Chapter Text
“Can you get me a muffin, Shubble?” Scott asked, chilling Lizzie’s drink with his hands.
“Could I have one those cake pop things?” Joel added, looking up from his Minecraft. Subble sighed, getting up from her comfy spot. Scott wasn’t in the best relationship with his parents, and Bad liked him, so Shubble didn’t mind getting anything for her best friend. But as usual, Joel went wherever Lizzie went. That included the times where Lizzie comes over for movie night.
“When do we get to kick Joel out?” Scott rolled his eyes, running up to Shubble. She smiled, if Scott was talking about how much he hated Joel, then she knew he was in a good mood.
“Maybe later, you still need your muffin.” Shubble walked past the counter and grabbed one of the chocolate muffins.
“And Joel’s cake pop.” Scott frowned, his eyes glued on the kitchen door. “Did you hear that?”
“Scott, sometimes I think you're secretly a hero.” Shubble rolled her eyes, heading back around the counter.
“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.” Scott got out of his seat, and didn’t move. “Shubble-.” Upon saying that, the door burst open. Bad crashed to the ground with someone Shubble didn’t know on top of him.
“We left for a reason, Hannah.” Bad hissed, withering the thorns wrapped around his neck. Shubble had only seen his power once. When she figured out her parents were retired Heroes, she wanted to know what their powers were. Skeppy had a tracking ability, where if he had an item from a person, he could find them in less than a day. Bad had a withering touch. Anything he touched when using his power, would die. The only way to tell was if his hand had darkened to a black color.
“And the gang wants you back.” She grinned, rose bushes growing through the floor tiles.
“Shubble, listen to me…” Scott whispered, backing up slowly into Shubble, who stood frozen near the stairs. “Run upstairs and get the others… We need to get out of here. The Heroes will come and deal with the Villian.”
“BAD!-” Skeppy gasped, running out the kitchen before being stopped by another Villain.
“Your power won’t help you here.” The Villain muttered, his eyes narrowing as he spotted Shubble and Scott in the room.
“When did you find the time to have kids?” The female Villain grinned, her rosey red eyes staring at them. Shubble shrunk behind Scott, who put a hand out to cover her.
“Please-” Bad gasped, the thorns tightening around his neck. His hands shook as they reached towards the kids.
“RUN SHUBBLE!” Skeppy shouted, punching the other Villain in the face. The dagger he had thrown landed less than a foot close to Scott’s feet. “Punz, you piece of shit-”
“FELINE.” Punz called behind him. A blurred figure ran out, heading towards Scott and Shubble.
“Shubble, GO!” Scott pushed her up the stairs, frost forming at his fingertips. “Tell Joel, ‘Code Empires’. I’ll meet you-” The blurred figure happened to be a leopard hybrid, and their claws were aimed for Scott’s throat. Shubble held out a hand for her friend, but a different hand grabbed her arm, pulling her into a room. Her room. Where Joel and Lizzie were waiting for them. For Scott and her.
“Shubble, calm down. It’s me, Lizzie.” Lizzie shook her shoulder, trying to get Shubble’s attention.
“Joel- Scott- He said- Code Empires-.” She stuttered, her brain was a scrambled mess.
“We need to get out of here… Lizzie…” Joel muttered, opening one of the windows. Shubble’s room was on the second floor and just about five feet out the window was the roof of another building.
“Shubble, can you move? Or are you still in shock?” Lizzie asked, pulling her to the window.
“Shock...I think…” Shubble mumbled, everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.
“She’s still in shock, Joel.” Lizzie sighed, picking Shubble u, bridle style. “If you're still in shock, it’ll be slower, but we have to keep moving.”
“Hurry.” Joel called, standing on the roof of the other building. “Feline is already trying to break through.” Shubble never noticed the pile of chairs and bookshelves that were shoved against the door.
“Shubble… Wake up.” A voice spoke, somewhat panicked.
“Where?! What?! Scott! He-” Shubble shouted, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness.
“Shh, he’s going to meet us there.” A masked figure stood in front of her, looking oddly familiar.
"Oceanic… and Dynamite… You guys lied to me…” Shubble frowned.
“Bad told us not to tell you…” Joel Dynamite sighed, watching the opening of the alley way they were in.
“And Scott staying over everyday? Is that a lie too?” Shubble snapped, she really needed her best friend back.
“No, he does have a bad relationship with his parents. It’s cause he’s gay, y’know.” Oceanic shrugged, her hands out awkwardly, not knowing if Shubble wanted a hug or not. “Do you want a hug…?”
“Shh… Someones coming…” Dynamite held out a hand to stop them, his glove covered in gunpowder.
“If we get caught, here’s the address.” Oceanic muttered, shoving a folded paper into Shubble’s hand.
“Are the Heroes so desperate that they’ve hired kids?” Feline grinned, landing atop the garbage bin next to Shubble and Oceanic.
“What business does a Villain have with kids, then?” Oceanic snapped, hiding Shubble behind her.
“I just follow orders.” Feline shrugged, staking closer to the trio. “It’s best if you give me her.” He reached for Shubble, suddenly shivering.
“Looks like winter came early.” Scott frowned, ice spreading from his hand to Feline’s shoulder. “Don’t touch my friends.”
“I wouldn’t dare.” Feline laughed, jumping away as Oceanic threw a punch. “See you next time, kids.” He waved disappearing over the roof.
“Hey Scott… You don’t actually hate me right…?” Joel asked nervously, a hand covering his side.
“No, Joel. Why would I hate you-” Scott rolled his eyes.
“Cause-”
“Joel!” Lizzie yelled, running towards her brother, catching him before his head touched the ground. “Scott, how far are we from Code Empires?”
“Give him to me. If we hurry, about five minutes.” Scott hurried to Lizzie's side, ice spreading over Joel’s wound. The Hero flinched at the sudden chill.
“Shubble, how long can you hold your breath?” Lizzie looked over her shoulder.
“Not very long. why?” Shubble admitted.
“Well, now’s the time to learn.” She grinned, a ball of water forming in her hand.
“Hey Tubbo, did you-” Fundy barged in, a large cloud of white smoke blew into his face.
“I FUCKING DID IT! YES!” Tubbo whooped, waving away the smoke from his face. “Oh Fundy. What up, man?”
“Hey *cough* Tubbo *cough*.” Fundy sighed, walking over to the teen’s desk. “You did it… Actually…”
The vial of green poison sat clear in a different beaker. Dozens of smaller tubes hung from a rack, all the same blood red color.
“The colors?” Fundy raised an eyebrow.
“For Ranboo remember?” Tubbo gave him a small smile. He got lucky with the color. Red dye was the only color but green that didn’t affect the solution.
There was a quiet knock at the door, followed by the doorbell.
“No one’s supposed to come over… Everyone’s here…” Fundy muttered, running down the stairs with Tubbo behind him.
“What if no ones home?” A voice mumbled. Fundy definitely didn't know them.
“I could just freeze the doorknob and crush it.” Another voice suggested.
“Don’t freeze dry our doorknob, thank you very much.” Fundy scoffed, opening the door to a crack. “Who is it?”
Four very unfamiliar kids stood at the steps. A boy with blue hair held another boy in his hands. A patch of ice covering his side. One of the girls had pink hair, while the other Fundy knew from somewhere.
“Shubble?!” Tubbo opened the door wider, shoving Fundy aside. “What are you doing here? Fundy, go get Eret.”
The fox hybrid didn’t even hesitate. Tubbo practically dragged the rest of the kids in along with Shubble.
“Fundy, what’s happening-” Eret asked, chasing the teen to Tubbo and Shubble. “Neptune, it’s been months.” She nodded their head, taking the injured boy with him.
“Please take care of him.” Neptune pleaded with his eyes, watching Eret take his friend upstairs.
“Who are you?” Fundy tilted his head, poking at the girl with pink hair. She looked at Tubbo in horror, smacking Fundy’s hand away like he was a pest.
“Sorry. I’m Scott, or Neptune is my Hero name. This is Lizzie. Oceanic.” Scott pointed at the pink haired girl.
“Pleasure doing business with you.” Lizzie sniffed. Tubbo nodded, itching to go back into his room and work on the solution.
“Tubbo, who are you talking to?” Phil rounded the corner, wiping his hands on a towel. “Scott? Where’s Bad and Skeppy?”
Scott shook his head, “Code Empires.”
“Come in then, make yourselves comfortable.” Phil motioned for the sofa. “Your brother’s in the room second to the left.”
Lizzie quietly thanked Phil and walked up the stairs, peeking into each room until she found the right one.
“Who was it?” Phil asked, going back to cook dinner. Kristin was out with Puffy, so Phil was in charge of making dinner. Techno had promised to order pizza. No matter what Phil tried cooking, it would end up burnt. He even managed to burn water once, it was quite funny.
“The EggPire.” Scott sighed, taking a seat on one of the bar stools. Tubbo pulled out another one next to him. Shubble walked over to the sofa, sighing as she laid across the many pillows. Phil shook head, typed something on his phone and went on to cooking.
“The Eggpire? Why haven’t I heard of them on the news?” Tubbo asked.
“Cause they’re a gang in the poorer part of the city. The news doesn't want to waste money on the poor.” Scott explained, creating a mini snowman with a top hat for Tubbo. The teen gasped, poking at the snowman’s head.
“Is that why I’d never heard of you, Lizzie or her brother?” He looked up at Scott, the snowman sitting on his head. Scott’s icy blue eyes shined as the sun set.
“Joel is Dynamite. Yeah. You top Heroes watch the uppers of town, while us kids watch the poor sleep uneasily.” Scott sighed, sprinkling snow on Tubbo’s curls.
“Where’s Shubble…?” Phil asked, addressing the giant in the room. The ray of sunshine was nowhere to be seen.
“Over here! Sorry…” Shubble poked her head from behind a shelf. The shelf was at least twice her height and was covered by picture frames. “You have a lot of photos…”
“Oh! If you look higher up, you can find when Dad was actually young, and not old. He hides them up there so I can’t find them anymore.” Tubbo jumped from his seat, putting the snowman on the counter.
“That one?” Shubble squinted at black frame with red hearts.
“Just one of the many.” Tubbo grinned, pulling up a chair to bring it down. “Here, I’ll look for more.”
“Scott, you have to see this!” Shubble called the blue haired boy, passing him the photo as Tubbo handed her another.
“Wait- Phil wasn’t born with a beard?!” Scott gasped, comparing the photo to the real life version.
“Shut. Tubbo-” Phil frowned, a smile peeking at the corners.
“You want the photos as old as Phil. Tubbo, in the back there’s a small book, behind the green one with baby Techno holding a sword.” Eret whistled, carrying Joel in their hands. Lizzie appeared next to Scott, peering over his shoulder.
“Awwww, I like baby Techno.” Lizzie looked at the photo, showing Joel.
“Mateeeeeeeeeee…” Phil sighed, hearing the garage door open.
“Anytime Phil, not like they’ll find me in any-” Eret smiled, leaning on the fridge.
“HAHA! YOU THOUGHT WRONG, KING. THE BABY PHOTOS ARE IN THE BOOK, BITCH!” Tubbo exclaimed, flipping through the book.
“Are there any more baby Techno’s?” Lizzie asked, scanning the shelf of photos.
“Baby what?” Techno walked into the living room with two boxes of pizza. “Heh, where did you get- Phil’s aren’t in there. His are in the third drawer to the left in the right side of the closet. THE COMBO’S 7777!” He shouted, watching Tubbo sprint up the stairs. “Lizzie, pink tab.” He muttered, walking past the two siblings.
Lizzie blinked at him before, turning the page. “Thanks Techno!” Humming happily, she pointed to the ones she liked to Joel, who was laughing.
“Bruh. Dad, how old are you?” Tubbo mumbled, coming back with a fat leather book.
“Not that old-” Phil rolled his eyes.
“Millions of years.” Techno grinned, shoving Eret off the fridge.
“Yet he doesn’t look a day over forty.” Eret laughed, catching a wet towel Phil threw at her.
“How do you even know where I kept it?” Phil raised an eyebrow, giving up on dinner and opening the boxes of pizza.
“Couple years back, Wilbur wanted to know if you were ever, not old.” Techno shrugged, draining his juice. “The 7777 was just a guess.”
“A damn lucky one.” Eret smirked, dodging yet another towel. “You’re going to run out of towels, Phil.”
“Mate, Kristin bought thirty of em, just for this.” Phil grinned back, a clean towel in hand.
“Save the important talk for tomorrow.” Techno sighed, making his way to the pizza. “ ‘cuse me.” He snatched a box from the pile and dodged a towel to the face. “I bought enough for everyone. The other won’t be back until morning.” He put the box on the floor, next to Scott and Tubbo, who were both snickering at the photos.