Work Text:
[ Smajor1995 joined the game ]
Scott felt himself become blinded briefly, swaying on his feet as he stepped into the world. He checked the server address again, given to him a while ago by its admin. He felt a little jittery and nervous, mostly due to the fact that he was very blatantly abusing his whitelisted status. Dream had given him explicit instructions not to join unless it was MCC related. It wasn’t as if he had never been to the Dream SMP before, he just never came here with the purpose of removing someone from it.
Specifically, he was taking Tubbo and returning to the X Life server. It certainly wasn’t the safest place for the boy, but, when Scott had asked Liam, Liam had revealed that Tubbo only had one life left here. Certainly, the nine chances he got on Scott’s server would be better. That didn’t include the fact that here Tubbo was forced into incredibly bad, incredibly traumatizing, situations. Wilbur had already gotten his own earful when Scott had learned Tubbo had been a soldier, then a spy. Now that he was president, Scott thought that “Surely, things had to get better.”
He held onto that thought for weeks of silence between him and Tubbo. He ignored the fact that his anxiety only got worse with each passing day without a reassurance that Tubbo was safe, that he wasn’t dead. Scott went about his life until Liam stumbled into the X Life server, eyes wide and body completely covered in soot and wounds. They all comforted him as he stammered out what had happened on the Dream SMP, explaining Techno and Phil releasing wither after wither, Dream raining stacks upon stacks upon stacks of TNT from the sky, the fact that nobody would have cared if he lost all three lives and died permanently. The entire X Life server population sat in shock.
Liam resolved to stay here for a while, looking hard at his four hearts. Scott had a feeling it was to remind himself that he had more than three chances here, he had more room for error. Fwhip took him back to the mountain to get cleaned up and to get away from the Spawn Center; put some distance between Liam and the portal that brought him in and out of the server. There had been a lot of discussion about what to do and, after a few days, Liam came to him to explain the situation with Tubbo and the remains of L’Manberg.
Now Scott was standing in the Dream SMP, sighing in relief when he noticed Dream himself wasn’t present. Tubbo certainly was, if the rapid-fire messages coming in were any indicator. He chuckled to himself and instructed Tubbo to tell him his coordinates. He stared at the numbers, then spun around a few times before finally setting off towards where Tubbo was. There was some walking and he checked his universal communicator. No messages from Dream yet.
He needed to work quickly.
“Scott!” He heard Tubbo yell from afar and looked up with a grin to face his little brother figure, only for the smile to be wiped off of his face in exchange for a horrified look. He slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes flicking from place to place rapidly. There was so much destruction he didn’t even understand how to comprehend it. It was sickening to look at. This was Tubbo’s nation, the one he was president for. Obsidian walkways stretched across the sky with a huge crater underneath them. A few houses were still standing but not much. It was all exposed stone and, in one of the deeper holes, stood Tubbo with a pickaxe in hand.
Tubbo was covered in stone dust, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He paused for a moment before he climbed to join Scott. “Now, I know- I know it looks really bad but I’m not staying here so-”
Scott whirled on his younger brother, hand dropping to his side in a fist. “Damn right, you’re not staying here! I knew it was bad when Liam returned to the X Life server but this–!” He cut himself off with an exasperated noise. He ran a hand through his hair and motioned to the massive hole in the ground that was where Tubbo’s home once was. “Tubbo, you cannot seriously be considering staying here. After this?” He took a deep shuddering breath and rubbed a hand over his eyes.
He heard the teenager shifting and a gasp of shock. “Scott, I get it looks really awful but I love it here in the Dream SMP, I promise! We do a lot of fighting but it’s relatively safe, I swear!” Tubbo protested. His voice cracked in the middle and it sent pangs to Scott’s heart, but he knew he couldn’t be soft on this. He had nearly raised this boy by himself, taking him in when Phil was off doing his own thing. Tubbo was his little brother in everything but blood and paper and now he was destroying himself if the bags under his eyes and the lack of lives were any indicator.
Scott tried to be level-headed, he truly did, but Tubbo calling a place– this server– safe was something he could not stand by and listen to. “Tubbo, Tubbo, listen to me. This server is not safe! I get not wanting to live in a place with infinite lives because it gets boring, but you’re 16, Tubbo! If you lose the very last life you have here, then it’s over for you! Like Wilbur! Wilbur is a ghost no matter where he goes now! MCC, Minecraft Mondays, any server he joins, he’s dead. You don’t get a reset button, it’s over! The fact that I left you long enough for you to think that a server that sends its members back to other servers traumatized is already awful on my part.”
He took a deep breath and forced himself to stop shouting. There was a heavy silence in the air and Scott’s ears rang with it. He forced back tears of frustration and pain, his chest heavy with the knowledge that he caused this. He let Tubbo go with Wilbur and Tommy. He didn’t check-in, he didn’t interrogate Dream, he didn’t do anything to protect the boy he called his younger brother. He opened his eyes to look at the teenager; Tubbo’s shoulders were slumped and he had a thoughtful, but sad, expression on his face. “Tubbo, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to think that wars and being president is normal for someone your age, even if you are mature and nearly an adult.”
He carefully extended his hand, letting Tubbo back away if he wanted. When Tubbo didn’t, he gently placed the hand on Tubbo’s shoulder. Tubbo shuddered underneath the touch. He smiled sadly. “You’re not an adult quite yet, Tubbo. You don’t have to stay here and act like one. You can come to X Life with me. Stay in my place and help me with the greenhouse or build your own place.” He offered. He swung his other arm around to motion to the large hole in the ground. “It’s not the safest server, but there is room for error.”
There was a long pause, one where Scott was sure that he was about to be denied, but Tubbo nodded. It was slow at first and then Tubbo was rapidly nodding his head. He felt slim arms wrap around him and instantly clung to the smaller boy, his head on the top of Tubbo’s. “Okay…” He murmured, stroking Tubbo’s hair gently. “Do you need to get anything?” He felt the shake of a head beneath his chin. “Okay, let’s go before Dream gets back.”
He herded Tubbo back towards the Spawn Portal, moving just as quickly as he did when he entered the world. As they moved, Tubbo messages Tommy and filled him in on the situation. “I’ll still be able to see him and visit and stuff, right? X Life won’t block my communicator?” Scott shook his head fondly, their footsteps echoing as they jogged along the wood pathing of the Dream SMP.
He smiled down at Tubbo, taking his eyes off of the portal for one second to say, “Of course not. And we’ll whitelist Tommy so he can come and go as he pleases!” He soothed. Tubbo opened his mouth to speak again, his eyes glittering in a way they hadn’t been, when both of their communicators made a soft pinging noise. Scott felt the blood drain from his face at the message and whipped his head up to stare at the no longer empty Spawn Portal.
[ Dream has joined the game ]
“Shit,” Scott whispered, swallowing harshly at the sight of sparkling Netherite, enchanted with what he knew to be ridiculously godly enchants. The only thing he knew could top it would most likely be his own enchanted Nether star but that was on the X Life server. Here, he was bare. He didn’t even get wood or tools, hadn’t felt a need to. He was here to get Tubbo and get out, not cause a fight. There was some shifting and he was sure Tubbo equipped his own items, the sound of an inventory being opened and a weapon being drawn coming from beside him.
Dream didn’t say anything, but Scott wasn’t stupid; there was no way Dream wasn’t displeased at this, not with how he immediately drew his axe and slung it over his shoulder. The three stared at each other for a moment, Dream blocking exactly where the two wanted to go. Finally, the younger admin broke the tension with a simple, “Hello Scott.”
He jerked his head in return. “Hello.”
Dream clicked his tongue, the noise echoing in the empty space around them. “I don’t suppose you’re here for MCC business.” He stated it as fact since it was. All three of them knew it, there was no point in beating around the bush as if it wasn’t the truth. If it was MCC signups, then Scott would have gone to Dream himself for the forms for the various SMP members. No point in going to everyone when they could just go to the admin of the server and he could collect a bunch all at once. Saved a lot of time, especially as the event got larger.
“No, I don’t suppose I am, Dream.” He shot back, acid on his tongue. As much as he wanted to hate Dream, he knew that showing it would end very poorly. Dream was powerful and not just on his own server. Scott knew fully well that the man had spent so much time fine-tuning his combat skills and training that he sometimes forgot to be a person. Obviously. He remembers the bloodlust from Dream being on his own MCC team; he wasn’t sure if Dream had a lot of empathy behind that mask of his.
Dream tutted again, shaking his head. “Scott, you know you’re not allowed to be here unless it’s for MCC purposes only.” He scolded and, if Scott had wings, he was sure the feathers would be ruffled. Dream’s tone was honey-sweet and patronizing, something he much didn’t appreciate. “I can’t believe you’d disobey me like this.” He sighed dramatically, inspecting his nails.
There was a brief ringing in Scott’s ears and he could feel his teeth grinding. “Do not speak to me as if I am your pet, Dream.” He felt Tubbo’s hand on his arm and pulled away, straightening his shoulders and marching straight up to Dream. He stood toe to toe with the man, head tilted up slightly to look at him directly. This may not be his server or even a server he was allowed on, but he refused to roll over to Dream’s condescending tone. “I will apologize for breaking our whitelist contract, but I will not apologize for doing it for the right reason. I am not someone you can get your filthy paws on and play with, you mutt. I am not a chew toy and I will not stand to being spoken down to.” Scott took a deep breath and carefully stepped back. “Now you are going to step aside and allow Tubbo and I through. I doubt we will be returning but let me make this clear: If I hear that you’ve inflicted consequences on your members for leaving the server to visit my own, I will report you and have your owner privileges stripped away. The SMP will be passed onto a different owner or even shut down and you know this.”
They all stood for a long minute. Scott watched Dream’s fingers tighten and relax around the handle of his axe. Had Dream not been wearing his mask, they would be having a staredown. He was sure that, even behind the mask, that Dream was watching him carefully. Dream was that type, one of those who looked to see if he could falter or step down. Unlucky for the younger admin, Scott was gentle and kind, but not weak. He enjoyed cute things and sweets and liked being around his friends, but he wasn’t someone who could easily be stepped over. Being cruel was Scott’s forte, he wasn’t capable of holding that attitude for long, but Dream had hurt his little brother and had nearly killed him. To say Scott was upset with him right now was an understatement.
He held his hand out for Tubbo to take and watched with a sick sort of satisfaction as Dream’s Adam's apple bobbed in a nervous swallow. He smiled sweetly as Dream returned his weapon to his inventory, backing down with his tail tucked between his legs. Scott had meant it when he called Dream a mutt; he was truly a dog, more so a puppy, trying to act like a wolf. One good scolding from another server owner and he was bending. To any other person, he wouldn’t but Scott had connections, good connections, and had been owning servers longer than Dream had; the SMP was truly Dream’s first owned server with more than just his close friends. It probably didn’t help that Scott was a little more than pissed at being patronized. “Are we clear?” He questioned as Tubbo’s fingers slipped into his.
Dream nodded reluctantly. “Understood. However, I will be removing you from the whitelist since you broke our contract.” He warned and Scott shrugged in response.
“We can meet somewhere neutral to discuss MCC.” He offered cordially and Dream responded by holding out a hand. Scott shook it with his free hand and Dream stepped away from the Portal, pulling up a window in his communicator to block Scott from the server as soon as they stepped through. Scott didn’t care and instead looked down at Tubbo. He felt some concern but it was washed away with the look of awe. He grinned. “Ready?”
Tubbo nodded and said his goodbyes to Dream, thanking him kindly for letting him stay on the server. Ominously, Dream told him he could return as he pleased and that he wouldn’t be blocked from the whitelist. Only Scott. Tubbo doubted he’d return, but said a quick “Thank you!” anyway. He pulled up the travel command in his communicator and typed in the address that Scott gave him for the X Life server.
[ Smajor1995 has left the game ]
[ Tubbo_ has left the game ]