Chapter Text
“Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean after what happened last time with Schlatt or Glatt or whatever?” Eret asked.
“For the last time, this book gives us the right information. It corrected whatever we were doing wrong. We can do it this time.” Phil replied. Eret sighed but turned to Ghostbur.
“And you’re still okay with this?” They asked him. Ghostbur nodded happily.
“Yes! I’m ready to be Aliverbur again! I hope it works this time!” He exclaimed, standing ready. Phil looked to Techno and Eret, nodding at the both of them. Slowly they went about recreating the scene that played out during Wilbur’s death. Slightly more hesitant this time and quieter, less enthusiastic than the previous attempts. Though no less determined. It would work this time, they were basically sure of it. Or at least Phil and Ghostbur were. Eret was less inclined to believe that this would work after the previous attempts and failures. Techno wasn’t an optimist, he always prepared for the worse, and he didn’t want to get his hopes up about getting his brother back, only to have it taken away from him again.
Techno couldn’t make himself watch as Phil thrusted his sword forward, stabbing his brother through the chest again. The strange enchantment glowing all around the weapon, it was one he was unfamiliar with, the temple book had given the sword its unnatural glow. There was a cry of pain then a bright light. Everyone had to look away from Ghostbur, even Eret’s glasses couldn’t shield them from the light. Eret was suddenly immensely glad they did this far away from the SMP area. The light would have made everyone panic and mass panic was the last thing they wanted to deal with.
The light faded almost as quickly as it appeared. Slowly, the three looked to each other before rushing towards where Wilbur was supposed to be. There he was, laying on the ground, eyes closed. He sort of looked dead, in a weird, morbid way. But he had his color back, his skin was no longer grey or transparent. His clothes had changed as well, back to the ones he wore when he was in Pogtopia.
“Is he…?” Eret started, but trailed off. Honestly Eret was a little afraid, they and Wilbur didn’t exactly end on great terms. They hoped Wilbur remembered how Eret was to L’manberg after they gained their independence. But then, Wilbur gasped a breath of air and shot up faster than any of them had seen him do anything.
“Tommy.” He breathed.
“Wil? Mate, Tommy isn’t here are you okay?” Phil asked, obviously concerned. Eret glanced over at Techno who, despite keeping a mainly neutral face, was obviously concerned and happy.
“No- Tommy… My chest hurts.” He muttered, for the first time, the three realized how tired and rundown Wilbur looked. There were obvious bags under his eyes.
“You need to rest, we’ll explain everything when you wake up.” Techno said, in a tone that Eret had no clue was even possible for Techno to use. They felt like they were intruding on a private family moment and honestly, Eret wished to switch places with Tommy, just so they could all be there.
“No I- I can’t!” Wilbur protested weakly, his eyelids were falling down and it was clear he was losing his battle with consciousness. “I need… find… Tommy!” He shouted his little brother’s name but the rest of his speech was slurred and muttered.
“Wil, you need to rest. Everything’s going to be okay. Tommy is fine. You’re not in Pogtopia anymore.” Phil tried to explain. “Now rest.” Wilbur frowned and shook his head.
“Not… I meant....”
“Wilbur, you need to rest. Everything will make sense when you wake up. I promise.” Techno said, his usual monotone voice was oddly calming in this situation.
“Will… Tommy be there?” Wilbur asked, probably realizing that he wasn’t going to be able to stay awake. Phil hesitated but ultimately nodded.
“Yeah, we’ll get Tommy, he’ll be here when you wake up. Rest now.” Phil told him.
“Promise?” He asked, as his eyelids fell shut.
“I promise.” Phil said to him, as he held his son. Wilbur was asleep in a matter of seconds. Phil swallowed and let out a hysterical laugh. “We did it.” He said. Techno smiled slightly and nodded.
“We did. Looks like that book was good for something after all.” Techno said.
“I’m just glad we didn’t have to keep stabbing him this time. And that Schlatt stayed dead.” Eret muttered. “I’m glad to have Wilbur back.”
“Thank you Eret.” Phil said, smiling. Eret nodded at the two men.
“Do you need help getting him home?” They asked. Techno shook his head.
“No, I think we can do it.” Eret nodded at them.
“If you need anything else, I’m sure you know where to find me.” They told the family.
“Do you know where Tommy is these days?” Phil asked, intending on keeping his promise. Eret thought for a moment.
“You know I’m not quite sure.” They replied. “I would’ve assumed he’d go off with Tubbo in Snowchester, however I believe he’s been staying in the Badlands.” There was silence for a moment. “I believe he’s been hanging around ‘Sam Nook’ and your best bet is to try his hotel.” Eret smiled fondly at the thought. They remember when Sam first told them about Sam Nook and how much he seemed to be helping Tommy.
“Sam Nook? Is that someone new?” Techno asked, frowning at the thought. Eret chuckled but shook their head.
“No. Do you know Sam? Awesamdude?” They asked. Phil nodded.
“Yes, I’m vaguely familiar, does he go by Sam Nook now?”
“Sort of. Tommy commissioned him to build his hotel. To help Tommy and get Tommy to help out he put on this persona of Sam Nook, like Tom Nook from Animal Crossing. It’s honestly such a cute idea. It’s really helping Tommy from my understanding. Anyway, as I’m sure you know, the hotel is opening soon, it was just finished.” Eret told them. “That’s probably where he’d be.” Phil and Techno looked at each other and frowned.
“We had no clue Tommy was building a hotel.” Techno told Eret. They nodded understandingly and waved them off.
“Right, make sense, you haven’t been home to check your mailboxes. Tommy has built a hotel. It’s called the Big Innit Hotel, It’s impressive and huge, you're bound to find him there, or at least hanging around. If not, ask Sam, he’ll know for sure.” Eret told the two. They nodded and gave their goodbyes and thanks once again before Eret left.
“Alright, do you think you could help me bring Wil home, then go find Tommy? I know you guys didn’t end up on the best of terms but would you? I honestly don’t think I can leave Wil’s side yet.” Phil asked. Techno hesitated. Honestly, he barely wanted anything to do with Tommy, let alone go and find him. However, Phil was asking and Wilbur seemed so panicked when he woke up, asking desperately for Tommy that he couldn’t find it in him to say no. He sighed but nodded.
“Okay.” He answered, not sure if he should say anything else. Phil smiled at him.
“Thank you.”
----
Techno really hated being in the Badlands. Something about the Egg and all the people just made him uncomfortable. Especially after he blew up L’manberg, he knew he wasn’t the most liked person right now. He really enjoyed having his armor and weapons right now.
Eret was right, the hotel wasn’t hard to find, although there were new things that had popped up all over since the last time he was here, there was only one that could be considered a hotel. He made a beeline for the building and walked through the opened front doors. Though he was surprised to see someone who was certainly not Tommy sitting at the front desk. The brunette sitting at the desk raised an eyebrow at him.
“Technoblade? What the hell are you doing here?” He asked.
“Who are you?” Technoblade asked. The guy looked exasperated and rolled his eyes.
“JackManifold.” He replied. “So what are you doing here?”
“I’m looking for Tommy.” Techno told him. “He around?” Jack didn’t answer at first. For many reasons this situation wasn’t ideal. Firstly, Technoblade could kill him before he even had the chance to defend himself. Jack wasn’t an idiot, he knew when to pick his battles and this was one he didn’t want to start. However, if Jack told Technoblade the truth, he might try and help Tommy out of prison. Sure he knew they weren’t on the best terms but Jack knew that they shared something. Whether they were actually family, like the rumors suggested, or just happened to have Philza Minecraft in common, Jack wasn’t sure. All he knew was that Techno finding out where Tommy actually was was not an opinion.
“He’s in an area where you can’t reach him.” Jack told him.
“Could you get him. It’s important.” Techno said, clearly getting annoyed by this interaction.
“Actually no. I’m not allowed there either. In fact the only one who can is Sam. Tommy is literally unreachable at this point.” Jack said, cursing himself for even mentioning Sam. Technoblade sighed and rolled his eyes, annoyed, but Jack had the feeling it wasn’t entirely at him. Technoblade was annoyed at Tommy? Well this was better than Jack could have ever imagined. Tommy was stuck with Dream, who Jack knew would almost definitely kill him and Technoblade was annoyed but not at Jack! This was great for him.
“How long will he be unavailable?” Techno asked. Jack paused because he actually had no idea the answer this time.
“I don’t know.” Techno glared at him and Jack felt his blood run cold. He knew damn well what Technoblade, the ‘blood god’ could do to him. “Look, Sam is the one making the rules right now. I’ve got no idea. All I know is that no one can reach Tommy right now. Sam knows more than anyone.”
“Will Sam be here soon then?”
“Oh you don’t want that.” Jack chuckled nervously. Techno raised an eyebrow.
“And why is that?”
“Oh, Sam is ruthless. Especially when it comes to matters involving Tommy and the hotel. I’ve vouched for too many people already. Quackity, Nikki and now you? No, I would like to keep my head. Thank you. You should actually leave before he sees you, he’ll kill you.”
“He’ll kill me?” Techno repeated. Jack laughed.
“Look, I know you’re great and you beat Dream and whatnot but seriously, Sam took on Eggified AntFrost with only construction gear and trident when he was chasing Tommy. Lemme tell you, that dude will kill anyone .” Techno frowned, taking in Jack-whatever-fold’s words. Why was the Eggpire chasing Tommy and why did Sam care so much? And where the hell was Tommy?
“I’ll find him myself then. If I’m not on hotel property he won’t kill me.” Techno muttered.
“Your funeral.” Jack muttered.
“Where is he?” Techno asked.
“The prison probably.” Jack answered automatically and almost slapped a hand over his mouth, cursing internally. Techno nodded and left a pissed off Jack at the hotel.
There was definitely something going on and Techno had this uneasy feeling. The voices were also worried, seemingly yelling about the prison too. Whatever he found there was probably not going to be good. He briefly wondered if Tommy did anything to get himself arrested.
----
“Do not step any closer.” A firm voice greeted Technoblade as he barely stepped within the prison’s lot of land.
“And if I do?” Techno asked. There was a trident pressed up against his neck before he even realized where Sam was.
“Then you shall die.” He said. Techno glared at the creeper hybrid as he lowered the weapon.
“Look, I don’t care about this prison. All I want to know is where Tommy is.” Sam paused and looked conflicted.
“Why?” He asked, finally.
“I have something important I must discuss with him.” Techno replied. Sam did not look like he believed him but sighed.
“I’m afraid you can’t. Right now the prison is in lock down due to a security issue. Tommy is inside and you can’t go in and he can’t come out.” Techno scoffed and rolled his eyes.
“What the hell did the little gremlin do to be put in jail?” He asked. Sam looked at him with an expression that Techno could only describe as disgust and the uneasy feeling roared itself again.
“Tommy’s not imprisoned. He was visiting Dream for, and I quote, ‘the last time’ when the issues started. Right now, Tommy is trapped inside Dream’s cell. I’ve been working on the problem, the longest he can be stuck in there for is a week.” Techno frowned, something about that pissed off chat but couldn’t figure out what. Maybe the fact that Tommy was trapped, Techno vaguely remembered him saying something about claustrophobia once. That was probably it. He sighed anyway.
“I don’t have a week.” Sam shrugged, uncaringly.
“Not my problem. Right now I have a kid stuck in a cell with a psychopathic murder that has a god complex. That’s my main concern. Not that you’d know anything about that.” The venom in his tone confused Techno but he was too shocked to say anything and the man before him walked back to the prison.
Technoblade resigned himself to heading back home empty handed. He hoped Wilbur wouldn’t be too disappointed.
----
When Techno came back Phil assumed he’d have a loud mouth teenager in tow. He expected the house to be filled with curses and complaints but Techno entered the house so quietly it almost startled Phil when he heard the door open. Somewhere inside, Phil knew that Techno didn’t have Tommy, though it didn’t stop him from rushing down the stairs to greet him and look confused when Tommy wasn’t there.
“Where’s Tommy?” Phil asked, frowning. Techno paused, he didn’t look concerned or upset, so Phil knew that nothing terrible had happened. Tommy probably just refused to come or at least listen to Techno. Phil resigned himself to going and asking Tommy himself.
“You should sit down.” Techno told him. Phil did, feeling a little more concerned then he did before but didn’t take it too seriously.
“If he declined it’s not the end of the world Tech.” Phil told him. Techno shrugged.
“I wouldn’t know.” He replied. Phil frowned.
“What?” He asked.
“Tommy’s not available to literally anyone at the moment.” Techno told Phil. Phil cocked his head to the side in a silent question he knew Techno would understand. “Tommy’s trapped in Pandora’s Vault.”
“He got himself jailed?” Phil asked.
“No quite.” Techno said. “He went to visit Dream, apparently, and there was an issue. Now he is stuck there for up to a week. Apparently Sam is working on it. We’re not allowed anywhere near the damn thing. Sam, that fucker’s, got guts.”
“That’s high praise coming from you.” Phil replied. Techno shrugged.
“Debatable.” He muttered. The two were quiet for a minute. Neither one really had much to say at the moment.
“How's Wil doing?” Techno asked finally. Phil smiled.
“A lot better actually. I didn’t expect him to be healing so fast. I gave him a couple of healing potions and he’s doing really well. I think he’ll wake up sometime in the morning, if not tonight.” Techno found himself smiling lightly. It would be nice to have his twin back.
“I’m glad.” He answered.
“Me too.” Phil replied.
----
Wilbur was panicked. He remembered a lot of stuff from when he was dead. He and Ghostbur might have been different people but Wilbur was always there. While a lot of it was fuzzy, he knew damn well what happened to Tommy. He had to force himself to stay away and stop paying attention because he couldn’t stand watching his brother slowly be broken down to the shell of who he once was. He wished Ghostbur could see that Tommy was not okay and exile was not a vacation. He wished Ghostbur would have done something- anything to help Tommy, but he never did and Wilbur had to watch it all happen. Still, he had so many blanks and things weren’t clear and honestly Wilbur was more confused than he had been in a long time.
But there was one thing Wilbur was sure of, Dream had hurt his little brother and Wilbur would not stand for it. He didn’t care if Dream was in prison, he didn’t care how many lives he had or whatever, Dream was going to pay for it as soon as Wilbur had his chance.
Right now, Wilbur’s limbs felt heavy and his eyelids wouldn’t open no matter how hard he tried. He felt himself falling back to sleep, distantly, he heard muffled voices, he assumed it was Phil and Techno, they were the ones to bring him back after all. But he was pulled back into unconsciousness.
Wilbur woke again hearing someone else’s soft breathing. He didn’t open his eyes at first, he wanted to gather his bearings before he took on whatever was going to happen. He remembered being brought back to life, he remembered asking for Tommy and then he passed out. He also remembered Phil, Techno and Dream blowing up L’manberg again. He remembered singing with the remaining members. He remembered Friend and yelling at Phil, he remembers the past attempts at bringing him back. He remembered exile. There was a fire in his gut, he wanted nothing more than to hug Tommy and apologize for everything. Wilbur knew damn well that Tommy was not okay and he could’ve done something. If only Ghostbur didn’t refuse to believe anything that wasn’t happy.
Though he remembered the promise Phil gave him and opened his eyes. He looked around the room, only finding Phil, resting next to him. His arms were crossed and his hat was pulled down over his eyes, Tommy was not there. Wilbur coughed, wanting to say something but his throat was impossibly dry. He assumed that made sense, Ghosts couldn’t touch water. His cough, however, starled Phil who woke up and pressed a bottle of water into his hands. Wilbur drank it as if he was dy- well that was probably not the best way to describe it. He really didn’t want to think about death anytime soon… well his death anyway.
After the bottle was empty Wilbur forced himself to sit up. It wasn’t easy, his limbs felt like lead still, he assumed it was a side effect of being brought back to life. His chest and stomach still hurt but not nearly as much as it did before, he was thankful for the healing potions he vaguely remembered drinking while he was half conscious. Wilbur looked around again, making sure he wasn’t missing anything.
“Tommy?” He rasped out, he probably should have thanked Phil or said something, but he couldn’t think about anything other than getting to Tommy. He had to make sure Tommy was okay, he hadn’t seen too much of him after exile. He hadn’t even checked in.
“Wil, how are you feeling mate?” Phil asked, not addressing his question. Wilbur frowned but nodded.
“I- yeah, I’m okay. I’m feeling… better.” Wilbur shut his eyes tightly and rubbed his chest.
“That’s good. I’m glad you're doing better. You scared us a little bit when you didn’t wake up this morning.” Wilbur nodded.
“Sorry, thank you.” Wilbur said, still frowning. “Phil, where’s Tommy?” Phil didn’t make eye contact.
“He is currently unavailable.” Phil said. Wilbur’s frown deepened.
“What do you mean? Is he alright?” Wilbur asked.
“Wilbur you just came back to life.” Phil told him.
“That doesn’t answer my question, Phil.” Wilbur replied.
“He’s fine Wilbur. He’s just a little… stuck.” Phile chose his words carefully. Wilbur relaxed considerably.
“Where is he then?”
“I’ll tell you as long as you promise you’ll be calm.” Wilbur looked at his father suspiciously but nodded once. “There was a security issue and Tommy is stuck inside Pandora’s Vault with Dream.” Wilbur blinked once and Phil wondered if he knew what Pandora’s Vault was. He supposed it was too late to ask what he remembered. But before Phil could react, Wilbur had vaulted out of the bed and headed for the stairs.
“Wil!” Phil yelled, following him. Wilbur’s head start allowed him to reach the stairs. Unfortunately, his legs hadn’t been used in awhile and gave up under him when he was on the stairs. He stumbled down a few before being caught by Techno. Technoblade had heard the commotion and headed up to the two but ended up barely catching Wilbur before he killed himself on the stairs. Not even 24 hours before Wilbur’s next near death experience.
“Wilbur you need to calm down. You’re still healing.” Techno told him. Wilbur continued to try and get out of Techno’s grip.
“No! I need to get to Tommy!” He yelled.
“Wil, no one can get inside except Sam. There’s no getting him out right now, there’s nothing you can do now mate.” Phil told him. Wilbur didn’t stop.
“You don’t understand!” He cried. Phil jerked his head towards the couch and Techno nodded, the two of them helped Wilbur over to the couch.
“I tried already. There’s no getting in there right now.” Techno told him. Wilbur looked at him, seemingly searching his face for something. When he didn’t find it, Wilbur broke down, exhaustion finally catching up. He buried his face in his hands and groaned.
“Why are you so upset? I understand you're concerned, we all are, but Tommy is safe. Dream can’t do anything to him in prison.” Techno asked. Wilbur went rigid and slowly glared at Techno with a fire he hadn’t seen his eyes in a long time.
“Dream can’t do anything? Are you fucking serious?!” He asked, Phil and Techno looked to each other then back to Wilbur helplessly. Wilbur rolled his eyes and let out another groan. “He didn’t tell you, did he? Fuck. He didn’t tell anyone, did he?! Stupid kid.” Wilbur punctuated his statement with a kick to the leg of the couch in frustration.
“What are you talking about, Wil?” Phil asked, concerned at his behavior.
“Do you have any idea what Dream did to Tommy in exile?”
“He stayed with him. Tommy didn’t want anything to do with Dream afterward, that’s all I know.” Techno replied.
“Why the hell do you think that is?” Wilbur asked, still looking at them with a similar expression that Sam gave Techno. It startled him a bit and didn’t realize he was supposed to answer at first.
“I don’t know.” Techno answered after a moment of tense silence.
“Dream tortured him, he fucking tortured Tommy!” Wilbur exclaimed helplessly. The two felt their blood run cold, they frowned.
“What?” Phil asked.
“Dream- Every damn day, anytime Tommy made any sort of progress Dream destroyed it! He forced Tommy to take off his armor and everything in his inventory and destroyed it! He convinced Tommy that no- no cared! That Dream was the only person that cared about him. I remember! I was fucking there and I barely helped him. I kept calling it a fucking vaction while Dream tormented him! Ah, fucking damn it!” Wilbur slammed his hands on the couch before digging the heels of his hand into his eyes, rubbing them roughly.
“Dream what?” Techno hissed.
“Oh god.” Wilbur groaned, throwing his head back, looking at the ceiling. “Tommy- fuck.” He whispered.
“Wilbur?” Phil asked, his voice quieter than he had heard it in a long time.
“Tommy tried to fucking kill himself… and I was taking a fucking photo of the chirstmas tree while Dream told him ‘it’s not your time to die, yet.’ Fuck the pillar, TWICE goddamn it! He tried to kill himself two fucking times- I can’t…. Fuck…” Wilbur’s eyes held tears but he didn’t cry.
“He- he what?” Phil asked, his voice shaking a little bit.
“He tried to jump into the lava when Dream told him he’d kill him if went through the portal. Then Tubbo went to Logshire after it had been destroyed, by Dream, and found a pillar, he must’ve jumped off it. Into water, he must’ve, there was no way to survive that without water.” Wilbur sounded broken, his voice was quiet and barely above a whisper. But his face soon hardened. Saying his expression was angry was an understatement. Furious was an understatement. Pure, untainted, rage was written all over his face. Not even in Pogtopia had Wilbur looked so enraged. Phil resisted the urge to flinch as the gaze was directed at both him and Techno, who seemed to be as equally shocked, though he hid it better.
“And you sided with him.” Wilbur's voice was calm, which was honestly terrifying. “You sided with Dream and destroyed L’manberg.”
“We didn’t know, Wilbur.” Techno said.
“Because you never bothered to fucking ask!” He exclaimed. “How did you not know?! You’re supposed to be smart! How did you not notice that something was wrong! He lived with you! Ever question why Tommy was willing to hide in a box, with his crippling claustrophobia just so he didn’t have to face Dream? Ever question that? Ever even wonder why he came to you in the first place?! No because you never think that he can be anything but loud and annoying! That poor fucking kid is now trapped in an inescapable prison with his abuser. He’s facing two of his biggest fears right now! Fuck…” Phil knew that look on Wilbur’s face, he had seen it many times as he was growing up. Thinking fast he shoved an empty bucket into Wilbur’s arms, letting him empty what little he had in his stomach into the bucket. Techno winced slightly, having always hated throwing up. Honestly, both Techno and Phil were feeling sick to their stomach.
They never hated Tommy. Obviously they hadn’t, he was part of their family, their youngest, their loudest. As children both Techno and Wilbur had been strangely infatuated with Tommy and definitely protective. Techno had grown out of it, Wilbur had not. Not to say that Techno didn’t care, it just wasn’t as apparent. Both Phil and Techno cared deeply for Tommy, but they were passionate, the whole family was, and they just happened to clash.
They never meant to torture him, they never knew. Neither one could see past the loud facade Tommy had put on and refused to try and see the cracks. Wilbur did, he always had. He wasn’t fairing much better than the other two. He knew he abandoned Tommy, though he felt better about dying now that Phil was there. Before his death, Wilbur figured Tommy would stay with Phil, that Phil would protect him. Though he should’ve known. Either way, he knew his death had caused this, if he hadn’t maybe exile wouldn’t have happened.
Techno had grabbed a healing potion for Wilbur, who drank it slowly and instantly started to feel better. Physically, not emotionally.
“We have to save him.” Wilbur said, almost begging.
“Sam won’t let us near.” Techno muttered, though the hand at his side twitched. Phil and Wilbur knew that it was a sign he wanted to do something. Anything. Probably something violent.
“Then at least let us be there for him when he gets out! Maybe Sam will let us help! Anything but sitting around here waiting for someone else to help him. I won’t let him be hurt again while I do nothing!” Wilbur yelled, his voice breaking.
“Okay.” Phil said, standing. “We’ll gather supplies, just rest for a bit while we get ready. It’s not an easy journey.” Wilbur stared intensely at Phil’s face, reading him in the way he always could and did. Phil stared back, wanting him to know that he was serious and he regretted his actions. Wilbur nodded and sat back, though his hands were clenched on top of his thighs.
“Come on Techno. We’ve failed Tommy for the last time.” Phil announced, going through the surrounding chests. Techno grunted in agreement.
They weren’t going to leave him alone again.