Chapter Text
*Beep. Beep.*
“Two days. Hate to do this to you, but you’ve got two days left.” Muse sighed, stretching. He had spent a good amount of time rigging up the bomb, that’s for sure. He didn’t trust Tommy to help, even if he was being guided.
“You know how to drag this out don’t you? I’d rather die from the poison.” Ranboo rolled his eyes, sighing.
“I would too, but it wouldn’t make a good story would it? The readers need a healthy amount of-” Muse started, his mouth still open.
“HEY! As much as I love teasing chat- I mean people. No breaking the third wall. I mean, what wall? There’s no wall but the four brick walls around us. Haha, am I right?” Ranboo blurted, his hair falling over his eyes as he suppressed his laughter.
Tommy rolled his eyes, his mouth twitching.
“Ahem.” Muse coughed, hiding his own smile behind his hand. “Your life depends on if Tubbo gets here in time.”
Ranboo blanched, his open mouth turning into a worried line. He hung his head, the quiet ticking of the bomb, loud and clear.
“I’ll be back in a few hours. No teleporting.” Muse nodded, closing the iron door and locking the two teens in the dark.
“NO! THEY’RE ALL GONE!” Tubbo shouted, going through his stuff in his closet.
“What’s all gone?” Fundy popped up, walking into Tubbo’s room.
“They took me months…” He moaned, sinking to his knees.
“Tubbo, what’s gone.” Drista frowned, her arms crossed as she leaned on the doorframe.
“The bombs…” Tubbo looked up. “He took all of them.”
“Wait… They were bombs…?” Fundy froze, his face full of fear. Tubbo nodded.
“Have something to add, Fundy?” Dream looked over Drista’s shoulder, an eyebrow raised.
“I may have stolen them… Not by free will, at least…” Fundy mumbled, his tail going still.
“Oh that’s very not good… Definitely not for Ranboo.” Tubbo ran out his room, practically sliding down the banister. “Techno! TECHNO! TECHNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
“What?” Techno looked up from his notebook, closing the cover.
“You know my bombs? The ones I’ve been working on for months?” Tubbo rushed, jumping up and down.
“Yeah…? What about them?” Techno said slowly, his eyes narrowing.
“Muse stole them. Well, used Fundy to steal them, but that’s not the point. What I’m trying to say is, MUSE HAS THEM.” Tubbo raged, his fingers sparking.
“Do that a bit more, short out the power in here until you calm down. I’ve got some calls to make.” Techno waved at the teen, walking into the bathroom.
Tubbo hissed, letting the sparks lose. Careful not to burn or set fire to anything, he targeted anything that was on. The lights, the microwave, the oven, the tv, everything.
“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Phil shouted, his swears coming from his office upstairs.
“SORRY DAD!” Tubbo shouted, sparking his hands again. He stood there, watching everything turn back on. If only it was that easy to get back his bombs and his best friend.
“Did you shut off his computer?” Techno coughed, coming back out with his phone in his hand.
“What the fuck is so important that you had to shut off my minecraft?” Phil snapped, jumping off the stairs with unnatural grace.
“Get the fuck ready in two hours. We have a kid to save, old man.” Techno scoffed, going back to his notebook.
“Oh-” Phil frowned, disappearing into the basement, probably to train.
“Care to tell me what the bombs looked like, and their model?” Techno motioned to a chair near his. Tubbo nodded, sitting down.
“They’re the typical rectangle shaped ones. I custom made the wires to be blue and yellow.” Tubbo noted, shifting in his chair. “But…”
“But what?” Techno stopped writing.
“I never tested them… Didn’t get the chance to, surprise.” Tubbo muttered, finding the tiles on the floor interesting.
“What are you trying to say?” Techno frowned.
“They’re unstable. Unsafe, at best. They can go off at any minute.” Tubbo groaned, leaning back into his chair.
Techno sighed, getting out of the chair, dragging the teen with him as he walked into the basement. Phil was, in fact, working out.
“Hey, mate. What’s wrong this time?” Phil asked, not even glancing at them.
“Bombs, Phil. Muse has Tubbo’s bombs.” Techno deadpanned, watching the avain slow to a stop.
“Hah. You mean the ones he hid in his closet, and nearly blew the house to pieces?” Phil raised an eyebrow, looking at Tubbo, who nodded while staring at the floor.
“Well, did you make all the calls?” Phil looked over at Techno, the phone in his hand. Someone was knocking at the front door again.
“Just did.” Techno smiled, rushing upstairs to open the door.
“Where are they?” Eret spoke, followed by many pairs of footsteps coming down the stairs.
“Everyone’s here according to plan, but Ranboo.” Techno counted, watching all of the heroes pill into the basement.
“Ignite and 𝟜0𝟜 are going to meet us there. Fundy gave them the coords.” Drista muttered, already in her suit.
“Alright.” Techno looked at Tubbo with a brief nod. “We’re working with bombs this time. And according to past knowledge, they’re a bit unstable. One wrong move, it goes off, killing us all.”
“Yeah, no pressure…” Nikki sighed.
Puffy gave her a small grin. “What’s the life of a hero without a death risking task?”
“When do we leave?” Eret looked at Techno and Tubbo.
“As soon as we’re all ready.” Phil spoke, glancing at his suit on a nearby chair.
“Way ahead of you, Phil.” Nikki laughed, unzipping her coat to reveal her suit underneath. Eret and Puffy both did the same. Drista only shrugged, while Fundy helped Dream fix his mask.
“Glad he chose somewhere away from everything.” Phil sighed in relief, his black wings invisible in the night, only the sounds of the wind against feathers reminded everyone that the hero was not just floating.
“Why’s that important?” Fundy asked, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. The fox hybrid was the one, besides Ranboo, that was capable of keeping up with Phil. The others were on the ground, either riding or driving on their bikes. Nikki rode with Eret, while everyone else had their own. Dream didn’t have a ride, and had declined when Techno offered. He said he would meet them there, no hint on how he was getting there. Tubbo realized that Ranboo wasn’t there, and the taller teen’s bike wasn’t made for anyone under six feet. With a sad sigh, he climbed onto Techno’s bike, wishing his best friend was there to tell him everything was okay. Puffy and Kristin had waved goodbye, and wished them luck. Puffy retired years ago, and was out of practice. She didn’t want to be a burden to the others. Kristin chose to stay home and watch her, making sure she wasn’t too lonely.
“It means that he cares, Kitsune.” Phil looked at him with a sad smile. “He still has some care in what he does to make sure no one else would get hurt.”
“Or cause he’s planning to blow a fucking crater into the earth.” Dream spoke, leaning on a tree as Phil and Fundy landed on the ground.
“Right… He has bombs…” Phil muttered, tucking his wings in close.
“Everyone ready?” Techno called out, putting on his own pig mask that covered his eyes. A chorus of agreements arose from the group, as everyone parked their bikes and lowered their masks. Phil’s was a simple black typical hero mask, while Fundy’s was a japanese, white porcelain, fox mask. Nikki’s black and silver phantom mask matched Eret’s white and gold one. Tubbo had his gray respirator with his curly hair covering his eyes. The teen claimed to be able to see out of them, but everyone doubted the fact. Dream wore his black smile on white, while Drista’s was the same with the colors switched, a white smile on black.
“Where’s Ignite and 𝟜0𝟜?” Tubbo asked, looking around for the duo.
“Sorry, we got lost.” Ignite huffed, running up the group with 𝟜0𝟜 coming close. Dream flinched, but stayed quiet.
“I thought he was with Muse?” 𝟜0𝟜 frowned, looking Dream up and down. His clout goggles were covering his eyes, but there was definitely a hint of fear in his voice as he spoke.
“Muse let him go.” Drista shrugged. “Now we’re stuck with him.”
“Great.” Ignite mumbled, pulling 𝟜0𝟜 closer to him. “Don’t think this makes us friends again.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Dream hissed, standing his ground.
“That reminds me.” Techno sighed, addressing the group of heroes. “We all know Muse’s power. Enchantes people with his voice. Blah blah. We may be friends now, but once we step in, it’s his domain. We may be forced to fight each other. Try not to kill each other. I’m looking at the three of you.” Techno narrowed his eyes to Ignite, 𝟜0𝟜 and Dream. Ignite and Dream were already giving each other looks, though it was harder to tell with the villain's mask.
“We can already guess who Muse is gonna make us fight.” Eret sighed, looking at Nikki, who had the same look.
“Our main goal is to get Particle and Decibel out, and stop the bomb.” Techno nodded, glancing at Phil. “Muse is merely in the way of it. Put him in jail another day.” He shrugged.
“𝟜0𝟜, could you check if the door is trapped or not?” Techno whispered, motioning the group close to the door. The hero nodded, just barely flickering in and out of view.
“It’s clear, do you want me to unlock it?” 𝟜0𝟜 asked, his head and shoulders visible from the outside of the door, the rest of his body was on the other side. Techno nodded, waiting for the click of the lock. The lock clicked, but there was another noise, a strangled noise.
“𝟜0𝟜?” Ignite whispered, following Techno into the building.
“I’ve been waiting for you.” Muse smiled, standing in front of Tommy, who was holding onto 𝟜0𝟜’s arm. The hero didn’t seem to be fighting back, but every few seconds he was disappearing and reappearing. Techno could feel Phil stiffen behind him.
“We don’t want to fight, Wilbur.” Techno hissed, using his real name. “Just give us back what’s ours.”
“It’s hard to believe we were twins once.” Muse smirked. “It’s a shame, I don’t care.”
“Wilbur-.” Phil blurted, standing next to Techno, a pleading look on his face. Muse frowned, looking at Phil for a few seconds.
“Stop them.” Muse muttered, walking into a shadow.
“Tubbo…?” Nikki bumped into Ignite, turning to look at the teen.
Tubbo gritted his teeth, watching the metal staff he borrowed from Ranboo grow to its full length. “You need to stop Muse first-. God damnit…” He muttered, throwing himself onto Nikki.
“Phil, you go!” Techno called out, running to meet Dream. The green strings were making its way towards the others.
“HURRY!” Eret shouted, sending the avian sprinting. She was helping Nikki fend off Tubbo, the teen looked horrified.
“Fuck this…” Ignite snapped, dodging Fundy’s throwing knives. “GEORGE!”
“I hope this theory works...” 𝟜0𝟜 grimaced, dropping on top of Fundy, covering his ears. The fox hybrid whined, clawing at George’s hands, before going limp.
“It works…” George breathed, checking Fundy’s pulse. “Sapnap, go help Techno. You hate Dream as much as I do. Do it for me, please.”
“FINEEEEEEEEEE.” Sapnap growled, heading towards the two. “TECHNO, COVER HIS EARS!”
“HOW DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?!” Techno snapped back, jumping over strings.
“JUST DO IT!” Sapnap rolled his eyes, watching Nikki and Eret do the same with Tubbo. The teen dropped with a hard thump on the ground. “Where’s Drista?”
“Techno- Do it already-” She spoke, a hand pointed at Dream. “I can only hold this for so long.”
“For once I am grateful for your powers…” Dream muttered, his mind fighting against Drista’s stare. Moving quickly, Techno made his way towards Dream, noting that Drista’s arm was starting to waver.
“Techno…” She forced out, barely muffling a small whine of pain.
“Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.” Techno hissed, ignoring each string that touched him. “See you in a few minutes.” He gently placed his hands over Dream’s ears, watching the villain’s eyes go wide, before he collapsed. “Someone explain to me why that works?”
“Muse’s counterpart is Tommy.” 𝟜0𝟜 shrugged. “I just assumed if we blocked the ‘noise’ it’d disappear. I really didn’t think about it much.”
“Ranboo!” Tubbo jolted, quickly standing up before nearly ending back up on the floor.
“Tubbo, I don’t think you should-” Nikki steaded the teen, worry written in her eyes.
“No, I have to do this. It’s my fault, my bombs. I can solve this.” He sighed, looking Nikki in the eyes. Techno placed a hand on her shoulder, nodding at Tubbo.
“Nikki, we have to go help Phil.” He muttered, gently pulling at her shoulder.
“Be careful, Tubbo.” Eret looked at the teen, before running after the group.
“If I were Muse, where would I put the bomb…?” Tubbo muttered to himself, spotting a small dark room in a corner. “In a dark locked room of course.” He grinned, running towards the door. He burned the lock to a puddle, before slowly twisting the door. “Ranboo…?”
“TUBBO!” Tommy shouted, jumping at him. “H-Help me…” He choked, his hands around Tubbo’s throat.
“T-Toms…” Tubbo struggled, his hands reaching for Tommy’s head. “No… Move-”
Tommy nodded, his head jerking side to side as it tried to get away from Tubbo’s hands. Tubbo took a deep breath, his hands covering his ears. Tommy sighed, falling onto Tubbo’s chest.
“Uh- Toms…? We need to get moving.” Tubbo whispered, running his hand through Tommy’s hair. “Ranboo?”
“He’s in the room. I’ve been staring at the wires for hours. I still can’t get the right ones.” Tommy frowned, getting up.
“The bombs aren’t stable, that's why. I never color coded it.” Tubbo groaned, realizing his error was now back to bite him in the butt.
“Uh, don’t scream, but Ranboo’s not exactly in the best condition.” Tommy laughed a bit, opening the door wider.
“Shit- Tommy, untie Ranboo. I’ll deal with the bomb.” Tubbo rushed, glancing at Ranboo’s condition.
“I can but- One of them is tied to his ankle. If he takes one step, it blows.” Tommy pointed at the one wire connected to the taller teen’s bruised ankle. “Ranboo… Tubbo’s here…”
“Tubbo?...” He mumbled, flexing his jaw. The gag had made his mouth dry and sore. “Why did you make bombs…?”
“I got bored?” Tubbo offered, working his way through the bombs to the one around his ankle. “Crap… He knew what he was doing…”
“What?” Tommy looked up from untying the rope around Ranboo’s chest. “Oh…”
“I hope he didn’t know… But I guess I got my hopes up…” Tubbo sighed, working more slowly.
“What?” Ranboo asked, turning his head towards Tubbo.
“He- He connected the one from your ankle to the rest. So, if that one goes off, even if I disconnect all of the others, they still go off. Killing us all.” Tubbo summed up, a sad look on his face.
“But?” Ranboo asked, waiting for Tubbo to spill it.
“But-if we let the timer run out, it’ll just blow the one around your ankle. Killing you.” Tubbo mumbled, looking away. The timer blinked in red, angry font, 3:45.
“You know there’s only one way to solve this…” Ranboo looked at the both of them, tears trailing down his face.
“Don’t you dare, you bitch. We’ll get out of this together.” Tommy snapped, hiding the tears on his face.
“Wilbur…” Phil stumbled, following Muse.
“What… Do you want Phil…?” He hesitated, slowing his steps.
“What did I do wrong?” Phil begged, on the verge of breaking down right there and then.
“You didn’t-” Muse slipped, stopping himself. No. He didn’t stop himself, it wasn’t him. It was someone else. “EVERYTHING! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!”
Phil looked heartbroken, a shadow fell across the elder’s face. Muse wanted to apologize, he wanted to! But he just couldn’t- Something was stopping him, but what?
“Phil… I-” He stuttered, trying to say some form of an apology.
“No…” Phil held up a hand, his shoulders low. “You could have just told me earlier, mate.” He let out a choked laugh.
Muse was in pain. Not because of this, no. Something in his head, it was pounding. It wouldn't let him… “P-Phil…?” He whined, falling to his knees. The avain looked back, worry struck across his face.
“I- can’t… I’m sorry…” Muse sputtered, blood bubbling from his lips. “I-”
“Shhh… Don’t speak, mate…” Phil murmured, stroking his hair with one hand, the other holding him up.
“It was never meant to be.” Muse echoed, one hand in a closed fist.
“RANBOO! NO!” Tubbo shouted, the iron door behind him closing shut.
“Take care of him, Tommy.” Ranboo smiled, saluting. As soon as the door closed shut again, a muffle boom went off.
“TOMMY, LET ME GO!” Tubbo shoved his friend off, running for the door.
“TUBBO!” Tommy grabbed him, holding Tubbo from under his arms.
“Tommy, hand him over.” Nikki whispered, gently grabbing the wiggling teen from Tommy. “Tubbo, you need to calm down…”
“He’s- He can’t be… We were supposed to go to Britain together… HE CAN’T BE GONE!” Tubbo screamed, tears streaming down his face. Nikki looked at Eret, who opened the door and glanced in. They shook their head, taking off their sunglasses.
“Did…?” Fundy mumbled, looking at Tommy with Dream and Drista behind him. Tommy tried to smile, but instead, his knees gave out.
“Dad…?” Wilbur mumbled, looking up at Phil.
“Wilbur?!” Phil watched his son’s eyes clear up.
“It hurts…” Wilbur whimpered, burying his head into Phil’s shoulder. “Kill me.”
“Wil…?” Phil whispered, his eyes trained on his, not his hand. His fingers closed around the grip of his sword. “What-”
“It’s not me- It’s-” Wilbur choked, spraying blood all over the floor. “Please…”
“I- Wil-.” Phil faltered.
“Make it quick…” He whispered, his breaths getting shallower.
“YOUR MY SON!” Phil shouted the sword open in his hand.
“Either you do it, or I’ll do it myself.” Wilbur spat, his body shaking with effort. “I’m sorry… For everything...”
“Wilbur…” Phil sobbed, the point of his sword now sticking through Wilbur’s back, dripping with blood.
“S-Sam…” He muttered, his grip on Phil’s suit dropping. The avian placed his son gently on the ground, leaning heavily on his sword.
“Phil?” Techno walked up, a hand on his shoulder. “Oh gods...” He muttered, hugging Phil.