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Jack had been avoiding Phil.
Was he wrong to? Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. In all personal opinion, Jack didn’t care. Phil had his papers. Phil had his papers. Phil had his papers.
The same papers that had been written up and signed and magicked when he was first captured. The same papers that meant Phil could do anything to him if he wanted. The same papers that, with a few misplaced words and a hand on them, could stop Jack’s heart and breathing without him being able to do anything about it.
So Jack was hiding from Phil as much as possible.
Mostly, that meant staying underground or in the Nether and curling up on his bed and trying to keep himself awake. He hadn’t slept in six days. How, he wasn’t sure. But he was not going to sleep in the Nether. He wasn’t going to sleep at all. That left him vulnerable. That meant he was at risk.
So there he was, sitting on a bed with his knees pulled up and his arms wrapped around his legs. Resting his chin on a knee, he looked out the red-tinted window of his little hide away. Shuffled and closed his eyes for a moment.
Then, he snapped upright and slapped his own face.
Stop it. You can’t sleep. You’re not allowed to sleep. He ordered himself sharply. Pinched onto his own arm to wake himself. Taking a breath, he closed his eyes for a second. Dug his nails into his skin again. Then, he snapped his eyes open again. Tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling for the morning. So, with little else to do, he traced the lines of the stones there.
Wrapping his jacket around himself a bit more, Jack stood up. Stretched his arms above his head. As he did, he saw black spots dance in front of his vision. Quickly, he sat back down. Leaned back as he felt his heart actually pounding. So he laid back down, supported himself on his elbows for a second. Then, they snapped out from under him and he was literally thrown onto the bed.
“Ow.” He mumbled. Dropping an arm across his stomach, he sighed. Looked down at his communicator. There were so many messages that he’d missed since his little self-imposed exile. Phil was trying to meet up with him, trying to check in on them. Said that he needed to talk to Jack, and that he was getting worried.
Heart dropping at that, Jack chucked the communicator out the window. Maybe it fell in the lava, he wasn’t sure he cared.
“Ow.” Someone else said. Immediately, Jack stiffened up. Hurrying over to the window, he slammed the shutters down. “Hello? Jack?” After a second, he realized who it was.
Poking his head out the door, Jack snuck a look around the corner. It was just Wilbur. No one else. Just the phantom hybrid. “Wilbur?” He asked. Whipping around, Wilbur smiled when he saw Jack.
“Oh, you’re alright.” Placing a hand over his heart, Wilbur held up the communicator in his other hand. “This is yours, I’m guessing?” He asked. Nodding, Jack motioned him back into his house. Wilbur followed him back into relative safety, and Jack closed the door behind him. Somewhere, a magma cube slapped around on the ground, but it was dark. Jack could actually see the faint glow from the blaze powder mixed in with his blood. Wilbur handed him the communicator, wiped at his forehead with the back of his sleeve and then stripped off his sweater. Jack looked away until he was done. Under the sweater, Wilbur had a black t-shirt and also a matching tank top. He rolled up his trouser legs and then rolled his socks down.
“You can take your shoes off if you want.” Glancing down, Jack paused. “Actually, maybe not. The rubber of your shoes might melt off. Need water?” Wilbur sat back on one of the bookshelves and shrugged, sweater folded up in his lap. Tugging at the collar of his shirt, Wilbur flapped it a bit.
Jack got up and went to the chest, grabbed a water bottle out, and then crossed over to Wilbur and handed it over. “Thanks.” Smiling, Jack nodded. Returning it, Wilbur popped the bottle cap open and then started drinking. After a second, he stopped, sat back and wiped his mouth. Jack sat down heavily on the bed. As he did, Wilbur looked at him, tilted his head to the side slightly. “Jack, when was the last time you slept?”
Pulling out some magma of his own, Jack started drinking. Drinking magma—or lava, really—wasn’t that much different to blaze born than it was for others drinking water. It was just hot. So maybe more like tea? It tasted sort of minerally, too. Sort of like he was drinking mineral water. Maybe. He wasn’t sure. He also wasn’t sure he cared.
“Six days ago.” When he glanced back over, he saw Wilbur was gawping at him like Tommy sometimes did. “Uhm…Wilbur?” Jack waved a hand in front of his face. “You alright?”
“How have you not slept in six days?” Wilbur asked.
Shrugging, Jack replied, “I didn’t want to.”
“Jack! That’s not healthy!”
“Oh, says you! When was the last time you slept without Niki or—“ Jack cut off before saying Phil’s name. “When was the last time you slept without Niki telling you to? Huh?”
“I’ll have you know it was last night. Now come on!” Wilbur said, pulling Jack to his feet. Jack felt his legs start to give out and stubbornly let them. Dropping down, he crossed his legs. Groaning, Wilbur tipped his head back. “Come on. Jack. Jack, stop behaving like a child.” Grabbing under Jack’s arms, Wilbur tried to pull him back. Throwing out his legs, Jack let Wilbur drag him. Apparently, though, Wilbur was stronger than Jack thought. Because he immediately started dragging Jack out across the Nether floor. So of course, Wilbur was distracted.
And that was when Jack saw the hunters.
Face dropping, Jack glanced back. “Wilbur. Wilbur.” He urgently said.
“I know, Jack, you don’t want to go.” Struggling, Jack tried to get his heels into the ground. Tried to force himself upright. “Nope. No, don’t try and struggle—“
“Wilbur.” They made it to the edge of the Nether caves. Panicking, Jack tried to force himself back up. “Wilbur, stop, come on, we gotta go.”
“What are you—“ Wilbur looked up. His eyes locked on the hunters. There were six of them. So, instantly, Wilbur wrapped his arms around Jack and both of them started to go intangible.
Key word: started.
A black net flew through the air and then slammed down on them. Instantly, Wilbur shrieked, blue lightning jolting across his skin. Arms locking tighter around Jack, he straightened up, teeth clenched and eyes wide. He jerked twice. Then, his eyes rolled back in his head as the lightning stopped, they both turned tangible, and Wilbur slumped back.
“Wilbur!” Jack screamed, reaching back. Glancing back, he saw the hunters approaching. Wrapping his arms around Wilbur, Jack straightened up and tried to walk. His knees gave out and cracked against the stone. It didn’t help that Wilbur was gangly and unconscious. Quickly, Jack braced himself over Wilbur, lifted the back of his head to keep it from cracking against the ground. In the distance, he could hear hooves thudding on the grass and dirt. But he wasn’t really focused on that.
He was focused on the hunters.
As they approached, laughing and joking, Jack pulled Wilbur closer as best he could. Moved Wilbur’s head and neck somewhere he could keep him from being too injured. Something lashed across his back. Jerking, Jack pressed his forehead against the earth in front of him.
The hooves skidded to a stop. “Excuse you. What are you doing on my property?” A firm, familiar voice demanded sharply. Looking up, Jack looked over at Phil. Took a shaky breath. The elytrian was with Techno and Tommy, and all of them were riding bright white, untacked horses. Legitimately white horses, too, where they almost glowed. Swallowing, Jack sucked in a slow breath.
“What?” One of the hunters demanded. Turning, Phil gestured to Tommy. Slipping from the horse’s back, Tommy strode over and showed off two yellowed scrolls. Unfolding them slightly, he raised his eyebrows.
“Like I said. Why are you here?”
“We saw some rogue hybrids. Thought you might want them off your property.”
“Well, they’re mine. As those papers show. So if you don’t release them and then immediately get off of my property, I will make sure you repay me in blood twice over.” Phil ordered. Turning, Tommy returned to Phil’s side and handed them over. Holding the papers, Phil turned to both of them. “Wilbur, wake up. Now.”
Gasping, Wilbur jerked. Groaned and tipped his head to the side. His eyes fluttered open, hazy. They locked onto Jack for a second. Then, his eyes closed again and he dropped back into unconsciousness.
Frowning, Phil tipped his head towards Techno. “Blade.” Straightening up, Techno looked at him. “I think you know what to do.”
Techno grinned and leapt off of the horse, sword raised already. The hunters’ eyes widened and they backed up, hands raised. Phil and Tommy both got off of their mounts and backed away. “Allecto, Tisiphone, Megaera.”
Bat wings unfolded from each horse’s sides. Lips peeling back, revealing sharp yellowed fangs, the three approached the hunters. One of them bellowed and lunged forwards. By then, Jack was being (thankfully) distracted by Tommy kneeling by his side and cutting through the net.
Glancing over at Phil, Jack swallowed and curled up, already dreading having to go back.
+++
Once they got back to the community house, Jack hurried off as quickly as possible.
Where? To the bathroom. Because heat flushed through his face. And he knew he was either going to be sick or pass out and he wasn’t sure which. Still, he dropped to the floor as soon as he got back anyways, laid down and then felt everything sort of go numb. Black spots danced in his vision, and he tipped his head to the side. Someone was crouched by him.
“Jack? Jack, come on, say something.” Tubbo said in a hushed, worried tone. Dimly, Jack remembered hearing Tubbo call out for him and following him. With a groan, Jack blinked. “Okay, okay, uh…here, here, have something to drink.” Something was pressed to his lips. As he took a few sips, Jack recognized the strong, steady taste of a health potion. Well, he assumed it was a health potion, because otherwise someone had figured out how to make a warm smoothie with Niki’s chocolate chip cookies. Which he doubted, because only Niki could do that and she couldn’t work the smoothie machine. They didn’t even have a smoothie machine.
Gasping, Jack blinked and then tipped his head to the side. “Tubbo.”
“Are you okay? Did the hunters hurt you, too? Ranboo, come on, help me pick him up.” Tubbo said. Ranboo held out his hands helplessly. “Oh, right. Go prep the bed for him I’ll pick him up.” Easily, Tubbo scooped Jack up in his arms and started striding towards the medical bay.
“No, please. Tubbo.” Jack mumbled. “Don’t want to see Phil.”
“I know. We can have someone else take care of you.” Tubbo reassured. Then, Jack was being settled on the bed. Tubbo disappeared to scribble something out on the clipboards that they kept on the outside of the rooms for anyone who was being treated. Some of it had special diet, allergies, that sort of thing. They always had it, always kept it updated. And any time that Tubbo, Tommy, Ranboo, or some mix of those three were in, it usually had some note that the other injured party/parties weren’t allowed to visit one another because that was stupid. Then, Tubbo came back and sat down next to Jack, reached out and gently took his hand. When Jack looked over at him, they both exchanged smiles, and then Tubbo paused. “Do you mind if I give you a hug?”
Tubbo wasn’t someone who gave hugs. Actually, Tubbo was the kind of person who avoided hugs when at all possible, with very few exceptions. So, when Jack nodded, Tubbo leaned in and hugged him for maybe a second. Not much longer.
“I’m glad that you made it back safely.”
“Aw, you’re being clingy.” Jack replied. Scoffing, Tubbo rapped his knuckles against Jack’s shoulder. Both of them looked at one another and started laughing again.
“Anyways,” Clapping his hands together, Tubbo stood up. “I’ll go get you some water and potions and food. You stay here. If you don’t, I will put you in an inventory.”
Smiling, Jack held his gaze as the young man stood at the exit, wings fluttering, “I wouldn’t expect any less.”
+++
Eventually, he did have to speak with Phil.
That day didn’t come until roughly a week after Jack was out of the medical bay. He was visiting Wilbur, who was unconscious and still hadn’t woken up. The phantom hybrid was in an odd state, skin translucent but not transparent. He was in the bed, but the sheets were underneath his body. A perpetually worried expression had etched itself into his eyebrows, tightening them slightly even as his mouth was sort of…slack, in a way? Still, Jack was there with him, and so was Tommy.
Actually, Jack didn’t think that Tommy had left Wilbur’s side in several days. Every time he came by to check, the young man was in the same chair. Sometimes he was doing something different—reading a book, sleeping splayed out, sleeping with one of Wilbur’s hands cradled in both of his and his head by the phantom’s hip. Once Jack saw him reading a book, going over the letters and words that he had never been taught by his caretakers and hadn’t had the chance to learn. Some of them had lost their families before ever having the chance. Tommy was one of them. Niki had gotten lost. Ranboo had no clue where he had come from. Tubbo and Schlatt had come together, of course. Phil had found his way there first, led by…someone. He had never explained. Whenever someone asked, he got this sort of faraway look in his eyes, a soft but tired and worn smile across his face.
And that was how he looked when he walked into Wilbur’s little corner of the medical bay, wings sheltered around him but loose. Not made for takeoff. More of…relaxed, even where they were tense with worry. Looking up, Jack swallowed. Started to stand. “Well, I’ll be—“
“Jack.” Phil said. Meeting his gaze, Phil swallowed. Looked to the side, lips parted like he wanted to speak but couldn’t quite form the words. Frozen, Jack stared at the elytrian for a moment. Then, Phil found his voice. “We need to speak.”
“Uh…alright.” Jack said. Looks like I’m not getting out of this one anytime soon. Damnit, he swore to himself. Ducking his head, he glanced at Tommy where the young man was currently dozing in his chair.
“Leave him be. It’s probably the longest sleep he’s had in weeks.” Phil said in a delicate tone. Nodding, Jack tucked Tommy’s blankets around him, gently marked where the young man was in his reading and set the book aside. Then, he followed Phil into the hallway, glanced forlornly after Wilbur in the bed.
“Do you think he’s going to be alright?” Jack asked once they made it out to the gardens. Walking over to a bush laden with pale orange rose blossoms, Phil glanced over at him. Hummed curiously.
“Tommy or Wilbur?” He asked.
Shoving his hands in his pockets, Jack kicked at the ground. Little clumps of dirt and grass stuck in the toes of his boots. Damn. Going to have to clean those out. There was movement in the corner of his vision, and Jack glanced up.
Phil held out one of the roses to him.
Cautiously, Jack took it. On first touch, he expected it to wither up and start burning. He wasn’t actively trying not to burn it. But the petals didn’t blacken or brown. Instead, the flower simply sat in his hand. Frowning, Jack glanced up at Phil as the elytrian approached. Gently, he cupped his hands around Jack’s.
“Whoa—“ Attempting to jerk back, Jack warned, “Dude, you can’t just—do that?” Blinking, he stared down at the flower and at Phil’s hands. There, in his palm, was the flower, shaped into a little rose bud. And Phil’s hands were completely untouched. Looking up, Jack met Phil’s gaze. “How did you?”
“Walk with me?” Phil asked. Swallowing, Jack tucked the rose into his pocket, prayed it wouldn’t get crushed. Then, he followed Phil deeper into the gardens. He hadn’t gone there before—fire and plants didn’t exactly mix, obviously. As they walked, Jack glanced around. Took everything in. Above their head, arbors decorated with crawling vines and pale red and purple flowers blocked out the sky. Dappled sunlight splayed across grass and the gravel path. Their boots crunched with each footstep. More flower beds decorated the space around them. Then there were the trees.
Or really, there was one tree.
It was absolutely beautiful, a tall thing with pale tawny bark etched with darker brown stripes. Pale green leaves hung from the spindly branches as they reached for the sky. From each branch, almost as many as the leaves, were vibrant purple flowers. A gentle breeze brushed through the branches, letting more of the sunlight cast down upon them. Mouth open, Jack stared up at it.
“What is this? I’ve never seen this kind of tree.” He whispered in awe. Smiling, Phil walked over to the tree and placed a hand on the bark. For a moment, he didn’t speak. Instead, he closed his eyes, leaned his forehead against the trunk. Then, he stood back, turned to Jack.
“Do you remember how I was here when you arrived? How I had already begun building this place?” Jack nodded, mute. Turning his head back to the tree, Phil replied, “I didn’t come here alone. Yes, I was alone when you arrived, but I wasn’t always. There was…the best person I have ever met there. Here. In a time before the Wars, before the Schism. Before all of that. And she…” Looking down, Phil smiled and huffed in a way that made his wings shift. “She was amazing. She was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.”
“What happened to her?” Jack asked softly. He almost didn’t want to ask. Taking a breath that shifted his wings, Phil sighed again.
“She had to leave.” Looking over at him, Phil added, “Kind of important, you know. Things would be…pretty different if she didn’t leave. But I still see her sometimes.”
“Sometimes?” Another thing Phil had said hit him. Frowning, Jack pointed out, “But the Wars and the Schism—that was— how old are you?”
Phil just grinned at him.
Looking at him, Phil just smiled. Then, he cleared his throat, turned back to the tree. “Alright. Let me just…do something. And I’ll show you what I had those papers for.” Reaching up, he slid a hand down the tree and carefully removed a piece of bark from it. Then, turning, he held out his hand. The bark slowly extended, formed a staff. Motioning Jack away, Phil reached down and tapped the newly formed staff on the ground.
When he did, there was a burst of deep brown light. Slowly, Phil started drawing a sort of circle on the ground, and then a mark. It was a heart with two sort of lines in the middle. Or at least, Jack thought they were lines at first. After a moment, they looked more like wing shapes, in a way, just tilted diamonds but still something very different than a single stroke of paint. Or staff. Against the grass, the marks glowed a bright amber-brown color, and the wind suddenly died out as Phil finished and stabbed the staff into the middle of the mark. It stood up on its own, and he stepped away.
There was a harsh caw, and a shadow passed over them. Looking up, Jack watched as a raven circled them. Then, with a flap of its wings, it landed delicately on the stick. Pulling out the papers, Phil offered them to the crow. There was a light caw, and the bird turned to Jack. There was an unusual look in its eyes, a purple flash to the deep brown.
“Jack, meet one of the Crows. We’ve nicknamed them our kids, Kristin and I.” Phil explained. Turning to him, he added, “Kristin keeps a watch over everyone’s sale papers. Mine, yours, Wilbur’s, Techno’s, everyone.”
“Your wife…is the GODDESS OF DEATH?! ” Jack gawped, eyes widening. Turning to the crow, Phil ran a hand over its head, ruffled the feathers, and then laughed.
“Please tell Kristin that was his reaction.” The crow cawed and then flew off. Then, the mark disappeared, taking the staff with it. Looking over, Jack stared at Phil for a second.
And Phil cackled .