Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You work too hard.

Sam inhaled sharply through his gritted teeth, clenching his eyes shut as he walked briskly through the halls of the Prison. His steps echoed and bounced among the empty obsidian halls, adding to the foreign noise in his head. While it was welcome, he wasn’t used to it yet.

All alone in here with him, and not a single thanks.

Something caught in his throat as he reached the wall of lava, going about to check that his prisoner’s food supply was still full. It was. Good. He hadn’t been able to check up on the prison when he was trapped with the Egg by BadBoyHalo and Antfrost. Now that he had, he could leave before he was noticed-

“Sam! Buddy, where have you been?!”

No, of course that would have been too easy. Just ignore him, it’s not like he has anything productive to say.

“Aw, c’mon, don’t give me the silent treatment! I’ve missed you, it’s not like I have much company in here.” Dream’s voice pierced through the lava like a poisonous arrow, threatening to split Sam’s head in two.

He talks a lot, doesn’t he?

Too many outside voices in his head, it was making his temples throb.

If you had wanted to get rid of me, you would have drank the water.

Right. That’s right. Puffy and Tommy had brought him home and given him a flask of Holy Water to get rid of the effects of the Egg. But he hadn’t drank it. He’d crushed the bottle instead once his two friends were gone. Fran hadn’t approached him since.

It’s alright, they’re scared, they don’t understand yet. With us working together, we’ll keep them all safe from the likes of Dream.

That was the plan.

“How’s Tommy? Being a brat? Living his best life out in the open?” Even if he couldn’t see him, Dream’s voice alone was enough to rattle the Warden.

Day in and day out as he kept the Prison running smoothly, all he heard was Dream’s endless taunts that wormed into his ears and entangled his thoughts. Since day one, Dream wouldn’t stop talking about Exile. About what he’d done to Tommy, what he would’ve done if Tommy had just behaved and stayed put like he was supposed to, what he was going to do to the others if he ever escaped, what he’d do to Sam, to Fran.

It would be a cold day in hell before Sam let Dream touch his Fran.

And Dream knew it wound him up, going into excruciating detail about every little terrible thing he’d do to each person Sam remotely cared about. Things Sam knew Dream was more than capable of, seeing how the man willing to torment those he once called friends. Sapnap and George had been distant for some time now, which upset Sam deeply. They all used to be so close.

“Hey, Sam!” Dream drawled out his name, voice dripping in mockery and sarcasm. “On a scale of one to ten, how painful is getting hit on the back of the neck with the handle of an axe?” He let the question hang in the air. Sam felt his fingers tremble as he waited for the answer he knew Dream would give whether he replied or not. “You should ask Tommy next time you see him.”

Hands clenching into fists, Sam grit his teeth further and walked away with heavy, angry steps as he heard Dream’s amused cackle from behind the lava.

Being locked away in there is too kind a punishment. Clearly, he’s not learning his lesson. You really should consider letting Quackity deal with him.

No. Absolutely not. That was a step too far. Dream is…the worst, in every way, but Quackity was too set on hurting for the sake of hurting. Sam cared for Quackity, knew the younger man had been dragged through the dirt by the likes of Dream and Technoblade for being weaker; arguably the weakest person on the server. But that was no excuse.

It’s because of people like Dream and Technoblade that Quackity is so angry all the time. And this…Schlatt person too. It’s strange…you claim to care about the others, yet you did little to stop these threats from hurting your friends.

That’s because he had stayed neutral. Sam was among the first people to have made a home in these lands, so when the newer arrivals started making alliances and kingdoms, while he officially had formed the Badlands with Antfrost and Bad, he’d never taken part in any of the wars. They weren’t his battles to fight, arguments between people he had no say in.

Quite…and look at the outcome. A broken, split land where everybody is living in hostile cohabitation. Nobody knows who their real friends are, and nobody trusts each other.

Standing behind his desk in the lobby of the prison, Sam sighed deeply, lifting his goggles off of his head and blinking to adjust his eyes to the harsh lights. Loosening his mask’s strap at the back of his head, he let the object hang around his neck. The mask helped regulate his oxygen intake and made sure he didn’t accidentally trigger the gunpowder in his system and hide his less than friendly-looking fangs. But it had an additional use now as well; covering up the red veins that clawed up the sides of his jaw and cheeks, as well as the crimson glow of his pupils, no longer a vivid green. He didn’t need anybody asking questions.

“It’s what I thought was best at the time…” He said softly, rubbing his gloved hands over his face, massaging the space between his eyebrows to smoothen out the headache he was getting.

Just like how you thought it was best to destroy me at the time when BadBoyHalo initially found me?

Sam winced at the accusatory tone of the voice, feeling something tighten in his throat. Him and Dream had been friends at the time, he was still building the prison and Bad hadn’t lost his mind yet.

It’s okay, I don’t take it personally. It’s normal to fear what you don’t understand. But we understand each other now, don’t we?

The voice’s tone was much softer now, and the tightness in Sam’s throat went away. An uncomfortable itch spread through his forearms.

“Yes…” He breathed out, as he rolled back his sleeves, revealing deep, red teeth marks he had inflicted on himself while trapped. He hadn’t had any food. The wounds wouldn’t close, but they didn’t bleed, an unnatural redness to them. Sam scratch at the wounds to sooth the itch while his eyesight went hazy, the world around him darkened at the edges. A red, humanoid figure appeared in front of him. It had no real shape, blurry and forever shifting and changing, like it couldn’t pick a form yet. Because it had no form to mould to.

BadBoyHalo tries, but we just don’t…click. He goes about everything in such a grandiose way, while never getting to the point of it all. You, on the other hand, you do, you know what needs to be done for the good of your home.

“Like with Tommy and Tubbo…” Bad has said the Egg didn’t like Tommy, and they had tried to convert Tubbo. Thankfully, Sam Nook had come to the teenagers’ rescue. But the Egg had told Sam the truth; it didn’t want to hurt Tommy, the blonde was just annoying. At first anyway. Having gone through Sam’s memories, it now saw that Tommy was just a hurt child trying to cling unto the freedoms and joys he had before the war. Just trying to have fun in a world that wanted to rid him of his colour.

Exactly. Tommy is…a rambunctious child, but in truth, he’s completely harmless. And Tubbo hasn’t done anything wrong. BadBoyHalo doesn’t understand what the true threat is. You do. You have to deal with the real threats every, single, day. And nobody even realises the pains you go through all on your own. I see, I understand, and I can help you. I will help you.

“Okay…” Sam breathed out shakily, reaching for a book on his desk. Not the visitor’s book, a personal one. With a list of all the inhabitants, with various notes next to each name.

The Eggpire is misguided. That makes them a threat because they’re acting upon what they think I want, not what I actually want. What we want.

Him and the Egg are on the same page. They both want to keep this land and the people in it safe.

Technoblade is unpredictable and ruthless, with his ‘my way or the highway’ attitude, he could destroy everything if he dislikes it. While he doesn’t bother anyone as long as he’s left alone, if one of his allies riles him up enough, he could be a danger to all of us.

Technoblade is a good guy, loyal to a fault but holds a grudge like an angry god. Even if it hurts others, if he thinks he’s in the right or has been wronged, he’ll mow down everyone to prove his point. Sam likes him, but he’s seen the damage he can do. They can’t have that.

Quackity, if left unchecked, could also be a problem. But for now…he’s just angry. The real threat is Dream.

That’s a given. But he’s locked away and weak, he can’t hurt anyone in here, not while Sam has something to say about it. As the Warden of the prison, his word is final.

Until it wasn’t.

Until his position’s responsibilities and personal relations clashed and pull and ripped each other to shreds leaving nothing but ribbons of tattered thoughts in Sam’s head.

Air wasn’t coming into his lungs, his chest burning as smoke collected in his throat and the smell of blood filled his senses.

He’d been so strict, he’d done everything correctly; lock down the prison the moment a threat showed itself, and it had. Even if stuck with Dream, Tommy should’ve been safe. There was no way they could hurt each other in there. Dream was living on a diet of raw potatoes and hadn’t seen the sun in months. He shouldn’t have had any power here. Tommy should’ve been fine.

Tommy’s lifeless body laid on the ground of the prison cell, blood covering the obsidian wall where Dream had beaten him against, a trail dripping down to the floor where the blonde’s lifeless eyes stared accusingly at Sam.

He had called for his help.

But Sam thought he knew better.

Thought he knew what was doing.

Thought he was doing the right thing by following the rules.

Stop thinking.

His body moved as his brain shut off, taking sharp steps towards his bloodied prisoner. Despite his face being covered by the blood-speckled mask, he could tell Dream felt mightily proud of his actions. Fury only further gripped at his chest. Grabbing at the shackle around Dream’s neck, he threw the man as hard as he could away from Tommy’s body, not caring if he hurt the former.

Cradling the much smaller body in his arms, blood stained his glove and cape. How was there so much blood? How was Dream capable of doing so much with nothing but his weakened hands? Why-

Dream laughed.

A low, amused laugh.

You’re the Warden.

He laid Tommy’s body back down gently on the obsidian floor and stood up.

It’s your duty to punish prisoners.

Turning, he saw that Dream’s mask was on the ground, revealing the man’s freckled face and twisted, malicious smile.

It’s your right.

Mask and goggles fell to the ground with a loud clatter.

Dream stopped laughing.

“…Sam?”

Fast footsteps.

“Sam.”

Bloodied, gloved and clawed hands grabbed at him.

“Sam!”

His feet didn’t reach the floor, face to face with a smoke-filled mouth of sharp, merciless fangs. Angry, inhuman red eyes piercing his own saturated, fear-stricken green ones.

“Sam!” Dream screamed, seeing unfamiliar red veins crawling over the Warden’s face, before thorned, root-like vines emerged from Sam’s self-inflicted bitemarks like a barrier being shattered and creeped from under his gloves, wet with an innocent’s blood, one repeatedly victimised by Dream.

No more.

No more.

“Sam, Sam! Stop, what are you doing, STOP!” Dream’s voice was unrecognisable as it bounced around the prison cell, full of panic and terror at the thorned vines twisting and wrapping around him, dragging and pulling as the world turned into a fuzzy, messy red. “SAM!”

Then it all stopped.

He couldn’t see where he was. All he knew was that Sam…no…that somebody was in his head, digging through his mind and memories, dragging up his deepest insecurities and most hidden secrets; The Revival Book. Sharp and careless, it tore through his brain like barbed wire, messily ripping every aspect of his being until there was nothing left but scraps.

It was nothing but hopeless pain and torture and…sadness. Deep, deep sadness.

Then his body hit the ground hard, making him gasp for breath as tears that weren’t his own threatened to spill. He dry-heaved against the obsidian flaw, clawing at it as his heart beat fast against his chest, a mournful pain that didn’t belong to him coursing through his veins as more and more roots wrapped around his body, covering the ground and walls like an infection.

“I…have tried…my damnedest…to do what’s right.” Sam’s voice above him was gravelly and restrained, smoke filling the air. Unable to move any other part of him that was being restrained by the crimson vines, Dream lifted his eyes to look at his former friend. He was only met with frustrated fury and hurt, a trembling shine to the usually green, now red, eyes. “And every single step of the way, you’ve done nothing but cause me pain. No. More.”

More and more vines wrapped around the prisoner, becoming thick like trunks and cocooning him. Frenzied panic rushed through him as Dream realised what was happening but struggling wasn’t an option. Finally, those tears that weren’t his dripped down his cheeks, as his vision once again failed him, his mind being taken over by something he couldn’t see.

“S-Sam, Sam, wait! Wait! Please, wait! SAM-!”

Dream’s voice was abruptly cut off as the monstrous vines completely submerged him. Sam let out a shaky exhale, blinking rapidly.

Look what we can achieve. We even have the knowledge of the Revival Book.

The Revival Book.

Tommy!

…It’s always Tommy with you, isn’t it?

It was with a large gasp and painful coughing that light returned to Tommy’s blue eyes, swearing up a storm as he curled into himself, wincing at the wetness of his blood he’d been laying in.

“Tommy, Tommy, you’re okay, you’re back.” He could hear Sam reassuring him, his hands holding him gently by the shoulders to help him sit up. Tommy blinked rapidly, frowning as he didn’t recognise his surroundings.

He’d been with Wilbur briefly, in an endless nothingness. And now…he was in the prison cell…but it looked…off.

Red vines surrounded them, almost completely covering the obsidian like blood-filled cracks. Looking past Sam, he could see a giant cocoon like mass and a sinking feeling made his heart drop to his stomach. Cautiously, he looked up to Sam, who had no mask or goggles.

Kind eyes looked fondly at him, but they were tinted with an unnatural crimson.

“You…You didn’t drink the holy water…” Tommy said shakily, not quite grasping the situation. “Why the fuck-?”

“It’s okay.” Sam reassured, smiling to him like he always did. But there was an uncanny edge to it that frightened Tommy. “Let’s get you of here.” The Warden stood up, pulling the smaller teen up with him. Sam’s sleeves were rolled back, and Tommy could see the injuries from where Sam had bitten himself as he was helped up. They looked fresh and yet weren’t bleeding.

“Where’s…Where’s Dream?” He was scared of the answer.

“Don’t worry, Dream can’t hurt you anymore.”

Tommy couldn’t take his eyes off the red mass as Sam led him out of the prison cell.

Only when they were halfway through the prison did Tommy’s brain catch up with what was really happening. He had died. Dream had killed him. He had called for Sam’s help when the explosions started during his visit, but Sam hadn’t done anything. He had prioritised his duties to the Prison over his life. And Dream had beaten him to death.

Now he was alive again. Sam had revived him. But…how? How did he know how to do that?

Peeking up at Sam’s back he was following, he could see the red crack-line vines crawling up Sam’s neck and jaw.

Sam was infected by the Egg. But…the Egg hated Tommy; he knew that…so why would he help him?

“You can go through, Tommy.” Sam’s voice pierced through his confusion, and a bloodied, gloved hand reached out to him. It was meant to be reassuring.

All Tommy saw was his blood on Sam’s hands.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” Tommy scream, swiping at Sam’s hand, making the taller man flinch back. “You left me to die!”

Sam’s eyes widened at Tommy’s angry, tear-filled ones.

“Tommy, I-”

“Shut the fuck up! I called for you and you abandoned me! You heard me, and you did nothing!” Tommy’s voice cracked at the end, sniffling loudly as the horror of it all finally hit him like a freight train. He took a deep, shaking breath. “Fuck you!” He screamed and turned heel, running to the portal Sam had activated for him.

Sam was left frozen.

His body moved instinctively to change the levers to let Tommy leave fully.

Only then did his brain snap back into action, mind clear for the first time since he was trapped. Eyes blinked rapidly, turning from red back to their original green.

Ice-cold horror rippled through him, and he realised just what he had done. What he had failed to do. No…No, no, no, this isn’t what he wanted.

Yes, it is. It’s exactly what you wanted.

“No it’s not!” Sam yelled, covering his mouth as nausea spread through his senses. “I-I wanted…I wanted to protect Tommy, and with the explosions, I thought-”

The explosions caused by Ranboo.

Sam’s throat tightened.

Remember what we saw.

When he had ripped through Dream’s mind, had tortured him…he had seen…Ranboo, but not. A controlled Ranboo. Ranboo had been conditioned by Dream to listen to his orders with certain triggers. But what could have- Sapnap. When Sapnap visited. Dream had given him a message to share to Ranboo.

“Sapnap…No, no he didn’t know!” Sam’s voice was muffled by his bloodstained gloves.

You can’t trust anybody. Everybody is a threat, whether they know it or not. They’re all a danger to themselves. You need to do something about it.

“No!” Sam yelled, frantic, digging his claws into his forearms, scratching at the self-made injuries. “Shut up, I won’t! They’re my friends, I-!”

Your friends who do nothing but get themselves hurt. Be realistic, Sam, left to their own devices, they will all tear each other apart. You need to keep them safe from themselves.

Lock them all away for their own safety.

In his heart, Sam knew that’s what he truly wanted to do. Because that’s what he’d done to himself, years ago.

“Shut up!” The scream tore from his throat so harshly it hurt.

He had to get to Church Prime, get to the holy water!

Smoke trailed after Sam as he ran as fast as he could down the Prime Path, feeling the flicker of sparks crackling in his chest. Either he gave into his Creeper nature, or he reached the holy water first, it didn’t matter which!

He just needed to get rid of the Egg’s influence!

It tutted.

Sam, Sam…you’re too deep in this now. There’s no getting rid of me.

Something wrapped around his leg, and before Sam could react, his arm was trapped as well. Frantically looking at what was happening, vines from the surrounding area were moving on their own, crawling and latching unto him. He tried to struggle with all his strength, but his head felt heavy, like he was being hindered. The same traitorous vines he had used to rip Dream’s mind apart crawled from his injuries and up his own arms until they wrapped around his throat.

We have an agreement Sam. You owe me.

“No!” Sam tried to snap at the vines, tried to tear them off him, but his body itself was infected and being taken over by a force stronger than his mind.

You belong to me.

More and more vines creeped and piled, restraining his movements, his breathing, red creeping back into the green of his irises. The clarity he had gained after Tommy had yelled at him was disappearing again, making him sluggish.

“You lied to me!” He accused with a choked voice.

And you fell for it.

A deep, echoing cackle rang through Sam’s mind painfully as he lost all control of his body, mind and eyes going blank as he was dragged downwards into the unknown.

You know, it’s the first time I have a real form like this. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of it, you just rest. You and Dream have much to share after all, plus, company will be joining soon. Once I’ve caught everybody, you’ll all have a nice, eternal sleep while I take over everything.

Muffled voices, yelling and exclamations could be heard.

They’re holding a Banquet, you know, so that I can infect the rest of the server. A cute effort, I’ll give them that. Makes my life a little easier if I don’t have to hunt everybody down individually using your body.

“Foolish!” That was Puffy.

Look, old friends murdering each other. It’s like I said; leave them to their own devices, and they’ll tear each other apart. What do you say, Sam…? Shall we save them from themselves?

…

Wonderful.

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Those vines, they’re moving!”

“Is that…Sam?!”

“This is where he’s been this entire time?!”

“Sam!”

“…Sam?”

As he plunged into the holy water and felt the influence of the Egg dissolve from him with screeching voices, Foolish gasped as something flashed in his mind, eyes wide as he looked up from the depths of the water, watching the air bubbles rise above him.

Sam had disappeared suddenly. He had looked for him but had found nothing. Even heading to his base, all he found was a sad Fran, and no Sam.

He’d been trapped.

No…worse.

Sam was completely taken over. Possessed.

That wasn’t Sam anymore.

Dragging himself out of the water, Foolish coughed and shook his head, before making eye contact with his kids. Junior and Finley looked at him in confusion as they saw the panic in their father’s eyes, not something they had seen before.

He needed to build a safehouse.

Chapter Text

Philza panted as he ran along the Prime Path. In the distance he could see blood red vines crawling over buildings and land at a terrifying pace. Before, they had appeared on occasion, out of nowhere and unexpected, but he had never seen them like hungry snakes across the ground, corrupting and staining all that came across it.

He had felt something was wrong. He had for a while but hadn’t been able to pinpoint it. When Technoblade told him this morning he had something to attend to, a dooming sensation had settled in his gut. But he trusted Techno to look after himself.

However, when he heard his crows flying over his home, screaming of ‘danger, danger’ and red vines, he knew that meant something truly bad had happened.

Upon seeing the devastated environment that had been lively and colourful this morning, Philza felt his wings tingle and flinch, wanting to fly as far away as he could from this place. But he couldn’t with his injured wing, and until he found out what happened to his pink-haired friend, he refused to leave.

Avoiding the vines crawling upon the ground, he jumped unto one of the taller wooden builds with a flap of his good wing and scoured the landscape. He didn’t know what he was looking for among the crack-like thorns. Until he saw it.

A figure walking from the opening to the Egg Room, where most of the vines were emerging out of. The thing turned its head left and right, looking around, before snapping its gaze straight at Philza, blood red eyes piercing the man’s ancient soul. Fear like never before gripped at the blonde. What made it all the worse is that the thing looked exactly like Sam. His old friend that had forgotten him.

He and Sam used to be close who knows how many years ago, but after Sam created the clone machine, they had gotten into an argument and split paths. Sam wanted to find a solution to death with the machine, but Phil had tried to show him that it would create an imbalance. They simply couldn’t agree and hadn’t spoken since. When Phil arrived in these lands, he had been surprised to see Sam, but realised that this ‘Sam’ wasn’t the original, but a clone, and didn’t know who Phil was. Still, even if it wasn’t the original body of his friend, seeing his likeness being corrupted and twisted by the vines like an infection disturbed him deeply.

“Hello…Philza. Come to stop me?” It spoke. It sounded like a mocking mimicry of Sam’s voice. Sam’s was kind and warm, sometimes stern, but always with a softness that displayed his true personality, even as the Warden. But here, it sounded cold and sharp, like the blade of an Executioner’s axe.

“Who are you? What have you done with Technoblade?” Phil asked, his voice tight, trying to power through the fearful emotions.

“Technoblade is dreaming, like all the others. As for who I am…can’t you tell?” It replied, face twisting in an uncanny smile. Despite it looking like Sam, so many things about it were off. Red creeped up the sides of its face to infect the veins of the creeper man’s black sclerae, and the usually green pupils were an inhuman, glowing crimson. A crown of vines climbed over the gold one like infectious ivy, and red dripped out from in between its fangs and nose, like a sickness barely contained. On its arms, bite-like injuries were wide open and dripping, vines crawling out of them and wrapping around the forearms and biceps. “Why don’t you join them, Philza? Old friend of Sam’s? I’m sure he’d be delighted to have you join them.”

At those words, vines aimed directly for Philza, attacking him from every direction. He drew his sword, and sliced the ones closest to him, quickly sliding down the side of the roof to jump unto the next building, making quick work of the vines continuing to come after him.

“It’s pointless.” A hiss echoed next to his ear, and as the winged man flinched in cold horror, red wrapped around his wings and arms, threatening to rip each limb off. This made him drop his sword and as it clattered on the ground with a sharp metallic sound, red covered his vision and wrapped all around him before he could so much as scream.

Then nothing.

Yet in the nothingness, Phil could sense the others. He could sense the other caught inhabitants’ presence even if he couldn’t ‘see’ them. Memories that weren’t his bounced around his skull like foggy dreams. Technoblade was here with him, trapped by the vines.

As he tried to yell out for his friend, new memories flooded his skull with cut off shouts and screams. And more people could be felt in the void, those who lived in the wider territories that hadn’t been at the Banquet. Trapped by the vines and brought into this…shared consciousness that all connected to a centre, a source…

Sam.

Actual Sam.

To Philza, Sam’s clone, but to the others, the Sam they know.

He was the only one he could see, and he wished he couldn’t.

As if melted to a thrown of fleshy, spiked vines, Sam was imprisoned, head hanging forward as a vague red figure lingered around him.

Phil tried speaking, but nothing happened. Thinking…became…hard.

He felt so…drowsy.

It let out a deep sigh, steam seeping from in-between its host’s sharp fangs like a dragon, more of the red dripping down its nose and chin.

Nearly everyone was caught. It’d even managed to get the silent deer and the absentee woman. The only ones it couldn’t snatch were the ghosts, but it had no use for them. They belonged to another being anyway, one the beast had no desire to deal with.

The ones remaining were the Enderman, the goat boy, the wannabe half-god and…Tommy. Oh, once that annoying brat was trapped and silence, all would be right in the world.

It couldn’t wait.

Sam Nook scanned the area, frowning deeply as he tried to get rid of the vines attempting to crawl over and into The Big Innit Hotel that he was defending. Something was terribly wrong, but try as he might, he couldn’t contact his creator. Sam was radio silent, something that had never happened before. As the vines kept returning at an unprecedented speed, Sam Nook knew they couldn’t affect him. He’s a machine, a soulless creation, made up only of an algorithm dedicated to protecting Tommy and fulfilling constructions.

Something beeped in his system as his whole body jolted, tail fluffing up in alarm as his ears perked up in a direction, mechanical eyes squinting. In the distance, he could see…Sam? His creator? But…no. No it wasn’t him, or at least, it was his body, but he wasn’t in control. A terrifying aura came from the being slowly, almost leisurely, making its way down the prime path.

“Sam Nook!” Tommy’s voice pierced his focus.

“Tommyinnit! You should not be here, it’s dangerous!” His voice came out as little chitters, but that was somehow understood by everyone.

“What’s happening?!” The blonde teen exclaimed, looking frantic as vines started creeping unto the hotel again.

“I am unsure, but…I believe the Egg has taken control of Awesamdude. I can see his body in the distance but…it is not him.” The robot explained.

Tommy’s eyes widened. Oh no…

“We…We need to bring him to Church Prime!” He screamed as a vine tried to grab him, but Sam Nook easily stabbed it with his trident, a protective, clawed hand holding Tommy by the shoulder.

“If Awesamdude is completely corrupted by the Egg…I do not believe that will suffice. We need to bring him back in control of his body, otherwise it will reject the water’s cleansing.” Sam’s lookalike robot said like he was reading from an instructions manual, pushing Tommy to start running away from the hotel and the endlessly growing vines. Tommy let out a small grunt of surprise as he did, before his eyes caught a figure approaching.

It looked like Sam.

Horror caught at his throat. What happened to him after he left the prison? He hadn’t dared approach the threatening obsidian building, keeping as far away as he could, for his sanity. He thought of what he said to Sam, of the man’s distraught, confused expression. An emotion Tommy couldn’t describe weighed on his heart. He had to do something to help him.

“We need to get Fran!” Tommy told Sam Nook, running in the direction of Sam’s base as he said this.

If Fran couldn’t help bringing Sam back, nothing would.

“Shh, shh, it’s going to be okay Michael.” Ranboo said, more to comfort himself than the little zombie piglin in his arms. Michael looked at him with his one eye, unaware of the danger around him as Tubbo tried barring as much of their front door as he could but let out a shout of frustration as vines crashed through the window, backing the small trio up against the back wall of the room.

“Fuck! There’s no stopping them!” Tubbo exclaimed, his ears flat against his head as he tried protecting the Enderman and piglin behind him with open arms. “What the hell is happening?!”

Thunder cracked outside, and a bright flash blinded the two teens, Ranboo covering Michael’s head protectively as they winced and ducked, glass and wood flying everywhere. Breathing heavily, Tubbo’s eyes fluttered open, his ears twitching every which way to try and pick up a threatening sound. All he heard was the sizzling of wood and the smell of burning.

“What…was that?” Ranboo asked meekly, peeking over his shoulder. The front of their house was in ruins, but more importantly, the vines that had been forcing their way in had been scorched to cinders. Despite that, more could be seen making their way forward.

Before either parent could come up with an answer, a large shadow loomed over them.

Hm…seems like some are actually managing to fight back. No matter, it would get them in due time. As it walked by the hotel, its eyes landed on the enormous prison, a smile pulling at its lips. How nostalgic, that’s where the first capture happened. Yes, it wasn’t all that long ago, but still…how time flies.

Isn’t that right, Sam?

“Sam!” A familiar voice called out. Looking up at the hill it had come from, it saw Tommy, with the robot and…

“Fran…” Sam whispered out, eyes widening in fond recognition at seeing the white wolfdog looking at him with a worried expression, her ears tilted forward to pick up the sound of his voice. Green glinted among the blood red of his corrupted eyes.

Fran…Tommy…that’s why this had all started. He cared about them and wanted to protect them and-

“I see what you’re trying to do.” The sharpness returned to its voice as it shook Sam away from the forefront of his prison. “Nice attempt, Tommy, but I hate you too much for sentimentality to stop me!” It roared the last two words, vines emitting from all around its body to attack the teenager.

Fuck, fuck! Tommy yelled to himself. It hadn’t worked!

Fran growled and pounced forward, jaw snapping at the vines that tried to attack Tommy, before she bolted forward with all the strength and speed her body could muster. That thing was pretending to be her beloved owner, it was threatening her owner’s loved ones, she would not stand for it!

Faster than the vines could react, the wolfdog lunged at the creature, and without hesitance, ripped into its arm with her canines. It might be Sam’s body, but it didn’t smell like him, nor was the expression on its face one that belonged to her kind owner, so she felt no concern to hurting the infected creature.

“Mangy mutt!” The voice snarled, sounding like several voices echoing at once. With delight, it realised just how resistant and strong its host was, so lifting the arm the white dog had buried its teeth into, it violently threw her back, intending on making her crash against the stones below.

The cry of pain Fran let out as she was thrown scared Tommy.

But Sam Nook, having seen the danger, had his arms open and ready to catch the wolfdog, and wasting no time, picked up Tommy too and dashed away from the creature.

“You may have protected him once, but don’t think that’ll happen again!” The voice yelled after them, sounding maniacal. “You’re nothing but red stone and bolts!”

If before the vines had been leisurely strolling their way through the lands, now they were sprinting and scrambling after the fleeing trio, Sam Nook needing to dodge, slide and jump out of the way of dozens, hundreds of vines that never let out. The path before them was being closed off, leaving nowhere for Sam Nook to safely running across without stumbling over the thorny spikes.

“This way!” A booming voice yelled out, before thunder cracked across the sky with a blinding light and obliterated the obstruction ahead of them. Blinking through the white flash, Tommy saw Foolish in his full giant form, one hand holding filled with crackling energy, and the other holding Tubbo, Ranboo, Michael, Michelle, Ghostbur and Friend. “Hurry! I built a safehouse!” He explained, turning away to start running in that direction.

Throwing Tommy over his shoulder to free a hand, Sam Nook used his trident to fly across the sky, aiming for Foolish. He landed with a wobble unto the demigod’s upper arm, scrambling to not let either Fran nor Tommy fall, before dropping into the palm of his hand besides the goat boy and Enderman.

“Are you okay?” Tubbo asked his blonde friend worriedly, seeing how frantic and borderline hyperventilating he was.

“I-I…I tried to snap Sam out of it. Sam Nook and I got Fran, I thought…I thought that would do it but, but…” He explained as his throat tightened, unable to calm down. Besides him, Fran whimpered, struggling to get unto her paws as she was still shaken from being thrown.

“Aw, poor doggo.” Ghostbur cooed with a smile, his blue sheep huffing warmly at Fran before nuzzling her ear comfortingly. “You looked stressed, Tommy, have some blue.”

“I-…thanks, Ghostbur…” Tommy sighed as he accepted the unaware ghost’s gift.

“It seems the vines weren’t interested in him but…it felt wrong to leave him behind.” Ranboo explained, cradling an equally unaware Michael in his arms.

“We don’t know if the vines are going after the little ones neither!” Foolish’s giant voice boomed, joining his thundering steps as he made his way back to his desert. “But I wasn’t going to take any chances. Foolish Jr and Finley are at the safehouse too!”

Peering over the giant clawed fingers that were carrying them, the three teens saw where they were being taken to. It was a giant, pyramid like build, with water flowing over it like a blanket, surrounded in walls and columns.

“How is that a safehouse?!” Tommy exclaimed but was left with no answer as Foolish deposited his passengers at the entrance before returning to his usual, non-giant height.

“Get in!” He yelled, forcing them all forward with little patience and a lot of ferocity. Nobody argued, seeing how the vines and Sam’s body were hot on their heels. Running under the waterfall, which drenched all of them except Ghostbur and Ranboo (who Sam protected from the water so he didn’t get burned), Foolish was the last to enter before he turned to face the creature, eyes glaring and unafraid as it made a direct beeline for him.

It wanted to claim him back.

But once it reached the water, the vines that touched it sizzled into nothingness, forcing the others to stop in their tracks.

“Clever, Foolish, clever…” The voice echoed as it used the remaining vines like steps to be face to face with the builder, before unseen heels clicking against the thorns. “And in such a short amount of time too…you truly are skilled.”

The remaining inhabitants could see the creature fully, behind the curtain of Holy Water that was their sole protection.

Emerald-green eyes glared furiously at the crimson glowing pupils that dared to replace his friend’s vibrant green ones.

“Let Sam go.” He growled through his shark-like, emerald teeth.

“Oh, dear, stupid Foolish…Sam’s not here anymore.”

Chapter Text

“What do you mean?!” Tommy yelled, but didn’t dare step forward, staying close to Sam Nook and the others behind the protective wall of Holy Water cascading down.

“It’s as I said. Sam’s. Not. Here.” The creature pronounced every word with gleeful venom, enjoying seeing the mixture of fear and anger in the teen’s eyes. “Don’t act so surprised…Sam’s such a well-meaning guy…but he’s easily influenced. He was already tearing at the seams being stuck with Dream every day. The things the man would say, oh, it makes you question if he’s even human. But you know that, don’t you, Tommy?”

Tommy swallowed, not liking being reminded of Dream’s torments. Nor of the fact the Egg knew about it.

“All Sam needed was a little push in the right direction, and he fell right into the palm of my hand…it’s easy to twist a good man’s thoughts when he’s already broken and alone. Leaving a soft-hearted man like Sam in charge of a prison…None of you knew him well at all! Beneath all that sternness and discipline of the Warden’s façade, there’s nothing but a kicked puppy who wanted to do what’s right for the people. And none of you saw that, you just let him suffer in silence.”

Foolish let out a growl from his throat as the creature’s voice became laced in mocking amusement, tightening his hand into fists.

“You took advantage of him!” He exclaimed loudly, the usual kindness in his tone gone as primal rage took over. Having had the voices in his head, he knew what the Egg was capable of, twisting thoughts and beliefs to match what it wanted you to do, taunting you with your past that would be best left untouched.

The creature smiled at Foolish.

“As did all of you. In all the little kindnesses he did for others, none of them have ever gone appreciated. Even with the jobs he was paid for, with Quackity and Dream and more, some part of his good will was being used against him. Ponk stole Fran and made him believe she had died. Tommy, he built you an entire robot just to keep you company! Not to mention protect you and Tubbo!” It motioned to Sam Nook, whose ears were flat against his skull.

“And worst of all, half of you didn’t take him and his duties seriously. When he did. He sacrificed his time, his sanity and skills to keep that prison running and Dream locked up. Which is bad enough, but then you all start messing with him, adding unnecessary weight to his shoulders?” It glanced at Ranboo for a moment, which made the tall Enderman shrink away in fear, before narrowing its eyes back on Foolish.

“If you’re going to call me out for being a manipulative bastard, which I am, that’s what I do…then maybe look at yourself as well.”

They all looked at each other, feeling sick in their chests.

“You’re the Egg…right? What do you want? Why do all this?” Tubbo asked as Ranboo and Sam Nook started ushering Ghostbur, the pets and children into the pyramid, away from the creature’s prying eyes.

“Why does anybody do anything? Boredom…Power…Control? Pick your poison, it probably applies to me.” The creature cackled, leaning back on a large vine and crossing its legs as it sat, looking very smug. “I want you all trapped. Then when I do and you’re all stuck in sublime dreams, I’ll feed off your memories and become powerful enough to move unto the next world, and the next, and the next, spreading around like an unwelcomed virus.” As it spoke, it spread its arms wide, grinning.

“A virus is never welcome, that’s kind of the whole point.” Foolish grumbled out, crossing his arms at the theatrics of the creature.

It felt uncanny looking at Sam’s appearance acting like this; arrogant and self-important. Not to mention evil.

“Au contraire. Sam invited me right in. Didn’t you, Sam?”

He’s so tired. Everything hurt yet he felt nothing at the same time. He couldn’t move, trapped in the prison of his own mind, his memories and thoughts on display for all to see, in turn, others’ minds projecting into his soul like an overwhelming movie theatre. Too many characters, too many words, too many things happening. He couldn’t make any sense of it as he sat trapped on this throne of vines and flesh-like substance.

“You just wanted to keep everybody safe, didn’t you? How valiant. How stupid. You can make as much machinery and as many clones as you want, you haven’t learned a thing.” It was as if the creature was speaking to itself, but making a show of it for Tubbo, Tommy and Foolish who were still paying attention to it. As well as for the other trapped inhabitants in the void of Sam’s mind. “But that’s alright, I’ll just fulfil what we agreed on.”

It's red eyes snapped open from where they had closed in thought, red glare shaking Tommy to his core.

“I’ll lock them all up to keep them safe. From others. And from themselves.”

A wide, fang-filled smile tore through its face, contorting Sam’s features to the point Tubbo and Tommy had to look away, too disturbed.

“Let’s go. Listening to it anymore won’t be of use, it’s just tormenting us.” Foolish advised the two teens, ushering them into the pyramid where Sam Nook and Ranboo had helped Michelle and Michael settle in with Foolish Junior and Finley.

“It’s only torment because you don’t like to hear the truth!” The creature laughed, voice echoing along the water.

Foolish knew his setup couldn’t keep it out forever. It’ll find a way in, somehow, so Foolish knew they had to be proactive and come up with a plan to get rid of the creature.

Ghostbur was busying himself with reassuring the children everything would be fine, passing some blue around as Friend snuggled up to a sad Fran. She didn’t have any injuries but was severely rattled from the day’s events.

“Foolish, what do we do?” Tubbo asked, trying to hide the slight shake he felt in his voice. After all he’d been through since arriving in these lands, very little could make him afraid. But this whole mess…it was getting to him. Ranboo was trembling like a leaf, unable to keep his composure. Foolish inhaled deeply before looking at the teenagers.

“I need to finish setting up my plan. Sam Nook, I’m going to need your help since you have Sam’s knowledge. It’s not a difficult build, but I don’t to waste any time. I’m sure it’s already figuring out a way to break in.” The totem explained, heading deeper into the pyramid and leading them into a square room that felt strangely…tight. It looked unfinished. “Just don’t let it get to you before me and Sam Nook are done here…it’s doing what it always does, getting into our heads and using our vulnerabilities against us.”

Despite having used Holy Water to get rid of the voices earlier, Foolish could tell there was still a lingering affect happening to him. A strange headache was pulsing ever so slightly at the base of his skull, and he kept getting small flashes and glimpses of scenes and memories he didn’t recognise.

Such as a large white room and being encased in glass of his own making for…who knows how many endless years.

He had a feeling that one belonged to Sam.

A pained sigh escaped Foolish’s throat.

Somehow…he felt he had failed Sam as a friend.

Chapter Text

“Really, leaving Sam alone like that…”

Foolish flinched, gripping his head tightly as his eye twitched painfully.

“…thinking a bleeding heart like him could take all the burden of being the Warden on his own…”

A pulsating throb made the golden man stumble and have to lean against a wall.

“…It’s no wonder he was so easy to manipulate. You all abandoned him, after all.”

Foolish’s emerald eyes snapped open, glaring at the entrance of the pyramid. Beyond that was the cascading protective wall of Holy Water, where behind it, the watery figure of Sam’s possessed body was smirking at him. How did Foolish get here? He thought he had been inside the chamber, showing Tommy, Tubbo and Ranboo his plan.

He dragged his claws against the wall of his build, scratching it with a piercing sound, and tightened his fist. Foolish needed to ground himself.

It seemed that even with the purifying of the Holy Water, the Egg still had some effect on him. Finally having a vessel to move around and control seemed to amplify its power. Which means they had no time to waste. Any moment, this creature would find a way to break into the safehouse and trap the last survivors.

“Sam wanted this; you know. I’m just doing what he asked.” The creature taunted Foolish, bringing a clawed hand to its own chest as it spoke. “Keeping you all safe is the only thing he wanted. And yet the whole lot of you just sat by and watched as he lost his mind!” It cackled at the end, holding its own head in its hands as if to cup it, before tilting it, eyes narrowing on a furious Foolish. “And you dare call him a friend…how very foolish of you.”

Foolish wanted nothing more than to electrocute the corrupted being right in front of him, but he knew it wouldn’t do anything to it. While he could destroy the vines temporarily, Foolish doubted that the thing would stand by and let itself get hit by the demigod’s lightning.

And really…Foolish couldn’t attack something that looked like Sam. It was still Sam body’s after all, and he knew that his friend had to be in there somewhere, trapped like everyone else.

In the prison of his own body, Sam stirred ever so slightly, and tried to argue. He wanted to tell Foolish it wasn’t his fault, to not blame himself, that he couldn’t have known, but the vines around him tightened, keeping him from moving or saying anything.

“Now, now, Sam…you sit still and let me deal with this.” The Egg scorned lightly, as if speaking to a child. These words were said out loud, which made Foolish’s angry frown only deepen, knowing that his friend was also being tormented.

For a split second, a sad expression crossed Sam’s features, before it twisted back to a snarling smile. Foolish knew Sam wasn’t content with this. It hurt him that he hadn’t been able to help someone he claimed was his friend. While he hadn’t been able to help back then, maybe he could help now, in some way. Turning heel, he rapidly walked back into the pyramid.

“You can’t save someone if you don’t truly know who they are, Foolish!” The Egg laughed after him, before an echoing whisper buzzed in the man’s ears. “Not like Sam know who he truly is…”

Sam couldn’t save himself.

Seeing Foolish angrily walk past him back into the chamber, Tommy glanced around the corner to peek down the dark hallway, where the only light came from the outside world through the entrance. Just barely, he could see the blood red shape of the creature.

It noticed him too.

“Hello Tommy…Come to admire the fruits of your immaturity?” Tommy winced at the words but said nothing, anxiety starting to rise in his chest as he suddenly felt watched. Like a bug trapped under a microscope to be ripped apart and observed. “What, no smartass remark? No clever quip? No childish screaming?” The voice pushed, making the blonde teen start to feel nauseous.

The world around him blurred, vision narrowing down only to the creature that wore Sam’s features, blood red eyes glaring at Tommy with such vitriol, such hatred, that Tommy thought he’d shatter into tiny little insignificant pieces.

“I don’t think you realise just quite how hated you are, Tommy.”

Tommy couldn’t breathe, short, sharp gasps catching at the back of his throat.

“You should have aimed your jump better.”

Tears pricked at Tommy’s eyes, uncomfortable memories creeping back to the forefront of his mind as the voice dragged out his darkest and scariest thoughts, clawing at his mind to find anything and everything to use against him.

It was just like Dream.

Dream was standing in front of him.

He couldn’t do this again.

A firm, solid hand grabbed his shoulder tightly, the teen jumping out of his skin and looking up at Sam Nook with tear-filled eyes. The robot had a kind, warm look on his face. He didn’t know what really happened to Tommy in Exile but knew it had bothered his creator enough to build him and assign Tommy under his care.

“Do not listen to it.” Friendly little chirps filled the air, a gentle comfort to ease Tommy’s anxiety filled body. “It does not know you, only hates what it cannot control.”

“I was immune to it before…why now…?” Tommy asked, sniffling and wiping his eyes with his red bandana.

“The Egg now having a vessel like Awesamdude has more power and influence on others.” Sam Nook explained, ushering Tommy to head back into the chamber where Foolish, Tubbo and Ranboo were waiting for him. “Ranboo has not set eyes on it since we arrived here, and he is terrified.”

That’s true, entering the chamber, Tommy could see that the tall Enderman was shaking like a leaf. While now that the blonde was away from the preying eyes of the corrupted creature, the uncomfortable feeling went away, however Ranboo, even this deep into the pyramid, could still feel its effects like it had a clawed hand around his throat.

Ghostbur was looking after the little ones and the pets. Michelle, Michael, Foolish Jr and Finley all seemed relatively unaffected by what was going on, at most a little worried as to why their guardians were reacting the way they were. Michelle missed Puffy. Fran was on high alert, glaring at the only entrance into the room they were all set up in, while Friend laid beside her, big enough to hide all the children behind him. Ghostbur was just oblivious enough to not fully get what was happening, but focused enough to know that leaving the room unless told otherwise was not an option. Tubbo asked him to take special care of their children, so he will. He missed Fundy.

“We don’t have any time left.” Foolish said firmly, holding a potion bottle. “The Egg is stronger than before, and clever too. It’ll find a way to get in sooner rather than later.” Ranboo let out a tortured sound, Tubbo by his side as he vainly tried to reassure the taller teen. Foolish looked to Tommy, holding out the bottle. “I have a plan.”

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

It felt around the cold, wet earth, digging its way under and through the dirt, undoing the foundations of the land to make way for its vessel.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

Thorns roots tore and ripped through rocks, sand, and mud, down, down, down, forward, then up, up, up, until it hit cut sandstone.

Crack, snap!

“Ranboo!” Tubbo cried out, before vines wrapped around him as well and suspended him in midair, just out of reach of the other. “Argh, let go!” He shouted, trying to wriggle out of the hold.

“Settle down, don’t give me a reason to make you cry again, goat boy.” The being laugh as it raised from the crevice it just tore through the ground, cracks spreading across the floor, walls, and ceiling, only being held up by the powerful vines that had gotten stronger with every individual they trapped and using Sam’s very blood as a power source.

Soon nothing would stop it.

“You should be thankfully, Ranboo, I’m going to take away all your endless worries and tormenting memories. I mean…this is partially your fault.” It taunted a tearful, scared Ranboo, the latter wide-eyed and confused at the words being spoken to him. “Though…maybe you don’t remember. Dream found you painfully easy to control. Does setting off TNT at the prison and causing Sam to put it on lockdown ring a bell?”

Something clicked in Ranboo’s mismatching eyes, realisation and understanding spreading throughout his face before horror and guilt settled in.

“I-I…No, I-…I didn’t mean to-” He tried before getting interrupted.

“No, you never mean to, but you always do, being the spineless coward you are.” Blood dripped from its mouth as the creature cackled at the Enderman’s misery. “But don’t worry, by the end of this, you’ll have nothing to thoughts to think. I’ll make sure to ‘keep you safe,’ as Sam wanted.” Beyond Tubbo and Ranboo, blonde caught its glowing eyes, and at the end of the corridor, it saw Tommy. “Come here, Tommy…” It said, a guttural growl emitting from its throat, inhuman.

With Tommy gone, that would get rid of its biggest problem.

As Tommy ran away around the corner, it pursued him, only to be ambushed by Foolish and Sam Nook. A pointless effort.

Like an unstoppable force, it strode forward. Vines burst from the walls and floor, wrapping around the two men, and crashing them to the surfaces. It couldn’t do anything with the robot, it was nothing but bolts and red stone. Foolish, on the other hand…

“Right back where you belong.” It taunted to the snarling man, the latter trying to rip the vines apart, but more only restrained the demigod, thorns digging into his golden skin and threatening to do worse if he didn’t stop resisting. Glancing to the robot, the creature stepped over it. “I’ll deal with you later, once I have your precious Tommyinnit trapped and quiet for once.”

Sam Nook let out a frenzy of angry chirps and sounds, but they went ignored as the creature continued forward, following the direction of the corridor until it entered a chamber, Tommy scrambling against the wall as he stared at the threat approaching him with wide, blue eyes.

Back against the wall, alone and afraid.

A similar sight, only surrounded with obsidian instead of sandstone, flashed in the Egg’s mind. That memory was Dream’s, and while it would love nothing more than to tear the annoying child to bloody ribbons, it unfortunately needed him for the plan to succeed.

But that didn’t mean it couldn’t torment him.

“I meant it when I said it’s your fault Tommy.” It spoke, footsteps echoing with every clack of its heeled boots, slowly approaching its final target. “Out of everyone else, you are Sam’s only weakness. The way he spiralled after Dream killed you, it would’ve been kinder if Dream ripped his heart out of his chest. When that happened, it was a done deal. I finally had every last atom of his being in the palm of my hand, willing to do anything to bring you back.”

Tommy swallowed thickly, heart hurting in his chest as the weight of the situation crashed unto his shoulders. His hand slipped behind his back, reaching into his pocket.

“Instead of letting you be handed to me, Sam was trapped by his friends because he wanted to protect you. Dream drove him insane by telling him endless stories of all the ways he tormented you. Sam lost all remaining sense of self and sanity because Dream killed you. His supposed smart brain broke because he had to choose between his duties and you.”

Just out of arms’ length, it stopped, a final click of its heels as it towered over Tommy, red vines creeping into the room behind it, encasing Tommy into a crowded, claustrophobic space; his final prison.

“And you didn’t even care.”

The whisper, said with elated cruelty, hurt Tommy more than any sword or arrow could.

He did care. Had cared. But he’d been so hurt, and scared, and upset!

Clawed hands grabbed at him.

His hand curled around the potion bottle, and downing its content as he dodged the attack, Tommy dashed for a lever at the corner of the room.

“Whatever you do, it’s useless!” The creature roared. Whatever patience it had left was gone. It wanted Tommy trapped and out of its way. “You have nowhere to hide, nowhere to run and no one to save you! You’re alone, like you deserve to be!”

The words stung, and as he grabbed the lever, he dared spare a glance at the creature.

It was a twisted, cruel mockery of the man who had been the first to visit him in Exile, offering him an escape if he so wished. He hadn’t taken the offer at the time, too set on going home or maybe…too scared of disobeying Dream.

He hoped Foolish was right. He hoped this would free Sam, and everyone else.

Pulling on the lever with all his strength, two things happened.

The only entrance to the chamber slammed shut with a heavy stone door that crushed the thick vines, and Holy Water started gushing from the ceiling, coming from the source at the top of the pyramid.

Red eyes widening in realisation at the trap, it let out a furious, pained roar as the water filled the room, crowding at it feet and only raising. Red tainted the water, like unnaturally crimson blood, while a burning sensation shot through the possessed body’s system, causing it to tremor and shake from the pain.

“Stupid, annoying little fucking brat. Always getting in my way, mocking me, a fucking childish nuisance that knows only how to leech off others!” It rambled, clawing at its own chest and throat before its eyes settled onto Tommy. “I ABHOR YOU!” It roared at Tommy, with all the hysteria of a dying, cornered animal.

Tommy let out a cry as he stumbled backwards, water splashing around him as he fell, truly and well cornered with a creature that wanted nothing more than to turn him into a forgotten memory. Claws and red dripping fangs flashing in front of him, and Tommy curled in on himself, awaiting pain.

But nothing happened, only the sound of running water and frustrated growls of effort through gritted teeth rang in his ears. Peeking from behind his arms, he saw the monster, a hair’s breadth away from him.

It groaned and growled, fighting against an unseeable force as it desperately tried to grab at the blonde, a murderous look in it eyes. But deeper than that, a green glimmer.

“Don’t…touch him!” A familiar voice grumbled with pained effort, emitting from somewhere deep in the being’s chest. Like it was being pulled away, the Sam-like creature stepped back, unnatural, stiff, and sudden twitchy movements forcing it to return to the middle of the room as the water reached thigh-level.

The Holy Water was having the wanted effect.

It had only given him an inch of freedom to work with, but Sam took it and was now ripping at the tendrils in his mind keeping him trapped. With all the ferocity of a dying man who had no care for his own well-being, Sam snapped and pulled at the red fleshy threads, fighting against the controlling power that forced him into the depths of his own mind.

“That’s enough. No more.” Sam growled, barely above a whisper, exhaustion contaminating his bones. But he had to push against it.

“Stop!” The creature roared, gripping at its head, feeling its control over its host weakening as the man pushed against it. “I’ve completely taken over your body! If I disappear, it’ll use up all your lives! You’ll die!” It tried in vain to make Sam listen. Maybe if it could regain even some control it could still break out.

Stupid Tommy! Its hatred towards him had wasted it precious escape time.

“I don’t care!” Sam shouted, finally ridding his throat of the thorned vines that kept him silent. “I won’t let you use my body to hurt Tommy!”

“S-Sam?!” Tommy cried out to the man, water now rising to halfway up his chest. For a moment, green eyes flashed, and Sam looked to Tommy, a soft, sad expression on his face.

“I’m so sorry, Tommy…” He whispered out, before his expression twisted and it roared in pain and anger, screwing its eyes shut as it struggled against the original owner of the body.

The water filled the room up completely. Thanks to the potion of water breathing Foolish had given him, Tommy would be fine, able to see in the water even with his eyes open. There, he could see Sam’s body twisting and twitching, the vines dissolving into nothing as the Holy Water turned from a pristine blue to a murky, bloody red.

In his mind, the Egg screamed, yelled, and cursed, rattling the skulls of all the trapped inhabitants. The figure that had stolen his image started blurring and losing shape as Sam kept a tight hold on it. He wouldn’t let it infect anybody else.

Finally, after a dreadfully long minute of suffocating in the water, the creature let out a terrifying, ear-splitting howl of pain and despair. All of the remaining tendrils and blotchy veins dissipated off of Sam’s body, the green hue returning to his skin, markings, hair, and eyes.

And then his body was gone too.

Set on a timer, a couple minutes passed before blocks clicked around the room and drained the water. A very Sam inspired contraption that Tommy was sure Foolish had learned from the red stone user.

As the water drained, Tommy was left dripping wet and alone, sitting on the ground, against the wall.

He didn’t know when he’d started crying, the Holy Water mixing with the tears dripping down his cheeks and chin, but he openly sobbed.

Chapter Text

Blinking rapidly as they were blinded by the bright blue sky, Ponk and Puffy finally made it out to the surface. Behind them, various of the others followed too, some grunts of complaint as they stepped over wilting vines and oddly placed stones.

Removing his mask, Ponk scratched through his scalp aggressively with both hands before taking in a deep breath of fresh air. Then proceeding to cough violently.

“Ponk! Puffy!” An excited voice called out to them, and before the two could react, Foolish was bearhugging them simultaneously. “You’re okay!”

“Define ‘okay’.” Ponk wheezed but smiled when he saw that Foolish Jr and Finley were propped up on Foolish’s shoulders, grinning widely at him with their little sharp emerald teeth. Quick light steps were heard getting closer, and Puffy saw Michelle running towards her.

“Mama!” The little zombie piglin exclaimed as Puffy was released by Foolish and brought her adopted child into her arms, hugging her tightly as well.

Tommy, Sam Nook, Tubbo, and Ranboo, holding Michael, quickly arrived too as the others released from their restraints in the underground reached the surface. They all started checking on each other, looking for injuries or new scars, but found nothing. Those who had been in the Egg Cult were free of the brainwashing, their appearances returned to normal and with a huge amount of guilt in their hearts. Especially Antfrost, who apologised profusely to Foolish for killing him.

“Quackity! George!” Sapnap’s voice echoed along the Prime Path, and the two men looked at him running towards them, followed by Karl Jacobs. They had ran all the way from Kinoko Kingdom as soon as they had been released, which left the latter a little worn out. Karl’s eyes seemed more focused as well, as if sharing all of the inhabitants’ memories had brought him back to his old self. “We’re so sorry!” Sapnap said with watering eyes as he hugged Quackity. Karl Jacobs all but tackled a very dishevelled looking George.

Looking at each other, all the inhabitants realised that they knew what this was about. While trapped by the Egg, everybody’s memories, pasts and intentions had been put on blast like a twisted show. Which left them all vulnerable and exposed, their biggest insecurities for all to see. The only reassurance was that it had happened to everyone too.

“It’s…it’s okay.” Quackity whispered, hesitantly hugging Sapnap back, like he’d get burned. “…I’m sorry I thought you abandoned me.”

Skeppy, Jack Manifold, Connor, Callahan and Alyssa soon appeared from their own various directions, joining them. Skeppy almost toppled Bad over in a hug, and Nikki ran to Jack with happy tears in her eyes. Chatter filled the air as old grudges were aired; meek, embarrassed apologies were said to those who needed to hear it. It all felt very awkward as nobody knew what to do now; all their spats and grievances felt almost meaningless after what they all had just experienced.

Those who had lost memories had regained them, leaving Eret to be comforted by Foolish, the latter of who reassured them everything was going to be alright. Ranboo, despite only having been trapped by the Egg for a very short time, had still gotten some of his memories clawed back to the forefront of his mind. He could’ve felt lost, if not for Michael in his arms grounding him and Tubbo keeping a gentle hand on his elbow. They could all deal with their revelations later, for now, everybody needed to collect themselves and decide what to do next.

Quackity stepped up to Technoblade, a humiliated, pink tint to his cheeks. There was a lot of bad blood between the two; misunderstandings, assumptions. It had all led to a lot of hurt and pain.

“Techno, I’m…” Quackity started but he was interrupted.

“Nah, I get it.” The crowned man waved off. “Let’s skip the melodramatic apologies, we both know we’re not good at that.” Quackity let out a small breath of amused relief, seeing a humoured grin on his former enemy’s face. They’d probably never be close friends, but now that they understood how the other worked, their pain, their experiences, there was a silent understanding that said they could get along.

As Quackity went to speak to Eret and Foolish about what they should do about the vines, Techno looked to Phil. The two had already checked up on each other, and now he saw a distant, determined look in the winged man’s eyes.

“Techno, there’s something I have to do.” He said, and turned heel, running in the direction back to his and Techno’s home.

“Phil?” Techno called out confusedly, running after the older man. Neither noticed Ghostbur trying to talk to them.

A sad feeling entered his chest, but as usual, he tried to push it away. He heard a long sigh coming from the white wolfdog beside him. Fran had her head bowed low, looking longingly at the various groups of people talking and reigniting friendships. Friend tried to reassuringly nuzzle her.

Everybody had each other again, old friendships renewed, family reunited…

And Sam wasn’t here.

A cold sensation patted the top of her head, and she glanced to Ghostbur. The desaturated ghost smiled sweetly, if a little sadly, at her. The bad feelings weren’t nice, but it hurt more seeing someone as lovely as Fran being sad.

“I don’t have anymore blue, sorry Fran…” He said tenderly, planning on getting more for the dog. Fran sighed again, and leaned into the friendly petting she was getting, even if it was cold. Her eyes glanced to Fundy as he meekly walked towards the ghost of his father.

“Phil, where are you going?” Techno asked, all the more confused as Phil gathered food, potions, weapons and armour and preparing his strongest horse for what looked to be a long journey ahead.

“I’m going to go find Sam.” Phil said as he got into the saddle and looked at his friend. “I know where he is, I went to visit him some time ago. After all this…I want to help him. Properly.” How many years had he put off helping those he was meant to care about?

Techno stared at him for a while, before huffing heavily through his nose and making quick work of prepping Carl for the journey too.

“I’m coming with you.” He said, with no room to argue. Not that Phil would ever argue about going travelling with Techno.

“It’s going to take a few months.” Phil warned. Techno sat in the saddle and joined his winged friend’s side, grinning cockily at him.

“What’s a few months to immortals?” He joked, gaining an exasperated smile from the blonde.

“You’re not actually immortal, though.” He replied with a small laugh, before encouraging his horse into a fast gallop.

“Technoblade never dies!” Techno proclaimed loudly as Carl set off after Phil, matching his horse’s speed. Phil laughed at his friend’s words.

On the other side of the server, large vines that had broken through the walls of Pandora’s Vault were starting to wilt, the strength they’d had thanks to the Egg draining from them now that the power source was gone.

A figure stumbled through them from inside the obsidian walls, tripped and fell into the water around the prison with a loud splash.

Dream’s chains had been eaten away by the Egg’s vines, and his mask was left forgotten in his cell, too desperate to get away from the infectious red that had completely covered the prison. It had made a bridge across the lava that Sam hadn’t bothered to reset, seeing how Dream had been fully trapped and unable to escape.

 As he sank into the water, clarity entered his brain for the first time since he got trapped. It felt like it had been years, and as he felt the cold-water seeping into his clothes, an aching pain gripped at his chest.

It hurt, a lot.

And unlike before, this pain mixed with Sam’s. The loneliness, the desperation, the hopelessness…it mixed with his own feelings of abandonment, powerlessness and fear.

Fear of being alone. Dying alone.

A feeling he had tried to cover up with cruelty and a hunger for control.

Something he thought he had managed with the knowledge of the Revival Book. But he didn’t have that anymore. He scoured his thoughts for the priceless item, but he couldn’t even remember what the book looked like. It’s as if any recollection of its existence had been snipped out of his memories and thrown away.

The one thing he and Punz had over everyone was gone, taken away from him.

Now that everything that made him a threat had been stripped away, only a lonely, blonde child remained. Just like the one he had tormented and tortured for months, who Sam cared so much about but could never help in the way he wanted. The pain and horror of Tommy’s death that Sam felt racked through Dream’s senses yet again, and his lungs gasped for air.

Forcing himself up back to the surface, Dream clawed at the dirt of the bank, gasping and heaving as his brain finally started to settle. He spluttered and coughed wetly, his blonde hair dripping fat droplets unto the grass. While his brain slowly made sense of which memories were his, and which belonged to the others that had also been trapped, the ghost sensations of Sam’s tortured soul never left his chest.

Fast footsteps approached, and Dream started to flinch away, only to see it was Punz who threw himself unto him and hugged him tight. The first kind touch he’d had in far too long, and it was warm. Instinctually, Dream hugged him back, but he had a dazed confused look in his green eyes.

“S-Sapnap…” He breathed out. “George…”

His two old friends were standing a little way off from him, having followed Punz who made a mad dash to Dream as soon as he heard the water splash. Sapnap was frowning slightly, and George, who had propped his glasses on the top of his hair, stared at him with unsure, mismatching eyes.

Finally pulling away, Punz grinned at his fellow blonde, the latter giving him an insecure look back. Everybody knew about their plans, what their intentions had been, and Dream felt…terror. While Punz seemed like he could just shrug it off. Looking to Sapnap and George, Punz frowned at them sternly, as if telling them do something.

The two friends looked at each other, then back to Dream with softened looks.

Dream stared back.

“The vines are wilting, but we should still prune them and use Holy Water to make sure they can’t regrow.” Eret said to Quackity, with Sam Nook on standby, awaiting an order. “Only once we’ve cleared all of that up and secured what’s left of the Egg, can we even start discussing about rebuilding.” The shorter man agreed with the King, seeing how dried roots and thorns were littered all around them.

“While we know vaguely where Sam’s castle is located, Phil is the one who would actually knows the journey there, and he’s not anywhere to be found.” Foolish said to Ponk, a saddened expression on his face. “And…If the Sam we knew really was a clone, and now his body is gone, then would he even have those memories anymore?”

Ponk looked dejected as he crossed his arms, upset at the idea that their friend wouldn’t remember all the fun (and tragic) times they had together.

Tommy busied himself with crafting shovels and pickaxes to get rid of the vines, Tubbo worrying about buckets to put all the Holy Water in, and Ranboo placing Michael next to Fran and Ghostbur to be occupied with the other kids so the little curious zombie piglin didn’t wonder off somewhere. Just because the others had become more docile and less murder-happy, didn’t mean the environment was safe.

Fran’s ears perked up, and she lifted her head, staring at the prison for a moment. Then she emitted a deep growl, the hackles on her back rising as her body stiffened into a defensive, ready-to-attack pose.

This caught everybody’s attention. They all turned to stare at Dream, escorted by Sapnap, George and Punz.

The silence was deafening, Dream started to crumble under the pressure of the others’ stares. Accusatory, observing, curious.

He’d been the one trapped the longest. His memories were the first to be shared and broadcasted by the Egg. They knew every little horrid detail of his actions. What he and Punz had done to Vikkstar and LazarBeam, the way he’d manipulated almost every single person here in some way, the lengths he’d go to just to get what he wants.

How he’d targeted and treated Tommy.

And the reasons behind it all; the lonely, longing for his friends, for how things used to be.

Quackity, while he understood the pain all too well, was furious at the treatment he’d afflicted upon Tommy. Everybody here understood the fear Sam had held for the boy’s well-being, after all the disturbing things he’d been told by Dream.

Ranboo felt fear, cowering behind the others as he stared at Dream with wide eyes.

Tubbo felt strangely calm. Maybe because he knew that Dream was powerless now, or maybe because he’d grown and felt like he could stand his ground, no longer a pawn or sidekick. He looked to Tommy.

Tommy hadn’t been trapped by the Egg and hadn’t gotten the memories like everybody else had. But he had been filled in on what he needed to know; especially about Dream.

His tormentor.

Every action, every step Dream had taken had been calculated. Nothing about him was a misunderstanding, or something out of his control, or committed by somebody else’s hand. Dream had been the one in control since the beginning.

Except for now.

He stood in front of the blonde teen, dripping wet, with a blank look in his eyes. No weapons, no potions, no armour.

Just Dream.

And he knew that everybody here had a reason to hate him, to want to kill him. Especially Tommy. Dream was on his last life, the other two taken by Tommy before he was locked up.

If Tommy wanted to take his final life as revenge or punishment…Dream had no means to fight back. Maybe Punz would try to defend him, but Dream knew Sapnap and George would stop him.

And honestly…after all the pain he felt, the pain that wasn’t his but that he had inflicted unto the others…he understood. He hated him too.

He may not have seen Tommy’s memories, nor felt the pain from the smaller one’s point of view, but Dream didn’t need to. He’d been there, he’d known what he was doing, what pain and misery he was purposefully twisting the child with for the sake of keeping control, taming what he saw as a nuisance.

So if Tommy decided to be done with him, and end his existence, Dream would let him.

Wordlessly, Tommy understood that, and looked to Tubbo. His friend, who had been with him in the beginning, since before L’Manburg, returned the look. Both snapped their glares back to Dream, and with their tools in hand, strode forward, fast and confident, towards the blonde man who had done nothing but break them down.

And despite accepting his fate, Dream winced, screwing his eyes shut, as he accepted his biggest fear becoming reality.

A moment passed.

Dream slowly opened his green eyes.

Tommy was holding out a shovel to him, and Tubbo a bucket. They glared at him with deep, angry frowns, waiting for him to take the tools from them.

“We’ve got shit to do.” Tommy said firmly, blue eyes angry despite the steadiness of his voice.

Dream reached for the shovel and bucket, taking them meekly. He stared at the metal objects, dumfounded and lost.

“Tommyinnit, King Eret and I have come up with duties for everyone.” Sam Nook’s chirping sounds broke through the silence, the robot’s racoon tail wagging rather happily as he brought the written plans to his protégé.

Tommy and Tubbo turned to the robot with big grins as they started delegating various duties and responsibilities to the other inhabitants. They all joined in on discussing who should do what, where each person should start, when to report back to on the progress and how Sam Nook would be the one to deal with the remains of the Egg directly.

Dream watched, left standing like a lemon with a shovel and bucket in his hands. Everybody started going off in their various directions and he just…stood there. Not knowing what to do.

He saw Sapnap and George heading up the Prime Parth to the Community House. Like a lost puppy, Dream followed them, not knowing what else to do with himself. Punz was busying himself with getting tools.

Thorns and vines that were turning a murky, lifeless maroon due to their power source being gone covered the Community House. Sapnap and George felt personally responsible to look after it and getting it to look spotless again. While it wasn’t the original one they had built, it was still a nostalgic building to them, and after everything, it felt right to take care of it.

“So…you talked to god. Neat.” Sapnap started awkwardly, fighting against a particularly thick root. “How come he didn’t come save you?”

“I’m not sure, DreamXD isn’t…easy, to understand.” His friend replied, himself making an attempt on some of the drying vines. “Maybe it’s because he needs to be summoned first? Kinda like how a vampire can’t enter your home unless invited—”

George interrupted himself as he noticed Dream arriving.

The freckled man looked at his old friends warily, expecting to be rightfully told to ‘fuck off’. He’d been the one to push them away, had made Sapnap feel abandoned, and George feel like he hated him. If they didn’t want him around, he’d go.

Yet…they couldn’t bring themselves to do that.

What would rejecting him do? Yeah, they still felt upset at him, didn’t stand by any of his actions and maybe in another life, Sapnap wouldn’t hesitate to execute Dream personally.

But as things were…that would do nothing.

Leaning over the side of the building, Sapnap made a motion for him to climb up as well before helping George who was flailing his legs pathetically.

Relief washed over Dream, and for the first time since he’d been trapped by the Egg, a small smile graced his face. Probably the first, real smile that wasn’t fuelled by cold maliciousness. Looking behind him, he saw Punz in the horizon, tending to some of the roots.

The two blondes made eye contact, and Dream waved him over, Punz grinning as he joined his friend to help out with the Community House.

Months past, and finally, finally, Philza and Technoblade made it to the castle.

A few months were nothing to the travelling duo, and they had managed to save time using shortcuts Phil was familiar with. Not to mention their horses were fast and Phil knew where to take them.

The castle was completely overrun by the surrounding forests, green vines of various plants and leaves creeping over the once beautiful stone. Techno wasn’t best impressed, but he didn’t have time to make a snarky remark as Philza led him down a tunnel.

A familiar underground laboratory was laid out before them. Phil had been here before, and Techno had seen the memories of it.

And in the centre, having been in stasis for far too long in the cryogenic chamber…

Was Sam.

Chapter Text

Phil and Sam used to be friends, years and years ago. Even then, Sam was a brilliant inventor who wanted to help whoever he could. Phil was in awe of his inventions. Until Sam figured out how to use energy collected from lightning to clone people, using himself as the experiment. 

It worked, and Phil had quickly made his concerns about his friend messing with the natural order obvious. His wife is the Goddess of Death, he knew more about the fragile balance of life and death more than anyone. But Sam didn’t see it that way, he wanted to use his technology for good, to prevent death. A normal thing for mortals to fear, but not something to mess with. 

Phil and Sam stopped being friends after. 

Maybe he should’ve been more insistent on Sam not going down this path of playing god, good intentions or not. But he hadn’t, he had left him to his own devices. Something he seemed to do a lot, and it always ended with someone getting hurt. 

The first time he saw Sam after so long, the man hadn’t remembered him. Phil soon realised it was a clone. How many there were, just wandering around, he had no idea. But the one he had met, he befriended, and became the Sam that everybody knew. He’d come back to find the original Sam, finding him in the cryogenic chamber, abandoned and alone.

Talking to the body, he hadn’t known if Sam could hear him. He told him about his clone who had lost his memories, repeated how he’d messed up trying to cheat death and promised this would be his only visit. Because he had to move on with his own life. Breaking him out of the chamber hadn’t even occurred to him. Maybe he thought it was better this way, to give Sam a new chance at life by letting the clone live with the others, make connections and friends. 

Or maybe he had wanted to punish his old friend for his slight against Death. 

All of this, he told Techno over the months of their travel. An aspect of Phil’s life that the crowned man had never known about before. Techno listened, and as his friend spoke, he could see an old, buried sadness crawl back up into the weathered blue eyes.

Now that they stood in front of the chamber, they didn’t know what to do. Sam’s original body looked…the same as the Sam Techno had known. His outfit was different but that was it. 

“Is it safe to just…break him out?” The pink-haired man asked, looking around the abandoned laboratory, not able to make any sense of the various buttons he saw.

“I don’t know…He only ever showed me how it worked once…” Phil said softly, not able to take his eyes off of the green haired man.

How long had he’d been in suspension for? Was he even alive anymore? He didn’t feel alive. 

Sitting in the depths of his own mind, Sam was unmoving, staring blankly into the void as vague figures of his various clones flitted around his mind. They were just vague image of clones that had long died, disappeared or become distant memories. 

The last and only one that he had felt any clarity from had vanished…

The one who had gotten attached.

He remembered everything. While the clone had forgotten his origins, until the Egg possessed him and forced everybody to share memories, he had developed new, stronger memories with his new friends. How he cared so much for them, and his emotional state had made him vulnerable to manipulate if twisted correctly. 

The Egg had dug into his deepest insecurities. The insecurities the clone had unknowingly gotten from the original, the very reasons why the clones existed in the first place. Sam lamented his decisions to continue forward with his technology, now as he sat trapped deep in the void of his mind, surrounded by obsidian-like formations that felt eerily like a square prison.

All he had wanted was to help others…

But in the end, his good intentions had made him shut himself off from the rest of the world. Lost in his emotions and stuck in his head.

Nothing around them seemed to work or make sense. Techno tried buttons and whatever else he could find, but it seems the contraptions must have stopped working a long time ago. Phil tried to speak to Sam’s body, but true to its purpose, the suspended body didn’t shift.

Phil didn’t know what to do.

“Maybe…it’s best to just leave him like this…” His voice came out as barely a whisper. Techno’s ears perked up, a slight frown on his face. “The fear, the hurt…I understand. It’s easier to just…lock it all away instead of dealing with it.”

After so many years of living and of loss, Phil had naturally become detached from the rest of the world. Everything was fleeting, just a passing moment…so why bother connecting and enjoying things if they’d never last?

Ghostbur entered his mind, and then Wilbur. 

He’d been close to his son once, but as his child became a man, he realised he too would be just a fleeting person in Phil’s extended life. And he’d grown distant. Despite knowing that Wilbur valued his opinion highly and always wanted to make him proud, Phil barely, if ever, replied to Wil’s various letters.

Phil had wondered for a long time if his distant nature is what started the trickle effect of Wilbur’s corruption. If shutting himself off from the hurt of losing his son is what caused Wilbur to claw at others’ approval and affection desperately. 

Not that he had saved himself any pain. He’d killed his own son. The fact Wil had begged him to didn’t change the fact that it hurt. That hurt turned to bitterness, then to anger and Phil ended up destroying what his son had built. Ghostbur had cried. And Phil had just hurt his son all over again, a vicious cycle of trying to ease one’s own suffering that only led to more suffering. 

As Phil looked to Sam’s suspended body…maybe it was best to save him the trouble.

“Sure.” Techno’s voice snapped Phil out of his thoughts. “Yeah, sure, it is easier. You know better than anyone that nothing lasts, that…” He trailed off, then snorted with a small shrug. “That some things aren’t meant to be. But…”

Techno looked up to Sam, remembering the few times he’d spoken to the red stone user. He’d been kind, caring and had a wealth of knowledge that Techno found fascinating to listen to, even if the fighter didn’t get it half the time. Sam had loved being with his friends, had looked happy cleaning up after their silly pranks and chaos, before it all turned hostile.

“You’re denying yourself the chance to make happy memories too.”

Phil raised his eyebrows, surprised by his friend. Techno caught the look, and he quickly grew embarrassed, starting to mess with compartments of his belt under his cape.

“Okay, we know I’m not good at this stuff.” Techno said flatly with a slight blush tinting his cheekbones. “But you know what I’m really good at?” He raised his pickaxe. Phil blinked.

“…Hitting things?”

“HITTING THINGS!”

CRASH!

Sam’s body hit the ground with a thump, the man groaning as he slowly stirred from his sudden state of awareness after too many years in stasis. His vision was foggy and blurring, only able to see what was directly in front of him. His hearing wasn’t back yet. Only when a hand appeared in his narrow field of vision did he realise somebody was trying to get his attention. 

The hand was open, palm up, as if wanting to help him stand. Sam didn’t know if he could stand.

But at the offer of help, his body moved before his mind had a chance to process. The contact made him flinch, before tightening his grip on the stranger’s hand, the latter helping him up. And a familiar face came into view. Not a stranger’s. Sam tried to place why he knew the man, but it wasn’t clicking. 

And then he was being hugged by the winged man, tightly. 

That’s not something he’d gotten in a while. It was warm, in a way only a real, genuine hug could be, and it’s like this warmth kickstarted his brain.

Without hesitation, he hugged Phil, his friend, back just as tightly. How many years had it been? Too long, far too long, Sam realised as memories flooded back, some he had personally experienced, others were the ones of his clone, but all of them felt like his. Could he consider them his?

Eyes he hadn’t realised had shut blinked open, and they were wet with unshed tears. Phil looked up to his tall friend with a smile and equally tearful eyes. Besides him, a pink-haired man was standing with his arms crossed.

“…Techno…?” Sam said carefully, unsure if he was right or misremembering. 

Techno grinned and raised a fist. He punched Sam hard in the upper arm, Sam yelping in surprise before laughing lightly as he rubbed the inflicted area. 

“That’s for trapping me.” Techno said flatly, but with a comedic glint in his eyes.

“Do…Do you remembered what happened?” Phil asked. Sam held his arm and looked to the floor, guilty.

He did. All too well. He knew it was his clone’s actions, but really…he would’ve done the same. His clone getting so emotionally attached may have corrupted his mind a little and made him unstable, but Sam had always been on the emotionally vulnerable side. As much as he liked to think he wasn’t. 

“Yes…But why are you here?” Sam asked, voice quiet from lack of use. He sounded too loud to his own ears.

“We came to get you, take you home.” Techno replied matter of fact, thumb motioning to the way they had gotten in. 

Looking around himself and at the cracks, Sam realised the place was completely desolate. When he’d been put into the stasis chamber, his castle had been fully staffed, and servants were left in charge of everything. He couldn’t remember what had happened for the place to fall into ruins. The memories must have been so old or corrupted they were lost to time. The only ones that remained anew were his own original ones, and…the Sam the others all knew. 

Which wasn’t great.

“I…I don’t think I should go back…After all that, I-” He started, but Techno grabbed him by the elbow and started pulling him to the exit.

“Yeah, no, we travelled all this way to come get you, you’re coming back with us whether you like it or not.” Techno said bluntly, having no time for melodrama, Sam stumbling behind him as he suddenly had to use his legs for the first time in years. 

The light of the world around him made the tall man wince and cover his face. With some encouragement from Phil, they managed to get him to move forward to their horses. After some food and water, they were off.

Back to the place the three men had decided to call home. 

Since they knew the way now, it shouldn’t have taken as long, but Sam’s body needed recovering and to catch up with being in use. In the moments when Sam needed a break from horse riding or the new environments were too much on his still recollecting senses, the three men talked. 

This Sam was the same as the one Technoblade knew, if a little more worn out. And self-critical. But maybe Sam had always been like that, he’d just never noticed. 

“When everybody was trapped, we all saw each other’s memories.” Phil said as they took cover in a cave from thunder, Techno busying himself with cooking beef. “We saw everything, everybody’s experiences, their thought process, their intentions, wants and insecurities. Ranboo, Tubbo and Foolish were only caught briefly, but even that was enough for everybody’s minds to connect. Only the ghosts and Tommy weren’t part of the hivemind.”

“Right…yeah, I remember that.” Sam said meekly as he sat against the cave wall. “That means…everybody knows of the Revival Book.” A scared tremble entered his tone until Phil placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Actually…we don’t.” Phil replied. Sam gave him a confused look. “After your clone was purified of the Egg, the knowledge of the book was completely wiped. A final act of brainwashing using the Egg’s abilities.”

“Not to mention, everybody now also knows about Her.” Techno added.

“Ah.” Her. Right, the one Sam had defied with his cloning device. A guilty expression washed over his face as Phil sat down beside him. “…I’m sorry. I should’ve listened to you.” He said weakly to Phil, not able to meet the man’s friendly smile.

“Yeah, well…Sometimes we think we know better.” Phil replied, looking out to the dark grey sky as it thundered. “Even when we don’t actually. Speaking from experience.” He said in a jokey manner with a slight jab to Sam’s side, gaining a weak smile from his old friend.

Months later, they finally made it back. As they got closer and closer, the surroundings became more familiar, and a worried feeling settled in Sam’s gut. He unconsciously gripped onto Technoblade’s cape as he sat behind him on Carl. The man’s pig ears twitch and he glanced back to the fellow crowned man. He could see the nervous look on his face.

The trio could see various inhabitants lingering around in the sunrise’s light, most sorting themselves breakfast, others with blueprints in their hands, some looking at the piles of materials and even more either fixing buildings or starting the foundations to new ones. There was some new faces among the familiar ones, a woman with cat ears and a tail, a fox that wasn’t Fundy, someone with a bunny hat. Seems a few people had decided to make this place their home too in the few months Phil, Technoblade and Sam had been gone.

Excited barking could be heard as the trio on the two horses arrived in the horizon, and a white dog ran towards them, gaining everybody’s attention, some confused, others surprised and others happy.

Technoblade and Phil stopped and got off their horses, Sam gingerly hopping down besides the pink haired man. Fran, the source of the barking, dashed forward and pounced into Sam’s arms before the man even had time to react. He stumbled back as he caught Fran awkwardly, toppling to the floor. Fran was licking his face, wagging her tail and blotting her head against his shoulder as she made little whines of excitement.

She’d missed him so much. Sam couldn’t help but laugh, what nervousness he had evaporating completely as the joy of his dog recognising and being happy to see him despite everything took over instead. He hugged her.

“Sam!” A familiar voice yelled out to him as he stood and suddenly he was being hugged with Fran still in his arms, almost falling again.

A much taller Tommy pulled back with a huge grin on his face. He was still shorter than Sam, but he now reached his shoulders instead of being half his size. His hair was longer too, his bandana being used as a hair tie instead of being around his neck. Tommy’s scars from his death at the prison could be seen around his neck even though they were faded. Something that didn’t bother Tommy these days.

“T-Tommy, you’ve grown?” Sam asked, unsure if he remembered Tommy correctly or if his memories were confused. Tommy snorted at the response. 

“Dude, it’s been months! Obviously I’ve fucking grown!” Tommy exclaimed with a laugh. This was the Tommy he remembered, not the hollow shell of the child he’d failed in the prison. Something caught in his throat at seeing the blonde smiling like he was. 

As everybody realised that Technoblade, Phil and Sam were back, a small crowd formed. Ponk and Quackity were quick to follow up Tommy with their own hugs. Sam didn’t know how to react other than reciprocate. He had expected criticisms, accusations and all other sorts of rejection, but no, there was none of that.

“It’s good you’re back, maybe you can help me with blueprints.” Foolish said as pushed through the crowd. “Cuz they’re absolutely hopeless.”

“I’m not that bad.” Ponk argued, being very proud of his Supreme Fridge.

“Hopeless.” Foolish emphasised, gaining a huff and eyeroll from his friend. 

“Thanks for…everything, Foolish, I don’t…Things would have been terrible without you.” Sam said meekly, looking to the ground as he dared to bring up what happened.

“We can talk about all that when you’ve settled.” Foolish brushed off.

Everybody here had already spoken and come to their individual understandings of everything that had occurred. They knew Sam, as the host used to commit all the hurt by the Egg, would be the one to take the longest to come round to it all. Foolish stepped out of the way to let another familiar blonde walk up.

No mask, with his green hoodie tied around his waist and looking more nervous than Sam had felt previously, Dream rubbed his upper arm. He wasn’t smiling, green eyes looking at Sam unsurely. 

The two stared at each other. There was…a lot of bad blood between the two, and everybody knew that. Honestly, they all had something to hold against Dream, and these last few months hadn’t been easy for anyone. Despite everybody knowing almost everything about each other now, the hurt and pain that had been caused still lingered, and Dream had caused a lot of that to everyone. 

To Tubbo, Ranboo, and especially to Tommy.

And a lot to Sam.

‘Forgiven’ is a strong word, and a lot of them hadn’t fully forgiven Dream. Quackity and Jack were still incredibly weary of him, and kept a close eye on his actions, but they weren’t hostile. And Dream understood why they acted this way.

As the former prisoner and warden stared, the latter offered a small smile. 

“Hi.” He said dumbly.

“Hi.” Dream replied back, just as dumbly, cracking a smile in his nervousness. “There’s…I have a lot of apologies to say.”

“Me too…” Sam looked around at everyone with a sheepish expression.

“There’s a lot of that going around these days.” Hannah said with a smile, her wings shimmering in the sun. “Let’s introduce you to the others! Do you remember Boomer? He says he knows you!”

“Boomer?” Sam’s eyes widened in recognition. 

As this was happening, Phil moved passed the group, looking for someone in particular.

“Oh, hi Phil! You were gone a while! Welcome back!” Ghostbur chimed and waved enthusiastically at his father, a little ahead of Friend and Fundy. “Fundy has a son now! His name is Yoghurt, and-” Ghostbur was interrupted as two large wings enveloped him, one more injured than the other. The ghost blinked in confusion as he was hugged with both wings and arms, Phil’s face in his shoulder.

It felt warm.

Ghostbur smiled and hugged back.

“This is nice!” He said happily. Hugs are nice, but he didn’t know why he was this happy. Phil laughed against him. He should’ve done this much sooner. 

“It is.” 

Wilbur winced and inhaled sharply. It hurt. 

Wait, hurt? He could feel hurt…No, it didn’t hurt. It was…warm. 

He pressed a desaturated hand against his chest. Warm. When was the last time he’d felt like this? Not since he before he died…Even then, probably even before Pogtopia. This was the first time he had felt since before everything around him fell apart.

What was this?

A hug? It felt like a hug. His eyes closed and he sighed heavily at the sensation.

What was happening?

Wilbur jumped and stared wide-eyed in confusion as the fabric of his limbo was torn apart like flimsy paper. The grey of the abandoned train station dripped away like watercolour as a vast dark purple sky ripped through the misery, pink and white stars glittering. 

A tall figure with water-like hair smiled down at him.

She had finally been able to find him.

“Hello, my heart.”

The vines were gone. The egg had long been trapped in layers of obsidian and reburied, warning signs everywhere about never letting it free ever again, the whole area surrounded in Holy Water. Destroying it seemed dangerous, in case something was inside of it, and everybody preferred to not risk it. After clearing up the vines and roots, a mysterious underground maze and home were found, along with notes and books. And buckets. Lots of buckets.

Seems they hadn’t been the first ones to deal with the Egg before here. Definitely not based on Karl’s memories of his time travel.

“Connor, just ask Foolish to help you build a new house, stop appropriating others’ homes.” Eret sighed, rubbing a hand over their face at the hedgehog man. “Tommy’s going to throw a fit if he finds you squatting in Shroud’s enclosure again.”

“It’s cozy though.” He said sheepishly. Eret groaned.

“I get that this is the material you want to use, but it’s going to clash with the Dark Oak- Don’t roll your eyes at me!” Puffy exclaimed, shoving her blueprints into Skeppy’s face, who spluttered.

“I don’t have pupils! How would you even know if I did?!” He yelled defensively, arms flailing.

“I can tell!” The pirate argued back, a flustered Bad trying to calm the two down.

“Wait, so Ghostbur said all the other ghosts have left?” Karl Jacobs asked with a raised eyebrow to Ranboo.

“Seems so. Apparently he can leave as well if he wants to, but he says he wanted to stick around here.” The Enderman replied to his fellow traveller, the two men glad to have their memories intact, finally. “He didn’t go into specifics, but Phil seemed to understand.”

“Michaelmcchill and Tina have settled in nicely. Michael’s made himself a nice spot on a hill, and Tina is living in Kinoko Kingdom. CPK is still looking a place to live, and Aimsey says they’re only passing through, so they have a room in Tubbo and Ranboo’s mansion.” Quackity listed off to Dream as the freckled man wrote down a list of materials he needed to collect. “And Eryn…”

“Eryn’s a menace.” Dream snickered, running a hand through his blonde hair. “Hbomb is chasing him down for destroying the Cat Maid Café. I’m helping Niki rebuild it.” Dream had self-appointed as the material-collector, since he was good at that. 

“It doesn’t bother you?” Quackity asked with a raised eyebrow, green eyes turning to look at him.

“Hm?” The freckled man hummed out. “Oh, nah. It’s all just fun and games, and we can rebuild it all easily. No point in stressing.” He replied with a smile, his sharp canines showing as he talked. Quackity stared for a moment, then smiled.

“Yeah.”

“I’m helping Boomer with building a house, don’t stress yourself with that, Foolish.” Sam patted his friend on the arm, the Emerald eyed man all but drowning in piles of blueprints. The taller man nudged a piece of pumpkin pie to Foolish, the latter sighing heavily and smiling to Sam as he accepted the offering. 

The two men watched Puffy and Skeppy throw insults as each other with Bad covering his ears at the vulgarity of ‘smartass’. In the distance, they could see Ponk trying to fix his trees for the umpteenth time, Tubbo and Tommy looking mighty guilty as they helped.

Fran was sat between her owner and his friend on the bench of the wooden table, tail wagging happily as some of Foolish’s Doozers climbed on top of her. One on top of her head waved frantically at Sam with both arms, trying to get his attention. At noticing the little creature, Sam got the hint and cut a piece of the pie just for the Doozers. Fran had a bone so she wouldn’t be demanding any pie soon. 

“The more you feed them, the more demanding they’re going to get.” Foolish warned as he purposefully held his own piece of pie out of reach of the Doozers on his shoulders, his little helpers smacking the demi-god weakly at their demands being denied.

“That’s fine.” Sam laughed softly, chin resting in his hand as he took a bite of his own slice. 

He smiled softly, surrounded by his friends’ shenanigans.