Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

What a privilege it is to love.

But if you've been neglected for so long, is it really worth it?

Arctic Empire

The Queen died today. Or maybe it was yesterday, the King doesn’t know.

The day before

The floorboards creak as Tommy and Wilbur are running down the hall.

“I’m going to catch you, Tommy!” Wilbur shouts, his curly brown hair getting messed up by how quick he is going. He would not admit it to him, but he is running just a bit slower so that his brother can enjoy being the winner.

Tommy is giggling as he runs, trying to escape his older brother. His blonde hair is going in ten different directions, it’s as if he rolled around in his bed and didn’t bother to comb his hair. But it didn't matter, because it meant that he got to be with his older brother.

A castle that is so vast, but can it really deal with the force that the two young boys hold?

Tommy continues to run down the long hallway as he begins to turn his head back – crash.

Tommy has run into the door.

Wilbur stops in his tracks.

Suddenly, there is crying.

The older prince then jogs toward the young prince, almost letting out a small chuckle. But nonetheless, when he makes it to the end of the hall, Wilbur kneels down in front of the young boy. “You’re so sensitive, Tommy. Come on, you’re a big boy now. Nine year olds don't cry,” Wilbur sighs, ”Where does it hurt?"

Tommy is still crying as he lets out a muffled sound, “...here,” as he points to his nose. To be honest, Tommy didn’t really feel any pain. But he is only six years old, so he is allowed to have his moment. It did shock him, to be fair.

Wilbur smiles and he uses his hands to gently wipe the tears off of his younger brother’s face. “It’s okay, Tommy. Just breathe with me. In, and out.”

There’s something so gentle about Wilbur’s voice that makes Tommy stop crying.

Then suddenly, the door that Tommy ran into opens.

The King, with a not-so-serious look, but definitely curious, asks “...what are you boys doing?”

Philza’s voice is stern yet soft. If you were to put Tommy and Phil next to each other, they are almost identical in appearances. Tommy truly does take after his father. The key difference is their eyes. A young prince with blue eyes like the sky, and a King with blue eyes like the ocean.

“Sorry, dad.” Wilbur quickly stands, and he uses his hands to help pull Tommy back up. “Tommy ran into the door,” and that, right there, was Wilbur’s breaking point, as he burst into laughter right after. And he just could not stop laughing.

Tommy scrunches his nose, obviously in disgust of how his older brother is making fun of him. It probably wasn’t worth it, but he gave it a shot and attempted to playfully punch Wilbur. However, his small hands are not enough to even push his older brother back by a centimeter. So instead, he uses his loud big boy voice, “Stop laughing!”

The King laughs. “You boys. I don’t know how I’ll deal with you both.”

“But dad,” Tommy whines, “he’s making fun of me!”

Phil ruffles Tommy’s hair.

Behind Phil, comes Kristin.

Wilbur’s face instantly goes brighter as he steps towards his mother, embracing her in a hug.

If Wilbur and Kristin were to stand side by side, they look almost identical in appearances as well. Their silky brown hair, their deep brown eyes which hold so much love, and most importantly, their smiles. They both had this smile that could stop the entire world.

Tommy smiles brightly and runs towards Kristin, embracing her in a hug as he shouts, “Mom!”

However, Kristin’s body is decaying. Doctors believe she got sick after the birth of Tommy, but neither her nor Phil would mention any of it to him, and they especially wouldn't mention it to Wilbur. Of course the two of them knew she was sick, but they had the idea that she was sick due to other reasons. Eventually, they just played it off as the queen having allergies year-long from the massive garden that would surround the castle. But whilst she hugs her boys, there is an overwhelming amount of love in the atmosphere between the three of them.

Whilst the sun rays are beaming through the window, the golden light going through them all, Phil can’t help but smile at his beautiful family and wish that this moment will never end.

They just want to be a family. All four of them.

“It is of such privilege to be with you another day, mother.” Wil says, absorbing every ounce of love he can get from her.

It’s always too good to be true.

It felt as if the castle was falling apart around him. The boys were peacefully sound asleep whilst Phil’s whole world was falling down. Doctors and servants were surrounding both Phil and Kristin as they tried to help sustain her and to keep her alive. Phil was kneeled down besides her, trying to hold it all in. It was chaotic, to say the least, but amidst it all, even though she was so weak, Kristin put her hand on Phil’s cheek, cupping it ever so gently. And all she could do was smile. How could she smile at a time like this?

Tears were beginning to swell in Phil’s eyes as he kept repeating “please” over and over. His breathing was getting heavier and heavier, but she just continued to smile and oh was her smile just so soft. And oh did Phil’s heart only shatter more when he noticed that she was closing her eyes.

“Your majesty! Try to keep her eyes op-” The doctor was interrupted.

Phil raised his hand at the servant.

He began to calm himself down. She needs him more than ever right now, he should not be hyperventilating during her last few moments, and the doctor should not be forcing her to stay awake if she knows that it is time to go.

He puts his hand on her hand as it is still cupped on his cheek ever so slightly, and he brings it down to the bed, still holding it as carefully as he can.

“Kristin,” he breathes in, “I promise you, I will protect our boys until the end of time. I will never let anything or anyone hurt them. And if they do hurt them, I swear–” Phil’s rambling is cut off.

Kristin interrupts him by softly chuckling. Weakly, she began to speak, in such a very quiet yet gentle tone, “I am so glad that I got to see my boys grow up, even if it was for a short amount of time.” Her breathing starts to get weaker and weaker, which only makes Phil more tense. He begins to rub circles on her hand with his thumb.

“Phil, I know they are going to do great things. I mean, look at Tommy. He is a ray of sunshine.” Her voice starts to die off. “And Wil… he is so mature and his musical abilities are amazing, and I just know they’ll both grow up to be fine young men.”

“They both take after you, my love.” He says softly.

Then, Phil begins to sob. As he is kneeling beside the bed at Kristin’s side, he realizes that this is it. This is her last night alive.

“Please don’t cry, I know you’ll do just fine, Phil.” She hitches her breath in, which makes Phil wince. But if it was loud enough for Kristin to hear, then she ignored it. “You are the best king this kingdom has ever had.” There’s a long pause after.

“It will never be the same without you,” he assures, but this time, he starts to feel weak. Philza Watson, one of the bravest warriors ever, the Angel of Death, an immortal, can’t help but feel so vulnerable. Phil squeezes her hand gently, as tears are streaming down his face. She squeezes his hand back ever so slightly.

There is a moment of silence that lasts for what feels like an eternity.

Her hand goes limp.

Phil’s heart sinks to his stomach.

More servants burst through the doors.

The queen has passed.

The morning after, there was the muffling sound of bells, breaking the busy noise in the hustling town beneath. The official news of the queen, Kristin Watson, of the Arctic Empire, has passed.

Wilbur did not take the news well at all. In fact, as soon as he heard his mother had passed, he just stayed in his room, with the door locked.

And as for Tommy, well, he did not quite understand what happened.

Like any other child, he believed that he was still going to see his mother the next day.

“So she is just asleep but forever?” Tommy asks, his face bright and full of joy, awaiting for the adventure ahead. Today is his birthday.

Phil kneels down to Tommy’s level, and puts his hands on his shoulders. “Yes, Tommy.” His voice begins to crack. He stands up and ruffles Tommy’s hair. “You only have your brother and I, now.”

Tommy still doesn’t understand. He is just excited that today is his birthday. But if Tommy was able to understand facial expressions, then maybe he would have stopped being so happy. But he is now ten years old, and he is so excited to play with his big brother, excited to eat delicious cake, excited to be with his dad and his mom, and to play out in the garden and-

Philza's face is cold. He looks at the young boy and leans in to kiss his forehead. This makes Tommy feel warm, but it all goes away when his father starts walking away. Wait. Why is he walking away? It’s Tommy’s birthday, this is a big day! Phil needs to tell Tommy the big plans that they’re going to do for his birthday! But Phil continued to walk down the hall. And then Tommy began to wonder if he should follow him, but something in Tommy’s guts was telling him to stay where he was.

Today’s breakfast was the shortest it has ever been. And there was only Tommy at the table. Usually, the four of them would talk about the fascinating dreams the boys had, and speak excitedly about their plans for the day. But today, it was strange. Where was his father and Wil?

Tommy was a sweet, young boy. He was quite hyper, yes, but he was good. He sat at the large table in his assigned seat, waiting patiently for his family to come join him. But they never came. And eventually, the cooks came out with food.

“Happy birthday, Tommy!” Niki exclaimed. However, her expression quickly faded when she noticed it was just Tommy. Only Tommy. His father and Wil were nowhere in sight. But nonetheless, she perked right back up to make sure that Tommy wouldn’t notice her concern.

Behind Niki is Jack, who also says happy birthday to Tommy. The two of them are bringing in enough food for a family of six. But right now, there is only one person here.

Niki and Jack start placing large dishes of food onto the table, all whilst singing happy birthday to the young prince.

“Pancakes!” Tommy screams happily. He is blushing from all the attention he is getting and he happily kicks his feet. “I am so excited for my birthday pancakes!”

Niki and Jack smile at the young prince’s joy. However, they both give each other a look of concern.

And as Tommy starts to grab food to put onto his plate, the two servants head into a quiet conversation.

"Do you think we should tell the King?" There is something in Niki's eyes that reveals the amount of sorrow she is feeling for the child. But Jack simply shakes his head.

"Do you want us to get fired? Better yet, executed? They are probably in mourning right now and it is not our place to interrupt," says Jack, very firmly, but still quiet.

Tommy starts to eat his food, but he would be lying if he said he didn't notice their sorrow. Ultimately, it brought down Tommy's mood the more he thought about it.

“I’m sure the king will come down shortly. It’s best that we start cleaning the west wing of the castle.” There’s a hint of sorrow in Jack’s voice as he turns to Tommy, who is digging into his pancakes.

Niki nods, and they both start to walk out of the dining room. And now, it is just Tommy.

Just Tommy.

Wilbur is sitting at his desk. More and more silence filling the room as each hour, minute, and second pass by. That is, until a knock is at the door.

He stiffens. “Who is it?”

“It’s just me, Wil.” There’s a slight pause shortly after. The king then speaks up again, “...can I come in?”

Wil gets up from his desk and walks towards the door. He pauses in front of it for a moment. A moment which feels like an eternity to Phil. But then, there’s a click. The door is unlocked.

Phil gently pulls down the handle to open the door. And standing in the room, is just a boy. A fourteen year old boy who doesn’t know how to process the emotions that he is feeling. Phil studies the young boy. His brown, curly hair, and his eyes… But he couldn't look Wilbur in the eye for long. It reminded him too much of Kristen.

Phil snapped back to reality when he heard Wil sniffle.

“Oh, Wil,” his eyes now start to swell with tears, and he opens his arms, gesturing a hug.

There are a thousand thoughts going through Wil’s head. Most of them are the words “she’s dead, she’s dead, she’s dead” continuously repeating in his head. But every few seconds a flash of Tommy would come into play.

Wil steps towards his father and embraces him in a hug. Wil, who was holding in his emotions all morning, hasn’t shed a single tear, hasn’t eaten, his head racing, the room spinning– he starts to sob. He starts sobbing into his father's chest as he clings onto his arms.

Phil places his hand on Wil’s head, and the other is on his back. He is motioning his hand in small circles around his back in an attempt to comfort him.

“It’s just not fair,” Wil whispered, but if Phil heard it, then he pretended not to notice it.

It was just the two of them at that moment.

Would Philza really be able to take care of his children all whilst protecting his kingdom from war and famine?

The entire day passed and no one noticed Tommy except the two servants. And even though Tommy didn’t fully understand the situation, it still hurt the young boy who was having to cope all by himself. He was also missing his mother, but no one took the time out of their day to comfort the prince.

Three Months Later

“I’m going to catch you!” The young boy screams.

Giggling, the young prince yells back, “No you won’t! I am big and fast!”

Suddenly, the other boy stops, and starts to cough. Tommy stops in his tracks and walks towards the boy. “Are you okay, Tubbo?” He leans his head down slightly to look at him.

Tubbo stops his “cough” and looks up to smile maliciously. He then quickly extends his arm in order to tap on Tommy, and then begins to run away again. Suddenly, Tubbo yells, “Tag!”

Surprised, Tommy starts to run after him. “Hey! You tricked me!”

There is laughter all around. It has been three months since the death of Kristin.

Wil is sitting underneath a tree, strumming the guitar that his father got for him on his birthday. He enjoyed listening to the joyful screams and laughing of his younger brother. His cheer would brighten Wil’s entire day.

It was a moment to enjoy whilst it lasted.

Tommy would have been lying if he said he wasn’t jealous on the day of Wilbur’s 15th birthday. In fact, he was so upset that he cried about it, alone in his room. He knew he shouldn't have been crying, he was a big boy now, hitting the double digits. But at the age of ten, he has never felt so alone.

Maybe he felt that way because neither Phil nor Wil wished him a happy birthday. Or maybe it was because he didn’t get any special gifts. Maybe he was upset because he didn’t feel noticed by those he looked up to his whole life. Or maybe he was just upset because no one helped him mourn the loss of his mother. Maybe it was because he felt like he didn't have a father, or maybe he just didn't have a family. Tommy didn’t know which one it was.

But he knew that he would never forget that day, because eventually it became a continuous cycle.

Up on the balcony, Philza was watching as the two boys ran in the garden. Every once in a while, he’ll silence out the laughter to hear his eldest play the most beautiful songs he's ever heard.

Being a King has its ups and downs.

Or maybe, more downs than ups.

One of Phil’s most important roles as King is making sure he protects his people. His kingdom. And he has done so well keeping his land safe from famine and war.

For the past three months, the King has been surrounded by so many voices.

Phil has gone through what felt like thousands of meetings, hearings, laws, and he has dealt with countless people trying to argue that he can’t run a kingdom all whilst being a single father of two boys at the exact same time.

But what really drives Phil to the edge is that Tommy’s friend is the son of Jschlatt, who is the King of Skyrest Kingdom, the opposing side in which Phil has been trying to deal and make compromises with for years. They almost started a war once.

Philza could only hope that these moments of bright, peaceful days would last just a bit longer.

Chapter Text

The Garden of the Arctic Empire. 

At night, the fireflies lit up the garden. It is truly the most beautiful scenery that Phil has ever seen. He can’t help but fall in love with it every time he walks along the pathway. 

Phil always believed in reincarnation. As an immortal, it’s no wonder why. But he always believed that fireflies were once human too. And even though it sounds cliché, he believes that every creature was once a human. 

Trees that are half as tall as the grand walls were along both sides of the pathway, with rose bushes everywhere. It’s no wonder fireflies hang around here, Phil knew that if he were a firefly, he’d certainly float around here as well, as silly as it may sound. 

Up ahead, was the moon. And as it rose, it was perfectly aligned in the center of the pathway. 

The garden is vast, with a fountain far bigger than the standard house in the village. The sound of the water crashing down from all three tiers is enough to put Phil at peace. Or, enough peace to keep him from the thought of such tragedy. 

But tonight is different. Tomorrow makes it a year since the queen has passed. Or was it today? Nonetheless, it made Phil feel heavy. 

Phil doesn’t really know how long it has been. It must have been at least eleven months since the queen’s death, meaning it will officially be a year in the next few weeks. How will Philza be able to cope with such a tragic anniversary? 

Suddenly, there is a sound coming from the bushes, which immediately puts Phil’s guard up. He stops in his tracks as he pulls out a dagger from his pocket. A small, but sharp dagger which was gifted to him by Dream. The small intricate design of a sword imprinted on the handle, the green sleeve, it all matched him perfectly. Phil was a fierce warrior, who’d do anything to protect his kingdom. 

Well, almost anything. 

His breath becomes much more quiet as he tries to figure out where the sound has come from. There usually aren't any animals within the kingdom. There is a few wildlife in the town below, but not on the property of the empire. 

As he begins to take another step down the path, there is another ruffling sound. 

“Who’s there?” The King asks, still holding the small weapon. 

The young teenager watches as the King is looking around, obviously knowing someone is here. The man knows that he is somewhere, hiding. Nonetheless, the young boy continued to hold his breath, afraid he was going to get caught sooner than anticipated. 

The boy closes his eyes. Of course he is going to get killed, because that’s just what happens when one slips into a kingdom, especially since the king is holding a weapon that could easily slit his throat. 

As the teenager opens his eyes again, he realizes the King is walking towards the bush. The bush that he is hiding in. 

Maybe it was the bright pink hair that made it obvious he was here, but nonetheless he still stares in disbelief as the King is walking closer and closer, realizing that he is about to die and he will never get to escape and- 

“Are you alright, mate?” Phil kneels down in front of the boy, and suddenly, they are at eye level with each other.

He does not speak, but the King still offers a hand to him. But is it to help him out of the bush or to get a better way of killing him? 

The boy stares back, and there is no movement. The King then starts to analyze the clothing he is wearing, but the clothes that cover him are strange, it almost looks like a potato sack. But surely, it isn’t? There are scars that cover his arms and legs, from his fingers to the cutoff of the sleeve. 

But there were also scars on his neck. There was so much going on that the boy didn’t even realize that the King was analyzing in the first place. 

The King begins to speak, “Tell me where it hurts, I can give you some bandages if you want.” 

The boy ignored him. There are hundreds of voices telling him to run. But he knows that if he tries to escape, the guards outside of the garden would probably catch him, and he’d most likely end up dead. So instead, he stared at the moon as it glowed brightly, completely ignoring the fact that he was being spoken to. 

There is an awkward silence now, and the King is just kneeling down which makes the boy very tense. But he refocuses and now the two are in complete eye level contact again. 

“Are you-” He stops mid-sentence. The boy’s voice is rather deep, which surprises the King slightly. 

“You are gonna kill me.” It’s not a question, it’s a statement. The boy is trembling because all he wants to do is escape, but now that the King of all people has spotted him, he knows that his chances are slim. It all simply just makes the King laugh. 

The King shakes his head. He is still kneeling down, with his arm extended out. “Not in a million years would I do that. You’re just a child, now take my hand so I can help you, mate.” Phil smiles softly, trying to comfort the boy. 

But he is still staring the king down. Why isn’t he killing him right now? 

Then, there is movement. The boy takes the King’s hand.

As the boy gets out of the bush, there are leaves covering him. And as the King starts to stand, the teenager starts to analyze him this time. The King has a long green coat , and he wears a green and white striped bucket hat. As he notices the hat, he begins to wonder why the man isn’t wearing a crown. But then Phil breaks the silence as he motions the boy to walk with him. The young teenager then mumbles something under his breath, quiet enough where the King would not hear him, “ They’re going to find me here. ” 

Phil can tell that the boy is overwhelmed by the castle, because every time he looks at the child, he is looking in multiple directions. 

The two are walking down a hallway which probably feels endless for the child. Phil himself even knows that it feels as if the grand hallway is neverending. 

And now, the analyzing begins once again. As the two of them continue to walk down the hall, Phil tries to get a good look at the boy. His hair is incredibly long, but it is also tangled, maybe even matted in some parts. But the color of his hair is very interesting nonetheless, with it being an unnatural pink. His skin is pasty, and his eyes are blood-red which could probably tell millions of stories. 

It is very quiet, with only the sound of footsteps, but then Phil breaks the silence. “So, what’s your name? 

“Techno. Techno Blade,” the young boy’s voice is stern. 

It surprises Phil that he got a response so quickly compared to the other few times. 

Phil smiles softly, “That’s a cool name.” 

Once again, there is silence. 

Phil breaks it yet again. “We’re almost at my office. I’m going to try and patch you up and maybe clean your wounds if you’d let me.” 

Techno nods, and in return, Phil smiles.

Soon after, the two have come upon the door to the office, in which there are two guards who stand on both sides. 

As they enter the room, Phil motions for Techno to take a seat in the chair that sits by the bookshelf. As Techno walks towards the chair to sit down, Phil is grabbing some bandages from the drawer at his desk. 

Phil breaks the silence for what seems like the tenth time tonight, “If you don’t mind, can I ask you some questions?” 

Techno nods and Phil starts walking towards him with the bandages. 

“Did you want me to put these on you? I know this is kind of happening very fast and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. You’re more than welcome to put them on yourself.” There’s something so gentle in Phil’s voice that could allow Techno to feel safe. However, he is still remaining cautious of his surroundings. 

There is a short amount of silence before Techno begins to speak. “I can put them on myself. Thank you, your majesty.”

“Please, just call me Phil. No need for all that royalty title nonsense.” 

Techno nods as he begins to wrap a decently deep wound on his arm. He doesn’t really understand how they will help since they aren’t even bleeding, but at least it’ll help stop from getting dirt in it. 

Phil then walks towards his desk to sit down at his chair. “So, how old are you, mate?”

Techno responds decently quick again, “Seventeen.” 

However, there is silence afterwards which makes Techno look up from what he was doing, only to see a look of shock written all over Phil’s face. It almost makes him laugh, but he mustn't break character. He can’t trust so easily. 

Phil goes back into a more natural look, “you’re only seventeen? I thought you were maybe thirteen at max.” 

Techno shrugs as he clears his throat. Then as he begins to put down the bandages, not caring about the rest of the uncovered wounds, his stomach lets out a loud grumble. It instantly grabs Phil’s attention. 

“Are you hungry, mate?” Phil begins to stand up, “I can cook you something if you’d like.” 

Techno shakes his head. “I really don’t want to walk down that hall again.” 

Phil chuckles softly. “I get it. If you want, you can spend the night here and join us for breakfast tomorrow. Then after, you can go-”

Techno immediately interrupts him, “Who do you think you are?” His tone is very serious. 

Phil stares at him, not offended but more confused. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Why are you being so generous to me after I’ve snuck into your kingdom? You’re even allowing me, a stranger, to spend the night.” Techno is expecting Phil to get upset for being so ungrateful. The King of the Arctic Empire is allowing him to stay. He’s allowing a mere stranger an overwhelming amount of shelter for the night but is refusing to give in. 

“Why wouldn’t I? You obviously weren’t a threat to me or the Kingdom, and you’re just a child. A child that was hiding in the bush, at that.” Phil clears his throat yet again as he notices that Techno is staring at him in disbelief as he calls him a child. “Plus, children probably shouldn’t be out alone at night, it’s dangerous.”  

Techno begins to stand up from his chair as well. “First of all, I am not a child.”

Phil laughs, clearly not taking Techno seriously. “Where are you from? I genuinely mean it. Spend the night in the spare guest room, and I’ll take you home tomorrow.” 

Techno goes silent for a moment. He wants to take it. 

“Can I-” There’s a slight pause before Techno begins to speak again. “If I do work around the castle, can I stay until I find a home?”

That sentence makes Phil’s heart drop. He did not expect the seventeen year old to be homeless of all outcomes. 

“Oh, of course, mate.” 

And so it was official. Technoblade would be staying in the castle for some time as they prepare for the future ahead. All because a seventeen year old boy came across a kingdom with a garden so vast he was able to sneak in successfully. And as he was able to successfully escape from a facility that has been continuously torturing him for years, he was going to do anything he could to avoid being out in the open. But none of the torturing nor facility would be mentioned. Not for a long while at least. 

Wilbur tends to play music during the late hours of the night. It helps him escape from reality, as well as his duties as prince. 

Every morning, Wilbur has to be trained for warfare and courtesy. As a prince, he must be able to partake in the roles of one day protecting the kingdom as he grows older. 

However, Wilbur’s ability to use the sword at his age is quite impressive. 

As for Tommy, he will be joining Wilbur in his training sessions starting tomorrow.  

Nonetheless, it all just drains him. For the past year and a half, Wilbur has had to wake up at six in the morning to train in the garden with Dream until the afternoon. And then after lunch, he and Dream would go over all of the responsibilities of royalty until dinner. So at the end of it all, Wilbur really only had time to himself at night. 

There is something so peaceful from the sound of the guitar that is able to drain all of these thoughts out. 

Tommy used to come in to listen to his older brother's music. And there would even be times where he would fall asleep on the floor, and Wil would just drape a blanket over him to ensure he wouldn’t get cold. 

They were truly fond memories, and it makes Wil smile whenever the memory pops back up. 

But for the past eleven months, Tommy just never came in. Wilbur simply thought it was because the child would just go to bed insanely early. 

But Wilbur didn’t even bother to ask why, nor did he ever attempt to invite his little brother to come join him. 

As the sun rays are coming through the large window, signaling the new day ahead, a rush of adrenaline hits Tommy as he is changing into the training uniform that he was given about a week ago. He has been waiting for this day for ages, to finally get to train alongside his brother. To make it even better, today is his eleventh birthday. 

He is hoping that today will go much better than the last. 

As he finally gets his arm through the sleeve, he opens his door to rush down the hall and into the dining room, where he was hoping everyone would be waiting. 

And as he turns the corner, with a bright smile on his face, it all fades away immediately when he notices there is a stranger at the table. A stranger in his seat. 

It looks like Wilbur and the stranger are having some serious conversation. And when Phil looks up from the newspaper, he notices Tommy instantly. 

“Good morning, Tommy. How’d you sleep?” Phil smiles as he is obviously ignoring the elephant in the room. 

Then, Wilbur and the guy stop talking, and the two of them both turn their heads towards the younger prince. 

All of the excitement has been drained from Tommy’s body. 

Tommy is in disbelief. “Um, good I guess.” Tommy is looking everywhere but them. He then walks towards the chair placed next to Wilbur. 

Phil clears his throat and then begins to speak, “Tommy, this is Technoblade.” He motions his hand towards the boy with the pink hair. “He is going to be staying with us for a while.”

Tommy then looks at Techno, who is sitting in silence across from him. 

Tommy squints his eyes, “you look funny.”

“Tommy!” Phil reprimands, and then Wilbur starts to burst out into laughter.

Techno is unphased, and all Tommy does is simply shrug. 

“Come on now, let's not be rude to our guest.” Phil’s attempt in lecturing the youngest doesn’t work, because shortly after, Wil leans into Tommy. It looks as if he is whispering to him, and it all makes the two of them burst into more laughter. 

“Your children are not very royal, Phil.” Techno scoffs as he sits there with his hands crossed, completely unamused. 

Phil sighs and then chuckles softly, “Come on you little shits. You have training today, at least try to be proper. Especially since it’s Tommy’s first day.”

The words make Tommy’s face brighten once again. But there is still that heavy feeling in his chest as neither Phil nor Wil have yet wished him a happy birthday. 

“It’s only half seven in the morning, father. I do not want to talk about training when I haven’t even eaten yet.” Wil scoffs. 

“You’re treating it as if it’s the hardest thing you’ll have to do in your life.” Phil states with a smile across your face. 

Techno watches the conversation between them all, and he finds it to be bittersweet. He, personally, has never had a family. But it is nice to see those who are a family interact. 

A few moments later, Niki and Jack walk in with two carts of food. There is enough food that could feed an entire town. 

Techno has never seen anything like this before. 

Phil looks over at them, “Good morning Niki and Jack. I hope your morning is going well.” 

Niki smiles and stops the cart to start loading the food onto the table. 

“Thank you, your majesty.” Jack starts to take the giant dishes off of the cart to place them on the table as well, and it all surprises Techno more and more. 

The two of them are used to guests in the castle, so they do not question who Techno is. However, across from Techno, Tommy has a big smile on his face, as if he is expecting something. 

Niki smiles at him as she puts the last of the dishes from her cart onto the table. 

But there is nothing. And as Jack finishes putting his set of dishes on the table, they both bow towards Phil and start to take the carts as they exit out of the dining room. 

The excitement once again leaves Tommy’s body. He was at least expecting Niki of all people to wish him a happy birthday. But it’s just another normal day for them. 

Phil claps his hands together, “Well boys, feel free to dig in. Especially you, Tommy. You need energy for your first day.” 

Tommy doesn’t look at his father. He doesn’t know if he is even hungry anymore. 

Breakfast has ended, which means that Tommy and Wil must head out. 

As Wil waves off to his father, Tommy doesn’t say or motion a single thing. 

If Wilbur noticed, then he didn’t say anything about it. 

The two of them begin to walk down the hallway. There is a huge wave of silence between them. 

The hallway has never felt so endless for Tommy before. 

But eventually, Wilbur is the first to break the silence. “So what have you been up to?” 

Tommy shrugs. 

“Okay then. Don’t talk to your older brother. I get it, I’m not cool enough for you.” Wilbur is saying it sarcastically, in hopes to make Tommy laugh, but there is nothing. 

It makes Wil feel mildly uncomfortable at the fact that there is no response. Truly, the past year has been hard on all three of them, but he at least expected Tommy to be his usual self. But as he begins to think about it more and more, he realizes that he has not been hanging out with his brother as often as he used to, so maybe Tommy just doesn’t know what to say. 

The two of them used to play together all the time when Tommy was younger. But ever since the queen passed, they began to grow distant. 

Wilbur breaks the silence yet again. “Are you excited for your first day of training?” 

Tommy nods. “I hope I win.” 

Wilbur elbows him as he smiles, “I’m not giving you the win this time.”

There is no response. 

Wilbur stops, and as Tommy walks a few steps forward, noticing Wil isn’t beside him anymore, he eventually stops too. 

“Are you okay, Tommy?” Wil asks.

Tommy nods, and as he looks up to get a better look at Wil, he notices the large family portrait. 

Wil catches his glance and proceeds to turn around, trying to see what he is looking at. When Wilbur sees the painting, he frowns. 

The two of them stare at the painting for a few moments, until Wilbur eventually breaks the silence again. 

“I can’t believe it has been a year.” Wilbur sighs in disbelief. 

He turns to look down at his younger brother.

“Come on, Tommy. If you continue to look, you’ll only mope all day long.” Wilbur chuckles softly.

But Tommy is offended by this. Unlike Wil, Tommy has had to cope with the death of his mother all by himself. And since his father is too busy with his royal duties, he didn’t get the opportunity to receive the comfort from the one he needed it most from. But he would not admit any of this to his older brother. 

The two of them start walking again. 

The hallway really is long, isn’t it? 

Wilbur breaks the silence again for what feels like the hundredth time. 

“Dream is pretty nice,” Wilbur sighs due to the fact that they’ve made it to the end of the hallway, meaning a long day of training is about to begin. Another week of tortuous boredom. “He will probably go easy on you, though.”

As the two of them make it to the door that will open up to the garden, Wil stops to look at Tommy. 

“I know you’re nervous, Tommy. Don’t sweat it, you’re not even allowed to go onto the battlefield until you’re fifteen. This week's training is going to be easy since you’re so young.” Wil ruffles Tommy’s hair. 

Tommy stops as well. 

“So is this four years of training?” Tommy asks, looking up at his brother. 

Wil shakes his head. “Five. You’re only ten, Tommy.”

That small sentence is enough to make Tommy tense. He doesn’t know if he wants to correct him or not. 

There is a small moment of silence. Tommy is about to open his mouth to correct him, but then Wil starts to move towards the door. 

Suddenly, the door is now open. It is time for Tommy to begin his first day of training. 

The sun is bright as the two of them walk out into the garden. In the center, Dream is waiting with two wooden swords that lean up against the fountain. 

There is no more excitement for Tommy, and he is beginning to realize how uncomfortable the uniform is. It’s no wonder why Wil hates it so much. 

And as they walk down the path towards the fountain, there’s a heavy weight on Tommy’s shoulders. 

Today, not a single person has wished the young prince a happy birthday. And not only was the young prince not acknowledged on such a day, but his seat was taken by a mere stranger. 

He really misses his mother. 

Chapter Text

The first few months of training were going pretty well. But for an eleven year old child, it was physically draining. Sometimes, Dream would let Wilbur leave combat training early, so that he could help train Tommy at a lower level. There wasn’t a need for Wil to stay since he was already pretty good at martial arts. But there was something that would shift in the atmosphere every time Tommy’s older brother left. Dream, in fact, would not go easy on him when they practiced like Wil said he would. The sun was sickingly bright, and the humidity was disgusting. But Tommy tried to give it his all every time he charged at Dream with the sword. 

Dream was pretty nice. But he would hit Tommy and he would hit hard. Tommy let it slide each time because Dream said it was helping him prepare for a real battle. 

Month after month it would be Tommy and Dream, Dream and Tommy. Because eventually, when Wilbur turned 16, he went on to train with Techno. But Tommy didn’t really mind it. He would much rather be away from his older brother. The two of them were growing more and more distant with each passing day. But also with each passing day, Dream was becoming someone that Tommy would look up to. Because when it finally came to Tommy’s 12th birthday, Dream acknowledged and praised him that entire day. It was something Wilbur and Phil still wouldn’t remember. 

But of course, on Wilbur’s 17th birthday, there was a celebration between the four of them. Tommy tried his best to be happy for his older brother. But when he accidentally bumped into the cart, knocking over the cake, Wil screamed at him, telling him that he ruined everything. 

All Tommy can remember from that day was Phil reprimanding Wilbur for what he said before Tommy stormed out of the dining room. Techno stood up, as if he was about to follow him out, but he hesitated and sat back down. 

Maybe things would have been different for them if Techno went with Tommy. Maybe it would have been the start to breaking the tension between them. 

But in the midst of it all, it was the first time his older brother yelled at him since the death of Kristin. Whenever Wilbur was harsh on Tommy, he’d go to his mother. She was truly his safe space, she was Tommy’s escape. But she was gone, and he didn’t want to go to his father. 

He had nowhere to turn to. Except for Dream. 

Ever since then, he stopped joining his family for breakfast and dinner. Since lunch was an “on your own” type deal, they usually all ate at separate times. 

Phil just assumed Tommy went to sleep early because he was tired from the training. 

All they do is assume . 

Recently, tensions have been getting worse between the Arctic and Skyrest Kingdom. 

Jschlatt and Philza used to be good friends back in the day. Especially when Wilbur was born. Schlatt was practically Wilbur’s uncle.

But Wilbur would never know of this, as he was barely one year old before everything went to shit. 

The townspeople of the Arctic Empire were kind. There was little to no crime, at least until a corporation was created. The Syndicate . For many reasons unknown, they hated royalty and the power they held over everyone. But neither Philza nor anyone else of royalty would find out about this group until it was too late. 

But what the Syndicate planned was something that would destroy any relations between the two kingdoms for the rest of eternity, and something Phil would be guilty of for the rest of his life. 

Since it was a few days before Wilbur’s birthday at the time, Minx, Queen of the Skyrest Kingdom, was wandering around the town of the Arctic Empire in search of some children’s toys. They were meant to be a birthday gift for Wilbur. 

Minx never told the King she was leaving, so it meant no guards were sent with her. 

It was relatively quiet out, and the sun was setting.

The town of the Skyrest kingdom has little to no shops, as it was fairly new, maybe a decade old or two. So any chance that Minx could get to come to the mountains of the Arctic Empire, she would take it. And there was something so peaceful about sitting on the bench outside of the bakery, getting to watch the sun set. 

Maybe if Phil spent more time on or with the town, he would have been able to know about the Syndicate. 

But when a member of the group saw the Minx completely out in the open with no one there to protect her, she was murdered on sight. 

Now they just needed to kill Kristin, and then somehow get to the Kings. 

Word got around ridiculously quick. Maybe twenty minutes after she was killed, the Arctic Empire found out about the death of Minx. Shortly after Phil found out, he had to be the one to break the news to Schlatt, who was anxiously waiting for his wife to come home that night. And when there was an individual at the gates of the Skyrest Kingdom, Schlatt only gave a disappointed look when he noticed it was Phil and not Minx. 

When Schlatt found out that his wife was murdered, he was never the same, and he would hold a grudge against Phil for the rest of his life. 

Unfortunately Phil could not do anything about it. He knew he was at fault.

Later that night, he would go to search for any information on the so-called Syndicate. But everyone looked at him with disgust.

Maybe if Phil had just been stronger. Maybe if he actually went into town, or read the newspapers, or studied more about politics, more about warfare and famine, or-

Maybe if he just left. 

Either way, he would remain in guilt for the rest of his life.

But five years later, when Schlatt took in a baby that was abandoned in front of the castle gates, Phil thought that maybe things could change. 

When one takes in a child, or even has one of their own, they become vulnerable. As soon as Phil heard of the new supposed baby, he flew . He doesn’t fly often. The Angel of Death could fly anywhere he wanted to if he wanted, but with all the people who were targeting him, he would rarely use his power. 

There were 73 reports on the Angel of Death that day. 

Nonetheless, when he arrived at the castle, he would go on to get completely ignored. So he waited all night, until Schlatt finally came out. 

The gates open, and there are a few guards surrounding the King. 

Then, there he was. With a look as cold as ice. 

“Why are you such a lazy bastard for a King?” Schlatt’s face was harsh, and he was holding a baby wrapped nicely in a bundle, that was peacefully sound asleep. 

Phil tried to joke around, maybe even play it off. “Come on mate, don’t use such language around your new baby now.”

“Fuck you, Philza.” And as Schlatt breathed in, the two of them grew more distant. It’s as if he and Phil were miles apart. But in reality, they weren’t. “How the fuck does a King go on without knowing there was a group after our fucking wives?” 

Phil didn’t say anything. 

As Schlatt stood there, waiting for a response, or at least something from him, there was still nothing. Their friendship was being thrown down the drain. There would be nothing to mend. 

“Your silence says it all.” Schlatt replies and he starts to turn away. 

Phil begins to open his mouth. 

The guards turn past with him, and one of them starts to close the gate. 

Philza stands there. He is screaming but there is no sound coming out. 

It would remain like this for the next fifteen years. 

There was a faint memory where Techno would open his eyes for the first time, and there was a woman smiling down at him, with sadness in her eyes. A kind, beautiful woman that held him in her arms. And she would sing him a song, until he was taken away, that same day. 

A few moments later, the memory would always go back to the facility. 

Techno always had trouble sleeping, he would constantly have nightmares. 

To be fair, he never really had a family, which could be the direct cause of them, but he didn’t know. Since the day he was born, he has been tested on left and right. Scientists would have him connected to wires for hours, sometimes days, where he would be left in a room with nothing but his thoughts. 

But the days that were his least favorite was when they inflicted pain on him in order to test his pain tolerance. Drugs eventually turned into needles, which turned into cuts, which turned into slits that were so deep, the bone could be seen. 

However, they healed at an incredibly fast rate. Except for the deep cuts, which would turn into faint scars. 

Techno was able to heal himself no matter what was inflicted on him. But nothing was able to heal him from the trauma he had to experience with it all. 

The pain tolerance testing would go on until he was ten years old. 

For ten years, he experienced bullet wounds, stabbings, he once had his arm get broken to see how quick the bone would heal. He would be tested in extreme heat to see if he could withstand being burnt alive. 

He was only ten years old. A ten year old was supposed to be out with their friends. They were supposed to be sneaking cookies into their room without their parents knowing. They were supposed to be having fun . 

Techno didn’t even know what fun meant. 

Quackity was the head chief of the organization. He was the one who would organize all of the tests, treatments, and what would be going on each day. Quackity was Techno’s teacher, master even. 

And just when Techno thought Quackity would go easy on him after ten years, it didn’t stop. Because for the next six years, he would be trained to fight. 

Every day, for 20 hours, they would train, and it would go all the way until Techno blacked out. It was all pure torture. With only four hours of sleep, one meal a day, Techno felt like he was dying . 

One day, he finished eating his meal early, and was going to head out to the courtyard. That was until he overheard Quackity and a few other scientists down the hall talking about how they were going to sell Techno to a kingdom, where he would be used as a weapon for their army. 

There was going to be no escape for him now.  

Techno could have been someone, he could have been something to this cruel world. In another world, he would be able to make friends and tell them stupid, embarrassing secrets. He would disobey his parents but also have the chance to love someone. He would be able to cry and feel and love and – He wouldn’t be immortal. He'd finally get that chance to be normal. 

Sixteen years of neglect. 

He was seventeen years old when he was sold. But he was also seventeen years old when he escaped. 

The truck that was transporting him had crashed. From what Techno could recall, it was storming out. The rain was coming down and it was coming down hard. But he knew not to stop. He kept running and running and running and – 

He didn’t know where he was. But he knew he was cold. His feet were numb, and there were scars all over his body. His hair was unkempt and he couldn’t hear anything but ringing. 

But he could see something ahead. A place with light, but there was also protection. Not the protection where he wouldn’t be killed on sight, but the protection that had guards. Which meant they really would kill anything in sight. He knew that if he could somehow get in, he’d be safe from getting caught by Quackity and the others. 

Techno was experienced. He could climb, he could kill, he could do almost anything. He was truly a weapon, but he didn’t want to fight anymore. He just wanted to be safe. 

So he walked, limped even, to get to that wall. He remained quiet and practically didn’t breathe. And as he kept going, the rain eventually stopped, which meant the outside noise was dying down and the voices and ringing were getting louder. 

“ Don’t go in. Don’t go in. Don’t go in, ” repeating over and over.

But his body was giving out, and he knew he couldn’t stay out in the open. So as he approached that wall far away from the entrance of where the guards stood, he began to climb. He climbed and did not plan on stopping until he made it to the top. And just when he thought he made it, he saw nothing but a garden. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. 

Luckily, the wall was pretty slick from the rain, so Techno was able to slide down. All he had to do now was find a way inside. There were no guards out in the midst of the night, so he knew he would be able to easily-

Someone was outside. 

Techno looked around frantically and he just hid in whatever he could spot first. A bush. Not very good for hiding, but he had to make use of what he had. 

There was a man walking down the pathway of the garden. He wore a long, dark green jacket, and he walked, very professionally. A little too professional. He assumed it was the king. But why was the king wearing a hat? Why wasn’t he wearing a crown? 

But as the man started walking down, getting closer to the bush that he was hiding in, he started to tremble and his breath started to pick up rapidly. He tried to put his hands over his mouth to help quiet him down, but as he moved, the bush moved too. And it blew his cover. 

The man stopped, he looked around before he said, “Who’s there?” 

Techno was silent. The king could probably hear his heartbeat, as it was practically out of his chest at that point. At that moment, the man was walking closer all whilst pulling out a weapon. It was small, but he knew that this was it. For a moment, he forgot he was immortal and just wholeheartedly believed he was about to be killed. So he closed his eyes. All he wanted to do was be free. 

“Are you alright, mate?” 

The king was kneeled down in front of the bush that he was in. Maybe it was the pink hair that gave it away. Or the fact that the bush had enough gaps in it so clearly he would have been caught. But there was something so relieving at the fact that he didn’t feel any pain. 

But all he could do at that moment was stare at the man, and then, a hand was held out towards him. 

It's been two years since he escaped, and he still has nightmares. Technoblade was now 19, he could be put at war at any given moment since he was over the age of 18. And with him living in the kingdom, it put him at more risk. 

With every day that passed, he contemplated on leaving, but Philza has given him a place to eat, sleep, and take shelter. Shelter for two years, which ultimately led him to staying. Because he knew that if Quackity or the facility caught him, he would be back to square one. Or, he could probably kill them, but he didn’t want to take the risk. But the longer he stayed, it came with a price. Phil wanted him to train with Dream, and he told Techno that he wouldn’t put him in a war, but it also wasn’t guaranteed at the same time. Techno was scared. He didn’t want to be a weapon, but he knew he couldn’t tell Phil about how he was feeling. However, the training only lasted for two weeks before Dream let him go since he was “too good” to be trained. 

So when Wilbur turned 16, Phil asked Techno if he would train his son. Techno only agreed because he was being allowed to stay in the kingdom. But over time, something between Wil and Techno was forming. A friendship. 

Technoblade seemed to be getting along very well with Wilbur. Maybe it was because they were close in age, but there was something about the way the two of them told stories that made them instantly click with one another. There was something about the way Techno would duel which made Wil look up to him immensely. 

Their bond grew even closer when Techno would follow the sound of Wilbur’s guitar at night. 

Instead of Tommy being the one to listen to Wilbur’s music, it was now Techno. 

But tonight was different. When Techno walked in to listen to the light sound of music, Wilbur was not in his usual mood. 

As the door opens, Wilbur looks up at him with a meek smile. 

“Hey, Tech.” Wilbur’s voice cracked and it seemed a little weak, but Techno ignored his greeting and voice as he walked towards the wooden bedstead.

“So what song are we playing today?” Techno asked. 

Wilbur shrugs before replying, “I don’t know. I’ve been trying to work on this one piece for weeks so-” 

There’s a slight pause for a moment which only leaves Techno confused. 

“So?” He questions. 

Wilbur sighs, clearly something on his mind. “I overheard Phil talking to Sapnap. We might be going to war soon. Very soon.”

Techno tensed at the sudden shift in the conversation. He knew about the tensions between the two kingdoms but he didn’t expect it to be this bad. Nonetheless, he was speechless. He was unsure of what to say. 

“Things have been getting worse. And for years now, everyone has hated my father. They hate my dad.” Wilbur said, his tone growing more and more faint. 

Techno watches as Wilbur puts down his guitar and looks down at the ground, clearly terrified. As Techno is about to open his mouth, Wilbur continues on. 

“And since everyone in town fucking hates him from what happened years ago, it means no one is going to help him. He’s going to have to rely on our shitty guards.” Wilbur breathes in, clearly stressed as his eyes start to glaze over. “I don’t even know why this kingdom even has people in town. If everyone hates him then they should have left already.”

Techno was on edge. He is aware of his own powers, but he doesn’t want to say anything. He doesn’t want to step in. 

A tear goes down Wilbur’s cheek. “It means I’ll probably have to participate in the war,” His voice starts to shake, and more tears start to stream down his face. “...and I’m scared, Techno. I’m so fucking scared.” 

Techno lifts himself off of the edge of the bed and walks towards Wilbur, who is sitting at the desk with the chair facing outwards. Techno kneels down on the ground in front of him. 

“Even if the whole town is against your father, I will help.” Techno’s tone is serious. But with that, Wilbur looks at him and smiles through his tears. 

However, it’s not the soft type of smile that one would give after hearing some positive news. It’s the smile where one is about to burst into laughter. 

“What?” Wilbur laughs as he stares at Techno, very confused. 

Techno is blushing in embarrassment, realizing what he said had no context behind it. He’s contemplating on telling Wilbur but he feels like he isn’t ready.

“Wilbur,” Techno stares at him, face stone cold. Will then pulls his act together when he realizes he is being deathly serious. “I am an immortal.”

Wilbur’s face tenses up and his eyes widen at those words. He knew about his father but he never knew there were others. 

When Wilbur first found out that his father was an immortal, he was only eight, and Tommy was three. It was when his father was teaching him how to shoot a bow. Wilbur would end up losing his aim and accidentally shoot his father on his side. Kristin was completely unamused as Phil started to fake his death. As she started to walk towards him laughing, Tommy and Wilbur were running over, screaming. Wilbur was panicking and Tommy was crying his eyes out. But when Phil took the arrow out from his side, the wound started to heal. The young princes were absolutely shocked, but they were amazed as well. Their dad was an immortal. 

Wilbur smiles maliciously again, “... You know, when you say it out of context, I can not take you seriously.”

Techno pinches the bridge of his nose as he then begins to stand up. 

Wilbur laughs, “Wait, wait, I’m kidding. On a serious note, holy fucking shit. We have to tell Phil.” Wilbur stands up and he looks towards the door. He’s obviously about to bolt out of the room. 

But Techno grabs Wil’s arm, and his face is stone cold yet again. “You can’t. I will help fight in the war, but I don’t want Phil to know.”

Wilbur looks back at Techno, and his smile fades. “Why fucking not? This is huge,” he exclaims. 

Techno sighs, “Because I’m not ready. I’m not one of those immortals who have been around for centuries, Wilbur. I am from a facility. If Phil finds out and he spreads the word, I could get caught.”

Wilbur pulls his arm away from Techno. “You’re being hunted?”

Techno nods.

Wilbur stares at him, and his face softens. “You know, I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but my father doesn’t allow people to stay here, like ever.”

Techno stares back, confused at the change in topic. “And how is this related to what I just said?”

“If my dad took you in, and let you stay for two years, he is going to protect you like one of his own. That’s just how my father is.” Wilbur stops for a moment before he continues on. “I’m going to tell you something that you can not repeat. And, it might be a bit of a rant of what's been on my mind.”

Techno nods, “lips are sealed.”

Wilbur smiles softly, and then sighs. He just wants to get this off of his mind.  “One of the reasons tensions have been getting worse between the kingdoms is because of Tommy and Tubbo. They both have a friendship that will never break, that’s obviously been noted. But whenever the slightest inconvenience or any fight happens between the two of them, Tubbo tells his father. And whenever Schlatt finds out, he uses them all against Phil.” Wilbur breathes in, trying to catch himself up with his racing thoughts. “When I was a year old, Minx, the queen of the Skyrest kingdom was murdered by a group in our town. Schlatt held this fucking grudge against my dad ever since, all because Phil never caught them. And when both Phil and Schlatt found out about Tubbo and Tommy becoming friends, tensions grew worse between them. I never really understood why and I still don’t to this day. But apparently Tommy has been in a shit mood lately and slapped Tubbo across the face.” Wilbur was starting to get ahead of himself. But he remembered to take some deep breaths before continuing on yet again. “And of course Tubbo was acting like a fucking baby and told Schlatt, and apparently Phil went over to Skyrest a few days ago to apologize, but they got into a fight instead.” Wilbur doesn’t go on.

Techno doesn’t know what to do. He has never really been good at comforting someone, but he managed to still ask, “are you okay?”

Wilbur nods. “Schlatt told Phil that if Tommy hangs out with Tubbo again, he wasn’t going to hold back, and Phil took it as a threat. I don’t know what he meant by it, but it made Phil furious. I heard him tell Sapnap that he punched the King in spite.”

Techno’s eyes widen. 

“And with all these back and forth threats, Schlatt said he wanted Phil dead. He said he never deserved to be king.” Wilbur starts to blink as he is trying to hold himself back from crying. “Somehow I got brought into it. Schlatt just wants to kill my dad so that he’ll no longer be king. And then I overheard him telling Sapnap that he may step down and crown me. But Techno,” his voice cracks, “I’m not ready.”

“No one is ever ready for war, and no one is ever certainly ready to become a King.” Techno replies. 

And as Wilbur bursts out into a sob, Techno steps forward and embraces him in a hug, which is something he’d never expect himself to do. 

And together the two stood there. The prince was sobbing, and the immortal was trembling, not knowing what the future held for them. 

A few days ago, Tommy and Tubbo got into a fight based on their family situation. 

The two of them were sitting on a bench in the courtyard of the Skyrest Kingdom. The sun was bright, and there were so many butterflies around. And bees. Tommy was terrified of bees, whereas Tubbo loved them. 

The two of them were compatible as their different personalities clashed with one another. With a prince loud and chaotic, and another prince quiet and reserved, they could conquer the world together. 

Or so they thought. 

The two of them were on the topic of the kind woman that owns the bakery down in the Arctic Empire. Whenever the two of them hung out there, her son would join them and they’d go on to talk about the stories of their kingdoms. The boy’s name is Ranboo. 

Oftentimes, the woman at the bakery would offer Tommy and Tubbo free pastries. The smiles on their faces were priceless. But there was something about the gentleness of her voice that sometimes reminded Tommy of Kristin. 

“I wonder if my dad is ever going to meet another woman,” Tommy said, a smile going across his face as they watched the butterflies fly over the hundreds of rows of flowers. 

“Nah,” Tubbo interpreted, “he’s far too busy. In fact, I rarely see your father outside of the castle.” Suddenly, Tubbo starts chuckling at his own comment. 

Tommy elbows Tubbo, but then he goes on to speak again. “But that’s a good thing. It means he probably spends more time with you and Wilbur.”

Tommy’s expression drops. 

“All my dad does is drink now. To be fair, I never even got to meet my mother, I don’t even think I had one. ” Tubbo leans back further on the bench as he laughs softly, and suddenly a few crows come down. They start fighting over the butterflies, trying to get food for themselves. 

Tommy replies with a forced laugh, but Tubbo doesn’t notice. “Having a mother is fucking awesome, Tubs.” It wasn’t meant to be a jab at having one, but it still came across that way nonetheless. 

As Tubbo turned his head away from the fight of the crows and butterflies, he looked at Tommy, who was fidgeting with his hands.

Tubbo starts to mumble, “Yeah, well,” he sighs, “...at least you had one.”

Tommy’s expression narrows and he looks at Tubbo with concern written all over his face. “No, I- Tubbo, that’s not what I meant.”

“It’s okay, Tommy. I get it. To be fair, I could have had it worse. I could have been left out in the open instead of being left here.” Tubbo smiles softly as he turns back to look at the fight. Crows are ripping the wings of the butterflies apart. It’s just how the circle of life works. Crows need to survive, too. Especially as it meant that the cold, autumn air would soon arrive. 

“Or you could have had it even worse than that,” Tommy replies. 

Tubbo doesn’t know how to process his emotions, but there was something in that sentence that flicked a switch in him. 

“And what does that have to mean?” Tubbo stands up from the bench, turning towards Tommy. 

Tommy looks up at him, trying to find something to say. “I mean like- My mom died when I was ten. I had to deal with all of my memories of her and shit.”

Tubbo's stance goes stern as he throws his hands up. “Dude, what the fuck?” he exclaims. “Why would you even compare the two?” 

Tommy starts to speak a lot faster, meaning he was about to regret what he was going to say, as his thoughts were running faster than his mouth. “I’m saying that you didn’t have to deal with the loss of your mother. I basically lost my family when she died.”

Tubbo wouldn’t realize it, but Tommy told him a secret that was a cry for help. 

Tommy never learned how to grieve the loss of his mother. No one was there for him when he needed it. For countless nights, he would cry in his room, alone. Sometimes he would even vomit from the continuous sobs. No one was there to save him. No fierce father, no older brother. 

Tommy thought that if he told Tubbo about Phil and Wilbur, then maybe he would understand. But it flew right over Tubbo’s head as he was more focused on how selfish Tommy was acting. 

“I didn’t even have a family!” Tubbo shouted, and it made Tommy flinch. But Tubbo would ignore it as he was starting to boil up with anger. “I was left in a fucking basket outside of the castle. I didn’t even have a mother. You should be grateful for the fact that you even had-”

It all happened so fast. Suddenly, Tommy was standing, and his hand was moving on its own. 

The two of them experienced so much at such a young age. They could never truly understand one another because neither of their father’s helped them when they needed it the most. 

The crows won, and the butterflies lost. But Tommy didn't win, he lost, but he didn't want to win regardless. 

Tubbo put his hand on his cheek, where a red mark was imprinted on. 

There was a short moment of silence between them, which felt like an eternity. 

Tommy looked at him with regret, and Tubbo looked back at him with disgust.

Just as Tommy was about to open his mouth to speak, Tubbo broke the silence first. 

“You’re fucking selfish, Tommy.” 

Tubbo started to walk away, leaving Tommy alone at the bench. There was a swift breeze of cold air that suddenly came in. 

Autumn is coming. 

Tommy has never felt more alone than he did right now. 

Chapter Text

Everything could have been different if they all just communicated. 

“He called me selfish!” Tommy blocks the attack from Dream. He is getting better at combat, but maybe it’s just because he isn’t paying attention. Dream noticed that whenever Tommy had to focus, he was actually way worse. 

“He’s probably just going through some shit,” Dream replied, trying to plan his next attack. 

Tommy’s thoughts have been racing all week. He might as well enter them into a marathon, but nothing could help him get over the fact that he knew he fucked things up with not only his best friend, but with his father too. Not that it mattered, but regardless, Phil is still his dad. 

Philza has been very tense for the past few months, and he’s been so out of it that Tommy could have sworn he saw his father age 50 years, even though it just wasn’t possible. 

The King has been going over the attack and defense strategies with his armed forces day and night. Sometimes, Phil wouldn’t even sleep, and even though a war wasn’t even announced, he just kept on working. He would plan on where the camp would be, plan out where everyone would be at each exact moment, plan out the roles for the General, he would plan, plan, plan, plan -

Until last night, when Wilbur had walked into Phil’s office whilst he was working. He didn’t even hear the door open at the time. 

There was a moment of silence as Wil just stood there. He was expecting a greeting from him, or something, but Phil was too focused on whatever he was working with. 

“Father?”

Philza froze at the sudden sound, after realizing his son was in the room. His hair is a mess, and his eye bags are twice as bad as last week. He hasn’t slept, eaten, or interacted with his family in weeks. As he regains his focus, he turns to look at Wilbur, and he manages to give a weak, tired smile. 

“Wil, what are you doing up so late?” 

Wilbur stands there, unsure of what to say. He has no excuses except stress. For the past few months, Wilbur has also been unable to sleep. Ever since he overheard his father talking about having him take the throne, he's been waiting anxiously for the conversation about it from him. With each passing day that it was not talked about, Wil would drown in his thoughts.  

“I couldn’t sleep.” 

Phil’s smile fades, “...well, I could have one of the servants grab some warm milk for you if-”

Wilbur interrupts him, “No thanks, I’m good.” 

And now there is silence. 

All Phil does is stare at him, he doesn’t know what to respond with. Maybe it’s due to the fact that he can’t focus. There’s just too much going on and he has been running on no sleep, no food, no idea if he is able to mend things with Schlatt, no idea if the kingdom is in danger, no idea of who or where the syndicate may be, no-

Wilbur breaks the silence, “...so what are you working on?” 

Phil’s sighs as he snaps back to reality, he has so much to work on. “Just a few documents.”

He hoped that his son would leave the room, maybe try to go to bed, but he was still standing there in the doorway. 

Phill pinches the bridge of his nose, “Wil, I am very busy right now,” his voice comes out harshly, whether or not he meant for it to come out that way, Wil was determined to get his answer right now . Even if it was past midnight. 

Wilbur tries to dismiss it, but he doesn't want to give it up so quickly. “I understand, father, but-”

“Not now, Wilbur.” Philza cut him off. 

Wilbur continued to stand there as his father returned his focus back to his royal duties. He was frustrated, to say the least. His father has been keeping secrets from him, and they weren’t something that he could let slide any longer. 

Maybe, just maybe, if everyone would open up to one another, they could be of help to themselves. Secret after secret, they distance themselves further and further from where they could be. The line where they are all supposed to end together is splitting off into multiple directions. 

Phil really needed to focus right now, he needed to find more information on the Syndicate, and take them down. He was determined to kill them. He needed to mend the relationship between himself and Schlatt. When Phil looks back up, he realizes Wilbur is still standing there. His eyes are glazed over, and his brown curls are a mess. 

Wilbur, who has been holding in an immense amount of anger towards not only Tommy, but his father too, was going to implode. 

Phil pinches the bridge of his nose again, this time in more frustration, “Wilbur-”

“You know, you could at least come down for once in your fucking life to join Techno and I for dinner if you’re just going to continue on with this shit.” 

Philza stares at Wilbur with a cold look on his face. He stands up from his desk, leaving the mess of papers to the side, out in the open. And if Wilbur were just a few feet closer, then maybe he’d be able to see what they were. Maybe they would have the answers that he was looking for. 

There was a faint noise from down the hallway. But if either of them heard it, then they chose to ignore it. 

“Wilbur, enough of this. I have a lot to work on right now, so you need to get to bed-”

“No!” Wilbur shouts. “I’m sick of this family being so distant!” 

Philza stands there, confusion written all over his face. “Distant? Wilbur, I am trying to work-”

“Yes, distant.” Wilbur cuts him off again, and he can tell that his father is growing more and more frustrated with each interruption. “Have you not realized how Tommy hasn’t had a single meal with us in months?” 

Phil sighs, “... of course I have, Wil. But you need to understand, I can only focus on so much at once-”

Wilbur’s voice starts to break, “I don’t understand! Why won’t you talk to me?” His voice is getting louder, “Ever since mom died, you have shut Tommy and I out. Hell, I shut him out, but you haven’t once stepped in to stop me from doing it!”

Thousands of thoughts are flooding Philza’s mind. He doesn’t have the time for this, “Wilbur, get out.”  

Wilbur throws his hands out in frustration, “No, I’m not leaving! Quit shutting me out!”

“I’m not shutting you out Wilbur, now get the fuck out, don’t make me raise my voice.”

“Raise your fucking voice then, Philza .” 

The two of them gave each other a cold glare, cold enough to freeze the room, and once again, there was a moment of silence.

Who would break it first, this time?

“You act like I’m stupid,” the tone in Wilbur’s voice goes soft. “I know that she got sick after Tommy was born, we all saw it.”

Phil’s eyes widened. He tries to play it off, or maybe even act stupid, “...who are you talking about?”

“You know damn well who I’m talking about,” as he hitches his breath in, there’s a look of disappointment going across his face. “I saw it. I saw how she got weaker and weaker over the past years.”

Phil tries to cut him off, “Wil-”

“Shut it. I’m talking .” 

Philza had never seen his son like this before, but he knew he needed to take a step back. After all, he was never there for his children during the times they needed him most. 

Wilbur clears his throat, “I’m not saying I blame Tommy, father. I’m saying that you kept it a secret from me, and I tried to play it off-”

He stops himself, his eyes watering. 

Before he continues, he uses his hand to wipe at his eyes.

It makes Phil tense, wondering if he should step forward or not. 

“You don’t tell me anything anymore. Ever since she died, you pushed me away,” he exclaims, trying not to cry. “For three fucking years you’ve left me in the dark.”

“It was not my intention to, Wil,” Phil responds.

“Then what was your intention, Phil?”

There’s something about the way his son called him by his name that made him feel unsettled. 

“Well for one, you know I am trying to mend things with Skyrest.”

Wilbur quickly responds, “Bullshit excuse!”

Phil shakes his head, “Wil, I’m not going into detail-”

Wilbur interrupts, “I overheard you talking to Sapnap.”

The King’s eyes widened once again. He knew he wasn’t getting out of this one. “What did you hear?”

“Tommy hit Tubbo, Schlatt threatened him, you punched him, you know, the basics. Oh, and how you want me to be King.”

The words sting at Phil like acid.

The distance between him and his son was growing. There would be nothing that could excuse this. Phil was speechless. 

However, Wilbur was not going to let this slide underneath the rug. He was upset, too, with no one to lean onto. He just wanted an explanation, a reason why all of this was happening. 

And then, a sudden thought flashed through Wilbur’s mind. The reason all of this distance began, was because of Tommy’s nonsense. It was because of his stupid fight, and his stupid, idiotic nature-

Wilbur interrupted his own thoughts before speaking, “Whether you will admit it or not, it’s Tommy’s fucking fault that we’re in this mess to begin-”

Phil didn’t let Wil finish his sentence. All in that split second, he grabbed his son’s arm and gave him a cold, serious glare. 

The look on Philza’s face makes Wil freeze. 

“Don’t fucking repeat that ever again, you hear me? And if you dare to fucking give Tommy a hard time about it, there will be consequences.” Phil’s anger was catching up to him, but there was also that hint of vulnerability behind his eyes as he stared at his son. “I have already failed him enough as it is.” 

Wilbur didn’t know what to do. 

Phil sighed as he tried to calm himself. His face would soften with concern when he’d notice Wil was trembling.

“Wilbur, mate, I’m sorry, come on-”

Suddenly, there was the sound of muffled crying. 

When Phil realized it wasn’t from Wilbur, he froze, with his heart starting to pound outside of his chest. He looked towards the open door as he darted past his eldest. 

Wilbur continued to stand there, with silent tears now streaming down his face. 

Phil dashed outside of the office, hoping that when he turned, he wouldn’t see his youngest son. 

If only they paid more attention to their surroundings.  

There he was: Tommy was sitting down, crying, with his hands covering his ears. Beside him, was Technoblade, who was rubbing circles onto his back in an attempt to comfort him. And when Wilbur turned around, something sunk into his stomach. 

There would be nothing to mend. What was said has been heard, and Wilbur knew he would never be able to make it up to his younger brother. 

Tommy knew that stakes were high. 

Ever since the fight with Tubbo, he has been staying inside the castle. There would be no more going out into the town. 

Phil has been more and more busy lately, which meant that there was no one to distract Techno and Wilbur. Usually, at night, Tommy would hear Techno and Wilbur laughing and having fun down the hall. It made him jealous. 

Techno was replacing him. 

Wilbur was his brother, not Techno’s. Tommy knew that it was partially his fault for the way things were, but he felt that he had every right to be so distant. 

For the past three birthdays, no one remembered them except for those who were pretty irrelevant to him. Although harsh, it was true. 

There would be times where Tommy and Wilbur would talk about how their day went, but other than that, they hardly spoke at all. It was usually just him and Dream, but Tommy didn’t mind it. 

Lately, Tommy hasn’t been able to fall asleep. Last night, he ended up skipping dinner in order to finally have a longer break from the training. 

But he would soon regret it when he was lying in his bed, unable to sleep, with an empty stomach. 

Tommy ignored the hunger as he continuously tossed and turned in his bed, with an uncomfortably cold room. 

But his hunger won, as Tommy started to make his way out of his bed, and head towards the door. He just needed to grab a snack, and then head back to his room. That’s all he had to do. 

As he walked down the long hallway, there was an uneasy feeling in the atmosphere. He didn’t know what it was, he just knew he was hungry. Starving, even. 

When he made it to the end, about to turn the corner, he stopped. 

The family portrait. 

Kristin was sitting in a chair, with baby Tommy on her lap. Besides the two of them, was Wilbur, standing on the right with a soft smile across his face. And behind them all, was the King himself. Philza, who had his right hand placed on Wil’s shoulder. 

Tommy missed his family, and even though his brother and father were still alive, he still grieved for the way things once were. 

But he pulled it back together. He began to step forward again and turn the corner to head into the kitchen to-

Techno. Techno was in the kitchen eating a turkey leg on the barstool. 

Before Tommy stepped in, he hid behind the archway in which was the entrance of the kitchen, hoping Techno didn’t notice him. It was almost midnight, he didn’t understand why the guy was even awake. 

But his stomach was growling, and he really wanted some food. 

So he took a deep breath, and stepped into the kitchen. 

Technoblade, who was munching down on his turkey leg, quickly grabbed his napkin and put the leg down. He didn’t expect anyone to still be awake, so his eating manners were quite improper. 

Tommy didn’t greet him. In fact, he ignored him as he searched through the vast fridge for some food. 

There was a heavy, awkward silence between them. 

Techno knew that Tommy didn’t feel comfortable around him. The two of them never had a full conversation before, and at the rate things were going, they were never going to speak to one another. Ever.

Tommy was obviously too young to understand how to cook, so he needed something that would fill him up, but also require zero cooking skills. But he struggled to find anything that wouldn’t require a stupid pan-

“Do you need help with anything?” 

The sound of Techno’s voice made Tommy tense. What would Techno know? This isn’t his kitchen. But Tommy was hungry, and he knew that no matter what he did, it would be a losing battle. 

He nodded.

Tommy wasn’t facing him, but Techno nodded back regardless as he lifted himself off of the barstool. 

“What are you in the mood for?” He questioned. 

Tommy shrugged in response, not being verbal whatsoever. 

Techno felt awkward. He didn’t know what to do or say in response, but he tried to think of a meal that children often enjoyed. 

A grilled cheese. It’s truly a classic for kids, especially when paired with tomato soup. 

So it was decided. If Tommy wasn’t going to give him a direct answer, then he would make the child a grilled cheese with some soup. 

As Techno stepped towards the fridge, Tommy moved to the side. 

Tommy has genuinely never liked the man, but there was something so interesting about the intricate braid Techno had which made him want to try and braid it himself. 

With all of the ingredients laid out, Techno started preparing the meal.

As nice as the gesture was, it made Tommy feel uncomfortable at the fact that Techno knew where everything in the kitchen was located. 

It was silent. The only noise that was occurring was the sound of pots and pans being placed on the stove, as well as the opening and closing of the fridge doors. 

For once, Tommy began to speak to him. 

“So,” there’s a small pause before he begins to speak again, “...why are you awake?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” Techno’s response was quick, but it was true. Techno also had trouble sleeping, and it just so happened that he was hungry on the same night that Tommy was. 

As Techno finishes assembling the sandwich, he places it onto the pan. There is the sound of sizzling which makes Tommy feel relaxed, but it still doesn’t get rid of the awkward silence in the atmosphere. 

This time, Techno breaks the silence. “I’m guessing you couldn’t sleep, either?” 

Tommy nodded, even though he knew that Techno couldn’t see him. 

“So uh, how are you liking it in the kingdom?” Tommy wouldn’t care for the answer he was about to receive. He already knew what it was anyways. 

“It’s cool, I guess.” Techno’s voice is subtle, and very monotone. To be fair, it was certainly not the answer Tommy was expecting. 

Techno started preparing the tomato soup, and the smell made Tommy feel warm. He couldn’t remember the last time any of his family members cooked food for him. Usually, it was the servants or the chefs. 

Tommy watched him cook and was becoming more and more amazed at how he would flip the sandwich in the air. The man was practically playing with his food. 

Soon, everything was done. Tommy continued to watch as Techno walked over to the cabinets to grab a small plate and a bowl. 

Once everything was said and done, he looked at Tommy with a soft smile as he placed the dishes onto the island. 

 This was truly their first interaction the two of them had, ever, since Techno’s arrival. 

As Tommy took a seat on the barstool, he stared at the food in silence. He didn’t know whether or not to say thank you, to ignore him, or to cuss him out.

Tommy really dislikes Technoblade, but there was something about the way the food tasted, which made him feel at home. 

When Tommy and Wilbur were younger, Philza used to cook food for them all the time. He was a great cook, and the two of them would always have a clean dish at the end of dinner. But then Phil’s royal duties got in the way. Kristin was getting worse, and the Syndicate was still out there.

The last time Tommy had a hand cooked meal, that wasn’t from the chef’s or servants, was almost eight years ago. 

Tommy swallows the first bite, “Holy shit.” he exclaims. “This is delicious!”

As Techno is cleaning up the mess, he turns to look at Tommy with confusion. “It’s just grilled cheese…”

Tommy knows that it’s a simple meal. Any living soul would be able to figure that out, but to Tommy, it was five star quality. Sure, maybe his standards were low, but the way the meal came across was a symbol that maybe everything would be okay.

Suddenly, there’s a heavy weight in Tommy’s chest. When will he start to feel okay again? Will his family finally celebrate his 13th birthday when the time comes? Will they be able to act like a normal family like once before? 

Tommy was crying, but he didn’t realize it. 

As Techno finishes washing the dishes, he looks up to see if Tommy finished his food. There’s nothing left on his dishes, but what catches his attention is the fact that Tommy is crying. Why is he crying? 

“Are you okay?” 

Tommy snaps back to reality as he shifts his focus onto Techno, but there’s a small moment of silence between them. 

He nods as he pushes his dishes towards Techno, using his free hand to wipe his eyes. 

“Uh, yeah.. Sorry, I, - I  don’t know why I’m crying,” he tries to laugh it off. He tried to hold it in, he wanted to be a big man, but maybe it was the fact that all of his thoughts were catching up to him at once. For two years, he hasn’t had a single conversation with Techno, hes fucked up things with his father, his brother was replacing him, he's practically lost his best friend, and tomorrow. Tomorrow was his birthday. 

Techno walks over to the barstool to take a seat next to Tommy.

Together, the two of them sit in silence. Techno knows how it feels, to cry without a reason, to be distraught but with nothing to be distraught over. 

Yet again, Tommy uses his hands to wipe at his eyes. When he realizes that Techno has sat down next to him, he manages to ask a question that he felt he would regret later, “when are you leaving?”

The question could have been taken in two different ways, but Techno knew what he was referring to. 

“I… don’t know,” his response was sad, but it was true. He didn’t know when Phil would finally kick him out. 

Tommy goes silent again. 

Techno wanted to be able to give him a clear answer. An answer that screams, “I swear I’ll leave soon,” but he was scared, even at 19 years old. After all, he was abused until he was 17. 

Techno takes a deep breath, he knows he needs to say something . After a few more moments of silence, he speaks up, “Tommy, I hope we can at least try to be comfortable around one another.”

The words stung at Tommy as if a million wasps were around, and they just kept on stinging and stinging and stinging -

“Yeah, me too,” he responds. Tommy takes a deep breath as well, trying to stop himself from drowning in his thoughts. And suddenly, Tommy had an idea. He knew that Techno and Wilbur were friends at this point, which meant he could get some information on his brother. Information that would lead to a terrible issue later.

“Technoblade.”

Techno looked up at Tommy with a confused look on his face, but he also cringed at the way his full name was said. 

“Tomorrow is my birthday,” he continued. 

Techno nodded, “that’s cool, how old are you turning?”

“Thirteen. I’m turning thirteen.”

“That’s a big number, man,” Techno responds, trying to erase the tension. 

“Yeah. Yeah, it is.” 

There’s another moment of silence. 

Techno breaks it, “Are you excited?”

Tommy shrugs, his face narrows. “I don’t know. I guess so.”

“Well, you must be, if you told me.”

“No, no,” a small chuckle comes out of Tommy as he continues, “I only told you because we have nothing to talk about.”

“Ah, so you were promoting your-”

“No! No, no, no, big man. Do you think that I, Tommy Watson, would promote his own birthday?”

Techno made direct eye contact with him. He was confused, to say the least. He didn’t know what was going on. There was not only a sudden shift in the atmosphere, but in the conversation. The child went from crying to talking about his birthday. 

He shook his head in response. 

“Hey, Techno?” There was something that shifted in Tommy’s voice. 

“Yes, Tommy?” He responded. 

“Did Phil, or uh, my dad, tell you anything?” 

Then it clicked. 

Techno shook his head, “Not anything important. I mean, I know he's been busy and all.”

Tommy sighs in disappointment. 

Techno looks away from him, turning his gaze to the archway of the kitchen. It’s almost midnight, and the lights are just too bright right now. But he knew something was bothering the child. Why else would he ask that? 

“What’s wrong, Tommy?”

But Tommy didn’t respond. He just stared at the counter. 

It was quiet, once again, for what felt like the hundredth time. 

This time, Tommy broke the silence that he started. 

“I hurt Tubbo a while ago, maybe three months ago,” he pauses for a minute. “I’m pretty sure my dad went over to apologize, but it backfired.”

“And?” Techno responds, he already knew where this was going, as Will already told him. But he couldn't let Tommy know that.  

“Well, I was just wondering if he said anything to you about it. I know I fucked up things with Tubbo but I don’t wanna fuck up things with my dad, y’know?”

Techno nodded in agreement, “Why don’t you speak to him yourself, then? Just to clear things up.”

“I can’t,” he quickly responded. 

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t.”

“Tommy, that’s not a good enough-”

Tommy steps off the barstool, “Maybe tomorrow. I just have too much on my mind.”

Techno turns back to look at him, “The longer you push it off, the more it’ll drown you.”

The young prince starts to tremble. He just wants his family to be happy again. He wants to celebrate his birthday, all of them, together. And maybe he would even invite Technoblade. 

“Well I obviously can’t do it now-”

“Phil doesn’t sleep, he’s still awake, trust me,” Techno interrupts. 

Tommy squints his eyes as he looks down at the floor, “and how would you know?”

“Do you want to find out? If he’s still awake, then you have your chance to talk to him.”

A wave of relief hits Tommy. Maybe he should take it. Finally, he might be able to sleep if he can fix everything. 

He nods in response, and in return, Techno smiles softly back at him. 

Techno lifts himself off the barstool, and the two of them start to exit the kitchen, leaving the dishes behind. 

As the two of them started to head down the hallway towards Phil’s office, Tommy couldn’t help but feel nervous. He didn’t really know what he was going to say to him. Maybe he could also finally talk about how he was feeling too. About how he has been feeling neglected. 

The sound of footsteps was going on for eternity. Why was the hallway so damn long? 

Tommy realizes he needs to break the silence. The sound  was driving him insane. “Thank you, Techno. For the food and all.” 

“Sure, no problem. If you ever get hungry again, just let me know,” he responds. 

“Got it, big man.”

When Tommy looks up at Techno, he realizes that the guy is really fucking tall. Too tall, in fact. It’s no wonder why his dad wanted him to train Wilbur. Compared to Dream, Techno could easily rip him to shreds. 

As he returned his focus back to the hallway, his father’s office was slowly approaching, and he was starting to feel nervous again. 

With each step closer, Tommy realized that the door was still open, and the light was on. After the realization, he elbows Techno, “You were right! He’s still awake!”

Suddenly, Tommy picks up the pace. A wave of confidence was going through him all the same. Tonight would be the night that he would talk to his dad, talk about his feelings - 

With each step closer, he could hear the distant sound of arguing. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, but he knew it was his father and someone else. 

Tommy slows down as he approaches the office, Techno not far behind him. 

Techno grabs Tommy’s arm as he realizes that the voices are from Wilbur and Phil, stopping him from walking into the office. 

He was so close.

Tommy then realizes that the other voice is Wilbur. Silently, he and Techno gave each other a look, and then they both stood next to each other against the wall beside the office. 

They weren’t necessarily eavesdropping, but they were definitely curious.

Tommy could hear Wilbur very clearly. 

“ I overheard you talking to Sapnap. ”

Techno already knew where this was going. But for Tommy, it was all new. 

“What did you hear?”

Tommy felt like he could barely breathe. It was as if he was interrupting something he shouldn’t be interrupting. 

“Tommy hit Tubbo, Schlatt threatened him, you punched him, you know, the basics. Oh, and how you want me to be King.”

The words pierced through Tommy’s skin, with a heavy weight in his chest. His father was going to make Wilbur King?

Suddenly, thousands of thoughts were flooding through his mind once again. He started to tremble. He didn’t want his older brother to become King. It would ruin everything, and his family would never go back to how it once was, and he wouldn’t be able to-

His face was wet, a few tears streaming down his face. He tried to pull it together, but he was scared. 

There was a moment of silence before any of them spoke. Within that brief moment of silence, Tommy sat down. He wanted to know more about the King shit. And just when Wilbur began to talk again, Tommy’s heart sank more than it already could. 

“Whether you will admit it or not, it’s Tommy’s fucking fault that we’re in this mess to begin-”

Techno quickly turned to Tommy after realizing what Wil just said. He kneeled down beside him, trying to get a reaction out of him, but Tommy just sat there, staring at the floor, with his hands over his ears, trembling uncontrollably. Tears were streaming down his face. Whether they were from being nervous, scared, let down, or guilty, he’d never know. 

“It’s okay, Tommy,” Techno whispered, trying to comfort him. “Just look at me, I’m here.”

But nothing would be able to help. 

Tommy let out a sob that would inevitably blow their cover. 

He didn’t know what happened after. All he could remember was his father kneeled down in front of him trying to talk to him, and Techno at his side. But everything was blurry. He couldn’t hear what his father was saying, as his ears were ringing. “It’s your fault, it’s your fault, it’s your fault ” repeating in his head. 

Wilbur was nowhere in sight.

Tommy felt numb. 

No amount of love would be able to save the relationship between the two princes now. 

Maybe one day, the two of them could learn how to heal, together. 

If Tommy let them. 

Chapter Text

Sometimes, things just aren’t meant to be. 

The Syndicate

For over the past decade, the Syndicate has been growing more and more with each passing day, all in secret. 

They remained in a facility, where several people would spend countless hours trying to gain information on the closest kingdoms, which consisted of the Skyrest and Arctic. 

Sometimes, they would look into Kinoko Kingdom. However, their kingdom was too far from the facility and was too advanced as it was the kingdom that was known to be “from the future.” 

Quackity was the organizer of the facility, and he was determined to make sure every Kingdom would fall. He was able to destroy both empires for a while, but it was not enough for him. 

He had sent countless spies to hangout in the outskirts of town, in hopes to receive news from the Arctic Empire, which was his greatest enemy. He was even lucky enough to have a spy who worked in one of the kingdoms. 

He would take multiple victims and hold them hostage. They weren’t from the town, but they were created . The creations would be trained constantly in hopes to one day take the royalty down. Some of the victims were rather abnormal, and a majority of them would be injected with multiple syringes, not knowing what they were contained with. 

13 years ago, there were countless reports from the Arctic and Skyrest Kingdoms, 73 to be exact, of the Angel of Death being spotted. Some were unsure where he came from, but a majority of them were certain that it was the King. However, it was too dark to be able to tell. 

Quackity spent countless hours staring at the dark sky, trying to catch a glimpse of the man himself, but no one appeared. However, he already knew that the King was the Angel of Death. So, the reports were really nothing new to him. However, they would be of great advantage to him if he could get a picture for evidence. 

It was all going to be based on luck, now. His plan was to start a new rumor.

Quackity is a man of many things. He had the ability to start an old rumor a long time ago that brought down the kingdom’s status quite a bit, but it didn’t last for long. 

But if he could get evidence, a simple picture, that was clear that the Angel of Death was the King, he would have all of the power in the world to take down the Arctic Empire. 

But if he couldn’t get the evidence, then his backup plan was to kidnap one of his sons and torture them and test on them and use them as bait to the King and– 

Quackity wasn’t always like this. Or at least that’s what everyone within the facility liked to think. After all, he was only someone that wanted to change the world for the better. 

He wanted revenge, too. 

The man is someone of infinite lives, much like the Angel of Death and the God of Blood that he, himself, created. Quackity wasn’t necessarily a God, but he is an immortal. However, he was not born with it. 

A long time ago, when Quackity was around seven years old, he and his family had recently moved into the town of the Arctic Empire. They have traveled across vast lands and have seen more kingdoms in their lives than most children his age. 

Everything was perfect, from the clean, yet lively town to the beautiful clear fountain that laid within the center square. Often, children would be running around the fountain, laughter everywhere. It was quite lively, to say the least. 

The Arctic Empire was fairly new, with people coming in rapidly. The reason for the kingdom’s popularity was the King himself. Philza had saved countless cities from the dangers of the Ender Empire. He was even able to take them down, or so he thought, but it truly made him a hero to all. 

When Quackity was first settling into his new home, he was quite nervous. The children in town seemed like they had already bonded with one another, and Quackity knew that he couldn’t just barge into their bonds. 

However, there was one boy who sat on the bench by the fountain every afternoon. He had glasses that sat perfectly on his nose, and he seemed to always wear green. Usually, he would be reading children’s books, and wouldn’t interact with any of the other kids around him. 

Quackity, so badly, wanted to make his first friend within the town, and he thought that he could get along just well with the child who always read, but how was he meant to approach him? 

On a bright sunny day, Quackity decided to step outside of his comfort zone. The day prior, he had told his mother about how he was going to make his first friend, in which she gave him the softest smile that he’d forever miss. 

As he walked out the door that day, he took in the surroundings and tried to focus on his mission. Befriend the fountain boy, or the book boy. 

When he drew himself closer to the center, he began to feel nervous. He was never good at making friends in any of the towns that his family had traveled to. This was going to be his first time he has ever pushed himself out into the harsh reality of life. 

But he was feeling something different that day. Maybe the nervousness caught up to him, but he felt this wave of confidence as he walked towards the bench to sit down. If things went wrong and the boy asked what he was doing, he could have just played it off by saying that he was tired. But nonetheless, he sat down next to the boy at the fountain, and he was given not a single glare. The boy was too engulfed in his story, or at least that’s what Quackity thought. 

For what felt like an eternity, the two of them sat there with not a single word exchanged. There were children running around and the weather was quite pleasant, but it made Quackity feel awkward. His confidence quickly faded, and he realized that he definitely made the wrong choice, like always. 

After a few more moments had gone by, Quackity started to move himself to get off the bench, but something stopped him. A voice. It was from the boy. 

“Want to know what I’m reading?” The boy asked, still staring at his book. 

All in all, it startled Quackity a bit. He didn’t really expect him to speak first, in fact, he didn’t expect either of them to speak at all. But he took the chance. 

“Yeah, what’s it about?”

The boy looked up from his book to turn to Quackity. With a smile going across the boy’s face, “It’s about dragons. Vast, mythical dragons.”

Quackity doesn’t know what to say, but it does seem interesting to him. With silence between the two, the boy begins to speak again, “Anyways, my name is Charlie. What’s yours?”

A breeze goes through, messing up Quackity’s long hair. The laughter of the children around makes the town so alive. 

“My name is Quackity.”

Then everyday for the next few months, the two would meet up in the center of the town at the fountain. 

All the way up until the day when hell came to earth. 

It was nearing winter at the time, which meant the crisp, autumn air was to soon leave the kingdom. The sun would set much earlier than it used to, and the stars would come out rather quickly. 

Charlie and Quackity met at their usual spot in the center of the town. Everything was normal, with the laughter of children, the hustling of adults trying to head home from work, the smell of the pastries from the bakery, and the beautiful sunset. 

With the kingdom being in the mountains, the town gets a gorgeous view of the world below them. It wasn’t that high up, but it was certainly a steep way down. Travelers and merchants always came by horse as they would grow too tired traversing up the mountain by foot.  

The cold was beginning to settle in, and the town was starting to settle down as the day was coming to an end. Of course, the boys were chatting about the book Charlie was currently on. They should have headed home, but to be fair, nothing could have prepared them for what happened next, because all of the sudden, it was completely dark. The sunset was gone. 

How did it vanish so fast?

It was silent for what felt like an eternity, with the distant chatter of, “is it a solar eclipse? But why so late in the day?”

Then suddenly, the sound of sirens started to go off, which made the town stand still. Everyone had stopped in their tracks to look around for a possible place to hide. 

The world simply stopped turning. 

Quackity didn’t know what was going on, but he felt a heavy weight seep into him. As he looked at Charlie, who was looking up at the sky. He started to question if he should run to his family or stick by his friend. 

The quietness in the town very quickly turned into panic. They didn’t know what was happening, or at least what was meant to be happening. 

For a seven year old, Charlie was the calmest he could ever be. He turned to Quackity with a soft smile on his face, even though he knew that he probably couldn’t see him. 

There was no news of a test that was supposed to occur, which meant that whatever was happening was real. The town could only pray that their hero would come and save them soon. 

At the center of the fountain, there were no children running around laughing. The smell of pastries from the bakery was gone, and the bright daylight was missing. However, what remained was the two boys and the running of the townspeople as they were panicking. 

The two of them made zero moves. Quackity debated on leaving, and maybe taking Charlie with him, but he felt like he wasn’t close enough friends to be able to take him against his will. So he sat there in silence with nerves going down his body at every second that passed. Chaos was all around, but in the midst of it all, Charlie continued to look at Quackity. Charlie realized that Quackity was trembling. 

“It will be okay, wars happen all the time,” he assured. 

Quackity didn’t know if it was the voice in his head that said it, or if it was Charlie. But he tried to calm himself down. He felt as if he was making the wrong choice by staying, but why wasn’t Charlie leaving? Doesn’t he have a home to go to? 

He needed answers fast, otherwise they’d both be in danger. He struggled as he breathed in, but he suddenly grabbed Charlie by the arm with a firm look on his face, “...we have to get out of here, we can’t stay out in the open.”

Charlie nods, and it gives Quackity a feeling of hope that maybe the sirens were a false alarm. Maybe there wasn’t any danger, and everyone was panicking for no reason. 

But so they ran. Hand in hand, the two of them bolted, not sure of where to go. Maybe they should have gone to Quackity’s home, but it was on the outskirts of the town and he felt that it may be too far. Their best bet was going to be to the east side of town, where they could hide in the library. With people running and screaming, they tried to ignore it and run. They ran and ran and ran -

Danger. There was a sudden bang that the entire town would be able to hear, but suddenly Charlie’s ears were ringing and he had to stop, which made Quackity halt. 

Charlie was down on his knees, with his hands covering his ears. More and more people were running from behind him, almost toppling over the helpless child. Quackity knelt down next to him, trying to comfort him. He was starting to panic, as sudden flashes of light were going through the sky. 

“Charlie!” he screamed with a worried look going across his face, “Charlie, what’s wrong? Get up, we have to keep moving!”

But the boy didn’t move, and suddenly Quackity was left with the choice of leaving him to get to safety, or staying with him with the spare chance of dying. In the span of those few seconds, bang . The entire sky had lit up, and it looked like the sun had come back for just a moment before the light died out again. The town was being bombed. 

The sirens were not a false alarm. 

Quackity began to shake his friend, trying to pull him up, but he just wouldn’t budge. Charlie was trembling immensely. 

Quackity only stopped shaking him when he noticed blood trickling down Charlie’s hands. 

The realization seeped down Quackity’s spine. His friend’s eardrums have bursted, he needs to get him help. 

The sky was lighting up in and out, and there was screaming all around. No one was stopping to help the children who were down in the middle of the path. After all, humans only think of themselves in desperate matters. They never think about anyone else. 

Surely, the King would be there to save them all at any moment. 

Any moment now. 

All Quackity could do was try to comfort his trembling friend, who must have been in so much pain. He couldn’t even begin to comprehend it. 

There was chaos all around them, as houses were being blown up. Large pieces of debris began to fall around them. 

Quackity had to get out of here. Otherwise, he was going to die. 

His mind raced through five scenarios before coming to his final decision. 

One. The battle didn’t sound as if it hit the center yet, which meant they possibly still had time to wait until Charlie could get himself up. Two. The King would be here any minute, so there’d be no reason for Quackity to leave his friend to die. Three. He would leave, following the stampede of a crowd, to safety, in hopes that the war would pass and the King would fight off the bad guys. Four. He would leave, and the war would continue to go on before coming to an end, but Charlie would have eventually found safety and survived. Five. Quackity would leave, but the war would not go down easily, and Charlie would have been killed . But it meant that if Quackity stayed, then he would have been killed too. 

Sometimes, children act selfishly, it’s just an instinct. 

At seven years old, the two of them had already experienced so much, but Quackity knew he had to get out. He looked at his friend one final time before embracing him into a hug which would not be returned. As he then stood up, he began to run with the crowd. 

It was truly violent. People were shoving, and those who had fallen were trampled over continuously. The loud sound of sirens, screaming, and the harsh sound of war were not enough to clear his racing mind. 

He had so many questions, was his friend going to be okay? Was his family safe? Will King Philza rescue them soon? Who was attacking? Why were they attacking?

When Quackity snapped himself back into reality, he realized that the library was quickly approaching. People within the running crowd were branching off into various buildings for shelter, and Quackity knew that he needed to get to a safe place as well. 

He should have gone to his house. 

As he began to branch off from the crowd, he quickly ran up to the library. His breath was heavy, and he struggled to gasp for air. It felt as if the world was crumbling around him. He quickly ran up the stairs to the door, and began to violently bang at the wood for someone to let him in. 

For what felt like minutes, which could not be wasted, no one was opening the door 

He punched constantly as hard as he could until suddenly, it opened.

In the dark, there was a group of people cornered against the wall, all trembling with fear. The adult who had let him in quickly whispered to him, “try to be quiet and go over there,” as he pointed towards the group. 

He quickly walked over, nerves constantly going down his spine. He tried his best to hold in his breath as he stood by the group. 

In the very back, the sound of crying from a few women could be heard. They were scared to, and it made Quackity feel a bit more at ease knowing he wasn’t going to be the only crybaby in the room, because eventually, tears were starting to form in his eyes. 

He was really fucking scared. 

Then suddenly, the darkness quickly lit up through the window. Something nearby has blown up, causing a fire next door. The enemy was near. 

Many people underwent a quiet conversation as there were multiple people around trying to quiet them. 

Bang .

This time, the entire sky lit up, and suddenly, the screaming outside stopped. 

Everyone inside silenced themselves, and Quackity began to hyperventilate. He was far too young to understand what was going on around him, other than the fact that a war was occuring, but if there was one thing he would be able to comprehend later on in life, it would be his friend. 

Charlie was a smart kid, nobody denied that. However, Quackity was genuinely too young to understand his intelligence at the time. But if there was one thing that stuck with him as he was hiding from the harsh heat of battle, it’d be what Charlie had questioned him at the center of the fountain during the day of the siren test…

“Is it right that children around the world can live and play in comfort and safety while we must prepare to live in death and destruction?” 

Maybe, just maybe, if Quackity was a little bit older and a little bit wiser at the time, he would have realized what it meant. How the King, Philza, Angel of Death, held too much power and had the unfair ability to allow someone to destroy anything in its path. The ability to allow an enemy to strip thousands of innocent lives from his very own village. The privilege to lay back as everything was turning into a living hell. 

All within five seconds, everything went completely dark. 

Only the Gods would know what happened. 

It was dark, he must have gotten knocked out. Maybe someone panicked from the violence and accidentally knocked him out cold, but he just didn’t know. He also didn’t know how long it's been since he regained his conscience, and he couldn’t open his eyes no matter how hard he tried. It could have been minutes, hours, or even days, but all he knew was that it was very dark, and there was a heavy weight that laid down upon him. He was exhausted, and only the sound of fire crackling could be heard. 

He tried to open his eyes, but he just couldn’t. He was in too much pain, and it felt like he was on fire. It was as if he died, and went straight to hell. 

All the child could do was lay in the midst of the heat, unable to move. Who knows if more time passed in the moment that Quackity had drifted off. 

But something flashed across his mind. His family. Charlie. 

Although struggling, he opened his eyes, but they quickly began to burn as smoke seeped into them. 

He was under something, but he was unsure of what it was, and it hurt his body too much to move. But his loved ones were on the line, and he needed to get out of whatever he was under so that he could find them. 

“ Crawl, child .”

A sudden chill went down Quackity’s spine. He didn’t know where the voice came from, but the heat suddenly disappeared. 

He tried to take the moment to move his arm, which was completely numb. All he needed to do was drag himself out. 

His eyes were beginning to clear up, even though there were tears swelling in them. As he regained his vision, he was able to seek out where he could crawl through and what he should move. 

However, something seemed off. There were giant pieces of broken wood, and shattered glass, as well as stone, scattered everywhere. He began to wonder if he was under the building itself. 

Did the library collapse?

A wave of pain went through his body as he continued to crawl through the debris, and he soon grew nervous as the sudden thought of the library being blown up went across his mind. 

Why couldn’t he hear anyone else? He hated that all he could hear was his breath and the sound of the crackling fire. 

The smoke didn’t seem to affect him, which made it only a slight bit easier for him to navigate. But eventually, he saw a glimpse of the path. He saw a way out. 

All he had to do was crawl, and once he would be able to get out, he could begin to look for Charlie and his family. 

But crawling was hard, as the weight was heavy. It felt like hours before he finally made it out.

He made it out? The child didn’t even realize whether he got out or not. But he laid on his back as he stared into the sky, struggling to catch his breath once again. 

It was deathly quiet. 

Quackity made it out. He was alive, but he couldn’t quite pin which scenario may have occurred, because he hasn’t made any progress.

“I’m such an idiot,” he whispers to himself, as he twists himself around on his stomach, trying to push himself up. 

He didn’t know if he was standing, for he couldn’t feel a single thing. But he knew that he needed to look at his surroundings.

Nothing would be able to destroy the child more than when he looked around, and all he could see were the dead corpses and burning debris from the collapsed buildings all around. 

He didn’t know if the enemy was gone or not, but he didn’t care. He was already traumatized and his heart had already sunken into his stomach. He tried to walk down the path, an attempt to get to his home. An attempt to find out if his friend was okay. 

As he was limping down the path, there were more burning buildings, in which they all collapsed. Quackity couldn’t even tell which building was which. 

However, something he could differentiate from the mess was the fountain that stood in the center. It was still in one piece, but as Quackity noticed he was nearing the middle, he realized that he must’ve passed the spot where Charlie was at. 

Thankfully, he didn’t see the corpse of his friend, which sent a wave of relief through his body, but he also didn’t see another person that was alive . But there was also that slim chance that Charlie must have escaped. 

His mind began to race. Should he turn back? Should he find his home? Where are the survivors? Are there any survivors?

He turned back. The child limped away from the center, and tried to look for any clues of where his friend may have ran off too. 

Pile to pile, he observed every detail. The heat, for some reason, wasn’t affecting him, but it was not the time to worry about that. 

As he limped towards the next pile, something quickly gained his attention.

The fountain . Why would he stray away from the fountain? 

Quackity didn’t know Charlie, but at the same time, he knew him. His friend was the type of guy to hide somewhere he felt safe at. 

Quackity realized that maybe Charlie didn’t run home because he just didn’t feel safe there. He felt safe at the fountain. Maybe that’s why he was there at every waking hour. From dusk 'till dawn. 

He turned around again, retracing his steps back to the center. If only he had continued forward the first time around. He was wasting valuable time which could not be wasted. 

Limping to the fountain once again, it was deathly silent, but he was approaching closer which meant he might be able to get at least one answer to his hundreds of questions. 

When he finally made it to the center, he noticed that the bench was still in one piece. 

But he also noticed that there were no voices. The only sound the child could hear was the continuous crackling of the fire as he realized the entire town burned down. There were no children running in the center, there was no music, there was no laughter, there was no smell of the fresh baked goods, there was- 

There was no one to help Quackity as he noticed the broken glasses on the ground in front of what may have been the bakery, with a limp hand sticking out from underneath a pile of burning wood. 

It was Charlie. 

His friend escaped after all, but he didn’t escape death. 

Charlie must have died thinking his friend abandoned him. 

Tears were swelling into Quackity’s eyes, and all he could feel was pain. His body ached, and he wanted his mother to hold him. He wanted his father to scold him for being out too late, he wanted his friend to tell him about the new books he read. He just wanted to hear and find someone.

And so he stepped away from the “bakery,” as he began to limp towards the direction of his home. 

Maybe his family would be calling for his name, trying to find their son in the midst of the rubble. 

But as he drew himself closer to where his house may have been, everything down the path was completely demolished. There was simply no sign of life.

His entire family was dead, and so was Charlie. 

Then, the child collapsed, trembling immensely. He was alone and scared. Tears began to stream down his face as he looked up to the sky. 

But something quickly caught his attention, as he noticed the castle high up in the mountains was still in one piece. 

The kingdom itself was still intact. Which meant the King and its soldiers were able to fend off the enemies. 

Philza just never bothered to save his town. 

There may have been no more danger, but there was one true enemy that remained. The King himself. The members of royalty who could have stepped in to stop the situation at any given moment. 

Philza, the King of the Arctic Kingdom, let the citizens of the town die. Maybe that’s why he was known as the Angel of Death. 

And so the child ran. He no longer limped, and suddenly his body aches faded. He ran and ran until he no longer could. He was scared to stay in a town where the King would kill him too. 

As he grew older, he began to research the way royalty worked. He must have lost track of time, because he was suddenly nearing his twenties. But more and more years eventually went by, and he realized that he was never aging. 

However, he didn’t understand why. 

He only began to realize what it was until 50 years have gone by. 

Quackity was an immortal. He didn’t know how he got this power, but he was determined to find out and make use of it. And he was determined to figure out how to implement it onto other people. 

Maybe he could one day hold the power to take down the Kingdoms.

After hundreds and hundreds of years passed, the Arctic Empire soon rebuilt itself up. 

In the meantime, however, Quackity had built a facility. A facility in which people who were against the power of the kingdoms would work together to research how to destroy them all. 

The new generations of the town didn’t know what Philza was like. Only Quackity and the facility knew. Of course, some people didn’t believe him when he first told them the news. But there was something in his expression that made the workers realize he may have not been lying. 

He was traumatized. 

Eventually, another kingdom was beginning to rise. 

The Skyrest Kingdom. 

Another state of royalty in which Quackity would need to destroy. 

In the end, it was his goal to make Phil’s life a living hell, and with Jschlatt coming into the picture, he was going to fuck up his life too. 

His dreams truly came true when he found out that the King and Queen of the Arctic Empire had their first child. It meant that he could use their baby as a way to get what he wanted. A way to seek revenge.  

All he needed to do was to get ahold of their son.

However, he needed to find a way to get the town against him. His first idea was to spread the word of how the King killed his entire town, but also make sure that the townspeople would stay. 

He would have to tell them the stories of how Philza was a hero, and would have to lie about how the King could protect them from any sort of danger. He would also tell them about how he murdered his entire town, without regret, but tell them not to worry, as he heard it from “someone else.” He played it off as a rumor, which meant it could have either been true or false. 

It took ten years before the majority of the town realized they were against the King of the Arctic Empire.

Within ten years, Quackity was able to create a system in which he would take newborn babies from helpless mothers who didn’t have the ability to take care of them. They’d be dropped off in front of the facility, thinking it was a safe place for their children. 

But they were merely used as victims, subjects if you will. 

They were constantly tested from the moment they arrived. Some died very early on, but those who survived would be moved onto the next process. 

Many of the babies didn’t survive the test of trying to be made into an immortal, but there was one baby who did. 

The child with blood-red eyes. Quackity grinned when he found out that he had his first live test subject to move onto the next stage. 

After throwing the baby into death’s path countless times, his pride would only grow more and more after seeing the child crawl out completely unharmed. 

With each passing year, Quackity and many other researchers would test on the child. At four years old, they shot him for the very first time. When the bullet wound quickly healed, Quackity realized that this victim would be the one to take down anything he wanted. The child would be named Techno. Techno Blade . 

He was going to train Techno to be a God, no matter what it would take. 

Until after seventeen years, when he sold Techno to a Kingdom in an attempt for him to kill royalty in war, he received a phone call. 

The truck that was transporting him had crashed. The operator and other researcher had told him that they were knocked out for who knows how long, but during the time, Techno had escaped.

When the two of them returned back to the facility, they were both shot on sight. 

Quackity needed to find his weapon fast, but he didn’t know where to start, and it was far too late for him to ask the operator and victim where they had crashed, as they were already dead.

He was driving himself crazy, in fact, he was losing hope. He lost what he created. 

After realizing he fucked up, he decided to head into the town of the Arctic Empire. Maybe he could spread some more rumors. 

But in the center of the town was a girl who stood in front of the bakery. She seemed rather helpless, but something caught his attention rather quickly. It was a servant of the Arctic Empire. 

She must have been heading home, but what was she doing outside of the bakery, and why was she just standing there?

Nonetheless, Quackity took the chance to try and talk to her. 

As he began to approach her, he realized he needed to come up with a plot. A plot in which he could gain information that would push him into the next step of gaining secret news of the kingdom. 

When he finally came up to her, he tapped the woman on the shoulder, “...excuse me, ma’dam, I don’t mean to bother you, but I am currently lost and need help locating the library.”

It was silent for a while, but she soon turned to him with a soft smile on her face. 

Her voice was soft, “It is down that way, kind sir. If you want, I can walk you to it.”

Quackity nodded as he smiled back. 

And so the two began to walk down the path. However, neither of them spoke. It was rather quiet, and Quackity realized that he needed to do something if he was going to be able to gain information. 

“So, I see you work for the Arctic Kingdom,” he says. 

The girl nods, “I do, I have worked there for about a decade now.”

“Ah, I see.”

She sighs, and then goes on to speak again, “...sometimes I wonder what it would be like to just run away, and work in a bakery.”

The sentence strikes Quackity like lightning. She wants to leave . 

“So you want to leave the kingdom?” 

The girl doesn’t respond for a few moments, but eventually, she shrugs. “Well, I just feel like I’m not needed.”

Quackity quickly responds, “In what way do you feel unneeded, Miss?” 

She chuckles softly. “I can’t really tell a person I just met-”

He interrupts her and stops walking, “I come from vast lands. I am not from around here, you can trust me.” 

She soon stops too. She knows that she shouldn’t say anything, but she is a naive girl. She was never meant to work for royalty. “Well, I guess all I am really used for is cleaning,” she sighs in disappointment. “For years I have been told that I would be promoted, promoted in a way of which I would become a baker for the kingdom. But lately, I feel that they’ve been lying to me all this time.”

“How come you haven’t revolted against them? Use your voice to stand your ground?” He quickly responds. 

But all the girl does is shrug, which makes Quackity begin to question himself. He doesn’t know what to say after. 

Maybe he could offer her something. Offer her an opportunity of a lifetime. 

Quackity breaks the silence, “Miss, how about I offer you a chance that could potentially change your life?”

Her brow raises in confusion, and she just stares at him with no attempt at responding. 

So Quackity breaks the silence yet again, “You work for the kingdom, yes?”

She continues to stare at him with concern written all over, “...yeah? What about it?”

“Have you heard of the rumors of what Philza has done?”

The girl nods. 

He continues, “...then what side are you on?”

There is a moment of silence between the two, but she doesn’t give a response.

So Quackity begins to break the silence once again, “I can promise you a bakery, a bakery in which thousands of people from all around the world will come visit. I can promise you the time of your life, if you work undercover for me.”

After all of the tasks within the castle are completed, the servants are usually sent home. They typically aren’t needed anymore until the next day, since there were guards around every waking corner all night. 

Nikki would be sent home, with nothing to do until the very next day. 

That’s what royalty was. They throw away everyone when they are not needed, but then they’ll crawl back to them once they are seeking something again. That’s what servants of the kingdom were. 

Every single day, she would walk to the Arctic Kingdom to do the same tasks. Bring the food out, clean the castle, tidy all of the beds, and sweep every single room that exists. 

But it wouldn’t be like this much longer. 

For about three years now, she has been an inclusive member of the Syndicate, a facility that would be used to take down the Skyrest and Arctic Kingdoms. She has watched the Arctic Empire’s every move in order to inform Quackity on the events within. 

She informed him on the day that the one victim had arrived. The victim had eyes that were as red as blood. 

Three years ago, she made the decision that would ultimately change her life forever.

Chapter Text

The past three birthdays for the young prince were spent in his room crying. 

The fourth birthday would be the same. 

Will Tommy ever have a normal birthday again?

It's been months since Tommy and Tubbo last interacted. 

Every year on Tommy’s birthday, the two of them would watch the sunset as they sat on the balcony which connected to the young prince’s room. 

However, this year was going to be different, and it already started on a bad note.

Today was nothing exciting to him. He could barely sleep as the occurrence that happened last night was flooding his mind. Throughout the night, Techno would periodically check in on him, if it weren’t for Tech, Tommy would have probably kept the castle up all night. He would constantly pull at his hair as he was sobbing.

Tommy wasn’t expecting anything the morning of. As he got out of bed, his expression narrowed whilst he slowly walked towards his dresser. When he stared into the mirror, he noticed he had eye bags. Is this normal for a child only 13 years of age?

The night before, Tommy could remember his father being next to him. However, he couldn’t remember what he was saying. Maybe if Tommy was just a little bit stronger, he could have owned up to the harsh words that his brother threw at him without looking, but he was too weak. He was a weak child who would never be able to come to terms with his mother’s death. He would never get to be trained under the guidance of Technoblade like his older brother. He would never get to have a normal birthday again where he felt loved and safe. He would never have his family back. 

At 13 years of age, he was contemplating on running away. 

After all, would his family even notice? It’s not like his brother would care. 

Suddenly, there was the faint sound of knocking at his door that would barge into his thoughts. 

“Hello," a monotone voice said, "It's me, Tech." 

“Come in,” Tommy sighed, his breath hitched as he was not expecting to be social so early in the morning. 

The door knob turned and the tall man with the intricate pink braid walked in, with a wooden sword in hand. 

Tommy turned away from the dresser to look at Techno, and was confused to see the sword. Why would he bring a wooden prop in his room? 

And then it clicked. Tommy realized that Techno must have gotten the rooms mixed up. Which is strange though, as he has been here for a couple of years now. However, Techno was Wilbur’s mentor, not Tommy’s.

“Uh, Techno..” he swallowed, “I think you’ve got the wrong-”

Techno interrupted, “Dream’s off for today. So I decided you’ll be training with me today.”

“Huh?”

There was a small pause between the two. Techno’s expression narrowed as he noticed the eyebags and tear stains on his face. He hasn’t spoken to Wilbur since the incident last night, and was planning to keep it that way, at least until he could come up with a plan for the two brothers to be able to resolve their issues. 

All four of them had unspeakable tension that needed to be broken. 

Breaking the silence, Tommy’s stomach growled. 

Techno chuckled as Tommy’s face started to flush into a red in embarrassment. “Let’s eat first though, shall we?”

Tommy nodded, and together the two began to walk out into the hall. In the distance, the light sound of strumming on the guitar could be heard.

Each second that he could hear the music, it made Tommy feel physically and mentally sick. He would begin to drown into his thoughts, and the words “it’s all your fault” would constantly repeat over and over and over and over and -

Techno broke the silence, “So what were you thinking about having for breakfast, birthday boy?” He playfully jabbed at Tommy’s side with his elbow. 

In what was meant to be a joyful and playful tease, it made Tommy’s heart sink. Tommy suddenly stopped walking as he let the words sink into his soul. Techno remembered his birthday? How could a man who has lived here for only a couple of years remember his birthday but his own family couldn’t?

Tommy knew that the family replaced his birthday for a day of mourning for the queen. His family was full of secrets that weren’t meant for the young prince, but he knew them all too well. To be honest, he was surprised that Techno wasn’t with his father or Wilbur, how instead of being with the others, he was walking with a pathetic mistake of a child. However, there was something that made him feel warm. Someone other than his best friend, or old best friend, remembered his birthday. 

When Techno noticed that Tommy was no longer walking beside him, he stood still in his tracks as well, confused. 

“Tommy?” he asked, his expression growing concerned. Techno wasn’t sure if he said something wrong, or if maybe Tommy just wasn’t feeling up for breakfast after what happened the night before. 

For Tommy, it felt like the world was spinning. Maybe he was exaggerating, but this was the first time that someone truly noticed him on his special day. His mind flashed through six memories before Tommy could have enough time to fully process what Techno said. Suddenly, his mind started to flood, and there was a memory so bittersweet to him that flashed across. The day of his ninth birthday. 

Tommy can remember it so clearly, the way everyone smiled, the way everyone drowned him in hugs, the way everyone’s laughter cut out the sound of his mother’s coughing. He remembered Wilbur taking him out to Skyrest Kingdom to see Tubbo even though he knew that Wil hated the thought of being anywhere near the kingdom. He could remember Jschlatt, who despite all of the anger and tension over the years, smiled at the glance of Tommy. 

At the end of the night, he could remember running into Wilbur’s room. The sound of his music was enough to put him at ease as he ended his birthday on such a high note. 

Somewhere in the distance, he could hear someone calling for his name as Tommy was lost in his memories. 

Suddenly, it was Tommy’s tenth birthday. He knew it because he was at the remarkably long table, waiting for his family to join him for dinner. After the breakfast incident, the young prince surely thought his family would come in for the dinner of his birthday, but no one came. Tommy remembered waiting there for hours, three, to be exact. His surroundings became blurred that night, as he may have seen the servants lay out the food, but he wasn’t quite sure. He just knew he wasn’t hungry anymore. 

Tommy could remember walking down the hall, looking for his father and brother. He hadn’t seen them all day and he was getting quite worried. 

If there was anything in the world that would destroy the ten year old’s heart, it would be the sound of sobbing coming from his older brother’s room. He remembered walking towards Wilbur’s door that was cracked open slightly. 

Tommy never bothered to check Wilbur’s room that day, mostly because he knew that Wil didn’t hang out in his room until the night came.

However, that night was different. Tommy could remember the night so clearly. How he saw his father hugging his older brother, comforting him in his arms. How he saw the two mourn the loss of a family member. His mother. 

Tommy was confused. At only ten years old, he began to wonder why the world was still turning even though his mother was dead. He could remember wanting to walk into his older brother’s room. He wanted to mourn with them. He wanted to be devastated with them, not alone. However, he decided not to go in. He simply walked into his own room, and left the door open in hopes his father or older brother would come in. 

No one did.

Who was there to comfort Tommy who lost his mother just like Wilbur did? 

“Tommy!” echoing in the distance. Tommy kept wondering who was talking to him. Nonetheless, it was hurting his head. 

It was Wilbur’s 15th birthday. 

Tommy remembered waking up that morning, feeling incredibly tense. It was his older brother’s birthday. Surely, they would remember Wilbur, right? But if they remembered Wilbur’s, then that would have meant that they really did forget about him. 

Usually, Tommy would run down the hallway to join his family for breakfast. However, for the next few weeks after Tommy’s tenth birthday, the family wouldn’t join one another to eat together. So instead, he just walked. 

Tommy remembered that day being different. As he slowly turned the corner into the dining room, he remembered seeing his family. His father was at the table, and so was Wil. There were pieces of confetti everywhere and his father had a smile across his face that was just so bright. A smile that said “I’m so proud of my son,” in a million different languages. 

Tommy can remember standing there, with a look of shock written all over his face as he watched his father and older brother engage in cheerful conversation, talking about what the two were going to do today. 

Was he even included in their plans for the day? 

He couldn’t quite remember what Phil said to him that morning, but he remembered being told to sit down, as the servants were about to bring out breakfast.

Something was boiling up in Tommy’s chest. Was it anger? Jealousy?

The conversation from his family was blocked out by his thoughts until, from the corner of his eye, he saw his father pull out a box. 

It was a birthday gift.

He remembered watching as Phil gently handed Wil the box. He remembered watching the older prince carefully open it, how he watched as his face lit up as he pulled out a new guitar. He remembered his heart dropping and how his eyes began to tear up when he realized that he never got anything like this for his tenth birthday, which was only a few months ago. 

Was he selfish for thinking this way? Was he just simply spoiled?

Suddenly, it was the day of Tommy’s eleventh birthday. 

He could also remember that day strangely well. It was the first day of his training, and he was just so excited to finally be alongside his brother. He was excited to learn how to fight and be a proper prince and learn proper etiquette– 

Oh . 

It was the day that Technoblade arrived, and how he would be officially staying at the castle until he was ready to leave. 

Tommy could remember his heart shattering, as he was selfishly expecting everyone to cheer for him and perhaps celebrate the young prince’s eleventh birthday. 

He was confused, to say the least. How could his father allow a mere stranger to stay in the castle? What was worse was that he was getting along with Wilbur perfectly. Whilst walking in, he saw how the two were exchanging conversation. 

He brushed it off, though. Just like always. There was always “later.”

How many questions of “maybe they’ll say something later” can he go through?

Tommy remembered the moment when he and his brother were walking down the hallway to go to the garden. The memory stung him right in the heart every time he thought about it. How his brother forgot how old he was. Even after feeling distraught in his stomach for countless hours, he was determined to still train alongside his older brother.

Besides, there was always next year. 

After countless hours of training, Tommy could remember how exhausted he felt. Nonetheless, he still took everything within him to go into town of the kingdom in order to meet up with his friend, because at least he would always have someone to rely on. Someone who would never replace him. 

Tubbo. 

A life-long best friend, the one who would stick by his side for eternity. 

Tommy remembered crying into his friend’s shoulder that evening, all without telling him a single word of his family situation. About how there was a stranger that would forever haunt his dreams, about how his father and brother never acknowledged him for a second time, about how he never got the chance to mourn the loss of his mother, about how his older brother forgot a huge aspect of Tommy’s life. 

Tubbo never said anything about it. Not because Tubbo was insensitive, but because the two of them were young. Neither of them knew how to comfort each other when they needed it the most. 

All Tommy could remember from their conversation was Tubbo wishing him the happiest of birthdays. 

It was, in fact, not a happy birthday. 

“Tommy! What’s wrong?” someone shouted from a distance. 

Now, it was the day of Tommy’s twelfth birthday. 

If Tommy was crying, then he wasn’t going to say anything about it, nor was he going to apologize for it. His mind was simply flooded with far too much. 

Even though it was only a year ago, Tommy could hardly remember his twelfth birthday. The memory was hazy.

However, he could see flashes of Dream. He could remember how Dream spent the day with him and remembered to wish the young prince a happy birthday. He could remember how Dream pushed the training aside and walked him all the way down to Skyrest. He could remember how no one joined him or Dream for dinner.

He could remember crying in his room, alone, once again. 

“Tommy, my boy, are you okay?” shouted from afar. It sounded like his father. 

Oh how Tommy missed being held by his father.

Suddenly, it was Wilbur's 17th birthday. 

Tommy couldn’t remember much of it, but if there was something in that memory that stood out to him the most, it was the moment when he ruined everything. 

He remembered walking into the dining room that afternoon, as Philza wanted him and Techno to be there for Wilbur. 

Of course they wanted Techno there too. What a surprise, but nonetheless, Tommy was trying his best to be happy for his brother. After all, his older brother was only a year away from such a pivotal moment in life. 

He remembered as the servants were bringing out carts of food. One of them had a three tier cake, much like his 15th and 16th birthday. Something Tommy would never experience again since his ninth birthday. 

Tommy remembered watching as the three of them laughed, whilst he just sat there, fidgeting with his hands, absorbing the noises around him. 

There was a small moment where his older brother would talk to him, and Tommy would softly smile back at him. He truly did miss the bond the two once had.

However, it would all be destroyed when Tommy sat up to excuse himself to the restroom. 

He was only twelve years old, what was he supposed to know?

Tommy could remember it all ever so clearly. He remembered how he accidentally bumped into the cart, which was enough to shake the cake over. Remembered when he turned around, trembling, he saw his older brother’s expression turn cold and angry. Remembered seeing the look of shock on his father’s face as well as Techno’s. Remembered how no one told him, “it’s alright, it was just an accident.” Remembered how there was no one to protect him from the harsh words his older brother would shout. 

No one was there to protect him. 

Tommy could remember it perfectly: 

“Jeez Tommy, you sure know how to ruin everything don’t you?” Wilbur shouted. 

“Wilbur, I-”

But Wilbur interrupted him, his anger catching up to his tongue, “you could have just watched where you were going, you prick!”

“Wilbur!” someone shouted. 

It must have been their father who raised his voice, but he couldn’t quite pick up on it. Tommy was already walking out of the dining room. 

As soon as he walked into the restroom, he vomited. 

He couldn’t quite understand why his older brother said that. He thought the two of them got along fairly well. Sure, they had some differences, and maybe they were distant, but Tommy couldn’t help that. Or maybe he could, who knows. After all, everything was always his fault. 

It was his fault that his birthdays were skipped over. He could have easily stepped up and said something about it. It was his fault. It was all his fault. 

It all lay in his hands. How he fucked up everything with his best friend. How he made tensions worse between his father and the opposing kingdom. How he strained the relationship even more between himself and his family. How he pushed himself away from Wilbur. How he never bothered on giving Techno a chance because he never wanted to know why he was here. 

Suddenly, he was brought back to reality, and… was on the floor?

His father was beside him, with Techno on the other. What were they doing here? What was going on– Oh . Tommy remembers now. They were going to go eat breakfast, but then Techno’s words jabbed Tommy in the chest. 

“Oh thank goodness you’re awake, Toms,” Phil exclaimed, worry crossing over his face. 

Toms? Tommy couldn’t remember the last time anyone called him that. 

Amidst everyone else, Wilbur was nowhere to be seen. Of course he wasn’t, what was Tommy expecting? After all, he believed his older brother hated him… but shouldn’t his father hate him too? Why was he next to him, holding his head up in support with such a gentle smile across his face?

As tears started to swell in Tommy’s eyes, he tried to push himself up. Why did he feel so weak all of the sudden? How long was he out for?

Techno must have grabbed his father when Tommy was stuck in whatever he was going through at the moment. 

Phil gently helped lift his son up to a sitting position. 

Tommy couldn’t tell what was happening. He didn’t know whether or not his father remembered what today was, but he wasn’t going to say anything about it. He just wanted to sink into the moment as he felt his father’s gentle hand rub his back in circular motions. 

He felt like he was home again, four years ago, just without Wilbur and Kristin. 

However, a memory flashed over his mind again. It was Tubbo. 

Tommy’s expression narrowed as panic went through his spine. Quickly, he looked over at his father, “Dad, I–” 

Phil hushed Tommy to be quiet. 

Tommy didn’t know if it was because his father wanted him to rest, or if maybe he was simply annoyed by Tommy's voice. Nonetheless, the young prince went with the second thought.

“You need to go to your room and rest, Tommy. I don’t want you to overwork–”

The two of them kept interrupting each other. It must be a family thing.

Tommy’s expression turned into sorrow. There was no way to fix things between himself and his family, but right now, he could at least fix things between his friends. Maybe he could then ask Tubbo how to work on opening up to his father. Maybe then, he could learn how to apologize to his older brother. “Dad, I really need to see Tubbo right now…”

Tubbo. Tubbo, Tubbo, Tubbo– the name stung at Philza like acid. There was no way he could send Tommy to Skyrest, not after what Schlatt threatened him with. However, he also knew that he couldn’t tell his son that he was unwanted there. 

Phil would be lying if he said he wasn’t panicking, but when he noticed the tears falling from his son’s face, he hitched in his breath with something he knew he was about to regret. 

He hasn’t been spending much time with the younger prince at all. Maybe this would be the time for Phil to catch up with what Tommy has been up to. 

But then Schlatt came across his mind–

“Dad, please ,” Tommy pleaded, tears streaming down his face. He was trembling. 

Why was his son trembling?

Philza sighed, he just wants to do what’s best for him and his family, “I can’t, Tommy.”

Tommy stared at him, distraught in his eyes. “Father, please, I’m begging-”

“No, Tommy,” Phil reprimanded. He couldn’t have his son getting involved in this mess. 

A weird feeling started to fill Tommy’s chest, “Dad, I really-”

“No, Tommy!” he shouted. “Drop it.”

Techno watched as the two were going back and forth with one another. He didn’t know whether or not he should stay, leave, or step into the conversation. 

Tommy was furious, and whether or not it was because of everything that has been happening to him lately, he was extremely upset at the fact that his father would never even begin to be able to understand what he has gone through. 

“Fine,” the young prince looked down, and stood himself up. He could no longer feel the warm touch of his father. 

Nothing else was exchanged between them. Techno and Phil simply watched as Tommy started to walk back down the hall. 

Breakfast simply did not occur, and he never got the chance to train Tommy.

Philza never got the opportunity to bond with his son, as he pushed himself away from the moment. 

The day has officially come to an end. As Tommy stood in his room, staring out the window, he couldn’t help but think about everything that has happened in the past couple of days.

All he wanted to do was make things right with his friend, but his father stopped him from doing so. 

How was he supposed to fix things now? Will he ever get his best friend back? 

Suddenly, he heard a faint whisper, “run away.”

Fear went down Tommy’s spine as he frantically turned around and scanned his room. He didn’t know whether or not that was his mind playing games with him, or if someone else was in the room. 

But surely, no one else would be here. After all, the castle is heavily guarded. 

However, there was something about the simple statement that made Tommy start to question himself. Should he just do things himself? If he left in the morning, he could probably catch Tubbo in the town of Skyrest. 

It was tempting.

He just wanted to fix things. Fix it all before it was too late. 

Chapter Text

Winter was approaching, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. 

The Arctic Empire is known for their beautiful winter storms. With the town and the kingdom being so far up in the mountains, they get the most beautiful view of the world below them as they watch the snowflakes fall. However, those who do not have the privilege to seek shelter during the harsh cold are simply unlucky, as they are likely to end up dead.

Every year, around 5-10 bodies are discovered within the mountains. 

As per usual, Phil was out in the garden walking down the path. At night, it is truly a sight to see the snow lay amidst the rows of flowers. Even if the fireflies were gone during this time of year, the beautiful art of ice made up for it.

For the Angel of Death, the bitter cold biting at his skin was rather peaceful to him. 

The training was now taking place inside of the grand room, but at different times so that Wilbur and Tommy would be privately alone with their mentor. Sometimes, Phil would watch as Techno trained Wilbur. He would be sure to pick up on every detail. The way Wilbur would swing the sword, the way Techno would attack ever so gracefully, the way Wilbur would be too slow to miss the blow of the attack. There were times where he would catch a glimpse of the younger prince, but he didn’t pay too much attention to them. 

It wasn’t because Philza simply had favorites, but he enjoyed it when his heart would shatter every time he caught a glimpse of Kristin coming from his older son. 

Neither Wil nor Phil had spoken a single word to each other since the incident three months ago. Sure, they’d greet one another when passing by, but they never had a full on conversation. A conversation that was very much needed. 

The same went for Tommy, for he did everything in his power to avoid every member within the castle, including the servants. Eventually, he simply stopped coming down to eat, he was tired of being alone. 

Jack and Nikki would bring out the food for the family, only to see no one at the table this time. Tommy was nowhere in sight. 

Magic, a mythical power used in mysterious ways. If it weren’t for his father, then Tommy simply wouldn’t believe in it. 

When Wilbur and Tommy were younger, Kristin would often read stories to them in the seating area of the castle. She would tell them about the stories of Kinoko Kingdom, and how their King was from the “future”. The reason it is still standing is because the King was able to prevent every tragic incident from occurring. 

Kinoko Kingdom was a place full of secrets. No one knew any pivotal information about it, and no one knew whether or not there was a town associated with it. Those who tried to come close to the Kingdom simply never came back. It was believed their disappearance was due to them getting sent back into the past, or being pushed into the future.  

Wilbur had always been fascinated by Kinoko Kingdom, it was something he would do research on constantly until he was put into training. His passion for it especially faded when the queen passed.

As for Tommy, it was a topic he would bring up almost every time he met up with Tubbo. About how he wanted to explore the Kingdom and be the first person to return home alive. 

A couple of years ago, whilst at Skyrest, Tubbo and Tommy created a map of what they believed Kinoko would look like. It would show the mountains, rivers, the town, and of course, the castle itself. 

They must have been eight years old, creating whatever they could and with whatever their imagination was telling them to.

However, Tubbo must have accidentally dropped it one day. He tried explaining to Tommy about how they could start a new one, but he simply didn’t want to. Tommy didn’t want a new map. He wanted to keep the old one, he wanted to display it, and show his father their creative outlook for such a mysterious place. 

Tubbo felt terrible that day. Not only did he lose the map, but he felt as if he betrayed his friend. 

Luckily, children forgive easily. Tommy assured his friend that it would be okay. They didn’t need a map, because eventually, the two of them would be able to explore the Kingdom themselves, with a vengeful return, and create a map that had actual details. 

It would be such a remarkable return, one that would truly change the world.

Or at least until Tubbo’s father found out. 

Schlatt ended up finding the map in front of his son’s room. He was drunk that night, still mourning the loss of his wife even after several years. His anger for Philza was building up with every passing night, but finding the map only built it up more.

The King was repulsed at the sight. He, too, has heard about the rumors of the Kingdom. About how those who ventured out never returned, but he was confused, as he had never told Tubbo about the stories of Kinoko.

But then it clicked, it must have been the son of the Arctic Empire. Who else could it have been? 

When Tubbo was walking back into his room after sending his farewell to Tommy, the sight of his father standing in front of the door to his room started to twist a knot inside of his stomach. He felt physically sick. 

Usually when Schlatt was waiting for Tubbo, it was because he was angry. Angry over things that Tubbo didn’t even do.

It would only consist of shouting, thankfully, for he knew his father would never hurt him. 

However, that night was different. 

It would change Tubbo’s perspective on the world for the rest of his life. 

Alcohol works in mysterious ways. 

Tubbo couldn’t remember anything from what happened that night. He just remembered being in pain, trembling in his bed. Everything was so loud, and his bones felt like they were being crushed. 

Besides his bed was his father who was knelt down. He was crying. Why was he crying? Tubbo couldn’t quite comprehend the words that were coming from his sobs, but they were somewhere along the lines of, “I’m sorry, please forgive me.”

The next day, when Tommy came over to Skyrest, Philza was with him. 

The two younger boys simply ignored the presence of the Angel of Death, and went off to play in the courtyard. Everything was back to normal. But for Tubbo, every time he’d turn his neck a certain way, he’d feel an excruciating amount of pain. 

Tommy never noticed the way Tubbo would flinch every time he’d run towards him, pretending like he was about to jump on him. 

The garden of Skyrest was beautiful, with rows and rows of flowers covering the land. 

Their meetup that day didn’t last as long as the others, but there was a specific moment in time that stuck with Tommy for the rest of his life, and it was a moment that would never be brought up again. Kinoko Kingdom. 

Tommy could remember the look of fear in Tubbo's eyes. How the prince started to tremble when he heard the title. When Tommy went to grab Tubbo’s hand in concern, he was suddenly being dragged away by his father. 

Philza must have finished his conversation with Schlatt, and it must have not turn out well. 

Tubbo remembered seeing the King grab Tommy by the arm as he dragged his friend out of the castle. Even though it wasn’t him who was grabbed, he still flinched at the harsh movement. 

He had never seen Philza so angry before. 

For the past few weeks, Tommy just couldn’t fall asleep. Maybe it was the fact that his room was too cold, as he kept his window open at night, allowing the chill breeze to take over his space. Or maybe it was the overwhelming thoughts of feeling unloved. For the past few weeks, it's felt like his father has been purposely avoiding him. 

Did he go too far? All he wanted to do was see Tubbo. 

Maybe it was the voices that wouldn’t allow him to sleep. 

He was unsure of where they came from, but he also didn’t really care. However, he was certainly scared . Scared of who it was and what they were trying to tell him. 

He hated himself for being scared, too. He hated how he couldn’t be brave enough to open up to his father about it, or perhaps Techno, maybe even Wilbur. 

He has contemplated telling Techno numerous times, but he also doesn’t want to even look at him. Not after what has been happening lately, he felt too embarrassed. 

Sometimes, he’d pass Techno in the hall. The tall man would greet him with a smile that wouldn’t be returned by the young prince. He just felt so ashamed of constantly breaking down in front of a stranger .

“ You bring this on yourself .”

It was only a matter of time before someone was going to call him out. 

How long can Tommy continue to sneak around the castle, or camp out in his room on an empty stomach? How was he meant to continue his training if it felt like his bones were about to break with every blow that was casted towards him? 

As he laid in his bed, a gentle, yet cold breeze came through. 

The cold sent chills down Tommy’s spine, but what sent even more chills was the sudden whisper that came across, “...he doesn’t care about you…”

He didn’t understand where it was coming from, or who was saying it. He wanted them to go away so badly. He just wanted to finally get some sleep, but how was he meant to without the constant fear of someone looking over him? Someone that was obviously trying to get the young prince’s attention? 

Who doesn’t care about him? 

All Tommy could remember was when the voices appeared. It all started on the evening of his 13th birthday, when he got into that small argument with his father. 

The voices were telling him to run away that night, but if Tommy was afraid of a simple voice, then he surely wouldn’t be brave enough to run away. 

Was there any other option though?

Well, yeah, of course there was. Tommy knew he had multiple options. He could go and apologize to his older brother, and maybe beg for things to go back to normal. Or he could go to his father and throw all of his feelings out, and maybe at least then he would have someone to feel a sense of empathy for him. Or maybe he could even talk to Technoblade, a guy who looked so mysterious, someone that wouldn’t tell a soul of what Tommy was feeling. However, he barely knew Techno, and he didn’t know if he would actually keep it a secret. He only looked as if he’d keep it a secret. 

Then, there was Dream. A man who has been training him for two years now. Tommy would often talk to him about Tubbo and his birthday issues. Would his mentor be able to deal with more of Tommy’s family struggles? 

Tommy just felt alone, not knowing what to do. It was as if every option he thought of had a welcoming spot for a place of hatred. A place for each member to lash out on him for even considering he should talk to them after all that he has done. 

Suddenly, the sound of the guitar could be heard from down the hall. A sound that was all too familiar to Tommy. A sound that made him feel sick to his stomach. 

It's been a couple of years since he bonded with his older brother over the sound of the light strums of the guitar. 

There was an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Usually, whenever he heard Wilbur’s music, he would drown out the sound with his thoughts, and would eventually drift off to sleep. But tonight was different, for he couldn’t drown out the music. 

It was driving him crazy.

One day, Tommy would be able to listen to his older brother’s music without feeling nauseous. When that would be, who knows. 

As Tommy stepped out of his bed, trying to make his way out to go into the restroom, his head started to spin. 

It felt like the world was coming down on him, and there were hundreds of voices whispering, “...he will never understand…” over and over again. 

What won’t he understand? Who won’t understand? Tommy’s head felt like it was going to explode. 

When he made it out of his room, the first thing he noticed were the shadows the moon would cast through the windows. 

The castle really did have the most gorgeous views, both during the day and night. How did his father manage to map this all out? 

The music was starting to grow louder. 

Tommy stood in the middle of the hallway. The music was towering over Tommy’s mind, and he began to tremble. 

All he had to do was get to the restroom… or..

He started to walk towards his older brother’s room, but how? It felt like he was being controlled even though he actually wasn’t. He was moving on his free will. 

As he stepped closer to the door, he noticed it was cracked open.

The music was gradually getting louder with every inch drawn closer. Memories flashing through Tommy’s mind with every breath he took. 

It has been three months since either of them had a proper conversation. Sure, they’d pass each other in the halls or after their training, but neither of them dared to even glance in the direction towards each other. 

What was he doing? Why was he stepping closer to Wilbur’s room? There was no use, his older brother would only lash out on him for interrupting.

But he missed his music. He missed his older brother. 

When he slowly pushed the door forwards, the sight of the older prince was directly in front of him. The two made direct eye contact with each other immediately. The boy with brown curls, dark mysterious eyes, pale skin, and light scent of pine wood was there in front of him. His older brother. 

Tommy didn’t understand why he was here. What could have possibly drove him to going into the room of the one he tried his hardest to avoid the most? Why was he staring at the one who probably wished he left and never returned?

Ah. It must have been guilt , a feeling that twists in his stomach and weighs down upon his chest. He was guilty for fucking things up with his family. 

The young prince was made of three major emotions, some of which lasted far longer than others. First, jealousy, a feeling that enraged within ever since the day of Wilbur’s 15th birthday. Second, unease, a feeling that twisted his insides into knots ever since the day of his 11th birthday. Lastly, it was guilt . Whilst it was rather new, it was still something that he could not quite get over no matter how much he’d try to “sleep it off.”

He has felt guilty ever since the day he fucked things up with Tubbo. 

Not a moment has gone by where Tommy didn’t wish to go back in time to save his friendship. 

“Tommy?”

Oh , right. Tommy was meant to be entering his brother’s room. He must have gotten lost in his thoughts, but his words were also lost. He didn’t know what to say, how to approach his brother who most likely couldn’t care any less than he did now. 

Suddenly, Wilbur sat himself up from the window ledge and set down his guitar, and it made Tommy feel tense. 

Should he back away, maybe go back to his room? 

Wilbur started to walk towards Tommy. However, with every step that was drawn closer, Tommy’s heart would sink further and further. 

He fucked it all up again. He should have never come in here. 

Anxiously, he tried to explain himself, “Wil, I-”

The warm feeling of love started to swarm Tommy. The feeling of arms wrapping his body, being embraced into a hug. A hug?

“Wilbur?” Tommy choked on his words, struggling to figure out what was going on, “...what are you doing?”

Suddenly, the sound of crying could be heard, and it wasn’t from Tommy. 

It's been a long time since Tommy had come to visit Wilbur at night. He knows he brought it upon himself, but he couldn’t help but wonder, ‘why.’ He wanted to know why his younger brother just stopped showing up one night. 

No matter how early or late he would play his guitar, Tommy just never appeared. It felt lonely for him, to say the least. 

But ever since his 17th birthday, which was only about a year ago, it was as if Tommy was distancing himself more and more from the entire family. 

Who was Wilbur kidding, it was his fault. There was no one else to blame it on but himself. Wilbur knew that he was the very reason that Tommy started to distance himself further away from everyone else. 

He saw the way Tommy trembled when he shouted at him. 

If he could go back in time to handle the situation differently, he would do anything it took to take the opportunity. For such a small event practically ruined the youngest prince’s self esteem. 

Wilbur could only stand back and watch as his brother stopped coming down for the family dinner. Watched as the young prince stopped coming into his room at night to listen to the guitar. Watched as his best friend used his breaks to train more rather than resting. Watched as Tommy began to take alternate routes within the castle in order to avoid him. 

Guilt . Guilt is what he was feeling. 

It would only grow more when his anger got the best of him a couple months ago. 

Ever since he lashed out, knowing that Tommy heard it all, he has been unable to sleep. He just couldn’t, no matter how hard he tried. Not after hearing the way his younger brother sobbed that night. 

How was he meant to talk to his brother after what happened? There was no way he could make it up to Tommy, but the longer he pushed it aside, the more unbearable the tension would become. 

For the past couple of months, Wilbur became more aware of his surroundings. He noticed how Techno would rarely come out of his room, unless Tommy was around. 

Wilbur realized that he must have fucked things up with Techno, too. However, it wasn’t a surprise to him, but something that was unexpected was the way his father looked at him. The way he stared at him, a look that said “I’m disappointed.” 

He never meant for things to turn out this way. He was caught up in the heat of the moment, and had a lot of built up anger. Anger that no one else would understand even if they tried. 

Was he wrong for the way he felt? After all, the title of “King” was just dangling over his head at this point. He was stressed out, how was he meant to look after an entire nation when he can’t even properly look over his little brother?

What made it even worse was that his 18th birthday was coming up in approximately a week. It would be one of the most important days of his life, which meant he needed to bring his guard back up, and fix everything between himself and his father. 

Even though it destroyed him, he would have to push his brother even further away so that he could focus on the more important matters at hand. 

Was Tommy not important?

The nights were growing colder, but Wilbur didn’t mind them. 

Even though its been years since the last time Tommy came in, Wilbur still plays his guitar in hopes that maybe with all the fucked up shit that happened, his younger brother would come in through the doors.

But for the past few weeks, it has been nothing. Before the incident happened, Techno would sometimes come in to hang out with Wil as he played songs on his guitar. But lately, it's just been Wilbur. 

In the end, it’ll always be Wilbur and Wilbur only. 

As he lightly plucked on the strings of his guitar, trying to figure out a new rhythm, he suddenly heard the door open slightly.

The world is so fucked up. It would always throw weird situations at him that he was far too young to be able to comprehend. He was too young for all of this. He was too young to become a King. He was too young to be expected to be perfect. He was too young when his mother died. He was just too young.

As he looked up from his guitar to see where the sound came from, he noticed a boy peeking through the door. His baby brother.

It was as if the cold air suddenly vanished, and all he could do was make direct eye contact with Tommy. All without exchanging a single word. 

Wilbur felt a heavy weight in his chest, a weight that would bring him all the way down to the depths of the underworld if it could. 

There was nothing he could say to him, even though he desperately wanted to. There was just nothing that would be able to erase the words “it’s his fault” that were probably engraved into his mind– but his younger brother is a child. Maybe he forgot about it? No, there was no way his brother would have forgotten what he said, because why else would he have been avoided?

His eyes started to tear up, he felt devastated. He didn’t know what to do, and all Tommy was doing was staring at him. Why was he just standing there? Was he not going to say anything? 

“Tommy?” Wilbur asked, his voice almost trembling as he stared at the young prince. 

But there was more silence. Tommy didn’t say anything, nor did he react. 

Wilbur knew that he must have really fucked things up. 

As a few more moments passed, Wilbur decided to do something that he probably shouldn’t have done. He set down his guitar and pushed himself off from the windowsill he was sitting on.

He could have sworn that he saw Tommy tense up, but he wasn’t sure. 

Wilbur wanted to apologize. He wanted to say sorry for the hurtful words he said, even though they would never be able to erase what was done. But he at least wanted to let his brother know that he was still loved, even if they didn’t get along like they once used to. 

With every step closer he took towards Tommy, the words “it’s all his fault” was constantly repeating in his head. It was something that Wilbur would never be able to get rid of.

But at the very least, he just wanted to love his brother. 

Words wouldn’t be able to heal anything. As he finally stood in front of his brother, the two keeping eye contact, he embraced him into a hug. A hug that would scream “I'm sorry” in a thousand different languages. 

“Wilbur?” Tommy was confused, and there was a slight pause. It sounded as if he was choking on his own words. “...what are you doing?”

It all hit Wilbur at once, and suddenly, he just broke down into a sob. He hadn’t properly spoken to his brother in ages. To make matters worse, the last time the two hugged was probably when Tommy was nine. 

“Wilbur?”

It sounded as if his younger brother was miles away, but Wilbur was simply lost in his thoughts. 

If Wilbur had the opportunity to go back in time to before the death of their mother, he’d drop anything to take it. He just wants to remove the moment where everything starts to go downhill. 

As he snaps back into reality, he lets go of Tommy, realizing he is not returning the hug. The realization would stab at his heart, but he would not mention anything about it. 

The two make direct eye contact once again. There are tears falling down Wilbur’s cheek, and Tommy looks confused and shocked. It was as if someone hugged Tommy for the first time, ever .

“Wil?”

Tommy was curious as to what was happening, Wilbur knew. But he just didn’t know what to say. 

However, he knew that this was a moment for Wilbur to try and change things. 

Maybe, he could see if Tommy wanted to hangout, just like old times. 

Carefully, he ruffled the top of Tommy’s hair and gave a soft smile, “...would you like to hangout for a bit, Toms?”

“...would you like to hangout for a bit, Toms?”

The words pierced through Tommy’s heart. Did his brother really just ask that? His brother isn’t screaming at him to leave?

Tommy didn’t know how or what to feel. He couldn’t even comprehend the fact that Wilbur called him by a nickname that has rarely been used. It was like the time his father used it. 

After a few moments of silence, Tommy nodded. He truly longed for this moment, even though there was so much tension between the two. There were so many things that needed to be talked about. 

It was as if the fear and guilt towards Wilbur disappeared. He just wanted to enjoy the moment, even though it was quite sad– his brother was crying. 

He didn’t quite understand why, but he was also too tired to even ask. It was past midnight, and his lack of sleep was catching up on him. As well as his empty stomach. 

Wilbur smiled at him, and oh did his older brother always have the softest smiles. 

Wilbur then began to walk towards the windowsill. As he carefully grabbed his guitar, he glanced over at Tommy. It was as if he was trying to see if he was in a dream or not. 

Tommy walked over towards Wil’s dresser and was about to sit on the floor until Wilbur cleared his throat. 

It sounded as Wil was trying to get his attention. 

“Feel free to sit on the bed,” Wilbur says, his voice sounding raspy as he glances towards the bedstead. 

His brother was being weirdly nice. Usually, when they used to hangout, Tommy would sit on the floor and watch as Wilbur played the guitar.

Were the eyebags that noticeable?

Well, he was tired– if Wilbur was going to let him relax on the bed, then he was going to take it.

As Tommy got on the bedstead, Wilbur carefully grabbed his guitar. 

The atmosphere felt different than before. The heavy weight in Tommy’s chest was gone, and although there was much that needed to be talked about, he enjoyed being in his brother’s presence even if they were ignoring the elephant in the room. 

Suddenly, amidst the silence, Wilbur started to play his guitar. It was so peaceful for Tommy, and the music was simply enough to make him feel even more tired than he already was. 

Tommy decided that he was going to lay down, as sitting up was driving him crazy due to how tired he felt. No words were exchanged, so Tommy assumed that what he was doing was okay. After all, his brother would have kicked him out already anyways. 

Everything felt nice. Tommy didn’t feel tense, nor frightened. He simply felt exhausted, and the music was getting a little too soft. 

Tommy began to close his eyes. 

He doesn’t regret peeking into his brother’s room. He could only hope that tomorrow, Wilbur would speak to him. 

A few moments went by, and Tommy didn’t open his eyes again. He must have drifted off to sleep.

A few more moments would go by, and only the sound of the guitar and Tommy’s light breathing could be heard. 

“I’m so sorry,” Wilbur whispered, choking on his words. 

Chapter Text

The atmosphere felt warm, it felt safe . It was something that Tommy hadn’t felt for a long time. 

As he slowly started to regain his consciousness, he began to soak in the rest of his surroundings through touch. He swayed his arms across the bed he was lying in, as he realized it was a lot more firm, the mattress wasn’t quite how he remembered, and the sheets felt like silk. The bedstead itself was far different than his. 

The sudden realization was enough to fully awaken the young prince completely, as he quickly sat himself up with a rather confused expression across his face.

It took Tommy a couple moments to realize he was in Wilbur’s room. Which pivoted to the point where he realized that last night must have not been a dream. It meant that the hug was real, everything was real, his brother – There was something else.

Tommy could have sworn he heard his brother mumble something last night before drifting off completely, but he wasn’t sure. It almost felt like he remembered Wilbur apologizing, but was uncertain if it was himself in a dream or not. As he peeked over to the right, he noticed Wilbur, who was on the ground. He was still asleep, with his guitar carefully placed against the bedstead. 

Sometimes, Tommy would lose track of what day of the week it was, but it must have meant that it wasn’t a day of training, for his older brother was still sleeping. Usually the two would have been woken up very early, or Wilbur himself would have already been awake. But besides, his father or one of the guards—

Suddenly, there was the sound of banging at the door, which startled Tommy completely. 

“Shit–” he whispered, and then quickly laid back down to pretend he was still asleep. 

The loud noise woke Wilbur up in an instant, but by the way he groaned in annoyance, Tommy could easily tell that he wasn’t pleased about it.

“Who the fuck is it?” Wilbur groaned, his voice raspy. 

“It’s me,” Phil says, and there is a short pause after. “Wil, I need you to come down in an instant.” he continues, with concern in his tone, “It’s urgent.”

“What?” Wilbur questions, but there is no response. Philza is already walking down the hall. 

Wilbur isn’t given enough time to respond nor is he able to comprehend what his father just said, as he simply only heard the sound of his father’s footsteps walk away from his door. The only thing Wil could think about was how badly his back was aching as he realized he fell asleep on the floor.

Ah, he understands that he must have fallen off his bedstead, which would explain why his back was in pain. However, he doesn’t even remember getting into bed. 

It all quickly hits Wilbur at once as he realizes that he, in fact, did not fall off his bedstead. He shuffles himself up as his memory flashes through the distant blur of his younger brother peering into his room. It was something he had longed for. As he stands himself up, he catches sight of his younger brother, who is sound asleep. 

There he was. 

Last night was real. 

Wilbur smiled softly at the sight of his younger brother, who was still asleep. It provided him a sense of comfort that maybe he was given a “free” chance to explain himself. A chance to talk about why he was distant when Tommy needed him most. There was a chance for him to finally fix– Right. Philza. Wilbur’s smile quickly faded as he realized that he had to keep moving, as his father was expecting him. 

The tone of Phil’s voice seemed serious, which wasn’t unusual with the way things were, but it was definitely unexpected this early on in the morning. He quietly walks into his closet to change into his uniform and then practically bolts out of the room, leaving the door slightly open.. Leaving the opportunity behind that he has been begging, for months, of the Gods. 

The hallway is lengthy, but is not too far from his father’s office. In the distance, he can hear a few other voices. One of them sounded like Dream, a voice that he had not heard since he stopped his training with him. 

With each step drawn closer, Wilbur began to feel more tense. It was as if the atmosphere was shifting, and the tones of everyone’s voice seemed serious enough that something bad had probably happened.

It was something that Wilbur would have never expected to happen so soon. 

As he finally approaches the office, he ruffles his hair in an attempt to keep it neat. He wants to make a good impression as royalty, after all. Especially if the situation is urgent. He felt tense but he wasn’t too worried, and although he couldn’t properly hear their conversation from afar, it seemed like their tones were pretty neutral. 

It seemed as if they were neutral. 

Wilbur, the eldest prince of the Arctic Kingdom, was finally about to get all the answers he wanted. 

As he stood at the entrance of the office, his eyes glanced all around the room. Everyone was here; Sapnap, Dream– Sam and Techno? 

No one noticed his presence during the first couple moments, but that was expected, as they were all heavily focused on looking at some strange map that was laid out on his father’s desk… Really focused. 

However, what really got Wilbur’s attention was the fact that Sam was here. He usually doesn’t show up unless it’s serious. What was even worse was the fact that Techno looked as if he had been brutally murdered ten times over and then brought back to life each time. 

It must have meant that whatever his father woke him up for was actually urgent, and of course Wilbur believed Phil at first, but sometimes parents would tell their children to urgently come down in order to actually get them out of bed. In this case, it was different. 

“Wilbur,” Phil said, his tone calm enough to put Wilbur at ease. “Come,”  he waves his hand, motioning WIlbur to come forward. “I want to show you something.”

The eldest nods in response as he fully steps into the room, absorbing the rather tense atmosphere. He can feel the intense staring of everyone else around him. 

Was it the way he looked? Was his hair messed up?

As he stood next to his father, Wilbur felt as if he had suddenly been stripped of his entire childhood. It was as if everything was drained from his body the moment he saw the letter that read “ We know you have him. ” 

Wilbur is confused, to say the least. The title looked a little threatening, but he didn’t have enough time to read what was below it as his father quickly snatched the letter away from his vision. 

He looks at his father, a bit stunned by the sudden movement, “What is–” 

Phil raises his hand in an attempt to silence him, “I want you to stand and listen.”

Wil has seen his father come out strong from every situation, but something was telling him that this was not going to turn out well. There was something that was telling him to not talk back to his father. Not this time. 

Of course, he stands in silence, like always. He is never told anything, after all. He simply glares at the table that looks like a cluster fuck. 

“Now let us continue on with the Syndicate,” Phil states, which makes Wilbur’s eyes widen. “I will be settling for a conscription tomorrow.”

Wilbur’s head starts swarming with a million thoughts. How could his father do that? The whole entire town is against him, there’s no way he’ll be able to draft the town. Why the fuck did his father need to draft people anyways? Drafting is meant for fucking wars and shit not for–

War. It all suddenly sunk into him. Why else would the syndicate and a conscription be used in the same sentence anyways?

Wilbur would be lying if he said he wasn’t absolutely fucking terrified right now. 

“I will be going to Skyrest tonight to speak to Schlatt,” Phil says, bringing Wilbur back to the reality of it all. 

“Do you want me to come with you, your majesty?” Sam questions. 

Sam is the strongest and most loyal soldier that the Arctic Kingdom has. Wilbur never knew why Sapnap was made General whereas Sam wasn’t. 

It was rare to see Sam around the kingdom. He was rather silent and kept to himself, not showing up on any event unless called for. 

Sam was a man who held many stories. Stories only the King would know. 

For Wilbur, it was hard for him to keep silent. For as soon as he heard “Skyrest”, his heart started to race. He so desperately wanted to intervene, but the thought of interrupting a situation so serious made him scared . 

Why was he so fucking scared? 

“No,” Phil sighs, staring at the map that was restlessly laid out, “...this is a much needed conversation that needs to be between us.”

Sam nods, and this time, Techno intervenes. “I think maybe I should follow you,” he says, ”or we could at least send a group out for further guidance and protection.” 

“It is not worth getting others involved within my issues with Schlatt,” Phil states. “Whilst I see your idea, it is selfish.”

“But, Phil–”

Philza shakes his head, trying to dismiss the conversation, “Schlatt’s kingdom is heavily guarded as well, they will simply not let a group of people from the opposing kingdom hang around the castle.”

Techno nods in response. 

Wilbur glances over at Techno, who looks like a petrified child. A child that held so many stories and was forced to grow up too quickly. 

Wilbur and Techno were not close, but they were close enough to the point that Wil knew of his immortality. Close enough to have their bond strained at the cost of his issues with his younger brother.

The two had rarely spoken to each other since the incident. It was clear to Wilbur that Techno was disappointed in him. But Wilbur simply never had the guts to say anything about it, nor did he have the guts to apologize. Not to Techno, and surely not to Tommy’s face. 

“We need to settle down somewhere that isn’t near the kingdom,” Phil says, once again bringing Wilbur back to the reality that he hoped was just a dream. “No one outside of my armed forces and those drafted will be involved. We will settle out near Snowchester.”

“What?!” Sapnap exclaims, his tone sounds rather upset. “How are we meant to get an entire army out there?”

Phil glances down at the map, “I know, it’s far. But this is the only way I can make this war fathomable for the safety of my people. For the safety of my youngest .”

Sapnap lets out a laughter that almost seems panicked, “Oh okay, I get it. It’s because of Tommy that we’re going out that far?” There is ill intent at the way he spoke of the young prince, the sound of his tone was raising as he glared at the King. 

Phil simply doesn’t give in. “Sapnap, as the General, I want you to respect my decision.”

Sapnap hitches his breath in annoyance and steps back from the table to try and recollect himself.

Wilbur’s mind is constantly racing at the fact that a potential war is about to occur. How his father probably brought him in this room so that he could be involved. How he was going to have to fight alongside everyone. How he was going to have to let go of the opportunities he dreamed of having and achieving. How he was going to have to let go of the chance of redemption with his younger brother. 

For the first time since the death of Kristin, Wilbur was freakishly scared. He didn’t want to die–

“Wilbur,” Phil says, staring at him.

Like always, Wilbur was too busy in the sound of his own thoughts, but is brought back to reality by the sound of his father’s voice. But there is nothing Wilbur can do to get himself out of this. 

Philza notices the look of fear in his son’s eyes and rests his hand on his shoulder in an attempt to reassure him. 

“Dad,” Wilbur manages to choke out, as he turns to look at his father. “Am I going to have to fight?” 

The question pierces through Phil’s heart. The look of fear in Wilbur’s eyes was already enough to make him crumble, but the sound of his son’s voice cracking at the question was more than enough to shatter him. 

If only there was another way.

Maybe in another universe, they could have been a happy family. A family that didn't have to worry about treacherous wars. A family that wouldn't have been so broken. 

There’s nothing for Phil to say. Unfortunately, this is what Wilbur was trained for. 

Even though the two of them had dealt with so much, they could easily read each other’s faces. Wilbur knew that he was going to be sent out into a battle.

“I will protect you with my life,” Phil says. 

“But what will happen to Tommy?” Wilbur questions, his voice cracking once again. 

“I-” Phil tenses up, unable to finish his sentence. 

This is the first time Philza has ever had children during his entire life. He used to swear to all of the Gods that he would never fall in love again after the first time. He swore that he would never have a family because he couldn’t bear to watch them die. 

“I don’t know, Wil,” Phil says, choking on his own words. 

The simple sentence of uncertainty is enough to send chills down Wilbur’s spine. 

“I don’t know how I am even going to tell him, or if I will tell him,” Phil continues. 

Techno leans forward slightly, “Do you guys even notice the poor child at this point?”

Both Wilbur and Phil look over at Techno. Wilbur can’t even comprehend why the man would ask a question like that. Wilbur knew that he of all people had noticed his younger brother. He noticed how distant Tommy was and how he rarely interacted with anyone, and–

Phil’s expression narrows. There was no getting out of it, he knew he was too caught up with everything to be able to take care of everyone. He was too busy trying to prevent the Syndicate from getting this far. Too busy from making sure a war wouldn’t come anywhere near the kingdom. Too busy mourning his wife’s death. Too busy on the thought of stepping down as King. Too busy . 

“Did you guys even know that it was his birthday back on the day he walked in on your guys’ conversation?” Techno questioned. 

If everything wasn’t already falling apart, then this question was surely going to be the one to destroy the immortal king and mortal prince. 

It was all rushing in, tearing apart the older prince’s heart. How Wilbur was so caught up in his own life that he never noticed he didn’t wish his brother a happy birthday. He never cared enough to check his calendar to see that his brother was growing up. He only ever mourned his mother’s death on the day that he should have been with his brother. How? How did he forget such an event? How did his younger brother not say anything to him? How did it go on for all of these years? How many years has it even been? 

It was incomprehensible how Tommy was able to watch everyone celebrate Wilbur’s birthday and not say anything about it. 

It all made sense now. Wilbur realized that he was one of the people who had stripped the childhood of his younger brother. 

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Wilbur chokes out, holding his hand over his mouth. He pushes himself away from the table and tries to exit the room.

If it destroyed Wilbur, then it destroyed the King twice as much. 

Dream, who sat in the corner in silence, had a smile across his face. 

It was silent, and the sound of distant, blurred talking could be heard from down the hall. Tommy realized that he must have “pretended” to sleep for so long that he actually fell asleep, for he felt way more tired than earlier. 

His entire body felt heavy, and he could hardly keep his eyes open. 

As he carefully shuffles himself upwards, he notices the door is slightly open. 

Tommy then remembers how his father had aggressively banged on the door, probably waking the entire kingdom up. His father sounded serious, and he wondered what must have been so urgent that he had to aggressively knock on the door. However, Tommy was far too tired to even bother. It’s not like his family ever told him anything anyways. After all, his life was based around waking up, training, eating, small-talk, sleep, and repeat. Except for the days off, of course.

As Tommy quietly got out of bed, he glanced over at the door which was still open ever so slightly. From down the hall, he could hear muffled voices, but was unable to make out what they were saying. 

He opens the door a little more so that he can walk out and head to the kitchen, for he was starving. He didn’t know what time it was, but he definitely knew that he had slept in. 

With every step closer to Phil’s office, the conversations were becoming much more clear. 

“I want you to respect my decision,” Phil must have said. It was all Tommy could hear before he walked past the office. 

As Tommy eventually enters the kitchen, he suddenly feels a heavy amount of chills down his spine. 

“Get out of here,” a voice whispers.

And not a second later, Niki appears. “Tommy?” she questions.

The young prince turns around, startled by the sudden appearance of the servant. Where did she even come from?

“Hey, uh.. Niki,” Tommy says nervously. 

Niki smiles softly, “were you hungry? Here, let me make you something–”

“No,” Tommy cuts her off, “I’m okay, really.”

Niki’s smile fades as she stares at him with concern written on her face. “Are you sure? She asks. 

All Tommy does is simply nod in response. He is unsure of what to do and is afraid of going into the kitchen after telling her no.

“Did you want to take a walk into town with me, Tommy?” Niki asks, “...you seem quite stressed, or you just look rather tired at least.”

The voices were screeching inside of Tommy’s head. “Don’t go,” repeating over and over. 

Tommy would be lying if he said he wasn’t scared. He didn’t know why they were telling him this, but he needed to pull his act together real quick. 

“Sure, sounds good,” he says. 

Niki smiles again. “Right then. Let's get going, shall we?”

Tommy nods in response.

As Niki begins to walk off, she motions for Tommy to follow, in which he quickly does so. He hasn’t been into the town in a while. Not since the incident with Tubbo. 

In the distance, Tommy could have sworn he heard someone run across the hall, but he didn’t dare to look back. He was too focused on the voices that were screaming, “It’s a trap.”

Suddenly, he could hear the sound of vomiting. As he began to turn around, Niki stopped him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

“Come, Tommy," Niki says. 

What is a 13 year old supposed to know about some stupid voices anyways?

Chapter Text

Nothing is worse than finding out your son is missing during the time of war. 

The day is already starting off roughly. 

Philza and Sam were standing at the entrance of the castle gates, the town meters and meters below them. 

The snow amidst the mountain was beginning to form, signaling the upcoming winter. It was only a matter of time before it would begin in the town. 

“I’m heading off now,” Phil says, hitching in his breath as he looks at the world below. 

It only takes one false move for anyone to go stumbling down the mountain. 

It’s quiet for a moment, as per usual. After all, Sam was never really one with words. 

A cool breeze brushes through as Sam takes initiative and walks up to the King, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

Phil turns his head to look at him, and softly grins. Phil can tell that there is so much determination behind the soldier’s eyes. It’s something he has known ever since the moment he laid eyes on them. 

Sam was just a child, barely an adult at the time. He was maybe 16 years old when Phil took him under his wing and trained him. Now, he is 24, and is one of the most loyal soldiers he's ever had. 

“Can you check on Wilbur for me?” Phil asks, heaving a heavy sigh. “I want to make sure he is okay…and well, not sick.” 

The King attempts to half-heartedly laugh at his sentence, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere from earlier in the day. However, nothing is going to be able to overrun the fact that he neglected his youngest son. He knew he was neglecting his child, but he didn’t do anything to stop it. 

Irony can be so painful. 

Sam nodded and lifted his arm away. “And as for Tommy?”

The question throws jaggers at Phil’s heart. As much as he appreciates the offer, he can’t let Sam do it. So he sighs and shakes his head with a melancholy feeling seeping into his chest. “No– I would like to check on him myself.”

“Ah-” he pauses. “And are you sure you don’t want to send anybody with you to Skyrest?” This time, Sam also turns back to look off at the daring sight of the world beneath. 

“I’m sure,” Phil responds, grinning lightly. 

Even during such terrifying and altering times, everyone in the Watson family has this way of smiling through it all. 

“Alright your majesty,” Sam breathes in, turning towards Phil and taking a bow out of respect. “We shall await your safe return.”

It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay. It will be okay. 

“See you in a bit, mate,” Phil says softly, patting Sam on the head. 

For a moment, in Phil’s eyes, all he could see was the 16 year old boy who swore to become the best soldier the kingdom would ever see. 

Amidst the broad daylight, Phil released his wings and took a stance in order to lift himself high into the skies. 

He didn’t care if he would be seen, for all that mattered to him was making sure he would get his duties finished. And quickly at that. 

Quickly so that he could apologize to Tommy for missing his sweet little birthdays that would have meant the world if celebrated. 

Apologize for the blatant favoritism of his eldest as he saw his late wife in those deep brown eyes of his. 

Apologize for every time his youngest would try to get his attention but he’d tell him to leave or “not right now.” 

Apologize for being an absent father figure when he needed it most. 

Apologize for failing.

The town is rather busy today, with many people scattering around doing their usual day-to-day routine. 

Children were running around, the bakery had this wonderful reminiscing scent that would lure everyone inside, it was overall perfect.

But for Tommy, he felt a bit uncomfortable. He was constantly dozing off when he and Niki were walking down to the town. He didn’t really know why, but he did know that it wasn’t because of Niki.

Niki was genuinely nice to him. She and Jack would both make small talk with him whenever he’d spark a conversation. 

Sure, it didn’t last long, but it meant a lot to him as his father and older brother were obviously not going to have a bright conversation with him any time soon. 

“Did you want to go to the bakery?” Niki asks, smiling as her soft pink hair falls in front of her face. 

Tommy regains his focus. Why was she offering to take him to the bakery? 

When Tommy was seven, Wilbur used to always take him to the bakery. The two of them would spend hours looking at all of the cakes, and the two of their hearts would shatter every time someone came in to buy the one they were looking at. 

“The bakery?” Tommy questioned, still wondering why Niki had asked.

Niki nods, her gesture trying to be as warm-hearted as possible. But all Tommy does in response is shrug. 

He doesn’t really know what he wants to do at all. He only took the offer of going out to walk with her because he knew that he desperately needed some fresh air. Besides, Niki and Jack used to play with him all of the time when he was younger anyways. Same with Wilbur, of course, but this wasn’t about him. 

“We don’t have to go if you are not comfortable with it,” she says.

“I dunno,” is all the prince says. 

To Tommy, Niki and Jack were practically their babysitters. Sometimes, Philza would be too busy with his royal duties, and Kristin was usually in her room, sick. As for Wilbur, sometimes he would play with Tommy, but he would always rather play with music. 

That’s why Tommy had Tubbo. 

Jack used to walk him down to Skyrest whenever Philza couldn’t. It only stopped when Kristin passed, and Niki ended up taking him down instead. However, they still had to get Philza's approval. If he had ever said no, then they would have to stay in the Kingdom. 

Tommy never knew why Jack and Niki switched, but he didn’t care. 

But it's been a year since then, and he hasn’t made an effort to contact Tubbo ever since  

Could this possibly be an opportunity?

“Niki?” Tommy asks, looking up at her.

“Yes?”

“Do you think if we went to…” he pauses, trying to make sure he can word this in the best way possible with getting a direct ‘no.’ “If you took me to Skyrest, do you think we’d be in trouble?”

“In trouble?” she questions. 

Tommy nods in response. 

“I heard there have been a lot of conflicts,” she says. “Now may not be the best time to go.”

The young prince lets out a heavy sigh. He should have known that this was the response he was going to get. 

“I’m sorry, Tommy. Maybe we can go once things get better.”

Once things get better.

Just like Wilbur said, it was his fault they were even in this mess. If he hadn’t slapped Tubbo, maybe things would have been different. 

But he was bad at approaching situations, and he never had the proper guidance to control his emotions like Wilbur did. Even though Tommy always thought Wilbur needed way more guidance than what he was already getting. 

“Okay,” Tommy says, clear and simple. 

“Hm..” Niki hums. “What if I introduce you to a few of my friends?”

“Huh?” The confusion is clear in Tommy’s voice. Why would he want to meet her friends? 

He found the question to be really weird. 

“They have younger siblings, some around your age,” she says, softly smiling. 

“I don’t think–”

“Come on, it might help get your mind off of Tubbo.”

“But–”

“We can come back if you start to feel uncomfortable.”

Tommy never saw Niki as the type to be pushy, but she did say that they could go back if things weren’t comfortable for him. 

So what, it was a second chance. It’s not like he had any other friends, anyways. 

He could always talk to Wilbur later. 

Arriving at Skyrest was easy, but getting in was going to be difficult. 

Phil could either sneak in, and risk getting caught, or he could go in the proper way and argue with the guards. 

Today, he was feeling like sneaking in. He didn’t have time to get past the guards, and he needed to make sure he could find Schlatt as quickly as possible without making it seem like he was committing a robbery. 

The window.

He doesn’t know what room it goes into, but the window was open, and it was going to be his best bet. 

As he approached the wall, far from the side of where the guards were located, he began to climb up. 

He didn’t fly only for the sake of making sure he didn’t get caught. 

The wall was difficult to get a grip of, but Phil sunk his palms into each rock. With each inch up, he could feel his hands getting cut by the sharp edges.

They were scars that were well deserved.

Upon making it to the top, he was still several feet away from where he needed to be. 

The distance from the top of the wall to the open window was much higher, and jumping would have been damn near impossible. 

There was a guard, walking along the top of the wall, but his back was facing Phil, which meant that he had time to figure out if he’d be going down or risk going up. 

A sharp breeze pushes in, almost blowing off Phil’s bucket hat. 

Winter is drawing near.

Seconds are being wasted the longer Phil stands there, contemplating on what to do. 

The King has never really snuck inside of a castle before, nonetheless this is Skyrest he’s getting himself into. 

As Phil looks up at the window and back down at the guard, he takes the chance to fly up. 

Within the next few seconds, Phil would realize he threw himself into some major shit.

As the King lands inside, not even looking, he crashes onto the floor, destroying anything that may have been in his path. If there was anything in his path. 

Suddenly, there was screaming. 

Philza quickly straightens himself up and looks around the room, trying to pinpoint where the loud noise is coming from.

When he turns around, the screaming stops, and he notices a boy–

Tubbo.

“Philza!?” Tubbo exclaims shockingly, unable to comprehend why or how the King of the Arctic Kingdom made his way into his room.

“Tubbo–” Phil whispers, but is cut off by the sudden sound of knocking at the door. He suddenly tenses up as he realizes–

“Tubbo?” someone says in a loud tone. 

Phil’s body relaxes when he realizes that it isn’t Schlatt. 

“Someone died in the book I was reading!” Tubbo complains, trying to create a good excuse. 

The man behind the door laughs in response, and the faint sound of footsteps could be heard as they walk away. 

Phil turns his direction from the door back to Tubbo. Just as he was about to open his mouth and speak, it seems that Tubbo is already ten steps ahead of him. 

“Phil?” Tubbo whispers, “what are you doing here?”

“I need to speak to your father, it’s urgent and is not something I can go into detail about with you,” he replies. 

“My father?”

“Yes. Where is he?”

“He's– probably in his office.”

Philza smiles as he is relieved Tubbo didn’t fight him. However, it quickly fades as he looks around the room seeing how much of a mess he made, papers scattered everywhere. 

“I’m so sorry, mate. I can clean this up–”

“It’s okay,” Tubbo interrupts, still trying to comprehend everything. 

Philza notices dark eyebags under the prince’s eyes, but doesn’t say anything about it. He simply nods in response and starts to walk towards the door. 

Tubbo didn’t know what was going on, but his mind was racing. It was racing at the fact that his best friend’s father was here. Racing at the fact that all of his drafted letters that he made for Tommy were scattered on the floor from the collision. Racing at the fact that he has the opportunity to see why Tommy was ignoring him. Racing at the fact that–

“Wait,” Tubbo commands, noticing how Philza was about to walk out.

The King turns around to make eye contact with him once again. 

Tubbo glares at him for a moment, trying to think of how he can get his thoughts out of his mind and into words. 

“Has Tommy– has he been okay?” Tubbo asks, his voice light and tired. 

Philza smiles at the question and his face begins to soften. It was as if the worry of war suddenly brushed off his shoulders. However, his smile quickly fades at the thought of how he neglected him. 

Not even the King knows how Tommy has been. 

“I think Tommy would be delighted if you asked him yourself,” Phil replies lightheartedly. 

Tubbo takes offense to it, but it quickly disappears as he does understand where the King is coming from. “I have– I sent him letters, but he never responded.”

“Letters?” Phil questions.

“Yes,” Tubbo sighs. “I’m starting to think that he doesn’t want to try to fix this anymore.”

“No–”

“Over the past year, I’ve sent maybe ten of them.”

“Tubbo, he never received them.”

Tubbo looks down at his hands, fidgeting with them. He doesn’t understand how Tommy didn't receive the letters. It’s not from the lack of trying, but his mind was just too cloudy to figure out why. 

“What do you mean?” Tubbo asks, choking on his words. His body starts to feel warm with embarrassment as he speaks. 

“Trust me,” Phil says, walking towards Tubbo’s bedstead. As he approaches, he kneels down to keep eye-to-eye contact with the young prince. “I check the mail every day. As a King, who wouldn’t?”

“But–”

“I wouldn’t purposely keep them away from him,” he says softly. “I haven’t seen anything directed to him.”

Tubbo feels a wave of what feels like sadness and anger seep into his body. 

“Couldn’t he have written something to me?” he questions, looking up at the King. 

The question stops Philza dead in his racing thoughts. 

“Well yes,” Philza says, his brows furrowing at the thought of the situation. This was something, as a father, could have been fixed. It was something he could have helped Tommy cope with and try to help him speak to Tubbo, teaching them a valuable lesson. 

But instead, he failed, like always. Failed not only as King, but as a father. 

“It wasn’t from the lack of trying,” Phil states. “He wanted to see you, but I didn’t let him.”

Tubbo’s expression hardens. “What?”

“I couldn’t. Not with the way things ended with you two.”

“It wasn’t my–”

“I don’t care who’s fault it was, and it’s not my place to say anything about it,” he interrupts. “But the situation didn’t help with the relationship between your father and I. I couldn’t risk sending him over when your father would have gone on a rampage.”

The words sink into Tubbo’s chest. 

“It’s something that you and Tommy need to work out yourselves,” Phil continues. “Trust me, I have also pushed situations like these off for a later time. It’s not you or Tommy’s fault.”

Tubbo’s eyes start to tear up, “...Do you think he hates me for what I said?”

Phil looks at him with concern, “What do you mean, Tubbo? Of course he doesn’t–”

“You don’t understand– I got offended by what he said, but I took it too far,” he chokes, tears starting to drip down his face as he looks back down at his hands. “I should have been more calm about it, but I didn’t know how to deal with the building anxiety– and then he hit me and I–”

“Tubbo, look at me,” Phil puts his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “None of this is either of you boys’ fault. You both have valid reasons for the way you two felt during whatever happened.” 

Tubbo looks up, eyes glistening with sadness. 

“It's been so long since I last saw him,” Tubbo whispers. 

Phil didn’t know what to say, his heart was breaking for not only Tubbo, but for Tommy as well. 

“Do you think you could personally give him a letter from me?” the young prince asks. 

“Of course, mate,” Phil says, smiling. 

“And maybe after, I could come back to the Arctic Kingdom?” Tubbo asks. 

The question shoots Phil right through the heart. The boy must have thought he wasn’t allowed to come over–

“Tubbo, you’re always welcome to come over,” Phil replies instantly. 

Tubbo smiles and begins to shuffle himself, signaling he is going to get off of the bedstead. When Phil realizes, he stands up to make room for him to exit. 

The young prince races to his desk to pull out a small envelope from behind a small stack of books. Written nicely on the crumbled cover was, “To My Best Friend.”  Tubbo stares at the letter for a moment, analyzing each crumpled area, the neat cursive, and the perfectly placed wax seal. 

He turns around to extend his hand to Phil, hope filling his heart when he realizes there may be a chance for him to get his best friend back. 

“Thank you, Philza,” Tubbo says, looking up at him with the letter still in his hand. 

Phil smiles softly once again as he gently takes the letter from him. 

“I hope you and my father can clear things up,” Tubbo says, practically wishing the King a farewell. 

“Me too, mate, me too.” Phil looks at the dark circles under the young boy’s eyes once again, his heart aching at the sight. But he chooses to ignore it.

As he turns around to face the door, he turns the handle down. This time, Tubbo doesn't interrupt. 

Phil doesn’t know entirely what happened between his son and Tubbo, but it must have been hurting Tubbo just as much as it was hurting Tommy. And if Phil was trusted with the letter to be given to his son, then he was going to make sure it got to him no matter what. 

As he slides the envelope into his jacket, he carefully embraces his surroundings, trying to be aware of any guards that may be around the hall. 

It's been years since Philza was last inside of the castle, it was going to take a moment for him to be able to figure out where Schlatter's office was, and if it was even at the same place. But surely Tubbo would have already said it was at a new location if it wasn’t. 

The hallway was well designed. The wall-trims were delicate with floral designs, and the ceilings were carved to perfection. 

Phil used to always praise Schlatt on how nice the place was.

In the distance, the sound of a piano could be heard.

As Phil continues to slowly walk down the hall, he’ll take a moment to stop at a few places whenever he sees a painting, statue, or anything that just seems existingly astonishing to him. 

However, what really got him was a large portrait. Half of it was covered by a large drape, and it looked as if it hadn't been dusted or touched by anything in years. 

On one side was Schlatt, smiling. On the other side of the portrait, Phil assumed it was Minx. 

A heavy weight of tension seeps through his body as he examines the intricate design of the frame. 

Why did he cover it up? he thought. It must have been nearly two decades since the last time he saw the painting, but it was never covered like this. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” a voice asks, harsh. 

Phil’s heart practically flips as he quickly backs away from the painting to look down at the hall. His heart begins to race as he sees Schlatt standing in the center, a look of pure hatred in his eyes. 

“Schlatt–”

“Philza,” Schlatt interrupts. He begins to walk towards him. “I’ll ask again. What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I have come here to talk to you,” Phil replies. “I mean no harsh intentions.”

Schlatt laughs maliciously, almost as if he can’t believe it. “You know I told you not to come here again, right?”

Phil nods. “Yes, but this is urgent.”

Now, the two are face to face. Eye to eye. Phil can tell just how badly Schlatt wants him to leave. 

“What could possibly be so fucking urgent, Philza?” Schlatt says, his tone practically crushing the words. 

“We need to talk about this someplace more private–”

“Get out,” he demands. 

“Schlatt–”

“I said get the fuck out!” he shouts. 

The distant sound of the piano stops, and suddenly, the sound of a door creaking open can be heard. 

The two instantly turn their attention to the sound. 

Behind them, is Tubbo, who carefully peaks out, curious of what the commotion is. 

Schlatt sighs, “go back inside, Tubbo. Close the door, too.”

“What’s going on, dad?” Tubbo asks, obviously wanting to be in on the conversation. 

If there was something that Tubbo and Tommy both shared, it was how nosy the two were when it came to any sort of drama. 

“Tubbo, I said go inside,” he demands, pinching his nose bridge. 

“But–”

“Why are you fighting me, right now? I said go inside!”

Phil watches as Tubbo’s brows furrow in anger.

“Whatever, you never tell me anything!” Tubbo shouts, slamming the door. 

Schlatt heaves out a heavy sigh. “Fine. We can walk to my office.”

Phil knew that Schlatt didn’t want to talk. In fact, he probably couldn’t have cared any less. But Phil was going to take this opportunity whilst he had it. 

The two of them walked down the hall, the atmosphere silent and as tense as ever. 

Phil couldn’t help but think about what Tubbo had yelled out of anger. He started to wonder if Tommy would react the same way if this were to happen back at home. Surely not, right? Tommy was reasonable, and was very understanding of things. 

Right?

The hallway felt like it was etching on for an eternity. 

Phil was unsure if now was the right time to make small talk or not, but the atmosphere was just terrible and he wanted to fix it. Fix it like they used to. 

After a few more moments of pure tension and silence, they arrive in front of the office. 

“After you,” Schlatt says, faking an obvious smile. 

“Thank you,” Phil responds, trying to ignore his sarcasm. If it could even be considered that. 

Phil walks in and takes a seat, observing the office in its entirety. 

Schlatt takes a seat at his desk, all whilst glaring at the man himself. Philza Watson.

“Alright. So what was so urgent?” emphasizing the urgent. 

Philza straightens his posture and takes a deep breath. His plan is to just get straight to the point.

Straight to the point.

“It’s the Syndicate,” he states. 

Schlatt’s eyes widened, the words stuck to his tongue. 

“What?” Schlatt chokes out, pushing himself closer to the desk. 

“I received news from my General that they have been forming an army for over a decade now,” Phil pauses. “They’ve been moving their forces and camps in our direction.”

“Wait– take ten steps back. What? And what the fuck does this have to do with me and my Kingdom?”

The two are at eye-to-eye contact, the tension filling the room as they speak. 

Down the hall, a door can be heard opening. But if either of them heard it, then they chose to ignore it. 

“I’m planning on settling out a conscription, and–” Phil hitches his breath in, hoping this will go smoothly. “And I was hoping you would join me.”

“Join you?”

Phil nods. “You know my people. I do not have an on-going optimistic relationship with them.”

Schlatt also nods, looking down at his desk trying to comprehend everything that Phil has been saying. 

Phil continues, “...you and I both have had our issues with the Syndicate. And I know we’ve had our problems, but I just want to–” 

“I’ll help fight.”

Phil’s heart seeps into his stomach, and his eyes widen. It was not the response he was expecting at all. 

“What?” Phil’s jaw tightens. It was not necessarily a question, but more of an expression of shock. 

“I know we have unresolved issues,” Schlatt states, glaring back up at Philza. “But I want those fuckers gone. I want them all dead .”

“Schlatt–”

“But it does not mean that I no longer resent you.”

Phil nods. “I understand.”

“I will announce my conscription tomorrow as soon as the bells ring,” he pauses. “Please, let us meet tomorrow night to discuss matters further.”

“Schlatt- Thank you.” It’s all Phil can manage to say, unsure of what to think. 

“Don’t thank me, you’ll make me vomit,” Schlatt scoffs. 

Phil smiles softly. 

“I will meet you at your Kingdom. If anything else happens from now until then, send your general to me or come yourself,” Schlatt commands.

“Will do,” Phil replies, standing himself up from the chair. 

This time, Schlatt smiles, but it is no longer forced. “Now get the fuck out of here.”

Phil laughs at the demand, but proceeds to do so. He doesn’t want to burn down what he was able to get. 

As he exits the room, he notices Tubbo peeking his head out of the door. 

From down the hall, the young prince whispers as loud as possible, “don’t forget to give Tommy my letter!”

Phil smiles softly in response, nodding towards him as he turns himself around to exit the castle. 

Now Phil can only hope that he can mend things with his youngest son. 

Nausea. It’s all Wilbur can feel throughout his entire body. 

As he sits by the trash can, legs out and face pale, all he can think about is Tommy. 

“Fuck, man,” he rubs his hands on his face out of frustration. 

Wilbur knows there is nothing he can do to fix any of this. 

In the midst of it all, he can’t help but feel hopeless. Hopeless for the fact that he knows he’s going to have to fight in war. Hopeless for the fact that he messed up everything with Tommy. 

After vomiting constantly, he feels as if all his organs were thrown up. His body feels like it has hundreds of weights on it, and all he can feel is the agonizing headache every time he moves his head even the slightest. 

“Why…” he whispers to himself. “Why did he keep this to himself?”

Wilbur rubs at his face once again, and attempts to push himself off of the ground. For the longer he sits there, it feels like he needs to vomit even more. 

As he stands himself up, the entirety of the restroom starts to spin and his mind goes hazy. 

“Fuck–” he says as he stumbles, trying to grab ahold of the door handle. Upon pushing it down, he can feel his body lean forward as if he were about to fall–

Tommy. The last thing Wilbur can remember is Tommy being in his room from this morning. 

As he attempts to quickly move himself towards his room, his body starts to feel heavier. With each step, his vision starts to splurge. 

The hallway feels so long, he thinks to himself. Although he can see his room just down the end. 

This can finally be the time for him to talk to his younger brother. The opportunity that he has been waiting for. The chance to say sorry–

As Wilbur approaches his door, he stops dead in his tracks. He looks down at the handle, his body tensing up. 

It almost feels ominous. 

Wilbur shakes it off and pushes down the handle, barging himself into the room.

“Tommy–”

There’s no one here. 

However, the bedstead is messy, signaling that Tommy must have left. 

Wilbur quickly examines the room one last time before leaving as he decides to check Tommy’s room instead. 

As he starts to make his way further down the hall towards his younger brother’s room, he can see Dream just a few feet ahead. 

That’s weird, he thought. 

Wilbur picks up his pace slightly to try and catch up to him. Softly, he shouts “Dream!”

Dream then turns around, a look of concern on his face.

“Wilbur?” he asks, stopping in his tracks. 

“What's going on? I haven’t seen you for a minute,” Wil says, softly smiling as he finally catches up to him. 

Dream glares at him, his brows furrowing. “Wilbur– Do you know where Tommy is?” 

Do you know where Tommy is?

“What? He’s not in his room?” he asks. 

Dream shakes his head. “I already checked ages ago.”

Wilbur glares back in confusion. “What do you mean ages ago? It looked like you were about to head to his room–”

Dream quickly cuts him off. “Because I wanted to see if maybe he came back from wherever he went.”

Suddenly, a ball of anxiety starts to form in the pit of Wilbur’s stomach. 

“Have you checked with the General? Or Sam? Tell me, what did Sam say about this?–”

Dream interrupts once again. “Trust me, I did,” he sighs. “Sam is patrolling the entire Kingdom and has already let everyone know.”

“ Everyone? Well I fucking wasn’t aware of this.”

“I mean the officials within the castle–”

“I’m the fucking prince, Dream. I am considered a damn official if you will.”

“My apologies–”

“ Where is Tommy?”

Dream looks back at Wilbur, confused at why he would even ask that. “I already told you, we don’t know–”

“As the eldest prince, I want an entire group sent into the town to look for him for fucks sake!” he exclaims, his tone growing more angry. 

“Wilbur!” someone shouts from behind. 

Wilbur turns around to see Sam running towards him. His eyes widen at the sight once again, as he usually does not see him around. 

“Sam?”

Sam quickly catches up to the two of them, panting as he tries to catch his breath. 

“We couldn’t find him– I sent Sapnap and a few others down into the town,” he says in a raspy tone, unable to catch up with his own words. 

“Slow down, catch your breath,” Wilbur states. 

Sam nods, breath picking up irregularly. “They came back a few moments ago. They couldn’t find him, but I found out something–”

Wilbur interrupts him, trying to comprehend everything Sam is saying. “ What? What did you find out?”

Sam looks at him, desperation in his eyes. “One of the servants is gone–”

There are key rules in the castle. The servants were more than welcome to take Tommy or Wilbur out into the town when they were younger. But they had to let Phil know. Especially with the Syndicate being out. It was to ensure the safety of both the servant and his children. 

Wilbur’s eyes widen as fear begins to weigh down on his shoulders. “But Phil is gone–”

“I know!” Sam exclaims. “They’re both missing, and they aren’t even in town or anywhere in the Kingdom!”

“We have to tell Phil–”

“I’m already ten steps ahead of you,” says a monotone voice from behind them all. 

Wilbur turns around to see Technoblade, who is wearing a long coat. 

“I’m going to find Phil,” Techno demands. He glares at Dream and then at Sam. “I want the two of you to go into the town and try to find out any information that you can.”

Sam nods and quickly exits the conversation. 

As for Dream, he scoffs. “I already–”

Wilbur gives a glare towards him that almost sends a million swords in his direction. 

Dream throws his hands up in defense. “Alright, alright. I’ll go,” he says, walking off.

Wilbur looks at Techno, mixed emotions flooding his head. 

“Techno?” he asks. 

Techno lets out a heavy sigh. “It might be best if you stay here–”

“No!” he exclaims, cutting Techno off. “I need to speak to my father as well. Tommy’s  my younger brother!”

“It doesn’t matter,” he says. “What is Phil going to do when he finds out his youngest son is missing at such a time like this?”

The question sinks into Wilbur’s skin. He’s right. Phil will end up going on a rampage knowing they never looked after him. 

They never looked after him. Wilbur was always caught up within his own life. He never bothered to see what Tommy was up to or see if he wanted to hangout, or–

“Now isn’t the time to doze off, Wil. Did you even hear what I said?” Techno says, bringing Wilbur back to reality. 

Wilbur hitches his breath in, “It’s my fault, Techno.”

Techno takes a step towards the older prince. “Wilbur–”

“I should be the one to talk to my father.”

Techno shakes his head. “Then let us both–”

“ No ,” he demands. “You can stand by and watch, but you will not intervene. It's about time I own up to my actions.”

Techno breathes in the harsh air, trying to agree with Wilbur even though he can’t. But he trusts Wilbur, even if he has done some things he may not agree with. He trusts that Wilbur is responsible enough to deal with this. 

But it’s hard to trust someone who’s barely an adult try to deal with his missing brother. 

As Phil arrives at the gates of the Arctic Kingdom, he sees Phil and Techno standing there as if they were awaiting for his arrival. 

When he lands, he smiles softly. However, the smile quickly fades when he notices how tense the two of them look. 

“Are you boys alright?” Phil asks, concerned. 

Wilbur breathes in the cold air, keeping his head low. “Father–”

“Tommy’s missing,” Techno interrupts, disclosing everything Wilbur said about ‘not intervening.’ 

Suddenly, it felt as if the world stopped turning. 

For a moment, Philza could feel his heart shatter as he stared at Wilbur. 

It shattered Wilbur’s heart just as much when he noticed his father was staring at him.

Chapter Text

Wilbur knew that he was too young to handle all of these secrets. He knew but still couldn’t bring himself to tell his father. 

Why was he so damn scared of his own dad? 

The town of the Arctic, a rather loud but peaceful town. One with not much crime. One with many festivities that really bring the people together. But when it comes to the King, there used to have been rumors about how he once murdered his entire town…

Philza is not one to speak to the people, nor is he one to stand up to such rumors. Some will say he is a selfish King, who only acts on his own time. 

But Wilbur knows that it is all bullshit. He has watched his father rush out of the castle as soon as he hears news of anything going wrong within the town. He has seen how hard his father works on making sure no famine can come anywhere near. 

Maybe if everyone could just understand each other, then everything would be okay. 

Everyone would be in for a rude awakening if they dared to disobey the King. Or would they? Philza was never one to get angry at anyone… 

“Father, wait–” Wilbur panted, trying to keep up with Phil who was practically rushing down the hall. 

Philza ignores the older prince who desperately tried to grab ahold of his attention. With every second that was passing, anger was building up inside of him. He had things to do and accomplish with such little time. Valuable time that was being spent and he could not waste it any longer, especially on accidentally lashing out on his son–

“Sapnap!” Phil shouts, his voice demanding yet harsh enough to make Wilbur flinch. “Gather the town to the center this instant. I want word to spread like rapidfire!”

Wilbur tries to interrupt, all he is wanting to do is explain himself. “Please, father you have to believe me–” 

But it’s no use. He is once again cut off by a heavy sigh from his father, which practically diminishes his right to speak. It was a deathly and gut-wrenching feeling that he could not understand, one that would tear his limbs apart and crush any ounce of hope he could grab ahold of. 

All Wilbur could do was stand there and watch as his father left him behind in the shadows. 

How could his father be so cruel at a time like this? 

Wilbur knew how his father was. He knew how he would react when he found out that Tommy was missing on such an important day, but he still couldn’t help but feel selfish for wanting his father’s attention so badly. 

But maybe it was just the way the world worked. After all, there were no answers to anything, not even to life itself. No one knows what happens in the afterlife, but that’s what makes death so beautiful, isn’t it? 

All Wilbur could do was look. Look and look until he could find somewhere to fit in. Whether it’d be a group of distant friends in town, or even going to school and growing up like a normal kid. 

Maybe if he wasn’t born into royalty, he wouldn’t have so many expectations laid down upon him. Maybe if his father was a bastard and scolded him more, he could have learned how to defend himself. Maybe if his mother was still alive, Tommy would be like his usual self again. 

Or maybe, just maybe, if he wasn’t so closed off, he could have still had a normal life. 

As Wilbur snapped himself back into reality, he noticed he was standing alone in the hallway, his father nowhere in sight. 

“Fuck,” he whispered under his breath, gently scratching the side of his neck. 

If his father wasn’t going to listen to him, then he was going to find the answers to his brother’s disappearance on his own. He didn’t have time to dance around Phil.

Suddenly, a distant voice from down the hall grabbed ahold of his attention. A voice that Wilbur didn’t expect would be directed to grab his attention after what happened earlier. 

“Psst– earth to Wilbur,” Techno whispered quietly, peering out of his room. 

The older prince quickly turned around to see the tall figure, who was motioning with his hand to come into his room. After a few moments of confusion drifting through Wilbur’s mind, he quickly walked towards Techno’s room. As Techno opened the door to let him in, Wilbur’s eyes widened as he was shocked to see how the room was cluttered with papers everywhere. 

Turning to Techno, he tried to think of the kindest possible way to ask ‘what the fuck?’

“Now, Wilbur,” Techno sighed. “I need you to listen, and not interrupt me.”

Wilbur chuckled in annoyance behind it, “Jesus, it’s like I should just go mute for now on!” 

Techno glares at him. “I’m serious, Wilbur.”

The older prince throws his arms up in defeat. “Yeah, whatever. Continue.”

Wilbur noticed the tension weighing down on Techno’s shoulders. It was something he wanted to desperately ask about, but he knew that it just wasn’t the time to. 

“Alright,” Techno whispers, trying to calm himself down. “What I’m about to tell you, you can’t tell anyone. Not even Philza…” he pauses for a brief moment whilst staring at the older prince. “...Not until it’s deemed true.”

“And that is?” Wilbur questioned. 

“It’s about Niki,” Techno chokes, looking over to a pile of papers scattered amongst his floor.

Wilbur turned with him as he put his hand to his head, trying to piece it together before Techno would break the news. “Surely, not…”

Techno slowly walks over to the mess and kneels down to pick up a paper with messy handwriting. As he stands himself back up, he walks back over to Wilbur. 

“I um, I have searched this entire castle after your father came back,” he says, clearing his throat. “I went to find out who the missing servant was– but I happened to find something else.” 

Wilbur stares at Techno, trying to read the writing backwards, but the paper is pulled away from his peripheral vision as Techno hugs onto it. 

“I think Niki may be a traitor.”

Ah. Betrayal, an action so sharp that Wilbur may as well start to bleed out. 

“No– not Niki,” Wilbur chokes, his mind starting to race. 

For years, Niki would show such kindness and loyalty towards the Kingdom since the day she arrived years ago.

It was a memory that Wilbur could remember so vividly. He was only five years old when Niki first arrived in the kingdom. Tommy was born a few months prior and Philza needed more servants to tend the castle as he was growing far more busy, which also meant that Wilbur was left alone. Niki was shy, but she radiated a kindness almost like orange clouds from sunsets. When she eventually broke out of her shell, she started to open up more. She would notice how Wilbur was always playing alone. She tried to take it into consideration that maybe he wanted to be alone, but she also felt bad. Afterall, she knew how all children just want attention. So, she would always play with the young prince, every day. Every day until Tommy was old enough to finally play. 

It was something that Wilbur would never forget. Even though it was a memory that happened over a decade ago, it was something that meant a lot to him. 

“Wilbur?” Techno waved his hand over Wilbur’s eyes, trying to see if he was paying attention. 

Wilbur’s face churns as he snaps back to reality, looking into Techno’s eyes with concern. “Tech, I–”

Techno places his hand on Wilbur’s shoulder, dropping the papers beside him. He tries to smile towards the prince, but he also knows that deep down, he is worried about the younger prince himself. And Tommy isn’t even his brother. 

“We’re going to find him,” Techno chokes, trying to keep it together.

Wilbur has never seen Techno like this before, but he was too caught up in his own emotions to really dig into it. 

In the distance, the faint sound of a horn could be heard. 

Wilbur quickly turned towards the door and then back at Techno. 

“The conscription,” the older prince stated. 

The two had never run so fast in their lives to get to the town. 

The Arctic Empire. Something so dear to Philza. 

The town was slowly but surely gathering together. The center fills the air with questions and confusion. 

Some people came from villages all around, as the message quickly spreaded from the posters hung all over town. 

Even the people from Skyrest were here. 

Standing on the podium was Philza, who looked around at all of the people. Standing besides Phil was Sapnap, who had a hand gently placed on the king’s shoulder. 

There is just so much Phil needs to do. It’s as if he is being forced to ignore the fact that his son is missing. His boy. The thought was continuously tugging at his heart strings. 

Phil sighs as he looks down at the crowd, attempting to clear his throat. In the distance, he could see Jschlatt standing in the back, with Tubbo beside him and a few other guards surrounding them. 

Even during such tragic moments, he finds it in himself to smile at everyone. 

“Alright,” Phil quietly mumbles to himself. 

Sapnap takes his hand off the king’s shoulder and stands quietly as he watches the crowd. 

“Alright!” the king shouts. “I have gathered all citizens here today…” he pauses for a moment as he stares at the crowd. 

Shit, he thought. He was getting too caught up in his thoughts that he may have started too early. 

In the distance, two young boys were running down the path. It looked as if they were trying to run towards the center. 

“Gods, man! I have stuff to do!” a voice shouted from the crowd.

“Silence!” Sapnap yelled in response, standing his ground as he stared at the man who stood below. 

Phil squints his eyes to try and see who they may be, and why they were even late in the first place. 

Ah. It was a pink haired man with a curly brown haired prince.

Phil chuckled at the sight. 

Seeing the two of them sent a wave of relief down his body. He wouldn’t have cared if they didn’t show up, but he was glad that they did.

If he was frustrated with them from the earlier event, then it all washed away, because the King felt as if maybe everything would be okay for a moment. 

As he stands his ground, he looks back at the crowd with a soft grin across his face. Clearing his throat, he goes back to speaking. 

“I have gathered you all here today to inform you that war is coming,” he states. 

Citizens within the crowd gasped and some were even trying to trickle in to get to the front. 

Philza grabs a large poster and holds it up towards the crowd. 

A conscription.

Phil stares at the crowd as he holds the paper. 

“This conscription states that all able citizens who are of age 18 are required to defend your motherland!” he shouts. “War is coming, and they have already pushed their forces towards ours!”

Whispering carries through the horde, some start to split off to head back home. 

Wilbur and Techno finally catch up to the crowd. Wilbur bends and holds onto his knees as he pants, trying to catch his breath. 

“Whether we fight now, in an hour, tomorrow, the day after, or a week from now!” the King exclaims loudly, yet bold. “You will fight with everything you have!”

A split second later, a lady could be heard wailing. 

“Please, no! My son just turned 18, please spare him!” she cried. 

“Please spare me too! I’m not capable of fighting!” a voice shouted shortly after.

Quickly, people were beginning to panic as more shouted to be spared. 

Philza looked out at the crowd, trying to think of something to say in response. A way to silence them. 

He knew that a majority were not going to be willing to fight. Afterall, he was barely there for his town. 

But Wilbur knew that, that wasn’t the case. He watched his father work so hard to help his town. The citizens have never been behind the scenes to see how the King would stay up all night writing letters that would ultimately decide their fate. 

“Shut the fuck up! All of you!” a loud voice shouted from behind the entire crowd. 

It was Wilbur. 

Philza’s mind stops racing as the horde starts to settle down. However, his heart starts to beat faster when he realizes that all attention is being directed towards his son. A majority of the crowd had never even seen the young prince before, for he rarely left the kingdom. 

“You have to listen to my father!” Wilbur chokes out, trying to be loud enough for them to hear. 

“Shut up, kid!” someone shouted. 

And that was it. Something inside of Philza snapped and suddenly, anger filled him. 

“Don’t fucking talk to my son like that you son of a bitch–”

And then once again, the crowd starts to become swarmed with silent whispering. 

That’s the eldest? The prince is here? That young boy looks much older than I thought… 

And then suddenly, shouting– no, crying comes from the distance. 

Philza turns away from the crowd as his guard instantly rises, trying to figure out where the screaming is coming from. 

Techno instantly runs around the crowd to follow the screaming, leaving Wilbur behind as citizens begin to walk up to him. However, the people were quickly stopped as Schlatt stood in front of the older prince, trying to back everyone away. 

Tubbo holding onto his father’s hand as he turns his head to get a glance at Wilbur, whom he hadn’t seen in ages. 

Philza ran down the steps of the podium to try and attempt to follow the screaming, but people within the crowd were stopping him. 

“What’s going on?” a lady questioned, grabbing onto the king’s arm. 

“Let him go!” Sapnap interrupted, grabbing his sword from the lock of his belt. 

Suddenly, more people began to panic and the horde began to trickle away. 

Philza looks at the crowd with a look of concern written all over his face. 

“Everyone!” the king shouts. “Run to safety! There might be a potential threat!”

“A threat!?” someone screamed.

“Dad!” a voice wailed, suddenly closer than when the first cry was heard. 

Huh. Philza thought. The moment was as if the king had lost his child in the bakery. With panic sweeping over him, he desperately tries to search for him, only to find out he was hiding in the back. 

“Tommy?” he whispered to himself, desperately trying to look for him. “Tommy!” he shouted.

“Help!” the voice screamed. It was a cry for help.

“Oh my Gods! We’re all going to die!” someone shouted, which caused a wave of panic to fill the crowd instantly as more people began to scream. 

“Quiet, now!” Sapnap yelled, trying to settle down the crowd. But it was no use. 

As Philza stared at the empty path ahead, Techno ran past him. 

Phil tries to grab his arm but he is too fast. “Techno, wait! It might be dangerous!” he screamed. 

Suddenly, around the corner, a young blonde boy appears and is running down the path that is now no longer empty. 

“Tommy!” Both Phil and Techno shouted in sync. 

Phil smiled as he started to run towards Tommy, only for it to fade not even a moment later as a rush of panic settles in when he notices that someone else– no- two people are chasing him and are not too far behind. 

“Techno!” Tommy cried, as he tried to run as fast as he could towards him. Tears were streaming down his face and the side of his cheek was bleeding, with bruises all over his arms and legs. 

It took a lot to make Techno concerned for others. But it took far more to make him scared. 

A man and a woman were running behind the young prince– The woman was sure to be Niki. But the man– the man had black hair, with a face stone cold. A face all too familiar to Techno. 

Techno suddenly stopped running as the realization settled in. 

“No– no, no, no, no,” he repeated to himself over and over as he slowly turned around to begin running towards Phil. 

Phil continues to run down the path, trying to restrain himself from using his wings. 

“Niki!” Phil screams in anger. 

Both Phil and Techno run past each other, both feeling the same amount of panic. 

As Phil gets closer, he kneels down with his arms open to grab ahold of his son. He wants to desperately let him know that it’ll be okay. He doesn't have to be alone anymore. 

Malicious laughter is heard from the man, “come here, Tommy!” he screams. 

Tommy is barely able to catch his breath as he runs into his father’s arms. He begins to sob as his whole body starts to ache. 

“It’s okay, I’ve got you now,” he says, putting his hand onto his son’s head and the other keeping his weight up. 

The King looks back towards the man– and Niki. He shoots death glares at the two of them as the man continues to smile. 

What an evil fucking prick–

Phil instantly releases his wings and shoots both him and Tommy up to the sky. 

“Hah!” the man yelled.

“Quackity, shoot him!” Niki yelled shortly after. 

“I fucking knew it! The Angel of Death!” he smiles. 

Philza flies towards the mountains, holding onto his son as tightly as he can as he tries to fly them to safety. 

As he looks at the town below, he sees a crowd– But there’s no time for him to analyze it. 

He just needs to go a little faster. Faster than ever before.

He needs to get Tommy to the castle and get him aid. 

What matters is he gets Tommy to safety–

Pain. 

Pain.

Screaming.

Falling.

Already?

The Arctic Empire gets cold during the winter. The mountains kill roughly 5-10 people a year as they all freeze to death and are buried by the snow. 

Even through the treacherous deaths, the mountains and valley below are truly beautiful. It makes a perfect hike… The castle is miles above the mountains, and the mountains are miles away from the valleys. The valley miles away from the town– 

Snow.

Phil’s wing was pierced by an arrow, in which his vision starts to go hazy. He can almost hear Tommy screaming, but he can’t tell. 

His body feels warm. It feels like someone is cupping his cheek. A kind, gentle voice of a woman he once knew and loved so dearly. 

“Protect them,” the voice of a woman whispered. 

Suddenly, Phil and Tommy were tumbling onto the snow. 

Pain was sweeping throughout Tommy’s body as he tried to push his head up off of the snow.

“Dad…” Tommy chokes out in a whisper, barely able to hear his own voice through the harsh winds. 

In the distance, people within the crowd start screaming. 

Someone has been hurt. 

“He has a weapon!” someone cried. 

“He has a sword! Everyone run!” Another voice cried out. 

“Everyone, head to safety!” Sapnap yelled as he pushed himself through the crowd to find the citizen with the weapon. 

Schlatt turns around and looks at Wilbur as he practically witnesses a man stab a citizen in just a few feet over. 

“Wilbur– Come with me,” Schlatt commands, trying to grab Wilbur’s hand, but Wilbur pulls himself away. 

“No– I have to go help my father!” Wilbur’s voice begins to rise. 

Schlatt shakes his head. 

“We can help him once we are better equipped! But right now, you have nothing! Not a single weapon– Nothing!” Schlatt responds, practically shouting as the crowd grows louder with screaming filling the town. 

“I can’t leave without Techno or my dad!”

“Wilbur, would you fucking listen to me? We have to leave now!”

Wilbur pushes Schlatt in anger even though he wasn’t even holding onto him. 

“You’re practically nothing to me anyways! You made my dad’s life a living hell!” 

Schlatt’s face softens with concern as he sighs and looks down at his son. 

Looking back up at Wilbur, he tries to remain calm. “I know, Wilbur. And I promise that I will fix shit with your dad once we know everything is safe.”

Wilbur doesn’t respond, he just looks away as he tries to look at the crowd. It isn’t until he realizes there are guts spooling out of a person’s body that panic starts to sweep over him. 

“Oh my fucking–”

It all happened so fast.

Within the split moment, Schlatt directed his guards to go into the horde and save everyone they could. Meanwhile, Schlatt picked Tubbo up with one arm and then grabbed Wilbur’s hand with his other arm. Together, they all try to flee from the scene as people are scattering from the horde to escape. 

In the distance, a large group can be seen with flags raised high above. 

A flag all too familiar to the King of Skyrest. The Syndicate. 

As he looks back at the crowd, he watches as Sapnap is pushed down onto the ground. 

“Fuck–” Schlatt mumbles under his breath as he starts to run. 

No one was prepared.

Not a single weapon, not a single piece of armor.

It would be up to two immortals. Two immortals who would need to defeat another just like them. It was like cattle being herded by shepherds, as some people from the town fled away to try and follow the King of Skyrest. 

The wind was beginning to pick up as people were getting closer to the valleys. 

“There’s no use in running!” a man screamed, trying to direct their voice towards Schlatt. 

Back in the town, an explosion can be heard. An explosion so loud that as Wilbur turned his head to catch sight of what happened, Schlatt quickly turned the prince’s head back to make sure he wouldn’t see. - The Syndicate wasn’t very big, but they were heavily equipped and it would be enough to tear everyone down. Those who attempted to fight back were slaughtered in an instant. Once again, the King of the Arctic was nowhere in sight to help his kingdom. Somewhere in the distance, Quackity grinned as he watched history begin to repeat himself. 

“I will avenge Charlie if it’s the last fucking thing I do,” he mumbles to himself. 

No one has had time to catch their breath. Those who were too tired to fight were killed. Houses were being broken into, and crying could be heard everywhere. 

Techno was running not too far behind Schlatt, too emotionally shocked to pick up his pace and walk besides them. 

As the small crowd makes it to the valley, Schlatt tries to look sound past everyone to see if there is anywhere they can hide. With Sapnap not being around, he needs to be the one to find shelter for everyone–

“Dad!” Wilbur suddenly shouted as he pulled Schlatt’s hand off of him and started running towards his father who laid on the ground, red snow surrounding his wing. When Wilbur catches up to his father’s body, he starts to panic as he looks at the arrow that’s piercing through his wing. Desperately, he tries to shake him. 

“Dad! Dad, wake up!” Wilbur cried. 

He doesn't know how immortality worked. He knows that Phil isn’t dead but what he doesn’t know is how long he is going to be out for. As he looks around, he sees another body laying on the snow. Concern fills his eyes as he tries to push himself towards his younger brother, who laid stone cold on the ground. 

“Tommy!” Wilbur desperately screamed, Schlatt quickly running up to them with Tubbo still in his arms. 

Suddenly, Techno runs past Schlatt and tries to catch up to Wilbur who was kneeling down in front of the young boy. 

Wilbur looks over at Schlatt as his eyes start to water, “Schlatt! He isn’t awake!” He starts to shake Tommy’s body, but pulls his hands away as soon as he feels how cold Tommy’s skin is. 

It’s as if the world for the older prince had stopped turning. Schlatt quickly puts Tubbo down and runs over to kneel down besides Tommy, trying to check if there is a pulse. All Techno can do is stand and watch. The silence has never been so loud. 

“He’s still alive,” Schlatt says, sighing in relief. 

Wilbur takes his jacket off and sets it down beside him, relief filling his lungs. Shortly after, he pulls his brother into his arms and then grabs his jacket once again to put it over his brother. 

“Tommy?” Tubbo questioned, looking towards Tommy who laid silent. 

“Ah– fuck!” Phil mumbled, instantly gaining the attention of Wilbur and Schlatt. 

“Dad!” Wilbur screamed, smiling through it all. 

Tubbo notices how Wilbur is fidgeting, moving between going to help his father or helping Tommy. 

Quietly, Tubbo whispers “Here– Wilbur, go. I’ll hold onto Tommy.”

Wilbur turns over to Tubbo and softly smiles at the kind gesture, but he doesn’t say anything. He simply pushes himself up carefully and holds Tommy’s head up so that Tubbo can switch places gently. 

“Father!” Wilbur shouts, running towards Phil, Schlatt not too far behind him. 

“Get to the castle!” Philza screamed in agony. It was as if he had just woken up from a nightmare. 

Wilbur flinches at the sudden screaming, and the crowd behind starts to panic once again as they all try to look for trees or try to bury themselves in the snow. 

“Father, calm down! They aren’t chasing us–”

Philza interrupts and looks at his son. “No, Wilbur– you don’t understand. They are coming.”

“What the fuck does that even mean?” Schlatt asks, trying to take him seriously. 

Philza grabs his sword from his belt as well as his spare that hung on the opposite side. 

Wilbur looks up at his dad, fear filling his eyes as he wants to ask why there may be two swords. Surely it can’t be for him.

Right?

Philza sighs and looks back at his eldest. “Wilbur, no matter what… Protect Tommy and Tubbo.” The King hands a sword to Wil. 

“Father–”

“Your majesty!” a voice shouts from behind, making both Phil and Schlatt turn around. 

“Sam?” Phil questions, but quickly perks back up when he realizes that the voice is indeed Sam. Phil squints to see what he may be holding– a bag. “Sam!”

“Your majesty,” Sam pants, “please, take anything you guys may need.”

“Fuck yeah, I needed to go shopping,” Schlatt laughs, trying to lighten the mood. 

“Guys! Tommy is waking up!” Tubbo yells from behind. 

Philza quickly turns around as he remembers– Tommy. Is he hurt? Did he land on his son in the falling?

He quickly rushes towards him, but Wilbur is faster. 

The moment makes Phil smile ever so slightly. The older prince pulls Tommy back into his arms as the young prince starts to blink in and out. 

“Shit– it’s so– co- cold…” Tommy says, voice trembling quietly as his body is shivering. 

“I know, I know. It’ll be okay,” Wilbur says softly, trying to hug his brother. 

Philza watches the two brothers interact, his mind forgetting the urge to leave to get to the castle. 

“Phil?” Techno asks, coming up behind him. 

Phil turns around to see the boy who looks as panicked as ever. 

“Techno–” he chokes. Phil has so many questions, but he feels as if not is just not the time to ask them. 

However, he so desperately wants to ask why. Why did Techno turn around back there? 

The two stare at each other for what feels like an eternity. 

“Techno,” Phil says once again. “What’s wrong, my boy?”

Techno cringes at the name, but there’s a feeling that goes along with it that words are unable to describe. More explosions can be heard from the distance, immediately cutting off the conversation that didn’t even begin. As Phil turned to look down at his town, fear flooded his body as he covered his mouth with his hands. In the distance, Phil notices people are running up the hill– the same people he saw earlier but with a few others. 

He quickly turns around to shout “run!”

Wilbur drops the sword instantly and looks over as he notices his father running towards him and Tommy. 

“Sam! Get everyone to safety now!” Phil demands, desperately trying to call out to him as he tries to aid some of the others. 

Snow. It’s starting to snow. How beautiful. 

“There’s no use in running!” a man screams, sending deja-vu to almost everyone who heard the voice. 

How did things go wrong so fast? 

Suddenly, arrows begin to rain from the sky. 

Wilbur pulls Tommy up with his hands and helps him stabilize himself. Meanwhile, Tubbo stands up and tries to run towards his father. However, there would be nowhere for them to run, not unless they wanted to dive into the hills. Even then, they were sure to lose their energy before making it to the top… before making it to the mountains. They just wouldn’t survive. Not unless they were immortal. 

“Go, now!” Philza shouts, directing his voice towards everyone as he motions with his hands for them to move up the hill. 

It’s growing colder by the second… As Wilbur runs he can feel his joints stiffening. It’s as if the cold was weighing him down. 

Fuck, not now, he thinks to himself. He tries to desperately ignore his deteriorating strength as he continues to drag himself as well as his younger brother up the hill. Why the fuck does this feel so treacherous?!

Suddenly, the weight on his arm grows heavier. Tommy is unable to keep up. 

In just a split second,Wilbur turns around to look down to see how far they have gotten, realizing that he is only a few feet away from the top. 

They’re only a few feet away from a split second break. 

“Wilbur!” Techno shouts from above, trying to grab his attention. 

Wilbur turns back up to see Techno, standing up at the top. He began to wonder how Techno got up so quickly… and how he–

Huh. 

It’s cold. 

Wilbur’s vision began to go hazy. The wind was biting at his skin. 

Down below, the faint sound of clashing swords could be heard. 

“Tommy?” Wilbur whispers as he tries to look at his younger brother. 

But there was no response. At this rate, both of them were going to be killed by frostbite. 

“Please, mother…,” Wilbur whispers faintly. “Please give me the strength to save him.”

In the distance, he could hear his name being shouted once again. 

Was it from Techno?

Maybe, just maybe, if he wasn’t such a coward–

“Go, my son. It’s not your time…” says a voice. A voice all too familiar to the older prince.

A voice so distant, a voice that feels so far away. A voice that makes him feel warm, and makes his eyes sweaty. A voice that makes him feel like a simple teenage boy. - Wilbur turns back to Tommy and manages to pick him up, using all of his strength. He just needs to keep going. Just a little bit longer. 

In his mind, he would begin to count.

One, he pushes himself further up the hill, his face growing more pale. 

Two, his legs are beginning to tremble, and his body feels numb.

Three, there’s a blurry figure up ahead…

Four, his mind grows more hazy as the strength he was given starts to fade. 

Five– his eyes begin to roll back…

“Wilbur!” a young boy shouts. 

Down below, Philza has managed to keep Niki and some of the others behind. Wherever Quackity had gone, only the Gods knew. Explosions from all around were swarming the atmosphere. Oncoming hordes of enemies trying to get to the Kings... The sun rays were slowly turning from a bright yellow to a distant orange. 

Clash.

The last time Philza had ever fought in a battle was when his town was last attacked. Which was almost a hundred years ago…

“You guys are so fucking pathetic! Pussies, all of you!” Schlatt screamed, laughing at his own humor. 

Philza would be lying if he said he wasn’t losing his mind right now. He can’t even begin to comprehend how Schlatt can stay humorous through all of this, knowing that Tubbo is merely a few feet away from him, hiding behind a tree. The thought go knowing that his own children are fleeing the scene up the hill, with the possibility of them freezing to death. 

In the corner of his eye, he could see Sam fighting against Niki, trying to keep her away from chasing the other civilians who tried to flee. Those who were fighting back were fighting with everything they had. The winds were beginning to pick up, and the snow was shooting everyone in the face like rapid fire. 

Somewhere in the blurry blizzard, Tubbo was watching as Wilbur made it to the top of the hill, but ultimately fell as soon as he made it. It made Tubbo’s heart sink to his stomach when he saw– Tommy?

It sounded like– crying. As if he was suddenly begging to the Gods to save his older brother. 

“Tommy?” he whispered to himself, his entire body trembling. He could barely breathe, it felt like the oxygen was being ripped from his chest… He felt useless. 

As he looked up at the daring hill, a sudden weight was falling onto his shoulders. He wanted to run up to Tommy, and give him a hug. He wanted to say sorry for not understanding how Tommy felt that day. Say sorry for ignoring him for so long. Tell him how much he still wanted to be best friends…

And so it was decided. Tubbo peered from the tree, looking at how his father was fighting– and the way Phil fought ever so gracefully, as if he would be willing to kill himself in order to save his loved ones. 

Looking back up at the hill, he raises his arm in front of his eyes to shield them from the piercing snow. 

He only lasted 13 minutes. 13 minutes for the age he was able to reach. 

The sound was loud. Like a bomb… a bomb falling from the sky. 

Or maybe, it wasn’t a bomb. Maybe it was a star. 

Ah, how soft, Tubbo thought. The snow is so soft…

Did he make it? Did he make it to the top?

“Tubbo!” a distant voice screamed. It sounded like his father. 

Tubbo was a fast runner. Whenever he and Tommy would play tag, he’d always outrun him, winning just like always. 

But Tubbo would never be fast enough to outrun death, for he has been hit. Hit with an arrow that pierced right beside his heart. A heart so full of love and forgiveness. 

A heart that was misunderstood from the moment he was born. 

A heart that wasn’t given enough time to beat. 

Philza watched from afar as Schlatt desperately ran to his son, trying to fight off any enemy that tried to come close.

“Tubbo!” Schlatt screamed, his voice cracking out of fear and desperation. He had never run so fast in his life.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck–” he continuously repeated, finally getting to his son. As he was kneeling down besides his son’s dying body, memories of when Tubbo was a baby were flashing through his mind. 

What a privilege it is to love. 

Tommy was watching from up the hill, with ringing filling his ears as he watched everything. It was as if he was suddenly given the strength to finally experience what was happening. 

Surrounded by chaos, Tommy ran from Wilbur’s body and towards Techno. 

“Techno!” Tommy shouted in desperation, trying to run towards him, “we have to go help Tubbo!” 

Techno quickly turns around after hearing his name, completely unaware of what is going on below. But he is unable to pinpoint where Tommy is as he is too distracted at trying to make sure Quackity doesn’t suddenly appear out of nowhere. 

As he quickly takes a second to examine the entirety of the battlefield below, he finally sees the situation unfolding. At the bottom of the hill is the King of Skyrest– On the ground. He couldn’t completely tell, but it looked as if he was weeping– And holding a body. A limp one at that. 

In the distance, he could see Philza fight off anyone who was trying to get near them all. Even with Phil there to protect them, there was nothing Techno could do, not unless he wanted to risk Tommy getting killed– Leaving him alone at the top when Wilbur blacked out isn’t safe. Suddenly, all within the split second of Techno being distracted by his thoughts, he feels a sharp pain in his shoulder. 

He's been stabbed, but it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter because his wound will heal. The bleeding will stop and he’ll be able to keep fighting. But Tommy doesn’t know that. 

“Techno!” Tommy screams from afar.  

The situation is almost far too predictable, his wound is healing, but Tommy is too far to see that he is okay. 

“Techno fucking Blade! It's been so long” Quackity laughs as he rips his sword out of Techno’s shoulder. 

It’s fucking sick, the way this world works. 

Tommy continues to run in the direction of where Techno is at, desperately trying to keep his eyes on him as the snow begins to pick up even more. 

Too predictable. The situation is far too predictable. 

Techno whips himself around in an instant and shoves his knuckles into Quackity’s face, only to be stopped when his attack is dodged. There’s no time for this. 

Techno tries to run towards Tommy, shouting “go back!” 

But the sound of wind and the war below is too loud for the child to hear. If Tommy continues to run through the battlefield, he is bound to be killed. Techno knows what Quackity is capable of, and he surely won’t show Tommy any mercy just because he’s a child. It’s just how the cruel world works. If it meant that the Syndicate was going to be able to destroy the royal family, then they were surely going to decapitate the prince’s head. 

Techno hadn’t run for his life in years. Not since the night he escaped the Syndicate himself. He was so fortunate to be taken in by such a gentle soul, that he forgot how his life was hanging on by a thread all these years.

Who knows if Quackity was even behind him or not. However, laughter could be heard in the distance. A sinister type laugh. 

Not only was his own life dangling in front of him, but Tommy and Wilbur’s were too. 

The snow is growing more thick by the second, and within just mere moments, the young prince has stumbled over his feet, and has begun tumbling down the hill. 

“Tommy!” Techno screams desperately, trying to make it to him before it’s too late.

What is meant to happen if both of the prince’s die? 

What would he do without finding out the liveliness of Tommy? The pure idiocy but gentleness of Wilbur? Is the world prepared for this? He’s heard of the humorous jokes the two would make, and how they used to be so full of life… He's heard so many stories of the boys who used to light up the entire world before the queen passed. 

People are still fighting and the snow is turning more and more red with every second that passes. 

“Techno!” Tommy cries out, trying to push himself back up. 

All Techno could do was watch as his muscles were beginning to freeze. And suddenly, there was a vision. A vision… of Techno when he was a child.

There he was. The boy who could have had a happy childhood. The boy where all he wanted was love. 

There were six moments which were so pivotal that Tommy would never forget. 

One.

“Tommy, stop!” Techno screams out, trying to run towards him. “Hide! You need to fucking hide, you hear me?!” 

It was the first time Tommy had heard Techno curse. 

Techno knew that if anyone from the Syndicate below saw the prince on the hill, he would surely get targeted instantly. 

Two. 

Tommy wasn’t stopping, and it was getting harder and harder for Techno to run in the snow with Quackity trying to fight him and his body being so weak to fight back. 

From out of nowhere, Techno pulls out an axe. 

Three.

Innocence. It was something Techno lacked since the moment he was brought into the world. He never got to be a child. 

He doesn’t know how to deal with emotions, and he never really cared heavily about anyone within the castle.

To him, they were just a royal family who was letting him stay for a couple of years.

But something was tugging on his heart strings at the thought that he might fail to protect Tommy. Fail to save Wilbur. 

Four.

“Techno!” screamed from afar, but Techno started to doze off, unsure if Quackity was even around him anymore. “I’m going to go help Tubbo!” 

Techno’s surroundings were darkening, and the snow felt like it was getting thicker and thicker. 

Was he still holding his axe? 

Five.

Every minute that passes feels like an eternity. Why is time moving so slow? 

Six.

And suddenly, everything went dark. 

Tommy rushed down the hill, leaving Techno behind. Arrows were flying everywhere and screaming was filling the air as he came closer to the ground. The stumble brought him down so far. Even though his body was aching with every movement, and his skin growing colder, all he cared about was getting to Tubbo. He wanted to tell him how sorry he was. Before it was too late. Tears were starting to stream down his face as he kept running down the hill, the wind pinching at his cheeks and freezing the tears. 

As he finally made it to the bottom, he ran over beside Tubbo.

The sounds were so loud… Tommy felt as if his eardrums were about to burst. But for a moment, there is silence. It was something that if Tommy was his old self again, he would have filled it with laughter immediately. But instead, it was filled with violent sobbing.  The silence would last for much longer as there would be no sort of comedy that would be enough to rid of the darkness that was beginning to swarm the two of them. 

Tommy didn’t even notice Schlatt– he was crying too heavily. 

The beginning of the end was drawing near. 

“It’s going to be okay…” Tommy cries, through more violent and almost incoherent sobs. “We’re going to get you help once it’s over.”

Tubbo desperately tries to gasp for air as blood begins to leak inside of his chest. 

“It…” Tubbo huffs, his eyes beginning to swell with tears, “...hurts.” He continues to gasp harshly, trying to let oxygen into his lungs. 

Tommy kept swiping at his own eyes to get rid of his tears, but they kept coming anyway. If he kept repeating it, he was bound to have swollen eyes within the next few minutes. “Tubbo…,” he hiccups, unable to speak. 

Was this the way the world worked? Was it just never meant to be? Tommy still never had the chance to apologize for all of his wrongdoings. He never got to say thank you for everything Tubbo has done for him. He remained so loyal even when Tommy was selfish. Tubbo was kind even when he made awful jokes during the most wrong times. So why can’t he say anything now? Why is his throat closing up, heart throbbing with pain? Why is he always screwing things up? Can’t he just have his best friend back and play in the gardens like they used to? 

Suddenly, Schlatt quickly rips off the sleeve of his uniform. Tommy turns to examine Schlatt, whom he hadn’t seen in a little over a year. Fear filled his eyes as he realized he completely ignored him– but there was no time to discuss any rivalry. 

A few seconds later, Schlatt pressed the cloth down around the arrow in an attempt to try and slow the bleeding as he slowly tried to pull the arrow out. 

Agonizing screams filled the air, quickly gaining the attention of everyone around. 

In the distance, Philza could be heard cursing as he tried to keep the horde of enemies away. 

“Keep your eyes open!” Schlatt shouts towards his son, but his voice cracks on almost every word and Tommy can tell that he is about to fall apart. 

Tommy has never felt so scared. It was like he was holding onto something that was going to instantly fade away if he let go. 

“Dad…” Tubbo whispered. He knew he wanted to say something, but his words were fading, and he couldn’t think straight. “...stop!”

“I– what the fuck do I do?” Schlatt whispers, tears streaming down his face. He covers his mouth with one of his hands as he uses his other to gently rub the side of Tubbo’s cheek. 

“I…,” the young boy huffs, voice breaking. “...don’t want to die.”

“Just hold on, Tubbo,” Schlatt chokes, his heart shattering as he sees his son’s face scrunching in pain when he presses on the wound. “After this is all over, we can do whatever you like.”

“Like… ice– ice cream for breakfast?” Tubbo says meekly, trying to smile through the pain as best as he can. 

Tubbo felt like the entire world was pressing down against him. It felt cold and everything around him was darkening with each second that passed. He felt so tired, but he was too scared to close his eyes. Who would have known that the world would be cruel enough to hurt a 13 year old boy. 

“Yes,” Schlatt cries as he fakes a laugh, putting his hand through Tubbo’s hair. 

Tommy understood that a war had its consequences, but never like this. It’s interesting to say the least, the way the world works. The sun continued to release a beautiful sunset even though there was a child who was dying on the battlefield. A child that wasn’t even supposed to be here. The world was still turning even though countless people lost their lives today. 

How? How was the world still turning? 

Tubbo lets out a cough, in which blood comes spooling out from not only the wound, but his mouth too. 

“It’s going to be okay,” Schlatt whispered, removing the cloth and wiping the blood that dripped down the side of his cheek. “You’re not going to die…” 

Tubbo desperately tried to embrace the warmth of his father. He's longed for this for so long. And in that moment, Tommy could have sworn he saw a glimpse of faith in Tubbo. A moment of happiness in knowing Tubbo still had his father– Words were unable to express the way Tommy was feeling. 

As Tommy looked at his dying friend who laid weakly in his father’s arms, he began to sob even more. He still had so much to say to him. He had to apologize, but he didn’t have the strength in his voice to. There was still so much Tommy wanted to do with him. So much he wanted to experience with his best friend. 

“Tom…?” Tubbo breathes, his voice as quiet as ever. 

A sudden rush of aching pain goes through Tommy’s body. 

“What is it, Tubbo?” he cries, leaning forward. 

There’s a small moment of silence between them. 

Schlatt tries to smile through the tears as he looks at Tommy. Maybe he missed out on a lot of things, but there was nothing more tender than seeing Tommy interact with his son after they haven’t seen each other in so long. But it all instantly faded as the constant thought that his son was dying kept swarming his head. 

“I don’t…” Tubbo pauses, his voice growing more rasp by the second, “...hate you. Never.”

—Never. 

Tubbo’s face was growing more pale, and he was beginning to doze off. 

“Tubbo,” Tommy whispers. “Please don’t go.”

It wasn’t that Tommy didn’t want to say sorry. He just couldn’t. For the 13 year old boy, his mind was only thinking about his best friend, and how he was dying. Tommy was in a state of shock, zoning in and out of reality, and it was hard for him to pinpoint what was going on outside of the aspect of death. 

Suddenly, Tubbo was beginning to close his eyes. 

The snow around him was growing more red. 

What a beautiful color… It was Tommy’s favorite. 

“No, no, no–” Schlatt repeated, trying to hold onto Tubbo as much as he could without hurting him. 

All Tommy could do was sit and stare in silence as the world was falling apart. 

“Please Tubbo,” Schlatt pleaded, trying his hardest to keep him awake. “Let us go home together.”

But Tubbo didn’t respond. He simply didn’t have the strength to… and a few moments later, his eyes closed shut, and he let out a sigh of relief and pain. A soulless sound that signified the end of the young child’s life. 

The world has gone silent. 

Somewhere across the horizon, someone was welcoming Tubbo with open arms. 

The only prince of Skyrest has been killed. 

In another life, Tommy would have been brave enough to open up. He would have been brave enough to tell Tubbo how sorry he was. Brave enough to tell him all of his deepest secrets just like any pair of best friends would. 

Maybe in another universe, the world wouldn’t be so cruel. The atmosphere would be gentle and Tommy and Tubbo would be best friends, sitting on a bench together watching the sunset. 

“Tommy,” Schlatt whispers, not looking away from his son’s dead body. “I want you to stay here.”

Tommy looks up at Schlatt, tears streaming down his face and his memory going in and out. 

“Huh?” he responds, not fully understanding what has happened. 

“Stay here,” the King demands. He begins to gently lay his son’s head on the snow as he pushes himself up. “I’m going to kill every bastard in that–” And then he stopped. Mid-sentence. Anger was filling his body, but he had to remember to be calm… Tommy was only a child. He didn’t want to scare him, not anymore. 

Schlatt clears his throat, trying to stabilize himself as he can feel the vomit rushing up his system. “I’m– I’m going to go help your father.”

“But–”

“No buts, kid. Stay here.”

And that was it. 

Schlatt ran into the battlefield to help Phil in any way he could… but was it needed? Almost everyone was killed. 

Almost all of the citizens who ran into the valley were murdered… almost all of the Syndicate members were slaughtered. 

It was Niki and one other…

“You can fight against me all you want, Phil!” Niki screams sharply, her hair messed up and blood running down her mouth. 

“I don’t want to fucking kill you, Niki!” Phil yells back, each clashing of swords growing louder. 

From behind Niki, Phil could see Schlatt running towards them. He had a look on his face where he didn’t care about killing someone, he only cared about acquiring the vengeance of his son. 

“Please, why did you betray us? There has to be reasoning behind this!” Phil cries, trying to dodge all of her attacks. He tries so desperately hard to not hurt her. 

She was only a teenager when she arrived in the kingdom. 16 years old. When Phil was too busy caring for his sick wife and newborn child, he needed more help to tend the castle… and then there she was, as soon as the word got out. But why? She’s only a child… 

But nonetheless, she was taken in. And ever since, she was a part of the kingdom. 

“I did this for the sake of revenge!” she says in a psychotic tone. 

And suddenly, Phil stops. 

He just stands there. 

Niki is able to slice her sword through the flesh of the immortal three times before she stops, huffing heavily as she freezes in confusion. 

“Niki, talk to me,” he whispers. It was as if he was trying to talk to a child. 

“What the hell?” she responds. 

“What did they bribe you with?”

Snow falls around them. Schlatt can still be seen trying to catch up to them, but the snow is too thick for him to get to them any sooner. 

“They– they didn’t bribe me with anything!” she shouts, her eyes beginning to swell. 

Phil shrugs, dropping his sword. “Show me what I taught you, Niki.”

Niki tries to gasp for air as her energy has depleted. “What?...”

Ah, that’s right. Niki wanted to become a brave warrior, that’s why she wanted to work for the kingdom. 

Her parents were killed when she was young… by who or what, no one knows. But Phil saw determination in her eyes unlike any other. She was almost like Sam… but a little different. Phil noticed how she couldn’t catch up like the others in their training. He noticed how she smiled when she would bake but cried after each failed archery session. He noticed how caring she was towards Wilbur, but was too scared to hurt someone with a prop. 

He noticed. 

He noticed how Niki didn’t want to fight, she just wanted her family back. She wanted to feel useful to the world. 

But what Phil saw was how she held so much generosity and kindness for others. She was already useful from the day she stepped into the kingdom. It was something she lacked to see.

Phil opened his arms. “Remember, always aim for the temples on someone’s head. It’s their weak point, and then go for–”

“Their stomach,” she interrupts. 

“Right, because–”

“Because they’ll be too focused on the pain to fight back.”

“That’s correct.”

“But what am I to do with a sword?”

“Well, what did they teach you? I only taught you archery and self defense.”

Niki chuckled, tears starting to stream down her face. “I don’t know… I–”

“I was able to last hours, Niki,” Phil responds, laughing even though his chest was certainly aching from each open wound. 

Niki’s smile instantly fades as she drops her sword beside her, blood dripping from her hand. She tries to wipe at her tears, but she drops to the ground, beginning to sob. 

Phil kneels down, lifting a hand up in the air to signal towards Schlatt to surrender. 

“Niki, from the moment you stepped past my gates, I knew you were going to accomplish so much,” he whispers. 

“I’m fucking useless!” she sobs. “I don’t even know why I’m– why I’m here!” Her voice cracks with every word spoken. 

“You have a bright future ahead of you,” he responds. 

Philza didn’t have to say anything else for Niki to understand. 

Time.

It took only five seconds for everything to take a sudden turn. 

Everyone is bound to die. 

Phil didn’t even notice. Everything happened too fast– at the speed of light. 

But how? 

Only an immortal could handle such speed–

Niki started to cough up blood, as she fell face-first onto the snow. 

Phil’s heart sank to his stomach when he finally saw the black haired man standing behind Niki, a sword piercing right through her heart. 

“So, Angel of Death. I was thinking about what you could pay me with… for, you know. Kidnapping my victim,” the man says sadistically, dragging Tommy by his shirt collar. 

Phil quickly gets onto his feet as he picks up his sword in an instant. 

As he directs the blade towards the man’s face, he is only faced with a psychotic grin. 

“You can kill me all you want,” the man says, laughing. “But it’s no use.”

“Let my son go you bastard–”

“Ah, ah. That’s not nice, is it? I have a name,” he pauses. “Quackity. Call me Quackity.”

“Yeah because I’d fucking love to–”

Quackity suddenly grips onto Tommy’s arm, in which the child flinches in pain. The action fills Phil with anger as he pierces his sword through Quackity’s stomach. 

“Ow, that hurt!” Quackity mocks. “Why would you do that to me?”

“Prick...” Phil whispers, realizing what this all of this tomfoolery is.  

“If you turn around, I brought your son and… well, my victim down for you,” Quackity grins. 

Phil could only help but wonder… If he turned around, was he going to see his son on the ground, desperately trying to cling onto life? Was he going to see his other son– No, Techno, doing the same?

As he meekly turns his head, his face grows pale. 

They’re out cold. 

“Now, you’re going to listen to me,” Quackity demands. “You have no one else to save you.” 

Save them, Philza. Save them, a voice whispered. 

“Please Kristin, tell me how…” he mumbles to himself. 

Immortals can die, but it is rather difficult to do so. It could cause the extinction of humans… If done with bombs, airstrikes, the usual. 

But the other way is being able to rip their heart out of their chest and shred it. What makes it so difficult is that over time, immortals learn how to defend themselves. Or, maybe the Gods could help... 

“Hm… what should I ask for?” Quackity questions, making a play out of the entire scenery. 

Phil turns back around to look at Quackity in the eyes, anger filling his body. 

Protect them with everything, the voice whispered. 

Phil balls his first up so harshly that his nails dig into his skin, causing them to drip with blood. “You’re scum. You deserve to rot in hell you slimy piece of shit–”

Quackity grins as his entire body starts to rip apart. 

Suddenly, the wind dies down, and screams of agony surround the atmosphere. 

“Fuck!” Quackity cries out, instantly letting go of Tommy as he tries to cover his eyes.

Tommy quickly runs towards his father, whom he wraps his arms around instantly. 

“What the fuck is happening!?” Quackity screams, pain seeping into his body. 

Darkness instantly surrounds the three of them. 

Dark...

“Kristin?”

A Goddess. 

But she doesn’t direct her gaze to anyone except for Quackity. 

"It's too early for you to take their lives..." she whispers in Quackity's ear, placing her hands on his shoulders. 

Phil’s ears begin to ring as he is unable to hear anything but can see Kritsin move her mouth. 

“Come, Quackity,” she says quietly in which Tommy can hear, her voice as clear as the night. 

“Mom?” Tommy whispers, his eyes widening at the sight. 

He only sees a faint smile as the darkness suddenly begins to fade away with both herself and Quackity. 

“No, no, no!” Phil cries out, letting go of Tommy as he tries to chase the darkness. 

“Protect them with everything you have,” she whispers. 

Suddenly, everything goes silent. 

The snow is red. 

In the distance, Phil sees Schlatt tending Wilbur and Techno. 

Philza is unable to comprehend what just happened. 

For the first time in a long time… Tommy grabs onto his father’s hand. 

“Dad, are they going to be okay?” the young prince asks. 

But Phil doesn’t respond. 

Maybe this was how the world was supposed to work. 

People were meant to be left with zero answers to anything. 

Afterall, the Goddess of Death just pulled her first victim. 

It’s strange, the way the world works. 

But it meant that Wilbur and Techno were still alive. 

It meant that he was given a second chance to fix things with not only Tommy, but Wilbur too.

He kept secrets from them for far too long… 

Chapter Text

As many of you all know, we found out that someone whom a majority of us looked up to is an abuser. After hearing this information, I have decided to no longer finish this fanfic. I just do not feel comfortable continuing a fanfic with an abuser being one of the main characters. And I am not sorry if anyone is upset by this. I will forever stand by Shelby. Shelby, I am so sorry for what you have gone through. I would really like everyone, who hasn't already, to give Shelby all of your love and support. She really needs us right now and the best we can do is make sure she knows that her feelings are validated. That she is heard. That we will stand by her side no matter what. We will not allow an absuer to continue to have the platform he has now.

If you haven't already, unfollow him. Block him. And if you still stand by him, then you're just meat riding at this point. And no, I will not be replacing the character or "differentiating the character from the real person. Like Ranboo said, "listen to a different fucking song." Because no, I will NOT separate the art from the artist. And fuck you Wilbur. Support Shelby, and support victims.

I do not have any other chapters readily available. But I do have the plot summaries and what was meant to be the ending. So if you are interested, please send me your discord user and I will add you and send you what was meant to be the ending.

Thank you, and please give your upmost attention and support to Shelby.

- strawberries