Chapter Text
Gif of the titanic sinking with time stamps to better understand how the ship sank over time. Use this as a reference for this chapter.
April 14, 1912
Day 5
Time: 23:39
It was a quiet night. Wilbur had retired to his room, surely sleeping by now. Techno was fast asleep in his bed. Phil was sleeping in his bed as well, though his position changed from sitting to lying down. Tommy was also asleep on the couch in Phil’s room.
The couch was a fancy sofa, so it was a little on the short end. Tommy’s limbs would have extended off of the armrest if he was stretched out. Instead, he was curled up, his arm under his head and his knees up to his chest.
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It was a peaceful night. George and Dream were cuddled up in bed. The arms of their loved one wrapped around one another.
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It was a fine night.
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Everyone was wide awake from the loud rumble that shook the ship.
“What was that?” Tommy sat up from the couch, eyeing the two that were just waking up.
“Beats me.” Phil yawned and stretched his arms.
“But you’re wise and old, you should know these things.” Tommy countered.
“Yeah, Phil.” Techno jumped in, his voice still gruff from just waking up.
“Brats.” Phill huffed and got out of bed, “We should check on Wilbur and ask around to see what happened. Probably isn’t anything too bad.”
Tommy got off the couch and began stretching. Techno grumbled and did the same. As they were getting around, there was a knock on the door.
“Who could it be at this time?” Phil hummed and made his way to the door.
“Probably Wil.” Techno fixed his hair.
Phil placed his hand on the doorknob and opened.
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Wilbur groaned and tossed the pillow to the ground. He was already having trouble sleeping and it just so happened that he was forcibly awoken by God knows what. He wasn’t even sure what it was or what happened, he was too groggy to recall anything. All he knew was that something woke him up.
He glanced towards the painting on the wall that was hanging by a single corner. Maybe it was just the change in the ship’s speed or perhaps they bumped into a whale, either one of these events ended up knocking the painting, which ended up waking him up.
Wait… were there even whales around these parts of the North Atlantic Ocean during April? Probably, he knew that orcas could be found in cold waters, as the prey moves slower in cold waters and they were built for it. April and May were prime times to see an orca.
Though, he wasn’t sure of the likelihood of an orca bumping into a ship of this size. Maybe it was injured and miscalculated? Even if the orca did bump into the ships, he wasn’t sure if it would even cause that amount of shaking. Orcas were small in comparison to the Titanic.
Either way, he was too tired to deal with any of this shit, so he went back to sleep.
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“Oh, it’s just George and Dream.” Tommy took his interest off of the door and occupied himself with helping Techno with his hair.
The two didn’t bother to address Tommy’s back-handed comment, which was expected out of George but was completely unheard of with Dream. Either Dream was killed and replaced by his clone, he was scared of Techno and Phil, or something else was of higher importance. With all of the options, he believed that it was the first. No way would Dream ever let a stab at his pride slide or physically show that he was afraid.
“Did you three also hear and feel that?” George was the first to speak.
“Are you talking about that thud and the shaking?” Phil opened the door wider to welcome the two in, but the two made no effort in getting closer.
“What else would we be talking about?” Dream chimed in and George rolled his eyes.
Tommy was glad that they decided not to come in. He didn’t want Dream and his mood ruining attitude to step foot inside.
“Thank you for your time, we’re going to find some staff to ask around.” George dipped his head to say his goodbyes.
Dream snorted, “It probably isn’t anything, anyways.”
Phil just waved the two off and shut the door.
“Dream seems as pleasant as ever.” Techno muttered.
“You could say that again.” Tommy sighed
“Dream seems as pleasant as ever.” The larger man repeated. Tommy gave him a hard stare through the mirror in front of them as the other just gave him an amused look in return. The blond rolled his eyes and went back to braiding the hair in his hands.
As the braiding continued, Phil began to anxiously pace around the room, chewing on the nail of his thumb.
“You can check on him, don’t wait for us.” Techno glanced back at his father. That was all Phil needed to hurry out of the room like a madman.
There was a moment of silence that Tommy broke, “You don’t seem that worried.”
“I’m worried, but I’m not going to bend over backwards. It’s better to remain calm in emergencies. Though it isn’t confirmed that there’s an emergency.”
“Yeah, whatever you say, Mr. I scope out the area, map the terrain, and plan out every escape route.” Tommy snorted.
Techno narrowed his eyes, “Who told you that?”
“Wilbur loves to talk about his little brother, Techie~” Tommy mused, a sly grin formed in the corners of his mouth.
“Heh?” Techno blurted out, shocked by the absurdity.
Tommy just snickered as he dropped Techno’s braided hair with a wide smile, “Let’s catch up with Phil.”
“Just you wait. Wilbur’s gonna start talking about you like that.” Techno huffed.
“Please, he doesn’t admire me like he admires you. He’s going to treat me with friendly and loving hostility.” Tommy held his head high.
“He might not say it to your face, but he’ll probably say stuff like that to others when he talks to you.”
Tommy scrunched his nose, “As long as I don’t hear about it.”
Phil was out of breath once he reached Wil’s room. He bent over, leaning his forearm on the doorframe as he used his free hand to frantically knock. After half a minute of silence, Phil knocked again.
Wilbur groaned when he heard the first knock, loud and rapid. He assumed that if he didn’t answer, the person at the door would go away. It wasn’t time for him to get up for work. He didn’t need to entertain whoever was at his door.
Sadly, that wasn’t the case. The knocking only continued, the repetitive nonsense only served to keep him from getting a good night's rest. At the rate the night was going, it wouldn’t even be a good night’s rest let alone a rest.
A thought came across his mind.
It could be Tommy
It could be, but Tommy knew how to pick a lock. That little menace would just waltz on in if he so pleased. He had no idea who was at the door and whoever it was didn’t show any signs of knocking. He was sure if he waited even longer, the person would start yelling.
Just as he expected, as soon as he got out of bed, the person on the other side of the door started speaking.
“Wil, open up!”
Wilbur blinked. Shit. It was Phil. He quickly shook the sleep off and opened the door, “Yeah?”
“I’m just making sure you are alright.”
Wilbur raised his brow, “Okay? Well, I’m fine.”
Wil would have said something along the lines of asking if he could go back to bed, but he knew there would be no use. He was up and awake now and was already struggling to go to sleep. And if he even managed to go to sleep, there would be no point because he would be waking up in a few hours to get ready for work, which would only make him more exhausted.
“So, did you hear and feel what happened?”
Wilbur shrugged, “Yeah, just thought it was some whale.”
Phil raised his brow, “Yeah, I suppose that’s an interesting idea.”
“Not like there are other ships out there, no way would they accidentally hit one of those. Too large and noticeable.”
“That and there is no way a smaller fishing or transportation vessel would be way out here.” Phil agreed.
“Maybe we hit some ice? We are pretty far north. Too small and dark to be noticeable, but large enough to make that much ruckus?”
“Makes more sense than your whale theory. I don’t think a whale would get close to this vessel.”
Wilbur huffed and rolled his eyes, “Please, my whale theory is great.”
“Sure it i-”
Phil was interrupted as a woman opened the door, “Excuse me, please make your way to the deck of the ship.”
Despite how calm the woman was, Phil couldn’t help but suddenly feel grim, “Is this about that thud from earlier?” Maybe it was worse than they had originally thought.
The woman nodded, “The ship is slowly taking on water, so all of our guests are to move to the deck so we can get them into the lifeboats.”
“Is it severe?”
“There is no need to panic, it is not that severe. Just calmly make your way to the deck.” Before Wil and Phil could say anything else, the woman went down the hallway to the other doors to alert other passengers.
“Go to the top deck, I’m going to get Techno and Tommy.” Phil quickly exited the room, leaving Wil to just stare at his back, mouth agape like a fish.
Wil huffed with irritation, but not surprised with his fathers actions. He grabbed his guitar case and made his way to the deck. There would be no point in following after the other, he would just end up yelling at him once he caught up. It would end up wasting time, and he would rather not waste any of that if they were supposed to start evacuating.
Phil sprinted past the lines of people who slowly made their way towards the deck, like a salmon swimming upstream. Despite his old age, the rush of adrenaline prevented him from kneeling over panting to catch his breath.
When he ran into the two in the hallway, his appearance surprised Techno so much that he threw all forms of business and formality out of the window.
“D-Dad? You alright?” Techno had his hands in front of him, his palms facing outwards.
Tommy just shuffled awkwardly in his place, not used to seeing the two so uneasy.
Phil sighed as he saw the two, finally relaxing now that he knew the two were safe, “Yeah, I’m alright. Just worried about you two.”
Techno steadied himself, Tommy following in his steps, “Did they tell you to go to the deck as well?”
Phil nodded, “Wilbur is on his way there now.”
“That makes sense. Let's head up together.” Techno continued walking with the other two.
Tommy crossed his arms, “What do you think this is all about?”
“The ship is taking on water, that's what this is about.” Techno concluded.
“Duh, we know that already. I mean, what happened for that to happen? I thought this was supposed to be the unsinkable ship or something.” Tommy huffed, reciting what Dream told him when he mentioned the fire, “Oh I know, what if it was that fire that I was talking about earlier?”
Phil scratched his chin, “That is a possibility. Maybe they realized it is worse than they thought, so they’re escorting us out?”
Techno shook his head, “I don’t think so. This happened after that ruckus from earlier. I don’t think that was caused by a fire, but something from outside the ship.”
Tommy frowned, “What could possibly cause a ship this big and reinforced to start taking water?”
Techno hummed in thought, “Well, if I were to guess, probably ice. It wouldn’t be a thick sheet of ice, because the ship would be stuck and not moving… that and I don’t think they would knowingly sail into that. It wasn’t an animal, because there is no way they would purposely bump into us and there is no way it would cause us to take water.” He continued to hum, “It could be a small to medium sized iceberg, it is dark after all. They might have missed it.”
Phil nodded, “That’s what I told Wil. I still think he is set on believing it was a whale.”
Techno snorted, “Yeah, like an animal that crafty would end up ramming itself into a ship as large as this one.”
“That’s what I was thinking.” Phil tutted with amusement.
“I don’t know, I kind of like the whale idea.” Tommy muttered.
“Of course you would.” Phil chuckled.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Tommy huffed in his high pitched cracking voice.
“Someone is going through puberty.” Techno edged.
“Shut up you large oaf. Mr. I’m-so-big-and-tall-that-I-think-it-makes-me-look-tough-and-scary-and-cool memememe.”
“Aw, you think I’m cool.” Techno continued to tease in his monotone voice.
“Oh my god, shut up you’re so annoying. You’ll regret saying that to me. I’m such a big man, you don’t even know.” Tommy growled, almost out of breath with how much force he was mustering.
Phil only held a sly grin on his face from their banter.
As they reached the top, the cold air blew the scent of salt, causing the two blonds to shiver.
“Over here.” Wil shouted and waved his free hand while his other hand clutched his guitar case. The three were quick to head over to the brunette.
“We should start getting on a lifeboat.” Wil pointed over to the large crowd that began to form around the edges of the ship.
“It’s a little crowded.” Techno quietly grumbled a complaint as he had to uncomfortably shuffle his bulky body around the masses.
As they stood there waiting their turn, they noticed that it was getting harder to stand up straight. Their feet began to slowly slide and they had to reposition their footing to stay up right.
“Something is wrong.” Techno leaned down to whisper into Phil’s ear, making sure Tommy couldn’t hear him so as to not worry him.
Phil just gave a grim nod. They weren’t close enough to the edge to see over but they weren’t far enough in the back of the crowd to back out and go around.
“THE SHIP IS TIPPING!”
That was all it took for worried mumbles to turn into fearful screams. The back of the crowd began to push forward, pushing everyone in the middle to squish into the people in the front. Tommy felt his smaller frame thrown forward. He grabbed onto Techo so he wouldn’t collapse and become trampled.
Techno felt his breath forced out of his lungs and a tug at his sleeve. If the force was strong enough to knock the breath out of him and jolt him, then he wondered how Tommy was faring. He was larger than the boy. His head shot down to see the boy’s face scrunched up with labored breath as he clung onto him for dear life.
Techno wasted no time puffing himself out to create a small bubble of space so he could lift the boy over his shoulder. Tommy let out a surprised gasp as he felt his weight lifted and thrown around. It was a lot easier to breathe as well as a less uncomfortable position.
Techno whipped his head around to find Wilbur and Phil in the sudden mess. From the looks of it they were a few people away.
“WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST! I REPEAT, WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST!”
That only caused the panic to get even worse. It seemed to become all men for themselves. Wilbur clutched his guitar case close to his body with a determined look on his eyes as he faced the masses. Phil was next to him and grabbed his arm when he saw that look.
“You’re not doing what I think you’re going to do.” Phil’s voice was grim.
“I am.” Wil didn’t shake off his father’s hand, instead, he pushed against the grain to head outside of the crowd.
“Wil, don’t!” Phil kept a tight grip on his son’s arm, taking struggling step after struggling step to keep up with him so they wouldn’t get separated.
“I can’t, I’m sorry.” Wil’s voice felt forced and choked.
“Think about Sally and Fundy. You would be leaving them behind.” Phil urged, doing anything he could to change his son’s mind.
Sadly, Wilbur was always stubborn and once he was set on doing something, he would do anything in his power to accomplish it, “I can’t just abandon these people… dad, I make music to help people and these people need help now more than ever.”
Phil should have known his attempts were futile, but still, he would try one more time, “Are you sure, do you want Fundy to grow up without a father? Do you want Sally to deal with your loss while being suddenly burdened with raising a child on her own?”
Wilbur took a deep breath, “What about all of the people here? How many of them have families? How many will never get the chance to see them? If I am able to reduce the amount of panic, it will increase survival rate. So, they can survive and go home to their families.”
Wil went quiet, holding back tears, “I was never the best husband or father. Sally is a strong woman with great spirit, I have no doubt that she will be able to raise Fundy without me. I spent most of my time traveling for my career instead of doing my job as a father and a husband. I can rest easy knowing that I still have a lot of money saved that they will receive, as well as the life insurance… my only regret would be that I didn’t spend more time with them.”
Phil took a deep breath to calm himself, “okay… Then I’ll be with you.”
“What are you, stupid? You don’t need to throw your life away just because I want to stay behind. Think of your company… of Techno and Tommy.” Wil scoffed
“It will be fine, Techno is more than ready to take over if anything were to happen to me. You are my beloved son. Though I might not have been the best of fathers either. So, at least let me be a father just this once, and let me stand by your side and support you. You don’t need to be alone in this.”
“Techno isn’t going to like that answer, you know he’s just going to go after you.” It was Wilbur’s turn to try to convince his father to stay.
“Techno has his own baggage to worry about. I don’t think he would just abandon Tommy to fend for himself just so he could follow around two fully capable adults.” Despite the situation, Phil couldn’t help but speak in a fondly amusing tone.
Like father like son, Wilbur mused. He let out a chuckle as he rubbed his wet eyes, “Okay, old man. You can help out.”
As the two began to push past the crowds, they finally got to Techno and Tommy, who ended up a little farther back with the sudden rush.
“Where are you two going?” Techno used his free hand to manhandle Wilbur closer to them.
“Back.” Wilbur said simply.
Techno only sighed. He knew his brother better than anyone. They were like twins after all. Or, so that's what Wilbur insisted on calling them, despite being born in different years. Judging by Phil’s look, he seemed also dead set on assisting Wilbur with his stupid moral compass. He wasn’t surprised, he knew his father better than anyone as well. He was his son as well as his right hand man.
“Fine, I’m coming with,” Techno was just like his family.
Wilbur snorted with amusement and pointed at the child on his back, “No you aren’t.”
“Make sure you get him onto one of those lifeboats and take care of him.” Phil patted Techno’s shoulder.
Techno growled at the two, knowing that they were correct. He couldn’t abandon Tommy, he still needed to ensure his safety. But now he was also worried about ensuring the safety of his brother and his father.
He refused to tell the two ‘goodbye’ as they continued on their way and he continued on his. Goodbyes implied leaving one another, departure, the possibility of never seeing one another again. That would not happen, not if he had anything to say about it.
Techno held his head high and took a deep breath as he pushed his way past smaller men. It was a frenzy of screams and cries, of pushing and pulling. He wondered if they would crush one another to death before anyone succumbed to the freezing temperatures of the dark ocean below.
“They’re all idiots.” Tommy whispered.
Techno glanced at him, acknowledging his statement with a steady hum.
“If they stopped panicking, they would all get onto the lifeboats a lot faster and safer. It’s not like there aren't enough lifeboats on the ship for everyone.” Tommy huffed, with no clear view of the people on the ship or the amount of lifeboats left.
Techno could see them, though. Judging from the sight of it, there wouldn’t be enough. He could easily calculate that, though he wasn’t sure if everyone had realized it just yet. Not when there were still a lot of boats with space.
Finally, Techno pushed himself to the front. He had a clear view of the crew trying to fight off anyone who wasn’t a woman or a child from boarding first. They were losing.
“Excuse me sir, children and women first.” The crew member looked him up and down, a little nervous to be facing a man as large as himself. He was worried if he would retaliate and force himself onto one of the lifeboats.
Techno pulled Tommy off his shoulder, “Child.”
The crew member blinked with astonishment and stepped aside. Techno set Tommy down into the ship. As he did, he noticed the look of expectation in his fearful blue eyes.
“Aren’t you coming?” it wasn’t much of a question. It just seemed like Tommy wanted a confirmation of what he knew was happening.
“No, I’m going to Phil and Wil. I still need to help them.” Techno looked down at the boy in the boat who was moving to stand up.
“Then I’m coming with.” Tommy demanded.
“No, you’re staying here.” Techno stated.
“Hey big guy, if you’re not getting on, move.” A man behind Techno started pushing.
That was his que to leave. Techno turned around.
“Hey get back here!” Tommy shouted and started to move off the boat.
Techno quickly turned back around and pushed him into the boat, “Sit back down or I’ll knock you out to make sure you stay.” He pointed at some other people in the boat as well as the crewmate, “Don’t let this kid leave this boat.”
Tommy could feel tears swell up in his eyes as he situated himself back onto the lifeboat, “Be safe.” He managed to call out to Techno as he walked away.
“I’ll be fine, kid.” Techno replied as he disappeared into the crowd.
George signed as he stood behind the panicking masses. He pinched the bridge of his nose, “All of this excitement is giving me a headache. I wanna go back to sleep.”
Dream scoffed, “No, what we need is to get on one of those lifeboats.”
“And here I thought you were the smart one.” George rolled his eyes.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“There is no way we will be able to get onto one of those lifeboats. There isn’t enough. They are already becoming overcrowded. If there are too many people on one boat, it won’t be able to support the weight. At this point, our best bet is to find buoyant objects and rough it out until we get rescued.” The shorter brunette explained.
“And here I thought you meant that there was no hope, so we might as well go back to bed and die.”
“I’m not that suicidal, but that doesn’t seem like a bad idea either. At least we would be dying in each other's arms.” There was a moment of silence as Dream took in what George said with a flabbergasted look.
So, George began to explain his point of view, “Look, the chances of us surviving this are slim. We will have to fight the remaining people who couldn’t get on a lifeboat for valuable resources. Once we acquire those resources, our next battle will be against nature. When it comes to man vs nature, nature usually always wins. These waters are at freezing temperatures and we don’t have an abundance of body mass to keep us warm. We are pretty slim with a decent amount of muscle. We will have to huddle for body heat to lower the chances of dying from hypothermia by just a small fraction.”
Dream ran a hand through his hair with a long sigh, “I suppose we should start looking for buoyant objects strong enough to hold our weight.”
Wilbur already unpacked his guitar and started tuning it when Techno stormed up to them, “What are you two, stupid? This is ridiculous and highly unsafe.”
Phil frowned when he eyed his second son up and down, “Where is Tommy?”
“He’s safe. I got him on a lifeboat and came back.” Techno’s tone was thick with ridicule.
“You didn’t go with him?” Phil raised a brow.
“They’re only allowing women and children first.” Techno reasoned.
Wilbur snorted, “Please, no one cares about that right now. It’s every man for themselves. Look at all those selfish bastards fighting tooth and nail to survive, without a care if it damns someone else. Though I can hardly blame them when they are facing death… It makes me want to write a song about it, but I’m not sure if I’ll have enough time to.”
Phil and Techno grimaced. Techno crossed his arms, “Well luckily, I came back to help your self-sacrificial ideology. You do what you think you need to, and I will make sure you will be able to write that song once we get out of this situation.”
Wil gave a soft smile as he looked down at his guitar, “Funny how salty air untunes these strings so quickly.”
Techno took no time to analyze his brother’s comment and turned to Phil, “Dad, I’ll need your help. I’m going to find resources we can use as a makeshift lifeboat once we go under. Since you two are insisting on staying on board.”
Phil straightened his posture, “Sure, what do you need me to do.” It made his shoulders look broader and his height look taller. He looked like every bit of the man he had made himself to be. Wise and unwavering. The steady Techno needed in the moment to focus.
“Okay, we will need some of those axes from the emergency kits. You know how the doors have those decorative frames at the top? We will need to cut those down. We will probably need one for each of us, since they look like they might only support our weight individually.”
Phil nodded, “Wil, we’ll be back once we get stuff to float on.”
Wilbur nodded, “Sure thing, I’ll be right here, playing.”
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It didn’t take long for Techno and Phil to find one of those emergency axes in some crewmate closet. There were probably far more than a dozen of these things lying around. He just hoped others had the same idea as they did, because they wouldn’t have the time to help everyone.
“We will have to go up to the second- and first-class floors. Those were the areas that had that decor. Which means we will have to go further up into the ship.” Techno stated, the air stale and grim.
“We better hurry then. The ship is slowly tipping forward while she takes on water. Gravity is a battle we will lose a fight against.” Phil was the first to head down the stairs.
“We don’t want to expend a lot of energy doing this either. We will need it for when we will eventually end up in the water.” Techno added as they continued at a reasonable pace.
The two ventured up the stairs. Luckily the tilt wasn’t too bad yet, but it would only gradually get worse. They would have to hold onto railings to keep themselves upright. If they weren’t able to do that, then they would end up falling out of the ship completely, crashing into the icy waves below or impacting some other part of the ship. Either way, it wouldn’t be a pleasant fall.
The two walked down the hall, axes in hands. Techno was tall enough that he wouldn’t need anything to stand on to reach the top of the door frames. Phil on the other hand… They would have to drag out one of the chairs from the room so he could sand on one of those. As they rounded the corner to reach the first of the guest rooms, they paused when they saw that they weren’t the first with the idea.
“Dream. George.” The names slipped off Techno’s tongue.
The two stopped and turned to look at the two. George didn’t pay too much mind and continued to axe away at the door frame. Dream on the other hand, stopped, “Back off we were here first.”
Techno snorted, “Please, neither of us have the time for this. There are plenty for the both of us. You only need two and we need three. There are more than five doors in this hallway.”
George snickered, “Come on, Dream, back to work.”
“Get a chair, I’m going to start chopping this one down.” Techno gestured to one of the doorframes by slamming his axe into the wood.
Phil opened the next door, glad that it was unlocked. A few minutes later he walks while lugging a small sofa. He placed it under the door and got on top. He had to steady himself before he started hitting away at the wood.
By the time they were finished with the third one, George and Dream were already gone. There was a significant difference in the tilt, but not too much to the point they weren’t able to stand up. It did make carrying the wood back much easier, as they didn’t have to fight gravity.
“Hopefully Wil is faring alright.” Phil cautiously walked down the stairs as he held the door frame over his shoulders.
“He’s crafty, he’ll be fine.” Techno tried to ease Phil’s mind.
It had probably been an hour since the ship was hit. As they made it back outside, Techno could clearly see the progress. The bow of the ship was dipping. It wasn’t submerged just yet, but it would be soon. He just needed some quiet and calm to better calculate their situation. Sadly, the screaming of others was making it a little harder for him to do so.
The clear view of the bow of the ship did help him with better analyzing their situation. As they got back onto the deck, the world went silent for a moment. The only sound he picked up was a melody from a familiar voice. From the direction it was coming from, he guessed that Wilbur didn’t stay in the same spot but moved back some more. Good.
Phil and Techno followed Wilbur’s voice until they were back at his side. Techno dropped the two doorframes he was carrying, and Phil dropped his.
“We need to sit, lower our center of gravity. That includes you, Wilbur.” Techno eased down onto the deck. Wilbur eyed him and gave a dramatic eye roll and slowly moved down as he continued to strum his guitar.
“You can continue to play; I just need to explain the situation and our strategy to get out of here alive.” Techno rested his hands on his knees, “The bow of the ship is sinking.”
Wilbur couldn’t help but stop singing just to whisper, “No shit.” before he continued singing.
Techno sighed, “The damage seems to just be in the front. Which means the front of the ship is taking in the water.”
To visually explain, he lifted both of his hands and held them out horizontally, his pinky finger touching his index finger as his palms were faced down. He kept the hand furthest away from him horizontal to represent the water, while he slowly moved the hand close to his chest diagonally to represent the ship.
“As the ship takes more water, the parts that are taking on water will start to submerge in the ocean. This will raise the stern of the ship as the bow sinks.”
“What, so the ship will become completely vertical then sink?” Wil managed to ask in between the bridge and the chorus.
“No, the ship wouldn’t be able to hold up horizontally under its own weight. I think the part of the ship that is above water will break off first then sink. Now, obviously, we will want to stay on board as long as possible to prevent hypothermia, but we will want to be off the ship before major tilting and breaking.”
Phil nodded in confirmation and Techno continued, “Once the deck of the bow starts to submerge, the time it will take for the ship to sink and take on more water will significantly shorten, causing a drastic tilt in a shorter amount of time. Which means we will want to enter the water around this time. So, probably when the bow of the ship starts to submerge.”
“When we get into the water, we need to stay close to one another and huddle as best as we can to share body heat.” Phil added, “That will hopefully fight off hypothermia as much as possible.”
Techno nodded in agreement, but soon their attention was brought to a bright flare that fired into the night sky.
Phil frowned, “Why the flare, there isn’t another ship around for miles. They should save those for when it’s necessary.”
Wilbur nodded his head towards the horizon, “There is a ship. See the lights. It’s a little hard to see, but it’s there. This is probably the third flare they fired since you two went back inside.”
“Why aren’t they coming?” Phil’s face lined with worry, or as much more worried as it could get.
Wilbur shrugged, “Beats me. It’s impossible to not see the flare in the night sky.” Even Wil’s initial upbeat attitude started to decline. His nihilistic and hopeless tones started to shine through.
Phil placed a reassuring hand on Wilbur’s shoulder, “That’s alright, as long as we have one another, we will make it through this.”
Wilbur leaned into the touch, relaxing enough to move his stiff fingers to strum the strings on his guitar.
They sat there for a bit, enjoying one another's company as the ship continued to sink. Water had already begun to creep onto the deck. They should start making their way to the edge to prepare themselves for entering the icy waters. As the three recognized this, they solemnly nodded their heads.
As they moved into a crouch to begin carefully shuffling to the side railing, Wilbur grabbed his guitar while the other two grabbed the doorframes from earlier.
“Leave it, it will only be dead weight.” Techno chided.
“No, I’m going to continue playing while we are out there.” Wilbur had always been stubborn.
“I already tried that with him earlier, mate.” Phil warned.
A warning which Techno ignored, “Absolutely not, you’re just going to endanger yourself. We are going to make it out of this together.”
“This isn’t for me. It’s for Tommy. He’s out there somewhere on some ship. He probably thinks we're dead or something. If I play, the water will carry the music to him. He’ll know that we are fine. But not only that, but it may be able to help a lot of other people. Just listen to the faint sounds of the orchestra playing on the other side of the ship.”
Techno and Wil had always been the definition of unstoppable force meets immovable object. In these cases, the unstoppable force usually ended up on top. Wil always seemed to find a way to pierce straight through Techno’s unshakable wall.
“Fine.” Techno decided to drop the subject with an unhappy grunt.
“Let’s get a move on.” Phil redirected their attention, “Once we get into the water, we need to swim out in hopes of finding a lifeboat that will allow us to board.”
“We won’t be able to see a thing in this darkness and they won’t be able to see us.” Techno added.
“We might be able to hear them, so we can swim over if we hear anything. When a rescue vessel does come, I took a few flares in the emergency kit from the closet.”
Techno hummed, “Those are useful, as long as we don’t get them wet. If worse comes to worse, we can always scream. The water is still. We can use that to our advantage.”
The three finally made it to the railing. The dark water reflected the stars, but there was no moon. All they had to do was wait for the water to come to them. It didn’t take long, maybe another ten minutes or so.
Once the bow sank even further and they got closer to the water, they set the oak door frames into the water and held on tight as they pushed off the railing and into the icy ocean with noises of chilled complaints.
“Stay close!” Phil shouted to the other two as they tried their best to link arms.
Phil and techno had their torsos resting on the wood while they held hands. Wilbur had his torso on his wood while he used his hands to position themselves on his guitar. So, Techno used his free hand to grab ahold of his brother’s clothing so he wouldn’t drift off.
“It will be hard to huddle together with the slabs of wood in the way, but at least we can stay together if we have a hold on one another.” Techno reasoned.
“All we have to do is wait it out and pray that help will come in time.” Phil tried his best to mask the tremble in his voice that came from the cold.
Techno was a smart man. He held the statistics of many things in his head. He was an expert strategist, especially when it came to business. He did what he could and tried his best to ensure the survival of his family. Sure, it would have been smarter if he had just forced them onto a lifeboat, but he was never able to control Wilbur. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he just left his father and his brother to figure things out on their own. At least he could rest easy knowing that Tommy was safe.
Techno wondered if maybe he were more vigilant, if he was stronger and smarter, his family would have a certain chance of surviving. Maybe if he were better with his words and was more convincing. Maybe if he had a silver tongue like Wil, he would have been able to convince his brother onto one of those lifeboats.
But it’s not like they can change anything. What is done is done. They had to worry about the here and now. He had to worry about keeping them together as they waited it out. He had to worry about outlasting the below freezing water temperatures, that would certainly lock up their joints and cause hypothermia.
At least he could focus on the contact of his hands gripping onto the two while Wilbur played a quaint melody. He hoped it was loud enough to reach Tommy like he had wanted.
Techno could feel Phil’s grip tighten as he trembled, “I want you two to know that if anything happens to me, I love you both more than you two could ever imagine. I want you to know that I am sorry for my failings as a father.”
“Shut up, you’re not going to die.” Techno grunted through his own teeth that had begun chattering.
“Techno, I spent so much of my trying to train Wil as my successor, despite how much he didn’t want to join the family business. I completely ignored how much you were willing to fill in and how much you wanted to stand by my side.”
“That’s not true.” Techno urged through gritted teeth, “You did let me.”
“Yes, eventually, but that was far too late. That was after I ended up driving Wilbur out of the house, leaving you as the last resort. I should have never done that. Even after that, I focused so much on work, I should have taken some work off so I could spend quality time with you… Which was what I was hoping this vacation could be.” Phil let out a spiteful chuckle filled with the bitter taste of irony.
“And Wilbur.” Phil continued. Wil was listening the entire time and hearing his father suddenly address him caused him to pluck a note out of tune, leaving a hesitant moment of silence before he corrected himself.
“I should have never tried to force you to do something that you had no interest in. I should have stood by your side and supported what you wanted to do. Your music is beautiful, and I should have never tried to keep it from you. All I did was drive a rift between you and the family, driving you out of the house. I made you feel like you didn’t belong. I want you to know that I have always loved you and I am so very proud of you.”
Wilbur discontinued his lyrics but continued with the instrumental, “Stop talking as if you’re going to die. Once we get out of here, you will have plenty of chances to make it up to us.” He put on a wide grin, “Besides, I had already told myself that if you ever apologized, I would forgive you… since I have already forgiven you in my heart.”
Phil supposed the only positive thing about the darkness was that it concealed the tears that streamed down his face. His sons didn’t need to see their father cry, “I suppose I don’t have to explain that Techno is going to inherit the company if I die. Wil, I know you never liked the manor, so I want you two to transform the manor into an orphanage and hold annual charity galas there.”
“Ew, not the orphan idea again.” Techno tried to include his normal banter to ease the tension.
“Are you forgetting what Tommy is?” Wil mused.
“Oh no, I must get rid of the child.” Techno continued.
Phil chuckled, “No, I’m going to adopt him, remember.” The amusement in his voice drained, “That is if I will be able to… Techno, if I am unable to, I want you to take him in.”
“I suppose adopting an orphan would no longer make them an orphan, legally.”
Wilbur laughed then went back to playing.
Techno wasn’t sure how long they sat there, drifting, before he felt Phil’s grip loosen. He made sure to tighten his own grip as he felt the other’s hand lose its strength.
“It’s so cold.” Phil’s voice sounded weaker than before, “I can’t feel my legs. I can’t move.”
Techno tested out his own limbs. He could still move his body, but it had become a little harder to. His toes had lost feeling, but he could still feel the rest of himself. He tugged on Phil’s hand, pulling the man closer until their wood collided.
As they got closer, he noticed Phil’s position on the wood had slid and more of his body was submerged in the water.
“Shit.” He hissed, “I’m going to join you. Your body temperature is dropping fast.”
Techno carefully maneuvered around Phil, positioning him onto the two door frames. He came around, wrapping one arm around his father's chest while his other hand kept them steady on the wood. He kept Phil adrift on the wood while he held him close to his chest. He could feel his father’s chills as well as his stammering heartbeat that slowed and struggled to keep up.
“Wil.” Phil managed to get out, despite feeling drowsy.
“Yes, dad?” Wil urged his father to continue speaking.
“Can you play that one song I like?”
“Which one’s that, you never said.” Wilbur already knew, but that didn’t matter. He just wanted Phil to keep talking.
“You'll Understand When You're Older. I really like that one. The Fall is also a good one.”
Wilbur already knew Phil listened to his music. If anyone told him Phil had listened to his stuff the first few years after he moved out, he wouldn’t have believed them. He was far too angry at the world and at Phil during those times. But one day, at a show, he spotted Phil in the crowd. At first, he thought he only showed up to mock him, but he noticed that he was able to find Phil at every other show he had after that.
He would watch his father cheer him on in the crowd. He would watch his father sing all of the lyrics to his songs. That was the reason why he decided to slowly walk back into his family’s life. That was why he decided to introduce his family to the family he made all on his own. That was the reason why he had already forgiven his father.
So, if playing his favorite songs would help him in this moment to keep pushing on, he would indulge.
Phil let out a pleasant hum as the familiar chords began to play. He had hummed along to the song to the best of his abilities. Though his humming became weaker and weaker, with pauses and breaks, wheezes and coughs.
“Hey dad.” Techno spoke up, shaking Phil’s body to jolt him, “Tell us about mom again.”
There was silence then a tired hum, “she… she was beautiful…”
Wilbur continued to play.
“Strong”
The pauses between each word became longer as the struggle became harder.
“Kind.”
“I… will see her soon…” Silence followed
“Dad, please continue,” Techno shook Phil’s body again as Wilbur continued to play, his own voice shaking from the cold and the tears.
There was silence.
“Dad” Techno’s own voice broke into a whimper. He quickly moved his hand to place it in front of Phil’s face. He gritted his teeth when he could feel his breath on his palm. It was faint just like his heart beat.
Their dad wouldn’t last long, “Help! Anyone!” Techno shouted. Wilbur would tell him that it was useless, but his mouth was filled with the lyrics from his father’s last request.
The sound of music and crying filled the air. At this moment, Techno allowed himself to become weak. What son wouldn’t weep? He continued to clutch onto his father’s body, even though he could no longer feel a heartbeat.
Phil had died while listening to his beloved son’s music while being held by his other son. A father who died while being surrounded by the love of his family.
“Wil.” Techo’s tone was broken, “You can stop now.”
“I’m not done yet. I have one more song left.” Wilbur gritted out, “I can do that much… let me do at least that much.”
That last sentence seemed more like a plea to whatever God was out there, to allow him to physically continue the task given to him by his father's dying request. If that was the case, Wilbur was barely holding out as well. He wondered if his fingers were numb, but he was still continuing to play. He wondered how his brother even managed to stay afloat.
Just as he said he would, Wil continued with the second song.
It was getting harder and harder for Techno to hold up his father’s body. He would have to push him further up onto his door frame and let go. He didn’t want to lose track of his father and let him drift around, but he wouldn’t last much longer if he kept expending energy by holding onto him.
This was energy he needed to make sure that Wilbur would survive as well as himself. Energy he needed to see this through, to see his brother and Tommy at the end. So, at the end of Wilbur’s second song, he lifted his father once more unto his wood and let go of him. Techno steadied himself onto his own wood and slowly gravitated towards Wilbur.
“How are you holding up?” Techno held onto Wilbur’s wet shirt.
“Do you want the truth or a lie?” Wilbur grimmly chuckled.
“At this point, it doesn’t matter.” Techno sighed.
“Well, I can’t feel my legs and fingers. My nose and ears burn. Our father just died. I’m probably going to be next.” Wil huffed.
“Not if I have anything to say about it.”
“I appreciate the thought, but I’m already motivated enough. I’m not going to die here, I still have Fundy and Sally, as well as Tommy. They’re counting on me.”
Techno nodded, it was good that Wilbur was motivated to push himself to stay alive. His father was hopeful, but he had less weight on him to keep him warm. It didn’t help that he was also older, so his blood was on the thinner side. Wilbur on the other hand was young and filled with energy, the only issue is that he was tall and slim. He didn’t have much weight on him to protect him from the cold either.
It hurt to say this, but he was the one with the best chances of survival. Young, motivated, strong, and a good amount of muscle and fat that would keep his temperatures warmer.
Techno wasn’t sure how long it had been, but Wilbur had stopped singing. Though he had stopped singing, he was still strumming that guitar of his. The cold was probably finally getting to him too.
Techno did the same thing he had tried with Phil to give Wilbur more warmth. He wrapped one arm around his torso and pulled him close to his chest. He could hear his brother hum with fond acknowledgement.
“You need to stay awake. Think of Fundy and Sally. Think of Tommy.”
“I am, stupid.” Wilbur wheezed out, “I’m still playing my guitar for a reason. Calm down.”
“If you have the energy to back talk me, use that energy to stay alive.”
Wilbur rolled his eyes and continued to strum.
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“You know, I wouldn’t have it any other way.” George whispered.
“You’re strange.” Dream mumbled out.
“We had always agreed, till death do us part. But I suppose, in this life, we will share even that.”
George held on tightly to Dream as they floated on the wood. Their last moments spent in one another's arms.
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Tommy huddled for warmth with the rest of the people on the lifeboat. His mind filled with thoughts of Techno, Phil, and Wil. He could hear Wilbur’s music over the water. It was hard to tell where it was coming from, and there was no way he would be able to navigate their boat to them to help. There wasn’t enough room on the lifeboat for more people and the current people would probably prefer to throw him overboard if he took control and tried to add more people.
So, the only comfort he had was Wilbur’s music. At least it was proof that he was okay, and if he was okay, that would mean that Phil and Techno were okay.
Though when the music died out, so did his hope. He would be alone in the world once again. The family that he had loved so dearly, taken.
“There is a lifeboat over here!” A voice shouted over the water followed with light shining onto their boat.
Excited murmuring filled the boat as they looked over to who it could be. They could see the light from a smaller boat and not too far away, the light of a large vessel. Help had finally come.
“We’re from RMS Carpathia, we’re here to help.” One of the men on the boat stated as they tied a lead onto theirs. They pulled their lifeboat to the main vessel and started helping the survivors onto the deck one by one.
Tommy looked back towards the direction that he had heard Wilbur in, “There are still more survivors over in that direction!” He pointed towards where he had last heard Wilbur, “They’re my family, please you have to find them.” He was beyond the point of saving face and protecting his pride, letting his tears freely fall down his face.
The man patted him on his shoulder, “Yeah, sure thing kid. We have people still searching, now go follow the rest of them and get yourself warmed up.”
Tommy watched as the men got back into their boat to look for more survivors. He wanted to watch to make sure they brought back those three, but the longer he stood there, the colder he felt. Eventually, he was dragged back with the rest of the survivors.
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Techno struggled to stay awake. Wilbur and Phil had been quiet for a while now. He could say a word to get them to respond. The numbness had spread up his legs and his fingers were tingling. His breath was shallow along with his heartbeat.
The once still water was now making more noise. That was strange. Did that mean someone was approaching? He didn’t have the energy to think. He wanted to sleep. As his eyes closed, his sleep was disturbed by a light flashing into his eyes. He groaned and opened them.
“Three bodies over here! This one seems alive!”
“Hurry get him on board!”
Techno couldn’t feel his body as it was pulled out of the water and onto the lifeboat. He slowly blinked up at the men.
“The other two don’t have a pulse!”
That was the last thing he closed his eyes and offered himself up to the nothingness that was waiting to consume him.
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Tommy was overjoyed when he saw Techno’s body being carried to the infirmary. He ran after the men.
“Stay back, kid.” One warned.
“Please let me come, he’s my brother.” Tommy urged.
The two men eyed one another, “He’s in critical condition.” One statted.
“Yeah, but maybe if he hears a familiar voice, it’ll help him push through.” The second reasoned.
“Fine,” He turned to look at Tommy, “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Tommy nodded and followed the two to the infirmary. His eyes widened when he was set down on the bed and they took off Techno’s clothing. His legs were bright red along with his nose, ears, and fingers. He watched as the doctor looked over him.
“He likely has frostbite. It will take a day or two for the first symptoms to show up, but he will have to go to a hospital on land to get treated.”
Tommy sat in the infirmary with Techno the entire time. Not once did he see Phil or Wilbur, and when he asked about them, the only response he got was shrugs. That was until he was able to speak to the people who dragged Techno back in. When describing Phil and Wil, they said that they did find two bodies matching their description near Techno, but they were dead.
Tommy was given food and water while he stayed. Eventually he fell asleep. He was woken up by one of the crewmates who alerted him that they had made it to New York.
“We’re going to have Techno here transported to a hospital. You’re free to go with him if you want.”
Tommy just nodded his head.
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Techno furrowed his brow and groaned. He could feel a soft bed beneath him.
“Techno?”
That voice sounded familiar.
“Are you awake?”
Tommy
Techno’s eyes shot open to see bright blue eyes and messy blonde hair. He turned his gaze and found himself in a hospital room. That’s when everything hit him. The shipwreck. Phil. Wil.
Tommy frowned when he recognized the look on Techno’s face, “They’re gone.”
Techno closed his eyes and inhaled, “I know.”
As he exhaled, he moved to push himself up. He frowned as he did, “I can’t feel my legs.”
Tommy’s eyes glanced down to the blanket that was covering the other’s legs. Techno reached down and pulled the blanket away. His legs were wrapped in bandages.
“For a second, I thought I didn’t have legs, but they’re right there.” Techno seemed to talk just to take his mind off things.
“I’ll go let a doctor or nurse know you’re awake.” As Tommy turned to leave, Techno grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer.
“Dont.” Techno’s voice was quiet, “Leave.” He finished.
Tommy’s shoulder’s dropped as he sat back in the chair, “Aren’t you hungry? Thirsty?”
“I just woke up, I don’t really feel much of anything right now.” Techno’s hand was hesitant to leave Tommy’s wrist, but he reluctantly pulled away anyways.
Tommy could tell that the other didn’t want to move his hand, so he reached out and held Techno’s hand in return. It was comforting to the both of them. They sat in silence as a woman walked in.
“Oh, you’re awake, that’s good. I have your medicine right here.” She lifted up a syringe which she pushed into the IV that led into Techno’s arm, “I’ll let the doctor know you’re awake.”
“Pain meds.” Tommy clarified as the nurse left.
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“Your legs have sustained major frostbite damage, we’re going to have to amputate your legs below the knee.”
Those were not the words Techno was expecting to hear when the doctor walked in, but it made sense, he couldn’t feel his legs after all.
“When will the procedure be done?”
“You’re taking this pretty well.” The doctor seemed surprised.
“Well, after everything that had happened, this is the least of my worries. I’ll have to surround myself with orphans soon.” Techno gagged and Tommy chuckled.
The doctor shuffled uncomfortably at the inside joke, “Okay… well, we can have you scheduled a week from now.”
“Are you sure you can’t get anything sooner? I have business I need to take care of, funerals to plan, wills to inherit, you know, the usual.”
“U-um… well, the soonest I could try is three days from now. I’ll have to see if that is okay with the surgeon.”
Techno nodded, “Okay, we’ll try for that.”
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April 10, 1913
It was Tommy’s birthday but it was also the anniversary of the Titanic first setting sail. The anniversary of Phil and Wilbur’s death. Techno had soldiered on through it. He busied himself with work, taking care of him, and taking care of Wilbur’s family.
He and Fundy had become fast friends, despite the small age gap. He could see the mischief in the boy that he had once seen in Wil.
Techno eventually learned to walk again with the help of prosthetic legs. It took him a few months to get used to the feeling and it took him half a year for him to start walking normally with them. Well, as normal as one could get.
Tommy had passed letters back and forth with Tubbo. Tubbo was ecstatic to know that he was alive and well.
Today he, Techno, Sally, and Fundy were visiting Phil and Wil’s graves. Fundy was running around, chasing a butterfly while he and the other two sat near the graves.
“I have something for you.” Techno pulled out an envelope.
Tommy grabbed it and tore it open. At first he thought it was another letter from Tubbo, but as he pulled out the letter and read it, it wasn’t actually a letter. It was a certificate of adoption.
“Happy birthday.”
Tommy could feel the tears swell up in his eyes, “Thank you, Tech”
“That’s dad to you.” Techno deadpanned.
“Yeah right, I’m not calling you that.”
The two laughed.