When they had gotten back to the tree house, the sky was alive with stars.
Technoblade layed Wilbur down on his hammock and went out again to join the others.
Despite the dark, they would have to make at least a makeshift grave for Tommy tonight.
The feeling of wrongness in the air only amplified as they dug. Everyone helped, yet a few times someone would have to take a moment when it was just too much. Surprisingly, Tubbo never did.
Niki interrupted their silent ritual to point out a shape moving down the ladder. It was Wilbur, who stumbled over to them dazed and a little confused.
"Hey guys... What's going on?"
Everyone shared hesitant looks. And Niki spoke up first, "Will... We're uh. We're digging a grave-" A sob escaped the mutated's mouth.
"What?"
Seeing Niki was unable to continue, George said, "It's um- It's for Tommy-"
Wilbur barked a sharp laugh. "No, no that's stupid. Tommy wouldn't need a grave..." His face hardened, "He can't be dead. that's stupid. That's..."
Tubbo, who hadn't spoken a word since Tommy died, slowly walked over to Wilbur and enveloped the ghost boy in a hug. "I'm so sorry Wilbur. He's gone."
It was enough to brake him, and Wilbur sunk to the ground and sobbed until he had no more tears to cry.
They had finally dug the grave big enough, and had to put Tommy in the ground. As they filled the grave once more, Wilbur sung.
It was a tune filled with soft heartache and anguish, it spoke of longing for places you'd never been and experiences you'd never had. By the end of the song, the mutated's voice was as hoarce as it had ever been but he sung until the job was done.
With nothing more to do, everyone slowly filed upstairs, each whispering one last word to their fallen friend and a blessing to the night for the peace.
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Ran and Boo sat side by side, unsure of what to do.
Ranboo, you there?
As expected there was no response: no feeling or guide. It made sense seeing as intense emotional distress was a cause for them splitting unintentionally.
It was better, they supposed, because now there was someone to comfort them. To hold the other and say it would be alright. It was going to be a long night and they decided to stay outside and watch the dancing sky.
Niki joined them, sitting with her legs over the edge of the balcony. She sighed, "We have to get out of here guys."
"I know... But where would we go?" Ran asked.
Boo hummed in thought, "What about Dream, Sapnap, and George? We could ask to leave with them. They said they would leave when the weather got warm and it can't be long now."
"Good idea." Niki said ,"One of us should ask-"
"Dibs not us!" the two counterparts said simultaneously.
"Dang it." Niki smiled, "Wait, technically we could say that Ranboo has too..."
"Nice try, we both said no. That counts."
"Fine."
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"Just what is going on in here?" The woman folded her hands in front of her.
Techno, years younger than now, stood staring with utter disbelief at the broken vase infront of him.
"Again? Really! What's the excuse this time?"
"It was The Voices I swear! They made me!" Techno almost cringed at how desperate he sounded. He could hear the voices even now, shouting in his ears:
Blood for the blood god!
Uh oh, she caught us
Noooo mum whyyy!!!
Blood for the blood god!
We're in trouble...
Blood for the blood god!
The woman huffed, and looked to the side. "Honey," She called, "He's goin' on about voices again."
A man stomped into view. Techno couldn't make out his face but there was boiling rage in his movements. "Are you going to lie to your mother and I again? Just own up boy, why did you brake the vase?"
"I- I'm not lying!" small tears trickled down his cheeks, making the open cut from the glass of the vase sting terribly as the slaty liquid mixed with his blood.
"You are lying, and you know what happens to liers."
Techno did, and he was afraid.
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Technoblade woke up shivering and sweating. It was still dark, and Tubbo was still not asleep. When he'd come upstairs, the child went straight to his hammock and ignored Techno's singular feeble attempt at conversion. He didn't blame the kid honestly.
Knowing that he was never going to be able to get back to sleep, and wondering how he did it in the first place, the pig man wandered outside.
With a sense of deja vu, Techno spotted a snatchet of grey feathers in the canopy. He climbed up to join Phil who said, "If you're here to tell me to go to bed, it's not gonna happen this time." There was no humour in the words.
"No I'm not." Techno swalled his fears and said, "Phil, you know I'm no good with feelings but-"
"I'll have to stop you right there mate." Phil held up a hand, "I understand you're upset but if you want to talk to me about today... I don't think I can." The father-figure couldn't meet his friend's eyes.
Technoblade felt a little betrayed, as if he'd ever burden Philza for his own gain! "That's not fair Phil, you know I wouldn't do that to you."
"Right. I'm sorry."
"No no, I'm sorry."
Phil finally looked at Techno. "What did you want to tell me about?"
"I- I heard The Voices today."
Now Techno had Phil' s attention. "the voices? I thought you hadn't heard those in years." He frowned, "Is that what happened when I saw you... And that woman?"
"Yeah." Techno huffed.
"Phil I don't want to be like that again. I've changed now." He looked at his hands, remembering the red liquid glistening on them previously.
"It's alright mate, we're all crazy up here. Just the other night I saw Ranboo walking around talking to himself about eyes in the forest." Techno didn't look so assured, so Philza said, "It could have been a one time thing y'know? Today was pretty stressful."
"I guess. But it's still scary." Philza was sad to see this mighty warrior so afraid and his Dad Instincts kicked in. He scooted closer to Technoblade.
"You mind if I braid your hair?"
Technoblade smiled, "I don't mind. Thanks Phil."
The repetitive movement of Phil braiding his hair lulled some of Techno's anxieties. Maybe, just maybe, it would be okay in the end.
_______________________________________
Much later, Dream was surprised to see Phil standing in the doorway. His expression was unreadable as his bucket hat cast a shadow over his face.
"You three have to leave."
"What?" Dream pushed his mask to the side, had he heard incorrectly?
"You have to leave. Techno told me about this Halo character. You're putting my whole family in danger."
"Phil that's ridiculous," Dream countered, "How can you do this?"
Sapnap and George came and stood next to their friend. They were just as confused as Dream.
"My son is dead because you're being tailed by some maniac!" Now they could see his face, the three realised Phil's anguish.
Dream scoffed, "Come on Phil. He's not even you're real son. Just because Kristen-"
"NEVER TELL ME WHO MY FAMILY IS DREAM! And if you dare speak a word against Kristen..." Eyes ablaze with fury, Philza seemed to loom over them. Despite his injury the mutated held his wings high and foreboding.
Dream and George flinched, and Sapnap almost fell over backwards. Willing himself to Get A Grip, Sapnap thought: Phil isn't like them you dummy, he's not going to hurt you. How stupid was it that Nick could be fighting for his life one minute and scared of someone shouting the next?
Phil must've caught the fear in Nick's eyes because the anger evaporated. He seemed a little embarrassed that his temper had gotten away from him, but to be fair what Dream had said was way out of line. "You can stay the night, but you can't be here tomorrow night."
"Phil-" Dream tried to argue again but George caught his shoulder. "Okay. We get it Phil, you want to protect your family."
Everyone pretend not to hear Dream mumble, "I thought I was part of that family..."
"We'll leave tomorrow." said Nick solemnly.
Philza nodded curtly, "You should listen to your friends Dream. They understand what it's like to care about people." And with that, he turned and left.
Guess the Dream team was going to Last Hope after all.
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Oof this chapter was a bit all over the place but I needed to get some stuff out there for p l o t and I didn't want Tommy's death to drag out for too long.
Things will get smoother I promise. If you ever need me to clear up anything don't be afraid to ask! It just means ya'll are invested, and I know what to fix for next time :)
Sincerely, an oversized fedora