if-“ Quackity stops himself, finally processing what the piglin just said. “Wait, you agree with me?”

He nodded, leaning on his cane. “Yeah, like I don’t know what the others think but something about that guy seems off. Also that title, the Forgettable…. It sounds familiar.”

“Now that you mention it, yeah…” Quackity looked up at the sky briefly, wondering where he heard that before shaking his head. “Whatever. We can figure it out later, for now let’s focus on getting Sapnap out of here.”

Techno smiled at the duck as they both began to walk towards the house, slowly as suddenly leaning towards the woods to camouflage themselves. As they looked out to the cabin, they saw some animals wandering around, seemingly carefree, as if they weren’t in a horrible nightmare world. He then heard some voice calling out for the creatures.

“Come on guys, get back here! I can’t let you guys make a mess of things!”  Sapnap cried out, running after them looking disheveled. 

Quackity’s eyes widened upon hearing his voice, having to physically hold himself back from just running out there.

Techno hummed. “Do you think those animals are dangerous? The last thing we need is to go out there and as it turns out there are horrible Mutant farm animals that eat people.”

Quackity shrugged, not taking his eyes off Sapnap.

“Quackity! Techno!” Obi called out as he stopped towards them. “There you are! What the fuck are you two thinking! Did you miss the part about Orion having the ability to hear anything?!”

“I’m not leaving my fiance behind,” Quackity hissed. “Not again.”

“And we’re not.”  He said as everyone else ran up catching up to them. “I’m just saying that we should be more careful!”

Steven nodded “He has a point there, have you managed to see him?”

Technoblade pointed at where Sapnap was still trying to corral the animals away from the cabin. Steven lets out a sigh of relief as the others look out towards the man pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to find him. Amelia’s lips immediately tightened, realizing how easy it is.

“This feels like a trap,” Amelia whispered, taking out her gun. 

Tom nodded, “There’s no way they’re gonna make this this easy.”

“Maybe the animals will attack if anyone approaches?” Phil said.

Juno hummed. “I heard rumors that Lord Orion has the ability to control animals, as well as the fact that some of the nightmares managed to create deadly animals. I once heard that they made an animal that sucks people up and then after digesting them spray blood all over the place.”

John nodded. “Yeah! And I heard that they created a creature that looks like some pickaxes that jumps on you and rips you to shreds!”

“What about the man eating rats that go for your mouth to feed on your guts?” Finch asks. 

Mary covered her mouth as he turned to the caretakers and whispered.  “Please, make them stop, I’m going to be sick.”

“Alright boys, that’s enough. We don’t need to talk about every gory rumor you’ve heard,” Scarlett said tapping on the kids' heads. They grumble as they look away from one another, still wanting to talk about their stories.

“So I'm guessing that those stories are fake right,” Connie laughs nervously.

“Oh no, they’re real.” Niki suddenly stated. “It just really depends on where you are.”

“Right… Do we know what type of animals those are?” Steven asked.

“I mean they’re not killing Sapnap,” Fundy said.

“Probably because he’s the shepherd.” Techno pointed out. “ Anyway, do we have a plan or not?”

Obi hummed “ I could go in there, but I don’t think the animals have seen me for a while…”

“They’ve seen you before?” Phil asked, eyebrow raised.

“A few times…” Obi said awkwardly. “I knew the nightmares before they went all evil.”

Quackity immediately spun around, stared at the person, and swore insults against his mother.

“What the hell do you mean that you knew the nightmares?” he growled.

“Long, complex story,” Obi said. “Things weren’t always like this. Not until that bitch got her hands on them.”

“Wait, so they have a sad backstory?”  Steven said before whispering to himself. “Well that makes things both harder and easier…”

Obi rolled his eyes. “You can say that… But despite your kind’s ability to look at the best of people and bring it out, the power of persuasion won’t work on them. The family is very stubborn ....”

He then extended his arm to Quackity. “You can come with me if you want so we can both get your fiancé. I got an invisibility splash potion.”

Quackity stared at him suspiciously before turning to the rest of the group. “If he does anything funny and it leads to my death, I give you full permission to shoot him in the head so I can personally drag him to hell.”

“Can do,” Tom said.

Obi didn’t seem bothered by that in fact, there was a brief hint of a smile on his face. “Gotcha.” He then took a swing at the potion before heading in it to Quackity. “You guys stay there as back up.” 

Quackity took a small sip at it carefully before seemingly deciding that he wasn’t immediately dead to take more.

Both of them slowly begin to fade away as they walk towards the cabin. Jack finally spoke up when he asked. “Tubbo, Charlie, what's the big deal with this guy? What did he mean by having a connection to the nightmares?”

“We’re not entirely sure,” Tubbo said. “He doesn’t seem to want to share much. He’s only told us what he’s told you. But he did save us from Theseus.”

“How do you know that he didn’t do that just so he can give us a bit of false hope?” Jack pointed out. “Like our ship suddenly got compromised around the time he coincidentally came to the rescue?”

“I mean, it’s not the first time the ship has been attacked,” Puffy said. “I’ve had a couple run-ins with Medea and Anubis out at sea, though most of the time I was able to escape.”

Minerva nodded. “I’m honestly with Jack here, because there’s a difference between those two and, well, Theseus the knight of chaos who probably drinks blood or some shit, that kid is nuts.”

“But there was also that bag,” Amelia said. “The earplugs, the food and water… That all has to have come from somewhere. And I’m pretty sure it was Obi who threw that.”

“Yeah, plus the key blade,” Hannah pointed out. “Why would he give us one of the most important weapons, if he meant to lead us astray.”

“I mean some of the villains help out the heroes so that they can get what they want,” Minerva pointed out. “How many times did the bad guys use you guys as well pawns”

Amelia, Steven, and Connie went silent at that question.

“Why am I not surprised…” Phil murmured as he leaned against a tree. He immediately stopped when he felt hot breath breathing against his wings.

Phil slowly turned around to see what looked to be a shadowy figure with a white smile before she revealed herself to be Clementine, wearing a green camouflage dress. She then put her hand on his mouth shushing him before, with a sword, Pierce through his wings he let us scream as she attempted to pull him up into the trees.

“Phil!” Techno shouted, rushing to his friend’s side as fast as he could.

Clementine merely smiled as she waved a hand against him before she  pushed Phil off her sword, revealing a huge gash on his wing before jumping down to the floor.

“Hello” She signs. “ My name is Clementine! And Theseus told me to wander around here while he deals with the ship! And I found you!”

Everyone is really backed away as Steven holds up his hands trying to calm the situation down. “Wait, you don’t have to do this. We’re just here for a friend.”

“But I do! I can’t allow troublemakers to go unpunished after all.” Clementine signed. Happily people are pointing her bloody sword at Steven. “I like your little gem, I'm going to rip it out of your stomach! But I can give you all the cute little deal if you allow me to slit your throat, except for the server members, then none of you guys will go to Theseus!”

“No thank you,” Connie said, taking Steven’s hand. “You’re not killing my boyfriend. Not in anyway.”

“You’re not married. How rude! Now I have to double kill you.” Clementine frowned before brushing towards the two only to be hit in the head by the end of Amelia shotgun.

“I don’t know what kind of bullshit this world comes up with, but I already know that I want to kill you  more,” she growled as Clementine fell to the floor, seemingly crying.

“Oh don’t give me those crocodile tears,” Amelia said, aiming her shotgun at Clementine’s head.

“Awww no fair ” Clementine signed before kicking Amelia's face knocking her backwards.

She then jumps in the air to appear in front of Steven , holding up her sword “Fight me pretty boy!” Before swinging at them Steven managed to avoid it when both he and Connie fused together into Stevonnie and with a cry launched at the girl with their sword. Clementine managed to block it although she seems a bit confused by the transformation.

“What happened to the two people?” 

“You said you wanted a fight right?” Stevonnie said, summoning their shield and using it to knock Clemetine backwards.

“I do, but I want it with two people not one person,” she complains as she summons her umbrella from her chest as a shield against their sword. “ You didn’t even tell me your name.”

“And you stabbed Phil. You don’t get to lecture me on manners.” Stevonnie argued.

Before Clementine could respond, she felt another blow in the head delivered by Tom, before a bunch of rope suddenly wrapped around her and tied her in place. She looked around to see that the kids along with a few other members managed to tie her up.

“No fair! You all cheated.”

Techno growled at her as he held Phil by the arms, the man looking feverish.  “You hurt Phil, I don’t give a damn about what is fair or not.”

“Most would consider attacking people out of nowhere cheating too,” Stevonnie pointed out as Amelia lean against a tree covering her nose which was bleeding something black.

Clementine frowned at them as she sat on the ground. “I was given permission by Theseus! And he’s the greatest boss! He encouraged my best parts.”

“According to you two. If you ask anyone else, those are your worst parts,” Minerva said.

“Calm down apprentice. Everyone was so thrilled that you came out alive. Maddens even ordered you to be captured alive along with your little girlfriend! You should be grateful.”

“Crowfather literally slit my throat and threw me out into a waterfall.” Minerva yelled back.

“It was an act of mercy killing.”

“There was nothing wrong with me! What the fuck do you think mercy killing fucking means?!?!”   

“Oh, calm down, you’re a lady. And the rest of you guys are not really behaving like proper people should be.. for Empress sake one of your boys is wearing pink.”

“You know what really isn’t proper? Stabbing people,” Tom said. “And people haven’t cared about gendering colors for decades. Stop living in the 30s.”

Clementine rolled her eyes as she lay down on the ground “You guys really do live in a fantasy world. From what little we heard from the girls, it seems like your world has always been well….. I wouldn’t say degenerates but it seems like you all are off. I mean dance parties? Really? Dance parties, bitch?”

“Have you not once had joy in your entire life?” Amelia argued. “What are you, Puritans?”

“I’m surprised they’re not homophobic,” Tom grumbled.

“What’s homophobic?” HBomb asked.

“Hold up, do you not have homophobia in your world? Like, are same sex relationships just… accepted?” Lex asked.

“Yes.” Techno replied. “That’s normal.”

“Can’t believe I’m saying this but I wish our world was like yours. In that specific manner” Amelia said. “Not the whole death world part.”

“Of course we are accepting, we just believe that there is a system in place. This world used to be similar to your little town but then the Empress came and made everything better.”

“Right, all the torture, murder, and brainwashing is so much better than dance parties and boys wearing pink,” Scarlett said, rolling her eyes.

“Brainwashing is a rude word. We prefer rebooting.”

“Yeah well it’s still brainwashing,” Tom said. “You can call it multiple words, but it’s still brainwashing.”

Clementine frowns as Obi walks back. “Hey guys I’m back what’s-“

He immediately froze when he noticed Clementine sitting there. He looked back and forth between the group and young women for a moment before he cried out. “ What the fuck is she doing here?!”

“She literally attacked us earlier,” Techno said.

“She stabbed me in the wing.” Phil whispered.

“Why didn’t you destroy her?!”

“I mean, I can,” Niki said, pulling her sword out and pointing it at Clementine’s throat.

Clementine stared at her curiously, “Are you going to kill me?”

“Niki, are you sure it’s worth it?” Steven asked carefully, holding his hand up. “This type of thing could stick with you for a lifetime.”

“Umm, she stabbed Phil in the wing! Yeah, definitely think it’s worth it!” Techno argued. “Niki if you don’t do it, I will!”

Niki nodded before she held the sword. “ I hope you go to hell!”

Clementine merely smiled. “ I’ll see you in it once that time comes bye-bye!”

Then, with one stroke of the sword, Niki manages to chop her head off, revealing wires coming out of the neck stump.

“She’s a robot?” Tom said, poking at the stump with the end of his gun.

“I am” Clementines suddenly signed, causing everyone to jump away from the body. “ I kind of wish you'd done this earlier because I like it just for the reaction alone!”

“Okay beheading didn’t work, does anyone have any other ideas?” Niki asked, tightening her grip on her sword.

“Throw me in the river!” She giggled as her head looked to the side. “Or maybe you guys could crush me! I’ll be put back together again! Especially since Athen is coming here with Theseus.”

“Shit!” Obi swore. “We need to move. Quickly!”

“Where’s Quackity?” Puffy asked.

“On the fields! He insisted on having some private time with Sapnap!”

Jack growls that he grabs onto Obi's sweater. “Oh, really is that the actual truth?! How do we know that you didn’t do something to him?!”

“You can argue with me, or you can come with me to see for yourself, because either that, or facing those two assholes!”

“I think following him might be our best bet for now,” Fundy said. 

“You’re all going to die!!!!” 

Fundy immediately picks up Clementine's head and punted it across the forest. “Time to go now!” Before grabbing Obi by the hand and running towards the cabin with him.

“Fundy!” Jack called out before letting out a groan and running after him with everyone else behind him. They all tried to ignore the distant shouts behind them as some of the soldiers tried to look for Clementine’s head as the dirt ground around them turned into grassy fields, and they found themselves in the middle of a pasture. Animals peacefully grazing, in the middle was a poppy field, which Sapnap and Quackity were sleeping in.

Obi blinks in surprise. “I honestly don’t remember that coming up?!”

“You didn’t notice the Poppyfield?!” Techno asked indignantly 

But Steven didn’t pay attention to it, just focusing on them being together.

“They look so sweet!”  

He went to step forward only for Obi to hold them back. “Wait.” He held up his hands before pressing them into the ground, allowing a black crystal to grow under them, pulling out to the group, moving the sleeping lovers from the Poppyfield.

Quackity and Sapnap yawned as they opened their eyes, waking up from their odd slumber. 

“What… What the hell happened?” Sapnap asked quietly, stretching his arms.

“I don’t remember falling asleep…” Quackity said with a yawn.

“Magic poppies? Like in the Wizard of Oz” Tom asked.

“Demeter’s work no doubt,” Obi said. “Come on, we need to get moving. She could be around here.” 

They begin to walk down the hill when Athen screams from the bottom of the hill.

“There you are!”  he yelled out, wielding his sword “I will chop you all to pieces!!”

“OK everyone, retreat!” Niki cried out as they all ran back into the hell only to see Theseus and Demeter waving at them with Clementime’s head.

“I can’t believe how rude you guys are. How dare you chop off Clementine's head? Do you know how long it will take to repair her!” She yelled. Clementines smile at them maniacally, excited for the blood shed she will see.