Tubbo delivered the note to Dream, who quickly figured out it was. An emergency meeting was called. The heroes began to prep.
Tubbo was in just a bit of conflict. Something about how Minx was acting made him see her as trustworthy, but then again...
He shook his head and looked back up. Dream was saying something... probably something important. It went in one ear and out of the other. All that stayed was that they had three hours until they were planning to head out
Tubbo nodded and smiled. Phil looked at him, a worried look on his face. Phil was the best one here at knowing when something was up.
Phil ruffled Tubbo's hair and gave him a smile. Trying to reassure him.
It only worked a tiny bit.
----------
Wilbur was poked with needles throughout the next few hours- Some of the more scientific heroes had shown up.
The scientists were often at other jobs, so it was nice to see a few familiar, yet rare, faces.
"Aph! Put this sample in the centrifuge for me!" Dan pulled his goggles up and tossed a small vial to Aphmau, who was sitting across the room. She barely caught it.
"Y'know, you should have mentioned this before it got this bad." Antfrost said from across the room. He carefully adjusted his microscope before looking up at Wil. "This stuff's probably all through your system now."
Wilbur shuddered. "That's a great thought, Ant. Thanks."
"Sorry!"
"He's right though- it'll be much harder to remove now." Aphmau finished attaching the vial to a centrifuge. The machine started spinning and she walked over. Dan took his swivel chair over to the computer screen and Aph started patching up Wilbur's arm.
"That mark looks nasty, not gonna lie." Dan said as he started typing out some reports. "Suprised no one noticed it- it's clearly meant to be there."
Wilbur looked up, a bit shocked. "What'd you mean?"
"The wound wouldn't just be like that. They added a dye or something to mark you." Ant clarified.
"Ah, that makes sense. They did say I was a prototype..."
Everyone paused and looked up at him. Aph said what all the scientist seemed to be thinking- "Are they planning to make a final version of this? That mutes powers?"
Wilbur nodded. That probably would have been info they would have liked to know a bit ago. The scientists all turned back to their work, doubly focused.
"You're dismissed. We've gotta get to work on an antidote." Dan said, waving Wil out of the room.
----------
Techno paced the lobby as the rest of the heroes assigned to this mission entered the room. It was just the heroes who'd been with them on the original mission- no one new. Well, as long as you counted Bad and Skeppy as returners, which Techno did.
Sapnap decided to go, but Finn was going to stay. He figured it would be best for them to have someone in the base.
Dream went up and gave another speech- he sure seemed to like those. Techno fiddled with a pencil, not listening. Tubbo was also just staring off into space, so Techno didn't feel too bad about it.
Dread was weighing on him- something about the idea of Tommy's powers had thrown him off. When Tommy had accidently muted him...
Techno shuddered at the memory. He had felt so vulnerable and slow compared to how he was normally. He'd felt weak. Techno didn't know how people could stand living like that. Of course, that was normal to them.
Techno jumped as people began standing up around him. He'd zoned out for longer than he meant too- they were getting ready to leave already. He sighed and started walking.
----------
George's legs were shaky as he walked down the sidewalk. It may have been that they had recently been crushed and pieced back together. More likely, it was nerves.
He watched Sapnap glance around nervously. It may have been a better idea to have left him at the Hub. Sap had told George what had happened in the clocktower, and it sounded like it left a impression on him.
Sap had described the feeling of having his body taken over in great detail, to the point where George had to tell him to move on with the story. He also mentioned the feeling of having his lungs fill up with smoke.
Even now, George noticed Sap's breaths were quicker than usual. Almost as if he was terrified the air would become smoke any second. As if he was terrified that he would suffocate on normal air.
George walked a bit quicker to make it to Sapnap, and gave him a thumbs up. Sap looked up, smiled, and gave one back.
"How're you doing?" Sap asked George. He was quite hushed, but everyone else's voice covered his anyways.
"Good. Better than a few hours ago. I can walk now." Sap had left the hospital room before getting to see George's full recovery, so this could qualify as news. Except for the fact that George had been walking beside him for the past five minutes.
"I see. Are you ready for this?" Sap asked. George noticed his hands were shaking.
"Not really, honestly." Sapnap seemed a bit surprised by this answer. "I mean, we did just get ambushed less than a day ago."
"True. I-" Sapnap paused, trying to find the right words. "I don't want to go up against her again."
George took a second to remember who he was referring to. "The charmspeaker?"
Sap gave a nod, tensing a bit. George realized he'd sounded a bit incredulous. "You saw the things she made me do. She made me spread the fire in the clock tower. She nearly killed me! And technically, she almost killed you!" Sapnap snapped
George gave a nod. "No need to get so defensive, I was just making sure I was thinking of the right person. I'm not eager to fight her either."
Sapnap untensed, nodding and letting out a breath. "Yeah, alright."
Dream whistled sharply, drawing not only the attention of the two roommates, but also the rest of the group. He checked his map and then the note, and gave a nod.
"We're here."
Somewhere, a clock chimed.
----------
Minx tore through her drawers, trying to figure out what she would need. Soon enough, she'd be on the other side. She tossed another shirt in her suitcase, along with her best dress.
She glanced at the clock. She didn't have enough time! Minx cussed aloud and ran a hand through her hair.
She grabbed some more of her favorite clothes, and tossed them into the case. She turned around, about ready to close it and stick it under her bed- she could tele back later and grab it.
A stack of papers on her desk caught her eye. Tommy had given her all of his watercolors- he didn't want the villains to have them but he couldn't take them with him. He'd said she seemed like a good alternative. She softened a bit at the sight.
Those were placed much more gently into the suitcase. Then it was zipped up and placed in the attic- she had access to it from her closet.
She'd come back for them later. And then she could be sure Tommy got his watercolors back.
----------
Fundy watched Minx pack through her keyhole. He grimaced. She was clearly leaving.
From the info that Scott had just told him, Eret and Niki would be the only ones left who weren't in the breakoff group. They'd be hard to get rid of, but the new group would find a way.
They'd found their own way this far. What was stopping them from pushing a bit further
Fundy, Scott's voice rang out in Fundy's thoughts, They're here.
Good. Get everyone ready.
Fundy paused, looking around, then down at his paws- they would be hands soon enough.
We're out of time
And a clock chimed.
A/N
So the hiatus wasn't as long as I thought it would be,,,
This was less of a hiatus and more of me drawing out my upload schedule lmao
I'll post just a bit more frequently than this, every three days maximum :)
uhh yea! Crap's about to go down!!
The clock chime in this chapter and the last are all the same- it's just my way of keeping track of in story time.
Hope you enjoyed! I'm glad to be back!
-Ace