Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A couple things to know before you start reading!

1: This is part of a series. I highly recommend reading the Seasons in order if you want to avoid spoilers.  

2: Ownership! This story is based off of the Minecraft Youtubers and Streamers (MCYTS)’s characters that they play in the game. I don’t watch most of them, so if some characters are Out Of Character, then that’s why. I also (obviously) don’t own Minecraft. I only lay claim to this story/series itself, nothing else.

3: Warnings! There is swearing and fighting in this fic. If you feel like I need to put a warning about a fight or trauma event, please let me know. I think I got them where needed, but I don’t know what other people have been through and will add them if I missed any. Please let me know.

4: Languages! For the most part, galactic will be in normal font. Any secondary language will be in bold . Which language used will depend on whose POV is being used. If someone doesn’t know galactic, then their native language will be normal and galactic will be bold . I’ll try to make a note of what language is being used somewhere for you guys. But! There's a slight change this season! About halfway through, We have Humans, Piptins and Elds all together. I don't differentiate the languages there for the most part. Phil and Dream and Sapnap and Tommy and Tubbo are all doing translating, I just don't mention it. It complicates the reading. 

5: Names! Multiple names are used for several of the cast. If there is any confusion on who uses what name, please ask in the comments. 

6: Pronouns! Most characters will have He/She pronouns with a few exceptions. If the character uses neutral pronouns, the Ze/Zar pronoun will be used. If I put in a character and use the wrong pronoun for them, let me know in the comments and I will change it.

Chapter Text

George tapped his claw against his seatbelt. The descent into Wa’ped was always a nerve-racking event. Heat sensors didn’t work on the planet, and the thick fog that filled the atmosphere made visibility almost zero. Most pilots used AI to guide them down slowly. Most pilots weren't Dream. He flew the Eagle down and broke through the atmosphere. Below them, the red clouds, made of a mixture of ash, smoke, and minerals rolled and swirled. 

The Eagle shot though the haze and leveled out. The Ashen Peaks loomed on the horizon.

George reached up and paged the port. “This is the Eagle Three calling the Ashen Docks. Requesting docking permits Docks.”

“This is the Ashen Pillar Docks, Eagle Three. We’ve been expecting you. Head over to Pillar Five and dock on E74.”

“Understood. We’ll be landing in ten.”

Dream flew the ship down over the port. He circled the pillars and slid onto the dock. The workers scurried up and began the process of locking the ship in. 

“I’ll stay with the Eagle. For when you need a quick getaway.” George offered.

Dream grinned. “What makes you think we’re going to be leaving in a rush?”

George just gave his friend a look . “Oh I don’t know. Maybe because it’s you and Tommy going somewhere the residents can literally set people on fire with a thought? Especially people that are highly flammable?”

“That’s why we wear our void shields. It’ll keep the initial blast from taking hold and allow us to respond. If it can keep the void from pulling us apart, I think it’ll keep us from being burned alive.”

“Well I don’t rely on luck like you do.” George glanced out the windshield. He grimaced at the black landscape that stretched below them. “I’m going to my room.”

“Make sure you come out to say goodbye. Tommy’ll want it.”

George flicked his spines. Tommy didn’t care. Dream was the one that needed to be reassured that he was fine. Dream tended to get… nervous whenever one of them was out of his reach for more than a day or two. He wouldn’t be happy until both George and Sapnap were back home on the Eagle. He hid it well, but George knew all his ticks.

“Call me when you get to the Overlook. Keep in touch.”

Dream nodded. “Of course.” He glanced at the dreamon. “Always.”

--

Philza looked up and smiled. The fog today was thin. He could almost see Reichtum, the Golden Sun, through the haze. Eldstad, the Red Sun, had vanished beyond the horizon, draping the world in a relatively cool twilight. Kristin walked up beside him. She shifted the bindings that held Raven to her chest.

“Are you sure you got her?”

Kristen smiled at him. “Yes. I know how to tie a harness, Phil. How’s yours?”

Phil ran his hand over Floof’s fuzzy head. The dog swiped his tongue on his claw. “Floof will be fine. Techno carries him like this all the time.” Actually, Techno usually carried him in a bag, or across his shoulder, but that wouldn’t work for the winged male.

“Ready to go?”

“Yep!” Phil stretched his black wings out. He grinned at her. “Sure you can keep up?”

“I was going to ask you.” Kristin opened her own dark wings. Phil was caught by the way the purple, blue and magenta speckles spread across the black feathers. It was..

Kristin shot up into the hazy air. 

Phil flapped his wings and flew after her. 

Kristin swept down, hugging the ground to avoid the many ships that passed through the port. She led him through the basalt canyons, past pools of glowing lava and pouring falls. They swooped through arches and over spikes. In the distance, the fog shifted from gray ash to the cleaner, red of the wastes.

It would take them a few days to reach the Blades, and they needed to return to the haunting Kristin had been living with. They just had to be quick. It would be fine. Techno wouldn’t be thrilled to see Phil coming to his rescue, but that was his own damn fault for dropping communications. 

Kristin flicked at him and dove. Phil found himself smiling and followed, beat for beat. It might have been awhile since he flew with anyone, but that didn’t mean he was going to be slow. He had been one of the best flyers back in the day, matched only by Sunlight. He dove and swept past Kristin, spinning onto his back to look at her. She trilled and darted behind a pillar. Phil circled the other way and called out, surprising her. She turned and shot into the sky. A fog bank hid her from sight. Phil grinned and dove after her. This was fun!

--

Sapnap drifted back and forth along the hall. His hair smoked thickly. Vrak'slaga watched him silently. The eld assistant had taken him straight to the ship port when asked, and now Sapnap was just waiting for the pod that carried his friends.

“Where are they?” Sapnap hissed.

“I’m sure they will be here soon, Sir.” Vrak answered. “The thermals and winds are unpredictable for outsiders to pilot though. They’re probably going slow to not crash.”

Sapnap laughed. “Oh no. Dream isn’t someone to take it slow. He’s flown through asteroid belts without AI. He’s not going to let some heat and fog stop him from getting here…” Sapnap shivered at the memory.

A pod shot out of the fog and circled the fortress. Sapanp brightened and relaxed. He watched the pod pull in and settle into the deck. The door opened and Dream marched out. Tommy and Tubbo followed him, eyes wide.

“Dream!” The man waved at him and the two clasped arms. “ I’m so glad you made it. It’s been… crazy .”

“ I’m here now. George is staying with the ships. Phil and Kristin have gone to look for Techno and Ranboo. ”

“ Phil and who? ”

Dream snorted. “ Yah, you haven’t met her yet. Kristin is someone we picked up on our way here. She’s… she’s something. ”

Tommy bounced restlessly, something Sapnap recognized. “ Come on. We got some rooms for you guys set up. ” He switched to galactic and gestured to Vrak. “This is Vrak. He’s been helping me get around here. It’s easy to get lost and not everyone is tolerant of strangers. Even if the stranger is helping them.”

The group made their way through the fortress. The elds they passed all paused in their path to stare at the flammable guests. 

Sapnap opened a door and led his crew in. “Thank you Vrak. I will call if I need you.”

“Yessir.” The eld dropped to the floor in a bow and closed the door behind him.

Tommy and Tubbo disappeared into the second room. Their voices faded as they moved further and further away.

Dream looked around the room. “They had some rooms for us?”

“I had them put it together.”

Dream nodded. He walked out to the balcony and looked out over the sea below. “Not bad. A bit bright, but we’ll deal. Now.” Dream turned to the eld. “Tell me everything .”

Chapter Text

Phil followed as Kre’tan swooped over the blue forest. She turned and Phil caught sight of several tall, dark shapes standing on the trees. The indarians were keeping watch.

Kre’tan banked and began to circle a clearing. She landed and several indarians popped into existence before her. They bowed.

Philza landed behind her and tucked his wings under his shawl. No reason to leave them out where everyone could see them. He pulled out his cane and leaned on it. His hand found Floofs head and he rubbed the dog’s ears. 

Kre’tan embraced a indarian and turned to Phil. He stepped forward and bowed.

“Greeting, Child of the Void.”

“Greetings, Lord of the Sky. The Garde du Ciel thanks you for returning our Lady to us. I am Edouard. Please, rest your wings. None will disturb you here.”

“I thank you, Misur Edouard. But I cannot stay long. One of my nest-mates has gone missing while helping his Clan and I must continue on before his trail blows away. But once the dangers between the Blades and the Flampa Overlook have been settled, I would like to return to visit.”

“Lord Philza has generously offered a place in his roost for me and the human hatchling I have claimed. Most of the residents are her people, and I have agreed to spend some time there.” Kre’tan smiled at the indarians. “Your people are welcome to join us, but the hatchling’s people are partial  to water and rain is natural on the planet. I understand if you don’t want to come.”

“Lady, we are the Guardians of the Sky. We will follow you to Bri’antra if that is where you would go. Our duty is to Remember you and your Life. I am sorry we lost the time.”

Kristin cooed. “It’s no fault of you or your people. I thought I was safe. I was wrong. I had… fallen asleep. I was simply existing and had lost sight of the stars. The stars could no longer come to me, so the Lady brought me to them. And I found my way once more. I found a hatchling that needs her Seahawk. I found a Skyhawk. I found… A future. A chance for a new life. One free of the past.”

Edouard sighed. “I am sorry we have brought such a burden upon you. We will go with you to this new land. We will witness the birth of this new race. We will offer our support in all they do. And all you do.”

Kristin bowed to him. “You have my eternal gratitude. I have formed deep bonds to this nest. I am honored you would come with me.”

Philza stepped forward. “Gather your things. Head to the Ashen Pillars and ask for the Eagle 3. I will tell our pilot to be expecting you. He will bring you to our dayagorn.” 

“I will go with you.” Edouard said. “As the last known male elitrian, it is my duty to remember your life. Much has already been forgotten. I will not allow any more to be lost. Do not worry about me, I will not slow you down in your migration.”

“So be it.” Phil nodded. He turned and followed Kritin to a warped fungus that towered over the others. A simple elyran nest perched on the blue top. Kristin flew to the nest and put Raven down. The baby rolled onto her back and made grabby hands. Phil cooed at her and wiggled his fingers at her. 

An indarian appeared at the door and bowed in greeting. She offered a basket woven from the blue plants to Kristin. She thanked the indarian and placed the basket on a low table. Philza brightened as she began setting the food out. Phil untied Floof and handed the dog a piece of meat. Floof eagerly accepted and settled to eat. Kristin retrieved a bowl and began dishing out the food.

Phil pulled up his com and placed a call to the Eagle-3.

George answered. “Phil. Morning.”

“Morning George. We arrived at the Garde du Ciel Haunting. They have said they would like to come with us to New Gia. You can expect them to arrive in a few days.”

“Ah. Thanks. Any idea how many?”

Phil’s feathers shrugged. “Most of them? 

The dreamon nodded. “I’ll watch out for them.”

Phil hung up and joined Kristin for breakfast. They spend the next few hours eating, relaxing and letting Raven and Floof stretch their legs and play. Several indarians appeared, watching the tiny human crawl around and try to eat everything. Eventually, she fell asleep. Floof sprawled next to her, dreaming doggy dreams.

Edouard appeared at the door. He bowed to both and entered. “My Lord. You said you were seeking answers to the conflict between the elds and piptins.”

“Yes. One of my crewmates is a Blade piptin and an eld’vild. They have been trying to understand what is happening and the piptin has stopped reporting in. The eld contacted me as he is unable to enter piptin territory.”

“I will say what I know. Me and my people are not involved with either race. Other hauntings are employed by both races as Witnesses, but not this. You are familiar with the loss of Kvinna? Both piptins and elds have gone missing in the past year or so. More than normal. Piptins have been disappearing from the Blood Forest for years. Before that, it was the clans at the Golden Hills. And before that, the Ashen Swords.”

“The clans there still live, yes?”

“Yes. It was close to a hundred years ago when their people went missing. It is assumed that they simply died to expected causes.”

“And the elds?”

“Fewer elds go missing. Almost always staves. Each time the elds blame the piptins and it always ends in blood.”

“Not this time.” Phil looked at the indarian.

Edouard nodded. He wasn’t sure if this Hawk would be able to keep his promise. He wasn’t sure if this Hawk was the one they were waiting for. Only Time could say.

--

Shield Back perched on the top of the bastion, watching the gast float across the sky. Behind her, Quick Thought and Basalt Fist were arguing over whether they should sneak out after Shadow Dancer or if they should wait a few more days. It didn’t matter what they decided on. Shield was going in the morning, before the linpips began their work. She was going to be a linpip when she was done traveling with the boys, so they wouldn’t think anything about her going for a ride.

A gast shrieked and spat at something in the fog. A shadow swept around and dodged the flames. A second shadow shot over the gast while the first held its attention.

Shield Back blinked and watched the shadow grow. “Ohh. I didn’t know Jockeys could fly.” Her tail wagged as she stood to welcome the black-winged traveler.

The Jockey who landed before her was female, with long, dark hair woven in complicated looking braids and black wings. Purple, blue and magenta speckles swirled across the feathers. The female smiled at her. Pretty. A smoke-shadow appeared beside her. Shield quickly looked away.

“Hello. Is this the Blade Clan?” The Jockey asked.

Quick Thought scrambled up. “This is the Blade Clan, yes. Who are you and why do you want to know?” He demanded.

The first shadow, clearly a male Jockey, swept down beside the female. He gave Quick a sharp look. “Where is Devoted Study? I have words to exchange with him.”

Shield Back and Quick Thought looked at each other in surprise. Basalt answered the male. “Who are you? Why should we tell you where our Blood God is?” He bared his tusks at the male. “Devoted Study and Shadow Dancer are Ours.”

Blood Tusk thudded up. “Blood Raven.” he bowed to the male. “Welcome back. Pardon the Ferrows. They are young. Come. Mighty Heart is preparing a place for you.”

The male nodded back. “Blood Tusk. I understand that Devoted left to discover what happened to your kriegers. He hasn’t spoken with his partner with the Elds. I was contacted and am here. So I will ask again: Where. Is. Devoted. Study?”

The female brushed her wing against Blood Raven. “I’m sure Blood Tusk will be more than happy to give us all the information we need. But I am tired, and Raven needs changed. Why don’t you go speak with the warriors while one of these ferrows shows me where Lady Heart is?”

Blood Raven blinked. He looked at the female like he had forgotten she was there. He hesitated and glanced at the three.

Quick Thought stepped forward. “Shadow Dancer is our friend. We are worried about him too. We’ll go with you.”

Both Blood Tusk and Blood Raven began to laugh. “No. Ferrows do not go on raids alone. Not this kind of raid.” Blood Tusk answered.

Basalt barred his tusks. Blood Tusk barred his own back. “You will obey your doylt chief.”

“I’m sorry.” The female spoke up. “Me and Phil’za are going to be traveling as the ghast flies. You would not be able to keep up with us. But we will send word once we find your friend. He went with Devoted Study?”

Shield Back nodded. “Yes. Shadow Dancer is Devoted’s smoke-shadow. He’s nice. Smells…” She took a deep sniff of the air. “Smells different from your smoke-shadow. But he’s a weichaut, so that makes sense. Come. I’ll show you to Sow Mighty Heart.”

The female jockey followed Shield Back into the bastion. She moved slowly, mindful of her huge wings in the narrow halls. Shield pulled the curtain back and entered Might Heart’s home.

The piptin female was sitting before her fire, twisting gold thread together into a braid. She smelled worried. She looked up at the two and stood. “Shield Back. Welcome.”

“Mighty Heart. Blood Raven has come. This is his…” Shield turned to look at the female jockey. “Who are you?”

“I am Kre’tan of the Garde du Ciel Haunting. And this is Raven.” She untied a bundle from under her robes and placed a tiny squealer onto the ground. Shield shifted back in surprise as Mighty moved forward.

“Oh! Oh it’s so small! Oh hello little one!”

“She needs her wrappings changed. May I?”

“Of course!” Mighty wiggled her fingers at the squealer. The black-haired creature reached up and caught one. “Ah such a strong little squealer. A mighty warrior when you grow, yes. Such a strong, brave squealer.”

“She is.” Kristin swiftly removed the soiled wrappings and cleaned the skin underneath. She tickled the soft feet, drawing squeals from the little one. Shield carefully drew close and smiled as Kristin finished rewrapping. The squealer rolled onto her front and began exploring the room.

Mighty snorted and dangled a golden pendent. The hargran squealer grabbed at the shiny metal. Mighty pulled it up and lowered it to entice the squealer. Raven made several attempts to grab the pendent before Mighty allowed her to catch it. She promptly shoved it into her mouth.

Kristin sighed as Mighty and Shield laughed.

“Let her.” Mighty said. “It’s good for her to bite. To learn what taste good and what taste bad. Many young have bitten it before. Many young will bite it again.”

“I am told that her teeth are coming in. That it can be painful and putting cold things into her mouth to bite can help.” Kristin said. She eyed the gold. “Are you sure gold won’t do any damage to her? Or her to it?”

“There is no concern.” Mighty said. “Hargran squealers are not too different from piptin squealers. She will be fine. You should rest. You have flown far yes? Eat and sleep. Regain your strength. I shall watch the squealer. I keep a nest for when Blood Raven visits. You shall sleep there. Go. Go go go.” She pushed Kristin to a second room. “Shield Back, fetch meats and fruits from the Flames. Enough for many kriger. Boar Black Tongue knows what Blood Raven eats. Tell him it is for Blood Raven and his frauline. Go now.”

Shield Back left the room and followed her nose to where the scent of cooking meats was strongest. Mighty Heart was right. If Herr Blood Raven and Frauline Kristin had traveled far, and if they had far to go, then they would need plenty of food. Food fixed most things in her opinion. And her opinion was always a good one.

Chapter Text

Tommy’s fake ears twitched, catching sounds and sending them through the headset into his own ears. It had been several days since he had arrived here, and he was bored. Dream and Sapnap were busy trying to figure out who was stealing the elds from the fortress. They didn’t have time to spend with him. Not that he blamed them. So that left Tommy to entertain himself.

It seemed that the two Hunters had forgotten what had happened last time Tommy got bored in an enclosed space.

He peeked into a room. It was empty, with only a small pool of lava lighting the space. Tommy eyed the edge of the room’s wall. Where the wall met the ceiling, a decorative fence-like support sat. Tommy grinned and flicked his claws out. It wasn’t hard to scale the wall. The chink between the red brick was crumbly. The decor was sturdy and easily held him. The space between the supports were more than big enough for him to slide between. 

There were whole passages up here! Why they were there was a mystery to Tommy, but he didn’t care. They were perfect for sneaking around. There were gaps that would allow people to see him if they were looking, but he wasn’t worried. After all, no one looked up. 

Down a hall, Tommy spotted Vrak hovering outside a door. The eld keep looking around. Sparks flaked off his robes. Sapnap did the same when he was nervous about something. He ducked into the room.

Tommy narrowed his eyes and made his way around.

Inside, Vrak hovered next to someone else. The person was definitely not an eld. Neither was he one of the skillies that guarded the fortress. His pale blue clothes stood out against the dark red of the fortress. A matching piece of fabric covered where his eyes would be. Assuming he had eyes… Tommy couldn’t remember if there was any race that didn’t do eyes.

Vrak’s hair sparked and he gestured at the other. Tommy settled in to listen.

“You promised that there would be no complications. You swore!”

“And there hasn’t been.”

“They sent someone to look for the piptins. They sent the Blood Raven! Do you know how many people he’s killed? There’s a reason they call him that!”

“You worry too much. It’s going to be fine. I am not worried about what one little warrior can do.”

“Then you are not as wise as you claim. Perhaps Lord Panpas was right.”

The male snarled and seemed to grow in size. “You dare?! Panpas will die by piptin blades. I have seen it. The Blood Raven will burn to ash. Soon, the piptins will be nothing more than a dim memory as your people burn down their forests and scorch their bastions.”

“Yah. We’ve been told that for many years now. I wonder how your definition of ‘soon’ compares to mine.”

“Beware Vrak’slaga. To challenge the words of a watcher is to challenge fate. It will not go well for you.” The male turned and swept out of the room. Vrak snarled and smashed a ball of fire against the wall. Several more followed before he left the room.

Tommy stared wide-eyed at the scorched wall. Ohhh that’s not good. He had to tell Dream. Tommy crawled through the passages, looking for the room Sapnap had gotten for them. They had to be connected somehow. Everyone else’s was. 

Tommy crawled through the passages, peeking into rooms as he passed. One had several pools of lava, with elds sleeping in them. Another room had a group clustered in a circle. The female that kept pestering Sapnap was playing a harp. Tommy wrinkled his nose at the music. Sounded like some sort of knock-off classical music. Figures a snob like her would play snobbish music.

It was passing by a huge room, with seatings, haloscreens, and lava pools when Tommy felt the first signs of trouble. A cough was building in his chest. He held his breath. The itch persisted and grew. He clamped both hands over his mouth. No no no no n-

“Ah heh! Ah heh heh heh!” He gasped for air. Once he started it seemed he couldn’t stop. “Ah heh heh! Ah heh heh!”

A huge eld swept into the room from a closed door. Fire burned around him as he circled the room. “Who’s there?!”

“Ah heh!” Tommy stared wide eyed as the eld jerked his way. He clamped his mouth closed and held his breath. No no don’t see me. I’m not here. No one’s here. You didn’t hear anything. Don’t-

The eld’s hand smashed through the supports and latched onto his shirt. He heaved Tommy out of the crawlway and into the room. Tommy thrashed against the powerful arm that held him.

“A raycon?” The eld leaned close. Tommy bared his teeth at the male and kicked at him. The eld just glared at him. “Tell me, little ash-face. Why should I not turn you to ash?”

“Fuck you bitch!” Tommy managed to get his knife out and slammed it into the eld’s arm. The male released him involuntarily. Tommy dropped to the ground and scrambled away. He darted from side to side, like Dream and Techno had taught him, making himself a harder target to hit. Where’s the door? Where’s the stupid door?! A wall of fire in front of the portal sent him scrambling back. “Fuck!” Matching flames blocked the windows and balconies. 

Manlig watched as the raycon darted around the room. He looked at the small knife in his arm. He pulled the blade out and ignited his hand. The simple weapon softened and he molded it into a ball. He looked back to the raycon. The creature had stopped trying to run. He faced the eld with a second knife in his hand. Brave, for a raycon. Where had he come from? A spy for the piptins? But spying wasn’t their way. An escaped slave from… somewhere? That one eld wasn’t from the fortress. Wasn’t from Wa’ped for that matter. Maybe he knew where this little fireball came from?

Manlig opened his door and addressed the guards. “Inform Panpas I require him.”

“Yessir.” The skellie bowed and marched off.

Inside the room, the raycon was trying to climb back into the ventilation system Manlig had pulled him out of. Manlig snagged the kicking leg and dragged him back. “Oh no. You’re not going back in there.” He dropped the raycon onto a couch before he could knife him again.

The door opened and Panpas entered. Behind him walked a enpeice. Panpas locked eyes with the raycon and his hair began to smoke. The raycon cowered at the sight of the upset eld. Interesting.

“Tommy. There you are.” Panpas bowed to Manlig. “A thousand apologies, Lord Manlig. He must have gotten bored.”

“He is yours?”

Panpas hesitated. “He’s… my responsibility, yes. Tommy. What have we told you about wandering around?”

The raycon muttered something and slid off the couch. He eyed Manlig and circled around to stand beside the enpeice. The enpeice placed his hand on the back of the raycon's neck. Manlig eyed the taller male. Something in the very back of Manlig’s mind had began to smoke. Something was... This person was dangerous. More dangerous than any enpeice he had met before. Maybe even more dangerous than the Brine Brothers. 

“I apologize again, Lord. We will get him out of your lava.” Panpas bowed and the three exited the room.

Dream tightened his grip on Tommy’s neck as he marched the younger boy through the hall. For once, Tommy didn’t fight or argue. They entered their rooms and Dream released him. Tommy spun to face them, keeping the bedroom door behind him.

“ What the crap Tommy?! What were you thinking? Were you thinking?! ”

“ I was trying to get back! Not my fault some giant eld decided to attack me! ”

“ And how did you end up in his room to begin with?! ”

“ I got lost in the vent-things… ” Tommy gasped. “ Oh! I forgot! Your manservant-dude is up to something! ” He pointed at Sapnap. “ I saw him talking to someone. He was complaining about how things weren’t going right and… the other guy said it would be fine, and Vrak said something about a bloody raven or something, and the other guy said that you would be killed and… ”

“ Who was he? ” Dream asked.

“ I don’t know. Not an eld or skellie. ”

“ What was he wearing? What did he look like Tommy? ”

“ Uh he wore blue clothes… and… Oh he had some sort of blindfold on. ”

Sapnap’s hair sparked. “ That sounds like the watcher. And watchers are trouble. ”

Dream nodded. “ Shall we see what Vrak has to say about that? ”

Sapnap sighed. “ Don’t kill him. ”

“ Of course not. He still might be useful. ”

Sapnap summoned the fortress eld. He came swiftly, composed and calm. He bowed to the vild and glanced curiously at Tommy and Dream. “You require me sir?”

“Yes. Tommy here says he saw you talking to someone today. The watcher, if his description is accurate. The conversation upset him and I was hoping you could explain what you meant.”

Vrak’s hair flickered. “The watcher, my lord? I haven’t spoken to him. I am not someone a watcher would want to speak to.”

“Are you certain? Tommy insists it was you.”

“It was not me sir. He must have gotten me confused with someone else. I swear, I have not spoken to the watcher.”

“Very well.” Sapnap nodded to him. “I appologize for the questions. If you have any idea who he might have seen, please inform me.”

“Of course my lord.” Vrak bowed and left the room.

“ He’s a fucking liar. ” Tommy jerked away from Dream.

“ We know. ” Dream answered. Tommy blinked at him.

“ We do? ”

“ Of course Tommy. You said you saw him talking to the watcher. You’re not one to get people mixed up. ” Sapnap answered. 

“ How well do you trust him? ” Dream asked.

Sapnap’s hair flickered in a shrug. “ As much as I trust anyone here? He’s been honest about who’s who. He’s been helpful getting me documents I need and introducing me to the people I need to talk to… ”

“ Maybe a little too helpful? ” Dream asked.

“ Maybe. ” The two looked at each other. They nodded.

“ Well done Tommy. You did good. Just try not to break into the eld-god’s room again, yah? ” Dream ruffled the boy’s head.

Tommy relaxed and grinned at them. He had done something right for once!

Chapter Text

Phil frowned and banked. The land was empty of life. Not even the piptins infected with the ash were in sight. Phil signaled to Kre’tan and swooped in for a landing. She joined him and Edouard teleported next to her.

“ What’s wrong? ”

“ The tracker says that Ranboo should be here. ” Phil checked his com. “ Right… over there… ” He pointed and the other two turned to look at the empty patch of ground.

“ There’s no one here. ” Kre’tan frowned.

“ Exactly. ” Phil walked over. “ Ranboo doesn’t go anywhere without his tracker. There’s nothing that indicates… ”

“ What if he’s underground? ”

Phil looked at Edouard. “ Underground? ”

“ There are empty lava tubes throughout the wastes. Could he have taken shelter in one? ”

Phil perked up. “ That could be! We just need to figure out where… ”

Edouard disappeared. Phil began looking for caves or crevices that his missing chick might have slipped into. He was examining a cave when Edouard reappeared.

“My Lord. There is a whole collection of caves and… there are creatures inside! I- I’ve never heard of such animals before! ”

Both Phil and Kristin blinked at him.

Scuffing sounds from deeper in the cave. Phil stepped forward. “ Let's see what we’ve got here. ”

A man stepped out from the cave. A sword was clutched awkwardly in his hands. The man glanced at Edouard and dropped his gaze from the indarian, focusing on Phil. A cloth mask covered the lower half of his face, but Philza could still get a read on his eyes. Uneasy and wary.

“Hello there!” He waved. “I’m Philza, and I’m looking for one of my boys. He’s about this tall? Dressed in black? Don’t suppose you’ve seen him?” The man blinked a couple times. Thinking. He must not have expected Phil to speak to him. “You do understand English, yes? I’m sorry, I don’t know any other human languages.”

“Um… yah… I- One sec.” He disappeared back into the cave. After a moment, he reappeared. “This way. Please.”

Phil smiled his beak at the man. “Of course.” He followed the human deeper into the cave, ignoring how cramped it made him feel. How easy it would be to corner him and kill them all.

The man led them to a slender crack in the wall. “This way.” He turned sideways and slid through. Edouard peered into the gap before disappearing in a shower of purple particles. A yelp from the man as he appeared on the other side. Phil glanced at Kristin and forced a smile. “Just like how Benihime found the Violet Queen’s egg, yah?”

Kristin smiled back. “It certainly seems so. Let’s just hope that there isn’t a cockatrice on the other side ready to eat us.”

Phil laughed and started through the crack. It was a tight fit, with the black rocks pulling at his wingshawl, but he was able to squeeze through. He flicked his wings in relief. Kristen stepped through a moment later and Phil took the chance to look around.

They were in a large cavern with lava pools glowing along the edges. Piles of blankets indicated that a large number of people spent a lot of time around them, but the space was empty. Several tunnels led from the chamber and Phil could hear whispers echoing out of a few of them.

“This way.” The man motioned to a tunnel. He led the three into an empty room. “The Captain will be here in a few minutes.”

Phil smiled at the man and nodded. “Of course mate. We’re in no rush.” The man stepped back into the entrance of the cave. Phil released Floof to stretch his legs and addressed Kristin and Edouard. “ So simple things to remember about humans… First, they call themselves humans, not hargrans. Eye contact is usually used to show that they’re paying attention to you and consider you an equal. Sometimes it’s done to dominate, but only the crappy ones try it. They have more languages than there are races and they are really quick to learn new ones. Just because you know one human language, doesn't mean you are able to communicate with all of them. Um… they have fierce flock bonding instincts. And while they’re not naturally aggressive, they can and will respond to threats with violence. Some are more willing to fight than others. ” Phil frowned. “ Actually, most won’t fight unless they’re cornered or something. And killing- ”

Footsteps rang out and Phil stopped to turn to the entrance.

A lean, dark-haired man entered. He examined each of them with a commanding air. His gaze caught on Floof and his expression softened.

Phil stepped forward and held out his hand. “Hello. I’m Philza Craft.”

The man examined him before accepting. “Captain Jordan Maron of the Sonlaners. How can I help you folks?”

“We’re looking for a lost crewmate. His name’s Ranboo. He came this way with a few piptins and no one’s heard from them for awhile now. Their families are getting worried and the three of us are much more mobile then them so… His tracker led us here. We didn’t see him on the surface and were wondering if you folks found him. ”

“Can you tell me more? We’ve seen lots of folks passing through. Some who never leave, if you understand my meaning. My crew make use of what they leave behind.”

“Ah…” Phil frowned. “He’s an indarian, like Edourad here. About this tall and a little skittish?” 

Floof’s head jerked up and he looked to the door. His tail wagged. The sound of someone moving fast brought Ranboo into the room. Floof darted to him and jumped, happy to see the boy.

“Phil?”

Phil froze at the broken sound. “Ranboo? Ranboo, it’s ok. I’m here.” He swept his wings out and wrapped them around the boy. “ Chick. Safe. Nest. Safe-found. Chick-chick. Safe. ”

“ Safe. Chick. Found. ”  Ranboo echoed and clung to him. “Phil. You made it. You…”

“Shhh. I’m here. Everything’s going to be alright now. I’m here. Shhh.”

“No. It’s not fine.” Ranboo shook his head. “It’s not. He’s… They don’t…”

“Shhh. Ranboo. It’s ok. Hey, look at me. Look at me chick. It’s going to be ok.”
“No it’s not. Techno- he’s- They don’t think he’s going to get better. And my com isn’t working. I don’t know what happened to it. But I can’t call you or Sapnap or…”

“Oh Ranboo.” Phil cooed at him. “I’m here now. Sapnap called us and we followed your tracker. Remember? You have a tracker on your helmet. So we can alway find you, chick. Everything’s going to be ok now. You can relax.” He frowned. “When was the last time you slept?”

“Um… I woke up while they were bringing Techno in. I can’t- if I sleep then… I don't wanna-”

Phil glanced at the human captain. Jordan frowned. “I’d say it’s been two, maybe three days?”

“Oh Ranboo. Hey. listen. I’m here. I’ll take care of everything ok? You sleep. It’s ok. You don't need to worry about it anymore. Let it go, chick.”

“Oh. Ok.” Ranboo sighed. He leaned against the older male.

Phil caught the boy as he collapsed against him. “There we go.” He looked at Jordan. “Is there somewhere where he can sleep?”

“Terrance?” 

The first man reappeared. “This way.” He smiled at them. “We put Ranboo in his own room. Thought it’d be best to give him some privacy.”

“How did you find him? Do you know?”

“Yah. I was with the squad that brought him in. We were following the tracks and they led to him and his kid. He was looking for a tree to hug. A tree. In hell.”

Phil’s feathers relaxed and he chuckled. “I’m so glad to hear that. The others taught him that if he gets lost to hug a tree and wait for rescue. I’ll have to tell the others. They’ll be so happy to know he remembered.”

Terrance smiled. “That makes sense. I remember being told that when I went to sleep-away-camp as a kid… Don’t think they actually expected him to go looking for a tree though.” His expression darkened. “Course, that might be the only thing that saved him.”

Phil looked at him.

“We followed the trail of his friend back. It led to some sort of lake with a fortress in it. Lots of guards and weapons. Don’t think anyone is getting out without permission. Ranboo wouldn’t last a day there on his own.”

Phil’s feathers fluffed. His eyes turned cold and he hissed. Terrance stepped away from him. His hand drifted to the knife at his waist. 

Kristin draped her wing over Phil. The male took a deep breath and relaxed. He forced a smile at the human. “Thank you for taking him in. Once this is sorted, you and your flock are welcomed to the human colony we run.”

Terrance twitched. “A human colony?”

“Yes. My crew specializes in the rescue of stolen humans. Without knowing the location of your home planet, we have formed a colony on an uninhabited planet. There are close to two dozen citizens at this moment. A few non-humans, but that’s no concern.”

“You would have to talk to the Captain about that. It’s his decision on where we go.”

Phil nodded. “As it should. I will do as you suggest.”

--

Eret smiled as Michael made his chicken dance in front of him. The new boy watched. Poor guy hadn’t said a word since Eret had tried to shove him off to Ranboo. No words, no smile, no tears, no reaction to anything. He would just look at them with the biggest purple eyes Eret had ever seen.

Void.

Terrance’s voice echoed down the hall. “You can put him in here.” The man stepped into the room and moved to the side as…

“Eret, this is Phil. And um…”

“Lady Kre’tan.” The male carrying Ranboo answered.

“Lady Kristin.” Terrance glanced at her. “They were looking for Ranboo. Apparently he has a tracker on him? I guess?”

“Yep.” Phil placed Ranboo on the pile of blankets that served as a bed and gently removed the helmet. “He has this thing where he tends to wander. I'm told it's like sleepwalking? Except it happens when he gets really stressed too. And you’ve been really stressed, haven’t you?”

Eret watched Phil handling Ranboo. “He spoke about you. Said you’ve been taking care of him.”

“He remembered us?” Phill’s feathers flickered.

“Yes. Mostly good things. And that you are really old.”

Phil squawked. “I’m not old! I’m not even 400! Little shit.” He nuzzled Ranboo and pulled away.

A gasp from Terrance made Eret turn to the man. Kristin crouched between Michael and the boy. She placed something down on the ground and when she pulled away, he understood Terrance’s reaction.

The baby sat up and flapped her hands at Michael. Michael dropped down and shoved his nose into the baby’s chest. He sniffed wildly the same way he had sniffed Eret and the other adults.

The nameless boy pressed up against Kristin. She looked down at him and cooed. That was the only way Eret could describe it. A warbling coo sound. The toddler’s lip quivered. He blinked and shoved his face into Kristin’s chest.

Kristin’s eyes widened and she stood. Cradled him and began rocking.

“Where’s his adults?”

Eret glanced back at Phil. The male’s blue eyes were locked onto the female. “Don’t know. We found him with some people. They’re in our medbay, but we’re not sure how much longer they’ll last.”

Phil’s feather fluffed. “Techno..?”

“Ranboo called one of them by that name, yes.”

Phil stood. “Where? Where is-?”

“I’ll take you.” Adam said.

“Thank you.” Phil walked to the door. He paused and said something to Kristin. She answered and continued to cradle the child. Eret focused on Michael. The piptin had given the baby his chicken and she was chewing it now.

“Ah!” Eret grabbed her and gently pulled it out. “You don’t know where that’s been.” He handed the doll back to Michael.

“Eret.”

Eret looked up in surprise. “Huh?”

Kristin awkwardly dug into her bag and pulled out…

“Oh! Yes, that’d be perfect.” Eret took the carrots and handed one to each child. Michael squealed and stamped his feet in excitement, shoving the root into his mouth. 

Kristin sighed and walked over to look down on Ranboo. She gently lowered the now sleeping toddler down beside him. Ranboo rolled and curled around him. She slipped away, and Eret wondered if he should go after her. He looked back at Michael and the baby. They were quite happy with their carrots but… He sighed. You don’t leave babies alone unless they are in their crib or playpen. He carefully stood and picked the baby up.

She looked at him and frowned. Uh oh

“Hey sweetheart. Wanna meet some new friends? Wanna find your muma? Come on. Let’s go see what everyone else is doing, yah?” He reached down, and Michael latched onto his hand. “Let’s go!” Eret walked out into the main chamber. Several people yelped and jumped out of the way as Phil swept past. He disappeared through the entrance, Kristin on his tail. 

Chapter Text

Philza stared at Techno’s still form. His fledgling was hurt. His fledgling was hurt and he hadn’t been able to stop it. He had failed. Again. He was vaguely aware of Edouard entering the room. Of the other human on a slab and the third one keeping Terrance out. All he could see was his fledgling.

A hand rested on his shoulder and Phil grabbed it. He pulled, turning and slamming his hand against the threat’s neck. 

“Peace.” The throat shifted under his claws. “I’m a healer. Ranboo gave me permission to help.”

Phil blinked. A… He jerked his hand away. “Um. Yah. Hi mate. Sorry… Um…” He looked back at Techno. “How is he?”

The healer walked over. “We’ve done all we can. The blade went in between his lungs and stomach. I’m fairly certain that it missed both. He would be dead by now if it hadn't. I sewed it up but he lost a lot of blood. Now it’s just a game of wait and see.”

“As for the other one… I did what I could. There might be damage on the spine, but I won’t know unless he wakes up. I’m sorry.”

Phil ran a hand over Techno’s head, brushing the hair away. “No. You did what you could. I-”

Techno’s hand shot out and latched onto Phil’s wrist. His eyes snapped open. “Phil…” The words wheezed out. “Sapnap!” He gasped for air. “Stop them. Save-”

Phil grabbed Techno’s hand. “It’s ok. Techno it’s ok. I’m here. You’re safe. You’re safe, Techno.”

“Camera. Sapnap… Hermes…”

“I’ll get it to him. It’s ok Techno. Rest. Heal. You’re safe.”

“Safe…” Techno’s death grip relaxed. His eyes drifted close. “Ranboo…”

“Is fine. You found him. You did great, Techno. I’m so proud of you. You did amazing. Just focus on healing. That’s all you need to do now.” Phil picked up Techno’s mask. He cradled it gently. Must be gentle. Don’t want to damage the fragile redstone inside. Don’t want to ruin whatever it was that Techno was willing to risk his life for. Was still risking it for. 

Stupid human. 

Deep breaths. Don’t attack the adarn .

He handed the mask to Edouard. “Please take care of this for me. There is important information I am going to need.”

The indarian bowed. “I will guard it with my life.”

Phil exited the room and made his way outside. He didn’t hear Kristin calling to him. He didn’t see her following him. He didn’t notice the thin crack pulling his wingshaw off as he slid through it. He didn't acknowledge the group of humans approaching the cave as he exited. Didn’t notice as they ducked behind a pile of rocks in alarm.

His wings snapped open and he shot into the red skies.

--

Kristen perched on a outcrop of rocks, watching Philza dance around a drift of gasts. The creatures shrieked and spat at him. Phil easily dodged the flaming balls and even sent a few flying back. Three gast already lay dead on the ground. Their pale corpses seemed to glowed against the dark red rack.

A scuff drew her attention. She turned and found herself looking at a piptin. Half his face was missing, as well as part of his arm. The remaining flesh was covered with pale flakes. He bowed to her.

“Great Lady.”

“Greetings keiler. How can I assist you and your sunder?”

The piptin glanced back to where several other piptins, all on varying stages of ash, stood. He looked over to where a fourth gast crashed to the ground. “I see that Blutrabe is having quite the successful hunt. His sunder must have grown into a bastion to require such a feast.”

Ah . Kristin smiled her wings at him. “Not that much. One of his kriger has been harmed and he is angry that he cannot do anything. You and any keiler are welcomed to those he is taking his pain upon.”

“We shall spread the word. We thank you, Lady. May your gold glow warm and your enemies lie cold.” The piptin flinched as Philza swept down beside her. “Lord Blutrabe.”

Phil blinked at the male. “Uh hi mate.”

“I was telling our friend here that he could help himself to the gasts. I don’t think we need any of them?”

“Oh. Yah, they can help themselves. Maybe take one back for everyone else. I should be able to carry one.” He looked back. “Maybe one of the small ones…”

“I’ll help. And I bet the humans will be thrilled to try gast. I’ll show them how to cook it.”

The piptin rumbled. “I shall have my people prepare one for you.” He backed away.

Phil watched him give directions to his sunder. They scurried around the smallest gast and began carving their way through. He should call Dream. Have him bring the Streamer to their location. Ranboo would do good with Tommy and Tubbo with him. Techno and the other human should be in the medbay. 

--

Jordan sat next to Phil as the male fiddled with Techno’s mask. He was trying to connect the mask to his com. 

“Got it.” A holograph slid out of the phone and Phil began tapping the screen. After a few minutes, a video began to play. Phil paused it and looked around. He flicked the screen and it shot to the wall, growing in size. Phil pressed play.

The image showed Phil perched on a stool, belting a song at the top of his lungs, Tommy and Tubbo bellowing alongside him.

“Five hundred Seventy Two Bottles of Beer on the Wall! Five hundred seventy two! You take one down, pass it around! Five hundred Seventy One bottles of beer on the wall!”

A cup flew in from off screen and bounced off of Phil’s wing. “Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up!”

Tommy and Tubbo began laughing as Phil squawked and fell off the stool. “That’s it! You’re going in the brig! Assault on the Captain!” He squawked as the younger two joined in throwing things at him. “This is a mutiny! I’m going to send you all to 2B2T!”

A deep rumbling laugh from the camara man joined in with the first man's laugh. 

Phil’s feathers fluffed. “Shit. No not that… Uh…” He poked the device. “Here? Nope.”

The screen flashed of a man sitting on a log with a guitar. The audio echoed a line of spanish before cutting off.

“Here we go!”

The soldiers gathered round as the next video rolled along. A port city… a huge building with tents splayed out around it… a group of orcs talking around each other… Ranboo on a giant hog… The company of warriors getting ambushed… Techno shouting as Ranboo fled…People throwing the dead into a river of lava… Techno being dragged off… Techno talking to a piptin and a human woman… Wrestling with a man… Phil gasped as he processed the furnaces and their fuel. Techno trying to explain to Sausage the importance of what was showing… Sausage kicking a guard into lava… Hermes begging the men to wake up… Doi running out of view with the child… 

The men grumbled behind him.

Jordan frowned at the screen. 

“Can we get another look at those cages?”

“Yep. Let me…” the screen went out. “Shit.” Phil began poking the com. “Um… I know there’s a way to do it… Maybe..?”

Jordan nodded. “You do that. Hey, Andy!” He turned to look for the man. “Wanna help him?”

“Can I?” Andy looked at Phil excitedly.

“Sure.” Phil flashed his beak at them. “I’m not an expert, but my humans have picked it up pretty quick.”

--

Sapnap stormed through the fortress. Dream was on his way to the Ashen Pillars with the boys to get the Streamer. Sapnap’s job was to convince Manlig who the true enemy was. It shouldn’t be hard. He had watched the footage Phil had sent him and it terrified him.

“Panpas!” Astrid swept into his path. “I’ve been looking for you!” She grabbed his arm. “Come. We’re going to the shore. One last night of enjoyment before the Warriors destroy the Clans tomorrow.”

“Go away, Astrid. I don’t have time.” Sapnap jerked his arm out of her grip. 

“Of course you do! Come! Enjoy yourself! When was the last time you had some fun?”

Sapnap ignored her. 

“Panpas!” Astrid grabbed his arm again. “You will come with me and sit at my side tonight!”

Sapnap turned to her. “Lady Astrid. I will do no such thing. I have been polite during my stay here, but it seems like that was a mistake. Let me put it in words an ember would understand: I have no interest in joining with you in any way. I will be leaving this fortress and I will not be returning. Your behavior is an embarrassment to your father and your fortress. I have received important news that I must bring to Lord Manlig. Leave me be to deliver it.” He turned and swept away, leaving the female eld on the floor.

Sapnap stopped in front of a door. It was huge, far bigger than any other in the fortress, with intricate carvings on its red surface. A pair of black skillies stood guard. They came to attention and blocked his approach.

“Halt. The Lord is not to be disturbed.”

Sapnap sparked at them. “I have urgent news for Lord Manlig. It involves the missing eld. You will let me in to speak to him.”

“Lord Manlig has ordered that none are to disturb his rest. Return in the morning to request an audience.”

“I will deliver my news now. Step aside, or I will make you.”

The guards drew their swords. “Leave.”

Sapnap shot into the air and sent a stream of fire to each, filling the hall with smoke. The guards, used to dealing with flames, stepped right through. One of them walked right into Sapnap’s fist. He shouted in pain. Sapnap swung his sheathed sword around and caught the other guard in the gap between his plates. The guard yelped and clutched at his side. Sapnap spun and slammed his thick tail against the first guard. Both skellies dropped like logs.

“What is going on here?!” Manlig’s voice shook the air and sent the smoke flying.

Sapnap lowered himself. “My Lord! I have seen Lady Kvinna!”

The air rippled from the heat emitting from the older eld. “What did you say?” His voice was soft with warning.

“I have proof that the piptins are not our enemy. It includes the whereabouts of Lady Kvinna. I swear by my flame, I speak the truth. She has been found, my Lord.”

“If you shine false to me, I will personally ensure your flame will never kindle again.” Manlig turned and entered his quarters. 

Sapnap followed. “If I shine false in this, then I would deserve such a fate.” black eyes stared into black eyes. “See for yourself the suffering placed upon your people.”

“Why should I believe you found the One who has not been found for over a century? Whom I have given no pause or rest in the search of?” Manlig demanded.

“My Lord.” Sapnap said. “I met a watcher once. He told  me to not trust his kin. That his name was a warning about them.”

“His name?”

“Yes sir. He called himself Karl Jacobs. That Jacob meant One who Replaces another, through Deceit or Trickery. He spoke of things he had no way of knowing. About my fortress brothers, that I would help one of my fortress brothers save Lady Kvinna. I have a recording, sent by my void captain, revealing the truth of what happened to your people.”

Manlig gestured to his halo-screen. “Show me.”

 Sapnap connected his com and pulled up the video Phil had sent him. The two watched in silence as Techno entered the Forge. The screen caught Sausage and a square provided his name. 

Manlig pointed. “What’s that?”

Sapnap paused the video. “My Lord?”

“What race is that one?”

“They’re called Humans, my Lord.”

“No… they’re not… Continue.”

Sapnap eyed the smoke billowing off of the older eld. He played the video. They watched in silence as Sausage showed Techno around the Forge. The room darkened as the smoke grew thick. As the largest forge and its power source appeared, the room burst into flame. Smoke billowed out of the windows, with fire licking after it. The bricks on the walls softened and sagged. The furniture, made from the flame-proof crimson stems, turned to ash.

The ruins of the door toppled over as several guards peeked into the room. Sapnap slowly uncurled from where he had fallen to the floor. Manlig turned to him. His eyes glowed in the haze.

“WHERE?”

Sapnap flinched. “I have the location where we will meet up with the human warriors who are going to attack. But the Piptins will be invited to join this attack. If your people cannot treat them civilly, then I will go alone.”
Fire smashed into him, knocking him back to the ground.

“YOU DARE?”

“My Lord, the humans are giving the piptins the same offer. If they are unable to keep their clans in line, they will not be allowed to join. The humans have no reason to include either race in this operation. They only have one member of their race that they feel the need to save. But they are willing to rescue everyone they find. If you are unwilling to put aside your petty squabbles, then you will not be included in this rescue. We will send the cords of the location once our people have gone and cleared out their targets. We will leave you to release the imprisoned elds then.”

Fire swarmed him again. It pulsed and swirled before pulling back. Sapnap peered back up at Manlig. The eld was staring at the ruined halo-screen.

“Gather the warriors. We will join these Humans in saving our people.”

Chapter Text

Ranboo yawned and rolled onto his side. He blinked sleepily. He was so comfy… He frowned. Where was Tommy? And Tubbo? They always slept with him… Tubbo liked how warm the blankets became due to the body heat. And Tommy couldn’t sleep alone. There were… reasons…

Better find them before they find him.

Ranboo flipped through his book as he got ready. Hum… Techno and Sapnap were on Wa’ped looking into why the Blade Clan and the Flammpa Overlook were hating each other more than normal. And Ranboo had gone with them… Ok. It explained why he was alone and why the walls were black stone and not the normal ship metals. 

Huh. He had a kid with him? How did that happen?

Ranboo looked at his helmet. Shook his head. He could watch back the footage later. He slid on his glasses and mask before leaving the room. The hall led into a large cavern where several people were gathered in a group.

Ranboo spotted Philza sitting next to a firepit with a man. He hesitated. Phil was… something… His wings were tight and the way he tied feathers on the pieces of metal beside him made Ranboo nervous. Was something wrong? What had Ranboo messed up this time? There was nothing in his book… Maybe he should go through his-

Too late.

Phil waved Ranboo over. He smiled at the boy and opened a wing. Ranboo settled under the limb.

“Morning chick.”

“Morning.” Ranboo looked around. “Where is… Michael?”

“He’s with the other two hatchlings.”

“Ok.” Ranboo began brushing his hair. He paused as he registered the male watching him. “Would you like to help?”

Phil brightened. “Yes-yes!” He took the brush from the boy and began running his claws through the two-toned hair. Ranboo glanced at the man with them. He had an odd look on his face. One that Ranboo didn’t recognize, and yet did.

He’s looking at me… He thinks I look weird. I do look weird… my skin is so wrong. There’s something wrong with-

A tug on his head sent the thoughts flying. Ranboo leaned back to look at Philza.

“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not true. There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“Eh?”

“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not true.” Philza repeated. “No one’s looking. You look fine.”

“But-” Ranboo grabbed his hair.

Phil gently tapped a claw against his skull. “Your hair is fine, Ranboo. Its differences are what makes it beautiful. Same with your skin and eyes. They are what makes you so unique.”

Ranboo looked away.

Phil sighed and continued braiding the split-toned hair. “We’re expecting the Streamer to arrive some time today. Dream is bringing it over with Tommy and Tubbo. Once they get here, I’m going to be taking off for the Blades. They’re gearing up to war with the Overlook. I need to convince them that their enemy is elsewhere.”

Ranboo nodded. “Will it be hard?”

Phil flicked his feathers. “I got the recording from Techno’s mask. That’ll go a long way. And I sent it to Sapnap as well, so he can convince the elds. Either way, we’re going after them. If the Clans and the elds don’t want to join, then they can stay home.”

“Oh.”

Pattering echoed from a tunnel and a piptin child came barreling into the room. He darted around the humans, who called greetings to him. The child’s black eyes focused on Ranboo and his tail wagged.

“ Vati !” He threw himself into Ranboo’s lap. “ Vati, uzzy uppy! ”

“Um… What?” Ranboo glanced at Phil. 

Michael stamped his hoofs and pointed. “ Uzzy uppy! Ermies Mi’el play uzzy uppy! ”

Ranboo followed the child’s finger to where a female Phil walked out of a tunnel. Huh… was that why Phil was so upset?

The female opened her wings in what Ranboo recognized as a happy gesture. “ Hello there. ” She settled on a blanket and put down a baby. “ I’m Kre’tan and this is Ra’veen. ”

“ Um. Hi. ” Ranboo rubbed Michael’s ears. Michael began rumbling. It was… soothing… “ I’m Ranboo. Ranboo Beloved. Um hum. And this is Michael. I found him? ”

Kristin cooed. “ So I understand. ” She wiggled her fingers at the squealer. “ He’s been playing with Hermes. ” She glanced back to the tunnel she had exited. Ranboo followed her gaze.

A little boy, about the same size as Michael, stood peeking at them. Floof crouched at his feet. Michael jumped out of Ranboo’s lap and grabbed the boy’s hand. He pulled Hermes to them, babbling in piptin. Hermes blinked at Ranboo with big, purple eyes. He looked the older boy over. Looked at Kristin and Eret.

Ranboo froze as Hermes climbed into his lap and grabbed his face. He blinked as his glasses slid off his face. Hermes gasped at Ranboo’s mismatched eyes. He smiled.

“Pretty…”

--

Jordan watched from a crevice as Hermes pulled Ranboo’s glasses. Listened as Ranboo sputtered and blushed at the child’s words. 

Jason appeared from where Terrance’s squad was guarding the entrance. He approached Jordan and saluted.

“Report.”

“Sir! A spaceship has landed outside. Crew is currently disembarking and Specialist Smith will be bringing them in.”

“Understood. Return to your post soldier.”

Jason obeyed. A few minutes later, voices carried through the entrance.  Someone cursed as they shoved their way into the cavern. A youth with twitching ears and a striped tail looked around the room. His blue eyes locked onto Ranboo. 

Ranboo froze. “Uh oh.” He scrambled to his feet.

The racoon boy bared his teeth. “Ranboob!” He charged across the room and slammed into him.

Ranboo grunted. “Hi Tommy.” He looked at the entrance and his face brightened further. “Tubbo!”

The alien that darted through slammed into Ranboo’s chest. The three started jabbering at each other in rapid galactic, too fast for anyone to follow. Jordan looked to the entrance where the last member of the party was coming through.

He wore a white, smiley mask over his face. A green, sleeveless vest and a short, matching cape that hung down to his waist. A pair of hatchets, made from some dark metal, hung from each hip.

6 foot 2. 175lb. Light feet: uses mobility over brute force. Nasty bite scar on left shoulder. Isn’t affected by the lighter gravity; either he’s been here awhile or, more likely, his cape is weighed down. He’s almost certainly killed with those axes before. Threat level high. 

The man locked onto Jordan and stalked over. Jordan straightened and extended his hand. “Captain Jordan Maron.”

The man shook Jordan’s hand. “Dream Klea’menos. I got our ship outside, ready to get people out of here.” He glanced at where the younger three were talking and lowered his voice. “Perhaps get Techno on board while Tommy’s busy?”

Jordan glanced at them. Phil was standing with his back to them, wings spread wide enough to block their view. “Sure. This way.” He led Dream to their medbay. “Hakiem. This is one of Phil’s crew, Dream. He brought a ship for you to work on.”

The man brightened. “Does it have a CT Scanner?”

“Um… Maybe? We got our doctor on stand-by to talk to you and… explain what everything does? I want to get Techno out of here before the kids see him.” Dream glanced over to where the man lay. His mask flicked through several expressions before settling back into the :) face.

“Of course. Ranboo refused to sleep for several days after we found them.” He turned to Jordan. “Can you get Ruby, Andy and Sean?”

“On it.” Jordan left to fetch the soldiers. Together they loaded Techno and Sausage into a pair of stretchers and made their way outside. Getting through the crack was difficult, especially with Sausage. But they were able to maneuver the pair through with minimal jostling. 

Dream led them through the ship to the medical room. “Brian, make the call to Ponk. Connect it to the medbay. And get Techno’s medical records in english.”

“Calling Doctor Ponk.” A voice answered from a set of speakers. A wall lit up, showing a model of Techno, with information beside it.

A second screen ripped to life. A man blinked at them.

“Hakiem, this is our doctor, Ponk.” Dream said.

“Peace. I am Hakiem.”

The man yawned. “Hi. What do we have?”

Hakiem answered. “Techno has a wound to the diaphragm, and has lost a lot of blood. I sewed up what I could. He woke for a few minutes but was incoherent before falling back asleep.

“We also have Sausage. He took a blow to the head and to the back. I’ve confirmed that the one to his head should be superficial. Mostly tearing of the skin. I’m more worried about damage to the spine. He also lost blood and has yet to wake.”

“Ok. Let’s get him scanned and looked at. Put him on the table in the center and say ‘scan’. That’ll tell us the extent of everything.”

“Do you need me for anything?” Dream asked.

Hakiem glanced at him. “I don’t think so… Ruby, you stay with me. The rest can go.”

Dream led the remaining two men through the ship. “So the Streamer is a Mini barge. The lower level holds the engine room, storage, medbay, and a few holding cells. The second floor has the bedrooms, showers, social room, workout room, kitchen and cockpit.”

“It feels a bit small…” Andy said. “Can we fit everyone in for… wherever we’re going?”

“Oh yah.” Dream nodded. “Between the Streamer and the Eagle Three, my ship, we can get everyone up to our main ship no problem. She’s a Dayagorn, which is one of the biggest ships out there. We’ve got a greenhouse and a pool, and just about everything needed for long flights.”

“A greenhouse?” Sean asked. His face lit up. “With plants and stuff?”

“Yes… With plants and stuff…” Dream answered. “The kids spend a lot of time there. Tubbo needs it for his health. Most of us spend at least a little bit of time there every day.”

“Sean’s a bit of a naturalist.” Andy said. He grinned at the man. “Been trying to categorize the plants here.”

“I’ve been trying to figure out what we can eat without dying! Do you want to spend the next few days with food poisoning? Or worse?”

“I survived college on taco bell and gas station burritos. It’ll be fine.”

Dream laughed. “Well you don’t have to worry about that now. We picked up plenty of food before heading over. Come on.” He led the two to storage. “These crates here. There should be a dollie somewhere.”

“Don’t bother. We got it.” Sean hefted a crate onto his shoulder. “So how did you survive college Dream? Questionable meals like Andy? Or did you live at home and your mom cooked everything?”

“Nah.” Dream heaved up his own crate. “I never went to college. Didn’t even finish elementary school. Sapnap’s dad taught me what he could, and hired tutors for what he couldn’t, but I’m mostly self taught. I speak three different languages fluently, and am conversational in three more. I lead one of the best teams of Hunters in the galaxy, with a high success rate for our size. If I want something, I can buy it. My life is far better than anything I could ever dream of.”

“You have everything you want.”

“Just about.” Dream’s mask flickered. “The only thing that could make it better was if my sister was here. But that’s not going to happen. She’s safe on earth.”

Andy nodded. “Same. I’d feel a lot better if mine was where I could see her, or at least call. But her husband is a good sort. He’ll take care of her. He knows if he doesn’t, then I’d show him why I was called Deadshot back in training.”

Sean snorted. “Jackie said it was because you’d be dead if you were ever to deploy on the lines.”

Andy sputtered as Sean and Dream laughed.

Chapter Text

Philza swept across the land, following the border of the crimson forest that the Blades had claimed as their own. Below him, Edouard kept pace, disappearing and reappearing in puffs of sparkling purple smoke. The indarian insisted on joining him in this endeavor and Phil had agreed. The word of an indairan was seen as truth. If an indarian said that the elds were not the enemy, then they would probably listen. Of course, even with an indarian witness, five clans thirsty for blood would be hard to turn…

That was ok. Phil was thirsty too.

A gast, drifting in from the wastes, shrieked in alarm. Phil dodged the ball of gas and flame it spat at him. He ignored the animal as the hot breeze caught it and carried it away from them. 

The faint sound of thunder rumbled over the land. There were no deltas to cause the dirty thunderstorms in this part of the wastes, and they were several days from the lava seas. Which meant only one thing: The Clans were on the move.

Phil swept down past Edouard and perched atop a boulder. The forest seemed to shake and tremble as the warhogs charged out. 

Philza rose to his full height and snapped his wings open. The sudden motion sent the linogs rearing and snorting their hoofs tearing into the soft rack. 

Flame Blade pulled his linog under control. “Blutrabe. Have you come to join us in the battle against the elds? We shall show them the wrath of our vengeance!”

“So you would slaughter those not responsible for the clans’ sufferings?” Phil asked. He raised his voice. “Devoted Study has found the true enemy! He has brought this information to me, walking across the waste with a squealer and a severely injured oath-brother, despite his own injuries. My scrof risked his life to tell me of what he has witnessed. I am going to show them my vengeance. Shall you join? Or shall you hunt false gold in the Overlook?”

Flame Blade grumbled at his questions. The other Clan leaders rode up and nodded to Philza. They knew the Blutrabe and the rumors that came with him.

“What is happening?” Rumble Mane snorted from his mount. “Why are we stopping?”

“Blutrabe says we hunt pyrite. That the Flampa Overlook is not our prey.” Flame Blade answered.

Rumble Mane rumbled in annoyance. “Of course the Overlook is our prey. They have taken our people! They have killed our scrof!”

Blood Heart looked beside Phil. “What say you, Smoke-Shadow? Does the Blutrabe speak gold? Or is his word pyrite?”

Edouard lowered his head. “The Skyhawk has spoken truth. I have seen the recordings that Devoted Study carried. The ones responsible wish for the piptins and the elds to war with each other. The hargran kriegers are preparing to raid the mines and free both the elds and the piptins in their search for their squealer’s fraulein. They have extended an invitation to the elds to participate in this raid. The same invitation goes out to the clans.”

Phil snapped his wings again, drawing attention to himself. “If the clans cannot work with the elds, then we’re leaving you behind. The success of this raid is too important.” He glared at the Chieftens. “Keep your scrof under control. Or I will eat their eyes.”

“It shall be done.” 

--

Jordan stood to attention as the orc warriors gathered behind their banners. Adam stood to his right, with Dream on his left. Tommy and Tubbo were in the back, guarded by his soldiers. 

“We have the Blade, which Techno is a part of, the Blutz, or Blood, the Gilded Tusks and the Pfeils, or Arrows.” Dream murmured. “They have been allied with each other for several generations now. They all live in or near the Blood Forest, with the Blutz being the oldest of the four. I think the other clans are splinters of the Blutz. Techno would know better than me… He’s into that sort of thing.”

One of the soldiers, a Scottish woman named Grizel, grunted. “Sounds like home.” 

One of the piptins approached. He towered over Jordan. Phil stepped between the two. “Captain, this is Flame Blade, the chieftain of the Blades.” He turned to the piptin. “Chief Flame Blade, this is Chief Jordan. He commands the Sonlaner clan.”

Blade looked Jordan over. He glanced at the warriors lined behind him. He rumbled in approval. “If they have half the skills of Devoted Study, then we have nothing to be concerned about. Chief Jordan and his scrof are welcomed with the clans.”

Phil smirked. “They have double the skills. They have been trained to fight with daggers. They have conducted raids of their own, both on their homeland and here.”

Flame Blade rumbled. “We shall see.” He turned and roared at his people. “Set Up the Tents! We Are Staying!”

Phil translated the piptins words to Jordan. “Good. We’re heading out as soon as the elds arrive?”

“Not quite.” Phil answered. “The piptins will want to do an Oath Ceremony. Edouard is going to work with both the piptins and elds for the terms of this alliance. He’ll be paying you a visit too. Unless you don’t want to join the alliance?”

“Tell him to come. Can you translate for me?” Jordan looked at the male.

“Of course.” Phil nodded. “Me or Dream can translate and work on the words you’ll be saying during the Ceremony.”

“Thank you. You don’t have to do any of this. I appreciate it.”

“Aw mate. Don’t put your feathers in a fluff. I’m more than happy to help your race.”

Jordan nodded. “And we appreciate it.” He paused. “You have experience with military deployment?”

Phil frowned. “Military what?”

“Uh Deployment… That’s the sending out and organizing of, in this case, a military unit.”

“Ah! Yes.” Phil flicked his feather uneasily. “I fought in… I was involved with a war many years ago. A nasty war with no winners.”

“I’m sorry.”

Phil sighed. “It was long ago. Very long ago.”

“Yes, we know you’re ancient.” Dream snarked.

Phil’s wing smacked his head. Dream laughed and ducked. Philza led Jordan into their ship and opened a door. “You can use my office. I don’t use it too much now, since I have the Galactica now.”

Jordan looked sharply at Phil. “The Galactica?”

“Yah. Dream named it. Said it's from a famous show?”

Jordan shrugged. “I wouldn’t say it’s famous. The Millenium Falcon or the Death Star or the Enterprise would be more well known. But I think the show was fairly popular back in the day… They did a remake that wasn’t nearly as good.”

“Techno said we couldn’t use those because of copyright.”

Jordan made a face. “Figures. Don’t want to piss off the Mouse.”

“That’s what Techno said. I thought humans were the only race on your planet.”

The two humans grinned at each other. “We are.”

Phil cocked his head at them and his feathers shrugged. “Your people are so full of contradictions.”

--

Dream grinned as Sapnap approached. He swept the eld’vild into a hug. “There you are. We were thinkin’ you had decided to stay behind.”

Sapnap swatted him. “Void no. That video was enough to get them to agree to anything.” He pulled away. “Where’s Phil?”

“He’s helping the Captain learn the words he needs. The Clans are going to perform an Oath Ceremony once you guys are settled. Come on. I’ll introduce you.” A human directed the two towards the caves. They found Philza and Jordan sitting around a lava pool, sharing a dish of pale meat. Dream snagged a slice as he dropped beside Phil.

“Phil, Sapnap and the elds are here. How’s things going here?”

Phil chirped at Sapnap. “Hey mate. Glad to see you. The Overlook decided to join?”

“Lord Manlig decided to join. With his whole escort, as well as the Overlook’s kampe.” Sapnap answered.

Philza’s feathers fluffed. “Manlig was there?”

“Manlig, his general, his kampes, even a watcher.” Sapnap dimmed. “The watcher said he Looked and saw that the Blades were killing the elds and eating them.”

Phil hissed. Dream gasped. 

Jordan stiffened. “Is there going to be trouble?” He asked.

“No.” Sapnap answered. “That video was enough to ensure that the elds won’t start anything. Retrieving Kivnna is more important than taking out some piptins. Even if taking them out would cause unending chaos among the clans.”

“Oh?” Jordan leaned forward. “How?”

Phil and Dream exchanged a look. “Clan Chieftains. Take them out and the clans would have to pick a new one, assuming the chief doesn’t have a second.” Phil explained. “During times of war, they will pick one, but I don’t know if they have one right now. I wouldn’t recommend killing them though. Even if you could, and I have no doubt you could if you really wanted to, the clans would be out for your blood for the rest of your life. They would throw everything they had at you. It would be…” He hesitated. “I’m not sure the word… Something that their young warriors would leave to attempt as a show of strength, knowing that they would most likely die? Every generation would have some warriors who would go after you?”

Jordan nodded. “Like a crusade. Or a test of skills. I think I understand.”

“Yah, don’t piss off the piptins.” Sapnap slid into the lava pool. “And don’t piss off the humans. It’s probably for the best that the watcher didn’t come with us. If he's trying to make them fight the piptins, then I can’t imagine things going well.”

Phil’s feathers frowned. “What exactly did this watcher say?”

“Uh… Something about bringing the bodies back to their hovels to eat.” Sapnap yawned. “He used that word: hovel. Like their fortresses are some pile of wood that would burst into flames at the first gastball.”

Phil flicked at him. “Get out of there before you fall asleep. I want to hear everything.”

Sapnap looked up at the older male and after a moment sighed. He rose out of the lava, making Jordan jerk back in surprise. “Yes, I can float. The elds believe the piptins are, quote, too stupid to understand the benefits of serving the elds, and should be simply removed entirely. They were more than happy to believe that the piptins are killing elds to eat.”

Phil’s feather fluffed in alarm. “That’s what they said? That they should be removed entirely?”

“Yah. It apparently is the only way to achieve peace. I don’t like it.”

Phil wrapped his wings close around himself. “I don’t like it either.” His feathers rose and fell, betraying his unease.

“Talk to us Phil. What’s going on?” Dream demanded.

He hesitated. “It reminds me of something.  I want to talk to Edouard about this. See if he thinks the same… If someone is trying to wipe out the elds and piptins…”

“Why?” Jordan asked. The others looked at him. “People don’t do things without a reason. Why would someone want the elds and piptins at war with each other? What would they gain with the extinction of both races?”

“I… don’t know…” Phil answered.

“What about your race? You said that your race and another are now gone, right? That’s why you’re so upset right? It’s like what was said then. What was the results of both races dying out?”

Phil shifted uncomfortably. “I ended up on an uninhabited planet almost immediately after the war and stayed there until about… three years ago? I have no idea what has happened in the years since.”

“You never looked into it?”

“It wasn’t important. I was focusing on relearning how to talk to people with Techno. All I know is that I was the last one alive. Until a few weeks ago…” He glanced at the entrance.

“Until we found Kristin.” Dream filled.

“Yes…”

"Perhaps it's time we have Quackity take a look."
--

“I Told You! Don’t get any hargrans!” The female loomed over the overseer. “They’re impossible to control!”

“We have had no trouble with either of the hargrans we obtained!” The overseer insisted. He glanced at both of the people before him. “They’ve been very compliant.”

“And yet you’ve lost one.”

“It was killed in the escape attempt. It’s dead.”

“If there’s no body then it’s not dead. And even if there was a body, I wouldn’t believe it to be dead.” The male answered. “You have no idea what those things are capable of. No one does!”

“All the more reason to make use of them. The female is completely obedient. And the slaves have taken a liking to it. If I remove it then they will riot.”

“Then kill them. New slaves can be obtained. They will fall in line after the first few are put down.” The female sneered at him. “This is your mistake. Clean it up. Or our business is finished.”

The overseer bowed. “It shall be done.”

Chapter Text

Blood God squinted through the fog. His eyes caught the flap of a banner; the harsh edge of a tent. Why in the Void would the Clans gather out here? There wasn’t anything in this part of the wastes. Maybe a fight? Blood barred his tusks. It had been awhile since the Clans had fought each other.

Blood marched into the camp. A pack of juveniles sat in front of a tent, talking to a ray’con and a geet. He stopped before them. “What has brought the Clans together, scroff? Where are the krigers?”

One of the ferrows grunted. “The Blade Blood God has found the keinehre who have tried to destroy us. They are performing an oath ceremony between the hargran clan and the eld clan.” He snorted unhappily. “We’re not allowed to join.”

“Fuck them.” The ray’con grumbled. “We don’t need to join their boring ceremony.”

“You are joining what is planned?”

The ray’con bared his teeth. “I’d like to see them try to stop us. Not like we’ve never killed before.”

The geet buzzed in agreement. “We’re the only ones who know what the humans are saying. They need us.”

Blood grunted. “Then you shall watch. The Oath Ceremony is to be witnessed by all.”

The six ferrows glanced at each other. The female’s tail wagged. They all jumped to their feet and followed Blood through the camp.

A crowd stood in the center of the camp. Blood God pushed his way through the kriegers to the front. In the center, an indarian stood, reading the terms of the Oath. The Chiefs of the Blades, the Pfeils, the Bluts and the Gilded Tusks stood on one side. A fortress worth of elds stood, with Manlig himself at their head, on another side. The kisden spotted Blood and sparked. Blood nodded back. Manlig glanced at the third group and Blood looked them over.

This was a surprise. He didn’t know there were any left. But they were quite good at surviving, so maybe it wasn’t too much of a surprise.  And with them… It seemed that all the dead races were coming back to life. He glanced into the sky, half expecting to see a day’gron sweep overhead.

“Leaders of the Races” The indarian demanded, “Do you swear, by your Name and your Blade and your Flame, to the conditions presented before you and your People?” 

The man stepped forward. “I, Jordan Maron, Captain of the Sonlaners, Voice for the Humans, swear by the terms presented. I swear to fight alongside your Clans in order to destroy our enemy and free our people. May your people be as my people, your young as our young. I swear to share the meat of my fire and the strength of my arm. If I break this vow, may I be struck down where I stand and my name become a warning. By my Name and my Honor, this I swear.”

The piptin across from him nodded. “I, Flame Blade, Chieftain of the Blades, Chosen by the Piptin Clans assembled, swear by the terms presented. I swear to fight alongside your Clan to destroy our enemy. May your Clan be as my Clan, your Oaths as my Oaths and your enemies as my enemies. I swear to share the blood of my kill and the gold of my hunt. If I break this vow, may my blood boil within me and the ash consume me. By my Blood and my Blade, this I swear.”

Manlig drifted forward. “I, Manlig, Kisden of the Elds, swear by the terms presented. I swear to fight alongside the Clans to destroy our enemies and free my people. May your Fortress be under my Flame, and the lava cradle your embers . I swear to share the heat of my Flame and the strength of my rage. If I break this vow, may my Flame go out and my Heart grow cold. By my Flame, this I swear.”

The indarian slammed his hands together. “So it is Spoken. So it is Witnessed. So it is Remembered.”

--

Jordan frowned at the map Phil had sketched out. It showed the Mine, surrounded by lava. He pointed. “The drawbridge is the only way across. It’ll be guarded tighter than Fort Knox. If we can get a small crew in, they could take control and lower it for the rest of us…”

“The void shield wouldn’t be enough. It would give out before we’re half-way across.” Dream said.

“We can get across no problem. But they’ll see us when we ascend the walls.” Manlig said.

Phil leaned over. “I can get someone in. Just one person though. And they’ll probably be shooting at us while I do.”

Manlig nodded. “We can provide cover. Draw them here,” he pointed, “and keep them busy.”

“And how do we know this… avorn… will be able to get someone in?” Kol demanded. He sneered at Philza. “Everyone knows avorn are useless when it comes to battle. All they are good for is nurturing embers.”

Phil locked eyes with the eld noble. “That is no concern of yours.”

Edouard moved forward. “Have you not heard? Do you not Remember? Beware the Fang; Beware the Feather; Beware the Children of the Sky. Skyhawk Phil’za is the Son of the Sky. He has returned our Sky Daughter and slaughtered the ones who stole her. The piptins and the hargrans both bow to his blade. Keep your flame to yourself, or he will claim your eyes for his meal.”

Kol smoked and Manlig flamed at him. “I acknowledge Lord Phil’za’s skill. That is reason enough. If he says he will get someone into the mine and lower the drawbridge, then he will do so. We will focus on keeping those inside from seeing him.”

“They won’t expect a double attack?” Jordan asked.

Flame Blade barred his tusks. “Why would they? Everyone knows the elds are dishonorable and hate us. Why would they think we would work together?”

“Ok, who’s going in?”

“I will.” Adam stepped forward from where he had been standing against the tent wall. Jordan frowned. “You don’t have a choice in this, Sparklz. The orcs are too heavy and the elds are needed in the lava. That leaves one of us. Dream can’t because he needs to translate for you. Tommy’s a kid. You’ve got to lead the men. I’m trained for this sort of thing. I’ve got it.”

Jordan clenched his fist and nodded. “Yah. You got this.” He forced a smile at his best friend. “If you die on me, I’m going to drag your soul back and kill you myself.”

Adam saluted. “Yessir!” His motion was ruined by the grin on his face.

Manlig smoked at the man. “Does this one understand that he will almost certainly burn out? To lower the bridge, even with the skyhawk over him, is not an easy task.”

“We do not fear death.” Jordan answered. “As the one who taught me liked to say: We are not surrounded, we are in a target rich environment.”

“If you say so…” Manlig sparked.

Blood grunted. “Don’t you remember Dientealzan, Manlig? Or is your age getting to you?”

The eld gave the piptin a Look. “Of course I remember Dientealzan. You’re the one who’s forgetting. I was speaking at the Galactic Council. Kvinna was there on the ground, not me.”

“Eh. You both look the same.” Blood smirked at the kisden. “Don’t worry about them. If these humans say they know how to do something they will. And if they don’t they’ll figure it out.”

Phil chuckled at the piptin’s words. Techno had said those exact same words to him many times before.

“I shall go as well.” Edouard spoke up. “Not all of you have communications. I will help.”

Phil gave the indarian a shallow bow. “I have no say in what you do. If you wish to join us then you may.”

The indarian twitched his head. “You do.”

Phil turned to Jordan. “I want Tommy to be with some of your men as well. He won’t stay behind and you need every translator available. Can we get him in a group that will avoid the worst of the fighting?”

“We can do that. Will he be able to keep up? And how is he when it comes to fighting? He’s what, 14?”

“He’ll be fine.” Dream answered. “He’s the kind of person who always lands on his feet. Got more lives than a cat.”

“We’ll put him with Terrance then. He’s going to be leading the reteval squad.”

They discussed some of the finer points. The interior of the Mine and the organization of the warriors. Jordan had invaluable suggestions and advice on fighting in narrow halls. Finally, they dismissed to rest and organize. 

Blood and Manlig shared a glance as the rest of the warriors left the tent. Blood approached the table. “Tell me, Hawk, why are you doing this?”

Philza looked up at the two Kisden. “What?”

Manlig joined them. “Why would an elyran, one of the last ones in existence, join in with this fight? You have no claim to either of our people.”

Phil glanced around. The tent was empty except for Edouard. The indarian simply cocked his head. He watched. He listened. He remembered.

Philza’s feathers fluffed. “You’re wrong. I do have a claim. My people are dead. We fought, the same way you fight. We said the day’gorns were savages. Not really people. We only recognized their size. The destruction they could cause. We convinced ourselves that we knew what was best. And what was best was their extinction.

Now, we’re both extinct.”

“I have a claim to the Humans. My people have no future. We destroyed that. But the humans do. If I can do something to give them the future I lost, give them the opportunity to become something?” Phil smiled. “All they need is a chance, and they will take it and make something no one could ever imagine.”

His expression fell. “I was alone. Ever since the war, I've been alone. A human found me. He was alone, as I was alone. He didn’t care that I wasn’t the same race. He didn’t care that we look nothing alike.  He took me in. I followed him through the void. I would follow him through flame and fire.  His people have welcomed me into their life. Made me part of their family. Gave me a purpose again. And now that human is lying in a medbed. I don’t know if he’ll wake up or if he’ll die. This mine tried to cage and chain him. They tried to take him from me. I already lost one family.  He fought for me; killed for me; bled for me. The Stars would reject me if I didn’t do the same.”

The two looked at each other. Manlig’s hair glowed in amazement.  “Do you hear him? He has no idea and yet…” the Kisden turned to Philza. “I think your words have more truth than you realize, Skyborn. Are you sure you are not touched by the Lady?”

“The Lady?” Phil's feathers wrinkled in confusion. “What Lady? I don’t remember any - You mean the Creator Lady? That's just a myth. A-and even if She was real, there's no way She would take notice of me. I’m… I'm no one.”

Blood laughed. “No one? You are the last Elyran Kriger, are you not? Even if you didn’t join this Human clan,  that reason alone is worth drawing Her eye.”

Phil shuddered. “Well she’s not real. If she was, I would be having some words with her.”

“You’re not the only one.” Manlig said. His eyes glowed. “I am not pleased with what she has done to my Flame.”

“But look at what has happened because of it.” Blood countered. “Your people and mine have made an Oath. And these humans have joined.”

“If Kvinna hadn’t been taken, we would not need an Oath to work together.”

Blood nodded the eld’s point. “Perhaps.”

“It doesn’t matter. What has happened has happened.” Phil snapped. “We cannot change the past. Better to focus on the future instead.”

The two eyed him. 

Manlig finally consented. “So be it.”

Chapter Text

Phil looked down from his perch on the cliff. A rope woven from red vines stretching down the face quivered as Adam worked his way up. Edouard popped next to Phil. 

“He's almost up.”

“Good. Tell the elds to to begin. And the others to be ready.”

“Yessir.” The indarian disappeared.

Adam grabbed the ledge and Phil reached down to help him up. The human’s face was damp, despite the heat from below. Or perhaps because of it.

“Here. Rest. Wait.” Phil handed the man a bottle. Adam took it and drank. He grimaced at the warm water but didn't stop. “The elds are about to start.” He pointed to a vast cluster of lights, glowing in the fog. 

Adam sighed. “Talk to me. How are we going to do this?”

Phil nodded. “I'm going to hold on to your shoulders. That's why I told you to wear those pads. I'll carry you across and we'll drop down in the courtyard, there. Because we're so high up, it's mostly gliding. Makes it easier for me and smoother for you.”

“Sounds like you've done this before.” Adam stretched his arms out.

“Me and Tech snuck in and took out a dictator who thought his fortress was impregnable. He never saw us coming.” Phil said. “That was a good stop. Worth the craziness. We all made a lot of kills that day.”

“Sounds like fun.” Movement caught Adam’s eye. “It looks like they’ve started.”

Phil jumped up and landed on the man’s shoulders. “Then we should get started. Just run and jump. I’ll carry you across.” His talons dug into the leather padding.

Adam looked down from the ledge to the distant ground and the lava sea. He took a deep breath. “Ok. Let’s do this. One.” He backed up. “Two.” He began to run. “Three!” He leapt off the cliff.

Phil spread his wings and caught a draft rising from below. The two flew over the lava. Phil laughed and swept over the mine.

“Get ready to drop!”

Adam released his grip on Philza’s ankles. Phil swooped down and released. Adam dropped, landing squarely on a piptin guard. His dagger slid under the shoulder guard and blood spilled. Phil slammed his own talons into the second guard and his claws dug into the thick throat. He tore it out and jumped to another guard. His sword swung through the enpeice’s neck, sending his head flying. 

Phil licked his claws clean as Adam wiped his blade on the dead’s shirt. He picked up the sword and looked it over. He handed it to the human. “You know how to use this?”

Adam blinked. “Um no? We don’t use swords anymore.”

Phil flicked his feathers. “Techno said the same. You’ll learn.” He looked around. “This way.”

The two made their way into the mine. The few guards they found quickly fell before them. Roars and the sound of crashing weapons rang from the guardroom. A piptin fell out of the door. A guard followed, swinging his sword high.

He staggered as two black feathered darts slammed into his throat. Adam leapt over his falling form and dove into the building. The female piptin blinked as Phil pulled her up.

“Who- Blutrabe?” She bared her tusks and her tail wagged. “Devoted Study has succeeded!”

“Golden Mane. Rumble Mane will be pleased to see you still tearing your foes apart.” Phil slapped the Pfeil’s back. “We need to get the drawbridge lowered for the Clans and their allies.”

“It will be done!” Golden Mane turned back to the guardroom. Inside, Adam was being swept up into a crushing hug by a piptin. The other slaves were rumbling curiously at the scent of the human. Phil’s entrance brought more cheers.

If there was one thing the piptins loved, it was legends walking among them.

“Get that drawbridge down!” Golden Mane roared. “The Clans are here and we’re going home! You! Let the hargran krieger down.”

“We’re here to get everyone out.” Phil said. “But we’re looking, specifically, for a hargran female. A dame.”

The piptins barred their tusks. Golden Mane rumbled. “Good. The overseers have received orders to kill her. We have hidden her deeper in the mines, but she cannot stay. They will find her and she will be lost.”

“Well let's keep that from happening. The hargran clan has a doylt tasked with getting her to safety.” Phil stuck his head out of the guardroom to watch the drawbridge land. “Could you give us a krieger to guide them?”

Golden Mane laughed. “I shall guide them myself.” She marched outside. The drawbridge shook as the Clans marched across them. She hefted her stolen sword and roared. “Blood for the Pfeil!”

“BLOOD FOR THE PFEILS!” Her Clan roared back. 

--

Techno blinked. The ceiling arched over him. He looked around confused. Where… The Streamer medbay. How in the Void did he get on the Streamer? He rolled to his feet. Pain stabbed in his side as he gasped for breath. 

Ow. ow ow ow.

Ok. He had been stabbed. And… Techno looked to where Sausage lay on his chest on the other bed. Tubes and wires hooked to the man’s arms. Techno rubbed his face. His fingers caught on prickly stubble and he grimaced. First things first. Get cleaned up and change. Then find Ranboo. Or Sapnap? Whoever was here. Hopefully they hadn’t called Phil. He was far too clingy when people got hurt.

Techno stumbled into the hall and slowly made his way along. By the time he reached the social room, he was breathing hard and leaning against the walls. Taking a break sounded like a better and better idea with each painful breath he took. 

The door slid open for him and he staggered in to collapse onto a couch. Phil’s black feathers fluffed in surprise at his appearance. A chirp called out.

Shit. “I’m fine Phil. Just- Just gotta catch my breath.” Techno grimaced. “No need to pull your feathers. I’m fine.” He opened his eyes. “You’re not Phil.”

The person’s feathers flicked in what Techno recognized as concern and amusement. “I should hope not. Why are you up?”

“Uh… Because?” He blinked at her. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced… Miss?”

She chirped. “Kre’tan. Here, you can hold Ra’veen while I fetch the adarn . I just got her asleep.”

Techno blinked and gaped at the baby that the female placed onto his lap. She left and he cradled the tiny human close to his chest. Techno blinked again and again as Raven shifted and snuggled against him in her sleep.

“Hello Princess.” He whispered. “What are you doing out here?” It wasn’t hard to figure out… A human baby without any parents… A very non-human caretaker… At least Mis Kr.. Kre? Kristin? At least Miss Kristin was taking care of her… She might not be an avorn, but if she was anything like Phil, she would take care of the baby with the same devotion. Maybe even more, since she wouldn’t hesitate to defend herself. Probably…

The door slid open and Techno blinked his blurry vision away. Funny. He hadn’t realized he was crying. A pair of men approached, with Kristin behind them.

One man had fluffy hair, dark blond or light brown, while the other’s man was definitely brown. So was his skin. Not as dark as Ponk, but nowhere near as light as Tommy or the other man.

“Peace.” The darker man gave a nodding bow. “I am Hakiem, a healer. I’ve been taking care of you. This is Eret, and you’ve met Lady Kristin and her daughter.”

“Uh hi. Thanks for that.” Techno handed Raven back to Kristin. “So how am I Doc?”

“Lucky. Very lucky. You remember what happened?”

“Me and Sausage got out. There was fighting. Sausage hurt his back. How is he, by the way? Do you know?”

“We’ve done what we could. I think he’ll be alright, but I won’t know for certain until he wakes up. Hopefully that will be soon. The blade missed your lungs, but not by much. More importantly, it missed your liver. You’re on bedrest until further notice. I don’t care who you are. If you reopen your wounds, then you will have several very upset children and one very scary angel on you. And I won’t stop them.”

“Yessir.” Techno nodded. He stiffened. “Hermies.”

“Is fine.” The other man, Error? Aaron? Air… something… “Ranboo and Kristin have been taking care of him, alongside Raven and Michael. They’re all fine.”

Techno tried to relax. “That’s good. I’m glad to hear Ranboo made it back to the Blades.”

“Oh he didn’t.” Eret, that’s what it was, answered. Funny name. “Some of our men found him wandering the wastes. He and Michael were looking for a tree to hug.”

Techno ran a hand over his face. “He wasn’t supposed to take it literally…”

“Ranboo?” Kristin chirped. “Would you like me to get Ranboo?”

Techno smiled at her. “If you would? Wanna make sure he’s ok.”

Kristin left the room and Techno looked at the other two. “I don’t suppose you know where the Captain is?”

“Which one?” Eret asked. “We got our captain, Jordan, and we’ve got your captain Philza. Although I guess it doesn’t matter too much. They’re leading the charge against that mine you were in. Seems like they’re trying the impossible, getting the orcs and fire silkies to work together.”

“Fire silkies? You mean the Elds?”

Eret shrugged. “Maybe? Seal people?”

“Yah, the elds look kinda seal-like on the lower half… You mean they’re all joining in on this raid?”

Further conversation was interrupted by the door sliding open. Ranboo rushed into the room, Floof on his heels. The dog barked and jumped into Techno’s lap. He licked his face.

“Hey buddy. Have you been a good boy? Yah? Who’s a good boy?” Techno dug his fingers into the dog’s curly fur. He glanced up and smiled at Ranboo. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Ranboo’s eyes were hidden under his tinted glasses. “You’re really awake.”

“Of course I’m awake, Ranboo. Did you really think a skilly could kill me so easily?”

The boy shook his head. “Nope. Maybe..? I don’t remember.”

Techno cocked his head around Ranboo to look at the face peering around the doorframe. “Hello little one.”

The head shot back out of sight. After a moment it reappeared. A second head joined it. Techno wiggled his fingers at them. Hermes purple eyes watered and he scrambled across the room and into Techno’s lap.

“Hey, you ok Squealer? You’re not hurt?”

Hermes shook his head. “Uncle hurt.” He whispered.

“Uncle Sausage is going to be ok. He’s just sleeping.” Techno answered. He glanced at the piptin who was now clinging to Ranboo’s leg.

The tiny squealer wore one of Ranboo’s shirts, with one of Techno’s gold chains around his waist. White flakes speckled his left eye and cheek. The black eyes flicked between him and Ranboo.

“You must be Mi’ki’el. Is Ranboo taking care of you now? ”

The tail began to wag. Michael scooted forward and sniffed the air. Techno reached down and let him get a good whiff. “Vati Boo lotta food. Shiny crown.”

Techno blinked. Vati Boo? Ranboo had adopted him? He glanced at the boy, who looked up at Techno’s gaze.

“Huh?”

“I’m proud of you Ranboo. Not everyone is willing to adopt a toddler with a flesh-eating disease.”

“Eh?!?”

Chapter Text

Tommy crouched with Shield Back. They were assigned to Terrance’s squad, alongside two soldiers introduced as Jason and Grizel. Dream’s words before they left echoed in his head.

“Remember your job, Tommy. Find Hermes’ mom and get her out. Don’t wander off. Listen to Terrance. He’s got more experience than me and Techno combined. If he says stop, you freeze. If he says run, then you run like dreamons are after you. This isn’t a game.”

“I know. I’m not a kid.”

Dream ruffled his hair. “Yah, you are.”

Tommy ran his hand through his hair. “No, I’m not..” He muttered under his breath. Kids haven’t done the sort of shit he’d done. Terrance hummed to himself, the tune steady in a way that made Tommy think it was some military march. 

“Look.” Grizel pointed. The drawbridge was lowering.

Terrance grunted. “Be ready but don’t forget. We’re the rearguard. Don’t get caught up and charge with the others. We have one goal and we’re going to complete it.”

The drawbridge landed with a heavy thud. The groups started across, moving in a silent run.

A roar rang out from the bridge: “BLOOD FOR THE PFEILS!” The other Clans took up the chant, calling for their own blood. Tommy tapped his fingers on his leg. 

“Ok. Let’s move out.” Terrance led the way across the drawbridge.

Tommy marched in the center of his squad. The adults circled him and Shield. 

Phil waved to them as they approached the end of the drawbridge. “Terrance!” He motioned to a piptin standing at his side. “This is Golden Mane of Pfeil. She’s going to take you to Schattendame. Tommy, you and Shield have translating.”

“Got it.” Tommy nodded. 

Golden Mane fell in beside Terrance. She gave Shield Back a nod. “We’ve hidden Schattendame in the mines. There are many tunnels and it’s easy to hide one tiny hargran.” 

The sounds of fighting rang out as they passed through the halls of the fort. Terrance glanced behind him. “Get us there and out asap. We’re not here to fight.”

Golden Mane trotted through the halls and led the small group down into the mines. Rough tunnels ran in straight lines with pits of lava and burning rack lighting the way. They passed a pile of carts piled high with black stones speckled with yellow. Tommy snagged a small rock and slid it into his pocket. 

Gold Mane cupped her free hand around her mouth. “Schattendame! We are leaving! I’ve brought many hargran kriegers for you!” her voice echoed and grew louder against the dark walls.

A woman appeared from behind a pile of rocks. “Golden Mane?” She gasped. “Oh. Oh my. Hello?”

Terrance smiled at her. “Good evening mam.” He tugged at an imaginary hat. “I understand you need an escort out of here. Me and the boys will be happy to provide you a ride back home. I’m Terrance, and this is Jason, Grizel, Tommy and… Schild Zurik.”

“Schild Zuruck.” Shield Back corrected.

“Um. Hello. Yes. I’m Elizabeth. The piptins call me Schattendame.” Her purple eyes watered. “You really have a way out?”

“We do. We also have a little boy waiting for you.”

Elisabeth gasped. Her hands pressed against her mouth. “Hermes…”

“Is fine. A bit shook up, but he’s doing well. He’ll do even better once he sees you again.” Terrance smiled at her. “Let’s not disappoint him, yah?”

Elizabeth burst into tears.
--

The lavender-clad watcher paced the room. This was so bad. How did ze miss it? Ze had looked! There was nothing about the clans finding them in the treads! And how had the elds gotten here? The mine was deep in piptin land. The clans were supposed to keep them out! But they were here. And there were piptins fighting down in the courtyard. Piptins and elds were fighting together. All those years of work, gone in an instant. How?

Ze left the room. Ze needed to get to zer pod. Down one hall and a turn. Then- a group of hargrans was stalking zer way. A Hunter, one who even ze had seen in passing, led them. The group spotted zer and the Hunter with them focused on zer. He said something. The hargrans spread out, blocking the hall. They responded to the Hunter. How was he controlling them? How…

“I need you to come with us.” The Hunter said.

Ze frowned. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” The Hunter answered. “Come with us and you’ll be fine. I promise.”

“Tell me how you control them, and I will.” Ze lied.

The Hunter sighed. “Catscat. You would know how if you were an ally to the elds and piptins.”

The sound of guards pounding through the hall made zer smile. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll be sure to tell my people that those things can be controlled. We can figure it out easy enough.” Ze pointed to them. “Take them out!”
The guards swept past zer and smashed into the Hunter. Ze didn’t stay to watch. Ze ran away. One of the hargrans broke through and pursued.

Ze ducked through another hall. The hargran behind zer took the turn with the precision of a canox. And it didn’t even slow.

A group of guards and piptins fighting ahead forced zer to turn again. Another turn… and down the hall… The ship should be…

A blank wall stared at zer.

No… No! A wrong turn? Or…

The sound of footsteps had zer turning. The hargran approached. A dagger glinted in the lantern light. 

Calm down. It’s just a hargran. Just look at what it’s going to do and respond accordingly. Ze removed zer eyecover. Silver threads burst into existence. Ze scowled. Too many. There should only be one. And they were too thin to guarantee what would happen. How? The future was supposed to be certain! What happens in the next few minutes should be known!

The silver threads coiled and twisted around the hargran. It almost looked like… It looked like they were coming from it. Like it was influencing them! But no one could do that. Not even zer people could influence the threads. Unless… But no. They were gone…

The hargran charged. It’s dagger swung up. Ze barely dodged and danced away. It was! One of Those !

“You Void-cursed monster! How are your kind still infesting the galaxy?! You were supposed to die out on that planet!” Ze ducked and swung zer own sword. The hargran dodged and his dagger cut into zer arm. Ze gaped at the wound. “You Cut me!” Zhe blinked. “You… cut me…” Ze looked at the hargran. “You’ll…” Silver threads danced across zer vision, weaving together into a future.

“No! You can’t!” Ze swung zer blade. The hargran met with his own. “No!” Ze stumbled away. There had to be something. Some future that would guarantee zer survival. But all of the potential futures were the same. All of them were tied to this man and his moves. Ze couldn’t See what he would do! Ze couldn’t- Ze tripped and the man’s dagger slammed into zer back. Ze gasped. Ze couldn’t move. Ze-

Jordan jerked his blade out and grabbed the cyclop’s head. Slid his dagger across the front and watched the blood spray. He tightened his grip on the alien’s hair and started back to where the rest of his men were gathering. Best get someone to make sure this thing was actually dead…

--

Phil’za hissed at the watcher. It had been a very long time since he had last seen one of those. This one wore pale teal colored robes. His eye was covered by the band all watchers wore. And they were nothing but trouble.

“By the Void.” The male swiped at Phil with his sword. “How are you alive? You were supposed to die with the rest of your kind.” He scowled. “It seems I will have to rectify that.”

Phil leaned out of the way. “You’re welcome to try.”

The male sneered. “It shouldn’t be too hard. I know how you fight. I’ve seen everything you’ve ever done.”

“If that was true, then you wouldn’t be surprised to see me here.” Phil swung Beni and cut the male’s sleeve. He ducked a counterswing and flapped forward. “I’m going to wipe you out.”

The watcher backed up. He ducked a swing from Phil and scrambled down the hall. A group of skellies and enpeices ran to him and he pointed to Phil’za. “Kill it! Don’t let it leave this hall!”

The guards turned to Philza. He hissed at them and flapped his wings. There wasn’t space for him to get around them. He blocked a sword thrust and ducked in front of one of the enpeices. The skellie’s arrow whizzed past and bounced off the wall. He didn’t have space to fly, but they didn’t have space to circle him. 

The sound of footsteps and shouting behind him made him preen. A unit of humans charged past him and smashed into the enemy. The skellies and enpeices didn’t stand a chance against the angry humans. Phil shoved his way past and followed the hall out to a walkway overlooking the courtyard. The watcher was running to the gate. Too easy.

Phil swooped down and slammed his talons onto the male’s back. The watcher screamed as Phil made his way into the sky. Higher and higher. Until the Fortress couldn’t be seen through the fog. Until the light of the lava was only a faint glow…

The male shrieked and thrashed. “Put me down! How Dare You! Do you even know what I am?! Let me go right now!”

Phil peeled his lips back and snapped his beak. “Sure.”

The male screamed as he plummeted.

Down below a crew of humans yelped and jumped as a form slammed into the ground. Edouard gaped at the gouges that tore through the male’s pale teal robes. Philza landed and stalked forward.

The broken body gasped, blood sputtering from his mouth. He bared his teeth at the black-winged warrior. “Why?”

“You created this place. You are responsible for imprisoning Kvinna. You enslaved the piptins. You Hurt My Fledgling!” 

The single blue eye blinked. Confusion filled it. “Your..? There are no more! We made sure-”

Phil looked down at him. “My humans are my flock. You tried to kill them. So you will die instead.”

The watcher laughed. Blood stained his lips. “You really are Death in the Sky.”

Phil’za hissed and slammed his claw into the blue eye. “No, I’m Not.” He ripped the eye out. 

From his headset, Tubbo’s friendly chatter cut into screams.

Chapter Text

Sapnap sent a stream of flames at a enpeice, burning the female alive. She screamed. Manlig swept through the hall. The air before him rippled with heat. A skilly fired an arrow at the kisden. The projectile burned to ash mid-flight. The skilly burst into flame at a gesture from the Eld’stave.

“Left here.” Sapnap turned and froze. He had seen the video. He understood what to expect. But to actually see it… To be there…

The guards in the room burst into flame and crumbled to ash. Manlin swept into the space. “Get them out.”

“Yes Sir.” Sapnap gestured to the other Vilds. 

Sapnap went to the first cage. He grabbed the bars and examined the lock. Iron. He grabbed it and pressed his Flame into his palms. The hunk of metal slowly turned red and softened. Other eld’vilds were doing the same, using their hotter flames to melt the cages imprisoning the weaker staves. He carefully lifted the stave out and handed him to one of the kämpe.  

Manlig drifted deeper into the Forge and Sapnap hurried after him. There was no resistance. Only ash and flame. At the back stood the biggest forge; stood the oldest cage. Within, a firestorm swirled. The flames licked the bars. Scorch marks scoured the floor and walls. The lock and bars were black. 

Manlig sent his flames against the bars. It crashed into the firestorm and the scarlet and blue flames mixed. The metal cage glowed scarlet and began to soften. Manlig ripped the door open and entered the cage. The angry flames swept over him. They swirled around the male and embraced him. The flames calmed and a huge Vild took shape. She pressed herself against Manlig and he held her close. He carried her out of the cage and set her down on the flagstones. He removed the sheath on his back and offered it to her.

Kvinna sparkled at him and drew the tungsten blade. Flames shot along its length and every eld in the forge, both the kämpe and the prisoners, dropped to the ground and lit their heads aflame. She looked around at her people. 

Sapnap met her gaze and nodded to her. She narrowed her black eyes at him. A smirk sparked across her hair and she swung her sword up. Each eld burst into flame and rose into the air. They swept out of the Forge and swarmed down the hall.

Sapnap pressed against the wall, unwilling to leave the eld kisden alone, but not wanting to interrupt this reunion. It turned out he didn’t have to. 

Footsteps rang out and a squad of humans rushed into the room. They slammed against the doorway. Two of them grabbed a charred table and slammed it against the doorway, forming a makeshift barrier. An arrow flew into the room and smashed against the floor.

Their leader rolled one of the warriors over. He tore the bottom of his shirt and pressed the cloth against her hip. The woman spat out some words that Sapnap had only heard Tommy use.

“Evan, where the hell is the exit? We need to get Lexi out of here!”

“Sir! Left down the hall, turn at the third hall and the fifth right will take us into the main courtyard! Sir!” Evan snapped.

Another arrow flew over the barrier and the humans ducked.

“Sir?” One of the men was looking in the room. “Behind us sir.”

The leader turned. He blinked at the elds. “Lord Manig.” he glanced around. “Sapnap?”

Sapnap moved forward. “Yah. What do you need?”

“We need to get Private Anderson to the healers. She took an arrow to her hip.”

“Done.” Sapnap peeked over the table. Jerked back down as an arrow flew in at him. He sent a stream of fire at the skilly. She screamed as he hit her. Three more arrows flew in response.

Kvinna came forward. “Move that thing.”

Sapnap gestured to the table. “Move the table. She’s going to clear the path.”

The humans jumped to action. Evan scooped Lexi into his arms and moved her against the wall. The other two grabbed the table.

“On three. One, two, three!” They picked up the table and ran to the side. Kvinna drifted into the hall and the walls began to sag. The mine guards turned into living candles and fled, screaming. They didn’t get far. 

Sapnap placed himself in the doorway and sent away any flames that reached for the humans. They would not die from the Flame today.

Kvinna made her way down the hall and Manlig followed. Sapnap turned to the humans. “Let’s go. Before more show up.”

The leader nodded. “You heard the alien. Move out! Evan, you got Lexi?”

“I’m fine.” Lexi grunted. “Just get me out of here.”

Evan heaved Lexi onto his shoulders and followed his crew into the hall. Sapnap started after them. He paused as something over his com caught his ear. The screams that followed sent him flying down the hall in the opposite direction.

--

Tubbo crouched before a computer. He buzzed in annoyance. They had tried to remove the data recently. Like earlier today recently. He didn’t know how to fix it. George and Wilbur were the ones who usually worked with the computers. He just blew things up with Tommy.

One of the humans assigned to him, a male named… Candy? Randy?...Andy, his name was Andy. Andy slid next to him. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“They tried to delete everything. I’m good at wiring things together, not the…” He waved with a free hand. “The… screen parts? Putting the words and numbers in to make it do things?”

“The programing.” Andy nodded. “I majored in programming. Even if they delete everything, there should be a way to recover it. In case they delete the wrong thing. Where would you go if it was yours?”

Tubbo brightened. “Yah! Here!” He selected an icon. The screen that pulled up was empty. Tubbo cursed. “Damn those bastards!” He pulled out his com and shoved it at Andy. “Benson! Call George.”

Andy fumbled with the device as it answered. “Calling Gogy.”

The com gave a buzzing sound for several seconds before a voice picked up.

“Tubbo? What’s going on? Did you finish your raid?”

“Those basterds deleted their files! I can’t find them in the rubbish bin.”

“Ok. Hold on… Switch to video call.”

A symbol glowed and Andy pushed it. “Hi.” He smiled at the screen. A red head appeared and Andy almost dropped it.

“Hello. I’m George. You’re trying to help Tubbo?”

One of Tubbo’s hands grabbed Andy’s arm and pulled the device close. “Yah, that’s Andy. He says he’s good with the coding thing. But I don’t know what to tell him to do.”

“Ok. So what kind of computer is it? There should be something on the main screen that tells you.”

“Let’s see… Here! It’s a MWB-2023.”

“Ok. So type into the search bar ‘MDEF-10539-RSME-7’ That should pull up a screen with numbers and words on it.”

“MDVF-”

“E not V”

“MDEF-10539-”

“RSME-7”

“RSME-7. Ok. Yah, got the screen.”

“Now on the third group, fifth line, type ‘Data Recovery’ That should bring everything for you to copy onto your com. Send it to me as soon as it's done downloading.”

“Got it! Thanks George.”

“No problem.”

Tubbo linked his com to the computer and began the download. He turned to the door and buzzed excitedly. “Vrak! Where’d you come from? Look, we got the data!”

The eld glowed. “You did? That’s impressive.” He glanced around at the three humans in the room. “They were supposed to make sure that was impossible.” The room burst into flames.

Chapter Text

Terrance led his crew down the hall. Golden Mane marched beside him, with Shield Back and Tommy flanking Mrs Elizabeth. Guarding their rear was Jason and Grizel. Ahead of them, a eld drifted through a door. Terrence caught a check in Tommy’s breath. “What?”

“That was Vrak. He’s up to something.” Tommy fiddled with the clasp at his neck.

“Then let's find out what. Grizel, with me. Jason, stand guard.”

Fire burst out of the door, and a moment later, shouts and screams filled the room. Terrance and Grizel staggered back in surprise.

The eld’s fire burned bright and hot, turning the air hazy. A small form shot past Terrance and vanished behind the flames. Terrance swore and scrambled after it. Tommy landed atop the eld. His dagger flashed as he slammed it into Vrak’s chest again and again. Golden blood speckled his face.

Jason dropped beside Tubbo and swept Tommy’s fallen cloak over the geet. He rolled him, snuffing out the fire on him. Terrance grabbed Tommy and dragged him off the corpse.

“He’s dead Tommy. Come on, leave it.” Tommy snarled and thrashed in the larger man’s arms. The golden blood smeared and singed his skin. Terrance hissed in surprise. Ow. “Tommy! Tommy, Tubbo needs you!”

Tommy froze. He jerked and Terrance let him go to his friend.

“Tubbo! Come on, man. Talk to me. Say something Tubbo.”

The geet whimpered in pain. Jason scooped him up and handed him to Tommy. “Hold him. We need to get him out of here.”

“Buzzy Tusk is Shadow Dancer’s sunder.” Shield Back said. “I carry. You fight.” Tommy handed the geet to her. Shield Back carefully tied the cloak onto her back, securing Tubbo. “We go. Find the Hexe.” She thundered off. Tommy shot after her and slid past to take the lead.

“Terrance.” Grizel called out. She knelt next to a charred form and checked for a pulse. Shook her head.

“What happened?” Terrance looked at the two survivors.

One of them spoke through clenched teeth. “Tubbo and Andy were working on the computer. They were having trouble finding the files and Tubbo called someone. They were able to recover everything when…” He motioned to the dead eld. “that guy showed up. He and Tubbo spoke for a moment, then… Everything was burning. I think Andy jumped on Tubbo.”

“Get something to carry him in. We’re bringing him home with us.” 

“Yessir.” Grizel carefully scooped the remains into her arms. 

In the hall, Golden Mane was standing guard. Her dark eyes softened at the sight of the body. She gestured to the humans. “Come. This way.” She guided them to a room. She opened one of the crates within and pulled out a black blanket inlaid with golden thread. “A shroud for the kriger.”

Elizabeth blinked back tears as Jason and Grizel carefully wrapped Andy’s body in the blanket. 

Terrance nodded. “Let's get out of here.”

--

Jordan frowned as Dream rushed past him. Tommy and one of the young piptins almost slammed into him. The two humans jabbered at each other before Tommy took something off of the piptin’s back. Jordan spotted a leg before the two were running to the gate.

Terrance marched out alongside Andy’s crew. Two of the men were red and in pain. Grezel was carrying something.

Jordan hurried over. “What happened?”

“One of those fire people attacked them. Andy didn’t make it.”

“I’ll find out what happened. You two!” He pointed at Andy’s crew. “Get back to camp and find the healers. I want a full report afterwards.” He glanced at Grizel and Jason. “Make sure they make it.”

“Yessir.” 

Jordan turned back to Terrance. “What happened to the eld?”

“Tommy killed it.”

“You sure it’s dead?”

“I can have one of them check if you need. But unless it can survive a dagger to the chest several times, I think so. Looked it to me.”

“Have Sapnap check anyway.”

“I’ll check.” Phil’s voice hissed out.

Jordan and Terrance jerked in surprise. The alien had managed to slip up next to them without them noticing, an impressive feat considering the huge wings on his back.

“Sure.” Terrance glanced at Jordan, who nodded. “We left it in here.”

Phil stalked after the human. He hissed as he entered the room and loomed over the eld’s body. He knelt down and flicked his feathers.

“He’s dead.” He plucked out the eyes and examined them. “Tommy did well.”

Terrance stepped out of the room and waved someone down. After a moment, Sapnap drifted into the room. Manlig was with him, as was an eld’vild.

“What happened?” Sapnap asked. “Who killed Vrak?”

“Tommy did.” Phil looked at the kisden and hissed. “That catharte tried to turn Tubbo to ash. He got one of the humans instead.”

Sapnap dropped to the floor. “What? Why…” his hair began to glow. “Vrak wasn’t supposed to be with Tubbo’s group. We specifically didn’t want him anywhere near any of us.” He glanced at Manlig. “Who placed him? Who let him leave? We didn’t trust him!”

“Why not?” Manlig asked.

“Tommy came across him talking to your watcher. When I asked him about it, he insisted that they got it wrong. We figured he was up to something and decided to keep an eye on him to see if we could catch him in the act. He was supposed to be kept away from them.”

The vild with them burned. “You have only the word of a ray’con. You would believe one of them over one of your own?”

Sapnap shot into the air to look her in the eye. “I would. Without a moment’s hesitation. I would believe Tommy, who I’ve known for two spans than some eld that I’ve known for two weeks. I would believe him over even you.”

The female jerked back. Her hair glowed with outrage.

“That watcher was already not to be trusted. The fact that he spoke with Vrak and Vrak denied it was reason enough to not trust him. And now a member of my fortress is badly hurt. He might die.”

“Hold on.” Phil broke in. “I just killed a watcher.”

The three turned to look at him. “Impossible.” The vild said. She flicked a flipper. “Watchers cannot be killed unless they want to be. They will see what you do and counter it before you do it.”

“Not if ze’s an alpha.” Sapnap said. “They only see the past.”

“Excuse me.” Jordan broke in. “Language barrier here. What are we arguing about? Do we need to fight these guys now?”

Phil turned to him. “No. Its fine. They don’t believe I killed a watcher.”

“What’s a watcher?”

“Aliens who can see the future. They have one eye and one of them said that the piptins were responsible, and that one would kill Sapnap.”

“Huh. I think I killed one. Left the body in the courtyard.”

Phil nodded. “We’ll take a look.” He turned back to the elds. “Hey!” They turned to him. “We have two dead watchers out in the courtyard. If you don’t believe us, you can look yourself. I’m hungry, tired, and need to check on the rest of my crew. Make sure no other elds tried to turn them to ash. Jordan, may I have a lift?”

“Of course?” Jordan stiffened as Phil jumped onto his shoulders. He blinked then turned and marched out. Sapnap followed. Jordan let him slide in beside him. “You won’t be in trouble with those two?”

“No. They may be my Kisden, but I am not one of their kämpe. My loyalties are with Dream, not them. Did you really kill one of the watchers?”

“Assuming they can’t survive a knife across the throat, yes.”

“No idea.” Phil answered. “If it's not dead I’ll make sure that it can’t do any more damage.” He licked his lips. 

Chapter Text

Techno grunted and twisted his wrench. The bolt refused to move. He smiled and slid out from under his bike. Carl didn’t really need work. But it wasn’t like it would do any harm…

He glanced out the open bay door to the lake below. Smoke rose from the mine at its heart and he could see the warriors of all races moving across the walls and courtyard like ants. Something moving across the drawbridge caught his eye. He squinted, wishing he had his mask with its enhanced zoom lenses. It looked like Spirit. Which meant Dream was on his way.

Techno frowned and watched as the bike flew up the hill and shot into the Streamer’s bay. Tommy tumbled off and bolted down the hall. Techno turned to Dream.

“What happened?”

“Tubbo. An eld attacked him.” Dream shouted as he ran after Tommy. “Twiki, fill the tub with Sunburn Cream.”

Techno growled and chased after. “We don’t have that much! Brian, inform Hakiem we need him. Pull up Tubbo’s records and generic geet medical records in english.”

“ On it! ” The AI answered.

In the medbay, Tommy was standing in the center of the room looking lost. Techno pointed to the examination table. “Put him there.”

Tommy carefully placed the geet down, flinching at the pained whimpers that he made. Techno began unwrapping the red cloak and gently slid Tubbo onto the table. He cringed at the blisters and chard flesh. Hakiem and Eret entered the room. Hakiem joined Techno in cutting the blackened cloths away.

Dream paced behind them, muttering under his breath. Techno turned sharply to him. “Out! Find out who else is hurt. How many other people are burnt or stabbed or whatever. And call George and have him get a kryo bed prepared with a 30/70 solution of cube cream.”

Dream swept into the hall. 

Eret stood against the wall. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Techno glanced at Tommy. The boy was hugging himself with glazed eyes. “Take him to his room. Second floor, messy room with stickers on the door. Make sure he knows this isn’t his fault. We’re not going to get rid of him, and Tubbo doesn’t hate him because he wasn’t able to protect him. There’s weighted blankets hanging in the closet.”

Eret nodded. “Ah. Got it.” He gently guided Tommy away.

The medbay’s speakers popped on and Dream’s voice filled the room. “George says that Tubbo was recovering files from the mine. He finished a call with George just before the attack. I’m heading back to the Mine.”

Techno focused on spreading what little magma cream they had on Tubbo’s arms. His entire left side was burnt, spreading across his back and up his face. His voidshield had almost certainly saved him from a very painful death. Techno leaned a little too far and his ribs protested. He grimaced and ignored it.

Hakiem glanced at him. Techno narrowed his eyes at the man and gave him his death glare. “It's fine.”

“Says you and every tough man on this planet. Sit. You can watch and tell me if I mess up.”

“Yessir.” Techno dropped onto one of the beds. Sounded just like Dad. There really was nothing more for him to do here. Hakiem was doing fine with Tubbo. And Eret would take care of Tommy. But maybe he should check in on them? Just in case? Then he could take Carl out and see if anyone else needed a ride back. 

--

Phil looked up as a second speeder made its way across the drawbridge. His wings snapped open and he shot across the courtyard. “TECHNO!!!!”

The man waved. “Phil!” He jerked and slammed his hands on his shoulders. “Don’t perch!”

Phil backflapped and landed on the ground. “You’re awake. You’re ok.” He swirled around Techno, poking him. “You’re ok.”

“Not quite yet.” Techno grunted. “But I will be.”

“Devoted Study!”

“Chieftain Flame Blade.” Techno gave the piptin a shallow bow. “It is good to see you again.”

“Blood Raven said you were hurt. I see you have recovered.”

“Still healing. But I won’t be going into the lava anytime soon.”

“Good. You’re late. Missed the blood.”

Techno laughed. “No I didn’t. Spilled lots of blood before you even knew about this place. You’re the one who is late.”

Flame snorted his own amusement. “And yet you’ve been sleeping the days away. Like a lazy linpip.”

“After all the work I did getting you here? I would think I deserve a few days of sleep. Do you know how loud a squealer can be when hungry?”

The two laughed. 

Phil glanced over and smiled. “I think there’s someone who wants to talk to you.”

Techno turned and smiled at the human woman who approached him. “Lady Shattendame. I’m glad to see you alive.”

Lizzy embraced him. “Thank you. I- you- Thank you.”

Techno grimaced and gently pulled her away. “Still one more thing. I got someone back at the ship waiting for you.”

Lizzy jerked. “Is he-?”

“He’s fine. And he’s made a friend. Come on. I’ll take you over.” Techno led her to Carl and settled her on the back. He climbed on. “Hold tight.” Lizzy wrapped her arms around him. They took off across the drawbridge and over the land to where the Streamer sat. 

Techno led Lizzy to the Streamer’s social room. His guess proved correct: Kristin was in there with all three children. Lizzy hesitated at the door and watched them play. Her lip quivered.

Kristen glanced over and her feathers rippled into a smile. “Hermes. Look.” She pointed to the door.

Hermes looked to the door and his purple eyes widened. “Mummy!” He charged across the room and into Lizzy’s arms.

“Hermes. My baby. Are you ok?”

“Um hum.” Hermes buried his head into her lap. “Uncle Sausage…”

“It's ok. It’ll be ok.” She smiled at the other two littles. “Who are you new friends?”

Hermes twisted in her lap to look. “Miky!”

Lizzy kissed his hair. “Hello Miky.”

Michael sniffed her hand and his tail wiggled. He chuffed friendly and trotted back to Kristin. He ducked under her black wing.

Techno stepped back as the two women began talking in piptin together. In the kitchen Ranboo was mixing something together. Two human soldiers were with him. One said something out and Ranboo nodded.

Oh. Did Ranboo know yet? Had someone told him? Or had he forgotten? “Ranboo.”

The boy looked up. “Techno?” He hurried over. “Sit down! You’re hurt. Sean and Ruby are showing me how to make dumplings. Try them!” He placed a plate down with several steaming buns.

Techno picked up a bun and bit into it. “Mmmm” He swallowed. “It tastes amazing, Ranboo. You outdid yourself.”

Ranboo beamed. “I’ll put it in the cookbook!”

“Ranboo.” Techno spoke gently. “Ranboo, there’s something you need to be told. And you’re going to want to write it down.”

Ranboo turned to him. “What? What happened? Is it Michael? Did something happen to him? Are you… are you going to leave me? I’m sorry. I don’t remember what I did. But I’ll fix it. I promise, I’ll-”

“No. It’s nothing you did. I promise Ranboo, we’re not getting rid of you.” Techno sighed. “It’s Tubbo. He got hurt. Bad. One of the elds attacked him and burnt him bad. He’s in the medbay right now. I think Tommy’s still in his room. He’s not taking it well.”

Ranboo nodded. “Oh. Ok. Can… can I see him?”

“Of course you can. You’re his friend. I don’t know if he’s awake, but I’m sure he’d like to know you’re there.”

Ranboo left the room. 

“Any ideas how bad he is?” The woman asked. Techno looked at her. “Seaman Apprentice Ruby Kirkson of the US Navy.”

Techno nodded. “Nice to meet you. Have you met Tubbo yet?”

“I’ve seen him.”

“He took a lot of damage. I don’t know if he’ll be able to recover fully or not.”

“I’m sorry.”

Techno nodded. “I’m going to fly the ship to the mine. There are several injuries and it will be easier to go to them than bring them to us. There shouldn’t be any turbulence, but you should probably find a place to sit for a bit. The social room is where everyone else is gathered.”

“We’ll head there.” Sean reached over and turned off the stove.

Techno stopped by the medbay to warn Hakiem and went to the bridge. “Brian, contact George. Tell him to bring the Eagle to these cords.”

“ Got it Techie .”

Chapter Text

The Mine burned. Smoke turned the sky black and the elds swam in the lava around the structure, ensuring that nothing remained. On the shore, piptins and humans gathered around the Eagle and Streamer. George had bought several hogs and dozens of crates of local fruit. Combined with the clan supplies, there was more than enough food for everyone. Firepits were dug and lit. Loaves were cooked and meat was roasted. Piptins and humans ate side by side without reserve. 

Piptin musicians pulled out their instruments and began playing. Other warriors joined in dancing. Some of the humans joined in, stumbling along with the steps. The piptins laughed and guided them through the dance. Some of the humans clapped their hands and stamped their feet in time to the rhythm.

Techno settled with a plate on a broken piece of wall. He pushed the edge of his mask up and bit into his linog leg. Ohhhh that was good. If there was one thing piptins knew, it was how to cook good food over an open flame.

One of the piptins, a huge male with no clan markings, approached. Techno nodded to him, and the male dropped down beside him. “I am Blood. You are the Blade Blood God, yes?”

“I am.” Techno grunted.

“How many in the clan know you are not one of us?”

Techno paused midbite and lowered the leg. “One of us?”

“They might not notice, but I know that scent. You are one of them.” He nodded to where several of the humans had borrowed the instruments and were testing sounds.

Techno chewed on his food to think. “Only a few people in the Blades know. Chief Flame, Sow Mighty Heart, and her mate Boar Golden Heart. Hexe Needle Hoof. Maybe some others have guessed. I don’t know. I don’t stay with the clan for too long. But if they need me, I come.”

“I see that.”

The humans began playing music. Techno tapped his foot in time with the steady rhythm. “Golden Heart helped me greatly. He taught me to speak both piptin and galactic, and mentored me in the use of the battlax. He has been my führung and my doylt chief.” Techno turned as two tiny bodies slammed into him. He grunted and smiled down at Michael and Hermes.

They looked up at him and smiled. “Uncle Techi!”

“Hey boys.” Techno ruffled their heads. “Have you eaten yet?” Both boys locked their eyes on his plate and Techno placed it on the ground for them. They snatched the plate and darted away.

Blood’s eyes were narrow as he watched them leave. “That squealer needs sterbehilfe .”

“No.” Techno met the piptin’s eyes. “No he doesn’t.”

“He has Ash. He will suffer.”

“No.”

“I understand. He is young. It is your nature to guard and protect the young. But there is no helping this. It is better to end his suffering before it consumes him.”

“There is helping this.” Techno answered. “In my home planet, there is a disease. There are many diseases, but this one, this one is not so different from the ash. Our hexi learned how to fight it and now, while it still exists, most people think of it as dead. Everything has a cure. We just have to find it.”

“And how long would it take to find this cure? How long must the squealers suffer before they might be saved? No. Better to end it now, the way we always have.”

“Give us two years. In two galactic years, I will bring the squealer back here. If his ash is not cured or if it has grown beyond control, then you may sterbehilfe him.”

Blood looked at the man before him. Sampled his scent. He was serious.  If these humans could find a way to destroy the ash, how many kriger would be saved? How many squealers would grow strong? There were few things his people feared. To eradicate one of them… He narrowed his eyes. Nothing came without a price. Nothing was free…

“Why would you do this for us? Not even the enpeice hexi, those who specialize in sickness and healing, have offered their knowledge. What is it you want?”

Techno nodded. “True enough. To be fair, the piptins have not asked the enpeices for help. But it is something my people would do anyway. We are a curious lot. We love to learn how things work and how to improve things to make them better.  For many, that simple discovery is enough. Not all, but that isn’t a concern right now.

“You ask what we want. Not much. My people don’t do well on this planet. We would survive, no question. Jordan and his scrof are proof of that. But it would be difficult and dangerous. It is only a matter of time before my people are brought to the public eye. We are a race. No amount of discrimination will change that. When we do, we will need allies. Those who would support us and help ease our integration. Who would guide and advise us on the complex web of politics and business of the galaxy.

Blood snorted. “If you want a guide, speak to the voidwalkers. If you want political assistance, then the phantons would be the ones you want.”

Techno smiled. “I’m aware. And I agree, we will want to make alliances with them. But they are vastly different from us. The voidwalkers are rare. The phantons are proud. We have no connection to either race at this moment. But we do have a connection here. Both piptins and elds have seen our ability to work together and succeed. If nothing else, Manlig would speak for us simply because we found Kvinna. 

“Of course, working with us has its benefits. Not only would we share our discoveries, we would put your trade deals over others. Our people aren’t too different, and we work well together. We can learn much from each other.”

Blood nodded. “Very well. If you can get the Twenty-five Great Clans to agree, then you have my blessing.”

Techno snorted. “They already believe I have your blessing. It’ll be good to have it official.”

--

Jordan stepped off the Eagle 3 onto the Galactica deck. It was huge, far bigger than the hangers at the military facilities he had visited during his service. Metal supports framed the walls and ceiling. Several closed doors big enough to fit a golf cart sat around the three sides. 

His men stood in groups looking around them. It was Techno who called them over.

“Come along folks! This way for the ship tour!” He led everyone through one of the doors. “There are five floors on this ship. First floor here is storage and the holding cells. Second floor is more storage and upkeep. The engines, plumbing, that sort of thing.” A large elevator carried the group up through the ship.

“Third floor is where we keep our communal rooms. Gym, pools, kitchen, movie room… greenhouse and the observation deck is on each end. We can turn off the gravity so you can get a real 360 view. Zero-G is also available in one of the gyms. We padded all the walls and it’s real fun flying around in it. All the rooms are open 24/7.

“Fourth floor is residential. You’ll be four to a room, so no one’s sleeping alone. We’ll leave you to sort yourself out. And we’re having the indarians staying on the fifth floor. Direct eye contact is stressful for them, so Phil decided to let them have the entire floor to themselves. If you see one, there’s nothing wrong with a greeting, or trying for conversation. Just remember, they don’t speak english. They do have perfect memory though, and I expect them to have a basic understanding by the time we get home.”

The door slid open and they spilled out into the hall. Techno led them to a door. “To open a door, you use the scanner, or this button here. If the door doesn’t open, then it’s already been claimed. If you got any questions, feel free to find me or Phil. Or you can ask Twiki or Brian, the ship AIs. Just say ‘Hey Brian, where’s the bathroom?’”

“ Out your window .” A voice answered.

“ Restrooms are located every three sleeping rooms on the starboard side, as well as several locations on the social floor. Shower stalls are on the port side. Please ask when using the showers for the first time, so I can instruct you on how to not fill your stall with lava or dust .” A second voice said.

“There you go. Twiki, deactivate the lava features for this trip, please. Sapnap isn’t joining us.”

“ Right away. Deactivating the lava pipes and sealing the lava pool. Master Sapnap’s room will be locked down .”

“Thank you Twiki.”

Jordan watched the soldiers spread down the hall and gather into groups for rooms. He glanced at Techno. “Do you know where Dream and Phil are? I have some questions for them.”

“Dream is getting ready to leave.” Techno replied. He returned to the elevator and Jordan followed. “He’s taking Tubbo to Las Nevadas for medical attention. Tommy’s going with them.” He frowned.

“He’ll call us when he knows more.”

“It’s hard. When you see one of your men injured. When you don’t know if they’ll survive or not. All you can do is wait, train, and make sure it never happens again.”

“Hard to train when you can’t pick up a bottle without losing your breath.” The door opened and Techno marched out. He led Jordan through the ship to the greenhouse where Philza was resting in a small tree. The male waved at them and dropped to the ground.

“Philza.” Jordan greeted. “I was wondering if you would talk to me about where we’re going? What is the planet like? What kinds of animals live there, the people, how difficult it is to settle in.”

“Sure mate.” Phil flashed his beak at the man. “Techno, would you stay?”

Techno stopped at the door. “You sure you want me?”

Phil flicked his feathers. “Of course mate. You can explain some things better than me, I bet.”

“Fine.” Techno dropped onto a bench. “Let’s talk.”