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Antarctic Empire Spy

Mission File

Goal- 

Locate the smuggler and get the Tanzanite.

Timeline- 

Before the spy can reach Newfoundland. (Approximately 12 hours.)

Antarctic Empire Agents Assigned-

Agent Number 459 Soot , and Agent Number 181 Watson . 

Risk Level- High

AE agents are to use extreme caution while operating 

in these countries due to the extreme risk of death if captured.

The only safe spot is the Empire Embassy on the border of Busines Bay and Newfoundland.

Good Luck Spies, and don’t get caught. 

• Harpocrates

Phil looked down the check the number on the ticket again. “This is it, mate.” He pushed open the compartment door. 

The conductor’s crackly voice came over the speaker as the train started to move. 

“Welcome passengers to the Wanderlust Express. This is a direct train to Newfoundland, departing from Bussines Bay. Please enjoy the adventure.” 

Wil snorted as he shut the door. “This is tiny.” 

“You didn’t expect the agency to get us first class, did you?”

Wil threw his bag onto the seat. “Did they at least get us one alone?” 

The door to the compartment threw open, and a 17-year-old blond kid was looking into the small room. 

The pain was clear on Wil’s face. Phil was annoyed at the circumstance, but this could still be modified. 

The mission wasn’t that difficult for Phil to do alone, but the concern came around Wil. He was deeply lacking in experience and impulsive. 

Not a great combo for a spy, but father-like son. He had all of those traits when he was first starting out. 

“Hey, mate. Looks like you’ll be riding with us for the trip. What’s your name?” 

The kid threw his red backpack onto the seat across from Wilbur’s. 

“I’m Tommy.” He responded while rustling through his bag, looking for something. 

“Hello, Tommy. I’m Phil, and that’s Wilbur. What is taking you to Newfoundland?” 

Tommy seemed to freeze slightly at the question before returning to his bouncy body langue. Phil glanced at Wil, who also had noticed the change. 

“It’s nothing.” 

Phil put the smile back on his face. “I’m sorry to have pried.” 

Tommy pulled a packet of papers from the backpack and stuffed it into his sweatshirt. He turned back to face Phil again. 

There was a mixture of sadness, fear, and panic in his eyes for a split second before it was replaced with a mask of the bouncy boy that had first come in. 

“Why are you going to Newfoundland? Aren’t you a little old to be traveling?” 

Wil burst out laughing. “You are quite old.” 

Phil smiled, taking the joke. “Quick vacation before the school year begins again. Not only am I old, but I’m also a gardener.” 

He wasn’t a proper gardener, other than the backyard display that he fondly called Flower Fall. 

Tommy looked a little surprised that he hadn’t been scolded or yelled at for the comment. His body relaxed a little as if some of his worries had been lifted. “I’ll see you guys around.” He ducked out of the door and was gone. 

Wilbur just turned to Phil with a stunned look on his face. 

“There is no damn way it will be that easy, right? The kid is clearly involved.” He laughed. “What are the chances?” 

Phil frowned. “Too high. He’s involved in something, but I don’t think it’s our business.” 

Wil shrugged. “Let’s go check out the people on our list then.” Wil pulled out his satchel and pulled out his notebook. 

“Divide and conquer?” 

Wil nodded as he ran his eyes down the list. “Looks like it’s six people that should be our prime targets. Snowchester delegates Ranboo and Tubbo, Pandora architect Sam, a museum curator  Eret, and university professor Technoblade. There are two notes at the end, a blond kid about 17 years old. Any info other than his code name, Theseus, is classified. The other note is that there is another active AE spy aboard, but it’s classified who.” He looked up at Phil. 

That described their cabinmate. 

Phil sighed. “Tommy.” 

Wil nodded. “I’ll take the delegates and Sam.” 

“So then I’ll find Eret and Technoblade. I don’t think we should try to find the kid now. We panicked him enough just now if it’s him.” 

“Meet back in an hour?” 

“Good luck, mate.” 

Wil slipped out the door and vanished down the hallway—time for him to get to work. 

Phil took the opposite way through the corridor. The green hills were passing by outside of the window. The scenery was stunning, but he couldn’t focus on that at the moment. 

He glanced down at the blue and white watch on his wrist. It had been a graduation gift from the agency. It was late dinner time, so the hope would be at least 1 of the 2 would be in the dining car. 

The train clacked along the other tracks. He caught a glimpse of the front of the train as it rounded a bend. 

He opened the door to the corridor connection and stepped out into it. The train's noises were louder than they had been inside the car. 

Pulling open the door to the dining care, he was greeted with the noise and smells of dinner. The car was fuller than he had expected, but that made things easy. 

He pulled the door closed and looked around at the different booths. The only one that had an open seat had someone sipping tea while reading from a stunning white book. There was a satchel hanging next to them. There was writing on it, but he couldn’t read it from here. 

The food counter was past the booth, so as he walked calmly past, he tried to read the writing on the bag. 

In a golden thread, it had Solanaceae Museum on the bag. He smiled. Perfect. That was one of his targets. 

The name was familiar for some reason. He searched his brain as he weaved through the booths and tables to get to the counter. 

He grabbed a bag of crisps and slid it over to the register. The person’s name tag read that his name was Aimsey. 

Aimsey took the bag and scanned it behind the counter before handing it back. “Anything else?” 

“One black tea, please, mate.” 

Phil leaned against the counter as he waited for the tea. Then it hit him. Solanaceae was the name of the nightshade plant family. Interesting name for a museum. 

“Here you go.” 

Phil took the cup and thanked him. 

The cup was warm in his hand as he moved toward the open seat across from who he suspected was Eret.

“Looks like this is one of the few open seats, mate. Can I join you?” His voice was calm and even like it always was. 

Eret looked up from her book and smiled. “It did get quite busy in here, didn’t it?” She motioned for him to take the seat across from her. 

She closed the book. “This is one of the things I enjoy about the train is meeting new people. I’m Eret.” 

Phil sipped his tea. “I’m Phil. I couldn’t help but notice your bag. Solanaceae is a plant, right?” 

Eret smiled. “Yes. It’s the scientific name of the nightshade family. It’s a museum around the plants and things that form in the earth. So we have everything from rare flowers to fossils and more.” 

Phil nodded as he listened. “Fascinating! My son studied gems and fossils last year. It’s such an interesting field.” 

Definitely not the most subtle, but it fits into their cover story, and Eret didn’t seem to be the type to panic at someone asking an innocent-sounding question.

Eret nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yes, it’s very interesting. What has you traveling to Newfoundland?” 

Not only was Eret trying to change the topic, but she hadn’t answered the question. Phil took another sip from his mug as the train went over a bump. Some of the tea tried to jump out of the mug. “Taking a holiday before the new school year begins.” 

“Why, how fun! I’ve rambled on and on about my museum, but what do you do?” 

“I’m a gardener. That’s why I recognized your bag.” He smiled. 

“Do you deal with Nightshade?” 

Phil shook his head. “No. They don’t grow well where I am. It is an unfortunate thing as they are quite stunning. Bittersweet nightshade reminds me of a gem with how deep purple it is.” 

Eret hummed in agreement. “Bittersweet Nightshade is very recognizable. It almost looks like how I think Tanzanite would. Did your son ever show you photos of that gem?” 

Eret’s gaze was fixed on him. The air had a cold tint to it as their eyes locked. Both were watching the other for any minor reaction to the word. 

Phil smiled calmly. “No, he hasn’t. Is it a rare gem?” 

Eret still didn’t return to her entirely comfortable body langue, as if she was preparing to attack or run. 

“Very.” 

A phone started to buzz. Eret pulled it from the bag. As she glanced at the screen, she was already leaving the booth. 

“Apologies. I must take this.” She smiled. “Hopefully, we can chat again about flowers.” 

Phil nodded politely. “Hopefully.” 

Eret weaved through the booths till she left through the connector. 

Interesting. He hadn’t mentioned Tanzanite. She had brought that up and expected some sort of response from him. When he didn’t give a response, she had left. 

His own phone buzzed in his pocket. The home screen showed a short message. 

Wil: Boxcar with Snowchester. Help. 

Oh shit. What did he get himself into? He grabbed his tea and slid out of the booth. He tossed the cup into the garbage that he passed as he weaved through the tables. 

The total train was ten cars plus the engine. He was four cars from there, and he had to move quickly. The noise was louder as he entered the connecting hallway. 

He pulled out his phone to see if Wil had texted again as he entered the next car and ran right into another person. 

His long pink braid was the first thing that Phil noticed. 

“Apologies.” The man mumbled as he stepped around Phil and continued down the hallway. 

Phil nodded as he continued to hurry down the hallway. He couldn’t run as that would draw too much attention, and he did not need that right now.

Only three more cars… He moved through the next connecting hallway and into the car. This one was filled with different bags on racks throughout the car. 

At least in this one, there were no more people visible, so he broke out into a run. The car started to turn as he reached the next door. 

He turned the knob, and it wouldn’t open. 

Shit. What could he do now?

The door refused to open. He pulled harder on the door, and it still didn’t budge. 

Shit. Shit. Shit. Wil had the lock pick kit on him or his backpack back in the compartment. So a 50/50 shot that it would be there and the time it would take to go get it. 

Or… 

The window just above the door should be just big enough to fit through. 

He tried the latch, and it slid unlocked. The window opened just enough for him to get through. 

The window dug into his back as he pulled himself through the opening. He fell onto the platform in the connecting hallway. There was a scream coming from further down the train. It didn’t sound like Wil, no too young. 

Whoever had locked the door had only locked that one thank prime. This handle turned without force. 

The door across from the car went flying open, and Wil came running down the hallway from the boxcar. 

Two people were chasing after him. One was a short blond, and the other was tall, almost as tall as Wil. 

“What the hell, Wil?” Phil hissed. 

Wil ducked behind him, out of breath. “They are hybrids. The tall one is an enderman hybrid, and the other one is a goat hybrid.”

Phil froze. “And they're from Snowchester. Shit.” 

Snowchester had been cracking down on hybrids with an iron fist. Staying there as a hybrid practically ensured your death, but trying to escape was impossible. 

“Listen, we don’t want any trouble.” The tall one said calmly as the two of them walked towards them. 

“Unless you report us. Then there will be trouble.” The short one growled. 

“We aren’t going to report you,” Phil said with practiced calm. He despised what Snowchester was doing, so he wasn’t going to report them. Besides, it just would add to the suspicion on them. 

“Then why was your partner asking us all those questions?” The short one asked while stopping a couple of feet away. 

“I was making conversation, Tubbo. Then you tried to throw me off the train.” Wil yelled. 

The tall one looked pale at the thought of killing someone. 

“Calm down, Ranboo. We both know you weren’t going to kill someone.” Tubbo said.

“Ah, so you're the Snowchester delegates? Ranboo and Tubbo, correct?” He took a small step forwards. 

Tubbo laughed with a bitter bite. “As if you didn’t know that already, considering you’re here to catch us.” 

“We are not here to catch you. We had no idea who you were before today.” He stepped to the side of the aisle to allow plenty of room for them to pass him to the rest of the train. 

Tubbo glared at him. Their eyes locked as he looked for any reason not to trust him. Any reason. 

So Phil didn’t give him a reason. 

Tubbo grabbed Ranboo’s hand and dragged them past him. They paused at the other door to watch if Phil or Wil were going to make any move toward them. 

“If this is a trap, I will find you,” Tubbo growled. 

They all knew it was an empty threat. If Tubbo was caught, he would be dead before he could even think of finding Phil. 

“You have my word, mate.” 

They seemed to settle at Phil’s words. Tubbo opened the door and forced Ranboo through before shutting it behind them. 

Phil clenched his jaw. “ How many Snowchester hybrids have actually escaped?” 

“Currently, only three.” 

Phil nodded. “That’s what I thought. Hopefully, it will be five now.” 

“The fear in their eyes was so deep,” Wil whispered. 

It hurt to hear the fear in his son's voice. Ever since he was young, he had made it clear to Phil that he would follow in his steps. 

“What did you do to make them suspicious?” 

“I saw them leave their compartment and trialed them here. It looked like they might try to be contacting someone like their buyer.” 

Phil sighed. “They saw you.” 

Wil nodded. 

“Did you talk to Sam?” 

“Yes. I don’t think it’s him. He’s-” 

Wil stopped as the door opened, and a familiar blond head came running in. 

“Tommy?” Phil asked with the confusion in his voice. 

There was fear in the boy's eyes, and he was out of breath. 

“Who is chasing you?” 

Suddenly Tommy darted behind them as another person forced their way into the car. It was the same man that he had run into on the way here. 

“Give it back.” The man growled. 

“What’s going on here, mate?” Phil asked as he stepped in front of the boys. Tommy looked white from fear. 

“I don’t know. He just got really mad at me for some reason.” Tommy murmured. 

“What is that in your hand, Tommy?” Wil asked with a hint of confusion in his voice. 

Tommy quickly stuffed it into his pocket. 

“Kid, give it back, and no one gets hurt.”  The man demanded. 

Phil stepped towards him. “I think it’s time you leave, mate. We don’t want to have to call for help, do we?” 

The man narrowed his eye. “No. We don’t.” He turned and left the car, his long pink braid swayed behind him as he left. 

Once the door shut, he turned to Tommy. “Now, we want to help you since you're clearly in some sort of trouble, but in order to do that, you have to give us whatever he wanted.” 

Tommy’s eyes were staring at the floor as he pulled a purple gem out of his pocket. 

“Shit,” Wil mumbled. 

“Why do you have that, Tommy?” Phil tried to keep his voice calm since the boy was terrified. 

“I was told to get it,” Tommy mumbled just loud enough for him to hear. 

Wil dropped to his knees so he could look up at Tommy. “We can help. You just have to tell us everything. Are you smuggling them?” 

Tommy recoiled at the accusation. “No. Of course damn not.” The disgust was clear. 

“So then, why do you have it, Tommy?”

“I stole it from him.” 

“Who?” Wil asked, the pressure starting to leak into his voice. 

Phil put a hand on his shoulder. Wil looked up at him, and he shook his head. He was going to scare the boy away again. He was their best lead right now, and even if he wasn’t, a kid this young didn’t need to be tangled up in all this mess. 

“Technoblade.” 

“The professor?” 

Tommy shrugged. “Don’t know what he does.” 

“That’s fine, Tommy. But we need to know, who told you to do this?” 

There was a pleading look in his eyes as if to beg Phil to let him have any other out other than the answer. “Nightshade. They’ve got some information on me.”

Phil frowned. “So they are blackmailing you. Are you supposed to be meeting someone?” 

Tommy looked to the ground again and shook his head. 

“Listen, mate, you’ve already told us enough that if we wanted, you would be in jail or dead depending on who we turn you over to. So just tell us, and we can help you.” 

His body relaxed as the fight he had left. “I was supposed to meet some Latin museum or some shit when I got the gem.” 

“Solanaceae Museum?” 

Tommy nodded. 

“I need to talk with Wil for a minute, mate. Just sit here for a minute while we try to figure out what to do.” 

Wil got up from the floor and followed Phil over to the door. 

“He’s here to meet Eret.” 

The realization dawned on him. “So then that would mean we’re not the only ones after the jewels.” 

“Correct. There are at least three organizations in play here. Technoblade must have more gems. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have backed down.” 

“So, what’s our plan?” 

The wheels turned in his head, the chess pieces moved around on the board. No matter what they did, Tommy was not going to be safe unless he came back with them. 

So their goal shifted. Free Tommy and get the tanzanite from Technoblade.

“I have a plan.” 

“Are you sure this will work?” Tommy asked while shifting nervously on his feet. 

“Did you tell your contact to meet you here?” Phil asked, even though Tommy had already said yes multiple times. 

He nodded. 

“Good. Wil is off taking care of the other issue. This should solve both of our problems.” Phil shifted his weight as the train took a sharp curve. 

They were in one of the middle cars, should something go wrong, it would give the most possible way out. His hand shifted to his black dagger hidden in his jacket. 

Should something go wrong, they were prepared. 

Hopefully, nothing would. 

He looked down at his watch. Eret would be here any second now. 

“Alright, mate, wait here for her. When she shows up, give whatever sign or code word you’re supposed to. She needs to believe you're about to hand over the gems. I’ll be hidden for when it’s time to trap her.” 

Tommy just nodded. 

He started to turn away from where Tommy stood but stopped. Looking Tommy right in the eye, he made his voice as soft as possible. 

“Be safe, mate. Don’t do anything impulsive.” 

Tommy just looked to the ground and didn’t say anything. 

He accepted that and moved to the small closet they had chosen for him to hide. Cramming the jackets to the other side, he squished into the closest wall. There was a small hole that he could see Tommy out of that Wil had made earlier. 

The boy shifted nervously as they waited. Phil’s legs were starting to cramp, and he was beginning to wonder if Eret was actually going to show. 

There was a squeak from the door to his left, and Tommy snapped up. His eyes were glued to the floor.

“What do you think of Nightshade?” Eret asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice. 

“It’s a golden flower that blooms in the best conditions.” 

There was a hum of approval from Eret. Phil could see Tommy’s body ever so slightly relaxed that she had accepted the code word. 

 “Do you have the Tanzanite, Theseus?” 

Tommy nodded and moved his hand into his pocket. Instead of walking towards Eret, Tommy waited for her to move towards him to get the gem. 

She took a hesitant step forwards as if it was a trap. Of course, she was correct, but Phil couldn’t go for her yet. 

The next step was more confident, and she walked past the closet door. 

Phil smiled. This was going off perfectly. 

He slowly opened the door. It squeaked quietly but was covered by the train’s noise. 

The train slowed ever so slightly as the car was plunged into darkness. They had entered the tunnel, which was Phil’s cue. 

He left the closet and stood in front of the door to the rest of the train. 

By the time the car was filled with the fading daylight again, Eret had the gem and was heading to the door. 

She froze once her eyes fell on Phil blocking the door. 

“You.” She snarled. 

Phil smiled again. “Nightshade needs to do a better job at telling their spies what to look for in their contacts. Golden hair is a little vague. Would hate to have a mix-up, right mate?” 

He pulled the dagger from his pocket. Eret eyed it as she crept back toward where Tommy was standing. 

“Nightshade shall never fall.” She growled.  

“Tommy, run!” Phil screamed as Eret lunged for Tommy. 

He couldn’t get out of the way in time, and Eret grabbed him. She held a knife against his throat. 

“Since apparently we have a leak, I must take care of it.” 

Phil held out his hands and dropped his knife. 

“Easy, mate. We can talk this out. He’s just a kid.” 

She smiled. “Do you know what this kid has done?” 

Phil faltered. He had just met Tommy, yes, but he had never given any signs of lying. 

“Tell him, Tommy.” 

“I don’t know what you're talking about.” He spat.

Eret hummed. “No? The dead Empire spies don’t ring a bell?” 

Phil could feel his blood freeze. Surely this kid wasn’t responsible…

A couple of months back, a group of AE spies were captured and tortured in the Bay. In that group had been Kristin, his wife. 

That group hadn’t come home. 

Eret laughed a deep laugh at the pain on Phil’s face. 

“It’s exactly what you think. Theseus here was quite effective.” 

There was a shadow behind the door’s curtain. Phil squinted and could make out a figure. It looked to be someone with bright pink hair. 

Whoever it was, he needed to stall till he could get to Tommy. 

“You expect me to believe a kid took down 4 of the most elite spies?” Phil said with the poison dripping from his voice. 

“Your gods of death weren’t that elite. Even a nightshade child could take them down. Your goddess of death was weak.” 

Phil couldn’t keep his temper under anymore. 

“Don’t you talk about them that way. They gave their lives for something more important than some damn gems.” He reached down to get his knife but stopped mid-reach as the door slid open behind them. 

A woman stood there with short pink hair. She held a small vial of something. Phil tried to hold back a smile. 

Niki. Niki had arrived. 

She moved silently towards Eret. 

Eret kept her eyes on Phil’s movement, utterly oblivious to the person behind her. 

“Nightshade can be easily uprooted,” Phil said as Niki plunged the needle into her shoulder. 

Eret felt the effects of the tranquilizer immediately. Her body fell limp to the floor. 

Tommy jumped out of the way and moved to the corner of the train car as if he was about to fight for his life. 

“Is it true?” Phil whispered. 

Tommy shook his head. “No. Your goddess of death tried to save me. Nightshade said that they would tell AE who did it, and you would hunt me down and kill me if I didn’t work for them.” 

Phil tried to process the words. It sounded like something Kristin would do. He turned to Niki. “So you're the other agent. Good to see you.” He smiled. 

“Same to you. It seems like you got a little tangled up in my mission. You found him before I could.” She said with a smile as she stepped over Eret to the others. 

“Hello, Theseus. I am a friend of Kristin. The information she managed to get to us before it all went wrong let us figure out how to find you. I am here to offer you an opportunity to escape to the Empire.” She had bent over slightly to look the boy in the eyes. 

“What about Nightshade?” He whispered. 

She smiled. “They know better than to mess with me.” She turned to Phil, “and I thought they knew better than to mess with you.” 

Phil shrugged. “They didn’t know it was me. Apparently, all they told our mate was blond hair. I went poking around about gems, and she thought it was me.” 

There was a ding from his phone. He pulled it from his pocket and saw the text from Wil.

Wil:  Ready in the boxcar

Phil grimaced—time for round two. 

“Are you ok to finish up here, Niki?” 

She nodded. “It’s an easy cleanup. Go finish your mission.”

“You need to hurry. Someone is going to be coming through here soon, and he shouldn’t see him.” He motioned towards Tommy. “Be safe, Tommy.” He nodded as he turned away from them. The pain was threatening to show on his face. 

Nightshade was only out to hurt people, and they had hurt too many. They needed to fall, but first, he had to survive this. 

He moved down the hallway to the connecting hallway to the next car and the one after that. When he pulled open the door to the boxcar, Wil stood waiting with his knife at his side. 

“He should be coming with the rest of his tanzanite.” 

Phil could hear his voice falter with nervousness. This was supposed to be a pretty straightforward mission that had turned into anything but. 

“The plan?” 

Wil twisted to knife in his hand, looking at the hilt. “He comes in, sees me, and hands over the tanzanite. That will be our cue to escape.” 

Phil nodded. “We need to prepare to use force. Technoblade hasn’t made it this long, falling for simple tricks.” 

There was the click of the door in the next car. 

Phil started to turn to hide before stopping. “For the Empire.” 

Wil nodded. “For the Empire.” He seemed to steady at the call. 

Phil pushed himself into a little cove for the bags that they had cleared out earlier. 

It was just in time as the door swung open. A long pink braid swayed behind Technoblade. 

“Soot.” He growled.

“Technoblade. Do you have the Tanzanite?” Wilbur responded with a perfect match of his voice. The strictness left no room for negotiation. 

Technoblade shifted a satchel in front of him and held it open for Wilbur to see. From Wilbur’s face, he could tell the Tanzanite was there. 

The train took a turn Phil wasn’t expecting since he couldn’t see any windows from his hiding spot. 

He stumbled and tried to stop it, but his shoulder made a thud as it hit against the wall. 

“What was that?” Technobalde snarled as he turned around, looking. 

Wilbur stepped forwards with his knife out. “I would pay attention to me. I’m your biggest concern right now.” 

“I was told that I was meeting my contact at the station.”

“You might be, but the tanzanite isn’t.” He lunged at Technoblade, aiming for his legs. Technoblade ducked out of the way, dropping the bag in an effort to get out of the way in time. 

Phil rushed from his spot to grab the bag. He strapped the bag to his body and ran into the fight. 

Technoblade fought like a piglin hybrid, and his knife made of gold confirmed it. 

Wil ducked and dodged the strikes. 

“Lower your weapon Technoblade. It’s over.” Phil shouted as he held up the bag. 

“Nice grab, Phil,” Wil yelled out, turning to look at what he was holding. 

His mouth started to open to yell out to Wil, but he was too late. 

Technoblade moved behind Wilbur, taking advantage of his distraction, and held the gold knife against his throat. 

Fear flew into Wilbur’s eyes. Phil fought to keep his own down, now was not the time to panic.  

Technoblade backed up slowly closer to the caboose door. “Hand over the gems, and your partner doesn’t get hurt.” 

There was a loud screeching from the speaker system before Phil could speak. 

“This is your conductor speaking. Please excuse the delay as we must make an emergency stop at the next station. Thank you.” 

Phil frowned as he watched Technoblade’s face. He didn’t give a lot away, but his face did show that the stop was unexpected to him as well.

“So this was just a trick.” He snarled. 

Phil’s brain was turning and twisting to come up with a new plan. 

“Of course. The officials are waiting at the station for you.” Phl smirked. 

The officials were not waiting for him, but Technoblade didn’t know that. 

Technoblade smiled. It made his blood run cold. 

He kept walking backward till his back hit the door. Then he turned so Wil was looking out the back of the car with the knife still at his neck. 

“Open the door,” Technoblade commanded. 

Wil yelped. “We’ll both fall out.” 

Technoblade huffed. “You might. Open it.” He pushed the knife tighter against his neck. 

“Do it, Wil,” Phil said, trying again to keep his voice calm. 

Wil fumbled with the door. It swung open, and the world sped by. The train had slowed, but it was still at a speed that anyone who fell out would likely die. 

“Drop the knife and hand me the bag back.” 

Phil dropped the knife and slid it over the side of the aisle. 

“Dropped it, mate.”  He nodded towards the knife. The train had slowed even more. They were nearing the station, but not quick enough. 

“Slide the bag over now.” 

Phil obliged and slid the bag across the ground to his feet. Wil was still dangerously close to the edge. 

The bag bumped into Technoblades feet. 

“Now let Wil go.” He said evenly. 

The train’s breaks hissed to a stop. The car jolted as it came to its resting place. 

Technoblade, in one swift motion, threw Wil into the car and grabbed his bag. He leapt from the train and started to run to the platform. 

Phil rushed over to Wil. He looked him over and didn’t see any obvious signs of injury. “Are you alright?” 

Wil nodded and pushed himself up off the ground. He handed Phil’s knife back to him. 

“Good. Let’s go then.” 

They both scrambled out of the train car onto the platform. 

There was a flicker of a pink braid mingling along with the crowd going into the station. 

“Get moving, hybrids.” A guard yelled. 

His eyes shifted to Tubbo and Ranboo being led out of a car further up the train. 

“Shit,” Wilbur murmured under his breath. 

Phil groan as well. If they intervened, they might be able to save them, but Technoblade would get away. The opposite of sending two hybrids to their death wasn’t exactly good either. 

“The delegates?” 

“The delegates.” Phil echoed. 

They turned away from the crowd losing Technoblade’s pink braid. They could go after him again. These hybrids couldn’t wait. 

“I’ll be a distraction. You get them away.” 

Wil nodded and slipped into the crowd. Time for his part of the deal. 

Drawing his knife, he leapt onto the guard closest to him. He stabbed it into the guard's leg and pushed him off the platform. The guard would likely survive, but it would keep him out of his hair for now. 

There was yelling from the middle of the group. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Wil getting the handcuffs off of the hybrids. 

There was more shouting as another guard ran at Phil. He ducked away from the knife, but it still slashed his shoulder. 

“Let’s go,” Wil yelled out. 

Phil freed himself from the fight and ran to the group. There was more shouting from behind them of “Stop” and “Halt.” 

There was a loud crack in the air as a gun shot off.

Wil, who had been running ahead of him, fell to the ground with a scream. 

He was clutching his leg, and the ground was starting to stain with red. 

“Damn it,” Phil murmured as he picked Wilbur up, supporting the majority of his weight.

“How bad is it?” Wil groaned. 

“Not great, mate.” 

Ranboo had come up to Wil’s other side to help take some of the weight as they ran. 

“What’s the plan?” Tubbo asked, sounding out of breath already. 

“Get to the woods and figure it out from there,” Phil said in between breaths. 

The wood line behind the station was getting closer, but so was the group of guards behind them. 

Tubbo started to lag behind, and Phil could see Ranboo grab his arm and start to pull him along. 

Finally, they reached the wood line. There was a massive bush that they all ducked under. They were totally hidden for the time being. 

“What’s the plan?” Ranboo whispered. They were practically white with terror. 

“Your an enderman hybrid correct, mate?” 

Ranboo nodded. Phil smiled. This could work. 

“How far can you teleport this large of a group?” 

Ranboo paled even more. “I don’t know. I’ve never done a group this big.” 

“Spread out and search the woods.” A guard yelled. 

They didn’t have much time. He pulled out his phone and started to pull up a photo of the AE embassy in town.”

“How far do you think you can?” 

“Maybe 5 miles maximum? That’s a big maybe.” 

“That will work, Ranboo.” He held up his phone to show the waiting room of the embassy. “Can you take us here?” 

“Hey! There they are!” A guard yelled out as they started to crash through the woods toward them. 

Ranboo nodded and looked as if they had seen a ghost. “Hold on to me.” 

They all shifted to have a hand on them. Wil let out a cry as his leg turned. 

There was a loud popping as the world faded to darkness. 

There was a knock on the embassy door. Phil walked over to the door and peeked through the little hole in the door. 

He smiled when he saw who was there. 

“Hello, Phil,” Niki smiled as he opened the door. 

“Hello, old man.” Tommy greeted from Niki’s side. 

“Glad to see you guys escaped the chaos.” Phil greeted them as he moved to the side to let them into the building. 

“We did. Not quite as eventful as your escape a couple of days ago, but we made it.” 

Phil nodded. Wilbur was still on crutches from the wound. It had missed bone, but had still torn several muscles. “Wil’s in the family room playing Minecraft if you want to join him, Tommy.” 

The boy’s face lit up as he scampered to the family room. 

Phil motioned for Niki to follow him into the kitchen. 

“Tea?” He had grabbed two cups out of the cabinet. 

Niki nodded as she sat down at the table. “Thank you.” 

He poured the cup and took a drink from it. There was a loud squeal from the other room. 

“Phil, the child is burning my house,” Wil screamed from the other room. 

Niki smiled, and Phil just yelled back, “I don’t care!” 

There was shrieking followed by more yelling. 

Phil smiled. “It seems like Tommy has come out of his shell more.” 

Niki nodded. “He has. He’s just a kid, but in a couple of years, he’ll be an amazing asset.” 

“Who’s going to train him?” 

Niki smiled again. “Well, that was actually part of the reason I was stopping by. I think he would be a good addition to your team.” 

Phil paused. He hadn’t considered the idea yet, but he really did fit in well with them. Tommy had been more reserved, but he was still someone they had warmed up to immediately.

He smiled after a moment. “I agree. I can train him.” 

Niki sipped her tea. Phil had known her long enough to know that look. She had known since the train that he would agree. 

“How did your mission finish up? Did you get the gems?” 

“It didn’t finish as smoothly as we had hoped. Though that was pretty obvious from the chaos around us.” He got up from his chair and moved over to a box on the counter. He removed a padded bag from the box. “Wilbur surprised me, though.” 

He opened the bag to show some large pieces of Tanzanite at the bottom. Niki’s eyes went wide at the gems. 

“He got them from the bag during the fight before he dropped the bag. Technoblade didn’t notice in time. So it wasn’t a complete waste.” Phil smiled. He was proud of Wilbur, it was a smart move to make. 

After they had gotten to the embassy, Wilbur had been taken to the medical bay. Once they were alone, he pulled the gems from his pocket. 

“You trained Wilbur well. That was an impressive move.” Niki praised. 

“That was all him. He’s reckless, but it paid off in this gamble.” 

“What about the hybrids?” 

Phil put the gems back in the box and sat back down at the table. “Somewhere on their way to the Empire. They did the tricky part of getting out of Snowchester, so the Empire just had to claim them as citizens and get them back home. I know the goat hybrid is planning to enter the academy. I’m not sure about the enderman, but they seem pretty inseparable, so I imagine they’ll follow.” 

Tommy came running full speed back into the kitchen, holding a controller, laughing. Wilbur was trying to crutch after Tommy but wasn’t fast enough to get to him before he would bolt off again. 

“Tommy, come here,” Niki interrupted the game. 

Tommy stuck his tongue out at Wil and walked over to the table. 

“You're going to be training in Phil’s unit.” 

There was a screech from Wilbur. “What? The gremlin is joining the team?” 

“Old man,” Tommy greeted Phil again. 

“Gremlin,” Phil echoed. 

“But me and you are a perfect team. Phil, think about this for a second, he’s a chaos gremlin. We don’t need him. We’re perfect.” 

Phil looked Wilbur in the eyes and smirked. “You got shot in the leg.” 

“It wasn’t my fault.” 

Tommy lured the remote just out of reach of Wil. “I’m going to be a better spy than you.” 

Wilbur made another inhuman squeak. 

Niki and Phil lost it, laughing at the two of them. They were already acting like brothers who had known each other their entire life. 

Phil knew that this would be a good thing for both of them. They had been looking for the absolute chaos that Tommy was. 

Technoblade pounded on the warehouse door. “Open up.” The mask muffled his gruff voice. 

The door opened in front of him, and he walked into the dark warehouse. 

“Do you have the Tanzanite?” A shadowy voice said from the back of the dark room. 

Technoblade nodded and held out the bag. A figure in a squid outfit came forwards and grabbed it from him. 

Their was a huff of disapproval from the figure in the back as they opened the bag. 

“The tanzanite is gone.” 

Technoblade’s blood ran cold. How? How did they manage to get it away from him? There was no way-

The fight. 

That tall kid had gotten it during the damn fight. 

“I can get it back-” He started to say. 

“You know the rules, Technoblade. The price must be paid for failure.” 

Hands grabbed his shoulders and held him down. 

“No, I can get it back, I swear-” 

The figure waved their hand, dismissing the thought. “The pits wait for you now.” 

He fought against the restraints, but it was useless as a syringe plunged into his side. The sedative took effect immediately. 

The last thing he heard was, “-don’t mess with us.”