Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Phil was old. He knew that. It was about 400 years ago that he had been that 175 year old who had taken three, no, four, no, five children in. Technoblade and Wilbur Soot when they were seven and struggling to live in a rundown, abandoned village reeking of Nether Corruption. Tommyinnit when he was two and stumbling through the woods, his tiny wings so close to breaking. Tubbo when he was three, trapped in a box that had been thrown into a river. Ranboo when he was 16, his home was destroyed in Dream’s rage.

They were his kids, his and Kristin's. He had sworn to protect them until they died of natural causes, and what happened?

He killed Wilbur, and his son's compassion formed into Ghostbur. In the end, the ghost couldn't take Friend's death, albeit temporarily, on top of Phil's lies (Phil regretted every single second he spent avoiding the ghost) and went to Dream for resurrection. He didn't last a year before dying again, laughing even as Kristin herself gently took him. (Later, he'd find out that the resurrection had stripped his soul of anything compassionate, and it would take years to rebuild)

Tommy died, all three times by Dream’s hands. Three times, Phil broke his vow, and each time, he wasn't there. Dream brought him back as well, but that spark of life that had always been there was gone, replaced by a timidness Puffy had pulled him aside for and explained that whatever happened in exile, something he could've prevented ,  caused this. Dream took his life from him again, defending Michael alongside Techno, Ranboo, and Tubbo. 

Ranboo lost his first life, as well as his platonic husbands and son. He spiraled, swearing vengeance, and left, never to return.

Due to their piglin hybrid status, Michael and Techno were like Phil, one go, one life. Techno survived, his bloodlust activating, but Michael had been too young, and by the time that was realized, it was too late.

In a span of a year, Phil had lost four of his five children.

After the 5th year, they found Dream, but a trap had been laid, and Techno took the brunt of it, severely wounding him. Despite that, they killed the demigod, one and for all.

Three days later, he collapsed and succumbed to his wounds. Technoblade never woke up again.

Dream had taken everything from him, and Kristin had said the one thing he never hoped to hear: she couldn't stop him from being reborn.

But in the darkness, there's always a light. The others would live again, and he made another vow, this time keeping it closer to his heart. His children would get the childhoods they deserve, no matter how long it takes for them to heal.

And so he watched as L'Manberg fell into ruins, becoming the 'Bedrock' district of Las Nevadas, a place withered in crime. He watched as those with mutations and powers became more and more frequent. 

And then, nearly 500 years after Wilbur's first death, Kristin walked on Earth, something she hadn't done since they first met. She had chosen to become temporarily mortal, to live as one would, her ability being one of shape-shifting so she wouldn't stand out. He loved being so close to her without having to fly too high, without having 5o be so close to death itself. As he climbed to the 'Top 10', for once, his mind wasn't rattled with the thoughts of his children. Until, of course, Fate reminded him in the most peculiar of ways.

Kristin became pregnant. With twin boys. At first, he couldn't see why it had been too shocking (he will admit he hadn't thought much of having biological children), but then Kristin looked, and started to cry.

"It's them," she had sobbed. "It's our boys."

And so, five months later, Wilbur and Techno were reborn, looking nearly identical to how Phil had remembered them. He could see Kristin's features, how when they smiled, the room lit up, and how they seem to Influence the entire room with their emotions.

Wil was a phantom, and it reminded him of Ghostbur. Growing up, it was a struggle to make sure he didn't accidentally phase through the floor or walls. His only tell where he was was the barely visible mist that clung to his body. Water in any form hurt him and sonic showers were a quick must-have as soon as they figured it out.

Techno was like before, a piglin hybrid, red eyes and pink hair, but he had a human nose, and tusks that barely poked out from under his lips. The voices were quieter this go-round, more supportive and less bloodthirsty, begging for Ranboo, Tubbo, Tommy, and Michael. Phil couldn't find it in himself to explain who they were.

Then, when the boys were eight, Kristin got pregnant again. Tommy, they realized with giddy excitement, but it came crashing down at eight months and a business trip later. Techno and Wil had gone to a fellow hero's house (the Brother-Sister duo often called 'The Captains', Captain Sparklez and Captain Puffy) for the weekend, leaving Kristin alone to do Christmas shopping. She had been taken.

A week later, they found her in an alley, a bleeding cut across her stomach, no baby in sight.

They had searched for months, but in the end, Phil had once again failed his vow. Tommy was gone, ripped from them before he had been born, and Kristin couldn't recall who had jumped her.

Wil and Techno hadn't understood what had happened, not really, but he could tell as they got older that it began to click.

"What happened to Theseus?" Techno asked one day, now 16 and preparing to become a Hero.

Phil swallowed, not ready to talk about it still. "We don't know," he finally answered. "One moment, he was with us, and the next…"

He could never say Tommy was gone. It didn't settle well, and even Kristin agreed, she would've felt something, right? 

Tubbo appeared when he was 10. Puffy had apparently kept her pregnancy a secret, and kept her son an even better secret, at least until he barged into the room, letting out distressed bleats. It was then he found out Schlatt, a hero turned villain, was his father, and he had tried to blame her, saying she had thrown their son into a river, but when it had been proven she had been on shift and he hadn't clocked in that day, he ran.

Ranboo came when he was 14, Tubbo having met him on the way to school. He had been walking around in the Blackstone district, trying to look for a job, lying about his age. Tubbo sent him to Phil, and less than a month later, Ranboo was officially adopted into the household.

Even with four of his children, it wasn’t right. It would never be right. Not until Tommy was with them again.

Chapter Text

He was not brooding, ok? Big Man Innit doesn’t brood in the shadows. That’s for wimps and losers. Big Men stand at tall towers with stone statues to look for crimes and illegal shit.

It’s totally raining too, he’s definitely not crying.

Look, the truth was, he had a nightmare. the same one that had plagued him for as long as he could remember. He was with Michael, but it wasn’t him. This Michael looked more like an actual piglin, but zombified, but Tommy didn’t care. He knew that was Michael, just like he knew the brown-haired boy shifting on the street corner was called Tubbo.

That Michael was crying, begging for him, Tubbo, and an enderman hybrid to run away. That Michael barely looked out of his toddler years.

Shaking his head, the blonde furiously wiped his eyes, ignoring as his red wings shook (from fear, the phantom pain, or just the cold, he didn’t quite know) and went back to looking at the teen, who was… right in front of him?

“Hi!” The ram hybrid chirped, and instinctively, Tommy’s wings puffed up and flared out, trying to make himself bigger. “I’m Tubbo. Why’re you just standing there watching me creepily? You aren’t a creep, are you?”

“Wha- No!” She sputtered. “Why the fuck would you think that? You’re the one acting sus!”

The ram- Tubbo ’s head reared back, and his ears flicked. “Did you just call me a sussy baka?”

‘You are a sussy baka! ’ part of him wanted to yell, but he just raised an eyebrow, well aware that the only thing keeping his identity was a flimsy red bandana. “Scram kid,” he finally said, voice going low. “Don’t you have parents or some shit worrying about you?”

Conflict appeared on the hybrid’s face before it suddenly lit up and he snapped. Tommy’s phone (which was definitely off before) rang, making him jump. “We should hang out sometime!” Tubbo chirped. “I gave you my phone number.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“I’m a good judge of character.”

He watched as the hybrid climbed down the gutter

It was a Sunday, so he called it at 3 and crawled into the bed he shared with the little piglin hybrid, doing his best not to smile as the toddler immediately rolled over and clung to him. He still had four or so hours to sleep and be prepared for whatever shitshow Monday was going to be. Some special announcement or something. Either way, he couldn’t find it in himself to care as he wrapped a wing around Michael, doing his best to ignore how lonely he felt as he did so.

He should’ve cared.

There were fucking heroes in his school. Fucking Philza Minecraft was supposedly in the hall of his homeroom and… and…

Did he remember too?

He couldn’t tell how long it had been between the DIsk Wars and recent day, but… Phil was alive, so it meant it wasn’t long, right? His wings shook and ears twitched as he hunched his back, pulling on his ratty backpack straps, and started going down the hall. Maybe he could skip. He was good at making injuries look like sickness, a common thing here in the Bedrock district, but…

But if he knew …

Without a second thought, he turned around, immediately putting on the sickest face he could fake and started stumbling away, not noticing as he walked through a barely-there cyan mist.

He honestly did try to not skip school, but it was just so boring, learning about stuff he did or already knew. But Michael looked up to him, despite being an actual fucking fetus, so he had to set a good example. Big Brother Innit and all. ( He’s lying to himself, he’s definitely a father figure and he knew if, even if he didn’t want to admit it )

So Theseus, the Red End Vigilante, decided to do a daylight patrol, something he hadn’t done in weeks.

At first, everything was normal and quiet. Maybe a bit too quiet.

“I’ll look down and there’s going to be a muggin’ in three… two…” he jumped down, scowling as nothing but Henry the Raccoon was down there, and even then, the animal was fast asleep on one of the fire escapes. “C’mon mum, don’t make a liar of me. Where’s all the crime boys at?”

“I’m looking at one right now,” a dry voice answered, and Tommy snapped around, stomach-dropping.

In front of him was the Number 7 Hero: Myst, Phantom of Las Nevadas. But Tommy knew him by another name. Wilbur. Ghostbur. This was his brother and-

And he had been one of the heroes at the school. Did he see him sneak off? Did he tell Phil? Shit, there weren’t many Avian kids in the Bedrock district, and if Phil was looking for him, he would’ve looked there today-

But if Phil had been looking for him, why hadn’t he found him yet?

So he swallowed, thankful that he was able to retract his wings, and spoke. “Wi-What are you doing here?”

“Lookin’ for criminals,” Myst shrugged, arms still crossed. He was dressed similar to how he had been dressed in Pogtopia. At least, he thinks it was called Pogtopia. A red beanie, brown trench coat, off-color shirt, and black pants and boots, he looked so similar to when they were in exile, Tommy could almost think everything was normal again.

But then Myst let out a huff and disappeared into that shimmering fog, and it kicked him into action. He jumped up, higher thanks to his hollow bones, and caught the fire escape Henry was on, causing the raccoon to wake up with an angry chitter.

“Sorry,” he muttered before continuing to climb. The second he hauled himself up, he was off, aware of how Myst was following him, but he was starting to lag.

Finally, he came to a forced stop as there was a gap that was too far for even him to jump. His only two options were falling or flying, because being captured? Going deeper into the system and losing Michael? That was not an option.

“Alright, you bitch boy,” Myst’s voice was lagging, but not in the way Wil used to do. He was slurring his words, and Tommy could feel the exhaustion coming off of him. “You’re trapped.” Tommy glanced below, stepping up on the ledge, making the man’s eyes widen. “Hey, step away from the ledge.”

He inched back again, wings aching from under the jacket he was wearing. Oh, his poor jacket. Niki was going to kill him for ruining it, but she’d understand. “No,” he finally said. “See you later, dirty crime boy,” he joked, stepping off. He saw Myst’s distraught face peering over the ledge just in time for his wings to break through the leather and flying him up, hovering a good 30 feet above the hero. They ached, and would be sore for days, but…

It was nice to fly again, and it was nicer to see Wil’s dumb face be so stupidly dumbstruck as he flew away.

Chapter Text

Wilbur wasn’t having a very good day. Already, when he woke up, hands stained a familiar blue and tears in his eyes for reasons he didn’t know, he could tell it was going to be a bad day. Between being forced to go into the Bedrock District (the thought of that district set his entire being on fire with so many feelings, it always had his form flickering) and watching some blonde kid with wings stumble into the nurse’s office at the sight of Phil, he had meant to talk to him, make sure he was ok and then tell Phil about the mini-him. And then Theseus (why that particular vigilante chose that name, he’d never know, but Techno was always thrilled about it for some reason, and Phil and Kristin always flinched) showed up.

He’d be lying if he said the chase wasn’t fun, but staying ghostie was exhausting and made him so hungry, but then Theseus had jumped , choosing to injure himself than being taken, and a fear and desperation he never felt at such an intensity filled him, he was about to launch himself off the edge when Phil appeared, holding The-

No, Theseus had wings.

He had wings, and he looked so much like Phil-

Ranboo had friends over today. One was Tubbo, Puffy’s son, and the boy from the day before, the one with wings who got sick at the sight of Phil.

There was also a literal child walking between the three, and he looked like Techno, so he couldn’t help himself as he snuck a photo and sent it to his twin without remorse.

Deadboi: is this ur son @bladeblade

BladeBlade: Ew, a child

Deadboi: come back from patrol and bug them with me.

“Ranboo!” he called, barging into the door. The winged boy jumped, and when he turned- Damn, he really looked like Phil. Then again, he was pretty sure was never that thin, and-

"What the fuck, man?" The boy yelled, and any sign of Phil disappeared.

"Should you even be saying that? You're, like, 12!" He exclaimed. The boy scowled, crossing his arms.

"Ranboo, I dislike your brother."

Ranboo just laughed, and it made the baby toddle towards him. “He’s just like that,”

The next night, he went out again, looking for Myst. He wanted to be the one to bring the vigilante to justice, but…

Dark wings spanned across the stormy sky, blonde hair obstructing blue eyes-

For tonight, he was just going to talk. Maybe he was related to Phil distantly. Didn’t he have kids before him and Tech?

As he walked, he found himself in the Bedrock district. Normally, he’d reveal himself and arrest a vigilante the second he saw them, but… that night, he stayed hidden, following each one as they made their way through different blocks. And then, finally, after a few hours, Theseus appeared, on one of the near ruined towers. He seemed out of breath, even after Myst had to phase through the walls to get to him. He was also holding his chest and as the avian twisted-

He had no mask.

It was the kid who had skipped.

Primes, he was just a kid, who had school, and a baby brother, and parents who probably didn’t even know their son was out running around. He went to move closer, but then the boy let out a sigh and pressed against his chest again, grimacing.

“Fucking broken, course it is,” he grumbled. “Michael is gonna be a clingy little shit again.” he stood, shifting the cape off and removing the hoodie and what seemed to be… very old-looking armor that should be in some museum or hanging up in Phil’s secondary office. “How did Tech do it again?”

Tech? He thought, shifting back before shaking his head. No, Tech was probably a medical vigilante who helped out. His parents would’ve noticed otherwise.

And he felt like a creep, just watching the boy struggle to bind his ribs, so he did what he was best, according to his twin. He was a coward and ran away.

Techno wasn’t sure what was up with Wilbur that morning. He was ravenous like he had spent the entire night as Myst as mist (What bugged him the most wasn’t how the voices screamed ‘Ghostbur’ every time he disappeared, but kept reminding him his production major of a twin chose to purposefully misspell ‘Mist’ to annoy him) but there were no reports of any vigilantes being caught.

“Where did you go?” he finally asked, once Kristin was out of the dining area. She and Phil both had a habit of hovering in the mornings, but maybe it was a bird thing, similar to how Wilbur was clingier in the mornings.

“Bedrock,” the man grumbled. “Saw Theseus.”

The voices roared again, chanting ‘ Tommy ’, ‘ Welcome home, Theseus ’, and, perhaps more disturbingly ‘ You want to be a hero? Then die like one! ’. Whoever this Theseus was, he knew about the voices, at least, in the same extent the voices knew him and Phil. “And?”

Wilbur hesitated, something Techno instantly caught. Years of being a member of Hypixel, one of the toughest Hero Training Gyms in the world, taught him enough to be the 2nd Hero. “And he ran away.”

I ran away was unsaid, but heard. “You saw his face?” he asked, and Wilbur just shrugged.

“It was dark.”

“Wil, I hate to break this to you, but you’re a phantom,” his monotone voice did wonders for deadpan as his twin flinched. “Why don’t you go arrest him now?”

“He’s at school,” he finally sighed.

“So what if some college student is pulled from classes?” he asked, and the silence in tension grew thicker as the voices just laughed or said ‘L’. “He’s in college, right?” More echoing wheezes came as Wilbur finally glanced up.

“He’s… he’s so young, He’s just a kid.” he finally whispered. "He looked so much like Phil, I just wanted... I wanted to keep him safe." it was something about those words, however quiet that they were. It caused a small click and something in him b̵̡̧̡̦̹̠̭̲̣̠̩̺̒́̽̀r̵̛̩̞̖̣̳̫̯̟̯̫̜̳̉̅̌͐̑̕o̴̲̗̠̲̯̣̟̿̌̈́̏̐̍̓̂ḱ̸̨̢͍̱̜̜̙̤̘̮̅͋͊̾̇̄ë̷͉̜̠̃̇̂̊̇͠ͅ.̵̧͕̲̭̰̙̮̝͈̟̗̍͆̃̿̿̎̉̔͘͠

Chapter Text

“Will Thomas Soot please come to the front office? Thomas Soot, front office.”

Everyone around him started snickering, and he groaned, feeling his wings puff up as he sunk into his seat. His English teacher, Mrs something, gave him a sympathetic look and motioned for him to go. So he stood, grabbing his ratty, barely-together backpack and walking out, trying to keep his head high. Once he was out of sight of the children, however, anxiety and panic quickly turned over his confident expression. Had the heroes somehow found him?

Was it Dream?

He didn’t know what to think if it was Dream. He couldn’t really remember much (“ Items in the hole, Tommy ”) but the feeling of pure fear the name sent through him was enough to let him know he wasn’t a good man. If he was even human at all.

Even back then, he just… never seemed right. Like Schlatt, in the end. Not all there.

After much trudging, he entered the office, scowling. “Whatever it was, they deserved…” he trailed off at the sight of the visible agitated Number 2 hero in front of him, who was slowly turning. “It…”

“Tommy?” Technoblade, the Technoblade, the piglin whose armor he wore while patrolling, looked ready to cry as he took a step towards the blonde, mask hastily thrown onto the hook on his belt.

Shit! Shit shit shit shitshitshit.

Was he going to kill him? He had no hesitation killing Tu- No… no, wrong time. This Techno didn’t know him. Shouldn’t know him. “How do you know my name?” he asked instead, and the question snapped the hybrid from his stupor, straightening his cape, which seemed hastily put on, and turning towards the secretary, who seemed less than amused.

“I’ll be escorting him from here,” he said, and once again, a flash of white-hot panic hit him, almost causing him to stumble back. The woman just nodded and went back to looking at her phone. Techno walked up to him, hesitating when he lifted a hand to put on his shoulder before sighing and moving on, not once touching him. “Come on. We don’t have all day.”

He couldn’t stay in the school (Primes know he didn’t want to), but… did he really want to go with the hero, even with how much he missed him?

It seemed his heart made its decision before his mind did as he walked behind the Hero, wings puffing up as the sudden wind hit the second he stepped outside.

"So," the Hero began, sounding awkward. "Can you fly yet?"

"Power usage is illegal dumbass," he grouched automatically, making the Hero snort. "Yeah, I took some lessons." Granted, those lessons happened a literal lifetime ago, but… thought that counts and shit, right?

"Good," he blinked at the hero's tone. "What's the highest point in this district? One that's hardest to get to?"

A dread chill forced its way through his body as he forced himself to answer. "The prison. It was built on some temple and shit and is cursed. Only held one bad'un ever."

"Where is it?" Tommy just pointed to the general direction, which was so ingrained in his mind, he couldn't forget it if he tried. The pink-haired man nodded and motioned for Tommy to get in a car, which he awkwardly did, realizing a second too late that the seat had been modified for someone with wings.

It was no secret Philza, aka Crow Father (it was a stupid joke in the days before Techie left for Hypixel and Phil went to a Hardcore world where he got glitched. It was a stupid joke, and some part of his heart still warmed at the realization Phil remembered him), was related to Myst and The Blade, but seeing the seat modification just… set that in stone.

Phil went out and found Techno and Wilbur, but hadn't found him. Had he looked? Had the winged bastard even realized he was alive again?

It wasn't until a hand settled on his did he realize his fingernails were cutting into his hands. Techno didn't say anything, instead pulling out a small first aid kit and handing it to him before driving. 

For those minutes, it felt peaceful. It reminded him of when they'd take their horses out to check on the ever-expanding bee farm, or go trading with the villagers.

It reminded him of what it was like before he had lost his final life in that damned prison that he was going back to. He hadn't even realized they were there until he was looking at the obsidian and Blackstone building, already feeling the Guardian's curse wash over him.

"It's still standing?" Techno whistled. "Guess Sam was right to brag his buildings were the best. Should've had him make the houses." The hero started walking towards the roof access, leaving the blonde behind dumbfounded.

"What?" He whispered. Techno… Techno remembered him? Had he even been at the school that day?

No, he didn't think he had been. A bad robbery or some shit. But Myst had been there, and if Wilbur was the same, he would've ratted him out to Tech in an instant.

Which meant…

Which… meant…

He found himself bolting after the piglin hybrid, taking the stairs two at a time. He was already waiting up there as he skipped the last landing in favor of just flying up.

"Use of powers is illegal," Techno said, or at least try to, but he was very much so cut off as Tommy flung himself towards the man, wrapping his arms around his middle and pressing his face into his stomach.

He could feel the hybrid tense up under him and did his best not to flinch as two arms pulled him up, into a proper hug. "Techie," he found himself whispering. 

The hybrid let out a shaky laugh, squeezing him closer. "I'm here, Tommy." He whispered back. "I'm here."

Tommy wasn't really sure how long they stayed up there, just hugging one another as the Guardian's Curse kept washing over them. All he knew was that their peaceful moment was ruined by a shrill sound of a phone call.

"I turned that off," he grumbled, moving to sit up and pulling Tommy up with him. "Clingy gremlin."

"Snarky bitch," he shot back, not moving away. "Who is it?"

Techno grimaced and pressed the answer button "Phil." He greeted, and there was a moment of dead silence.

"Techno, a school in the Bedrock district just called the headquarters, saying that you checked out a child. He was supposed to have been back two hours ago." Phil sounded angry, and it made him shrink back a little. " Where are you? "

Don't, he mouthed, but the pink-haired piglin just grimaced.

"Out," he finally said.

"And the boy? "

"What boy?" Tommy could just barely shot the snort he almost made. "Oh, right. He's with me still."

"Just take him back to the school."

"Phil, it's 4. School's over." Techno side-eyed him, and with a sinking stomach, he realized what he was doing too late. "I'll bring him over for supper. I think you'd want to meet him."

He then hung up, just as Tommy yelled, "Techno, you bitch!"

"He's going to find out eventually," the hybrid just shrugged.

"But did it have to be today? " He whined. "I only just found out you remember! I don't need Philza's hovering either!” Techno frowned, a dark look flashing on his face as he stepped forward, reaching out.

Tommy flinched back, but let out a surprised chirp as the piglin hybrid grabbed his shoulder, pulling him into a slightly more awkward hug. “I watched you die,” the older whispered, and he flinched again. “We both did. Let us have this, at least for today.”

It… it wouldn’t hurt. He could make some final amends before he did what he had to. “For today,” he agreed softly, a sense of happiness and peace washing over him as his oldest brother smiled the sincerest smile he’d seen since they were just kids.

Chapter Text

When he had first found Techno and Wilbur, the three were struggling to survive in different sections of a glitched Nether Fortress. There was a corruption that infected the Nether, causing the first variants of Nether mobs to appear. Wilbur was technically first, but he had been so delirious from the withering his own blood and bones were doing to him, his body refused to age from his young state. So while Techno was five, recently Awoken and orphaned, he was more able to stay close to a Piglin Clan, Wilbur was stuck at 3, hiding in netherwarts and crying in the soul sand.

Phil hadn't even thought twice about grabbing the wither skeleton hybrid, or inviting the piglin child to join them.

Just like he hadn't even thought twice to accept Techno's words when he said the kid was going to be joining them. The Voices probably liked whoever it was.

So as he opened the door, he was greeted to a panicked Wilbur, who was frantically cleaning what was left of the table. "What?" He asked, stopping short.

Wilbur's head snapped up, and his eyes went wide. "Dad!" He yelped. "I-I don't know what happened. One second, Tech and I were just talking and then the next he just destroyed the table and ran out."

Oh, fuck. Kristin and him did their best to help Techno through his Piglin bloodlust (compared to his last life, when the bloodlust hit when Tommy was 11 and Tech had to go to Hypixel after almost killing the said blonde boy, he thought they did a good job) but could it have taken over?

"About what?" He asked, and Wilbur hesitated. "Wil…"

"Theseus," he whispered, and it was like an arrow to his heart. It never got better, hearing Techno's nickname for Tommy coming from their mouths, especially when it was about a stranger no less. "We were talking about how young he seemed to be and he just… snapped."

"Did he say anything?" Phil prodded, and the brown haired man hesitated before nodding. "What did he say?"

"That… that he was going to have Four of Four again," Wilbur's answer somehow hurt even more, just for one reason.

The only way Techno would know of SBI's Four of Four was if he remembered. Which meant he was out looking for a child that didn't exist anymore. Which meant he pulled some random kid from school, away from his house, thinking he was Tommy, and was going to bring him here.

"Dad? What does that mean?" Wilbur asked, and for a second, he didn't see the half phantom, but rather, a ghost who bled and cried blue.

"It doesn't matter."

Ghkstbur's face twisted into an ugly look, similar to when he- to when Friend died. "You're always keeping secrets! You're over 500 years old, and we've never been told about your other children. You never tell us about you!"

He could only see blue, and smell the sound of wither and gunpowder and smoke as the TNT went off and Withers attacked the screaming people below.

He could see the son he killed, demanding answers he wasn't sure he could begin to say. "You don't want to know," he said instead, and all it did was light a fire in the younger man's eyes.

"Don't tell me what I want! I decide what I want! Why, Phil? Why won't you tell us?!"

"Not now, Ghostbur!" He found himself yelling back as his wings flared painfully, showing their old scars. It was that sudden shock to his system that caused him to blink, realizing that rather than L'Manberg crumbling at his feet, he was in Las Nevadas, a horrified Wilbur looking at him, very much alive. "I- oh, Primes, Wil-" he reached out, but his hand went through his son, causing him to stumble.

"Was that his name too, then? Do you just go renaming kids Wilbur then?" There was a hint of panic, of disgust, and it just made Phil want to cry.

"No," he protested, trying to correct, but Wilbur just shook his head and phased through the floor

With a distressed noise, he launched himself to the balcony, quickly taking flight after the cyan mist.

The door was open when Techno ushered him in, but he didn't seem too alarmed, even as Tommy gawker at the shattered table.

"You good big man?" He half joked.

Techno let out a loose laugh. "It's not every day you realize you're alive after dying."

Tommy did his best not to flinch, having gone through it four times. "It's not fun," he agreed. "No one’s here," he walked to a wall littered with photos, ones filled with Wil and Tech, as well as a beautiful brunette woman with a kind smile. "Who's this?"

"Mo- Kristin. Phil’s wife." Techno's stutter makes him nod. Of course, if Techno was related to Phil, he had to have a mother, and he knew Phil had been married before they met. "She should be back from class soon."

"University?" Tommy asked.

"Daycare teaching," Techno corrected. "She's older than Phil, so she'll recognize you instantly."

"But we've never met?" Techno leveled him with a look, and the blonde just shrugged. "I'm an orphan Tech. 'No parents' and all,"

"Disgusting," the piglin hybrid huffed, but he ruffled the blonde’s hair, making him curse and back away, but he was smiling. "Phil’s going to officially adopt you,"

"He won't," Tommy’s smile immediately fell. "If he's been looking for me since I was born, he would've found me. He's not looking, Techno."

There was a pause before the pink haired man sighed. "Fine," he had this grimace on his face. "I did say I'd adopt an orphan if I won a competition."

It took a moment, but he could hear the frantic screams and sounds of rockets that didn't instantly remind him of the Wars. "Yeah, and you got me eliminated in that! Twice!"

"I drop kicked you in self defense," the piglin hybrid protested. "You were the only one there who knew my weakness,"

"I was the weakness," he grumbled. "And even then you went easy on me." He had bruises and burns for weeks, but it was nothing compared to his teammates, at least.

"Do you remember how to use a sword?" Tech asked, and it made Tommy roll his eyes, because of course that would be the first thing he asked.

"Vaguely. I mainly remember putting armor on, but there was a big time when I'd always lose my armor so I just stopped making it." He shrugged.

"You don't remember completely?"

"Nah, more fun this way." A lie, because if he could just remember half of what he needed to, he wouldn't be here.

"C'mon then, let's get dinner ready,"

Watching Techno huff at their lack of potatoes definitely made up for when this 'Kristin' called and said she had to stay late.

"He's probably sick of 'em, Philza is," he mumbled as he took a chunk of meat from the stew and blew on it.

"They weren't that bad!" Techno protested. "Mi-" he stopped, suddenly looking pained. "Do you remember Michael?"

"Hard not to," he shot back. "I take care of him at the orphanage. No one wants to adopt a teen, and no one wants a piglin hybrid, so they stuck us together."

"I'll take him in too," the hybrid's tone held no nonsense about it, and Tommy knew better than to protest. Piglins were Clan creatures, and even a hybrid without a clan would suffer the worst from their own mind. He had been so lucky Tech had accepted his plead for help when Michael started to show signs of Decaying.

"Phil probably didn't expect him to be back either," Tommy muttered, doing his best to keep his bitter tone hidden. "Is Fundy around?"

"He is," Techno answered. "Still technically goes by his dead name. Born four years ago when we were 20."

"Aging the same?"

"No, he's aging like a human now. Sally was only a partial shifter this go, so he just had fox ears and a tail." Techno's gaze went to a wall behind Tommy, and he turned to see a photo with the person in question. Wil was holding him in a one armed hug, while also holding the camera.

"She didn't make it," Techno didn't correct him, and Tommy's heart went out to his brother. "So where is he? Shouldn't he be here?"

"No, he's at Wil's apartment with Niki." Techno laughed at his expression. "We don't actually live here, Tommy. We have our own places."

You won't have to interact with Phil was left unsaid, but was greatly appreciated as he just nodded to the hybrid. "Thank you," he finally said, throat feeling tight as his eyes stung.

How many years had he dreamed of Techno's laugh, or hands clapping his back? Of all the training sessions and stories read to him? How long had he missed his oldest brother, only to see a stranger from afar?

And now he was here, and it felt like he was in the snow again, watching as the hidden wall fell down, both metaphorically and physically.

"Thank you so much,"

Welcome home, Theseus indeed.

Chapter Text

It was around eight when Techno dropped him off at the orphanage, the blonde half asleep and chirping at each pothole that jolted him awake. (Part of him wondered if the piglin hybrid was doing on purpose after the 6th time)

He could see Michael from their window on the third floor, and without hesitation or shame, he tugged on Techno's hoodie and pointed when he finally looked. "Baby boy," he murmured. "Precious."

The older hybrid let out a chuff of agreement. "Go get some rest. Tomorrow is Saturday. I'll be back around 9."

"Night, Techie," he murmured, stumbling forward. His wings were puffed and twitching, itching at his nerves, which were flying at his entire being, telling him to get Michael and run back to Techno. "Stupid bird brain."

The Mistress of the place gave him a dirty look, but didn't say anything as he was back before the 9 pm curfew… not that it really stopped him. He could go a night without patrolling, right? Whatever Tech put in that stew, it was good.

Ranboo and Tubbo would like it, his mind suggested, and in his sleepy haze, as he opened his door, he let out a series of chirps that normally would've been greeted with quiet vroops and goat bleats. Instead, he was met with excited chuffing, and Michael slapping into his legs, causing him to catch the toddler.

He moved to settle on the bed, pulling out the small thermos and carefully pouring some of the food out. "Careful," he murmured in Standard. Michael let out a excited (quiet) squeal and began to drink the brother, starts lighting up hid eyes as Tommy took the lid back. "There'll be lots more tomorrow," he promised. "We won't get hungry again, Big M."

That night, he dreamt of smiles, music, and laughter, not once done in a psychotic state.

When he woke up, he knew something was wrong instantly. He sat up, gently shifting Michael to the side and went to the door, trying to jiggle it open. Instead, he found it locked, and, distantly, he could hear the Mistress yelling up the stairs.

"Come down now! We got someone doing a tour!"

Techno, he realized in horror. OK, sure, he's got a history of running away from foster homes or even those who did manage to adopt him, but Tech was different!

A whine tore from his throat as he realized Michael was still in the room. The Mistress knew Techno would've instantly chosen him, as it was no secret he was a Piglin hybrid, so she locked him up, with Tommy, away from his brother.

Techno frowned at the orphans in front of him, all very obviously staged as if to say 'pick me'. And yet, there was no sign of the blonde, winged teenager or even the infant piglin toddler, who he knows he had seen last night. Chat wouldn't be screaming his name otherwise.

"Where are they?" He asked the lady who had so frantically opened the door after he knocked.

"Who?" She was nervous, good.

"Tommy and Michael," he stared at her with his best dead look, which was only amplified by the mask he was wearing. "Blonde child, blue eyes, red wings, braces, about yay high, always cursing? Piglin hybrid infant, a literal baby?"

She wasn't meeting his eyes as she shuffled from foot to foot. "We have no one by those names here."

He let out an irritated sigh. "I was just with Tommy last night. I saw him point and wave at Michael before going into the building. Now, I'm only going to ask this once again," he leaned down to be eye level with the pathetic woman. "Where. Are. Tommy. And. Michael?"

He could hear everyone downstairs, doing their usual thing to get adopted, while Michael was clinging to his legs and he was doing his best not to have a panic attack. Would Techno try to find him? He knows he always ran away in his first life, but this was different! Oh, Prime, please don't let him think they had left in the middle of the night.

He hadn't realized he had placed them in the farthest corner from the door until it swung open, revealing the Piglin hybrid in question. His tunnel vision immediately zeroed in on him, and with Michael in his arms, he launched himself at the Hero, he immediately pulled them into a hug.

Vaguely, he was aware of the Mistress shrieking at him, saying he was a wrong'un, but he couldn't care. He was safe now. Two of Four, some might say.

Michael let out a whine and then a chuff at being squished, prompting him to step back enough to see the toddler glare up at his un brother. Techno's gaze went soft almost immediately as he chuffed back, and Michael's eyes went wide as he squealed.

"Let's go home," Tech murmured, and Tommy nodded, grabbing the two bags he had packed the night before.

"They're not for adoption," The woman said. "This… this is kidnapping!"

"Kidnapping is locking two kids in a ten by ten room with no access to a bathroom, food, or water." The hero retorted. "I'm the Blade, number 2 hero. Heroes are Mandatory Reporters. Don't think I don't notice how thin these two are. Or how thin any other hybrids here are."

"I'd never-" the woman tried to protest.

Tommy wasn't about to let anyone else suffer. "She makes the Blaze hybrids do dishes without gloves. Moonblooms are forced to eat beef. Michael had all of the golden necklaces I bought taken away from him."

"He's a liar!" She sputtered, but Techno's ear just flicked.

"Would you be willing to file a report?" He asked him, but he just snorted.

"I've tried. I'm a hybrid teenager, going against a human caretaker. No one wants to prosecute her."

Techno's eyes flashed from pink to red, and he tensed. "If I find you've harmed him, you'll regret it," he swore. "These two are now officially under my care, per the Hero Rescue Act 23-B."

If the elder hybrid held them a bit tighter as they left that God forsaken place, well, Tommy wasn't going to say it.

Techno, to simply put it, lived in what seemed to be a mansion, but not one like what Snowchester had been. He had seven bedrooms, two studies, even a full sized gym!

"I would've gotten a small townhouse," he had explained. "But the Voices wouldn't let me. Said I needed bigger for you, Michael, Tubbo, and Ranboo. Didn't realize what they meant until  Ranboo came and they got excited. At the time, I thought they were the future."

"In a sense they are," Tommy shrugged.

In the end, him and Michael still shared a room, but it was mainly because the toddler had separation anxiety and had gotten frantic when Tommy tried to leave him alone for a second.

All in all, it wasn't so bad, living with Techno. He didn't even blink when Tommy had stumbled through the backdoor in his vigilante gear, instead just giving him the much needed painkillers and called him in the next day.

Sometimes he'd run into Myst, who was getting increasingly frustrated at how easy Theseus evaded him, and once, he almost stumbled into Crow Father, who had been too distracted arguing with Chat, the murder of crows that followed him stound) to have noticed him backing away. 

It had been some weeks, almost four months come to think of it, when it was raining heavily. Normally, this would mean it was going to be a peaceful night, but the frantic knock on the door had Techno ushering Tommy into one of the entry closets as he opened the door.

"Wilbur?" Techno pulled his twin in and- he was half melted, and what wasn't was holding a small Fundy. Right, Myst didn't agree with water, despite his name. "What the hell are you thinking?"

"I can't be with him anymore," his voice had that same echo (I was thinking, what does Tommy like more than anything? Tubbo!) that made his chest feel all tight. "I just can't."

"Who, Wil? Who made you run ten miles in the rain to get here?" Techno's voice promised blood, and it sent a shiver down his spine, because that had been directed to him many times.

"Phil," Wilbur choked out. "Phil’s gone crazy."

Chapter Text

"What do you mean?" Techno asked, and Tommy wondered how long he'd have to stay hidden. He had asked for him not to be mentioned just yet, and the piglin had agreed, but…

"He… he named us after his dead kids," Wil choked out, and… oh… so he didn't remember yet. Tommy tried to stamp down the bitter taste in his mouth and Techno seemed to relax a little. "And we apparently look like them. But there's a missing boy."

"Wil, I hate to break this to you, but you ever hear of reincarnation?" Techno's dry voice almost had him laughing, and judging by Wilbur’s sour look, he wasn’t as amused.

“No. The idea of living more than once sounds awful," he shuddered, and Fundy wriggled from his grasp, getting set down and almost immediately shifting into his fox form. For a moment, it seemed as if he had been caught, but then a door creaked and Michael stepped out, into view.

The world stopped as Wilbur's jaw dropped and Techno tensed up. The only one who didn't care was Fundy, and that wasn't really true as he instantly went to Michael with a happy-sounding scream.

"You have a son?" Wil's voice sounded betrayed.

"Two, technically,"

"You're my brother bitch!" Tommy automatically protested before covering up his mouth. Wilbur slowly turned to the closet and opened the door, just… staring at him, like a creep. "Ayup Wimblur."

He looked at him, mouth open, and just pointed at him, eyes darting to his red wings, which were slowly fluffing up. “You’re the kid that got sick once you saw Phil,” he said instead, and Tommy just shrugged.

“I don’t want to talk about him.” Michael let out a squeal and pulled away from Fundy, teetering over towards him and demanding to be picked up. He did, hands automatically going to where Ranboo had showed him and- and he didn’t like that look in Wilbur’s eyes. He did his best to shake the feeling off, instead moving towards the kitchen, leaving the two to talk.

He decided against going out that night, and Techno came into his room a few minutes after the guest bedroom’s door shut. “Why is he here?” Tommy immediately asked.

“Phil thinks I’ve gone crazy looking for you,” he answered. “And thinks I’ve kidnapped a random orphan.”

“Clearly not,” he scoffed. “But why here? ” Ok, maybe he was a little possessive of privacy, but it being only him and Techno had reminded him of his better days in the New Antarctic Empire, back when it had just been the two, their army of wolves, bee colonies, and turtle farm.

Techno ran a hand down his face. “I’m due back at work soon.”

And… huh, now that he thought about it… “You didn’t quit the second you remembered?”

“No. Phil filed the paperwork, listing me as using my vacation days.”

Vacation days. Did he just… not take a break? Then again, the bruises from the year before would agree with that. “Huh. What about m- Michael? We can’t just leave him alone. I don’t really need to go to school anymore anyway. You know I’m smart enough to test out.”

“You can’t test out until the next year is about to begin,” Techno reminded him. “It’s only, what, eight more months to go? Besides, they have a daycare in the tower. Wilbur takes Fundy there when Niki can’t babysit.”

“I can’t sit in an empty house,” he tried again.

“...I can only call in so many favors Theseus. A teenage work-study…”

Tommy’s face screwed up. “I wasn’t talking about anything like that, you prick. Just don’t expect me here so much.” Techno rolled his eyes, but reached forward and ruffled his hair, and sure, ok, maybe he leaned into it, but it was only for a second.

“Not with Wil around,” he reminded him.

Tommy had been given two weeks off of school once the adoption was finalized, in the lieu of giving the new family time to bond with one another. All it really meant was that Tommy was bored, as the first day he had off, Techno had to go back into work, taking Michael with him to register him in the daycare program.

He found Shroud again that same day, the media in a frenzy at seeing the Blade carrying a small child, the pictures forever on the internet despite SBI’s best to keep it under wraps. And it wasn’t like he wasn’t looking, he missed his spider-hybrid son, but he had been at a better orphanage, one that catered to Hybrids, so he didn’t do much to interfere.

At least, up until some older kids were surrounding the four-year-old. He couldn’t hear what was said, but he could see when one of the older kids shoved the hybrid down to the ground, and his blood boiled. He walked over towards where the children were, standing behind Shroud and extending his wings, puffing them out, hoping that, in some way, he was mirroring whatever Phil did to make Wil and Techno shut up during their fights.

“What going on here?”

“N-nothing!” one of the boys squeaked out, and as they scurried off, he helped Shroud up.

“T’ank you,” he murmured. His heart ached at the sight of the boy’s sad look.

“You like ice cream?” the boy nodded, wiping tears from his eight red eyes. “How about we go get some?”

One second, everything was normal, and he had a giggling Shroud on his shoulders, ready to march to Techno to get him out too, and the next, he was facing a familiar blonde on the sidewalk, hot coffee dripping off of both of them as they stared at one another.

“Er,” Tommy began as Shroud’s giggled died out. “Ayup?”

“Tommy? ” Philza, the one person he had hoped and prayed both did and did not remember him, whispered, and for the younger blonde, it felt like the end of the world had arrived.