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Philza was, in all honesty, exhausted.
His entire day had been spent leading Chayanne and Tallulah out to the art museum for the second time this week, then over to the schoolhouse to drop off another pointless piece of homework, and then back through the system of waystones home. All the while, his guard had been high, the nightmare of a few weeks prior having replayed the night before and jolted him back into wakefulness with a sob. The kids were as safe as possible in the basement, but he’d still rushed down with trembling hands and shaky wings to make sure, to prove the nightmare was just something he’d imagined.
He was lucky the tears of relief he’d shed didn’t wake them. They needed as much sleep as possible, given the damage they’d sustained.
Once he’d promised the pair they could have a playdate with Ramon- and messaged Fit confirming that would be okay- he’d told them a little of the story about the Blaze Empress, saving the rest for later, and tucked them into bed with a hug and a kiss.
As soon as he was upstairs, Forever– with more armor than earlier in the week but the same amount of cheek– lunged on his back, and seemed entirely fine with not letting go.
Phil was not fine with it.
The next three hours consisted of Forever chasing and latching onto Phil, Phil knocking Forever down or off of him, and Forever respawning to try again. All the while, he kept up his whining and off-key cooing, frustrating him even further. He’d tried to stop and reason with Forever, but the Brazilian had knocked him down when he’d taken a second off guard. Let up, he sprinted off the wall, letting his wings slow his fall until he was in front of the half-destroyed gas station courthouse. The warpstone in his hand glowed with power, and before Forever could jump him again, he teleported to the only place he was certain the other hadn’t been: Fit’s XP farm.
Leaning against the raw stone walls of the little cave, he finally took a deep breath. Given that his nose was currently so dedicated to producing phlegm that he could feel air moving in his lungs, he wasn’t sure how deep of a breath it really was, but it was one where he wasn’t running for, with, or away from someone, so it was a good one.
Checking his comm absently as his body remembered how to stop giving him adrenaline, he spotted a pair of messages from Fit.
Fit whispers to you: Is that Forever guy bothering you, bbygurl?
Fit whispers to you: Should I come help? I can see he’s camping your base right now
Ah, Fit. He’d always been a solid ally, no matter the server or world they’d shared. He was a kind, friendly historian, and tried his best to make anyone laugh and get along with them, despite his past living in an anarchistic hellscape. Phil would be lying if he’d claimed not to miss him and his steady voice.
(It was a shame he’d shaved off that wonderful beard, too, he’d looked pretty handsome with it, like some kind of Greek philosopher-)
Phil could feel his wings puff up in embarassment as he typed out a response; maybe if he ignored it, the warmth to his cheeks would go away.
You whisper to Fit: it’s ok m8, i’m hiding out at wither skelly XP farm for a bit
You whisper to Fit: I’ll go back when i’ve got more than 2 skulls
You whisper to Fit: thanks tho
Another ping to his comm, a schedule notification labeled MISSA RETURN FUCKING FINALLY?? appeared over top of his messages. Midnight had struck already, and his egg partner was (supposedly) coming back today. Missa had said he was coming back quite a few times in the past week and had not appeared, with more and more distance between each message. Maybe he would be back today, probably tomorrow or the day after, the message had said– Phil hadn’t read all of it once it was clear he wasn’t seeing his partner anytime soon for the fifth time in a row.
Great.
A cursory check of the map revealed that Forever was still outside Chayanne’s house doing God-knows-what in the middle of the night.
Wonderful.
Fit whispers to you: No problem mi amigo
-
Still sick and a bit sleep-deprived, time slipped by Phil like an eel in the ocean. XP grinding, being a mindless and simple task, took barely any brainpower and left him free to wander in thought while he slashed. He turned over a couple base ideas in his head, something more permanent than a dirt-roof house he’d built in a rush on his first day- maybe something magical, definitely reinforced and secure for the eggs’ safety and his own. Maybe the area around the wall opening needed more torches. Maybe the entire server needed more torches.
His daydreaming was interrupted, abruptly, by a flurry of messages in the global chat on his comm.
ForeverPlayerG: PHILZAA
ForeverPlayerG: COME TO YUR HOUSE
Quackity: GIVE ME MY DAUGHTER PHILZA
Quackity: OR YOURE UNDER ARREST
Quackity: FEDERACION ORDERS
This bullshit? Again? He’d told Quackity to fuck off no less than three times when Tallulah had been returned with the rest. Wilbur had told them both that Phil was in charge of her while he was away. Of course, direct orders never stopped Q from pursuing stupid shit in the first place, but he’d hoped getting thrown off the wall the other day had been enough of a deterrent.
His warpstone glowed again, and in a blink he was home, but… Well, he guessed Quackity had decided to detain him before even talking, as the area around the waystone was boxed in with deepslate cobble and iron bars. It was dark, ugly as hell, and non-reinforced, but the ceiling was a block too close to his head for comfort.
“PHILZA! Nice of you to join us! We have a lot to talk about!”
His whole head felt clogged, as if his hearing had been plugged up along with his nose. “Quackity…”
The translation app on his comm buzzed, and Forever’s rambling in Portuguese became Fiuza, I missed you so much, my love, where did you go-
“Where is my illegitimate daughter?”
-wanted to show you the beauty of Favela-
“Stop,” he pleaded, grip tightening on his pick.
“I demand to see her, Philza, where the hell have you put her?”
-another boat, I have it and we can travel this world in love-
“Where is she-”
“Enough!”
The word comes out less like a shout and more like a crow’s screech, loud and piercing enough to silence the pair for a moment. A moment is all he needs, though, to get his thougts in.
“Forever, I don’t know why the fuck you’re in on this, but at this point, I don’t care. So what, I look like your fucking boyfriend, or whatever he was to you, but I’m not him. And I sure as hell don’t want to be your sugar daddy or anything else if it means you keep trying to kill me for a reaction.”
He slams his pick down on the cobble of a wall, exiting before the blocks can be replaced. The duck hybrid makes a noise of protest, and Phil draws his sword in response. “And Quackity, you were there when Will said I was taking care of Tallulah. You can deny it all you want, but I’ve got proof, and she is not coming within three blocks of you. Not unless you want her or Chayanne to shoot you dead when you try.”
“Phil-”
“You talk so much shit about what you need, what you want, all that shit, and I can’t deal with it anymore!”
“Phil, please-”
“I don’t need your whiny debates when you know Tallulah’s with me for a reason! I don’t need you adding onto my pile of shit to deal with! I’ve already got two kids, three if you count the one who’s touring the fucking world, some motherfucker who says he’s in love with me and I know nothing about, and a partner who’s fucking abandoned me for five whole weeks !”
The top of the wall is quiet, almost blissfully so. Wind rustles through the avocado trees and into Phil’s wings, and Quackity isn’t looking at Phil.
No, he’s looking past Phil, over his shoulder, jaw dropped in shock, and so he looks too, and-
“I…” Missa, holding a pair of overstuffed backpacks, the disheveledness of travel still clinging to his robes, stares at him with eyes like yellow fireflies in the sockets of his bone mask. “I didn’t,” he pleads, and Phil’s heart is racing and sunken down in his stomach all at once, and he can remember the nightmare had eyes like that before they’d all died, and-
He can’t be here anymore, but his eyes are locked with Missa’s and he cannot look away. For a moment, he’s entirely stuck, trapped like a netted falcon, but the hunk of purple stone in his hand glows reliably, just as it’s supposed to.
Phil teleports to Fit’s garage with just enough energy left to send two messages before passing out.
You whisper to Fit: help
You whisper to Fit: im at youe waysotne
-
Fit whispers to you: What?? Stay there I’m coming
“—have to find Phil- oh. Oh, Phil, what’d they do to you, man?”
“Knocked out, completely. He’s alive, at least, but his lungs don’t sound great. Alright, Phil. Let’s get you somewhere safer than this.”
“Wings look bad? I know, little voices, but you- you don’t just go touching a person’s wings without permission. It’s disrespectful! Plus, Phil’s my friend, I know he doesn’t like any old Joe touching the goods. Back in the Earth days, he called in airstrikes on people who- who even laughed too long at him! Do you want me to get killed?”
“Yeah, we don’t mean it, just worried, I know. Just some crows worried about Dadza , I know, I know.”
“I’m worried too.”
…
“Ramón! There you are, my boy. Good job getting over here all on your own! Well done. How did you sleep, mi huevito ?”
“Good, good. Well, listen, I’m sure you can see something’s up with- with your uncle Phil here. He’s- he’s not had a great day.”
ForeverPlayerG is bleeding. ForeverPlayerG was slain by MissaSinf
“Yeah, he’s still taking care of both Chayanne and Tallulah, and I think he’s a little sick too. He’s very tired, Ramón.”
“Exactly. Exactamundo , my boy! Since we’re good neighbors, and Phil’s a good friend of mine, we’re gonna take care of him for a bit, until he’s feeling a bit better.”
ForeverPlayerG is bleeding. ForeverPlayerG was shot by MissaSinf
“So, will you help me carry him up to the lavacast? Either that or go set up some beds so he can spread out and rest.”
“You’ll get the beds? That’s my boy. My resourceful little boy. Go on then, and be careful on your way up. Someone still thinks it’s funny to leave mines everywhere.”
ForeverPlayerG is bleeding. ForeverPlayerG starved to death whilst fighting MissaSinf
“Jeez, Phil. You’re heavier than you look, man, lay off the avocado toast for a bit. I mean, the wings probably aren’t doing you any favors either. Oof. Alright, here we go.”
ForeverPlayerG starved to death whilst fighting MissaSinf
Quackity is bleeding. Quackity was doomed to fall by MissaSinf
Quackity was doomed to fall by MissaSinf
“Oh-kay. Good job on the beds, Ramón! They look nice and comfy. Plenty of space for your uncle to relax. There we go. Thank you, Ramón. Here, let’s go upstairs and let him rest. He deserves some peace and quiet.”
“Rest up, Phil. I’ll be right here for you when you’re ready.”