Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Technoblade and Philza stared at the message that sat on Phil’s open communicator. At first, they weren’t sure who it was really from. Sure the name said Eret, but hackers existed. It was entirely possible that Eret’s name had been used to create a fake player ID. But no, Phil had double and triple-checked the sender address.

They were receiving communication from a Dream SMP member. 

“So, uh, you answerin’ or am I?” Techno asked.

Phil sighed. “I’ll answer. Unless they sent you one too.” 

Techno opened his comm device and shook his head.

“Nope, nothing here. Wonder what they want.”

Phil took a deep breath and tapped the pulsing dot beside Eret’s name

<The_Eret whispered to you> Philza I hope this finds you well. I’m reaching out because we need some of your group’s… expertise. The SMP reset, and this time FoolishGamers and I have both regained our memories of the last one. We know what’s caused this, who caused the life system. We want to stop it from happening again. And we have a plan, but we need your help.

<The_Eret whispered to you> We need the Syndicate’s help to take out DreamXD.

Phil read the message through. And then read it again, blinking dumbly at the screen.

The SMP had reset? Phil had heard of groups that just moved servers after a time, like those hermits. Though there was talk of an empire-based server that reset a few months back. Was it similar to that? 

But while rumors of the empire-based server talked of players who willingly reset their server after a monstrous virus… this message from Eret spoke of something more violent. That the god of the server had forced the players to lose their memories and start fresh. Possibly without them knowing. 

Philza Minecraft was many things, but he wasn’t certain godkiller was on his list of titles. Even the Blood God, Techno’s patron, didn’t want to challenge DreamXD while they were on the server. So why ask them? 

Phil thought back to his wife, when she helped the Syndicate escape before the server closed temporarily. And then it was back, right there on their comms’ server lists. Perhaps Eret was reaching out because they escaped. Because they still had their memories. 

“So what’d it say?” Techno asked.

“They want our assistance. To defeat Dream XD,” Phil responded quietly.

“Defeat DreamXD? Like the god of their server?” Techno asked, eyes widening. 

“Yep. Think we have an answer now, or should we bring this up with the others?”

Techno crossed his arms, a frown settling on his brow. “If it were anything else… we should bring it up with the others regardless. They need to know.”

Phil nodded. “I’ll let Eret know we’ll send them something after we talk. Better call the others, mate. This might be an emergency meeting.”

Techno nodded and left the room to grab his comm. Phil stared down at the message before sighing. He began typing out a response.

<You whisper to The_Eret> need to discuss it with the group. will be in tocuh afterwards with answer

Techno reappeared behind him. “Well, Niki said she can meet tomorrow. And Ranboo said he’s available whenever.”

Phil frowned. “Tomorrow will have to do then. I’m just hoping this doesn’t put Eret and Foolish on a time crunch.”

“Not much we can do, Phil,” Techno replied with a shrug. “Think it’s gonna be a warzone when we get there?”

Phil looked up at his friend. There was no sign of hesitancy in Techno’s eyes.

“You talk like you already know we’re heading back, mate.”

Technoblade grinned, teeth fully visible. If it hadn’t been for the upturned lips, it would have looked like a sneer. 

“Oh, I’m bettin’ on it. Ranboo’s talked about missing Tubbo. And I think I’d like to pay our friends a visit myself. Niki might be the only one to convince, to be honest,” he replied.

Phil paused. His thoughts had wandered to his son’s friends, his grandson, and all the others still trapped within the SMP’s confines. Maybe it was time to break them out. A white disk with a smiling face and a green hoodie flashed in Phil’s mind. He frowned.

“And those friends would include your rival, wouldn’t they?”

Techno shrugged. “I will admit, I do miss the teletubby. No, Chat, I am not simping for the homeless guy. I just haven’t seen him in like a year. Plus there’s Tommy and—oh my god, Phil, now they won’t shut up. Phil, make them stop.”

Phil chuckled. “Brought that upon yourself, mate. Can’t help you there.”

“Bruh.” Techno shot his friend a withering glare that would have wilted a weaker man. Phil just grinned back. 

——

Ranboo shifted nervously in his seat across from Niki. The woman had fixed a harsh gaze on Techno, who sat on the corner from Ranboo looking surprisingly unbothered by the attention. Phil glanced back and forth between Niki and Techno with just as nervous an expression.

“So you expect me to go back to the place we escaped from to help our ‘friends’ escape the clutches of some demonic entity that happens to be connected to Dream,” Niki stated.

Phil cleared his throat. “Paraphrasing a bit, but that’s the gist of it.”

And then her gaze was fixed on Phil. While Techno’s glares he could stand, there was always something disconcerting about Niki’s own fierce expressions. Phil tried not to shrink into his seat. How the hell did Techno withstand that?

He noticed Techno’s shoulders relax just the smallest bit, and realized the piglin had been just as tense under Niki’s gaze. Served him right.

“And why should I go with you on this suicide mission?” Niki demanded, her hand curling into a fist on the table.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Ranboo assured her. “We, uh, we would just appreciate the backup, you know?” 

Niki turned her glare to Ranboo, who flinched and wilted in his seat like a dead poppy. Phil winced.

“You seriously think this is a good idea?” she turned back to Phil. 

The avian sighed. “We don’t know for sure, Niki. But it’s worth a shot to check it out, right? Some of us still have friends and family on the other side. We’d like to see them come home or at least somewhere safe.”

Niki glanced around the table at the other two. Ranboo’s eyes were hopeful, but his body language still sat worried. Techno was still staring straight forward, somewhere over Phil’s head. The woman sighed heavily, causing a lock of bleached hair to fall over her shoulder.

“I take it you’ll go even if I don’t?” she asked.

Phil and Techno nodded. Ranboo smiled sheepishly. Niki sighed again.

“Fine. If you idiots are so intent on running into battle, I’m going with you. If only to keep you three in line,” she said.

“Yes, that’s our Niki!” Techno shouted, jumping up from the table and nearly knocking it over. 

Ranboo’s grin widened and brightened. “Thank you, Niki! We won’t let you down!”

Niki scoffed. “When has saying that stopped you in the past?”

Phil chuckled at the display, watching the three younger folks bicker lightheartedly about the decision. It gave him hope that this venture would be fine. Everyone would make it out safely. Phil would ensure that above all else.

——

It was late at night when Phil was faced with another difficult conversation. He sat on the porch, watching the stars above. He’d always loved the stars and how brightly they shined even in the darkest of nights. And tonight was no exception. He smiled as a blaze of light streaked across the night sky, and wondered for a moment if it was worth making a wish. 

A knock sounded behind him, soft like the person wore gloves. Phil’s smile widened just a little. She always wore gloves.

“Kristin,” he said, turning to see his wife standing behind him. 

Her face was obscured by the hat and veil she wore, dark hair cascading around her and fading against the blackness of her dress. She lifted a hand and brushed the veil aside to gaze into her husband’s eyes.

“Philza,” she responded. She wasn’t smiling.

Phil’s smile faltered. “You’re not happy.”

Kristin gave a humorless chuckle. “Why would I be? You’re going back to that awful place again. Why, Phil? You have no stake in the games that monster plays anymore.”

Phil’s face softened. He opened his arms to his wife, and she sighed before stepping into his embrace.

“We still have family there. Our grandson. Ranboo’s husband. All our friends. We do still have a stake in this,” he whispered.

Kristin’s hands gripped his coat tight. “Then I can get them out. I’ll bring Fundy and Tubbo here.”

Phil released his wife, clasping her hands in his as he held them close. “No. Tubbo will want Tommy and Tommy will want his other friends. And then what? XD will only capture more innocents in his web, and no one will be able to save them. We have to put a stop to him if we want this to end.”

“And why can’t those who contacted you do it themselves? Foolish is nearly a god. Eret has his ancestor. Why does it have to be you again?” There were tears in Kristin’s eyes. “You know I can’t reach the dead in his world. What if I lose you?”

Phil’s resolve nearly cracked. It was something that had sat in the corner of his mind. If they failed to kill or banish XD and died in the process, their only way out was the revive book. And with the server rebooted, who knew if any of the members even had it. He could lose everyone. Kristin could lose him. 

He leaned forward and kissed his wife’s cheek. They stood there for several long moments, the stars above offering the only light to illuminate their surroundings.

“Do you trust me?” 

Kristin tensed, the smallest motion of her shoulders indicating her disapproval. And yet she answered.

“Yes. I do.”

Phil’s smile was soft and solemn as he met her eyes. “Then let me do this. For all of us. I will make it back home to you.”

Kristin’s eyes were still shiny with tears as she lowered her head and nodded. 

“You’re an idiot,” she muttered.

Phil laughed as he took her back in his arms and felt her arms wrap around his back.

“I’m your idiot,” he teased despite his own eyes stinging with unshed tears.

Kristin laughed. “Yes. Yes, you are.”

Chapter Text

Tommy stared at the green hoodie in his path, trying to decide if he should be scared or pissed. He settled on yelling out as loud as he could into the forest.

“Dream, you bitch! Where the fuck are you?!”

The young avian stood there for what had to be several minutes—Dream was making him wait, the bastard—when a head of blond curls and two floppy ears popped out behind a tree down the path.

“Tommy, over here! Check this out!”

Tommy huffed, puffing out his wings as he grabbed the forgotten hoodie from the ground and stomped over to the rabbit hybrid.

“Dream, I’ve told you four times this week! You have to let us know where you’re fucking going! What if you get ambushed again? You’re already down a life, you can’t be this fucking reckless! And quit taking your hoodie off. It’s getting cold!” Tommy screeched, resembling a frazzled parent more than a teenager barely out of his youth. 

Dream laughed in response. “You sound like Bad. I’m fine, see? And I’m barely out of sight of the house. Come on, look at this!”

Tommy sighed and approached the spot Dream had pointed to. The older was bent over a mound of dirt, almost blocking Tommy’s view. A flash of light glinted off a round stone sticking out of the soil. Tommy frowned.

“What is it?”

Dream reached down before Tommy grabbed his arm.

“Fuck no, you are not falling for some stupid trap.”

Dream frowned. If he’d been any younger, he probably would have pouted. 

“But Tommy, why would this be a trap? And who would want to trap our area?”

Tommy chirped in frustration. “I don’t know, I just know you are not picking up random items. Remember what happened last time?” 

Last time had been a splash potion of weakness that Dream had then fumbled and dropped, causing it to shatter on the ground. The effects had sent Dream into a severe panic attack, and Tommy had been the only one who could get close enough to get him back to safety. That had scared a lot of their group, and Quackity refused to let Dream out of the house until they were certain he was okay.

“But… it's shiny,” Dream countered, and Tommy had to turn away to avoid the begging look on his face.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, you’re a rabbit not a crow or shot! And quit it with the puppy eyes. Those don’t work on me!”

Tommy was lying. Dream’s puppy eyes always worked on him. It didn’t help that Dream looked like a kicked bunny most of the time anyways. The scars and chronic pain certainly didn’t hurt.

“Please, Toms? It’s just this one item. I’ll even go back to the house?”

Tommy glanced over at Dream and grimaced. How did someone older than him act so childish all the time? Tommy wasn’t supposed to be a parent, he was supposed to be out there and winning all the women and being a big man. Instead, he was stuck being Dream’s babysitter till Quackity got back.

“Fine, but first sign of a trap, I’m dragging you out of here,” he conceded.

Dream grinned as he reached down and plucked the stone from the dirt. Tommy tensed. Nothing happened.

Dream’s nose twitched as held the item up to the light, moving it back and forth. The green in the stone almost seemed to pulse with an eerie glow.

“It… it looks like an ender pearl. But maybe corrupted?”

Tommy shook his head. “You can ogle it inside. Come on, it’ll be dark soon.”

Dream allowed Tommy to pull him to his feet as Tommy took his hand and led him back to the house. 

——

The home was modest by most standards. Some simple oak and spruce and enough cobblestone that Tommy was satisfied with not adding more to the build. A few months back, Quackity had asked Sam to help build a redstone door for the basement storage area. And then Foolish had come along to help with the exterior, shaping the boxy form into something more house-like. Despite all its quirks and imperfections, it was home.

Tommy kicked open the front door, startling the cat Dream had adopted off the recliner and under the chair. Dream hurried over to the couch, shooting Tommy a dirty look which the younger man dutifully ignored.

“Big Q, I found him!”

A figure appeared from the kitchen, rushing over to meet the two. Quackity hadn’t even bothered to remove the oven mitts from his hands as he hurried to where Dream was kneeling by the couch.

“Dream! Please don’t do that again, you scared the hell out of me, cariño.”

“I’m sorry, Q. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Dream assured, taking Quackity’s gloved hands in his. “I’m okay, see? No arrows, no bite marks. Didn’t even encounter a creeper.”

Quackity’s eyes roamed Dream’s figure, obviously not trusting his friend to be honest. He finally closed his eyes and sighed before throwing his arms and wings over Dream’s shoulders in a tight hug.

“Just be more careful, okay?”

Dream smiled softly. “I will, don’t worry.”

Tommy pretended to gag. “Can you guys please get a room?”

Quackity let Dream go and attempted to flip the younger man off through his oven mitt.

“Fuck off, man. Let me hug my best friend in peace.”

“Yeah, well you’re getting sappy again. No one needs to see your fucking PDA.” Tommy countered, flipping Quackity off right back.

Dream raised an eyebrow. “Um, it’s just a hug. We could make it sappier if you wanted,” he teased.

Quackity grinned, kissing Dream’s head. “See, even sappier, just for you, Toms!”

“Eugh, that’s just as bad as last night. You two were cuddling the fuck out of each other,” Tommy said, turning a disgusted glare towards Dream.

Quackity’s teasing look dissipated in an instant. “Tommy… that was because Dream had another night terror.”

Tommy froze. “Oh. They’re… they’re getting worse then.”

Dream pressed his lips together as his ears pinned to his head. He stared at the floor and nodded. He hadn’t wanted to tell them when the night terrors had started. But he couldn’t muffle all his screams. 

His ears perked up as a hand brushed his hair. He looked up to see Quackity smiling at him, the duck’s wings brushing his shoulders.

“We’ll get through this, cariño. I promise.”

Dream smiled. “Thanks, Q.”

Tommy clapped his hands. “All right, that’s enough sappiness. Big Q, you need help with dinner?” 

Quackity ruffled Dream’s hair once more before standing to walk back to the kitchen. 

“Yeah, actually, that would be great! Can you help mash the potatoes?”

Tommy’s shoulders and wings slumped. “Ugh, why do you leave the worst jobs to me?”

Quackity laughed. “It’s better than deboning the fish.”

A full body shudder ran through Tommy. His face twisted.

“Yeah, okay fair.”

Dream stayed behind, leaning down to peer under the couch to coax his cat out from its shelter.

“Patches, come on, girl. Come on, sweety,” he said, clicking his tongue and rubbing his fingers together. “It’s okay, Patchy. You can come out.”

Slowly, a mottled brown head emerged from the dark underbelly of the furniture. Patched gave a small questioning meow before looking back up at Dream.

He smiled. “Tommy’s in the kitchen. He won’t bother you.”

Patches gave an indignant chirp at that, slinking out from under the couch to rub her body against Dream’s arm. He stroked her fur as she weaved underneath him and through his arms before flopping on the ground. Dream giggled.

“Yeah, you’re cute. Totally not my little gremlin,” he cooed, rubbing her tummy as she batted at his hand with her paws.

It was sudden. One minute Patches was sitting in front of him, purring and playing as she normally did. The next, all he could see was her dead body, head bashed in and blood splattered on a dark floor. It was hot, almost unbearably so. Dream pulled away as a voice echoed in his head. 

“This is what happens to things you care about, Dream!”

Dread gripped him as he stumbled backwards, legs shaking as he fell, ears pinned to his head once more. Suddenly the ground beneath him turned to dark stone, streaked with purple from obsidian tears. The air was oppressive, and he could feel something sharp digging into his skin. He couldn’t breathe.

“Dream.”

Another voice, harsher, angrier. Dream curled in on himself, shaking.

“Please, please don’t,” he whispered, terrified whimpers climbing his throat.

There were hands on his body, shaking him, prodding him. 

“Dream?”

The young man felt tears run down his cheeks. He braced himself for the pain of a blade running down his arms or back. Who knew what Sir would do today?

And then…

Who was Sir?

Where was he?

“Dream!”

The voice was yelling now. It didn’t sound angry. It sounded worried. 

Dream opened his eyes. When had he closed them? He was curled up on the floor, braced between a bookshelf and the couch. When had he crawled there? He couldn’t remember. There were hands holding his own, gentle and soft against his skin. He looked up to see Quackity’s brown eyes staring back. They were glistening with worried tears.

“Dream? Are you back with us?” he whispered, as if he was scared that any noise would cause Dream to fall apart again.

Dream looked around the room. Tommy stood behind Quackity, snuggling Patches to his chest as he calmed the spooked cat. Dream’s heart sank. He’d scared Patches. 

A flash in his mind suddenly caused him to panic. Tommy was lifting Patched over his head to throw her in the ground. Dream could already see her body dashed against the obsidian floor. He shrieked.

“No!”

Quackity jumped back as Dream lunged. Tommy scrambled backwards as Patches jumped from his arms and scurried under the couch again. Dream froze.

Patches was fine. Tommy wasn’t trying to hurt her. The floor he stood on was carpet over wood. There was no obsidian, no oppressive heat. He staggered, grabbing the couch for support. What was happening? Were these hallucinations? They had to be. But why? Why did he think Tommy was going to hurt his cat?

Gentle hands guided Dream to sit in the recliner. Quackity moved his hands to hold Dream’s as the latter sat down. 

“Cariño? Are you there? Dream? Can you hear me, conejito?”

Dream blinked as tears formed in his eyes. 

“Q?” he mumbled, too scared to speak loudly or else ruin whatever illusion of peace he had.

Quackity’s face softened, though the worry lines never truly left. “It’s me, Dream, I’m here. You’re okay, conejito. I promise,” he said, soft chirps leaving his lips.

Dream felt his body shake. From panic or from exhaustion he couldn’t tell. 

“I… I saw Tommy… h-he killed Patches. And then… it was so hot, a-and there was so much obsidian. I… I was so scared. S-someone was hurting me. Q, what’s happening to me? Am-am I dying?” He looked up at Quackity in panic. “I’m scared. Quackity, I’m scared.”

Arms wrapped around him, pressing Dream’s face to Quackity’s shoulder. He felt Quackity’s wings fold over his arms and back protectively.

“Shh, shhh, it’s okay. You’ll be okay, I promise. I’ve got you, cariño. We’ll figure it out.” Quackity’s voice was soft and sweet between gentle coos.

Dream relaxed into his friend’s arms. Safe. He was safe. He was okay. 

At the other end of the room, Tommy’s heart was racing. He glanced down at his hands, knowing the blood he saw wasn’t there. The phantom pain in his head wasn’t from a potato smacking his skull over and over. It hadn’t happened. 

It didn’t stop it from feeling so real.

Chapter Text

Foolish paced outside of the portal. He and Eret had set it up after receiving Phil’s message. On one hand, Foolish was relieved. They were getting help. They wouldn’t have to face XD alone. On the other hand, bringing the Syndicate back meant that XD would definitely notice their presence. And the other members’ memories could be triggered much more easily.

While things had remained peaceful between the other members, Foolish knew that conflict would arise the moment memories began returning. A worry dug in the back of his head that the server would tear itself apart before they could ever fight XD. And if all the dissenting voices were kicked before they could take a stand… then everyone else was doomed to sit under a monster as it drained them. 

Of what, Foolish wasn’t sure. The god had never been clear about why he even wanted the server to be active. Why he used Dream to create this place, if Dream even did. The young admin had no memories of starting this world. Which led to some interesting questions as to how the server’s first iteration started. And how far along the chain was everyone.

Foolish’s train of thought was broken as the portal flashed, and four figures stepped through. Each of them were decked out in enchanted netherite gear, and Foolish was certain he saw a massive axe on Technoblade’s back. The Axe of Peace. Maybe this time, they could actually achieve that.

He put on as confident a smile as he could and greeted the new server members.

“Hello, friends, and welcome to the DXSMP!”

—

Technoblade stared at the shark totem hybrid, red eyes roving the man as if trying to figure out if something was wrong. He couldn’t point to anything specifically. But the smile on Foolish’s face looked forced. He didn’t like to think about why that might be.

Phil stepped forward and raised a hand to return the greeting.

“Hello, Foolish! It’s good to see you again. How have you been?”

Foolish gave a nervous chuckle, peeking over his shoulder as if worried he was being watched. 

“Oh, you know… dealing with server resets, no one remembering what happened, angry god running around messing with things… you know, the usual,” he said.

Phil frowned but nodded. “Sounds like what Eret mentioned. Anything in particular we should be aware of?”

Foolish paused before glancing at their armor. “Most people have iron and diamond. The Nether isn’t explored frequently because portals keep getting destroyed. Hannah was trapped in there for a couple days before we sent a rescue team. She ended up being fine, just shaken. So if you go, make sure you have extra obsidian and a flint and steel. Oh, and ender items are very limited. Eret and I are the only ones with ender chests, and we had to fight XD for the right to use them. Like, he literally challenged us to a duel. We barely won.” Foolish shuddered at the memory.

Techno and Phil exchanged a glance before turning back to the shark totem. 

“So where do we go from here? Battle plans, something more discreet?” Techno asked.

Foolish looked down the path towards where civilization must have been. 

“Um, you can stay with Eret and me. We have a decent base just north of here. Not quite the Arctic, but it’s better than nothing. Oh, and put your hoods up. Folks are starting to get some base memories back, but I’d really rather not trigger someone like Quackity or Tommy. Especially because—”

Foolish’s voice cut off, as if he didn’t want to tell them why they should avoid Quackity and Tommy. Ranboo stepped forward.

“Especially because…?” he asked.

Foolish took a deep breath and turned to face the group. The look in his eyes filled the others with a sense of dread.

“Because Dream is living with them.”

—

The group made it to Foolish’s home without incident. Which was a relief for Phil. He could feel the rage coming off Techno in waves, and he knew chat wasn’t helping. 

Techno had at one point described the way Dream had shied away from Quackity when the duck hybrid had entered the main cell of Pandora’s Vault. How only when Quackity had attacked Techno had Dream stepped up, shaking and trembling all the same. How Dream would wake from nightmares, screaming for Quackity to stop. How the young rabbit hybrid sometimes wouldn’t sleep at all for fear of his torturer catching him off guard. 

To hear that Dream was willingly living with the man who had hurt him so badly had been a shock. To realize that Tommy, who had sworn to kill Dream permanently, was also in the same house was another shock. 

Foolish had been quick to assure the group that the three got along amicably. 

“Eret’s been keeping an eye on them more than I have, but they said that the three of them are really close. When I was over there helping decorate their house, I heard Quackity and Dream call each other Spanish pet names, like they’re more than just friends. We’ll just… make sure we separate the group when their memories come back,” he had said.

That hadn’t given Techno or Phil any comfort.

Ranboo had asked about Tubbo only for a strange look to cross Foolish’s face. 

“Tubbo is… weird. We think he remembers more than he lets on, but he’s not causing any conflicts. Mostly just hangs out with Sam and builds redstone farms and stuff. But he definitely avoids Dream like the plague. I heard he and Tommy got into a fight because Tommy wouldn’t leave Dream be after they spawned in.”

Niki’s eyebrow had risen up her forehead at that. “Why would Tommy cling to Dream?”

“Dream can’t get around as easily. Chronic pain and heavy scarring. Probably… probably due to the prison from the last server. He’s also really prone to panic attacks, and I guess Tommy witnessed one early on. A lot of us… a lot of us have witnessed at least one,” Foolish had replied.

The realization that Dream was now weak and unable to protect himself while in the midst of his two worst enemies had Phil forcibly keeping Techno with the group. The piglin hybrid looked ready to go after Quackity for just being in the same house as Dream. Let alone being so close that they had nicknames for each other.

Phil sighed with relief when the castle finally came into view. Even on this server, Eret was obsessed with luxury. Diorite and calcite walls towered over the group as they approached. It seemed XD had at least updated the server to the new version. He wondered if they’d gotten the Deep Dark as well. He made a mental note to ask Foolish later.

Foolish opened a small iron door in the side of the wall, ushering the Syndicate members in before quickly closing it. Phil felt Techno tense beside him as they felt the obsidian floor under their feet. The walls were also made from obsidian. Phil had to admit it was suffocating.

“Sorry, this is the only way to ensure we’re safe if things go south,” Foolish explained. “Obsidian is the one block that XD can’t get around easily. That and bedrock, but we can’t really mine that one. And no one has access to server OP, so all we can assume is that XD is acting as full admin.”

Phil frowned. “That makes things more difficult. If Dream or someone else still had admin access, we might be able to convince them to help.”

Foolish glanced at the ground guiltily.

“Yeah.”

They continued walking down the obsidian hallway till they reached a large room covered in calcite, quartz, and amethyst. Gold gilded the blackstone floors, creating a stark contrast to the pale walls. Red banners and carpets lay on the floor, each bearing a familiar dark shape. An egg.

Ranboo physically bristled at the sight of the banners as Techno took charge, stepping in front of the group. Phil felt dread fill his chest. A trap. It had all been a trap.

Foolish paused when he realized the Syndicate had stopped following him and glanced back. And nearly met the business end of a massive netherite axe.

“Woah!” he cried as he toppled backward to avoid the axe. “Woah, woah, what’s going on?”

Techno snarled. “You brought us here to be sacrificed, didn’t you? Was this all a game to you? Bring back the people who stood a threat to the server and kill off for good?” 

Foolish stared at him in pure confusion. “What? What the hell, man? We’re not sacrificing anyone!”

“Don’t lie to me!” Techno roared, raising the axe a second time.

The blow landed on an iron-plated shield as a second figure rushed between Techno and Foolish. A head of long dark curls peeked over the shield, revealing a pair of sunglasses perched on a hooked nose.

“Can we calm down for two minutes?” Eret asked as Foolish scrambled behind his friend.

Techno lowered his axe slowly, as if waiting for a reason to use it again. 

“Only if you explain yourselves. Now,” he stated.

Eret nodded. “Fair enough. You saw the egg emblem on the banners?”

Techno glanced at the banners in question and nodded, scowling the entire time.

“We’re looking to form a proper alliance with the Egg. Without the brainwashing,” Eret explained.

The statement was met with a roar of disagreement.

“There’s no way, mate.”

“The Egg doesn’t care about us, it just wants power!”

“You’d trade one tyrannical monster for another?”

“Bruh, could you be any more dumb?”

Eret sighed heavily, gesturing for the others to move towards a set of couches and pillows arranged near what appeared to be a throne room at the end of the room. 

“Look, let’s just go sit down and discuss this like the civilized folk we are, okay?”

The four Syndicate members glanced at each other before following the former king to the seating area. Foolish had already made his way over and had flopped onto the pillows on the floor. Eret took their seat next to him as the Syndicate members crowded onto a couch and armchair across from the other two. Each side eyed the other before Phil took the lead.

“So. You want to contact the Egg. How is this going to go differently than the last few dozen times?” 

Eret leaned forward, balancing their elbows on their knees. “Because in the past, every instance of someone getting in touch with the Egg has been through the Egg making contact first. It’s uncovered by accident, and the Egg reaches out of its own accord. We intend to find it and reach out first.”

Phil frowned. “And what would that change?”

“We control the means of communication. We control how we first approach it, we set the standards for the conversation, we have the power to set our own terms. Maybe even offer it a deal instead of the other way around. Foolish and I have been researching this world, and we may have come across something that got left from the previous Eggpire,” Eret explained

Phil’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “I thought the server reset?”

Eret nodded. “It did. But not the way a typical one would. For example, when we spoke with Sam, he confessed that he’d been wandering around an empty server for months, though he had very few memories from before that. But that means this place exists outside of normal time. The previous server wasn’t reset. It was abandoned.”

“Which would explain why the scars from the last server remained,” Foolish remarked. “Like Quackity’s scar, Tubbo’s burns, and… all of Dream’s scars.”

“So how would the Egg be here if that world was abandoned?” Niki asked, also leaning forward, her brows knit in a focused expression.

“Because the Egg is the center point of the server.”

Eret watched the blank expressions on the others before sighing. 

“It’s confusing, I know. But this was based on writings that Bad had left behind in some library. We think it was Karl’s from the last server, though… we haven’t found him yet,” Eret conceded, glancing at the floor. They looked almost guilty.

Techno crossed his arms over his chest, skepticism written clearly on his face. 

“So you’re sayin’ that the only reason you know you can go speak with the Egg is a library that may or may not have been from a previous server member who is now missing? This inspires so much confidence in this plan. Bruh, why didn’t we think of that?” 

Phil bit back a chuckle before schooling his expression. He turned back to Eret and Foolish.

“As sarcastic as Techno is, he’s right, mate. This sounds super sus, especially if you can’t confirm the identity of the library owner. For all we know, it could be a false lead for XD to throw people off.”

Eret and Foolish exchanged glances. 

“We’re… pretty sure, Phil.”

“How?” the avian asked.

“We found signed books from Karl in the library. Alongside pictures of him, Sapnap, and Quackity,” Foolish explained. “There was a… pretty horrible journal entry written from the perspective of someone who had completely lost his mind. Something about time beings and past worlds and missing memories. By the last entry, he didn’t even recognize who Sapnap and Quackity were in the photos. It was… really sad.”

The group sat in somber silence at the news. Phil felt tension building in his chest. Just how fucked up had the server been?

“Do you think he fell out because of his dealings with these time beings?” Niki asked.

Eret shrugged. “We don’t know. We’re just going off of what we could find in his library, from journals of his adventures to other writing we found. Hell, half the museum I built in the last server ended up there, no idea how or why. I didn’t feel like bringing it up with XD for fear it’d disappear.”

“Anyways, back to the Egg,” Foolish interrupted, and half of the room’s occupants sat up a little straighter, “we know that the Egg goes through cycles based on what Bad learned last season. It grows in strength at the prime of the server, and then dies down towards the server reset. Sometimes it manages to control a lot more people. Sometimes it only ensnares one or two. But no one has ever approached it first. So we figured, what do we have to lose by trying?”

“Your lives.”

“Your minds.”

“Your sanity.”

Came three responses all at once. Foolish’s optimistic look faltered. 

“Well, gee, don’t everyone get excited at once,” he grumbled. 

Erer raised his hand to settle the agitated group. “You don’t have to join us. We don’t want to force you if you feel uncomfortable. But given the fact that we have no admin access ourselves, we feel this would at least give us leverage against XD.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

Foolins pulled out a bottle of glistening water. Phil recognized it immediately. Holy water from the Church of Prime. 

Foolish grinned. “The Egg and Karl’s library weren’t the only things that transferred here.

—

Eret and Foolish had shown everyone to the bunkers they had built off to the side of the throne room. Apparently, the throne room, the living quarters, and a few other areas were covered in obsidian on all sides. Which unfortunately meant no windows and only artificial light sources. If they wanted fresh air, there was an iron door to the rest of the castle and a courtyard, where the walls weren’t three blocks thick from the facade, obsidian, and inner walls. It felt more like a fortress than anything.

Niki was taking a stroll in the courtyard, trying to refocus her mind on things that weren’t doom, gloom, and pessimism. It wasn’t working, but it was worth a shot in her mind. 

Her gaze fixed on a set of blue flowers off in the distance. Cornflowers, she thought they were called. She never really did pay attention to them, though now their blue color conjured images of a ghost in a yellow sweater and a sheep at his side. 

Eret had confirmed that Wilbur had been one of the few who hadn’t transported to the new server. Wil, Boomer, and a couple others. Niki hoped they were safe, somewhere far away from the horrors that haunted this place.

The conversation about the Egg had also gotten her thinking. If they defeated XD, what would take its place? Would Dream become the admin again? Would the Egg finally gain control, gain the power it had desired all this time? Would the server collapse and leave them to die in the cold, harsh Void? Or would they be spit back out to their respective homes, forever changed by their experience in a world that no one else would believe existed and separated from friends and enemies alike? 

Niki grabbed the back of a nearby bench as vertigo seized her head. It was all too much to think about. Too many unknowns, too many uncertainties. Too many ways this whole thing could go horribly wrong. 

Why had she let them convince her to go? Why had she ever stepped back onto this accursed server? Why couldn’t she have decided to stay behind, to keep the light on for them instead?

She knew the answer. Because the worry would have driven her mad. 

She sighed, straightening from the bench and glancing around at the sky. She caught sight of a flock of birds, chirping and singing as they flew. She closed her eyes and listened, hearing the babbling of a brook nearby, a frog croaking by the water, a chorus of crickets quietly chirping in the undergrowth. A twig creaking as a squirrel scrambled up a nearby tree. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, feeling far more grounded now than a few minutes ago.

The words that Lady Death had spoken as they had left came back to her.

“I will keep watch over the server. The moment I see a chance, I’m breaking in. Whether to fight with you or bring as many of you home as possible. Whichever one you need the most,” Kristin had assured them, through tears glistening in her eyes.

Niki blinked back a few of her own. She had never prayed before, not earnestly. But in that quiet moment, she sent a prayer out to anyone other than XD or the Egg that might be listening. 

“Keep us safe.”

The universe listened. But time would tell if it would answer.

Chapter Text

Ranboo stood at the entrance of a mineshaft. Foolish had explained this was the entrance to their tunnel to the Egg. 

They had triangulated its location based on old maps and coordinates from the previous server. Apparently, it would always be in the same location no matter what the server was. Eret had hypothesized that it was meant to be the true 0, 0 spawn point. Ranboo preferred not to think about it all.

Which he was having a very hard time doing as he stared down at the mineshaft. 

“Are you really sure about this?” he asked Foolish. 

Foolish shrugged. “As sure as we can be. There’s still time to back out if you don’t feel comfortable with all this.”

Ranboo glanced back at his companions. The other Syndicate members were still decked out in full Netherite armor, weapons currently stowed away but still within easy reach. Niki was the only one who looked unperturbed at being so close to something so evil as the Egg. Though Ranboo was sure her nerves were just as shot as everyone else’s. 

They’d made the decision to journey together to the Egg. And they were going to stick together no matter what. Even if the idea of confronting the monster terrified Ranboo to no end. 

He took a deep breath. 

“No, we’ve come this far. Unless the others say so, we’re not backing down now,” he replied.

Foolish nodded. “All right then. I guess just let us know if you decide to change your mind. You know, before we reach the egg.”

“Yeah, sure,” Ranboo muttered, taking another peek back at the rest of the Syndicate. No one showed any signs of wanting to stop. So he continued after Foolish.

The mineshaft continued deep into the rocky stone of the mountain. The atmosphere was tense, like a pressure building and boiling as they descended the stone staircase. The air grew hot and felt thick, and even the torches along the wall seemed dim and squashed as if under the weight of a fog.

Ranboo nearly tripped over a few loose stones as they walked, and Techno grabbed him before he could smash his head on the stony ground. Ranboo nodded his thanks back to the piglin before taking another careful step down the rocky stairs. Even the ground itself seemed to be warning them to turn back.

But they continued down regardless. If Ranboo had to give a reason why, he would say it was resolve. A determination to explore all options before settling on a final plan. 

If the Egg could become an ally, if that was even reasonable to assume which it probably wasn’t, then it could give the group an advantage over XD. If the Egg refused, they all carried buckets of holy water from Prime church. 

Ranboo still had no idea how the structure had transferred with the server, but he was grateful for it all the same. He could only hope it still worked on the Egg.

The staircase felt like a maze, twisting and turning as the group walked down the steps. The air was definitely thicker down here. Torchlight dimmed as if being smothered. Ranboo swallowed.

“Are we close?” he asked quietly.

Foolish paused as the bottom of the mineshaft stairs. The darkness seemed to curl under the flickering torches. The shark totem hybrid nodded.

“At the end of this hall. Get your buckets and soul sand ready.”

Soul sand. Another tactic that apparently kept the Egg at bay. Lit with a flint and steel, soul sand would burn with the blue flames of soul fire. The only thing Foolish said that could burn the vines, according to texts found in Karl’s library. 

Ranboo pulled the soul sand and holy water bucket close enough in his inventory to pull out at a moment’s notice. His hands were shaking slightly. 

Another hand slipped into his, squeezing it tightly. He looked up to see Technoblade standing beside him. The piglin’s face was set in a determined glare. But despite the fierce expression, Ranboo still felt the sweat on Techno’s hand. Ranboo took small comfort that he wasn’t the only one terrified for his life.

A red glow emanated from the end of the hall. Foolish took a deep breath. 

“This is it, folks. If this fails, try to save yourselves. And if we don’t make it out of this… thank you. Thank you for being willing to help,” he said, turning back to the Syndicate as Eret went to stand beside him. “Make sure the others survive what comes next.”

Phil nodded. “We will, mate. We’re not leaving the server without them.”

Foolish smiled sadly. “Thank you.”

Eret nodded their agreement. “Let’s go.”

Ranboo stepped back as Eret and Foolish took the lead down the hall and Phil and Techno followed. The enderman could feel his heart thumping against his ribs. This was it. No going back now. He took a deep breath and walked forward.

The egg chamber was about what he expected. Red. Every shade of it, but especially that sickly bright red, brighter than blood or flowers. A glistening goo covered walls and vines and even bits of the floor. Muffled noises echoed through the chamber, reminiscent of screams or agonizing moans. Ranboo swallowed the bile that crawled up his throat at the rotten sweet smell that engulfed the group as they stepped in. The smell of death.

Techno and Phil stood straight and tense, and Ranboo could picture Techno’s eyes scouting the chamber for unseen enemies. Niki was clenching the hilt of her sword as if waiting for a reason to use it. Only Eret and Foolish seemed unfazed.

Eret stepped forward, tapping their foot against a thick vine curled around a black mass.

“We know you’re awake. We’ve come to speak with you,” they called.

For a moment, the room was still. And then the air shifted as the vine Eret had touched slithered away and other appendages rose to surround the black mass. 

Ranboo noticed a few vines move to block the group’s retreat. He bit back a whimper. No fear, he couldn’t show fear now.

“And what have we here?” a thick, oozing voice echoed throughout the room. It felt deafening despite being so quiet. “A ragtag group of heroes come to slay the beast? How amusing.”

Foolish stepped forward. “You’re not the beast we want to slay, Egg. We’re here to make a deal with you.”

A horrid, wet chuckle filled the chamber. “I can feel your rage and hatred, little god. Very well, I will give you what your heart desires so long as you bring me what I request. A small token, nothing more.”

Foolish grimaced, and Ranboo could feel the whispers digging into his ears. Whispers of peace, of Tubbo, of their son. That all of it could be his if he only did a small favor for the Egg. The words dripping in sickening sweetness as they tried to sink into his mind and poison him from the inside out. By the expressions on the others’ faces, Ranboo could tell everyone was hearing something similar.

Eret slammed down a block of soul sand and lit it with a flint and steel. The flames licked at the air greedily, as if fed by the miasma around them. And suddenly, Ranboo felt lighter and could breathe easier. He sighed with relief.

“We said we came to make a deal, not become your mindless puppets, prick. Or maybe you would make a tasty omelet. We haven’t eaten breakfast yet,” Eret shouted over the din of burning flames and muffled screeching. Their face was set in a mocking sneer as they stared down the black mass.

The Egg in question was now several blocks away, almost trying to crawl up the wall it lay against. 

“Monsters! Murderers! You dare bring the blue flames here?!” it screeched.

Eret smirked. “I do. And I won’t put them out until you listen to us properly. I think it’s in your best interest after all.”

Ranboo shared a nervous glance with Niki. He’d never seen Eret so angry before. It was a rather terrifying sight.

The Egg seemed to agree. “Imbeciles, trespassers! You’ll pay for this!”

Eret crossed his arms. “I think you’ll take that back soon enough. Your existence is tied to the server after all, correct?”

A low hiss sounded throughout the room.

“No, I am not tied to its existence. I simply feed from it, its chaos, its violence, its discord.”

“Which you’re not getting because things have been peaceful,” Foolish remarked.

“Precisely, little god. And now I’m forced to deal with you on top of everything else!” the Egg shouted. It was behaving surprisingly like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum.

And suddenly, Ranboo felt a little less scared.

“Have you been trapped here all this time?” he asked, voice barely above a whisper.

He felt the Egg’s gaze snap to him, and whispers suddenly filled his mind. He shrunk down, hands over his ears in an attempt to block out the noise.

“Ah, the little traitor. I’m surprised you even came back here after—” The Egg’s taunts were cut off as a soul flame torch waved too close to a bundle of vines. The Egg hissed in rage at Technoblade as the piglin stood between Ranboo and the monster.

“How ‘bout we stay on topic before we decide you’re better off as breakfast,” Techno snarled. 

The Egg chuckled, though the tone now was more unnerved than before. 

“Fine, fine. You came to make a deal. Name your terms, and then I’ll name mine,” it replied.

Foolish nodded at Eret, who stepped forward with a book and quill. 

“We propose a mutual agreement. We will feed you occasional livestock and other items from around the server in order to attain your power. In return, you will not attack, eat, or lure any players from the server. You will only communicate through myself, The_Eret or Foolish Gamers. Our partners, Technoblade, Philza Minecraft, Nihachu, and Ranboo Beloved will facilitate any requests you bring us. They are not to be harmed or lured to your cause. In addition, you will also help us defeat DreamXD and free the server from his dominion. Should this fail, we will leave you alone in the next loop so long as you do not interfere with the other players. Do you understand our terms?”

The Egg was silent before a booming laughter drowned out all noise in the chamber. The others shrunk under the oppressive sound, covering ears and huddling together as if to hide from the sound bouncing off the small room.

The Egg finally composed itself. “You… you would have me… have me join you under those pitiful terms?! Seems completely done in your favor! And what would I gain from this?”

“Freedom,” Foolish stated, straightening up and dusting his chestplate off. “XD’s control grows with each loop. He’s managed to trap the Nether, breaking portals at will. He even had us duel for the right to use an Ender chest. Who knows if in the next loop, he closes the Nether entirely. Keeps us trapped here for as long as he pleases. He’s recklessly wiping memories from players, plucking people back to the server from the abandoned one. If this continues, he could even find a way to isolate you for good. You’ll be gone from this world. And we’ll be trapped here forever.”

The finality of Foolish’s statement struck Ranboo in the chest. If they failed, that would be it. XD would never give them a second chance. And if they waited any longer, it could be too late. It really was now or never. 

The Egg seemed to realize that as well. A low rumble filled the chamber.

“Hmm, and you think XD will be able to contain me?”

Foolish nodded. “He’s more powerful than he lets on. He has full admin access of the server. Every inch of code is available to him. Hell, he even gave me god-powers that remained despite the server reset. What do you think he’ll do to a virus that’s finally got on his nerves?”

The Egg was quiet for a moment. Ranboo shifted nervously beside Phil.

“Very well,” the Egg spat, its growling filling the chamber and shaking the vines that hung from the ceiling. 

Foolish’s face remained composed. “So you agree to the terms.”

The Egg hissed. “Don’t push it, little god. I will follow the terms you have laid out. But should you violate one inch of these, I will lay waste to your pathetic group.”

“Understood,” Foolish nodded. “And the same goes for us. If we find you’ve violated our agreement, we will incapacitate you in return.”

The Egg laughed. “We have a deal then, little god. I’m looking forward to this partnership. For however long it lasts.”

Ranboo shuddered at the malicious joy in the Egg’s voice. Phil carefully guided him closer to the exit to the chamber as Eret sliced his finger.

“We’ll seal this in blood. Techno will slice one of your central vines.”

The Egg offered a thick, red vine to the piglin, who raised his axe and slit open a section of the vine’s fleshy layer. Eret nicked their thumb and pressed the bleeding digit to the paper as Techno pressed the sap dripping from his axe blade to the paper next to the bloody thumbprint. 

“Pleasure doing this exchange with you, mortals,” the Egg drawled. “I look forward to seeing how this will play out. But best be on your way. I think you’ll find your fellow players are not as you left them.”

Foolish paled. “What do you mean?”

“It seems the server’s god is losing control of his memory spells. I can feel the growing confusion and chaos from here,” the Egg replied, a rolling glee in its voice. 

“We bid you farewell then. Foolish and I will accommodate your needs within the boundaries of our agreement. If there is an urgent need, you may reach out to us directly. I’m sure you know how,” Eret stated. 

“Farewell then, mortals. I hope you will enjoy the coming chaos as much as I will,” the Egg taunted as the group fled the chamber, Foolish blocking the entrance with obsidian as they left.

Niki shuddered as they hurried up the stone steps to the surface. 

“What did it mean? The memory spell? Is that why everyone doesn’t remember what happened before?” she asked.

Foolish’s face was set in a grim frown. Eret sighed, placing a hand on Foolish’s shoulder as the group continued their ascent.

“That would explain why everyone else forgot. So the spells themselves must be weakening, perhaps because he saw we spoke with the Egg. Or maybe he’s become distracted again, like he was with George on the previous server,” they said.

“Either way, we better get up to the surface fast. I didn’t come here to battle it out with the rest of the server,” Techno growled, taking the steps two at a time as he advanced to the front of the group.

Ranboo couldn’t help but agree despite the sinking feeling in his chest. He really hoped they wouldn’t be too late.

—

Across the server, Quackity stared at his comm with a frown at the four new names now on screen.

Ph1lza joined the game.

Ranboo joined the game.

Nihachu joined the game.

Technoblade joined the game.

Quackity shut the comm off and pocketed the device before turning back to his room and shutting the door.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t sudden. More of a trickle than a flood. And yet once it began, it was unstoppable. And now the members were waking up with more and more of their past memories.

DreamXD snarled at the command panel, attempting to halt the weakening memory spell as it unfurled, its tightly woven intricacies now a pile of tangled magic in the Void. He cursed and spat as he failed to gather his magic back to rework the spell. His players would soon remember everything from the last server. He should have done a full wipe as he had for the last reset, but he’d been rushed from the fight and the nuclear explosion.  

And to top it all off, the Syndicate, a group that had escaped being ensnared into the new server, had returned. And visited the Egg not three days prior no less. DreamXD blamed them on the memory spell’s unweaving. They hadn’t been affected by it when they had returned. And they reeked of the goddess of Death. She must have blessed them before they left for his server. 

Curse the goddess and her husband! Curse their ever present desire to fight what they called tyranny. DreamXD was a god, a god of Chaos and Control. These were his players, this was his world!

They would pay dearly for messing with it.

The server’s god was so caught up in his work that he failed to notice another member awaken with their memories. In the overworld, a young blonde avian awoke from his slumber in a startled scream.

—

Tommy practically leapt from the bed as soon as he awoke, wings flapping to steady his balance. His breathing choked as memories slotted into place in his mind. He had been in the prison with Dream and Punz. Tubbo had launched a nuke at… oh, Tubbo. Tommy had abandoned his best friend for the monster that abused… no, not monster. Dream was… a person, not some faceless, horrifying villain. He was a person. Dream was… a friend now. Because they hadn’t remembered after they’d died to the nuke. But now Tommy did remember. He wasn’t sure what to do with that information.

He stood shakily to his feet, hurrying out his bedroom and down the hall to the kitchen. He saw Quackity making a cup of tea at the counter, another mug of hot chocolate already sitting beside it. Just as it was almost every morning the last few days.

The duck hybrid smiled as Tommy entered the room. “Hey, Tommy. Made you some chocolate this morning. Seemed like the kind of day for it.”

Tommy accepted the mug with shaking hands. “Yeah, yeah, thanks, Big Q. Is, uh, is D-Dream up yet?” Fuck, now he couldn’t even say the other man’s name. 

“I don’t think so. He went to bed late though, kept mumbling about his head hurting and hearing weird noises. Probably the auditory hallucinations again. I really want to treat his hearing, but he keeps telling me no,” Quackity replied, shaking his head. 

“Y-yeah, he can be like that.”

Tommy took a sip, feeling the sweet and bitter taste of chocolate coat his tongue. It was soothing at least. He nodded his thanks to Quackity before settling into a nearby chair. 

“I’m getting worried about him,” Quackity said, finishing making his own mug of coffee.

“Why’s that?” Tommy asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.

“His nightmares are getting worse. And the flashbacks. But he never remembers why… he never remembers them afterwards. I want to help, but I’m worried how he’ll react. I just don’t know what to do,” Quackity admitted.

Tommy didn’t know how to respond to that. He took another sip of hot chocolate, mulling over Quackity’s words. A sudden thought occurred to him, something Dream had said after escaping prison.

“I was tortured!” Dream had shouted in desperation. 

Tommy also remembered who he saw coming and going from the prison everyday. He turned a wary gaze towards his fellow avian and swallowed thickly.

“Yo-you’re not…,” Tommy paused. How the hell was he supposed to ask the question on the tip of his tongue? The Quackity he’d gotten to know would never hurt Dream, not in a million years…. But if Quackity ever regained his memories, then would that change?

Quackity gave him an odd look. “I’m not what, Toms? You okay?”

Tommy gulped down the last of his drink, feeling the grit of crushed cocoa beans stick to his tongue and throat. He took a deep breath to steady himself.

“Hypothetically… if Dream… if Dream ended up being… a bad person…. W-what would you do?” he asked, his voice shrinking as he spoke.

The look on Quackity’s face was not what Tommy expected. Nor did he expect the next words out of the duck hybrid’s mouth.

“Oh Prime, you remember.”

Tommy’s mug clacked on the counter, nearly tumbling to the ground.

“Big Q? W-what do you mean? Do… do you remember the old server?” Tommy asked, almost afraid of the answer.

Quackity’s eyes softened as he moved to stand beside Tommy. He held out his arms to the younger man.

“It’s okay, Toms. It’s scary, but nothing will happen to you here,” he assured.

“But… but what about Dream? Are you… are you still…?” He couldn’t get the question out. Quackity seemed to pick up on it regardless.

“No, no, I’m not going to hurt Dream. I don’t think I could anymore. And I promise, I promise, I’m going to keep you both safe. He won’t ever hurt you again, and no one will hurt him either,” Quackity said, arms still outstretched as if asking permission before hugging Tommy. “No one will take anymore of your lives from you.”

The younger avian stared at the other before collapsing forward into his arms. Despite just waking up, Tommy already felt so exhausted. It was almost too much to take in. He and Dream had been mortal enemies turned best friends thanks to amnesia. He lived with his abuser and his abuser’s torturer. And Quackity remembered all of it, apparently. Though….

“Big Q?”

“Yeah?”

“… When did you get your memories back?”

Quackity’s arms stiffened before he sighed.

“It was a little over two weeks ago. After Dream’s really bad panic attack. It.. triggered something, I think.”

Tommy nuzzled his head into Quackity’s shoulder. Over two weeks since Quackity remembered torturing Dream, and he hadn’t hurt him once. It gave Tommy some small relief that at least Dream wouldn’t be tortured here. 

And if the green bitch, because he was still a green rabbit bitch, didn’t remember the old server, then maybe he never would. Maybe Dream would remain in blissful ignorance of being the biggest asshole on the server. Tommy wasn’t sure he was relieved at that or not.

He still wanted closure. But at the same time, he liked Dream the way he was now. How nice he was, how goofy he could be, the way he snuggled up for hugs under heaps of blankets when he got cold, the way he always wanted to involve them in what was going on. Tommy liked this Dream. He didn’t know if he would like Dream if he remembered.

A noise on the staircase drew the avian pair’s attention to the second floor. Dream stood on the steps, rubbing sleep out of his eyes while his ears drooped down against his head.

“Morning,” he yawned. “Everythin’ okay?”

Quackity smiled and moved to hug the still sleepy rabbit hybrid. “Yeah, everything’s fine, everything’s fine. I made you some tea, just the way you like it.”

“Mmm, thanks, Q,” Dream hummed as he grabbed the still warm mug and sat down at the nearby table. 

“Sleep well, conejito?” 

Dream shrugged. “Meh, feels like I can never get enough sleep these days. My head’s been pounding real bad. Think it’s a migraine.”

Quackity winced. “Well, let me know if you need anything.” He glanced over at Tommy, who had backed up into the kitchen to avoid the others. “By the way, Tommy had a really poor night’s sleep too. Best to give him some space for the day. Hell, I might just send you both off to bed,” he teased.

Dream nodded. “More sleep sounds good. Can we make it a lazy day, Q?”

Quackity smiled, ruffling Dream’s curls. “Sure, let’s make it a lazy day. I’ll work on brunch for you guys, yeah? How ‘bout you head back upstairs and snuggle with Patches?”

Dream hummed in response, and gave Quackity a quick hug before walking back up the steps with his mug of tea in hand. The bedroom door remained open as the sound of a body flopping on the mattress left the room.

Tommy heaved a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Big Q.”

“No problem, Toms. I think till your memories settle, it’s probably best to stay away from Dream. You can hang out in the guest room if you want? Or out in the barn if you want to be with Henry?” Quackity asked.

“Yeah, shit, yeah, I think I just need some air. This whole thing is fucking with my head. I’ll just be outside if you need me,” Tommy replied, moving over to the door. 

He missed the sad face Quackity gave as he exited the house and took off to the skies. 

Back in the house, Quackity sighed heavily. He just hoped he could keep the peace for as long as possible. If the others were also gaining their memories back, he was going to have to prep the house for a siege.

—

Across the server, a creeper hybrid awoke drenched in a cold sweat. Sam’s head was aching, suddenly filling with memories of lifetimes long since lived and passed. Sam Nook, Sam Bucket, Sam the Warden. All of their lives and others flooding back to him overnight. 

And a white porcelain smile laughing at him from the shadows of an obsidian prison.

Sam knew what he had to do. He just needed to convince the others it was necessary.

Dream would never leave the prison again.

—

On another corner of the server, a white hooded figure pulled as many potions and weapons as he could stack into his inventory. The gold chain around his neck glinted in the light of his tower as he hurried back and forth between different rooms.

The only thing Punz could think was that Dream was with Tommy and Quackity. The brat who had taken all of Dream’s lives. The monster who had tortured Dream every day for months. 

He had to get him out of there. Before either of them remembered why they had hated Dream.

Chapter Text

Tommy had stopped to rub Henry’s head before taking off once more over the server. Flying always settled his mind, helping take his thoughts from the nightmares or worries of the world. 

At least now he had an answer to who the boogieman was that stalked his dreams. To think he had become best friends with the freak. No, Dream wasn’t a freak. Well, okay, kind of, but not the villainous monster Tommy had pictured in his head since his exile. He was more of a mental freak. Like seriously, who goes back to the place you were tortured after escaping? No sense, man, it made no fucking sense.

Tommy swerved to avoid a tall spruce tree, flying a little higher before sinking back into his thoughts. That would have been an embarrassing way to lose a life.

But back to Dream. He was still a bitch. Just… a really physically handicapped one. Seriously, the guy couldn’t even run or do parkour without needing a break every couple of minutes. And the scars alone… he had more scar tissue than skin. 

Tommy glanced at his own arms and hands, noting some of the marks on them. From the fight for L’Manberg, from Pogtopia, from exile, from his time in the prison. He shuddered as the memories of a potato slamming into his skull over and over echoed in his head. 

Neither he nor Dream had made it out of the server unscathed. 

If Dream never remembered, then it felt easier. Tommy would never get closure, but he could make peace with that. He could take care of a naïve and soft man who panicked at the strangest triggers and who doted and cared for any living thing he came across. Tommy could do that. He’d heal in his own time.

But if Dream did remember… what then? Would he run, too shaken to be near Quackity anymore? Would he fight back against them, claw his way to what he deemed safety? Would he hurt Tommy to do that? Make them enemies once more? Or would he hide that he remembered in the first place, until some trigger or phrase sends him spiraling?

Tommy shook his head. He fucking hated the unknowns. There were so many what if’s to know what would happen. Maybe nothing would change. Maybe everything would.

Tommy’s wings felt strained when he finally became aware of his surroundings. He must have been flying for hours. So much for clearing his head.

He pulled up near snowy mountains and wide fields. It reminded him of the Arctic commune that Techno and Phil had.

Technoblade. Philza. Fuck, he missed them. Phil always had advice to give, and Techno did too even if his advice was more tongue-in-cheek and sometimes sprinkled with random mythology. But fuck, Tommy still missed them. He wondered what the world would have looked like with them still here. 

And then something red flashed in the corner of his eye. Tommy turned to focus on the bright color that stood out so much against the snow. For a moment, he wondered about the Egg and its crimson vines that had almost engulfed the server.

And then Tommy spotted something else. He took to the skies in a heartbeat, flying as fast as he could towards the red spec as it got bigger and bigger, until….

“Tommy?”

And later when he’d hugged it out, Tommy would deny that his eyes filled with tears, because that is a totally not manly thing to admit. 

“Philza!”

—

Sapnap struck down another straw dummy, watching it burn to the ground till only ashes remained of it. The door to his hut opened as George peeked outside. Bad was probably still inside with Skeppy.

“Sap, come on. That’s the fifth dummy you’ve burned since yesterday.”

Sapnap snarled, spinning round as the grass at his feet charred. “You could stand to at least react to the fact we had our memories wiped, you know! Not to mention he’s still out there with Tommy, for fuck’s sake!”

George crossed his arms over his chest. Sapnap could feel the disapproval even through the tinted goggles. “That’s if Dream even remembers, idiot. Skeppy’s only gotten half of his memories back to begin with. And Ant and Hannah only just remembered last night.”

“He was the admin of the previous server, of course he fucking remembers! Hell, he was probably the one who took our memories in the first place!” Sapnap screeched, kicking up dead blades of grass. 

“I doubt that,” George muttered as he stared at the dirt path that led to their home. 

“Oh fuck off, you fucking simp,” Sapnap growled, pushing passed his friend towards the door.

“Language,” Bad called through an open window.

Sapnap stuck his middle finger up despite knowing Bad couldn’t see him. He heard George sigh behind him.

“I know you’re upset, Sapnap. But you can’t just charge after Dream and demand he surrender when there’s a chance he doesn’t even remember what happened,” George countered.

“And what if he’s manipulating Tommy the way he did before, huh? What if he’s manipulated all of us to think he’s this weak little man in order to make us underestimate him so he can—can, I don’t know! Puppet us like he did before!” 

Sapnap knew he was too angry to think straight. But he didn’t care. There were too many thoughts in his head, too many regrets and too much anger building inside him. He had forgotten everything, his friends, his former best friend, his fiancés. And now Quackity lived with his ex-friend, the same person he claimed he was tortured by. And Karl… 

Where was Karl? Sapnap didn’t remember seeing him on this server. What if Dream had done something to him? A final fuck you to his former best friend for leaving him. 

Sapnap’s lips curled into a scowl. He was gonna beat Dream’s ass to dust when he found him. He ignored George sighing behind him.

“Sap–”

“No, George! We’re not falling for his bullshit again. That bitch is getting sent back to prison where he fucking belongs!”

George’s face twisted to an expression Sapnap couldn’t quite read.

“If you think it’s for the best,” he mumbled. 

Sapnap sighed. “You weren’t there, George. You didn’t see him… just become evil I guess. It—it—you just don’t get it!”

“All right, all right,” George raised his hands in a placating gesture. “Look, can we at least talk to Bad about it? He was a prison guard, he would know if this is a bad idea or not.”

Sapnap opened his mouth to protest when he spotted movement in the trees. 

And then a familiar creeper hybrid appeared from the treeline.

—

Sam was relieved to only see Sapnap and George, though he kept vigilant. He knew Dream had been living with Tommy and Quackity. But if the admin had gotten his memories back, Sam wondered if he’d return to his friends. So far, it didn’t seem to be the case. And by how loud and angry Sapnap sounded, maybe Dream wasn’t here.

He raised a hand in greeting. 

“Sapnap, George!”

Sapnap perked up.

“Sam! Boy am I glad to see you!”

George didn’t bother responding, and by the look on his face, he was less than enthused about Sam’s presence.

Sam deflected the look with ease. 

“What’s up?”

“Have you remembered anything lately? Like a past life or something?” Sapnap asked. 

Straight to the point then. Though Sapnap never had been one to beat around the bush.

“I have, actually.”

Sapnap’s grin twisted to something determined and almost malicious. “Then you know Dream is here walking free. What the fucker did on the old server. He probably took our fucking memories when we got here, too.”

Sam nodded, feeling the weight of the chains he’d crafted sitting in his inventory. 

“I do. I was actually coming to talk with you about it.”

“You want our help or do you want something else?” George finally spoke up, looking like he very much would prefer Sam’s answer to be “something else”.

“I was going to ask for your help to get Dream contained again. I’m going to be working on a new prison. It won’t be as large or as much of a fortress, but it’ll work until we can get something better. There’s an ocean monument near my base, and I had already started working on clearing it out for a different project. It won’t be hard to change the plans,” Sam explained, watching the other two’s expressions carefully.

Sapnap looked relieved and excited. George looked disappointed and worried. Well, at least now he knew who he could depend on.

“That sounds like a good start. Do you need help getting things set up? I can be on guard duty if you need it.” Sapnap offered. 

“Now, hold on—”

“That would be great, actually. I’m heading over there now if you want to join? If you have any obsidian or deepslate, that would also be a good start.”

Sapnap nodded. “Yeah, I think I have some spare obsidian from the ruined portals. I’ll grab the materials, and we can head over now?”

“Works for me,” Sam agreed as he watched Sapnap rush into the house.

“Guys, don’t you think—”

“What, George? That Dream innocent in all this? That he didn’t torture a minor just because the kid was in his way? That he didn’t abandon everyone for his own purposes? That he wasn’t planning on controlling the entire server?” Sam countered.

George wilted a little, but kept his glare trained on the taller man. 

“That’s not what I was suggesting. I just—we should talk it over with the others first, right?”

Sam frowned. “We can discuss after Sapnap and I finish the new prison cell. I’ll send a message once we’re finished.” 

Sapnap appeared in the doorway with Bad close behind him. The demon looked concerned.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I’m heading out with Sam for a project. I’ll see you guys later,” Sapnap called as he grabbed Sam’s arm to pull him down the path towards the rest of the server. 

Sam gave Bad and George a nod before following after the younger man. He ignored the look of disdain on George’s face. He wasn’t wrong about Dream. The admin had to be locked up for the safety of the server. It was the right thing to do.

So why did he feel this much dread?

—

Techno had been somewhat surprised to see Tommy flying over the snow covered plains as he and Phil searched for the stronghold. Who would have thought it was under a snow biome in both servers?

“It’s so fucking good to see you guys, holy shit! You would not fucking believe the day I’ve had, Phil, it’s just absolutely insane, Phil!”

Now if only he could get the kid to shut up for more than five seconds.

“Tommy, please remember to breathe. I’m not carrying out out of here,” he stated, glancing up from his comm to stare at the young avian still hugging the old crow tight.

“Fuck off, Technoblade, you don’t get to say shit,” Tommy glared as he flipped the piglin hybrid off.

Techno did not give the offending digit a response. He turned to Phil instead.

“So, you think you can shake your new appendage, or is it permanently attached?”

Phil chuckled ruefully. “Now, now, let’s not fight, mate. Tommy’s just happy to see us, that’s all.”

Tommy huffed. “Yeah sure, Philza Minecraft,” he mumbled into Phil’s chest.

“All right, so what is this all about, anyways? You said your day was shit?” Techno asked, trying to change the subject.

“Yeah, yeah, it was,” Tommy nodded, loosening his grip on Phil. “First, I wake up with a splitting headache, then my head is filled with fucking memories from the last shit server. And then! And then, turns out fucking Big Q had remembered everything for the passed two fucking weeks! And never bothered to fucking tell me! And that green bitch doesn’t remember, and I don’t even know if I want him to, but it’s just so fucking hard, Phil. I don’t know what to think!”

Techno froze. “Tommy, back up. Repeat what you said?”

“What, about not knowing what the fuck to think right now?”

“No, about Quackity. What did you just say about him?”

“Oh, yeah.” Tommy wilted a bit before straightening his posture. “Turns out the fucker has remembered the other server for two weeks. Never made it seem like it, unless you count the time he fucking barricaded us in the house and ignored Dream for a couple days. And then everything was back to normal. I just thought he was having a shit reaction to Dream’s panic attack.”

Techno didn’t know how to process that information. Quackity had known for two weeks. He had had his memories back for two whole weeks. Techno thought back to what Foolish had mentioned about Dream and Quackity having pet names for each other. Tommy had said there’d been no change in behavior other than a very short bout of what sounded like a mental crisis. Techno could only hope the teletubby bunny was okay.

Tommy seemed to read his mind. “Dream’s fine, Techno. Besides all the… scars and shit. Quackity hasn’t hurt him and promised me he wouldn’t. He even said he didn’t think he could hurt Dream, the simp.”

Well, that at least helped a little. But Techno trusted the duck about as much as the duck could throw him. And given that Techno had taken one of Quackity’s lives with a pickaxe, that probably wasn’t very far.

“Yeah, forgive me for not being that interested in trusting Quackity of all people. I’ll believe it when I see Dream unharmed and not in the midst of people who possibly manipulated him into thinking he’s worthless,” Techno replied.

“Suit yourself, Blade. I just don’t want you killing my roommate just because shit happened,” Tommy grumbled.

Phil cleared his throat, catching the others’ attention.

“So, Toms, do you live nearby? We can take you home or bring you back to our base. I’d rather not leave you out when it gets dark, mate.”

Tommy looked up at their surroundings, a frown growing on his face. 

“I, uh, I don’t think my home is nearby,” he replied as he took out his comm to check his coords. He winced. “Yeah, I may have flown a little too far. Can I bunk with you guys for the night?”

Phil sighed, ruffling Tommy’s hair. “Come on, mate, let’s head back before the zombies start spawning.”

Techno waited before following behind them, checking the coordinates in his comm one last time. The stronghold was close. If they could finish collecting the materials, it would only be a matter of time before they could activate the portal. Hopefully, this time XD wouldn’t destroy it before they could find it.

Chapter Text

Quackity had been relieved when Tommy had messaged him the night before, stating he’d found Philza and Technoblade and was spending the night with them. The last thing the duck hybrid needed was a panicked Tommy after a nasty respawn. While Quackity wasn’t fully comfortable with either Phil or Techno, he trusted them to take care of the younger avian.

He settled into bed, feeling nervous but relieved that Tommy was safe and Dream was okay. He had built walls around the cottage, and started on the armor and weapons they may need to defend themselves. Even if Dream didn’t remember the other server, the others would probably be out for blood. At least with the gear and battlements, they would be safe. At least his flock would be okay.

And then Quackity awoke to a bloodcurdling scream. 

He bolted out of bed, throwing the covers off and pausing. It took him a moment to remember Tommy wasn’t home. Which meant….

Oh gods.

Quackity hurried out of his bedroom and towards Dream’s room. He sent a prayer to Prime that it wasn’t what he thought it was. That Dream had just had a regular nightmare, that he wouldn’t remember the horrors his mind had shown him. 

He stood outside Dream’s bedroom. He had to know if Dream was okay. Swallowing down his fear and hesitation, he knocked on the bedroom door softly.

“Dream? Is everything okay?” he called, keeping his voice low and gentle.

He swore he heard a whimpering gasp. Please, please, let it just be a nightmare.

“F-fine,” Dream’s voice answered from the other side of the door.

Quackity placed a hand on the door, noting the way his fingers shook slightly.

“Can I come in?”

He heard no response. He wondered if maybe it was best to leave Dream be. And then….

“Y-yes.”

Quackity turned the door handle and slowly pushed the door open. He spotted Dream on the bed, uncurling from a hunched position. Dream looked like he normally did after a nightmare. But his eyes were wide with a terror Quackity hadn’t seen in a long time. Not since that horrid prison cell. 

“Is everything okay, cariño? I heard a scream,” Quackity said.

Dream’s breath hitched.

“S-sorry, sir.”

Quackity’s heart nearly broke. “Oh, cariño. Please don’t call me that.”

Dream was shaking. Quackity could see the trembles even through the blanket that had fallen around his friend’s legs. He sighed. 

“Do you… want me to leave you alone? I can let you rest and check in in the morning?” he offered, trying to keep his voice as light and soft as possible.

Dream looked at him as if he hadn’t even thought Quackity would offer something like that. Quackity wondered if Dream thought he would be kicked off the bed. That thought hurt more than Quackity wanted it to. 

“C-can I b–be alone, si–Quackity?”

Quackity wanted to beg Dream to let him stay, to hold him close and chase the memories away. But he knew that would only make things worse. He nodded. 

“Yeah, I’ll leave you alone for now. I’ll want to check with you in the morning, though, if that’s okay? You don’t have to answer now. Just get some rest, okay, conejito?”

Dream didn’t respond, only giving the barest hint of a nod before Quackity closed the door as he left the room. 

Quackity made it back to his room before collapsing on the floor, allowing sobs to wrack his shoulders. In that moment, his guilt was stronger than it had ever been.

—

Sam stood back from the obsidian pyramid he and Sapnap had built over the top of the ocean monument. The elder guardian had been moved down a level, and the top portion had been reconstructed out of obsidian and then covered in a layer of deepslate bricks and another later of obsidian. It wasn’t the perfect set up, but with the guardians so close by, escaping would be a task difficult for any one person to accomplish. And Sam had a very strong suspicion very few members of the server would even dare try.

Sapnap wiped the sweat from his brow as he rowed over to Sam’s position. 

“Well, that’s the last of it. Shall we get out of here before the guardians realize we’re still here?”

Sam nodded. “Yeah, let’s go. I’ll send a message for the others to meet at spawn. May as well get this over with.”

“Are you messaging everyone?” Sapnap asked, curiosity getting the best of him as Sam hopped into his boat.

“Everyone but Dream and Tommy. Tommy doesn’t need to be involved this time, and I don’t want to give Dream a chance to try to escape.”

Sapnap nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. To spawn then, I guess.”

Sam typed out the message to himself before copying it and sending it out to as many of the server members as he could. It had taken over ten people to capture Dream back then. Who knew how many they would need now. 

He just hoped enough of the server would back the decision to contain Dream once again. The admin was not escaping a second time.

—

Dream didn’t know what to think when he awoke in the morning. His skin was cold and clammy with sweat, and he could feel his limbs trembling as his mind tried to process all that just happened.

He’d been in the prison with Punz and Tommy. He and Tommy had talked, something about goals and the possibility of being friends. And then Tommy had apologized and the world had gone white. An explosion, a massive one too. It must have reset the server. So Dream had achieved his goal in the end. 

When he and Tommy had awoken, they’d had no memories of the past. So there was no reason for either of them to hate each other or want to avoid the other. It made sense the more Dream considered it. It had just been him, Tommy, and Tubbo. Tubbo had left for some reason, and Tommy had wanted to be friends so… why not? 

But as memories flooded Dream’s mind and clashed with what he knew of those around him, a cold fear settled in his bones. He was living with his self-proclaimed worst enemy and the man who had tortured him for… three months? Six months? He couldn’t remember exactly. It had felt like an eternity. Neither Tommy nor Quackity had tried to hurt him here. But if they had gotten their memories back then… oh gods, he was dead. They’d kill him in an instant or worse.

He desperately hoped they didn’t remember. He could already picture them barging into his room with weapons and potions, ready to attack him for daring to breathe in the same house as them. 

He shook his head to clear the thoughts despite how they circled the memories he’d made like vultures over a carcass. Dream wanted to remember silly pranks and game nights filled with laughter. The combined joy of finding Patches and Henry. The shared sorrow when one of them had gotten injured or had lost a life. 

That was real too. Just as the pain from the last server had been. 

Dream hunched over in bed, clutching at his head and ears with tight hands. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. He wanted to scream, to cry, to laugh hysterically. It was too much, too overwhelming. He was scared, so very scared. He wanted it to stop, please, someone make it stop, it hurts, it hurts!

He didn’t hear the door open as someone rushed to his side. Didn’t realize someone was there till gentle hands were slowly unclenching his own fists from his head. 

Dream stared down blankly as familiar thumbs gently stroked his knuckles. Just as they had every time he’d had a panic attack before. He raised his eyes cautiously to see Quackity kneeling beside the bed and holding his hands like they were the most delicate things in the world. 

The look on his torturer’s face wasn’t malicious. If anything, the sorrow on Quackity’s face matched Dream’s own. Even Quackity’s eyes were red and puffy from crying. 

The duck hybrid glanced up at Dream, meeting fearful green eyes with guilty brown ones.

“I’m so sorry, conejito. I’m so sorry,” Quackity said, his voice breaking slightly. 

And Dream broke, his face twisting as tears ran down his cheeks. Thin shoulders heaved as quiet sobs left Dream’s throat. 

Quackity released Dream’s hands and sat down on the bed beside him, opening his arms in an obvious gesture. Despite the terror still clinging to his body and the uncertainty plaguing his mind, Dream collapsed into his friend’s chest, letting strong arms and golden wings hold him close. 

“You’ll be okay, Dream. I promise, I won’t ever hurt you again. You’re safe, cariño. You’re safe,” Quackity whispered to him, his voice no longer menacing or harsh in Dream’s ears.

Dream buried his head in Quackity’s shoulder and allowed himself to let go.

—

Tommy awoke the next morning feeling… refreshed. Which was surprising given all that had happened over the last 24 hours. Gaining his memories back, realizing he’d become best friends with his abuser, flying for hours on end, and finding Phil and Techno again. He was surprised he didn’t still feel drained.

He kicked off the blankets before shuffling out the bedroom door, feeling his stomach rumble with discomfort. He hadn’t eaten anything since the mug of hot cocoa. No wonder he felt famished.

But instead of a burly piglin and a blond crow hybrid, Tommy found himself staring into the mismatched eyes of a familiar enderman.

“Ranboob!” he shrieked, launching himself at the gangly young man. 

Ranboo stumbled backwards into someone else before righting himself. He stared down at Tommy for a moment before hugging the young avian back tight.

“Tommy, you’re okay!”

“Good to see you awake and moving,” another voice said behind Ranboo.

Tommy looked over to see Niki standing just behind the tall enderman hybrid. Tommy’s smile couldn’t have gotten any bigger.

“Niki!” 

He launched at the young woman as she laughed, pulling him into a hug. Tommy could feel his heart swelling. And for just a moment, he peeked over Niki’s shoulder in hopes of seeing a yellow sweater or a leather jacket. But no one else stood in the room.

Wilbur had escaped to someplace called Utah, after all. Maybe he escaped the server reset all together. 

Tommy also noticed two others were also missing.

“Where’s Phil and the Blade?”

“They’re out looking for the stronghold,” Ranboo explained. “Foolish has given us enough Eyes of Ender to light the portal. Once we pinpoint its location, we’re going in.”

Tommy felt confusion settle over his mind. He looked between his two old friends, both now standing with determined expressions. 

“Wait, wait, hold the fuck on, what’s the portal for? Where are you going?”

Ranboo and Niki shared a glance before Niki nodded.

“We’re going to defeat DreamXD.”

—

A ping sounded across several comms at that moment. 

George sighed as he saw the declaration to imprison Dream for wrongdoings and escaping prison.

Others like Bad, Skeppy, Hannah, Ant, Tina, Michael, Connor, Puffy, and HBomb felt conflicted. Sure Dream had done some awful things on the old server, but he’d been nothing but a ball of joy and delight this time round.

Others like Tubbo, Fundy, and Jack felt no such conflicting emotions. Dream had been their worst enemy after L’Manberg had been established. The server would be safer without him around.

Foolish and Eret immediately sent messages to Ranboo and Technoblade to warn them of the approaching conflict. Eret could feel the tension permeating throughout the server and sent a prayer to Prime that the Egg would not use this time to break their contract.

Two others however, had very different responses.

Punz forced himself to remain calm as he finished putting the last few potions and a netherite chestplate in his inventory. He set off in the direction of Dream’s home, praying that he would make it there before the mob did.

And Quackity sat on Dream’s bed as they both stared down at the ominous message.

<awesamdude whispered to you> attention everyone, please gather at spawn in approximately twenty minutes. bring any and all weapons and armor you can spare. 

<awesamdude whispered to you> we have an announcment to make regarding the impending arrest of dreamwastaken

<awesamdude whispered to you> remember we’re gathering in twenty minutes at spawn. your presence or absence will be noted

Quackity’s hands shook as he reread the messages over and over till his eyes were swimming. He could feel Dream shaking twice as hard beside him.

“W-what do we do?” Dream asked, his voice barely above a whisper. 

Quackity closed his comm before throwing his arms around his terrified friend. Friend. Brother. Partner. He could almost feel the blood already spilling from Dream’s body. Who knew if someone else would take up the horrid role of Dream’s tormentor. A shudder ran through Quackity’s spine. He was never letting that happen again.

“We’ll figure it out, Dream. Don’t worry, you’re not going back there. I promise.”

He could only pray he could keep it.

Chapter Text

The crowd around spawn was larger than Sapnap had expected. He supposed that was what the authority of being the Warden got them. Sam was decked out in netherite gear, hastily crafted but no less intimidating than his old set. Sapnap had also donned a netherite helmet and leggings, though he knew he wouldn’t look as formidable as the Warden was.

The crowd seemed to disagree, considering the wary glances thrown at them. 

Sam stepped forward and slammed his trident into the planks beneath his feet. Several in the crowd jolted to attention at the sound of metal on wood. 

“Thank you all for coming. As you know, recently we’ve been made aware of the fact that our memories have been tampered with. This is not the first server we’ve all been on together. And this is not the first time any of us have met. But these memories were hidden from us until recently. And Sapnap and I have reason to suspect our admin, Dreamwastaken, a criminal and escaped prison convict on the previous server, is responsible,” Sam declared. 

Sapnap stepped forward with a nod. “Dream was the admin of our previous server. And as far as we know, he still holds that position. He would have access to erasing or hiding our memories from us. Obviously, the fucker messed up somewhere along the line, because we’re remembering shit. But that doesn’t mean Dream isn’t a danger to all of us. He belongs back in the prison, where he won’t be able to harm anyone ever again.”

The crowd murmured to themselves, some of the members grouping up to quietly mutter their thoughts on the declaration. Tubbo was the first to step forward.

“And how do you know this prison will hold him? Need I remind you that you fucked up last time, Sam. And killed my husband,” the young goat hybrid challenged, leveling a glare at the former prison warden.

Sam glared right back at Tubbo. 

“I have made arrangements. Besides, Dream isn’t the threat he was on the last server. Containing him now will be easier.”

“And we’re certain he deserves that?” Another voice was heard through the crowd. Ponk. “He’s done nothing to us here. He acts traumatized half the time. He can’t even hold an axe without looking nervous. And you seriously think he stands any threat to us?”

Sam growled, a guttural noise that had several people flinching. Ponk stood undisturbed. 

“He is most likely putting on an act. He was a master manipulator, who’s to say that he hasn’t pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes?” Sam countered.

“But what if he’s not pretending?” That was Michael Mcchill. “I’ve seen his panic attacks. You can’t just fake those.”

“I assure you, Dream would be able to,” Sam spat.

“Then we bring him here for a trial.” That was Puffy. Sapnap was surprised she spoke up at all. “Eret can act as judge, and we can decide on a punishment as a server. I think we’ve had enough of a singular person controlling what happens.”

Sam looked like he wanted to attack Puffy right there and then. Sapnap watched nervously, hoping he wouldn’t have to deescalate the situation. He hid a sigh of relief as Sam pulled himself together. 

“Fine. You know what, fine. We’ll have your stupid trial and put Dream through a courthouse. And then you’ll see just how much of a danger he is to us,” he growled. 

Puffy nodded. Ponk looked less than enthused, but he didn’t argue with the decision. Even Tubbo seemed somewhat satisfied if a bit frustrated. 

Sapnap clanged his sword against his legs, allowing the sound of metal on metal to catch everyone’s attention.

“We’ll take a small group to arrest Dream and bring him here. The rest will stay here in case anyone ends up respawning or Dream loses a life in a struggle. Sam will choose who will go with us,” he declared.

The others backed away, as if hoping they’d be left behind. Sam ignored the tense atmosphere as he pointed to the crowd.

“Purpled, Tubbo, Fundy, Bad…,” he paused. “Where are Quackity and Foolish?”

Sapnap shrugged. 

“Foolish hasn’t been seen for several days. I think he was near Eret’s castle last time I saw him,” Bad replied.

“Quackity from Las Nevadas has been with Dream Manhunt and Tommy from L’Manberg. He is probably still at the cabin,” Charlie remarked from somewhere in the crowd. 

A satisfied smirk passed over Sam’s face.  

“Good. We’ll meet him there. My team, suit up. We leave in five minutes. Everyone else, wait here. One of us will send a message once we’ve finished.”

Tubbo, Purpled, Fundy, and Bad gathered around Sam as Sapnap moved to join them. 

He saw Bad shoot him a raised eyebrow. He ignored it as his eyes glanced over the crowd. Only to see George standing beside Callahan and Hannah with his head in his hands. 

Sapnap looked away as he checked his gear. He didn’t need to deal with the guilt trip he knew George would give him when they got back.

Five minutes later, seven netherite and diamond-clad figures began their walk through the server to Dream’s home.

—

Quackity knew that Sam would come sooner or later with his posse. He just prayed he and Dream could escape before they arrived. 

The universe must have hated him because as he was packing the last few potions, a heavy pounding sounded at the door. Quackity froze, nearly dropping the potions in his arms. No, they couldn’t be here already.

He quickly stowed the bottles in his inventory. He debated running upstairs and hiding with Dream. But there was a chance it could be someone else. He took a deep breath and peeked out the window.

Sam and Sapnap stood by the door, armed to the teeth and dressed for battle. There were others with them, also armed and suited for a fight.

Quackity’s first reaction was to want to yell at all of them for coming to the house of an unarmed and terrified man as if they expected him to put up a fight when he was cowering under blankets upstairs. His second reaction was one of despair. They were too late to escape. The only thing Quackity could do was beg Sam to leave them be. He was fairly certain that wouldn’t go over well.

Quackity hurried up the stairs as Sapnap’s voice rang out.

“Dream! You are under arrest. Come quietly, and we won’t be forced to take one of your lives!”

Shit. Quackity ran to Dream’s room, and locked the door behind him. 

Dream was still huddled under the blankets. He peeked out, ears pinned to his head and eyes wide and frantic. 

“Are—are they here?” he asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Quackity nodded. “They, uh. They said they’re here to… to arrest you.”

Dream whimpered, curling back up on the bed. Quackity sat beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

“P-please don’t send me back. I can’t go back. It’ll hurt. Sir, it’ll hurt,” Dream mumbled.

“Oh, cariño. It’s just Q. It’s just Quackity. I’m so sorry, conejito. You’ll be okay. We’ll get you out of this, I promise.”

Quackity leaned down and hugged the young man through the blankets. He felt guilt tear through him. He had expected Dream to be angry, to feel betrayed by Quackity. He had expected Dream to lash out. Instead, he had fallen apart, pleading with Quackity not to hurt him, that he’d behave, that he was sorry. It had almost broken Quackity to witness.

He’d felled the mighty Dream. And he couldn’t even feel accomplished for it.

Quackity could hear the commotion downstairs getting worse. He pulled Dream upright on the bed, still holding his friend close.

“We have to find a way out of the house. I’m gonna go check the back door, okay? Stay here, and stay out of sight,” Quackity said, moving to hold Dream’s hands. “Maybe see if you can message Tommy. I know he’ll be willing to help.”

Dream looked up, startled. 

“But—but I hurt him. Doesn’t he hate me?”

Quackity smiled softly. “His first question to me after he got his memories back was if I would ever hurt you again. He still cares for you, Dream. We both do.” He kissed Dream’s head. “Now, stay here. I’ll be right back.”

And he unlocked the door and closed it behind him, rushing downstairs and hoping he wouldn’t see the front door busted down.

He was relieved to see it still standing. He sent a thank you to the universe that he remembered to lock the door that morning. He’d never forgive himself if his negligence got Dream hurt.

Quackity made his way to the back door, closing a few curtains as he went. He was relieved that no one appeared to have made it to the back of the house. Maybe there was a chance they could escape unnoticed.

And then he saw movement as the back door of the house swung open. He’d forgotten to lock it. Shit. Shit shit shit! 

Quackity stood frozen in the door to the kitchen as a white-hooded figure stepped through the doorway and closed the back door behind him.

“Punz?”

—

Sam was losing his patience. Sapnap had been yelling to Dream for over ten minutes, and there wasn’t a peep from  the admin. He’d slammed his shoulder against the door, but it never budged. Locked, because of course it was. 

He sent a message to Quackity, hoping to get his old business partner’s attention.

<You whisper to Quackity> where are you?

<You whisper to Quackity> we’re arresting dream could use the help

No response. Sam frowned. Had Dream gotten under Quackity’s skin as well? Manipulated him into trusting him, pitying him? He clenched his teeth as a low rumble escaped his chest. The nerve of that bastard!

Sapnap sighed. 

“Well, we’ve tried to ‘come out with your hands up’. Do we break down the door and force our way in?”

Sam considered it. It was seven to one. Dream had been an excellent fighter and an expert in parkour. Though Sam’s memories of this server didn’t indicate much of that had transferred over. 

“He’s probably got strength potions. But if we’re careful, we might be able to overpower him. Tubbo, what potions do we have?”

Tubbo checked his inventory. “Two strengths, two invis, and three splash weakness pots. All eight minutes.”

Sam nodded. “Sapnap and I will take the strength potions. Purpled, Tubbo, you take the invis and sneak around back. The rest of you, take a weakness pot. We’ll corner him. If you find his respawn point, break it so he gets back to spawn in case this goes south.”

Tubbo and Purpled held the invis potions while Sapnap and Sam grabbed their bottles. The others took the weakness bottles. Sam noted the nervous expression in Bad’s face.

“You still good to be here, Bad?”

Bad flinched before staring down at the potion in what looked like shame. “Sam, you know what I heard in the old prison. Are you… are you going to allow that to happen again?”

Sam frowned. He hadn’t yet considered whether he would allow Quackity to torture Dream again. A vindictive part of him wanted to for when he’d been in the prison himself. Another part of him wondered if it would even be worth it. 

“For now, no.” And that was all he answered.

He missed the odd look Sapnap gave him as he watched Tubbo and Purpled sneak around back and down their invis potions. 

Eight minutes starting now.

—

In hindsight, maybe Quackity should have asked Dream about additional enemies after he got his memories back. Because the face on the other end of the blade at his throat was not a pleasant one. 

“Where is Dream?”

Quackity swallowed, feeling the sharp edge bob against his throat. “L-look, we can just talk, man, w-we—we don’t have to be so hostile. I-I know Dream’s done a lot of shit, but—”

The blade pressed a little deeper, cutting off his rambling. Quackity wished, not for the first time, that he hadn’t been overpowered and pinned to the floor. 

“What the fuck have you done to him?” Punz growled.

“Nothing! He’s fine, he’s fine! What the fuck do you want with him? Is it revenge or some shit? Why can’t you fuckers just leave him be?!” Quackity screamed, voice slightly hoarse from the pressure at his neck that threatened to spill his blood all over the floor.

Punz paused. “What the fuck do you mean leave him alone? That’s my line, you fucking monster!”

It was Quackity’s turn to pause. He stared up in Punz as it dawned on him. 

“You’re not here to arrest him,” he whispered, relief flooding his body. 

Punz leaned back to straddle Quackity’s hips. “No, I’m not. I’m getting him out of here and away from your abusive ass. Now if you know what’s good for you, you will stay put, understood?”

Quackity nodded. “Yep, loud and fucking clear. His room’s upstairs, and he’s probably hiding, you know, arresting party out front, kinda scary, and—” Quackity bit back a yelp as the blade nearly cut into his neck.

“Shut your mouth before I shut it permanently. Now stay here, and don’t move,” Punz ordered.

He stood up and ran for the stairs, leaving Quackity still on the floor and feeling rather dazed. Quackity took a shuddering breath as he sat up. Punz was on Dream’s side. Punz would be able to get Dream out of here safely. That at least put Quackity at ease. 

And then his comm pinged. He opened it to see two messages from Sam. 

Fuck.

—

Dream flinched when he heard the knock at the door. He tried to steady himself. Quackity wasn’t going to hurt him. He’d promised. He would keep that promise, right? He would keep him safe.

“Dream? Are you there? It’s me.”

That wasn’t Quackity. 

“Punz?” he whispered, barely able to speak louder through the tension that squeezed him so tight.

The door opened, and a familiar white-hooded figure entered the room. Punz smiled when he spotted Dream.

“Hey, buddy. Long time no see.”

A sob escaped Dream’s throat as he reached out for his friend. Punz met his embrace, wrapping strong arms around Dream’s still trembling form. 

“You’re here,” Dream whispered. “You’re here.

“I am,” Punz replied just as softly. “You’re safe now. Quackity won’t ever hurt you again.”

Dream shot up at that. “W-what? Punz, what did you do?”

Punz looked at him confused and a little hurt. “Dream, he hurt you. He tortured you everyday for months. I can’t let him near you again.”

“He’s dead,” Dream realized. “H-he’s… Q….”

Punz frowned. “He’s not dead. Yet. But if he tries anything, I will kill him.”

Dream shook his head.

“No?”

“No more death. Please, Punz. No more death. I think I’ve had enough,” Dream said, staring down at the blanket in his lap.

Punz let out a heavy sigh before placing a hand on Dream’s head. He ruffled the younger’s curls, being careful around his ears.

“Okay. No more death. I’ll do my best. Come on, let’s get you out of here before Sam sends in his goons.”

He helped Dream up from the bed, handing him an invis and a speed potion. Punz always did prefer stealth. 

“All right, we have eight minutes to sneak out of here. We can come back for anything you leave behind. Maybe see if we can hide out somewhere far from the rest of the server,” Punz said.

Dream wondered for a moment. As terrified as he was of the prison, would it make things better if he gave himself up? Would he want to be on the run for the rest of his life? The thought of obsidian walls and that overpowering weakness of the elder guardian’s curse sent shudders through him. 

No, definitely not going back to prison. He would deal with the consequences later. 

A scuffle downstairs caused Dream to panic. He heard Quackity yelling about being let go. Punz was already downing his speed potion and grabbed Dream’s hand.

“Drink the potion, hurry!”

Dream uncorked the invis as the front door slammed open. 

“Dream, come downstairs. Now.” Sam’s voice echoed throughout the house. 

“Dream, get your ass down here now!”

The potion bottle shattered to the floor as Dream fell to his knees. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe. He was vaguely aware of hands on his shoulders and a voice telling him to calm down. All he could hear were the thuds of footsteps on the stairs, the clanging of armor on wood. The Warden was here. Sapnap was as well. 

He was going to die. 

He heard the sounds of metal on metal before Punz was subdued by another figure. Armored gloves grabbed his arm and wrenched him upwards to his feet. He knew exactly whose hand that was.

“Look at me, prisoner,” the Warden ordered.

Dream obeyed, tears spilling down his cheeks. 

“You will come with us. Any resistance will be punished. Understood?”

Dream nodded numbly. 

He was shoved out of the room and down the stairs, eyes glancing over Sapnap wrestling Punz into cuffs and Quackity kneeling on the floor between Tubbo and Purpled. Sam’s grip on his arm never loosened as Dream was led outside. 

It was too much, too many arguments, too much noise as both Quackity and Punz struggled before being doused in weakness potions. As Sapnap and Tubbo yelled at them to be quiet. As Bad argued with Sam about what was going on. 

Despair turned to apathy as Dream let his mind slip away. He would end up back in prison, or he would die. At this point, he wasn’t sure which one was more preferable.

Chapter Text

Tommy jogged ahead of Ranboo and Niki, a spring in his step that hadn’t been there before. He had wanted to go join Techno and Phil, but he’d been away from home for too long already. Besides, he needed to talk to Dream. Figure out what they’re relationship was going to be moving forward. 

He wanted to keep calling Dream a friend. The more he thought about it, the more he remembered the skittish but enthusiastic rabbit hybrid who went along with what Tommy wanted and always gave Tommy a heart attack when he would get into trouble. He remembered cool nights on the couch with snuggles with Patches and hot chocolate and warm blankets. 

Dream had been his abuser, his tormentor. But he had also been his friend. And Tommy needed to reconcile those bits of information. And to do that, he needed to talk to Dream. 

He spotted the house in the distance and paused to let Ranboo and Niki catch up with him.

“It’s just beyond the treeline,” he called behind him.

Ranboo shook his head. “Tommy, you’ve been saying that for the past half hour. Please tell me we’re actually close this time.”

Tommy smirked. “I mean it this time, big man. Come on, I gotta talk to some bitches.”

He hurried ahead down the path, not bothering to listen to the others complain about being left behind. The house grew bigger in his vision as he broke into a run. He could see the brick facing, the wooden roof, the fields where Henry and the others lived, the open front door….

They never left the front door open. Too much risk of spiders or zombies sneaking in during rainy days. If the door was open then….

Tommy ran faster.

He nearly collided with the door frame in his haste, gripping his fingers into the wood grain as he looked inside. He saw mudprints on the floor and stairs, items from a nearby table scattered on the floor, and red stains on the center rug. Blood.

“Big Q! Dream!” 

No answer. It was almost completely silent. Tommy felt his chest tighten. He ran towards the kitchen to find the backdoor wide open as well. 

He heard something shuffling upstairs, and hope soared through him. There was a chance, a slim chance that they had hidden from whoever had broken in. 

Tommy ran for the stairs as Ranboo and Niki appeared.

“Tommy, is everything okay?”

“Big Q and Dream are missing,” he replied as he climbed the stairs two at a time.

His heart dropped the moment he arrived on the landing and saw the muddy bootprints leading to Dream’s room. He hurried over to find the room empty, and Dream’s blanket laying half off the bed.

“Dream? Quackity? Anyone?” 

Tommy heard the scuffling noise once again, underneath Dream’s bed. He knelt to the floor and peeked underneath to see Patches backed against the wall.

“Patches? It’s just me, girl. It’s just Tommy. Come on out, girl. Let’s find, Dream, okay?” he coaxed, reaching a hand out to the spooked cat.

The cat hissed at him before leaning forward to sniff his hand. And then crawling out to his arms and rubbing her head against his arm. Tommy smiled.

“That’s it, girl. Someone must have scared you so badly. You’re okay, now, Patchy. Shall we go find your idiot owner, eh?” 

He gently picked Patches up and cradled her in his arms. He exited the bedroom before moving to check the other rooms. They were all empty. 

Tommy left the last room, a sense of agitation and fear growing inside him. There were only two options left. Either Dream and Quackity had both left the house together or someone had taken one or both of them. 

Tommy thought back to his own conflicted feelings after getting his memories back. If the others felt similar or more upset, would they take it out on Dream or Quackity? Neither of them had been truly upstanding citizens. But the comm chat had been too quiet for a coordinated effort, right?

Niki stepped onto the landing, looking around the hallway before turning to Tommy.

“They’re still missing, aren’t they?” she asked.

Tommy nodded, scratching Patches’s head to calm himself.

“I don’t know where they are. This is all so fucked up.”

Niki put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “We’ll find them. Come on, let’s go downstairs. We can ask Phil and Techno for help. Or even Foolish and Eret.”

“Yeah, yeah, all right,” Tommy conceded.

They walked down the steps to find Ranboo still standing in the front living space. He frowned at the pair.

“Nothing?”

Niki shook her head, pulling out her comm. “No, they’re not here. I’m going to message Eret to check if they know anything. Maybe Phil as well to see if he and Techno can keep an eye out.”

“Damn, yeah, okay. I really hope nothing’s happened. It already feels like we messed things up by coming here,” Ranboo said, sitting down on the couch.

Tommy raised an eyebrow at the enderman hybrid. “So, what the fuck do you mean ‘messed things up by coming here’. Didn’t you guys just spawn in late like everyone else?”

Ranboo and Niki glanced at each other. 

“No, we came in through a backway via Foolish and Eret. We told you how they asked us for help with fighting DreamXD, right? They got us in via a weird portal Eret and Phil concocted. We never lost our memories,” Niki explained.

Tommy’s brow furrowed. He released Patches, who jumped on the couch so she could remain within optimal petting distance.

“So let me get this straight, Foolish and Eret brought you to the server to fight some dick called DreamXD, and that’s why you never forgot the old server. And you think that’s why all our memories returned?” he asked.

Ranboo shrugged. “That’s the gist of it, yeah.”

“Huh,” was all Tommy could respond with.

“You know, you’re taking this a lot better than I thought you would,” Ranboo commented.

Tommy plopped on the couch beside the enderman. “I guess I’m just… done with it all. I’m tired, Boo. I just want to fucking… talk to Dream. Without the threat of a fucking nuke over our heads. I want closure, even if Dream doesn’t remember. And then give him the biggest fucking hug and the hardest slap up the head.” 

Ranboo chuckled. “At least you know what you’d want to say to him. I still don’t know how I would confront him for all that happened.”

“I honestly don’t. I just know if I don’t get answers, I’m gonna go fucking insane.”

At that moment, Niki hissed. Tommy looked over to see her staring at her comm with a furrowed brow and a tight expression.

“Everything okay?” Ranboo asked.

Niki looked up at Tommy, and the teen could see the pity in her eyes. He sat up.

“I’m sorry, Tommy.”

Tommy felt dread overcome him. “Niki, what happened?”

“Sam and Sapnap arrested Dream, Quackity, and Punz. They’re holding a trial in a few minutes at spawn,” she replied.

And Tommy’s world shattered.

—

Quackity wanted desperately to be somewhere other than the cell he shared with Punz. But that was exactly where he was stuck being, holding his bleeding nose and hoping that Punz hadn’t broken anything.

“Fuck, man, did you have to go and do that?”

Punz glared at him. “Considering what you did to Dream, I think you got off easy. Be glad I kept it to your ugly nose.”

“Okay, that was uncalled for. My nose is perfectly nice to look at!”

Punz bent over Quackity. “Want me to fix that for you, you dick?”

Quackity swallowed. Okay, Punz was definitely more intimidating than Quackity gave him credit for.

“N-no, no, not really.”

“Then stay out of my way,” Punz growled.

Quackity backed up against his corner of their cell. Stay away from Punz, got it. Not that he blamed the mercenary for his opinion. Quackity hated himself for the depths he fell to just feel power over someone else. To make someone scared of him. To bring someone so powerful and strong to their knees in front of him. To have control over someone else. Hell, he’d done it to Foolish, to Sam, to Purpled, to Fundy, even to Charlie in some manner. And of course to Dream. 

The young man in question was curled into a tight ball in the cell across the hall from theirs. Quackity wanted so desperately to call out and ask if Dream was okay. But he recognized the glazed eyes and hunched stance. Dream was trapped in his own mind, and the voice of his former torturer would only make things significantly worse. All Quackity could do was hope he’d snap out of it before the trial. 

The trial. Apparently, the server had decided that Eret would act as judge while the server as a whole would vote on the sentences if the three were convicted. Quackity personally didn’t think he’d get anything less than prison. Punz would probably get off light. Dream… Dream could end up with prison or execution. There was a small chance he might get long-term community service. Quackity himself would push for that. 

Not that anyone would listen to ould listen to an accused criminal. Much less someone actively manipulated people for the sake of his country. Quackity bit back a bitter laugh. Is this what irony felt like?

His thoughts were interrupted by the door clanging open. Sapnap entered the room, eyes glowing as he glared at the prisoners. Quackity swallowed. Sapnap’s rage was not to be taken lightly.

“I can’t believe you were working for him,” the blaze hybrid spat at Punz, fire sparking on his tongue. “And after we worked together to put him behind bars.”

Punz shrugged. He remained silent, not bothering to answer his former friend.

“And you!” Sapnap turned to Quackity. “You were the most vocal about how dangerous Dream is. How everyone was better off with him in jail. Fuck, Dream even lied about you torturing him. Why the hell would—”

“He didn’t lie, Sap,” Quackity said, his voice surprisingly calm despite the emotions raging inside him. 

Sapnap, to his credit, stopped completely.

“W-what? What do you…?”

“He didn’t lie. I did go to the prison everyday to torture him. Sam even gave me his tools.” Quackity didn’t know why he was saying this. It was digging his own grave. But maybe it was what he deserved. 

Sapnap was speechless. It would have been funny under other circumstances. Punz seemed to think so.

“Where the fuck did you think the scars came from, idiot?” he snorted. “The panic attacks, his lack of flexibility, the fact he doesn’t even try to do parkour?”

“Sam wouldn’t… I… I thought…. I thought that was because of the nuke,” Sapnap replied weakly. Quackity almost felt bad for him.

“Then I guess Tommy, Tubbo, and I are walking miracles considering we were all there for the explosion. Jack too, for that matter.” Sarcasm dripped from Punz’s voice. 

“Enough, please,” another voice cut in. 

Quackity looked over to see Dream’s head peeking out over his arms. He was still hunched over, ears still pinned back, nose twitching slightly. His eyes were a little clearer now, but they were still dull compared to their usual emerald brilliance.

“What do you want, Sapnap?” he asked.

Sapnap snarled in frustration. “I—I don’t know! I don’t fucking know, okay? First you somehow turn evil and start acting like a fucking cartoon villain. Next, there’s a literal nuke, and the server gets reset. And on top of all of that, you reset our memories! Maybe we just wanted to live in fucking peace, huh? Was that so hard to ask?”

Dream looked up this time. His brow was furrowed in confusion.

“Sapnap, I didn’t reset anyone’s memories. I didn’t even remember the server when Tommy and I spawned.”

“Then you must have done it before the reset kicked in. I know you were the admin, Dream. Don’t fucking lie to me!” Sapnap’s eyes were blazing again.

Dream flinched, backing up against his cell wall. He looked scared.

“Sapnap, I haven’t had admin abilities since L’Manberg won its independence. I was never the admin on this server. Please, I promise, I never would have reset your memories!”

Sapnap snarled again, banging his axe against the cell door. Dream curled in on himself defensively as the sound filled the hall.

“Don’t fucking lie to me, you bitch! I know you had something to do with it. I will make you talk if I have to!” Sapnap screamed.

Quackity went white. He saw Punz lunge at the cell bars from the corner of his eye. But his gaze was fixed on Dream. How his limbs were trembling violently. The emptiness in his eyes. The paleness of his skin. 

“Sapnap,” he snapped, drawing his ex-fiance’s ire to himself.

“What?!” Sapnap yelled, his voice echoing in the small space. Quackity only glared back in disapproval.

In the quiet that followed, a low muttering could be heard.

“I’m sorry, Sir. I’m sorry. Please, Sir. It hurts, please,” Dream mumbled, just loud enough for the other three to hear him.

Sapnap, for all of his impulsive tendencies, knew when he’d fucked up. He turned a horrified gaze to Quackity and Punz and then back to Dream before running out of the hall. The door slammed shut behind him.

Dream went silent, hunching in on himself and no doubt falling back into his mind. Quackity sighed and curled in on himself as well. 

It was going to be a long few hours before the trial.

—

If Eret could have had a redo of the past few days, they would jump at the opportunity. The conversation with the Egg had gone well. No vines, no tendrils. No creepy, unnaturally red vegetation of any sort. And above all, no infected players. 

And then the Egg’s taunt came to fruition. All of the members started to wake up with bits and pieces of their old memories. Eret had heard Puffy and Foolish reuniting a couple of days after their excursion. And then several others came to them in a panic, rambling about fighting and killing their best friends or having horrid nightmares. It had been difficult to manage the fallout, but everyone seemed to be doing fine.

And then Sam awoke with his memories. And a plan to put Dream back in prison, something Foolish had been rather uncomfortable with. Eret knew Foolish and Dream had no hard feelings from the last server, and the shark totem had even grown fond of the man his mother had called a “duckling”. 

But Sam had gone and arrested Dream anyways. At least Puffy and Ponk had argued for a trial first. And Eret had been appointed judge. 

They sighed as they straightened their suit jacket. Hopefully the trial would be quick. Though given that Sam had also arrested Quackity and Punz for resisting, Eret had a feeling the proceedings would take longer than they wanted. 

They grabbed their comm, shooting off a quick message to Phil before stepping out of the throne room and down the path to the Nether portal towards spawn. The only one they had created that still worked. The heat and sounds of the Nether surrounded them as they stepped through the portal. 

The journey to spawn felt… odd. Something was off about the Nether, about the way the mobs were behaving. The ghasts seemed to avoid them and even the piglins acted aggressive despite the gold helmet on Eret’s head. Though not once did an arrow pierce their skin or an axe graze them. 

Eret hurried faster down the path. The portal swirled tauntingly in front of them as they dashed through the purple haze. They heaved a sigh as they landed in the spawn area on the other side. Only for a voice to invade their thoughts.

He knows.  

The Egg. What did it want with them now?

Who knows?

That meddling so-called god of this world. He senses the Angel’s and the Warrior’s intentions. I am blocking what I can of his influence from the stronghold, but that will only last so long. The world is shifting, tearing. The Egg’s voice had gone from calm to delighted. I can feel their rage.

You are not to feed from them.

Oh, it’s not something I can help with the level of hostility among your fellow players, You better hurry. XD might try something soon. Tick tock, little monarch.

Eret froze.

What? What do you mean?

No response. And didn’t that just unsettle them further. 

Eret was running for the spawn area before they could stop themselves.

—

The server members were tense. And for some, that was an understatement. Bad and George looked dismayed to even be in the crowd, eyes darting back and forth between the defendants and Sam and Sapnap. Sapnap was throwing odd and uneasy glances at Sam as well. 

Puffy looked conflicted at best. Her hands twitched at her side, wishing she could do something about the pathetic figure chained to what was essentially a box in the center of the courtyard. 

Dream was pale and unable to stand fully upright, clutching the rail with white knuckles.. Quackity and Punz were chained together behind him. Punz simply glared out at the crowd, while Quackity yelled out about how he should go on trial first because he deserved punishment more.

No one was really sure how to take that.

The crowd’s attention was drawn to another figure as Eret hurried into the courtyard. Puffy and Bad both noticed the ruffled and wrinkled suit jacket and the sunglasses slightly askew on their face. Seemed even the judge hadn’t made it without difficulty.

“All rise for the judge,” Sapnap ordered.

The entire crowd was already standing, so it was a moot point. But no one was going to point that out.

Eret smacked the gavel against the desk.

“My apologies for the delay. I would advise not taking the Nether portals for now,” Eret remarked, straightening their glasses and jacket. “Now, shall we begin?”

Sam stepped forward, his armor clunking as he moved towards Dream. The prisoner flinched at the noise, hunching his shoulders and staring at the floor. 

“Your Honor, Eret, I am arguing for the sake of the server that Dream be returned to a secure location. He is a danger to all of us, and he needs to be contained where he won’t cause any further problems,” Sam declared. “I also argue that Punz should be held as an accomplice.”

Eret frowned. “And what of Quackity?”

“He resisted Dream’s arrest, and has proved to be a nuisance to our world. I argue that he be tried for his crimes against the citizens of Las Nevadas,” Sam stated. 

Quackity winced while Eret’s frown deepened.

“And what crimes did Quackity commit?”

“Vandalism, hostage taking, blackmail, and attempted murder among others,” Sam replied, crossing his arms.

A hushed murmur fell over the crowd as several of the server members turned horrified looks to Quackity. A few others, Purpled and Fundy specifically, turned hateful glares at the duck hybrid. Quackity tried to suppress a flinch at the looks thrown his way.

Eret sighed. “Very well. I take it you’ve decided to try Dream first. Present your reasoning for Dream’s conviction and imprisonment.”

Sam nodded and turned to address the others. 

“People of the Dream SMP, I’m sure I don’t need to go into detail of all of Dream’s crimes. Blackmail, extortion, murder, torture, abuse of a minor, vandalism, and many more. He convinced a known ally to assist in a prison escape, leading to another member’s death. His reign of terror and thirst for control led to the destruction of lives and property across the server. For the safety of everyone, he must be contained.” Sam slammed his fist down on the railing in front of Dream, causing the young rabbit hybrid to flinch back violently.

Eret glanced at Dream before turning back to Sam. 

“Thank you, Sam. Is there anyone who will speak for the defendant?”

No one stepped forward at first. Sam stared around at the others, almost as if daring someone to step forward.

Eret sighed. “Dream, if no one will speak for you, are you able to give your own defense?”

Dream froze, his hands beginning to tremble. He looked from Sam to Eret and back to Sam.

“I–I… I…,” he stuttered, unable to continue. 

Eret frowned. “If you’re unable to, we can move onto the others for the time being.”

Sam spun around to stare incredulously at the former king. 

“Your Honor, we cannot provide him special treatment!”

“If he can’t give a defense and doesn’t have anyone to do so for him, then we move on until he’s able to. I’m not passing judgment without hearing his side of the story,” Eret replied, glaring at the creeper hybrid over the rim of their sunglasses.

Sam opened his mouth to argue more when a shadow passed over the courtyard. A screech was heard overhead. 

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!”

The entire assembly looked up to see a figure dive from the sky and land between Dream and Sam. The crowd went silent as they watched the scene unfold.

“… Tommy?” Dream’s voice was so quiet that only Tommy and Sam heard him properly.

The teen turned to the cuffed man, who shrunk back under the intensity of his gaze. Tommy’s eyes softened for a moment before spinning back to Sam to glare at him. 

“What the hell is going on? Why did I find out about this through Eret after everyone had been fucking arrested?” Tommy asked, his voice growing in volume as he spoke.

Sam recovered quickly to his credit. 

“Tommy, it’s not safe for you—”

“Bullshit! You don’t think arresting my housemates, my friends isn’t worth at least telling me? You don’t think I should be here because it’s not safe? When you did fucking nothing to help before Dream took my last life?!”

Sam stepped backwards at the intensity of Tommy’s rant. 

“Tommy, let’s calm down a minute,” he said, holding out his hands in a placating gesture.

“No, I will not fucking calm down! Was everyone else on this decision but me? And what claim does any of us have on arresting someone else?” Tommy asked, spinning around to address the crowd. 

Tubbo stepped forward. He was staring at Tommy with a look bordering on incredulity and rage. 

“Tommy, you were the one who wanted him dead on the last server. We took his last life before that punk,” he pointed at Punz, “revived him. You told me it was necessary.”

“Yeah, yeah, I did. And then I talked with Dream. Yes, it was to distract him and Punz for the nuke. But we actually talked. And we still have more to discuss.” Tommy turned back to face Dream, who was staring at him as if unsure of how to handle any of this. “But Dream hasn’t done anything in this world. And seriously, who the fuck amongst us can claim we can throw the first stone, huh? You made the fucking L’Manberg traitor the judge and the former prison warden the prosecutor. Hell, the pet killer himself is in on this.”

“I reformed,” Sapnap muttered just loud enough to be audible, crossing his arms.

“Yeah, well apparently we’re all being judged on our past actions. So let’s start with you then, Sappy. You killed almost every pet at the beginning of the server either intentionally or accidentally. You waged war against teens in a stupid fight that should never have fucking happened. You listened to me of all people instead of going to talk to Dream. And I even heard you promised to kill him if he ever escaped the fucking prison!”

“It was where he was supposed to be,” Sapnap argued.

“That’s still a shit thing to do, man! If Tubbo did the same to me, you think I’d ever trust him again?”

Both Tubbo and Sapnap winced. Neither could argue against that.

“And Sam, I have so much shit with you. You decided you would be the ultimate authority on that fucking box of blackstone and obsidian. You locked me in that shitty box with Dream because of some TNT. And then ignored my screams for help after the TNT was done, for a fucking week, Sam! You only went to get me out after Dream revived me. And then I find out you cut off Ponk’s arm over some defunct security cards. And you gave Quackity the weapons he used to torture Dream!”

That got people’s attention. Quackity swallowed, watching horrified and angry faces turn his way. Both Bad and Puffy had gone pale, Sam had gone pale for different reasons, Sapnap stared at the ground with clenched teeth and fists, and Tubbo just stood there in shock. 

Tommy, however, wasn’t done. “And there’s more, obviously. Bad, Ant, Ponk, and Punz were with the Egg. Eret betrayed us. Tubbo built nukes for Prime knows what reason. Jack tried to kill me with one; you failed, bitch. Techno and Phil blew up L’Manberg, Punz faked his betrayal, Quackity did fuck knows what in Las Nevadas and the prison. And Wilbur.” Tommy paused, before taking a deep breath and continuing. “Wilbur turned us all against each other in the first place over an idealist dream. And fuck, if I didn’t fall headfirst for it.”

Fundy glanced around at the others before clearing his throat.

“So, uh, are we putting these guys on trial, or… what?”

Tommy turned back to Sam and Eret, folding his arms over his chest. His wings were puffed out as if protecting the detained prisoners from Sam.

“I don’t know what you’re all doing. But if killing them is anywhere on that list, I will fucking fight all of you over it,” he spat.

Eret sighed, smacking the gavel against the desk once more. 

“Quiet, please. Tommy, no one is getting executed. There are a number of crimes,” Sam wilted under Eret’s glare, “that have been committed by a large number of us. And I think we might need to reconsider who is on trial given your accusations.”

Tommy wasn’t reassured. “And what about their punishments? There better not be another fucking obsidian nightmare build.”

Sam pointedly looked away from Tommy. It didn’t stop the teen from glaring at him.

“No, honestly, I’ve half a mind to assign everyone community service after the fight,” Eret muttered bitterly. “Maybe we’ll have Ranboo or Phil oversee it.”

Bad blinked. “Wait, Ranboo and Phil? But they aren’t on the server.”

Eret paused, realizing what they’d said. 

“Fuck. Foolish and I brought them here with the rest of the Syndicate. There’s a chance that their presence is what loosened the memory spell.”

“The one Dream put on us,” Sapnap muttered.

Eret gave him a confused look. “Dream doesn’t have the ability to affect player memories. None of us do.”

“Then who—” Puffy was cut off by a loud sound filling the air.

The noise echoed over the server, causing shudders to run through those who knew what it was. Dream, Sapnap, and George had gone still. 

Shock rippled through the crowd. 

“What the fuck was that?!” Tubbo screamed.

“What the fuck?”

“Language!”

“What was that? What was that?”

“The portal,” Eret breathed. They grabbed their comm, checking for messages. Their face went pale.

“Eret?” Puffy asked cautiously.

Multiple pings sounded as a message was sent to the general comm chat. 

<Technoblade> hey uh

<Technoblade> you might want to brace for this

<Technoblade> god’s mad

“Oh no,” Eret mumbled.

“What the fuck is going on?!” Sam screamed.

“They opened the End Portal,” Dream said, his voice just barely audible. 

“What the hell does that mean?”

Another ping. This time deeper and somehow more ominous. 

<????> Since you all seem so intent on breaking my rules, why don’t we play a little game instead?  

“Shit! Shit, shit, shit!” Eret screamed, jumping to their feet. 

“What the hell is going on?” Puffy yelled, grabbing Eret’s arm. 

The others were distracted by Foolish running into the courtyard, armed to the teeth and decked out in enchanted netherite armor. 

“Oh, uh. Hey, guys? Sorry I’m late?”

A crash sounded throughout the area, like stones breaking and earth tearing open. The ground rumbled beneath their feet. Foolish’s expression settled into a serious look before tossing Tommy and Bad two netherite swords.

“Does anyone need armor or weapons?” Foolish asked, looking around at the group.

Punz raised his arms, still chained together. 

“We do! Fuck, hurry it up, Foolish!”

The shark totem hurried to the group, slashing across the chains that connected the prisoners’ arms as he went. He turned back to the crowd.

“Anyone else?”

A chorus of cries went up as Foolish ran around the group, handing out netherite armor and weapons. Puffy grabbed his arm as he passed her and Eret.

“Foolish, what is going on? What is happening?”

The shark totem hybrid paused before looking out into the distance. He looked back at his adoptive mother, determination set on his face.

“We’re taking back the server.”

And then a blinding light filled the courtyard. When the light finally receded, the spawn area was empty.

Chapter Text

Technoblade had definitely had better days getting to a stronghold. The one on the last server had been so much easier to find. But of course, XD was a coward, and thus hid the new one way deeper underground and in a damn maze. 

Techno slashed at a skeleton, taking the dropped arrows as Phil caught up with him.

“Is the Egg still keeping that thing away?”

Phil nodded. “It said it should be clear. The vines are taking most of the blast damage. Fuck, that thing hurt.”

“Must be something XD made for this world. I think I would remember a massive eyeless freak like that. Wild that it makes so much noise for something so sensitive to sound.”

“Let’s just keep going. I think we’re close, mate,” Phil replied, moving further down the stonebrick halls. 

They continued through the stronghold, crossing off doors and stairwells as they wandered through the structure. Their frustration grew as time passed. Up and down stairs and hallways, through iron door after iron door, checking doorway after doorway, fighting zombies and skeletons around each corner. Techno was the first to break.

“Damn it, man, how many more hallways are there? I swear we’ve gone through this one at least three times!”

Phil sighed as he wiped zombie blood from his sword. 

“Just keep going, mate. It’s gotta be around here somewhere.”

“I’m serious, Phil, this is ridiculous!” 

“Mate, we’ll be fine. There’s not much left to explore at this point,” Phil replied as he continued down the hall.

Techno sighed and followed after his friend. “Phil, chat is losing it. I swear if the portal here is broken, they’re going to start chanting for blood.”

Phil chuckled. “Then let's hope XD didn’t disappoint.”

The two kept walking, slaying mobs as they went, and breaking through more iron doors as they went. And then a sound caused them to sprint down the nearest hallway. A silverfish.

Techno almost slid passed the door in his rush, skidding comically to a halt near the doorway to a silverfish spawner and a pool of lava. They’d found it.

Phil climbed the stairs to dispatch of the spawner as Techno grabbed the Eyes of Ender from his inventory. The portal sat before him, all in order, though empty of Eyes. Techno grinned. They’d been smart to prepare more.

“This is it,” he said, placing the first few Eyes in their slots. 

A shudder filled the room, an oppressive and ominous atmosphere that seemed to try to smother them. It was a horribly familiar sensation. Techno hurriedly shoved the last few Eyes in their slots as a green cloaked figure appeared in the room. It floated over the portal and lunged for the last portal block as Techno slotted the last Eye in place.

The portal opened with a deafening hum. XD snarled as the dark green color solidified within the portal’s frame. 

“You fools. You really think you’ll be able to end this world? Not even if you brought everyone together, would you be able to defeat me!” XD roared, causing the stones to shake.

Phil’s grin had turned nasty. “Well, I think there’s more than a few of us who would try, mate.”

The being paused and then chuckled. 

“If you seem so certain.”

Techno grabbed his comm, dread building at the god’s ominous statement. He typed out three messages in quick succession.

<Technoblade> hey uh

<Technoblade> you might want to brace for this

<Technoblade> god’s mad

And then he and Phil were thrown into the End portal.

—

It felt like falling. At least, a little bit. Tommy tried to spread his wings, but they couldn’t catch on the air. Perhaps there wasn’t any. Though he did briefly wonder how he was breathing if that was the case before moving on to other matters. Like the fact that their entire group was also flying through the void with him.

And just as soon as that thought came to his head, he was falling through a dark green portal and landing on a large obsidian platform over the void. 

Tommy cautiously got to his feet as the scene changed. One moment the pale yellow stone and tall obsidian towers were all that kept the group from falling into the void. The next, the world around them had warped.

There was a giant clock symbol on the ground and clocks surrounding the platform they landed on. The void was no longer pitch black but a startling sky blue. As was the rest of the world. Or maybe it was white and reflecting the sky around them? Tommy wasn’t certain.

It was almost serene if a little unsettling. The green cloaked figure that floated above the group ruined whatever peaceful aura the new space gave them. 

“Welcome, mortals! It’s so good to finally meet the thorns in my side face to face,” the figure declared, gesturing wide with its arms.

It seemed at least a few of the others were familiar with the creature as recognition dawned on Dream and Sapnap’s faces.

“XD,” Dream whispered. Tommy noticed his limbs trembling harder now, and grabbed the older man’s hand.

He ignored how Dream flinched at his touch. Punz grabbed Dream’s other hand. Dream didn’t relax.

“You really shouldn’t be so shocked! I remember many of the faces from our confrontation. Right before the server reset, of course. Specifically my little pet and his little posse.” The masked face of the creature roved over the crowd. “The Angel of Death, The Blood God’s Warrior, the Traitors, and even Herobrine’s pathetic descendant.”

Tommy shuddered as the face twisted till the mask sat on its eyes and a mouth of razor sharp teeth became visible. 

“XD, what are we doing here?” George asked, stepping forward from the crowd.

XD’s smile grew to inhuman width. It was like watching a snake smile. 

“Well, my little pet has decided to be a bit rebellious. And since he and his own pets have brought banned players to my world, I thought it would be fun to bring everyone to our fight! It’s not as fun without an audience, after all!”

The creature spoke as if this was all a game to it. Like some sick joke.

“Why did you take our memories? Why did you reset the server?” George pressed, glaring up at the monster with far more confidence than Tommy felt. The teen had to admit George was the ballsiest person at that moment. 

XD frowned before realization unraveled on its face. That horrid smile returned.

“Oh, right, George! You weren’t there, of course. You see, my pet Foolish and his pet Eret decided they didn’t like me being in charge anymore, so they got a few people together to stage a rebellion. It didn’t really work though, of course.” The creature turned its gaze to Tommy. “And then someone had to go and blow up my server with a nuclear bomb.”

Tommy shrunk back, still holding Dream’s hand. The older man shrunk back behind both Tommy and Punz.

XD’s grin remained wide and gleeful. “Such pathetic things that they can’t even answer for their misdeeds. Ah well, I did always prefer the drama you all made for yourself anyway. I didn’t even need to goad you that often! So amusing to watch you all hurt and kill and destroy each other over and over.”

Dread crept over the crowd, so thick that Tommy could feel the others around him shudder. Sapnap joined George despite the visible tremor in his legs.

“You left us those books just to watch us tear each other apart!” he accused. 

“Oh, but you knew that, Sapnap!” XD replied, still in that horridly happy tone. “I told you that.”

Sapnap flinched, nearly stumbling backward. “No, no y-you didn’t. You just told me that the book would kill whoever I wanted and myself. You never… you never told me why….”

“Oh, perhaps that was Foolish then. I’ll be honest, I don’t keep track of the conversations I’ve had with you mortals,” XD replied, so nonchalantly compared to the tension building around it.

It sounded like XD was toying with them. Tommy squeezed Dream’s hand to keep himself steady. He wanted so badly to run up and scream at the monster. His racing heart kept him in place.

“Well enough chatting. I brought you all here to play a game, after all. How about…” XD looked around at the group, mouth widening to an impossible level. 

For the first time since the server reset, TommyInnit felt truly afraid.

“A game of tag.”

—

Technoblade was running before the words left XD’s mouth. The moment he heard the word “tag”, he knew who XD had chosen to be “it”. And it wasn’t any of the server members.

“RUN!” he screamed, shoving Phil backward as he moved.

He saw Foolish surge towards XD as Punz and Tommy dragged Dream back with the rest of the crowd. George and Sapnap had grabbed several others and were also running as the monstrous god grew to horrifying heights. 

If he’d had to pick between creepy mind-control egg and Eldritch child thing, he’d have picked the Egg. At least the Egg was honest about its intentions. 

XD was too unpredictable for that. 

A large hand slammed down beside the piglin, and he drove his sword into its flesh. Instead of hissing or screaming, the god laughed.

“That almost tickles!” he cried, giggling as he swiped his hand sideways and sent Techno flying. 

Techno landed to see Phil and Niki guarding Ranboo and Tubbo. The two teens were in a hushed discussion before a bolt of lightning pierced the former president’s chest. Techno winced at the look on Ranboo’s face as the teen’s mouth opened in a silent scream.

Time enough to deal with trauma later, if they ever got out of this alive to begin with. Chat was not being particularly helpful.

not Ranboo’s husband! XD is homophobic

Fs to Tubbo the goat

F

F

F

F

F

… wiat was that a pun???

traitor how could you do this to us???

lol

oh fuck that guys powerul

yo chat is this the end???

It was nice knowing all of you, brothers

*salute*

Technoblade Never Dies, fools!

Blood for the Blood God!

Blood 

Blood

Blood

Nice to know Chat would at least have his back when they  went down with him. He ignored the following barrage of blood chants and others chiding him for thinking he wouldn’t survive.

And then a scream sounded from his left, and Techno spun to see Michael McChill and Hannah be crushed by XD. He bit back bile at the sight of broken bodies and blood. Chat went silent at that. 

Techno didn’t blame them. This was honestly so much worse than he’d expected. 

Eret had said the last time they fought XD, it had been difficult. The god had sent waves of minions after them before Foolish finally challenged him and was temporarily stripped of his powers. The only way they hadn’t been erased was because something had distracted XD. 

Unfortunately, there was no one left on the server to distract XD. And there was no way for Kristin to break into the server.

All they could do was run and pray for a miracle.

—

Foolish tried to activate his powers only to find them sealed just as they had been during their first fight. He charged at the oncoming god and was the first to lose a life to him. Instead of respawning in the overworld, Foolish found himself floating above the clock symbol. 

It struck him as he watched others fall to the god’s game that the platform really did resemble an arena more than anything. And suddenly, Foolish felt hopelessness consume him. This was always going to be XD’s fight to win. It would always be their fight to lose. Even their own environment, both here and in the overworld, pitted them against each other. 

Even if they had had the element of surprise, XD would have sealed Foolish’s power. He still would have brought them to bow under him as he had before, whether through sheer force of mobs or whatever awful game XD was playing now.

There was no way to win. He and Eret had planned this all for nothing.

Tina floated beside him, trying to calm herself down from her panic. He saw others pop into view as the god continued his chase of the others. Sapnap, Bad, Tubbo, Connor, Hannah, Michael, Ant, Ponk, and Puffy all joined next. All shaken by their encounter, and none able to reach the other for comfort. Sam particularly so, as he’d been held down and burned alive. The creeper was still trembling even now.

Foolish watched as the numbers dwindled down till Eret, the Syndicate, Dream, Tommy, Punz, and Quackity were all that was left.

Foolish wanted to drop down, to help, but the barrier around him refused to budge as he slammed his sword into it over and over again. He stepped back, trying to steady himself. He saw Sapnap and George doing the same out of the corner of his eye. He took a deep breath and raised his axe this time.

A chilling scream caused him to stumble backwards.

—

Dream didn’t know what to think. He’d met the god before, in the prison with Techno. He and Punz had researched the being afterwards, only to find concerning and disturbing tales of madness and blood and death. It had been why he and Punz had paused the revival tests. 

And even so, some part of him felt… something from being this close to the god. Like he had power, unimaginable power. But also that it wasn’t quite his. Why did it feel like this? It was almost as if he could tap into the god’s source. He reached out experimentally and tugged on the connection. The god made no move to indicate he felt it. And yet Dream could feel power flowing into him in a steady trickle. 

Dream winced as thoughts of control filled his head. It felt... strange. He did want control. He wanted the god gone. He wanted his players, his friends , safe. He wanted that peace again. 

But he didn’t want the pain that came with that control again. The horrid sayings Sir had told him over and over, that monstrous self he displayed. He didn’t want to be in pain anymore. 

He just wanted it to stop. 

He felt Quackity’s scream before he heard it. Dream spun to see his friend tormentor , roommate torturer pressed into the ground by a giant hand. The duck hybrid screamed in pain and terror as the sound of ribs cracking reached Dream’s ears. 

XD was still grinning that wide and horrific grin. 

“You caused my host a lot of pain. So many new scars and new things I learned about what the player body can endure.” XD giggled. Quackity whimpered under the god’s grip. He looked terrified. “Let’s see what you look like if the roles were reversed.”

“No. Nononono, please, p-please no! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please!” Quackity pleaded as XD covered him with his hand, shielding the sight from the others.

The scream that ripped from Quackity’s throat echoed over the platform. Dream collapsed to his knees, nearly taking Tommy and Punz with him. No. No, no, he wouldn’t have done that. If the roles had been reversed, he wouldn’t have tortured Quackity… right? He’d been so certain all throughout his time in prison that he wouldn’t have done that to anyone. Hell, he hadn’t done any of it to Sam either, save for a single death. 

But XD thought he would. The god thought Dream was that cruel and merciless. Was that who he was?

XD’s hands finally relinquished Quackity, and Dream bit back a choked sob at the sight of his torn body as XD dragged it in front of him.

“Here you are, Dreamie! A little retribution for you. And a sword, so you can finish him off yourself,” the god said, tossing a netherite blade to Dream’s side.

Tommy dropped beside Dream in an instant, grabbing his arm as his wings drooped behind him. The teen was shaking, unable to tear his eyes from Quackity’s bleeding form. 

Dream couldn’t look away either. There were hundreds of burns and cuts, and several of Quackity’s fingers were missing. The worst of it were the two large gashes where Quackity’s wings used to be. 

XD thought Dream would remove another hybrid’s limbs. Dream felt like he was going to be sick.

A shudder ran through Quackity’s body. He was still alive. Dream reached out his hands before he realized what he was doing. 

Quackity flinched under Dream’s touch. 

“Sorry, sorry, please, ‘m sorry,” he whimpered.

Dream released Quackity’s hand as if he’d been burned. He could feel Tommy had gone limp beside him. And Punz’s attention was still focused on the god in front of them. He could tell the mercenary was extremely unsettled.

“Why?” The word caught in Dream’s throat.

“Hmm? Why? Didn’t you want revenge, little Dream? Isn’t that what you wanted before?”

It had been. Before the reset. Dream didn’t think he wanted it now. 

“I don’t… I don’t want—”

“Perhaps you need more encouragement. Wasn’t this one particular antagonistic towards you?” XD turned to Tommy.

The teen scrambled backwards as the god approached. Dream’s eyes widened.

“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, shit! Dream!” Tommy screamed as the god reached another giant hand towards him.

“Let’s see how much fun you are to play with,” XD taunted, smiling all the wider.

Dream was moving before he could process it, sword in hand as he surged forward and struck the god’s flesh before XD could grab Tommy. He expected the sword to do nothing, just as Techno’s strike had. 

Instead the god reared back with a hiss. 

“You bitch!” XD snarled, clutching his hand as golden ichor flowed down it. 

Dream stared at his blade in shock, watching rivulets of thick gold drip to the floor. He had cut the god’s hand. 

XD could bleed. 

Across the platform the realization was slotting itself into people’s minds. Already, the others above were in an uproar, slamming weapons into the air in an attempt to break the barrier between them and XD. 

XD glared down at Dream with a fury that caused the young rabbit hybrid to step backwards.

“You idiot! I made you! You were a part of me once! How dare you act this way against your maker!”

Dream was shaking. From pure fear or a mixture of terror and adrenaline, he couldn’t tell. All he knew was that he held a weapon, and that he’d been able to pierce the god’s skin. 

“No more death,” he murmured, trying to stay on his feet.

XD smirked. “What was that?”

Dream threw back his head to glare at the god who had stolen his face. 

“No more death!” he screamed. “Just leave us the fuck alone!”

XD’s smirk twisted into a malicious sneer. “Foolish mortal host. You dare to take me for some trivial higher being? I am your god! I created this world for you a thousand times over. And I will ensure none of you will ever leave it!”

The god waved his hands over his head before turning back to those still below him.

“You know what? How about you watch your precious world burn as I reset it? Your last memories disintegrate before your eyes before I wipe them from your puny heads!”

And the world around them went blinding white.

Chapter Text

A lone figure stood in the spawn area. Purple and blue swirls adorned his colorful hoodie. Beside him grew a long red stalk with a bright crimson flower on top. The man eyed it warily. 

“And you’re sure they all disappeared? Right before I arrived?”

“I am,” the Egg’s voice replied. “It was quite the surprise to see you, honestly. Aren’t you the poor soul that was thrown to the time beings?”

Karl sighed heavily. “More or less.”

“Oh?” the Egg prompted.

“Look, most of my memories from the last server are intact. I’d like to say all of them are, but there’s no guarantee,” Karl replied, still feeling rather uncomfortable at being in such close proximity to the thing that had torn apart so many different versions of the server.

“And how did you manage to escape the memory reset? Or were you also not around for that either?” 

Karl tried to ignore the jab at his frequent absences. It wasn’t like he chose to disappear and reappear at random.

“I was traveling at the time. XD can’t control the Inbetween like he used to anymore. Some sort of rift thing ended up going right through it, messed up a bunch of stuff. The keepers weren’t happy about it, but they couldn’t do anything about it either.”

The Egg hmmed curiously. “And what was the reason for your travel?”

Karl eyed the stalk again, grip on the sword at his side tightening. 

“You seem awfully curious about things that don’t concern you,” he said, taking a cautious step to the side. 

The flower leaned his direction regardless. “Call me curious then. I know some of your travels had something to do with me.”

“Fine, yes, they did. And call me ticked the fuck off that you kept trying to destroy every timeline I came across,” Karl sneered, wondering how fast he could decapitate the flower.

“Hmm? I never got quite strong enough for that. I think maybe only a handful of times before. The masquerade was a lot of fun though!” Karl could hear the grin in the Egg’s voice.

“I’m sure it was,” he muttered.

The Egg was silent for a bit, as if it had become distracted by something. The flower tilted back towards Karl again. 

“So what did you find?”

Karl stared up at the sky. The bright blue was a harsh color compared to the pale blues and whites of the Inbetween. Not even a cloud in the sky to dull the color. 

It was a gentle turn. A sudden change in the wind, subtle till it was almost overwhelming. 

Karl smiled.

“Myself.”

—

The shift from XD’s realm to the overworld was sudden. Eret found themselves stumbling on the grass, falling to their knees. The landscape around them was so colorful compared to the clock platform. They almost cried with joy at seeing the world around them. 

The giant figure that loomed over them ripped that joy to shreds as he spoke.

“Let’s start with something beloved,” XD said, waving a clawed hand. “How about the community garden?”

Those around Eret who were still on their feet let out a joint cry of rage. The community garden had been Dream and Tommy’s way of assisting new members get settled on the server. Despite its moss-covered walls, it was a special monument to the server and still fed several of the members who lived near spawn. Eret themselves felt anger at the thought of the oldest build on the server being destroyed.

The god laughed maniacally as Foolish and Sapnap rushed him, raising his hands and throwing lightning down on the ground. The earth beneath their feet rumbled with as the bolt struck dirt and vegetables, uprooting plants ready and waiting for harvest. 

Eret watched as the wooden and stone walls smoldered and burned. Another lightning strike and a scream from Tina signaled the Kitten Cafe had gone up in flames. They saw Foolish striking XD’s heel as the shark totem tried to distract the god. It did nothing to stop XD’s rampage.

Eret hurried towards the Syndicate and grabbed Phil and Techno to pull them behind a row of spruce trees.

“We need a new plan,” they said, glancing up at the laughing god as another building went up in flames.

Phil nodded. “I’m all ears if you have one, mate. Just not sure what we can do if our weapons won’t damage the thing.”

Eret frowned, wracking their brain for an idea. “Okay, so the plan had been to fight him in his realm because his ability to remain here is limited. Too much of a flight risk in case he seals the End to nurse his wounds. With XD in the overworld, we have a shot but it has to be fast and hard.”

“An all out, everyone-at-once attack,” Techno stated, crossing his arms. “It would work, but that requires coordinating this bunch of losers, pardon my pessimism.”

“I don’t disagree,” Eret sighed. “The Egg hasn’t been particularly willing to help other than keeping out of our way so far. At this point, the only chance we may have is getting Dream the best possible weapons and gear and letting him at it. If he doesn’t just collapse the next time he gets his hands on a weapon.”

Phil nodded grimly. “Yeah, I’ll be honest, things aren’t looking good.” He winced as another lightning bolt destroyed the path leading to the rest of the SMP. “I can try to reach Kristin, but there’s no guarantee she can get in.”

Another crash and more screams sounded behind them. Eret winced as they saw XD walk further into the SMP.

“May as well give it a shot. I don’t think we have much choice.”

Phil nodded and pulled out his comm. As he typed out a message, Eret turned back to watch as the god destroyed more of their home. Their hands were shaking. The words “failure” and “betrayal” echoed in their head. 

A heavy hand rested on their shoulder, dragging them out of their head. Technoblade stared off into the distance, keeping the hand on Eret. Eret could feel Techno shaking as well.

“We’ll be fine, nerd.” Techno’s voice betrayed none of the tremor in his limbs. “Just gotta show the god who’s boss.”

Eret let out a laugh at that. “Thank you, Techno.”

The piglin hybrid smiled. Eret decided not to point out how grim he still looked.

—

Sapnap wanted to cry, to scream, something to release the overwhelming swath of emotions that were threatening to rip his body and soul to shreds. His ex-fiance had tortured his former best friend. The man he’d trusted to guard Dream had endorsed it and still wanted to throw Dream back in prison. Tommy had come out in support of letting Dream go. Tommy, the kid Dream had abused and killed and revived, the kid who had been so staunchly in support of killing Dream off for good. And the more Sapnap thought about it, the more Tommy sounded like the voice of reason. 

He had let out a bitter laugh at that realization. Oh if his old self could see him now.

Such as right now, for example. He wasn’t sure whether his old self would have been goading him on or screaming for him to run as he charged at XD’s massive form again. Or maybe his old self would laugh at him. That was probably more accurate.

He swung his axe down on XD’s foot, ripping apart leather from the god’s shoe. He saw a flash of skin and swung down again. To his surprise, golden ichor spilled from the wound. But the god was too engrossed in his rampage to notice. 

Sapnap smiled. Finally, this was something he could use. 

—

Tommy huddled beside Quackity’s still form. He had no potions on him to stop the bleeding, but he knew the other avian needed medical help. But he had nothing, no bandages even, to help. He felt helpless, useless. All he could do was stare up at the horrid god that was wrecking the server. 

His and Dream’s garden was gone. Tina’s cafe was burnt to ash. Others’ homes and shops were trampled and demolished. 

He wanted to run, chase after the monster, and fight. But his legs wouldn’t move from where he knelt beside Quackity. All he could hear in XD’s voice was the horrid tone Dream had used in exile to make him obey. All he could see was the giant hand reaching for him and the blunt side of Dream’s axe coming down on his arms. 

Tommy barely contained the whimper from his throat at the memory. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t move. Why couldn’t he run? He needed to run. Needed to find someone, maybe Phil. Tubbo would hate him for leaving exile, he had to hide from Tubbo, he had to—

“Tommy?” a timid voice asked. Dream’s timid voice.

Tommy looked up slowly. Dream liked it when he looked him in the eyes, or at least where he thought they were behind the mask. But Dream wasn’t wearing a mask now. He looked sad, like he was grieving something. Was Big Q dead? Had Tommy not noticed that his fellow avian had died?

A hand reached up and brushed tears from Tommy’s cheeks. Dream’s hand. Tommy met Dream’s eyes again. Dream’s ears were drooped back against his head, and his eyes still looked sad like a kicked puppy. 

Tommy suddenly giggled. He wiped his other cheek of tears as Dream’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“What?”

“You really do have the worst puppy eyes,” Tommy replied, his laughter wet from crying.

Dream looked in confusion for a moment before letting out a small chuckle. 

“Yeah, so you always complain,” he replied, a small smile spreading on his scarred face.

Tommy’s lips pressed together as the urge to cry overwhelmed him. Dream’s smile fell, and he reached hesitant arms out. Tommy fell into them almost instantly.

“I’m so sorry,” Dream whispered, hugging Tommy close. “I really was an ass.”

Tommy laughed. “Yeah, you were. So was I, to be fair. We both were pretty fucked, yeah?” he murmured, feeling Dream’s shirt dampen from his tears. 

“Yeah.”

Dream didn’t pull away so Tommy didn’t either. 

“This is all my fault,” the older whispered.

Tommy squeezed him tighter, shoving his grimace deeper into Dream’s shoulder

“No, it isn’t. It really fucking isn’t”

They would talk later, Tommy decided. When there wasn’t a giant god to take down. 

Tommy released a tense breath and loosened his hug. Dream pulled away slowly, as if unsure of what to do. Tommy kept his hand gripped on Dream’s shoulder. 

“Let’s get Big Q a potion and get him anywhere but fucking here,” he said, gesturing to the rampaging god.

Dream sighed, his chest stuttering. “Yeah, yeah, we should. Punz?”

The mercenary turned to them with a sharp frown on his face. 

“Do you have any regen or healing? We have to stop the bleeding,” Dream explained. 

Punz scoffed. “He tortured you for months, Dream. I think he got what he deserves.”

“Please, Punz. No more death. No more pain. Please,” Dream pleaded softly.

Tommy watched Punz try to ignore Dream’s puppy eyes and fail. The mercenary sighed as he stepped forward with two potions appearing in his hands. Tommy filed away the tidbit that not even the stoic mercenary was immune to a puppy-eyed Dream. Never know when you could use blackmail material after all.

Punz dumped the potions directly on Quackity, and the blend of pink and red shimmering potions sunk into the avian’s visible skin and cuts. Quackity’s breathing came easier as the potions worked their magic, healing broken bones and stitching shut deep wounds. By the time the potions had finished, Quackity was a map of scar-tissue not unlike Dream himself.

The rabbit hybrid in question appeared to be staunchly ignoring that fact. 

“Okay, let’s get him to shelter. Probably best to go somewhere XD has already been,” Dream said, looking out over the server that was visible through the destroyed treeline.

Tommy squinted his eyes as he spotted a shape by spawn. His eyes widened suddenly.

“Dream, is that who I think it is?”

Dream turned to see what Tommy had spotted. And gasped.

“Karl?” 

—

Quackity felt the potions sink into his body, fixing his broken bones and healing cuts and bruises. His wings, however, remained missing. His signature characteristic had been stolen from him. He couldn’t really fly with them, but they were still a part of him. A sign of his lineage, his legacy. And now they were gone.

The worst part was he thought it was deserved. Hell, he’d amputated and reattached Dream’s limbs a dozen times in prison. What better punishment than to lose something of his own permanently. 

Arms lifted him off the ground, and he winced as newly healed skin and scars stretched and pulled. He wanted to curl up and lay still. Instead he was carried, each step jostling him slightly and causing more pain to run through him. 

He wondered where he was being taken. Maybe back to the cell? XD would probably preside over his trial. He hoped the god would give him a painless death. It wasn’t what he deserved, but the thought of being tortured scared him. He understood now how Dream had felt every day in that obsidian box. Tears slipped down Quackity’s cheeks. He desperately hoped his execution would be quick.

He heard commotion around him as whoever was carrying him picked up speed. There was shouting, though his ears couldn’t quite pick out what was being said. The voices sounded excited. Quackity failed to hold back a whimper. XD was probably gloating over what he had done, what he would do to make a further example of a mere player. 

“Quackity!” The voice sounded close and achingly familiar. 

Quackity wanted to open his eyes and be brave in the face of his death. But he couldn’t. He was scared. 

He was lowered to the ground, feeling dirt and grass beneath him. That was different. How did they get back to the server? He cracked an eye open as curiosity got the better of his fear. 

Dream knelt beside him, reaching down to brush hair from his forehead. Tommy and Punz stood off to the side, bickering with… a flower? Quackity winced. He must have hit his head really hard.

“Quackity?” The voice repeated. Quackity turned to look the speaker in the face. 

Okay, no, he was definitely hallucinating. Or dead. Karl’s concerned face stared down at him. A hand brushed his cheek, wiping tears from his skin. 

“Am I dreaming?” Quackity’s voice was hoarse from screaming. “Or dead?”

Dream let out the kind of laugh he did when he was relieved. Karl just sighed. 

“No, you’re not dead, Big Q. It’s me.”

Quackity’s chest hurt. From broken bones or a broken heart, he wasn’t sure. He did know he was crying again. Karl wiped away his tears regardless.

“I missed you,” Quackity whispered. “I missed you so much.”

Karl smiled sadly. “I know. I’m sorry. My… my memories became… jumbled. I forgot a lot of things, including you and Sapnap. I’m sorry.”

That almost hurt worse. 

“Why didn’t you say anything? We would have understood,” Quackity replied, trying to reach up to his ex-fiance. His limbs refused to move. 

Karl noticed his hands twitching and held his hand, cradling it. 

“I was confused. Time travel messes with your head if you’re not careful. I… wasn’t really careful at all.”

“Oh,” was all Quackity could say. 

An angry noise from his right distracted him from speaking further. 

“Well why didn’t you fucking tell us earlier?” Tommy screeched.

The flower leaned back. “I like seeing you players panic. Makes it more fun. But if you want an honest answer, it’s because XD only just started back this way.” 

Dream stood to face the others. 

“What’s going on?” 

“XD just finished literally tearing up the server. Sam’s mountain was just hit, and Purpled’s base just exploded,” Punz replied. 

“They’re all the way out on the outskirts.” Dream’s voice had gone quiet. “What’s he doing now?”

“Seems he’s heading back this way. Rather enraged of course. He’s already killed off the ones you call Awesamdude and Antfrost,” the Egg remarked

“Why is it coming back this way? Why won’t it leave us the fuck alone?” Tommy asked, hugging himself tight. 

“He wants to reset everything again. He lost control, and he wants it back. Fuck, I don’t think we can stop it,” Dream replied. 

Quackity felt as if the world was closing in on him. XD was coming back to where they were. Would the god kill him this time? He’d killed Sam. He would surely kill Quackity too.

Karl noticed Quackity’s hand shaking and squeezed it. “Is that who did this to you? Did XD do this?”

Quackity nodded as his breath caught in his throat. He couldn’t do it again. He could already feel the god pulling him apart like a stitched doll. He didn’t want to die, not like that.

“Please. Please, no. Karl, I’m scared,” he whimpered.

He felt his body being curled up to fit in Karl’s arms. His head rested against Karl’s shoulder, giving him a better vantage of the others. No one looked particularly optimistic.

“You were able to do damage to him before, right? Think you could do it again?” Punz asked Dream.

Dream flinched. “I—I kind of did. Fuck, I don’t know. He’s massive, and way too tall for me to do any real damage. I can’t run or jump for shit anymore, so there’s no way I can do this!”

The flower giggled in a way that caused everyone to become heavily unsettled. 

“What the fuck is so funny?” Tommy demanded, staggering back away from the tall red stalk.

“I think you’ll find XD isn’t quite so powerful anymore. Our little admin did something rather interesting while you were all in his realm.”

Quackity was confused. What the hell had happened after he’d been attacked? By the confusion on the others’ faces, he wasn’t alone.

“What did XD do?” Punz asked.

“Not that so-called god,” the Egg said as the flower pointed at Dream. “I can feel the power running through you, little admin. You stole something back, didn’t you?”

Dream frowned before realization dawned on his face. He hesitantly pulled up his comm and pressed a button. The admin panel sprang to life in front of him. 

The others stared in a daze at Dream as he pulled a rose from the panel, red and with dew dripping from its petals. The Egg was practically giddy. 

“Oh, I am looking forward to the look on that creature’s face when he finds out!”

—

XD was growing weak. He could feel his energy fading as he stomped back through the SMP. He’d been gone from his realm for too long. 

He swiped at one of the players and attempted to stomp on another. Fools and pests, the lot of them. He was tempted to reset their memories till they didn’t even remember who they were for the next round. Maybe maim a few so badly they couldn’t hold a sword anymore. That would be entertaining, to see them scramble away from the hostile mobs without the ability to defend themselves. Perhaps he would even be worshiped as a true deity. 

He swatted at another player, smacking the demon to the ground beside a diamond golem. He’d deal with their rebellion later, when he wasn’t sore and weak. When his feet didn’t burn as if…. Wait. 

XD looked down at his legs to see thin gold marks. His skin had been broken, and golden ichor flowed down his legs and feet. He snarled at another player who swung an axe down. He felt the blade cut into an existing wound. 

XD leapt over the players, dashing towards spawn despite his injuries and weakening state. There was only one way something like this could occur. He knew it was possible after he’d been separated from Dream, but the host had never been able to seize control back after XD had revoked the host’s access to his admin powers. Something had changed, must have changed, when they were in his realm.

He could feel his power leaching from him as Dream opened an admin panel. Damn the brat! If he didn’t get back to his realm soon, he would dissolve back into the brat’s body and be stuck there for End knows how long! 

XD’s rage reached a boiling point when he spotted red in a nearby hillside. A very familiar shade of red. 

XD swerved towards the hill, slamming into the dirt and grass and digging his way by hand till he grabbed the massive vine. He allowed himself to use what little power remained and followed the vine to its source. 

There was only one being on the server who knew his secret, what he truly was. Only one being who could encourage Dream to take back his status. 

That damn Egg was going to pay for this!

—

Karl remembered the books he’d read on admins and gods. The relationship between the two was unique, a special bond that could not be severed. The fact that Dream and XD had been severed indicated something different was going on. 

“Dream, can you try and draw enough power to run a command?”

“I… I think so? But why? I’m not really the admin. Why do I have this?”

Karl thought for a moment. What was the term in that book again?. “Just focus on your core. The thing you used to open the admin panel. Try to, I don’t know, change your perspective maybe? Or maybe change it to sunrise!”

“Change… time?” Dream pondered, staring at the panel in front of him.

His rabbit nose wrinkled as he reached forward and typed something in. The sun reappeared suddenly on the edge of the eastern horizon. Just like after sunrise.

“Woah,” Tommy mumbled.

The red flower chuckled. “That’s nothing. Try teleporting across the server.”

Dream typed in a command only to have it blocked. He frowned. 

“It won’t let me.”

“Try again,” Karl encouraged. “You should be able to.”

If his theory was correct, then Dream’s power had been stolen from him. And XD was no god, but a parasitic virus that had latched onto Dream before the cycles began. Karl had read something similar occurring in one of the book’s in the Inbetween. The head of whom had laughed when Karl had found the book. 

“I’ve been waiting for the fraud to find out I still have that,” the being had told Karl. “Tell you what, I’ll give you your freedom if you free me of that creature.”

“How do I do that?” Karl had asked.

“Quite simple,” the time being had grinned. “Find the admin, and wake him up.”

Karl could only hope this was what the time being had meant. He wanted to be free, to be with his fiancés again. To hold his friends and family again. Please let this be right.

Dream closed his eyes and placed his hands on the admin panel once more. And this time, it glowed.

—

XD reached the pulsing black and red shell as his powers continued to wane. He snarled, burying claws into the Egg’s base and lifting it into the air. The Egg shrieked in response.

“What are you doing?! Put me down, put me down, you filth!” the Egg screamed. 

“You’re one to talk, you bitch! You turned him against me!”

The Egg scoffed. “Don’t blame me for abandoning your host. It was your fault for letting those damn players separate you in the first place!”

“And I suppose they showed him to siphon my power off. That they showed him how to activate the admin panel, huh?!” XD dug deeper into the Egg’s shell, feeling it crack under his grip.

“He did that himself! I only felt the power he’d gotten from you. And I can tell you’re not strong enough to take it back.” The Egg’s voice changed from panic to mockery, that oily slick that it enjoyed using on unsuspecting players. “Now, how about you go rest and leave the server to me, now, old friend?”

XD could feel his power draining. Whatever Dream was doing on the other end could finish him off for good. It had been a mistake to go after the Egg in his anger, and if he wasn’t able to get back to Dream, his consciousness would be cast into the Void for all eternity. 

He tried to use the power that still tethered him to Dream and teleport to where the host was. Nothing. Not even a spark. He was too weak. 

But not weak enough for one last act.

“Oh, I’ll go rest all right. But the Void’s no fun alone.”

The Egg immediately thrashed in his grip. XD only dug in deeper, till red liquid spilled over his arms. 

“PUT ME DOWN, AT ONCE! FINE, I WON’T TAKE THE SERVER!! HAPPY?!” the Egg screamed.

XD only smiled as he felt the pull of the Void seep into his core. 

“Oh, I’m very happy indeed.”

A black hole appeared beneath them as the two immortal beings sunk into the abyss. And then they were gone.

—

Across the server, red vines popped and disintegrated to nothing as if they’d never been there at all. Pings rang out as two canon death messages popped up on the comm system

DreamXD left the game.

?#%*]^#!? left the game.

In the Void, a certain goddess watched the two immortals tumble deeper and deeper, locked in an embrace neither wished to free themselves from out of spite. Kristin chuckled to herself before carefully cracking into the server. 

There was no one here to look after the dead anymore after all. Someone had to step up to fill that role. 

Besides, it would be good to see her husband once again.

—

The five players watched as the red flower of the Egg screeched and whined before popping out of existence in a spark of black particles and red dust. 

Dream felt lightheaded, nearly collapsing to the ground before Punz managed to catch him. 

Tommy collapsed to the ground completely in relief, feeling a wave of energy and weight lift from the server. 

Karl and Quackity watched as others arrived on the scene, scrambling to figure out what had happened.

All they could do was stare at the names in chat and make hopeful assumptions about what they meant.

—

Phil heaved a heavy sigh of relief when he saw the pings in chat. He felt even better when he received a message from Kristin not a minute later

<Kristin whispered to you> I saw the two viruses are gone from the server. I’m stopping by to check on those who may have passed. Let the admin know I’ll be there soon. Love you, dear.

Phil smiled widely at the message. He heard Techno and Eret approach and turned towards them.

“They did it,” Phil said. 

Techno grinned. “Never doubted ‘em for a moment.”

Eret just chuckled, shaking their head. They turned back to the rest of the server and surveyed the land. They had a lot of work ahead of them.

“Gentlemen, would the Syndicate like to stay and assist with the clean up? I’ll ensure you’re all welcome to remain here.”

Phil followed their gaze out over the server. He nodded

“Mate, I think we’d be happy to help.”

—

Ranboo and Tubbo stood nearby the remnants of Tubbo and Sam’s home. Redstone dust and wiring littered the stony ruins. It felt sad to look upon, knowing Sam was gone. Knowing that Tubbo had spent time with his husband’s killer. 

Ranboo shook his head. Tubbo hadn’t remembered, and Ranboo wasn’t going to begrudge him for that. 

Tubbo kicked a piece of rubble to the side, frustration clear on his face. It was clear Tubbo would still begrudge himself for it.

“I knew Dream had been bad. But I forgot… I forgot Sam had killed you. Had taken you and Michael from me. I never wanted to forgive him for that.”

Ranboo stared up at the mountain home once more before stepping towards his husband. Tubbo collapsed into him as he wrapped his arms around the smaller teen. 

“I don’t blame you, Bee. You didn’t know. You didn’t remember,” Ranboo whispered.

Tubbo shoved his face deeper into Ranboo’s jacket. “It doesn’t change what happened. I missed you so much, Boo! And I chose to live with the person who took you from me!”

Ranboo felt the smaller teen’s shoulders heave with gentle sobs. He didn’t release Tubbo despite the dampness of his shirt scalding his skin.

“We can rebuild together now. I missed you, too, Bee.”

They remained there for several minutes, holding each other and basking in the knowledge that they were together once more. 

Nothing would separate them again.

—

Niki had panicked when she saw names come across the comm chat. The god was dead and gone from the server. She braced herself for the world to spit her back to wherever she’d come from. To watch the server crumble and to lose contact with the only family she knew.

Nothing happened. The server remained and even grew brighter and greener around her. Everything was stable, just as it had been in the beginning. 

Niki felt relief flood her body, and quickly tapped out a message to the Syndicate indicating she was okay. 

They had done it. They had won.

Chapter Text

Quackity winced as he stood from his chair, grabbing onto the cane that rested against the end table. His legs were still wobbly even a month after XD’s attack. Losing his wings had forced him to relearn how to walk. But he was alive and able to move, and for that he was grateful. 

It was more than could be said for Sam and Antfrost, both still resigned to bedrest after the Goddess of Death helped Dream get their souls back. The admin had been serious about no more death, working to undo much of the damage XD had wrought on the server, which happened to include the limited lives system.

According to Karl, XD wasn’t a god but a parasite. A being that pretended to have divine powers in order to connect with young and inexperienced admins for their power. And Dream had fallen for the trap hook, line, and sinker. Cycle after cycle had purged the memory of their connection from Dream, allowing XD to control the server unhindered.

It angered Quackity that XD had used the players for his own purposes. To gain power through death and chaos over and over, resetting the server anytime he felt like he’d lost control. Destroying Dream’s mental state till he was a paranoid mess desperate for control over his own life. 

It upset Quackity even more when he remembered that he’d tried to take that from Dream too. 

He shook his head as he stepped out the main door. Karl was setting the cart up for them to travel to town. They were celebrating XD’s defeat and the reopening of the community garden. 

“Are we all set?” Quackity called.

Karl nodded, smiling. “Yep, just loaded the last pack. You need help into the cart?”

Quackity glanced from the height of the cart to his injured legs. He nodded sheepishly.

“Yeah, actually. If you don’t mind.”

Karl’s smile softened as he reached out a hand to assist Quackity with getting into the cart bench. The former time traveler hopped up beside him and took the reins. 

“Shall we?”

Quackity smiled back.

“We shall.”

—

The Goddess of Death and Philza had both been assisting Dream in the ways of being a godless admin. He had felt so lost after XD’s defeat, but was forever grateful for the guidance he received. It helped that Phil was a decent teacher and his wife was even better.

“I checked up on your patients today,” Kristin said as they walked the garden grounds to oversee the last few items. “They’re doing very well. I suspect they’ll wake up in the next week or so. I take it Bad and Skeppy will be looking after Antfrost. What are your plans for Awesamdude?”

Dream paused from where he’d finished growing a new pumpkin plant.

“I’m not certain yet. If we throw him in prison, we’d have to throw… I don’t know, half the server in as well including Quackity and Techno. And… I think I’m done with prisons for a while.”

Kristin smiled softly. “That sounds like a smart plan. If you need any assistance with coming up with a solution, don’t be afraid to ask for advice. I’m sure there are those who would be okay with helping you.” 

“Only thanks to Tommy and Punz, really,” Dream chuckled, brushing an ear over his shoulder. His nose wrinkled at the smell of carrots and potatoes growing nearby. “Maybe we add more wheat. And you said you have some other foods for us to try?”

The two continued their walk, finishing their plans for expanding the garden with foods from other servers. A step towards collaboration, and maybe a chance for server members to connect with their true past lives. Before XD had brought them all under his hands.

A chirp behind them caused them to turn and see Tommy and Technoblade standing in the path. Dream smiled and ran towards them both. It was only thanks to Techno that the three didn’t fall over.

“Big D!”

“How you doin’, nerd?”

Dream laughed. “It’s good to see you guys. How are the others doing?”

Tommy winced. “Putting out fires. Sapnap is still off sulking though he mentioned he wants to come around to talk at some point. Bad and Skeppy are helping Eret handle most of it, and Foolish is off rebuilding the last few structures. That’s at least helping a little. And Tubbo and Fundy don’t want your head on a pike anymore, so there’s that, too.”

Dream just managed to hold back a shudder. He would have to thank whoever had gotten through to Tubbo on his behalf. That kid terrified him on a good day. 

“Yeah, yeah, that’s good,” he replied.

Techno slapped on the shoulder. “Eh, enough depressing talk. Chat wants the real answers, Dream. You back to being homeless now?”

Oh, leave it to Techno to ask something as stupid as that. 

“No, I am not homeless. Tommy and Quackity haven’t kicked me out yet,” Dream sighed. He eyed Tommy warily. “Though I’m sure you guys could use some space.”

Tommy scoffed before throwing an arm around the admin. 

“Nah, you’re stuck with us now, bitch. It’s my turn to annoy the hell out of you two self-depressed fuckers into taking care of yourselves. And now I have Karl on my side, so you definitely can’t neglect yourselves.”

Dream smiled. “Thanks, Toms. Glad to know you care.”

“Biggest man’s responsibility is to care about the puniest people on the server. That’s just my role in life,” Tommy replied, throwing his hands behind his head with a smug look on his face.

Dream poked him in the ribs, earning a yelp from the teen.

“Yeah, sure it is. Want to help Kristin and I finish the garden set up? We’re just about done.”

Tommy grinned and raced towards the goddess who had been watching from a distance. He tackled her into a hug, ignoring the chuckles behind him. 

Dream allowed himself to relax as the four went around the garden, hanging up banners and lanterns for the evening’s festivities. It felt… nice to be included in this, to have friends around him again without fearing for who was truly on his side. He watched Techno and Tommy tease each other over decoration choices and smiled. 

A cart pulled up as Karl and Quackity arrived with the last of the supplies. Dream approached, waving them down as the cart came to a halt at the garden gates.

“Dream! I got the materials you asked for. Not sure why you wanted all this cobblestone, but I won’t complain about a simple gathering task. Sure as fuck beats mining obsidian and blackstone,” Karl teased.

Dream let out a bark of laughter. “Yeah, I’m done with those for a while. Thanks for bringing the supplies. Tommy’s gonna be ecstatic, so we’ll have to reign in the pro-builder,” he winked.

“Oi, I heard that fuckface!” Tommy yelled from a few feet behind them, causing Dream to jump. “I’m perfectly capable of not going overboard, thank you very much.”

“Sure. Let’s go put that to the test then.” Karl grabbed the shulker of cobblestone and tossed it to the teen. “Go have fun, nerd.”

Tommy flipped the former time traveler off before dashing back into the garden to work on End knew what. Techno shook his head.

“So how long do we give him before we go check on him?”

Kristin laughed, ruffling the piglin’s head. “I’ll go take care of it. You boys make sure Dream takes a break for a bit.”

The admin in question pouted at the statement. 

“I don’t need a break,” he grumbled. 

Karl ruffled Dream’s curls in response. “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure he takes his bunny naps.”

Dream shot the man a glare, only for the time traveler to laugh in response.

“You are nowhere near intimidating enough for that anymore, dude. Too much practice with puppy eyes.”

Dream obliged the suggestion, throwing his most pitiful look Karl’s way. The man shook his head. 

“And I’ve had too much practice with Sapnap and Quackity. But good effort,” he replied, ruffling the admin’s hair again. 

Techno just shook his head in disappointment. 

“Bruh, you used to be the terror of the server. How did you manage to sink this low? I gotta be honest, it’s ruining our rivalry here. I can’t fight a guy who looks like a kicked dog, Chat’ll think I’m a bastard,” he complained.

“You already are one,” Quackity mumbled.

“You know I can give you another scar to match the first,” Techno retorted. 

Quackity paled and scooted further into the cart. “No—no, thanks. Sorry.”

“Techno, be nice. No threatening my roommates,” Dream chided before turning back to the wingless avian. “How are you feeling today? Karl said you were in more pain this morning.”

Quackity shrugged. “Eh, could be better, but, you know… could be worse. I’m alive and no one’s run me out of town yet.”

Dream chuckled. “If they start running people out based on their pasts, no one would be left. Do you want to take a walk around the garden before the crowd shows up? I, uh, don’t know if you still planned on staying.”

Quackity had been hiding away from the server, scared that someone would try and take revenge on him. His body at this point couldn’t handle anything close to what he used to do.

“I… I’d like to stay. I do miss the others. I just…. Are you sure they won’t be mad?” Quackity asked quietly, hunching in on himself as he stared at where his fists curled on his knees.

Dream reached up and placed a hand on Quackity’s. 

“If they are, I’ll make sure you’re safe, cariño,” he said.

Quackity let out a shaky breath. He smiled back at Dream, nervous brown eyes meeting soft green ones.

“Thank you, conejito. I’ll stay.”

Behind them, Karl made a huff.

“Dreeeeaaam, that’s my job! I’m the fiance, not you!”

Dream stuck his tongue out at the offended man. “Took too long, bitch! Should’ve elbowed me out of the way!”

Techno snorted. “Aw, come on, Dream, he can’t go beating up handicapped people, that’s just plain mean. Think of the viewership drop.”

Dream sighed. “Oh, fuck off, Techno.” 

Karl moved to help Quackity down from the cart, shaking his head. “What am I supposed to do with both of you?”

“You can love me!” Quackity beamed, grabbing his cane to steady himself on the dirt path. 

Karl kissed his cheek. “Yes, yes, I can.”

Above the garden, a flock of doves settled on a nearby tree. Butterflies and bees roamed the plants, flitting from flower to flower. The sound of teasing and laughter filled the air even as day turned to night and the crowds around the garden grew for the festival. 

The server was finally at peace.