Ace was covered in blood, standing over a body that didn't have a face or any distinctive features.
His nemesis turned, their eyes meeting. The shrike avian had blood on his face, a crazed look in his visible eye.
But the villain smiled at him gently, one hand holding a bloody knife and the other being held out to him.
"Songbird," he said, voice echoing a loving tone.
Wilbur's hands were just as bloody as the villain's. He could feel the red substance on his face, still warm from a fresh kill. It seeped through his hero costume, visible even on the reinforced black and blue fabric of his jumpsuit.
He wasn't wearing his mask.
And for some reason he was crying.
Ace continued to hold his hand out, patient. Still giving him that loving smile, visible eye softening the longer the villain looked at him.
For some reason, he felt safe.
When was the last time he had felt truly safe?
Wilbur's body moved on its own, reaching out and slipping his hand in the shrike avian's.
His nemesis looked overjoyed, loving smile turning into something more cheery. The villain dropped the knife he was holding, using his now free hand to wipe at the tears on the hero's face.
It smeared more blood, but the tears were gone now.
"I've got you," Ace said, locking their fingers together. "It's okay."
The body wasn't faceless anymore.
It was Techno.
His twin was bleeding out, the stab wounds in his chest and stomach not stitching back together with his regeneration. The younger twin's brown eyes were lifeless, he had been dead for a while now.
Across his neck was a distinctive talon gash mark.
Ace didn't let him focus on the body for very long, tilting the hero's head away from it so that Wilbur's eyes were on the villain instead.
It was unnecessary, he didn't feel bad upon seeing it was Techno.
"Do you feel guilty?" The shrike avian asked. "For hating him? For wanting to hurt him?"
His mouth moved on its own, answering without his permission.
"No," he said.
Ace's smile never dropped, but shifted back into the loving one from earlier, "But you try to force yourself to feel guilt. Why?"
Wilbur didn't have an answer for that.
"We're a lot alike, my dearest songbird," the villain hummed.
The hero leaned into the shrike avian's touch, slumping into his nemesis.
Ace caught him, holding him steady.
Wilbur felt safe.
Wilbur shot up in his bed in a cold sweat, breathing deeply.
His wings wrapped around him as he slumped over, catching his forehead in his hand.
The ever growing collection of notes weighed heavy in the back of the magpie avian's mind.
The most recent ones have been more letter-like than note-like.
My dearest songbird. He repeated mentally, echoing the dream and the most recent notes.
The hero sighed, "Well fuck sleeping I guess..."
~Time Skip~
The city was divided into two sections, one of which was part of the mainland, and the other half being a nearby island. These two halves of the city were connected by a large bridge that was commonly a target for villain attacks.
That was where three of the five members of the Minecraft family were currently located, cleaning up the aftermath of one of these attacks.
The bridge was fine, the damn thing was probably the sturdiest build in the city. And most villain attempts are stopped before they can even really be set in motion.
Techno and Phil handled the villain (it was Mr. President this time, his third attempt to blow up the bridge). Wilbur was running damage control, as per usual. The Ram Villain had gotten pretty close, a few bombs had gone off and threw some people over the bridge.
Wilbur had caught them, so they were fine.
The magpie avian swooped down to meet his father and brother, who were currently making their reports to the police.
"All civilians have been secured," he stated, not caring who was actually paying attention. "No other villains in the area, thirteen casualties in the initial explosions. A reported fifty six injured, twenty of those being potentially fatal."
Phil gave him a dismissive wave in response, continuing his and Techno's report about the fight with Mr. President and the villain's goons.
Wilbur had never really let his father's dismissive attitude affect him before, he had always told himself that he just had to work harder.
Right now, it was making his blood boil.
But he wasn't just going to stand there awkwardly waiting to be acknowledged, so he turned to leave when his com flickered to life.
"Evening, Magpie," his com person said.
"Got a sighting?" He questioned, pressing the button so his voice would come through.
"You know the drill," she laughed a bit. "You're at the bridge right now, yeah? This sighting is in the island district."
"The island district?" Wilbur questioned with a raised eyebrow, not noticing how the conversation behind him stopped. "That's unusual for him. He keeps it to the mainland."
The woman on the other end hummed at that, "Hey, I'm just doing my job here. You're the authority on the situation."
"Might be a false alarm, but I'll check anyways," the magpie avian responded. "Got a specific location?"
She named off a street, causing the hero to nod, "Got it, keep me posted if any more information on the situation comes up. Magpie in route."
With a sigh, he spread his wings, contemplating punching his nemesis for starting shit after a major rescue like this. He felt a tap on his shoulder, causing him to turn and look at his twin.
Techno was giving him that infuriatingly concerned look he had started using more often, "Is it Ace?"
"Potential sighting," Wilbur responded.
"Do you want me to come with you?" His twin questioned.
The magpie avian grit his teeth slightly, "I'll be fine, Techno."
"Maybe you should let your brother come along," Phil cut in, coming to stand next to the younger twin. "You two might be able to catch him if you work together."
Neither of them had really believed that Ace had been at the tower when he and Tommy explained what happened. But for some reason they had been slightly more concerned about Wilbur chasing the shrike avian alone.
It was making his blood boil even more.
I don't need to be protected damnit.
"Dad, Techno, I can handle it," he hissed. "I know how Ace operates. Besides, this is outside his usual pattern, so it's most likely a false alarm. I know my nemesis."
"But what if it isn't a false alarm and he's trying something different?" Techno asked. "What then? What if you need backup?"
"I'm not having this conversation with you right now," Wilbur growled, something in him snapping. "But let me make this clear."
He spun around to point at his twin, "You are not the authority on the Ace Investigation. I am. He is my nemesis, and I do not need your help to deal with him. I've been able to handle him so far and his destruction has been minimized thanks to my efforts. You can have every other villain in the goddamn stratosphere for all I care, but Ace is mine."
The rescue hero huffed, spreading his wings again and flying away. Not leaving any room for debate on his statement.
~Time Skip~
It wasn't Ace.
It wasn't Ace.
FUCK IT WASN'T ACE!
The hero dodged another blast of fire aimed for him, keeping to the air as Pyro tried to shoot him down.
But that wasn't who Wilbur was concerned with right now, he was keeping in the air to stay out of range of Smile's power.
Because for some damn reason, Smile was here. And Pyro was here. And out of all villains possible, IT HAD TO BE THESE TWO.
Wilbur pressed the button on his com, "IT'S NOT ACE!"
He dodged another blast of fire with a yelp as the fire came a bit too close to his wings for comfort. He flew up a bit more to make it harder to aim at him.
"It's not Ace," he repeated. "It was an ambush. Patch me to The Blade's com system."
"Y-yes sir!" His com person shouted. After a bit of white noise, Techno's voice flickered to life over the coms.
"Did you decide you needed my help after all?" His twin commented, bitter.
"Techno for fucks sake, I was right, it wasn't Ace," Wilbur shouted, dodging another fire ball. "It's Smile and Pyro! How quick can you be here!?"
"Shit," Techno muttered. "CROW, MAGPIE IS IN TROUBLE!"
"How long are you going to stay up there, Magpie?" Smile called from down below, Pyro holding his fire.
"However long it takes for The Blade to show up and bully your homeless ass," Wilbur called back, pressing the button on the com and lowering his voice. "Techno, I'm serious, how far out are you?"
"Me and Phil were finishing up at the bridge and heading home," came the reply.
"Fuck," the magpie avian swore, keeping his eyes on the two villains in the street below.
"I have a house!" Smile shouted back, expression hidden behind his signature mask, but voice frustrated. "I thought you would be nicer than your twin!"
"Fuck you!" The hero shot back, flipping The Mask Villain off. "You look like a shitty teletubby rip off!"
Pyro turned to say something to the villain in green, causing Smile to smack the fire wielding villain. Pyro laughed, looking distinctly amused at the other's frustration.
"Wilbur we're about an hour away," Techno's voice came to life over the com. "Phil is flying in advance, but he's going to be about thirty to forty minutes. Do not fucking engage!"
Wilbur cursed mentally, swooping away from another blast of fire as he circled the two villains.
"I'll try and keep em' distracted," the magpie avian responded.
"No!" His twin shouted. "You won't be able to handle both of them! Wilbur just run!"
The hero's blood was boiling again, "I'll be fine, just hurry."
"Wilbur-!"
He shut off his com with a press of a button, cutting his twin off.
Fine. He hissed mentally. If they won't respect me for my work with Ace, maybe you'll respect me if I kick your nemesis's teeth in.
Normally, Wilbur wouldn't bother with another hero's nemesis. It wasn't his business after all.
But he didn't sleep well last night thanks to that...dream...nightmare...whatever the fuck that was. He's had a long fucking day. And his family seemed determined to get on his last goddamn nerve today.
So excuse him for being petty and livid.
The stray fireballs from The Hellfire Villain's attacks had caused a bit of damage to the area, so there were plenty of things for Wilbur to pick up and use as weapons against the two villains since he couldn't get close.
He tilted his wings and flew in the opposite direction of the villains, drifting down to the street and picking up some debris. Something heavy enough to hurt but not so much so that it would slow him down.
Once he had collected something that fit that bill, he flew up again, hearing Smile running after him since he had come closer to the ground.
Back in the safety of the air, he twisted out of the way of another fire blast and threw the debris right at Smile, managing to hit The Mask Villain in the head.
He smirked upon hearing the villain shout in pain, "Ha! Take that you shitty excuse for an S-Rank Villain!"
"Why is every Minecraft so fucking mean!?" Smile shouted back at him, no doubt glaring at the hero from behind his mask.
"Why are you so easy to bully?" Wilbur called back, swooping down to grab more ammo before his brother's nemesis could come into range to grab the rescue hero with his power.
Pyro shot at him while he was on the ground, but the magpie avian flew up quickly to avoid the blast, coming back down to grab more ammo and returning to the sky shortly after.
Since becoming involved with Ace, Wilbur had taken the time to learn about more villains in the top ranks.
The Mask Villain: Smile
S-Rank Villain
Villain Rank: #2
Classification: Known Villain
Power: The ability to force his victims into having hallucinations, both auditory and visual. Most people are completely immobile once under the effects of Smile's power, however some (much like his nemesis, The Blade) are able to resist these 'waking nightmares' and keep fighting.
Being a Known Villain means that for as long as Smile has been known, he's been a villain with no other prior positions. And it's been discovered that Smile's power has a limited range, which is why Wilbur was trying his best to stay away from The Mask Villain.
The Hellfire Villain: Pyro
A-Rank Villain
Villain Rank: #12
Classification: Fallen Hero (Formerly known as the hero, Blaze)
Power: Pyro's ability is a common fire-shooting one. Lots of people have similar powers, but Pyro's has more potent flames than most others.
Blaze (civilian name Sapnap) was the lover of #1 Hero: Timestop.
Timestop was a hero who's name said it all; he could stop time for a few minutes. This amazing power quickly led to the hero's rise to the #1 spot. But one day, the hero just vanished. Nobody knows what happened to him.
After that, Blaze became a Fallen Hero, believing his lover to be dead and swearing revenge for it. His hunt had led him into villainy; him and Smile having worked together since then.
Wilbur had been surprised that The Hellfire Villain was a Fallen Hero, but hey, there was a lot of stuff he didn't know.
Pyro had a distinctive drawback on his power. While his flames were stronger than most others who could produce them, the villain had to pause between attacks to avoid hurting himself. There was a distinctive one minute pause between each blast, sometimes longer depending on how powerful the attack was.
Wilbur could use that to his advantage.
The song and dance continued, minute after minute ticking by as the hero would avoid the range for Smile's power and dodge Pyro's fire blasts to the best of his ability.
And if he taunted Smile like Techno did, then that was his business.
Green bastard deserved it for thinking he was an easy target to use against his twin.
Just because he was a rescue hero didn't mean that he couldn't bite back, jackass.
As he was in the process of hurling another piece of building debris at the number two villain, Wilbur made a critical flaw.
He forgot about Pyro for a split second.
The rescue hero recognized that mistake when he felt immense burning pain in one of his wings.
Shouting in agony, the magpie avian panicked. The edges of his vision darkening from pain as he was sent spiraling from the blast.
Righting himself as quickly as he could, biting his tongue to try and ground himself, Wilbur began to fly for the bridge in the distance.
"After him!" Smile shouted, but the villain's voice was distant.
All he knew was that he had to make it over the bridge.
Smile and Pyro wouldn't chase him there.
His wing was burning.
Fuck his wing was burning.
He could feel the fire eating through his feathers and fuck did it hurt.
Everything hurt, it felt like his entire body was trying to give out on him as he struggled to stay airborne.
The hero couldn't stop, he was almost to the bridge now, but he was losing altitude. He needed to get rid of the fire.
The ocean waves were the closest thing he had.
Diving closer, Wilbur spun and dipped his burning wing in the salt water. He hissed in pain from the action, but it worked. The fire was out.
He kept flying, still struggling because one of his wings was wet now, but it was something.
And finally, finally, he reached the other side of the bridge, having been flying over the ocean water because of his little maneuver from earlier.
He flew over the city, struggling to stay above the rooftops.
His vision was getting darker, the pain was becoming too much. He didn't know where he was flying, he had no idea which district he was in.
There was blood in his mouth from when he bit his tongue earlier.
Wilbur was going down.
He hit...something hard. Be it roof, or ground, he crashed.
And promptly he blacked out from the pain.
He heard a voice.
Someone...someone was talking to him.
"Wilbur what the fuck!?"
He knew that scent.
Cigarettes, alcohol, and that one expensive cologne brand that was popular in the nightlife district.
Who was that?
He felt whoever it was sit him up slightly.
"Hey, what happened? Are you alright? Answer me!"
He slumped over, his wings shifting.
Shit he was in a lot of pain.
The person took a sharp intake of breath.
"What the fuck...? Who fucking-!"
They cut themselves off, voice strained.
"Holy shit Wilbur. Fuck, fuck, fuck, hey, can you hear me?"
The hero tried to nod, but it came out as a quick jerk of the head.
"Okay, okay. You're reactive. That's good. Fuck. Wilbur try to stay conscious for me."
Wilbur was beginning to drift again, his limbs getting heavier.
"Hey. Hey! Damnit! Stay with me here!"
I'm trying jackass. He huffed mentally, thoughts slurred by pain.
"Songbird please, I know sleep probably sounds really good right about now. And I know I'm always nagging you about getting more sleep. But songbird you've got to stay awake right now, alright?"
That's Ace. His mind supplied. Ace found me. How did Ace find me?
"Ace...?" He tried, barely able to get the name out.
"It's me. I know it's a lot to ask but can you stay awake for a while?" His nemesis questioned, voice becoming clear.
"Hurts..." Wilbur mumbled.
"I know, I know," the villain soothed. "But you have to stay awake. Can you open your eyes?"
The hero tried, managing to blink them open slightly. He could barely manage it though.
He saw the familiar half mask and the expression of his nemesis.
Ace looked concerned.
And angry.
But mostly concerned.
The shrike avian offered a small smile, "Hey there pretty boy. You're going to be alright, kay?"
He tried to mumble out a response but the longer he was awake the more intense the pain was getting. His words came out as a small pained hiss.
"I'm going to have to pick you up here, alright songbird?" Ace questioned, shifting the magpie avian to get a more stable hold on him. "Your wing is really damaged, so this is going to be a bit awkward since I'm avoiding touching anywhere near there."
Oh now you're respectful of boundaries. Wilbur thought, struggling to keep his eyes open.
"Fuck, this is Pyro's work, isn't it?" The villain asked, mostly to himself as he carefully lifted the hero and himself up. "What were you doing fighting him?"
If the rescue hero noticed the villain's distinctively possessive tone, he didn't comment on it. Not that he could even properly comment on it right now.
"Ambush," he managed to grit out.
"Why the hell...?" His nemesis trailed off, confused.
Wilbur winced in pain as the villain began to fly, "Smile... something or other bout' gettin' to Tech..."
Fuck he could barely talk. And there was still the taste of blood in his mouth.
"Motherfuckers," Ace hissed, holding him closer. "I'll fucking lead Techno right to their goddamn base for this."
"Fuckin hell," Wilbur grumbled, words slurring together as he rambles. "Techno's gonna hold this over my head now. Cause' he said not to engage but I was pissed n' stuff so I fought em' anyways. It's my fault. Phil's gonna ground me. Shoulda' listened... bad hero. Can't follow orders."
"Wilbur, hey, hey, no, save your energy," his nemesis said. "You can tell me what happened after I get you some medical attention. Alright?"
"You're my nemesis," the hero's world was getting hazy again. "Tech can't take that from me."
"Wilbur? Hey! No! Don't close your eyes!"
His nemesis's voice was getting distant again.
"Sorry," he muttered. "Bad at orders."
"Wilbur!"
The magpie avian's world went black again as he tucked his face against the villain's shoulder.
He was safe, for now.
He was laying on something soft.
"I don't care! Get those two assholes on the line right fucking now or so help me I'll-!"
Ace's voice trailed off into something that sounded vaguely like Spanish before a second voice cut in.
"Boss, please. Calm down. We need to try and get some Health Potion in him so his wing can start healing. Once he's coherent he's probably not going to be happy about having to stay here for an extended period of time for his wing to heal naturally."
Wilbur heard Ace finish his sentence in Spanish before something made a thud noise, "Alright. Alright, okay. C'mon then."
Both people shuffled over to wherever it was Wilbur was laying.
"Hey songbird, you conscious?" Ace asked, voice gentle.
The magpie avian made a trilling noise in response, it being easier than trying to talk.
"That's a yes," the other person muttered. "How were you able to tell he was up?"
"Change in heartbeat," Ace sighed. "Songbird, I'm going to sit you up, alright? We need you to drink something for us, okay? You remember that pink stuff I let you have when I forced you to take a break?"
He hummed, letting out another small trill in response.
"It's more of that," his nemesis continued. "I'm going to sit you up now, okay?"
Wilbur didn't respond, letting the villain gently sit him up. He leaned on the shrike avian for support, trying to get his eyes open.
"Ace...?" He grumbled out.
"Yeah, still here," the shorter chuckled, the sound rumbling in his chest.
It was relaxing, causing the hero to breathe a bit easier and slump further into the familiar scent of his nemesis.
"... Yeah, he's delirious from pain," his nemesis said, though the magpie avian could hear the way the shorter's heart pounded in his chest when he leaned closer.
"Pyro can go suck a dick," Wilbur slurred, unable to get his eyes open this time. "Sorry bout' passing out. Not good at orders."
"Save your strength hero," the other person said. "Now drink this so your wing will feel better."
Something glass was placed next to his lips, so he did his best to drink what was given to him.
Anything to get rid of the blood taste to be honest.
It was that same sweet taste as the last time he drank one of those healing things. But less potent this time, so it didn't have the same kick.
He hummed a bit with another soft trill, "No more blood, pog."
"Blood?" Ace asked, slowly lowering Wilbur back onto what the rescue hero was assuming was a bed.
"He had bit his tongue enough to bleed," the person explained.
"Had to keep flying," the hero attempted to explain, sighing in relief as the pain was lessened. "Get away from jackasses one and two. One pain distracts from the other, lesson five."
"What the hell are you on about?" Ace questioned.
"Lesson five?" The other voice asked.
The voices were getting distant again, and the hero began to curl up slightly.
"He's passing out."
"He's able to relax now that he's healing, give him a day or two to wake up fully. Until then, keep track of anything that he says."
"Foolish, you're a miracle worker with these potions of yours."
"Thank me once his wing heals. He might slip into an emergency molt due to the stress."
"Thanks for the warning, I'll call you if-"
Wilbur passed out listening to the two converse.
He had begun to stir while soft guitar music was playing.
Wilbur knew this song.
He felt his hand twitch to start tapping out the beat of the song reflexively.
Suddenly, the music stopped, "Songbird?"
The hero hummed in acknowledgement to the nickname, the pain on his back being dulled in his mind. He continued tapping out the song's rhythm.
"Did I wake you?" Ace questioned.
"That was you playing?" The magpie avian asked in turn.
His nemesis chuckled, "Yeah, it was me."
Wilbur felt a smile pull at his lips, "It's good. You play well. I like that song."
"Thanks, songbird," the villain responded.
The rescue hero felt the weight of the other's hand resting in his own, "How are you holding up?"
"Still hurts," the magpie avian grumbled. "But dull."
"Foolish put some pain killers in that Health Potion we gave you yesterday," Ace hummed. "So yeah, it'll feel a bit dull."
His nemesis's fingertips were calloused, much like Wilbur's own from when he was first learning. The other avian held his hand carefully, most likely being wary of his talons.
Shrikes are a predatory species.
Ace should have talons.
Wilbur tried to open his eyes a little, "You don't have talons."
He wondered how he hadn't noticed before.
The villain hummed, "Yeah. There was an incident in my childhood. Parents had them removed via power so they wouldn't grow anymore."
"Oh," the hero mumbled. "Well fuck those guys then."
Ace laughed.
Once the shrike avian calmed down, he gave Wilbur's hand a small squeeze, "This alright?"
"Yeah," he gently squeezed back, careful of his talons.
There was a pause before the villain sighed.
"Wilbur," he began. "What's that lesson five thing you mentioned the other day?"
"Lesson Five?" Wilbur questioned, trying to remember when that came up. "That's an easy one. Using one pain to distract from another. Emergency use only. If you're in severe enough pain for it to be a risk to your safety, use another type of pain, a less severe one, to distract from it so you don't think about it as much."
There was a long pause.
Ace took a long, shaky breath, "Who the fuck taught you that?"
The hero was starting to slip away again, so he didn't register the barely contained fury in his nemesis's voice, "Hm? Phil did?"
He fell back into unconsciousness listening to the villain swear in Spanish.
~Time Skip~
Wilbur woke up to the sound of muffled shouting, swing music humming distantly in the background through the walls.
He sat up, questioning where he was. Glancing around the room, he noted a window that was blocked out by heavy curtains, a door, and a lot of the basic stuff you'd assume to find in a bedroom. Dresser, closet, things like that. The bed he was laying in had silk sheets, a heavy red blanket having been on top of the hero when he woke up.
There were bandages on the nightstand next to the bed. And when he sat up he noticed that his wings felt a lot lighter than they should.
And that's when he noticed the black, white, and blue feathers scattered around in the bed.
Fuck he was molting.
Why the fuck is he molting? He's not due for another one until next month-
The door opened, cutting off his thought process as the shouting got louder.
"I do not fucking care! I wouldn't give a damn if they were actual fucking ghosts! Find Pyro and Smile!" Ace shouted, walking into the room with a phone pressed to his ear. "I want those assholes either dead or at my feet within the next goddamn week or so help me-!"
The villain cut himself off when they made eye contact.
Ace was wearing his regular outfit minus the gloves he typically wore, his half mask firmly in place. Though he seemed surprised upon seeing Wilbur.
"I'll call you back, he's up," his nemesis said, lowering the phone from his ear and hanging up.
There was silence for a minute as Wilbur's mind frantically tried to piece together what the fuck happened and why he was here.
"Hey, songbird," Ace greeted, smiling at him. "How are you feeling?"
"What...?" The hero muttered, confused. He pulled the blanket he was under closer to himself, defensive.
"You alright?" His nemesis questioned. "You've been in and out of consciousness a lot the past few days, how's your wing-?"
The villain took a step forward and the rescue hero's eyes widened.
He was molting.
He couldn't fly.
He was vulnerable.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK.
"Stay away from me!" He shouted, wings locking up on his back as he flinched. "Don't come near me! Don't touch me! Stay the fuck away from me!"
"Okay!" Ace said, holding his hands where Wilbur could see them and backing up, giving the hero space. "I'm not going to hurt you, songbird. You crashed in my territory and one of my guys spotted you. He told me, and I found you on one of the roofs. You've been in and out of consciousness since I found you. Do you remember any of that?"
The hero was struggling to breathe for a minute, eyes locked on his nemesis's form.
Eventually, he managed to calm down. He thought about the villain's question and shook his head a little.
"Okay, well," the villain began. "You've been here for about four days now. We got a healing potion in you along with some pain killers so your wing has been healing. It took a nasty hit from Pyro's fire, but I don't exactly have the full story on what happened. The stress from the healing and damage, however, sent you into an emergency molt so you could grow new feathers quicker."
No wonder he was feeling so damn itchy.
And now that he's acknowledged that his wings are itchy, it's the only thing he can fucking think of.
Great.
He's trapped in his nemesis's home base, in the shrike avian's territory, and he can't fucking fly until his new feathers are in. Which could take anywhere from two days, to an entire week.
Fucking wonderful.