Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sit down, children. And let me tell you a story. A story of hybrids.  A story of magic. Please let me tell you the story, of the Dream SMP. 

Long ago, when the forces of human and non-human forces fell apart when the earth could no longer take the world’s magical power, the mana of the world’s devastating split had disappeared to the wind becoming little more than the energy that fueled a human’s lifespan. When that little mana ran out humans fell asleep forever. Never to be woken up again. But even gentle ashes spread by the wind were able to grow into something special, and hybrids were birthed into this world.

Thousands of years ago, when the world was about to collapse from forces outside of its control, a small child unlike any other was born to the world. Originally, the government of a once-thriving world had taken the child away from his mother and father and kept him a secret, locked away from the world. But with the widespread growth of the strange hybrids, the government decided the boy no longer be a secret; returning home a small boy with small but pretty-looking black feathers. The first hybrid.

In the present, hybrids have still not been granted the same rights as humans, and the first hybrid cursed with immortality has found a home with many of his own kind. The Dream SMP.

Everyone knew Philza Minecraft and his family. Philza, the wise, practically immortal winged deity, the twins, Technoblade and Wilbur and two younger sons, Tommy, who enjoyed fighting and causing general mischief that was debatably harmless, and Tubbo, the easygoing, earnest, and somewhat naive youngest brother who assisted Tommy in pranks. He had given up his role as president of L'Manberg and gave the position to Ranboo, his romantic husband.

Another thing everyone knew about the Minecraft Family was that three out of four of them were adopted; Techno, Tubbo, and Tommy. Wilbur was Phil’s only biological son. Techno was found in the Nether when Wilbur was six; they just so happened to share a birthday and were the same age, so they called themselves twins to make things easier. When Wilbur first met Technoblade it had been like a match made in Aether; the two were basically conjoined at the hip! Tommy and Tubbo had been found in a box when they were both mere infants in an alleyway soon after the twin’s seventeenth birthday, upping the ‘SBI Family Count’ to five. And even though he wasn’t related to most of them by blood, Phil cared for each of his sons like he was. He was an immensely powerful immortal deity, what did he have to lose?

Well, there was one thing that posed a danger to their lives, as well as most of the people who lived in their city of L’Manburg; they were hybrids.

Phil was an elytrian-avian hybrid, which granted him the ability to summon and speak to the bird the question and large billowing black wings, which let him fly; even though both of them were injured beyond repair when Wilbur had... passed on, they had recovered somehow.

Wilbur was similar to his father; he was also an avian hybrid, and he used to have huge hawk wings on his shoulder blades and Technoblade was a piglin-hybrid, which was obvious due to his background of living in the Nether.

Tommy, on the other hand, was a phoenix hybrid; one of the rarest of all avian hybrids. So rare to the point of them being nearly extinct. According to urban legend, their feathers could not only heal fatal wounds but could also bring anyone back from the dead so long as their body was still intact and hadn’t been cremated. Unfortunately, Wilbur’s body had disappeared soon after the Manberg vs Pogtopia War, most likely stolen by Dream, so Tommy, instead of being able to revive Wilbur, healed his father’s wings by having him eat one of the feathers. The aforementioned feathers could sell for quite the pretty penny on the black market, making Tommy one of the most valuable pieces of ‘merchandise’ in L’Manburg, along with Tubbo, since the horns of ram hybrids were just as valuable as phoenix feathers. Since piglin tusks were easier to come by than ram horns, and they were able to regrow faster than ram horns, as well as the fact that most ram hybrids were hidden away from the world, their horns were seen as extremely valuable goods. 

There were so many times during the boy’s childhood when they were nearly captured by poachers who tried getting their hands on them or another hybrid they had known (Niki had nearly been captured three times before). After all, the younger a hybrid, the higher quality the specific item they were looking for. Those who tried were never found again. And if anyone touched anybody who lived in the general area of the Dream SMP, as it has been dubbed, the same fate would befall them. 

Chapter Text

It was any normal day in L’manberg. Phil and Tubbo were busying themselves by teaching Michael the common Human language. Niki was working in her bakery with Eret. Ranboo was busy patrolling the borders. Tommy was busy sword training with Technoblade and BadBoyHalo, and in a completely different place, a masked man sat outside his hut alone reading a book under a tree, calmly flipping through the pages, as another man with thick black and white goggles on his forehead, rested his head on the former’s shoulder. Everything was peaceful.

“HEY TECHNOBITCH COME ON AND 1v1 ME INSTEAD OF MR. EGG WORSHIPER OVER HERE!”

“Language, Tommy.” Bad scolded the avian Hybrid, who paid him no mind

Technoblade sighed deeply as he drew his sword. “Fine.”

“At least you’re not weaseling out of this like a fuckin’ pussy.”

“LANGUAGE, YOU MUFFIN HEAD!!” Bad screeched, as Tommy began to start wheezing from laughter.

But now, as the sunny day transitioned into the cool night, standing over the city of L'Manberg, was a small group of three figures donning grey to black colored robes, all of whom were horseback. They had come to the city due to rumors they had heard. Rumors of a place where there was an abundance of hybrids living in one place. The horses reared back and began to try throwing one of the figures off of its back with little success.

The first figure pulled out a clipboard from a pouch attached to the horse’s saddle while the other two merely watched, their expressions vacant from under their robes, as the first, seemingly the leader, began to speak in a slow tone with a ‘feminine’ sounding voice coming from underneath the hood.

“This is the land of the Dream SMP. A place where hybrids and humans have lived for generations. Hybrids.”

The last word of their sentence was dripping with venom as they overlooked the city. “It’s their fault we live in hiding. Hybrids are scum beneath our feet. And we will purge this place of them. Like we did every other time and in every other place... Do what you must. Just let me have the wings and head of the first hybrid, and you shall have your due. Elizabeth, darling... This is all for you.”

The first figure turned to the other two, their robes swaying gently in the wind. “Remember what I taught you. Go! Go now!”

“Mhm.” The other two nodded firmly. However, as the group dispersed, from above, perched high on an oak branch, sat a handsome black crow with a gold token wrapped around his foot, watching and listening to the entire discussion as the men dispersed. 

Letting out a mournful screech, the bird flew quickly away from the group to alert his master. He had to know about this.

In the house he and Ranboo shared, Tubbo smiled as their adopted child, Michael, who played happily with a bee and enderman doll plush, gently watching the boy’s every action. Michael reached out to Tubbo and smiled an innocent, happy smile. “Papa! Papa!” The small zombie piglet laughed clapping his hands. Tubbo smiled happily, before he scooped up the small boy, and placed him gently into bed, and placed him under the covers. “Mike, it’s time to go to sleep, okay.”

The small child nodded slowly, as he rolled over onto his side, slowly drifting off to sleep as Tubbo hummed a somewhat familiar tune. Tubbo smiled softly before he turned off the lights, and left the attic, as a tall shadow watched the scene from outside.

As morning dawned on L’Manburg, a loud ear-piercing screech was heard from Niki, waking up pretty much everyone in the city. 

“MY BAKERY!! OH MY AETHER, THE BAKERY!”

Eret, Niki’s neighbor, and a friend rushed over to the mermaid hybrid, panting heavily as they stared at Niki, confused. They were still wearing their bright purple nightgown that when down to their ankles and black house shoes.

“Niki, what’s going on… OH MY AETHER, THE BAKERY’S ON FIRE!"

Niki stood in front of her bakery which was burning in bright blue flames. “SAPNAP! TOMMY! GET YOUR BUTTS OVER HERE! YOU TWO ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE!”

After the flames were extinguished, Sapnap and Tommy sat quietly as they were being chewed out by Phil and Niki as the main suspects for burning down the bakery; Sapnap because of his fire-powers, and how he could easily be goaded into causing general mischief and setting pranks if thing went just right, and Tommy because… he was Tommy , as well as his ability to create also fire.

“... Do you know how important that bakery is to me?! If the recipes had been burnt..!” Niki said, incredibly upset at the two men in front of her (well, one man and one boy). 

“But you nearly set the place on fire that one time after you thought you saw your father's ghost” Tommy pointed out, not noticing the droop in Phil’s wings. Niki began to seeth and started towards the phoenix hybrid. “Oh, you better pray to the Aether that you don’t have your mattress and pillow coated with honey for the next week !”

“Now, now, calm down Niki. I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation for... all of this, and I’m sure the recipes pages are okay.” Phil said as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down as Eret and Wilbur were sifting the rubble and debris trying to find any salvageable material. Eret smiled widely as they found a box labeled ‘Special Recipes’. “Don’t worry, Niki! The important recipes didn’t get burned, so you..!”.

Sapnap, who was silently standing in front of Niki with Tommy, opened his mouth angrily ready to defend himself. “I didn’t do anything!! I’m not responsible for this, and neither is Tommy. I was with Karl and Quackity all night they can back me up!”

Niki turned to Sapnap’s fiance’s who both nodded, as Tommy stood up and pointed to Phil. “YEAH! AND ‘M FUCKIN’ INNOCENT TOO!” Phil sighed gently swatting Tommy over the head with his wing. “Language, Toms.” the elytrian chastised. Tommy ignored it and continued.

“TECHNOBITCH CAN SENSE ANY FUCKIN’ THING THAT GOES ON IN OR OUTSIDE OUR HOUSE! AND I WAS HAVING A NICE FUCKING DREAM ABOUT..! About... about... OKAY, I ADMIT IT, I FORGET WHAT I DREAMT ABOUT BUT IT WAS A BLOODY NICE ONE!”

Niki turned to Techno who merely nodded. “Tommy was roosting like a baby, out like a light. Those training exercises have been doing him well, eh, Phil?”

Phil quietly nodded as  Tommy let out an embarrassed squawk.

After what happened to Niki’s bakery, and efficiently rebuilding it, Philza and the other citizens of L’Manburg noticed stranger and stranger things happening around the city, each of them growing worse and worse. 

Tubbo’s beehives were knocked over and what was worse, all of the bees were dead. Puffy woke up one morning to see her long, curly hair cut short, which she didn't mind since she needed to get it cut. Quackity had a panic attack after a ‘prank’ where all over his and the fiance’s shared bedroom where there was dozens of ‘VOTE FOR JSCHLLAT 2020’ posters pasted wall-to-wall, and in a hut far away from L’Manburg, a figure found that all of his white porcelain masks were broken, missing or blown up. However, the worst of all of the ‘pranks’ was the one on put on the immortal Philza. He had been roosting (which is when avian hybrids are asleep in their ‘nest’, which usually was comprised of blankets, pillows, soft pieces of clothing, and comfort items) and someone snuck into his room and clipped his longest flight feathers without the use of anesthesia. The house had woken up to Phil’s screams of pain, and Technoblade had to chase the figure out of L’Manburg and kept up the pursuit until daybreak, as Wilbur and Tommy tried to stop Phil’s wings from bleeding out. However as the 'pranks' continued and grew worse and worse, everyone had one question on their minds.

What the fuck is going on..?

Chapter Text

On the roof of his house, Philza Minecraft sat gently preening his wings, as a flock of crows circled him, screeching loudly, their guttural song echoing through the air. Phil squinted at the flock as he tried to pick up bits and pieces of what they were saying. One particular crow, with a trinket around its foot, fluttered down to Philza, landing soundly on his hat, and dropped a coin held in its beak into Phil’s waiting hand, and the crows screeched louder and more clearly so the immortal father could hear them.

‘Danger!’

‘FIght!!’

‘Cloaked figures sus’

‘Fly away!’

‘This isn’t very pog’

‘Indeed’

‘Dadza save ur kids!’

‘Crowfather! :}’

‘Run!’

‘ Run! ’

“ALL OF YOU, HUSH UP!” Philza roared, his voice echoing through the night sky, before he outstretched his hand, beckoning one of the crows to land on it. The crow clambered up to his forearm as the others began to voice... whatever their particular emotions were.

‘is this Yellza?’

‘ALL HAIL THE CROWFATHER!’

‘never heard him yell before’

‘SBI for life!’

‘Check out tubbo’s stream guys. something happing.”

Philza ignored the last crow, and gently stroked the crow on his arm, as it squealed and screeched out an explanation in words only Phil knew. As the crow finished, Phil placed a hand to his chin before slowly shaking out his wings. Suddenly his communicator buzzed. A message from Tubbo.

<Tubbo> Dad.

<Ph1LzA> What is it Tubbo?

<Tubbo> It’s Ranboo! He’s been turned to stone!

<Ph1LzA> What..?

<Tubbo> Please come over, you have to see this

<Ph1LzA> I’m on my way, Tubbo.

The blackbirds moved away from the blonde as he straightened out his body. “I’m off to visit Tubbo, okay, chat? Don’t follow me. And keep an eye on my kids.”. This command sent the crows into an excited frenzy of screeches.

‘He’s letting us do what now?’

‘ALL HAIL THE CROWFATHER!’

‘Stop doing that dude.’

‘Hurry! Go dadza!’

‘tjhis reminds me of that story Disney changed!’

Spreading out his wings, as his flight feathers were still growing back, Philza glided down to the ground and once he landed, he sped towards his youngest’s son’s home. Something was wrong in L'Manberg. And he had to go to Tubbo’s to investigate. As the crows dispersed, a shadowy figure stood behind Philza Minecrft’s house, peering into one of the windows as he searched for one of their targets. And upon seeing the flash of a pair of bright red wings, the figure smiled this would be easier than anticipated.

Chapter Text

As Philza arrived at his youngest son’s home, there was a small commotion going on. And it wasn’t good at all.

“Ranboo! Boo, wake up! Please!” Tubbo wept over his (platonic) husband’s body. A gentle quiet knock sounded at the front door. From outside, Tubbo heard his father’s voice. “Tubbo? You in, mate?”

“Yeah, Phil. Come in”

Phil opened the door slowly, removing his hat as he came into the house. Tubbo sat next to Ranboo, gently holding his hand as Phil rushed over to his youngest son, wing billowing behind him. Phil simply stared at the lifeless Ranboo, with an angered expression on his face; the enderman hybrid was indeed turned into stone. His lips were gently parted, and his eyes were wide, which suggested that he had been transformed while he was off guard; possibly due to his amnesia, maybe he had been attacked by surprise? It was no matter of importance to Phil how he was attacked, however. Ranboo had been attacked unjustly and caught off guard. 

“Tubbo, do you know who did this?”

Tubbo shook his head quickly as he spoke. “No! I was in the attic putting Michael to bed, and when I came down, he was standing in the middle of the foyer like this!”. Phil could hear in Tubbo’s voice cracking from emotion as he could do nothing but stare at Ranboo’s new form.

Phil gently placed a large wing wrapped around Tubbo,  who began to weep over his husband’s body. As his tears fell off of the ram hybrid’s face, some small drops landed gently on the statue’s eyelids and rolled down its cheek. Tubbo turned to look at his father with wide eyes before he placed his hand to his chin.

“But, there was something weird I noticed while bringing him over to the couch..!”

“And what is that?”

“His heart is still beating! It’s slow and really, really quiet, but it’s there!”

Phil pressed his ear onto Ranboo’s chest, and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. When he heard the silent pitter-patter of the enderman-hybrid’s heart, Phil instinctively recoiled, turning to his youngest son, who looked at his father morosely.

“What should I do, Phil?! How-?!”

Phil shifted his wings so they would comfortably wrap around Tubbo so he could hug him.

“I will tend to Ranboo. I need you to care for your son. However, if I’m unable to find a cure, I just might need to consult Dream.

Tubbo’s eyes widened. “D-dream? Phil, wh-what do you mean?”

Dream was the admin of the SMP. He was a bit of an enigma, who lived a hermit lifestyle. After what his Dreamon had done to those around him, he had turned himself into L’Manburg. The Punishment that the people of L’Manberg decided on??  They decided unanimously that Dream must live far away from L’Manberg, to avoid hurting anyone. He was allowed to visit L’Manberg whenever he pleased, and people could visit him, but he could not be a citizen or a ‘government official’ there. However, he was still the admin. That power could not be taken away; even by Eret or Phil. It was woven into the very fiber of the soul. The faint power of Dream XD could not be taken away. If it were, the soul would shatter; and Dream would turn to dust.

Phil nodded slowly, as he hugged his son tightly. “If I must. He is the admin, after all. If anyone would know what to do, or what is going on, it’d be him. But that’s only in the last case scenario, alright, mate?”

“Okay, Phil... I have to check on Michael. See if he’s alright, y’know?”

“Of course.”. Phil said with a solemn nod. As the goat-hybrid ran off, Philza turned to his son-in-law, and gently ran a finger over his cheek, wiping away Tubbo’s tears. “Rest for a bit, Ranboo.”

Feeling the buzz of his communicator going off on his wrist, Phil opened his chat function only to see a flurry of messages coming in from Technoblade and strangely enough, Dream.

Philza paled as he read each message, just as Wilbur came through the door to deliver the news that Phil had already known from the message. 

“Tommy, he’s... He’s gone, Phil! Tommy is missing!” Wilbur cried, heartbroken as he sunk to the floor and sobbed uncontrollably, as Phil simply stared towards the direction of his house, with a million questions rushing through his head. Suddenly Technoblade burst through the door, panting heavily, with a worried expression on his face. 

Phil paled as he grabbed Techno by the arm. “Techno...  Phil started, hesitantly, wanting to deny the truth. “Is... Is it true? Is Tommy really... missing?”

Techno nodded slowly. “I’m sorry Phil.”.

Phil’s eyes slowly widened as a horrified expression came over his face. That night, L’Manburg was awakened by the immortal elytrian’s anguished screams. TommyInnit was officially missing.

Chapter Text

Phil paled as he grabbed Techno by the arm. “Techno...  Phil started, hesitantly, wanting to deny the truth. “Is... Is it true? Is Tommy really... missing?”

Techno nodded slowly. “I’m sorry Phil.”.

Phil’s eyes slowly widened as a horrified expression came over his face. That night, L’Manburg was awakened by the immortal elytrian’s anguished screams. Tommy Minecraft was officially missing.

L’manburg has never been so quiet, Dream noted silently as Phil, Sam, and a few other citizens of L’Manburg walked a few steps in front of him. He had been summoned to the city because of some strange happenings, and he was needed. The white porcelain mask he usually wore was replaced by a birch mask with a crudely drawn smiley face carved into the wood as his white ones were found broken sometime last week.  Usually, the resident gremlin was running around, stealing stuff, and pulling pranks all with a bright grin on his face. But today, he was nowhere to be seen.

Sam gestured to the Community House. “We want to talk to you about something. Please come inside.”

Phil stood in Tommy's room, by on the edge of his youngest’s bed. His eyes were drawn to an old stuffed toy sitting on a shelf gathering dust, it was a little brown cow. Phil remembered giving that toy to Tommy when he was 2, soon after he was adopted in the Craft household with Tubbo.  Phil picked up the toy and absentmindedly ran his fingers along the well-loved seams, remembering all the times Tommy would insist on bringing it everywhere he went. He loved that cow... couldn't sleep without it for the longest time until he decided he was 'too big a man' to sleep with stuffed animals. It seemed that even years later, he still hadn't had the heart to get rid of it.

From the doorway Techno and Wilbur glanced at their father, worried. It had been about a week since Tommy disappeared, and Phil had not been getting nearly the necessary amount of sleep for an immortal demigod hybrid. 

“Phil, you need to roost,” Techno told his father, who dryly laughed in response. 

“Boys, I’m completely fine.”

“But dad-!”

Phil sharply inhaled, his voice shaky. “I refuse to have Tommy die, Wil. Remember, you begged for me to kill you? On November 16th?”

Wilbur looked down, ashamed. “... Yeah, so?”

“If you or any of your brothers were to die, Wil, I would be unable to bear that sin on my conscious, especially if I could have done something to prevent it.” Phil closed his eyes and sat down calmly.

“But staying up and making yourself tired will not help our situation!” Wilbur shouted exasperated. The hawk-hybrid sighed before he began to pace around the room waving his hands around. “Phil, we have practically the entire SMP working to find Tommy. We know for a fact Dream is not behind his disappearance, AND ..! Uh,” Wilbur trailed off quietly before he looked at Technoblade, speaking through gritted teeth. “Techno, help me out here.”

“Phil,” Techno said, quietly approaching his father. “Please. If we’re going to find Tommy, you have to roost. Wil and I can head the rescue mission.”

“Techno-”

“Just an hour. Please.”

Phil stared at the toy in his hands before he stood up. 

“Fine. One hour. Wake me in an hour.”

Wilbur sighed contentedly as he watched his father leave his little brother’s room and walked towards his room.

“Well, at least he’ll get some rest.”

“Are we really going to wake him up after an hour?” Technoblade asked the younger twin. 

“No, no we will not,” Wilbur stated, matter-of-factly.

“Agreed.”

Phil walked into his room before he closed and locked the door to his room. He decided to roost for only a short bit before going back to searching for his son. After getting into sleep clothes, Phil collapsed into his bed, falling unconscious as soon as his head hit the pillow. He hadn’t known how long he had been asleep, but his peaceful rest was destroyed as soon as his windowpane shattered, and two hooded figures entered his room, grabbed him, and covered his mouth before he could call for his sons.

“Listen up Philza Minecraft, you will be coming with us. We will let you see your family one more time though, only because you’ll never see them again.” The man said as Phil beat his wings in order to escape from the crazy people in his goddamn room, and tried to make any noise and struggle out of the grip the men had on him. The two figures pulled out the rope and wrapped the rope around his hands and wings him up so there was no chance of him flying away before they covered his mouth with a thick cloth. Phil growled under his breath and in his rage, kicked one of the men in the shin. The man he kicked stumbled backward as the one still standing placed a strong grip on his jaw.

“I am not allowed to harm you, but do not think that that will not change.” The figure on the left said as the figure he kicked got up.

As Phil began to get dragged out of the room, the sound of his door slamming open, as Techno walked in as Phil was halfway out the window. Before the piglin-hybrid could reach the shorter figure, the one who Phil had kicked, whipped out a crossbow, and shot two dark blue-grey arrows into Techno’s abdomen. 

“Goddamnit!” Techno yelped, as Wilbur appeared in the doorway. At this point, Phil was nearly completely out the window, and the Arrow’s of Weakness lodged into Techno’s gut seemed to begin taking its toll as the piglin-hybrid collapsed to the floor. Philza screamed through the cloth covering his face, as he was finally dragged completely out of the window.

Wilbur looked from the shattered window to Technoblade, worry evident in his voice. “Tech-Techno, what-what do I do?!”.

“Go after them. If they’re taking dad, then Tommy will most likely be with them. I can handle myself just fine.”. Techno grunted as he pressed a hand to the wall.

Wilbur nodded before he sped over to the window and leaped out. He landed with an unceremonious thud and looked at his surrounding. As he walked around, Wilbur saw a trail of jet black feathers in the waning daylight. Picking up one of the black feathers; Phil’s feathers, Wilbur noticed something else. A few meters away from where he stood was several hoofprints and a white and green bucket hat. Wilbur gingerly picked up the bucket hat from the ground, before he pulled out his communicator.

<Wilbur_Soot> Guys.

<Nihachu> What is it, Wilbur?

<Wilbur_Soot> They took Phil.

<Nihachu> wait, what? What’s happening? who? who took phil?

<The_Eret> What’s going one??’

<The_Eret> On.

<The_Eret> Sorry

<Wilbur_Soot> the people who we think took tommy

<Wilbur_Soot> They took phil too.

<Nihachu> what?!

<The_Eret> What?!

<Tubbo_> WHAT?!

<Tubbo_> Tell me you’re lying! TELL ME!

<Wilbur_Soot> unfortunately its the truth

<Wilbur_Soot> phil is gone

Chapter Text

“You have to open your eyes.” The voice whispered

“Your son needs you”.

As Phil jolted awake, he quickly established the fact that his head felt like it was full of cotton. The sounds around him were distant as if he was standing in the center of a dark, empty cave. No matter how many times he blinked, he couldn’t quite get his eyes to focus in the darkness. It was like some sort of mental limbo, somewhere between consciousness and sleep. Phil lingered there for what felt like an eternity, trying to clear the smog from his brain. Luckily after a few minutes, his head began to clear and the world around him came into focus. He must have had a good roost last night.

He went to stretch out his wings, but found it odd that they wouldn’t move the way he wanted them to-! They wouldn’t budge. Why couldn’t he..?

Wait...

Oh fuck.

Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.

Several things went through Phil’s head in a matter of seconds, hitting him like a ton of bricks being thrown in his face.

One: He was not in his room in his house worrying about his missing and possibly dead son.

Two: His arms and wings were tied ... painfully tight

.

Three: The previously mentioned son who he thought was missing and/or dead son was passed out and tied up in a fucking cage next to him.

Four: A group of cloaked figures had broken into his room in the middle of the night and kidnapped... birdnapped..? No, kidnapped him.

Five: Phil was currently locked in an extremely small birdcage. So small he could barely move without feeling the rusty metal bars of said birdcage.. 

From outside the dimly lit carriage, there were what sounded to be several horses, a minimum of three, riding beside them. Nobody was speaking. He had no way of knowing how long he was asleep or how far they had traveled. He had no idea where he was or where he was headed. His wrists and ankles burned from the rope chafing and digging into his skin. His wings and back ached from the rope that was tightly wrapped against his wings. This was real. He was alone. Well... Not really alone. Phil inched towards the cage Tommy was trapped in, trying to get as close as possible to his second-youngest son, maybe to give his son some comfort, before examining his son’s face. Tommy appeared to be indecently good shape, despite being kidnapped and missing for about a week. His hair was slightly matted, his clothing was covered in dirt and grime, and he had a black eye, but that was it. 

Phil inhaled nervously, before reaching out to the unconscious teenager in front of him.

“Tommy,” Phil whispered in a hushed tone. The boy didn’t stir. Suddenly the carriage stopped almost immediately which caused Tommy to wake up.

The boy looked from side to side, before seeing Phil, with pure fear in his eyes.

“P-Phil..?” Tommy stuttered out before the tarp covering the room of the carriage was removed, allowing moonlight to enter the dimly lit carriage. 

“Oh!” The figure gasped quietly.  “Miss, he’s awake!”

“That can’t be good.” Phil muttered. 

The figure quietly approached the birdcage and grabbed Phil by the chin and pulled his face up, presumably to confirm that he was awake. It strained his neck quite a bit. Phil gently moved his head out of the man’s grip, as Tommy glared daggers at the figure. The man promptly turned and walked over to his group a few feet away, they appeared to be discussing something.

Phil nervously cleared his throat. “Um... Excuse me, mate? Who are you lot?” He asked cautiously, “Where are you taking us?”

He received no response. It was clear that they had heard him, it was impossible for them not to hear him.

Suddenly, Tommy spoke, his voice loud. “HEY! WILL YOU ASSHOLES LISTEN TO PHIL!? ARE YOU AFRAID HE’LL KICK YOUR ASSES? YOU PROBABLY THINK WE WOULD YOU BUNCH OF FUCKING PUSSIES.” The teenager shouted with a confidence that he probably shouldn’t have, “I’LL BET WE COULD TAKE ALL OF YOU DOWN IN A FIGHT!”

“Tommy!” Phil admonished the boy with a slight gasp. Tommy only continued his rant.

“YOU THINK I’M SCARED OF YOU? HUH? UNTIE ME, BITCH. I’LL FUCKIN KILL YOU BITCHES!” Tommy continued to taunt his kidnappers, his confidence growing as Phil watched in slight shock.

“Tommy?! Don’t get yourself into any unnecessary danger!” Phil squawked, nervously. The tallest figure, whose face was completely concealed by their hood, simply waved their hand as if they were ordering something.

“Gag him.”

Phil’s eyes widened in brief surprise as Tommy let out a scared squawk. “W-wait- don’t come anywhere near me with that, I’m warning you-” Tommy’s confidence started to crumble, as he remembered just how serious this situation is. How stupid could he possibly have been to taunt his kidnappers when he was literally at their mercy.

Phil’s jet black wings flared, the feathers puffing up in anger, as his son backed further and farther away from the figure, until he was unable to back away any farther.. “I’ll… I’ll be quiet, I swear, just- please don’t… please..?” He felt his face turn bright red in embarrassment at how pathetically weak his voice had suddenly become, especially since his father was with him, “Please-”

The figure didn’t listen, and once the figure left, the inside of the carriage was dark once again, Phil felt the carriage speed back to life. Tommy stared at the bottom of his cage as the wind from out the carriage went rushing into the small space, bringing a slight chill. 

Phil sadly looked at his son. He knew Tommy loved to talk. Tommy could talk for hours and hours about a wide range of topics. He was good at being loud and great at being heard. He loved making people laugh, he enjoyed telling stories, and he could entertain hundreds with his commentary alone. Phil had told him many times his voice was stronger than any other weapon. Tommy took comfort in the power of his voice. So, when Tommy was gagged, causing him to be unable to speak, it was the most painful form of punishment for him. Phil stared at Tommy who he could see was trying to hold back the tears that pricked at the corners of his eyes. 

Tommy then suddenly stared at his father, the reflections of his eyes glowing in the darkness, almost as if he was trying to ask his father so many questions that he couldn’t ask. Asking what he was supposed to do? How were they going to get out of this? Where were they even going? Curious about why this was happening in the first place?

Tommy stared at Phil, nervousness deep in his eyes. “Don’t worry, Toms,” Phil whispered, staring at the boy. “We’ll be okay.”