Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dream was an idiot. He knew that.

He was further proven correct when he went out and about alone during a zombie apocalypse.

To be fair, he was a loner. He wasn’t a part of any survivor groups, so basically he was always alone, but this was different.

Low moans and growls reached his ears as he whimpered and climbed the wall faster. He pulled himself onto the roof, stomach and arm muscles flaring in brief pain, and starting running.

He absolutely refused to be the dumb horror protagonist that dies five minutes in by being dumb.

His brown boots slammed against concrete, sending jolts up his bones.

Thank God that the zombies weren’t that fast.

He jumped from roof to roof, thanking the gymnastics his mother had made him take when he was younger.

Shit… Puffy.

He hadn’t seen her in a year, since the apocalypse began.

He didn’t know if she was dead, like Foolish, (gods… Foolish!) or if she was with one of the survivor groups.

The packs as he liked to call them.

Basic decorum had fallen long ago, and the survivor groups (most of them at least) resorted to cannibalism and stealing to survive.

Which was why Dream was alone. He couldn’t trust the packs to keep him alive.

Dream wiped tears out of his eyes and started scaling the tree that hid his home from zombie eyes.

The zombies were slow and unable to climb, but Prime did they make up for that with sharp teeth and thick skin that could repel even bullets.

He slipped into his house and shut the iron door, which was a precaution that most survivors used these days.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst kind of thinking.

His house was pretty big, filled with secret rooms and stashes of food just in case.

He remembered building this with George in the early days of the apocalypse and his heart stung.

All he had left of George these days was the blue sweatshirt that said 404 in red that he was currently wearing, barely holding together and covered in stitches.

God, he was so lonely.

When was the last time he’d even seen another survivor?

Not anytime recently, that was for sure.

He stumbled into his bedroom and collapsed onto the bed, his body sore and aching from all the stupid things he’d done today.

“I miss you, Georgie,” he whispered, knowing that the older man couldn’t hear.

“I miss you, Sapnap.”

Skeppy, too, was gone, taken by the hordes of undead monsters.

He didn’t  know where Bad or Puffy were.

Techno was almost definitely still alive, just doing his own thing.

He hoped.

He slipped into sleep, memories of a long gone time flying through his mind.

The next day seemed different even from the moment he woke up.

The skies were painted a dark crimson, and the air promised rain for the first time in a month.

He ate and brushed his teeth before taking a shower.

Afterwards he sat out on his porch, looking out at the distant shape of L’Manberg.

Zombies rarely came out this far from the city, preferring the shelter of the buildings to the exposed air of the forest and grasslands.

It seemed peaceful.

But he knew better.

Four hundred and twenty-six days. That’s how long it had been since everything was normal, since Dream had had a future beyond simply surviving each day.

Four hundred and twenty-six days since the day he’d learned just how cruel life could be.

Four hundred since he’d lost George.

He inhaled shakily. No point in bringing up the past.

The past was untouchable. There was nothing he could do to change it.

Thinking about it only brought pain.

He leaned back, closing his eyes. He should enjoy the warm weather while it was here.

But the bright green eyes snapped open when a scream pierced the sunny air.

He jumped to his feet and saw in the distance, three small shapes being chased by zombies.

He drew his blood-stained diamond sword and climbed down.

Guess today broke his streak of being alone.

-

Tommy Innit was not having a good day.

So, he’d gone out with his best friends Ranboo and Tubbo to steal some caffeine from Niki’s run-down abandoned bakery, but of fucking course they ran into about five and a half (no, literally one zombie was just legs.) dozen zombies.

Cue them running for their lives.

Tubbo stumbled, almost falling, but Tommy and Ranboo gripped him by the armpits and drug him back onto his feet.

“Thanks,” gasped Tubbo.

“No problem,” Tommy replied.

“We’re going to die,” said Ranboo bluntly.

“Woah, chill out boss man,” Tubbo snapped, barely dodging a zombie’s attempts to claw at his ankle. “We’re going to be fine.”

But all three of them figured that they were going to die.

That was, until the masked man showed up.

He had a ceramic mask over his upper face that had a smiley face painted on it. The mask was cracked and stained, but still functioning.

His top, a blue sweatshirt with the letters 404 written in the center in red, was just as worn.

His brown boots went up halfway to his knees, and he had form-fitting black leggings.

“Get behind me,” the man (or woman, or enby, Tommy didn’t judge) said.

Ranboo, Tubbo, and Tommy complied, not being massive idiots.

The man threw himself at the zombies fearlessly, a blur of blue in his hand.

And by Prime did he not disappoint.

He wasn’t fighting; not really. It was more like a dance, graceful and light footed.

Tommy gaped like a goldfish [>:)] as the masked person easily sliced through the zombies like they were mushrooms. Which was saying something, considering that zombies had skin like steel.

It was all over shockingly fast; the trio gaping at their rescuer like he’d grown three heads.

Tommy’s wings twitched as he watched the man fight off sixty zombies (and the one that was just legs).

This man was good. Too good. Tommy braced himself for his rescuer to turn on him, but when the other was finished with the zombies, he put his sword in his inventory.

“Come on,” he said. “Unless you want more of these things to find you?”

Obviously, the three teenagers followed him, though warily. (A year and two months’ worth of pain had taught them caution.)

He/they took them to their treetop house- which was fucking massive.

Maybe fifteen to sixteen meters of the ground, made of solid dark oak that was covered in moss and vines, it was well-hidden.

“Welcome to my hidden abode!” They said, helping Tubbo off of the ladder.

The door was solid iron, maybe eight inches think.

Wow, this guy is good, thought Tommy, watching as the masked person dug out a key from his boot and unlocked the door.

Well, duh. You had to be good to survive, these days.

Tommy stepped in, still on edge, expecting the worst.

-

Dream took a closer a look at the three teenagers. He felt for them; he’d been a teenager when the disaster before the zombies had happened.

(The Pandemic.)

The tallest was half a dark black, the other half a pure white like snow. So was their hair. One eye, on the darker side, was a vivid green. On the lighter side, the other eye was a darker crimson.

The shortest was tan-skinned with brown eyes and short brown hair, short ram’s horns curling around his face.

The middle-one in size, who was maybe five inches shorter than Dream himself, had curly blond hair and the brightest blue eyes he’d ever seen.

Teal wings stood out from his back, somewhat covered by a patch of orange feathers. Near where the wings met his skin, there were dark blue feathers.

“Do you guys want something to eat?” He offered.

He got three states of distrust, though the smallest one relaxed slightly.

“No, thanks,” the blond replied sharply, though his stomach rumbled right after.

“Alright,” Dream replied warmly. “There’s a bedroom down that way-“ he pointed to the left. “It has three  beds. You can sleep there.”

“Thank you,” the Enderian hybrid told him, smiling.

“No problem,” he returned.

Despite being exhausted, Dream didn’t sleep that night.

He sat up in the kitchen, reading.

He was definitely not staying up to make sure the kids-the teens- didn’t need anything.

Techno would’ve teased him so hard if he’d seen this.

Aw, Dreamie, he would’ve said. You’re on your Philza Arc!

And he would’ve said: well, let’s hope I don’t fall down. My old back wouldn’t be able to take it.

Dream wheezed silently. Gods, he missed Techno.

He looked down at the book. It’d been a gift from Techno. The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller.

A story of romance and tragedy; of bloodshed and gods above.

Stories like that had kept him sane during the long, lonely year.

They’d reminded him of the good in humanity, even when he’d been at his lowest.

Even when all he’d been able to see was the darkness, the books Techno had given him had shown him some light.

There was a crash, and then the Enderian wandered in, eyes glowing a dark purple.

“Good morning?” Said Dream, noting that the clock said 12:05.

The teen didn’t respond, instead wandering towards Dream.

Oh. He’s sleep-walking?

Dream yelped as the taller teen scooped him up. “What the fuck?!”

The man carrying him chirped happily, walking back to the guest room where he and his friends were staying.

He dumped Dream on one of the beds. Dream squeaked as the teenager wrapped him in blankets, making him closely resemble a human burrito, before curling up beside him.

Dream felt arms wrap around his waist.

He yawned, feeling exhaustion sweep over him like tides in the ocean.

He relaxed, and fell asleep.

He woke slowly later that morning.

The beds were empty, except for the one he was in, and he immediately shot up and got tangled in blankets.

Pulling them off of him, he hurried over to the kitchen, where he found the teenagers eating.

Like most Enderians, the tallest teen was eating raw meat. (Which was kind of disgusting, but he digressed.)

The ram hybrid was rapidly devouring a salad, and the avian was eating-

Dream blinked.

Was that beetles?

Okay. He didn’t want to know.

He spun around and marched away, trying to get the mental image of the avian munching on beetles out of his head.

Alas, it wouldn’t.

-

Tommy stifled a laugh as their host abruptly spun on his heel and marched away. He’d forgotten how weird regular humans found his diet, and by Prime it was hilarious.

(That was assuming their host was fully human. Given the way he’d fought yesterday, Tommy was doubtful about that.)

Ranboo sighed and shook his head. “ Tommy,” the Enderian scolded.

“What?” Tommy protested.

“You’re an idiot.” Sighed Ranboo.

“I think we knew that from when he could’ve flown away from the zombies and yet didn’t,” Tubbo replied.

Ranboo muttered something that sounded suspiciously like plot hole.

“I wasn’t going to leave you to die,” Tommy retorted, stuffing another handful of beetles into his mouth.

Tubbo sighed. “Why are we friends with him again, Ranboo?”

“‘Ou ‘ve ‘e,” Tommy nodded, muffled by the crunching beetles in his mouth.

Tubbo elbowed him sharply in the side, and Tommy yelped,  nearly choking on the food in his mouth.

“No trying to kill each other,” Ranboo sighed, sounding two hundred percent done with life.

“Yes, Mumboo,” Tubbo replied sadly.

Ranboo choked. “ What?!”

“Also you can’t judge us,” Tommy pointed out, having swallowed his beetles. “You fucking kidnapped our host to cuddle with him.”

Ranboo’s cheeks flushed. “Tommy, I was sleepwalking! I can’t control what I do during that!”

“Sure, boob boy,” Tommy teased.

Ranboo groaned. “⏃⎍⏁⊑⍜⍀, ⊑⟒⌰⌿ ⋔⟒.”

( ⋏ ⍜ :])

Ranboo banged his head on the table.

“Gosh darn it,” he groaned.

Chapter Text

It had been two days since he’d rescued the three teens. 
Dream was regretting it. Just a tad. Ranboo, Tommy, and Tubbo, as he learned their names were, were chaotic little shits. Ranboo didn’t seem to know he could teleport, so Dream kept quiet about that. But he did tell him about his sleepwalking. 
Embarrassingly, each time Ranboo slept-walk, he brought Dream to his bed. 
Not in a sexual way; just to cuddle. 
It was sweet in a Eldritch Being kind of way. Dream was mildly (completely) touch-starved so he actually liked it, but telling them that would embarrass him (probably) and so he didn’t.Surprisingly, they made great company, bringing smiles to Dream’s worn face.”DREAM!” Screeched Tommy. “TELL TUBBO THAT HE’S A LITTLE BITCH!”Tommy proceeded to let out a very feminine-sounding scream. “HELP!”Dream rolled his eyes and followed the yelling voices to the living room, where Tommy was holding his foot in his hands like he’d broken it.Tubbo smiled gleefully, looking a tad like a psychopath. “He deserved it, Dream.”Dream wheezed. “What happened here?”

“Hell,” muttered Ranboo, who was laying face-down on the couch.

“Tubbo tried to kill me-“

“Tommy was being annoying, as usual-“

“Say that to my face, bitch.”

“You’re annoy-agh!”

Tommy cut Tubbo off by tackling him to the ground.

“Long live the president,” grinned Tommy.

Tubbo squealed and began kicking Tommy in the shins.

“Dream, help!”

“You brought this on yourself,” Dream whistled cheerfully.

Tubbo gasped. “The betrayal. You are hereby banned from Pogtopia.”

“This is my house, you goblin.”

“Double banned.”

“DREAm!” Tubbo yelled. “THERE’S A BIGASS SPIDER IN HERE! HELP!” Dream dropped his puzzle and went to help. The so-called ‘bigass’ spider was tiny, about the size of a human eyeball.“Really,” Dream said sarcastically. “You call me in here for a baby spider?”Tubbo peeked up from where he was hiding: behind a chair. “But spider,” the younger replied, fear in his tone. “You’re an idiot,” Dream said affectionately.

It was hard, adjusting to having multiple people in your house after a such a long time of aloneness, but Dream did.

Honestly, life was better with the teens, though he’d never tell them so.

They made him smile; they made him feel human again.

He wasn’t just surviving now, he was living.

He had something to live for.

Ranboo’s sleepwalking was weird, but Sapnap had talked like Gollum from LOTR in his sleep, so that was definitely not the weirdest thing a friend of his had done in their sleep.

God, Dream liked feeling needed. He liked feeling like he wasn’t alone anymore.

He was glad that he’d found them. Not just because they probably would’ve been eaten, but on a selfish note, he didn’t want to be alone anymore.

He’d only heard his voice for too long.

-

Tommy was happy. Happier than he’d been in a long, long time.

Dream was a very nice dude and actually respected them despite their age, so that was great.

And not having to run anymore was amazing. He knew this paradise probably wouldn’t last.

But he’d make the most of it.

Chapter Text

Ranboo was mildly annoyed.

Tommy had been driving him insane all day, pranking him with first the spaghetti in his shoes and then a plush of Ranboo that he’d probably made himself. (Tommy had asked Dream for sewing lessons.)

He wanted to get back at his friend, and decided on speaking Enderspeak all day.

Humans, avians, and all other hybrids couldn’t speak Enderspeak, and Tubbo/Tommy had never learned to understand it.

Ranboo’s smile turned diabolical. Oh, this would be good. (And would also get back at Tubbo for the Jenga Incident of ‘25.)

“Hi, Ranboo!” Tubbo smiled at him.

“⊑⟒⌰⌰⍜ ⏁⎍⏚⏚⍜!” Said Ranboo, smiling.

“What? Ranboo, can you speak English; please?” Tubbo asked.

“ ⋏ ⍜ !”

“Okay, then. Do whatever you want?”

Ranboo internally grinned at the confusion in Tubbo’s voice and set off to find Tommy.

“ ⏁ ⍜ ⋔⋔⊬ !” He called. “ ⏁ ⍜ ⋔⋔⊬ !”

Tommy poked his head out of the kitchen. “Hi Ranboo!”

“⎎⎍☊☍ ⊬⍜⎍,” smiled Ranboo pleasantly, patting Tommy on the head.

“What?”

“ ⍜⊑ , ⏁ ⍜ ⋔⋔⊬ .” Sighed Ranboo.

“You good, Ranboob?”

Ranboo’s smile turned into a snarl. “⌇⊑⎍⏁ ⟟⏁.”

His dark look lightened up and he sauntered past a very confused Tommy.

Today was going great.

“⋏⟒⎐⟒⍀ ☌⍜⟟⋏☌ ⏁⍜ ☌⟟⎐⟒ ⊬⍜⎍ ⎍⌿, ⋏⟒⎐⟒⍀ ☌⍜⟟⋏☌ ⏁⍜ ⌰⟒⏁ ⊬⍜⎍ ⎅⍜⍙⋏. ⋏⟒⎐⟒⍀ ☌⍜⟟⋏☌ ⏁⍜ ⍀⎍⋏⏃⍀⍜⎍⋏⎅ ⏃⋏⎅ ⎅⟒⌇⟒⍀⏁ ⊬⍜⎍,” sang Ranboo happily.

“SHUT UP!” Tommy screeched. “If you sing that one more time I’m running off a cliff.”

“⟟⏁ ⍙⏃⌇ ⋏⟒⎐⟒⍀ ⋔⟒⏃⋏⏁ ⏁⍜ ⏚⟒,” Ranboo replied, snorting when Tommy’s face turned to outrage. “Oh, you bitch!” Tommy yelled, jumping towards Ranboo.

Dream grabbed the blond by the back of his tattered white and red T-shirt. “Woah there, buddy. Calm down.”

“Lemme at ‘em!” Tommy yelled.

“Slow the fuck down,” Dream said sharply.

“No!” Tommy howled, wiggling like a worm on a hook.

Dream wheezed like a tea kettle. “Ranboo, what did you do?”

Ranboo shrugged.

Tommy made noises similar to Gollum from LOTR and Dream sighed.

“Why did I rescue these idiots in the first place?” The eldest muttered.

“⟟⏁ ⍙⏃⌇ ⏁⊑⟒ ⏃⎍⏁⊑⍜⍀. ⌇⊑⟒ ⌇⟒⟒⌇ ⏃⌰⌰, ☍⋏⍜⍙⌇ ⏃⌰⌰, ⏃⋏⎅ ☊⍜⋏⏁⍀⍜⌰⌇ ⏃⌰⌰,” said Ranboo knowledgeably. (Fourth wall? Hardly know ‘er.)

Dream looked like he wanted to bang his head into the wall. “Okay, then. Come on, Tommy.”

And so the older dragged the blond out of the kitchen, Ranboo chortling at his friend’s expense.

-

Okay, so Dream wasn’t touching that situation with a hundred foot pole.

Prime, he was not becoming a parent.

(Not that he wanted to or could, anyway.)

He collapsed dramatically onto the couch, worn out from the teens’ shenanigans.

“Prime give me strength,” he muttered.

Unbeknownst to him, he was getting a bit more than ‘strength.”

-

Jack stumbled through the grass, blood staining the green grass.

He was muttering under his breath, trying to slow the bleeding.

“⍑ᒷꖎ!¡ ᒲᒷ,” he whispered. “⊣╎⍊ᒷ ᒲᒷ ꖎ╎⎓ᒷ.”

But the enchantments only slowed his problem.

He was rapidly bleeding out.

And he was alone in the dangerous wilds of L’Manberg, where mobs or hybrids could get him.

Or worse, survivors.

Long grass tickled the teen’s ankles as he made his way further and further from the ruins of L’Manberg, aiming for the dark shelter of the forest. It’d be just as dangerous there, but at least there’d be no zombies and shelter.

In the distance, he could make out the vague shape of a treehouse.

At least that was what it looked like.

“Shelter,” he murmured. “Almost there. Almost there. C’mon, Jack. Almost there.”

The sun was dying the sky vibrant shades of magenta and orange, promising violence in the days to come.

Tiredness swept over Jack. He could sleep, just for a minute…

-

“Holy shit!” Tommy gasped, running over to the limp body.

It was a young man, not much older than Tommy himself, with short brunet hair, in a pool of his own blood.

Tommy gently pushed the man into his back. He inhaled sharply and quickly pressed his hand over the deep gash in the man’s stomach.

With his other hand he groped in his jeans pocket for his communicator and eventually found it and pulled it out, all the while putting pressure on the bleeding wound.

You were supposed to do this with gloves, but he didn’t have any, and he was in the important process of trying to save this dude’s life.

TommyInnit: Dream Dream get down here NOW

Dream: what’s happened? Are you okay?

TommyInnit: I found a guy bleeding out

TommyInnit: I need bandages and warm-wet towels as soon as possible

Dream: got it. On my way!

“Hold on,” Tommy told the body. “Hang on, okay? Help’s on the way.”

It was a tense five minutes waiting for Dream, but eventually the older man arrived with the supplies.

They removed his shirt to see the wounds better.

They cleaned his wounds out gently with the wet towels before gently bandaging them.

Dream scooped him up and carried him precariously bridal-style up the ladder and back to the house. Tommy followed, curious and concerned about their mysterious patient.

Tubbo looked up when they came in from where he was playing (and beating) Ranboo in. “Where have you- oh.”

“Yeah,” said Dream grimly, setting the smaller man on the couch. “Ranboo, can you grab a pillow and a blanket?”

The Enderian nodded, zipping past the two in a blur of black and white.

“You’ve got such Dad Energy ™️ ,” Tubbo sighed.

Dream’s masked face flushed. Well, the parts of it that the mask didn’t cover. “What do you mean?!”

Tubbo didn’t say anything, just sat back with an evil gleam in his eyes.

Just at that moment, Ranboo luckily came back with a pillow and a teal blanket under his arms.

Dream took the items from Ranboo and tucked the pillow under the unconscious teen’s head, before draping the blanket over him.

“Okay, let’s him rest,” Dream whispered. “I’ll stay here to monitor vitals, but the rest of you go out, ‘kay?”

“Yes, Dream,” Tommy told the American.

He led his friends out and immediately spun to face them.

“Who wants to play Uno: But it Explodes?” He whispered.

Tubbo’s eyes lit up and Ranboo facepalmed.

-

Jack’s dreams were a flurry of memories and chaos; disorganized and rapid.

A pink haired teen smiled at Jack. “Come on, I’ll race you home! First one there gets the last cookie!”

“You’re on!” Jack laughed.

Jack stared at his mother anxiously. “Mum?”

She whirled around, revealing green skin, white pupils, and sharp teeth.

She stumbled towards him, and Jack screamed. “Mum, mum, it’s me; Jack!”

But no matter what he said, she didn’t respond.

“Go,” his older brother warned; warding  off yet another zombie. “Get the fuck out of here, Jack. L’Manberg’s not safe.”

“But what about you!” Jack cried, tears falling down his face into the snow.

His brother smiled sadly. “Smile for me.”

With that, Niki grabbed Jack and pulled the sobbing teenager away from the horde.

And away from his last family member.

Jack sobbed as he ran, clutching Niki’s sweater to his chest.

He was alone. Again.

Why did he keep losing the people he loved?

Jack paced around his new room, staring at the TV.

“Zombie virus has claimed over 50% of the worldwide human population,” a news reporter from the L’Manberg Daily was saying. “It is recommended that you grab all the supplies you can and carefully make your way to the wilderness. The zombies seem to prefer the metropolises.”

It went unsaid that many people couldn’t- or wouldn’t- make it out.

“It’ll be okay,” said Niki, tears in her eyes as she was surrounded by the undead.

Jack, above her on the roof, sobbed as she went on.  “Live for me, yeah? Do what I couldn’t.”

And with those words, Jack turned and ran, his best friend’s screams haunting his ears.

“Zombie virus suspected to affect the frontal lobe.”

Jack stared desperately at the TV.

“Scientists around the world are desperately working on a cure.”

Please please please, Jack thought, desperation in every cell of his body. Please find it.

They didn’t.

Within six months, ninety percent of the population had been infected.

All Jack wanted was his family and friends back.

He wanted someone to look him in the eyes and tell him that it’d be okay, even if it was a lie.

He couldn’t stand the silence, but he couldn’t stomach listening to the zombies’ moans and groans.

So he talked to himself. Listened to his friends’ songs, watched videos of them together and pretended it was all going to be fine. To him, and many others, the apocalypse hadn’t just torn up their lives and the world. It had torn up their families; their friend groups. Most of Jack’s friends or family members were either confirmed Infected or missing. He was well and truly alone. 

Chapter Text

Jack woke up on a couch in a random house.

He could feel bandages pressing tightly but not too tight against his stomach wound, and he felt less dizzy than he had.

His nose twitched.

For the first time in what felt like decades, he smelled bacon.

His stomach grumbled and he had to remind himself he didn’t know where he was and if he could trust the person/people whose house he’d woke up in.

“Good morning!” A blonde-haired avian screeched happily, ducking into the room and grinning at Jaxk. “How we feeling today, Mx. Mystery Patient?”

Jack blinked. Was he dead and this the afterlife, was this a weird fever dream, or-

“Nope, this is reality,” chirped the Avian, walking over to him with a class of blood/red liquid that smelt off….popcorn?

Ah. It was a Healing Potion. Those tended to smell like one’s favorite foods. The taste however…

Jack sat up, ignoring the pain in his lower stomach.

“There there,” the avian said cheerfully, patting him on the head. “It’ll be okay. Now drink this, you little shit. We don’t need anymore emergencies.”

Jack carefully took the glass and drank it, nearly throwing up at the taste.

Imagine the worst thing you’ve ever eaten.

That’s what the Healing Potions taste like.

Jack gagged but drank it all. The blond took it. “So, hello, I’m Tommy. Do you have a name?”

“Why wouldn’t I have a name?”

“Anyways…”

“Okay, fine,” Jack acquiesced. “I’m Jack.”

“Nice to meet you, Jack! Do you want to play L’Monoply?”

“… what?”

“I take that as a yes! Wait here. Don’t go anywhere.”

L’Monoply is a game for four to five players. You get to play as various animals/objects: you could be a clam, a pirate ship, a ghost, a blobby thing with a smily face, and many more!

You got to pick a backstory for your character, and you had to get to the end and defeat the evil ram dictator before the others did.

But there’s obstacles, such as go-back <insert number> cards and monsters.

Everyone has health, and each time you fight, you lose some.

Jack somehow got picked to be the clam. (Boohoo, clam boy)

Tubbo was a ghost. (Ghostbo)

Tommy was a raven, and Ranboo was a Flying Spaghetti Monster from another dimension. (Don’t ask. It was common knowledge that the creators had eaten something they shouldn’t have before making the game.)

Jack went first. “Why am I the clam?” He asked no one.

“Go on, clammy boy,” teased Tommy’s friend Tubbo.

Jack flipped him off.

30 minutes in, Jack was winning. By a lot.

“Aww, poor little babies,” he teased, patting Tommy’s head. “I’m sure you’ll learn it sometime in the next decade!”

“Fuck you,” retorted Tommy.

“Don’t fall for it,” Tubbo whispered. “You’re being gaslit by a clam.”

Jack burst into laughter, which made his stomach wound twinge.

“Bad clam,” Dream scolded.

Jack sighed, muttering something about ‘ears like yours’ and ‘my knife’.

“‘Ears like ours’, you’re literally a clam,” Ranboo chimed in, sending everyone in the room into a fresh fit of laughter.

“What a shame, what a shame, the clam is not calm,” Tommy sang, with the air of sharing knowledge.

“It’s time to clam down!” Shrieked Tubbo.

“This is such a not claming life,” muttered Ranboo mournfully.

“Oh, cluck you!”

“Language!”

“Okay, BadBoyHalo.”

“Oh, I’m gonna kill you-“

“No killing anyone!”

“But just a little murderizing? As a treat?”

“ No.”

“But why??” Came Tommy’s whining reply.

Dream walked over and bonked the teen gently on the head.

Tommy then pounced and tackled Dream, sending the duo to the floor in a tangled mess of limbs.

Ranboo turned and looked at what appeared to everyone else to be nothing. “What the fuck.”

But Ranboo could see a person watching.

They shrugged and continued to munch on popcorn, which they had gotten through mysterious means.

Ranboo sighed and Jack felt for the guy: he’d been here for just a short time, but even he could see how chaotic the Enderian’s friends were.

-

“My god,” said the newbie, Jack, staring at Tubbo like he was a mad man.

“What? It’s just a few nukes,” Tubbo shrugged, grinning.

“ JUST A FEW NUKES?!”

Dream sighed, running a hand through his sandy brown hair. “Tubbo, why are there nukes in my house?” The  ‘again’ went unspoken. No need to further terrify the new person.

“Because,” said Tubbo simply.

Dream groaned. “Fuckin’ kids these days,” he muttered. “Tubbo, please dispose of the nukes. Safely.”

Tubbo sighed sadly. “But whyyyy?” He whined.

“Because they’re fucking nukes, Tubbo.”

“Does this happen often?” Jack asked.

“You get used to it,” replied Tommy.

Ranboo just slammed his head into the wall.

(I feel ya, Boo Boy, I feel ya.)

Unfortunately for both Jack and Ranboo’s sanity, the day only got more chaotic from there, concluding in an firework incident that almost burned the house down.

“You’re grounded,” Dream grumbled, looking absolutely pissed.

Tubbo took off running, Tommy by his side.

Jack’s eye twitched, looking very much like he regretted every decision he’d ever made.

[So does the author.]

“What. The. Actual. Fuck.”

Ranboo made finger  guns at Jack. “You get me.”

<their souls entwined in a world of misery>

<buckle up, it’s gonna be a hell of a ride>

Chapter Text

Sapnap glanced at George.

Taller than he’d used to be, half of his friend’s face was made of a hollow metal referred to as avianum. Strongest metal on earth, incredibly rare, and very light; the metal had saved his friend’s life so many times since the surgery had put it there.

The metal was a dark dark blue, with faint veins of green shooting through it, matching George’s color scheme these days.

There was a hollow thunk as the older man walked; a side effect of having all-metal limbs.

George’s prosthetic eye stared out at the world; the dark blue pupil contrasting with his brown natural one.

“Do you think he’s still out there, Sapnap?”

Sapnap knew immediately who his friend was referencing: Dream.

The third member of their Trio.

The one who’d kept them together.

They hadn’t seen him in well over a year; it was good odds that he’d been Infected.

But Sapnap didn’t want to believe that. He wanted to keep looking; through the woods of the Kinoko District to the wealthy Las Nevadas precinct, he’d do anything to find his friend. Even if it was a body, he wanted the closure.

He needed the closure, and so did George.

They walked home, snow crunching beneath their feet.

Zombies stirred but didn’t attack, recognizing George as the one who’d slaughtered many of their kind in a pain-filled haze.

George pretended not to see them, but Sapnap knew him too well and noted the tension in his friend’s shoulders.

Sapnap didn’t blame him. The zombies may seem weak and meek, but once they got a taste of blood, they wouldn’t stop, relentless in their pursuit.

The duo finally made it home, slipping into the heavily reinforced apartment with a well-practiced ease.

Inside the apartment was a thousand times more comfortable than it seemed on the outside; warm with the smell of baking cookies filling the air.

Quackity met them by the door, brown eyes wide. “Any news?”

George shook his head and the small Mexican shrunk down. “Fuck.”

Sapnap wrapped his fiancé in a tight hug. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered, hiding his doubt. “Dream and Tubbo are smart, they are fine. We’ll see them soon.”

Quackity sobbed into Sapnap’s shoulder, and the ravenet let him.

In zombie movies, they never talked about the pain of having family be infected. They didn’t talk about the pain of not knowing where your loved ones are.

And by Prime did Sapnap wish they did; wish that they’d have some advice to fall back on. Some advice to keep them together.

The sky was dyed a vibrant red as a young man walked across the snow-streaked plains.

The wind sent his jacket hood flying back, revealing short-cropped pale brown hair against tanned skin.

One brown eye and one violet eye stared out at the snow-covered expanse, desperately searching for a figure he’d thought he’d never see again.

The traveler had seen many universes; had loved the same people in many.

He’d never expected to be actively looking for Dream; at least not with worry about the green-loving man.

But he had to find him; he knew how important he was to Sapnap. To George.

And he couldn’t leave an innocent man to die….not again.

And thus the man out of time continued looking, not wanting to admit that the person he was looking for was either hidden incredibly well, or gone.

Chapter Text

Four hundred and twenty five days ago

“Okay, guys!” Dream grinned from the front door. “I’m going to go walk Tubbo to school!”

The sixteen year old looked dubiously up at his uncle Dream. “are you sure this is safe?”

“Of course it is,” Dream reassured. “The zombie virus isn’t anywhere near us.”

George rolled his eyes and lightly punched Dream in the shoulder. “Famous last words. Have a great day, Tubbo.”

“Bye, Uncle Gogy,” Tubbo grinned.

Quackity came running over, his hair mussed and the faint purple of love bites on his neck.

Sapnap and Karl followed, looking rather smug.

“Have a good day, mijo,” Quackity whispered, leaning down and kissing his son gently on the head, carefully avoiding the sharp ram horns that curled around Tubbo’s fluffy brown hair.

“I will, papá,” Tubbo smiled.

“Enjoy hell!” Sapnap hollered, than squeaked as both Quackity and Karl elbowed him sharply.

“Shush, you just had sex,” reprimanded Tubbo, causing his father and his boyfriends to flush furiously.

Dream wheezed. “That’s my nephew. C’mon, Tubbo. They’re giving me the oogies.”

Quackity flipped him off. “Hijo de la chingada madre vas a escuchar a mí: cállate!”

Sapnap covered Karl’s ears. “Quackity! Language!”

Quackity sighed. “Dios mío.”

“Whelp, bye~!” Waved Dream, grabbing Tubbo and pulling him at the door.

George shut the door and fixed Sapnap with a look.

“What?!” The taller complained.

“You just had sex,” George noted, “with your stepson home.”

“George, he makes nukes. I’m sure he’s fine. Also, he didn’t see or hear us.”

“Speak for yourself. I could hear plenty of noises.”

“Oh, shut up. You’re constantly pining about Dream.”

“Say that to my face, I fucking dare you.”

[A Month Later]

George ran through the streets, the bites on his body dripping blood and sending a burning agony up his body.

Sapnap glanced back at him, terror in the ravenet’s brown eyes.

George felt guilty for being the cause of that worry. But if this reunited him with Dream, then it was worth it.

It’d been a month since he’d seen the blonde; a month since he’d wished Tubbo a good day at school.

And he was no closer to finding them, just closer to dying. To becoming one of the thousands of undead that roamed L’Manberg.

Schlatt would’ve hated the damage to his people and his city, the brunette thought idly.

But Schlatt had been gone, gone for three months.

And it was probably slightly better this way.

George had seen the former president lose his temper only once, and once had been more than enough.

George began to slip into a trance; his head went fuzzy, vision blurry.

Dr’m, he thought dizzily, I’m com’in.

[a couple months later]

George grunted, grabbing the metal railings and gripping them as if they were his lifelines.

Sam smiled patiently at him, viridian eyes sparkling. “You’re almost there,” the creeper hybrid reassured.

George stumbled, still unused to the metal that made up most of his limbs these days.

He managed to right himself, panting heavily and sweat dripping down his body.

“You’re doing great!” Sapnap yelled, but got abruptly silenced by Quackity yeeting a pillow at him.

“Mother fucker,” Sapnap spat, but there was no anger in his chestnut eyes.

Sam sighed. “Shut the hell up back there or I’m going to have to remove you both from the room.”

Thankfully Q and Sap shushed and silently mouthed praises and encouragements at George, who took them to heart.

Things were dark right now, but at least he had some friends to light the way.

[Months Earlier]

Schlatt wandered down the street, his phone on his ear. “Have a great day of school, Tubbo!” He said warmly.

“Have a good day, Dad,” Tubbo replied, a grin clear in his voice. “Don’t fall down-“

Schlatt sighed. “Don’t say it. “

“Or you won’t be able to get up!” Crowed Tubbo cheerfully.

Schlatt laughed against his will. “Okay, buddy, I’ll keep that in mind. Have a great day. Talk to you later, alright?”

Tubbo hummed an affirmative and hung up.

Schlatt grinned, a bounce in his step as he made his way down the street. That was the favorite thing he did every day, talking to Tubbo and occasionally Quackity.

To be fair, he didn’t do much these days. Just fixed cars and tried to pay rent on time.

He hummed the L’Manberg Anthem under his breath as he wove his way to  his apartment, unaware of the eyes tracking his every move.

“Target making his way to position,” a voice said. “Operation Checkmate is underway.”

Schlatt paused. He had the eerie feeling that he was being watched.

While he’d been in office as president, these gut feelings had saved his life over a dozen times. Something creaked behind him and he turned around to see a blonde-haired man wearing purple swinging a knife at him.

Schlatt dodged; no stranger to combat situations.

“There’s no point to fighting,” the other man said sharply. “You will die.”

Schlatt sighed. He recognized this dumbo.   

“Et tu, Brutus?” He quipped, landing a quick roundhouse kick onto the other man’s side.

The man grunted and swung his knife back at Schlatt. “Down with the tyrant!”

“Dude, I’ve been out of office for over a year. Chill the fuck out.”

“Tyranny doesn’t end when they leave office,” the other person said. “It only ends when Death comes knocking.”

Something hit Schlatt then.

Death was coming for him.

He’d been running, running too long for Death’s liking.

So now she was coming to pull him into the void.

It had been a long time coming.

Schlatt regretted not saying goodbye to Tubbo; to Slimecicle and Ted.

But other than that, he had no regrets. So he spread his arms and welcomed the Death, feeling the cold dagger pierce his skin and someone whisper “Sic semper tyrannis.”

[Now]

XD stared down at the mortal lands.

Devastated by unspeakable violence, the land was slowly returning to its natural state, no longer damaged by the people calling it home.

XD was proud of himself for this one; it had been very creative and original to use a zombie virus to rid the world of those meddlesome humans.

Even HD had admitted that.

It was unfortunate about how many survivors there were, though.

He’d have to change that.

The only thing the multi-winged god regretted was messing with the memories of the ram kid and the mortal who shared his face. That had been unnecessary, XD just craving a drama he hadn’t seen in centuries.

“Oh, we’re near the end now,” he murmured. “The end of an age of heroes and villains, of bloodshed and lies, of friendships and knives. “

And he couldn’t wait to see what came after.

Chapter Text

It was quiet and solemn the day of Thanksgiving.

This was their second Thanksgiving without Dream and Tubbo, and it wasn’t getting any easier.

November 27th, 2025. That was the date, though few had lived to see it.

Even fewer of those few were happy.

To many, today was just another day, another dawn without their loved ones.

To others, it was a holiday where empty chairs should’ve filled. Where instead of laughter, there was a hollow silence that hurt more than blows.

For George, who sat nestled deep in blankets on his bed, staring up at his room’s ceiling, today was a reminder.

A reminder of broken promises and lost friends, of a love that could’ve been.

Of emerald green eyes and hair like sand, of long hours spent with only each other for company.

For Sapnap, nestled in the arms of his fiancés, today was a day to celebrate and enjoy every moment he spent with his loved ones, because who knew when it could end.

And for the members of Dream’s safe house, it was a day to be themselves, without fear of violence. A time to pretend like nothing had changed.

“Ranboo, how the fuck did you explode the oven.” Jack’s voice was dry, showing the two weeks that he’d been around the chaotic younger boys. (He’s like, 19, btw.)

Ranboo flushed. “I’m sorry, okay?! I didn’t intend to!”

“You’re such a pyromaniac,” Tommy joked.

Ranboo pouted. “I thought you loved me…”

Jack leaned onto the wall and yelped. “Tommy, where the fuck is my phone?!”

Tommy grinned and bolted from the room.

Jack swore repeatedly and chased after the blonde.

Ranboo groaned. Not even a zombie apocalypse could save his Thanksgivings from giving him a headache.

It hadn’t been his fault that the oven exploded. (He heavily suspected Tubbo had meddled with it.)

There was a suspiciously loud thump, and the Enderian stiffened. He left the kitchen and peered down the staircase and spotted Jack limping after Tommy, who held Jack’s phone over his head like it was Simba from Lion King.

Ranboo narrowed his Christmas-colored eyes. “You good, Jack?” He called.

The older boy gave him a thumbs up and continued to pursue Tommy.

Ranboo, from his years around humans and human-like hybrids, knew that Jack was lying.

Human ankles weren’t supposed to look like that. He made a mental note to make sure Jack sat down so that someone could take a look at it.

He turned and tried to return to the kitchen, but Dream waved him away, muttering something about a lifetime ban.

They managed to get lunch done and ready about one.

Jack, it appeared, had sprained an ankle when he fell down the fricking stairs, so he had an ice pack on his ankle and couldn’t walk on that leg.

Ranboo had been banned from the kitchen after the incident with the oven, and Tommy was temporarily banned from using electronics after he’d hacked into Jack’s phone and made it so that every time that Jack typed, Never Going to Give You Up played.

“This is boring,” Tubbo complained as they ate.

Dream ignored him and continued devouring the mashed potatoes.

Ranboo had a slightly maniac grin on his face. “Tubbo, time for plan Tantalus!”

Tubbo’s umber eyes lit up and he grinned like a devil. “Let’s fucking go!”

Jack looked nervous, as he should be. BenchTrio are unpredictable forces of nature. You never know what they’re going to do.

And the cranberries Tubbo flung at poor Jack’s face were most definitely unexpected.

The older boy squawked indigently and brushed crimson fruit off his eye lids, which stained both his face and his clothes. He now very much resembled a pissed off, American, serial killer.

“Do I look like the kind of man who dies?” Jack muttered angrily, flinging sweet potatoes at Tubbo. Ranboo grinned and whacked Dream in the head with green bean casserole. “You kneel before my throne, unaware that it was made of lies!”

Dream screeched. “Shut up and eat! For Prime’s sake, you’re acting like two year olds!”

He got a face-ful of pumpkin pie for his trouble.

“Oh, fuck it,” the homeless green teletubby muttered, and joined in.

Soon they had split into two groups:

Pogtopia, with Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo.

And the Cranberries (Dream decided it just to spite Jack, who’d decided he hated cranberries now), with Dream and Jack.

Jack cackled diabolically, somehow still able to keep up in the food fight without further injuring his already injured ankle. “It ‘‘twas never meant to be!” The short-haired brunet was hit in the head by a flying bowl of green beans, and the chaos ‘war’ resumed.

“Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo,” Dream retorted, pelting his former ally with biscuits.

(And don’t worry about wasting food. They have plenty of food and ate most of it before the ‘war’ began. :])

Jack admirably balanced precariously on his good leg and managed to catch every piece of biscuit Dream tossed at him. The younger grinned smugly until he was almost toppled by a flying loaf of buttered bread.

“Oh, Primedamnit,” Jack muttered , and it went on .

In a different part of the server stood a god. A god who shared a mortal’s face.

He was tired of humanity, of their broken promises and blood-stained lies.

“Men are oh-so flawed. They focus on the emotions, the smaller picture. They are selfish, and cruel, and violent, undeserving of the beauty around them. It’s time for them to prove their worth, to prove that they are worthy of living. The zombies tested their mettle…but now it’s time for more,” whispered XD, staring down at his server.

It was time for the end of an era.

Tick-tock, went the clock, ticking away humanity’s final days.

Chapter Text

Cities:
Las Nevadas- located in the Delphic desert (which is famous for showing visions of the future), this city is about a thousand miles from L’Manberg (so about a thirteen to fourteen hour drive). It was founded by Quackity’s great-great-grandfather, and is known for being eco friendly and its numerous casinos. The population primarily speaks Spanish and/or Portuguese.

North Caelum- located in the Cronus’s Teeth mountains, which separates the Delphic desert from the Darkwood forest that’s about a mile from L’Manburg. Situated about three thousand feet above sea level , transportation is primarily on horse or wild goat-back. Known for it’s world-class weapons and jewelry.

Kinoko Kingdom- located about seven hundred miles into the Darkwood forest, this is a treetop village that greatly respects nature. Due to being so isolated, and the fact that zombies dislike forests, the Kinoko Kingdom has remained basically unaffected by the apocalypse. They don’t have any fast food, instead responsibly relying on the nature around them for food. They are particularly skilled with wood-carving.

Dioscuri- home to the Merlings and other aquatic hybrids, this is located about two hundred feet below sea level.
Named for Castor and Pollux of Greek Mythology, as the founders too were twins. But one ( of the founders) was forced to kill the other to save all of the land. Also remains practically unaffected by the apocalypse and is well known for the Polluxion theatre, which holds some of the best plays in all of the continent. Is hidden by an illusion.
(Founded by a Merling named Asteria and her human twin, Achlys)

Other Important Locations:

The Isle of Crows- located off of the coast of the Delphic desert, Phil was born here. The natives are all avians, and a vast majority are crow-hybrids.

Temple Island- an island off the coast. Located near Lake Pallas and Mount Elpis.
It has all the temples dedicated to the gods here and is a major religious site.
Gods/immortal beings:
Eret (deity of life, his symbols are the flamingo and the rainbows)
XD (god of time)
HD (god of forests)
Kristin/Mumza (goddess of death)
Phil (Angel of Death/god of the sky)
Techno (God of War aka the blood god)

Mount Elpis- third highest peak in the country, and named for the Greek goddess of hope. Comes into play a little later on.

Lake Pallas- the only freshwater lake on the continent. Named for Athena’s sea nymph friend whom she killed accidentally.

Mount Melpomene- named for the Greek Muse of tragedy and lyre playing. Second highest peak. Infamous for the cave of Deimos and Phobos, the twin sons of Ares and Aphrodite. The cave causes severe hallucinations that nearly nobody can tell from reality.

The Delphic desert is a massive sandy desert. The end of it is on the coastline, and if you look out from there into the Bay of Urania, you can see the Isle of Crows.
The Delphic desert is famous for giving visitors glimpses of the future, particularly at the Blood Falls- where the water runs red.
Las Nevadas is also located here, and the beginning of the desert is right below the Cronus’ Teeth mountains.

The Cronus’ Teeth mountains, named for the titan Cronus, are the tallest peaks in the country. North Caelum is the only civilization to be found here, but the rugged beauty of the peaks bring many tourists.

The Darkwood forest is a massive, varied forest. Oak, pine, and many more types of trees grow here. There are two cities here: Cherry Grove (which is more of a village) and Kinoko. Cherry Grove is located in a small grove of cherry blossom trees, and is a quiet town of about five to ten residents.

The Crystalglow river, which cuts straight through the heart of Darkwood, is a shimmering crystal clear river known for its amazing sunrise view that makes it as if it was made of jewels.

The Dolos Fields, to the left of the Delphic Desert’s vast sands, are a rare grassy plains. The grasses are violet, red, purple, and shades of pink. Legends say that there was a massive battle here, and that all the death and bloodshed stained the grass these colors.

The Thantus/Thanatos canyon is a massive 300ft deep canyon just a couple miles away from the Dolos Fields. It was a popular hiking spot, but was abandoned after a mysterious incident in which a young child went missing.

Chapter Text

“Is that a goddamn blizzard?!” Tommy asked incredulously.

Keep in mind, this is November.

L’Manberg is pretty close to the ocean, so normally they don’t get snow, even in winter. Which it was not.

(Most people do not consider November 28th to be wintertime. Unless you live in Russia or somewhere similar.)

North Caelum, a city up in the mountains, got snow almost all of the year, but it’s location caused so.

L’Manberg’s did not.

Jack, buried in blankets on the couch with an ice pack on his ankle, peered out the window, looking paler than ever.

“Yeah,” the brunet replied, voice hoarse. (He had a bit of a sore throat going on.) “The hell’s going on with the weather?”

“Do you wanna build a Snowman???” Sang Tubbo.

Jack tried to throw a pillow and ended up accidentally hitting Tommy.

The blonde gasped dramatically and tossed it back, nailing Jack in the head.

Jack coughed and fell backwards, whacking his head against the couch. “Damn you.”

Tubbo looked guilty and handed Jack a Marshboo- a half-burnt marshmallow that Tubbo & Tommy claimed looked like Ranboo.

Jack blinked. “What.”

The other two cracked up for no apparent reason.

Jack rubbed at his throat and scowled at them.

He mouthed something.

“He thinks you look like you lost your virginity to SpongeBob,” Tubbo said confidently. (Yeah, I heard that in class. Wtf.)

Jack laughed so hard he choked. “That’s not what I said!”

“Prove it!”

<two days later>

Dream sneezed.

Jack, pressed up against him on the couch, coughed.

“This is what you get for walking outside in the middle of a rainstorm without jackets,” Ranboo, sitting in a nearby chair, said ominously. (Ominousboo my beloved /j)

Jack scowled. “We were trying to- achoo!”

“Hmm?” Ranboo smiled.

“Oh, shut up,” Jack muttered, making Dream wheeze.

Jack sent him an offended look. “I’ve been betrayed.”

Dream flipped him off.

“Behave,” Ranboo said, in a tone that sounded like a mother lecturing her toddlers.

Dream sighed. “Ranboo, you don’t need to babysit us-“

“Don’t I?” Ranboo replied, arching an eyebrow.

Jack and Dream shared a look, mentally plotting to escape.

Unfortunately for them, Ranboo was a bit like my friend Glory. He’d always find you, by sensing magically whenever you were harming your health.

“What are you two doing?!”

“Shit.”

Ranboo scooped them up and put them back on the couch. “And you were saying about me not needing to babysit you?”

The duo reluctantly melted onto the couch, resigned to being imprisoned. (For now.)

-

Jack stared at the sky uneasily.

It was dark, a dark and somber shade of green, the air eerily still.

He had a bad feeling about this.

(A little while later)

What the hell.

The weather seemed to hate them.

First a blizzard. Then a day so hot it’d almost given them heat stroke.

Then a rainstorm.

And now a motherfucking tornado.

Jack sat inside a tree hollow, sheltered from the harsh winds and rain.

He stared as the tornado tore through Dream’s treehouse (may it rest in pieces) and knocked over hundreds of trees. A sharp thrill went through Jack’s stomach.

I wonder if it’ll knock over the tree I’m in?

He did not want to die because he hid in a tree during a tornado. (Ie; being an idiot)

He’d panicked, okay?

He sat there, in the cramped space that smelled of mildew and rotting leaves, for a long time.

His feet fell numb, but his anxiety did not. His stomach churned, waiting for a crunch that would signify the end.

He waited anxiously, like a seer waiting for the apocalypse they foretold.

Oh, god, what if everyone else had been in the treehouse when the tornado hit?

They’d be scattered across the forest floor, as broken as the house itself…

Jack let out a quiet sob. He couldn’t think about that. He couldn’t, because he’d collapse in despair and he needed every sense he had right now.

He could die if he wasn’t paying attention.

Tommy peered out of the small hole he’d found. The tornado seemed over, but the destruction was terrifying.

Nothing remained of the treehouse but splinters and debris, scattered randomly like a toddler playing with legos.

Ranboo, Dream, and Tubbo followed him.

Dream swore under his breath.

Ranboo shook his head sadly. “I’m so sorry, Dream.”

“It’s fine. I’m just glad that we’re okay.”

“Well, we are,” Tubbo pointed out, “but we don’t know where the heck Jack is.”

The quartet paused, anxiety thrumming through the faint autumn air. The silence was disrupted by a very familiar voice yelling.

They shared relieved glances and hurried towards where the voice had come from.

They found Jack with a bloody splinter about the size of a finger on the ground beside him.

His left hand was pressing down against a bloody wound on his left calf.

His eyes lit up when he saw them. “Oh, thank  HD,” he said, relief in every syllable.

Dream immediately walked over. “What happened to your leg?”

Jack flushed crimson. “I, uh, was in a tree. When I was climbing down, I got this splinter in my leg.”

“Oh, thank goodness we’re all alright,” Dream said. “That storm really took us off guard.”

“It feels like the gods are angry at us,” Tubbo replied knowledgeably.

Ranboo gave him an anxious look. “Well, let’s take shelter before it starts raining fire or something.”

“Don’t even,” Jack replied, eyes glazing over.

Tommy helped his friend to his feet and together the quintet stumbled for shelter.

-

Dream slipped more bandages into his satchel as he wandered through the store, gathering supplies. Without a house, they needed more supplies than ever, especially with Jack having a wound that could get infected at any point.

Something crashed, and he stiffened. He drew his sword, mentally preparing to see zombies.

But the person who walked out from behind another aisle was not a zombie.

Just someone Dream had thought was dead.

“G-George?”

George froze. He was taller now, half his face being metal ala Corpse Husband.

But he was the same shy guy that Dream had befriended all those years ago.

“D-Dream?”

God. His voice was the same.

It felt like an ending, to a long path of darkness and grief for the both of them. (Prime, did this mean Sapnap was alive?!)

And when a ending happens, a new beginning starts.

And as the duo reunited, they thought that this could be a good beginning to a new era.

An era of reunited friends, of loyal ties stronger than steel.

George pulled Dream along Raventooth Way, his heart hammering in his chest like drums in a percussion band.

Dream was alive.

And unscathed.

Dream laughed. “Oh, George~”, he called, making the older man’s cheeks flush. “Where are we going in such a hurry?”

“To Sap,” George replied, and Dream gaped like a goldfish.

“He’s alive?!”

A realization hit George. “Is Tubbo okay?!”

Dream’s eyes widened and momentarily glazed over. “Yeah”, he whispered. “He’s good.”

George pulled him to the reinforced iron door that hid his, Sap, Karl, and Q’s apartment.

His heart beat like hummingbird wings; excited and happy and all over the place.

How could he not be happy?

His best friend and nephew were alive and safe.

And that was enough for George.

Sapnap didn’t let go of Dream. He couldn’t, not after losing him for well over a year. He didn’t want to risk losing him again. He wouldn’t be able to bear it.

“You’re alive,” Quackity murmured, almost a mantra. “Hijo de chingada madre.”

Dream smiled. “Yeah, I probably deserve that.”

Quackity nustled closer into the group hug. “I love you but I’m very, very mad at you right now.”

“That’s fair,” replied Dream.

“I want to see Tubbo,” Karl muttered.

“You will,” Dream confirmed, “when the octopi here-“ he gestured to Q and Sap- “let go of me.”

Sap pouted and clung harder to the blonde. “Never.”

Dream sighed. “Help.”

Karl clucked his tongue. “Q, Sap, let go of him.”

Q did, but Sap did not.

“Sapnap,” sighed Karl, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Sapnap reluctantly let go of his best friend.

“Let’s go find my son,” Q grinned, happiness shining in his brown eyes.

“You moron, you absolute buffoon-“

“Oh, I’m sorry. How about you try to keep everyone safe?!”

Jack shifted on the ground, pain flaring from where the splinter had dug into his skin several days ago. He was tempted to stand up and kick some sense into the others; but he reminded himself that they were just concerned.

[also he didn’t want Ranboo to yell at him again.]

It had been hours since Dream had left, and they hadn’t heard anything from him.

(Though that could be because the Darkwood forest was an Internet black hole.)

Jack groaned as the arguing (and the leg pain) got worse. Shit, there might still be some part of the splinter left in the wound. Or it could be infected. After all, they’d hadn’t had the resources to properly clean it out.

The brunet whimpered as a burning pain throbbed in his calf, and he leaned against the tree, heart pounding.

He might have zoned out; all he remembered later was an agonizing pain in his leg and darkness.

The young man’s heterochromatic eyes fluttered shut and he slipped into the cool realm of Hypnos.

Ranboo carefully carried Jack as they stumbled away from their shelter. Rain came pouring down like the tears of a grieving mother, and they all knew that a flood was a distinct possibility with the weather being so fucked these days.

Jack groaned sleepily and Ranboo winced. His wound was almost definitely infected.

(Hopefully Jack’s immune system would fight it off, but the sooner they found proper medical supplies the better.)

Tubbo looked up at the sky anxiously. “We need to get to higher ground. It’s going to flood.”

“Damn,” Tommy muttered , ripping his shoe out of the deep mud for about the hundredth time.

“Come on, come on,” hurried Tubbo. “We need to move.”

The teens stumbled towards L’Manberg, water already lapping at their heels.

“We need to find Dream and get to a natural structure that extreme weather won’t destroy,” said Ranboo.

“How about Mount Melpomene?” Suggested Tubbo, pulling Tommy out of the mud (which left one of his shoes behind).

“Oh, yeah, that’s a good idea. Let’s go to the mountain named after a goddess of tragedy,” Tommy snapped, Techno distantly echoing in his words.

“We don’t have any better options,” Tubbo retorted.

No one responded, the true gloom of their situation settling in upon them.

They were homeless, chased by angry weather that destroyed whatever was in its path.

Everything was going great.

Dream glared up at the darkened sky as yet more water poured from the heavens.

Prime, he hoped the others were okay.

Tubbo . Damn.

How he had forgotten about his best friend’s stepson?

How he had forgotten about the movie nights, the laser tags, all the time they spent together?

He was going to find the answer to that soon, but right now he had to get back and make sure everyone is alive and in one piece.

Sapnap and Karl kept up with him easily, long strides making up for their lack of height.

Q and George were struggling but did not complain, eyes dead-set on the horizon.

Soon he noted three  figures approaching them, vaguely human-like in the dark.

Sapnap tightened his grip on his stained axe . “Who’s there?” He called.

“Sapnap?” Came Tubbo’s voice, already at the brink of tears.

Sapnap went running, the other adults by his side.

Once they got closer they could make out the others.

Ranboo stood, drenched hair sticking to his head and Jack unconscious in his arms.

Tommy was covered in mud, missing one of his shoes, and very out of breath.

Tubbo went running, slamming into Sapnap.

Tears ran down the young ram hybrid’s face. Q and Karl quickly joined the hug as well, finally reuniting a torn family.

Ranboo smiled.

Jack woke slowly. His leg still hurt, but not nearly as much as it had.

He was pressed up against something warm, and his mouth tasted like an army had been sleeping in it.

His back throbbed angrily, which told Jack he’d been laying down for a while.

He blinked open his eyes, and found himself staring into the blackness of someone’s t-shirt. He realized abruptly that he was tied to this person’s back like a backpack, and he flushed.

It was extra embarrassing to be carried like this, like you were a thing and not a person.

And this was just uncomfortably close to be to a stranger.

“Hey, he’s awake!” A unfamiliar voice said, thick with a Texan accent.

Jack flinched but a cool hand gently turns his head to look at them. “Hey, hey. Look at me. You’re okay.”

Jack blinked at Dream. “T-then why am I all tied up like this?”

“We thought it’d be easier to carry you like this,” replied Dream. “We wanted to let you rest, but didn’t want Ranboo to get worn out.”

Jack looked at the looming snow-peaked mountain. He gulped. “We’re going up there?!”

“Just until the weather calms down,” Dream reassured.

Somehow Jack had a feeling that it  wouldn’t go that way.

(He may have a career as a seer, lol.)

“Holy Prime, is that Techno?!”

Tommy stared up at the statue of his oldest brother, awe and confusion warring within his mind.

It looked just like him, down to the scar on his neck he’d gotten when he’d faced Wil’s kidnappers.

Holy shit. His brother had a fucking temple.

Tommy admired the handiwork, glittering gems embedded in unyielding stone walls. A mosaic on the floor showed Techno in full battle armor holding his sword close to his chest.

Dream wolf-whistled. “Gorgeous.”

Jack looked panicked. “I-it’s the Blood God.”

“What’s the Blood God?” Asked Tubbo.

Jack frantically gestured at the statue of Techno.

“Oh, that’s just Techno,” said Tubbo casually.

Jack choked on thin air. “You know the fucking Blood God?!”

“He’s my brother,” admitted Tommy. Jack looked like he’d been hit over the head multiple times. “ WHAT.”

“Where did you grow up?” Sapnap asked, a note of suspicion in his voice.

“Las Nevadas,” replied Jack.

“Ah, that’ll do it. They are quite afraid of ‘ol Technoblade down there.”

Jack wandered away to a broken window, limping slightly and still looking freaked out.

Dream nodded in sympathy.

When Tommy thought about it, Techno could be terrifying. Especially when he was angry.

Prime, he missed him.

Dream paused. A voice echoed in his head, angry and taunting.

Meet me here, alone, and maybe I’ll spare your friends.

He would’ve brushed it off as a hallucination had it not been for him being both well-hydrated and well-rested.

His stomach churned. Don’t drag them into this.

Ah. A hero. How sweet.

Darkness fell across Dream’s vision. When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in a war-torn field.

He gagged when he saw the first body, burned beyond all recognition.

But Dream knew who it was from the silver rings on three of the body’s fingers: Sapnap.

Q lay beside him, bloody hand reaching for Sap’s and his wings viciously torn from his body.

Dream wanted to throw up but couldn’t.

Blood was everywhere, and the scent of death hung heavy in the air.

Dream felt tears run down his now-maskless face as he stumbled, looking for more familiar faces. And he found them.

George had been sliced in half, Q’s neck had been slit as well as everything else that had happened to him, and Jack seemed to have bled out.

Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo were missing, and he hoped that they’d escaped.

This could be prevented, said the voice.

Stay at the temple alone and your friends will be unharmed. If you do not cooperate, I will kill them all, starting with the youngest.

XD was pleased with his work.

The foolish mortal who shared his face would do as he asked, and soon all of humanity would be gone from the mortal realm. He could see the foolish weakness of attachment in the mortal’s heart, and had just needed to apply the right amount of pressure to cause the mortal to cave.

The god smirked.

The era of humans and their selfish ways was soon to be over.

Chapter Text

Grieving.

Broken.

Dying.

Mourning.

This is what it’s like to be human, right now.

This is our price, paid in blood.

Families are torn and friends are stolen.

A small group struggles to survive, with an immortal glare down upon them.

This is what it’s like to be human, now:

You are alone.

L’Manberg has turned into a mass grave.

Most are rotting six feet below, or are roaming the  the streets for more victims.

You are cold. The electrical grid has finally failed.

You can feel the clock ticking in your chest, ticking down the time you have left.

Hope is but a memory.

Warmth is a distant feeling.

Tick-tock, goes your heart, counting to your final breath.

Dream didn’t  know what to do.

If he let the others stay with him, they would die. But if he stayed alone, he could die.

But as much as he wanted to live, he figured the others deserved it more.

But how to get them to go?

They’d never leave him willingly, because they were so damn loyal. (He loved that about them.) He loved them.

He loved each and every one of them, from chaotic Tommy to loud Quackity.

He didn’t want to hurt them, but emotional pain was better than death.

He picked up a bottle of Persuasion Potion, staring into the murky yellow potion’s depths. Reluctantly he uncapped it.

The potion basically makes people do you what you want them to, and is illegal because it can be misused.

However, Dream is using it to get his friends out of the danger he’s surrounded by.

(He’s so selfless, o////o)

Dream shuddered and leaned against the wall. Without the body heat of the others, it was bitterly cold and eerie in Techno’s temple.

Nothing stirred.

“ The last hero ,” a cold voice crooned.

“ How lucky am I, to be able to meet the very last one? ”

Dream shuddered again. The voice dropped with malice and cruelty; promising pain.

The person stepped out of nowhere, and Dream screamed. For multiple reasons.

One, the other person had the exact same face as he did.

Two, he’d just been jump-scared.

Three, the other person looked absolutely terrifying.

Their eyes were completely black, and they wore all white with a purple cape similar to Techno’s.

Unlike Dream’s mask, this person’s was on the side of their head and had XD written on it instead of a smiley face.

“ Hello ,” the XD person said, a faint grin on their face.

“What. Do. You. Want.”

(Yes, Dream is sassing off the equivalent of God. Yea, he’s terrified. But he is trying to provoke XD to see what the other would do. Idiot [affectionate].)

“ You.”

Techno jolted awake.

XD v. Dream fight! A voice yelled.

C’mon c’mon RivalsDuo you can do it, another cheered.

Go save your bestie, a third voice bossed.

Blood for the Blood God, a fourth voice added cheerfully.

Techno groaned, grabbed his sword, and went out to his horse Carl.

“Technooo,” Wilbur called from where he was currently making a snow-pig (he was calling it Alex). “Where ya going?”

Techno grabbed Wilbur and dragged him away from the half-built snow-pig. “We’re going to go save a friend.”

FUCK YEAH, screamed Chat. RIVALSDUO, POG!

AU POG!

POG, WE’RE IN A FANFIC!

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!

Tommy blinked open his eyes slowly.

They stared out at a brand-new mountain- one more round and less steep. “Where the fuck am I?” He muttered.

But then a memory came back. Of Dream, skin pale and clammy, telling them to go to Mount Elpis because it was too dangerous there. And Tommy had complied, but there was no sign of Dream. Damnit.

“DREAM. YOU SELF-SACRIFICING SON OF A-“

Techno walked into the temple.

Phil and Wil were by his side, as always. But no Tommy. It felt odd, both being here after hundreds of years and Tommy not being there.

Thankfully, for once, Chat was silent, and Techno was thankful for that. He needed to focus right now.

He noted voices (outside of his head that weren’t Wil or Phil- those two were being deathly silent) and followed them, eventually coming to the room where people had sacrificed cattle to him once upon a time.

Phil, upon seeing XD cornering Dream, swore under his breath.

“Hey! XD!” Techno called. “Don’t you know it’s rude to kill one’s friends in their own temple?”

XD whirled around and hissed. “Blade.”

Dream, his friend Dream, glanced at Techno gratefully. “Techno!”

“Hey, buddy,” replied Techno, unusually gentle. “You good?”

Dream nodded but looked very shaken.

Phil scowled at XD. “I told you not to mess with him, XD.”

XD laughed, sending shivers down Techno’s spine. “Fight me if you dare, old man. I am a powerful enemy to make.”

Phil drew his sword. “You don’t mess with my family!”

Dream smiled widely at this.

“Oiii green boi!” Called Wilbur to XD. “You know you hate me. Half-breed scum. So come and get me!”

XD tipped his head, probably considering who he hated more: Dream or Wilbur.

With a quick flick of his wrist, the god sent Wilbur flying. While XD was distracted, Dream got to his feet and tried to run to Techno, but XD grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him towards him.

“Traitors, you two. Human-loving scum.” Was the last thing XD told them before vanishing along with Dream in a flash of white light.

Techno stared at where Dream had been, a hollow feeling growing inside of him.

He’d failed. Failed to protect Wilbur, failed to save Dream.

If he wiped away a tear or two, no one knew.

Dream was absolutely terrified. XD’s grip on him only grew tighter, and didn’t let go, even when Dream let out a whimper of pain.

The green light around them faded away, leaving them in a dark dungeon that reeked of blood and mildew.

“Your new home,” XD said, pushing Dream into an open cell.

The door slammed shut behind the blonde, and chains snapped around his wrists- tying him to the wall.

“Welcome to Styx’s Wrath,” said the being who shared his face.

Dream pulled at his restraints. “Why am I here?”

XD plucked a poppy out of nowhere and watched it fade into ash, letting the ashes fall through his clutched fist. “Humans ruin everything they touch. You live such a short time, barely more than children when you pass on. But while on my earth, you act like spoiled toddlers. Entitled to everything. You take and you take and you take, never giving anything in return, the greedy  flames consuming the forest. You all deserve to suffer for your crimes.”

“But there’s light too. Humans aren’t completely dark, we have light inside as well. The whole of us don’t deserve to suffer for your sick entertainment because some of us are monsters like you! You created us, right? Then we’re mimicking you. Our creator.” Dream snapped.

XD’s black eyes flashed pure angry white.

A faint, cruel smile emerged on his freckled face as he drew a sword made of a long, black metal that seemed to hum like a lightsaber.

“I see you have much to learn.”

Screams echoed through the halls.

[DreamWasTaken was slain by DreamXD using Blind Trust]

(DreamWasTaken joined the game)

[DreamWasTaken was slain by DreamXD using Blind Trust]

(DreamWasTaken joined the game)

[DreamWasTaken was slain by DreamXD using Blind Trust]

(DreamWasTaken joined the game)

“ Bad was once close to XD. He can tell us where XD would’ve taken him.”

The if-not, that Dream would probably die, went unspoken as the duo made their way through the Land of the Immortals.

The two would stand out anywhere else: a tall pinkette with blood-red pupils and a small blonde with huge black wings.

But here, in their homeland, they fit right in.

Well known even here, they kept their hoods up. Luckily, many immortals did that, particularly those who weren’t comfortable with sharing their face to the world.

They finally reached their destination, a small house by a glowing river.

It was well-fortified, but they knew it was cozy on the inside.

Phil stepped forward and knocked five times on the door, which opened.

A large, towering demon-like man loomed over them. He was even taller than Techno, at about 9’1 he was the tallest immortal. And widely considered the kindest, despite his demonic looks.

He blinked blank white eyes down at them, and wore an apron that said KISS THE COOK on it in bold letters over a red-and black hooded outfit.

“Pyrrha,” Phil told Bad, who let them in and instantly shut and locked the door behind them.

“Who did he get?” Bad asked in a hushed tone.

“Dream,” replied Phil grimly.

“Holy muffin,” Bad muttered. “Okay, i think I know where XD will be holding him. Come on.”

Techno listened grimly as Bad described the prison.

Called Styx’s Wrath, XD had made it originally when the mortal realm and the Land of the Immortals interacted. It had been originally known as Pandora’s Vault, a safe place to learn.

But apparently, so the legend went (Phil hadn’t been here when this happened), XD caught a human doing something the immortal considered illegal, and he kicked all humans out of the realm.

At some point between then and now, it had been renamed and turned into a maximum security prison.

“It’ll be hard to get in there,” said Bad, wringing his hands anxiously. “XD has made it basically impossible to get in or out.”

“We excel in the impossible,” Techno retorted, tearing a hand through his pink hair and scowling when he felt brown roots. (Someone’s salty, lmao. I can’t even dye my hair because it’d ruin it 😭 )

Bad blinked at him. “I know, Techno. But XD has to know you’ll come for Dream sooner or later, and probably has some sort of trap laid.”

Phil’s expression turned dark and stormy; probably remembering the last time he’d fallen into one of XD’s traps. He’d almost lost his wings.

Traitor, muttered Chat darkly. Dirty rotten-

Pig farmer! Another voice chimed in helpfully.

Shush with the Holes refrence. XD is a no-good swindling SOB.

Did you just say SOB out loud?

Yes and so have you.

Techno briefly considered slamming his head into a wall.

Rude.

Technomanners!

Tech-No-Social Life.

Whooh, buddy! Clam your bourse!

????

What? How?! How the hell are you guys making these inhuman noises?!

Magic.

vocal cord straining.

Technoblade groaned.

“But promise me,” said Bad, interrupting Chat. “When you do find XD, make his death painless and quick.”

Phil nodded. “I promise.”

Techno noted that he didn’t say we.

A loophole he’d be all too happy to exploit.

Damn this weather. He was going to find Dream, now .

He couldn’t leave his friend all alone in this weather.

“Tommy, no- achoo!” Jack sneezed, falling back against the cave wall.

Tommy, like he normally did, ignored Jack and ran out into the storm.

Thunder cracked through the gray sky, rain pouring down like the tears of a regretful author who knew what was coming.

The rocks were slick, and dangerous, bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘Don’t run by the pool.’

Tommy stumbled and slipped, tumbling down into a relatively shallow crevasse and landing hard on his left leg.

Tommy muffled a cry of pain and looked up the wall.

Fuck. Too smooth and too tall for him to climb up.

And no one could hear him. Not over the thunder and crashing rain.

Wilbur wandered towards the slopes of Mount Elpis, following the trail that had been left behind by Dream’s enchanted companions.

He knew Techno and Phil would find Dream. They had never failed before, had never let defeat last long.

Even when he’d been kidnapped, a few years ago, they had eventually found him through sheer determination and enough caffeine to kill a water buffalo.

But this… this was a different beast.

They were dealing with XD himself, not one of his minions.

XD was cruel. Callous. Apathetic.

He was willing to do whatever it took to accomplish his goals.

He was crafty, and manipulative, and was always at least thirty steps ahead.

What was scary about him wasn’t his powers or his immortality, but how he could control people with just his tongue.

He didn’t need powers, or potions, or weapons. His tongue was his weapon, one that he wielded to deadly effect.

Wilbur shook his head, the faint scars on his back tingling. Right. No need to focus on the past.

As Wilbur drew closer to Mount Elpis, he felt another heartbeat.

It was rapid with fear and anxiety, but it seemed oh-so familiar.

He inhaled sharply. The only person outside of Phil and Techno he had a blood-bond with (blood-bonds allow Phantom hybrids to locate loved ones and help them keep track of relatives within a certain radius) was… Tommy.

He reached out through the bond, cautious hope thrumming in his bones.

Tommy?

Wilby?!

Chapter Text

Carefully, Quackity flew Tommy up out of the crevasse; wings straining.

The duo tumbled onto the ground as soon as they made it over the edge, Q’s wings not used to carrying another person.

Wilbur ran over and tackled his brother in a hug.

Tommy laughed and wrapped his wings (which are too small to do much more than glide without a running start) around his older foster brother. “Glad to see me?”

Wilbur gripped him tighter. “That’s only funny because you’re still alive, bitch.” (Star Wars Rebels my beloved <<3)

Q sat up on the ground nearby, hair  a mess and skin flushed. “ Los hermanos are together. Es muy dulce.”

Q envied Wilbur and Tommy.

He remembered very little about his family.

He remembered carnita meat and sugary churros, marigold blossoms and sugar-spun skulls.

He remembered his Abuela, a sweet woman but tough as nails. She’d had marrón ojos that had seemed to see everything.

He remembered his mom, with milk-white skin and raven black hair. He remembered her gentle voice and love of the sea.

He remembered his sister, with bright gray eyes like their mom and a love for books, hands worn from working on the farm.

He could almost see mamá and mom decorating the house, mom treating mamá’s traditions with utmost care and devotion.

He remembered the horses, coats like polished wood.

He could remember the feel of Diablo, their serpiente, sleeping in his hair.

Golden flowers that woke with the dawn, sleek mahogany chairs overlooking the lawn.

But most of all, he remembered the weight of death.

Dark ebony for his sister and a porcelain urn for his mothers.

He wished for Tommy and Wilbur a happier path.

Death had shaped his life, from when he was sixteen and newly an orphan, to now.

Veinte dos, half his friends dead because of zombies.

A cold, moonless dark seeped into Dream’s bones. He paced around his cell, too anxious to sit down for more than a brief rest.

The shadows seemed to grow, almost humanoid in the lightless gloom.

To keep them at bay, Dream kept muttering his breath, the words echoing in the confined space.

“Obsidian walls, and safety falls. Dreams are the only possession, but even them can’t save him. His fate was sealed when he was born, in freckled skin and tangled limbs.”

“In the darkness, there does lurk,

a monster without mortal concern.

The two share faces,

a cliché you’ve seen before.”

“But no one tells you

how much it hurts

to see someone so similar to you

and yet so different too.”

“He sees the darkness inside of him

with the monster who shares his face.”

“There is no freedom here, only the sharp sting of pain.”

“You feel so small when trapped here, like a cockroach on someone’s shoe.”

“This place will suck you dry. Until there’s nothing more inside.”

The door of the cell opened and Dream stopped pacing, his voice fading silent.

XD stood with a tall navy-hair avian who had winds as orange as the dawn. The avian had pale pink eyes, and wore a blue hoodie under a full set of netherite armor.

Freckles dotted the bridge of their nose like constellations.

“This is your new guard,” said XD, a feverish gleam in his jade green eyes. “Her name is Wisdom.”

XD left them, shutting the door behind him.

Wisdom tipped her head, looking curious.

“Is the sky really blue?”

Dream felt a pang of sadness.

This girl had never seen the sky, never felt the sun’s rays.

“Why do you ask?”

The avian leaned against the wall. “XD’s never let me go to the mortal realm. He says it’s too dangerous.”

All the experiences she’d not gotten to experience flashed through Dream’s mind, and he was tempted to strangle XD.

“I was born there. He found me as a fledgeling. He took me here…and trained me.”

Dream noted that she didn’t say ‘raised’.

Wisdom winced. “Sorry for ranting. You’re my first friend. Well, besides the rats. But they like to bite me.”

Oh, how Dream wanted to stab XD in a very sensitive area.

“It’s okay,” he smiled. “You’re the first human I’ve seen in a while.”

She pulled two apples from her hoodie pocket and tossed them to him. They were shiny and golden, like something you’d see in a statue’s hand.

“Eat up, cockroach!” She called, a mischievous twinkle in her smile.

Wisdom was perplexed. She’d never met another human before.

He’d been very pretty, but odd-looking compared to some of the immortals Wisdom had met.

I wonder if he can get me away from XD?

She squashed that thought down.

He was just as trapped as she was. There would be no escape for either of them.

She wandered away from the dungeons, and slipped out onto the grounds around Styx’s Wrath.

Technically she wasn’t supposed to go anywhere without XD nearby, but Wisdom had never been much of a follower.

Cerulean grass brushed at her feet and she stared into the sky.

As always, it was half-black, half baby blue.

Faint stars glimmered distantly in the black side, glowing green against the black background.

She began listing the stars, as she always did to calm down.

“Erato, Terpsichore, Melpomene, Clio. Euterpe, Urania, Polyhymnia, Thalia, Calliope.”

“The Twins, Corvus, Traitor’s Chance. Asteria, Nyx. Styx. Hemera.”

“Theia, Selene. Castor and Pollux. Eos. Herakles.”

“Achilles and Patroclus, forever together even in death.  Kore, the queen of the underworld.”

Something hit her. If she freed Dream, could he take her with him?

Could she finally be free from XD’s tyranny?

Wisdom longed for her homeland.

She longed to fly, to feel the wind in her feathers. Se wanted to fly in the sky from whence she came.

She knew Dream probably felt similar, trapped as he was with no path forward.

And by Prime did Wisdom want to piss XD off, to get him back for all the scars littering her body, for stealing her from her home.

For turning her into a killer.

The mockingbird was ready to leave the nest.

Stealing the keys was easy.

XD often got complacent in his old age, and thus sealed his fate.

What was hard was locking  the guards away.

They weren’t loud, but fought hard.

Luckily, Wisdom had been taught by a god, and her determination to escape made her stronger.

The tall avian snuck down to the dungeons, guards sufficiently knocked out and tied up in a broom cupboard.

She went to to Dream’s cell and unlocked it. The man inside it jumped to his feet. “Heh?!”

Wisdom opened the door. “Come on, homeless blob. You wanna get out of here?”

Of course, he nodded. The duo carefully crept out of the prison and made their way towards the portal that led to the mortal realm. Wisdom was ecstatic; she’d never gotten this far before.

“I’ve been expecting you,” murmured XD, appearing  in front of the portal and nearly giving the duo a heart attack. “Going somewhere, are we?”

“Fuck you,” Wisdom snapped, drawing her sword. XD tutted. “That’s no way to treat the one who saved you, my dear.”

“You didn’t save me. I was as much of a prisoner with you as my buddy Dream here was.”

“Lies. You were as free as a bird.”

“A bird in a cage, perhaps. You have me scars. You used me for your sick entertainment and turned me into something like you: a killer. You didn’t let me see the world, didn’t let me see my homeland. I was friendless and lonely, and broken, because you don’t fucking understand what it’s like to be human. To suffer. To have any emotions at all. You are a monster, XD, and I just want to go home. My real home.”

The tip of a shimmering steel sword jutted out of Dream, just below his ribcage.

Wisdom yelped, startled briefly, and responded by punching XD so hard his nose cracked and the god tumbled to the ground.

“Sic semper tyrannis,” Wisdom said monotonously.

She carefully grabbed Dream and jumped through the portal with him, leaving the stunned XD sitting on the ground with clothes speckled with blood from his broken nose.

Wisdom was a bigger threat then he had realized.

He stood up, about to go through the portal, when he stiffened.

“Ah. Hello, Phil.”

Philza Minecraft stared at him, blue eyes turned crimson.

“ Tell Kristin I said hello,” the blonde snarled, sounding very much like something off of Sam and Colby’s channel.

XD braced himself, picking his sword back up.

“Alas, I believe I shall be late to my meeting with her. But you can tell her hello from me.”

A fight between two gods is quite a sight, indeed.

It is more of a dance, moves well-practiced and graceful. There is still malice between each strike, but it is beautiful in the way another’s writing is- untouchable and more talented than one could ever be.

The crash of steel upon steel, sounding like a thunderstorm, fills the late fall air.

In the meanwhile they banter like young children who’ve never fought before, spitting improvised curses and insults at each other and hitting the emotional mark spot on, thanks to knowing each other for millennia.

There’s always a tragedy to two friends fighting to the death, and that is clear here as well.

This fight will end with someone dead. But who will it be?

Who do you want it to be, dear reader?

But of course, there’s only one way this can end.

Only one way. An ending written long ago in the freshly-made stars.

One was seen as a saint, the other seen as a sinner. But were they all black and white? Not really. But let’s move on.

There’s an old saying, on this server.

‘Death knows all.’

She sees every choice, every action one made on the server.

And, like how Phil brought his sword down upon XD, she brings justice to the dead. [DreamXD was slain by Philza Minecraft using Karma ]

Phil hated killing. Unlike Techno, who was rather blasé about it all, he hated seeing one’s blood- or ichor- on his weapons. Hated being the cause of someone’s final breath.

Even here. Even with XD.

Gods can bleed. Gods can die.

Though only in their own realm and only by the hands of another immortal.

XD had been like an older brother to him, growing up.

Encouraging his interests, teaching him how to fight.

He took Phil under his wing and how did Phil repay him? By killing him.

It was deserved. No one deserves to die. Even the worst person should get a chance to bloom anew.

Wow, he was such a hypocrite.

He brushed tears off his face and stepped into the portal, Techno by his side like always.

For all eternity, he’d promised XD. Always.

Wisdom grunted, carefully carrying Dream bridal style. She couldn’t fly them up to the top of the mountain, her wings unused to carrying more than one person. So here she was, with an unconscious and impromptu-bandaged Dream in her arms like a stereotypical damsel in distress. (She’d used one of her hoodie sleeves to bandage the wound in Dream’s gut, giving her a bare and exposed arm.)

Her dusky orange wings twitched, desperate to fly.

The rocky ground beneath her feet shifted and she let out a terrified chirp.

The ground gave way, and she tumbled down, willing her wings to move. She flew out of the sinkhole/crevasse thing, wings straining, and she collapsed just outside of a cave several meters up. She stumbled inside, exhausted from the long hike and the strain of  carrying Dream-boy out of the crevasse-thing. Her wings wrapped around Dream, and she slipped into sleep.

(Note: If you are ever in a scenario like this, CHECK THE CAVE/SHELTER. There could be predators or other dangers inside!! Thank you for listening to my TedTalk.)

George wrapped the impromptu ‘blanket’ around him further. Despite being partly metal now, he still felt cold- often to a stronger degree than his friends.

Someone touched his shoulder gently. “ George.”

For some reason they sounded odd. “Huh?”

“George-” the next things that the person said were lost in a loud, screeching siren-esque noise.

George groaned.

But he saw a flash of green. Dream?

He tried to stand up and fell over, ice having gotten into the prosthetics.

The other person swore and picked him up.

“ It’ll be fine, George. Dream’s here now.”

Chapter Text

“Come on, come on!” Phil yelled, pushing people into the inter-server portal.

Without XD, the Admin behind the world and the god who’d made it, the server was crumbling.

They needed to evacuate now, otherwise they’d all be dead- Techno and Phil included.

Karl stared at him blankly. In the days since  XD had died, he had slowly begun to lose his memory.

Now, you and I probably have a name for this. But our main heroes…not so much. It was a mysterious plight, a plague taking all of Karl’s best traits and dumping them in the void.

Sapnap gently took Karl’s hand. “It’ll be okay, Karl.”

The duo stepped through the portal.

Phil glanced at Techno. “Come on, Tech.”

“Coming,” the pinkette mumbled. And so they too stepped into the aquamarine portal.

It was never meant to be!

Broken. Shattered. Like Glass.

Victory or Death.

Wil stop being a simp.

Oh, piss off.

Piss off, ya spooky bitch!

I’m Gay! Gay for the Egg!

Wilbur Soot explained- a cryptid Eldritch being pretending to be human.

2 to the 1 to the 1 to the 3, please get Tommyinnit off my screen.

🎶 Philza Minecraft has a wife, he would never trust her with a knife! 🎼

I would trust her with a knife~

Would you trust me Phil

Absolutely not.

According to God statistics only 50% of you are going to heaven *wheeze*

They landed in a gorgeous seaside town, by a pier. The air was infinitely cleaner than it had been back at home, and you could see the stars here. Ranboo warbled happily, feeling at home in the darkness.

Jack blanched when he saw something familiar. “Are we sure we left?”

“Huh?”

Jack pointed at a sign.

It read: Welcome to L’Manberg.

“It’s fine,” said Phil. “Plenty of other universes have L’Manbergs. Now come on. We should find some shelter.”

They settled in what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse and fell asleep quickly- all except Dream and Wisdom, who sat awake.

Wisdom sat on the warehouse roof, staring up at constellations she’d never seen before. Her eyes were wide, reflecting the shimmering stars and moonlight.

It had been worth it, she supposed.

She was free now.

And Dream was going to be fine.

(The next day)

Tommy stared. An almost identical version of himself stared back, with shimmering wings and dull blue eyes.

“What.”

The other ‘Tommy’ yelped. “What the fuck? Who are you?!”

“Who are you?!”

Tommy narrowed his eyes. He’d seen a lot of weird things- such as merpeople- but this was just plain bizarre.

The Tommy meets Tommy situation quickly escalated into a quick-paced but sloppy fist fight, with our Tommy (who is not the current POV’ER) socking the other Tommy in the face.

“Who are you?” Other Tommy yelled, a bracelet shimmering on his wrist.

“I’m you!” Our Tommy spat with a particularly vicious blow to other Tommy’s ankle. “Yeah, sure, and I’m President Schlatt,” other Tommy scoffed.

Our Tommy sighed. “Why do you smell like fish?”

“Why do you reek of friendlessness?”

“Jump in a lake.”

“In this heat? Gladly.”

“You are an idiot. How are we the same person.”

“If im an idiot you’re a bigger idiot.”

“Oi-“

Across town, back at the warehouse, Dream and Phil both sighed.

“Tommy’s being a dumbass again.”’

The Tommy’s were still bickering, thankfully no longer fist fighting.

“You’re more crass than a rabid duck-“

“You smell like a bass who had a heatstroke and is rotting away in a dried up lake!”

“So, like Camp Green Lake?”

“You’re such a nerd.”

“Shut up, you’re basically Tinkerbell.”

“TINKERBELL?! FUCKING TINKERBELL?? I WILL FEED YOU TO CLEMENTINE!”

“WHERE THE HELL DID YOU FIND A BABY CROCODILE?!!”

Other Tommy sighed. “Okay, let’s go resolve this. I have a friend and he’ll be able to see what the hell you are.”

So…apparently this other Tommy was friends with a fucking mermaid??

Merman? Merperson? Merenbie? Our Tommy had no clue.

Whatever the fish person identified as, they looked a lot like Wilbur.

Same tanned skin, same curly brown hair, same red pupils.

They even had the same yellow turtleneck sweater.

But this fella (fellow? Gal? Guy? Non-binary pal?) had a fuckin’ mermaid tail.

It was slate-gray, and missing half of one of it’s (their? God, he would like to know the pronouns and avoid misgendering them. Respect the pronouns y’all) fins.

The merperson stared at him.

“Well, looks like you found a variant.”

Other Tommy spluttered, sounding like a chicken being repeatedly dunked head first in water.

“No way, Wilbur!” Other Tommy groaned.

Mer-Wilbur’s eyes twinkled. “Aww, Tommy, are you jealous of your variant?” He teased, sounding so much like his Wilbur it almost gave Tommy emotional whiplash.

Other Tommy flipped Mer-Wilbur off. “Fuck no. Shut up.”

“Sure, hatchling.”

“It’s sunset. He should be back by now.”

“You know Tommy. He probably befriended a giant squid or something.”

Tubbo looked thoughtful. “Hey, we could name it Clementine!”

“Shush your little mouth before I shut it with spaghetti,” Ranboo muttered, slightly threatening.

“I’ll go find him,” Jack said.

“Sure,” said Dream. “Just be careful and don’t get lost.”

“Too bad the Human GPS is asleep,” snarked Wisdom, sending a glance over to Techno.

“Don’t die on me or I’ll make the L’Manberg Spaghetti Incident of ‘22 look tame!” Tubbo hollered. (I say spaghetti too much in this fic, someone help me)

“What?”

“Oh, nothing,” Tubbo beamed at Dream.

Okay. G!Jack is biologically a dumbass, so he immediately falls into the water.

Oooh, warm Northern Atlantic Ocean Water!!

To be fair to him, I’m not that graceful either, and I trip all the time. He crashed into the northern Atlantic, earning a confused look from a seal that was like: ‘dumb human. Why are you swimming without your fur?’

He struggled back up to the surface, gasping for air. He hated water; hated its dangerous unpredictability.

Sure, a shower or a glass of water was fine. But lakes, oceans, pools…people died there.

He had almost died in a place like this. A shudder ran up his spine. For a moment, he was there again-

All encompassing darkness, he couldn’t see-

A burning in his lungs telling him of his mortality

And above all else, the terror.

The terror ran through his veins like a toxin, slowing him down and bringing sharp agony. Something grabbed at his leg and he snapped out of his memories.

Someone gently pushed him up to the surface  and he spluttered, coughing water out of his lunges

“Fuck,” he cursed. Damn his clumsiness.

He grabbed the edge of the pier and  pulled himself out of the cold depths, unaware of green-blue eyes watching him.

“There’s a storm coming.”

“Phil. Tommy’s still out there,” Wilbur snapped, huge crow-wings flicking angrily behind him.

“We can’t go out there if there’s a storm,” said Phil reasonably.

“Jack’s also out there,” Wisdom pointed out, removing her hoodie and draping it over a sleeping Tubbo. “I can go.”

Phil narrowed his ice-blue eyes. “Sorry, but no one’s going out there. It’s too dangerous. I can tell that this is going to be a big storm.”

Wisdom rolled her eyes. “We are Avians, Phil. We were born to fly, whether in a hundred degree heat or a hurricane. And those are your son and his friend out there. So the real question is: how good of a father are you, really? Because most fathers would think it was worth the risk to find their son.”

“Says the mercenary,” muttered Phil.

Wisdom’s wings fluffed up and her eyes flashed purple. “Oh, a mercenary? A mercenary?? Is that what you think of me, after everything? So  I carried Dream eight thousand freaking miles on foot to be disrespected? I risked everything to help y’all and you treat me like this.”

Wilbur backed away as Phil began arguing further with Wisdom, the height difference almost hilarious. You see, Wisdom is  six feet tall, and g!Phil is about 5’4. The smol had picked a fight with the tol.

Wilbur turned and walked out of the warehouse, leaving the two Avians to it.

Hang on, Tommy, Wilbur thought, you too, Jack. I’ll be there soon.

****Okay, so this L’Manberg was nothing like theirs. It was a maze.

Wilbur was completely and utterly lost like a banana slug in the Dead Sea.

Harsh rain stung at bare skin, and his trenchcoat whipped behind him as he flew.

Phil had probably been right, but now that he was out here, Wilbur was not going to give up. He had to find Tommy. And Jack, he supposed. (He didn’t know him as well, so he wasn’t as concerned about him.)

Something whacked into him, and he stumbled mid-air.

Then something else, stronger and heavier, slammed into him with all the force of something shot out of a cannon and he tumbled out of the air and crashed into the ground. He groaned and sat up.

A group of people, dressed in all-white, were surrounding him.

They were pointing guns at him. (Very old-fashioned guns, but guns nonetheless.)

The leader, who had a black scarf tied around his waist for dramatic flair, tutted.

“Oh, you did very well, son. This abomination of God will get us a fortune on the black market.”

He had a very strong accent, that Wilbur blearily recognized as from the American South. But that was his only identifying feature, because he wore a black skull mask over his face.

“No way in heck,” Wilbur protested, dizzily getting to his feet and swaying slightly. He could feel something damp dripping down the left side of his head and meeting the bruised skin of his neck. “Am I going with you sons of bitches.”

The leader tilted his- their- head.

“You don’t have a choice.”

Wilbur tried to put up a fight, but he was dazed and possibly concussed.

They tied his wings behind his back and put him in handcuffs before stuffing him into what seemed to be a monkey’s cage resized for humans.

What the hell is going on? Where are they taking me?

“Come on, men. We’ve got enough money here to not have to do this for years.”

Skull guy’s followers whisper-cheered and off they went, dragging Wilbur along with them down a dark and twisted road.

His stomach twisted. Was he going to his death?

“We need to knock him out, sir,” someone said.

“Do it,” said the Skull Guy, sounding bored.

With a pain in his cranium, Wilbur fell into darkness darker than his wings at midnight on the new moon.

He woke up slowly.

When he came to, he was chained in some sort of wooden crate.

Next to him was an eerily familiar ram hybrid- different but the same in many ways.

“Good morning, kiddo,” said Schlatt.

“How you doin’?”

Wilbur blinked, forgetting all that happened for a second and thinking for a moment he was dead.

Because  his Schlatt, the one whom he’d once run in an election against (to not as dear destruction as in canon, thank Prime), the person who’d he gone fishing and drinking with on a regular basis before his unexpected tragic death, was dead.

This Schlatt was missing half of his left horn, was skinny, and dark circles under his eye.

And noticeable was the brand peeking out from the collar of the worn black jumpsuit the ram wore.

His Schlatg had been broad-shouldered and healthy with an aura that had frightened many a political opponent.

But this one was hunched over. Tired.

He didn’t want to be noticed.

Wilbur flinched. He was going to have that brand burned into his skin too, if he didn’t already.

Fuck.

Fucking hell.

He was doomed.

“Shhh, it’s okay,” other Schlatt murmured. “It’s not that bad when there’s other prisoners around. I’ll try and help you through the first few days, alright?”

Wilbur’s breathing became rapid.

He hated such small enclosures; hated feeling so trapped and helpless.

He had to get out of here…but how?

Wilbur winced as outside the crate, voices yelled in excitement.

What the heck.

Was this some sort of hybrid trafficking ring? That would fit, with Wilbur’s original captors talking about how much money he could bring them. Wilbur hunched over, terror swarming over him like a swarm of bees. He’d heard about hybrid trafficking rings before- his Schlatt had been trapped in one until Q rescued him (that was how they met). Also, such rings were a source of endless nightmares for the hybrid community, bringing missing persons cases every spring like clockwork.

No one knew what the rings did to the hybrids they kidnapped, and Wilbur had a sense he was about to find out .

“Wilbur!” Wisdom yelled. Her dusky orange wings spread to their full span, earning her terrified looks from the almost entirely human passersby’s.

Wisdom ignored their fear.

It wasn’t her fault that they were bigots, or that they had heard only bad things about hybrids. She was here to look for Wilbur, nothing more.

“WILBUR SOOT-MINECRAFT!” Yelled Wisdom, striding forward on long legs.

Someone wolf-whistled. “Hey pretty lady, why don’t you stop looking for your boyfriend and come see a real man?”

Wisdom ignored them and quickly left.

“Wilbur, where the hell are you?”

“You lookin’ for Tall Guy?” Someone asked.

“Tall with huge black wings and a British accent?” Wisdom asked.

The person nodded. “They- the Supporters of Humanity- took him that way.” They pointed left, to a dark alley in shambles. Oh, joy. A cult.

She thanked them and continued down the alley, absolutely pisser off that anyone would dare harm her flock.

Wait, what.

When had she started think of them like that? What the heck?

She’s finally free from XD and in two seconds she gets herself stuck under someone else.

Shush, she told her brain. I’ll find Wilbur and then I can leave. We’ll be free then, okay?

She ignored the pang in her heart at the thought of leaving the group.

Attachment is a weakness, murmured XD’s voice. You can never trust them, my dear. They’ll betray you, just as I did.

You can run. You can fly. But you can never hide from your flaws.

And such flaws are why everyone around you betrays you.

Shut up, snarled Wisdom internally. You’re dead, but dead gods can still bleed. Can still be chopped into pieces.

XD’s voice thankfully quieted and Wisdom went on, humming Eleanor Rigby under her breath (because XD would only play the Beatles lmao).

Jack was completely soaked. And lost.

Thunder crackled above him as he stumbled through the streets.

“Shite,” he muttered. Blood dripped down his leg from slicing it when he pulled himself out of the ocean, but he ignored it.

“Where the fuck are you, guys?”

Wisdom stood outside of a warehouse. The people who The Supporters of Humanity had sold Wilbur to worked out of here, according to a lackey she’d talked to.

She stepped closer.

Justine always comes. Even if it’s a little late.

BAM!

Someone knocked the door down.

Wilbur gasped. It was Wisdom. Wisdom stood, all six feet of her stiff and straight like a lightning rod.

A poacher leered at her, dark eyes sweeping over her orange wings, Schlatt and his horns, and Wilbur and his death-black wings. “The ram, the crow, and the mockingbird. How fortunate.”

Wisdom’s pale pink eyes flashed purple. “I am death. I am fury. And your own actions have brought me down upon you.”

“Do your best, little bird,” the same poacher cooed. “You’re outnumbered five to one.”

Wisdom grinned ferally, and she leapt into the fight.

She moved fluently, with all the liquid grace of a lioness on the hunt. Wilbut gaped at the fluid movements (the few he could see through the crate’s walls), shocked that anyone could be that flexible, that graceful.

The navy-haired Avian caught a flying fist that clutched a knife by its wrist, and quickly twisted the knife free. With deadly accuracy, she located the man’s jugular vein and stabbed into it with the man’s own knife. A redheaded woman that reminded Wilbut faintly of Sally charged at Wisdom. The ginger never stood a chance, as Wisdom easily dodged her blows and slammed her head brutally into the concrete wall. Wilbur grimaced but continued watching.

A brunet tried to shoot Wisdom, but the bluette dropped into a roll and proceeded to jump to her feet and pull the gun out of the other person’s grasp. “You mf,” Wisdom snarled. “You don’t deserve a painless death, but I try not to be as callous as the likes of you.”

The other remaining poachers whimpered. “Get out. If you ever try to pull a stunt like this again, I'll find you and we’ll have a less than pleasant conversation.” Her flame-orange wings flared behind her, making her look like a fallen angel. The rest of the underworld scum fled, vanishing into the dark like when they’d first appeared.

She turned around and came to where Wil and Schlatt were sitting and quickly ripped open the cages with unnatural strength.

Just how fricking strong is she?

She held out her hand and helped Schlatt and Wilbur out of their crates.

She nodded to Schlatt. She smiled at Wilbur. “We should probably get going before Phil goes all Angel-of-Death on L’Manberg.”

“Probably,” Wil said, still shaken by the events that had occurred.

“Do you have any family to go to?” Wisdom asked the other Schlatt.

The other Schlatt had a spark to his eye that made him seem more alive. More human.

And for that, Wilbur was sure Wisdom would’ve done anything for.

“Just my son. Tubbo.”

Wil jerked at the unexpected mention of Tommy’s small brunette friend.

“But I gave him up,” Schlatt admitted. “I was in a rough time of my life- my fiance (a/n: not Q) had just passed away, my brother committed suicide- I was coping in…what you could call an unhealthy way. I couldn’t raise a child, and I wanted him to have a better life than what I could give him.”

Wisdom smiled sadly, and something told Wilbur she could understand, perhaps more than anyone here could understand. “You are a very selfless person, Jschlatt, and I wish you the best. Go live, enjoy life’s wonders. You deserve better than this pit. Maybe one day you can talk to Tubbo and have a relationship with him.”

“Maybe one day,” agreed Schlatt, “and thank you. For everything.”

Wisdom bowed. “Of course, old friend.”

Schlatt stared. “Oh. Oh. We have met before then, haven’t we?”

“Yeah, by you throwing a mango at my head,” Wisdom reminisced. “You were about 12, I was around ten. I had run away from home for about the seventh time. You were my first- and only- human friend, but my ‘father’ took me home by force.”

Schlatt laughed. “I remember that now. You ate the mango, if I remember correctly.”

“No point in wasting a perfectly good fruit,” Wisdom agreed. “Goodbye, Schlatt.’

“Bye,” Said Schlatt, who walked away.

Wilbur blinked at Wisdom. “How did you-?”

“Oh, I stole one of XD’s interdimensional keys,” said Wisdom. “To be fair, I was ten. And he wasn’t exactly what I’d call a good paternal figure.”

“True. So are we going back, or-?”

“Slow your seahorses, Wilby,” teased Wisdom. “Just kidding. We’re going.”

And so the crow and the mockingbird turned their backs on the warehouse of pain and trauma and walked away.

“What the fuck happened here? Where’s George? And why the hell is there an axolotl in here??” Wilbur snapped.

“It’s Sapnap!” Tubbo yelled back, holding a bowl of water with an orange axolotl in it. Sure enough it had a mini white bandana around its head and brown eyes.

It glared at Wilbur.

“Sure, and I’m a  platecarpus,” Wilbur said sarcastically.

“Wil, be nice,” Phil chided.

“But Phil-“

“He’s telling the truth, dumbass.”

“…”

“What???!”

Chapter Text

George woke in darkness.

His arms were tied behind him, to what was presumably a wall.

He began to panic. “D-Dream? Sapnap?”

He remembered what had happened and almost sobbed.

Prime damn it, was he about to die?

His knees ached and he winced, shifting as much as he could.

Something clicked and someone stepped inside.

The faint light from outside the cell-thing showed that they were an Enderman/Axolotl hybrid.

They were half-black, half-glowing bioluminescent sky blue, with one purple eye and one ice blue one.

Both sides of their face had the external gills of an axolotl, but George figured they could also breathe air because they had no respiration mask like Sam had. (Gods, Sam…)

They wore worn netherite armor, and their hair went to their shoulders (it was black).

“Good morning,” they said nervously.

“Where am I?” George asked.

The hybrid unlocked his hands, and grinned sheepishly, revealing fanged teeth.  “You, my friene, could be what I’ve been searching for for months.”

“What?”

“You’re a ray of hope in his dark age. you could save many lives.”

George blinked. “Me? Save lives?”

The axolotl hybrid stared at him hopefully. “I’m sorry for kidnapping you. But I panicked. You’re blood has an antibody in it that could save thousands…including my wife. So, please. Let me at least take some of your blood to study.”

George nodded firmly. He could tell when someone was acting- thank you, apocalypse- and this hybrid was not.

Body language is hard to fake.

George stood up shakily. “How can I help?”

So the Enderlotl hybrid’s name was Nyx.

They kept apologizing for kidnapping him as they hurried down gray hallways. “It’s fine,” George assured them. “No harm done.”

“So what kind of illness are we talking about?”

“We call it Athena’s Wrath,” said Nyx grimly.

“It’s been hounding the hybrid population here since June- it’s now late September. it’s killed over two thousand since it began

George’s face went pale. “Oh, Prime.”

“Yeah,” the other said softly.

“Synptoms?”

“Necrosis, sepsis, and organ failure, among others,” said Nyx. “It really depends on the victim and how they contracted it. It’s very adaptable.”

Fuck.

They glanced at him. “But we have a chance, now. Thanks to you.”

“I have seen too much loss. I will try to help relieve some of it here.”

“A selfless cause,” Nyx noted. “We will remember you, Mx…”

“George. GeorgeNotFound.”

“Thank you, Mx. NotFound.

“Okay, what the honk?” Said Karl, sneezing.

Wilbur looked incredibly tired (and he hadn’t even had Fundy, lmao). “Let me get this straight: George has been kidnapped and Sapnap has been turned into an axolotl.”

Axolotl-Sapnap nodded from where he sat in a fish bowl wisdom had totally not stolen from a nearby store (they have no money and Subpoena needed a temporary home so he wouldn’t suffocate in the air).

Dream groaned. “Oh my god, why does this feel like a ‘90s sitcom?”

“Dream and Friends,” Wisdom agreed. “Episode Twelve: The Axolotl and I.”

Tubbo wheezed. “Oh Prime, she’s so right.”

“Written and directed by Clementine,” Ranboo nodded, holding a baby crocodile with a tag ‘round its neck that said CLEMENTINE. The trio continued to laugh, Wisdom falling on the floor.

“Someone needs to find George,” Karl repeated.

“And Tommy,” added Phil.

“And Jack,” Wisdom pointed out.

Ranboo patted Sapnap’s bowl. “The axolotl council will decide.”

Wilbur and Dream face palmed at the exact same time.

“Prime help us.”

“Heloooooo?” Tommy called, gliding through the air on shimmering wings.

“Tommy?” Came an indignant shout from below.

Tommy looked down and saw, of all people, fuckin’ Jack Manifold staring up at him.

Tommy dove down and landed on his feet. “Ayup, big man!”

Jack looked absolutely soaked. And slightly mad.

“Oh, now you show up,” the brunette grumbled.

“To be fair, I got into a fistfight with myself,” replied Tommy.

Jack gave him a concerned look.

“Are you okay?”

“What? Yeah, I’m good. And I met another version of me, so that was … interesting.”

“Can this get any weirder?” Jack mumbled.

“Oh, ive got a good idea!”

“When you last said that, you put a racoon down my shirt!”

“Eh, this is better.”

“TOMMUYAGGHJJJJJJ!!!!!”

Tommy picked Jack up and took off in a run, that led into him flying above the seaside city.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH,” Jack screamed.

“Calm down,” Tommy advised. “Panicking makes it worse.”

“OKAY, SHERLOCK. TELL ME HOW TO FEEEL- ACK!”

Jack got cut off by Tommy almost slamming into a skyscraper.

Tommy grunted, flapping away from the glass structure. “It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s perfectly fucking fine-“

“I’m going to die,” said Jack, eyes wide. “My life is in the hands of a child and I’m going to die.”

“Whoa, calm down, man! it’s going to be fine!”

Chapter Text

Sorry guys, this is going on hiatus.
I just am not feeling like anyone actually likes my stuff, which is stupid I know, so I’m going to put this work on pause for a while.
Love you guys and thanks for even the tiniest bit of support,
Vi

Chapter Text

Yeah. 
after what’s come out about Wilbur, I no longer feel comfortable writing about him. I do not want to support him in any way, so unfortunately this story is coming to a close.

This was a fucking great experience and I am thankful for each and every one of you who has supported me in any way, shape or form (reading, kudoing, commenting, etc). Y’all are amazing and I hope you guys have great lives.

this work is up for adoption if anyone wants it, just please cite me and all’s good. 
Sorry about making you wait so long for nothing, guys. I’m sorry :(