Chapter Text
The arctic had been at peace for a while now. Snow drifted lightly around the twin cabins in the center of the fenced in area. The house built into the mountain side stayed quiet more often than not. There were dogs that roamed the yard and cows that huddled together for heat in their pens. Animals here and there because while the owners of the homes tended to seem like they didn’t care there was a soft spot for animals in at least one of them.
Techno and Phil spent most of their time in their cabins, either in their own in their homes or spending time together in one or the other’s. Phil would make tea and the two of them would sit together and think about everything that they’ve been through. They would tell each other stories.
Phil would talk about what he’s done through the days and what he plans to do in the future. He would talk about L’Manberg and the effect it still had on him. He would talk about the worlds he made in the past. How he flew through the void. He’d talk about the lands that he’d conquered and the peace he hoped to achieve. He talked about his wife. He talked about his son.
His son that was freshly resurrected and living in the house just across the bridge. Techno always made sure he paid attention when that topic came up. Not that he didn’t listen to Phil otherwise of course. It was Philza Minecraft he was talking about. When the man spoke you listened. But there was something in the way his voice turned when talking about Wilbur that always made him turn fully to the conversation.
Wilbur had been a soft spot of conversation for years. Long before Phil even came to the SMP. They’d been friends since long before that. Both of them had been around for centuries. He’d taught Wilbur how to fight when the kid was little. He trained with him. He’d been like a brother figure for him. Wilbur had called him that even though Techno had never said the same out loud. It was for that reason that Techno had left for the DreamSMP when Wilbur wrote to him saying he needed his help. He’d said in the letter not to tell Phil what he was doing other than he was going to join them. He’d listened.
He’d been a fool.
By the time Phil got there everything had fallen to shambles and both of them had decided things needed to change from then on out. When he’d come back to life now suddenly so set on Dream being his hero it was a bit weird for both of them.
It was why Phil was sitting in his living room. Despite the fact that it had just become Christmas Eve he was sitting in Techno’s cabin with him instead of in his own with his son. He was cradling a mug of tea between his hands and blowing at it idly. Fire crackled in the fireplace just across from where Techno sat comfortably on the couch with a book in his lap.
“I just had a Christmas without him and now I have to just go back to how it was before?”
Phil’s voice shook him from his thoughts immediately. There was no question about what he was talking about. It wasn’t like Wilbur’s revival had been subtle. He hummed in the back of his throat before deciding on what to say to his old friend.
“Could always kick him out.”
His humor was met with a playful glare from Phil. The man knew he was joking but he wasn’t going to let the comment just go. Even still, the air between them lost the weird fog it had when Phil talked about his once dead now living son.
“You should send Dream a thank you note or something in prison. ‘Hey thanks for bringing my kid back to life even though he’s annoying.' Something like that.”
Phil rolled his eyes but he could see how he leaned back into the chair with the look on his face that let Techno know he was thinking about something. Chat had all perked up at the topic of conversation and now that they could see Phil’s thinking face too they were all wound up. He sighed regretfully and closed the book fully. There was no way he was going to be able to read properly anymore. Not with this conversation going and certainly not with Chat chanting nonsense in his head.
You love us
E
Break homeless out
DADZA
They were a racket over it all. Each of them pinging in with their own words even though over half of it was nothing coherent. He wasn’t too sure where they all picked up on saying E or what it was even supposed to mean but as soon as one said it the rest followed.
They were going to give him another headache.
“Chat, leave Techno alone. He wanted a quiet day.”
“They’re talking ‘cause of you Phil. I don’t think that’s very fair.”
The older man laughed gently before falling silent and letting him get a chance at quieting the voices chattering in his head. Once they died down enough for him to feel like he could actually think he looked up to see Phil watching him with an understanding look on his face.
“What are they talking about?”
He huffed a mix of a laugh and a groan when Chat immediately exploded about ‘Dadza’ loving them.
“Just what they always say when Dream comes up.”
Teletubby
Get him out!!
JAILBREAK
Technosoft?
Save Homeless
He shook his head lightly and tried to push them to the back of his mind.
“I’m tryin’ to have a conversation here, Chat. Calm down.”
Phil laughed at the antics again and this time Techno shot him the glare.
“Unless you’re actually adoptin’ them Phil I don’t think you get to laugh.”
The scandalized look on Phil’s face after that made the comment worth it.
“Ey. Shut. Chat, I’m not adopting you. Now leave Techno be.”
He could still hear the few stubborn ones of them mumbling about Dream. They wanted him to go save him and to be fair, Techno had been thinking about it. The whole concept of the prison didn’t sit right with him in the first place and Dream had tried to call in the favor. It was just that the favor had always been their thing with each other. It was their way of telling each other that they wouldn’t die. That they’d be around to pay it back. It worked for them. Neither of them would ever say they cared out loud so they used favors. They joked about them all the time too. He’d thought Dream was kidding around and being dramatic again. It’s not like you can blame him really. They guy was a drama queen. But now? It’s been months and he’s heard nothing.
Part of him was worried. And the line of technosoft from Chat told him that he was being sappy about it but he couldn’t really help it. Dream was the best sparring partner he’d ever had. He was the only one now who really gave him a challenge and he remembered their conversation about friendship. Tommy said some pretty terrible things about the man but Tommy also betrayed him when Dream never had.
“Chat I’m not being soft I’m just being real.”
Phil chuckled lightly at the words before poking in again.
“It’s just the holiday season. Christmas is tomorrow he’s allowed to be sentimental.”
He just managed a hum for response and closed his eyes. He was right. Chat had given him yet another headache. Luckily for him Phil was very good at figuring this kind of thing out. And he was even more excellent at helping him talk through everything.
“Was it about Dream?”
He nodded and scrubbed his hands over his face. It was coming awful close to a full year being in that prison and he didn’t like it. If Dream had an escape plan he should have done it by now. Unless of course, Techno was the escape plan. In which case he’d left him in there for far longer than ever intended. But it wasn’t like he’d been told about that beforehand. If nothing happened over the holiday he would be surprised. Again, Dream was a drama queen. Christmas and Christmas Eve both made pretty solid stages for something as dramatic and show stopping as a prison break.
“I think it might be worth the Syndicate checking into the prison. I don’t know much about this Sam guy; but absolute authority over that place makes me a little pessimistic.”
Phil could see the plan already brewing behind his eyes but he just nodded. He knew where it was going. They’d all worked together over Doomsday and they all formed a little group. It wasn’t just Techno and Dream that were close. Phil remembered Techno gushing about Dream’s fighting styles. He remembered seeing the two of them spar back and forth. He remembered them sitting together at the table reading pages of The Art of War. He remembered Dream bringing him a new pot every now and then claiming that he wanted Phil to have up to date technology so he didn’t fall behind in his old age. Even though they all knew it was just because Dream loved his cooking.
He’d been about to reply to Techno when there was a knock at the door. It wasn’t the soft knocking that Ranboo often did. It wasn’t the pattern that Nikki always used if she came over and if it was Wilbur on the other side he would have knocked after the door was already open. Tommy wouldn’t even have bothered. The little raccoon would have just barged into his house like he hadn’t betrayed Techno time and time again. It was none of that. It was something else, someone else.
Both of them looked to each other before standing up and heading carefully over to the door. A throwing dagger had already found its way into Techno’s palm. Phil moved carefully along the edge and summoned his sword into his hand. They had been lounging but after everything that happened on this server neither of them went anywhere unarmed.
The voices called for blood as he pulled the door open. He’d expected someone there. Expected there to be a fight or a conversation. He expected something. Just not the silence and absence of any presence. A quick look around told him it was completely empty. It was then that he deemed it safe enough to look down the the items in front of him. Once he’d determined there would be no sneak attack while he was distracted. He wasn’t worried about it being tnt or some other kind of bomb. If it had been Chat would have gone ballistic and even without them his piglin senses would have picked up the scent of it and he would have reacted.
Opening the door the rest of the way for Phil to see both of them took in the items on the doorstep. A single copper pot with a leather bound book tucked inside it. Both of them shared another look before Techno bent down and picked them up. Once they were both inside and the items were on the dining table Techno pulled the book from the pot and looked at it properly. Phil saw the look on his face and frowned slightly.
“What’s wrong?”
“The Art of War..”
He turned the book so the cover would face his friend. Immediately, understanding flashed across Phil’s face as he read the title on it. The Art of War was Techno’s favorite book to quote. Everyone knew that. But very few people knew that his copy was wearing down from how often it was read. An even smaller few knew the type of binding Techno wanted for the replacement. It was hard to get, hence the reason a replacement hadn’t been found yet.
The copper pot too was a little nudge for them. Phil had talked about how his iron pots and pans clashed with the decor in his kitchen. It had just been a little teasing joke when it first started but slowly Dream had started getting him copper versions to replace what Phil had. He’d never cared enough to seek them out himself but the pot that sat on the table now was the final one he needed. It completed the set.
They both knew there was only one person that could have given the gifts. Said person that they’d just been talking about. The person that was sitting in a jail cell on the other side of the server. There was no way for him to have given the gifts. But like Techno had said. It would be something dramatic and he was waiting for a sign.
“Phil?”
“Yeah?”
“I think It’s time we go visit Dream at the prison.”
There was a hint of a threat in his tone but Phil didn’t mind. He had always been one to acknowledge the signs given from the server and he couldn’t ignore something like this. Dream had been in there for a long time. If he’d escaped they would have heard about it. He didn’t break out, but there was no one else that could have given those gifts. Something else was going on. And they were going to find out what.